Lily Lily Rose by Konno Kita, is an unexpectedly pleasant manga with some LGBTQ-relevant situations.

Nobara’s twin sister is dead and she is in the position of having to care for her niece, Lily. Nobara’s not a bad person, she’s just slightly eccentric. She lives in a house along with many cats and a first-floor boarder, Maya. The two women welcome Lily, an understandably frightened little girl who rarely speaks, into their lives. 

Nobara and Lily slowly open up to one another, while Maya instantly takes a liking to the child. As Lily gets used to the house, it’s occupants and visitors (including the ghosts of two girls who like to dance in the garden), she eventually heads to school. Slowly and carefully Lily makes friends, and becomes more verbal.

The crises are small when the relate to Lily. The first big crisis comes in regards to an older woman who visits Nobara from time to time. A young girl stalks them for a while and finally comes out with an accusation – the older woman, Satome, is her father and he and Nobara must be hiding an affair. Nobara denies this, and says she’s lovers with Maya – which takes Maya by surprise, since they aren’t. Satome admits that she wants to be able to be herself and although she goes home with her daughter, there’s still a lot for them to talk through.

What, exactly Maya and Nobara’s relationship is, is never stated. They are clearly close emotionally and Maya and she touch comfortably as people who have known each other a long time might. When Nobara is unhappy, Maya comforts her with a hug. But, after Lily’s father comes by see Lily, and to apologize for being unable to take care of himself, much less his daughter, Nobara tells Maya of Yurika’s, her twin’s, suicide in the final pages of the volume. Maya reaches out to touch Nobara, and is brushed away rudely, as tension lays unexpressed between them.

The art is purely Konno-sensei. Ephemeral and light, populated by animals and spirits, exactly what one would hope from the person who created the Yuri classic Himitsu no Kaidan (Volume 1 and Volume 2). The story is less grim than I expected, even with a suicide as a backdrop. Some of Konno-sensei’s work in the early days of Yuri Hime were filed with incest and violence. The ghosts here are laughing and dancing, which is a massive improvement from my perspective.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
LGBTQ – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 8

I was thrilled to see something new from Konno-sensei and even more pleased to enjoy it as much as I did.