Archive for the Morishima Akiko Category


Hitorimi Desu 60-sai Lesbian Single Seikatsu (ひとりみです: 60歳レズビアンノシングルセイカツ) , 1-3

February 12th, 2025

An older woman in a long gray skit and yellow cardigan kneels down to water plant in her apartment.Hitorimi Desu 60-sai Lesbian Single Seikatsu (ひとりみです: 60歳レズビアンノシングルセイカツ). is the newest project from Morishima Akiko-sensei. This chapter-by-chapter series looks at the lives of senior lesbians who are single.

Chapter 1 begins with Imamura Miyuki, celebrating her 60th birthday. She’s known she was a lesbian since she was young, and has had lovers, but at this point in her life, she is alone. She’s not unhappy about it, definitely the positives outweigh the negatives. When her sister has her over her parents’ to clean up a few boxes, going through them reminds Miyuki of her dear friend, a girl she now considers to be her first girlfriend. She finds something that connected them, and starts to read a book from Renon.

A round woman in a red coat sits in a wheelchair in front of a house mailbox, looking up at a bird on a flowering tree branch above her.In Chapter 2 we meet Renon. She is 59 years old. Life threw her a curveball when a year ago, on the day she planned on her big gay bar debut in Shinjuku she was struck by a truck and injured. She uses a wheelchair to get around, mostly, is a little ambulatory, but her life is less thrilling than she hoped. Renon lives with her elderly mother and appears to have few hobbies except going out and eating cake. Upon returning from meeting an old friend who is getting married, Renon realizes that she had fallen for that friend thinks about how realizing that she had fallen for her friend changed her life, for good and bad.

This chapter starts on a hard edge. Renon is not a very happy person and we can see that she has given up to some extent. Having had her hopeful gay days taken out of her plans, she just kind of…stopped.

In Chapter 3, we learn more about Miyuki and Renon’s realationship. Renon receives that loaned book back from Miyuki, only 43 years late. Upon reliving her childhood memories of how they met, Renon finds the energy to write her old friend and invite her out. It is clear they were close friends, and felt deep affection for one another. When they meet up at last, they talk of the old days, but when the new days come up, the conversation lags. Maybe they don’t have anything to say anymore? Then the conversation starts up again – they both agree that each other was their first girlfriend….which crosses the hurdle of coming out to each other. The conversation comes more freely now and Renon pours her heart out.

Two girls in Japanese style school uniforms of blue, stand back to back. The wind blows their hair and skirts back as the cherry trees above them blossom.They part, agreeing to see each other again. Miyuki wanders off thinking about the future for the first time in a while and Renon finds the motivation to return to physical therapy. Maybe this reunion will spark something new for both of them.

As our favorite manga artists are ageing up (most of my fave artists are around my age – I have been following many of them for 20+ years now), it is not surprising to find that stories of older women are hitting harder for them, and me. ^_^ In her notes. Morishima-sensei says that she was wanting to write about lesbians who were single and also older lesbians, so this series came out from those desires.

Morishima-sensei is self publishing these chapters through Blic’s Cross Folio label. Blic is the same printer used by Galette Works. All three chapters are available on Amazon JP Kindle, Bookwalker JP and Amazon in English where you can get Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 in English as THE SINGLE LIFE: The single lives of 60-year-old lesbians.

Ratings:

Art- 9
Story – 9
Character – 9
Service – 0
LGBTQ – 9

Overall – 9

I hope she keeps working on these chapters. I love her art and the characters. She’s got a really solid grip on how people actually think. It’s always motivating for me to read her work. I definitely hope you’ll all take a look at this short story by an amazing storyteller and artist.





The Conditions of Paradise: Azure Dreams

July 26th, 2021

It was 2009 when I read this book the first time. Here was what I wrote at the time,

In Ruri-iro Yume (瑠璃色の夢) Morishima Akiko gets to realize a dream of hers … . She is able to draw a series of stories about adult women in relationships with other women.

As I read that now 12-year old review, I find that I could have cut and pasted a great deal of it into this one, as most of the references she’s made to her other series still have not been licensed. Hanjuku Joshi had a brief sojourn in English with JManga, but is otherwise not available here. Neither are Renai Joshika (Volume 1 and Volume 2) or Renai Joshi File (レンアイ・女子ファイル) .

So here we are, getting to see what Morishima-sensei was thinking about more than a decade ago – and it may be even more relevant to today’s Yuri than it was then, now that adult women and their dreams are the subject of more Yuri than ever before. Here we are at The Conditions of Paradise: Azure Dreams.

As a collection of shorts, this volume holds up rather nicely, I think. Morishima-sensei’s art style is still cute, and this look at different couples and different kinds of relationships makes for a nice variety. I summed up that 2009 review with, “In any case, Morishima’s art is super-duper cute. But her stories are smart, poignant and often very real. And, okay, sometimes her stories are super-duper cute, too. ^_^” And that holds true today. ^_^

Interestingly, in a kind of time warp, the characters from Hanjuku Joshi (from whom you met Chitose and her fujoshi sister) are back again, in “Motto Hanjuku Joshi” which runs right now in Galette magazine. It’s still a delightful series and one half the most problematic couple has aged out of school, so the problematic part of their relationship is less so. ^_^  Is today’s the motto, “everything old is new again” or “old Yuri doesn’t die, it’s just moves magazines”? In any case,

I really like that these three books are being sold as a series and I hope one day you’ll get to read the rest of the stories from which several of these shorts have been spun off.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
Lesbian – 7
Service – 7

Overall – 9

It is so lovely to see Elina Ishikawa working on a Yuri manga again – we worked together on the Jmanga volumes. ^_^ Very fine work from Asha Barton on adaptation, CK Russell’s lettering and retouch is a thankless job, so appreciate those sound effects! Nicky Lim’s cover design work is on point, as always, and let me just say, I weep with joy at seeing the proofreaders and Dawn Davis and Danielle King, credited along with editor Shannon Fay. The one thing Seven Seas does that I love most, is give you a glimpse of the entirety of the number of people who work to make this book happen. My sincere thanks to Rhiannon Lissa, and Julie as well. It’s a team effort and most readers have no idea how many folks have to put time in to get a book on their shelves. Thanks so much to the team at Seven Seas.

It has been absolutely wonderful to see more of Morishima-sensei’s art in English! Now, can I ask favor? I really want to see Takemiya Jin’s work in English, too. Pretty please? ^_^





Yuri Bear Storm, Volume 3

March 9th, 2020

In Volume 1, we met Kureha, a girl who hates bears and Ginko, a girl who is positive she is a bear. In Volume 2, we met Lulu who is is love with Ginko because of a childhood promise. We learned that Ginko and Kureha are in love, but that there is a secret that lay between them that is killing Ginko. Today we’re looking at Volume 3 of Yuri Bear Storm, the  English language edition of Yuri manga adaptation of Yurikuma Arashi, by Ikuhara Kunihiko, with art by Morishima Akiko,

In other Ikuhara stories, we’ve seen reality fractured into small pieces to be put back together, different realities layered on top of one another and here we have the entire narrative completely disassociated from its own reality.

There are no bears and everyone is a bear. Leia is dead or missing, but she’s alive and can be found. Lulu’s brother is dead, but he’s alive and standing right there, Sumika is a bear witch, but actually she’s just a kind person. And Kureha and Ginko are fated not to destroy each other.

In the end, we learn what that Ginko’s secret is, that it is untrue, that the real secret is that Ginko and Kureha are the inheritors of a love triangle between their mothers and Yuriika, everyone who we thought was dead is alive and we all end up happily ever after.

The end.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8 I cannot be the only one who would like a story about Leia, Yuriika and Kale in that Estonia Bear preserve.
Yuri – 8
Service – 3

Overall – 8

I’ve read this twice, watched it three times and it still basically makes no sense at all. ^_^ Which is perfectly okay.

I raise a glass to everyone at Tokyopop who worked on this, because there was no real way to make it make sense, which complicates things like translation and editing considerably! That said, Tokyopop, can you please confirm final covers on your solicits? It looks weird with all your listings saying “cover not final” for eternity.





Yuri Manga: Conditions of Paradise (English)

February 28th, 2020

It was 2008 when I had the delicious pleasure of reviewing Rakuen no Jouken in Japanese. Imagine my delight now, 12 years later, to be able to speak about an English language volume of it with you! I am beside myself with joy for English-reading fans of Yuri that you are finally able to enjoy Conditions of Paradise by Akiko Morishima. This volume contains short-arc and one-shot stories previously published in Comic Yuri Hime, (which was Yuri Hime magazine at the time) with an unpublished additional story, by one of the foundational creators of the modern Yuri genre.

The first arc follows two adult women who are completely opposite, but who find commonality in their love. The second arc is about a younger adult woman and the older woman she falls for…and how an age gap doesn’t have to make a difference at all. An unlikely couple finds strength in one another, a high school girl finds her first love. A historical drama tells the adventurous tale of a beautiful tragic, love. In this variety of shorts, we get to explore all kinds of love women have for one another.

Reading this book is like taking a deep breath and finally, after a long day, being able to relax. Morishima-sensei explores the  inner lives of women, taking time even in the one-shots to learn what experiences, dreams and fears make up their lives. There’s more in-depth character development in any one of these short stories than there is in chapters of other people’s work (semelparous, I’m looking at you…). It’s a treasure.

This book also marks the first work wholly by Morishima-sensei in English! If you have been reading Yuri Bear Storm, you’re familiar with her art. Here, you can enjoy a tall, cool sip of excellent Yuri storytelling alongside her distinctive artistic style. Fans of cute and/or moe art will find that here they are served here without any loss to the individuality or identity of the character. Cute and pink-cheeked they may be, but there are no fetuses in frilly dresses here, nor are the characters interchangeable stereotypes.

As always, the book has been handled beautifully by Seven Seas. Elina Ishikawa-Curran’s translation and Asha Baron’s adaptation reads as smooth as silk. Great job on this book. It was worth the wait.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – variable, 8
Characters – an almost universally likeable 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 4

Overall – 9

If you’re looking for a book to take the edge off the harsh realities of the world that doesn’t ask you to set aside sense or sensibility, take a look at Conditions of Paradise.

Thanks very much to Seven Seas for a review copy! It’s magnificent.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Bear Storm, Volume 2 (English)

December 9th, 2019

We met Kureha, a human surrounded by bears, and Gingko, the bear princess with whom she falls in love in Volume 1.

In Volume 2 of Yuri Bear Storm, what is already a confusing story, takes on extra layers of obfuscation as Lulu, another bear in love with Gingko, shows up. The three of them end up living together, and we begin to learn that Gingko and Kureha are linked by a long list of connections, not the least of which is that their mothers, and Yurika, the school principal, were apparently lovers in the past.

While every piece of the plot is presented as a “Once upon a time” fairytale, none of those pieces seem to fit together, quite, although they clearly belong to the same puzzle. By the end of volume 2, we can see that Gingko and Kureha are bound by fate, but how, exactly and what that fate is, are seen from two sides of a one-way mirror. Each girl knows the other is there, but they can’t quite see….

And added to the equation is the appearance of Bear Witch Sumika, (Kureha’s lover from the anime.) She appears to know something about Kureha that the girl doesn’t know about herself. What that is, we might learn, but equally, we might not, in this Ikuhara Kunihiko story, stamped all over with the seal of a lily, but frequently without plot threads that connect.

I really love this manga for Morishima Akiko’s art, and the cognitive dissonance between her cherubic characters and the significant psychological (and, occasionally, physical) violence of the story. These are the cutest bears disemboweling humans you’ll ever see.

Translator Katie McLendon does heroic work making this story make as sense as it possibly can, while the entire Tokyopop team does a fine job of giving this book the feel and finish it deserves.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8 We get more Yurika!
Yuri – 8
Service – 5

Overall – 8

For an adorable fairytale about multiple three-person relationships, death, destruction loss and love, Yuri Bear Storm is a pretty amazing (if not “good”) story.