Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


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.





Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 4 (百合と声と風纏い)

January 13th, 2022

When we met Matoi, she was an uncertain high school student, with a crush on an older woman who had returned to their town. Yuri was a young woman whose life had a massive trauma in her past, the scars of which still cover her body. She found her days brightened by Matoi, but absolutely would not consider love. The story picks up as Matoi settles in at college, in the final volume of Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, (百合と声と風纏い)

Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 all have been reviewed on Okazu, out from a newish manga imprint, Lillie Comics. Volume 4 is both a continuation and a new creation with a different publisher. So this volume, should you want to read it, is digital only, available from Bookwalker or, in Japan, on Japanese Kindle.

While in college, in Volume 3, Matoi had met folks who openly identified as gender and sexual minorities and that had opened her up in ways she might not have imagined. In Volume 4, her feelings for Yuri have crystalized a little and…but… . She likes Yuri a lot, but also knows that Yuri is not ever going to want a physical relationship.

In the meantime, Matoi enters a song composition contest in which she uses her family’s voices as rhythm and melody. People are blown away and she wins third place – as a first-year this is unheard of. She’s got a bright future in soundscapes. Armed with this, she visits Yuri and they finally have the talk about their lives, both separately and together.

Yuri has also come to a conclusion. It’s not the scars on her body that keep her from wanting a physical relationship. That, she realizes, is just part of who she is. Matoi accepts this, as she has learned to accept herself and they decide that they will move forward together, in their own fashion. We see them in the final pages, after Matoi has graduated, living separately, across the hall from one another and yet, together.

The final pages of the manga include process shots and thoughts about the cover image and a short aftertalk in which the creator, RenMei, addresses some questions about the book and its characters.

It was really nice to get this epilogue/new chapters and see the decisions both Matoi and Yuri make, and how they create a life for themselves that suits them. As I suspected from back in Volume 1, we get no high drama, just a steady growth of two people creating a future together. As a book I took a chance on, it gave me 4 solid volumes, no complaints here.

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 2
Yuri – 4

Overall – A strong 7

For a book I picked up on a whim during my last visit to Tokyo (I miss it so much, T_T), this was a decent read.





Kyou mo Hitotsu Yane no Shita, Volume 1 (今日もひとつ屋根の下)

January 5th, 2022

Starting in 2020, Yuri manga artist Inui Ayu began an autobiographical comic essay column in the pages of Monthly Comic Yuri Hime. For almost two years, she had about a couple of pages every month to talk about her life with her girlfriend. It is absolutely adorable, and apparently garnered enough support that it was expanded into a full page series in 2021. Now it has been collected into a volume and I, for one, am really happy to be able to read it in one place!

Inui-sensei portrays herself as a bit silly, but primarily to show us how her partner, here known as Kon-san, is so solicitous and intuitive about her needs. We are assured they both love a lot of the same things, they are both into Yuri, and idols. In one particular chapter, something that made me laugh was, as they both watch some media with a lot of female characters, they are both like, “Oh yeah, this so Yuri.” Wifey and I have been known to say that very thing, so…yeah. ^_^

We learn how they met, and started dating and eventually move in, about their daily lives, and mostly, it’s all a giant love letter from Inui-sensei to Kon-san. Chapters are split up by short Q&A pages where Inui-sensei and Kon-san answer questions about their lives together; how they deal with social issues, whether they plan on getting married, and what kinds of foods they like – a whole gamut of questions, very personal and less so. Inui-sensei’s art style is cute, with broad, blushing faces, but her characters are not infantilized. These are adult women, with fashion choices and hairstyles. I love the looseness of the art.

It’s real life, but only a small slice, of course. Nonetheless, as I am very appreciative when Yuri artists are out, this kind of comic essay makes me extremely happy. This is a pretty openly queer story, too, which gives me hope for the future. It took Comic Yuri Hime a long time to be home to queer manga, and the more we, get the better it is for Yuri, I think. I’m so proud of the younger generation of manga artists who are much more open about themselves and their lives. Yay for them and yay for us! ^_^ This is, again, the future I want to see for Yuri manga.

Ratings:

Art – Inui-sensei’s signature style. Lots of blushy cheeks.
Story – Small slices of real life
Characters – Real people, but presented in a way to make them seem extra adorable. ^_^
Service – No, this is about the love-love of daily life
Yuri/LGBTQ+ – 10/10

Overall – 9

A cutely conceived and executed look at a real-world relationship turned into a manga about life and love. Sign me up for more of this!