Although I only "discovered" Aoki Mitsue's work in 2008 with Papaya Gundan, this incredibly pleasant, fun and goofy artist has been around since the early 90's. So, when I learned that she'd be drawing for Yuri Hime, I was confident that we'd almost instantly see stories that were appealing. ...And that was exactly what we got.In Princess Princess (プリンセス・プリンセス) the stories may be short, but they are full-bodied (much like the characters themselves) and drawn with the, what's the word I'm looking for...conviction, that many stories lack.
The title story, "Princess, Princess" covers the well-worn territory of a smart girl and her slightly slower-than-average love interest.
But where Aoki really shines is in stories like "Sweet Room" where she plays with her own fetish of an older woman in love with a younger woman, turns it on its head and makes fun of herself as she does it. (How do I know that this is her fetish? She writes about it *constantly* in her manga, and has mentioned it about a million times on Twitter. ^_^;;)
In "Sugar Complex" a girl stresses over her weight, only to find that that was what her lover loved best.
A gang girl protects her best friend from the evil, obsessed, rich girl, student council president's lust in the incredibly silly "Bankara Otome Gakuen." No surprise - I really like this story. ^_^
The last two stories are a mini-series called "Lunch Box" which combine all of Aoki's strengths - obsessions with food, a younger woman seducing an older woman, and a strong streak of otaku awareness for an incredibly satisfying short that I'd really like to see continue.
Ratings:
Art - 8 (very solid josei stylings)
Story - 8
Characters - 8
Yuri - 9
Loser FanBoy/Girl - More underwear than anything - 4
Overall - 8
I like Aoki's work very much and recommend it highly, as a good example of a josei artist working in Yuri. She brings strength, confidence and a fun, goofball sensibility to every story.