Been a while since I wrote a manga review so here I am with a neat surprise I stumbled upon thanks to a Tumblr follow. However, instead of a full review this will be a first impression of an Italian manga novel. The manga novel in question is Orange Cream or as it will most likely be nicknamed, Italian Citrus.
Genres: School Life, Yuri
Plot Summary: Miyuki Ikeda is a transfer student who instantly became the center of attention because of her beauty and magnetic charm. She was quickly approached and befriended by one Yukino but the one girl who subconsciously captured Miyuki’s heart was the class representative Rei Asakawa with her own beauty and cold stare gave quite the first impression. Things heated up further when Miyuki showed prowess as a skilled basketball player and caught the eye of the resident b-ball hunk Yamato. That was only in the first two days. And to think all Miyuki wanted was a tranquil high school experience…
The manga, written by Scarlett Bell with the drawings by Aeryn Sun, is presented in a manga-novel format where the story is told in a light novel style with occasional manga illustrations of certain scenes in the story.
Miyuki (Not Yuzu), Rei (Not Mei), Yukino (Not Harumi) and Yamato (resident jock).
As I mentioned in the introduction readers will instantly compare OC’s drawing style with the (inexplicably) yuri nation phenomenon known as Saburo Uta’s Citrus. It’s definitely inspired by it that’s for sure. The similarities go further than appearances of the main trio. They also have similar personalities. Miyuki’s an energetic girl who gets dragged along by others interested in her. Rei’s a cold beauty who usually has a serious look on her face, follows school rules by a fault since she is in the student council and cares little what others think of her. Yukino is the cheerful and super cool best friend of Miyuki’s who supports and stands up for her though I cannot say if she is as sexy as Harumi as I have yet to fully see her body. However, that is where the similarities end, especially with Miyuki and Rei.
The leading lady, Miyuki is a cross between Yuzu and Adventure Time’s Fionna the Human. I will leave it at that without spoiling anything.
Rei and Mei are like Super Smash Bros’ Mario and Dr. Mario. They seem identical on the surface but have enough differences to make both characters stand out from one another. I will put it this way, although they look and act similar Rei can express and convey more than one emotion. Rei is livelier than Mei basically. As for Yukino, for the most part she plays the same role as Harumi.
Besides character differences the plot, while sharing some similarities is for the most part also different. The jock, Miyuki’s response to situations, Rei’s approach and a certain other character.
The most surprising realization while reading OC is that despite it being similar to Citrus I found myself enjoying this manga more than the former. Yes I stated that most yuri manga are better than Citrus but OC’s differences were enough to have me enjoy reading a Citrus-esque manga without having to pick one up. Basically OC annoyed me a lot less than Citrus did. One example is me liking Rei more than Mei. Funny how giving a character who is similar to one I dislike more than one figurative emotion is all it takes for me to not be as annoyed by them. Now this is only after reading the first bunch of translated chapters. Whether or not my thoughts will change depend on how the plot progresses but from what I read so far I am most intrigued.
Overall Orange Cream may have been inspired by Citrus but it did enough to set it apart despite feeling familiar. Will other readers who dislike Citrus get into this one? That I cannot guarantee but it cannot hurt to see for one’s self…unless the reader is a certain someone I know. Otherwise it is worth trying.
Interested readers can check out the English translated chapters by clicking on the link below and if there are lucky few around they can read new chapters in Italian. Here are the Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr pages so readers can stay informed on new releases.
http://orangecreamyurimanganovel.blogspot.it/p/orange-cream-english-version.html
PS: the English grammar needs work but readers can quickly get what is being said.
The Yuri Empire 
Loved the “are like super smash brothers Mario and Dr Mario” There attacks are the same I always questioned why they were both there. Also good job with the Fionna the Human reference as well. XD
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Unlike Marth and Lucina or Pit and Dark Pit, Mario and Dr. Mario are different enough to justify both being separate characters, thus why I compared Mei and Rei with the two.
If you read the chapters you would get how Miyuki has Fionna traits.
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I might check it out.
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Of course for you to get the differences you need to have read Citrus beforehand. Anyway it’s up to you.
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I haven’t read Citrus in awhile, too bad the translations take awhile and it is a bimonthly series.
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This looks like a pretty decent read. It’s good to know you have an alternative if you weren’t too keen on Citrus.
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Exactly.
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Hummm I like the art style,but it’s like novel with illustrations then? I do like Citrus even if Mei is unbearable xD I guess a Mei with better skill to speak her mind or not being just silly would be super cool.
Might check it out thanks.
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Close enough description.
Your call.
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Am I the only one that likes Mei :(? I guess I’m strange. I like stories that drag out, while most people are like “GAWD DAMN IT SCREW EACH OTHER ALREADY!!”
I tend to be a fan of stories that drag out, which is why I like citrus so much haha
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Not strange, probably like going against the flow or something.
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I’m cool with Mei.
In a way, I can relate to reserved characters because I am also like that. What we see is obviously not what is going on underneath and I guess it takes a lot of imagination to empathize with a character who doesn’t reveal much.
But I can’t agree with the opinion that she is a 1D character who is capable of expressing one kind of emotion which is clearly untrue as seen during the course of Vol. 1. Her high sense of self-awareness is made quite obvious through expressions, and we can see her being cold, arrogant, smug, condescending, conflicted, in pain, surprised, sad, uncomfortable, and appreciative. I think those negative traits put up a wall for the reader.
But I like to guess and reflect on why she behaves certain ways in some scenes, it’s what makes the manga enjoyable for me.
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Aeryn Sun? I think I heard that name before. If I’m not mistaken, she used to write South of Nowhere fanfiction or that might be a different Aeryn Sun. Anyways, I might check this out. Thanks.
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Who knows? First I heard of this writer. Go for it.
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Now that is nice!
I didn’t even know there was anything like this around, so thanks a lot for the review.
I find it nice that this is presented to us as a novel with some usual manga pages mixed into the whole thing. I’ve really never seen anything like this.
And I’m off to check it out, thanks again~
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Go for it and hope you’ll enjoy!
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it was really interesting too bad that they had translated only the first six acts … i wonder when they will translate the next act??? … does anyone know?? i dont care that they have similarities with citrus i liked both of them and yes i think this is a little better than citrus its more stimulated
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Dunno when the rest of the chapters will get translated in English. Gotta be patient.
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Pingback: YMC #84: Orange Cream (Part 2) | The Yuri Nation
Do you know where I would be able to read the manga? In English
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Follow the link below but compared to the Spanish translation the English one is far behind.
http://orangecreamyurimanganovel.blogspot.it/p/orange-cream-english-version.html
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