Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Comic Yuri Hime Magazine, April 2020 (コミック百合姫2020年4月号)

March 8th, 2020

Here we are at the April 2020 issue of Comic Yuri Hime magazine(コミック百合姫2020年4月号). This year the cover theme is women in ill-fitting clothing having what always looks like furtive assignations in back alleyways and deeply weird fonts.  ^_^

A number of series have wrapped up and to fill the spots, the editorial staff have done some interesting things. This month I want to focus on two specific entries, as we did last month.

First up, in Ruume’s “Yuritsukushi no Kyoushitsu de” (ゆりづくしの教室で) which appears to be a class full of “Yuri” pairings, the first chapter is focused on establishing the people in the story, so there’s a bit of wandering about and “meeting” everyone. Among the characters we meet a fat girl, called “Sachin” by one of the other girls. Sachin is fat and pretty. She’s not slightly, vaguely plump, like we are usually given, she doesn’t just have a very slight bit of fat when we’re making a point (I’m looking at you, “Pochi Climb.”) Sachin is large. Sachin is also sparkly and kind and has food with which to feed those around her. She reminds me of my wife. ^_^ It was nice to see some body size variety that ins’t just big breasts in the magazine.

Secondly, there is at the end of the issue, a short 4-page story from/intro to the Rakugo school Yuri manga by TNSK, “Uchi no Shisho ha Shippo ga nai.” (うちの師匠はしっぽがない) You might recognize the creator’s name as the person who did the cover art for Yuri science fiction LN, Last and First Idol. I’m not yet convinced that this will be for me, but I’m willing to give it a try, as the idea of a Rakugo Yuri story works, and I’m a sucker for Taisho period stories. The first two volumes are out in Japanese (Volume 1 and Volume 2) and the series is running in Kodansha’s good!Afternoon magazine. You can read the first chapter on that site, in Japanese.  Which is why I wanted to point it out – this preview is not for a comic in Comic Yuri Hime at all. That interests me a lot. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it for an already well-established comic in another magazine.

Ratings:

Overall – 7

The May 2020 issue will hit shelves on the 18th of the month which means, for the first time since this magazine went monthly I am ahead of the curve. Haha, take that, giant piles of things to read! There’s no cover image up yet, so I have no idea what monstrous font they’ll use this time. Did you notice this month the title was in English? ^_^

Last note: I think it’s time to drop the “Yuri Manga”, “Western Comic”, etc., tags from the titles on Okazu posts. Back in the day when Yuri manga or anime was super hard to find, those tags made an impression and people needed to know that that stuff was out there.

If I drop the tags from the title, will it be too difficult for you as a reader to recognize what the thing I’m reviewing is? Let me know in the comments whether you find the title tags useful or distracting!





Yuri Manga: Ichido Dake Demo, Koukaishiteimasu., Volume 1(一度だけでも、後悔してます。) Guest Review by Mariko S.

March 4th, 2020

Welcome to Guest Review Wednesday here on Okazu! Today we welcome back reviewer Mariko S. as she takes a look at  a book that was mentioned in last week’s YNN report, Ichido Dake Demo, Koukaishiteimasu., Volume 1 (一度だけでも、後悔してます。). Please give her your attention and your warmest welcome once again!

24-year-old Kozuka Chiyo is a typical manga protagonist. She loves anime and games, and used to work at a game company until a few months ago, when she lost her job due to vaguely hinted at circumstances. She’s spent the time since holed up in her apartment burning through her savings on living expenses and obviously necessary figurine and video game purchases, but, alas, not on rent. One day her landlady, a petite girl of 19, comes to collect and, finding Kozuka unable to settle up, suddenly bluntly proposes that if they have sex, she’ll work out a way to get her caught up. Despite not being sexually interested in girls, with no better alternative Kozuka apparently agrees and, after a few beers, wakes up naked next to the landlady the next morning with regrets, but at least a path forward.

The landlady’s plan – she’ll move in with Kozuka, and Kozuka will pay off her debt in blocks of 10,000 yen, each one to be checked off when Kozuka is deemed to have rendered “good service.” The landlady is clear that she wants this to be/include sex, but Kozuka is eager to find alternatives. The problem being, as you might expect, that Kozuka has no life skills to offer – she can’t cook, clean, or do laundry – while the landlady is extremely put together and competent. Kozuka finds her own life improving more by the landlady helping her, instead of anything she’s able to do in return benefiting the landlady, at least at first.

“Ichido dakedemo…” isn’t quite as dire as its skeevy and salacious (skeevalacious?) setup portends. The initial sex trade happens off page and, though the service quotient is high, it’s not especially gross. Once/if you can look past that “no woman would ever do this” setup, the subsequent “services in lieu of rent” are more of a slow burn toward relationship development/general intimacy and friendship, including things like playing games together, talking about their pasts, going on a shopping date, and a “redeem any time” hug offer. Hara, the landlady (we don’t learn her first name and only learn her last name late in the book) is very clear about wanting more, and her internal monologue suggests she’s in love with Kozuka and has been for awhile, for reasons we can only guess at (other than her stating that she likes older women).

The surprising turn comes when Hara is shown to have been struggling with same-sex attraction and the way people have treated her for it for a long time. When she and Kozuka are out on the shopping date, they run into one of the landlady’s old high school acquaintances and her boyfriend. The acquaintance outs the landlady to her boyfriend, and even though neither reacts badly, they are pretty callous with how they talk about her. Kozuka comes to Hara’s rescue, and they have a sort of coded talk about how it’s been for her and Kozuka’s attitude about gay relationships. We see that what Kozuka really can offer Hara is a chance to connect with someone else, more than just physically, who actually cares about her and needs her.

The biggest problem with this manga so far, really, is that since it’s obviously intended to be a romance, Kozuka is undoubtedly going to come around to falling in love with the landlady, even though she’s been nothing but clear about not having any same-sex desire. That said, the landlady does bring a lot to the table for her, at the very least as a roommate and companion, so if they do end up together they should be relatively happy.

I don’t think any of this excuses the problematic sexual coercion/power abuse setup. I do think the author tried to offset that by making the landlady so much younger and smaller, so that it feels more like Kozuka consents to the terms for her own gain rather than because she feels threatened or forced. It’s not going to be a title for everyone, but I was pleasantly surprised at it… not being as bad as it could have been? No, more being way better than I would have expected? How’s that for an endorsement. ><;

 

Ratings:

Art – 7   There’s a certain sloppiness to it that is kind of refreshing, and the proportions and poses are generally good, but it rarely has much reason to push the details and creativity beyond “nice enough.”

Story – 6   The hook is ludicrous, and many of the vignettes pretty standard adult slice-of-life variants, but there’s some good potential for the future if they delve into the hinted-at discrimination that cost Kozuka her job, or more explicitly into Hara’s struggles with being gay.

Characters – 7  Maybe a little high, but I’m just glad that they’re cute without being (too) moe and have adult bodies. Oh, bar, why must you be so low?

Yuri – 5  Since only half of the characters fit the description thus far.

Service – 7  There’s the usual assortment of “walking in on each other naked,” “conversation about bras,” and “occasional cleavage shots.” Also, I guess, the premise is literally about “service.” Service thing that bugs me little: somehow Kozuka, an otaku couch potato who lives off of cup ramen and doesn’t exercise, has an incredible body under her dumpy clothes. Don’t get me wrong, the artist excels at drawing Kozuka’s curves, but you just don’t get that body without a lot more effort than she puts in. ^^;

 

Overall – 6

Erica here: Thank you Mariko for another great review of a manga that I would never know anything about otherwise. That’s the best part of guest reviews!





Yuri Manga: Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 3 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな)

March 2nd, 2020

2020 marks an interesting new phase for me in regards to Yuri manga. Because there are so many more comics about adult women, written for adults, my specific vocabulary of school-related words is more irrelevant than ever before. ^_^ As a result, I find myself reading manga through two or even three times, to make sure I’m following the complications of more adult language and situations. I’m not complaining! Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 3 by Tamifull was a frustrating read, every single time I read it, but wholly worth it.

The volume starts off by wrapping up what might have become a problem. Unbeknownst to Miwa, band drummer Tsuruta has developed a pretty intense crush on her. Miwa never learns about it, but we watch Tsuruta try to figure out his feelings without causing too much collateral damage. Although he does muse about leaving the circle, in the end he doesn’t. But he’s legit hurting and the fact that he never had a chance doesn’t make it better.

Miwa and Saeko stay with Saeko’s family and once again, family dynamics complicate their relationship. Miwa discovers Saeko’s “secret past” and meets some of her old friends, while Saeko want nothing more to distance her current self from that past self.

And they are still having a hard time having sex. I really feel for these two, it’s like their bodies and minds are just conspiring against them. Miwa’s worked past her bad experiences, but Saeko’s really struggling with her body which just won’t respond the way she wants. From our perspective, we can conjecture several things this might be, but without good communication between them, we’ll never know what it is.

I’ve talked about “after the happily-ever-after” many times here on Okazu. This is the big honking problem with first love and school love stories. Once the princess and the princess get together the story just ends, We know that that is hardly the end of the story…for most people it’s just the beginning. Relationships are hard. Communication is complicated. People are complex systems that are constantly changing and are affected by internal and external stimuli….that any couple manages to work at all is almost a miracle. There’s no miracle here – yet – for Miwa and Saeko, but I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping that they figure it out.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 Getting harder, not easier to read, but getting more relevant as it does
Characters –  7 I’m rooting for everyone, but not sure I actually like anyone
Yuri – 8 / LGBTQ – 6 still room for more
Service – 3

Overall – 8

Complexity is complex. This is much less a Yuri romance at this point than a referendum on relationship communication issues, featuring a same-sex couple.

How Do We Relationship, Volume 1 from Viz Media will be another June baby, so you’ll have a chance then to weigh in with your opinions on this.





Yuri Manga: Conditions of Paradise (English)

February 28th, 2020

It was 2008 when I had the delicious pleasure of reviewing Rakuen no Jouken in Japanese. Imagine my delight now, 12 years later, to be able to speak about an English language volume of it with you! I am beside myself with joy for English-reading fans of Yuri that you are finally able to enjoy Conditions of Paradise by Akiko Morishima. This volume contains short-arc and one-shot stories previously published in Comic Yuri Hime, (which was Yuri Hime magazine at the time) with an unpublished additional story, by one of the foundational creators of the modern Yuri genre.

The first arc follows two adult women who are completely opposite, but who find commonality in their love. The second arc is about a younger adult woman and the older woman she falls for…and how an age gap doesn’t have to make a difference at all. An unlikely couple finds strength in one another, a high school girl finds her first love. A historical drama tells the adventurous tale of a beautiful tragic, love. In this variety of shorts, we get to explore all kinds of love women have for one another.

Reading this book is like taking a deep breath and finally, after a long day, being able to relax. Morishima-sensei explores the  inner lives of women, taking time even in the one-shots to learn what experiences, dreams and fears make up their lives. There’s more in-depth character development in any one of these short stories than there is in chapters of other people’s work (semelparous, I’m looking at you…). It’s a treasure.

This book also marks the first work wholly by Morishima-sensei in English! If you have been reading Yuri Bear Storm, you’re familiar with her art. Here, you can enjoy a tall, cool sip of excellent Yuri storytelling alongside her distinctive artistic style. Fans of cute and/or moe art will find that here they are served here without any loss to the individuality or identity of the character. Cute and pink-cheeked they may be, but there are no fetuses in frilly dresses here, nor are the characters interchangeable stereotypes.

As always, the book has been handled beautifully by Seven Seas. Elina Ishikawa-Curran’s translation and Asha Baron’s adaptation reads as smooth as silk. Great job on this book. It was worth the wait.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – variable, 8
Characters – an almost universally likeable 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 4

Overall – 9

If you’re looking for a book to take the edge off the harsh realities of the world that doesn’t ask you to set aside sense or sensibility, take a look at Conditions of Paradise.

Thanks very much to Seven Seas for a review copy! It’s magnificent.





Yuri Manga: A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Volume 2 (English)

February 25th, 2020

In Volume 1, Konatsu moves to a small seaside town where she meets Koyuki, a sempai who is a member of the aquarium club. Konatsu wants to be friends with Koyuki, but she’s have a surprisingly difficult time communicating with the other girl.

In Makoto Hagino’s  A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Volume 2, (The Japanese volume of which I reviewed back in summer 2018) the communication gap is widening. Not because Koyuki doesn’t like Konatsu….it’s because she does and she’s got crippling social and emotional anxiety that will strangle their relationship if someone doesn’t do something. We know – as people who have read thousands of stories just like this, that this kind of “can’t say what has to be said” is a common basis for romance literature. But, to be honest, that doesn’t make it less frustrating for me as a reader. ^_^  Nonetheless, Konatsu isn’t shy, or socially awkward and when she finally has the chance, she’s not afraid to say what’s on her mind, which is why this series moves forward at all, when it does.

Top mark’s for Viz’s edition of this extremely slow-burn relationship. John Werry’s translation here is solid – and straightforward, as the development is in the silences and pauses as much as any of the words. Special shout out to Eve Grandt’s touch-up and lettering as a lot of the sound fx are large visual inserts. If you barely notice this kind of thing, the touch-up was done well.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 1 on principle only, there really isn’t any
Yuri – 7

Overall – 8

I like Koyuki, although her inability to so much as send a text makes me worry about her. Konatsu will be very good for her, if she can get the other girl to let her in at all.

I’m 4 volumes in to this series in Japanese, and I still don’t think it will do anything notable, but that’s fine. It can be a slow walk nowhere. Volume 5 is on the to-buy pile.