The Conditions of Paradise: Azure Dreams (2024)

2021 Read #42

I think this volume is my favorite of the Conditions of Paradise universe, though some of the age-gap stuff struck me as problematic and a bit uncomfortable. If you like yuri, though, Akiko Morishima is one of the best.

the food truck story is so good and cute!!!! the rest are pretty meh, except for the one where the girl gets together with someone she met when she was eight. yikes!!!!

7 adorable shoujo-ai/yuri stories with tons and tons of love. Featuring 6 couples (yes, one couple gets two stories) and I just loved reading their stories. This one is a bit more tame than the yuri collection I read yesterday, on the one hand very refreshing, but on the other hand, especially with the 2 stories about one couple, I wouldn't have minded something more than kisses and hugs. ;)
My favourite story would be the last story about a fujoshi girl who finds out that love is better than moe. My least favourite would be the one about a girl and a widow, it was just all pretty cringy.
The art was just adorable, very soft and fluffy, but also serious when the need was for seriousness.
All in all, definitely would recommend.

The third Conditions of Paradise anthology has arrived, featuring a wide-ranging assortment of stories, from exes starting a minor showdown with a food truck, to a school princess who ends up being more court jester. It’s a yuri anthology though, so the real question is... is it any bloody good?

Well, well, well. Third time turned out to actually be the charm for this one. After two previous attempts of varying quality, I thoroughly enjoyed this volume and pretty much every story in it.

There’s nothing earth shattering here, don’t get me wrong, but the stories are fun and breezy and the characters tend to be pretty loveable for the most part. After the dire showing from the last Syrup anthology (yes I am still grumpy about that), this is like a breath of fresh air.

It also fixes up several problems I’ve had with the previous books in this series. The playfully snippy exes of Honey & Mustard from volume 1 are back, but the story is completely different and involves a war over a cute food truck employee. This one probably has the heaviest storyline; beyond the playful bits it’s about second chances and also hating yourself for who you are.

But unlike the travel companions from volumes 1 and 2, the two Honey & Mustard versions are both different enough that they aren’t retreading the same ground. Big upgrade and it’s the best way to recycle two characters you like into something novel.

The art teacher and her former student are back and this one’s great because it’s not only a direct continuation of their story, but you don’t need to know anything that came before to quickly figure out what’s going on. It’s refreshingly sharp.

The very first story is also a follow-up and I didn’t even realize it until I went back over the first two volumes. It adds a little, but isn’t required, which is exactly as it should be. That first story is also a great take on your expectations in life versus society’s and how intractable you want to be when setting goals.

The new one-shots are fun. There’s an odd family dynamic at play during one that I don’t know is particularly believable, but it was fine. The university students one is short but I really liked it. The last one is pushing the age gap, but it’s a ton of fun (given the afterword, I wonder if the lead is closer to the author than the other characters). Some of the other stories have wider age gaps, but I mind them less when they involve consenting adults.

Yeah, no, easy four stars for this one. It may not have the greatest stories ever, but it has some really quite good ones and none of them are, frankly, actively bad, which is a feat in and of itself. It took Morishima a while, but she got there! Probably biff a star off if you aren’t fussy about the age gaps, which is understandable.

Again I came here for the on going honey and mustard story with the food truck and the coworker romance..

Another fantastic volume in this great anthology series.

Yet again, the Mangaka has created characters that are fresh, interesting, entertaining, identifiable, relatable, and at times, alluring and intriguing. So many of these characters, I would gladly read a full series involving them. Such simple premises, yet they are realistic, believable, and true to life. I truly enjoy each and every story in this series. They are mostly light-hearted, pleasant, and there's always a happy ending, usually ending in ways that would allow a continuation of the story down the road. Here, we smile and are happy to see the couples' happiness. There is none of the deep sadness, heart-wrenching moments, and unhappy endings in anthology series like Syrup, and especially Ecláir. I strongly suggest to lovers of Yuri that they read this series. It is rather enjoyable.

This wasn't for me. I'm not sure it's for anyone.

In the first story with two office workers, the conflict is one of them wants to be a mother, the other gets mad because she can't provide that - and then they never address it and go back to sleeping together.

Another story had a character break up with the other, only for that person to ignore her and insist she was right to talk to her ex... And then they get back together. Most of the stories were age-gap and just struck me as gross, especially the last story with the character perving at her little sister's school. Yikes. (And don't get me wrong, I enjoy age-gap stories but they have to address the complications meaningfully)

The art was cute and I like the variety of the characters looks, but I couldn't enjoy the fantasy with such toxic relationships.

Una por la historia de la viuda que luego tiene una relación amorosa con la hija adoptiva que tuvo, que igualmente se casó a los 17 con un man de 30. y cuando la "niña" crece, ellas se enamoran y luego lloran por que lo extrañan a él. Como es posible que describa que la quiera como hija, hermana y bff?????

very cute and made me smile!! my favorite one was honey and mustard. (i didn't read the reminisce one bc the fact that she was 17 and married a 32yr man, and pretty much adopted a girl that she later fell in love with?? just made me too uncomfortable so i had to skip it ㅠㅠ)

pretty cute besides the short story with the woman who was basically someone’s mother and they began a romantic relationship with each other even though the older woman still saw her as a child???? 🤨 ok. all I can say is akiko morishima likes age gaps.

interesting concepts but pretty mediocre in delivery and story

um lixo horrível e problemáticooooo não recomendo // it was trash and really problematic (in the first story everything's alright then things escalate really wrong) do Not recomment it

I love a good anthology. Loved the stories.

some of these stories were a bit yikes.... but the food truck one was so cute!!

3,5
It's cute

However, the fourth story was not my cup of tea..

Love prevails in this collection of super-cute short stories!