Archive for the English Manga Category


Yuri Espoir, Volume 4 Guest Review by Luce

May 31st, 2023

A girl with lavender hair sits at a table with two water glasses and a carafe looking directly at us, against a purple background with colorful stars.Once again we welcome you to Guest Review Wednesday and welcome Luce back as a Guest Reviewer. This is an ongoing series – we have reviewed Volumes 1-3 on Okazu –  so we’ll get right into it. Take it away, Luce!

Yuri Espoir, Volume 4 opens where the third volume left off, with Kokoro on her date with Mr Hanakago, and goes further into her discomfort with him and the way the world sees her. Amami and Mitsuru see Mr Hanakago, and it turns out Mitsuru knows something of his past, that we get glimpses of, but not a full picture. Amami and Kokoro spend the night at Mitsuru’s house, then we get a few imagine spots by Kokoro about Yuri couples, as per usual.

I will start by saying this volume, and therefore review, has some trigger warnings for self inflicted throwing up, homophobia, depression and suicide.

Some good things about this volume: I liked the relationship of Mitsuru’s parents, and how she doesn’t care how other people see them. They’re all happy, and that was nice to see. There are also three female schoolmates, now grown up, that live together happily, which sounds pretty ideal to me. Kokoro does have two imagine spots, and it’s nice to see her enthusiastic about something, doing her drawing and thinking about cute relationships. I quite enjoyed the last chapter in the main story, the reality being two step-sisters learning to get on, as their parents have moved in together. I do like the variety of relationships portrayed. We also get to see Mr Hanakago’s face and an allusion to his past, the implication is that it wasn’t great.

However. The first scene, we see Kokoro have what looks to be a panic attack. Feeling ill during her date, she tries to make herself throw up, and panics when she can’t, seemingly because if she takes too long, Mr Hanakago will tell her father. It appears to be a one off thing, but still, not exactly what I wanted to see.

But the thing that really got me was that the truth behind one of those imagine spots is, in my opinion, needlessly dark. A girl who clearly has depression starts dating another girl in her class who likes her. Fine. This relationship continues for several years it seems, as they move out and attend college. But her depression stops her from appreciating it, and they start fighting more and more frequently. Snubbed by her girlfriend, they go home separately, and she then sees her girlfriend kissing another of their friends. It turns out that earlier she had killed herself, which is shown on page, and was following them as a ghost – maybe? The time line is a bit confused. But she is a side character. Her death does not advance the main story. The chapter ends with that. It is not discussed, nor the impact shown. The girlfriend’s reaction – whose mother had killed herself when she was younger – is confusing. Not sure if that was a translation thing (seems to be alright for the rest, so possibly more likely the original thing). I might have missed something with regards to that.

If a manga is going to include suicide, I would rather it show the aftermath, not be an afterthought, not shown for the shock value. It may be an end for the person who has died, but it has reverberations for everyone left behind. It happens, I know that. But it’s so far away from what I thought this manga was going to be, I can’t recommend it. It’s been descending into darker tones, with the previous review touching on Yuri Espoir‘s somewhat tone deaf approach to sexual assault allegations, and I’m very disappointed it’s continued this way. I’m also quite disappointed that no helplines or advice are shown at the end of the volume, as it often done when things touch on these topics.

It also concerns me that with the manga going darker – Kokoro has said that she will ‘die’ after high school if she has to marry Mr Hanakago. This was, I believe, started to be that she would cease to be herself in that marriage, but with this volume, I cannot help but wonder if this has a more literal interpretation. I hope I’m wrong, I am hoping for a happier ending right now, but. Who knows? I want to see how it continues for now, but don’t be fooled by the cover – this is no longer a cute Yuri manga.

Really, I feel like this manga can’t decide what it wants to be. Does it want to focus on Kokoro and Amami? Kokoro and Mr Hanakago? Mr Hanakago and Mr Asahina? The Yuri subcouples? Instead it seems to do everything and not really succeed at much. I’m not against having various story threads, and it has been some time since I read the last volume, but it all seems confused. Additionally, I understand that acting against your family can be difficult, but we don’t see Kokoro try much. She complains that the world sees her as a guileless girl who needs help… But she’s not really done much to even give the reader much evidence to the contrary. About the most subversive thing she does is draw Yuri couples and imagine their life. But she’s doing that for her own benefit, basically just shipping strangers together. It was a nice mechanic when there wasn’t so much else going on, but now it’s just cluttering up the book, especially with such dark stories. I want to see Yuri joy, or even just interesting relationships, rather than darkness.

I’m hoping that this manga turns a corner soon – that Kokoro herself makes a real effort to avoid what’s being decided for her. But with whole chapters dedicated to one off stories, I think the going will be slow.

Story: 5, there are lots of words and not much action
Art: 6
Yuri: 8, mostly for Mitsuru’s family
Service: 0
Unexpected trigger warnings: 9

Overall: 5

I will end as Tokyopop didn’t: suicide is not an answer. There are helplines and advice, and things can and will get better. You are more than your darkest hour, and people will miss you, even if you think they won’t. Please seek help.

Erica here: To continue from Luce’s last point. Here in the United States, 988 is the Suicide Help Hotline. Please call.

Thank you Luce. I also hope this story turns a corner soon. It had a great premise, but is still taking itself very seriously in a way that isn’t working for the story…or for me.





Assorted Entanglements, Volume 1

May 29th, 2023

A businesswoman and a young woman with tattoos hold hands as they lay next to one another, their shoes to the side, smiling gently at one another. In 2019, I first encountered Mikanuji’s Fuzoroi Renri. I followed the series, and have reviewed Volumes 1-5 here on Okazu. Now I’m pleased to take another look at this manga series now that it is out from Yen Press in English.

In Assorted Entanglements, Volume 1, Iori is a 28 year old career-woman in an unfulfilling job. She takes her frustrations out by drinking at a local izakaya, and talking to one of the servers, a cute girl with facial piercings and tattoos, Minami. When Iori wakes up naked next to Minami, both of their lives are about to change.

When I first read this volume, I was deeply gratified at Minami’s character. Pierced and tattooed, she was not a criminal or a gang member. She was still on the wrong side of the tracks in Japanese society, but she was a good person who had gone through some rough spots. 

As I re-read, I am less moved by Iori. Having just finished Sempai, Oishii desuka? Volume 2 (先輩、美味しいですか?) by Mikanuji-sensei, I’m done with sloppy drunks. But, since almost all of the volumes of this series will pair unlikely couples, I’ll roll with it. ^_^

After Minami and Iori are settled, we introduce their foils. First, we meet Minami’s foster sister, Natsuki who greets her with a beatdown. Then we get Saori, Iori’s creepily obsessed little sister. When they meet each other, sparks fly and quickly burn everything around them down. They are a terrible couple that kind of works anyway. ^_^

There will be no resolution with this series – as couples begin to  function with something approaching normality, a new differently dysfunctional couple will be introduced. Once again the team at Yen Press did a fine job for a goofy manga that requires no deep emotional investment.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 3 Some light nudity, nothing salacious
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8

This series of short gags about odd people forming odd couples is a fun read.





Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4

May 26th, 2023

I first encountered this series in 2020 when I found it at Gamers in Akihabara, with bonus clearfile by artist Fly. I reviewed volume 1 and 2 in English and Japanese here on Okazu…then I kind of forgot about it. Volume two had a “Waiting for Godot” feel and even though it was obvious that we were going to learn what happened to Sahoko and Aoi back in high school, I found it hard to care.

As soon as I began reading Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4, I remembered why. The high school drama felt very high school, with like and dislikes and confessions and whatnot. It’s not compelling. The entire time I was reading this series, I was really hoping we’d spend more time with the characters ten years later at the reunion.

But this volume did two things that turned everything around and let me tell you how impressed I was!

Firstly, the high school portion of the story ended in a way I did not expect at all. It was the right ending, but I had been steeling myself against the inevitable wrong ending. I was so surprised and pleased. Then the reunion arc also ended in a way that I would not have expected. I don’t know if it was the right way or not – it was a powerful ending that ended the story, for sure. There was no moving forward after that. I wouldn’t call it brave,  but it took some small risk and I appreciate that. More series need to really think about whether relationships ought to work. Takeoka Hazuki put some thought into that. I appreciate it.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 1
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

The team at Kodansha did good work with this volume, although I felt that $10.99 price point for a digital was a little much, given that they print price was $12.99.  The ending was better than I expected, but whether it makes the whole series worth a read will be up to you. For me, it was always about the art, which is slick as hell.





Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon, Volume 4

May 15th, 2023

Two women face us , holding hands. One with long brown hair wearing a brown skirt and white blouse, smiling brightly, shorter woman with short black hair, where pants and a white blouse, smiling gently. "Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon" is written in orange letters, with a chocolate glazed doughnut for the letter O, and a crescent moon just above and to the left of the O. Number 4 in the upper left hand of the page, a squiggle line, the Art & Story by Shio Usui.When Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 4 (欠けた月とドーナッツ) landed in summer 2022, I said this about it, “…this was the perfect, most exactly correct ending to this series that we could have hoped for.” Now, in 2023, as I read Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon, Volume 4, I would not change a word of that. This was the perfect ending for this series. We could not have asked for better.

Hinako is every person who has been measuring themselves against a set of criteria that do not fit at all. Asahi is everyone who is spending their energy on someone else so they don’t have to think about themselves. When they meet each other, their ill-fitting facades begin to crack. Neither of them have ever had the leisure to develop any adult relationships. Asahi, because of her parents death, has kept her one old friend, but been unable (unwilling?) to make others. Hinako’s friendships are – she believes – based upon the construct she had created to pass in society, while she blames her failures to build romantic connections on herself.

This is a lovely, gentle story of lonely people breaking out of the habit of loneliness that they built up as the cornerstones of their lives.

This manga checks off so many of the things that makes  a good manga for me – adult women building different kinds of relationships with the women around them, emotional intimacy of differing kinds with those women and adult women breaking free of the constraints put upon them by society, family and themselves. Joyfully, this manga is also full of adult friends who continue to be friends when their friend basically stops pretending to be someone they cannot be.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Character – 10
Service – 0
Yuri – 10

Overall – 10

Asexuals are getting their time in the manga limelight right now, as well – if you were looking for a book about adults understanding themselves better, this should definitely be on your list.

I was *sure* that Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon was a shoo-in for a best Yuri manga of the year when Volume 4 hit, but it has to compete with Birdie Wing and She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat, both of which are so outstanding. That said, this is an excellent manga and you should not miss it!

 

 





Catch These Hands, Volume 4

May 7th, 2023

Two women picnicking in a park, one of them tries to keep food away from a jumping dog.Decades ago, I was doing a number of community-centered activities, and I noticed that people who came into community spaces often had no idea how to act. In some cases, they were ND, but in many cases, it was people who came to that community with a focus that was important to them and no real interest in other people. For instance, we had a number of events where people with food limitations would walk into the space and before saying “Hello,” they would look around, ready to be angry and say, “Is there anything I can eat here?” I really sympathized with that, having grown up with food (and other) allergies that other people ignored. So, I took it upon myself to greet people at events and point out amenities, facilities, food options and restinq/quiet places. Which everyone who knew me, found hilarious, as there are few people who care less about other people than myself. ^_^

All this is to say that there are a lot of people who are faking their way through social interactions – including me. ^_^ I ask myself what the extroverts around me might do, if I want to social, or I huddle in a corner, if I don’t.

Takebe and Soramori have both hit a wall on how to social. As young people, their interactions were competitive and physically violent. Now that they like one another…they have no idea how to act.

In Catch These Hands, Volume 4, they have hit the limit of faking it, and have to overcome the final hurdle between them – actually having a conversation. It’s fraught. Even between pointless interruptions and  Rube Goldberg complications, they manage to learn a little bit about each other and finally have that last battle between them where they are honest with one another. It’s awkward and lovely and I wanted to grab them both and give them hugs for doing it.

The lesson of this volume is – what you are thinking people think about you is probably completely untrue. Stop assuming. When Soramori and Takebe stop assuming, the world suddenly becomes a brighter place for them.

Amanda Haley’s translation and Bianca Pistillo’s lettering, were fantastic. It’s clean, easy to read and gets the gruffness and awkwardness across beautifully. I can also thank Jacquelyn Li and Carl Li for their editorial work, and Wendy Chan for the design. Gimme those credits, Yen! Everyone deserves a credit. Nice job by the Yen team. So glad we got this fun little manga series.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

Murata-sensei really sticks the landing here.

This series was goofy and relatable (despite the fact that I was never a gang girl. Well…once, for a day, but that’s a silly story) and I recommend it for being something you can just relax and enjoy.