Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. Up until now, this series has been a lighthearted, goofy look at kids in school, with little to no service, but this time the cover and color front page of Morita-san ha Mukuchi, Volume 7 (森田さんは無口) are a bit…. Oh well, it was a good run.

Once past the offending art, Volume 7 continues on as it always has, with lighthearted, goofy gag comics about kids at school, their relationships with each other, their families and their daily life.

The cutest set of gags comes early on, as Mayu’s friends are taking about her while she’s out of the room. They are being effusive in their praise of their silent friend. She can hear them from outside and becomes too embarrassed to enter the room. Class rep Yamamoto finds here there, blushing outside the door and instantly surmises the situation. She listens in, to find the conversation has moved on and she is now being praised. She takes a seat next to Mayu outside the door. ^_^

Thankfully, the stalker chick is played down into one tired gag about not being able to see without eyeglasses.

A big chunk of the book is given over to the stuff that is going on inside Mayu’s head while she’s trying to decide what to say. Each potential comment or answer is represented by a little Mayu in her head with a sign. Overwhelmed at each turn of conversation by the noise and lack of consensus in her brain, Mayu misses her chance to speak.

The end pages remind us that it would be all to easy too see Mayu as someone alone, locked in her own head, except that she’s actually surrounded by friends who love her for who she is. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 9
Yuri – 1
Service – 3

Overall – 8

Some of the jokes are played out now. And the service is a bad sign. If it were me, I’d wrap this series up with the next volume.

I have an extra copy of this volume to give away!  Contiguous 48 USA states only this time. Let me know your name and where you are in the USA in the comments. I’ll pick a winner on Saturday in the YNN report.

In Volume 1, we met Chika who, after a bitter break up with her girlfriend, tries to commit suicide by car. To her surprise, the driver will not aid and abet her. Mistaking Chika for a boy, Antonio sees her reflexes and thinks she’d be a good candidate to become a matador. When he realizes that she is a girl, she refuses to back down from the challenge,

In Volume 2, Chika decides that she does want to embrace bullfighting – in order to die a fittingly dramatic death. She will die, she tells Antonio, in the ring, in front of Maria her ex. We get her backstory as she communes with the first bull she faces in practice.

In Volume 3 of est em’s Golondrina, having practiced for some time, and having killed 10 bulls now, Chika is deemed fit to debut. She meets Antonio’s team of picadors and, finally steps into the stadium as a matador. Chika is surprised to find that she is not the only female on the card.

Chika’s debut is a complete failure. She is unable to kill the bull gracefully and is not booed, but knows she has embarrassed herself. Worse, the other woman was magnificent and politely suggests that if Chika is not up to the task, she get the hell out of the way.

At which point, I was reminded, and I must remind you – Chika is 15 years old. Oh, right. Well, that changes everything, really. We are inclined to be more generous now. She is taken by one of the picadors to see real Flamenco dancing, and asked to really watch the footwork. Chika returns to her practice with renewed vigor and is given a second change to debut.

During her second “debut” it begins to rain, hard. People start leaving the stands in droves, but when they see that she is still in the arena, doing magnificent footwork, they return to their seats and shout their encouragement. As the final blow comes, she is rewarded with cheers from the audience, and the bull’s ears. She’s carried out on the shoulders of her team to raucous applause.

Elsewhere, young Matador Vincente watching this triumph, is even more intrigued by Chika than before (we met him in Volume 2.) He asks her out, they talk. He kisses her, but her only response is, “Ah, so yeah, I guess I really am only attracted to women.” Vincente is about to give up on himself, when Chika embraces him kindly, as mother might.

I have no idea what Volume 4 will bring us. I can dream that Chika and the other female matador will get together, but it’s just a dream. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 1
Service – 3 Some light nudity

Overall – 8

In the meantime, Golondina continues to be a very decent sports manga, with the requisite blood, guts and tears of all sports manga ever. ^_^

Here are the winners of the Marine Corps Yumi contest.

None of the winners have contacted me as of yet. If I don’t hear from any of you in the next 48 hours, I’ll pick new winners. (I *did* ask you to make sure you were logged in with an email so I could write you.)

These people, write me at yuricon at gmail dot com

Chris Driggers

Elizabeth

Miakoda Wolfsen

Many of you know the name Anastasia Moreno. She’s been the translator for some of your favorite Yuri titles: GIRL FRIENDS, Strawberry Panic! and Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossoms Pink. It’s because of SP! that Ana I and became friends, in fact. We met up with her in Tokyo this month and we discussed her exciting new project.

Together with Nogami Takeshi-sensei of Strike Witches doujinshi fame, Ana  is writing a new comic Marine Corps Yumi (まりんこゆみ). This is a totally loopy, but completely truthy story about boot camp for the Marine Corps of the United States of Amerigo.

Young “Nipponian” Nagumo Yumi, upon graduating high school, finds herself with two criteria for adult life – she’d like to continue to wear her school uniform and she wants to become the President of the United States. Her friends argue that neither criteria will fly, but Yumi takes herself off to Amerigo anyway, where she runs into  a bunch of elderly veterans who convince her that she should become a Marine.

Joined by Linda Crawford, a milk-fed freckled, busty blonde who wants to get away from her white trash parents and her moldering town; African-American Donna King who turned down a job at “Boldman Sachs” (and who is a fujoshi); and fam-trad Marine and all around competent Rita Fernandez, whose dad is a decorated NCO, our Nipponian doofus Yumi introduces us and other military otaku to life at Marine Corps boot camp. From Birth Control Glasses (boot camp issued glasses that are as ugly as possible) to Box Nasties (the “high calorie, low motivation” meals provided) we get to experience the lingo and in-jokes, without having to do a 10 mile morning run.

Nogami-sensei’s art style suits the gags well. There is a fair bit of service, but it’s expected and acceptable. Gags about Linda’s build, and Donna’s underwear are a nice break from Yumi’s general doofusyness. ^_^

I want to draw your attention to the cast, for a moment. Generally speaking, manga does not do “diversity,” as we in the west see it (for what I think is obvious reasons.) In this case, the primary cast is indeed diverse. A Latina, an African-American woman, an Asian and a Caucasian make up the four boots we follow. Meyers, Joiner, Garza and Dillinger are the DIs. Notably, Rita Fernandez is the most competent of the recruits, and Donna King the most elite. Yumi is, of course, a doofus and a klutz, while Linda Crawford, who in any other manga might be seen as the princess type, is the lowest class and trying to better her options. Even in 4-koma goofball gags, every character gets a story and a personality.

There is basically no Yuri, except for a brief moment in which Yumi strips happily, presuming a bath is at hand, when everyone else is hesitant. Linda sees Yumi’s dreamy expression and wonders if she’s gay. I hold out hope that one of the characters is in fact gay – preferably Rita, since she’s competent and you know what we say about anime and manga lesbians. ^_^

Marine Corps Yumi strikes a deep personal note for me – when I was a child I wanted to be a Marine more than anything else in the whole while world. I  was too sickly, then I was too gay. ^_^ So while in my next life I’ll hope to come back as a Marine, for this one, I’ll stick to Marine Corps Yumi, which comes out online (in English, too) weekly.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8, if you’re into it, silly otherwise. ^_^
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 3 All the characters are adult women, which may be a downer for some

Overall – 8

Thanks to Ana’s generosity we have three copies of Marine Corps Yumi to give away!

Put your name, rank and serial number in the comments and I’ll pick three winners. (Consider logging in to post, so I have your email.)

I’m going to drag my jetlagged butt into New York Comic Con this afternoon, so if you see me, say hi! No giveaways this time, sorry, too tired to carry myself, much less a bag full of crap. But I’ll do more lucky boxes soonish, so you’ll be able to get random wonderfulness that way, promise. ^_^

I hope to see some of you there!