Present (One Shot/51 Pages)
I came to the realization that I'm an avid Yuri fanboy at heart and wanted to ease my way into the genre with a bit of light reading, thus I found a One Shot simply titled Present. Apparently this was written by Uso Kurata and from my understanding she's done quite a few Yuri themed One Shot's that have gained her some level of notoriety.
Present was a very decent read, It was a cute short story about how a true love can see past your appearance and appreciate inner beauty. The art was very well done, especially the background work in contrast to the surrounding environment, in my opinion this was vastly superior to Yuri manga currently being serialized. After reading Present I'm now hoping Uso Kurata can perhaps get a long running Yuri title serialized, I'd really enjoy that and would actually follow her releases.
This One Shot was pretty laid back and was a fairly easy read, nothing felt out of place really. My only quarry would have to be that it ended so quickly, I'm wholeheartedly awaiting more from Uso and hopefully she can deliver something promising in the future.
Rating: 8.2/10
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (1 Volume/8 Chapters)
One brilliant story created by the famed mangaka Yumeka Sumomo, who's various works have comprised themes of elegance, beauty, and emotion. I don't believe words can summize just how magnificent and wonderful this artistic piece actually is. There was literally nothing wasted in the emotional impact delivered by the characters and their progressive development throughout the story.
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan poses the hard questions that plague the human conscience, is it right to contemplate suicide in order to escape your life's seeming hardships? Does someone who's murdered three people in cold blood deserve the death penalty? Can a persons past discretion's be redeemed by someone who shares in their personal feelings and unsightly anguish?
The emotional impact delivered by this piece was both beautiful as well as astonishing. My eyes simply could not hold back the tears, I genuinely felt for each and every character. This story was absolutely amazing and I'll always cherish this relatively short read that was filled with a certain emotional value, in conjunction with a mature conveyance of intellect and growth.
Rating: 10/10 |