Archive for the Comic Yuri Hime Category


Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime June 2017 /コミック百合姫2017年6月号

June 5th, 2017

The June issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫2017年6月号) begins with a crisis on the cover. It might looks like two girls walking happily under an umbrella, but if one reads both the large green text and the 6-point type hidden at the bottom it’s apparent that the girl in the glasses really has to come clean soon or she’s a total jerk.

Thankfully, “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei”starts with Mahiro being really creepy AND jerky, and Nanami telling her politely, but firmly, to GTFA. Thank you Ohsawa-sensei. Thank you so much.

Nakamura Yukichi gives us what was a nice “Story A” in “Azuma-san to Itakura-sempai ha Koi o Suru.”

Hitoto’s “Shuumatsu Nanishi ni Ikou?” has hit a plot complication…but I’m not sure what the actual plot is, so the complication seems a little out of left filed.

A plot complication has also slapped Hime in the face in “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” by Miman. As this was a series I never expected to have an actual plot, I’m both pleased and surprised. Hime comes face to face with how much of a jerk she’s been.

“Demi-Life” and “Roku + Ichi Sodarashi” continue to be fun, superficial reads, while “Itsuka Minoreba” insists on continuing, so I’m kind of wondering where it’s going to go, eventually. Is it *really* going to be about her training to play arcade games? Really?

Katakura Ako returns with another messy, smexy story, this time about adults in an office, so I’m happy. ^_^

As usual, there are many other stories in the magazine, all of whicha re good, bad and indifferent, according to your tastes ^_^

Ratings:

Overall  7

It is all I can do to read, much less review these monthly! What an excess of riches we have. I have a substantial pile here of things waiting to be reviewed and more  in my to-read pile. It’s pretty darn cool to have so much Yuri these days.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime May 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年5月号)

April 20th, 2017

Are you at all fond of two-timing as a plot driver in a romance? I have to assume that someone high up on the Comic Yuri Hime staff is, because even aside from the couple of stories in the body of the magazine, the cover story is, as well.

(And let me just note, in a somewhat petty fashion that, if I consider incest to be lazy writing, I consider it exceptionally lazy editing when I can tell what the editorial staff’s fetishes are. There are people other than you reading, folks. Try picking a new plot once in a while.)

Aside from that, the stories in Comic Yuri Hime, May 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年5月号) that are already strong, are still good. I was actually kind of pleased to note that the newest plot complication in Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitaokei” is kind of…typical for a romance manga. It’s like, having spent so much time on building up really firm foundations of a potential relationship, it can finally just be a little soapy. And I enjoyed it.

“Now Loading…” is taking the opposite tack, by starting off superficially and sort of backing into a real relationship. I’d like to see it become a real story when it grows up.

And “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” is slipping sideways into a story, away from the tropes it’s inhabiting, which really kind of makes me happy. Hime is suddenly forced to confront the idea that her natural charm my not be enough…and that, maybe, she’s focusing her attention in the wrong direction. 

Ratings:

Overall – 7

As always, there are both good and bad and other stories I’m reading but not mentioning. I quite like the variety, even if it’s weirdly skewed to two-timing and affairs and cuckolding right now. (I mean really, Editor-san, grow the fuck up.)





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime April 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年4月号)

March 27th, 2017

Yep…monthly is really pushing my limits. ^_^  But let me tell you, what a problem to have! Ten years ago, I trawled the shelves of used manga stores obsessively, looking for hints of Yuri in this series or that, or an homage anthology that paired up characters in a not-gross way. (Still am appalled at all the Sakaki-san and the creepy cat from Azumanga Daioh doujinshi back in 2003.) Just to find something to blog about. And here I am, with an excess of Yuri. I am not complaining, I assure you. ^_^

So here we are looking a Comic Yuri Hime, April 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年4月号) and I find we have another problem, slight though it might be. We’re 4 issues in and a number of the newer series are starting to fall apart already. No surprise, as they weren’t stories, they were story ideas. Gag concepts only carry you so far. Of these “Holmes-san ga Suiri dekinai” by Nemachi Dorumaru has suffered the largest collapse. It hasn’t really been Yuri, and now that it is, it’s actually become less interesting.

However, there were still a goodly number of fair-to middling series. Of the ones that work best, “Now Loading”, “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” and 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei” are still my standout three. That they all seem to be about women working is just coincidence, I am absolutely sure.  ^_^ “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” deserves a special mention, for having added female customers to the Yuri cafe, which I had previously noticed were absent. 

I also liked the go-nowhere “Hakushi no Kanata” by Hamuro Kei. This is pure one-shot stuff, but it was a nice bittersweet “what might have been, if only” tale that could change a life which was quite nice. And “Demi-Lfe” and “Roku + Ichi Sodarashi” are still forced and a little fun, even though they don’t have much substance. 

Ratings:

Overall – 7

So, points off for the complete dissolution of “Holmes-san” but holding steady else wise.  Let’s see how long this can be sustained. I pick up the May issue tonight. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime March 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年3月号)

February 13th, 2017

Comic Yuri Hime March 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年3月号) continues with the same variety of Yuri that we’ve come to expect from magazine this year. That said, there’s a definite slant towards the moe….understandably, as it’s easier to drawn simplified faces than it is to draw detailed art.

Which is why I genuinely treasure Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei”. About to go into a 4th volume (yay!) this series continues to be very much about adults and, in this chapter does something completely unexpected. Well, at least I certainly didn’t expect it. ^_^ As an aside, I wonder if Nanami is at all aware that pretty much every other woman she has ever met has fallen for her.

In “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” The one stereotype the Yuri cafe doesn’t cover – the best friend with a crush – rears it’s head and the cafe ends up with a new employee. I have no idea if this story will develop into anything particularly, but I’m willing to ride along for however long it stays silly.

Hitoto’s “Shuumatsu nanishini ikou?” sticks with giving us more detail about keeping fish than I, uh, expected it to. Fish it is. Okay then.

“Holmes-san ga Suiri dekinai” by Nemachi Dorumaru continues to be a parody of every mystery series ever and Ohi Pikachi’s “Demi Life” is already getting self-referential. I hope they will both break out of their niches and become real stories soon.

“Roku + Ichi Sodarashi” is still pretty much Hidamari Sketch, by a different artist, with Yuri. That part’s refreshing.

I still love Mikanuji’s “Now Loading” for it’s how-to tutorial on game development and honest look at the hours one pulls working in a small gamedev company. That this story feels “real” to me is the best part about it. That it also is Yuri is just icing on the cake. ^_^

Comic Yuri Hime is advertising pretty hard for editorial assistants right now, so if you’re still young and want to work in the manga world, are located in Japan and looking to get a position with a company that has never been positioned better to grow, take a look at the Comic Yuri Hime‘s advert for people wanting “Yuri Work.”

Ratings:

Overall – 8

This March issue appears to be sold out in print on Amazon JP at the moment, but folks with Japanese IP addresses will be able to get it through Kindle and you can get it digitally outside Japan on Bookwalker Global as a single issue or as a subsciption.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime February 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年2月号)

January 24th, 2017

Wow, it’s still so novel to have to review Comic Yuri Hime on a monthly basis! I can totally see this getting backlogged. I’m like 3 volumes behind on Rakuen Le Paradis and that’s still quarterly. orz

The opening salvo of  Comic Yuri Hime February 2017 (コミック百合姫2017年2月号) is a charming, Yuri-less situation comedy parody of a detective series called “Holmes-san ga suiri dekinai” by Nemachi Dorumaru. 

Skipping a melodramatic sister-in-law love story for which I like the art, but not the plot, I’ll turn my attention once again to “Watashi no Yuri ha Shigoto desu!” by miman. Not only does it plumb for the most popular Yuri tropes, it adds a few new ones, then trots it all out in front of a crowd of faceless customers, (I wish there were at least a few female customers) to make something wholly squirm-worthy and interesting at the same time. My wife and I agree that I would not survive five minutes in a “Yuri cafe.” ^_^

In Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei” the story is finally taking a real turn towards a relationship, as Nanami finally has a name put to her nascent feelings. Unbeknownst to her, however, Shirayuki has overheard this name as well.

In the time-switch series “Ashita, Kimi ni Aetara” everyone’s breasts are absurdly out of proportion to their bodies and clothes and it’s almost hard to like the protagonist as she tries to fake her way through a day, until it becomes too much for her and she – quite naturally – breaks down in horror at having no idea what is going on.

Hitoto* presents an interesting twist on a relationship with “Shuumatsu nanishini ikou?” in which a couple is so busy doing things the one likes that the other feels quite exhausted.

“Itsuka Minoreba,” in which a girl who is good at video games finds herself taken on and taken in by another girl who is a savant at games is quite moe and I couldn’t remember if it was running here or Comic Cune until I revisited the magazine.

“Roku + Ichi Sodarashi” is pretty much Hidamari Sketch, by a different artist.

Mikanuji’s “Now Loading” jumped right into serious territory and I have hopes that it will now develop at a more sincere pace. As one of few adult-life comics running, I have expectations!

I really like Ohi Pikachi’s “Demi Life,” although the idea of a human girl in a school for non-humans has been done. But apparently I still like it. ^_^

And the final story, “Elena” by Tamasaki Tama is a gentle paranormal short tale of a girl and a statue,  that felt like something I might have read back in the 90s.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I left out a bunch, much of which I read. Only two stories are wholly unreadable to me at this point, which is a good percentage.

Now, let’s talk Yuri. Quite a lot of the stories here are new and have not yet developed any.But then there’s “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei” which has taken a full 4 volumesto develop the very beginning of the relationship. So either, Comic Yuri Hime editors and readers have developed some patience, or they have longer term plans for some of these stories…or it’s just a fluke. Feels weird though, reading some of these and wondering “where’s the Yuri?” It’s not a complaint, really, just a comment and I’m sure that for some of these stories when the Yuri arrives, I won’t like that, either. ^_^ (I’m human, folks. I get to be fickle.)