Another enjoyable chapter. From the very beginning, Citrus has been "Yuri Soap Opera: The Manga", and anyone who can't enjoy that for what it is should've stopped reading long before now. Unrealistic expectations are the cause of so much dissatisfaction...

Anyway, I wish I could say that this will light a fire under Mei to stake her own claim on Yuzu, but she's such a passive, resigned type of personality. In the end, I think it'll still fall on Yuzu to chase Mei down and force her to admit her own feelings.

Thanks as always for your efforts, Yuri Project.

Damn, this is fantastic. I can't wait for more. Thank you so much, Binbou.

An unexpected and thoroughly happy ending. I'll take it with pleasure.

So this is the long-awaited Yuri Kuma Arashi...the unlikely collaboration between the (to me) world's greatest yuri manga artist, Morishima Akiko, and the mad avant-garde genius behind the better parts of Sailor Moon, my favorite anime franchise Revolutionary Girl Utena, and - much less satisfyingly on the yuri front - Mawaru Penguindrum, Ikuhara Kunihiko. What on earth will come of this alliance??

Well, considering it's Ikuhara, this first chapter was actually surprisingly straightforward. No doubt Morishima is a stabilizing influence, or at least I hope so, although it might simply be that - much like Utena, so many years ago - Morishima is essentially doing what she wants in the manga, and Ikuhara will do what he wants in the anime, both working from a very loose agreed-upon framework of themes and characters.

Long post short, this could either be incredible or a trainwreck, but it'll be very interesting to keep an eye on.

last edited at Mar 26, 2014 10:52AM

A blast from the past indeed. Personally, I always shipped Sei/Shimako back in the day, but if I'm honest, Shimako/Noriko does work better. Sei and Shimako have an intense and intimate bond, but in retrospect, I don't think either of them would've seen it in a romantic light, for differing reasons. (Besides, this plays into my other old pet pairing, Yumi/Sei, ahahaha!)

In any case, the lack of physicality is common for MariMite fanworks... offhand, I can't even think of one I've read that has involved kissing, let alone more than that. I know they exist, but I can't remember any. Perhaps my memory needs refreshing...

Thanks for your efforts as always, Yuri Project.

last edited at Mar 19, 2014 1:12PM

There are encouraging signs - the seeming success of Sakura Trick, the upcoming Akuma no Riddle

Don't forget the anime adaptation for Inugami-san and Nekoyama-san by Kuzushiro coming next season as well. :p

Yes, I actually had momentarily forgotten that. Another Yuri Hime anime, and Kuzushiro no less. Shame it's apparently only 5-minute shorts, but still. Encouraging indeed.

last edited at Mar 14, 2014 5:23AM

Nonsensical indeed, but it sure is fun. I love how much detail Inoue Shinkai puts into drawing expressive hands and fingers. The Pops set of stories is an old favorite as well.

http://dynasty-scans.com/anthologies/yuri_tengoku

Having read a lot of things over the years, I also reread a lot of things, but one of the ones I eternally return to is Yuri Tengoku, because - for me at least - that's where the modern yuri manga era truly began. Properly speaking, Yuri Shimai is the actual forerunner to Yuri Hime, and actually started coming out slightly before Yuri Tengoku, but for whatever reason, Tengoku will always be remembered by me as the most venerable, a herald of things to come. Even the cover fills me with nostalgia.

Riding the coattails of Maria-sama ga Miteru - which I don't think gets enough credit these days for being the phenomenon that made the modern state of yuri possible - its publication marks the official beginning, on the manga side at least, of what I look back on as the Golden Age of Yuri, 2004-2009.

Some would disagree with me that it ended there, or even ended at all, but that's how I see it - at least the First Golden Age. I'm cautiously optimistic that we may now be on the path to a new season of plenty. There are encouraging signs - the seeming success of Sakura Trick, the upcoming Akuma no Riddle, the Morishima Akiko/Kunihiko Ikuhara Yuri Kuma Arashi multimedia collaboration, the announcement of a new yuri anthology Mebae, and...just perhaps...the new Sailor Moon, if Michiru and Haruka get to make an appearance. A new generation of interest in and passion for yuri is emerging...or so I hope.

Anyway, my favorite stories from it are Bound by a Red String, Rooftop, My Partner, and - a bittersweet touch - The Glade in the Forest Behind the School. Objectively, several of the stories aren't the best quality and/or would even be considered weak in terms of yuri these days, but they remain old and dear friends. Hard to believe it's been ten years...

last edited at Mar 14, 2014 4:53AM

How do you know if you liked if you haven't actually read it?
She clearly says she has a hay fever in part one.
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/from_aiu_station_on_the_hiragana_line#5
Great way to start the thread over.

That doesn't explain why she says she's going to wear it "anyway", and continues to do so through the period of time depicted, which presumably goes past pollen season. In any case, it was a passing remark - which incidentally is the same way this thread got derailed before, people criticizing other people's offhand comments.

last edited at Feb 27, 2014 9:59AM

I took it upon myself to reboot this story's discussion thread. Apologies to anyone who had left legitimate comments on it; please feel free to do so again.

For myself, I was quite pleased to see this continuation, as I thought the first story had an ambiguously melancholy ending. I was hoping to hear an explanation as to why Tsune continues to wear the cold mask so frequently when she doesn't appear to be ill, but perhaps it's simply to cover her shyness. Regardless, thanks Yuri Project for another enjoyable release.

last edited at Feb 27, 2014 10:00AM

Wow, how did I miss this one until now...it was glorious. Thank you Lililicious.

I really loved this, thanks for doing it. It was a wonderful, sweet story.

It isn't yet, but it will be.

I love it. 4-panel talks for lesbian's life, love, and thoughts. I wonder if Akiko-san is a lesbian, too ^^?

Morishima Akiko is an out bisexual, and wrote a set of stories (http://dynasty-scans.com/series/happy_picture_diary) for the former lesbian magazine, Anise (http://dynasty-scans.com/anthologies/anise_magazine), which ran in the late 90's/early 2000's. These are the stories she refers to when she says in the afterword,

"Around the time when I debuted in a commercial magazine, I used to write this kind of manga and this brought back memories."

Happy Picture Diary certainly is in the same vein as this, exploring the real everyday lives of women-loving women in Japan.

This is the reason her stories always have the ring of truth when they concern LGBT life. She's living it.

last edited at Jan 14, 2014 1:54AM

There's no question they will end up together in a romantic relationship, but the path Mei is taking here is not a healthy one. However, I trust Yuzu to handle this in a forthright and sensible manner. I think what she will end up doing is teaching Mei to live for her own happiness - which will, of course, give Mei a true and deep love for her in return.

last edited at Dec 6, 2013 3:33AM

This is one of my all time favorites, and I keep coming back to it, time and time again. I think it's partially because of how well the setting is evoked - the quiet, rainy day, the empty house...the story is simple but the emotions and thoughts feel authentic, and the artwork is also exceptional in my eyes. I've read so many over the years, but this one is truly special to me.

Wow, I loved this. Two of my favorite Panzer pairs being deliciously cute together.

It's not intended to be realistic at all, like most anime and manga. If you really want to nitpick, most of the girls aren't physically built like athletes trained from a young age would be, either. However, it is a fact that 90's anime and manga in particular are remembered for their flamboyant, often impossible hairstyles. Not that there aren't also plenty of modern examples, but...

Now THIS was worth waiting for. Thanks as always, Yuri Project.

So, am I the only one who saw that closing bit of narration as terribly ominous?

Probably. I don't see why you would. Nothing serious is going to happen in a story this fluffy. If you mean the "when we only just started going out" part, it's just pointing out that they haven't gone very far yet and are still only just starting to feel out their relationship.

last edited at Oct 4, 2013 3:33AM

Disappointed by the ending. I had great hopes for this series once upon a time, but it stuck with subtext to the very end...

Heh Ootomo Megane must really have a glasses fetish or something to draw two girls keeping their glasses on while having sex.

Well the "Megane" in her pen name actually MEANS "glasses", and nearly of her characters have glasses, so...yeah.

Another outstanding work from her, in any case.

last edited at Sep 9, 2013 11:09PM

They just couldn't have mercy on Chika, could they...I think it's a decent end, but having her continuing on with her hopeless one-sided love is only going to mean more pain and tears down the line.

Ugh, this was too cruel...regardless, thanks to YP as always.

last edited at Aug 16, 2013 3:36PM

The ending basically makes clear that they're going to end up together.

It's not that basic. Maybe you didn't realize that the dialog on last page are merely credit-page jokes.

Actually I totally did. I'm talking about the actual pages, not the credits. The story ends with them clasping hands and Kiwa's avowal to never let Ririko slip away again. That's more than enough for me to conclude a happy ending.

last edited at Aug 9, 2013 9:33PM

What on earth? I don't get the complaints here at all. The ending basically makes clear that they're going to end up together. It was actually a hugely pleasant surprise and relief, because I was totally expecting a melancholy end. What's the issue?