Girl Friends

I give very few tens, but this is probably a 9.5... or perhaps I need to wipe my eyes to make sure I'm clicking the right spots :) I don't know if this is a "masterpiece" as the rating system would qualify it but I do think it's a master-work; if I didn't love Morinaga Milk already and want to find everything she's ever written, I certainly do now.

I won't claim this has ground-shaking originality but the emotional beats are, in general, perfect. And I absolutely could not put it down--read the whole thing in one sitting. It's just beautiful, and I loved the experience of getting to spend so long with these characters and watch the story really develop through a considerable amount of time. I actually found both of them--all of them--quite plausible, and the story is by turns funny, sincerely emotionally impactful and melodramatic, innocent and mature, sweet and beautiful. These characters are very clear and surprisingly well-rounded, going beyond obvious cliches and showing real development over the course of the series.

I'd like to say something more profound about the genre and this work's place in it, but it's 4 AM and I just finished it--which probably says more about this book than anything intellectual I could write.

I think it was beautiful, throughout, and now I feel wonderful.

=====EDIT:=====
I've decided to revise this rating upward. Purely subjectively. I simply realized as I was going about my life that I was comparing whatever I was reading or watching to whether I'd rather be rereading Girl Friends. And I'd almost always rather be re-reading Girl Friends. If that isn't a 10 I don't know what is.

First of all, I think this manga is one of the best mangas in the yuri community, just because of the story and the enjoyment.

1. Story 5/5
This story is about two girls who had never talk to each other in a whole course, but suddenly one of them invite the other to go home together, that´s a good start, in my opinion, they fall in love in a adorable and curious way, and that is why I love the history

2. Art 3.5/5
I really like this art, it isn´t the best I´ve ever seen, but it´s really good for the 2006, I find it similar to Elfen Lied.

3. Characters 4/5
Akko: She´s the girl who stars the friendship, I find this character really adorable and she´s also a very elaborated character.
Mariko: The shy girl in the relationship, I also find this character very elaborated, I love the way she recognise her feelings towards Akko, my favourite character.
The friends: They are true teens in 21st century, fashion, boys and that things, they are funny and good characters.

4. Enjoyment 5/5
I give it a 5 out of 5 because I really enjoy this history, I finished it without knowing because I read and read, and finished it.

Girl Friends is one of my first Yuri mangas I ever read, so the following review will be slightly biased towards it's favour.

It's not perfect, there is a lot of girl talk about make up and clothes and during the first few chapters there is little development. Mari is ridiculously oblivious in various points, but I can forgive it for that.

What makes Girl Friends great is the tension building between the two characters, the confusion with the lines between how you feel towards a friend and how you feel about someone you want as a partner, and the genuine love between them both - irregardless of if its platonic or if its romantic. Touching on the tension again, Girl Friends is one of the yuri mangas that gives me a little twist in my stomach when I read it, just because it builds up scenes so well as well as the awkwardness and obligatory yuri angst.


Plus, Akko is just an angel, it's worth it just to read for her. The two of them are both a little dense and trip over things awkwardly, but for me, that just sums up a typical teenage love story and these two have a great love story.

This manga was the first yuri I was able to find that didn't feel like it was trying to pander to males. It always feels so refreshing to see my sexuality portrayed as more than just a male fantasy. Not that I'm against it, but it's not in my interests whatsoever.

The characters are fun and lovable, the story is pretty much your basic sweet first romance story. It's very pure and the art and the way it is written makes if feel gentle the whole way. Not that it doesn't bring any emotions, but the whole reading feels velvety and comforting.

Milk is great at writing lesbian romance and if you are as much of a romantic as I am, you will gobble it up. If you are looking for something more naughty, you won't find much here. But you'll probably be charmed by the characters before you even get to those (few and short) parts.

Ok here is the breakdown
Story
What i like the most is that the manga recognizes that lesbianism is still not accepted by the society. At the beginning the girls deny their feeling for each other and dismiss it as strong friendship.
At one point Mari even dated a boy to convince herself that she is straight. Even when they are officially a couple, Mari hides it from their friends because she fears of social alienazition and critism. In my opinion this manga managed to capture the real problem faced by couples like Mari and Akko so i give it 8.
Character
It's not a story about cinderella meeting princesses charming who is the most beautiful, popular and the richest girl in school. The two leads, mari and akko, are just two ordinary girl, none of them looks like a man (bishounen).
The characters also graduate to next grades, they don't have time to be idle ponder and day dream. The characters evolve because the clock is ticking for them and they are forced to make important deicisions. 8

Art
The artwork is nice and consistent , it's also quite detailed unlike other shoujo ai that don't have any background at al, it's plus point to mel. After finshing Girlfriends, i browsed for other Milk Morinaga's works and to me this is by far her best art work. 8

Enjoyment

I still read again, because i enjoy the artwork and the story 8

If there is ever a manga that knows how to play with your heart, it would be Girl Friends.

This manga is a beautifully illustrated, enjoyable and emotionally involving chronicling of the lives of Mari, a young girl with a girl friend who she starts to wish was more like a girlfriend instead. And yes, the space does make all the difference.

For that is Mari's dilemma. She falls for a friend. A girl friend. This manga covers all the drama, feelings and confusion that one feels while falling in love. What is worse for Mari is that she is in love with not only someone who doesn't know it, but with her best friend. And to top it off, that friend is a girl.

Issues of sexuality are perhaps hard to deal with. It's scary enough to fall in love, and sorrowful enough to be in love who doesn't return it - but then there is being in love with someone who you cannot afford to lose.

The writer of this manga is brilliant. The scenes are never dull and every scene packs a punch.

Mari and Akko are excellent characters. Mari is our voice, and she feels all that insecurity and fear we would feel. Akko is just a fun, awesome, cool girl with a loving side and a silly side to her. She really makes you fall in love with her, and it's easy to see why Mari'd fall for her too.

This is an absolutely brilliant yuri manga. It is cute, the characters are lovable, and the situations are all too relatable, even if you're not gay or lesbian.

This manga is not easy to read, but it's worth it. If you like shoujo-ai, gather your courage and dive in. You will not regret it.

The author does a masterful job of including the subtleties of romance and love; so much so that you feel it.

The story is simple as are the supporting characters, as though they were a painting canvas for this wonderful story of two friends. I like that. Why bother with other complexities when love is so complex already.

When I found this manga, I had no idea what I was getting into. I finished all 35.5 chapters in less than a week with the last 10 chapters in one night.

I really enjoyed this manga. I just started reading GF only this summer, because I'm not really into yuri. But then after reading it, I fell in love with the characters and how realistic the plot is--from friendship to lovers. It may sound such an overrated plot, but, I assure you that this manga offers more!Simple things like Mari and Akko's simple conversations, lipstick/fashion talks, mixers, and boyfriend hunting are perfectly illustrated in a way that readers (mostly females) will feel that the whole situation really exist at some point somewhere in their lives.

What I like about the most in the story is the yuriness of its plot. I like how Milk Morinaga realistically reminds us that female-to-female relationship is such an unusual love. She have shown that this kind of is dramatic and problematic but then because of that the characters become more exciting. Also, I guess for most readers, they can surely see themselves in one of the characters.

I highly recommend this manga if you're open minded and seeking for realistic plot. Also, this is easy to read because the drama and seriousness are perfectly mixed with humor. For sure, you will end up smiling and hoping this series will never come to an end (you might also look for other Morinaga's works).

*=After completion

Anyone who can appreciate a good romance story will enjoy Girl Friends, even if they do not specifically love shoujo-ai/yuri.

*This is the pinnacle of the genre, in yuri romance for slice of life manga. This is the masterpiece of its era and is likely not going to be dethroned from most highly rated and best critically received yuri for a long time.
Most of my thoughts are unchanged. I am mostly just following up with the review to assure people that this is well worth it all the way to the end.

Story:

When it comes to school & slice of life manga, it often feels as if there is not much of a story, just a setting that you let characters loose in. What I can say is that unlike many shoujo-ai, Girl Friends takes a much more “true to life” approach, on the girl/ girl romance. The approach is fresh, interesting and helps the audience relate. The only complaint here is the amount of small talk involved can sometimes be too much.

*Story is solid, my only nitpick is petty… I wished that there was more. It’s usually the hallmark of a good story. (Unless there is a case of a rushed ending or unresolved plot lines) Might be a little spoiler-ish under, skip to art if you want nothing to do with it:
In this case I would love to see Morinaga pick these characters back up some time for a sequel exploring their college life and coming out story.

Art:

The art is as good as what you would expect out of a, decent manga series. Morinaga Milk’s art style and character designs are top notch.

*I have to say that the art really remained very consistent all the way through to the end, and a few panels where the quality was buffed up for a dramatic moment. Over all I have to again compliment the artist very pretty character design, nice backdrops and everything inbetween.

Characters:

The main character Mari, is one of the most emotionally complicated (different from other means of making a complex character) and troubled character I have ever seen. Emotional complexity comes from trying to understand why you feel the way you do, it’s feeling having a contradiction between the way you feel and the way you rationally think would be the best way to feel, it’s questioning your own motivations and intentions in the interactions you have with others. To some it might seem melodramatic but, that is the essence of creating great internal struggle, which is relatable in multitude of different ways.

The other characters are more, for the everyday interactions, kind of like a lucky star sort of thing but they are fun, unique, and amusing. At some point during the manga the main character changes to Akiko, the person of Mari’s feelings. Akiko stood out quite a bit as an eccentric, but when the main focus becomes centered on her perspective she starts to come to life, as a well fleshed out character. Her time in the spotlight is just beginning but there is much hope for good things in the future.

*I was right about Akko, she was awesome, as she was a much more confident character. That had to “catch up” to Mari in terms of figuring out her feelings for the sake of continuity, but once she did, Akko was much more sure of herself compared to Mari. She would made decisions on how she felt and stuck to them, as well didn’t mind putting herself out to get to the truth. The character dynamic, by the end is the most satisfying romantic interaction that I have read.

Enjoyment:

Emotional drama and self-torment in a realistic setting is a very gripping read. This isn’t something everyone enjoys but for the target audience, this series will be pure bliss. The small talk sections may be boring for some however, but it is forgivable. This manga will hook you in and have you honestly caring about its characters, which is a good measure to its enjoyment.

Overall:

If you are the type to enjoy the things mentioned above, you will love this, especially if you also have a love for shoujo-ai
Fan for life. I will read everything Morinaga, Milk makes for a long time just to hope that she can do something like this again.

Check in:

It's been Over 10 years since I wrote this review, I have remained a fan of the romance and yuri genres. I felt it needed saying that even with all the new content in the space GirlFriends remains completely undefeated in my mind. In 10 years I have not seen/read any yuri I felt was as good. If you are new to the genre and you are concerned that this one is old and may not compare to its contemporaries I’d like to offer confidence that it is still well worth it. It isn’t like modern yuri so I wouldn’t expect that, as well I’m becoming an old fan so this may just be my bias. Still it's my review and I don’t think there is anything better you can read in the genre.

This is my first yuri manga so I didnt know what to expect. The main objection is that when the things start getting interesting its over! I wanted to see reaction of their friends, social dilemma, parents reaction, their thoughts about children and marriage. Don't bother yourself with any of these cause its not there!

Grilfriends is the first Yuri Manga I have read and in my opinion, still one of the very best.
It's drawn and written by Milk Morinaga, a Manga Artist whose name you should probably keep in mind if you are a fan of the Genre Yuri.

To put the plot as simply as possible, it's about two girls falling in love with each other and the hardship they have to go trough in order to really make it work out.
There is no thrilling action and no exessive drama, this series is probably one of the most realistic Yuri love storys out there and that's what makes it so enjoyable.

The two main characters Mari and Akko have a great dynamic, while Mari is a very shy and insecure girl, Akko is the complete opposite, loud outgoing and self-confident.
It was fun watching the two girls in their every day life while they slowly but noticably got closer and closer to each other, just in order to have this new found bond being crushed by one careless action. So even though the story of this Manga was never rushed or fast-paced in general, it still sometimes felt like their relationship was one hell of a rollercoaster ride.

In the end, I would recommend this Manga to all the Yuri fans of course, because this is probably the best Yuri title out there right now. Furthermore I also recommend this to everyone that enjoys a cute and heartwarming love story with a lot of great comedy elements and a very nice artwork.

I hope that you can forgive me for my bad grammar since English is not my native language. And of course, I hope you still enjyoed this review and found it helpful.

My absolute favorite anime is Cowboy Bebop, and my absolute favorite game is Megaman X. Together, these form the "Cowboy-Bebop-Megaman-X-tier", a title only bestowed upon something so enjoyable, so smart, and so amazingly mind-blowing that it's my most favorite thing of all time in its category.

Girl Friends is the fourth addition to this tier, just after Firefly/Serenity.

I'm not even sure I recall exactly how I came across this gem. I think it was suggested to me in passing by someone I barely knew online. Or maybe I found it randomly searching around for yuri manga on the old manga reader app I used to use. Little did I know just what I was getting into by reading it.

Heads up, if you're looking for an ecchi yuri romp, you have come to the wrong place, mate. There is one sex scene in Girl Friends, but it's way in the back, and it's a few pages long. Not that it's not good, it's pretty nice in of itself, but that's not what I read this manga for, and neither should you.

It's not very long, just five volumes (split into two omnibuses for the physical copy here in the 'states), but it's a long enough story to hold some real weight. Girl Friends is like a really good romance novel in that way, not to mention its absolutely wonderful pacing and realism. These are the two great things about Girl Friends.

The manga doesn't try to lure you in with gimmicky plot constructions, where everything is set off by some pure-coincidental event like they accidentally kissed or one of the main characters broke a vase. Neither does the plot get all dating-sim-y with the progression; there's no "flags" or "events" between the main characters, just time spent together as well as time spent with their own thoughts is what causes the plot (and their feelings) to develop. Not only does this add to Girl Friends' already outstanding realism, but because it's done so well, it sets the manga's pacing off just right, without feeling forced or dragged on.

Its realism is another great point, too. Nowhere does it feel like the manga is forcing these two characters together; their feelings develop very naturally and just as how one would expect them to if they knew a shred of how real life people work, heh. The characters are believable and very likeable; from the teasing yet sincere Sugiyama, to the eccentric anime geek Tamamin, and especially the main characters, Akiko and Mariko. The story even goes beyond your expectations of it being innocent fluff, covering very mature topics like dealing with men, sex, and womanhood.

The art has a very cute edge to it and is enjoyable most of the time, and the characters are designed pretty well. However, it's not the most perfect part of Girl Friends, and later on in the manga, the art gets a little short-cut at times. It doesn't detract from the rest of the manga enough to really go on a tangent, however, I just wanted to give you a heads up that there's plenty of cheap moments late in the game. Asides from that, the art's really good though.

...Alright, so that's it. Just go on eBay and...and buy a copy of Girl Friends...unless you already h--*burp* have one...ah fuck...JUST GO. JUST READ GIRL FRIENDS, alright, it's good. I swear, it's fucking good, if this makes me that excited, if I can...if I can tear down Sakura Trick, which is people have been like "Oh, it's a good yuri." *dumbass look on face* and I'm like, "Girl Friends is the best yuri ever." then you better fucking read this manga because it's...IT'S GOOD.

RIDIN' ON CARS.

(because of guidelines I should mention that that last bit was a parody of Egoraptor's Megaman X Sequelitis ending and was not entirely written by me)

If you are told that this one of the better yuri mangas, then you'll probably expect too much. For me yuri is basically a more challenging romance, the thing is that this manga's focus isn't the romantic relationship, but the daily lives of our couple. In essence this is a Slice of Life manga about high school teenage girls doing their best to be cute through appearances. If you like conversations about cute make up, cute shopping, cute dresses, cute hairdos, cute faces, cute school events and basically cute girls doing cute (commercialized) things, this is the manga for you. This is so because the romance gets scarce development between the daily activities, which overshadow it. Near the end of every volume, you're reminded that this is supposed to be a romance between two people who are not used to it, yet are as close as they can be in terms of friendship. As he tags mention, it's better to approach this manga as a Slice of Life with romantic elements thrown in, rather than a Romance that takes its time.

The art is serviceable, but seemingly busy due to how often 3+ characters are in a scene. It's more often too busy for its own good and has a lot of background conversations laid in a small panel, it's excessive, noisy and doesn't contribute much in terms of presenting a scenery, atmosphere or a feel for the setting our characters are in, at least aesthetic wise. The ending impression is that their lives are filled with a lot noise, that is, if you're also counting their own monologing about the state of their relationship, which would usually take effort for someone to space out as such. But in the end it does its job at presenting cute characters in a pleasant manner and keeps it safe.

As a Slice of Life, there isn't much story to go around. Again, it's 4 girls being materialistic in conventional ways, talking about make up, clothes, boys, hooking up, how cute the other looks, etc. The school setting at least provides non-club activities like the festivals, field trips, vacations, so the setting often feels varied and there is a certain feel of a timeline in that regard.
Now it's the romantic plotline that gets the short end of the stick, it's the usual avoidance, unrequited emotional responses, jealousy, mixed signals and so forth. But again they are only truly explored in the end of a volume and just laid to the background after a new volume begins. They are present and mentioned during all the fluff, but mostly in monologues, kept there right before the climactic kiss for the volume ending. And when Akko and Mari(our main couple) really try to dedicate themselves to their relationship, it feels wholly different from what you've been reading up to that point, it's basic, it's cute, it works, but is done for a few pages, not for an entire chapter. That is, if you don't count them going shopping and eating as dramatic relationship development. I see it as SoL fluff, challenge and perseverance are what give strength to character and are testaments for your dedication to a relationship, you either give up or give in to your emotions. Such drama is also left scarce, instead it's replaced by embarrassment half the time, which is understandable, but having only that feels like a cop out, even worse, just a tease. A tease for the reader, not for the characters. It wasn't until the next to last chapter gave us a full on sex scene, but even then it felt out of place and too different from what I've been reading up to it. But at least I'll give the last volume the best feeling for how a lasting relationship with progress feels, where our couple feels inseparable even through graduation and the goal is to stay together. That's what I've been asking for the entire time, but it's too little, too late for something basic to make up for lost time.

The characters are very two dimensional. Even our main couple don't feel like they have truly developed. This is also due to the author switching perspectives, but not altering the writing style in accordance the the supposed personalities of the characters. Mari-chan is the introverted bookworm who is lifted up an taken in by Akko-chan - the extremely friendly, cute girl who likes make up and dress up, on top of having the top of the line materialistic image of herself, well, mostly. Sugi-san is the embodiment of that stereotype, on top of having 5 boyfriends and managing them. And finally there's Tamami who is essentially your cute otaku to make references with.
For a supposed introvert, Mari easily became part of the group and changed her appearance without much thought and resistance. I wouldn't say that's how it is in my experience, but let's say Akko has very convincing charming techniques... which she doesn't, from her perspective, she seems just as introspective as Mari in her volumes. So in the end both feel homogenized cute girls, with Mari being the quieter of the two in conversation, until we switch to Akko's shoes and have the same deal...
The way Akko dragged Mari into her materialistic world and Mari quickly embracing it doesn't feel natural. Mostly because there's absolutely no counterbalance, it's a Slice of Life about materialistic girls, not taking an introvert out of their shell. And Mari herself didn't offer anything of her own unique character and volition to Akko's life, aside from her obsessive, sudden love for her. Sure, that's something, but I mean something from herself before she was a part of the story, like literature. It can't be too hard to share a few metaphors, interesting outlooks on life and the materialistic culture. Doesn't have to be commentary, but offer her own twists and character to a situation, instead of just being present and integrated in it without any questions asked.

If I wasn't told that this was a yuri manga, I wouldn't mind my time with it. But with the scarce drama, which equates to a tease really, the sidelined relationship for fluff, and just spinning its wheels for its own sake. I simply regret my time with this manga. It's trite, even boring at times, noisy in presentation at moments, and doesn't offer anything enriching either the mind or the soul in terms of experiencing romantic trials. It doesn't even teach proper make up techniques or shopping tactics, just faffing about.

If you've never read yuri, this the perfect story to start. At first you think that is going to be about a popular precocious girl seducing a shy, innocent girl... but it is not, in fact we get no yuri until almost halfway through the story and the way it happens is so natural but also a bit sad and surprising.
As expected from a Morinaga Milk Sensei story, character development is done extremely well and the pacing is excellent. There are some clichéd misunderstandings at some point, but they don't drag the story down.
If you want to read a romance story where you will be heavily invested emotionally in the main characters, and don't mind that both of them are girls, then I highly recommend Girl Friends to you.
~WiruSempai

Girl Friends is a Shoujo, Yuri, Romance manga about the friendship between girls slowly developing into something more. Manga readers who enjoy reading, or just feel like trying some Yuri manga, will probably be satisfied with this one.

Set in a typical Japanese all-girls Highschool, the story is about your shy, attentive girl (Mariko Kumakura) who’s lived a fairly dull and uneventful life but things change once she becomes acquainted with her brash, popular classmate (Akko Oohashi). That basically sets the foundation for this story, revolving around Mariko, who changes in many ways, after being exposed to a variety fun experiences that her new friend has exposed her to. The story itself develops at a steady pace, with each chapter dealing with something specific but that helps the story to progress without dragging things out for to long. Even though this manga feels like a mundane ‘slice of life’, you can expect some minor surprises along the way.

Just as the title implies, the characters of Girl Friends are formed around a bunch of schoolgirls who become friends. Guys don’t play much of a part in all this; however when a guy does appear it usually causes a stir. The lack of guys isn’t a problem as the girls have well-defined personalities and are generally enjoyable to read. Yet it comes to no surprise that the bulk of the story focuses on Mariko and Akko.

The artwork is that of a typical shoujo manga that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure there’s little detail in the environments but the generic-looking character designs have plenty of detail put in them. The girl’s features are brought out well, in the close ups but it can be difficult to tell some of them apart.

Overall this is a great yuri manga in showing the dilemmas faced by your average girl dealing with her feelings for another girl. Things do become quite tiresome when a lot of the time is spent on mundane girl talk (boyfriends, mixers, make-up, etc) but at least it does a good job in realistically depicting what it chooses to depict, like love & infatuation. Shame that after 3 years it came to an end, even though Girl Friends could have broken free of the mold and taken things further; like going into college lifestyle and showing some very fundamental issues of being in such a relationship. Alas, I guess it was never meant to be.

The yuri is strong in this one.

Story: 10
Holy crap this story was entertaining and interesting. The story follows Mari, an unpopular girl, and Akko, a pretty popular girl, and begins with Akko helping Mari become more cuter. Throughout the story, the relationship between the girls change and this is when it becomes a yuri manga. I absolutely enjoyed how they went post-confession with this story. Another thing I found absolutely wonderful were the activities the characters on the manga did. They went on group dates, drinking and such, a realistic version of high school.

The pacing was great, it didn't go too fast or slow, the story went with the first third focusing on Mari, the second third focusing on Akko and then the final third focusing on both of them as a couple (Not really equal thirds, Mari's section was the biggest and then Akko and then the last part, but it is easier to explain it that way). This led to interesting transitions that helped the flow of the story.

This story also hit a bit of home for me as well, but I will explain this when I discuss enjoyment.

Art: 10
Milk Morinaga is a talented artist and did an amazing job with the designs of the characters of this manga. All the characters were well drawn and the chibis looked extremely cute.

Character: 9
Really enjoyed the characters, as they are unique enough to be memorable, but not too unique in where the author was going overboard. The only character I had a problem with was Haruda, as his entrance into the anime felt forced along with his exit from the story.

Enjoyment: 10
I enjoyed the hell out of this anime. Any time the main characters kissed, I cheered! It's not because I am a guy who enjoys two girls kissing (who am I kidding, that is partly the reason) but because seeing their relationship grow was just making me happy and seeing the two main characters conquer milestones was quite cheerful!

A big reason why I enjoyed this anime, was that i have gone through a similar experience. This is has spoilers of the story and is about my personal life, you can skip it if you want.
I was really shy and not very confident in middle school, but a girl helped me come out of my shell. This girl did exactly what Akko did for me, showed me how to be more confident and more outgoing. Eventually, I started having feelings for this girl, but I wasn't sure if it was because she was one of my first friends or if I truly liked her. Reading this manga brought me back to those days of self-doubt and emotions Mari had were emotions I also went through when I was going through that.

Overall: 10
Another 10? True, I rate my manga's high, but all the mangas I have been reading have been really good! Girl Friends is my first yuri manga, and won't be my last.

At first, I wasn't sure of myself if i'm going to read Girl Friends or not but as I follow the storyboard, I find it interesting to read. The story revolves around the quiet Mari Kumakura whose only noticeable quality is her top of the class grades, enter the cute and friendly Akko Oohashi whose goal is to get to know Mari and become best friends with her. With Akko's help she quickly transforms into one of the prettiest girls in school and becomes good friends with Akko, Sugi and Tamami. The group get into all kinds of situations; boys, diets, fashion, friends and studies.

However as the plot develops Mari realizes she has deeper feelings than she thought for Akko. Akko got jealous at Mari's boyfriend and realizes that she had feeling for her, too.

The manga is all about me. Nahh, just kidding. The story is about 2 girls best friends who fell inlove with each other. I'm not really into drama, but this one is different. If you're a yuri or shoujo ai lover you'll totally love this one! It's about mixed emotions. I bet many of readers kept reading it coz they can relate to it or it's just too damn good. For me it's kind of a slice of life or realistic. The scenes may actually happen in REAL LIFE. like my life(nevermind).

How good is this manga? I got the so many feels. I fell in love, I got jealous, I broke my heart, I got irritated, i fell in love again. I felt so sensitive whenever i read it. And of course excited about what's gonna happen to them next.

YOU MUST GIVE THIS MANGA A TRY. I swear to you. It's so rare for me to give a review bout manga. But because this manga is so beautiful, i wrote one.

it's not exactly what i expected... it's even better.
this might not be very manly but i thought the story/characters/art was very cute,
it's that type of romantic story that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling inside, which is actually surprisingly rare!

girl becomes friends with girl, girl falls in love with girl, girl doesn't take girl seriously, girl falls in love with girl that loves her, the girls live happely ever after.

i recommend this to anyone who's love sick or something like that, it can also teach you a bit about your crush! ;)

Pillow fight! (Not really)

Yuri is a really misunderstood genre. Usually it is paired up with hentai because of its occasional sexual nature (Lesbianism). However that is not usually the case when reading actual good yuri that is not a one shot. Girlfriends is a prime example of that.

At first this series doesn't feel that much like Yuri. Even with some elements of ecchi being thrown into the mix. It takes a while for Mari, and Ako to go from point A, to point B. And that is why this manga series is a delectable buffet. The writing is just superb. It's as if the author poured her very soul into this, and it really shows. Yes, there is some girl on girl action going on after a few chapters (Errrrrmagerd! Boobies!). However that is not the absolute reason for Girlfriends being good. There is also some humor, and a pretty big tangled web of misunderstanding between the characters that becomes untangled piece by piece very delicately.

The problem with Girlfriends (Depending on which volume was bought first) there are some typos in the grammar (Which were resolved in later re-prints of the manga). Sometimes the facial expressions are stretched pretty thin (Especially during the beginning). Later on that gets fixed, and the art gets even better. Plus reading "EH!?!" all the time becomes funny at first, but later on it feels pretty dumb. Background characters get their own voice through this story as well. Plus one of Mari, and Ako's friends gets a chapter devoted to them. Those who don't still find their own niche, and stick by it. The ending is abrupt. However at least it didn't end with a cliffhanger. It is still satisfying none the less. A lot of loose ends get tied for sure.

On A Personal Note: I got to admit this. When I found this series online, I was expecting wall to wall porn (I was looking for that in the first place, Im sorry). During the first time when I read the first chapters, I kept thinking "Alright...... they're talking, this is funny...... but get on with the lesbian stuff already!!!". I wanted to stop a few times because I wasn't getting the *ahem* hentai that I was looking for. However..... then I ended being sucked into the story soon enough. And......I felt pretty stupid waiting for porn. Then I enjoyed reading this......I found myself rooting for Mari, and Ako to be together a lot. The last few sentences of the ending made me cry really hard too. Later on I bought this series at a Barnes And Noble. I re-read this series three more times afterwords throughout a course of a year. And I plan to re-read it yet again in a few months. The last time I read this, my heart felt pretty good going during every sentence. Im not the type that reads romance novels, and I gag every time I see make out scenes in movies (Unbelievably that's coming from someone who was looking for lesbian porn). Yet every word, and scene felt like magic to me. It changed my mind on a lot of things. At times it felt rather painfully slow when reading this, but it was worth it. Now when I see a lesbian couple from now on. I don't think "AWW! YEAHHH! That's hawt! WOOOOO! Strap on!!!!", but now Im like "AW YEAHHH! I hope that they get married, and adopt because they look like two wonderful human beings who love each other very much!". Girlfriends evolves into something more than what the genre dishes out. A romantic manga that will touch the heart, and change the minds of those who read it. Thankfully, I am glad that I was wrong the first time when I stumbled upon Girlfriends. The writing actually changed my life (At least a little......still looking for lesbo action online).

Girlfriends is indeed, an adventure for the soul.