Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo, Volume 1 (くちびるためいきさくらいろ)

September 3rd, 2012

Back in 2006, Ichijinsha put out a collection of stories drawn by Morinaga Milk-sensei for their new Yuri Hime magazine. Time has moved on, she has changed publishers, and thankfully, she has retained the ownership of her work. The end result is that a brand new-two volume collection of her popular Yuri manga series Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo (くちびるためいきさくらいろ) is now available from Futabasha. This is a very good thing.

The first volume introduces us to Nana and Hitomi, close friends who have been together in school since childhood, but who now – for no reason Nana can understand – are going to separate high schools. Hitomi has a reason, of course, but she couldn’t tell Nana outright for fear of…well, everything. You see, Hitomi is in love with Nana – that way – and Nana has already rejected her advances. Fearing getting hurt more, or hurting Nana, Hitomi has gone to another school. In the first chapter, they hash out their issues and Nana decides that she doesn’t want to be “just” friends, either.

The rest of the book interperses other one-shot stories that take place in the same school, with Nana and Hitomi’s deepening relationship. It ends with them thinking about their future together.

This was one of the first stories we – that is, the Yuri-reading audience – encountered that had more depth to it than just a kiss, or holding hands, or even sex. This was one of the first Yuri Hime stories that approached the concept of a same-sex relationship as a relationship, as opposed to a crush, or an immature love, “playing at” love, etc. As a result it was wildly popular with fans.

Re-reading this volume, I’m reminded how unique it was. Not even a decade ago, and the final chapter of this book was ground-breaking for a Yuri story (as opposed to a story drawn by lesbians for a lesbian audience in a lesbian magazine.) Hitomi thinks of the sacrifices she’ll have to make for her and Nana to stay together…and decides that, whatever it takes, it’ll be worth it. It edges very close to the issues that were predominant at the time, that to be “together” two women must eschew family and friends. This is just the assumption that was made then (and probably is still made by many.)

For this glimpse back to where we really started when Yuri was taking its first hesitant steps as a genre, this book is an absolute must-read. I think of how far we’ve come, with stories like Fu~Fu, Renai Joshikka, and Watashi no Sekhai o Kousei Suru Gomi no Youna Nanika,  and the as-yet uncollected “Collectors,” and am a little amazed at the progress. If Nana and Hitomi were to fall in love today, things would be vastly different than they were a mere 6 years ago. There would be media for them to see themselves represented in a positive light, stories of people like them living happily, even after the “happily ever after.”

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Yuri – 10
Service – 5

Overall – 9

More than anything, I’m glad Morinaga-sensei has found somewhere that she’s happy and where she can continue making Yuri manga for us to enjoy. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Aoi Hana, Volume 7 (青い花)

August 29th, 2012

There is a girl, she is in love with another girl. The other girl loves her back. They love each other. The end.

It’s that simple, right? The story ends with “Happily Ever After” and we move on to the next story, and never think about the characters after that moment.

This is the essence of “Story A” – the girl and the girl ride off into the sunset and nothing bad ever happens to them.

However.

Humans are not like that, Love is not like that. Friendship is not like that. Life is not like that.

If you have ever fallen in love with someone you know what I’m saying. ^_^; “Love hurts” isn’t a joke, it’s a reality.

In Aoi Hana, Volume 7, love hurts. Even as these girls we’ve come to care about move into their final year of high school, right on the edge of being adults, they are facing some issues they have to deal with. These issues are things that, one way or the other, will bring them that much closer to maturity. Sex is part of this, but it’s just part. Communication is a larger, much more intangible and difficult to grasp, part.

Kyouko needs to find her way with her fiance’, Kou. Their relationship is complicated by their betrothal, their actual feelings for one another and, most impenetrably, Kyouko’s mother.

Mogi’s relationship with Shinobu takes a shocking turn. Will they be split apart by their own lack of confidence or will they find their way?

At the very beginning of the volume, Haru mentions that her sister and teacher have “gotten married” – although it was not a legally binding ceremony, it was meaningful for them…and she lets us know how her parents coped (or didn’t.) Same-sex marriage in manga. I want to hug Shimura-sensei and Morishima-sensei and any other mangaka who surfaces this issue in a manga.

Most important for us, there’s Akira and Fumi. Fumi is in love with Akira, but she is convinced that Akira does not feel the same way about her. Akira can see Fumi is in love with her – and she does not want to stand in the way of Fumi’s happiness, but she has no idea at all what would make *herself* happy.

Fumi thought she got what she wanted, but Akira’s lack of honesty is subtle poison. Fumi’s not as happy as Akira thought she should be after having given herself entirely to her dearest friend. Although physically they’ve been as close as possible, emotionally, they are more distant than ever before.

Many fans have wanted this relationship since the beginning. This volume is very likely to make those fans profoundly unhappy. I have never numbered myself among those who wanted Fumi and Akira as a couple. This relationship is a perfect example of what happens when you get what you want, but not what you need. IMHO, the best of all possible results is that they end the relationship quickly, with no regrets and as few tears as possible, then patch together what remains of their friendship before that too dissolves. This was not the path that leads to a happy ending, they need to return to the fork in the road and choose another.

Against a backdrop of writing, creating and performing the Three Musketeers for the drama competition, this series eschews conventions of manga for realism. Thank heavens.

Ratings:

Story – 10
Characters – 10
Art – 10
Lesbian Life – 10
Service – 3

Overall – 10

There is a girl, she loves another girl. That girl is not sure she loves her back. The end?





Yuri Manga: Metersarete Kya- (メッてされてキャッ)

August 20th, 2012

Tanaka Minoru’s Metesarete Kya- (メッてされてキャッ) a collection from Ichijinsha’s Comic Yuri Hime, is a mixed bag. I can’t even tell you which of the stories are good or not, as that will largely depend on what you like.

Most of the stories involve adult women, as opposed to school girls, but frequently with a…let’s be generous and call it a “quirk” that precludes me from fully engaging with them

There always seems to be a manzai-style split between the pairs, one who is very goofy, flighty or irresponsible and one who is (too) serious, and also the one most affected by feelings of love.

None of the stories are bad – some of them are good. But I had a hard time sympathizing with the characters. Which is more about me than any flaw in the book itself.

Ratings:

Art – Droopy eyes make everyone look sleepy, but there are panels here and there in which the art stands out – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 9
Service – 1

Overall – 6

On the whole, I much more like the upcoming Rocket ☆ Girl!. in which Tanaka’s style works far better with an ensemble rather than a series of one-shots.





Yuri Manga: Hadashi no Chimera (裸足のキメラ)

July 31st, 2012

You know how you read a story by a creator and you think it’s awesome, then you read two more and you notice they seem to have a verbal tic? Well, as I read Ohkita Hiroko’s Hadashi no Chimera, I couldn’t help but notice that pretty much every story has a woman who has been beaten, raped, abused and is covered in bandages and bruises.

So, while individually, I don’t mind her stories, as a collection it seemed that she has some issues she’s working out through her art…and I’m sorry to say that, in this case, it thoroughly creeped me out.

Ratings:

Overall – 5

While individual stories may or may have not been bad, there were just too many women with just too many bandages for me to like this collection.

 





Yuri Manga: Comic Yuri Hime, July 2012 (コミック百合姫)

July 30th, 2012

Comic Yuri Hime,(コミック百合姫) July 2012 starts off with a new story by Kazuma Kowo (yaaaayyy!!!) “Namae ha Mada Nai”, about a transfer student who, I hope, will turn another student’s life upside down. ^_^ 

Shin Yui bridges the gap between two languages in “Niñas”.

 “Mashoujo” takes a manipulative and evil-eyebrowed look at a teacher/student relationship.” Sakamoto Mano’s ending is a handwave, but I can’t trust eyebrows like that…ever.

Ohsawa Yayoi’s “Chemical Romance” is the second Yuri story I’ve read this year that deals with allergies. I love the fact that everyday things like this are creeping into our Yuri fantasies. ^_^;;

Takemiya Jin’s “Step Forward” brings Ryouko’s relationship with Ah-chan to a bit of a climax, as Ryouko waits for the older woman to say “I love you” back…to complicate matters their relationship is discovered by one of Ryouko’s classmates – who has no intention of blabbing, she says, she’s got a girlfriend too.

“Renai Joshiko Tantei File” by Mizoguchi Akiko, digs a little into the backstory behind Saki’s ex, Kimiko, how she finds Saki again and how her assistant helps her (well, forces her, yelling the whole while…!) to move on.

“Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san” adds a mouse, Nezu Mikine, (nezumi means mouse) and a cow, Ushiwaka Yukiji, (ushi means cow) to the menagerie.

Amano Syuninta’s “Watashi no Sekhai o Kousei Suru Gomi no You na Nanika” as expected, brings the issue of Sa-chan’s emotionally abusive boyfriend to a head and amazingly, sets it aside with way less damage than I expected. Phew. 

“Fu~Fu” proves that the author really does understand lesbians, when Kina and Su-chan foster a cat. But in the end, they decide to stick with their two-human relationship.

“Ame-iro Kochakan Kandan ~ Golden tips and Silver tips~” proves to us once and for all that people who refer to themselves in the third person are odd. Oh, and we follow Hinoka and her girlfriend. ^_^ 

Erika-sama is up to no good in “Love Gene Double X” but we knew that. Aoi is starting to clue in to her feelings, and Momoji gets a lesson in lovemaking. (So much for that no Adam couples, no Eve couples thing, huh?)

“Kimono Nadesico” are 4-koma, so you know, the same kind of bwa~wah~waahh.

And in “Cirque Arachne,” Layla starts to notice Sora, I erm, mean Charlotte starts to notice Tetei.

As always there are many more stories, these are just the one I wanted to call your attention to. ^_^ 

Ratings:

Overall – 8