Lenni Reviews: Girl Friends The Complete Collection 1 & 2

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Any manga fan knows about yaoi and possibly knows about yuri as well. Alas, finding yuri as good as some of the yaoi out there is hard. Many yuri titles have the main female characters in a sister type relationship, where any romance is implied or strongly hinted at. It never gets as hot and heavy as yaoi, where the boys are boning so fast, they may or may not know each others names. Not to say this is a bad thing but it hardly seems fair, right?

"Girl Friends" by Milk Morinaga was a very pleasant surprise. In the two volumes, we see the shy Mariko Kamakura become fast friends with the outgoing Akiko Ohashi. As their friendship develops, Mariko finds her feelings deepening to much more than friendship and in classic manga style, they both fumble around each other till it’s all worked out.

Unlike anime like "Maria Watches Over Us" or manga like "Strawberry Panic," there is no question as to what sort of relationship these girls are in. They are in love and attracted to one another and the manga doesn't hesitate to show it (hence the 16+ rating). The art is classic manga, complete with super deformed cuteness that is sure to melt your teeth with sweetness. Half the time I was rooting for the couple, the other half I wanted to just squish all the characters for being too damned adorable.

If you are looking for a cute yuri manga where the characters are explicitly romantically involved and you want a cute, light-hearted story, I think "Girl Friends" is worth the pick up. Watch out for some intense lovin' in volume 2.