I really like Ohzawa Yayoi’s weirder works. Her collection Spice Girls (スパイスガールズ)  is much less weird than her best stuff, but still has a quirk here or there to offer us.

The first story, which seems kind of like an idea that didn’t quite work out, follows a girls with a part-time job at a used bookstore, dealing with a schoolmate bring a metric ton of porn in to sell. The ending is a beginning, one hopes.

There are two separate sets of stories that deal with teacher/tutor and student. Neither are particularly creepy, but I prefer the second story in which a student learns more about her doofusy young teacher than she imagined.

The final story follows a niece and her newlywed young aunt by marriage in what could easily have become a not-good relationship, but didn’t. Phew.

Nothing here is particularly passionate, but most of it is sweet. Even when there’s no relationship as such at the end, the sense of people caring about each other is pleasant.

Ratings:

Art – 9 I really like her art
Story – Variable, averaging at 7
Characters – Same
Yuri – 6
Service – 4 for the first and last stories

Overall – 7

This isn’t going to be a go-to read for me, but if you’re a fan of Ohsawa-sensei’s work, this is a decent addition to the library.

You know what? I think I really, really like Ohsawa Yayoi. Last year I was blown away by her Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline /Strange Babies series, but here we are in her totally grounded in reality collection of shorts, Okujou PikaPika Romance (屋上ぴかぴかロマンス) and I still really like her work. A lot.

In “Shoshin Metronome,” Kawai-san does not like snare drummer Ichibashi-san, but as a trumpet player, she has to sit directly in front of her.  Their relationship changes from prickly dislike to reluctant friendship to maybe just a little more.

Hana and Nozomi have been friends since childhood, but new school friends are pulling Hana in one direction, and she’s not sure if Nozomi is holding her back or not. I didn’t much like this story, as Hana forces herself on Nozomi in a very un-friendly way and a happily ever after does not actually make it okay.

“Double Bind” is probably the realest story in the book, which follows a deeply uncomfortable breakup between two adult  women. Mayu breaks up with Emi to go out with a guy. We follow Emi’s grieving and have to recoil a bit when Mayu shows up again and again, so Emi can’t move on. Worse, Mayu sleeps with Emi as a piece on the side, which enrages Emi. Emi pulls herself together and is starting to get her life back together when Mayu shows up, again, this time having left the guy because she realizes she was an idiot. The story does not have an end, leaving us with Emi’s tearful face. Will they get together again, or not? We don’t know…which is exactly why I think the story works.

In “in secret…?” a student learns there is more to her doofus-y teacher than can be seen on the surface. Carole King’s version of You’ve Got a Friend plays an important role in this story, which immediately made me think of nawoko’s Voiceful.

The final story is an original for this collection which returns us to the somewhat fraught relationship between Kawai-san and Ichibashi-san, as they find more than just a friend in one another.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Variable, but 7 overall. “Double Bind” is hard to read, but really the standout story at a 9
Characters – 7 You like some more than others, just like life. ^_^
Yuri – 9
Service – 2

Overall – 8

Yet again, I find that I connect better to these stories as a collection, rather than individually in Comic Yuri Hime. And I strongly hope we’ll be seeing more from Ohsawa Yayoi-sensei.

Osawa Yayoi’s Black Yagi to Gekiyaku Madeline (ブラックヤギーと劇薬まどれーぬ) is very much a mixed bag of goodies and what you like may be completely different than what I like.

The title story is a weird little tale of two net idols, one who specializes in being cute and one who wears a black goat’s head and does an occult show…and what happens when the two meet, combine shows and fall in love. There’s just no way for this to not be an oddball story when it includes a Baphomet.

The epilogue shows us that it takes more than love for some of us to put away the goat head we hide behind.

“Sotsugyou Kinshi” was a new spin in an old car, with a story of taking love beyond the high school years, while “Sakashima Cinderella” explores what has to happen before people’s emotions meet on equal terms.

I very much disliked “Mayonaka Gravity” when it ran in Comic Yuri Hime. It is a tale of a rather unhealthy approach to a relationship and while it has a happy ending, I think there’s some stuff that will have to happen before that relationship becomes a good one. Codependency really isn’t romantic.

I very much liked “Yugure Orange, Sakuhana ha” which was a nice twist on Story A, when a girl convinces herself that she’s interested in the school lesbian, only to end up becoming friends with her and learning that she has someone. It was much more realistic than expected, as was “Mayonaka Gravity,” but left me feeling rather happier.

Your mileage may vary on this collection, but it has more to recommend it than not and the high-dose weirdness of the title story will be good for you. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 2
Overall – 8

It’s been a nice crop of Ichijinsha manga this season!