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2009 Moment of Anime 7: The Strange Realism of Delusion

Yuri Monogatari Vol.5's only 4koma story, 'On the Road Where the White Flowers Bloom', by Sakuraike Kana is my favourite of that anthology. It is hilarious on some many levels: as a meta-comment on the world on doujinshi, the two distinct leads with two supporting charas and the dynamics between them, the ironies of in-comic charas protesting about being treated as a doujinshi pairing, the surprising degrees of understanding and tangled webs of misunderstanding and so on.

In one of the 4koma, a (female) doujin buyer shyly asks Cotton-san if her work is based on actual experience; it's a question she gets asked often because, as her circle partner (who is actually one with the experience) opines, her work seems strangely realistic to outsiders. This line reminded me of how often we describe something as realistic even if we don't have the faintest clue about the reality of what we are describing. And when the real doesn't match up to the delusion, we reject the former instead.

Another one for the project.

This review has been languishing in my WP drafts since Project Engage triggered my orders for Yuri Monogatari Volumes 5 and 6. (YM4 review) This review is still incomplete but I've sat on it for so long that this will have to do for now:

Erica previously talked about YM5, via her sneak peaks, separating them into West End and East End. The art style (and tropes) of the latter set were much more familiar to me while it took some adjustment to shift mental gears to peruse the stories from the former group. In all honesty, the West End stories by European and North American artists were not really stuff that I would have sought out on my own initiative, much less paid good money to read. But that's a major strength of an anthology which is a great tool to learn about unfamiliar stuff that would otherwise seem too risky to acquire (via plonking down cash) on its own.

Having trust in the team that put together an anthology was a definite plus; I had a mixed reaction to YM4 but it has stood up well to re-reading and manages to do the rare thing of challenging my views of what the genre was, is, should be or will be. Having followed Okazu for five years or so already, I felt that I had a rough idea what I would be getting even if I didn't know exactly. This confidence was multiplied by more information via the above-mentioned sneak peeks.

I loved the art of the first story, 'Last Day' by Sakuraike Taki, which really delivers on the 'cutely embarrassed' look. It manages to convey that feeling of the chara in the way that Morinaga Milk sends a shiver down the spine when she draws that glassy-eyed look of longing and loss in her lovelorn girl charas. The story was also a pleasant surprise, it was built up as one of those cliche-laden pieces about school girls who are in love but can't be but the whole thing (including the use of the 'Let's go' trope right at the end) is turned around deftly in what we thought was the final scene where Yuki evokes a shade of the mature Sei Satou. 'Last Day' has certainly sparked my curiosity about how Yuki and Hina will turn out two years down the road but also about this artist and her circle.

'Vagrants' by Jessie B. was an absolute scream. The entire cast, led by Jackie and Kate, were just weird and wonderful. By weird, I meant normal everyday person going off on a tangent. By wonderful, I meant that I could watch a whole TV series about these people but if they're my neighbours, I'm moving to another country. And who could forget the build-up leading to choice phrases like: 'The scent of unemployment is upon you!', 'Argghh! Your order frustrates me!' and 'The battle is ours!'

The moodiness of 'Your hair' by Niki Smith was a stark contrast right afterwards. It's one of those pieces that you have to be in the right mood to appreciate in all its detail but I haven't quite managed that yet. A miasma of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt also hung over most of 'Until The Sun Rises, Then Sets Again' by Nishi Uko but which was dispersed in the light of the setting sun and the earnestness of one side reaching out, without reservations, to the other - communicate, communicate, communicate! It just reminds of the proverbial story about a sage who was asked about the secret to a happy life and answered: 'When hungry eat, when tired, rest.' 'But everyone knows that,' sneered the questioner. 'Yes, but how many actually put it into practice?'

Other stories include:

'Emmeline's Cruise' by Grace Hume

'Rapunzel' by Susan Knowles

'The Everyday Adventures of Two Women in Love' by Eriko Tadeno

'Umbrella' by Althea Keaton

'Eternal' by Lilyshield features vampires. And vampire hunters. It's all yuri. What else can you ask for? LOL

'Rica 'tte Kanji!?' by Rica Takashima

'Love Won' by Sirk Tani

'Beginning of the beginning' by Houjou KOZ

You can order Yuri Monogatari via the Yuricon Shop.

Related posts:

1. 2009 Moment of Anime 2: End of KugiRie Hate (But Still Full of Hatred)
2. 2009 Moment of Anime: Melting into the Fandom of Miku Hatsune
3. 2009 Moment of Anime 3: The Call of Duty