Syrup: A Yuri Anthology Vol. 1

I'll start off saying this, some of these stories are lovely. It's more my personal opinion on some of the subjects and scenarios that knocked a few stars off. There were a few points where I would have returned it had I not pre-ordered and therefore missed the refund window. Still, I'm glad I read it until the end. There was enough good after the one I really disliked that I don't regret the purchase. Some people will love this book, absolutely - I'm just not one of them.

There is mentions of r*p3 in the “Coward Queen” story for anyone that it may trigger. There are wholesome stories and mature ones. Wouldn’t recommend for anyone too young to really understand it. Since this is an anthology, don’t expect much development within the stories. It’s just a quick read, my personal favourite was “The Abandoned Cat and the Lamp” as a cat lover myself!

Interesting short stories

I like it, it’s a boodk

Okay, first of all a disclaimer. For those who have read some other *yuri* anthologies, such as the recent *Éclair* ones from Yen Press, this is similar but different in some ways. They have some content that would be labeled as "mature". None of it is pornographic by any stretch, do not get me wrong, but some of the stories deal with more adult situations. It is still mostly plenty fun and cute, but it really is not for anyone younger than older teen and up.This is an anthology that basically covers the relationships and thoughts of professional women in a *yuri* context. Whether barely twenties or older, part-time or full-time, so on, they are the characters written about. Some of the stories are overly cute and unrealistic without plot development. So be it. They are, after all, one shots. You can't expect super-plotting from them. Some are better paced, but still kind of a fraction of a story.The above really does not matter, as the stories each still manage to be complete, self-contained tales. You can get a reasonably good sense of the characters, their motivations, and what they think by reading. Some authors take advantage of this sort of "difficulty" in writing to be extra cute, others to be suggestive of future events, some to have more open endings, and still others to have somewhat melancholy endings. It's a great set of one-shots that work well within the medium against the background of women living their lives with jobs of their own and the difficulties and stresses therein.One thing I truly liked was how the stories highlighted both the difficulties that women in general, and lesbian women in particular, face in Japan. The sexism is mentioned and the bigotry faced is real and hurtful. It goes beyond disagreement on a moral level with *love* and *respect* shown, nonetheless, to actual contempt and spite. Despite this, the various mangaka writing the stories, even in these moments, maintain the overall light-hearted theme.Not that these issues are not faced elsewhere. They, of course, are. But this is a manga, and thus stories about Japanese women, so it is focused on that context.The art was all over the place, as is to be expected with several different authors writing and illustrating their own story each one. It was hit and miss. But a few stories had truly beautiful art. Milk Morinaga, in particular, had gorgeous art.In general, this story is for someone who wants light, but still some slightly "real" flair to their stories mixed in with the uber-fluffy ones. Or for someone who doesn't mind this, I guess. It's not for everyone, as it's not completely slice-of-life, but it is a great deal of fun and overall quite the comfort read.So, if you are willing to have some slight melancholy with your mostly fluff, it's for you... as long as you are older teens and above, that is.

I love these stories in this book

I loved this volume, it's full of cute, romantic yuri! I was so excited when I received it, there was no damage and I actually got this as a Christmas gift. I loved the short stories, so this would be a great gift to you or someone who's trying to grow their yuri collection.