Review: Girl Friends

Girl Friends is without a doubt one of the best mangas I have ever read so far. I was lucky enough to get some copies of it off of my friend to read as I was dying to after hearing their opinions about it - and the fact that it was being made into an anime, too - especially while I wait in an agonizing lack of patience for Sasameki Koto's next chapter to make its appearance.

'Girl Friends' even as a title is essentially a play on words. The story itself revolves primarily around Mari Kumakura, a shy, simple girl who goes to high school, and is consequently in the same class as Akko Oohashi. Akko has always kept her eye on Mari, but has always been apprehensive about talking to her, as Mari is always alone and didn't want to disturb her. But one day Akko just decides to go for it - and after Mari's suspicions, as Akko is 'super, super cute and popular' and asks Mari if she would like a haircut, she realizes that Akko is actually a good person and is genuinley interested in getting to know Mari. What Mari doesn't realize, however, is that she would end up falling completely in love with Akko, and face a fierce battle with her feelings in her day to day life.

Now for those of you who do not wish to spoil this manga for yourself, you should really stop reading here but be safe in the knowledge that Girl Friends IS definitely worth a read, and if you are a yuri fan, this is the perfect manga for you.
But for those of you who have already read the manga, or who are interested in finding out more about it before reading, read on...

Apparantly the manga has gone on a hiatus and will be back in May, probably because they want to think of new ideas for Akko and Mari's relationship. Words fail me to describe just how blissfully happy I was that Mari and Akko FINALLY got together, after much angst and confusion and tears, which almost broke my heart in the first two volumes. However, Akko realizes that she too has fallen in love with Mari, which leads the both of them into an even more complex situation after Mari misinterprets a kiss from Akko as to be a 'just friends' kiss.
It was at that point I wanted to scream at her "what?! How could that possibly be a 'just friends' kiss given the settings that it was given to you?!" but luckily, Morinaga Milk already figured that's what most fans would be screaming either at their computer screens or their books, and decided to have Akko say those exact words to Mari as they stay at the heart stone on a school trip (if you haven't read this manga, this will all make sense to you once you get up to volume three).
For the most part, which surprised me somewhat, I didn't actually have a preferance to either character; it was nothing like most other mangas/animes I have watched, where I have a definite preferance to one of the couple (i.e. Sumika from Sasameki Koto, Chikane from KnM, Lucia from VVV...generally the tall, darker girls, then!), but Akko and Mari were both on a par for me. I liked them both equally, which is always a good sign.
Girl Friends is a beautiful mixture of romance, comedy, and of course, slice-of-life story. Akko and Mari's relationship is a lovely one to see develop as we watch mainly Mari's crush develop into falling in love with Akko, whereas with Akko, we just see her with a sudden realization that she has always loved Mari. Well, duh, Akko, we could have told you that - from the way you used to tell your friends about how cute and adorable you thought Mari was from the other side of the room! (yes, that really happened)

So, yuri fans, if you haven't read Girl Friends, WHY NOT? It's absolutely fantastic and it's a must-read if you like yuri. And even if you don't particularly like yuri, it's a loveable manga. I can't wait to see the anime.

10/10, definitely.

Thoughts/comments? x

Review: Venus Versus Virus

Venus Versus Virus - this has to be one of my favourite manga series, rather than the anime - which was heavily disappointing in comparison to the manga. I had to struggle to get through it, but I did for my love of Lucia and Sumire, the two girls in the picture on the left.
If you do end up watching or reading Venus Versus Virus, in my opinion at least, I thought that the anime was rubbish compared to the story; so much more goes on in the manga, and there is so much more suggestiveness of a Sumire/Lucia pairing. And Venus Versus Virus is still considered a yuri, which makes me somewhat happier. It also makes me annoyed sometimes when people say "THIS ISNT A YURI! THERE'S NO EXPLICIT YURI IN, SO IT CANT BE!" Shut up, of course it can. It just means that the yuri is more subtext and less obvious than others. But anyway, onto the review.

Venus Versus Virus is the story of a young girl called Sumire Takahana, a normal schoolgirl who finds a broach that suddenly drops out of the sky. In an attempt to pick it up, she pricks her finger on one of the corners of the broach, which suddenly gives her new eyes to see malevolent spirits known as 'Viruses', but is quickly rescued by a mysterious girl - Lucia Nahashia.
During the fight with the virus, Lucia accidentally shoots Sumire with the virus vaccine, and Sumire turns into a virus momentarily and becomes a very powerful killing machine - and once the virus is killed, tries to turn on Lucia. Of course Sumire does not actually do anything to Lucia and Lucia stops her, and the two - whilst initially cold with each other at first - grow closer as both a friendship, and possibly a relationship throughout the series.

I don't want to spoil what goodies Venus Versus Virus has to offer, so I will keep this short - but personally, even though Lucia and Sumire are a little cold with each other at the beginning, I personally think that Lucia is more invested in Sumire than Sumire is with her. One of my favourite parts of the series is when Sumire meets Yoshiki, a boy who she falls in love with for lack of better words, and it is quite obvious to anybody that reads the manga that Lucia is jealous. It is never said that Lucia is romantically attracted to Sumire, but it is very apparent as the manga goes on that she does love her. Sumire does love Lucia back as well, but I couldn't say whether her feelings were necessarily romantic in return or not. However, saying that, I do think that the two of them make a fabulous couple.

As far as Venus Versus Virus goes, I would definitely reccommend the manga above the anime - the anime is really only for the hardcore fans (like myself), who will understand the characters and the initial story without expecting too much from the plot. It is obvious that the anime is primarily aimed at the manga readers as there is very little explanation of anything, except for perhaps the episode explaining Lucia's childhood (which made me very sad). Other favourite characters of mine include Ruka, an evil girl from the people opposing Venus Vanguard - the shop where Lucia and Sumire work, alongside Nahashi, Lucia's guardian, and Lola, a small blonde girl with a psychic ability - who is absolutely psychotic. Some people ship Ruka and Sumire, but god knows why. I think they would be horribly mismatched. D:
But overall, I would definitely say that VVV is worth reading first, and then watching after if you really like it. But don't expect too much from the anime, or you will be very let down. Saying that though, it really wasn't a waste of time watching it - I did enjoy it, just not as much as I'd hoped.

In the end though, Venus Versus Virus gets an 8/10 from me. :)

Any thoughts and opinions are welcome, as always! x

Review: To Aru Kagaku No Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun)

Okay, so one thing I will admit before getting this review on track - Railgun is not strictly yuri. Or, infact, there's not really much yuri at all, except for the glory of Shirai Kuroko's massive, gay love for Misaka Mikoto, the show's main protagonist. But don't let this discourage you from watching - there are moments! Just that her love for Misaka is not a side storyline. It's more just a regular occurance of happenings...if that makes sense at all. :|

Anyway, yes! Railgun is by far one of the most amazing, riveting series I have ever watched, regardless of the lack of yuri. I didn't begin to watch it for that, anyway - I wanted to watch something new and interesting, and this is exactly what I got. So for anybody who is reading this, yuri fan or not, you should definitely watch this if you like high amounts of action, pretty cool superpowers and a very intricate storyline. I sure know I do.

The plot of Railgun is a long one, and I'll enjoy typing this out if I'm completely honest. I can't wait to talk about Kuroko. I think she is solidified as one of my favourite characters from anything of all time. (Yes, that is how much I love this series.)
'To Aru Kagaku No Railgun' revolves primarily around the life of Misaka Mikoto, known as Tokiwadai's Railgun, one of only seven Level 5 students in the whole of Academy City. Academy City is a place where people go to find out their powers and if they can cultivate them into something to help out their country or themselves - anything literally from mindreading to the smallest thing, like keeping things at a constant temperature. There is also an organization called 'Judgement' which Kuroko and Uiharu are a part of, which help to serve the city against crime. Saten Ruiko, or more commonly known as Saten-san, is Uiharu's best friend and also very close with Misaka and Kuroko. The four girls have their own stories - except Misaka and Kuroko, who are more often together than not - and sometimes fillers are presented in Railgun which brings all of them together.

I love all of the characters in this one, particuarly the cameo appearances of Kongo Mitsuko, who thoroghly enjoys winding up Kuroko. Misaka is also another favourite of mine, purely because I like most others think she is quite cool, if not a little hostile - but I think my favourite if I had to choose would definitely be Kuroko.
Kuroko is the girl I mentioned earlier who has a massive infatuation with Misaka - this isn't some sisterly love, or some bullshit friendship-close love - Kuroko really LOVES Misaka. She wants to fuck the living shit out of her (as I read in another blog). And it's not made a secret of at all throughout Railgun - its quite often infact that Kuroko tries to get her way with Misaka. Molesting her briefly in the shower before she is kicked off, buying love potions to drug Misaka, dressing up in sexy lingerie, ambushing her, attempting to get an 'indirect kiss' by sharing food - you name it, and Kuroko has probably thought of it. However, the humour in which it is done makes it all the more brilliant - it leaves you laughing and it makes you ship Misaka/Kuroko (or maybe it doesn't! I guess that would depend on the person :D)

Anyway, overall, Railgun definitely gets a 10 out of 10 in my books. Amazing series, and the last episode is on tonight.

Thoughts/opinions are welcome as always.

Review: Burst Angel/Bakuretsu Tenshi

Burst Angel - what a series. A lot of highs and lows strewn throughout this show, so if you watch it (and get attached to Jo and Meg as I did), prepare to be on an emotional rollercoaster. Whilst I loved this series, it had a slightly disappointing ending for me, which I will explain a bit later on. But for now, let me recap the series of Burst angel in all of its gay glory.

The series of 'Burst Angel' (or alternatively, 'Bakuretsu Tenshi'), takes place in the near future, after a rise in criminal activity forced the Japanese government to allow citizens to possess firearms and establish the Recently Armed Police Taskforce (RAPT). The series begins with us following a young boy called Kyohei Tachibana, a culinary school student who dreams of becoming a pastry chef, and the band of mercenaries he works for - the four main characters. Jo and Meg (primarily), Sei, and Amy. We are initially led to believe that he and Jo would be the main characters, but in reality, Kyohei gets little to no screen time after the first episode. Together, the group fight monsters with seemingly glowing brains who cause mayhem over various parts of Tokyo, and usually it is Jo with her companion 'Jango' the gigantic robot who solve this all - also usually because Meg gets herself kidnapped.
However, the plot thickens somewhat and we find out that actually there is a bigger plan going on behind closed doors with RAPT - and Jo.

Throughout the entire series, personally, my favourite character was Meg. I found Sei a little hard to focus on because of the quite blatant fan-service given with her abnormally large boobs, Amy made me laugh at times and Jo was very mysterious and reserved - I did like all of the characters, don't get me wrong. Just for different reasons. Meg, however, was the one who made me laugh the most and the one who made the series quite enjoyable. I also shipped Jo/Meg like there was no tomorrow.
It is no secret in Burst Angel that Meg's feelings for Jo are obviously romantic, and by Episode 15, it is clear (to me at least, but you are welcome to come to your own conclusions!) that Jo feels the same way, even though she does not know how to show or recieve her love. Amy and Sei I felt had a very sisterly bond, which made me smile, and eventually the girls' grow a liking towards Kyohei, for his wonderful cooking.

However, now the part that disappointed me - the ending. This part is particularly spoiler-y, so don't read past here if you don't want to know the ending.

It might just be because I really wanted Jo and Meg to end up officially together, but I felt that the ending was a little rushed, and I think disappointed some of the other fans as well. In the last episode, Meg is desperate to go with Jo to help fight for her the way Jo fights for Meg, but Jo realizes that if that were to happen, it is very likely that Meg would die. So, Jo knocks Meg out for her own safety, leaves her token red jacket over Meg and runs away to her death. Which I guess sounds a little bleak, but effectively, that IS what happens. D:
Though I guess one good thing from the ending is that Meg takes it upon herself to be just like Jo - she changes instantly from scared, always-getting-captured girl into flame-haired I'll-kill-you badass. The new Meg is much sexier than the old one, and the ending also leaves room for a series 2, even though sadly I doubt there would be one.
Overall though, Burst Angel is definitely a series worth watching. The plot is a little strange in some places and there is a LOT of fan-service, but it is a very enjoyable series. Just be prepared to have your heart crushed in the end! D:

But overall, I'd give Burst Angel a 8 or 9 out of 10 on the fabulous scale. And Jo/Meg is definite yuri.

What are your thoughts and opinions? X

Review: Candy Boy

Candy Boy! This is one of my favourite series. This is the story of Kanade and Yukino Sakurai, two twin sisters from a small country town, who have gone to high school in Tokyo, and it explores their daily life and their feelings for each other.

Now, as I was in your shoes once, don't be so quick to judge this series. I initially thought "ew, this is creepy, how can they feel that way? They're sisters!", but then I watched it, and it's actually one of the cutest series' I have ever seen. Honestly, you would not feel weird watching this series at all.
There is no actual explicit sexual context at all in Candy Boy, none at all. Or at least, not between Kana and Yuki - there is also another girl involved in their story, called Sakuya Kamiyama (who personally is my favourite character), a girl who is in love witih Kanade so much that she is actually obsessed to a point where she pays Yuki in snacks just for photographs of Kana to hang in her shrine. Yes, a shrine. I kid you not.
Candy Boy is just hilarious and actually, a very beautiful short series. The OVA was so popular that a series was made for them, and it was definitely worth it.

The story? There really IS no story to Candy Boy - it's a slice of life yuri series, that literally just does what I mentioned before; explores their feelings for one another. Yuki is more open about her love for Kana, whilst Kana is a little reserved about it, but I personally believe her to have the stronger feelings in the series. Poor Sakuya, however, is left unrequited, but still provides some much needed obsessive humour to the series.
This is definitely a yuri series, and is great for anybody who loves yuri and who thinks that they can overlook them being sisters, which really once you start watching is not that hard to do at all. It really is a very good series that I would truly recommend to yuri fans, plus, it is only seven episodes long (with some funny extras which you might be able to find subbed on YouTube).

Overall though, a 9/10 in my books. :D

Opinions/thoughts from anyone else are as always welcome! Remember, this is just my opinion - I don't want to shove my review down your throat. If you have your own things you would like to say, then please by all means feel free.

x

Review: Mai-HiME

Mai-HiME was a series so epic, I cannot even describe quite how brilliant it was. Not only did it have yuri, but it also had action, other romance, subtext, magic, comedy - anything, really! It was a fantastic series to watch, and I would easily watch this series over and over. So so so good.

Mai-HiME is a story about a girl called Mai who, with her brother Takumi, has won a scholarship to Fuka Academy, and is travelling over the ocean to get to it. However, Mai has always had the ability to see a red star in the sky, but has never known what it means. This is the HiME star, which only twelve girls in the world can see; and are all consequently brought together at Fuka Academy.
Mai is attacked on the ship after meeting Tate and Shiho - two other students who will also attend Fuka Academy - by an unknown person at the time, after rescuing a girl who had been floating in the water. The unknown person is actually Kuga Natsuki, or more commonly known as 'Natsuki', who later turns out to be a very main character of the series, along with the girl that Mai rescued called Mikoto - a younger girl who has a very obvious devotion to Mai. Mai-HiME includes a lot of other memorable characters, but these three (possibly along with Tate) are the main protagonists, and all of them have very interesting things going on in their lives.

Personally, I would say that Mai-HiME is more subtext than actual yuri, but there is definite, spoken yuri later in the series. Popular pairings in Mai-HiME (as far as yuri goes anyway) are Mikoto and Mai, Natsuki and Shizuru (the most popular & one involving actual romance), and at a stretch Yukino and Haruka, though this is one-sided from what I saw.
Mikoto loves Mai's cooking and Mai herself, whilst Mai cares about Mikoto a lot. Yukino is either in total adoration of Haruka or is in love with her, whilst Haruka in turn cares a lot about Yukino. But...here's the fun part, and without a doubt one of my favourite pairings EVER. I warn you now though, this review comes with a few spoilers about their relationship.

Spoiler Alert! You have been warned!

Shizuru and Natsuki - or more commonly known as 'ShizNat', are one of the most popular yuri pairings out there. Shizuru is the president of the school council at Fuka Academy, whilst Natsuki is the cool, reserved, dark girl that nobody really knows much about; except Shizuru. But as the episodes go on, it is more apparent of Shizuru's feelings towards Natsuki, and at one point when Natsuki is injured in battle, she takes Natsuki back to a house and takes care of her there. Oh, and also kisses her whilst she is unconscious.
Shizuru goes a little off the deep end later in the series, but she makes up for it by stopping being a creep after Natsuki & her battle. Natsuki loses the fight but kisses Shizuru, admitting that she does love Shizuru, but she cannot reciprocate the feelings that Shizuru has for her - but she is happy that Shizuru loved her. When a HiME's monster dies, so does the person dearest to that HiME - and Shizuru and Natsuki, both HiME's, were each other's dearest people. So in turn, that killed off two HiMEs, sadly - though the ending more than makes up for it. So don't give up hope in Episode 25, when this all kicks off!

As well as this goodness in Mai-HiME, the ShizNat pairing was so popular that they were also continued into the second series, Mai-Otome, where they are quite blatantly a couple together and have some nice moments. But even if you just watched for ShizNat, you would still love Mai-HiME for all of its storylines and for the fun, really. So overall, a damn good series!

Overall Rating = 9/10, just because I wanted more ShizNat moments.

What do you guys think?

Review: El Cazador de la Bruja

El Cazador de la Bruja is an absolutely fantastic series. A little slow in some parts perhaps, but overall, I really really enjoyed it. I also think I developed a little crush on Nadie as the series went on. D:
ECDLB is the story of a bounty hunter called Nadie, a tall, beautiful red-headed girl who has been sent to capture a girl called Ellis, a shorter but mysteriously beautiful blonde girl, who is on the run for the murder of her guardian. However, things are not as black and white as that - Nadie gets caught up in the murder of Ellis's temporary guardian, a kind, old lady in the city she had run away to, who makes Nadie promise that she will take care of Ellis on her deathbed, and hands her a stone called the 'Inca Rose' (this is very significant throughout the series), whilst asking her to take Ellis to a place called 'Winay Marca'. Nadie reluctantly agrees, and makes a deal with Ellis - she will take her to Winay Marca to find out the events of her guardian's death and herself, and then afterwards she will turn her in for the bounty over her head.
Of course, other people try and take Ellis away from Nadie, as she has such a huge bounty over her head - though this really only occurs for the first 13 episodes. The real story starts truly kicking off after episode 14, which is really the only reason why I said it was slow. Though in saying that, without the 13 episodes, there would have been hardly any character development. So all in all, I do believe it was needed.

Firstly, Ellis's character. She originally is very naive, and takes everything at face value; much like a child. Nadie on the other hand is wise to the world, and whilst we never really find out much about her past, it is obvious that she has been through more than her fair share in her life. When she meets Ellis, it was not a 'love at first sight' moment or anything like that - their feelings for each other develop slowly but strongly throughout the series.
Like many other yuri series', there is a boy involved (yawn), but not quite as you might think. This boy, called L.A., is in love with Ellis to a point of obsession, where he will kill anybody who goes near her except for Nadie. Though a point eventually comes where he and Nadie get into a fight and he injures Nadie, causing Ellis to tell him that she hates him - because she loves Nadie, and anyone who hurts Nadie, she will kill. However, Nadie stops Ellis from killing him, and the series goes on. I don't want to say too much, because I feel like I could so easily give away the ending!

Whilst it is obvious to anyone who has eyes that there is quite blatant subtext between these two, I wouldn't say that they were canon. However, there are some very sweet moments between Ellis and Nadie - the only example I will give is one of my favourite moments, where Nadie and Ellis are put into a situation with another character called Ricardo, and Nadie is asked if she and Ricardo are married - Ellis gets extremely jealous of Ricardo, and by the end of the episode, she is the one who is determined to snuggle up next to Nadie. That was definitely one of the cutest moments I've seen.

Overall though, this series is hilarious in parts, very sad in others, and you'll probably end up shipping Nadie and Ellis like nothing you've ever shipped before. I do think that a bit of it goes slow, but saying that, it's still a series I could watch over and over again without getting bored.

Overall rating: 9/10

Let me know what you think too, guys :) x