Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Yuri Hime S, Volume 7

January 14th, 2009

Color pages in Comic Yuri Hime S (コミック百合姫S (エス)? Why yes! The characters of “Yuru-Yuri” are *so* excited that even the voice balloons are in color! But mostly they sit around and talk in a classroom, so it’s kind of a waste. lol Luckily, Ichinjinsha has lot of exciting things to sell tell you about, so all that color isn’t entirely blown on abstract backgrounds. There seems to be some Yuri of some kind in the story, too. Mostly in the form of fantasy and wishful thinking.

In “Flower Flower,” Shuu has something else that worries her now. I really don’t care what it is. I’m starting to think that what she really needs is some Xanax. And Nina’s on the up-side of her bipolar disorder, so Shuu can freak out about that, too.

Flashy Matsuoka is in love with wallflower Tomoko in “Kikoeru Suzunone.” Tomoko can’t really believe that Matsuoka likes her, so she concocts a low-self-esteem version of their relationship, but has to acknowledge that she’s plain old wrong when she overhears Matsuoka talking to someone else about her. Tomoko and Hiromi end up celebrating a romantic Christmas Eve together, with a solid forecast of “happily ever after.”

“Tsukiko ha Bakakawa” involved really cute girls doing cute things cutely. Sometimes they hug.

Summer – what does it mean to you? In “Natsu Toieba,” Sakura and Fumiko have a checklist of things “summer” means to them. They proceed to pound through the checklist, which includes things like somen and yukata and watermelon and fireworks and all that. At the end they are able to add the most important list item of all – “love.”

Suzuki *finally* learns that there are two Kuse sisters in “Kotohana Link.” And, she learns that one, Miyako, is a “bad girl” who is openly a lesbian playgirl. After Yoriko admits her sister’s bad behavior, Suzuki admits that she too liked a girl….

Anna’s having issues in “Cassiopeia Dolce.” She really, really, really likes Elza-sensei, but sublimates her desire for the Master in her desire to own one of her dolls – which coincidentally looks just like Elza. She gets the doll, and maybe a step closer to Elza.

In “Minus Literacy,” Matsudaira begs the Yakuza boss for Miharu to be returned, but Miharu blows her off and drives away with the boss, the car symbolically splashing Matsudaira as they spin off and leaver her on the sidewalk in the rain. Cue the violins and clarinet.

Once again, I will skip “Love Cubic.”

The Vice President of the Student Council is very cheerful and relaxed today, and goes so far as to offer sweets to go with the President’s tea in “Kaichou to Fuku-kaichou.” But her good mood crumbles when she find that her beloved President has stood next to a boy in a puricula booth. The Treasurer rubs it in, declaring that he looks like a great boyfriend, but it turns out that the Treasurer also desires the President *and* saw the VP and Pres together during orienteering. She’s determined to keep them apart. Ominous music plays as the chapter comes to a close with the Vice President’s tears.

“Beautiful Pain” is another half-sisters in love story, this time brought together by a truck accident. Sean – this one’s totally for you. Both “she got hit by a truck” and “happily ever after,” …as long as they stay inside the bedroom. Reality is so going to be a bitch.

“Nanami to Misuzu” is ‘Nanami to Misuzu”-like.

It’s a small volume compared to recent ones. The stories are so varied that surely, if you are Yuri fan, you’ll find *something* to like.





Yuri Manga: Gokujou Drops, Volume 1

January 11th, 2009

Gokujou Drops, Volume 1, (極上ドロップス) is the second of two “phone comics” put out by Ichijinsha’s Yuri Hime magazine. This volume is a collection of manga delivered by phone as an extra to Japanese readers.

I’m curious how this works because, Japanese phones, while having a decent sized screen, don’t have a huge screen. Is it delivered one panel at a time, or the whole page and the reader reads it in bits, focusing in on the part they are reading? Perhaps some of my Japanese readers could take a picture of a cell phone manga for us.

In any case, Gokujou Drops is the story of Maezono Komari who has suffered the fate of many a freshman transfer student – she has been unable to line up housing. Ah, now that brings back memories….

The unhelpful school housing person (ah, nostalgia….) suggests she go beg on hands and knees to be allowed into the most exclusive dorm on campus. Komari does and is suprised to be let in – on one condition. She must become the slave of Himemiya Yukio, the resident classic Japanese beauty. And thus, Komari heads out on an adventure of “funny” sexual harrassment by pretty much everyone in the book.

In her first days, Komari finds herself sexually harrassed by the seniors in the dorm, which has the side effect of making her realize that she’s fallen in love with (and desire for) Yukio. And she’s sexually harrassed for getting so close to Yukio by Yukio’s “fan club” at the school.

In the end of the volume it seems as if everything will be okay, because Yukio and Komari definitely want each other. I’m sure that none of us think actually that “happily ever after” will apply here, not yet at least. :-)

The Yuri here is pretty fetishy. Sexual harrassment, incest, public sex, non-con. And for that reason, I’m not really a big fan of the series. Sure, Yukio and Komari are in love, but that’s like 1/25th of the Yuri. The other 24/25ths are for people who like their Yuri mean, and nasty.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 5
Yuri – 9
Service – 8

Overall – 6

I’m torn on this series. Sometimes I find it enraging, sometimes excruciating, sometimes – like today – it’s okay. Whatever. ^_^

What do you think of it?





Yuri Manga: Sakura no Kiwa, Volume 4

January 9th, 2009

Kisses and cats. Those are the words that define Takemoto Izumi’s Sakura no Kiwa (さくらの境) series. And Volume 4 is no different. (Available on Kindle only to JP IP addresses.)

No, that’s not true. In Volume 4, there’s less cats.

(For all my reviews of the Sakura no Kiwa volumes, click the link on the categories list on the right sidebar.)

Futako spends the entirety of the book slung around Sakura’s neck. Sakura has long given up on training Futa-chan, forcing everyone around them to just get used to the idea, including Sakura’s mother and father when they suddenly come home from Brazil and just as suddenly go back. Ichiko graduates, fails to get into university, Futako and Sakura graduate, they all take the exams again, and they get into university this time. Oh – and Crazy Cat Lady Aunt Tamako has this guy who isn’t her lover, but gee it sure seems that way.

But for the other 95% of the book, Futako hangs on Sakura’s neck and kisses her frequently. Not they they are lesbians or anything. They just live together, sleep together, kiss, embrace, share a bath, probably have sexual relations at this point, live with too many cats, are completely co-dependent and in every way are a couple except for they aren’t. Or so Sakura insists.

As the series draws to a close, Ichiko proposes four possible futures for the two of them – including one in which they marry each other – but they settle on the last, in which life basically stays exactly the same with Sakura and Futako living together with Ichiko and Tamako and 12 cats.

12?

What happened to the other two…? someone asks, as the scene, and the series fades away.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 7
Service – 0

Overall – 7

For a series in which nothing happens, and the *same* nothing happens repeatedly, Sakura no Kiwa is light, fluffy entertainment. With no lesbians whatsoever.





Yuri Manga: Futari ha PreCure Splash Star, Volume 1

January 2nd, 2009

In Volume 1 of Futari ha PreCure Splash Star , Saki is a the pitcher of her middle school softball team, Mai is a member of the art club, and neither of them are particularly special in any way, we are told.

…Wait.

Saki is a star pitcher and Mai is a brilliant artist but neither of them are *special*? Nice.

So anyway, these two exceptionally talented, but in no way special, young ladies see each other for the first time and something happens – they feel instantly as if they know each other.

Saki seeks Mai out, finding her at this big ole tree Saki also likes to hang out at and, as they talk, two things happen to these unspecial girls. One – the tree attacks them, morphing into an evil being and two, happy glittery lights start surrounding them, eventually resolving into two hideously cute stuffed-animal like creatures named Floppy and Choppy, who give Saki and Mai the ability – nay, the charge – to transform into PreCure Bloom and PreCure Egret and save them (namely, Floppy and Choppy.)

Oh, *now* they’re special.

The rest of the story follows the traditional mahou shoujo pattern, with Monster of the Day attacking and PreCure defeating, but that is not at all the story. The story is the surprisingly intense relationship devoping between Saki and Mai. You can put your Yuri goggles on low for this round of manga, let me tell you. Where in the original PreCure, Nagisa wasn’t all that interested in Honoka, who has a massive crush on her (well, duh! It’s *obvious*! lol) in Splash Star both Saki and Mai, each in their own way, want to become closer – quickly.

Saki comes running in to school with a list of questions – what’s you birthday, your favorite/ least favorite food, your favorite band, your type (“Well, I like them to be on the softball team, energetic, and be a magical girl on the side,”) etc, etc. Mai is initially taken aback, but eventually they do take that step forward. On Mai’s side, she’s always drawing in a sketchbook, but won’t let Saki see the contents. When, because of a magical attack the contents are scattered, no one reading the book is surprised to find that ALL the pictures are of Saki. Every last one.

Oh, and the bad guys? They get POUNDED by one, when they hit the other. lol They are otherwise completely disposable until the evil twin sisters arrive. Actually – this was a really fun bit of the book. Kaoru and Michiru are better at everything Saki and Mai do. But because Saki and Mai are nice girls, they are impressed, rather than jealous, which drive the evil twins *crazy*. There’s a scene where the entire class gets together for a welcome party for them and they are looking at everyone like, “What is WRONG with you people? We’re arrogant, nasty and elitist – you are supposed to hate us!”

Of course they are saved by friendship and in return save PreCure Bloom and Egret, taking one on the chin for their new friends.

The art for this manga is interesting – chances are you will either like it, or hate it. It’s not Sailor Moon -esque, with long-limbed beauties, and it’s not Kami-chan Karin, with hyper cuteness. The pages are full of movement and energy, with great swirls of lines and bodies in slightly weird, but very action-filled positions. Whether it’s Saki throwing the winning pitch, or PreCure defeating the MotD, the theme is ‘action.” I quite liked it, myself.

On the downside, the naming sense that gives us cute little creatures in PreCure, Mipple and Mepple and now, in PreCure Splash Star, Floppy and Choppy, makes Erica Crabby and Stabby. But on the upside, Floppy and Choppy hardly speak comparatively to their predecessors and don’t get in the way of the story much.

Obviously, nothing explicit is going to be happening in a manga like this. But for all that, the Yuri is, really, quite “obvious.” Which means it’s totally open to interpretation as all things are. I choose to interprate this iteration as Yuri. ;-)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 1

Overall – 7

Many, many thanks to today’s sponsor, Okazu hero Komatsu-san for all he’s done for Okazu, for PreCure and for Yuri!

(A few people have noted that I do not link the picture or title above to the Amazon JP entry for this series. That is because there *is* no entry on Amazon JP for any of the manga for this series. Looks like PreCure 5 Go! Go! is all that’s available these days. So, if you really want this volume, you’ll need to find another source. Sorry.)





Yuri Manga: Clover

December 26th, 2008

Otsu Hiyori is a darn good storyteller. Not many mangaka are. If they can draw, they often can’t write. Vice versa applies, as well. And even if you have an awesome team of artist/writer, if the magazine’s editing staff has specific, overwhelming requirements, or they aren’t good at their job or any number of other things, the end result can, to coin a phrase…suck.

Not so with Otsu Hiyori, whose deft, light-handed touch makes for individual stories that read pleasantly and, when collected, turn into a little slice of wow. One such slice is Clover. It is a collection of stories that ran in Comic Yuri Hime and one fabulous omake chapter that makes it all the more ‘wow’-er.

Let us begin at the beginning. I *completely* missed that the stories that make up Clover were about 4 sisters. Sure, they all had the same family name, but I never noticed their family name in the first place. And the stories are told in non-chronological fashion – and the magazine comes out 3 months apart, so pardon me for not noticing, okay?!? ^_^

So, the Tachibana family has four sisters, each of whom have had at least one relationship that involves falling for another woman, or having one fall for them. They are all very cool about it; it’s not screaming, knife-wielding drama for this family (nor for any of Otsu’s characters ever, really.) And for most of the sisters it was but a fleeting moment in time. Except for one.

In “Bitter Girl,” Midori finds herself at rope’s end working at a cake shop during the holiday season with no help. She asks the girl who drops by all the time to help out and so, Sugiura starts to work with her. As they work together, they talk about themselves and ultimately, Sugiura and Midori start going out. Midori’s not entirely sure about this, because she thinks she’s doing it as a lark, but when a boy asks her out, and Sugiura breaks up with her to free her up, Midori realizes that she’s fallen for Sugiura! She runs after the other girl, only to catch up to her and find that despite the cheerful face she had on when she said goodbye, Sugiura is crying. Midori and she are honest with one another at last. The story had a nice extended epilogue in which we learned that Sugiura really don’t like cake at all – she liked the girl at the cake shop. ^_^

The collected volume Clover also has an extended epilogue omake that finds Sugiura and Midori still together 3 years later. Sugiura is in law school and always busy; Midori is home, feeling a bit resentful of playing the role of the wife. She feels as if she’s being taken for granted and is starting to rethink this relationship. When she confronts Sugiura, the other woman falls apart instantly, as she did all those years ago. Midori realizes that she was misinterprating Seiko’s feelings completely, and the two of them patch it up instantly. On the final page, we see Sugiura, now a successful lawyer (we can tell because of the suit,) being seen off by Midori – and so we can assume happily ever after.

I just loved this collection. Otsu’s stories rarely feel typical, even when they are playing in safe waters. There’s always a feeling of self-awareness about the characters, as if they are looking at themselves and seeing some of their situation from outside themselves. Otsu’s style fits the atypical stories – the ones set outside of high school – best, because her characters are so often mature and laid-back.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 8

A great book, one that will fly under most people’s radar because there are no mecha, no sex, no over-the-top melodrama. I know Seven Seas can’t bring over the more explicit Yuri Hime books and if they bring this out it probably won’t sell well because “nothing happens.” But this is a *fabulous* example of Yuri that does not suck and I hope that they can bring it over here and you can all prove me wrong by making it a best-seller. ^_^