Woah….2010. Wow, does *that* feel weird. It’s been almost 10 years since I decided that world needed a community specifically for fans of Yuri that celebrated lesbian love and life, as opposed to lesbian porn. What a crazy, unbelievable decade it’s been, let me tell you!
I don’t know what 2010 will bring us, of course; whether we’ll be scraping the bottom of the barrel for our Yuri, or climbing to new heights. I do know that I *hope* to be able to hold a 2010 Yuricon event – but don’t expect a “con” as you know it. You must know by know that I encourage thoughtful discussion and critical thinking, but not running around the halls screaming. :-) Think Yuri-conference, rather than Yuri-convention.
There are a lot of things going on behind the curtains at Yuricon & ALC Publishing. Sometimes things we’re working on never make it to the light of day and so it looks like we’re going nowhere, but I promise you that that is not true. Right now we’re working on a long-overdue update for the Yuricon site. Because so many things have changed since we last redesigned it and because we’re trying to make the new site sustainable for some time to come, it’s not an overnight process. We just finished one contest (2009 AMVs) and will shortly be announcing a new one – one that will quite literally change the image of Yuricon. :-) And there are some other things I just can’t tell you about, although I wish I could. If, when, these projects come to fruition, you’ll know.
I do want to share this – today, to my shock, I learned that the founding of Yuricon made Afterellen’s Best. Lesbian. Decade. Ever. list. Of course I started to bawl immediately. I’ve received way more kicks than kudos in this past decade, so that, along with a number of other things recently, made me feel really good about starting off on another decade of trying my damndest to bring Yuri to America in a sustainable, intelligent and empowering way.
As I said, I don’t know what the next decade will bring – but if it’s as rewarding, frustrating, amazing and challenging as this last decade, it’s going to absolutely kick ass.
So Happy New Year my friends, my Yuri Network. Welcome to a whole new decade, just waiting to be filled with good thoughts, creative work, original ideas and Yuri love. :-)
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Yuri Manga
The new year gets off to a thoroughly average start with announcement of a new franchise extender, Mai HiMe EXA. The manga has shifted out of Champion Red to Dengeki Daioh, so I might start picking it up again. Of course I’ll let you know what I think.
For those of you who like pink-cheeked women who bathe a lot, Cassiopeia Dolce, Volume 2 is just around the corner, and will hit the shelves on the 18th.
Also on the 18th, Ichinjinsha will release Yuru Yuri, Volume 2 and Konohanatei Kitan.
Comics212 reports that “The dude who does the fun and porny colour manga series MAKA MAKA and animation studio Madhouse have teamed up to do a full colour miniseries exclusive to America. That’s…pretty awesome. Apparently it involves a new take on vampires, wicked looking guns, and disaffected badasses. For people who like this sort of thing, this is the single best thing of the year.” Well put, Comics212, well put.
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Yuri Anime
Not content with announcing a new TV series, Shin Koihime Musou also announces a new OVA which, like the previous OVA, is an alt-fic of this alternate universe.
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Quiet week this week, but you have to expect that.
I’ll spend the next few days be catching up on some of the new anime that’s come out recently – reviews to come.
Thank you all for your support, your help and here’s wishing us all a great decade of Great Yuri!
