Archive for the English Manga Category


Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 4

January 29th, 2025

A wolf girl in a trenchcoat, laden with packages, smiles as she is pulled along down a street by a sheep girl in a cute denim jacket and fluffy pink skirt.In volume 3, we saw Aki confess both her feelings and her concerns about their ability to make a relationship work to Momo, and Momo saying it was her problem to deal with convincing her family and the world. So they are now officially in a relationship! Even if no one can know… but those close to them can probably guess.

In Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, volume 4, we have Momo sneaking in affection for Aki in every spare moment, and a bit more on Aki’s back story. Kiku overhears Sakaki discussing their past, and that Sakaki might like her? Momo and Aki go to a book signing of Momo’s favourite author, who looks a bit familiar? Finally, a new recruit making friends with Aki sparks jealousy in Momo.

We finally get a bit more on Aki’s past, although it’s still somewhat vague – she ‘lost everything’, but we don’t really learn much more than that. We also see her first romance, and how it failed because Aki couldn’t communicate her feelings well. I actually appreciate that both of the leads have experienced love and loss of that love before, though in different ways, which informs their current attitudes towards their relationship. Ruminating on how her passiveness and inactivity ruined her previous relationship, it spurs Aki on to be more proactive in this one, albeit you can still tell it’s difficult for her. That said, she’s still not good with saying her feelings directly – something that will be addressed next volume, given the ending.

The foray into Sakaki and Kiku’s back story was nice to have, and honestly fits them both pretty well. It was actually interesting to see the difference between the rural discrimination versus the non-issue her white fur (possibly albino) is in the capital, where there are all sorts of animals and it doesn’t stand out. It felt a little simplistic that one person’s acceptance means more acceptance in a small community, but maybe it can be that simple? I don’t know, honestly.

I’m not a fan of jealousy plotlines, but I guess they had to have some sort of cliffhanger (more of a mild bump in the road really, this will have nothing but a happy ending and possibly something like a wedding judging by the Volume 5 cover). It’ll be solved with a conversation I’m sure, which will be in the next one: the fifth volume will be the last one, and it’s coming out in a month or so, so not long to wait. Then fluff. All the fluff. Possibly some fluffy sex.

Ratings:

Art: 8 – fluffy as always!
Story: 5 – plot? What plot? All fluff.
Service: 1
Yuri: 10 – yuritopia ahoy

Overall: 7

As usual, enjoyable, pleasant, pretty unremarkable. Given the start of the series and Momo’s comments, I’m guessing the service quotient on Volume 5 may way go up.





Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel

January 22nd, 2025

A blonde woman with extremely large breasts that spill over the top of a leather corset, her gauntleted hands tied above her head to a sword on her back, kneels on the ground wearing leather garters and stockings over visible underwear in a medieval-type street. 4 women behind her regard her with differing expressions: ignoring, glaring, smiling and saluting.Guest Review by Paul S. Enns

Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel, Volume 1, by Hinaki, has a better story than you’d expect.

It’s a mashup of isekai , yuri, and gender bender. Like many isekai stories, there are some RPG-like elements dropped in for doing tasks and gaining ranks. It’s easy to consider these elements as part of the main character’s imagination.

Every character name has been translated into Latin, and provides an additional level of interest/humor. I will provide translations into English in parentheses after the first use of their name.

Lillion (lily) herself/himself is our protagonist. The soul of about-to-die, 38-year-old Naruse Soushi is thrust into the about-to-die body of Princess Reina (queen). Instead of the defiant, not-afraid-to-die Reina, it’s now the quite-afraid-to-die Soushi who begs to live. This is granted and she (the pronoun I will use to refer to Soushi-in-Reina’s body) is sold to a brothel. The brothel’s Madam, Acanthus (genus acanthus are plants with spiny or toothed leaves), renames Reina as Lillion for the duration of her stay.

Given it’s in the title, no surprise, the brothel services only women. Lillion tries to adjust.

Lillion provides most of the humor, thanks to Soushi being inside. Soushi also allows Lillion to endure the many humiliations Princess Reina wouldn’t be expected to get through. Or would Reina be able to endure these? We can’t know. It’s part of the problematic nature of the character.

I can’t really fault Lillion for the actions she takes in the book. Trying to get along in a new world, she is doing the best she can.

Who I can find extreme fault with is Precarie (precariously), the one who removed Reina’s soul and grabbed a random soul from another world to replace it. What is Precarie’s endgame here? What happened to Reina’s soul? Why is Precarie so interested in Lillion when Precarie knows that Reina isn’t in there? Too many unanswered questions.

After Lillion deals with Lady of the Moon (I’m disappointed this wasn’t translated to Domina Lunae), Precarie, and Alsea (sea), she faces the threat of Lapis Rufus (red stone, or ruby, associated with love and passion), Captain of the Vigilante Corps.

I’ve summarized enough and will stop, except to say that it doesn’t have an end and goes right into Volume 2.

While I have a problem with all of the characters, the world building done for this captured my interest. Hinaki obviously has a destination in mind for these characters, and has created a world to tell an interesting story. Just with lots of sex.

By accepting the premise, you accept the level of service. It’s part of the plot.

Translation is well done. Making all proper nouns into Latin words was a fun addition.

Ratings:

Art — 8 I can tell every character apart, and it has well done backgrounds.
Story — 8 Held my interest the whole time.
Characters — 4 Problematic, especially Precarie.
Service — 7 for how explicit it is, 10 for how much there is.
Yuri — 9 It gets a point knocked off for Lillion being occupied by a guy’s soul.

Overall — 7

This was way more entertaining than I expected it to be. I’m going to continue reading this story. Volumes 2 and Volume 3 are already available, Volume 4 releases March 4, 2025.





Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 3

January 8th, 2025

A wolf-woman in a butler's suit tucks a sheep girl in a fluffy bed surrounded by pastel colors and stars hanging from the canopy.by Luce, Staff Writer

In Volume 1 and Volume 2, we met and got to know Aki, a Wolfa butler, and Momo, a Sheepa princess. Momo was clearly interested in Aki, but even now that Aki has realised how she feels, the gap between them feels too wide for her to bridge, and with talk of marriage on the horizon…

In Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 3, we see the end of Momo’s birthday party, and Kunya leaving. Momo realises that she missed Aki’s birthday and does her best to celebrate! Bluebell, Momo’s maid takes ill, and the only person Momo would be comfortable taking over is, of course, Aki! The full moon comes around again, and Momo knocks at Aki’s door? Finally, with encouragement from Kiku and Sakaki, Aki finally tells Momo that she cannot reciprocate her feelings due to their differing social classes… How will Momo respond?

This manga is quite hard to review, as it’s generally just… pleasant. I enjoy it, but there aren’t many particular things to discuss – the art is cute, suitably fluffy when it needs to be, and good at making the characters look good. I like the interaction between Aki and Momo, especially in this one as Aki loosens up a bit. There are two sections that were notable in this volume though, both fairly brief.

There is a short moment at the start where it seems that Kunya may rat Aki out for her feelings… But it turns out she’s a huge fan of royalty/servant pairs, and just wants the details. Phew. I’m glad that she didn’t turn out nasty. I’m not sure her portrayal is necessarily the best representation, as there seems to be a flavour of the ‘exotic foreigner’ to her, but she is contrasted with the other character of colour who broke Momo’s heart and causes her to shut herself away, so at least she’s nice. (Upon a reread, I noticed there is another maid who is a person of colour, so there are a few).

The second full moon scene is something that probably needs a bit of a caution – when Aki refuses to let Momo in, as she knows that her emotions are harder to control, Momo orders her to let her in. Even if Momo is fully aware of the kind of thing that will happen if Aki loses control, and even wants it, it feels like an abuse of privilege, and not very fair to Aki. They don’t really get anywhere with it, as Aki shows enough control and escorts Momo back to her room, but I feel like it’s only fair to be warned about it.

Finally, I’m glad that Sakaki (and Kiku) manage to talk Aki out of separating herself from Momo, due to her perception of the difference between their social classes being too high to overcome. It’s always classed in fiction as some noble ambition to not hurt the other person, but really, walking away like that just means protecting yourself from seeing the hurt that you caused.

I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say that Momo is elated that Aki says that she loves her. As she points out, Momo is the one who will have to persuade her family to accept it. In fiction, the power differential doesn’t seem so big, and I hope that they can make some kind of relationship.

Art: 8
Story: 6
Service: 4 (mainly in low cut dresses and maid uniforms)
Yuri: 8 not sure a man has been named on page yet. More on the ‘yuritopia’ end of series. Everyone has a crush on another woman it seems.
Fluffiness: 10

Overall: 7

If you enjoyed the previous volumes, you’ll likely enjoy this one! Volume 4 came out in November, hopefully the review for that will be done a bit quicker than this one!





Rainbows After Storms, Volume 1

January 7th, 2025

Nanoha and Chidori are high school students. They are friends. And, unbeknownst to the girls around them, they are dating. In theory, at least. ^_^  Volume 1 of Rainbows After Storms is the kind of very slow, very mild Yuri romance with which media giant Shogakukan took it’s first tenuous steps into Yuri.

There is no high drama here…there is only the  simultaneously adorable and irritating blushing of two girl who are more likely to be in a glass closet than they realize. Yes, they tell us that they are dating and they have not told their friends, but right from the first pages, it seems pretty obvious that their friends are pretending to not notice. When the two have the smallest of falling outs, their friends are right there making sure they are okay.

Having read and reviewed 12 of the 13 volumes in Japanese, I know this series will move at a glacial pace but, like plate tectonics, it will move. Chidori and Nanoha will become closer and begin to think about a life together after school.

This gentle Yuri romance by Luka Kobachi will stay gentle, with a little cringey-ness for spice. The translation and lettering are as unintrusive as Nanoha and Chidori’s feelings. If you finish this volume and wonder if you maybe missed something…you didn’t. It’s just that there is no storm here, only rainbows. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 1, mostly on principle

Overall – A pleasant 6 with lots of room to grow

Volume 2 will be hitting shelves next month, so settle in for a story about likeable teens and some barely-there Yuri. ^_^





The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 6

December 27th, 2024

Two young women in summer yukata stand on a balcony looking at one another, as fireworks explode colorfully above them Volume 5 left us on a bit of a cliffhanger, as Saki accidentally allows her truest thoughts to be seen by Kanon.

The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 6, by Kuzushiro, picks up with Saki mortified beyond her ability to express and Kanon struggling to find words to address it. Luckily for both of them, life as a Japanese teenager is filled with enough activity to allow them both some space to roll around on their beds, screaming into the pillow.

Nonetheless, things are changing, Kanon has become aware that since she lost her hearing, she has not been a good friend to the people she leaned on. She takes a small step to caring about someone and something other than herself. Suddenly aware of all the people around her who have given her opportunities, Kanon is changing. Saki reaches out to the one adult she is pretty sure gets what she is going through, and Tomita returns to class with surprising results. Although they have spent most of the summer together, Saki suggests one special event for them to share watching fireworks together from her apartment balcony, where they take one more towards opening up to one another and to themselves.

Rinne finds herself changing as well. As a little sister, she was unable to help Kanon much, could only watch over her in a general sense. But she sees that Saki has changed her sister for the better and it’s made Rinne more willing to take a risk, a little despite herself. She encounters Chiyama, a girl with a condition that is not harmful but which has, and will, make her life difficult and unpleasant. Rinne decides to get involved and be a friend.

I have repeatedly said here and elsewhere (and to anyone I could pin up against a wall and tell) that I love this series. From my perspective – which is not that of an HHD person, but of a person who is chronically ill and had many of the same kinds of issues as both Saki and Kanon as a teen – this story does everything right.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 2 Saki and Kanon in yukata is definitely meant to serve.
Yuri – 4 It’s only just begun.

Overall – 9

The Moon On A Rainy Night is a masterwork of manga and an outstanding example of how good storytelling can help us to be better.

I cannot *wait for you to read the next couple of volumes! Volume 6 is out now from Kodansha.