Let’s get serious with this installment of the Yuri Manga Corner by taking a look at Pieta.
Special thanks goes to Foxy Lady Ayame from The Beautiful World, specifically from this link.
http://kitsunetoneko.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/glorious-love-part-2/
Sorry it took me this long to credit you Foxy One.
Genre: Drama, yuri.
Themes: Non-Yuri Art, suicide, psychological.
Number of chapters: 5. Some chapters are divided into multiple parts.
Plot Summary: A story about two classmates who become friends, Sahoko and Rio. Rio is depressed and self-abusive and isn’t loved by her “family” (which consists of her father, stepmother, and stepbrother), but Sahoko seems to be the bright spot in her life. Sahoko also seems to have a mysterious past and doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with her parents; she lives with her aunt.
I suppose the best way I can sum up this story is “threads of pain”. Basically two girls who are mentally unstable (one more than the other), are drawn together by fate. The manga even mentions it at one point. As you can tell from the covers or googling sample images, this is one serious manga that does not hold back as it tackles dramatic themes like attempted suicide, abandonment and supervillain (okay, she doesn’t have superpowers) stepmom who makes you wonder who’s the real unstable person in the story. There are more but these should be enough to give you a preview.
The art is mesmerizing (in its own way) to the point of being atmospheric. It’s neat.
Continuing with the serious theme, readers should know that while the manga hardly makes the girls’ feelings for each other clear, it is clear enough to be yurirific. Heck, you’ll need sharp eyes to not miss the EXTREMELY few kisses. Their attachment is more of a lonely girl being initially comforted by another initially curious girl and their relationship slowly blossoming into something more.
Does the story have any twists and turns? Not really, but it’s interesting, deep and heartwarming/fluffy (Yes, there is some fluff. you just need to be patient) enough to keep you reading and learn some really neat theories about the human mind, especially troubled ones. The two psychologists who have grown attached to Rio to the point of becoming figurative parental figures to her (Without Rio being aware of it), make up the secondary highlight of the show with their contrasting theories as a “romantic” clashes with a “pure” scientist…and these two are married, btw.
Overall, it may not be a fav of mine but I have absolutely no regret in picking this one up again for reviewing purposes. This one is highly recommended for those seeking a bit…actually a lot more seriousness in their yuri. If you’re more into full blown fluff with occasional seriousness, look elsewhere.
The Yuri Empire 