Archive for the English Manga Category


She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 2

April 13th, 2023

Hi all, I am back with my first review since falling ill and I hope you’ll all keep supporting me and Okazu, as I have a LOT of new stuff to talk about this month. I’ll do my best to develop some kind of a schedule again, as I have the energy!

To get back into the swing of things, I really wanted to talk about She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 2 by Sakaomi Yuzaki. I’ve been singing the praises of this series since I first read it last year. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese, “Nomoto and Kasuga playing house is my new hygge.” And that’s pretty much the point of this story. These two women free each other up to find a life for themselves that suit them in a way that nothing they’d been offered by family or society ever had.

This really comes home as Nomoto once again falls ill and is pummeled with feelings of failure and being a disappointment to her family. Once again, Kasuga comes to the rescue, but this time, Nomoto allows herself permission to “like” the other woman, a huge step forward. And she learns just enough about Kasuga to understand her appetite is it’s own story. Each woman begins to carve out a place for the other in a wholesome and supportive way. It’s inspiring and adorable…and I cannot get enough of it.

Caleb Cook’s translation  is outstanding. Sensitive, where it needs to be, light-hearted where it can be, it allows us to really feel a full range of adult emotional experiences.

In between emotional revelations, this volume is laugh-out-loud funny, as they Netzflitz and chill. They make classic home recipes and share special holiday treats. All I can say is that this is a manga I needed in my life. I’m sure I am preaching to the choir here, but if you have not picked this series up – do! Thanks Yen for giving us a fantastic rendition of this fantastic manga!

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – Still saying that the food here are the money shots
Yuri – Let’s edge it up to 4, now that we know Nomoto is in like.
Food – 9 It all look so good. What the what, I could make a fruit sandwich!

Overall – 9

I cannot be the only person who checks out the color images of what they shopped for, surely? I know I’m not the only person who loves visiting food stores in other countries. ^_^





If You Could See Love, Volumes 1-3, Guest Review by Luce

April 5th, 2023

Welcome to a very special Guest Review today! Luce has returned and is shouldering a three-piece review for us! Given how hard writing even this intro is, I cannot express how much I appreciate this. Kick back and let’s dig into all three volumes of If You Could See Love!

Mei Haruno has decided to start in a new school where no one knows her, owing to issues in middle school, stemming from the fact that she can see arrows above people’s heads, pointing to those that they like. Swearing off romance altogether, she assumed an all-girls school won’t have romance… Oops, looks like it’s a lot gayer than she thought! There, she finds Sayu, her best friend from elementary school, who confessed when she had to transfer away, and what do you know, Mei sees an arrow pointing to herself. Later, Mei meets another girl, Rinna, who quickly gains an arrow pointing to Mei.

In the second book, having admitted to a girl on the roof about setting the arrows, Mei is recruited to the student council as a ‘love advisor’: helping other students with their relationship troubles.
There was a chapter in this book that I really liked, where we encounter a Yuri throuple between adults. They even mention that they had to work hard at it, but it’s lovely to see them together.

In the third book, Sayu and Mei go on a date to the amusement park, and Mei loses the ability to see the arrows?

The arrows, and whether their shape means something, isn’t really explained – it’s implied that the strength of the arrow is equivalent to the strength of the person’s love at that moment, so it ebbs and flows a bit. A weak connection is a small wobbly one, and sometimes they fill the page. There is a small section where someone’s arrow, pointed at an idol, gets ‘sharp’ and goes black, so clearly there is some meaning to them. I quite liked it as a mechanic, and actually thinking about it, anyone would probably get into the same mess as Mei. A nice touch in the manga is that it uses colour pages throughout to highlight the arrows in pink- sometimes the background is pink or other things are highlighted, which adds to the art.

I quite like the characters, although I would have liked to spend more time with some of them, like the throuple. Mei being incredibly anaemic as a hold-over from her (you guessed it) Ambiguous Hospitalising Disorder kind of made sense, but was a little annoying at times – although there was a panel in the amusement park where Sayu forbids Mei from going on a ride since the sign says ‘not for those with medical conditions’ which was funny. For all I’m not a fan of the sick child trope, at least it stuck to it without being too overbearing.

I’m going to talk about the ending, although I will give it it’s due that I don’t think it was super obvious who (or if) Mei was going to end up with, if anyone, at the start. But as seeing as they even including a canon throuple, I hoped this would somewhat foretell the ending, especially considering that it seems to be setting itself up that way, with Rinna starting to see Sayu romantically at one point. If you’re looking polyamory here, I hate to disappoint, but it doesn’t happen. I think it actually would have been a fun ending. The second book really seems to lean into it, which makes me wonder if it got vetoed by an editor.

Nonetheless, it is a cute story. It’s not going to challenge you, but you could do a lot worse than this: it’s finished at three volumes, which is probably about right for this; it doesn’t feel unnecessarily dragged out or curtailed, and the epilogue was really nice to see.

Ratings:

Story: 7
Yuri: 10 – I mean, I don’t think there is a man drawn on page that has a face, in so much as they’re all background characters. Three Yuri pairings, and more implied offscreen (plus a point for a character that is implied to be and I’m taking for aromantic)
Service: 2? There are a few bath scenes with minimal service, but there is a scene where someone imagines a kiss going a bit further. It’s not explicit.
Art: 7 (I doubt any panel would stop you in your tracks, but I didn’t note any particular anatomy issues, and some panels are quite pretty. The pink as a highlight helps, but I didn’t think it was overused)
Overall: 7

A cute, fairly quick read. The poolside read of the Yuri world – not going to knock your socks off, but it’ll probably make you smile.

Thanks so much Luce! You’re a true Okazu hero today. ^_^





Vampeerz – “My Peer Vampires,” Volume 2, Guest Review by Christian LeBlanc

March 29th, 2023

Last week Christian introduced us to the first volume of Akili’s vampire Yuri comedy. This week, Christian is back with a continuation of the series, so grab yourself a stiff drink and please welcome him back!

***

I don’t want to look like I’m pushy,
Or complain and get labelled a wussy,
But when minors take baths,
What I thought I’d see last
Was a detailed view of their loofah!

In the second volume of Akili’s girl-meets-vampire, girl-likes-vampire, girl-is-asked-to-kill-vampire-and-doesn’t-want-to Yuri romance, Vampeerz Volume 2 – “My Peer Vampires” (published by Denpa and translated by Molly Rabbitt), the romance is starting to blossom, but so are a few…issues we need to look at.

Ichika (14 years old, long black hair, not a vampire) has already told Aria (??? years old, short blond hair, is a vampire) that she likes her in the last volume, and in this book, has decided that she’s entitled to smooches and make-outs with Aria in return for all of her blood she’s been letting Aria drink.

Now, you and I are used to romances where someone is tsundere, and, due to the power of manga, somehow it’s ok for them to keep saying they’re not interested, while the other character is all “Oh-ho, the chase is afoot!” like they’re some ancient metaphysical poet writing about fleas biting them as a conceit for why they should be getting down.

Aria, however, in spite of being old enough to have maybe met John Donne in person, tells Ichika that “I still look like a child and think like one too. I have no interest in romance.” Welp. In Ichika’s defence, she’s only 14, and figures Aria must be just on the verge of getting into romance, or she’s just saying that, or something – she’s lost a fair bit of blood so maybe she’s not thinking logically. This is a romance manga, and if you’re good with this, ok; if you’re a bit skeeved out by the maturity gap and want to go back to reading something more wholesome (like Citrus), that is also a natural reaction!

Now Vampeerz is a comedy after all, so maybe that affects how you feel about lecherous, licensed-doctor vampires abusing their powers of hypnotism to day-drink during their job as school nurse and lustily suck the blood from hapless students who show up when they cut themselves doing school things…which is my way of re-introducing Sakuya, Aria’s supposed mom, who has a larger role to play in this volume (mostly as Aria’s servant; as we learn in this volume, Aria is apparently some kind of ‘big deal’ in vampire circles). “Ha ha ha, classic Sakuya,” you might say, “the way these middle-school girls are wigged out by this grown-ass creeper mackin’ on them is very droll, quite!” But, again, if that sort of thing creeps you out regardless of the lighter tone of the book: it would be sketchy as hell for anyone to try and talk you out of that.

In the final chapter, Aria is given an antagonist in the form of Khara, another vampire who’s after the sacred sword introduced in volume 1 (a special artifact able to destroy vampires when wielded by certain special humans, like Ichika). I gotta say, if your story has more than one person in it who seems to be from India, then it might not be as big of a deal when one of them is drawn with dirty feet and a bad smell from having to stow away in a shipping container to get to Japan. As it stands, when your only person of color is depicted this way, it’s just – you don’t do that. Why would you do that. Like, why.

Ok. With these issues out of the way, let’s get back to what the book has to offer. Well, the art is still fantastic, imho. It’s fun seeing Ichika in love and going for it and pursuing the object of her affections (more so if you can think of her as being on equal footing with Aria). Ichika’s advances are thwarted when Aria switches to drinking fetal bovine serum, which means she won’t have to drink Ichika’s blood anymore and is therefore excused from smooches as compensation. (In case you were curious about how fetal bovine serum is harvested, I just looked it up, and, oh my god, Aria what the hell is wrong with you) Uh, the other chapters have a…fun camping trip, a spooky test of courage…some clothes shopping…those poor cows, uh, let’s just get right to the scores, shall we?

Art – 9 I still really dig the detailed artwork, and Akili’s skill with faces and expressions and tones.

Story – 5 Girl pursues vampire, everyone goes camping, and we get a big fight scene. Hopefully Akili gets to draw more fighting, there were some really cool angles and perspectives in here.

Characters – 4 Jiro (Aria’s manservant from volume 1) doesn’t show up. I miss Jiro. I like everybody else a lot less this time around.

Service – I was not expecting to see a 14-year-old girl’s vulva that clearly through the bathwater. Like, everything’s drawn all wavy and ripply, but now that I look closer, there’s no mistaking it.

Yuri – 7 Smooches happen, even if Aria’s not into it. Sakuya comes onto way too many young girls. Score given is for quantity and not quality.

Overall – 2 I started out closer to a 6 when I was just lightly reading this for fun, but the more things I noticed and the more I started thinking about them, the less fun it got. I was worried about talking you, dear reader, out of trying this book; now, I almost kind of hope that I did?

Final thoughts: if you’ve read Vampeerz vol.2 and really like it, that is wonderful; I’m honestly not trying to talk anyone out of enjoying something. To paraphrase Matt Allex from horror film podcast Horror Show Hot Dog: you like more stuff than I do, that means you’re winning, in a way. There’s a cute story in here if you’re able to gloss over some stuff (just like how the cover is fully glossy now, booo). I just want you to understand that if someone else has some issues with this book, they have some legitimate reasons, and they’re not just being intentional spoilsports out to ruin your day or anything. We cool? Cool.

Erica here: I mean, yes. All of this. And the fact that although the manga continues, the narrative kind of really doesn’t. Akili’s love of pervy peekaboo is openly on display here. When you remember that Denpa Books was originally co-founded by the VP of Fakku Comics, it’s not that surprising, though.





Vampeerz – “My Peer Vampires,” Volume 1, Guest Review by Christian LeBlanc

March 22nd, 2023

So this girl wants a vampire lover.
But first, take a look at this cover!
Dappled texture and flaps
It in no way detracts
From the contents, it adds lots of lustre!

Chocolate and peanut butter. Coffee and donuts. Yuri and vampires. All famously great pairings, and Akili’s Vampeerz, Volume 1 (subtitled “My Peer Vampires” and translated by Molly Rabbitt) is yet another addition to the latter, joining the likes of Killing Me!, Hungry for You, Scarlet, Ms. Vampire Who Lives in my Neighborhood, Vlad Love, etc etc etc. (For more on why there are so many Yuri vampire stories, please see Erica’s video on the subject here: https://youtu.be/rkE3pg-ihvA

So what does Vampeerz have that sets it apart from these other stories? I reached out to publisher Denpa to help me answer that, because I was curious about the cover binding, which I thought was quite thick and classy; it even has those nice flaps you see sometimes. I was told it was gloss, with no extra laminate, whereas most other covers have two layers of film instead of the one layer used on Vampeerz. To my eyes, this produces a cover with a bit of texture in the gloss, an almost dappled toothiness that sets it apart.

As for what the story has that other works don’t? The short answer to that after thumbing through those other works is “less chaos,” but let’s delve into that.

When we begin, Ichika (14 years old, long black hair, not a vampire) is mourning the passing of her grandmother Chiyo. This in turn brings about the arrival of Aria (??? years old, short blond hair, is a vampire), who claims to have been a friend of Chiyo’s.

From the start, it’s obvious to the reader that there was more to Aria’s relationship with Chiyo than she’s letting on, but Ichika is taking a little longer to suspect, maybe in part because she quickly finds that she’s fallen for Aria (I know this pun diminishes you and I both, but it was truly love at first bite for her). In turn, Aria ignores questions about how she can know certain archaic things, and blatantly brushes off any peculiarities with a hilariously patronizing wide-eyed “Wow, golly!” feigning of innocence. She’s a busy vampire with goals, after all. You almost get the sense that she relates to the humans around her the way most adults do to children: she can’t really be up front about what’s going on, because she assumes most people aren’t ready to have those conversations yet. And honestly, Ichika isn’t just a child compared to Aria; she *is* still a child, full stop.

And what are Aria’s goals? It turns out vampires (Aria prefers the older term ‘Lilu’) in real life don’t resemble the ones from movies very much, aside from drinking blood (which is inexplicably sexy, of course, in a similar vein to how women are shown enjoying chocolate in tv commercials), hypnotizing people, and living a long time. It’s this last bit that Aria wants Ichika to help her with: feeling that she’s lived long enough, Aria needs Ichika to be the one to end her, because…actually she was just getting into why it had to be her, when Ichika interrupts her to explain all the reasons she doesn’t want to just kill somebody.

And thus, we have the main story elements of Vampeerz: girl meets vampire, girl is asked to kill vampire, but girl likes vampire.

Getting back to my earlier question, what is there that recommends Vampeerz over the many other vampire Yuri works? Well, Ichika has a cool Emily King wall scroll hanging in her bedroom, for one. The rad cover, like I mentioned. The artwork carries a certain classiness and charm, and the calm, quiet pace invite the reader to take their time and enjoy how this story is being told. There are microscopic touches of slapstick (Aria has to clobber a manservant to throw off suspicion), mystery and the supernatural (there’s a really cool depiction of how a barrier is preventing Aria from entering a shrine), but Ichicka’s growing feelings for Aria are what take prominence.

Lastly, I understand that the use of modern slang and references to memes can take certain readers out of the story, but Aria channeling Steve Buscemi as she introduces herself to her new classmates is both appropriate and hilarious, and I applaud Molly Rabbitt for going there.

Ratings:

Art – 9 I really like the slightly quirky art style, as well as the detailed tones and excellent use of shading.

Story – 6 One girl likes another girl, that girl is a vampire, and with that comes some mystery.

Characters – 5 Jiro (Ichika’s manservant) is really cool and I genuinely wanted to see more of him. The fact that I can say that about a minor dude character in a Yuri romance, as well as the fact that I keep getting distracted by the cool cover, should tell you what I’m too polite to say out loud: I like our leads, I really do, but I also can’t help comparing them to potato water in terms of being able to hold my interest!

Service – 3 Fairly tame for the most part…but while I say that, this is also probably the first time I’ve been able to make out someone’s labia majora while they were wearing pyjamas.

Yuri – 7 Ichika is definitely into Aria. Ichika’s mom Sakuya is definitely into young women.

Overall – 7 It’s missing a certain je ne sais quois, however, the art carries it a lot, and as far as vampire Yuri romances go, it’s certainly the most coherent one I’ve enjoyed.

Erica here: I didn’t want to detract from the joy of reading the limerick right away, so instead I’m jumping in as a final word. Those of you have been following Akili’s work from back in Tsubomi days under another name, will remember that this artist started with porn and this manga has all those hallmarks, without the actual porn part. Sexualizing Yuri vampires? No one has ever done that before! ^_^ Seriously, though, we could do worse than having Akili turn his hand to it. Maybe, also better, but definitely worse. ^_^ Thanks so much to Christian who will be back next week with Volume 2!





Pulse, Volume 1 and Volume 2, Guest Review by Eleanor W

March 8th, 2023

Two women lay, clasping hand, sprawled in a bed of white flowers. "Pulse" is written in large cursive letters across the cover in a cursive letters that end in a heartbeat from a cardiac monitor.Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday, where you and I both get the benefit of someone else’s voice here on Okazu! This week we welcome back Eleanor W with a look at the Seven Seas edition of Rata Satis’ Pulse. I reviewed Satis’ own release of this book in 2016! Wow, time flies. I’m looking forward to hearing what Seven Seas has done with this series, so take it away, Eleanor!

Hello again, as always, it’s nice to be back. You can find me on various parts of the Internet as @st_owly, including the Okazu Discord. This is a series that has been on my radar for a while, but I’d never quite gotten around to it until I saw the first volume in the shops. I’m grateful as always to Erica for offering me the opportunity to review it. 

2022 was the year print editions of webcomics exploded, with several publishers now offering full colour printed graphic novel editions of popular comics from online platforms such as Webtoon, Tapas and Lehzin. Most of these releases are of Korean comics, but today’s review covers a notable exception. Pulse was originally released on the Lehzin comics platform, and is by Thai artist Ratana Satis. Due to the mature content, this series is not available on the Lehzin iPhone app, you can only read it on their website.

The synopsis from Seven Seas on the back of Pulse, volume 1 is as follows:
Mel, a renowned heart surgeon, is well-known for being a stoic loner. She views her erotic flings with other women as a tool for pleasure rather than a show of affection. Then she meets Lynn, a beautiful and spirited cardiac patient who needs a new heart, but refuses a transplant. The two women meet with minimal expectations but soon become enthralled in a relationship that changes everything for them both.

This Girls’ Love comic–and first place winner of the 2nd Lezhin Comics World Comic Contest–is one of the most popular series by fan-favorite Thai creator Ratana Satis, also known for Soul Drifters and Lily Love.

Seven Seas covers are usually excellent, and these two volumes are no exception. The title is embossed on the volume covers and spines, and the heart monitor line in the logo is a nice allude to the theme of the series. The volumes themselves are printed on nice glossy paper, and the lines and ink are crisp, especially important for a full colour release. Moving on to the actual contents of the books, it’s nice to read a yuri story where one of the main characters is openly described as a lesbian. The first 2 chapters are all about Mel. Lynn, the other protagonist, isn’t actually introduced by name until chapter 3, when after a chance meeting in the hospital corridor, circumstances mean that she and Mel meet formally as doctor and patient. Lynn strong arms Mel into buying her lunch the next day, and as the book progresses they gradually start getting to know each other. Read together, volume 1 feels like an introduction, setting the stage for the actual story to start in volume 2, but I don’t see this as a bad thing.

Volume 2 begins with Lynn showing up at Mel’s apartment and announcing she’s moving in with her. U-haul lesbians are a meme for a reason, but this is fast even by lesbian standards. There’s even an obligatory yuri aquarium date later on in the volume, where it’s lovely to see them both just genuinely enjoying each other’s company and, as the book goes on, Mel realising she cares for Lynn in more than just a professional way. Hints at Mel’s romantic past are sprinkled throughout the 2 volumes, no doubt all will be revealed later on, and I’m definitely sticking around to find out. The two of them are too charming not to, and I’m rooting for them to get their happy ending. 

 

Ratings:

Art: 8. Whilst it’s not particularly unique, it’s attractive and well done and some of the facial expressions are a delight.

Story: 7. Don’t think about it too much, just enjoy it for what it is and you’ll forget how implausible the scenario actually is (does this hospital not have an ethics board?) 

Characters: 9. These two really do make the series. Lynn reminds me of a little puppy with her energy and eagerness to please, Mel is the cold hearted one who “doesn’t like dogs” and their growth, both as individuals and as a couple, over the two volumes is very endearing. Service (level of salaciousness): 10. This one is rated Mature and shrink wrapped for a reason. The erotic scenes are plentiful (2 in the first chapter alone) and there is very little left to the imagination. 

Yuri: 9. Two women who need each other more than they both realise. It’s lovely to see Mel opening her heart (no pun intended) to Lynn. 

Overall: 8. If you’re looking for something with adult characters and a decent bit of spice which isn’t just porn, you could do a lot worse than Pulse. 

Erica here: Thank you so much! Now that this is available digitally, I might pick up the next volume and see where the story leads ^_^