Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Aishi no Salome　

June 9th, 2014

aishinosalomeThe June issue of Bessatsu Hana to Yume includes a special edition collection of Takao Shigeru’s Yuri short “Aishi no Salome”.

I first read the news about this collection on Comic Natalie, but the short description did not particularly thrill me. Two “contrasting” girls in a boarding school meet and fall in love. Okay, great! Then what? Nothing, as far as I could tell, so I wasn’t rushing off to get this volume. But there I was in San Jose, CA in a Kinokuniya and there was the volume and I thought, “Oh, okay.” ^_^

Takao Shigeru doesn’t usually draw Yuri, she’s best known for Teruteru Shonen and has a historical drama series “Madame Petit” running now. I guess that’s the big draw of this story, that a manga artist that is relatively well-known drew it.

Aya and Sango are two girls living at a dorm who have something deep and intense between them…but for the life of me, I have no idea what. The 40-something pages of this story contain two screaming matches and at least one emotional breakdown per character, but we have to do a lot of work to imagine that their relationship is worthy of all this drama. But, let’s just presume it is and that when Sango and Aya run away at the end to live together, their kiss is a signal of “happily ever after.” Why not? There’s no reason to assume it is but equally, there’s no reason to assume it’s not.

Ratings:

Art – 9 a pleasant mix of classic and modern
Story – 6 Weaksauce but it was meant as a short
Characters – If only we knew ye
Yuri – 8
Service – 5 Wedding dresses

Overall – 6

It wasn’t bad, just a little confusing. How did this get a special edition?





Yuri Manga: Binetsu no You Na (微熱のような) Ends in Feel Young

June 5th, 2014

ScanA couple of months ago, I noted that Yamaji Ebine has begun a new series in Feel Young magazine. Binetsu no You Na went three longish chapters and has now wrapped up.

In my original review I said, “So far this story is, as many of Yamaji’s recent stories have been, uncomfortable.” And so it remained, right to the very last panel. I suggest you read the first review before you decide if you want to read the rest of this one. ^_^;

Even after Nao is told flat out by Mifuyu how she manipulated Nao, Nao comes crawling back to the other woman. The final scene, in which Nao succumbs to her attraction to Mifuyu, is no more appealing or empowering than earlier scenes, in which she is manipulated into sleeping with her teacher or Yoshiaki. And, in the end, instead of owning her weakness, Nao still blames her absent first love, Taki, rather than admitting that she’s just weak.

Again, quoting from my previous review, I say, “The last few Yamaji works have felt more like her working something out than actual stories. This one feels more like a story, but imbued with a struggle I’m not able to understand.”

Ratings:

Art – Her usual sparse style 9
Story – 6 Tight, but uncomfortable
Characters – 6 Ultimately, the only one I could feel anything about was Yoshiaki
Yuri – 8, but ugh
Service – 4

Overall – 6

I spend the entirety of this story thinking “What on earth happened to Yamaji-sensei that all we’re getting from her these days are stories about rape and manipulation?” I hope to heavens it’s just editors wanting her work to be more “gritty.”





Yuri Manga: Rainy Song (レイニーソング)

May 25th, 2014

We start today’s review with a “well, I never expected that” moment. ^_^ In 2010, I was exasperated beyond tolerance by Momono Moto’s Kimi Koi Limit. The protagonist was, I felt, unlikable and selfish and the most interesting character was treated poorly. I never expected to see poor Hiroko again. Well, here we are 4 years later and there’s Hiroko again!

We begin the first story in Momono-sensei’s current collection Rainy Song (レイニーソング). with “Aru Shoujo no Gunjo”, a bittersweet story about a girl who shares in the relationship highs and lows of fellow train commuters, and her attempts to cheer up Eri, a woman who loses her female lover to marriage. It’s not  happy story, but I quite liked it – and it’s the strongest story of the collection

Following this, we turn to “Kurayami no Asterisk,” the story of underachiever Tendou Nozomi, known as ‘Ten’. She’s gone through school and just hasn’t found her purpose in life. Right now she is unmotivated by a job at a cafe and sees no particular goal for herself. So when she meets, and falls for attractive, polite and slightly sad Hiroko, she find herself in turmoil. I found myself amazed that 4 years later we were finally learning what happened to Hiroko after Sono left her.

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Hiroko has an office job where she does her work competently, but doesn’t connect with anyone, and she works nights at a friend’s “ladies” bar. She, like Ten, is moving through life on automatic. When the two of them meet, it will throw them both into confusion. But ultimately they find each other and, we hope, happiness.

In “Snow Frakes” a long-delayed confession is finally conveyed, to the delight and sadness of a best friend.

And in the title story, “Rainy Song” a persistent fan in school becomes a friend to an aloof musician.

What a change in personality-types from Kimi Koi Limit! For one thing, there are none of Sono’s hideously selfish behaviors here, and while Hiroko starts of sad, there’s only a little moping to be dealt with. This collection has surprising depth, despite the reliance on shorts, especially given how superficial the story in Kimi Koi Limit was with all that length. Momono-sensei has a much more mature feel in this volume and her ability to convey complex emotions is touching and entertaining.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri/Lesbian – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 8

A much, much better sequel than I could have ever expected. And, it was an unexpected pleasure to see Hiroko happy.





Comic Yuri Hime, May 2014 (コミック百合姫)

May 22nd, 2014

Welcome to the May 2014 issue of Comic Yuri Hime, where the cover seems to be permanently suspended in a just ever-so-slightly skeazy Valentine’s Day scenario. The magazine opens with a feature on the Nekoyama-san to Inukami-san anime , which I really need to watch soon. ^_^;

The first really interesting story was by a newcomer, Aoto Hibiki, in which “Alice” keeps flashing back and forth between two worlds; one in which she’s a regular high schooler with classmates Shiroyuki (Snow White) and Akaukin-chan (Little Red Riding Hood) and a Wonderland environment. Alice isn’t sure which world is real, and she’s equally at a loss in both, but when Shiroyuki introduces a younger boy (that I’m betting is actually a girl) who was born a Prince, to their groups, you can kind of see where this is going. I just hope it’s fun.

Ohsawa Yayoi’s “Sensei Sotsugyou” continues the tale set up in the previous issue, in which a student learns more about her teacher than she bargained for, and finds inspiration in her.

In Amano Shuninta’s new series “Ayame 14”, Ayame fights with new feelings she’s never had to deal with, and one of their friends admits to her full mied-race name.

Okita Hiroko’s “Vespa” forces Kaoizuka to confront her commanding officer’s unrequited feelings and her feelings for her cruel Princess.

Takemiya Jin starts a new story, with a girl’s best friend making her see where her interest lies, in “Chouchou Nanan.”

Bosou Girlsteki  Mousou Renaiteki Suteki Project follows a date gone terribly wrong in a story that has no idea where it’s going yet.

And “Rock It, Girl!” by Tanaka Minoru comes to a rousing finale that still managed to be freakishly weird. The girl gets the girl in the weirdest way possible. I really enjoyed this story, it basically followed none of the rules, ever. ^_^

As always there are many other popular series, 4-koma strips and the like for your entertainment. Comic Yuri Hime seems to have settled into a general level of just better than average quality for one solid issue after another.

Ratings:

Overall – 7





Yuri Manga: Love Gene Double X, Volume 2 (恋愛遺伝子XX )

May 9th, 2014

Years after all the men on Earth died suddenly, women developed a method of reproducing without them and then, inexplicably, enforced a 2-“gender” society on themselves. Survivors are split into Adams and Eves, and Eves are, predictably, given lesser status. Oh yes, let’s please bake internalized misogyny into this man-less world, that’s a great idea. Grrrr.

In Volume 1, Koshiro Aoi has come to the toppest of all the top schools to take her revenge on the Kokonoe family for the insult done to her mother, but instead falls in love with a scion of the Kokonoe family, Sakura. Both Aoi and Sakura are Adams so their love is forbidden. Grrrr. What will happen, since the two of them are ridiculously obvious? Well, in Volume 2 of Love Gene Double X (恋愛遺伝子XX ) , they continue to be ridiculously obvious to pretty much everyone. Erika-sama, the Top Eve at school hatches a plan to separate them permanently, but the plot fails and instead they are discovered together after having been intimate. Erika-sama becomes sympathetic to us when we learn she became an Eve for Sakura (she had been an Adam to that point) and she ultimately is nice to her pawn, Momiji.

The Toppest Top Star evar, Sakura’s sister shows up (in a Helicopter!!!), whisks them away, provides helpful expository about the grievous insult done to Aoi’s mother (she lost her rank as Adam to be with a Kokonoe, who left her for another dve…which really is a shitty thing to have happen,) why there’s an Adam and Eve system at all (when the men died, there weren’t many lesbians and the survivors were assholes about it,) and how she has every intention of changing society when she’s in charge.

Any lingering positive feeling about the ending is crushed in an epilogue that made me want to spit. Erika returns to being an Adam and gets Momiji, Sakura becomes an Eve so she and Aoi can be together and the general frisson of heteronormativity just exhausted me.

The only positive moment is when Sumire basically points out the utter stupidity of heteronormative laws, both now and in her time. Other than that, the story was a rubber band ball of disappointment. Every layer of disappointment one peeled away left one disappointed all over again in a brand new way.

Everything about this manga has rubbed me the wrong way since I read the very first chapter. Now that it’s over I cannot honestly say I hated it, nor can I say I liked it. My first and most consistent reaction to it is to bare my teeth and growl. Grrrr. It could have been a terrific Yuri fantasy story. Instead it started off as fake BL, then shifted towards what looked like it might actually address an issue, then veered away into sex scenes (both “bent” by the rules of this world, as one is two Eves and the other two Adams) then sort of nodded in the direction of dealing with the problem, then threw that out with the bathwater. The end.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 5 I think about it, and sigh heavily
Characters – The characters are still the best part. By the end I actually almost liked a few of them
Yuri – 9
Service – 5 Mostly breasts, some full, generic nudity

Overall – 6

In a perfect world, I would have been the editor for this series and it would have been a grillion times better. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.