Right now on Yuri lists across the Internets, there are a number of Yuri + Food stories. If you are a regular reader here you know two things – 1) I love food more than I love Yuri and 2) Yuri Lists lie.

Which is to say, quite often what one person feels as “Yuri,” others might not. I have read a bunch of stories that either did not feel Yuri, or just weren’t speaking to me; over the years I’ve made an effort to not become cynical about yet another suggestion.  Well, friends, after a couple of series where the Yuri and food did not gel into a coherent narrative, I have found one that was cute…if you like manga in which people shout a lot. ^_^ 

Koi To Yobu Ni Wa Ao Sugiru (恋と呼ぶには青すぎる) by Makotokun is kinda fun, kinda annoying and actually kinda fun. ^_^ Subtitled “Too blue to call love” (In English we’d probably say too green, rather than blue, i.e., too new and fresh) this story was shared on Twitter and has garnered the creator more than 15K followers.

Kyouko runs an izakaya with her brother. She’s cute in a very boyish, immature way. The regulars at the bar tease her pretty gently and she responds by overreacting, cutely.  Her eyes are on Midori, a regular who has a cheating boyfriend. Kyouko can say and do nothing but watch over the beautiful Midori, until one day, the boyfriend walks in the door with another girl and Kyouko loses it. After she rakes Baba up one side and down the other, who should walk in but Midori, who does likewise. Midori ask Kyouko out to get tea one day and leaves her steaming with anticipation and embarrassment.

Kyoko’s brother finds ex-boyfriend Baba alone and sad and ends up taking him out for a drink. The situation between him and Midori is more complicated than it appears. The brother ends up taking Baba home to dry him out.

Kyouko’s brother is thrilled to see Kyouko and Midori get together, he just also thinks Baba’s kind of pathetic and needs a friend. He’s not wrong. In the meantime, Midori and Kyouko go out to a movie and a snack and get to know one another and Midori is very clear that she like-likes Kyouko, who explodes visibly. The next time Midori and Kyouko are out, they comes across Baba and her brother, who invites them all to sit and talk…and weird friendship is born. When Kyouko goes out to buy some nice clothes for her date with Midori she runs into Baba, who picks out a very fashionable outfit for her. Midori admits later that the outfit that she’s wearing was also chosen by him. Midori is comfortable taking the lead in this relationship which is good, because she’d grow old waiting for Kyouko.

This could be the most annoying story ever, but oddly, it’s not. ^_^ 

The art is fun if not clean, and the characters are all likable – even, annoyingly, Baba. The brother (I think his name is Miyabi) watches over everything with a beatific smile and you just cannot dislike him. Kyouko’s charm is her overreactions and showing everything on her face. And Midori seems like a nice person, once she decides to move on. It’s all just kinda cute.

The food and drink is a backdrop, rather than scenery. We get occasional dishes announced but this is not She Loves To Cook, She Loves To Eat. There are no lingering looks at beautifully prepared meals here, just another order and another beer.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 7
Story – 7
Service – 0
Yuri – 6 to start

Overall –  7

The real question is, would I read the second volume, which came out this past summer. Probably, with the thought that, like the above-mentioned She Loves To Cook, She Loves To Eat, the publisher is “it comics,” which has been promising. Let’s say it’s very likely that I’ll read V2, eventually. It was fun enough, if a little shouty.