Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Chocolat 2 Shakaijin Yuri Anthology ( ショコラ2 社会人百合アンソロジー)

July 24th, 2019

It still strikes me as rather fun that Yuri fans are practically buried these days under an avalanche of Yuri anthologies – and that so many of them are set in adult society among working women. ^_^ I can practically see myself in 2004 or 2009 or 2015, reading yet another collection that was so similar to everything else, that I just kind of snapped. But I kept coming back for more and so, I find myself today taking a look at another Yuri anthology set in working adult society. I am not complaining! (Not yet, at any rate. ^_^)

In 2018, I reviewed the first entry into this anthology series and found it entertaining. Today I am taking a look at Chocolat 2 Shakaijin Yuri Anthology ( ショコラ2 社会人百合アンソロジー).  The contributors are mostly names we’re very familiar with here on Okazu. Morishima Akiko starts off the anthology with a somewhat complicated relationship between two women who are balancing work-life-society issues.

Kashikase’s story takes a tried and true scenario – the unpaid therapy done by all women in the customer service industry – and turns it into a love story.

I’m reading a collection by Kiriyama Haruka and just finished a story last night that I really enjoyed – but was sure I had read before! Well I had…in this collection. A woman working for an insurance company comes face to face with the web idol she admires, in what I think is a very sweet little story.

A love that never quite manages to get past the gate is the subject of a sweet and a little sad story by Takemiya Jin.

For me, the stand-out story was the last one, by Shigisawa Kaya, called “Love Letter.” A deceased writer has left her unfinished manuscript to her former lover, also a writer, to finish. We travel the length of their relationship from when they met through their parting in this taught story about endings. This was, honestly, excellent. Shigisawa’s writing and art – which tends to center tension and discomfort –  hits exactly the perfect note of melancholy, unexpressed anger and love. Outstanding work by an artist I always want to like but often cannot.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

What this collection does is hold itself together by the thinnest of connecting strings. Other than the fact that these stories are all collected for this volume, there is nothing similar about them. Different art, different tone, and vastly different takes on the topic makes Chocolat 2 a superior Yuri anthology.

 





Yuri Magazine: Galette, No. 10 (ガレット)

July 23rd, 2019

I know I’m running late with this, but I am finally getting around to reviewing Galette, No. 10 (ガレット)! Yay!

Reading Galette is always such an interesting experience. There is much variety and I’m often surprised when something I didn’t think I’d care for turns out to be something I like, or vice versa. I was a little bit worried that this was the end of my favorite story, “Liberty,” as Liz and Maki had finally come to a point where they were on the same page. I didn’t want it to end because that would have been very “Story A.” It hasn’t ended, but is has immediately turned in a direction I laughingly called “Story B” inside my head as Liz’s thoughtless former lover is probably returning to cause drama.

Hakamada Mera has an unusual offering this issue, about an adult couple that was very pleasant. Morninaga Milk’s drama about two women and their cat came to a head over… the cat. ^_^ “Kuri-san Kamo” told a story from a backwards angle that I quite liked.

This volume had additions from Galette Plus and Petite Galette. Color photo pages and color ink pages gives it the feel, a little bit ,of the magazines one picks up in the convenience stores. I’m not sure if I think it works, yet. ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

Another varied and fun issue of my favorite Yuri magazine! Here’s hoping that the crowdfunding picks back up and they can expand the issues a little. (I’ve bumped up my subscription, so I’m no longer next to the one name in the funders listing I actually know well. Awww. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Yuri is My Job, Volume 4 (English)

July 22nd, 2019

Yuri is My Job is unquestionably rooted in Yuri tropes. It is indubitably based around intense emotional relationships between women. There is one one-sided romantic relationship, the acted frisson of relationship between two characters and, in Volume 4, we learn of a past romantic relationship among the Liebe cafe staff. But there is not a romance among the main characters…as of yet. For all I know, there may never be.

So, I ask you, my dear readers: is Yuri is My Job a “Yuri” manga?” ^_^ Think about it, then tell me what you think in the comments. I’m not planning on editorializing about this, I just want to know what you think.

In Yuri is My Job, Volume 4, we delve ever more deeply into Kanako’s inner life, as she is poked and prodded by Sumika, who presents herself as coming from a high moral ground, but may in fact be more self-serving than she appears. We get to see that Nene is the staff member whose relationship Sumika has told Kanako about and it turns out that she may well have gotten that wrong, too. As Nene states so plainly. “I think I at least know how to fall in love with people on my own.”

Finally, the Blüme contest is on. Even after securing her vote, for some reason, Sumika will not leave Kanako alone. Kanako thinks of it as bullying, Sumika thinks of it as concern. And, after order has prevailed, Sumika as “third-year” has won; after all of the drama, the politics, all of Kanako’s desire to see Hime pull off a coup has been left behind, they come to a place where they are able to confide in one another. Kanako – finally – puts a name to her feelings for Hime.

And then the cafe moves on to the next marketing event! For the first time the “students” will be wearing summer uniforms. This brings a whole new crisis…and a whole new solution.

We get a couple of extras, including a fun little Yuriten-themed short Miman-sensei had drawn a “Yuriten Cafe” comic for the event the year I attended and I was all whiny at the staff about it not being real. Uchida-san told me they just couldn’t manage it that year. I hope they consider doing one eventually! I want to go to a Yuri-trope cafe and be made to feel uncomfortable about my interests. ^_^

The second extra follows Nene handling the various teas, and what motivated her to talk to Sumika about their failed sisterly bonds.

Once again, Miman-sensei gives us insight into their process, which I continue to find fascinating.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 4 since one piece of this volume pretty wholly focuses on breasts.

Overall – 8

Yuri is My Job hits all the right notes for all fans of classic “S” Yuri literature, animation and comics. One of my favorite volumes so far. There’s a lot of strong character-building for all of the staff.

So, what do you think of Yuri is my Job? Is it – by your standards – Yuri?





Yuri Manga: Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume １(不揃いの連理)

July 16th, 2019

Tanaka Iori is a 28-year old OL in a stressful and not very satisfying job. Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume １(不揃いの連理) begins with Iori on her way home after a hard day, stopping by a local izakaya for a meal, some drinks and a vent with Minami, the cute girl who works there.

The next day Iori wakes up very naked next to an equally naked Minami and learns that the night before she had been very drunk and had been sick over both their clothes. Mortified, Iori wants to make it up to Minami. She gets her chance when Minami hurts herself. Iori invites the younger woman to stay with her. And the mishap is forgotten as they- much less drunkenly this time – become lovers. Iori’s still got some dealing to do when she learns that’s she’s now going out with a much younger woman. Yes, Minami is an adult, but that doesn’t stop Iori from feeling kind of old.

Minami has tribal tattoos on her arms neck and back and multiple piercings (thus, perhaps for the first time in non-gang ouvre do I see someone who is my type in a manga. ^_^) but is not a juvenile delinquent or gang girl. Iori learns, though, that Minami grew up as a foster kid and her foster sister, Shizuka, and she did get int a lot of trouble. When Shizuka shows up at the door, Minami is very firm that Shizuka should leave Iori the hell alone. But Iori has her own hands full with her younger sister, Saori, who is giving Minami a hard time for having moved in with her older sister. When Shizuka and Saori encounter each other in school, it s match made in somewhere tangential to heaven. ^_^

Iori is a pretty good partner, noticing when Minami gets a new pierce and gets one of her own to understand Minami’s life. Minami is likewise a good partner, cooking for Iori and helping her get ready for work. Coworkers have noticed the change in Iori, too.

The drama in this slice-of-adult-life is relatively gentle, with a few not-gentle punches and kicks from Shizuka and Saori…but once they have each other to abuse verbally, that settles down. ^_^;

I really enjoyed this book, enough that I finished it and started again to see what I had missed anything the first time around. I generally like Mikanuji-sensei’s art, even if it is a tad moe for me. The scenario of a mis-matched pair who completely work for and with each other appealed and it was especially nice to see tattoos and piercings not evidence of criminal class existence, just as body art.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 3 Some light nudity, nothing salacious
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

The initial drunknness aside, both Iori and Minami are hardworking, decent people that I quite like…and would very much like to continue to read about.





Yuri Manga: Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 2 ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな)

July 11th, 2019

Miwa met and started dating band member Saeko in Volume 1, and spent the volume not sure how she wanted their physical relationship to go.

In Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 2  ( 付き合ってあげてもいいかな), Tamifull’s webcomic, Miwa and Saeko have resolved that issue and are now navigating how much, if anything, to tell the people around them – an issue that becomes increasingly important as the volume goes on.

Saeko isn’t hiding their relationship, but Miwa is visibly less comfortable with it being public knowledge. And  the guys in the band keep hitting on her, and then wondering about her and Saeko out loud. Both Saeko and Miwa are sharing confidences with the women in the group, but because Miwa isn’t comfortable with being out and open, the two of them are closeted in the open – as so many people often are.

The story is surprisingly tense a lot of the time, as Miwa is constantly put into positions she really just has no idea how to manage. She’s smart enough to realize that her own reticence is at the center of her problems, but it isn’t solving them.  In the meantime, this volume also delves into the inner life of Chie, a group member who really doesn’t get what people are going on about when they obsess about love and sex. One hopes that she’ll be developed a bit more in the future. (If you want to read her story, check out Chapter 14 of the webcomic, up now on Yawara Spirit. In Japanese, of course)

The band heads out for a overnight training camp – Miwa and Saeko are having serious communication and time problems. Saeko is the first to snap, asking Miwa if it is over. Miwa’s shocked to find that they’ve both been suffering from the same doubt. They reconcile. Now that the two of them know who and what they are and what they wan, it’ll be interesting to see where Volume 3 takes us when we get there.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Still kind of sweet, but occasionally still hits a sour note. Let’s call it a 6
Characters – 6 This volume the band members are kind of annoying, especially the guys being clueless and intrusive.
Yuri – 9 / LGBTQ – 6
Service – 3

Overall – 8 Characterization is still inconsistent, but I’m sticking with it so far.

I’m still hoping for another bump up on the LGBTQ score in the future. It has an extra point this volume, for a potentially asexual character.