Archive for the Staff Writer Category


Throw Away The Suit Together, Volume 3

April 2nd, 2025

By Matt Marcus, Staff WriterTwo women in business attire stand on a boat pier hold hands, looking out at the reader with serious expressions

“…This has been a really great conversation. We’re really excited for the possibility of you joining our team here at Island Industries.”

“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” I hear myself say. I clench my jaw, thinking It better be, after six interview rounds.

“We just have one last question for you. More of a case study, really,” says a man with closely cropped hair and narrow rectangular glasses. I’ve already forgotten his name, but I do know that he is some kind of VP. “We dug into your background and found your little, ah, ‘side hustle’ at Okazu.”

I chuckle nervously. “Oh it’s more of a hobby, really—”

“We were hoping that your review of…that series with the android would give us some insight about your skills in the field of AI, but, alas.” My eyes dart quickly between him and the two other members of the interview panel, looking for some kind of reaction. None show any readable expression. “What we found more interesting was that you have yet to review Throw Away The Suit Together, Volume 3.” 

My pulse accelerates, and I can feel perspiration dampening my shirt under my suit jacket. “Um, yeah, that’s a strange one. Hard to get a handle on it.”

“Well, we feel like this role requires someone who is able to forge a clear path in the face of ambiguity. It’s a demonstration of decisive leadership.” The man pulls out a paperback book from behind his chair and places it on the conference room table. He spins it around so I can see the cover properly and slides it towards me. Two young women are dressed in office clothes, holding hands and looking straight at me with resolute eyes. “I want you to tell us, what is Keyyang-sensei trying to say with this series?”

I try to swallow the panic that rises in my throat. This is crazy, I think. The recruiter didn’t tell me there was going to be ANOTHER case study. And what the hell does this have to do with this job??…You know what, fuck it. I need this job. Just remember your interview training. My voice shakes slightly as I begin. “O-OK, so let me start with laying out the situation.

“In Volume 2, Haru and Hinoto lucked into some part time employment at a dive shop, which manages to buy them a few weeks of time before needing full time employment. However, neither are willing to actually make a realistic plan for the future. Instead, they revert to trying to hunt for the same kinds of jobs they were running from and find it impossible on this remote island. Haru overhears Hinoto call the college and ask about readmission, clearly setting up a conflict.

“So, their relationship begins to break down because each side is feeling more and more desperate and are failing to communicate. Both manage to get interviews but neither land a job, so they rip up their marriage contract and go back to Tokyo and return to the grind they tried to escape.”

They also have a lot of desperate, sad sex, but I’m going to leave that part out. 

“So, do you think the story is about the dehumanization of people who are forced to participate in capitalism?” asks a stern middle-aged woman, her hair pulled back into a tight bun that accentuates her sharp facial features.

“I mean, that is one part of the story, clearly. But that doesn’t sit fully right with me as the central theme. The story is so laser-focused on these young women and their misguided decisions. A lot of escape stories like this would lead to the main couple living with little money but a lot of joy, and instead neither partner can give up the idea of joining a large established company. Not only is being, um, ‘low income’ off the table for them, but they both tried to get jobs without going through proper channels or getting the credentials that would qualify them for those positions. It’s like, they feel that they have the privilege to skirt around the issue of qualifications and merit, if only because they find doing things the ‘proper way’ too stressful.”

“Do you think capitalism is inherently meritocratic?” The VP asks.

“We sure like to pretend it is, but obviously those with money—and therefore power—circumvent the rules all the time. Maybe in this case, these girls simply weren’t wealthy enough to pull off this plan of theirs.”

My last words hang in the air. Thirty seconds pass as we all sit in thought. Then, the third panelist, a stout, balding man with small, deep-set eyes who had been oddly quiet this entire interview, leans forwards and asks, “What do you think about the marriage license?”

I reply reflexively before I can formulate my thoughts. “I…I think it’s treated as the albatross weighing both Haru and Hinoto down, but also because it represents a non-legally binding relationship due to the lack of marriage equality in Japan, it kind of also represents nonconformity? It’s, like, more radical than just bailing from the bustle of Tokyo and trying to make a life somewhere else.”

My pupils begin to dilate as the words flow out faster and faster. “It’s as if the problem isn’t the girls’ impulsiveness or the economic system. The core problem is more fundamental than that. It’s simply that they don’t follow the basic rules of society. They decided to stick out, and society punished them for it. So they must conform. Go back to Tokyo, get those degrees, throw out the dream of legal partnership. But that message is so hollow, isn’t it? ‘Don’t get too big for your britches’? ‘Know your place’? Sure, their relationship survives this ordeal. But you could almost see a breakup down the road because the ‘dream’ will always be too heavy a burden to bear. It tries to end on a hopeful note, but it ended up leaving a really sour taste in my mouth.”

The small man stares intently at me, but then leans back in his chair and presses no further. Mr. VP chimes in, “I think that’s all we have on our side. Do you have any questions for us?”

Yeah, I do, like what the fuck just happened to this interview. “So, I guess Yuri is pretty popular in the office, yeah?” I try to joke. “It’s an essential part of the job, it says so right in the posting.” the woman replies. I look down at the printout next to my notepad on the table. Reading the page, I knit my eyebrows in confusion. Yuri Solutions Architect? The hell is…?

After a beat, the VP says, “HR will be reaching out to you for our final decision. Thank you for your time Mr. Marcus. Oh, and don’t forget your scooter.”

“My scooter…? I don’t own a….” I look to my right to see an old, well-worn moped revving up in the corner of the conference room. I recognize in terror that it’s Hinoto’s scooter, threatening to drive me toward ruin like it did it’s owner. Startled, I scramble out of the swiveling office chair and back away until I hit the full-length exterior window covering one wall of the room behind me. The scooter accelerates towards me, and the scream doesn’t have time to leave my throat before—

My iPad falls onto my face, startling me awake. I am on the living room couch in my apartment. I groggily tap the device to be greeted by my lock screen, an illustration page from Otherside Picnic. In the stark black and white image, two young women carry assault rifles down a side street of a derelict Japanese town. Superimposed atop the picture is large text that reads 3:12 a.m.

As I go to put the iPad away, I briefly see a LinkedIn job posting notification for a role at some company called Island Industries. I pay it no mind as I half-consciously shamble off to bed.

Art – 5
Story – 6
Characters – 5
Service – 3 
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 4

Overall – 5

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.





How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into my Girlfriend? Volumes 2 and 3

March 28th, 2025

The cover to 'How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into my Girlfriend?' Volume 2. It shows Minami and Yuzu in bikinis. I’m Luce, here to cover the next two volumes of the manga I have ‘shortened’ to ‘Best Friend Girlfriend’ by Syu Yasaka. Let me know if you have any better suggestions…

In the first volume of Syu Yasaka’s series, we met Minami and Yuzu, and after figuring out that she likes Yuzu romantically, Minami decides that she’s going after what she wants. The volume ends with them going on a date to the planetarium, and happening upon their friends afterward…?

In volume 2 of How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into my Girlfriend?, we get the aftermath of the date, in which Minami comes clean to Unohara, the friend she told about the date, but not that it was with Yuzu – luckily, she’s supportive. Later, when Minami asks Yuzu if she’s interested in anyone, she says Hinori! What does she mean by that? Finally, the group pass their exams, so it’s onto summer – that means the beach, but Yuzu doesn’t do well with the sun, sea, sand and crowds. Will she cope to have a trip with her friends?

The cover of How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend?' volume 3, Minami and Yuzu are in animal maid costumes. Yuzu has hamster ears on, while Minami has cat ears. In volume 3, Minami and Yuzu take a bath together, and the group go to a festival – it seems Nitori is in a similar situation to Minami. Returning to school, the cultural festival is coming up, which makes the cover make more sense – the theme is animal maids! Minami’s on the committee, and one of the first years has her eye on her?

This manga could do with a character chart. Different characters call each other variously by first names and family names, so it can be a bit hard to tell. Plus I kept getting Hinori/Unohana and Yuzu/Nitori confused, although I’m not quite sure why – my tip would be to focus on their fringes, not that it always helps. That aside, what I do enjoy is that they are a group of friends, and they have different relationships with each other. It feels less like them having token friends to chat to and more of a group of people that naturally came together.

Of course, we get the ‘interested in someone else but not actually’ plot. I’m not a great fan of misunderstandings as a plot device, but at least the people around Minami are pretty blunt with her about the fact that she’s being a bit ridiculous. Hinori is straight up uncomfortable with Minami pushing her and Yuzu together – what I really like though, is that Minami actually apologises for her behaviour. I don’t need or want perfect therapy speak from characters, but it’s nice to see characters actually admit when they’ve done something wrong.

We find out that Nitori seems to like Unohana, mostly because she asks if Minami likes her too. Maybe Minami has it a bit more together than it seems if Nitori didn’t guess, because on the page she’s nearly always melting down about something or other. Her loving Unohana is actually confirmed in Vol 3, leading to a nice moment between her and Minami, commiserating on falling for their best friends.

Kamiya, the ‘rival’ introduced in volume 3, was a little on the pushy side, but equally, it was nice having a character that knows she’s into girls and says it? This also forcing Minami to basically admit she’s Yuzu-sexual, which is… not a favourite trope of mine, but at least someone in this manga seems to actually identify as a lesbian – or a wlw, because the word ‘lesbian’ doesn’t come up. I quite liked Kamiya by the end of the volume, so I hope she pops up again in a friendly capacity. Maybe with a girlfriend.

Towards the end of volume 3, prompted by a bit of a push from Kamiya, we finally get Yuzu’s side of things, to a degree. There were hints that Yuzu is not as chill with Minami-related things as she seems to be, and I really liked the subtlety of that. It makes you wonder about the things you said meaning one thing that were taken a different way. That said, way too much emphasis on what young kids say. Not that they don’t mean some things, but to take anything like that as a lasting commitment… Use your words, Yuzu! And Minami!

Finally, I want to praise the translation, done by Matthew Jackson- it does a good job at sounding casual without being too ridiculous. The lettering (Giuseppe Antonio Fusco) and retouch is also great, I couldn’t pick any faults with the out-of-bubble words, and the type facing matches well, too.

Ratings:

Story – 7, the old classic childhood friends will-they-won’t-they
Art – 8, bright, peppy, cute! My only fault is I’m not very good at telling the characters apart
Service – 4 In these two volumes, there is a bathing scene, beach and therefore swimsuit scenes, and Minami has a few imagine spots… But none of it feels particularly skeevy, and feels more ‘teenagers dealing with emotions’ than anything else
Yuri – 9 (I’m sure there are boys in this. They’re in the backgrounds)

Overall – 7

An enjoyable Yuri romp that feels pretty fresh. My hope for this series is that one they get together, the series will continue, at least for a bit, as I think navigating a relationship would be interesting to see. Minami is definitely not emotionally prepared for it.





Who Knows Girls’ L

March 26th, 2025

Poster for the Chinese series Who Knows Girl’s L, showing the lead characters Cheng Zhijin (left) and Gu Yi (right).Once a rarity, live-action yuri series have now spread throughout East and Southeast Asia, most famously to Thailand but also to Taiwan, South Korea, and Cambodia. One major exception to the trend has been the People’s Republic of China, where the publication of LGBTQ-related works has been discouraged by cultural norms and government policies. Small wonder then that baihe (yuri) works (including many of those scheduled to be published in English) often are set in past times and make considerable use of subtext.

Thus it was a surprise to see Who Knows Girls’ L (谁知锦意) pop up on YouTube, set in present-day China and proudly billed as “the 1st Chinese gl series . . . for sapphic ppl like you and me!” As one might expect, it was not created and distributed by a mainstream Chinese production company. Instead it’s being produced and released by a group of film students in Shanghai, who have been very forward about promoting the series and raising funds for its production. (Their initial budget was the equivalent of only $2,700 US.)

Who Knows Girls’ L is still ongoing: it’s projected to be 28 relatively short episodes (up to 15 minutes long), with eight episodes available thus far; completion of the series depends on the success of the fundraising efforts. I’m reviewing now to bring it to the attention of fans who might be interested in following it, and also as a hedge in case the series goes on indefinite hiatus for lack of funds or other reasons.

But enough throat-clearing, how does Who Knows Girls’ L stack up against the many other yuri series currently airing or scheduled to be aired? Let’s go to the tape:

The plot is a weak point of the series, combining as it does a noxious trope, an implausible plot turn, and a power-gap romance: Cheng Zhijin, a young film studio project director who’s struggling with problems on her production, drowns her sorrows at an industry party and afterwards encounters an older woman, Gu Yi, busking on a public street. Zhijin meets her again at a bar where Yi works as a singer, drinks some more, then goes home with Yi and proceeds to have a drunken one-night stand. In the office the next day Zhijin is flabbergasted as the previous night’s fling turns out to be the chief shareholder in the studio, who’s now decided to actively involve herself in the company’s operations. The plot proceeds from there, as Zhijin and Yi try to navigate the troubled waters of an employee/employer relationship.

The production values are uneven but improving, marred by occasional lapses: a slightly off camera angle here, a brief mistake in focus pulling there, problems with color grading between some scenes, and some non-idiomatic translations. (There are also several scenes in which the faces of Zhijin and one of her friends at work look unnaturally white; I don’t know if that’s a production problem or reflective of a cosmetics fad among young Chinese women.) However, the series looks significantly better than one might expect of a student production. It makes good use of multiple location shots and has an effective soundtrack, with a banger OP introduced in episode 7.

Working actor Kaiyi portrays Gu Yi, while Cheng Zhijin is played by law student Qianyue. Kaiyi gives a solid performance, while Qianyue reminds me of Yoko Apasra Lertprasert of Blank: The Series—not so much in the characters they play (Aneung’s teasing and flirtation is 180 degrees away from Zhijin’s sullen passive-aggressiveness), but in seeing a striking debut from an unexpected source. As for the scenes between Yi and Zhijin, the director and actors have clearly closely studied GAP and its successors and strove to emulate their steamier aspects; if the results don’t quite come up to Freen and Becky at their finest, it’s not for lack of trying.

Ratings:

Story — 5
Characters — 8
Production — 6
Service — 5
Yuri — 10
Overall — 6

Its status as the self-proclaimed first Chinese yuri series and a crowd-funded student project is the hook, but Who Knows Girls’ L has an appeal beyond that, based on the increasing sophistication of the production and the performances of Kaiyi and Qianyue. It’s definitely worth watching the series, following the saga of its production, and (for those so inclined) financially supporting its creation.

P.S. Some final trivia: The Chinese title of the series, 谁知锦意 (Shéi zhī jǐn yì), contains some untranslatable wordplay that puns on the characters’ names: 谁知 (Shéi zhī) is “Who knows”, 知锦 (zhī jǐn) is the given name of one of the characters, and 意 (yì) is pronounced the same as 忆, the given name of the other lead character. Also, 意 has “intentions,” “thoughts,” and “feelings” among its meanings. So, the title can be read in multiple ways: “Who knows [Zhi]jin/Yi?” or “Who knows [Zhi]jin’s intentions/thoughts/feelings?” (Thanks go to Reddit commenter _fancy_pants for pointing this out.)





Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 5

March 21st, 2025

The cover of 'Sheep Princess in Wolf's Clothing' volume 5. Aki is holding Momo, they are both in wedding dresses. by Luce, Staff Writer

I’m Luce, lover of cute things and books with happy endings! Currently tackling my tsundoku problem, I’m trying to balance the book dragon and book worm parts of my soul. I love reading… I just love buying books too, and that takes far less time!

In the four previous volumes, we got to know Aki, a Wolfa butler, and Momo, a Sheepa princess. Through various trials, they’ve gotten together, but Momo had just realised that Aki never actually said that she loves her!

Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 5 puts us straight back into that revelation – should Momo ask her? But what if she says that she doesn’t love her? Meanwhile, Aki talks to Princess Kunya on this topic. After resolving their issues, the queen spots them kissing! How will she react – can they even continue their relationship, when Momo is still getting marriage proposals?

I really liked Princess Kunya pointing out that different species have different ways of expressing love and affection to each other, and what is incredibly intimate to one group may not mean as much to others. It’s quite clear to us that Aki is obsessed, but without saying the words, it leaves Momo concerned that Aki is just following orders. It’s a good message! You might think you’re saying something loud and clear, but is that message getting through?

I laughed quite a lot when it’s shown that gay runs in the family – I shouldn’t be surprised in this manga, which has one singular male character with lines, who only vaguely appears in the last two volumes. It was nice to see the comparison between the reality for most people in their situation, and the fantasy of Aki and Momo. Royals don’t always get what they want with relationships, and if they do, they tend to have to give up a lot to get it. We see that in real life – although on the other hand, particularly in history, they often do get what they want, even if the other party isn’t interested. In fiction, arranged marriage is either a) horror and to be avoided or b) the start to a romance. It was nice to see the third, probably most realistic option for most people in arranged marriages – rather than love, you hope to get on with them. It was a remarkably pragmatic take, considering the utter fantastical nature of the series in general.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Yuri fantasy romance without a wedding! I will admit it felt like a fitting end to this nice little series, wrapping it up neatly and leaving us to imagine the rest of their future together, along with a brief glance at the other pairs established (and establishing) along the way. The mangaka states that they might post extra bits on Twitter (obligatory reminder to move over to Bluesky!), though I haven’t gone searching, and I wouldn’t be able to read them regardless.

Oh, and as I guessed, the service quotient went up.

Ratings:

Story: 6
Art: 8 (fluffy as always! The clothing is done really nicely, too)
Service: 7
Yuri: 9, it’s almost a yuritopia

Overall: 7

I’m a little sad this is ending, but it’s not a deep enough story to have gone on for much longer. Recommended for those looking for a fluffy Yuri that doesn’t ignore the fact that sex exists, but also doesn’t ignore reality completely. Tolerating animal ears is a must.





How Do We Relationship? Volume 12

March 12th, 2025

By Matt Marcus, Staff WriterA young woman with shoulder-length black hair and wearing a red dress stands in the middle of a college school festival, holding a plastic container of food in one hand and a plastic bag with more containers in the other. She is looking back over her left shoulder with a slight smile

I’ve long held a preference to mouthwash. No, not the electric blue-green swill with flavor names like “arctic” and “alpine”, describing some slightly different formulation of wintergreen. I’m talking about the unadulterated, sickly amber kind simply called “Original.” Unlike its minty counterparts, the Original burns as it works. I liked that about it. It told you not only that it was working, but where it was working. I always found the lack of feedback from the other flavors disorienting, as if I were trying to walk on numbed feet. I feel the same about aftershave, hydrogen peroxide, and so on. Pain exists to direct your attention to places of need.

How Do We Relationship?, Volume 12 brings the pain. A cleansing, healing pain that is much sorely needed.

Last we left our cast, the plot had taken a heavy-handed nosedive into some serious subject matter. Miwa was left broken after a traumatic encounter with Tamaki, while Saeko’s relationship continues to be more and more strained by Yuria’s need for space.

There’s no sense being coy about it: this is the volume where the girls break up. Again. None of this should be a surprise, as we have felt the cracks starting to form two volumes prior, but unlike before, I feel like the pangs of heartache here are growing pains rather than seeping wounds.

I emphasized in my last review how critical I was in how Miwa and Tamaki’s conflict about sex played out. The first few chapters here help add some context to the fallout that I think takes some of the worst sting out of it, but without lightening its impact. For Miwa, she felt shame that her sexual desire was so strong that it overpowered her emotional needs, and that Tamaki felt repulsed by the intensity of that desire.

Miwa breaks up with Tamaki. The decision is a major sign of growth for her; instead of clinging desperately to a flawed relationship like she did in the past, she realizes that despite their mutual love for each other, it would be mentally and emotionally better for her and Tamaki to part ways as lovers (put a pin in that, it will come up again). I think the breakup and their later run-in at the school festival were emotionally impactful, and it left me thinking that both of them will be OK as they move on in their lives.

It does, however, resurface an underlying issue: this is another example of Miwa feeling like she owns all the blame for a failing relationship. At no point does she give Tamaki any ownership in what transpired in their relationship, much like she did with Saeko before. This seems like a character flaw that will continue to not be treated as such. I can accept that even at 21 she is not a fully-formed adult yet, but her martyr complex is a blind spot that is a bit troubling.

As is typical in this medium, we get to see into Tamaki’s backstory for the first time right before the end. I think that the segment was effective in further humanizing her…but it was a struggle for me to want to empathize with her after the last volume. That queasy feeling from chapter 103 is just never going to fully go away, as if it were some kind of trauma (put a pin in that).

I had mentioned in previous reviews that I wish we saw more of Miwa and Tamaki’s happy moments together. The characters clearly express that their love was deep and genuine, but very little of that made it to the page in favor of anxiety and stress—and not even just around the sex. The way they interact here shows me their feelings, but I was not given the opportunity, with a rare exception or two, to feel it for myself.

There is another moment of growth here for Miwa that I found particularly impactful. When Miwa is casually outed at a social gathering for the Light Music Club, she takes the moment in stride and is able to smoothly redirect the conversation away from her queerness being the topic. This inspires a baby gay first-year to approach her after the event and tell her that he admires her strength in “living her truth”. Miwa reflects for a moment before telling him that she falls in love with women who are “bold and cool”, and she looks to their example as her source of strength. It’s a powerful moment of self-reflection that is demonstrative of this series at its best. Watching Miwa mature from the timid girl who couldn’t handle Kan in Volume 2 to now is one of the most satisfying character arcs I’ve witnessed in manga.

Meanwhile, Saeko and Yuria struggle to find a compromise between Saeko’s desire to spend as much time together and Yuria’s emotional need for space. Saeko struggles with not being able to see Yuria when she wants, but when Yuria begins making more time for her, she feels bothered that she’s making a sacrifice. They are coming from too far a distance apart for meeting in the middle to feel good. That’s a big bummer for a couple that we’ve seen work through troubles and arguments before and come out the other side stronger.

I could say a lot more about this, but in the end, they both agree to go back to being friends (at their favorite spot, the playground, of course). Like this series is fond of doing, the breakup doesn’t mean cutting themselves out of each other’s life. I wish they could’ve worked it out, but if they were going to break up, it would be hard to ask for a better way for it to go for them.

I’ve been praising the art for a while now, but this volume has a few standout panels that are some of my favorite drawings of the series so far, along with a beautiful color image for the cover. Abby Lehrke’s localization continues to get top marks from me.

I believe this volume is a return to form from the trajectory it had been taking over the previous two volumes. Both Miwa and Saeko shed their tears, but they leave their relationships stronger and with a hope for the future. There are hints here as to what that future is—and if you are paying attention at all, you know where this is heading—but for now, the slate is clean. It’s a real palette cleanser, the kind for those who prefer to avoid the mint.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 10 
Service – 0
LGBTQ – 10

Overall – 9

The final chapter of the series was uploaded on the VIZ app on February, 28; Volume 13 will hit shelves in September 2025.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.