Cocoon Entwined is a yuri manga written and illustrated by Yuriko Hara. Yen Press licensed the manga for an English release.
This first volume contains chapters one through seven.
Cover of the first volume of Cocoon Entwined, featuring Youko Yokozawa and Hana Saeki
Clad in school uniforms practically breathing with life are the girls of Hoshimiya Girls’ Academy, their hair long and luxurious. When a puzzling incident involving the ever-mysterious and elusive student Hoshimiya-san disturbs their peaceful paradise, the hidden feelings these innocent schoolgirls possess begin to entwine and overflow in unimaginable ways…
The first thing I want to say about Cocoon Entwined is that I suspect that Yuriko Hara has a hair fetish. Most of the girls in this manga have almost absurdly long hair, and there are more than a few pages dedicated to just showing that off.
Whether Yuriko Hara is overly fond of hair or not, there is a very specific reason why the Hoshimiya Girls’ Academy students grow their hair out as much as they do.
The tone of this manga is quite bizarre – or perhaps unsettling would be a better way to describe it. The whole thing about the uniforms breathing is on the odd side, and then you have the one tradition that survived a big war that happened long ago. Some moments are particularly unsettling, too.
Youko Yokozawa and Hana Saeki are our main characters. Saeki is treated like a prince by all the other girls at the Academy. Yokozawa is mesmerised by Saeki, but believes that she is out of her league.
We also have Hoshimiya, who is something of an enigma. She tends to isolate herself from others. Saeki has a fateful encounter with Hoshimiya, which may perhaps be a catalyst for other events.
Cocoon Entwined is certainly on the stranger side of things, but that just makes it all the more fascinating. Hidden feelings come to surface towards the end of this volume, though there may be repercussions in store.
This manga is on the odd side, but it is certainly fascinating.
Rory Muses 