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Archive for the Guest Review Category


Monthly in the Garden With My Landlord, Volume 2, Guest Review by Frank Hecker

March 27th, 2024

A woman with dark collar-length hair standing in the kitchen and a woman with long blonde hair sitting on the veranda, both wearing casual clothing smile as they speak to one another.In the first volume of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, manga editor Asako Suga, dumped by the latest in a series of girlfriends, finds both a new place to live and an unforeseen housemate, her landlord Miyako Kitano — who turns out to be a former idol. It’s a premise not unknown in adult yuri manga, in which manga artists and their editors frequently appear, along with the more-than-occasional idol, and it’s common for two women to go from sharing a house or apartment to building a life together. It is thus, not particularly ground-breaking within the yuri genre. Rather it’s a very well-executed example of its general type, deftly blending slice of life, comedy, idol intrigue, and at least one potential romance.

Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Volume 2 combines two plot threads. In the main story Asako and Miyako (“Landlord-san”) settle in to life together, each displaying their characteristic personality: Miyako is somewhat lazy and more than a bit of a slob, and takes child-like enthusiasm in even the most mundane aspects of her life with Asako. For her part, Asako finds herself picking up after Miyako, cooking for her, caring for her when she’s sick, and in general behaving more like a mother than a potential lover.

But love is indeed in the air, as shown in a hilarious sequence in which Miyako finds herself growing jealous of a houseplant, the pachypodium that Asako brings home, nicknames “Packey,” and treats like a new pet. Before long it’s obvious how Miyako feels about Asako. However, Asako herself isn’t sure exactly what their relationship is and should be, even when later circumstances force her to express a judgment on it.

In her review of volume 1 Erica Friedman speculated whether readers of just that volume would see this as a yuri story or not. I’ve seen others argue that Miyako’s relatively young age (she’s still 19 in this volume) and the mother-daughter dynamic she has with Asako make a romance between them both implausible and problematic. I disagree.

Miyako was likely working as an idol since her middle teen years (another Elm member is only 16), and as such would have lived a very sheltered and constricted life. By Miyako’s own account her parents placed lots of restrictions on her even before that time. Her grandmother gave her more freedom, but “Matsuba-chan” was often absent and away. It’s therefore not surprising at all that Miyako might develop feelings for someone who is with her every day and lavishes her with care and attention.

For her part, Asako is a very giving person (“too nice for her own good”) who finds enjoyment in helping others. However, at least one of her past girlfriends, and perhaps more than one, found that behavior quite off-putting. I can well believe that the ideal girlfriend for Asako would be one whom she can mother more than a bit, and that Miyako might someday fill that role after she comes of age. Since this is marketed as a yuri story, it’s more likely than not.

The other plot thread in this volume concerns Miyako and the other idols in Elm, now reconstituted under the leadership of Ruri Samukawa. Miyako opens up to Asako about her past as an idol and why she retired, and contemplates reconnecting with the group members she left behind. That process is helped along by Ruri and Elm uber-fan Hato Hatomori, who in volume 1 was flabbergasted to find her fave living with Asako. In this volume Hato is almost literally pulled into the middle of the group’s affairs, a development that both delights and disconcerts her. It’s a fun subplot, one I’m definitely invested in and would like to see more of.

The main characters of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord are all fundamentally decent people with their own distinct personalities — people you might enjoy having lunch with, to use a traditional Okazu criterion. The art is a style I particularly like, clear and clean, not overly cartoony, with dynamic and varied panel layouts. It’s well-suited to showing both Miyako’s beauty and the comedic situations she and Asako find themselves in. The translation reads very well as English, the lettering is quite readable, the text appears to be entirely free of typos and related infelicities, and the overall look of the volume is attractive. Kudos go to translator Stephen Paul, letterer Elena Pizarro Lanzas, and the Yen Press editorial and design team — Fortune Soleil, JuYoun Lee, and Wendy Chan — for their work.

Ratings:

Art — 9
Story — 8
Characters — 9
Service — 2 (for idols)
Yuri — 4 (“Okay, it’s happening!” but where it will go is as yet unclear)
Overall — 9

Volume 2 of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord is an entertaining continuation of a solid volume 1. If you’re a fan of adult yuri who missed the first volume, this is the perfect opportunity to catch up on what promises to be an excellent series. Volume 3 is slated for release in English on August 20 of this year.

 





Mr. Right Turned Out To Be A Younger Woman!? Guest Review by Em Evergreeen

March 20th, 2024

Two office women stand close, one leans in to whisper something  into the other woman's ear as they both grip a folder between them.Content warning: there is one scene with sexual aggression and non-consensual touching, and the narrative doesn’t meaningfully explore any relationship consequences this might have.

I’ve enjoyed Kozumi Miura’s contributions to Yuri anthologies (White Lilies in Love BRIDE’s, Yuriquer Alcohol Yuri Anthology,

and to creator-owned magazine Galette, as well as her collection of one-shots, Totsuzen Nantonaku Tonari no Seki no Douryou to Kiss Shitaku Narimashita, so I was quite excited to see her office worker romance Mr. Right Turned Out To Be A Younger Woman!? made available on digital manga site Renta. It’s not only the first of her works to be translated into English, but also the longest Yuri story she’s created so far. Originally published by iProduction’s women-focused web manga label Comic Donna, the story was expanded from a one-shot to about the length of a single print volume.

Our heroine, Haruki Shiina, is a 33-year-old marketing professional who’s stalled out in romance and at work. She feels like her time is running out to find a boyfriend, get married, and have children, and she’s built up quite the reputation around the office as a energy-drink-guzzling, hard-partying, almost salaryman-like figure. So when she awakens after a night of drunken revelry with her co-workers to the clear aftermath of a one night stand, with vague but positive memories, she’s hopeful that it’s going to be the start of a magical office romance that’ll lead straight to marriage. There’s only one problem – she’s not quite sure who the previous night’s paramour was!

We know from the first page, however, that her opposite number is none other than her workplace rival, the serious and high-achieving 23-year-old Risa Takagai. Risa treats her coldly, makes competing marketing proposals, and interrupts her when she chats up her male co-workers. Though the two frequently butt heads, they also inspire each other to do their best work. We see a magnetic attraction quickly develop between them, culminating in the early reveal of Haruki’s anonymous lover.

The characters and their chemistry are compelling enough that I’m glad the story was expanded beyond the original one-shot, and that we get to see their relationship develop beyond this point. There’s a lot packed into these 6 chapters, but as a result, many interesting threads feel under-explored, and the dramatic tension comes and goes a bit erratically. There is a sustained focus on Haruki coming to terms with dating a woman for the first time, and on the pressures that the difference in their ages puts on the relationship, topics that are depicted realistically and with care. There’s even some attention paid to lesbian culture and the issues faced by queer women in Japan, though it ends up feeling a little “Lesbians 101” at times.

The anonymous translation, credited only with “Localization by Renta,” occasionally stumbles a bit, and the quality of lettering similarly isn’t up to par with releases by the major US publishers. More than the sometimes-stilted language, though, my primary issue with the translation is that it introduces a somewhat misogynistic tone to certain scenes that’s not present in the original work. This is a shame for a manga that otherwise draws on the best traditions of female-focused manga in its heart-pounding moments, emotional introspection, and appropriately-adult sexuality without unnecessary fan service.

Mr. Right Turned Out To Be A Younger Woman!? is absolutely worth figuring out Renta’s points system for (bad news: it’ll cost you $15 to buy, and you’ll end up with 300 points afterwards. sigh). The art really shines. The important moments are lovingly rendered, as are the outfits, and the jokes are paired with deeply funny reaction faces. I quickly got invested in Haruki, Risa, and their happiness, and was glad to see the story reach a satisfying ending. Our pair and the rest of their co-workers are realistically flawed, but there are no villains here, and our cast comes together to support one another when it matters.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 3
Yuri – 8

Overall – 7

Em Evergreen is a lonely lesbian with a manga addiction. Find her at linktr.ee/em.evergreen.





I Don’t Need A Happy Ending, Guest Review by Eleanor Walker

February 14th, 2024

A woman and her maid embrace gently, on a bed surrounded by draped cloth.Hello, it’s 3 opossums in a trenchcoat disguised as a person back for another review. You can find me dotted around the Internet as @st_owly. Today I’m reviewing I Don’t Need  A Happy Ending, a collection of short stories,  by Mikanuji, the creator of Assorted Entanglements. I liked that series well enough to go in blind on this one when I saw it in the bookstore so here we go.

I’ve always had a soft spot for short stories. Telling a complete tale in a limited amount of pages is a skill unto itself, and a good short story anthology should have something for everyone. With that in mind, I cannot recommend the first story in this book, “I’ll Never Fall In Love With You”. It’s rapey, creepy and everything I dislike about yuri manga written for the male gaze all rolled into 36 convenient pages. 

Happily, the second story in the book is much more pleasant. This is the titular story “I Don’t Need A Happy Ending” and features a historical forbidden love story between a mistress and her maid. Unlike in the first story, the characters actually feel like people rather than sex objects, and without giving too much away, they do get their happy ending. I will freely admit I’m a sucker for historical romance and as someone who adores Victorian Romance Emma, by Kaoru Mori, this scratched the same itch. 

Back to the present day for “I Don’t Know What Love Is,” which features a nihilistic college student and her adoring kouhai. I didn’t particularly care for this chapter either, but it did at least have more plot than the first one and the characters are adults this time. The author also really likes drawing people having sex in (semi) public places.

4th in the collection is “A Day off from Work” in which two childhood friends finally realise their long held feelings for each other. Short and sweet, it’s always nice when two people find each other.

The penultimate story in this volume also appeared in “Whenever Our Eyes Meet: A Women’s Love Anthology” which is also available in English from Yen Press. Another office romance, this time the new temp at the company is the main lead’s fling from the night before, and she’s not out at work. More semi public sex and everyone is happy.

Finally, we finish with a sequel to “I Don’t Need a Happy Ending,” which begins with a timeskip of several years, and that is merely a convenient plot device for more illicit sex. It takes 3 pages before they’re at it.  

Overall, your mileage may vary. as to be expected with an anthology. The author definitely has certain tastes which are reflected in this collection, and if her tastes don’t align with yours you might leave disappointed. For me “I Don’t Need a Happy Ending” and sequel were by far and away the standout of the book, with the others ranging from “get me the brain bleach right now” to “ok that was cute but utterly forgettable.”

Ratings:

Art – 8. The sex scenes are well done and the boobs don’t look like balloons. 
Story – Anywhere from 3 to 7
Characters – Anywhere from 3 to 7
Service – 10. This one is rated M and shrink wrapped for a reason
Yuri – 7. It got better as it went on. 

Overall – 6.5

 





Finding the Good in Bad Media or, a treatise on Interspecies Reviewers by Mash Whitehouse

January 31st, 2024

Mash Whitehouse is a transwoman who never updates her blog at mashforxp.com and has written several tabletop RPG books. She can also be found refusing to say anything succinctly about Video Games, Anime, and everything else @mashforxp.bsky.social

After a rousing discussion on bluesky, and a failed attempt to bring Erica in as an expert witness, I found myself deep in thought about fantasy sex work. The only sex work that isn’t real work. When I’m not picking polite fights on social media, I write about RPGs or pretend to be an expert on them. Common consensus is that sex and D&D don’t mix, but you’re lucky that we’re not here to talk about that. I’m here to talk about a manga I like and the anime of it that I hate.

I’m talking about Interspecies Reviewers. Wait, please don’t leave!

IR burst into the western consciousness in a spectacular fashion, when the anime’s release was canceled by Funimation. In the age of streaming, before every company became one congealed Tetsuo-esque amalgam, the many services were scrambling to grab every launching anime they could. Any one of which could be the next One Piece, the next Goblin Slayer, or something actually good. For the 2020 season, Funimation picked up the anime for Interspecies Reviewers, a gag manga about the worst adventurers trawling through the red-light district in a fantasy world, looking to experience the many sensual experiences such a world has to offer, and then publishing their opinions for fellow adventurers.

The premise rides a line to be sure, but perhaps in the days before streaming, with a chance to review the product before purchase, Funi wouldn’t have jumped in blindly. Instead, they found themselves with a very raunchy anime and pulled it, 3 episodes in. I found the situation farcical, but it also piqued my morbid curiosity. My proactive wife bought me the first volume of the manga before I could find a source for the anime.

The opening chapter plays out like this: The Elf adventurer, Zel, has a penchant for spending his rewards from adventuring on a middle-aged human “Succu-girl” (this fantasy world’s term for a sex worker), Stunk the Human questions why he would pick her. The very well named human brings up how wonderful he thinks Elven girls are, and Zel counters with the fact that most Elves are pushing 800 years old, as opposed to the youthful 50 year old woman that Zel frequents.

As the argument heightens in their local tavern, other regulars join in to review the two species. A myriad of different fantasy people, from Halflings to Kobolds all participate in the ridiculous activity, resulting in the middle-aged woman winning, with each barfly giving reasonable reasons for why the idealized and unachievable beautiful elf is not their preference. The gag that won me over was the presentation of the reviews. Four of the barflys write up Famitsu-style critiques: brief paragraphs and 0-10 scores. Excellent. This is an ongoing bit for every chapter. It helps keep the conceit of the title going. To me though, it helps create a theme of sexual positivity, overcoming sexual repression, and acceptance of varied body types and their beauty…while also rating women’s bodies.

Enter Crimvael; the reason this manga would merit a Lambda Award. Crim is a wonderful intersex angel (he/him), and I mean angel literally, his halo is damaged, keeping him from returning to heaven, so he ends up slumming it with these losers. With their “help”, he begins to discover his sexuality, what the mortal world is like, and maybe finds love along the way. On his journey, Crim meets Elza the Gnoll. For those not in the know about fantasy creatures, Gnolls are hyena people, and just how the real world Spotted Hyena have pseudo-penises, (go look it up, nature is amazing!) so too does Elza.

While this is a fun and subtle joke connecting Gnolls and Hyenas, Elza herself is never made out to be a joke, she is cool and arguably sexy, unlike the portrayal of many gender non-conforming characters in media. Crim’s experience with Elza is given a 9, and he leaves no further expounding details. It is a wonderfully affirming queer moment, and Elza shows up from time to time, clearly having left an impact on Crim. The rest of that chapter is focused on the other reviewers getting to experience “lesbian sex” at the Gender Swap Inn. This is treated in much the same way as men’s yuri or lesbian content. Unfortunately.

The manga definitely falls on the seinen side of the seinen/josei divide, and the only regular female character is the harpy bar owner. Who acts like a harpy, in the sense of the derogatory term for women. Of course, the men are no better, constantly drinking, focused on sex and generally being of a low brow demeanor. They are not portrayed in a positive light, but they are at least portrayed. Crimvael, the only queer character of the main cast, is at least likable.

Now we come to the anime. It has a stigma about it. One that is earned. The anime is just softcore porn. The Japanese channel AT-X aired it with no censorship, followed by other channels re-airing with blurred censorship.The manga used diegetic censorship of hair, Crim’s halo, another character, swords, etc., to create consistent background jokes. Which are lost for a chance to show bare nipples and tout a lack of censorship on TV. The conversion to animation damages the message and shifts the focus. A prime example: The Will o’ Wisp Succu-girls, Light Elementals in humanoid form, glow so brightly that you cannot see anything “fun”. A good joke. In the anime, they are just glowing nude women, everything bare for the viewer to gawk at. A joke lost. Without the joke, you are left only with the smut.

So, Because of the widely known fiasco that is the anime, I hesitate to even recommend the manga, despite the amount of charming and queer moments. I would have to give a giant preamble if I ever wished to attempt such a futile endeavor, and if you have to begin any conversation with “I’m not a pervert, but-” you’re not starting from a strong footing. So, I’m not a pervert, but-

Ratings:

Art – 8Story – 4Characters – 3Service – 9 (Anime 11)Yuri/Queer – 4

Overall  – 7

All 9 volumes have a space on my manga shelf. Along with vol 1 of the spin off anthology Darkness.

If you have a secret place to read, or access to blank dust covers, the manga is available from Yen Press. If you’re interested in watching the anime, I recommend getting on a dating app, being honest on your profile, don’t include a picture of your dog, and you’ll find someone that likes you. 

Note: Links lead to Global Bookwalker, as not all volumes of the manga appear to be available elsewhere.





The Vexations Of A Shut-In Vampire Princess, Guest Review by Cryssoberyl

January 24th, 2024

Girl with long blonde hair, wearing red military-ish uniform holds her hand palm out at us,while blue-haired maid clings to her. They are surrounded by generic moe anime girls' heads bedecked by a variety of hair colors and stylesThere is a long-running video game series that I have been a fan of for going on two decades now. It’s called Disgaea, and the general theme is a zany, tongue-in-cheek netherworld of fractious demons who love to war with each other, but ultimately it’s all in good fun and although they are often selfish and pretend to be “bad”, most of them really have hearts of gold…if buried at varying depths.

No anime has ever felt more like “Disgaea: The Anime” than Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon, streaming on HIDIVE as The Vexations Of A Shut-In Vampire Princess.

This was actually an intimidating review for me to approach. I personally really enjoyed the show, but there is no doubt that, especially early on, the show relies on a lot of very “dead horse” off-color jokes and tropes. This is unfortunate, as I feel the early episodes are not good indicators of the show as a whole (something which is a truism for anime in general, but along with WataOshi and 16bit Sensation, was particularly the case for shows of this season). Yes, Villhaze oversteps boundaries, yes there is a persistent gag of everybody wanting Komari. Part of this stems from the fact that this is ultimately an example of the “battle harem” formula, and characters having an absurd preoccupation with the MC is how this song is danced.

For me, the elements that I know other people might find problematic were not dealbreakers. I don’t have a problem with service unless it’s egregiously coercive or humiliating – and I’ll admit, I will give a lot of things a pass if it happens between two women than I would not if a man were involved; rightly or wrongly the feeling of predation, power imbalance, and othering is just not the same for me. Nothing in Hikikomari crossed the line for me, although I certainly rolled my eyes sometimes. Despite these things, I found a lot to love in this show. Even my best friend, life partner, and love of my life Zefiris (LURB <3 n_n) who is much more sensitive to these issues was able to enjoy the show quite a lot on the whole.

Although the characters can be easily defined as “types”, they all had distinguishing qualities. Komari is not simply the hapless harem MC, she has a natural instinct for BSing her way through the messes she find herself in; I for one love characters who display unexpected competence when thrust into unfamiliar situations. Villhaze is no mere kuudere maid, she is also Komari’s spin doctor, tactician, and bodyguard. Sakana the “yandere little sister” type is a skilled assassin and 4D chessmistress when it comes to planning her gambits far in advance. Nelia the deposed princess fights for the future of her country with admirable bravery and conviction. And finally there is Millicent, who after chewing the scenery as a gloriously villainous antagonist, goes on to be that greatest of all characters, the former villainess who becomes an awesomely badass antiheroine.

As mentioned, this is undeniably a yuri “battle harem” franchise, and over the course of the show no less than three young ladies form varying degrees of attachment to Komari. (Four if you count Millicent.) On the one hand this is great, I for one love yurification of existing genre formulas. On the other hand, one cannot but feel sorry for Villhaze, the obviously designated main love interest, who feels like a neglected character after her early arc concludes and the show goes on to focus on other characters. Presumably the source material circles back around to her later, but speaking just for this adaptation, it was slightly unfortunate.

Finally, I must shout out the small cameo by legendary yuri seiyuu Yuuki Aoi. I won’t say who the character is; when the hotblooded screaming starts, you’ll know.

Ratings:

Art – 8/10, pleasantly competent and consistent considering the designs, although visible cracks in some action sequences.
Story – 7/10, sometimes wacky, sometimes unexpectedly serious, frequently bombastic.
Characters – 7/10, for me at least the characters defy their usual typing.
Service – early in the show 8/10, later on 5/10. It definitely drops off, though there are still occasional moments.
Yuri – 7/10, a yuri harem is definitely forming but Villhaze feels left behind after her arc.

Overall – 8/10, it was not art, but it was definitely entertainment.

Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon is currently available for streaming, under the title The Vexations of a Shut-in Vampire Princess, on HIDIVE.