Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Comic Yuri Hime, January 2021 (γ‚³γƒŸγƒƒγ‚―η™Ύεˆε§«2021εΉ΄1月号)

January 15th, 2021

The cover of Comic Yuri Hime, January 2021 (γ‚³γƒŸγƒƒγ‚―η™Ύεˆε§«2021εΉ΄1月号) begins a new Yuri cover story. Where 2020’s cover story was art-focused, with few words that just gave context to the image, this year we have separate stand-alone short stories in a ridiculously small type size that forces me to use a magnifying glass to be able to read it. It is a vaguely time-wimey story that uses a desk as a point of contact between young women in different times. The stories are by Ren Hanna, with quirky illustrations by Kesshin. If it were in 12-point type I’d probably be enjoying it. ^_^

This issue starts off with a new concept  manga from Usui Shio. In “Onna to Tomodachi Kekkonshitemita” Sera is an freelance writer who needs a good idea to write about. She pitches an article on same-sex marriage. Her best friend Ruriko (who is pretty obviously is in love with Sera,) volunteers. And so Sera and Ruriko get married, I trust Usui-sensei completely to do a good job with this story and so far (I just read the next installment yesterday) I’m not going to be disappointed.

Also in the “not a disappointment” category is Takeshima Eku’s “Sasayaku Youni Koi wo Utau” in which watching Yori continues to be a delight. AND it looks like we’re getting an actual post-they like each other arc! Whoo! You can also enjoy this story in English as Whisper Me A Love Song. It’s charming.

Kakaze’s “Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai” is moving past it’s initial pitch and Sakurai and Honda are finding themselves having experiences neither of them would have been able to imagine previously.

β€œKimi to Tsuzuru Utakata,”by Yuama is taking a deeply emotional turn, but I’m rooting for things to move past the obvious conflict here.

And wow, do I actually have no idea at all where – if anywhere, “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!” by Miman is going. Holy crap. This arc has lead everyone to saying stuff they mean. I’m not sure I have ever read this many chapters of, “you need to hear this.” I love it.

“Hello Melancholic” has now officially ended. I am going to miss it, honestly. Minato’s journey hit me in all the right places. /sniff/

Usui Shio is gunning for my favorite author of 2021, with some breathtakingly real chapters for “Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnuts.” I swear to all the gods, if people keep having actual conversations in manga, I’m gonna die of happiness.

SPEAKING of conversations, Ohi Pikachi’s “Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru” was a-ma-zing. Asuka confronts her family with whom she has a very bad relationship…and her being with a woman is only another brick in that wall, until Saki helps her face herself and her parents. Next on to Saki’s family. We already know how her sister feels, so this one ought to go well. ^_^

This issue also includes a chapter of a serialized novel (in slightly larger typeface than the cover,) about a girl who admire idols so much, she wants to become one. It’s not a bad opening gambit for what it a pretty worn trope already.

And, finally, Inui Ayu-sensei details the happy times she spends with her girfriend in her autobiographical comic. This time, they go out to breakfast, because why not? ^_^

Ratings:

Overall – 8

There continues to be series I am not following, and those I am, that I have not mentioned. In my opinion, this was an excellent first volume of the year, with a lot of stuff for many different fans. Including those who are inexplicably still reading “Yuru Yuri.” Why? Seriously. The continuing existence of that series bewilders me.

 





Ikemen Sugidesu Shiki-senpai!, Volume 2 (γ‚€γ‚±γƒ‘γƒ³γ™γŽγ§γ™η΄«θ‘΅ε…ˆγƒ‘γ‚€! )

January 14th, 2021

File today’s review under “Wow Erica, took you long enough!” But wait, I had an excuse! Remember when I ordered some stuff from Japan and it took 2 months to get her?. Well, this book was part of that stuff. And then there were things that had to done, and end of year things, and…so here were are, reviewing  Ikemen Sugidesu Shiki-senpai!, Volume 2 (γ‚€γ‚±γƒ‘γƒ³γ™γŽγ§γ™η΄«θ‘΅ε…ˆγƒ‘γ‚€! ) 18 months after I reviewed Volume 1. It’s a shame this little two-volume series hasn’t been licensed, because it is really rather sweet and fluffy, like candy floss Yuri. ^_^

In Volume 1, we meet Hina who is kind of into Shiki-senpai who is just too cool for her shirt. And, by the end of Volume 1, we learn that Shiki-senpai is into Hina in return. A bit of a fever and circumstances leads to a kiss in the school health office.

In Volume 2, Shiki-senpai deals with her feelings and she and Hina begin to get closer. Until a wild plot complication comes riding up, and jumps between the two of them for a whole half a chapter! But don’t worry, they end up together as one had no doubt they would, because this is, as I said, a light, fluffy and sweet confection of a Yuri manga and nothing more.

That said, I kind of liked it. ^_^ It was far too sweet to be a palate cleanser, but it made a nice fluffy brainless Yuri story to go to sleep on.  And Shiki-senpai really is just too cool. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Characters – 9
Story – 8
Service – 6 Shiki-senpai being cool is still a form of service. ^_^
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

As I said in my review of volume 1, this series is just so sincere. It’s might not be to your taste, but I found it hard to dislike. ^_^





Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 5 (δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ‚γ’γ¦γ‚‚γ„γ„γ‹γͺ)

January 13th, 2021

As a reviewer, I understand that spoilers are sometimes unavoidable in order to make a review make sense. As a reader, I don’t particularly mind spoilers…until I do. But I am really in a bind here, trying to review Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 5 (δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ‚γ’γ¦γ‚‚γ„γ„γ‹γͺ) without giving anything away. I mean like…I can’t comment on the things that happened, because I couldn’t comment on the things that happened previously to them that made them important. OR why. Or the fallout. Or basically anything. Aaaaarrrghhh!

Some things that happened in Volume 4 turn out to have a long tail and some other stuff happens because of those things. And then….some other things happen with people whose roles in the story has changed and absolutely nothing is anything I can talk about until you’ve read at least through Volume 3, which won’t be for a while, since How Do We Relationship, Volume 2 just came out last month and literally anything I could say about any of it would be a huge enough spoiler that I don’t want to mention anything.

I can say this – I have a lot of complicated feelings about this series. I liked Saeko and Miwa, then I didn’t like Miwa, then I didn’t like both of them and now I am once again coming around to liking them for entirely different reasons. They are vastly more three-dimensional now than they were in Volume 1, and the entire story has gone in directions I never expected, could not have predicted and it is a MUCH better story for all of it.

Watching both Miwa and Saeko deal with stuff has been an interesting situation for me. There’s a great deal of the character building that feels wholly real and some that seems ripped straight from a soap opera plot. But, ultimately whether the story is informed by fact or wholly fiction, I’m going to give Tamifull full props for writing a story that I can’t stop reading, even when I’m not sure it’s going to…ack, spoilers!

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 More complicated with every volume
Characters – 7 I’m still rooting for everyone
Yuri – 7 / LGBTQ – 6 It’s getting queerer, again
Service – 5

Overall – 8

Recently someone asked me for a “messy relationship” story I can recommend. I guess…this is it. ^_^





Okazu Top Yuri Manga of 2020

December 29th, 2020

There were so many wonderful Yuri manga series in 2020, I make no pretense to this being a countdown of any kind. There is no best one manga this year, just ever-widening, ever-lengthening bookshelves worth of amazing Yuri manga treasures! The top four are basically tied for first place, we’ll talk about why when we get there.

I’ve included links to both JP and EN volumes when they are available.  Almost all of these titles are available in English. The few that are not are available as print from Amazon JP or e-books from Bookwalker JP,  which also has e-books in English available on Bookwalker Global.

Please join me in enjoying some of the many Best Yuri Manga of the year. ^_^ 

***

 

Tsuki to Suppin (ζœˆγ¨γ™γ£γ΄γ‚“) / Night and Day

Akegata Yuu’s odd couple story, Tsuki to Suppin, is so…nice. Nothing happens, and there’s so little drama it almost seems like it might not be worth it, but it always, always is worth it to me. Watching a couple who just *work* together and understand one another is so absurdly refreshing. The simple art and the apparent lack of complexity is appealing. Everything about this series is Shodensha doing the exact kind of Jousei Yuri I want to see in the world.

And now you can read this series in English as Night and Day for free on Manga Planet or decide to subscribe and support them in getting more. ^^

Available in English from Manga Planet

 

 

 

 

Hitogoto Desukara! (γƒ’γƒˆγ‚΄γƒˆγ§γ™γ‹γ‚‰!) / It’s Personnel

Now that Shakaijin Yuri is an established subgenre, it’s easy to feel that the initial office romance plots have become stale. Rather than girl-meets-girl, we have woman-meets-woman. But, in Yuni’s comedy drama, Hitogoto Desukara! (which is so clearly written to adapted into a live-action television show!,) we get playgirl vs playgirl in the office…in the one department where they can’t really be in competition, but have to find ways to work together. There’s a lot of insight to the kinds of office politics one sees in large corporations – with exactly the right amount of rage as a response. ^_^ Once again, Manga Planet offers you a chance to try this out before committing, much like the characters of this story. And extra points for the stellar naming sense for It’s Personnel. ^_^

Available in English from Manga Planet

 

 

 

 

Still Sick & Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana (δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ‚γ’γ¦γ‚‚γ„γ„γ‹γͺ) / How Do We Relationship

Both these series, Akashi’s Still Sick and Tamifull’s Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana made this list for the same reason – they show adult relationships that have some complicating factors. Personal experience and external influence both have impact on the characters here, which means that these are not necessarily the healthiest relationships. As Yuri develops as a genre, I don’t want our romances to become WE TV, with endless flogging of stereotypes and trauma to create the tension, but it’s also good to have more than one-note romances on our shelves. Both these series have characters we’re rooting for…even as we can see they have a lot of stuff to work through.

Still Sick is available in English from Tokyopop

How Do We Relationship is available in English from Viz Media.

 

 

 

Yamada to Kase-san  (ε±±η”°γ¨εŠ η€¬γ•γ‚“) / Kase-san and Yamada 

In Yamada to Kase-san we encounter old friends once again. Having left their hometown and traveled to the big city, both Yamada and Kase-san are now spending their days building adult lives, making friends and trying to fit each other into this new construct. There is no doubt that they love each other a great deal, and it is a joy to be able to continue to watch over them as they build their lives together..and to know that we’ll get to spend more time with the characters we’ve grown to care about. What a great way celebrate our tenth anniversary with this series!

Available in English from Seven Seas.

 

 

 

Yagate Kimi ni Naru (γ‚„γŒγ¦ε›γ«γͺγ‚‹) / Bloom Into You

Yagate Kimi ni Naru makes the list for three reasons, all of which are meaningful to me as a reader, as a reviewer and as a fan of Yuri. Let’s take them in reverse order. As a fan, I am delighted that a whole new crop of folks have discovered Yuri through this series as their “gateway Yuri.” ^_^

As a reader, this series provided me with both a lesbian character and functional adult role models for that character – the two things which were my favorite quality about the story…then gave me the added bonus of light novels telling that character’s story in more detail.  As a reviewer, the journey we took in this series felt whole. We didn’t stop midway, there weren’t handwaves where they just would go on to be happy off-screen; there was a terrific balance between school life romance and bildungsroman. It felt…complete and well told. At the beginning I had so many doubts, but by the end, I had none. And for all of that, Bloom Into You definitely deserves a place on this year’s top list.

Available in English from Seven Seas

 

 

 

Γ‰clair Yuri Anthology series

If you are a regular reader here at Okazu, you know how important a place in the history of Yuri I give to anthologies. They gave Yuri creators a community where there was none previously, they give established creators a place to expand their art and a place for introducing new creators to a wider audience. I am delighted once again that you’ve had the opportunity to experience a Yuri anthology series, with all of it’s varieties of creators and stories so that you can decide for yourself whose work you love. For their importance in the past, the present and, I hope, the future, the Γ‰clair Yuri anthology series makes this list.

Available in English from Yen Press

 

 

 

 

The next four manga are all basically tied for first, because they share a key quality among them that I believe is the single most important quality in any media I want to see right now:

 

 

 

Hello Melancholic! (ハロー、パランコγƒͺック!)

This is one of two series on this list that is not translated. I hope that will change. I’ve loved Ohsawa Yayoi’s work for years. She’s got a way with characterization that is wholly unique and her art style has really developed into something stylish and fun. Hello Melancholic, a tale of a girl who is able to rekindle her love for music, touched me. The characters around her all felt real and…fun. It was a story about finding love – and about finding and learning to believe in one’s self.

It just wrapped up in Japanese and I really hope that you’ll all be able to experience it one day in English. Because it is just…lovely.

 

 

 

 

Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnuts (ζ¬ γ‘γŸζœˆγ¨γƒ‰γƒΌγƒŠγƒƒγƒ„) / Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon

Hinako is a woman who has been told her entire life that she must present herself in a certain way, and seek certain things from her life. In Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnuts, despite the fact that it made her miserable, she never questioned any of it, until she meets someone at work who simply ignores all the rules. As her life begins to change, Hinako discovers herself and love. I love Usui Shio’s art. It’s everything I want in a Jousei romance story.

It’s a pleasure to know that shortly you’ll be able to enjoy this series along with me, as Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon. I hope you find it as quietly triumphant as I do.

Available in English from Seven Seas

 

 

 

Itoshi Koishi (いとしこいし)

Takemiya Jin is a fixture here on my end-of-year lists. I really wish someone would license her work, because she is the one manga artist working in what we might now call “mainstream Yuri” manga who consistently has lesbian representation in her work.

This year, in Itoshi Koishi, we got a character who knew who she is and what was important to her and knew she wanted to share it all with her closest friends. It took a few volumes, but when Hina comes out to her best friends, they reiterate their love and acceptance for her. It was a beautiful manga about a couple that is supportive and caring and who are supported and cared for in return.

 

 

 

 

Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru (ηΎ½ε±±ε…ˆη”Ÿγ¨ε―Ίι‡Žε…ˆη”Ÿγ―δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ„γ‚‹) / Our Teachers are Dating!

In Ohi Pikachi’s series, Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru (ηΎ½ε±±ε…ˆη”Ÿγ¨ε―Ίι‡Žε…ˆη”Ÿγ―δ»˜γεˆγ£γ¦γ„γ‚‹), Hayama Asuka and Terano Saki are two adult women who find love for the first time and everyone around them is so charmed by their pure joy in each other, that there is complete approval from their peers, their administration, their students, random strangers on the street….

As a parable of acceptance, it’s perfect. As a model of what can be, it’s the kind of fantasy I want a million tons of, until I get sick of it, thank you very much. Ohi Pikachi’s art is adorable and sexy. Asuka and Saki’s love and their joy in one another is wholly adult and totally squee-worthy.  I hope you’re reading Our Teachers Are Dating and enjoying it all, too! This is Yuri manga presenting the world I want to see.  ^_^

Available in English from Seven Seas

 

By now, you may have figured out what all these have in common. Love and acceptance of self was the theme of the year. All the best Yuri Manga of 2020 was about learning to love and accept one’s self, and be accepted in return. 2020 is the year of “acceptance fantasy” in Yuri and I am totally here for it. ^_^

As always, please feel free to share your top yuri manga of the year in the comments!





Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji, Volume 1 (γ΅γŸγ‚Šγ―γ γ„γŸγ„γ“γ‚“γͺγ‹γ‚“γ˜)

December 18th, 2020

In the Yuri world Ikeda Takashi is best known for Sasamekikoto / Whispered Words in English, from One Peace Books. That series made fun of every Yuri trope, balled them all into one funny, poignant and, in the end, beautiful comedy-drama with the perfect ending. It’s been about five years since we got the ending of that in the west and, whike Takashi-sensei has done other series, few of them have wandered into our territory.  Until now.

Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji (γ΅γŸγ‚Šγ―γ γ„γŸγ„γ“γ‚“γͺγ‹γ‚“γ˜) is a slice of life manga about two adult women who are a couple, and who are happy and settled in their relationship. Sakuma Eri is a writer and Inuzuka Wako is an aspiring voice actress. Together they eat and sleep and do work and spend their days happily in one another’s company.  We meet some of their friends and colleagues and, ultimately family, which puts this story into one of the very few Yuri manga that provides the main characters with something that resembles an actual life.

The art is very chill and adult, even as Ikeda-sensei still uses wacky expressions and visuals. Since the scenes take place in their apartment or sometimes at the recording studio, there’s little detail or frivolous background. The story is very much centered on the relationship between Wako and Eri, and how they react to one another’s needs, both spoken and unspoken.

By the end of the volume, the story starts to take off, as Sakuma shows her understanding and appreciation of Wako’s hard work, and we finish the volume off with a visit from Wako’s mother to meet Eri that is only the normal amount of “mom is visiting” stressful and not angst from coming out or hiding. As we’ve seen mom earlier, all excited about meeting her daughter’s special person, we know it will go well. Overall, the story is comfy and not at all stressful, with added bonus heartwarming moments.

This is a story about the everyday life of two people in a functional relationship, with low drama and very comfortable affection and caring. Ikeda-sensei still knows exactly how to end a volume. Such a terrific way to end this week, honestly, and I look forward to Volume 2 when it comes out. ^_^ (Update: Volume 2 was even better.)

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 5 a bit, it’s a story for adult readers
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

This volume is available on Amazon JP, of course, and if you’d like to read it digitally outside Japan, it’s also available on Bookwalker Global, where you can also check out a few sample pages.