Reviews for Shiroi Heya no Futari

I want to correct something a previous reviewer said. This story is *tragic,* not melodramatic. Tragedy is a portrayal of deep sorrow or despair which could have been avoided, melodrama is soap opera he-said-she-said. The mangaka clearly portrayed Simone, the out lesbian, as a mature character above drama. This is why, in one scene, Simone has to pull the tea cup away from her straight? girlfriend. I blame American television for the problem some people have telling the difference between tragedy and melodrama. Yes, it is indeed the first published yuri manga. I'm glad that it was, because the mangaka paved the way for yuri tobecome a meaningful genre, often more original and more artistic than straight romantic-comedy.

Widely considered to be the first yuri manga, The Couple in the White Room was a defining work that helped to usher in wider acceptance of lesbian romances in the 1970s and 1980s. This story can easily be surmised as a dramatic tragedy in the spirit of theater classics like Romeo and Juliet. The story follows Resine, a soft and feminine girl dealing with the tragic loss of her parents, and Simone, a rebellious and cruel young woman who bullies Resine when they first meet. The characters clash and eventually come together over shared loneliness, their drastically different personalities make them a striking pair, though theirromance was difficult to believe, there is no part of it that is healthy.

This manga was rough, the events in the story play out at a lightning-fast pace and barely have any development which isn’t unusual for the time in which it was written. The tragedy of the story is emblematic of the gay panic that unfortunately still plagues the LGBTQ community to this day. Resine feels anxious about her queer feelings toward the uncompromisingly honest Simone, and the way that the people around her view them.

While undoubtedly groundbreaking for its time, the issues with pacing make this manga pale in comparison to more contemporary works. Even with its flaws, however, I still feel that it is worth a read as a manga classic.

1971, Japans first Yuri manga is published: Shiroi Heya no Futari. Truly somethings that holds well on it's own, and started an entire genre of dramatic school lesbians in anime and manga. Couple of the white room is simple, short, and bittersweet. The dynamic between stereotypical blonde haired naive Resine and matured, sharp eyed Simone works perfectly for 80 pages. Very representative of it's time with it's highly stylized 70's shoujo trademarks: sparkling eyes, clean thick lines, decorative side panels, and existential melodramatic narrative. For something so short there is not much to nitpick other than it seeming inevitably weak to those used tothe current state of 100+ chapter stories. Rather Shiroi Heya no Futari is here for it's legacy.

Oh and also mad respect to queen Yamagashi Ryouko.

“The Couple in the White Room” is a fun but cheap thrill which just so happens to be what many consider the first true Yuri. This manga can come off as needlessly dramatic and exploitative of marginalized experiences, but both despite and because of that, I would highly recommend consuming this book as the trashy pulp novel it is. If you let yourself be drawn into the vortex of emotion there are striking moments that run at a decent pace. This may not be the most memorable Yuri, but I would happily give this a soft recommendation to anyone who is undeterred by the Tragedygenre.

‘Shiroi Heya no Futari’ has beautiful art with all the hallmarks of a 70s shoujo - huge eyes with bright highlights, flowery imagery, and flowing hair. The characters are built from smooth lines representing movement and elegance. Large open spaces contrast with small characters, representing loneliness and isolation. A spider and butterfly motif is used, with Resine shown as a butterfly, and Simone shown as a spider. This is representative of the stereotype of lesbians ‘catching’ and corrupting innocent girls into a homosexual lifestyle. Flowers are used as symbolism throughout to represent femininity and innocence. Lilies are used, most likely to represent female beauty andpurity. Flowers also represent temporality. The most significant floral symbolism appears in the final chapter.

The romance between Resine and Simone doesn’t flow naturally, and seems to come out of nowhere. Simone goes from picking on Resine to declaring her love without any build-up.

The manga has themes of homophobia, compulsory sexuality, misogyny, and violence towards women. It does not have a ‘happy ending’ and ends abruptly. Romeo and Juliet symbolism is present in the text.