A few posts ago, I wrote my review/ impressions on Gokujou Drops, which at the time had two volumes out. Retrospectively, I actually had really good timing, as four days after my post, volume three of Gokujou Drops was released by Ichijinsha.

Obviously, I was elated to hear about the news. There were also some preview images of Gokujou Drops chapter 18 floating around (I guess they are not really previews anymore since it has been released). Anyway, I thought I would share some images.

If you have not read Gokujou Drops, it is a really good yuri manga, one of the best in fact. I also think this is a particularly good introduction for those who do not generally read or watch yuri to slightly ecchi material. Without being way too hardcore Gokujou Drops instead leaves the readers with a nice, heartwarming, but slightly naughty story.

Looks like it has gotten some fun action, and as always, molestation of Komari.

Also, I think we may find out more about Komari’s necklace and Yukio’s brother.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to scanlations of this. If Wings of Yuri picks this up, I hope she allows me to be the editor again.

Thanks to @EcchiYuri for tweeting out links to the preview images and to Akira, who told me about the release date.

Regular readers of this blog are probably no stranger to hentai. In fact, you may have seen a few regardless of your gender, and you definitely know of the perversions in the world of anime, manga, eroge, and especially doujin. However, to many non-anime watchers, their first thought to hentai is probably, “WTF, cartoon p0rn!? Disgusting… No thanks, I’m normal and I like normal real p0rn please.”

It is often hard to justify watching hentai to those unexposed to it.

However, hentai certainly does have some merits over live action in certain aspects. First, most hentai actually have real stories. Be it about true romantic love between two individuals, or a ridiculous harem of classmates, or even the systematic breakdown of a woman, anime undoubtedly have more depth. They make you care about what (who) the characters are doing. Comparatively, live action p0rn has no real plot beyond, “I’m here to deliver a package. Cue the sleazy jazz music.” The audience are never invested into the characters as much as when watching a good hentai. People often say that sex is much better with the person you love. I suppose that extends to pornography as well.

Secondly, budget is not as much of an issue in hentai as it is in live action. With live action, cost is much higher with a larger cast and more renowned stars, and thus good adult films are often limited by the budget. Most productions will find it hard to produce a harem of beautiful women, and ultimately sacrifice both storyline and character qualities due to financial concerns. Obviously with hentai, this is not a problem. In addition, without much more effort and cost, anything can be made into reality simply by drawing it out. Hentai can therefore theoretically cater to a larger variety of fetishes and even the darkest desires of any audience. From the absurd futas to tentacles, loli sex to extreme sadism, anything is possible.

Further, we all know Japanese people have the wildest imaginations. (And they are really really weird)

Underage lolis

Armpit fetish!?

Demon sex…

And the infamous tentacles, a staple in hentai.

Although this imagination is a pro for hentai, I suspect these are also the reasons anime has such a bad image in some people’s minds.

This blog entry was prompted by an article I read in the weekly Konshuu published by my school’s anime club. Despite my and others’ disdain for anime clubs, I still drop by once in a while for five minutes to try to win weekly prizes. I usually pick up an issue as well, which admittedly often contain quite entertaining articles.

Here is a link to the issue: Cal Animage Alpha Konshuu vol. 32 issue. 10
The article is on page 4, “Why Hentai is Better than Live Action P0rnography?” by Britt
The file size is a bit large for a pdf, so yea…

Anyway, do you watch disgusting weird cartoon pr0n?

Being a huge fan of yuri, I am a voracious reader of yuri manga. Among the hundreds of one-shots and series I have read, Gokujou Drops has been by far one of my favorites (if not the favorite).

Maezono Komari attends a rich all-girls school and somehow ends up living among the most elite members in a prestigious dorm. She quickly becomes a servant to her roommate, Himemiya Yukio. Gokujou Drops follows the development of their interesting and loving relationship.

I absolutely love Gokujou Drops. Every single chapter is full of action, fun, and emotions. It does more than just showcase ecchi yuri. It also has a delicate plot that actually makes the readers care about Komari and Yukio-chan’s relationship. There were many moments when I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next chapter, wondering how these two will resolve their misunderstandings.

I really like Hadzime Mikuni’s style and the character’s pretty faces and slender proportions. Yukio-chan is just so cute; I think she is the reason I started to love hime hair cuts. Further, they all have very lovable personalities. Komari’s straightforwardness, sensitivity, and slight masochism pair really well with Yukio’s oujo-sama, tsundere type. The other members of the dorm all have their own distinct flavor as well. Anyway, Yukio is super hawt.

Seriously, how sexy is Yukio.

Of course, the ecchi parts of Gokujou Drops is nice too. It is not overdone or too hardcore. I really appreciate the softness and tasteful yet arousing. This is such a guilty pleasure…

Gokujou Drops holds a special place in my heart also partly because its my reason for starting manga editing. There are two volumes out so far. I am really looking forward to volume three. Translations can be found on Wings of Yuri.

Recently, after watching the pilot episode of Black★Rock Shooter and coming upon a playlist from a friend, I have become completely immersed in a lot of the music associated with Vocaloid. I consider myself to have quite an eclectic taste in music, ranging from, light rock to new age, hard metal to hip hop, or classical to trance. However, I had never imagined that I would find synthesized voice so………. sexy? Anyway, I have been looping these for hours on end,

[supercell] Hatsune Miku – 初めての恋が終わる時
Composed by supercell

[supercell] Hatsune Miku – 嘘つきのパレード
by supercell

Hatsune Miku – サイハテ
by Kobayashi Onyx

Kagamine Rin – すすすす、すき、だあいすき
by JevanniP
This video is just too cute.

By the way, Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid are quite a fascinating cultural phenomenon and present a really interesting aspect of fandom, but that is a discussion best left for others.

Every blogger has her own own landmark. Some at 10,000 hits; some after a year. I chose to make a post at my 100th post to reflect back on my blogging experience over the past two years.

I think more than anything, the visits and the comments make the core of the blog. The opinions, feedback, questions, and random rants from the various people are my motivation for continuing to write out entries. I take every comment and hit to heart, and I offer you my sincerest appreciation. So thank you.

Reading my own posts, I realize that many of my posts are actually quite uninspiring. Indeed, that is what one would expect from a listless blogger. Unlike my fellow bloggers, I do not have the snarky and witty writings nor the flamboyant arrogant charm. I do not take cute and creative photographs. My reviews are hardly all that interesting or critical, and my shallow posts almost never probe the mind or allow one to look deep inside the self, society, and culture. For those posts, simply check out the sites in the links section. Rather, my language tends to come out as boringly polite and flowery. However, I do still somehow take a bit of pride in what I have written, and I am glad many of you at least read a few words.

Perhaps for the next hundred posts, I will be a little more funny, edgy, controversial, and inquisitive without sounding either like a douchebag or a pompous prick, which far too often have I seen many blogs become. Of course, I will have great blogs to draw inspiration from. So I would like to thank all those blogs and sites that I follow.

Now, everyone is interested in the statistics.

Although I have been blogging for two years, I only switched to wordpress.com about a little more than a year ago (June, ‘08). That’s when the statistics start.

Top posts

I started Listless Ink intending to detail my life. Somewhere along the way, it became anime centric. Then later, the blog shifts its direction to focus even more specifically on yuri. Even though the blog has differed from where it began, I still love where it is at today.

Top searches.

Most are generic anime, manga, or yuri searches. I do not usually get really funny, weird, or creepily awkward search terms such as “cripple f_cking” or the likes.

Referrers

Thank you so much, Shijima.
And thank you, all who have linked me or added me to their blogroll.

Lastly, I want to again thank all the lovely readers. I would also especially like to thank those who have visited and commented regularly. You know who you are. Without your support, I do not think I would have ever gotten to 100 posts.Thank you for making Listless Ink such an enjoyable experience. I love you. ^ ^

To many yuri fans, Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo is a series of visual novels that quintessentially define the genre in terms of eroges. Further, the franchise has since its inception grown to such popularity and success to branch into many differnet mediums, including light novels, drama CDs, comic strips, anime, and music albums.

On Listless Ink, I have blogged ad nauseum on Hanabira; in fact, those posts comprise of a really large portion of my views. Recently, I have gotten a few comments about the various music that appear in Hanabira visual novels and on drama CD’s. Thus, I’ve decided to make a Music Monday post.

Amai Hanazono ~Complete MIX~ (甘い花園～コンプリートMIX～) contains the theme song for all the visual novels and the drama CD. Performed by Yumi Haruna, Amai Hanazono is a nice listen. While it is a bit generic as J-Pop, it nevertheless has quite a relaxing, soft, and catchy refrain.

The album includes seven tracks, but all seven songs are almost exactly the same… I would not recommend buying this only for its music.

01 Amai Hanazono ~Complete MIX~ 4:38
02 Amai Hanazono (Game Version) 1:43
03 Damp evening Sky (Game Version) 1:43
04 Seductive Etude (Game Version) 1:43
05 Amai Hanazono (Bonus Version) 2:24
06 Damp evening Sky (Bonus Version) 2:24
07 Seductive Etude (Bonus Version) 2:21
Disc length 16:56

As for the background music for the visual novels, the main theme is actually quite an addictive tune. In fact, it is one of those songs that is immediately recognizable if you have ever played the games.

Extracted BGM sample download

I was a bit surprised that there were people interested in the soundtrack. With most visual novels, the background music tend to be overlooked. In fact, I definitely do not pay as much attention to the BGM as openings and endings, especially for visual novels, hentai, and eroge. Actually, do people listen to background music in general?

Anyway, I think Hanabira 7 and 8 as well as the anime are soon to be released. Hanabira 7 in particular should be out sometime this month. (Edit: It seems that this has been delayed according to a recent announcement…) I am really looking forward to the new characters in Hanabira 8 as well. Gothic lolita and kimono. Yes, please.

Hanabira Games and Announcements

Aoi Hana begins with a chance reunion between two childhood friends, Okudaira Akira (A-chan) and Manjoume Fumi. Attending two different high schools in the district, the two girls are quick to form a group of friends between the two schools. Fumi has just recently came out of a rather emotional illicit relationship, and was soon courted by her sempai, Sugimoto. Aoi Hana tells of the drama between Fumi and Sugimoto as well as the touching friendship of A-chan and Fumi.

In essence, Aoi Hana is an anime about love. I quite enjoyed the anime’s treatment of the lesbian relationship between Fumi and Sugimoto. It is a rather understated but complex illustration of the delicate drama. Further, the romance is a really realistic portrayal of relationships, confessions, and broken hearts. Weaved into this difficult drama is Fumi’s friendship with A-chan, which is just beautiful.

As a yuri anime, Aoi Hana is really quite successful and different from yuri anime in the past. It is really refreshing to see that lesbianism is not simply written off as a given premise of the world and all girls are simply gay for each other. Instead, the anime touches a bit on the “coming out” aspect of a homosexual relationship, both with Fumi and Sugimoto. Further, there is clearly a large participation of men in this yuri drama. In fact, with Sugimoto, I personally felt like for her relationship with Fumi is a phase she is going through. Contrast her feelings with Fumi, we see that Fumi seems to be much more serious about her love.

The major characters in Aoi Hana are all extremely well developed and multi-dimensional. I really love A-chan and she is by far my favorite character in Aoi Hana. Her candid and caring nature really shines, especially compared to the shy Fumi. Fumi is also quite a lovable character, especially as she grows and matures through her relationship. I hated Sugimoto sempai. On the surface, she just seems like the typical oujo-sama figure in an all girl’s high school. However, as her relationship with Fumi develops, we see her immature arrogant nature and her selfish role in the relationship. Anyway, Aoi Hana really delves deep into the characters, and I appreciated that I can love and hate these girls.

Aoi Hana, of course, has its weaknesses. I have mixed feelings about the pacing of the series. Although the pacing felt appropriate, and I was always very into each episode, the series felt slow between episodes. Of course, once the drama begin picking up by the middle of the series, this is no longer an issue. I was also not particularly impressed with the character designs in the anime (one of the reasons I was hesitant about watching this). I like A-chan and Fumi, but Sugimoto, Kyouko, Sugimoto’s family, the teacher are all rather bland and in some cases, not very attractive.

While some of the characters may not be my type, the animation in Aoi Hana is just gorgeous. The watercolor background is stunning and soft. This faded and comfortable look is very apparent in the colored pages of the manga as well. Also, I really like the opening, Aoi Hana by Kukikodan, and ending theme song, Centifolia by Ceui.

Aoi Hana by Kukikodan

Anyway, after finishing Aoi Hana over the weekend, I immediately wanted to write a post on this intricate, subtle, but dramatic story of romance and friendship. Of course, my schedule does not permit, hence I am posting it only now. Because Aoi Hana is a very sophisticated and nice series, there was a lot I wanted to say about this series to highlight this rather underrated anime. In the end, the review still feels a bit lengthy and perhaps haphazard…

By the way, I absolutely love the ending of Aoi Hana. I’m not going to spoil it, but it is the best ending I could hope for. It was so good that my eyes watered a bit…

A while ago I watched Loveless. Despite its title, I had quite a bit of love for this anime. (Forgive my tasteless puns…)

Loveless follows Ritsuka and Soubi as they unravels the mystery behind the death of Ritsuka’s brother. After the brother has died, Ritsuka is sought out by Soubi, who claims to be a friend of Rituka’s brother. The pair are soon drawn into various battles. Together, Ritsuka and Soubi fight in spell battles, with Soubi acting as the fighter and Ritsuka as the “Sacrifice”.

Ritsuka actually looks kind of cute in this scan. Actually, in many scans, Ritsuka looks really very cute.

I thought the series is a rather nice watch. The pacing is quite slow, but that does set the tone fairly. Further, Soubi and Ritsuka are both really lovable characters. I especially like Ritsuka. The interplay and the development of the relationship between the couple are quite interesting as well.

Although the series does an amazing job with the characters, the plot certainly does get a bit convoluted at times. However, beneath all that are some really subtle complex themes and a touching story.

Anyway, since I am not watching that many series this fall, I decided to to take an opportunity to write some posts I did not got around to. Further, I recently read a review on Antique Bakery, and realizing that I actually read/ watch quite a bit of yaoi, I decided to write a review for a series I recently watched. With all the yuri on this blog, I hope this is a nice change of pace.

I started watching Saki a few days ago, and soon finished this intense, captivating anime about mahjong.

Saki follows Miyanaga Saki and her Mahjong club members as they aim for the national mahjong tournament. Saki is a first year high school student who dislikes playing mahjong, despite her astonishing skills. This soon changed, however, after she meets Haramura Nodoka, another top level player. They quickly became yuri lovers best friends. Together, they play against interesting and tough opponents along the journey to nationals.

From what I have read before about Saki, I has expected a fan servicing anime featuring lots of yuri and lots of strip mahjong teases. However, Saki is a keen and impassioned series, true to a sports anime. I grew up playing mahjong with my family, and the intensity, the anxiety, and the excitement of Saki really resonate with me. Although usually I have no idea what is actually going on, I still love watching the characters wait for that big hand (none of which I have ever seen achieved in real life). When that impossibility comes, it is simply an amazing feeling.

Further, I think Saki really does portray another aspect of mahjong quite well. In its core, mahjong is a game of skill and luck, and inevitably, the culture of mahjong involves much superstition and belief in a supernatural aspect of the game. Minor things like losing and winning streaks, tile draws, or even certain spoken words are all believed to be heavily influential to winning a round. Therefore, I love that Saki stays true to this mahjong culture in that the series does not treat mahjong as a purely probabilistic game of chance and skill, but rather incorporate elements of the “flow”.

Perhaps the best part about Saki is its characters. Saki manages to present a dozen lovely characters from four schools in relatively few episodes. More importantly, Saki makes me care about these characters. Most of them are memorable, cute, and well developed. This is really quite a remarkable series in this aspect.

I love Momo and Yumi-chin.

Finally, Saki has its strong yuri hints and moments, and that pretty much makes it sooooooo much more enjoyable for me. In fact, Saki and Nodoka, Momoko and Kajiki, Kana and Mihoko, and some other pairs are perhaps more than mere insinuations.

Nodoka x Saki is canon.

Anyway, it has been a while since I wrote a series review…

After having watched the first episode of To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, I was completely amazed. Railgun is absolutely entertaining; really cute characters, fantastic premise (everyone loves superpowers), good action animation, and a little bit of yuri thrown in there for fan service purposes make this a success with me.

I love Kuroko, especially when she attempts yuri on Mikoto.

Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian is the manga that has been rumored earlier as the next Kannazuki no Miko (Himegami no Miko). Amnesian uses the same characters, Chikane and Himeko, but a different story line. The first chapter has been scanlated by Zefiberyl. (I had personally rather wanted to edit this manga, but some other group picked it up. They are doing a fine job, and I am happy someone is scanlating this manga).

… I’ll stop right there… Chikane won’t though…

Anyway, Amnesian wastes no time in getting right to action, both in battle and in bed. Also, Chikane is seriously super sexy.

It feels weird to not include Sasameki Koto in a yuri impression of fall 2009, especially since I am including the weakly yuri Railgun. Very briefly, I have not started watching Sasameki Koto, as I am still on Aoi Hana. I expect it to be pretty good though because I enjoyed the manga.

So… This past week and the coming week are going to be kind of tough for me. In addition to being sick, I have quite a few rather difficult academic stuff coming up. Of course, no one cares about that stuff, so I will stop whining now. However, this does translates to somewhat filler-ish posts and not all that much time spent on my and others’ blogs… so yea…