Archive for the Guest Review Category


Gunbured x Sisters, Volume 2 (ガンバレッドｘシスターズ), Guest Review by Mariko S.

April 13th, 2022
I’m extremely pleased to welcome back the Okazu Guest Reviewer who takes on series that I’m not going near…Mariko Shinobu! /extravagant flailing of arms/ For a refresher, check out her review of Volume 1, which is now available in English from Seven Seas. Please welcome back Mariko with your warmest Okazu welcome!
 
Time for round two of everyone’s favorite (and likely the only) Yuri nunsploitation manga! In honor of the official English release of volume 1, I’m here to whet your appetite for the further adventures of Dorothy and Maria, our dynamic duo of Church-adjacent violence and sex in Gunbured x Sisters, Volume 2 (ガンバレッドｘシスターズ).
 
As the story continues, we think we know the lay of the land. Our heroines will investigate and confront the escalating vampire threats to keep the populace safe, while attempting to unravel the deeper mysteries surrounding both the undead and Maria herself. When the volume opens, we meet what is surely to be the next major threat for the Red Sisters – a dapper, regal-looking vampire who perches on an overstuffed armchair sipping premium blood from a goblet. And just as he’s gearing up for his big villain speech… exit, stage left, courtesy of Maria’s pistol and Shannon’s daggers. These women are not intending to play “business as usual,” and they’re not about to let a preening villain get in the way of the conversation (read: “fist fight”) they need to have about Dorothy.
 
However, convolutions are writhing beneath the surface of the story. We get the first hints that the Church is not a pristine force for good courtesy of wunderkind inventor Chloe and her massive robot sidekick Sanders, whose grandfather invented the Optare (the cross-like weapon Maria wields when she really means business.) Meanwhile, Dorothy tortures a vampire she captured – not for information, but “just because (she) wanted to.” She ends up with info on the new vampires anyway, but again we see the damage that hides beneath her “perfect leader of the Church” facade. A facade which, by the way, she doesn’t even attempt to keep up around her friends, and barely maintains around the Church elders.
 
And then, suddenly, things get real. The force behind the sudden uprising of new, more powerful vampires reveals herself – “Doctor J,” the pure-blood vampire mad scientist. She has been testing the Church with her hybrid genetic monstrosities, and is utterly and completely unafraid of anything our heroines can throw at her. She looks at every encounter as a chance to gather data, whether it’s Dorothy and Maria fighting one of her creations, or shooting herself in the head with Maria’s gun. And the data she gathers is foreboding – she is able to counteract and reverse Maria’s dhampir mode, regenerate any injury completely and instantaneously, and only decides to retreat from Shannon’s entire Knights of the Cross brigade because it might be “annoying” to kidnap Maria under those circumstances.
 
Despite the complete and total loss, though, Maria finally gets the bit of critical information she has been seeking all these years: Noelle is alive, and Doctor J knows something about her. As the book closes, we glimpse even more foreshadowing that things are not as they seem with the Church or the vampires. And we are left with so many concerns for both Dorothy and Maria, who are hiding so much pain from themselves and each other. Dorothy, in particular, has a scary way of being tender and kind with Maria directly, but dead-eyed and mercenary when discussing her with others. Does she have any genuine feelings for Maria, or is the dhampir nothing more than a monstrous tool to effect her revenge with?
 
If you’re back for another helping, you don’t really need the warning, but the buffet of service of all kinds continues unabated. There’s lingerie and blood. Shower scenes and severed body parts. Nighttime liaisons, flashers, and bloodlust-as-intimacy. There was even “Maria beats up some guys who were creeping on Dorothy and one of them ends up with a daikon in a very uncomfortable place,” which is not a type of service I knew I needed but nevertheless enjoyed. Caveat emptor. As far as Yuri, we’re mostly on the same wavelength as the first volume, just a little more intense: Shannon is desperate to be Dorothy’s princely protector, to win her favor and reserve “Dolores-sama’s” affections for herself. Dorothy and Maria continue to have a very physical relationship as the result of Maria’s vampire needs. Some of it Dorothy clearly plays up for her own amusement, but there are definitely signs during, for example, the night Maria spends in Dorothy’s bed, that there’s more developing. Maria catches herself a few times getting emotionally invested in Dorothy’s past and well-being, and though she tries to correct herself… she’s catching feelings. Dorothy is a thornier issue, though. While publicly she is flirty and forward, even at times kind and affectionate, when her mask slips it becomes very unclear if she is capable of love for anyone, or if all that will ever matter to her is her mission.
 
 

Ratings:

Art – 10     I still think it just “fits” this story, despite (or because of) its messiness. The fight scenes in particular do a great job of clearly orienting the participants in space and making the action legible.
Story – 6     Relatively little actually happens in this volume. But, I like the way subversive elements are casually woven into the story in pieces rather than having characters just exposition dump all the time.
Characters – 9     Chloe the disabled inventor, Sanders her robot bodyguard, and Father Marco, the deranged priest that wields a mace topped with a skull the size of a beach ball are worthy additions to our funhouse gallery of lovable weirdos.
Yuri – 6     Shannon is very clearly in love with Dorothy and wants to be her “prince.” Dorothy and Maria… it’s complicated.
Service – 10    All the service, all the time.

Overall – 8

 

The girls were sure in for a shocker
From the vampires’ perverted mad doctor
Much more violence and sex
And time for Dorothy to flex
All the assets her station has brought her

Gunbured Sisters, Volume 2 is available on Amazon JP, Bookwalker JP or CD Japan. in Japanese and in English in July, from Seven Seas!

Erica here: Thank you very much for the review, Mariko. I look forward to your reviews of this series more than to the series itself. ^_^ Tetragrammaton Labyrinth is the last Yuri nunsploitation series I can think of. It’s been a  while and we were due. ^_^





My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over, Volume 2 Guest Review by Luce

April 6th, 2022

Please welcome back Luce, who will take a look at the remaining volumes of this series for us!

In the first volume, we saw Sakiko get over a good part of her shyness and awe of Chihiro, the girl sitting next to her that happens to be her favourite idol in a group called Spring Sunshine. She also manages to somewhat wrangle Maaya, a Spring Sunshine superfan, into their group, and there was a surprise concert – they all go, of course, but now Sakiko is awestruck by Chihiro again!

Volume 2 of My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over starts where we left off. Sakiko, having had Chihiro wave at her from on stage, is elated… But also awestruck? Having seen Chihiro as Chiro-chan the idol has made her nervous about the distance between them, although it seems somewhat evident to the audience that may only be half the problem.

Next, a sports festival, in which Sakiko tries to protect Chihiro’s identity from her photographer senpai so she doesn’t get outed as an idol. The three of them go on a ‘chic-nic’. Chihiro faces some criticism from classmates. And Sakiko and Maaya try to protect Chihiro from possible scandal in their own ways…that may not be very conducive. Finally, someone confesses to Chihiro! A lot happens in these chapters!

Now that Sakiko has come out of her shell a lot, the whole thing is a great deal better. That said, she has her hands full dealing with/mitigating the effects of Maaya. I think these two are intended to show two sides of fandom: the invested but respectful, and the obsessed and possessive. Due to Sakiko’s influence, Maaya never quite succeeds on her schemes, which largely involve singling Chihiro out and getting rid of any ‘interfering’ parties (in her opinion), but it is annoying. Her stalkerish tendencies will never become comfortable, and I hope she leaves them behind either by force or by choice. I feel a plot point in a future chapter may well be Chihiro linking Maaya and the forum aggressor as one and the same, and her reaction. But her view currently is clearly ‘Chihiro belongs to me’, and it is uncomfortable. Her actions towards Sakiko at times and some other characters are definitely not alright – if you can ignore them, the manga can be quite enjoyable. If it’s too close to home, maybe give it a skip. Vol 3 came out and by the end of that she’s not much better, Sakiko is just working more as a conscience engine for her. I await further developments.

Sakiko is another story. Being friends with Chihiro (and Maaya) has helped her immensely – we see her converse with other people in class quite freely by midway through, and it’s lovely to see her grow into herself. It seems fairly clear to us that she at the very least has a crush on Chihiro, and their growing closeness unsettles Maaya, who reacts in a… very Maaya way. It could be worse, and it’s resolved fairly quickly. One of her photography club senpais even thinks to herself about whether Sakiko is in love with Chiro-chan. So on the yuri front, I would say it is increasing. For her part, Chihiro seems to have had a bad experience in junior school, so her friends are very important to her, although she tends towards Sakiko – could we see something into this?

We get a few more characters in this book, which is nice. A thought I had is that’s its nice to have male characters who aren’t portrayed as creepy and aren’t just there for plot drama. We get some people who aren’t into idol groups, and announce their discovery of Chihiro as an idol in a slightly unfavourable way, which is greatly frustrating to the three of the main characters – but Chihiro deals with it in her own way, which was lovely to see. Especially with the other two seeming to think she needs to be protected – she is a bit clueless at times, so there is some reason – it was good to see her stand up for herself in her own way.

Story: 8
Art: 8, its bright and sunny, suits the story it’s telling.
Service: 1
Yuri: 5. Sakiko hasn’t made it there yet. Not sure if Maaya is in love or just obsession. Possibly both.
Overall: 9

The story is tending towards Spring Shine getting more popular, even if just within the class, but if they do, that could change things quite significantly. Maaya is uncomfortable at times, but over-ride-able in my opinion. I’ll be staying tuned – Volume 3 and and Volume 4 have come out as of 5th April!





5 Seconds Before A Witch Falls in Love, Guest Review by Luce

March 9th, 2022

Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu. We welcome back Luce who is taking a look at a collected volume of stories by Zeniko Sumiya that ran in Comic Yuri Hime. Take it away, Luce!

5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love actually has three stories in it, although you wouldn’t know from the outset. The first and third are linked  in that they follow the same characters in stories set about a month apart: The ‘Untouchable Sorceress’ Meg, and the witch hunter Lilith. They fight frequently, although Meg has always managed to one-up Lilith, so never getting caught. When Meg turns Lilith into a cat and someone makes off with her, things change. A bit. In the second story, from Lilith’s point of view, a month afterwards, she is convinced that Meg has cursed her with a love spell. Why else would she be feeling so het up!

The third story is sandwiched between them, and isn’t at all related. In this, Kamiari Kanna is an otherwise normal school girl, who can see supernatural beings, and offers to help them. After finding the demon Belphegor wounded and the angel Samael apparently collapsed and offering to help them, they both fell madly in love with her and follow her around near constantly. A transfer student seems a bit suspicious though, and a supernatural entity is on the loose…

This book is a one shot and totally contained, which I do like. I’m not so fond of tsunderes, which Meg and Lilith emulate somewhat, but they were different enough that I could kind of get behind them. Being so short helped – you don’t actually have to endure the swathes of denial prior to the depicted story. I’m pretty happy about that. Meg was pretty fun, everyone calls her an old hag which pisses her off, and while she’s implied to be extremely talented with magic, she generally uses her magic to play ridiculous pranks on the townspeople. That said, when she does get serious, she goes all in. I personally would have liked Lilith to have a bit more… pizzazz(?) about her? She is cute, though. What I liked most was the ‘warlock pharmacist/drugstore owner’ Hachi. Well equipped with an armoury of snappy comebacks, he was great, and seemed to know more than he actually stated.

I’ll single out something that pleasantly surprised me – Meg apologises for kissing Lilith without her consent (to turn her back from being a cat). Seeing as consent is rarely even mentioned or asked for in manga, I greatly appreciate this. Meg also gives Lilith the opportunity to leave, by which she means to allow her to leave the situation altogether. I like this, and these small details made it far more enjoyable.

I think I enjoyed the second story a bit more though, which is funny because the only advertisement it gets on the cover is the three main characters on the back. The blurb doesn’t even mention a third story at all! The idea of a kind-hearted girl helping all sorts of supernatural spirits isn’t new, but Samael and Belphegor being obsessed by her was made infinitely better by a.) Kanna saying things how she meant and b.) them not getting too handsy about it. They fight over her, but it’s never serious. It’s clear that she is very dear to them, but they never force their affections on her – Bel is upset because the transfer student hugs Kanna… Because she wanted to. Kanna hugs her. It’s actually really cute.

Story: Meg and Lilith 5, Kanna’s story 7
Art: 7
Yuri: 8
Service: 3?
Overall: 7

Erica here: Thank you Luce! I’ll be sure to pay attention to that third story when I have a chance to read this collection. ^_^





How Do We Relationship, Volume 5, Guest Review by Matt Marcus

March 2nd, 2022

It’s another Guest Review Wednesday and we have another great review! Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, such as the JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thrice. Please welcome Matt back to Okazu!

How Do We Relationship is a story about two college students Miwa and Saeko who learn together how used to date. In How Do We Relationship, Volume 4, the couple broke up over a myriad of problems around communication and personal hang-ups, but despite lingering feelings they try to go back to being friends.

Just by looking at the cover of How Do We Relationship, Volume 5, you know you’re in for some shit. Gone are the big smiles, playful antics, and instruments of the past; they have been replaced by a disheveled Miwa, her hair grown out haphazardly, looking forlornly into the middle distance.

This volume has a theme: self-centeredness, selfishness, and greed. Almost every principle character displays these traits in varying degrees of severity and the effects of their actions ripple out until they become ship-wrecking waves.

Saeko, in what feels like a passive-aggressive move, casually pushes Miwa to reach out to her high school crush, Shiho, and confess her feelings. When the two former classmates reconnect, they make plans for Miwa to spend two months visiting Shiho in Okinawa. 

There is a lot I can say about Shiho because she is fascinating. When she first appears in How Do We Relationship, Volume 3, you wouldn’t be blamed for expecting her to merely be the love rival that forces Miwa to make a firm, definitive decision on to whom she will give her heart. As it turns out, she is a much more complex character. Yes, she managed to escape from the traumatic environment that was her family home, however she continues to bear scars from her upbringing. Tamifull does a wonderful job portraying her inner struggle and how it leaks out into the rest of her life: she lives in a barren apartment and wonders why it freaks out her friends; her previous romantic relationship ended due to her lack of interest; she doesn’t feel a need to fall in love, yet she is still working out her feelings towards Miwa while sending very mixed signals. What is crushingly sad is that she not only doesn’t know what she wants for herself, she doesn’t even know how to want. You will think that her ultimate decision about Miwa is cowardly–and it is–but she needs more time to heal and grow. I am hoping we get to see it. Regardless, the trip sends Miwa into a tailspin.

This puts her on a collision course with Saeko when school resumes. I mentioned in my previous review that Saeko’s behavior could be a barrier for some readers, and I think this volume offers the ultimate test of that. There is a moment towards the end of the volume that truly stunned me. I won’t spoil it, but it will send shivers down your spine. It may even disgust you. It’s a high risk move and we do not see it payoff before the volume ends, but I simply have to credit Tamifull for constructing a scene that packs such a wallop.

I haven’t mentioned her yet, but Saeko’s coworker Yuria takes on a larger supporting role and she’s still a delight. Not a lot of depth to her, but she’s a breath of fresh air given everything else that’s going on.

Out of the previous volumes so far, this one is the most consistent in tone. The focus has tightened and it benefits the storytelling because it gives more space to explore the internality of the characters. I will say though that I am still confused about what Tamifull is trying to say with Rika, beyond the fact that she is self-aware about her selfishness.

One major demerit I would give the story is how Miwa expresses a desire for self-harm through neglect that is not taken very seriously by Saeko–it’s melodramatic at best and disrespectful to the severity of the topic at worst. If the story’s direction continued down such a path I could see myself dropping the series, but I have it on good authority that this is the “lowest” point and that things get better from here. It really is about time that Miwa starts showing some serious development because the poor girl deserves it.

On the positive side, I want to give a shout-out to the localization team because I am continuously impressed with the fresh and naturalistic phrasing choices that provide a distinct voice to the characters while sounding realistically like college students.

If you have ventured this far into the series, be prepared for the choppiest waters yet. Despite finding myself emotionally wrung out by the twists and turns on my first read-through, I have found engaging with the characters in repeated readings endlessly rewarding. I’ll be waiting (im)patiently for the next volume which comes out in English this July.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Some great paneling and nonverbal expression.
Story – 7 Heavy, less funny, but still engaging. Docking it one point for overplaying its hand with Miwa’s meltdown.
Characters – 9 I love what they did with Shiho and Saeko continues to be compelling.
Service – 1 Sex is still present but it is not played for service.
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 7 One door opens while another seemingly closes, so on balance it’s a wash.

Overall – 8 This continues to be a unique and engrossing yuri series.

Erica here: Thank you Matt for covering this volume so thoroughly. I can guarantee that everything will be different (for the better) now. and I’m so glad I can talk about this series again!
 




If We Leave on the Dot, Guest Review by Patricia Baxter

February 23rd, 2022

Hello and welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! I am super excited to welcome a new guest reviewer to our blog. Patricia has been an enthusiastic YNN Correspondent and now I am super pleased to have her as part of our Guest Review staff! Please give Patricia a warm, Okazu welcome! Kind comments are always appreciated. ^_^

My name is Patricia Baxter (she/her). I am a bisexual autistic writer who has previously written articles concerning how media represents different marginalized communities. You can find more of my work through my personal website “Autistic Observations”.

Yukawa Kayoko is a quiet thirty-one-year-old woman working in an office building, who typically hangs up her winter coat on the office coat rack rather than place it behind her chair. Through a series of coincidences, Kayoko finds that a co-worker, outgoing twenty-six-year-old Mizuki Kaori, has accidentally placed her apartment keys into Kayoko’s coat pocket. After this chance encounter, the two women begin to see each other frequently after work, keeping in touch and planning outings by leaving each other notes in their coat pockets. As these meetings progress, Kayoko finds herself surprised to discover that her feelings for Kaori extend far beyond friendship, and, in a moment of courage, confesses her feelings to Kaori. Thus begins this series focusing on the tender romance between two working women.

Inui Ayu’s If We Leave on the Dot is the yuri manga equivalent of cotton candy. Kayoko and Kaori are two extremely cute, nearly permanently blushing, women who wear consistently adorable outfits and eat consistently delicious-looking food together. Every chapter had at least one moment that made me feel at ease, thanks to the various expressions of love felt and displayed by the couple and the embodiment of that love by enjoying the pleasures of everyday life together.

Kayoko and Kaori are probably one of the sweetest pairings I’ve read in a romance manga, yuri or otherwise. Their relationship is built on mutual love and trust that is palpable with each chapter of the manga. And when the few instances of low self-esteem and jealousy creep up on the pair, instead of letting the negative feelings fester for an absurd number of chapters (as some romance manga are wont to do), they have emotionally honest discussions about their feelings, which help maintain and strengthen their partnership. It’s refreshing to read such a wonderful example of an emotionally mature relationship, with a couple able to weather through such relatable insecurities and doubts.

This is made even more intriguing by the fact that the majority of the series focuses on the relationship between two women who are very clearly adults who are established in their careers. While there are quite a few examples of yuri manga focusing on the lives of adult women, a lot of series focus on the lives of university students, or women in their early twenties. For Kayoko to experience her first major romantic relationship at thirty-one, is very reassuring for any readers in their thirties, as it can still be rather difficult to find romances focusing on women older than twenty-something.

Alongside If We Leave on the Dot’s many positive achievements, it is also noteworthy for how it addresses the topic of Kayoko and Kaori’s sexualities. When the series takes time for the couple to think about sexuality, it is typically are less about Kayoko and Kaori’s individual sexual identities and personal self-discovery, and more about how other people will react to or perceive their relationship. One example of this occurs during a company celebration, where Kayako mentions that she is in a relationship and loves her partner very much, but aside from those vague mentions, cannot go in-depth in describing her partner to her colleagues, despite sitting right next to the person she loves. Instead, Kayoko and Kaori have to share a quiet, tender moment, holding hands under the table, hiding in plain sight from their co-workers. Not long after this Kaori goes to meet up with her close friends, despite feeling happy talking about her relationship with Kayoko, she feels “Tired…from dodging their questions”, as she had to misdirect her friends by calling Kayoko her “boyfriend”.

This is a rather massive contrast in comparison to a lot of fluffy yuri romances, where the closest thing to an examination into LGBTQ+ issues is the main character(s) briefly getting confronted by the heteronormative expectations society places on women, and even then it is only there as a cursory issue. Instead of placing her characters in a bubble separated from the struggles of the real world, Inui’s If We Leave on the Dot takes time to showcase and legitimize the frustrations and exhaustion that queer women experience on a regular basis.

With its relaxing and down-to-Earth depictions of the everyday life of a same-gender couple, If We Leave on the Dot is one of my all-time favourite yuri romances that I highly recommend.

Ratings:

Art: 7.5

Story: 8

Characters: 9

Service: 0 for the first three volumes, 2 for volume 4 (due to a bathhouse trip and the couple beginning to sexually explore each other’s bodies in a manner that is sincere rather than salacious)

Yuri: 10

Overall: 9

If We Leave on the Dot is currently only available through the online manga subscription service Manga Planet, though the first chapter is free to read. There is a range of options for subscribing to the service depending on reader preference.

Erica here: Thank you so much Patricia! I agree with everything you’ve said. The mood between Kaori and Kayoko is very relaxing and warm. I loved all four volumes of the series in Japanese, Teiji ni Ageretara. That was my first taste of Inui Ayu’s work  – work that I continues to enjoy. Her autobiographical series, currently running in Comic Yuri Hime, Kyou mo Hitotsu Yane no Shita, has much the same warm, fuzzy feeling, with a bit more LGBTQ+ identity.