Archive for the English Manga Category


I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Volumes 3 & 4

January 28th, 2026

I Don't Know Which Is Love Volume 3 cover. It shows Maria, a pretty lady with long brown hair wearing lipstick, holding up a phone that shows a surprised looking Mei. I’m Luce, and it’s been a while! I’m back today with a double issue of the Yuri rollercoaster, which contains no actual rollercoaster content. I can be found on the Okazu discord as farfetched. Onwards!

In Volume 1 & Volume 2 we saw Soraike Mei get closer, in various different ways, to her five love interests, and generally be something of a lesbian disaster. In Volume 3 of I Don’t Know Which Is Love, she’s practicing for the play, which involves kissing – having kissed both Karin and Kaoru, she’s confused as to why it felt good both times! Good that there’s a certain psychology professor to help her sort it out… Or just make it more complicated? In Volume 4, the play having gone well, Mei ends up in a situation with a drunk Maria, and meets up with her high school crush who broke her heart. Resolving herself to date Karin, she finds her kissing another girl! Riri wants to see her, so invites her to a photoshoot… but it’s in a swimsuit – will Mei, disaster lesbian extraordinaire, even be able to take photos?

This sold as a romcom – and in many ways it is – but it also feels more like watching a race – who can kiss Mei first? Who can date her first? Karin and Maria are pretty ahead, with Kaoru closer behind. I called it the Yuri rollercoaster in previous reviews, and that’s the feel – not much room to breathe. That said, it’s kind of refreshing for a series not to be ecchi per se but to admit that part of romance for a lot of people is sex. These are college students, it’s not weird for them to feel attracted to each other physically, and no one is shaming them for it, although sometimes they’ll tell themselves off – not in a puritanical way, but in a ‘she’s my professor’ or ‘we’re not even dating’ kind of way.Cover for I Don't Know Which Is Love volume 4. It has Karin, a young woman with short blond hair, looking flirtatious, about to lick Mei's finger.

If you really don’t like Professor Maria being one of Mei’s love interests, probably best to sit this out, since she’s not going away. At least Mei is a college student rather than a high school one, but I understand it might irritate people. Of all the love interests, Riri gets the least to do here, only appearing a few times, although she is cute when she does. She does pop up in Volume 4 in a photo shoot, wherein Mei realises she has a thing for boobs.

At the end of Volume 4, Mei asks Maria for a quiet beach spot so Riri won’t get harassed while they’re at the beach. Maria uses this as an opportunity to get all of Mei’s love interests together, so Mei can choose one. Which sounds like a set up for a final volume, but apparently a sixth volume recently came out in Japan, although there is no date for the fifth one in English. It doesn’t really seem to be gunning for any kind of polyamory ending, but neither is any girl really ‘winning’ right now. Mei certainly can’t make her mind up!

Perhaps an issue with this kind of series is that it either needs to be long or short. How Do We Relationship had the time and (I suspect) the planning to carry out that tangled mess of relationships. Although that was more of a serious tone and the intents are different, I’m not sure the author here has a particular plan in mind. As such, I worry it might end up being a bit more meandering. We will have to see; I still enjoy it, but I’m honestly not sure where it’s heading.

Ratings:

Yuri – 10
Service – 6
Art- 7
Characters – 7
Story – 6

Overall – 7

You know, for a series about lesbians, they sure don’t say the word lesbian much. If at all.





A Yuri Love Story That Begins with Getting Dumped in a Dream, Volume 1

January 18th, 2026

Two girls wearing blue button down short-sleeve shirts and red striped ties lay next to one another but facing in different direction, so only their heads are near. A girl with long, dark hair looks at the girl with short blonde hair, whose eyes are closed.A Yuri Love Story That Begins with Getting Dumped in a Dream, Volume 1 by Hijiki, is exactly what it says on the package. When I read it, I took some time to do an internal retrospective of the state of Yuri these days, because this felt very much like a (decent) throwback to Yuri manga of the late 00’s and early 10’s. 

Tsukushi and Hinoka have been friends since childhood. When Tsukushi wakes up from a dream in which she had told Hinoka she liked her…and was rejected, Tsukushi is going to think about that friendship a lot differently. First, she’s questioning if she does have those kinds of feelings, then when that is an obvious affirmative, what to do about it. 

The only thing Tsukushi is not doing is *looking* at Hinoka, who is likewise struggling because she is very in love with Tsukushi, who just doesn’t seem to notice. This situation would be annoying if their friends weren’t openly and overtly rooting for them. The friends watching them flail and being kind and supportive is both very cute and lightens what otherwise would just be two teens overthinking.  It also helps that among those supporters is a lesbian couple at school who are watching the baby dykes with kind eyes. As the people around them involve themselves in the budding relationship, both Hinoka and Tsukushi can flail cutely. Because being rejected by friends isn’t in the story set-up at all, both protagonists are free from worrying about larger issues of rejection of bullying, but are then able to get stuck in the muddiness of their own feelings. 

There very little else by way of story. This is an old-school school life Yuri romance, if you will. Hijiki’s art and characters help make this a cute and fun throwback read for folks that are looking for some “classic” school Yuri suitable for younger teens. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

Thank to Seven Seas for the review copy, via ANN, where I will also review this book for the Spring manga guide!





She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5

January 9th, 2026

Cover of She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 by Sakaomi Yuzaki. On an unadorned background, 4 adult women walk together chatting and eating or drinking. A tall woman in pants and shirt, a shorter woman in woman in a winter jacket and long skirt.Somehow I never got around to review this volume, so I treated myself to a re-read of this fantastic volume of a fantastic series to get myself into healthy headspace for the new year.

Sakaomi Yuzaki’s She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 covers a lot of territory- in such a gentle and affirming way that it’s only when you are done that you see how much has been addressed.

Nomoto and Kasuga, that is to say, Yuki and Totoko, have committed to moving in together. There are a lot of considerations going in to this – of course, it’s a sign that their relationship is developing, and it makes sense for them to share a kitchen and expenses at this point. We know that Totoko’s family relationship is not a healthy one, and her father is demanding and emotionally…draining, if not outright abusive. So this new place will be a safe haven for her in many ways.

Of course, looking for a place to live isn’t easy in the best of circumstances. And for same-sex couples in Japan bias and discrimination is often insurmountable. This is yet another reason why one party of a same-sex couple adopted the other for so long in Japan. It was, and still is, a tactic that gave them access to inheritance, power of attorney and living together, that was denied to them as a couple. The book takes us through the frustrations, but then once again Kaname comes to the rescue with a reference to a realtor that supports same-sex couples.

May I digress here for a moment and tell you a story?

It was 1984, the woman who is now my wife and I were looking for a place to live. I won’t detail how many awful places and people we met, and how many times we were looked at weirdly. Eventually we found a ridiculously good spot and were there for many years before we moved to our house where we are now. In that time, I discovered a LGBTQ+ friendly services pamphlet/magazine for my state. We ended up consulting an accountant who is himself gay. This was long before we had any legal rights as a couple, so taxes were both simple and complicated. He was with us, as we insisted the state treat us as a couple, even before that was law, and as the laws were so different for state and federal taxes. We are still with his company, 40 years later. My point is – a LGBTQ+ friendly company did, can and will make a huge difference.  The moral of the story is – support your queer community publications and networks! Kaname’s reference made a difference and, out here in the real world, that little booklet made a huge difference to us, as well.

Yuki and Totoko find a place to make their own and we get to enjoy them doing something my wife and I call “playing house.” I will never get enough of watching a happy couple just looking at furniture and appliances. It’s moments like that make a life together.

We also spend some time with Sena, who now has a diagnosis to explain what she has been dealing with her whole life, And again, Kaname comes to the rescue with a look at what “accommodations” look like in daily practice. Asking first, making sure people are all right, not assuming that what is best for us, is right for them. It’s as simple as asking a person first if they need help.

My favorite scene is when the realtor goes on a little rant about the unfairness of trying to find a place for same-sex couples. He didn’t rant, but my accountant had choice words for the inequitable tax situation for same-sex couples for sure. ^_^ 

This series is on hiatus for the moment, although I have seen some shorts and illustrations starring these characters on Yuzaki-sensei’s socials. Yuzaki-sensei also went through a period of illness, so art – especially in the first half – is a bit rougher than in previous volumes.  Even if this should end up our very last volume, it is an excellent place to stop. This found family has covered so many issues for us, the hard and the joyful, that it is an incredible pleasure to read. 

Ratings: 

Art – Due to the creator’s illness, I don’t think rating it is appropriate
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 3, them snuggling in bed, is definitely “service”
LGBTQ+ – 10

Overall – 10

I am still very thankful that Yen Press picked this up and gave it to us in English. ^_^





Lilies Blooming in 100 Days

January 5th, 2026

In a classroom, in front of a window glowing with sunshine, a teacher in blouse and slacks stands behind a student in a chair, her arms gently over the girl's shoulders. The student leans back and reaches up to touch the older woman gently on her face.You may be familiar with the name Muromaki from their monthly Comic Yuri Hime column about global Yuri fandom. Or maybe you followed the creator on social media, where they took on a challenge of drawing Yuri scenarios for 100 days, first back in 2022, then again in 2024.

The collection of Muromaki-sensei’s first 100 Yuri scenes was collected into a single volume in Japanese and has now been adapted into English by Yen Press as Lilies Blooming in 100 Days.*

This is a full-color book, but is not a story. It is a collections, broadly arranged into categories like “enemies to lovers” of single scenes, and short strips that were fist debuted online.   Most of the scenarios are meant to be amusing, a few are touching and every once in a while we get a fully rendered beautiful illustration, like the one used here for the cover, of two women sharing an intimate moment in front of the glow of windows on a sunny day. Look for carefully and you’ll notice that this is a teacher and student, a common theme in this collection. How that makes you feel is entirely up to you. 

Muromaki’s work in Comic Yuri Hime often addresses common fandom tropes and this volume is an expansion of that interest. If you like full color online comics, and seeing an artist’s range from silly scribble all the way to cover-art worthy illustration,  and the juxtaposition of that with common Yuri tropes, you’ll want to grab a copy of this book. It’ll also make a nice gift for someone who doesn’t know where to start with Yuri, or a conversation starter with friends who like to talk about Yuri tropes! 

Ratings: 

Art – From goofy to great – 9
Scenarios – 7 Typical tropes. Would love to see less secret/forbidden myself.

Overall – 9

And if you are looking for a place to chat about Yuri after you have a copy, drop by the Okazu Discord where we basically are always talking Yuri, even when we’re not. ^_^

Thanks to Yen Press for the review copy via ANN, where I reviewed this for the Winter Manga Guide!

* For. It should be Lilies Blooming For 100 Days. Yen, why do you fail on titles so often?





Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko, Volume 1

January 1st, 2026

A woman in a business suit on the phone looking off to her right, is watched by a blushing woman in a pink off the shoulder dress who crouches down to look up at the other woman.Right off the bat, I need to point out this excellent cover design by Aracelli Ejarque Villegas for Ayaka in in Love with Hiroko, Volume 1.  I honestly think it improves upon the original, which had the word “love” spattered about. This echo effect is outstanding.  We’re off to a good start with this edition from the LoveLove imprint of Tokyopop.

This is this first of three volumes that follows the comedic inability to communicate between life-long lesbian and hyper-competent workplace sempai, Hiroko and her junior in the department Ayaka, who is crushing on Hiroko so hard – and dressing provocatively to that end – that she’s throwing the entire department into chaos.

At the heart of the mix-up is Hiroko’s assumption that Ayaka is straight. Ayaka is full on in gay-for-you mode, with little understanding of her (or any) sexuality. it’s going to take a lot to get this cluelessly infatuated woman and her desperately attracted but unwilling to deal with a straight girl love interest together. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese here on Okazu, “Hiroko is put out greatly by Ayaka’s flirting. The problem isn’t that Hiroko isn’t interested…the problem is that she is. Very interested. And this apparently straight girl is driving her out of her mind. Poor Hiroko drinks away her pain every night at a lesbian bar, screaming at how vexing this all is!”

Volume 1 comes to a climax when Hiroko goes to her secret and safe lesbian bar…only to find Ayaka and another department junior already there. Quelle shock!

So, the one question that underpins this whole volume is why is Hiroko *so* deeply closeted at work? Japan currently has workplace protections for LGBTQ employees , but if you’re paying attention, you’ll understand that that is not really meaningful if an employer, manager, or coworkers are hostile. As the series goes on we’ll also delve a bit more into the specific personal reasons Hiroko has for remaining closeted.  I hope that this is a comedy which will one day simply make no sense to a young audience because this bullshittery around sexuality and gender will be a non-issue. I look forward to that day. ^_^

Sal Jiang does great faces reacting to situations in which they have lost control. Hiroko will constantly be losing control of both Ayaka and her own feelings, while Ayaka is a force of nature, indiscriminately affecting everything. 

As a workplace comedy, the story needs a lot of misreading the situation and missed opportunities for communication. It is still rather amusing.  It’s also very nice to have a Yuri manga about a lesbian to start off our new year. ^_^

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 10
Service – 5 
Yuri – 7
Lesbian – 9

It’s always good to see another Sal Jiang in English, but even more interesting is the way her work is being published by different publishers here. Seven Seas put out Tough Love at the Office: The Complete Yuri Collection last year, Tokyopop is has this series and Kodansha will be publishing Wicked Spot, Volume 1 in spring! 

Thanks to LoveLove for the review copy, provided to me through ANN, for which I reviewed this book as part of the winter Preview Guide. Volume 1 is hitting EN shelves in February, pre-orders are open now.