In Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 3 (私の百合はお仕事です! ), by Miman, we turn our eyes away from protagonist Hime and her “schwestern” at the Yuri concept cafe of Der Liebe Gakuen. (It appears I never reviewed Volume 2, so let me assure you that Hime and her “onee-sama” resolve their issues. Now that I think about it, I remember why I didn’t review the volume. It was beyond my ability to suspend disbelief when Hime was capable of remembering that she had seriously hurt a classmate by rejecting her a few years ago and be beating herself up about it for years, but unable to recognize that that former-best friend and classmate was her onee-sama. Please.

By Volume 3, Yano and Hime seems to have patched up their issues, but another problem is brewing among the cafe staff. Sumika, bookish third-year at the cafe, gal off-hours, can see that Hime’s best friend Kanako has a problem – she’s dangerously obsessed with Hime. Hime, focused on winning the title of “Blume” during the annual cafe popularity contest, has not noticed, but Sumika has. And Sumika is worried that Kanako’s jealousy may destroy more than one relationship.

We learn what the source of Kanako’s loyalty to Hime is, but it doesn’t really excuse her jealousy. And, we learn that Sumika may well have been the third party in a similar situation in the past. I quite like Sumika – she seems pretty insightful and interesting and look forward to her opening up and, possibly, dragging Kanako out of the darkness that threatens to possess her. 

I like that the characters aren’t always what they seem here, and that they have richer internal stories than what we’re seeing. I don’t much like either Hime or Kanako, but Sumika, who is a gal and reads a lot and can see and understand what’s going on around her, interests me mightily. Whether she and Kanako become “schwestern” remains to be seen, but I’m all in for the journey.

I’m so torn about the idea of a Yuri concept cafe. On the one hand, it’s brilliant, on the other hand, I know I would die of a dozen forms of death while trying to not blow a kidney out my back from laughing at how excruciating it is, should I actually have to sit at one. On the third hand, I had a fun time at the Hozuki no Reitestsu cafe, so maybe I can behave. Fingers crossed that the next Yuriten event tries it. ^_^ 

A notable addition in this volume is the specific naming of a cafe regular, who is very clearly a woman. Who Shimamoto-sama is and why she gets a panel to herself, we may never know, but I would love to find out! ^_^ Given that other customers are typically no more than a blob or a generic person, to have such a specific panel becomes a mystery.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8 
Service- Ugggghhhh, how do I rate this? Not really, but kind of, since the whole concept is sort of service? 4, fine It’s a 4.
Yuri – Kanako’s creeping on Hime, Hime and Misaki play it up for the crowd, Sumika…? Uggggh. 5

Overall – 8

I really like this series, any actual Yuri aside, just for the concept. That there may be, in Sumika’s history, some actual Yuri. (Am I rooting for Sumika to be one of us? Yes, yes I am.) And Kanako being a bit of a weirdo makes her far more interesting than just being the perfect best friend she appears. It looks like Hime is not the only one with a carefully cultivated false persona.