Archive for the Morishima Akiko Category


Yuri Manga: Seijun Shoujo Paradigm (聖純少女パラダイム)

June 16th, 2015

downloadIn Seijun Shoujo Paradigm (聖純少女パラダイム), Morishima Akiko gave Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari readers her take on the most common private Catholic girl’s school tropes. And typically, she has a lot of fun with it. ^_^

At Saint Paradigm Girl’s School (one of a long line of nonsense Saint names in Yuri literature, but sometimes it’s hard to tell, I’m looking at you Saint Scholastica,) Aoi is all excited to get her elite high school experience started. Even the sight of a girl confessing to an upperclassman (and being rejected) makes her feel like she’s in the middle of a novel. And when the teacher leaves the room and the girls all drop their proper facades to pick up their phones and play games, or text their boyfriends, it depresses her.

Depressed as she is, she’s still more cheerful than Lily, the girl who had been rejected.  Lily actually likes girls, but is rejected regularly. Aoi, who has no interest in a boyfriend, agrees to be Lily’s best friend. Until Lily gets a girlfriend, she and Lily will love each other best.

The story splits off a bit to deal with some other couples among the student body – the president of the literature club and a member who have been lovers for years, but still have some issues. and the President and Vice President of the Student Council who are a perfect Takarazuka couple and, despite the fact that they live together and know they love each other, have not gone beyond a kiss on the cheek. Lily’s lack of tact is the key development that allows them to close that final gap between them.

After the school festival, Lily confesses seriously once more…to Aoi. Aoi knows they’ve agreed to love each other best, but this seemed different. As their second term begins, Aoi comes to realize she has deeper feelings for Lily, and the book and the story draw to a close with an “awww.”

Ratings:

Art – 8 Morishima’s usual cute faces and cheerful style
Story – 8 A sweet series for a Yuri-themed magazine
Characters – I liked them all, but sympathized with the literature club’s Midori most, who just wanted to hear “I love you” more often
Yuri – 9
Service – 3 Some underwear scenes, Morishima does underwear nicely

Overall – 8

Morishima-sensei says that this is her first Yuri set “among the sakura” and I immediately thought of a tagline for this kind of Yuri. Not “strawberry” at all – they had the wrong fruit. This is Yuri with “The scent of lilies and the flavor of cherries.”





Yuri Manga: Onna no ko Awase (女の子合わせ)

September 10th, 2013

This summer saw two manga collections  by Morishima Akiko-sensei released at once. The first one I reviewed,  Hajimeta, Kanojou to. was a look back at the beginnings of couples that had been established in later stories. This collection, Onna no ko Awase (女の子合わせ) are one-shots she drew for Comic Yuri Hime and the Yuri Hime Wildrose and Girls Love anthologies.

The first half of the book is stand-alones, and because many of them are anthology stories, they are more sex-focused than her serial works. The first story can be summed up with  “we’re in love, what do we do now?” A graduating senior and her underclassman lover spend a morning reliving their good times in school. Two girls in a private Catholic girls school indulge in questionable taste as they enjoy a bit of non-consensual BDSM in the chapel in front of Mary. A college student teaches her tutor how to have fun on a vacation.

The second half of the book is a mini-series about “Nega”, a girl with negative vibes, who desires a fellow clubmember whom she sees as a perfect angel that she wants to dirty. Nega has a lot of issues to get past and her image is just one of them. For her part, the object of Nega’s desire, Tsukimiya, is totally on board. They learn to trust themselves and each other. Kei, a idol of the school who helps Nega rework her image,  and Nana, Nega’s friend, have a parallel relationship that goes from friends with benefits to something more. No surprise, I liked this series best, since we took time to get to know the characters, rather than just rushing them to bed.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – Variable – 4-8
Characters – Same
Yuri – 9
Service – 8

Overall – 7

I definitely prefer Morishima-sensei’s series. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Hajimete, Kanojo to. (初めて、彼女と。)

August 28th, 2013

Hajimete, Kanojo to. (初めて、彼女と。), by Morishima Akiko-sensei, takes a look back at the origins of some of our favorite couples from her previous works.

First we look back at Rakuen no Joken. For Sarina and Sumi  we learn how they got together and why they’ve never really been a steady item. The series ends as Sarina realizes that Sumi moving in isn’t the life she wants, but travelling the world together with her is.

Shinobu and Lalaa have been living together for a while and Lalaa is inexpressibly happy. But, as she reminisces about how they got together, she misses, just a little, the crybaby Shinobu of her youth.

We then move on to Sayaka and Ruri from Ruri-iro Yume. Sayaka’s dream has changed since we first met her, but she thinks it’s okay – and so do we.

And last, we meet up once again with Mitsuki and Kaoru from Renai Joshika (Volume 1 and Volume 2). With them, we travel back into their school years,  how they met, became friends, became lovers and what went on between them during their first time dating. We can kind of see how they ended up the way they were when we met them originally – and I’m pleased that we know they end up together in a more mature version of the same relationship.

As always, Morishima-sensei’s art is cute, rather than cool. Her stories this time mean to – and do – evoke a sense of nostalgia. How did we get where we are? What paths did we take to get here?  For all of us, it is a long road, and one day we look back and think, really? My hair looked like that?

1981 Me and my wife, in 1981 or so at band camp.





Yuri Manga: Renai Joshi File (レンアイ・女子ファイル)

November 20th, 2012

For once, I was in Japan when Yuri Hime Comics were hitting manga store shelves! Woot! To make my small victory even better, the first half of Renai Joshi File (レンアイ・女子ファイル) is quite possibly the best thing Morishima Akiko-sensei has done to date.

In that title story, two women who have been together for 10 years find themselves befriending a high school girl and providing her advice and sympathetic ears as she works through her own first relationship.

The second story follows Saki’s ex from Renai Joshikka (Volume 1 and Volume 2 reviewed here.) Kimi, having lost Saki through neglect, is now second-guessing herself. She hires a private detective who turns out to be very good for her. ^_^

This final section, covers the meeting, subsequent friendship and possibly more between two girls who both want to quit school.

The last two stories fit together well if you approach them as object lessons on not letting life stop you from living. But it’s the first that just made me smile throughout. Young women in love meeting role models with an established relationship? Yes, please!

As usual with Morishima’s work, she peppers her moe art with really sensible advice and perspective about life.  Really great stuff.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Character – 8 overall, but Hiiro and Miyako are 10 and Kimi is a mope.
Yuri – 10
Service – 7

Overall – 9

Great stuff, by a great creator and for once, I got it when it came out. That’s darn near a perfect score for an otaku. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Renai Joshika (レンアイ女子課), Volume 2

December 11th, 2011

joshika2In Volume 1 of Renai Joshika (レンアイ 女子課) we were introduced to Arisu and Saki, two women who work at a bridal services company. Arisu and Saki fall in love, as one of the two major plots in the first volume.

In Volume 2, they are still going out, and things are looking very rosy for them both. Until Saki’s former girlfriend comes back into her life. Kimiko is a manga artist and, so overwhelmed was she by deadlines, she simply stopped communicating. Now that her project is done, she’s ready to pick up where she and Saki left off. Only Saki, after hearing nothing from Kimiko for so long, has moved on.

In the middle of the book, we turn to a side story about two other staff members – Ai and Sae. I really liked Ai, because she was the most genuinely grumpy, ill-tempered character I’d ever read in a manga. But then she falls in love with Hato-chan and got less grumpy and less interesting.

We then turn back to Saki and Arisu. Arisu offers Saki the option of seeing both of them, but Saki decides that the girl who is kind to her is better than the girl who forgets to call her for months at a time and decides that she wants Arisu after all.

The love stories were sweet, but the most interesting thing about the volume in my opinion, is the discussion about same-sex marriages, from the perspective of “How cool, we’d be able to design and sell two wedding dresses!” I thought that a pleasantly commercial perspective, rather than focusing on non-existent rights, let’s just talk money!

As with all of Morishima Akiko-sensei’s work, everyone is utterly adorable, even in their darkest moments. She captures the rosy-cheeked innocence beloved by so many of the Yuri audience right now, but, her characters are definitely adult. As a result, I’m kinda hoping that her work is on the table for an anime next. Yes, not schoolgirls, but look, so cute!

Anyway.

I love the discussion of same-sex marriage, sans political or social ramifications. I like the characters. I’m not personally moved to flights of fancy about weddings or wedding dresses, but I love that the story is out there for people who are.

Ratings:

Art – Cute! 8
Stories- Fun and Cute! 9
Characters – Adult and Cute! 9
Yuri – Sexy and Cute! 10
Service – Cute fanservice only! 2

This is how Yuri advances the cause of same-sex relationships, one hideously adorable chapter after another. Good job, Morishima-sensei!