Manga Review: Asagao to Kase-san volume 1

Takashima Hiromi's Asagao to Kase-san (Morning Glories and Kase-san) hails from Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari, a relative fledgling in the admittedly not very big world of yuri magazines. (You've basically got Yuri Hime and Hirari. Tsubomi recently stopped being printed, but its publisher has continued its unfinished series online.) Asagao to Kase-san doesn't travel any ground that hasn't been tread many a time, but it's a sweet, sincere falling-in-love-in-high-school series that I look forward to seeing develop beyond the point it reaches in this volume.

Yamada is the plant appointee at her school. She loves gardening, so this duty suits her to a tee. Every morning, she comes to school to water the plants. One morning she sees popular, attractive Kase, the star member of her school's track and field team, taking care of the morning glories she planted. After their conversation that morning, Yamada can't get Kase out of her head. It's made apparent to us that Kase likes Yamada back. They start hanging out, neither quite realizing that their interest is mutual.

When Yamada's best friend notices that she's spending an awful lot of time with Kase, she tells her that rumor has it Kase is gay and her ex is on the track and field team also. (But oh, don't worry, Kase's standards are probably too high for your level, Yamada, she half-jokingly adds.) Yamada gets jealous of Kase's rumored ex and can't bring herself to mention it to Kase. I would like to see the gossip about Kase being gay addressed further in this series.

Kase, tipped off by Yamada's worried best friend, saves Yamada from a karaoke outing with some of the other girls in her class, who don't make any bones about how much of a loser they think she is and make fun of her singing. As someone who sucks at singing but enjoys doing it anyway, I sympathize with Yamada. lol This chapter's resolution is really cute.

Later, Kase helps Yamada buy sneakers and train for the race at their school's athletic festival so she won't lag behind too badly. (My favorite moment in this volume, btw, is the semi-hand holding scene after they go shopping.)

Yamada gets injured in the race. Kase panics when she sees her all bloodied and bandaged up in the infirmary window and forgets the race to run to Yamada. As a result, they finally become a couple. ^_^

So yup, this is a cute series so far. :-) Yamada and Kase are both pleasant, likeable people, and their tentative, none-too-complicated steps towards coupledom make for some enjoyable reading. Although this series is a good example of solid character writing making well-trodden territory still entertaining, I count the expressiveness of Takashima Hiromi's character renderings (which come close to being precious, but manage not to cross that line, imho) as this series' biggest asset so far- particularly how she draws Yamada's reactions.

This volume isn't going for anything ambitious- a feel-good look at two people who like each other- but it does what it is trying to do well. I look forward to seeing where this series goes in its next volume's worth of content, which will focus on the much less-covered territory of two girls who are already going out moving forward.

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

Some takeaways from the news about ALC Publishing

You surely are familiar with this news. (Sorry for the slowness in posting this. Was under the weather earlier this week, and the original draft of this thing was kind of messy and all over the place, so I decided to wait and come back to it.)

In the comments of my previous post, on JManga, I commented on how, even though I like and appreciate JManga, I would have liked it more if their titles had been available as download to own- even knowing that licensing manga is a complicated process that I know little about, having never worked in it, and there's only so much a licensor has control over when negotiating with the (not necessarily forward-thinking or reasonable) company that holds the rights it wants. I know, even typing this, that I'm just an armchair quarterback commenting on the pros.

ALC did with the excellent yuri manga Rica'tte Kanji!? what I (and many others) consider the ideal means of selling manga digitally- making it available as a downloadable, DRM-free ebook. The digital Rica omnibus (with more story material than the original print version) was priced lower than the original print version at $4.99 and $5.99, the $5.99 version coming with more nifty extras than the $4.99 version. With enough digital copies of the Rica omnibus sold, ALC could put out a print version of it, which is what a lot of people held off buying the digital version for. It's a catch-22 that didn't translate into good sales. (Btw, the Rica omnibus is still purchasable electronically, and one can still read it online for free.)

I'm focusing on the low sales for the digital release of Rica in my reaction to the news about ALC here because I- apparently naïvely- expected its sales to be better than they were, and saw it as a model for how manga (and books, period!) should be sold digitally. That is, as close as possible to what it is like to buy a print book, with your purchase not dependent on whether whoever you bought it from remains in business.

Anywho, thanks to ALC, I got to read some great yuri by mangaka who would not be sought out by other manga publishers, being josei and independent. I also saw Poor Poor Lips and a bunch of Yuri Hime titles licensed thanks to ALC's partnership with JManga. Yeah, it didn't work out, but better to try and not succeed than not try at all- something that a lot of people fail to grasp.

In short, I am thankful for what ALC has done during its years in business, appreciate the effort Yuricon has put into events in the past (a lot of people talk about wanting a yuri panel or event where they live, but few take action to make it happen; if you really want one and there isn't one in your area, stop talking and walk the walk, unless you live in an area where holding an event focusing on fictional lesbian relationships wouldn't fly), and look forward to continuing to read Okazu.

News: JManga Shutting Down

Wow, didn't expect to see this announcement today. I'm definitely sorry to see JManga go, especially since they have been friendly and open to responding to customer feedback (like pushing to make their titles available worldwide), and their partnership with ALC Publishing has given us a number of yuri manga licenses- including a bunch of titles I like.

It does suck to see them go, but they don't deserve our getting angry at them, and they aren't "betraying" us. If a restaurant that serves food you like goes out of business, are you going to walk up to the owner and rant at them for closing down? I hope not, because that would be assholish. Same deal here. I'm not happy about seeing JManga go either, but am not going to act like a baby about it. That rant concluded (btw, feel free to disagree with me, but arguing with me about this won't change my mind, and likely won't change yours if you still feel that way this point), I am, again, sorry to see JManga go. I appreciate how much they promoted their yuri titles and got some good entertainment out of their releases.

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+

Manga Review: Aoi Hana volume 7

Ow, my heart. Ow ow ow, this volume.

A new school year begins, as Fumi, Akira, Kyouko, Mogii, Pon-chan and Yassan enter their senior year and Haruka and Ryouko become second-years.

Orie and Hinako get married, as Orie's little sister Haruka notes. ^_^ Orie comes out to her family, but her parents aren't exactly thrilled. Haruka is still ambivalent about her sister being gay, but towards the end of this volume, we get a lovely, subtle bit of development showing that, when it comes down to it, her big sister is the same big sister she has always loved and she knows it.

Kyouko and Kou fulfill the pattern for childhood friends in this series and become a couple, but not without obstacle- the baggage resulting from Kyouko's family situation. We get the full story on Kyouko's family here, after having only seen hints of it in previous volumes. Shimura handles the issues unique to Kyouko's back story as realistically and sensitively as she has handled everything else in this series- most poignantly, when Kyouko discusses her situation with her mother with Ryouko and admits she'd never spoken to anyone about her family before. 

I've said so elsewhere that I don't envy Shimura writing her characters from the point they've brought her to in this volume. Fumi and Akira both love each other deeply, but while the nature of Fumi's feelings is as clear as day for her, Akira isn't so sure about her own. Akira is being incredibly (arguably overly) accommodating in trying to make things work, while Fumi worries about how much Akira actually wants what she says she does. 

The best thing for Akira to do, imo, is be completely honest about how she feels and let things go from there- but I understand her hesitation up to this point. Responding to someone whose feelings you don't return can be hard, and the person in love with her- who she wants to make things as painless for as possible- is her best friend, so I very much sympathize with her actions, even though they aren't what's best for her or for Fumi.

Most people have their hearts broken. Most people experience unrequited love and failed relationships. Such experiences may make one feel like one's heart is slowly being fed through a meat grinder, but most people learn to pick themselves up and recover. (I know, easier said than done. See: Kyouko's mother.)

I like that this volume affirms that Fumi can and will recover if things don't work out with Akira, however much it may hurt. Fumi isn't who she was when she first met Akira, right after Chizu dumped her, or who she was after Sugimoto broke up with her.

The way Akira is being written so far, either outcome could be written believably. I would like to see things work out between them, because Fumi loves Akira so much and it would certainly take her longer to recover from her than from Sugimoto and Chizu. Not just because she loves Akira more than she loved Sugimoto or Chizu, but because Akira was her best friend before becoming her girlfriend. Hell, Akira was her pillar of support when she recovered from her experiences with Chizu and Sugimoto.

If I had to bet, I would wager that they will ultimately wind up together, although there may be a break-up and/or other rocky patches along the way. The "a girl-meets-girl love story that will set your heart aflutter" tagline that comes with each new chapter of this series certainly helps. But most of all, Fumi and Akira's relationship has been developed for so long that I would be surprised if Shimura had another girl in the cards for Fumi. 

If I'm wrong (I very well could be; there are astute people who disagree with me), Fumi winding up with another girl could work, if it's developed well enough. But right now, I'm rooting for Fumi to end up with Akira.

In short- I trust Shimura to continue to handle both Fumi and Akira's development with sensitivity and realism, and trust her to give Fumi an (organically) happy ending, whether it's Akira who winds up loving Fumi back as much as she deserves or not.

Story: A

Art: A-

Overall: A

This volume's bonus short, "Kawakubo-san's Loves", gives us insight into one of the Fujigaya students who has graduated- and her feelings for different girls and women, ever since her first crush on her pretty kindergarten teacher. It reinforces this volume's theme of learning to recover after heartbreak- multiple times, if need be- in order to find love.

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.