We’ve made it to Galette, No. 31 (ガレット)!

Although I thought I was supporting Galette on Pixiv Fanbox, for some reason during the multiple kerfuffles with non-Japanese credit cards, I did not receive issues No. 31 and 32 by PDF. Luckily, Galette is also available on Bookwalker JP, so my current collection is now a higgeldy-piggely mismosh of this magazine in print, PDF and on Bookwalker. Luckily, all I want is to be able to read it and don’t really care what format I have! ^_^ I am a lousy collector and always forget to obsess about complete sets.

This issue does something very important. I was kind of waiting for this to happen, because the story as it existed was wearing on me. Honestly, in Morinaga Milk’s “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan,” Yuna has to change. She may well just have circadian rhythms that don’t work with Reina’s and that may be possible to work around, but not if she refuses to even admit there is a problem. In the final pages, after another chapter of watching Reina struggle alone, Yuna *finally* takes a step to figure out if there is a real problem. PHEW. I was really losing interesting in this story, as it just churned over and over the same unresolved issue every chapter.

Nakata Nui’s “Otome no Shinden” is, thus far, a creepy lesbian doll story in which the doll seems the most normal character.

Yukino-sensei is forced to deal with her complicated emotions about Tsukino-sensei in Yorita Miyuki’s “Hokenshitsu no Ano Onna”. Is it time that Yukino-sensei forgets the bias she’s carried all these years?

Once again, I adore the chapter of “Watashi ha Kimi no Kami da yo” by aneido, in which this apparently silly story of a grifter trying to scam a religious cult’s accountant, begins to take on more complexity. Our grifter is falling for her mark, and her partner can see it. Also, the mousy little mark is definitely not naive, and turns out to be quite gay. Will this be the end for our grifter or the beginning of something new?

A fun little one-shot from Hakamada Mera follows a cast of maids at a maid cafe, who end up picking character names from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, adding a maid cafe to the many reinterpretaions of the great heroes of ancient China. Do I love this? Of course I do. ^_^

The second half of this issue makes space for “repeats” of “Himitsu no Recipe” by Morinaga Milk and early chapters of  “Kanojo no Kuchizuke Kansensuru Libido” which Yorita Miyuki has recently published in English in two successful kickstarters. This followed by news of Yorita-sensei’s new kickstarter, which will bring the Kanojo no Kuchizuke Kansensuru Libido Short Movie (彼女のくちづけ感染するリビドー ショートムービー), reviewed here on Okazu in February, out with English subtitles. I’m looking forward to that, as I enjoyed the 3-part movie and would love for it to get a wider audience.

This is followed by the second part of an ongoing prose story in which a young woman meets an older one. Then 140-character tales, a report of the 4-creator exhibition, “Shoujo to Shoujo Yuri Sakka Yon-nin Ten” (link goes to the official account on X).  And of course the discussion pages., an add for Galette, No. 32, which I just finished up. Finally, we get an illustrated 140 character tale by Azuki Kuranbo, a very cute little story about two adults, one of whom likes melon cream sodas, illustrated by mina.

Overall – 9

A very chunky volume, even with the re-plays of earlier stories. No. 32 is next and, yes, to confirm that one says in the back that “Liberty” continues in No. 33, which I have here in print, once again, so I am doubly motivated to get caught up. ^_^

I am still amazed that I am able to enjoy both a major publisher-run monthly Yuri manga magazine and a creator-owned, crowd-funded quarterly Yuri manga magazine that will in a matter of days be launching a Kickstarter for a third English-issue, after two successful EN issue Kickstarters. That’s just amazing. ^_^