Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Starlight Melody (スターライト メロディ)

May 11th, 2015

downloadDo you read a lot of books? More specifically, do you find yourself reading a lot of books in one genre? And do you hit a moment where you’re like, “Okay, I’m done”?

In the 1970s, I read tons of science fiction, because that is what my father read. One day, I was reading yet another “make-you-feel-creeped-out-and-horrible” Hugo Award winners short story collection and I just stopped reading sci-fi collections. I remember the specific story, although not the writer. I never read another short story until they made me do so in school. Then, in the early 80s, I read the science fiction story that broke me completely. I remember the author, but not the story title. But I do remember the story vividly. It was an excruciatingly dull set up for a single horrible pun.  I think I might have cursed, because I was a teen by then.

In the 1980s it was fantasy, and that lasted into the 2000s. I think I can place which books made me think “I have read every possible version of this story. Done now.” But there were a lot of similars that contributed to that.

In the 2000s, I moved to mysteries, especially lesbian mysteries. After reading every possible version of “lesbian detective with a tragic past” that could possibly be written, I moved on.

All of this is to say that the problem with Starlight Melody (スターライト メロディ) by Fuki is that every single story has been done so many times, that mere days after reading this collection, I can’t actually remember any of the content. It’s like reading Murder at the Nightwood Bar, written by someone new, with slightly different names, but the story is identical.

A few of the stories (I note, paging back through the volume to refresh my memory) are sweet. But there is little depth to be had in “best friends at school feel more than just friendship” over and over and over. I almost feel bad about it but, really, new Yuri writers? You can’t come up with a single new element at all?  Not even so much as not setting it in school? Don’t you get tired of writing/drawing the same story over and over? I know I could use a break from reading it.

There is nothing at all wrong with this volume. The art is clean, the characters sympathetic and they enact the same one or two versions of ‘Story A’ over and over.

There is a girl, she likes another girl. The other girl likes her. They like each other. The End.

Yawn.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 5 Not a single unique element in the entire book.
Characters – 5 Same as above
Yuri – 5 There might be a kiss or two
Service – 2 The “service” is that nothing controversial or original will interrupt your bland schoolgirl love.

Overall – 5, and I am being kind.

I’m not about to give up reading Yuri, or anything, but count this as one of the similars that fills up a genre and sort of throttles it.





Yuri Manga: Spice Girls (スパイスガールズ)

May 5th, 2015

downloadI really like Ohzawa Yayoi’s weirder works. Her collection Spice Girls (スパイスガールズ)  is much less weird than her best stuff, but still has a quirk here or there to offer us.

The first story, which seems kind of like an idea that didn’t quite work out, follows a girls with a part-time job at a used bookstore, dealing with a schoolmate bring a metric ton of porn in to sell. The ending is a beginning, one hopes.

There are two separate sets of stories that deal with teacher/tutor and student. Neither are particularly creepy, but I prefer the second story in which a student learns more about her doofusy young teacher than she imagined.

The final story follows a niece and her newlywed young aunt by marriage in what could easily have become a not-good relationship, but didn’t. Phew.

Nothing here is particularly passionate, but most of it is sweet. Even when there’s no relationship as such at the end, the sense of people caring about each other is pleasant.

Ratings:

Art – 9 I really like her art
Story – Variable, averaging at 7
Characters – Same
Yuri – 6
Service – 4 for the first and last stories

Overall – 7

This isn’t going to be a go-to read for me, but if you’re a fan of Ohsawa-sensei’s work, this is a decent addition to the library.





Yuri Manga: Golondrina, Volume 5 (ゴロンドリーナ)

April 27th, 2015

Golondrina5In Volume 5 of Golondrina, (now available on the Yuricon Store along with the rest of the series) Chika finds herself doing well enough as a matador. She’s regularly being awarded by the crowd, but she’s hit an emotional wall that seems insurmountable. She no longer wishes to seek death, but she’s not finding any joy in life, either.

Not able to find herself, Chika ends up in Madrid, at an anti-bullfighting rally, run by a famous singer, Jora. Jora is…Amazonian. Tall and physically dominant, Jora is a presence both on the musical and political stage. She invites Chika to a live show and to join her afterwards. Chika does, losing herself in this strong presence.

Her lack of drive is noticeable to those around her. Sechuu confronts her. If she doesn’t respect herself and the task she’s undertaken, he’s outta here. She pulls herself together, a little, but now she’s living a double life – matador by day, Jora’s paramour at night and neither role truly suits her.

It’s Vincenze, after all, who helps her find the will she’s been lacking. His right side is still paralyzed, but there he is in the ring, practicing. The sight galvanizes Chika, making her realize that there is something about this life that is worth living for. She returns to Jora, during a rally against bullfighting and confesses to the crowd who she is and what she’s learned. The crowd boos, Jora slaps her, admits she’s been sure that Chika was a bullfighter and they part. When Jora and Chika first slept together, Jora asks for Chika’s real name – Chika tells her that everyone calls her Chika. As they part for the last time, Jora asks her name once more, and Chika, smiling, says “La Golondrina”.

I’ve had a complicated reaction to this series. I love the art and the storytelling, but not so much the subject matter. It’s not the violence that bothers me, but the lack of consent. Two people fighting is one thing – they both know why they are here. But I feel as if I am a hypocrite if I dislike bullfighting as much as if I like it. I can see the art and the beauty in it, just as in any sport. I just wish the ball one kicked around weren’t alive. While I’m glad to watch two humans fight, you won’t catch me near a bullfighting ring ever.

On the minus side, Chika never got fangirls in the audience, but on the plus side, she had a lover who wasn’t a jerk to her and helped her discover something important in herself, so I consider that an overall win for Yuri readers and for this series.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 1
Service – 4 Nudity and sexual situations, subtly rendered

Overall – 9

I’m fully a est em fan now. I’ve even started picking up some of her BL series just to have the pleasure of looking at her art.





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, March 2015 (コミック百合姫 2015年 03月号)

April 23rd, 2015

downloadIf you’re a regular reader here, you’ll know that I haven’t been really happy with Comic Yuri Hime this year. Too much pandering to the low and uncreatively-minded, too little actual girls in love with each other and almost no creative content.

So you might imagine how surprised I was to be able to say that the March 2015  issue of Comic Yuri Hime, (コミック百合姫 2015年 03月号) was very good. Like…actually really “Good” with a capital “G” good, meaning that, while I personally didn’t like everything, they are stretching the genre a bit again, so that it’s not the same one story over and over.

The magazine did not start off well for me, with a cell phone “comic” of two girls in maid costume and cat ears, so I was not feeling open-minded when I started reading. But, I was intrigued with the opening manga chapter “12bun no Etude” which began as a track club story that segued into a band story, with strong overtones of the few good bits of Sora no wo to. Trumpets, but I’ll be magnanimous and forgive that. ^_^

It was “Shoujo Shikaku” that blew me out of the water. I hated it, but it’s the first horror comic we’ve seen in the pages of Comic Yuri Hime in ages. I hated it precisely for the reasons I’ve discussed; the balance of power is held by someone other than the protagonist and the scales are balanced against them. It was also full of service-y creepiness, which is not to my taste, but as much as it is not at all for me, I was glad to see horror in the magazine once again. It’s seemed to me that recently manga magazines are finally finding their way back to horror stories after decades of sort of avoiding them.

I was a little disappointed in Ohsawa Yayaoi’s newest which, although it was about two adult women, went over some well-trod material and ended up being a watered down What did You Eat Yesterday? Waste of a good character. I hope we see more/better from this setup.

“Chou Chou Nan Nan” from Takemiya Jin came to a climax that was not unexpected, but still was sweet.

In “Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san” an actual for real Yuri couple finally appears and it’s Ryuuzaki Otome and and Torao Mari. Okay by me.

“Tsuki to Sekai to Etoile” also comes to a kind of climax and for the moment, everyone is playing nice. That was a nice change of pace. ^_^

Aoto Hibiki’s “Yurino-onee-san” (which could also be read “Yuri no Oneesan”) was also a refreshing change of pace. Told from the point of view of a young boy, about the two women who live next door, Yurino and Miyako, we get to see Shintarou recognize what their relationship is, how it works and how much it means to them. He’s  a good kid and his fresh eyes give us a chance to understand that love is love. It was sweet.

Then we come to “Love Desu,” again by Kuzushiro-sensei. In start contrast to the horror story, this ridiculous thing pits two evenly matched, psychotic and violent people in a deadly love/hate relationship. This time one gets stabbed, but she’s the one who gets the kiss, so by the standards of this story, I think she won this round. ^_^ Again referring back to my discussion of violence – they are evenly matched and fully aware of what they are doing. This series is, therefore, perfectly enjoyable to me.

Last, but not least, was “Kanaete! Yuri Yousei” by Minamoto Hisanari-sensei. I think, honestly, he’s hit his pinnacle here. It’s all the moe he could ever want, and an actually amusing story about an old Yuri trope. I actually laughed at out loud at it. And what a perfect way for me to end this issue.

Except that it wasn’t the final chapter in the issue. Instead, we had a chapter of the Yuri Danshi side-story “Ore to Yuri”. Oh well.

As always I’ve left a number of stories out, and I’ll never talk about “To Lie Anguru” which I want to burn with fire, so if you’re not moved by these, trust me, there’s plenty of Yuru Yuri and other moe comics to be found.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

For the first time all year, I can actually say I enjoyed an issue of Comic Yuri Hime. The May 2015 issue has already been released and July is available for pre-order. All of these – and any back issues that still exist  –  are available on the new Yuricon Store in the Japanese Manga Section  – just click C in the alphabet header, or search for it by name!





Yuri Manga: Kyou mo Futari ha Nakayoshi Desu. ~Kuzushiro Short Story Collection (今日も２人は仲良しです。)

April 17th, 2015

FutarihaNakayoshiKyou mo Futari ha Nakayoshi Desu.~Kuzushiro Short Story Collection (今日も２人は仲良しです。) is a collection published not by Yuri Hime Comics, but by Rex Comics, also an Ichijinsha imprint. I found that interesting, although without any particular context.

The short stories are right in Kuzushiro-sensei’s ballpark – two people who are lovers/rivals and both slightly nuts, so that the situations, while they may start off normal, are guaranteed to descend immediately into wackiness. The majority of the stories are or could be considered to be Yuri, but there are a few male x female pairings which work just as well.

The first few chapters follow various couples in a idol group. Each couple is equally amusingly dysfunctional, but anyone familiar with Nekoyama-san to Inugami-san, would instantly recognize the formula. And speaking of Nekoyama-san to Inugami-san, this collection includes an early story idea for that series.

My favorite stories follow a seriously creepy eye-patch wearing girl and the girl she targets in school…and yes, I know that’s utterly predictable of me, but it’s not the eyepatch that worked for me this time, it was the utterly fucked up eye she had under it. ^_^

The art was clean, much cleaner than I’m used to from Kuzushiro-sensei, but the comedic gags weren’t quite as sharp, as befits earlier work.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Variable, we’ll say 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 8

A great way to enjoy more from a creator whose work makes me happy.