Hana Monogatari, Volume 1 (はなものがたり) by shwinn, is one of my new favorite series ever.

Hanayo’s husband has been dead for 49 days, so her mourning period is over…but she has no idea where to begin, really. She’s elderly and her husband was clingy when he was well, and then needed so much of her time and energy when he became sick…. She starts by taking a walk through town, where she discovers a small cosmetics store with a saleslady who is of an age with her and extremely stylish and attractive. When she gets home, she find that her own makeup collection is old, so she steels herself to go to this store and talk to the sales lady, Yoshiko.

Yoshiko brings with her a renewed interest in life not just for Hanayo, but to all the women who come in to her store. She *wants* people to feel and look good and be happy and do creative things. She breathes life into the older women of town, and gleefully centers herself in a circle of creative, independent women.

Yoshiko encourages Hanayo to build a new life… and she’s not at all shy about pointing out that Hanayo has a lot more to mourn for than just the passing of a husband: shes been largely robbed of her own life. Hanayo starts thinking about herself in a way that could not have happened when the resources of her family went to her younger brother and then her time and energy were spent on her husband and children. With the help of her granddaughter – who is the first one to say out loud that Hanayo seems to be crushing on Yoshiko – she takes tentative steps to a whole new life.

When Yoshiko and Hanayo go out on a date, Hanayo is introduced to a lesbian couple and suddenly, she’s rethinking everything she ever knew about …everything.

I cannot express how wonderful this book is.

Schwinn’s art is stylish and cute in turn, with the occasional missed proportions that lets you know this person is still growing as an artist.  The story is outstanding. As we learn about Hanayo’s husband, it was pretty hard for me to not be kind of annoyed at him, and when Yoshiko was like oh fuck this guy, it felt pretty cathartic. ^_^ We, the reader, can see that Yoshiko is gay, and has had a long-term relationship, but Hanayo has not quite gotten it…and let me tell you Yoshiko isn’t hiding all that hard, either.

Also perfect is Riko-chan, Hanayo’s daughter who begins the story by saying it’s been 49 days, time to do something…maybe look for a new love.  When Hanayo and she meet while Hanayo is shopping for a new dress, Riko volunteers to help and nails it. She also is wonderfully encouraging when Hanayo tells her the whole story.

I should also mention that the name of this series isn’t just meant as a nod to Yoshiya Nobuko’s influential series…the book itself appears in the story, beginning with the story ‘Sweet Pea,’ which was a pretty Yuri-ish triangle story about three girls. Yoshiko lends Hanayo the book and says that that one is her favorite. I have some thoughts about this, but I want to see if other stories have a place in this series, as well.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Nice, with some great moments.
Story – 10 I cannot wait for each chapter to come out on Comic Walker
Characters – 10 Fully formed, decent, and likeable
Service – 0 salaciousness, 10 empowerment
LGBTQ+- 9
Yuri – 6  Hanayo is seriously crushing on Yoshiko and it looks like the feeling is mutual

Overall – 10

A lovely Yuri romance about senior women that focuses on them finding their realest selves, surrounding themselves with people of creative skill and drive. Lesbians with a social circle of other lesbians that isn’t just “a bar scene.” This is everything. What a great manga.  I would love to see it licensed. I’ll start writing to Yen Press now. ^_^

In Volume 1, we met Kiki, a young woman who dreams of being the following partner in ballroom dance, but due to her height, is always assumed to be lead, and Michiru, a diminutive, but forceful young lady who wants to be Kiki’s lead.

In Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru, Volume 2 (踊り場にスカートが鳴る) the two are still working out exactly what their partnership will look like. But in the meantime, they have their first test competition to get through – which does not go all that smoothly. Michiru passes out after they clear their test.

While they try to build something more stable between them at the dance club’s training camp, we turn our eyes towards Kiki’s former partner, Shion. She and Kiki are able to repair their fractured friendship and Kiki is finally able to step up and take Michiru’s hand fully as a dance partner. But she’s taken by surprise when Michiru asks if they couldn’t form a deeper relationship to make their partnership work. What if they pretend to be a couple…?

In a magnificent climax for the volume, the two open their hearts and begin to dance. They count the waltz steps and come together in a beautiful sequence.

This series is a surprisingly realistic look at the interior lives of young women. The drama is small and personal. No hysterics, no dramatics, but there is deep passion for ballroom dance (and what it means to be part of the Quadrille) and a wholly relatable struggle with being an adolescent girl.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – Bumping it up to 2
Service – Nope

Overall – 9

This is, IMHO, a sleeper hit of the year. It won’t take over Times Square, but I have a warm place for it in my heart and really hope to see it in English!

In Volume 1, we met Kouga, a new recruit to the Fukuoka branch of the Special Hazardous Waste Disposal team – an elite force that fights Dynamis, inhuman beings that poison human minds and drive people mad. Kouga is taken under the wing of Sawada, a jaded veteran with a mysterious (to us) past. SHWD (シュード), Volume 2 begins with our two large, muscular women, training…hard. When they take a break, we can see the beginnings of something building between them.

But the bulk of the book follows our cover couple – team leader Nonaka and the American transfer, Leone. Leo and Nonaka have worked together before and understand each other’s weaknesses and strengths. When Leo breaks down, Nonaka is there to stop her from causing herself a harm, and when Nonaka allows the Dynamis influence in her to get too strong, Leo offers her her body to consume while she’s taken into custody. We get Nonaka’s tragic backstory. The two of them have a deep relationship that, by the end of the volume, they tentatively allow to become something more.  They obviously understand one another.

The volume then turns back to Kouga and Sawada. Sawada mentions that different levels of access are given different colors in SHWD. But Kouga notices that Sawada is given a security clearance color that isn’t on the list. When Sawada returns from a disposal, Kouga is sure that she sees a Dynamis draped over Sawada’s head…but a second later, it’s gone and Sawada looks the same as usual. Who…or what…is Sawada?

This a solid action series, with powerful backstories and a pretty thin plot so far. One hopes that it will be given time to develop, so we get a current timeline story along with the puzzle pieces of the backstories. I just hope it doesn’t devolve into break up the team/get the team back together/the end. Here’s hoping this series gets the time it needs to work itself through.

As I said in Volume 1, “this series is a love letter to huge, muscular woman. ” Kouga, Sawada and Leo are massive, muscular body types and Nonaka is – for story reasons, of course – an adult in a child’s body.  There is some very mild nudity, but the service is muscled arms, torsos and legs. Not to everyone’s taste, but I find it a refreshing change of pace from willowy women.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Honestly great, despite kind of being exaggerated in a bunch of different ways.
Story – 7 Solid action story storytelling
Characters – 8 Tragic backstories ahoy!
Service – 5 Anatomy is fun
Yuri – Both couples are taking tentative steps forward, one more tentative than the other

Overall – 8

Volume 1 is available in English from Seven Seas!