Archive for 2025


Vampeerz – “My Peer Vampires,” Volumes 4 and 5

June 4th, 2025

by Christian LeBlanc, Staff Writer

It’s not mentioned in the review,
But Volume 4 does something new:
There were a few bugs
Who drank vampire blood,
Now there’s vampire ants in the school.

Before you start reading your latest volume of manga – and I’m talking physical copy, because you like that it came from trees and you still lie about how much you love the smell of ink or whatever – have you ever flipped through it first so you can get a glimpse at all the cool scenes and pictures and get all excited to read it? Conversely, has the opposite ever happened?

On my initial flip-through of Vampeerz, Volume 4 about a year ago, I saw the book open on some standing doggy-style alley-sex, saw a naked dude standing threateningly in front of a tied-up Khara a few pages later, and at the end of the book, beheld Aria asking Ichika to massage around her groin before a child knocked a fart out of her. At least the ink still smelled good.

I will admit, that all knocked the wind out of my sails (no pun intended). Vampeerz, Volume 5, however, had a much better flip-test.

Vampeerz, as you may remember, is a vampire Yuri manga by Akili, published by Denpa, and more than ably translated by Molly Rabbitt, about Aria (ageless vampire, can pass for 14) and Ichika (14-year-old human). A small entourage of vampires have joined the cast, giving the book a more ensemble feel. And as enjoyable as the book can get (amazing art, sweet Yuri moments, sometimes hilarious comedy), there’s usually a bit of skeeze. A little sketch. Maybe not enough to stand out if you’re just reading for fun, but if you’re taking the extra time to do a review, it becomes that much harder to ignore.

Plotwise, Volume 4 introduces Lord Arthur, a bisexual vampire who drops literary quotes in between doggy-styling it with the ladies in alleys and hot springs. He figures into the Vampire Intrigues, claiming to be on Aria’s side amongst a power struggle coming from rival vampire royalty – mostly for the sake of protecting his ex-boyfriend Jiro, who is part of Aria’s camp (and wants nothing more to do with ol’ Art, who he warns is “a licentious man!”). I will admit, the Intrigues are fairly hard to keep straight, and referring to them in flashbacks later on certainly doesn’t help in terms of clarity. Arthur is all but absent in Volume 5, though, as a school camping trip takes priority over politics.

This camping trip leads to a touching story involving Ichika’s childhood friend, as the pair find themselves drifting apart after gravitating towards their respective love interests. Akili’s ability to portray such tender emotions right after a chapter that should have been titled Boobapalooza still makes me dizzy.

And that’s the really confusing thing about this series: yes, Volume 5 opens with Ichika sitting on the toilet as she hears Aria and her vampire entourage coming home, but we also spend 76 pages at the end of the book in a single chapter detailing Aria’s touching history with Ichika’s grandmother, Chiro. There is honestly heartfelt writing in Vampeerz, but Akili can’t help but toss in that little bit of sketch like it’s a secret ingredient. Perhaps Volume 6 (currently due out in English in October) will finally flip my opinion on this book one way or the other. 

Ratings:

Art – 9  Still my favourite thing about this book. 
Story – 8  The fifth volume in particular really stepped things up.
Characters – 7  I’m still on the fence about Arthur, but so is everyone in the book.
Service – 7  I mentioned Boobapalooza, right?
Yuri – 8  The second half of Volume 5 makes for a brilliant stand-alone story.

Overall – 7  





An Office Thing

June 2nd, 2025

Promotional image from the Korean yuri show An Office Thing, showing the main characters Hanna and Yu-bin.In recent years fans have seen a veritable flood of new yuri live-action series from Thailand and the rest of East and Southeast Asia, most of which are free to watch on YouTube or other streaming video platforms. However, in the midst of this plenty it’s easy to forget that all of these series cost money to make, and that  funding can be difficult to come by, especially in countries with governments and societies hostile to LGBTQ people and their stories. Such it is with the series An Office Thing from Soo Not Sue Studio: the first three episodes are free to watch, but the rest require joining the Soo Not Sue YouTube channel as a paid member, as pseudonymous director Soo Not Sue works to pay off the loan she took out to fund the production.

Enough about money, what about the show? An Office Thing is a sequel of sorts to Soo Not Sue’s previous series Out of Breath and She Makes My Heart Flutter (the latter reviewed here on Okazu). Its main character Yu-bin was a side character in both series, nursing an unexpressed love in Out of Breath and being left out in the cold as everyone else paired off in She Makes My Heart Flutter. In An Office Thing she finally gets her turn in the spotlight. The story is simple, and begins by reusing three well-worn tropes: a blind date montage, a drunken one-night stand, and a next-day’s reckoning when Yu-bin discovers that last night’s date is Han-na, her team leader at her new job. The rest of the plot unfolds pretty much as you’d expect, with only a couple of bumps along the way.

But the plot is not the reason to watch An Office Thing. That reason is Ha Eun-oh’s winning performance as Yu-bin, a forlorn puppy so adorable that one can’t resist taking her home—but even better than a puppy because Yu-bin can clean up her own messes (as we see later in the series). Kim Jin-ah as Han-na is the calm counterweight to Yu-bin’s changing moods, in an understated performance that nonetheless makes crystal clear the depth of Han-na’s feelings toward Yu-bin. The main cast is rounded out by Han Jaei as Han-na’s and Yu-bin’s coworker Eun-woo, who might find herself suffering the same fate that the younger Yu-bin did..

The most notable thing about the production is the portrait aspect ratio, designed for watching on smartphones and tablets. The second most notable aspect is the subtitles; they are readable (albeit small) on a phone but are difficult to read on a tablet, especially since their white letters often appear against You-bin’s light-colored outfits. Incidentally, if you’ve gotten the impression that all Korean women are stylish and impeccably put together, this series will only reinforce that notion. But it’s fitting here, since (in a clever bit of product placement) the series features the real-life fashion company Plain Plenty, whose underwear is also pitched on Soo Not Sue’s YouTube page.

Ratings:

Story — 6 (there’s not much to it)
Characters — 8
Production — 7
Service — 2
LGBTQ — 10
Overall — 7

As someone else remarked online, An Office Thing is fluff, but it’s entertaining fluff elevated by an excellent cast. Fans looking for more sweet sapphic stories from South Korea should check out An Office Thing and Soo Not Sue’s previous series, and consider becoming a member of her channel to help her make more of them.





Class X

June 1st, 2025

Three girls in white blouses and blue skirts hold hands, one girl’s polka-dotted underwear visible, as they stand in a circle. A group of girls in school uniform sit in a circle… bending spoons. They stand in an circle, concentrating, they do classwork. They summon the alien ship, they rest. Then they do it all over again. In Class X, by Itou Hidemi, these girls are indeed special. 

The narrative is told in a mostly silent pantomime, with few words, especially at the beginning. At first it almost seems like related, but unconnected scenarios.  As the story evolves, we realize we are seeing a complete tale, one that will take on some sincerity, pathos and end with a surprisingly climax.

Yes, there is Yuri, two of the girls develop a romantic relationship in the style of a war-time couple who meet and connect in time to part, forever. It absolutely works. 

The art is as you see on the cover, simple, almost childish, one girl’s polka-dotted underwear visible, as they stand in a circle.  

This whole book was a surprise and a delight.  Thanks to translator Jocelyne Allen of Brain vs Book, who turned me on to this obscure, but wonderfully astonishing story.

Ratings:

Art – Not to my taste, but meant to do a specific thing
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 4 
Yuri – 8

Overall – 9

This week was brought to you by the letter ‘X’. ^_^





X-Gender, Volumes 1 & 2 (complete)

May 30th, 2025

A cartoon of an ungendered human with short dark hair close to their scalp, wearing white shirt, grey pants and brown boots, their arms crossed in front of them in an 'x' mirroring the white 'x' on a yellow background they are in front of.by Eleanor Walker, Staff Writer

Content warning: this series discusses topics including human euthanasia and suicide.

Perhaps inspired by the success of My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and its sequels, Seven Seas has also published some other queer autobiographical manga, including The Bride Was a Boy and the subject of today’s review, X-Gender (性別X) by Asuka Miyazaki. X-gender is an umbrella term used in Japan to describe various non-binary and genderqueer identities.

This series is most definitely aimed at people who have no knowledge of LGBTQ+ or women’s health, as it was originally serialised under Kodansha’s Young Magazine umbrella, a seinen (aimed at young men) magazine. There’s lots of explanation of basic queer terminology which may seem superfluous for many readers of this site, as well as a chapter explaining periods, but probably needed for the average reader of Young Magazine. I hesitate to compare this directly to My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, as I don’t really feel it’s fair to compare people’s real life experiences, but there are definitely some parallels to be drawn with the stories. Being queer can often be an incredibly isolating experience, and X-Gender tells the story of Asuka finding a community they can be a part of at local gay bar Poker Face, owned and run by a fantastic trans man known as “The General”, only to then have it ripped away from them by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Whilst volume 1 mostly deals with Asuka’s finding themselves as a newly out X-gender person, there’s a noticeable change in tone in volume 2. Japan and the rest of the world is shutting down due to Covid, and Poker Face, Asuka’s favourite IRL hangout, is closed. I did find this volume rather unfocused compared to volume 1. This is acknowledged by the author though, as they were finding life very difficult during the pandemic and lockdown. The chapters are much shorter, and there’s very little story continuity between them, they’re more like a set of short stories with recurring characters. I don’t like to criticise someone’s real life experiences when used as the basis for a story, but I do think that Asuka is a good visual storyteller, the panels flow nicely and it’s an easy read visually.

Gender non-specific person with short dark hair, striped button down shirt, grey pants and brown boots in front of a large white 'x' on a light blue background. They hold their left arm up making a 'V is for victory" sign, smiling, while their right arm is help in a fist at their right hip.Overall, I’m happy this series exists and was released in English. It’s a good introduction to non binary identities for those who have absolutely no idea what they are. (I am a cis lesbian with many non-binary friends, and I acknowledge this is not a substitute for actual lived experience.)

Obviously this is only one person’s story and the non-binary experience is vast and variable, but I feel like a lot of readers of this site can relate to the feeling of not belonging in society or not being comfortable in our bodies, as well as the isolation many of us felt during 2020. For the cishet men this was aimed at, I hope it can be an insight into a life that’s very different to your own, but ultimately a reminder that we’re not so different after all.

 

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6. This one is definitely best read a chapter or two at a time, rather than all in one go, especially volume 2.
Character – 7. The General is by far my favourite.
Service – 7. There are some fairly graphic descriptions of the author’s porn and sex preferences but nothing explicitly illustrated..
LGBT+ – 8

Overall – 7





Kase-san and Yamada, Volume 4

May 29th, 2025

Two girls snuggle on the cover, surrounded by colorful silhouettes of tea cups and tea posts. One has medium length blonde hair, wears a brown plaid skirt and cream blouse. The other a pink shirt and grey shorts. They hold matching teacups.It is absolutely gobsmacking to think that we have been following these two young woman in real time almost as long as they have been alive in story time. The Kase-san series turns 15 years old this summer. Boggling.

And, finally, they seem to be growing up a bit. But they still have some hurdles to clear in Kase-san and Yamada, Volume 4, which is the ninth volume of this story!

Kase-san and Yamada are planning on moving out of the dorms and into an apartment together. Yamada finds the perfect place, but Kase-san cannot get herself together to sign the lease. Instead of leaving the dorms, she finds herself unable to cope with the unrequited emotional baggage of her roommate.Her teammates are no help at all, and encourage Kase-san to race Fukami, because they want a race, and Kase-san isn’t strong-willed enough to claim her own space.

Meanwhile Yamada finds that she has managed to build a little nest of friends on her side. Hana and Fukawachhi help her move in and she unloads the absurd story on them. And then Kase-san arrives and it’s just as wonderful as Yamada dreamed. Whene she casually reminds Kase-san that her plan is to study in England, we feel the future looming up ahead, but for now, Kase-san and Yamada are happy in their own place together. Yay.

This is a spot at which the series could, if it needs to, stop. And it will have served all the functions we can ask of it – we got to see Yamada meet and fall in love with Kase-san, Kase-san return her feelings, they graduated and moved to the big city, and now, are living together, at last with nothing between them. And yet! There they are in this issue of Wings magazine with a color page and a slight mismatch of schedules once again, causing mild chaos that will resolve with the two of them happily together. This series has traveled a long road, between magazines and online publishing and, like it’s titular characters has foun it’s home and is quite settled in, thank you.

Kase-san and Yamada are not flashy people, this manga is not a flashy title, but it has quietly been doing an amazing job of bringing us a lovely Yuri couple for 15 years now, and I think Takashima Hiromi-sensei deserves a lot of praise for her work.