Archive for the Comic Yuri Hime Category


Comic Yuri Hime May 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年5月号)

April 25th, 2024

Framed by an elaborate gold frame on a deep blue background, two girls in old-fashioned Japanese school uniforms sit on stairs below a landing, reading a book and sharing confidences.We’re the beginning of of Q2, and Comic Yuri Hime May 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年5月号) has settled in for a lovely variety of Yuri manga – from the openly queer, to fantasy, to toxic relationships and a fair amount of goofy stuff in between.

This issue begins with a new story, featuring a well-worn trope that…I don’t hate for some reason.  “Saborinara Houkenshitsu de Douzo? Despite the fact that I don’t utterly hate the “hot, young school doctor and student” trope, I am always reminded of my own school nurse who was a horrible person, incompetent, hated kids and thought we were all lying all the time, as a wrinkled prune of a person. I wonder if our nurse was young and cool, what I might think about this trope. ^_^

On to “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Uta”! This time Yori-sempai is staying over Himari’s house, and yet again, they face the issue of consent and what Himari wants. I expect this will be resolved this time.

I’m pretty happy with the way Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!” is shaping up, even though the premise is a bit violent in both emotional and physical ways. Clearly, we’re going for a Bakarina internal monologue stule here.

“Salvia no Bouquet” has shifted towards a more typical school story but, again, I’m quite enjoying it. It’s really hard to dislike Ellen or Stella and magic, school, Yuri romance…okay. Extra points, though for the denouement here, when the spell was a failure, but also very much a success.

“Kiraware Majoureijou to Dansou Ouji no Kon’yaku” s taking itself a little seriously before it has a right to, but we are assured that there *is* a plot on the way!

And “Gan no Hime” is likelwise developing a plot, and one that radically changes everything we knew about this world. I do not love the art, but the story is very good. It’s the only scifi we have in the magazine now and I have high hopes for it.

Shikabane Shoujo to Ai ga Omoi Sei-kishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life is waffling between being a VERY SERIOUS STORY and a light magical school adventure and I’m not sure which I want it to be, honestly.

In the final comic essay, by Kobara Yuuko, which is a review of a “Yuri” film, this month the topic of discussion was Liz And The Blue Bird, which, I will remind, I thought fantastic. Highly recommended.

Overall a solid volume with a lot for people who have tastes vastly different than mine, as well as those who like the kinds of things I like. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The June issue is in JP bookstores and waiting for me at Kinokuniya. ^_^





Comic Yuri Hime, April 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年4月号)

March 28th, 2024

Framed by an elaborate gold border on a brown background, two girls lay on grass surrounded by little while flowers, wearing dark red school uniforms. A girl with short, pale hair, leans over another girl, playing with her long, red hair.Comic Yuri Hime, April 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年4月号) is an incredibly strong issue of what is turning out to be a very good Yuri manga year.

There are a nice mix of kinds of stories here, from fictional slice-of life, centering adult women, and school girls, as well as some autobiographical works/comics essays, which gives the a- story-about-two-people-in-a situation some depth across the magazine.

Fantasy is fairing well here, with at least five original stories. I always have hope that they will break out of the romance mode into a plot that’s more deeply developed, but none of them have collapsed in on themselves yet and the new entry, “Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!” (崖っぷち令嬢は黒騎士様を惚れさせたい!) starts with a pretty good punch. “Shikabane to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life,” “Konoyo de Ichiban Sutekina Owarikata,” “Shikabane to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life,” “Salvia no Bouquet,” and “Kiraware Majyo Reijō to Dansou Ouji no Kon’yaku,” are taking up a fair amount of real estate in this magazine right now. None are the same as each other, which is pretty  impressive. This is the most fantasy I’ve seem in this magazine at the same time.

“Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” brings Yu’s arc to a rousing triumphal success. It works so well in manga form, too, with Yu being the woman she has literally always been. I don’t know if Rei in jail is a nod to the worst anime frame ever, or a use of the same conceit, but…

 

“Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!” comes to some kind of conclusion. I don’t think we will know what the consequences will be until the end of this volume, but it was good to see Kanako regain some kind of control over her situation. I just really hope she’s come to a healthy conclusion.

“Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru” by is closest I have to a sports manga and it’s doing pretty well at it, even if it’s focusing on things other than the competition, which suits the theme just fine.

We’re still not getting the kind of science fiction I as a SF reader am looking for, with complex worldbuilding and plot, and in part I think that’s because of the serialized nature of the magazine. Every chapter has to end on, if not a cliffhanger, than some moment of tension, forcing storytelling to sacrifice development for impact. That said, we’re getting a number of fantasy stories that are trying to or are exceeding my expectations.

And of course, there’s plenty of slice-of-life stuff for those of you looking for small crises and resolutions. From relaxing food while camping to the “totally relatable” crisis of a married woman staying with a lesbian and neither of them being capable of having a conversation that lasts more than a panel or two, to the actually relatable story of two women living together, being in love and having fun with it, this was a really excellent issue of a magazine that has truly hit it’s stride this year.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

The May issue has hit JP shelves and waiting for me at the book store! Amazingly, I’m holding steady as she goes with reviews. I have no idea how that is happening. ^_^





Comic Yuri Hime, March 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年3月号)

February 27th, 2024

From within an ornate gold frame on a green background, where two girls in dark red school uniforms enjoy tea together, the girl with short black hair looks out at us.Comic Yuri Hime, March 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年3月号) starts off with a new story, “A Bouquet of Salvia,” which was rather sweet as a opening  – and could have stood alone on it’s own merits. A girl who was rescued from dire circumstances finds family and a mentor in a young witch who has taken her in and is training her. In this opening chapter, the emphasis is on found family, understanding there is more to life than duty and the profoundity of joy. I’m all for it. ^_^

So much water has gone under the bridge in “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” that we seem to have come to the beginning of the river, once again. Kanako still does not understand herself but, at least this time Sumika does.

“Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” steps back to interrogate Misha and Rae’s friendship. On the eve of an audacious plan to save Yuu, Rae has to trust Misha with the whole truth about the world and herself. Rae learns something important that might explain a few things. Eventually.

Yuama’s “Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata” comes to an end, exactly where I expected it to. Despite the fact that the whole story was telegraphed from the beginning, it did some interesting things. I’m not sure I would have given it as much time to be told as the magazine did, but I don’t regret reading it. There’s something to be said about a story that moves past forgiveness into redemption.

“Garan no Hime” has suddenly become much more interesting! Where we seemed to be flailing looking for a lost sister, we have sudden have a whole new level –  one in which Hime is the key to something important.

In “Shikabane to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life” Mari unlocks Shurika’s memories…for good or ill.

There were a number of decent one-shots in this issue including Inaba Mine’s “Kemuri ni Yosete,” which felt very old school as an established couple works through the distance building between them.

As always there were other stories I read, and did not read, which makes for a magazine that will appeal to a wide range of Yuri fans!

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The April issue is on JP shelves now and it’s a very exciting issue, in which the arc about Prince Yuu comes to a climax in “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” and a new manga fantasy written by Suo, and illustrated by Superwomen in Love!‘s Sometime, “Gakeppuchi Reijou wa Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!”





Comic Yuri Hime, February 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年2月号)

February 22nd, 2024

In an elaborate gold frame on a dark blue background, Two school girls in winter coats stand, one holding the others' arm, looking at us.Comic Yuri Hime, February 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年2月号)  is an excellent volume of this magazine. Right off the bat, the stories about evenly split between stories I am reading and stories I am not reading. 50% is an almost unheard of percentage for me. But there is another thing in this issue, I want to discuss, because it was really good.

I talk a lot about Yuri literary fiction here on Okazu. I’m unapologetically as much a literature nerd as I am a comics nerd. Many school years of reading literary fiction somehow did not manage to break my interest in the idea of fiction. In fact, this year I am actually a judge for an award for independently published fiction and overwhelmingly, the books I have been reading are very interesting. Reviews to come when the embargo is lifted.

So yes, in this volume Aki and Shiho go out on a date in “Sasayakuyouni Koi Wo Utaa” finally, and Rae comes up with a bold and dangerous plan to rescue Yu from an imposed gender curse in “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou” and the climax to “Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata” was a fucking sucker punch *even though we knew it was coming for the entire story.* And the King in “Kiraware no Majoreijo to Dansou Ouji no Konyaku” is a dip and we applauded Eve for yelling at him, and Kiki and Michiru danced their hearts out…even though Kiki was injured and it was really stupid, in “Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru.” These and many other continuing stories were great.

And we got the first chapter of a very old-school shoujo romance feeling “Toi Et Moi” by Nakato Nui. And “Daiuki Desu!”  by nmi, among others both of which were very good.

But what I really want to talk about is the short story, ” Tsuitou Juu-shunen Tokubetsu Kiji  ‘Tousakusha Sakakiba Mizue no jinsei’.” by Maruchou. This translates to Special Article On The Tenth Anniversary Of Her Death,  “Plagiarist Sakakiba Mizue’s Life.” This was the grand prize winner of the 5th Yuri Literary Short Story Contest, co-hosted by Pixiv, Comic Yuri Hime, Shinchobunko, Early Wing and Shosen Bookstore. And yes, it absolutely deserved the prize.

This was a fantastic fiction that is presented as a non-fiction about the life of a person who “everyone knows,” but who never existed, with interviews with people who knew her and one of the best endings I have ever read in my life. Oh my gosh, this was SUCH a good story.  You can read it for free on the contest website. Please go read this, even if you just use google translate. Seriously, it was gorgeous work. 10/10.

So both thumbs up on this issue.

Ratings:

Overall – For the short story alone, it’s a 10

I also have the March issue here and am digging right in!





Comic Yuri Hime January 2024 (コミック百合姫2024年1月号)

January 21st, 2024

Framed by oranate gold in a brown background, two girls in dark red school uniforms embracing in front of a window, look at us.And so, the new Year dawned with a new cover “story,” this time by Fukahire*, which seem to be a series of portraits of Yuri schoolgirls couples thus far, with no story as such.

The opening color pages promote current (when the magazine was sold) and future anime from series that run in the magazine. The first story with accompanying color pages is FLOWERCHILD’s  ‘Utsushicha Damena Kao” (映しちゃダメな顔) which has not grasped hold of me. It’s too rooted in discomfort for me to enjoy reading it, but it is always very well-drawn. Even when I wish it were not. ^_^

Then we move right into the continuing “WatasIo no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” in an original arc that requires all our principal characters to appear dressed as commoneSr and fight a ring of baddies. Next month will get us back on track with the novel, but I am happy spending more time with these characters and don’t mind this extra content at all. Next month will be the beginning of Yuu’s arc and I am very interested to see how that is adapted to manga.

Hino Arashi’s “Shikabane Shoujo to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life” is one of three manga I really *want* to like and hope they develop some depth of story as well as character. This chapter starts developing character.

Himari sits Yori-sempai and Shiho-sempai down to work on whatever is between them, finally, now that she’s fixed Shiho’s relationship with Aki, in “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau” by Takeshima Eku. Aki decides to take a step forward as well.

Okay, when I started reading Miman’s “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!” I was sure that Hime was never going to be able to stay protagonist. I was wrong. Even here, neck deep as we drown in Kanako’s arc, Hime is the only person in that cafe who has her shit together. There’s good reasons why, too, which makes her more interesting than she insists she is.

Kodama Naoko’s story of an unhappy married woman and the lesbian she’s using is, oddly, less disturbing than her usual icky-feeling set ups.”Usotsuki Hanayome to Dousei Kekkon-ron.”

Second in my “I reallllly want to like this” list is “Kiraware Majo Reijou to Dansou Ouji no Konyaku” by Chiruha Chinmi. It was doing well, then took a turn that kind of made no sense, but the protagonist Eve, is really holding this threadbare story together by being awesome.

I am skipping the middle of the book, which is full of maids and creepy and/or miserable children and some unpleasantness and the 18+ stuff which, at the moment, is not doing it for me.

That brings us to “Osoto Gohan Issho ni” which wraps this book up. You know what? I do not need these two to fall in love. It is perfectly okay that they just get together and eat food, Really. Like, let food and intimate friendship be the point and comfort be the outcome. and I will be happy. Thank you.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The February issue is already out in Japan and I hope to be getting it soon!

* Someone needs to do a study on the use of “food as pseudonym” among artists and writers in Japan.