[Lists 2010] All-time Faves and Rankings: Yuri and Shoujo Ai

This is what I have been referring to in my New Year post.  I will rank the shows I’ve watched for each genre/grouping.  I am not yet sure about the complete list of genres/groupings that I will tackle, because I doubt if there is enough material for most of them.  But the major ones are slice of life, comedy, shounen, and of course, mecha.  But today I will tackle yuri/shoujo-ai.  (Warning:  There might be some spoilers, but just a few.)

I only have brief descriptions because if I seriously try to write it will take me weeks to finish this.  And I am not willing to spend that amount of time because there are other lists to finish.

For the list of shows, I based it on Animenfo.  Now the list for yuri/shoujo-ai is quite small, I could have watched most of them but I really have no appetite for shows like Queen’s Blade, or yuck, Sin Sorority.

As to how I ranked them, the matrix came in handy.  Saves time staring at the ceiling looking for answers to come down.  However, for the category called animation, I substituted it with yuri.  It basically addresses whether the main subject is yuri or not, because some shows only deal with yuri as an aside, not as a main focus of the show.  The titles with yuri as a major theme are in red font. And, I will use yuri to refer to both yuri and shoujo-ai, because it’s easier to write. 

15  ICE

Avoid at all costs.  This is just a waste of time.

14  Blue Drop ~Tenshi-tachi no Gikyoku~

This was promising but the end product doesn’t stand out that much.  The writers were probably hindered by a lack of imagination and the show ended up boring.

13  Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito

The only things that I remember from this show are Mamiko Noto, hotcake, and that catchy OP.  I liked the OP song so much I added it to my play list used during commuting to my office by train during my stay in Tokyo.  But I didn’t like the show that much because it was confusing to me.  Yeah, anyone care to explain what this really was all about then?

12  Mai-Otome

I hate this show because it’s an obvious ploy to get fanboys to part with their money, but if they wanted it, it’s their money right?  Anyway, just another take on Mai Hime that I just wish didn’t happen.

11  Brother, Dear Brother (Oniisame e)

I’m confused, was there really yuri or were the girls just really weird?  But this show was, well, intense.  Be warned though that this is one of the longer series in this selection–so have a little patience.  A good watch if you like dorama in your anime.  And it also had an unforgettable OP.  Migi no te ni kin no utsuwa…

10  Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Adolescence of Utena

Ah, the movie version.  Like how I liked most parts of Macross DYRL over SDF Macross, Adolescence of Utena is the happier ending version over the TV series.  This should be watched after one has finished the TV series.

09  Kannazuki no Miko

The first yuri and mecha mix I have seen.  The mecha part is awful, but the yuri is not.  (Mercifully, the anime did not include YFR.  What is that you ask?  Lolikit knows.)

08  Revolutionary Girl Utena

My heart broke in the latter part of the show when Utena fell for the charms of Ukio.  One of the shows that strikes me as weird  (aside from Oniisam e), this show is a classic that you must not miss.  May you be revolutionized.

07  Candy Boy

Kana-chan and Yuki-chan are just soo cute!!  This is more slice-of-life, as we’re really just taking a peek at snippets of  the life of twin sisters.  If the title wasn’t tagged as yuri, I could have just mistaken this as two very close sisters—until I get to the last episode.

06  Mai-HiME

This is not really a yuri anime, but it gave us probably the most famous couple evar.  Yup folks, I am talking about Natsuki and Shizuru.   Or, in Baka-raptor’s literary musings, the Shiznat in the Rye.

Natsuki

Shizuru

05  Sasameki Koto

I like this show because the main character, Sumika Murasame, makes you want to cheer for her.  Her struggles with her undeclared love for her best friend is really fun to watch.  There’s really not much drama here, but it’s a lightweight show that’s a good watch for yuri fans out there.

04  Strawberry Panic [Best in Entertainment]

The first yuri series that I saw.  Because I had just recently watched Fullmetal Panic! back then, I was hoping there’ll be a mecha or something exciting somewhere and oh how wrong I was.  Ok, I wasn’t really expecting mecha.  But as I said in my review, I was curious at the yuri genre—I was back then trying to expand my horizons beyond the mecha and shounen fare that I usually watched.  Story-wise it’s a waste of time, but if you look at it from the lulz point of view, this show was fun!  Selectively lowering your standards helps, and boy it really helps with this one.  The other reason I’m really fond of this show is because it led me to Marimite, and the rest, as they say, is history.  To quote myself two years ago:

Though I wonder, years from now, if we’re ever gonna realize it was a complete waste of time LOL.

Looks like I wasted my time twice.  And oh, watch Marimite first before watching StoPani. 

03  Aoi Hana [Best in Story, Yuri]

Came out as the top series I watched for 2009.  To summarize, a beautiful story of friendship and love.   But what sets this series apart is how the characters rise from loss in the battlefield of love by finding love again, or moving on.  Just as how it’s done in real life.

02  Maria-sama ga Miteru [Best Characters, Runner-up in Best Music]

The yuri here is limited only to one main character in the first season in only a few episodes.  But you will miss out on a good show if you don’t watch this.  Sei-sama sugoi!

01  Simoun [Best in Music]

Where shall I start?  I am at a loss for words.  Well, it has lovable characters, good story, beautiful animation, and, most of all, a great soundtrack!  But Simoun did not endear itself to me at first.  I thought that it was just a mindless, fan-service laden series.  However, positive reviews from a few enlightened bloggers drew my interest, and so I decided to give it a try.  I’m glad I did.   Basically, these priestesses, not yet even considered as adults, were fighting a war they thought they would not lose.  As the war nears its conclusion, the priestesses fight for their country–and their ideals.  In the end, what path will they choose?  It’s been said that this show is an acquired taste–one has to try and decide what it means.  Though I hope that it will be a positive experience, as mine was.

I checked out other shows but they just didn’t click with me.  The honorable mentions are:

El Cazador -de la Bruja-

I checked this out but got bored by the time that shota turned up.

Kashimashi ~ Girl Meets Girl ~

The fact that they were little kids was one turn-off, and the alien part was the nail in the coffin.  And, boy-turned-female doesn’t really work for me.  Sorry, I’d rather watch StoPani again than sit through this one.

Kyoshiro to towa no sora

Animenfo, the one where I based the list of yuri titles, didn’t have this one!!  OMG I’m better than a database lol.  Anyway, it was a variation of the Kannazuki no Miko theme.  However, the time came when I looked forward more to Lolikit’s posts about it rather than the show itself.  Lolikit’s posts made more sense, so I thought, ah I’ll never really like this show.

Maria Holic

I can’t believe this show is supposed to be comedy.  I didn’t find it funny.

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And that concludes my the first ever post for Lists 2010. Till next, ja!