Back in 2020 when I reviewed the first volume of Nakamura Asumiko’s first manga that was specifically meant to be seen as Yuri, I kept my expectations relatively low-key. I was already familiar with Nakamura-sensei’s work, I knew her art was quirky and her characters tended be off-balance, but charming. Indeed, Volume 1 was very much all of that.

Mejirobana Saku, Volume 2 (メジロバナの咲く) threw me for a complete loop. The set-up in Volume 1, which appeared to be headed towards a traditional love triangle is set aside for something far more complicated. What I thought was heading towards Yawnsville, took a sharp turn and became exactly the kind of non-conventional, dramatic and honestly compelling and delightful story I have come to expect from this author.

It was apparent from the beginning that Ruby’s parents had failed her, but when we finally meet her father, we start to understand the multiple ways in which adult selfishness can have an impact upon their children. And the thing is…by the end of the story we don’t even dislike her parents, even despite everything they put Ruby through, Steph and Liz both rise way above their initial characterizations for an series of amazing scenes…. 

The end of the story is…well, I’m not going to spoil it, because you’ll be getting A White Rose in Bloom, Volume 2 at the end of this year and I don’t want to ruin a single moment of it for you. If you haven’t read Volume 1 of that yet, definitely do, because you need to get set-up for a story that isn’t at all what you expected and is all the better for it. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters – 9 Fabulous
Service – Kinda, but not really, let’s say 1 because
Yuri – 7

Overall – 9 Wow, that was fantastic.

In my review of Volume 1 I said of this book, “We’re never going to shed the tropes of Yuri, but revisiting them with talented creators doing something unique and unpredictable with them” and I have never been as prophetic. Nakamura-sensei takes all the old tropes and without changing a thing, gives us something wholly unique and unpredictable. An absolutely fabulous read.

In Volume 1, we met Tarumizu Kou, a young lady with a talent for photography and her muses, best friends Amane and Nene.Kou’s photography brings out the best in all three young women.

In Volume 2 of Luminous= Blue, Volume 2 (ルミナス=ブルー ), emotions are running high. Kou is trying to take a photo that will win her a photography competition. The club president is competing with her, but seems less-than motivated.

Nene having confided in the previous volume that her sideline as an amateur model has brought her fame, is still holding something back. Finally, having shared her pain with Kou, Nene asks Kou to go out with her. This leaves Amane behind, and she’s hurting at having her two best friend leaving her alone. The president of the photography club uses Amane’s  loneliness to try to recapture her own passion for photgraphy…but the only art she finds is in Amane’s sadness.

But it’s Kou, who is always gazing through a  camera lens who can see the truth. She finally confronts Nene about her true feelings. Nene shares the whole story with Kou, about how Amane broke her heart by wanting to become a model…even when she knew Nene hated it so much. Kou refuses to back down – she can see what Nene will not say, that Nene is in love with Amane.

Kou chooses her photo for the upcoming competition carefully. And when it wins, she is able to make Nene and Amane see their truest selves. As Kou prepares to leave them together, Nene insists she’s also in love with Kou.  Amane suggests the three of them date and, as the volume and the story, ends, I found myself thinking that this might actually work…for a little while, at least. ^_^

This volume was published in 2019, but you may remember that the first volume had sold out…and the second volume ended up stuck in the Suez Canal. Here I am,  a few months shy of two years later, finally getting a chance to review this even as a new series by this creator begins this month in Comic Yuri Hime.

Iwaki Kyouko’s art is very lovely, but has a fair amount of fan service, which I find somewhat disconcerting. It’s hard for me to relax into the story, as I am endlessly looking at clothing and bodies with a gaze I do not choose. At the same time, there’s a beauty to it, which makes it hard to look away. In that sense, Iwami-sensei’s art is quite compelling, which is the point of art. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Character – 8
Story – 8
Service – 4 Much of the art is meant to be erotic, some of it is clearly salacious.
Yuri – 6

Overall – 8

So, was it worth the wait? Yes, it totally was. The story held up…and so did the ending. I found myself rooting that the three of them got to spend at least some of their youthful years together. ^_^