Archive for the Artists Category


Uminekosou days, Volume 2 (海猫荘 days)

July 14th, 2020

Mayumi’s job as a teacher in this small town has begun and she is settling in. Well, settling isn’t the right word at all. If anything, in  Uminekosou days Volume 2 (海猫荘 days), by I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up creator, Kodama Naoko, she’s become increasingly unsettled as she learns more about Ashima, the young woman who hangs around the Umineko boardinghouse.

The daughter of a prominent businessman with his lover, Ashima’s family situation is complicated….made more so by a romantic relationship with her half sister…and even more complicated by Ashima’s feelings about Rin the boardinghouse landlady. When she sees Rin and Mayumi bonding, Ashima is not at all happy for them or for herself. But while Mayumi is dealing with Ashima’s emotional turmoil, she’s ignoring her own.

And she is in turmoil. She’s developing feelings for Rin and starting to feel like one day she might belong somewhere, when her “friend” from home, shows up. Touko is the woman who stole Mayumi’s boyfriend and instantly we can see that she’s no friend to Mayumi. She’s one of those hideous toxic people who undermines the people around them and sure enough the first thing she does is sabotage something Mayumi was working on.

And the book ends with us hoping that Mayumi will be able to see what her “friend” is like before she gets hurt.

The final chapter of the series is waiting for me and, even if I don’t necessarily believe in Mayumi, I definitely believe in Rin. She’s introduced to us as a former yanki, but she’s always shown as a good person who interprets the word family as anyone under her roof, and has that family’s best interests in mind.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 6
Service – 5 Bathing Whee
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

 I’m just hoping to see Mayumi be the one to kick Touko in the butt. ^_^

You’ll be able to read this series in English this autumn from Seven Seas as Days of Love at Seagull Villa..





Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu., Volume 7 (兄の嫁と暮らしています。)

June 23rd, 2020

Kuzushiro’s Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu. (兄の嫁と暮らしています。) lurches along, awkward, uncomfortable, neither a romance nor something else, and yet, I cannot look away. I last reviewed Volume 5, in which Nozomi has been struggling with her unexpressed feelings for her sistet-in-law, Shino. I did not review Volume 6, during which Nozomi’s mother’s drama took up most of the space between them. Shino eventually goes back to their home, while Nozomi sticks around her childhood home, moping because Shino is having fun without her. In actual fact, Shino is going to school and working and moping because Nozomi isn’t there and her friends are helpfully distracting her.

Now they are reunited in Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu., Volume 7 (兄の嫁と暮らしています。) and Nozomi has decided that, as sisters they should just relax with one another more. Shino is not objecting, but finds it very hard to relax when Nozomi and she touch. Especially when she is musing about a thing she’s heard that the underside of one’s arm is as soft as a breast and Nozomi let’s her test this theory out on her.

All the pieces in this 1000-piece puzzle are in play and it’s just a matter of filling in that complicated bit and this other. What the picture will be, though, is as yet unknown. Neither we nor Shino and Nozomi truly know what relationship they will have at the end of this series.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 3

Overall – 7

I have some weird soft spot for this story and I’m not even sure what I want for Shino and Nozomi at the end of it. ^_^;





Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 1 (おとなになっても)

May 28th, 2020

Shimura Takako’s work with gender and sexual minorities has been very influential and popular among western manga readers, and series like Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering Son end up on LGBTQ manga reading lists with reasonable regularity. So it comes as no surprise that her newest lesbian manga Otono ni Nattemo has been picked up for license by Seven Seas as Even Though We Are Adults, just as I picked it up off my to-read pile. ^_^

In Otona ni Nattemo, Volume 1 (おとなになっても) teacher Ayano meets Akari after work one night and they end up sleeping together. It’s not a relationship…but it’s not a one-night stand, Akari hopes, when Ayano says that she’ll stay in touch. Only, the next time she sees Ayano, she’s with her husband. Unsurprisingly Akari does not feel great about this major fact having been left out of their communication.

Nonetheless, they do see each other again, this time kind of starting from the beginning. The problem is that Ayano appears to be happily married. And Akari isn’t sure what she wants, generally, with her life, but she’s starting to think that she wants Ayano, specifically. I’m not at all sure what I think about either woman. It’s tempting to be angry at Ayano…but I’m not and neither is Akari. It’s tempting to be distrustful of Akari, but I’m not, and neither is Ayano.

The art is good, shockingly detailed for Shimura, in fact. It looks exactly like the Jousei manga it is.

This is an uncomfortable story about two adult women flailing a little bit while trying to figure out this adulting thing. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what to expect from this story – I’m not even sure I liked it – but I think I’ll end up reading volume 2 anyway. ^_^ I don’t see a happily-ever-after-ending…to be honest, I’d be disappointed if this ended that way. I wouldn’t mind it staying kind of uncomfortable for the course. Let’s get stories about things that aren’t sappily ever after for once.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – A not-sure-yet 7
Story – Same 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 Hardly any, in fact. The 1 is mostly on principle

Overall – 7

I’m still unsure of so much yet, but I guess I’ll keep reading. Shimura’s work is, in my honest opinion, very flawed, but if she’s going to lean into the flaws, we might get an interesting story.

Volume 2 is available in print in Japan, but not in print shipped to the US at the moment. Both volumes are available digitally on Global Bookwalker. I’ll be getting Volume 2 digitally. Even Though We’re Adults has a January 2021 release date.

Speaking of Global Bookwalker – they are holding a huge “Stay Home and Read” deal with up to 50% back in coins, that can then be used to buy more books. Seven Seas and J-Novel titles are included in the sale. ^_^





Aikata System ~ Gakuen ga Eranda Unmei no Onna no ko~, Volume 1 (相方システム~学園が選んだ運命の女の子~)

May 15th, 2020

Hakamada Mera is a name that is well-known around here on Okazu. From her early days with Saigo no Seifuku, originally published by Hobunsha (and eventually Seven Seas as The Last Uniform, as part of their original Yuri imprint, Strawberry and eventually reprinted in a 2-volume edition) through  Kanojyo no Sekai (彼女の世界) with Tokuma Shoten and, more recently, her excellent story in Galette magazine,  Fuwafuwa・Futashika・Yumemitai, Volume 1 (ふわふわ・ふたしか・夢みたい). Here Hakamada-sensei is again, working with yet another publisher, Dogenzaka Shobo, and their new to me imprint Lilie Comics. I gotta give this woman props. She’s really persevered, drawing the the stories she wants the way she wants.

Aikata System ~ Gakuen ga Eranda Unmei no Onna no ko~, Volume 1 (相方システム~学園が選んだ運命の女の子~) is right in her sweet spot – a school life drama with some real life drama baked in.

Nao’s school draws some of the best students because of the famous ‘Aikata System’ – a test that pairs you with you your perfect partner. Nao’s partner is one of the stars of the school, Ibuki, which puts a lot of pressure on Nao. Ibuki’s fan club is not at all okay with some first-year taking their idol’s attention…and Ibuki is definitely giving Nao a lot of attention.It’s frankly overwhelming. When Ibuki asks Nao to do the Aikata ritual with her, it looks awfully like a wedding ceremony and kiss.

Nao’s classmate Kaero has the opposite problem. Abiko-sensei is beautiful, with a voice like an angel and a really shitty attitude. Worse, Kaero is falling in love with her…and can see that Abiko is in love with Ibuki. Nao and Kaero are there to provide support to each other, at least, but it’s pretty clear that Ibuki and Abiko have some history that will have to be dealt with before anyone can move on.

Hakamada-sensei’s art has really tightened up over the years and, while her storytelling will never be sweeping epic, her characters here are likable. Which is all we can really ask of a school life drama.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 6

Overall – 8

Volume 2 is out in Japan and I think I’ll be adding it to the next order. I kind of want to see what’s going to happen.





Bloom Into You, Volume 7

May 11th, 2020

If Bloom Into You were a movie, this would be the part of the movie where, instead of hastening towards the climax, as American movies do, the characters would spend the next half hour moping, then run halfway across town to finally see each other, but Bloom Into You isn’t a movie, so while Touko and Yuu do exactly as described above, there is a different person for us to follow while they mope.

In Bloom Into You, Volume 7, Sayaka confronts her final boss, the fear inside herself. Happily, she doesn’t do it alone, because Sayaka has an adult role model to speak to, happy day! Miyako takes Sayaka on a reconnaissance mission and for the first time, Sayaka gets to talk to someone like her, and see what life can become. Fortified by the knowledge that she is choosing to do what she wants to for herself, so she can grow from it, Sayaka finally confesses her feelings to Touko.

…And the movie resumes, with Yuu and Touko running across town to see each other and finally have their own moment.

I’ve never been terribly invested in Yuu and Touko as a couple, not because I don’t like them, or because they shouldn’t be together, but just because this story was always presented to us as a Yuri romance. Yuu and Touko were fait accompli from the beginning. But Sayaka was a delightful – and meaningful – addition to the story.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8 The Sayaka parts are a 9
Characters – 9 They’ve developed into people now
Service – 1 Really not this volume, but we’ll talk again in V8.
Yuri – 7
Lesbian – 9

Overall – 9

As always, the technical for this are fabulous, Jenny McKeon’s translation does something specific I don’t want to spoil, but that I really liked in the climactic moment between Touko and Sayaka. Adaption, editing and lettering are all top notch, which means you’ll never notice them, but kudos to Jenn Grunigen, Julie Davis and CK Russell and I’m thrilled to see a proofreader, Danielle King. Do take a look at the credits for this volume, because IMHO, this is best of breed. You as a reader get to how many people it takes to get this book to you. I think it’s important that you understand that every book is a village.

I would love a side story about Touko and Yuu learning that Riko-sensei was gay all along. In the meantime Volume 8 is up for pre-order, with an August release date and Volume 3 of Bloom Into You Regarding Saeki Sayaka will be headed our way in the autumn. I can’t wait for you to read it!