Archive for the Artists Category


Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 3 (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ)

December 2nd, 2021

One of the defining characteristics of an adult life is facing setbacks. You can work really hard, gambare with all you have and still not achieve the goal. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s just life. In Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 3 (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ), its both.

Sakuma and Wako work very hard to achieve goals and sometimes is just doesn’t work out. But that is not the point of Volume 3. Of course, it is part of the plot, but what makes this, like the previous two volumes, work is not what Sakuma and Wako do…but how they do it. And how they very much do it together. This is not a happily-ever-after type story. This is a two people who love each other very much, live lives and eat meals and sometimes life is a step forward and sometimes it’s a step back.

I would gladly read this series for decades and watch these two look at each other like that and be there for one another. ^_^ This series is not about Yuri tropes, like Ikeda’s Whispered Words, it is not about office romance, or relationship melodrama…it’s a wonderfully told and drawn story about two decent people making their way through the world and us rooting for them rooting for each other. ^_^

Oh, and their friend gets some sex, finally.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 8
Service – 5 Light nudity
Lesbian – 10

You’ll get to read this series in April 2022, when Seven Seas releases Volume 1 of The Two Of Them Pretty Much Like This, which is already available for pre-order through this convenient Amazon affiliate link.

In the meantime, get yourself someone who looks at you the way Sakuma looks at Wako.  ^_^





Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koishiteru (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる), Volume 1

November 23rd, 2021

Ayaka-chan is fashionable and cute. As a result, she’s super popular with her male colleagues. Unfortunately for them, she isn’t interested. Ayaka only has eyes for her cool, competent sempai, career woman Hiroko.

Hiroko is put out greatly by Ayaka’s flirting. The problem isn’t that Hiroko isn’t interested…the problem is that she is. Very interested. And this apparently straight girl is driving her out of her mind. Poor Hiroko drinks away her pain every night at a lesbian bar, screaming at how vexing this all is!

In the meantime Ayaka amps up her seduction techniques. It drives her crazy that Hiroko never seems to notice her, no matter what she does. There is a punchline of course: What Hiroko will do when she finds out, is the subject of Volume 2. ^_^

And so their days go, each driving each other crazy in Sal Jiang’s office romance, Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koishiteru, Volume 1 (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる).

As usual with a Jiang story, the art is stylish, the characters feel completely real and the collision that’s coming is set up in a way that could be amazingly fun or bad (or both at the same time!) and still be equally entertaining.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 10
Service – 5 Ayaka is not above using her assets to get Hiroko’s attention, so mostly T&A.
Yuri – 7
Lesbian – 9

Overall – 8

I’m interested and pleased that this book is a Futabasha book. I’m always glad when Futabasha puts out openly queer work. You can read sample chapters in Japanese on Web Action, if you’d like to get a feel for this – I know there are plenty of Jiang fans reading this blog.

I’m going to hope that if her Black & White (which I reviewed here earlier this year and has since been licensed by Seven Seas,) does well, we’ll see this goofier story in English as well. ^_^ Normally, I wouldn’t assume, but Seven Seas already licenses stuff from Futabasha, so it’s not a stretch.

 





Days of Love at Seagull Villa, Volume 3

November 15th, 2021

Days of Love at Seagull Villa, Volume 3, teeters a the edge of crisis from almost the very first page for what might have been a really dark story but, ultimately, wasn’t. I’m still not sure if it was better for it, or not. ^_^

First, we learn that the real source of Mayumi’s self-doubt, is her “best friend,” who has spent a lifetime poisoning and manipulating Mayumi. Touko, who is clearly quite possessive of Mayumi, and also clearly willing to manipulate her and everyone around her, is already beginning the process of cutting Mayumi off from Rin at the beginning of this volume. When we understand that Touko has been doing this all her life, we’re pulling even harder for Mayumi to get away.

But that isn’t the only crisis. Rin’s being pressured to get married; after all, raising Hinata alone is hard. A storm is coming and it might bring darkness…

…Only, no, it doesn’t. ^_^

In the end, Mayumi stands up for herself, she and Rin tell each other their feelings and everyone lives happily ever after. And I find, as I read it, that it feels like a book that could have become another deeply disturbing series, but was cut off (early? perhaps, I can’t tell) and given a happy ending. For which I am very thankful.. The world is full of enough horrible, manipulative people who get away with terrible things, I’m not enthusiastic about that in my Yuri as well.

But also, does it make any sense that everyone in the story lives happily ever after – the terrible people, the clueless people, the good and kind people, and the protagonists? I still can’t tell.

I mean, sure I’m happy for the kids, I’m glad Rin and Mayumi make it work and are accepted and happy. We ended up with no worse than a sprained ankle, but I have the strangest feeling that we were supposed to have had – something – go worser. I’ll call us all lucky and move on. Touko’s manipulation is a mere shadow of the kind of emotional abuse Kodama-sensei portrays in some of her other work and maybe she just couldn’t bring herself to torture Mayumi. I’m okay with that.

Technically, the book is very well done, with clean translation done by Amber Tamosaitis and Mo Harrison’s nicely integrated lettering and retouch.  Once again a great job by Seven Seas. It’s a fast read and a surprisingly sweet ending from a master of Yuri dread. ^_^

Ratings

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 8
Service – Not so much this volume
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

Thanks so much to Seven Seas for the review copy. A lucky someone will get to enjoy this in an upcoming Lucky Box!





Bloom Into You Anthology, Volume One

November 12th, 2021

The Bloom Into You Anthology, Volume One is something we didn’t used to see much in the west – an “official” collection of shorts about the characters by artists other than the creator. It’s a testament to the popularity of Bloom Into You, that this series had two volumes of this official anthology. Today we’re looking at Volume 1.

To begin with, I find I never reviewed this volume in Japanese. Having re-read it now, I know why. It’s a fun read and very enjoyable if you are a fan of the series or, more specifically, of Yuu and Touko. Most of the stories focus on them and their dynamic, often with a kind of goofiness that I imagine is very appealing if you like them. Here you’ll discover works about Bloom Into You by other Yuri artists such as Canno,  Yuriko Hara and tMnR.

Tthis volume had a few stories I enjoyed.  Particularly, “Onigiri, Croquettes, Rolled Eggs,” by Okara Miyama, which looks into a bad day in the life of Yuu’s friend, aspiring writer Koyomi. It’s a lovely look at friendship.

Also appealing to me was Kazuno Yuikawa’s “In the Box,” for – again – taking a deep dive into Sayaka’s feelings about and relationship with Touko.

It’s a no-brainer that I like “Bitter Coffee Time” by Hiroichi, for focusing on Riko and Miyako.

This volume was beautifully lettered by CK Russell, and nicely translated by Jenny McKeon. The small error of Sayaka’s birthdate has already been acknowledged and will be changed in future editions. I wouldn’t mention it at all, except people do like to jump on that kind of thing, so I wanted to assure you, it’s been noted already.

Which brings me to a point I want to make yet again – should you see an error or have a sustainable argument against a translation choice, there is an effective means to communicate this to companies. Go to their website, click their contact forms, write a politely worded message detailing the error. Remember human beings work at these companies, so do be sympathetic. The wrong thing to do is become rude or vicious in a public forum, so avoid that if possible. I assure you, being polite works. I’ve addressed many problematic language issues in the years I have been writing here. All you need to do is be polite.

If you loved Bloom Into You and want more time with Yuu and Touko and their friends…this is the book for you!

Ratings are variable on account of it being an anthology.

Overall – 8

Bloom Into You Anthology Volume Two (linked here by an amazon affiliate link. I’ll get it up on the Yuricon Store when all the options are avaialable) will be out in January, so you have another chance to indulge your passion for this series, just around the corner.





2DK, G Pen Aftertime Ohsawa Yayoi Short Story Collection (2DK、Gペン、アフタータイム。大沢やよい 短編集)

November 11th, 2021

Ohsawa Yayoi’s adult life romance, 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei was a part of the monthly Yuri contributions from Comic Yuri Hime from 2015 to 2018. After 8 volumes, in which we became familiar with the details of our protagonists’ lives and loves, we may be forgiven for wondering how they are doing now. ^_^

Ohsawa-sensei gives us a glimpse of Nanami and Kaede’s home life in the cover story of her new collection, 2DK, G Pen Aftertime Ohsawa Yayoi Short Story Collection (2DK、Gペン、アフタータイム。大沢やよい 短編集). They haven’t changed. Nanami is still busy, Kaede is still incapable of taking care of herself and a little prone to imagining things, but they are still love-love.

This is followed by a her recent shorts for Comic Yuri Hime. “Sono Hi, Night Date Nanode” is a delightful story about falling in love with, and under, the stars. And “Take Out Dekimaska?” is a nice little scenario between a delivery woman and a waitress that was both kind of sweet and deeply satisfying when the waitress loses her patience with the delivery woman not cluing in.

“Guragura Platonic” is a Ohsawa’s spin on a sex-worker fantasy. “Campus ni Trap,” is a teacher and student story (with bonus drunken teacher, so CW if this is not your thing). The final story is one of my faves, “Office Sempai, Kiraina Watashi,” which wraps up the 2DK storyline by showing us Tanihara Yuuko, Nanami’s over-acheiving kouhai, who now has a mythos of her own because Ohsawa-sensei could not let her go. I have a calendar from a Yuriten gone by of Tanihara exhorting me to give it my all at work, every month. It’s so annoying and hilarious I keep it on the living room table.  This month she reminds me that Business = Drama, so “Everyday Make Drama”. 「えヴリデイ、メイク・ドラマ」

Tanihara’s new kouhai just *cannot* figure out her enthusiastic sempai. Okata is completely confused by this bundle of motivational poster-energy and finds her both annoy and realizes that she likes her. ^_^

It was lovely to revisit with characters we know and meet new ones. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 5 There is some nudity and sexual situations, especially in the sex worker story.
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

I’ll always look forward to Ohsawa-sensei’s work and to see where it takes us and her. ^_^