Hatsukoi Love Tectonics (初恋テクトニクス) by Camotang, is another Yuri manga collection of one- or two-shot stories that ran in Comic Yuri Hime.

The second story was the most interesting to me: Shion is a good student, a bit tactiturn, but when her classmates ask her to join them on a group date, she flat out says she’s not interested in meeting someone if they aren’t a woman. No surprise, this causes tons of gossip in the classroom. She’s basically ostracized until one day a rambunctious schoolmate walks in, shakes her hand and introduces herself as Maria – and, she confides, she is also gay. Come on out to the roof, Maria suggests, where we can eat lunch and talk. Shion hesitates, but eventually does join her. They become friends and, kind of unsurprisingly, Shion starts to have feelings for Maria. Perhaps a bit pat, but the happily-ever-after is not unwelcome.

The third story also skirts serious territory, when a girl is engaged to a guy by her father and given no choice in the matter. Luckily, she meets and falls for a girl in the park and although they say they are going to kill themselves, they really don’t. Once again a happily ever after is presumed.

Camotang’s art style is very heavy on the thick black lines, which occasionally gives it the feel of a woodcutting, but is otherwise simple and pleasant.

No stories here really get into deep territory, although a few skirt some serious topics. The girls get the girls and the biggest handwave is that everything is always perfectly fine in the end.

Ratings:

Art – 8, once you get used to it
Story – Variable, 7
Characters – The weakest thing in the book, characters aren’t all that strongly defined – 6
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 7

As Story A” collections go, this one made for some entertaining reading and pleasing visuals.