Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 1

April 24th, 2025

A woman with long, dark hair stares out at us with her hands steepled, while a woman with short, dark hair on her right leans in to her, her mouth open.Viz Media is quietly carving out a little niche  for themselves, aren’t they? ^_^ Along with all the quiet little school  Yuri from Shogagukan, like Rainbows After Storms, they have complex adult Yuri in  How Do We Relationship from Shueisha, and now Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 1, by  Ami Uozumi.

Taka is coming off another breakup with a boyfriend. She just doesn’t seem to have that *feeling* of wanting to be with them and she doesn’t know why. (As an aside – this is perfectly normal! We should be dating to date, not to marry!) She meets up with an old school friend and is blown away at how much Ema has changed.

In her memories, Ema was quiet and needed protecting. They were so close…why did they stop keeping in touch? Taka can’t stop watching Ema, and is jealous that Ema’s husband Hario has had all these years to be with Ema. But, as Hario repeatedly says, he’s never seen Ema this happy, since Taka is back in her life.

Having set this up situation up, we run into the story’s biggest weakness – Taka’s denial setting is on 11. So for the rest of the volumes, she is torturing herself. “What am I feeling?” goes only so far to carry a story.When she finally remembers that she and Ema stopped speaking after Taka tried to kiss her friend, it feels almost like psychological horror that she never, ever, ever, ever thought this through. At last, at the end of Volume 1, Taka realizes that she loves Ema, although no one yet has noticed that Ema is also in love with her. It all feels all very old school “what is this feeling?”  The creator does mention that their wish is that people can love freely, which makes this feel more of a moral than a story. But, I get that many people really don’t understand themselves until later in life, so I am willing be convinced.

Having recently finished up Takako Shimura’s Even Though We’re Adults, Viz apparently felt that we needed another lesbian falls for a married woman story. ^_^ Only in this story, the marriage is not on the rocks. I could, almost, visualize a  relationship in which Ema had two partners but for one thing…Emma herself. She seems much too unaware, unless that is her method of self-preservation? ” I guess we’ll find out in future volumes. Tsumetakute Yawaraka ( 冷たくて 柔らか) is already up to 4 volumes in Japanese, so there is room for drama.

Ratings:

Art –  It’s a bit rough, but somehow very Josei-feeeling
Story – Reunions are nice as a premise, but the backstory/secret it a tad weak, hoping for more as it develops
Characters – I am wholly invested in Ema’s happiness. Taka better not hurt her. Grr.
Service – None
Yuri – All kinds, Ema’s feeelings for Taka, both implicit and explicit, Taka’s feeeling for Ema, bot overt and covert.

Overall – 8

 





Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!, Volume 1 ( 崖っぷち令嬢は黒騎士様を惚れさせたい)

April 17th, 2025

An extremely tall, serious woman with silver hair in an elaborate black uniform stand back to back with a woman with scarlet hair that graduates to orange, in a pink dress, smiling, a portrait of the demonic "black knight" on the wall above her head.Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!, Volume 1 / 崖っぷち令嬢は黒騎士様を惚れさせた has a great title. Honestly. ^_^

Gakepucchi means “on a cliff’s edge,” that is to say, someone pushed to desperate straits. And so, we meet Clarice, the eldest daughter of a failing minor noble household. Her sister Charlotte is ill and her parents have sold everything they can to pay for her treatment. In order to save her family and her beloved little sister, Clarice accepts an offer of marriage from the infamous Black Knight Frost.

And this is where I really kind of like the way the English and Japanese play in the title. Because Frost is a Marquis or Marquess (depending on your language of origin,) which is to say a rule of the March…the very edge of the land. So when Clarice goes to Frost’s home, she is literally on the very edge of the civilized world, where she finds that the edge is not that civilized after all.

Frost is a huge, black-armored creature who, when a monster attack during their wedding, dispatches it with ease, but seems antagonistic toward Clarice. Clarice is not a shrinking violet – she has committed to this relationship and she’ll be damned if she fails. When she discovers that Frost is a still-huge, angry and fearsome creature, she is also a very attractive women. While Frost shuts her out, Clarice rallies the few maids left in the household and bring Frost the best dinner she can muster and seeks to win her heart.

Frost clearly has some ancient trauma she is avoiding, so is spending her energy keeping Clarice at a distance, but her new wife is energetic, dedicated and a really kind and competent person. When a visiting merchant is attacked, Clarice defiantly saves teh merchant and his daughter, proclaiming herself of you the wife of the famous Black Knight, Clarice von Galeria!  By the end of volume one we are merely waiting for Frost to…defrost, if you will. There’s a lot of road to travel before that will happen, however, Clarice is showing herself to be a very determined heroine. I really like her!

The art by sometime, creator of Superwomen in Love! is fun, energetic and provides us a lot of near-naked, Frost bulging with muscles and covered in scars, both physical and emotional. suoh’s story is adapted well buy this veteran artist.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – Clarice is 9, Frost needs some work
Service – 1 Mild semi-nudity only
Yuri – 4 Actually, very little as of yet. Something tragic in Frost’s history, but it’ll be there in a bit

Overall – 8

Of the several fantasy stories running in Comic Yuri Hime, this one, along with Muryoku Seijo to Munou Oujo ~ Maryoku Zero de Shoukansareta Seijo no Isekai Kyuukokuki (~無力聖女と無能王女～魔力ゼロで召喚された聖女の異世界救国記～) are my favorites, with this one leading, simply on the force of Clarice’s personality. ^_^





Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 2 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け　二)

April 11th, 2025

Two girls in sailor-style Japanese school uniforms, with black hair and intense, but smiling looks at one another, cross swords.Welcome to the wrongest way to read a series, part 3. ^_^ This series began in 2023, when I was wooed by the repeated appearance of girls with swords on book covers at Japanese bookstores and eventually picked up Volume 2 of one series and Volume 1 of the spin-off. I naturally began with the Volume 1, which was the Volume 1 of a 2-part spin-off of a 3-volume series. Oni to Yoake Yuzuikyo (鬼と夜明け 夕月夜) had me up all night reading about the Bakumatsu, the civil war at the end of the Edo period in which the Shinsengumi “patriots”, supporting the Shogunate, fought the pro-Imperial Shishi “rebels”. The more I read, the more I was convinced that both sides were awful. But, as we are reading about the souls of these shitty people reborn into the bodies of high school girls and playing out the factionism and fighting on the scale of high school kendo matches and hallway bickerings, it’s no less confusing to me, but much more interesting. ^_^ Interesting enough that I picked up Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 1 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け　一) to figure out what was going on.

And, here, at last, Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 2 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け　二) I kind of understand. ^_^ Quite irritatingly, the beginning of the book this time was better at explaining where we are in all this, so all that work I put in previous volumes was summed up in cliff note fashion. Sakomoto (who holds the soul of Sakamato Ryouma) and Hijikata (with the soul of Hijikata Toshizou) are still in love, but the rules of the school are firm – to avoid faction fighting, no relationships are allowed. However, with each regional clan in charge of different committees in school, factions still jockey for power and then…

Yoshida-sensei (who carries the soul of Yoshida Touyou) is brutally attacked by someone at night in the library. A letter is left that states this is “divine punishment” for the school, but no one claims the act. Yoshida-sensei is technically a  Choshuu domain member, but is beloved by the students and the attack sets everyone on edge, especially Takasugi (the bearer of the soul Takasugi Shinsaku), who is, frankly devastated by the act. 

Hijikata has the nagging sensation that they all are being pushed towards the Ikedaya Incident (CW: Some serious shit went down, torture and violence, so maybe only read it if you really want to know). These souls have been through this again and again and they are tired of it. Hijikata approaches Takasugi and asks, simply, if she wants to change this school. I have never been invested in a story of the Bakamatsu as much as I am now that they are going break this stupid cycle. (See my complaints that Kairo did not destroy the Aikata System with prejudice in Galette magazine.)

This series was massively popular on Twitter and Pixiv with Japanese fans and was nominated for Pixiv web manga awards, but missed the international acclaim of other series, presumably because westerners know nothing about the Bakumatsu unless they played one of the several games with related content. But I do like Ikuta Hana’s art and her commitment to the bit. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Now that the real Bakumatsu rears it’s very ugly head, 7
Characters – 8
Service – Not really
Yuri – 5

Overall – 8

For American readers, imagine a story where Ulysses S. Grant and his generals and Robert. E. Lee and his, are all high school girls and the battle is still real, but they are in love with one another. ^_^;

You can read the comic for free in Japanese on the Michikusa Comics page or on Pixiv. Keep Wikipedia open while you do. ^_^





If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 5

April 10th, 2025

7 young women dressed in cute clothes with purple skirts, different blouses and accessories pose on the cover, looking at us, as if doing a photo op.In If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 5, the members of Cham Jam make it to Tokyo. And, while they do not get to perform at the Budokan…or even the other, smaller, Budokan…they are filled with a renewed sense of purpose and gain some new fans.

Eripyo is glad the group has new fans, she is no longer Maina’s only fan…but that puts her in awkward place. Yay, Maina is more popular!, but Eri’s not her one and only any more. Of course, yes, she is and Maina has eyes for no one else. Even though they manage to have an almost normal conversation over a handshake, neither Maina nor Eripyo manage to sake anything of importance, leaving everything they want to say hanging. As always.

It has been six years, *six* years, since I read this book in Japanese. And yet, the sense of desperation and obsession clings to me, still. So when I picked up this volume, I sat down to it much as one does to a meal of leftovers that were just alright the first time and won’t be better now. ^_^; Of course, I know what we’re in for and want to warn you that the next few volumes are just going to double, triple and quadruple down on Eripyo and Maina just not being able to communicate and Volume 7 is, enraging, because it is *almost an excellent volume.* And then, once out of the well*, the story starts to get better somehow.

But as I read this volume, my words from 6 years ago come back to haunt me. “The more I read this story, the more I desperately hope it’s meant to be a cutting commentary on the utterly brutal idol industry, and the equally brutal hobby of being an idol group otaku. Otherwise, it fills me with despair. (Yeah, I know, I know, I keep bringing it on myself.) The idea that this manga is getting an anime is already annoying, but it will probably be meant to be a comedy and I will just want the world to burn.” As we know, to make it a comedy, the anime removed much of the worst parts of the manga to leave us feeling as it was actually a comedy. So if you watched the anime and came to manga from that…the next few volumes are gonna be rough, I’m sorry.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – There is one, yes
Character – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – 3 I was convince when I read this the first time that there was another couple among the members of Cham Jam, I know now that, yes, there is.

Overall – 7

I’ll end with another quote from that review 6 years ago, ““Their eyes meet, they have a conversation, no plants fall and Eri doesn’t end up injured. They are practically married.”

*Many ages ago my father told me of a story in which a person was stuck in a well, with no way to get out, at which point the next chapter began, “Once out of the well…”. This parable reminds us that there is lazy writing and there is lazy writing.

 





Otherside Picnic, Volume 12

April 9th, 2025

Two women hold hands, looking at each other as they jog forward out of the book cover frame.by Sandy Ferguson, Guest Reviewer

Otherside Picnic manga, Volume 12 concludes “The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk” then launches into “About That Rush” concluding with Kozakura’s rebuttal, “Flashback To That Night”.

Another intense read, from gripping action, troubling revelations and a trip to the Otherside where Furth Kind idol Runa will discover the consequences of meeting your idol.

And then there is Toriko’s declaration of her feelings for Sorawo. The conclusion to “The Whisper Is At Your-Own-Risk” is exhausting and satisfying, there are a lot of moving parts and the artwork makes sure that you will be shocked. And then the “About That Rush” gives us a guided tour of The Mountain Ranch, the place created by Runa’s fan club to be a conduit to the Otherside.

So safe to say, there is a lot going on in this volume.

I have often explored Otherside Picnic as an exploration of trauma, of how victims try to navigate the legacy of their trauma. This volume is certainly in this case as Sorawo struggles with a critical question, can Sorawo deal with the fact that other people care for her? And that other people are even willing to risk their lives for her? This is a profound challenge for Sorawo as we are reminded that she was a victim of her own family who tried to destroy her.

So, as well as intense action, there are some intense emotions floating around.

And then to add to the pile, Sorawo also is forced to deal with the consequences of hiding stuff from people she is learning to care about, the stuff they desperately want to know. She fears the consequences of her actions, but eventually also takes ownership of them when the truth is revealed. This leads to Sorawo being confronted with a new situation, people will not abandon her.They may be mad at her but are willing to stick around to try and figure out what the hell is going on with Sorawo, because despite what Sorawo might think about herself, she is worth their care. Cue more angst from Sorawo, after all she is still figuring out what it means to care about other people and that sounds like too much work! Especially in the middle of a crisis.

And it is not just Sorawo who is going through an emotional wringer here. We see Toriko beginning to deal with her own trauma as she is confronted with a dose of reality about the gap between the Satsuki she yearns for, and what Satsuki has become.

And there are her feelings for Sorawo.

Sorawo and Torino’s relationship has mediated through the Otherside is one of a messy rebirth of 2 wounded people learning to care for themselves, one another and other people, something that is heavily illustrated in this volume.

After the intensity of the conclusion of “The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk,” with an interlude where Kozakura hosts the Otherside after party we begin “About That Rush,” which focuses on the messy aftermath of the clean-up of the Farm created by Runa’s cult. There we meet a new group, Torchlight, a security group that participates in this operation. Then we are treated to an idyllic moment in the last chapter as Sorawo and Toriko explore the new possibilities of the Otherside and their growing relationship.

And then everything shifts, and we are given a heads-up that in future volumes Sorawo is going to be facing some unfinished business from her past.

In “Flashback To That Night” Kozakura provides her perspective on the events of “The Whisper Is At-Your-Own-Risk,” as she reflects on the actions of Sorawo and Toriko, and the encounter of what Satsuki has become. Kozakura gives us a glimpse of the gap between the Otherside Satsuki, and the Satsuki she knew.

Ratings:

Story– 9
Artwork– 9 The artwork is intense and vivid, something I learned while enjoying a coffee and a donut, as I followed the confrontation in the Otherside.
Character– 9, there is a lot going on with both Sorawo and Toriko in this volume.
Service– 9
Yuri – Toriko is a 10, Sorawo has some catching up to do, maybe a 8?

Overall – 9

Volume 13 is headed our way in November.