Please note

This review is all subjective and my own personal opinion. You do not have to agree with it, nor am I asking you to. I hope that this just helps you get an idea of what the manga I am talking about is like and form a basic and general consensus on it. The ratings I give anime and manga are mostly my personal overall enjoyment. This review may contain some spoilers, but all of them will be hidden using the spoiler tag. There will be some images sourced from the manga, but they should not contain any major spoilers. TL;DR will be at the bottom.

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Introduction

Days of Love at Seagull Villa, written and illustrated by Kodama Naoko, presents the story the Seagull Villa, run by Rin, and Mayumi who has found herself there after moving to the countryside in a bid to start over. The two find themselves growing a bond, which soon blossoms into something more.

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Plot
It all begins with Mayumi by the sea, a key set piece of the manga.

As soon we begin reading, we are given a short glimpse into what brought Mayumi, leaving no space for speculation. After learning that her partner decided to marry her friend instead because he got her pregnant, distressed, she decided to run away to the countryside to being anew. Whilst this meant there was not really a mystery component to the story, as in where the reader would be left guessing what brought her here in the first place, it was not really necessary. Knowing this early on created sympathy towards Mayumi and further built upon her character.

We are then promptly introduced to the second main character of the story, Rin.

Seeing Mayumi by the sea leads her to believe that she is going to jump, when obviously she is not. I have found it is common for Yuris to build the complications in their plot around misunderstandings, and this is one case of it. This may be done to instil some humour into the story. I personally find these to be ineffective, but I could see them working with other readers.

Most of the events in the story are focused on the relationship between Mayumi and Rin. This could be at the Seagull Villa or in other settings. They were easy to follow and get into the flow of. Other than this, the plot could also revolve around Mayumi's teaching job or the other notable characters. Whilst they were not as strong as the times where it focused on Mayumi and Rin, it still held its own.

Moving on, the first chapter gets introducing the characters of interest out of the way. This allowed the story to get moving as quickly as it needed to, which is especially vital given the short chapter length of this manga. The first chapter was able to introduce all of the main characters efficiently and effectively without feeling to rushed or in your face.

That said, there were some things that moved too fast for my liking within the first chapter.

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

A friend kiss?

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

I know she was drunk but... this felt way too sudden. Something like this would have been better to happen a little later in the story. But for it to happen within the first chapter, with little build up, it ultimately ended up being not satisfying. A significant step in a relationship like this should have at least some build up. But that could just be me.

Luckily most of the issues I had were exclusive to the first chapter. From there, the pacing proved to be well implemented, not rushing the story but still at the same time moving things along fast enough. Most of the developments in the story were well throughout and implemented, further uplifting the reading experience. There were not as many plot twists and developments as there was character growth, but I will leave that for the character section of the review. The plot developments did manage to keep the story fresh and had some unexpected turns. These developments for the most part did not feel out of place and helped me stay engaged.

There were also some interesting themes present in this manga. They are not explored as much, instead opting to explore more on the romance side of things, but nevertheless they are still present. One such theme was running away from your problems. I am sure most of us can relate that to one way or another. This theme is a major part of Mayumi's character, as the whole reason she is at the Seagull Villa in the first place is because she ran away. This does not get explored as much until the later parts of the manga, so I will avoid talking about it in great deal in mind of spoilers. I will say however, although it was not delved into a great deal, it was still interesting to see such a theme discussed, and how it effects and changes Mayumi. It was another captivating part of Days of Love at Seagull Villa.

Unlike many of the other Yuri I have read, this focuses more on adult life as compared to high school life. I am not sure how to put it into words exactly, but if you have read Yuri that showcase both adult life and school life, you will certainly know the difference. The adult setting and main cast made this read fresh as compared to the others I have read and helped me enjoy this read more.

Characters and Romance

There are about six prominent characters in the story. The main protagonist of the story is Mayumi. Mayumi is not great socially, often stating that she had troubles making friends and getting along with others. Mayumi becomes a teacher as she moves into the Seagull Villa which may be a daunting job for one with poor social skills, but she is shown to have been academically adept. Despite the challenges, she took to the challenge. It was admirable to see and made her easier to like. Rin is often described as a Yankee by Mayumi, mostly because of her hair colour. Despite being labelled as a Yankee, I did not really think any of her behaviour was indicative of one. She is a pretty cheerful and bright character and is easy to like.

Rin is more sociable than Mayumi, well known and liked around the town. Among other differences, this contrast between her and Mayumi helped their relationship stand out more and be more riveting to read. It is common for romances to have the couple vastly different.

Furthermore, it is common for Yuri couples to have one be the more feminine character, with the other being more masculine, in other words a tomboy. From appearances alone, this relationship does that. I am not fully sure as to why authors commonly do this. It could be to create more of a contrast between the two individuals. If the characters looked the same it would not be as nice to read.

Hinata is the youngest character in the story. Hinata is, well, a child. A very young one at that, so how she behaves is a pretty common sight. One could describe her as the comedic relief, as they exemplify her habit to say she is one year older than she actually is and her love for big breasts. Her role allowed her to bring more humour to the story, making it livelier. Ashima is another prominent character that appears in the manga. Ashima is more reserved when it comes to her past and issues, leaving her to be surrounded with a slight tinge of mystery. Her past does get revealed not too long later, but she was still someone I had thing a little about as to who she really was. I am not sure how to describe her personality really other than being reserved and a little cold to people other than Rin and Hinata.

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

This however, does go through significant changes throughout the manga. It may be common across other titles, but I still liked it nevertheless.

Sakura is another side character in this story. I cannot really talk too much about her without going into mild spoiler territory as she is introduced a bit later on in the story. There is not much to say about her character as quite honestly, I would say she is bland. Not bad, just bland. Sakura is actually Ashima's half-sister. They do live together but their relationship is strained due to the circumstances of Ashima's illicit birth. Ashima sometimes does some certain things to her...

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide

If incest is something you cannot stomach, then you may have some troubles here. This kind of thing happens more than once. I really do not know why this was put into the manga. To showcase their relationship? To emphasise Ashima's circumstances around her birth? I really have no idea. Luckily, the incest acts do die down later on in the story as the pair develop and grow. The development they go through however is quite significant, and their relationship becomes something like a romance by the end of the story. When it got to that point I was able to enjoy reading the two.

Lastly, there is the antagonist of the story, Touko. Touko is the friend Mayumi's partner ended up going with because he made her pregnant. She is essentially the villain of the story. Does she play that role well? If the aim was to make her someone I disliked, then Kodama did well to do just that. As I saw her more and more throughout the story she just become someone I wanted gone. She does try to interfere with Mayumi's life and clearly exhibit villainous attitudes. That said, I just did not like her, even as an antagonist. She may have played an important role in the story, but I did not enjoy reading her as much as the other characters. Looking at the image above now, she looks so ingenuine. Seeing how her betrayal effected Mayumi was interesting at the very least. The romance and relationships was something I felt that was well executed when it came to Mayumi and Rin. The main basis of this manga was the bond between the two, it had to be one of the stronger points of the manga. I personally love some romance, especially Yuri, so I was more inclined to like it. Despite that, I felt that the romance was entertaining to read. Seeing their relationship blossom over time, eventually blooming into something more was satisfying. Other than one instance I recall, their romance took steady steps moving forward, with us following along on that journey. It was easy to get invested into it. Moreover, the two and their relationship had great development in my opinion. Their perception of each other slowly changed as they got to know each other more.

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Art
The art was something else about this manga that I liked. It compellingly captured scenes and the emotions the characters were expressing, further elevating the reading experience.

It may be nothing special but hey, I still found it to be nice.

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Comparisons between Netsuzou Trap
Some of you may be wondering why I am comparing this manga to the somewhat infamous Netsuzou Trap. That is because in fact, those two manga's were made by the same person, Kodama Naoko.

If you could not already tell, the art style does share its similarities, but I felt that the author had improved in their art skills. This manga was made about two years after Netsuzou Trap finished, so that makes sense.

Some character designs are also similar. When I first saw Ashima, I was instantly reminded of Mizushina Hotaru, the second main character of Netsuzou Trap. Other than their appearances, they do share similar sexual behaviours, but other than that, not much else.

Outside from the two points I raised above, there are not many other points of similarities I can bring up. They may have been created by the same person, but they are very different stories. I personally liked this manga much more, where it be due to the better romance or less sexual plot.

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Conclusion and TL;DR
Am I over praising this manga? Probably. That is likely a result of my low standards and my liking for Yuri. In the end though, I can see this being a good read for fans of the Yuri genre and want something new and short to read. I was a little sad to end the manga as there would be no more, but I was still satisfied with what I got. Even with its flaws in mind, this was an enjoyable read. In summary:

• The manga quickly gets things moving by introducing all the characters we need to know in the first chapter, not wasting unnecessary time.
• The plot focuses on the relationship between the two main characters and is easy to get into.
• It manages to pace itself out well within a short chapter count.
• The plot developments helped keep the story fresh and engaging.
• The main two are easy to like and enjoyable to read, as well as sharing a captivating relationship which splendidly blooms.
• The side characters were not as fascinating as the main two, but still contributed to the story and were able to be entertaining.
• The antagonist of the story was one of the weaker parts of the manga.
• The art wonderfully illustrated various scenes and the characters in them.

That brings us to the end of the review. I ended up discussing more than I thought I would, so this ended up being longer than it needed to be. If you want to send me feedback on my reviews, please post a comment on this thread. Hopefully you were able to get something out of this review. If you did not like this review, then I apologise for wasting your time.