Archive for the Comic Yuri Hime Category


Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime S (コミック百合姫) Volume 14

November 22nd, 2010

Yuri Hime S, Volume 14 is the final volume of Yuri Hime S (百合姫 S). Around for almost 4 full years, it has now been merged into Comic Yuri Hime. A listing of the stories that will be carried over from both magazines can be found on the Comic Yuri Hime website, along with the new works debuting.

This final volume doesn’t particularly feel final, though. Most of the stories continue on just as they always have. It starts off with “Shinagami Alice,” a story that has always felt to me as if it’s limping along waiting to develop a plot or be killed. Having survived a first collected volume, it appears to be trying to develop a plot. The introduction of a new character, Masaki’s relative, brings a teeny little thread of normality into what has been a free-floating “where? when? what?” kind of story. Then the Goth-Loli bad Shinigami comes back and that’s all completely blown.

Color news pages cover mobile visual novels and games that are pure Fanboy material, a “Girls Festival” hosted by Animate and Tamayura which I have been watching and still don’t see anything even remotely, slightly, sort of  Girls’ Love-ish about. It’s sweet. I like it. But Girls’ Love? Not so far.

Naoe Marimo’s “Hime to Mahou-tsukai” is a cute little confection about a Princess and a Witch, obviously.

“My Steady” by Yamura Marika follows a young woman and the older woman she loves.

Then comes “Fu~Fu” by Minamoto Hisanari. I was thinking about the spelling of “Fu-Fu” the other day. Although the first chapter discusses the etymology of the  kanji for the phrase “fu~fu,” (which is to say, the character for “wife” twice) the title itself is spelled using Hiragana. ふ~ふ. And I wondered about that, because the blowing of wind is rendered that way. You may recall my review of the first Strawberry Panic Light Novel in Japanese, in which I commented on the excessive winds at Miator. (fuu~ fuu~) So, it occurred to me that, perhaps, we were meant to be reminded of the sound of wind blowing with the name rendered in Hiragana as it is. It certainly has become a breath of fresh air blowing through Yuri Hime S for many of us.

This chapter follows Kina and Su-chan on a trip (designed by Kana, Kina’s older sister) that is their de facto honeymoon. Meanwhile, we see a new couple moving in next door and learn that they too are a “Yuri couple!” I predict “noises heard through the walls” jokes in future chapters.

Skipping “Mugen no Minamo” as I always do, which leads to “Marriage Black” which continues to be fraught, violent and full of unresolved tension of about twenty kinds. Lu-Chie becomes Lilicia’s guardian angel by swearing that she, and none other, shall be the one to take Lilicia’s life.

In “Flower Flower” Shuu *finally* makes it plain that when she says she likes Nina, she means in a “want to kiss you” way.

I skip a second chapter of “Mugen no Minamo” and move on to the next chapter of “Cassiopeia Dolce” in which Ana goes through crisis number 870 in between getting dressed and undressed. I did very much like the handful of eyeballs, though.

“Zettai Shoujo Astoria” comes to an end with one of the very lamest endings I’ve ever read. It really made all the screaming and running around seem pretty silly and pointless. But that’s over, so we can move on to…

“Okkake Girls” has developed a sort of plot, as Marin has decided to devote herself to becoming an Otokoyaku.

And finally, *100* pages of Namori’s “Yuru Yuri,” which I have felt is utterly without interest since the very beginning. It’s obvious that the editors at Ichijinsha love this series, since the page count has been steadily growing every volume, but 100 pages????? That’s a whole 25% of the book! Can you say the word “excessive?” And worse, it’s going to be in the new magazine. I can’t wait until the day all the other stories are just jettisoned for 400 pages of this totally nothing story with barely any Yuri. BLEAH. Two thumbs down for this waste of ink.

And so, Yuri Hime S comes to a close with a really big yawn. Which it totally did not have to do.

Ratings:

Overall – 7, with two points off for 100 pages of zzzz, I mean “Yuru Yuri.”





Yuri Manga: Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen, Volume 2

November 21st, 2010

Ah, young love. It’s all drama all the time. Especially when you’re a human who has accidentally found their way to the youkai world and fallen in love with a two-tailed cat-girl spirit.

Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen, Volume 2 picks up just at the end of Volume 1. Arare and Kiri are in love, that much is obvious, but they’ve got something important standing between them and consummation of that love – the fact that if they have sex Arare will cease to be human and will become a youkai herself! Her situation isn’t made easier when she meets Akina, a youkai who tells her that she herself made that choice.

As much as they desire one another, this simple fact keeps them apart. And, it is this simple fact that causes them to fight and causes Arare to run off, unaware that Pero has followed her. When Arare ends up back in the human world Pero is somehow dragged along. Awkward, but not unbearable…until the human world starts to make Pero sick. Now Arare has a more pressing problem – if she doesn’t get back to the world of the youkai, Pero may die!

I have had a strong belief that I knew what the end of this series was going to be from waayyyyy back in the story. As soon as we heard, in fact, that Arare would become a youkai if she made love to a youkai, I pretty much assumed I knew what the ending was going to be. It seemed so *obvious!* I’m not going to spoil the ending, but I will say this – I could not have been wronger. ^_^;

The ending was cute, the ending was happy…it just didn’t do anything like I expected it to. So kudos to creator Nangoku Banana for finding a unique, creative way out of that well. (That phrase has a story behind it. My Dad was telling me a story of a serial he read when he was a kid – one of those adventure things, you know. The hero was bound, at the bottom of a well, no one around for miles, no tools to rescue himself with, etc, etc. End of chapter. Next chapter began, “Once out of the well…” We use that phrase around my house to signify cheating your way out of corners you’ve written yourself into.)

No doubt Kiri and Arare will live happily ever after.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 9
Service – 7

Overall – 8

This series is still not for the prudish. It’s more serious than Volume 1, and slightly less outrageous, but still pretty over-the-top.

On another note, if you are interested in the youkai portrayed in this story and don’t want to wade through a lot of tedious academic research or historical stuff, I recommend Hiroko Yoda and Matt Alt’s Yokai Attack!, a fun “field guide” to youkai you might encounter and how to deal with them if you do.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6 (百合姫 Wildrose)

October 17th, 2010

I know, I know. I said I was done with this series. I say that sometimes. But then I need another item or two to make an order on Amazon JP worth it, so…

Anyway, here we are in Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 6 (百合姫 Wildrose) and while I am not dancing a joyful “this is it!” dance, I’m not gritting my teeth or anything, either. And perhaps the folks at Yuri Hime are getting comments that echo my own, because in it’s own PWP way, this volume of Wildrose steps up its game by a notch.

This is most apparent in the first story of the volume, “Yume no Hanashi,” in which Naho is moved to tears when she realizes that she is not alone in her school as a girl who loves other girls. Given that recently the US is dealing with reports of young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth struggling against  prejudice and abuse from not just the people around them but from the leaders of their communities, who don’t seem to care that their casual homophobia is inciting acts of hate and intolerance…this message is an incredibly powerful one. And, given that Wildrose does tend to be rather more superficial than sensitive, and almost all Yuri avoids complications of awareness and identity, this simple acknowledgement of how alone a LGBTQ young person can feel and how important just knowing that you are not alone, is an amazingly powerful statement. It was a strong opening for the volume.

Again, in “Moment Like Fireworks,” the continuation of Nanzaki Iku’s ShizNat-esque couple, Sayo and Ritsuko’s story, Sayo first introduces Ri-chan as a friend to an old classmate , then corrects it to a “good friend,” and then backtracks, explaining that she and her girlfriend would like some alone time to engage in some love talk. Sayo later apologizes for not making the point right away, but Ritsuko expresses understanding and gratitude.

There were a few stories where younger women had to work a little harder at getting their point across to their older lover, and one story in which a Devil tries to ruin an Angel, only to be thwarted by her purity and love (a very cute story, I thought. It seems obvious to me that the real danger is that the Devil will start to feel “Love” and go good.)

There are a few stories which are not “good” in the big picture – one in which a not-very-veiled threat of suicide brings two lovers back together did not, to me, seem to be a good ending to a relationship that just needed to end. Relationships do that sometimes.  But then there’s something like “Houkago Berry Girl” which was just…silly. It made no statements, had nothing deep to impart, but was cute.

My major complaints about the Wildrose stories are that they have basically been retreads of “Story A” and left me feeling empty at best and quite often icky. This time I felt like they had actually stepped up their game, with more established couples and even some “lesbian identity” in a few of those stories.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

I’m back on the wagon for Wildrose 7.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime, Volume 21 (Part 2)

September 23rd, 2010

The second half of Volume 21 of Yuri Hime, begins with a chronological “Timeline of Yuri” which they begin in 1902 with the creation of the first magazine for girls to be published in Japan, “Shoujokai.” (少女界）

This is followed by interviews with and “Top 5” lists from the editors. I pretty much don’t agree with their choices in the top 5s, especially as many of them are Yuri by association or implication, rather than actually having Yuri content, and therefore, not very helpful to anyone looking for suggestions of what to read or watch. But they are an interesting glimpse into the editor’s collective minds.

Color pages highlight some notable Yuri kisses in anime, follwed by coverage pf topics of interest to the Yuri Network, such as the surge in Yuri manga in shoujo magazines and the Live Action Maria-sama ga Miteru movie.

Kazuma Kowo’s “Sayonara Folklore” come to a close in which the original premise of the “Monday curse” is addressed, neutralized and set aside, so that Mashiro and Nanase can live a well-deserved happily every after.

“Sore ga Kimi ni Naru” hits an expected lag, as You realizes how painful her existence must be to Amane and how much she wants to see Amane anyway, while Amane realizes pretty much the same thing about You. Sadly for them and us, they just miss each other and have to keep on wanting for another chapter.

Miura Shion’s essay is once again about a story with which I am unfamiliar, “Nami no Ue no Tsuki.” Time to do some shopping, I think. ^_^ This story has been reviewed by Erin S. on her blog, if you’d like a western perspective. (Thanks for the link!)

“Moso Honey” continues to be a love triangle comedy in which Nonoka, because her eyes are fixed on Nozomu-sempai, fails to see how Kanade looks at her.

The penultimate chapter of “Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen” in which it becomes apparent to us, Arare and Kiri that poor Pero needs to be returned to the world of the yokai. Will they make it in time? And what will become of Kiri and Arare? The series’ second volume is already out, so you don’t have to wait to find out!

“Lunch Box,” by Mitsue Aoki delves a little deeper into Yukari’s feelings for the woman who makes her her lunches with such care and devotion, with a little side-track into leopard-patterned underwear. :-)

A love letter treated with cavalier unconcern is a matter for contention between a third-year and the second-year school prince in what is quite accurately titled “Kobun Miman.”

The final letters section is a farewell from the avatars that have shepherded us through so many letters section. The book ends with a two page ad heralding the next phase of the magazine.

And so, hopefully, we set aside our childish things and look forward to the new iteration, the post-adolescence (we hope) of Yuri Hime magazine!

Ratings:

Overall- 8





Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime, Volume 21 (Part 1)

September 22nd, 2010

We’re right on the cusp of the big merge now. Here were are at Volume 21 of Yuri Hime. One more volume of Yuri Hime S and then they will combine like two galaxies, which I’m sure could be a really funky extended metaphor if I had an ounce of energy to do it. ^_^;

This volume begins with a interview with Shimura Takako, creator of hit Yuri series Aoi Hana. Questions about drawing Yuri, love between girls and the BL and Yuri audiences are asked and answered.  It’s very much a public figure interview, so don’t expect massive personal revelations or spoilers for Akira and Fumi, but as interviews go – it was a good one. Most interesting to me was the use of the word “Yuri” to describe the work and the audience. It might not seem like a big thing to you, but it’s been a decade’s worth of work for me. ^_^

“Renai Joshika” starts to tie up loose ends, as Himeno and Shiraha shed some baggage in order to be able to move forward together.

In “Watashi to Kanoujo” two girls are together, while in “Hoshitotsu  Bokuro” two girls are separated.

Shio’s hair is really pretty and Kanako loves to play with it, but when classmates are unkind about their friendship, Shio puts some distance between them, in “Yuri Yuri.” After a short, tense time apart, they decide that they’d actually like to become closer and the other girls can suck it up.

Takemiya Jin’s “Love Aroma” follows a student who can’t get the scent of the new teacher out of her mind.

The Black Cat Mansion series tries something totally different – two adult women! Kumi and Nozomu are a great couple and ought to be very happy together…but aren’t, until a visit to the Black Cat Mansion forces them to have the conversation they weren’t having, but needed to.

Next up is a “commercial message” from Furutsuji Kikka, the creator of Knife-Edge Girl on the critical topic of her characters’ bust sizes. Oh, and don’t forget to buy the book!

“Hime Koi” and “Para Yuri Hime” are both short and forgettable, and the pages that follow outline manga that won the most recent contest held by Ichijinsha. We can expect to see some of the newcomers in the upcoming issues.

Which brings us to “Love DNA Double XX” which is steadfastly not going where I thought it would, for which I am very, very thankful. Aoi and Sakura begin a duel over competing ideas of honorable behavior and do not conclude it quickly at all. In fact, I think I really actually began to like this story, when 20 minutes later they are still fighting – and their audience is getting tired and bored. ^_^  Does the end come in the shining flash of a sword – tune in next issue to find out!

Which brings us halfway and to the “Petit Yuri Hime” 5-year anniversary pamphlet. 5 years. That makes Yuri Hime the longest-running Yuri/lesbian-focused magazine in Japan. Something to be proud of, for sure!

In ten more years, when Yuri Hime turns 15 and Yuricon 20, I wonder what the Yuri landscape will look like?

Short overview today, because it’s been a really long day today. I’ll finish it up tomorrow!