Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Still Sick, Volume 1 (English)

November 20th, 2019

We are edging ever closer to the event horizon where Yuri manga in English is coming out at the same time as in Japanese. It was only March of this year when I reviewed this book in Japanese. Here we are, a mere 7 months later and we’re looking at Akashi’s Still Sick, Volume 1 in English, from Tokyopop.

Shimizu Makoto is a hard-working team leader for an engineering group. She’s also an otaku, with a hobby of drawing Yuri fanzines for comic markets. When she’s discovered by her coworker, Shimizu is desperately afraid that Maekawa will use the knowledge against her. Instead, Maekawa turns out to have a secret of her own. The two of them grow closer almost against their will. It’s not a bad relationship, but it isn’t a good one either. Maekawa uses Shimizu’s emotions against her to protect herself, Shimizu is hiding from everything to protect herself. It’ll take some serious work for the two of them to move forward. In the meantime, they are becoming more of a team and closer as friends…it’s all very messy and human.

There are a number of translation choices that are worth noting. “Fan comics” and “fanzine” for doujinshi are spot on, and I laughed at the use of “headcannon” because…yes. ^_^ The definition of “onee-sama” as being used by bottoms to address tops is a bit dodgy. It’s not wholly incorrect, but not really correct, either. In any case, I probably wouldn’t have described it that way. ^_^; The discussion of Yuri in between chapters was solid, no complaints here. Overall, Katie Kimura did a decent job translating. Tokyopop’s technicals are solid, all the visuals and the font are comfortab;ly legible, even in digital format.

Of all the working society Yuri manga I have been reading, this is one of my favorites. The characters are slightly broken, in a very human way, and the outcomes of their exchanges are not at all predictable. Still Sick gives us a very otaku view of office relationships, and a very human perspective on Yuri.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Solid, not outstanding
Characters – 8
Story – 8
Yuri – 3, with a lot of potential
Service – 0 so far

Overall – 8

This is not girl meets girl, girl falls in love, the end. This is broken woman meets broken woman, they don’t fall in love, but they kind do, only not really, and there’s some other stuff they need to work on, not the end.

Thanks very much to Tokyopop for the review copy.





Yuri Manga: Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 1 (γ•γ•γ‚„γγ‚ˆγ†γ«ζ‹γ‚’ε”„γ† )

November 13th, 2019

Takeshima Eku’s Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 1 (γ•γ•γ‚„γγ‚ˆγ†γ«ζ‹γ‚’ε”„γ†) charmed me from the very first pages I read in Comic Yuri Hime magazine. 

Himari enters high school and as she and her friends watch performances during club recruitment, she falls head over heels for frontman Yori. Yori is shocked that this first-year just admits to having fallen for her. The rest of the story is not the kind of tortured “will they get together?” that we’re often required to sit through and, while Yori is an intense and tightly wound Nadesico beauty stereotype, she’s not self-loathing, tortured by her past or unnamed abuse. She’s just probably never had anyone want so badly to, you know, be around her. She’s had fans, but Himari isn’t just another fan.

There really aren’t plot complications here. I mean, yes, they can’t see each other for a few days after school and Himari is sad…so they decide to meet at lunch instead. Phew!

The big climax here is that Yori and Himari go out on a date. They share food, they have a lovely time, it’s delightful.

Artwise, everyone looks a bit drippy, but its otherwise very decent. As you can see on the cover there’s a lot of bright smiles and cutely reddened cheeks.

Mostly, the story is just a matter of two nice kids getting to know one another. It’s all very lovely and relaxing and I really like them and want them to be happy. Himari is very good for Yori, and Yori knows it. As a result, she’s really trying.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 8 There is none. It’s very nice.
Characters – 9
Service – 10000 where the “service” is two girls who are having a great time as they learn to love one another
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8

I’m actually looking forward to the school festival just to see Himari watch Yori perform.





Yuri Manga: White Lilies in Love Kaoru Toki, Anata ha. Shakijin Yuri Anthology (White Lilies in Love θŠ±ι¦™γ‚‹γ¨γγ€θ²΄ζ–Ήγ―γ€‚ η€ΎδΌšδΊΊη™Ύεˆγ‚’γƒ³γ‚½γƒ­γ‚ΈγƒΌ)

November 7th, 2019

White Lilies in Love Kaoru Toki, Anata ha. Shakijin Yuri Anthology (White Lilies in Love θŠ±ι¦™γ‚‹γ¨γγ€θ²΄ζ–Ήγ―γ€‚ η€ΎδΌšδΊΊη™Ύεˆγ‚’γƒ³γ‚½γƒ­γ‚ΈγƒΌ) is the next of the White Lilies in Love Anthology series from Kadokawa. The first one of this series that I reviewed, White Lilies in Love BRIDE’s ζ–°ε©šη™Ύεˆγ‚’γƒ³γ‚½γƒ­γ‚ΈγƒΌ, was centered around the theme of marriage. This volume is centered around springtime and sakura petals. And, as you might guess by that theme, I’m a little bit behind in reviewing this volume. ^_^

I did read this much earlier in the year, then forgot all about it. I read it again this summer, but was too busy to get to it and when it once again popped to the top of my to-review pile, I had, erm, forgotten the stories again. Not an auspicious beginning, but third time’s a charm and I can report that this was actually, a sweet anthology, my poor memory notwithstanding.

A managaka is tasked with drawing a love story centered around cherry blossoms. A young office worker finds relaxation and calm in the presence of an aquarium in the office lobby…and in the presence of the woman who designed it. An American who loves Japan, and who loves the sakura tree outside her Japanese friend’s room, is horrified to hear that her friend hates this time of year, because it means they’ll be parted. A woman who works at a match-making service makes a match for herself. And the initial color one-page story gets an adorable resolution at the end of the book.

Although the theme is spring, and the blossoming of the cherry trees, this is a very loose theme and those beautiful petals are often merely the background to a pleasant (or, in at least one case, unpleasant,) Yuri story.

Nothing here is ground-breaking, but it’s entertaining bedtime reading.

Ratings:

Art – Variable, some of it very good 8
Story – Same 8
Characters –  8
Service – 3 A bit
Yuri – 9

Overall – 8

This is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy reading before bed, when I want something light and fluffy. ^_^

 





Yuri Manga: Galette meets, Issue 6 (γ‚¬γƒ¬γƒƒγƒˆ meets)

November 6th, 2019

One of my purchases at Girls Love Fest in September (along with piles of doujinshi) was Galette meets, Issue 6 (γ‚¬γƒ¬γƒƒγƒˆ meets). Galette meets functions as the doujinshi arm of the quarterly Galette magazine. It’s subtitle reads “All one-shot, slightly SEXY and more SWEET, galette meets.” I receive meets as a backer of Galette, but when I can get a copy in hardcover, I do, because my growing section of Galette publications makes me happy. ^_^I encourage you to become a backer and get a PDF download of magazine and meets as a perq!

This issue contains 6 stories for a hefty 84 pages. There are a number of cute and fun stories, but the one that I enjoyed the most was “Watashi no Roommate” by Morino, An ero-manga artist is not comfortable with her roommate at all. She’s relieved when her roommate leaves. As she works on her comic, she finds herself stimulated and moves to the bed to take care of the issue. Her roommate walks in on her, comments drily, “I forgot my phone” and leaves again. ^_^ The roommate’s complete lack of concern was pretty funny.

nui’s “Hibi no Katachi” also scratched my Yuri android itch. I really like Yuri android stories for some reason. ^_^

Overall – 8

Issue 7 of Galette meets was released at the end of September in print. You can also get Issue 1 through 3.5 on Bookwalker Global in digital format. Issue 4 and Issue 5 are available as Kindle only on Amazon JP. You can find other links to purchase them (Melonbooks, Comiz Zin) on the Galette meets website.





Yuri Manga: Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 10 (English)

November 1st, 2019

And so, Shiramine Ayaka’s long quest is over. In Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, Volume 10, in and around the graduation festivities, surrounded by students leaving the school, Ayaka struggles to figure out her feelings, for her rival, her friend, her confidant, her support, Kurosawa Yurine.

To get herself to that conclusion, Ayaka revisits all the people, all the couples and all the relationships…all the Yuri tropes… we’ve seen in this series, giving us one last time to enjoy them before they and we move on.

As the curtain is drawn on this series for the last time here on Okazu, Ayaka finally figures out what we have seen for basically 10 volumes – that she is in love with Yurine. Yurine responds to this with white lilies and a kiss.

Now we say good bye to this series. It was always entertaining if rarely groundbreaking. Canno-sensei had a chance to spend the last six years on this series, working on her art, her characters, her comedic timing and it shows. Her lines, both drawn and spoken are more confident. After this breakout series, I’m looking forward to seeing where she heads with her work. I hope,of course that she’ll be working on something original, but we can see her current Starlight Revue project, Starlight no Ou on Pixiv.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 8 Ayaka was, in my opinion, the best character of the series
Story – 7
Service – 0
Goofball grin-making Yuri – 10

It feels like the closing of a beloved picture book, to be set back on the shelf as we turn towards something more adult. It’s not that we love it less, it’s just that it has become less relevant to our lives as we matured.

It’s time to get dressed and ready for adult romance. ^_^

Many thanks to Yen Press for the review copy!