Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Fujyourina Atashi-tachi, Volume 2 ( ไธๆก็†ใชใ‚ใŸใ—้”)

July 1st, 2020

Yamanaka is, for lack of a better term, a jerk. In Volume 1, we meet her teasing her colleague Taneda mercilessly. When Taneda invite Yamanaka to a lesbian bar, Yamanaka thinks “this’ll be fun.” Jok’es on her, because Taneda turns the tables on her and their relationship becomes an amusing tale of two people jerking each others’ chains.

Fujyourina Atashi-tachi, Volume 2 ( ไธๆก็†ใชใ‚ใŸใ—้”) begins with the two of them as a fairly happy couple. Their friends at the lesbian bar still can’t quite get their heads around Taneda being gay, until her ex shows up and Yamanaka’s feathers get all puffed. More interestingly, Taneda’s do as well and they quickly assert their mutual property rights. ^_^

Work is getting heavy so Taneda steps up and asks to be relied upon and, unusually for her, Yamanaka lets herself lean on her lover. So when she gets news that her mother is in the hospital, she can just run off.  Yamanaka is forced to confront her complicated feelings about her family’s relationship to her and her own feelings about being out to them.

Yamanaka discovers a number of truths that many of us discover as we age – things that drove rifts between us and our families when we were younger become not less urgent, but less complicated, as we get older. Yamanaka’s mother signals acceptance and Yamanaka is left thinking that she might actually be able to introduce her lover to her family…something she had clearly given up on.

What began as two people who couldn;t be less suited to one another is now clearly a couple with their own vibe that suits them very well.

Ratings:

Art โ€“ 8
Characters โ€“ 9
Story โ€“ 8
Lesbian โ€“ 10

Overall โ€“ 9

I’m always a huge fan of Takemiya-sensei’s work and this story especially hits the spot for me  – adult women teasing each other and the people around them, those complicated expressions she draws so well, and real life concerns of being out and even being “lesbian enough” to be accepted in queer circles. Taneda and Yamanak may have an absurd relationship, but it’s one I enjoyed watching develop.





Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu., Volume 7 (ๅ…„ใฎๅซใจๆšฎใ‚‰ใ—ใฆใ„ใพใ™ใ€‚)

June 23rd, 2020

Kuzushiro’s Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu. (ๅ…„ใฎๅซใจๆšฎใ‚‰ใ—ใฆใ„ใพใ™ใ€‚) lurches along, awkward, uncomfortable, neither a romance nor something else, and yet, I cannot look away. I last reviewed Volume 5, in which Nozomi has been struggling with her unexpressed feelings for her sistet-in-law, Shino. I did not review Volume 6, during which Nozomi’s mother’s drama took up most of the space between them. Shino eventually goes back to their home, while Nozomi sticks around her childhood home, moping because Shino is having fun without her. In actual fact, Shino is going to school and working and moping because Nozomi isn’t there and her friends are helpfully distracting her.

Now they are reunited in Ani no Yome to Kurashiteimasu., Volume 7 (ๅ…„ใฎๅซใจๆšฎใ‚‰ใ—ใฆใ„ใพใ™ใ€‚) and Nozomi has decided that, as sisters they should just relax with one another more. Shino is not objecting, but finds it very hard to relax when Nozomi and she touch. Especially when she is musing about a thing she’s heard that the underside of one’s arm is as soft as a breast and Nozomi let’s her test this theory out on her.

All the pieces in this 1000-piece puzzle are in play and it’s just a matter of filling in that complicated bit and this other. What the picture will be, though, is as yet unknown. Neither we nor Shino and Nozomi truly know what relationship they will have at the end of this series.

Ratings:

Art โ€“ 8
Story โ€“ 7
Characters โ€“ 8
Yuri โ€“ 2
Service โ€“ 3

Overall โ€“ 7

I have some weird soft spot for this story and I’m not even sure what I want for Shino and Nozomi at the end of it. ^_^;





Syrup: A Yuri Anthology, Volume 1

June 19th, 2020

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 ( ใ‚ทใƒญใƒƒใƒ— ็คพไผšไบบ็™พๅˆใ‚ขใƒณใ‚ฝใƒญใ‚ธใƒผ), 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. ^_^





MURCIร‰LAGO, Volume 16 (ใƒ ใƒซใ‚ทใ‚จใƒฉใ‚ด)

June 18th, 2020

Well. I didn’t expect that. When I told the Square Enix folks that I enjoy MURCIร‰LAGO because it has some of the ugliest lesbian sex I’ve ever seen, I did not expect them to take that as a compliment – which it was totally meant as, mind you. MURCIร‰LAGO, Volume 16 (ใƒ ใƒซใ‚ทใ‚จใƒฉใ‚ด) begins with an extended, explicit ugly lesbian sex scene between the former high school bomber and her sex slave. Well, okay then.

Then we drop back into the storyline of the “Comedy Writer” and the Elder God-inspired Bugg Shash Circus. BUT, far more importantly we finally see something we knew had to be there, but we’d never seen it before. For the first time ever, we see Hinako completely unhinged and murderous. It’s been implied a number of times that she is capable of extreme violence, the police have talked around it. We’d seen Hinako be reckless and unhinged from reality, but we’d never seen the combination of all three. And it’s as ugly as you might imagine.

I would, therefore, expect a Hinako storyline in this series’ future. But in our present, Hinako is once again returned to the loopy and only slightly (within normal parameters for this series) violent person we know. We have a little breathing room until late July when Volume 17 is on the market in Japan.

Ratings:

Art โ€“ 8
Story โ€“ 7
Characters โ€“ 8
Service โ€“ 10,000
Yuri โ€“ 10, but its ugly

Overall โ€“ 8

This series has it all…if by “all” you don’t mean literary value.

It does have, as I said, an explicit lesbian sex scene, some generic bathing scenes, and extraordinary violence and a creepy murderer. Oddly, not one of these things involve Kuroko. She spends the volume having a polite conversation before killing someone neatly and quietly.

Huh.





ร‰clair Bleue: A Girlsโ€™ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart

June 12th, 2020

ร‰clair Bleue A Girl's Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart, from Yen PressIt feels like a lot longer ago, but it was only 2018, when I reviewed ร‰clair Bleue: Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (ใ‚จใ‚ฏใƒฌใ‚ข bleue ใ‚ใชใŸใซ้Ÿฟใ็™พๅˆใ‚ขใƒณใ‚ฝใƒญใ‚ธใƒผ) and today, thanks to Yen Press, just a hair over two years later, I am able to tell you that the third ร‰clair Yuri anthology from Kadokawa, ร‰clair Bleue: A Girlsโ€™ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart is imminent!

Just like the previous ร‰clair volumes, ร‰clair and ร‰clair Blanche, this collection features a variety of pro and semi-pro (i.e., doujinshi) Yuri artists. Among them are names that are well known to you, such as Canno (Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl), Miman (Yuri is My Job)  and Nakatani Nio (Bloom Into You) and hopefully you are becoming familiar now with some of the other names, like Kitao Taki and Fly, both of whom have had works reviewed here.

ร‰clair Bleue is a hefty volume in English with 250+ pages of Yuri content by over a dozen creators. The opening illustration is a welcome return to published Yuri by Reine Hibiki, the illustrator of the Maria-sama ga Miteru novels and early Yuri manga magazine Yuri Shimai covers, among other things. Also notable was U35, whose name I hadn’t seen for many years!)

Aya Fumio’s “Unfinished Prologue” and Kitao Taki’s “Sato, Tears, a Woman and a Woman” both appealed to me as best of volume this time. In a sense they are both similar, as the triggering event is someone seeing a person being melancholy or sad. But they are otherwise different, in both style and content. And yet, both left me feeling positive. (Note to Christian: You will be pleased that Canno’s series about Hazumi and Mao continues. ^_^)

The translation by Eleanor Summers is very good. A special shout-out has got to go to letterer Alexis Eckerman, who had to find new and exciting ways to communicate a dozen different forms of shouting, pouting, confessions and lovey-doveyness. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7 All ratings are variable, as it is anthology

ร‰clair Bleue is a a decent Yuri anthology with a nice variety of stories and styles. I’m always super excited that we’re getting an anthology series in English! This volume comes out at the end of this month and the ร‰clair Rouge pre-order is up for Kindle & Comixology or in print with a release date in late September.

My sincere thanks to Yen Press for the review copy!