Damn you, summer! It’s too hot. There are bugs everywhere. It’s crowded no matter where you go. There are no new videogames to play. Bah, humbug! Whoever invented this season should be shot. I’m planning on moving to Japan in a couple years too, which I hear is much worse than good old North America, so… RIP, I guess.
Honestly, there are only two good things about summer as far as I can tell. One is girls in swimsuits at the beach. But that shit isn’t even that special because you could always see girls in swimsuits at a spa or a “Tan Your Hide” or whatever. So that doesn’t count.
Two is new yuri releases… and well, I’ll admit, that does have me smiling a bit in spite of the heat (though it’s definitely not making me feel any cooler under the collar if you know what I mean).
Let’s see what’s in store for us this month, shall we?
Manga Releases for August 2019
Cocoon Entwined ~ Yuriko Hara
Released: August 6th, 2019
Summary
“Clad in school uniforms practically breathing with life are the girls of Hoshimiya Girls’ Academy, their hair long and luxurious. When a certain “incident” rocks the academy, the hidden feelings these girls possess will be entwined in this pure girls’ love story.”
I’m putting this one first because I’ve started reading this one already. I would say my feelings on it at the moment are “good, but cautious”. The story is interesting and has some potential to be really moving and highly symbolic, but as always with stories like that, there’s the possibility for it to completely fall flat too. It’ll definitely be a hit or miss series for me.
At the moment, though, it’s got me hooked. I won’t give away the gimmick about the uniforms, but I will say the vibe of it sort of feels like a mix of Aoi Hana and Marimite. Mind you… I freaking despise Marimite, but it’s not like the vibes were bad, right? It just, you know, wasn’t girls’ love (fight me!). Cocoon Entwined feels less like it will become entirely trapped by Class S, however, so I’d like to give it a chance and would recommend others do as well.
Ultimately, it’s difficult to form a strong impression on a manga like this after only one volume, since I don’t like to jump to conclusions too much. But I would say that if you enjoy something a little more surreal and whimsical, this is starting out strong on that front and I’m very interested to see where the story goes.
Update: Just finished volume 1 and can confirm it’s a true yuri story, not subtext 😀
Killing Me! ~ Akiyama
Released: August 6th, 2019
Summary
“Vampire hunter Saki Fujimiya is the epitome of poise and finesse-that is, when she’s not around Miyoko Kujou! Why does Miyoko get such a rise out of her? Well, to begin with, Miyoko’s a vampire — Saki’s natural enemy…but that’s not the only reason Miyoko gets under Saki’s skin. Despite Saki’s best efforts to kill Miyoko, something keeps stopping her from biting the bullet and ending it all for good. It’s hard to tell who’s really the prey in this love comedy packed with bite!”
Yes.
………………………………………..
…What, you need more than that? Have you not read the summary and looked at the cover image?! Sexy twin-tailed vampire girl seduces young, gun-slinging brunette babe who’s trying to kill her. If that doesn’t make you soaking wet, GTFO OUT OF MY BLOG YOU UNCULTURED SWINE I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING LMAO.
*ahem*
Yes, so this is vampire yuri. I haven’t read it yet. But I have heard from those who have that it is very enjoyable (obviously). There is literally no reason NOT to buy and read this, but there is one big caveat: it was cancelled before finishing. Why, I don’t know. Akiyama is still posting stuff on Twitter and recently showed some original illustrations (including Girls’ Love) featured in an art collection at Comiket with some babes who have a similar aesthetic to “Killing Me!” in fact:
So… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
That being said, it is strange to think that Yen Press would license a cancelled manga in volumes like they’re prepared to release a complete series. So I do have my hopes we may end up being pleasantly surprised, though it’s not unheard of for unfinished manga to get licensed (*cough* Strawberry Panic *cough*).
Murcielago Vol. 11 ~ Yoshimurakana
Released: August 6th, 2019
Summary
“After finding a human hand vomited up by a shark during a visit to the aquarium, Kuroko’s on the case. Whose hand could it be? A lead takes her to the local church, and when she drives the priests there into a corner, a shocking truth comes to light…!“
Come on y’all, if you’re following Murcielago you already know what you’re getting out of this. And for those who still haven’t picked this series up… basically, it’s a dark, action-packed crime thriller with yuri. Expect copious amounts of violence and gore, ecchi, and kinky yuri sex. In fact, there’s literally a bonus story at the end of every volume and 90% of them are about yuri sex.
Not to mention Kuroko, our long-tongued main heroine, is basically a lesbian conversion machine:
LMAO THEIR FACES AT THE END
Anyway, if all that didn’t at least interest you to start reading it… I mean, probably you should just not even be a part of human society? So like… yah. Go watch your Marimite and eat knock-off Lays potato chips and cry, nerd.
Yuri Life ~ Kurukuruhime
Released: August 13th, 2019
Summary
“Follow the everyday romances of women living together! From clashing personalities to May-December relationships, it’s a sweet cornucopia of love and affection.“
Alright, you all wanted some adult women, well you got some adult women! And I would expect more in the future too. I’m actually surprised there hasn’t been more coming out lately, given how much of it you can find if you peruse the Japanese yuri sources. Granted, there’s a lot more SisterxSister and Onee-chanxLoli, especially in the doujinshi space, but if you look for recommendations on Youtube (like search 百合すすめ), there are tons of good recs for older women in yuri.
Personally, I don’t care much either way, but admittedly there is a distinct flavor to adult women that is appealing in a kind of sexy-homey way. I would imagine there are a lot of actual lesbians out there who appreciate seeing adult women living together in fiction too, so that’s definitely a plus.
Well, anyway, based on the summary I wouldn’t necessarily expect this to be all about domestic relationships (it says “May-December relationships” after all… tasty) but there should be plenty of mature women to go around!
In Other News…
–> Ever heard of Gun Gun Pixies? Me neither! Which is a crime! But if you’ve ever wanted to play as a duo of hot pixie girls from another planet who infiltrate college girls’ dorm rooms and shoot them with Happy Bullets in order to learn more about the human race… now you can do it! It’s releasing on both PC and Nintendo Switch. Check out the trailer as well as the Steam page and show our friends at PQube some love!
Stay cool out there y’all B)
Yuri Death Ray 