Archive for 2023


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – May 27, 2023

May 27th, 2023

In blue silhouette, two women face each other. One wears a fedora and male-styled attire, one is in a dress and heels. Their body language is obscure - they may be dancing, or laughing or fighting. Now that I am making a concerted effort to catch up on the Yuricon Store, there are two things we must reckon with: 1) There will be a lot of additions in this week’s report and 2) There is SO MUCH Yuri coming out that, a week into the update, I have added as many items to my “to be added” list in my bookmarks as I have added things to the Store. ^_^; We are surrounded by an abundance of Yuri riches. So buckle in, we have a lot of cool stuff this week to get to!

Yuri Anime

The Lycoris Recoil Blu-Ray box set will be available in late August. It looks adorable. Save %30 with a pre-order on RightStuf.

 

Yuri Figurines

From the fine folks at Yuri Daily on Facebook, we have the news that Furyu is putting out two Yuri Is My Job! figurines. You can get our leads in their salon personas – Ayanokoji Mitsuki or Shirasagi Hime for about $130 USD each. These figurines are eerily life-like-to-the-anime.

 

Yuri Manga

Seven Seas announced the license of How Do I Get Together With My Childhood Friend?, by the creator of Monologue Woven For You, Syu Yasaka.

How Do We Relationship?, Volume  9 will be hitting shelves in late July. Miwa and Saeko’s relationship has gone through a lot, but they are still finding their best ways to be themselves.

Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4 gave us an unexpected ending to the series. I reviewed it yesterday here on Okazu.

Superwomen in Love! Honey Trap and Rapid Rabbit, Volume 5 also completes this sentai Yuri series. Can a suited heroine and her arch-nemesis save the day?

From Blue Drop creator Akihito Yoshitomo My Future Starts Today ~Miku & Kyoko~, Volume 1 was picked up and translated into English by MediBang! as a digital license. Does anyone remember Blue Drop besides me, at this point? I liked it – especially the Drama CDs.

Qualia The Purple Manga Collection is now available on the Store, as well. Without question, the people who loved this story, love this story. I mean that in a kind way.

 

Okazu needs your support to continue bringing you Yuri news, reviews and interviews –
Become an Okazu Patron today!

Galette, No. 25  (ガレット) has been out since March and is available from a number of sellers. I am still positive about this creator-run quarterly Yuri manga magazine and would love to see it continue for 5 more years!

Akiyama Haru’s Iberis no Hanayome ( イベリスの花嫁) is about a wedding planner who finds herself falling for the bride.

Lily & Ivy – Ken-couple Yuri & Sex Anthology (リリー&アイビー ~ケンカップル百合×性愛アンソロジー~) is for fans of series like Black & White, with a little rough love in the mix.

Fukusuunin Kousai Yuri Anthology (複数人交際百合アンソロジー レモネード) is a poly anthology, with relationships of 3 or more people.

Yuri Short Story Collection wiz (百合小説コレクション wiz) is a collection of winning entries from the Yuri Literary Short Story Contest on Pixiv.

Nagata Kabi has more to say about her life in Suizou Ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Ikiyasuku Narimashita. (膵臓がこわれたら、少し生きやすくなりました。) I’m reading it now and will get back to you shortly.

 

I’m In Love With The Villainess News

Crunchyroll has announced that they will be streaming the I’m In Love With The Villainess anime, which is headed our way in October. Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details over on ANN.

On her Pixiv Fanbox last week, inori.-sensei announced a new spin-off project I’m In Love With The Villainess. Maid’s Kitchen (私の推しは悪役令嬢。メイドキッチン) The art for this cooking comedy starring Rei, Claire and Lene, will be by Tsuke-sensei. It will also run in Comic Yuri Hime magazine. Take a look at the cover here on inori.-sensei’s twitter!

There are two more voiced comics for Wataoshi from Ichijinsha. You can find there here and here. That completes the series, I believe.

 

Buy us a Sailor Senshi sparkling water
Support Yuri journalism on Ko-fi!


 
Queer Comics

“Blood! Bounties!! & Badass Babes!!! reads the tagline for Blade Maidens, by Zoe Tunnel and Valentine M. Smith. Queer trans and NB protags and lot of action. It’s fun. ^_^

 

Yuri Visual Novels

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Ashley, two classic Yuri VNs have been remastered and are available on Steam! Akai Ito HD Remaster and Aoi Shiro HD Remaster, are set in the same universe. Ashley reviewed the latter for Okazu 13 years ago!

ebi-hime has a new game, It gets so lonely here, “a yandere yuri visual novel with a fairytale theme. Can you escape from your mysterious pursuer?” CWs for violence and cannibalism. Available on Steam and itch.io.

 

Other News

Also Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Ashley, Takarazuka’s Casino Royale is coming to screens with a live online performance on June 11. The live version is 1:30PM JST on June 11, while the online “restreaming” is at 4AM JST (so 3PM EST) on June 26. There is no video on demand. You’re buying a ticket to a show. There will be EN subtitles on the restream.

Lilyka is running a 41% off Yuri doujinshi sale, with the code “41” right now. More importantly, the Lilyka website is being deprecated soon (no date has been given.) emanga.com has already rolled the Yuri works from Lilyka into their GL collection.

 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips. Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with our readers.





Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4

May 26th, 2023

I first encountered this series in 2020 when I found it at Gamers in Akihabara, with bonus clearfile by artist Fly. I reviewed volume 1 and 2 in English and Japanese here on Okazu…then I kind of forgot about it. Volume two had a “Waiting for Godot” feel and even though it was obvious that we were going to learn what happened to Sahoko and Aoi back in high school, I found it hard to care.

As soon as I began reading Chasing After Aoi Koshiba, Volume 4, I remembered why. The high school drama felt very high school, with like and dislikes and confessions and whatnot. It’s not compelling. The entire time I was reading this series, I was really hoping we’d spend more time with the characters ten years later at the reunion.

But this volume did two things that turned everything around and let me tell you how impressed I was!

Firstly, the high school portion of the story ended in a way I did not expect at all. It was the right ending, but I had been steeling myself against the inevitable wrong ending. I was so surprised and pleased. Then the reunion arc also ended in a way that I would not have expected. I don’t know if it was the right way or not – it was a powerful ending that ended the story, for sure. There was no moving forward after that. I wouldn’t call it brave,  but it took some small risk and I appreciate that. More series need to really think about whether relationships ought to work. Takeoka Hazuki put some thought into that. I appreciate it.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Service – 1
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

The team at Kodansha did good work with this volume, although I felt that $10.99 price point for a digital was a little much, given that they print price was $12.99.  The ending was better than I expected, but whether it makes the whole series worth a read will be up to you. For me, it was always about the art, which is slick as hell.





Maitsuki Niwatsuki Ooyatsuki – Monthly With Ooya, Volume 3 (毎月庭つき大家つき)

May 25th, 2023

Two adult women crouch, playing with Japanese fireworks that make a golden pool of light at their feet, in a dark blue night.Bing! Bing! Bing! We have a winner of the first annual “Adults Having An Important Conversation Like Adults” Award here at Okazu.

Asako is living with her landlord, Miyako. Miyako, a retired extremely famous singer, is a bit of a layabout, but Asako, a manga editor, happily cooks and cleans, and their days pass pleasantly.

Until, in Maitsuki Niwatsuki Ooyatsuki – Monthly With Ooya, Volume 3 (毎月庭つき大家つき), Miyako comes to the conclusion that she has fallen in love with Asako. She tries, in horribly awkward and non-intuitive ways to get her interest across, but it doesn’t land. She imagines her birthday will give them an opportunity to get closer, but Asako seems lukewarm about it. Stressed, Miyako calls on her idol friend Ruri and Asako’s friend Hato-san. Sensibly they suggest, y’know, telling Asako how she feels. Hato also tells her that Asako is carrying trauma about birthdays, as it is.

So…Miyako tells Asako how she feels! It was the best adult having a conversation with another adult I have seen in years.

Then they celebrate the hell out of Miyako’s birthday. Now Asako has to figure out how she feels, so she talks to her sister-in-law Kodachi about it, who also offers perfectly sensible advice that helps Asako figure it out. Then she talks to Miyako about it.

This volume was so refreshing in every way. As silly as the initial premise is, we are rooting for Miyako and Asako to find happiness. And also for Ruri and Hato to start dating, because Hato is where all the overblown reactions live in the manga. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8 Yodokawa’s faces are on point
Story – 8
Character – 9
Service – 0
Yuri – 5 Yuri has arrived!

Overall – 8

I have said before that this kind of real-world slow life is my jam.  I don’t need high school drama right now (or maybe ever again,) I do need adults building relationships. Please just inject this into my veins

I’m glad you’ll be able to read this series, as Monthly in the Garden With My Landlord from Yen press in October. It’s a charming little story, with a slow-building relationship and people you wouldn’t mind knowing. ^_^





Comic Yuri Hime June 2023 (コミック百合姫2023年6月号)

May 22nd, 2023

Two girls in white Japanese school uniforms, with blue collars and skirts stand in front of a window as they discuss something. One has a satisfied smile, as the other looks at her. The text reads "At that moment, you were dazzling." Comic Yuri Hime June 2023 (コミック百合姫2023年6月号) begins with a vastly shifted cover story. What was near-monochrome and pensive looks, now has shifted to color and happy expressions of every day joy. I think Mebachi-sensei’s work here has been quite good. I expect that summer will see more bright smiles, but will autumn and winter chill them? I guess we’ll see.

The first chapter is rather emotional fallout of Shiho’s confession in Takeshima Eku’s “Sasayakuyouni Koi Wo Utau.” Now Aki has to deal with her own feelings for Yori, urgh. But the festival progresses and SS Girls have a great day. And then they get some shocking news….

This is followed by a critically important chapter of Miman’s  “Watashi no Yuri Ha Oshigoto Desu!” For the first time in this series, I feel like Sumika and Kanako may be all right. Phew. Kanako even smiles! She’s ready to tell Sumika her story about the time she told Hime-chan how she felt. Yikes.

I am 100% all in on slice-of-life series right now. In fact, I have an article idea floating loose in my head about them. So “Osoto Gohan,” by Haduki is right in my wheelhouse now as our protagonists head out to a campground to spend a relaxing day making a whole roast chicken on a camp stove. ^_^

It’s Shion’s turn to have a crisis of identity in Utatane Yu’s “Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru.” I would love for this series to be licensed, because the art is just lovely, but I wonder how this story of ballroom dancing and teen angst would sell?

The Euclid arc comes to a dramatic climax in “Watashi no Oshi na Akuyaku Reijou.” Claire comes closer to understanding what poverty really means to families. Next up we have the Church arc. Lily will be officially introduced.

This is followed by a short by Yudepan, in which a woman meets a high school girl when they sit near each other most days in the library. This is a rare manga that uses people wearing masks as a normal thing.

On her date with Kaori, Shizuku is set up to face the source of her own trauma, when she and Ichinose-san are sent off together to do an errand. Will they be able to heal their shared wound? Yuama’s “Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata” has got to be heading towards a climax now, surely.

“Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru” by Keyyang, has gone to a rather dismal place, but I am still hoping it will turn around.

And “Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemeta” by Usui Shi,o gets Rio all sorted in her new job.  While Kurumi is thinking more and more about how she feels about Ruriko.

As I said, last issue, I knew a stronger issue would be on the way.  ^_^ Most of the shorts this time were readable… I’m really just skipping the 18+ series as they aren’t interesting to me at all. I’m not opposed to sex in my Yuri, but when the story is “they have (the same) sex this chapter, too” I get kinda bored.

Ratings:

Overall – 9

The July issue hit shelves in Japan this week, so for one brief second, I am again caught up! Yay me. ^_^





Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – May 20, 2023

May 20th, 2023

In black block letters, YNN Yuri Network News. On the left, in black silhouette, a woman with a broad brim hat and dress stands, a woman in a tight outfit sits against the Y.

Yuri Manga

We have some new items up on the Yuricon Store!

Coming this summer, we have If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 2 from Tokyopop.

We’ll be getting The Two of Them Are Pretty Much Like This, Volume 3 next month! I still love this series about two hard working, yet goofy, people who are very much in love.

Monologue Woven For You Vol. 3 completes this series about dreams deferred and changing goals.

Seven Seas announced the license of Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel, the story of man reincarnated as a woman sex worker in another world.  This will be released in February 2024.

 

Okazu needs your support to continue bringing you Yuri news, reviews and interviews –
Become an Okazu Patron today!

Zerogo: Yuri Literary Magazine (零合 : 百合総合文芸誌) with cover art by Shimura Takako-sensei is definitely part of a trend of one-volume Yuri fiction collections  in Japan.

Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru, Volume 3 (踊り場にスカートが鳴る) is the ongoing saga of two girls finding themselves through ballroom dancing.

Natsu To Lemon To Overlay  (夏とレモンとオーバーレイ) had a great idea and had a pleasant ending.

Hero-san to Moto Onna Kanbu-san, Volume 5 (ヒーローさんと元女幹部さん) continues sometime’s sentai Yuri love story.

Sal Jiang’s Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koi Shiteru, Volume 3 (彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋して) is up on the store and in my to-read box! Now that Ayaka has proclaimed her love in front of the whole office, what will Hiroko do? This manga is available in English over at Manga Plus as AYAKA is in LOVE with HIROKO!. Check out the free chapter and subscribe for the rest.

 

Yuri Anime

Also on the Yuricon Store, we have the If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die Blu-ray set! I honestly think the anime fixed a lot of the problems with the early volumes of the manga and was pretty good. ^_^

 

Yuri Light Novels

Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta The First, is also up on the Store.

 

Buy us a Sailor Senshi sparkling water
Support Yuri journalism on Ko-fi!

 

I’m In Love With The Villainess News

Volume 6 of the Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) manga was released this week in Japan! inori.-sensei noted on her Twitter feed, that that week, Yuri manga topped the “purchased by women” on both Amazon and honto.jp.

Also announced this week was an October premiere date for the Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou anime. A new promo video hit Youtube to whet our appetite.

 

Queer Comics News

Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For will be getting an Audible adaptation version with an all-star cast. Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya has the details on Autostraddle.

Netflix has posted a trailer for ND Stevenson’s Nimona, which is going to premiere in June.

 

Yuricon News

By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime And Manga turns 1 year old at the end of the month! Going to ask my Okazu Patrons and Supporters how they’d like to celebrate. I’m thinking of doing an online reading. ^_^

 

Other News

The Library of Congress Magazine for May-June 2023 looks at LGBTQ+ at the Library. You can read or download the issue as a free PDF.

Kara Denison over at Crunchyroll News has the details on a full orchestra concert for the beloved Anne of Green Gables anime.

Over at ANN, the Editorial staff went through Viz Media’s new manga app and two of them voted for How Do We Relationship as their Best Series Out Now On The Viz Manga App.

 

Thanks to our Okazu Patrons and Supporters who make the YNN weekly report possible!

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips. Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with our readers.