Yuri manga artist Momono Moto is well-known to us here on Okazu. She’s working on my current favorite story in the quarterly Galette magazine, “Liberty”. But in the meantime, she also has the honor of creating the first collected volume from Galette Works, the publishing team behind Galette.

Yuunagi Marbled Complete Volume (夕凪マーブレット完全版) is a collected volume of one of Momono-sensei’s doujinshi series, from beginning to end. 

The cover, like all the Galette covers, is beautiful, with a light, prismatic polka dot pattern over the image, giving the cover the feel of watching water or flower petals sparkling in the light.

Ena is a typical highschool student. She’s out walking her dog when she sees a girl about her age, standing on the ocean’s edge. The girl turns and mouths a word. Ena is convinced that the word is “Sayonara.”

The next day, that very girl is a transfer into Ena’s class. Although she is aloof and hard to like – and there are rumors about her – Ena befriends Nanjou Mishio, that girl from the water’s edge. 

Ultimately, Ena and Mishio start to have feelings for one another, although their relationship is complicated by truth of Mishio’s past, which included an affair with a teacher and an attempt at suicide. But they make it past that.

Ena and Mishio graduate and move to Tokyo and completely by accident run into the teacher who was Mishio’s former lover.  Mishio finds that there is nothing left tying her to Rika, and she and Ena end the volume by visiting the ocean, together.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Slick and professional in every way
Story – 7 Good without being compelling.
Characters – 7 Mishio is another Simone/Sachiko/Mei, while Ena is every Resine/Yumi/Yuzu ever. I’m not saying I’m tired of classic beauties who mope….except yes, I am. I’m tired of mopey leads.
Service – 1 On principle only.
Yuri – 8 This is Yuri 101

Overall – 7

Yuunagi Marbled Complete Volume is a fairly typical Yuri story, but tightly told, and well-drawn. If schoolgirl stories are your boom, this is a very good example of the breed. Nothing new in this plot, but all the pieces were well-put-together. For myself, I’ll be waiting for “Liberty” with bated breath. ^_^