Archive for the English Manga Category


How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend?, Volume 1

May 24th, 2024

by Luce, Staff Writer

Imagine you are a Japanese schoolgirl, and you’ve just realised you have a big crush on your friend! What do you do? Your options: 

A: pine ad infinitum. This crush goes to your grave. This is a pretty safe option, filled with yearning gazes and trying to hide your feelings, but someone more proactive might get there first, leaving you in a world of angst!

B: confess immediately. It’s a high risk option, but if you’re the gambling kind, it might pay off. After all, you’re already friends, so you know you get on. But be careful – it might make things pretty strained between you if they don’t return your affections…

C: try and win then over. You’re pretty sure they don’t see you romantically… yet. But there’s plenty of time for that to change, right? All you gotta do is show them how great you’d be as a couple – put on that winning smile, take them out on that date, and woo the heck out of them! 

How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend?, Volume 1 which tells the story of Minami and Yuzu, who have been childhood friends since elementary school, firmly picks option C. They’ve been very close, physically and emotionally, for a long time, but when Minami accidentally overhears plot device guy confessing his love to Yuzu, she’s suddenly hit with the revelation that she’s in love with her. 

She has one chapter of panicking about this, notably absent of ‘but we’re both girls!’. After she admits it pretty easily to her other friend, Hinori, that she works with, who is thankfully supportive, she decides that the only option is to try and get Yuzu to think of her romantically. 

Not to say this necessarily goes that well, but she’s trying. It’s the thought that counts. Minami hasn’t ever liked anyone romantically, and has never dated anyone – and like any studious person in manga clueless on a subject, turns to textbooks! Hinori points out that none of those books are ‘textbooks’, and acts as a sensible hand to try and help. 

They end up on a date to the planetarium, because Yuzu is very into space. I now want a Saturn plushy. The date is cute and goes pretty well, but Minami feels like it’s getting her heart rate up more than Yuzu’s. Nonetheless, she does try to confess at the end, interrupted by some of the other friends…? 

This isn’t exactly a ground breaking manga, but it was quite refreshing in so much as Minami is actually trying. I love a good bit of pining, but sometimes it is nice to see someone going for what they want in a relationship. How I feel about it in the long term will largely ride on how long the ‘cannot spit it out’ continues. The situation presented at the end could go several ways, but it’s probably going to end up being a big misunderstanding for some conflict. Rather than drag its feet on getting them together, I’d actually like this manga to explore the transition from friends to lover, or focus on Yuzu a bit more – she doesn’t really show any signs of romantic affection for Minami, so it would be interesting if they explored that. 

All said, I will check into the next volume – it’s not the strongest Yuri manga out there, but if you like a more proactive protagonist and a complete lack of ‘but we’re both girls’, you could do a lot worse. 

Ratings:

Art: 7 
Story:
Service: 3, solely for an imagine spot where Minami is considering her feelings towards Yuzu, and one page says, without showing anything explicit, that is definitely sexual as well, or could/will grow that direction
Yuri: 9

Overall: 7

The translation and lettering all felt normal, that is too say I didn’t notice any glaring errors or oddities, which was done by Matthew Johnson and Giuseppe Antonio Fusco respectively. Volume 2 is due out in late September, as per the Seven Seas website.





Run Away With Me Girl, Volume 3

May 22nd, 2024

Two women in wedding dresses laugh happily holding a colorful bouquetGuest Review by Matt Rolf

Having run away with high school friend Makimura as an adult in Volume 2, Midori wants to keep running in Run Away with Me Girl, Volume 3. Fortunately for her and for the reader, we are finally at a point in this series where Midori has to make a clear decision about what she’s going to do. Battan graciously provides some clarity and closure to this interesting series, but don’t expect much more than that in this final volume.

The first volume of this series was rocky and dealt with challenging relationship questions; the second volume gave the characters space on an island away from the ordinary to try and answer those questions. The third volume, by comparison, is something of a letdown. The main plot point gets wrapped up, but a lot of the hard issues raised by the first two volumes get swept under the rug.

What is sexual orientation? How does that square with societal expectations and our own desire? How do we reconcile our day-to-day responsibilities when they may not be compatible with our core values? What if we push our core values away and make toxic choices in an attempt to meet those responsibilities? What does it mean to commit to someone? And what does it mean to unwind one’s life after having committed? All of these questions are raised implicitly or explicitly by the first two books. While these are admittedly hard questions without easy answers, the final payoff comes without addressing them fully. Maki and Midori’s epilogue is fine, if a bit too obvious. Komari’s epilogue is annoying, bordering on infuriating to this reviewer.

Perhaps, like Midori through most of this work, we’re not supposed to think too hard about the answers to those questions. Maybe the answers are just matters of the heart. Even so, I think the characters deserved a more thorough reckoning with the choices that they made. Maybe once Battan has some distance to this story they will reconsider and give us another volume.

The artwork is still good, but the impact is less than the first two volumes. Battan gives the culmination of the book the rich attention it deserves. Outside of that, the drawings don’t hit that hard.

Finally, this book is yuri. Exhausting, aggravating, and annoying, but in the end, yuri: the exploration of a semi-toxic relationship between women that concludes with as little character growth as possible. And that, if nothing else, will make you think.

Final Verdict: A disappointing ending to a challenging series.
Series Verdict: Worth reading and thinking about.

Published by Kodansha Comics, with translation by Kevin Steinbach and lettering by Jennifer Skarupa.

Ratings

Art – 8
Story 5 – This is fine.
Characters – 7 I wouldn’t be let down if I hadn’t had any expectations.
Service – 5 Tease me, please me, no one needs to know. -Scorpions
Yuri – 8
Overall – 5 for this volume, 7 for Vol 1-3 inclusive.





Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Deluxe Edition Volume 4

May 20th, 2024

An android with blue hair, wearing a long coat and a young woman with green spiky hair, wearing a jacket look stand in front of a a huge white sky, looking out at something.In a series in which most of the “people” are androids, there are still humans on the planet. Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Deluxe Edition Volume 4 spends some time with the other people in Alpha’s life.

But first Alpha and Kokone take a trip which both she and I read as a date. Alpha plays in the snow. Meruko scouts the competition. We meet a new human and can see that Maki is no longer a child, and Takahiro is planning on leaving, ready to be a man.

The days themselves pass, with joy, wonder melancholy and sometimes, whether it be a mysterious record, the flight of a bird-like ship passing over in the sky, or mysterious black sugar, Alpha touches something deep and moving in the world, feeling it intensely.

Time marches on, people, come and go, but Alpha is running her cafe, for now, and welcoming guests as they pass through. Very likely, we will never know the answers to the questions this series poses but it doesn’t matter. Have a cup of coffee, contemplate life and watch the grass blow.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 1 pinups of Alpha are drawn with love, not service
Yuri – 6

Overall – 9

The final volume is headed our way in August. I’m as ready for the end of the world as I can be.





The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 4

May 10th, 2024

Two young women play-wrestle on a sofa, both laugh uproariously as they share a moment of pure joy. In Volume 3, Saki found herself seen in ways that were both complicatedly affirming and deeply confusing. Now that she knows Kanon’s history, her one comment is that barriers are meant to be blown away completely – a line that changes everything for Kanon.

Think about a moment when you believed you could do – something, anything – before someone told you, you could not take flying lessons, or whatever that thing might have been. Kanon, whose whole life was pretty much striving in musical endeavor, had a life change that made her think she could never have that back. She won’t be able to regain what she had, but now she can see that she can create something new.

In The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 4, Kanon decides to reclaim that feeling for herself,

To an American audience, the song that Saki ends up choosing for her class may seem simple, cheesy, banal even, but the text here explicitly asks you to consider the meaning behind the song – what it was originally mean to represent and how it can mean even more in this specific context. I ask you to consider who Stevie Wonder is, as well  – a man blind from birth who has shaped global music in innumerable ways, and Paul McCartney, a man from humble beginnings who also changed music on a global scale. So, yes, we may hear “Ebony and Ivory,” and think of it as a bland pop song – but, in this context, it means so much.

“You shouldn’t have to get over any barriers! They should be knocked down to begin with!”  Saki’s words have not stopped resonating with me since I first read this volume in Japanese in 2022. In every way I can, I am committed to removing barriers.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 4, LGBTQ – 6

Overall – 9

This year we have a bounty of charming, empowering and delightful Yuri – we have been seen – and it feels great.

 





Otherside Picnic Manga, Volume 9, Guest Review by Sandy F

May 8th, 2024

Two women sit on a bench outside a dilapidated building, eating. The blonde holds a rise ball in both hands one of which is transparent, the brunette with one blue eye and one brown eye holds a sandwich, as she speaks animatedly, smiling.Recently, to much excitement, the cover for the ninth novel of Otherside Picnic was revealed. What I noticed was how it was a neat reminder of the importance of food and drink in this series.

And food is certainly a theme in Otherside Picnic manga, Volume 9.

We have already witnessed the importance of food and drink as a way for Toriko and Sorawo as a way to recover from the trauma of the Otherside. In the conclusion to ‘The Little Birds in the Box’ Toriko and Sorawo are joined by Kozakura for a meal. A meal that leads to a conversation where Kozakura struggles to understand the hold that the Otherside has over Toriko and Sorawo despite their best efforts to explain it.

And then, with Yamanoke Presence, we have the main event! In volume 3 of the novel series, we finally had the picnic that the title promised us, and now we have it in the manga series.

It is a fun moment, with just a dash of weirdness. But in Yamanoke Presence we are reminded of what I find to be one of the compelling strengths of Otherside Picnic; its ability to shift from a cozy slice of life moment to encounters with horrors that will haunt your dreams with a dash of ‘what the heck is going on?’ conversations. For example, one of my favourite moments is watching an absolutely clueless Sorawo trying to understand Toriko’s family solution.

In this volume we also witness moments of Sorawo and Toriko’s vulnerability, particularly in the aftermath of The Little Birds in the Box. I was struck by the sight of Sorawo without her glasses, lying in a hospital bed hand in hand with Toriko. For me this moment was a reminder that Sorawo and Toriko are young women who may be strong enough to face the terrors of the Otherside, yet at the same time are struggling to connect with themselves and one another.

One of the many things I appreciate about Otherside Picnic is how Iori Miyazawa uses dialogue to make observations about larger issues. For example, Toriko’s response to Sorawo’s description of the Yamanoke critter possessing women and Toriko responds with a compelling question, “why do so many of these things go after women?” One aspect of the artwork I found very compelling is how successfully conveys Sorawo’s struggles with the Yamanoke as it possesses her. We definitely get the sense of the Otherside seeping into Sorawo’s consciousness.

Remembering that the entities of the Otherside take forms shaped by folklore and urban legends created by people, creating stories where women are all too often the victims.

We also have the first chapter of Sannuki and the Karate Kid, and A Daytime Guest which gives us Kozakura’s perspective on ‘Karate Kid’.

I confess that I enjoy watching Sorawo in full panic mode as she tries to figure out how Akari Seto found out about Kozakura’s place, and then more panic as she faces being dragged into someone else’s problem. The mention of Satsuki Uruma doesn’t help the situation, especially as her baleful presence has been noticed by Sorawo throughout the volume. Sorawo wonders what does Satsuki want, and how much of a threat is she to this unfamiliar sense, for Sorawo, of being happy? Through conversations and reflection we gain more insights into Sorawo and Toriko that reveal their unique path towards being in relationship with one another as they learn more about themselves.

Another great volume in this series.

Ratings:

Story – 9|
Artwork – 9
Character – 8|
Service – 6
Yuri – 8

The mutual nature of their relationship is growing as Sorawo muses on how much she enjoys sharing the Otherside with Toriko. But for a brief moment I do have to give a 0 rating with Sorawo’s complete befuddlement over Toriko’s parents!

Overall – 9