Imagine my glee when I discovered that Yuri Hime Comics was releasing a Yuri manga anthology for My Next Life As a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!. I mean, I was pretty darn gleeful! ^_^

Among the many things I enjoyed about the anime and the Light Novels that I have so far read for Hamehura, the top two qualities that make it an island of tranquility in the midst of 2020 is the gentle, wholesomeness of the thing. “Villainess” Katarina Claes lacks all the qualities of a good villainess – instead she is loyal and good-hearted, a bit of a doofus and, while not cunning, per se, she has flashes of disarming insight into people’s inner nature. The format of the Light Novels, particularly, mean that with any given scenario, we experience it twice, once from Katarina’s perspective and once from the perspective of a person who will be charmed by her.

Otome Game no Hametsu Flag Shikanai Akuyaku Tenseishite Shimatta…GIRLS PATCH (乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった… GIRLS PATCH) follows this formula in several cases and in others simply revels in the Yuriishness of the “friends” ending of the initial arc. There’s nothing more explicit than a kiss and a bit of drunken “breast pillow”ing, I guess one would have to call it. Instead, the rivalry between Mary, Maria, Sophia and Anne, although she’s less a suitor, for Katarina’s love and attention is featured in nearly every story, with at least one story each focused one of them individually.

I’m honestly glad to report there is nothing sexual in this anthology, which would have set my teeth on edge, nor are there stories where one of the three rivals gains exclusive access for more than a scene. Both of these would have shattered the idyll created by the friendship end. Instead there are yummy sweets and tea and farming and tree climbing, just as there was in the initial anime season. What the scenarios lack in originality, they make up for in verisimilitude.

I recognized only one of the artists’ names, but the rest are new to me. My favorite storywas “Triple Booking” by Peke, the final story of the collection in which Katarina agrees to spend the day with each of her friends and we all end by cheerfully agreeing that Katarina’s a goof and we’ll all spend it together. Happy chuckles all around.

Ratings:

I can’t even say ratings are that variable, as they mostly parrot the series art style, with that harmlessly moe character design.

Art – 7
Story – Not really, but that’s not why you’re reading
Character – 100 THIS is why you are reading
Service – 3, maybe 4, depending on your feelings about Katarina’s face on Mary’s chest
Yuri – The feelings are there, but that’s all we can hope for…let’s call it a 5

Overall – 7

There’s nothing here that takes a single step out of the formula for the show, so if you’re not a fan, you can give it a miss, but if you enjoyed Hamehura, and enjoy doujinshi collections for your fave anime….and can marvel at the thrill of a Yuri Hime doujinshi collection for this series(!), as I do, it’s worth your time.

Today we’re looking at Syrup: A Yuri Anthology, Volume 1, in English this month from Seven Seas. By the time I considered reviewing Syrup Shakaijin Yuri Anthology ( シロップ 社会人百合アンソロジー), Seven Seas had already announced that they had licensed it. And, because a number of Yuri anthologies by Futabasha, Kadokawa and Ichijinsha had been pushed out at the same time, (many of them indifferent,) I never previously reviewed the Japanese edition here. ^_^

Syrup is notable for two reasons. One, the collection is entirely stories about adult women (indicated in the Japanese by the word Shakaijin – people in society. We might half-jokingly say “productive members of society” – i.e., adults. Within the limitations of each artist’s style, the characters can be seen and understood to be adults.

The other, more notable, reason is that there are a lot of notable names in this collection. Kodama Naoko, Yoshimura Kana, Amano Shuninta, Mocchi_au_Lait ,Ohi Pikachi, Kurogane Kenn and Morinaga Milk all have entries here, as do names you may be less familiar from Okazu, but who have been around a while, like Ito Hachi, Yukiko, Shioya Teruko, Goumoto and others.

The stories are a nice selection of doujinshi/short-story tropes and most have positive ends,. The only minor, but nagging, issue I have is that many of these stories feel very like not-gay, not-women are writing. Those kinds of stories were women are behaving in or saying or doing things that they don’t typically do. Like answering “I like you” with “I’m a virgin!” Uh…ohhhkayyyyyy…. I’m not saying no one has ever done that, and heaven knows that lesbians can be really awkward about dating…these just felt off the mark if you know what I mean. There was a lot more male gaze perviness from the female characters than is, in my opinion, usual for women. But none of the stories were unacceptably off-putting and several were very sweet. ^_^

Unexpectedly, my favorite story was by Kurogane Kenn. I know, I know, that’s crazypants. But his melange of otaku fervor, lesbian life and Comic Market hit the spot for me.

Ratings: Everything is variable, but this is art from some of the top names in the Yuri business.

Overall – 9

Syrup is a very good Yuri anthology for your growing Yuri anthology section of bookshelves and a great way to add work by some of the best in Yuri for your Pride month purchases.

Many thanks to Seven Seas for the review copy. ^_^

Last month, we took a look at the Yen Press translation of the second Éclair Yuri anthology in English Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart. As I have repeatedly said, Yuri anthologies hold a really important place in Yuri manga’s history and, as a result, I love and adore them as a concept. They give established creators a chance to stretch their skills outside their current works and new creators a chance to gain some publishing chops. Before Pixiv, Webtoons and other online platforms, anthologies were the next step up from doujinshi for new manga creators. I’m still so very excited that you can experience an anthology series like Éclair, with the thrill of seeing familiar names and the joy of discovering new ones.

To that end, today, we’re looking at the fourth in the series, Éclair orange – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア orange あなたに響く百合アンソロジー). Cover art and cover story are by Bloom Into You creator Nakatani Nio, and the table of contents is filled with names you already know, like Cocoon, Entwined creator, Hara Yuriko, and names you might be less familiar with, like Kiriyama Haruka and Kabocha, both of whom do great Yuri work.

I didn’t have a favorite story this volume, although I quite liked most of them (Itou Hachi’s work has always made me uncomfortable and recently I have not been finding it at all enjoyable.) The mix in this volume of school and adult life is pretty solid and there’s even a science fiction story by Yuikawa Kazuno – for whom Kadokawa has put out a collected volume, Éclair Special Kazuno Yuikawa Masterpiece Collection (エクレアSpecial 雑草譚 結川カズノ百合作品傑作選), as they did previously for Kitao Taki last year.

Those of you who liked Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl creator Canno’s story in Éclair Blanche,will be delighted to know that it continues this far along into the series.

Ratings:

Overall – 8

A very solid and enjoyable Yuri anthology. I’m betting that the next color in the series will be noir. Or violet.