Honestly, I was going to review Tsubomi today, but I wiping the floor with myself after this week, so here’s something much less like work.

Last November, I reviewed Volume 1 of Payapa Gundan (パパイヤ軍団★), a fun and adult look at the manager of a hostess bar and the women who work for him.

Volume 2 of the story picks up with Miyabi, the other guy in a black suit. He’s the early shift manager and, it turns out, an unforgettable lover. He also turns out to be a lot younger than anyone assumed. His story revolves around his gorgeous, young-looking mother leaving to get remarried and forcing him to take care of himself, and a lover that can’t stand to lose him.

Once Miyabi’s life is resolved, we turn to look at Kyouko, who comes out as an otaku, but not as a writer of BL stories, to Hajime. He’s cool with it until she takes off for a week to write her latest novel. Hajime, worried about Kyouko, drops by and ends up cleaning the apartment, cooking for Kyouko and eventually asking her to move in with him. She ain’t no dummy, so she says, yes – only to learn that she’s sharing the apartment with Hajime and his sister and her lover. But it’s all good, because when they have a kid, she’s got free babysitting. ^_^

Hajime is worried that a rival club is scouting Miyabi, but it turns out that his great-grandmother is the club owner and she buys Club Papaya too, so Hajime will never have to worry about closing. Kyouko watches Hajime stress over Miyabi and considers (not for the first time) pairing them up in a story. ^_^

In the meantime, Hajime’s sister Mika and her bi lover Chieri have hit an impasse. Chieri is still seeing and sleeping with the male customers. Mika doesn’t like it at all. Chieri says that she can’t understand – Mika’s young and she’s 26 already. She wants to settle down and get married, maybe have children – and this customer is planning on marrying her and taking her to America with him when he goes. Mika’s shocked – she didn’t know that Chieri wanted that kind of life…and she didn’t know Chieri was that old. Her club profile says she’s 22. lol Chieri accuses Mika of wanting to live in Neverland, two women together, pfft.

Mika asks to be put on the early shift and Chieri runs off to Miyabi to get some advice from the youngest – but wisest – person at the club. It’s not until she realizes that her fiancee is a terrible lover and that as long as she’s seme, she really, really likes making love to Mika, that she regrets her decision.

When at last Chieri and Mika are once again face to face, Mika holds out an amazingly expensive diamond ring that Chieri had admired and asks her to marry her. “Come live with me in Neverland,” Mika says. Chieri agrees happily. It turns out that Mika was working two jobs to save up for the ring. Chieri admits that she also was saving up to give Mika a present, as she hands her what looks to be a pack of postcards or stationary. “It ain’t much!” Mika says.

The epilogue shows this crazy extended family, very happily ever after. Miyabi, ever with an eye for the business, takes Kyouko’s and Hajime’s baby to the college he’s attending, to attract young women whom he recruits for the club. Kyouko’s left the club and become a BL novelist, Mika is a professional dance teacher, and Hajime is overstressed about everything, as usual.

I can’t tell you how refreshing this series is. It puts a smile on my face every time I read it. The girl gets the girl, the boy gets the girl, the girl gets the boy and Kyouko writes stories where the boy gets the boy, too. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 4
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 8
Service – 4

Overall – 9

In Volume 1, Volume 2 and Volume 3 of Magie Paire (マギーペール,) we met mage-in-training Maria and her powerful and beautiful onee-sama Reina. We also learned that Maria, although from a family of powerful mages, cannot use her power unless she is touching magical jujubee Unyu. We then proceeded to ignore this mystery in favor of multiple scenes of dressing and undressing.

Now we arrive at Volume 4, the final volume of this series by Takagi Nobuyuki. It’s now or never, as graduation approaches and soon Maria will lose her beloved Reina-oneesama and, presumably, her chance to become a mage.

But first…some service! A cat-demon has escaped and whatever it inhabits immediately becomes a lustful creature intent on getting a little sugar from who or whatever it admires. When it jumps from the cat to Reina, it causes all sorts of cat-eared havoc, including a kiss between possessed Reina and a not unwilling Maria.

This is followed by a challenge by Nagi for Maria’s position as Reina’s Suite. They set out on a quest, the winner of which will retain or take the position. They end up having to work together and Maria keeps her place, but Nagi vows to keep trying.

There’s still one Magie without a Suite. He possesses the power of water. All the other Magies and their Suites are betting on who he choses. When he picks Maria’s friend Yunagi, everyone is pleased.

And, finally, Maria and Reina face down the problem they’ve had since the very beginning – Maria not being able to use her magic. They conjur a magic creature that almost immediately goes out of control. When Reina is put in a dangerous position, Maria finally hears the voice of her sword, Valentine. At last she is able to access her magic and take her position as the next Magie of Flame.

Graduation day arrives and Maria asks the question she’s had in her heart since the first day they met – why her? She was completely unable to use magic, so…why chose her as Suite? Reina replies that it was simple -she fell in love with Maria at first sight. Their attempts at a romantic kiss are foiled by first Unyu, then Nagi.

Later that day, Maria steps up as the next Magie of Flame and announces that she choses Nagi as her Suite. No one is surprised except Nagi.

And, at last, as they say goodbye, Mari and Reina *finally* get in their first genuine kiss.

Takagi’s stuff isn’t high art. It’s full of random dress-up and panty shots, bathing and Yuri. And it’s full cute pinked-cheeked characters, UST (Unresolved Sexual Tension) and usually something only slightly resembling a plot. Whether you’re reading Casseiopeia Dolce or Pure Marionation, his stories are all, roughly, the same. ^_^ The setting is different, but the general sense of dressing and undressing is consistent. It’s not brain killingly bad. It’s not genius. It’s what it is. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 5
Characters – 6
Yuri – 6
Service – 7

Overall – 6

If you like your moe sweet and cute and slightly service-y without a nasty edge, Magie Paire will scratch that itch nicely.