Archive for the English Manga Category


Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 3

January 8th, 2025

A wolf-woman in a butler's suit tucks a sheep girl in a fluffy bed surrounded by pastel colors and stars hanging from the canopy.by Luce, Staff Writer

In Volume 1 and Volume 2, we met and got to know Aki, a Wolfa butler, and Momo, a Sheepa princess. Momo was clearly interested in Aki, but even now that Aki has realised how she feels, the gap between them feels too wide for her to bridge, and with talk of marriage on the horizon…

In Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 3, we see the end of Momo’s birthday party, and Kunya leaving. Momo realises that she missed Aki’s birthday and does her best to celebrate! Bluebell, Momo’s maid takes ill, and the only person Momo would be comfortable taking over is, of course, Aki! The full moon comes around again, and Momo knocks at Aki’s door? Finally, with encouragement from Kiku and Sakaki, Aki finally tells Momo that she cannot reciprocate her feelings due to their differing social classes… How will Momo respond?

This manga is quite hard to review, as it’s generally just… pleasant. I enjoy it, but there aren’t many particular things to discuss – the art is cute, suitably fluffy when it needs to be, and good at making the characters look good. I like the interaction between Aki and Momo, especially in this one as Aki loosens up a bit. There are two sections that were notable in this volume though, both fairly brief.

There is a short moment at the start where it seems that Kunya may rat Aki out for her feelings… But it turns out she’s a huge fan of royalty/servant pairs, and just wants the details. Phew. I’m glad that she didn’t turn out nasty. I’m not sure her portrayal is necessarily the best representation, as there seems to be a flavour of the ‘exotic foreigner’ to her, but she is contrasted with the other character of colour who broke Momo’s heart and causes her to shut herself away, so at least she’s nice. (Upon a reread, I noticed there is another maid who is a person of colour, so there are a few).

The second full moon scene is something that probably needs a bit of a caution – when Aki refuses to let Momo in, as she knows that her emotions are harder to control, Momo orders her to let her in. Even if Momo is fully aware of the kind of thing that will happen if Aki loses control, and even wants it, it feels like an abuse of privilege, and not very fair to Aki. They don’t really get anywhere with it, as Aki shows enough control and escorts Momo back to her room, but I feel like it’s only fair to be warned about it.

Finally, I’m glad that Sakaki (and Kiku) manage to talk Aki out of separating herself from Momo, due to her perception of the difference between their social classes being too high to overcome. It’s always classed in fiction as some noble ambition to not hurt the other person, but really, walking away like that just means protecting yourself from seeing the hurt that you caused.

I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say that Momo is elated that Aki says that she loves her. As she points out, Momo is the one who will have to persuade her family to accept it. In fiction, the power differential doesn’t seem so big, and I hope that they can make some kind of relationship.

Art: 8
Story: 6
Service: 4 (mainly in low cut dresses and maid uniforms)
Yuri: 8 not sure a man has been named on page yet. More on the ‘yuritopia’ end of series. Everyone has a crush on another woman it seems.
Fluffiness: 10

Overall: 7

If you enjoyed the previous volumes, you’ll likely enjoy this one! Volume 4 came out in November, hopefully the review for that will be done a bit quicker than this one!





Rainbows After Storms, Volume 1

January 7th, 2025

Nanoha and Chidori are high school students. They are friends. And, unbeknownst to the girls around them, they are dating. In theory, at least. ^_^  Volume 1 of Rainbows After Storms is the kind of very slow, very mild Yuri romance with which media giant Shogakukan took it’s first tenuous steps into Yuri.

There is no high drama here…there is only the  simultaneously adorable and irritating blushing of two girl who are more likely to be in a glass closet than they realize. Yes, they tell us that they are dating and they have not told their friends, but right from the first pages, it seems pretty obvious that their friends are pretending to not notice. When the two have the smallest of falling outs, their friends are right there making sure they are okay.

Having read and reviewed 12 of the 13 volumes in Japanese, I know this series will move at a glacial pace but, like plate tectonics, it will move. Chidori and Nanoha will become closer and begin to think about a life together after school.

This gentle Yuri romance by Luka Kobachi will stay gentle, with a little cringey-ness for spice. The translation and lettering are as unintrusive as Nanoha and Chidori’s feelings. If you finish this volume and wonder if you maybe missed something…you didn’t. It’s just that there is no storm here, only rainbows. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 1, mostly on principle

Overall – A pleasant 6 with lots of room to grow

Volume 2 will be hitting shelves next month, so settle in for a story about likeable teens and some barely-there Yuri. ^_^





The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 6

December 27th, 2024

Two young women in summer yukata stand on a balcony looking at one another, as fireworks explode colorfully above them Volume 5 left us on a bit of a cliffhanger, as Saki accidentally allows her truest thoughts to be seen by Kanon.

The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 6, by Kuzushiro, picks up with Saki mortified beyond her ability to express and Kanon struggling to find words to address it. Luckily for both of them, life as a Japanese teenager is filled with enough activity to allow them both some space to roll around on their beds, screaming into the pillow.

Nonetheless, things are changing, Kanon has become aware that since she lost her hearing, she has not been a good friend to the people she leaned on. She takes a small step to caring about someone and something other than herself. Suddenly aware of all the people around her who have given her opportunities, Kanon is changing. Saki reaches out to the one adult she is pretty sure gets what she is going through, and Tomita returns to class with surprising results. Although they have spent most of the summer together, Saki suggests one special event for them to share watching fireworks together from her apartment balcony, where they take one more towards opening up to one another and to themselves.

Rinne finds herself changing as well. As a little sister, she was unable to help Kanon much, could only watch over her in a general sense. But she sees that Saki has changed her sister for the better and it’s made Rinne more willing to take a risk, a little despite herself. She encounters Chiyama, a girl with a condition that is not harmful but which has, and will, make her life difficult and unpleasant. Rinne decides to get involved and be a friend.

I have repeatedly said here and elsewhere (and to anyone I could pin up against a wall and tell) that I love this series. From my perspective – which is not that of an HHD person, but of a person who is chronically ill and had many of the same kinds of issues as both Saki and Kanon as a teen – this story does everything right.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 2 Saki and Kanon in yukata is definitely meant to serve.
Yuri – 4 It’s only just begun.

Overall – 9

The Moon On A Rainy Night is a masterwork of manga and an outstanding example of how good storytelling can help us to be better.

I cannot *wait for you to read the next couple of volumes! Volume 6 is out now from Kodansha.





Qualia the Purple: The Complete Manga Collection

December 22nd, 2024

Manga cover for Qualia The Purple. The Complete Manga Collection. On a cover of purple stripes, a girl with long brown hair and big purple eyes looks up at us, her shadow spreading behind her.by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

Qualia the Purple: The Complete Manga Collection is a story about a high school girl named Yukari, who sees all people as robots.

Ok, that’s not entirely true. This is a story about Manabu (aka Gaku-chan), a normal high school girl who is in love with Yukari but doesn’t quite realize it.

…Alright, you got me. This is a story not really about either of those things. This is a story about quantum mechanics and theoretical physics that happens to center on Manabu’s metaphysical attempts to save Yukari from an early death at the hands of an evil science institute.

Based on the light novel of the same name, this single-volume collection is just as confused as the intro of this review. It begins with a strong concept: Yukari appears to be a chuunibyou, but in reality she has the ability to deconstruct and rebuild matter however she seems fit. Manabu is a normal girl with something of a princely streak. You think you’re in for some sci-fi-tinged high school Yuri yearning, but somehow it develops into a plot about a serial killer.

And then, roughly a third into its length, it decides to pivot into a multiverse story that damsels Yukari, the girl who is practically Dr. Manhattan, in order to put the story in Manabu’s hands (Manabu even addresses this bait-and-switch directly to the reader). By design, she is an empty vessel with a singular goal. 

The story already made a leap into the unpleasant with the serial killer subplot, but the back two-thirds ends up making Manabu out to be a monster as she tries everything, no matter how unpleasant, to achieve her goal. Most unfortunate of these decisions involves Alice, a child prodigy who arrives at the high school to recruit Yukari to the aforementioned evil science institute. A major pivot point involves an alternate universe Manabu falling in love with her, despite her being younger by a fair number of years. Our point-of-view Manabu ends up developing a relationship with Alice as a means to further her goal of saving Yukari. The whole thing feels like an unforced error, since there is nothing about Alice’s character that is gained by making her a few years younger than the rest of the main cast.

One could say that it’s subversive how Manabu and Yukari’s relationship sits neatly in the old paradigm of undefined schoolgirl Yuri crush, while Manabu’s (hella problematic) relationship with Alice is unambiguously explicit in its romantic and sexual nature. That must have felt novel in 2009 when this story was first released, but today it has notably less impact. Also, I’m sure I could write an entire paper on how an “impure” (putting aside the age gap) queer relationship is instrumentalized in the service of a “pure” Yuri love, but frankly I’m too exhausted by the belabored explanations of the Copenhagen Interpretation and wave function collapses to bother.

The biggest flaw of this manga is that the book itself is a poor choice for visual adaptation. The vast majority of the story is told in narration by Manabu, and there are few if any moments that let the visuals speak for themselves. That said, there is one extremely funny moment that takes advantage of the medium.

Given its age, I can forgive a few of its sins. (The fact that a flip phone played a major role in the plot did get a chuckle out of me.) That said, it pales in comparison to a short story collection made from a very similar mold: Last and First Idol. Where the edgy elements in Qualia just made me wince, the visceral gore and violence of LAFI played punctuated Gengen Kunano’s biting satire, be it for idols, gacha, or whatever. Qualia plays it very straight which lessens its appeal to me.

I’d say that if you are in the pocket for some sci-fi Yuri and don’t mind a misstep or two, Qualia the Purple could be worth your time. But I would suggest the light novel over this manga collection.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Not a whole lot to write home about visually; doesn’t take advantage of the medium enough
Story – 6 More disjointed than compelling
Characters – 5 What’s on the page is pretty stock
Service – 1 Higher if you like detailed explanations of Schrodinger’s Cat
Yuri – 5 / LGBTQ – 5 Some old-school yearning, but also has a queer relationship as a plot element

Overall – 6 Would have more impact if this release time-traveled back to 2009

Thank you to Seven Seas, who provided me with a review copy.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.





Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 8 (雨夜の月)

December 19th, 2024

A girl with reddish hair in a green striped button-down shirt sits at a kitchen table eating with a smile. Across from her, a girl wearing a red blouse with her long, dark hair tied back in a ponytail, earnestly leans across the table. Volume 7 of Kuzushiro’s school life drama finished up the school festival arc and, while it had its fair share of maid costumes and cat-eared girls, it also resolved one of Kanon’s lingering akashic ties – her relationship to her former best friend, Ayano. Both young women have changed in the days since they last saw one another and are able to start over once again as friends.

Friends. Because of Saki, Kanon is able to be a better friend to Ayano, and interact with her classmates. Because of Saki, Kanon was able to participate in the school festival. Because of Saki…

In Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 8 (雨夜の月)Kanon is very aware that, while Saki has been there for her, she doesn’t really know her friend the way she would like to. This is new to Kanon. Since she lost her hearing, she’s been very much alone inside her head, but now, Saki makes her want to learn about another person. And, as she thinks about Saki…Kanon realizes that she thinks about Saki a lot. All the time. When the teacher mentions writing for a lover, when she wants to learn how to make macarons, when she hears that Saki has an upcoming recital, but she has not yet been invited. Or when she see’s Saki’s reaction to the news that her former piano teacher will come to the recital. What is that woman to Saki?

Saki, for her part is flailing in exactly the same way. Will Kanon be more upset if she is invited to a recital she cannot hear or not? Why does she immediately think of Kanon when the music she plays is described as being “for a lover.”

The sports festival is coming up, but first Saki has this recital. And when Kanon see Saki in a vintage dress with her hair styled…well, she’s going to have to deal with that, too.

This volume never once retreats from the  complexity of human lives. Yes, both Saki and Kanon, separately, have started to give voice to their feelings, but the business of school and life still goes on. They have obligations, but also take on new responsibilities for their own desire to become whoever they are.  It’s beautiful. I don’t think I have ever rooted for two fictional characters as hard as I root for these two.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – We’ve seen them in yukata and maid outfits with animal ears , so more dress up? Yes.
Yuri – 6

Overall – 10

Volume 6 of The Moon On A Rainy Night is out now (and next on my to-read pile!) from Kodansha. Fireworks! ^_^