Smut That Doesn't Suck: Gokujou Drops
Yes, I'm talking about another yuri series. I know, I'm predictable. As far as good smut goes, you usually have to look in anything involving same sex pairings, as hetero smut is usually just disgusting. The few good examples I can find are almost never actually "good," more just entertaining or insane in some form. So, I keep coming back to the yuri wheelhouse more often than not. It's a starving genre, which is a shame, because most yuri writers and artists seem to better understand how to work with common ecchi or romantic comedy tropes better than most others. Mikuni Hadzime's Gokujou Drops is a great example of this, not doing anything particularly new, but doing what it does very well.
The story is about a young high school going girl named Komari, who's joined a school solely because it requires students to live in dorms, and it's the only way she'll be able to live away from her overprotective dad. The only dorm with any openings is Haraiso Yakata, which Komari is directed to without knowing the full details on. It's where the school's most elite members are housed. Also, all said elites are rich lesbians, and one of them named Yukio takes an instant liking to Komari. The house residents get to decide if anyone new can stay, and a majority agree to let Komari stick around after seeing that she's the only person in the house who has any idea of how to clean. The catch, though is twofold. First, she ends up acting as the personal servant for Yukio, whom she also shares a room and bed with. Secondly, the rest of the house becomes interested in Komari as well, and I think you get where this is headed by now.
Mikuni Hadzime is an artist that dabbles in yuri and yaoi works, while working mainly as a shojo romance artist. These qualities all show here in one way or another, as she takes common ideas and arctypes from all three genres. Komari and Yukio have a Uke and Seme style relationship commonly used in yaoi (submissive and dominate polar opposites), but also change power dynamics from time to time, something very common in yuri works. The rich girl/poor girl relationship that has been central to the genre since its early days is on fully display, and played with through Komari's entire unwanted harem. The plot and misunderstandings are all also very shojo story beats, right down to cruel family members and failures to communicate based on faulty preconceptions.
It's not a series that take chances. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Hadzime does as much possible within those three volumes, and I think she succeeds in pouring in as much as possible. Namely, the series has more focus on plot and character development than your average smut, giving a series long arc to both Komari and Yukio. Like their personalities, the two develop in similar but opposite manners, with both becoming more empathetic to others. The difference is that Yukio is already in love at start and unable to express herself, while Komari doesn't understand her own feelings or those of Yukio fully and has too much ease in expressing herself. The end result is several misunderstandings between the two, but the two learn more about one another as the series goes and overcome this flaw together. It's a strong central pair of arcs, though the conflict in the final volume is a tad too complicated for its own good, bringing a sudden burst of politics into the mix that hadn't really been worthy of note before.
When plot or an arc isn't being moved forward, it's general comedy hour with Komari being subjected to the constant advances of the other dorm tenants. This is also where the smut part of the series starts creeping in, as the various tenants are all incredibly forward, not to mention school idols of sorts that attract the attention of the other girls. That's normally a thing reserved for one character, not the majority of the named school cast. Each of them have really different personalities, like the sadistic schemer Erika, or the playful and constantly at odds twins Miya and Maya. My favorite of the bunch, though, is Asako, the class president. She's the most charismatic of the cast, and by far the most outgoing. When she tries hitting on Komari, it feels completely out of her usual personality and somehow always manages to amuse me. It helps she had a scene where a bunch of other girls tried hitting on her and she seduced the whole group with sweet words while hugging two of them. You don't learn game like that, you're born with it.
Most of the humor comes from Komari overreacting to situations around the dorm or in school, and it works well because of how absurd every situation she finds herself in is. The other tenants are all crazy or unbalanced in some way, and they instantly leave a mark whenever they pop up in the story. They really put the poor girl through the wringer, but they're not entirely unlikable because they still give good advice when the situation calls for it and have no ill will towards the confused servant. There's a good balance between them being comedic set-pieces and genuine characters with wants and needs. We even get time with most every tenant that explains their way of life or their current relationship, fleshing them out just a little.
What makes the series really come together and come off as more than just well executed clichés is Hadzime's art. It's very shojo, with long, thin fingers and limbs, and a lot of flowery and soft effects surrounding the pages. Everyone's drawn very pretty as well, but given their own style to make it easy to tell everyone apart, with the only truly similar designs being Yukio's and Sai's at times. It's all very pretty and fits the cute love story perfectly, without looking too much like an average shojo romance.
There's a good bit of nudity and lesbian sex as well, thus why this isn't getting covered in a regular review. It's all well detailed and has that clean, safe style that most yuri uses. Sex scenes are used not just for the reader's sake, but including intimate scenes between characters. Komari and Yukio get the majority of them, and their scenes together are actually kind of adorable. It's all about expressing their feelings for each other, but also plays a role in the story as the two start becoming disconnected from indulging too much and failing to communicate more complex feelings on different situations with each other. Yukio wants to forget momentarily about her family troubles, while Komari gets lost in the moment and forgets to talk about serious issues between them, causing problems.
I don't see this angle pop up much in yuri works, and it's well done here. Physical intimacy is important, but it's not the only piece that makes a relationship work. It's nice seeing that message mixed in here. I also have to give a lot of credit for Hadzime getting creative with these scenes, having the characters play with each other in interesting ways, with a ton of focus on foreplay. It simply fits the intimate vibe these scenes are going for far better than anything harder.
It's hard finding yuri manga, especially good yuri manga, so when you find it, it's best not to pass it up. This is definitely a great entry in the genre, if not particularly impressive. It's like a good ice cream shake, not too rich, but not as simple as plain ice cream. It's a bit better than that, and it will stay with you a bit longer than normal, but it's not a taste that will be engrained in your mind.
It's not a series that take chances. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. Hadzime does as much possible within those three volumes, and I think she succeeds in pouring in as much as possible. Namely, the series has more focus on plot and character development than your average smut, giving a series long arc to both Komari and Yukio. Like their personalities, the two develop in similar but opposite manners, with both becoming more empathetic to others. The difference is that Yukio is already in love at start and unable to express herself, while Komari doesn't understand her own feelings or those of Yukio fully and has too much ease in expressing herself. The end result is several misunderstandings between the two, but the two learn more about one another as the series goes and overcome this flaw together. It's a strong central pair of arcs, though the conflict in the final volume is a tad too complicated for its own good, bringing a sudden burst of politics into the mix that hadn't really been worthy of note before.
Most of the humor comes from Komari overreacting to situations around the dorm or in school, and it works well because of how absurd every situation she finds herself in is. The other tenants are all crazy or unbalanced in some way, and they instantly leave a mark whenever they pop up in the story. They really put the poor girl through the wringer, but they're not entirely unlikable because they still give good advice when the situation calls for it and have no ill will towards the confused servant. There's a good balance between them being comedic set-pieces and genuine characters with wants and needs. We even get time with most every tenant that explains their way of life or their current relationship, fleshing them out just a little.
There's a good bit of nudity and lesbian sex as well, thus why this isn't getting covered in a regular review. It's all well detailed and has that clean, safe style that most yuri uses. Sex scenes are used not just for the reader's sake, but including intimate scenes between characters. Komari and Yukio get the majority of them, and their scenes together are actually kind of adorable. It's all about expressing their feelings for each other, but also plays a role in the story as the two start becoming disconnected from indulging too much and failing to communicate more complex feelings on different situations with each other. Yukio wants to forget momentarily about her family troubles, while Komari gets lost in the moment and forgets to talk about serious issues between them, causing problems.
I don't see this angle pop up much in yuri works, and it's well done here. Physical intimacy is important, but it's not the only piece that makes a relationship work. It's nice seeing that message mixed in here. I also have to give a lot of credit for Hadzime getting creative with these scenes, having the characters play with each other in interesting ways, with a ton of focus on foreplay. It simply fits the intimate vibe these scenes are going for far better than anything harder.
It's hard finding yuri manga, especially good yuri manga, so when you find it, it's best not to pass it up. This is definitely a great entry in the genre, if not particularly impressive. It's like a good ice cream shake, not too rich, but not as simple as plain ice cream. It's a bit better than that, and it will stay with you a bit longer than normal, but it's not a taste that will be engrained in your mind.
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