#aneido

Senpai no Kohai by Hanakage Alt

MY HEART. This is a tale of the one who got away reuniting with her crush as co-workers. It’s based off of a true experience the mangaka had and its ambiance of wistfulness and yearning definitely reflects it. Of course, fortunately, this story does have a happily ever after, even if the two leads keep being so nervous about confessing to each other. They’re just sempai and kouhai…riiiight? 🤭

Hanakage’s art and paneling in particular shine through to express the extreme emotional highs of the story and steps in the two characters’ relationship. And even better, it’s in a style I’m both familiar with and love: 90s-00s shojo manga style (with some clear inspiration from Takeuchi Naoko-sensei.)

Lastly, the handling of Sayuri’s homophobic parents was so real and poignant, and explains why she’s so hesitant to tell the truth even to herself sometimes.

Now No One Lurks Beneath the Snow by Aneido

My last book from Aneido! This may indeed also be my favorite of all their works I’ve read. It’s an alternate history/fantasy story that takes place in Japan sometime in the 1800s I’m assuming? The main character serves as an unpaid laborer on her relatives’ farm and in their manor, and the one true light in her life is her relationship with one of the ladies (though by the end of the story this character realizes that they’re non-binary), Kay. Their assigned genders at birth and social classes are at odds with the existence of their relationship, but they do eventually have their happily ever after after much hardship.

Aneido deftly contrasts the unique difficulties the MC and Kay face due to their social classes along with some of the similarities they face as having both been born female. They both experience dehumanization at the hands of their family.

The MC does rigorous labor for free, and her family physically assaults her if she does something wrong. She internalizes the idea that she is nothing but a tool, something I feel Aneido emphasizes via the fact that we never discover the MC’s name. On the other hand, Kay has to deal with the policing of their more masculine gender expression and is forced to marry a man against their will.

Only in breaking free from their family can they both be together; they can finally exist as their authentic selves.

The Design and Creation Process booklet that came with the book was also super helpful in providing context of the world of the story. It was also fascinating to learn how Aneido creates their manga from early brainstorming to the final version. They’ve mentioned throughout these behind the scenes booklets that they’ve used one technique in particular to generate ideas for stories: they come up with three key words/concepts that the entire work will be based around. I’m looking forward to trying it myself!!

Aneido's Anthology

The Soul Selling Corporate Drone: This one is about a character who sells pieces of their soul in order to make money. Of course, similar to some other of Aneido's stories, there's more going on behind the scenes! This one hit hard for sure, and the title is perfect. I also appreciate the Behind-The-Scenes Booklet that comes with the anthology because it explains both some of Aneido's creative process, but also explains some cultural differences and traditions.

Milk Ink: This one is a short and sweet tale of a person who writes in invisible ink because she's scared of how her love interest will react to her love letter. I liked it but wanna know what will happen next!

Complaints from a Retro Video Game Hero: This one was a hoot! It's a satire of both the isekai genre and classic RPGs with a fun twist at the end. My only complaint is that I want more!!

Hell's Bakery: An angel runs a bakery in Hell and falls in love with a demon! Super short and sweet.

Jeweled Eye: The main character obtains two precious jewels from her grandmother that lead to a surprise discovery!

I Slept With My Boss: What it says on the tin but also very cute and funny.

Black Cat Magician: The cat girls are fighting!! I need moar.

Back Off! It's Our First Date: Adorable supernatural shenanigans keep impacting a couple's first date!

An Hourglass Desert: Toy Story vibes but yuri and in a sandglass! What an adventure!

Invitation to a Bustling Restaurant: A woman's cat goes missing and she finds out her cat opened a restaurant? Sexy cat girl sheganigans ensue. This was my favorite story of the anthology paws down hehe. The cat puns were purrfect (and impressive given that the work is translated).

Overall, this is a great anthology with a diverse set of stories from different genres, so I think there's something almost any yuri and/or queer manga fan would like here. I especially love Aneido's commitment to including trans characters in their work, primarily non-binary characters, but also binary trans people as well.

Next is Ladz's Ice Upon A Pier, which I technically started reading a few weeks ago, but I just finished it. It's a retelling of Richard Kulinski's crimes with a lesbian and magical twist. I've never heard of Kulinski, so I went into reading this without knowing the story behind it. However, I still very much enjoyed it regardless (and the Further Reading/Listening section at the back of the book is very helpful).

​I'm a big fan of frame novels, so the story being told by the protagonist to the interviewer really hooked me in. What makes it especially unique are the asides that have information that the protagonist DIDN'T tell the interviewer, something that truly reinforces the characterization of Ruta. In addition, I've never read a noir/true crime story that also takes place in a world with magic, and I definitely want to read more!

The romance between Ruta and Frieda was scorching, but I could tell from the beginning that it was doomed from the start. Despite this, it was a thrilling, sexy ride that is worth a little pain at the end. In speaking of endings, the plot twist worked beautifully (I can't say more without spoilers).

Lastly, Ladz is truly skilled at establishing the ambiance for each scene, from Ruta musing about her beloved manga (relatable), to all the kills she made throughout her life, the tonal shifts were jarring in a very good way. It's so fascinating to see both the mundanity and cruelty from a killer, a portrayal of her as an entire person. And the discussions of her financial hardships further serve as a deft critique of the society she lives in and how that is inexorably tied to her job as an assassin.

Unfortunately, I started the readathon a few days late, but here's what I've read so far! This is for @readsandsuch 's Yuri Readathon this week.

I picked up all of the artist Aneido's works from Red String Translations at CitrusCon and am just now getting around to reading them (perfect timing)! They're absolutely gorgeous and came with a lot of extras, some of which I'll show today. :D

The first one I read was The Snared Siren & Other Supernatual Stories! Which fulfills the first two prompts already in its first story :D.

It's a series of short stories, starting with one that's a romance between a human and a mermaid and their daily lives. The mermaid randomly switches from having a tail to having legs and works as an "attraction" at an aquarium, which is pretty fascinating. Next is a yuri horror about a woman trying to create the perfect girlfriend, after that is a ghost yuri, and the last one is about bickering maids (which is perfect because I'm currently writing a fic that includes a maid cafe...and one of the characters looks kinda similar to one in the fic).

I think out of all of them my favorite was A Mermaid's Tail (the first one), which takes up most of the book, so it has the most character development. I also love that the mermaid's love interest is a nonbinary person. :D But yeah, seeing their daily domestic life contrasted well with the supernatural theme.

As for the 2nd book, The Murderer and Her Runaway Desire, it's not for the faint of heart! It's a very Dead Dove manga about a murderous teacher, but there's more than meets the eye…

I normally wouldn't touch anything that includes student/teacher because as a professor myself, it makes me uncomfortable. But I was so enthralled by Aneido's works that I decided to give it a chance, especially since I've been seeking out erotic horror yuri. Needless to say, it didn't disappoint, and without giving spoilers, was a beautifully executed tale of repression (the end notes on the back page were especially poignant).

Anyway! Next up is Aneido's Anthology, which I'm very much looking foward to (the character on the cover with the long black hair seems right up my alley haha).