Traditionally, this is the hardest list of the year for me to write. I do try to make time to at least sample whatever fandom thinks of as Yuri anime that has come out in a year, even if I don’t particularly think of it as Yuri. Some years are harder than others if there just hasn’t been much that came out. This was not one of those years. ^_^
This year it was a hard list because of the typical shifting and juggling of spots up at the top. I won’t take that for granted, because it’s a lovely problem to have. It still makes it a hard list to write! ^_^
I’ve included links to legal streaming sites and complete sets on disk, whichever are available at time of writing. Which brings me to an interesting point. With Retrocrush, Tubi.Yv, Funimation and Crunchyroll all – at the moment – offering free streaming, Sentai’s HIDIVE stands out a bit, as the only non-free option streaming service. I wonder how that might change in 2021.
As usual, this is all *my opinion* and it reflects my priorities and interests. I invite you all to add your top anime of the year in the comments!
Assault Lily Bouquet
This isn’t Yuri, per se, so much as a derivative dolls-killing-giant monsters series, wrapped in a Yuri uniform. Which was interesting as an exercise: What if you stripped any human romance, love, from the modern moe-fied remnants of Class S relationships and used it as a series of markers without meaning? It becomes lion’s skin of Yuri draped over the shoulders of a moe Hercules. (How is that for an image? ^_^)
It wasn’t to my taste, in almost the exactly way Semelparous was not, though for opposite reasons. I wouldn’t mind a giant monster-killing story with a great Yuri plot, but neither this, nor Semelparous is it. Nonetheless, its gets a spot here for killing a wild Yuri and wearing it’s skin. ^_^
Tamayomi
You all know my endless plaintive cries for a good sports Yuri story. This was not what I’m looking for, but it was a pleasant little sports story with a light frisson of Yuri.
As a technically-minded sports anime I thought it pretty interesting. As a story about teamwork and friendship, it was a solid enough entry. Having any girl’s sport series that takes the sports aspect seriously is always a pleasure. And for that, we’ll give a spot in the line up to Tamayomi, (admittedly, pretty far down the roster.^_^)
Battle Athletes
Again, this isn’t the sports Yuri I want, even though it is spectacularly Yuri and – theoretically – about sports. ^_^ As an idea, Battle Athletes is great! As a reality, it’s goofy and zOMG full of service. Long before it was the “Naruto run” Akari did that crane style run. As a relic of a period where anime liked its heroines to be clumsy, useless, until they are suddenly ridiculously overpowered, and full of the stupidest possible nonsense, its really hard to take seriously. As a lesbian love triangle it’s a little more worthy. Personally I’ll always be craning my head around Akari, Ichino and Kris (and her cow,) ignoring the service and the stereotypes which were always totally UGH, even back when this was made, to watch Mylandah and Lahrri’s steamy relationship melting the edge of the film. ^_^
Thanks to Diskotek for reminding me what was good and bad about this classic Yuri anime.
Available on Blu-ray from Diskotek
Kira Kira PreCure a la Mode
Like a few other series on this list, Kira Kira PreCure Ala Mode isn’t from 2020, but this year we got this as a release on Crunchyroll.
Pretty much every year I watch an episode or two of the new PreCureseries, then forget to keep watching. I’ve made it through about a half dozen of the seasons. This is one of a few I genuinely enjoyed all the way through, along with Heartcatch, Suite and, surprisingly Healin’ Good.
Kira Kira PreCure ala Mode had all the things that hook me into a season of PreCure – characters with agency, and personality, a lovely Yuri couple with a good chunk of Yuri voice acting cred, good bad guys who evolve, loads of references to other cultural relics. But, honestly, even if Akira and Yukari weren’t obviously a couple, the fact that Akira’s transformation into Cure Chocolat included the Takarazuka stairs at least deserves an Honorable Mention. ^_^
Vlad Love
I really, truly, did not believe we’d be talking about this here on Okazu. In fact, I actively tried to avoid it. ^_^ But, here we are. Vlad Love has Oshii’s high-def backgrounds and a kind of a 90s vibe animation in the foreground.
In the end, Oshii’s girl-meets-girl vampire story made it on to this list. How? By being pretty fun, actually, with some overt acknowledgement that they are, kind of, and might be for real, later, a couple. In the meantime, this is a silly premise and we’ll have to wait to see where it leads us.
Episode 1 streaming on Youtube
My Next Life As a Villainess
I stand firm that this series is the sweetest, most lovable queer baiting I have ever seen. Yes, Mary is really into Katarina. That is not fake. And I think, honestly, the same could be said for Maria. As we know it is also, for every other character, because that’s the point. Furthermore, in the novels, Katarina’s feeling for Maria are interestingly complex. But the story is not about Katarina and her “waifu” Maria or her wannabee gf, Mary. So while I’m firm on “this is Yuri” I am also pretty darn firm on “this is Yuri-bait.”
The fact that the series is mega-delightfully loopy is just a big cherry on this cupcake of silly, yet adorable Yuri frippery. I loved watching, I’m still enjoying reading it and while I know Mary will never get a kiss, while Jeord does, it’s still a wonderfully wholesome Yuri series. ^_^
If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die
I’ve never pulled punches about this manga series – it makes me crazy, not in a good way. I frequently end a volume with an hour-long internal rant about the legal form of human trafficking that is the Japanese idol industry. I didn’t know if the anime would make it better or worse, honestly. But the anime fixed a few of the worst relics of the manga, cut out the absolute worst parts, switched some of the stuff around and did a pretty amazing job of turning what is a frustrating read into a hopeful watch.
The animation was very well done, and Ai Farouz was absolutely outstanding as Eri-pyo. This anime, regardless of my personal feelings about the story, deserves to be on this list.
Adachi and Shimamura
I honestly had no expectation of this series being good, either. The light novels when I read them back in the day, moved at a glacial pace, were filled with irrelevancies, and focused their energy on the wrong things.
Many things have changed and the writing has improved over time, I am told. Certainly both the animation and the voice acting added positive dimensions to this story. Despite the truckload of crotch and chest-staring which makes it really hard for me to just relax and enjoy this series, the fact that fandom loves it and the positives were enough to give the series a place on this year’s list.
Devilman Lady
I know have talked this series up a lot. In the early 2000s, it just slid under the radar, which was a damn shame as it was queerer than just about any other series at the time or for many years afterwards. Rewatching it now, I’m reminded how visually fascinating, musically oppressive and emotionally gut-wrenching it is.
This is not an easy watch. The horror here isn’t just violence and blood…it’s the endless existential horrors humans inflict on each other. The Yuri isn’t subtext. It is pervasive and a major plot point.
This is Go Nagai at his best, when you can’t just look away. The technology is a bit dated, but overall, this remains a strong – and relevant – story about humanity at its worst, and its best.
Available on Blu-Ray from Diskotek
Happy Go Lucky Days
Due to timing and circumstances, this anime movie flew under most people’s radar, but in my opinion it was absolutely the very best portrayal of lesbians we had in anime this year. Based on the manga Dounika Naru Hibi (どうにかなる日々)by Shimura Takako, this movie is a mix of vignettes about various characters that feel very much rooted in reality. In the first scenario, Ecchan and Aya meet and find they share several things in common…including an ex-girlfriend. We get to watch them as their relationship develops and becomes something more serious.
Brought to us by the team at Pony Canyon that created the Kase-san and Morning Glories OVA, the animation was smart and realistic, with enough of Shimura’s stylistic flourishes that you’d never doubt it was her work being animated. While the movie didn’t get the theatrical release planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was able to be shared to film festivals, and is available on HIDIVE. The trailer is free, and you can get a free week trial to watch the whole movie, but it does not stream legally for free.
It is my opinion, though, that this is worth getting that free trial, because Happy Go Lucky Days was the best Yuri anime of 2020.^_^
Thank you for the tip on Happy Go Lucky Days! I remember you talking about all of these series over the year, except this one for some reason o_o I should see about setting this for tonight, even!
I’ll be interested to hear what you think.
Sometimes I doubt how “complicated” these feelings are, if you remember how in literally ONE chapter, she confessed more than 2-3 times to herself in gay thoughts about her, lol. Joking aside, I think Destruction Flag Otome is the perfect example of a baiting show that can both tease and be a fun satire on various romantic shows.
Given how popular this show and its original is, I don’t think you found out about it just because of my advice, but I’m still glad that I once recommended this show to you and made such a positive impression on you. If Katarina’s adventures can be called a yuri, then this is my favorite yuri this year.
Also, I’m glad that compared to last year, there are more shows in 2020 that, if not “super duper yuri”, then at least teased in this direction, and not just depended on fan interpretations. It’s refreshing.
Show By Rock! Mashumairesh! had a lovely romance between its two leads. I’d rate it as my favorite yuri of the year. Streaming on Funimation.
I totally missed hearing about Happy Go Lucky Days (and just cancelled my HiDive sub) but I’ll need to check that out asap!
Hope you enjoy it!
Here’s my capsule reviews of Yuri or Yuri-ish-ish shows I watched in 2020:
Magia Record – some nice visual touches from the director duo, but little of much interest story or character wise. Didn’t stick around long enough to get much development for the 2 main girls as hinted in the OP, dropped at around 5-6 episodes.
Asteroid In Love – very high quality animation and the 1st episode was pretty strong, and pretty Yuri-ish, for this kind of cute girls show. But it takes a very special CGDCT show to get me to stick around, and a show where a highlight episode is a trip to a geological museum isn’t it. Dropped at around 4-5 episodes.
Fav Budoukan – really enjoyed this show! I didn’t (well, still don’t) know much about idol culture so this was a learning experience, Eripiyo and her VA are amazing, and I liked Eripiyo and Maina’s relationship despite the more than glacial development. I suspect I’ll wait till the manga is finished to catch up though.
My Next Life as a Villainess – must admit my enthusiasm for this series has been dampened by the recent novels, but the first 2 novels this series mostly adapts are still largely a delight. Once accepting at the door none of the ships, and especially none of the Yuri ships, will become canon, there’s plenty of shipping fun to be had here (Maria is my personal fav!) with a hugely likeable cast.
Tamayomi – as hinted before I’m not very favourable to Kirara-style anime, this one took a slightly different direction with the sports focus but what stopped me from carrying on any further was the mediocre animation. Dropped at 2 eps.
Adachi and Shimamura – it took until vols 3 and 4 of the novel for this to really get its teeth into me, and the anime started back from square one (or square several less than one, it feels like) of AdaShima’s relationship. Still, aside from the ever-irritating presence of Yashiro and a few other odd choices, this was a very well done adaptation and not one I can find many faults with. There was something about it that felt quite pleasant and relaxing to watch, first anime I can remember striking this kind of tone with me since Yuru Camp.
Assault Lily – I’ve rarely seen a show that lacks so much of its own identity as this one. The Yuri-ish elements are on the nose about their sources (Utena, Maria-sama, etc.), the premise of superpowered teens fighting monsters in the post-apocalypse brings to mind countless other shows, and the visuals (while having some highlights) felt like a lesser version of Shaft’s better known series, like the scenery in the birthday episode which looked straight out of Monogatari. Not a bad anime by any means, but not good enough to enjoy nor bad enough to enjoy ironically. I’d just rather by watching any of the shows AL reminds me of instead.
Happy Go Lucky Days – not watched yet, had no idea it was on HiDive already! Time to renew my subscription and watch it before the end of the year so hopefully it can go on my top anime of 2020 list.
Vlad Love – Okazu readers will have already seen my review! Though the odd release schedule for this series means you can justifiably put it on either best of 2020 or best of 2021 lists :D
Series often end up here more than one year, especially in pre-streaming years when TV episodes, then disc releases, then licensed English releases were not simultaneous. ^_^
Thank you for your list!
Speaking of Asault Lily, did it become some kind of real yuri at the end? I was simultaneously attracted and disgusted by the way it used MariMitte nods, so I decided to postpone this show until better times.
As for Asteroid In Love, although I was quite salty with another premise of “friendship that teased as possible gay”, the author at least had the strength to add coming out of one MC’s friends.
When I saw the headline I tried to think of the yuri anime that I had watched this year before I started the list… and curiously couldn’t come up with any despite all the TV watching in general. After reading the list I realize why – to me, this was *not* a good year for yuri anime, at least new series.
I can and have watched a lot of less-than-perfect series for one reason or another over the years, but there wasn’t a single thing that even sparked my interest to even try this year. (Happy Go Lucky actually looks kind of nice but HiDive has never offered enough for me to consider it as something I need to add to my subscription body count). I feel like we should be well beyond accepting shipping, tepid CGDCT skinship, and glacially paced first love romances as acceptable entries to the yuri canon.
We went so many years in a row there where there was at least one cool, unusual, or boundary-pushing queer anime that it’s disappointing for me to see a year with so much tossed off retread content. So, personally less enthusiastic but hopeful for next year. There has been a LOT of good manga, so maybe something innovative will get picked up for adaptation soon!