Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


“Ouji-sama Joshi” Yuri Anthology STAYGOLD (「王子様女子」百合アンソロジー STAYGOLD)

January 30th, 2024

A girl with short, boyish haircut, wearing an ermine-trimmed red cape and crown along with her school uniform of red plaid skirt and tie, black sweater and white shirt, bows and holds her hand out to us.Who doesn’t love good “Girl Prince” story? Even when confined to school grounds, the archetype of the coolest girl gives everyone a chance to fall in love from a distance. In the doujinhsi collection “Ouji-sama Joshi” Yuri Anthology STAYGOLD (「王子様女子」百合アンソロジー STAYGOLD) a number of popular Yuri artists take that opportunity and put together a fun, occasionally thoughtful, look at what it means to be a Girl Prince, or to be in love with one.

Spearheaded by Canno, creator of Kiss & White Lily For My Dearest Girl, this anthology includes two stories by her, as bookends for the collection, in school…and out. The collection includes contributions from Ohsawa Yayoi, Jackie, Ajiichi, Pikachi, Mimoto, Yukiko and others, so you get a lot of cute shorts for your money. 
Both Jackie and Pikachi look at schools with 2 princes and how they get along…or not. I think Pikachi wins that battle with typical wholesome cuteness.

My favorite short was by Yuino Chiri, in which the school princess has had quite enough of being protected and has worked out until she’s jacked, so she can save the prince for once. Bonus points that for the threat being a random runaway lion. ^_^

It’s exactly what one wants from a doujinshi anthology – a strong theme, great contributors, fun stories and some light Yuri romance. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

I got this anthology from Melonbooks, which appears to be the only online source for it. Check out the STAYGOLD Twitter account for some sample pages!





Otherside Picnic Manga, Volume 8

January 26th, 2024

Two women hold their hands over an ornate box, out of which fly red bird shadows. Sorawo and Toriko take steps to explore the Otherside on a more permanent basis in Otherside Picnic, Volume 8. At the same time, they learn about the consequences of contact with the Otherside….will this deter them?

No, obviously not.

The gate opening in Kozakura’s front yard is a boon for Sorawo and Toriko, even if it is a burden for Kozakura. She’s living in fear most of the time now, and is starting to get used to it, something that does not thrill her.  She’s worried about the other two, too. Their reckless behavior (from her perspective) is going to get them in trouble and she’s half annoyed she’ll have to pick up the pieces and half upset that they will get themselves hurt. This would all feel more adult, if she wasn’t portrayed like a child, honestly. It’s nice to have an adult in the room, but it is hard to take Kozakura seriously as an adult.

Now that Sorawo and Toriko have determined to investigate deeper into the Otherside, they are taken to the halls of DS Research, the obscure organization that is buying the artifacts they bring back. While this book has always had a horror element to is, relying on netlore and urban legend for the weirdnesses of the Otherside, for the first time, our intrepid adventurers come face to face with the results of digging too deeply into the “Ultrablue Light,” or UBL.

As if on cue, Uruma Satsuki appears and leaves behind an item that is a very direct attack on Sorawao and Toriko. The Toribako, a curse box full of bird-like shadows that fly through one’s body, shredding it from the inside, was illustrated in the manga as horrifyingly as it was described in the novel. Up until now, the Otherside has been vaguely menacing, but now…now it it actively trying to kill our protagonists.

This is one of the two scariest moments of the novels and once again Mizuno Eita does an absolutely outstanding job of illustrating it. I cannot get over how much the art enhances the already subtlely terrifying aspect of the UBL. Much as with Aonoshimo’s art for I’m In Love With The Villainess manga, the compelling narrative of the novel really is enhanced here by the art.

Now we must wait to see if Toriko and Sorawo will survive Uruma Satuski’s attack.

Ratings:
Story – 9
Art – 9
Character – 8,
Service – 0
Yuri – 7

In the meantime, Toriko has pointed out to Sorawao how she is changing  and becoming more caring about other people … and that terrifies her. Intimacy is the great hurdle here and will be for some time.





Shigoto no Nochi Dakishimete (仕事の後は抱きしめて)

January 22nd, 2024

On a cover of scattered flowers, woman with collar-length blue hair and a blonde with long hair lay head to head, not looking at one another.Aota Yui is a young woman with a dream – she wants to be a chef. To get there, she needs to be accepted by the restaurant’s Taisho. She’s working really hard to make food that people love. One day Yui runs into the beautiful businesswoman Houjo Eriko. Eriko wishes someone might cook for her….so Yui volunteers. She’s already half in love when she comes to the door, but after a night spent with the other woman, she’s a goner. Eriko, though, has no dreams left. She thinks life is pretty boring. Men desire her, women want to be her. She thinks Yui is cute and distracting, like a puppy, but is sure that there’s nothing left of life for her. Yui will, of course, change that.

In Shigoto no Nochi Dakishimete (仕事の後は抱きしめて), subtitled in English “Hold Me Tight After Work,” on the cover,  Yui’s earnestness and Eriko’s quiet despair will battle and love will win.

This was one of the books I picked up in Japan because I had never heard of it and there it was, with these words on the obi – “Spun with delicate brushtrokes – Shakaijin Yuri love story.” It was predictable and fun and kind of sweet, bolstered mostly by Yui’s energy and sincerity.

Apparently it wasn’t enough to have Eriko be jaded and full of ennui, though, because midway a plot complication is inserted that, honestly, did not work for the narrative. Yui assists a young woman in kimono from being harassed (a scene that was smile-inducing as every guy in the town shows up to back Yui up, since everyone lieks her) and in her desire to thank Yui, the young woman decides to destroy her life. ?!?!?

Koyoi Mikazuki has a run-down restaurant left to her by her parents. When they died all the employees just left, leaving her without anyone to help her run the place. She decides Yui should be her chef. Yui, who *just* got the approval from the restaurant’s Taisho is not willing to leave. Mikazuki embraces Yui, just in time for Eriko to show up. And Eriko, of course, gets the wrong idea. UGH, come on.

And then it gets weird – Mikazuki tracks Eriko down to taunt her, manipulates Yui into helping her rebuild the restaurant and generally is unpleasant and creepy. Yui and Eriko do not speak about this and they begin to pull further apart. Finally Yui puts her foot down. She helps Mikazuki get new staff…which are the old staff who left her, because when her parents died they all just could not cope. Once Mikazuki is doing okay again, Yui finds Eriko, then refuses to let her just walk away.

They make up in the time honored fashion and, we are led to believe, live happily ever after.

I’m left thinking that the plot complication with Mikazuki could have been handled with more nuance than “tragic backstory,” and Eriko’s issue are deeper than just “life is boring,” and would have liked to see some self-refection from these two, but manga tropes it is. Other than this slight imperfection, this is a fun little adult Yuri from Iwashita Kei and published by our old friends East Press. It’s nice to see them still putting out the occasional Yuri.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 7 This story is carried by Yui, no question
Service – Some adult sex scenes, but drawn for subtlety, not stimulation
Yuri – 9

Overall – 7

You might give it a higher score if “not talking about it” bothers you less than it does me. It bothers me a whole point’s worth here.





Private ha Honnin-tachi ni Makasete Orimasu (プライベートは本人たちに任せております)

January 11th, 2024

A pop idol with flowing blonde hair and a pink frilly costume embraces a girl in black, with dark hair and glasses. The air around them shimmers with sparkles and confetti.I picked up a copy of Private Ha Honnin-tachi Ni Makasete Orimasu (プライベートは本人たちに任せております) (translated in English on the frontispiece as Private Life Is Left To Them, Yuri Talext x Yuri Anthology) on a whim while at Gamers, I think, in Tokyo.

Once more, there are shelves and shelves of Yuri anthologies, many of them generated by publishing companies like Kadokawa and Ichijinsha to harness the creators who contribute to contests, or are recruited at events, or send in work for publication, much like a farm league for manga. Many manga publishers are now also having editors for web editions and anthology collections appear at events like Comitia for portfolio review. Of course, sometimes one still comes across a smaller publisher or circle creating an anthology. Galette magazine, for instance, is still out there doing a fantastic quarterly Yuri manga magazine that I am horribly behind on reviewing.

As I have said, I didn’t go to Japan with a long list of books to get this last time. It’s much easier to get books shipped or digitally distributed nowadays. So I only picked up things I hadn’t seen before or that looked really interesting. This book falls into the former category. Pop idols who are queer does interest me, as I have a 2 (soon to be the 3) novella series on the topic. This collection includes stories by creators Kashikaze (I Can’t Say No To The Lonely Girl, coming in April from Seven Seas), Yukiko (Cats and Sugar Bowls, also from Seven Seas)and Mikanuji (Assorted Entanglements and other works, out from Yen Press.)

As with most manga anthologies, the contributions here are more extended scenarios, rather than complete stories. These scenarios focus on the private lives of queer pop idols. Whether their admirers or partners are a staff member, or fan or member of the same group, these stories are all designed to end with the two partners happy in each others’ company.

The first story does have some problematic content, so be warned about creepy, stalkery behavior from a person who ins position of power who abuse that powers in a way that didn’t sit right with me. But most of the stories are harmless to cute.

Now that there is some distance between when I read it and reviewing it now, the one story that stood out the most was by Kaibashira, about a pair of idols who are at odds in all their media appearances. One is, apparently a doofus, the other absolutely disgusted with her easy-going partner. They are constantly bickering on-camera. In real life, they are actually deeply in love and still basically a doofus and a bitch.  On a day off, they are mobbed by fans. The bitch character puts the fans off by saying there’s no way they could possibly be friends. But when alone again, she breaks down, upset that she denied their relationship. So the next time it happens, the doofus says proudly that they are dating! And they live happily ever after, one supposes.

A lot of the endings are “one supposes.” We’re not getting epilogues here, so we might as well suppose. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

As a fun and harmless exploration of how things might be being a queer idol, this is an interesting prompt for an anthology.





Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 7 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし)

January 5th, 2024

A girl with long black hair leans over the shoulder of a girl with medium brown hair, grabbing the smaller girl’s wrists as they look into her palms. They both wear Japanese sailor-style school uniforms, with white blouses and dark skirts. In a moment of extraordinary timing, Yen Press has just announced that they have licensed this series as This Monster Wants To Eat Me, with Volume 1 headed our way in June. I can’t wait for you all to read it! Thank you Yen Press, I’m so pleased. I reviewed Volume 1 in Japanese in 2021 here on Okazu in which I made an entirely inappropriate fish pun, if you want to cringe. ^_^

But today we gather together to look at Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 7 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし). We thought all the secrets were out, surely, by now…but nope. Shiori is worried about Hinako, who still has the scent of death upon her.Hinako is…well, she is trying, but she really does not find life all that appealing and the guilt of surviving her family’s deaths is not getting easier. Every day is a burden for her. Miko and Shiori take Hinako on a trip to try and distract her. We learn more about how Miko navigates the world, once again.

Eventually, everything that is not being said between Shiori and Hinako comes out (again.) And now Hinako has to decide if she can trust Shiori (again.) Miko tries to pick up the pieces (again), but as the volume comes to a close, a mysterious little girl pegs Miko instantly for what she really is.

Naekawa Sai’s art has evolved so much since the first volume of this series. I will give this praise to Kadokawa, their editors really know how to help their artists level up. Every image is tight, the closeups of Hinako’s dead eyes are heartbreaking, Shiori having emotions she’s not used to is fascinating. I really like angry Miko…the human. You can just get a glimpse of the creature she is when she gets angry.

In another series I might wish it wrapped up about now, with – apparently – nothing left to say between Shiori and Hinako, but I know better with this story. Hinako’s grief is as deep as the ocean…and there’s still a lot of it to dive into.

Ratings:

Art – 9 really, really good
Story – 8 An unquiet interlude
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – One kiss that is more a promise than a romantic gesture

Overall – 8

I’m really just so pleased Yen picked this up. If you like psychological horror, youkai, stories of grief and/or schoolgirl Yuri, you’ll like this. This series really does everything right.