When Miman-sensei created a series about a concept cafe based on a popular novel series about ‘S’ relationships at a mission school, I was hooked right away. I honestly would never have believed we’d be 9 volumes into it and still ongoing…and still amazing. But here we are. Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!, Volume 9 (私の百合はお仕事です!) is an endless series of small delights and mortifications. ^_^

Having finally settled the major drama (but not the minor, daily, drama) between Mitsuki and Hime, we turn our eyes to the senior figure at Cafe Liebe, Sumika. Her character at the cafe is both bookish and suggestive, cornering her cute schwester to make her blush. In daily life, Sumika is said to be a bit of a gal, but I’m not convinced, honestly. Nonetheless “gal-sempai” has been a bit of mystery to us. We know her one desire is that everything stay the same at the cafe, and we know why – her first little sister was stolen by another member of the cast. Nene, the former little sister, thinks Sumika’s version of the story is full of horsepucky, but it is true that she’s moved into the back of house since.

Sumika has been obsessed with trying to get Kanako to stop obsessing over Hime, so far unsuccessfully. And now Sumika has another problem…she’s starting to have raunchy dreams and romantic thoughts about her reluctant little sister.

And all of that is about to come to a head when the woman who stole Nene from under Sumika’s protective wing shows up at the cafe! What does Goedo Youko want?

This volume was amazing, from beginning to end. It had everything, suspense, drama, fakey romance, real….something, if not romance, then what? And a new back of house employee which gives is the brilliant opportunity to ask all the cast what the S-style sister relationship means to them. When Shinooka is debriefing with Mai, she says that her favorite definition comes from Sumika who says that it is “A Romance, with the romance taken out.” I can’t imagine it better said.

Miman-sensei ends the volume with process discussion, which is always enjoyable and now, as soon as I am done with this, I’m cracking open the next Comic Yuri Hime, so I can see where this new arc is headed. And you will get to read Yuri is My Job, Volume 8 in March. Trust me, there’s a lot to look forward to!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 4
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

A fantastically unpredictable volume from a series that never stops surprising me.

Phew. For a manga that started as a light-hearted romp through Yuri tropes, this series sure has got intense. Hey, wait, I’m sure I’ve said that about other stories that started as light-hearted romps through Yuri tropes, before. Hrm. It’s almost like comedy is a good way to draw readers in, but for a story to be sustainable it needs more. This seems like a good topic for a video…and I just happened to have planned the next video after this upcoming one to be this very topic! How about that.

In Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 8 ( 私の百合はお仕事です!) it is the belated celebration of Mitsuki and Kanako’s birthday at the cafe. Hime is in attendance, but will she stay? Mitsuki puts her own issues aside and convinces Hime to stick around.

Mai, always looking for marketing idea, decides to take the crew on a trip to a hotel that could totally pass for Liebe Academy. An overnight! Everyone is excited. But Mai has made some choices that, if I were Sumika, I’d be like, “Dude. No. This is a bad idea.”

So in between photoshoots of loving schwestern, Mitsuki is dealing with, gosh, the fact that she’s rooming with the girl she loves, who has rejected her and her extremely voluptuous body in a public bath. I’m so vexxed for Mitsuki, stop beating on this girl already!

But things are about to get more complicated as Sumika’s own lily is blooming. And she already knows Kanako’s feelings, so…yikes?

Good heavens, do I want to reshuffle this whole mishegas. BUT, I wouldn’t and I couldn’t and I won’t. Miman-sensei is perfectly capable of writing their own story and keeping it compelling and dramatic without me.

A great volume from a series that has pretty consistently had great volumes.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 4
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

Volume 7 of Yuri is My Job! is out now from Kodansha, and I guess I should have reviewed that before this one, oh well. ^_^ In any case, this is a great series and you should be reading it.

When we left Volume 6 of Miman’s “Yuri concept cafe” series,  Hime has rethought her desire to stay at the cafe, throwing the rest of the staff into complete chaos.

In Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 7 ( 私の百合はお仕事です!), the staff makes Hime and Mitsuki sit down and talk everything out. It does not go as planned. Or, well, sort of yes it does. The outcome just isn’t what they wanted.

Mitsuki makes her case…and she’s really pretty bad at making that case, frankly. Years of pining quietly for the friend she remembered has unmade her ability to see Hime in front of her as a real person. But – in an amazing scene – when Mitsuki ends up talking to some of her classmates, she finds that they giver her very good advice, and she is able to speak honestly with one, who is kind and supportive to her. That one scene may well have repaired a lot of damage in that girl.

Kanako finally lances the wound her anger has become. She lashes out at Mitsuki and she’s only a little wrong. But she is also wrong and Sumika has to hold her back, before she does new damage. The bits Kanako gets right, and the conversation with her classmate, force Mitsuki to rethink things. Ultimately, though, Hime is the one with final say. In her desire to not hurt Mitsuki…she hurts her very much.

The ensemble here is perfect. Kanako’s anger, Hime’s reticence, Sumika’s overwhelming need for things to stay the same, and Mitsuki’s cruel honesty make a tense, yet never quite overwrought, volume. Seven volumes into this series, if you’re not already reading it, this review is not going to be the thing that draws you in, but for a series that started with a silly premise, a bunch of mostly-unlikable characters and a handful of unrealistic plot complications, Miman-sensei has been really deft at managing this narrative into something interesting.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

Another messy af relationship, but somehow I feel like this story will pull together in the end.