Makioka Shizue needs food
The Principal thinks that just rude
Yasuko rides in
And is heroic for the win
But the book ends with a surprising mood.

Endou Yasuko ha Yomaiyochou ni Kakureteru, Volume 2 (遠藤靖子は夜迷町に隠れてる) is the final volume of this goofy, creepy, and yet somehow romantic, series. 

Everything moves fast in this second and final volume of the series. We learn a lot more about Yasuko, who is old enough that she herself doesn’t really remember much of her earlier life. She remembers her dog fondly, but that’s about all. She cannot for the life of her understand why kogal Mitsuru and her henchchicks are stalking her though, until we learn the truth about her identity.

At last, we learn who is responsible for the disappearance of the three missing girls…among other things. And, among those other things, Shizue is kidnapped. Yasuko is devastated. Shizue escapes and runs right into Yasuko’s waiting arms. 

All seems well, but as Shizue approaches graduation, Yasuko realizes that she can’t stay here. She wants Shizue to be able to move on, to grow up, grow old, but she herself will never change.  The end of the book and the series, is surprisingly poignant.

This two-volume series had a three-volume impact. Of all the probably-a-vampire Yuri manga I’ve read so far, this one is by far and away, the best – even with the service.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – Still absurd, still 8
Characters – 9
Service – 7 It gets a couple of boosts
Yuri – 6 Definitely

Overall – An entertaining, still trashy 8

Luckily, you too will be able to enjoy this goofy-creepy vampire Yuri series when Volume 2 of Hungry For You: Endo Yasuko Stalks the Night comes out in English in December! Yay!

Miyata Waltz’s collection Onna no ko Ichiban Yawaraka Itokoro (女の子のいちばんやわらかいところ。) is a comfortable example of a collection by a Yuri artist who has not yet matured their work out of the well-worn paths of Yuri storytelling. 

Set in a school, the girls in this collection experience love and loss and jealousy and kindness for the first time. The art is solid, if not outstanding, but I feel that there is potential there. I say this, because at this point, it’s surprisingly hard to tell where an author will go,once they have gotten their iteration of “I drew it because no one else (that I know of, without actually looking to see if I’m right,) is.” And, realistically an awful lot of artists once they get this out of their system don’t have a “there” there. After the tried and true they look deep within themselves and find only the trite and tropey. 

In this particular collection, my favorite stories were the “Bara to Ichigo” mini-series about a transfer student and the aloof girl with whom she becomes friends.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 0 really not
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

Right now Miyata-sensei’s work seems to be split evenlyish between Yuri, BL and straight school life stories. The art now is definitely tighter than in this volume, but not more nuanced. OTOH, I admit to a very real personal bias against shoujo-style art in favor of looser, sketchier manga art style.)

I haven’t read a collection like this – a “first time artist” collection in a long time. It kind of felt nostalgic, maybe?