Ichinjinsha’s Doujinjo Yuri Anthology focusing on women create doujinshi, was both fun and a little headache-inducing, much like a full day at a comic market. ^_^

The drama of Japanese comic markets can manifest in may ways. The deadlines for creators, the stress of getting all your monkeys in one barrel. the actual agonizing wait for someone to walk up and ask to look at your work….and if it’s summer, the heat and the people, and the physical exhaustion. I cannot express to you how MUCH a comic market takes out of you, even when you’re just sitting there. The year I sold at Comiket, we received a little bag with paperwork and info. It features a person flattened with exhaustion. We picked it up in the morning and laughed. Well…the bag was right.

This anthology focuses less on the drama of the event than of the fandom and the creators within that fandom. Several of the stories follow women who love women who draw stories about men who love men… something that is quite common.

But…the screaming. I often find myself muting anime when the screaming becomes too much, but I would never have expected to want to mute a manga. Because, of course, there are arguments about which pairing is better and which character is seme and which uke (at which my queer inner monologue me stood on a table and shouted at the women arguing with “Who the fuck CARES who is on top?!? Get a grip”). I was well gratified that the waitress in the story shushed them as well. That story made me super grumpy. ^_^

My favorite story in the collection is when a woman returns to the doujinshi scene after years away, and finds herself tableing next to her ex. ^_^;  It probably will come as no surprised that that story was written and drawn by Usui Shio, who is my current favorite chronicler of complicated adult feelings. It was a quiet story, in a loud anthology. LOL

The best part of the collection were stories where doujinshi artists were given room to admire one another’s work and for friendships amongst themselves. I’d be happy to pay for a book or seventeen about the doujinshi community that focused on the drama of the work and everyone’s support of each other. That, to me, is the best part of the comic market world. The collaborations, the after parties, the friendships…the community. You get a hint of that here. It left me wanting more.

Ratings:

Everything is variable, as it is anthology

Overall – 7

Enjoyable, but superficial, look at the world of doujinshi markets. I’d *love* to see a Yuri manga that took time to work through a whole story in that world.