Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, Volume 9 (あの娘にキスと白百合を 9)

October 26th, 2018

Volume 9 of Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo, (あの娘にキスと白百合を ), begins with a few wrenches to the heart.

Mikaze loves to cosplay. Specifically, she loves to cosplay magical girl Seira, so imagine her delight when she finds another cosplayer in Seira’s angel form! Mikaze is even more surprised to find that the “other Seira” is a student in her school. Mutual love of cosplay brings Mikaze and Asuka together, and their feelings for one another blossom into love. But Asuka’s graduation is looming and to save Mikaze from having to be left behind by her, Asuka pre-emptively breaks up with her. Mikaze is devastated, but the older girl walks away with a final “Sayonara.”

We turn away from this melancholy chapter towards Ayaka. Once again exams are coming but, this time,, she doesn’t seem all that worked up about it. And for once, she comes out on top. Ayaka has finally beat Yurine, who is left to wonder if she’s a “normal girl” now.

In triumph, Ayaka calls her mother to give her the good news and learns what we have all seen coming for 9 volumes. Rejecting her mother’s demands for perfection, Ayaka finally tuns to Yurine as an equal in her own eyes, and reaches out to kiss her. It is a very nice kiss. So nice that it throws Ayaka into a tizzy for the rest of the book, which was actually kinda cute.

The book turns back towards Mikaze who decides that she hates the way her chapters ended and changes the ending. 

And additional chapter about Valentine’s Day gives us all the passive-aggressiveness we’ve lost in Ayaka.

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8 
Yuri – 7
Service – 2 I’m not gonna lie, that kiss was pretty hot

Overall – 8

As far as I’m concerned, the story can begin now. I cannot wait to see where Ayaka and Yurine go. Because now, at last, they will be doing it together. 





Yuri Manga: MURCIÉLAGO BYPRODUCT – Araña (ムルシエラゴ- BYPRODUCT -アラーニァ-)

October 25th, 2018

While there are clearly oodles of series for which a side story is merely a way to extend a franchise (i.e., squeeze more money out of series fandom) there are some stories the world needs. 

The sex and violence-filled side story MURCIÉLAGO BYPRODUCT – Araña (ムルシエラゴ- BYPRODUCT -アラーニァ-) that follows crazy-eyed sniper, Kuchiba Reiko, is absolutely a story the universe needs. By universe, I mean me, obviously. ^_^

Reiko and her business partner, user of questionable martial arts Momo, are contracted by a Chinese syndicate run by Long and Fu (Dragon and Tiger) to fight other Chinese syndicates and their disposable henchmen. And they do, while bodies and heads explode outward in showers of blood and guts from Reiko’s gun, whose bullet caliber seems to magically transform as circumstances require. Since the point of this side story seems to be the violence and sex, it’s not like you’d be expected to tune in for the complex writing. 

In between these fights, Reiko turns out to be very accommodating to women who need sex. Reiko and her lovers have sex which is not at all as bizarre and grotesque as that portrayed in MURCIÉLAGO proper, but she does seem to be quite the stone butch.

It is nice to see that Reiko has a lover with whom she lives; the young lady whose life she saved. And they certainly seem happy enough. 

Ratings:

Art – 7 It may never be “good,” but it certainly is creative.
Story – 7 Ditto
Characters – 7 Ridiculous to absurd. 
Service – 7
Yuri – 10

Overall – 8

Like MURCIÉLAGO,  MURCIÉLAGO BYPRODUCT – Araña is “messy and gross and violent and gay.” I love it. 





Yuri Manga: Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 6 (やがて君になる)

October 18th, 2018

In Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 6 (やがて君になる), the story comes to a climactic moment, with an expected twist.

It is, at last, time for the school festival and with it, Touko’s Student Council is putting on an original play, finally fulfilling her late sister’s unrealized dream. Unusually, we are allowed to see the entire play, including the scene where Sayaka plays amnesiac Touko’s now-forgotten lover. Immediately rumors begin to spread, but they move though the scene to the conclusion of the play; in which the protagonist decides against choosing any of her former lives, instead preferring to create a new self into which she can grow. The play is a rousing success. Touko’s parent’s reaction to it all is very interesting, and I hope we’ll be privy to a conversation between Touko and her family discussing that reaction.

But, as far as the main story goes, there’s only one reaction Touko cares about. When she and Yuu finally have a moment alone, Yuu makes heartfelt confession – she can no longer remain the same as she was, as she had promised. And, more devastatingly, she has realized that she is in love with Touko.

Touko, who had resigned herself to keeping their relationship in stasis, is thrown into a high state of confusion. Where they will end we cannot say (well, okay, obviously we can. It was abundantly clear from the first page of this series it was meant to be a romance. As I noted in my review of the first volume back in 2016, “The first [criticism I had of V1] is that it is presented as a romance. The story is apparently that we’ll side with Touko as her sincere feelings for Yuu are eventually returned.” So, yeah, obviously it has been heading in this direction from the very beginning. Which I’m still kind of sad about. I would really have preferred to have Yuu as a rare aromantic manga protagonist. Oh well.

Setting that aside, as a romance goes, this story is taking time to alleviate my concern that Yuu would be swayed merely by the force of Touko’s affection for her. That, at least, has not manifested. 

Now Yuu and Touko will have to see if their feelings can match one another’s, and then see if they can build a relationship on those feelings.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 1

Overall – 8

The play was actually quite good – as well as terrifyingly accurate.

In the meantime, I’m still watching Sayaka, whose role in the play has effectively outed her to the whole school. I hope she will find her way through all this. (I am currently reading another novel by Iruma Hitoma, I’m ever more concerned for her novel, I hope they are up to conveying her as fully developed character.)





Yuri Manga: Shiori o Sagasu Page-tachi, Volume 1 (しおりを探すページたち)

October 15th, 2018

In Kumosuzume’s Shiori o Sagasu Page-tachi, Volume 1, Chitose is a nice kid. She’s not bad in school, and she likes to read. She loves the library, in part because she’s got a thing for the nice older girl who works there. Chitose and Touka talk every day. And when Touka lends Chitose one of her own books, she’s over the moon! Chitose can’t wait until she’s in high school, where she can at least see Touka in the library. 

Only, when Chitose gets into high school, Touka is not at all the way she was over the summer. In fact, instead of the gentle, kind upperclassman Chitose fell for, Touka’s rude, – even worse, downright cruel – to the younger girl. Chitose falls into a funk and her best friend Rikako is really worried about her. But Chitose is so focused on what’s going on with Touka, she doesn’t even notice.

Eventually, Touka seems to unfreeze and Chitose is thrilled; the older girl even goes so far as to ask her on a date. (This is where a real-life older lesbian might be useful. “Walk away, Chitose, this girl ain’t no good,” sounds like the beginning of an awesome country song.) 

And on the date, Chitose learns the awful truth about Touka and exactly why she her personality has changed so much. Since this is the actual plot of the story, I’m not going to spoil. You’ll just have to read this book to find out. But you can probably guess if you’ve read enough novels. ^_^

Kumosuzume’s art is evocative and the story is pretty gothic and overwrought. It’s not my cup of tea, but if you favor soap opera, this is a solid entry with a nice touch of “oh!”

Ratings:

Art -8
Characters – 6 I am rooting for Rikako to…no, wait, I’m just rooting for Rikako, full stop. 
Story – I cannot imagine where it can possibly go from here, even as I read it in the magazine
Service  – Not really
Yuri – Sort of

Overall – 7

Volume 2 hit shelves last month, so I have to play some catch up. ^_^





Roid, Volume 1 (ロイド)

October 12th, 2018

In Volume 1 of Roid (ロイド), by Shiroshi, we meet Futagami Yui, a genius android developer, dedicated member of her school robotic club. Due to an attack by a malfunctioning android when she was young, Yui uses a wheelchair. She and her kouhai in the club, serious, glasses-wearing, Kazumiya Reina who is a talented AI architect, are working on a lifelike humanoid android that looks remarkably like Yui. In fact, the original idea had come from Yui looking into ways to build new legs, but instead they end up with what they all are forced to think of as more like a sister. 

The story has to, almost immediately, delve into the bottomless pit of what makes us human – what is identity, what is humanity, what are morals and ethics and how, when we cannot define them for ourselves, do we program them into artificial intelligences?

The android starts off a little tentatively, but when Reina unfreezes and offers a name, Futagami Anna – Futagami is Yui’s family name, ‘An’ from android and ‘na’ from Reina – Anna accepts both the nod to her existence as a unique individual, and as an addition to the family. 

Anna almost immediately encounters humans at their worst, and robots that hurt and are hurt by their humans. And we can see that there is some…organization or group, maybe?…with a very uncomfortably intense interest in Anna. Who they are, what they want and how it will play out awaits us in the future.

But here we are in Volume 1 and we might ask ourselves, so where is the Yuri? Well, honestly I hope it’s between Reina and Yui, but I have a feeling that’s not where it’s going to go. Why do you say that Erica? Because Yui and Anna are virtually identical (with some functional and aesthetic “improvements.” Anna is taller than Yui would be if she could stand and has a slightly larger chest, we’re told)  and people who are not me go there. Almost every time.

In the meantime, I genuinely enjoy this comic and it’s discussion of the ethical and moral boundaries we make and break all the time, through the eyes of an android trying to understand why she was created and what she is meant to do. 

Yui and Reina are also excellent characters and I look forward to spending more time with them. I wouldn’t mind at all if Reina fell for Anna, instead (or as well, because that would also make sense.)  We’ve also met a police detective and club president, as well as shadowy stalker group. This is a solid Volume 1, and I look forward to Volume 2 as the plot develops. I honestly have no idea what’s going to happen – and that’s exciting.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Good but not outstanding
Story – 7 with great deal of potential
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0 at the moment. I honestly don’t know where it will be found.
Service – Not really, only as a joke here and there.

Overall – 8 And I really want to know more.

This is exactly the kind of story I want more of in Comic Yuri Hime – not a romance, and a definite departure from ‘Story A.’

I’m reading a lot of AI-centric novels and comics this week, so it seems like I’m on a boom. I’m just about to start the next Murderbot novel, Exit Strategy by Martha Wells.  I still don’t know if the trend is general, or I’m just reading a lot of it. ^_^