Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Citrus, Volume 1 (English) Guest Review by Amanda B

February 4th, 2015

CitrusV1SSELast week I confessed I just wasn’t enjoying Saburouta’s manga Citrus, and asked you, my dear readers  to jump in with a review. And once again you are the best readers ever. As a result, – it’s another Guest Review Wednesday and we have another Guest Review! Please welcome Amanda B who has graciously written up her look at Citrus, Volume 1 for us!

Saburouta, who made an appearance in Yuri Hime Wildrose Volume 7 back in 2007 with a smutty one-shot, has returned to the Yuri scene with a drama-filled, pseudo-incest manga titled Citrus. Citrus is currently in its 4th volume, running bimonthly in Comic Yuri Hime, and was recently licensed in English by Seven Seas (yay for more Iuri!). It has caused such a stir in the Yuri world that a Promotional Video was created (voiced by a few notable actresses featured in various Yuri anime titles) to recount the manga up through its 3rd volume! It’s pretty obvious this series is a guilty-pleasure read. Not everyone is into the whole “incest” factor, so discretion is advised if this isn’t your cup of tea.

The carefree and fashionable Yuzu Aihara’s world is turned upside down after transferring to an all-girls high school upon her mother’s remarriage. Not even making it through her first day of school she manages to sully her reputation and anger the beautiful, but snobby student council president, Mei. After returning home, Yuzu finds out that Mei just so happens to be her newly inherited younger sister, a detail mom forgot to mention. It is made evident that evening that Mei clearly has some boundary issues after randomly kissing Yuzu, at which Yuzu becomes literally dumbfounded about her newly appointed role as the “older sister”.

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Throughout the volume, Yuzu finds herself constantly conflicted between her increasing lustful desires, and trying to gain Mei’s respect in order to increase their family’s cohesiveness. One night when attempting to kiss Mei, Mei cries out for her father, whom we have yet to see, and the matter is not discussed further (at least in this volume anyway). After a series of disastrous events, Yuzu finds Mei’s grandfather (headmaster of the school) collapsed on the floor of his office and brings him to the hospital. After coming to understand Yuzu acted as the caretaker for her grandfather, Mei appears to be somewhat grateful before instantly returning to her tsundere mannerisms. The final arc of the volume centers on Yuzu coming to the conclusion (after consulting with bff Harumin) that her attempts to become an older sister figure have failed and that she is in fact, in love with Mei.

As a fan of Saburouta’s Yuri works, I am beyond pleased with the artwork. It is gorgeous! There is quite a bit of service throughout with various kissing scenes, particularly the shower scene. The story however is very chunky with a plethora of forced drama. Mei’s cold exterior warrants the obvious dramatic plot-hole I’m sure will be explored at some point. I get the feeling a good portion of the fandom for this series are in it mostly for the illustrations – watching pretty girls go at it is something I too enjoy.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 4
Characters – 5 (definitely room for character development in the upcoming volumes)
Service – 6
Yuri – 9
Overall – 7

Sometimes I can’t help but wish Saburouta would just instead collaborate with another mangaka capable of writing a decent drama (maybe Shuninta-sensei) while she provides the illustrations. Volume 2 will be available in April.

Erica here: Thank you Amanda! Much obliged for the review.

I was reading Fujimoto Yukari’s essay in Eureka magazine’s “Yuri Culture” issue and something sort of dawned on me. In Oniisama E, we spend a lot of time watching Miya-sama and Saint Just’s unhealthy relationship on screen, but there’s actually another half-sibling relationship directly in front of us the entire time that is perfectly healthy – for a number of reasons, not least of which because Nanako doesn’t know it exists. Henmi and Nanako serve as sane, healthy foils for Rei and Fukiko, letting the audience know that it’s not normal to be so weirdly manipulative of one’s half-sister. Citrus is in desperate need of a foil couple, some representative healthy relationship,  to relieve the thick atmosphere of “this is not and really cannot be a good thing.”





Yuri Manga: Mebae, Volume 3 (メバエ)

January 30th, 2015

mebae3I’ve been reading tons of manga, but been so have busy with the Yuricon Shop that I haven’t reviewed much and I’ve been mostly watching Star Trek: Voyager re-runs on Amazon Prime (I know, I know, but it’s not as bad as I remember) so I find myself at the end of the day tired, with nothing to say.

And since I have nothing nice to say, I thought I’d write a  quick review of the Yuri manga anthology Mebae, Volume 3. (メバエ) ^_^

So, you know when you’re watching a martial arts movie and the obligatory love scene comes on and you just sort of cringe because….ewww? That’s pretty much how Mebae, Volume 3 strikes me.

Here we are, going along and there’s a character who seems okay and the lover and they’d be kind of cute together and then the art goes all TITS and CROTCH and what the HELL is THAT even?!? and you’ve lost the moment.

The one story I genuinely liked involved a house shooting out into Earth orbit and no sex at all. Why it’s in the volume, I have no idea, there’s nothing to indicate the characters are anything but friends, but I was glad it was. Got my mind off the really confused anatomy lessons of the rest of the book. ^_^;

Ratings:

Art – No. Just, no.
Story – If you took out the nasty sex, a few of them aren’t awful, but most of them still are.
Characters – 0 Variable, from nil to nada.
Yuri – 6 There’s darn little affection for all the nude antics.
Service – 101232530

Overall – 3 A solid meh.

I had some small dregs of hope that bits of it might be worth reading, but it really isn’t. Oh well.





Yuri Manga: Yuri Kuma Arashi, Volume 1 (ユリ熊嵐)

January 25th, 2015

yurikuma1Today I wanted to talk about something that has been much on my mind…

Picasso.

You know, Pablo Picasso, painter. Mostly famous for his Cubist paintings, but he was a prolific artist and evolved throughout his life, so while his work is undoubtedly his, it changed as time went on, as he changed, aged, evolved.

He’s on my mind a lot as I read and watch Yuri Kuma Arashi. And we’ll get to the “why” in a bit, but first, let’s just talk about the manga.

In Volume 1 of the Yuri Kuma Arashi manga (ユリ熊嵐), we meet Tsubaki Kureha, a shy, retiring student, who has recurring dreams of being rescued by a bear princess who, coincidentally, looks just like her popular and outgoing classmate Yurishiro Ginko. Ginko takes a liking to Kureha and starts to cultivate her friendship and develop her personality.

Kureha admits that she knows Ginko is a bear and all about the tragic backstory of her planet, but Ginko’s reaction is to fall apart in laughter a such a preposterous story!

Ginko lives with her late father’s sister as her mother is forever overseas (and unbeknownst to her, maybe, is her aunt’s lover). When a new girl transfers in claiming to be in love with Ginko, it throws a wrench in Kureha’s emotional gears; she was just deciding she “liked” Ginko, you know. If it weren’t enough that Lulu is a love rival, there are persistent rumors that Ginko and the Student Council President (male) are going out. Kureha doesn’t know what to believe, honestly.

When Lulu, Ginko and Kureha accidentally burn down their dorm cooking, Ginko has both of them come live with her. And, at last, we learn that Kureha may have been right about Ginko all along. Kureha swears to protect Ginko as the volume comes to an end, with many questions and few answers.

As you know, if you have been watching the Yuri Kuma Arashi anime and/or are familiar with Ikuhara Kunihiko’s style, these questions may not have any answers.

The manga is very much Morishima Akiko-sensei’s brand of cute/sexy art, with slightly more typical fanservice than usual. Unlike the anime, which has so much fanservice it’s actively crowding out the plot (if there is one) at the moment. And, if you are familiar with Ikuhara’s work, it’s important to remember that the repetitive scenes may never have any meaning per se, just visual impact, that we will later layer with meaning. The best way to approach his work is to not try to guess what it all means, but simply go along for the ride and see where it takes you.

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Which brings me back to Picasso.

One of the things Picasso was seeking to do in his Cubist portraits was show two or more angles of a person simultaneously.  His masterwork Guernica takes this to another level, in which he is simultaneously showing us all three dimensions at once, among other things. And this is why he has been much on my mind. If you treat the simultaneously released versions of Yuri Kuma Arashi as two unique perspectives on the same story, there is still no guarantee that it will make sense, but it gives you a completely different understanding of the whole.

It’s unlikely that Yuri Kuma Arashi is Ikuhara’s Guernica, but heck it might yet be, we won’t know until it’s over and we can see all the angles. And the relics of other series that echo back at us like blood red buildings by day, have started to be integrated into – maybe – a new stylist tic, as they turn blue at night. Indicating what? Who knows…yet. Or ever.

I’ve only seen two episodes of the anime as of yet, but I do want to say that of all the random repeated elements, the one I actually like is “Kuma Shock”, which @twiitar has turned into a nifty ringtone. Thanks Phil! ^_^

The service in the anime is off-putting for me, as it’s not nearly at the level of creeping horror subtlety we’ve become used to. It feels a bit slap in the face-ish.  The one element that I truly do not care for is the use of the word “Yuri” and the image of the lily as a bludgeon, for no apparent reason. Yes, yes the girls are all named Yuri something, got it. Yuri and honey imagery. Yuckers.

I hold no hope that the “trial” scenes will ever make sense.

The one thing about the anime that I genuinely find appealing is that the character designs are very much Morishima-sensei’s art, animated. ^_^

Ratings for the manga only:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8 They appear more coherently formed than in the anime
Yuri – 9
Service – 6

Overall – 8

By the time Volume 2 comes out, if indeed it does, the anime will likely be over and I’m sure we’ll have concocted meanings for all the things that don’t mean anything at all. ^_^





Usotsuki Lily Manga, Volume 10 (うそつきリリィ)

January 20th, 2015

UL10Komura Ayumi’s popular series about a cross-dressing boy, En, has mostly flown under my radar. But, when I reviewed Girl’s Lily, a special focusing on two lesbian characters,  YNN Correspondent Nikki wrote in to let me know that they get some of the spotlight in the series, I thought I’d take a look at those volumes.

In Girl’s Lily, the point of view was Keiko’s brother. In Volume 10 of Usotsuki Lily (うそつきリリィ), the point of view is once again that of a guy, Saotome Taiyou,  the younger brother of the female protagonist, Hinata. Taiyou comes across a woman in tree who, as she shimmies down the trunk, slips and falls onto him. When she sees that he is bleeding, she invites him over to her shop, where she appears to sell hand-made crafts and knick-knacks.  To apologize for injuring him, the woman offers Taiyou a job. And that is how he meets Arimori Kanae.

The shop is quiet, no one comes to buy anything. Bored and with nothing else to do, Taiyou watches Kanae. It is immediately apparent when she brightens up because someone is coming. That someone turns out to be Keiko. It’s obvious right away that Kanae is love with Keiko and vice versa, but it takes a little fiddling, a handwave, and a unfortunate, yet successful, plot to make Keiko jealous, to get them both to admit their feelings.

Their arc in Volume 10 ends with Keiko vowing to snatch Kanae away from Taiyou, who doesn’t really want Kanae, but whatever, drama, etc.

Kanae is pleasantly flaky and Keiko is pleasantly not flaky and I look forward to them getting together.

Komura-sensei’s art is also pleasant, without being amazing. As a Margaret magazine romance, this series  – well, this arc, anyway – is reasonably unmelodramatic.

Ratings are for this arc only:

Art – 7
Character – 8. Everyone seems very nice in this arc.
Story – 6 ‘Story A’ with adults, and the handwave of young men as catalysts.
Yuri – 5 Same as above
Service – 0 Nada. Not even if you try.

Overall – 7

As we already know from Girl’s Lily, they will eventually plan on getting married, which makes me want their arc to be relatively painless. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Yuridori Midori (ゆりどりみどり)

January 13th, 2015

yuridoriAfter Minamoto Hisanari-sensei’s stunning debut, Fu~Fu, (and the sea change at Comic Yuri Hime, which has moved away from “stories about lesbians” and shifted back over to “stories about unthreateningly cute girls who are in no way lesbian, but who sometimes like each other”) it was going to be really hard for him to hit that same level of storytelling and relevance. In his short story collection, Yuridori Midori (ゆりどりみどり), he doesn’t really try.

Which, in many ways was pretty smart of him. Had he gone the same route with a series, he’d be pinholed. Instead he shuffles out a pile of ootsey-cutesy stuff for the moe fans and dresses it up with the occasional meaningful concept. “Look,” he says, while drawing impossibly adorable animal-eared girls, who are, in reality, animals, thus making the cat-owning animal-eared moe fans extra happy, “Look,  I am one of you.”  And then he throws out a story that just happens to touch briefly on an actual issue.

 

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As a result, no matter what you’re interested in, Yuridori Midori is a mixed bag.

In the first story, we revisit the fairytale of Snow White and her new evil stepmother – who isn’t really evil, and would really like to become closer with Snow. Really close.

The second story is a plot that I will never like no matter how many times mangaka use it. The “cute girl who rolls around your house is a cat” story has been done well past to death, but apparently, every generation recreates it in their own image.

The third story is an after-hours expose’ of the lives of the seven mysteries of the school, and the age-long love affair of “Toilet Hanako” and the “Girl in the Painting.” Also done a million times, but I adore the idea the spirits have a life beyond just scaring the plebes. ^_^

In the next story, we edge so close to being relevant, that it’s almost painful when it doesn’t go there. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, “Yuri” marriages become legal. And in trend-conscious Japan, “Yuri-kon” become the trendy thing to do. So, when the protagonist asks her lover to marry her, she refuses, because she doesn’t want to be seen as following a fad. I get the story, but feel awfully like he could have done something more important and real with it, if he had really wanted to.

This was followed by another animal-eared girl story I couldn’t bring myself to read in the magazine and wasn’t able to manage this time, either.

The next story was my favorite of the collection, about a woman and her lover who is a “suit actor” for a Tokusatsu TV show. In other words, she does the action scenes in a Power-Ranger-like show. Not only is Shio a ranger character, she’s the Red Ranger…and anyone who has ever watched a Tokusatu show (or The Shinesman) knows that means she’s the leader. Rina loves Shio, but Shio isn’t sure if it’s her, or the fact that she’s Red, that’s the real draw. When Shio gets hurt, she learns that it was her, all along.

The final story follows a woman whose girlfriend breaks up with her via Line (a Japanese SMS-based social platform) and, while contemplating suicide, is met and befriended by a young (straight) woman who gets her to smile again.

Now, here’s the interesting thing about doing these reviews – when I read the stories originally in the magazine, I felt the same way as I felt at the beginning of this review – close, but no cigar. But, having rendered down each story to its essence, I find that I was wrong. MInamoto-sensei is doing something important. And because he’s hiding behind humorous one-shots, it’s not obvious until I’ve looked backwards at where this volume took us.

Ratings:

Art – 8 As expected, absurdly cute and moe
Story – Variable, but we’ll call it 8, for more better than not for me
Characters – Variable, and one-shots are hard. Let’s say 7
Service – 4 Animal ears

Overall – I’m feeling generous, let’s go 8

The animal-eared and fairy tale stories aside, this volume looks at same-sex marriage, staying together through better and worse and recovering from an ugly break up. Hrm. It’s almost subliminally lesbian. ^_^ You know… I think I like it!