Customer Reviews

The Last Uniform Vol 1

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You don't really have that much privacy at Tsubakigaoka Academy, an elite all girls boarding school. Each girl has to share a room in the dorms with another student so if you're lucky, you get a roommate you can co-habitate with. For four girls at the Academy, being in such close proximity all the time might just lead to something more. Sawara Ai and Yamada Fuuko have known each other for a couple of years and are quite good friends. But Ai gets annoyed sometimes at Fuuko because of her absent-minded and frivolous approach to life. She can be so annoying and troublesome at times. So why does Ai find herself dreaming about Fuuko constantly at night, even seeing her as a dashing prince come to rescue her? Things get more complicated when a new transfer student, Hiwatari Anzu, has to move in with Ai and Fuu-chan. The other two main characters are the roommates Kase Tsumugi and Kazura Beniko. Tsumugi is a bit standoffish and hard to get to know, but underneath her rather gruff exterior, she harbors a secret crush for Beniko. Even though Kazura is her roommate, she's a little intimidating because not only is she beautiful and extrememly popular, she also seems to be good at everything, whether it's grades or athletics. But Tsumugi begins to suspect that her growing feelings for Beniko might be returned!

The Last Uniform is one of the first batch of manga put out by Seven Seas for their "Strawberry" line, which consist of "Yuri" titles. Yuri simply means stories involving romantic relationships between girls. Even though the rating on this book says "16+", there isn't anything in this book that strikes one as unseemly or explicit. In fact, it plays out like an innocent shojo comedy romance, except that the players involved are all girls. This was actually the first Yuri manga I have ever read, and I really enjoyed it. I just fell in love with the characters. Hakamada just constructs such a laidback and pastoral universe within the walls of the Academy without a hint of tragic doomed love portrayed in some anime I have watched with a yuri element. The girls in The Last Uniform don't have any problems with the feelings they have for their own gender. They just FEEL and don't have the consciousness of "Sin" that Western schoolgirls might be haunted by. Their reticence instead stems from the powerful personalities of the people they love. A nice read.

I think this is one of the best manga of it's kind that I have read in a long time. I'm not a big fan of the art but other than that this manga is fantastic. First off for all you perverts out there you might want to skip this one. Although it is classified as yuri there is no sex, minimal nudity and although there are homosexual relationships discussed the farthest anyone gets is like 1st base. I love this manga because it is really cute. I usually hate love stories but this one is one I can relate to and it is great. I can especially relate to the character Ai because she's kinda like me minus the in love with her roommate thing. I recommend it to anyone who is not expecting gratuitous amounts of nudity or fan service.

I tried this manga based on the Amazon reviews, but I wasn't impressed. The romance in this book may be cute and innocent, but in my opinion there is scarcely any depth to the crushes between the girls. Perhaps there may be more depth revealed further on in later volumes, but here in this first volume there's just not enough of a convincing romantic story told that hooks me or keeps me wanting to read more. It lacks substance.

Also, the artwork wasn't as cute as I'd hoped. I'm not talking about nudity or fanservice, just *cuteness* in the drawings of the girls. I'm the first one to admit that half the reason I'll read a particular manga title is for the cute girls....but in The Last Uniform I didn't quite get what I was hoping for.