Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


My Idol Sits the Next Desk Over! Volume 1

January 28th, 2022

Sakiko is a shy, introverted person. Unsure of herself, she never knows what to say. But secretly, she has a passion – she is obsessed with a pop idol singer, Chihiro, part of a upcoming group Spring Shine. When Sakiko sits down in her seat, she is shocked to find Chihiro sits right next to her! What she doesn’t know is that the creepy, stalkerish fan that haunts all of the Spring Shine boards is *also* in her classroom. Welcome to My Idols Sits the Next Desk Over, Volume 1.

I’m going to be honest here…this book starts out rough. The stalker, Maya, is obnoxious and toxic, bullying an already nervous Sakiko. Chihiro is friendly, but a bit clueless. About halfway through, I was starting to feel as if this book was going in a direction that was deeply uncomfortable to be understood as a comedy. But, then, surprisingly Sakiko makes a move. She includes stalker Maya in her just-forming relationship with Chihiro…and the three of them become, tentatively, a unit.

And that simple turn takes this whole series from zero to hero. In a later chapter, Sakiko decides to join photography club in order to, of course, take pictures of Spring Shine. Her new sempai takes amazing pictures, but disdains pictures of humans. So, Saikiko drags him along to a Spring Shine concert where he finds inspiration!

The art is typical, with a lot of scared, pained, anxious faces at the front end, and a lot of genuine delight towards the end.

If this is the tone this manga is going with, Sakiko becoming the person she can bem  I think I can be convinced to come back for more. The first chapter’s Sakiko was too nervous and victimizable, I suppose is what I’m trying to say, to be likeable. But once she takes the situation into her own hands, the whole story becomes palatable and, dare I say it, enjoyable.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – Starts at 6, but moves up to 7 by the end
Characters – 7
Service – Not really
Yuri – Is one-sided obsession Yuri? The jury is out on this.

Overall – 7

Would I recommend this? Sure, if you’re looking for a quick read that doesn’t ask too much of you… sure. 

Final note: Spring Shine is a great idol group name. ^_^





Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 3 ( 私の推しは悪役令嬢。)

January 27th, 2022

In Volume 1, Oohashi Rei, found herself waking in the world of her favorite otome game and free to pursue the villainess of the game, the highborn noble, Claire François. In Volume 2, Rae begins to worm her way into Claire’s life, turns out to be overpowered and adopts a baby water slime that she names Relaire. (I’m in Love With the Villainess, Volume 2 manga in English hit shelves yesterday! So you can read that for yourselves.)

In Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 3 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。),by inori, with art by Aonishimo, character designs by hanagata, Rei and Claire, along with Rei’s roommate Misha, the princes of the game and other students compete to become members of the Academy Knights, the school’s student council.

The first half of this volume is filled with the battles for these positions…and they give us a better idea of the skills and styles of our main players. I will venture a small spoiler – they all get in to the Knights.  Having been made part of the Knights, Claire and Rae head out into their first task  – solving a late night mystery!

The final half of the book details the Knights’ preparation for the Founder’s Day event, the Royal Academy’s school festival.  The Knights settle on a gender-switch cafe and we get to enjoy the prices dressed as maids, and Claire, Rae and Misha dressed as butlers.

All of this is charming and wonderful, but I’m going to share my favorite panel of the volume:

Look at Thane playing with Relaire in the background! Isn’t that squee-worthy? ^_^

This kind of thing is why I genuinely love the manga. It’s the same story as the novels, but with little details thrown in that really just level it up. Aonoshimo-sensei’s art really adds points to what is already a fantastic story.

Because I bought this volume at Melonbooks again (in order to score an awesome acrylic standee) it came with this lovely insert. There is a comic on the other side in which they play dress down with Lene.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Characters – 9
Story – 9
Service – 4 Dressing and undressing
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

 

I’m currently reading Ichijinsha’s brand new print version of the first novel, Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou ~Revolution ~, Volume 1 (私の推しは悪役令嬢。-Revolution-) and I’m not tired of this story yet!

 





If You Could See Love, Volume 1, Guest Review by Day

January 26th, 2022

Hello and welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu. I’m extremely pleased to welcome back one of our long-time reviewers, Day! Please give Day your kind attention and don;’t forget to show some love in the comments. Day will be looking at If You Could See Love, Volume 1, by Yeren Mikami, which is out now in Digital format from Yen Press. Day, the floor is yours!

Ever since she can remember, teenager Mei Haruno has been afflicted with a weird ability – she can tell who is in love with whom because that affection appears as a pink arrow to her. The distracting nature of this aside, it’s gotten her into trouble in the past because it’s led to her meddling in other people’s would-be relationships, leading to her own social isolation. Hoping to get away from having to see all these arrows and get a fresh start, she enrolls in a girls’ high school… only to realize that not only are there loads of girls into girls, but that two of them are into her. And they’re both her roommates. Shenanigans and bathtimes ensue.

When I originally planned to write this review, I sat down, opened a word processor… and stared blankly at the screen, as I realized that, despite having read this within the past month, beyond the broadest outlines, I’d completely forgotten what happened in this manga. I did remember that it was a bit bland and not very good, and that there was something to do with love arrows, but that was about it. So, I cracked it open again, and this time I took notes. All of which is a lengthy way to say – this is a really forgettable opening volume. And, wow, my brain sure blurred my recollection of just how wildly stupid the premise and its execution is.
 
Mei is a fairly standard issue manga heroine, her personality lining up with what one could guess from her hair color (energetic, cheerful, not very bright). But did I say cheerful? Oh, how could I forget her dark past (pissing people off by telling their crushes they have crushes on them) that’s made her swear off romance?! Her admirers, friend Sayo and Rinna, are likewise not particularly distinct. Sayo is the childhood friend Mei hasn’t seen in years, and, yes, of course the girl has spent the intervening time pining for Mei… as well as growing very large breasts. Rinna meanwhile is tsundere-ish, and has met Mei previously, although Mei doesn’t remember this; the manga doesn’t quite come right out and say it, but there’s an implication that she’s also been yearning away for our lead for some unknown amount of time before coming across her again.
 
Despite Mei’s repeated insistence that she’ll never pursue romance because of her very sad past, its crystal clear by volume’s end that this is going to resolve itself in a three-way relationship… which is one of the few things I’d give the manga points for. I don’t care much about these girls, but this actually seems the natural direction for the relationship to move in. The other item I’ll grant credit for is that the manga uses the color pink in its otherwise black and white visual scheme to make things like those love arrows, hearts, and cherry blossoms really pop off the page.
 
I’d be hard-pressed to recommend this one, even to the most diehard fans of schoolgirl yuri (goodness knows there’s plenty better series featuring that available in English). It’s aggressively bland, with a bone-deep stupidity to the premise that is never elevated by the writing, nor are the characters engaging enough to make it worth enduring. 
 
Oh, it may go without saying, but there really is NO sense of queer identity whatsoever in this one. Also, I loathe the cover.
 
Ratings:
Art – 6 (its polished while also completely not to my tastes; I smirked over fact that adult characters are indistinguishable design-wise from the teenagers)
Story – 5
Characters – 5  
Service – 4 (surprisingly not pervasive but there is a very extended bathing scene early on)
Yuri – 7 (well, it’s definitely yuri, even if it’s very silly yuri)
 

Overall – 5

Erica here: Thank you so much, for this review, as much for taking one for the team as for giving me a critically needed evening off. ^_^  I’ll be honest, I do not favor Teren Mikami’s work, so wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about this. Blob heads. So thank you for the honest review!

 




Hana ni Arashi, Volume 8 (はなにあらし)

January 21st, 2022

In Hana ni Arashi, Volume 8 (はなにあらし), Nanoha is starting to feel the weight of the real world and isn’t sure that she and Chidori inhabit the same part of it.

But first we learn that Chidori is really frightened of dodgeball.

They are asked to fill out forms telling the school what they want to do in the future. Nanoha is surprised when Chidori is right on that, saying she’s going to apply to Waseda University in Tokyo. Nanoha suggests they go on a date to Tokyo together…a date that is crashed by a friend who also wants to see the campus. My favorite scene is when they all meet a second-year college student who shows them around and they are blown backwards by her sparkling adultness. ^_^ Nanoha notices that Chidori is also sparkling and starts to feel as if she may be out of step. But in Harajuku, as she watches Chidori talking about living in Tokyo, she feels like she’s being left behind. In a second, however, Chidori notices her absence and grabs her hand. Chidori promises she’ll always find her and Nanoha calms her doubts.

Those of you who have been to Tokyo (or any big city) will sympathize with the girls as they collapse in exhaustion on the train from the long day, high levels of stress, a LOT of walking and too much external stimulus. ^_^

They then plan a Christmas date…that is crashed by the rest of their friends.

As the book ends, Chidori makes it plain to Nanoha that whatever she plans to do with her life, it includes the other girl.

This has been one of the slowest-paced romance series I have ever read that still feels like it really is a romance. Chidori and Nanoha are different, but not opposites, they have society (although few adults appear on these pages, and that stylish adult 20-year old tour guide is really pushing it. ^_^)
Most importantly, both Nanoha and Chidori are adorable and we’re really rooting for their happiness!

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 7
Service – 1 A few of the camera angles are uh….

Overall – 7

I keep saying that I’m surprised that this series isn’t licensed yet, but I think I can guess why. Nonetheless, this is a cute series that is just so low-drama that it is…very nice to read.





Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 9 (私の百合はお仕事です!)

January 14th, 2022

When Miman-sensei created a series about a concept cafe based on a popular novel series about ‘S’ relationships at a mission school, I was hooked right away. I honestly would never have believed we’d be 9 volumes into it and still ongoing…and still amazing. But here we are. Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!, Volume 9 (私の百合はお仕事です!) is an endless series of small delights and mortifications. ^_^

Having finally settled the major drama (but not the minor, daily, drama) between Mitsuki and Hime, we turn our eyes to the senior figure at Cafe Liebe, Sumika. Her character at the cafe is both bookish and suggestive, cornering her cute schwester to make her blush. In daily life, Sumika is said to be a bit of a gal, but I’m not convinced, honestly. Nonetheless “gal-sempai” has been a bit of mystery to us. We know her one desire is that everything stay the same at the cafe, and we know why – her first little sister was stolen by another member of the cast. Nene, the former little sister, thinks Sumika’s version of the story is full of horsepucky, but it is true that she’s moved into the back of house since.

Sumika has been obsessed with trying to get Kanako to stop obsessing over Hime, so far unsuccessfully. And now Sumika has another problem…she’s starting to have raunchy dreams and romantic thoughts about her reluctant little sister.

And all of that is about to come to a head when the woman who stole Nene from under Sumika’s protective wing shows up at the cafe! What does Goedo Youko want?

This volume was amazing, from beginning to end. It had everything, suspense, drama, fakey romance, real….something, if not romance, then what? And a new back of house employee which gives is the brilliant opportunity to ask all the cast what the S-style sister relationship means to them. When Shinooka is debriefing with Mai, she says that her favorite definition comes from Sumika who says that it is “A Romance, with the romance taken out.” I can’t imagine it better said.

Miman-sensei ends the volume with process discussion, which is always enjoyable and now, as soon as I am done with this, I’m cracking open the next Comic Yuri Hime, so I can see where this new arc is headed. And you will get to read Yuri is My Job, Volume 8 in March. Trust me, there’s a lot to look forward to!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 4
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

A fantastically unpredictable volume from a series that never stops surprising me.