Shiomi Chika - Yurara, vol. 01-02 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

Tsukinowa Yurara can see ghosts, but she can't do anything other than talk to them. After transferring to a new school, she finds that instead of turning off everyone by her weirdness (she tends to avoid places or talks to walls due to aforementioned ghosts), she draws the interest of hot guys Mei and Yako.

Turns out Mei and Yako can ward off spirits and ghosts, and Yurara will transform into her guardian spirit when confronted with ghosts.

This is a very standard shoujo and sadly not very interesting. Both the guys have offensive capabilities, whereas Yurara can only communicate with ghosts. Even though her alternate self is much, much cooler (snarky, kicks people), her main function is still to send ghosts to their rest via understanding their pain. This could work, only all the ghosts' pains are so predictable that I snoozed through most of it.

Mei has expressed interest in Yurara (both of her), though he of course has a tragic past which reads as thoroughly expected; Yako is the gruff, grumpy one whom I predictably like. I further predict that Yako will end up pining for Yurara, who will return his affections in the end.

Boring, full of tropes, and rather trite.

Comments

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Mei and Yako...? Is there any explanation why they have girls' names!?

[oyceter]

Not as of yet, but yeah, weird.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

I was so curious I poked around on Google Japan to see what I could find and Yako is actually Yakou (夜行), so an odd name, but not a girls' name. Mei is 明, which would normally be read Akira. I'm going to look for the manga at Book Off just to see if it mentions anything about that in the Japanese version. XD

[oyceter]

Huh, interesting... I wonder why it's pronounced "Mei"?

Maybe there will be more cross-dressing later in the series.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I like Yurara, but can probably honestly say that I probably wouldn't if I hadn't already been reading 2 of her other series when I started. She seems to largely be trying to write a more "conventional" shojo with it. Though, since it's apparently her most popular series and there's a sequel series about Yako, I guess it worked for her.

[oyceter]

*nods* Huh, sequel on Yako? I am guessing he doesn't end up as the romantic lead yet, which is too bad, because I like him best.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think Yurara is only 5 volumes altogether. I like Yako best myself, but flipping through vol 3-4(which I have but haven't read) it looks like it's going the love triangle route.

[anenko.livejournal.com]

I disliked that Yurara couldn't be powerful on her own; she has to become an entirely different person in order to get things done. That she depends on another female personality makes things a bit better, but not enough to encourage me to read more.

[oyceter]

Yeeeaaaah. I like the other personality a lot, and wouldn't have minded as much if the guys worked via understanding spirits' pain as well (more like Land of the Blindfolded), but instead, their powers are explicitly offensive.

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

Was this made into an anime? I've encountered this, but didn't make it far. Wait, yes, it's coming back to me now. Does the manga include girl molestation while Yurara is asleep by another girl who's in some sort of trance? Yeah, that was when I checked out. *twitch*

I must've been feeling generous that day, to've got past the whole "can't be powerful on her own while the boys are" part. Fail, story, fail.

[oyceter]

Oh huh, I have no idea!

I... do not remember girl molestation at all, but I could be blocking it from memory ;).

[ginny-t.livejournal.com]

It's definitely something for blocking. O_o (I'd had it safely blocked. Whyohwhy did I have to remember this?!)