Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Sakura Trick, Volume 1 (桜トリック)

December 1st, 2013

Sakura Trick (桜トリック) is not a new Yuri manga. It’s been around for quite a while, in fact. Last year I even picked up a copy of the magazine in which it runs, MangaTime Kirara Miracle, just to take a look at the series in situ. I found exactly what I expected.

Sakura Trick, Volume 1 is a 4-koma school life gag comic about Haruka and Yu, two newly minted high school students. They have been friends for a while and have become very close. But, when classmates develop a skinship with Yu, Haruka surprises herself by suddenly becoming insanely jealous. She runs away in a panic. Yu and she have a conversation about it and they realize that they both want more than just friendship. They kiss.

Amazingly, this is not the end of the story, just the first 20 pages or so. The rest of the story follows Haruka and Yu and their classmates – another couple Shizuku and Kotone and a not-quite couple Yuzu and Kaede. These last two are more like comedy routine than a couple and my favorite characters so far.

Complications are few in Volume 1. Yu’s older sister, Mitsuki, is the Student Council president, has terrible eyesight and falls for Haruka without realizing it, even though she knows her sister and Haruka have an intimate relationship. Haruka gets jealous when she comes into the classroom to find Yu sitting on Kotone’s lap.

Yu is narcoleptic. Kotone is gregarious, Shizuku is tsundere, but cutely so. Kaede and Yuzu amuse themselves by filling in internal monologue as they spy on Haruka, or pride themselves on guessing Mitsuki’s favorite drink.

On the minus side, Sakura Trick has very little of anything approaching a plot. But, that is typical and expected in a school-life gag comic.

On the plus side, the couples are couple-y and all quite different. The characters are slightly less “type” and slightly more “character” than usual, with the exception of Shizuku (who, in this volume at least, is no more than a twin-tailed tsundere.)

I’ll give it at least through Volume 2 to develop a personality.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 3 There is none, so far.
Characters – 7 Better than I expected, not yet fully developed
Yuri – 9
Service – 4

Overall – 7

Sakura Trick is too dramatic a story to be funny, and too romance-y to be a drama. But it is a comfortably low-stress way to pass the time. Whether it will bear up to the pacing of an anime remains to be seen.





Yuri Manga: Aoi Hana, Volume 8 (青い花)

October 29th, 2013

And here we are, at the final volume of Aoi Hana (青い花). Wow, have we come a long way.

High school graduation approaches, but before it arrives, the girls of Fujigaya head to London for a class trip. Unbeknownst to Fumi, Akira and Kyouko catch up with Sugimoto-sempai who now lives there with Kawasaki-sempai.

Then graduation comes, and Fumi and Akira are forced to have the conversation that has been building between them for some time. Is there, in fact, a “them” to discuss?

In the meantime, Yamashina-sensei finds that a confidence shared off the record has become general knowledge. The students learn that her lover is female after all.  And in the end, nothing changes. But, it seems likely that she’ll feel less inclined to be honest with the next student who asks. And you just know the rumors will continue.

Graduation passes, and so does time. Everyone is drawn together once again, this time by a happy occasion – Kyoko’s and Kou’s wedding. Time moves on, as Ya-san notes, for all of us.

Yamashina and her lover, Haruka’s sister,  consider holding a wedding ceremony themselves, a scene that made me inexpressibly happy. ^_^

Without spoilers, I will assure you that you the ending does not bring closure. It has the one thing I had hoped for – ambiguity.

Ratings:

Story – 10
Characters – 10
Art – 10
Lesbian Life – 10
Service – 3

Overall – 10

The story began on a day that led to many other days, full of joy, sadness, loneliness, friendship and love. Aoi Hana ends on a day that will lead to more of the same.

Happily Ever After is, as we well know, a process, not a destination. And for Fumi and Akira life is, as well.

This is the third manga series I like that has come to an end in 2013 and for the third time, I find myself left feeling happy, rather than sad. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 11 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり)

October 27th, 2013

With the demise of Tsubomi magazine, Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり) has really stepped up its game. Volume 11 feels awfully like an actual Yuri manga magazine in a way that earlier volumes just had not done. And I cannot help but notice the author line-up is looking mighty strong these days.

Starting off with one of my favorite series in the anthology, “Sunahama to Kase-san” by Takashima Hiromi follows Yamada and Kase-san on their school trip. A minor misunderstanding turns into a chance to become closer and desire becomes more of a factor than has been previously. Yamada still has some major self-worth issues, and Japanese mangaka still think sports bras are a kind of hammerspace. ^_^

In Morishima Akiko’s “Seijun Shoujo Paradigm” Aoi is finding her feelings towards Riri shifting, and is only marginally distracted by the relationship between Reika and Yuki.

“Ohime-sama no Uso” by Morinaga Milk continues with Fujiwara-sempai joining Miu on a “date” but as the day goes on, Miu is more and more aware that they are not a couple, but just pretending to be one. To make matters worse, Kaori specifically tells Miu that her feelings for Fujiwara are real, unlike Miu’s. If Fujiwara is a prince, Miu is now well aware that she is no princess. I am enjoying the slightly atypical art in the story. Morinaga-sensei doesn’t often draw the otokoyaku type of girl.

Kumijou’s “Out of the Blue” is a sweet love story between a transfer student and a troublemaker. This story left me with a big ole grin on my face as I finished it.

Amakure Gido’s “Shuuden ni ha Kaeshimasu” draws to a close as the punk girls gets the girl.

“Soshite Watashitachi ha” is a nice little bit of paranormal in an otherwise typical first love story.

Kita Konno’s “Kirari” is a slice of life as two girls spend a quiet interlude at the sea.

Hakamada Mera’s “Hikari no Niwa” is a pleasant resolution to an “opposites attract” story.

“Under One Roof” by Fujio continues at the snail’s pace it has established, as roommates become more aware of one another with each chapter.

Maybe it’s that I’m in a good mood, maybe it’s something else, but I even liked Auri Hirao’s “anokono -shitekurenakkata – koto” about two roommates dealing with being left behind by a third.

Amame Osawa’s “Houkago no Mahoutsukai” was an absolutely adorable little paranormal bit about wanting to feel needed.

And “Koi suru Poccyari” by Kiyota Tomo is a story about being needed.

There were other stories, most of which I found less compelling, but this volume was  – by far and away – one of the best of Hirari to date.

Ratings:

Overall – 8





Yuri Manga: Namae ha Mada nai (名前はまだない）

October 25th, 2013

Kazuma Kowo’s Namae ha Mada nai (名前はまだない）is the latest collection of her work from Comic Yuri Hime. And all I can say about that is…ahhhh. There’s something, I don’t know, relaxing I guess, about her work even when the strength of it lies with her prickliest characters.

The first half of the volume are short stories that follow fairly typical school love tropes, but I love how her characters are never in elite schools, or have unrealistic uniforms. They wear sweaters with sleeves that are too long, or sweatpants under their skirts. They watch each other artlessly, and forget they’ve used their outside voice. We never for a moment doubt that we’re watching a real life.

With the title story, we delve slightly deeper into her typical teaser/teased strategy. Amemori is annoyed (i.e., wowed) by the new transfer student who, for some reason, appears obsessed with Amemori. There’s a distinct feeling of “poking the wild animal with a stick” about the new student’s behavior, but it’s pretty clear to both of them at some point that they like each other. Amemori is very very aware that she has not yet called the other girl by name. The title, is translated by the author as “The Name is Not Yet”, and I have been puzzling over how I might translate it myself. Maybe “No Name Yet”? I don’t know. The point is, Amemori knows her name, but isn’t using it. Until the end, of course, when she jumps to calling Hinata by her given name.

The final chapter is a short prologue for the relationship from Junsui Adolscence, Kazuma-sensei’s last Comic Yuri Hime volume.

I really enjoy Kazuma-sensei’s tsundere protagonist formula. I couldn’t tell you why, but it works for me. I’m glad to see her back in Comic Yuri Hime and look forward to more from her. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 1, on principle. There was nothing really “service” about it.

Overall – 8





Yuri Manga: Tsuki to Sekai to Etoile (月と世界とエトワール)

October 23rd, 2013

Takagami Yuriko’s Tsuki to Sekai to Etoile (月と世界とエトワール) follows Maisaka Yozora as she enters an elite girls’ school that specializes in musical achievement. Following the steps of her idol Umiyuri-sama and the advice of her grandmother, she decides to attend Gekkoukan Gakuin and become a singer.

What Yozora learns, when she enters, is that the elitest of the elite pair off into Chevalier – Etoile pairs in a relationship that is called an “engagement.” Umiyuri-sama’s chevalier is the appropriately knightly Towa-sama. Umiyuri seems to have favorited Yozora’s rival, Kagami, while Towa favors Yozora.

Almost immediately, Yozora is dragged into Towa and Umiyuri’s affairs, of course, and she finds herself engaged to the straight-talking, somewhat brusque Kishinabe Sekai. Sekai and Yozora decide to compete for the Etoile position, despite their newness at the school, only to have suspicious circumstances keep them apart on the competition night. Undaunted, Yozora competes alone, singing Sekai’s music unaccompanied.

Towa and Umiyuri are forced to acknowledge Yozora and Sekai will be formidable rivals in days to come. And, if I’m not mistaken, the series is on-going, so more shenanigans and secrets and ancient history will come to light.

For all that it was a lot of the same thing over again, I have a hell of a time following this story in Comic Yuri Hime. Probably because I wasn’t really motivated to do so. Important rings, “engagements,” singing battles instead of swords, a beautiful couple, Etoile, lot of high-falutin’ names: Eternity, the World, Night Sky, Stars, etc. It all seems so derivative. But I sat down and really read the story this time…it’s not going to be a go-to story for me, but it’s not all that bad.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 5 (by implication, and one kiss so far)
Service – 1

Overall – 7

The elements are second-hand, but the story and art are attractive and would probably play well in a shoujo manga magazine.