Two and Two Review – Yuri Mathematic

Two and Two (Futari to Futari) is a short yuri manga by Akihito Yoshitomi (吉富昭仁) serialized in Yuri Hime S. With only five chapters, it is not a particularly signature work, but I actually really enjoyed it. Since I am still inundated with stuff, this is the perfect little title to skim through.

The story revolves around four girls in a really complicated love square. Ayumi and Sayako are roommates and really good friends. Ayumi is currently dating Asami, while Sayako is dating Keiko. It turns out Asami and Keiko once dated each other. To complicate matters further, Ayumi and Sayako both have feelings for each other that develop into something more. The story follows these girls as the affair between Ayumi and Sayako is found out, and the four deal with their intertwining emotions.

The manga does a beautiful job in portraying clear tension between the four girls. At the same time, the angst does not overpower the romance. It has a delicate balance between the dramatic emotions and the sweet moments. This is furthered by the various moving and titillating sex scenes.

Akihito Yoshitomi is an easily recognizable name in the yuri community (Blue Drop, Tropical Girls…etc). He is no stranger to gorgeous yuri manga. Two and Two is no exception. The sex scenes are especially gorgeous. Like the story, these scenes are at once heartrending and sweet… and really titillating.

However, I do have one complaint. All the characters look too similar not only in Two and Two, but across most of Akihito Yoshitomi’s works. When I read this the first time, I got really confused by who is with whom, and who is cheating on whom. This is worsened by the time gap between chapters in the quarterly magazine.

Still, once I got my bearings, this manga stands out as a tactful narrative for a complex situation. In particular, the ending makes Two and Two one of the more memorable yuri manga.

The solution to this convoluted love square is really just simple mathematics. 2 + 2 = 4.

A four-way relationship is daring and ingenious. It is also undoubtedly something many yuri fans have wanted to see, but manga authors rarely deliver