you really think so?
For the longest time, I’ve resisted buying Taiwanese R3 parallel imports in the glorious democratic people’s island paradise republic of Singapore. But with GENEON USA giving up the ghost, I’ve given up hope of an R1 release of Maria-sama ga Miteru. And my resistance has cracked after two longstanding concerns were addressed. And so, I asked my good bro Stripey to procure the first season and Haru DVD sets, which he has for a total of SGD 150 (approx USD 100).
Within two hours, I was literally left with just enough coins to get a train to the nearest Citibank ATM. orz
TBC [Edit: Updated at last!]
Notebook display still fubar but rewatching the MariMite OVA has lifted my grumpiness enough to post on it. Firstly, Erica Friedman’s notes on the novel really helped me to understand the raw and to enjoy the story so much more. Okazu is THE ultimate yuri anime/manga blog.
There are probably going to quite a few Hannibal Lecter jokes about the title of this OVA but the lambs come off pretty well. I’ve often wondered at how I’ve been able to enjoy the first and second seasons even though I disliked Sachiko (though I could understand why Yumi adored her). I was really a little worried about how I would have approached this Sei Satou-less anime but Sachiko has grown as a character.
It also helped that she looks a lot less evil (compared to her fugly eyes in season one). I was pretty shocked to discover that her seiyuu was none other than Miki Itou who voices Asa Shigure in SHUFFLE! I only realized this when listening to MariMite soundstage clips and scratched my head at how Sachiko sounded weirdly Asa-like. Apparently, Itou’s Asa voice is much closer to her natural voice. As a result, even more kudoes to her for voicing Sachiko so effectively - just listening her speak makes me mindful of my posture.
Really nice to see Yumi x Sachiko move beyond Yumi angst and Sachiko insensitivity. There’s still bits of it, like how Yumi’s fleeting dismay and puzzlement by Sachiko’s question of whether she wants any one to join them at the summer house - ‘I’m not good enough, on my own, for my Oneesama?’ vs ‘Sooo jealous of Sei’s rapport with my imouto’ respectively. Excellent teamwork during their showdown at Great Grandma’s birthday party and then Sachiko teasing Yumi about her loach scooping performance at the conclusion. Youthful innocence and great-grandmotherly curmundgeon triumph over spoilt rich biatches. Huzzah.
I was a tad disappointed that the bits in the novel that didn’t make it into the OVA. E.g., Mrs Fukuzawa’s ‘marrying off’ Yumi to Sachiko which I found hysterically funny. Looks like some things in Lilian don’t change across generations. Oh, I did think it was a pity that Sachiko didn’t shag Yumi senseless now that they’ve finally established a sort of steady state and plenty of privacy but not at all surprising. And for that kind of thing we do have StoPani. LOL
tj_han86’s comment that Mamiko Noto is the worst person to pick for the lead role of Masane Amou in Witchblade reminded me of Moyism’s wish that she wouldn’t get typecasted so much. I’ve only seen one episode of Witchblade and am feeling wishy-washy: it’s not a complete disaster so far and there’s potential but I’ve yet to be convinced. (Feedback from those who have seen the ten episodes so far?) Overall, Ms Noto’s voice and history of roles appears to severely constrain her possible roles, but I think that her range wider than what most of us assume it is and if she pulls off Witchblade, it will further increase her already large fanbase and widen the choice of roles available to her - which I think is no bad thing. Continue reading ‘Mamiko Noto: Typecast or Miscast?’
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