Archive for the English Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl Volume 8 (English) Guest Review by Christian Le Blanc

April 17th, 2019

Welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu! Today we have a special Guest Review by Christian Le Blanc of 3DComics! His love for Kiss & White Lily is infectious. Let’s all be whisked away by his enthusiasm!

“Love is not gazing at each other, but looking in the same direction together.”

So opens Volume 8 of Canno’s Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl from Yen Press (translation by Leighann Harvey, lettering by Alexis Eckerman), and it’s as romantic a spin as can possibly be put on this volume’s tsundere vs. tsundere cover stars. Hikari Torayama (reddish-brown hair, Tiger type, Ayaka analogue with her long hair and headband) and Nagisa Tatsumi (silver hair, Dragon type, Yurine analogue with her cool personality) are rivals for the position of Student Council President. Who can’t stand each other. And who also, as luck would have it, live together – a twist of fate has landed Hikari as a guest in Nagisa’s house. We need this plot device to force them to spend time together, because otherwise they’d avoid each other like the plague and we’d have a different pair of girls on the cover. Which would be a shame, because once I got over the fact that these two are not going to be acting lovey-dovey and give me anything to swoon over, I started to enjoy their relationship, which exists as a mirror for Ayaka and Yurine. Ayaka and Yurine are rivals who want to be more than just that, while Hikari and Nagisa can’t think of anything they’d rather be than rivals with each other. “Even if we stop being rivals someday…we might eventually see eye-to-eye,” Ayaka tells Hikari…”But just as classmates, of course!” she adds, still in denial.

The Tao of Canno

It’s easy to suppose how Canno came up with Hikari and Nagisa – start with the idea of tsundere vs tsundere, and then inform their personalities and rivalry with Tiger vs. Dragon, the eternally-opposed yin and yang of Taoist mythology (the kanji in Hikari’s last name means “tiger” and “mountain,” while Nagisa’s means “dragon” and “sea”). Both are symbols of strength, of course, and both girls dominate over the rest of Seiran High School: they excel in academics, they’re in competition for Student Council President, and they feel ‘larger than life’ compared to everyone else; they’re the boss characters, if Kiss & White Lily were a video game brawler (now there’s a thought!). Of Tiger traits, Hikari demonstrates protection: “She’s good at taking care of people.” She’s concerned about the smaller, more vulnerable clubs, and picks up after Nagisa at home. Of the Dragon traits, Nagisa demonstrates prosperity: she favors the larger clubs, and acknowledges that “My family is relatively well off.” They hang out on the forbidden school roof a lot (the heavens); naturally, the little white cat they’re looking after together adores Hikari and hates Nagisa. Maybe they complement each other, maybe they even need each other, but it’s no accident that we don’t see them exchanging chocolates in next volume’s Valentine’s Day back-up story. All the same, through their three chapters together, it’s fun not only watching them bicker, but also seeing how they react whenever something threatens to send them in different directions.

Our Returning Champions, Ayaka and Yurine

The book opens with Ayaka considering her own run at the presidency, which organically introduces our cover stars who go on to enjoy the spotlight in the next three chapters. Yurine has started to act goofy and awkward around Ayaka, a result of her growing and changing feelings towards her, especially after Ayaka helped her out of her depressive episode last volume. She’s torn between wanting to support her friend, knowing she could help the school as much as she helped her, but also knowing she won’t get to see as much of her if she wins. When Ayaka tells her her decision concerning the elections, it helps Yurine realize her true feelings for her, and grow out of her selfish and simplistic ‘deredere’ (constantly, clingingly affectionate) archetype. She can finally be honest with herself, something Ayaka is still struggling with when we see them again in the fifth and final chapter.

Speaking of this last chapter, Ayaka’s cousin and roommate Mizuki has had just about enough of Ayaka’s blitheness. She’s graduating soon, and, having been her emotional support for the past several years, wants to make sure Ayaka will have someone she can talk to after she’s gone. When she realizes that Ayaka still doesn’t even have so much as Yurine’s phone number, she demands that she asks her for it first thing in the morning, later hinting that she needs to be way more honest with herself.

It isn’t until the walk home from school that day that Ayaka finally does clumsily take the next step, managing to ask Yurine for her number. She tells her “Sorry. I kept you waiting too long” when she makes her miss her crosswalk light, but I think it’s meant to apply to more than just that.

This entire chapter, Yurine has been the model example of supportive. She knows Ayaka’s been trying to tell her something, and gently gives her the opportunity. Instead of making a huge embarassing deal out of getting her number, she just lets her know that she can call her anytime. Which is good, because Ayaka’s mom phones her that very night, triggering one of those depressive episodes that Mizuki was so worried about. Yurine handles it like a frigging champ, though. She didn’t really know what she was doing when she helped her out of a similar episode in vol.5 (we see an allusion to this episode on this chapter’s title page), but between that experience, and the help she got from Ayaka last volume, she’s become the epitome of everything you’d want in a friend helping you out when you’re at your lowest.

Lastly, we’re treated to two bonus stories at the end of the book. I didn’t really need an origin story for how Nagisa was recruited into the student council, but it did at least give Canno an excuse to bring back the eternally beleagured treasurer from vol.3 (who Yukina kept butting heads with…she even gets a name in this volume!). The other story brings back Amane, Ryou and Nina, the cover stars from vol.6, to show where the little white cat came from.

In fact, there’s a ton of returning characters this volume, obscure and otherwise: Rika “not good with her hands” Kouno is in one panel, who was only ever in two pages in vol.4. Tsubasa and Karin appear in one panel at the dorm, who likewise were only ever on two pages from vol.2 (Tsubasa was the one who accidentally locked Chiharu and Maya in the dorm’s storeroom together). We see members of the public relations committee again from vol.5, and, charmingly, their club sign that’s still only taped up over the more permanent “science” placard underneath. Characters who had leading roles in previous volumes play supporting roles here as well (we only get the back of Izumi’s head in one panel, but she’s there!). Not only does this provide more of an ensemble feel for the book, but it’s a good bit of world-building that makes Seiran High School feel more ‘real’ and lived-in. Further realism is established via small details like how Nagisa has a ‘lazy’ version of her hairstyle when she’s lounging at home, and how she and Hikari are on a first-name basis, sans honorifics, when noone else is around. This all makes re-reads a lot more interesting for me, because it always feels like I’m catching some small detail or other that I hadn’t noticed before. We’ll be seeing more adherence to continuity, as well as progress on Ayaka and Yurine’s relationship, in the penultimate Volume 9, due out very soon on May 21st, 2019 from Yen Press.

Ratings

Art – 7 I feel so petty bringing this up, but the English edition again uses significantly thicker blacks than the Japanese version, which causes tones and shading to suffer on occasion. Worse, however, are the jpeg compression artifacts visible on the front and back covers. As for the art itself, it is as detailed and charming as ever. Hair in particular has a great deal of definition and shading, rendering it with a great deal of volume and depth, and the snow and moon in the last chapter are rendered beautifully. (I’ll admit that maybe…in the right light…Canno isn’t all that great at drawing cats, but that just adds to the charm for me)

Story – 9 I average an 8 for Hikari and Nagisa, and a 10 for Ayaka and Yurine. We’re nearing their endgame, and watching Yurine be there for Ayaka was one of my favorite chapters in the series. Leighann Harvey has done a wonderful job translating every word, barring a weird side note concerning the quotation at the start of the book: my wife recognized the quotation, which is from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s Le Petit Prince (uncredited here). The quotation at the start of the Japanese edition is already in English, and is closer to the more proper quotation “Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.” I think Leighann Harvey must have translated the Japanese version of the quote into English, ignoring the English version that was already there, all of which says nothing of the original French version of the quotation (!). Not a big deal, just a neat peek behind the curtains of translation.

Characters – 9 There’s a ton of character development going on in this volume.

Yuri – 7 That might seem like a high number considering three out of four main characters are tsundere, but you have to keep in mind that nearly everyone at Seiran is in some form of Yuri relationship.

Service – 1, by default. (I thought it was a cute touch when Nagisa’s mom told her to stop laying around in her underwear, but Canno withheld such salaciousness from the visuals)

Overall – 9





Yuri Manga: Bloom Into You, Volume 6 (English)

April 5th, 2019

The moment has arrived….the school festival is here and now, at last, the Student Council will perform a play. Touko will achieve the thing her late sister was never able to do. She will be able to put her sister’s phantom behind her. And then what?

In Bloom Into You, Volume 6 Touko will have to ask the question that has been plaguing her for years – and she’ll do it literally in front of the entire school all her friends and her family.

Unusually for a manga, we are allowed to see the whole play. Konomi nails the character each council member plays and it is especially lovely to be able to see how close to the mark she got in the dialogue, not just hear about it. (Even though, of course Konomi is not writing, but being written that way, it  still works in context.)  We are also given the opportunity to see audience reactions, like Touko’s parents looking pained when the dialogue lands on their lap, or the intrigued whispers at Sayaka playing Touko’s lover. All of it skirting >this< close to plausibility that the audience – and readers – might be tempted to think it was the truth.

This volume was both a triumphant climax for the series and one of the best school festivals play episodes I’ve ever read. It’s a pretty common trope for the play to reflect the story in an unsubtle way, as we’ve seen with Torikaebaya in Maria Watches Over Us, or Shuu-chan’s original script in Wandering Son. This one wins. Now Sayaka will have to deal with everyone wondering if she and Touko are, were, or could be lovers. Which, if she weren’t actually in love with Touko, might be funny.

And Yuu, at last, has to confess out loud what we’ve already known for a while now – she has failed to keep her end of the promise she and Touko made. Her heart-wrenching confession puts Touko into a tailspin.

We, the audience of this play-within-a-play are in the somewhat unusual position of having to wait to find out what happens because Volume 7 does not come out in Japan until the end of April and in English in December! I have read one or two of the chapters in Dengeki Daioh magazine where it is serialized, but am otherwise in the dark about where this story now goes. Which I quite like, so please do not helpfully spoil me, thanks. ^_^

Seven Seas’ edition continues to be excellent. This volume was, I think, particularly critical for this series, with a lot of future ramifications being laid out, and I was confident that translation by Jenny McKeon and adaptation by Jenn Grunigen were solid. The technicals were also especially good. Once again I feel that this volume offers the authentic manga reading experience fans are looking for.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 1

Overall – 8

In my review of this volume in Japanese, I called the play “terrifyingly accurate.” While we know damn well that that’s contrived, it still worked.

 





My Solo Exchange Diary 2 Manga (English)

March 29th, 2019

Kabi Nagata’s My Solo Exchange Diary 2 begins with an apology. At the end of the last book, she explains, we may have been rooting for her as she met someone she felt she could begin to imagine having some kind of feelings for. But that person does not come into this book.

Instead, this book is about the revolving door of her life, as she develops an addiction, and does stints in the hospital as she valiantly lives with what is obviously ever-more crushing depression, She’s careful at the end to explain that this manga is just one piece of her life – but that it is, in a very real way, her life. Boundaries are hard for a lot of people and people who are ill or disabled, often have an extra difficult time defining and/or defending boundaries. That she’s set some for us, the reader, at the end is the most positive sign, in my opinion. The conversation with her editor about it is terrific.

Even more importantly, this volume includes an original, non-essay work, “Chika-chan’s Depression” which was surprisingly hopeful.

Nothing about this volume is easy. Nothing about being Nagata-sensei is easy, right now, I think. But this comic essay is an important piece of Graphic Medicine. And regardless of the content, we know this is a story about a queer woman dealing with a severe chronic illness for which treatments are inconsistent at best. Again, it is my opinion that makes this worth reading, as “LGBTQ individuals are almost 3 times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder” according to National Association on Mental Illness (and if you are suffering from either, please visit the NAMI site or call their helpline!)

No ratings will be assessed for this book, as I do not feel I can adequately judge the content of a person’s life. I hope that her other readers and reviewers will consider that this is her life when doing a review. 





Yuri Manga: Beauty and the Beast Girl (English)

March 20th, 2019

Neji’s Beauty and the Beast Girl is, exactly as it sounds, a Yuri fairytale.

A blind girl named Lily Blind meets and falls in love with a beast girl who she names Heath. Let it never be said that fairytales aren’t symbolic. Heath hides from humans in the forest and spends most of her time loathing her own form until Lily brings her out of her shell.

What follows is a gentle tale of redemption and love and growth for both Lily and Heath. As this is a fairytale and a romance, we never have any reasonable expectation that Lily and Heath will be parted, but as all good fairytales have some conflict, this does have some potential for disasters that are, of course, averted by love.

Neji-sensei is clearly a fan of non-human x humans romance, as I am simultaneously reading Volume 2 of Prisontown e Youkoso! (my review of Volume 1 can be read here,) from Comic Yuri Hime, in which a human finds herself in a supernatural town where she lives alongside fanciful creatures from myths, fairtyales and legends.  So this particular pairing is spot on for this creator’s ouvre. ^_^ The story is sweet, with more attention paid to character design than plot, which also seems typical of Neji’s stories.

The ending of this comic is very doujinshi-esque, where it ends, rather than wraps up, but it is, after all a fairytale, so “and they lived happily ever after” is acceptable. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Service – 3
Yuri – 8

Overall – 7

Commenting on Heath’s name, Lily says “I think there was another name for that flower” which, I am obliged to remind you is “Erica.” ^_^





Yuri Manga: Kase-san and Cherry Blossoms (English)

March 13th, 2019

Love after high school graduation. Surprisingly few Yuri manga address the idea of a same-sex relationship in the “outside world” after secondary education. There’s a good reason for this, honestly, as life rapidly becomes more complex once a person is on their own. One day, you’re picking out a set of plates for your own kitchen and the next, you’re searching for renter’s insurance and a job that still offers real vacation time. 

Of all the many thousands of reviews here on Okazu, a mere handful of Yuri manga have so much as explored that space between high school and adult life. Morinaga Milk’s GIRL FRIENDS literally took a look at it, then shied away from dealing with the reality of adulthood. 

All of which is why I absolutely love Kase-san and Cherry Blossoms by Takashima Hiromi, the fifth book of the Kase-san series, out now in English from Seven Seas. Yamada does not suddenly become a confident adult the moment she graduates, Kase-san is not suddenly less jealous than she was, Miwachi isn’t less of a haphazard mess. They are all who they were in high school….and then again, they aren’t. The thing I’ve liked best about this series from the beginning is the naturalness of it. I feel like we’re watching these people in real time (although, as Takashima-sensei notes in the Afterword, the series began in 2010 – that’s a long time to be in high school!)

Kase-san and Yamada, that is to say, Tomoka and Yui, sleep together and grin goofily at one another, as one does. They support one another and spend time together. It’s just lovely to see them maturing and becoming adults who are in love. 

As always, Jocelyne Allen’s translation is so good, I can hear Yui and Tomoka saying the lines. The reproduction is high quality. Once again, Seven Seas has provided us with an authentic, enjoyable manga reading experience.

Ratings:

Art – 8 So much improved over the early days
Character – 9
Story – 9
Yuri -10
Service – 6 Some gratuitous underwear shots

Overall – 9

It’s unlikely that we’ll see Yamada and Kase-san addressing homophobia, social or political issues; some other manga will have to go there. But that’s okay. That’s not what we read the Kase-san series for.