Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


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.





Comic Yuri Hime, October 2022 (γ‚³γƒŸγƒƒγ‚―η™Ύεˆε§«2022εΉ΄10月号)

September 26th, 2022

Comic Yuri Hime, October 2022 (γ‚³γƒŸγƒƒγ‚―η™Ύεˆε§«2022εΉ΄10月号) was a pretty darn good issue!

The cover continues the colorful travel theme with photos, (one blurry one clear, which was a lovely touch) of a beach scene. The water is genuinely outstanding. I love that this looks like it was painted using brush strokes that are visible, even as it is obviously done digitally. Isshiki’s work has been a lot of fun, visually.

“Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata” starts to move forward. Kaori’s illness has paralyzed Shizuru once again, but finally she’s shaken out of her own PTSD, when confronted by Kaori’s little sister who resents Shizuru and the upcoming loss of Kaori deeply. Even as this series comes towards a close in Japanese, you will be able to read it in English, next month as The Summer You Were There, from Seven Seas.

The Scales of Love Arc has begun and Manaria seems dead set on taking Claire away from Rei. As a commoner and Claire’s maid, Rei has no way to fight back and is, apparently throwing herself recklessly into the monster hunt before the festival. Things are tense in “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.,” written by Inori and illustrated by Aonoshimo. So, so good.

Keyyang’s “Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru” has gotten a bit more serious. Faced with the near impossibility of getting a job without a degree, Hi-chan is thinking of taking a major step and going back to school. What will this do to their idyllic life?

“Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita,” by Usui Shio is also taking a turn for the serious. Now that Kurumi and Ruriko are settled in, an old acquaintance has turned up and is causing chaos for the pair when she goes missing!

The last pieces are put into place in Shiho’s back story, in “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau” as Himari learns that Shiho has been competing with – and singing for – a dead girl, for years. This was a very moving chapter. Shiho’s still a jerk, but I’m now inclined to be a little bit forgiving, because she’s 15, ffs.

Boots drop all over the place in Miman’s “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!” Sumika and Nene have a long, long, long overdue talk about important stuff that needed to get said. As the chapter ends, we can see the dark cloud of confrontation around the corner approaching. Story aside…as the adult in the room, how does Mai not see any of this going on?

I’m starting to wonder if “Natsu to Lemon to Overlay” has a plot. Like Yunimaru, I cannot see the end game at all, for Konno’s playing around and having fun before, presumably, dying, maybe, but we can’t tell?

“Odoriba Skirt ni Naru” hit me really hard for randomreasons this chapter. We’ve dealt with Kiki’s body image issues, and this time we deal with Michiru’s strong objections to being seen as cute. CW for an attempted assault on a child. 

“Lonely girl ni Sakarenai” starts with a happy, cheerful school trip and everyone ganging up to figure out how to support the other couple in the group, but ends in crisis.

A few new one-shots and features, comic essays and the usual columns made for a really chunky 500 pages of Yuri manga and a very good issue. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

The November issue has hit shelves in Japan and I’m waiting impatiently for it to arrive at my Kinokuniya.^_^





Yuri Network News – (η™Ύεˆγƒγƒƒγƒˆγƒ―γƒΌγ‚―γƒ‹γƒ₯γƒΌγ‚Ή) – September 24, 2022

September 24th, 2022

Yuri Manga

We have a bunch of news via Yurimother!

Yukiko’s Yuri manga Cats and Sugar Bowls, is now available from Seven Seas, as is Yuama’s The Summer You Were There, Volume 1.

YA Novel Night Owls & Summer Skies by Rebecca Sullivan and illustrated by Samadrita “Tikklil” Ghosh, has been adapted as a Webtoon.

GL Web comic, Master of the Fox Bead is now being serialized on Tapas.

 

Support Yuri Journalism & Yuri Creators
Become an Okazu Patron Today!

 

Crowdfunded Taiwanese Showa Yuri manga collection, Kitanhana Monogatari (ηΆΊθ­šθŠ±η‰©θͺž) has been released. I backed this crowdfunded project and have my ebook here, but it’s available in print in Japanese and in French from MahΓ΄ Γ‰ditions. I am looking forward to reading it!

 

Yuri Anime

HIDIVE Announced that they have licensed My Master Has No Tail,  fantasy anime about a tanuki learning rakugo, which is classic Japanese comedic storytelling.

 

Yuri VNs

Yurimother wants you to know that Ebi-hime’s Yuri VN, Dreamy Planet is available on Steam and Itch.io. The game follows Haruka, who suffered a breakdown five years before the story began. She abandoned her old life and hid away from her best friend, Shiina.

Studio Γ‰lan is asking for your feedback! If you’d like to help them out, please consider filling out their Survey.

Studio YuriEureka is pleased to announce that the demo for their upcoming Yuri VN, Kiss the Demiurge is available on Steam.

 

 

Tip Okazu Writers a Coffee on Ko-fi

Yuri Doujinshi

Lilyka has released Letters From A Rainy Day – Oceans and Lace, by Lily Spinel.

 

Other News

Nona the Ninth fans will want to read this interview with Tamsyn Muir on Lyctorhood as Genderfuckery and Greasy Bible Study in Nona the Ninth.

At long last, Japan is going to open borders to independent travelers. No visas, no booking with travel agencies, no pre- and post-travel testing. Masks are still required for most places and, frankly, I cannot understand how anyone is doing anything without masking around other people. Alex Mateo has the news over at ANN. I’m going to hope to visit next autumn, once again.

Fun.com has some …fun…Sailor Moon exclusives! The sweaters are awesome and I want them all.

 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are the ways we currently have  \active to accept subscriptions and tips. Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

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Hana ni Arashi, Volume 10 (はγͺにあらし)

September 22nd, 2022

High school is a weird time. So much is going on in your body, in your head, in your heart. It’s the last time to have fun as a kid, the first time to start building your life as an adult.

Nanoha and Chidori are trying to not be sad about having chosen schools that are distant from one another. They are having as much fun as they can – together and with friends. They are not thrilled to not be together in class for their final year, but they are finding ways to be together and to make time. It’s all really good. But…the future. It’s a thing that is sort of hanging over them. And there’s something else they’ve got on their minds….

They ask each other if it is time to tell their friends about the fact that they are a couple?

The thought makes them burst into flames of mortification, but…but…

They’ve come a long way, in small steps. At the beginning of this series I wasn’t actually convinced they were seeing each other. ^_^ Now, when they may have to be apart, at least for a while, there’s no doubt that they are. I can’t even call this a slow burn series, it’s more of a two girls together, growing up slowly series.  Nothing else has changed, really. The art is a little bit tighter and the story telling feels more confident, but that could be because the characters have more confidence and maturity, as one does during high school.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 7

I definitely want to see this one through to the end. I kinda want to see them off on their way out of school into what we jokingly refer to as real life. ^_^





Yoru to Umi, Volume 3 French Edition, Guest Review by Laurent Lignon

September 21st, 2022

Welcome back to Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu, where we welcome back our French language Journaliste/Chroniqueur, Laurent Lignon. Laurent is finishing up this series for u s – don’t miss his reviews of Volume 1 and Volume 2. Please give him your kind attention – the floor is yours, Laurent!

NOTE : this review is based on the French translation of the third and final volume of the series, Yoru to Umi, PlongΓ©e dans la nuit, released in stores by Taifu Comics http://www.taifu-comics.com/

β€œI learned the secret to let it go a long while back. If everything I held had to disappear at some point, then I’d be better if I’ve never cherished them in the first place.”

A third year has passed for Tsukiko and Aya, and both girls starts to think about what the future will hold for them and their relationship. Aya is sure they’ll keep some sort of contact, despite going to different universities, but has no ideas of what to do with her future life. Tsukiko feels the same, unsure of what she want to do but having already assumed that their relationship will stop when both of them will leave college.

This pushes the story in three different directions.

Aya understands what was already revealed to the reader in the previous volume: the swimming pool in which she spent most of her time is representing her teenage years, and she needs to go out of it and face newer swimming challenges to actually move on in her life. Having understood that, she’ll try to confront her greatest fear: swim into the ocean. And while that first ‘confrontation’ goes as humorously badly as expected, it helps Aya understand that it is time for her to enter adult life and carve her own path. However, she is not ready yet to leave Tsukiko behind.

On the other hand, Tsukiko finally unlocks from her memories the reasons behind her attraction to Aya. And, most importantly, why there is nothing more that she loves than to see Aya swimming. Having understood that, she also finds what her purpose in life will be but comes to the conclusion that her presence will prevent Aya from moving on with a life of her own. Thus, she takes the hard decision to cut the ties gently with Aya.

The third path is, once again, a vision of their relationship through the eyes of a secondary character. This time it is JΓ»monji, a friend of Maihara who hides her own aromanticism behind her only hobby : otome video games. Thus, she is quick to understand the dynamics between Tsukiko and Aya, comparing their roles to characters found in her favorite games while not understanding why none of them goes any further in their relationship.

Goumoto-sensei likes to play with the expectations of her readers. When the separation finally comes, it is with a soft wind and not a storm. This is done with the perfect level of emotional writing, and Tsukiko is clearly written as aromantic despite liking the time she spends with Aya. This looks like a bittersweet ending, but then the epilogue (with its brilliant humorous double plot twist) gives us everything we hoped to see while respecting the personality of each of the characters. This is complemented by a bonus chapter, which takes place after the epilogue, and which shows how much each of them has matured, with Tsukiko doing something she has never done before for anyone else.

This is the story of a different type of love, one that isn’t based on romantic or sexual elements. An aromantic story ? Perhaps, at least from Tsukiko’s point of view. But as Aya said as the final word in the book, finally acknowledging and understanding how each woman feels about the other :

β€œThis distance between us is our bond.”

ART – 9 : as usual, some magnificent backgrounds especially in the epilogue
STORY – 8 : a different Yuri, yet a beautiful if unusual story
CHARACTERS – 8 : this is good to see both girls mature and understand what must be done to move on. But once again, there are barely any secondary characters save JΓ»monji.
SERVICE – 1 : swimsuits, mostly
YURI – 8

OVERALL – 8

Erica here: Well, that ending sounds like it’s worth reading! I’ll have to take a look at this. This manga IS licensed in English as The Evening and the Sea by Houbunsha through the MangaPlaza manga platform.Maybe I’ll give this a chance to test out the platform. ^_^

Thanks so much Laurent!