Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Black & White: Tough Love At The Office, Volume 1

October 14th, 2022

Many thanks today to Okazu Superhero Eric P for sponsoring today’s review!

Shirakawa Junko is used to being at the top of the department pile. She’s beloved by her co-workers, one of the most productive members (the most, really, but she’ll demure out of humility) and is respected. So when newcomer – formerly of sales…SALES, you know!…Kuroda Kayo transfers in, Shirakawa isn’t going to let this woman get a leg up on her.

Kuroda knows Shirakawa’s type and she’s all ready for war. She’s done her research. Shirakawa will bow before her before long.

As Black & White: Tough Love At The Office, Volume 1 opens, the office is about to become a battlefield. And there will be blood shed. This is not for everyone, I know. But I love this manga so much. I can’t help the feral grin that these appalling people bring out of me.

But seriously CW for cold-blooded manipulation, violence and sexual violence. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese, “This is not a pretty book about an office romance. This is a violent story about two terrible people being terrible to one another.”

Sal Jiang’s art is super stylish and slick. Kuroda is every inch the sales dept superstar, Shirakawa is the perfect HR sempai. But when they are alone, it is all teeth and nails in a visceral way.  When they do team up, there’s nothing and no one that can stand in their way, but their truest rivals are each other – and there are no rules they aren’t willing to shatter to destroy one another.

The team at Seven Seas has given us an equally slick edition to enjoy with color pages in place, a spot gloss on H. Qi’s cover design. The translation keeps up with the shifts in tone and sense in the scene, thanks to translator, Alexa Frank, adapter Asha Bardon and letterer Danya Shevchenko. Nice work on the editing and technical side, as well. Another great manga reading experience.

I won’t attempt to convince anyone to read this despite the violence. You really shouldn’t if you aren’t reading it for the violence. ^_^ But if seeing perfectly matched, equally powerful people go toe to toe is your wheelhouse, you, too, might enjoy this manga. If you want to know where the story is headed, I’ve reviewed Volume 2 in Japanese, as well. That volume will be headed your way in English next spring in April 2023. Something to look forward to. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 7 Not a lot of nudity, but a lot of sex and violence
Yuri – 7 See above

Overall – 10

I just love this manga and all the terrible people in it. But my favorite may be their boss who completely knew what he was doing when we sent them up to “work together” and thinks it’s funny. ^_^

This was a really good month for me, with both Black & White and She Loves To Cook, She Loves to Eat out in English and I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 5 hitting shelves in print!





Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 4 (η§γ‚’ε–°γΉγŸγ„γ€γ²γ¨γ§γͺし)

October 13th, 2022

Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 4 (η§γ‚’ε–°γΉγŸγ„γ€γ²γ¨γ§γͺし) was one of the skin-crawlingest creepy manga I have ever read. If you like youkai and supernatural creature-type creepies, you’re gonna love this volume. ^_^

In previous volumes, we met Hinako, a girl who should have drowned in a family car accident when she was young, and the mermaid who plans on eating her when she’s mature, Shiori. Shiori has taken on the role of protector to Hinako. Even though she’s been clear that she’s just protecting her meal, she’s building some kind of relationship to Hinako, despite herself. Hinako’s only other friend, Miko, likewise protects her, for her own reasons, as we learned in previous voumes. In the meantime, Hinako wanders a world filled with spirits and supernatural creatures who really want to eat her.

Volume 4 begins as rain pours down, drenching everything. Shiori takes Hinako to the ocean and shows her the multitudes of those who died in the water. Her family may be among them, Shiori posits. Shiori sees Hinako’s skin and understands why the girl cannot show anyone her body -it’s damaged beyond recognition as human. As I mentioned in my review of Volume 3, “I think the story does a good job of balancing Hinako’s past trauma, with the seriously-it-is-also-trauma of her current life, without making anything overly preachy or mopey or handwaving it away.”

The basketball team is going on their summer retreat and Miko asks Hinako and Shiori to help out. Hinako’s looking forward to time helping the team and just hanging out with other girls…but there is something unnatural, clearly waiting for Hinako in the dark.

I don’t want to spoil this at all…but yowza was this good. It was the kind of tension building where you can just *hear* the soundtrack from the first page right through. The hissing of the rain, the hum of the violins, the stark shock of the reveal…the powerful brass of Shiori finally revealing her true form to save Hinako. This volume was a whole package. 

This is one of the best horror manga I’ve ever read. It’s very much into the slow crawl of fear, instead of jump-scare stuff, and full of questions I have no idea if they’ll ever be answered. Where we’re going is wholly unknown to me, but I don’t care. On atmosphere alone, I’ll keep reading this. Watching Shiori slaughter creatures is pretty darn cathartic, too. Naekawa Sai’s art is solid, without being super slick, and leaves things unseen in an effective way.

This is a great read on a rainy night, when you want to feel just creeped enough out that the noises outside worry you. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 Excellently creepy and ominous
Characters – 8 We’re walking through a world of hungry spirits
Service – Blood. Violence. Monsters. Secrets. More Monsters.
Yuri – Shiori’s interest in Hinako is feeling less like protecting one’s food this time. Miko’s love is honest, to an extent.

Overall – 8

I sincerely hope Yen Press picks this up for translation. It fits their profile and it’s really good. ^_^





My Idol Sits The Next Desk Over Volume 4, Guest Review by Luce

October 12th, 2022
Welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu, featuring the perspective of Luce!
 
Over the course of the first three volumes, we’ve come to know Sakiko, a devoted fan of her favourite idol group Spring Sunshine; Maaya, a possessive fan of the same group; and Chihiro, the favourite idol of both Sakiko and Maaya. We’ve seen Sakiko come out of her shell, Maaya become… well, stay very Maaya, and Chihiro staying on the path of an idol with the support of the other two. Last time, we left on a cliffhanger of sorts, with Sakiko seeing one of the girls who had been somewhat unkind about Chihiro and her boyfriend at a festival at which Spring Sunshine are performing. 
 
In volume 4 of My Idol Sits the Next Seat Over, Sakiko encourages her disparaging classmate to give Spring Shine a watch, and while not converted, she can see that they put a lot of effort in. Chihiro and the group practice for the summer concert, held in an even bigger venue then normal – meaning tough dance routines to learn. We find out a little of Maaya’s home life, and maybe why she’s so… focused on the things she is. Finally, Chihiro and Sakiko plan a surprise for Maaya’s birthday, and Chihiro lands an acting role! 
 
I really liked the storyline with the classmate, and the ending of that – that you can recognise the work that goes into something and respect that without it necessarily being your thing. Her boyfriend was adorable as well. Again, we see that having friends who know and appreciate her idol work is very comforting to Chihiro, who is struggling with the dance routines. This manga is fairly light on the negative aspects of being an idol (although it certainly doesn’t completely shy away from them) but it’s nice to see the background, the hard work that goes into the routines and the staging. I also like how it’s balanced – Chihiro loves her work, but finds some of it difficult and has to work harder at it. 
 
The big thing covered in this volume was Sakiko and Maaya’s relationship. Maybe not when Chihiro is around, but we see Maaya feeling more conflicted about shrugging Sakiko off, and with her backstory, you start to understand somewhat where she’s coming from with her obsessional love of Chihiro. One thing is for sure, and it’s that Maaya needs a better mother than the one she has. She is mellowing a bit though, even though she’d hate anyone to point it out.  
 
This volume also ends on an cliffhanger – a pretty yuri-ish one! Genuinely wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but if you want to find out, volume five is already out! Review upcoming… Eventually. I felt like the Yuri quotient was upped here – Sakiko and Maaya certainly got closer in some aspects. I’m not sure it will actually end up in a romance, but it feels like it’s edging closer that way. We’ll have to see! 
 
Story: 7
Art: 8, it’s bright and sunny, like the subjects
Yuri: a cliffhanger 7…
Overall: 8 
 

If you can forgive Maaya’s worse antics in the first few volumes, especially if you like idols, this is worth getting into.  

Erica here: Thank you Luce for taking the time to keep our attention on this series. I know I appreciate your perspective of the characters dynamics a great deal!





She Loves to Eat, She Loves to Cook, Volume 1

October 9th, 2022

Nomoto likes to comes home and cook after work, but she can’t eat as much as she cooks. By accident, when she sees her neighbor coming home – a woman carrying large buckets of fried chicken – and asks if she’s got a family, the neighbor says that it’s all for herself. The next time Nomoto makes too much, she has a idea and brings some to her neighbor, Kasuga…and a friendship is born. In Volume 1 of She Loves to Eat, She Loves to Cook, Nomoto’s life is about to change and food is the catalyst.

I’ve already raved about this manga in reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2 in Japanese. But now that you can read it, let me get into the weeds of all the things I really like about this series. ^_^

Obviously…food. I’m not a cook. I just love food and I love both eating it and enjoying other people’s  enjoyment of it, and the mitfreude of enjoying it with other people. This manga is very much about a woman who enjoys someone else’s enjoyment.

Kasuga seems intimidating initially, as a large woman with a flat affect. As we read, it becomes clear to both Nomoto and us, she does have reactions and we become more able to interpret them. Her body type is a nice change of pace and the way she eats with obvious gusto is drawn with care and a lot of attention. Whole panels go by which are just her eating, but it is not disturbing. There is an intensity in the ways the scenes of Kasuga eating are drawn. In my review of the JP volume I say this, The focus on eating and mouths here is not gross, completely unlike a similar obsession in Blue is the Warmest Color movie, which I found creepy and intrusive.  Kasuga’s a fantastic, fully-rendered character.

Nomoto is also instantly relatable. Disgusted that the guys at work think women exist for them, Nomoto’s journey will continue to be something that has a lot of feels. She’ll also flesh out as the story goes on in ways that make us relate to her even more. Both of them have complicated relationships with their families, as we’ll learn. Like, y’know, people do. 

Ultimately, the thing that sold me on this book is the relationship between Nomoto and Kasuga. They like each other and like to do stuff together and they tell each other that. It’s so refreshing, in a surprising way to just have adults say “I had fun today, let’s do something together again.” This relationship may (cough/will/cough) change, but it’s super nice here to see a relationship rooted in friendship first. The chapter in which Kasuga intuits that Nomoto is not well, and just goes out and gets her pads and painkillers and food made me, and Nomoto, love her. (The rule around my house is food, then caffeine, then drugs, then more food. It almost always works.) This whole manga is just…women taking care of each other. Wow. I love it for that most of all.

And then again, there’s the food. Sometimes it’s simple, or goofy, or complicated. But most of it is something you could do at home, because they do it at home. ^_^

Yen Press has done a decent edition. Caleb Cook’s translation provides a bit of a nod to Nomoto’s regional accent, without flooding the dialogue. Phil Christie’s lettering is clean, with the Yen house style of not retouching or replacing even the easy sound effects, so all s/fx are transliterated, then a translation is provided in parentheses. In the more crowded panels, this feels cramped and on big s/fx, the teeny script to the side just looks…small. I hope one day Yen will give letterers time and money to do retouch on at least the easier stuff. This manga has a lot of s/fx over the art, so maybe I’m whistling into the wind, but that’s on my wish list.

So, Yuri. Not here. Not yet. But it will happen. And it will be realistic and queer, so hang on for Volume 2! In the meantime, this book is absolutely guaranteed to be one of my Top 10 of the year here on Okazu. So just go get it now and enjoy. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9 We don’t know much about them, but what we know is sufficient to know them
Service – Does massive platters of food count? No? Then…no.
Yuri – 2 in this volume, more to come.

Overall – 9 but only so there is somewhere to go up.

What a fantastic manga. Cannot *wait* for Volume 2, which comes out in March 2023. (And Volume 3 in Japanese, which will be out in November of this year!)

 





Nettaigyo ha Yuki Kogareru, Volume 9 (η†±εΈ―ι­šγ―ι›ͺγ«η„¦γŒγ‚Œγ‚‹)

September 28th, 2022

Last week, I reviewed Hana ni Arashi, Volume 10 and it reminded me that I had never finished reviewing this series…and then I remembered why.

Nettaigyo ha Yuki Kogareru, Volume 9 (η†±εΈ―ι­šγ―ι›ͺγ«η„¦γŒγ‚Œγ‚‹) is the final volume of it’s series, and was released last year. In English, this series is known as A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow.  It is not a romance story, per se, although it is easy enough to feel that romance is a possibility. Certainly, on one of my previous visits to Tokyo, the Gamers store had a prominent display of this series and various goods in their Yuri section. So it’s very much one of those series that is up to the individual reader. This reader thinks it’s a possibility, not a probability.

That said, it really isn’t a romance, although it is absolutely about a bond of intimacy and friendship between two young women. Konatsu is a cheerful girl who has transferred in to a seaside town and Koyuki is a serious young woman who struggles with social relationships. Konatsu has spent 8 volumes getting to know Koyuki and become a friend that Koyuki can trust with her true self.

Now, Koyuki will be graduating. She’s grown quite a bit. In Volume 8, she found the strength to apply to a school in Tokyo, even though the city was overwhelming. But first, she’s going to have to make up for last year at the school festival. What Koyuki finds is that…she’s not alone. The aquarium club she leaves behind is full of energy and kouhai who respect her and a reputation for fun that comes from all of her hard work. And she has friends and peers who like and respect her. She’s able to step into the spotlight without fear of being ridiculed.

The climax of the story was perfect. Konatsu has spent 8 volumes trying to get through to Koyuki and, at last, she is one hundred percent sure that the message has landed. Although they will not be heading along the same paths into the future, they will be there for each other. The volume wraps up with a series of lovely color images, including a climactic final page in color. Which was nice, as the black and white art looked a bit more rushed than usual.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 4ish

Overall – 8

Now I will share why it took me so long to read this. I was sharing my fandom of this series with a brilliant, funny woman named Claire Montserat Jackson. She died from COVID on August 28, 2021 and I couldn’t bring myself to read this final volume until now. Volume 9 of a Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow came out this past summer. I’m going to make sure I read it in English, so Claire can find out what happened.

It was a gentle series that was just….nice. Slice of life drama and a lovely, heartfelt relationship between two young women at it’s core.