This series was okay but kinda confusing since it doesn't match the plot of the anime. I'm sure fans of the anime will enjoy the new route that this manga takes, but I wasn't very impressed by the story, although the art was cute. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Yuri Bear Storm was a really fun start to a new series by Kunihiko Ikuhara and I will definitely be reading more of it very soon.

Super cute!! I love the art and the premise and I love seeing yuri series being translated into English!!

I wanted to like it but... I couldn't. There was a lot to learn about these bears but instead we have a bear girl pining for a human for about 60% of the book. The pacing was very slow however the artwork was very nice. Overall I rated this book 2.5 stars.
FTC DISCLAIMER: I received this book in exchange for an honest review

A bit of a ridiculous premise wrapped up in interesting characters and a mostly entertaining plot. There are definitely things that could have been done better but I did enjoy it for the most part.

I got an ARC of this book.

What more could I ask for in a manga? This gave me bears, lesbianism, and a ridiculous plot line. There are a few things that I felt were missing, but I really did enjoy reading it.

So this book follow two females. One may or may not be a bear, though it becomes increasingly clear which she is by the end of the first volume. The other is very clearly a human the whole time. So where does that leave the plot?

Well the two end up really liking each other, but they can't be together between the issues between bears/humans and their own awkwardness. The lesbian love plot line was so perfect. I really liked how it wasn't about toxic power dynamics and rape like so much Yuri seems to be. It is really hard to not find constant fan service and really horrible relationships in lesbian/gay manga and anime. So this relationship being sweet and age appropriate was beyond wonderful for me. The lack of fan service was also a huge plus. The girls are supposed to be 16, I don't need panty shots of a 16 year old. 

The plot itself was ridiculous. Who was and was not a bear? Is everyone a bear? What is up with bears? Are the mother and aunt an item? There were some plots that were being set up and they were all so fascinating to me. I would gladly read on in this series, though other reviews make me feel like the plot only gets more ridiculous from this point on. 

I really wish there was more an explanation of the bear society and there was more explanation of the hunter world. I am left with the idea that hunters may be like witch hunters in the original Sabrina sitcom. That would add some tension and drama to the romance between the two girls. Then there is the whole issue of Lulu. Are all bears into women? That would be cool. I could totally get behind that idea. 

So all of the questions I am left with are ones that would have me reading more, instead of detracting from my enjoyment. I just wish that the plot was more set up in the first volume. It read like a slice of life and just started getting to the real bear plot in the last few chapters. I appreciate the more normal set up, but the dreams at the beginning weren't really what interested me in the story. So if I can track down the second volume, I will continue.

This is weird even by the special standard for weird by which I judge anything from Japan. See if you can follow along:
There are some high school girls. But only one of them is a girl. The rest of them are bears. Because everyone on earth is a bear, except for some reason ONE girl. Also, all the women in this manga are lesbians, but non-bear girl doesn't REALIZE she's a lesbian even though she is apparently psychic.
Also, the lead bear's mom is a weirdo recluse (who is sleeping with her sister in law) who wants the main bear-girl to eat the girl she loves. Not in a sexual way - mom wants her daughter to actually cannibalize her friend.
ALSO everyone periodically wears bead hands and bear ears and there is a TON of underage fan service and nudity.
Japan is freaking bonkers.

I received this manga from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

So, while I didn't like the anime that much, or I should say it was graphically pleasing and very gorgeous, the story just didn't make sense. But, I read that the manga would have a different plot, so I thought maybe I would get that one. Sadly, no. Not really. I have been utterly confused from the start.

I am not even sure how write a review about this manga. So I will try my best, but I am just not sure.

Kureha and Ginko's love? On the one hand I was shipping them, on the other hand... not so much. Sorry, but Ginko? You cannot trap or imprison someone so no one will get to them. That is just abusive, that is creepy, that is wrong. I get that you love Kureha, I get you want to protect her, I get that you want her love. But locking her up, stalking her, and even going so far to do things with the school's president is just eww. So yeah, conflicting feelings.

Then there is the whole bear thing that is going on. Ginko who talks to some bear and calls her mom, Kureha dreams of bears and also sees Ginko as some kind of bear princess, and then there is the very annoying love rival named Lulu who dresses in barely anything and wears bear ears. Then Lulu also has a little bear who she calls her little brother. Whut?
And apparently Ginko has it in her head that everyone is a bear? And she is the only one who can see that. I guess that has something to do with her craycray mom who put that idea (and the wounds on her heart) in her mind. Then again, she is 15/16, why is everyone still pretending, can't they find help for the girl?

I am just not going to continue this one. I am sure I am too tired for this one, or not smart enough, or something else. But even though it has different plotlines, I still don't have a clue what this anime/manga is about. Bears? Yuri? I guess. Other than that, no clue.

The art is gorgeous though. Very gorgeous, and the bears are adorable.

This is a girl-girl love manga that seems to be pretty firmly written for a male audience. The art often veers into cheesecakey underwear shots of the girls. I love weird things and I really enjoyed the bear aspect of the story but this mostly did not hit the mark for me.

This manga is just adorable! And it has everything: cute bears, cute girls, cute girls who like other cute girls? Yeah, pretty much everything.

I had no idea that this manga was based off a popular anime, but I will definitely be checking it out, and I'll keep an eye out for the next volumes of the manga!

So this was really weird, and low-key sexist. Did not enjoy it at all. Was pretty confused most of the time. I gave it 2 stars because I liked the artwork, but that might have been too generous.

This is an interesting read. I will read more by this author. The artwork was good. The characters were described good.

With cute lines, and a interesting story line, this first volume of Yuri Bear Storm catches your attention until you finish reading it!

In it we have the wallflower Kureha and the school popular Ginko. They know each other for the classes they share on high school, even though Kureha doesn't know what Ginko see's in her when they talk. Especially since she knows Ginko's secret!

What secret? That she's actually a bear! Or well, a bear from space she thinks... Until Ginko actually calls her to talk after class and the talk ends up with Kureha saying her guess! Now is she really? And what's with her weird dreams where they show up together?

Quick, easy to read, funny and really really cute, it's a manga that I'll send notice to my friends and followers, and also now I'm really wanting the volume 2 and the rest to read to find out more about Lulu, Ginko's childhood, her aunt and mother... So many mysteries! Also... Will Lulu and a Kureha find out about Ginko's and the President's deal?

This was so cute!!!!! I really loved it. The art style is adorable and the story is super cute too. Definitely highly recommend this to any manga fan!

This was a wonderful story drawn beautifully. This story takes inspiration from Japan's negative outlook on the lgbt community and presents it in a stunning way.

Yuri Bear Storm is a weird one, I can tell you that. It's about a girl named Kureha, who has nightmares about bears and is afraid of everything basically. That is until she meets Ginko, who is supposedly a bear princess and the whole world is an illusion where everyone is a bear - well, except Kureha. Because of this Ginko falls in love with her and then we are off to a situation where Ginko supposedly needs to eat her and all this is soaked in girls' love and panty shots. In a way this doesn't surprise me at all knowing who the creator is, but bears and lesbian love? The first half of the manga goes nowhere and is quite boring, but afterwards it gets better and I don't really mind about the lesbian love, but how it's presented. This is seinen, so the girls loving girls is aimed at men and it feels detached from the setting. I wish it had been implemented so that it would've been natural, a part of the system (the same way as the bears).

The art is OK, but nothing miraculous and the backgrounds are lacking. I take it the anime must look better, since this feels like a byproduct no matter how you look at this. Weirdly enough the setting becomes interesting as the story grows, which was a pleasant surprise. The girls don't have that many expressions and all in all this looks quite bland, which is a shame, since the story is surely something else. Tokyopop has taken a liking to girls' love, it seems, since this isn't the first, but probably the oddest. The bears are great though!

This was super cute and adorable. The story focuses on Kureha and Ginko who get drawn to each other. Kureha is plagued of nightmares about bears and them attacking her. The art style really complimented the story as they were super adorable and the character design was excellent. I really wish i could start volume two now as the ending left me wanting more. One element that isn't mentioned is the lesbian attraction between Kureha and Ginko and I just shipped them so dang hard.