MANGA REVIEW: Adventures with the July 2018 issue of Comic Yuri Hime

After reading a review of the July, 2018 issue of Comic Yuri Hime on Okazu, I decided, even though I

don't speak a lick of Japanese, to order a copy and see what the monthly magazines are really like. I ordered it through amazon.jp for a very reasonable price, including the shipping, which only took a couple days. I've only ever read tankobon in the US and so I was pleased how much larger the original printing size is, it really adds to the art. It's also really really thick, there's about 25 stories in it! I also had a strong inclination to order this particular issue because I just love the cover art! There's something about the mood that is just perfect. The photo to the right doesn't do the real thing justice (the colors are less vibrant in the real one which softens the mood).

So the verdict: Well, I still can't read Japanese. I guess it's going to take more than one issue to learn the language (LOL, not seriously expecting to learn it this way, folks). I really wish these would be translated because the vast majority of these stories will never see the US shores. I loved that there was a diversity of art styles and even a couple stories involving adults rather than the normal middle and high-school girls, but it really was impossible to figure out what was going on being as yuri and shoujo are largely dominated by dialogue with little overt action to provide context cues.

It was interesting to note that the advertisements were very "predatory" or salacious in nature, much more so than the majority of the actual content of the issue. I wonder who the ads are targetting?

So, as for the stories, like I said, I have no friggin' clue what was happening since I can't read the language, but, here's some summary data:

For a rating? Since I can't tell what's happening and I can't evaluate whether the messages are in line with my values, what I can say is that there are some great kisses, a fabulous cover, and it was much easier to buy on Amazon.jp than I expected (don't buy it through amazon.com or you'll pay a lot more). So I'll skip a numeric rating but it was a fun adventure buying my first monthly manga magazine.

Here's my copy, being held by a statue that used to belong to my Great Grandmother. You can see the blue post-it notes I was keeping as I was reading through.

✩🚺