The Yuri + Kanojo anthologies from Fusion Comics has been a fascinating mashup of first-person visual story telling and ultra-short narrative creation that has, in general, piqued my interest.

If you recall from previous volumes, the premise is a series of two or three short 4-6 page stories that follow a character through their relationships with us, from a first person perspective. A First Person Yuri, if you will. We don’t get spoken lines usually, but we are allowed to see our hands, some of our body, have the occasional goofy face indicating mood in a thought bubble and sundry noises or other means of expression. I’ve especially enjoyed when the stories leave school behind and cover adults and even (gasp!) older women.

Yuri + Kanojo – Tomodachi ha Kinou Made – (百合+カノジョ-友達は昨日まで-) takes a even more radical approach, with stories of senior relationships. But, before that, it brushes upon the weird and wacky, with a section devoted to unusual stories – gentlewoman thief, mermaid, witch and the like. The second section returns to “Episode of Usual” with characters in school, but even here these characters are characters. I particular liked bodybuilder Jinguji Reika. Put a pin in that name, she’ll be back. (No spoilers, readers, just wait for it.) And of course I liked Kagami Yukina, whose only desire in life was to be our butler. The third section is titled “Global” with equally as rare characters from far off exotic places like Brazil, China, England, Korea. The final section is the After Forty section, this time with relationships that last a lifetime. Particularly charming were the three-parters that covered decades of a couple’s life together.

Of the several Yuri + Kanojo volumes so far, I enjoyed this one most, clearly because of the whimsicality and also the lack of children. Really, after all these years and so many, many, many school romances, I just really don’t much care for stories about middle-schoolers. ^_^;

Ratings:

Art, story, characters are all variable, since it is an anthology.

Overall – 9

If you’re on the fence about the Yuri + Kanojo series, I’d definitely recommend this one, at the very least.

While we’re on Yuri anthologies(!), it seems a great time to 1) mention that there’s a new Yuri + Kanojo anthlogy out and, without having actually read any of it except the first story, it’s already my favorite of the series, Yuri + Kanojo Tomodachi ha Kinou Made (百合+カノジョ-友達は昨日まで-) and, 2) talk about yet another Yuri anthology set in adult life, this one from Yuri Hime Comics, starring many of your favorite artists, Chocolat Shakaijin Yuri Anthology ( ショコラ 社会人百合アンソロジー).

This is a “who’s who”of Yuri manga right now, with contribitutions by Kodama Naoko, Ohsawa Yayoi (whose story, in which a newer employee falls for “2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei”s Ryuuko (of course.) I quite enjoyed the color page story in the first couple of pages by Kishi Torajirou about a late-night office talk that goes raunchy pretty quickly.

Stories by Pikachi, Tokwotsumu, Takemiya Jin, Momono Moto and others explore any number of not-always office not-always romances.

In yet another sign or me getting old, I’m really starting to enjoy the not-really romances. ^_^ Those moments that don’t work out are more appealing Weird, huh? Most of the stories have a happy ending, but there’s a nice balance of art style and story-telling here. ‘

Ratings: 

Overall – 8

Like other anthologies, Chocolat is a great way to get a number of perspectives on a scenario.

There’s something to be said for judging a book by it’s cover, sometimes. ^_^ Avalon ~bitter~ is a Yuri anthology of troubling, distressing and bitter stories by extremely talented artists. It’s not that the stories are bad, it’s that this is not the collection for you, if you’re looking for happy endings. 

I found Mikanji’s “Sukininaru nante arienai” to be typical of this collection. A girl who had been a bully, is sexually harassed by the girl she bullied when they were younger. But it’s okay now because they can bully each other. … … …

But the story that encapsulated the whole anthology for me was Shoukabuki’s “Bara bara” about a lesbian and the woman she seduces. The lesbian’s kouhai is a little appalled at her sempai’s casual disinterest in the woman afterwards, but when she hears the woman dismissing the sex, because she’s not really queer, she understands a bit better that people use each other for their own ends.

This volume is pretty much a collection of stories in which people use each other, with some manipulation, sexual harassment and a bit of light betrayal, in a variety of settings, both realistic and fantastic. Overall, both writing and art is very good, which actually serves to increase the bitter flavor of the work. ^_^;

Ratings:

Overall – 8 Although I didn’t enjoy it, per se, it was very good.

The publisher is “girls x garden” which is a new imprint for me. I’ll be interested to get the other available Avalon collection, which seems to have a similar roster of contributors but perhaps a different focus.

The third Yuri + Kanojo Yuri Anthology Yuri + Kanojo Heroine-doushi no Happy End (百合+カノジョ-ヒロイン同士のハッピーエンド-) isn’t about heroines so much as about happy endings.

The first of the series, Yuri +Kanojo, established the first-person aspect of the stories. In  this book, we were the protagonist, as if the stories were all dating sims. In the second anthology, Yuri+ Kanojo Suki ni Nattemoii? (百合+カノジョ 好きになってもいい?), we were introduced to stories of characters that extended past school life into adulthood. 

In Yuri + Kanojo Heroine-doushi no Happy End, we are treated to stories that move through time. The girl we meet and fall in love with in school is still with us in college and the two of us will be together as young adults. The woman we met in college will be the face we wake up to in the morning as we build our careers.  And the woman we met in the office, is there for us when we turn 40. 

Most of these stories are told in three parts  – our earliest days together, a few years later as our relationship is more settled and finally as we are an established couple. The stories once again begin in high school, move backwards to middle school, then progress into adulthood. 

There is no lesbian identity here, but in one of the stories about adult lives, an engagement ring makes an appearance. This volume also includes two stories about “foreign” protagonists, American Diana Lauren and the last story follows Italian Laura Leone. You can tell, because they each say random things in their native tongue. ^_^

Ratings: 

Overall  – 9 I really like the passage of time and the characters growing older.

Of the Yuri+ Kanojo collections, it will come as no surprise that I like this one the best, as it looks into adult life. It’s a fun Yuri anthology that requires no commitment or engagement and passes by in short vignettes. in which the girl always gets the girl.