The tomboy and the quiet girl don't seem to have much in common at first glance, except that they're head over heels in love. Ren is loud, brash, and possessive, a far cry from Shino's calmer, more reserved demeanor. But hey, sparks fly in the most unlikely cases, and this couple can barely keep their hands off each other. Between Ren's aggressive flirting and Shino's adorable personality, if one of them isn't blushing― whoever's reading along with them sure will be.

Shino & Ren has a story and art by Minori Chigusa. English translation is done by Kim Morrissy and lettering by Vitor Batista. Published by Yen Press (May 26, 2026). Rated 16+.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Creator Minori Chigusa says in her afterword that Shino & Ren was created because she couldn't find her favorite type of yuri commercially available. That type, apparently, is “a top who seems like a bottom and a bottom who seems like a top,” and while I don't tend to like the strict roles a lot of BL and GL feel the characters need to fit into (it feels too much like trying to enforce heteronormative gender roles in a queer relationship), I have to admit that she does it well. Shino is the meek and quiet type who wouldn't say boo to a goose while Ren is the outspoken tomboy…except when they're in bed, when the roles reverse. If seeing the more sexually mild partner flip her switch is your thing, add another star or two to the rating.

What's particularly remarkable about this story is how unrepentantly horny it is. A lot of high school set yuri that gets released in English tends to be fairly innocent, possibly in a nod to Class S stories. But Shino and Ren are very sexually active (hello, nurse's office and gym storage) and the story makes no bones about it. Scenes are largely fade-to-black, but it's very clear that these girls can't keep their hands off each other and the plot, such as it is, celebrates that. I say “such as it is” because this is more of a slice-of-horny-life story than anything with an ongoing throughline; we do see how Shino and Ren get together in the final chapter, but mostly this is just snippets of their time together – at the pool, in bed, at school, etc.

The art is interesting in that each chapter has a different theme color, which shows up in the background and the characters' eyes. It's also notable that the artist is not good at drawing cleavage, which is a real handicap in a yuri title. Specifically, it always looks like the girls are wearing bras that push their breasts together, even when they're clearly not wearing bras at all. This volume also has the single worst bathing suit I've seen in recent manga memory, which is saying something.

Despite its artistic issues, Shino & Ren is a pleasant book. I'd personally have liked an ongoing plot, but if that's not something that bothers you, it's worth picking up if you're a yuri fan.

Erica Friedman
Rating:

Whatever your opinion of Shino and Ren, Volume 1, you have to admit that Shino and Ren are very in love and very into each other in healthy and affirming ways. Aside from that, there is room for any number of opinions on this volume.

Minori Chigusa's art is familiar to me as art that began as sexy images of cute girls in peekaboo situations that developed over time into a story. You can still see remnants of that origin in color pages that are a “sexy” scenario, with a little bit of dialogue, just enough to tell the voyeur-reader that they are teasing and seducing one another. Whether you find this to actually be sexy is an entirely personal thing.

Many of the pages are full color, others are one color, black and white. The art is good and very focused on fan service. Shino is extremely well-endowed, and both she and Ren have a tendency to wear clothes that offer suggestive views. It's hard to take any of this entirely negatively, as Chigusa is honest about everything in the book being her own interest.

When the manga sets the service aside for story, both girls are likeable and they think about each other in ways that just feel nice and not mentally unbalanced. They live in a Yuri bubble, with no named friends or schoolmates, so if you're looking for depth in your Yuri relationships, this won't be for you, but if teens tease each other in the way that young lust does, then this may well be your thing. Fans of Chigusa's Convenient Semi-Friend will also probably find this manga of interest.

Shino and Ren is an ongoing series in Japan as they age up and move in together, so look forward to many years with them.