#IReadsYou Review: HOW DO WE RELATIONSHIP Volume 1

HOW DO WE RELATIONSHIP?, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Tamifull
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Abby Lehrke
LETTERS: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Pacha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1174-1; paperback (June 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
216pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £7.99 UK

How Do We Relationship? is a “yuri” manga from creator Tamifull.  Yuri manga feature love stories in which the romantic lead characters are both female and are both lesbian.  Yuri manga, sometimes referred to as “Girls' love” manga, can also feature explicit depictions of lesbian sex.

How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 9) introduces Miwa Inuzuka, a shy young woman who is an incoming college freshman.  She accepts that she is a lesbian, but other than having had a “huge crush” on a girl in high school, she has never dated.  During “Matriculation Day,” Miwa bumps into Saeko Sawatari, an outgoing and brash young woman who immediately attaches herself to Miwa.

The two students eventually stumble into “going out” as a couple, but each has a different way of presenting themselves and different ideas about presenting each other in public.  Miwa wants to be secretive about their relationship, while Saeko always seems on the verge of blurting it out.  Will their clash of personalities be an impediment to true love?

[This volume includes bonus manga; an “Author Note” in manga form; and a “Commentary Track” comic.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The How Do We Relationship? manga is not my first experience with yuri manga.  I am currently reading A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow (also from VIZ Media) and a few months ago, I read Éclair Blanche: A Girls' Love Anthology that Resonates in Your Heart (Yen Press), a recent installment in the Éclair yuri anthology series.

How Do We Relationship? Graphic Novel Volume 1 reminds me of another yuri series, the music and nightlife-themed After Hours (also from VIZ Media) in that After Hours focused on the complications of what happens after the two young women become a couple.  In her author's note, creator Tamifull says that she is interested in reading about romance that depicts what happens after the romantic leads decide to become a couple.

In truth, shojo manga, especially those set in high school, often end when the high school girl and boy decide to officially become a couple after overcoming the obstacles that kept them from being a couple.  How Do We Relationship? deals with the compromise, misunderstandings, spats, and self-interested calculations that are part of real-world relationships.  Tamifull takes a deep dive into all that is fair in love and war, but it does not make How Do We Relationship? any less romantic.

The translation and English adaptation by Abby Lehrke captures the yearning and longing of Miwa and Saeko to love each other and to be loved.  Tamifull deftly depicts passion without depicting sex in Vol. 1, which is exemplified in the moment in which Saeko tells Miwa that she thinks Miwa is passionate.  Miwa is shocked because she equates passion with the act of sex.  However, Miwa's passion in the way she seeks things out and in which she explores new things, even as she struggles with how far she should go with Saeko... and how fast.

I am genuinely curious to see where Tamiful is taking this story.  This first volume of How Do We Relationship? ends with a kind of romantic cliffhanger, but I see more complications ahead.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of yuri manga will want to read How Do We Relationship?

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: ECLAIR BLANCHE

ÉCLAIR BLANCHE
YEN PRESS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Various
ART: Various
TRANSLATION: Eleanor Summers
LETTERS: Alexis Eckerman
MISC. ART: U35; Yutaka Hiiragi; Non
COVER: Fly
ISBN: 978-1-9753-5909-6; paperback (May 2020); Rated “M” for “Mature”
276pp, B&W, $13.00 U.S., $17.00 CAN

Éclair (stylized as “éclair”) is a series of girls' love or “yuri” (lesbian) manga produced by Japanese publisher, ASCII Media Works (a brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing).  Yen Press published an English-language edition of the first Éclair collection in June 2018.  The publisher will also release three more Éclair collections in 2020, including the recently published Éclair Blanche (stylized as éclair blanche).

Éclair Blanche: A Girls' Love Anthology that Resonates in Your Heart contains 15 girls' love short stories and vignettes.  The girls' love anthology, Éclair, returns with new stories from popular girl's love authors.  This new volume features works from favorite girls' love mangaka such as Canno (“The Unemployed Woman and the High School Girl”), Mushu (“Happy Yellow Chick”), and Fly (“Flowers in a Storm”), who also provides the cover art.  This new addition to the Éclair lineup will sweep lovers of girls' love off their feet!

[This volumes contains an authors' “Postscript.”]

The Éclair Blanche manga is one of the few girls' love manga that I have read.  I am pretty sure that Éclair Blanche is the first girls' love anthology that I have read, because I certainly didn't read the original collection, Éclair.  [On the other hand, I have read quite a few boys' love anthologies over the last two decades.]

The Éclair Blanche: A Girls' Love Anthology that Resonates in Your Heart Graphic Novel has some powerful stories and some poor stories.  Many of the stories here are more like vignettes than they are like a full-fledged manga short stories.  Fly's “Flowers in a Storm” is a strong open with its tale of Eri, a high school student who is about to lose the young woman she loves to a faraway college.  The volume ends with a misfire, Auri Hirao's magical girl offering, “Secret Sharing.”

“Something Only I Know” by Kagegichi Tadano offers the volume's only love triangle, and the story proves to be a bit edgy.  “The Unemployed Woman and the High School Girl” by Canno is the tale of 28-year-old Mao, who wants to be a kept woman, and Hazumi, the 16-year-old rich girl who wants to use her money to take care of Mao.  Some readers will no doubt be put off not so much by the age difference between these characters, but by the fact that Hazumi cannot legally consent to have a sexual relationship with the adult Mao, at least in many states in the U.S.  I think that Canno gets around the legalities by having the characters tell each other that they are willing to wait one another out.

I won't call Éclair Blanche a great collection, but it contains enough quality girls' love comics to make it worthy of a girls' love fan's attention.  There is also some strong illustrators in this volume, with diverse styles and approaches to graphic storytelling.  That is another reason to get  Éclair Blanche.

7 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.


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Review: AFTER HOURS Volume 3

AFTER HOURS, VOL. 3
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Yuhta Nishio
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Abby Lehrke
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0071-4; paperback (December 2018); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
288pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

After Hours is a yuri manga from creator Yuhta Nishio.  “Yuri,” also known “girls' love,” is a genre that depicts romantic situations between female characters.  After Hours is the story of Emi Ashina, a 24-year-old, unemployed young woman who does not know what to do with her life.  At a club, Emi meets another young woman, Keiko “Kei” Yoinoma, a DJ and who becomes first, Emi's friend, and later... much more.

As After Hours, Vol. 3 (Chapters 11 to 16 to Final Chapter), Emi, Kei, and Kei's crew put the finishing touches to their long-planned rave.  Kei will DJ, and Emi will VJ, but an act of petty crime may put a crimp in their plans.  Later,  Kei disappears and Emi begins a frantic search for her.  Will Emi's new-found confidence, determination, and focus falter now that her mentor and lover is gone?

[This volume includes bonus manga, “Chapter 1 (reprised).”]

The After Hours manga is my first experience with girls' love manga.  This is a sweet, almost PG-rated-like romantic drama that is a gentle introduction to the girls' love genre.

After Hours Graphic Novel Volume 3 is the final volume of the series.  This volume is 128 pages longer than either of the two earlier volumes.  This allows Yuhta Noshio to depict the rave – both on stage and behind the scenes – in detail.  Those extra pages are also really good for detailing the story behind Kei's disappearance.

I like that After Hours Vol. 3 does not play it safe or predictable, especially after two relatively tame volumes that really were not intense.  This final volume makes an argument that there should be more After Hours.  In the meantime, the three volumes of After Hours that we have offer a nice story of young love... after hours in Tokyo.  Plus, the bonus manga offers a nice reprise of this romance's love-at-first-sight.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: AFTER HOURS Volume 2

AFTER HOURS, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Yuhta Nishio
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Abby Lehrke
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0025-7; paperback (June 2018); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
160pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

After Hours is a yuri manga from creator Yuhta Nishio.  “Yuri,” also known “girls' love,” is a genre that depicts romantic situations between female characters.  After Hours is the story of Emi Ashina, a 24-year-old, unemployed young woman who does not know what to do with her life.  At a club, Emi meets another young woman, Kei, who is a DJ and who becomes a dear friend.

In After Hours, Vol. 2 (Chapters 6 to 10), Emi and Kei tell Kei's DJ crew about their plans for a big musical event.  Emi is still a little unsure of her feelings for Kei, and Emi still has an apartment and a live-in boyfriend.  When Kei learns Emi's status, she turns distant with Emi, whose secrets and anxiety are starting to catch up with her.  Will that ruin her new relationship?

I think that I had heard about girls' love manga before reading the After Hours manga.  Now, I am reading it and Sweet Blue Flowers, a yuri title also published by VIZ Media

After Hours Graphic Novel Volume 2 deals with the awkward stage in a relationship, when secrets can quickly end everything.  Emi is trying to find herself as both a VJ and as part of Kei's professional world.  This volume is a pivotal entry in the series as far as romantic developments go.  People who read Vol. 1 will want to show up for Vol. 2.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SWEET BLUE FLOWERS Volume 2

SWEET BLUE FLOWERS, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

Leroy's Amazon Comics and Graphic Novels Page

MANGAKA: Takako Shimura
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: John Werry
LETTERS: Monalisa De Asis
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9299-2; paperback (December 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
360pp, B&W, $24.99 U.S., $33.99 CAN, £16.99 UK

Sweet Blue Flowers is a yuri manga from creator Takako Shimura.  “Yuri” is “girls' love” manga, a genre which depicts romantic situations between female characters.  Sweet Blue Flowers is a coming-of-age manga that depicts love and friendship between two girls, Akira Okudaira and Fumi Manjome, attending separate high schools.

As Sweet Blue Flowers, Vol. 2 (Part 3: Chapters 14 to 18; Part 4: Chapters 19 to 25) begins, Kyoko Ikumi invites a group of her friends to join them at the summer home of her fiance, Ko Sawanoi's family.  There is camping, ghost stories, and horseback riding, and there is time for Fumi to confirm her romantic feelings for Akira.

Later, Akira and her drama club prepare to perform a play at her high school, Fujigaya Women's Academy High School.  Now, a freshman girl, Haruka Ono, wants Fumi to play a part... because she is probably in love with Fumi.

[This volume includes an afterword and the following “Little Women” bonus stories:  “Kuri and Komako, Part 1,” “Orie and Hinako,” and Kuri and Komako, Part 2,” and Shinako and Kaoruki.”]

I have not read many yuri manga titles.  The Sweet Blue Flowers manga is the second yuri manga that I've read, following creator Yuhta Nishio's After Hours (also published in English by VIZ Media).

Sweet Blue Flowers Graphic Novel Volume 2 is, like the previous volume, filled with so many young female characters.  It can be hard to keep up with them, but creator Takako Shimura makes each one so vivacious and engaging.  Also, rather than be catty and completely melodramatic, the characters are full of budding romance and yearnings.  Yes, this can sometimes be teen-soapy, but mostly it is full of interesting characters.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SWEET BLUE FLOWERS Volume 1

SWEET BLUE FLOWERS, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Takako Shimura
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: John Werry
LETTERS: Monalisa De Asis
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9298-5; paperback (September 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
384pp, B&W, $24.99 U.S., $33.99 CAN, £16.99 UK

Sweet Blue Flowers is a yuri manga from creator Takako Shimura, whose manga, Wandering Son, was published in English by Fantagraphic Books.  “Yuri” is “girls' love” manga, a genre which depicts romantic situations between female characters.  Sweet Blue Flowers is a coming-of-age manga that depicts love and friendship between girls from two high school.

Sweet Blue Flowers, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 7) introduces two girls.  Akira Okudaira attends Fujigaya Women's Academy High School.  Fumi Manjome attends Matsuoka Girls' High School.  Akira and Fumi were friends when they were in kindergarten; Akira comforted Fumi who was a crybaby.

Now, the girls are starting high school, and although they are attending different schools, they leave for school at the same train station, where they reunite on the first day of school.  Now, Fumi is glad to have Akira back in her life, but Fumi is coming off a failed romance.  Fumi will need Akira more than ever.

[This volume includes the two afterwords, “The Kamakura Quest” and “The Mansion Visit,” and the bonus story, “Little Women –Orie and Hanako–.”]

The Sweet Blue Flowers manga is the second yuri manga that I've read, following After Hours (from creator Yuhta Nishio).  VIZ Media provided me with review copies of the first volumes of both titles.

Sweet Blue Flowers Volume 1 can be confusing because there are so many girls and so many conflicting feelings, which is actually appropriate.  Takako Shimura can use all these characters and conflicting motivations and desires to create the sense of confusion these teen girls have about themselves and their feelings and emotions.  I find myself rooting for all of them, and this soapy teen melodrama is irresistibly readable.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: AFTER HOURS Volume 1

AFTER HOURS, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Yuhta Nishio
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Abby Lehrke
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
EDITOR: Pancha Diaz
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9380-7; paperback (June 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
160pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

After Hours is a yuri manga from creator Yuhta Nishio.  “Yuri” is “girls' love” manga, a genre which depicts romantic situations between female characters.

After Hours, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) introduces 24-year-old Emi Asahina.  She is unemployed and does not know what to do with her life.  One night, she is supposed to meet her friend, Mayumi, at a night club, but discovers that Mayumi has ditched her for a guy... again.

Emi decides to hide in the corner of the club, because she really does not like the club scene.  When a guy tries to hit on her, she is rescued by a young woman who introduces herself as Kei, a DJ.  Kei seems determined to be friends with Emi, and by the end of the night Emi will discover just how far Kei wants that friendship to go.

I think that I'd heard of girls' love manga somewhere in the last decade or so of reviewing manga.  My VIZ Media rep sent me a copy of the first graphic novel in the After Hours manga series, giving me my first chance to read “yuri.”

After Hours Volume 1 did not shock me at all. The first volume of yaoi or boys' love manga that I read was pretty surprising, but I can't remember which manga it was.  The characters in After Hours are interesting because there seems to be some mystery about the leads, their motivations, and their plans.  Beyond that, they are not particularly strong characters... yet.  I anticipate lots of drama in this series, just going on a few cues and clues, so I want to see more of this.

B+
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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