The third volume of the Syrup yuri anthologies collects together stories that focus on the theme of the first night. Eleven people have contributed to this anthology – one for the cover, and then ten different stories.
Front cover of the third volume of Syrup: A Yuri Anthology, featuring art by Fly
The First Night
That special night when bodies and hearts are joined for the first time… In the third volume of this yuri anthology, Syrup draws back the curtain on the first night of women’s love – whether it’s unexpected, long-anticipated, bittersweet, or joyful.
This volume of Syrup has a generally lighter tone than the previous one, although we do get a bit of a darker story here and there with this collection. Overall, though, I would say that I enjoyed this volume more than the previous one.
Once again, Fly contributes the art of the cover. The stories are contributed by Ito Hachi, Homura Subaru, Kawanami Izumi, Chiruda Shimako, Yoshidamaru Yu, Iwami Kiyoko, Ikeda Takashi, Sal Jiang, Canno and Morinaga Milk.
As tends to be the case with these collections, there are names that I’m familiar with, and some others that are new to me. So a nice mix of old and new artists here.
For me, the main highlights that I’d pick out of this anthology are Ito Hachi’s Inari’s Marriage, Yoshidamaru Yu’s Night of the Loser Virgins, and Sal Jiang’s Private Consideration. In the case of Inari’s Marriage, there’s an age gap between its two main characters – and they’ve been anticipating that first night for quite a while. It’s the only story that has a fantasy setting, too.
Night of the Loser Virgins and Private Consideration has their respective couples trying to overcome awkwardness – it’s some pretty amusing stuff, before getting into the more intimate side of things. Definitely got a bit of a laugh out of those stories.
Though I may pick out a few favourites, I do feel that this collection of stories is generally more enjoyable than the previous volume. All in all, Syrup: A Yuri Anthology offers a solid collection of stories.
Rory Muses 