Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Hana ni Arashi, Volume 11 (はなにあらし)

December 4th, 2023

Nanoha and Chidori are two young woman in love. They know that when they graduate thing will change and their lives will grow more compliacated, but for this one summer…. life is relatively simple.

Nanoha plans a wonderful, romantic date for Chidori’s birthday. While laying there, contemplating life after a magnificent picnic lunch, a sudden downpour drenches them both, in a moment that they both know is very representative of life. But still, it doesn’t change that they are happy and in love.

Kobachi Ruka’s Hana ni Arashi, Volume 11 (はなにあらし) is one more quietly sweet, timeless volume in this series that I cannot imagine has been given 11 volumes to so slowly movie through the lives of Nanoha and Chidori it almost feels as if we’re reading in real time.(Not really, but you know what I mean.) If anything, I force myself to read this manga slowly, so I don’t speed through it at the same pace they are speeding through their youth. ^_^

The art and narrative here are pretty, much like this cover. It’s all about precious moments that we remember. Many years from now they’ll be talk about that day and they’ll laugh, but one will remember the smell of the wet bus stop, and the other, the sun on their skin and it will fill them both with a lot of unspoken memories., which is exactly why we’re reading this series – to relive those moments from own own lives.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 7
Service – 1 Nanoha and Chidori dressing up for one another is a kind of service

Overall – 7

Only recently, my wife and were reminiscing about our dates to an infamous rodent-mascot pizza and arcade chain, before it got really the fuck weird, when it was only marginally weird. The pizza was never good, but the arcade was fantastic. We spent a lot of time and quarters  there. Oddly, I can only remember what it sounded like….you’d think I would be able to remember the smell of pizza.

I was wrong, there is a Volume 12…and 13, which appears to be the final volume. I can’t say I’m on tenterhooks, but I’ll be interested to see where this ends.





Joshi-kou no Ouji-sama ha Watashi Shika Ganchuninairashi Yuri Anthology Comic (女子校の王子様は私しか眼中にないらしい 百合アンソロジーコミック)

December 1st, 2023

In a fervent wish that this next week be a week of discovery of amazing things, today I’m beginning with a new anthology and new imprint! Joshi-kou no Ouji-sama ha Watashi Shika Ganchuninairashi Yuri Anthology Comic (女子校の王子様は私しか眼中にないらしい 百合アンソロジーコミック) from LatteComi, is one of two Yuri anthologies they’ve just put out. As the title indicates, this volume is centered around the theme of the school prince.

This was a nice little collection, honestly. You’d think the theme of “school prince” was played out, but no, these are all solid takes on the trope. Which is not to say that they are all wholly original. The very first story, by Pya, is about Ruka and Rena, a Prince/Princess pair who looks shockingly like two familiar Sailor Senshi and a second school Prince who looks awfully like a French noble we know well. The story is, nonetheless quite cute, as Ruka and Rena complain about each other’s foibles to the hapless protagonist in “True Blue Baby.”

“M-na Ouji ni Aishikatta” by Junrei tells the story of Horimiya, a student who learns the prince’ secret, so they become friends, then more.

My favorite story happened to be by Takemiya Jin and combines two things she loves a lot – gaming and Yuri. Two girls who share the love of a specific character in a specific game find each other years after they first meet…and once again, the game brings them close. This was a very gentle and charming story that had me smiling the entire time. ^_^

A prince helps another student at a performing arts school get past her stage fright, and a girl is reunited with her prince at long last, but feels utterly inadequate, in other stories in this collection. All of these work perfectly fine as shorts, and the collection ends with character designs from each artist.  The whole collection was enjoyable without requiring deep emotional commitment.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Quite good
Stories – 8 Fun, with little depth
Characters – 8 YMMV, but there wasn’t anyone I disliked as a character
Service – There are different kinds of service, but no nudity or creeping.
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

Most importantly, it was quite nice to see a new imprint. LatteComi is specializing in BL, Yuri and isekai. I hope it does not go the same way as the last two BL and Yuri imprints went, which is to say, they both do only BL now (there’s a trivia question – which two imprints am I referring to? They both came in to being and died in the last 5 years. If you get the answer, I’ll send you a prize!) 

If you’d like to give this anthology a try, there is a 15-page sample on Bookwalker JP for you to check out. Let me know what you think in the comments, if you do.





Otherside Picnic Manga, Volume 7 Guest Review by Sandy F.

November 29th, 2023

In Otherside Picnic, Volume 7 of the manga we have the conclusion of ‘Resort Night at the Beach of the End’, ‘The Attack of the Ninja Cats’ and the latest edition of Kozakura’s ongoing rebuttal, ‘The Tanuki Guards the Night’. The final chapter of ‘Resort Night at the Beach of the End’ is an intense read as Sorawo and Toriko’s fun on the beach becomes a more traditional Otherside event as they are pursued by a cavalcade of Otherside entities determined to drive them mad. Though they escape, Sorawo receives a glimpse of something that has the potential to impact her relationship
with Toriko.

‘The Attack of the Ninja Cats’ begins with a conversation between Sorawo, Toriko and Kozakura. As well as being a debriefing covering the events of the Beach at the End and the follow-up party in Okinawa, Sorawo discusses a recent encounter with a fellow student, Akari Seto. Sorawo crankily discusses how Akari wants Sorawo to help her with a problem because she has latched on to the idea,

much to Sorawo’s annoyance, that Sorawo is an occult expert and so just the person to help her as she is being stalked by Ninja Cats. Yes, Ninja Cats! One thing I appreciate about Otherside Picnic is how Iori Miyazawa can work with what often seems to me a fairly ridiculous concept and convince the reader to take it seriously. I may have rolled my eyes when I first read about the Ninja Cats, but not for long as it doesn’t take long to realise they are a threat. For a variety of reasons Sorawo initially isn’t interested in helping Akari, including a surprising revelation, Sorawo likes cats and is fearful if she gets involved, she may have to do something that terrible that will change her perspective on cats.

Cranky Sorawo has a cute side! But the crankiness remains as we witness Sorawo trying to cope with the gosh-darned perkiness of Akari, with Toriko not helping. Sorawo and Toriko meet with Akari, and as a result of this meeting we are introduced into a new aspect of connection
between our world and the Otherside through the realm of the Ninja Cats. The Ninja Cats prove to be formidable foes, and the artwork rises to the challenge of depicting the resultant battle. It will be during this struggle that Sorawo will learn more about how her eye can influence people as well as the entities of the Otherside.

With the conclusion of the events of ‘The Attack of the Ninja Cats’ Toriko is confronted by a surprising revelation involving Satsuki Uruma, who continues to be a shadowy influence from the Otherside. Before I forget I should mention that in this volume we also have a Public Service Announcement on the dangers of online shopping while drunk because you never know how people will respond when an agricultural vehicle is delivered to their doorstep!

One of the ongoing themes of Otherside Picnic is how the characters struggle with trauma and its consequences. In ‘The Tanuki Guards the Night’ Kozakura reveals how she deals with the trauma of the consequences of being associated with Sorawo and Toriko. In her story, she shares her thoughts on how she is treated by Sorawo and Toriko. At the end of the story and the manga we discover that Kozakura might need a bigger Tanuki…

Ratings:
Story – 9
Artwork – 9, the usual excellent job of conveying the horrors
of the Otherside.
Character – 8, some different glimpses of Sorawo illustrating
how much she has changed through knowing Toriko
Service – 6
Yuri – 8, there is an important conversation with Sorawo making it clear to Toriko that she considers their accomplice relationship to be an exclusive one.

Overall – 9





The Two Of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 3

November 27th, 2023

Two woman in bikinis frolic down a beach happily together.To paraphrase myself from my review of this volume in Japanese, “One of the defining characteristics of an adult life is facing setbacks. You can work really hard, gambare with all you have and still not achieve the goal. Sometimes it’s hard and sometimes it’s just life. In The Two Of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 3, its both.”

“Wanko” is giving it her all, doing audition after audition. The one job she had gotten is canceled for reasons that are beyond her control. (And which resonate kind of hard this season, after the recent scandals of a major production group in Japan.) She’s working that treadmill hard, but she’s not getting anywhere.

Ellie is struggling with a wholly different problem. She’s been given an opportunity. One of the best in the business is mentoring her, with a tough love attitude and hard, cold facts. Now that she has an opening, she’s not at all confident that she’ll be able to move forward. 

Wanko really wants to be a full partner in their lives together, so despite her loss of her job, she contributes to the month’s rent. Ellie would be happy to let Wanko keep it, but she’s 100% supportive of her partner’s choice. Again, as I said, in my review of the JP edition, ” get yourself someone who looks at you the way Sakuma looks at Wako.”  Ikeda-sensei’s art is great in this volume, with expressions and body language really dragging you in to the emotional backdrop of every scene. But – and I will say this every time – his art hits new levels when he just does a panel of Ellie. He loves drawing her and it shows.

Solid work by the team at Seven Seas. Anh Kiet Ngo had a few challenging passages here and came through with a solid translation. (I was thinking about this just a moment ago, when I made an excruciating pun to my wife that was both in-joke and tortured English and I had a thought about how impossible that is to translate. This series is full of that kind of thing. Rina Mappa’s lettering is solid, but she is not given time to retouch which would have looked better. Give letterers time and money to retouch!

Overall a funny, poignant volume of this lovable series.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 9
Story – 8
Service – 5 Light nudity
Lesbian – 10

For a slightly goofy, slightly realistic story of two women (and their colleagues and friends) adulting together and being in love, this is a quietly outstanding story.  I hope you’ll pick it up and give it a read.





I’m In Love With The Villainess Manga, Volume 5

November 20th, 2023

Two girls in red jackets and blue skirt uniforms. One with short, pale hair looks smug, the other with medium-length brown hair looks angry. In the aftermath of the Commoner’s Movement and her loss of someone important to her, Claire has been listless and resistant to any attempt by Rae to lighten her mood. When her childhood friend – and first love – arrives at the Academy, Claire perks right up. But now Rae has a serious problem…now she has a rival.

Manaria Sousse, the Crown Princess of the Sousse kingdom, is a shockingly complex character. Her looks are the the boyish blond butch we are familiar with, flirtatious and charming. But underneath that is an apparently cruel person. And underneath that(!) is something like the truth. Manaria jokes easily about her complicated position in the family, and her desire to win Claire back. She pushes Rae very hard and despite knowing exactly where it will lead, Rae allows herself to be provoked.

I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 5 covers the “Scales of Love” arc which is one of the major turning points in this series.

There are two things happening simultaneously in this series. One is a shift from a goofy isekai series to serious criticism of income equality and unequal governmental representation. The Commoner Movement was the first major tone change in that theme, and more is to come.

The second shift in the story I have begun to describe this way: The story starts off gay and becomes queer. We’ve gotten a little of this as the narrative has made room for Rae to discuss her feelings and concerns about her previous  life as a lesbian. Now the story is doing something extraordinary – using it’s own tropes to make the story just a little bit queerer.  Both these two shifts will continue through the entire series and neither of them will back off. Narratively, it’s one of the best things about the whole series.

Visually speaking, this arc is the bomb. And, as it’s likely to be where the anime ends, we’ll get both the climactic battle and that extraordinary resolution to Rae and Manaria’s conflict. I commented in my review of this volume in Japanese that the art here is outstanding, and I thought that again as I re-read it. There is a panel where the princes and Misha are tensely watching events which has them leaning forward, concern etched into their faces, the rush of what is going on indicated by motion lines…it is absolutely perfect. Aonoshimo-sensei just kills it in this volume. I truly think Aonoshimo-sensei’s art elevates the heck out of the story, making this manga absolutely worth reading, even if you’ve have already read the light novels.

A fine job on translation by Joshua Hardy, and excellent work by letterer Courtney Williams. I hope Seven Seas gives her the time and money to go complete retouch, because on panels where it is full retouch, it just looks so good! Cover by Nicky Lim and George Panella is fantastic….every time I get a English-language manga with a great adaption of the JP manga cover I am made happy. I remember the olden days when getting cover art from JP rights holders was the equivalent of a publishing tough mudder. ^_^ Thank you all to the folks at Seven Seas for taking good care of this series.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 7
Service – Manaria is a whole tropeload of service, on her own. ^_^

Overall – 9

Things are about to get serious again…then silly…then very serious, but from this point on, the series will always be queer. And I really appreciate that. Thank you inori.-sensei!