Milk Morinaga

A pleasant teen romance -- a little more sex-positive than some -- wraps up with a quick run through some typical tropes: festivals, holidays, class trip, miscommunication, college decisions, etc. There's nothing surprising or innovative here, but it makes for a nice escape with some amusing moments.

FOR REFERENCE:

Omnibus edition containing the second half of Girl Friends Vol. 3, and all of Vols. 4 and 5.

Contents: Chapters 19-34 -- Final Chapter -- Extras [Extra Manga 1-9 -- Afterword for Vol. 3]… (meer)

An outgoing high school girl draws an introverted girl out of her shell. It's all Best Friends Forever with shopping and study dates until a developing crush complicates matters. There are some consent issues and wholly unnecessary fan service of teen characters, but I found myself breezing through this thick collection and am ready to tackle the conclusion next time.

FOR REFERENCE:

Omnibus edition containing Girl Friends Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and the first half of Vol. 3.

Contents: Chapters 1-18 -- Extras [Afterwords for Vols. 1 and 2]… (meer)

Okay, so we have a couple of women who have remained roommates after college. Rena has a secret crush on Yuna that comes out when the other brings home a stray kitten. Sure, that sounds odd, but the dominoes do fall in a logical manner. The ostensibly straight Yuna isn't averse to a same-sex relationship but her acceptance is tied to some dark emotional issues around abandonment and rejection that are alluded to, so the consent gets a little murky and the rom-com tone from Rena's perspective is constantly undercut by what's going on in Yuna's head.

I'm curious to find out if this undercurrent is heading toward an explosion or a more internalized epiphany sort of thing.… (meer)