Final Thoughts on the Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san Anime

When I first wrote about this series here, I said that I expected it to remain pretty much the same, and it did. This show added a couple characters to its roster of high schoolers who are walking animal puns- Sarutobi Sora ("saru" = "monkey"), who likes bananas, but otherwise isn't monkey-like and wants to keep it that way, thank you very much; and Torikai Hibari ("tori" = "bird"), who... umm, is sickly and acts like she's a ghost? I think this show's author started getting sick of his own premise when he introduced these two.

Anyway, this show, totaling twelve three and a half minute long episodes, remains pretty much the same high school slice-of-life as before, with an ending that actually progresses Inugami and Nekoyama's relationship more than I expected. I also like that even though the thing that is supposed to make Ushiwaka cow-like is her big boobs, which is bleh, the show doesn't do anything with that gag beyond its initially being mentioned, and doesn't service her up. I also like that the characters don't look younger than their ages, which is unfortunately noteworthy for their genre. (It's more apparent in the series than in the promo art.)

Anyway, I can't say I really care about any of these characters- although I like Inugami's heart-on-her sleeve enthusiasm- but at its short run time, this series was a decent light watch. I like it more than Yuru Yuri, and understand that it's yuri-er than the manga it adapts, which is a trend I highly approve of. I only read a couple chapters of the manga myself. The manga was alright, but I'm pickier with my yuri manga than my yuri anime because I have a lot more to choose from there, although I'm not above enjoying stuff that isn't exactly high art in that format.

Anyway, this series is still just alright, but if you want an energetic light gag show delivered in bite-sized dozes with a lot of dad jokes and a decent amount of yuri, this is an entertaining hour's worth of anime.

Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san is streaming on Crunchyroll, available worldwide everywhere except Japan.

This Series So Far: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san episodes 1-5, plus an update on Akuma no Riddle

This is just about the easiest series in the world to write about. It's three and a half minutes an episode and set to be one cour long. Like the last anime adaptation of a Comic Yuri Hime manga, Yuru Yuri, Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san is a slice-of-life school comedy. Like many a 4-koma adaptation, it has a lot of puns. The puns in this series are built around the joke that almost every character has a word for an animal in her name and has characteristics of that animal.

Our leads are Inugami Yachiyo ("inu" means "dog") and Nekoyama Suzu ("neko" means "cat.") Inugami loves cats, but she's very excitable and earnest and eager to make friends and her ponytail wags. (I actually think the animation for her ponytail is a cute touch.) Nekoyama likes dogs, her hair has points that look like cat ears, and she reacts to hyper-energetic Inugami pretty much the same way a cat would react to a dog bounding up and trying to play with it. You also have Nezu Mikine ("nezumi" = "mouse") who is the shortest of the group, eats a lot of cheese, and is more active at night, and Ushiwaka Yukiji ("ushi"= "cow") who, uh, has big boobs. Finally you have Inugami's best friend Aki, whose name just means "autumn" and doesn't have any animal-like characteristics. She's the straight man to her friends' eccentricities, especially Inugami's.

Inugami is as unsubtle about her crush (without straying into creeper/non-con territory like some similar characters) as a rainbow cannon firing into the sky. Nekoyama reciprocates and there are a lot of gags based on their mutual interest, but they aren't dating, per se, or talking about the elephant in the room that is what their feelings could mean. It isn't nearly as servicey as Sakura Trick- although the catnip drink licking gag is awkward and something you never want your parents to see you watching- but this series doesn't seem as interested in developing its characters' relationships, although Nezu and Ushiwaka seem to be an item. It's alright and doesn't outstay its welcome at three and a half minutes an episode. I expect it to remain pretty much the same, going from what I've heard about later in the manga.

Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san is streaming on Crunchyroll. It is available worldwide everywhere except Japan.

Also, I'm almost caught up on Akuma no Riddle/Riddle Story of Devil. It became a lot better after episode 1, so ignore my earlier apathy if you didn't previously and check it out at least through episode 2- episode 3 if you want to see Haru be badass and proactive in saving herself and Tokaku. North American viewers can watch it on Hulu without having to register. Episodes found here. Viewers in Europe (aside from German-speaking territories, the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia), the Arab League, and the Middle East can watch it on Crunchyroll. Episodes found here.

Manga Review: Citrus volume 1

Saburouta’s Citrus manga, currently running inYuri Hime, is Seven Seas' latest yuri license. It is incredibly popular for a yuri title- its first print sold out immediately on Amazon JP and it was the most asked for yuri license for Seven Seas after they solicited requests.

If you followed yuri news when Seven Seas first released yuri in the US- their Strawberry line- you’ll know that the Strawberry line flopped partly because Seven Seas didn’t license any authors who had strong followings. Two of those titles, First Love Sisters and Voiceful, were Yuri Hime series. Voiceful is a standalone collection while First Love Sisters is three volumes but only saw one published in English. Yuri Hime’s publisher Ichijinsha was difficult to deal with then, so Seven Seas focused on other publishers when they tried licensing yuri manga again- starting with Morinaga Milk’s wonderful Girl Friends- to great success. I guess Ichijinsha is easier for them to license titles from now, because here we have Citrus. 

For me, the big positive of Citrus being licensed is that it means there is some possibility of one of the popular Yuri Hime titles I like more- like Minamoto Hisanari's Fu~fu, or Morishima Akiko's work, especially now that her collaboration with Utena's creator Ikuhara Kunihiko is raising her profile- licensed by Seven Seas at some point. But after all this rambling, what is Citrus about?

Aihara Yuzu transfers to a girls' school right after her mom marries a guy she hasn’t met. Apparently mom is in the habit of marrying eccentric dudes, so Yuzu isn’t surprised when her mom is like, “Oh yeah, you won’t meet him for now because he’s traveling around the world!” 

What does surprise Yuzu is learning that she also has a new stepsister, the quiet, rich, and (of course) dark and angsty student council president from her school. When Yuzu and Mei met as schoolmates, Yuzu butted heads with Mei over their school’s uptight rules but couldn’t help being somewhat attracted to her, and now that the plot is forcing them to live together, they keep butting heads while being attracted to each other.

More drama happens in the form of Mei having a dickish, gold-digging arranged fiancé who Yuzu exposes for what he is, Mei being fucked up because of her weird rich family, Mei’s grandfather (the chairman of her and Yuzu’s school) mistakenly getting the impression that Yuzu tried to come on to Mei before conveniently getting a heart attack that Yuzu saves him from, and Momokino, Mei’s childhood friend who is in love with her, catching Yuzu kissing Mei. Yuzu’s wingwoman is Harumin, the other gyaru at their school. 

As an extra that didn't run in Yuri Hime, this volume includes a few light vignettes in which Yuzu fails at using Harumin's method for hiding a cellphone at school, a nameless student council member notes that Harumin and Momokino enjoy school more with Yuzu around, and Yuzu and Mei bond over fixing Yuzu's stuffed bear keychain, which Yuzu gives to Mei.

As I've commented to other people, I find it kind of fascinating that the editorial staff working on this title made Citrus' premise basically bend over backwards to make the we-have-to-live-together-because-our-parents-married aspect as un-icky as possible, while ickily playing it up as incest as much as possible.

Here are some photos from my copy to help illustrate:

The tagline on the cover.

The first inside flap.

Two of the chapter titles. And it is tinier here, but citrus still has the "love affair with sister" tagline under it.

The first title page.

Every title page between chapters.

The premise is somewhat awkward, but it isn't any worse than, say, Marmalade Boy (at least the early volumes I read eons ago) or the Kiss Me/Kiss Myg movie. But then you have, say, the tagline and Yuzu reading a yuri manga about sisters while trying to figure out her feelings about Mei. This series has some decent aspects- like having an incredibly blunt gyaru as its lead, really nice art, and brisk story pacing. I just wonder how much of its popularity is attributable to that and how much is attributable to its sleazy presentation. (Cue people reading this getting defensive because they like it despite how it's played up even though I am not talking about them.)

For me, how well Citrus does published in English, like the Sakura Trick anime's success or failure, brings up this question: If they do well, will it lead to more yuri I like being licensed and adapted at some point, or will it only produce more yuri-centric manga licenses and TV anime that pander to tastes I find icky? Since both Citrus in English book form and the Sakura Trick adaptation are happening, I want to think the former will happen.

And if either one does poorly, would anime producers/manga licensors attribute that to their presentation instead of their genre? I'm not sure about that either (especially when it comes to Sakura Trick, since the Citrus license is riding the coattails of Morinaga Milk's success in English while Sakura Trick is the first yuri-centric TV anime in years), but I obviously would like it to be the former.

Anime and Manga With Monsters and Spookiness and Yuri

The title speaks for itself! I decided to review some titles that are spooky and/or feature monsters while having yuri, because I like horror and non-horror things that play off horror elements, and Halloween.

Anime

Devilman Lady (26 episodes):
Devilman Lady, released on Region 1 DVD as The Devil Lady, is very loosely adapted from a really awful manga series I never finished the first volume of by Go Nagai. I'm saying that as someone who enjoyed Nagai's Cutey Honey manga (reviewed here), which was fun-bad.

Anyway, the Devilman Lady anime is about Fudo Jun, a quiet fashion model who learns that the next step in human evolution is for some people to mutate into demon-like creatures called Devilbeasts. Jun is one of the few Devilbeasts who is able to retain human consciousness and return to a normal state. Under the eye of a government agent named Asuka, Jun transforms into a Devilbeast when needed to kill Devilbeasts that are too far gone, while trying to retain her own humanity. The biggest plus for this series is Jun, who is a great lead and grows a lot over the course of the story. The yuri comes in with Jun falling in love with another model named Kazumi, who loves her back, Asuka's not entirely benign interest in Jun, and a couple Devilbeast-of-the-week characters who are dysfunctionally interested in Jun. The romance between Jun and Kazumi is sweet, SPOILER but not immune to their being in a horror story. Jun survives, but Kazumi doesn't. END SPOILER 

Needless to say, this series fits this post. Some of its horror elements are campy, but a good amount are genuinely creepy, its ending has the bombast one would expect from a Nagai series (Jun faces off with another Devilbeast who wants to become God), and it's a really good series overall. This series fares better than most monster-of-the-week shows in terms of quality consistency, largely because it advances its plot and Jun's character development throughout. Also, I love its highly cinematic opening theme.

This series' DVDs are out of print, but the individual volumes are still easy to find at not-horrible to really cheap prices on Amazon.

Vampire Princess Miyu TV series episode 19, from R1 DVD volume 6 (26 episodes total):
Vampire Princess Miyu, in its manga and anime incarnations, is about a vampire named Miyu who vanquishes other demons, called Shinma, who stray into the human world. The Miyu OVA focuses on Miyu's relationship with a psychic who tracks her as she wanders Japan hunting Shinma. But in the Miyu TV series, as in the manga, Miyu lives in one place, attending a junior high school. Physically, she's fourteen. The story mostly follows a Shinma-of-the-week format, and there are several recurring characters besides Miyu- Miyu's school friends, a Western Shinma named Larva who acts as Miyu's right hand man, and a snow woman named Reiha who doesn't think Miyu is fit to hunt Shinma and has no compunction about killing innocent people in the process of hunting them.

In episode 19, Miyu's classmates bring her to an exhibition showcasing dolls by Kasumi, a famous dollmaker. The focus shifts to Kasumi, who hires a maid named Yuki.

Kasumi is in love with one of her dolls, and starts getting touchy about Yuki being around that doll. Yuki becomes obsessed with the doll also. Their obsession is caused by the doll being a Shinma. Needless to say Miyu vanquishes him, and Yuki and Kasumi happily wind up a couple, with Yuki now making dolls. And Miyu, being Miyu, is like, "Feh, humans and their weak emotions like love."

Yuki and Kasumi get a remarkably happy ending for this series. lol More typically, Miyu's Shinma-vanquishing results in the people she saves not being much or any better off than they would be if left to the Shinma. In several episodes, Miyu puts someone she saved into an eternal sleep while drinking their blood, causing them to dream of the life they want rather than mourn who or what they lost. (In one case, Miyu decides against the eternal sleep to let someone she saved grieve normally, though.) Some of the people she helps die or are unable to reverse the effects of their encounters with Shinma.

Like Devilman Lady, Miyu is a 90's series that looks good for its time. Not as good-looking as the Miyu OVA, but that's to be expected given their formats and when they were made. (I say when they were made because noticeable differences between TV and OVA art and animation quality aren't really a thing anymore.) Unlike the Miyu OVA, the Miyu TV series has some campiness, mostly thanks to some of the Shinma character designs. The Shinma-of-the-week episodes vary in quality, but that's to be expected also, and it's an entertaining series with a good amount of creepiness overall. If you like Hell Girl's storytelling format and old Japanese horror influences, you'll probably like Miyu as its forebear.

I am also a fan of Miyu's opening theme, which is very classic Japanese horror and recaps the gist of this series for any viewers trying it beyond episode 1.

The Miyu OVA and TV series are both out of print, but can easily be found at good prices on Amazon.


Manga

Ariyoshi Kyouko's "Bruges" one-shot in her Bruges collection:
"Bruges" is one of my favorite one-shots- technically a prequel to Ariyoshi Kyouko, the creator's of Swan's, excellent classic six volume yuri series Applause. "Bruges" shows us how Applause's leads, Shara and Shunack, started to have feelings for each other at their school's annual spring break get together, where they participated in a murder mystery game meant to solve the death of a real student named Sheryl that happened fifteen years prior.

This story manages to be effectively romantic, creepy, and sad (they do find out what happened to Sheryl, whose spirit plays a role)- in short, it juggles its very different goals well. I like the old school shoujo-ness of it, also. I originally reviewed Bruges here.

Bruges and Applause are both unlicensed and will probably get licensed when hell freezes over. You can buy them in the form of their Japanese releases, though. To search for Applause's volumes, which are easiest to find in their four volume re-print- say on Amazon JP, Honto, or YesAsia- you'll want to search for アプローズ―喝采. For the Bruges collection, you should search for ブルージュ―アプローズ

Franken Fran chapter 22, tankoubon 3, by Katsuhisa Kigitsu (8 volumes total):

Franken Fran is the only not-horrible thing to have run in Champion Red, the magazine best known for Seikon no Qwaser. Its covers make it look like hentai, but it is a horror series. Franken Fran is what would happen if Dr. Frankenstein's monster were a teenaged girl named Fran- a doctor herself who earnestly tries to help people with their medical problems in present day Japan. Emphasis on "tries" because she competently does what people ask her to do, but the results embody the phrase "be careful what you wish for." I never finished this series. Franken Fran's author's effective use of black comedy and creative uses of this series' formula kept it entertaining for a few volumes, but the repetition of that formula eventually wore on me and I dropped it.

I think Franken Fran is worth trying if you're a manga fan who likes horror and doesn't mind gore. For the purposes of this list, chapter 22 of this series features a yuri twist on one of Fran's medical cases. It isn't really happy- or worth reading for the yuri- but its outcome is more earnest and less bleakly ironic than usual for this series.

This series is unlicensed. You can buy its Japanese release by searching フランケン・ふらん

Natsuneko's "Nightmare Syndrome" one-shot, which was published in the March 2008 issue of Comic Yuri Hime:

Less horror than action, about a young woman named Elysia who has spent months in the castle of a vampire named Vega, trying to avenge her father's death. Elysia is mad at herself for being attracted to Vega, who never makes any move to harm her and provides her with meals and access to whatever she needs in the castle. Vega loves Elysia herself. Elysia learns from a vampire hunter that her father wasn't the innocent victim she thought he was and saves Vega, allowing them to be together.

Natsuneko, the author of one of my favorite Yuri Hime collections, Butterfly 69 (reviewed here), sadly stopped drawing manga (no idea why) before producing a second full tankoubon's worth of stories, so the only way to own this is to track down the issue of Yuri Hime that published it, pictured above. It's fun, though, and worth reading for a light, stylishly drawn vampire story.

If you decide to track down this issue of Yuri Hime, search コミック百合姫 2008年 03月号 on Amazon JP, where you can find it used on the Marketplace. You might also find this issue as part of a bundle of Yuri Hime issues by searching コミック百合姫 on Yahoo Japan Auctions. Either way, if you live outside Japan, you'll need a proxy. Rinkya is one I have used satisfactorily.

Tokimeki Mononoke Jogakuen by Nangoku Banana (2 volumes):

A weird and sweet comedy that ran in Yuri Hime, about a high school girl named Arare who accidentally winds up in the youkai world and passes as a youkai at an all-girls' school there. Naturally she falls in love with a youkai, Kiri- one of the two students who learns she's a human almost immediately. Because of a dumb plot point, Arare and Kiri don't think they can be together, but things turn out happily. This series is packed with all manner of Japanese monsters and gags based on their characteristics, so it definitely belongs on this list. My reviews of this series' individual volumes can be found here and here.

This series is unlicensed, so the only way to buy it is by getting the original Japanese release. To find this series, you should search for ときめき☆もののけ女学園

Tanaka Minoru's "Vampire Girl" one-shot, which was published in the May 2011 issue of Comic Yuri Hime:
"Vampire Girl" is unusual nowadays because it portrays vampires more as monsters than love interests or sex objects, which I like. They still get some humanity, but don't lose their edge of real danger and animalism. "Vampire Girl" is about Manami, a high school girl who loves reading about spooky things like vampires. A beautiful woman named Shishido-sensei becomes a substitute teacher for Manami's class. Manami becomes enthralled with Shishido-sensei, who teases her about her fascination with vampires, joking about being one herself. I don't want to spoil the ending for this story, but it remains more horror than romance, while still being bittersweet. Recommended if you want a vampire yuri story that is unsettling.

Tanaka Minoru is currently serializing Rock It Girl!!, which I've bought the first tankoubon of, and has released another Yuri Hime collection, Mette Sarete Kya, which I don't have. This one-shot wasn't published in Mette Sarete Kya, but I expect it to appear in a tankoubon at some point since Tanaka is still with Yuri Hime. If you want to track down this issue of Yuri Hime, search コミック百合姫 2011年 05月号 on Amazon JP, where you can find it used and "collectible" on the Marketplace. And of course, you can find it as part of a Yuri Hime bundle on Yahoo Japan Auctions.


And, that's it!

I'm still wowed that this happened: Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink, The Complete Collection

You know the movie romance trope in which the protagonist spots their love in a crowded room, and everything else- aurally, visually- melts away? That was my experience when I encountered a stack of copies of Seven Seas' release of Morinaga Milk's Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink Complete Collection at Anime Boston even though its release date is today. I was with three other bloggers and we each bought a copy. Few English-language manga releases have made me as happy to read as this one.

Covering the technicals first- this omnibus has the same page size as the Girl Friends omnibi, no surprise there. I love that the back of this omnibus not only touts Girl Friends' status as a New York Times best-seller- which Girl Friends omnibus 2 also does- its front cover proclaims, "From the best-selling author of Girl Friends!" Here's to Kisses making the best-seller list too!

As with Girl Friends omnibus 1, the Kisses omnibus is marketed on Amazon and Barnes & Noble's website with a tagline selling the "forbidden-ness" of the gay aspect of its protagonists' relationship, but thankfully, the actual books- and their descriptions on Seven Seas' website, as well as on Right Stuf's website (not sure about other retailers')- don't have that.

It's Seven Seas, so the translation is strong, as expected. It's a good quality release all-around, collecting the Kisses chapters that ran in Yuri Hime magazine as well as the new ones from Comic High! in the order in which Comic High!'s publisher Futabasha re-published them last year. I reviewed both volumes of Futabasha's release of this series fairly recently, here and here, so look there if you want an in-depth look at Kisses' contents. I also reviewed the original Kisses tankoubon published by Yuri Hime's publisher, Ichijinsha, making the original Kisses chapters the most re-reviewed (and re-bought) thing I've written about here.

It was funny to start reading this book and remember how, until not too long ago, I wasn't sure I would see the Yuri Hime Kisses tankoubon in print again- I had no idea what Morinaga's rights to it vs Ichijinsha's were or how that would affect its status in out of print limbo. Delightfully, not only did Futabasha pick up all of the original Kisses stories, they ran them online and re-printed them, Morinaga drew five more chapters giving us a great send-off for Kisses' main couple, and here we have the entire thing being published in English. The planets really aligned for this series.

As with Morinaga's Girl Friends, I have read this collection multiple times. To add to my previous commentary about the new Nana and Hitomi chapters- despite the concern I expressed about part of Nana's rationale for not wanting Hitomi to strive to be "the man" in their relationship, I'm still glad Morinaga included some discussion of gender roles in gay relationships, especially given that a lot of straight people assume someone has to be "the man" in gay relationships, among other similarly presumptuous ideas about gender roles/expression in such relationships. Granted, there are folks in the lesbian community who make boneheaded gender role assumptions too- although like Hitomi, not necessarily for unsympathetic reasons (actually quite sympathetic in Hitomi's case)- hence the plausibility of Hitomi's behavior before Nana clears the air between them. Just to clarify, I'm not criticizing butches or butch-femme relationships- just, for example, folks who think that if you're butch, you must only do things traditionally considered masculine or always be "the strong one" or... well, you get the picture.

Anyway, if you liked Girl Friends or you're a yuri fan... you're probably waiting for your copy of this series to arrive. lol Like Girl Friends, Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink is a favorite of mine, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good love stories.

Final Grade: A

Manga Review: A Transparent Orange in the Lip

I've been slow to try this collection. Tried some of Rokuroichi's other work, didn't like it, and her(?) art's kind of ugly. But I gave this collection a shot, and... didn't like it either.

This series' protagonist, Chizuru, is a girl who used to be part of a trio of unpopular girls. Kae, a stylish girl from Tokyo, transferred into her class and gave her two friends makeovers, making them popular. Chizuru effectively became the odd man out, quietly tagging along with Kae and her two "friends" as they proceeded to pal around, mostly ignoring her. Without ever speaking to Kae, Chizuru built up a godly image of her in her head and proceeded to get a crush on it.

One day Kae- gasp- talks to Chizuru (and to her credit, is more pleasant than Chizuru's friends are when they do address her), so Chizuru celebrates by buying the same orange lipstick she sees Kae buy at a make-up store. (Hence this collection's strange title, originally Kuchibiru ni Saketa Orange.) This isn't the first time Chizuru has bought something just because Kae did. Chizuru also buys a wig that looks like Kae's hair and secretly wears it and the orange lipstick in her room while imagining Kae having sex with her.

One day Kae's two friends need to stay at school extra-late, so Kae and Chizuru hang out. They don't have any chemistry, but we are meant to believe that Kae thinks Chizuru's something special. The next day, Kae visits Chizuru's house and sees the wig and they have sex and are supposed to be in love.

Then there are two bonus one-shots. "Close to Your Heart, Okay?" is about two cousins who are being raised together, in case you wanted some eau de incest on top of the boring and awful that already is this book. They have sex, one is afraid the other is going to dump her, and that doesn't happen. "Don't Know If This Is Love" is about two best friends who get together and have sex.

The only thing I can't complain about is the translation of this book's JManga release. ALC has done another quality translation, however lousy the story it's telling in this case is. It is possible to make a premise that has been done many a time (like popular girl x unpopular girl, or best friends who get together) good, or even excellent, through strong writing and characterization. This book doesn't do that. Every character is flat, every coupling contrived and devoid of chemistry, and I found my mind wandering off more than once. We have gotten a bunch of worthwhile yuri manga titles licensed in English lately- A Transparent Orange in the Lip isn't one of them.

Art: D
Story: F
Overall: F

Manga Review: Ameiro Kochakan Kandan volume 1

It's hard to resist food metaphors for Fujieda Miyabi's Ameiro Kochakan Kandan (Chatting at the Amber Teahouse)- warming and relaxing as a cup of chammomile tea? Sweet as a pastry? A lot of people were happy when this series was licensed by ALC and JManga, and for good reason.

Sarasa, a serious, responsible honor student, works part-time at the Amber Teahouse because she is in love with its kind owner, Seriho. Inept as she is at managing things on her own, Seriho should be a character who annoys me mightily, but by some alchemy of writing, I like her. She and Sarasa go together like, well, a tea cozy and teapot, as Seriho notes in a really cute visual metaphor.

When Sarasa leaves on a school trip, she unwittingly gives her two best friends (and Amber Teahouse regulars) Haru and Hinoka endless opportunities to rib her for her "Seriho-withdrawal." For her part (thanks to an older lesbian couple who patronize the Teahouse), Seriho realizes that she cares about Sarasa much more than she expected to. ... Like, "stay with me for the next fifty years" caring.

Sarasa decides to attend a culinary school where she will learn restaurant management and become a pâtissière. She tells Seriho her hope to remain by her side at the Amber Teahouse, and she and Seriho look forward to a future working together. They haven't quite come to the understanding that they want to spend their lives together in a different sense by the end of this volume. Here's looking forward to that. ^^

This volume also includes a bonus chapter showing how Sarasa and Seriho met, the chapter in which Sarasa, Seriho, Haru and Hinoka hold a Tanabata event at the Teahouse to save it from shutting down, and a short in which Sarasa and Seriho take a look at some possible new work uniforms designed by the characters from Alice Quartet (a fun, yuri-ish series about four fashion designers by Ameiro Kochakan Kandan's author).

As I said above, this is a sweet series. For now, it's pretty much a slice-of-life focusing on the gentle, romantic atmosphere Sarasa and Seriho have whenever they're together. Despite Sarasa not knowing that her feelings are returned, there isn't much angst. It helps that Seriho mentions gender not being a factor in who she falls in love with, giving Sarasa some hope that she has a fighting chance.

Like many a romance, this series runs a heavy risk of inciting cynicism at points- arguably, more than most romance fiction. When I first read through this volume, I was in college and angsting over what I wanted to do, and thought it was really foolhardy of Sarasa to just know where she should attend school/what career to choose based on who she is in love with. Which it is. (Although, I know, easier not to project a future with more idealism than one normally might when one isn't besotted with someone. I'm reminded of one of the bits of advice that is given to the first-years at my old college dorm: "House booty is bad booty. Everyone thinks they're the exception.") But this is a fictional romance- as much a fantasy, in its own way, as Fujieda's Kotonoha no Miko to Kotodama no Majyo to (I mean, this is also a story in which one of the leads becomes a two time lottery winner, right when she needs it most)- and it's executed well enough that I can roll with it here, like I do for the handwaves in other romances I like. Maybe it's just because I'm not at the point in my life I described above, but I felt less cynical reading this volume this time around even though I know the handwavey aspects are there.

Anyway, if you want to read a feel-good yuri romance with an unusual premise (have to give Fujieda credit for always coming up with premises that haven't been done before in yuri, and doing them well), this is a strong choice. It will get better in the second, final volume, which made me tear up at one point when I previously read through it.

As usual for ALC's releases, the translation is strong. I appreciated the extra note explaining the history behind the bonus chapters, since the average person reading this release is less likely to know that history than the average person who bought this series in Japanese.

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

ARRRR, yuri pirates: Love Flag Girls!! manga review

Takahashi Itsumi's Love Flag Girls!! is, truly, trashy romance manga at its goofiest. For something silly and smutty, this series is a fun pick. ^_^

Queen Beatrice spends all of her time crying over the cross that the dreaded pirate Maria stole from her years ago. This cross is apparently valuable enough to buy a small country. Upon learning that Maria's ship is right in the harbor, within walking distance of Beatrice's castle, Beatrice's daughter Princess Lucia decides to infiltrate Maria's crew and get her mother's cross back.

Turns out Maria disappeared without telling anyone where she was headed, and her ship is now being captained by her daughter Eliana. Contrary to what she'd always been told about pirates, Lucia finds that Eliana's (all-female, very gay) crew is quite welcoming and laid-back (aside from Eliana's rather serious first mate Isabella, who is in love with Maria), and Eliana herself is a goofy flirt.

You'll be shocked to know that Lucia reciprocates Eliana's attraction, and she and Eliana fall in love. As I mentioned before- because this is not only a Yuri Hime series, but a YH series that was serialized as a cellphone comic instead of in Yuri Hime magazine- there's some pretty explicit sex.

Just as Lucia starts getting acclimated to pirate life, Beatrice sends out the navy to attack Eliana's ship. Lucia returns to the palace to reason with Beatrice, but Beatrice sees it as a betrayal and has her jailed.

Eliana saves Lucia and slaps Beatrice, telling her off for letting her obsession with the cross warp her view as much as it has. But Beatrice's real obsession isn't with the cross- it's with Maria. Maria and Beatrice were a couple once, but Maria left Beatrice because, as a princess and a pirate, how could they be together?

Lucia and Eliana escape back to Eliana's ship, but Beatrice's troops quickly corner them again.

Won't spoil how (although it shouldn't really be surprising), but we get a happy ending. =)

I enjoyed the heck out of this series, but I don't want to make you think it's more sweeping and epic than it is. It's a humorous, anachronistic, alternate world take on the historical pirate adventure genre with lots and lots of yuri. ^_^ Even the battles aren't taken that seriously- mostly thanks to Eliana. Eliana and Lucia's involvement with each other is initially contrived (and, briefly- to the point that I admittedly forgot it until someone else mentioned it- has some questionable consent interaction early on), but they grew on me and I came to like them as a couple (e.g. their argument about which one of them is cuter) and found it easy to root for them. (Not that there was ever a question that this story would end happily.) I also enjoy the fact that, even living in a late 17th century Spain (best as I can tell)-influenced setting, the characters live in a world where being in a gay relationship isn't an issue at all- and like that, however cheerfully stupid it is, LFG has a setting and plot that's different from most yuri.

In short, recommended if you're looking for a frothy, bawdy, smile-inducing yuri romance.

Art: B-
Story: Fun trash.
Overall: B

Speaking of yuri manga, for anyone who hasn't seen it, here's a fake pulp magazine cover Erica from Okazu made that I thought was funny/painfully true.

And if you want a good lesbian romance novel with a pirate adventure theme, I recommend The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin by Colette Moody. It's about a pirate captain's daughter and the seamstress who sticks with her after helping tend to her wounded crew after an attack on her ship. It isn't as light as Love Flag Girls!!, but it's a lot of fun also.

Manga Review: Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu

Taishi Zaou and Eiki Eiki's Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu is a miracle of a series. I say so because its first two chapters are fucking awful, but it's still a long-time favorite of mine- a collection I've re-read a number of times. Admittedly, it holds some sentimental value as one of the earliest yuri collections I enjoyed, but its first two chapters (which I normally skip) aside, I do think it's a great collection.

Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu is about three couples at an all-girls' school- two student couples, and the school doctor and one of the teachers.

The first chapter, "Expressions of Love," is about how new student Akiho and her popular classmate Haruka get together.

The second chapter, "She-Wolf," focuses on how new student Fuyuka and her popular classmate Natsuki... well, they don't get together at this point, thankfully, but they do strike up a tenuous friendship. These two chapters, especially "She-Wolf," are riddled with tropes that make this book arguably the most problematic thing I love me want to light them on fire. It's some kind of miracle of writing that I like these characters as couples in the later chapters focusing on them.

The next arc, "First Kiss" (which ran in three parts in Yuri Hime magazine), shifts focus to the school doctor Reiko and a teacher named Ayano. Reiko and Ayano are best friends and alumnae of the school they work at. They fell in love as classmates and shared their first kiss, but thought, in keeping with the heterosexist assumptions they were ingrained with, that their feelings were a phase. After graduating high school, they swept their feelings under the rug and dated men, each oblivious that the other still carries a torch for her.

Things come to a head when Ayano mentions the possibility of marrying her boyfriend to Reiko, making Reiko despair and accept her boyfriend's proposal. I don't want to spoil too much, but if this story's resolution doesn't turn you into a quivering lump of jello, you have no soul.

At the end of "First Kiss", Reiko gives Fuyuka advice about her feelings for Natsuki- preventing Fuyuka from making the same mistake she and Ayano made.

Taking Reiko's advice to heart in "Little Red Riding Hood Strikes Back" (which ran in two parts in Yuri Hime), Fuyuka pursues Natsuki, showing that she doesn't do anything by halves. Ironically, now that she is interested in Natsuki and being really obvious about it, Fuyuka finds that Natsuki isn't as assertive about her feelings as she assumed.

Natsuki and Haruka (and their respective groupies- remember, this is still an all-girls' school story) can't stand each other, but Fuyuka and Akiho become friends and get along beautifully. Some misunderstandings later, Fuyuka makes it clear to Natsuki that she fully returns her feelings (unlike the sort of-girlfriend Natsuki once had), while Akiho and Haruka remain happily in love. Ayano and Reiko also get one last, nice cameo, giving the two younger couples a subtle helping hand to sort out their drama. In an extra-smile inducing touch, Fuyuka and Natsuki react to their first kiss the same way Ayano and Reiko did theirs. And naturally, Fuyuka has no intention of letting her painstaking research into what it takes to have great lesbian sex (courtesy of some advice books) go to waste.

In "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter", Fuyuka, Natsuki, Akiho and Haruka go on an overnight trip to the beach together. It's a sweet conclusion to this series.

Again, this series holds sentimental value for me, but it became a favorite of mine for good reason. It has two of my hooks- multiple yuri couples (who know about each other), and queer women helping younger queer women have an easier time being who they are. "First Kiss" is emotionally wringing but more than delivers in pay-off, and the more humorous "Little Red Riding Hood Strikes Back" and "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter" chapters are a lot of fun and quite funny. (And admittedly, when I first read them, had the bonus appeal that the better examples of such stories would hold for a lesbian high schooler who doesn't knowingly know any other girls who like girls.)

This collection also has an amusing bonus, unrelated one-shot titled "Her," about two best friends who have feelings for each other, and are clearly going to learn that their feelings are mutual very soon.

This collection is one of the earliest series serialized in Yuri Hime magazine, but, like Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo, it holds up as one of the most moving, enjoyable collections put out by YH.

I'm reviewing the English-language release of this book on JManga. As usual for ALC's releases there, strong translation, no complaints.

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

My Top 11 Yuri Manga Highlights of 2012

Sorry about the neglect here as of late- I moved from my hometown in Florida to New York City last Thursday. Now that things have settled down, this blog will revert back to regular posting. Sorry again about the dry spell, and thank you for your patience!

The Top 11 titles below all came out in tankoubon format in Japan in 2012. Following them, I've listed a few series I really look forward to seeing as tankoubon and, last but not least, a summary of the goodies English-speaking yuri fans saw published in 2012. (In that respect, we have a lot more than we did after 2011 and 2010.)

Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (7 volumes, ongoing):
Because like many of you, I love Fumi and Akira and am waiting with bated breath to see what becomes of them. I have more to say about their current relationship and its possible final outcomes, but will save that for my review of volume 7. Also- not in volume 7, but I love the increased focus Hinako and Orie got in recent chapters.

Collectors by Nishi Uko (1 volume, ongoing):
Collectors is that rarest of yuri delights- a series about two women who are already in love and well past "Does she like me back?" Takako's hobby is collecting fashionable clothes while Shinobu's is collecting books. Despite their very different interests, they clearly belong together. Nishi Uko has been drawing realistic yuri doujinshi as one half of a circle called UKOZ for years (some of which I own; you can read some of her earlier work in English in the Yuri Monogatari 5 and 6 anthologies), so it's great to see her going pro with this series, which is running in the josei magazine Rakuen Le Paradis.

Girl's Ride by Isomoto Tsuyoshi (1 volume, complete):
Wow, does this series make me grin. Simple premise- Sei is a new student at Nan's school, Nan befriends Sei, Nan picks up motorcycle riding because of Sei, and Sei and Nan go riding to different places- often out of town- together. This series has a bit of an old school seinen vibe, it isn't servicey (not even the beach chapter), and its characters are incredibly charming. And, well, it's part of a yuri imprint, so... ^^

Gunjo by Nakamura Ching (3 volumes, complete):

Volume 2 of this series was, as noted in my Yuri Manga Highlights of 2011 list, an emotionally gut-punching book. Volume three's resolution is... haha, I wont tell you. I'm not just being an asshole here- you really should read it without being spoiled. If someone had spoiled it for me prior to my reading it, I would feel like punching them in the face. On that heartwarming note, if you're following this series but haven't read its ending, I hope you get to asap. By far the most likely licensor for this title is Viz (because of its Sig Ikki line; Gunjo ran in Ikki magazine), but I could also see it fitting in, say, Vertical or Dark Horse's catalogues. (Basically, publishers that have shown interest in dark, offbeat seinen titles.)

Hatsukoi Kouzoushiki by Amano Shuninta (1 volume, complete): 

I've become such a big Amano Shuninta fangirl. This collection is a goodie bag of everything she does well- goofiness, sweetness, realism, weirdness, and, yes, sexiness. (She is one of the special few mangaka whose PWP work I find hot. See why this list is so subjective?) My favorite in this collection is one of the non-PWP stories, though- the one about a woman who decides to counter how boring and stuck-in-a-rut she's becoming by ordering a mega-spicy bowl of ramen and eating the entire thing before, eyes watering and lips swollen as an unintended side effect of the ramen, confessing to the co-worker she's in love with. It's utterly adorable, and I love its message.

Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo by Morinaga Milk (2 volumes, complete): 

Specifically, the Kuchibiru reboot, for giving Nana and Hitomi a more conclusive Happily Ever After, and their own place! ^_^ Morinaga has wanted to finish Nana and Hitomi's story for a long time, and Futabasha finally gave her the chance to do so. She did a wonderful job, and while I would be thrilled to see more of Nana and Hitomi, I'm happy with where they are at the end of this series.

Pie wo Agemasho, Anata ni Pie wo ne by Sakamoto Mano (1 volume):
For, quite simply, excellent execution of a variety of premises, featuring characters who feel like people I could know and make me want to see what will happen to them. My favorite in this collection is the one about an actress (a lesbian, happily in love with her girlfriend) moving on from how the idol duo she was once a part of broke up. I don't want to spoil too much, but it's a really lovely, poignant story. As with Nishi UKO, Nakamura Ching, Amano Shuninta, Goto Hayako and Morishima Akiko's work on this list, this collection's focus on adult characters is refreshing.

Poor Poor Lips by Goto Hayako (4 volumes, complete):

Ahhhhhhh! I don't want to spoil how this series resolves either. I will let you know that volume 4 ends happily, and that there is a completely unexpected plot twist in it. I'm so, so happy to see Ren and Nako get a happy ending, though. Those two had me rocking in a fetal position in a corner, hyperventilating, after the events of volume 3.

Renai Joshi File by Morishima Akiko (1 volume, sort of complete):

As long as Morishima Akiko continues putting out at least one yuri tankoubon a year, she'll always have a spot on these "Top Yuri Manga of Such-and-Such Year" lists. This entire collection was great, but it included two things I especially like- seeing a character who lost in a love triangle in another series find her own love, and a long-term, adult lesbian couple acting as role models for a younger lesbian couple finding their footing. I hope it's a long, long, long, long time before Morishima Akiko retires.

Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi (9 volumes, complete):

Sasameki Koto's final chapter came out late in 2011, but its final tankoubon came out in early 2012. As you can see from volume 9's cover, our two lovebirds Sumi and Ushio finally graduate high school. The ending they got made me tear up, in a good way- particularly when I read the chalkboard message from their classmates.

Series That Haven't Been Published as Tankoubon Yet:

Cirque Arachne by Saida Nika:
This series' last chapter ran in the last issue of Yuri Hime to come out in 2012, but its tankoubon hasn't been published yet. It's due to (finally!) come out on February 18. Anyway, want to read something different- as in a yuri manga with an unusual setting? Check, this series is about two women who perform in a Cirque du Soleil-like troupe called Cirque Arachne. What's that, you want to know if the actual story is good? Yes, it's very sweet.  And have I seen Kaliedo Star? Yes, I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you liked it, you should like this series.

Kazuma Kowo's one-shots in Yuri Hime:
Count me as a Kazuma Kowo fangirl also. I've enjoyed Junsui Adolescence and Sayonara Folklore, her two other Yuri Hime collections (and Dear Tear, her het romance from Rakuen Le Paradis), but her one-shots are my favorite part of her body of work so far. I'm also glad she continued the couple from "Recalculation"'s story, since I liked them (especially Kisaragi) quite a bit in their original one-shot. Oh, but all of them are squee-worthy. ^.^

Hayashiya Shizuru's one-shots in Rakuen Le Paradis:
It's no secret that Hayashiya Shizuru's Strawberry Shake Sweet is one of my all-time most beloved series. As great as Hayate x Blade might be as a yuri-flavored action-comedy, I'm very glad to see Hayashiya also doing more romance-centric work in Rakuen Le Paradis. ^^

Under One Roof by Fujio:
I will probably die of old age before this series comes out in a collected volume (it being only 6 or so pages in each issue of Hirari), but man, this is such a delightful little series. Miho, a recent college graduate, decides to move out of her parents' house, so she tours a sharehouse where the only resident is a woman around her age named Fuuka. Fuuka and Miho get along swimmingly, and Fuuka tells Miho right off the bat that she's gay, just to be sure Miho's cool with it. Miho is, and they become housemates. What happens when Miho and Fuuka fall for each other? ^^ (Hint: Squeeee!)


Goodies English-speaking yuri fans got last year:

Cardcaptor Sakura omnibi 3 and 4 by CLAMP (release by Dark Horse):
Yeah, sucks for Tomoyo that she didn't get the girl, but she's still one of yuri's most iconic classic characters, and CCS is a great story all-around.

Girl Friends omnibus 1 by Morinaga Milk (release by Seven Seas): And omnibus 2, now that it's out. Want a realistic coming-of-age yuri romance? Girl Friends is just the ticket. Not only was having this series published in English an utterly delightful surprise, so was its selling well enough to make the New York Times best-selling graphic novel list, AND Seven Seas licensing Morinaga's Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo, which they will publish this summer.

Rica'tte Kanji!?: Tokyo Love by Takashima Rica:
This wonderful yuri classic about a lesbian college student named Rica- her moving from her hometown to Tokyo to attend a college and finally meet other women in the lesbian community, before getting together with her girlfriend, Miho- is now in electronic format, with the addition of Takashima's Rica chapters from the Yuri Monogatari anthologies, a cracktastic original doujinshi by Takashima, and some snazzy all-new content. This 2.0 version of Rica'tte Kanji!? is going to come out (hurr) in print at some point- but for now, it's available as a DRM-free downloadable e-book and can be read for free on ALC's website, which I think is quite neat.

Sailor Moon volumes 6 through 8 by Takeuchi Naoko (release by Kodansha): Haruka and Michiru. Enough said.

Lots of yuri on JManga, most of it published in partnership with ALC Publishing:
Thanks to the influx of yuri on JManga, I got to see some favorites licensed and released this past year (like Sweet Blue Flowers a.k.a. Aoi Hana, Hanjuku Joshi, Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu, and Poor Poor Lips) and check out titles I hadn't read (for the love of god, if you haven't read Tears of Thorn, READ IT). I'm glad Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan is on there as of today, and look forward to seeing what else comes next. ^_^

Happy New Year!: A Review of Yuri in Anime in 2012

As with my Anime of Interest to Yuri Fans in 2011 list, I'm just listing everything relevant I've watched alphabetically. (Also- like the fan art in this post? The X's below them are links to the art's sources.)

Binbougami ga!:
I know some people shipped this series's leads, but I didn't. It's here for Kuroyuri, a death god with a thing for her female boss who only shows up for the second half of episode nine. As a whole, this show was good for some mindless fun.

Binbougami ga! is streaming on Funimation.

Black Rock Shooter:
I could see Mato having feelings for Yomi and Yomi possibly returning them. I found this series's ending disappointing, but a number of people seem to like it.

X

Fate/Zero season 2:

Because this is me when Saber and Irisviel are together onscreen. Canon shmanon.

X

This show has a ripping good story to boot. Aside from the Kiritsugu flashback episodes, I really looked forward to seeing what would happen each week. Saber and Irisviel both got tragic endings as expected, like almost everyone who participated in the Holy Grail War, but I still find them squee-worthy.

Fate/Zero is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Girls und Panzer:
This doesn't really count to me, but I'm assuming that if I don't mention it, someone will be like, "What about Girls und Panzer?" Having heard that it actually wasn't servicey, I decided to watch its first episode when I was drunk one evening. I remember thinking, "That line's yuri fan-bait" at one or two points, but not what the lines are. I was amused by some bits (in a "Haha, wow, that's stupid" way), but mostly bored.

Girls und Panzer is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Jormungand seasons 1 and 2:
For Valmet's utterly unambiguous feelings for Koko. The first season was good, mindless fun, and the second season is... well, it's more ambitious than the first, but my feelings about it are much more mixed. The only spoiler I'll give for anyone who hasn't finished it- that jingle that plays over every next episode preview? ("Her name is Koko, she is loco.") It really isn't kidding.

Jormungand is streaming on Funimation.

X

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon season 2:
I can't say that I enjoy Horizon, but it has done an excellent job with its canon yuri couple, Malga and Margot. Malga got a bigger role and some good character development in season 2, and contrary to its heavily servicey execution, this series became frank about the fact that Malga and Margot are not only in love but sleeping together without being sleazy about it. I still wish I could move these two to a different series. ^_^;

Horizon is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Last Exile -Ginkyoku no Fam-:
I, erm, haven't finished this series. It fell by the wayside when things got hectic during my final college semester. I watched beyond the first episode to see Tatiana and Alister's cameo as an older, still ambiguously yuri pair.  It was nice to see them still together. And it was neat (if puzzling) to see Dio again. Otherwise... eh. For what it's worth, Last Exile didn't do much for me either.

Last Exile -Ginkyoku no Fam- is streaming on Funimation.

X

Mouretsu Pirates:
A show I like with a yuri couple whose relationship is made as clear as day? More like this, please! Jenny and Lynn are great characters, and are very squee-worthy together as a couple. They even get their own arc. I hope to see them again in the upcoming Mouretsu Pirates movie.

Mouretsu Pirates is streaming on Crunchyroll and Sentai is releasing it, under the cringe-worthy title Bodacious Space Pirates, with English subs and a dub on DVD and Blu Ray.

X 

X

(Yeah Rosalie, that's my reaction to Oscar too.)

Ikeda Riyoko's Oniisama E and Rose of Versailles are hardly new series, but they are both must-watch shows for yuri and shoujo fans that became licensed in English for the first time this past year. Oniisama E is streaming with English subtitles on Viki, as is Rose of Versailles. Rose of Versailles is also set to be released on two R1 DVD box sets by Nozomi Entertainment this year. Between RoV and Aoi Hana's pending DVD releases, not to mention Nozomi's earlier licensing of Utena and Maria-sama ga Miteru, I want to marry Nozomi.

X

Psycho-Pass (a.k.a. the show I won't shut up about on Twitter):
Because Shion and Yayoi are clearly doing more than work in Shion's workplace. And... well, Yayoi's a cool woman in a suit and it's a hot pairing.

I've been dying to see these two get more development (rather than continue projecting it in my head), especially Yayoi (man, she's been underused so far), and it looks like that is going to happen when this series returns from its two week break. I'm both excited about Yayoi getting her time to shine and anxious, since, you know, a lot of horrible shit has happened to the characters who have gotten the spotlight so far. (Pretty obvious that her bandmates were killed, and that's why her crime coefficient shot up.) I'm even more curious now about how she became an Enforcer. It's easy to see a fallen Inspector like Kougami being made into an Enforcer- but how did the powers that be decide that a pop band member with a high crime coefficient had a future catching criminals ahead of her? And of course, I'm really hoping for something further of note on the yuri front. Are Yayoi and Shion only in a physical relationship? Are there any feelings involved? Hopefully we'll see. I was originally lukewarm towards this show, but I'm really into it now and looking forward to seeing where it goes from where the mid-season climax left off.

Psycho-Pass is streaming on Funimation.

Rinne no Lagrange seasons 1 and 2:
Lagrange's first season started off dull, but became a lot of fun. Its second season fell flat on its face. I could see Madoka x Lan as a subtext pairing in season 1 and at the beginning of season 2, but like Lagrange's plot, it fizzled over the course of season 2.

Rinne no Lagrange is streaming on VizAnime.

X

Saki Achiga-hen episode of Side A:
This spin-off of Saki bored me to tears, but Yumi and Momo's cameo in the first half of episode 8 made me smile. Here's to seeing them again in Saki season 2, which I am really looking forward to.

Saki Achiga-hen is streaming on Crunchyroll.

X

Senki Zesshou Symphogear season 1:
Tsubasa loves Kanade and Miku loves Hibiki. This turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable series, with good characters, a heavy dose of camp and some catchy songs by Mizuki Nana.

Symphogear is streaming on Funimation.

Yuru Yuri season 2:
Same yuri as in season 1- but improved, since it showed us that Himawari and Sakurako have affection for each other instead of simply expecting us to interpret their snarking at each other as tsundere love.

Yuru Yuri is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Never watched Hidamari Sketch season 4 because, again, I'm sick of the franchise. I understand that Sengoku Collection has some canon yuri in it, but haven't gotten past its first episode.

I haven't seen the first two Madoka Magica movies, but really look forward to seeing where the third movie takes the franchise.

X

And I'm still doing cartwheels over the Sailor Moon reboot. :D

 X

I hope you have a happy year ahead! (^_^)/