Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Watashi no Blue Garnet, Volume 1 (私のブルーガーネット)

March 13th, 2025

A woman with collar length brown hair in an orange blouse, embraces a taller woman in a light blue button-down blouse from behind.

Akiyama Haru is a name we’re quite familiar with here on Okazu. Creator of the excellent series Octave, she has participated in many a Yuri anthology and had a few other works, as well. I was excited to see she had a new Yuri series starting up last year and finally have a chance to tell you about Watashi no Blue Garnet, Volume 1 (私のブルーガーネット).

Kon is a young woman, several years out of college, who has been unable to secure a job. Her mother is worried about her, but not at all sympathetic, haranguing her to find a job or a man.

As Kon leaves yet another interview, she is stopped on the street by a beautiful woman named Ai. Ai and Kon, in this case are both words for shades of blue, 紺, navy blue and 藍, indigo.  When Ai realizes she has mistaken Kon for someone else, they talk a bit, then part. Kon does not get the job – again – but is contacted by one of the interviewers about another position, by which he means he wants to have sex with her. Kon walk out on him, understandably upset. He follows, predictably blaming her for his failure to be a decent human. When he starts to yell at Kon, Ai comes up the street and tells him off.

Later, we follow Ai, who works at a hostess club, when she sees someone and runs away from him. As she runs, she comes across Kon once again. Ai can’t go back to work, since she ran off, and has nowhere to go, as she lives in a work dorm, so Kon, in a chance moment, asks Ai to stay over her place.

Ai admits to Kon that she stopped her, because she reminded her of her ex…and that the man she ran from was her ex’s husband. Together, the two of them embark on a journey, ostensibly to find Ai’s ex, but it becomes clear to us, and to Kon, that this is a journey to herself. Even, so, we see that the ex, Kaede, is not gone in any significant way and is also traveling, although what she is looking for, we don’t know.

I wasn’t sure about the premise as “you remind me of my ex” is, IMHO, a terrible pick-up line. ^_^ Both Ai and Kon have issues, the kind of trauma we all carry around, and Kon’s mother is absolutely ignoring her daughter as she is, for the daughter she imagines she wants. I read Kon as neurodivergent, with a mother who cares, but only as long as she’s “normal” and doing expected things, but your interpretation may vary. Additionally, Kon is suddenly finding herself attracted to a woman, something she has never considered as she struggles to be what her mother expects. When she tells Ai that she likes her, it is a big step into the unknown.

Shockingly, I like both Kon and Ai. Akiyama is not afraid of ending a story with the primary couple not together, so I don’t want to say “I hope they get together,” since that might not be the best outcome for them. I do hope they find themselves in a better place in their lives by the end. More importantly, I love the idea of a bildungsroman for these two. We need have journeys into the unknown future of themselves for adult women!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – Not really
Yuri – 8

It’s great to have a new series by Akiyama-sensei. I’ll definitely check back in and see what has become of them in Volume 2, as the series is continuing in Melody magazine (メロディ).





How Do We Relationship? Volume 12

March 12th, 2025

By Matt Marcus, Staff WriterA young woman with shoulder-length black hair and wearing a red dress stands in the middle of a college school festival, holding a plastic container of food in one hand and a plastic bag with more containers in the other. She is looking back over her left shoulder with a slight smile

I’ve long held a preference to mouthwash. No, not the electric blue-green swill with flavor names like “arctic” and “alpine”, describing some slightly different formulation of wintergreen. I’m talking about the unadulterated, sickly amber kind simply called “Original.” Unlike its minty counterparts, the Original burns as it works. I liked that about it. It told you not only that it was working, but where it was working. I always found the lack of feedback from the other flavors disorienting, as if I were trying to walk on numbed feet. I feel the same about aftershave, hydrogen peroxide, and so on. Pain exists to direct your attention to places of need.

How Do We Relationship?, Volume 12 brings the pain. A cleansing, healing pain that is much sorely needed.

Last we left our cast, the plot had taken a heavy-handed nosedive into some serious subject matter. Miwa was left broken after a traumatic encounter with Tamaki, while Saeko’s relationship continues to be more and more strained by Yuria’s need for space.

There’s no sense being coy about it: this is the volume where the girls break up. Again. None of this should be a surprise, as we have felt the cracks starting to form two volumes prior, but unlike before, I feel like the pangs of heartache here are growing pains rather than seeping wounds.

I emphasized in my last review how critical I was in how Miwa and Tamaki’s conflict about sex played out. The first few chapters here help add some context to the fallout that I think takes some of the worst sting out of it, but without lightening its impact. For Miwa, she felt shame that her sexual desire was so strong that it overpowered her emotional needs, and that Tamaki felt repulsed by the intensity of that desire.

Miwa breaks up with Tamaki. The decision is a major sign of growth for her; instead of clinging desperately to a flawed relationship like she did in the past, she realizes that despite their mutual love for each other, it would be mentally and emotionally better for her and Tamaki to part ways as lovers (put a pin in that, it will come up again). I think the breakup and their later run-in at the school festival were emotionally impactful, and it left me thinking that both of them will be OK as they move on in their lives.

It does, however, resurface an underlying issue: this is another example of Miwa feeling like she owns all the blame for a failing relationship. At no point does she give Tamaki any ownership in what transpired in their relationship, much like she did with Saeko before. This seems like a character flaw that will continue to not be treated as such. I can accept that even at 21 she is not a fully-formed adult yet, but her martyr complex is a blind spot that is a bit troubling.

As is typical in this medium, we get to see into Tamaki’s backstory for the first time right before the end. I think that the segment was effective in further humanizing her…but it was a struggle for me to want to empathize with her after the last volume. That queasy feeling from chapter 103 is just never going to fully go away, as if it were some kind of trauma (put a pin in that).

I had mentioned in previous reviews that I wish we saw more of Miwa and Tamaki’s happy moments together. The characters clearly express that their love was deep and genuine, but very little of that made it to the page in favor of anxiety and stress—and not even just around the sex. The way they interact here shows me their feelings, but I was not given the opportunity, with a rare exception or two, to feel it for myself.

There is another moment of growth here for Miwa that I found particularly impactful. When Miwa is casually outed at a social gathering for the Light Music Club, she takes the moment in stride and is able to smoothly redirect the conversation away from her queerness being the topic. This inspires a baby gay first-year to approach her after the event and tell her that he admires her strength in “living her truth”. Miwa reflects for a moment before telling him that she falls in love with women who are “bold and cool”, and she looks to their example as her source of strength. It’s a powerful moment of self-reflection that is demonstrative of this series at its best. Watching Miwa mature from the timid girl who couldn’t handle Kan in Volume 2 to now is one of the most satisfying character arcs I’ve witnessed in manga.

Meanwhile, Saeko and Yuria struggle to find a compromise between Saeko’s desire to spend as much time together and Yuria’s emotional need for space. Saeko struggles with not being able to see Yuria when she wants, but when Yuria begins making more time for her, she feels bothered that she’s making a sacrifice. They are coming from too far a distance apart for meeting in the middle to feel good. That’s a big bummer for a couple that we’ve seen work through troubles and arguments before and come out the other side stronger.

I could say a lot more about this, but in the end, they both agree to go back to being friends (at their favorite spot, the playground, of course). Like this series is fond of doing, the breakup doesn’t mean cutting themselves out of each other’s life. I wish they could’ve worked it out, but if they were going to break up, it would be hard to ask for a better way for it to go for them.

I’ve been praising the art for a while now, but this volume has a few standout panels that are some of my favorite drawings of the series so far, along with a beautiful color image for the cover. Abby Lehrke’s localization continues to get top marks from me.

I believe this volume is a return to form from the trajectory it had been taking over the previous two volumes. Both Miwa and Saeko shed their tears, but they leave their relationships stronger and with a hope for the future. There are hints here as to what that future is—and if you are paying attention at all, you know where this is heading—but for now, the slate is clean. It’s a real palette cleanser, the kind for those who prefer to avoid the mint.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 10 
Service – 0
LGBTQ – 10

Overall – 9

The final chapter of the series was uploaded on the VIZ app on February, 28; Volume 13 will hit shelves in September 2025.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.





Rainbows After Storms, Volume 2

March 10th, 2025

Having met them in Volume 1, in Rainbows After Storms, Volume 2 we get to learn a bit more about our protagonists Chidori and Nanoha. We learn about their likes and dislikes, how they met and started to date, and about their friends, a little.

In some ways we’re in a relationship with them ourselves, and can think of this volume as a second date. In Volume 1 we decided we kind of like them and want to see them again. Now we’re ready to learn a bit more. Chidori had long hair and a previous failed relationship. Nanoha is afraid of lightning and very embarrassed about it and shares the sweets she makes with her friends.

This is not a dramatic story. Both Nanoha and Chidori are low-key nice people. Their friends are, as well. These are just a couple of nice kids and we’d like to see them be happy. When I reviewed Volume 2 in Japanese, I chalked this up to Shonen Sunday not being ready to have nuance (or romance) yet in their Yuri. I stand by that, 5 years later. It’ll take a while for both Shogakukan and Nanoaha and Chidori…bu they’ll all get there. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 1, mostly on principle

Overall – 7

I’ve added a point to my original review because I know this series sticks the landing. ^_^ Enjoy this gentle series by Luka Kobachi now, from Viz Media! Volume 3 is on the way in April.

 





Hana ni Arashi 13 (はなにあらし)

March 7th, 2025

Two girls in wedding dresses, a taller blonde and shorter brunette wear expressions of joy as they lean in toward one another.In their time, Nanoha and Chidori have spent 3 years together. In real time it has been a very slow, very gentle, even tentative 5 years. Hana ni Arashi ran from 2018-2023. I’ve had this final volume on my to-read pile for literal years and only just managed to finish it up, motivated by Viz Media’s release of the series in English as Rainbows After Storms. So, let’s finally look at Hana ni Arashi, Volume 13 (はなにあらし)

Like Kase-san and Yamada, we’ve watched Chidori and Nanoha mature as they, for the first time in their lives, are required to think about next year differently than they have for the last 12 years. Every year thus far they have been presented with little choice – another school year. Now they must *make plans* for next year. Where they will go, what they will do, how they will accomplish these new goals… they have talked about how they will do those things together. But, also not with their every day school friends, who have also decidedon their new courses in life.

Nanoha, Chidori and their friends spend this volume wallowing in nostalgia; smiling at the energetic first-years, visiting places that they have spent so much time in and will very likely never see again.

Finally, there is one more thing to do. They go to the roof to bid farewell to the town and each other. And so Nanoha can blow their confession in the absolutely cutest way possible that has me grinning even now. This series, and The Summer You Were There are proof that and ending can be 100% predictable and still hit the mark. This one hit the mark. Kobachi Luka kept me reading through 13 volumes of one of the nothing happen-est high school love stories and I liked it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 8
Service – 0

Overall – 8

Now you can like it, too as Rainbows After Storms, Volume 1 and Volume 2 are out from Viz Media and Volume 3 will be on the way in April.

Oh, and PS – their friends and they don’t “never see each other again,” at last. Thank you Kobachi-sensei for acknowledging the existence of phones and trains! It is so bizarre when mangaka act like high school is a cliff one falls off of, to never see any of one’s old friends ever again.

 





Comic Yuri Hime March 2025 (コミック百合姫2025年3月号)

March 6th, 2025

Two women sit under a heated table in the morning sunshine One has her hair tied up in a bear-ear headband and holds a mug, the other wears a dark hoodie as she eats.Comic Yuri Hime March 2025 (コミック百合姫2025年3月号) begins with another documentary photo/illustration. Titled “why is it that I feel so cozy when I am with you?” The subjects are now 19 years old, sitting under a heated table in December. The prisming of the light in this image is just lovely. Hechima’s cover art is a bit moe for my taste, but I am very into the concept. ^_^

Kashikaze’s “Kimi ga Hoerutame no Uta wo” starts taking steps forward as Haru and Yuu go to Karaoke to practice in a safe space and bring Haru face to face with her hopes and fears.

“Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou,” written by inori. illustarted by Aonoshimo, is knee deep into the activating events of the Revolution arc. As Claire, Lily and Rae confront Salas in front of the king, Salas reveals Lily’s  dark secret…and Mt. Sassal explodes. Chaos is about to fall on Bauer.

Shiho and Aki are gonna be okay. In “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau,” they finish their date without their tail of Hima and Yori, and have some important conversations. Even more importantly – they have fun. But don’t worry, there is at least one more couple to pair up in this Yuritopia. ^_^

In “Muryoku seijo to munou Oujo ~ Maryoku Zero de Shoukansareta Seijo no Isekai Kyuukoku-ki” the princess is kidnapped, , but more importantly, Arisu gets over herself and begins to truly work with Nana.

This chapter of “Gakeppuchi Reijou wa Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!” was really kind of wonderful. As Frost-sama in her Black Knight persona is going all out with equal-in-might bodyguard Shion, Clarice is inside winning with her power of conversation, insight and complete confidence in Frost. This battle had two fronts and both were handled beautifully. I’m really enjoying this story by sometime, illustrated by Suoh, in part because the premise is just…part of the story.

“Stellvia no Bouquet” continues to be quite emotional. Liza meets with her mentor, then says goodbye to Ellen now that her protege has graduated. It is a tearful parting that I am 1000% sure will end next chapter. ^_^;

“Kiraware Majo Reijou to Dansou Ouji no Konyaku” ends with the happily ever after we expected. I enjoyed this series, but kept wanting to to do what the Black Knight story does – find an actual story, instead of just having the relationship be the story. Dark magic is recognized as a legitimate form of magic, the end.

Kobara Yuuko’s column “Film ni Saku Yurinohana o Atsumete Kimi ni Okuritai” took a look at the movie based on Shimura Takako’s Dounika Naru Hibi (どうにかなる日々) which I reviewed in 2020 under the English title Happy Go Lucky Days. Like me, they enjoyed the lesbians meet at a wedding scenario. ^_^

I always say this, but I feel it is important to understand – I read about half of this magazine regularly and enjoy roughly a third of the stories, varying from month to month. Of these, I summarize a handful, because not every chapter of every story is notable. I also want to repeat the fact that there are stories I both read and don’t much enjoy or don’t read at all. Why is that important? Because you and I may not agree on the kinds of Yuri we enjoy, so if you understand that Comic Yuri Hime has stories for different kinds of Yuri, maybe you’ll give it a try. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The April Issue has already hit JP shelves and is in my current reading pile and some very interesting stuff is happening in those pages! ^_^