This feature is made possible by: Yuri/GL Philippines
To officially kick-off The Lily Cat Pride Month Special, I will be featuring this cute pair in which is still on top of my favorite yuri manga pairings, it’s none than Mari and Akko from Milk Morinaga’s yuri manga masterpiece, Girl Friends.
The Manga that Opened the Fandom Floodgates
I started reading the Girl Friends manga when I was in first or second year of college. This was that particular period of my life when I got back to be hyped in yuri and splurged into different sources to read them. Aside from reading various fanfiction under this genre, it was in Girl Friends where I learned to get sources on where to read and buy manga and get the most updated info as possible.
It’s funny that as I’m writing this now, I remember my first yuri blog (which is now defunct). Imagine this: that particular blog was mostly dedicated to the updates of Girl Friends. Twitter wasn’t really a thing yet so I rely on various yuri sites, forums, and even image boards to get info about it.
About The Manga
Girl Friends is a popular yuri manga series by Milk Morinaga (morimilmil in Twitter. She also has an Instagram account too). The story is quite simple: it’s first centered on an ordinary nerdy girl named Mari Kumakura which is sort of aloof and doesn’t really talk much with her classmates. Then enter the talkative and fashionable Akko Oohashi in the picture. The two became very close. Mari, who never really cared about fashion or dress up became so interested in it. As her friendship grew with Akko, she then realizes that she developing feelings which more than just friendship.
The Fluff, The Story, and Development
What I really like about this manga is the slowly-but-surely pacing which comes out beautifully in the end. The situations that both Mari and Akko face are something that you can relate to. Of course you can never stop a person developing a deep connection to someone who is very important to her and giving her a better outlook in life.
I was one of those people who squealed in the couple of chapters where Mari was slowly growing feelings for Akko and Akko thought it was all nothing but girly friendship fun. During the chapters where it was centered on Akko, this is where I felt that the story slowed down a bit. It took Akko a loooong time to finally get to her emotions that she loves Mari and did all the efforts to confess and date her best friend. But all-in-all the story ended on a good note with the second to the last chapter and the final chapter as my favorite parts of the manga.
The Yuri Magic of Milk Morinaga
Hands down– Milk Morinaga is my favorite yuri manga artist because it was in her works like Girl Friends, Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossom Pink, and so on that taught me that fluff and innocent yuri romance will always get you in the feels every time.
Mari and Akko are just two of the popular yuri characters that I think a lot of yuri fans can relate to. As you flip through the pages, you can feel to how real the emotions are by how much detail the artist put on every page.
Since then, I look forward to any of her projects. Hopefully (I can dream), I will be able to meet her and give my thanks for her works made me such a devoted fan to the genre until this day.
An Unforgettable Yuri Pair
Lately, yuri series are more about sex, taking off their clothes, and have obvious plots which end up having the two characters to get it on in bed. For Mari and Akko, it’s just totally different. You can feel how pure and innocent these girls are for each other and that every time I have the chance to read the manga again, the feels always get me every freaking time.
If you haven’t read Girl Friends yet, I highly suggest that you get yourself a copy. Believe me, these two are just completely cute together and it would surely tug your hearts for more fluffy yuri love.
What do you guys think of Girl Friends? Leave it in the comments~!
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