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This historical manga by Junji Takehara began publication in Japan in 2023 and I have been reading it in its French translation which began this year.
Set in the medieval Duchy of Brittany in the 13th Century, when it was an independent principality caught between the kingdoms of France and England, it is an intriguing story of knights errant, troubled dynastic successions... and cross-dressing.
Thomas, a young, earnest but at times clumsy squire-herald has been tasked by his lord, Raoul de Dinan, to find the daughter of Raoul's old friend, André Le Bleau, whom Raoul wishes to betrothe to the heir of the new duke, Pierre I ... of Brittany. Thomas's investigations lead him to meet a young knight who calls himself André Le Bleau, who bears the same name as his father, but is not the damsel he was sent to look for... until Thomas discovers that this knight is really a 15 year-old girl, whose real name is Andrée... Since her father's assassination by unknown marauders, she has been on the run, dressed as a man, and she seems determined to ascertain who killed her father and to avenge him.
Thomas dutifully decides to accompany the maiden-in-disguise and they set off across different parts of Brittany to solve the mystery of her origins, and figure out why Thomas's master wanted him to find and protect her.
The two published volumes do not lack plot variations and additional elements to the mystery, mixed with the complex political history of the Duchy of Brittany in those times. It's a well documented historical thriller in which some well known figures of the time: Pierre I, but also Philip Augustus of France, and the English kings Richard Coeur de Lion and King John make cameo appearances. The author also describes the strict social hierarchies of feudal Europe, the power of the Church and many tidbits that range from heraldry to local cooking, minstrel culture, architectural techniques.
The two characters, Thomas and Andrée, are engaging in their respective if clashing personalities; the young herald is determined to make himself a name and place in the world, while Andrée strives to belie the secondary place in nobility that her gender implies.
This is a very recommendable manga for fans of medieval history and mysterious family sagas.

I have just discovered this nice family story set around a used books shop set in the Tokyo neighborhood of Jimbocho. It is a witty observation of the ups and downs of the trade added with the slices of life of the three Karakida sisters who have moved there from Yokohama after inheriting the store and its attached apartment from their grandfather. Tsugumi, the middle sister, has left her job to become the store manager. Her older sister Ichika, who works for an architecture magazine, provides the stable salary to support the loss-making book store. Their younger sister Minoru is finishing high-school and is a ... "free spirit" with an eye for photography.
The sisters have been used to living on their own since their mother passed away and their father has been working abroad. They all share cherished childhood memories of visiting the bookstore and their moving there represents a new start.
For Tsugumi, the challenge is greater: will she manage to learn the ropes of the trade and turn around the store's fortune, under pressure by the old-time customers to keep the business as her grandfather ran it, and those of her sisters and friends who suggest she should put her own stamp and preferences on the place?
Ichika, the eldest, struggles with broken relationships and tends to drink too much: will she overcome these?
Minoru, the youngest, must cope with the travails of growing up. Will her feelings for her friend Mana blossom into something more?
There is also an element of mystery with the neighbor, Asusawa, who also runs a book shop: is he a rival competitor to Tsugumi, or just a fellow booklover; and why is he so interested in the books stored in the basement by Tsunami's grandfather?
This first volume introduces the characters and their distinct preoccupations as well as a good deal of suspense. I definitely recommend this series for book lovers and amateurs of family-based drama.

I am thoroughly enjoying this series which I discovered only recently. It's only taken a few weeks to get through the eight first volumes and looking forward to more.
Although I'm male, I find some Yuri manga to be quite good observers of relationships, and the "How do we" is really at the heart of this series and the lives of its characters.
I'd already enjoyed the fine psychological approach that followed the story arc in Bloom Into You. Like Octave, How Do We Relationship (this series' English title) is concerned with more adult characters and looks at relationships in both a frank and humorous, at times ... bittersweet way. This is very refreshing, and really good for anyone enjoying psychological intrigues. We get to see characters who have various reasons for getting together but by no means know the recipe for happiness together, and meeting their needs. The misunderstandings, the arguments and even the opposite sexual preferences, it all rings true!
I must confess a particular soft spot for Miwa, because the hang-ups she experiences as a shy nature are things I'm well acquainted with myself. Her portrayal is both touching and realistic. She's a decent and nice young woman who does have some weaknesses to overcome, and that affects her relationships, especially her first one with Saeko (who's got a whole developing plot of her own!). As the story is ongoing there's no telling where this will end, but we're seeing both Miwa and Saeko (and their other love interests) evolve and mature as the volumes go on. It's both love stories and coming-of-age, and it's nicely done. There's an interesting and recurrent use of flashbacks, or returns to episodes past told from an opposite point of view that is quite original on the part of the author.
This is a little gem which I'm happy to recommend to fans of the genre!

Having viewed episodes 1 through 13:

I was delighted to see season 2 of Yuru Camp arrive. I'm a great fan of the series, both the anime and the manga. I'd say it's especially fueled my desire and hope to see the beauty spots of Japan one day, and during the first lockdown this was certainly one of my best sources of feel good entertainment. It's interesting season 2 reached us just as we went into the second or third lockdowns according to your accounting, so I'd say accompanying Rin, Nadeshiko and the gang on more adventures in winter camping was going to generate some nostalgia.

Season ... 1 adapted the first four volumes of the manga and Season 2 is picking up straight after, taking us to the conclusion of the ninth volume (At the time of writing, Volume 10 is coming out, yay!). Season 1 ended on a memorable Christmas camping of Nadeshiko's club with some additions since Rin tagged along, so did Ena, and their rather excessively boozy teacher Mrs Toba as supervisor. I really loved the final scene of season 1 which sees Rin and Nadeshiko unexpectedly reunite at the very spot where they first met in the very first episode, and enjoyed an emblematic view of Mount Fuji.

Season 2's first episode picks up mere days afterwards and has some nice throwbacks to this cut-off. It does so subtly by starting with a flashback so that we can learn how a little younger Rin discovered winter camping and this very same spot. Along with some nice winks with what's to come later, we then get to see the members of the group working over the holidays to finance their next trips... and beginning to have some ideas about where to go next.

Typically, Rin heads off on her own for a New year's tour but she's going to have a surprise encounter on the way!

Opportunities shouldn’t be missed so despite her famous love of solitary contemplation, which she reflects about, Rin will also have the chance to discover Nadeshiko’s former hometown, Hamamatsu.

I continue to be absolutely enchanted by the anime’s artwork and depiction of landscapes of all kinds, mountains, sea sides, plains, and a great emphasis on light effects as we witness the poetry of sunrises and sunsets. There’s also the meticulous work of a chef preparing an eel for Rin and Nadeshiko that is given out in minute detail.

Add to this new a new catchy opening song and very soothing end theme.

One new character is introduced, absent from season 1, Rin's father. It's interesting because quite like her mother, he seems ready and benevolent enough to let her go off on adventures of her own, and I'd say this is rather original and encouraging.

We also get to meet Nadeshiko’s and Sakura’s grandmother, and their childhood friend Aya!

The latter part of the season focusses on an expedition of the expanded Outdoors Activities Club, including Rin, Ena, and Aoi’s little sister “Mini-Inuko”, along with Mrs Toba, to the Izu peninsula. We are once again treated to grand views of this famous beauty spot along with great moments of shared friendship. The season concludes with all the gang returning home, but revives the plot twist of the conclusion on season 1, as there is a nice throwback to the first episode, in which Rin tells Nadeshiko of that very first camping trip of hers.

Yuru Camp Season 2 is a hit with me, that completely lives up to the great impressions of its first season and the manga. It’s quietly comforting, celebrating a love of nature, exploration and friendships. For these times, it is precious relief. More please!

This is an interesting, though at times confusing dive into the life of artists. Hokusai is indeed one of the most famous Japanese artists, whose "Great Wave" is an iconic view known worldwide. Before hearing of this anime I wouldn't have known that he worked alongside one of his daughters. The credits kindly show one painting that is definitely attributed to her, so it is a fact that she has disappeared from art history. As such it's a story worth telling.

The story picks up when O-Ei is already a grown-up young woman, who for some time has lived with her father in his atelier apart ... from her mother and her youngest sister O-Nao. They are surrounded by a small cast of other characters, chiefly other artists who aim for fame by hanging around the great master, and a few clients. All of them seem to be aware that O-Ei is herself a talented artist and collaborates in the creation of her father's works, when she is not delivering the commissions in his stead because he is busy with something else. Yet few, including Hokusai, seem yet to expect for O-Ei to step out of the shadow and to become recognized in her own name. O-Ei acts as narrator to the story, but it also follows her own evolution as an artist and shows different stages of the development of her sensibility through experiences, some happy, others sad.

The life thus chronicled dwells much on Hokusai's eccentricity, a man who appears grumpy for most of the time but is lost to his creative activities. Like certain famous European artists, he seems not to mind much about status or high living, and some of it rubs off on his daughter, who is definitely unconventional by the standard of the period (the early 19th Century, in the final decades of the Tokugawa shogunate). Sometimes Hokusai chides O-Ei for not "capturing" a husband, but also seems to consider her presence alongside him as natural. They obviously understand each other quite well and collaborate with ease on the works. We don't always see him clearly tutoring her, though there seem to be moments where he "demonstrates" to her, through some peculiar experiences. This seems to be a highly imaginative and visionary family, as they move around Edo and at times they experience some supernatural phenomena (either visions or weather changes) that influence their art.

O-Ei does have a life of her own, and a mind and creative vision of her own, even if she seems reluctant to branch out and if she also sees the flaws in her father's character. Though rather sarcastic like Hokusai, where she appears especially touching and likable, is in the care she gives to her little sister O-Nao, who is blind, and with whom her father has very little to do. She takes the little girl on walks with her across Edo, on boat rides, on walks through the snowy countryside and cultivates her animation and her other senses to perceive things and enjoy life as much as a normal child could. Along with the views O-Ei is gathering of the everyday life in the city and in the country, she is obviously trying to nurture her sister's senses so that she too can express herself. One day she will paint a charming picture of O-Nao.

I mention the story can be confusing, in part because of the periodic "supernatural" visions of the artists, though they all have a certain amount of poetry that contrasts with some of the crude and down-to earth behavior (which features a lot of drinking and visits to brothels, including by O-Ei who seemingly does as much erotic painting as her father does, and at one point goes to experience sex with a male prostitute). The confusion stems also from the series of scenes that are at times unconnected but are meant to portray the rich diversity of experiences through which the artists, father and daughter, move about in their world. There isn't a precise timeline of events too. Things happen, are suggested, but will later find their way into creation.

I think the anime will essentially appeal to artistic minded people and amateurs of "arthouse" works. You have to be sensitive to the poetry of situations and slow moving plot to like this, but I found it had great sensitivity, and the discovery of this mysteriously little known "daughter of" was really worthwhile.

Aegea-kai wo Wataru Hana-tachi, which I read in its French translation Les Fleurs de la Mer Egée is a historical travel adventure set in the mid 15th Century. I've greatly enjoyed reading this series which ended in three volumes, first owing to its historical setting in a period and areas that I've been very interested in for a long time. It is nearly contemporary in its setting with two other historical series that I enjoy, Divci Valka and Arte.

The story is very much all public and is suitable for younger readers. It can be both an introduction to the historical period and to the areas ... and cultures featured in the development. At times, the geopolitical and historical setting can be confusing for people with no previous knowledge of late medieval Europe, the Mediterranean and the early Ottoman Empire, but the author does a fairly good job at explaining the context. Indeed, one of the originalities of the series is its use regular breaks in the narrative to provide contextual and cultural explanations that are given by the main characters, which makes it particularly easy for younger readers.

The story features two female lead characters that display a positive model for adventure-loving young girls. From a historical standpoint, some of their behavior and adventures may be a bit of a stretch of the social and cultural realities of the day but I wouldn't say it is completely implausible.

It all begins in the late 1450s in the Italian city of Ferrare. Lisa is the spirited and adventurous teen-aged younger daughter of a merchant family who is fascinated by travel and the acquisition of art works. She meets a stranger traveling on her own, Ohla, a barely older young woman arriving from Genoa after the death of her husband. They become friends and Ohla explains that she originally comes from "Qirim", present-day Crimea, where several Italian Maritime Republics like Genoa and Venice ran trading posts then at the last staging area of the Silk Road. The area being under pressure from the expansion of the Ottoman Turks, Ohla has been sent West but separated from her younger sister Mina. Now a widow, she wishes to travel back home to find her sister and bring her to safety. Lisa and her family accept to help Ohla. Although Lisa is expected to enter a convent as she shows no inclination to settle in a subdued married life, her display of commercial acumen convinces her family to grant her wish to make one big maritime trip with Ohla towards the East before she takes her vows.

The volumes thus follow Lisa and Ohla on a sometimes perilous trip through Venice, the Adriatic, Crete, Constantinople turning into the recently captured Istanbul, and finally the Black Sea. They are benevolently led by Lisa's relative, sea-captain and merchant Lorenzo, and by Tyuva, a resourceful girl from Dalmatia who is a commoner and apprentice trader. They must deal with the risks of pirates, bandits, unscrupulous merchants and sometimes double-dealing diplomats and local rulers. As the trip progresses, we also get to discover additional clues about Ohla's somewhat mysterious family background just as the very open and gregarious Lisa does. We're treated to discovery of the way of life of the times, cooking, clothing, architecture of the various places the girls visit, across an Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan region that is being completely transformed by the Ottoman conquest at the dawn of the Renaissance period.

I had expected the story to run longer as it first appeared to be a slow pace recollection of the time that sea and land travel took in those days: The conclusion in the third volume doesn't lack for surprises. Although Lisa and Ohla part ways, it is not forever, and we leave them determined to consolidate their friendship and taste for exploration. It's a generally feel-good conclusion to an odyssey that celebrates cross-cultural friendships, openness to the world and risk-taking.

I've really enjoyed watching this chronicle of the lives of four your people trying to move on with young adulthood in the Tokyo metropolis. The story at times may appear slow-going and a little buried in routine, but this is meant to capture the reality of how their existence is felt by the protagonists. One of the interesting developments is that although these four main characters, involved in a love quadrangle, are not all at the same age and stage of their professional and personal life, they all seem to perceive their situation and daily routine as quite similar.

The exploration of personal feelings, contradictions, struggles ... between different desires and aspirations, choices to make is both delicate and searching. The characters appear warts and all, and this makes for some quite realistic storytelling.

Rikuo is a recent college graduate in his mid twenties who at first doesn't seem to figure out what to do with his life. Of all the characters he is perhaps the most indecisive and the story sees him, slowly but none too surely, begin to overcome this detrimental side of his personality.

Riuko is in love with a former college classmate of his, Shinako, who has become a high school teacher and unlike him, appears to be set on a fine career path. However, Shinako remains rather aloof from Ruiko and other suitors because she is still grieving over the loss of her first love, who died young.

Rikuo is also the target of the affections of a rather forward and eccentric younger girl, Haru, 18, who had dropped out from school, has a bit of a troubled home life coming from a recomposed family, and has decided to live on her own with her pet crow, Kansuke. Haru used to be a pupil in Shinako's school and she is brave enough to challenge Shinako into a competition to win over Rikuo.

Shinako's doubts of whether to settle with Rikuo are also fueled because she has stayed close to her former boyfriend's family, and is very fond of his younger brother, Ro, who is studying art and wants to be considered by Shinako as a grown up man rather than the little boy she used to mother a bit. Ro has yet to get into college and faces the challenge of loving Shinako, an older woman whom he knows better than anyone else to be still devoted to his deceased brother.

Although the story centers on these four characters trying to figure out with whom they will end up (and this remains in doubt until the very last episode) there are several nicely drawn supporting characters who make appearances with more or less lasting consequences for the four protagonists. They too appear a bit in drift but swiftly make decisions to move on seriously with their lives, and they can point out to the four main characters that they, too, can ultimately make it.

I was particularly fond of the treatment of Shinako and Haru as characters. The older young woman is shown as not necessarily wiser, though perhaps more delicately concerned with preserving the feelings of either Rikuo and Ro. Her great kindness and her struggle to honestly figure whether she may be mistaking deep friendship for love make her quite likable when one might get annoyed with her for indecisiveness. There is also a nice parallel drawn between the form that her grieving for her former boyfriend takes and that of Ro for his big brother. Haru is funny and bubbly, determined and intrepid though perhaps in need of a little maturing, to become as considerate of others and prudent as Shinako is. At times her energy appears to give her much more personality and presence in the story than any of the other characters (particular high marks to the end theme sequence during about half the episodes that features Haru as the character of a video arcade game struggling to pass obstacles to secure Rikuo as a "treasure" before Shinako comes along!)

This isn't an "action" story in any way, but focuses on psychological and personal development, so I'd only recommend it to people who like these themes. It also deals quite heavily with the way the past, either in the form of reminiscences or fantasies, can impact on later lives. Each character must learn to deal with their past, either free themselves of its too great embrace, or else manage to use it as a force for experience and future progress. It's also not typical shojo either because there are some grim realities (poor employment prospects, limited perspectives, untimely illness and death) that weigh on the story and its characters. The ending is pretty open and could leave the perspective of further episodes and development of the stories. At the conclusion, the characters have finally made some choices and progress, but will they keep going, that remains to be seen.

I am a big fan of the Italian Renaissance and in particular of its painting, and also interested in the life of its artists. I was therefore delighted to discover the manga devoted to the formative years of a young woman painter, whose character has obviously been inspired by the true-life figure of Artemissia Gentilesschi, although the author has set the story a couple of generations earlier and gives her a slightly different background. Finding out this series was coming out as an anime was also great news.

I'm overall delighted by this production which has been a joy to binge watch in a few days. ... The story adaptation is closely true to the manga. It is always ambitious to adapt in anime a story about art and that requires portrayal of beautiful places, Renaissance Florence and Venice, where the young Arte's apprenticeship takes her. Some will perhaps find the art a bit minimalistic in relation to this, though there are some very recognizable pieces of both architecture, landscape and some famous artworks that feature. In terms of historical detail, costumes and appearances are quite accurate, as is much of the re-telling of everyday life. There are occasions where the brutality of the times and the hard fate of people might be a little glossed over so as to make the viewing suitable for all ages. But it's educational anyways.

Arte is a wonderfully inspiring character, with greatly positive values, and certainly an inspiring role models for girls, for the artistically-minded as well. Her bravery, stubbornness and iron-will to make it blend with sensitivity and kindness to others, and make for a well-balanced character. She is shown to be ambitious and demanding for herself, but not arrogant. She is curious to learn, and considerate of less fortunate people, a likable, down-to-earth youngster. While some of the values and attitudes projected might not necessarily be in full accuracy with the behavior of the times, one must allow for some artistic licence and with the story's aim to depict the coming of age of an artist. The manga series, incidentally, is ongoing and the final 12th episode of the anime that reaches the eighth volume leaves open the possibility of further adventures.

While Arte is at the heart of the story and her itinerary from being the fatherless daughter of an impoverished nobleman to a respected, if eccentric, apprentice among the Florentine artists' guild is well depicted, along the way she meets a large cast of supporting characters that for many get a fine treatment. It is subtly done because these people aren't just actors in the story; in some cases they serve as models for Arte's paintings as well as useful guides, whatever their age or station in life, as she herself is growing up, honing her skills and nurturing her confidence and self-worth as an artist and a person. Special mention to Leo, the somewhat marginal painter who is the only one to dare to hire Arte as his apprentice (his background is a bit mysterious and there is obviously room to discover more about him and where he has acquired his talent); Veronica, a courtesan who is not just Arte's first patron and subject, but also gives her, on the basis of her worldly experience, some unexpected lessons, even in a tale with a strong feminist message ; and Caterina, a little girl from a rich Venetian family whom Arte once comes to tutor and offers also some interesting perspectives on social conventions and ranking, family relations and friendship between older and younger people.

I completely recommend the series to those with an interest in the arts and time of the Renaissance period and also to those who like a strong and positive female lead character. I also really hope a further season will appear!

Although the story is set in the famous pleasure quarter of Edo, this story belongs to the shojo genre and has a surprising tame approach to the life of courtesans. It is also very much a crime thriller.

The young heroine, Akane, is a samurai's daughter whose family were murdered and stripped of rank. She voluntarily sells herself into high class prostitution not so much to fend for herself but out of determination to find, amidst the underworld, who killed her parents and obtain justice. Akane, at times very naive of the ways of the world, shows iron-will both in her enquiries and in the ... dangerously competitive atmosphere of the courtesans. While an apprentice, she must learn to entertain men without sleeping with them and hopes to reach her objective early enough that she can buy her freedom again and preserve her prospects for a later respectable life. Yet nothing goes as planned and Akane must rely on the help of Sosuke, a young devil-may-care rice merchant who intends to become her exclusive client. Their feelings also gradually evolve.

The story is superbly illustrated and offers a highly detailed picture of the historical period, its lifestyles, society, arts, fashion, and food. Truly a hidden gem.

This is my absolute favorite of the genre. I believe it's been critically acclaimed and a great breakthrough for its still fairly young mangaka, along with a successful one-season anime adaptation.

The title, "Bloom Into You" in English, is already revealing of the story's ambition. It isn't just a teenage love story but also a coming-of-age tale that also richly explores several psychological issues: integrity in relationships, family relations, grief, artistic creation and endeavors, the ups and downs of friendship.

The story follows the complicated evolution of the relationship between two high school girls, Koito Yuu and Nanami Touko, who at first thought themselves aromantic. Here ... is an honest, non-judgmental analysis of feelings, attraction, growing up and sexuality. The protagonists are surrounded by a fine cast of friends, family and a few other adults including a few boys which don't usually feature that much in Yuri. All are portrayed sympathetically and there is also a fair deal of comedy in what is otherwise a serious treatment.

This series is truly one of a kind.