Days of Love at Seagull Villa, by Kodama Naoko, is a yuri romance manga about a shy city-girl and an outgoing country-gal overcoming their differences and their inner-turmoil in order to become good friends, and maybe something more.
Synopsis:
When Mayumi’s fiancée leaves her for her best friend, she packs up her bags and moves to the country in order to start over some place where life is simpler. At least, that was the plan, but the job she got as a teacher is proving to be more complicated then she expected and the landlady of Seagull Villa, the boarding house she’s staying at, is brass, pushy and always up in her business. Just when Mayumi begins to fear that she’s made a terrible mistake by moving, she discovers that Rin is coping with a tragic loss and doing her best to raise her young niece by herself. As she and Rin become closer, Mayumi comes to admire Rin and finds herself wanting to support her. Even if it started out as an attempt to run away from her problems, Mayumi realizes that she’s glad that she came to Seagull Villa and met Rin. But will Mayumi’s past really leave her alone? Or will it come back to haunt her and threaten to destroy everything that she’s built with Rin?
Review:
Days of Love at Seagull Villa is a story that has an entertaining mix of wholesomeness and melodrama that I personally found to be very appealing.
Mayumi and Rin are a cute pair and I think that they work well as a couple. Mayumi is reserved and unsure of herself, but reliable when the chips are down, while Rin is boisterous and straight-forward, but caring and sensitive, in her own way. Rin’s niece, Hinata, is a cherubic little tyke and the three of them quickly form a sweet family dynamic, with Mayumi helping Rin out with Hinata when the need arises and Rin offering Mayumi emotional support as she struggles with starting her new job. Both of these young ladies have wounded hearts and are in need of a good friend and it’s very endearing to watch them find that, and maybe the beginnings of romantic love, in each other.
While Mayumi and Rin’s adorable relationship is developing at Seagull Villa, there’s also a lot of exciting drama going on in their sleepy village. Mayumi discovers that a girl in her class in being bullied because of her scandalous parentage (Her mother was supposedly a prostitute and her dad is married to another woman) and she’s at a loss as to how to handle the situation.
Meanwhile, the friend who had an affair with Mayumi’s fiancée, and got pregnant with his baby, is sniffing around looking for information on where Mayumi went. Who knows what’s going to happen when this backstabber finally manages to track her down, but I have my suspicions that her motivations for what she’s done might be more complicated then Mayumi realizes and I’m looking forward to watching their eventual reunion play out!
While I found this to be an enjoyable read, there were a few things in this manga that struck me as being a bit weird. Cute-as-a-button Hinata is, perhaps, a tad too perfect and I found that she didn’t always behave in a way that seemed authentic for her age. There’s also an uncomfortable sub-plot involving Ashima, the girl in Mayumi’s class who’s being bullied, and her half-sister, Sakura. Despite their rather messed-up family situation, Sakura seems to be trying her best to treat Ashima as her sister, but Ashima apparently has very un-familial feelings for Sakura and she plants a kiss on her during one scene where the two of them are alone. I’m not thrilled about the inclusion of an incest sub-plot in this otherwise cute manga. I mean, Ashima’s whole family situation seemed complicated enough already, was it really necessary to heighten the drama even further?! I’m hoping that these sisters don’t end up together later…
Despite a few strange plot points, I had a lot of fun reading this first volume of Days of Love at Seagull Villa and I’m looking forward to reading more of the series. The main couple are very charming and I’m eager to find out what happens when Mayumi’s traitorous former-best-friend finally shows up! This yuri romance series is perfect for readers looking for a series with both depictions of cute family-life and a plot full of unexpected turns.
Final Score: 8 out of 10
What did you think of this manga? Let me know in the comments.
You can find more information on this series at Seven Seas Entertainment’s website.
If you’re interested, you can read my review of another one of Kodama Naoko’s yuri works:
Also, be sure to check out some of my other recent yuri manga reviews:
- A Witch’s Love at the End of the World Vol 1 Review
- Whisper Me a Love Song Vol 1 Review
- I Love You So Much, I Hate You Review
- Failed Princesses Vol 1 Review
- How Do We Relationship? Vol 1 Review
If you enjoy reading my reviews, please consider supporting me through Kofi.
Al's Manga Blog 
I had reread that section involving Ashima/Sakura twice, because man, it’s bad when being bullied is the second biggest problem you have… O_O
Too bad, as the rest of it sounds so good! Like you said, just seems to be a really odd inclusion for a manga like this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Agreed, it seemed like a weird direction to take in such a cute manga and it’s a really awkward subplot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have read your review twice, but I can’t help but lose it every time I see the title. It reminds me of this song from my meme-able high school years; [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPTXVqETBM4 ]. The song is literally called lesbian seagull so that’s a thing I wanted to share with you lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is hilarious! Also, Engelbert Humperdinck is an amazing name!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad it was funny!Engelbert Humperdinck has got to be a pen name, but I like to believe it’s real name!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope it’s his real name too 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person