Chi-Ran’s at it again, in this second collection of Yuri manga one-shots from Yuri Hime magazine, Himitsu Shoujo. (The title is a pun, using alternate kanji. Himitsu is usually translated as “secret,” but these kanji mean something like “hidden nectar” and the book itself offers up the translation of the title as Lovely Girls.)

Nothing connects these various one-shots, (unlike her first collection, Shoujo Bigaku,) other than that they are about girls in love with other girls, and that all the girls tend to be willowy and ethereal.

There’s Yuyu and Marika who get together on their own, regardless of the magical necklace thingy Yuyu has that, when she strokes it, makes Marika feel like she’s being stroked.

And there’s Maori who is down on love, until she is given a Yuri cage that contains a teeny little cute girl that she falls in love with, only to lose her, only to regain, maybe, the real thing in human size.

And Yuma who also gets a munchkin lover, this time an alien, who puts on an adult form to prove her love to Yuma that old-fashioned way, and try and convince her to marry her and have an alien baby with her.

Then there’s Kako, who isn’t looking for love in her new school, but school star Ageha has other plans. “You’re my next one,” she tells Kako, who resists, but by the end is weakening…

There’s Yui and Miki who are in love with each other, but don’t know it. Desperate, Miki accepts “dream drops” candy from yet another cute munchkin and enjoys her relationship with Yui as a fantasy, only to find that Yui has been dreaming the same dreams with the dream drops.

And finally, we meet a nameless girl who has fallen for her beautiful classmate. They become friends, then best friends, and eventually so close, that the subject of her desire confides that she is in love too – with a guy. Her heart breaks, but her friendship remains.

Like most of Chi-Ran’s stories, the art is pretty and nearly impossible to follow because of the crazy-paving panel structure she uses. The stories appear on the page and quickly disappear from one’s mind, leaving only a vague impression like bubbles. A fitting image, really, for Chi-Ran’s evanescent, ephemeral work.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Stories – 6
Characters – 5
Yuri – 9
Series – 5

Overall – 6

This is the last of the second wave of Yuri Hime Comics I’ll be reviewing. Apple Day Dream and Nanami to Misuzu are up for grabs if anyone else wants to review them. The next ones I review will be from the third wave, starting with Mermaid Line.