This year has given us a number of excellent Yuri manga and anime, but as Comic Yuri Hime December 2018 (コミック百合姫2018年12月号) hit shelves, it brought with it the end of a remarkable (and remarkably unremarkable) manga. Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, GPen Mezamashitokei” is over. 8 volumes over three years, following a story that developed so deliberately that for the first 3 volumes I wasn’t even sure it was a romance story. ^_^
But, it was a romance. An excellent one. Not because there was a lot of drama – because there wasn’t a lot of drama. This was a Yuri romance about two adults created for an audience of adult women….and it showed. The characters did things like take care of their skin and wear makeup and care about their clothes, in a way that the majority of adult women do. (Individually, your mileage may vary, of course, I do none of these things, myself. ^_^) And this story, which developed so slowly and almost, but never quite, became a harem manga, ended up being a romance between two people readers can actually imagine living happily ever after together.
/Happy sigh/
So while I’m going to miss Nanami and Kaede and their various harems, I’m very happy to have had 8 volumes of this story, look forward to the final volume and to whatever Ohsawa-sensei will work on next.*
In the meantime, this issue of Comic Yuri Hime had a lot to enjoy, including a major turn in the plot of Hisona’s travel story “Goodbye Dystopia” in which Mizuki encounters the woman that Asami may be pining for.
Shiroshi’s “ROID” is also slipping from it’s original rails into what may end up becoming a much more complicated story. Yay!
Kenou Chiri’s “Scarlet” just got really weird…and, if you recall, it’s about a vampire and a werewolf, so take that as you will.
“Itoshi no Hito” by Takemiya Jin has developed into a sweet (pun intended) food and romance manga and I am quite enjoying it.
Hisakawa Haru’s “Yurikon” continues to be adorably implausible and I enjoy the heck out of it every chapter.
As always, there are other series I am enjoying and others I don’t read, but as a final issue of the year, this volume of Comic Yuri Hime ended as strongly as the year began.
Ratings:
Overall – 8
*And then I came across this… a JP Kindle-only edition of 2DK, GPen Mezamashitokei “Monthly Motivation” (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。『Monthly ヒモチベーション]) following Ohsawa’s obsession, Nanami’s kouhai “Ruuko” and I laughed and laughed. I hope to god we get a spin-off volume about her. ^_^) Update: This is available (in Japanese) on Bookwalker. Thank the gods for Bookwalker, is all I have to say.
The January issue of Comic Yuri Hime is already available. The new year is off and running!
