The March 2018 issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫2018年3月号) was pretty darn good. Some of the longer serializations are settling in for the ride, others are flailing a bit and some are pivoting from a one-shot to a longer serial, which can be either good or bad, as you like. 

I’m quite enjoying the stories from the Yuri Hime@Pixiv that have been filling the back pages of the volumes. A few have been good enough to make me bookmark the page and start checking regularly. It’s a good idea for them to have a web comic page to gauge the popularity and potential of new artists and stories. They’ve never had a sample page of titles on their website like so many other companies have, but this page provides any number of first chapters for free. I recommend taking a look!

After a tiresome photoshoot, showing two women touching, zOMG and interview with the voice actresses for citrus, the first manga is one that I was both intrigued and appalled by, by Tamasaki Tama. A waif wanders in to a military school in some kind of fantasy Japan and ends up being accepted. She will now get three meals a day and a bed to sleep in, but who know what will happen to her if she’s sent to fight. Also one of the girls is already hitting on her. And stuff.

“Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” by miman is going exactly where I expected, but through an interesting pair of eyes. Sumika has accidentally learned of Kanoko’s unhealthy obsession with Hime, and finds herself concerned for the girl. She’s watching her with a new perspective and starting to reach out, surprisingly delicately, given that in her real life, she’s a brash Gal and not the gentle Tachibana-sempai she is at work. 

But the winner this month was Fujimatsu Mei’s “Miageta Kimi ha Kyou mo Hohoemu” which I finished up  with a quiet. “Well, that was adorable.” A small, strange and kind career woman falls for a woman at a shop. They go out, crisis occurs, they live happily (ever after, implied.) It was absolutely squee.

“One Night Friend” by Kayako was a sadly typical “drunken one night stand means one thing to you, but another to me” story. Until it wasn’t and they also are presumably in for some happily, if not ever after.

And now, we have to talk about Aoi in  Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei.” She’s a jerk. I mean, we get it, sh’s not living her life honestly. When we thought she was, her teasing was just that but, knowing that she’s a hypocrite made this chapter very hard to take. Yes, it was predictable that she, too, had fallen for Kaede, but still. On the technical side, writing a harem manga in which both the leads are at the center of a Venn diagram of wannabee lovers has got to be an interesting challenge. 

And “Kimi ha Shoujo” which was kind of lovely went straight to WTF territory in this second chapter. I kind of hope she’s a vampire just so I can dislike it honestly. ^_^

“Shiori wo Sagasu Page-tachi” took yet another turn. I’m not sure if I keep just expecting it to be something other than it is, or it doesn’t know what it’s trying to be.

In contrast, “Watashi ni Karada Urutteminai?” started well over the shark and I’m just going along for the ride. Tsukasa’s father died leaving her mired in debt to a lot of unsavory characters, among them a tall, beautiful woman who offers Tsukasa a deal – let me buy you and I’ll pay off all the debts. Well, gosh human trafficking sure is a wholesome premise for a romance isn’t it? ^_^;

There were many other stories, most of which I read, and just a handful I didn’t (and most of those are the usual suspects…) so there’s a good bet that you’d find something to appeal to you in this volume.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

A good strong volume this month and I look forward to more. Conveniently, the April issue will be out shortly.