Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei , Volume 8 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

February 11th, 2019

When we left Kaede and Nanami at the end of Volume 7, Kaede was confronted by the fact that she was, in fact, attracted to Nanami. As 2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei., Volume 8 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。) dawns, she is in full-blown avoidance of the woman she likes.

Yes, Kaede has built-in excuse for it, work has never been busier. And she’s received big news, but can’t bring herself to talk to Nanami about it. Instead she gives Nanami an expensive present and hides in her room again. Nanami has to ask Koyuki for the scoop – and finds that Kaede’s manga is being turned into a drama. Big news indeed.

But the tension between them goes on, until Nanami forces a confrontation. “It’s over” she says. She doesn’t want to stand in Kaede’s way, now that she’s reached her goal. At which point, Kaede realizes that her goal now includes Nanami and, at last, they come together as equals.

The epilogue follows some of the other characters and the lives they have chosen. We meet Ruuko’s new junior (a character who gets a story of her own in the Chocolat anthology Thanks for the correction, CW, the anthologies have all started to blur a bit. ^_^; ) and find out how married life is treating Aoi and we revisit even Mahiru, whose gotten a girlfriend of her own.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Yuri – 9
Service – 0

Overall – 9

This final volume came with a copy of “Monthly Motivation” a booklet of inspirational quotes by Ruuko to keep us going. Ohsawa-sensei’s love affair with this supporting character absolutely cracks me up.

8 volumes is an incredibly solid run for this series. I’m sorry it’s over, but look forward to seeing what’s next for Ohsawa-sensei!





Yuri Manga: Atashi no Senpai (アタシのセンパイ)

February 7th, 2019

Back in the day, I used to use Yuri lists and sites to find random Yuri manga I had missed. That switched for a while to blogs and Amazon recommendations as all the old Yuri lists died. Now I’m back to using Yuri lists and sites, enhanced by Twitter feeds and digital comics news sites and I gotta say…it’s kind of awesome. ^_^ The glut of digital Yuri work coming out is impossible to keep up with, but what a great problem to have!

So I was flipping around on, I think, Comic Natalie, and saw a write-up for Atashi no Senpai (アタシのセンパイ) by Shioya Teruko. It sounded a litle old school but threw it into my Amazon JP box anyway. Well, “old school” doesn’t quite cut it. I felt instantly transported back to the early 2000s, when Yuri was so much more a fetish, not a genre. At which point I finally took a look at the actual book, which, it turns out is a YK Comic from Shonen Gahosha. Oh~~~~~~! The obi clearly states, “That Yuri is a little perilous.” That explains that.

Zukamoto is an average girl who, for no particular reason, is drawn to Okazaki-sempai  – a girl who might as well have a sign over her head that say “I am in an abusive relationship.” Zukamoto sees Okazaki with another girl in a storage closet and it’s instantly apparent that the relationship is not an equitable one. Why Yoshida is torturing Okazaki is something Zukamoto does not know, but she is torn between wanting to save Okazaki and being turned on by the sight of her being taunted.

The story, to its credit, is about the redemption of Okazaki, as Zukamoto convinces her that there’s more to love than feelings of self-loathing. When Yoshida tries to warn Zukamoto off, the younger woman bravely stands up to the school’s star, and her bravery gives Okazaki the fuel she needs to walk away from the kind-of-consensual-but-not-healthy-at-all relationship. The final chapter sees both Okazaki and Zukamoto on a date before Okazaki graduates and being, for the first time in the volume, truly happy.

Whether you consider this a happy or good Yuri story will entirely depend on your individual reaction to the premise. I was mildly put out by the abusive situation as I read, but upon flipping back at the end, I had actually made it worse in my head when I remembered it. It wasn’t okay, but the situation might have been worse, and wasn’t as exploitative as I remembered, I guess. So, is that good or not? It’ll have to be up to you to decide. Depending on how you read the story, it could well be seen as a story of triumph over self-hatred. From my perspective there is a lot left undealt with that would need to be unpacked to make it a “good” story and it wasn’t given that time or handled with the nuance it needed. 

Ratings: 

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Service – 6 Sexual situations, partial nudity, some light BDSM
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

I will, as I so often do, imagine the characters working out some of that shit in future relationships. I sure hope they do, anyway. ^_^





Yagate Kimi ni Naru Koushiki Comic Anthology (やがて君になる 公式コミックアンソロジー)

February 6th, 2019

Looking back on my old Okazu posts, this is the first series-specific anthology I have reviewed here since Maria’s Wink in 2008, and that was not an official work, but a doujinshi anthology. Which makes Yagate Kimi ni Naru Koushiki Comic Anthology (やがて君になる 公式コミックアンソロジー) the first series anthology on Okazu in 11 years and the first official comic anthology…ever. We’ve come a long way in those 11 years. For one thing, let’s think about the fact that this is an official comic collection! With stories by some professional names,with a message by the original creator of the series. That’s pretty damn cool.

A number of the stories stood out for me, but when I tell you about which one, you’ll laugh, because I’m completely predictable. ^_^

I very much enjoyed Canno’s story, which followed Sayaka and Touko on a “date.” Cue lot of good Sayaka internal monologue and insight. Fukuyama Akira’s look at Yuu and Koyomi’s relationship was also absolutely delightful. No one at all would be surprised that I like Fumio Fumi’s story, which gave me a chance to admire Touko in tux, while Sayaka played musumeyaku in frilly dress.

But you have got to know that the entire time I was reading it I was thinking “There had better be a story about Riko and MIyako,” the adult lesbian couple. Ultimately there was, and I genuinely enjoyed Hiroichi’s look at their relationship. It felt completely honest and as that’s the quality I look to them most for in the series, it was nice to see it reflected here, as well. 

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Everything is variable, because it’s an anthology, obviously, but the stories are consistent with the characters we know and like which is refreshing, and the art was all good, even if there are specific styles one doesn’t care for. 

If you are a fan of Yagate Kimi ni Naru, I definitely think this official comic anthology is worth your time and money.





Yuri Anthology: Yuri + Kanojo – Kossori Kisushite ( 百合+カノジョ -こっそりキスして-)

January 29th, 2019

Yuri + Kanojo – Kossori Kisushite ( 百合+カノジョ -こっそりキスして-) is the fifth of this whimsical Yuri anthology series. It’s quite charming. ^_^

This volume take a moment to revisit characters and relationships from the previous four volumes, so the anthology has the feel of checking in with old friends and seeing how they are doing. ^_^

Like earlier volumes, every chapter is presented from a first-person perspective, so we are the one being addressed in each chapter….and being seduced, snuggled, asked to marry and impressed with the biceps of our bodybuilding lover, and so on. 

The specific quirk of this volume is “regional” stories with accents and locations that are meant to reflect specific localities in Japan. Along with these regional stories, there sections for old friends, specific jobs and a few overseas stories as well. 

Ratings:

Overall  – 8

I am finding these particularly fun to read before bed. Short, mostly sweet, with a chapter or two per character leaves me with a very positive feeling as I head off to sleep. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Yuri is My Job!, Volume 1 (English)

January 25th, 2019

Hime looks like an angel. Everyone loves her. She’s kind and helpful and everyone’s darling. On the outside. Inside, she’s a gold digger-in-training and is more concerned with looking like she’s a good person than being one.

In Volume 1 of Yuri is My Job! by Miman an accident brings Hime to a Yuri concept cafe based on a series of novels about girls in passionate platonic relationships at the German mission school “Liebe Girl’s Academy.” Hime is going to have work harder to maintain that perfect image than she ever has before. 

Struggling with the complicated rules of comportment and behavior is one thing, but Hime has no interest in serving people tea and no interest in the daily specials. But she knows status when she sees it, so she violates the norms in order to ingratiate herself with the upperclassmen in the scenario. She’s a crowd favorite and her onee-sama is kind in public…but in private, Ayanokouji doesn’t seem to like her at all.

To complicate matters, Hime’s best friend, Kanoko, discovers her secret! Now she has to work extra hard in front of her besotted and naturally competent friend, who knows her true self. It seems like everything is working against Hime, who is just trying to avoid a repeat of the time she was hurt by someone who knew her secret. Until the past comes to haunt her in the form of…

Yuri is My Job!  is a delightful romp in and out of the tropes of Yuri set in an elite girl’s school. The translation by Diana Taylor captures Hime’s struggles with Ayanokouji, the cafe rules and the random bits of German they use. The oversize format is much easier on my eyes. ^_^ I’ve mentioned this before – I do a lot of my manga reading at night before bed – how nice it is to not be reading 8pt type in Japanese. ^_^

The Kodansha  Comics page for Yuri is My Job includes an interview with Kanako Umezawa, the editor-in-chief of Comic Yuri Hime magazine and an excerpt of my essay Why Is It Always Catholic Schoolgirls in Yuri? 

Ratings: 

Art – 7
Story – 7 
Characters – 7 
Yuri – 4 The cafe concept is Yuri, the story is not, until it is.
Service – 2 Goofy Yuri fan moments

Overall – 7 And I’m really hoping that <spoiler> happens in the future! (Spoiler: It does. ^_^)

When I reviewed volume one in Japanese, the only caveat I had was that the cafe clientèle appeared to be overwhelmingly male when we saw faces and clothes. I had hoped for an increase in female customers to more accurately reflect the readership of the magazine. That does, in fact, happen as the series continues. ^_^