Archive for the Luce Category


My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over, Volume 6 Guest Review by Luce

April 18th, 2023

Welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu. Today’s review is by veteran guest reviewer Luce!

In this sixth volume of My Idol Sits The Next Desk Over, Sakiko finds out the results of her photo competition and reveals the motivations for wanting to be an official photographer of Spring Shine to Chihiro. Chihiro and Maaya (the latter somewhat begrudgingly) make a surprise cake for Sakiko. Sakiko comes up with an idea for the school festival – an idol cafe! Complete with pretend groups. Maaya makes a friend – sort of… Finally, after a shake up with Spring Shine, Chihiro is troubled, Maaya comes clean, and Sakiko feels like she can’t say the things she ought to as a friend while also being a fan, upsetting Chihiro in the process.

These volumes always feel like there is a lot going on, but they’re not particularly longer than other manga; they just seem to have a succinct story-telling style which keeps the pace of the story fluid. This volume stretches over several months, and yet I don’t feel like it’s unduly skipping sections or skimping on the emotion. It doesn’t dwell on anything too long, but not in an erratic way.

The idol cafe was a genius idea, and although I’m sure it’s not completely new, really made the school festival arc memorable. I’m glad the mangaka decided to change up the usual ‘haunted house/maid cafe’ tropes we usually get – it’s even cuter to see Chihiro teaching them the routine. I’m sure that some classes are probably putting this into action in Japan! Plus, when one of Sakiko’s group (the Masked Group, since they’re quite shy) feels ill on the day, Chihiro steps in to cover. It’s adorable. Also the face Maaya makes when she realises that Sakiko is getting idol lessons off their idol is hilarious.

Maaya’s new ‘friend’ – in so much as Motoyama befriends an apathetic Maaya – seems a little thrown in there initially, but I like her, her bluntness is quite refreshing. She likes Maaya for just putting up with her, even getting disappointed when she realises that Maaya puts a front on for Chihiro, and it helps that her bluntness isn’t mean, like Maaya’s can be – as she says, she just has no filter. She also helps serve a role – an impartial person, not blinded by love for Chihiro as an idol, able to make comments without being pulled either way like Sakiko and Maaya.

The end of the volume comes with two big emotional hits: Maaya coming clean about her long history as a fan prior to meeting Chihiro at school, and Sakiko feeling guilty about keeping Maaya’s secrets from Chihiro. I’m not quite sure it’s a love confession when Maaya tells Chihiro, but it sure feels like one in some ways. She’s come a long way from the start of the series, even admitting that she’s done wrong by other fans and Sakiko. The volume finishes on a whole page panel of Chihiro that stuck in my mind such that I went back to look at it. The art is perfect for an idol manga, but it can sure hit the emotional sections too.

In a volume that goes from cute to funny, adorable to heartwarming, it finishes on very much an emotional cliffhanger. I’m very eager to see where they go from here – Maaya can’t avoid Chihiro forever, Sakiko’s despondency has seriously hurt Chihiro in her hour of need, and the future of Spring Shine seems uncertain.

Story – 9
Art – 9
Yuri – 7? It seems fairly certain that Maaya likes Chihiro a lot, although whether that’s as a fan or a person seems muddled, likely on purpose. I doubt even Maaya knows.
Service – 0
Overall – I personally really enjoyed this volume, so 10.

I feel like this is an idol manga that doesn’t idolise idols, and I’m really enjoying it. I only wish they were releasing it in physical, as I love the art and story. Kodansha’s store says Volume 7 (potentially the last) is coming out in May!

Erica here: Thank you so much for keeping us up to date on this series, Luce. I look forward to reading (about) the climax. ^_^





If You Could See Love, Volumes 1-3, Guest Review by Luce

April 5th, 2023

Welcome to a very special Guest Review today! Luce has returned and is shouldering a three-piece review for us! Given how hard writing even this intro is, I cannot express how much I appreciate this. Kick back and let’s dig into all three volumes of If You Could See Love!

Mei Haruno has decided to start in a new school where no one knows her, owing to issues in middle school, stemming from the fact that she can see arrows above people’s heads, pointing to those that they like. Swearing off romance altogether, she assumed an all-girls school won’t have romance… Oops, looks like it’s a lot gayer than she thought! There, she finds Sayu, her best friend from elementary school, who confessed when she had to transfer away, and what do you know, Mei sees an arrow pointing to herself. Later, Mei meets another girl, Rinna, who quickly gains an arrow pointing to Mei.

In the second book, having admitted to a girl on the roof about setting the arrows, Mei is recruited to the student council as a ‘love advisor’: helping other students with their relationship troubles.
There was a chapter in this book that I really liked, where we encounter a Yuri throuple between adults. They even mention that they had to work hard at it, but it’s lovely to see them together.

In the third book, Sayu and Mei go on a date to the amusement park, and Mei loses the ability to see the arrows?

The arrows, and whether their shape means something, isn’t really explained – it’s implied that the strength of the arrow is equivalent to the strength of the person’s love at that moment, so it ebbs and flows a bit. A weak connection is a small wobbly one, and sometimes they fill the page. There is a small section where someone’s arrow, pointed at an idol, gets ‘sharp’ and goes black, so clearly there is some meaning to them. I quite liked it as a mechanic, and actually thinking about it, anyone would probably get into the same mess as Mei. A nice touch in the manga is that it uses colour pages throughout to highlight the arrows in pink- sometimes the background is pink or other things are highlighted, which adds to the art.

I quite like the characters, although I would have liked to spend more time with some of them, like the throuple. Mei being incredibly anaemic as a hold-over from her (you guessed it) Ambiguous Hospitalising Disorder kind of made sense, but was a little annoying at times – although there was a panel in the amusement park where Sayu forbids Mei from going on a ride since the sign says ‘not for those with medical conditions’ which was funny. For all I’m not a fan of the sick child trope, at least it stuck to it without being too overbearing.

I’m going to talk about the ending, although I will give it it’s due that I don’t think it was super obvious who (or if) Mei was going to end up with, if anyone, at the start. But as seeing as they even including a canon throuple, I hoped this would somewhat foretell the ending, especially considering that it seems to be setting itself up that way, with Rinna starting to see Sayu romantically at one point. If you’re looking polyamory here, I hate to disappoint, but it doesn’t happen. I think it actually would have been a fun ending. The second book really seems to lean into it, which makes me wonder if it got vetoed by an editor.

Nonetheless, it is a cute story. It’s not going to challenge you, but you could do a lot worse than this: it’s finished at three volumes, which is probably about right for this; it doesn’t feel unnecessarily dragged out or curtailed, and the epilogue was really nice to see.

Ratings:

Story: 7
Yuri: 10 – I mean, I don’t think there is a man drawn on page that has a face, in so much as they’re all background characters. Three Yuri pairings, and more implied offscreen (plus a point for a character that is implied to be and I’m taking for aromantic)
Service: 2? There are a few bath scenes with minimal service, but there is a scene where someone imagines a kiss going a bit further. It’s not explicit.
Art: 7 (I doubt any panel would stop you in your tracks, but I didn’t note any particular anatomy issues, and some panels are quite pretty. The pink as a highlight helps, but I didn’t think it was overused)
Overall: 7

A cute, fairly quick read. The poolside read of the Yuri world – not going to knock your socks off, but it’ll probably make you smile.

Thanks so much Luce! You’re a true Okazu hero today. ^_^





Sirius: Twin Stars by Ana C. Sánchez, Guest Review by Luce

February 15th, 2023

In front of a night sky over an ocean, two young women dance. One of them has long, blonde hair and smiles happily, the other, with short dark hair, looks at us somberly. In yellow letters the title reads Ana C. Today on Okazu - Sirius: Twin Stars by Ana C. Sánchez.Hello and welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday! I am so pleased to be able to host another great guest review today! Thanks so much to Okazu Patrons and Supporters for making this possible, we could not do it without you. If you’d like to see us host more guest reviews, support Okazu on Patreon or Ko-fi and become part of the Okazu family! Today we once again welcome Luce!

It’s Luce, catching up with reviews; I can be found on the Okazu discord as farfetched. This time, it’s a Spanish manga offering from Tokyopop.

Sirius: Twin Stars tells the story of Dani Torres, daughter of a star tennis player. Trying to follow in her footsteps, Dani asked her mother to coach her. Her mother’s perfectionism causes the relationship between them to become ever more fraught, until her heart literally gives out. Fresh out of heart surgery and fresh out of aspirations, Dani is packed up to the family’s vacation home by the beach to ‘recuperate’ – or escape her mother who will no longer speak to her, as she sees it. There, she meets a girl called Blanca who loves astronomy and the stars. They have a bit of a rocky start, but Dani begins to build a friendship with her – and more.

I really enjoyed this story. Not many of us have been where Dani is literally, but I think we’ve all been a little lost, not knowing where to turn or where to go next, so her feelings are relatable. Blanca is adorable, vibrant and happy without being over the top, and I liked how their relationship developed. I greatly appreciated that there was no ‘but she’s female!’ from either party. Unusually for a manga, it was set in Spain, although aside from the names, there wasn’t a great deal to remind you of this. Still, it’s nice to get a story not set in a high school, although they are of school age.

Being a single volume, the conflict of the story isn’t drawn out, but it’s backed up enough that it doesn’t feel rushed – you can see that both Dani and her mum are hurting, and although due to Dani being the protagonist, we side with her – it’s obvious that this split is hurting Dani too. I also really enjoyed the resolution of it; there is an epilogue with neatly ties up a few loose ends, and ends us on a happy note.

The art here was lovely, too. It really suited the story, and detail is given where needed. There are a few colour pages at the start which really ping, and the figurative illustrations of Dani’s struggles really come through. In the physical version, somewhat unusually, these are matte pages, but it still works very well.

Story: 9
Yuri: 10
Service: 2 – they’re in Spain in the summer so some clothes are more revealing, but nothing feels salacious or is done with service in mind
Art: 9
Overall: I would usually hedge my bets, but I actually love this story, so for me personally, it’s a 10. A really good balance between angst and resilience.

This came out from Tokyopop a while back. Ana Sánchez also wrote and illustrated Alter Ego, which I haven’t read yet.

Erica here: Thank you so much Luce! I have read Alter Ego and reviewed it here on Okazu in 2021. There is also a sequel in the works, Noel Y June. It’s great to see Sánchez developing as an artist and a writer.





My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over 5, Guest Review by Luce

February 1st, 2023

On a white background, two girls stand arm-9in-arm, making "peace sign" gestures near their eyes as if for a photo op. One girl has light brown hair in two pigtails and wears a yellow sweater vest. The other has red-brown hair worn loose, no vest over her white blouse. Both wear red bows and teal skirts. In black letters, the titles reads, "My Idol Sits The Next Desk Over" - they word Idol is highlighted with larger letters and yellow glow. In red, letters "Story By" and "Art by" then, in black letter, "Tetsu Tsitsui" Koyubi Sugawara" respectively. A black number 5 is backed by a white square surrounded by a re flower design Welcome once again to Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu! I’m very pleased to welcome back Guest Reviewer Luce with another fun review. Please give Luce your kind attention and good will. That said, take it away, Luce!

It’s been a while! I’m Luce, occasional guest reviewer and long-time manga reader, with more books than I know what to do with. In any case, a review of a book I can’t get in physical form (yet, I did ask Kodansha though. They said no), My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over, Volume 5!

 
We’ve gotten to know Sakiko, Maaya and Chihiro, watching them grow into themselves, change to lesser or greater degrees, and get closer as friends. We’ve seen Spring Sunshine become more popular, such that Chihiro landed an acting role, and in practicing acting with Maaya, things get a little bit yuri… maybe?
 
The first part to this is the cliffhanger to the acting practice episode. I genuinely wasn’t sure how they were going to finish this, but while (spoiler!) Maaya and Chihiro don’t kiss, Sakiko is left with the idea that Maaya is in love with Chihiro – honestly, she’s not wrong, really, but she’s more confused about her own feelings. The drama Chihiro was practicing for goes on air, and is quite weird, to the confusion of everyone. But it gains a fan following – meaning Chihiro gets some solo work on various talk shows, including one that a fellow SpringShine member, Asuka, has always wanted to be on. In discussing her concerns with Sakiko, they get closer. Sakiko and Maaya go on a school trip to Kamakura, and end up doing a pilgrimage around some sights included in a Spring Shine video. Finally, the three of them have an overnight trip.
 
This felt like a volume where they really started to think about how they all feel about each other. I’ve no idea what the endgame pairing is, or if there even is one, really – I could actually see it being any combination of the three – but Sakiko thinks about the fact that Maaya is “in love with” Chihiro, and at one point tries to ascertain what her own feelings are in comparison. Maaya, on the other hand, comes up against her original lie – that she wasn’t already a huge fan of Spring Shine and Chihiro before meeting her – and finds herself battling to try and tell her.
 
Maaya does something in this volume that Sakiko gets rightly mad at her for, and I’m all for it. It’s an invasion of Sakiko’s and Chihiro’s privacy, and I’m really glad that she gets angry. She still stands by Maaya in many ways, but it also shows how far she’s come – I’m not sure she would have been able to do this a few volumes ago. I feel like these two definitely got on a more level footing, which is nice. Maaya, for her due, seems less certain about her actions – she’s not as gung ho and self-assured all the time. I’m hoping for more development next volume, although sadly, volume 5 had been out for a while, and Kodansha hasn’t updated the website to state when volume 6 might be coming out. Might be in for a wait. I’m intrigued to see where this leads, whenever we get it!
 
 
Story: 8
Yuri: 6, definitely getting there
Art: 9, props for actually having a difference between a character wearing make-up, minimal make-up, and no make-up
Service: 1? There is a bath scene, but not really any service
Overall: 8

I’m hoping volume 6 isn’t too far away. In the meantime, I’ll be watching MagiRevo!

Erica here: Thank you so much Luce for keeping up with this series for us! I’m glad it’s “getting there”!





My Idol Sits The Next Desk Over Volume 4, Guest Review by Luce

October 12th, 2022
Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu, featuring the perspective of Luce!
 
Over the course of the first three volumes, we’ve come to know Sakiko, a devoted fan of her favourite idol group Spring Sunshine; Maaya, a possessive fan of the same group; and Chihiro, the favourite idol of both Sakiko and Maaya. We’ve seen Sakiko come out of her shell, Maaya become… well, stay very Maaya, and Chihiro staying on the path of an idol with the support of the other two. Last time, we left on a cliffhanger of sorts, with Sakiko seeing one of the girls who had been somewhat unkind about Chihiro and her boyfriend at a festival at which Spring Sunshine are performing. 
 
In volume 4 of My Idol Sits the Next Seat Over, Sakiko encourages her disparaging classmate to give Spring Shine a watch, and while not converted, she can see that they put a lot of effort in. Chihiro and the group practice for the summer concert, held in an even bigger venue then normal – meaning tough dance routines to learn. We find out a little of Maaya’s home life, and maybe why she’s so… focused on the things she is. Finally, Chihiro and Sakiko plan a surprise for Maaya’s birthday, and Chihiro lands an acting role! 
 
I really liked the storyline with the classmate, and the ending of that – that you can recognise the work that goes into something and respect that without it necessarily being your thing. Her boyfriend was adorable as well. Again, we see that having friends who know and appreciate her idol work is very comforting to Chihiro, who is struggling with the dance routines. This manga is fairly light on the negative aspects of being an idol (although it certainly doesn’t completely shy away from them) but it’s nice to see the background, the hard work that goes into the routines and the staging. I also like how it’s balanced – Chihiro loves her work, but finds some of it difficult and has to work harder at it. 
 
The big thing covered in this volume was Sakiko and Maaya’s relationship. Maybe not when Chihiro is around, but we see Maaya feeling more conflicted about shrugging Sakiko off, and with her backstory, you start to understand somewhat where she’s coming from with her obsessional love of Chihiro. One thing is for sure, and it’s that Maaya needs a better mother than the one she has. She is mellowing a bit though, even though she’d hate anyone to point it out.  
 
This volume also ends on an cliffhanger – a pretty yuri-ish one! Genuinely wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but if you want to find out, volume five is already out! Review upcoming… Eventually. I felt like the Yuri quotient was upped here – Sakiko and Maaya certainly got closer in some aspects. I’m not sure it will actually end up in a romance, but it feels like it’s edging closer that way. We’ll have to see! 
 
Story: 7
Art: 8, it’s bright and sunny, like the subjects
Yuri: a cliffhanger 7…
Overall: 8 
 

If you can forgive Maaya’s worse antics in the first few volumes, especially if you like idols, this is worth getting into.  

Erica here: Thank you Luce for taking the time to keep our attention on this series. I know I appreciate your perspective of the characters dynamics a great deal!