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Rinne no Lagrange: Flower Declaration of Your Heart is one of the best shows I have watched. However, this is not the case with many people who have watched the show. Today, I will be giving you why I feel this is an amazing show. Feel free to argue with any of my points; I take it as a learning experience. Produced by animation studios Xebec and Production I.G and directed by Toshimasa Suzuki, Rinne no Lagrange aired during the early winter of 2012 from January 8, 2012 to March 24, 2012. A second season premieres in July 2012. A notable fact is that Nissan is involved with the series and created the robot designs.

“If we could… die together… how happy would we be…?” Today, I will be stepping just a little bit out of my comfort zone and will be reviewing an ongoing manga. A relatively unknown artist, Takasaki Yuuki (高崎ゆうき), has created a supernatural yuri manga called Mugen no Minamo ni (To Eternal Minamo/むげんのみなもに). The header image indicates that while there are cutely designed characters, there are also deep and gruesome situations as well. Mugen no Minamo ni 's usage of adorable character designs with dark and heavy tones creates mournful feelings for the main characters as they suffer through their dilemmas. This first impression will cover the first two chapters of the manga.

Tsumo! 8000/12000 points! The spinoff to the Riichi Mahjong anime, 咲-Saki-, has arrived. Saki is a show known for two great qualities: cute girls playing Mahjong and the yuri undertones within the series. With how the times have changed now, we now have a currently airing show of a Saki series in high definition. Considering how anime has evolved to providing high resolution episodes now, has this spinoff evolved the standards of an animated Saki series? Thankfully, Saki fans will be glad to know that the series is going in strong with its lovable girls playing Mahjong and yuri themes. Like the usual first impressions, I will be covering the first two episodes of the show.

Loli Nodoka? Magnificent!

Plot: A couple of friends since childhood who play Mahjong are separated with time due to various circumstances. After a time lapse, one of our heroines sees their old friend that moved away on TV, winning a Mahjong tournament no less! The sight of her old friend she lovingly used to play Mahjong with winning ignites flames of passion she once had for Mahjong and immediately decides to revive the Mahjong club at their future high school. Thus begins the journey of our heroines who will compete fiercely to make it to the finals of the inter-high tournament.

Characters: The Saki universe is known for its huge cast of lovable characters with interesting quirks and qualities. With this side story introduced, there is even more appealing characters for viewers to love. One particular character that will stand out to viewers is Matsumi Yuu. She is the older sister of Matsumi Kuro and is very sensitive to cold weather, which makes her dress up interestingly strange outfits even in the summer.

While the cast is abundant in females, the characters are designed quite well to distinguish them from each other and spark interest in a viewer’s attention. A main aspect of what makes the cast unique is how they are brought to life through the voice acting of the seiyuus. Having respectable seiyuus like Hanazawa Kana, Yuuki Aoi, and Touyama Nao assuming the roles bring fantastic personality to the characters.

Art and Animation: A lot of wonderful art is featured in Saki Achiga-hen Episode of A Side. There are many beautiful backgrounds throughout the episodes and the animation is smooth and does not have any glaring errors. The characters transition well from the manga to anime and look fantastic.

Music: Featuring tracks from the first season of Saki brings back the relaxing and lively soundtrack Saki has. However, the new adaptation features new tracks as well which are great additions to the well composed musical score of Saki. The opening and ending songs sound good and fit the show nicely.

Overall: Such a satisfying spinoff has been delivered to Saki fans. The show is presented in such way that makes it appealing to those who are not even into Mahjong. If you are looking for an adorable and relaxing show to watch, be sure to check out Saki Achiga-hen Episode of Side-A.

Personal Statement: Oh god, this is a gift from the gods. This anime is so yuri.

Reviewing all things forbidden, Sayuri is back once again for another R-18 special (underage readers may leave now)! Today’s review is about an eroge called Sugar’s Delight developed by a recently formed visual novel doujinshi group called Neko Soft. By the way, it is free to download! The visual novel contains pure girl-on-girl yuri action. K’yaaaaah! Aren’t you excited for such a heart racing subject? What? What’s with the look you’re giving me?! Anyways, I will note that this review will be as SFW as possible.

The official website for the Yuru Yuri anime series has announced that they've received the green light for a second season. The series which panders to the yuri loving crowd follows the exploits of 4 girls who take over their school's tea ceremony club's room The first season aired during the Spring 2011 season. The new season which is probably titled Yuru Yuri♪♪, will feature an announcement in the January 18 issue of Comic Yuri Hime.

Here we go again. Sentai Filmworks licenses another one of the fairly recent animes of this year, A-Channel. To be specific, A-Channel aired in the Spring of 2011. Based on the 4koma manga and produced by Studio Gokumi (Koe de Oshigoto! OVAs), this is a yuri-centric selection to be licensed for the West.

(Full Version of the Header - Artist: hi-ho- [original image here])

Yoshika Miyafuji and the 501^st Joint Fighter Wing are back again to combat the alien Neuroi forces that are taking over Earth in the latest anime adaptation of the Strike Witches (ストライクウィッチー) light novels/manga. The second season of Strike Witches brings back the cast that fans have come to love, but it did not necessarily bring back a stronger plot with better action scenes that some may have been hoping for. In spite of that, it is still somewhat enjoyable watch. This anime aired from June 19, 2010 to September 23, 2010. As always, little to no spoilers will be in this review.

Many will say that the plot of Strike Witches 2 is not as good the first season as it does not focus as much on action packed scenes and that character development is not as strong between the characters. Some of the battles between the Neuroi in episodes may feel kind of quick and slapped on just for the sake of having action. Fanservice throughout the plot is more toned down compared to the first season and leaves a bit more to be desired. One of the biggest issues however, is the ending of Strike Witches 2. It had some great flaws which can almost ruin the entire series for someone.

First thing I will mention is that Strike Witches 2 is animated by a different studio. While AIC did a decent job, they certainly could not compare to GONZO’s performance in the first season. CGI is clearly apparent in some scenes, which is disappointing to see. Backgrounds and scenery however, still maintain a great amount of quality and are enjoyable to look at it. The show’s musical score is well done and has some new tracks. Voice actors gave a strong performance in their roles and continued to bring personality to cast. Another thing to note is that Sakamoto Mio’s voice actor has changed from the first season. Seto Saori is able to fulfill her role though and live up to performance of Chiba Saeko from the first season.

Overall, the second season of Strike Witches is enjoyable, but it cannot compare to the first season. This earns it a score of 7.4/10.

Oh yeah, they still have wonderful art for the half time transitions.

P.S. Sanya and Eila, BEST PAIRING.

Wraparound jackets on the eighth volume of the manga 咲-Saki, have gloriously announced that the second season of 咲-Saki is in the making. To those who may not know of the series, it is about a high school girl, Miyanaga Saki, playing mahjong with her teammates from the mahjong club at her school. The show displays unbelievable skills and feats pulled off by many of the girls throughout the show. Yuri/Shoujo-ai fans will enjoy the great amount of yuri undertones overtones between the girls.

Author’s Note: Well, if you know me, you’ll know I just love yuri/shoujo-ai. I have also reviewed the first season of 咲-Saki and found the series very enjoyable. It was actually my gateway to becoming interested in Japanese mahjong!

Source: [Anime News Network]

“Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo – Anata to Koibito Tsunagi/A Kiss for the Flower Petals – Linked with your Sweetheart” is an erotic, shoujo-ai OVA about two girls with impassioned feelings of love between each other. Please note that there are graphic scenes of sexual intercourse with the two girls in the OVA. Apologies if you are offended by this. This review will be SFW and contain little or no spoilers.

Through starting the OVA, it may just seem like your stock hardcore ero, with no plot at all. Thankfully, this isn’t the case here as there is a flashback which makes sense of how things came to be and what not. Now this is an erotic OVA, so the plot is relatively simple, but it is full of sweet and pleasant scenes due to the characters and their great voice acting. The story flows well with its compassion between Reo and Mai as it will keep the attention of the viewer.

Kuttsukiboshi/Stars Intertwined (subs curtsey of SHiN-gx) is a story about a girl named Kiiko Kawakami who develops feelings for Aaya Saitou, a new student to Kiiko's school. This anime is produced Primastea, which also produced the Isshoni Training series. Depictions of sexual intercourse are implied, but are not shown in the OVA. Minor spoilers to no spoilers will be mentioned in this review.

The pace of the anime feels somewhat slow and its overall plot only really starts to pique interest towards the very end, as Kiiko discovers something that could very well shatter the feelings she had for Aaya. The story is another simple, slice of life and romance with bits of drama. While watching the OVA, I couldn't really get drawn into its pace or plot because it didn't bring enough flare to table. It has a few sweet moments though.