Ever since SHUFFLE! I have been watching asread’s career with great interest. But Minami Ke Okawari was a big disappointment, not so much due to the art or animation but because the humour compared poorly to the first season by They of the Cabbage Love, Doumu. The three Minami sisters just seemed off-kilter; Haruka alternated between being hapless and mean; Kana was unlovably stupid; Chiaki was too bratty.

I was arguing with Stripey that Ga-Rei Zero has been disappointing. Because Kagura was whiny - definitely not a Good Job from Minorin here. The middle part was just dumb. See also #2-5 in Baka Raptor’s post. *But* having just read tjhan raging on the manga (which I didn’t pick up because I thought the art was fugly), I’m starting to think that Ga-Rei Zero was another case of asread being able to make the most out of rather poor source material so I’ll still give it Good Job overall. But not as far as declaring it the top series for Fall 08.

However balance has been restored returned to the Force in Minami Ke Okaeri! Everyone is lovable again - at least for the first four episodes that I’ve seen. I’m wondering who should I credit/blame? Okawari shared the same director and series composer as SHUFFLE! - Hosada Naoto and Suzuki Masashi - could it be that their forte is eroge conversion? They scored a lot of points in my book by going for the non-obvious ending. But without another asread eroge conversion to test this hypothesis against, it’s hard to say this way or that. Ga-Rei Zero was a joint effort with AIC Spirits and I’m too lazy to track down whose staff did what. Anyone more industrious? Details, on ANN, are still scant about the team behind Okaeri but I hope the asread team led by director Oikawa Kei will keep up the Good Job!

Picking one favourite moment from each of the four episodes thus far:

The pen divination scene was nice especially Kana’s wonderful potential future husband. (This must be totali’s geass at work, dammit!) Honorary mention for Haruka’s hair toss in the OP. Yes, Oneechan x Hair toss = WIN.

Devil Chiaki and Curry Fairy Song has captured the hearts of moyism, Kurogane and Suguru but forcing myself to choose one, Hosoka is Dah Curry Man. What I especially liked how it serendipitously helped Chiaki out of her pinch and that she, with real childlike innocence, actually took to this weird but essentially harmless display pretty well rather than having the more grown up kimochi warui response.

Ringo no Hako (Box of Apples) is something I could totally relate to. There was a potluck get together at my home when everyone, and I mean everyone, brought Old Chang Kee curry puffs. We had over 40 freaking curry puffs. And no beer. No beer!! Enough to make grown men weep. ;_; Anyway, loved the mystery before Uchida opened the box. And it stood up very well to rewatching. Including the aftermath for Uchida and Touma. Aaah, Uchida is so lovably stupid that I’m never tired of her. And I could just about start to believe that Mizuki Nana voices Touma from the way she skipped into her house, full of anticipation of the pudding from that store beside the station. Well, until she used the ore pronoun again. *cue Index glass shatter eyecatch*

Doggy Kana, Chiaki, Haruka and Touma FTW. Taiga has just got to see this. Of course, this leads to the Iron Claw scene that the OP has previewed already. Iron Claw is indeed the proper waza of the Oneesama! Do you know of any other users besides Tama-nee and Haruka? Honorable mention also for Kana’s ominous speculation that Haruka could like Natsuki and Chiaki’s initial OH SHI- D: reaction.

I dearly hope the goodness can be sustained right till the end of Okaeri and keenly await the return of the One, the Only, the Mako-chan.

©2009 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

Related posts:

1. Minami Ke Okawari 13
2. Minami Ke Okawari 8
3. Minami Ke Okawari 11

Am I the only one to think that Yumi’s intro lines for the OP of the fourth season of Maria-sama ga Miteru contained a hint of her kansai accent? Perhaps it’s because I’ve read Erica’s notes on the 18th MariMite novel where the author, Konno Oyuki, has Yumi say something in Kansai ben and then wonder why she did that. It’s a glorious and generous nod from the creator of the MariMite universe; Ueda Kana richly deserves such acknowledgment as she has well-and-truly made Yumi’s role her own.

I never took much notice of the voice acting credits before I watched MariMite. Sure, I admired Megumi Hayashibara for her roles as Lina Inverse, Rei Ayanami and Faye Valentine. But that was about it. Perhaps there were several factors that had already captured my full attention for the MariMite cast’s voice acting. The rich possibilities for yuri tangents and fan service. The Oneesama element. The complex and lovingly crafted characterizations. Nonetheless the series still stands out for some outstanding voice performances.

Megumi Toyoguchi is outstanding as Satou Sei, playful, angry, tender, in pain, reassuring. Hasekura Rei is probably Shizu-sama’s most masculine-female voice role. Naba-sama, on the other hand, captures Torii Eriko’s odd mix of whismical kookiness and perfectionism. Ikezawa Haruna’s Shimazu Yoshino presents little bursts of explosive impulsiveness and sheer willfulness. Shinohara Emi’s Mizuno Youko is Formidably Steady as She Goes, The Strong One - though her expressiveness in showing concern for Sei in the Forest of Thorns arc probably did a lot to boost Sei x Youko slashers. LOL

I even enjoy the performances of two voice actresses whom I’m not big fans of; Noto Mamiko’s Quiet Girl Toudou Shimako is played with the flashes of incisiveness and steel that define the character; Kugimiya Rie’s twintailed tsundere Matsudaira Touko mix of tsun and dere as well as transition to and fro either state felt layered and subtle. And it sure helps that she doesn’t resort to violence in the first instance. If at all. Ogasawara Sachiko is arguably Itou Miki’s Best Role - she’s simply inimitable with her casual elegance and haughtiness (my Favourite Role of hers is different though).

I’ve always been quite fond of the characters played by Ueda Kana, particularly when they’ve got a bit of Dirty Old Man in them, such as Yagami Hayate (vs. her harem particularly Signum or, more accurately, Signum’s boobs lol), Tohsaka Rin (vs. Saber which came through somewhat even though the anime neutered the game perspective on their um relationship), Kohaku is oh so cutely evil PLUS sleeping with her mistress Akiha is part of her job description (also the Most Oomph arc of the game).

But Fukuzawa Yumi is both my Favourite and Best Ueda Kana Role. For anyone who’s ever felt plain, uninteresting, slightly below average, Ueda’s Yumi really evokes the sympathy needed for one to empathize with a character. Which is important for the anime to work since the story’s basic structure, as Erica has put it so nicely, is about a Commoner, an Ordinary Person being thrust into the Deep End of an Extraordinary Situation with Life Changing Consequences. While some might find Yumi’s ‘much ado about nothing’ angsting about her relationship with Sachiko too melodramatic, I’m inclined to forgive her - after all, what else does a teenage girl with a huge crush but no family, financial, health problems have to focus on as the centre of her concerns?

I’ve always wondered why I’ve always held Ueda’s Yumi in the highest regard. Though I personally enjoy MariMite more than Nanoha, Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime etc, it doesn’t fully explain why Yumi gets joint Favourite and Best Roles billing ahead of Hayate, Rin, Kohaku etc. It sort of came to me, not really like an ephiphany but a slow creeping feeling, kind of like how Yumi slowly realizes that Sachiko has just committed her to the lead role in the Yamayurikai’s school festival play. Yumi’s ‘Eeeh!?’ and sigh in response to Sachiko’s oblique, Over The Horizon attack wasn’t just the usual soeur-type subordination; it was a self-recognition of utter defeat beyond the tactical and operational, all the way up to the strategic and policy levels. And, later, she utterly falls for Sachiko’s Charm Offensive when she gets steam-rollered into switching her role’s gender (wait, was it the other way around?). Even when she talks Touko out of her Drama Club doramaz, it’s her ‘defenceless’ look that gets out her kouhai’s dere-dere. Yumi-chan is just so full of love and good-natured haplessness and the way Ueda Kana brings it out has been an utter delight.

Having said all that, my Favourite Chara in MariMite is, of course, Sei. The sky is blue, after all. LOL

©2009 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

If you want to give yourself a chance to see the whole rest of the series, skip 5 and 7. Come back and watch them later.

Thus spake SDB. I’m here to report that, having done so, I enjoyed this series very much. With SDB’s speculative explanation, even the ending made sense. And an unexpected positive externality was that I actually managed to enjoy Ep 5 and 7 too!

The Boobs Groping and the Panties Stealing episodes were terribly placed as they disrupted the momentum of the story. But after shuffling the episode order, both were actually kinda fun. I liked Ep 5 mainly because it was Shirley-centric. She’s a fun character and I would have liked to see more of her.

Ep 7 brought back bad memories of that terrible episode in Mai HiME that was built around a similar theme. Initially when I saw Erica with her headgear, I stared becoming a bit uncomfortable with how Nazi the design was. And that got me thinking about how the series might be glorifying or making excuses for the WWII German-Japanese alliance with the ‘Karlsland’ trio of Minna, Gertrude, Erica and the ‘Fuso’ pair of Mio and Yoshika being the most prominent of the cast. BUT as the episode ended with everyone realizing that Erica was wearing Francesca’s panties and the view zooming onto aforementioned striped panties, I realized that the pantlessness had effectively emptied out any politics and utterly neutralized any possibility of political correctness being able to raise its head.

Overall, the story was ok. The ending could have used more exposition/explanation. But I really liked all the characters (except Perine) as well as most of the pairings (except Perine x Lynne). Favourite scene was Minna’s hysterical order to Gertrude to shoot down the Neuroi that had attacked Mio and then breaking down in tears, calling out Mio’s name. Savoured every drop of that yurilicious Tanaka Rie-voiced outburst. MIO X MINNA FTW!

©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

Things got a bit emo in the second episode but I’ve been won over by the surprisingly (for SUNRISE, that is) ending. Most important for me was how much respect I gained for Sifr; in contrast, I could never feel very much for Arika or Nina. What a fantastic diatribe she delivered to the Columns! ‘I will not die for your convenience!’ is going to be a favourite anime line of mine for a while to come. This, in turn, put a definitive end to Lena’s funk so she can go and kick some serious ass for great justice.

I also liked how the fanservicey elements like Elliot’s yuri lust for Rena was integral to how the plot unfolded. Those feelings were the cracks through which Lena’s belief in Sifr reached her, causing her to realize that her original mission was strategically sensible but morally wrong. Erstin’s sacrifice also saved Arika from Nina and the latter’s eventual recovery but Elliot had a higher impact facotr probably due to her screen time relative to the total screen time of the series.

BTW Doremi did a great job but I think they fluffed the line about ‘Mama Rena’. My own understanding was that the presents were for Rena’s mama - an attempt by Elliot to make a good impression on her hoped-for mother-in-law. LOL And the silly ED sequence didn’t hurt either.

Despite her initial appearance in Ep 2 in her red bikini, Sakura didn’t really register in my memory. However Kyoko’s terrorized reaction to her appearance was pure winnage. Some imoutos terrorize their oneesamas by dint of their forceful personality but the very best examples are those who manage to also draw on a sort of social blackmail where every word, expression and glance reminds the senior and elder that they are not living up to the demands of that higher social status.

So Sakura, like Mai, is a member of the Sun Kingdom royalty that serves as an Otome. But for Artai? And for Nagi’s ancestor? Lovely how Yukana plays Sakura with a tsun-tsun flourish and I wonder how else she’s related to the rest of the Otome cast.

I’m actually looking forward to more from this particular iteration of the Mai Otome franchise.

ADD: Gai’s Zaku eye was also a plus point. But the off-handed way that Lena shrugged him as a mere nuisance reinforces my belief that people called Gai are morons.

©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

It’s all been said already but I’m still going to say it: The Strike Witches’ logistics side seriously need to indent them some pants. And the crotch shots were pure orz multipliers.

Oddly enough, I still decided to give this series a go because two of my favourite doujin artists/circles, chanomi and tamago no oheya, seem to have picked up on a heart of yuri-tinged comedy gold underneath all the awful fanservicey elements.

I’ve only seen the first four episodes. So far I’m really liking Mio’s HOHOHO and Minna’s Latent Tanaka Rie Evilness as well as the chara interaction but I’m not sure if it’ll be worth my while to continue. Perhaps I need to go wash to bring out my inner evil.

©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

As Meister Sara said to Kazu-kun: ‘When you are Emperor, you can have your own harem!’ It should have been obvious that Lelouch wasn’t planning on sticking around when he didn’t immediately conscript all the captured bishoujos into a harem led with C.C. wielding the whip as Chief Concubine. And he didn’t even have a nekomimi Otome’s objections to deal with either!

P.S. Seirei no Moribito was excellent.

©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

I finally watched this landmark GAINAX franchise after picking up a (very cheap and almost certainly pirated) DVD box set from Stripey’s favourite R3 DVD shop. Both Top wo Nerae! OVAs have long languished as a ‘classic’ (defined as something everyone knows but very few actually have seen) in my book. But intermittently there have been reminders. Evirus spoke well of it (Gun Buster) and its sequel (Die Buster). Kurogane had much praise for the latter; Kabitzin described it as ‘feel[ing] like some kind of perfect amalgamation of Evangelion and FLCL’ - I’d also love to read his thoughts on the final ep and review the series as a whole *poke poke*. And, most recently, Myssa Rei’s comment on one of Stripey’s Gurren Lagann posts.

Despite the art style feeling a bit dated, I’m glad I watched Gunbuster. If only because that’s another ‘classic’ I can tick off. But also because I also managed understand and enjoy Diebuster, especially its conclusion, so much more.

Thus no prizes for guessing that I enjoyed Diebuster more than Gunbuster. The reason, which should be predictable for my regular readers, was that the sequel had a better focus and development on the Oneesama-kouhai relationship between the two leads. Noriko’s traumatic loss of her father and Amano’s anxiety about Co~chi~ left me non-plussed at best and distracted at worst. But the ups and downs of the Nono and Lal’C was the gattai of the MariMite and Gurren Lagann gen(r)es of this series at their best. Stripey holds up Nakahara Mai’s work as Tohika Mai by pointing to how Mai’s emotional states were effectively conveyed with the way she called for Kagutsuchi; I got something similar out of the varying tone of Nono and Lal’C’s ‘Oneesama!’ and ‘Nono!’ exchanges.

The first encounter of admiration. Admiration and the naming of Lal’C as ‘Oneesama’. Despite Lal’C’s obvious annoyance, she did stand up for Nono in a very cool way, was also deeply concerned about her safety during her battle, was aghast when she thought Nono had not survived (and then relieved by the proof that ahoge is life).

Revelations and hints as Nono’s concern for her Oneesama leads her to display her Lightning Kick and Lal’C’s breathless ‘Nono…’ said it all about her amazement at this strange girl’s abilities.

Not being Topless, Nono couldn’t move Dix Neuf but yet, when Lal’C swallowed her pride and called for Nono, who responded to her Oneesama in the affirmative, there was a mysterious power-up. Gattai without saying the word and yet another hint about the sources of power. And there was a nice moment of listening to your heart.

Things are, of course, not smooth sailing all the way. Nono is part of the Fraternity but does not have the psychic powers of a Topless. The struggle for recognition leads to tension; Nono wants to be useful to the one who seems most like ‘Nonoriri’ but Lal’C’s affection cannot overcome the nexus of pride and reason. One can become so captivated by piloting the Buster Machine that friendship pales in comparison; Nono realizes that she’s never really had a friend before Nono came along.

The truth revealed with Nono having found herself and proven her usefulness beyond a shadow of doubt. Thus her confident greeting of ‘Oneesama’ and a previously helpless Lal’C calling Nono shocked and awed.

Partings and reunions. But we often can’t handle the truth all at it and all at once. Lal’C had her confidence in Topless abilities to defeat all her enemies and her faith in the camaraderie of her fellow Topless ruthlessly stripped away. Emasculated and helpess, she finally learned that Nono was afraid too.

Let’s fly… together… Damn this was as cool as Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora’s key line was cheesy.

And another parting. Nono rejected the Earth forces’ dumb and suicidal plan, turned her back on Lal’C. Imagine the pain she was feeling. But this was the only thing she could, for now, so that her Oneesama could live on and not throw her life away in this senseless way.

Biggest cat fight ever. The cry of ‘I wanted you to call me Lal’C!’ revealed how being called ‘Oneesama’ could be a wall, a gap, a burden. From conflict, though, came understanding.

And the triumph of determination and guts. This, being between girls, is somehow a lot less gay than when it’s GAR.

A farewell to arms, I give you my heart.

It was rather sad that there was no happily ever after. By which I mean HAWT NONO X LAL’C YURI. But given how Buster technology was sealed away in the aftermath of Noriko and Amano’s return, it would have merely postponed Nono’s farewell. At least, with the final vision of opening the door, they had a final meaningful moment together. And, as with Nono’s speech after her awakening in Ep 4, Lal’C has reached the Top as she truly does have a Buster Machine in her heart and that Buster Machine is Nono.

©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve heard that there have been possible sightings of yuri in Mouryou no Hako - looking forward to it if there is.

Thus far the third episode of Kannagi (thanks for the heads up, totali!) had some faux yuri fan service to tease us loser fanboys and provide inspiration for lots of doujinshi. It wasn’t really ‘yuri’ but I lapped it all up anyway - thus, ’satisfising’ - being satisfied with an outcome that is sub-optimal.

To Aru Majutsu no Index, which I have picked up in accordance with Mentar’s invocation of the Shizu-sama Doctrine, seems more promising in the yuri aspect. We have a certain Shirai Kuroko is very touchy-feely with Misaki Mikoto (who gave me and Stripey ‘Tokiha Mai’ vibes) and the way the former calls the latter ‘oneesama’ sounds like it’s more than just a case of akogare. The gattai of the Yuri x Oneesama categories just has such great synergy. Ahaha~hearts;

Even so, I just don’t see a Kuroko x Mikoto pairing happening. Firstly, although Mikoto doesn’t go out of her way to rebuff Kuroko’s attentions, she doesn’t seem all too keen either - thus Kuroko’s affections are likely to be one-sided and unlikely to be reciprocated. And her embarrassed reaction to Kuroko’s observation, that coming to Touma’s block was an awfully long detour back to her dorm, seems to suggest she may have developed a crush on him. Well, he is the main character after all. And thus it’s not an optimal reading on the yuri series meter which, ideally, should have a yuri couple as the leads. Haven’t seen one of those in a while…

©2008 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.