Candy Boy – a yuri too far?
Posted on | July 29, 2008 | 10 Comments |
Apologies for resuming my dead status again – Unfortunately, I can’t even make the excuse that I haven’t had the time – I’ve been mostly spending it doing translations for Yuribou-scans. I have come to the conclusion that as long as a manga has lots and lots of sex in it, it is easy to translate. I mean, there are only so many words you can use to describe heaving sweaty bodies and having lots of orgasms. However, add some story into the mix and suddenly it becomes a week long slog ^^;; I really need to learn more kanji…
So what anime has affected me most in the last few weeks?
I’d like to say Strike Witches, but since so little has been subbed and I just can’t help drawing parallels to Sky Girls with reference to the lolis in the sky with diamonds…i mean guns, that it has yet to make an impact past the Italian loli’s stripled pantsu.
Actually, since (I think) Leviathan told me to ignore my conscience (Erica, get off my shoulder!) and indulge in the unabashed yuri-fest that is the Candy Boy ONA, I can’t halp but use the anime to reflect back on the status of the yuri genre at the moment.
The premise of the rather inappropriately titled Candy Boy is that there are two sisters, Yukino (the sweet eating easy-going one) and Kanade (the straight laced down-to-earth one) who “love each other very much” in the capacity of holding hands and the occasional off-screen kiss. Oh, did I mention they live together and go to the same college? And so the fodder for a slice of life anime begins. The only other plot seems to be that Kana also has a rather rich stalker by the name of Sakuya, who definitely fulfils the “scarily into you” kind of stalker stereotype – collecting close up digital camera shots and blowing them up to put on her wall, having a small shrine of things that Kana touches; so on and so forth.
What more could you want out of a story except two yuri sisters and a scary yuri stalker underclassman?
I really like Candy Boy, because it does push all my Loser Fanboy buttons. It has lovely art, the characters are likeable and the yuri is sweet and not over the top like it can be (*ahem* Ikkitousen Great guardians) However, I just can’t help but listen to the little Erica who I squashed earlier shouting “What about the real love?”
What happened to the yuri stories committee that we have somehow gotten to the stage that just yuri isn’t enough? Who thought that putting in incest into the equation would somehow make the anime better? Having thought about it a little bit, I would definitely like the anime a lot more if Yuki and Kana were just roommates and not sisters. (Apologies to all the incest fans out there, by the way, but would you screw your own sisters? I thought not.)
As I have said countless times in previous posts, I believe incest to be not a plot device but really a marketing device, which is used to boost the depravity factor of the anime and gain more Loser Fanboy Rating. (Boy I sure fell into that one…) Adding the incest factor to Candy Boy took it from the realms of possibility (Two roommates who slowly grow to like each other perhaps a little more than best friends would) to the realms of improbability (Two sisters who are too close for comfort). Add to this a rich disturbed stalker, and you have something pretty much altogether fictional.
But perhaps this is what the public want? Surely anime is where you go to get away from the rules of everyday life, where mechas rule the future, and all girls go to All-Girls-All-Nude-Lesbian-Catholic Schools? I think there is an overwhelming urge when writing yuri to “pep it up a bit” with various devices just to avoid a story too parallel with everyday life. At the same time, Loser Fanboys who fap to yuri don’t want to know the truth about loving yuri relationships; I think they’d rather prefer to think that girls all go to Catholic schools where they experimented with their classmates and the feisty upperclassmen in the spacious onsen and got taught cunnilingus skills in extracurricular lessons. Am i right?
So Erica, I think I am on your side about this one. Perhaps just that little bit too much Loser Fanboy to be good yuri. However, I’ll never like the emo-yuri that you always seem to hark on about…perhaps my fanboy genes are getting in the way ^^
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10 Responses to “Candy Boy – a yuri too far?”
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July 29th, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
I think it is still a bit too early to really pass judgment here, I know that is such a stock answer but I have some points. First I will agree that the incest angle is odd to say the least, but as you said we have only seen very little of how they interact alone. To be honest we probably filled in the pieces already since let’s face the fact a good portion of us are perverts.
My second point follows closely, we have yet to see how they handle themselves when they aren’t living by themselves. I mean we get hints that they know that what they feel is looked down upon. The sign on their door, the whole umbrella plot of episode two and of course Kanade making sure Yukino doesn’t say to much on her blog. Of course the real test will be when/if they go home (as teased by the end of episode 2).
With all that said there is still a high chance that it will end up just be pandering show designed to arouse the loins of the countless masses of fanboys. But so what. I should feel bad that I admit I enjoy what I enjoy. A story is good as long as you think it is good, it is a matter of taste. People forget that and others try to exploit it to get people to believe what they do. If you like something try and be happy with that, if not try to figure why you like it. For myself I enjoy the fact they seem to have a truly caring and loving relationship, that yes wanders into fetish land.
July 29th, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
(Leviathan here, changed my nick)
you really need to stop reading that bitch’ blog.
There is nothing wrong with fetishes, not everything have to be what people see as realistic, otherwise plots would have been quite narrow and repetitive.
July 30th, 2008 @ 6:00 am
I haven’t seen Candy Boy, and if it’s as you say then it is a shame that they implemented that but your example is like saying “Hey yuri fans, would you screw another guy? I thought not.”
July 30th, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
Actually, It’s like saying “Hey yuri fans, would you screw your brother? Thought not”
July 30th, 2008 @ 8:25 pm
You should think of it again… i mean yeah incest sucks but this are 2 Girls. Incest only is really a problem when it would be with your brother (as a sister) because if you would have a child…~ So i don’t really see a problem in it.
July 31st, 2008 @ 4:50 am
is a very tender anime, true there are moments of intimacy, but also moments when one feels like the other will lose that bond of being sisters… one of the episodes we show one of the sisters realising that they were starting to have different things, a fear that one day they will have nothing in common and grow apart… as for the incest thing, i think it brings to thing into the series, one they have known each other since birth, and two is also brings a sense of the forbiden but also a bond that no stranger can understand… still, is a nice series
August 3rd, 2008 @ 2:27 am
If you like Strike Witches, have you considered buying it? It’s available to download for about £1.50 per episode (cheaper if you buy a season pass), as hi-res DRM-free mp4 videos that you can keep forever. Check out http://www.bosttv.com/gonzo/strike-witches/
Did I mention that it’s available to download as soon as it stars airing in Japan? In sub, no less!
(Believe it or not, I’m not a marketing person for Bost TV or Gonzo, just an anime fan who thinks this kind of initiative needs more support!) (And if you’ve bought it already, then good for you!)
August 5th, 2008 @ 1:43 am
hear hear…its about the love man. something as forced as what youre describing cant be any good. i guess it makes sense since somehow i just never looked into it, usually i always check out some shoujo ai
August 12th, 2008 @ 12:16 pm
Eh, I don’t mind it. It’s one ONA and 7 14-minute episodes (overall equivalent of 4-5 TV episodes); not a whole lot of room for development.
Perhaps it’s just me, though. I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around the whole “forbidden” nature of incest. It’s not titillating, it’s not shocking, it’s not particularly impressive as a plot gimmick (most of the time), but it’s not something I despise. It’s just ‘there’. It’s about as heart-wrenching as the choice between going to Applebee’s or McAllister’s for dinner, and gets about as much thought.
The only thing of any relevance is whether I like the characters themselves. In this case I like Kana, and Yuki is OK; a decent foil, but could have been better. Of course the reason for Yuki’s easy-going personality is to allow Sakuya to fit in easily. Sakuya I’m not that thrilled with, but the way they set up the interaction between her and Kana is better than average.
I suppose you’re right in that they could have dropped the incest angle and still kept almost the entire storyline intact (just have Kana and Yuki be friends since childhood). But part of the interaction is from the whole ‘twin’ thing, both in how similar they are/appear, and how different, and how that seems to change over time. The emotional entanglements would be somewhat different if they were just childhood friends.
September 6th, 2008 @ 1:49 am
The incest really isn’t a marketing device here. If two twin sisters were to cross the boundaries and become lovers, their love would be more true than that of, say, two roommates. They have known each other their entire lives, and care for each more than anything else. This is very nicely displayed in Candy Boy. Seriously, I haven’t seen any fan-service throughout the entire series so far, and as far as the art goes, it really is the “relaxing and sweet” type rather than the style of fan-service heavy shows like Ikkitousen or Girl’s High. There’s nothing “wrong” here, and I just can’t see how the incest component here was intended to be a marketing device.