Reviews for Yuri Espoir

Very original concept. Kokoro sees two women/girls together, sketches their love story after her imagination and afterwards we get to see a glimpse of the women's actual realities. Each of the short stories (both the daydreams and the reality afterwards) are very interesting; I'm honestly surprised some of these haven't been used for a stand-alone or a whole manga series. (or they have and I just don't know about it.) The manga is similar to an anthalogy, and basically is, except it keeps going back to the main story, which is Kokoro's life. She herself is lesbian and has known for while that she has no interestin men. She loves daydreaming about Yuri, but the yuri sketches, together with her best friend Amami, all started after her father (a CEO) announced something very horrible to Kokoro: after graduating from high school, she has to marry an older man (he's about 30). She's marked that event in her calendar as her death (no, she's not planning to kill herself but she'd rather die than marry a guy) and the only thing that would keep her alive is Yuri. That's why she's going to fill her sketchbook with different Yuri love stories from strangers she encounters in public, and Amami helps her.

As someone who never wants to marry either, I can imagine how horrible it must be for Kokoro to be forced into a marriage, especially this young. And even more so with a gender you despise. And someone you've never met.

The way her fiancé is drawn adds also to the horror.

The yuri stories in-between really help me to get through, because Kokoro's life is pretty suffocating. It was fine in volume 1, but especially volume 3 is very heavy.

Maybe that's just me though, but either way, very recommendable. Original concept, interesting & different characters & stories, and nice art.

I can't wait to read volume 4!

The cute, shoujo art style is a trojan horse - this manga gets HEAVY. But the tone of patriarchal horror is balanced well with slice of life comedy. The serialized story alternates by chapter with an anthology of twists on familiar yuri stories, which give welcome breaks from the drama of the overarching plot. Yuri Espoir showcases the suffocating disempowerment of patriarchy inflicted on young girls and how well intentioned men can still perpetuate this power structure, even through inaction. Without spoiling anything, the primary antagonist, Kokoro's fiancé, is a well written and interesting take on a sexist man thus far. The banality of hisevil haunts the narrative in the horrifically mundane way he ruins Kokoro's life.

While the art may appear simple at first, the creativity is impressive. Some of the pages and panels are incredibly memorable, whether they be hilarious or heartbreaking.

I consider this one a must read for fans of the yuri genre, so long as you can stomach the weight of it.

This manga centers on Kokoro, a teenage yuri fanatic who's dreading her impending arranged marriage. She seeks solace by escaping into the romantic fantasies she concocts for the pairs of women she and her friend observe while people-watching. The story has a cyclical rhythm of plot-advancing drama, Kokoro's charming daydreams, and vignettes of the subjects' real relationships (each of which are surprisingly interesting and could have been their own one-shots, if not series). The art could certainly be better on a technical level, but it more than makes up for it in creativity. It's absolutely full of interesting compositions and clever scene transitions. As of writing this,there are only two volumes officially published in English but I'm already hooked. Don't sleep on this hidden gem!