Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 8 (γ•γ•γ‚„γγ‚ˆγ†γ«ζ‹γ‚’ε”„γ†)

September 26th, 2024

Two girls in Japanese school uniforms stand back to back, visibly pouting at one another.In Volume 7, Shiho finally addressed the elephant in her room and admitted that the source of her bad temper was unrequited love. Having shot her shot, it remains for Aki to respond. In Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 8, (γ•γ•γ‚„γγ‚ˆγ†γ«ζ‹γ‚’ε”„γ†) she does, in a very public way.

Remember – it is still the Battle of the Bands during the school festival. Aki chooses the intro of their final song…a song she changes the set list to include…to explain to Shiho that she has never rejected her, and would actually be happy being together. Their rivalry was mostly created out of whole cloth by Shiho as a way to deny her feelings and Aki’s response is to do a cover of a song she and Shiho performed when they were in their original band together. Once again, Himari has to be the crowbar that makes Shiho’s immovable object move. Of course Shiho was going to run from Aki…because that’s what she’s been doing for this entire time. Thanks to Himari, Shiho was right there to jump on stage and accept Aki’s feelings.

And then we learn that despite that added bit of show, the SSGirls still came in second to Lorelei. Boo. But it was all in good fun and now Shiho has got to learn how to be a human again. ^_^

This volume has fantastic paneling, absolutely wonderful. When contrasted with the sad little affair of the anime, the pages here are even more vibrant, fluid, varied and imaginative. How frustrating to have had one’s work mauled by a low budget and uncaring production committee. I really feel for Takeshima-sensei, the animators and seiyuu who all worked so hard. The battle of the bands would have been terrific musically, even if the animation was basically PowerPoint slides. Instead of gnashing my teeth, I’ll recommend reading this volume and imagining how amazing it might have been.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 8

Himari and Yori are a couple, now Aki and Shiho…who is even left at this school unpaired? Well, there is someone. But first, Shiho has got to learn to be a human again. ^_^

Whisper Me A Love Song, Volume 8 is out now from Kodansha, so we’re caught up to this point in English. Volume 9 and Volume 10 are out in Japanese and I have to catch up!





Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 8 ( η§γ‚’ε–°γΉγŸγ„γ€γ²γ¨γ§γͺし)

September 23rd, 2024

There is no way to review this volume without a few spoilers, so if you would like to skip them, please jump down to after the asterisks.

Kitsune, the legendary shapeshifting yokai have a rival among creatures in Japanese folklore. The other well-known, shapes-shifting yokai, known as the tanuki, and the fox-like Kitsune have a long rivalry.

In Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 8 ( η§γ‚’ε–°γΉγŸγ„γ€γ²γ¨γ§γͺし), Hinako gets caught in the middle of this age-long hatred.

Hinako knows who her best friend Miko is. She understands that Miko is dedicated to protecting her and she trusts Miko. When a new girl shows up with a clear desire to destroy Miko and Hinako’s relationship, even Shiori is unable to do anything.

Before we get a climax, we get a poignant look at Miko’s life long ago, when she was in fact known as a murderer, a human-eating monster. But her life is different now  – her affection for Hinako is undeniable. Nonetheless, Miko clearly habors guilt about her past. Miko tries to warn this menacing newcomer away from her friend, but the girl, Tsubaba is focused on pushing Hinako away from Miko with fearful hints about her true nature.

Unfortunately for our interloper, Hinako knows the truth. When Tsubasa’s ploy isn’t enough, this mischievous tanuki clearly is not above violence , but she’s forgotten that Hinako is not just protected by an ancient kitsune – she is also protected by a sea monster. But Tsubasa is as wily, as one might expect from a tanuki, and she knows one more secret. Will Miko be able to remain human in the face of this animosity?

***

I know I say I love this manga every volume, but, wow, do I absolutely love this manga. It is steeped in darkness that is wholly Japanese  – these are the things that make weird noises in the night in Japanese folklore. To have a tabula rasa as plain as Hinako as the center of the story, it requires the story to stay very tightly wound around her. Naekawa Sai’s writing is on point and the moe cuteness of the art really sets one teeth on edge as we more deeper and deeper into terrifyingly inhuman Yokai lore.

Where can this story go? I have no idea at all. Hinako might bring Tsubasa into her protective circle of deadly bodyguards, or maybe drive her away…we’ll have to wait until Volume 9, which is coming out at the end of October (Halloween Yokai!) to find out. I can’t wait!

Ratings:

Art – 9 really, really good
Story – The menace is palpable
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – Both Shiori and Miko have intense feelings about (and maybe for?) Hinako

Overall – 8

In the meantime, don’t miss the English edition, This Mosnter Wants To Eat Me, Volume 1 (reviewed last May) and Volume 2 (reviewed last month) out now from Yen Press!





The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All, Volume 1

September 22nd, 2024

Because Sumiko Arai’s school life rom-com is absolutely one of this year’s most-anticipated Yuri series in English, I’m going to give it straight to you right up front. You know I have never pulled punches when I review Yuri before and I will not now.

I have read this edition through twice now and Yen Press did a REALLY GOOD job.

I can say with absolute conviction that you should run right out and pre-order The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All, Volume 1, which will be headed your way one month from today. ^_^

Aya is a popular and fashionable young woman, who has a secret. She finds comfort in listening to western rock music of the 1990’s and 2000’s. When she’s by herself, lost in her music, she finds her own rhythm. She can’t share her musical tastes, they are too obscure and she kind of likes it that way. One day Aya walks into a grungy CD store and is blown away by the cool guy behind the counter. As days pass they share music and Aya realizes she’s got a full-on crush. But she’s not the only one with a secret. Sitting next to Aya at school is nerdy background-type Mitsuki….who is the “guy” in the CD store. It’ll take some intervention, but Mitsuki and Aya will start to open up to one another in the first volume of this popular online Yuri manga.

What most first-time readers will notice right away is the unique color scheme. As I noted in my review of this volume in Japanese, “With its uniquely visible color scheme of black, white and a vivid green, new pages of this comic were always super noticeable whenever they came across my feed. The art in this manga reflects the online sensibility too, I think. With unique perspectives on panel structure, body language and expression, this comic feels somehow grounded in street art and manga art at the same time.” You can see how the angles (what we in my house refer to as “Batman angles” after the kitschy 1960s television show) and the breaking of the panel walls, create a dynamic feel to a story in which, realistically, people are mostly not “doing” anything. It’s a great look that I’ve already seen adopted elsewhere.

The plot is not new, but the handling of it is gentle and kind-hearted. Nosy classmate Narita is rooting for these two just as we are – he pushes them into each other’s way in a fun way. Both the angst and the comedy notes hit just right. As the volume comes to a close, a classic plot complication is revealed, which is resolved in a not-classic way, thankfully.

Volume 1 is a fun read that leaves you wanting more. As I said, Yen did a terrific job reproducing the story. The color is vivid and so is the language. Ajani Oloye did a fantastic job on the translation, really nailing the core concepts in English. It felt natural and fun all the way through. I have no criticisms except Yen’s house style for lettering. Brandon Bovia does amazing work and should have been give the chance to retouch more. That’s an ongoing whinge though, nothing to do with this book, particularly.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9 Even the side characters are fun
Service – Admiring the cool onii-san that turns out to be a chick is always great service.  Oh, and page 49. ^_^
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

As highly-anticipated series go, this may well be Yen’s best effort to date. Fun, colorful, charming, you’ll definitely want this book.





Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Volume 5

September 20th, 2024

The end is nigh in Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou, Volume 5.

There were never many humans in Ashinano Hitoshi’s story, and now most of them have left. The grass has filled in even more of the space around Cafe Alpha, fewer and fewer people visit. Long days pass in which Alpha reads and thinks about the humans who used to occupy this space. Why are there lights that look like streetlights along the unused paths? She spend time with Maruko, who is working with Kokone now and Kokone whose love for Alpha is visible to even Makki-chan.

Takahiro is gone, Makki follows after him, they have a child. Alpha remains. And when she goes home, Kokone is there to welcome her.

In this final volume we learn nothing new at all. We’ll never know why humanity is dwindling. All we know is that there is a world out there and it’s our choice to see what there is of it. Perhaps we should stop at a local cafe, greet the woman behind the counter and think of Cafe Alpha, a place we can never visit, but which will life with us for the rest of our lives.

May the night of humankind be one of utmost peace.

Ratings:

Overall – 10

From the bottom of my heart, I thank the team at Seven Seas for this omnibus edition. I never imagined I’d be able to share my love of this series with you all.





The Executioner and Her Way of Life Manga, Volume 5

September 16th, 2024

A girl with blonde hair tied up in a black bow, in blue and yellow, holds her hand up and out, palm facing us, as she powers up for a spell.As you know if you read Okazu regularly, I have been following the Light Novel series by Mato Sato, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, and the resulting anime. I haven’t, however, had a chance to read the manga at all and wanted to see how it holds up. Since I know the story, I felt it was perfectly acceptable to jump in at any volume. Thanks to the generosity of Yen Press, I have a review copy for just that purpose. So, here I am, beginning with The Executioner and Her Way of Life Manga, Volume 5, with character designs by nilitsu, illustrated by Ryo Mitsuya. 

Also, as you may remember, I have not been a fan of the art for the Light Novels, as they until recent volumes favored portraiture over illustration – a common enough issue in Light Novels and artist alleys alike. Overall, I find the manga artists for Light Novels have to do a great deal of work – especially in early arcs – to build up the look and feel of a world. I say especially, because in many cases, Light Novels that began as webnovels aren’t really fully featured in the writing, either. But now, having gotten to the 8th volume of this series in Light Novel and finding both story and character settling in to a fairly rich narrative, how would it feel to step backwards to those early days?

It wasn’t bad, honestly.

Mitsuya-sensei does a very solid job of conveying both the horror of the Human Error “Evil” and the action of the fight, in a way that the narrative did not fully communicate. The art still does not portray Menou as an unusual beauty, although Akari’s chest is portrayed as prominent. I do think that going forward the use of the word “boobs” is going to have to be a point off, though. Like “spicy” for a book with sex scenes, breasts, chest, decolletage even, but boobs will always feel infantile to me. As does the portrayal of said breast tissue moving in ways that they certainly do not naturally move. That said, due to the original character designs being followed pretty closely, it was easy to recognize everyone on sight.

A story like this, with a great deal of fighting, action and dramatic spellcasting really seems to do better with a more visual medium. I had enjoyed the anime, which did a decent job of paring down some of the early story building. Jumping into the manga at this point, might not be something a new reader could do, but I was able to skip a lot of the clumsiness of the early arcs.  This story still is an isekai, but it is not just a “game world” or a simple reflection of generic feudal life. The history and politics – and the magic use – in this world are worth delving in to.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7 (not my favorite arc, the story will get better from this point on)
Characters – 7 People’s motivations are still a bit muddy, something else that will become clearer as the story progresses
Service – Besides the aforementioned breasts, shockingly little in this volume
Yuri – 4 Momo’s feelings for Menou, toxic as they are, Menou’s feelings for Akati, as unfocused as they are

Overall – 7, but I hope to move quickly past this arc into the Mechanical Society arc, which I quite liked.