Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Uminekosou days, Volume 3 (海猫荘 days)

February 7th, 2021

In Volume 1, wet met Mayumi, a woman on the run from the ruins of her life. She decides to become a teacher in a small seaside town, where she meets Rin, the former punk landlady of the small guesthouse in which she is living. In Volume 2, Mayumi finds herself drawn into the lives of the residents of the guesthouse and starts to make a place for herself among them.

Here we are at Uminekosou days, Volume 3 (海猫荘 days), the final volume of Kodama Naoko’s series from Comic Yuri Hime…and at last, we can see the core of Mayumi’s problems. Her “best friend” Touko has arrived from Tokyo and it is instantly apparent to us that Touko’s has been poisoning the well of Mayumi’s life for years. Whatever Mayumi might possibly ever have, Touko destroys it.

And wow, does Touko give it her best shot here, too. But Mayumi finally understands herself and tells Touko that she doesn’t get to make the decisions. Touko goes back to Tokyo and Mayumi is finally 100% the person she could always have been, as she sets off to solve a sudden crisis. In a final epilogue, we see all the characters happy, healthy and free to be who they are and love and live their lives the way they want.

This was a series that was, at the end of Volume 2, primed for going into some pretty dark territory, but instead, it sort of picked itself up, shook itself off and with a grand wave of the magic wand gave everyone a happily-ever-after ending. I’m still not sure if that was a positive or negative thing for the story, but I’m a little relieved as a reader. Yes, happily-ever-afters all around is a handwave, but did I really want another volume of Mayumi having her heart gutted by an obviously jealous and manipulative “friend”? No, I did not. So happily-ever-after it is and thank you very much.

Kodama-sensei’s work is a kind of knife edge for me. She’s at her best when her characters are broken; wounded, vulnerable, manipulative. I don’t actually enjoy stories about that, but Kodama-sensei has a habit of pulling things out. So every one of her series has a kind of sword of Damocles feel, as I wait for it to either get too dark for me to cope, or to wrap up. She’s getting closer with each series, to one day creating something that sandblasts me, but I stick around for the whole thing. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 7
Service – 3 less than previous volumes
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

Seeing Mayumi stand up to Touko was worth the price of admission.

 





Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 7 ( 私の百合はお仕事です!)

February 5th, 2021

When we left Volume 6 of Miman’s “Yuri concept cafe” series,  Hime has rethought her desire to stay at the cafe, throwing the rest of the staff into complete chaos.

In Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 7 ( 私の百合はお仕事です!), the staff makes Hime and Mitsuki sit down and talk everything out. It does not go as planned. Or, well, sort of yes it does. The outcome just isn’t what they wanted.

Mitsuki makes her case…and she’s really pretty bad at making that case, frankly. Years of pining quietly for the friend she remembered has unmade her ability to see Hime in front of her as a real person. But – in an amazing scene – when Mitsuki ends up talking to some of her classmates, she finds that they giver her very good advice, and she is able to speak honestly with one, who is kind and supportive to her. That one scene may well have repaired a lot of damage in that girl.

Kanako finally lances the wound her anger has become. She lashes out at Mitsuki and she’s only a little wrong. But she is also wrong and Sumika has to hold her back, before she does new damage. The bits Kanako gets right, and the conversation with her classmate, force Mitsuki to rethink things. Ultimately, though, Hime is the one with final say. In her desire to not hurt Mitsuki…she hurts her very much.

The ensemble here is perfect. Kanako’s anger, Hime’s reticence, Sumika’s overwhelming need for things to stay the same, and Mitsuki’s cruel honesty make a tense, yet never quite overwrought, volume. Seven volumes into this series, if you’re not already reading it, this review is not going to be the thing that draws you in, but for a series that started with a silly premise, a bunch of mostly-unlikable characters and a handful of unrealistic plot complications, Miman-sensei has been really deft at managing this narrative into something interesting.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

Another messy af relationship, but somehow I feel like this story will pull together in the end.





Even Though We’re Adults, Volume 1

February 4th, 2021

Takako Shimura’s Even Though We’re Adults, Volume 1 is a very strong opening to a series I still have no idea in what direction it is going. Ayano, a teacher, meets Akari when she stops by a place for a drink. They end up sleeping together. Both Ayano and Akari want to see each other again, but when Ayano does come to the restaurant Akari works at, she’s accompanied by her husband.

Ayano tells her husband that she’s interested in Akari and he basically has no idea what to do with that information. He’s in love with his wife, and he’d like a child with her, but thinks (fears?) that she’s slipping away. Ayano isn’t sure what she wants, except that she is sure she wants to see more of Akari. Akari is in a worse spot; with a history of failed relationships, the last thing she needs is to be falling for a married woman…but that is definitely what is happening.

Quite a lot of manga people I know who are also queer, including myself, have very ambivalent relationships with Shimura’s work. She does seem to focus quite a lot on gender and sexual minorities, with varying degrees of verisimilitude. In my personal opinion, this story feels equal parts solid and kind of icky. It may also be that I’m not particularly thrilled to have either another “messy relationship with a married woman story” or a story that makes the lesbian performatively self-loathy. At the same time, there are elements here that keep bringing me back to this story, which is at Volume 4 now in Japanese.

One of the best things about the series so far is the art. There are moments, especially when Shimura-sensei is using the watercolor style she often relies on for covers and color art, when she really shines. I talked about this a little in my review of Volume 2 in the Japanese, as well.

As always, the team at Seven Seas has done a great job. Shimura-sensei is great with *moments,* but has a harder time sustaining conversations over a scene. Translator Jocelyne Allen and adapter Casey Lucas allow the conversations to flow naturally. Everything about this book – the lettering and design, as well as the writing and art – is given room to get out of the way of the characters and let them tell their story. I’m  not at all sure where that story is heading, but I guess I’m here for the ride!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Character – A not-sure-yet 7
Story – Same 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 Hardly any, in fact. The 1 is mostly on principle

Overall – 7

Thanks very much to Seven Seas for the review copy! Volume 2 is slated for a summer release. I’m definitely going to have to bump up Volume 3 in Japanese on the to-read pile and see what happens.





Comic Yuri Hime February 2021 (コミック百合姫2021年2月号)

January 31st, 2021

Comic Yuri Hime, February 2021 (コミック百合姫2021年2月号) was a bonanza of delight. 

Starting with the new cover novel, which is a fascinating little science fiction story, in which two young women are communicating across time – I really enjoy this story, but deeply resent that it is crammed into a ridiculously small type size. (The worst thing is knowing that if they published it in a volume as a novella, Ichijinsha probably wouldn’t make the type size any larger. ^_^;) But it is charming so far.

“Watashi no Oshi ha Akujyaku Reijou” follows the LN pretty closely, so this chapter we get to watch former game-loving otaku Rae screw with the Princes and Claire. ^_^

Usui Shio’s “Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita” and, later “Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnuts” provide life lessons on the different kinds of shapes affection and relationships take.

In “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” by Miman, Hime and Mitsuki are past the wailing, but not yet at a place where they are communicating. But they are getting closer.

I could not stop smiling at this chapter of “Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru” as we see them start a whole new chapter of their relationship…as wife and wife.

Tons of other great continuing stories in this volume, too, including  “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, “Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai,”  “Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru”. “Kudan Folklore,” appears to be jumping straight to the conclusion, so if you’re reading the VN, you may wish to skip it.

Ratings for the stuff I’m reading. The stuff I’m not reading is in many cases distressing enough to me that it would be points off.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Overall, a fantastic issue (for the stuff I’m reading), with enough to keep anyone entertained, whatever you’re looking for. Unless it’s a sports story. Those still seem to be on short supply. /sad face/ With all the sports series we’ve seen in the last couple of years, I’m guessing that gaying up the Olympics is not looked upon favorably. Shame, seems like a perfect time to do a sports Yuri between competitors at a major international sporting competition to me, but what do I know. /eyroll/ Instead, we’re all getting married these days. Which I guess is also a kind of competition. ^_^

The March issue is on shelves and waiting for me the store, but a storm this week means it’s going to have to wait a while longer.





Totsuzen Nantonaku Tonari no Seki no Douryou to Kiss Shitaku Narimashita.(突然何となく隣の席の同僚とキスしたくなりました。)

January 29th, 2021

I am so pleased to be reviewing this book today. Miura Kozumi’s Totsuzen Nantonaku Tonari no Seki no Douryou to Kiss Shitaku Narimashita.(突然何となく隣の席の同僚とキスしたくなりました。) is the first Yuri collection I have by this prolific contributor to Yuri anthologies. We’ve seen her work in the White Lilies BRIDE’s Anthology, and several issues of Galette MEETS, Ichijinsha’s Yuriqueur alcohol-centered anthology and Shueisha’s Yuritora Jump anthology. Her work is clean and stylish and often adult in several senses of the word. This collection also marks a new imprint to look out for, Taiyotosho’s Lily Love imprint. You know how happy it makes me when we get another player on the field.

The first story follows a workplace sempai and kouhai who find more than work in common. The title story follow Kobashi, a straight-laced office worker and Hayami, her colleague who sits next to her, as they realize that they both want to have sex…and decide that having sex with each other works for them.  Both these stories come back in later pages and we see that Hayami and Kobashi, despite trying to not let their personal lives ooze into their work relationship, really can’t. They like each other too much, These stories are wrapped around a few shorts that cover a vast array of set-ups from school to work to a woman picking up a stranger on the street.

The stories here occasionally have some angst, but generally they are all very pleasant, nicely drawn and many of them feature things that appeal to me, personally, like dinners out and couples being blissfully happy.  Just the kind of collection, I’ll return to to re-read and re-enjoy.

Ratings:

Art – 9 Just my type
Stories – Variable, but let’s say 8
Characters – I adore Hayami and Kobashi, so 9
Service – 2 Sex scenes are sensual and stylish, rather than fanservice-y. There is some partial nudity
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

I’m ridiculously happy to have this collection from a creator whose work I enjoy. Thank you and welcome to Okazu, Lily Love Comics!