Once again, the cover of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫) tells a story. The January issue’s story, which is helpfully titled “Love Story”, provides flashbacks to Mad magazines of old, as the cover and inside cover offer *4* pages of story with the fold.

This issue was primarily interesting for the various ways in which so many of the stories explored the typical tropes of schoolgirl Yuri with abandon. And I mean that – artists are really just going nuts within the same few basic ideas. Girls are still transferring into elite schools, where they encounter the star of the school…but none of the typical things one might expect are happening. The star of the school is not who she seems, murders occur, things are being smashed and thrown and kisses are hard, sometimes, and gentle sometimes. Characters are enigmatic, cheerful, angry, polite and crazy. This issue is not, really, in any way a great reflection of life, but that isn’t my point. My point is…wow there’s a lot of *stuff* going on in this magazine!

And once again “Fu~Fu~” wins the universe as Sumi decides that she and Kina ought to, y’know, have matching rings. Oh god this series is so cute! Kinana agrees that matching rings would suit them well…and she suggests that the next thing on the menu ought to be a wedding ceremony. ^_^ Squee!

This issue was a really nice selection of stories of girls and women in a variety of relationship from utterly dysfunctional to happily ever after. Exactly what I want in an anthology. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Rather than run down each story with a quick synopsis today, I really want to just say this about  the November 2012 issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫):

This was quite possibly the most amazing volume of Comic Yuri Hime ever published.

Story after story, I found myself saying, “Wow, what a weird/unusual/unique story.” From the cover, which was a story of its own, a departure from the normal cover art, to a high school Yuri version of Well of Loneliness to a relationship in a war-torn country, to black magic-advice-offering goat-headed net idols, almost no story did what I expected it to do. My eyebrows spent a great deal of time pushed way up toward my hairline.

If you haven’t been reading Comic Yuri Hime, get this volume. It’s half insane, half carefully calulated to sell stuff, and surprisingly out of the normal.

Hot damn.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

Comic Yuri Hime,(コミック百合姫) July 2012 starts off with a new story by Kazuma Kowo (yaaaayyy!!!) “Namae ha Mada Nai”, about a transfer student who, I hope, will turn another student’s life upside down. ^_^ 

Shin Yui bridges the gap between two languages in “Niñas”.

 “Mashoujo” takes a manipulative and evil-eyebrowed look at a teacher/student relationship.” Sakamoto Mano’s ending is a handwave, but I can’t trust eyebrows like that…ever.

Ohsawa Yayoi’s “Chemical Romance” is the second Yuri story I’ve read this year that deals with allergies. I love the fact that everyday things like this are creeping into our Yuri fantasies. ^_^;;

Takemiya Jin’s “Step Forward” brings Ryouko’s relationship with Ah-chan to a bit of a climax, as Ryouko waits for the older woman to say “I love you” back…to complicate matters their relationship is discovered by one of Ryouko’s classmates – who has no intention of blabbing, she says, she’s got a girlfriend too.

“Renai Joshiko Tantei File” by Mizoguchi Akiko, digs a little into the backstory behind Saki’s ex, Kimiko, how she finds Saki again and how her assistant helps her (well, forces her, yelling the whole while…!) to move on.

“Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san” adds a mouse, Nezu Mikine, (nezumi means mouse) and a cow, Ushiwaka Yukiji, (ushi means cow) to the menagerie.

Amano Syuninta’s “Watashi no Sekhai o Kousei Suru Gomi no You na Nanika” as expected, brings the issue of Sa-chan’s emotionally abusive boyfriend to a head and amazingly, sets it aside with way less damage than I expected. Phew. 

“Fu~Fu” proves that the author really does understand lesbians, when Kina and Su-chan foster a cat. But in the end, they decide to stick with their two-human relationship.

“Ame-iro Kochakan Kandan ~ Golden tips and Silver tips~” proves to us once and for all that people who refer to themselves in the third person are odd. Oh, and we follow Hinoka and her girlfriend. ^_^ 

Erika-sama is up to no good in “Love Gene Double X” but we knew that. Aoi is starting to clue in to her feelings, and Momoji gets a lesson in lovemaking. (So much for that no Adam couples, no Eve couples thing, huh?)

“Kimono Nadesico” are 4-koma, so you know, the same kind of bwa~wah~waahh.

And in “Cirque Arachne,” Layla starts to notice Sora, I erm, mean Charlotte starts to notice Tetei.

As always there are many more stories, these are just the one I wanted to call your attention to. ^_^ 

Ratings:

Overall – 8