Manga Review: Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi volume 2

I was in the mood for reviewing something fluffy and fun today, and Nobara fit the bill.

To recap: Cheerful blonde Hatsumi and her best friend Sakura are new students at the elegant Otowa Girls' Academy. They are roommates. Sakura loves Hatsumi, who has a crush on the head of her dorm, popular butch upperclasswoman Izumi, who has a popular femme girlfriend named Mayuko, who surprises Izumi with the news of her fiancé.

The set-up for this series always cracks me up. Not just because it's...well, it's just funny...it reminds me of a pearl of wisdom that the upperclasswomen in my dorm house- at a women's college- impress on the new residents each year: "House booty is bad booty. You'll always think you're the exception, but you're not." And for the Head Resident, "First-year house booty is off-limits booty." Eh, Izumi?

Even though the other students fangirl over Izumi and Mayuko, they clearly don't take them seriously as a lesbian couple because they squeal over the news of Mayuko's fiancé and don't notice how pained Izumi is by it. (Of course, Hatsumi does. This plot point implicitly differentiates Hatsumi's and Izumi's feelings- and by extension, Sakura and Mayuko's- from the "not real," man-free-environment-induced lesbianism traditionally ascribed to the characters in girls' school yuri titles.) When Izumi confronts Mayuko about her engagement at the student ball, Mayuko (who isn't the least interested in her fiancé; her family arranged the whole thing) slaps her and runs away. Izumi leaves to be alone in the school garden, and Hatsumi follows her and confesses her feelings for the second time. Mayuko sees them, and...!

Sakura withdraws from Hatsumi because she can't stand seeing her swooning over Izumi, but she protests that she's just creeped out by the idea of two girls as a couple. The other girls start bullying Hatsumi in revenge for her trying to steal their precious Izumi-sama from Mayuko.

Mayuko, of all people, tells off the bullies, and she recruits Sakura to make Izumi hers for good in front of Hatsumi in a...very weird plan that ends with Izumi telling Mayuko off for expecting her to choose her over Hatsumi despite her recent behavior. Mayuko reacts by jumping out of a window, only breaking her ankle because she was on the first floor. Mayuko continues to be all "Give me back mah woman!" so she and Hatsumi have a fight. Hatsumi ends it by slapping Mayuko. (Wouldn't you love to see something like this in Marimite?)

The path to love never does run smooth, to paraphrase the Bard, and despite their attraction to each other, Hatsumi and Izumi realize that they really love Sakura and Mayuko, respectively. Izumi and Mayuko resolve their problems and become the school Prince and Princess again and Sakura achieves what Yaya and Tamao failed to do- be preferred by her best friend over her older, much more popular rival. We catch a glimpse of a new student who seems befuddled by how gay Otowa is. The end of the book also has an amusing series of 4-koma strips about Izumi and Mayuko's childhood together.

Volume 2 of Nobara is, like the first volume, a lively romp through girls' school yuri tropes, with a hearty helping of soapiness and a healthy amount of self-awareness. Izumi and Hatsumi seem most closely modeled on Amane and Hikari from Strawberry Panic! (with influence from a handful of other characters), but unlike Amane and Hikari (especially Amane), neither is dull, thankfully.  

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi simply wants to give its readers a fun time, like the manga equivalent of a puppy that just wants to play, and in that aim it succeeds.

Story: B+
Art: B+
Overall: B+

BGM: 『蛍火』by ダウト

Yuri Manga Highlights of 2011

As with my anime list, I decided to list the titles in this post alphabetically (well, alphabetically within each category) rather than worry about ranking them.

Top 5 Finished Series: 

Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan by Fujieda Miyabi (2 volumes + drama CDs):
A Happily-Ever-After ending to a very sweet, very gay series. (The Amber Teahouse is simply awash with women of the yuri persuasion.) May we continue to see Sarasa and Seriho cameo in many more Fujieda series.

Even though this isn't manga-relevant, I'd like to mention again that I really appreciate Fujieda for writing a new story for every single drama CD based on his works. Excluding the Marimite drama CDs, my face falls a little every time I find that a drama CD I've gotten re-enacts an already existing story.

Blue Friend season 1 by Eban Fumi (2 volumes):
This story incorporates some of the less positive tropes of yuri but, in a way, transcends them. Blue Friend's themes about overcoming the past and the fear of opening up about the bad experiences in one's life to someone whose opinion one deeply cares about were poignant and well-integrated with the yuri between its two leads.

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi season 1 by Shirasawa Marimo (2 volumes):
This story is a love letter to many of the fun tropes of yuri, made for a shoujo audience with nods to the older folks who know what series Nobara owes its heritage to. Even though I know that "yuri" isn't synonymous with "lesbian," etc, etc, I love that something like this (or Blue Friend, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc) can come out in Japan without the homophobes collectively getting their panties in a twist over "protecting" children from being exposed to the idea of same-sex relationships.

Octave by Akiyama Haru (6 volumes):
We loved it, we hated it, we loved to hate it. But really, we mostly loved it. I would have loved to see Yukino come out to her family (she seemed like she was just about to before this series ended), but the ending to this series was still great, and we know that Yukino and Setsuko will be happy. As not only a yuri series, but a series about growing up and sorting out one's life as a young adult, Octave was excellent.

Renai Joshika by Morishima Akiko (2 volumes):
Morishima Akiko knows how to hit all of the right buttons. She loves writing about cute, lovey-dovey adult couples, and I love her for it. Arisu was a hoot to follow, and I'm glad she got a Happily-Ever-After with the girl she wanted. (Among the other cute couples this series has covered.) I also love Renai Joshika for making same-sex marriage a prominent point of discussion.

Honorable Mention: 

Sweet Little Devil by Nanzaki Iku (1 volume):
My most "subjective" inclusion in this post. This was a highlight for me because it's the first time I've bought a tankoubon by someone whose doujinshi I have liked for years. For a very particular niche of the yuri fandom, this book's publication was a huge "OMG!" moment.

Top 5 Series That Have Been Collected Into Tankoubon This Past Year But Are Still Ongoing:

Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (6 volumes so far):
For Fumi coming out as a lesbian to her straight friends- showing how much she has grown since she first came out- and Orie and Hinako getting married and coming out to Orie's family. I still love this series to pieces.

Fu~fu by Minamoto Hisanari (1 volume so far):
For being an sweet look at domestic bliss, starring Suu and her wife Kina. (Plus Komugi and Hayase, the lesbian couple next door, and Kina's sister Kana, the lesbian Don Juan who finally meets her match.) Watching Kina and Suu just makes me happy, the other characters are fun, and I love Minamoto Hisanari for making a case for two women to be able to use the term "wife" for each other.

Gunjo by Nakamura Ching (2 volumes so far):
Speaking of transcending negative tropes...but in this case, tropes that are ascribed to queer women across different media rather than simply yuri. Gunjo is a challenging read (in more than one sense), and that's refreshing when- as in this case- it's done well. I cried for the character who died in volume 2, and I'm on pins and needles waiting to see how things end for Gunjo's nameless lesbian protagonist and the woman she threw everything away for.

Omoi no Kakera by Takemiya Jin (1 volume so far):
Out of all of the titles I've read for the first time this year, Omoi no Kakera easily has my favorite protagonist. Mika is a loveable, intelligent, refreshingly self-aware lesbian, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her life. 

Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi (8 volumes so far):
Sasameki Koto occupies a gray space between this category and the first category because it has ended but its final tankoubon hasn't been published yet. For its loveable characters and depiction of what it's like to be a gay teen in a way that rings true again and again, Sasameki Koto always deserves a spot on this list. I'm really looking forward to getting that final volume.

Series That Haven't Been Published As Tankoubon Yet:

Collectors by Nishi UKO:
Collectors is about Shinobu and Takako, two women who are complete nerds for very different things. Shinobu loves books and Takako loves fashion. They love each other despite, and to some extent because of their different passions. (Someone who isn't passionate about anything wouldn't make someone who is happy, imho.) I love the premise and look forward to seeing it in tankoubon form.

Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo by Morinaga Milk:
The return of Morinaga Milk's first (and arguably most) popular couple! And it addresses an issue that Girl Friends, realistic though it was, tiptoed around- coming out! (Four for you, Morinaga Milk! You go, Morinaga Milk!) The announcement of Nana and Hitomi's return was the best yuri news of 2011.

Must-Read Manga of Yuri Interest Published in English:

Cardcaptor Sakura omnibus 2 by CLAMP:
For continuing to re-introduce Tomoyo, one of yuri's most iconic classic characters.

Manga Review: Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi volume 1

Shirasawa Marimo's Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi ("Maidens in the Forest of Wild Roses") is the latest in a long line of "starry-eyed protagonist attends an elite, lesboriffic girl's school"-type stories, but while it doesn't break any new ground with respect to its basic premise, it's a really fun read.

Cheerful, romantic Saionji Hatsumi is starting her freshman year at Otowa Girls' Academy with her down-to-earth best friend since childhood (we all know what that means), Hanami Sakura. Otowa has an opulent, old-fashioned European look to it, complete with wild roses growing throughout its grounds and a population of proper young ladies who fawn over the Prince of the school, "Izumi-sama." The students pair Izumi with the musumeyaku-like Mayuko, who Izumi has known since childhood. How many clichés did I just fit into this paragraph?  

Nobara is well-written enough to make it all work well, though, with likeable characters and a copious amount of knowing nods to its yuri predecessors, like Izumi fixing Hatsumi's neckerchief, Izumi encountering Hatsumi while riding a white horse, and Hatsumi and Sakura being chosen by Izumi and Mayuko to join Otowa's Nobarakai, or Wild Rose Council.

Hatsumi realizes that she likes Izumi after she and Sakura see Izumi and Mayuko kissing in the school garden. (Following which, Sakura tries to kiss Hatsumi in their room, but then passes it off as a joke.) Hatsumi and Izumi start to conveniently run into each other more and more, and grow increasingly close.

The entire school (courtesy of the school paper) knows that there's something going on between Izumi, Mayuko, and Hatsumi, but Sakura herself is quietly in love with Hatsumi and warns Izumi to stay away from her. Hatsumi blurts out her feelings to Izumi when they're alone one day, but then starts avoiding her because she knows she's taken.

Mayuko turns out to have an arranged fiancé (who she shows around one of Otowa's school festivals), and when Izumi congratulates her on her engagement when they're dancing at the Otowa student ball, Mayuko slaps her and runs away. Izumi retreats to the garden, where Hatsumi follows and Mayuko watches them from a distance, glaring.

Good fun, basically- very much my rose-flavored cup of tea. ^_^ The art is really pretty, with little details like the decor in Hatsumi and Sakura's room, the clothing the characters wear, and even the cake Izumi and Hatsumi order at the school festival effectively bringing Otowa's atmosphere to life and making it clear how much the mangaka is having fun with the setting.

It's also refreshing that Hatsumi's biggest source of angst is that Izumi already has a girlfriend, not that she's a girl too. The fact that Hatsumi has a fangirly image of her school's quirks and traditions (like the tea for new students and the ball) adds to her likeability.

Soapy as Nobara is, it doesn't take itself too seriously and is set for a happy (or not, depending on who you want paired) resolution to its characters' relationships in volume 2. (Although I'm not sure how the situation with Mayuko's fiancé will be resolved.) For now, I'm just enjoying the ride; I haven't read through volume 2 yet, even though I've skimmed it.

Story: B+
Art: A-
Overall: B+