Yuri Research
The top news of the week is that Japan’s first Yuri research book, Hajimete no Yuri Studies: Queer/Feminist no Shiten Kara (はじめての百合スタディーズ: クィア/フェミニストの視点から) by Nakamura Kasumi, Kondoh Ginga, and Mizukami Aya with supplemental essays by myself and Shinada Reika, published by Ohta Book, will hit Japanese shelves next month. I hope you’ll pre-order it and give it the push it deserves! This book is a big deal, as I mentioned in my Okazu post this week about it.
BBC China has a Chinese-language article about Yuri/GL/Baihe, with a brief discussion of Thai Dramas: 泰国女同性恋爱情故事如何发展成为一个价值数百万美元的产业 by 南甘帕特·帕昌 (Nongnapat Patcham).
Yuri Manga
Morishima Akiko-sensei (who did the cover art for the Yuri Studies book), noted on X that Yuri Kuma Arashi turns 10 years old (!) this year. The Kadokawa Store is selling anniversary acrylic stands.
Also from Morishima-sensei, Chapter 10 of her manga Hitorimi Desu. (ひとりみです) will take on the travails of a lesbian couple trying to have a child back in the early 2000s. Read it in Japanese on Comic Walker.
Edition 88 is doing an art merch collaboration with Rose of Versailles prints and acrylic stands this week at the gallery in Tokyo.
Ikuta Hana’s Ryuu to Ryuu no Kekkon (竜と龍の結婚), a tale about two dragon princesses in a political engagement, is on the Yuricon Store!
ANN’s Crystalyn Hodgkins notes that Girls Band Cry is getting a manga.
Galette on Bluesky announces the cover for Galette No. 37 (ガレット). Cover art by pen, and again, so grown-up. ^_^
Gal x Gal Yuri, which is currently running on Viz.com and their app is getting a merchandise collab with Oshi-Challe. Check out the site to get in on the lottery to grab cute gal Yuri acrylic!
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Yuri Light Novel
So far on JP Kindle only (but fingers crossed for other options) the sequel Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. Furimukinasai, Watakushi ni! () follows the twins, Aleah and Mei, as teens.
Via inori.-sensei’s Pixiv Fanbox, she has another new light novel, Reijou Tame (令嬢テイム), which she plans on debuting at Bungaku Flea Market Tokyo 42.
Chaser Game W has been novelized with a two-volume series on JP Kindle.
Baihe News
From Baiheverse, we have a new series, Remaking of the Unforgotten Love from creator Causticsoda, translated by longlegdog. “Hitting a slump in life, Li Han turns to Lu Shiyin—an author and her childhood friend—for help. Shiyin, having long liked Li Han, accepts on the terms that Li Han becomes her assistant. However, Li Han soon finds out that this author’s life is not as peaceful as she imagined…”
Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney, Baiheverse on X just announced the license for Have no Fear, Shijie’s Here by Can’tNameThings. It’s an isekai/transmigration tale that sounds very fun, tbh.
Yuri Anime
Awajima Hyakkei, the anime adaptation of Shimura Takako’s manga series has a second promotional trailer up on Youtube.
Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai (きみが死ぬまで恋をしたい) anime key visual is up via the official anime account on X. Crystalynn Hodgkins has details and a link to a promo video on ANN.
The Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising– anime film is delayed, says Rafael Antonio Pineda on ANN.
For more Madoka fun, check out Ken Iikura-Gross’s report on the Shaft Exhibition at the Mixalive Tokyo venue in Ikebukuro, 50 Years of Shaft Works in One Exhibition: Exploring the SHAFT 50th Anniversary Exhibition.
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Other News
ANN’s Winter 2026 Light Novel Guide is up and I read a lot of LNs so you didn’t have to and a few you should, even if they aren’t Yuri. There were three I really enjoyed – all three are novels, rather than light novels. ^_^
Via Comic Natalie, here are some images from the Look Back Exhibition in Azabudai Hills in Tokyo, based on the live-action adaptation of the manga by Fujimoto Tatsuki. I’ve reviewed the manga in Japanese and English and the anime here on Okazu.
DaVinci magazine is publishing a special Looking at 20 Years of BL through DaVinci, (別冊ダ・ヴィンチ ダ・ヴィンチが見つめたBLの20年 2006～2026) available on Amazon JP and Bookwalker JP. And other bookstores in person and online, undoubtedly.
Cutie Honey and Kekko Kamen creator Go Nagai is being inducted into the Eisner Comics Hall of Fame. Crystalynn reports on that as well on ANN.
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A great posting as always. I saw about the Girls Band Cry manga too. The yuri research book is certainly a big deal. I still use By Your Side all the time (it’s on a shelf in my office which is filled with my favorite manga) and even cited it in one of my recent newsletters in fact. I’ll have to check out the yuri manga you mentioned, including Ryuu to Ryuu no Kekkon and Gal x Gal Yuri, and the light novels, and that ANN Light Novel guide. The same goes for those Baihe series. I’m certainly excited for Awajima Hyakkei as well and Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai (I Want to Love You Into Your Dying Day). It is unfortunate that the Puella Magi Madoka Magica movie was delayed, perhaps that will give me the motivation to watch the series this year. Great news all around. And the next PreCure series is coming next month, as the idol magical girls of You and Idol Pretty Cure take their last bow this week, which will, like all the PreCure series, have a lot of close friendships, but I’d hold my breath for any romance between the female protagonists. And the second animatic episode of the “Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to Be a Magical Girl” (also abbreviated as IDWTBAMG) indie animated magical girl series, with some yuri themes (currently subtext but clearly acknowledged by the author) and centering Black characters, will likely be coming out soon. That series has garnered a HUGE fandom and so, so many views on YouTube (episode 1 already has over 4 million views). Then there’s the second season of Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. in April and the Magic Knight Rayearth reboot sometime this year too, plus maybe the second season (or part?) of Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card. Otherwise, I started watching The Holy Grail of Eris last night and liked what I saw so far.