Quick Manga Reviews

Voices of Love
by Kanae Hazuki
Luv Luv Press, $10.95

Voices of Love is a collection of five short stories in the redikomi--or 'ladies comics'--genre, which are basically romance stories with a bit of R-rated sex thrown in. Based on the stories presented here, women's sexual fantasies seem to revolve around being rescued from an abusive relationship by a white knight that the protagonist has secretly pined after, and then having hot sex. Not being the target audience for this sort of thing I cannot say how well the stories achieve their aim; but the art is attractive and the stories are brief but complete.

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)




Voiceful
by nawako
Seven Seas, $11.99

Despite having originally appeared in a yuri magazine and being published under Seven Seas' Strawberry imprint, the stories in Voiceful aren't really yuri (a point that the creator acknowledges in the afterward). Instead of lesbian relationships, the stories herein depict close emotional relationships that form between young women. (Presumably one could choose to read a little more into the stories than actually appears on the page.) The title story relates the tale of a friendship that forms between an Internet pop singer and one of her reclusive fans, with their relationship serving to bring each out of their respective shells. The last of the three stories also deals with music, as a student teacher and one of her students find themselves locked together overnight in their school's music room. Creator nawako's art style is standard shojo, but she seems to bring a little extra to the proceedings, with a good sense of flow and pacing. Again I'm not the target audience here, but I found myself enjoying these stories that were charming with a tint of sadness.

Rating: 3 (of 5)