Yurigurashi (ゆりぐらし) by Kukukuruhime is a full-color Pixiv webcomic put into book form by Kadokawa Media Factory that shows us a variety of mostly adult female couples’ lives together in short 8-page vignettes.

There is no story here, just quick slice-of-happy-life scenes, starring a web site designer and her lover the illustrator, or the college student and pet shop owner and their dog, or the Systems Engineer and the Shinigami who loves her or the OL and freelancer who have a contentious, but loving, relationship. Or some other couple. Each relationship is different, but the overall concept is the same – here is a happy couple. Let’s get to know them!

The art is sketchy and loose, with a different color palette for each couple, a touch I quite like. Backgrounds are sparse, and the overall sense is talking heads, which fits well with the concept. This was a cute, relaxing book to read, full of happy female couples.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – N/A
Characters – 8 Are all presented as likable, even the grouchy OL
Service – 3 some nudity, but not salaciously
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8

If you’re looking for a plot, you’ll be disappointed. But for a webcomic-to-print set of Yuri lives, this is a lot of fun.

When the first chapter of Mansoufutou no Gikami Meikyuu (万葬不踏の欺神迷宮) by Takekawa Sin, ran in Comic Yuri Hime, (it continues serialized on Comic Yuri Hime on Pixiv) I thought it had potential. It wasn’t enough to my taste for me to follow it, but the basic idea wasn’t bad.

Sisters Chino and Arisa are exploring an old-tyme house, digging around the random photos and furniture and guns laying around when a being shows up, kills Arisa, and gives Chino an ultimatum. She can prolong Arisa’s life by fighting monsters and harvesting their “cores” which she can use to keep Arisa’s alive.  Sure, why not.

I picked up Volume 1, having already formed an opinion about the story, but I learned upon reading it, that the actual point of the story was not so much a magical action-adventure with a Yuricest romance – although, that was indubitably what we had here – but actually a magical action-adventure with a Yuricest romance which allowed characters to merge create new forms, so that dress-up is justified. Also, why not.

So, while this volume was still not for me, it’s obvious it will be for someone and that someone will undoubtedly enjoy Chino merging with her half-animal/half-human and all-human friends to kill beasties in order to kiss her sister lovingly and prolong her life in this labyrinth of deceit.

Ratings: 

Art  – 7 The art’s not bad, the costuming is not…great
Story – 7
Characters – Honestly, other than the incest, they aren’t terrible
Service – 4 Mostly the incest
Yuri – 7 Same as above, but some other interest in Chino by her companions

Overall – 7

If fighting magical creature in unrealistic (and uncomfortable-looking) costumes for the reward of sisterly love appeals, then I think you might honestly like this. I’ve certainly read worse.

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. ^_^