At last, a Yuri manga that was written for me! I do not care if nobody else on the whole planet enjoyed this book, because I loved it.
Love Desu. ~Short Story Collection ~ (ラブデス ラブデス。~短期集中連載集~) by Kuzushiro follows the bad kids in school. Bad girls, who are passionately in love with each other and beat the crap out of each other to prove it. This is not a manga about abusive relationships; in this manga, the violence is a form of affection.
We’ve talked about this before, but I’ll remind readers that I am not opposed to violence between equals. And, in “Love Desu,” – which I would translate it as “It’s Love (Death).” – Shouko and A-ki are equals, alright. Each with murderous intent and a fondness for violence, they hash out the details of their relationship through such heart-warming tactics as a needle in the eye, or a knife through a hand. But it’s only because they both want to be the neko in bed. ^_^
In “Nikochuu,” Mai-sempai smokes and Aika has picked up her bad habit. Ultimately, what she really wants is to capture what Mai tastes like when they kiss. Yanki girls smoking on school property and being rude to the classmates around them, but ridiculously cute in private is utter squee for me. I adore nasty women.
So, yeah, I know that this book isn’t going to appeal to everyone (maybe, anyone). But I love this manga with all my love.
Thank you, thank you Kuzushiro-sensei for this manga! It’s just about perfect. ^_^
Ratings:
Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – 8
Service – For me, 10. YMMV
Overall – 10
Yuri needs more yankis.
I love this one too, even if ラブデス is the same joke every time. It works for me every time!
Your Kuzushiro –> Takemiya Jin Freudian slip may be the best bit though, I too would love to see Takemiya sensei tackle this subgenre :)
Argh. Woops.
I have only read “Love/Desu” and I can say that was something fresh, but doomed to get old pretty fast. I liked the first 3-4 chapters, but then it started repeating itself and I get bored. So I can say I’m glad it was that short.
Not for me. I could have read three more volumes of this. ^_^
Oh? There were criticisms? I must have missed them, as Love/Death has been talked about pretty positively amongst the general English-speaking Yuri fanbase. ^_^
Geez Marion. Why do I get the feeling that the first Star Trek to feature a female Klingon couple would instantly make it your favorite Trek?
Probably not. The Klingons are not all that well developed when it comes to social rituals. They have a warrior social setting, but the women are written like cavemen, and too inconsistently to make any real sense.