Archive for the Magazines Category


Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime 6, Part 1

October 30th, 2006

It’s autumn once again. And with autumn comes many things – school festivals, leaf-watching and Yuri Hime. ^_^ Yes, Yuri Hime 6 is in, and once again it’s full of Yuri variety.

The cover depicts Akiho, right and her beloved older sister (“Sis-con?” asks Touko-sensei sarcastically…) Haruna from Hatuskoi Shimai in seasonally appropriate fashion. It’s nice to see them both happy.

Now put Touko-sensei and Akiho back on the cover, dammit.

This issue begins with a new story from Fujieda Miyabi, creator of Iono-sama Fanatics and Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to, both of which rank high on my personal Yuri-o-meter.

The new story, Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan, was introduced to us in the little extra comic that came with Yuri Hime 5. To get you up to speed on the who and what, I did a review last month on the Ameiro series to date. This new chapter finds Seriho and Sarasa in a quiet moment as the cafe opens after the near-miss closing in last issue’s omake. (Seriously, if you haven’t already, go read the “series to date” post, because the story picks up at the end of that.) Seriho makes Sarasa overheat by: 1) laying her head against her and 2) telling Sarasa that she is like a tea cozy to Seriho’s pot, keeping her warm and alive. When customers come, it’s Haru, Hinoko and the usual gang – Sarasa gets even with them by making them the most expensive tea on the menu. ^_^

Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen continues to be incredibly silly. Teacher Rokurokubi (a long-necked female demon) has got a bad neck sprain today and is in no shape to teach. She leaves for the infirmary with an admonition to practice beautifying. Arera is stoked – she’s got makeup down pat. She spends the day slapping huge amounts of makeup on the various “girls” in her class, for hilarious (ahem) results. In the end, she has no lipstick left for hereself, so when the kids all hike off to terrify Teach, Kiri kisses Arera to give her some lip color too. A surprisingly sweet kiss, I might add.

The next story is a one-shot, Hoshizora Cycling. Mako meets Momoka on her first day after transfering to Mako’s school. She can’t cycle, because she’s weak. Mako offers to give her a lift. Momoka and Mako continue this shared commute, drawing closer and closer. One night they join the others in their school on the roof to watch a meteor shower. Afterwards, Momoka won’t tell what she wished, but Mako breaks down and admits that she wished for Momoka to like her. Momo-chan fwaps Mako solidly on the head because, duh, she’s liked her all along, dimwit.

Apple Day Dream is a series of 4-panel comics about dress shop “Apple Day Dream”. Yuma and Kaoru are two employees of this purveryor of fine women’s apparel. Yuma has large breasts and Kaoru likes large breasts. Clothing and breast related humor ensues.

Taishi Zaou and Eiki Eiki’s Little Red Riding Hood continues with Fuyuka’s encounter with Akiho. (We met Akiho way back in Yuri Shimai 2, in “Expressions of Love,” where we learned that her friend, Haruka, loves to grab girls’ breasts. They resolve everything by agreeing that Haruka will not grab *other* girls’ breasts, only Akiho’s.) Akiho recognizes Fuyuka as a person in the same situation as she. Fuyuka is thrilled to have someone to talk to about the whole thing and the two rapidly become friends. Fuyuka admits that she’s concerned that Natsuki *doesn’t* feel the same as she does, and Akiho, clearly, get a bright idea. One day when both Haruka and Natsuki confront their pets, Akiho says that she no longer likes Haruka, but has fallen for…gasp!…Fuyuka! The chapter cuts out as she moves in for a public kiss.

Initially, I found this whole series a string of tired cliches, but recently, I admit to really liking the way Taishi and Eiki are tying all their elements together. The whole is significantly better than the sum of its parts.

Color pages with reviews of the Simoun and Strawberry Panic games. Not being a gamer, they are just pretty pictures to me.

And Chi-Ran finds yet another way to tell a girl meets girl story in Yuri Kago (Yuri Basket.) Maori makes her stick-in-the-mud, curmudgeonly way through life, skeptical of all relationships – and especially of the fortuneteller’s “basket of yuri” in the form of a decorative ball in which, Maori is told, she will find her lover. When the ball splits open and out pops a hideously adorable little doll girl, Maori is not amused. But over time, because of the doll’s sheer wonderful, sweet cuteness, Maori’s hard-assness melts. She finally admits to loving the doll, who promptly collapses, lifeless. One day, Maori is sitting on a bench when she is approached by someone who looks suspiciously like the doll. Could it be? Of course it could. ^_^

Which takes us to about halfway and the essays on classic Yuri manga by Miura Shion, this time Rose of Versailles and Paros no Ken (both of which have been review on Okazu, but I’m too grumpy to find the links at the moment.) Both are spiffy classic gender-bendy series, great for the little girl prince in your life. ^_^

I’ll stop here and finish up later – make sure you come back, because there’s good Yuri stuff to come!





Yuri Manga: Voiceful

September 13th, 2006

I really, really like Voiceful by nawoko.

This was not originally so, when the first nawoko stories ran in the then Yuri Shimai magazine. I found them a little too vaguely Yuri-ish, and had to turn the Yuri googles up and stare hard to really get any vibe from them. I didn’t object to the art – or the stories, really – but the fact that they fed in, IMHO, to the idea that any story with two women standing next to one another must therefore be Yuri.

But my opinion changed when nawoko’s story “Voice” ran in Yuri Hime. When it became a series, “Voiceful”, I liked it even better. And now, I’m thrilled to have it, and the other nawoko stories as a collected volume. Together, they all work much better than they do as stand-alones.

One of the common threads in nawoko’s work is music. It is music that ties these stories together, even more than intense emotional connections between women – which also stand out more in the collected volume, than they did as separate pieces.

“Voiceful,” the title series, is the story of shut-in Kanae (right on the cover above) and her transformation as she accidentally runs into, and subsequently befriends, her “goddess,” an independent singer who releases her music on the internet, Hina (left on the cover above). This story of two emotionally damaged women who find strength to make each other strong – and thus become strong for themseleves – is really, really nice.

The other stories in the collection also show people from the point of view of their weaknesses, but not in any gruesomely obnoxious way. Most of the stories are quiet, little slice-of-life pieces in which fear and hope and music intertwine to make a melody of life…and sometimes love.

Ratings:

Art – a loose, scratchy sort of nice – 6
Story – stronger as a sum of their parts, but nothing objectionable in any case – 7
Characters – ranging from an annoying 4 to a lovely 8 depending
Yuri – 6
Service – an underwear shot for the very, VERY desperate – 2

Overall – a pleasant, not earthshaking 6

Another solidly put together volume from Ichijinsha, with extra color page not included with any of the original stories.





Yuri Manga:Ameriro Koucha Kandan stories

September 5th, 2006

I’m cheating today. This is not a collection of manga I’m writing about, it’s two different stories in four different places, and two are cameos, which all happen to star the same characters. Because it *will* be a new series starting in the next Comic Yuri Hime magazine  I thought it would be fun to tell you the story as it exists currently.

The story in question tells of the women of the Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan (飴色紅茶館歓談). It begins in the book pictured above, [es] Eternal Sisters 2 anthology. On the cover are the two principles of the story, Seriho (left) and Sarasa (right.) In the ES collection, we meet Seriho who is the owner of the Ameiro Kouchakan, (loosely, the Amber Tea Pavilion.) Sarasa is a local high school student who spends an inordinate amount of time at the cafe, and asks, quite cutely if she can just work there. But Sarasa’s motive is not money – she’s in love with Seriho. Seriho reciprocates the emotion, and Sarasa comes to work at the cafe. In this story we also meet regular customers Haru – who runs some kind of freaky fortune website, and her friend/partner in mischief Hinoko. Hinoko is the obligatory goth-loli girl that one always finds in Fujieda Miyabi’s work.

The second “chapter” of this story takes was published in the extra comic inserted in the August 2006 volume of Yuri Hime. In this little omake, we are given character profiles in which we learn that Seriho, despite her youthful looks is 25, and Sarasa is 17. Huh. How ’bout that.

Tanabata is fast approaching and Seriho wants to something extra special for the cafe. They come up with a special blend of tea that they pour in a long stream (evocative of the milky way, which features in the Tanabata story.) Haru and Hinoko join the staff for the day and the four women have a successful and lively day full of customers. To thank them for their assistance Seriho offer to treate everyone for dinner. Haru and Hinoko leave first, while the others remain. Seriho tells Sarasa that, long before today, she had planned to close the cafe. Sarasa reacts strongly, protesting that people – she – loves the cafe. Seriho and Sarasa have an emotional scene, but Sarasa is successful and the cafe remains open. Phew.

The third appearance of the ladies of the Ameiro Kouchakan is Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodma no Majyo to manga. In this volume, Letty, having newly freed Tsumugi from her confinement in the shrine, takes the miko to her favorite watering hole. The big scandal here was when Tsumugi – assumably unfamiliar with ways of the outside world – expresses her love for Letty firmly and loudly. Poor Seriho almost dies of embarrassment…

And the fourth, but not at all final, appearance of the Ameriro Kouchakan is the MikoMajyo Drama CD (the one packaged with the manga in the deluxe set), in which Letty and Tsumugi once again visit, this time accompanied by the errant mountain god who has run away. Shrine guardian Isuzu is forced to drag the wayward deity back to her shrine bodily. Tsumugi’s request for Letty to open up and say “ahhh” forces Letty to confront her inner femme, and inspires Hinoko to fluster cool Haru by doing the same.

Now, to be honest – these four appearances are the ones I have, or have noticed. I have no doubt that somewhere along the line there’s some crossover with Fujieda’s other series, especially the ones I’m less familar with.

But what does exist is cute enough that I though it warranted a mention. And I bet that, once the story begins running in Yuri Hime we’ll get a collection that includes both of the first two chapters.

Here’s hoping, anyway.

No ratings, since it’s not *yet* a collection, but overall – even more adorable Yuri from Fujieda Miyabi!

BTW – Happy Birthday me. Older, as my mother says, but not at all wiser. If you’re moved to send a present, buy a book from ALC Publishing or t-shirt or mug or something from the Yuricon Shop. That’s all the present I need. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to

August 9th, 2006

From the creator of Iono-sama Fanatics, comes an equally adorable, equally yuri-riffic series, Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to, by Fujieda Miyabi. (Transliteration supplied on the book itself.)

MikoMajyo, as Fujieda refers to it in his afterword, ran in Yuri Shimai, then Yuri Hime magazines, and has now been collected into a single volume. There are two versions – the manga only and the deluxe version which comes with a Drama CD. If you know anything about me, you’ll be able to guess that I bought the deluxe version. A review of the Drama CD will be forthcoming. ^_^

As with the other Yuri Hime Comics volumes, I’m going to review this story as if we have never read it before. Some of you may have not…although you absolutely should.

The story begins with European witch Letty, complete with broom and big pointy hat, arriving at a small shrine in Japan that is hidden away by a magic barrier. Letty penetrates the barrier without difficulty and finds that a lone priestess, Tsumugi, tends the shrine. Something about Tsumugi’s plight moves Letty and she takes it upon herself to free the miko from the magical ties that bind her to the shrine. Tsumugi finds herself immediately attracted to Letty and tells her so unhesitatingly. Letty is loathe to free the miko and leave her without normal life skills, so she agrees to take Tsumugi with her. To save Tsumugi from getting lost, Letty conjures up a magical string to connect them. Tsumugi says her favorite color is red, so they are bound by a red thread of fate…and how embarrassed is Letty to find out what that means in Japan! But Tsumugi isn’t fazed – she feels an instant connection with Letty, Letty’s pronouncement that the kiss they shared was just so the magic could work notwithstanding.

The first order of the day is to get refreshments. They just happen to stop at a cafe which you will hear alot more about in the upcoming days – the Ameiro Koucha Pavilion. (The characters from this story were originated for [es]Eternal Sisters 2 and will be the main focus of the new series from Fujieda-sensei for upcoming Yuri Hime issues.) Tsumugi embarrasses the bejeebus out of Letty by happily, loudly and publicly saying that she likes the witch. Letty rationalizes it as a comment from a child, since Tsumugi is essentially a babe in the woods when it comes to personal interaction.

Miko and witch head over to what I can only guess must be a cross-over with another Fujieda series. At a stab, I bet it’s the crowd from Twinkle Saber Nova, Fujieda’s other ongoing manga series. I haven’t read it, yet. (9/5/06 note: Wrong. The designers are all from Alice Quartet, yet *another* original series Fujieda does. It dawned on me when I was going through my Drama CDs and found the first Alice Quartet volume. I had forgotten about this series entirely… it’s about five – yes, I know – clothing designers. Hence Letty and Tsumugi coming to their shop to get clothes.) In any case, Letty and Tsumugi trade in witch and miko costumes for regular street clothes and proceed to go out for a walk. Despite Letty’s reticence, Tsumugi continues to press her case for liking Letty, until Letty is forced to admit that maybe her feelings are not like a child’s. Tsumugi confides she has very little memory of her past. We see that they are being followed by a mysterious someone, even as they are growing closer.

While they are out in a boat on a lake a mysterious wave soaks them. The mysterious someone mysteriously communicates that she’s found Tsumugi and will watch her until she can get her back to the shrine. Mysteriously.

The two women find themselves in a hotel, where Tsumugi once again makes a strong case for her feelings. Letty thaws enough to allow them to share a bed platonically, even giving Tsumugi a good night kiss. (From my perspective, at this point, Letty’s just playing hard to get – I’ve never in my entire life rolled over on someone like that to give them an innocent, chaste goodnight kiss. But…more on that later in the Drama CD review. ^_^)

The next morning Tsumugi seems to have developed a nagging cough. Throughout the day, her condition worsens, until the mysterious someone arrives and blames it on Letty! Turns out that the mysterious someone is a servant of the shrine, Suzushiro Isuzu. Isuzu tells Letty that Tsumugi’s well-being requires her being at the shrine, and Letty having released her is what is killing her. Tsumugi regains consciousness and tells Letty her unhappy story – in order to save her life, her mother gave her to the god of the shrine as a servant. While she eventually got used to it, as a child the abandonment weighed heavily on her.

Letty is determined to save Tsumugi from this fate, and decides to have it out with the shrine’s god. In a magical handwave, she is once again the witch and hops on her broom to save the woman she loves. Tsumugi comments that she never expected her knight on a horse to be a witch on a broom. Isuzu is shocked, but a little impressed with Letty’s skills.

I won’t give away the ending, which you already know if you’ve read my reviews of Yuri Hime anyway, but trust me – the girl gets the girl. ^_^ And she does it with some style, too!

Ratings:
Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – 8

Once again, Fujieda Miyabi-sensei comes through with an original work that doesn’t at all read like every other yuri manga ever. It is unrelentingly cute without ever getting cloying. The ending is solid – and cute – with a great lead-in to the Drama CD!

A definite must-have for Yuri manga fans.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime 5, Part 2

July 30th, 2006

We pick up the thread of Yuri Hime 5 with a short post-“Hatsukoi Shimai” story set-up for the two cover girls, Mihiru (left) and Nachiru (right). They are the very bestest of friends and treaure each other but for some reason Mihiru did not join the same club as Nachiru at Tsunojo High…! The reason why is still a mystery – assumably we get their story in a future issu or maybe future covers will have other Tsunojo students until, like Lillian, and Astoria and whatever the school is in the Morinaga Milk stories, we can add Tsunojo to the unwritten list of “lesbian high schools.” ^_^

Sigh…”Nanami to Misuzu” still presents me with unpenetrable, not terribly amusing shorts. This issue they center around summer activities and much cutesy pouting.

Our fractured fairy tale is, oddly, a repeat from Yuri Hime 1. “Snow White” stays with her cute loli dwarves, and the Prince/ss is a failure.

This brings me to the biggest disappointment of this volume. The third chapter of “Simoun” is…the last. Without the least sign of the cool plot they could have built, or any hint of the actual war, the manga ends very lukewarmly. Not surprisingly, Neviriru and Aeru vow to fly together. Don’t get me wrong – the story didn’t end badly or anything, I was just hoping for *more* of it.

“Kawaii Anata” is yet another “school festival play at a girls’ school” story, where the boyish girl is glad to play the prince to the beautiful girl, but is really, really hating being pinholed by the rest of the girls. The “twist” at the end was pretty obvious, but cute nonetheless.

The last piece is an interview with three of the voice actresses for the Kotonoha Miko to Kotodama no Majou to Drama CD, which came with the manga of the same series. (A review of which will be forthcoming.) The three seiyuu are, not surprisingly, high on the “six degrees of yuri scale.” Nota Mamiko, Nabatame Hitomi and Watenabe Akeno, discuss their characters and the story of the Drama CD. My favorite moment was when Watanabe (who uses “boku” to refer to herself) was discussing her character’s (Isuzu) love for Nota’s (who is called “Notachi” by both of the others) character (Tsumugi, the Miko). Watanabe starts to talk in first person – “I love” rather than “she loves”. It was probably a calculated moment, but like the story above, sometimes you’re willing to accept it at face value anyway. lol

And that’s it for this volume….which brings me to the best thing about it. Yuri Hime 5 comes with a delightful little omake volume of a new comic by Fujieda Miyabi (of “Kotonoha no Miko to…” and Iono-sama Fanatics fame.) The new series is slated to begin next issue. This little story is called “Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan” which they translate as “Heartful-Talking in Ameiro-koucha Pavilion.” I’d probably translate is “A Pleasant Chat at the Ameiro Cafe.” In this story, we meet Seriho, the owner of Ameriro Cafe, her employee Sarasa (who has it really, really bad for Seriho) and two friends and customers, Haru and Hinoka. These characters, and the Ameiro Cafe were originally introduced in the anthology [es]Eternal Sisters 2 which I reviewed back in September 2005. (I knew I recognized the characters right away, it took me mere moments to locate the right anthology.) The story is, as with all Fujieda Miyabi stories, the kind of sweet, pleasant yuri that makes one smile and sometimes laugh out loud. This chapter revolved around a Tanabata special that Seriho would like to do at the cafe. I look forward to future chapters. :-)

So there you have it – some good, some okay and some little disappointment, but overall as usual, Yuri Hime 5 – a strong showing for good Yuri. ^_^