Fidanzato no Tameiki (フィダンツァートのためいき) by Tanaka Rin, is a collection of Yuri Hime cell phone comics that take place at “Himeyuri Jogakuin,” a fictitious school of the girl’s private variety.

Each story is a short “plot, what plot?” in which a short set-up is followed by sex. The stories vary in quality from the highly suspect first story (to which my reaction actually was “Augh!” at the suddenness of the moment the characters are making out.) Because these stories are short and focus on the sex, they have all the weakness and strengths of most fanfic – they may not be to your taste, but are quickly over. And they very, very much read like a Yuri Hime cell phone series.

The first story touches upon a cool, competent swim team sempai who is quite inexplicably wowed by the adorableness of an incompetent, blubbering kouhai.

The second story contrasts a beautiful, sweet-tempered, and easily distracted Student Council President and her long-suffering Vice President.

In what is probably my favorite story, “Restrizione” two members of the Fine Arts Club have little in common but their feelings for one another. Thinking about it, I probably like it best because the characters are closer to being equal in status than most of the characters in the other stories. I also felt that the sexual tension between them worked where in some of the stories, it was a hand-wave that we had to accept existed, but wasn’t actually there.

The next story covers pervy sempai/cute, incompetent kouhai territory with a Yuri take on “Beauty and the Beast.” The irony stick is a little heavy for this one, as Beauty’s final monologue is about loving the beast despite her being so different from everyone else.

A track sempai let’s the whole school know she and her kouhai are lovers – in no uncertain terms – in the fifth story. This one wasn’t too bad; there was a little jealousy-conflict that made sense in the context of the story.

In the sixth story, a teasing Literature club president seduces the quiet girl with her words.

And in the final story, a student of Astronomy considers her teacher a heavenly body (and yes, I realize I deserve to be beaten for that pun.)

I can’t say that I loved this collection, but other than the first story, I really didn’t dislike it, particularly. It is what it is – collection of cell phone “ecchi” Yuri.

Ratings:

Art – Call it 7 – sometimes I really like Tanaka’s art…other times not so much
Story – 7, except the first one
Characters – 5 They left no impression
Yuri – 8
Service – 8

Overall – 7

Because the title was a little awkward in Japanese, I did a bit of research. Fidanzato is “engaged” or “fiancée” in Italian, but it’s in the male form. The title ought to be “Fidanzata no Tameiki.” You think any one but me cares? (^_^)

Today’s thanks go to Okazu Superhero Dan P., for sponsoring this item from my Amazon JP Wishlist! It was pretty bad, Dan. But wait, because the next one…through the roof.

Ebisu-san to Hotei-san is one of the several Tsubomi series that have made it to a collected volume. Unfortunately for me, I felt it was full of “sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Hotei-san is a woman working in a largish company. Not as a OL, she’s a regular worker bee. Also working for the company is Ebisu-san, a woman who has lofty career goals. Because she is focused and driven – and because she leaves every day at 5 o’clock on the dot – the other women in the office are, predictably, resentful and bitchy about Ebisu-san.

At first, Hotei is convinced that she too can’t stand Ebisu, but as she gets to know more about the other woman, she finds herself admiring her. And, as Hotei is sort of accidentally drawn into Ebisu’s personal life and learns about the niece she raises when her sister doesn’t feel like being a mother (which is all the time,) she starts to have totally unprofessional feelings for her.

The end of the book is more implication than explication. We understand that Hotei and Ebisu are a couple now, but there’s a certain coyness in the way it’s handled. As an omake, we see the relationship a few years later from Ebisu’s niece’s point of view, trying to explain that she has three mothers – her mother, her aunt and her aunt’s “friend.” It was sweet, but left me just as unsatisfied as the rest of the book with the coy “I just can’t explain it” thing.

The other problem I had with this book was *utterly* absurd. (You might see the above as absurd, especially if you love this series. This next thing *I* see as absurd too.) I was entirely vexed by the pointless puns in the characters’ names.

Ebisu-san’s full name was Ebisu Mayo. The word for “shrimp” in Japanese is Ebi, so Ebi Mayo – Shrimp Mayo. That’s just dumb. I know parents give their kids horrible names all the time. Why do writers do that to their characters?!?

The other pun is just…. Ebisu and Hotei are 2 of the 7 “lucky gods,” the shichifukujin . I’d say I draw the line at slashing the gods, but I’ve done it, so forget that. I dunno, I just think you have to draw a line – you don’t write Arjuna x Krishna BL and you don’t slash the Shichifukujin. ^_^

The book itself is attractive enough and if you either like the art, or this particular spin on “Story A” the content is good. I happen to feel that it’s a lot of something over nothing and all handled extra super delicately and coyly as if the topic was really too hot to actually touch. I like me my “love between adult women” but this really just lacked substance for all the tears that were shed.

My favorite scene was when Hotei was asking herself, if this person was the opposite sex, and older by a few years, what would I be calling these feelings? I thought this a nice, concise way of summarizing the whole story.

Ratings:

Art – I wasn’t terribly impressed. YMMV, but I say 5
Story – 5 There’s this woman, and she likes another woman. And the other woman likes her back. The End.
Characters – 5 “Evil bitch”- i.e., woman focused on her work – has backstory that makes her lovable. How original
Yuri – 5 Breast grope /= Yuri
Service – Given the character design for Hotei, I’m going with 7

Overall – 5

Now, having sat through all that, here’s the good part! Today’s review was sponsored by the lovely and generous AudioErotica, who not only bought a copy for me to review, she donated extras! So, along with my review copy, we have *3* copies of this book to give away!

In the comment you’ll find entries for a previous contest in which contestants came up with the most horribly punny one-line Yuri story they can manage. Enjoy. ^_^

Thank you for attending the unveiling of the 2011 line of “names used by every Yuri character.” Our previous years’ names have all been very successful with Yuriko and Natsuki and we’re all so pleased to be returning to the traditional with this year’s names…Hana, Kana and Sakura! /applause/

One of my biggest complaints about the Yuri Hime Wildrose series is, as a series of short, plot, what plot porn pieces, the stories are unsexy, poorly-constructed, pandering and just plain unfun. In my opinion, 5 volumes was more than enough to step up the writing and create a story that was more than “Girl A – /meets/is in love with/argues with/falls in love with/is going out with/drugs/ – Girl B.” I know that anthologies – especially intermittently published ones – are going to have to make do with what they can get, but I think that “better” ought always to be the goal. I reviewed Volume 1 of this anthology last December and I definitely think Volume 2 of Yuri Shoujo is “better.”

Like so many other “Story A” anthologies, this collection doesn’t take the relationships past “zOMG, I’m in love with her/we’re in love with each other!” but the actual stories themselves are…very good.

I’m a fan of PWP fanfic, I know how little it takes to get us fans to accept that two characters should be together. Where Yuri Hime Wildrose rarely managed to give me that little bit, this volume of Yuri Shoujo is giving it to me in spades. More than a few times I found myself re-reading a story and thinking, “That was a really good set up,” or “That was an unusual approach.” Enough of the stories are well-written enough that I can only think of one I didn’t like – and that was because the characters were sort of plopped in front of us and suddenly, for no reason, they “like” each other.

The first story was about illicit, hopeless, one-sided love. I found it touching and poignant, rather than the usual kind of tiresome “ugh” feeling.

Mitou Kana (of Circle Sakuraike) deserves an award for making me enjoy a story where girls have animal ears. Yes, really, it was cute, god help me.

“Dakara, kore ha watashi no himitsu” was a really standout look at the damage love can do to people. This story was still in “Story A” territory, and we only get “zOMG I love her” but it was worth it for a unique spin on the setup.

Kitao Taki (also of Circle Sakuraike) combines sports and girl’s love, as she so often does. This time, the sport in question is one I did for years – swim team. It dawned on me as I read the story that every time I think of being on swim team all those years, I see one particular woman’s back in my mind, as she stands on the starting block. I have no idea what her face looks like, but I apparently have her back memorized. ^_^

Even the fantasy stories take a step up from “same old, same old.”

In conclusion, this anthology is everything Wildrose is not. Stories told well, by good artists/writers, about girls who love girls.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

I consider this book a must-buy, if you’re a fan of good stories that are well-written and happen to be Yuri.

My sincere thanks to Okazu Superhero Dan P. for sponsoring this title from my Amazon JP Yuri Wishlist! I apologize though, because you picked another good one. ^_^