Archive for the Yuri Network News Category


Yuri Network News – December 30, 2012

December 30th, 2012

I pushed the news report off a day this week, to make time for all of you to read and disagree with my first two Top Ten lists of 2012! ^_^

Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2012

Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2012

My final list will post tomorrow – please look forward to it!

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Yuri Manga

Just a reminder that Seven Seas has licensed Morinaga Milk’s Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossoms Pink, so you can finally find out what happens to Nana and Hitomi. ^_^ The complete volume will be out in June, 2013. I’ve reviewed the Japanese-language volumes here on Okazu (Volume 1 | Volume 2)

I don’t want to forget to mention this, because no one else in the world will. Dark Horse, as you might know, is putting out The CLAMP catalog. They’ve already finished Card Captor Sakura (my reviews: Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4) and are now releasing Angelic Layer, a series that had a very brief shelf life back in the 90s, mostly for the anime. There is one actual Yuri couple buried way down in the narrative. Volume 1 of the manga is out now, Volume 2 will be released next spring.

JManga is keeping up the Yuri onslaught with Morishima Akiko’s excellent Yuri primer series Hanjuku Joshi, Volume 1, and namori’s Yuru Yuri Volume 2 (which for all that nothing happens, you should be very thankful for Elina’s translation, as they do nothing but make incredibly stupid old-man puns). JManga’s also released Morita-san ha Muguchi Volume 5, while technically not Yuri, is whenever Yamamoto is on the page. And she’s on the cover this time, so…. (This’ll be the first volume of this series you might have a chance to read before I do! I didn’t get it in Japanese yet, and my JManga points don’t refresh until next week. ^_^)

Later this week, I have a big release announcement for JManga this month, so tune back in. ^_^

Ichijinsha’s Comic Rex Magazine has what Japanese Yuri lists are claiming to be Yuri, SAYURI & LILY (サユリリ 01). The name is certainly loaded for bear, but the art indicates that it is not for me. If you pick it up, let me know how it is!

This item is for Sean – Oshima Towa has created a self-parody of already parodic Jyoshi Kousei manga called Zettai no Waratte ha Ikenai Sagume (絶対に笑ってはいけない咲女).

And don’t forget that Hayate x Blade 17 (はやて×ブレード) is now available!

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Other News

Manga at border crossings causing arrests might seem dystopian enough, but now a teen has been arrested for “doodles” in his school notebook. Authorities claimed the drawings were of weapons, but that absolutely does not matter. It’s a drawing. Not a real weapon, not even a real threat. I used to draw swords and knives in my school notebooks, and even had them dripping with blood, because it was pretty much all I could draw. Swords and shields. And I have yet to stab anyone. So let’s support the CBLDF in their fight against this kind of censorship (and perhaps write the Galloway, NJ school system asking them to step back and look at the situation with perspective.)

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That’s a wrap for this week!

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!>





Yuri Network News – December 15, 2012

December 15th, 2012

Yuri Anime

YNN Correspondent Katherine H. wants to give us all the heads up on the new anime Psycho-Pass. Her reasons? “The one female Enforcer who works for Akane, Yayoi, seems to have some sort of relationship with the unit’s data analyst (another latent criminal), Shion. (In case you don’t mind being spoiled, here are the moments from episode 2 and episode 6 that got me especially excited) Yayoi’s suit helps. LOL Yayoi hasn’t gotten that much screentime, but what she does have is pretty riveting. Still, I’m champing at the bit to see her more, and see her and Shion’s back stories filled out. (The show has already hinted why Yayoi became an Enforcer.) I’m not tolerating this show just for the Yuri. It’s a genuinely good show – although its first episode is the weakest, and while its early episodes have interesting aspects, it really took off for me from episode 6 on. It’s streaming on Funimation *inhales* That’s it. ^^”

Katherine also points out that the series was created by Urobochi Gen, creator of Madoka and Fate/Zero.

I had seen Psycho-Pass(and Yayoi)all over Japan but the plot seemed kinda meh. With your recommendation, I’ll put it on the “to try” list. ^_^

Fans of anime based on 4-koma manga with very marginal Yuri will be happy to know RightStuf has announced the release of Hyakko in April 2013.

I completely forgot to mention this – The National Tournament Arc for Saki, was greenlit for a TV series. Call me crazy, but this was sort of the point of the series and it frustrated the heck out of me that we weren’t going to see it. So, yay! There’s also going to be a special 13th episode of Saki Achiga-hen, but you know it’s going to be something like a onsen episode or something, sigh. ^_^;

iatheia on the Yuricon Mailing List wants you all to know that the preorder for Rose of Versailles is up on RightStuf in two parts.

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Yuri Manga

Ichigo69 notes that Morinaga Milk’s Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry Blossoms Pink: The Complete Collection is available for pr-order from Seven Seas. It’s slated for a June release, so that’s a pretty long pre-order period.

I appear to have spoken too soon when I congratulated Tsubomi on making 5 years, because with volume 21, Tsubomi is ending its print run. Komatsu-san’s report on Crunchyroll reports that it will continue with it’s free online webcomic, and to print collected volumes of the stories from the magazine. I’m going to say this again, because it bears repeating – publishing in print is becoming prohibitively expensive and the Yuri audience is *just* at the line of ROI. I expect to see more things going digital in 2013. Digital distribution is the future. So, folks who are crying that Yuri is losing a magazine – no, it isn’t. It’s just not being printed on dead trees anymore.

I’ll be reviewing this shortly, but I wanted to mention Asagao to Kase-san, (あさがおと加瀬さん) from Hirari, is available. It’s a very cute little first-love story.

And, although I have never mentioned or reviwed it for my own reasons, Utakoi, (ウタカイ) one of the serialized novels from Comic Yuri Hime, is hitting shelves next month.

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That’s a wrap for this week!

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!





Yuri Network News – December 7, 2012

December 8th, 2012

Yuri Manga

Fujima Shion wants you all to know that you can read Chapter 1 of her story about a lesbian couple having a child, Yurinin (Yuri Pregnancy), as a manga drawn by Edogawa Hiromi, for free (in Japanese) on Fujima-san’s Booklog.

 Yuri Anthology dolce has made it to a second volume.

Sakamoto Mano’s Numa, Yami, Yo no Mori (沼、暗闇、夜の森) hits shelves in mid-January.

Also from Yuri Hime Comics, Kuzushiro’s 4-panel strip Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san, will make it’s tankoubon debut. (犬神さんと猫山さん)

And YNN Correspondent Bruce P is very excited to let you know, that “Manga Erotics F, Volume 77, contains a 32 page report on this past summer’s Aoi Hana X Enoden Fair in Enoshima. It goes into great detail, with lots of  B&W pictures, and event-specific manga pages. The best thing about it, though, are the pages with color illustrations of all those wonderful special station posters. Included is information on where along the Enoden line each poster was located. We are talking details here. It serves as a nice lead-in to the latest chapter of Aoi Hana.”

YNN Correspondent Tomo K.  also has a head up for us about Destro246, the newest series from Vo Keitarou Takahashi’s , creator of Jormungand. Tomo tells us, “The story starts out with a Japanese businessman buying two 17-year-old female professional killers from a South American mafia to avenge his murdered wife and children. In Tokyo, the two bump into Imari, the professional killer from Ordinary, Takahashi’s debut series.

The Yuri part involves Ichigo, a senior-high girl who’s inherited her father’s yakuza business. She has two female bodyguards, Nanten and Renka (who’re her classmates as well). The three talk of having threesomes “as the usual thing”, and there are panels where Ichigo fondles one of the bodyguard’s huge boobs, and the bodyguards kiss Ichigo in public as well. When Ichigo destroys a rival, she keeps the girlfriend of the gang leader alive, and orders her to be their sex slave until she grows up and inherits her father business (then she’ll be forced to hand money over to Ichigo’s organization).”

Well, you didn’t need to sell me too hard on Takahashi’s newest and this seems to clinch the deal. ^_^　Sadly, it’s already unavailable on Amazon JP, so no link.

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 Yuri Anime

 A couple of folks have pointed out that RightStuf, in addition to the under-$20 deals I listed earlier this week, they also have a a complete Maria Watches Over Us Seasons 1-4 bundle, for $75. That’s all four seasons for half off retail. Nice!

Maiden Japan, in conjunction with their distributor Section 23 has announced the license for Vampire Princess Miyu TV. You all need to see, at the very minimum, the creepy lesbian doll episode. 

Ichijinsha says they’ll be selling Yuru Yuri goods again at Comiket 83, coming up on December 29-31 at Big Sight in Tokyo.

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That’s a wrap for this week!

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!





Yuri Network News – December 1, 2012

December 1st, 2012

Other News

In case, you missed it yesterday, I highlight a few of the best Yuri anime and manga that has been or is about to be released in English on the Okazu 2012 Yuri Gift Guide. Please take a look!

No Straight Lines: 4 Decades of Queer Comics is destined to become a definitive book for fans of LGBT history and Western Independent comics.

Just in time for your holiday wishlist here are a couple of translated artbooks of interest:  Vertical is publishing The Queen’s Blade Visual Collection, while UDON is putting out the ROD Official Archive.

From the Yuricon Mailing List, Polish Yuri and BL manga anthology, Cold Desire, is looking for submissions.

The Entertainment Club lives up to its name as Yuru Yuri is holding yet another special event and celebration, with even more goods for fans to spend their money on.

Manga translator Ana Moreno discusses her experience with Morinaga Milk’s GIRL FRIENDS on her blog, Manga Gunkan.

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Yuri Manga

Michiru and Maya are at a breaking point. Will they part forever or find something to keep them together? Find out in Ohana Holo Holo, Volume 4. (オハナホロホロ)

The story of two girls, their cameras and burgeoning feelings continues in Kanoujo to Camera to Kanjoujo no Kisetsu. The first volume of this was surprisingly good. (彼女とカメラと彼女の季節)

Tsubomi (つぼみ), Volume 21 hits shelves in December. I’m still kind of amazed that this anthology has survived and here it is heading into its 5th year!

Hayate x Blade (はやて×ブレード 17), Volume 17 also graces our lives in December and we are that much the better for it. ^_^

No more Yuri than it ever was, but FYI  Hidamari Sketch, Volume 7 (ひだまりスケッチ) also has a December street date.

And one last “that’s still on going?” for us, Morita-san ha Mukuchi Volume 6  (森田さんは無口) came out this week. 6 volumes of one joke – admittedly funny volumes, but wow.

Ohzawa Amane’s shorts for Hirari Magazine have been collected into Kano x Kano (彼女×彼女カノカノ).

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That’s a wrap for this week!

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!





Yuri Network News Special Report on Shopping for Yuri in Tokyo, November 2012

November 24th, 2012

One of the questions I get the most emails about is something along the lines of “I’m going to Japan, where can I get Yuri?” The answer is not as straightforward as “go here” or “nowhere.” It’s important to remember that things change all the time in manga stores in Japan, just as with any store. They move stuff around, highlight different things, close stores, move locations, etc. So what I experienced last year in Tokyo is likely to have changed when you go next spring. In fact, things have changed quite a bit since I was in Tokyo ten months ago.

I’m going to focus on three sections of the Tokyo Metropolitan area in today’s report: Akihabara, Ikebukuro and Nakano, because those three areas have well-developed personalities.  None of this may apply outside Tokyo, even in chain stores, except for this, which is is pretty universal in all Japanese book stores:

To effectively shop for manga in Japan, you need to know three things. Books are not generally shelved by genre, but by imprint. So first you need to know what age/gender demographic you’re looking at, then publisher/imprint, then author. I’ll explain more about this in a bit.

Ikebukuro has changed quite radically in the past year. The Animate has moved, is much larger than it used to be and is much more strongly focused on female consumers.  That meant that they really didn’t have any Yuri manga at all, not even in publisher sections. The goods were largely the same, but it was clear that the fujyoshi was the focus (you could tell – the store had way bigger, nicer, bathrooms). 

Because of this new dedication to the buying needs of female fans, even with a familiarity with publishers/authors, Ikebukuro has been basically shorn of any Yuri. On the day Yuri Hime Comics was released, we had to go to Akihabara to get the new books. And Toranoana in Ikebukuro has moved from its location to a much smaller space nearer the train station,  only selling BL doujinshi and a small section of mostly straight, loli porn. This was a huge disappointment for us, as the Ikebukuro Toranoana was previously our favorite store.

2013 Update: This has changed again. You can find Yuri once more. I guess enough of the customers requested it. Not as much as in Akihabara, but it’s there.

The different K-Books stores are still on Otome Road, but are rapidly converting to more space dedicated to BL, and the old Animate space is going to re-open as something “for girls”. Unfortunately for us, Japan’s obsessive gendering of everything is turning Ikebukuro into a BL-only section.

So, for the first time, we had to go to Akihabara to shop.

Animate in Akihabara has a Yuri section:

…actually most of their Yuri was shelved elsewhere, by publisher, as always. Most of what’s under this sign is Mangatime KR comics. One needed to find the Ichijinsha/Hobunsha section to find the rest:

And that’s the way it goes – know if the book you’re looking for is for girls (少女), boys (少年),for women (女性), for men (男子) – these  are not often listed as sections in the bookstore, you just need to know who the title you’re looking for is targeted to. Then look for the publisher, (Hobunsha 芳文社, Ichijinsha 一迅社, Futbasha 双葉社) then look for the imprint (YH Comics, Tsubomi Comics, Mangatime KR Comics) then look for the author. If you are new to this, and don’t read Japanese, take a printout of the cover you’re looking for. And take a look at the spine of the books you do have and memorize the characters. The publisher is listed at the bottom of the spine, the imprint along the top. Get to know your books!

The same is true for Toranoana in Akihabara. There is a Girls’ Love sign, but most of the Yuri books are near, next to, around it, or across the store in another section.

And this, in a nutshell, is why we’re not going to see any anime for Yuri manga I like. Yuri is sold in Akihabara to guys. So, since guys are the audience for anime, not women, ever, we’ll never see an anime for Morishima Akiko’s moe, but awesome and about adult women, Renai Joshi series. Anime is for man-boys who obsess about school-age girls.

Proving my point, Animate had a metric ton of Yuru Yuri goods, but the only figurines were in bathing suits. Of course.

Interestingly, despite the series’ insistence that Kyouko is the lead character, everywhere we went, Yui goods were the most sold out.

Animate is still the best for goods. It was ramping up for the release of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A’s The Second movie (and, there are three Nanoha manga series running concurrently right now: Vivid, Innocent and Force), so there was a great deal of Nanoha goods on shelves.

Including this fascinating bit of papercraft.

And there was a fair amount of Fate/Zero stuff hanging around.

I don’t have pictures, but let me conclude with a paragraph on Nakano Sun Arcade. Up until last year, it was the place to go for older, obscure items, things you couldn’t get any more. It was awesome – but not cheap. Now, if you’re looking for figurines – go there first. We saw figurines there a good $40 cheaper for the same exact item than in Rashinban (which has never been a cheap store, but still!) Don’t buy in the first store you see, either. I saw a Mawaru Penguindrum Princess of the Crystal figurine for $48, then $30, then $25 and finally $13.00. I didn’t get it, because it was quite large, and I have nowhere to put it, but at $13.00 I thought about it hard. If you’re looking for really old stuff, Mandarake in Nakano and Shibuya are like rummaging through someone’s attic. Yes, you can find the Sailor Uranus and Neptune henshin wands there with their original lip gloss – for $1000.

In conclusion, we’re both in a better place and a worse that we were last year. Yuri is more plentiful, but more segregated. Yuri, in Japanese publishers minds, is for guys. We are now required to shop in Akihabara, rather than our beloved Ikebukuro, (instead of it being a nice-to-do) but on the good side, there’s a a lot more Yuri to shop for!

Remember, things change all the time in Tokyo, so this guide will probably be useful for 6 months, then not any more. Don’t assume that anything you know from last year is true now. But if you learn one thing – learn your publisher, imprint, author and title, and you’ll be able to find what you want to buy. ^_^