Archive for the Artists Category


Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou, Volume 12 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

May 21st, 2026

Cover of Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou, Volume 12 / 私の推しは悪役令嬢。Story by inori., art by Aonoshimo. Surrounded by white lilies, a young woman with long blonde curls, in a red fatasy-style school blazer and dark blue skirt with voluminous white petticoats, turns towards us as if to curtsey, her blue eyes and smile very gentle.The end draws inexorably nearer, in Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou, Volume 12 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) Salas holds the Revolutionary Government in his hands, while the Provisional Government lead by Dole and the nobles seem intent upon driving the commoners to rebellion….

…which was the plan, Rae finally admits to Claire. Claire finally learns that everything Rae and her father have done is to save her, and all she has to do is stand with the Revolution. But Claire is a noble through and through. And she’s always been the “Villianess,” willful and obstinate. Claire turns herself in to the Rebel forces, know that she is going to die. 

Rae becomes despondent. Everything she has done, all the allies she has made, has failed to save her love. But those allies are stronger than Rae knows, and when Misha gets into her face and say, “hey you’re not the only one who gets to interfere with friends’ love lives.” And then a wild card shows up and suddenly, we have hope once again. 

 Watching Salas manipulate everyone (and gloat about it) is enraging, but as horrifying as it is, we must acknowledge that Dole was, in his own way, just as manipulative. It’s easy yo see him as a good guy masquerading as a bad guy, but…he also was, genuinely a bad guy, too. 

This is a powerful and deeply emotional volume, then sets up all the pieces for Rae and Claire to face one another from opposite sides of a philosophical gap for the final time.

Ratings: 

Art – 9 Aonoshimo’s art is wonderful.
Story – 10 This is still one of the best climaxes in Villainess media
Characters – 10 Claire practically grows wings here
Service – 1 A kiss. A sad, bittersweet kiss.
Yuri – 10

Overall – 10

Based on the timing, I expect this to go about 14 volumes, unless there is a coda…which I hope there is. Let’s not forget to write Comic Yuri Hime and ask for more!





Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko!, Volume 2

May 11th, 2026

A blonde woman in pink, whispers into the ear of a woman in a grey suits and white button down shirt, who is visibly cringing with embarrassment, under the words Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko (echoed)In Volume 1, we were thrown into a torrent of emotion as beloved and competent office sempai Hiroko, has a passionate, if awkward, junior, Ayaka, who is doing everything she can to catch Hiroko’s eye. 

When Ayaka finally just tells Hiroko how she feels…Hiroko rejects her. As Ayaka grieves, her best friend Risa asks if Ayaka couldn’t find a way to going out with her. But, no, Ayaka is not able to give Risa what she wants. Everyone is unhappy. 

And then something important happens. The ladies at the lesbian bar unpack Hiroko’s baggage.. They explain to Risa and Ayaka just how much different things were 15 years ago and how being out carries a lot of weight for an older generation of lesbians. This is a crucially important bit of storytelling. Hiroko has her own personal heartbreak and the consequences that she’s been carrying, but also a lifetime of society forcibly rejecting queer people. Not like the conservative extinction burst attacks we’re seeing now, but the full confidence of a majority of society being queerphobic. Hiroko’s beloved sempai, a woman she admired and loved, took the fall for her and she cannot let that go lightly.

I love that this has to be explained…how genuinely wonderful for younger queer folks who rightfully see transphobia and homophobia as the problem, rather than themselves. But it does have to be explained, because while that kind of queerphobia still does exist-  people are still regularly thrown out of homes, lose jobs, access to family, children, housing, – it is nowhere as common as it once was. So for folks who have not experienced it, here is an example.

And, having learned the whole truth, Ayaka, Risa, and Hiroko are ready to move on. No, wait, Risa and Hiroko are, but Ayaka has other ideas. She’s still convinced that Hiroko just need convincing. In Ayaka fashion, that means she’ll choose the wackiest way to go about it.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 10
Service – 6 When Ayaka stops dressing for attention, it’s actually pretty funny
Yuri – 7
Lesbian – 9

Overall – 8

This volume manages to be funny and poignant with Sal Jiang’s fabulous reaction expression art. A good read, a fun read, and a read that I hope in 15 years will make almost no sense at all to the next generation of queer youth, who will be befuddled by anyone who doesn’t just automatically acknowledge their right to exist.





Wicked Spot, Volume 1

April 30th, 2026

On a vivid yellow background, a woman with wild pink hair in hot pink and black, sits cross-legged, manicured long nails visible on her hand, smiling broadly with fangs showing and an intense look in her green eyes as looks a us.In my review of this book in Japanese I said, “Sal Jiang’s newest manga, Wicked Spot, Volume 1 is a classic case of a story beginning in one place and ending way far away from there in many different ways. I love it. ^_^.” 

Now that I have read it it English, I still love it. ^_^

Sada is a young with and the rules around staying hidden and away from people chafes. When a cell-phone opens up the world to Sada, she becomes a hit social media influencer (largely by walking into stores and just taking what she wants, courtesy of  bit of magic.)

Hanako has been tormented her whole life for being “a witch” because of her enormous strength. In the wake of Sada’s public confession that she is, in actual fact a witch, Hanako goes from fan to hater in a moment. When they meet, many worlds will collide!

If you like Sal Jiang’s work, you love this, if you are new to her work, hopefully, you’ll grow to love the wacky reaction faces and crazy muchness of both Sadako and Hanako’s situations. 

For me, it’s a fun read with just enough emotional buy-in to keep me reading what amounts to a action and magic filled comedy.

Ratings:

Art – 8 sometimes beautiful, other times messy
Characters – 8 Yes, this kind of off the wall, please
Story – 9 Awesome so far
Service – Cute clothes are about it
Yuri – Could go any way right now, but I trust

Overall – 8

Thanks to Vertical/Kodansha for a review copy through ANN for their up coming Spring Manga Guide! This volume is headed our way in a few weeks!





Threads of Me and You

March 18th, 2026

Two women wearing kimonos and holding flowers that complement the other's outer coat look at each other.One with short black hair wears a blue and white kimono an golden outer jacket, holds a purple flower. The other women with longer light brown hair pulled u into a bun at the neck wears a sunflower pattern kimono, and purple outer coat while holding sunflowers.by Patricia Baxter,  Guest Reviewer

Threads of Me and You is the newest yuri manga series from Ayu Inui, the author of If We Leave on the Dot. Like her previous series, this is a manga focused on the lives of two women who are already well established in their respective careers, meeting, growing closer, learning more about themselves, and falling in love along the way. One of the major differences between the two series is that Threads of Me and You focuses on women meeting and connecting through fashion and self-expression, centered around wearing kimonos.

Yui Nanjou is a twenty-eight year old office worker who dislikes being seen as “cute” by others, and wishes that she could look more mature. At a local restaurant she meets Mizuho Shiiba, a woman her own age who is typically seen wearing a kimono while working, with a mature and refined air about her that Yui can’t help but admire. After an impromptu conversation, Mizuho agrees to teach Yui how to wear a kimono, which marks the beginning of their friendship.

One of this series’ greatest strengths is how it showcases Yui’s character arc, as she slowly but surely begins to undergo a journey of self-reflection, which helps her learn about herself and how she wants to be perceived. This also includes unlearning heteronormative assumptions about romance and relationships that she had internalized. Her journey of learning to love herself, Mizuho, and kimonos, are all entwined together and feel natural, and seeing everything come together in the end was a joy to read.

Unfortunately, Mizuho does not get the same amount of depth and character development as Yui, which is a shame because she was clearly shown throughout the series as having her own struggles and insecurities. Unlike Yui, who is undermined because she looks cute, Mizuho finds people have high expectations of her since she appears “mature”, when in reality she has trouble with directions, even to familiar places, and gets easily distracted by her interests. This could have been an interesting setup for a sapphic romance with an implied neurodivergent love interest, but the series, and Mizuho’s struggles, are wrapped up very quickly for the sake of a satisfying conclusion.

Despite these snags, the positives of the series, such as Yui’s character growth and seeing various women pursuing their passions, make it a worthwhile read.

Ratings: 

Art – 7.5
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 4

Overall – 8 

Threads of Me and You is available to buy or rent as twelve individual chapters exclusively on Renta! and each chapter costs $1 USD each.

 




I Wanna Be Your Girl, Volume 3

March 11th, 2026

Two people in Japanese style school uniforms, one in boy's uniform, one in girl's uniform, their head on their knees, sit on a school stairway.by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

We have now reached the penultimate volume of Umi Takase’s I Wanna Be Your Girl, and having also reviewed volumes 1 and 2 here on Okazu, this one is definitely the weakest of the three. One thing this series continues to excel at though, is portraying teenagers realistically. Hime is still headstrong in her convictions and her determination to protect Akira. Akira, meanwhile, just wants to be treated like one of the girls and be noticed by the senpai she has a crush on. At the end of volume 2, we start to delve into another character’s back story. Hamuro is another student who has a secret of his own. He cross dresses as a maid while working at a cafe near the school, and it’s revealed that he’s not trans like Akira but cross dresses to support his younger sister Momo who was bullied for being too cute.

I don’t really feel Hamuro adds very much to the story, and the whole starting cross dressing because your sister was bullied just seems a little too out there, especially for a seemingly cishet teenage boy. Fortunately, it’s not a big part of this volume. What we get after Hamuro though is something I’ve hoped would happen since volume 1, and that is Sasaki-sensei’s backstory. I mentioned in my review of that volume that “It seems though, that there is more to the teacher than first meets the eye. He sits Hime down for a talk one day, and it’s strongly suggested that he’s gone through something similar regarding identity in the past” He now reveals in a conversation with Akira that he is aromantic, and how he has suffered from not meeting society’s expectations too. I’m glad we got this segment, especially since in the afterword the author mentions that he was only supposed to appear briefly in chapter 2.

The rest of the volume is just more of what we’ve already seen before, Hime and Akira continue to misunderstand each other, side characters are used as sounding boards for the main characters to talk about their feelings and we’re not really any further forward with their relationship either.

I Wanna Be Your Girl is still an enjoyable series and I’m very glad it exists, but nothing new really happens in this volume, especially when compared to the previous two. I’m optimistic though that everyone will get their happy endings in the next and last volume, and I’ll be reading it to find out.

Ratings: 

Story – 6. This would be a point lower if we didn’t get Sasaki-sensei’s backstory.
Art – 6.
Characters – 7 Hamuro and his sister are unnecessary.
Service – n/a
LGBTQ — 10

Overall – 7 but again, probably an 8 if you’re a confused/closeted queer teenager looking for something to relate to.