Archive for the Magazines Category


Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, March 2014 (コミック百合姫)

April 23rd, 2014

CYHM14Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫), having been split into 2 magazines, reattached and made bimonthly, has now regained the bulk it previously had as a quarterly. At about 640 pages, surely there will be something for most Yuri fans at this point.

The March 2014 issue begins with Amano Shuninta’s new series, “Ayame 14” – a classic “coming of age” story. After many moths of dealing with college students, I wonder if this return to middle school life is a relief or a burden for her?

This issue is a veritable treasure box of tropes: sisters (real and half); dojikko; tsundere; and poor communicators of a dozen kinds, 4-koma, etc. Checklisters and moe-fans will be happy. For the rest of us there’s still some very interesting features.

Minamoto Hisanari has a story, and what a story. It could have been the most fabulous story ever, but fell short of the mark to make a point that didn’t need to be made.  “Sekai ha Yuri de Ochite iru” begins with “Yuri” marriage being made legal in Japan. Not “lesbian” marriage, not “same-sex”, not “gay”. “Yuri” marriage. In a cute scene, the newscaster immediately proposes to the weatherwoman (who says yes.) As women all over Japan are getting married, protagonist Aki proposes to her lover Shuko….who says no.

The point Shuko makes is that, of course she wants to get married to Aki, but not now that it is a fad. She wants to wait until Japanese collective faddishness passes and it’s just for people who really mean it.  Well, okay, but you broke Aki’s heart when you said no, and was making a point really more important than marrying your wife?

The final chapter of “game” by Takemiya Jin (collected volume is out next month) finds Morico unhappy at being forced to play pretend for Becky. Until, somewhat predictably, Becky realizes that it’s Morico she’s in love with after all. An end that, for all its predictability, left me feeling better than Minamoto’s story.

I am SOOOOOO conflicted about “Bousou Girlsteki Mousou Renaiteki Suteki Projec,t” but I console myself that Beniko feels the same way about being trapped in a story that appears to be trying to be all the stories ever all at once and is managing to handle them all unconvincingly. The best moment is Beniko breaking down over giving a hoot about Aoi and Aoi responding calmly – “I’m your partner, aren’t I?” with “aite” as partner, which means, like, the person one is best suited to be matched with. Aoi is right, Beniko and she are indeed suited to one another.

Morishima Akiko’s “Yurrip-chu” comes in with a second vignette about a girl who wants to be one thing and is required to be another. This time we follow the tall, “princely” group member, Sayaka. I’m not sure if their producer is a genius or an idiot, making everyone be something they’re not.

Tanaka Minoru’s “Rock It Girl” is quirky as always, but for a brief chapter, everyone is in a good mental place, well, except terminally low self-esteem Kaname, but Seira’s right on that, yelling at her ’til she snaps out of it.

Something weird happened in “Yuri Danshi.” Hanadera stopped being the lead for a bit. Fujigaya heads to a book shop and is imbued with Hanadera’s Yuri power when trying to convince the bookstore to create a dedicated Yuri section. For once, I actually liked the chapter. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

There were, as always, many other stories, some good, some bad, some…um, unmemorable. ^_^ But overall a decent volume with some conversation-starters, at the very least.

The May Volume is already on sale, so get your copy today!





Rakuen Le Paradis, Volume 13 (楽園 Le Paradis)

March 17th, 2014

Rakuen Le Paradis, Volume 13 (楽園 Le Paradis) is more of the very pleasing same.

We get the usual adorable stuff from Mizutani Fuuka and Kowo Kazuma, and the usual creeptastic stuff.

We get a deeper look at the mismatch that is Takako and Shinobu in “Collectors.”  Each has such a unique perspective on life that they can’t even give directions that make sense to the other.

In “Kakera no Omoi,” we have indeed turned our attention from Mayu and Mika, to the eternally suffering best friend with an unrequited love, Saki. Unfortunately for Saki, her conversation with Mika about Mayu is overheard…by Mayu. Now Saki’s worst fear has come true – Mayu knows her feelings. What will Mayu’s reaction be? Tune in and find out. What would yours be if you found out that your best friend was in love with you?

And in “Au,” Nishi Uko tells the story of an entire relationship from meeting to breakup and makeup in art and words in the “-au” verb form.

And filling out the Yuri in the lineup is Harumi Chihiro’s “Hankagoto” in which school girls learn they are on the same page after all.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I love this magazine. It hurts, it’s weird, it’s wacky, it’s adorable and it’s lovely in equal measure.

 





Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 12 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり)

March 9th, 2014

I am formally letting go of the now-outdated idea in my head that Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari  (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり) is the “also ran” Yuri anthology. That is empirically not true. At this point, it is a strong equivalent contender with Comic Yuri Hime, with solid artists and series.

In Volume 12, Isoya Yuki starts the book off with a heartbreakingly sweet “love at first sight” story, “Shoujo no Mateki,” in which a high school girl falls for the older woman she sees crying and how – despite everything – they find themselves drawn together. I really hope this series continues.

“Ajisai to Kase-san” continues the excruciatingly adorable relationship between Yamada and Kase. Once more Yamada fears to infringe on Kase’s privilege, only to have Kase reassure her with a kiss.

Morishima Akiko’s “Shoujo Paradigm” takes a bit of a serious turn, as we look at the actual relationship behind the Takarazuka couple, school stars Reika and Yuki….what brought them together and what keeps them apart. Lily forces them to address the gap between them and it turns out to be more of a practical matter.

In “Under One Roof” Fuuka finds herself in the rather awkward predicament of protecting Miho from awareness of the LGBTQ community of which she is a part. Yuri crushes are one thing…”being gay” is another.  Miho and Fuuka are on a collision course that only readers can see.

“Tsubakuma” was 50% perfect, and 50% awful and the whole was wholly impractical. A former soldier (with and eyepatch!) is looking for work and gets the job of being nanny to a willful child. Since the idea that Yuri will somehow be a thing between an adult and a child of 4 or 5 makes me very unhappy, the + of former soldier with an eyepatch merely goes to waste. Blergh.

I love “Nigetai Shoujo”. Two stereotypes as a couple, tough girl who always gets in fights and moody nerd. Swoon. That this is a series just boosts my love 10x. ^_^

Two more stereotypes: Demon girl and hikkikomori perv…not so much. It’s full of sex, but has no soul. Well, duh, I guess.

And that’s just first half of the book.  The second has a lot more typical school life stuff and another demon girl story, and is variably good, depending on what you like.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

An extremely strong volume from Hirari…and I get the feeling that more strong volumes are on the way.





Yuri Manga: Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (終電にはかえします)

February 14th, 2014

Amagakure Gido’s Shuden Niwa Kaeshimasu (終電にはかえします) is a collection of shorts from Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari magazine.

The first story is a lovely two-part ‘Story A.’ Asaki rides the train every day and everyday she sees a tough-looking first-year student. Boyish, with dyed hair and wearing a mask (allergies, she says, when asked) the first-year turns out to be a sincere, awkward girl with the old-fashioned name Tsune.

Tsune and Asaki become close and each comes to the unnerving conclusion that she likes the other. In the second chapter they go out on a date and find that they like each other a lot. The story takes on a bittersweet feel when they realize that Asaki will graduate soon, but they kiss anyway, trusting that the future will be bright enough for them.

“Shoujo Planetarium” is a slightly unsettling story of two girls who meet in a fantasy setting. The story kept edging towards the creepy, then veering away, leaving me with the idea that it originally was meant to be something else entirely.

A like triangle is impossibly resolved by all three people agreeing to keep their relationships as is in “Isshun no Asterism”. A ghost waits a lifetime to get the girl in “Eien no Shoujo”.

The final story is also a strong entry. A younger sister has to completely rethink her opinion of her older sister, when she falls for what turns out to be her older sister’s lover. In the end, she decides that she had it all wrong all along.

The collection has no unifying theme (with the exception of the two astronomically themed titles), but it made the book perfect for short reads before bed. Not every story is happy, but the collection as a whole left me feeling good…which is a nice feeling.

Shinsokan has moved to a smaller format than they were using previously, away from the A4 size to a more common A5 size, which makes the book smaller, lighter and more portable.  I like the tighter new look…and I note that the volumes cost a little less than they did previously (although not on the same scale as larger publishers.) Hopefully Hirari won’t be forced out of print by costs. (Readers who insist on print really have no idea how much money print costs and what pressure it puts the publisher under.)

Ratings are variable, but averages are:

Art – 8
Story –  7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – 3

Overall – 8

An enjoyable little collection of Yuri manga shorts.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, January 2014 (コミック百合姫)

January 9th, 2014

While the cover of the January 2014 issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫) was much discussed for about 15 seconds when the art was released, the K-ON! clone art is pretty much the least notable thing about this issue. ^_^

The lead story is…well, it’s different. Loner girl find her alone time on the roof interrupted by the Student Council President who is there to stuff her face with junk food.  They get locked up there and end up having to jump the fence and drop two stories into the school pool. Love? I have no idea. ^_^

Love between sempai and kouhai in school and in adult life fill the next few pages. Chisako, having finished up her Dark Cherry to Shoujo A series, starts with another story about a boyish girl and her femme lover. Mio is a top-notch pro soccer player and is admired by many. Sakura, her lover is.,.just not satisfied. She couldn’t even tell herself why, so she splits from Mio. Time passes and she sees Mio again, and learns that her ex now has a boyfriend. Now that she can’t have what she had and threw away, Sakura desires it. Can you tell I’d like Mio to tell Sakura to get lost? I would. ^_^

Minamoto Hisanari is back with a fun story about the night-time shenanigans of the school’s 7 mysteries, which brings the girl who comes out of the picture on the stair in one wing together with Toilet Hanako in the other. and gives rise to a new mystery in the courtyard. This one was too adorable.

Amano Shuninta’s “Watashi no Sekai o Kousei Suru Chiri no You na” comes to an end…and I panicked. I was all “what if they don’t bring Amano-sensei back? Argh! Augh! (They will, next issue. New series. Phew.) The end was as perfect as the rest. No one goes off happily every after, but there’s real possibilities, and a number of lost chances. I really want Asuna to have a spin-off where she finds someone nice. Maasa’s new career is the big reveal and I totally approve.

“Game” by Takemiya Jin continues with an excellent, painful, sexy, uncomfortable chapter. Moriko’s sister turns out to be a Yuri fan and discovers ‘Riko’s stash of Yuri doujinshi by Becky. Becky wants to meet this sister and, of course they, sharing an interest, fall right in. Moriko feels left out and abandoned. To make up with Becky, she offers to wear cosplay of Becky’s fave character. When Moriko speaks like the character, Becky jumps her. It’s a hot kiss and Moriko is powerless to stop, even as she knows that it’s not her Becky is kissing. “Awkward” doesn’t begin to cover it.

“Love Gene Double XX”  by Zaou Taishi and Eiki Eiki also comes to an end. It is a better end then than I expected, back when I reviewed the first volume, not as good as I would have insisted if I were the editor. ^_^ Aoi and Sakura are forced to fight one another and the loser will be “demoted” to the position of Eve. The obvious issue here is that why the flying fuck is being an Eve a demotion? Setting aside the fact that that is still sexism, in a one-sex world, the thing is, neither Aoi nor Sakura are particularly inclined to become an Eve. More importantly they want to show how much each other means to them by fighting as hard as they can against one another, a conclusion that seems silly, but makes perfect sense if you’ve ever competed in anything. The effort you put into winning is your show of respect.

In the climactic moment, Sakura decides that she’d rather just be with Aoi, and lays down her sword as Aoi attacks. (A pretty important act, as she admits that becoming an Eve is acceptable.)  Sakura’s sister, the head of the school, scoops up Aoi and Sakura and has them seen to. In her office, Sumire tells Aoi that she is not alone in thinking separating Adams and Eves is a really fucking stupid, insulting idea and forbidding love between Adams and Eves is adding insult to injury. (She actually mentions same-sex couples existed before the men all died.) Sumire tells Aoi that she has every intention of becoming Prime Minister and changing the laws, before we see her leap into Matsuri’s arms. Aoi and Sakura are reunited, secure that they can, at least while at Kingdom, be together. In a Dark Horse pairing, Erika actually comforts Momiji and for a moment, we like them both, although realistically, they’ll be a terrible couple. ^_^

I would have liked to see the series actually address the changing of the rules, but at least it acknowledged that the rules were fucking stupid.

As always, there were other stories, but these were this issue’s heavy hitters for me. Morishima Akiko-sensei’s “Yuripchu” and Tanaka Minoru-sensei’s “Rock It Girl” return next volume and, phew!, a new series by Amano-sensei, new work by Minamoto-sensei and other continuing series, so I don’t have to panic. ~Breathe~

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I was on pins and needles reading the end of “Love Gene Double XX.” There were just so many things wrong with the set up, it could have gone very badly.