Licensed for an English release by Seven Seas Entertainment, Syrup: A Yuri Anthology is a collection of short yuri manga stories from names that yuri manga fans might just recognise.
The front cover of Syrup: A Yuri Anthology Volume 1, illustrated by Fly
How Sweet it Is!
A beautiful new yuri anthology about women in love, featuring stories by some of the hottest names in manga! This short story collection explores the many different ways these women navigate their love for each other while dealing with the ups and downs of a working life – stories that are all too often overlooked but are yearning to be told!
There may be fourteen stories in this anthology, but fifteen artists contribute. Fly provides the cover illustration for Syrup: A Yuri Anthology volume 1, which means it is their work representing what you’ll find inside.
And here’s the list of artists that contributed their works: Yukiko, Kodama Naoko, Yoshimura Kana, Goumoto, Mocchi_au_Lait, Kawanami Izumi, Shioya Teruko, Amano Shuninta, Ohi Pikachi, Yoshidamaru Yu, Kurogane Kenn, Matsuzaki Natsumi, Ito Hachi and Morinaga Milk.
It should be pretty clear by this point that all the stories in this anthology focus on girls’ love, but what I want to add is we get different stages of yuri. Some stories are simply about one girl working up the courage to share her feelings with another, whilst others focus on the intimate bonds between couples.
Overall I’d say all the stories are enjoyable reads, though some did stand out more than others for me. That’s probably par for the course when it comes to an anthology, though.
My favourite stories from this volume of Syrup won’t necessarily be the same as someone else’s stories. Personally, I would say that there aren’t any bad stories here, but some will stay with me for longer than others.
On the subject of my favourite stories, the ones that stood out to me most were Mocchi_au_Lait’s Cram School Teachers, Shioya Teruko’s Promise, Ohi Pikachi’s The Abandoned Cat and the Lamp, Kurogane Kenn’s Rose Quartz and Morinaga Milk’s Working With an Angel.
There is some pretty intimate stuff going on between a few of the couples from the stories listed above, but I promise you that is not wholly the reason I picked them out as my favourites.
There is a little humour to be found in some these stories, or they make the reader feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Overall, Syrup: A Yuri Anthology is a pretty solid first volume. Well worth a look if you want some more yuri in your life.
Rory Muses 