Gen X Otaku 1971: the OG blog

His & Her Circumstances Vol 3

Finished Disc 3 of His & Her Circumstances.

His and Her Circumstances (Vol. 3)

The Volume begins with a strong focus on Yukino's new (but troubled) friend Tsubasa (pictured above).  She's having a hard time reconciling with her widowed Dad's desire to remarry,  Yukino helps her come to find acceptance of this.  Eventually she becomes fast friends with her new step-brother to be, who is instantly drawn to her and becomes very protective of her.  After the initial Tsubasa episodes, we reach the mid-point of the series, where there are 2 quick "re-cap" episodes that review all the action up to that point.  The final episode of the volume is a visit to Yukino's maternal grandfather's home, where the story of how her mom & dad met and got married is told in flashback.  Looking at old photo albums, it's stunning how much Yukino's mom in High School looked like Yukino today.  She is the same age as her mom was when her Dad first met her.  The two were married straight out of High School and had three daughters in quick succession, with Yukino being the oldest.  Grandpa still isn't crazy about the match, but loves his granddaughters just the same.  The summer is only part-way over and Arima is still away with the Kendo team.  Looking forward to Volume 4.

Started "You're Under Arrest", Vol.2

Because of a delivery screw up by Netflix, I received Vol.2 in advance of Vol.1 of the older Anime series "You're Under Arrest!" about a fictional Japanese police unit in Tokyo.  The series aired in Japan circa 1996 (and the animation style shows it), but wasn't dubbed into English until circa 2001.

You're Under Arrest, Disc 02

I went ahead and started with Vol.2 and will catch up with Vol.1 when it comes in the mail.  I figured that I wouldn't have missed much and that I could follow the story and not be confused.  Happily, this was the case.  It's a kind of "buddy cop" series.  The two main characters are a pair of female police officers who drive a souped up Toyota compact.  Volume 2 spent much of the time introducing new characters, like the transvestite Aoi who has experience with the Tokyo Vice Squad, targeting sex offenders, but whose gender bending ways cause a little chaos in the police locker room (where does s/he belong, with the men or with the women?);  Aoi is a former High School Basketball champ but has become extremely effeminate after years of undercover work posing as a woman.

The story is told very episodically and as such the sequences are probably largely interchangeable.  The most interesting episode in this volume is the final one, where the cops have to shut down a local vigilante known as Strike Man, who dresses in a cape and a ridiculous baseball-inspired costume.  One of the funnier episodes is where the unit gets paid a visit from one of the chief inspectors of the Tokyo police.  They do horribly, despite their best efforts.  However, during the inspection an emergency is radioed in...a young woman is drunk in public, has climbed a bridge, and is threatening to jump.  The unit launches into action and after a few hilarious missteps, manages to safely talk the woman out of suicide and rescue her from her perch atop a suspension bridge, in overly dramatic fashion.  The Chief Inspector gives the unit a passing grade because in the real world, he can tell they are good, dedicated cops, however unorthodox their methods at times.

Anyway, I enjoyed this foray into the fictional world of this series, and look forward to the rest of Season 1 and eventually Season 2 and the feature film.

Kare Kano, Disc 2

Made it through Disc 2 of the His and Her Circumstances Boxed Set;

His and Her Circumstances (Vol. 2)

Despite the box art, the action in Volume 2 focuses mainly on the girls in Yukino's class.  Yukino and Arima grow in their affection and intimacy, but this touches off jealousy among the other girls, who begin to give Yukino the silent treatment.  Yukino is befriended by girls in another class, who advise her that such orchestrated abuse probably has a ring-leader; This insight proves to be correct...and the leader is named Maho.  Maho bears deep resentments towards Yukino for stealing her thunder.  Maho was top notch in her Middle School, but Yukino left her in the dust.  Maho did see past Yukino's front and knew she was faking it, though.  Yukino also catches heat from a petite girl named Tsubasa, who was Arima's middle school platonic friend.  Arima always treated her like a kid sister, but Tsubasa burned with romantic longing for Arima.  She was in a terrible accident right before school started, and when she got out of the hospital found that Arima was already dating Yukino.  The two girls fight fiercely but eventually Yukino emerges victorious.  When Tsubasa destroys a photo of Yukino's that she gave to Arima, the gloves come off and Yukino stops merely deflecting Tsubasa's attacks and launches a ferocious counter-offensive that is LOL funny as it's so over the top.  Yukino also manages to crush Maho's campaign against her, but treats her graciously and eventually befriends her.  Tsubasa confesses her love for Arima but accepts Yukino's relationship with him at Arima's asking.  After the air is cleared, Tsubasa becomes friends with Yukino, almost clingy.  The volume ends with Tsubasa suddenly declaring that she's running away from home...she's unhappy with the prospect of her dad remarrying and asks to shack up with Yukino's family!  It's hinted she has something of an Electra complex...she's daddy's little girl.

Yukino's other friends from the other class are very nice and supportive, though they also have their own character flaws and neuroses...the tomboy Volleyball player is possibly lesbian and almost flirty towards Yukino, who picks up on this vibe and is a little embarrassed.  She reminds Yukino of the female version of Arima's male friend.

Obviously relationships don't take place in a vacuum, and like with School Rumble, there builds up a complex interweb of relationships between the characters...petty jealousies, unrequited love, desire, pain, rivalry, friendship....High School is a complicated time in any country, whether Japan or America.  It is noteworthy just how Japanese this story is, though, especially the hesitation to engage in physical intimacy between Yukino and Arima...they do make progress in this volume...but their trepidation with embracing, let alone kissing, will leave many Western viewers scratching their heads a little.  What is no big deal for U.S. teens still is (or at least was) a big deal for Japanese teens.  As a side note, one thing I loved about the anime Rumbling Hearts is it was honest enough to admit that yeah, even Japanese teens find a way to have sex with their significant other.  Yukino and Arima are presented with a similar opportunity in this volume, but all they do is kiss deeply and hug...for now.  Their relationship isn't that far along yet and many Anime tip toe around the subject of sex when it comes to High School dramas/comedy.  Even Peach Girl only touched on it lightly, when Sae admitted to sleeping with a guy and worrying about getting pregnant...which turned out to be a false alarm.  Momo never does sleep with Kairi or Toshi during the actual series, though one gets the impression she will eventually, with the right guy.

At the end of Volume 2, Yukino and Arima are facing a summer vacation they will largely have to spend apart; Arima is training for the Kendo Nationals, and Yukino is staying close to home and hanging out with her new girlfriends.  They know they are going to miss each other terribly, but they embrace intimately one last time before the semester ends in a meaningful embrace.  If these were U.S. or even U.K. teens, one would expect a good deal more snogging ;-)

But it's a nice love story and nice to see them weathering the stormy seas of High School together as a couple, resilient and strong.  They have a really nice relationship and each feels lucky they found the other.  It will be interesting to see if this Anime throws a curve-ball the way Peach Girl does.

Continuing: Princess Tutu (ADV Films)

Due to a delivery/availability glitch with Netflix, I wound up watching Volume 2 of ADV Films' classic Princess Tutu (2004), which is a children's anime told in the style of a fairy tale, with special emphasis on classical music and ballet.   The action is set in a vaguely central European German-speaking country (all the signs around town are in German).  Princess Tutu is the alter ego of a girl nicknamed "Duck" who is enrolled in a dance academy in the city.  She hails from the countryside and actually is in reality a duck, a bird and not a flesh-and-blood human girl.  That is a magical form created for her by Mr. Drosselmeyer, so she can live out the role of the mythic Princess Tutu.  Whenever Duck loses her confidence or becomes nervous, she reverts back to animal form.  Though with time she becomes able to transform at will.  Duck/Tutu is voiced by Luci Christian, while her rival, Rue/Princess Kraehe ("Crow"), is voiced by the lovely and talented Jessica Boone.  Duck has low self esteem and feels like the gorgeous Rue is more of a match for Mytho, the young prince of this story.  But Duck feels sorry for Mytho, who seems to be missing his heart and lacks all emotion.  Duck resolves to restore the lost pieces of Mytho's heart, but she is challenged by Mytho's male guardian Fakir (voiced by Chris Patton), and later by Rue/Kraehe who wants Mytho to remain just as he is.  Duck begins to fall in love with Mytho herself, and Duck's schoolmates suggest as much, but this always makes Duck turn red and deny everything in public.  But in private she feels her heart ache with longing for Mytho.  But according to legend, if Princess Tutu ever declares her love for Mytho, she will vanish in a flash of brilliant light and cease to be.  Duck seems resigned to just restoring Mytho without hope for herself...though in this volume she nearly gives up, because she also restores to him fear and pain, which are part of a whole human heart.

Princess Tutu, Vol. 2: Traum

Rue/Princess Kraehe, first introduced in Vol.1, takes center stage in Volume 2 as Princess Tutu's chief antagonist.  It seems that unlike Duck, Rue is initially oblivious to her alter ego persona as Princess Kraehe.  Rue doesn't want to accept that facet of her being, wishes to deny it and shut it out.  By the same token, she is driven to jealous rage by Mytho's attention to the clumsy but lovable Duck, provoking her transformation into the Crow Princess, Kraehe.  Fakir tries to keep Duck and Mytho apart but fails.  On the other hand, we see another side of Fakir when he discovers Duck in her duck form inside his locker.  He rescues the little duck and feeds her some bread and admonishes her not to return, but does so with kindness and without malice, which Duck finds confusing.  So not like the way Fakir treats her in human form.

This is a beautiful series and if I had a daughter, I would buy it for her, along with Tweeny Witches.  It's magical and wonderful...I think it would be appealing for girls aged 9-13 in particular.  It's a positive story with a positive message about believing in yourself and the transforming power of love.  It would be a wonderful anime to share with a child and use as a lesson for talking about relationships and how to treat other people.  Some of the images are a little frightening, as this anime does not shirk from the darker side of Grimm's Fairy Tales, so some parental guidance is probably a good idea in any case.  But the anime is also a wonderful introduction to the world of Ballet and Classical Music, with each episode featuring a composition at the story climax relevant to the action on screen.  The story is really sweet and endearing, along with the characters, and can be enjoyed by children of all ages, from the young to the young-at-heart.

Conclusion: Lucky Star wrap-up

Well, finally got around to finishing Vol.5-Vol.6 of Lucky Star:

Lucky Star, Vol. 6

Volume 6 actually intensifies the emotional content a bit.  There's a really tender episode relating to Konata's mother Kanata and her relationship with Konata's father (as depicted in the cover art above); the story is told through flashbacks.

Also in volume 6, the students take a class trip to Kyoto and Kagami receives a note from a boy who asks to meet her  outside the hotel at 9pm.  She blushes and it sets her heart fluttering.  She thinks about the mystery boy all day with a sense of anxiety and yearning.  The animation becomes very cinematic as the tension builds to their encounter.  Romance is in the air...but 

PSYCH!  It's just an Otaku who wants to have Kagami's key-chain doll based on a Manga/Anime character but he was too chicken to buy one himself for fear of what his classmates might say.

Konata also finds a kindred spirit in another classmate who is a doujinshi artist; this young comic book artist keeps having suggestive lesbian fantasies about her two good friends...which are hysterically funny.

I also have to mention classmate and minor character Misao; The voice actress who does her voice was evidently directed to voice her as if she were the female version of Butters from South Park.  Listening to Misao talk like Butters, with the same awkward mannerisms cracks me up every time I watch it.  The actress totally nailed it, channeling Butters in that way....from South Park, Colorado to Tokyo, Japan.  It totally works.  Misao is nearly always drawn with a mischievous dog fang in her mouth, too, not unlike the girls' homeroom teacher.

I also enjoyed the English voice cast interviews found on Vols 5-6.  In Vol. 5, they interview Wendee Lee (whose big break in Anime was playing Faye Valentine of Cowboy Bebop fame).  Wendee reveals that indeed, the Japanese actress who voiced Konata also voiced Haruhi Suzumiya (and there are multiple references to the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya plastered all over Lucky Star), so they decided to reproduce this with the English cast.  At the end of  her interview, Wendee slips into Konata's character voice and gives a special hello to the fans..."we have fans?  well, of course we do...this is an awesome show".  Vol.6 features interviews with supporting actresses Kari Walhgren (Kagami) and Michelle Ruff (Kagami's cute but ditzy sister Tsukasa).  Bandai titles usually give short shrift to the English cast, so these were nice exceptions to that general rule.  FUNimation titles, by contrast, often have English director and voice actor commentary tracks for every new volume in a series, which I prefer.

*SPOILER*  the series ends with the girls doing a cheerleading routine for the opening of the arts festival at the end of Kontata's senior year of High School, the song of which is the song used to open every episode, which includes footage of the girls practicing the routine outside in front of their school building.

All that remains now is for me to rent and watch the Lucky Star OVA from Netflix, which I look forward to.

Lucky Star makes for mindless, fun entertainment;  The more of an Otaku you are, the more you'll get out of it.

And you'll fall in love with the characters, especially the indomitable Konata Izumi.  Kari Walhgren argues that Kagami is the most well-rounded, multi-faceted and least "stock" character of the series, and I agree.  That said, Konata still steals the show, episode after episode, and Kagami is more often than not the butt of Konata's humor.

Lucky Star: The Seinfeld of Anime

I am working my way through the Lucky Star series, having finished Volume 4 very recently:

Lucky Star Vol 4

It really is an Anime about nothing.  Or more specifically an Anime about one Japanese High School girl, Konata Izumi, who is an obsessive Manga & Anime Otaku and her circle of friends who don't quite know what to think of her.  Konata embodies the "lovable loser" archetype.  She relates everything she sees around her through the lens of online gaming, manga, and anime shows...not unlike many teen guys.  She's kind of tom boy-ish in that regard, and is actually surprisingly athletic, but at the same time is too apathetic to participate in school sports.  She lives for Comiket and other pop-culture fests.  She works part time in a Manga cafe where she cosplays Haruhi Suzumiya which is a nice irony, since the same English actress who voices Konata, Miss Wendee Lee, also voices Haruhi.  It's very funny watching Konata imitating Haruhi, which is Wendee imitating herself, but as a different character.  I don't know about the Japanese cast.  There are lots of references to other anime, and I'm embarrassed to admit how many of them I actually catch.  It's really an anime for anime-obsessives, not unlike Genshiken.  The opening song is very catchy, too.  Kagami, who is Konata's best friend (along with Kagami's twin sister), is voiced by Kari Walhgren; Kagami plays "straight man" to Konata's zaniness.  She absorbs Konata's insults, tries to offer a dose of reality, and sometimes wonders why she and Konata remain such close friends despite being total opposites.  Konata is the ultimate slacker.  She's a hero in the online world, but a lazy goof-off in real life.  She even plays RPG online adventures with her teacher, who is 27 and lonely with no boyfriend and also seeks solace in the online world.  Nevertheless, she feels obligated to remind Konata about her homework and the need to study, etc, even while interacting online.  A major bummer for Konata.   This volume also introduces some new characters, such as Konata's little cousin who is just starting High School as a freshman while Konata herself is a senior.  We also meet some of Kagami's other classmates & friends.  Kagami has a different class schedule from her twin sister and Konata and the others.  She claims its no big deal, but deep down she feels pangs of separation and loss.

This anime doesn't have the emotional depth of Azumanga Daioh, nor does it reach the same level of comic absurdity as Pani Poni Dash...but it's a fun, mindless bit of entertainment, driven by dialogue; mostly to see what crazy thing Konata will do or say next, and how the others react.  Just as there was a Lucky Star parody of the Death Note opening on YouTube, there is also a Negima parody of the Lucky Star opening...enjoy!

Lucky☆Star Opening Parody (Negima)

Cosplay Complex!

Cosplay Complex

Very short, stand alone DVD with only three episodes, this feels like a pilot to a series that never got off the ground.  It's a pure comedy, with lots of fanservice, and is sort of aimed at Otaku, with lots of references to other Anime series, Manga, and video game characters that the girls all attempt to Cosplay in turn.  They are all members of their school Cosplay Association, seeking to gain formal recognition and then compete nationally in the Cosplay World Series.  They admit to their ranks a pervy Italian exchange student who is a lesbian and is also a little too fond of one of the girl's kid sisters.  The Italian girl also has the biggest bust-line.  Most of the English voices in this series were new to me, although this was an ADV Films title.  One of the final characters introduced in the very last episode sounds an awful lot like Jessica Boone, but her name does not appear in the credits, unless Jessica was using a stage name for that series.  Another sounds vaguely like Colleen Clinkenbeard but since this is not a FUNimation title that seems highly improbable...it's nice, mindless, over-the-top entertainment for an hour and 15 minutes.  I think it would have been difficult to stretch this show into a full series, though, unless it devolved into a fully fleshed out High School drama; It would've been hard to sustain interest with just one Cosplay competition after another without a longer story arc, some conflict, etc.  The epilogue after the third episode seems to be hinting at something like that, and there are clues to a deeper backstory, too, but it seems this series was not picked up beyond the pilot episode(s), which is kind of a shame, regardless.  I actually recognized a few of the Anime shows the girls were Cosplaying from, though by no means all of them.  Lots of blushing, boobs, and over-the-top sexual humor in these three episodes.  I can say that I bet the show was fun to make, for the artists as well as the actors, both Japanese and English casts.  I found out about the show from a trailer on one of the DVDs from the Comic Party Revolution! series.  Got it on Netflix and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bleach 25: Final Battles of the Bounts

Finished Bleach, Vol. 25 last night:

Bleach, Vol. 25

Lots of action in this volume; There is a bit of dissension in the Bount ranks.  Kariya plans to destroy the Soul Society completely, civilians and Soul Reapers alike, which does not sit well with all the Bounts.  Despite their virtual immortality in the Soul Society due to the regenerative energy of free reishii, several Bounts are vanquished in this volume, mostly by Soul Reaper Captains but also by the last Quincy, who manages to prevail against his Bount opponent after a hard fought battle.  Kariya remains at large, and the whole Soul Society has only 24 hours to find and stop his diabolical plot.  Captain Hitsugaya (pictured above) fights the last climactic battle of Volume 25 against his Bount opponent, emerging victorious.  Rukia remains in hospital, recovering.  Kon remains missing, living among the civilians of the Soul Society.  Only one more volume to go in this season's episodes, Vol. 26; It's been a heck of a ride up to this point, all 104 episodes so far.

Comic Party Revolution, conclusion.

Finally finished the 3rd and final volume of Comic Party Revolution!

Comic Party Revolution, Vol. 3: The Party's Over

It's an odd final volume; In volume 2 there was an interesting development where Yu seemed to show some unexpected romantic affection for the chief male protagonist, Kazuki Sendō (千堂 和樹 Sendō Kazuki^?), but it turns out this was mostly misinterpreted by him.

In Volume 3, the relationship between Mizuki and Kazuki grows, fulfilling the familiar story arc of childhood friend becoming one's soulmate in adulthood.  It is a weird couple of final episodes, as Mizuki seems to develop two separate and distinct personalities in competition with each other.  Mizuki poses nude for Kazuki as he paints her; meanwhile Mizuki interrupts them and upbraids herself.  She's determined to take care of Kazuki, because she believes he can't care for himself.  She accepts him as a Manga artist and knows his true love is manga and not her love which is oil painting. I fully admit, I really don't understand the last two episodes of this volume, which are a very weird way to end the series.  However, before the final episode, Kazuki Sendō (千堂 和樹 Sendō Kazuki^?) gets his first taste of what it is like to be a professional manga and anime artist working for an animation studio, and there are signs that once he finishes college and improves his own artwork through self-published doujinshi, he just might make it in the big-time as a full-time professional artist himself, working for a major studio.  

We learn that Kazuki tried to get into art school but was rejected and ended up attending the local affiliated college with Mizuki instead.  Basically the same group of High School friends from the original Comic Party Revolution remain friends through their college years, and keep doing the doijinshi thing on the side, outside of their studies.  Emi Ooba, as stated previously, is a more rounded out, flesh and blood characters.  She's still a ditzy b*tch who mangles language and is constantly corrected by her peers, but she does at least reveal her driving inner passion and it's believable she has what it takes to be a successful manga artist--she's not all talk, as it were, despite her delusions of personal grandeur...she does get taken down a few pegs when she befriends Asahi, the teen pop idol and true mega-star, whose fame greatly outshines Emi's own, much to her consternation.  Yu's flirtations with Kazuki are interesting, and Kazuki thinks Yu wants him to marry her and take over the family hot springs outside of Osaka, but Yu is a little embarrassed by Kazuki's misinterpretation; she just wants him to wear a ridiculous costume to promote the Hot Springs at the Osaka Comic Books convention.  Lucky for Kazuki, Mizuki remains blissfully unaware of Yu's flirtations and thus both are spared Mizuki's probable jealous rage, which would have been frightening to watch ;-)

Despite the long arc, Mizuki and Kazuki do seemed destined to end up together, and this is pretty much what is suggested by the last few episodes.  All in all, it was a good show, but I was disappointed that it ends so soon.  I could keep coming back to these characters again and again, since it is wholly a character-driven story.  If the writers had been more bold, it could have become almost a college-age soap opera...Kazuki Sendō (千堂 和樹 Sendō Kazuki^?) could have ended up dating Emi, Yu, Aya, and Mizuki in rotation, and it would've been interesting to see how each woman in his life affects his artwork through her own.  It would have been entertaining to watch him fall in and out of love with each one of them in succession.  Emi would no doubt be very high maintenance (but maybe great in the sack).  The creators didn't go that way, but it would be a great idea for a parody doujinshi in its own right ;-)

Started His and Her Circumstances

His and Her Circumstances (Vol. 1)

Began watching the first few episodes of this series.  I bought the boxed set, so I don't know if the thin cases match up exactly with the full sized volumes, but the above image matches the cover art of Disc 1 of the boxed set.

The story focuses on Yukino Miyazawa (宮沢 雪野 Miyazawa Yukino^?), a brilliant freshman girl with cute, short, red hair...Dean's list, star athlete, overachiever...but she's also kind of a fake.  She lounges around her home in sweats and is lazy, vain, and selfish, and actually on the inside is full of self-loathing and low self-esteem.  The story gets a lot of mileage out of one's public versus private "face"; a very big deal in Japan.

Yukino is cruising along happily until she meets Soichiro Arima (有馬 総一郎 Arima Sōichirō^?), whom she first despises as a rival to her classmates' praise and adulation...but since he's a guy, and she's a budding young woman, she starts to fall in love with him and is unsure how to cope with all these new emotions.  It's gratifying to watch them finally become a couple by the end of Disc 1, but there are 4 more discs to go, so you realize this is just the beginning  of what promises to be a roller-coaster ride; I'm predicting a similar story arc to that of Peach Girl, which came out several years after His and Her Circumstances (known in Japan as Kare Kano).  Yukino reminds me a little of Ally McBeal with all her inner psychological drama, shown to the audience in full color.  She's cute and sensitive but also more than a little neurotic.  As with Peach Girl, another boy is introduced to spice things up and play the rival to Yukino's affections, though it's hard to tell if he's attracted to her or to Arima!