Prism

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Prism is a yuri manga written and illustrated by Shou Higashiyama. My score is based on the first five chapters of an unknown total at the time of this writing.

Prism has been a special experience. As much as I love yuri, I find that a truly enjoyable yuri story is rare; it doesn’t help that noteworthy works in the genre usually fall into one of two extremes of a) pornography or b) stories about close – but not explicitly romantic – relationships between girls. Prism is an exception that not only lies comfortably in the middle, very near my ideal, but is executed beautifully. It ... is inspirational.

The story itself, when extracted from the work as a whole, is nothing to write home about. What makes Prism special is a certain lifelikeness found in every panel that arises from the art and dialogue. It is ironic, considering the type of manga the artist specializes in, but it can be seen in his other works, too. He knows how to sell his characters. They are never archetypal; there is never doubt that they have real emotion and motivation. It is precisely this aspect of his works which makes Prism stand out among yuri stories with similar premises.

The art quality is something that most people will notice right away. It is another characteristic of Shou Higashiyama’s works that is well beyond usual expectations and a personal source of inspiration for me. It is the final and possibly most important step in bringing the characters to life.

Technical excellence notwithstanding, I acknowledge that Prism is not necessarily a manga for everyone. Many of the reasons it hits so close to home for me are personal, and of course, not everyone can get into yuri. For fans of the genre, though, it is a must-read.

I'm really not a fan of yuri. It's usually bland, pornographic, stereotypical, plusl misleading towards actual lesbian relationships.This is an exception. I read all of the chapters in one day and it's still playing in the back of my mind. And it's not at all unpleasant.

The story is best summed up by the word "cute". The portrayal of Megumi and Hikaru's relationship itself is truly brilliant, especially for such a short story. Both characters are well rounded and believable.

9/10

A story about girls in love seems about a dime a dozen in the manga space. So what makes this one different? Not much honestly. It does what it does decently to good but never feels like something truly remarkable or special. It can make you laugh occasionally, but not too often, if that matters to you. It rarely makes you feel very connected at all to the 2 main characters as their relationship feels somewhat rushed and kind of awkwardly paced. Maybe it could've been helped by better side characters helping out but the side characters are pretty bad for the most part. At ... best, they're forgettable. At worst, they're poorly written and annoying.


This would've been a lot better if 1. They didn't throw in the obnoxious cliché "haha bully lesbian", especially considering it felt like it was just shoehorned in for some cheap drama. And 2. The characters didn't all look almost exactly the same. It genuinely gets difficult to tell what's supposed to be happening between who because you can't tell them apart. Other than that, this was a short, cute, solid, good story worth a read. There are definitely better, but I'd still recommend it for what it's worth.