#doughnuts under a crescent moon

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Favorite Continuing Manga I Read in 2023

I went into the brand new manga I read in this post, but here's an update on some great continuing series!

Shout out to She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat for having phenomenal storyline about find the courage to cut toxic family members off, which is pretty rare to see (in manga especially)! The story explores how your family can impose a relationship with food that harms you in many different ways, and how finding acceptance of your food habits helps you heal. It also continues to be a lovely exploration of queer adults finding themselves that makes the point that your experiences don't have to fit in a box.  And I appreciate that they included a character who doesn't like eating that much for me to relate to! See my first review here, 

Now for a quick word about the other great continuing manga I read:

- I Want to be a Wall really upped it's game and included a nuanced discussion about asexuality that I loved seeing. See first review here.

- Yuri is My Job is still the best lesbian drama manga around and hits hard. See previous discussion here,

- A Man and His Cat is still the sweetest and Yona of the Dawn is as action packed and intriguing as ever...I feel a climax slowly coming!

- A Bride’s Story is still wonderfully done historical fiction with lush art while How Do We Relationship continues to develop its web of queer relationships nicely.

- Witch Hat Atelier is still a wondrous story of magic, creativity, accessibility, and struggling under unfair systems, all told in a fascinating fantasy setting with loveable, complex characters and incredible art.

A lot of manga I like concluded this year too, so let's take a slightly longer look at the conclusions!

Dungeon Meshi- The conclusion to one of my favorite fantasy manga ever was fittingly bombastically weird and fully satisfying. It filled you up like good food should. Live well instead of being consumed by fear of death and loss. Eat well instead of working yourself to the bone and neglecting your needs. Follow your own path, but cherish your connections and get together for a good meal. This series and its intricate world and wonderful characters will stay with me for a long time.

Catch These Hands- See my first review here. I enjoyed the cute conclusion to this series, and it was nice to see a little ace rep and a message about not conforming to society's expectations of "adulthood". It's an ode to delinquent girls that a sukeban stan like me can get behind! A lot of the stuff that annoyed me in the second volume was mostly dropped for the third and fourth, so that's also nice.

Run Away With Me Girl- See my first review here. I wish this had been a little longer, but the conclusion worked well and was cathartic.

Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon- See my first review here. A nice conclusion to a cute, slow-paced little romance series, with yet more ace rep!

The Two of Them are Pretty Much Like This- see my first review here. This conclusion felt a bit rushed, with plot lines still dangling, like it was cancelled early or something. But the series is still good overall, and I'll miss it.

My Love Mix Up -This sweet-as-pie series about cute gay misunderstandings leading to romance comes to a fittingly sweet conclusion. It's sad waving goodbye to these silly, good-hearted kids, but I'm satisfied with where they ended up.

#year in comics #manga #yuri #dungeon meshi #yuri is my job #witch hat atelier #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #a man and his cat #a bride's story #how do we relationship #doughnuts under a crescent moon #the two of them are pretty much like this #run away with me girl #my love mix up #akatsuki no yona #yona of the dawn #my reviews

[magicalblerdpenn]

If you're asexual and enjoy yuri (girl's love) manga, please check out the manga series Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon by Shio Usui. As a bi grey aroace person, I enjoyed it for the following reasons:

office love story starring two adult women, Hinako and Asashi

Hinako is a young woman plagued by self-doubt as she tries to use makeup and fashion to fit into the heteronormative expectations of her peers, as well as her mother hopes for her.

Asashi is a level-headed young woman who puts caring for her younger sister Subaru over her own wants and needs.

Hinako is the anxious lesbian character I never knew I needed

honest discussion of love and attraction through the metaphor of doughnuts, despite lacking the language of asexuality

The main leads start out as friends but grow closer through food, nail polish, getting to know each other, and improving their own lives

Great secondary cast including Asahi's witty and caring younger sister Subaru, Asashi's lesbian childhood friend Fuuka, and Hinako's mom (she starts off homophobic but comes around)

#penn's random thoughts #yuri manga #asexual comics #doughnuts under a crescent moon #lgbtq manga

[toxins-very-gay-thoughts]

blessed to live in a timeline with women

#i love women #wlw manga #lgbt #lesbian #lesbian pride #sapphic #wlw #yuri #yuri manga #im in love with the villainess #i favor the villainess #kase san and morning glories #magirevo #the magical revolution of the reincarnated princess and the genius young lady #doughnuts under a crescent moon #how do we relationship #kakegurui #yumary #canon lesbians #canon lgbt

[lesbibimbap]

She just really likes being friends with women I guess?

#yuri #yuri shitposting #doughnuts under a crescent moon

[bloodraven55]

now this is romance

#doughnuts under a crescent moon #hinako uno #asahi satou

[animefeminist]

Queer time and the quarter-life crisis in contemporary yuri

Content warning for discussion of queerphobia and heteronormativity

Minor spoilers for Catch These Hands! and Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon

Historically, the tropes and traditions of yuri have been anchored in the school setting, meaning that the recent uptick in titles starring adult characters has been exciting and worthy of note. There’s an increasingly varied platter of yuri with post-high school protagonists, from college stories like How Do We Relationship? and I Don’t Know Which is Love; to workplace romances like Still Sick and I Love You So Much I Hate You; and even into the realm of genre fiction with titles like Otherside Picnic and SHWD. All these series do the valuable work of demonstrating that while schoolgirl yuri is surely going to remain a beloved mainstay, yuri can also function effectively outside the walls of the school setting and outside the structure of adolescent romance. Series that focus on adult characters also open the door to a storytelling niche that’s still relatively underrepresented despite the rich narrative potential it offers: the post-adolescence queer coming-of-age story. Or, in other words, the gay quarter-life crisis.  

Narrative tradition would have it that a person “comes of age” in their teen years and then marches into adulthood fully formed. Character development that hinges on big, pivotal milestones like first love and first heartbreak are often central to the bildungsroman in its many forms across YA fiction and high school anime and everything in between. But those big coming-of-age moments can happen outside of your teens, too, especially if those traditional milestones of maturity were out of reach or not viable at the time. This is common for people across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum: someone who doesn’t discover their sexuality until later in life might not have their first romance until they’re well out of high school; someone who transitions as an adult may initially miss some quintessential teen experiences but instead have them when they’re much older; and of course some people may not hit those supposedly crucial goals of love, sex, and relationships at all.

Read it at Anime Feminist!

#doughnuts under a crescent moon #catch these hands #yuri #yuri manga #sapphic #asexual

[animehouse-moe]

Pride Month Week 4 Recommendations: Broader Horizons

I really wish there was more weeks in June so I could recommend more things, but we're nearing the end already, so I can't give every genre/aspect the attention they deserve. Though similarly, a lot of non BL/GL manga is missing from the NA industry, so sadly there's not a wealth of series to talk about. But! I hope that with the limited licenses we have, and the ones that I recommend, people will buy more of these titles and encourage publishers to bring more of them over! So, with only a little further ado, the recommendations for this week.

As I just said though, the further ado first. This week's charity is Outright Action International, a charity focused on LGBTQ human rights violations at a global scale

Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon

An office romance with an incredibly fresh perspective? A series about a romance between two women that isn't overly sexualized? The check list keeps growing and growing with this story that explores the challenges in regards to romance for both the working women that lead this story. Hinako is all over makeup and the latest trends and trying to find a boyfriend, but can never convince herself that she's in love. On the other side, Sato is a woman who throws herself into work and taking care of her younger sister, never leaving another thought for the concept of love or attraction. But what happens when this pair that can't fit the normal definition of "love" cross paths?

It's a really beautiful story that keeps expectations low, and wonderfully explores the challenges of not just adult romance in society, but romance that exists outside the norms. Not just in regards to two women loving one another, but how they love each other. How they express it, how they struggle with it, what they feel is right or wrong with how they're with each other. It's an incredible story about exploring asexuality and attraction, and does so in a very heartwarming and positive manner.

Our Dreams At Dusk

Tasuku is a teenager that desperately wants to keep his sexuality under wraps, but struggles because of a crush he has on his classmate. Through his anxiety, and wandering through this new city he's moved to, he's discovered by "Somebody", who owns "The Lounge", a gathering area for LGBTQ+ people. Within this small community, Tasuku explores his own sexuality while learning about the experiences and challenges that others have faced.

I was recommended this story by a friend ages ago, and decided to pick it up without knowing anything. I read it all in one go, and then read it all again a week later. In just four volumes, this story explores so many different forms of gender identities and sexuality, and does so through incredibly beautiful metaphors, and endlessly important (though very realistic and potentially painful) interactions and conversations. If there's a single queer manga out there that people feel like they should pick up, it really should be this one.

Last Gender

Bar California is a space for people of all different genders, orientations, interests, and sexualities to gather and shed the forms that they carry through daily life in society. Whether it's to explore themselves, or enjoy a night free of inhibition, Bar California is frequented by many customers, and this manga details the stories of those patrons.

Similar to Our Dreams At Dusk, Last Gender explores a plethora of characters through uplifting, challenging, emotional, and unresolved stories. Repression and lashing out, working up the courage to tell your loved ones, finding the right person or experience for you, it's stories about the realities that LGBTQ+ people face in their lives, and the stress and emotions and challenges that stem from it. It's a very mature story, as it features nudity and sexual acts, but in doing so refuses to avoid the harsher reality of a lot of these stories. Because of that, if people want something that takes a deeper and more grounded look into LGBTQ+ people and communities, this is a great starting point.

Boys Run The Riot

Need I say more? This list wouldn't be complete without Boys Run The Riot. A harsh but incredibly powerful story about the journey of a high school student named Ryo, and their outlet through fashion to express themselves and their story.

It's poignant, it's very candid, it doesn't shy away from truth or issues within the LGBTQ+ community, and it brings the story into society. It doesn't separate Ryo's journey from what's around them, but rather allows their journey to build upon and grow alongside the other characters that form their friend group. It presents it as another story of this world, rather than something that's separated and isolated from what's considered "normal".

X-Gender

X-Gender is an autobiographical manga about the author's journey in exploring their sexuality and gender identity through their adult years, with a dash of comedy, and a healthy helping of adult content.

Relatively straightforward, it details their experiences in coming to understand themselves and who they feel the most comfortable as, and is really informative for both people that are in the process of questioning themselves, and those that lack understanding of these types of experiences. I think it's a really great look at a candid retelling of learning the ins and outs of sexuality and gender identities, and finding the labels and banners that someone is most comfortable associating themselves with, so I definitely think people should give it a shot.

And that's all I've got for this week. In the realm of manga that exists outside of BL/GL, there's a world of information to cover, and I'm super glad so many titles cover vast swathes of information. But at the same time, I feel like there's a very large vacuum in regards to these stories in "typical" settings. A lot are informative or autobiographical, and it's only outliers like Doughnuts Under The Crescent Moon, or the super outlier Boys Run The Riot, that the approach is fictional and more traditional. So I really, really hope that people will pick up these titles (and other similar ones not listed in this list) and show publishers that we want more of these types of stories!

#doughnuts under a crescent moon #kaketa tsuki to doughnut #usui shio #shio usui #our dreams at dusk #shiminami tasogare #last gender #boys run the riot #keito gaku #x-gender #asuka miyazaki #aroace #asexual #trans #transgender #x gender #agender #non binary #nonbinary #manga recommendation #manga reccs #anime and manga #manga #lgbtq manga #lgbtq #pride 2023 #pride month

[shslmahoushoujo]

Just sharing some of my favorite yuri manga I've read recently that I've really liked, they're cute and good and mostly do my soul good. In order from top left to bottom right:

Whispering You a Love Song

Can't Defy the Lonely Girl

Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon

The Summer You Were There

Your True Color

All of them have been a delight and so here they are. Though just a warning, Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata/The Summer You Were There hurts, should've known.

Honorable mention to Trying Out Marriage With my Female Friend, too, it's very cute and by the same author of Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon

#tara says stuff #yuri manga #whispering you a love song #can't defy the lonely girl #doughnuts under a crescent moon #the summer you were there #your true color

[out-of-context-aro-ace]

"You know your set when an aspec is on deck" (lololol) but the video is about asexual rep in manga, I just like that line and have never heard of it before

Video by @kamenootblr

#asexual #aroace #manga #is love the answer? #mine kun #uta isaki #doughnuts under a crescent moon #ace lesbian #shio usui #i want to be a wall #honomi shirono #koisenu futari #erika yoshida #catherine kobaly #video essay

[aspeccharactersoftheday]

Hinako Uno from Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon is asexual!

#hinako uno #doughnuts under a crescent moon #kaketa tsuki to doughnut #canon aspec #asexual

[the-lady-writes-what]

Let me tell you guys about this manga...

Doughnuts under a Crescent Moon is a manga I recently purchased and read in one sitting while waiting to get a table for lunch. I really relate to the main character, Hinako, who tries her best to be "normal." She wears make up and cute clothes, all in the effort of finding a man. Hinako feels like if she can just fall in love, she won't feel so abnormal and unworthy of love (mood). One night after a date, Hinako ends up crying and her supervisor Asahi sits with her and gives her a doughnut.

Yall this is the softest fucking sapphic love story and I'm here for it. It's so good.

10/10

#the lady reads what #book rec #manga rec #yuri #yuri manga #Doughnuts under a Crescent Moon #shio usui

[ladyloveandjustice]

My favorite Manga and Graphic Novels I Read in 2022

I read 54 different manga and graphic novel series in 2022 (you can see them here, from the beginning until the print novels start with Hench. I only included one from each series for my own weird reasons but I'm up to date on everything except Adachi and Shimamura and Prince Freya, which I dropped for now). You can also see my favorite novels of 2022 here! 

Here are my favorites!

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

A young girl gets involved with a witch who has has lots of skeletons (animal and otherwise). I’ve always loved Leyh’s work, and this is her usual super queer fantasy that has everything I adore- cute art, cool witches, animal magic, older butch lesbians with eye patches, lovable characters and lots of sweetness.

SHWD by Sono.N

It’s refreshing to see a dark sci-fi yuri about incredibly ripped adult women fighting monsters, and it really pulls off the horror of the monsters well with some gripping action. The characters were pretty charming too and there was a lot of attention paid to the trauma of the situation.

However, it does have a 'character who looks like a child', which is not my favorite trope for a lot reasons. It bothers me a bit less than other series because the art style does not do cutesy. She just looked like a short adult. The reasoning for having her there was...interesting, I'm not sure where they'll go with that, but it's original, though potentially weird?

Anyway, I like what it's doing and I'm interested to see where this goes. I hope we continue to get a variety of yuri like this published over here!

The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This by Takashi Ikeda

Two ladies- 32-year-old anime screenwriter and 22-year-old newbie anime voice actress- live together and navigate their romantic relationship. It’s mostly done in short vignettes, but the central couple has a fun dynamic and the art is nice, and some plot threads slowly develop as the books go on. It’s a cozy read, and it’s nice to see the ups and downs of an adult relationship where they share living space. I also find the 32 year old attractive, to be honest, I’d date her.

Until I Met My Husband by Ryousuke Nanasaki, art by Yoshi Tsukizuki

An autobiographical story of the first religiously recognized gay marriage in Japan. It’s not super lengthy or meaty, but it’s a sweet read.

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

You might have heard of this book based on how it was banned in a lot of places, it’s simply an autobiographical story of growing up genderqueer. It’s a breezy read with some nice evocative art, and Kobabe is pretty relatable.

Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney, Art by Robin Smith

I read a bunch of the DC standalone YA offerings from the library this year and found most of them to be a let-down, but this was a good one. It follows a young Nubia, a black girl who discovers she’s an Amazon related to Wonder Woman herself, and uses her abilities to confront some very real dangers and injustices, while also struggling against racism and other forms of prejudice. Satisfying, solid YA.

Who Killed Jimmy Olsen? By Matt Fraction, Art by Steve Lieber

Another library read. A fun riff on the zaniness of Silver Age Jimmy Olsen comics with a healthy does of humor, it follows the bizarre life of Superman’s BFF as he tries to avoid assassination and does some viral YouTube videos .I especially liked the weird but sweet relationship Jimmy and Clark had in this, and the gentle dunking on Batman.

Run Away With Me, Girl by Battan

Maki’s girlfriend, Midori, broke up with her during her high school graduation, saying she had to “move on” to dating guys now that she was grown up. Ten years later, Maki runs into Midori and finds she’s in an abusive relationship with a man she’s engaged to after getting pregnant. Maki asks Midori to run away with her, but will she?

This is definitely a darker yuri- the abuse Midori faces escalates, and the dude she’s with is basically an incel- but it’s handling the subject matter well so far and I’m really interested to see where it goes. There’s been a notable amount of yuri lately that’s tackled the belief that love for other women is just a childish phase, but this is the first one I’ve seen that explores what happens to a woman who believes that and forces herself into a heterosexual relationship. The abuse Midori faces is not at all framed as her ‘just desserts’ or anything, but a tragic circumstance that happened to a woman who was desperate to fit in and not be alone. The art is also fantastic and distinctive. I really hope it sticks the landing!

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat by Sakaomi Yuzaki

A slice-of-life foodie yuri manga! Nomoto cooks more than she can eat, and she notices her next-door neighbor is a big eater and invites her over. A very slowburn romance strikes up. I got interested in this because of the authors marriage equality activism, and it’s a cute read. It’s laid back and slow paced, but there are nice moments of realism that make it very grounded- the way the women talk about being mistreated at work, Nomoto complaining that all the fashion articles she look up talk about impressing men- it was relatable! I also liked that Kasuga is large and butch and doesn’t have to look conventionally ‘cute’.

Cheer Up: Love and Pom-Poms by Crystal Fraiser

A cute YA about an acerbic young lesbian joining the cheer squad and repairing her relationship with her people-pleasing trans friend. It’s for a younger audience, but it’s a sweet romance with adorable art.

I Want to Be A Wall by Honami Shirono

I’m interested to see where this one goes. An aro-ace woman and a gay man in love with his (seemingly, so far) straight best friend enter a marriage of convenience. Yuriko’s obsessive BL fandom can get annoying, but it’s always refreshing to see the ace character represented and the manga is realistic about the struggles we face. I’m rooting for this one!

Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon by Shio Usui

A slow burn office lady romance, it’s just downright cute. It might be a little slowpaced for some but I enjoyed it!

Catch These Hands! by Murata

I’m a huge sucker for delinquent girls, so the story of two former delinquent girl rivals who meet again as adults, only for one to challenge each other to a fight with the condition that she’ll date her if she loses? Sign me up! This is, unfortunately, a little uneven- the second volume was kinda eh and introduced an annoying side character with some questionable tropes-but the third volume picked things up again and included a wonderfully absurd training montage. Though it starts with one of the women wanting to change and appear less like a delinquent and more ‘normal’, the clear message of the series is she doesn’t need to. If you don’t like any kind of violence, no matter how weird and divorced from reality, this isn’t for you though, as there is the whole challenge-to-a-fight thing, but it’s tongue in cheek and wacky enough I don’t mind.

Continuing favorites:

Witch Hat Atelier- Can't believe Witch Hat punched the 'funny anime pervert' trope to dust like it deserves, while also exploring and denouncing victim blaming in a genuinely affecting way. This manga is legendary. Also I'm very worried for everyone.

Yuri is My Job!- Really escalated wonderfully with it’s tangled web of relationships, rich backstories, and commentary on how people, especially queer people, often put on a performance. What IS the true self? One character’s commentary on how she wanted her work place to ‘like romance without the romance’ (a la class S) yet can’t suppress her true romantic fantasies was especially well-done. There’s also a character saying ‘friggin’ heteros’. The accurate representation we need, clearly. I just really enjoy this cast of characters.

Spy x Family (A Yor arc! Finally! And there’s just as much murder and mayhem as that should entail!), My Love Mix Up! (continues to be adorable), Yona of the Dawn (dramatic backstory reveals!), How Do We Relationship? (it’s really interesting to read a gay romance where the central relationship is acknowledged as not good for both of them and they try to move on), Delicious in Dungeon (the dungeon adventures are ramping up!), A Man and His Cat (more kitty cuteness), The Way of the House Husband (more hijinks), Bride’s Story (another volume of the beautiful historical epic! It’s been a while.), The Adventure Zone graphic novels (continue to be a lot fun with fantastic art), I Think Our Son is Gay (continues to be a sweet look at a mom supportive of her gay son), Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun (I’ll always love these idiots) and My Wandering Warrior Existence by Kabi Nagata (another entry in Nagata’s moving autobiographical series about the struggles of mental illness, self reflection, and queer exploration).

#my reviews #year in comics #snapdragon #shwd #the two of them are pretty much like this #run away with me girl #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #I want to be a wall #witch hat atelier #yuri is my job #catch these hands #doughnuts under a crescent moon #manga #yuri #dc comics #comics #books #recs

[hikikomoriheadphonegirl]

#Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts #Kaketa Tsuki to Doughnut #Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon #Uno Hinako #Satou Asahi #Usui Shio #Kaketa Tsuki 01

[toxins-very-gay-thoughts]

₊ ⊹ Adult WLW Manga ⊹ ₊

How Do We Relationship - Set in college - Band lesbians - Angsty

Run Away With Me Girl - Maki fell in love with her girlfriend in high school, but when graduation came their relationship went. Years later, they meet again with the love never having faded - Maki's love interest is now married and pregnant! Is she really happy though?

Days of Love at Seagull Villa - Mayumi runs away from her ex fiancé and asshole bff to the countryside - At first, she refuses to open up to anyone. However, she eventually grows to accept the manager of her housing complex and her little sister - Found lgbt family!

I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up - Machi is a working woman who doesn't wanna settle down with some man; However, her parents want her to have a traditional life. Instead, she marries her best friend! - Short, fast read

I Don't Know Which One Is Love - Soraike is determined to find a girlfriend in college, but she didn't know she'd have so many options!| - Yuri harem / romance comedy

Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon - Two asexual women who meet at the office fall for another - Kinda angsty but with doughnuts

Trying Out Marriage With My Female Friend - Don't worry, they gay - Marriage pact

There are definitely more, these are just some I've read! Hope you enjoy <3

#please look up cw for these before if needed #some contain heavy themes and subjects #wlw manga #wlw #sapphic #lgbt #lgbt manga #yuri #yuri manga #how do we relationship #run away with me girl #days of love at seagull villa #i married my best friend to shut my parents up #i don't know which one is love #i dont know which one is love #doughnuts under a crescent moon #trying out marriage with my female friend #lesbians #asexual #yuri romance #wlw romance #yuri harem #wlw harem

[amy-the-fairy]

#doughnuts under a crescent moon #donuts under a crescent moon #mangacap #yuri #gl #girl love

[bloodraven55]

this is some of the best aspec sapphic rep i’ve read in a manga oh my god

#doughnuts under a crescent moon #hinako uno