Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Love Desu. ~Short Story Collection~ (ラブデス　ラブデス。~短期集中連載集~)

July 27th, 2015

lovedesuAt last, a Yuri manga that was written for me! I do not care if nobody else on the whole planet enjoyed this book, because I loved it.

Love Desu. ~Short Story Collection ~ (ラブデス　ラブデス。~短期集中連載集~) by Kuzushiro follows the bad kids in school. Bad girls, who are passionately in love with each other and beat the crap out of each other to prove it. This is not a manga about abusive relationships; in this manga, the violence is a form of affection.

We’ve talked about this before, but I’ll remind readers that I am not opposed to violence between equals. And, in “Love Desu,” – which　I would translate it as “It’s Love (Death).” –  Shouko and A-ki are equals, alright. Each with murderous intent and a fondness for violence, they hash out the details of their relationship through such heart-warming tactics as a needle in the eye, or a knife through a hand. But it’s only because they both want to be the neko in bed. ^_^

In “Nikochuu,” Mai-sempai smokes and Aika has picked up her bad habit. Ultimately, what she really wants is to capture what Mai tastes like when they kiss. Yanki girls smoking on school property and being rude to the classmates around them, but  ridiculously cute in private is utter squee for me. I adore nasty women.

So, yeah, I know that this book isn’t going to appeal to everyone (maybe, anyone). But I love this manga with all my love.

Thank you, thank you Kuzushiro-sensei for this manga! It’s just about perfect. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Yuri – 8
Service – For me, 10. YMMV

Overall – 10

Yuri needs more yankis.





Yuri Manga: Okujou no Yurirei-san SIDE B Nakayoshi Quiz (屋上の百合幽霊さん SIDE B 仲良しクイズ)

July 21st, 2015

In May, I oknyyssbnqreviewed the first of two Okujou no Yuri Yurei-san manga, based on characters from the popular Visual Novel series. In Okujou no Yurirei-san Side B – Nakayoshi Quiz, we stay in the same school, but meet new characters.

We follow Hasechi Haru, who is absolutely massively wowed by the co-presidents of the Quiz Show Research Club, Rika and Natsuki. Not only are they awesome perfomers and full of knowledge, they make a great couple…she thinks. And so does the other newbie in the club, Chiharu. Haru and Chiharu are different types, but it turns out that they share a little Yurijin fetish.

In between training absurdly hard for quiz shows  – by jogging, because exercise stimulates your brain –  (unlike, apparently, writing manga) Haru and Chiharu bond over their mutual desire to be awesome at trivia and see Rika and Natsuki happy together. So, when the co-presidents do not seem happy together, the newbies conspire to make them talk it out…and they all live happily ever after.

As a little cookie for their hard work Haru and Chiharu also live happily ever after.

No, this is not going to be the Yuri manga that changes the world, but it’s cute, it completely, utterly, totally lacks creepy service of any kind and all the characters act like high school girls. Wow, weird, huh? ^_^

The dynamic between Rika and Natsuki is adorable, and I sympathize with the resident Yuri goggle wearers. It would be impossible to not see a vibe between them, and it was comfortable, rather than forced that they felt that way about each other.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Utterly pleasant.
Story – 7 Cute and harmless
Characters – 8 Likable, a little thin in development as one might expect from such a series
Yuri – 8
Service – 1 Really not. A kiss or two. Nothing creeper-gaze. What a relief,

Overall – 8

You go Hirari, giving us service-free, unoffensive, bland schoolgirl Yuri that doesn’t make me want to scratch my eyes out with boredom. This was *just* what I needed this week, as I tried to work to the sound of tile saws.





Yuri Essays: Chisai Yuri Mitsuketa (小さい百合見つけた)

July 14th, 2015

cymAyana Yuniko (綾奈 ゆにこ) has worked on the scripts for a number of anime series, including Aoi Hana/Sweet Blue Flowers. In addition, she has written a series of “Yuri essays” which are not “about” Yuri, but are instead little vignettes of Yuri-ish moments that she felt or observed. These essays have been collected into an interesting, if odd, little volume, Chisai Yuri Mitsuketa (小さい百合見つけた).

Ayana’s scenarios range from two girls having an intimate moment while flower viewing, to a rather amusing outing she and several other otaku-types took to Enoshima to Aoi Hana-scene spot. We learn that she’s quite taken with girl idol groups and, as a typical Yurijin (“Yuri person,”  a word I’ve decided today we should use for all Yuri fans, ^_^) is prone to seeing Yuri wherever there are two girls being cute at each other. ^_^

In addition to Ayana’s essays, there are short comics by Aoi Hana‘s Shimura Takako and Philosophia‘s Amano Shuninta, as well as illustrations and a short comic by HEERO.

I described this book as “odd.” It was. I enjoyed it, but was never really sure if I was meant to be taking any of these vignettes seriously. When I learned that these essays were originally written for a Newtype web magazine column, they made a lot more sense, playing to the sensibilities of Japanese Newtype magazine readers who, along with having their antenna set to oversensitive, like the Yurijin they are, would also care about idol groups and schoolgirls sharing ice cream. Oh, well, that makes perfect sense now.

Ratings:

Essays – Variable, I’d say 7
Art – 9

Overall – We’ll average it out at 8

I wouldn’t call this compelling reading, or a must-have, but if you’re a Yurijin, too, you might find it entertaining. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, July 2015 (コミック百合姫 2015年 07 月号)

July 7th, 2015

CYH072015-275x395Following on from my conclusion after reading the May 2015 issue, Comic Yuri Hime for July 2015, (コミック百合姫 2015年 07 月号) is a fully-featured magazine with something for nearly everybody.

For me, it has two somethings that had me bounding around the room like an, well, like an otaku. This issue of Comic Yuri Hime included not only a chapter of “Iono-sama Fanatics,” but also one of “Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan,” both by Fujieda Miyabi and both as wonderful as I remember. ^_^

In addition, I enjoyed a new chapter of “2DK, G Pen Mezamashidokei”, which introduced a new character, and a new series by Takemiya Jin. Also fun was the goofball Yuri series following an earnest Yuri fairy by Minamoto Hisanari, “Kanaete Yuri Yosei” remains entertaining. There were other stories I enjoyed, as well and many that I did not, which means those of you who like things I do not will enjoy those. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

A reasonable mix.





Yuri Manga: Awajima Hyakkei (淡島百景)

July 2nd, 2015

I know this is going to sound a little strange, but I never really know what I’ll get with a new Shimura Takako series. I mean, yes, she has blown me out of the water with Aoi Hana/Sweet Blue Flowers, but she’s also left me cold in any number of other series. In fact, her work most resembles Melissa Scott‘s science-fiction to me. I love the characters, but find the almost-passionless storytelling hard to warm up to. I just wish I could feel her in her work.

In Awajima Hyakkei, Shimura takes on a topic of much interest to Yuri fans all over the world – the student body of a famous all-female musical revue school that is definitely not that other famous all-female musical revue troupe that might automatically come to mind.

Each chapter focuses on two of the people at the school, the relationship between then, the circumstances of their friendships or rivalries and what the connections in the school mean to them afterwards. This volume is not in any way tidy. The whole thing is non-linear and is easier to read if you stop looking for “the story” and start just letting the character profiles work on their own. Eventually they tie back to the beginning and eventually we start to feel the threads of fate that bind everyone in the school.

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There is a little bit of Yuri, in a story about first love. It is the kind of classic old 20th century retrospective, where the love the character feels is recognized mostly as she looks back as an adult.

Some of the best parts of the volume are those vignettes set in the past. My favorite chapter was towards the end when a new student uncovers the family history of one of her teachers and learns that she’s a third-generation star.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Variable, averaging 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – 7, but I think it will improve with a re-read.

As the title says, this series is “One Hundred Views” of a respected establishment, rather than a single tale. And, like a famous landmark seen for the first time, it will get better with a second viewing.