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skysenshi (11.10.2002)
Wish heterosexual hentai could be as profound as this.
Legend of the Blue Wolves deserves applause for being one
of the rare yaoi hentai that boasts of detailed private parts.
In fact, it's the first of its kind that I ever saw, as most
yaoi mangaka tend to make love scenes very soft and dreamy.
Of course, there's the standard Japanese censorship, but you
can still see the genitals underneath that annoying blurry
cloud.
Bitch mode on.
However, I am appalled that the first ecchi scene is that
of a big tub of lard who dominates his military subordinate
with the tip of his whip. This same tub of lard continues
to hog nearly all the other precious hentai scenes, as he
goes out of his way to invent excuses just to sexually harass
the lead character. I remember wishing that shounen-ai h-scenes
should be a little more detailed, but I didn't expect them
to feature such an ugly abomination to anime in different
rape shots while they were at it. Goodness sakes, when I said
I wanted detail, I didn't mean that they should make my skin
crawl! So you probably have to forgive me if I tried to cleanse
my mind of the disgusting memory by taking screenshots Set
3, which features the best looking guys in very steamy sex
scenarios.
Bitch mode off.
It's very unfortunate that this title would never be released
outside of Japan. It was originally intended to be an OVA
series, but it seems like the creators got bankrupt after
the first episode and they never got around to releasing any
continuations. In honor of such an inspiring anime that might
never reach the eyes of fellow shounen-ai lovers, please allow
me to break my spoiler-free code and discuss the story in
depth.
Editor's UPDATE 09.17.2005: This title has just been licensed. The next few paragraphs are now officially spoilers. Please proceed with caution.
Alternately titled Legend of the Four Horsemen, Legend of
Blue Wolves is basically a flashback anime. At least, the
first episode is. It tells of 2nd lieutenant Jonathan Tyberius'
past and his purpose for being so adamant in coming to the
front line. He begins with the memory of his childhood, and
then meeting a man, Leonard Schteinberg, who reminds him of
a fatally attractive mentor.
The first meeting is rather harsh, as Leonard's fist comes
into contact with Jonathan's face. It is what Jonathan gets
for being too careless in a field full of armed mecha. Later,
they discover that they are roommates. It doesn't take long
for them to develop a strong bond with each other. Jonathan
reminds Leonard of the deceased younger brother that the latter
had failed to save, and this becomes reason for Leonard to
constantly hover over Jonathan protectively. He teaches Jonathan
a valuable philosophy during one of their shooting practices—that
if Jonathan should see a man's face inside an Apocalypse,
Jonathan must do an honorable thing and kill the man. A warrior
must die an honorable warrior's death—it is only through
this that he will be free from captivity.
Enter the big tub of lard, who seems to be a high-ranking
officer in the military camp. He spies on Jonathan during
training and determinedly finds ways to corner the young man.
First he uses Jonathan's poor scores during shooting practice
as an excuse to send the lad into his quarters. Alas, his
domination does not work, as Jonathan would rather be commanded
during military duty and refuses to be controlled in such
a demeaning way. Next, Mr. Lard beats Jonathan to a pulp during
hand-to-hand combat training, causing Leonard to step in and
challenge Mr. Lard in Jonathan's stead.
During this time, Jonathan discovers that Leonard seems to
swing the other way, which is an insinuation that Leonard
does not deny. He does promise, however, that he would never
take Jonathan unwillingly. Unfortunately, Mr. Tub-O-Lard doesn't
share the same noble ideas. His third and final attempt to
take advantage of Jonathan has him accusing Jonathan of being
an Apocalypse spy. An "assistant" aids him in his
claims and he succeeds in finally sending Jonathan to the
men's room for an "examination" (see 2nd screenshot
of Set 2).
Leonard, who is being sent to jail for being an indirect
accomplice, suddenly remembers the time he couldn't rescue
his brother. He realizes that Jonathan needs him and this
time, he decides that he would never let history repeat itself.
He comes in too late, catching Jonathan with his mouth full
of Mr. Lard's member. Enraged, Leonard draws his blade, telling
Fat Bastard that he'd never respect a man as dirty as him,
and promptly cuts off the man's offensive appendage.
I don't really understand what happened next, whether Leonard
killed the man or just castrated him, but news of the incident
was suppressed so that a scandal wouldn't break out. Sometime
later, Leonard is called to stand in the front line. Before
he leaves, Jonathan begins to tell him something—that he
knew Leonard only sees him as a younger brother. Leonard cuts
him off by saying, "You are you," and asks to have
one night with him. They make sweet love—the only decent
non-rape hentai scene in the entire OVA, I might add—and
end the night with Leonard asking Jonathan to promise that
if he ever meets Leonard on the battlefield completely changed,
he must kill Leonard with his hands.
Fast forward to the present time. Leonard never returned
to the Second Titan Recapture Strategy and Jonathan becomes
more resolute in keeping his vow. Jonathan comes face to face
with an Apocalypse and glimpses his old lover's face. With
nary a hesitation, he climbs out of his mech, floats over
to Leonard's Apocalypse and thrusts his knife into the other
man's chest (Set 2, 4th screenshot). Jonathan kisses Leonard
through his helmet. The last vestiges of Leonard's consciousness
push him away just before the machine explodes. This marks
the Earth's first victory over the Apocalypse—March 15,
2199 A.D. on Jupiter's Ganymede.
Credits roll. After this, a scene with a blue-haired man
and his companion is shown as they walk towards a newly delivered
battle ship. The words "To Be Continued" flashes
onscreen. Of course, we now know that there never would be
a continuation to the OVA.
As we can see, Legend of the Blue Wolves actually follows
a formula used by a few yaoi anime: Boy meets boy; friction
in the first few minutes; skin contact in the next half of
the film; and death by the end of it. It also touches on the
issue of identity crises, especially when Leonard admits he
is indeed gay, which triggers a long-forgotten memory from
Jonathan's childhood. Like many impressionable children, Jonathan
had somebody to hero-worship, but the difference lies in that
he would masturbate whenever he would think of his mentor's
figure. The image of this mentor changed to that of Leonard's
and Jonathan silently questioned himself as to whether his
lust was actually just a narcissistic tendency.
The artwork and animation are pretty, albeit I find the males'
physiques too buff for my taste. I'm guessing this is a 90s
production, though I must admit that I am amazed at how crisp
and clear the visuals are. The music are almost classical
and romantic, just enough to set the mood.
It's just saddening that I couldn't find any other 411 on
this anime, its creators, its voice actors and the manga.
I did find a Russian
site that has in-depth information,
and complete story/review.
It also has quite a selection of remarkable screenshots. The
web author hinted that Koyasu Takehito might have played Jonathan,
but I've never seen Legend of Blue Wolves in any of
Takehito's online resumés. It's possible that he didn't
list it because the series was unfinished. Hm. I'm suddenly
more curious about Takehito, as I've been seeing his performances
more and more in yaoi titles like this (see ZetsuAi
1989 and Bronze).
Update 09.17.2005 : As of this update, the Russian site is dead, but many sites discussing Legend of Blue Wolf have surfaced. Perhaps this is because Blue Wolf has been licensed, an event that many of its fans have deemed impossible. I even found one site who just blatantly plagiarised me (stealing my writing without giving me so much as credit). I'm just not going to point you to the site because I don't want to give it unnecessary attention.
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