Yuri Studies

I want to start by thanking everyone who has bought By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga so far. I wake up every day to see it back up at #1 on Amazon in it’s category and am filled with pride for all our work! ANN’s Rebecca Silverman has given By Your Side a lovely review. ^_^

If you’ve enjoyed By Your Side, please feel free to review it at Amazon or Goodreads – your reviews can make a difference.

I will be doing an author talk with Under the Umbrella, a fabulous queer community bookstore in Salt Lake City, Utah on June 8, 8-9PM Eastern US time by Zoom. Your can register on their website, or directly on Zoom!

This week I was very honored to be able to write for John Scalzi’s blog Whatever, as part of his The Big Idea series. I took the opportunity to write about my love of and hopes for fandom. Here’s my article on The Big Idea.

If you have written anything about Yuri, please let me know! I’d love to add your work to the Yuricon Essays page!

Yuri Manga

My Next Life as a Villainess Side Story: Girls Patch is now out from Seven Seas. They have also released a 4th Volume of Syrup: A Yuri Anthology.

I’ll finally take some time this week and start updating the Yuricon Store, promise. ^_^; I’ve been kinda busy.

Whether this is actually Yuri remains to be seen, but Assault Lily: Bouquet (the anime based on a line of dolls, reviewed here by Day) is getting a spin-off manga, Assault Lily Last Bullet: Secret Garden Sweet Memoria. Check out Crystalynn Hodgkins’ article on ANN for more details.

Take a moment to watch this video of an absolutely beautiful, queer, flipbook comic by shinranshinge on Twitter.

Yuri Webtoons

Mage & Demon Queen will return to Webtoons on June 22 – COLOR Les made the announcement and we’re all bouncing out of our seats for the climax of this epic webtoon.

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Yuri Games

YNN Corresponent Patricia B writes in to say that the “Queer Games Bundle for this year has launched. Just like last year, it is a collection of over 500 games made by LGBTQ+ game developers for the price of one AAA game.”  This is always a great way to find lots of fun Yuri to play and read.

Tabletop RPG Thirsty Sword Lesbians won the Nebula Award this year for best game writing! How exciting for the creative team. Congrats to them.

Check out YuriSoft Games, an indie studio making games about lesbian romance.

A beautiful immersive game/story came across my feed last night, via YNN Correspondent Prairie Rose – The Blooming Bounty Apothecary is available for 50% all month with the code “I love lesbians.”

Anime Collaboration News

Sailor Moon Vans? Yes, finally this collaboration has reached the US. Sailor Moon Fandom News has all of the relevant links. Thanks to ANN Correspondent Amy M for this!

You can get (and presumably wear on the links) the golf gear featured in the end credits of Birdie Wing! Kim Morrisey has the details on ANN.

I refuse to make any jokes about the collaboration between The Executioner and Her Way of Life anime and a ramen shop that is creating themed bowls, but luckily I don’t have to. Check out Kim Morrisey’s  article on ANN for the punny ramen names.

Other News

Inori-sensei posted a pretty great conversation between herself, hanagata-sensei and Aonoshimo-sensei on her Pixiv account. If you support her there, you can read it in full.

Speaking of Pixiv. Last week a Japanese trans employee of Pixiv went public with horrific treatment by a male boss. As a result, a number of queer users of Pixiv have canceled their accounts and are looking for replacements for their Booth.pm stores. I’ve pulled the paid plans off Pixiv Fanbox for Okazu, as well, but am leaving Fanbox account as a free news feed. If you’d like to support Okazu, we still have our Patreon and Ko-fi (which really seems to walk the walk, at least so far.)

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Berkely Hermann has a lovely article on The Geekiary about Examining Socially Awkward Anime Characters that was worth a read.

Grumpycroc’s Strength Unsaid: How Moribito’s Main Characters Normalize Gender Equality for Anime Feminist, is also very worth reading. This series is so under-appreciated. I love this anime a great deal for this and many other reasons.

My review of Summer Time Rendering, Volume 2 is live on Anime News Network. This is a great manga, even with a lot of fanservice. I’m definitely going to keep reading (and, I hope. reviewing it for ANN. It’s nice to have a writing credit there that isn’t Yuri, just to prove that, seriously I *do* read other stuff. ^_^)

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

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Yuri Event

Anime Boston is next week, don’t forget to drop my panels and say hello! My full schedule is posted on Yuricon: Yuri Panels at Anime Boston.

There will be no YNN Report next week as a result. ^_^  See you in Boston!

Yuri Manga

Sal Jiang’s collected shorts from Web Action Comice, SAL: Stories About Love is up on the Yuricon Store.  This collection also includes the extra chapter of the popular web action series Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koi Shiteru.

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Sean G, Yuri creator merryhachi is launching a new title Zenbu Kimi no Sei da in Ultra Jump magazine.Crystalyn Hodgkins has the details on ANN.

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Seven Seas has licensed some new Yuri manga and and has announced a new Yuri imprint!  Seven Seas GL is launching with two new titles. Asumi-chan is Interested in Lesbian Brothels!, which is an 18+ sex work fantasy and the light novel There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… This second title has an interesting set of credits, with three Yuri creators listed, Terem Mikami, Takeshima Eku and Musshu. It’s fascinating to me that almost no other manga publisher uses imprints, but Seven Seas creates new ones regularly. ^_^

However, there is a reason why we, creators and fans of Yuri do not call it GL. I’ve written about that quite a few times. Here is Why We Call It “Yuri” for Anime Feminist, one of many essays that are included in my book about Yuri history By Your Side. (They also apparently went withe a chrysanthemum for their BL line, another oddly ahistorical choice.)

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Games and Visual Novels

Studio Elan held an Elan festival with a host of new announcements. Three new games from their Bellhouse imprint:

Who is The Red Queen? is  “a dark and graphic girls love visual novel taking place in a twisted version of Wonderland. Help Alice solve the mystery of the Red Queen and avoid death.”

Love In a Bottle follows Ankora the Love Demon as she strikes out on her own for the first time, on a mission to prove she’s able to make it on her own, but more importantly, let all of the HOT SINGLE WOMEN know she’s available.

They also have announced Heart of the Woods soundtrack on vinyl. A two-LP gatefold release, featuring both the Snowfall and Moonlight halves of the soundtrack, as well as 2 extra tracks for Snowfall. There are also two new cover illustrations drawn by adirosa and each order comes with a Tara sticker. They also have a limited amount of HotW Kickstarter merchandise for sale.

Locke and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery is up on Steam and is going to be on itch.io soon.

They formally announced the game Our Home, My Keeper in association with Ebi-Hime. Singto Connely has a sample track of the OST on Twitter!

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Other News

Namori’s two series are having an art collaboration, according to Comic Natalie. Yuru Yuriand Omuro Family art collab will be at Atre Akihabara  from July 31.

Also from Comic Natalie, we have news of a new web comic magazine, Comic OGYAAA!! which, the description says will run original manga of various genres such as “gag, essay, fantasy, action, lily, and animal.” First chapters are free on the Comic OGYAAA!! website, so take a look!

Thanks to our Okazu Patrons and Fans 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 Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share and be part of the Yuri Network. ^_^

Yuri Anime

We knew it was coming, but at last we have confirmation! Top news this week is that Miman’s romantic comedy Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto desu!, released by Kodansha in English as Yuri is My Job! is getting an anime. This is a stellar choice for an anime as the concept is absurd, and the whole first arc is over-the-top reaction shots. ^_^

SugoiLite on Twitter has the key visuals and cast. Egan Loo at ANN has details and a trailer on Youtube. Fun fact – this will be the first anime from Comic Yuri Hime that is a series I actually like. They have a lot of stories that I’ve loved, but the ones they’ve chosen for anime are, without fail, among those I do not care for (cough/Citrus/cough). I’m very much looking forward to this!

The Executioner and Her Way of Life has announced more characters, Daryl Harding has the news on Crunchyroll. And Alex Mateo on ANN wants you to know that HIDIVE is now streaming the dub, as well as the sub for Executioner.

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Yuri Literature

I have been purposefully remiss in adding anything to the Yuricon Store this month, because of course I have just published a ground-breaking new book on the history of Yuri anime and manga and I want you all to buy it. So I’m leaving it as the first entry on the home page for a little while longer.^_^

By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga will make a terrific Pride month read, even if I do say so myself. ^_^ It’s a historical – and personal – look at the history of Yuri, key series and a look to a future Yuri eutopia. We’ve made sure that this volume is affordable for a fan studies work, so grab a copy for yourself and for your local library!

Yuri Manga

Yen Press on Twitter has released the cover for Catch These Hands, Volume 2! This will be hitting shelves in June.

Volume 4 of Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) will also be hitting JP shelves in June. That ought to bring us through the first novel. Obviously, I hope that it stays popular enough to get through at *least* the whole first arc…but really I’m holding out for 20 volumes, so we’ll get the entire story. ^_^ Don’t forget to tell Comic Yuri Hime editors that you love the series and would like to see it completed!

“Business Yuri” idol comedy “Kono Yuri ha Fiction desu” (この百合はフィクションです) is being serialized in Young Animal Zero. Check out some of the pages from creator Muchaham and details on the story on Yuri Navi.

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Vampire Yuri

Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P. Has written in, knowing how much I love vampire stories ^_^, to let us know about two of interest on Netflix.

“When it’s time for teenage vampire Juliette to make her first kill so she can take her place among a powerful vampire family, she sets her sights on a new girl in town named Calliope. But much to Juliette’s surprise, Calliope is a vampire hunter, from a family of celebrated slayers. Both find that the other won’t be so easy to kill and, unfortunately, way too easy to fall for… First Kill will make its global debut on Netflix on June 10, 2022.” Check out the trailer on Youtube.

Eric also points to Netflix anime Vampire in the Garden, about which he says “Admittedly there’s no clear-cut indication that it’ll be Yuri or even subtext, but it’s still a story centered around a bond between two women, one vampire and one human, who try to rediscover a peaceful coexistence between the two races.”

So you have a nice selection of vampire Yuri-ish stuff to look forward to, and I’ll have to come up with limericks. ^_^

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Other News

Our good friend Xan has a new comic out, Pandora’s Tale, Volume 1. Screen Rant’s Andy Davis calls it “the Revolutionary Trans Comic You Must Read Right Now.” Congrats, Xan and here’s to great success!

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

Become a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share and be part of the Yuri Network. ^_^

I’m going to lead with this once again, because today marks a week of By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga being the #1 best seller in the hotly competitive category of LGBTQ+ Literary Criticism and I just want to say thank you to everyone who has bought it. ^_^

When you’ve read it, if you’d be good enough to give it a review on Amazon or Goodreads, that would be greatly appreciated! That makes it more easily discovered by new folks who may be interested.

Thanks to German anime and manga news site Manga Passion for covering BYS‘s release!

Yuri Event

Here is my Anime Boston schedule:

One last note – the next month or so, expect a slow-down in reviews. I’m doing a lot of writing, and podcasting and promotion for By Your Side and, then, Anime Boston. It’s all good, but it’s killing my reading and reviewing time and energy! ^_^

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Yuri Manga

Via Comic Natalie, one of the winners of the 3rd annual Yuri Literary Fiction contest on Pixiv has been given a manga adaptation (what the JP industry is calling “comicalize”), that is running in the June issue of Comic Yuri Hime.  “Natsu to Lemon to Overlay” (夏とレモンとオーバーレイ) looks great. I’ve got the magazine here and am looking forward to reading it.

Also via Comic Natalie, Lily Lily La-La-Land, (リリィ・リリィ・ラ・ラ・ランド) is an exotic private school story, in which girls exchange room keys to create intimate friendships.  Volume 1 is out now from Comic Cune!

Creator Oku Tamamushi shares some art on Twitter from Volume 1 of Dore kara Koi kaga Wakarani (どれが恋かがわからない) about a girl magnet at college. ^_^

Here’s a Yuri doujinshi in Japanese available on US Kindle: Sex Shinai to Derarenai Yuri, by Yotsuhara Furiko. This story was originally published in Galette magazine.

Speaking of – Galette, No. 22 is hitting JP shelves this month…and I am officially behind in reviewing it. ^_^;

Via YNN Correspondent Laurent Lignon, here are two comics of interest for Yuri fans in France: Soulmate, which is a story of a lesbian relationship, and Blossoms, a Taiwanese web comic.

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Yuri Games and VNs

My wife is playing a gem-matching phone game, Switchcraft: Magical Match 3, (title link to Google Play, here it is on Apple) which is a VN of a sort. Having avoided all the potential matches with boys, the game offered her the cute girl cop, Naomi, for a dating partner. According to my wife, Naomi tells the protagonist that her Dad was cool when she came out…a nice touch. She’s left off with a “we should do this again.” I’ll report back if she gets anywhere with Naomi. ^_^ So far at least, it’s been free and reviews seem to bear that out.

A fun little playthrough by Jackie Lesnick of a game she made of her Princess Panic comic – You’re Cute is on Youtube. It is indeed cute. You can download Chapters 1 & 2 and Chapter 3 on her itch.io site, as well as take a look at some of her older work. Do give it a like on YT!

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Other News

Rica Takashima is exhibiting some of her art this weekend at Beyond New Border in Fukuoka, Japan. Among the images on display are the covers of Rica ‘tte Kanji!? and By Your Side! Okazu Patrons have the opportunity to buy limited-edition, signed and numbered canvas prints of the By Your Side cover art, so if you’re looking for some new wall art, become a Patron, or Pixiv Fan today!

YNN Correspondent Patricia B wants “to bring attention to an ongoing crowdfunding campaign for the graphic novel of a sapphic fantasy webcomic, called The Hearth and the Stone by E.C. Ibes. The graphic novel will include the entire webcomic series in one volume.” Patricia says she loves this comic. ^_^

And Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P. doesn’t want you to miss Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki, which is about young woman who comes to understand that she is asexual. This is available on Amazon and RightStuf.

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

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Yuri Literature

Mark Your Calendars! By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga pre-orders officially open up on May 2! I’ll launch a page on the Yuricon Store with links for it in print and digitally on Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and digitally directly from the publisher. 

Okazu patrons and Pixiv fans will be eligible for a signed custom bookplates, with original art by Rica Takashima, with proof of pre-order. These have to be limited, my hands aren’t very functional, sorry.)

20 years in the making, By Your Side is the first of it’s kind  – a look at Yuri history, key series, trends, events and changes of the newest genre of anime and manga. Because of the way the book industry works – pre-orders make a huge difference, especially direct from book stores. My publisher Journey Press has connections with independent bookstores around the world, take a look and see if there is one near you!

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Rica Takashima will be celebrating the release of this book with an art exhibit with Beyond New Borders 2020-2022 in Fukuoka, Japan in May. She will be exhibiting her art for Phryne and Anise magazines and will be including her cover art for By Your Side, which she has titled 100 Years of Yuri and 200 Years of Yuri. Okazu Patrons and Pixiv Fans can purchase limited edition signed and numbered prints of this art!

Sailor Moon News

We finally have news of the final arc of Sailor Moon! Sailor Moon Cosmos will be a two-part movie release, for the 30th anniversary of the series! Check out Kim Morrisy’s article on ANN for details.

Don’t miss the (Japanese only) stream of the Sailor Moon 30th anniversary event, while you’re at it! Once again Kim Morrisy has the scoop on ANN.

In addition, Takeuchi Naoko’s landmark work is getting a museum exhibit at Tokyo’s Roppongi Museum. The Sailor Moon Museum exhibit will have three “phases” and runs from July 1-December 30, 2022. Kim Morrisy is our go-to for all our Sailor Moon news. ^_^

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Yuri Manga

Ballroom dancing Yuri manga Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru, Volume 2 (踊り場にスカートが鳴る) is now out! I love this series.

June 2022 issue of Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫2022年6月号) will be the final chapter of Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts. Sigh.

Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 6 (ささやくように恋を唄う) is available for some brain-cleansingly sweet Yuri. ^_^

Lilyka is releasing a Yuri artbook called Kiss & Hug, by Hoshizoranshita.

Games and Visual Novels

Via Twitter, ebihime announce Salome’s Kiss, a Yuri VN set in the Victorian era, featuring “cute girls, suffering, and cute girls who suffer.” Available now on Steam and Itch.io. The art looks fantastic.

Super vaguely Yuri adjacent, but what the hell, Queens’ Blade Limit Break battle game is now available on G123.

Studio Élan invites you to their first Élan Festival, celebrating LGBT+ visual novels! Join them on their Studio Élan YouTube Channel, May 14th at 4PM Pacific US time for Yuri VN announcements!

Via YNN Correspondent Youko on Twitter, SukeraSomero’s OshiRabu Yuri VN has launched on Nintendo Switch in four languages! Click the link for SiliconEra’s article.

One last item, via Japanese crowdfunding site Campfire, Yuri VN Summer Love Begins With a Lie (嘘から始まる恋の夏) will be released fully voiced with a Japanese cast. I’m hoping we’ll see this released in English, it looks pretty good.

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Other News

Via Comic Natalie, Maria-sama ga Miteru is getting a new collaboration cafe, the Yamayurikai Cafe, at Stella Map Cafe in Akihabara, from May 17 – May 31. Reserve your spots today (and take pictures if you’re going. I need to live vicariously.)

Thanks to our Okazu Patrons and Fans 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 Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share and be part of the Yuri Network. ^_^