it's definitely not the type of series for your typical anime viewer and no matter how much you love it I know you can't deny that lol.

I deny it, because there is no such thing as a "typical anime viewer". Even if there was, something being accessible to as wide an audience as possible is not a mark of quality - usually the reverse, in fact.

In any case, thank you Divulge for this release.

it's definitely not the type of series for your typical anime viewer and no matter how much you love it I know you can't deny that lol.

I deny it, because there is no such thing as a "typical anime viewer". Even if there was, something being accessible to as wide an audience as possible is not a mark of quality - usually the reverse, in fact.

In any case, thank you Divulge for this release.

That is a valid point, "typical anime viewer" probably wasn't the best phrase to use, and I didn't mean to imply that it's an all-powerful marker of quality which is why I didn't argue you when you said you thought it was the greatest because if you say its the greatest then it is even though I personally disagreed. That is the nature of opinion. But the whole point I was trying to make was that for the "age of yuri" to REALLY start we needed a "truly great yuri anime" and in the comment you replied to I defined that as a yuri anime that doesn't just target one or two specific niches but can be thoroughly enjoy by a wider group of people. Something like Onepunch-man which is a series that is almost undeniably great by everyone (of course, that's a generalization but you're gonna struggle to find too many people that dislike it, frankly). A yuri series like this is what could trigger the anime companies to realize "OH! People actually like yuri, go figure," and from that point there'd be a higher chance of us seeing more and more high quality yuri anime rather than just one every year or two like we've been getting. If I just wanted a good or decent yuri anime there are a couple (even though personally, I think most aren't lol), as I have acknowledged, but from the start this is what I meant (even though I failed to define it in my first comment lol) and I honestly don't think that one's been made yet even though there are plenty of applicable source materials available.
I'm happy to acknowledge that more and more yuri animes have been made recently and slowly but surely they seem to be increasing in quality and frequency so maybe that "truly great yuri anime" I want isn't too far away lol.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 4:21PM

YuriLoveFan posted:

I assure you, THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THE COMMAND, I'M ON IT LIKE BUTTER ON TOAST! lol

Make sure not to stumble while you're reading it or you might end up on it like butter on the floor instead.

YuriLoveFan posted:

I assure you, THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THE COMMAND, I'M ON IT LIKE BUTTER ON TOAST! lol

Make sure not to stumble while you're reading it or you might end up on it like butter on the floor instead.

WHOA! Suddenly, the stakes just got raised...that'd be an unforgivable waste of butter...

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 4:18PM

takemiya jin is my god

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 4:27PM

But the whole point I was trying to make was that for the "age of yuri" to REALLY start we needed

Apparently we already had three ages of yuri, according to some internet site I can't remember. So I think age of yuri is defined as 2 yuri anime and like 3 subtext ones.

And for the record, I wasn't offended by your opinion (like, what?), what Cryss wrote was pretty much what I meant. I just didn't care enough to make it undertstandable for anybody else.

Meiko's so adorable =3

This is just a normal sleepover
No, I mean, it's definitely not like I was hoping for something to happen
It's just that I wanted some new panties

Denial taken to its perfection.

I think you overvalue your own opinion a little.

Pretty sure one's own opinion is the ONLY criteria that matters when rating what one found enjoyable.

Thank you! Glad not everybody took offense to my opinion lol.

I didn't take any offense at your opinions either just thought you missed some major yuri anime out.

I'd still say SK (the anime) is a lot more yuri than Inugami. Lets face it by the end of ep1 we know - for a fact - that Kazama is an out lesbian - she is always going on about cute girls and wanting to get a girlfriend etc - and everyone in school etc knows it - and that Sumika is also in love with Kazama. We even see a kiss between those other 2 girls who ARE a couple.

In Inugami it isn't 100 % clear ANYONE's like / infatuation with anyone else is actual real yuri - partly because its a comedy and everything always has to be a joke of some sort - so we never get anyone being serious - and there's no kissing - and nobody is a lesbian that we know of for sure. Half the stuff is over the top / and couched in joke terms relating to what animals they represent too. (Its been quite a while since I watched it so I might be remembering wrong).

But you are right that SK the anime is unsatisfying on its own as it covers like about 30% or less of the manga.

I too though would kill for a straight forward yuri romance story anime without tons of drama or any wierd sci-fi elements - like girlfriends or hanjuku josei.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 5:17PM

I think you overvalue your own opinion a little.

Pretty sure one's own opinion is the ONLY criteria that matters when rating what one found enjoyable.

Thank you! Glad not everybody took offense to my opinion lol.

I didn't take any offense at your opinions either just thought you missed some major yuri anime out.

I'd still say SK (the anime) is a lot more yuri than Inugami. Lets face it by the end of ep1 we know - for a fact - that Kazama is an out lesbian - she is always going on about cute girls and wanting to get a girlfriend etc - and everyone in school etc knows it - and that Sumika is also in love with Kazama. We even see a kiss between those other 2 girls who ARE a couple.

In Inugami it isn't 100 % clear ANYONE's like / infatuation with anyone else is actual real yuri - partly because its a comedy and everything always has to be a joke of some sort - so we never get anyone being serious - and there's no kissing - and nobody is a lesbian that we know of for sure. Half the stuff is over the top / and couched in joke terms relating to what animals they represent too. (Its been quite a while since I watched it so I might be remembering wrong).

But you are right that SK the anime is unsatisfying on its own as it covers like about 30% or less of the manga.

I too though would kill for a straight forward yuri romance story anime without tons of drama or any wierd sci-fi elements - like girlfriends or hanjuku josei.

I'm aware you didn't take offense and were just pointing out some series that you felt could qualify. It's when somebody else pointed out that I was "Overvaluing my opinion too much" as if I had done nothing but rant about how stupid everybody else was when I said that lol.
And yeah, God knows I love Sasameki Koto (waited YYYYEEEAAAAARRRRSSSS and that ending was totally fucking worth it lol) but the anime just didn't really go anywhere sadly and even that one kiss you're talking about wasn't REALLY shown but more seen from afar with the backs of their heads blocking everything lol. Had it been a slapstick series she could've just been picking something out from her eyelashes lol.

So no I don't think there's ever been a truly great yuri anime.

I think Yurikuma Arashi is the first genuinely great yuri anime I've seen. It had a plot and the cliffhangers killed me when it first aired. I would call it AOTY

Well Utena is amazing too but it's not specifically a yuri anime but has yuri elements.

So no I don't think there's ever been a truly great yuri anime.

I think Yurikuma Arashi is the first genuinely great yuri anime I've seen. It had a plot and the cliffhangers killed me when it first aired. I would call it AOTY

Well Utena is amazing too but it's not specifically a yuri anime but has yuri elements.

It's no secret that I fucking hate the Yurikuma anime lol (even though I admit that it got a lot better towards the end) although I understand why people liked it. I like the manga more tbh. Also, Yurikuma is the DEFINITION of an anime targeting a small, specific niche group of people so it doesn't quite fit the anime that I'm looking for lol.
And Utena...that's kind of a weird one too lol.

Utena is indeed yuri, canonically so - as canon as can be in fact, as Ikuhara the celebrated director has been making clear for many years. Utena is its own peculiar beast in many ways, not least in the fact that its production background is one of the most transparent and well-documented in the history of all anime. From interviews, on-disc voiceover commentaries, and written essays and episode explanations in the rerelease materials, we have the clearest possible picture of what he and his staff intended to convey, and what they were prevented from conveying fully, in the series at least, by people resistant to the idea of a romance between women.

However, that does not detract from the intention, which is still clear to see in the series, and needless to say, they were given free reign with the movie. As you might expect from my avatar, Utena stands at the very pinnacle of my esteem - which should convey something of the gravity with which I put forward Simoun instead as my very highest and greatest. Frankly, if I had to name an "anime of the century", Utena would be my choice for the 20th century, and Simoun for the 21st.

However, there is another franchise that often does not get the credit it deserves for creating what we have now.

A yuri series like this is what could trigger the anime companies to realize "OH! People actually like yuri, go figure,"

In fact, that already happened. There was, right at the turn of the century, a phenomenally successful media franchise that broke all the boundaries its content might seem to impose and became an icon that helped birth yuri as we know it today.

That franchise is Maria-sama ga Miteru.

The fact is that the modern yuri genre came about in direct consequence of Marimite becoming as popular as it did. Although many (including the author herself) may claim that Marimite was not a yuri title, there is no doubt that the fandom that sprouted and branched off from it - and Utena - was instrumental in CREATING the genre as it took cohesive form in the early 2000s. Not simply thematically, but in showing anime and manga creators that there was a market for such a thing as girl/girl romance.

So whether you think Marimite is yuri or not, we have it to thank for yuri becoming what it has become: a still very niche, but established and commercially feasible area of subject matter.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 7:50PM

Haven't watched the movie myself but it's supposed to be a little more obvious about the yuri. Well, even more obvious, I guess. I'm always a little suprised as to how many people doubt the yuri in Utena.

Haven't watched the movie myself but it's supposed to be a little more obvious about the yuri.

I'd say so.

And this is not even the most passionate of their many moments, which I would not care to spoil for you. The movie is not something to be missed by any yuri fan.

I might actually have that movie lying around somewhere. Always think about watching it and then completely forget about it.
Did they switch the hair styles in the movie? I remember them having the reverse length.

I might actually have that movie lying around somewhere. Always think about watching it and then completely forget about it.
Did they switch the hair styles in the movie? I remember them having the reverse length.

At least initially yes, although Utena's hair is not actually short, it is merely braided close up against her head, and the symbolism of bound vs. unbound hair (which had important meaning in the series, as you surely know) is very much part of the role reversal that is taking place in the movie.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 8:18PM

I might actually have that movie lying around somewhere. Always think about watching it and then completely forget about it.
Did they switch the hair styles in the movie? I remember them having the reverse length.

At least initially yes, although Utena's hair is not actually short, it is merely braided close up against her head, and the symbolism of bound vs. unbound hair (which had important meaning in the series, as you surely know) is very much part of the role reversal that is taking place in the movie.

I see that on anidb, the movie is tagged as 'alternative version' and not 'sequel'. As well as looking like Utena dies, I'd ask for those mentions where the director states that stuff you say he did (along with the other people working on the series/movie) but I'm guessing it would be too much xD 39 episodes is a bit much, especially with the main two having as many love interest as they do (not implying they're sluts or anything, just saying the het is strong in that one. Seemingly.)

Whether Utena "dies" in the series is a matter for interpretation, although even if you were to say that she did, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing in the context of her departing from the strange reality of Ohtori. If you watch the series' ending, you will understand that it is a very hopeful and optimistic one. In the movie, she most definitely does not die, far from it.

As for the other, Ikuhara and the franchise's manga artist, Saito Chiho (who was in fact one of the main opponents to a lesbian romance in the series) recorded voiceover commentary for the last three episodes (37-39) in which they speak very candidly on this matter. These commentaries were included in the show's original Western release by Central Park Media, and also in the recent rerelease by Nozomi.

The movie likewise has a FULL commentary track with Ikuhara speaking over the entire movie, and this has also been included in both of the aforementioned domestic releases.

Numerous interviews by Ikuhara touch this topic, transcripts of many of which can be found here: http://ohtori.nu/creators/according.html

There is also the rerelease liner notes, which include episode-by-episode written commentary by Ikuhara, as well as essays by him and other staff members. I'm not sure if these would be available online without actually buying the release (which I of course encourage).

The movie certainly is an alternate retelling, and if there is one tip I would give to any series veteran before watching the movie, it is: "Do not attempt to plug what you perceive as holes in the plot with backstory from the series." The movie is entirely its own animal, and I council everyone to examine it and ponder it closely, because it is a very different, but quite complete, version of the tale.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 8:50PM

I see, thanks for taking the time. If anything, I'll at least watch the movie. Maybe the series at a later date, if I like the movie enough. I imagine some stuff would be lost on me without watching the series, since that is undoubtedly more detailed. But if it's standing well on it's own, then I guess it won't matter as much.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 9:20PM

Regarding the Utena movie, do not watch it on drugs. Any drug created by humanity does not surpass the weird that this movie has deep in its DNA.

Not gonna lie, a lot of the Utena symbolism went over my head because I didn't know it was such a big part of it when watching it so I only cought the pretty obvious stuff. Never even heard of Ikuhara till after watching it. Also only watched it once because it was one of the first yuri I've watched and there was so much left to discover back then.
I should probably rewatch it and then watch the movie or something. After One Punch Man.

There's totally a Utena VN by the way, set between two of the earlier episodes.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 10:35PM

By now the only way Girl Friend is getting an anime is if Crunchyroll picks it up for their Original Content. Which is not gonna happen.

This thread is so damn salty!

Commandershepard13 posted:

This thread is so damn salty!

That's what happens when someone unscrews the lid on the salt shaker.

Page 6 is the story of my life!!!!!!! And they literally look like how my girlfriend and me used to look!!! (Me: tall, curly hair. My girl: short, straight hair). And the confession is alike!! (` ☆o☆)/

last edited at Dec 21, 2015 1:04AM