Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Anthology: LiLium Yuri Anthology, Vol. 1 / リリウム 百合アンソロジー

February 7th, 2020

Comic Zin is the bomb. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but it’s a teeny little cave crammed full of treasures. Across the street and down a block or so from Toranoana in Akihabara, there’s a big sign that reads “ZIN” You go up narrow steep stairs (my wife calls the “harrowing,”) to one room, so chock-full of randomness that you instant think, “I am doing doujinshi storage all wrong: and “Ooohhh…train tables in manga form!” Well, you you may think that, if you can get past the first three sets of shelves on which are a surprisingly decent collection of Yuri doujinshi that you totally need.  Or, you can use a buying service and visit their website. But that’s not nearly as much fun.

Which is where I finally found a doujinshi put out by LiLium Plan, a Twitter account I’d been following for ages. LiLium Yuri Anthology, Vol. 1 (リリウム 百合アンソロジー) is described on it’s Amazon page as “8 stories of cute, beautiful, precious love to happy sexual relationships, between young couples and adult women in society. Packed full of moe situations.”

Most of the names here are new to me, with one exception. Takashima Hiromi, creator of the Kase-san series, has a short story in this collection about two girls who meet on the train. Quite possibly the story I liked the most – and brace yourselves, because I have never said this before – was about a maid and her mistress, a girl who uses a wheelchair, by Edoya Petit, “La Fleur Artificielle.” It turned really dark and creepy at the end and I’m not sure why, but I think I liked it anyway? It’s hard to tell if I liked it, or just couldn’t look away. ^_^ 

The art is decent throughout and while the collection does nothing new, it’s also doesn’t suck while handling anything old. And now I have new names to watch for. Volume 2 will be released at Comitia (tomorrow in Japan,) so if doujinshi anthologies are your boom and you’re at Big Site, go to U06ab and grab a copy!

Ratings:

Overall – 8

This is it, I think…the last thing I picked up as part of the 100 Years of Yuri Tour that I am going to review. Unless it isn’t. ^_^ Onward into a new century!





Yuri Manga: Galette, No. 12 (ガレット )

February 5th, 2020

Reading Galette is one of my very sincerest joys these days. When Galette, No. 12  (ガレット ) arrived, I just kind of sat on it, deferring that joy, just to make it last. ^_^

There is so much wonderful work here that I hardly know where to begin! Instead of listing everything, I just want to touch on two stories for which I have a lot of interest – and hope.

Hakamada Mera is a creator that has been the target of a lot of criticism from me in the past decade. Not because she’s not good…because she is good and I have felt for more than ten years that she could be better. I feel like something in her work has shifted recently and she is – at last – doing the work I expected of her or more probably she’s doing the work that she wants to do. I liked her previous series a lot. Even though it was set in a high school, t never felt threadbare. And her new story, “Sekai ga Owareru Sono Mae ni” is the best I have ever seen from her. I cannot quite put my finger on what is different, but it contains a feeling of honesty and real-ness that I felt had been lacking in her early work. (I liken it to the sensation I always has reading Melissa Scott’s novels in the 1990s – there was just something that she wasn’t putting into her wok and its absence was notable. I am delighted to be reading Hakamada-sensei’s work right now.

The second story I want to talk about is “Liberty” by Kitto Izumi and Momono Moto. This, too, has been skirting something important and, while I have liked it anyway I am absolutely here for this story now, as we learn a little bit about Liz. More importantly, we can see the abuse and manipulation Liz was subjected to by her former manager. This issue’s chapter was terrifying and hard to read..while being completely “normal” on the surface. So much was revealed in this chapter, it sets us up for a completely different story now. I cannot wait to see where it goes. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping we’d get in Galette.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Both these are are just two stories among several along with some primary Yuri research and columns. The time it takes me to read Galette is always time well-spent and I look forward very much to Galette No. 13 which is available on Amazon JP – which marks the start of Year 4 – in a few days. 

Galette No. 12 is digitally available on Amazon.com.  Up to Volume 11 is available on Global Bookwalker as well.

 





Yuri Manga: Sore ha, Haru no Arashi no You ni, Volume 1 (それは、春の嵐のように)

January 31st, 2020

Aoi is an office lady who dreams of a “normal life.” She tells her her friend that she wants to get married. Chi-chan appears to accept it. Aoi, on the other hand is massively conflicted, and as she walks down the aisle is fairly certain that she has made the wrong decision.

Luckily for Aoi, Chiho has no intention of standing aside, and arrives at the church in time to speak now. Standing in front of the dearly beloved who had been gathered today, resplendent in a white tux, Chi-chan offers Aoi her hand. Aoi takes it and they run away together….

Sore ha, Haru no Arashi no You ni, Volume 1 (それは、春の嵐のように) by kurukuruhime is about learning to love what you  have and being grateful for what you love.The rest of the book is primarily watching Aoi doing this very thing. From making love with Chiho, to enjoying shopping together, Aoi learns to appreciate what she has…all those little moments that make up a life together, that my wife and I call “playing house.”

When Aoi returns to work, she finds the strength to apologize to her former fiance who is very decent about it. But, Aoi, says to Chiho, as the volume comes to a close, she still wants to get married…to Chi-chan.

kurukurhime, creator of Yuri Life, does adult Yuri stories that one can slide into like a pair of comfortable slippers. They aren’t high drama, but they are filled with emotions that are wholly relatable. And, in this case, a real-life Princess who sweeps up to save the Princess from her own terrible decision. I’m okay with that. ^_^

The book ends with “to be continued” and I hope that that is true. I see no serialization for it, but that could be anything. Fingers crossed.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – Starts off a little annoying, gets better as it goes. Average 7, ends at 8
Characters – 8, despite difficulties
Service – 4 nudity, sex, nothing explicit
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8

My copy was picked up at Animate (it says so, that helps,) so it came with a lovely color illustration card of Chiho in her glasses. Thumbs up from me! I think girls who wear glasses look great. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, February 2020 (コミック百合姫2020年2月号)

January 30th, 2020

Welp, I kind of knew this was coming. Statistically speaking, we were long overdue for a not-good issue of this magazine. Comic Yuri Hime, February 2020 (コミック百合姫2020年2月号) is not great.

Several new series that wallow in grotesque fetishtry and are clearly meant to appeal to people who do not like women, or want to see them happy, are combined with the end of a series by an artist who does like women and wants to see them happy, made this volume a very difficult read.  As the number of the stories that are lolicon, exploitative, and manipulative are increasing, while the number of stories about women enjoying – or learning to enjoy – being together, now number less than previously.  I find myself clinging to the few I genuinely enjoy and making my eyes glaze over as I pass by so much of the magazine. I have, in past years, continued reading what was at the time Yuri Hime, when it was down to two series I liked, but I really don’t want to return to those days.

In the middle of so much that is not good, let us rejoice in what is. It felt a tad rushed, but the ending of “Itoshi Koishi” by Takemiya Jin, gave us a couple who we can absolutely believe will have a happily-ever-after. Yayoi and Hina are cute together and we can rely on Hina to be grounded. Sure it’s a fake wedding now, but one day I hope they will get the “real” wedding they deserve.  ^_^

“Terano-sensei to Hayama-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru” did something that amazed me, in a good way. In a great way. Hayama-sensei is off to do what teachers around here call a “service day.” That is, she’s attending a class or workshop of some kind off-campus. While there, she meets a woman and they speak of their girlfriends. Together. Like adults. Hayama-sensei has been given a person to speak with who is another adult woman, in a relationship with another woman. Their meeting was part of their daily life. It was all perfectly normal, everyday life stuff. The way lives actually are. I read this chapter over three times, just to make sure I hadn’t hallucinated it.

In “Hello Melancholic” by Ohsawa Yayoi, Minato is let into the private world of the upperclassmen in her band. Chika jerks Minato’s chain about seeing Chika and Sakiko kissing, but it’s mostly because Minato’s reactions are so OTT. ^_^

“Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!” by Miman finally reaches the climax its been heading towards, as Hime has to reckon on what future to choose.

Kuwabara Tamostsu’s “Anta ga Senaka o Misetara” is a one-shot of a the sort of sports drama I’d love to see a full series of. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

As always, there were stories I read and haven’t called out that were perfectly okay. But I worry when the fourth series starts that is very clearly designed to appeal to much lower than lowest-common denominator. Writing this review has made me feel better about what is running that is good and I hope that that will continue.

I’m picking up the March Issue today and will keep fingers crossed.





Yuri Manga: Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 2 (定時にあがれたら)

January 24th, 2020

In Volume 1, we met Yukawa, who became friendly, then friends, then lovers with her coworker, Mizuki. Now, in Volume 2 of Teiji ni Ageretara (定時にあがれたら), they are navigating new territory as lovers.

Getting together with coworkers or old school friends now presents new challenges, as they struggle with how much attention they can pay to one another. So does working together – especially when Yukawa is assigned a newbie to shepherd….an attractive, friendly newbie, who uses Yukawa’s given name like it’s nothing! Mizuki is trying to not be annoyed or jealous and is failing horribly. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Yukawa, it’s just…she so cute and charming, who wouldn’t want her?!?

They shop together, they cook together, they spend their day off together and stay over and are blissfully happy about it. ^_^

The crises and their resolutions are quiet, small and utterly everyday. It’s lovely.  Inui Ayui’s art is loose and often unstructured, the focus is on emotional content, rather that life-like representation. But it’s so clearly a kind of story that any human who has ever been in love will understand and who will find that, almost despite themselves, there is a smile on their face as they read.

Just as a reminder (since I myself had to be reminded, thanks again, CW) Inui Ayu is currently doing an autobiographical comic about life with her girlfriend for Comic Yuri Hime right now, so clearly she’s writing this from personal experience. And it really shows, especially when Mizuki or Yukawa are squeeing over how adorable their lover is. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7 Characters have a tendency to look a little soppy
Story – 7 It’s nice, not amazing
Characters – 7 Same
Service – 0 in this volume
Yuri – 7 We end this volume at the beginning….

Overall – 7

For folks like me, who are always looking for after the “happily ever after,” this story absolutely hits the nail on the crumpet. (Points to anyone who gets that reference!)