Morinaga Milk's Girl Friends Vol.1 and 2

I'm not entirely sure why I suddenly decided that I had to have these two tankubon. But when I did, Amazon.jp (even Marketplace) was out of stock, Kinokuniya Singapore refused to accept my order - something about 'due to the content' and the vigilant eyes of the Customs officers of our glorious democratic people's island republic paradise (blood and gore and murder and mayhem in manga is ok but one page with a scene of girls kissing is not, go figure). So it is with great gratefulness that I thank Stripey for procuring this for me via his lolip0rn smuggling routes pure and honourable pathways. Well, I probably would have bought these two volumes sooner or later; I liked Morinaga's When The Ring Finger is Kissed so much that I bought it twice. orz

One of the things that I was faintly dissatisfied with When The Ring Finger is Kissed was how most of the stories in the middle of the collection drifted away from Nana x Hitomi. In Girl Friends, the focus is fixed squarely on Mariko (Mari) and Akiko (Akko). It's the kind of slice of life that I wanted to see wrt Nana x Hitomi. And still want to see since confession-acceptance is just another beginning of the relationship rather than the FINAL BOSS stage.

One of the side effects of this focus is lots and I mean LOTS of pages about hairdoes, nails, handphone accessories, clothes, gossip and that thing which maketh grown men weep and beg for mercy - shopping with girls. My mind still boggles when I learnt, via Erica's review of the first volume, that this story runs in a magazine where "the intended audience is adult men." It's the kind of mind boggling when I heard (also probably via Okazu or the Yuricon Mailing List) that the majority of those who turn up for MariMite live events are men. I know I'm part of that crowd. What surprises (and frightens) me is that there are many others out there who share my erm... interests. (I do love the ambiguity and slightly seedy connotation of the word: ??)

This isn't a case of Be Careful What You Ask For at all. I find myself disagreeing somewhat with Erica that

the story is about the hair, the clothes and the makeup. Mari's struggle is happening in the margins of the story

I don't dispute that the girly stuff is dead front and centre but Mari's struggle with her feelings runs like a deep undercurrent beneath all that. Every word, every glance, every smile, every laugh, every little touch, everything seems charged. Partly because we know this is a Morinaga story, a yuri story. Particularly, in the first volume, that marginality reflects how Mari is just barely, gradually becoming aware of the existence and with, not insignificant trepidation, the meaning of her feelings wrt Akko. Beneath the gentle art and sweet mode, one feels, hears, initially faint but increasingly clear, the pounding heart of Mari's escalating mix of exhilaration and bewilderment that leads to the 'climatic' event at the end of the first volume.

Erica's review of the second volume delcares that

Morinaga Milk absolutely *nails* the exact level of self-inflicted torture of being >this< close to the person you want, and can't have.

Or rather 'thinks she can't have.' Mari has become certain about her feelings for Akko but, without specific justification other than a general one drawing on prevailing social norms, she is certain that those feelings cannot be returned. But I suppose she doesn't know that, from beyond the fourth wall, being in a Morinaga Milk manga, she's actually got a pretty even chance. This does nothing to take away from her agony. Indeed I just kept hearing and seeing KOTOKO's ED for Kannazuki no Miko in my head as I perused the second volume.

I have to admit that I had no idea why she agreed to date her train stalker but having read Erica's explanation that she was "pleased to have someone else to focus her attention on" - now it seems implicit, even painfully obvious. orz The way Akko prepped up Mari for her date must also have been such a slow torture for Mari and her sincere praise for Mari, in an unsuspecting effort to build up her best friend's self-confidence to confess to the person she really loved, must have felt like such cruel irony to her listener, racked up to that point, we see yet another kiss but not one with the mutually sharing that makes it a real kiss.

These are such some of the deft touches, inducing in me initial incomprehension followed by slack-jawed awe, sprinkled by Morinaga all over the place which is another big reason (besides the art style) why I like her work - her characters can feel intensely real and often one not only feels empathy with them but, often, the feeling crosses into sympathy. While I also enjoy the humour of Hayashiya Shizuru, it's this kind of thing that makes Morinaga Milk my firm favourite. If only she would do what Erica calls "happy lesbian couples all grown up and together" I would be an even bigger fan.

Looking forward very much to the third (and concluding?) volume.

Related posts:

1. When The Ring Finger Is Kissed
2. Government-sponsored Yuri goods
3. Kashimashi: Girl meets Girl Vol.1

About Zyl

hontou ni sou omou?