Archive for the English Manga Category


A White Rose in Bloom Volume 1

January 20th, 2021

Periodically (pun intended) I subscribe to a manga magazine named Rakuen Le Paradis. It’s technically a Jousei magazine, but is an unusual one. Hakusensha lets their artists have a pretty long leash and so, one finds both men and women creators in its pages creating things that are not conventionally “for adult women.” The stories I’ve seen in the magazine range widely from cute school drama to BDSM. The stories have been straight, BL and Yuri. Some years it was heavily Yuri, and others less so. One of their best known BL names turned their talents to Yuri and so in 2019, we were treated to Nakamura Asumiko’s Mejirobana no Saku.

Now, in 2020, we’ve gotten a chance to read this series in English as A White Rose in Bloom, from Seven Seas. This volume is a perfect blend of a classic Yuri at a private girls’ school story with highlights of the modern world intruding at every turn.

Ruby Canossa’s parents are having trouble and she’s very much caught in the middle. Tossed by their selfishness into an uncomfortable and lonely holiday break nearly alone at school, Ruby find a cause to believe in. But her relationship with the only other girl who stayed behind for the holidays, school star “Steel” Steph, is still awkward, uncomfortably intimate and hard to navigate. As Ruby starts to build some stability, her parents make it impossible for her to stay, but she doesn’t want to leave.

YMMV, but I like Nakamura’s balance of overly dramatic expressions on Ruby, to Steph’s almost complete lack of expression. Nakamura’s got a Goya-esque style that gives everyone a long, lean look that suits the halls of a storied school for wealthy girls. Kudos to translator Jocelyne Allen and the entire Seven Seas team for another excellent job on a book that I hope people won’t overlook, thinking it’s just another school romance.

This book is marked volume 1. There is no Volume 2, yet. Rakuen Le Paradis (ζ₯½εœ’ Le Paradis) magazine is only released 3 times a year and the magazine is pretty chock full of top talent, so not every story is featured every issue. I’m so far behind in Rakuen issues (the last one I read was Issue 30)I don’t even know what happens! I’m clearly going to have to make some time to catch up. But it definitely is continuing. Issue 34, the current issue (available in Japanese on Global Bookwalker) lists a new chapter in the table of contents. Good! I really want to know what happens!

Ratings:

Art – As I say, YMMV, but 8 for me
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – There is a little, but not what you might expect.
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

In the meantime, you can enjoy Nakamura-sensei’s great nonplussed facial expressions and slapfighting in the hallways of a staid old institution…and wonder what on EARTH is going on with that headmaster, because she honestly looks so untrustworthy I am sure she’s a blackmailer in her spare time. ^_^

Thanks to Seven Seas for the review copy!





Okazu Top Yuri Manga of 2020

December 29th, 2020

There were so many wonderful Yuri manga series in 2020, I make no pretense to this being a countdown of any kind. There is no best one manga this year, just ever-widening, ever-lengthening bookshelves worth of amazing Yuri manga treasures! The top four are basically tied for first place, we’ll talk about why when we get there.

I’ve included links to both JP and EN volumes when they are available.  Almost all of these titles are available in English. The few that are not are available as print from Amazon JP or e-books from Bookwalker JP,  which also has e-books in English available on Bookwalker Global.

Please join me in enjoying some of the many Best Yuri Manga of the year. ^_^ 

***

 

Tsuki to Suppin (ζœˆγ¨γ™γ£γ΄γ‚“) / Night and Day

Akegata Yuu’s odd couple story, Tsuki to Suppin, is so…nice. Nothing happens, and there’s so little drama it almost seems like it might not be worth it, but it always, always is worth it to me. Watching a couple who just *work* together and understand one another is so absurdly refreshing. The simple art and the apparent lack of complexity is appealing. Everything about this series is Shodensha doing the exact kind of Jousei Yuri I want to see in the world.

And now you can read this series in English as Night and Day for free on Manga Planet or decide to subscribe and support them in getting more. ^^

Available in English from Manga Planet

 

 

 

 

Hitogoto Desukara! (γƒ’γƒˆγ‚΄γƒˆγ§γ™γ‹γ‚‰!) / It’s Personnel

Now that Shakaijin Yuri is an established subgenre, it’s easy to feel that the initial office romance plots have become stale. Rather than girl-meets-girl, we have woman-meets-woman. But, in Yuni’s comedy drama, Hitogoto Desukara! (which is so clearly written to adapted into a live-action television show!,) we get playgirl vs playgirl in the office…in the one department where they can’t really be in competition, but have to find ways to work together. There’s a lot of insight to the kinds of office politics one sees in large corporations – with exactly the right amount of rage as a response. ^_^ Once again, Manga Planet offers you a chance to try this out before committing, much like the characters of this story. And extra points for the stellar naming sense for It’s Personnel. ^_^

Available in English from Manga Planet

 

 

 

 

Still Sick & Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana (δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ‚γ’γ¦γ‚‚γ„γ„γ‹γͺ) / How Do We Relationship

Both these series, Akashi’s Still Sick and Tamifull’s Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana made this list for the same reason – they show adult relationships that have some complicating factors. Personal experience and external influence both have impact on the characters here, which means that these are not necessarily the healthiest relationships. As Yuri develops as a genre, I don’t want our romances to become WE TV, with endless flogging of stereotypes and trauma to create the tension, but it’s also good to have more than one-note romances on our shelves. Both these series have characters we’re rooting for…even as we can see they have a lot of stuff to work through.

Still Sick is available in English from Tokyopop

How Do We Relationship is available in English from Viz Media.

 

 

 

Yamada to Kase-san  (ε±±η”°γ¨εŠ η€¬γ•γ‚“) / Kase-san and Yamada 

In Yamada to Kase-san we encounter old friends once again. Having left their hometown and traveled to the big city, both Yamada and Kase-san are now spending their days building adult lives, making friends and trying to fit each other into this new construct. There is no doubt that they love each other a great deal, and it is a joy to be able to continue to watch over them as they build their lives together..and to know that we’ll get to spend more time with the characters we’ve grown to care about. What a great way celebrate our tenth anniversary with this series!

Available in English from Seven Seas.

 

 

 

Yagate Kimi ni Naru (γ‚„γŒγ¦ε›γ«γͺγ‚‹) / Bloom Into You

Yagate Kimi ni Naru makes the list for three reasons, all of which are meaningful to me as a reader, as a reviewer and as a fan of Yuri. Let’s take them in reverse order. As a fan, I am delighted that a whole new crop of folks have discovered Yuri through this series as their “gateway Yuri.” ^_^

As a reader, this series provided me with both a lesbian character and functional adult role models for that character – the two things which were my favorite quality about the story…then gave me the added bonus of light novels telling that character’s story in more detail.  As a reviewer, the journey we took in this series felt whole. We didn’t stop midway, there weren’t handwaves where they just would go on to be happy off-screen; there was a terrific balance between school life romance and bildungsroman. It felt…complete and well told. At the beginning I had so many doubts, but by the end, I had none. And for all of that, Bloom Into You definitely deserves a place on this year’s top list.

Available in English from Seven Seas

 

 

 

Γ‰clair Yuri Anthology series

If you are a regular reader here at Okazu, you know how important a place in the history of Yuri I give to anthologies. They gave Yuri creators a community where there was none previously, they give established creators a place to expand their art and a place for introducing new creators to a wider audience. I am delighted once again that you’ve had the opportunity to experience a Yuri anthology series, with all of it’s varieties of creators and stories so that you can decide for yourself whose work you love. For their importance in the past, the present and, I hope, the future, the Γ‰clair Yuri anthology series makes this list.

Available in English from Yen Press

 

 

 

 

The next four manga are all basically tied for first, because they share a key quality among them that I believe is the single most important quality in any media I want to see right now:

 

 

 

Hello Melancholic! (ハロー、パランコγƒͺック!)

This is one of two series on this list that is not translated. I hope that will change. I’ve loved Ohsawa Yayoi’s work for years. She’s got a way with characterization that is wholly unique and her art style has really developed into something stylish and fun. Hello Melancholic, a tale of a girl who is able to rekindle her love for music, touched me. The characters around her all felt real and…fun. It was a story about finding love – and about finding and learning to believe in one’s self.

It just wrapped up in Japanese and I really hope that you’ll all be able to experience it one day in English. Because it is just…lovely.

 

 

 

 

Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnuts (ζ¬ γ‘γŸζœˆγ¨γƒ‰γƒΌγƒŠγƒƒγƒ„) / Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon

Hinako is a woman who has been told her entire life that she must present herself in a certain way, and seek certain things from her life. In Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnuts, despite the fact that it made her miserable, she never questioned any of it, until she meets someone at work who simply ignores all the rules. As her life begins to change, Hinako discovers herself and love. I love Usui Shio’s art. It’s everything I want in a Jousei romance story.

It’s a pleasure to know that shortly you’ll be able to enjoy this series along with me, as Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. I hope you find it as quietly triumphant as I do.

Available in English from Seven Seas

 

 

 

Itoshi Koishi (いとしこいし)

Takemiya Jin is a fixture here on my end-of-year lists. I really wish someone would license her work, because she is the one manga artist working in what we might now call “mainstream Yuri” manga who consistently has lesbian representation in her work.

This year, in Itoshi Koishi, we got a character who knew who she is and what was important to her and knew she wanted to share it all with her closest friends. It took a few volumes, but when Hina comes out to her best friends, they reiterate their love and acceptance for her. It was a beautiful manga about a couple that is supportive and caring and who are supported and cared for in return.

 

 

 

 

Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru (ηΎ½ε±±ε…ˆη”Ÿγ¨ε―Ίι‡Žε…ˆη”Ÿγ―δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ„γ‚‹) / Our Teachers are Dating!

In Ohi Pikachi’s series, Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru (ηΎ½ε±±ε…ˆη”Ÿγ¨ε―Ίι‡Žε…ˆη”Ÿγ―δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ„γ‚‹), Hayama Asuka and Terano Saki are two adult women who find love for the first time and everyone around them is so charmed by their pure joy in each other, that there is complete approval from their peers, their administration, their students, random strangers on the street….

As a parable of acceptance, it’s perfect. As a model of what can be, it’s the kind of fantasy I want a million tons of, until I get sick of it, thank you very much. Ohi Pikachi’s art is adorable and sexy. Asuka and Saki’s love and their joy in one another is wholly adult and totally squee-worthy.  I hope you’re reading Our Teachers Are Dating and enjoying it all, too! This is Yuri manga presenting the world I want to see.  ^_^

Available in English from Seven Seas

 

By now, you may have figured out what all these have in common. Love and acceptance of self was the theme of the year. All the best Yuri Manga of 2020 was about learning to love and accept one’s self, and be accepted in return. 2020 is the year of “acceptance fantasy” in Yuri and I am totally here for it. ^_^

As always, please feel free to share your top yuri manga of the year in the comments!





Before You Go, by Denise Schroeder from Chromatic Press

December 21st, 2020

In 2012, Sparkler Monthly had a bold vision – it was going to be the jousei manga and comic magazine we needed. For years, it was. In print and online, Sparkler Monthly incubated new creators whose work would be focused towards female readers. They paid creators and put out a wide variety of interesting work. Among the stories in their pages was Denise Schroeder’s Before You Go, a girl-meets-girl Yuri story. You can still read this comic for free online, just click the link.

As part of a wrap-up Kickstarter campaign, Chromatic Press put out a collected edition of Before You Go. I wanted to to take a moment to look at this collected volume, to memorialize Sparkler Monthly and thank everyone on the team at Chromatic Press for being ahead of their time.

Sadie and Robin meet one rainy day, waiting for the train. They see each other from time to time, get to know one another and end up going out. They move in together, have communication problems and resolve them. They live happily ever after,

In the final chapter, in which Robin introduces Sadie to her parents, we can see the kernel of less happy, more fraught story that was set aside for the much more light-hearted and happy one we end with…I thank editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl for suggesting the baggage be shed, before we were burdened with it. The little black hole of Robin’s near hysteria at Sadie meeting her parents becomes an ignorable personality trait, rather than a dismal plot complication. So may years have passed since Yuri came to our shores and a story about self-loathing and parental disapproval might be real…but it’s a drag and what place does it really even have other than self-flagellation in our entertainment? Yes, of course, some people may want to see their experiences and their trauma represented, but I could also argue that there is a place for that and a light-hearted Yuri romance might not be that place. Surely not every queer romance needs to wallow in the old toxicity or stereotypes? (I say this, knowing full well that I’ll be writing a review shortly about this very topic. ^_^)

Schroeder’s art visibly improves as the story goes on, which is really quite charming. Sadie and Robin at the end truly are not the same people they were at the beginning of the story. ^_^ The creator has some nice insight to her artistic choices in the back of this volume.

When I spoke with Denise Schroeder many years ago, she said at the time that she wrote this because she hadn’t seen anyone else do it. Of course, here at Okazu, we had already at that point, reviewed many stories like it, but there were fewer in English. Now of course, I can barely keep up with all the Yuri coming out of Japan, much less English…and we’ve got sub-genres(!). Even so, there’s something admirable in Schroeder’s efforts in bringing together a female couple in an English-language magazine that had a large audience of BL fans, and her shifting the story away from a predictable dramatic pathway to a much appreciated one of acceptance and love.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 8

Thank you to all the folks at Chromatic Press for making this volume reality. Your work was always something I looked forward to. ^+^





Night and Day by Akegata Yu on Manga Planet

December 17th, 2020

I’ve talked about Tsuki to Suppin by Akegata Yu a few times. Here on Okazu, I’ve reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2, and I mentioned this series as a “someone oughta license this” in my Recommendations video. About fifteen seconds after I mentioned this title in the video, Manga Planet licensed the series and has now released it as Night and Day.

Akari is fashionable and trendy and Shiho isn’t…in fact, her collection of utterly meh t-shirts is a running gag in the series, in part because her day job brings her to concerts by small, less-well-known bands. In part, because she’s just like that. The two have been together for a while now and, they are very much a solid, comfortable couple. As you will see.  They get each other.

This is not a series with high drama, and workplace shenanigans, like Hitorigoto Desu Kara!, which Manga Planet also has licensed and cleverly titled It’s Personnel!. This is a quiet, simple story about two women who are as different as the moon and turtles, as different as chalk and cheese, who just…work…together.

Manga Planet offers a subscription service. For $6.99/month, you can read as much as you’d like on their platform, and they are investing quite heavily in Yuri right now. If that is too much, you can still read quite a lot for free. They are clearly running on a thin staff as multiple credits go to a few people. So props to Ian O’Connor and Amimaru and the whole MP team for their work on this.

Chapter 1 of Night and Day is free to read, and makes a great introduction to this super low-key, enjoyable and sweet Jousei Yuri series. Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 10
Service – . 5 A very little dress-up with Shiho

This is a series that gets better and better as one reads it.

I love this title, I love that Shodensha is still putting out Yuri and that Manga Planet has licensed it and the Yomuco “super light” novels. I’d been holding them all in my queue for future reading and now I’ll be able to blow through them in English instead of piecing together time and energy to read them in Japanese.  Excuse me, I have to go read Kitao Taki’s Two Guns Under The Sheet now!





MURCIÉLAGO, Volume 16

December 11th, 2020

This volume of Yoshimurakana’s series begins with a wholly gratuitous lesbian sex scene. Later in the volume there is another. Just in case you wondered if there was any reason to read Volume 16 of MURCIΓ‰LAGO.
There are, of course, other reasons to read this volume, but they are much less lesbian in nature. ^_^ There’s also a surprising number of baths for a series that is about serial killers.

The “Comedy Writer” arc proceeds and both of the obvious culprits are obvious, so the story isn’t nearly as much about who as about why and what. One of the things I genuinely love about the series is that the creepy weirdness always has a why, but you’d be hard pressed to explain it to anyone.

Hinako is an endless source of contemplation, as well. She comes extremely close to beserkering her way to killing someone, and it’s only the timely interference of Chacha who keeps her from becoming someone she’s always far, far too close to becoming.

Once again, I find myself reminded that this series is not “good” in the sense of being likely to survive ages of literary criticism, but I will argue that it it timeless and, as an homage to Lovecraft’s oeuvre, as good as any.

We are just about caught up now to the Japanese volumes. I only just reviewed Volume 17 in Japanese last month. Volume 17 in English doesn’t yet have a pre-order up. We’re all just about as current as we can be. So the pace of creative murders and ugly sex is going to be a little slower. I don’t honestly know whether that’s good…or bad! ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 10,000
Yuri – 10, but its ugly

Overall – 8

This series has, as I said in my review of the Japanese volume, an explicit not-quite consensual lesbian sex scene, some generic bathing scenes, and extraordinary violence and a creepy murderer. Oddly, not one of these things involve Kuroko. She spends the volume having a polite conversation before killing someone neatly and quietly. And then she has some consensual sex.