Raubritter, by Futada Nika, is a rare example of a Yuri Manga that would have been much better without the sex. Not only does some of the sex come off as skanky and non-consensual, it makes the relationships between the characters awkward and uncomfortable for this reader.

The story starts when Neneko comes to the interior design shop known as Raubritter on a quest to find her missing older sister. Immediately, and for no reason whatsoever, Neneko is being sexually harassed by the owners of Raubritter, Yokana and Shinobu. While Neneko is presented to us as an adult, the art frequently makes her look very childish. Which is really maddening, because about half-way through the book, it starts to not suck. After we get past the pointless, unsexy threesome scene, the story settles down.

If you’ve read the first volume of Hana no Asuka-gumi, or any Mist stories, then you know where Neneko’s sister is…she’s at a sex club. A BDSM club to be precise, where she is the star of the club and the owner’s lover. Nanako is very happy with her life, which is good enough for Neneko. She returns to be the housekeeper and dogsbody of Raubritter. Yokana and she seem to settle into to being a couple.

Which leaves Shinobu. As you know, everyone must be paired up in a story like this, so a new character is introduced – a tough bitch of a policewoman with Krieger Frau hair (and if you get that reference, you are clearly insane and I love you) named Takizawa Torako. That is, she’s a tough-as-nails cop until she sees Shinobu and melts into all sorts of puddles. She offers to “investigate” the troublemakers at the sex club (Yokana and Shinobu…of course) and instead falls head over heels for Shinobu. Luckily, Shinobu falls just as fast for Torako, in what was really the best panel of the book as they meet each other for the first time and go completely gaga over one another.

In the end, we all live happily every after, Neneko and Yokana, Nanako and her club owner and Shinobu and  Torako. And then the book ends, in a much better place than it began. And, in all honesty, if the first two chapters had been sex-free, it would have been a fine book. As it was, it was merely tolerable.

Ratings:

Art – No, sorry, I really don’t think it’s cute to infantilize adult women. Ick. 4
Story – Starts out nasty, turns out sweet  5
Characters – Predictable, only a little tiresome 6
Yuri – 7
Service – 8

Overall – A straight! I win 8 tickets!