Last week, I offered up a number of Yuri(ish) anime gift ideas for you, your best friend, your honey or someone in the family that just gives off those kind of vibes and you’re pretty sure that they are…an otaku.

This week, we take a look at some Yuri(ish) manga that will make great presents for the Yuri fan in your life and convenient links to assist you in purchasing them. ^_^

K-On! – Tops on this year’s list is a 4-koma that is light-hearted fun.If you really love that person, cough up the yen for the Houkago Tea Time II music collection, so they can bop along while reading.

Who this is for: Anyone who likes comic strips, gag comics, moe fans, young women in a band, people who need some motivation to do something with their lives and people who are feeling depressed.

Hayate x Blade Omnibus – I have been writing about this series obsessively since 2004. If you have not yet taken the plunge, holiday wishlists are made for exactly this kind of thing. If you already are a true believer, now’s a great time to convert a friend! There are two Omnibus volumes (V1 is on the left, here’s a link to the second omnibus, which is due out in 2011).  Each omnibus contains three volumes of manga, so it’s like $4/volume value.

Who this is for: Action-comedy fans (y’know, like Jackie Chan or Stephen Chow fans,) fans of physical comedy, fans of women who kick ass and fans of smart writing.

Strawberry Panic Omnibus – All that stuff above (since 2004, obsessively, get it already…) I wrote about Hayate  holds true for this omnibus too. This is silly in a totally different way and has some sort of romantic bits. It’s got all the bells and whistles one comes to expect from “schoolgirl” Yuri. This omnibus edition is the entire story as it was published in Japan, two volumes of manga and extra chapters that never got collected when the series was stopped.

Who this is for: Romantics, Guys who secretly want to know what it’s like in girls’ schools, but they only want to know the sexy, romantic bits. Perfect for the FanBoy in your life.

Jormungand – Hard-edged action and screwball dark humor. A perfect combination. If they made this manga into a live-action movie, Jean Reno would be in it. The stories don’t make sense, but anyone reading this series for the story has badly missed the point. It’s about people killing people with guns. And having a good time doing it.

Who this is for: Anyone you know who doesn’t ever turn off Spike TV and/or can sit and watch any of Steven Segal’s last three movies.

Silent Mobius – Old school sci-fi, for the win. Tough ladies with extraordinary powers, living in extraordinary times, doing extraordinary things…and blowing the bad guys away with a collective competence that’s sexy in its own right. This is old school manga in every way – art, story, setting – which means you get adult women, hardcore scifi and fantasy, adult relationships and an actual story.

Who this is for: Fans of old-school manga or scifi, people who are aggressively uninterested in moe. This series is a little longer than most – 12 volumes – so it’s good for someone who wants something meaty that won’t end after a volume or two.

Azumanga Daioh– This is pretty much the one that set the standard for 4-koma here in the west. It’s a school life comedy with a teeny little bit of drama allowed to seep into the cracks for stability. The idiot group has been the benchmark for many a slice-of-life story on these shores, but Osaka trumps them all with her non-sequitors of genius, Saki with her really cool coolness, Tomo with her out of control annoyingness, Chiyo with her adorable adorableness, etc. Look, it’s just the best one. Get it. There. The entire story complete in one volume.

Who this is for: People who read the Sunday comics but don’t “get” why you like manga, and anyone who likes to snort liquid out their nose.

Gunsmith Cats Burst  – Guns, cars and women are the trifecta that make up all of the Gunsmith Cats properties.  The stories are full of action and firearms, pretty women doing ugly things, good guys, bad guys and screaming car chases in and around Chicago. Drugs, bad woman, bad men, money laundering wrapped in the story of the life of a bad-ass bounty hunter, the youthful Rally Vincent. This 5-volume set won’t set you back a lot, but it packs a  solid punch.

Who this is for: Anyone who likes action, action, action. Gun fanatics, car fanatics, Evil Psycho Lesbian fanatics and people who like movies like The French Connection.

Yotsuba – This series is ongoing, but any volume can be read pretty much as a stand alone. These are the daily life/adventures of a four-year old, her laid back Dad, her neighbors, her Dad’s coworkers, random strangers, animals and bugs. Every day brings something new, because Yotsuba’s just that kind of girl. Yuri is realllllllllly thin – just a lot of us think Asagi and Torako are a couple. So no worries giving this to a kid.

Who this is for: Just about anyone. As long as they like slice-of-life with a “wacky” flavoring, there’s just about no one who couldn’t read and enjoy this.  Give it to your non-manga friends to test if they are broken or not. ^_^

Sunshine Sketch – Another slice-of-life, this time about girls who live at a dorm and attend a school for art. The Yuri’s a little thin here too – mostly by implication and a very little bit of one-sided crushiness.

The story tends to stick with school-year calendar moments, (you know, sports festival, school festival, end of semester, New Year, etc, etc…) and is formulaic, but fun. Don’t read this right on top of Azumanga Daioh or K-ON!, it’ll all start to feel the same. This is ongoing, but since there’s no real content, you can gift just about any volume and it’ll read just like any other. If they like it, there’s more gifts in their future!

Who this is for: Same audience as K-On! or Azumanga Daioh or people who want something light to read that won’t stress them out.

Bonus Japanese Titles:

Gunjo – What can I say about this series that I haven’t already? It’s dark, in a totally nothing-to-do-with-dystopia way. The love here is brutal, unhealthy, full of violence and rage. It’s Tough Love and it isn’t getting any easier. Moments of tenderness punctuate some of the most abusive manga I’ve ever enjoyed. This is emotion at its rawest.

Who this is for: I’m not sure – I guess anyone like me. Or folks who like or  can handle a dark story, a violent story, knowing that it’s written and drawn by someone who is actively driving the story to an end. This could make an interesting gift for a True Crime fan in your life (as long as they read Japanese.)

Comic Yuri Hime – You read the scanlations, you buy the collected volumes – why not consider getting a subscription to the magazine itself?

There’s a number of options to get a subscription – if you place orders with Amazon.co.jp, BK1 or another vendor regularly, you might want to just go ahead and add this to your orders.

If you live near a biggish city, check to see if there is a Sanseido, Asahiya, Kinokuniya or other Japanese book chain near you. Most of these will either provide subscription services or place serials on special order for you. (I’ve also found that when they are ordering one for me, they also order another copy for the shelves, so you’re making it possible for someone else to get it!)  And there’s always J-List’s subscription service (which still lists Yuri Hime as quarterly, but I’ve told Peter it’s gone bi-monthly. You might want to mention that if you plan on going through them.)

I have been considering opening up a subscription service on my own, but I fear it would be quite expensive for you. One way or another, you’d have to pay the cost of the magazine, the shipping from Japan, the shipping from me to you.  I am not a wholesaler or bookstore, so it would be unlikely to be cheaper than existing options – and could very well run more.  Maybe if I can figure out a way to get them shipped much cheaper. I’ll think about it. (Creative and constructive ideas are welcome.)

Who this is for: People who love Yuri and want to see it prosper!

Last, but not least, please remember that these are my opinions and therefore worth exactly what you paid for them. Daniella Orihuela-Gruber is collecting all of the Great Manga Gift Guide articles together on her blog, or you can follow the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #gmgg. (Feel free to send her your own Great Manga Gift Guides, too and be part of the fun!)

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this list and to all of you for being Great Yuri Manga Fans!

It’s one week until it’s *that* time again.

What time is *that* time, you ask? Well, for those of us who believe in the true meaning of the winter holidays – rampant consumerism and rapacious consumption – next week marks the apex of being a member of the society in which we live. Next week we must buy things. Many things. For many people.

And here I am, ready to help you with this, by steering you towards a nice compact list of Yuri-flavored goodies in time for Black Friday and it’s creepy kid brother Cyber Monday.

A Manga Gift Guide is forthcoming. But first – Anime for all you good Yuri girls and boys. If these are not yet on your list for Santa, add them posthaste, or he might not have time to get them on the next reindeer express truck.

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Canaan – For the action fan or the Type-Moon fan in your life, a Hong-Kong action flick-style anime set in Shanghai with great visuals, a plot that mostly hangs together, some great girl-on-girl fight action and some Yuri. There’s a Blu-Ray version, too, which actually would be worth it for something as visually rich as this.

Taisho Baseball Girls – Sports fans rejoice! One of the few sports anime to make it over and not be utterly stupid. This series is just about the most feminist series I’ve ever seen, and it has all the guts and glory, the blood, sweat and tears of any other sports story. I would love nothing better than to have this anime do ridiculously well in sales.

Blue Drop – If you somehow managed to miss this last holiday season, don’t miss it this time. This is schoolgirl romance with a sci-fi twist. Based on a manga of the same name, this anime is infinitely more interesting in about 70 ways. And it has lesbian aliens. How can you not want that?

Maria-sama ga Miteru/Maria Watches Over Us, Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4 – Even as I typed the name of this series out I commented to the wife, “I *still* can’t believe that all of this was licensed.” It’s an amazing quirk of fate and smart marketing. I will forever love RightStuf just because of this series (but will love them all over again when they re-release Utena.)

If for some reason you haven’t gotten these, please consider adding them to your holiday wishlist. Not because they are romantic (which they are) or Yuri (which they are not.) Not because anything happens (it doesn’t.) But because Yumi, Sachiko and the members of the Yamayurkai are perhaps the best-written characters I have encountered in my adult life. They are my friends, won’t you be friends with them too? ;-)

Strawberry Panic – How about less than $2/episode. How about so chock-full of Yuri memes and tropes you’re guaranteed to miss a bunch. How about a happy ending where the girl gets the girl? And how about the other girl gets the other girl too? Just get yourself this litebox and get all the girls at Miator, Spica and Lu Lim for yourself.

Ikkitousen DD – Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 – Yeah, I know, a season boxset woulda been good for the holidays but I think it’s not coming out ’til 2011. In the meantime, you can still have this series’ closest attempt to sticking with the actual Romance of the Three Kingdoms and still get all the breast- and panty-shots you need. And Kanu and Ryuubi sittin’ in a tree…

El Cazador – Volume 1, Volume 2 – Girls with Guns On the Run. Need I say more? I do? Well then, Girls With Guns On the Run from Witches and Psychotic Killers and Transvestites and Faceless Mooks and Evil Scientists. This is another one that, if somehow it isn’t in your collection yet it *really* ought to be and it makes a great gift for friends who aren’t really Yuri fans but want to see a whimsical action series.

Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne – Not for the faint of heart, but if you have a friend or family member who likes it a little hardcore and slightly psychotic, then you and they can have a party watching this together. There’s a Blu-Ray for this, too.

Bonus Suggestions: Japanese DVDs

Kakera: Piece of Our Lives – I know I mentioned this, but have you bought it yet? No? Well why not? This is a live-action movie based on the manga Love Vibes by Erica Sakurazawa.  It won’t be out for Cyber Monday, but you could still get it for Christmas!

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Movie the 1st BD – Right, I know, Japanese DVDs cost a fricking fortune and then they are raw and you can’t understand them, so why bother? Well HAH! I say, because this year the fine folks who created Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Movie the 1st thought it out and decided that if you buy the Blu-Ray then they’ll go ahead and add in English subtitles for you. You know you’d get this in Blu-Ray anyway, go ahead and admit it. If you get the deluxe edition you get an extra pamphlet and stuff. Go ahead and get it – you’re worth it.

So there’s my gift ideas on the Anime side of the aisle. Next week I’ll put together a Manga version of same, and these, like last year, will be part of the Great Manga Gift Guide being posted across the blogosphere. This link will lead you to the home post for that (this year hosted by the lovely and gracious Daniella Orihuela-Gruber of All About Manga) and you can check out all the gift suggestions by manga bloggers of multiple interests and foci.) If you have any other must-gets Yuri anime for the list, feel free to plop them in the comments and I’ll add links up here at the head of the class for the A-listers.

We’ve had plenty of build-up, let’s jump right in to

The Okazu Top Ten Yuri of 2009

10) Hayate x Blade & Maria-sama ga Miteru

Neither series is heavy on Yuri, but they are heavy on everything else that makes a story compelling. The Yuri is merely the spicy mentaiko on the top for flavor. ;-)

Hayate shows that manga can be dorky good fun without losing anything in translation and Marimite shows that shoujo can be profitable even in anime, now can we *please* just accept that and move on? Both Seven Seas and RightStuf have shown us repeatedly that there *is* a successful way to balance fandom needs and market forces.

There’s still more of both on the way for 2010, so we can look forward to a few more hours in the company of what I consider to be some of the best characters in anime and manga today.

9) Morishima Akiko

Morishima-sensei is not on this list for her art, really. She’s here because she is pushing hard to bring stories of adult women who love women into the Yuri world. In her most recent collection, Rui-iro Yume, she says specifically that she asked the editors at Ichijinsha if she could drawn more stories about adults. The fact that that is still revolutionary is both annoying and enthralling. lol (“You got your lesbians in my Yuri!” “Well you got your Yuri in my lesbian manga!”)

I look forward to a 2010 filled with Yuri – with actual lesbians – because of Morishima-sensei.

8. Octave

I’ve already said everything I had to say about this series in the Top Ten Yuri Manga list. It’s about adult women, it’s real and realistic, it hurts when it’s supposed to and feels good when it’s supposed to. More great characters…another great Yuri title.

7. Twitter/Okazu Readers

Twitter was the rising star on the manga/anime stage this year. It got off to a bang with great manga journalists leading the way and hasn’t slowed down since. It is *the* place to be for intelligent manga and anime conversation. Even more importantly, it’s blurred the boundaries between the Japanese Yuri community and the American one. A space that is egalitarian, open for global communication and on 24/7 – Twitter may be the field of gold for us Yuri fans. ;-)

I mention my Okazu Readers nearly every year and every year it bears repeating – YOU make my Top Ten List once again. You challenge me, you support me, you are my heroes (sometimes, my villians,) you make me laugh, you are the reason I bother. For everything you have do, are doing and will do, you make my Top Ten Yuri of the year.

6. Crunchyroll

I know that Crunchyroll is not universally loved. I know that European Yuri fans, particularly, often feel left out by them. However, in 2009, Crunchyroll made a concerted effort to promote, support and provide Yuri anime to an English-speaking audience. They didn’t hide it, or pretend it was something else than it was; they put it out there as Yuri and promoted it to the Yuri – and lesbian – audience.

I should probably note that it this is the second conflict of interest on the list for me, but I don’t care – even without me, Crunchyroll is promoting Yuri. That should be worth *something* and in this case, it’s worth 6 on my Top Ten. :-)

5. Ame-iro Kouchakan Kandan

This series had an obscure beginning in a not-well-known Yuri doujinshi anthology, and appeared more as an element in other series than as its own entity for years.

Then, all of a sudden, it was a thing! There was a whole story, with a beginning, a middle and a (somewhat inevitable) end. It has its own spin-off, “Pink Princess” and Drama CDs and finally, a whole collected volume of work, with more to come. I’m an unrepentant Fujieda fangirl, with a fetish for his calendar art. :-) I was so happy to get this volume and all the Drama CDs (whee!) that it made number 5 on this year’s list!

4. Yuri Hime/ Yuri Hime S

I don’t love everything Ichijinsha does. In fact, I’m pretty critical of a lot of it. Beyond the service and the moe there is, all too often, stuff that makes me feel downright icky. But there is no doubt that the money and effort Ichijinsha has put behind it’s two Yuri publications, the book signings, the advertising in their other magazines and their promotions at Comiket, are working. They are slowly, surely increasing the size of what will always be a niche of a niche.

For all their efforts, for all that they have done and for the pleasure 8 times a year of reading Yuri Hime and Yuri Hime S, Ichijinsha and their Yuri magazines are Number 4 this year.

3. Sasamekikoto

I wrote a while back that Umberto Eco defined anything as “literature” that escaped the confines of its original media. In a sense, any successful manga series is forced to do that, as the company seeks to expand the franchise. Drama CDs, toys, anime, all push the manga further along into the realm of literature, as long as the audience buys in.

I really wasn’t sure the audience would buy in with this series. It was a bit too self-consciously “for the fans.” It was a bit annoying, a bit hopeless. But with the advent of an anime, in which the comedy (especially the physical comedy) translated well, and the following expansion into anything the company could expand it into, Sasamekikoto has moved a little closer to “literature” than it was at the beginning of the year. Will it stand the test of time – I rather think not. But it certainly made a splash this year, and so it’s #3 on this year’s list.

2. Aoi Hana

Let’s be honest, shall we? I’m biased. Where Sasamekikoto is a parody and a comedy, Aoi Hana is a romantic drama that is serious, without taking itself seriously. It can lighten up and laugh, too. Where Sasamekikoto is written by a man for an audience of men, Aoi Hana is written by a woman for an audience of…whoever. I’m biased, yes.

I enjoy Sasamekikoto, but I think Aoi Hana is “Art.” Quietly drawn, beautifully rendered into anime, even the music is appealing to me. For me, Aoi Hana was “literature” when it was born, before anime and Drama CD pushed it into new media. Once again, I’m moved by a character-driven manga. Shocker. :-) Moved enough to call Aoi Hana the second best Yuri of the year.

Which leaves us with only one thing left that could be better.

My Number 1 Yuri of 2009 is….

1. Gunjo

It didn’t make the Manga list only because it wasn’t collected. I still believe that one day you too will be able to read this story. You might not like it as much as I did, probably not, because my “like” for it is inexpressible.

This intense story of a woman escaping an abusive life accompanied by a woman who threw *everything* away to be with her, is…indescribable. I have never, ever read anything like it.

It’s dark, it’s ugly, it’s violent and dysfunctional. It’s beautiful, sublime and magnificent. In the middle of ridiculous unreality, it’s totally real. Surrounded by pain and suffering is tenderness. It’s about love and not about love, all at the same time.

Gunjo blasted into my world with the manga equivalent of a serious beatdown. I never quite recovered and I keep coming back for more. :-)

Gunjo is my absolute Best Yuri of 2009…and possibly, Ever.

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And with that, we bring this amazing year of Yuri to a close.

I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year!