Japanese
Yandere Shoujo ni Icha Love sarechau: Anthology Comic, volume 1
Medium: comic
Year: 2018
Writer: Ondy [chapter 1]
Artist: Aonagi Nobu [chapter 1]
Writer/artist: Kusano Houki [chapter 2], Momo Takaha [chapter 3], Haison [chapter 4], Manishi Mari [chapter 5]
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Keywords: manga, boobs
Format: Volume 1 of a three-volume manga anthology series
Url: https://myanimelist.net/manga/115987/Yandere_Shoujo_ni_Icha_Love_sarechau__Anthology_Comic
Website category: Manga
Review date: 24 September 2024
Yandere Shoujo 1
One volume, five yandere stories. (This anthology series contains two more volumes, but I didn't buy those.) Their definition of "yandere" is broader than I'd expected, but that's probably for the best since it makes the stories unpredictable.
So... yandere. It's a portmanteau word, mashed together from "yanderu" (mentally or emotionally ill) and "deredere" (lovey-dovey). A yandere is a girl who's in love, but dangerously crazy. Yes, a yandere is normally female. It wouldn't be the same to read about a male yandere, because he'd basically just be a violently possessive psycho. Those definitely exist and I'm pretty sure no one would have fantasies about them. Anyway, a yandere will be lovely, sweet and seemingly the perfect girlfriend... until she decides that someone is an obstacle or threat to her happiness. If this is a rival, expect the rival to disappear. If it's you, whether the yandere's perceptions are real or imaginary, your life is in serious danger and you need to act fast.
I'm not convinced that this volume's five stories all count as yandere. One just looks like straightforward infidelity to me. Others include virtual reality and the supernatural. Only one person gets dismembered and put in a dustbin (and we don't even see it happen), although a different story has a severed head.
The fanservice level varies wildly. One story manages to be family-friendly (although it's still disturbing), two have nipple-less nudity, one has a naked girl masturbating and one goes full hentai. You'll find this manga in the Dodgy Stuff section, alongside steamier titles, but almost all of it is safer to read in public than you'd think. (Except in one or two short stretches.)
It's pretty good, actually. I was definitely surprised, more than once, and I'd almost argue that it's horror. You're certainly expecting every story to have a gruesome ending and some of these girls are indeed scary.