is a Japanese ''

yuri Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

yonkoma is a comic strip format that generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom. They also sometimes run right-to-left horizontally or use a hybrid 2×2 style, depending on the layout requiremen ...

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

written and illustrated by Hayako Gotou. It was serialized in

Takeshobo is a major publisher in Japan. Takeshobo was founded in 1972 by Kyōichirō Noguchi, starting Japan's first Mahjong magazine . Other magazines, such as a magazine dedicated to mahjong-themed manga, as well as a magazine dedicated to yonkoma ma ...

's ''

Manga Life was a manga magazine published monthly by Takeshobo in Japan since the November 1984 issue (published in October 1984). Its original title was , and the change to ''Manga Life'' was made to better compete with '' Manga Time'', a rival magazine p ...

'' from September 2006 to September 2012 and was licensed for an English-language release by

JManga JManga was an American website and international online community focused on the promotion, distribution, and monetization of digital comics as well as the development of other manga related services. Founded in December 2010 and backed by the ...

in 2012. The series follows Nako, a poor 21-year-old who begins working at a jewellery store along Ren, a rich lesbian who owns the store.

Plot

Okashi Nako, a poor 21-year-old, is in severe need of a job when she applies to work in a jewellery store. When Otsuka Ren, the store's owner, identifies herself to be a lesbian, the competition for the job vanishes. When Ren wonders if her being a lesbian will be an issue, Nako has no issue with it and so she is hired.

Publication

Written and illustrated by Hayako Gotou, ''Poor Poor Lips'' was serialized in

's ''

'' from September 18, 2006, to September 17, 2012. The series was collected in four

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

volumes from June 2008 to October 2012. The series was licensed for an English release digitally by

Reception

Erica Friedman of ''

Yuricon Yuricon was an anime convention geared toward fans of yuri anime and manga. The first Yuricon event was held in 2003 in Newark, New Jersey with about 200 attending, although Yuricon has existed as an online entity since 2000. The event was or ...

'' gave the first volume an overall 8 rating, while noting that the art style did not appeal to her, Friedman still went on to praise ''Poor Poor Lips'' leads, remarking that "the comic is a series of 4-koma strips, and range from beating Nako’s state of poverty to death ..and to Ren’s privilege and her orientation. But never in a mean way. Nako’s not entirely naive, but she’s not entirely clueful either, which makes for a nice mix of goofy silly and plain funny." Cathlyn Melo included ''Poor Poor Lips'' in their "11 Best Yuri Manga to Read in 2022", noting that "despite having a 4-koma style, the premise of Poor Poor Lips is also well structured."

References

External links

* {{Manga Life 2006 manga Takeshobo manga LGBTQ-related anime and manga Yuri (genre) anime and manga 2000s LGBTQ literature 2006 LGBTQ-related literary works