If It Rains Next Week
I finally realized why this artwork felt so comforting to me, it's been so long since I've read work by this author. I had forgotten all about them until a new manga just dropped by them and now I'm going back and rereading this again. Of all their short stories, this one is by far my favorite. The story is beautiful, the art is breathtaking, the scenery is phenomenally drawn, I felt like I was personally feeling the emotions of the characters while reading through this. I found myself in the process of holding back tears when I thought they wouldn't see each other again. Such an original story, I'm so disappointed that this was a one-shot, but for the author to convey the emotions, attraction, detachment, remorse, longing, regret, all of those feelings in a span of one chapter AND for it to make such a beautiful telling story from beginning to end deserves immense credit. I would love to see this story be turned into a full volume manga series, I would buy every single book.
Kanojo-tachi no Natsu
Are they swimming with their school uniforms on? Outside of that, this short story was very cute. But I guess anything from this author is cute. I'm not a fan of stories left hanging at the end for readers to come up with their own conclusion of what's going to happen, but honestly, it doesn't make it a bad read, I'm just the type of person who likes closure. Even so, I still thought this yuri was very well done. This author always does such a good job making the readers experience the emotion their characters are conveying, and above anything else, that's what I really enjoy the most about reading their works. The mood, the tone, the scenery, everything always fits so perfectly together for the story that's being told and this author has yet to miss that mark when it comes to storytelling. It's a shame most of their works are one-shots, a lot of them deserve so much more than a chapter.
You Are My Angela
Oh my God, I have a wave of emotions going through me right now! This story is absolutely beautiful, I was holding back tears over the symbolism! I have no words, it feels like even trying to leave a review is so hard to do for me at the moment because of the emotions I've expressed while reading through this. Love is such a beautiful thing, and too much love could be a dangerous weapon. You have to be willing to sacrifice for the ones you love, but even those who love you can hurt you and still love you. There is so much that can be taken from this story, absolutely phenomenal story telling, the theme of this story fit so incredibly well with an angel having their wings cut off. I really can't express the sheer amount of emotions this story sent me through, the shock, the sadness, the heartfelt moments, and the softness of the art style made this unforgettable. I've always rated this author with pretty high marks for the artwork and originality with these one-shots alone, but this story put me into a place I never thought a yuri would put me in. I don't believe any other one-shot will ever be as beautifully written as this one, I have genuine tears in my eyes. I can't put into words how stunningly beautiful this story was, this is definitely one you do not want to skip over!
The Story of The Princess and The Little Mermaid
As always, beautiful art and wonderful, unique story. I honestly didn't see the ending coming, but it was a fitting end for the princess, I believe. I've noticed that Murasakino likes to leave endings up in the air for most of their one-shots, but this one was pretty cut dry. As much as I wanted to give this a higher rating, I wanted to be fair and not rate it off of how much I love this author and more on what the story gives me. In the end, it was still a great story, just lacking in context here and there and the typical feeling I get when reading their works, I just didn't get from this one. For anyone wanting to read it though, you won't regret it nonetheless.
Ai wa Hito o Yowakusururashi
Cute and easy to read one-shot, the characters as so nicely drawn and I love the color scheme used for the lighting. The story showed all too real realities of where our minds can take us when we're with someone we love. I really love the fact too that the lighter haired girl never gave any thought to what's real or what's fake until the dark haired girl asked her why she wasn't afraid because even if what they're watching is fiction, it can resonate with you and make you think about the people in your reality. It wasn't scary for the lighter haired girl until she saw her lover in that situation, that was so beautiful. Always love the storytelling from this authors short stories, they're always done so well. Definitely a simple, yet good read that surprisingly pulls on your heart strings just a tad bit at the end.
The Story of a Person Who Grew a Flower
A bit difficult to understand with the first read through, but still a beautiful story. Longing for someone so much that, instead of wishing for that person to love you in return, you wish to be a version that person will love, even if it ends up hurting you. This was a beautiful portrayal of true, genuine love, but not all love has happy endings I'm afraid. I can't fathom loving someone so much that I'm willing to change myself, give myself away, for a chance to be recognized. The ending had me only slightly confused, I get the symbolism, I just didn't understand why the nurse ended up the same way as the student. Was that also her wish, even though she never understood the feeling of love even until the very end? This melancholic story left me feeling empty. Not in a bad way, not in the slightest, I just hoped for a more sweeter ending- which I know is a lot to ask for coming from this author. This story wasn't bad at all, I felt a wave of sadness near the end, but the story was so magnificently told that a sad ending didn't make me regret reading it. Beautiful storytelling, beautiful character traits, beautiful artwork. Another fantastic piece from this author.
Kaerimichi
Had to give this one the dreaded 4 star rating because, personally, I'm not a fan of the "we both have feelings for each other but neither of us will say anything about it and continue to hurt each other" cliché. It's so overused and it's so hard to make a good, original story when that trope is the premise of the plot. Not to say that the read was boring, just predictable. I would love to see where they end up in the future, I know this particular author has a thing for tragic endings though so I should be a little relieved that their future is basically left up to the readers. I've read nearly all of the Mangas by this author available to me and they are easily a favorite of mine, the stories are always pleasant to read, the characters are cute, and the artwork is absolutely amazing, so coming from a biased standpoint, this story- even with the cliché- is still well written. I love all the tiny little twists the author puts in their work, it always has me going back to reread it when I've reached the end just so it gives me a different perspective. As always, beautiful work.
How to End an Unrequited Love
A bit different compared to what I normally read, but this one of a kind story really grabbed my attention from the very beginning until the very end. What I can appreciate the most about this series is how no character beats around the bush, they know exactly what they want, and when they have an issue or something they want to address, they communicate that- if not in the same chapter, then the very next. It was always so frustrating for me reading yuris in the past where so much of the conflicts came from someone not being honest with the person in question so they end up getting hurt! I get it prolongs the story, but if the story itself isn't that good of a read because it relies on cliché tropes like so many other yuris, then outplayed conflicts of interest just makes it so much harder to read through when the readers already know what to expect for the solution. I love the way this story introduced Boksil, a hopeless romantic who had no luck at dating, but didn't let that deter her. If I'd have never looked at the cover photo for the manhua, I would have never guessed that Boksil and DoYoon wouldn't have ended up together. Brave decision to write a story around falling in love with one character just to end up with the characters best friend. I loved Seim's character, but DoYoon was an easy favorite for me. If anyone in this story deserved a happy ending, it was her, and I'm glad she didn't let her first love ruin her perspective on relationships, I had the most worry for her because of that and, although I saw it coming, I knew she and JiYoo would end up together- which I'm also very thrilled for. All in all, the story was amazing, funny, and original, the characters have so much depth and development, and there is so much individuality put into each character introduced, and the artwork is really pretty. Cute, quick, and easy read, this won't be a yuri anyone would regret reading.
Sex Exercise
Not a fan of all the sex related content in every chapter, but maaaaan, I kinda really enjoyed this. Even speeding through the sex scene parts, I still had to scroll back up to take notice at how the scenes were so beautifully colored. Came for the art, stayed for the comedy and storytelling. Although this isn't what I traditionally read as far as genre goes, I still give this a 10 out of 10! Woongs character design from the very beginning is what made me pick up this manhua, I'm a big fan of the cute and fluffy type of character, his personality fit so well given the kind of content this story showed. I'm not as happy with how Yunas story ended however, I didn't care for the sudden "she hasn't spoken to me since that day, I think she blocked me" No, I'm sorry, that was such lazy writing! I really needed that closure! I know Yuna was at fault from the beginning by telling her mom they were dating without disclosing it to Woong, (and yes, most of her obsession came from idolization) but Woong didn't do her any favors either by just looking to her for sex while also dangling her along when he wasn't even sure how he felt about her. Yuna deserved some sort of closure episode with Woong at the very least. It was a given that he and Soohyun would end up together though, it just felt so lazy how they managed to get together. I wish we could have seen more from Woong and Soohyun, all of that buildup for a chapter or two felt a little lackluster, but enjoyable nonetheless. If there is ever a second story or side story, I'd love to also see more from Hani and Miso, I loved Miso so much and would have loved to see so much more of him.
30 MINUTES.