Fellow anime fans, heed my words- never, ever let a massive backlog build up, for it will crush your very soul. Sadly, there is still much I have to catch up on, but in the meantime enjoy my coverage of what I have managed to get through since mid-December.

Reviewed this week: Aria the Origination 1, Baccano! 13, Clannad 8-12, Dennou Coil 21-6, Genshiken 2 7-12, Himawari!! 1, Kaiji 7-13, Minami-ke 7-13, Oh! Edo Rocket 21-6, SaiMono II 27-31, Spice and Wolf 1, Tsubasa OVA 1

…and in manga: .hack//Link 1, Akagi 7-8+108-9, Chokotto Sister 48, Clannad 5, Claymore 75-6, Elfen Lied 79-81, HxH 267-70, Kaiji 1, MariMite 23-4, Meine Liebe 7-8, Nodame 94-9, Oniisama E… 10, REC 34-6, Risky Safety 2-3, Solanin 10-28, Spiral Alive 11-16, Spiral 60-66, Tsubasa 172-7, Yotsuba& 49-50

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – a great series from start to finish <- complete!
2. Aria the Origination (-) – PUNYU! <-new!
3. Oh! Edo Rocket (2) – I love this show! <- complete!
4. SaiMono II (4) – Jyuusan-hime rocks!
5. Kaiji (3) – human racing
6. Minami-ke (6) – Ichigo Mashimaro II <- complete!
7. Baccano! (5) – the end of the line <- complete!
8. Spice and Wolf (-) –spicy wolves make for interesting chilli <-new!
9. Genshiken 2 (7) – graduation <- complete!
10. Moyashimon (8) – cute microbes
11. Shion no Ou (9) – it’s a trap
12. Sketchbook ~full color’S~ (11) – lots of cats
13. Clannad (12) – sad girls in springtime
14. Mokke (10)- magical cat

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (1) – I’m in despair!
2. Tetsuko no Tabi (2)- is this ever going to be subbed?
3. Sisters of Wellber (3) – predictable but fun
4. Himawari!! – needs less plot <- new!
5. Koutetsu Sangokushi (4) – pure HARD GAY
6. Shounen Onmyouji (5)- mediocre
7. Love GetChu! (6)- light entertainment
8. Romeo X Juliet (7) – WOOD

*NEW* Aria the Origination 1: Having a new season to watch is so great that I just want to roll around like President Aria, but instead I will try to put those feelings into words. Spring is coming to Neo Venezia, and even though the snow hasn’t quite melted yet, Alicia gets a gift of sakura tea and jam which she decides to share with everyone. Cue a nice, fluffy tea party in which the amazing feats of the three Primas are discussed, from stopping an idiot falling overboard to cheering up a baby with funny faces. And as the icing on the cake, President Aria is up to his usual antics, although his poor flabby stomach has already been bitten twice.

Remember, don’t eat too fast.

*COMPLETE* Baccano! 13: The tale of immortality and numerous characters in the 1930s finally draws to a close in this episode, which ties up the insane number of plot strands in the best way it can, sees justice served to certain characters, and ends on a high in the way only Isaac and Miria can manage. Yes, it was confusing along the way, but with so much packed in it was also highly entertaining- I can’t request a second season enough times.

Clannad 8-12: Episodes 8-9 see the conclusion of the Fuko arc, with everyone slowly forgetting about her in the run-up to the wedding- can they remember in time to show up? Whilst it was hardly enough to make me cry, I did feel a pang of emotion at this arc, which made going into the next one a bit of an anticlimax to start. This time around, the focus is on genius girl Ichinose Kotomi, who seems almost unbelievably socially ill-adapted to start with, but whose story is slowly picking up now. It does seem a bit of a sci-fi

*COMPLETE* Dennou Coil 21-6: I already reviewed Dennou Coil in its entirety, so all that’s left to put here is how satisfying the ending turned out to be. Yes, if there was more time some elements could have been expanded upon, but the later revelations were still a lot more substantial than many other series, and overall there was a feeling of satisfied completion rather than a need for more. A most excellent series indeed.

*COMPLETE* Genshiken 2 7-12: Genshiken 2 is over, and it’s something of a bittersweet ending- practically everyone has settled on their future career and is ready to commence life in the ‘real world’, although of course they’ll never forget their otaku roots. There’s still content here for those looking for comedy, but an almost Honey and Clover-esque feel crept into this season- university graduates should be able to identify with it.

*NEW* Himawari!! 1: At long last, the second season of Himawari!! is being subbed (yes, I could watch the raws but I’m being lazy), and although I have little hope of it proceeding at any speed, it can fill a gap here and there. Unfortunately, whilst meeting up with the characters is like slipping back into a comfortable old set of clothes, the fact that this season seems to contain a main villain with his underling monsters of the week does not fill me with optimism. I like Himawari when it’s just episodic light entertainment, but introducing low-budget enemies such as this episode’s gum-chewing boy adds an air of tedium to the whole thing.

Kaiji 7-13: The Espoir arc finally concludes in episodes 7-9, with Kaiji suffering both betrayal and the Room of Naked Men before finally coming out on top- at least until he realises the whole thing has left him with twice as much debt as before (poor guy). Then, after an episode of trying and failing to fit in with normal life, our hero is whisked off for another night of gambling, only this time he is the horse in a ‘Human Derby’. The even sees Kaiji and other debt-ridden young men walk across a thin beam suspended over a twelve foot drop, but even if you manage to get across without being pushed off, there’s worse to come when they have to do the same again across and electrified beam suspended between the twenty-second floors of two high-rise buildings. It’s addictive, MANLY stuff, but are we really halfway through already?

*COMPLETE* Minami-ke 7-13: I finally found the time to watch the second half of Minami-ke’s first season, and happily, it was everything I expected it to be. As the adventures of the Minami sisters continue, more amusing everyday antics ensue, more friends get drawn in, and they even meet another Minami family consisting of three brothers and a younger sister who Chiaki adopts as her little ‘brother’. Not since the days of Ichigo Mashimaro has everyday life been so entertaining, but I’m approaching the second season with trepidation- how will the staff changes affect the tone of the series?

*COMPLETE* Oh! Edo Rocket 21-6: Another excellent series goes out with a bang (no pun intended) as Oh! Edo Rocket draws to a close with a packed final stretch that showcases everything that is so great about the series. From comedy and hilariously out of place pop culture references to darker and more serious storylines, Oh! Edo Rocket somehow manages to have everything, and it even achieves an ending entirely appropriate to the tone of the series. Move over FLCL and Pani Poni Dash- this is how it’s done.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 27-31: The overload of new characters arc has finally come to an end as the anime moves into new territory with the arrival of Shuuei’s sister Jyuusan-hime. Jyuusan-hime has been sent to become Ryuuki’s concubine, but with assassins after her life, Shuurei ends up becoming her body double (sometimes even main characters get the short straw). Despite my aversion to having so many new characters dumped on us of late, Jyuusan-hime is a most welcome addition to the cast- she’s beautiful, tough and more mature than the still naïve Shuurei, and since she’s also adopted, her apparent feelings for Shuuei aren’t as incestuous as I first thought. Meanwhile, poor Shusui seems to have fallen under the influence of the voices in her head- what will become of her? Whatever the case, the anime is not only almost at an end but has also drawn level with the novels- so we’ll either have to have a huge break before any potential third season, or move into the realm of occasional OVAs.

SaiMono goes all Dynasty Warriors.

*NEW* Spice and Wolf 1: For a multitude of shallow and tenuous reasons, I loved this series before I even watched it, and happily I still feel the same way after episode one. Having completed Okami the night before I watched this, I was all too ready for more content about wolf goddesses, and so when trader Lawrence Craft found one in his cart, it made for interesting viewing (even with the random fanservice). Provided it doesn’t turn into the new Sisters of Wellber, this should be a great series, and since the original material is apparently about economics, it’s like entertainment’s next step from Dragons’ Den.

*NEW* Tsubasa Chronicle Tokyo Revelations 1: My relationship with the Tsubasa TV series ended in a filler fest of pain and suffering, but with Production I.G. taking over the reins for this three episode OVA covering the X-Tokyo arc, I figured it wouldn’t be so bad (let’s forget that they did that pointless movie). Happily, unlike Bee Train’s efforts, this version of Tsubasa actually has revolutionary new concepts like proper movement and animation, and whilst the story is essentially flawed, this is the fault of the original manga and not really something the studio can do much about. If the rest of Tsubasa must be animated, let’s keep it to OVA format (I notice that the final image in the closing appears to be from the Infinity arc- a sign of things to come?).

In the latest manga chapters, Mokonas’ earrings actually have previously unmentioned plot importance.

MANGA

*NEW* .hack//Link 1: Although it might sound like a .hack/Legend of Zelda crossover, the franchise’s latest cash-in manga is set in a brand new iteration of The World- R:X. Tokio is the typical annoying shounen hero who has cleared every other game around and wants to play the newly relaunched The World, but since access is restricted, he can’t get his hands on a copy of the game. Fortunately, a new transfer student at school lets him use her copy- but it proves to be an edition of the game that transfers him into The World itself! I don’t see this offering anything new, but it should be interesting enough to follow.

Akagi 7-8, 108-9: Like the anime, the Akagi manga doesn’t seem to feel the need to rush anywhere, and so we’re still on Akagi’s first match- although we’ve just reached the point when Akagi is playing rep player Yagi with their fingers at stake. For a beginner at Mah-jongg, watching this sort of thing in animated form is easier than slogging through explanatory text for each match, but even so it’s still an enjoyable manga.

Meanwhile, an anonymous scanlator has decided to pick up where the anime has left off, so I’ll be covering that as well. 108-9 commence volume 13 and cover the last part of the anime, where Akagi throws away his blood and challenges Washizu to play for the last part of his fortune. Having waited so long to see what happens next, we are now on the verge of this exciting new territory, and hopefully it will be as good as ever.

Chokotto Sister 48: When Konatsu catches mumps and falls in, it becomes a perfect opportunity for her to slip into a Flashback Mode, in which she relates a typical tragic past of being abandoned by her parents and Haruma promising to always be by her side (which she takes to be one of those standard childhood marriage proposals that have so much more meaning in fiction than real life). Everything is proceeding along the rails for the moment, but I’m becoming increasingly disturbed about Choko’s origin- just where did she come from? (Smart alecks need not respond).

Clannad 5: When I read the first four chapters of Clannad, the anime was months away from airing, but to go back and try another chapter in the middle of it run is a slightly strange experience. Fortunately, whilst Clannad the anime is nothing special to me, watching it seemed to make this chapter seem better than its predecessors, even though it only covers the early anime content of Tomoya trying to help get the drama club off the ground.

Claymore 75-6: As it turns out, the blinded Galatea wasn’t hiding from the organisation- she wanted them to send Claymores out to her so that they could help her defeat the latest Awakened Being- former number 2 Claymore Agatha. As the battle begins, however, it remains to be seen if they will offer assistance or just blindly follow orders, culminating in a cliff-hanger ending for chapter 76. As always, I’m not particularly impressed by the action scenes, but I’m still interested in seeing what happens next, and oddly having just one chapter a month helps to enjoy the series since I’m always hungry for more.

Elfen Lied 79-81: We may be getting close to the end of the series, but the story is still ready to throw us a few more twists and turns- not to mention some fresh characters. Whilst Kouta laments the loss of his harem due to the disappearance of Lucy/Nyu, Nana and Mayu, elsewhere yet more plans are being made to recapture Lucy- using obedient clones of Mariko. In charge of them is the latest eccentric scientist and his tough-as-nails bodyguard- it’s a familiar formula but hopefully this is all slowly building towards a conclusion.

Hunter X Hunter 267-70: Having put all his efforts into getting the chapter count up to a nice round number, Togashi has retired to his deathbed once again, leaving the series on yet another indefinite hiatus. Perhaps it’s just as well, as the excruciatingly slow pace and intensely detailed narration of the first phase of the attack on King has really put me off this arc, to the extent where I have to wonder if I even care any more. All I want now is for the series to properly end, but at the current rate I could be in my thirties before that happens (a scary thought indeed).

*NEW* Kaiji 1: As with Akagi, the Kaiji anime has basically followed the manga word for word, so all this first chapter provides is a recounting of how Kaiji came to be offered a place aboard the Espoir, with less technically accomplished art. Even so, it’s an enjoyable enough way to relive the series, and hopefully more chapters will be available soon.

Maria-sama ga Miteru 23-4: We’re already at the start of season two, with Yumi, Yuuki and Rosa Gigantea spending the night at Sachiko’s house for the new year, complete with some “Kashiwagi is HARD GAY” and Sei teasing Yumi scenes that never made it into the anime. As always, this manga complements the anime nicely, but I’m increasingly noticing the poor standard of the artwork compared to the anime character designs, whilst for some reason Yuuki has black hair in this version.

Meine Liebe 7-8: First off, a big thank you to “Meine Liebe Project” for picking this up- it may not be the best manga in the world, but I at least want to read the second half of it. Anyway, chapter seven sees Erika get picked to be Orphe’s dance partner for his grandmother’s party, but much to my disappointment, no actual dancing was seen- surely a whisk or throwaway oversway wouldn’t have been too much to ask for? Wasted opportunities aside, as we go into chapter eight, it becomes clear that Erika’s feelings for Orphe are deepening, but with the likelihood that he may be her brother ever increasing, romance could turn to incest. In fact, since it’s being played so obviously, they probably aren’t related, but we’ll see in the coming chapters.

Nodame Cantabile 94-9: Chiaki’s goal is to move ever onwards and upwards, but when his father shows up at one of his performances, it puts him off guard- and proves that Chiaki isn’t as indifferent towards his parent as he might claim. Meanwhile, poor Nodame is beginning to feel like she is left behind- if Chiaki’s goal is his father, then her goal is Chiaki. Even though the “estranged parent” storyline is nothing new, I’m still intrigued by the continuing development of Chiaki and Nodame’s characters as they enter another growth phase. In particular, Chiaki seems determined to move far ahead in order to accomplish his goals, but at the same time he seems to expect Nodame to be waiting for him, even though she is busy with her own agendas. Are they just not destined to be together?

Oniisama E… 10: The second volume of the angst-driven manga continues as Kaoru gets injured during a basketball match and Nanako fangirls over Saint-Juste some more- it will all be familiar to anime viewers, but told in a much abbreviated form. Now to wait another year or so for the next chapter.

REC 34-6: If there’s one thing you can count on with REC, it’s that if something can go wrong, it will. Take Matsumaru, for example- all he wants to do is help Ao get through a cold, and the next thing he knows she’s undressed him whilst he’s asleep, taken a nude picture for Photoshop purposes, and left the door open so Aka can walk in. Naturally, Ao isn’t just your typical ‘other woman’- she has past issues, but it’s all so painfully predictable- and yet somehow I can’t just give up the series and walk away.

Risky Safety 2-3: I can’t even remember when I read the first chapter of this (memory supplies a date of around August 2006), but I’ve finally tracked down another two instalments of the series. Unlike the anime, the manga isn’t exclusively about Risky and Safety- in fact, they don’t appear at all in these two chapters. Instead, we get two stand-alone stories- one about a puppet girl named Fuzzy who will become a real human if she can just make one boy happy, the other about a mysterious new transfer student who may be attacking fellow classmates with demon blood. As short stories, they are both enjoyable (if much like various similar manga), but the chances of reading more any time soon seem slim.

*COMPLETE* Solanin 10-28: I’m happy to report that at long last I’ve been able to finish this manga, and that it was good enough to be worth the wait. With a spoilerific twist at the end of volume one that I can’t reveal, the second half of the series sees Meiko put in a position where she must make a decision about her future, but will she choose something constructive? I don’t want to give away too much here, but suffice to say that this is one series worth reading, and that a proper review to that effect will appear soon.

Spiral Alive 11-16: Whilst Kanone and Eyes step forth to make an appearance, the story continues to move on, and it all seems to be centred on a particular file that can disclose the identities of the hidden and dangerous Blade Children. It’s good stuff (although I wish Kousuke would let Ryoko help out instead of trying to protect her), even if there are a few too many feints and conflicting motives to get to grips with at the moment.

Spiral 60-66: This is the point I feared, where the series starts to lose its way, for whilst Hizumi makes a move by killing Kanone (NOOOOOO!!!!!!), the truth about Ayumu and Hizumi’s origin seems about to come to light, and it seems something of a cop out. Thanks to Hinano, I long knew it was coming, but even so it’s like that infamous spoiler from Star Ocean 3- you just don’t want to believe it until you’re confronted with it. Oh well, the artwork is still nice.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 172-7: I don’t really know what’s going on in Tsubasa anymore, and the sad fact is that I can’t even say that I particularly care (but I must keep reading, for like Macbeth I’ve come too far to go back now). After randomly showing up, Syaoran-clone decides to pick a fight with the real deal, whilst Fei Wong decides he only wants Sakura for her body (understandable, since her mind isn’t up to much). It’s just a shame that CLAMP have got so into drawing epic fight scenes (large explosions, tiny characters) that they’ve forgotten about the concept of including a plot.

Yotsuba& 49-50: Fifty chapters in and I’m still far from tired of Yotsuba- after all, we still have to see her go to school. In these two chapters, we see Yotsuba still enchanted with the farm after coming home, before she and her father head out to a restaurant for lunch, with the usual hilarious consequences.

It’s a week of episodes not quite living up to their predecessors in this Round-Up- is it just the after-effect of trying to watch some Gundam Seed Destiny, or a sign that the viewing schedule needs an injection of fresh blood from the spring season? Either way, I’ve decided to drop Les Miserables and La Corda d’Oro; they’re both too dull and predictable.

Reviewed this week: Iroha 17-18, Busou Renkin 25, Chevalier 17, Gargoyle 11-12, SaiMono 36, Shounen Onmyouji 13-14 (15 will be covered next week)

..and in manga: Emma Bangaihen 8, Oniisama E 1-9, School Rumble 218+b49, Spiral Alive 5, xxxHOLiC 10.4

ANIME

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 17-18: Having fallen from grace in the last episode, Iroha compounds its error by turning into its dullest moment ever in episode 17, before picking up ever so slightly in the latter half of 18. Whilst possessed villain Enomoto is a little too ridiculous for me to take seriously, and most other characters have become either annoying (Kakunojo) or uninteresting (everyone else), there is one high point in the English special ops team (or as I like to call them, the Suikoden III team). If only they could have their own spin-off show, or perhaps even an Utawarriors style game.

Busou Renkin 25: In a world where I hadn’t already read what happens in this episode, I might have expected it to actually show the fight between Victor and Kazuki, but instead we’re just treated to Tokiko and the various supporting characters all moping around due to the absence of their main character. It’s dull, it’s poorly animated, and it’s quite possibly the most boring episode I’ve seen since the very beginning.

Le Chevalier d’Eon 17: Having turned Whitehead into White-, Robespierre must return to Dashwood and accept the consequences, but is Dashwood simply playing right into his hands? Meanwhile, our heroes await the release of Durand so that they too can get into the action. Events are well and truly heating up by this point, but oddly, this particular episode was not as exciting in the flesh as it seemed to be through the medium of screencaps.

Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 11-12: Just as I feared, Gargoyle has lost its lustre by this point, ensuring that this double bill of episodes is not as gratefully received as it might have otherwise been. Whilst the episode 11 is a meandering effort about a living doll created by a girl with a crush on Kazumi, 12 is something of a confusing mess in which Osiris vanishes and the Yoshinaga parents have a big argument (to be honest, I wasn’t paying enough attention to grasp more of the story than that). Hopefully the last episode will come along soon so that I can complete the series and get it over with.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 36: After the excellence of episode 35, it would have been hard for anything that came afterwards to match it, and unfortunately, 36 just doesn’t quite cut it (which is to say that it is good compared to the average anime episode, but merely solid by SaiMono standards). Whilst Kokujun accepts the consequences of becoming head of the Sa clan, Shuurei and Eigetsu must put their troubles behind them as they official take on the mantle of governors. It’s more of a tying up loose ends episode than anything else, so it can’t really match the best we’ve seen from the arc.

Shounen Onmyouji 13-14: A new arc kicks off in this double bill of episodes, with a mysterious woman summoning an Onryou spirit of hatred to cause trouble for the named characters. Unfortunately, aside from introducing some new characters (including a brief glimpse at two more Spirit Summons), a lot less happens in this pair of episodes than I would have liked, with the pace dragging quite a bit at times, particularly in episode thirteen.

MANGA

Emma Bangaihen 8: It’s back to Wilhelm and his wife in this chapter as they enjoy a lazy morning in bed together; having briefly glimpsed them in an earlier chapter, it is interesting to return to them and take a more in depth look at their characters (and no, I’m not referring to the somewhat unexpected nipple shot).

HORSE is a great stress reliever.

*CATCH-UP* Oniisama E 1-9: It’s time to experience HARD YURI angst in manga form, but how does it compare to the anime? At only three volumes in length (compared to 39 episodes of anime), the story whips along at a much faster pace, so whilst the same outline of events is shared between the two versions, the manga necessarily does not have the same depth and development of the story. Since it is much easier to acquire and read, however, it may be a good idea to try the manga if you want to see if you’ll like the story enough to warrant searching for the anime.

School Rumble 218, b49: Now that all threat of a main plot has blown over, School Rumble can get back to doing what it does ‘best’, i.e. the pointless and increasingly unfunny. In 218, Suga, Nishimoto and Yoshidayama become so fed up with their bad luck in love that they make a Peach Garden oath to remain unkissed together, only for Madoka to kiss them all for some reason. Meanwhile, in b49, we see a past Yakumo agonising over the fact that she is too shy to make friends, only to recount how she managed to approach some classmates with a shared love of the same band.

This is actually from last week, but it illustrates the general hopelessness of continuing this manga.

Spiral Alive 5: Sawamura may have disappeared from Imari’s life, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to give up on him- even if he is only focused on getting closer to Kiyotaka. Meanwhile, the music box murders continue, and it is only a matter of time before the great detective is called in. Like last chapter, this one doesn’t advance the story greatly- we still seem to be caught in the same loop, but hopefully events will advance once we hit volume two.

xxxHOLiC vol 10, chapter 4: It turns out that giving his balloon away was not such a good idea for Watanuki, who ends this chapter by falling out of a window at school. It looks like a pretty big cliff-hanger, but who wants to be it will be swiftly resolved? Actually, I should start catching up to resolve it even faster.

Moving onto the specifics, Oniisama E tells the tale of Misonoo Nanako, who, together with her best friend Tomoko, choose to spend their high school years at the all-female Seiran High School. This was perhaps not the wisest decision the two girls ever made, as Seiran is not so much a school as a gathering place for young women with severe mental issues. Practically every named character has experienced some kind of trauma that has left them unbalanced and, in some case, a danger to themselves and others. Over the course of the series’ thirty-nine episodes, the various skeletons cluttering up their closets are uncovered, until eventually everything is resolved in one way or another.

As you can imagine, therefore, this is the kind of series which will only appeal to some very specific groups of people. If you genuinely adore HARD YURI-tinged angst and simply can’t get enough of it, then you’ll want to check out this series- in fact, you may even add it to your favourites within a few episodes of starting it. For the rest of us, however, the appeal is in the fact that the melodrama is just so over-the-top that it cannot help but be amusing- after all, it isn’t every day you get to see someone try to walk into the sea just because they had a minor upset in school. I’ll talk about the specifics more later on, but suffice to say that if you derive entertainment from the exaggerated misfortunes of others, you’ll get significant mileage from this series.

Visually, Oniisama E conforms to Ikeda’s slightly simplistic but distinctive style, with the usual trappings of dramatically flowing hair and women who look and act like bishounen. It’s hard to judge the animation quality when most of the series is only available in low-resolution VHS rip form, but since this is a series from the early 90’s, don’t expect anything too marvellous.

So you think you’ve got problems: a look into the troubled lives of our leads

Misonoo Nanako
As the main character, Nanako is more good natured, optimistic and naïve than troubled, but she still has some issues in her past. Having lived with her mother since she was young, Nanako doesn’t know her real father, although her mother eventually remarries, choosing Professor Takehiko. Takehiko leaves his first wife and child in order to marry Nanako’s mother, but everything proceeds remarkably amicably. Later, Nanako learns that her pen pal, friend and former cram school teacher Henmi Takehiko is her father’s real son.

Due to her youthful innocence, Nanako is often a target for the HARD YURI affections of the named characters, and she even gets admitted into the school’s Sorority (a gathering of bed partners for the senior students). Nanako remains in the Sorority for a while, but eventually quits after her friend Mariko is suspended from it. Nanako briefly indulges in HARD YURI when she gets a crush on second year Asaka Rei, but in the epilogue of the final episode she finally discovers STRAIGHT.

Arikura Tomoko
Nanako’s level headed childhood friend, Tomoko simply isn’t HARD YURI enough to be involved in the melodramatic events that surround Nanako. Despite their long friendship, Tomoko lets Mariko practically break up her friendship with Nanako through a handful of stock “she doesn’t want to be your friend any more” phrases. In the end, however, she, Nanako and Mariko magically become the best of friends.

Shinobu Mariko
Maybe it was because her father had an affair and her parents subsequently divorced, but Mariko is more than a little strange. On the very first day of school, she latches onto Nanako as a potential HARD YURI partner, even going so far as to break her up with her best friend so that she can have her all to herself. In her attempts to get admitted into the Sorority, she tries to please the Onee-samas in any way she can, even biting her lips to make them bright red.

Later on, she invites Nanako to her birthday party, failing to mention that Nanako will be the only guest; afterwards, she takes Nanako home for a shared bath and some HARD YURI, only to threaten to kill Nanako when she refuses to stay.

One can hardly blame Nanako for not wanting to be around Mariko after that, but in response, Mariko decides to stop eating, and after she collapses from malnutrition, her personality changes, enabling her to become best friends with both Nanako and Tomoko whilst transferring her HARD YURI crush to Kaoru.

Even after these events, however, Mariko still has issues. She despises men to the point of sinking to the floor and crying after talking to some at a fair, but nonetheless still seems to want to see her Papa. She also ends up attacking rival Misaki Aya with a knife and getting suspended from both Sorority and school for it.

Asaka Rei (Hana no Saint-Juste)
The bastard child of the Ichinomiya family, Rei lives with her mother until the day she randomly walks into the sea. At this point, Rei is sent off to live by herself in an apartment, and has quite a depressing existence popping pills and barely eating. She has a HARD YURI bond with her sister Fukiko (see below), to the point that she tried to kill herself when young Fukiko suggested committing HARD YURI lovers’ suicide.

From an early age onwards, Rei puts herself in Fukiko’s hands, grabbing at her small kindnesses and enduring her cruelty and abuse- all because her mother told her to look after her older sister. This complex and twisted relationship continues for a while, until finally Rei seems able to move on and begin a HARD YURI life with Nanako- unfortunately, on this very day, she somehow gets blown off an overpass into the path of a train.

Ichinomiya Fukiko (Miya-sama)
Despite being considered one of the legitimate children of the Ichinomiya family, Fukiko is actually a full sister to Rei (both Fukiko and Rei know this, but do not realise the other knows). As head of the HARD YURI school society known as the Sorority, Fukiko picks and chooses her partners, trying to forget her ill-fated crush on Henmi Takehiko. She keeps Rei chained to her, and also tries to seduce Nanako, simply because she is jealous of her friendship with Henmi. Eventually she is forced to face the loss of her beloved Sorority, and from then on seems to spent most of her time with her horse.

Notable specifics

• Drops some kind of spiked brush onto Rei’s hand for no apparent reason.
• Traps Nanako at the bottom of a lake, apparently because she felt like having some fun.
• Smashes all her glass ornaments after a maid accidentally breaks one because she couldn’t bear the idea of any more of them getting damaged by someone else.
• Tries to get Rei to kill herself by persuading her they should commit a sisterly lovers’ suicide, only to regret it and save her life. She later gives Rei a bracelet to cover the scar, but continually goes on about them committing suicide together for real in the future. She even goes so far as to attempt to jump off a building.

Orihara Kaoru (Kaoru-no-Kimi)
A sufferer of breast cancer, Kaoru had to have a mastectomy some time in the past, and thus chose to break off her relationship with Henmi Takehiko for fear she could never make him happy. At school, however, she actually seems quite stable, even standing up to the Sorority and eventually orchestrating its demise by slowly persuading the student body to sign a petition asking for it to be abolished. It is only later on that we learn of the truth about her mysterious illness and the fact that she may have less than five years left to live. Due to this, she decides to angst instead of being with Takehiko, but is eventually convinced to give up HARD YURI, marry him and have his child. What more does a woman want- a career, a life of her own, maybe even to finish her education?

Henmi Takehiko
Nanako’s pen pal (and technically her stepbrother), Takehiko may seem like just a friend, but as we can see from the above, he has intimate connections with the named characters. He actually first met Nanako some years ago when he went to spy on the family that took his father away from him, but never revealed the truth of their relationship in the intervening years (in the end, Kaoru accidentally revealed it to Nanako). After choosing to study in Germany and angsting over whether Kaoru will come with him, everything turns out happily ever after.

Misaki Aya
Mariko’s rival, Aya is so upset over not being accepted into the Sorority that she stages a hate campaign against Nanako, spreading rumours about her, shredding her gym uniform and generally making her life unpleasant (naturally with the help of two underlings). Although she is defeated in round one, she returns for another round, provoking Mariko enough to get stabbed in the arm. After making a fuss about her arm, Aya actually sinks into depression and tries to walk into the sea, but is saved by the leads.

Ichinomiya Takashi
Fukiko’s brother and Takehiko’s good friend, Takashi doesn’t really have much purpose beyond being one of those people who are always around so other characters don’t have to talk to themselves when they have something to think through.

Final Thoughts
Even the details revealed above can only cover the broad strokes of the world of Oniisama E, a place where angst is as essential as air, and where unbalanced people seem constantly out to manipulate and abuse each other. It won’t be for everyone, but if you need a dangerously high dose of melodrama, then look no further.