Japanese Title: Zenryaku, Yuri no Sono yori
Similar: Flower and Stars
Genre: Yuri Comedy
Length: 2 volumes
Positives:
- The dynamic between the two girls is great.
- Protagonist Yuri is an amusing, well-rounded character.
Negatives:
- Nothing.
Yuri has always been teased for her mean-looking eyes, which made her into a tough girl who is defensive about any comment against her. On the other end of the spectrum is Fujiwara, the popular girl beloved by all and considered the nicest person in school. Yuri is suspicious of her, for she doesn’t believe anyone can be that nice – she must be a fake! Yuri secretly writes yaoi manga and bases one of the domineering characters on Fujiwara. However, when Fujiwara finds her notebook after class one day, Yuri must suffer her kindness lest she reveal her hobby to the school.
Upon first starting Notes from the Garden of Lilies, I rolled my eyes – another fawning over the rich girl story. Great. To my pleasant surprise however, it deviated from the cliché by first-chapter’s end into something rather enjoyable. This surprise stems largely from the loud-mouthed and brash Yuri who is infuriated by Fujiwara’s insistent kindness, which is hilarious. On the surface, Yuri sounds the same as Yuzu from Citrus, a character I had little praise for in that review. Yuri succeeds where Yuzu failed because of her consistency. Yuri is always suspicious, even when grateful for Fujiwara’s help in a bind. The change to friendship is gradual and not a pinball machine of indecision as seen with Yuzu.
I had fun reading Notes from the Garden of Lilies and wouldn’t have minded if it were several volumes longer.
Art – High
Good art with a nice level of textures and shading.
Story – Mid-High
A humorous story between a loudmouth and a nice girl…suspiciously nice…
Recommendation: Read it. Yuri and Fujiwara’s story is a fun one.
(Find out more about the manga recommendation system here.)
Nefarious Reviews 