Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


How Do We Relationship, Volume 5, Guest Review by Matt Marcus

March 2nd, 2022

It’s another Guest Review Wednesday and we have another great review! Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, such as the JRPG games club podcast Lightning Strikes Thrice. Please welcome Matt back to Okazu!

How Do We Relationship is a story about two college students Miwa and Saeko who learn together how used to date. In How Do We Relationship, Volume 4, the couple broke up over a myriad of problems around communication and personal hang-ups, but despite lingering feelings they try to go back to being friends.

Just by looking at the cover of How Do We Relationship, Volume 5, you know you’re in for some shit. Gone are the big smiles, playful antics, and instruments of the past; they have been replaced by a disheveled Miwa, her hair grown out haphazardly, looking forlornly into the middle distance.

This volume has a theme: self-centeredness, selfishness, and greed. Almost every principle character displays these traits in varying degrees of severity and the effects of their actions ripple out until they become ship-wrecking waves.

Saeko, in what feels like a passive-aggressive move, casually pushes Miwa to reach out to her high school crush, Shiho, and confess her feelings. When the two former classmates reconnect, they make plans for Miwa to spend two months visiting Shiho in Okinawa. 

There is a lot I can say about Shiho because she is fascinating. When she first appears in How Do We Relationship, Volume 3, you wouldn’t be blamed for expecting her to merely be the love rival that forces Miwa to make a firm, definitive decision on to whom she will give her heart. As it turns out, she is a much more complex character. Yes, she managed to escape from the traumatic environment that was her family home, however she continues to bear scars from her upbringing. Tamifull does a wonderful job portraying her inner struggle and how it leaks out into the rest of her life: she lives in a barren apartment and wonders why it freaks out her friends; her previous romantic relationship ended due to her lack of interest; she doesn’t feel a need to fall in love, yet she is still working out her feelings towards Miwa while sending very mixed signals. What is crushingly sad is that she not only doesn’t know what she wants for herself, she doesn’t even know how to want. You will think that her ultimate decision about Miwa is cowardly–and it is–but she needs more time to heal and grow. I am hoping we get to see it. Regardless, the trip sends Miwa into a tailspin.

This puts her on a collision course with Saeko when school resumes. I mentioned in my previous review that Saeko’s behavior could be a barrier for some readers, and I think this volume offers the ultimate test of that. There is a moment towards the end of the volume that truly stunned me. I won’t spoil it, but it will send shivers down your spine. It may even disgust you. It’s a high risk move and we do not see it payoff before the volume ends, but I simply have to credit Tamifull for constructing a scene that packs such a wallop.

I haven’t mentioned her yet, but Saeko’s coworker Yuria takes on a larger supporting role and she’s still a delight. Not a lot of depth to her, but she’s a breath of fresh air given everything else that’s going on.

Out of the previous volumes so far, this one is the most consistent in tone. The focus has tightened and it benefits the storytelling because it gives more space to explore the internality of the characters. I will say though that I am still confused about what Tamifull is trying to say with Rika, beyond the fact that she is self-aware about her selfishness.

One major demerit I would give the story is how Miwa expresses a desire for self-harm through neglect that is not taken very seriously by Saeko–it’s melodramatic at best and disrespectful to the severity of the topic at worst. If the story’s direction continued down such a path I could see myself dropping the series, but I have it on good authority that this is the “lowest” point and that things get better from here. It really is about time that Miwa starts showing some serious development because the poor girl deserves it.

On the positive side, I want to give a shout-out to the localization team because I am continuously impressed with the fresh and naturalistic phrasing choices that provide a distinct voice to the characters while sounding realistically like college students.

If you have ventured this far into the series, be prepared for the choppiest waters yet. Despite finding myself emotionally wrung out by the twists and turns on my first read-through, I have found engaging with the characters in repeated readings endlessly rewarding. I’ll be waiting (im)patiently for the next volume which comes out in English this July.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Some great paneling and nonverbal expression.
Story – 7 Heavy, less funny, but still engaging. Docking it one point for overplaying its hand with Miwa’s meltdown.
Characters – 9 I love what they did with Shiho and Saeko continues to be compelling.
Service – 1 Sex is still present but it is not played for service.
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 7 One door opens while another seemingly closes, so on balance it’s a wash.

Overall – 8 This continues to be a unique and engrossing yuri series.

Erica here: Thank you Matt for covering this volume so thoroughly. I can guarantee that everything will be different (for the better) now. and I’m so glad I can talk about this series again!
 




Monologue Woven For You, Volume 1

February 25th, 2022

Haruka is a young woman who has set aside her dream – she’ll never act again. But fate has something in store for her when meets Nao, a first-year at her university who is working hard to become the actress Haruka will never be. As they spend time together, they realize they have feelings for one another. Almost before they know it, they are thinking in terms of happily-ever-after. Nao’s dream allows Haruka to love theater once again.

But there is something they are not talking about. Haruka is not confessing that she once was in theater. As a result, Nao cannot tell Haruka that she knows. What stress will this put on their relationship? We’ll have to wait for Volume 2 to find out.

If you love live theater as much as Haruka and Nao, you will probably love this manga. ^_^

I reviewed the Japanese edition of volume back in autumn of 2021 when I said, “Because there is so little conflict, I’d recommend this series for a nice girl-meets-girl story, but for one thing. The art is much too moe for my taste…. I’d vastly prefer this story if it were graced with an art style that captured the actual ages of the characters as we are told them. If you like the uncomplicated facial features (and accompanying lack of facial gesture and expression of the oeuvre,) then you will probably enjoy this.”

Other than the fact that the art simply puts me out of the story, it’s a nice enough little volume. The energy of it is sincere, and I appreciate that the narrative eschewed additional complication. When Haruka’s friend comes across them kissing, Haruka doesn’t prevaricate. If she had, I might have stopped reading. I don’t have time to read that kind of story any more. ^_^

The English edition is full color, just as the Japanese was, which is quite nice. The colors are relaxing to the eye  and the conflict, such as it is, will assuredly be resolved with no more than a little bit of tension.

Ratings:

Art – 6 Adequate, but not a style I feel suits the story
Story – 7 Pleasant girl meets girl
Characters – 7 Earnest
Service – 1? Bathing, some mild, partial nudity
Yuri – 8

Overall – 7

Because we are again working on the Yuricon Store plug-in issue, I will note that Volume 1 is available on Amazon, Bookwalker and RightStuf or a manga store near you. Thanks to the team at Seven Seas for thisgentle, full-color Yuri manga!

Volume 2 will be out in June. You can pre-order it on Amazon or Right Stuf now. ^_^

Thanks very much to Seven Seas for the review copy!

 




Comic Yuri Hime March 2022 (コミック百合姫2022年3月号)

February 24th, 2022

Comic Yuri Hime March 2022 (コミック百合姫2022年3月号) is another solid issue.

To begin with “Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata” finally comes to the climax we had been expecting – Shizuku learns that Kaori is terminally ill. Her feelings may never have time to reach the other girl.

Following this, in “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau” the SS Girls decide to up their game, while Yori and Hima try to make time for each other, even though they are on opposing teams for the big battle of the bands. Gosh, this manga is just so forgivably innocent, it makes me use the word “gosh,” unironically. ^_^ And, oh, they kiss.

“Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” dives deep into social justice issues this chapter, as a noble gets away with almost killing a commoner. The commoner movement takes this as a cue to get protesting, in exactly the same way we saw in the real world. This chapter cuts a little deep. As it should.

Speaking of deep cuts, “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” was rough. Nene finally meets up with Youko who plays our poor chef like a keyboard. Nene is looking to find sincerity in a completely insincere person, and makes mistakes she hates herself for. Personally, I hate Youko for them. Sumika takes the wrongest position possible and I realllllly have to hope Nene comes out of all this with her life intact. I’m pretty angry for (not at) her right now. I trust ya, Miman-sensei, but this better be worth her tears.

“Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts” takes the jousei route, as Hinako’s mother comes to visit. Hinako tells her flat out that she likes Asahi, but then runs off and calls the other woman. Now that she has admitted to herself that she likes Asahi, will she admit it to Asahi?

In a Usui Shio two-fer, in “Onna Tomodachi wo Kekkon Shitemita,” Ruriko and Kurumi spend a day together to patch up some holes they have and Ruriko gives Kurumi a hug, which sets her thinking about their “friendship.”

“Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru,” by Keyyang is rapidly rising into my top several stories. Haru and Hi-chan wake up to find themselves engaged and happier than they have ever been. They decide to get rings and talk about wedding dresses. But first, breakfast!

Inui Ayu and Kon-san talk about their exes and how they approach dating so differently and Kon-san takes a point a step too far in “Kyou mo Yane no Shita.” And Ohi Pikachi shares the story of her first kiss with Fuuka in “Pillow Talk ha Fuku wo Kite.”

As always there are other stories I’m not mentioning and some I’m not reading. Basically, the middle third of the magazine is “meh,” to me, which gives me a 2/3 good or great percentage…more than satisfactory IMHO.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

I’m also always interested in the editor’s recommendation pages, in part because they often suggest things I don’t know and in part because I’m interested to see what they think is good (subtext: even if I disagree. ^_^)

The April issue of Comic Yuri Hime is out now in Japanese bookstores!





If We Leave on the Dot, Guest Review by Patricia Baxter

February 23rd, 2022

Hello and welcome to another Guest Review Wednesday on Okazu! I am super excited to welcome a new guest reviewer to our blog. Patricia has been an enthusiastic YNN Correspondent and now I am super pleased to have her as part of our Guest Review staff! Please give Patricia a warm, Okazu welcome! Kind comments are always appreciated. ^_^

My name is Patricia Baxter (she/her). I am a bisexual autistic writer who has previously written articles concerning how media represents different marginalized communities. You can find more of my work through my personal website “Autistic Observations”.

Yukawa Kayoko is a quiet thirty-one-year-old woman working in an office building, who typically hangs up her winter coat on the office coat rack rather than place it behind her chair. Through a series of coincidences, Kayoko finds that a co-worker, outgoing twenty-six-year-old Mizuki Kaori, has accidentally placed her apartment keys into Kayoko’s coat pocket. After this chance encounter, the two women begin to see each other frequently after work, keeping in touch and planning outings by leaving each other notes in their coat pockets. As these meetings progress, Kayoko finds herself surprised to discover that her feelings for Kaori extend far beyond friendship, and, in a moment of courage, confesses her feelings to Kaori. Thus begins this series focusing on the tender romance between two working women.

Inui Ayu’s If We Leave on the Dot is the yuri manga equivalent of cotton candy. Kayoko and Kaori are two extremely cute, nearly permanently blushing, women who wear consistently adorable outfits and eat consistently delicious-looking food together. Every chapter had at least one moment that made me feel at ease, thanks to the various expressions of love felt and displayed by the couple and the embodiment of that love by enjoying the pleasures of everyday life together.

Kayoko and Kaori are probably one of the sweetest pairings I’ve read in a romance manga, yuri or otherwise. Their relationship is built on mutual love and trust that is palpable with each chapter of the manga. And when the few instances of low self-esteem and jealousy creep up on the pair, instead of letting the negative feelings fester for an absurd number of chapters (as some romance manga are wont to do), they have emotionally honest discussions about their feelings, which help maintain and strengthen their partnership. It’s refreshing to read such a wonderful example of an emotionally mature relationship, with a couple able to weather through such relatable insecurities and doubts.

This is made even more intriguing by the fact that the majority of the series focuses on the relationship between two women who are very clearly adults who are established in their careers. While there are quite a few examples of yuri manga focusing on the lives of adult women, a lot of series focus on the lives of university students, or women in their early twenties. For Kayoko to experience her first major romantic relationship at thirty-one, is very reassuring for any readers in their thirties, as it can still be rather difficult to find romances focusing on women older than twenty-something.

Alongside If We Leave on the Dot’s many positive achievements, it is also noteworthy for how it addresses the topic of Kayoko and Kaori’s sexualities. When the series takes time for the couple to think about sexuality, it is typically are less about Kayoko and Kaori’s individual sexual identities and personal self-discovery, and more about how other people will react to or perceive their relationship. One example of this occurs during a company celebration, where Kayako mentions that she is in a relationship and loves her partner very much, but aside from those vague mentions, cannot go in-depth in describing her partner to her colleagues, despite sitting right next to the person she loves. Instead, Kayoko and Kaori have to share a quiet, tender moment, holding hands under the table, hiding in plain sight from their co-workers. Not long after this Kaori goes to meet up with her close friends, despite feeling happy talking about her relationship with Kayoko, she feels “Tired…from dodging their questions”, as she had to misdirect her friends by calling Kayoko her “boyfriend”.

This is a rather massive contrast in comparison to a lot of fluffy yuri romances, where the closest thing to an examination into LGBTQ+ issues is the main character(s) briefly getting confronted by the heteronormative expectations society places on women, and even then it is only there as a cursory issue. Instead of placing her characters in a bubble separated from the struggles of the real world, Inui’s If We Leave on the Dot takes time to showcase and legitimize the frustrations and exhaustion that queer women experience on a regular basis.

With its relaxing and down-to-Earth depictions of the everyday life of a same-gender couple, If We Leave on the Dot is one of my all-time favourite yuri romances that I highly recommend.

Ratings:

Art: 7.5

Story: 8

Characters: 9

Service: 0 for the first three volumes, 2 for volume 4 (due to a bathhouse trip and the couple beginning to sexually explore each other’s bodies in a manner that is sincere rather than salacious)

Yuri: 10

Overall: 9

If We Leave on the Dot is currently only available through the online manga subscription service Manga Planet, though the first chapter is free to read. There is a range of options for subscribing to the service depending on reader preference.

Erica here: Thank you so much Patricia! I agree with everything you’ve said. The mood between Kaori and Kayoko is very relaxing and warm. I loved all four volumes of the series in Japanese, Teiji ni Ageretara. That was my first taste of Inui Ayu’s work  – work that I continues to enjoy. Her autobiographical series, currently running in Comic Yuri Hime, Kyou mo Hitotsu Yane no Shita, has much the same warm, fuzzy feeling, with a bit more LGBTQ+ identity.





I Can’t Believe I Slept With You, Volume 1

February 21st, 2022

Can a bunch of wrongs make a right? Miyako Miyahara is sure gonna try in her romantic comedy I Can’t Believe I Slept With You, Volume 1.

Chiyo Koduka is depressed. Out of work, down on her luck, she’s three months behind on the rent and sees no hope. When her landlady shows up with an offer she can’t refuse, she doesn’t refuse. But she’s not thrilled. The landlady is willing to forgive a day’s rent when Chiyo provides “favors,” which is where they begin.

As the days pass, the landlady’s favors become much less extreme, sliding from playing games together, to a comforting hug. Chiyo is pretty clueless as to why her landlady might be making such a one-sided offer, but we know the truth, and it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect.

Koduka is clueless, clumsy but she was good at one thing and would really like a chance to do it again. For the sake of the plot, she also has absurdly bad luck, which wore on me. The landlady (we don’t learn her name until the end of the volume,) is kind, thoughtful, competent and very sad. It’s this that colors the whole book for me. As a romantic comedy, when the comedy is rooted in pain, it’s hard for me to laugh.

All of that said, by the very end of the volume, it is apparent to us that the landlady is not a pervert or an opportunist. She’s a very lonely woman in a one-sided relationship. Which leaves is with Koduka. She easy to sympathize with, I think we’ve all been where she is in one way or another. But the hapless doofus is a hard sell for me.  Your mileage might vary of course but, for me, Koduka will be the biggest hurdle in this story. I just cannot find “funny” bad luck amusing. It kills me in Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu, (推しが武道館いってくれたら死ぬ ) every time. Like, we get it. She’s a hapless ne’er do well. Ha. Ha. Ugh.

Kiyahara’s art is solid, most of the scenes take place in a small Japanese apartment, so no grand artistic scale is needed, but the creator does a solid job of making the apartment feel…small. This is something I rarely see, as artists tend to give their characters plenty of room in those imaginary studio apartments.

The strongest moment is the reveal of the name the series was originally going with, “Even if it was just once, I regret it.” This moment in the narrative gave me what hope I have for the series.

Let me perfectly honest here – romantic comedy is not my genre. I find it almost impossible to accept the premise and just roll with it. Hopeless x hapless do not a comedy make, for me. But, if you like romantic comedy you might very well like this series. I think it has a good heart and isn’t planning on torturing either reader or characters, like Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7, but I hope it does something interesting with itself.
Characters – 7, same.
Service – Implicit, yes, but not overt.
Yuri – 9, but dropping down to a steady 7 as the true story unfolds

Overall  – A solid 7 with plenty of room to grow.

While I have got little hope that this series will be anything different than what it is, I still hope for the landlady to be less forlorn sad and Koduka to become less clueless. Anything less would make it, well, another Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu. One of those in my life is enough.

Thanks very much to Seven Seas for the review copy!