Archive for the English Manga Category


Bloom Into You Anthology, Volume 2

February 15th, 2022

It has a been a few months since we took a look at the first Bloom Into You Anthology. Now, here we are with the the second and final volume the franchise, Bloom Into You Anthology, Volume 2.

Overall, I found this volume to be more entertaining than the first, with stories that interested me slightly more. As I never was a huge fan of Touko and Yuu as a couple, I was glad to see that this story focused a little on Sayaka and Yuu as mutuals of Touko, but not actually friends on their own. I also like that a few stories remember to include the rest of the club and Koyomi, a character I found way more interesting than our principals.

Completely unsurprisingly, the story I liked best remains the story with Sayaka and Miyako that begins with Sayaka doing a little everyday venting about Haru, in Six Years Later, Still By Your Side, by Yodokawa. What made this story appealing to me, is Miyako’s joy in watching her young friend being able to complain about her lover with a confidante. “Besides it’s nice. Getting to hear you complain about a partner of your own.” BAM. There is such power in having people to confide in. Whether it is for serious stuff or life’s little sillinesses, the entire reason I have an fondness at all for this series (other than Koyomi) is the fact that young, unsure, baby lesbian Sayaka just happened to have someone to talk to. That Miyako was willing to step into that role, really elevated what otherwise might have been a sad-lesbian-best-friend scenario.

Kiss & White Lily creator Canno also weighed in with a solid friendship story, which I quite enjoyed. I’m really all in for friendship between girls and women stories right now.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

If you enjoyed Bloom Into You, then there any number of stories which feel like spending more time with good friends. On the whole, I found this anthology a better bet than the first in both art and story. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese, I only wish Maria-sama ga Miteru had come out now, in this golden age of Yuri, and we would have had all the anthologies in English and I would have been so, so happy. ^_^; But here e are, ready to say goodbye to the modern gateway Yuri series with a very pleasant little volume, spending tome with characters we like.





I’m in Love with the Villainess, Volume 2

February 11th, 2022

I’m in Love with the Villainess, Volume 2 is a super fun volume of this story. In many ways, it’s the first turn away from goofy comedy to serious story. This volume contains the first of many conversations about sexuality and gender that this series will provide. I know I reviewed this back in February, in digital, but I wanted to take a look at the print volume as well. ^_^

For the first time, we really meet the three princes, the love interests of the game “Revolution, “and get to know their personalities. This is followed by the student ranking, where we finally understand that Rae, as protagonist of that game, is overpowered and formidable. And how obsessed she really wad with the game…and Claire.

This is followed by a magical battle against a giant water slime, that forces Claire to save Rae, but also keeps Rae on the lonely path she had set for herself. We know this because this is the volume where Misha asks Rae if she is homosexual. I want to stop and say that the art in that section is devastating, as we see Rae with her usual smile, talking about the old her, about how she’s used to her love not being returned – and –  how she’s convinced herself that Claire’s happiness is enough. Devastating…and irrelevant as we know. Phew.

And then(!) the volume wraps up with the lead-in to the Academy Knights arc…and more magic battles, lest we forget that this is a magic isekai. ^_^

Following the manga is a bonus story about Claire and Relaire bonding, which of course is ridiculously cute, and character descriptions.

Many thanks to Joshua Hardy on translation, Courtney Williams handling the lettering, Nicky Lim for the cover design and the rest of the team at Seven Seas for an enjoyable reading experience.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Service – 1 Very little for this series
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9





Boyish² Butch x Butch Yuri Anthology

February 10th, 2022

Today is a double-your-pleasure review, as I have both the Japanese and the English language collections of Boyish², the crowdfunded Butch x Butch Yuri Anthology to talk about!

The Japanese edition arrived first, so that was my first impression of the collection. I appreciated the variety of stories. A little fantasy, a little school life, a little adult life, a little comedy, a little tragedy, a little adventure… we got a nice mix. With 11 artists, I was able to really enjoy different interpretations of what “Boyish” (which is like cute butch, baby-dyke, you know…boyish) means to each creator. With butch x butch, some of the stories looked a little like a BL manga, but I felt that the emotions in the stories showed that even the most masculine characters were women.

The stories were pretty easy to read in Japanese…and then the English edition arrived! I was able to check my interpretations against what was a pretty solid translation. The lettering was easy to read and s/fx were translated, which freed me to re-read the volume, paying more attention to the art. Which was really a lot of fun.

I liked all the stories for different reasons. Nekobungi Sumire’s stories have a little whimsy, a little science fiction/fantasy. There were a couple of school life stories that didn’t go the way I expected and one or two that did. Mint’s dark fantasy story, “Sea Foam,” felt and looked so much like a MIST magazine story, that I instantly loved the art and adultness of the setup.

My two favorite stories come at the end of the book. Host Natsuo Mutsumi does a fantastic little coffee shop story that stars a black barrista, Gray, and her Japanese soon-to be girlfriend (spoiler!). They are absolutely adorable. I hope to see more of them. And Hanakage Alt flexes her love of muscled women in the final story, “I’ll Sculpt My Abs.”

The covers are the same for every edition, so you’ll get the same cute image from Akizora Sawayaka regardless of which edition you get. And you can order a poster with the cover image as well on the Booth.pm site. There are 4 editions available of this anthology, all with the same cover, so be careful when you order: Print editions in Japanese and English and digital editions of the same. Shipping for the print editions will need to be done through a shipping service, like Tenso. Booth.pm does not ship overseas. Which is why the ebook is a great choice – it’s an instant download. Last note – this book was crowdfunded, so there may be limited copies of the print version available.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Obviously, if butch x butch is not your cup of tea, then this might not be to your taste. But as a filler for what I see as a huge gap in Yuri, I think this volume did a bang-up job. My congratulations and thanks to everyone who contributed!





Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 1

February 7th, 2022

It is my incredible pleasure today to introduce you to one of my favorite series of 2020, Yayoi Ohsawa’s  Hello Melancholic!, Volume 1.

Minato’s goal in life, is to slip through without being noticed. This goal is difficult, as she is unusually tall, a little shabby and her voice is rough with disuse. She’s extremely nervous and afraid of offending anyone. So when she notices someone playing music in her school that, notably, has no concert bad, she’s intrigued despite herself. And…she has been noticed. The upperclassman she saw finds her, and Minato’s life is completely turned around.

Hibiki is a 18-wheeler truck of a personality and she’ll wheedle, cajole and beg if it gets her what she wants. A fair objection at this point is that she’s really not listening to what Minato wants and that may make some readers uncomfortable. If you’re able to let that go in hopes that Hibiki’s plan is pure of heart, I can assure you that it is. All she wants is to have fun and play music! 

As I said in my review of Volume 1 in Japanese, “Hello, Melancholic! is a story of a life redeemed from the darkness. It’s a joy to experience sneaking out and jammimg with Minato and a delight to see her lifted by Hibiki and given space and imprimatur to spread her wings and fly.”

But you don’t have to rely on me to convince you. Instead, let me once again share this magnificent 23 minute voiced manga promotional video from Ichijinsha. This is the promo video Ohsawa-sensei refers to in the author’s note. If this doesn’t convince you, feel free to walk away and not look back. But for me, this was a clincher. It even has an original piece of music, but for me, it was the color that nailed the point.

 

 

Minato has been traumatized, but Hibiki is a perfect psychopomp to help move past her trauma. By giving Minato a welcoming space – even if Minato can’t quite stop waiting for the other shoe to fall- she’s able to start healing. We’ll see so much more of that in the upcoming two volumes.

I want to thank Margaret Ngo and Marykate Jasper for their translation and adaptation and Mo Harrison for the evocative lettering. There’s no actual music in this manga, but the sounds of music making are very visible. It’s important for the lettering to capture that. Thanks to the whole team at Seven Seas.

Lastly, I’m absolutely delighted that we finally have something from Ohsawa Yayoi! She had a bunch of one-shots that became her Black Yagi/Strange Babies series, which I adored and I still hope to see 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei. in English one day. In the meantime, we have this three-volume story that is,something I wish we got more of – people being empower in small, but important ways, to grow.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 2 A bit, but Hibiki’s doing it on purpose
Yuri – 1

Overall – 8 because it’ll get better and needs room to go up. ^_^

Finding yourself and friendship in band. There’s nothing more I could ask of a high school manga.





My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! Volume 1

January 28th, 2022

Sakiko is a shy, introverted person. Unsure of herself, she never knows what to say. But secretly, she has a passion – she is obsessed with a pop idol singer, Chihiro, part of a upcoming group Spring Shine. When Sakiko sits down in her seat, she is shocked to find Chihiro sits right next to her! What she doesn’t know is that the creepy, stalkerish fan that haunts all of the Spring Shine boards is *also* in her classroom. Welcome to My Idols Sits the Next Desk Over, Volume 1.

I’m going to be honest here…this book starts out rough. The stalker, Maya, is obnoxious and toxic, bullying an already nervous Sakiko. Chihiro is friendly, but a bit clueless. About halfway through, I was starting to feel as if this book was going in a direction that was deeply uncomfortable to be understood as a comedy. But, then, surprisingly Sakiko makes a move. She includes stalker Maya in her just-forming relationship with Chihiro…and the three of them become, tentatively, a unit.

And that simple turn takes this whole series from zero to hero. In a later chapter, Sakiko decides to join photography club in order to, of course, take pictures of Spring Shine. Her new sempai takes amazing pictures, but disdains pictures of humans. So, Saikiko drags him along to a Spring Shine concert where he finds inspiration!

The art is typical, with a lot of scared, pained, anxious faces at the front end, and a lot of genuine delight towards the end.

If this is the tone this manga is going with, Sakiko becoming the person she can bem  I think I can be convinced to come back for more. The first chapter’s Sakiko was too nervous and victimizable, I suppose is what I’m trying to say, to be likeable. But once she takes the situation into her own hands, the whole story becomes palatable and, dare I say it, enjoyable.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – Starts at 6, but moves up to 7 by the end
Characters – 7
Service – Not really
Yuri – Is one-sided obsession Yuri? The jury is out on this.

Overall – 7

Would I recommend this? Sure, if you’re looking for a quick read that doesn’t ask too much of you… sure. 

Final note: Spring Shine is a great idol group name. ^_^