Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Yuri Manga: Yuri Shimai 5

December 24th, 2004

Part 1

One of the best yuri-related gets of the year, Yuri Shimai 5 was awfully close to being perfect.

I’ve reviewed Yuri Shimai volumes 1 and 2,3 and 4 and it is pretty clear that they have been getting better. It’s not a monthly magazine, yet, and there’s no way to tell whether it’s even doing well financially, but based solely on the quality of the stories, and the increasing size of the book (260 pages for Vol. 5) Yuri Shimai is looking good from this reader’s perspective.

My biggest complaints about Yuri Shimai have always been the schoolgirl obsession and the trend towards a confession and *maybe* a kiss as the climax of the story. Well, Yuri Shimai 5 seems to have taken a few steps past those limitations and, as a result is a much more interesting read.

The first story of this volume, First Kiss? is drawn and written by a team that are better known for their yaoi work, Zaoh Taishi and Eiki Eiki. A surprising continuation (well, surprising to me, anyway) of Volume 4’s Onna Ookami (Female Wolf), this story starts with Fuyuka speaking to the school counselor as she tries to determine her changing feelings for Natsuki (the female wolf of the last volume.) Fuyuka leaves before the counselor can answer, but the conversation sets the doctor off on reminiscences of her own about her first love, her best friend…who happens to be a teacher at the same school. The story is uncomfortable and awkward and for once, about the grown-ups. I am SO hoping we get more of this story – I really liked it. As an added bonus, we get some very nice color pages of Reiko, the counselor, and Ayano, the teacher 10 years earlier. This was a great story and my teeny synopsis does not do it justice, trust me!

Next comes the 5th installment of Strawberry Shake, and once again, Julia and Ran’s antics are adorable. It’s pretty clear that Saeki-san, their manager, has little hope anymore of keeping them apart. Of course there’s yet another complication, this time, a male actor that asks Julia out, but in the end, Julia and Ran are one step closer to becoming an item. At this point, I am simply hoping that we get enough page count on this one to make it work Sun taking it to a tankubon format, and maybe even get a happily-ever-after ending, too. I want everything. :-)

The third story is also surprising – a continuation of the witch and miko story with the long title I never bothered to translate, from Vol. 4. Now out in the real world, Letty the witch is guiding Sai, the naive ex-priestess, around her native country. To keep them connected Letty creates a magic red thread that binds them – but is mortified to learn what that means to Sai. (You all know about the red thread of love, right?) Sai asks Letty about the kiss from the last chapter, but Letty quickly passes that off as magic-related, nothing to do with love. Sai’s a little bummed, but she is having fun being with Letty so, she confesses her feelings for Letty. Long, fun, story short, it looks like Letty’s lying, because she’s obviously falling in love. The end the story hand in hand. To Be Continued – cool.

Fourth comes a really amusing one-shot called Kaikan Spiral – billed as a “hentai love comedy” it’s a farcical story of a foul-mouthed transfer student, Midori, and Ayaka, a girl who falls for her crude nastiness. Since I also think nasty women are sexy, I was kind of with Ayaka on this one. LOL It was goofy and made me laugh.

Lastly for today’s review/synopses is the latest from Morinaga Milk, which takes alot of the conventions of love confessions and screws with ’em a bit. On the first page of Honto no Kimochi, (Real Feelings,) Michiru confesses her love to her sempai and asks her out. For her part, Nojo is flattered, but squicked by the usual – what will people think, is she interested in loving another girl, etc, etc. Michiru has no doubts, however, and takes Nojo out on a date and generally makes herself incredibly desirable, to melt Nojo’s concerns. One night, while studying, Michiru tries to kiss Nojo who, startled and scared, slaps her. For the next few days, she hears nothing from Michiru, but while walking with a classmate, runs into her on the street. Nojo is shocked to see Michiru’s shorn locks and is filled with guilt, but Michiru laughs and tells her not to blame herself – she had this haircut appointment from a long time ago. In front of Nojo’s classmate, she reaffirms her love for her sempai. Classmate is surprised, but accepting and the story ends with Michiru having devoted herself publicly to Nojo’s well-being and happiness, and sitting with her at lunch (with Nojo’s friends) planning Nojo’s future love affairs. Another fun entry from Morinaga Milk.

And that takes us to about 1/2 way through this monster magazine! Next time I post, we’ll finish it up – and trust me, there’s some really good stuff coming up. :-)

In the meantime, if you’re thinking of getting Yuri Shimai 5, think to get it through the Yuricon Shop. Using this link will support Yuricon, ALC Publishing and Okazu, and earn our undying appreciation and gratitude!





Yuri Manga: Eve no Ringo/ Eve’s Apple Manga Volume 1

December 22nd, 2004

It’s utter crap, but it’s fun crap.

Kawai Kirika wants, more than anything else in the whole wide world, to be a manga artist. Her dream consumes her, drives her – she is *determined* to become a pro. So, when every shoujo manga company she visits rejects her work for being too adult, she takes a risk and goes to a shounen company. To her shock, they accept her…but on one condition. The magazine she’s working for is an S&M manga magazine. The editor, an evil tick of a guy (who will probably end up being good, because you know, he pushed her to be the best she could be) requires her to study up on BDSM and submit a story.

Okay…let me repeat – Eve no Ringo: Evasapfel (Eve’s Apple in English) is utter crap. ^_^

The next few chapters follow Kirika as she studies up on, and participates in, BDSM in ways that are actually quite sweet and silly. In one chapter, she explores what being a typical S&M Oujou-sama might be like, by tying up her best friend in the manga club – Matsuda-kun, who also happens to have a crush on her. She proceeds to whip the daylights out of him, then complain to him that her feet hurt from wearing stiletto-heeled boots. Jokingly, she orders him to lick her feet…but they both learn pretty quickly that they kind of like that.

There’s some more mutual discovery, and ultimately Kirika is drawn deeper and deeper (but with no lessening of her naivete and shock) into the world of S&M comics. A rival author, Miyamae, turns out to be pretty hardcore (she walks around naked and bound to be able to “experience the feeling”) and manages to finagle Kirika into a little light “research,” with some small Yuri-esque service.

Although she’s barely had a page or two published by Editor Evil, Kirika is put in charge of an even newer talent, Yumiko, who promptly blows the last of Kirika’s personal boundaries away, by asking her to play the part of a man and have sex with her (for research, of course.) This is followed by a remarkably silly chapter dealing with vibrators.

It’s all so goofy and cute that it’s not offensive, even while it’s all fanservice. I like it enough that if I encounter another volume, I’ll get it.

Ratings:
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Art – 7
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

If you’re easily offended, probably not the best choice. But if you can read a chapter about a boy dressed like a nun paddling a girl in school uniform in front of a crazy older manga artist who is laughing like a hyena and demanding that her assistants capture the feeling in ink and laugh, then you’ll probably enjoy Eve’s Apple. ^_^





Yuri Manga: Himitsu no Anjerisu, Secret Angelis

December 21st, 2004

Himitsu no Anjiriesu, i.e., Secret Angelis (ひみつのアンジェリス) is a perfect example of a story with akogare that works. A cute, funny and fresh totally derivative manga that takes the basic rich-girl’s-school with heavy crushiness formula and manages to be fun and delightful at the same time.

Himitsu no Anjiriesu is the story of Sumire, who has transferred into a monstrously elite and restrictive Catholic girl’s school. Sumire is a free spirit, who finds herself butting heads with the uber-disciplinarian Sister Agnes over and over again. So, she goes about her day being yelled at for infractions like running, or speaking too loudly, or laughing, or breathing, and its wearing on her. In the meantime, Sumire is developing a serious crush on one of the school stars, who everyone calls “Hime.”

A tapestry of “Angelis,” an angel that will, if you whisper a prayer to him, help maidens in distress hangs in the hall in front of the auditorium. But the evil Sister Agnes (who spends the entire volume armed with a bokken and tortures the girls by closing off the TV room or the copy machine without warning or reason, and indulges in light corporal punishment for fun) tells all the girls that Angelis is an angel of Darkness and forbids them to pray to him.

One night, after specifically being warned by Sister Agnes not to be on the school grounds after 8PM, Sumire has to sneak back into the school to retrieve a notebook and is immediately caught. Sister Agnes starts to take a stick to her, when down from the trees swoops a hunky young musketeer-type person, who saves Sumire. But in the meantime, Sumire’s rescuer is put in harm’s way, so Sumire returns to rescue *her*. They escape with the help of two more musketeer-types and a widly implausible vehicle, and the four run off.

The next day, Sumire is called into the Executive Council’s room, only to discover that: 1) the Executive Council, including her beloved “Hime” are actually barking mad, and 2) They are also part of a secret organization that helps the downtrodden students knows as the “Musketeers”… No, I’m kidding – thay are known as …”Angelis”. Ta-da. And, of course, the “Angelis” Sumire saved was her Hime. Her crush goes through the roof.

Sumire and Hime continue to grow very close and save each other’s ass in incredibly daring and dashing and dare I say it, romantic, ways. In the end Sumire even tells the others in the group that they’ve confessed their love to one another. It was meant as a joke, of course…but it’s very close to the truth. I don’t hold much hope that it will go anywhere, but as we know, Yuri fandom’s hope springs eternal. :-)

Ratings:
Art – 7
Story – 8
Character -9
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

Anyway, think Maria-sama ga Miteru meets Three Musketeers and you’ve got Himitsu no Anjiriesu. It’s absolutely hysterical, full of akogare fun and generally the most delightful Marimite clone yet.





Yuri Manga: ROD – Read or Dream, Manga Volume 3

December 8th, 2004

Goofy, sexy, weird and fun, all in turn. Who’s your Paper Master, baby?

Read or Dream, Volume 3 continues with something for everyone (except, perhaps obsesseive Yomiko and/or Nenene fans….)

The inside cover has a fun surprise. Instead of the usual two-sided color poster, we get a color picture on the front of the three sisters and on the back, three book covers drawn by the artist for this manga. What makes these book covers interesting is that the author is Nishizono Haruhi.

I’ll wait while you try to remember who that is. (The sound you hear is my foot tapping)

I’ll give you a clue. The first title is Hatsukoi Hajimatta, in English – First Love Has Begun.

I’ll give you a second clue. In the TV series, the presence that fills the empty spaces is Yomiko. In the manga series, it’s Nenene whose presence hovers in the background, just beyond reach….

If you really can’t remember, look at the end of this review…* ^_^

Onto the actual stories:

The first chapter hits weird, fun and sexy at the same time – Maggie visits a strange bookstore and is given a book called, (loosely) “The 24 Faces of Maggie Mui.” (You all know the famous story, “The Three Faces of Eve,**” right? I don’t have to explain Dissociative Identity Disorder, do I?) Anyway, Michelle and Anita come home to find Maggie in a maid outfit, which then switches to a gang member’s gakuran, then a Vampire S&M ensemble and ending with a goofy fairy tale prince get-up. The story is silly and strictly a vehicle for the fanservice. It all ends with Michelle being given a book called “The 7600 Faces of Michelle Chan.” And we all laugh and shudder, since Michelle is already pretty schizoid. ^_^

The next chapter begins (as at least one story each volume does!) with the three sisters having had no income for some time. Michelle and Maggie fantasize about running a high-class restaurant, but for books instead of food. Instead, the three of them end up doing a comedy routine. Oooooookkkkaaaayy. Goofy and weird.

In the third story, they are all doing really well and, as a result of so much work, are eating regularly. Michelle has therefore gained a lot of weight. Ahahahah, we laugh as she tries and fails miserably to lose the extra pounds. Goofy and I guess someone will think its fun.

The volume gets a little more interesting and weird beginning with the next chapter, in which Anita gets a fever. She has a dream which ties into her memory from ROD The TV of the church in which she met Maggie and Michelle for the first time. (The subsequent refutal of this memory by Joker is ignored, or perhaps is merely irrelevant…) She wakes to find that Maggie has returned to be with her, and she discovers that not only is she *not* alone in the world, she has her sisters, but also that friends have sent get-well gifts and cards…including one from Lilth and Orion, from Vol.2. Although Anita has not told her sisters about Lilith, this is about to change. Echoes of the TV series start to build more and more with each chapter.

The next story is another Anita dream which is weird, goofy and fun. The inevitable cross-over to Alice in Wonderland, with a hefty dose of Wizard of Oz (Tin Man and Scarecrow played, respectively, by Maggie and Michelle) and Journey to the West (The Monkey King, Sun Wu Kung, part played by Chi-Hon, the boy Anita has befriended in previous volumes) ends with the Queen of Hearts being played by Hisa-chan!

Now, let’s back up…in this continuity, Anita has never *met* Hisa-chan. Even stranger, when, at the end of the dream, Anita wakes up and we see the pile of novels that the dream referenced, one of them is Anne of Green Gables. You may remember from ROD The TV that that novel is the one that Anita and Hisami read together and bonded over, identifying themselves with Anne and Diana. But, in this continuity they have never met, so, why would that book be there, and why would Hisa-chan appear as the Queen? Well, it gets more confusing in the next and final, several-part story, which is fun, sexy, weird and goofy all at once. ^_^

Hold onto your hat, it’s going to be a bumpy manga.**

The three sisters are contacted by a publishing company. They are asked to be the bodyguards to a Japanese writer who is coming over to do a book signing in Hong Kong. The author has received threatening letters and the publishing company is concerned with her well-being. The Three Paper Sisters Detective Agency takes on the job and heads to the airport to meet the author.

Sound familiar? Hmmm….gee, this is exactly the same way ROD The TV began, isn’t it? You think you know what’s coming, right? Well, hah on you.

The three sisters are greeted by a snazzy young blonde, who turns out to be the author’s manager. The author steps forward and she is…Hishiishi Hisami, 13, from Japan. Hisa-chan promptly throws up all over Anita, and thus a friendship is born. ^_^

At the book signing, the culprit shows and lo and behold! it’s Hisa-chan’s manager! Only it’s not, it’s Lilith in disguise and this time she doesn’t want a book – she wants the author! (It is during this section that we can be convinced that the lovely Lilith has a full-blown loli fetish, by the way.) She and her pet panther Orion take on the Paper Sisters. Anita has, of course, already encountered Lilith, so she isn’t tricked by the thief-turned-kidnapper’s wily ways. In the middle of the battle Anita has a revelation – she may loathe books herself, but she resolves to be the protector of authors who bring joy to so many *other* people. Of course, she rescues Hisa-chan and they become instant best friends. Is there implication of more? There’s  plenty of room for believing that in this series that seems to be very Yuri-friendly.

In the end, the publishing company and Hisa-chan are so pleased with the sisters’ performance, that they are asked to come to Japan to do more bodyguard work. Michelle turns to us and tells us that their Japan arc is beginning and we should make sure to come back for the next chapter…! Well, duh. *Now* I’m hooked.

Where before it was mostly fluff, the story has actually evolved to a parallel universe to the ROD The TV and now I wanna know where it will go!

Ratings:
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Art – 8
Yuri – 4

Overall – 8

If the manga series is crafted *half* as well as the TV series, it’ll be great. If not, it’s goofy fun, weird, sometimes sexy fluff with some Yuri implication and space for plenty o’fanfic. ^_^

* – Nishizono Haruhi is the older sister of Anita and Hisa’s classmate, and the author that debuted after Nenene, that we meet several times in the TV series. Remember?

** – I wonder if it means anything that I have *two* Betty Davis references in this review….





Yuri Manga: Pure Marionation, Volume 1

December 6th, 2004

A story about a lesbian android – isn’t *that* original?

Pure Marionation is an exceptionally cute story brought to us by our friends at Dengeki Comics and Mediaworks, your source for irritatingly cute and lolified yuri. Dengeki didn’t used to be so grossly cute – they did Battle Atheletes once upon a time when, apparently, men wanted to look at women, not children, kissing. Gah.

In any case, Pure Marionation is an older manga about Anon, an android, who is sent to school to “test” her AI. She is charged with making friends, and fitting in. As usual, her creators have given her everything she needs to survive, except all the basic information that a fifteen-year old girl might potentially have. So, when asked for her birthday, or blood type, Anon is completely unable to answer. Well, duh.

Anon promptly begins making friends by being adorable, lovable, sweet, kind, generous and affectionate, which just goes to prove that this is a fiction. If a kid like her showed up at *my* high school, she would have been dead meat in mere days. Her first friend, and most likely eventual love interest, is Miamo, a “cool” girl, insofar as this series has them. By the end of volume 1, Miamo learns about Anon’s special circumstances and vows to cover for her, making the promise to the only adult woman in the entire series, Anon’s creator, Madoka. Madoka is quite enamored of her creation, but I’m not really sure what this “test” would prove about Anon. Am I just being a hard ass? Probably.

There doesn’t seem to be any plot complication in this series, and the only antagonist thaws when Anon’s computer brain helps the two of them win a contest together. (There’s a teeny-weeny little jealousy between rival girl and Anon, but only because rival girl thinks that Anon is trying to steal her onee-sama. Quite unreasonably…I’m sure that, in her innocence, Anon doesn’t even know what stealing someone’s affections *is.*)

Each chapter has mild conflict like, erm, Anon overloads in the tub, and what *is* her birthday…? But don’t expect anything angsty here, this is fluffy cuteness in its purest form, with lots of bathing for ballast.

Will Anon and Miamo get together? I am sure that they do, but I imagine that it’s in a Shinobuden happy hugs all around way, rather than a passionate grand-scale Stellvia kind of way. Did I like it? No older woman, no eyepatches, no weapons,…it was okay. ;-)

Ratings:
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Art – 6
Service – 9
Yuri – 4

Overall – 6

Did I mention that this series is by the artist of Kokoro Library? Obviously, another guy obsessed with cute, happy girls who bathe alot. I always wonder if any of these guys ever get laid by real women…