Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Cocoon, Entwined, Volume 1 (English)

August 30th, 2019

This past winter, I took a look at Mayu, Matou, Volume 1 in Japanese which I had wanted to read before the English-language volume hit shelves. Today, I’m taking a look at the much-anticipated English-language release from Yen Press, Yuriko Hara’s Cocoon, Entwined. Volume 1.

My initial review covered the most visible of the symbols in this volume – namely, hair. More specifically, that hair chews up the scenery in nearly every panel. In my original review I said, “their hair is the main character and the people attached to that hair are merely abstractions.” which is still partly true. The characterizations of both people and place are overtly inspired by Maria-sama ga Miteru‘s Ibara no Mori, with Saeki very clearly a Sei-stand-in. Whether either Hoshimiya or Yokozawa is ultimately her Shiori or Youko, we’ll have to  stick around to learn to find out.

What I was able to enjoy this time around, is the building of a love triangle in which only one participant has any idea that they are participating. This story builds up in non-linear, almost episodic fashion and it’s easy enough to take each chapter on its own without applying it to a macro narrative, but by the final chapter, a very solid whole has been constructed. One finds that there is a backstory; histories, both institutional and personal, and a clear dynamic between the characters and the situations.

I still would caution anyone skeeved by hair as a fetish/major imagery/plot point/conflict that hair takes up a lot of space in both the narrative and on the page. But aside from that, it’s a pretty intriguing story, with solid art. I look forward to the next volume. The translation has been handled smoothly although any added Keigo formality has been stripped from the dialogue by translator Amanda Haley. It makes for a slightly more casual read in English. I feel as if I am reading by looking through a curtain of hair, but the story, I hope, will be worth it.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – Hair
Yuri – 3

Overall – 8

High marks for this unique look at love and obsession at an elite girls school, the classic Yuri manga trope.

Thanks very much to Yen Press for the review copy for today’s review.

The story has grown on me, and no I will not make a stupid hair joke here. Fill one in on your own time.





Yuri Manga: Vanilla Nonhuman x Nonhuman Yuri Anthology ( バニラ人外×人外百合アンソロジー)

August 29th, 2019

In the middle of a number of very excellent working life Yuri, I found myself facing down a manga anthology that was vastly out of my wheelhouse. Vanilla Nonhuman x Nonhuman Yuri Anthology ( バニラ人外×人外百合アンソロジー) was…not bad. It had a niceish mix of non-human as in animal girls and non-human as in supernatural.

The stories about supernatural non-humans appealed to me far more than the animal-eared girl stories, but even so, Mintarou (whose bouldering Yuri manga began in the recent issue of Comic Yuri Hime,) has a cute little story about the animals at a zoo who take on human form at night and the romance between a wombat and a Tasmanian Devil.

Likewise the love story by Nanamiya Tsugumi between a raven and a goose, I think, was kind of bittersweet.

My favorite story by Takeshima Shin (creator of Mansoufutou no Gikami Meikyuu), was also kind of creepy. A shinagami helps heal the emotional wounds of a girl who has lost her lover.

Unsurprisingly a number of the stories had very infantile art and, like the cover, paired characters I couldn’t get behind as a couple, but overall, I was able to read and enjoyed a number of the stories in this collection. So if nonhumans are your thing, this seems like a decent enough attempt at a Yuri collection of same!

Ratings:

Overall – 7

Lots of moe, a little creepy sometimes at the same time.

 





Yuri Manga: Yuritora Jump ~ Ultra Jump Yuri Digital Anthology~, Volume 2 (ユリトラジャンプ～ウルトラジャンプ百合アンソロジー～ Vol.2)

August 28th, 2019

Last year Ultra Jump (Shonen Jump‘s older brother magazine) did an awkwardly titled Yuri anthology called Yuritora Jump.The title’s awkwardness comes from it being an “Ultra Jump” off-shoot, so  Ultora Jump ウルトラジャンプ becomes Yuritora Jump ユリトラジャンプ…yeah…, no, it doesn’t work in Japanese either and people keep making fun of it. ^_^;

I could have sworn I did a review of the volume, but don’t see it anywhere. ^_^; There wasn’t much in it I liked, except the excellent story by Hayate x Blade creator Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei. (Quick synopsis of Tanerabo manga do it! (『たねラボ manga do it』) : A manga editor asks an author for any kind of a Yuri story except isekai and the author keep proposing nothing but isekai. The proposal I liked the most was a girl asking to fight her onee-sama at a school for warriors in a series titled “Shiritsu Amazoness.” It was a fantastic mashup idea…I would love to see it for real. ^_^ This year, the Yuri Anthology by Ultra Jump magazine artists got a second volume. Generally speaking I enjoyed this much more than the first volume.

Yuritora Jump ~ Ultra Jump Yuri Digital Anthology~, Volume 2 (ユリトラジャンプ～ウルトラジャンプ百合アンソロジー～ Vol.2) is a digital comic and is available globally on Bookwalker Global for a mere 500 yen. The cover is a bit less infantile than Volume 1 and this time there are two stories which I really liked.

The first story that I want to tell you about is, again, by Hayashiya-sensei. Called “FRIDAY IS THE DAY” in English, this may well be the story I have waited all my life to read. In a gym, two women compete in a no-holds barred, brutal, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition, after hours. The two of them seem to be working through some kind of grudge, but as the other folks in the gym watch this increasingly violent fight, it becomes apparent that this fight is a confession of love. As the fight ends with the two women confessing their feelings, the spectators break out into applause.

This is what I mean when I say I want to read a sports manga.  Funny, as all of Hayashiya-sensei’s work is, ridiculous, violent as fuck. It was beautiful. Can I have a 8 volume series of this? Please~~~? I would be so happy.

Aoki Juntaro and Shina Yoshinao paired up to create “Italian Beef” (イタリアンビーフ) a Yakuza daughter vs Yakuza assassin story that was also a happy romance wrapped in death and destruction.

Hrm. I see to have a type.

Despite my fixation with fighting manga, there were a number of rather pleasant school girl stories. Fewer really annoyingly infantile entries. If you have $5 and can only get one of these volumes…go for this one!

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Everything is so variable, but overall, I read and enjoyed way more of this volume than the first.

Frankly, the whole thing was worth it for FRIDAY IS THE DAY.

 





Yuri Manga: Glass no Kutsu wo Nugisutete (ガラスの靴を脱ぎ捨てて)

August 22nd, 2019

The name Kiriyama Haruka should be familiar to us by now. We’ve seen work from this author in multiple “Shakijin” working-life Yuri anthologies.

And today we are looking at a collection of stories by this creator that center working women’s lives. Or, more properly, some of the more typical tropes of working women’s lives.

It’s a pretty specific distinction, because by now we have, actually, seen all the basic plotlines of romance between women working in offices. Cool together character and disaster employee, two women get drunk, wake up in bed. Women hiding they are together in the office, women coming home from work to their partners. A year into this new subgenre of Shakaijin Yuri and I’m already looking for artists looking past the “get drunk, wake up in bed” storyline.

And most of these stories fit the bill. The collection begins with three work friends getting together for an after-hours drink and it turns out two of them are a couple.

An artist and her assistant are extremely cute together.

A woman who works for an insurance company ends up meeting the online video idol she admires. (Yes, shades of Risou to Koi.)

The best story in my opinion was a story of a couple, struggling with their idea of what they want from their relationship right before they get married. I liked the recognition that commitment can cause friction in even a strong relationship. This one also felt very realistic.

And in a lovely final story, a woman whisks her lover away on a much-needed overnight vacation to restore balance to her beloved and to them as a couple.

Ratings:

Art – 7 sometimes a little sloppy
Story – variable 8
Characters – 8
Service – 2 Very mild partial nudity
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8

It was all very pleasant, easy to look at and no one I wanted to strangle. ^_^ More importantly, there were a couple of stories with some good real-world touches.





Yuri Manga: Risou to Koi (理想と恋)

August 20th, 2019

We are interrupting today’s planned programming to review a manga volume that has hit two benchmarks in Okazu’s history. Both good. ^_^

Risou to Koi (理想と恋) by Hino Youhe is a collection of several stories of adult life manga – of which I liked every single story. I do not believe this has ever happened before.

The entire concept of the volume is lovely, in fact. “My Ideal, My Love” is the English subtitle and that is pretty much what it’s about. A woman falls for someone who is her perfect ideal, and find herself learning about the person behind that ideal…and then falling in love with the person. In every case, the journey is mutual.

In one story, a woman who works for a delivery company realizes that’s she’s delivering packages to her favorite pop idol. The idol realizes that’s she fallen for the delivery person when an injury forces the company to send someone else. They bridge the distance when they recognize their feelings are mutual.

And every story is pretty much like that. A baker is attracted to a clothing designer, who is forced to admit that she’s a starving artist and cannot go clothes shopping. The two start going out, but stick to things that one can do for free, like picnics.

The final story is multi-chapter, taking up the second half of the book. A woman attends a local theater production and become smitten with the lead actress.  She joins the theater group, where she has to really think about her life and what she wants out of it. This story has the second benchmark moment – an actual coming out scene. The troupe leader mentions that he’s gay, to which Mayuko grudgingly admits that she is not interested in men. But later as she speaks with the lead, Ruri, who is pressing her on what her ideal is, Mayuko says that she is gay…and that she wants to be ordinary. Immediately after which, Ruri continues to encourage Mayuko to see her own talent and the walls she’s built around herself. Ultimately, Mayuko confesses her feelings and is feeling all lost in self-loathing, but Ruri is there to catch her and support her and we suspect that Ruri is a very good thing for Mayuko and vice versa.

This was a really nice book to read. Every story left me feeling hopeful. The obi reads “Rave review from Morishima Akiko-shi!” and to that, they could, if they want, add “rave review from Erica Friedman!” because there was nothing about this volume I didn’t like. Art was adult and cute and clean, the stories were solid, all the characters were likable and the conflicts were real-world issues, that were handled with kindness.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
LGBTQ – 8
Service – 1 on principal only

Overall – 9

A very strong volume by an author from whom I hope to see more.