Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru, Volume 3 (羽山先生と寺野先生は付き合っている)

October 22nd, 2020

Hayama-sensei and Terano-sensei have been together about a year now. Their colleagues think they are adorable together and so do their students. They love each other very much. So what conflicts can they possible face, in Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru, Volume 3 (羽山先生と寺野先生は付き合っている)?

WELL.

There’s the time that time they go on a ski trip with the other teachers and get caught in a storm and Terano-sensei is lost….only that didn’t happen. Instead they snuggle all night in the cabin until they can ski back down the hill the next morning.

LET’S NOT FORGET

The day where Hayama-sensei has to do external continuing ed and misses Saki so much she sighs out loud…and meets another woman from a different school who misses her lover, who happens to also be the school’s gym teacher. So she gains a friend who is another queer adult woman and they promise to stay in touch.

OMG, THOUGH

Their 1st anniversary is approaching! So they buy thoughtful gifts for one another and spend an night together…and decide to live together.

OH, BUT

There’s the time when there is rumor of a haunted vase in the school. Only, Terano-sensei put that vase there.

So, do not expect there to be angst. I mean, there is. It’s whole panels worth of gut-wrenching concern and occasional irrational panic. But mostly this manga is about two adult women who love each other a lot and sometimes enjoy sex together.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Characters – 10
Story – 9
Service – 7 There is nudity and sex, but it feels less salacious than it actually is, because on the cover we are literally watching them in the bath.
Yuri – 10

Overall – 10

It’s all so wholesome and functional, it hardly feels like we’re creepy voyeurs, which we are. ^_^

I know what’s coming, too, because magazine(!) and it’ll just get more and more squee.

Volume 1 of this series is out in English as Our Teachers Are Dating, Volume 1 and Volume 2 is slated for a January 2021 release.





Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 3 (百合と声と風纏い)

October 21st, 2020

In Volume 1, we met Matoi, a high school senior with a talent for music and vocals. Surrounded by people her age who are in an out of love, she’s never felt “in love” before and has no idea what it’s like. We also meet Yuriko, a few years older, who has come home to help her family by working at their gas station. In Volume 2, both Yuriko and Matoi find they sincerely enjoy each other’s company. But with graduation around the corner, Matoi is planning on going to the city, and both of them aren’t at all sure what they want. Matoi leaves to go to a trade school.

Yuri to Koe to Kaze Matoi, Volume 3 (百合と声と風纏い) begins with Matoi in Tokyo for school, she’s made some friends…and met a lesbian couple, for real. Yuriko plans a trip to see Matoi, but becomes ill and ends up needing Matoi to take care of her – which is mortifying, but more importantly, Matoi sees the burn scars on Yuriko’s body. Nonetheless, Matoi is really starting to think that how she feels might well be “love” after all. Yuriko, full of self-loathing and fear is really not ready to be “in love” but may have no say in the matter as she’s really starting to like Matoi.

I love this series. Honestly, I really just like everything about it. Mei Ren’s art is not perfect, which I find humanizes the characters and the story. The story itself is sincere, rather than brilliant. But the characters are relatable and human, and even side characters get to be more than just a supporting role. We’re watching them change, even if we’re mostly paying attention to Matoi.  I even love that this from a Lilie comics, the relatively new Yuri imprint from Dogenzaka Shobo. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 5 Naked Yuriko
LGBTQ – 7

Overall – 8

It’s a charming and fun read, with enough emotional impact that I really want Matoi and Yuriko to figure it out.

I hope there’s someone else out there who is reading this series , so we can roll our eyes at Chiba-kun and be like, “poor Rio-san, how annoying for her….” ^_^

 





A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Volume 4

October 19th, 2020

In my review of Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 4 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる ), I lightly commented that “this series has moved slowly, and almost haphazardly, like the tropical fish of the title, lazily moving between plot points.” But Konatsu chooses another form of symbolism completely, befuddling both Koyuki and us, in A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Volume 4 – the symbolism of a childhood tale of a shy salamander and it’s frog friend.

The festival has arrived and the day Konatsu and Koyuki have practiced for is here. Only, Koyuki is home sick. Worried for her friend and worried about the show, Koyuki tries to sneak out, but is stymied. She’s thrilled to find that Konatsu has done the fish show, but worried that her outgoing new friend will leave her behind.

At this point it has to be obvious to us, that Koyuki’s problems are deeper than just being treated like she’s perfect. She’s developed some seriously deep wounds. Her concerns are not alleviated by the fact that she’s barely gotten better when the second-year’s class trip pops up, separating them again. Koyuki starts to finally realize how important Konatsu has become to her.

Once again faced with her emotions, Koyuki snaps, and yet again, Konatsu is there to pick up the pieces and accept her. And we learn who the salamander and the frog are to one another.

This is not a romance in the more usual sense. Koyuki is far too fragile to be in love or like. In that sense, it’s a bit more like Konatsu building a ladder, one rung at a time, to help Koyuki climb out of a hole she’s dug for herself. Because this story is positioned as a Yuri romance, we can kind of expect what the end will be, but I sincerely hope we see Koyuki coming out of that hole before it happens. Otherwise, she’ll just be adding new baggage before the old stuff is dealt with.

The team at Viz is handling this story well. John Werry’s translation and Eve Grandt’s lettering is light-handed, so we’re left to feel for Koyuki on our own, without heavy-handed tactics. The design work by Yukiko Whitely and editing by Pancha Diaz, contribute to another authentic manga reading experience.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 1 on principle only, there really isn’t any
Yuri – 4

Overall – 7

As I said in my review of the Japanese volume, “This series has always been, in large part, about Koyuki’s journey to find herself. It would be nice if she finds some self-confidence and we can see their relationship develop from here.”

Volume 5 in English will hit shelves here in November, and Volume 7 has been out since summer in Japan, we should probably expect Volume 8 before the end of the year.





Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 2 (ハロー、メランコリック!)

October 16th, 2020

Volume 1 introduced us to Minato, a girl who loves playing music, but has been hurt by schoolmates. She is discovered by Hibiki, a sempai who runs a casual band/club who encourages Minato to have confidence in her skills.

In Hello, Melancholic!, Volume 2 (ハロー、メランコリック!), the band is about to perform live for the first time, but there are no ends of problems and setbacks. For one, Hibiki’s wrist is injured and she’s had to refrain from playing drums. Secondly, Minato is near paralyzed at the idea of performing in front of people. But both these things are resolved by Minato. She suggests making plastic bottle maracas to get the crowd to be part of the show…and even though she spots classmates from her previous school in the audience, Minato find some strength in herself, leading the audience and rocking out on trombone. It is a massive success.

As she looks around after the performance, Minato spies Chika and Sakiko kissing, which throws her into a tizzy. Chika drags the hapless trombone player off to a family restaurant and regales her with the tale of how she and Sakiko met, fell in love and became a couple. More importantly, though, Chika makes Minato confront the idea that she might be falling for Hibiki. A “date” with Hibiki does not help clear that off the table.

I cannot tell you why, exactly, I want Minato to be happy – although there are a lot of superficially obvious reasons that I might feel that way – but I really want Minato to be happy. If Hibiki can make her happy, I’m all in for them. But I also know that there’s a lot standing between them before they get there…among them Minato herself. She’s a walking bundle of insecurity and hesitation. Ohsawa Yayoi’s come so far in the last few years – Minato’s expressions are really something. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9 Humanizing Chika is surprisingly effective
Service – 2
Yuri – 8

Overall – 8.5 we’re climbing, slowly

Nonetheless, we’ll watch and wait, and listen to pleasant ensemble music featuring flute, drum, piano, and trombone as we do. (Couldn’t also find one with a guitar, but this was close…)





Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi, Volume 3 (できそこないの姫君たち)

October 6th, 2020

In Volume 1, otaku and class loner Kurokawa Kaede is thrown together with school princess, Fujishiro Nanaki. In time-honored fashion, Fujishiro gives a radical makeover to the girl with glasses, and they both find that they are willing to sacrifice their judgemental former circles for each other’s company, in Volume 2.

As Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi, Volume 3 began, I found myself actively reluctant to read this next volume of Ajiichi’s school-life drama. And it’s taken me a couple of readthroughs to figure out why. By the time I finished out the volume, I was right, but for the wrong reason.

As Volume 3  begins, Kaede and Nanaki are joined by two new friends, Izumi and Iroha. And the school trip is coming up – Nara and Kyoto. Iroha, who is from Kansai is not at all pleased, but everyone else is looking forward to getting away. Nanaki and Kaede privately each imagine time together,but…

…when the rooms and schedules are arranged, suddenly Nanaki is with Izumi and Kaeda with Iroha. Neither wants to be the one to pop the bubble, so they just go along with it. No one meant anything by it, surely.  From that point on, the trip is bittersweet for them both, as neither has the nerve to say what ought to be said. And in the end, it might not have been accidental at all…

Here’s my concern. In the same way that Bloom Into You was *always* meant to be a Yuri romance, Dekisokonai no Hime-tachi is, as well. Despite the absurdly enormous amount of romance series I read and review for Okazu, I don’t really care for the romance genre all that much. The ending is preordained, so all the “tension,” the “will they, won’t they” is… well, I think it’s tiresome. Obviously, they will. Otherwise what is this book even for?

I assumed the whole separation of Kaede and Nanaki was a big farce and it just annoyed me, but when it turns out to be a plot complication I was only partly mollified. Because they will obviously end up together and this becomes merely delaying tactics.

I love Ajiichi’s art. I’m not fond of gratuitous nudity in the bath. I’d be perfectly okay without seeing nipples in a bath scene ever again.

I like Kaede and Nanaki. I don’t even dislike Izumi…although Iroha grates on my nerves. But I’m not sure how I feel about this story, other than reluctant. I kind of want the story to go back to plumbing the depths of the way their relationship puts them at odds with their own people, which I found deeply compelling in Volume 2. I’m not at all sure what Volume 4 could bring other than handwaves of “here’s a reason for them to not get together” that will stall the main relationship further….but I do like the cover, so I’m willing to give it a chance. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 6
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

 

Volume 2 of Failed Princesses is available now – a very strong volume and well worth reading. Volume 3 is available for pre-order, but not yet up on the Yuricon Store, with a February release date.