Which of these manga is your favorite?
Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers)
21.2%
7
Akarui Kioku Soushitsu (Cheerful Amnesia)
9.1%
3
Bocchi Kaibutsu to Moumoku Shoujo (Beauty & the Beast Girl)
9.1%
3
Hana ni Arashi (Rainbows after Storms)
6.1%
2
Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo (Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink)
9.1%
3
Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete (Gushing over Magical Girls)
18.2%
6
Sasameki Koto (Whispered Words)
12.1%
4
Still Sick
15.2%
5
33 votes
| The winning manga will get a book club the following month. The top 2 manga will be added to the club relations. If an entry is in 5 consecutive polls, it will also be added to the club relations. An entry needs to receive at least 3 votes to be included in the next poll. If you don't like your choices, nominate a manga here. |
My Candies:        |
| Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink is definitely my favorite of those. It's a bit unfortunate that Girl Friends by Milk Morinaga has overshadowed her other works to the point where they are rarely mentioned. |
| CGDCT |
| @Ahopiyo-_- ah, so you're a person of culture, as well. As I said already, Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink is the definitive Morinaga Miruku. This is where she found her form. This is where all her later works originate from. And with all due respect for her other works, that's totally Morinaga-sensei at her absolute best |
| Days without rants: 283 |
| Gushing Over Magical Girls all the way, although I'm a bit torn over Aoi Hana being there too. I absolutely love Aoi Hana as well... but I stand with the horny degenerate lol |
 |
Reply to JennyAysgarth
@Ahopiyo-_- ah, so you're a person of culture, as well. As I said already, Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink is the definitive Morinaga Miruku. This is where she found her form. This is where all her later works originate from. And with all due respect for her other works, that's totally Morinaga-sensei at her absolute best
| @JennyAysgarth I agree. For whatever reason, Girl Friends was not one I enjoyed as much as I thought I would. I think I went into it with high expectations due to all the praise. I got 3 other Morinaga works ahead of it in terms of enjoyment. Although, it seems for many it was their entry into the yuri, so that might play a role. It's the same as how I still hold Fruits Basket as a top shoujo romance, despite being aware of all its flaws. |
| CGDCT |
| @Ahopiyo-_- I think I know what you mean. Morinaga-sensei's manga has this strange feel to it that I can call "a sensation of default yuri." I don't mean it in a bad way, of course, her works are quite enjoyable. Even her passion for couples consisting of a long-haired blonde girl and a dark-haired girl with a bob cut doesn't steal from this "defaultness." But somehow, if you were to open a dictionary for the definition of yuri, there would be Morinaga-sensei's manga there. It's like the most typical yuri in the world. She was active in the period when yuri as a genre transitioned from what it used to be before into what it is now. So, maybe that "defaultness" is a quality that it picked up later on when the new genre conventions were settled. I hope it makes sense. |
| Days without rants: 283 |
Reply to JennyAysgarth
@Ahopiyo-_- I think I know what you mean. Morinaga-sensei's manga has this strange feel to it that I can call "a sensation of default yuri." I don't mean it in a bad way, of course, her works are quite enjoyable. Even her passion for couples consisting of a long-haired blonde girl and a dark-haired girl with a bob cut doesn't steal from this "defaultness." But somehow, if you were to open a dictionary for the definition of yuri, there would be Morinaga-sensei's manga there. It's like the most typical yuri in the world. She was active in the period when yuri as a genre transitioned from what it used to be before into what it is now. So, maybe that "defaultness" is a quality that it picked up later on when the new genre conventions were settled.
I hope it makes sense.
I hope it makes sense.
| @JennyAysgarth It makes sense. I read Girl Friends after having read so many other works, and it just gave me the feeling of, 'I've been here before, seen this before.' That's how it often goes with manga set in a school setting—so many of them feel identical in how the story progresses. I wish more authors would be a little bolder when handling the friend groups. After a while, it gets repetitive that conveniently, we can match a side couple within the friend group, or even more. It’s hard to explain, but a lot of school setting stories end up feeling predictable. The best we can do is wait for the school trip. All the stories and flags that pop up end up being the same: it's the festival, it's the field trip, it's the exams. Need to add some relationship drama? We only have the class to pick from, so let's say character C has always been in love with B. A lot of these stories could feel fresher if they just added a hobby or a reason to be somewhere other than school. For instance, in Arioto, we spend more time at Aya's job than at school. Morinaga could have easily turned Hana to Hina into another school-centric story, but it feels refreshing because we focus on their part-time job most of the time On a side note; I was taken aback when I looked at the author tag for My Cute Little Kitten and it was Morinaga. Just felt so different from what I am used to from her. |
| CGDCT |
| I ended up voting for Aoi Hana after I saw it had a solid chance to win. I love Girl Friends, and I think it is worth noting that it began publishing in 2006. It also has 6 volumes which gives it enough time to develop characters and tell a meaningful story. It is regarded as a yuri classic and her magnum opus for a reason. I will try and read 'Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink' this month. I generally avoid anthologies of short stories, but from what I hear, this does stick with the same characters through many of the chapters. I also want to finish Akogarete this month. I would like to throw in some of the manga that didn't get 3 votes in past polls like Yuru Yuri, Doughnuts, Kiss & White Lily, Failed Princesses, Sayonara Rose Garden, Shim Chong, etc. Feel free to re-nominate any of these and they will appear in a future poll. |
| My Candies: |
| @Ahopiyo-_- oh, I'm really sorry, but now you're up for my rant. Yes, I agree with what you said. It is all very true. But here's a fresh take. Yeah, "Girl Friends." A very much default yuri story. And then comes along Ajichi. I can't even start to describe her sense for meta-humor. Her brilliant penchant for placing beautifully framed references in her stories. And there comes her (arguably) most famous work, Failed Princesses. You can easily see the parallels with Girl Friends. A gyaru-type extroverted blonde paired with a shy, introverted black-haired girl who has a bob cut. A makeover. Something budding there. Failed Princesses is basically Ajichi reading Girl Friends and saying "hold my beer" to Morinaga. This is literally how this story should have been done. The entire manga is an extended comment on Morinaga-sensei's classic story. I am amazed at the fact that so many people don't see this. It plays with the conventions beautifully, including the Girl C situation, stays meta-ironic all the time, and, while doing all that, tells a beautiful yuri story. Maybe that's the reason why I love Ajichi so much. She is way, way more brilliant than most people let on |
| Days without rants: 283 |
Reply to JennyAysgarth
@Ahopiyo-_- oh, I'm really sorry, but now you're up for my rant.
Yes, I agree with what you said. It is all very true. But here's a fresh take.
Yeah, "Girl Friends." A very much default yuri story. And then comes along Ajichi. I can't even start to describe her sense for meta-humor. Her brilliant penchant for placing beautifully framed references in her stories. And there comes her (arguably) most famous work, Failed Princesses.
You can easily see the parallels with Girl Friends. A gyaru-type extroverted blonde paired with a shy, introverted black-haired girl who has a bob cut. A makeover. Something budding there.
Failed Princesses is basically Ajichi reading Girl Friends and saying "hold my beer" to Morinaga. This is literally how this story should have been done. The entire manga is an extended comment on Morinaga-sensei's classic story. I am amazed at the fact that so many people don't see this. It plays with the conventions beautifully, including the Girl C situation, stays meta-ironic all the time, and, while doing all that, tells a beautiful yuri story.
Maybe that's the reason why I love Ajichi so much. She is way, way more brilliant than most people let on
Yes, I agree with what you said. It is all very true. But here's a fresh take.
Yeah, "Girl Friends." A very much default yuri story. And then comes along Ajichi. I can't even start to describe her sense for meta-humor. Her brilliant penchant for placing beautifully framed references in her stories. And there comes her (arguably) most famous work, Failed Princesses.
You can easily see the parallels with Girl Friends. A gyaru-type extroverted blonde paired with a shy, introverted black-haired girl who has a bob cut. A makeover. Something budding there.
Failed Princesses is basically Ajichi reading Girl Friends and saying "hold my beer" to Morinaga. This is literally how this story should have been done. The entire manga is an extended comment on Morinaga-sensei's classic story. I am amazed at the fact that so many people don't see this. It plays with the conventions beautifully, including the Girl C situation, stays meta-ironic all the time, and, while doing all that, tells a beautiful yuri story.
Maybe that's the reason why I love Ajichi so much. She is way, way more brilliant than most people let on
| @JennyAysgarth I agree with that. It’s not that this formula is entirely an issue for me either. For me, stories like Girl Friends provides the same comfort as isekai fans get from standard isekai stories. The MC will be OP, surely he will get a harem. Of course he is going to hide his powerlevel, because he just want a slow and steady life. The stuck-in-school stories provide the same comfort in that sense. The only flags waiting for you is whether there is a childhood friend to stir the pot or a transfer student. I am pretty sure I read Failed Princesses first, so it's no wonder I thought I had already read Girl Friends. Ajiichi is just amazing. When you look at their portfolio, you see such a variety of work. If we’re talking humor, then Ore ga Fujoshi de Aitsu ga Yuri-ota de is fantastic. For some down-to-earth drama, Dear My Teacher offers a story rooted in reality instead of melodrama. It’s always nice to see an author who is comfortable doing multiple types of works. Although, there’s also a sense of comfort in authors like Itou Hachi, where you can pretty much guess what you're going to get. |
| CGDCT |
| Aoi hana and sasameki koto are such essential building blocks to the yuri genre i have to go with one of them. Give me some time to think. I think it’s gotta be one of them. So much respect to them. |
| naners~ |
| @Ahopiyo-_- Oh, yes, Ore ga Fujoshi de Aitsu ga Yuri-ota de is absolutely fantastic. I even wrote a review for it some time ago. It is a huge fun for anyone who's into BL or GL or both. A beautiful deconstruction of plot-building in those genres, and always with a good laugh. Dear My Teacher, on the other hand, and pretty much as you said, has characters that act as actual people, not as melodramatic functions, and so, even though the story itself may not be excessively realistic, it sure feels as such. Itou Hachi is a different matter in my eyes. They too have a distinctive and easily recognizable art that bears traces of old-timey fine prints. But their stories are clearly divided into two categories: radiantly fluffy and extremely dark. Let alone the fact that most of them are onee x loli. And feature animal ears and tails. Personally, I'm not a fan of that kind of pairings, but they do a great job every time, I have to admit that |
JennyAysgarthSep 2, 2024 6:34 AM
| Days without rants: 283 |
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