(L) Hyakka Ryouran SAMURAI GIRLS

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by Dahak86

...hahaha, Yuuki Aoi is so awesome! I couldn't agree with her more.
She knows what's important in a woman! see? this girl is intelligent.
That look she gave him in the last pic... pure WIN!

She is a bit of an otaku, it appears. Plays games (Smash Bros. and others) and may be into BL manga. If you're interested, check out a blog post I did quoting her own blog post today, in which she used an emoticon I see a lot on 2channel, and where she thanks her fans in a pretty believable way.

Also, I've made a characters/seiyuus page for this show, giving pics of all the main characters and their seiyuus, to help me keep everyone straight. Lots of great voices here.

[MrTerrorist]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

She is a bit of an otaku, it appears. Plays games (Smash Bros. and others) and may be into BL manga. If you're interested, check out a blog post I did quoting her own blog post today, in which she used an emoticon I see a lot on 2channel, and where she thanks her fans in a pretty believable way.

Also, I've made a characters/seiyuus page for this show, giving pics of all the main characters and their seiyuus, to help me keep everyone straight. Lots of great voices here.

I keep trying to access that web-page but it keeps saying "The connection has timed out".

EDIT:Never mind. I was able to load the page using a proxy server.

[tsunade666]

is yagyuu jubei and yagyuu muneakira really siblings? because in one of the 4 koma it looks like they are siblings. And what post era is this? the synopsis say samurai born in modern time but the setting looks old but with modern equipment. Pretty bizarre as I look at it more.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Here are some photos of the seiyuus from what appears to be a recent TV broadcast. (l-r) Kobayashi Yuu (??), Kotobuki Minako, Kugimiya Rie, Yuuki Aoi, Namikawa Daisuke. (click to enlarge)



They appear to be in a set designed like a traditional Japanese room, watching the first episode. In the left-hand images, judging from the on-screen titles, Namikawa apparently says it would be nice if there wasn't all that ink over the pictures....

In the right-hand images Namikawa appears to ask what a general demands in a woman. Yuuki Aoi suggests nice skin. He says, no there's something else. She suggests nice breasts. He says yes, that's very important, but there's something else: intelligence. And she looks at him as if to say: "Yeah, sure."

Hahaha, Ao-chan is so awesome! I'd really like to see the actual show. Her face in the last pic is priceless

'K, I wasn't initially planning on watching this but I think I'll watch it for her. Besides, the rest of the voice cast is also excellent and the chara design is lovely. I'm not expecting much story-wise though...

[farios]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Here are some photos of the seiyuus from what appears to be a recent TV broadcast. (l-r) Kobayashi Yuu (??), Kotobuki Minako, Kugimiya Rie, Yuuki Aoi, Namikawa Daisuke. (click to enlarge)



They appear to be in a set designed like a traditional Japanese room, watching the first episode. In the left-hand images, judging from the on-screen titles, Namikawa apparently says it would be nice if there wasn't all that ink over the pictures....

In the right-hand images Namikawa appears to ask what a general demands in a woman. Yuuki Aoi suggests nice skin. He says, no there's something else. She suggests nice breasts. He says yes, that's very important, but there's something else: intelligence. And she looks at him as if to say: "Yeah, sure."

Namikawa? Don't you mean Hirakawa?

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by farios

Namikawa? Don't you mean Hirakawa?

Whoops. Thanks. Fixed. Hirakawa Daisuke, as shown on the characters/seiyuus page. I always have trouble with that.

@MrTerrorist -- The server was having some problems earlier. Hope they are now all cleared up.

@Kanon -- I don't know how many episodes of this I'll watch, either, but the look and the seiyuus are both good, and I'll be there with bells on for episode one. Much as I like Hirano Aya, I didn't end up watching Queen's Blade. Nor can I take too much of Kiruminzoo, despite the fact it is the show that Yuuki has most vocal freedom in.

@tsunade666 -- Japanese Wikipedia says the set-up is that the Tokugawa shogunate has lasted up to the 21st century, so they are in modern times, but with more traditional aspects. The setting is a samurai school on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, centre of resistance to the Tokugawa. Munehira is the head of the school, or the head's son. One day, a naked woman warrior suddenly drops from the sky. She has no memories, but calls herself Yagyuu Juubei, and refers to Munehira as "Oniisan." Is she really his sister? Don't know.

EDIT: There's now a full review of the yukata event for this show and Queen's Blade here. Lots of photos, especially in the slides at the bottom of the page. The headline is: "Kawasumi, Noto, Itou, Yuuki, Kotobuki So Pretty in Yukatas it Brings Tears...."

And I'd like to quote a couple of posts from Yuuki's 2channel thread over the past few hours, relating to the living-room photos. One said Yuuki's "brain matter is moe." Another called her "cute as a meat bun."

A couple of posters say the person at the left end of the table is Gotou Saori. I'm still not sure if it's her or Kobayashi Yuu: her hands move like Gotou, but her profile doesn't seem that much like her. Probably.

[kenjiharima]

Will watch this because Yagyuu Juubee is on Queens Gate rpg game book.

[dark998]

So (taking in account the time difference with Japan), less than 12 hours till episode 1 special airing?

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by dark998

So (taking in account the time difference with Japan), less than 12 hours till episode 1 special airing?

No, I believe it is 35 hours. It broadcasts at 26:00h on 3 September, which is the same as 02:00h on 4 September, on Tokyo MX. At this moment in Tokyo, it is 15:18 on 2 September (i.e., 3:18 in the afternoon).

[Pheonix03]

Preview blog of Yagyuu Jubei's Queen's Gate book: http://hyakka-ryoran.net/goods.php#goods003

and, her new figure: http://hyakka-ryoran.net/figure.php#figure017

[dark998]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

No, I believe it is 35 hours. It broadcasts at 26:00h on 3 September, which is the same as 02:00h on 4 September, on Tokyo MX. At this moment in Tokyo, it is 15:18 on 2 September (i.e., 3:18 in the afternoon).

Looks like my prediction was off by a whole day. Thanks for making it clear.

[digi.amuro]

Just finished watching a stream of the early broadcast and so far its looking like a really good start. Animation/artwork was pretty superb and the story flow gave off a very bakemonogatori-like vibe with the word panels breaking up scenes. Not much in the way of fighting in the first ep, but sets the framework for a more battle-focused episode 2.

here's some screencaps in the link below for those who haven't watched it yet and dont mind being spoiled. for the most part, its not much more than what we've seen already, aside from the op/ed.

http://matomech.com/article.aspx?aid=672513&bid=154

[Kaoru Chujo]

I really liked it. The story was at an early stage and hard to judge, but I loved the drawing and animation and laughed out loud a couple of times. It did have a kind of Shaft feel, with lots of still stuff, and very artistic/stylish. Lots of nice little animation touches, such as water vibrating in a cup, and a shadow moving. The ink blotches were annoying, but the nudity seemed pretty natural to me, rather than particularly ecchi. The story didn't move that quickly. But this was an introductory episode, so we'll have to see how it evolves.

Another thing I liked was some of (not all of) the voice-acting. I liked the husky tones of Kobayashi Yuu. I thought Gotou Saori and Kotobuki Minako did their characters well (I thought Minako-chan had maybe been listening to Yukana, which is a good thing). But I thought Kugimiya Rie was too much like Kugimiya Rie, and not a character. Maybe she will give the character more originality as the show progresses. But I'm not her hugest fan, and one guy on 2channel was happy to hear that voice again. I thought Hirakawa Daisuke started a bit slowly, but gave his character some life as we went along.

And once again I thought Yuuki Aoi's work (all too little of it as there was) was a triumph. Three separate voices, all fascinating, and two quite new.

Spoiler for ep01:

She did the promo that started the show in a genki voice that I could only identify as hers by a couple of her standard high-tension tropes. Then she did a soft, quizzical voice for Juubei before awakening. Then she did a magically deep and strong voice for the awakened Juubei.

Reaction on 2channel is mixed. Lots of people say it's hard to judge. Others hated the ink blots. One talked about how derivative it is (but I actually didn't feel that, despite the surface similarities to the shows mentioned above). One person found the female voice-acting drab. I personally think that 2channel tends to be unimaginative and to like only things that repeat old ways of doing things, and this has a bit of freshness to it, in the look at least.

One thing I agree with 2channel on is that the male protagonist is a pretty cool guy, with some real strength.

[tsunade666]

ep01? what do you mean with it? I tried to open the spoiler but I didn't much understand it anyway. All more comments. Is their a pre-airing already?

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

ep01? what do you mean with it? I tried to open the spoiler but I didn't much understand it anyway. All more comments. Is their a pre-airing already?

As discussed below, ep01 has just aired in Japan as a preview of the series.

[digi.amuro]

I agree that the male lead was pretty awesome this episode. Hoping he stays at least somewhat relevant to future battles and not get completely overshadowed by the ladies. Also glad to see that he can put a more serious look on that baby-face of his, lol.

As far as voicing goes, I thought they did well for the most part and seeing as its been awhile since I've watched a show with Rie voicing someone, I was glad to hear her again. Having said that, Rie is Rie no matter what role she's in, so it was just as Kaoru said.

Also, I'm glad the OP was different from the vocal song in that one trailer, since it didn't seem to suit this show.

[Dahak86]

I just took a look at the stream for this preair, and from what I can see.. it looks good, very good. Nice OP and ED too (luv' both of them, especially the ED.. so cute and )
also, I fully agree with what people above me have said! and Yuuki Aoi was awesome as always!
the only bad thing? It's censored too much ink covering the good parts..
well, since I don't know nihongo, I'll have to postpone any other comment 'till subs are out.
I'll just throw in some gifs and pics

Spoiler for gifs (nsfw):

http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537182227.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537195364.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537201533.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537207008.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537211451.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537216191.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537221569.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537226268.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537231578.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537237335.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537242759.gif

omg, so cute! =>
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537247762.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537252892.gif
http://jlab-tv.niceboat.org/2/s/tv1283537259052.gif

the funniest ones =>

Spoiler for OP pics:

Spoiler for ED pics (nsfw):

Spoiler for some of the best scenes:

[digi.amuro]

Appreciate the service, Dahak. These are some nice crisp images. I take it the raws have made it onto the net finally?

[Dahak86]

@digi.amuro: thanks! and to answer your question, yup

[Key Board]

This show has an incredibly distracting ink brush art style

My eyes hurt after a while