Archive for the Series Category


She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5

January 9th, 2026

Cover of She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 by Sakaomi Yuzaki. On an unadorned background, 4 adult women walk together chatting and eating or drinking. A tall woman in pants and shirt, a shorter woman in woman in a winter jacket and long skirt.Somehow I never got around to review this volume, so I treated myself to a re-read of this fantastic volume of a fantastic series to get myself into healthy headspace for the new year.

Sakaomi Yuzaki’s She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 covers a lot of territory- in such a gentle and affirming way that it’s only when you are done that you see how much has been addressed.

Nomoto and Kasuga, that is to say, Yuki and Totoko, have committed to moving in together. There are a lot of considerations going in to this – of course, it’s a sign that their relationship is developing, and it makes sense for them to share a kitchen and expenses at this point. We know that Totoko’s family relationship is not a healthy one, and her father is demanding and emotionally…draining, if not outright abusive. So this new place will be a safe haven for her in many ways.

Of course, looking for a place to live isn’t easy in the best of circumstances. And for same-sex couples in Japan bias and discrimination is often insurmountable. This is yet another reason why one party of a same-sex couple adopted the other for so long in Japan. It was, and still is, a tactic that gave them access to inheritance, power of attorney and living together, that was denied to them as a couple. The book takes us through the frustrations, but then once again Kaname comes to the rescue with a reference to a realtor that supports same-sex couples.

May I digress here for a moment and tell you a story?

It was 1984, the woman who is now my wife and I were looking for a place to live. I won’t detail how many awful places and people we met, and how many times we were looked at weirdly. Eventually we found a ridiculously good spot and were there for many years before we moved to our house where we are now. In that time, I discovered a LGBTQ+ friendly services pamphlet/magazine for my state. We ended up consulting an accountant who is himself gay. This was long before we had any legal rights as a couple, so taxes were both simple and complicated. He was with us, as we insisted the state treat us as a couple, even before that was law, and as the laws were so different for state and federal taxes. We are still with his company, 40 years later. My point is – a LGBTQ+ friendly company did, can and will make a huge difference.  The moral of the story is – support your queer community publications and networks! Kaname’s reference made a difference and, out here in the real world, that little booklet made a huge difference to us, as well.

Yuki and Totoko find a place to make their own and we get to enjoy them doing something my wife and I call “playing house.” I will never get enough of watching a happy couple just looking at furniture and appliances. It’s moments like that make a life together.

We also spend some time with Sena, who now has a diagnosis to explain what she has been dealing with her whole life, And again, Kaname comes to the rescue with a look at what “accommodations” look like in daily practice. Asking first, making sure people are all right, not assuming that what is best for us, is right for them. It’s as simple as asking a person first if they need help.

My favorite scene is when the realtor goes on a little rant about the unfairness of trying to find a place for same-sex couples. He didn’t rant, but my accountant had choice words for the inequitable tax situation for same-sex couples for sure. ^_^ 

This series is on hiatus for the moment, although I have seen some shorts and illustrations starring these characters on Yuzaki-sensei’s socials. Yuzaki-sensei also went through a period of illness, so art – especially in the first half – is a bit rougher than in previous volumes.  Even if this should end up our very last volume, it is an excellent place to stop. This found family has covered so many issues for us, the hard and the joyful, that it is an incredible pleasure to read. 

Ratings: 

Art – Due to the creator’s illness, I don’t think rating it is appropriate
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 3, them snuggling in bed, is definitely “service”
LGBTQ+ – 10

Overall – 10

I am still very thankful that Yen Press picked this up and gave it to us in English. ^_^





There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, Light Novel Volume 4

January 7th, 2026

Cover of There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover Unless...! Two girls embrace, looking out at us. One has pink hair with a crossed barrettes as decoration on the front, the other has silver-blue hair tied up with a gold ribbon. They both wear Japanese style school uniforms of white blouses with red piping, and gray plaid skirts.by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

It’s been a while, but I’m back to volume 4 of the light novel There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… We’re back to the standard cover design of Renako x whoever is the focus of this volume. If you’re looking to start where the anime ends, this is the volume you need.The anime which aired earlier this year covered volumes 1-3 of the novel series and introduced our first 3 members of the harem who are Oduka Mai, Sena Ajisai and Koto Satsuki.  There is, however, this one more introductory volume to go, which focuses on the last member of the group, Koyanagi Kaho.

Like the other members of the group, there is more to Kaho than meets the eye, but it turns out Kaho and Renako have actually met before, at cram school when they were younger. Kaho, much like Renako has reinvented herself from nerd to popular girl, and due to changing her surname because her parents divorced, Renako doesn’t immediately recognise her. Hijinks of course ensue, including an amusement park trip with a ride on the Ferris wheel of course, and we learn that Kaho is actually jealous of Renako and her newfound popularity, partly because she likes Mai too.

By now, if the first 3 volumes or the anime didn’t grab you, then this one won’t either. The writing style is as it always has been, with lots of exaggerated freaking and internal monologues from Renako especially. Eku Takeshima’s art continues to be pleasant and I do enjoy Renako’s panic face. This volume, much like the previous 3 with the other characters, focuses mostly on Kaho and sets her place in the harem. As well as reinventing herself as an extrovert, Kaho is also now a pretty popular cosplayer, and she ropes Renako into dressing up with her and doing a photoshoot together. and then performing together at a cosplay event where Mai is a surprise judge/special guest. Nothing is ever simple for a harem protagonist is it?

In the afterword, the author describes this volume as the conclusion of season 1, and I am interested to see what happens in the next volume. The harem is assembled, Renako hasn’t been forced to choose just one person, so now we’ve been introduced to everyone, let’s see what happens next.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 7 Renako has now bathed with every member of the group.
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7





The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All, Volume 3

December 26th, 2025

On a vivid green background, drawn in black and white, guitar picks flying around as in a high wind, two girls look at us. One, in t-shirt and jeans, holds a guitar, the other in blouse and skirt, their hair and clothes flying wildly.We left Mitsuki and Aya at the end of Volume 2 (which I apparently never reviewed in English, sorry!), becoming closer, in a charmingly awkward way. Because of Mitsuki’s rescue of Aya’s previous relationships, her fashionable friends Mau and Chizuru have not dumped Aya. As a result, Mitsuki has found herself adopted by a bunch of fashionable girls, and Narita, who is the nicest narcissist we’ve ever met. It’s all good, but exhausting for an introvert.

Volume 3 of The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All, will encompass the school trip, a music festival, the school festival, exams, and a surprise prom. More importantly, bolstered by Aya and her friends, Volume 3 will give us Mitsuki coming out as the butch she is, in one of the finest comic chapters of the year. ^_^

Sumiko Arai’s manga about two girls bonding over “Dad rock” is absolutely grin-making for this Gen Xer. I don’t have the least bit of nostalgia for the music of the 90’s and 00’s, but I’m enjoying the ongoing soundtrack of this series, and the quiet ways it’s stomping on tropes of coming out in school. 

There are a number of laugh out loud moments as well. “Narita Geographic” make me giggle in Japanese and I was looking forward to reading it again in English. I also just loved the retrospective of Chizuru giving relationship advice without really caring what she said. ^_^

Quick shout out to Brandon Bovia for fantastic lettering.

I imagine that many of use are also following the manga online, so I don’t need to tell you what happens, but I will tell you that Volume 4 will be released in Japan in February and I am ready. In the meantime, it was wonderful that this volume made it in before the end of the year.  This manga is definitely a bright spot in this dark winter. ^_^

Ratings: 

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – Yes, Mitsuki in the lesbian uniform of slacks and vest is 100% service
Yuri – 7…8…9…

Overall – 9

We are about to embark on our Okazu Top Yuri list journey and this and a few other titles have been so extraordinary, they will get their own list! Keep your eyes peeled for both lists. ^_^





Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 3

December 3rd, 2025

Two women, one with short hair and one with long hair. The long haired woman has her arms around the shoulders of the short haired one. by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

In Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 3, we start out with Ema looking for an apartment which she can live in separately from her husband so of course she enlists Takara the real estate agent’s help. This volume mostly deals with Takara’s internal conflicts as she finally realises the strength of her feelings for Ema, and also the fact that Ema is married to a lovely man who seems to absolutely adore her. It would definitely be much easier for her if Hario was an awful deadbeat husband but he’s quite the opposite, kind, caring and completely supportive of his wife. Cruicially though, we learn that she wasn’t interested in him at first, in his words he “wore her down but she chose me in the end” even though other guys were also interested in her.

What I especially like about this series is that it’s very nuanced. It’s very easy to come out with the blanket statement that “all cheaters are automatically irredeemably bad people and homewreckers” but often it’s a lot more complicated than that because people and feelings are messy and complicated. That’s what makes us human after all. Takara clearly loves Ema, she says as much but she’s also very aware that she could ruin Ema’s life. This is also fiction, so no real people are going to be hurt.

It seems that Ema is wanting to relive the summer of 20 years ago with Taka, and do all the things they never got to do back then, as well as using Taka’s blog for inspiration. Whether they’ll actually kiss this time remains to be seen. I of course, hope they do.

Overall, I’m still really enjoying this series. I still need more josei yuri in my life and I’m looking forward to volume 4.

Art – Still a fan. It’s a shame there aren’t colour pages with the chapter art on.
Story – My only quibble with the story is that I find it very hard to believe that Ema’s husband would just be so accepting that his wife suddenly wants to live by herself. Apart from that, still lots of complicated and messy feelings.
Characters – As before. I’m rooting for no one to get hurt. And for them to just kiss dammit.
Service – None. It still doesn’t need it. This is a story about women’s feelings, written by a woman for other women.
Yuri – So much yuri.

Volume 4 of Pink Candy Kiss by Ami Uozumi will hit English bookstore shelves from Viz Media in January 2026.





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.,Volume 10 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

August 28th, 2025

On a background of a dark reflecting pool of water, with a dark-red leaved plant Two girls stand with the arms crossed, wearing the red jackets and blue skits of a school uniform. Behind them are the heads of two princess, one with dark hair, one with long silver hair. All the figures look determined. The “Revolution” arc is moving inexorably towards a climax. In Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.,Volume 10 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) we have set aside almost all of the happy-go-lucky Rae, as she shepherds her friends into what she knows must be a new world order. She is driven to make this the right new world order.

Rae, accompanied by Clare and Lily, have completed their investigation and Rae now knows who is behind the corrupt nobles….but there is a lot standing between her and her desired outcomes.  Rae still knows what the game has in store for her, for Clare and for Bauer Kingdom. Time is running out.

Together they confront Salas, and find themselves at a dead end. They go to the leader of the Revolution, Arla Manuel, where Rae negotiates terms the others cannot understand. And it becomes clear that Salas did indeed have an affair with the former Queen, and Thane is indeed his son, which makes Lily his sister. Thickly knotted ropes of fate pull tighter around our principles.

And then – too early by Rae’s calculations – Mt. Sassal erupts, throwing everything into chaos.

There is no more goofing around in this story, we are at the edge of the precipice and the ground beneath us is about to crumble. We know what will happen, in the larger sense. Individual scenes are changed slightly and additional content is given to us with every volume. Arla’s underlings have stories and faces, and that, and being able to see Arla as she talks about the corrupt noble who destroyed her family brings a lot of the horror of commoner life to the front. That forces both Clare…and us…to really look and think about it.  Which is all that more effective as we watch as our world stands on a similar and just as precarious edge. 

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters –  9Thane is very relatable
Service – Not really
Yuri – 7 The love stories here have to be shelved. Revolution is coming.

Overall – 9

This volume is not an easy read, not if we’re paying attention. But it is an excellent, and deeply moving volume. I know we have a little more very hard stuff to read, but I can’t think of anyone better to tell it than inori.-sensei or better to illustrate it than Aonoshimo-sensei.