As I mentioned in my review of the November issue of Comic Yuri Hime, the last few stories were all from recent collections, like Himitsu no Kakera and today we’ll look at the last of them, Haya’s  Hakkou Snowflake (薄光スノウフレーク).

In a snowy country, with an impenetrable accent (so much so that furigana with Standard Japanese is needed for even the most common phrases) Chou meets a mysterious kimonoed girl Se-chan. Se-chan isn’t sure if she’s a Yuki-Onna, or a ghost, and neither are we, but it is absolutely obvious that she is not of our world.

Nonetheless Chou adopts Se-chan, becoming friends, teaching her about fashion and presents and modern life. Se-chan starts to take it personally when she sees Chou having fun without her, but only because she’s fallen for her friend. As the book closes they kiss and we have to hope that the spring will not destroy the relationship. Or something, I guess. Since Se-chan isn’t human, it’s kind of hard to know where we’ll go from here.

The story runs to the sweet and cute and mostly-disconnected from real life. There are no adults, no cars, no trains, hardly any other people, in fact, except for a few schoolmates. The world-building is unconvincing, but doesn’t really have to be convincing, as we’re supposed to be focused on the girls. The is as much of a well as that in the YuriTetsu ~ Shiritsu Yurigasaki Joshikou Tetsudobu manga. Elsie, Lacie, Tillie and Peanut, meet Chou and Se-chan. You should all enjoy each other’s company very much, as there are no other humans in your worlds.

Despite the one-dimensional world these two one-dimensional characters live in, I can’t say this manga left me unmoved. It left me with a sense of melancholy. The entire time, I kept waiting for Chou to come home and find nothing left of Se-chan but a puddle and obi. It was actually a bit of a surprise to find it was given a happy ending.

Ratings:

Art – 5
Story – 5
Characters – 5
Yuri – 6 There is a kiss.
Service – 4 Some non-sexual nudity

Overall – 5

It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good.

The issues I had in regards to the September 2014 Comic Yuri Hime have, to some extent, passed. As usual, I have partially adapted to the new world order and partially the magazine has backed off. As a result, I can talk more coherently about Comic Yuri Hime, November 2014 (コミック百合姫2014年11月号).

There’s still a shift toward fetishtry that is unappealing to me. “Fat girls” (who are not fat), “sisters (who are not sisters), “Mean girls” (who are not mean), “idols,”  etc. On the one hand it’s clear that the girl meets girl scenario is played out and the magazine is looking for hooks, but on the other hand, it’s equally clear that the editorial direction is shifting back to pandering.

The first third of this volume passed without anything of real note. The above fetish pieces, and Yuri Hime‘s featured, but still not-terribly interesting to me series, and a couple of Story As.

As we hit the middle third of the magazine, my interest grew. Takemiya Jin’s “Chou Chou Nan Nan” has been cute, but unremarkable. I do like the fact that she’s focusing this chapter on the one girl who can see what is going on and lays it all on the table. ^_^

The second chapter of “Yuri Joshi” was so meta that it hurt. Saori meets her “onee-sama” to confess that she’s really upset about the discontinuation of Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari and how she’s relieved that the “Kase-san” series is continuing online. The mention of that series specifically made me immediately wonder if Ichijinsha is in negotiation for it. If not, there’s always online. ^_^

As much as I adore Amano Shuninta’s work, I’m creeped out by “Ayame 14.” I find myself not reading it to give the poor girl some privacy. I really am not that interested in puberty. Ick.

Kuzushiro has 4 stories in this volume. He’s taking over and frankly, I don’t really mind. “Hara-san ha bitch” and “Nikochau” are about girls who does not live down to expectations and no surprise at *all* I really enjoy “Love Desu,” about two young women who alternately fight to the death, then have a passionate love affair. Yeah, well. I’m still – almost amazingly – enjoying “Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san.” Apparently Kuzushiro-sensei gets me. ^_^

Ohsawa Yayoi’s back! Yay! “Spice Girls” was a weird twist on a  customer girl meets shopgirl story, and her art  just sort of settles me down. Cute, finite, cute.

The last third of the volume are stories that have been published in collections that I have already or am about to review. It made for a weird deja vu feeling as I read.

Shifting the mass of pages away from Yuri Danshi and Yuru Yuri (neither of which are Yuri, really) to Kuzushiro-sensei’s work (which mostly is) was a massive relief. “Yuri Joshi” is an exploration of Yuri tropes through the eyes of a female character, which, while still not a Yuri story, is less grating to me. Sexist? Probably. Oh well, I prefer girls to guys, it should hardly come as a shock to anyone.

The upshot was that the stuff I disliked was dispersed more and there was generally more to like.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

I have the January 2015 volume here to read already. The thing that sticks in my craw, is that moe is not showing any signs of being less popular. Surely a decade is long enough for fetuses in frilly dresses? When will I get pretty, sexy adults back in my Yuri?

In Volume 1 of Takagami Yuriko’s Tsuki to Sekai to Etoile (月と世界とエトワール), we were introduced to the Gekkoukan, an exclusive all girls music school, in which skill in singing and music writing translates to rank among the student body  – and pairs of songwriters and singers are known as Etoile and Chevalier. Yozora is an new student, but has already become “engaged” to Sekai, her songwriter. Yozora and Sekai have become a threat to the established top star couple, Umiyuri and Towa.

Volume 2 shows us that behind their beauty, Umiyuri and Towa are not nice people. They’ve been responsible for the destruction of one girl’s musical career already and are clearly, despite their smiles and kind words, gunning for Yozora.  Despite their interference, Yozora persists and, while she loses to them in the big competition, it’s clear that she poses a threat to their rank.

Volume 3 begins as summer vacation looms. Yozora learns that Sekai does not go home, so she invites her Chevalier to join her. We meet Yozora’s grandmother and learn the not-at-all-shocking fact that she and Sekai’s grandmother were once Etoile and Chevalier as well. Sekai decides to return home and deal with her family for the first time in a while.

Missing Sekai deeply, Yozora returns to school, where she is embroiled in some new cockamamie scheme by Umiyuri and Towa to crush her spirit, only to be rescued by Sekai who has come back. Umiyuri asks Yozora to accompany her to a performance, again to make her fail, but Yozora, bolstered by Sekai’s belief in her and her feelings for her Chevalier, rises to the challenge.

As the volume ends, the next performance festival is around the corner and Yozora and Sekai will surely face more outright competition from the school’s star couple.

I had purchased this volume before I left for Tokyo in October. While shopping in Comic Zin, I came across a doujinshi for this series. I scooped it up, with a comment to my wife that if the doujinshi artist was not the actual series creator, it had to be an assistant, the art was that similar.

As it turns out, it was indeed by Takagami-sensei, a fanfic of her own world, which made me quite happy. The story takes place a few years before Sekai and Yozora meet. Sekai manages to help a classmate who keeps cracking under performance pressure. And it sets Sekai up as a bit of a playgirl, as well. ^_^ Yozora isn’t her first girl, after all.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri –7 More kisses and some actual affection
Service – 1, on principle

Overall – 7

This story is growing on me. And it looks like it’ll be one of the first 4-volume series from  Yuri Hime Comics (along with Citrus) that has actual Yuri. This volume is also available on JP Kindle.

You cannot judge Yui Hinako’s Pastel Days (ぱすてるディズ)  by its cover. Like Fujisawa Makoto’s Himitsu no Kakera from last week, I found it to be a surprisingly satisfying read.

The first story is roughly drawn, and is a pretty basic “Story A” set in a typical school setting.

The second story, although the art is still very moe, follows the meeting of two adult friends and how they both come to realize their relationship is more than just friends.

The third story goes back to the rough style and is again a old friends story with some passive-aggressive hijinks for spice.

It’s the fourth story, “Ai no Tane” which elevated this book for me. Set in an office, Oono is really irritated by Sasaki-san. She’s just so damn cheerful all the time and hangs around with suspicious men and…she’s just annoying, right?

Sasaki immediately recognizes this for what it is and asks “Do you like me?” Oono denies it, but it’s only a matter of time before Sasaki pushes away the lame excuses Oono has for not admitting what is obvious to all of us.  What really makes the story work is the third co-worker, who also sees what’s going on but is completely taken aback when, the day after Oono left alone and fuming, she and Sasaki come in the next day, all smiles. The art by now has tightened up considerably, as well, with better production and finishing.

In the fifth story Haru and Hana are roommates, but when Hana mentions that she’s got a marriage offer, everything changes between them.

The final story follows two sisters who go away for an onsen holiday so they can have alone time.

Interestingly, all these stories were originally doujinshi. This is an original collection by Yuri Hime Comics, nothing that has run in the pages of the magazine. Its not going to be a go-to book, but I definitely smiled more than I frowned. While I did not love every story, I found myself enjoying most of them.

Ratings:

Art – Variable, her art improved vastly between 2012 and 2014
Stories – Average 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 3 1 on principle, +2 for the infantalizing of adults

Overall – Let’s call it an 8

This was a nice before-bed read. Nothing harsh on the sensibilities and “Ai no Tane” had a punchline that actually made me laugh out loud. For that, it was totally worth my time.

The book is also available on Kindle for those with  JP IP address.