Content Warning: this work contains sexual assault and mention of suicide ideation.

Yuri readers may already be familiar with Mikanuji's work – I Don't Need a Happy Ending is the third to get an English release, following Assorted Entanglements and Now Loading...!…!, and they also contributed a story to the yuri anthology Whenever Our Eyes Meet... I Don't Need a Happy Ending is in the vein of that last one, a collection of unrelated short stories about women trying to find love together, and sometimes falling short of the mark. While the title would seem to imply that that's the point, the stories for the most part lack the bittersweet quality that would make that theme work.

The title story is by far the most successful, both in terms of creating a story of beautiful yearning and in giving us a satisfying resolution. The tale follows Maria and Roberta; the latter is the only daughter of a nobleman while the former is her maid. Roberta is on the verge of being forced to marry by her father to carry on the family (if not the name), and Maria is willing, although not content, to simply love her mistress from afar. That changes when Roberta propositions Maria, saying that if she's going to be forced to wed, she at least wants to have control over her first sexual experience – preferably with someone she loves. This is notable not just because it's Roberta's admission of having feelings for Maria, but also because she frames it as “losing her virginity,” something that isn't always stated when talking about sex between two women, largely because of the lack of any penises in the operation. Even though virginity is a social construct, the importance of Roberta viewing sex with Maria as “real” is significant, and it speaks to the depth of her feelings for the other woman. This story is the only one that's set outside of modern Japan (it takes place in what looks like the early twentieth century in Europe) and also the sole story to get an epilogue, showing us that despite the title, a happy ending is very much in the woman's grasp. In their afterword, Mikanuji says that the title was meant to indicate that neither Roberta nor Maria needs a traditional happy ending, i.e. marriage to a man, and that they can find their happiness together.

Unfortunately, where there are highlights, there are also lowlights, and this book has two of them. Both “I'll Never Fall in Love with You” and “I Don't Know What Love Is” can be very uncomfortable reads, with both stories trading in nonconsensual and dubious consensual sex. The first story is by far the most concerning. Its plot follows Saara and Sugiya, two high school girls who haven't seen each other since elementary school. Sugiya bullied Saara relentlessly, and now that Saara has moved back, she's uncomfortably aware of her actions. So is Saara – and she's got a plan. Throughout the story, Saara rapes and otherwise sexually abuses Sugiya, taking videos of the acts to make sure that the other girl goes along with her. When Sugiya starts to exhibit what she thinks is love for her tormenter (I'm sure we could come up with a different word), the story shifts to implying that they can have a regular relationship. To call it uncomfortable may be understating the matter. “I Don't Know What Love Is” skirts some of the same issues, with shy Nakamukai dragged around by Hayakawa, her senpai from both high school and now her college drama club. Hayakawa puts Nakamukai down consistently, reacting with negativity every time she gets the other young woman to open up. We're meant to see Hayakawa as bringing Nakamukai out of her self-effacing shell, but Hayakawa's complete failure to listen to Nakamukai or to consider her feelings at all gives the whole thing a distasteful air. It's not quite as uncomfortable as “I'll Never Fall in Love with You,” but it comes close.

On the bright side, if you're looking for yuri with actual sex scenes, this fits the bill, to the point where last I checked the book isn't available on Amazon. Although it's not nearly as risqué as some BL or heterosexual romance titles, it's much more explicit than the average English-translated yuri. Mikanuji's art is mostly good as well; profiles are a major weakness, looking more like half of the face has just been lopped off rather than that we're seeing the face from the side. There is a sameness to all of the character designs that can be confusing if you're reading while tired, but overall it's nice to look at, and the title story does give a good sense of an early twentieth-century setting.

I Don't Need a Happy Ending is only as strong as its weakest stories, and that makes this a mediocre book. While the title story is very good and the creator's notes are very interesting, the second and third stories drag this down, and the fourth and fifth stories are just okay. If you're hurting for racy yuri, this will cover it, but otherwise, it's one I'd say to find at a library rather than buying.