Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 2 (欠けた月とドーナッツ)

June 17th, 2021

In Volume 1, we met Hinako, a woman who is crumbling under pressure to conform to society’s requirements for a “good” life and Asahi, a woman who has cast aside any interest in conforming for her own reasons. Usui Shio’s Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 2 (欠けた月とドーナッツ) brings them to a whole new level of intimacy between two adult women who are very tentative about trusting someone else with their true selves. I know I have said this before, but it bears repeating – I adore this series. There’s nothing melodramatic here, just quiet real-life concerns, and two women whose loneliness had become a fact of their lives that they didn’t think they could do something about.

In Volume 2, Hinako is desperately trying to not impose on Asahi and Subaru but, equally desperately, loves spending time with them. When Subaru asks Hinako bluntly to please, please free her sister from her own choices, Hinako finds a little courage to admit that she actually wants to do that…and then, magically, takes steps to do so. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that her feelings for Asahi are more than she’s willing to cope with, until she meets Fuuka, Asahi’s ex (bing bing! the bell goes off in Hinako’s head) and best friend. Fuuka makes Hinako look her own feelings straight in the face and acknowledge them.

As for Asahi, we learn why she’s so removed from her own life. She’s made choices that prioritize Subaru over herself. This will not go unnoticed by her little sister, who simultaneously wants Asahi to have a happy life of her own, for herself to be free of obligation and to forge her own path forward. To be fair, Subaru really likes Hinako and is clearly rooting for the two older women to get together, for all the reasons.

I absolutely love everything about this story. The characters are all entirely likeable and we cannot help but root for them, not just to get together, but to be happy. I love the art, which is stylish and clean, and the constant touches that make this story feel so firmly rooted in adult women’s lives. Clothing and makeup and food and peer pressure and work concerns….these could be real people who you might know.

The struggles are internal, the drama is internal. This is not the explosive hyper-dramatic relationships of high school. It’s not even a messy relationship. It’s just really…tentative. And we want, so very much, for everyone to be happy. If Hinako and Asahi end up happy together, then yay for all of us. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 6
Service – 0

Overall – 9

Volume 1 is already available from Seven Seas and Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, Volume 2 is headed your way in August, so get ready for some grown-up feels!





Comic Yuri Hime, June 2021 (コミック百合姫2021年5月号)

June 16th, 2021

Okay, yes. inori-sensei is right, Relaire is very cute. In Comic Yuri Hime, June 2021 (コミック百合姫2021年5月号) we get to meet our very own Yuri water slime and it is an adorable jiggly thing, with cute eyes. ^_^ Even more importantly, in “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” Claire and Rae are about to take each other on in the big Academy Knights qualification bouts! I’m really looking forward to this.

In Yuama’s “Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata” I sincerely hope we’ve moved past the not-at all-convincing plot complication as Hoshikawa-san finally lightens up and has…gasp!…fun.

“Sasayaku Youni Koi wo Utau” by Takashima Eku, turns back towards our principals and allows us to squee at their cuteness together all over again.

I’m delighted to see “Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru” by Shiime start up again. I find this one utterly charming, even beyond the issues of body discomfort and conformity…the art is so lovely, I just want it to go on forever.

“Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai” by Kashikaze comes to a major turning point, where everything about Sora finally drops into place and Ayaka is very angry on her behalf. Go Ayaka!

Normally, this is where I say “I read some stories and not others,” but I feel like I barely read this volume. Whole chapters look unfamiliar to me! I’d better get back on that.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Before I wrap up I want to say that semelparous is getting worse and, at this point, I find it physically repulsive. I would never mention it again, except that I already know that the next chapter, from Comic Yuri Hime July 2021, is one of the most incredibly ugly and ridiculous things I have ever seen in my entire life. I might mention that, because good fucking gods on high, tits DO NOT do that. So if I have time, I absolutely plan on ridiculing it. Then I will never mention it ever again, as long as I live. ^_^





Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 1

June 11th, 2021

Sahoko shows up at a reunion for her high school class. As she greets people she hasn’t seen in a while, she’s on the look out for someone else who is not there. and isn’t expected to attend. Adult Sahoko casts her mind back to her school days, when she was always looking out for the other girl…

In school, Sahoko is popular. She wants to be popular. It’s pretty much the most important thing to her. So her own uncomfortable obsession with Aoi Koshiba really annoys her. Koshiba’s athletic and popular, but doesn’t care at all about anything that passes for important in high school. She quits her clubs and team and heads home every day. Sahoko cannot put her finger on why it’s important to her, but suddenly becoming Aoi’s friend seems…critical. And when she learns Aoi’s secret, it’s suddenly become more important than anything, even her other friends.

Back in the present, Sahoko’s school friend Anna wistfully proposes that maybe it would be best if Aoi never comes.

So….there’s some very good things in this story and some not good things, and mostly I think the not-good things are stuff that was put in before the story kind of gelled. On the good side, I love Fly’s art generally and it was that art that got me to pick this book up in the first place, as you may remember from my review of Volume 1 in Japanese. Thumbs up to the Kodansha team for a good looking volume of manga, as well.

Sahoko awkwardly chasing after Aoi wasn’t bad, but their “accidental kiss” was inexcusably tropey. In Volume 1, it’s almost impossible for me to actually like Sahoko, or no, like isn’t the right word…sympathize, or empathize maybe is closer.  Nor are we given much to work with for Aoi, until her entire story is dumped on us in like 4 pages. So this whole volume left me a bit cold when I first read it, and I haven’t read past Volume 2 in Japanese,but…

…re-reading this made me think I want to pick up Volume 3 in Japanese now, when it comes out this summer. Seems like something to get on Bookwalker and keep in my pocket. (Although re-reading my V2 review, I know why it dropped down on my to-read list.) I keep foolishly wanting stories about high school reunions to be about the present…not the past. As Volume 2 is now out in English, you can read it for yourself, then get back to me and let me know what you think!

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 2 some random underwear for no reason
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

And now I’ll just wait get V3 and see if it goes where I hope it might, or it just circles the giant drain of lost high school loves. ^_^





Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 8 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる)

June 10th, 2021

As we reach Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 8 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる), we’ve hit what I tend to call the “storm before the calm.” Summer is winding down and Koyuki and Konatsu haven’t really been able to get any time to be together. When Kaede shows up at Koyuki’s house as part of her job, a sudden opportunity appears! Konatsu’s been down, since her father left and with the prospect of losing Koyuki. Koyuki’s been breaking out of her shell, but still doesn’t quite have the confidence she needs.

After a bunch of hits and misses, Koyuki and Konatsu finally get to talk a little. They still don’t quite know what to think about each other, but it’s obvious, at last, that they understand that each of them thinks the other one is important to them. And when I say they are flailing –  the plot of the series finale is “What do I call you?”  I mean that it’s super obvious to me that they are more than mere friends, I don’t know what conclusion they plan on coming to.

As they flail a bit, we watch Fuyuki flailing himself. It’s pretty obvious to everyone that he likes Kaede, but he’s not quite there yet.

For a book in which very little happens, it seemed to all go by so quickly. It felt exactly like those final weeks of summer after camp or whatever, before school,  when you had a short time to just do kid things.

And just as suddenly as it was in real life, the world comes back, and we see Koyuki overwhelmed in the big city and at her limit. What will become of her and Konatsu, what are they to each other? Tune into Volume 9, the final volume of the series to find out when it hits Japanese bookshelves at the end of this month!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0 not really
Yuri – 3

Overall – 7

Volume 7 of A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow is out now and Volume 8 will head your way at the end of this year.





Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 3 (ハロー、メランコリック!)

June 2nd, 2021

When we last saw them, Minato had just blurted out that she liked Hibiki. As we begin Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 3 (ハロー、メランコリック!) everything between them is so normal it’s making them both uncomfortable. The pressure is going to build and the rest of the band is just waiting for it to blow. In the mean time, new first-years have joined and Minato is now a sempai

But, we’re not done yet, because Hibiki’s online posts opens an opportunity for Minato that she is absolutely not at all ready to take. A local band of adults – one that has a reputation for a high level of musical proficiency – has invited Minato to try out for a position as backup, a high honor. Minato’s good enough, but she is emotionally still so scarred from her previous experience in trying out for a band position that she rejects the chance. Even when Hibiki helps her to confront her fears, Minato continues to retreat into herself, eventually lashing out at Hibiki.

This too comes to a head, after Minato asks the only other second year in the group for advice. Luckily for her, Emma is a good advice giver and in a moment of clarity, Minato realizes that she’s never had a friend to ask advice from – and it takes her breath away. Finally everything comes down to a confrontation, and as the rest of the band eavesdrop outside the door, Hibiki and Minato say some things that they need to say. Minato works through last lingering doubts about Hibiki going off to college with help from the ever-chill Sachiko and Chika.  The book ends with Minato (sporting a new look) and Hibiki meeting up again on a spring day a year later.

The extra chapter delves into Emma’s secret life with an older woman.

Okay, you’re probably looking at this and wondering why I picked *this* story for day two of Pride Month, since I’m usually so intentional about my choices? (I hope you notice that I’m intentional.) Well for a couple of reasons – things that happen in this series that I think are very relevant to right now.

One – this is a story about a kid who had been bullied and it is not a miraculous story of redemption or perseverance. Minato slowly, carefully sheds some of the baggage she was burdened with, but it’s not without risk to her and to survive it, she just grows. The whole school isn’t applauding her, she isn’t made prom queen, this isn’t a Hollywood story. Minato finds some people who help her grow up and grow beyond the damage – I honestly wish this was a narrative that we got more often. Most of us who were bullied don’t get a reckoning, we just get old and the things that weighed us down, don’t anymore. I was in college when one of the kids who had bullied me as as a tween was sitting in a class I walked into. She saw me and said something rude and I just…laughed at her. I mean, really? Was I supposed to care what she thought? It was too ridiculous to imagine.

Two – and this made me cheer out loud. Minato, all upset at losing Hibiki to college, assumes Chika and Sachiko will be going to school together. As it turns out, Chika’s going to trade school to be a dental hygenist, Sachiko’s going on to a private school. Minato, shocked, asked if they aren’t upset at never seeing each other and they stare at her like she’s turned purple. Why? Because they have cell phones, for pity’s sake. Cell phones and days off and maybe they’ll move in together, but really – there is no reason that high school is the end of it allTM. Why wouldn’t they keep seeing each other?

Three – yesterday was pretty heavy going with The Rose of Versailles and tomorrow is pretty heavy going and I wanted something light and fun and a story about a girl meeting and falling in love with her sempai in band is about as close to an autobiography as I’ll ever get in a manga. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9 More conflict in this volume is a good thing, as Minato becomes less passive
Characters – 9
Service – 1
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

Thank you Ohsawa-sensei for this utterly delightful story.