Archive for the Artists Category


ULTIMATE-MAMA

May 26th, 2022

A bunch of content warnings on today’s review, for blood, and violence, and “comedic” BDSM and nudity and some other stuff.

Fujimori Manatasu is a very cute high school student. At 18, she already has a modeling career and is well-liked by her friends. Walking home from school one day she sees what looks like a giant black crescent in the sky. She is rescued from some slavering creature by a woman with abs of steel, Ultimate Fang, and her apparently small child, Meteora. The next day at school, Manatsu finds the child to be 18, and a transfer student into her class…and both Juou Ruriru, the child and Juouo Hagane, the buff mother, are now her next-door neighbors. Hagane is there, because Manatsu has blood that will also give her super powers as well, if only Hagane can awaken them. Preferably by having sex, but whatever. When another equally buff woman arrives, Savage, (real name Jade Anderson) Manatsu’s mom falls, hard. Now it’s up to Hagane to awaken Manatsu’s powers and gain a partner. Eventually, she does, of course.

In the meantime, the monsters, the blood and the gags keep coming in ULTIMATE-MAMA by Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei.

If you have ever read Hayashiya-sensei’s Ultra Sword (or my review of it) the plot may sound vaguely familiar. A girl with blood that attracts monsters is guarded by people with powers. In this case, the blood would also give the girl powers. Unlike Ultra Sword, this series is not rapey at all, really. The superwomen are super cut and have washboard abs and sexy scars and are totally into having sex with women. Manatsu is, by Chapter 7, reasonably okay with it too. Mom and Savage were love at first sight, which was kind of cute.

There is also a clearly evil couple who have sex to call up the crescents which act as a door for the monsters. Who are they and what are the meaning of these attacks? Their acts creates both the crescent doors in the sky and items that fall from those which turn regular humans into the monsters…a bit like Sailor Moon.

Now here comes the real CW part. ULTIMATE-MAMA is currently available on Fanza Books, which is a pretty skanky adult manga and eronovel site.The first things you will see on the site are a whole lot of primary and secondary genitalia, realistic and decidedly not. It’s that kind of site. The manga is being released a chapter at a time for about 220￥/chapter. I sure hope it’ll be collected.

In the meantime, I’m very much enjoying this manga for exactly what it is. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 24 volumes of Hayate x Blade really leveled up her skills in action scenes, for sure.
Story – 7 Lots of elements held together by humor at the moment.
Characters – 9 Charming and goofy and chaotic, exactly what she does best
Yuri – 9
Service – 8 Nudity, sex, underwear, silly BDSM, yes, there is service

Overall – 8

If, like me, you’ll basically read anything and everything Hayashiya-sensei does, the funny violence and funny blood and funny BDSM all are par for the course. Fang and Savage are very nice to look at, if you like that type, which I do. (Not to put a fine point on it, Hayashiya-sensei’s tastes are *clearly* my tastes, as well. ^_^)





Sempai, Oishii desuka? Volume 1 (先輩、美味しいですか?)

May 19th, 2022

Miho loves food. She happily eats large bowls of rice with a big smile. But, back in high school, a schoolmate told her it wasn’t really feminine to eat so much or with so much gusto. That hasn’t stopped Miho, but she does prefer to eat alone these days.

A college friend wants to meet Miho’s boyfriend before a group date and Miho is in a bind. She usually brings her brother to these things to stave off both answering questions about not having a boyfriend from the girls and advances from the guys. But her brother can’t make it, so he’s sending a substitute…who turns out to be beautiful woman, Mori-sempai. Moris one of those people who is completely comfortable with herself and jumps right in as Miho’s “lover.” But Miho is much less comfortable with the kind of skinship Mori-sempai seems to favor. When Mori-sempai shares that she’s seen Miho eating and everything seems so delicious, Miho invites Mori to make some food together.

When I heard about Sempai, Oishii desuka? Volume 1 (先輩、美味しいですか?) which combines three things I really like –  Yuri, food and Mikanuji’s art and characters –  I was really excited to read this volume. Now that I have read it, I can definitely recommend it with some significant reservations.

Miho is a well-conceived character. She’s awkward in a very relatable way; hyper-focused on things she finds relaxing and fun, and unsure and often uncomfortable outside those situations. I think I and nearly everyone I know fits that pattern. She really can’t read Mori and Mori isn’t really being entirely upfront…a fact that she admits to Miho. Miho’s really cute. Her reason for not going out with a girl who confessed her feelings was totally in character…and Mori agrees. ^_^

Mori’s the deep waters here. On the surface she’s perfect. However, she regularly violates Miho’s boundaries, not with malice, but she still does it. This is the reservation in my recommendation. If you are made uncomfortable by a story in which boundaries are ignored, this may very well distress you, because it did begin to distress me. I found it a little much. Perhaps read as a monthly serial it would be more tolerable than in one sitting.  As the volume progresses, we see – and Mori mentions –  that she has some secrets.

One wonders if this story about food and Yuri doesn’t have a third layer about…something…beneath the surface. I could conjecture, but I don’t want to make the book about something it’s not about. I just have a gut feeling.

Lastly – the food parts aren’t quite recipes, but they’ll certainly stimulate the appetite and imagination, especially if you enjoy Japanese food. And of course Mikanuji-sensei’s art is quite cute.

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Characters – 8 
Story – 7
Service – Mori getting too close too often is problematic rather than salacious
Yuri – Beyond the premise, let’s give it a 4

Overall – 7  

I can see this story doing some good things and equally, I can see it cutting corners. I hope as it develops it goes the former route. I’m really hoping Miho and Mori grow a bit more in synch and work through their baggage together.





Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!, Volume 1 (平民癖に生意気な！)

May 15th, 2022

We’ve all read the “other perspective” Light Novel by now, haven’t we? My Next Life as a Villainess, for instance, ends every chapter with the same story from the other person’s perspective and, while cute, it doesn’t add that much to the narrative.

Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!, Volume 1 (平民癖に生意気な！) is once again a brilliant exception to a Light Novel rule. This volume covers the same story as the first novel of I’m in Love With the Villainess, but has so much original content and such a completely different perspective on key dramatic elements. That said, that’s not the only reason it’s worth reading – as usual, it’s the characters that put it over the top for me. Including a new character who never appeared in the original story and, plausibly, has several solid reasons for not doing so.

Claire François, the only daughter of the Bauer Kingdom’s Minister of Finance, is a young woman of extraordinary privilege. She knows this, in a theoretical sense. In a not-theoretical sense, Claire believes in the nobility – that they have an important place in society and that she has both rights and responsibilities because of that role.  When a commoner in her class suddenly confesses her love, Claire has no comprehension as to why? Why her? Why this…? Claire hopes to shake her off but her best friends, Pipi and Loretta, dissuade her by imagining much more severe bullying tactics. When the commoner manages to becomes Claire’s maid, everything starts to change. 

Educated by her new maid and her old one, Lene, Claire begins to see the world from the perspective of the commoners and she’s deeply put off by what she has learned. As Bauer fights internal and external strife, Claire François starts to understand the values she holds may not be up to the strain.  But – importantly – Claire herself is up to the challenge. Her belief in her position, her power and her friends makes this book an outstanding read.

We learn so much about Claire’s apparent henchchicks in this novel that they never again will appear to me as merely hangers-on. Pipi and Loretta get not just backstories, but massive character development, especially in volume 2 of this series. In actual fact, it is a scene with them that has made me cry in this go round. I’m also leaving out everything about the new character, because I don’t wish to spoil anything at all about that.

As a result of my experience with other LNs, I was deeply unsure that this book would offer anything worth reading. It has blown me out of the water. Everything in it is worth reading. Not only do we get a much better idea of who Claire is, but we can see something that Rae herself could not – how effectively Rae hid herself in the first novel…and when that disguise slipped. Claire turns out to be remarkably insightful in a lot of ways and a very good friend to the people she cares about. This book was so good, I read it very slowly and carefully, so I wouldn’t miss a word. inori-sensei’s writing has absolutely leveled up. hangata-sensei’s art is still quite cute and is a little less portrait-y than it was in previous LNs, but still focuses on the figures over the action….typical of Light Novels.

This book has once again been released by GL Bunko in digital form and, like other GL Bunko novels, you can get this on US Kindle in Japanese. I will of course be writing GL Bunko([email protected]) to ask them to please continue the series. There are so many stories yet to tell.

Another way to read this novel is to support Inori-sensei on Pixiv Fanbox and read the sanctioned fan translation, which is released in English and Korean. And, of course, please let Seven Seas know that you’d like to see She’s Such a Cheeky Commoner! in print in English. I know I would. It was really good.

Ratings:

Art – 7 hanagata’s art is so much more confident now
Story – 10 Outstanding writing never mades me feel like it’s the same thing over again
Characters – 10 I cannot express to you how *good* the characters are here
Service – 3? 4? A bit, sometimes
Yuri/LGBTQ+ – Super complicated question! Rae’s feeling are not returned, but the queer content is still totally there.

Overall – 10

This is nothing like the typical “other perspective” trope. While you would have to have read Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 1 at least, readers are well-rewarded in this volume for their time. It’s really an excellent book.

 

 





Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 4 (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ)

May 12th, 2022

In Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 4 (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ) Ikeda Takashi brings his specific brand of wacky slice-of-life to a fantastic conclusion.

In the first three volumes of this series (Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3) we met Inazuka Wako, an aspiring voice actress and her lover Sakuma Eri, a script writer. The two of them have a happy relationship and a life filled with friends, and colleagues and neighbors. Both Eri and Wako are a bit silly, the way people often are and the situations they find themselves in are likewise, the kinds of stories we tell friends over and over.

In Volume 4, some old issues are resolved, new-old issues pop up, new-new issues arise and in the end, Wako and Eri continue to live happily ever after. There’s a lot that happens, but I’m not going to tell you about any of it, except for one thing. My favorite bit of the book is the segment when Eri buys new glasses. Some of the panels of Eri trying on glasses are breathtakingly drawn. Eri looks like an actual human.  But she’s drawn in a way that is simply stunning. I could fall in love with that woman on the page. honestly.

The good news is that you will soon be able to read this series in English! The Two Of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 1 is headed our way in June, from Seven Seas, which makes this a fabulous Pride Month selection! This series has the same kind of wacky humor we loved in Ikeda’s Whispered Words, without the melodrama or misunderstandings. This is a great story about two queer women I’d have over for lunch any time, with the occasional heartbreakingly good portraiture.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 8
Service – Less than the other volumes
LGBTQ+ – 10

Overall – 10

A perfect ending to a fabulous series.

 





Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 2 ( 雨夜の月)

May 5th, 2022

In Volume 1, we met Saki, a high school student who plays piano, and her classmate (and piano teacher’s daughter), Kanon, who is hard of hearing. Kanon is initially uninterested in becoming close to Saki, but as Saki conforms her behavior more to Kanon’s needs, she starts to warm up.

In Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 2 ( 雨夜の月), Kanon’s world grows wider. And I really want to make the point here – that *how* Kanon’s world changes is not because she grows used to the hearing world, but that the people around make sensible accommodation for her, which allows Kanon to interact on her own terms. It’s an important distinction and really makes this story not just another disability/inspiration tale, but a lesson for those of us who are hearing on how we can adapt to help HHD folks without burdening them with our needs. I recently saw an exchange on Twitter that went like this: Q: “What is ASL for helpful asshole?” A: “Hearing.” — this becomes a key point of Volume 2.

Kanon’s teacher, Miura-sensei, sees Kanon sleeping in class and invites her to a club room for her to eat lunch. He seems to really understand that her being in a room with a lot of people talking is stressful. While they chat, he pitches joining the literature club where, he assures her, they just really, honestly, read books. Kanon takes the plunge and finds one of Saki’s friends there, who welcomes her and does her best to make Kanon feel comfortable. When Kanon reports that she’s actually considering joining the club she’s clearly surprised at herself.

There is a little trouble brewing in this volume. Saki meets Kanon’s little sister Rinne. Rinne is carrying a lot of baggage – some of which she admits to, about being the abled sibling in the family, and over-protectiveness of her sister, but there’s also a lot of anger she’s not really honest about. Rinne tries to scare Saki off. Some of what she says was true, but there’s a lot of jealousy there, too.

Kanon tells Saki the story of her former school and the bullying and whisper campaign that went on. She refuses to let Saki return the key to the music room and even invites Saki to a movie…..where they meet their teacher and his daughter. They discuss subtitles and how it would be so much nicer if movies were subtitled. I agree with this so much. It’s one of the main selling points for streaming services for me.

As Kanon is becoming more comfortable with their skinship, Saki is becoming more aware of Rinne’s accusations, and her own feelings. I hoping that Volume 3 sees an honest talk about this.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 8
Service – On principle only
Yuri – 3 Creeping up slowly

Overall – 9

Honestly, this is a fantastic manga. I’m going to write Kodansha and beg them to license it. Kuzushiro-sensei’s work has never been better, great characters, and a story that teaches the right lessons.