Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Soredemo Yappari Koi wo Suru

February 11th, 2011

Happy day, a new Uso Kurata collection! Soredemo Yappari Koi wo Suru has a theme and a subtheme that combine to make a very pleasant point.

“Wired,” tells of the meeting of a energetic young woman and a cynical older girl in the RPG world from Kurata’s “Apocalypse” arc. Young, energetic, puppy-dog cuteness wins over grumpy world-weariness.

In “BBS,”  a school bulletin board provides the impetus for a girl to bridge the space between herself and her sempai on the swim team.

Sadly, “Picsee” was so preachy (hey kids, people you meet online might be dangerous) that the subplot of like-love between the two protagonists kind of got lost.

The book really takes off in “Blog,” in which two girls are outed at school by a badly timed picture on their school trip. The night before, one of them had started an anonymous blog to record their relationship – she fears that it was the source of their outing, until she learns about the picture. But, neither girl backs out of the relationship…and eventually they both start working on the blog. Little by little, they start getting comments from women who are in relationships with women, and other  girls in love with other girls.  Jun and Kazumi realize that they are not alone in the world and take strength from this.

In the omake “Intermission,” Jun and Kazumi decide to invite the commenters on their blog to get together. Of course they are the other characters in the collection. ^_^

There is tremendous power in knowing you are not alone. Whether it’s having trouble accessing a system at the office or knowing that someone else understands your feelings or your worldview, the tribal/herd instinct is strong in us humans. We prefer to know we are not alone. Where Soredemo Yappari Koi wo Suru works is in reminding us that it doesn’t have to be the two of us against the world – there are people like us out there.

There is an obvious underlying theme in this collection of online communications platforms. The negative aspects (online rumors and bullying, fake identities, people with agendas) is laid out plainly, but the moral of the story is just as obviously, “Sure, you have to be sensible about your online life, but waiting out there is *your* community, go, find it.” A lesson well worth teaching.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Stories – 5-8
Characters – 7
Yuri – 7
Service – 1

Overall – 7

Other than “Picsee,” which I felt was heavy-handed, this is a pleasant enough collection of girls in love finding their place in the world.





Yuri Manga: Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, Volume 3 (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり)

January 24th, 2011

Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari (ピュア百合アンソロジー ひらり) is making a valiant effort to stay relevant in the Yuri magazine game. At Volume 3, it has yet to really build character, but it’s trying, I think. Both older sister magazines, Comic Yuri Hime and Tsubomi have some big hitters on their team, but little sister Hirari is not backing down from the challenge.

And so Volume 3 begins with Hakamada Mera as leadoff batter. Certainly Mera is a big(gish) name in Yuri, but her stories are more bunt than single. In “Salomelic” a dark, potentially gloomy girl with the word “black” in her name, whose interest is witchcraft is befriended by a shiny, happy “light” girl. They become friends and somehow, we’re to understand that it’s more.

And that, in a nutshell is the single biggest problem I have with Hirari. The stories are mostly sweet and frequently end with two girls as friends or two friends renewing their bonds of friendship. So rarely is there more than hand-holding, that I’m often hard pressed to see this as “Yuri,” as opposed to nice story about girls who are friends. And when they go past friendship, it’s mostly an uptick in heartbeat and “what is this feeling?” I’m not looking for hot lesbo sex, but there’s so much more variety and depth than this in a relationship, it seems such a waste to keep pitching the same one pitch over and over.

Probably the best story in the book for me was “Pulchrima” by Fuji Koyomi. Her style is quite reminiscent of Hakamada’s, but the characters were not. Of all the stories, this was the one I am absolutely able to say is “Yuri.”

The other story that stood out of the pack in a good way was “Under One Roof” by Fujio. (There were a few that stood out for not particularly good art or confused story telling, but I don’t feel like being a drag and either you’re buying this or you’re not. It’s not likely that you’re waffling on Volume 3 of an anthology.) This story, which is well down the batting rotation, sets up a situation with a young woman getting a roomshare with another woman who – gasp! – likes women. I’m hoping future chapters remain peppy.

I’m torn between wanting to kick Hirari in the ass and root for it like the underdog it is, but right now, it’s just not really ready for the big league.

Ratings –

Variable – 6





Yuri Manga: Tsubomi, Volume 9 (つぼみ)

January 20th, 2011

Reading Tsubomi, volumes 7, 8 and 9 in such a relatively short period of time has reminded me once again about what a linchpin continuity is for a serialized story.

The difference between that 5-month wait between volumes of a series here in the West and in Japan is HUGE for one incredibly important reason. In Japan, the readers are often being fed a monthly installment of story, while here in the west, there is just a silent space of time in which we amuse ourselves with something else. By the time we return to a story 5 months later, no one can really be blamed for having forgotten where we left off. Manga for younger readers often have a “The Story So Far” insert, but that’s not true for most adult-oriented works…nor is it true for quarterly anthologies such as Tsubomi.

So, perhaps more than three months have gone by when I finally get around to the next volume and I have a very hard time remembering who these people are and why I should care. This is, at least in part, because I found a number of the Tsubomi anthology stories not overwhelmingly interesting initially. It made it harder to remember them in the torrent of similar stories I read. But having read three volumes in a matter of three months, I find that I can remember far more of the stories than I previously did. I’ll chalk at least a little of this up to my failing memory, which cares about fewer things every day, and is far more relaxed about forgetting inconsequentials than it used to be. ^_^

Which brings us to Tsubomi (つぼみ), Volume 9.

“Hoshikawa Ginza Yon-choume” continues as Otome and Minato try to find balance in their domestic situation, and what, if anything, they expect out of each other.

Which is not entirely dissimilar from the situation in Morinaga Milk’s “Himitsu no Recipe” as Watanabe now has to reconcile herself to being in cooking club because she likes cooking, as opposed to being in cooking club because she likes the cooking club president. Her expectations have to shift if she is going to find any happiness at all.

In “Green” Youko and Megu show us how their relationship developed.

I like “Hana to Hoshi.” The simple addition of a backstory between the two protagonists gives this particular girl meets girl (again) tale some depth. In addition, the opening scene of this chapter, in which Hanai is practicing different ways to say hello to try to be cool and casual, gave the story a new level of verisimilitude.

Unlike “Prism” in which the rather tired trope of girl meets girl (who she thought was boy when they were young) is handled pretty unexcitingly. IF this story continues, I’ll hope it sets that trope aside and moves into new, somewhat less overused story lines.

Yay for “Lonely Wolf Lonely Sheep”! Here’s a Story A told with some genuine effort at making all the pieces feel new and fresh. Imari-chan and Imari-san begin to date, but long after Imari-san has healed up, something is still wrong with Imari-chan’s hand. The story of what exactly is wrong and the fantastic way Imari-san handles it, reminds me again there are no truly “original” stories, but that there are still plenty of ways to tell a well-told story originally.

“Tandem Lover” seems to have lost a lot of the obnoxious service that plagued its opening chapters. In this chapter two Tandem teams go full on to beat the crap out of each other. The lower pilot on each team is a little surprised to find that the upper pilots are motivated by a lovers’ quarrel.

We learn some of Kuroi-sensei’s backstory in “Renai Manga,” and really, it’s kind of predictable. Crisis and a love triangle means that this will probably hang on for a few more chapters, until a tearful happy “Story A” end.

“Endless Room” has officially become creepy. I don’t mind stories about the people who stay in the suite in a hotel, but the same androgynous waitress kind of watching over/seducing them is rather uncomfortable-making.

“In “Girls Ride” motorcycling and love triangles are the order of the day.

As always, there are stories that I have skipped, but I notice that I am following more and more of the stories in this collection. So, we’ll take this anthology off “critical” bypass “serious” and move it right to “stable.”

Ratings:

Overall – 8

If only for “Hana to Hoshi” and “Lonely Wolf Lonely Sheep,” I find myself actually looking forward to Volume 10, which comes out next month.





Yuri Manga: Flower Festa

January 17th, 2011

You remember Thieve’s World, don’t you? It was a multi-author fantasy fiction series. Each author would write stories in their own style, using their own character(s) and those of the other authors, all set in a single world. It felt like a good table-top RPG that people other than the players could follow. It was, depending on your opinion of author, character and story, variably successful.

Flower Festa is a very similar concept. Set in a generic girl’s school, each one of 20 creators was given the opportunity to create a character page, with character info and a single page comic showing us the character’s personality and/or interaction with other characters. After all 20 characters have been introduced, each artist then draws a short story with their and/or any of the characters in the story. The characters are all named after a flower, which might get cloying fast except that most names used are not unknown as girl’s names. Imagine a story where Lily is friends with Rose and Willow. It’s like that. Okay, by the last few characters, the names get a little sillier – one of my favorite characters is the foreigner Hibiscus (imagine an older, more together Tanya from Battle Athletes,) and a few of the names are just really stretching it, like Gabera and Higanbana. Aren’t those lovely names for young women? But heck if you were picking name #18 of 20, you’d be stretching too.

There is a generally Yuri overtone to many of the stories, with one semi-regular, established couple, Tsubaki and Bara. They are given a very Takarazuka air every time they appear, but they aren’t the only couple. Gabera’s got a thing for Kiku and there are a few other snuggly moments scattered throughout. I picked this book up specifically because Hojou KOZ was contributing. Her character, Momo, seems to be locked in a like-triangle with Ume and Sakura.

It’s a great idea that, I don’t want to say that it fails in execution, because it really doesn’t, but it does not make exciting, compelling reading. Each character is all right individually and cute with the other characters, but nothing really creative or particularly unique happens here. However, if you genuinely love girls’ school life romantic fantasy, this book will appeal. The multitude of characters will, at least, keep you from becoming bored.

Ratings:

Everything was variable

Overall – 6 but I’m not really the audience.

Surely I can’t have been the only person in the world who read Marion Zimmer Bradley’s character in Thieve’s World and went, “oh duh, he’s a woman,” can I?





Yuri Manga: Sayonara Folklore

January 6th, 2011

You know how it is – you join a club, start a new hobby or take lessons in something, and find that there’s a whole freaking mythology attached to it. Rituals, jargon of course, and all these unwritten rules that no one tells you, but you gotta know.

In Sayonara Folklore, (さよならフォークロア) Hayase has gone to this school for years, so she knows that you do *not* touch anyone on Monday, and if you do, there’s a little incantation that must be recited. But Mashiro has just transferred in, and does not know these things. Hayase explains –  we do not touch on Monday, because not too long ago two girls did – and they fell in love, became lovers and tried to die together. Therefore, if you don’t recite the charm, you might fall in love with whomever touched you…and that would be bad. Of course Hayase explains this after Mashiro has touched her…on a Monday.

At first Mashiro is amused, then annoyed and finally, frightened by this stupid ritual that forces Hayase to continually reject her touch.

By the time the rumors have traveled through the school and the teachers find out, it’s too late for Hayase and Mashiro – they have indeed fallen in love. The “Monday curse” has come to pass. When Hayase refuses to deny the relationship, they are separated. Hayase is left in an attic room to reflect on her behavior. In that room, she find letters from one girl to another…  Mashiro, never one to play by the rules, climbs to the dormer room to be reunited with Hayase, who has now learned the truth about the two girls who originated the Monday curse.

This story and a short omake about a woman and her animal-eared maid, are by Kowo Kazuma, one of my current favorite artists. Kowo-sensei just manages to reach into my chest and squeeze my heart. I never really understand why, but her work always touches  me. Something about the art makes me *care* about the characters in a way that few other artist’s work does, and this feeling extends to her non-Yuri work, as well. I love Kowo-sensei’s story in Rakuen le Paradis, “Dear Tear”.

More objectively, this is a nice little Story A with a silly setup that manages to remain sustainable through the volume (unlike, say, Zettai Shoujo Astoria, in which the zOMG thing just gets left behind, then picked up again later and explained away badly.) This is not a major work of literature, but it is a good solid read, especially if you like stories of schoolgirls in love, with a teeny “human tribes create ritual and taboo” driver.

Ratings:

Art – 7, but I like it 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7, but I like them 9
Yuri – 8
Service – 1

Overall – 9 for me, but your mileage may vary, depending on how you feel about Kowo’s work.