Femslash February - Some anime/manga with f/f subtext
You know, in 2021, for femslash february I had made some "female-centric stories with canon wlw" list of recs.
But there were some anime canons that are so frustrating, because. Yeah, it's not technically canon. it's still obvious, and very emotional, and I ship it.
So! Here are a few female-centric anime or manga with almost-canon relationships! The leftovers of 2021!
Michiko e Hatchin
Length: 24 24-minutes episodes
What about the plot? It happens in some kind of alternate Brazil. Michiko just escaped from prison, and wants to find back her ex-boyfriend, Hiroshi. To find him, she kidnaps Hatchin, the daughter he abandoned (who is currently raised by an abusive foster family, so she doesn't protest that much) and they start a road movie to find Hiroshi. Where they find some adventures, the mafia, so many red herrings, some impressive badassness and irresponisibility moments (for Michiko), some evolution and taking charge (from Hatchin)
So, what are you shipping? The cop who wants to catch Michiko back, Atsuko. Who is her childhood friend turned sour. There are moments where she literally has no heterosexual explanation.
Also I have included pics of respectively Hatchin and Michiko having some gratuitous UST with characters of the day, necause I could.
Happy ending or not? Shipping-wise, not really, plot-wise, the ending is a bit bittersweet but mostly positive.
Warnings? Oh, the child abuse at the beginning is hard. Michiko is very sexualized, you have to accept this before starting. Lots of anime violence.
How good it is? Damn, it is very good. Unique. Sometimes it loses me, because their version of Brazil, while sounding true, is so weird, but it's also so fun.
Escale à Yokohama / Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou by Ashinano Hitoshi
Length: 14 manga volumes
What about the plot? Very fluffy, slice of life, apocalyptic manga, where the humans have just become less and less fertile, and less and less many. There are less government agencies, and mostly people who love each other.
Alpha, the main girl, has a café by the sea. She's also a robot. She will, probably, outlast humanity, but in the meantime, she enjoys every day.
So, what are you shipping? So, there's another robot named Kokone, and it's so fanservicey because robots exchange information by kissing, and Kokone gets all troubled about this, and damn, she's so easy to ship. Robot romance!
Happy ending or not? Bittersweet, story-wise. Very optimistic, shipping-wise.
Warnings? Nothing apart from the end of the world.
How good it is? If you enjoy the premice, the atmosphere and the worldbuilding are super well done.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Length: There are 12 24-minutes episodes. Also, some movies, a spinoff show, more than one manga, but the original series is enough.
What about the plot? In this world, when you become Magical Girl, you're granted one wish. In exchange, you spend the rest of your life battling human-devouring monsters called witches. It's not tempting. It's very dangerous, and has... other drawbacks. Madoka has been saved by Magical Girls, thinks about becoming one, but what wish would be worth it ? She's happy as she is, and also, a mysterious girl tries to discourage her.
So, what are you shipping? Homura->Madoka is one of these obsessional relationships with no heterosexual explanation. Kyoko/Sayaka is more fanon, but as it was popular, the movie started to give bigger hints of it.
Happy ending or not? Not really but it could have been so much worse!!
Warnings? Darkness and death and despair.
How good it is? I mean. It's cult. I did love it very much. The characters, the music, the design and animation of witches. You probably heard about it, and why it's problematic, and it's up to you to decide to watch it or not.
Read or Die
Length: There is a series of 3 OVA, which are what I'm talking about. There is also a 24 episodes tv show with different main characters but that digs the universe deeper. I tried it, didn't like it. I'm really here for my girls.
What about the plot? Yomiko is a young woman obsessed by books and reading. She also can control paper, make it sharp or make it fly, and she's a spy. She's assigned as a team with Nancy, a sexy woman who can phase through walls, in order to stop a villain who made himself a super-powered army by cloning and modifying dead celebrities...
So, what are you shipping? Yomiko and Nancy are delicious, from the softest part to the harshest betrayals. It's one of these stories where there's canon kissing, but is there canon discussion of feelings? No, they don't have the time.
Happy ending or not? Shipping-wise, no. Plot-wise, still rather sad, but alright I guess.
Warnings? It's an action spy movie, there's some character death.
How good it is? I was delighted when I saw it, even if objectively, I'm not sure the plot makes sense. ^^
Alien Nine by Tomizawa Hitoshi.
Length: Three volumes of manga. An extra volume that I liked less. The anime adaptation was never finished.
What about the plot? Aliens have invaded! Attacks are so common that for schoolgirls, having one responsible for fighting against aliens in every class is the new normal. Yuri is the representative of her class and hates it. She hates having a slimy alien on her head and she hates to be in danger. The representants from the 2 other classes are doing better, at the beginning, but the attacks are harder than planned...
So, what are you shipping? Yuri, and the responsible girl of the team, Kumi. They're slowly getting closer, and it's one of these situations where you have a kiss and no discussions of feelings, though they seem obvious, and you're like, is it canon or not.
Happy ending or not? Another "could be worse"
Warnings? OMG the body horror and psychological horror involving very young girls. You have to be ready to stomach it.
How good it is? This is a guilty pleasure, one of these manga between cuteness and horror that should make me uneasy, but actually, the mix completely gets me. I love the weird aliens and the way it does horror.
Bride Stories by Mori Kaoru
Length: Not finished, about 14 manga volumes for now.
What about the plot? It's slice of live about women in the 19th century Middle East, and more especially how they get married, rituals and courtships described with both precision and feelings.
So, what are you shipping? So. Of course this is about m/f marriages. But there is this arc about these 2 women, Anis and Shirin (see picture), and how they meet, become very close friends, and do a ceremony of sworn sisterhood. It's treated exactly as all the weddings in the story. They have husbands, but it's minimally about them. Is it openly sexual? Not exactly. Is it a lot of passion, devotion, aesthetic appreciation? You bet.
Happy ending or not? Not finished but it's mostly fluffy.
Warnings? One of the weddings, the main one, is an arranged marriage between a teen girl and an 10 years old boy, and there is no sexual content, and they're happy. It can squick people.
How good it is? It is a critical and popular success. The details on the art! The character study being just right! It's slow, and it's fluffy, and one of these things can bother you, but objectively it's good.
But there were some anime canons that are so frustrating, because. Yeah, it's not technically canon. it's still obvious, and very emotional, and I ship it.
So! Here are a few female-centric anime or manga with almost-canon relationships! The leftovers of 2021!
Michiko e Hatchin
Length: 24 24-minutes episodes
What about the plot? It happens in some kind of alternate Brazil. Michiko just escaped from prison, and wants to find back her ex-boyfriend, Hiroshi. To find him, she kidnaps Hatchin, the daughter he abandoned (who is currently raised by an abusive foster family, so she doesn't protest that much) and they start a road movie to find Hiroshi. Where they find some adventures, the mafia, so many red herrings, some impressive badassness and irresponisibility moments (for Michiko), some evolution and taking charge (from Hatchin)
So, what are you shipping? The cop who wants to catch Michiko back, Atsuko. Who is her childhood friend turned sour. There are moments where she literally has no heterosexual explanation.
Also I have included pics of respectively Hatchin and Michiko having some gratuitous UST with characters of the day, necause I could.
Happy ending or not? Shipping-wise, not really, plot-wise, the ending is a bit bittersweet but mostly positive.
Warnings? Oh, the child abuse at the beginning is hard. Michiko is very sexualized, you have to accept this before starting. Lots of anime violence.
How good it is? Damn, it is very good. Unique. Sometimes it loses me, because their version of Brazil, while sounding true, is so weird, but it's also so fun.
Escale à Yokohama / Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou by Ashinano Hitoshi
Length: 14 manga volumes
What about the plot? Very fluffy, slice of life, apocalyptic manga, where the humans have just become less and less fertile, and less and less many. There are less government agencies, and mostly people who love each other.
Alpha, the main girl, has a café by the sea. She's also a robot. She will, probably, outlast humanity, but in the meantime, she enjoys every day.
So, what are you shipping? So, there's another robot named Kokone, and it's so fanservicey because robots exchange information by kissing, and Kokone gets all troubled about this, and damn, she's so easy to ship. Robot romance!
Happy ending or not? Bittersweet, story-wise. Very optimistic, shipping-wise.
Warnings? Nothing apart from the end of the world.
How good it is? If you enjoy the premice, the atmosphere and the worldbuilding are super well done.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Length: There are 12 24-minutes episodes. Also, some movies, a spinoff show, more than one manga, but the original series is enough.
What about the plot? In this world, when you become Magical Girl, you're granted one wish. In exchange, you spend the rest of your life battling human-devouring monsters called witches. It's not tempting. It's very dangerous, and has... other drawbacks. Madoka has been saved by Magical Girls, thinks about becoming one, but what wish would be worth it ? She's happy as she is, and also, a mysterious girl tries to discourage her.
So, what are you shipping? Homura->Madoka is one of these obsessional relationships with no heterosexual explanation. Kyoko/Sayaka is more fanon, but as it was popular, the movie started to give bigger hints of it.
Happy ending or not? Not really but it could have been so much worse!!
Warnings? Darkness and death and despair.
How good it is? I mean. It's cult. I did love it very much. The characters, the music, the design and animation of witches. You probably heard about it, and why it's problematic, and it's up to you to decide to watch it or not.
Read or Die
Length: There is a series of 3 OVA, which are what I'm talking about. There is also a 24 episodes tv show with different main characters but that digs the universe deeper. I tried it, didn't like it. I'm really here for my girls.
What about the plot? Yomiko is a young woman obsessed by books and reading. She also can control paper, make it sharp or make it fly, and she's a spy. She's assigned as a team with Nancy, a sexy woman who can phase through walls, in order to stop a villain who made himself a super-powered army by cloning and modifying dead celebrities...
So, what are you shipping? Yomiko and Nancy are delicious, from the softest part to the harshest betrayals. It's one of these stories where there's canon kissing, but is there canon discussion of feelings? No, they don't have the time.
Happy ending or not? Shipping-wise, no. Plot-wise, still rather sad, but alright I guess.
Warnings? It's an action spy movie, there's some character death.
How good it is? I was delighted when I saw it, even if objectively, I'm not sure the plot makes sense. ^^
Alien Nine by Tomizawa Hitoshi.
Length: Three volumes of manga. An extra volume that I liked less. The anime adaptation was never finished.
What about the plot? Aliens have invaded! Attacks are so common that for schoolgirls, having one responsible for fighting against aliens in every class is the new normal. Yuri is the representative of her class and hates it. She hates having a slimy alien on her head and she hates to be in danger. The representants from the 2 other classes are doing better, at the beginning, but the attacks are harder than planned...
So, what are you shipping? Yuri, and the responsible girl of the team, Kumi. They're slowly getting closer, and it's one of these situations where you have a kiss and no discussions of feelings, though they seem obvious, and you're like, is it canon or not.
Happy ending or not? Another "could be worse"
Warnings? OMG the body horror and psychological horror involving very young girls. You have to be ready to stomach it.
How good it is? This is a guilty pleasure, one of these manga between cuteness and horror that should make me uneasy, but actually, the mix completely gets me. I love the weird aliens and the way it does horror.
Bride Stories by Mori Kaoru
Length: Not finished, about 14 manga volumes for now.
What about the plot? It's slice of live about women in the 19th century Middle East, and more especially how they get married, rituals and courtships described with both precision and feelings.
So, what are you shipping? So. Of course this is about m/f marriages. But there is this arc about these 2 women, Anis and Shirin (see picture), and how they meet, become very close friends, and do a ceremony of sworn sisterhood. It's treated exactly as all the weddings in the story. They have husbands, but it's minimally about them. Is it openly sexual? Not exactly. Is it a lot of passion, devotion, aesthetic appreciation? You bet.
Happy ending or not? Not finished but it's mostly fluffy.
Warnings? One of the weddings, the main one, is an arranged marriage between a teen girl and an 10 years old boy, and there is no sexual content, and they're happy. It can squick people.
How good it is? It is a critical and popular success. The details on the art! The character study being just right! It's slow, and it's fluffy, and one of these things can bother you, but objectively it's good.