Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Catch These Hands, Volume 1

March 25th, 2022

Takebe used to be the toughest girl in school, but all her old friends have moved on, are getting married, having babies. She can’t even keep a real job. She’s stuck in her delinquent lifestyle and doesn’t know how to get out, in Catch These Hands!, Volume 1, by murata. While shopping for an outfit for a school friend’s wedding, she meets the one person she could never beat, her old rival the ridiculously-named Soramori Kirara.

Soramori also recognizes Takebe and asks her for a strange favor. Will Takebe go out with her? Taking this as a some kind of back-handed challenge, Takebe does. It immediately becomes apparent that neither them have much in the way of humaning skills. Takebe choses dates as a form of hazing, Soramori chooses things that are supposed to be fun, but she doesn’t understand why. ^_^ The chapter of the two of them snapping photos for Onstegram had me giggling out loud.

They are awkward and charming as heck and immediately, you want it all to work out, somehow. As I said in my review of this volume in Japanese, “I don’t know that we’ll ever see the scowl leave Takebe’s face or the two of them get any less awkward with each other, nonetheless, this series tickled my funny bone.”

The art is simplistic, which works fine here, as the awkwardness and the resulting gags are the entirety of the plot. ^_^

Amanda Haley’s translation is wonderful, giving Takebe a rough edge, without making her vulgar, and allowing Soramori to be over-formal and extremely awkward at the same time. Bianca Pistillo does a good job on lettering, establishing tone where she can. Yen’s policy of not doing full lettering of s/fx is kind of noticeable here where there is a lot of free space. It would have been a nice touch that would have added just one more ounce of immersion. Nonetheless, an excellent job all around for the Yen team.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0 Although I agree with Soramori, and do think Takebe looks good in that leather jacket
Comedy – 10 Gags that work in translation are precious and rare and should be treasured
Yuri – Yes? I mean they are going out. So, yes.

Overall – 8

One of the too-many projects I’m working on right now is a video of girl gang anime and manga as an intro for this series. I hope to get that up on Yuri Studio soon!





Doujinjo Yuri Anthology ( 同人女百合アンソロジー)

March 17th, 2022

Ichinjinsha’s Doujinjo Yuri Anthology focusing on women create doujinshi, was both fun and a little headache-inducing, much like a full day at a comic market. ^_^

The drama of Japanese comic markets can manifest in may ways. The deadlines for creators, the stress of getting all your monkeys in one barrel. the actual agonizing wait for someone to walk up and ask to look at your work….and if it’s summer, the heat and the people, and the physical exhaustion. I cannot express to you how MUCH a comic market takes out of you, even when you’re just sitting there. The year I sold at Comiket, we received a little bag with paperwork and info. It features a person flattened with exhaustion. We picked it up in the morning and laughed. Well…the bag was right.


This anthology focuses less on the drama of the event than of the fandom and the creators within that fandom. Several of the stories follow women who love women who draw stories about men who love men… something that is quite common.

But…the screaming. I often find myself muting anime when the screaming becomes too much, but I would never have expected to want to mute a manga. Because, of course, there are arguments about which pairing is better and which character is seme and which uke (at which my queer inner monologue me stood on a table and shouted at the women arguing with “Who the fuck CARES who is on top?!? Get a grip”). I was well gratified that the waitress in the story shushed them as well. That story made me super grumpy. ^_^

My favorite story in the collection is when a woman returns to the doujinshi scene after years away, and finds herself tableing next to her ex. ^_^;  It probably will come as no surprised that that story was written and drawn by Usui Shio, who is my current favorite chronicler of complicated adult feelings. It was a quiet story, in a loud anthology. LOL

The best part of the collection were stories where doujinshi artists were given room to admire one another’s work and for friendships amongst themselves. I’d be happy to pay for a book or seventeen about the doujinshi community that focused on the drama of the work and everyone’s support of each other. That, to me, is the best part of the comic market world. The collaborations, the after parties, the friendships…the community. You get a hint of that here. It left me wanting more.

Ratings:

Everything is variable, as it is anthology

Overall – 7

Enjoyable, but superficial, look at the world of doujinshi markets. I’d *love* to see a Yuri manga that took time to work through a whole story in that world.





Cocoon Entwined, Volume 4

March 14th, 2022

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the role of “Prince” around here. But what we have rarely considered is the role as a burden that is too much to bear.

In Volume 4 of Cocoon Entwined, Yuriko Hara has us watch as Hana is bowed under the weight of this role that she was given by an absent Hoshimiya. But so much more interestingly, is he evolution of Youko into the prince that might just be able to save her after all.

But first, we see where Youko has come from. Specifically we meet and instantly dislike her onee-sama, Reina. ^_^; We are treated to, as I said in my review of the Japanese volume, “the obligatory, “holy shit, this school and it’s clothes and all the people who attend, are SUPER CREEPY” story….”

And then, the war is on. Youko  on the one had, being strong enough to save Hana and refusing to let her fall and Kujou, who is clearly hoping to break Hana to her will. It will come as no surprise that I am still rooting for Youko.

The art in this book is fabulous. I’ll never be comfortable with all that hair, but in this volume, it becomes sublime. It is symbol, and character, and bonds and freedom.

Ratings:

Art – Honestly 9
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Service – 5 This volume amps up the creepy, the sex, and the dark
Yuri – 8 See above.

Overall – 9

Cocoon Entwined, Volume 4 is available now from Yen Press!





Kase-san and Yamada, Volume 2

March 11th, 2022

Kase-san and Yamada have been dating for a few years now, and while they are both working on building lives for themselves that include each other, their schedules make it very difficult. And maybe that would be okay, but it means that they haven’t really had the time they need to discuss themselves with each other.

A surprise summer vacation for both Kase-san and Yamada makes them very aware of those gaps where their lives don’t mesh. In Kase-san and Yamada, Volume 2, that gap seems impossibly wide to Yamada. Unsure, made to feel unconfident, she still sees Kase-san as someone too cool and popular for her, someone she’s not worthy of. This causes a number of problems for them –  and for us, as readers. We’d become used to seeing Kase-san be unreasonably jealous, and thought we had left that behind. Now it’s Yamada’s turn to be unreasonable and we’re likely to be less tolerant as a result. But…is Yamada being unreasonable?

I think it’s worth remembering that Kase-san’s sempai teased her rather mercilessly only a year so so ago, and now she’s dealing with Kase-san’s roommate Fukami being a grade-A jerk. (It’s super obvious that she has a crush on Kase-san and all I can hope is that rather than dealing with that noise, Fukami will realize how shitty she’s being and feel badly about it.) As an adult reading this book, I kind of want to have a stern talk with Fukami-san. The more I think about this story, the more I think that Yamada’s done amazingly well, given how much crap she’s had to take from other people. So, I’m cutting her some slack her as she wallows a bit here. It is very easy to find other people’s relationship drama annoying, but since we’re reading How Do We Relationship…maybe we can cut Yamada a little break? ^_^

When it comes down to dealing with the problems, Kase-san shows she *has* matured. She accepts Yamada’s concerns, is supportive and understanding AND addresses the underlying issue – what does their future look like? Neither they nor we know what shape their future will take, but Kase-san is trying to create a future that will include Yamada and that’s good enough right now.  It would be nice if the two of them get to just be together and talk without everyone wanting to get in their way, but oh well, it’s a rom-com. ^_^;

The fantastic translation by Jocelyne Allen means I’m hearing different characters sounding like different people and outstanding lettering by CK Russell. It feels so much like it’s part of the original, I hardly notice it. Thanks again to the entire Seven Seas team for their great work.

If you’re looking for a comedy college life Yuri series that feels awfully like real life, with bumps in the roads and fully-fleshed out characters, Kase-san and Yamada fits the bill.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 5 a bit of skin
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

In the middle of all the running around, Hana being a rube and tanning jokes, let’s give a round of applause to Mikawacchi for finally figuring out a path forward for herself!





Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 1 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。)

March 10th, 2022

If you are a regular reader here, you probably know how much I like Usui Shio’s recent work in Comic Yuri Hime. I’ve been really happy with Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts / Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. That series is not the only one Usui-sensei is working on for the magazine. Running concurrently has been another story, one that is quite different.

Onna Tomodachi to Kekkonshitemita, Volume 1 (女ともだちと結婚してみた。) is comedy drama about two best friends, Kurumi and Ruriko. Ruriko is a day person. She wakes up early, cooks breakfast and heads out to her day job. Kurumi, a journalist, is a night person. She heads to bed after Ruriko leaves, waking up later to work into the night. Kurumi is working on an assignment right now, and she and Ruriko are the test subjects – Kurumi is writing a series about being married to a woman.

Friends for years, Ruriko and Kurumi agree that they *will* go back to being friends when this experiment is over, but we know that unbeknownst to Kurumi, Ruriko is in love with her.  So…will they, really? I don’t know…and I don’t think they do either.

After the initial setup of their “marriage,” something begins to happen. Kurumi is depending on Ruriko a lot. And she’s starting to think about her all the time, which is new for her. On a solo overnight, she keeps thing about Ruriko, or even talking to her, without thinking about it.  Ruriko is already in that headspace. In a terrific scene, Ruriko takes a picture of a lone daikon laying in the street and thinks, “Kurumi will love this.” Kurumi loves it.

Ruriko starts to not feel well, but she doesn’t want to bother Kurumi. When Kurumi comes home and find Ruriko not there…and gets a message that she’s in the hospital, Kurumi runs over, asking for her wife at the front desk. Once assure Ruriko is okay, Kurumifinally gets a bit angry. They are married after all, Ruriko should have said something!

Will they make a real marriage out of this sham? I think they will…but I’m glad to give them as much time as they need. ^_^

This series is drawn with Usui-sensei’s gentle art style. Both Kurumi and Ruriko are likable, separately and together. While Kurumi occasionally comes off as thoughtless, that is because we’re likely to be on Ruriko’s side, gently hoping that she gets to express her true feelings. (Something that they are edging closer to in future volumes.)  This series is more goofy and light-hearted than Doughnuts, but at its heart has a similar core value – love takes many forms, but can not be returned if it’s not expressed clearly.

I’m hoping that if…when…Ruriko and Kurumi express their feelings clearly, it’ll be a good thing for them both.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 then shifting to 9 by the end
Characters – same
Service – 0
Yuri – 6

Overall – 8, with loads of potential

My fingers crossed that we see this licensed soon, for the “She’s my wife!” moment at the very least. ^_^