Archive for the Top Ten Lists Category


Okazu Top Yuri Anime of 2020

December 27th, 2020

Traditionally, this is the hardest list of the year for me to write. I do try to make time to at least sample whatever fandom thinks of as Yuri anime that has come out in a year, even if I don’t particularly think of it as Yuri. Some years are harder than others if there just hasn’t been much that came out. This was not one of those years. ^_^

This year it was a hard list because of the typical shifting and juggling of spots up at the top. I won’t take that for granted, because it’s a lovely problem to have. It still makes it a hard list to write! ^_^

I’ve included links to legal streaming sites and complete sets on disk, whichever are available at time of writing. Which brings me to an interesting point. With Retrocrush, Tubi.Yv, Funimation and Crunchyroll all  – at the moment – offering free streaming, Sentai’s HIDIVE stands out a bit, as the only non-free option streaming service. I wonder how that might change in 2021.

As usual, this is all *my opinion* and it reflects my priorities and interests. I invite you all to add your top anime of the year in the comments!

 

 
Assault Lily Bouquet

This isn’t Yuri, per se, so much as a derivative dolls-killing-giant monsters series, wrapped in a Yuri uniform. Which was interesting as an exercise: What if you stripped any human romance, love, from the modern moe-fied remnants of Class S relationships and used it as a series of markers without meaning? It becomes lion’s skin of Yuri draped over the shoulders of a moe Hercules. (How is that for an image? ^_^)

It wasn’t to my taste, in almost the exactly way Semelparous was not, though for opposite reasons. I wouldn’t mind a giant monster-killing story with a great Yuri plot, but neither this, nor Semelparous is it. Nonetheless, its gets a spot here for killing a wild Yuri and wearing it’s skin. ^_^

Streaming on Funimation

 

 

Tamayomi

You all know my endless plaintive cries for a good sports Yuri story. This was not what I’m looking for, but it was a pleasant little sports story with a light frisson of Yuri.

As a technically-minded sports anime I thought it pretty interesting. As a story about teamwork and friendship, it was a solid enough entry. Having any girl’s sport series that takes the sports aspect seriously is always a pleasure. And for that, we’ll give a spot in the line up to Tamayomi, (admittedly,  pretty far down the roster.^_^)

Streaming on Funimation

 

 

 

Battle Athletes

Again, this isn’t the sports Yuri I want, even though it is spectacularly Yuri and – theoretically – about sports. ^_^ As an idea, Battle Athletes is great! As a reality, it’s goofy and zOMG full of service. Long before it was the “Naruto run” Akari did that crane style run. As a relic of a period where anime liked its heroines to be clumsy, useless, until they are suddenly ridiculously overpowered, and full of the stupidest possible nonsense, its really hard to take seriously. As a lesbian love triangle it’s a little more worthy. Personally I’ll always be craning my head around Akari, Ichino and Kris (and her cow,) ignoring the service and the stereotypes which were always totally UGH, even back when this was made, to watch Mylandah and Lahrri’s steamy relationship melting the edge of the film. ^_^

Thanks to Diskotek for reminding me what was good and bad about this classic Yuri anime.

Available on Blu-ray from Diskotek

 

 

Kira Kira PreCure a la Mode

Like a few other series on this list, Kira Kira PreCure Ala Mode isn’t from 2020, but this year we got this as a release on Crunchyroll.

Pretty much every year I watch an episode or two of the new PreCureseries, then forget to keep watching. I’ve made it through about a half dozen of the seasons. This is one of a few I genuinely enjoyed all the way through, along with Heartcatch, Suite and, surprisingly Healin’ Good.

Kira Kira PreCure ala Mode had all the things that hook me into a season of PreCure – characters with agency, and personality, a lovely Yuri couple with a good chunk of Yuri voice acting cred, good bad guys who evolve, loads of references to other cultural relics. But, honestly, even if Akira and Yukari weren’t obviously a couple, the fact that Akira’s transformation into Cure Chocolat included the Takarazuka stairs at least deserves an Honorable Mention. ^_^

Streaming on Crunchyroll

 

 

Vlad Love

I really, truly, did not believe we’d be talking about this here on Okazu. In fact, I actively tried to avoid it. ^_^ But, here we are. Vlad Love has Oshii’s high-def backgrounds and a kind of a 90s vibe animation in the foreground.

In the end, Oshii’s girl-meets-girl vampire story made it on to this list. How? By being pretty fun, actually, with some overt acknowledgement that they are, kind of, and might be for real, later, a couple. In the meantime, this is a silly premise and we’ll have to wait to see where it leads us.

Episode 1 streaming on Youtube

 

 

My Next Life As a Villainess

I stand firm that this series is the sweetest, most lovable queer baiting I have ever seen. Yes, Mary is really into Katarina. That is not fake. And I think, honestly, the same could be said for Maria. As we know it is also, for every other character, because that’s the point. Furthermore, in the novels, Katarina’s feeling for Maria are interestingly complex. But the story is not about Katarina and her “waifu” Maria or her wannabee gf, Mary. So while I’m firm on “this is Yuri” I am also pretty darn firm on “this is Yuri-bait.”

The fact that the series is mega-delightfully loopy is just a big cherry on this cupcake of silly, yet adorable Yuri frippery. I loved watching, I’m still enjoying reading it and while I know Mary will never get a kiss, while Jeord does, it’s still a wonderfully wholesome Yuri series. ^_^

Streaming on Crunchyroll

 

 

If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die

I’ve never pulled punches about this manga series – it makes me crazy, not in a good way. I frequently end a volume with an hour-long internal rant about the legal form of human trafficking that is the Japanese idol industry. I didn’t know if the anime would make it better or worse, honestly. But the anime fixed a few of the worst relics of the manga, cut out the absolute worst parts, switched some of the stuff around and did a pretty amazing job of turning what is a frustrating read into a hopeful watch.

The animation was very well done, and Ai Farouz was absolutely outstanding as Eri-pyo. This anime, regardless of my personal feelings about the story, deserves to be on this list.

Streaming on Funimation

 

 

Adachi and Shimamura

I honestly had no expectation of this series being good, either. The light novels when I read them back in the day, moved at a glacial pace, were filled with irrelevancies, and focused their energy on the wrong things.

Many things have changed and the writing has improved over time, I am told. Certainly both the animation and the voice acting added positive dimensions to this story. Despite the truckload of crotch and chest-staring which makes it really hard for me to just relax and enjoy this series, the fact that fandom loves it and the positives were enough to give the series a place on this year’s list.

Streaming on Funimation

 

 

 

Devilman Lady

I know have talked this series up a lot. In the early 2000s, it just slid under the radar, which was a damn shame as it was queerer than just about any other series at the time or for many years afterwards. Rewatching it now, I’m reminded how visually fascinating, musically oppressive and emotionally gut-wrenching it is.

This is not an easy watch. The horror here isn’t just violence and blood…it’s the endless existential horrors humans inflict on each other. The Yuri isn’t subtext. It is pervasive and a major plot point.

This is Go Nagai at his best, when you can’t just look away. The technology is a bit dated, but overall, this remains a strong – and relevant – story about humanity at its worst, and its best.

Streaming on Retrocrush

Available on Blu-Ray from Diskotek

 

 

Happy Go Lucky Days

Due to timing and circumstances, this anime movie flew under most people’s radar, but in my opinion it was absolutely the very best portrayal of lesbians we had in anime this year. Based on the manga Dounika Naru Hibi (どうにかなる日々)by Shimura Takako, this movie is a mix of vignettes about various characters that feel very much rooted in reality.  In the first scenario, Ecchan and Aya meet and find they share several things in common…including an ex-girlfriend.  We get to watch them as their relationship develops and becomes something more serious.

Brought to us by the team at Pony Canyon that created the Kase-san and Morning Glories OVA, the animation was smart and realistic, with enough of Shimura’s stylistic flourishes that you’d never doubt it was her work being animated. While the movie didn’t get the theatrical release planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was able to be shared to film festivals, and is available on HIDIVE. The trailer is free, and you can get a free week trial to watch the whole movie, but it does not stream legally for free.

It is my opinion, though, that this is worth getting that free trial, because Happy Go Lucky Days was the best Yuri anime of 2020.^_^

Streaming on HIDIVE





100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project, by Erica Friedman

January 5th, 2020

Welcome to the final post of the 100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project! With this post, the first centennial anniversary of the Yuri genre is complete. We can walk forward into a new century, assured in the knowledge that we have absolutely no idea at all what will happen. ^_^

One of the most often-asked questions I get is “where do I start?” when it comes to reading and watching Yuri. My criteria for this list was simple: Answer that question using primarily English-language releases (as the readership for Okazu is primarily, although not exclusively, English readers.) This list is an attempt to trace the evolution of the Yuri genre over 100 years. These choices will help you understand where the tropes of our genre came from and how they developed. The series mentioned here had massive influence on our perception of Yuri. There are still a few critical pieces that are not yet available in English – I hope that one day I’ll be able to say they are. In the meantime, I’ve added them in in Japanese, for those of you who are dedicated to learning more about the origins of the genre.

I’m presenting these choices in chronological order, from earliest to most recent. Here are my recommendations to understand 100 years of of the Yuri genre.

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only titles are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

 

Yaneura no Nishojo (屋根裏の二処女) by Yoshiya Nobuko
Yoshiya Nobuko’s story about two girls living in the attic room of a foreign-run mission school is the origin for so many of the tropes we have come to expect from Yuri – from the tower room itself, to an intimate piano duet.

Akiko, who take three pages to open a door when we meet her, does not hesitate to take Akitsu’s hand and go to the outside world, together, a choice echoed by two women who lived in a tower almost a century later in Revolutionary Girl Utena.

We would not speak of or think of Yuri in the way we do now, if it weren’t for this foundational work, Yaneura no Nishojo.

 

 

Yellow Rose by Yoshiya Nobuko
In the first part of the 20th century, as the “S” aesthetic was sweeping Japan and creating a culture for girls, Yoshiya Nobuko’s serialized short stories of the lives of young women were wildly popular. Hana Monogatari represented girls’ lives as they moved out of school into adult life. The protagonists of these stories often embraced new technologies so instead of marrying, they lived independent lives as working women.

Yellow Rose is the only one of these stories available in English. Translated by Dr. Sarah Frederick, published digitally by Expanded Editions, this short, but intense, story captures the feel of classic Japanese literature and the sense of the dawning of a completely modern age. Trains and typewriters loom as large as Sappho and her poetry in this fascinating, darkly emotional tale about unexpected feelings of attraction and loss. This is an excellent place to start with in your English-language journey through Yuri.

 

 

Princess Knight by Osamu Tezuka
The Yuri trope of the Girl Prince has roots going back to the Heian period, but as far as manga is concerned, this is where it began. Tezuka, known as the “god of manga.” captured the glamour of the all-woman musical revue named for the town he lived in, Takarazuka, added a bit of Disney flair, spiced it up with a little gender-bending to create Ribon no Kishi, Princess Knight (Volume 1 |  Volume 2) available from Vertical Publishing. This book is technically out of print. Consult your local library to get it by Interlibrary Loan.

Sapphire is born to be the Prince of her country except that, as a girl, she can’t rule. But because she has the heart of a man and a woman, and to stave off the evil Duke, Sapphire grows up acting as the Prince. Her boy heart give her athletic and ruling abilities, but her girl heart makes her yearn for love and beautiful gowns.  This story relies on mid-century gender stereotypes, but it is the origin of a theme we will see over and over again in Yuri; the blending of male and female in a noble Girl Prince.

 

 

Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) by Yamagishi Ryoko
There’s always controversy around the “first” anything, but if there is a single manga that has claim to being the first truly “Yuri” manga, Yamagishi Ryoko’s Shiroi Heya no Futari is the leading candidate. It codified Yuri tropes visually, in the same way Yoshiya’s novel Yaneura no Nishojo did thematically.

Emotionally high-strung traditional Japanese beauty Simone and cheerful and European doll-like Resine meet in a foreign mission school. Both of them outsiders to the school, they share an attic room where they fall in love. But there can be no happy ending for them, so Simone runs off to die a tragic death (one that immediately recalls American lesbian pulp novels of the time) to “free” Resine to marry.

Almost 50 years later, we still see the ripples of Simone and Resine in other popular Yuri series about a romance between an emotionally unbalanced dark-haired beauty and a cheerful girl, most recently saburouta’s Citrus. Shiroi Heya no Futari is long out of print and not available in English, but I hope one day to be able say that this classic Yuri manga is heading our way, if only to share the “original” Yuri manga with you.

 

 

The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda
Sometimes it is easy to look back and see why a thing sparked the zeitgeist. Timeless tales told with high drama, history as seen through a modern lens; the human drama of human drama is always popular.

The French Revolution is so enormous that it may be best told as one person’s story. Whether we follow Jean Valjean or Oscar François de Jarjayes, seeing the events from one perspective gives us a place to start as the grand and ghastly true tale unfolds. With such epic historical content, Riyoko Ikeda still manages to make The Rose of Versailles relatable.  Oscar stands atop the pinnacle of the Girl Prince trope and we, the readers, understand perfectly why the men and women who knew her, loved her. Tezuka may have created the Girl Prince, but Ikeda perfected her.

Now that there is a definitive English edition of The Rose of Versailles manga from UDON Entertainment, we can one day hope for a definitive edition of another of Ikeda’s masterworks, Dear Brother (Oniisama e).

 

 

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
In any modern series we’d be happy to see a lesbian couple form an alternative family with three mothers and a daughter. In any current series, we’d be delighted to see a team of women willing to die to save one another. More than 25 years ago we got all that, and more. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon as a series includes multiple instances of sexual and gender minority characters. In a series ostensibly for children. Not all of them are dead at the end of the series. For a 25-year old series, that seems a miracle.

Miracle or not, it is one more reason to continue to love a magical girl series that has inspired-and still inspires – a quarter of century of creativity, of social expression and a ridiculous number of Yuri artists and writers. With both anime from Viz Media and manga from Kodansha Comics available in English, it’s time to fall in love with the Senshi – and watch Haruka and Michiru, the queens of Yuri, fall in love with each other – all over again.

 

 

Revolutionary Girl Utena by BePapas
On the cusp of a new millennium, a group of extraordinarily talented anime and manga creators teamed up. They took Yuri tropes, magical girl tropes, festooned them with dueling and overtly meaningless symbols that were left to grow in a fertile petrie dish of adolescent awakening until they developed meaning. They covered it with the musical equivalent of a magical cookbook full of spells and paid homage to dozens of Yuri predecessors in the anime, movie and manga series that followed. Revolutionary Girl Utena was indeed revolutionary to the fans who watched wide-eyed as Utena unsheathed Dios’ sword from Anthy’s chest and were lead into the birth of a whole new genre.

Revolutionary Girl Utena gave us Utena and Anthy, but it also gave us Juri, the lesbian whose heart is locked up in her love for a manipulative (and, depending upon who you ask, unworthy) Shiori. It gave us a whole new set of Yuri archetypes, explored all the old archetypes with fresh eyes and ushered in a massive wave of fans, ready for a new genre. In many ways, Yuri could not have been born without the magical unrealism of Utena. Both anime, movie from RightStuf and manga and movie manga from Viz Media have received definitive releases in English, so it’s worth taking a look at all four of the stories to see all of the alternative versions of this important series.

 

 

Maria Watches Over Us by Oyuki Konno
At the same time Utena was redefining and reimagining magical girl Yuri, another series was doing the same with the early 20th century “S” aesthetic. Maria-sama ga Miteru was developed by Konno Oyuki as a 39-novel series (plus 9 other related novels) over 15 years. It was adapted into 4 seasons of anime, an 8-voume manga series, and at least 26 different Drama CDs.

Fukuzawa Yumi is honest and goodhearted, but not, apparently, special. We watch this “average” girl become involved with – but not overwhelmed by – the elites of the school, the Student Council and most especially, with the object of her own admiration, Ogasawara Sachiko. The focus of the series is on the big sister/little sister relationship trope that was so deeply embedded in Yuri and so well-known to Japanese fans, but mostly unknown to western audiences, as none of the early sources had been (and many remain) untranslated. When Maria Watches Over Us, available in English from Sentai, debuted as an anime, an entire generation of global Yuri fans learned about the specific and sisterly bonds between girls that had been encouraged since Akiko and Akitsu shared that tower room in the early part of the 20th century.

 

 

ALC Publishing
In  2003, ALC Publishing published the very first “Yuri manga” in English, Rica ‘tte Kanji!?, which went for 3 printings. Further chapters were serialized in in ALC’s Yuri Monogatari anthology until it was collected and reprinted digitally in 2012 as Tokyo Love – Rica ‘tte Kanji! Digital Collection. Rica was followed by Tadeno Eriko’s doujinshi collection WORKS, which is still in print and the Yuri Monogatari series, of which Volume 4 and Volume 6 are still in print.

The Yuri Monogatari anthology series (named in homage to Yoshiya Nobuko’s Hana Monogatari,) brought together Yuri artists from around the world in the very first English-language Yuri anthology. The goal was to present English-language readers with a wide variety of story and art and encourage them to look beyond girl-meets-girl.

ALC Publishing laid the English language foundation for the western Yuri market, with a strong emphasis on stories of adult lesbian life, rather than the still more common first-love school scenarios.

 

 

Cutey Honey & Devilman Lady by Go Nagai
If Osamu Tezuka is the “God of Manga” then Go Nagai is manga’s brilliant, but creepy uncle. Every genre that Tezuka established, Nagai did too, weirder and, arguably, better. Nagai is known in the west primarily for his Devilman and Mazinger franchises. In Cute Honey, Nagai created a magical female warrior who did not need men to help her (and often had to save them from harm) and a lesbian love story that has evolved and survived over decades. The Cutey Honey Classic Collection manga from Seven Seas and Cutey Honey Universe anime from Sentai Filmworks are exceptional versions of this timeless, yet pervy, story.

But where Nagai really excels is in the horror genre. He was born to create and explore the dark underbelly of demonic existence. The 2018 Netflix release of Devilman Crybaby was deeply queer and absolutely worth watching as a horror series. As far as Yuri goes, the series we should all know is Devilman Lady, released in the 2000s by ADV (now, by Section 23) as Devil Lady. Hopefully we’ll see a 20th anniversary release of one of the objectively best Yuri anime ever made just as lesbian horror is undergoing a long-awaited renaissance.

 

 

Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫)
The story of Comic Yuri Hime is the story of Yuri at the turn of the 21st century. This magazine burst forth in 2003 as Yuri Shimai and the last 2 decades have seen repeated renewals and rebirths as the market shifts and changes.

Beginning life as a quarterly magazine, Comic Yuri Hime is now monthly and has been home to the growth of many of the top name sellers in Yuri manga, from Morinaga Milk to Kodama Naoko. Along with the careers of their creators, these pages have seen so many of the newest iterations of old Yuri standards and, with folks like Ohi Pikachi and Takemiya Jin, its even broken some new ground.

While there is no English-language version, you can subscribe to it digitally in Japanese on Bookwalker Global.

 

 

Galette (ガレット)
I think of Comic Yuri Hime as a pathway that has been paved and widened over time and is now a highway for Yuri artists to take from their own work to published status. Using that metaphor, Galette magazine is an upgrade to the old road that parallels the new expressway. It’s still a smaller road, but there are a lot of things to look at, and accommodations are often more interesting/quirky than they are on the highway. 

This crowd-funded, creator owned quarterly Yuri manga magazine is giving complete freedom to Yuri creators. We have no idea what we’ll see along the way, but it will surely be interesting!

Galette is also available for Japanese-language subscription through Bookwalker Global.

 

 

Kase-san Series by Hiromi Takashima
Hiromi Takashima’s Kase-san series is a story of survival and tenacity. It was born in a brief period of prosperity during a Yuri boom in 2011. When the magazine it ran in went belly up, it would have been reasonable to assume we’d never see more of it after the third volume was published. But the creator didn’t agree and took her work online and continued the story. Without a magazine for an anchor, its amazing that this series was given a fourth volume, then a fifth. And then an actual miracle occurred. Because while the Kase-san series was continuing, peripatetic although it was, the Yuri market had blossomed since 2014. In 2017, the world was ready for Kase-san and Yamada to leave school and not live happily ever after, but continue on dealing with things like jealousy and separation and two lives moving in different directions as adults.

The manga series is available from Seven Seas and the beautifully animated OVA is available from Sentai Filmworks. The Kase-san series both embodies common Yuri tropes and exceeds them, which makes it an important stepping stone to understanding Yuri.

 

 

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness by Kabi Nagata
One day, there will be articles and research about the impact this book, its sequels and its creator had on manga. Japanese manga has already seen an uptick in manga about mental and physical health. I don’t think I can overstate how important this book will be as we move forward in the 2020s.

Autobiographical comics are not uncommon in the west or Japan. When we look back at some of the greatest western comic artists, their stories about their own lives have resonated deeply with millions of readers. For a Japanese manga to join the ranks of Harvey Pekar, Alison Bechdel and Raina Telgemeier among our comics awards, is notable. In the sense that this is not “Yuri” at all, but is by and about life of a queer person, it threw doors wide open.

Kabi Nagata has already been recognized for her work with a Harvey Award. The creator being open about being gay, without any sense that story this is – or ever can be – a romance story, has already had a massive impact and I expect we will see ripples for years to come.

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness and My Solo Exchange Diary Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available in English from Seven Seas.

 

 

Yuri Life by Kurukuruhime
The last few years has seen the creation of a brand new subgenre of Yuri. Known in Japanese as Shakaijin Yuri (社会人百合), these stories follow adult women in society. Often written as office romances, they allow for exploration of life as an adult woman in the working world, a place that is often a hostile environment for women.

Kurukuruhime’s Yuri Life avoids the problems and instead focuses on pairs of adult women making their lives together.

Adult life Yuri is not new – ALC Publishing’s WORKS addresses many of the same issues we see addressed in stories like Still Sick from Viz Media but Yuri Life and Whenever Our Eyes Meet, both from Yen Press are the first two adult life Yuri to make it into English and are notable for being the opening adult women needed to be part of the Yuri landscape.

 

 

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! by Ameco Kaeruda
The end of our first Yuri century just about exploded with whole new sections of the Yuri genre. Visual novels, office life Yuri, and Light Novels all carpet bombed Yuri fandom. I waffled heavily trying to pick just one truly representative Light Novel. Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka from Seven Seas was certainly representative of the older schoolgirl romance tropes and it was still a very good light novel, but the example I chose for this list was the one that broke new ground.

We might have expected it from a office romance, (and, admittedly, we see examples of the frustration with systemic misogyny in almost every example of that subgenre) but for pure, unadulterated exhaustion with misogyny, with a sense of being so far over it, that it’s unbelievable it still exists at all and with the kind of empowerment women can give one another when they work together in a Yuri story, I had to go with Ameco Kaeruda’s RPG Fantasy Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! Volume1 and Volume 2 are available digitally and Volume 1 will be released in print in 2020 from J-Novel Club.

 

 

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
Following on the heels of openly queer creators whose work is breaking sales records and breaking new ground at the same time, Kamatani Yuhki-sensei took the next step forward with a manga about sexual and gender minorities and the community they create for themselves. Like Rica ‘tte Kanji?!, Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare from Seven Seas uses the life of one young person, still questioning themselves to learn about the ups and downs of other people’s lives – all with eye to creating empathy and acceptance.

At the end of a century of Yuri, we are finally seeing what I always hoped we’d see – lesbian stories, stories of lives led, and loves found and lost. Yuri is still undergoing a massive change as more stories of adult life move into the Yuri genre. Eventually, as Yuri creators age, I have no doubt we’ll see senior years romance and life. ^_^

And here you have – it a primer for 100 Years of Yuri. With these titles, you will encounter all of the traditional Yuri tropes, where they came from and be able to see where they creators are taking them.

 

2020 is going to bring us absolute riches of both classic and new Yuri. With all these riches, I want to point out – again – that I’m still not seeing a few things that I want to see. So as we move into 2CYE (Common Yuri Era), here is my wish list for Yuri:

  • Sports Yuri manga series
  • “Ladies” Motorcycle gang Yuri series
  • High-powered Court Yuri Lawyer drama
  • Mystery-solving Lesbian Detective series
  • Space Marine Yuri Science Fiction
  • Senior Yuri Romance

…and, borrowed whole from petrarchian on Twitter:

  • A mezzo and a soprano who fall in love during a run of Der Rosenkavalier Opera Yuri ^_^

There’s my wish list – have at it, Yuri creators!

Thank you all for reading our lists, contributing your thoughts and here’s to a brilliant decade for Yuri!





100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project, Guest Post by Nicki Bauman

January 4th, 2020

Today, for Part 3 of the Finale 100 Years of Yuri event, I would like you all to welcome Nicki Bauman, whom you may know as The Yuri Mother. Nicki is a terrific resource for current news about Yuri and LGBTQ+ women in anime, manga, games, and media. and I hope you will all give her a warm welcome!

Once again, there were no formal criteria. Nicki said of her choices, “I didn’t work with any criteria beyond that I had to have loved the titles. I did try and ignore their importance and impact on the genre and focus solely on those works that I loved the most. But beyond that, I did not employ any specific criteria.

“Experiencing and sharing the joys and challenges of the Yuri genre is one of the greatest pleasures of my life. I have access to one hundred years of incredible works within a genre that is rapidly evolving and changing in varied landscapes and across multiple demographics. As I look back on the fantastic titles of the past century and forward to the future of Yuri, I am overwhelmed by how many amazing creations I have read, watched, played, and loved. Some works I admire because of their impact on the culture, or their historical significance, however for this list, I have chosen only my favorites. The titles, old and new, that continue to resonate with me long after I have put them aside. The following series impacted my life in profound and numerous ways. This is my personal best of 100 years of Yuri list!”

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

 

 

Amongst Us
Despite being only a few years old and updating just once a month, if that, Amongst Us has captivated me with its funny and beautiful story of two strong musical women in love. This “Alternative Universe” slice of life webcomic was born out of the author’s passion for her characters in Carciphona and sees Veloce and Blackbird together without a care for the original story’s canon or the confining tropes of the genre. If nothing else, this one is worth a read because of its astounding artwork that never ceases to amaze.

 

 

 

Bloom Into You
In many ways, Bloom Into You receives accolades and praise it does not deserve. No, it does not break all the conventions and tropes of Yuri. However, I will not scoff at over a million copies sold, a stellar television anime, a stage show, an anthology series, or a light novel side-story. There is a reason Bloom Into You is so successful and beloved; it is good. Yuu and Touko’s relationship only scratches the surface when it comes to this series, which sees some fantastic side characters explore their identities with proper lesbian role models (Sayaka, I am talking about Sayaka).

 

 

 

Butterfly Soup
This small indie visual novel, Butterfly Soup, about girls playing baseball and “memeing” is also one of the most profound and emotional reflections on racial and sexual identities, abuse, and homophobia. It highlights how we heal and thrive through our friends, community, and passions. Even with this much dense and heavy material, it is one of the funniest and lightest games I have ever played and left me feeling affirmed and loved. It can even be played for free, although I recommend donating to the creator as she is hard at work on a sequel.

 

 

The Conditions of Paradise
No “best of all time” Yuri list is complete without Morishima Akiko. There are few creators, if any, who have given more to the field of lesbian manga then her. My only question was which of her fantastic works I should list. In the end, despite how much I love Hanjuku Joshi (半熟女子) and Yuri Bear Storm, I had to single out The Conditions of Paradise. This spectacular collection of stories about adult women in meaningful and mature relationships is a must-have for any queer comic lover, and I am so thrilled to see that after over a decade, it is finally licensed in English.

 

 

 

Fluttering Feelings
Fluttering Feelings (설레는 기분) was a beautiful and gentle Korean manhwa about two people falling in love with each other and the awesome effect that has on each of their lives. It was gorgeous and thoughtful, showcasing a slow build and evolution of the relationship between Seol-A and No-Rae. As each of them struggled with their own identity and emergent adulthood, they learn and grow. Sadly, there will never be a conclusion to this manhwa, and its inclusion on this list is my love letter to its late creator, Ssamba.

 

 

 

Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ)
Series like Citrus and White Lilies in Love Bride’s showcase beautiful lesbian weddings in Yuri manga, however, this was not always the case. Yuri before the late 2010s hardly ever featured lesbian marriage, and if it did, it was never the focal point of a story. Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ) is one of the few exceptions. This charming manga from the early 2000s celebrates the affectionate love and care two adult women have for each other, culminating in a magnificent wedding.

GIRL FRIENDS
The Yuri genre has seen more than its fair share of high school girl-meets-girl love stories. However, despite the tired trope, this manga series is so detailed and engaging with its dramatic high school romance that I cannot help but include GIRL FRIENDS. Mari and Akko’s friendship and budding courtship has so many ups and downs that when they finally got together, I practically cried out in joy. The series does not stop there, as the two young women explore their relationship emotionally, socially, and physically, including looking towards a future together.

 

 

The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating! / Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei wa Tsukiatte iru ( 羽山先生と寺野先生は付き合っている)
If someone challenged me to think of a wholesome Yuri story with low stakes and a high “awww” factor, I would have a tough time coming up with anything better than Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei. The series follows two coworkers, a physical education teacher, and a school nurse, as they awkwardly navigate a new relationship. Fortunately, they have the full (occasionally overbearing) support of their students, fellow teachers, and principal to help them.

This manga will be available in English in Autumn 2020.

 


 

Kase-san Series
Kase-san is easily the most excellent high school romance story to grace the genre. It forgoes most of the typical melodramatic tropes and instead follows more grounded realistic story arcs. Kase and Yamada deal with real issues in relationships such as jealousy, sex, and worrying about the future. However, what makes this series remarkable, is its continuation, bringing the characters out of high school and into the real world where they continue their efforts navigating their relationship. Additionally, the 2018 OVA, Kase-san and Morning Glories, is a lovely visual adaptation of some of the series highest points.

 

 

Kindred Spirits on the Roof
While I do not mind the inclusion of sex in principal, I often find its use in Yuri to be immature at best and grotesque at worst. Thankfully, more creators are starting to use sex sensually and thoughtfully while still allowing their works to be titillating. Chief among these titles is the adult visual novel Kindred Spirits on the Roof. It presents a fun, if slightly ridiculous, adventure following several different and distinct couples, all of whom have human explorations of sexuality and sex that, while explicit, are not pornographic, but grounded and relatable.

 

 

 

 

Lovestruck
The mobile gaming market presents the perfect opportunity for exciting visual novel stories to be told and experienced by a whole new set of gamers. While some western apps have dominated the field with platforms such as Choices and Chapters, Voltage Inc’s Lovestruck has consistently delivered the highest quality stories using traditional visual novel style sprite work and gorgeous CGs. Lovestruck is not just a single game, but a collection of amazing otome titles in various worlds, many of which feature lesbian and non-binary romances. Whether you like fighting the evil Witch Queen’s army with your girlfriend, helping your wife maintain peace between humanity and monsters from Greek mythology, or saving your daughter from the Yakuza with your ex-gangster partner, there is a story for you here!

 

 

 

Maria Watches over Us
This Class S series is one of the most important and impactful Yuri works of the past few decades. The massive success of the light novels, and the four superb anime seasons it inspired, helped revive many tropes of Yuri that influenced many series in the twenty-first century, including Strawberry Panic and Bloom Into You. However, even if it was not such an important work, Marimite remains one of the most complete and praiseworthy Yuri series, with a strong cast of main and supporting characters, all of whom have intricate and complex stories and relationships.

 

 

 

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness
The rise of art websites gave new pathways for creators and readers to connect, allowing for new and different stories to succeed. However, the most significant creations from these platforms are not more school romances or sapphic melodramas, but those that detail real honest human experience. No author has exposed herself more beautifully or tragically than Kabi Nagata in her spectacular personal essays My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Solo Exchange Diary, and Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi (現実逃避してたらボロボロになった話). The manga redefines what Yuri can be and uses the medium to explore issues of mental health and identity in an exceptionally moving memoir that captured my attention and heart.

 

 

 

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
Including this manga series feels a little bit like cheating, as it is far more LGBTQ+ than Yuri. Thankfully, Haruko and Saki’s magnificent story allows me to feature this incredible series on this list. Our Dreams at Dusk details a realistic portrayal of LGBTQ+ people and the importance community can have on a young person discovering what it means to be gay or trans. Each situation and story presented by the queer members of the drop-in center is splendidly told, with astounding visuals and writing that effectively communicate many queer experiences, struggles, and the ways we overcome them together.

 

 

 

Revolutionary Girl Utena
Just like with Maria Watches Over Us, this title is highly influential but, more importantly, it is incredible. I cannot think of a more astonishing or powerful Yuri work than the movie, although the original television anime and Saito Chiho’s manga are both fantastic in their own right. Utena reminds us all how unique and special this genre can be, and how cool it is to be gay and wield a sword. It was indeed a revolution for the genre, for many of its viewers, and certainly for me.

 

 

 

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress
Ameko Kaeruda’s humorous feminist light novel series Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress is a delight. The light novel reflects many of our society’s unfortunate inequalities and failures and dares place these aspects against a team of overpowered women with magic and Big Lesbian Energy. Sexiled is so cathartic, profane, and outrageously fun, and I demand everyone read it now!

 

 

 

 

Strawberry Marshmallow
I love a good laugh, and there are plenty of great Yuri offerings that can get a chuckle out of me, like Kyoko’s jokes in Yuri Yuri or Tohru’s latest misconception about human society in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. However, nothing in my life has ever come close to the well-timed barrage of humor and adorableness that is Strawberry Marshmallow. This slice of life Yuri-ish series never fails to send me howling on the floor as I laugh at Miu’s antics, sympathize with poor Chika’s mediocrity, and treasure Matsuri’s bumbling cuteness. No matter where I am or what is going on in my life, I can return to Strawberry Marshmallow and be comforted and entertained by it.

 

 

 

SQ Begin With Your Name
Also known as Their Story and Tamen di Gushi, Tan Jiu’s wildly successful Yuri manhua has dominated the Yuri conversation in online communities like Tumblr, Comic Walker and Weibo, where it originated. While it suffers significantly from an inconsistent schedule and meandering plot, it has some excellent moments that remind me why so many people love it. Scenes like Sun Jing standing up against rape culture in the amusement park or when Qiu Tong finally kisses her are as close to perfection as any comic can get. The writing and characters are all brilliant and hilarious, moving between dorky comedy to more intense love and emotion effortlessly.

 

 

 

Strawberry Panic!
Strawberry Panic! takes the familiar tropes of Yuri and cranks them up to 11, pushing itself to the point where it is practically a parody of Yuri melodramas. And yet, I cannot think of a work that I love more. From the anime’s surprising alteration of “S” elements to the pulse-pounding light novel series, I adore everything about Strawberry Panic!, except maybe the manga adaptation. Part of my infatuation is absolutely nostalgia, as it was my first Yuri series ever and set me on a journey to become a Holy Mother of Yuri (a totally meaningless title). It affected me in powerful ways that helped me realize who I was and how I wanted to live my life.

 

 

Yuri Life
Kurukuruhime’s successful Yuri doujinshi series about Yuri cohabitation translated beautifully into a full colored printed book. It hosts a massive collection of amazing stories about (mostly) adult women living together with their partners and facing everyday struggles of work, jealousy, sex, and being two different people. The simple premise allows for the creator to exercise a tremendous amount of creativity and presents us with the perfect package about healthy people being in love.





100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project, Guest Post by Katherine Hanson

January 3rd, 2020

Welcome back to the 100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project! Today we have a very special guest post by Katherine Hanson of the Yuriboke blog. Katherine’s scholarship is top-notch and it was my real pleasure to have her join this project. As I noted yesterday, I set up exactly no rules for this project, so when asked what her criteria was, Katherine replied, “My priorities for this list were trying to balance personal/sentimental value with influence on the genre, trying to balance new and old, and trying to stick to ten.” Which seems like a pretty great place to start. Please give Katherine a warm Okazu welcome!

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

 

 

1. Yoshiya Nobuko. Big surprise, since she is the progenitor, our Queen of Tropes, who had the gonads to push beyond Class S (in addition to defining Class S) in the Taisho era. Everyone reading this will probably die of old age before her most cutting-edge work, Yaneura no Nishojo, is licensed in English, but I would love to be wrong. For now, I’ll continue to be thankful we got Yellow Rose with Sarah Frederick’s excellent translation and introduction.

 

 

 

2. Ikeda and Yashiro and Yamagishi — the mangaka who helmed the first Yuri wave in the seventies. The Year 24 Group also needs no introduction for breaking new ground, introducing the first canon Yuri to manga with titles like Yamagishi Ryouko’s Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) and Ikeda Riyoko’s Futaripocchi (ふたりっぽち), Rose of Versailles, and Dear Brother. Though she isn’t technically in the Year 24 group, I’d like to highlight Yashiro Masako’s Secret Love (シークレット・ラブ) series that ran in Deluxe Margaret magazine in 1970. (Barely before Shiroi Heya no Futari, which I thought was the first yuri manga for years, ran in Ribon magazine in 1971.) Yashiro’s trope of choice was “In love with my best friend” (still seen in… like every other series) while Yamagishi was all about the cool, angsty girl with long, dark hair who is drawn to a more seemingly normal, lighter-haired girl (seen more recently, relatively speaking, in Kannazuki no Miko, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Bloom Into You, etc), and Ikeda was all about the Girl Prince (for later examples, see Utena, Maria Watches Over Us, Kase-san, etc) and girls’ school politics (so many series). The other title I most want to highlight here is Dear Brother for its influence and for being adapted into what I consider the first Yuri anime — the Yuri was central to the story and it treated its characters’ feelings seriously, not like a joke or porn fodder. It had to end tragically, but it was an exceptionally well-crafted first step.

 

 

3. Moonlight Flowers. (月下美人) I haven’t found a Yuri manga that respectfully portrayed the lesbian community or was aimed at an adult female audience earlier than Tsukumo Mutsumi’s Moonlight Flowers. (It ran in Office You magazine from 1989 to 1991.) For all I know, this is my josei Shiroi Heya no Futari and an earlier, even more obscure title will turn out to exist, but for now, Moonlight Flowers wins the race. Status as First aside, in addition to being a feels-punching story about second chances, Moonlight Flowers represents a bridge between the mostly tragic/repressed schoolgirl stories of the seventies and the blossoming of blatantly happy endings for teen and adult characters alike in the nineties. One of its two leads, Kaoru, helplessly sees an old school Yuri tragedy play out and doesn’t expect to break out of the tragic queer story mold herself, but she and Sahoko totally do.

 

 

 

4. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is the earliest of what I call the Shoujo Big Three, along with Revolutionary Girl Utena and Maria Watches Over Us. I’d be shocked if any couple served as a Yuri gateway for more people than Haruka and Michiru (yup, they’re my gateway too) and it’s still an event if a contemporary children’s series has anything approaching Sailor Moon’s level of queerness, let alone its level of both queerness and impact.

 

 

 

 

 

5. Revolutionary Girl Utena TV + movie. Because for over a decade, I have consistently described watching Utena for the first time as like looking into the face of God. It’s a lightning in a bottle that can’t be remade and capture the same magic, much as I’ve enjoyed Ikuhara Kunihiko’s more recent work. (Also, Utena + Anthy for life.)

 

 

 

 

6. Maria Watches Over Us. Konno Oyuki’s MariMite definitely has the lowest amount of canon Yuri out of the Shoujo Big Three, but is paradoxically the most influential, firing up innumerable creators to do the same thing but more blatantly romantic — from high school Katherine’s beloved soap trash Strawberry Panic! to the recently-ended, less trashy but no less derivative A Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, and beyond.

 

 

 

 

7. Friedman and Subramanian and Takashima and Tadeno — the ALC Publishing folks who planted the seeds of Yuri in North America. I’ll own I’m biased by friendship, but I need to give snaps to Erica Friedman and Erin Subramanian for their years of work spent building a Yuri audience in North America before the genre took off here, prioritizing #ownvoices/female gaze stories while a number of people labored under the misconception that Yuri is for men. (And also being years ahead of other publishers bringing over some of Morishima Akiko’s early work in the Yuri Monogatari anthologies.) Thank you to them and to Rica Takashima for creating the upbeat, now era-spanning lesbian rom-com that didn’t exist yet in the 90’s and became the first series marketed as Yuri here, Rica’tte Kanji!?, and to Tadeno Eriko for being the rare artist drawing old women adorably in love (more old couple Yuri is on my wish list for the next 100 years), and all the other folks who helped carve out a space for the genre here.

 

 

8. The Conditions of Paradise. Because this lovely collection of one-shots mostly about working women (with a dash of high school and historical fantasy) is Morishima Akiko’s first collected volume of Yuri, and nicely represents her position as someone who has prolifically been at the forefront of artists blurring the line between “Yuri” and “bian” manga for decades.

 

 

 

 

 

9. Kase-san. Takashima Hiromi’s little series that could. I remember reading the first volume of Kase-san and thinking “Cute!” and not expecting more, then seeing the series (and its leads) grow and evolve through its run in the now-cancelled Hirari magazine, LINE Comics, and now Wings magazine, and ALSO getting a music video that turned into a movie/OVA because people clamored for more. I can’t think of a title that better demonstrates the power that the non-creator side of the Yuri fandom has to convince the industry to give us more nice things.

 

 

 

10. The blossoming of Yuri in unexpected places. Because it’s been rad to see so many people around the world who grew up with Sailor Moon and other Yuri-relevant series produce even more queer content. From global Yuri’s early days with folks like Niki Smith contributing to the Yuri Monogatari anthologies and series like June Kim’s 12 Days, to Steven Universe’s blatant Utena and Takarazuka references and newer artists like Mira Ong Chua and Ratana Satis finding ways to sell their stories directly to fans, global Yuri has hit its stride. And there are too many webcomic examples by Japanese and “international” artists to count — the origins of Kurosada’s Husky and Medley are no longer a big deal in the age of Nagata Kabi’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and Kukuruhime’s Yuri Life. I’m excited to add more Yuri webcomic goodness to my bookmarks and shelves.
 





100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project, Guest Post by Erin Subramanian

January 2nd, 2020

To begin this finale of the 100 Years of Yuri, welcome one of my longtime and most respected peers in Yuri fandom, Erin Subramanian! Erin has been a translator of  Yuri manga for years and has translated some of your favorite titles for ALC Publishing and JManga.

When I asked everyone to contribute to this project, I specified no rules or limitations. Everyone was free to interpret the idea on their own.  When she submitted this list, I asked Erin what criteria she went with  – she replied that her “only criteria was that the work be Japanese.” So without further ado, here is Erin’s Top Yuri List for the first 100 years of Yuri!

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

 

The Classics:

Where it all began, from the “Class S” novels of the early 20th century to the girls’ manga and anime of the mid- to late-20th century. My top titles are:

Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) by Ryouko Yamagishi: Despite the terrible ending, this was a ground-breaking manga that deserves to be enshrined in the yuri canon.

Sakura Namiki (さくら並木) by Makoto Takahashi: Though it lacks the overt Yuri of later titles, the subtext is strong and the art and setting are charming.

The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda: One of the best series I’ve ever read/watched.

Dear Brother by Riyoko Ikeda: It sweeps you up in the dark, brooding drama and makes you care about its characters even as you know things won’t end well for some of them. There are multiple Yuri storylines.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi: A cultural phenomenon. I was obsessed with Sailors Uranus and Neptune back when I was in high school, and they still hold a special place in my heart, along with the series itself.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: It’s a wild ride. I still don’t have it all figured out

 

 

Queer Women’s Magazines:

Anise (アニース) and Phryne (フリーネ) offered manga created by and for queer women.

Each issue is a precious artifact to me. The stories were short and tended toward one-shots rather than continuing stories, but they managed to cover a variety of genres and topics. Anise also included articles and photos.

 

 

 

Yuri Hime(/Shimai) Magazine:

THE top and longest-running Yuri magazine. It paved the way for the plethora of Yuri content we’re currently enjoying and has produced many gems itself. Some of my top titles:
Strawberry Shake Sweet (ストロベリーシェイク) by Shizuru Hayashiya
Cirque Arachne (サーク・アラクニ) by Nika Saida
Kawaii Anata (かわいいあなた) by Hiyori Otsu
Mermaid Line (マーメイドライン) by Renjuurou Kindaichi
Fu-Fu (ふ~ふ) by Hisanari Minamoto
Ibara no Namida (いばらの泪) by Rikachi

 

 

Mist  (美粋) Magazine:

This ladies’ manga magazine was an experience. Despite the cheese and formulaic plotlines, there was a lot to love about it.

 

Hirari (ひらり) and Tsubomi (つぼみ)  anthologies:

Two of the better anthologies of the early 2010s. While many of the stories tread similar territory, they had much to offer. Stand-outs include:
Fujio’s under one roof
Fuka Mizutani’s works
Hiromi Takashima’s Kase-san series
Tsuyoshi Isomoto’s Girl’s Ride (ガールズライド)
Akira Kiduki and Nanki Satou’s Ebisu-san and Hotei-san (エビスさんとホテイさん)
Megane Ohtomo’s works
Yae Shimano’s works
Kirin Tendou’s Koisuru SugarCotton (恋するシュガーコットン)

 

Queer Women’s Manga:

Not every definition of Yuri encompasses titles with lesbian/queer identity, but mine does. My top choices:
Rica ‘tte Kanji!? by Rica Takashima: A pioneering work that’s a must-read.
Onna-doushi de Kodomo o Umukoto ni Shimashita (女どうしで子どもを産むことにしました) by Koyuki Higashi, Hiroko Masuhara, and Emiko Sugiyama: There are quite a few lesbian parenting stories in the West, but I haven’t seen many manga on the subject. This one is biographical.
Plica-chan (プリカちゃん) by Sae Amamiya: At times funny, at others poignant, whimsical, and sad. Generally a 4-panel comic.
Honey & Honey (ハニー&ハニーデラックス) by Sachiko Takeuchi: Educational comic aimed at a general audience but true-to-life.

 

Top Creators:

UKOZ (Uko Nishi and Koz Hojo): Subtle stories of life and love. They’ve done a plethora of doujinshi and also have several published works out. Nishi Uko’s Collectors (コレクターズ) in particular is funny and sweet.
Milk Morinaga: Girl Friends captivated the Yuri world, and Morinaga rarely disappoints.
Akiko Morishima: Don’t be fooled by the cute art style; Morishima tackles a variety of mature topics. She was one of the first to do stories about adult life in Yuri Hime magazine. Her Shiawase Enikki (しあわせ絵日記) series, which ran in Anise, is also worth a read if you can find it.
Jin Takemiya: Takemiya’s stories resonate and delight. Omoi no Kakera (想いの欠片) is one of my favorites.
Ebine Yamaji: Yamaji’s art and sparse style brought a realistic feel to Yuri.
Miyabi Fujieda: Fujieda is a master of sweet slice-of-life stories. Ame-iro Kochakan Kandan (あめ色紅茶館歓談) was one that I particularly savored.
Takako Shimura: Shimura has blessed the Yuri world with a number of great works. The anime adaptations of Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering Son are also excellent.
Nagata Kabi: Kabi’s works are painful to read, but so necessary.
Nanae Haruno: Haruno’s quiet style sneaks up on you. Pieta (ピエタ) is a fan favorite for good reason.

 

 

Maria Watches Over Us by Oyuki Konno:

This lovely series, with its understated charm, makes you care about all the little dramas of its characters’ lives. The quintessential girls’ school story, with both Yuri subtext and canon.

 

Kase-san series by Hiromi Takashima:

A gem. Every volume is a joy to read, and the anime adaptation is wonderful as well.

 

 

 

Yuri Life by Kurukuruhime:

Not every pairing was to my taste, but I loved the snapshots into domestic life for a variety of Yuri couples.

 

 

Thank you Erin for your perspective! Tomorrow, we’ll be hearing from another Yuri collector with a wholly different outlook. Check back in for Part 2 of the Top 100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project!