Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 1 Guest Review by Luce

November 15th, 2023

A wolf-woman in a butler's suit leans over a sheep-woman in a colorful dress, with flowers floating around them.In the Land of Sheep with ‘Wolfa’ – people with wolf ears and tails, and ‘Sheepa’, those with sheep ears, Aki Rukijo, a Wolfa butler, is the private tutor to Momo Shiudafaris, a Sheepa princess. Princess Momo is known as the ‘frigid’ princess, and rarely leaves her rooms. After an incident with a wild wolf on a full moon which Aki saves her from, Momo has Aki appointed her private tutor, although that’s not really her true aim. On a night of a full moon, when wolves find their instincts harder to ignore, Momo sneaks into Aki’s bedroom and declares that she loves her, and she’ll ‘gobble her up’!

Despite what sounds like a racy beginning for Sheep Princess in Wolf’s Clothing, Volume 1, by Mito, nothing much actually happens in that scene beyond kissing and them getting naked. And it doesn’t happen again in this volume, although Momo is definitely thinking about it. Bluebell, Momo’s Sheepa maid, is fully on board with the princess’s courting of Aki. Aki is more reserved about the whole thing, mostly since she is a commoner, and Momo is, well, a princess. Thus, Momo continuing to try and court her. It’s all rather cute, really.

Momo, being a princess and possibly having some previous bad experience, is somewhat limited in her experience of the outside world – the two of them go on a castle date, which is cute, but Momo wants more. Egged on by Bluebell and aided by Sakaki and Kiku, fellow Wolfa friends of Aki’s, the two of them disguise themselves and go into town, which is suitably adorable, and actually shows them getting on as people, bonding over the play they went to see, and over books.

I wondered if there might be some class difference between the Wolfa and Sheepa, but if there is, it isn’t touched upon much in this first volume. The royal family is Sheepa, although we only see two here, third princess Momo and her mother, the queen, but other than that, no mentions are made. I think there might be other animal hybrids, but they aren’t mentioned by name. It feels very much more of an aesthetic choice than a story-driven one, which is honestly fine. A work doesn’t always need to have something to say in particular, and the mangaka likely just wanted to draw cute girls with wolf and sheep ears; not to mention the role-reversal of the more confident sheep courting a flustered wolf. I can understand that.

Ratings:

Story: 6 – more about cuteness than plot
Art: 8 – lots of blushing, but the art is nice throughout, the colour pages are very pretty
Yuri: 10 – definite courting between the main couple, possible background yuri couples
Service: 3 – Momo in her underwear, and Aki in butler wear. It suits her.
Animal ear rating: 10 – they even flap when the characters get excited

Overall: 9

If you like animal hybrids and a cute story, or always kind of wanted the princess to get with their maid/another woman close to them, this seems like a pretty good bet. Volume 2 is headed our way next spring –  I’ll certainly continue reading. Final aside, Aki reminds me a little of Zakuro of Tokyo Mew Mew, albeit only by looks, and Momo is a bit like a more assertive Elianna from Bibliophile Princess.

Thank you very much to Seven Seas for the review copy! The translation was by Jan Cash, with lettering by Rina Mapa – I didn’t notice any issues with either, which usually means a job well done!

Posted in English Manga, Guest Review, Luce, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 2

November 13th, 2023

Pictured: Two girls, one in a beige sailor-collar blouse and blue skirt Japanese school uniform and one in a sweat jacket, white blouse and jean shorts, hold hands as they walk in a moody night setting. In Volume 1, we met Saki, a high school student who meets and befriends Kanon, a student who is hard of hearing. Kept at a distance by Kanon, who appears aloof, in part because trying to read lips can be exhausting, and the background noise of people is difficult for her to parse…and because something happened in middle school to make her withdraw from people, Saki does her best to gently cross barriers between her and the other girl.

In The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 2 Saki and Kanon both take steps to become closer, and to assist Kanon in participating in society on her own terms. Kanon finds an ally in her teacher Miura-sensei, who turns out to have a fairly balanced perspective on life with disability. He finds a physical space where Kanon can relax, and introduces her to a club that suits her. The Literature Club welcomes her to their group.

All is not smooth sailing, though, as Kanon’s over-protective little sister, Rinne, makes Saki feel unwelcome. That she’s not wrong about Saki, makes it harder for her to fight. But a crisis ends up convincing Rinne that Saki is, perhaps, not a bad person. A trip to the movies opens up more cans of worms and Saki struggles with her feelings for Kanon. Kanon tells Saki her side of the issue that came up in middle school. The conversation that follows takes away one more barrier between Kanon and Saki – something that will become very important in future volumes, trust me.

Once again, I beg you all to read this manga. Yes, Saki is a young queer person, but that is only one piece of an incredible multi-layered story about friends, family, disability, and society. It’s some of Kuzuhiro’s best work to date, and really opens up pathways for abled folks to address the needs of disabled folks without being weird about it. What really makes this book work is that every main character so far is dealing with more than one issue. No one is an “XYZ character,” even someone like Miura-sensei comes across a fully-featured person who is dealing with issues in his life and work and searching for balance, as we all are. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 8
Service – On principle only
Yuri – 3 Creeping up slowly

Overall – 9

I’m so thankful Kodansha licensed this. Terrific translation by Kevin Steinbach, lettering by Jamil Stewart in the caption style is eay to read, ( but you know I’m gonna say give the letterer time and money to do retouch!) Phil Basman’s iteration of the cover is very moody and solid. A fine job by the team from Kodansha.

This is an outstanding manga that almost assuredly will be overlooked by the Eisners because it’s not a Shonen Jump title, but for my money, it’s among the best series of the year. Read it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments!

Posted in Artists, English Manga, Kuzushiro, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Yuri Hakaarashi (百合墓荒らし)

November 12th, 2023

An adult woman in a business suit stands back-to-back with a girl in a Japanese school uniform, in front of a background of white lilies.With a title translated on the cover as “Lily Grave Vandalism” you just know I had to pick up Yuri Hakaarashi (百合墓荒らし) by Natsuo Tougen.

Yutaka hates her name, which is much more commonly used for boys. But when she was in school, she had a best friend who called her “Yuka-chan.” Sayoko and she went on adventures together into the mountains around town and had their own “secret base.” Yutaka always loved Sayoko and misses her terribly, since she went missing 7 years ago. Now Sayoko’s family has declared her dead and is finally holding a funeral for Sayoko. Yutaka returns from her job and home in the city to pay her respects. As she arrives in town, she is greeted by the spirit of Sayoko who remains the high school girl she last saw her as.

As the book develops, we learn what really happened when Sayoko went missing and why Yutaka is back home one last time.

This novel is a debut work by Natsuo Tougen and, to some extent, it reads like one. A lot of foreshadowing and flashback try to keep the reader off balance, but a single line gives away the whole story. About 1/3 into the story I wasn’t sure where it might go, but by halfway I knew exactly where it would go. And even when there was a chance for it do something unpredictable, the narrative hewed closely to the most obvious conclusion. While I would have been much happier to see Yutaka to get some therapy and leave the whole thing behind…as a story rooted in a high school Yuri setting, this had some good elements one might expect from a “missing for seven years” story.

All that said, it’s always good to see a new entry into the world of Yuri literary fiction. As I pointed out in my review of Yuri literary magazine Zerogoh, there is a surprising amount of Yuri fiction out there right now. I still have another short story collection from yet another publisher still to be read on my pile from earlier this year.

Will you want to read Yuri Hakaarashi? It depends on how much you’re looking for imaginative original work.

Ratings:

Overall – 6

The cover is by our old friend Mebachi-sensei and is very evocative of the story.

 

Posted in Novel | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – November 11, 2023

November 11th, 2023

A blue silhouette of a girl with a white flower in her hair, embracing the earth. Blue block letters read YNN Yuri Network News. Art by Lissa P. For Okazu.Yuri Anime

ANN’s Egan Loo has the scoop on more staff and a delay until spring for upcoming Yuri anime Whisper Me A Love Song, based on the manga of the same name (out now from Kodansha in English). Things might be delayed, but the first full trailer is in and all I can say is “wow.” I wish all anime looked that good.

 

 

Yuri Manga

Couple of new releases this week:

The Moon on A Rainy Night, Volume 2 hit shelves this week. Gosh I love this story. ^_^

This week sees the release of My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness: Special Edition, a hardcover edition, with foil highlights and new, original content by author Kabi Nagata!

 

For only $5/month, Become an Okazu Patron today –
Support Yuri journalism!

We have a number of new titles up on the Yuricon Store, as I once again play catch-up with the listings. ^_^;

Alter Ego 2: Noel & June continues Ana C. Sánchez‘s popular story about finding love in all the places where you totally weren’t looking. That’s headed our way in summer 2024.

Taguchi Shouichi’s Futari Escape, Volume 4 now completes this light-hearted story of a woman and her sempai avoiding adulting as hard as they can.

I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Volume 2 will arrive in winter 2024! Luce took a look at Volume 1 here last summer and pronounced it a fun roller-coaster of a Yuri harem.

Nekobunig Sumire’s Silhouette of the Sea is now available on Kindle in English and Kindle JP in Japanese!

Via Comic Natalie, Futsu no Koi ‘tte Nani?,  (フツーの恋って何？) is a high school love triangle from the perspectives of all three girls. Volume 1 hit JP shelves last week.

 
Yuri Audiobook

Coming up next week is the I’m in Love with the Villainess, Audiobook, Volume 1! As a note, not all the platforms listed on Seven Seas’ page actually have this for sale. The Yuricon Store entry only includes sites that have active links for the book as of now.

 

Buy us a Sailor Senshi sparkling water
Support Yuri journalism on Ko-fi!

Yuri Light Novel

And, while I flogging inori-sensei’s work, don’t forget that her newest novel, Yuusha ni Naritai Shoujo To, Yuusha Narubeki Kanojo (勇者になりたい少女と、勇者になるべき彼女) hit shelves in Japan this week!

On the Yuricon Store, we’ve also added the third and final volume of the Claire P.O.V. spin-off Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!, Volume 3, (平民のくせに生意気な！) in Japanese on Kindle in US and JP. (In case you cannot wait until this is translated into English by Seven Seas, as I cannot. ^_^)

Also up on the store is Shuu ni Ichido Classmate wo Kau Hanashi ~ Futari no Jikan, Iiwakeno Gosenen~, Volume 1 (週に一度クラスメイトを買う話 ~ふたりの時間、言い訳の五千円~) a LN about a girl who sells herself to a classmate, perhaps to hide her feelings? Probably not, but you never know.

 

Other News

This week History is Gay and Okazu teamed up to talk about the grandmother of Yuri, Yoshiya Nobuko and her amazing life and love in A Husband is Unnecessary: Yoshiya Nobuko & Japanese Girls’ Culture. This was so much fun! I hope you’ll listen to it and subscribe to Leigh’s podcast, which is excellent.

Andrew Osmand wants us to know that BOA’s song “Duvet,” best known as the opening theme for Serial Experiments Lain, has a new official music video – and the band has reformed to make it, as the song has remained incredibly popular since the 1998 anime.

 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with us.

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, Volume 3

November 9th, 2023

Seven girls in red pop idol costumes pose on the cover of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 3 by Auri Hirao.Phew. Now that Christian took us over the hump of Volume 2, in which neither Maina nor Eri act in any way approaching the way normal humans might, We arrive at Volume 3 of If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan I Would Die, where they are marginally less not human. 

The first-ever ranking contest results are in and through an amazingly tortured and unreal set of circumstances, Eri comes too late to make a difference in the rankings. Main is, yet again, disappointed for the wrong reasons, until she learns that Eri bought her CDs anyway and runs after her Number 1 fan, but missing her because of an amazingly tortured and unreal set of circumstances. But the Christmas concert comes and although Reo is still center, the girls make their best efforts at giving their fans the kind of service they want – callouts, special gestures, handshakes – and, for the holiday a fraught gift a three shot! Why an idol group would sow dissension among their otaku by requiring them to pick a second fave is beyond me, but perhaps management forgot that otaku live and die by single-minded, creepily possessive obsession?

Importantly, Eri and Maina make each other very happy by saying something mostly-incoherent, but this time at least positive to one another! Yay! Maybe we past their inability to communicate? Hahahah, no, obviously not. This is a Hirao Auri manga and no one important will ever have a meaningful conversation.

The manga ends with the Cham Jam girls and their fans accidentally being at the local shrine at the same time for New Year’s…and the news that Cham Jam will be participating in this year’s Okayama Idol Fest…and so will with the girls who were in Reo’s old group. shock!

I said we’re “over the hump,” and in one sense we are. There will be less torturing of Eri from Volume 4 onward, but this volume is still firmly rooted in the idea that hurting Eri, and Eri and Maina not managing to talk is super hilarious, and not massively stressful. On the other hand, the members of Cham Jam are actually lovely when they are together. You can really see how much they like one another and really believe in themselves, which is incredibly charming. The shrine scene is a reminder that whoever they are up on stage, idols are people, too.  Cham Jam seems like a group you could really get behind.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story –  Still frustrating but I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even if I can’t see it yet.
Character – 8
Service – Pleasantly, 0
Yuri – 4 Hovering at “I think I feel something for you, but can’t put a finger on it,” to “I can’t look you in the eyes, but don’t know why” with potential

Overall – 8

Tokyopop does a very good job of making this series as fun as possible which, at least for a few more volumes, is not very much. But IF you love idol culture and love insights into both sides of the struggle – what idols and their fans go through – this is probably one of the most realistic manga out there. Idol culture is a niche of it’s own and has it’s own language and rituals. Thanks very much to Tokyopop for today’s review copy and for the excellent work by the entire team for bringing this title over.

 

Posted in English Manga, Hirao Auri, Yuri Manga | 2 Comments »