Uuno Hinako always looks good. Her dress and makeup are always spot on, her hair is always done. She’s always got a smile on her face at work, just the thing to attract a nice man. She goes out to lunch she can’t afford to be with friends, rather than eat alone. That’s what’s expected of her. That’s what is “normal.” So why is she so miserable? In Usui Shio’s Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 1 (欠けた月とドーナッツ), she’s about to figure out why.

Satou Asahi doesn’t seem to care for any of these things. She eats lunch by herself, speaks up when she’s offended and doesn’t seem to care what people think. Hinako is fascinated in a way she can’t express. When Satou comes to her rescue with a cute, animal shaped donut, they begins a friendship that confuses Hinako. Why does she find Asahi’s lifestyle so empowering?

Asahi is encouraged by her younger sister Subaru to become closer to Hinako, as she can see that they need each other. As the volume comes to a close, Hinako takes a step to reject what is seen as “normal” and move towards a path she might actually want to go down.

Although Hinako’s clinging to what is expected of her is, predictably, a little annoying, and she is a mope throughout much of the volume, it’s easy to see that this is not a short journey for her, but a long, arduous one. And we can’t but help root for her. Subaru egging Asahi to push past her own guard is very cute. Not at all despite myself, I find this series to be exactly the kind of Jousei Yuri I want more of from Comic Yuri Hime magazine!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 6
Service – 0 Not so much as a bath scene. What a pleasure

Overall – 8

While it is true that what society and family “expects”is still a struggle, I rejoice in the fact that for so many of us, life is more about enjoying the moon and donuts. I look forward to Hinako being one of us.