Category: anime

Tomoyo Daidouji – The Perfect Girl Who Deserves More Love

It’s September 3—Tomoyo Daidouji’s birthday. As a tribute to the best girl, it’s fitting that I would be talking about her today.

It seems to be pretty obvious that I recently got back in the hype of the Card Captor Sakura franchise after I did another Card Captor Sakura – Clear Card anime marathon a while back. I did write about the Card Captor Sakura franchise (well, you can see them all here) in general but I never really got to write about my favorite girl specifically.

So Tomoyo deserves more love—because she never really got the love she wanted in return. Honestly, it hurts me a bit. She is the perfect girl you would ever want to have: beautiful, rich (very rich), intelligent, and very talented. 99% of the time, she has always been with Sakura’s side through thick and thin. I admit that if Sakura never had Tomoyo in the picture, she might have not have reached a lot so far both as a Card Captor and also as an ordinary girl.

Honestly, there is that part of me that wished Sakura did return her feelings to Tomoyo (both in the manga and in the anime). Until now, I still do. But I know that CLAMP would never really do this because Sakura was meant for Syaoran in the end. No contest.

But why would they make such a perfect character just be in the friendzone?

She deserves to be with someone. Honestly, you can ship her with all the other characters in the series like Meiling or Eriol (please don’t), but all the other characters aren’t really a perfect match. I guess you might say that Tomoyo is just completely perfect to be with anyone, with an exemption to Sakura. I know it would be so wrong in comparing this to the Phantom of Opera musical situation where there is a romantic love triangle involved—but it just hurts me to know that this girl only lacked that one piece of her almost perfect life.

If you check out the hashtag #大道寺知世誕生祭2020 on Twitter, you would notice the great amount of love that fans give Tomoyo on her birthday. I also posted mine too. I will never forget this tweet because this was liked by Tomoyo’s seiyuu herself, Junko Iwao. This smile hasn’t worn off since I saw the like on my Twitter notifications.

 

Tomoyo is a great and memorable character that I am not ashamed to repeat that over and over again. You might say that she doesn’t really do much because she doesn’t have powers unlike Sakura and Syaoran. However, the devotion, love, and support that she gives are more than any kind of magic. I do hope that Tomoyo gets more love as the Clear Card manga is still ongoing. Perhaps maybe a special chapter dedicated to her (or a side-story manga of sorts perhaps?)

Anyways, Happy Happy Birthday Tomoyo-chan. You are one of my favorite anime characters and I do hope you continue to inspire many fans like me with your kindness, generosity, and your complete perfection.

 

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I hope you enjoyed this small birthday tribute. If you like this article, you can check out more of my articles here in The Lily Cat. Also, you can also help me continue do yuri and fandom reviews and news through tipping me a cup of coffee or be part of the Kitty Squad in Patreon.

ABS-CBN Aired ‘Card Captor Sakura’ and Shaped my Childhood—Thank you, Kapamilya

July 10. I will never forget this date.

I rarely talk about Tagalog dubs here or even anime that’s been aired on Philippine television during my childhood. But I guess it’s about time I share what I feel about this whole situation, and what it means to me.

Aside from Sailor Moon, my second favorite anime is Card Captor Sakura. Anyone who has met and knew me personally would know this too well.

The first time I have heard and seen this anime was around the early 2000s. It was aired every Saturday morning in ABS-CBN, one of the Philippines’ largest TV and media networks.

As I continue writing about this piece, my heart aches for this network. On July 10, Friday, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises has denied its application for renewal. The past couple of months were tough for the network. It appeared that our public officials gave more importance of shutting down ABS-CBN rather than dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. There are so many things to enumerate and just really drop the mic in this piece, but I don’t want this to be a very lengthy piece.

ABS-CBN aired Card Captor Sakura, and in a way, shaped not only my childhood but also as a fan of this significant subculture. I owe it all to the Kapamilya Network.

I watched the show every Saturday morning. I was trying my best never to miss an episode. I remember getting pissed off as a kid when I never got to watch it because the local branch of ABS-CBN decides to overlap it with another show. The dub was in Tagalog, our country’s primary language. Although I had absolutely no idea what Sakura, Tomoyo, Keroberos, Syaoran, and the rest of the gang are saying, I enjoyed it. I loved it to bits.

My love for the series also motivated me to research more about it on the Internet. This was during the period where Angelfire and Geocities sites dominated the anime fandom world. My curiosity has also lead me into the pit of the Sakura and Tomoyo ship, which has fueled and sparked my love for Yuri.

The more I got into the anime, the more I was introduced to the other series under the CLAMP umbrella: Magic Knight Rayearth, Angelic Layer, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, CLAMP School Detective, Chobits, and so on.

The timing of everything, though. I just got back into the hype of the series due to having a marathon of the Clear Card anime. This hits so deep.

The government pulled the plug off a network that housed over 11,000 people composed of celebrities, journalists, writers, tech crew, and so on. This is not just in their main headquarters—but also to their other satellite stations across the country. I just wished that at least for a moment, at least for only one moment, these people would think about the thousands that would be losing jobs because of this.

REMEMBER THIS DAY. DO NOT FORGET THIS DATE EVER.

I am forever thankful for the Kapamilya Network, for it is one of the biggest factors that got me to the world of television, media, and anime. I might have been a different kind of fan—or perhaps a different person.

As always, and like many of the people who believed that what is currently happening to the network is just unfair, I only hope and pray for the best. It is an undeniable fact that the network has been a part of the history of millions of Filipinos—just seeing it crumble like this is just too much.

As what Sakura Kinomoto would always say “絶対大丈夫だよ”

Everything Will Be Alright. I hope and pray that this network will continue to bring more tears, laughs, action, and joy to every Filipino here and around the world.

ABS-CBN, thank you for introducing me to this incredible franchise. Before everything seems too late, Laban Pa Rin Kapamilya.

The Sakura and Tomoyo Relationship: Revisited

Well, hey! I am back (again), from the grave! For good reason, too. As a way to celebrate Pride Month, I went back into writing something I love the most.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I finally was able to fully marathon Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card anime without the fan noise and after so long of avoiding some key spoilers. Due to the immense hype and the return of an “O.G. magical girl series,” I knew that people would be talking about it for a long time. So I avoided it and waited. The wait was worth it. I enjoyed it to its full glory, and I wanted more.

Now also, as of this writing, the first Card Captor Sakura anime is now available for streaming on Netflix. Honestly, this write-up isn’t entirely a review about the anime series (I’ll probably make a separate one for this). This review, however, will be focused on two particular characters—the two specific people that got me into this beautiful genre of loving and shipping two-dimensional girls: Sakura Kinomoto and Tomoyo Daidouji.

Previously, I made a feature of Sakura and Tomoyo. I decided to go back into talking about them here because, God, I just love these two very much!

While watching Clear Card, I am just wholly hands down to how very loyal and caring Tomoyo is to Sakura. Although her comedic moments were a bit too cheesy for me (I guess CLAMP wanted her to make part of the comedic relief aside from Keroberos), I am happy to know that we got to see more of Tomoyo being ahead and doing whatever it takes to help Sakura. Not missing an opportunity to get footage on all her heroic acts (though some of them didn’t go well as planned.)

Every time Sakura and Tomoyo had a “moment,” it always makes me want to fangirl and giggle. These two were just completely cute together. Also, let’s give props to Tomoyo y’all—she was there for Sakura all the way when Syaoran wasn’t around for a while. Imagine if Sakura didn’t have Tomoyo, and she had to deal with the pain of not having her date because he left for Hong Kong. She was there for Sakura when no one never did.

Also, it amazes me that because of wanting to capture almost all of Sakura’s heroic moments, Tomoyo upped her game. She let her mother (the President of Daidouji Toys, mind you) create better gadgets so she could get better footage of Sakura. Imagine that dedication. Never have you seen someone from anime go into this level just for the person they care about the most.

Aside from watching Clear Card, I also took the time to do a small rewatch of Card Captor Sakura the Movie. Oh, Lord! How I loved this movie—in fact, watching both the CCS movies have become a tradition of sorts for me every New Year’s Eve.

In the first movie, Sakura and the gang won a trip to Hong Kong and encountered a mysterious person calling for Sakura. When Sakura finally got to meet the said person (which appeared to someone from Clow Reed’s past), this person took all of Sakura’s friends, and our heroine Cardcaptor would have to defeat her if she wants them back. Sakura wasn’t able to rescue everyone with the magic she had (and time was ticking), but she was able to successfully rescue Tomoyo. This scene is probably one of my favorites as it shows how Sakura really cared for Tomoyo.

Okay, now we go back to Clear Card. Same as the first anime, Clear Card Tomoyo still plays the best friend-sidekick role. There was no hint of borderline romantic moves from her because, well, Sakura had Syaoran already. A lot of people would revolt if ever there was a hint that Tomoyo DID make a move on her.

As much as how I wish there was a hint of more romance between the two girls, but I think we would just end up having the CLAMP-flavored subtext that we have always gotten over the years. Regardless, I will always be proud enough to say that I got to love this genre (and writing Yuri-related stuff) because of the Tomoyo and Sakura ship. I would probably not stop talking about them anytime soon. In fact, I even talked about it a recent podcast with Jay Agonoy (keepsakes.).

I still look forward to what’s to come with the Card Captor Sakura franchise. Although the franchise itself isn’t really yuri, the subtext and the characters were my gateways into getting into this beautiful genre.

This is definitely one great comeback into writing Yuri-related stuff again after almost a month of no updates whatsoever here on the site. Hey, there’s definitely more to come. As always, Sakura and Tomoyo will always be one of my favorite Yuri ships of all time.  

Now, to formally end this post, I would like to share one of my recent favorite Sakura and Tomoyo fan art created by @neko_cer on Twitter. Still can’t get enough of this, really. Come on, CLAMP! Give Tomoyo some love, please?

Tomoyo and Sakura fanart by neko_cer

 

Anime Convention to Ban Attendees Wearing ‘Ahegao’ Hoodies and Shirts

A storm of mixed opinions was raised on Monday when the official Twitter account of SunnyCon Anime Expo announced that they will not allow attendees who wear ahegao clothing in their upcoming convention next year.

Ahegao is an exaggerated facial expression during sex, mostly common in Japanese hentai manga and related media. The said expression recently became popular in otaku and weeab fashion, and it has reached to the point that it has been a trending kind of clothing you’ll see in anime and cosplay conventions. Some even have the nerve to even wear them in public during non-convention days like in school or even going to the mall.

The reason for this is due to they are “an all-age convention.” Official rules of SunnyCon Anime Expo is expected to be posted this week as the organizers are still updating the website.

SunnyCon Anime Expo is an anime, cosplay, and hobby convention established in 2010. The next one will be happening on June 26 to 28 at St James Park, United Kingdom.

Source: SunnyAnimeExpo (Twitter), SunnyCon Anime Expo Website

Citrus Anime to Rebroadcast in Japan this Month, Citrus+ Volume 1 to Release in November

image from @_saburouta (Twitter)

We have not one, but two great news on Citrus this week.

On a recent tweet posted by Saburouta on Wednesday, it was announced that the anime adaptation of Citrus will rebroadcast in Japan starting on July 4 at TOKYO MX (Japan). The second news is that first volume of Citrus+ will be released in Japan on November 18.

It has been 6 years since the series made its debut and has now grown to be one of the most popular and mostly-read yuri manga series.

The announcement of Citrus+ was revealed in the release of the 41st chapter of Citrus in last year’s Comic Yuri Hime issue. The spin-off’s first chapter was released last Winter 2018.

Citrus was first published in Comic Yuri Hime on November 2012. An anime adaptation of the manga was aired in Japan last January 2018 and ran for a total of 12 episodes.

Source: Saburouta (Twitter)

 

VIZ Corrects Error on Haruka-Michiru Relationship from “Friends” to “Partners”

After so many years, VIZ Media has finally got the 5th Season of Sailor Moon (Sailor Moon Sailor Stars) to be released on Blu-Ray and DVD. While this is a delight for its long-time fans in the West, some have reported that in the SAILOR MOON SAILOR STARS booklet, Haruka (Sailor Uranus) and Michiru (Sailor Neptune) were described “as Friends”.

The Sailor Moon community was vocal enough to catch this error and VIZ Media has updated and released a statement regarding this, finally acknowledging them “as partners”.

Their full statement says:

The team here at VIZ was very excited to take on the honor of localizing SAILOR MOON, especially acknowledging that Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus are not friends, but in fact, partners.

We made a mistake in the SAILOR MOON: SAILOR STARS booklet, and we deeply apologize for the implications of our error. We have initiated a reprinting of the booklet with updated language. 

Thank you to the SAILOR MOON community for bringing this to our attention. We have been proud of our work supporting the series and will continue to do so in the future.

More details to follow about how to receive a replacement booklet.

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars originally aired in Japan from March 1996 to February 1997 for a total of 34 episodes. VIZ Media announced during their Sailor Moon panel in Anime NYC last year that they will be releasing the series on DVD and Blu-Ray. The first volume was released this month. 

Source: VIZ Media (Newsroom)

How ‘Bloom Into You’ Made the Yuri Fan in Me Great Again

November 25th is the birthday of Nio Nakatani, creator of the popular yuri manga series Bloom into You (Yagate Kimi ni Naru). As a small tribute for her of sorts, I decided to write about the series and how it made an impact on me.

The Resurrection of the Yuri Fangirl

To be honest, I don’t know where to start from here. As the title says, I am amazed to how this manga brought back the joy in me as a yuri fan.  I can never be happier.

I heard of Bloom Into You around 2016, a year after its manga debut in Japan. However, I regretted that I didn’t follow this series religiously like my friends because I focused all my attention to Lezhin’s GL webcomics, in which there is a part of me that feels guilty or full of regret to why I haven’t read this sooner.

This is what the yuri fandom needs right now: a story that is innocent, realistic, and beautiful. The perfect yuri story that doesn’t show skin or multiple panels of kissing, gropping, and so on.

The last time I was able to have these kind of emotions was the time I read Octave, a manga by Haru Akiyama. Those realistic emotional feelings just returned to me when I read Bloom Into You. Just a couple of chapters on, I already had my mind thinking that this manga deserves an anime treatment– years later, it did.

Breaking the Anime Adaptation News

I think it’s safe to say that I was the first person (or maybe there are others beside me let me know) who wrote of Bloom Into You possibly getting an anime adaptation after the results of an online poll was revealed in this year’s AnimeJapan. I wrote about it with much excitement considering how this typical industry works (due to my full time job) and published it. Of course, just hours later, I received some backlash ironically from a Yuri Facebook group saying that “it was fake news “where in I fact I had legit sources that would reveal that it can happen. I remained professional on the matter, kept silent, and hoping that at least a good animation studio would pick it up.

The Leak 

Just a month after I posted that article, info of an image leak of a Yagakimi anime banner came out and I knew that my hunches were right from the start. I tried to calm down after I published about it. Thoughts were going through my mind. One is “I hope it’s not an OVA” (like what they did with the adaptation of Kase-san). Second is “I hope the anime is close to the manga.” I didn’t want the anime adaptation to be like Citrus where there are some things that were missing and totally off. Third is “They shouldn’t change anything.”

Beautifully Accurate

When the anime adaptation was confirmed, I had the biggest smile on my face. After watching the first episode, I remember shedding a small tear on my right eye and my hair stand on end due to how it was really close to the manga.

This series is a rare gem and I do hope the animation studio TROYCA continues to keep the aesthetics of the original source until the end  (just in case you guys don’t know, the manga is still ongoing). I am very happy that both old and new fans of Bloom Into You are loving the anime and I look forward to what it has in store for 2019 and beyond.

If you guys haven’t read or watch the series, I suggest you give it a try. You won’t regret it. I intentionally made this article spoiler-free for the benefit of those who are still planning to add this to their yuri reading and watch this. Hopefully if time permits, I will do an in-depth review on it.

To Nio Nakatani, thank you for creating this awesome series. It was in Bloom Into You that got me back to my first love that is yuri manga and I can never thank you enough to bring me to back to innocent and beautiful side of this genre. Happy Birthday!

 

‘Yagate Kimi Ni Naru’ Anime Premieres TONIGHT! – October 5, 2018!

The highly anticipated anime adaptation of Nio Nakatani’s award-winning yuri manga series Yagate Kimi ni Naru (Bloom Into You) will premiere TONIGHT, October 5. It will be aired at 9:30pm Japan Standard Time on the following channels: AT-X, followed by Tokyo MX, Sun TV, KBS Kyoto, BS11, TV Aichi, and TVQ Kyushu Housou starting October 5. dAnime Store will also be streaming the series online.

Both Hisako Kanemoto and Minako Kotobuki will be voicing Yuu Koito and Touko Nanami respectively. Other cast members include Ai Kayano as Sayaka Seiki and Taichi Ichikawa as Seiji Maki.

Yagate Kimi ni Naru or Bloom Into You was first published in April 2015 in Japan and still ongoing. It is now being published in English by Seven Seas Entertainment. The manga was ranked number 3 in a Japanese poll asking which manga series that you want to be animated next. The results were revealed during the AnimeJapan 2018 weekend.

Sentai Filmworks recently gets the license for the anime making it available for the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America.

Sources: Crunchyroll News , Moca News, Yagakimi (Twitter)

Second Season of ‘Kakegurui’ to Air on January 2019

Get ready for more gambling action and yuri vibes as the second season of Kakegurui will be aired in Japan on January 2019. This was confirmed in a recently released magazine scan (image above).

Kakegurui (also known as Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler) is based on the manga series written by Homura Kawamoto and illustrated by Tōru Naomura. The anime adaptation first aired from July 1 until September 23, 2017. The franchise also has a live-action adaptation and a live-action film both slated for a Spring 2019 release .  You can watch the first season anime via the premium video streaming platform Netflix.

Source: Moetron News and Comic Natalie

Pony Canyon to hold US Premiere Screening of ‘Kase-san and Morning Glories’ at Anime Expo!

An announcement posted by the official Kase-san animation Twitter page on Monday revealed that Pony Canyon will be holding the US premiere screening of Kase-san and Morning Glories (Asagao to Kase-san) Original Video Animation (OVA) on Sunday, July 8 during the Anime Expo weekend. 

The premiere screening will be held at the JW Marriott Ballroom from 12:30pm to 2:00pm. Special appearances during this special event are none other than the OVA’s Director Takuya Sato and Producer Yusuke Terada! Autograph sessions will also happen with details to be announced the soonest. 

Based on the popular yuri manga series Kase-san by Hiromi Takashima, the story is about a timid girl named Yui Yamada falling in love with the athletic and boyish Tomoka Kase. It follows their growing relationship while facing its ups and downs together. 

The Lily Cat is your source for the latest updates and reviews on Yuri, GL, anime, manga, cosplay, and more.