Archive for the Magazines Category


Yuri Manga: Zenryaku, Yuri no Sono Yori Volume 2 (前略、百合の園より)

September 1st, 2013

Last December, I reviewed Volume 1 of Sugawa Tokushi’s  Zenryaku, Yuri no Sono Yori.  I never honestly expected we’d be discussing it once again. Earlier this month, Tsubomi discontinued publishing comics online, and their series have been absorbed by the Mangatime Kirara family of magazines. Some of the series will continue at least into 2014.

But in the meantime, we have a few series that began in Tsubomi that are wrapping up now – among them, this one. Volume 1 was more of a collection of mini-series, but Volume 2 sticks with the titular series.

Yuri is one-quarter foreign, so she has blonde hair, and she is a loner and little prickly, so she has no friends in school.  Fujiwara is the Nadesico beauty type who breaks through Yuri’s defenses – ostensibly to help the other girl make friends. But, as we see the story from Fujiwara’s point of view this time, there is way more than just being nice on her side. Fujiwara is attracted to Yuri. Once she breaks the ice for Yuri to make new friends, she feels cut off from the other girl and reacts by putting more distance between them. Yuri realizes that she has more friends – but they aren’t Fujiwara. After some minor emotional conflict, they finally break past the wall they’ve built between them and admit they “like” like one another. The ending looks rosy – especially with the addition of a few very light-hearted gags in the extra chapters.

Another extra chapter turns to Shinobu, Yuri’s only friend – and the woman who writes the BL manga Yuri draws. Shinobu is able to see the result of Yuri’s and Fujiwara’s make-up and is inspired to write a Yuri manga, called…”Zenryaku, Yuri no Sono Yori.” Obviously. ^_^ Another extra was the utterly absurd and very cute meeting of Fujiwara, Yuri and Shinobu and her girlfriend, the admiring underclassman from the first volume.

Here’s the thing. I read this book in one sitting. It may not sound compelling, but it was actually a real page turner. Sat down last night late for some before-bed reading and the next thing I knew – I was done.  That almost never happens. So while it was another “Story A”, another girl meets girl, girl likes girl, they like each other, the end book – it grabbed me and ran. For that alone I’d give it a good score.

But…I don’t have to do that for that alone. The final omake shows Yuri at home, drawing a manuscript and chopping vegetables, while Fujiwara is at college, then wraps up her classwork and heads home. The final page of the volume shows Yuri opening the door to Fujiwara.

“I’m home, Yuri” says Fujiwara.

“Welcome home, Misono,” Yuri replies.

Ratings:

Art – So many inconsistencies, Sugawa’s got a long way to go. Sometimes pages look more like a doujinshi than a professionally published work –  Variable, from 5-8
Story – 9
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – 1

Overall – 9

There is a girl, she likes another girl. The other girl likes her back. They like each other. And they live happily ever after. The end.





Rakuen Le Paradis, Volume 12 (楽園 Le Paradis)

August 27th, 2013

Volume 12 of Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis) gets off to an excruciatingly sweet start as Kazu and Kanata warm each other up on cold days with a comfy embrace in  Mizutani Fu-ka’s “14-sai no Koi.”

Nishi Uko’s “Collectors” was laugh-out-loud funny, as it plumbed the depths of Takako’s wardrobe during changing weather (she bought a new jacket when it went a little chily) and why Shinobu got a cold in the first place (she ran home through the rain to protect a book, because she didn’t have money left to buy an umbrella.)

Kurosaki Rendou’s “yue lao” is more of his signature sloppy sex Yuri.

And “Omoi no Kakera” reaches a climax in a stunning chapter, in which Mika faces her past and realizes that it’s not all about her. She looks at her old tutor, sees that she’s very happy with what is clearly a new lover and realizes that she does not want her to be unhappy. Mika leaves her past behind her and is able to reassure Mayu – and accept her relived hug. It was an awesome chapter. Mika is an incredible character. I really hope the story will continue to surprise and please me. There are certainly some surprises left – Mayu’s friend Saki is going to have to deal with her feelings for Mayu.

In “.925” a proposal is turned down during a night in a hotel.

I haven’t mentioned Otsuki Yuko’s “kanojotachi no saishuteri” before, but the sleazy manipulative teacher who seduces the creepy loser kid, is herself  seduced by an equally creepy sleazy female student.

And as adorable, warm and fuzzy as the opening story was, the end story, “Ivan Gaulier” is a horror-fest full of nightmarish things.

Another “interesting” volume of Rakuen Le Paradis. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – It’s the best of manga, it’s the worst of manga.  Square root of 33.7





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 7 (百合姫 Wildrose)

August 15th, 2013

Does 2010 count as a “the past” yet? If so, Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 7 (百合姫 Wildrose) anthology is a blast from the past. The last original volume, Yuri Hime Wildrose 6, was released back in 2010,  and there was a selected re-release  of curated stories in 2011, Wildrose Re:Mix disk a and disk b. And, I thought, that was the last we’d hear of the Wildrose series. But…no.

Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 7 picks right up where 6 left off, with a stable of new creators, working on doujinshi-length “Plot, What Plot-style?” stories, where the setup exists merely to frame the sex. In most cases, the sex is accompanied by sincere affection, sometimes even love, which tempers the feeling one inevitably gets as one reads, of being cast by the story as “horny voyeur”.

Saburo Uta’s opening bid, “Partner” is a nice enough place to begin. Kusabe and Ogihara are paired in everything from tennis to academics, but it turns out that they actually like each other, as well. ^_^

“Encore!!!!” by Amano Syuninta was, by far, my favorite story as her art and storytelling hit all my sweet spots and avoided most of the sour ones. This cheerful tale of two pop idols in a girl group was silly and weird, with moments of sexy thrown in.

And Nanzaki Iku submits a new chapter of one of her Shizuru x Natsuki clone pairs in a story that wasn’t thrilling, but was ultimately – as her’s so often are – sweet.

If this is the kind of story that gets your heart pounding – and might just get you practicing your Japanese –  it’s a good bet you’ll enjoy this volume.

Ratings:

Variable – 6

A couple of the artists are just doing art that I can’t really enjoy, but I’m not running this through the shredder or anything. It’ll probably be part of my next Lucky Bag giveaway, though.  ^_^





Comic Yuri Hime, July 2013 (コミック百合姫)

July 10th, 2013

I’m not dead yet, really, just moving slowly through the stuff on my pile. Soooooooooo slowly.  The next few days I am also in and out doing the summer trifecta of beach, theater and amusement park, so don’t expect anything new for a few days – I’ll be busy having fun outside. ^_^

Summer has landed and with it, the July issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫). The cover tells a single-page story of young love.

This is followed by what I’m thinking might well be a fun new series. “BGMRSP” (“Bousou Girlsteki Mousou Renaiteki Suteki Project”) follows two childhood friends who are totally unalike. Aoi is boyish, athletic, tall and Beniko is girlish, sophisticated and cool. Now they are both in a girls school and each have a harem of devoted fans. So they decide to have a harem competition. School is now a harem-gang warzone. I have no idea if I’ll like this story or not, but I have to give it points for originality!

The entirety of the first half of the issue was uninspiring for me (and the reason I was slogging through it so slowly. Lots of…stuff I’m not interested in. Halfway through the issue I almost flew over to Japan and slapped the editors. In a “Happy Wedding!” Special, they ignore everything important about marriages between female couples to provide utterly fatuous advice like “make sure you buy Yuri manga.” Yeah, in a country that does not recognize the relationship between a chunk of your audience, I’m sure all the lesbian readers found that hilarious. Ugh.

Finally, at about 2/3 of the way through the quality picked up, with Takemiya Jin’s “Atchi/Kotchi/Dotchi” which is still mining the levels of misunderstanding between Satomi and Nana. Best line of the chapter. “What are you hiding from me?” “Ah, which one?”

Morishima Akiko returns with an older chapter from Rakuen no Jouken and new chapter following Serina and Sumi.

Tanaka Minoru’s “Rock It Girl!”  dives into Seira and Kaname’s childhood in a deeply unconvincing kind of therapy session.

“Watashi no Sekai o Kousei Suru Chiri no You na Nanika (私の世界を構成する塵のような何か)” by Amano Syuninta gets Ruki and Sachi about a quarter step closer. And we get left with the image of Maasa as a child, doing ballet. I feel for her.

Ohzawa Yayoi’s “Strange Babies come to a climax as the penny *finally* drops for Yagi. Phew.

There is Yuri in this chapter of “Yuri Danshi,” but it still manages to be all about the guys. Gah.

The first half of the magazine kept putting me to sleep, but the second half had what I’m looking for.

Ratings:

Overall – 6

I can’t speak for anyone else but, all these years of reading about girls in school has given me an allergy to school uniforms. So very, very off-putting. Dear mangaka – try getting out more.





Rakuen Le Paradis Manga, Volume 11 (楽園Le Paradis)

June 20th, 2013

Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園Le Paradis)  is the manga equivalent of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.  There’s just no other way to describe it. For every story that makes me feel “ahhh” there’s a story that makes me go “ewww.”

In Volume 11, there are a few “ahhs.” Because Hayashiya-sensei’s Seijukuki Jinmei Vega   has just been completed and collected into a volume,* (with Drama CD and without) there is nothing from her. But there is another chapter of Nishi UKO’s “Collectors” which, as always, plumbs the depths of obsession, as we learn that Shinobu uses a barcode reader to catalog her books and Takako would rather die than wear a pair of Shinobu’s sneakers. ^_^

Takemiya Jin’s “Omoi no Kakera” builds toward a climax. Mayu rescues Mika from having to deal with her first lover, an older woman who still holds too much power over Mika’s emotions. Mayu really steps up here, putting the whole story together in an instant and taking decisive action. Mika tells Mayu the truth and determines to not cede control of her life to this person who hurt her so badly.

And, exceptionally amusing is Nishi UKO’s “Up and Down” in which a new neighbor unintentionally plays havoc with a woman’s feelings. I don’t know why, but I just love stories that end up with happy families. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – Variable doesn’t cut it…let’s try spasmodic

The stuff that’s bad is, in places, *really* not to my taste, but the stuff that’s good is so wonderful I find myself dipping into the jar over and over. ^_^

*Yes, I caught the news about Hayate x Blade ending this AM, thanks. Since it’s another magazine entirely, it’ll keep for the YNN report. ^_^