Sailor Moon News

The fourth season of Sailor Moon Crystal has been announced, according to Rocket24News, as part of the official 25th anniversary of the series.  At this point, we have to just assume that they’ll be completing the series. Then they’ll have to figure out something new for the 30th Anniversary. 

Here’s a piece of amazing news – ANN Reports that the Sailor Moon Musical is coming to Anime Matsuri in Houston Texas! I think that’s spectacular. The cast includes several former Takarisiennes, including Yamato Yuga who plays Tuxedo Mask and Shiotsuki Shuu who plays Sailor Uranus. This is a fantastic chance for American fans to experience a Seraamyu event.

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Yuri Manga

I’m pleased to report that the independent Yuri anthology Galette (ガレット創刊号) is now available for pre-order on Amazon JP and will be shipping mid-February. This book includes illustrations and manga by Takemiya Jin, Hakamada Mera, Amano Shuninta and many others.

Takashima Hiromi’s Kase-san and Morning Glory, a book that made Top Ten here on Okazu is hitting western bookshelves in English at the end of February.

Momono Moto has a new collection called Akane-iro Kiss. (茜色のキスは屋上で)

Yasuda Kousuke is a new name here on Okazu. His book Watashi no Kanojo no Otomari Eiga  (私と彼女のお泊まり映画 1) appears to be about two college students who have a standing “Movie night” date. So half movie review, half Yuri manga.  ^_^

Morinaga Milk’s Hana to Hina no Houkago  (ハナとヒナは放課後) continues into a Volume 3, with a lovely cover. ^_^

Goofy body switch with a heart manga Swap⇔Swap, (すわっぷ⇔すわっぷ) gets a second volume, which is pretty amazing as they clearly ran out of content by the end of Volume 1.

LGBTQ Comics

YNN Correspondent Mariko S want to make sure you know about the IDW anthology by some leading lights in the comics industry, Love is Love. It was created to raise money for the families of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting victims and has been so popular that the first printing sold out!

Women’s comic pioneer, Roberta Gregory, has been named as a possible honoree at the Eisner Hall of Fame this year. This is fantastic news for those of us who grew up with her life-changing Bitchy Bitch. ^_^

And while I was looking for a link to Love is Love, I found this absolutely awesome-looking illustrated history of LGBTQ activism called Queer: A Graphic History by Dr. Meg-John Barker and Julia Scheele.

I know we’ve mentioned this before, but Marvel has a queer Latina superhero, America Chavez and it’s worth checking her book out.

Thanks to Mr. Mochizuki, who I met out in Michigan, I learned about another LGBTQ comic running in a mainstream comic magazine in Japan, but this one really surprised me. Sorairo Flutter (そらいろフラッター) by Okura and Hashii Koma, is about bisexuality. That in itself is interesting, but it is running in Gangan Joker magazine, which shocked the heck out of me. It is a pretty “otaku-ish” magazine, which spends much more time on violence and treating women shitty than it does, usually on young men’s feelings. Count me surprised, but very pleased with this.

Other News

I haven’t read it, but if you want an attendee perspective of my lecture at University of Michigan, Patricia F. Anderson has passed along a Storified version of her live-tweeting “Alt-Manga, Queer Manga”! Thanks Patricia!

James Whitbrook blew my mind with this fantastic article about character detail in Steven Universe.

I keep meaning to pass this along. Anime Feminist, which is a blog you should be following, has an interview with Masaki C. Matsumoto, queer and feminist activist, which you should be reading. ^_^

We’ll wrap up today with  a reading suggestion from YNN Correspondent, Guest Reviewer, Patron and dear friend Bruce, Daughters of the Samurai by Janice P. Nimura. Bruce has this to say about it: “It’s about a small group of provincial girls who were somewhat randomly selected by the Meiji government in 1871 to go to America, get some western schooling, and return to help establish women’s education in Japan. Shipped overseas with no family, no English, and no idea what they were doing (one was only six), three of the original five ended up kicking butt at Vassar and Bryn Mawr, and on return were instrumental in the development of Japanese women’s higher education. The description sounds a little dry, but it’s a fascinating cross-cultural story of some truly extraordinary women. Great book.”

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!

Yuri Manga

ANN has the report that a banner at a sumo tournament has announced the 13th Volume of Rose of Versailles (ベルサイユのばら,), which will be out at the end of this month in Japan. Check out the article for images and a discussion of sumo banners. ^_^

Seven Seas has another pile of licensing announcements, one of which I was absolutely gobsmacked by. According to ANN, they’ve licensed Cutey Honey-a-Go Go!, my favorite iteration of the Cutey Honey franchise. I reviewed it in 2007 and said, “Bar none, this is my *favorite* version of Honey.”

The OASG has an article on 20 manga you should keep an eye out for this year. A number of Yuri titles are on it, but there’s *so* much Yuri coming out this year, they barely scratched the surface. Bookmark the Yuricon Store because we’ll make sure it’s all there!

Teku Mahiru has a new Yuri manga series beginning in Comic Heaven, Kimi to 6 jikan no Koi wo shita (君と6時間の恋をした」).

Yuri Anime

Crunchyroll News has the report that the new Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection movie is confirmed for July 2017.

The cast for NTR: Netsuzou Trap has been announced, according to ANN. 

Via YNN correspondent Jst, ANN has the news that Nozomi has announced the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime set on Blu-Ray. 

Live Action

Silent Mobius, the sci-fi paranormal adventure series by Asamiya Kia is getting a live-Action stage play adaptation. Initial staff and cast members have been named, but roles are not yet assigned, according to ANN.

Crunchyroll reports that the live-action Saki adaptation has taken an ad out in a sports paper, with cast in costume. 

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Yuri Webcomic

Hanna-Pirita Lehkonen has created a lovely little Rapunzel-inspired comic. 

Nakamura Kiyo (aka Ching) is lunching a new, tongue-in-cheek action webcomic on Note.mu, Miboujin Sentai Ranger (未亡人戦隊 喪レンジャー)

Other News

Teen Vogue weighs in on Sailor Moon with 15 Times Sailor Moon was the Feminist Icon We All Needed.  The article contains some inaccuracies, but I give them kudos for the effort.

And, on the other side of the aisle, via Matt Thorn on Twitter,  an article on whether gay men read BL in Japanese, has been translated to English. This spawned a conversation between myself, Matt and Jason Thompson in which we vehemently, virulently, mostly agree with each other. ^_^ 

And also of interest in BL,  Kamome Hamada is launching a BL comic based on a real person’s real life story. So, more LGBTQ than BL. ANN has the report. 

 Via YNN Correspondent Elizabeth F, the next season of the Young Justice cartoon might be acknowledging it’s LGBTQ characters, according to James Whitbrook on i09.

Crunchyroll has a report about a class at the University of South Carolina on Reading and Writing About Magical Girls. 

Amazon.com (US) is launching a paid anime streaming service. One more entry in a crowded field. Whether another paid service can succeed where so a number of free services (Crunchyroll, Daisuki, Viewster) and paid services (Neon Alley, Anime Network) already exist remains to be seen. I assume they expect Amazon users to go to them first.

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!

I woke up to a computer crash this morning, so this will be, of necessity, a short post full of random things. ^_^

Event News

As we look forward to a new year, I want to give you my schedule of appearances so far:

I will be speaking at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on January 19th for the Center for Japanese Studies. The  lecture ought to be open to the public., so contact the, if you want to attend.

I’ll be at Hunter College in New York City on March 10. This is not open to the public, but if you want to come, let me know and I’m sure I can arrange for you to be there.

I’ll be participating in Queers & Comics in San Francisco, California, April 14-15.  I hope you’ll join me there – the first Q&C event in 2015 was amazing!

If you’ve enjoyed my reviews, lectures, panels over the years, please consider supporting Okazu on Patreon! The money goes directly to helping me keep this site and Yuricon running.

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In 2017, I will be offering a special one-on-one Skype session for any Patron who reaches the $25 mark in contributions! It’s a great way to ask me all the questions you never get to ask me in a panel. I’ll even answer the questions I won’t usually answer, like “what do you think of /this/series?” ^_^ Patrons will also get a super-secret preview of research done for publication this coming summer!

Your support will get us closer to the goal of paying guest reviewers, help us keep the Yuricon Store the largest and most comprehensive place to find Yuri anime, manga, books, CDs and more on the Internet and in the world. As little as $1/month can make a huge difference. Consider it the cheapest Yuri magazine subscription ever. ^_^

Game News

This week’s big hullabaloo was the news that Tracer from the blockbuster game Overwatch is gay. I’m glad, but still feel there’s room for improvement. One of the frustrating things about limited representation is that when the one gay character does a thing, plenty of folks think “gay people do that thing.” Tracer is portrayed is in the manner I’ve dubbed “Man Lite(TM)” in which her behavior mimics a male character’s. It’s not that I don’t think some lesbians stare at women’s butts, just that we’re less likely to objectify other women than men are, generally speaking.  If a game had more than one lesbian character, you might be able to see that. With one, that behavior is solidified as something lesbians do. Nonetheless, yay Tracer.

Yuri Manga News

Via YNN Correspondent Hannah, a new indie Yuri publication is born! Meet Galette, which will include stories by Takemiya Jin, Hakamada Mera, Amano Shuninta and more!

Animate, one of Japan’s largest anime/manga/game and related media and goods store chains has a new Twitter account, the Animate Yuribu (Yuri club). They are tweeting the various Yuri specials at their stores, specifically the original drawings you can get if you buy highlighted issues through them and any signings and the like. This week they are featuring Citrus, since Volume 6 is available, among others. Comic Natalie has the list of all the different stores that are offering original art sheets and calendars with the purchase of Saburouta’s new volume.

Cheek out the Yuribu Twitter account for more Yuri manga, like Onedarishitemite (おねだりしてみて), by Tsukiko and lots of Merry Christmas wishes from Yuri mangaka today. ^_^

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!

Yuri Manga

At last, the second volume of Collectors by Nishi UKO is up for pre-order!  Yahoo!

Also headed our way is Renai Log (恋愛ログ) by Takemiya Jin and Momono Moto’s Akaneiro no Kiss ha Okujou de (茜色のキスは屋上で).

Ichijinsha has several collections on the way – Sekihar’, Akumu no Rakuen (悪夢の楽園) and Numachi’s Kakinzumi Girlfriend (課金済ガールフレンド).

Online,  Cycomi presents a new Yuri manga by Nou Natsumi, Futari Monologue. You can read chapters for free online, in Japanese.

ANN has the news that this year’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! listing for female readers included My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, by Nagata Kabi, which was licensed for release next year by Seven Seas, so you too can see if this manga is amazing!

From YNN Correspondent Ary,  comes the news that Complex Age has been licensed by Kodansha. Ary says it is “a nice, unexpectedly accurate look at nerd girls on the cosplay and lolita scene as they approach those dreaded mid-late twenties and thirties.” 

Not Yuri, but super fun, from YNN Correspondent Brendan B, the French edition of  Otouto no Otto (which has been licensed by Gay Manga as My Brother’s Husband), Le Mari de mon frère has been nominated for an award at Angouleme, the French comics awards event.

According to Komatsu-san over at Crunchyroll News, manga artist Matsumoto Hidekichi drew a serial announcement of the ending of the Sabagebu! manga  on Twitter.

Yuri Anime

I’m told there’s some service-y Yuri in the manga A Centaur’s Life, and now an anime for the series has been announced.

Viz is hosting a Sailor Moon R Movie Event on January 13th in Los Angeles, according to ANN. If anyone can make that, do let us know how it is!

Live Action News

ANN also has the news that the Live-action Saki movie has released a 60-second trailer for your viewing pleasure. 

Yuri Games

Today we’ll wrap up with news that was both surprising and pleasing. A while back I reported on a Japanese Yuri game that was being worked on called Hanaemi ni Kuchizuke (花笑みにくちづけを), set at an all girls’ school. The company releasing it made a big deal of recruiting character designs, then we didn’t hear anything again for some time. In fact, just a few months ago I took the link off my “to check” links, as it hadn’t been updated since 2015. Well, Yurinavi reports that the game has launched at last, as a cell phone game in Japan. Yurinavi has some screenshots for us, I’m reading it right now on my cel, so it looks like you’ll be able to play it (in Japanese) on western phones. Click here to play. I’m playing this as I write. It’s unintentionally hilarious (to me.)

And from YNN correspondent Elizabeth F, we have the game Fight or Flirt, a dating sim originally developed for the Yuri Game Jam, which is clearly Utena inspired. Check it out and let us know what you think of it!

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!