Title: The Rule of Standing on Tiptoe
Author/Illustrator: Puku Okuyama
Genre: Yaoi? I suppose incidentally it is.
Publisher: DMP
Rating: 16+ YA, but really doesn't need to be (zero sex or sexual situations)
Cover: Kosuke (Ham-chan) on Raku (Luck)'s shoulders
as Raku steals his chips. These boys are goofballs!
Okay, first of all, this is freaking adorable...adorable...like one of the most adorable things I've ever read, so I am going to keep writing adorable over and over again as I review it. ADORABLE! The Rule of Standing on Tiptoes is an adorable high-school romantic comedy/friendship story about the tallest boy in class and the shortest boy in class. Short, hyper, hamster-like Kosuke and tall, popular Raku first meet when Raku hits Kosuke with his bike on the first day of 10th grade. Kosuke, who is immediately nick-named Ham-chan by Raku, is the first to discover Raku's secret--he's only half-Japanese. The secret isn't a big deal, but Raku stands out so much already because of his good looks and height that he'd rather keep his blue eyes (he wears black contacts) and his light brown hair (he claims he dyes it) under wraps to keep him from standing out more. His personality is vastly different from loud, boisterous, pierced, bleach blond Ham-chan, but despite their differences they form a fast friendship as they make their way through the pitfalls of high-school. Somewhere along the way each, individually, starts to form more difficult feelings of love and devotion to the other. Did I say adorable? Because seriously, this is adorable. There's no graphic sex, no weird drama, no astonishingly unrealistic beautiful boys, no big obstacles, no secret pasts (I mean unless you count Raku's heritage), no psychic powers, no conniving rivals (one standard high-school-type rivalry is pretty tame), no aggressive lusting...there's nothing but an absolutely genuine feeling, sweetly awkward friendship that turns into an absolutely genuine feeling, sweetly awkward sort of love. Adorable.
On a side note there is something about Kosuke (Ham-chan)'s gestures and personality that reminds me of Ms. Shakespeare. Some of it may be the way he hyperactively panics before over-rationalizing and putting on a stoic face. Some of it may be because she is kind of adorable. See exhibit A and B below:
On the left the adorable Ms. Shakespeare and surly Dr. M battling for the only copy of a manga!
On the right Ham-chan and his ex-girlfriend race to school to prove who is faster!
It really does look like us.
So, the manga is adorable, and Ms. Shakespeare and I are adorable. Facts is facts, Dear Readers.
This really is one of the most honest seeming yaoi manga I've ever read. Okuyama has really captured that swoony-sick feeling that accompanies a timid sort of love. It is well worth a read if only to re-experience that feeling again. Oh...adorable (just wanted to type it once more).
Okay, again, I feel bad reviewing an older manga with limited availability, but Eerie Queerie! is worth discussing, at least a little bit. This four-volume series by Shuri Shiozu was an early addition to my manga collection (I have a lot of manga...a bookshelf of manga), and it remains one of my favorites. Not because it is exceptionally complex (it isn't), not because it is well illustrated (it isn't), not because it is angst filled and character driven (it isn't...not really), not because there are possessed masks housing goat-demons who try to seduce high-school mediums, or embittered ghostly servants forced into cat cos-play by perverted bisexual priests, or cross-dressing shrine "maidens" who woo lost-loves with funny faced frogs. Ah, I'm such a liar, it's totally those last three things.
Eerie Queerie! is adorable and ridiculous. I wind up "ooh"-ing and giggling aloud every time I read it. It's just so...cute? Certainly the main character, Mitsuo Shiozu (same last name as the author...on purpose!), a high-schooler who can see the dead and is extremely susceptible to possession, is a goofy, giggly teen with a heart of gold and a deep connection to his few friends. He has spent a lonely life, but due to some unforeseeable hijinks involving a dead school girl, he forges a close friendship with (super hot) Hasunuma who is interested in folklore and the occult. His first, best and most-devoted friend, Hasunuma, obviously has strong feelings for Mitsuo that go beyond friendship and a willingness to protect innocent Mitsuo from the world. However, confused Mitsuo fails to make the connections between Hasunuma's feelings and their affectionate interactions...Mitsuo realizes his own feelings of love towards Hasunuma later, and is appalled that HE might be taking advantage of his "innocent" friend (Hasunuma uses every ploy in the book to get Mitsuo closer to him, or lay "claim" to him in front of rivals). As a reader I cannot help but laugh and laugh at Mitsuo's confusion and the entire comedy of errors that is Eerie Queerie!.
Here is a typical Hasunuma move (with a typical Mitsuo response):
Hasunuma is kissing Mitsuo as he leaves to go on a school scavenger hunt. Mitsuo is at first alarmed by Hasunuma's overtly affectionate ways, but Hasunuma tells him that "that's just what friends do." Mitsuo, having no experience with friends (and secretly desiring all that yummy affection) is reassured and begins to accept the "normalcy" of Hasunuma's touchy-feely-ness. Ichi, the third man in their group, is constantly bothered by Hasunuma's advances on Mitsuo...he thinks Hasunuma is taking advantage of Mitsuo's ignorance and naivete...Ichi is right--he is.
Hasunuma is my favorite character in this series. His devotion to Mitsuo, his playfulness (despite the serious nature of his feelings), his sweetness, his sacrifices and his infinite patience make him a little swoonworthy. Everytime I reread E Q! I find myself rooting for Hasunuma (he's the biggest flirt in the world), and rolling my eyes at the baffled reactions of Mitsuo. Hasunuma is not the lead in the story, but he is the romantic lead...it makes for an odd and compelling will they/won't they situation (actually more of a will Mitsuo realize/won't he realize) which all works out happily (and goofily) in the end.
Eerie Queerie! isn't deep and profound. It isn't soul-shattering. It isn't much more than a ridiculously amusing supernatural comedy, but it is really, really cute without being annoying or precious. Ultimately, it is worth a read, especially if you like aggressively perverted Shinto priests...and it turns out I do.
Note: the rating on E Q! is 16+, but there is NO graphic sex in this. There are sexual situations and a crazy amount of innuendo, but no actual sex. As far as yaoi goes, it is pretty tame, and sweet without being smutty. The only risky character is the Shinto priest who does get a little "handsy" at times. I would say that this might be more of a PG-13 series than a restricted one, but that's just liberal ol'me.
Okay, Hero Heel, by Yellow writer/illustrator (favorite of mine) Makoto Tateno, completely deserves it's adult themed rating...because it has VERY adult themes. I'm not just talking about the sex, because there is sex (graphic sex, actually), but the complexities of the plot, character interactions, and emotions are anything but easy to process. I like angst. I like, as Ms. Shakespeare likes to point out, suffering and insecurity and long-standing secret loves. So, I like Hero Heel. This three volume manga series is brutal at points, so if you are an empathetic person this might not be for you...unless you want (like me) to feel that sort of extended tension and pain. Tateno is fantastic at extended tension and pain. Stunning at it, actually! The dialog is loaded with it, the illustrations are taut with it. OH, and it's about actors on a kid's superhero program.
Don't shake your head just yet, us ladies of a certain age remember the hotness of Power Rangers...this is something similar, and yet possibly hotter. Although, man, a few of those Power Rangers...daaaammmnn! Hero Heel is the story of first time television actor, Minami, who lands the lead role of Oreas in a special effects, fighting program called Air Guard. His co-star, Sawada, is a veteran of these programs and takes an immediate dislike to Minami's attitude. Sawada is a consummate professional, and is playing Gadriel, Oreas's rival in the program. Minami and Sawada are both proud and stubborn on and off the camera. Their rivalry heats up, but Minami learns from Sawada as well, and comes to realize that his feelings of deep admiration for Sawada's acting and fighting skills may be hiding true affection for the man.
Okay, tame enough, a little co-worker love interest, but then it gets really, really uncomfortable. Sawada claims to have no interest in Minami at all, in fact he treats him with scorn which only seems to make Minami want him more. Desperate for any scrap of affection, and drowning in unrequited love, Minami blackmails Sawada into sleeping with him. In one of the most painful, regret-laden scenes of any manga I've ever read (and I read a lot of painful, regret-laden manga) Minami breaks down. The intensity of the sorrow in the final chapter of volume one nearly crosses the line to intolerable for me. I'll admit it...I may have cried a little. And, as I keep saying, that's not my M.O. Something has to be very powerful to move me to tears, and yet the last silent panels of Hero Heel volume one did just that.
In trying to forget Sawada, Minami smothers his feelings with a new relationship with yet another co-worker. And Sawada rekindles an old relationship with a former co-star in an earlier program, who looks remarkably like an older Minami. Could Sawada be hiding the truth about his feelings for Minami? Let's ask him.
Sawada, are you hiding your attraction to Minami behind a facade of scorn in order to save yourself from potential heartbreak?
Oh, Sawada-san, you make me so sad in my heart.
You are absolutely the kind of cruel and passionate character that makes me want to squee!
Um...yeah, I guess he is...oh, right, spoiler or whatnot! So, once we know this, as readers, the plot gets even more complex, and painful, and bitter, and...all those things I love to read about. Each of the characters deals with their own insecurities, and any hope for a relationship seems defeated by a combination of insecurity and defensive pride. When the characters do break down, succumbing to their emotions in sometimes drastic ways, it is poignant and heart-wrenching because we as readers are privy to the whole story rather than just the one-sided suppositions the characters make about one another's motivations and intentions. This is heavy stuff. As such, it isn't for everyone. There are certainly points where each of the characters crosses into uncomfortable (and sometimes even dislikable) territory. There are moments of assertiveness that do border on violence, and reactions that seem at the time completely disproportionate...like this one:
"Eh?" Indeed! (Also.."Aw, yeah!")
It looks sweet and passionate, but it turns out in the very next panel Minami (blond) punches Sawada in the face, tells him to quit messing with him, and then runs off into the night to sob in his bedroom until he passes out while Sawada avoids his boyfriend and drinks himself into a stupor. Hooray! What a light-hearted romp through candy-canes and gumdrops! Or, did I mean what a painfully (three bonus chapters are actually entitled "Pain") drawn-out, spiral into despair that seems to have no hopes of redemption? Maybe I meant the second one. Oh, delicious pain! Oh, Sawada! (Seriously, I may be madly in love with Sawada myself...maybe I'll steal him from Minami?) Oh, Minami!
The good news is there is (sort of) a happy ending to this one--the payoff is worth it once these two idiots realize that they can't deny their disturbing love for one another. Plus, the show is a hit, so everyone wins (except the people who were dragged into the bizarre love-conflict and ultimately dumped in cruel ways...they lost, completely).
Hooray, another yaoi involving a bakery and older characters! Although, I'm not sure this angsty-yearn-fest is Ms. Shakespeare's cup of tea (too much tension and tortured emotion), it is CERTAINLY mine.
Yukimura's A Love Song for the Miserable has a great title, doesn't it. And it's pretty appropos of what to expect from the single volume work. The main character, Itsuki Asada, is a miserable guy who hates his job, his life and...well, he's a little bitter. The story starts with Asada drunkenly ranting about his position at a Tokyo department store to a co-worker. The co-worker, annoyed by his pity-party, leaves him half-passed out in some shrubbery (I love the word shrubbery) where a runner by the name of Iwasaki Nao runs, quite literally, across him.
Nao has a dilemma of his own. His father owns a bakery and wants Nao to take over, but Nao is unsure of himself and his abilities. He is an avid runner (with a very poor sense of direction), who uses running to sort out his problems and lost in thought finds himself in an unfamiliar area. They "rescue" one another: Nao pulls the drunken, sobbing Asada from the bushes and Asada gives Nao directions home. The ever-exhuberant Nao scribbles his own directions on a scrap of paper. The directions are to Nao's bakery "The Star," where he asks Asada to come by for a pastry as thanks. Uncharacteristically, Asada does come by and discovers that Nao is a very talented, yet untrained pastry chef. Nao discovers that Asada may be helpful in developing his skills, as a critic and a taster. The two form a quick friendship which temporarily lifts Asada from his slump. He finds himself feeling useful and relied upon for once and relishes the opportunity to be a part of something successful.
It is not until Nao decides to begin training in France that Asada realizes that his friendly feelings for Nao might be something more. Rather than confess his feelings to his friend Asada does the exact opposite, he snaps at Nao, plays down the importance of their friendship and snubs Nao's ambitions. The two part on terrible terms and Asada once again falls into his misery.
Asada is miserable. He's pretty much always miserable. Look at that anguish!
Three years later the two are thrust into a business situation and hurt feelings on both sides cause even more tension between the two. Finally the stand-off breaks, but unfortunately Asada realizes that not only is he still the same miserable person in an unsatisfying career that he was three years ago, he's also still in love with Nao who is now a world-reknowned patissier. As Asada himself says, he loves Nao but hates him at the same time. Nao, who is open and honest and almost puppy-ish in his devotion, has things that Asada wants (not just his body). Asada is jealous, bitter and heartbroken when he's around Nao, but he longs for Nao when they are parted. Asada is one tortured soul...and kind of a puss. Finally Nao reveals that he thinks he has figured out Asada, and that he wants to make him happy because "No one wants to see such a (sad) face on the person they love." Despite the love confession, Asada bolts just after this painful scene:
Seriously, Asada, you have got to quit beating yourself up...it really isn't that bad.
All in all, this is the kind of crappy manga I adore. It has long-standing secretive emotions, defensiveness to conceal heartbreak and some awesome looking desserts. It doesn't hurt that Yukimura, whom I have grumbled about before, seems to have solved some of her problems with foreshortening and perspective in the artwork. I really love the sort of stark anguish on Asada's face, and the way his posture and body language conveys his mood. She's improved by leaps and bounds over the years.
A Love Song for the Miserable may not be for everyone. It is (I keep saying it) a fairly miserable story. Thankfully it all turns around (a bit) in the end. Maybe nothing will put a smile on the beautiful Asada's face? Maybe some people wear tragic quite well?
NC-17 or whatever, not a lot of graphic sex in this book. What's there is sweet and fairly modest, but I warn you anyway.
Title: Invisible Love
Author/Artist: Rie Honjou
Publisher: DMP (Digital Manga Publishing)
Invisible Love, like most of Rie Honjou's work both as author and animator, is kind of squeeworthy. I'm most familiar with her as an illustrator, but she has branched out into writing as well. Invisible Love is a collection of unrelated (mostly) vingnettes centering on hidden crushes.
The title story, about college students Inori and Senou, is really sweet and ridiculous...so, of course I love it. Inori is an easy-going guy who has a tendency to get dumped by girls who claim he's not serious about them. His most recent girlfriend told him that she couldn't be with him knowing that someone else held his heart. (Awwww! Seriously, awww!) Every time he's dumped he goes to best friend Senou for support and guidance, and finds himself thinking--ah, if only Senou were a woman. One night, while drinking their troubles away Senou passes out cold and "dreams" about Inori. Mostly-sober Inori succumbs to Senou's sweetness and devotion and learns how much his friend really loves him. The next day Senou believes it is all a dream, and Inori keeps his secret hoping that someday Senou will have enough courage to confess his love aloud. Hijinks ensue, and...Squee! For course there is a happy ending.
The other stories in the collection center on similar "hidden" or "invisible" feelings between characters. In one a host club manager accidentally runs into a childhood crush. In another a department store worker befriends a new employee and learns about his past indiscretions. In another a new couple reveals their hidden desires. The mandatory school-boy story has an interesting sweetness to it, despite its...um...naughtyness? And in the last story a set of young lovers discovers they share a tragic past that has left both of them shaken. The interesting part of this thematic collection is the sweetness that tempers the obvious desire (and smut-itude) between the characters. Each story reveals some invisible connection that could end in agony or ecstasy.
As far as illustration goes characters are cute without being too girly. She has a knack for capturing subtle emotions in her drawings that a lot of manga artists lack; often a small gesture will surprise me during rereadings, and I like that. Although sometimes her illustrations are quite, ahem, graphic (with the getting-it-on), they're never gross or crude. Although, I just discovered she has a collection of S&M stories...huh. Her drawings and gestures border so closely to precious that I wonder how she pulls that off?
She is one of my favorite illustrators, but she has some odd habits. For one, she loves to draw people eating or smoking...even she has pointed out this odd quirk. She thinks people look "cute" drinking a soda, eating donuts or with a chopstick in their mouth. One big glaring quirk, which annoys not only me, but the author (enough so that she bothered to mention it in a post-script) is that she often has characters from different stories who look IDENTICAL! In the collection two of the stories featured side by side have confusingly identical protagonists. So, there isn't a ton of variation in her characters as far as illustration goes, but that's the case in a lot of manga, it seems. I swear in one of my favorite manga it took me two reads before I could differentiate between the best friend and love interest. I kept getting confused, and thought I'd eventually have to label them. So, it's a problem, but not one particular to Invisible Love , but manga in general. Just remember that the stories are, for the most part, unrelated...you'll be fine.
Let's end with some squeeworthy sweetness, shall we?
Titles: You Will Fall in Love, You Will Drown in Love (1, 2, 3)
Author/Artist: Hinako Takanaga
You will Fall in Love is a one-shot (single issue) manga, that has morphed into the first in a spin-off series of yaoi (gay romance manga) centering around (can you guess?) love triangles!
Hooray!
I suppose since I am discussing yaoi (yah-o-ee/yah-oi) I should explain a bit what it means. I know Ms. Shakespeare has a full academic explanation on her docket for the coming weeks, so I don't want to step on her toes, but I do want to provide some background for readers (all two of you) who might be unfamiliar with the term.
Yaoi is a genre of literature (both manga and novels) or anime (I have never seen it used in relation to live-action film, but I suppose it could be applied there as well) that centers on male-male relationships. What is surprising about the genre is that it is written primarily by women and absolutely FOR women. Ms. Shakespeare and I have had some fantastic discussions about the appeal of yaoi, so I will leave the heavier work to her, but boiled down here's why it "works:" most romances (yes, these are romances) have set gender roles, and require female readers to identify with the female protagonist of the story in order to connect with characters and the book/whatever itself. Now, I run into some problems with this. I actually hate romance novels, romantic comedies and, well, romance in general. I have a few gender issues (well, the world does, I'm fine) and haven't been able to identify with a female lead in like...well...have I ever? Holy, whatzit, I may have never identified with a female lead! No wonder I hate romance novels, huh? In yaoi, I don't have to identify with one gender over another, I just have to identify. And I do, with whomever I like most. So, in yaoi I am not expected to identify with the female in the story (there is a suspicious and significant lack of female characters in yaoi in general); I get to identify with whomever I wish. Hooray! Another appeal may have to do with the resistance of traditional Japanese culture to such relationships...it's all very Romeo and Tybalt (which would be kind of appealing, IMHO). A truly compelling love story requires resistance. All of my favorite romances (there are some) center on an ill-advised or taboo relationship which is met with resistance/disdain from either society or, at least, the characters surrounding them. This is something Ms. Meyer seems to have forgotten in Twilight, especially when comparing the vanilla pudding of the central relationship between Sparklesuck and Snore-ella to the torturous and forbidden relationship of Heathcliff and Catherine of Wuthering Heights...ARGH! That's another story though, back to falling and drowning in love, right?
We need a chart!
Yeah, don't say I never did anything useful...because that there is some proof positive.
Triangles everywhere! So many triangles (depicted as circles...I blew your mind)! Tied up in the triangleness of these love stories are some other factors that threaten the relationships. For one, there are a lot of power dichotomies here that are tested by the dynamics of power within the relationships themselves. There's a student teacher relationship (which always feels icky to me since I am a teacher with some rationality...ewh! Skeeve!), subverted by the fact that the student is the aggressor. And there are a few power plays that center on the corporate hierarchy of kimono shops (which are apparently more cuthroat than I ever expected). There's also the fact that Reiichiro and Tsukasa are wealthy, privileged and gay (both of them? Yes, I know. Unlikely!) and have high familial, career and social expectations incongruous with their sexuality in a male-dominated and androcentric cross section of modern Japan that is concerned more with propriety and outward signifiers of success and stoicism than emotional connection. Wow, that sounded smart, I better reign it in a little, huh? No worries, in the next paragraph I squee my brains out.
It is totally cute. SQUEE! Tsukasa is totally sexy. Haru is sweet and shy. Reiichiro is a pretty idiot (I am unsure why everyone seems to fall instantly in love with him). And Jinnai is a dick, which I kinda love (I identify with him). And the author/illustrator Hinako Takanaga does beautiful work. She started as an illustrator for novels and other manga authors, but has branched out into her own writing. To date she has written and illustrated some of my favorite works. Although my favorite of her collections is a short series called Little Butterfly (That series freaking kills me every time! EVERY TIME!) the "You will ____ in Love" series is strong, and it does use older characters (something I love, remember).
I've posted the links to the series below for interested readers, and am anxiously awaiting the release of You Will Drown in Love 3, which releases in early August. I'm hoping that the love triangles will be resolved in pleasing (and angsty) ways.
Squee! What a cute episode. Where in Rin finds his familiar, Kuro. Seriously, this would have been cute as a stand alone show outside the context of any series.
As an aside...while reading up on Blue Exorcist tonight, I found this awesome Tumblr site dedicated to Rin. Nice!
Wow, Day 30 ends with a BANG! And, another couple hundred. And then some explosions. And a few trickshots.
Black Lagoon gets my vote as Favorite Anime Involving Guns. This is one hell of a shoot'em up. I'd love this if it were live action, but animated...woo wee!
The city of Roanapur is a criminal underworld, and the Black Lagoon mercenary crew is composed of the best guns for hire. The anime is part classic outlaw western, part cold war James Bond weapons cartel conspiracy, part pirate adventure, and 100% dark comedy.
The main character, Rock (with the pizza on his face in the trailer), is (of all things) the company accountant. He's just a miserable Japanese businessman, thrust into a world of insane guns-for-hire bad-assery.
It is just so much fun.
And Revy...hahahah!
Revy is the most bad-ass anime bitch ever created!
”Best?” Yes. He is vicious. He’s also creepily calm and intense. I don’t like it. He is so creepy that Ms. Shakespeare and I have been known to quote him just to skeeve the other one out. Ms. Shakespeare, "do you remember our sensuous night beneath the cherry trees?" Mwahahah! Dr. Muraki is the best anime villain in that he is irredeemably evil, overtly predatory and still somehow charismatic and beautiful. So evil! SO EVIL!! Is he human? Is he demon? No one knows. He seems to have no motivation beyond just being evil (and attracted to our hero Asato Tsuzuki)...EVIL! Like a pretty, pretty snake who will tie you up and make sexually suggestive remarks before biting you.
A close second is Light Yagumi of Death Note (yet another Shigigami or Soul Reaper drama) he is irredeemably awful, and the lead character. I like the way Death Note sets up Light as the protagonist only to allow viewers to watch him fall further and further from his first purpose into a narcissistic villain who destroys pretty much everything he once believed in. He’s truly horrible, but he doesn't quite have the creep factor of Dr. Muraki. So despite playing God, betraying everyone he knows, and stacking up one hell of a body count, he gets bumped to number two.
I need to do a Death Note post soon. It is a pretty messed-up series.
The twincest thing is all a game...they're so rotten and mean. They stage fake fights, they torment poor Tamaki, and they're just generally mischievous. Hooray!
Incidentally, they were in the running for "Anime Character you Feel Most Like" as a duo, of course.
I listen to a lot of dubbed anime, so I am going to modify this catagory so that I might talk a bit about bad subtitles. Bad subtitles are...bad. But, they are also really, really funny.
When I bought my copy of Gravitation, I got it for the cheaps. Little did I know that there was a reason for the bargain basement price of my copy of the series. I may, or may not, have accidentally purchased (no one sue me for this) a Hong Kong rip-off of the series. I was not aware of this until I watched it. I knew the series pretty well at this point, because Ms. Shakespeare and I had watched it together on several occasions. My copy was not like her copy. Her copy had...um...what's the opposite of word vomit?
For example:
This screen capture should read, "You want a reason, maybe you're a lousy lay?"
It does not say this. It just says "Poor Sex Skill." Hahaha.
How about exhibit B?
In this scene Eri Yuki (whom my version insists on calling Kwan) is trying to talk seriously about breaking up to a traumatized Shuichi (whom my version insists on calling either Showe or Showende) who has decided to renounce his masculinity (he is dressed in his sister's school uniform) in order to help Yuki save face. Shuichi says something along the lines of, "You're leaving me because I'm a man. I thought you'd like this look better." Yuki is saying something like, "How you're dressed isn't really helping your case." But it came out really weird. Poor Shuichi, he actually cross-dresses a few times in the series.
One last one:
Tohma (whom my version insists on calling like 8 things...seriously, it's like they forgot what they named him) is lurking in the room and catches Shuichi kissing Yuki (see the Kwan there?) goodbye on the ear. Yuki gets a little flustered, so Tohma (whom my version believes is a "she," although I assure you he is not) says something like "Oh, Yuki, I didn't know you had an ear fetish." I suppose that could be a "problem," but I think it is more likely just a super bad translation.
Ms. Shakespeare couldn't even watch this version with me. She made me turn it off. I think it's hilarious. So, it gets my vote for best subtitles, on account of the amount of amusement it provides me. Not because they're good. Because they really, really aren't.
This song is Chiisana Inori's "Small Prayer" as performed by Ritsuko Okazaki...and it is soooo sweet!
Fruitsbasket or FuRuBu is so freaking sweet. So sweet. So, so, so, sweet. And this song only makes it sweeter. There is an english dubbed version, but I do not like it at all. The original version is so perfect for this anime. I never skip over the song at the end.
Other good'uns: Ouran High School Host Club's "Shissou" (Sprint) by Alliance, and Gravitation's "Glaring Dream" by Kinya Kotani, which may have some of the cheesiest lyrics ever recorded, but who cares.
I think the animes/mangas with Mechas/Robots/Gunmen are called Mechs in English and Mechas in Japanese because they need an extra letter.
They are not this:
Oh, creepy robot mouth, you scare the bejeezus out of me. Please do not sing me to sleep. At least with anime viewers don't face an uncanny valley sort of robot issue. Most mechs in anime are pretty cartooney, and most are pretty meh...I think Voltron is pretty cool, I watched it when I was little too. And I really love the farcical Titan Maximum on adult swim. But most, nearly all, mechs bore the poo out of me. It's all fight, fight, fight. Look at me sweating in my robot suit. Look at me yelling stuff.
There is one exception though, and it isn't Gundam. I love Gurren Lagann. In fact, I love it so much that I am constantly surprised by my love for it. I have talked about it plenty before, and already picked the finale of the series as "Most Epic Scene." So, I'll keep it brief and just say, SEE IT! (Also, Ms. Shakespeare if you are going to see one mech, see this one, please? That way we can talk about how awesome it is.)
Here's the trailer:
JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!!! I love Gurren Lagann! But I'm not alone.
This review by Anime News Network rated Gurren Lagann as an A rated series that shows "the manly side of mushiness, the kind of content which speaks about people who truly throw everything they have – all of their passion, their hopes, their determination, and even their souls and very lives – into the crucible to challenge the heavens, to force a path to their own destinies and those that they hold dear. "
This is some band of brothers stuff, very St. Crispin's Day speech! I cannot help but be swept up in the struggle.
So I'll leave you with some Shakespeare, which is an odd thing to be reminded of when one is discussing giant robot gunmen, but it seems entirely appropriate.
Since I mentioned it here is the St. Crispian's Day speech from Henry V:
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Or, as Simone the digger would say:
"Aniki is dead. He's not here anymore! But on my back, and in my heart, he lives on in me! My drill is the one that pierces the heavens! Even if that hole becomes my grave, as long as I break through, I shall be victorious! Who the hell do you think I am?! I'm Simone! I'm not my brother Kamina! I am myself! Simone the digger!"
I'm all amped up now! YEAH! "This is my soul, and I'll make you regret this!" SQUEEEE! So much asskickery!
This counts. OFFICIALLY there is ONE episode of Fake. So, I get to select Dee and Ryo as my favorite on-screen anime (and on-page manga) couple. They kill me. Unlike many yaoi titles there isn't a weird femme vibe in either Dee or Ryo. They are dudes. They are in their 30s. They are cops. Dee is a god (just my opinion...and his own). Ryo is reflective, affectionate and tender without being girly, and he balances Dee's gung-ho, intensity and immaturity.
And, as is evident above in a still from the anime, they're smoking hot.
Dee's all, "RYO! I will pounce on you and seduce you and you will want me because who wouldn't want me? Also you are the air I breathe and whatnot."
And Ryo's all, "Dee, no, I can't. I guard my heart."
And I'm all, "SQUEE! Now suck face like 'mwah!'"
And in the middle of their torrid will they/won't they romance drama, they manage to come to terms with their tragic pasts, forge a family out of their bonds with one another, AND be bad ass fighting, shooting and crime-solving detectives in the NYPD.
I feel that this catagory is screaming for some runners up:
1. Inuyasha X Kagome--Another pair who guards their hearts and emotions. There are things about their relationship in the anime that Americans might not pick up on, for instance her "I'm going home" refrain is pretty significant to Japanese viewers (it suggests the end of a relationship or a divorce, which suggests that there is more love between Inuyasha and Kagome than is revealed on screen). Their love is subtle and timid, but ultimately very sweet.
2. Tamaki Suoh X Haruhi Fujioka--From Ouran High School Host Club. Tamaki and Haruhi are adorable, and perhaps not super-complex, but nonetheless I was rooting for them from the beginning. The anime ends with an implication of a love-hexagon, but the manga moves in a different direction as it continues beyond the anime series' "ending" into something a little more mature and tender.
3. Shizuku and Seiji of Whispers of the Heart--So sweet and realistic, even if there are talking cats.
4. Saya and Haji --From Blood +. He will not only keep dying for her, he keeps living for her because he promised that he would destroy them both...powerful crazy love. Timeless shit. Maybe a bit masochistic in a good way? I really like the idea of Saya and Kai, because Saya will get her normal life, but Haji has given her so much. Wow.
5. Shunsui Kyōraku X Jūshirō Ukitake ---Okay fine, there's no "official" sort of coupling of them, but it's so obvious...I mean...Come on!
There are plenty of others, but I'm saving those for other catagories.
Ah, love.
I have more manga crushes than anime crushes. I mean there is ONE episode of Fake, so I suppose I could put Dee Laytner down here and technically not be cheating. I love Dee. LOVE HIM! I won't even try to help it. I like mean boys.
So, in the spirit of liking the mean/tragic I'm going to have to go with Eri Yuki of Gravitation, who has already been mentioned by Ms. Shakespeare and I several times.
I wish the artist had added their name to this picture so I could give them credit, because when I found it I was all...BISHONEN BUDDHA! That is hot!
Eri Yuki is cruel, sarcastic, devious, talented, tragic, scarred and beautiful. He's a writer, and he's a total asshole when it comes to emotions. I appreciate this.
Some of my favorite cruel quotes (directed towards Shuichi Shindou, his "lover?") from Yuki-san (many from the manga rather than the anime):
"Moron, moron, moron!" That's pretty ubiquitous.
"You're boring when you're not acting stupid... but you're even worse when you're trying too hard. If you want to get all emotional, then go someplace else. Take some Ritalin. I don't want to hear you bitch and moan." (Track 7)
"That day I met you, out on the street... I should have just backed my car up and killed you." (Track 26)
""Now that's the self-centered drama queen I know. That self-sacrificing bullshit was as dull as dirt." -(Track 30)
Eri Yuki is a dick. A total dick. But he's funny. And he does do the right thing. And once in a while he pulls out a charming confession like this one:
"It's hard to be truthful sometimes. I respect that you [Shuichi] can always be so honest. I don't know if I can be that way, but I'll try. So... don't ever leave me again. It's inconvenient not to have a hole to fuck when I get in the mood." (Track 42)
Or this favorite of mine:
"Get over it. This is just the way I express my love." (Track 54)
He's like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights if Wuthering Heights centered around a wannabe pop star and a romance novelist.
Color me smitten kitten.
Ouran High School Host Club is not only adorable, more complicated than one might expect (it hits on some very profound psychological and emotional issues in very subtle ways), and worthy of watching/reading, it's also very dear to my heart in a very specific way. Ms. Shakespeare and I bonded over the anime of Ouran High School Host Club; as soon as the fanslation of Ouran hit Youtube one of us would call...our voices full of squee! It was usually a Thursday afternoon, when the dedicated fansubbers of the world appeased our growing desire for the SNAFUs of Ouran High School's wealthy harem of charming young men (and one girl in disguise). I have never seen such dedication and speed in translation; Ouran ran very late on Tuesday nights in Japan, and by Thursday (with some exceptions) we would usually have a fresh episode to watch...just a few days after our squee-filled Japanese peers. When Ouran went live we ran home after school/work met at Ms. Shakespeare's house and huddled around the small, laptop monitor...nearly bouncing out of our chairs at the kitchen table. We chain smoked (something we have both ceased to do), drank diet sodas, and paused often to comment on what was happening on the screen, as the sun went down over our oddly eclectic Michigan neighborhood. When Ouran ended, we cried (we cry a lot), and squeed (we squee a lot) and praised Bisco Hatori for her utter cuteness while lamenting that this was the end of our love affair with the characters who populated the 3rd Music room of Ouran High School.
Ouran was our obession for twenty-six episodes. When the series ended, I started in on the manga, ongoing in Japan and in it's 11th issue in the U.S. I'm a big fan of both versions of the story (and they are very different), but I'm focused more on the manga version right now, because it allows me a little more time and depth with the characters I love. Ms. Shakespeare is a big fan of the anime version, because it has a very tight and effective story arc and seems very self-contained.
I propose a debate...Ouran v. Ouran, Anime v. Manga! But first, an overview:
The series (summary from For Richer or Poorer (FROP)," an Ouran Fanclub Website, courtesy of VIS): In this screwball romantic comedy, a poor girl at a rich kids' school ends up working for the school's swankiest club—and gets mistaken for a boy! One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the "Host Club," a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.
Essentially, the series is a gender bender/male harem situation...the main characters each represent some anime/manga-typical "type" of swoonworthy fella.
Main Characters: Tamaki Suoh--The "king" of the host club, an over-the-top, half-French, prince character with a fragile heart of gold, who despite his intelligence and grace is actually much more of a goofball and klutz than he is debonaire. Kyoya Ootori--The "shadow king" (or "mother") of the host club, a caluclating, determined high school student from a very wealthy and powerful family. Despite his forbidding air, he has a tender side. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin--Twin trouble makers who use their bond with one another to their advantage in order to keep their distance from other people. They see other people as "toys" and certainly tease, taunt and create mayhem, but secretly they harbor deep feelings for their friends and not just each other. Mitsukuni Haninozuka, "Hunni"--a high-school senior whose outward cuteness ("a loli-shota") hides brains, martial arts skills, and the fact that he's actually the oldest of all of the host club members. He shares a bond with his cousin, and best friend, Takashi Morinozuka. Takashi Morinozuka, "Mori"--the strong, silent type. He is quick to defend his friends, is very thoughtful and very emotional despite his tough outward appearance and constant silence. Haruhi Fujioka--The bluntly honest hero/heroine of the group. She attends Ouran on scholarship, is the top of her freshman class, and is brutally oblivious to things a "normal" girl might desire or notice. She is stubborn, androgynous, practical and independant...and she's hiding the fact that she's a girl.
So, what makes this story different or interesting, it's the characters, nothing more. There are no evil aliens to defeat, there are no psychic powers, no real love story to speak of (until perhaps the later chapters of the manga)...it's a story about teenagers with obstacles, despite the opportunities their wealth, intelligence and familial power affords them. For some of these characters the obstacles are emotional; for others they are circumstantial, based on family, status, goals, and/or desires. Oddly, although this manga/anime is about a group of friends, what it discusses the most is an idea of family. Other big themes in the series center around individuality, loss, and success. The themes themselves are addressed honestly, and realistically, despite the fantasy world of wealth and priveledge in both verisons of the story.
There are some differences though between the two mediums of Ouran...and if I can get Ms. Shakespeare to agree to a debate, I'd be most pleased.
I was originally going to go with Hana Kimi a sweet, gender-bender manga about a Japanese-American girl, Mizuki Ashiya, who secretly attends an all boy's school in Japan in order to be near her idol, track and field star and high-jump champion, Izumi Sano. So, she, as fate would have it, is assigned dorms with Sano, and falls in love with him. Sano, early in the series, realizes Mizuki's true gender and falls for her as well. Neither wants to reveal the truth about the situation, for fear of losing the other person or hurting their close friendship. There are a lot of super cutey moments, a lot of close-calls and a lot of comedic situations. I would LOVE to see this manga made into an anime, but unfortunately/fortunately it has already been televised in two (YES, TWO) different live-action versions. The first version, the one I've seen, is Korean...it isn't bad at all, and Ms. Shakespeare, is quite fond of it. I have not yet seen the second version, the Japanese live-action drama...but, just from the photos of the cast, I have to say: "GOOD LORD!" The super-hot bishonen cast makes me feel a little wrong...because I'm old and lame. Despite the two live action versions of this manga, I'd like to see an anime, but I won't get one...boo. So, I have to redirect my answer to this question in a more likely way.
To be honest, the mangas I'd most like to see turned into animes will not be turned into animes...ever. They're pervy, or too graphic. It's the kind of girl I am. No one is going to make Desire(Too young) or Fake (there was the one episode, mind you)or La Esperanca(too young, and too catholic) into animes...although they should.
So, I feel I must be realistic; the manga I'd most like to see turned into an anime is going to surprise at least one person...I'd like to see the American manga Bizenghast turned into an anime.
Bizenghast is one of those rare American mangas that has been embraced by Japanese readers, it is published by Tokyopop, written and illustrated by M. Alice LeGrow. It's a strange little story about a "sick" girl, Dinah, orphaned (as many manga/anime/disney characters are) and being raised in seclusion by her aunt (and an especially creepy caretaker) in the abandoned town of Bizenghast, MA. She is troubled by delusions and/or sees ghosts depending on who's interpreting her "fits." Her only friend is the adorably prince-like Vincent. The two come across a mysterious cemetery and mausoleum in the middle of the night after escaping from Dinah's locked room and become accidentally bound into a contract to appease the souls locked in the mausoleum...the price of breaking the contract is Dinah's death. The story itself isn't written very well, but the artwork (something I do appreciate in manga...I won't read a badly drawn manga, it drives me crazy!) is amazing. The style is a very opulent Gothic Lolita style, with a bit of steam punk and Victorian thrown in for good measure. LeGrow's costuming and architecture is gorgeous, and I think it would make a stunning anime. Tokyopop has already created a stop motion, picture-book sort of anime short of this manga.
Is it great? No. But it would be pretty.
But, I feel bad about picking this manga in a lot of ways...why not pick something I'm absolutely in love with? Well, because the things I am absolutely in love with are a bit too much for the general public, and I don't want to back something that would be nc-17.
Other possiblities I considered:
Because it's sooooo cute and sweet. No sex, no violence, just a girl alone in the world.
Two boys working for a drug store/psychic investigation firm. This is an unfinished series by Clamp...oh, I wish they would finish it; the stories are really very interesting and the series ended abruptly after the third volume. and
Why not? Who doesn't like a good gay-romance, ghost hunt, comedy/drama? I do like this series, and I think it would be cute as an anime...it's not sexually explicit and it is full of funny misunderstandings and sweet moments. My suggestion for the next discussion: Ouran High School Host Club--Manga v. Anime
Waaaaaaah! Okay, it turns out that my squee-filled swoon for Fake may or may not have been premature in some respects. I've been doing fangirl research, and the good news is that there are 5 ? chapters, officially, of a bonus story...I've found four in fanslation. These chapters, entitled Fake Second Season, are running in the Japanese magazine Hug, but because of the author's sudden illness (Matoh is fine...I researched that too), it has been slow arriving. There is also a new reprint of the original Fake already released in full in Japan. The original 7 issues of the series have been reprinted in 5 issues with new side-stories in each one. There is no english language release date for them yet, but they are new...and the series is popular, so I'm crossing my fingers (but not holding my breath).
Here's my review of the Hug magazine fanslations of Fake II: First, it doesn't matter...I love it. I'll be honest, I just don't care how good or bad it is, I get to see Dee and Ryo again. But, I will try to be critical with this review, so...complaint one: not enough flirting! The nice thing about the original was that no matter what dire situation the characters were in (gang warfare, serial killers, etc.) there was always time for a sexual innuendo, or some act of agression on Dee's part. Although a bit of the flirty humor is still there at times, it doesn't tease at the edge of the story like the original. Perhaps it's because the orignal storyline felt so complete in many ways? Is this why there isn't that hint of will-they/won't-they? I don't care that they have...I just want more of it. The characters were so completely developed and real in the original incarnation...I want something more than just a detective story (although it was good), I want to see their relationship as well. When the series left off, everything was brand new, I want to see the compromises and attraction of a new relationship. I want to see the uncertainties of Ryo, the adamant insistance of Dee. This is what I loved about these characters and it seems that this is what was left out of the new series...so far anyway. That said, there was a kiss, and I screamed and ran through the house back and forth for two minutes before returning to look at the next page. Oh, thanks to the manga-powers that be for a new Dee/Ryo kiss. I was damn-near swoony. (Perhaps I'll post soon about why Dee is the man of my dreams?) Ah, lest I get too far away from criticism and back myself into a fangirl dream corner, let's continue.
Matoh's style has changed; her characters, which were always very angular and over the top in terms of style and dress (lush and grapey? Always with the grapes! Grapes everywhere!), have somehow rounded? Now, as I was reading I could hear the imagined grumbles of one very smitten Ms. Shakespeare, but I actually like the new style. The rounder faces are cuter. Even Ted, Drake and JJ, the constant sidekicks, are cuter. Despite the style-change, all of the characters are instantly recognizable. Dee is Dee (Mr. Wonderful)--Ryo is Ryo (Sandra Dee). Matoh has taken the time to make us aware that no amount of time has passed since the last chapter of the original and the new series...I recognize outfits, rooms, everything. I recognized the couch they sit on and the shoes...ah, the very shoes tossed to the floor in the last chapter of the original series (and with that I'm on the verge of a fangirl meltdown again).
In all honesty, it doesn't matter, I'm in some sort of hopeful delirium at this point and nothing can sway me entirely from the flitters of squee that envelop me. I can only hope that there are more chapters to come.
In the meantime, there are 7 issues of Fake on my shelf beckoning me to start all over again. Then I'll write a real review of the original series (Dee heavy, of course), and ask Ms. Shakespeare to do the same. This is a very interesting and complex series, and a groundbreaking work in many ways--at least in terms of yaoi. No series that I've read has really done the same sort of things Fake has done...I don't know if they're afraid of breaking with what is now a fairly formulaic approach to yaoi manga, or if this is just SO different it's in a class by itself? There is certainly something very different about it, from the characters ages (these are 30 something cops), actions and reactions, to the very serious and realistic (no robots) situations to the artwork (angles are strange in this series) and dialog (very convincing)...there's a lot to be gleaned from this series. And no matter how many times I reread the originals, I always find something new and interesting in each read.
