In Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 3 (私の百合はお仕事です! ), by Miman, we turn our eyes away from protagonist Hime and her “schwestern” at the Yuri concept cafe of Der Liebe Gakuen. (It appears I never reviewed Volume 2, so let me assure you that Hime and her “onee-sama” resolve their issues. Now that I think about it, I remember why I didn’t review the volume. It was beyond my ability to suspend disbelief when Hime was capable of remembering that she had seriously hurt a classmate by rejecting her a few years ago and be beating herself up about it for years, but unable to recognize that that former-best friend and classmate was her onee-sama. Please.

By Volume 3, Yano and Hime seems to have patched up their issues, but another problem is brewing among the cafe staff. Sumika, bookish third-year at the cafe, gal off-hours, can see that Hime’s best friend Kanako has a problem – she’s dangerously obsessed with Hime. Hime, focused on winning the title of “Blume” during the annual cafe popularity contest, has not noticed, but Sumika has. And Sumika is worried that Kanako’s jealousy may destroy more than one relationship.

We learn what the source of Kanako’s loyalty to Hime is, but it doesn’t really excuse her jealousy. And, we learn that Sumika may well have been the third party in a similar situation in the past. I quite like Sumika – she seems pretty insightful and interesting and look forward to her opening up and, possibly, dragging Kanako out of the darkness that threatens to possess her. 

I like that the characters aren’t always what they seem here, and that they have richer internal stories than what we’re seeing. I don’t much like either Hime or Kanako, but Sumika, who is a gal and reads a lot and can see and understand what’s going on around her, interests me mightily. Whether she and Kanako become “schwestern” remains to be seen, but I’m all in for the journey.

I’m so torn about the idea of a Yuri concept cafe. On the one hand, it’s brilliant, on the other hand, I know I would die of a dozen forms of death while trying to not blow a kidney out my back from laughing at how excruciating it is, should I actually have to sit at one. On the third hand, I had a fun time at the Hozuki no Reitestsu cafe, so maybe I can behave. Fingers crossed that the next Yuriten event tries it. ^_^ 

A notable addition in this volume is the specific naming of a cafe regular, who is very clearly a woman. Who Shimamoto-sama is and why she gets a panel to herself, we may never know, but I would love to find out! ^_^ Given that other customers are typically no more than a blob or a generic person, to have such a specific panel becomes a mystery.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8 
Service- Ugggghhhh, how do I rate this? Not really, but kind of, since the whole concept is sort of service? 4, fine It’s a 4.
Yuri – Kanako’s creeping on Hime, Hime and Misaki play it up for the crowd, Sumika…? Uggggh. 5

Overall – 8

I really like this series, any actual Yuri aside, just for the concept. That there may be, in Sumika’s history, some actual Yuri. (Am I rooting for Sumika to be one of us? Yes, yes I am.) And Kanako being a bit of a weirdo makes her far more interesting than just being the perfect best friend she appears. It looks like Hime is not the only one with a carefully cultivated false persona.

We were introduced to Konatsu, a transplant to a seaside town, as she met Koyuki at the local aquarium and, between facts about sealife, we watch as the two of them become closer in Volume 1. In Volume 2 of Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる ), Koyuki ‘s natural reticence is forcing them apart, and Konatsu has no idea why.

Konatsu’s dad has returned and he’s a goof. He and Koyuki ‘s dad are clearly determined to make them both die from embarrassment, but it really seems like Koyuki needs no help in that regard. There’s nothing keeping her from being closer to Konatsu, except whatever is inside her. (I’m encountering this phenomenon more these days. In the absence of any real LGBTQ identity in Yuri – and, therefore, no real societal pressure to not be together, as no one really has any of those conversations – creators are hard pressed to come up with a reason why we can’t just be together. A theme I will return to later this week.)

The summer festival comes and Koyuki and Konatsu are separated by the tide of humanity. Konatsu is about to give up when Koyuki finds her. As the fireworks explode overhead, Konatsu asks why Koyuki won’t just call out for her? Will Koyuki step up and say a thing? Tune in to Volume 3 to find out, when it’s available!

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 1 on principle only, there really isn’t any
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

I expect this series to do nothing notable, but it’s still a nice little romance.

Kimi-iro Shoujo Perfect Edition (キミイロ少女 完全版), is a reprint by Ichijinsha of the debeut collection by Miman-sensei, whose Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! was just licensed by Kodansha as Yuri is My Job!.

I originally reviewed this book in 2014 when it was initially released as a way to introduce a new manga artist. Now, with an established reputation, I think the book warrants a second look. In my original review, I noted than the stories  were all fairly basic girl-likes-girl and nothing here has been altered. Somewhat surprisingly, there’s no new content, either. But it’s a solid Story A collection and, if your’re a fan of Miman-sensei’s work, it’s a good look at their early years. 

Of these stories, the one that still stands strongest is the one about a girl on the track team who has to come to terms with the truth of why she limits herself.

Because this is a short story collection, characters are a little on-dimensional, but they do their best in limited page count. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 6 
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 7 Still a solid, stolid Yuri collection.

This was a nice, comfortable book for my second downtime read while on vacation, with the also-comfortable The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis. and the not-at-all-comfortable, but brilliant Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. ^_^

Yesterday, I started my review with “I have never before been so disappointed with a Yuri manga.” Today, I’m starting with the opposite. I have never been so pleasantly surprised with a Yuri manga! To say I was dubious about Yuri Kagi ~ Sempai no Himitsu wo Nozoitemita~ (百合鍵 ~先輩の秘密をのぞいてみた~) is a tremendous understatement. The cover screams” stalker Yuri” and corporate sempai x kouhai love in the age of #metoo is well past the border of ick. But, there are plenty of things that are ick in real life that one may allow, if one is inclined, in shitty entertainment…and one of those may be sempai x kouhai affairs at the workplace.  So, I gave it a try and what I ended up with was indeed an absurd creepy stalker first chapter that almost immediately switched to a kind of sweet, weirdly idealized sempai x kouhai relationship that ended up in a love story that didn’t make me feel icky at all. 

In this Pixiv comic by Yuri doujinshi artist, Seta Seta-sensei, Asou is a young female employee at a big company. She’s assigned the cold, bitchy, demanding Mochizuki as her sempai. And, at first, everything is as Asou fears. Mochizuki has Asou taking care of her pets and getting her coffee, while sharing none of her accumulated organizational wisdom. One day Asou is still in Mochizuki’s apartment when her terrifying sempai comes home. She panics and hides. What follows next is so absurd I almost gave up on the spot. Mochizuki turns out to be a human, and eventually gets into bed, right next to where Asou lays – without noticing another person in her bed. 

But this is the true low point of the manga. Asou learns that Mochizuki does indeed have foibles and weaknesses and strengths and friends and, ultimately comes to realize that her sempai is admirable and she’s falling a bit in love with her. 

Mochizuki starts to cultivate Asou’s abilities – and supports her in a really major way a few times. At the end of the book Asou is over Mochizuki’s apartment – as a guest, not a servant – and takes an opportunity to confess her feelings and kiss Mochizuki, who admits she returns the feeling…and asks for the key to Asou’s apartment. The ending was both cute and satisfying. 

I like Seta Seta-sensei’s art; it’s solid jousei-style, with a frisson of men’s magazine. As silly Yuri office-worker fantasy, I was pleasantly surprised. The volume came with a little extra comic on card stock as an added bonus. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Starts at 5 but climbs to 8
Characters – 7
Service – 5 Some underwear and bathing
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7