Osawa Yayoi’s Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline (ブラックヤギーと劇薬まどれーぬ) is very much a mixed bag of goodies and what you like may be completely different than what I like.

The title story is a weird little tale of two net idols, one who specializes in being cute and one who wears a black goat’s head and does an occult show…and what happens when the two meet, combine shows and fall in love. There’s just no way for this to not be an oddball story when it includes a Baphomet.

The epilogue shows us that it takes more than love for some of us to put away the goat head we hide behind.

“Sotsugyou Kinshi” was a new spin in an old car, with a story of taking love beyond the high school years, while “Sakashima Cinderella” explores what has to happen before people’s emotions meet on equal terms.

I very much disliked “Mayonaka Gravity” when it ran in Comic Yuri Hime. It is a tale of a rather unhealthy approach to a relationship and while it has a happy ending, I think there’s some stuff that will have to happen before that relationship becomes a good one. Codependency really isn’t romantic.

I very much liked “Yugure Orange, Sakuhana ha” which was a nice twist on Story A, when a girl convinces herself that she’s interested in the school lesbian, only to end up becoming friends with her and learning that she has someone. It was much more realistic than expected, as was “Mayonaka Gravity,” but left me feeling rather happier.

Your mileage may vary on this collection, but it has more to recommend it than not and the high-dose weirdness of the title story will be good for you. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2
Overall – 8

It’s been a nice crop of Ichijinsha manga this season!