Love this artist

Yuni lost in her own world while staring hard at Fuuko

Nanase runs into her

Yuni: Hey who do you think you are to be interrupting me while I'm busy admiring the girl I love?!

last edited at Aug 25, 2024 2:53PM

I like the localization of the title. Gone are the days of people asking "Who is Anemone and why is she in heat?"

Figured this was a new meme when I saw the Nokotan version: https://reddit.com/r/yurimemes/comments/1ez58oy/i_drew_brainrot_yuri_because_funni_meme_template/

^That makes the most sense to me. Kita's got the mega blush (including her hand) going on and it's all memories from Kita's perspective

Which even if people think Whispering You a Love Song is a completely worthless series because it doesn't focus on identity, as long as fans of the series are also pushing for real life acceptance that's ultimately the most important thing. I do think this series and others like it have value.

My initial complaints weren't just about Whispering You a Love Song not focusing on sexual orientation. I've read plenty of yuri where that isn't explored, and I'm typically fine with that.
My issue is that this manga is going out of it's way to create a scenario where not focusing on a character's sexual orientation feels like a glaring ommision.
Takeshima could have made Miki's ex a girl and it would've been just like any other fluffy yuri manga where all the girls are assumed to be lesbian. That's fine.
But she went out of her way to make Miki's ex a guy.
And have her participate in conversations where they try to define "romantic love".
And have her female senpai confess to her.
Which should naturally lead someone to at some point mentioning the role gender plays in love and attraction for her, right? Or have her get a bit introspective about orientation when thinking over her senpai confessing, right?
Well she does get introspective...over her incestuous feelings for her sister. Sigh...

Oh and I don't hate this series by any stretch. Aki and Shiho are one of my favorite couples and the art is amazing.

last edited at Aug 24, 2024 2:34PM

^Naturally. I have a fairly active imagination but I still can't imagine a Momoka top scenario. That Nina Gremlin energy is just too aggressive.

^"I give them a cleaning every night! And I keep them in good operating order with massages while thinking about you!"

No yuri in the LNs, unfortunately.

Did you play Akai Ito first? It's the first VN in the same universe and I think it is overall better, especially for the yuri. It also explains a lot of concepts that Aoishiro relies on. Of course some routes are just better than others.
Furthermore, did you rely on the fan translation? It is much better than the official mess of a MTL.

I was using the fan translation. It was pretty solid.
This is the first time I've seen anybody describe Akai Ito as a prerequisite of sorts for reading Aoi Shiro, but then again I haven't seen that much discussion about these VNs. I would've gone with Akai Ito first if I had known.
I decided on Aoi Shiro first because:
1. The fan translation was completed as opposed to the ~90% for Akai Ito.
2. I liked the MC's design...which in retrospect was a stupid reason since you never see the MC except for a CG here and there. You'd think having read several dozens of VNs that I would have realized this but I can be quite thick at times.
3. I had read somewhere that the yuri was slightly stronger in Aoi Shiro. I should have asked in this thread first so I could've had that misconception cleared up.

Ultimately what stalled me on the VN was that the yuri was lacking. I found the actual story to be relatively engaging and the cast quite charming. The somewhat dragged out SoL scenes didn't put me off either. They weren't a chore to read because it peppered in a decent amount of banter between the characters.

But that lack of yuri...
I was most optimistic about the first 2 routes because they seemed the most viable as love interests for the MC. Since the other 3 are A blood related relative, some form of supernatural creature, and a child. The last one is particularly demotivating since it seems to be the True Route.
Yasumi the kohai's route is the closest to romance, but there's only a vague acknowledgement of feelings for her by the MC and the ending is "up to interpretation" on their relationship
Migiwa's route isn't particularly romantic despite there being a kiss. And in the ending they are literally just rivals without even the benefit of "up to interpretation" for their relationship to be anything more.

If I could ask you about your first page list, why do you have Aoi Shiro listed under "VNs with Yuri focus" and then Fatal Twelve under "VNs with majorly Yuri content"? Because personally I'd either switch them or put them both in the latter category.
Admittedly I haven't finished the other routes for Aoi Shiro (but I'm expecting less, not more yuri in these routes) and it's been awhile since I read Fatal Twelve.
Both VNs have a main plot that drives the narrative with any yuri secondary. At least Fatal Twelve has an explicitly sapphic love interest who makes her interest in the main character clear at several points throughout the story, which is more yuri than what I saw in Aoi Shiro.
Also, don't they get together in the end, or am I misremembering? Which is definitely more yuri than Aoi Shiro. In fact it's a bit of a sore spot for me as far as Aoi Shiro's concerned.

But perhaps there's some unexpected hidden yuri in the remaining Aoi Shiro routes or I'm misremembering Fatal Twelve?

Well I put in upload requests for 4 or 5 StelleFly fanarts, which is less than usual, but it appears my favorite was not uploaded so I'll link it here: https://upload-bbs.miyoushe.com/upload/2024/08/18/75259669/7b756ea7631d891f395f22554e4bd61c_8666943340798373513.jpg

last edited at Aug 23, 2024 11:46PM

^Good catch. Getting jumped by Anko is a much better way to have the dance interrupted than being trampled by a herd of deer.

Well I put Aoi Shiro on hold after my interest began to wane a bit. Made it through 2 routes but the lack of real yuri has left me a bit unmotivated to continue reading. I may get back to it at some point because it's pretty well done overall.
It has nice variety of characters and a pretty decent plot. My biggest complaint other than the yuri being far too light is that best girl Ayashiro doesn't get a route.
So I do recommend it if you're fine with the yuri not amounting to much.
Vndb: https://vndb.org/v710

I dropped Highway Blossoms because the writing wasn't up to my expectations. A lot of the flirting was pretty good but the overarching plot and a lot of the character interactions were too nonsensical.
I'm told that Heart of the Woods is better and that Please Be Happy is much better. The Vndb scores for them are much higher than Highway Blossoms, so I'm optimistic about enjoying these other Studio Elan works despite not being a fan of my first VN from them.
Vndb: https://vndb.org/v18381

I've started reading Seven Days With the Ghost, which gets spicy pretty quick. Definitely making up for the yuri deficit I was experiencing while reading Aoi Shiro.
The main character is a total goof, always mucking things up and is "totally not into yuri". I can't tell if it's going to get more serious or stay mostly goofy and smuty.
Vndb: https://vndb.org/v6341

I'm also reading Salome's Kiss. This one is definitely a serious work and I'm enjoying this main character. She's trying hard to contain her inner demons (AKA her homosexuality), but I look forward to her losing that fight.
The prose does a wonderful job of fitting the Victorian England setting, though there's been a few more obscure words I've had to look up.
It's nice to read a OELVN with solid writing after my disappointing experience with Highway Blossoms.
Vndb: https://vndb.org/v32852

Next up was going to be Katahane, but I'll have to hold off on that since I've been very much looking forward Everlasting Flowers.
I've often dreamed about a yuri version of Aokana with Asuka as the protagonist, and while this isn't quite that, it does look promising and may scratch that itch. Hopefully studio Sprite will deliver with this one.
Katahane Vndb: https://vndb.org/v22
Everlasting Flowers Vndb: https://vndb.org/v46543

Everybody loves drawing Firefly blushing. Understandable as she's super cute when she blushes.

Nina's breathing hard...she's about to lose it and pounce.

Ok somebody may need to explain it to me. I'm guessing the above pics are depicting Bocchi as she gets to know Kita better?

Ok armpit connoisseurs, does this count or is it too far up the arm?

Ariel deserved some loving like this in the LN. She lived a lonely, difficult life.

"We're in the middle of class!"

"That makes it even better!"

The deer brainrot has ruined me! Thought they were antlers in the thumbnail and that song immediately popped into my head. Somebody make it stop!

I'm a sucker for the Miko look.

Ah yeah it's too late for Nina. Momoka's already turned her gay...I mean into a vampire.

last edited at Aug 23, 2024 9:05PM

Kita's not heavy, Bocchi just has shut-in levels of weakness. Can't lift more than a guitar.

Stelle will...set your face ablaze!

^Well if there was yuri then I'd check it out. I'm assuming it's just shipping tho