Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Volume 2

August 30th, 2024

Surrounded by the dark, with only festival lights strung above them, a girl with light hair wearing a long-sleeved dress over a white blouse, turns to look at us over her shoulder, while a girl with long black hair and barrettes, in a pale shirtwaist frock looks at us directly, as they hold hands.In Volume 1, we meet Hinako, a girl who has lost almost everything and, as a result, doesn’t mind entertaining the thought of death. She is befriended by Shiori, a mysterious creature of the deep ocean, a mermaid, who assures Hinako that she wants the girl to live happily, so that she can eat her later.

Hinako’s only other friend, Miko, does not like Shiori and, in This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Volume 2, by Sae Naekawa, we find out why.

But first Shiori asks Hinako the question on all our minds, why is she is such a rush to die? Hinako looks back at the loss of her family and, again, prompted by Shiori, at her history with Miko. Shiori is really a monster, but she seems to think Miko is one, too?

In this eye-opening volume, in which much of what we were told turns out to be half-truths or full lies, Hinako will continue to reevaluate all her choices. When I read this in Japanese in 2021, I commented that it was a “freakin’ brillant volume of a manga” and I stand by that with this English edition. There is an underlying tension to this series that just fills one with foreboding, even when nothing in particular is happening. When the truth is uncovered, it is both a huge relief and a new chill on one’s spine.

This series is just the best summer horror tale with chills, thrills, a little blood and darkness, thus far rooted wholly in Japanese youkai – what lurks in the shadows in Japanese folklore. Caleb Cook once again brings a fantastic, nuanced translation. You can tell who is talking by how they talk. I can “hear” every character clearly. Bianca Pistillo’s lettering is good. I wish she was able to be amazing, but Yen’s house style of subtitling the sound effects is their style and I will just always whine slightly about it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 Ominous and compelling
Characters – 8 The more we know, the less we know
Service – Blood. Violence. Monsters From the Deep. Secrets. More Monsters.
Yuri – Miko is possessive, Shiori is infatuating

Overall – 8

This volume is headed your way in mid-September. Don’t miss out on this fantastic low-key horror book. It takes all the mortifications of school life and gives it extra claws and fangs. ^_^

I have Volume 8 of Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし) siting here on my to-review pile and I’m once again hyped to re-read and review it.

Thanks very much to Yen Press for the review copy! This is such a fantastic series, I always can’t wait to read it. ^_^





I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl, Volume 3

August 26th, 2024

A girl with blonde hair and a light blue sweater over a white blouse. leans on the shoulder of a girl with long, dark hair wearing a navy blazer over a white blouse.We ended Volume 2 with a good feeling about whatever was building between Sora and Ayaka, however screwed up it was at the start.

But both of them had had kept Sora’s “favors” in one emotional box and now her feelings are threatening to leak out on to the rest of their lives. Now, in I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl, Volume 3 people around them can see that they really need to address whatever is going on, but since they began their time together in a place that was too intimate, neither of them know how to broach what they feel. Sora has her “favors” to draw on, but how is Ayaka supposed to respond? And just as they almost come to understand each other, Sora is going to transfer schools! At last, we finally see the “why” of Sora’s behavior and realize that she had been struggling all along.

Ayaka tres to face down Sora’s mother, but is rejected. Ayaka find strength and support in all her friends and her brother and decides that Sora is worth the risk she’s about to take.

This is the volume where the story gets good. Sora and Ayaka dancing around each other is a little hard, but Ayaka finding herself and deciding to save Sora is a fantastic climax for this volume. It is at this point there is now doubt that we’re rooting for them. Kashikaze’s art has matured quite a bit. Sora’s blank expressions have more depth to them, especially. Another excellent production from Kodansha.

Volume 4 is headed our way in a few weeks and the story is just starting to get good. ^_^





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 8 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

August 21st, 2024

A girl with long silver hair stands in the foreground, a girl with collar-length brown hair behind her, both wearing fantasy school uniforms of red jacket and blue skirt with white underskirt, both looking concerned. Behind them a blonde woman in a white shift dances in front of a display of blue flowers, bathed in light from the moon.Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 8 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) is the climax of Yu’s arc and, as a result it is poignant and touching in about 4 different ways.

To begin with, the entirety of Rae’s conversation with Misha is expanded upon with their meeting as children. Misha, ever practical, finally demands to know the truth about Rae, who she insists is nothing like her childhood best friend. When confronted with the truth, we learn two key things – one that Rae was adopted and two, sometimes in this world children just…appear from nowhere. No one knows where the Children of the Forest come from, Misha says and this seemingly random fact will come back several times in this story in surprising ways. 

With Rae’s unbelievable, yet truthful admission, Misha, at last is ready to help the team free Yu. In an epic moment, in front of the eyes of virtually the entire capital, Yu takes her place as the woman she is, throwing her mother’s plan to dominate the throne into complete disarray. It’s a fantastic moment, drawing magnificently. This will not be the only trans narrative in this story, but it and the other are both very good.

Rae is punished of course, for her actions and ends up being removed from the Royal Academy…again, a seemingly small moment that will have massive repercussions later in the story. Which makes me think about the ping=pong nature of so many epic Japanese stories. How many Gundam series, for instance have world governments overthrown and replaced and overthrown again in the course of what has to be a few months at most? And here is Rae, who catapults to the top of the school, is named a Knight, saves everyone from a chimera, now is thrown out, works for the King, thwarts a revolution and will eventually return to the school as an instructor, only to leave almost immediately as an exchange student to Nur, where she foments revolution there. That seems like a perfectly normal couple of years. ^_^;

Anyway…this volume is fantastic and beautiful and you should definitely get it!

Ratings:

Art – Excellent, with one egregious choice that…woof.
Story – Fanastic
Characters – The princes step up like crazy
Service – Everyone deserves to have their needs served, not just the salacious ones.
Yuri – The main relationship is set on the back burner in service to the larger narrative

Overall –  A brilliant volume of manga.

Volume 7 is on the way in English this October from Seven Seas!





Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Volume 3

August 20th, 2024

Two women squat down to burn Japanese sparklers on a dark night, casting a golden glow of light around them.Last spring Frank Hecker left us with these timeless words in his review of Volume 2, regarding any relationship between our principles Miyako and Asako “Okay, it’s happening!” but where it will go is as yet unclear.”

In Volume 3 of Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord by Yodogawa, out now from Yen Press, it is at last clear where it will go. But first! We have to navigate the rockiest of territories – a birthday to deal with for a person with a fraught and painful history with birthdays. Asako has always been a kind and giving person and has not, historically, had that feeling returned. This is the first time since the opening pages that we’ve seen how rarely her lovers seemed to care about her. When Miyako learns the depth of that wound, it completely throws her for a loop – used to being spoiled, she can’t imagine not caring deeply about the happiness of the person she cares about…

…and then the boot drops for both of them. This is the person they care about. It’s still going to take a little time to work out just what that means for them, but by the end of this volume, they are definitely both on the same page about it.

In the meantime, over in Hato’s office, another relationship is brewing with a idol finding a great deal of amusement in teasing her number 1 fan.

This manga is full of emotion, but presented in a quiet, adult way (aside from Hato’s over-the-top reactions.) Tough situations are thought through, decisions are made, conclusions are come to and risks taken, all without high drama. And joy is found. Miyako and Asako decide to risk this relationship. Navigating this terrain will be an ongoing story – the life of an ex-idol is still pretty complicated – but they have each other and their friends.

Despite the fact that I also have a fraught and painful birthday history which made the opening chapters hard going for me, the result here couldn’t be better. Finding a way to enjoy what you have now is something that too few people ever manage. It was a lovely sight to see these two characters find it, together. This series ticks a lot of boxes for me – I love Yodogawa’s art, the fully formed characters, the side stories, the adults having adult conversations(!), low-key personal drama, and the way that drama is handled.  As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese, inject this directly into my veins. More slow-life romance with adults, please.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Yodogawa’s faces are terrific
Story – 8
Character – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 5  Yuri has arrived!

Overall – 8

Monthly In The Garden With My Landlord is the city pop vibe of Josei Yuri manga – a bit indescribable and incredibly fun. Volume 4 does not yet have a release date, but I will whet your appetite with a reminder that I consider Volume 4 “just about the most perfect volume of manga I have ever read,” when I reviewed it in Japanese!

Thanks immeasurably to Yen Press for the review copy!
 





Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 7 (雨夜の月)

August 12th, 2024

Amayo no Tsuki, Volume 7 (雨夜の月) is absolute perfection. It was so good, that the moment I finished it, I started from the beginning and read it again. And cried both times. I’m actually thinking about re-reading at again, as soon as I am done writing this.It was just that good.

In Volume 6, Kanon and Saki processed a lot of feelings – about themselves, about each other and about the people around them. In Volume 7, Kanon’s decision to be part of her school’s life is about to face a test.

But first! Rinne gets the spotlight, as she deals with the consequences of her decisions. After Kanon lost her hearing, Rinne stopped doing the things she enjoyed, so as to not cause her sister distress. Now she’s made a new friend, Chiyama, a girl who is ashamed of her excessive sweating. They quickly become friends and Rinne starts to think about someone else for the first time in a long time. Once again, we see a character opening doors for another person for them to choose whether or not they want to step through. In talking about what she wants to do, Rinne admits that she had given up her dream of going to see a live musical performance. Chiyama promises to go with her to see one, and Rinne finds door opening for her, too.

The school festival is upon them – Kanon is worried that it will be too much for her, but one of her classmates designs a menu meant to be pointed at, so she can take orders. Tomita offers Kanon a button that reads “I cannot hear well, please look at me when you speak” but in a moment of pride, Kanon does not wear it, and fails to explain the menu well to a customer, making it too much for her handle. Saki saves her, but defeated, she leaves to a quiet spot where she can reset. Where she is joined by her former best friend, Ayano. I won’t spoil that scene at all, it’s too fabulous.

The big chorus concert sets Kanon up against her worst fears, but as she and Saki and their class lean into the joy of the moment, everyone is crying happily. Finally, as the volume winds down, Kanon and Saki are off to finally have some fun at the festival. As Saki holds out a hang and says “Let’s go,”  Kanon thinks that now it’s her turn to learn more about Saki.

Ratings:

Overall – 10 No notes.

Absolute perfection.