This past winter, I took a look at Mayu, Matou, Volume 1 in Japanese which I had wanted to read before the English-language volume hit shelves. Today, I’m taking a look at the much-anticipated English-language release from Yen Press, Yuriko Hara’s Cocoon, Entwined. Volume 1.

My initial review covered the most visible of the symbols in this volume – namely, hair. More specifically, that hair chews up the scenery in nearly every panel. In my original review I said, “their hair is the main character and the people attached to that hair are merely abstractions.” which is still partly true. The characterizations of both people and place are overtly inspired by Maria-sama ga Miteru‘s Ibara no Mori, with Saeki very clearly a Sei-stand-in. Whether either Hoshimiya or Yokozawa is ultimately her Shiori or Youko, we’ll have to  stick around to learn to find out.

What I was able to enjoy this time around, is the building of a love triangle in which only one participant has any idea that they are participating. This story builds up in non-linear, almost episodic fashion and it’s easy enough to take each chapter on its own without applying it to a macro narrative, but by the final chapter, a very solid whole has been constructed. One finds that there is a backstory; histories, both institutional and personal, and a clear dynamic between the characters and the situations.

I still would caution anyone skeeved by hair as a fetish/major imagery/plot point/conflict that hair takes up a lot of space in both the narrative and on the page. But aside from that, it’s a pretty intriguing story, with solid art. I look forward to the next volume. The translation has been handled smoothly although any added Keigo formality has been stripped from the dialogue by translator Amanda Haley. It makes for a slightly more casual read in English. I feel as if I am reading by looking through a curtain of hair, but the story, I hope, will be worth it.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – Hair
Yuri – 3

Overall – 8

High marks for this unique look at love and obsession at an elite girls school, the classic Yuri manga trope.

Thanks very much to Yen Press for the review copy for today’s review.

The story has grown on me, and no I will not make a stupid hair joke here. Fill one in on your own time.