It isn't necessarily a bad thing; mass extinction events can actually increase the variety of life long-term by clearing away dominant species and ecologies, allowing for biodiversification to begin anew.

last edited at May 4, 2016 6:32PM

I like to think that the planet they reached is still in the single-celled microbe era of biological evolution, and that the far more advanced and evolved microbes from their love juices have become invasive in the alien ecology, causing a microbial mass extinction event that will have entirely redirected the long-term course of the planet's evolutionary future.

My how the tables have turned. Thanks for this one as always, Lililicious. I loved it.

Continues to be interesting. Chiharu strikes me as being fairly spoiled, although it's a natural consequence of her family's protectiveness and the natural isolation from the world caused by a disability like hers. As the end of the chapter shows, she is desperate for some kind of change or excitement in her life, and at the moment it seems like she is just using Shou as a toy, playing with her.

However, Shou is of course, desperate and lonely in her own way too. At the moment the "romance" is a bit contrived; rather than wanting Shou in particular, Chiharu just wants someone, anyone. I wonder how things will progress from here, as Shou - a smart girl who can probably perceive what's going on, although she might just willingly ignore Chiharu's motives - reacts to this situation.

Thanks for your efforts, Akiba Detectives.

last edited at Apr 21, 2016 4:14PM

Disappointed by the rather stark nonconsensuality in this one. I hope the other stories from this collection are better. A shame too, I thought the art was quite nice.

This is a difficult one. On the one hand, this is a believable situation of two young and confused girls wrestling with the complex issue of gender and presentation, a topic that can confound adults, let alone children. On the other, I can't help but feel that in the end it is still propping up a binary viewpoint, with two (and only two) valid options, and the expectation to conform closely to the "rules" in order to be accepted as such.

Rather than force Yuuko to present stereotypically as feminine, and only accepting her as a "valid" girl after that, it would've been better if Yuuko changed nothing about herself and Risa began to accept her as the girl she already was.

Conversely though, it may have also been the case that Yuuko had always wanted to present more femininely but lacked confidence, only gaining it with Risa's help. Whether or not that's "ideal", it might still be called "healthy growth" in allowing Yuuko to become closer to the person she already wanted to be - if that's what happened.

As I say, it's a complicated situation. Regardless, thank you NHFH for your efforts on this release.

last edited at Apr 10, 2016 9:01PM

It's been nearly a year, would it not be alright to unlock this topic? No idea what happened back then but it's a shame to see this one languish. I admit to liking the idea of a Hibimiku+Chris OT3 - one of the few situations where I actually advocate such a thing and/or think it could actually work - and this doujin portrays the idea very cutely.

last edited at Apr 8, 2016 2:14AM

Beautiful. Simple and satisfying. Reminds me of Yoshitomi Akihito's classic works, especially Himitsu no Seseragi (Secret Stream).

Thank you, Yuri Project.

A bit understated in terms of the yuri, but I really enjoyed the art style. I'd love to see more from this artist. Thanks Yuri Project.

Too bad about Seol-a's nails, although I suppose it was necessary in the long-term. A truly idiotic "concern" for him to try to raise, though. Having had long nails myself, you get used to working with them and being careful with your hands, both to avoid breakage as well as caution toward the things you touch. It was a presumptuous and vaguely insulting suggestion that she would be so clumsy as to hurt her "best friend" while ministering to her, as well as being frankly trivial even if it did happen; Seol-a was right to ridicule the notion.

On the flip side, No-rae's hair has grown out noticeably now...I hope that is allowed to continue.

Thanks Halmoni and Thatanon.

last edited at Mar 21, 2016 6:05AM

Hair-down Mew is glorious... I wish there could've been more of her and less of the old "goodbye kiss misunderstanding" trick. That was literally straight out of a bad 90s anime I recently rewatched, nostalgia having clouded my memory of just how pedestrian it was. The "evil stalker" trope is no less annoying and tired, but at least that could be dealt with without causing relationship drama.

Regardless, thank you Ratana and 3M as always. I look forward to better days than these for Donut and Mew.

last edited at Mar 21, 2016 1:56AM

I appreciate this release, but to be honest, I was taken right out of the story by the gratuitous profanity Chris is spouting on pretty much every page. As someone who's done localization myself, I'm always put off by this.

With a very few exceptions, Japanese really does not have words as harsh and vulgar as English swearing; with Japanese it's more about how you say things than the words you use. I really prefer a similar approach when localizing in English. Swear words can, used VERY sparingly, help to convey the intensity of dramatic moments, but most Japanese characters - particularly the cute high school girls on which anime and manga is usually focused - do not nearly approach the level of potty-mouth with which English localizers often saddle them. Chris' speech style in Japanese is brash and casual, but not even close to being as filthy as suggested here.

Sorry for the criticism. Please take it as it was meant, me going off irrationally about a pet peeve merely my own thoughts on the script choices made. Rest assured that, as this helpful image shows, this is a common point of contention in anime and manga translation:

http://i.imgur.com/4RFMQPE.jpg

Though you may salvage your dignity with the knowledge that at least you are not 4Kids.

last edited at Mar 12, 2016 3:19PM

Wait, people are dissatisfied with the latest chapter? How? What happened in the final scene happened with them both very aware of the fact that they've already nearly kissed. Despite that, they are both taking steps to get even closer with the other, instead of either of them backing off. Indeed, after I heard "No-rae's grades went down during dating" I half expected Seol-a to back off of the pursuit due to that.

That didn't happen though; on the contrary, we basically got a tacit acknowledgment from both of them that they know what's happening and are still going to push forward with deepening their intimacy. To call this a lack of progress would be absurd and disingenuous, and I can't help but be confused by people's continued complaints about the pacing this far in.

Surely you should know the tone of this work by now? Surely its moods and movements should be comfortable and familiar at this point? Yet still the whining and condemnation goes on, week after week, over this beautifully drawn, thoughtful and gentle work - that you get to consume weekly, for free - simply because it isn't giving you your goodies fast enough.

It is far from being the manhwa I'm disappointed in, but rather its supposed "fans".

My sincerest thanks to you as always for your efforts, Halmoni and Thatanon.

last edited at Mar 1, 2016 1:48AM

More Ran/Sora is always welcome, although Ran was a bit out of character in my opinion. She's being depicted here as a kind of prickly tsundere, and that doesn't mesh at all with her cool and sleekly suave nature as the "Utsukushii Yaiba", the Beautiful Blade.

I'd love to see more of this pairing and dynamic (even though I don't know anything about Aikatsu)

Here's what you need to know about this particular pairing and the background behind it:
http://imgur.com/a/zaNnC

last edited at Feb 28, 2016 10:11AM

Mostly very enjoyable. As HKX said, the "kiss scene" was a bit of a mood whiplash with the ecchi sound effects and saliva. Still, cute on the whole, and what a beauty Sensei is. Thanks Yuri Project.

last edited at Feb 23, 2016 10:37PM

There's a lot I could say, but I'll just leave it as, I'm happy this exists. This and the positive experiences that formed it. If only they could all be like this.

last edited at Feb 23, 2016 10:52PM

Personally I prefer to make mine by the glass (around 2.5 cups). Just brew in one container and pour through a strainer into your drinking up.

My personal favorites, by type and region:

Japanese green: Gyokuro, Genmaicha, Tamaryokucha
Chinese green: Lung Jing, Foucha, Gan Lu
Chinese black: Keemun Hao-ya "A", Dian Hong (aka "Yuunan Gold"), Bai Lin Jin Zhen, Bohea, Rose Kongou (Lapsang is just fine, very interesting, but not something I'd want to have all that regularly. Same goes for Pu-erh.)
Oolong: Tie Guan Yin, Fo Shou, Mao Xie
White: Bai Mu Dan, Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Shou Mei (Note: Although Yin Zhen is the higher quality, I think I actually prefer Bai Mu Dan's earthier, more robust flavor.)

I'm actually disinclined toward Indian black tea varietals. They're fine, and FTGFOP grades are certainly impressive in their quality, but I find them less interesting than Chinese blacks. (Although having a good lower-grade Assam on hand is desirable for my hand-made Masala Chai.) I am partial towards "white Darjeeling", but it tends to be very expensive for what it is.

Let me stop here before this turns into a tea blog.

I, too, am a tea snob who will only drink loose-leaf tea and turns my nose up at tea bags. :P

Should this not have a yuri tag? Reimu and Marisa definitely seemed to be kissing on page 6, and there were other coupley moments.

Certainly an interesting take on Touhou, which is not normally a favored franchise of mine, but seen through this lens...very enjoyable art, as well.

last edited at Jan 13, 2016 7:13PM

I can tell this was written by a male author because they v is cover is fluid too must exaggerated fluid. There is too much juice everywhere those girls need to be checked.

As an easier general rule of thumb, if there's scissoring and they're enjoying it, it was written by a dude.

As others have pointed out, you have a very wrong impression. Tribbing works well for many women, although the poses one often sees in manga (and other porn), specifically the lack of bracing and leverage, are usually erroneous.

In any case, this series is a big win in my book simply because of the girls' enthusiasm. There is none of the customary coy "no/stop/don't/that's dirty/it's embarassing" nonsense. These girls all had sex together because they genuinely wanted to, and they genuinely (and mutually) enjoyed it. That's a great and all-too-rare thing to see.

last edited at Dec 31, 2015 3:33AM

Yuri and futanari are mutually exclusive, and my only comment is that I appreciate the tags reflecting that. All is as it should be.

Whether Utena "dies" in the series is a matter for interpretation, although even if you were to say that she did, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing in the context of her departing from the strange reality of Ohtori. If you watch the series' ending, you will understand that it is a very hopeful and optimistic one. In the movie, she most definitely does not die, far from it.

As for the other, Ikuhara and the franchise's manga artist, Saito Chiho (who was in fact one of the main opponents to a lesbian romance in the series) recorded voiceover commentary for the last three episodes (37-39) in which they speak very candidly on this matter. These commentaries were included in the show's original Western release by Central Park Media, and also in the recent rerelease by Nozomi.

The movie likewise has a FULL commentary track with Ikuhara speaking over the entire movie, and this has also been included in both of the aforementioned domestic releases.

Numerous interviews by Ikuhara touch this topic, transcripts of many of which can be found here: http://ohtori.nu/creators/according.html

There is also the rerelease liner notes, which include episode-by-episode written commentary by Ikuhara, as well as essays by him and other staff members. I'm not sure if these would be available online without actually buying the release (which I of course encourage).

The movie certainly is an alternate retelling, and if there is one tip I would give to any series veteran before watching the movie, it is: "Do not attempt to plug what you perceive as holes in the plot with backstory from the series." The movie is entirely its own animal, and I council everyone to examine it and ponder it closely, because it is a very different, but quite complete, version of the tale.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 8:50PM

I might actually have that movie lying around somewhere. Always think about watching it and then completely forget about it.
Did they switch the hair styles in the movie? I remember them having the reverse length.

At least initially yes, although Utena's hair is not actually short, it is merely braided close up against her head, and the symbolism of bound vs. unbound hair (which had important meaning in the series, as you surely know) is very much part of the role reversal that is taking place in the movie.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 8:18PM

Haven't watched the movie myself but it's supposed to be a little more obvious about the yuri.

I'd say so.

And this is not even the most passionate of their many moments, which I would not care to spoil for you. The movie is not something to be missed by any yuri fan.

Utena is indeed yuri, canonically so - as canon as can be in fact, as Ikuhara the celebrated director has been making clear for many years. Utena is its own peculiar beast in many ways, not least in the fact that its production background is one of the most transparent and well-documented in the history of all anime. From interviews, on-disc voiceover commentaries, and written essays and episode explanations in the rerelease materials, we have the clearest possible picture of what he and his staff intended to convey, and what they were prevented from conveying fully, in the series at least, by people resistant to the idea of a romance between women.

However, that does not detract from the intention, which is still clear to see in the series, and needless to say, they were given free reign with the movie. As you might expect from my avatar, Utena stands at the very pinnacle of my esteem - which should convey something of the gravity with which I put forward Simoun instead as my very highest and greatest. Frankly, if I had to name an "anime of the century", Utena would be my choice for the 20th century, and Simoun for the 21st.

However, there is another franchise that often does not get the credit it deserves for creating what we have now.

A yuri series like this is what could trigger the anime companies to realize "OH! People actually like yuri, go figure,"

In fact, that already happened. There was, right at the turn of the century, a phenomenally successful media franchise that broke all the boundaries its content might seem to impose and became an icon that helped birth yuri as we know it today.

That franchise is Maria-sama ga Miteru.

The fact is that the modern yuri genre came about in direct consequence of Marimite becoming as popular as it did. Although many (including the author herself) may claim that Marimite was not a yuri title, there is no doubt that the fandom that sprouted and branched off from it - and Utena - was instrumental in CREATING the genre as it took cohesive form in the early 2000s. Not simply thematically, but in showing anime and manga creators that there was a market for such a thing as girl/girl romance.

So whether you think Marimite is yuri or not, we have it to thank for yuri becoming what it has become: a still very niche, but established and commercially feasible area of subject matter.

last edited at Dec 20, 2015 7:50PM