Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


ALC Publishing and JManga Announce POOR POOR LIPS Partnership!

January 20th, 2012

Okashi Nako is a young woman living in poverty. When she applies to work at a Gem store, she learns that store owner, Otsuka Ren, is a lesbian. Ren promises that Nako’s not her type, but she may be lying…. Nako takes the job and so begins a comedic tale of rich and poor, sickness and health, for better and for worse!

ALC Publishing and JManga are proud to announce a partnership to bring you Goto Hayako’s Yuri love comedy, POOR POOR LIPS!

From JManga, the world’s first official Japanese manga portal website, directly from the 39 prominent publishers that make up the Digital Comic Association, and from ALC Publishing, a pioneer in Yuri Manga comes a partnership that brings you some of the best in Yuri digital manga straight from Japan! With the honest representation of lesbian life you’ve come to expect from ALC and the convenience of digital manga, Poor Poor Lips is sure to please Yuri fans.

(Cover Image: Poor Poor Lips Volume 1 (c)HAYAKO GOTO/Takeshobo Co., Ltd.)





Yuri Manga Tsubomi, Volume 15 (つぼみ)

January 17th, 2012

Volume 15 of Tsubomi (つぼみ) begins with illustrations by Hayashiya Shizuru that, when I saw them the first time, motivated me to tell her on Twitter that they were “stimulating.” A female bodyguard and her charge are seen surrounded by a crowd (opening, awards event, something like it, there are floodlights and photographers and a crowd) on one color page and on the other, black-and-white page, sharing an intimate moment in bed. Really, truly great. Hayashiya-sensei said that she’d love to draw their story one day and I said that I’d love to read it. ^_^

“Hoshikawa Ginza Yon-choume” continues with Minato coming down with a cold…again. Now that I’ve read the whole second volume, I’m kind of cooling on this series, unless it actually goes somewhere that doesn’t make me dislike everyone more.

“Walk Wit Me” [sic] comes to a crisis, and probably a close, as Mallory and Wendy leave their moribund town and the dead souls that live there. In this chapter, it becomes more plain that this is a dust bowl America we’re in. I’d want out too. They end up heading down Rt. 66 to wherever.

Shou belatedly realizes what Chiharu means to her, in “Kurai mori, Shiroi michi.”

Hakamada Mera’s “Higashitotsuka of Eden” is finally starting to take shape, not so much as a Yuri story, but as an otaku story. “Kiku-chan” finds herself outed as a doujinshi author, when the manga research club participates in a comic event.

Hikaru and Megumi go to the ocean with friends in “Prism”. As they kiss, in a corner of the beach away from the rest of the crowd, they are seen by a passing group of people who are rude about it. Later, as they leave the convenience store, they encounter that same group, who proceed to intimidate them physically and verbally. Not surprisingly, this scene is rough. One feels one’s stomach go tense almost immediately, and when the girls are cornered, then harassed, you start to look around the room for help. Luckily for Megu and Hikaru, help arrives and they are freed from a quickly escalating ugly situation. But the feeling lingers for a while. This scene is uncomfortably realistic, which means that the creator has managed to convey the situation well, and make us care about the characters. Another sign of the evolution and maturity of Yuri, we’re getting yet another look at some of the less savory issues a lesbian couple might face. Tsubomi pushes the envelope once again. Kind of a surprise, really, that Tsubomi is the one willing to take that risk, before the older, more established, Comic Yuri Hime.

The rest of this volume was of less interest to me, but might be high interest of you, so do consider buying this magazine and showing your support for the Yuri creators that are working quite hard to bring you stories of interest.

Ratings:

Overall – 7





Yuri Manga: Tsubomi, Volume 14 (つぼみ)

January 10th, 2012

Tsubomi, Volume 14 (つぼみ) starts off with a very interesting story. “Walk Wit Me” [Sic] takes place in the Dust Bowl of America during the post-WWI area. This is not entirely apparent in this first chapter, but the abandoned oil rigs and clothing are a big hint in that direction. I’m not sure what Wendy’s mother’s issue is, but nonetheless Mallory and Wendy face issues of class, and of course acceptance.

In “Hana to Hoshi” Hanaii is made aware of Hoshino’s relationship with her sempai and this shock is compounded when a male classmate confesses he likes her.

Kiku-chan is drawn into the Manga Research Club in Hakamada Mera’s “Higashitotsuka of Eden.” This seems like it’s a good thing, but Kiku-chan certainly doesn’t appear all that happy with it. That may be more because she just doesn’t know what to do with her rich, attractive, neighborly next-door neightbor, Hiyoshi-san’s outgoing personality.

Another one of those series that I took a long time to getting around to noticing is “Prism” by showhigashiyama. Once I noticed it, I suddenly realized that I actually liked it. Hikaru and Megumi have a shockingly normal and realistic relationship. I look forward to seeing this in collection now, so I can retrace the story of two very real young ladies in love.

“Kuraimori, Shiroimichi” isn’t heading anywhere fast, but I want to believe that Shou will realize her feelings for the blind woman who has intruded into her life.

“Candy” continues with an entirely unrealistic, but very cute chapter, in which Kanan and Chiaki commit a minor piece of school vandalism in order to have an intimate moment together.

And that was it for stories I liked this month. Less than half but there’s probably something in there for you, so please, remember to support Yuri when you can with actual money. Downloading scans doesn’t pay the artists. Thanks. ^-^

Ratings:

Overall – 7

 





Yuri Manga: Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep (ロンリーウルフ・ロンリーシープ)

January 8th, 2012

Have I added Mizutani Fuuka to my “squee” list yet? No? Oh well, consider her officially added. Squee! It’s true that my favorite work by her is the entirely straight 14-sai no Koi, but Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep comes really close.

Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep (ロンリーウルフ・ロンリーシープ) is predicated upon a coincidence. Kakimoto Imari, is sitting in a physical rehab office waiting room, waiting to have treatment on her left hand. That is, two people, improbably named Kakimoto Imari are waiting. When their names are called, it further turns out that they both have left hand injuries and that they are born only one day apart. Thus begins an awkward and sweet friendship that becomes something more.

“Big” Imari is indeed a tall, boyish woman, who works for a landscaping company and is not used to the company of women. “Little” Imari is short, cute and, suffering from depression. As we learn, she is an artist, but suffering from a complete block and has been doing herself harm as a result. Big Imari has a resolution for her problem – Little Imari can just stop painting, and come to work with her at the landscaping company doing mosaics! Which, she does and the two become even closer.

But that leads into a darker, more serious arc, as we meet Imari’s sempai, a unpleasant woman who clearly emotionally manipulates Big Imari in order to keep her dependent. She goes so far as to push Little Imari down the stairs to keep them apart, but Little Imari has other plans and together, she and Big Imari free themselves of the odious presence.

The final chapter has the two of them pondering the chances of such an unlikely meeting. “Almost zero,” Big Imari says, but Little Imari takes her hand and replies, “Not zero at all.” Squee!

This is the second series from Tsubomi that deals with an abusive relationship. This time, emotionally abusive, but the facts are plainly put. It’s only Little Imari’s strength of will to stand up and fight that drives Rika away. And it’s Big Imari that dispels the darkness with which Little Imari has surrounded herself.

As ridiculous a premise as it is, I read every single chapter in Tsubomi rooting for the Imaris. Which is exactly what I like best about Mizutani-sensei’s work. I root for the characters. I *want* them to get together. In a short story about two people meeting in this crazy world, that’s really the very best you can hope for as an author.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 10
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 8

So, while its not much more than a really well-told “Story A,” it’s a really well-told “Story A”!





Yuri Manga: Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis), Volume 7

December 21st, 2011

Hrm. So, if anyone asked me how to build a Josei magazine that men might also read, I’d say, get lots of top names to draw stories that are refreshingly different in that they are pretty much the same as everywhere else, except that the women are slightly more in control of their lives. Add in some Yuri, in the form of already-proven artists, and then mix in some stories about guys. I’m not saying that’s what Rakuen Le Paradis (楽園 Le Paradis) had in mind, but that’s what it’s doing.

Volume 7 hits the Yuri fandom hard right at the front of the magazine, with Nishi UKO’s “Collectors,” which begins with a backstory about Takako in high school. The bridge between these two chapters made me extremely happy, with frames of Shinobu and Takako playing with each other’s hair in a beautifully intimate scene as they talk. This is exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for – adult intimacy, without it being porn. This series is pretty much the series I keep talking about wanting to read – after the happily ever after. When this series comes out in a collected Volume, it’s instantly Number 1 for the year.

Then we get the backhand with something many manga readers have long wanted – another overtly Yuri story by Hayashiya Shizuru-sensei. In “Heart Cooker” popular actress Nasu Renge is invited to be on a cooking show. The hosts of the show are Barahara Ruriko, an older, very Dame Edna-ish character and Shiohara Satsuki, a young, attractive host. Right from the first moment Renge walks on stage, Ruriko notices a certain…tension…between Renge and Satsuki. And, as they introduce Renge, it turns out that Satsuki and she attended the same school. Satuski was a year younger, but had always admired Kawakami-sempai (Renge’s real name) as she practiced for track and field. At first Renge doesn’t remember Satsuki, but then she recalls a day when she passed the ball back to an energetic underclassman in the softball team, who she was instantly attracted to…. The entire time this is going on, the production staff is frantically looking to get the cooking part of the show moving along, but Renge and Satsuki start to fade off into their own little world, so Ruriko steps in to save the day and make the dish, and let’s the two women have their moment. As Ruriko finishes the dish, Renge asks Satsuki out for a drink and Ruriko smiles in satisfaction at the results of both cooking and matchmaking.

And last, but definitely not least, for Yuri readers, Takemiya Jin’s “Omoi no Kakera” continues, as Mayu struggles desperately to get her feelings for Mika in order and to deal with her best friend’s snarky, but accurate assessment of those feelings.

So, lets just turn around for a moment and survey the landscape. Three Yuri series, two about adults, all by women, two of which have actual lesbians.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Le Paradis, indeed. I think I’ve died and gone to Yuri heaven.