Mizu-Iro Ether (水色エーテル), by Kurokiri Misao, is a rather typical set of “Story A”-type Yuri stories that trace schoolgirls’ loves.

There are two stories that have some unique qualities, although one, in which a girl falls in love with a mermaid, was a tad too Disney princess for my taste.

The second story in the collection, “Kono Mune no Hana” starts with the story of Yuka and her friend Sayo who are (obviously, to our eyes) in a relationship. We’re not the only ones to whom it is obvious; Yuka’s grandmother also can see what’s going on and, in a very unsubtle way, is trying to explain to the girls that this is not forever. We learn that Grandma once has a school love of her own, Yukue and, although they genuinely loved one another, when they graduated, they went their separate ways, married, had children and even now have not spoken to one another again since. Reading this story, I was strongly tempted to scream at Grandma, and tell her things were different now, but alas I remained three-dimensional. The story left me feeling more bitter than sweet, but it made me think once more how much things have changed – and how much they have not. Luckily for us, and for Yuka and Sayo, Grandma ends the story thinking much the same thing.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 6
Yuri – 8
Service – 2

Overall – 7

The collection as a whole is not significant. The territory in most stories is well-trodden, the conclusions all have been come to before. With the exception of Grandma’s past (and, mind you, Grandma maybe goes back to mid- 20th century Japan, now, not early 20th) and the mermaid, nothing was unique. If what you like best is that schoolgirl setting and lives and loves of teens, this will make good reading. If you’re looking for something significant, give this one a pass.

要約: 典型的な10代の少女達の関係を描く平凡な内容、という評価ですね。(要約/翻訳 |小松さん)

Oshioki! (おしおきっ!) is a 4-koma manga that starts somewhere and ends up somewhere and in between goes totally off track three or four times.

Minato is an utterly average person. She gets average grades, comes up right in the middle of the pack in footraces and has not a single distinguishing characteristic. So when she sees smart, athletically inclined Student Council President Shion, she’s impressed, kinda crushy and a little jealous. Circumstances bring her into Shion’s acquaintance where she learns that Shion, when she wears her glasses, is a studious and polite young lady, but when she takes them off, becomes a schoolmarm sadist. To “punish” Minato for some small, meaningless infraction, Shion commands that Minato will be her dog. At which point Minato learns a life-changing lesson about herself…she is a masochist.

Oh, they never use that word, but we get it. ^_^

So Minato hangs around the Student Council, trying to stay close to Shion and trying, from time to time, to be punished. Hence the title.

Most of the strips are about average school-life details, but Minato has clearly begun to fall in love with Shion, and Shion’s obviously interested in Minato…but it takes a lot of stories about stolen puddings, and the school festival and the like to get through before suddenly, Council member Momoka pushes Shion to admit she has feelings for Minato and Minato to return the feelings…and they kiss…and the book ends.

Shion’s sadistic behavior is implied, not shown, Minato’s submissive tendencies are kept relatively socially acceptable and her humilation only shows up in dream sequences and once or twice as a gag. So it’s not like this is a high school BDSM fest or anything. Momoka and the other student council member Chitose fulfill specific roles and are not unlikable – and they genuinely like Minato and become her friend early on.

The best moment, IMHO, was towards the end, when Shion thanks Minato for all her help over the last few months, and asks her to officially join the Student Council. Minato is overjoyed, because she wants to be close to Shion, but also because she is no longer average. That was a sweet scene and pretty much the turning point of the book from silly gags to “getting Shion and Minato together.” The handwave kiss and happily-ever-after was a nice addition to the “Good” column.

Ratings:

Art – 4
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Loser FanBeing – 5

Overall – 7

Although the book wasn’t bad, I don’t know if I recommend it. Whether you will like it will greatly depend on how you feel about S&M and 4-koma as a comedic mix. I didn’t hate it.

It is said that behind every successful man is a woman. The saying represents the sacrifices women have made to support their husbands in their work – sometimes curtailing their own careers, or putting in long hours of caretaking, for no money and no credit.

Kuroyome (くろよめ) by Kazuto Izumi proposes the idea that for women to truly be successful, they too need a helpmeet and caretaker…in other words, a wife.

On the one hand this idea makes my teeth grind, and on the other it makes my teeth grind.

The stories in this volume are mean to be cute and sweet, about a high-powered business woman who finds comfort and care in the capable hands of an adorable and adoring wife for rent…and then treats them like crap and drives them out until they realize that they are helpless when it comes to doing the least little thing to take care of themselves and run back to their “wife,” beg forgiveness and ask to be taken back.  *If* these high-powered women were high-powered men, there’s a good chance we’d say, “Don’t do it! He’s a selfish asshole!” But because they are women, we’re supposed to smile and nod and be happy for them.

Yome, Komomo – Don’t do it, run, she’s an asshole!

The stories are not stabbingly awful, but as each hinges on a crisis created because the high-powered businesswoman is an asshole to the wife I just can’t like it. Yome and Komomo are competent women and I want them to find someone who appreciates them, not just for the dinners they make.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6 (I imagine this appealed greatly to the otaku crowd, see below)
Characters – were 4 and were 8 and sometimes both at the same time
Yuri – 7
Service – 10 – Otaku have very conservative ideas about gender roles and marriage. It would make sense to most of them that a “wife” is, because *she is a wife,* submissive and supportive. Clearly, these gentlemen did not grow up in my household.

Overall – 6

Real feminists train their sons to make their own goddamn beds. Just sayin’

We’ve gotten very efficient about shopping in Tokyo these days. We arrive with a “to-buy list” and hit the stores closest to our hotel and most likely to have the things we’re looking for. Once we’ve acquired all the items on our list, we’re free to start browsing.

One of the best browsing places in Tokyo is in Shibuya. In the basement of the Shibuya BEAM store, Mandarake is like digging through someone’s attic, or a never-ending flea market of…stuff. (There are a number of Mandarake stores in Japan, and several in Tokyo. The Mandarake stores in the Nakano Sun Mall are probably the best known by most otaku. I suggest you hit up at least the stores in Shibuya and Nakano. Give yourself plenty of time to just wander and stare. It’s quite overwhelming at first.) The negatives of browsing shelves this way is that you will think “Oooh!” and start to reach for something about 1752 times. They have used manga, soundtrack CDs, Drama CDs, figurines, doujinshi, books and random goods you would really like to have but…. You may think I’m kidding, but I was >this< close to buying a Patlabor anniversary iPad cover, despite the fact that I will never own an iPad. But it was Patlabor! I never see Patlabor goods!)

The postive side of shopping in Mandarake is just slowly wandering down the aisle and reaching out to look at something old/obscure, something you heard about but never actually saw before, something random and wonderful. I have found all of the above at the Shibuya Mandarake.

The last time we were there, I couldn’t help but notice that there was an honest-to-god Yuri section at the end of one of the used manga aisles. I had already purchased or already owned pretty much everything there, except for a few titles I had committed to not getting. This book and its companion were two of those. I had no intention of buying them, because I’m very uninterested in the particular mix they represent. But yeah, whatever, I got them. Of the two books, this was by far the superior.

In Daisuki – Hikaru to Sakura (だいすきっ-ひかるとさくら), Hikaru is a shrimpy little girl who has decided she wants to make Sakura her wife. Sakura isn’t resisting, really, and when we come into the story, they are already a couple. Each chapter follows them during a month of the school year, in which “typical cosplay trope of the month” is blended with sex. It’s not exactly rocket science. The girls wear gym clothes, bathing suit, cat ears (for the cat ear maid cafe of course. Good god don’t Fanboys ever get *tired* of that one? Heaven knows I’m am) yukata, and the props are love umbrella, Valentine’s chocolates, etc, ad nauseum. Nothing new, everything typical as can be.

On the positive side Hikaru and Sakura really, really love one another. That is never in doubt and no coercion or non-con need apply. On the negative side, I was not able to like either Hikaru, with her pouty face or Sakura with her somewhat clueless passivity. It is abundantly clear that I am not the target audience for this series. This is for fans that like everything predictable, in a fantasy bubble of a school setting of a year with no growth, just change, protected from the real world or adult concerns; a timeless, endless, eternal school year with a Yuri relationship. If this appeals to you, this is a book you’ll want to read. This book is exactly for the crowd that wants no lesbians in their Yuri.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Tending towards moe, with the usual dissonance about female anatomy that seems to accompany it
Story – There really isn’t one. The relationship never changes, there’s no crisis that lasts more than a page. – 4
Characters – 4
Yuri – 9
Service – 10

Overall – 5

Nothing happens, nothing changes, Hikaru and Sakura have sex and love each other very, very much, but the happily is permanently “now,” never “ever after.”