Manga Review: Pieta volume 2

 Volume 1 of Pieta (reviewed here) left us with a pretty grim scenario.

Thankfully, the jump does not kill Rio. It turns out that she will be able to recover fully,  but Sahoko and Rio's psychologist Minori-sensei know that she'll try to commit suicide again unless what caused her to do it is actually dealt with.

They figure out that it was Rio's stepmother's doing. She owns up to her culpability and makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to remove Rio from the Martha Stewart fantasy of a life she wants by committing Rio to a mental institution as soon as possible. Even Rio's father is disturbed by her, and he tells Minori-sensei the truth about what his wife told Rio. Minori-sensei clears things up for Rio, and she decides to divorce her family. In one of my favorite scenes, Minori-sensei tells Rio that he and his wife have wanted to adopt her as a daughter for a long time. Even if she doesn't want to be adopted, they're still there for her if she needs anything.

As Sahoko continues visiting her in the hospital, Rio gets over her fear that she'll hurt whoever she loves. We also learn more about what caused Sahoko to become a hikikomori for a full school year. While Rio has a truckload of horrible family reasons for her issues, Sahoko comes from a perfectly functional, loving family. The explanation for her withdrawal from society works because, well, you don't need to have a traumatic childhood to have problems interacting with people. Some people are just like that. While Rio wore her problems on her sleeve and acted out when we first met her, Sahoko was that girl who hides her problems desperately in order to create normalcy in some sphere of her life. After she gets over that by opening up to Rio, she's able to actually feel relaxed and happy instead of just pretending to be. In short, both of their behavior from the beginning of this series makes sense.

Let me go on a small tangent. When Pieta was published, it was still popular to link mental illness to lesbianism in manga. Pieta subverts that by making its characters' issues have absolutely nothing to do with their sexual orientations or who they like, instead making Rio and Sahoko's love what helps them overcome their problems. You'll find thematic similarities in the recently popular Blue Friend by Eban Fumi, which seems pretty clearly influenced by Pieta, if you're looking for something similar in yuri. I also recommend Fuyumi Soryo's Mars, a non-yuri shoujo title that feels similar as well.

Rio's stepmother tosses out Rio's things and moves her own things into the house Rio occupied, but in a delicious bit of irony, the house catches on fire. Rio's possessions stay safe and out of the dumpster because of Sahoko picking them up and storing them at her house.

After leaving the hospital, Rio moves in with Sahoko. This series addresses the issues that could, realistically, come with Sahoko already deciding that she wants to spend her life with Rio by having Minori-sensei and his wife discuss them- satisfactorily, I might add.

Rio and Sahoko help each other study for their entrance exams and start college, looking forward to their lives together

We get a bonus chapter showing them spending a week at Sahoko's aunt's beach house, where they send an omiyage to Minori-sensei and his wife.

A sweet conclusion to a roller-coaster ride of a series.

Story: A

Art: A-

Overall: A

A couple of yuri shorts by Shimura Takako: Dounika Naru Hibi volume 2

Dounika Naru Hibi is a two volume collection of one-shots focusing on relationships. Most of the stories are het, but there's also some yaoi in volume 1 and, in two chapters of volume 2, yuri.

In chapter 5, a woman named "Ecchan" attends the wedding of Yuri, the woman she dated in high school. She slips out of the reception to cry and runs into Aya, who loved Yuri in college. They hook up and start dating, and realize that even though Yuri was a jerk to both of them, it's a good thing they met her because they wouldn't know each other otherwise.

Chapter 9 is about a woman named Shino who is in love with her roommate Tamiko. Tamiko catches Shino trying to kiss her when she's asleep, and sleeps with Shino. Shino thinks that it's too good to be true- a whim that Tamiko will regret or change her mind about- so she moves out. Tamiko shows up at Shino's new place and convinces Shino to let her move in.

Shimura Takako is at her best in her longer stories, but her Dounika Naru Hibi one-shots are still great. (Most of them, at least.) I like their general focus on adults and their refreshingly mature, matter-of-fact approach to sexuality. The yuri chapters also make some nods to yuri conventions that make them feel, like Moonlight Flowers and Morishima Akiko's one-shot "Princess of the Stars" in Ruri-iro no Yume, like sequels to the girls' school stories that yuri is most famous for. Ecchan, Shino, and Yuri all attended girls' schools and Yuri was the classic mega-popular girls' school "Prince."

The themes in Dounika Naru Hibi's yuri chapters provide an interesting compliment to some of the themes Shimura has been exploring in in Aoi Hana (besides the love-at-a-girls'-school motif, you have: what it's like to recover from a love that went down in flames, and not being sure if your feelings and the feelings of the person you're in love with are on the same level), but they're great on their own as glimpses of idealistic relationship drama between realistic adults.

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

Yay, yuri Ladies Comics!: Works

I love the stories from Mist, a yuri Ladies Comics magazine that's out of print. By virtue of being Ladies Comics, Mist's stories aren't high art, but I love their... classic josei-ness, if you will. In addition to that and Mist's focus on older women, I like how its couples are always in love, at least by the end of each story. Tangent: Someone I met in Tokyo this past summer raved about how a Ladies Comics magazine that's still being published, Comic Aurora, has some good lesbian content. She showed off the shelf of Comic Aurora issues she'd collected as proof that it's worth reading. When I bought and skimmed an issue, there was no yuri... just, like, rape and creepy old businessmen. The woman who raved about it seemed earnest, but I can only rationalize her recommendation as a bad practical joke. The point of this rambling is that I enjoyed Mist before that, but after the "What the hell was that?" of Comic Aurora, Mist feels like the warm, fuzzy hug of Ladies Comics. And that's what most of Tadeno Eriko's Works features- romantic stories from Mist- along with an excellent story from Phryne, a lesbian magazine that's also out of print.

"My Sister's Wedding" ("Imouto no Kekkonshiki"), the Phryne story, is about Emi, who attends her younger sister Yuka's wedding. Her girlfriend Takako isn't able to come along for obvious reasons, and her mom and other relatives are predictably bugging her about getting married herself, since she's 30. When she calls Takako after the ceremony, Takako proposes. Emi comes out to her mom, who...well, is coming around by the the end. Yuka already knows, and is cool with it. This is my favorite story in this collection.

"I Like You the Way You Are" ("Sugao no Mama de") is about Suzu, a university student whose kouhai in the drama club, Misato, fell in love with her in high school. Suzu dated another girl in high school, her sempai Yasuko, but Yasuko left her to get married after they graduated. Now Suzu has a beard boyfriend. Misato confesses her feelings to Suzu, but Suzu rejects her. Thankfully, Suzu realizes that she's being stupid, breaks up with her boyfriend, and admits that she likes Misato. Happily-Ever-After for them. ^_^

The next two chapters, "My Sweet One" ("Watashi no Kawaii Hito") and "Gentle Loving" ("Yasashiku Aishite"), focus on one couple. Mizuho is the business development section chief for her company. She divorced her husband after falling for a superior...who got married and left the company. Still, she doesn't regret it. ("I owe the freedom I live in today to it.") She falls for her new kouhai at the company, Yuka, but puts distance between them after gossip that Mizuho's a lesbian starts floating around. She and Yuka get together anyway. "Gentle Loving" is about Mizuho and Yuka working out their problems caused by the different priorities they put on work (Mizuho's priority) vs relationship time (Yuka's). As in all Mist stories, there is sex- but it's a bonus in this book's case, not the focus. (Not that there can't be good examples of PWP.) I love how this chapter shows that Mizuho has other queer friends, who she gets relationship advice from. Happily-Ever-After, of course. ^_^

There are also some 4-koma following the characters from "My Sweet One" and "Gentle Loving," a few pages of gag comics focusing on different characters, a nice commentary by Tadeno Eriko addressed to the people reading the American-published version of her work, including commentary on how the yuri genre has evolved since she started drawing yuri, and a "Note on the Cover Picture" that made me go "Awww." If you like happy yuri stories about adults, you should really check out Tadeno Eriko's work.

Story: "My Sister's Wedding" = A, "Gentle Loving" & "My Sweet One" = A-, "I Like You the Way You Are" = B+
Art: B+
Overall: A-

Tadeno Eriko now goes by the name Mizuki Monica (Twitter account here) and publishes manga as part of a circle online (link nsfw). Tadeno/Mizuki's circle also uploaded some manga onto YouTube. She used to make print doujinshi under the circle name "Office Mono."

A popular, but unfortunately out-of-print yuri classic: Pieta volume 1

Haruno Nanae's Pieta is an excellent choice if you want something dark, but not without a light at the end of the tunnel- a compelling mixture of realism and idealism about two broken people who meet by fate and, rather than drag each other even farther down, provide each other with salvation.

Sahoko is a recovering hikikomori living with her aunt. She seems well-adjusted at school, but she isn't able to completely open up to her gossip-loving classmates because she's self-conscious about her past. She comes from a loving family with no problems, but has a hard time interacting with them also.

The most popular (and infamous) girl at school, Rio, comes from starkly different circumstances. She lives in her family's big house while her father, stepmother, and two younger stepbrothers live in an apartment because her stepmother absolutely doesn't want to be around her. (Rio's father doesn't care either way, and her mother walked out on them years ago.) Rio's stepmother is a dark mirror of society's traditional ideal of the perfect woman: one who lives to maintain a catalogue-worthy household decorated with saccharine trinkets and, above all else, look like a flawlessly "normal" mother whose children lead flawlessly "normal" lives. Even though her first child resulted from a possibly unplanned pregnancy by a man who may not be Rio's father, from before she and Rio's father married (the story intentionally leaves it vague), she zeroes in on Rio as the one person in her family life who doesn't fit her Leave It To Beaver-like ideal. (Haruno Nanae loves skewering conventional expectations for gender roles and family life. See: Her depiction of Fujiko's family and "fiancee" in Double House.) When Rio was a child, her stepmother stuck her in a mental hospital at the first chance she got. No wonder Rio has issues. Thankfully, the psychologist Rio has been seeing since she was a kid and his psychiatrist wife both think of her as a daughter and look out for her as much as they can. Their presence provides a much-needed balance among the adult characters.

Even though Rio is normally cold and apathetic, she finds herself drawn to Sahoko and tries to befriend her. She only sees Sahoko as a security blanket/attractive girl at first, but starts to genuinely love her as they get to know each other more. Rio's jealous girlfriend tries to scare Sahoko away by telling her about the cutting scars on Rio's arms, but she only ends up getting dumped by Rio. Rio and Sahoko open up to each other more than they have around anyone else, and Rio's psychologist happily notes that "the ice around her heart has melted." One of my favorite moments is when Sahoko tells Rio about her past problems and finds that, now that someone outside of her family knows, her secret isn't nearly as dark and awful as she thought it was.

The downside to Rio opening up her heart to Sahoko is that she's vulnerable again. Her stepmother takes advantage of this, resulting in Rio jumping off a building right after Sahoko remembers how they first met.

What will happen!? Dun dun dun. Until next time~ More analysis will come with the next volume's review.

Story: A

Art: A-

Overall: A

More Yamaji Ebine: Sweet Lovin' Baby

Unlike Yamaji Ebine's famous trio- Love My Life, Indigo Blue, and Free Soul- Sweet Lovin' Baby is a collection of short stories, half of which are yuri.

"Sweet Lovin' Baby" is about Kyou, an OL who becomes close friends with a seemingly perfect lesbian couple, Rei and Magobee...shortly before they break up. Over the course of the story, Kyou realizes that she's gay herself. (In one amusing subplot, the co-worker who's always nagging Kyou about getting a boyfriend sets her up with a man who tells her that it can't work because he's gay. He and Kyou become friends instead.) Kyou remains on friendly terms with both Rei and Magobee, and admits that she has feelings for Rei...but still misses the time she spent with Rei and Magobee as a couple. I found this story poignant because I know what it's like to see two friends who seem perfectly happy with their long-term relationship suddenly break up. It adds a bittersweet extra layer to the age old discovery-of-one's-sexual-identity narrative. (I also love that Kyou comes out to her co-worker.)

"Rain Was Falling" isn't nearly as complex, but it's a very cute story about 18 year-old Toriko, who thinks she's "broken" because she hasn't fallen in love with a man. She spaces out and doesn't notice when it starts raining. A novelist named Sumire holds an umbrella over Toriko and invites her to dry off in her apartment. They drink cocoa and discuss art, and when Toriko tells Sumire what she's worried about, Sumire gives her a kiss. Sumire lends Toriko an umbrella when she leaves, and Toriko looks forward to returning it. (As a wise friend once commented when we were watching Sense & Sensibility, "Why doesn't shit like this happen when I get caught in the rain?")

"Doomed Love" is about Yukako, a gay high school student who, alas, only gets love confessions from boys. The girl Yukako likes, tall, boyish-looking Nanami, is straight but only attracts girls. Yukako confesses to Nanami, who rejects her and vents that she's jealous because the boy she likes confessed to Yukako. A crying Yukako points out that she and Nanami both share the painful feeling of being rejected by the person they like, and Nanami apologizes. Even though I don't like "Doomed Love" as much as "Sweet Lovin' Baby" and "Rain Was Falling", it's still a well-written, more-complicated-than-normal take on a one-sided crush.

"Miyuki" is Yamaji Ebine's professional debut. (Fun fact: Along with Love My Life and Ariyoshi Kyouko's Applause, it's a personal favorite of Plica-chan's Amamiya Sae.) Ichiko, an art school student, is in love with her school mate Miyuki, but thinks that her feelings aren't requited. Luckily, she's wrong. ^^ "Miyuki" is good, but the fact that it's Yamaji's debut shows. The art is sketchy- less clean and confident than her later style; and her storytelling feels more tentative, as it naturally would for a budding talent who's still finding her voice. It's a must-read if you want to see where Yamaji Ebine's career as a mangaka began.

Of course, it's a given that you should check out this collection if you like like Yamaji Ebine's work or realistic yuri in general.

Story: B+
Art: B for "Miyuki", A for the rest
Overall: A-

An unexpected find: Hana Yori Joshi ("Girls Over Flowers")

I like Honey & Honey (I'd recommend it to anyone looking for realistic yuri), so finding a collection of books by Takeuchi Sachiko that I hadn't read in Ikebukuro's Toranoana was a treat. But I actually...didn't like this book, which is about Takeuchi Sachiko and her friends participating in public events, most of which are sex-related in some way.

One thing I like about Honey & Honey is how its "characters" don't shy away from the topic of sexuality, without being stuttering and immature about it- not that surprising for an autobiographical manga about and for adults. Some of Sachiko, Mai, and Masako's frank conversations and jokes remind me of real life conversations, say, from dinner at my dorm's dining hall, in a way that most manga never approach.

I don't like to say that an autobiographical manga is too honest, because that's the point- but this tankoubon could have been titled More Than You'll Ever Want To Know About Takeuchi Sachiko and Her Friends' Sex Lives. The sex toy chapter in Honey & Honey? Funny. Watching Sachiko paddle Kai and drool on her knees over two guys doing S&M? ... ^_^;;;;;;; I liked Honey & Honey for its autobio look at lgbt life in Japan, but this entire volume zooms in on the sex aspect of Sachiko's life at the expense of everything else.

Also- don't get what Sachiko and Kai see in each other. For the kind of story Hana Yori Joshi is, Sachiko and Kai spend virtually no time together, and don't seem all that interested in each other. (I would not continue to date someone who kisses other people, call me old-fashioned.) And I'll admit that I miss Masako. She said some really sexist things, but she also seems like the most self-aware person in the Sachiko-verse.

Overall: Read Honey & Honey. It's still good. Skip this.

When I first visited Ni-choume (I've been there three times; the second time for a women's only party, the third time just to walk around and see how much better I could find my way around it), I got directions from a gay man who offered to help me find a bar I was looking for (it was recommended by my Tokyo guidebook; the bar wasn't open to the public that night, since it was hosting a private party). When we found it (after he stopped in a gay bar and asked the bartender for directions), he asked that if I write about Ni-choume online (say, on a blog), I not write anything that makes it look bad. (This was an eerie moment, because I had never mentioned that I blog.) I kind of wonder what he would think of Hana Yori Joshi.

Manga Review: Mars no Kiss

Most yuri fans know Kishi Torajirou's Maka Maka, but Mars no Kiss is also worth checking out. It's a surprisingly good, realistic look at unrequited first love. If that doesn't sell you on it (can't blame you), it also has one of the most beautiful kiss scenes ever drawn in a manga.

Yukari is an outgoing, "rebellious" girl who does the opposite of whatever her over-controlling mom wants. She has a boyfriend who attends university, but all they do is have sex, maybe visit the karaoke box also. Mayuko, the girl assigned to sit next to Yukari in class, is the complete opposite of Yukari. She is reserved and studious, and she and Yukari don't think much of each other.

But. One afternoon, Yukari sees Mayuko kissing a bust of Mars in the school art room (Mars sure is a popular choice), and finds herself entranced. When a teacher walks up behind her, she flinches and runs away, but not before Mayuko sees her.

After realizing that Yukari wouldn't tell anyone about what she saw, Mayuko changes her opinion of Yukari and they become friends. As they get to know each other more, they realize that they have more in common than they had thought. Yukari gives Mayuko advice for when she has a boyfriend someday, priding herself on being more experienced, but when Mayuko does get her own boyfriend, Yukari feels her stomach sink. Knowing that she should feel happy for Mayuko, Yukari soon realizes she is in love with her.

Since Mayuko told Yukari that she kissed the bust of Mars to make sure her glasses wouldn't bump whoever she has her first kiss with (something that made Yukari laugh at the time), Yukari brings a pair of glasses to school and, in the corner of the school library where she and Yukari usually meet, suggests that they "practice"- just to make sure that Mayuko and her boyfriend's glasses won't bump together when they kiss. Mayuko agrees. Their kiss is the most beautifully drawn scene in the book. As Sapphire aptly describes it, "In the scenes leading up to the kiss, I could feel the nervousness and suspense through the characters. Her depictions of the two voluptuous glistening lips semi-touching one another are perfectly frozen to give the reader that sense of a slow intimate softness that comes with kissing a woman. No Frenching….just a gentle and sweet lip to lip."

After the kiss, Yukari blurts out that she likes Mayuko, and then feels like the earth is about to swallow her. Mayuko smiles and tells Yukari that she likes her too, but Yukari realizes that the "like" Mayuko means is different. (Even though Mayuko's perspective of the confession isn't shown, I think she understood what Yukari meant and was letting her down in the gentlest way possible.)

During the next school term, Yukari and Mayuko are assigned to sit next to different people, but they remain friends. Yukari has clearly grown more mature after realizing her feelings for Mayuko; she understands what real love feels like and has ditched her loser boyfriend. (This reviewer likes to think that she will completely get over Mayuko and fall in love with somebody who loves her back someday.)

Even though the girl doesn't get the girl she likes in it, Mars no Kiss is a sweet story with realistic leads who develop beyond their initial archetypes; and it was nice to see that a mangaka known for his more explicit work could pack so much of a punch into a simple first kiss.

Story: B
Art: A-
Overall: B

Magazine review: commons & sense issue 40

Go figure- I like shopping and picking out nice outfits, but I generally don't read fashion magazines. commons & sense isn't challenging that inclination, even with its lesbian-themed issue, which includes a yuri one-shot.

Even though this issue is enormous,

it was a quick read since most of its pages feature photos of (pale, skinny) models wearing high fashion brands- and this magazine, which reads from left to right (aside from the manga, which comes with a how to read manga right to left guide; it's nice that c & s included that, but you'd figure that anyone who buys this magazine would already know how to read manga unflipped), provides English translations of all of its Japanese text.

A lot of the photos feature models acting like the two on the cover- moving next to each other suggestively or feeling each other up, looking more stoned than interested in each other.

Early in the issue, we get the yuri one-shot "Rose Bud" by Tanaka Rin. It's about Hinako, a shy blonde girl who has a crush on Tsukiko-sama (translated as "Lady Tsukiko") the tall, cool girl with long dark hair who everyone at their school admires. Because of an outfit Hinako designed for Tsukiko, she catches Tsukiko's eye. Tsukiko takes her shopping and gives her a make-over, and then they have sex. Now they're a couple and Hinako is cool and popular at school, and tells a shy girl who admires her that she can be beautiful too. (How appropriate for a fashion magazine.)

 A little farther along, there's a short article by Koyanagi Mika titled "New Age Travellers" that compares lesbian movies and hippie movies. It was stupid, but it was followed by a few pages of lesbian (and hippie?) movie screencaps and DVD covers (including Love My Life, The Color Purple, Room in Rome, Water Lilies, Kakera, Imagine Me & You, Manji, Spider Lilies, Frida, Saving Face (<3), Topless, Les Filles du Botaniste, Lesbian Vampire Killers (wtf), Kissing Jessica Stein, and Hu Die), some of which I didn't know about. (Maybe for a good reason?)

In Saito Ayako's short story "A Love Song," we meet...well, the protagonist doesn't get a name. She's temporarily living at her aunt's apartment, taking care of her aunt's cats while she's away, with a friend she briefly dated in college, Satoshi. They had sex once when they met again after college, but he's acted so disinterested in doing it again with her (or anyone else) since then, that she wonders if he's gay- he just helps her with housework and cooking. (As an aside, Satoshi points out that she's a fujoshi.) One day a neighbor who she mentally calls "the Goddess" helps her get a bag of trash to the garbage truck after it passes by her building. Later, she sees the Goddess at the local public bath, and they go to the protagonist's apartment since Satoshi's out for the night and have sex. Satoshi sees them in bed the next morning and isn't surprised, and the protagonist makes plans to see the Goddess again. The story ends with, "How I learned I was a bisexual able to go for men or women, the Goddess was a bona fide lesbian, and Satoshi had a fantasy of being held by a woman while he was dressed as one himself all became clear over time. But I'll tell you about that some other time." This story wasn't especially well written, but it wasn't bad either. It was much more readable than the other queer pieces in this magazine.

The last lesbian-related piece is Shinsan Nameko's "There Is Nothing But Good In This Beauty", about how she thinks that all lesbians (according to her description, butches) have beautiful skin based on one visit to a lesbian bar and some American celebrities like Jenny Shimizu and Samantha Ronson. Shinsan writes about why (butchy) lesbians supposedly have such pristine, silky smooth skin, including this gem: "And finally, by seeing one's own own sex as an object of love, women are no longer rivals, and the absence of jealousy and hostility alleviates stress on the skin."

And some more interviews, some other short throwaway articles, some unusual illustrations,

and more photos of expensive fashion, including a shoot by Miu Miu titled "All The Things She Said."

Overall: Could you tell that I didn't like it? lol

Until summer vacation starts on May 7, I'm only writing one post per week.

Manga Review: Love My Life

About time I did a Yamaji Ebine review. In the early 2000's Yamaji published three single volume yuri stories- Love My Life (2001), Indigo Blue (2002), and Free Soul (2004)- that starred adults and addressed lesbian identity in an unambiguous manner that's still rare today. She also published a tankoubon called Sweet Lovin' Baby in 2003, half composed of yuri one-shots, half non-yuri. In a nutshell, the main relationship in Free Soul could be described as "Will they get together?" ("get together" = "have a relationship", not "have no-strings-attached sex"), with Indigo Blue as, "Will they stay together?", and Love My Life, the most mellow (and famous) of the three, as, "They're definitely together- now what?"

Izumiya Ichiko is an upbeat 18 year old university student who is studying to become an English-to-Japanese translator, like her dad. Her mom, a designer, died 7 years earlier. She's in a serious relationship with her girlfriend Joujima Eri, who is studying to become a lawyer.

Ichiko comes out to her dad by introducing Eri to him as her girlfriend. When she's alone with him later, he tells her that he's gay too, and so was her mom. (Amusingly, she has the exact same stupefied look on her face when her dad comes out to her as he had when she came out to him.) While this is a shock to Ichiko (in a "Wait, my parents weren't really in love? I didn't know about this massive chunk of their identity?" sense), Eri, who isn't out to her family and has a homophobic, sexist father, reminds her that she's lucky.

The rest of the story takes a slice-of-life approach, as Ichiko attends school with her friend Take-chan, who's gay too, meets her dad's boyfriend and the woman her mom was in a relationship with and thinks about where her and Eri's future will go. The biggest threat pops up when Eri can't see her in person for a while because of her studies. But yes, it ends happily. ^_^ (I love the big reveal about Eri towards the end.)

Love My Life, like any good realistic story, has characters who feel like they could be real. (All pleasantly real, in this case- aside from Eri's dad, who shows up briefly.) Not only Ichiko's relationship with Eri, but her relationships with the other important people in her life (her dad and Take-chan) are richly developed and heart-warming. The story doesn't shy away from drama, but it isn't heavy-handed. (And it has some incredibly memorable lines. For example, "Human beings are very complicated...The one you love isn't necessarily the one who manages to emancipate you." <- About Ichiko's parents' relationship.) The point is that, whatever problems Ichiko might have, she really does love her life. 

While most people who come out don't find out that their parents are actually gay, it gives a great twist to the coming out story in LML. I'd like to see more yuri stories in which the protagonist comes out to her family- or is in the aftermath of coming to her family-, especially since the prospect of coming out to one's close family is usually the most intimidating. The only other examples I can think of are in Free Soul, "More Rica'tte Kanji!?" in Yuri Monogatari 4, "My Sister's Wedding" in Tadeno Eriko's Works, and Ushio in Sasameki Koto. But I'm veering off track.

If you haven't tried Love My Life, it's a must-read- a great pick if you want something that's realistic and smile-inducing at the same time.

Story: A

Art: A

Overall: A

Manga Review: "Instinct and a Chromosome" one-shot from 100okunengo no Kimi no Koe mo

Akiyama Maiko and Okai Haruko's "Instinct and a Chromosome" is an excellent one-shot that ran in Dessert in 2004 and was published in the two story collection 100okunengo no Kimi no Koe mo. In her afterword, Akiyama-sensei, the writer, happily notes that a lot of readers told her things like, "Love is the same for everyone!", "I feel like I could root for homosexual girls too!", and "I completely understood how they [the characters] felt!"

The story begins on a dark note. Okada Nanako confesses her feelings to the girl she likes, Miyuki. Unfortunately, Miyuki not only rejects her but starts bullying her. Nanako muses that she had considered slitting her wrists, but couldn't go through with it. (Given the recent highly publicized spike in gay teen suicides, this was more hard-hitting for me than previously.) Thankfully, this part only lasts a few pages.

We see Nanako as an adult living in Tokyo, working part-time at a restaurant while attending the Tokyo School of Business. Because of what happened in high school, she doesn't think that she can fall in love again. Instead, she's drawn to a gorgeous woman named Kayama Yuri, who notices and later tells her that she likes her too.

Lovey-doveyness ensues. Unfortunately, Nanako is a little nervous about losing Yuri because she's bisexual. (You don't see many stories that deal with this issue, much less as well as this one does.) One of my favorite scenes is when some doofuses at a night club try to pick up Nanako, and Yuri shooes them away with, "Sorry, *protectively hugs Nanako* but keep your hands off my honey. You see how it is. *smile*"

Eventually, Yuri tells Nanako that she's getting married. (Her parents set it up since they own a company, she's their only child, and she's 27.)

Heartbroken, Nanako wanders around. When a guy hits on her and she tells him that she's gay, he has the best reaction ever ("Woo-hoo! I dig girls too! We're two of a kind!") and takes her to dinner at a restaurant where he treats her like a friend, no strings attached. Since she's still in shock from her break-up, she cajoles him into having sex with her so she can try to be "normal." It's about as sexy as wood-whittling for her, and he's like, "Yeah, you really shouldn't force yourself. You love her, right? Go for it." When she goes back to her apartment, guess who's waiting for her. (Super-cute ending! While still being realistic. My one quibble is that I would have liked to see more of these characters now that they've overcome their biggest hurdles, both internal and external.)

As you could tell, this story covers a lot of ground (both chronologically and in terms of character development) for a one-shot- and incredibly well, at that. Definitely recommended if you're in the mood for something realistic and dramatic.

Story: B+

Art: B

Overall: A-

This is the only review I'm posting this weekend. I'll be back to two next week. (Yay, Spring Break! XD I'm flying home this Saturday.)

Manga Review: Plica-chan

There isn't anything else like quite Amamiya Sae's Plica-chan. It began in the now-defunct lesbian magazine Anise (which printed other manga also) but later moved onto the Love Piece Club website (some strips, as well as the main LPC site, are nsfw). It isn't available in tankoubon format. Plica is a comic aimed squarely at queer women that aims for a realistic depiction of lesbian life in Japan.

Plica is a closeted lesbian who drinks herself into a stupor when the woman she's in love with invites her to her wedding. In a stroke of incredible luck, the person who takes Plica home and helps her clean up is a beautiful woman named Mari, who could tell why Plica was depressed because she has been in a similar situation. (Sans the getting smashed and throwing up on a stranger bit.) Plica and Mari soon start dating and have a happy love-love relationship. No massive angst here.

There are two prominent side characters: butchy Saki, a teacher (unlike Plica and Mari, who are both office workers) who isn't as closeted, and Machiko, a woman who is newer to the "bian" scene (and looks like Moe from the Three Stooges). Saki's on-again-off-again girlfriend Rui and Machiko's friend Roku also appear occasionally.

Plica follows the usual strip format of telling a joke or making a point within a sequence of square panels. (Although unlike most Japanese comic strips, the Plica strips usually contain more than four panels.) Some of the strips cover random day-to-day stuff, like Plica's habit of brushing her teeth in the bath or her urge to dance when she's alone in an elevator- or, quite amusingly, how she ignores people who hand out free tissues (which is an advertising practice in Japan) unless it's a hot woman offering them or she has a cold.

Some strips deal with relationships (facilitated by Plica's over-active imagination- my favorite part of Plica, btw) and some deal with issues like coming out and homophobia. In one strip, Plica speculates on how her mom might react to her coming out while they're watching a TV special about lesbians ("The Lesbian World: Undercover Report")- none of the options that she can imagine look good.

There are some cute strips that flashback to Plica's childhood ("How long have you been a lesbian?") and some that poke fun at assumptions made about lesbians by the straight and lesbian characters alike (see: Plica's great reaction to hearing that lesbian sex is endless), including the obligatory deconstruction of girls' school yuri tropes.

The characters are generally likeable, although Machiko's "Woe is me, I'm miserably single" schtick wears thin. Some of Plica's generalizations about human interaction early on in the story fall flat, but they're outmatched by the story's gems. All around, it's enjoyable and highly recommended for anybody interested in what it's like to be a lesbian in Japan- or in reading a manga that's different from the norm.

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

The fantastic Sparkling Rain anthology has some Plica strips printed in it.

Manga Review: Love Vibes

Sakurazawa Erica's Love Vibes should interest people because of its pedigree (Sakurazawa is a famous, incredibly prolific josei mangaka), because it's an uncommon example of a yuri manga that has gotten a live-action movie adaptation (the other ones that I can think of are Love My Life and Sakura no Sono- and if you count light novels, Maria-sama ga Miteru), and simply because it's incredibly good.

Mako is a fairly introverted (but not wallflowery) college student who is dating a classmate named Shouji. She breaks things off with him after realizing that their relationship isn't really going anywhere. While sampling a CD in a music store, she meets the extroverted, hyper-confident Mika.

They hit it off as friends, even though Mika obviously wants to be Mako's girlfriend. Mika is so straightforward and lighthearted when mentioning her feelings that Mako doesn't get how serious Mika really is about her for a while. (Naturally, this causes some frustration on Mika's part.)

They have a fight after Mako gets back together with Shouji, and Mika starts (sort of) going out with a woman named Shouko (one of the more...erm...unique fictional love interests I've encountered in manga). Neither relationship works out, and Mako and Mika start dating.

More snags pop up involving both Mako and Mika's exes and an invitation from one of Mako's friends for her to attend a Christmas Eve mixer. But in the end, Mako and Mika wind up happily together.

Love Vibes' hook isn't tantalizing/frustrating its readers with a slow, methodical build-up to a confession. (Even given that it takes place within one volume.) Things move along at a brisk clip and the characters are refreshingly matter-of-fact. They are still very human- they screw up, they overcome hurdles, and they evoke sympathy (and the occasional "squee!" moment)- and their lives are involving, even upon re-reading. The ending is definitely happy, but with a nod to the uncertain future that most couples face that early in a relationship. This story is also noteworthy for featuring two yuri protagonists who are on different but not completely opposite sides of the Kinsey scale, and acknowledging it- not something you see much. My one real quibble is that I would have liked to see the ending (particularly the resolution to Mako and Mika's separation) fleshed out more. But the story achieves a lot for a single volume.

Sakurazawa's art is very stylish and pretty- like most josei, it's fairly loose and minimalistic, but it adroitly conveys its characters' emotions and gives everything a light, breezy look.

If you enjoy mature romantic drama that isn't heavy-handed, Love Vibes should be right up your alley.

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

The edition I'm reviewing is the re-print that came out around when the movie ("Kakera") was released. This volume includes Sakurazawa's Between the Sheets, which is also yuri but sucks pretty badly. For yuri by Sakurazawa, Love Vibes is the way to go.

Top 5 Coming Out Yuri Manga Titles

In honor of National Coming Out Day, I'm listing my top 5 coming out yuri manga titles. They aren't listed in the order of my favorite to least favorite- just the order of when they popped into my head.

1. Hanjuku Joshi by Morishima Akiko (Coming Out to a Friend):
Because seeing Yae work up the courage to come out to her friend/former crush Youko before they go on a double date gives me the warm fuzzies like few other manga scenes.

2. Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (Coming Out to One's Best Friend):
Shimura Takako can do no wrong. Fumi's coming out scene with Ah-chan is eerily close to my own coming out to my best friend. Sugimoto coming out to her family is also a highlight. (Although she didn't have to drag poor Fumi into it. ^^;)

3. Love My Life by Yamaji Ebine (Coming Out to Family/Mutual Outing):
Ichiko comes out to her dad, and her dad reveals that he's gay too- and so was her dead mom. How could anyone forget this scene?

4. Honey & Honey by Takeuchi Sachiko (Multiple Types):
When you're reading an autobiographical yuri manga by an out author, you're going to get some realistic coming out scenes. lol Takeuchi makes it funny, though, and she covers the coming out process for different sexual/gender minorities, which is something you don't see much. (*straining to think of more examples* ...) I have a soft spot for the Sachiko-Mai interaction because my bff is straight- and in manga starring yuri protagonists, "best friend" is virtually always synonymous with "love interest."

Above: Julia-san, expressing her desire to kiss her kouhai Ran before realizing that she has a crush on her. Julia's manager Saeki, not realizing that this is the beginning of a pattern.

5. Strawberry Shake Sweet by Hayashiya Shizuru (Outed by Stupidity- Multiple Times):
Because we need more funny coming out scenes featuring characters who are too dense to know that everybody can tell- and then don't care after they know that other people know. (Yes, I know I'm stretching it with this example.)

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to chime in with your favorite examples. :-)

Edit: I copied this post over to scans_daily, adding some extra explanation of yuri/the titles listed for the folks who aren't familiar with them- just in case anyone here wants to check it out.

Yuri Manga: Love Slave

I wasn't sure what to expect from Onozucca Kahori's Love Slave when I began reading it. It seemed like a grittier, more modern version of Moonlight Flowers (a must-read if you're a card-carrying yuri fan and you haven't read it!), but with enough tweaks to turn it into a very different- and arguably, better- story by the end.

The protagonist is Ureha, a successful make-up artist living with her boyfriend-since-college, Ichiru, who works as a teacher at an all-girl's high school. Three months after proposing to Ureha, Ichiru's still waiting for an answer from her. At a cosmetics shop, Ureha runs into Sawori, who reminds her of the female classmate she (almost) slept with in high school. After breaking up with Ichiru, Ureha and Sawori get together, but things aren't quite happily-ever-after... Meanwhile, one of Ichiru's students, Mariya, comes out to him as a lesbian and encounters Ureha and Sawori when she starts going to lesbian clubs. Ichiru also runs into Sawori one day...

I really don't want to spoil too much, since a lot of the fun in reading Love Slave is in seeing where it'll go. (Although it was still really good when I re-read it. ^^)

In the beginning, Sawori seemed like she would be the heroic, Kaoru-esque prince(ss)-on-a-white-horse who sweeps Ureha off her feet and "initiates" her into self-awareness as a queer woman, but refreshingly, Sawori is painted in many shades of grey. (And the manga shows that Ureha was interested in women, albeit much more closeted, before Sawori. Points for that.) Even though I didn't like Sawori much during most of the story (especially in chapter 5...), she ultimately came across as a good person (or at least, not a bad person) who made some very, very stupid choices. None of the characters are sainted (including Ureha), and even the most horrific character has some multi-dimensionality.

Unlike most yuri manga, Love Slave isn't about the inception or growth of a relationship- it's about the growth of its protagonist. I hoped that Ureha would find somebody who she could be happy with, and she absolutely did- just not at all who I expected. :) The ending was extremely satisfying without feeling schmatlzy or mawkish. And that's all that I really wanted.

Story: B+
Art: B+ (I personally really like Onozucca's art style. It's a stylish, slightly loose josei look.)
Overall: A-

A solid pick if you want something more mature than the norm.

Edit: Added a link to my review of Moonlight Flowers.

Anime and Manga Including College-Aged Yuri Characters

This list is about a nice within a niche within a niche, but I really wanted to make it anyway. ^^ Enjoy!

The characters in this list don't necessarily need to be matriculated in college. Whether a young adult has just left home to attend college or to start full-time work, she will usually be dealing with the same issues: "What do I really want to do with my life?", "Am I on the right path?", "This microwaved dinner tastes terrible...", and other such coming-of-age questions. (Take that with a grain of salt- I'm assuming this based on my own limited experiences. ^^;) So, basically, characters who are definitely in the "traditional student" college age range and/or in college- e.g. a 23-24 year-old college senior who took a year or two to pass the college exams, or an 18-19 year-old studying to pass the entrance exams, could count.

Anime:

Maria-sama ga Miteru (seasons 2-4)- Sei, Youko, and Eriko reappear a few times after they graduate, with Sei majoring in Comparative lit at Lillian women's university (yay, women's colleges! ^^ It's extra-cool to me since I attend a women's college.), Eriko attending a different university to study the fine arts (...I think...correct me if I'm wrong), and Youko studying law at another university.

Kanamemo- ... -_-; Four out of six of the main characters are college-aged women, with Yume attending a patisserie academy to become a chef, Hinata studying to pass her college exams, Yuuki not doing anything besides working for the newspaper, as far as I saw, and Haruka studying bio-fermentation...to make beer on demand, I guess. I've already explained why, despite having a cute yuri couple, this series leaves a horrible taste in my mouth.

I need more to work with here… come on, animation companies! (Idea: Forget Hanadera. We need a Marimite spin-off about Sei attending Lillian university, where she is eventually joined by Sachiko who pines for her beloved Yumi, until Yumi graduates and enrolls in Lillian university and becomes entangled in a love square with Sachiko, Sei, and a jealous Kei!! XD Certainly Probably won't happen, but that's why we have fanfic- or our imaginations. ^^)

Manga:

Published in English:

Rica'tte Kanji!? by Rica Takashima- A cute slice-of-life comedy about Rica, a young woman studying education at a women's college in Tokyo, and Miho, her girlfriend who's studying the fine arts.

Maka-Maka by Kishi Torajiro- A manga about two friends, Jun and Nene, who both attend college and have boyfriends, but still have sex with each other. I tried this one after hearing all the hype about it, but didn't care for it much, quite honestly…

Works by Eriko Tadeno- I got this one after liking what I saw of Tadeno's work on Yurizuki and in Yuri Monogatari. Works is a collection of Ladies Comics stories that all focus on adults, with one story ("I Like You The Way You Are") focusing on two women in college who were once had a sempai-kouhai relationship in high school. I normally don't go for manga this explicit- call me a prude-, but I like these stories since they don't focus on the adult material (one story is completely clean) and include middle-aged (!) yuri characters, which are about as common as snow in the Caribbean.

Manga not published in English (btw, if you enjoy any of these titles via scanlation, you should really support the artist who made them by buying them so that they can continue to create good yuri):

Love My Life by Yamaji Ebine- A slice-of-life drama about Ichiko, a college student who comes out to her dad, which causes him to tell her that he's gay, as well as her (now deceased) mother. Ichiko has a girlfriend named Eri, another student who's studying to become a lawyer.

Free Soul by Yamaji Ebine- Another slice-of-life drama about an aspiring mangaka named Keito who draws yuri manga while working at a record store. She falls in love with and tries to win the heart of a jazz musician named Niki.

Kawaii Anata by Hiyori Otsu- A collection of one-shots, my favorite being “Maple Love”, which is about how two college students become a couple. (A shout out of thanks to Nakayo for suggesting this one! ^^)

Octave by Haru Akiyama- An ongoing multi-volume series about an assistant manager working at a talent agency and a song composer (both former idols) who fall in love.

Claudine by Riyoko Ikeda- A little known 1 volume manga by Ikeda, about a transgendered man (a man in a woman’s body- although some people might debate whether Claudine is FtM or not) who falls in love with several women who return his affections (for a while, at least). Well-done, but it has a sad ending. (Read Honey & Honey for a better/non-depressing story that includes FtM characters. ^^)

"Hands Off My Girl" by Minami Q-ta- A one-shot about how jealousy brings two college students together. I must admit that I’m not a fan of Minami Q-ta’s work, even though it’s...well… different, and worth checking out.

Moonlight Flowers by Mutsumi Tsukumo: The second part of the book, “Midnight Flowers”, follows Kaoru realizing her sexual identity in college, while also learning about a relationship between her boyfriend’s stepmother and her “special friend” (Oh, snap.) who runs an art gallery.

That’s all that I can think of for now. Feel free to suggest any I’ve missed! :)

Added on 08/14/2009 (Many thanks to Erin for suggesting these titles! ^^):

"For You, My Beloved" by Nagi Yoshizaki and Aya Sasaki: A sweet one-shot about two women attending a nursing school in the country.

Honey & Honey by Sachiko Takeuchi: A slice-of-life manga about Sachiko, a college student, and her girlfriend Masako (not sure whether she's a college student ^^;), that strives to provide a humorously realistic look at lgbtq life in Japan.

"Instinct and a Chromosome" by Haruko Okai and Maiko Akiyama: A one-shot about a woman attending business school and the woman who she falls in love with there, along with the obstacles they face before they can have a happy (?) ending. I didn't care for this one either, quite honestly, although it's worth checking out for fans of josei yuri.

"Soft-Boiled Fujoshi" by Akiko Morishima: A one-shot published in Yuri Hime magazine about Chie, the older sister of one of the protagonists of Morishima's Hanjuku Joshi- who happens to be a raving otaku. XD This one-shot follows her quest to experience yuri "moe", but in the process she winds up finding love with another girl otaku. :)

Ruriiro no Yume by Akiko Morshima: This Yuri Hime collection (coming out on July 18!), which will include numerous adult yuri characters (score! ^^), will contain a one-shot titled "Princess of the Stars" (published in issue 11 of Yuri Hime) that contains college-aged characters; I haven't read this story yet since I don't own issue 11 of Yuri Hime, but I'm sure that it's excellent.

Love Vibes by Erica Sakurazawa: The protagonist, Mako, is a college student (admittedly, one who doesn't seem to take her studies very seriously) who finds love with Mika, another young woman around her age. This story is very well-done, although I can't say that I really like any of the characters much. <-- Edit on 11/01/2010: Wtf. No. Read this.

"P=NP?" by Amaguri Taroh: A one-shot published in issue 1 of Phryne (a lesbian magazine), about a college student who isn't sure about whether her girlfriend really likes her, or just wants her to do her homework.

"A Cruel God" by Youko Takano and Toko Shouya: Another one-shot from issue 1 of Phryne, about a 20 year-old OL who falls for a woman at the gym she belongs to (although not for any reason I can really understand...but hey, whatever floats her boat) and later sees her at a lesbian bar.

"Sweet Exercise" by Amano Shuninta: A one-shot in issue 3 of Yuri Hime Wildrose; it hasn't been scanlated yet, but it should be out soon.

"Traces of Snow" by Mako Takahashi: A one-shot in issue 1 of Sayuri-hime (a special mini-edition of Yuri Hime magazine) about a woman who receives a visit from a friend she was once (and probably still is) in love with.

Added on 08/20/2009:

Double House by Nanae Haruno: An excellent story about a transgender woman named Maho who saves and befriends a woman named Fujiko who falls in love with her. Fujiko is taking a break from college to raise money so that she can attend school again.

Pieta by NanaeHaruno: Also excellent, about two classmates, Sahoko and Rio, who become friends despite Rio having numerous issues and Sahoko seeming to have everything together. Saying too much would constitute a spoiler, but this title belongs on this list.

Yuri Manga: 12 Days (English)

June Kim's 12 Days is so *different* from most yuri manga that, despite the morbid subject matter (or perhaps because of it?), it’s a refreshing title to read that feels, in many ways, more like a novel translated into comic form than a “typical manga” created to squeeze dollars out of manga fans. Even though I’ve read several good reviews of it, I was (and I’m sure other people still are) reluctant to read it for a while because the story sounds…rather depressing. But I’m glad I read it.

12 Days is about Jackie, a young woman living in New York City whose girlfriend Noah recently died in a car accident. Noah died on the way home from her honeymoon after marrying a man in order to satisfy her conservative father. In the present, Jackie is trying to cope with her grief by drinking a portion of Noah’s ashes (which Noah’s half-brother Nick secretly brings to her) in a smoothie each day for twelve days. At the end of those twelve days, she hopes to be rid of her grief.

12 Days is very good. Anybody who wants to read a yuri manga available in English that depicts a fairly realistic adult same-sex relationship sans gender-switching sci-fi weirdness, wacky sword duels (as much as I enjoy sword duels in my yuri…you all know which series I’m talking about ^_^), all-girls’ schools, or miko rape should give this series a look.

Rather than a story set up with a clear beginning, middle, and end for the reader, 12 Days feels like a brief glimpse into the lives of a group of people whose stories continue beyond the limit of the pages, especially as the events of the present frequently melt into memories of the past, for better or worse, for the different characters. However, as impossible as it is not to sympathize with Jackie and Noah, after I finished reading this, I wasn't left with much of a lasting impression of the characters. They’re nearly all likeable and they do serve as vehicles for a very viscerally affecting story, but they mostly remain just that- vehicles.

The art is extremely good. Drawn by June Kim, a Korean-born OEL manga artist who lives in New York, the art is largely colored in stark blacks and whites, with little gray, and done in a realistic-ish style that looks josei-influenced. Backgrounds are excellent and detailed in their depiction of the characters’ surroundings (especially in New York), and I appreciated Kim’s frequent yet unobtrusive punctuations of (often black) humor throughout the story. The quality of the volume itself is excellent, with the elaborate cover illustration outlined with silver etchings, and an interesting author's bibliography in the back of the book that illustrate the influences that went into making 12 Days.

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

With this, I’ve covered nearly all of Tokypop’s yuri releases, with 12 Days currently being unquestionably the best one. As much as I love Hayate x Blade and am thrilled that it seems to be doing well- at least well enough for Seven Seas to continue printing new volumes- , I would love to see a U.S. publisher take a chance with a new series like Sasameki Koto, which I could see appealing to more casual manga fans who don't normally follow yuri than titles like First Love Sisters, The Last Uniform, or Strawberry Panic. I’m still holding out hope that Hayate x Blade will pave the way for yuri fan favorite Strawberry Shake Sweet to be released here. (It’s only 2 volumes long!!! ;_; Come on, manga companies!!) But I digress.

For anybody who's still on the fence regarding this title, Tokypop's website actually has the first three chapters up online.

Yuri Manga: Yuri Monogatari 6 (English)

I wasn't able to get a larger cover picture than this... -_-;;

For my final Josei Week review (although certainly not the last josei review I will post here), I'm reviewing a brand spanking new English translated (well, partly translated and partly OEL) yuri manga, Yuri Monogatari 6.

Yuri Monogatari is a yuri anthology published annually containing manga one-shots by Japanese artists and OEL "world" artists. This is the first one I've read, so I can't compare it to previous volumes. Anthologies are always somewhat difficult to review because they're a mixed bag by nature, although my opinion on the various stories contained here varies dramatically. I'll briefly go over each story.

"Grass" and "Make a style" by Nishi UKO: This is a good way to begin the volume. "Grass" and "Make a style" are both slice-of life vignettes giving a peek into the lives of two female high school teachers who are in a committed relationship together. The art is clean and realistic (by manga standards), and the laid-back tone reminded me a little of Akiko Morishima's The Conditions for Paradise. Setting aside the fact that I really like seeing yuri teacher romances that don't involve students (which are all too rare, unfortunately... hell, I'm still in college and I wouldn't consider dating a high schooler, so I have a hard time empathizing with a teacher finding one appealing), my main caveat is that I wish that "Grass" and "Make a style" were longer, so that they could expand on the characters' personalities more.

"40 Minutes" by Maria Bieganska: This story stands out in this anthology for its delicately low-key fantasy plot. "40 Minutes" is about a woman searching for her lost love in what appears to be the afterlife, but the ending throws in a plot complication that I didn't expect. While the art is occasionally a little inconsistent, Bieganska does a good job of conveying the melancholy aesthetic that carries the story. When much of YM6 consists of uber-tough women doing uber-tough things, and/or happily-ever-after romance, this understated love story that evokes a feeling of mono no aware (an awareness of the transience of something, and a bittersweet sadness at its passing) provides a refreshing balance.

"Sakura Gun (London)" by J.D. Glass: Unfortunately, this was probably my least favorite of the stories in YM6. As someone who hasn't read American Goth, which this story is supposed to be tied to, I wasn't able to follow what was what. The storytelling wasn't terribly complex, but it was told in such a way that it seemed like the reader is expected to know who's who and why one should care about them. (At least the Matsukaze reference was a nice touch.) Plus, the art was terrible. Proportions were wonky, and as a whole, the character drawings looked like something that anybody could have drawn using a Microsoft art program.

"Cause x Play" by Hope Donovan: A decent but unremarkable story of cosplay and gender identity at a yuri convention. The premise sounds promising, but it gets muddled by a convoluted beginning and an overly preachy, saccharine ending.

"Miho-chan's Memories" by Rica Takashima: As usual from Takashima, this was a cute, funny, surprisingly self-contained one chapter spin-off from Rica'tte Kanji?! visiting Miho's childhood and an early (maybe her first?) crush. While I was a little concerned that the story might be overly-correlating Miho's tomboy personality with the fact that she is gay, this story is sweet and good-natured enough that it's easy to overlook. I'm looking forward to the next installment in Takashima's manga.

"Jaded" by Cheryl Ingro (Story) and Sirkrozz (Art): The idea for the story is pretty snazzy (two women involved in crime gang wars), but the execution doesn't really live up to it. The resolution towards the ending in particular came across as anti-climactic, and the art ranged from quite good to way overly sketchy. Movements, especially, could have been drawn better at key times. It isn't bad and the ending is cute, but it isn't very good, either.

"For the Girl Who Has Everything" by Althea Keaton: This story definitely wasn't what I expected based on the title. Even though it is well executed, I couldn't really get into it. The premise just doesn't do much for me (woman who frequents a sex shop gets together with a woman who works at the sex shop). The very end was cute, and I'm sure that plenty of people will get more out of it than I did, but... I didn't personally like it much. That happens.

"Sinful" by Houjou Koz: This was a charming music-centric story about a singer and her girlfriend, and the high school-aged groupie who crushes on the singer from a distance. It was short, sweet, and simple, with a cute ending. ^^ There isn't much more to say. The art is clean and simple, but not overly so.

(Un)Invited Guests by Jessie B: This is the most unequivocally non-manga emulating OEL story in the anthology. Assuming that one doesn't mind that, the art is pretty good, with few inconsistencies and a completely unsentimental, bold-lined style (no softly blushing cheeks or flower imagery here) that does a good job at conveying this non sequitur comedy about the birthday party from hell. (Hint: It's chock full of exes.) It isn't brilliant, but it's entertaining.

Simple by Sophia Kudo: Good characters, so-so story. The protagonist's Sei Satou-like best friend, especially, would have been an interesting character to create a story around, but the main plot (girl with low self-esteem discovers untapped superpower) was pretty "meh" to me. The art was fine, but it mostly didn't rise above mediocre.

Speak Love by Greyscaled: A mature, bittersweet story about a couple's therapist who discovers that her lover has been using her as the "other woman" when said lover and her original girlfriend come to her for help to save their relationship. Not quite. -_-;; The story is actually told from the point of view of the cheating a----le, who did not get the ending that I felt that she deserved. Setting that caveat aside, this was pretty good, especially considering that it evoked some strong sympathy from me for the two women who were two-timed. (The therapist got the better deal in the end, imo.)

"3oth Christmas" by Eriko Tadeno: Honestly, this is probably my favorite story in YM6. This O. Henry-like story follows an elderly couple celebrating their 30th anniversary on Christmas Eve, with one of them planning to buy her wife a ring (being in Japan, they can't legally marry, but I think that "partner" sounds a little weird... I associate the word with people who I work on school projects with... ^^;; the characters are basically married) to celebrate, using money that she's saved over the past ten years. Outside the jewelry shop where she wants to buy the ring, she gets robbed of her money and tries to get it back in time to buy the ring for the anniversary. The art is fairly typical josei style without being generic, and some of the facial expressions are adorable. ^^ This is just a super-cute story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, while still maintaining a sense of continuity in the character's lives.

Story: Variable from D to A.
Art: Variable from D- to B+
Overall: Variable from D- to A...I guess that for an all around grade, I'll go with B

Like a box of randomly assorted chocolates, there are a few stories that I really like, a few stories that are okay, and a few stories that I don't care for in YM6, as with virtually any manga anthology. Keeping that in mind, it's a solid pick for yuri fans, especially those who want something different from the norm.

Yuri Manga: Moonlight Flowers

After watching the greatness of the latest shiny new Haruhi Suzumiya episode, I'm going to take a little blast to the past by discussing this gem: Moonlight Flowers by Mutsumi Tsukumo.

Serialized in the josei manga magazine Office You from 1989 to 1991, Moonlight Flowers is a very quintessentially old school, but very good take on a concept that has been done to death in lesbian-themed media - a married woman leaves her husband for a single, openly self-identified lesbian who she falls in love with, and the two face the hurdles of establishing their relationship.

The story begins with Sahoko, a 25 year-old woman who is about marry a man named Kanou who she met through a miai (a meeting for a prospective arranged marriage). At her high school reunion, she meets her classmate and former best friend Kaoru, who she once acted in a school play with, Romeo and Juliet. (Kaoru was the Romeo to Sahoko's Juliet. ^^) After a besotted Kaoru kissed Sahoko in high school, however, Sahoko ran away and they became estranged. Sahoko learns that Kaoru is now successfully running a flower shop where she makes floral arrangements for hotels, restaurants, weddings (hah ^^), etc. Sahoko asks Kaoru to do the floral arrangements at the wedding, and Kaoru, who is still in love with Sahoko, reluctantly makes Sahoko a beautiful bouquet. (... ;__;) Sahoko nearly breaks down right before the ceremony because she doesn't want to go through with it but she does, after being comforted by Kaoru. (Damn it!! > <) As the months after the wedding go by, Sahoko simply can't enjoy sex with her husband. As she begins to spend more time with Kaoru, her husband takes a mistress, which Sahoko discovers before leaving her husband and staying at Kaoru's place. Sahoko and Kaoru officially become a couple, but when Sahoko returns to her husband's place to get her things, her husband stops her, rapes her (which isn't shown graphically, thank god), and keeps her confined in the house. Kaoru tries to help Sahoko from outside the apartment, but Kanou only relents after Sahoko talks him out of it. Sahoko and Kaoru can finally get together, and end up as a happy couple. But that's only the first half of the story. There's a second part, titled "Midnight Flowers" (the first part was titled "Moonlight Flowers"), that shows a young Kaoru in college coming to terms with her sexuality as she discovers that her boyfriend's young stepmother Kayoko is having an affair with an art gallery owner named Kyouko. And they look an awful lot like Sahoko and Kaoru. The affair ends in tragedy, but Kaoru learns from it and moves on believing that someday she can win over her high school love, Sahoko. And then there is a bonus chapter featuring an unrelated stand-alone story. There are a lot of very good things about this book: the dreamy, romantic atmosphere conveyed through Mutsumi Tsukumo's soft-lined artwork; the refreshingly mature feel of the story and characters; and the honest, yet eloquent and (sometimes embarrassingly) romantic way in which the characters articulate their feelings. There were many poignant moments that stuck in my mind after read this: Sahoko reflecting on how she needs to change as she becomes an adult ("Time that belonged only to me... It's time to bid farewell to all of those things."), Kaoru's struggle over making Sahoko's bouquet, and Kayoko and Kyouko's meeting on the beach at night, among others. This is simply a heart-tugging romantic melodrama done right. Mostly. There are a couple of significant negatives, however. While Mutsumi Tsukumo managed to pull off an overused plot while making it feel organic and fairly fresh, she slipped into cliche territory by occasionally turning Kaoru into a soapbox for why all men are oppressive slave masters, and they suck, and so on. The story is very well written, but affirming the women's relationships with each other by turning the men into the big bad scary "other" doesn't sit well with me (granted, I have the luxury of living in a more open-minded time and place). Given the context in which this manga was created, Kaoru's world view is somewhat understandable, while not being a viewpoint that I would endorse- although I still prefer the far more empathetic depictions of men found in yuri manga today like Girl Friends, Sasameki Koto, Aoi Hana, etc. Plus, given how Moonlight Flowers seems to be striving to be fairly realistic (by manga romance standards), it was a little disappointing how at the very end of "Midnight Flowers", Kaoru arrives at the conclusion that if she devotes her life to her ostensibly one-sided love for Sahoko, it will be requited. (And poof! Sahoko does return her love.) Kaoru's "Wish hard enough, and your love will be returned" platitude feels out of character, and makes the story, in retrospect, feel a little too much like a (very well done) exercise in vicarious wish fulfillment for the author and readers.

If it weren't for those two flaws, this manga would probably earn an A. Nevertheless, this is a very good, mature manga that every yuri fan who truly wants to consider themselves connoisseurs of the genre (Can yuri itself really be considered a genre?) should read, and a must-read for shoujo/josei yuri fans.

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