~Yuri on Ice!!!~ First Impressions

So this is an interesting one for me let me tell you. I usually steer clear of any of the “boy group sports anime” after having tried to watch a few and them fall flat with me. I will always give series a try though and after hearing so much about this one I caved and started watching it. For whatever reason I was pulled in quick and hard and binge watched the entire series in just two sittings (ive watched it twice at this point).

I think part of it has to do with the fact that I enjoy watching real ice skating more so than other sports as well as my adoration for slightly yaoi stories (ill just admit that right now). I enjoyed the animation and the skating sequences were beautiful along with fun characters all around. There was so much behind the main character when it came to anxiety and feelings of not being good enough I think a lot of people can relate to as well.

I think this one is worth a try but will say I do not think this series is for everyone. If you do watch it let me know what you thought about it in the comments! Also who was your favorite character? I would say I like Yuri the best at this point because he is fairly relatable .

 

 

Love Stage!! ~La la lulu~

Based off the Japanese Yaoi (Boy’s Love) Manga series written by Eiki Eiki and illustrated by Taishi Zao (who wrote Princess Princess under the pen name Mikiyo Tsuda.) The anime series was Directed by Ken’ichi Kasai and produced by J.C.Staff, it ran from July 9th 2014 to September 10th 2014 and consisted of 10 episodes. Crunchyroll licensed the series to be streamed in the Americas along with a few other countries.

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful artwork that I recognized as very similar to that of the series “Princess Princess”, sure enough both series are works of Taishi Zao. In both series the thing that really stands out is the beautiful jewel like eyes along with the smooth and cool facial features.

This series is about a boy Izumi Sena who stars in a commercial revolving around a wedding with another boy around the same age. While filming Izumi is dressed like a little girl and is greatly bothered by stage fright. After messing up he becomes very nervous but is helped by the other boy.

Fast forward 10 years and Izumi is in college and an introvert otaku. He is the youngest son in a family of talented stars who would like him to get into the entertainment business as well. Izumi has no interest in being famous in the public eye, all he wants is to make it as a Manga-ka which in reality he has no talent for.

Somewhere else the boy who stared next to him 10 years ago, Ryoma Ichijo has become a well known star in hopes he can reunite with the little “girl” who he fell in love with. A chance comes up for a commercial reunion and the two are thrown together once again. It doesn’t take long for Ryoma to find out Izumi’s true gender. His initial anger about being deceived turns quickly into infatuation with the adorable Izumi who does not return his feelings. What happens between the two? How does the relationship between grow and what happens with Izumi’s dreams? Watch the show and find out :).

The series involves many different secondary characters like the Sena family manager, Rei who is very protective of Izumi. The older brother who is a famous singer in a band Shogo, who dotes on his little brother and who has a rivalry with Ryoma. They all have somewhat comical relationships with one another which makes for a fun, light show.

I enjoyed the style and story of the series but was disappointed in how short it was. It built up various different aspects and just when things were being dealt with it ended, in my opinion in a rushed way. There was so much more to the story and was very much cut prematurely which does happen in anime series often compared with the manga, in this case though it seemed much more noticeable. If you did enjoy the anime I would recommend reading the manga, the two follow very closely with one another but the manga does continue where the anime left off.

What did you think about the series? Did you like a particular character? Tell me about it in the comments 🙂