In 2019, Japan’s premier science fiction magazine, SF Magazine launched a special Yuri issue. It was an immediate best-seller and legitimized Yuri science fiction as a subgenre.  Following that issue, Hayakawa Publishing put out a volume of short stories that included the stories from that issue. Asterism ni Hanataba o Yuri SF Anthology (アステリズムに花束を 百合 SFアンソロジー) is that short story collection.

If you’ve been following me on social media, you know it has taken me approximately 3 months to read this book. This is not because the book was in any way specific way bad, but merely because, as I do most of my reading before bed, the combination of science fiction and/or horror in a language I can’t yet claim as my second, meant I was going slowly.  In the end, I am actually glad I made it all the way through. But if I were to ever revisit it, I would read the first two and last two stories only.

The back of the book begins with a definition of the term Yuri as a genre term. Hayakawa is using a broad stroke definition, much as we do at Yuricon. “[Intense] Relationships between women.” Which means that some of these stories might not fall under what you might consider “Yuri.” More damning, from my perspective, is that several of the stories didn’t fall under what I consider to be science fiction; for instance the one about a girl’s school for blood-sucking (not vampire) demons. Even stories I actually liked, I was often hard pressed to see them as both Yuri and science fiction, including my favorite story of the collection…and they often had other problems as well.

Of the four stories I liked, “49 Letters” by Morita Kisetsu had impressed me a great deal in the magazine. Sweet, melancholy, Yuri and SF, it was a great little, if sad, entry about communication with the afterlife. I enjoyed the opening story by Iori Miyazawa (creator of Otherside Picnic), “Kimi no Scope” but still, having read it twice now, fail to see it as Yuri. The last person on earth follows footsteps. 

The next to last story, “Colorless Green” by Riku Shuusa and Inamura Bungo was a great story about an intense relationship between women and had some great science fiction elements, but would, if ever adapted, instantly become a mediocre murder mystery. I would have love to seen that edited to be a bit more about Monica. The story was less “intense relationships between women” and more “relationships with an intense woman.”  But is had great linguistics stuff about AI and human communication. The final story, “Twin Star Cyclone Runway” was an excellent bit of science fiction world-building and was totally Yuri (if a little handwave-y) but then it included the new disgusting fetish fad in manga, kissing someone who has just thrown up and gleefully exclaiming “You taste like puke!” and I am already very done with this and do not need to ever see it again. The story had a Thelma and Louise vibe that suited it.

I was very glad to have read this collection – I’m super pleased  to see SF Yuri and…I’d also like to see it grow the fuck up a bit. ^_^ 

Ratings:

Overall – 6

I look forward to the 2nd Special Yuri issue.

If you’ve read any of this, I’d love to hear your thoughts.