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With a come on like that, I guess I *have* to comment. lol

Yuri *is* hard to define and, with linguistic drift, fan delusion and generic Loser FanBoyism  clogging up the meaning, I stick with the broadest possible definition - any anime or manga with lesbian themes, issues or characters.

Maka-Maka is excellent for what it is - porn for men. It's important to remember what it is only so one doesn't fall into the trap of wishing it were something completely different - a tale of two women falling in love, losing their miserable boyfriends and living happily ever after as a couple. That is exactly what it isn't. lol

I want to give props to the folks at Media Blasters for this English language edition, too. They really did an exceptional reproduction job.  I considered it the best English-language Yuri manga of 2008.

So, for the audience that defines Yuri as sex between two women (regardless of  meaning, intent or existence of affection) or for those who don't mind random heterosexuality in the middle of their Yuri, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this manga.


Cheers,

Erica

Hungry for Yuri? Have some Okazu!
http://okazu.blogspot.com

Thanks for the thoughts, Erica! :)

Yuri is difficult to find even in online Japanese bookstores because its usually under the het-hentai category.  I enjoy reading yuri mangas as much as I enjoy reading yaoi mangas (and seinen/gekiga & josei).  Unfortunately, the yuri genre is not widely marketed or as popular as yaoi/BL in the West.   I have read yuri mangas written and illustrated by women and its a stark contrast from the yuri illustrated from the male point of view.  The male mangakas put more emphasis on illustrating overly exagerrated female breasts, ass, and of course gratuitous smut whereas the female mangakas put more emphasis on relationships, emotions, and love.  Mist Magazine was a great yuri magazine published in the 90s and it was more erotic than Yuri-hime yet not ridden with gratuitous smut and nonsensical plots. 

Even though I do feel a bit discontent with some of Kitty Media's BL titles because of the shoddy presentation of some of their mangas (Dog Style, Thunderbolt Boys Excite, etc.), I do commend them in acquiring a yuri title, Maka Maka,  that women will find appealing.

Ruby: A lot of Kitty/Media Blaster's presentation problems had to do with their printer, as I recall. They acquired a new printer relatively recently-- their BL books are still mostly pretty simplistic, but the page cutoff problems and things have generally been taken care of.

But Maka Maka is really well above and beyond the call on production values-- the slipcovers, the SECOND slipcovers, the pull-out posters...it's fantastic. Of course, it's also more expensive than a standard manga, but it's also full-color, more like a tpb of Sandman or Fables, and closer to their prices.

Mariaholic mmm.

Black_Rose said:

"I like Yuri as a concept but I have yet to see a great non-adult yuri series, Maria-sama was ok but boring and I haven't seen Utena yet. I'll try to see if I can find Maka Maka, although I don't tend to enjoy short story compilations.
"

The great thing is that if you don't enjoy the story it's still porn.

Black_Rose said:

"Sigue said:

" The great thing is that if you don't enjoy the story it's still porn."

Not really, not all yuri has sexual encounters and I don't consider love between two women porn.
"

Maka Maka... Does.

Yeah yuri! XD