Reading Tsubomi, volumes 7, 8 and 9 in such a relatively short period of time has reminded me once again about what a linchpin continuity is for a serialized story.

The difference between that 5-month wait between volumes of a series here in the West and in Japan is HUGE for one incredibly important reason. In Japan, the readers are often being fed a monthly installment of story, while here in the west, there is just a silent space of time in which we amuse ourselves with something else. By the time we return to a story 5 months later, no one can really be blamed for having forgotten where we left off. Manga for younger readers often have a “The Story So Far” insert, but that’s not true for most adult-oriented works…nor is it true for quarterly anthologies such as Tsubomi.

So, perhaps more than three months have gone by when I finally get around to the next volume and I have a very hard time remembering who these people are and why I should care. This is, at least in part, because I found a number of the Tsubomi anthology stories not overwhelmingly interesting initially. It made it harder to remember them in the torrent of similar stories I read. But having read three volumes in a matter of three months, I find that I can remember far more of the stories than I previously did. I’ll chalk at least a little of this up to my failing memory, which cares about fewer things every day, and is far more relaxed about forgetting inconsequentials than it used to be. ^_^

Which brings us to Tsubomi (つぼみ), Volume 9.

“Hoshikawa Ginza Yon-choume” continues as Otome and Minato try to find balance in their domestic situation, and what, if anything, they expect out of each other.

Which is not entirely dissimilar from the situation in Morinaga Milk’s “Himitsu no Recipe” as Watanabe now has to reconcile herself to being in cooking club because she likes cooking, as opposed to being in cooking club because she likes the cooking club president. Her expectations have to shift if she is going to find any happiness at all.

In “Green” Youko and Megu show us how their relationship developed.

I like “Hana to Hoshi.” The simple addition of a backstory between the two protagonists gives this particular girl meets girl (again) tale some depth. In addition, the opening scene of this chapter, in which Hanai is practicing different ways to say hello to try to be cool and casual, gave the story a new level of verisimilitude.

Unlike “Prism” in which the rather tired trope of girl meets girl (who she thought was boy when they were young) is handled pretty unexcitingly. IF this story continues, I’ll hope it sets that trope aside and moves into new, somewhat less overused story lines.

Yay for “Lonely Wolf Lonely Sheep”! Here’s a Story A told with some genuine effort at making all the pieces feel new and fresh. Imari-chan and Imari-san begin to date, but long after Imari-san has healed up, something is still wrong with Imari-chan’s hand. The story of what exactly is wrong and the fantastic way Imari-san handles it, reminds me again there are no truly “original” stories, but that there are still plenty of ways to tell a well-told story originally.

“Tandem Lover” seems to have lost a lot of the obnoxious service that plagued its opening chapters. In this chapter two Tandem teams go full on to beat the crap out of each other. The lower pilot on each team is a little surprised to find that the upper pilots are motivated by a lovers’ quarrel.

We learn some of Kuroi-sensei’s backstory in “Renai Manga,” and really, it’s kind of predictable. Crisis and a love triangle means that this will probably hang on for a few more chapters, until a tearful happy “Story A” end.

“Endless Room” has officially become creepy. I don’t mind stories about the people who stay in the suite in a hotel, but the same androgynous waitress kind of watching over/seducing them is rather uncomfortable-making.

“In “Girls Ride” motorcycling and love triangles are the order of the day.

As always, there are stories that I have skipped, but I notice that I am following more and more of the stories in this collection. So, we’ll take this anthology off “critical” bypass “serious” and move it right to “stable.”

Ratings:

Overall – 8

If only for “Hana to Hoshi” and “Lonely Wolf Lonely Sheep,” I find myself actually looking forward to Volume 10, which comes out next month.

Since we just did Volume 7, let’s jump right into Tsubomi, Volume 8, (つぼみ) shall we?

“Hoshikawa Ginza Yon-choume” begins with an anniversary. Minato and Otome apparently met two years ago (and I wonder why I thought it was six from the collected volume, but am too lazy to go find it wherever it ended up in secondary storage and figure out what I mis-read.) No surprise to anyone, Otome was, at the time, a badly behaved kid, acting out her frustration with adults in a variety of typical ways. This flashback gives us a chance to see just how far she’s come since then.

Morinaga Milk’s “Himitsu no Recipe” starts off with Wakatsuki’s romantic club time with the club president squashed as the previous president shows up. Now studying to be a pasty chef, the former President is clearly admired by Yuuko, and Wakatsuki is not happy about it *at all.* After a fight and making up, Wakatsuki’s plans are totally foiled by the President’s successful plan to make the club popular. Bwah~wah~waaahhh~

I was a little disappointed that “Lonesome Echo” ended with such a pat ending. Walking away from an abusive relationships is rarely that simple. But, happy ending, so I’m inclined to be forgiving.

“Green” sketches the crushes of several generations, centering on Ryouko, who is the object of a crush now, but fondly remembers one of her own back then.

Need. More. Sports. Yuri. Manga. In “Hana to Hoshi” a childhood ping pong rivalry turns into something different when an accidental, sleepy kiss turns Hanai’s life upside down.

Fuji-sensei realizes that she really needs Komomo in her life in the conclusion to “Metoraba” and won’t be stopped – even by tremendous distance – in her attempts to get her back. This story gets a little shiny star for the final line, too.

Haruka takes care of a sick Kuroi-sensei in “Renai Manga” but thinks she may have a serious rival in the chief editor. Rival for what? Neither Haruka nor Kuroi could answer that yet, I think. Maybe in a chapter or two.

The school festival is coming and the resident Ame-Onna (Rain Woman) is asked to make it rain in “Kami-sama to Omefurashi.” But when the day of the festival comes, it’s sunny, and neither girl seems to really mind.

Something we rarely see – a chubby chaser Yuri story. “Futo Metcha Club” follows a heavy girl and the girl who loves her for her cute roundness. This story is notable for actually showing a cute, round, heavy girl for the “fat” girl, rather than slightly less than anorexic.

“Tandem Lover” is not a series I particularly liked, I have to admit, but I did like the ending of this chapter, in which Meru gives Shima a letter to her future partner in the Tandem competition. This story could have been better without all the service and some decent art, but it wasn’t.

“Yume yori Sutekina” was creepy, but kind of adorable, as a careerwoman notices and follows a high school student and sees her head off hand in hand with her girlfriend. Stalker=creepy, youth being less closeted than adults=adorable.

Nawoko’s “Private Lesson” continues. Tamago-chan learns a little bit more about her beloved piano teacher, which galvanizes her into action.

Ratings are Variable:

Overall – 8

As always, these are not all of the stories, but the ones I found notable. And you’ll notice that there’s a bunch of them that I found notable this time. No longer do I sigh with resignation at the idea of reading or reviewing Tsubomi. That’s got to be a good thing.

Here we are at Tsubomi, Volume 7, (つぼみ) an anthology with 20 stories, many of which are continuing series. I purchased this volume at the same time I bought Volume 8 and, as a result found it much easier to remember/follow several of the stories. And, while the previous volumes of Tsubomi have filled me less than full of glee, I overall was surprised at the quality of what I read.

Of note was the silly, but charming “Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep” about two women with the same name, born a day apart from one another, visit the same phone fortune site and, with, in a masterful overuse of handwaves, have the same injury for which they need to same therapy. One version of Kakimoto Imari is a butchy landscaper’s assistant (complete with motorcycle) and the other is a very feminine and cute woman. The two are drawn together, first as friends and by the end, maybe more. I’m just charmed by Mizutani Fuuka’s work, although I can’t put my finger on why. The characters are likable, in a “so cute, we want them to succeed!” kind of way.

Kazuto Izumi’s “Metoraba” is the story of a prize-winning romance novelist who finds that she really needs a wife to cook and clean for her, so she rents one from a service. As Fuji-sensei becomes more used to Komomo’s presence, they become closer and Komomo picks up more personal tasks like beta-reading and even a little writing. But in a massive blow-up, Fuji-sensei sends Komomo away. Will they get back together? Who will cook and clean for Fuji-sensei? Tune in next time to find out what happens in this soap-y, but enjoyable short drama.

In “Renai Manga” Kuroi-sensei’s manager tries to draw the shut-in manga artist out, by taking her to a hugely popular, busy and crowded area for some research. When Kuroi-sensei goes missing, Haruka panics, but it’s okay. Phew.

“Nickname Apaato” was quite possibly the silliest thing I’ve read in ages, but gosh it was cute. ANOTHER writer (are we seeing a pattern…?), well writer-wannabe, has given nicknames to all the other denizens of the house she shares. The Witch is always carrying herbs into the house, the Chef cooks up wonderful smelling meals, The Vampire goes out at night and returns by dawn, Eda-san confides to the young woman she sees out in the garden. Kurogawa-san is enraptured by these tales and enjoys Eda-san’s company…and only admits that she is the Witch, the Chef *and* the Vampire herself, when it has become obvious. What do you do for a living? Eda-san asks, but although we can see that Kurogawa is a published author, she doesn’t answer the question.

“Lonesome Echo” is a creepy story about an abusive relationship and a young woman who won’t stand for it.

“Endless Room” is the tale of a suite in a hotel room and the people that stay in it.

“Girl’s Ride” is a cute short about two girls on a vacation and how a foot injury brings them closer.

“Darling Darling” tells a little tale of communication and why it’s so important even between a couple that has been together for a while.

It’s good to see Nawoko again. In “Private Lesson” a girl learns how love was the motivation for her beloved teacher to lose weight and excel in her music.

And in “Caterpillar & Butterfly” Kurogane Kenn tries his hand at a story about two adult women, and the intimacy created between them over something as simple (or not) as a hair cut.

While these are not all the stories in the anthology, they are the ones I enjoyed most. Amazingly, I note how many are stories about adult women. Some are more Yuri than others, some barely find the itch, much less scratch it, but overall, things are looking much improved from my perspective.

Ratings are Variable:

Overall – 8

If someone would draw a cover that actually reflected any of the above, and we lost Shimai-ism, I’d be far more enthusiastic about the magazine as a whole. Nonetheless, compared to the first year, Tsubomi is a completely different (and significantly better) animal.

Tsubomi Volume 4 is good example of why it’s worth reading a few volumes of any anthology magazine before you give up.

It’s not that Tsubomi is perfect, just that it’s better than it was. Some of the stories have had a chance to get their feet under them and get some speed going after a soft start. Other stories are jumping into the race at speed. Others stories are still stumbling along, looking a little worse for the wear as a result.

This volume gets off to a strong, if predictable, start with Kurogane Kenn’s story of a teacher and the student she’s fallen for. Thoughts of Christmas presents and taking care of each other start to slip for both into dangerous territory.

Yoshitomi Akihito has two stories of friends in love with each other’s sister and who will *obviously* end up together. This series never fails to bore and annoy me, because he’s a better writer than this and compared to the more sincere stories in the collection, this story seems plain old skanky and tired.

Most of the stories play it safe in Story A space. There’s a girl, she’s in love with another girl. Sometimes they realize they love one another – sometimes we’re left wallowing in the pre-work of “Oh my god! I’m in love with her!” Even Morinaga Milk’s series is treading a well-worn path to nowhere at the moment.

The stories are mostly non-committal, pleasant and some of the pairs are adults (in theory at least, they often still look ridiculously childish.)

Tsubomi has finally reached the space where Yuri Shimai started, so I’m hopeful, but not expecting, a little growth at this point. I do wish we could skip all this girl meets girl nonsense and start with good solid stories about girls in love, but for so many this many-times retold tale is what Yuri is. I will keep my fingers crossed that the authors want to and are allowed to be a little more creative in the next 4 volumes.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

Okay, okay, I’ll give it one more issue…. :-)

Many, many thanks to Okazu Hero George R for thinking of me as he shopped around Japan to provide more Yuri to review! Thanks, George!