For the first time that I can recall, all three of the leading shoujo manga magazines have series with Yuri themes or characters running concurrently. Ribon has the soon-to-be frustrating Blue Friends, Nakayoshi has the totally satisfying Strawberry Panic-like Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi and subtexty Heartcatch PreCure, and now Ciao magazine joins the pack with Waza-ari Kiwami-chan, which has by the least Yuri by far, but is nonetheless an interesting read.

Kiwami is a young girl who steadfastly refuses to think of herself as anything but the equal of any boy. According to ANN she is supposed to be the “World’s Most Powerful Girl.” What I see is a completely normal girl who sees herself as powerful and, as a result, has all the girls around her seeing themselves that way too.

The chapter I read in the August issue of Ciao takes place at the summer camp Japanese schools seem to make students attend. While the girls prepare dinner, the boys screw around, instead of lighting the fire as they are supposed to. So when the girls have to collect the wood and light the fire to make dinner, they are absolutely not inclined to let the boys eat. You didn’t help with the chores, they tell the boys, so why should we give you anything? I just about stood up and cheered.

After the girls eat (and clean up, of course, because you couldn’t possibly expect the boys to learn any lessons from that clear and simple statement,) the boys demand a kimodameshi – a test of courage. Kiwami is not cowed by this at all – she considers herself the equal of any boy, so runs off as fast as she can towards the goal. She, and the leader of the boys, fight about everything, but when the light goes out, Kiwami tears up. He’s shocked that Kiwami – *that* Kiwami, he thinks, is frightened, so he’s galvanized into getting them out of there. Then it’s his turn to be terrified when one of the “ghosts” grab him by the ankles. But, we are assured, summer camp ends safely for all.

The Yuri in this series is one Ibuza Ai, nicknamed “Rabu” (Love.) Ai is absolutely gaga over Kiwami, refers to her as Kiwami-sama, idolizes her from afar and close by and generally worships the ground she walks upon. Because of Kiwami’s inner strength, Ai and Teruna, Kiwami’s posse, both find it possible to tell the boys off when they are acting like assholes. Which is like every ten minutes.

So, as a Yuri story, Kiwami-chan is pretty thin. As a much-needed feminist primer for elementary school Japanese girls, I think it needs to be treasured and perhaps made mandatory reading for all genders.

It’s unlikely that Love’s love for Kiwami will ever be anything, but just to watch Kiwami not tolerate being treated crappily by the boys, it’s worth a look.

When they were 9 years old, Haru and Shio met during the summer. They spent happy days bug hunting and hanging out, swimming, all normal summer things. Haru fell for Shio, and considered him her first love. When they parted, they promised to write to one another, which they did. Years passed and Haru was preparing for high school, she gets a postcard from Shio saying that he’ll be going to the same school!

Imagine Haru’s surprise when she sees Shio again for the first time in 6 years. Shio’s short hair is now long, straight and black. And his chest is decidedly un-boyish. Surprised, Haru asks when Shio became a girl?!? Shio says she always was…….

At which point, the entire love interest issue is dropped, except when it’s brought up in the beginning of every chapter as a recap. In every other way, the story stops being about Haru and Shio and becomes about Shio and the rest of the class.

Shio, it turns out, is not good with people. It’s surprising even to her that she became friends with Haru, as she’s a crybaby and can’t remember people’s names. One of the girls in the class is snarky to Shio, which bothers her less than the boy who makes fun of her big chest.

Towards the end of the book, Haru and Shio have a fight, over something. A misunderstanding, a difference of human interaction styles, whatever. They make up, obviously. And the book ends. And, um…that’s it. This is Volume 1, so there’ll probably be a volume 2.

Ratings:

Art – 6, Haru and her father did this weird lip-pursing thing, which was supposed to be funny, but was really just weird
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 1

Overall – 6

Issho ni Kaero  (一緒にかえろう) is a 4-koma manga with an amusing premise that is reintroduced every chapter, then set aside for other, less amusing things.

In Volume 1 of Morita-san ha Mukuchi (森田さんは無口,) we met Morita Mayu, a girl who is, compared with other high school girls, very quiet. We also learn that it’s not because she can’t talk or doesn’t want to talk, she just never manages to spit it out fast enough.

In Volume 2, Mayu still doesn’t quite manage to get the words out, but that isn’t stopping her from having fun with her friends, making fun of her parents or bonding with her pet fish. In fact, because she keeps her mouth shut, doesn’t interrupt, always pays attention to the speaker and doesn’t do something else while they talk, we learn, she’s a favorite among her peers. There’s still one girl (unnamed so far) that has a crush on Mayu and a number of girls would rather be with Mayu than with one of the guys in the school.

In a sweet scene, Mayu’s best friend Hana is having boyfriend problems. They, and some other schoolfriends, go to a shrine for New Year’s Day. Mayu receives a fortune of “Half-luck,” which puzzles her. After helping cheer Hana up, Mayu and she eat some hot anpan. When Mayu loses her her grip and drops hers, Hana immediately breaks hers in half to share. Mayu thinks to herself that maybe this is what “half luck” meant.

In the main, this is a typical one-gag 4-koma, but there’s enough charm and reality in the characters that it doesn’t wear on the reader.

As with the first volume, the Yuri is scattered here and there throughout the story. Mayu’s unnamed admirer pops up from time to time to remind you that she exists, and there’s a general feeling that if Mayu should ever break her silence, the girls around her would swoon. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 9
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 8

In general, Morita-san ha Mukuchi is a silly, light-hearted comic strip that asks very little of the reader, except to accept that Mayu is not a big talker.

I’ve been out all day, but that doesn’t mean you have to go a day without me. ^_^

On David Welsh’s Manga Curmudgeon, I was honored to be allowed to review Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime. You can find my review here: http://precur.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/guest-review-book-girl-and-the-suicidal-mime/ Short version: I liked it a lot.

Out in the wider world of comics, my monthly column at Hooded Utilitarian, “Overthinking Things” this month is a Portrait of Compulsion (in 140 characters or less.) I love writing for HU, I get to really indulge my wankery pretentious side. ^_^

Of course I hope you enjoy reading these, as much as I enjoy writing them!

Hatsumi and Sakura are best friends. Together they have entered Otowa Gakuin, an elite school for girls. Situated in a deep forest the students are known as the maidens of the forest of wild roses (hence, the title.)

The star of the school is Izumi and her partner Mayuko, who look and act like a Takarazuka Top Star couple.

But Hatsumi thinks it’s more than just an act – she saw Izumi and Mayuko in the forest kissing! And when Izumi saw her and Sakura, she said that the two of them were suitable for the elite squad known as the “Sousha Lights” group. Izumi asks Hatsumi and Sakura to be part of the group as representatives of their dorm.

Hatsumi is absolutely obsessed with Izumi, and obsessed with the idea that she saw Izumi and Mayuko kissing. More confusingly, Izumi responds to Hatsumi with seductive behavior (for which Mayuko scolds her for “playing” with the girl’s feeling and Izumi replies that she’s not playing at all.) Hatsumi’s confused about everything, but when she’s asked what she thinks of Izumi, she says that she’s not attracted to women.

This pronouncement has a bizarre effect on Sakura. She has cheerfully accompanied Hatsumi everywhere, but when Hatsumi says she isn’t attracted to women, Sakura acts like she’s been slapped. That night, she finds Izumi embracing Hatsumi (under the pretext of practicing for the school dance) and drags her friend out of Izumi’s arms, warning the school star off. As the chapter ends, back in their room, Sakura pushes Hatsumi down on the bed and demands to know what she really thinks about Izumi.

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi (野ばらの森の乙女たち,) by Shirasawa Marimo, is currently running in Nakayoshi magazine. It reads like Strawberry Panic light. :)

Again, my confidence that it will remain as blatantly Yuri as it is right now is low, but it certainly has the potential to surprise me. I would be totally okay with it if it remained Strawberry Panic light. ^_^

So for the first time in quite a while, there’s a small uptick in Yuri in shoujo magazines. And with the Marimite manga picking up again next month, I’ll be buying more shoujo that I have in ages for the next few months!

And, should anything develop in this garden of wild roses…I’ll be sure to let you know. ^_^