There is getting to be *so* much Yuri news, that I’m thinking about developing a form, to standardize formatting… :-)

Yuri Manga

Bruce P has written me with what well may be the piece of news that is the *most* interesting to me. He tells us that the Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Yokohama Shopping Log) manga is being reprinted in Japan. Why is this interesting to us? Because Kodansha USA is finally up and running…and they’ve started with two old classics, Akira and Ghost in the Shell. (Interestingly, they’ve reprinted Dark Horse’s editions, and in the case of the latter title, used the censored version, so no gratuitous lesbian sex for Americans from Kodansha.) I’m not saying that YKK being reprinted in Japan has any direct bearing on Kodansha USA…just that now would be an exceptionally good time for them to consider it.

In any case, Bruce P. says, “the first two volumes will be released on 10/23. This is great news since many of the original volumes are no longer available through Amazon.co.jp. Now if only they would reprint the art book.” Here are links to the reprinted Volume 1 and Volume 2.

Shelia was the first of several to point out that Nakamura Chin, creator of Gunjo, has a short story collection out called Chinman. If you love her art, as I do, I hope you’ll support her work.

Also, Sheila and Erin both mentioned that there is yet *another* Yuri anthology planned, called Comic Lily, while the publisher who put out Sakuraike’s work’s new anthology has changed it’s name to Yuri Shoujo – and it appears to be planned for a November 19 release at Comitia, so not necessarily a bookstore release. We’ll see.

Waaahhh. Such drama over a title.

Here are some recent and upcoming manga releases:
Comic Yuri Hime Magazine

Gokujou Drops 3 by Mikuni H.

Otome Senshi Lovely 5 by Jonouchi Nene

Honey Quartet by Tokoro Kemeko

Also on December 4th Mori Natsuko will be releasing a new novel called Futari no Hitori Asobi.

And Yuri Hime Wildrose 4 is due out in December.

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Yuri Anime

George and I are on the same page, wanting to let you know about some Yuri anime this season. Kampfer is not going to win any awards, but there is a strain of Yuri running through it, as a country might say there’s a strain of virus running through it. :-)

Also no less ridiculous, but somehow more fun, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun has a major Yuri character, played for laughs and pathos.

Also, George and several others noted that first episode of Hidamari Sketch x365 Tokubetsuhen aired last week.

I also want to say – when are we gong to see a Yuri anime from Ichijinsha? They were the one who unleashed Loveless on the world. I think it’s time for them to provide us with the same kind of virality. Here’s today’s question – which Ichinjinsha (Yuri Hime, Yuri Hime S, Comic YH) series would *you* like to see as an anime?

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Other News

This past Wednesday, I had the pleasure of moderating a Queer Manga Panel at NYU as part of their Pride month. The panelists were Ivan Velez Jr., June Kim, Hiroki Otsuka and the always fabulous Mari Morimoto. One of the attendees, James Leung, did a great write-up of the panel, so I’ll let him tell you all about it on his blog, Random Access Information.

And last, but very much not at *all* least, I want to draw your attention to an amazing piece of investigative reporting by YNN correspondent Bruce McF. This is not Yuri, but it is *huge*. Because of some interesting circumstances, Bruce began to look at where pirated streaming anime was served from and he uncovered the fact that the largest percentage of illegally streaming anime in America is served from properties owned by Rupert Murdoch. Go read the article – it’s absolutely fascinating.
Rupert Murdoch is the Biggest Pirate of the US Anime Market.

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Well, we began with a Bruce and we ended with a Bruce. That’s a wrap for the 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 Manga

Erin S. is pleased to share the news of *another* Japanese Yuri anthology – Lily Yuri Anthology. This one is supposed to be published by Cosmipub, the folks that put out Circle Sakuraike’s Kimochi no Katachi collection.

From Syosida_biatika, founder of Lesbian Erotika, and Erin, we hear that Tadeno Eriko-san’s current work is now online at Pixiv. Requires registration and no fear of Japanese websites.

And for the cover alone, you should be queuing up for Hayate x Blade, Volume 11 which comes out next week. The story is great, too. :-)

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Yuri Anime

Nick from the Yuricon Mailing List points out that the Mnemosyne Trailer is on Funimation.com.

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Snatches of Yuri

Seriously, I refuse to even pretend to tell you what the Otome Ouji ~ Joshikou Manken Host Club is about. If you can’t figure it out from the title, then you fail at Yuri. :-)

And I have no doubt that Assistant Denki Keika, Volume 2, will have as much strange, yet undeniably lesbian, sex as the first volume. I am both intrigued and repulsed.

I’ve actually already read 384,403km: Anata wo Tsuki ni Sarattara, and I don’t want to give away too much, but let’s just say that it’s a tale of an insane obsessive and the girl she adores. :-)

It’s my unadorned opinion that Takagi Noboyuki has finally written the manga of his dreams with Onsen Wakusei. Finally – an entire manga about girls taking baths! He must have been in his happy place – or ruing the day he ever became a mangaka.

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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 Anime

Top Story this week is Crunchyroll’s streaming of Sasamekikoto on their site. It’s simulcasting an hour after it shows on Japanese TV, which puts it on Wednesday at noon Eastern Time – and it’s already taken a different tack than the manga, so for fans in the US and Oceania, don’t miss it!

Also on CR is Shin Koihime Musou which layered on the Yuri-service pretty heavily the first time around, and I have no doubt that it will continue to do so. :-)

Eric P. wanted to share that, according to his local anime store, Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne has a street date of January 10, 2010.

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Yuri Drama CD

Katherine wants us to know about the Saki Drama CD. The first one is listed as an original drama and the new one (#2) is just called the second one, so hopefully also original. So all you Yuri Mahjong fans have something to look forward to.

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Other News

I was interviewed by Michiru online magazine, and the questions they asked were definitely different than the norm. Check out the Interview in Spanish and English! Thanks to Sigfrido for making that possible!

Also, Okazu Hero Bruce McF riffed interestingly on my market research question from earlier this week and came up with a potential crowdsourcing model for publishing. Take a look and let me know what you think!

And Eric also wants you to know that in case you haven’t heard Kodansha and Akita Shoten are partnering up. He points out that Akita Shoten’s titles including Alien Nine, Blue Drop, El Cazador, and Vampire Princess Miyu. “Maybe it’s indicating a future publishing (or republishing in Alien Nine‘s case) of these titles in the US, I don’t know.”

For the record Akita Shoten’s holding are *vast* and there are many series that they own that are far more popular than the ones Eric mentioned, so it’s more likely to be something else, but we can always hope. :-)

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Snatches of Yuri

Petrouchka wanted you to know about Kedamono no Uta. “This one begins with a few full-color pages showing a girl finding her classmate crying, naked and with bruises all over her body. I think that pretty much says it all. The first two chapters include a murder, abusive classmates, an insane female teacher and lots of screaming and shocked faces. I’m not sure I want to know what happens next. Apparently there are no important male characters and the two main girls are close and touch each other a lot, so that could get people interested, but the plot with a girl getting killed and her twin sister (?) showing up to protect the dead girl’s friend from bullies is just weird. Ah well, I guess this has to happen sometimes when you blind buy stuff.”

So very true. :-)

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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!