Stress Testing the Okazu-Hetero Criterion
It's odd to hyphenate the words "Okazu" and "hetero". I hasten to ground this in a primary source - Erica's post about how she responds to a yuri series - if the relationship was a heterosexual one, would she still go "Cool..." or "HAWT!" Given that I am pre-disposed to accept her assumptions about norms and aesthetics (except when it comes to Ikkitousen *puke*), I also think the Okazu-Hetero Criterion is an excellent heuristic.
Except when it comes to the first Ichigo Mashimaro OVA which Erica also enjoyed. Ok, there's no overt romance but IMHO it would still be unbearably creepy if Nobue was an oniichan instead of an oneesama. In the former case, even if Chika, Miu, Ana and Matsuri had also made the gender switch. There's just something about the way that I've been socialized that gives a lot more leeway to female-on-female touchy-feeliness. Which further reinforces my belief that Oneesamas are win. 
Such an oyaji. LOL
Enmity and Amity.
Noto Mamiko as Ana is PRICELESS.
Hell hath no fury like an oneesama who has had her job application form sabo-ed.
Lolipop, lolipop, loli, loli, loli...
Yo~~~~
Oh the perils of smoking... not lung cancer but lighting up a second ciggie before you've finished your first. And dropping your MILD SEVEN EVEN ash into your can of Suntory BOSS VOSS coffee while you're still drinking it.
Well, Nobue does press Miu's yuri button... Miu challenged her with 'That's not manly!' when she didn't push the Launch button but, of course, Nobue replies 'I'm not a guy.' Amen.
B33R IS LIFE!
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March 10th, 2007 - 00:07
Surely there are other series I like that you don’t!
I agree completely about IM. If Nobue was a guy, we’d all be squicked by her behavior – and we’d add to that a nasty shudder as we considered how hard the girls vied to be near her in states of undress.
But with IM, you have to consider that you’re tuning out all *sorts* of squickiness to enjoy it. It’s loli, (well, for me that’s a squicky thing, YMMV) it’s pervtastic, it’s well…trash.
In any case – no disagreement from me – IM *does* fail my “if it were a guy, would we be grossed out” test. I just happen to like it anyway.:-)
Cheers,
Erica
Hungry for Yuri? Have some Okazu: http://okazu.blogspot.com
March 10th, 2007 - 00:28
For some reason, I think Noto Mamiko is at her best playing very young kids like Ana here and Angol Moa in Keroro Gunso. However, Shimako in Marimite just wouldn’t feel the same if it was someone else.
March 10th, 2007 - 02:34
Well, that’s part of the POINT – that a young woman should exhibit the same behaviors which we would find familiar (or disgusting) in a male of the same age… or an older one for that matter. The show’s loli… but at the same time, it’s innocent and sweet and completely different in tone from what you’d expect given the content, sorta in the way that MariMite is different from Strawberry Panic despite them both being basically yuri schoolgirl anime.
Part of the amusement for me is seeing a young woman acting in a way that’s completely UNLIKE how we’d expect her to behave – her oyaji behavior when it came to the Matsuri nekomimi affair being a prime example. The other part is just watching ‘cute girls doing cute things’… and noting how they’re just going about life in a simple fashion, without the angst and drama that another series might try to throw in to ‘liven things up’.
And yes Noto Mamiko seems to enjoy roles like this, at least from what I heard in the alternate voice track for the OVA (seiyuu commentary track). But Ana and Miu somehow managed to get cuter in these; I suspect it’s the slight change in hairstyle.
March 10th, 2007 - 15:43
Erica : Yes, There are probably other anime series but my memory is selective now.
Somehow I find the loli in IM to be rather less disturbing than, let’s say, the nekkid transformation scenes in Nanoha. Former just seems cute while the latter seemed like gratituous fan service.
wontaek : Personally my favourite Mamiko Noto role is Shimako Toudo. She is cute as Ana, Angol Moa or Hecate or Limone but I think she was really successful in conveying a lot of depth in her MariMite role.
Haesslich : When Nobue woke up, I was half expecting her to scratch her bum while yawning. That would be really oyaji. LOL
Yeah, ’slice of life’ and ‘much ado about nothing’ 4TW. Which is why I enjoy MariMite too.
Heard the seiyuu track. Didn’t catch much except lots of ‘neee~~~’ and shrieks of laughter but, still, it was pretty good. Nice to hear people who enjoy their work.
March 11th, 2007 - 22:47
I don’t care what anyone thinks … I love this show and mmmmmmm, Nobue (despite the cigs).