Quick comments on StrikerS 17-18, Hitohira 7-12 and Aria The Animation. No screencaps as my AVIs have gone to that great big hard disk retirement home in the sky.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 16-18. I did like the way the show managed to come up with another way to nerf the old cast, besides the limiters, they used the ‘No devices in the meeting area’ trick. Of course the question then is: How can you expect them to provide effective security if they’re not armed? Anyway, it did allow the newbies to play a useful role.

Subaru going nuts was a good watch. Though, of course, my favourite moment was when Erio and Caro left the hospital room so that Subaru and Teana could have some pillowtalk in private – sub-text: ‘Subaru, even though you didn’t tell me that you’re a biomechanical andriod, I still love you.’ LOL I found myself thinking that Mai Nakahara needs to play MOAR busty- tsundere- yuri roles and that she was completely wasted in StoPani.

Fate x Nanoha rooftop hug FTW. I was beginning to fear that Vivio might not survive and that Nanoha will be mentally scarred for life but I think Maestro’s totally plausible prediction offers me some comfort in the interim. I think I may just stop for now and wait until all the DVD-rip subs are out and just read the summaries at Tenka Seiha in the interim; the comparison in animation quality is so one sky one earth.

Hitohira 7-12. I have very little to add to Kabitzin’s review and, like Hafl Texty, found that there was rather less yuri than I would have liked. But then again, I could say the latter about most series. My favourite episode was definitely episode 7 because Nono Ichinose rocks, Mirei Sakaki rocks and Nono x Mirei rocks. And also because the opportunity to make lots of Claymore and cardboard tube samurai jokes.

Aria the Animation. Healing anime par excellence. All the characters are extremely likeable and their mutual interaction is completely consistent and believable. Despite my dislike of clumsy characters, Athena-senpai is my favourite. I was roaring with laughter when her various training mishaps, particularly her failed attempt to flip the ball out of the canal. But doji-ness isn’t her only or dominant trait. In terms of character design, I have a soft spot for very tanned or dark-skinned girls e.g. Nadia, Shayla Shayla, Kagura, so Athena gains lots of points for that. As an undine, she is one of the top three Primas and is the top singer (she should meet up with Rosa Canina Shizuka) so although she’s clumsy, she’s not useless in an annoying way. As an oneechan to She Who Is Venerated by Impz, it’s great to see her quiet smile and utter guilelessness overcome Alice’s green-haired loli-tsundereness. The series (and the half of The Natural before the HDD gave up the ghost) is very enjoyable but I still prefer MariMite because I do like some adversity and conflict in me anime series.

©2012 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

Stripey and I marched into our usual loot supply depot, intent on sharing the purchase of Megami 84 – I wanted to the StrikerS comics cover and he would keep the rest of the magazine. Lo and behold, our dealer approached me with a twinkle in her eye. ‘This issue of Comp H’s you sure like one!’ I thought I could resist as I already had some psychological preparation from Shingo’s review. But it wasn’t one of the posters that caused me to swallow hook, line and sinker and open my wallet to purchase the issue. It was:

YUKI-CHAN FIGHTO! Great goddess Nagato in beach volleyball attire and sunglasses. And there’s a phonecard version of this lovely picture as a prize in one of those draws that Konata and Kagami chat about but I’m not able to participate. T_T

Lucky Star OP dance steps sequence and instructions.

Aya Hirano eats the choco corone. Besides Lucky Star mangaka Kagami Yoshimizu’s drawing of her on the back of the pencil board, there’s also a cute 4koma where Konata and Hiyori run into Aya Hirano eating (and failing at eating) a choco corone.

Mugi and Kayo. Would have liked a Mugi x Nono poster but this was still pretty sweet. There’s some hand-holding between the two old friends but there’s no indication yet that there’s any trace of yuri between them.

©2012 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.

This series made a small blip on the Yuricon Mailing List which I use as my yuri anime equivalent of NORAD early warning. Its radar signature became larger with Hashihime and Kurogane having posted positively on it. The confirmation signal for target lock was received via Kabitzin. I’ve just sped through the first six episodes, have enjoyed it and can’t wait for Starlight to finish fansubbing this series.

It’s love at first sight – or at least that’s how I explain Mugi’s otherwise inexplicable decision to join the Drama Research Club. Nono is completely captivating and AFAIK Ayako Kawasumi’s second leading yuri role since her doramatic performance as Chikane Himemiya in Kannazuki no Miko. Completely agree with Hashihime’s praise of Kawasumi’s performance as ‘godly’ – there is great gentleness and strength.

There is also an evilness which has been used to great comic effect (elsewhere too e.g. Kazumi Yoshida in the Shana-tan specials). Nono’s blase touchy-feely behaviour with the hapless Mugi reminded me a bit of Shizuru Viola in terms of her smoothness and she basically seduced Mugi into joining her club. Weirdly, her creepy mode, together with the hair style and sotto voce style of speaking, reminded me of PPD’s Ichijou! orz

I was slightly disappointed that the signs of yuri in Ep 3-4 faded considerably after the initial burst in Ep 1-2 but it returned with full (if subtle) force in Ep 5-6. Firstly, it becomes pretty obvious that Nono and Sakaki had and still have pretty intense feelings about each other. While Mugi is not the brightest person ever, she does realize that Sakaki had a special place in Nono’s heart – telling how she wonders if there is still any life in the Nono x Sakaki pairing; rival watch!

The above scene was really enjoyable – there’s definitely the yuri element with Mugi turning red over her pleasant memories of skinship with Nono. Poor Kai’s own embarrassment shows how timing can create a mistaken impression – both are red-faced but about totally different things. LOL

Nono-sama x Mugi FTW!

©2012 hontou ni sou omou?. All Rights Reserved.