Baihe Light Novel

Seven Seas has announced their first Baihe light novel, The Beauty’s Blade, by Feng Ren Zuo Shu, an enemy-to-lovers story about two swordswomen and, okay, I’m in. I really like the Crunchyroll variant cover exclusive.

Yuri Visual Novel

Studio Élan celebrates the fact that A Tithe in Blood is in production. You can wishlist it on Steam, pre-order a physical copy, or buy the artbook, for this “modern fantasy yuri visual novel—a tale of blood magic, finding yourself amidst grief, and messing with the order of the world…”

Sr. YNN Correspondent and frequent guest reviewer Patricia B. wants you to know that there is a demo up for Iwakura Aria now on Steam. “Unravel the secrets of the Iwakura mansion in this gripping suspense visual novel. “

Via YNN Correspondent KatGrrrl, we have news that Humble Bundle is holding a Pride Month Bundle that includes some Yuri VNs!

Hat tip to YNN Correspondent High on Lullabies, Clover Reset is now available on Steam for 10% off. “Set at “Shonan Saika Academy,” a prestigious school in Shonan, Kanagawa Prefecture, this is a youthful story of girls wavering between friendship and love. “

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Yuri Manga

Bookwalker is holding a Yuri Matsuri with up to 30% points back on select Yuri manga! Thanks to Okazu Staff Writer and Sr. YNN Correspondent Matt Marcus for the tip!

Also from Matt, Yen Press is holding a 40% Pride Month sale on select Yuri and BL titles.

A White Rose in Bloom, Volume 4 is out this week. It was a terrific volume, which I reviewed earlier this year in Japanese.

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean G, the official Shoujo Beat Tumblr page announced Magical Girl Dandelion by Kaeru Mizuho. “When Butterfly, the organization for magical girls, comes knocking at Tanpopo’s door, she’s ecstatic to join the ranks and help Shade with what he’s been doing in secret all along. Shade, however, is none too pleased with the idea. But there’s more than their friendship at stake when Tanpopo’s grandpa falls victim to fiendhood!”

Ize Press has opened pre-orders for their first Yuri manhwa, I Love Amy, Volume 1, which is slated for an autumn release.

Patricia B. also wants you to know that Gunsmith Cats Burst will be getting a reprint from Dark Horse in 2 omnibus Volumes. ANN’s Joana Cayanan has details. I have Volumes 4 & 5 of the last reprint, because they cover Misty and Goldy’s unsavory/sweet romance. ^_^

Pride Month News

Vivian Kleinman’s documentary about creators of American queer comics, and Gay Comix, No Straight Lines, is once again available to stream for free on PBS. If you are out of the US, grab your VPN and watch it! It is fantastic. I gave it a 10/10 when I reviewed it here on Okazu.

We have some Pride Month Deals on By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime And Manga!

Kinokuniya USA offers 20% off for members;  Bookshop.org will give you 15% off; and Amazon has it for 12% off. 
The e-book is available for $9.99 on a number of platforms (click the title for the full list), but I recommend getting it direct from the publisher, the fantastic Journey Press for maximum benefit for both them and me. ^_^

Not specifically for Pride month, but it will take me months to catch up. I opened a thread of 1 like=1 obscure Yuri review from Okazu archives on Bluesky. There are well over 200 likes and I’m about 50 entries in, as this last week I was on the road again. But it is a fun way to celebrate how far we’ve come in the last 20+ years of Yuri.

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Live-action News

Egan Loo on ANN has the news on Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko Season 2‘s trailer and opening song. I’m so excited about this. The manga is over, but the story continues!

Other News

Kinokuniya reminds you that it is time to Submit Your Manga for The 19th Japan International Manga Award!

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2025, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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 us.

Yuri Manga

Top news this week is the much-anticipated license announcement by Yen Press for inee’s Love Bullet. I reviewed Volume 1 in Japanese at the beginning of the year and was very impressed. ANN’s Alex Mateo has details.

Mikanuji’s Assorted Entanglements, Volume 8 is up on the Yuricon Store. This continues the multi-couple series of random Yuriness. ^_^

Also on the Store, we have the manga adaptation of LYCORIS’s Yuri Visual novel Uso kara Hajimaru Koi no Natsu -squall- (嘘から始まる恋の夏 -squall-).

Via Chloé Stawski, the cover artist, on Bluesky – be on the lookout for ADVENTURE TIME: THE BUBBLINE COLLEGE SPECIAL #1 from Oni Press!

Via MangaAlerts on Bluesky, BluPetal is entering the English-language manga publishing world, with plans for BL, TL, Yuri, Geikomi and Shoujosei titles. The statement says that this group is made up of former pros from a number of localization companies. So, we’ll see what happens. ^_^

Yuri Light Novel

Exciting news from inori.-sensei. Pre-orders for a print release of her new LN Homunculus’ Tears should be available this week. I reviewed this new light novel at the beginning of the month and thought it very fast and fun read.

More good news from inori.-sensei and Yen Press, who has licensed her light novel The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero. This is getting a July release in print and digital editions. I reviewed this book in Japanese at the beginning of last year(!) and had this to say about it, “It was a lot of fun. Everything I want in a Dengeki Bunko read – a “light” novel in the broadest sense. It’s small, quickly paced, not entirely predictable and ends just where you want it to.” Good book.

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Yuri Anime

There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover!…Unless has a second trailer for the upcoming anime.

Via Comic Natalie, Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to An Android will be getting a “short anime” series. To celebrate(?) I did a review of Volume 1 of the manga which should go up on ANN shortly.

Over on ANN, Lynzee Loveridge has an interview with Watada Shinya, the Director of Rock Is A Lady’s Modesty, about the “rise of girl bands.”

Shimura Takako’s manga Awajima Hakkei follows the lives of girls in a musical revue troupe school that is not Takarazuka, but it very similar. I reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2 back in 2015. Check out the trailer for the upcoming anime! Joanna Cayanan has the news and links on ANN.

Liam Dempsey over at Crunchyroll News has the new that Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Anime Film Unveils 8 Character Visuals.

Yuri Audio Drama

Baiheverse presents A Little Sweet: Short Stories from Everyday Life, 10 short 5-minute long audio scenarios with Mei and Wanwan, a committed couple, doing what my wife and I refer to as “playing house.” First hit is free, 30 coins a pop after that.

Yuri Live-Action

Also from Baiheverse on X, they are working on a short film When We Met, adapted from the extras of Qi Xiao Huang Shu’s original baihe novel What Era Do You Think This Is. Director: Xen  Starring: He Lei, Ni Jia. You can watch the “official” or “uncensored” versions on Baiheverse.

Yorita Miyuki will be launching a kickstarter for an English-subtitled version of the live-action adaptation of her manga, Her kiss,my libido twinkles 彼女のくちづけ感染するリビドー. Launching soon!

The sequel to Ayaka-chan Is In Love With Hiroko-sempai live-action adaptation of Sal Jiang’s manga, has announced new cast members. ANN’s Joanan Cayanan has the details.

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Yuri Events

Comitia 152 will be held at Tokyo BigSite in Tokyo on June 1. 2025.

I’ll be a guest at CitrusCon, a free online event in June 2025. Not sure what I’m talking about, but it’ll be fun. ^_^

Girls Love Fest 44 is on June 29, 2025 back at the Pio Building in Ota ward, Tokyo.

Baiheverse is holding a Yuri-only event in Shanghai on July 26! Check their site for details.

I am recording a panel for Blymecon, a free online 18+ Brazilian convention in August. I’ll be talking about how I got from writing fanfic to Yuricon and Okazu!

And save those mileage points, because I am going to be a guest at Y/Con in Paris, on November 15-16! I cannot wait to meet Yuri fans from France and the rest of Europe!

 
Yuri Visual Novels

Via YNN Correspondent Patricia B, Iwakura Aria is a brand-new original visual novel from MAGES. “The Iwakura mansion holds a dark secret. Ichiko the new young maid joins looking for nothing but safety and security, but she would soon find herself entangled with the beautiful daughter of the Iwakura household.” Check out the trailer on Youtube.

 
Other News

Our friends at Anime Herald, one of the several anime sites that has been around for a long while, has announced a new magazine, in print and digital. The inaugural issue is available on the Anime Herald Shop. I was honored to be able to write something for this first issue and a bunch of other folks from ANN and other anime sites that have been around the block have as well. I look forward to seeing what our work has become. Good luck to Samantha and Anime Herald! I hope to be able to work with them again in the future.

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2025, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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 us.

Short report today, I’m on the road.

Yuri VNs

Studio Élan wants you to know that a Tithe in Blood, a dark fantasy yuri visual novel, centered around grief and the perils of magic. will be released in one month! Wishlist it on Steam!

Yuri Interview

Don’t assume the worst, it could have been a scheduling issue, but an interview with The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All Creator on ANN, has been pulled down. Of course fans immediately begin to fantasize the most paranoid reasons, but it was probably just a schedule issue. Anyway, you can read it on Web Archive.

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Anime News

ANN’s Crystalynn Hodgkins has the news of See You Tomorrow At The Food Court trailer and Opening Theme.

Does It Count If You Lose Your Virginity to an Android? Manga Gets Short TV Anime, says ANN’s Joanna Cayanan.

Joana also has the news that Awajima Hakkei, based on Shimura Takako’s manga about a musical revue theater troupe school, will be getting an anime in 2026 from Madhouse.

From Kara Dennison over at Crunchyroll News, Cardcaptor Sakura Movie 2: The Sealed Card Anime Film Returns to Theaters in Japan.

Yuri Manga

Some new items on the Yuricon Store!

Assorted Entanglements, Volume 8 from Mikanuji.

Uso kara Hajimaru Koi no Natsu -squall- (嘘から始まる恋の夏 -squall-) is a short manga based on the Yuri VN by LYCORIS.

Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!, Volume 2 (崖っぷち令嬢は黒騎士様を惚れさせたい) is the second volume of this fun fantasy.

Galette No. 3 Kickstarter opened this week and it has already passed a second stretch goal and is headed to pass the third shortly.

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Other News

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean G. Alice Wu’s Saving Face is getting a Criterion Collection. This is a wonderful movie, that I had the chance to see premier in NYC.

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2025, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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 us.

Yuri Anime

Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details and a trailer for the upcoming anime adaption for Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games on ANN.

I have finally had a chance to watch The Rose of Versailles movie on Netflix and…I thought it quite wonderful. I’ll work on a review for this week.

Other News

We have a lot of reading to do this week! ^_^

Speaking of Rose of Versailles, let me recommend this 2023 article from Mehitabel Glenhaber on Anime Feminist, An Inner Revolution Of The Japanese Women: The Rose of Versailles as feminist historical fiction, which is a fantastic read.

Lucas and Steve take a look at anime that center on Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (Cutely) on This Week in Anime: Adorable Young Women Performing Lovable Activities. In 2023, I wrote a piece about that same thing, from the perspective of recovering from Long Covid in The Joy of the Everyday: Emotional Intimacy Between Women in Slice-of-Life Anime.

While I expect that most Okazu readers will be familiar with these, I also want to share Melanie Höpfler’s article on Crunchyroll, Anne Shirley and Other Anime Based on Novels.

While this is not anime-specific, it is the 5th anniversary of The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady novels. Follow the linked hashtag on X for some celebratory art by artists we know and love. ^_^

ANN’s Ken Iikura-Gross has details of a new anime-exhibition in Girls Band Cry Exhibition Brings the Anime’s Locations into the Real World.

Steve Jones look at what might be considered Rock Is A Lady’s Modesty‘s weakest episode and finds that he can’t stop talking about Tina. ^_^

Coop and Chris from ANN take a look at the wonderfulness and availability-  or lack thereof – of Classic Manga in This Week in Anime: Can’t Beat the Classics. They do also discuss The Rose of Versailles manga. ^_^
 

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Yuri Visual Novels

We have two new Yuri VNs on the Yuricon Store. Many thanks to our returning intern Yuzhou for the help getting that section of the store updated before we head into our Yuricon site redesign.

A Witch Is Getting Married, “a story about finding comfort in uncertainty. It is also a story about witches, ghosts, pumpkin-headed parental figures, and weird little bat guys.”

Girls Made Pudding, which was reviewed here on Okazu by Staff Writer Christian Le Blanc, is a post-apocalyptic girls survival game with a cat girl maid and food.

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Yuri Manga

I’ll be playing catch up for a bit on If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die in English, but we have Volume 7 up on the Store!

Don’t miss Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!, Volume 2 (崖っぷち令嬢は黒騎士様を惚れさせたい!) as Clarice finds she actually is falling for Frost-sama. ^_^ 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2025, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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 us.

Yuri Manga

New on the Yuricon Store, we have Naekawa Sai’s creepy fun school yokai Yuri story, Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 10 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし).

Also on the Store, we have Spoil Me Plzzz, Hinamori-san!, Volume 2. Volume 1 was reviewed last autumn here on Okazu by Luce.

And we have the final volume of  Salvia no Bouquet, Part 2 (サルビアのブーケ（下）) Up on the Store. I enjoyed this really unfocused story of an orphan finding her place in the world with the help of the magician she interned for.

ANN’s Anita Tai has the news that The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess Manga Ends, with the last volume of the manga shipping this summer.

Galette Yuri Manga Magazine’s Kickstarter for 3rd Volume Launches on May 15 Adriana Hazra has the details on ANN. (This is a bit circular, as the tip came from me. ^_^) I’m reading Issue No. 2 now and it looks so good. I really hope we break the bank with #3. Tariffs are going to be a thing, though.

Via Yuri Navi, All the chapters of Kimi no Tame no Curtain Call (君のためのカーテンコール), written by Emoda Kiki, illustrated by Satou Shiho, are available to read for free in Japanese on Ichijin Plus.

Via Reddit, Mono’ creator Afro: The Yuri element of Kiriyama is purely for Comedic purpose. Yay?

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Yuri Anime

Joanna Cayanan on ANN has the news, and visuals. for the upcoming anime for See You Tomorrow at the Food Court

 Via kiki’s X account, not only is Roll Over and Die series getting an anime, but also the light novels are going digital only May 5th through final 8th volume.

ANN’s Richard Eisenbeis’s review of The Rose of Versailles film on Netflix works in this new and melodic form.

Live Action

Via Comic Natalie, Ayaka-chan Loves Hiroko-sempai 2nd Act will look at Sal Jiang’s character as they start dating. Undoubtedly hijink will ensue. ^_^

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Yuri Music

On Crunchyroll News, Komatsu-san has the scoop that Girls Band Cry anime has released a new music video, “Belle papillon”

Also from Komatsu-san, we have  the news that singer-songwriter miwa has shared a Momentary Lily anime ending music video. It has to be better than the anime ED itself.  I half think my recent eye troubles are from watching that mess. ^_^;

So, after being annoyed beyond redemption by the end of Aria, the only thing I still enjoy about the series is the music. Luckily for me and everyone else, Aria’s music will be getting a 3-Disc 20th Anniversary Album ARIA The BEST 2005-2025. Read the press release on ANN (because I could not be bothered to post it here. ^_^)

Other News

Reminder to register for the free, online and VERY FUN Queer and Feminist Perspectives on Japanese Popular Cultures Symposium Second Edition event, happening May 19 to 22. I had an absolute blast last year.

Coop Bicknell on ANN has a look at Manga in The Crosshairs: The State of Manga Bans in 2025.

Sailor Moon Opening Plays as Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani’s Walk-Up Song says Ken Iikura-Gross. ^_^ Love it!

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2025, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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 us.