Yuri Anime

Crunchyroll has picked up Liz and the Blue Bird, say ANN’s Alex Mateo. I really hope you’ll watch this, if you haven’t already. It was quite good and worth watching a second time, as I mentioned in my 2019 review.

I believe I’ve mentioned this, but YNN correspondent Cryssoberyl brought it up again on the Okazu Discord and I want to make sure you are realize that Citrus is celebrating a 10th anniversary, with an memorial exhibition in the Shinjuku Marui and an 10th anniversary broadcast of the anime. Check the Citrus 10th Anniversary Website for details.

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Yuri Manga

We’ll start with some new items up on the Yuricon Store. ^_^ It’s still been kind of busy, but I really hope to catch up on adding items starting this week.

Yuri is My Job, Volume 10 is out and features Nene having had it with “friggin’ heteros” and I am here for it. ^_^

Yuri Espoir, Volume 3 complicates the issue of Kokoro’s “death” by marriage.

For fans of messy relationships, Uso to Kiss ha Houkago, Volume 2 (嘘とキスは放課後) is now up on the Store.

It’s been delayed a few times, but Dark Horse has finally released Legend of Korra: Patterns in Time. I’m really looking forward to reading this.

Jennifer O’Donnell and I talked about the darling Yuri series Whisper Me A Love Song from Kodansha, by Takeshima Eku on her Translation Chat podcast!

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Yuri VNs/Games/Voice Drama

Kiss The Demiurge is now available on Steam! A mage tasked with hiding magic meets three girls obsessed with finding it.

Samurai Maiden is also out on Steam, in which kisses lead to power ups. ^_^ Again via Cryssoberyl, here are all the “devoted hearts” animations, in a YT compilation by Kakuchopurei.

It’s not Yuri, but anyway, River City Girls 2, has a release date for North America and Europe, reports Liam Doolan at Nintendo Life.

The Good, The Bad and the Horsey is a “fantasy Wild West GL/WLW/yuri VN” available on itch.io from Team Bumblebee. Someone  offer to review this for us, please. It looks fun as heck. ^_^ Features of the game include Horses and “More horses,” what’s not to like?

Yuri Novels & Light Novels

Lots on news from Twitter over the last couple of weeks.

Manga Mogura had the news that the Adachi and Shimamura series will end with the 12th novel.

Yurimother announced that Seven Seas has licensed Qualia the Purple light novel.

douqi says that Chinese baihe novel An Endless Story (有终) are up for pre-orders on Weibo.

Via kokumura, we learn that Kimi no Kyoshitsu ga Eien no Nemurinitsuku ni Made (君の教室が永遠の眠りにつくまで) Yuri horror, mystery novel, has won the The 42nd Masafumi Yokomizo Mystery & Horror Grand Prize of Excellence award. Our little genre is growing up. ^_^

By Your Side News

My publisher has a roundup of some of the stuff I’ve been doing this year for my book By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga! While I’m at it, let’s do one more thing: Buy a copy of BYS as a gift for someone and I’ll make sure that you and they get a signed bookplate or digital bookplate! Just email me at [email protected] with a scan/screencap of your receipt and the addresses or emails you’d like me to send to, names and whether I’m sending a real or digital bookplate.

Because I can’t write much anymore, I apologize that I can’t write custom messages. But for hand-signed I’ll my best to get names in there. ^_^;

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are the ways we currently have  \active to accept subscriptions and tips. 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!

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Yuri Events

I am being interviewed by Kinokuniya NYC on November 29, and at 1PM or thereabouts will be available at the store to sign some books! The interview will go live on their socials afterwards.

Via YNN Correpondent Mariko S, the Chicago Japanese Culture Center is having a “Magical Girl Moment” movie night in support of the Chicago Abortion Fund,  featuring Sailor Moon R movie, and Adolescence of Utena on Dec 3 & 4! Drop by meet other Yuri fans and have fun! (Wear an Okazu t-shirt or carry an Okazu sticker or sign. Say hi to one another. ^_^)

James Welker and I are going to be interviewing each other as a panel for CasaCon on December 16th, at 8PM US Eastern Time. CasaCon is free and all panels are on Discord, so why not join us?

Yuri Manga

Aside from ANYC news, this week had a fair amount of Yuri manga news. ^_^

Manga Mogura has the news of Kabi Nagata’s newest comic essay, Suisou ga Kowaretara, Sukoshi Iiyasuku Narimashita (膵臓がこわれたら、少し生きやすくなりました。), My Broken Pancreas Made My Life A Little Bit Easier.

Kodansha has written up their licensing announcement for Kuzushiro’s Moon on a Rainy Night and I am incredibly happy!

Yuri Espoir, Volume 3 will hit shelves in January from Tokyopop.

Even Though We’re Adults, Volume 5 is out from Seven Seas.

Citrus is celebrating a 10th anniversary with goods and events. Check out the Citrus 10th Anniversary site for all the news.

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ANN‘s Joanna Cayanan has the news that Futari Escape will be wrapping up soon in Comic Yuri Hime. Volume 1 is available in English now, from Seven Seas.

Via Yuri Navi, Ooba Naoto’s HinaYuri Bouken (ひなゆり冒険記), is a fantasy adventure Yuri series from Comic Ryuu. Take a look at the first chapter on Twitter.

Yuri Visual Novels & Games

Studio Élan has released their new Yuri VN, Please Be Happy! on Steam and itch.io! Via their newsletter, they are also doing a sale: Over on Steam, itch.io, and GoG, all of their (non Please Be Happy) games & DLC are 50% off until November 29th. On the Nintendo Switch, Heart of the Woods is on sale for 25% off until November 30th.

Brianna Lei has released Butterfly Soup 2, the sequel to her VN about “gay Asian-American teens playing baseball and falling in love.” This VN “switches between the perspectives of Diya, Noelle, Akarsha, and Min-seo as they navigate high school life in the San Francisco Bay Area.” This is currently name your own price, so definitely take a look!

 
Yuri Anime

In case you missed the news, Crunchyroll will be streaming Yuri is My Job!,in spring 2023.  This is the anime adaptation of the manga series by Miman, which runs in Comic Yuri Hime magazine and is published in English by Seven Seas.

Yuri Doujinshi

Lilyka is running a 25% off Thanksgiving sale with the code TG25!

Yuri Cafe Anchor announced that it participated in Comitia today with a work that included contributions from Yuri authors and artists, including I’m in Love With The Villainess‘ inori, Kyou mo Hitotsu Yane no Shita‘s Inui Ayu, and If My Favorite Idol Made It To The Budokan, I Would, Die‘s Hirao Auri.

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Other News

The amazing movie about American gay comics, No Straight Lines is coming to PBS’ Independent Lens, on January 23rd. This is a must-see look at several key figures in America’s gay comics scene. I saw and reviewed this last year with the Tribeca Film Festival and it was SO worth watching!  Definitely find it on your PBS affiliate.

Egan Loo at ANN reports that the Lycoris Recoil spin-off novel has now sold more than 250K copies…including the one I bought that I will eventually get to. ^_^

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I’ll be at Table D04 in the Artist Alley at Anime NYC. Details of a con exclusive to come later this week!

Yuri Anime

Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! / Yuri Is My Job! anime will begin broadcast in Spring 2023. according to the official wata-yuri Twitter account. ANN’s Crystalynn Hodkins has news of additional cast members.

Joana Cayanan on ANN reports that The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady  anime has revealed that the voice actresses for leads Euphyllia and Anisphia will be singing the end theme.

ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pineda wants you to know that the Gundam: The Witch From Mercury prequel short, Shukufuku is up on Youtube.

Via YNN Correspondent Jeyl, we have the trailer for Dragon Age: Absolution which will be upcoming on Netflix in December.

Yuri Live Action

More huge news in Yuri, this time from Thailand. The official trailer for Pink Theory GAP The series is up on Youtube and…it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun. Think a Yuri Devil Wears Prada with a side of social consciousness. This will be the first all-Yuri live-action in Thailand and based on the numbers I’m getting on my Okazu post about the series and the numbers that trailer is getting…I think it’s likely to be a big hit, which may blow the door open for Yuri in Thailand. The book it is based on was originally digital-only but has recently gone to print and it looks like there’s a volume 2.  GAP : ทฤษฏีสีชมพู on  ARN Books, by chao_planoy.

The trailer and the whole series will be available, subtitled in English for free on Youtube on the official Idol Factory channel, starting November 19. Just subscribe and you’re set.

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Yuri Manga

I Can’t Believe I Slept With You, Volume 3 is out now in English, from Seven Seas.

Rafael Antonio Pineda tells us that Assault Lily: League of Gardens – Full Bloom, manga is entering it’s final phase.

Galette No. 24 (ガレット) is available as a PDF download from Booth.pm

Volume 2 of Mikanuji’s food and Yuri series, Sempai, Osihii, Desuka? (先輩、美味しいですか?) will be in bookstores in Japan in December.

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Yuri Light Novel

I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, Volume 1 is headed our way in February 2023. This is presented as the same story from Claire’s perspective, but I assure you that it is not just the same thing all over again. There is quite a bit of new content, as well as seeing things from a number of different perspectives. Part 7 of this series only recently landed on inori-sensei’s Pixiv Fanbox and all I can say is that I it was very emotional.

Yuri Visual Novel

Studio YuriEureka has changed the release data for their Yuri Visual Novel Kiss the Demiurge to December 2 and hopes you’ll bookmark the Steam page!

Other News

Reads Rainbow offer us a Twitter thread of sapphic books that are not YA.

Shelby Tozier brings us Toy Discoveries from “Saban Moon” over at ANN.

This week comics and cartoons have lost of number of people, but the one that hit me the hardest was Kevin Conroy, best known for his portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne since Batman the Animated Series (which, legit is the only Batman I have ever enjoyed.) To celebrate his life and his experiences as an out gay man, DC is offering up the entirety of the Pride 2022 anthology free for you to read. This includes Conroy’s story “Finding Batman.” Sign up on the DC site and read! He will be missed by many.

To balance out some loss, let’s end today’s report with a note of recognition. Manga creator Moto Hagio has been awarded one of Japan’s highest honors, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with neck ribbon, for her contributions to women’s and girl’s manga. Alex Mateo has the news at ANN.

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Yuri Interview

I have been interviewed in the November/December issue of L-Mag, Germany’s lesbian magazine! “Schwärmen für Sailor Uranus” is completely accurate. ^_^  Thanks to Theresa and the L-Mag staff for the great interview. ^_^

Yuri Anime

SugoiLITE is an anime industry rumor feed…that we all agree has a very good track record of being correct. With that in mind, they announced on Twitter today that production for an I’m in Love With the Villaness anime has begun. Feel free to scream about it on their feed. But do be kind and recognize that if the news is not official, people involved canNOT say anything and don’t hammer inori-sensei with questions. When it’s official, we’ll be sure to tell you. ^_^

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Yuri Manga

We had a plethora of technical fun with Okazu and Yuricon this week, SSL certs and CSS failures (that one was, admittedly, my fault. ^_^;) In the middle of the hurly burly, we have a lot of new stuff up on the Yuricon Store, with a variety of many places you may purchase them. I want to make this as easy for you to find things as possible.

SHWD, Volume 1 in English hit shelves last month. I’ll get a review of it out asap. SHWD, Volume 2 (シュード) in Japanese is also up on the store, as I reviewed it this week.

Catch These Hands!, Volume 3 is headed our way this month. Don’t miss this post girl-gang life, low-key Yuri romance.

AAAAAHHH! Hello Melancholic!, Volume 3 is headed our way in December. If you like this, please ask Seven Seas for 2DK, GPen Mezmashitokei by the same author. We’re ready for it now.

Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!, Volume 1 is serialized in Comic Yuri Hime. This is an 18+ story about sex and love, kinda, but mostly sex. I am not interested in brothels that much, so if anyone picks this up and would like to review for Okazu, let me know!

Volume 2 of the The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady manga was really good. I managed to review it this week here on Okazu!

Kimi to Shiranai Natsu ni Naru, Volume 2 (君としらない夏になる) hit shelves last month in Japan. I’d like to see this one licensed. It’ll resonate, I think, for 20-somethings.

Akuyaku Reijou ga Sei Heroine o Kudokiotosu Hanashi. (  悪役令嬢が正ヒロインを口説き落とす話。) is on my to-get list. No idea how I’ll feel about a story of a Princess who seduces the Heroine, but I might like it, so why not? ^_^

Onaji Tokoro de Nemuru made Matte (同じ所で眠るまで待って) follows the meeting of two women who had met as children, but circumstances now seem completely different. I bought this on a lark, I’ll let you know how it goes. ^_^

If you like messy/manipulative relationships, you may like Uso to Kiss ha Houkago ni (嘘とキスは放課後に), which is about…well a pretty manipulative relationship.

Via YNN Correspondent Cryssoberyl, we have news that Rokoko’s Yuri manga Hokenshitsu ha Futarikiri (保健室はふたりきり) has begun in Comic Flapper with the November issue as an omnibus series.

Yuri Events

Join me at AnimeNYC on November 18-20 in Javits Convention Center in NYC. I really hope you’ll all make plans to be there…it’s a great convention for fans of anime and manga. I’ll be in the Artist Alley (with the gaming machines…that’ll be loud) with copies of By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga to sign and whatever other stuff I can drag with me. I’ll also be on two panels on Sunday, November 20 – no reservations required!

Defending Manga, 11:00 am–11:45 on the Community Stage (River Pavilion)
Writing About Japan, 1:30 pm–2:30 in Panel Room 3 (1E16)

Girls Love Fest is being held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center in Hamamatsuchō on November 23.

Comitia will be held once again at Tokyo Big Sight on November 27

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Yuri VNs/Games/Voice Drama

Studio Élan announced the release of their new Yuri VN Please Be Happy for November 21! You can play the fully-voiced first chapter on Steam. This is a story about “love and friendship, and about understanding not just how to be happy, but how to be human.” Check out the official trailer on YouTube.

The Revue Starlight Re: LIVE gatcha game is currently running a Rose of Versailles event, says YNN correspondent Roxie on our Okazu Discord.

SukeraSparo/SukeraSomero announces two voice dramas Hatsukoi Returns!~ Hajirau Gyaru Wa Kokuhaku Dekinai ~ (はつこいリターンズ!～恥じらうギャルは告白できない～) and Maid in Dream 〜 Hime-sama to meido no amaama seikatsu 〜 (メイドインドリーム〜姫様とメイドの甘々生活〜) … maid in dream/made in dream/ maiden dream… nicely done if that is the intent. These are both available on DL Site in Japanese only.

Other News

Kinda big news here in the anime/manga journalism world…. Kadokawa has bought Anime News Network. They also own Bookwalker and Bookwalker Global and have shares in Yen Press and J-Novel Club. ANN has made a couple of statements about the acquisition, but here is the formal announcement. No staff or policy changes are expected at this time.

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are the ways we currently have  \active to accept subscriptions and tips. 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!

Thanks to our Okazu Patrons and Supporters who make the YNN weekly report possible! Support us on Patreon to help us give Guest Reviewers a raise and to help us support Yuri creators!

Become a YNN Correspondent: Contact