Yuri Manga

Big news on the next volume for the Kase-san series! July will see the fourth volume of the manga, Apron to Kase-san. (エプロンと加瀬さん。) and a special edition will be bundled with a Blu-Ray with the animation clip and booklet. Yeah, I know which one I’m getting. ^_^

It looks cute, and the description says it’s a “Yuri Love Comedy,” but don’t let Black Lily to Shiroyurichan (ブラックリリィと白百合ちゃん ) fool you, it’s a Young King Comics series. I expect it won’t be as bad as a Champion Red series, but call me skeptical. ^_^;

Via YNN Senior Correspondent,, this cute comic First Date by Trianglart.

Web Comic Ryu (the online edition of manga magazine Comic Ryu) has launched a Yuri furry comic, Mofu Kano no Pot-pourri, which looks kind of cute. 

ANN has a revolutionary report – Revolutionary Girl Utena is getting a new manga chapter in the September issue of Flowers magazine!! The new chapter will drawn by original artist Saitou Chiho. Be-papas isn’t dead yet, apparently, because Crunchyroll News reports that Utena musical score-writer, J.A. Seazer, has a new album coming out with bonus Utena tracks played by Seazer himself. A friend of mine once described Utena duel songs as “a magical cookbook on acid.” ^_^

Other News

Via YNN Correspondent Louis P (via Matthew P) this fabulous and fascinating Guardian article on Wu Tsang, the trans artist retelling history with lesbian kung fu.

 And another from Erin S., Autostraddle has this amazing article – Drawn to Comics: 15-Year-Old Maggie Thrash Interviews Herself in This Brand New Exclusive “Honor Girl” Excerpt.

Both Comics and Resistance news – Hazel Newlevant is spearheading a worthy Kickstarter – Comics for Choice: Anthology for Abortion Rights.

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? 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!

Get ready for some great reading!

Yuri Manga

In the wake of the buzz for My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, let’s not forget the other notable series out in English this year. A couple of folks have commented to me recently that they are tired of schoolgirls and moe. Of course I sympathize. But let me also recommend to you a soul-healing schoolgirl series, Kase-san by Takahashi Hiromi, if you aren’t already reading it. I’ve reviewed the first book, Kase-san and Morning Glories and the second book Kase-san and Bento is hitting the shelves this week. Yes, it’s about schoolgirls, but there’s something real and relatable about it in a way that I rarely see in schoolgirl Yuri.

And, to this point, we have some very exciting news about the Kase-san series! The fourth collected volume (the first since Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari went out of print in 2014) has been announced! Apron to Kase-san. (エプロンと加瀬さん。) is slated for a late July 2017 release date.  There’s so much significance about this news. It’s the first Yuri manga series that has continued to be successful with no print magazine, that has been not just wrapped up online, but is actually getting multiple digital venues for new releases – and of course, has that wonderful animation clip, which the production company has intimated might lead to bigger and better things. Thanks to our Special YNN Correspondent Verso S for keeping us up to date on this news and thanks to Shinsokan and Seven Seas for investing in this series!

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The 6th volume of Canno’s hit, Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (あの娘にキスと白百合を ) was really quite interesting and, is now available on the Yuricon Store (along with the other titles mentioned here.) One of the strengths of the series is that the relationships are all very different. This isn’t just a matter of  pairing all the couples up, but that relationships – especially love – can be very complicated.

Minamoto Hisanari’s flight of fancy, Kanaete! Yuri Yousei ( かなえて! ゆりようせい) about the Yuri Fairy who grants Yuri couples their wishes, has now been collected into a volume of it’s own. It’s ridiculous and adorable. ^_^

Now Loading…! by Mikanshi was a short, but pleasant, look into adult life at a independent game development company that ran in Comic Yuri Hime and is now collected.

Almost defying belief, the seventh volume of Kuzushiro’s gag comedy set in the Heian-Kyo, the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Kimi no Tamenara Shineru, Volume 7 (姫のためなら死ねる ), hit shelves this month.

Yuri Anime

Ichijinsha has made it pretty plain that they are never going to animate anything we consider good Yuri here at Okazu. ^_^; For people who prefer dysfunctional, abusive, not-really Yuri, NTR: Netsuzou Trap and Citrus anime are launching this summer and for people who enjoy Yuri with animal-eared girls, they’ve announced Konohana Kitan, the one series that they never got rid of from Comic Yuri Hime S, according to ANN. (In the meantime, those of us who find functional human women who fall in love with one another appealing, get nothing. Grrr.)

Other News

ANN reports that the final Sailor Moon Musical, -Le Mouvement Final-, has been announced for autumn 2017, with the return of a former Sailor Moon as Sailor Cosmos.

This is something to stay aware of – an important case in the Netherlands was decided upon this year that makes fansubs illegal.

Fansubbers, of course, maintain that they are doing a Good Thing by allowing millions more people to enjoy films and TV shows that they might not otherwise be able to understand. BREIN, however, asserts that subtitles are mostly used by people who download pirated media, and thus fansubbers are not only violating copyright themselves but also inciting piracy and damaging the market.

The Dutch court sided with the IP owners, stating that “subtitles can only be created and distributed with permission from the rights holders. Doing so without permission is copyright infringement, and thus punishable with either jail time or a fine, depending on where you live.” The emphasis is mine, but Ars Technica has the full report and it’s worth reading. 

Nippon.com reports on ground-breaking manga translator Frederick Schodt, who spoke at the Japan Foundation’s Tokyo office on his four decades of work in manga and about his his newest work, The Osamu Tezuka Story. 

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? 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!

In honor of the upcoming Toronto Comic Arts Festival in Toronto Ontario, which is always a very queer comics friendly event, I’m going to do a big ole queer content YNN Report this week:

Check out the books of Shira Glassman, a queer Jewish feminist author, who has a fab-looking YA series collectively known as the Mangoverse, which are “f/f fairytales focusing on LGBTQA+ Jewish characters getting happy endings” and “found family.” I squeed when I saw this. Gon’ have to get me some. This is creator-owned work that’s worth supporting.

Kabi Nagata’s My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness will hit bookshelves on June 6. This is the first lesbian comic essay out of Japan to make it to the west, but if it sells well, I bet it won’t be the last.

Gengoroh Tagame, creator of My Brother’s Husband, which is available now from Pantheon Books, will be a guest at TCAF. He is a genuinely lovely man and his book is fantastic. I hope you’ll support it.

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Small Favors, Collen Coover’s classic “girly porno” comic is getting the deluxe treatment with Small Favors: The Definitive Girly Porno Comic Collection, which collects volumes one and two of Small Favors, the never-before-collected color special, behind-the-scenes materials, and a brand-new introduction.

The Tate Britain is holding an exhibition called Queer British Art 1861-1967. It’s not LGBTQ art per se, but it gives you a whole new perspective of well-known pieces and their creators. Here is Cheryl Morgan’s review of the show that provides some specifics.

LGBTQ Events

Tokyo Rainbow Pride and Comitia were held this past week, and if Twitter was any indication, there was more Yuri than ever before at Comitia.

Girls Love Festival is back at the Pio building in the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area, on June 4th. Here is the list of participating circles ,so you can plan your purchases.

Toronto Comic Arts Festival – Guests include Tagame-sensei, the only out gay male mangaka working in mainstream comics in Japan right now, Colleen Coover, creator of Small Favors, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, creators of Monstress, Skim‘s Jillian Tamaki and many others. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 13-14

My schedule at TCAF  is as follows: (Check the schedule for locations)

Friday I’ll be on a panel about Queer Comics in Libraries as part of TCAF’s Librarian and Educator Day. They know I’m not a public or K-12 librarian, but asked me anyway. ^_^; 

Saturday I’ll be moderating:
11:00 Teamwork: Comics and Collaboration

4:00 Spotlight: Svetlana Chmakova (Awkward, Brave) x Cecil Castellucci (Soupy Leaves Home)

 Sunday I’ll be moderating:

2:45 Sweaty Pages: Comics and Erotics

4:00 Challenged Books

I’ll otherwise be wandering around visiting with folks and eating almost incessantly. I am literally booked for meals all weekend long. ^_^ Better go out for a long walk now. I hope to see you there!

Okazu News

Patrons of the Okazu Patreon were treated to a sneak peek of an upcoming article for publication. There’s still time to see it, if you subscribe now!

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? 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!

Loads of wonderful things this week from the Yuri Network. I barely know where to begin. ^_^ So, let’s start with…

Yuri Manga

YNN Correspondent Verso S has written in with a ton of news about the upcoming Kase-san manga volume. I’m going to editorialize a bit first. The Kase-san manga is a real success story. After Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari was taken out of print, it could well have simply disappeared. But Shinsokan clearly believed – as I did – that this was a series worth investing in. Takashima-sensei has continued to work on the series as a digital release and the third volume was collected from chapters released online. Now Shinsokan is actively finding digital venues to release the new chapters, including their digital FlashWings magazine, Line Manga, Kindle, Nicovideo. (In fact, you may remember that Shinsokan was one of the earliest adopters of JManga. They *clearly* believe in digital.) For the full line up of chapters and links, check out Verso’s informative comments on my recent Kase-san review. BUT, the main point I want to make is 1) the new storyline is called “Yamada to Kase-san” which made me burst out in applause and 2) the news of that included a short note to watch the animation clip, because…we don’t yet know why.

And the official account for Asagao to Kase-san has started asking questions in English like – are we planning on going to Anime Expo 2017? Hrm…should we be? Or what do we like about the series? Check that out and throw them a response!

In addition, Yurimate over in Ikebukuro just had Kase-san specially made “can badges” (pins) and  yes, I was annoyed as hell that I was not there to get one. But, I believe that I will, eventually, find myself there. ^_^

From the official Yagate Kimi ni Naru Twitter account, the August issue of Dengeki Daioh (which already runs Yagate Kimi ni Naru,) will the see the debut of “Kago no Shoujo ha Koi wo Suru”(籠の少女は恋をする). 

Also from the same account is news that Yuri anthology Eclair (エクレア) is getting a second volume Eclair: blanche Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (「エクレア blanche あなたに響く百合アンソロジー」)

Which brings me to my last point in this whole thing. With the advent of these Yuribu, these  Yuri clubs out of bookstores, and the official series accounts,  for the first time there is a shockingly well-developed “Yuri Twitter.” I’ve kept a non-comprehensive running Twitter list for years with Yuri anime and manga creators and magazines, and the like, but I find that more and more these Yuribu accounts are quickly becoming centralized points of information dissemination (no surprise, they *are* bookstores) and loads of interaction from Yuri fans and creators are centered around them.

I love it. ^_^ 

Because of all the new additions, I’ve renamed my Twitter List the Yuri Resource List. Feel free to follow or cop  accounts from it!

Hana and Hina Afterschool, Volume 2 is available on the Yuricon Store, awaiting it’s English-language release in July. 

Also on the Store is Yuri Hyakkei (百合百景),  “100 Views of Yuri” a riff on the famous work 100 views of Mt. Fuji. This book claims to contain 100 hyper-short Yuri stories. Also, we’ve added Shouraiteki ni Shindekure (将来的に死んでくれ).

Kickstarter Watch

Molly Ostertag and Brennan Lee Mulligan are pitching for the funds for Strong Female Protagonist, Volume 2, a print version of their fabulous webcomic. I very much enjoyed Volume 1 when I read it, and look forward to the next volume.

Resistance News

Here we are, at Day 100 of what I can only hope will be seen as the turning point in American history, when the country finally confronted it’s own systemic misogyny and racism and chose to change for the better.

The Republicans, determined to repeal Obamacare, which is by design the very least good healthcare reform that they could have created in the first place – are now flogging themselves to come up with en objectively even worse one. HR 1628 is *so* bad that Congress has amended it to say that Congress, their families and staffers will not be affected by it.

I want to recommend a tool I have been using constantly. In addition to emailing, tweeting, writing physical letters and calling my spineless Congressional Representative (my Senators are imperfect, but in the normal pre-2016 way)  I am using Resistbot. Obsessively. It does ask for some personal info – name, address so it can identify your Congressial Rep and Senators, but it is a fantastic tool that I recommend highly. The more you use it, the more useful it becomes. You can target messages to your House Rep or Senator(s). These will be faxed and can also be mailed, or send as Letters to the Editor to local papers.  Try it. Resistbot is free, but I use it so much I’ll be donating to support it.

Call, write, text, email, but do something. Resistbot makes it easy to pound your Rep with a reminder that you will not be forgotten and your voice will be heard. 

Other News

Coherent Cats has written up their take on LGBTQ Anime and Manga with Beyond Yuri on Ice! 

Geeks Media has a fantastic interview with Jennifer Camper on the Queers & Comics conference, with illustrations. I’m thrilled that the idea of archiving the discussions and content is baked into the event, so these folks and their stories will be preserved for future generations.  And Dan Avery of New Now Next has his own write-up of the event, as well.

MTV has a column worth reading on How Female Cartoonists Are Changing Mainstream Publications.

YNN Correspondent Michaelangelo H. sends us a link to a fun bit of digital animation called Golden Blond and Jet Black.

I’ll wrap up today with a link to the Podcast discussion of Monstress, Volume 1 by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda I was honored to be able to participate in with Okazu Superhero and Guest Reviewer Louis P and his friend Huw, both of whom I cheerfully add to my list of shockingly funny British men I know. (Adam, you’re also on the list.) This discussion is rambling and silly and a probably a horrible waste of time if you like the comic, but we laughed and laughed…

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? 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!