Merry Month of Manga Review: TWO FLOWERS FOR THE DRAGON

Now we're going from one of the classics of shoujo to one of my favorite sub-sub-sub categories: weird shoujo series from CMX!  They picked up all sorts of weird little gems during their brief time that are remembered mostly by manga bloggers like myself, including (but not limited to) today's selection.

TWO FLOWERS FOR THE DRAGON (Ryu no Hanawazurai), by Nari Kusakawa.  First published in 2005 and first published in North America in 2008.

PLOT:

Shayuka is the heiress to the dragon clan.  This grants her the ability to control water, to transform into a dragon and to someday rule over the desert oasis kingdom she calls home.  As a child, she was engaged to her friend Lucien, but he disappeared in the desert.  These days, she's set to marry Kuwan, the captain of the guard, but those plans go awry after Lucien reappears.  Shayuka can only marry one, so the matter will be settled through Shayuka's enchanted engagement tattoos.  One hand bears the rose of Lucien; the other has the bellflower of Kuwan.  As her love for one or the other grows, their respective flowers will grow and bud, and whomever has the most in a year's time wins her hand.  Shayuka is confident that her love for Kuwan will win out, but will Lucien's newfound strength and flirtatiousness even the odds?

Merry Month of Manga Review: NANA

Five years.

Can you believe it?  It's been five years since I first put together this humble little BlogSpot to start putting up reviews.  It was meant to just be a hobby, a way to pass the time on my own in my quiet little rental room during a period of extended unemployment. 

Five years later I'm now a married woman with shelves full of manga, and what started as a hobby is growing into something more.  Writing here has given me the confidence to try writing on other topics at other places.  Not only do I now have some regular features on Infinite Rainy Day, but also recently made my debut as a contributing writer for Anime Feminist.  I've dabbled in podcasting, and I hope to someday return to it. I've even started to make a little income off of this humble little hobby of mine.  It's been a hell of a ride, even if I admit that I'm not always the most consistent about it.

As we do every May, I plan on reviewing an entire month's worth of manga.  This year, I'm shaking things up yet again with a new theme: shoujo manga.  I'll be doing 31 days' worth of shoujo manga reviews, as I try to cover books old and new, good and bad, and all points in between.  Of course, we have to kick off such a momentous anniversary with a review of an equally momentous series.

NANA, by Ai Yazawa.  First published in 2000 and first published in North America in 2005.

PLOT:  

This is the story of two young women, both named Nana.

Nana Komatsu is a frantic young woman who is always unlucky in love (mostly because she tends to choose bad, douchey partners).  Her latest relationship with a married, older businessman is no exception to this.  She decides to follow her best friend Jun to art college in hopes of turning her life around…and she pretty much fails at that.  Instead, she ends up latching onto and falling for a mutual friend, Shoji, and decides to follow him to Tokyo.

Nana Osaki is cool and confident, a troubled kid who grew up to be the lead singer for her boyfriend’s punk band, Blast.  Unfortunately, he’s decided to move on to a new up-and-coming band and now she has to decide whether to try and make things work with Ren or to head to Tokyo with her remaining bandmates to try and break out.

Review: KISS & WHITE LILY FOR MY DEAREST GIRL

I'll likely be talking about this again in December, but we're getting a bounty of yuri titles this year unlike anything manga readers have seen previously.  It's not just that Seven Seas is picking up more titles, it's that other publishers are getting in on the act too, as seen with today's review.

KISS & WHITE LILY FOR MY DEAREST GIRL (Ano Ko ni Kiss to Shirayuri o), by Canno. First published in 2013 and first published in North America in 2017.

PLOT:

Ayaka Shiramine is used to being number one.  Her grades have always put her at the top of her class and she's worked hard to cultivate a cool, calm and collected demeanor.  Then she meets Yurine Kurosawa, who manages to be both a better student and better athlete than Ayaka despite refusing to join any teams and sleeping through class.  Yurine isn't interested in that stuff, but Ayaka soon discovers that Yurine is very interested in her personally.  Meanwhile, Ayaka's best friend Mizuki has problems of her own.  She's love with her friend and fellow track team member Moe, but Mizuki is afraid that she's going to get overshadowed by Moe's efforts to bring Yurine onto their team.

Review: MARIA HOLIC

Until today, I wondered to myself "why hasn't anyone made a yuri harem series?  It could be fun, or at least a different take on a very tired genre."

Then I read today's offering, and it not only manage to spoil that scenario, but managed to piss me off in the process.

MARIA HOLIC (Maria Horikku), by Minari Endou.  First published in 2006 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

Kanako couldn't be happier to be attending an all-girls' high school.  Kanako is not only a lesbian, but she fears men to the point where she gets hives if a man touches her.  Thus, she's all too ready to take in all the beauties around her, even if means constant nosebleeds.  Then she stumbles upon a terrible secret.  It seems that Mariya, the school beauty, is secretly a boy, and he will resort to all sorts of dirty tactics to keep his secret.  Things only get more complicated when Kanako's attempts at making friends end up turning into an impromptu harem of girls, all of whom want to protect her, date her, or befriend her.

Review: STRAWBERRY PANIC

They say that April showers bring May flowers, but in the case of this month it's bringing forth nothing but lilies.  That's right, it's finally time for an entire month of yuri manga!  To kick things off, let's take a look at one of the best-known yuri manga out there.

STRAWBERRY PANIC (Sutoroberi Panikku!), adapted from the light novels by Sakurako Kimino with art by Takuminamuchi.  First published in 2005, and first published in North America in 2007.

PLOT:

For Aoi Nagisa, the illustrious halls of St. Miator Girls' Academy is a chance for her to define herself as a somebody.  In short order, she catches the eye of the school's idol, Hanazono Shizuma.  Shizuma is determined to have Nagisa for herself, no matter how oblivious Nagisa may be to her overtures.  In doing so, the two become the front runners in the annual intermural contest for best couple, but not if some of the other girls from other school have anything to say about it.