Simoun (Yuri Sci-Fi!)

[Milky Mixer]

While attending Anime Weekend Atlanta, I was lucky to see the first two episodes of a series called Simoun. Hadn't seen anyone posting about this show, so I thought I'd start a thread. I don't know, despite the fact that the fansubtitles seemed a bit confusing (or maybe the story isn't just explained right away), I really liked what I saw of this series. Something about it just captured my imagination, from the character designs to the cool sci-fi aspect.

Basically, for those not familiar, Simoun takes place on another world where everyone is born as female. At 19, people then choose whether they want to be male or female and visit a sacred spring to make their decision. There's a war going on, and one of the countries (sorry, I had a hard time keeping up with the names and what was going on) has the secret of the Simoun which the other country wants to obtain. From what I gather, the Simoun are these green glowing orbs inside these really cool ships that the women have to pilot in Pairs. And yes, when I say Pairs I mean Pairs. The opening credits have the girls kissing and such. The ships are done with CG instead of 2D drawing, which I usually find more distracting than complimentary (see Trinity Blood) but the animators pull it off and the ships seem to be really unique looking to me. Although I thought the storytelling was a bit confusing (which is sometimes typical when you're "discovering" a different world and are trying to pick up what is happening via dialogue), there was something that really captured my imagination and I want to see more of this. One of the girls seems to be a headstrong, brash pilot who only wants to be Paired with the best and basically goes looking for the pilot most consider to be the best - then just barges in and lays one on her and announces "I want to Pair with you!" Gotta love a chick who just pushes her way in and kisses another chick who she has never even met before! In another scene, they showed a couple of the girls visiting the spring where one of them decides to become male... they explain the change will be gradual, that her voice will start to change, her breasts will shrink, etc. Before going into the spring she seemed excited to become male, but then afterwards when she realized what she'd done, she just fell to her knees and started screaming. I thought it was a pretty wicked moment.

Anyway, I really want to see more of this series and am hoping someone licenses it! Doesn't seem to be enough yaoi or yuri with sci-fi in it (I'm tired of high school dramas and comedies, though the gender-changing yuri Kashimashi was also shown and it was cutely entertaining... but not nearly as interesting to me as Simoun was).

[Animematt55]

hmm...I am not much of a fan of Sci-fi, but i did liek Kiddy Grade. I have some of these fansubbed, i will have to watch it soon.

[Kaosgirl]

While attending Anime Weekend Atlanta, I was lucky to see the first two episodes of a series called Simoun. Hadn't seen anyone posting about this show, so I thought I'd start a thread.


I've seen a lot of people recommending it (mostly on the animesuki forums) but not much actual discussion of it other than that. I'm definately interested in checking it out once I'm caught up on some other stuff tho.


Anyway, I really want to see more of this series and am hoping someone licenses it! Doesn't seem to be enough yaoi or yuri with sci-fi in it (I'm tired of high school dramas and comedies, though the gender-changing yuri Kashimashi was also shown and it was cutely entertaining... but not nearly as interesting to me as Simoun was).

Kashimashi had only limited sci-fi elements, at least in the anime. Still waiting on the manga, which I'm told has a bit more.

[Fukki]

Just finished watching the last episode of Simoun yesterday ^_^ I'd say that this series is a piece of art after seeing the ending. It's a really nice yuri anime not so much for its fanservice but more for its deep character development. The background music fits really well too (sometimes I even get goosebumps watching certain scenes because the music and the scene mixed so well together). It's currently one of my top fav. anime of all time~

[Fort Major]

I just started watching some epsiodes and I really enjoy it. The "Yuri Sci-Fi" aspect doesn't sidetrack it from being a good watch. I would recommend it to anime fans in general.

[ZoharContact]

It's about time someone brought up Simoun again...

It doesn't look like it's liable for license, though, unfortunately. Maybe I'm wrong? I don't suppose they're actually fansubbing episodes now in .avi or something that you don't need an obscure, paid-only codec to watch, are they?

The last time I looked for it, it seemed all projects for Simoun were abandoned.

[Milky Mixer]

Why do you think the show wouldn't/couldn't be licensed? It seems to have quite a lot of elements that would appeal to different types of viewers... the sci-fi element, the yuri element, even has a bit of a Final Fantasy video game feel to it... Of course I love ya, Zohar Contact, but in this case I hope you are wrong. ;)

[Soluzar]

Maybe I'm wrong? I don't suppose they're actually fansubbing episodes now in .avi or something that you don't need an obscure, paid-only codec to watch, are they?
I think you must be mistaken about the codecs that are in use for Simoun fansubs being "paid-only" or "obscure". This anime is available from [Simoun-Fans] as either XviD or h.264 encodes, according to your preference. Both types of encode are in MKV, but I promise you that the free CCCP (http://www.cccp-project.net) playback pack will solve any problems you might have with viewing MKV files. You should uninstall whatever other codecs or packs you have been using first, of course.

I'm not sure what type of a problem you have with MKV, but the first five episodes are available from [Doremi] in AVI. I suspect the codec is XviD, but I can't be sure without downloading the encodes. Unless otherwise stated, the codec used for fansubbing is most often XviD. Doremi have dropped the project, however, so if you want to watch the rest of the series, I suggest you find a workable solution for MKV playback. ;)

[Kaosgirl]

I think you must be mistaken about the codecs that are in use for Simoun fansubs being "paid-only" or "obscure". This anime is available from [Simoun-Fans] as either XviD or h.264 encodes, according to your preference. Both types of encode are in MKV, but I promise you that the free CCCP (http://www.cccp-project.com)


That link takes me to a listing of chat links.

[Soluzar]

That link takes me to a listing of chat links.
My sincere apologies. I had inadvertently substituted ".com" for ".net" in the URL. I've fixed my post now, and you should be able to find the CCCP homepage if you wish to. I should have checked the URL, since I was typing it from memory, but I did not. It's all good now, I promise. :)

[Milky Mixer]

I was reading about Simoun over on Wikipedia (yes, I know, not the most reliable source but still...). I guess I didn't realize how new this series is. It looks like it just ended airing in Japan, and the 2nd of 9 Japanese dvd's was just released as well. Also looks like a game is coming out in November (Japan only, of course) and a series of light novels and alternate-storyline manga are also just recently seeing publication. So, there's no reason this title couldn't be picked up for release in the US, in my opinion. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled!

[Kaosgirl]

I was reading about Simoun over on Wikipedia (yes, I know, not the most reliable source but still...). I guess I didn't realize how new this series is. It looks like it just ended airing in Japan, and the 2nd of 9 Japanese dvd's was just released as well. Also looks like a game is coming out in November (Japan only, of course) and a series of light novels and alternate-storyline manga are also just recently seeing publication. So, there's no reason this title couldn't be picked up for release in the US, in my opinion. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled!

Hope so... I hate the steps I have to go through to see the unlicensed/unreleased stuff, plus the sketchy legal status.
<sigh> I should just learn japanese...

[Milky Mixer]

Hope so... I hate the steps I have to go through to see the unlicensed/unreleased stuff, plus the sketchy legal status.
<sigh> I should just learn japanese...

I agree... as much as anime is my passion, addiction, hobby, whatever you wanna call it, I'm not up on all this fansubbing, bit torrenting, codecing, etc. I'll just cross my fingers that the show gets licensed... I'm pretty sure it will.

In the meantime, guess I'll just have to do some fanart...

[typhonblue]

Before going into the spring she seemed excited to become male, but then afterwards when she realized what she'd done, she just fell to her knees and started screaming. I thought it was a pretty wicked moment.

Er... I hope that doesn't play out in the movie as misandrous as it sounds. :(

Regardless, I like mecha so I might give it a look.

[Kaosgirl]

I agree... as much as anime is my passion, addiction, hobby, whatever you wanna call it, I'm not up on all this fansubbing, bit torrenting, codecing, etc. I'll just cross my fingers that the show gets licensed... I'm pretty sure it will.

In the meantime, guess I'll just have to do some fanart...

Oh, the codecing I don't mind too much. It's mostly the torrenting that bugs me... well, once I'm past the whole "I hate pirates, does this make me a hypocrite" issue.

I'll cross my fingers with you, tho...


My sincere apologies. I had inadvertently substituted ".com" for ".net" in the URL. I've fixed my post now, and you should be able to find the CCCP homepage if you wish to. I should have checked the URL, since I was typing it from memory, but I did not. It's all good now, I promise.


It happens... just glad it was you and not some browser malware giving me redirects. (I did have that happen once, and it's a PITA to fix.)

[Fukki]

Er... I hope that doesn't play out in the movie as misandrous as it sounds. :(

Regardless, I like mecha so I might give it a look.

It's actually a really emotional moment, that scene :)

And... there's really not a lot of mecha ^^; This show focuses more on character development (and interactions between characters) than action (although the ones that are there are really nice)

[Milky Mixer]

It's actually a really emotional moment, that scene :)

And... there's really not a lot of mecha ^^; This show focuses more on character development (and interactions between characters) than action (although the ones that are there are really nice)

Agreed. Not trying to sound trite, but that scene really takes your breath away, packing quite an emotional punch. It's almost shocking.

As for the ships. I thought they were really cool and unique looking, though I would also not call them "mecha" in the terms I think of mecha: giant robots, transforming robots, giant ships, transforming ships, battle pods, battle armor that looks like a giant transforming robot... Nah, there's something unique and different about the look of these ships, but they don't really scream "mecha" to me.

[ZoharContact]

Why do you think the show wouldn't/couldn't be licensed? It seems to have quite a lot of elements that would appeal to different types of viewers... the sci-fi element, the yuri element, even has a bit of a Final Fantasy video game feel to it... Of course I love ya, Zohar Contact, but in this case I hope you are wrong. ;)I hope I'm wrong, too. I suppose if shows/manga like Kashimashi can get licensed, then Simoun is a shoe in. I was just basing my opinion on a hunch, little more than that.

I know Japanese pretty well, I think, but without captions or the like, my listening comprehension is awful.

Also, thank you, Soluzar. :bow:

[Milky Mixer]

Kashimashi is the one where the boy gets turned into a girl by aliens, right? Yeah, I got a chance to see that at AWA too. I didn't realize it was licensed. It was cute/funny and I enjoyed it for what it was, but not something I'd likely run out and buy.

[Kaosgirl]

It's actually a really emotional moment, that scene :)

And... there's really not a lot of mecha ^^; This show focuses more on character development (and interactions between characters) than action (although the ones that are there are really nice)

I think I understand where typhonblue is coming from tho, and this doesn't really seem to answer it. I think he's wondering if choosing to become male is being portrayed as a 'mistake' in that scene, with the implication that there's something bad about being male.

[earsofdoom]

I think I understand where typhonblue is coming from tho, and this doesn't really seem to answer it. I think he's wondering if choosing to become male is being portrayed as a 'mistake' in that scene, with the implication that there's something bad about being male.

I don't think that it's portraying "becoming a male" as a bad thing.... but rather something like this: The girl love's another girl and become's a man but doesn't like being a man. In a weird way i think what it's trying to say is that a girl doesn't need to become a man to love another girl, and that some girl's enjoy being a girl and being with a girl. im not sure cuz i haven't seen much of it but im fairly certain that's what the scene was trying to imply.

[Milky Mixer]

Well, I also admit I have not seen much of the series but this one scene to me did not speak as "there's something wrong with being male" (and I am male) as much as it just had a real psychological whallop. Earlier in the episode, the character mentioned that she didn't know what she was going to choose (staying permanently female or becoming male) and made the comment that she'd known what it was like to be a female and that she might like to see what it was like to be a male. To me, there was an almost immature or naive quality to her decision, as if she was just going to "try out" being male and then once the permanency and unchangeability of her decision struck her, once she knew she really was going to become male and there would be no going back, that's when she fell to her knees screaming. You know, you look at Kashimashi or even something like Ranma which are very comedic in their approach to a boy becoming a girl, and these gender-changes are often done with ensuing comical mishaps. To me, this moment was the moment when I know Simoun was something quite different, that the "effects" of changing a person's gender weren't going to be played for laughs or as a random plot device but that even in a society where choosing and changing gender at 15 or 17 or 19 was "the norm" of the society there would be psychological impacts from one individual to the next. How do you deal with your body changing and becoming male after all you've known is being female? How do you deal with having someone you love change genders? What about the central character with the pinkish hair? Isn't she dealing with the death of her beloved partner? I just felt the show was really interested in exploring the depth of the characters, based on what little I was able to see of it, rather than the "shock value" of girls kissing or changing genders or even just doing cool aerial combat. And that scene, with the girl on her knees screaming and sobbing at the shock of what she'd done, what she'd chosed, was really the moment when I felt this show would be something unique. That's my take on it, anyway. It's always possible by episode 26 I could have a totally different impression... but unless it gets licensed, I guess I'll never know.

[earsofdoom]

^It certainly sound's like a serie's to make you think and discuss, I have a question... I've heard there are mecha in this anime, how much is there? if it's only like 2 min's near the end of the episode like KnM then ill try to get into it. I just don't like Giant robot stuff that much.

[Kaosgirl]

It sounds like a definate must-see for me... I pray it gets licenced, and soon.

And about the mecha... I've heard they're very un-mechalike, so if it's the giant-robot thing that bugs you it shouldn't be a problem.

[earsofdoom]

It sounds like a definate must-see for me... I pray it gets licenced, and soon.

And about the mecha... I've heard they're very un-mechalike, so if it's the giant-robot thing that bugs you it shouldn't be a problem.

that's good to know... i just can't stand big blocky giant super robot's screaming. just wondering does anyone find the character design kinda.... basic?

[Fukki]

Yea, I wouldn't even use the word mecha to describe them. When I hear the word mecha I automatically think of something like those out of the Gundam series. The ones in Simoun are more like uniquely designed flying carriages and battle ships.

As for that scene with the girl at the spring, I don't think it's portraying that becoming a man in the world of Simoun is a mistake or a bad thing at all. It's just that a gender was suddenly thrust upon the girl when she herself was still so indecisive between choosing to be a male or a female. A gender was chosen for her so suddenly that I guess she just couldn't adjust. And what follows is, in my view, her display of anguish when she realizes that she doesn't want to be a male at all (btw they don't get to undo their gender change).

[Milky Mixer]

Yea, I wouldn't even use the word mecha to describe them. When I hear the word mecha I automatically think of something like those out of the Gundam series. The ones in Simoun are more like uniquely designed flying carriages and battle ships.

As for that scene with the girl at the spring, I don't think it's portraying that becoming a man in the world of Simoun is a mistake or a bad thing at all. It's just that a gender was suddenly thrust upon the girl when she herself was still so indecisive between choosing to be a male or a female. A gender was chosen for her so suddenly that I guess she just couldn't adjust. And what follows is, in my view, her display of anguish when she realizes that she doesn't want to be a male at all (btw they don't get to undo their gender change).

Yeah, I agree with what Fukki is saying, both about the mechs and about the scene at the spring.

As for the character designs... no way do I find them basic. I think they're rather gorgeous and the whole show has a sort of fantastical and lush sci-fi look and feel to it. If you're curious about character designs and the look/feel of the show (and even the mecha ships the girls pilot) poke around here: http://simoun.tv/index.html

[Lockheart]

Wish there is more of Anubituf and Guragief. Bishounen shots or not, please do something about the UST. :D

As for the yuri couples in Simoun, congratulations to the shippers whose ships have sailed!

[Animematt55]

Wish there is more of Anubituf and Guragief. Bishounen shots or not, please do something about the UST. :D

As for the yuri couples in Simoun, congratulations to the shippers whose ships have sailed!
So there are canon couples in it? I have been to some forums and a lot of people are saying that it isn't shoujo-ai, and more BL.
From wha ti have seen, the characters look pretty good, and the art is good.
I am not all for the choosign your gender thing, but it is fairly unique i guess. Some people here have described it very well actually. The whole a girl not needign to be a man to love a girl and all.

[Fukki]

Yea there are canon couples in Simoun :naughty:
I think most of the BL talk spawned from the last episode lol :P Otherwise, it's very much shoujo-ai for the majority of the series.

[CorvusX]

Ah, Simoun... One of the best I've seen in quite a while. My favorite pairs were AmuriaxNeviril and MorinasxWaporif. ^^;

I ended up pimping the series by accident on the .hack//GU forums.

[VidelCoolGirl]

Hmm, I'm currently watching the first episode now, and I already read the first chapter of the manga done by Dynasty Scans and lililicious. It's not bad. Sci-Fi usually takes me a while to get into, but I might go ahead and watch. Doesn't seem bad. Better than I've seen in a while.

[Milky Mixer]

Hmm, I'm currently watching the first episode now, and I already read the first chapter of the manga done by Dynasty Scans and lililicious. It's not bad. Sci-Fi usually takes me a while to get into, but I might go ahead and watch. Doesn't seem bad. Better than I've seen in a while.

I'd like to read the manga. If you don't mind, can you please PM me on where to go to check them out? :wub:

[Milky Mixer]

Oh, by the way, meant to jot a note in this thread about Iczer One (or Fight! Iczer One). It's another sci-fi with some yuri stuff going on. It's a series of 3 OVAs that Media Blasters has released on one disk. It has mechs, just in case you don't like mechs, and there are some grossout tentacle type monsters thrown in too. But the character designs are cute. It's an older title, I believe. I watched it again this afternoon. I recommend watching it with the subs as the dub is kinda cheesy. Thought I'd post the suggestion for those who want more yuri sci-fi. It didn't really cure my desire to watch Simoun, which I really hope gets a licensing announcement, but it's a fun (and inexpensive) little title anyway.

[Milky Mixer]

Although I am still hoping for an R1 release, I couldn't wait and sorta just acquired the series. I'm really looking forward to watching the whole thing. Sweet.

I'd still like to read the manga. If anyone knows where I can, please PM me.

[VidelCoolGirl]

Well, I couldn't stop watching, and got up to episode 12 last night. I looked for more on YouTube, but they stopped after 12 which possed me off. I love this anime. It's not so much the shoujo-ai as it is the plot. I dig it a lot. One of gthe better anime I've seen recently.

Also, just go to Lililicious.net. They have the first chapter of Simoun.

[Milky Mixer]

Well, I couldn't stop watching, and got up to episode 12 last night. I looked for more on YouTube, but they stopped after 12 which possed me off. I love this anime. It's not so much the shoujo-ai as it is the plot. I dig it a lot. One of gthe better anime I've seen recently.

Also, just go to Lililicious.net. They have the first chapter of Simoun.

Ahhh, Lililicious.net! Never heard of it before, but now I'm poking around and seeing all kinds of interesting things I want to check out. Thanks so much for providing the link, VCG. *adds site to his favorites*

I can't wait to watch Simoun. I've only seen 2 or 3 episodes and have been dreaming about this show since. If you can't find anything after episode 12, let me know... Maybe I can help.

Oh, and I'm working on a Simoun art piece. Once I get it finished, I'll post a link to show it off (man, that sounded really immodest, didn't it?).

[earsofdoom]

Ahhh, Lililicious.net! Never heard of it before, but now I'm poking around and seeing all kinds of interesting things I want to check out. Thanks so much for providing the link, VCG. *adds site to his favorites*


There are yuri fan's who haven't heard of lililicous? They do allot of translating expecially on yuri shimai, the girl who run's it is Rosa Chinensis whom post's on this forum from time to time. there site is a gold mine I'm sure you'll find lot's you'll like on there also be sure to check out livejournal she host's allot on there to.

[VidelCoolGirl]

Yeah, if you'te a yuri fan, you have to know of Lililicious. They have great stuff. Same thing for shoujo-ai forums. You can find a lot of good stuff there too. I found a lot of Noir pics on there.

One of the scanlators from lililicious is on here I think. But yeah, I would love something after episode 12. I just want to go ahead and finish this series. I wanna know who stays what and who gets with who.

[Milky Mixer]

There are yuri fan's who haven't heard of lililicous? They do allot of translating expecially on yuri shimai, the girl who run's it is Rosa Chinensis whom post's on this forum from time to time. there site is a gold mine I'm sure you'll find lot's you'll like on there also be sure to check out livejournal she host's allot on there to.

Sorry. I guess I'm not always "in the loop." Sometimes it just takes a nice person on a forum to point me in the right direction though. ;)

[Milky Mixer]

Yeah, if you'te a yuri fan, you have to know of Lililicious. They have great stuff. Same thing for shoujo-ai forums. You can find a lot of good stuff there too. I found a lot of Noir pics on there.

One of the scanlators from lililicious is on here I think. But yeah, I would love something after episode 12. I just want to go ahead and finish this series. I wanna know who stays what and who gets with who.

I'll PM you about how I'm obtaining Simoun, then you can take it from there if ya want...

[rosa_chinensis]

There are yuri fan's who haven't heard of lililicous? They do allot of translating expecially on yuri shimai, the girl who run's it is Rosa Chinensis whom post's on this forum from time to time. there site is a gold mine I'm sure you'll find lot's you'll like on there also be sure to check out livejournal she host's allot on there to.

I don't actually run Lililicious-- I just do a little more than the average member. Our leader is Rosa Gigantea, a lovely lady who's as crazy about old-school (and some new-school) yuri as I am. :)
I've linked some yuri resources on livejournal at the Lililicious links page, so that's where to look for that. There's also a link to my yuri file server there, where you can download more English-language yuri scanlations (I highly recommend Love My Life and The Sword of Paros if you haven't read them yet).
A couple other scanlation groups that do a lot of yuri are Dynasty and Otenba (Otenba does solely yuri, Dynasty does a mix of het and yuri). You can find lists of yuri manga out in English (both in scanlation and commercially) at the shoujoai dot com forums.

[VidelCoolGirl]

There is? Im a member, how do you actually get to the server files?

[earsofdoom]

I don't actually run Lililicious-- I just do a little more than the average member. Our leader is Rosa Gigantea, a lovely lady who's as crazy about old-school (and some new-school) yuri as I am. :)


I knew it was rosa something.... but i noticed you talking on the board about lililicous and such so i thought it was you. I've never been able to remember which rosa is which in marimite so it's kinda funny i can't tell which one is which in real life as well :P

[rosa_chinensis]

There is? Im a member, how do you actually get to the server files?

You mean my yuri file server? Go to the last link listed in the "General" section of the Lililicious links page. When you get to the new page, read the first bold text on the page-- there's a link to the server there.

[rosa_chinensis]

I knew it was rosa something.... but i noticed you talking on the board about lililicous and such so i thought it was you. I've never been able to remember which rosa is which in marimite so it's kinda funny i can't tell which one is which in real life as well :P

That's okay, people mix the three of us up all the time on IRC. :)

[VidelCoolGirl]

You mean my yuri file server? Go to the last link listed in the "General" section of the Lililicious links page. When you get to the new page, read the first bold text on the page-- there's a link to the server there.

Woot. Awesome. You rocks. Thanks a lot.

[Milky Mixer]

I'm about 11 or 12 episodes in and all I can say is this is the best freakin' show! Although the cast is large, just about every character is appealing and most of them are pretty well-defined by their backstories, their dialogue, their relationships with others. There's a good mix of character moments and action, and it seems the creators have taken their time to develop both the plot and the characters. The yuri element is there but it's so darn natural to the plot of the story that it becomes almost secondary to all of the cool stuff that's going on. Man, this show really needs to get licensed for a US release. And the manga too!! (Maybe that Strawberry yuri line will pick up the manga.) I love it!!!

[VidelCoolGirl]

Yeah, I'm still up to 13 and I want to see more, but since I can't download torrent files here at college, I have to get someone to do it for me. There are way so many cannon/non-cannon couples. It's genius.

[gameoffreak8]

Hmm, I'm currently watching the first episode now, and I already read the first chapter of the manga done by Dynasty Scans and lililicious. It's not bad. Sci-Fi usually takes me a while to get into, but I might go ahead and watch. Doesn't seem bad. Better than I've seen in a while.
If you don't mind, can you PM me about that?