If you are a regular reader here, you probably know how much I like Usui Shio’s recent work in Comic Yuri Hime. I’ve been really happy with Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts / Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. That series is not the only one Usui-sensei is working on for the magazine. Running concurrently has been another story, one that is quite different.

Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 1 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。) is comedy drama about two best friends, Kurumi and Ruriko. Ruriko is a day person. She wakes up early, cooks breakfast and heads out to her day job. Kurumi, a journalist, is a night person. She heads to bed after Ruriko leaves, waking up later to work into the night. Kurumi is working on an assignment right now, and she and Ruriko are the test subjects – Kurumi is writing a series about being married to a woman.

Friends for years, Ruriko and Kurumi agree that they *will* go back to being friends when this experiment is over, but we know that unbeknownst to Kurumi, Ruriko is in love with her.  So…will they, really? I don’t know…and I don’t think they do either.

After the initial setup of their “marriage,” something begins to happen. Kurumi is depending on Ruriko a lot. And she’s starting to think about her all the time, which is new for her. On a solo overnight, she keeps thing about Ruriko, or even talking to her, without thinking about it.  Ruriko is already in that headspace. In a terrific scene, Ruriko takes a picture of a lone daikon laying in the street and thinks, “Kurumi will love this.” Kurumi loves it.

Ruriko starts to not feel well, but she doesn’t want to bother Kurumi. When Kurumi comes home and find Ruriko not there…and gets a message that she’s in the hospital, Kurumi runs over, asking for her wife at the front desk. Once assure Ruriko is okay, Kurumifinally gets a bit angry. They are married after all, Ruriko should have said something!

Will they make a real marriage out of this sham? I think they will…but I’m glad to give them as much time as they need. ^_^

This series is drawn with Usui-sensei’s gentle art style. Both Kurumi and Ruriko are likable, separately and together. While Kurumi occasionally comes off as thoughtless, that is because we’re likely to be on Ruriko’s side, gently hoping that she gets to express her true feelings. (Something that they are edging closer to in future volumes.)  This series is more goofy and light-hearted than Doughnuts, but at its heart has a similar core value – love takes many forms, but can not be returned if it’s not expressed clearly.

I’m hoping that if…when…Ruriko and Kurumi express their feelings clearly, it’ll be a good thing for them both.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 then shifting to 9 by the end
Characters – same
Service – 0
Yuri – 6

Overall – 8, with loads of potential

My fingers crossed that we see this licensed soon, for the “She’s my wife!” moment at the very least. ^_^