When Kawaguchi was 13, she debuted as a manga artist. But, due to many different things, she stopped drawing. Now she’s 19 and has decided to get back into it only…she has no idea what to draw.
After thinking about it, she decides to try her hand at Yuri, since BL and GL seem all the rage. Thus begins Manga no Tsukurikata (まんがの作り方).
Only…now Kawaguchi *really* has no idea what to draw.
Just then, she’s visited by a workmate and classmate of her young brother’s, Morishita. Morishita has a crush on Kawaguchi, so when the older girl asks her out, she gladly agrees. Kawaguchi thinks that going out with another girl will give her some inspiration, but finds pretty quickly that things are more complicated that they seem.
For one thing, Morishita is not just her workmate and a classmate of her younger brother Masato – she is also Kawaguchi’s favorite manga artist, Sacchi.
For another, despite her desire to gain inspiration from Morishita, Kawaguchi’s failure to take Morishita’s emotions seriously cause a complete blockage of ideas. Even after a magazine editor agrees to take a look at her work, Kawaguchi hasn’t the barest bone of a plot. And all the while, there’s Morishita looking at her with eyes full of honesty and desire.
And lastly, because nothing can be easy, Kawaguchi’s kid brother, Masato, also likes Morishita, so it’s a bit of a torture for him to see the two of them together.
While this manga is undoubtedly “Yuri” in the sense that Yuri is mentioned a lot, there is surprisingly little Yuri in it. Morishtia’s feelings are real, but aside from hand-holding and an arm around a shoulder, Kawaguchi is not exactly returning the emotion. In fact, the one or two times Morishita attempts to close the distance between them, Kawaguchi brushes her off. By the end, she’s pretty certain that she’s using the other woman, and won’t even tell her what she’s doing, which builds a wall between them.
In discussing this with Erin S. on #lililicious@irc.rizon.net we agreed that the biggest question for us in regards to liking this story is – will Kawaguchi just keep using Morishita or will she come to like her back, honestly. Or at least be honest with her.
If the relationship between Kawaguchi and Morishita stays the same, this series could become quite wearing. If one way or another Kawaguchi is honest with the other girl, then there’s some actual potential for the story.
Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 5
Service – 1
Overall – 7
Outside this rather major issue of honesty, the series is otherwise a non-stressful, silly, mostly realistic and not an unpleasant read. Another almost really Yuri story from Ryuu Comics. ^_^
It was a pretty non-stressful read but I found it too slow paced. It’s especially odd that a year passes in the manga and barely any progress (negative or positive) happens for the main couple.
While I’ve really enjoyed it so far, I agree that Kawaguchi’s development as a character will make or break the future of this story. Let’s hope she comes to return Morishita’s feelings soon. ^_^
You forgot to mention the most interesting part about this manga: for whatever reason the artist puts off naming the protagonist for three chapters. Then she waits another two before giving her a first name. It’s amusing because it feels just like the way Kawaguchi keeps putting off writing her story.
This is possibly the most boring manga I’ve ever read.
I’m not saying there has to be Yuri action or any action (hell, Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou is my favourite manga and practically nothing happened in it) but this manga just seems pointless.
I can’t say they’re stretching it out for character development because *nothing* has been happening to them. They’re all devoid of personality as well.
There was a heaping of potential here but it feels as though the story is meandering around the point. Even when the protagonist makes the decision to finally start working on her manga, it’s about as effective as her saying, “Well, I guess I’ll go microwave this ramen now.” SNOOZE.
The only point of interest is waiting for the main character’s cruelty to start to take effect. How many times is she gonna make that girl say she loves her and then do nothing about it?
Oh wait, my mistake–the new character introduced. The one with the glasses (see? Couldn’t even be bothered to remember their names) seems to be pretty astute. I like that she knows more about what’s going on that those two other girls.
@The Denominator – Hahahaha! I don’t disagree. Think I’ll go microwave some ramen now. ;-)
Oh, and I just remembered another frustrating aspect of this manga–the fact that it’s about manga.
It seems like The Main Girl (I seriously need to learn names here…) has utterly no passion for making manga. And what a lousy reason to get into a relationship with someone! So she can get “experience” about Yuri and put that on a page?
It’s not a matter of selfishness, humans take from one another all the time, and take in the most painful of ways (re: Octave, in which I really think Yukino is taking so much from Setsuko and I am only waiting to see how badly it will all turn out in the end), but it seems as though The Main Girl is getting nothing out of the relationship.
Fine, I accept that she’s using the other girl. But you read on and on and you’re left to wonder… okay, so what exactly are you getting out of this? Material? Hardly likely. All the data she has so far could only make a manga about one-sided love.
It seems truly pointless that you’re willing to date a girl to get “experience” and yet for the entirety of the relationship, you learn nothing, you feel nothing, you don’t even use her properly. What sort of half-hearted effort is that?!
In any case, I wouldn’t buy that manga, since I’m sure it’d be drinking in Nyquil with my eyes.