So, Right Stuf is up to something, and they've issued a press release on it, but even I don't know the details. Suffice it to say, you can win stuff, and it looks like they'll be announcing a new license to boot-- so we can't go wrong there, can we?    PRESS RELEASE: Right Stuf & Nozomi Entertainment New License Countdown & Crack the Code Contest at ComingSoon.RightStuf.comRight Stuf & Nozomi Entertainment New License Countdown & “Crack the Code” Contest at COMINGSOON.RIGHTSTUF.COM License to be revealed at 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 WHO:    Right Stuf, Inc.’s Nozomi Entertainment WHAT:  New License Countdown and “Crack the Code” Contest The timer is live with a twist! Crack the code, discover the password and possibly guess the latest license! (It’s also a chance to win RightStuf.com gift certificates!) WHEN:  Kick-Off: Monday, March 15, 2010 Contest Entries Due: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 4:15 p.m. EDT / 3:15 p.m. CDT / 2:15 p.m. MDT / 1:15 p.m. PDT License Reveal: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5 p.m. EDT / 4 p.m. CDT / 3 p.m. MDT / 2 p.m. PDT WHERE: Visit comingsoon.rightstuf.com (   http://comingsoon.rightstuf.  ) and the following areas to take part in the countdown and game: RightStuf.com and Nozomi Entertainment news pages and RSS feeds. Twitter:  http://twitter.com/animetoday  Right Stuf on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ The ANIME TODAY Forums:  http://www.rightstuf.com/ And various locations around the Internet! WHY:  Previous countdowns revealed the fourth season of Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru), ARIA, Junjo Romantica and Antique Bakery. What will this countdown reveal?  ABOUT RIGHT STUF, INC.Currently celebrating its 23rd year in business, Right Stuf, Inc. was one of the first players in the U.S. Japanese Animation ("anime") industry, as both an anime producer/distributor and a retailer. Right Stuf works to promote knowledge of its own products, as well as the anime and manga industry, in general, through its online storefront at RightStuf.com and a variety of media including podcasts and special publications. Nozomi Entertainment, Right Stuf’s production division, is dedicated to the highest quality releases. True to the Japanese word that inspired its name, Nozomi’s focus is on “what fans want.” By focusing on a limited number of anime properties each year, the Nozomi production team ensures each release receives the care and attention to detail it deserves. From anime classics like Astro Boy, Kimba and Gigantor to modern comedies, dramas and favorites such as The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, His and Her Circumstances, Gravitation, Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars, Ninja Nonsense, The Third: The Girl With the Blue Eye, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Maria Watches Over Us, ARIA,Gakuen Alice and Rental Magica, Right Stuf and Nozomi Entertainment produce quality programming for fans of all ages and interests. For more information, visit  www.rightstuf.com  and  www.nozomient.com .       Antique Bakery First off, there's a countdown to the licensing announcement, which will be revealed on Wednesday, March 17th at 5pm CST (3pm PST/6pm EST), which is pretty standard fare-- past announcements revealed in this fashion have included Antique Bakery and ARIA.   But then there's a twist: on the Coming Soon countdown page is an audio clue-- the first of many that will pop up on the same page, the Anime Today podcast, Twitter, Facebook, and "various locations around the Internet" that will give you the info you need to break the code and guess the license. The first person to guess right will get a $100 gift certificate to RightStuf, and four runners-up will get $25 gift certificates.  I gotta tell you, the audio clue is pretty mystifying to me. I have a few ideas for what it might mean...how about you? And while we're at it, what do you want the license to be?
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You’re still as meaningless as parsley, Baka to Test, but at least you’re amusing meaninglessness. You might wallow in reference humor like Seitokai no Ichizon or Family Guy, but you have a few points in your favor that they don’t. You ape off of anime that’s actually good, unlike Ichizon (Strike Witches and Marimite? Really, Ichizon? Making [...]
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This episode was pretty damn funny in my eyes!!! hahaha The gang starts off as is they’re on a mission – looking gakkoi and all but OBVIOUSLY it’s just a practice!! Aaaaah!! I loved how Filicia managed to slip in afternoon tea into the episode!! Suddenly it made me think of Marimite and Strawberry Panic!! [...]
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With this third season, I’m completely sold on the Maria-Sama ga Miteru franchise. The first season took a while to get going, while the second dragged on a bit too much in its second half, but this series of OVAs is perfectly paced, making for five excellent double-length episodes. This season is all about character-development. [...]
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Noto~~!! <3 Another year, another time to wish Noto happy birthday again. The past year has been pretty Notoble, with her voicing a few roles she has voiced before in sequels, namely Notozaka Haruka in Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza and Toudou Shimako in Marimite 4. But her new roles were also awesome, with the most [...]
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Some surprising (and not so surprising) news has been popping up recently- The new collaboration between Ikki Tousen Xtreme Xecutor and Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Tairan looks pretty interesting- and it really makes all the sense in the world. So far, it only seems to mean that the two series are sharing the same website (PVs for both series are up), but it'll be interesting to see if anything else comes out of it. (What if more titles tried cross promotions with other, similar titles? Aoi Hana season 2/Marimite? Octave/White Album- or any other music-related romance title about disaffected young adults? Kuroshitsuji/Hayate the Combat Butler?) Plus, a new character trailer for Working!! is up, focusing on Kyouko the manager. (Which means a blink-and-you'll-miss-it flash of crushiness from Yachiyo.) And thanks for voting in last week's polls, if you voted. ^^ Just to preserve the results after I remove the polls from the sidebar, I'm putting the results below. Question 1: Which yuri anime are we most likely to see green-lit next?Total number of votes: 66 The answer that I would choose: Girl Friends Question 2: Which yuri anime would you most like to see green-lit next? Total number of votes: 48 The answer that I would choose: Ugh, it's hard to pick... (Probably the reason why less people voted on this one.) I would choose Octave, though, because it's the choice least likely to be green-lit. (And it would probably have a really good soundtrack. An OP by Shes'n and an ED by *squee* Setsuko Fennel, anyone? :-) ) The total list (so far) for spring 2009 series of yuri interest is: Ikki Tousen XX K-ON! season 2 Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Tairan Working!! Out of those four, the one that I'm looking forward to the most is K-ON! (Even though, yes, it has virtually no the least amount of yuri.) BGM- "Soshite mou ichido" by Ueda Kana
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Album Title: Christmas Album – La Vierge Marie Vous Regarde Merry Christmas Anime Title: Maria-sama ga Miteru Artist: Kana Ueda, Haruna Ikezawa, Mamiko Noto, Rie Kugimiya, Kaori Shimizu, Ami Koshimizu Catalog Number: FCCM-261 Release Type: Character Album Release Date: December 10, 2008 Track List: Show » Track Title Artist Time 1. Joy To the World Kana Ueda, Haruna Ikezawa, Mamiko Noto 2:54 2. Santa Claus is Coming to Town Rie Kugimiya, Kaori Shimizu, Ami Koshimizu 2:53 3. O Come, [...]
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Strawberry Panic! was the anime that showed me the yuri genre. I didn't even know such thing as yuri anime existed. Until today, Strawberry Panic! continues to be my favorite yuri anime, I find it to be the most emotional of them all. It is also one of the Modern Yuri Trinity, along with Maria-sama ga Miteru and Kannazuki no Miko, so it's a must watch classic. No related posts.
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I now see that it’s not exactly right to call Maria-Sama ga Miteru a shoujo ai series. If you want lesbians, there’s Aoi Hana, Sasameki Koto, Blue Drop or Candy Boy. Instead, it’s more like a relation-focused drama series that just hardly has any male characters in it. The second season continues pretty much where [...]
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Yay, it's 2010! ^^ Whether you kicked off the new year with a jump-start on one of your resolutions, a hangover, a hatsumode, or all three, I hope everybody's having a good start to the new year/decade. Here's a list of my top 10 yuri anime of 2009, followed by a list of my top 10 yuri anime of the past decade. My Top 10 of 2009: 10) A tie between Ikki Tousen (Funi's re-release of the first season and Media Blasters' release of Dragon Destiny) and Nanoha (Funi's release)- Once I gave Ikki Tousen a shot, it turned out to be stupid fun (with yuri!). Nanoha season 1 (that's all that I've watched up to this point) deserves mention for how much it improved by the end, with some cute subtext to boot. 9) Saki (streaming on Crunchyroll)- What began as a boring high school comedy/drama quickly developed into a fun tournament-style title with a likeable, yuri-riffic cast of characters. My top couples are still Momo x Yumi, Nodoka x Saki, and Hisa x...uhh, Mako or Mihoko (whichever ^^;;). 8) Maria-sama ga Miteru Season 3 (RightStuf's release): I absolutely love Marimite. And RightStuf, for licensing it. :-) 7) Blue Drop- A very good, low-key sci-fi romantic drama that I didn't expect to see released in English on DVD. Go, go Sentai! 6) CANAAN: I know, I know. Besides Liang, the only yuri in this series is subtext/wishful thinking. But what yummy subtext it is. Plus, yay for having another good seinen action series revolving around an primarily female, non-school aged cast that doesn't moe-fy or "Queen's Blade"-out its characters. 5) Maria-sama ga Miteru Season 4- The fourth, possibly (imo, probably) final season for one of my all-time favorite shows. More wonderful subtext (and friendships) between wonderful characters in a wonderful story. 4) To Aru Kagaku no Railgun: For simply being a fun sci-fi action title with a canon yuri lead. (Although Saten's skirt-flipping ways and Uiharu's fascination with Tokiwadai have both pinged my gaydar as well.) 3) El Cazador de la Bruja (Funi's English DVD release): The final, most yuriful series in Bee Train's "girls-with-guns" trilogy, finally available in English! XD Yay, Nadie x Ellis! 2) Sasameki Koto (streaming on Crunchyroll): It didn't have the budget or, frankly, the same level of direction as Aoi Hana's adaptation, but it was a joy to see Sumi, Ushio, and the rest of the Joshibu finally animated, and it was simply a fun show. Plus, it was cool to not only see this series stream on AE, but also get picked up by other lesbian media sites. 1) Aoi Hana (streaming on Crunchyroll): Surprise. ^^; From the opening episode, I loved this series. The characters, the story, the art, the music, everything, pulled together by Kenichi Kasai's brilliant direction, with Ikuhara Kunihiko's beautiful OP as the cherry on top. I couldn't have been happier with this adaptation- aside from the fact that it needs a second season (like so many other shows on this list). Plus, it was very cool to see a yuri anime streamed on Afterellen for the first time. Honorable mention goes to Shin Koihime Musou (for the sheer number of yuri characters) and Kanamemo (for Yume and Yuuki, even if Haruka...well, everybody who reads this blog already knows how I feel about Haruka). My Top 10 of the Past Decade: 10) Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito: This is a crappy title with a crappy, tear-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it ending (although I've heard that the manga and game both have yuri-friendly endings). But it was the earliest yuri-centric title to air during the past decade. For helping to get the yuri ball rolling, Yamibou deserves a spot here. (Plus, I like Hazuki. She deserves a better series.) 9) Magical Girl Lyrical  Nanoha- I've only seen the first season, but since I know that StrikerS features Nanoha and Fate living together as adults, sharing a bed (when they could easily sleep in separate beds), and raising a kid who calls them both "mama", I'm listing it. 8) Mai-Hime- For being a popular action title that gave rise to a popular yuri couple, among numerous other potential pairs. It spawned even more yuri in its spin-off, Mai-Otome, and in the two OVAs that branched from Mai-Otome. Not to mention Mai-Hime Destiny, Mao-Hime (I think that's what it's called...I haven't really bothered with reading it), and the upcoming Mai-Hime EXA. (I'm trying to forget the first Mai-Hime manga.) 7) Strawberry Panic- For further cementing Marimite's influence and the pervasive "all-girls' school" trope in yuri, for better or for worse. Plus, it's a fun show. 6) Simoun: An absolutely excellent fantasy title from beginning to end that any anime fan would do well to try. Plus, the plot is wrapped up very satisfyingly (but not too neatly or happily) within its 26(!) episode span. 5) Noir: Subtext only but worth listing for its influence on the subtext-rich "girl-with-guns" subgenre, including Madlax, El Cazador, and (probably) CANAAN, among other titles. 5) Sasameki Koto- Just an enjoyable yuri-centric title that gently pokes fun at (and at times, subverts) yuri tropes and stars a likeable cast. Mega-points for not taking place at an all-girls' school (and for pointing out that Ushio tried her darndest to get into one), and continuing the trend of featuring characters who aren't simply "in love with this particular, exceptional person who happens to be a girl." 3) Kannazuki no Miko- First anime title centered around a canon yuri couple with a happy ending. (At least, I see it as a happy ending.) I'll admit my bias- even though I'm not fond of the angsty moping that makes up a sizeable chunk of this series anymore, this was the first title that I recognized as "yuri", and I was head-over-heels in love with it for quite a while. Plus, thanks to the enduring popularity of Chimeko (and Kaishaku's perennial fondness for them), we can likely expect a new yuri action anime- an adaptation of Kaishaku's Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian- within the next few years. :-) 2) Aoi Hana- Simultaneously the best and most realistic title centered around a canon yuri protagonist in the past decade. 1) Maria-sama ga Miteru: Because no other yuri title that aired from 2000 through 2009 has been as influential or as heavily-referenced as Marimite. And that's it. ^^
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