Archive for the Comic Yuri Hime Category


Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 8 (百合姫 Wildrose)

September 4th, 2014

YWH8The one thing that can incontrovertibly be said about the Yuri Hime Wildrose anthology series is that they embody my definition of Yuri as “lesbian content without lesbian identity.” They are filled to the brim with “plot, what plot?” type stories that are constructed with minimal character development and maximum sexual activity. These volumes are Yuri porn and not much more.

What is sort of vaguely interesting about them, has been the contributors included in the collections. Some, like Saburota (Citrus) would be surprising to not see included. Others, like Amano Shuninta, (Phlosophia) ae a welcome sight. And non-Comic Yuri Hime contributor, Nanzaki Iku (Queen’s Blade), returns once again.

I had no particular expectations about Yuri Hime Wildrose, Volume 8 (百合姫 Wildrose) Of the various stories, I found the two most notable to be by relative “newcomer” Kuzushiro, who provides a multi-part series that opens the book. The story itself isn’t notable, but seeing a Kuzushiro story that had an actual sex scene was. I would like to commend him for having some sense of what sex between two women might be like, and the delicacy with which he portrays it. Not once did I want to cringe.

Ohzawa Yayoi’s story was also reasonable and about young adults, which is always a pleasure. Amano Shuninta pulled out the stops on her story, “Milky” for full-sexy time hijinks.

I actually enjoy Chisako’s work in Comic Yuri Hime, but her story,  which obsesses about underwear, did not push any of my buttons in a positive way.

I genuinely enjoyed “Singin’ in the Rain”, Nanzaki Iku’s contribution. She’s left her Shizuku/Natsuki clones behind and is given a little time to actually develop her characters here, which she does, deftly. It was good to see her work again, it’s been too long.

Art in this volume  is better than usual with a YHW. Even Kuzushiro puts his best foot forward.

I can never say I love the Yuri Hime Wildrose series, but I didn’t hate this volume either. The couples are mostly in mutual affection with one another, the sex is not icky making, and the artists seem to be having fun – and let me tell you how important that is.

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Ratings:

Variable, of course

Overall – 8

For once I think I’m actually keeping a volume of Yuri Hime Wildrose.





Yuri Manga: Game

August 29th, 2014

gametjI’ve been saving this review for a really good day. The weather today is perfect. We took a long walk, enjoyed fresh vegetables from local farms for our meals and it seemed awfully like today was pretty perfect. And so, it seems the right time to review game by Takemiya Jin-sensei, a lovely collection of her stories from Comic Yuri Hime. (Also available on Kindle in Japan.)

In the first half of this volume, we return to Mayu and Saki’s school from Omoi no Kakera. (Saki even makes a brief, uncredited cameo.) Moriko is facinated by the foreign student in class, Becky. Becky’s smart, attractive…she’s shiny. And when she really gets a good long look at Moriko, she sees a strong resemblance to a character she really likes in a series of h-games. Becky adapts some pretty underhanded tactics, moves past Moriko’s boundaries and seduces her.

But Moriko can’t shake the idea that it’s not Moriko, Becky sees, but Mako-nyan. Making things worse, Becky seems awfully close – and similar to- Moriko’s gay older sister. Moriko feels like any sincere relationship isn’t possible with Becky not being truthful about her real interest. As Moriko realizes that she herself is interested in Becky, it all becomes intolerable.

Thankfully, some honest discussion solves matters and the two end up as a happy otaku couple. This story plays with the idea of fandom, using doujinshi games, novels, manga and cosplay as tools in Becky’s seduction of Moriko, as well as insight to her/our inner lives. There’s a bit of service of very fannish variety. More implication of things happening than actual explicit scenes.

The second half of the volume ties up Satomi and Nana’s story. Satomi, you may remember, came to understand herself in the “Mekakushi no Koi” story arc in steps. We originally met Nana back in Kila Kila, when she had a crush on her best friend Youko’s sister, Tsukiko.  Now, finally, circumstances forces  Nana to be honest about her feelings for Satomi and to see that Satomi has always been honest with her. I very much like how Satomi, who was reserved and frightened when we fist met her, has really become completely comfortable with herself and is now a bit of a tease. ^_^

It’s a wonderful wrap up to stories set in this increasingly populated world that Takemiya-sensei has created for us!

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 10
Yuri – 9 / Lesbian – 9
Service  –  6

Overall – 10

I’m always insanely happy to read and review another collection from one of my favorite authors. This was a perfect way to end a perfect day. ^_^

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Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, July 2014 (コミック百合姫)

July 8th, 2014

Staring at the cover of the July issue of Comic Yuri Hime, (コミック百合姫), I was a loss for words. Apparently no one involved with this picture had ever been or knew a baton twirler. Ain’t no way I’d be that close to someone who was just learning basics…and definitely not in my uniform. ^_^; (I remember how hard those rubber ends were very well.)

And away we go into a Kuzushiro-sensei heavy issue, with several stand-alone stories and a new chapter of “Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san.” The last of the stand alone stories appealed to me greatly, as a simple meetup between two friends becomes a destructive battle in public over a momentary misunderstanding – it was very amusing. ^_^ An added bonus in this volume is a limited edition cover to Volume 3 of Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san.

Minamoto Hisanari’s contribution was absolutely wonderful, as a woman who works in costume doing tokusatsu roles is truly her lover’s hero.
“Vespa” comes to a climax that, for once, seems to actually pluck the main charcters out of their terrible situation with a big ole’ handwave. There’s a short piece by Kawai Roh that is set in the floating world of the Edo period but manages to still be healing rather than destructive.

Takemiya Jin’s “Chou Chou, Nan Nan” takes a quick turn to resolving one of the three couples, but more is to come, so we’ll see if this is where it stays. Chisako’s “Honey Switch” was a sweet little office romance.

And it looks like “Yuri Danshi” has come to the end of it’s lily path filled with passionate delusion. Gosh I hope so. I also hope they use the space it opens up for something good now. Thanks.

There are, as always, many more stories and articles, but these are the ones I found most notable in this now-nearly 700-page anthology. It’s pretty clear that moving to a bimonthly format hasn’t hurt Comic Yuri Hime at all. For which I am grateful.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The good is very good, the bad is merely okay. It’s running just over 50% good. ^_^





Comic Yuri Hime, May 2014 (コミック百合姫)

May 22nd, 2014

Welcome to the May 2014 issue of Comic Yuri Hime, where the cover seems to be permanently suspended in a just ever-so-slightly skeazy Valentine’s Day scenario. The magazine opens with a feature on the Nekoyama-san to Inukami-san anime , which I really need to watch soon. ^_^;

The first really interesting story was by a newcomer, Aoto Hibiki, in which “Alice” keeps flashing back and forth between two worlds; one in which she’s a regular high schooler with classmates Shiroyuki (Snow White) and Akaukin-chan (Little Red Riding Hood) and a Wonderland environment. Alice isn’t sure which world is real, and she’s equally at a loss in both, but when Shiroyuki introduces a younger boy (that I’m betting is actually a girl) who was born a Prince, to their groups, you can kind of see where this is going. I just hope it’s fun.

Ohsawa Yayoi’s “Sensei Sotsugyou” continues the tale set up in the previous issue, in which a student learns more about her teacher than she bargained for, and finds inspiration in her.

In Amano Shuninta’s new series “Ayame 14”, Ayame fights with new feelings she’s never had to deal with, and one of their friends admits to her full mied-race name.

Okita Hiroko’s “Vespa” forces Kaoizuka to confront her commanding officer’s unrequited feelings and her feelings for her cruel Princess.

Takemiya Jin starts a new story, with a girl’s best friend making her see where her interest lies, in “Chouchou Nanan.”

Bosou Girlsteki  Mousou Renaiteki Suteki Project follows a date gone terribly wrong in a story that has no idea where it’s going yet.

And “Rock It, Girl!” by Tanaka Minoru comes to a rousing finale that still managed to be freakishly weird. The girl gets the girl in the weirdest way possible. I really enjoyed this story, it basically followed none of the rules, ever. ^_^

As always there are many other popular series, 4-koma strips and the like for your entertainment. Comic Yuri Hime seems to have settled into a general level of just better than average quality for one solid issue after another.

Ratings:

Overall – 7





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, March 2014 (コミック百合姫)

April 23rd, 2014

CYHM14Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫), having been split into 2 magazines, reattached and made bimonthly, has now regained the bulk it previously had as a quarterly. At about 640 pages, surely there will be something for most Yuri fans at this point.

The March 2014 issue begins with Amano Shuninta’s new series, “Ayame 14” – a classic “coming of age” story. After many moths of dealing with college students, I wonder if this return to middle school life is a relief or a burden for her?

This issue is a veritable treasure box of tropes: sisters (real and half); dojikko; tsundere; and poor communicators of a dozen kinds, 4-koma, etc. Checklisters and moe-fans will be happy. For the rest of us there’s still some very interesting features.

Minamoto Hisanari has a story, and what a story. It could have been the most fabulous story ever, but fell short of the mark to make a point that didn’t need to be made.  “Sekai ha Yuri de Ochite iru” begins with “Yuri” marriage being made legal in Japan. Not “lesbian” marriage, not “same-sex”, not “gay”. “Yuri” marriage. In a cute scene, the newscaster immediately proposes to the weatherwoman (who says yes.) As women all over Japan are getting married, protagonist Aki proposes to her lover Shuko….who says no.

The point Shuko makes is that, of course she wants to get married to Aki, but not now that it is a fad. She wants to wait until Japanese collective faddishness passes and it’s just for people who really mean it.  Well, okay, but you broke Aki’s heart when you said no, and was making a point really more important than marrying your wife?

The final chapter of “game” by Takemiya Jin (collected volume is out next month) finds Morico unhappy at being forced to play pretend for Becky. Until, somewhat predictably, Becky realizes that it’s Morico she’s in love with after all. An end that, for all its predictability, left me feeling better than Minamoto’s story.

I am SOOOOOO conflicted about “Bousou Girlsteki Mousou Renaiteki Suteki Projec,t” but I console myself that Beniko feels the same way about being trapped in a story that appears to be trying to be all the stories ever all at once and is managing to handle them all unconvincingly. The best moment is Beniko breaking down over giving a hoot about Aoi and Aoi responding calmly – “I’m your partner, aren’t I?” with “aite” as partner, which means, like, the person one is best suited to be matched with. Aoi is right, Beniko and she are indeed suited to one another.

Morishima Akiko’s “Yurrip-chu” comes in with a second vignette about a girl who wants to be one thing and is required to be another. This time we follow the tall, “princely” group member, Sayaka. I’m not sure if their producer is a genius or an idiot, making everyone be something they’re not.

Tanaka Minoru’s “Rock It Girl” is quirky as always, but for a brief chapter, everyone is in a good mental place, well, except terminally low self-esteem Kaname, but Seira’s right on that, yelling at her ’til she snaps out of it.

Something weird happened in “Yuri Danshi.” Hanadera stopped being the lead for a bit. Fujigaya heads to a book shop and is imbued with Hanadera’s Yuri power when trying to convince the bookstore to create a dedicated Yuri section. For once, I actually liked the chapter. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

There were, as always, many other stories, some good, some bad, some…um, unmemorable. ^_^ But overall a decent volume with some conversation-starters, at the very least.

The May Volume is already on sale, so get your copy today!