It has been so long since my last post but what else is new right?
Before anything else let me just start off by saying that I am straight and I have a boyfriend (Woah! Defensive!). I know the title seems a bit (REALLY) misleading and if you know me you may have already spat out a drink or two. The title was really just to add that dramatic effect and the “forbidden fruit” refers to the yuri mangas that I’ve been consuming recently. So yeah, get your mind of the gutter. To be fair, I put it there so here, let me help you with that.
Going back to the topic, I wasn’t really into Yuri before, I’m more interested in shounen-comedy-harem types of shows/manga and honestly, I thought yuri was a bit iffy. I didn’t really understand other people’s fascination with the genre. But then the fire nation--- well, not really the fire nation more like Hibike! Euphonium (Sound Euphonium) came and totally changed my whole perspective of the genre. Basically, Kyoto Animation’s yuri baiting did this to me!
I started getting into the whole Reina X Kumiko pair. Yes, this is because of episode 8. There are those who say that nothing will really come of it and honestly I think they’re right BUT if you see the chemistry they have in the show then, dear God! You must be heartless to not see that they BELONG together. It’s such a waste of build-up if nothing comes from it.
I don’t care if you’ve read the light novels and cheer for Kumiko’s childhood friend. Yes, I do know about the light novels, blah blah blah. I was so into the pair that I did some research that made me stumble into some spoilers which ultimately left me heart broken.
If you haven’t watched the anime yet, YOU SHOULD! It is beautiful and you’re missing half of your life not watching it. I have to say that, in my opinion, Hibike! Euphonium is looking to be one of KyoAni’s best works to date. If you’re not into yuri then don’t worry, the anime isn’t yuri per say but it does have a dash of yuri baiting in it.
So even with that sad reveal, I was still pretty much hung-up with the Reina X Kumiko pair. So what I did was look for something to mend my broken ship-- I mean heart. I then stumbled into Citrus, the first ever yuri manga I've read. I was a bit hesitant to read it because of the themes and the genre but I was captivated by the character designs that I gave it a chance.
The story was interesting, for lack of a better word, and I liked by the characters. When I watch anime, I look at the characters first and then the plot second. I don’t care if the plot goes to hell, if the characters are well done and likeable then 95% of the time, I will end up liking the show. In a way, that’s how I go about choosing my manga. One of the main characters in Citrus, Mei, also kind of reminded me of Reina which was a plus.
After catching up with the latest chapter of Citrus I hungered for more and asked some recommendations from friends. I have been reading yuri mangas for, I think, 2 weeks now and I’m still having fun. So much feels man, so much feels. You have no idea what those girls have to go through.
Sure, there are inner monologues like, “I’m in love with someone and she’s a girl” or “We’re both girls. Is this really ok?” or the classic “You think I’m gross right?” comes up every now and then but it is a given considering the topic. What I like about yuri the most though is that, for the most part, the characters gets a considerable amount of development. Ok, to be fair, like any other medium, there are some exceptions but maybe that’s because I was given pretty good recommendations. There’s also an air of sweetness and innocence that’s tantalizing.
So far, the mangas I read are the following:
- Girl Friends by Morinaga Milk
- Citrus by Saburo Uta
- Shitsurakuen by Naomura Tooru (Yuri harem ftw!)
- Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi
- Prism by Higashiyama Shou
- Hana to Hoshi by Suzukin Kario
- Tamen de Gushi Manhua by Tan Jiu
- Asagao to Kase-san by Takashima Hiromu
- Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako
Here’s to my new journey!
Also, Reina X Kumiko fowevaaahhh~!
0 comments:
Post a Comment