Archive for the Comic Yuri Hime Category


Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime May 2016 (コミック百合姫2016年5月号)

April 21st, 2016

CYH0516-e1460213624713The May 2016 issue of Comic Yuri Hime has a little faux sticker on the cover that reads “Inside is the same Comic Yuri Hime as always.” There’s little else to say about it. ^_^

The first half is mostly series I’m not reading for any number of reasons. Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, G Pen, Alarm Clock” has taken a turn away from the lead characters to continue following Koyuki who is, I fear, not as interesting to me as to others. Her self-esteem issues might be real, but I can’t really care.

“Ayame 14” by Amano Shuninta finally embraces a Yuri theme with Ayame and Sango recognizing their interest in each other, but it’s still a little creepy to me, as we focus on Ayame’s budding sexuality, with no attempt at grounding it in identity, character or…anything, really. It’s just Ayame discovering sex, which is kind of ick.

The Yuri Yosei and White Yuri Yosei seem to be developing a bit of a relationship in Minamoto Hisanari’s “Kanaete! Yuri Yosei” after wrapping up a multi-chapter relationship that mostly only needed a nudge or two, but got three or four.

“Princess Prince” seems to have settled down into a really kind of touching discussion of performative gender, something I never expected of Aoto Hibiki’s goofball comedy.

Katamura Ako’s “Last Waltz” remains intriguing and odd and sexual and violent, sorta.

Kuzushiro’s “Nekoyama-san to Inugami-san” takes a really unlikely, but rather pleasant turn, as we look at Suzu’s older sister from the point of view of the guy who will never get the girl.

Takemiya Jin takes a look at creating a monster and then being jealous of it in “Kara no Hoka”.

Ratings:

Overall – 6

Overall, I’m feeling again like the emphasis is on the stuff I don’t care for, but at least there is still content that I like.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime March 2016 (コミック百合姫2016年3月号)

March 3rd, 2016

I’m kind of liking the mix that fills the March 2016 Issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫2016年3月号). I actively don’t like a few stories, don’t care about a few, like a few and like a few very much. It seems as if Ichijinsha has managed a fair balance.

Of the stories that I like, I’m both amazed and pleased that “Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san” by Kuzushiro continues to be interesting, even as we occasionally glance away from the menagerie towards Aki’s relationships, which are surprisingly fraught.

Shinobu in Katakura Ako’s “Last Waltz” must put off some pheromone that makes her super attractive to the other characters in a way that the art can’t *quite* convey. ^_^

I have to admit I have completely lost the thread of “Shoujo Shikaku” by Kawai Roh and can’t make the romance/drama work at all with the horror story that surrounds it. Also the lead is a total drip. (-_-);

I like Nakahara Tsubaki’s “12-bun no Etude” even if it really isn’t a Yuri story, and really only because of the story in my head, not so much on the page.  But at least the two leads have managed to make it to the friend stage, rather than nice kid being rebuffed by talented asshole stage.

“Kanaete! Yuri Yosei” by Minamoto Hisanari continues to be a delightful little romp in silliness.

Takemiya Jin has a new story “Kimi ga Iru Bassho” about a girl who falls for another girl she sees all the time. They become friends and it turns out that the second girl isn’t the clueless doofus we kind of pegged her for.

“2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei” by Ohsawa Yayoi takes a side trip into Koyuki’s sad and slightly unrealistic backstory, to give us an inkling of why she is so driven to succeed in manga.

And Aoto Hibiki’s “Prince, Prince” returns from the edge of unreadably awful to just sort of silly and unhealthily obsessed with gender roles, clothes and a messy plot, where it belongs.

As with every other issue, there are many other stories not mentioned in today’s review for reasons ranging from disinterest to revulsion. There’s nothing wrong with that, really. I am interested in approximately 1/3 of the magazine right now, which is way better than some years, when there were two stories I could read.

Ratings:

Overall – 7





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime November 2015 (コミック百合姫 2015年 11 月号)

November 24th, 2015

CYH1115-275x389The November 2015 issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫 2015年 11 月号) is one of those issues where I basically began paying attention about halfway through, as the first half has stories designed to entertain people who are not me.

Kurata Uso’s “Yuri Joshi” now follows the adventures of Yuri fangirls, but I find it as remote a characterization as I did the fanboys in Yuri Danshi. It is of course possible that there are girls who are fans of Yuri speaking to near-magical onee-sama in abstract terms, but it’s still feels like an unreal fandom and not at all like the actual women I encounter who enjoy Yuri. James Welker wrote of Yuri Danshi as a meta-look at Yuri fandom, but I can’t see anything resembling actual Yuri fandom in this series.  Oh well, at least it’s about girls, and not crazy hyperactive fanboys. ^_^;

Ohzawa Yayoi’s “2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei” took an interesting turn, away from mangaka Kaede towards hypercompetent, but lonely, Nanami, and her burgeoning friendship/mentorship with coworker Yuuko. Will this force Nanami to admit she likes Kaede or will she find her interest turning to Yuuko? Now I’m intrigued.

Takemiya Jin’s story made me really happy in a melancholy way. “Hatsunatsu Souhi” follows Misaki, who has returned for Obon to the town where her first love lived before she died. Misaki’s an adult now and when she sees a young woman who looks like Yuuko did back then, she’s taken aback. When the girl, Sa-chan, befriends her, Misaki doesn’t have the emotional strength to walk away. They visit the local festival together and, as they watch fireworks, Yuuko’s ghost takes over the girl’s body. “It’s Obon,” she reminds Misaki, the time of year when the dead return to our world for a week. Misaki is able to say good bye to her old love and move on. Sa-chan says she wants to see Misaki again and, as Misaki returns home,  confesses that she’s fallen for her.

“Kanaete! Yuri Yousei” by Minamoto Hisanari continues to be incredibly silly. This chapter the two women already had feelings for each other, and both the Yuri Yousei and the Shirayuri Yousei get hanko stamps on their cards. It’s win-win all around.

“12-pun no Etude’ by Nakahara Tsubaki finally becomes a little Yuri and not where I thought it would. Wakana is finally improving and is allowed to play with the band again. Hatsumi’s famous sister Ai arrives to cheer them all on with her friend Kotone. Hatsumi is unspurprisingly cold to her talented sister who, it turns out, is really hurt by this. Ai and Kotone talk about it later and it turns out that Kotone is not Ai’s friend, but her lover. Okay, I like this way better than Wakana crushing on Hatsumi.

Ratings:

The stuff I enjoy – 8
The stuff I didn’t enjoy – 4 (I’m being kind, some of it got really nasty, in particularly “Prince Princess,” which had been a little service-y, went totally gross.)

Overall – 6

As always, there are many other stories, some of which you will like even if I didn’t care for them. I’m not ecstatic at the higher level of fanservice in this volume. A few stories actually made me feel quite nauseated, even paging past them. But the mix means more people will find something for them to enjoy.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, September 2015 (コミック百合姫 2015年 09 月号)

October 7th, 2015

CYH0915-275x392Comic Yuri Hime‘s September 2015 (コミック百合姫 2015年 09 月号) issue marks a major milestone in Yuri manga history – Comic Yuri Hime turns 10 years old!

I can think of a number amazing ways to celebrate this occasion, (cover art of older issues as color pages, the return of popular previous artists for one-shots, a history of the magazine, a timeline….) something, really anything, but the editorial staff chose, for whatever reason, to do pretty much nothing. So the issue is just another issue. Okay, Happy major milestone anniversary, whatevs.

The magazine does start off with a single reprinted chapter, a story that originally ran in Comic Yuri Hime S,  Konohanatei Kitan, (此花亭奇譚) about fox-eared girls running around, sort of old-fashioned and Taisho-esque. It was re-released by Birz comics last spring. Of all the possible old series to reprint, I found it almost predictable that they managed to pick one I couldn’t stand to read when it ran in the magazine. Figures, right? ^_^

Ohsawa Yayoi’s “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei” takes a tremendous leap away from hedging it’s bets on what kind of story it wants to be when it grows up, to being a grown up story. I take back my complaints from the first volume. This chapter was terrific.

Minamoto Hisanari’s absurdly amusing “Kanate! Yuri Yousei”  still manages to be absurd and amusing as it explores yet another Yuri trope, with love.

There are still students alive in “Shoujo Shikaku” by Kawai Roh. You’d think there’d be way fewer, though. If the student body is halved with every round, we should be down a lot more students. Also, I can’t help wonder where do the dead bodies go? I know, it’s bizarre to think about stuff like that, but it’s a massacre manga, what else is there to think about?

“Seeesaw Game” by Takemiya Jin wraps up with the tall girl and the short girl getting together and it’s all rather sweet and typical.

“Ore to Yuri”, the second “Yuri Danshi” series, is slighly more interesting as it folds in female fans to the mix. So the Yuri doujinshi festival now isn’t all male fans or creators. The way-over-the-top tone of voice hasn’t changed at all, but it’s not just Yuusuke screaming. Now we have a half dozen female otaku (and what they hope to get out of Yuri) to match the half dozen guy screaming about purity and love. I’m not convinced that the girls are actually representative of actual fandom any more than the guys are, but at least they have a place in the narrative as fans, not just objects of fantasy.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

Paging through this 10th anniversary issue, I don’t want to say I’m unimpressed, because 10 years is an amazing accomplishment, but a postcard set with cover art for the 4 #1 issues so far (original Yuri Hime, relaunched Yuri Hime and Yuri Hime S and re-relaunched Comic Yuri Hime) would have been swell. There’s nothing in this issue that gives any sense of it having been 10 years other than it having been 10 years and saying so on the cover. I can remember vividly, the editor of the not-yet-launched Yuri Hime at our 2005 Yuricon in Tokyo event asking the attendees what they wanted to see in the new magazine. I guess he doesn’t remember it as vividly. ^_^; But this magazine making 10 years is an important moment in the history of Yuri.

Having said that, Happy Anniversary Comic Yuri Hime magazine! Here’s to another 10.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, July 2015 (コミック百合姫 2015年 07 月号)

July 7th, 2015

CYH072015-275x395Following on from my conclusion after reading the May 2015 issue, Comic Yuri Hime for July 2015, (コミック百合姫 2015年 07 月号) is a fully-featured magazine with something for nearly everybody.

For me, it has two somethings that had me bounding around the room like an, well, like an otaku. This issue of Comic Yuri Hime included not only a chapter of “Iono-sama Fanatics,” but also one of “Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan,” both by Fujieda Miyabi and both as wonderful as I remember. ^_^

In addition, I enjoyed a new chapter of “2DK, G Pen Mezamashidokei”, which introduced a new character, and a new series by Takemiya Jin. Also fun was the goofball Yuri series following an earnest Yuri fairy by Minamoto Hisanari, “Kanaete Yuri Yosei” remains entertaining. There were other stories I enjoyed, as well and many that I did not, which means those of you who like things I do not will enjoy those. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

A reasonable mix.