Archive for the Top Yuri Lists Category


Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2018

December 28th, 2018

Well, my friends, that time of year has come upon us once again. 2018 is coming to a close and I have never before had so many riches to work with. This has been the most remarkable year for Yuri I have ever seen in 20 years of obsessing about it. ^_^

I say almost every year, “may our tribe increase” and this year our tribe has surely increased by many fold. My Top Ten list will be as personal, capricious and enraging as always – I will forget things and not mention stuff you liked, some of which will have been there and been taken away multiple times  and some of which wouldn’t have been put there at all – so I welcome you all to add your thoughts in the comments! Which Yuri manga do you consider your top Yuri manga of the year? 

Note on titles: If a series has been released in English, the English title is being used. If not, the Japanese title is the one you see.

 

Sweet Blue Flowers/ Kiss & White Lily For My Dearest Girl

Sweet Blue Flowers, this new classic of Yuri, wrapped up in 2018 and was already kind of dated a mere 14 years after it premiered in Japan. ^_^;  But this year we saw the completion of a definitive edition by Viz Media. This edition had solid translation and well-researched notes that enriched readers’ understanding of the context; which is just exceptionally important in this series, with its many literary homages and references. Now that we have this in one lovely, complete and exceedingly well-done collection, we can set it firmly on the  “Yuri Classic” shelf where it belongs and move forward into a new age of Yuri.

Kiss & White Lily For My Dearest Girl is the exact opposite story – taking all the classic tropes, creating a few new ones and carefully crafting a story about people we care about out of them. It will end shortly in Japan, but we’ll have it here in the west for some time to come, so settle in and wait to see how it all pans out for Ayaka, Yurine and their friends and peers .

 

Yuri Anthologies (Éclair, Yuri +Kanojo, OL Yuri)

I’ve talked a lot this year about the important place Yuri anthologies had in the development of the genre. I quite like anthologies for the same reason most people dislike them: Anthologies give you a small taste of many different stories, art styles and concepts. The downside is when you really like a creator and the story ends, but the upside is you have someone new to follow! And these, days, with social media, you can literally follow them and see what they are working on right now.

I want to especially call out the new trend of grown-up Yuri anthologies; collections focusing on relationships between adult women. Yes, please!

 

After Hours

I adored this story when I read it in Japanese and am just that happy with it now that it is in English. It’s not something we see much – a whimsical and fun romance story about two women who live on the fringes of normal life without being outcast, or broken or weird. They just live their own lives. This story is overtly about building something together – a life, a rave, it’s all the same when you think of it, and you know I believe that with my whole heart.

 

My Solo Exchange Diary

I’ve never cared so much about a complete stranger as I do Nagata Kabi. I want to support her in her ongoing struggle to live a life with the very real problems she has has freed so many people, both in Japan and in the west, to speak more openly about. Graphic Medicine is, in actual fact, one of the fastest-growing genres in comics and manga. I think it’s important for a lot of reasons, the most important of which is (like coming out of any kind) to let people know they are not alone. Narratives like this remind me how lucky I am every day that I can wake up, work, play online, and write for Okazu. I’m literally one myelin sheath away from having all of that taken from me every day. 

For being one of the manga that has helped define a space where we can be more than one thing at once and still be seen as human, and also for making me hope that Nagata-sensei gets to live her life, My Solo Exchange Diary makes this list easily. 

 

2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。) 

By now, you’ve probably realized that this list is going to have more adults on it than it ever has since I began doing this in 2004. 

2DK, G Pen, Mezamashitokei told a slow-developing romance story, abut two adult women living realistic adult lives in a real world. We saw Nanami pull long hours at the office and Kaede burning herself out building a career in manga, as well as quiet moments of eating food and seeing friends. There was enough fiction to make the real stuff work and enough real stuff to make the fiction fun. I am so happy that we have 8 volumes of this manga, making it the longest-running manga about adult women from Comic Yuri Hime. There was never any doubt in my mind that it would be on this year’s list. ^_^ 

 

Terano-sensei to Hayama-sensei  ha Tsukiatteiru (羽山先生と寺野先生は付き合っている)/ Goodbye Dystopia (グッバイ・ディストピア)

I’m gonna keep talking about these two titles in the coming year, so get used to hearing about them. ^_^

Goodbye Dystopia is an apparently aimless wander through somewhere by two people for some reasons, very little of which has been explicated after two volumes. I love the art, the timelessness and placelessness of the story and would like it to never end. Imagine Thelma and Louise at walking pace, without any end in sight. Awesome.

Terano and Hayama are just the absolutely cutest things in the world. Two teachers at a girls school are dating and the girls think it’s cute, the administrator thinks it cute and I think it’s cute! I want them to be happy together forever.

 

Galette (ガレット)

If you’re a regular reader of Okazu, this cannot possibly be too much of a surprise. This crowdfunded, creator-owned collaborative effort by so may excellent Yuri artists is always exciting to read, to see what has been done and by whom. As it wraps up its second year of existence, it’s giving space to great established artists and finding space for new pros and I cannot wait to see what it will do in the future.

 

Enjoy the Okazu Top Ten Lists?

I always pause here, because as capricious as I am for my likes and dislikes, the top three always are put here for a reason – they are special. This year’s top three positively encapsulate Yuri for 2018 with their breadth of storytelling, style and intent.

 

Bloom Into You

Sometimes a series just hits the right note. For better or worse, this is Bloom Into You‘s time. With an anime that has done the spirit of the manga a good turn, a novel (which I am reading and it is nailing Sayaka’s inner tone, so that’s good) and an ongoing manga which is shaping up to be much better than I could have ever expected, really, it deserves our attention.

It’s time for me to give Nakatani Nio the credit she deserves. Bloom Into You is my #3 manga for 2018.

 

 

 

 

Kase-san Series

I always refer to this series as the “little series that could” because of it’s irregular past, but it has become something much bigger than itself with the jump to animation. The manga continues, and it continues to grow, to change, to lead by example. It’s done so many important things including moving people to see it as more than a “love story between girls.”

This series has and is still dealing with things like body issues and self-esteem and friendship. Kase and Yamada are facing the adult world together which is both terrifying and remarkable in a Yuri manga.

Reading the Kase-san series has very much been like watching real people grow up. Yamada’s journey from being someone who did not believe in her own future and whom the people round her thought of as plain old Yamada, has been so much like watching a flower bloom that the analogy becomes a “duh” moment. The series is called “Kase-san” but we – and Kase-san – are always watching Yamada. And it’s been very rewarding watching her grow.

In other years, the Kase-san series has been number 1, but this year comes in second to…

 

Shimanami Tasogare (しまなみ誰そ彼 ))

So, yeah, I’m spoiling the heck out of this series for you, but I want you to understand just what we’re in for. ^_^

This is not a Yuri manga. It is an LGBTQ manga. It is fully, wholly, 100% grounded in the real world in which kids who even slightly kind of think they (or, who other people think) are not cisgender and heterosexual, deal with very real consequences. This is a manga in which people spew harmful stereotypes and have to be educated over and over and over again, until they, maybe, get it, a little. It is a manga of confrontation, of accepting one’s self even when others don’t. It’s a manga with adult role models, some of whom will never be able to get a happy ending – and how important it is, for those of us that do get that, to share it and let the seeds of it grow.

I am so excited that you’ll all be able to read this in English next year, which is why Kamatani Yuhki’s Shimanami Tasogare is my top Yuri manga of 2018!

 





The Okazu Top Ten Yuri of 2017

December 31st, 2017

Well, my dear friends. Here we are at the end of another year together. We’ve lost some important people, and had some hard times, so we should definitely take a moment and give each other a pat on the back and a hug, because we made it through this year, together. Good job, us.

2017 was a banner year for queer media generally and an especially strong year for Yuri, so we have a lot to celebrate! Get settled in while we look over Okazu’s list of top Yuri people, companies and series of the year. As always, comments are open for you to add suggestions, so lets have ’em!

 

10. Publishers of Yuri

Over the years, I have often taken time to thank the various publishers of Yuri in Japan and America. This year the list of Japanese publishers is so long it would become unwieldy, but it’s worth calling out Shinshokan, Ichijinsha, and East Press for their continuing commitment to Yuri and LGBTQ manga. We’ve had more lesbians in our manga in 2017 than ever before.

This is true in the west as well, with Seven Seas. Yen Press and Viz all putting out beautifully adapted Yuri – marketed as Yuri. This is such a huge step forward that it has to be noted.

Yuri bookshelves in manga stores, Yuri manga – and lesbian manga – on those shelves. Thank you publishers of Yuri for all your efforts in promoting and publishing good Yuri!

 

 

9. Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫)

Several Yuri magazines have come and gone in the past decade and new anthologies have filled some of the gaps, but it’s really heartening to recognize that not only has Comic Yuri Hime survived since it’s launch in 2005, it’s been successful enough to go monthly this year and has sustained that for a whole year. Even though I don’t always agree with their editorial direction (and especially loathe their choices for series to adapt to anime,) that’s a fantastic benchmark for the Yuri market. 

Here’s to another year of good Yuri, bad Yuri and wtf is that!? Yuri from the folks at Comic Yuri Hime. For staying power, and for being a cornerstone of the Yuri market, Comic Yuri Hime makes the list at #9.

 

 

 

8. Kiss and White Lily For My Dearest Girl / Sweet Blue Flowers 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again – I love work that understands and revels in its literary roots and creators who recognize the tropes they are playing with, but who refuse to let those tropes limit them. I love work with one foot in the early 20th century and the other foot and an arm clutching a cel phone in the 21st.  This year we have two great examples of this, Canno’s Kiss and White Lily For My Dearest Girl and Takako Shimura’s Sweet Blue Flowers, both available in Japanese and English.

These series are getting editions that not only “get” the content but also “get” the art and the references and the way the whole package is meant to work. It’s not just melodrama for melodrama’s sake, it’s melodrama that is supposed to evoke the heartfelt and passionate magazine letters of girls in the 1930s…with the understanding that all of this is not limited to school crushes anymore.

These stories are the fusions of old and new Yuri and, as a result, resonate with readers all over the world. 

 

 

7. Yuri With Adult Women

I will always want more Yuri about adults. I will *always* want more. High school and coming out and painful awkwardness in regards to my sexuality are many years behind me. And so, this year, I’m having a little party inside my head for series like Yuhta Nishio’s  After Hours, Yoshimurakana’s MURCIÉLAGO  and Ohsawa Yayoi’s 2DK, GPen Mezamshitokei.  (Of these, only  2DK, GPen Mezamshitokei isn’t available in English, which means that we need to pester Seven Seas to license it. ^_^)

I love that none of these series are even remotely similar. Schoolgirl Yuri might have to regurgitate the same stereotypes, but once we graduate, all bets are off. Murder, music raves, or living a life as a successful career women are all on the plate. ^_^ (Oh god, I just realized that Yuri has only *just* made it to Mary Tyler Moore territory. ^_^;) I just wanted to wallow in the fact that for this moment time, it’s not just all school girls all the time. Yay! 

More Yuri about adults please!

 

 

6. LGTBQ manga (and comics and cartoons and scifi and…)  

Shimanami Tasogare, The Bad Lesbian and the Seven Wives, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Brother’s Husband, Bingo Love, Red as Blue, Always Human, Steven Universe, Legend of Korra…the list here on Okazu of manga and comics by creators who are queer women of color, queer creators with disabilities, out queer manga artists is longer than it has ever been. This year has been a gold rush of amazing queer work from queer creators. I am practically beside myself with joy at the spectrum of diversity in my reading these days.

What the future will bring us is still unknown, but I think this is a genie that will not be put back in the bottle. I expect that we’ll see more great queer media from folks all over the world as 2018 develops.

May our tribe forever increase!

 

 

5. The Okazu Community

You, my dear readers, always have a place on this list. And for good reason. You read, you comment, your create Guest Reviews, you become Patrons. You contribute to and support the Okazu community with your time, engagement and your monetary support. 

You correct my mistakes, you make me think differently about series, you send me news items, you are the reason Okazu celebrated 15 years this year! And it’s for you that I try to get to as many events and see as much as I do, just so I can tell you all about it. ^_^ It is my very sincere pleasure to have you all as an important part of the Okazu family.

You are always one of best things about Yuri every year.

 

If you enjoy these end-of-year lists, and all the reviews, news and interviews we write on Okazu, please subscribe! Even a dollar a month helps us pay Guest Reviewers, cover events and buy the content we review. 


 

We’re just about at our final countdown and if you know me at all, you had to know what I’m going to squeeze in here. ^_^ 25 and 20 years old respectively. Wow. And not only not dead and forgotten, still alive and thriving. 

Both these stories were vital in the creation of the western Yuri fandom and with luck, will continue to be so for many years to come. These two series always have a place at any Yuri table I set. 

 

 

4. Sailor Moon 

Sailor Moon will always be the series that launched a thousand Yuri artists, writers and fans and this year got the definitive edition anime we’d been waiting for for decades AND the anime the creator had always wanted.  

Sailor Moon anime finally was picked up by a western company that wasn’t embarrassed by Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, and Sailor Moon Crystal‘s important third season was given emotional depth by a talented female director, Kon Chiaki.  We pretty much got everything we’ve ever asked for from this series, including the personal approval of both anime and manga by Takeuchi Naoko, who had not had that chance when the series first launched and went on to change the world.

I feel replete with Sailor Moon this year and cannot wait to see what the 25th anniversary brings us!

 

 

3. Revolutionary Girl Utena

Revolutionary Girl Utena is turning 20 with a magnificent new chapter of the story unfolding before our eyes. Saitou Chiho’s art has leveled up in 20 years and she’s really gone all out to show us the kind of sensuality, the kind of intimacy, and the kind of surreal mystery and magic we expect from Utena. 

The anime has gotten a remastered release on DVD from Nozomi/RightStuf, with a even more definitive edition on Blu-Ray to come.  

This is a series that delights and confuses and concerns fans still, two decades after it landed. And I expect it will for another 20 years.  Here’s to another chapter of Utena to come (and to seeing Juri 20 years later!) ^_^ 

 

 

 

2. Asagao to Kase-san /Kase-san and Morning Glories

Yes, first love between two girls in school has been done. It’s been done cutely many times over, in fact. But there’s just…something… especially charming about Yamada, the girl with low self-esteem, who falls for the school track star and the way they keep redefining their boundaries and building their relationship with each other, that rings wholly true for me.

The Kase-san manga series is available in Japanese (Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4) and English (Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4).

The animation clip, Kimi no Hikari, is available on Youtube. The commercial for the upcoming OVA looks adorable and more manga is on the way!  I look forward to seeing Kase-san and Yamada come to life. This series is a winner in every direction and has been on this list every year since it first was published. It might have been number one but for the standout hit for Yuri this year.

 

The Top Yuri anything of 2017 is…

 

1. Galette

This perfect storm of crowdfunding, distribution, audience, market and creative pool was destined to be the number one most/best Yuri thing of 2017 the moment it launched. 

Galette‘s creative line-up is amazing. Some of the best pro and semi-pro Yuri artists contributing to a creator-owned and run quarterly Yuri manga magazine. What’s not to like?

And even more than it just being Yuri by Yuri creators for Yuri fans, it’s designed with an adult (read: mature) readership in mind. The design elements are elegant and the color scheme is subtle and artistic. Combine the stylish look with solid art and storytelling by creators like Monomo Mono, Takemiya Jin, Morinaga Milk, Otomo Megane, Morishima Akiko, with photos, stories and artwork by other talented creators and you have a hit.

Support Galette on Enty. Buy it in Japanese on Kindle (US or Japan) or buy the print book on Amazon JP, on another online store or at a show, it’s Yuri worth investing in

Galette Yuri magazine is the #1 Top Yuri of 2017!

 

From everyone at Okazu, we wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2018! 





Top Ten Yuri Anime of 2017

December 29th, 2017

Anime’s always harder than manga for me, because despite the premise that “only guys buy anime” being disproved over and over again, the prevailing belief among producers is that only guys buy anime. Sigh. Despite that, 2017 wasn’t a bad year for Yuri anime, although I had to fiddle a bit to get us up to 10.  I won’t apologize. ^_^ Most of these series are streaming, and several of them are also on the Yuricon Store!

 

10. The anime you think should be on this list, but isn’t. 

I might even have just forgotten it – it was a crazy year. 

Comments are open for your suggestions for this slot. I know I never put the one you think ought to be here on this list, so go ahead and let me know why I should have included that one!  

 

9. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

I might not have put this on the list but for an extraordinary and passionate retelling of the main themes of this series at the Yuri Court game at Yurithon in Montreal last summer. The story, which I had seen as an unfunny waste of potential was recast as a triumphant search for family and intimacy. It was so good a recitation, the judges and audience were moved to applause. 

This is an excellent example of why I want other people’s opinions on Okazu. Without this fan, I would have never thought twice about this series, but as I put together this list, I was reminded that people who are not me saw something special here. And that’s good enough for Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid to make #9 on the list. Streaming on Crunchyroll.

 

 

8. Girls Last Tour

I am putting this here for Bruce. It’s a post-apocalyptic story that makes little sense, but has moe art, and two girls traveling together in a winter landscape with little food, and nothing much to look forward to. And yet, he loved it. 

He loved the armaments and military vehicles and he wrote a paean to the manga for a panel he never made it to last summer. So, as a tribute to Bruce, Girl’s Last Tour is #8. 

Streaming on Amazon Anime Strike and the manga is available in English from Yen Press.

 

 

7. NTR 

You know how I feel about this series. I don’t know how well it is doing, I don’t care. I know some folks like it and that’s good enough to get a mention here.

You can certainly look at the series as a glimpse into abusive relationships. You can look at it as just another way to glorify a fetish and, of course, you can see it as two girls struggling to find legitimacy for their relationship in a world that doesn’t accept them. 

However you enjoy it (or not),  I cannot pretend it is anything other than an anime designed to appeal to some portion of Yuri fandom.

Streaming on Crunchyroll and the manga is available in English from Seven Seas. 

 

 

6. Steven Universe

There is no way a series so deeply, lovingly inspired by Revolutionary Girl Utena, and filled with a smörgåsbord of queerness, could not be on this list.

I am waiting on pins and needles for Lapis and Peridot to fuse. I really am. I literally sit around thinking about what gem they’ll become, because this is just such a great cartoon for people who love being fans of great cartoons. ^_^

A cartoon made for fans, by fans so we can all be big ole queer fans together on TV is something we should absolutely be celebrating!

Streaming on Amazon Video.

 

 

5. Mikagura School Suite

We’ve had a few evangelists of this series here on Okazu and I think it’s worth a look, at any rate. The lead character is openly desirous of other girls and makes no apologies. That’s got to be worth *something,* right? I certainly think so. 

At this point, we can allow ourselves series that do nothing but run around and scream, surely? We’ve worked so hard and to legitimize this genre, it’s perfectly okay to just kick back and watch some nonsense with a lesbian in it. ^_^

Streaming on Crunchyroll and the light novels are available in English from One Peace Books. 

 

 

4. Sailor Moon S

Yes. Again. Because years pass and Haruka and Michiru are STILL the best Yuri characters ever and they will never not be welcome. Next year Sailor Moon turns 25 years old and I’m still loving that they make an elegant and mature couple in the eyes of the Inner Senshi and that they care more about dying together than saving the world. I will never get enough of them.

I can’t wait for Stars, not because of the Starlights, who I don’t actually like all that much (sorry not sorry folks!) but because of the much more overt coupley-ness of Haruka and Michiru. Because it’s all about them for me. 

Streaming on Hulu, and available on DVD/Blu-ray from Viz. Part 1 | Part 2

 

 

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3. Sailor Moon Crystal

How much was I waiting with bated breath for that moment when Michiru turns in Haruka’s arm and cups her cheek, animated? #3 much. Haruka and Michiru are and forever will be the Queens of Yuri.

Despite a rough start to the animation, Season 3 of Sailor Moon Crystal was pretty much everything I hoped it would be. The new voice actresses are excellent. Haruka and Michiru’s end musical theme was perfect.

This is the anime that Takeuchi Naoko-sensei wanted when she drew her manga. And, finally both she and we can see her vision realized.  And it was good.

Streaming on Crunchyroll and available on Blu-Ray from Viz Media.

 

 

 

2. Konohana Kitan

Good heavens, really? Yes, really.  I can’t hate it. Don’t think I didn’t try. ^_^ Konohana Kitan has occasional lapses into really gross fanservice, and aside from those moments is still pretty servicey, but despite that, it’s kind of a cute little fetishy Yuri series. 

The characters are likeable, the set-up is designed for scenery porn and the sensibility is olde tyme Japanese folklore, which will always hook me like a guppy.

So, yeah, I’ll never have the girl-with-animal-ear fetish like some folks, but despite that, and despite myself, I enjoyed Konohana Kitan. 

Streaming on Crunchyroll.

 

 

 

The best Yuri anime this year was…a 6-minute animation clip that changed the world.

 

1. Asagao to Kase-san (あさがおと加瀬さん。)

I’m starting to think of this series as the “little series that could.” It began life as 3 volumes of a serialized manga in a quarterly magazine that ended after 3 years, then made it’s way to the online version of that magazine, then several online manga outlets until there was just enough content for a fourth volume…and then, suddenly, it burst into flame.

A social media campaign convinced folks that there was enough interest for an animation clip…and interest in the animation clip on Youtube convinced the same folks that there’d be interest in a OVA which is headed for theatrical release next summer in Japan…AND this week, the manga continues in Wings magazine.  

The world is ready for Kase-san and Yamada, and a lovely, realistic Yuri romance. In Asagao to Kase-san, that’s exactly what we get.

Here’s to Yamada and Kase-san and the Top Yuri Anime of 2017!

 





Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2017

December 27th, 2017

2017 brought us a veritable excess of Yuri riches. So much so, that with 2 exceptions, every item in this list is available in English and Japanese – and even one of those is available on USA Kindle. It’s been an amazing year and has set up an amazing 2018 for us. What a perfect time to look back and celebrate some of the best the year had to offer. Check out the Yuricon Store for links to all these Yuri manga series and more.

 

 

10. Hana & Hina Afterschool /Hana to Hina no Houkago (ハナとヒナは放課後)

A new story by Morinaga Milk is always good news. This story contains all her favorite themes, which means we can sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.  ^_^

Hana and Hina are both likable, their struggles with “what is this feeling?” are adorable rather than awkward and we spend all our time with them hoping for a happy ending.

A solid example of “Story A” – exactly what Morinaga-sensei does best. Cute, sweet, slightly sexy, without deep emotional commitment.

 

 

9. Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru (やがて君になる)

Nakatani Nio seems to have hit a zeitgeist with this story of an aromantic and the girl who is in love with her. Provocative, with sleek shoujo manga-style art in a seinen series, and a lot of unanswered questions, makes this a fascinating (if occasionally maddening) series to read.

The addition of an adult lesbian couple as role models and guides for the young lesbian character puts this series up on LGBTQ points, part of a positive new trend in Yuri. 

 

 

 

8. Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl / Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (あの娘にキスと白百合を)

I admit to being a sucker for stories that do all the Yuri tropes, all at once but don’t let that sentence fool you. Characters here are more than a single trope, and the main relationship is given plenty of time to develop past it’s own set-up, so when this series ends, we’ll have gotten a well-developed relationship rather than just a Yuri coupling.

Yes, this series by Canno lacks the emotional gravitas of her previous series, but trading one emotional triangle tangle for multiple ways to explore relationships – including poly relationships – makes this an interesting take on the all-Yuri couple school.

 

 

7. After Hours (アフターアワーズ)

Adults doing adult things. Check. Adults struggling to find meaning in life. Check. Actual relationship dynamics that make sense, by making no sense. Check.  The complexity of the character’s emotions, the conversations they have – even the way their spend their time signals that this is not a child’s story. 

Nishio Yuhta does a good job of building two unique and interesting characters without pandering, even if the art is the only not-adult thing about the series.

It’s so refreshing. I can’t wait to find out what will happen in Volume 3!

 

 

6. Sweet Blue Flowers / Aoi Hana (青い花)

Classic S tropes wrapped gently around a modern tale of a young lesbian coming to terms with herself and her place in the world. Shimura Takako never loses the touch with early 20th century, but gives her characters a 21st century sensibility.

More importantly, the main characters have family, they have friends, they have agency. Decisions have consequences and we watch them mature as a result of making them.

The art is simple and stylish, the roots deep and literary. And Viz had given us the definitive English-language edition of this new Yuri classic.

 

 

5. My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness / Sabishi-sugi Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report（さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ）

A heartfelt and  honest look at a life with chronic depression and an eating disorder, Kabi Nagata’s autobiographical online comic made it’s mark on both the Japanese and English manga scenes by speaking directly about real life issues for many.

With a rough style that echoes the storyline, this manga has been on the top of the charts since it’s release. This story, of the less functional aspects of adult life, clearly resonated with many readers. 

 

 

If you enjoy these end-of-year lists, and all the reviews, news and interviews we write on Okazu, please consider subscribing! Even a dollar a month helps us pay Guest Reviewers, cover events and buy the content we review. 

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4. MURCIÉLAGO (ムルシエラゴ)

Yoshimurakana’s “Violence Yuri” manga is unique in being an action manga, starring a lesbian serial killer, a lesbian sociopath and a lesbian Yakuza, with a bunch of other random lesbians, all in the middle of gonzo violence and ridiculous enemies.

The art is ugly, which suits the characters and situations well. 

Blood, guts and lesbians all around. I love it.

 

 

3. Kase-san Series/ 加瀬さん シリーズ

This schoolgirl romance is awkward and wonderfully realistic in turn. A “story A” that reminds of all those moments when we first had those feelings. 

The art is loose, a little service-y and occasionally excruciatingly sweet.

Asagao to Kase-san, the first book, already has been made into an adorable animation clip and will soon be a OVA getting theatrical release in Japan in 2018.

Sometimes all we really want is a story where two lovely people get to be together. This is that story.

 

 

 

2. 2DK, GPen Mezamashitokei (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

I love this Josei Yuri series by Ohsawa Yayoi for what it isn’t, as much as for what it is. A story of adult life that includes things that adult women often care about, like having more than one outfit and nice smelling face soap and, I don’t even know, normal life things like having a drink with a friend, and being competent at work. 

Kaede is a human golden retriever and Nanami is a girl magnet and I want them to get together…just not yet.

This series is a “josei” series, for adult women by an adult woman. It would make a terrible anime, which is exactly why I like it. No hijinks, just humans.

 

The Top Yuri Manga for 2017 is….

 

1. Galette (ガレット)

This is the Yuri magazine I have been waiting for for years. Talented Yuri creators banding together, supported by fans, creating the Yuri they want to create, rather than the Yuri editors want them to create.

Already the magazine has taken a few chances with narrative, but in ways that expand the genre. There’s still plenty of schoolgirl Yuri for readers, but the stories about adults are some of the best I’ve read this year. 

For this…for being the Yuri magazine I’ve wanted to be able to support for so long, Galette is my top Yuri Manga of the Year. 

 

 





Top Ten Yuri of 2016

December 31st, 2016

Before I finish my whimsical look at the things that best expressed “Yuri” for me for the year, I just want to thank you all once again. 2016 was one of the best years of my life. I was able to travel a lot and meet even more of you than ever before. I was able to attend some fun events, speak with terrific folks and generally had a fantastic year.

And with that, here is the Okazu Best Yuri list for 2016!
 

10. LGBTQ Anthologies

From Northwest Press’s Absolute Power, to Indie books Oath, Dates, Beyond, and Power & Magic through the IDW/DC collaboration Love is Love, 2016 was chock full of wonderful, hopeful collections of comic and prose for, by and about LGBTQ folks.

I love them all and love that out of pain, will come ever more inclusive and diverse art. We’re going to need it, we’re going to need to be making it. Commit to reminding yourself that you are not alone, there there are many people like you out there and who need you.  Anthologies are one way we can speak to one another…and I love them.
 
 
  
  
 

9. Yuri Webcomics

I  remember back in the 1990s, checking out a listing for “Yuri” webcomics someone had suggested to me, and finding a pretty amazing list of comics that had no lesbians and were “Yuri” only in the most extreme sense of the word. Wow, have we come a long way. I don’t think I’ve read so many webcomics in my life as I do now.

I’m reading Yuri and lesbian webcomics from North America, Thailand, the Philipines, Europe and Japan. The art is breathtaking, and there are so many it’s hard to single out a few, but I’m going to anyway.

If you want to read Yuri webcomics that inspire, are beautiful and have great stories, I recommend Pulse by Ratana Satis, Carciphona by Shilin and Always Human by Ari North. All three will give you wings. ^_^ Which is why these Yuri webcomics and so many many other LGBTQ and diverse webcomics (Agents of the Realm, The Hues, and so many more) make my best-of list for the year.
 

 

8. Yuri Publishers

In years past this mention has had a few names, most of which you’re more than familiar with. This year I want to list out all the publishers I thought off the top of my head that have in the past year, are currently or are about to publish Yuri manga.

In English: Seven Seas, Yen Press, Viz Media, and Udon Press.

In Japanese:  Ichijinsha, Kodansha, Hakusensha, Gentosha, Futabasha, Takeshobo, East Press, Kadokawa and Media Factory. Global Bookwalker for digital and a host of online comic providers in Japan and overseas.

Yuri isn’t niche anymore. In a few short years (short in terms of literature, that is,) Yuri has gone from being merely a fetish or a plot element,  to a fully-developed genre in it’s own right. In large part this is because creators and readers demanded it…and, as the market developed, the publishers followed. Thank you to all the publishers who bring us great (and some not-so-great ^_^) Yuri! 

 
 
 

7.  Yuri and LGBTQ Comic Events

It’s getting harder and harder to plan my events schedule, there are so many new and wonderful inclusive events out there.

There’s Girl Love Fest, of course, and Nijicon and Flamecon, here in the US.  There’s YaY-con in the Netherlands, Y/CON in Paris, and Yaoi/Yuri North in Canada, all of which tend to be a little heavy on the BL stuff, but all can use as much interest in Yuri as they can get! So, if you’re planning on attending, get involved and let them know what you want to see.  And coming up for 2018, keep your eye on Universal Fancon.

There’s also indie/small press comic shows like MoCCA and Stumptown and the amazing Toronto Comic Arts Festival, which are all queer-friendly. Don’t forget that that among the masses of doujinshi at Comiket and Comitia there’s great LGBTQ work.  Queer and Comics , the first academic conference on LGBTQ comics will coming to San Francisco for 2017!

There’s never been such riches in shows for folks who are looking for comics that tell their stories and communities of fans to be part of. If you haven’t yet added a LGBTQ comic event to your schedule, there’s no time like the present! Make it a 2017 New Year resolution to  get yourself to a Yuri/ LGBTQ comics event.

 
 

6. Lesbian Comic Essays 

I keep mentioning these, but comic essays have really lifted the profile of “lesbians” in the world of Yuri manga. Where manga often seem mired in coming out narratives about young girls, comic essays pick up the thread of lives lived by real women, for whom the story did not end with a kiss and promise.

Unsurprisingly, many of these stories deal with difficult topics, precisely because the story does not end when the last page of the book is turned.  Like autobiographical comics in the western indie market, these manga fill in the gap between fantasy and reality for LGBTQ readers.

Every year I find these comic essays to be some of the most satisfying comics I sit down to read. I hope the trend continues and we get even more women telling their own stories. Next year, you’ll get a chance to experience a legally licensed comic essay, My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, from Seven Seas. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!

 
 

5. Sailor Moon

I said it the other day, “If Haruka and Michiru make an appearance in any given year on Okazu, they are always going to win by default.” By default, Sailor Moon makes the list this year. ^_^

Not ONLY did we get a powered up- Season Three of Sailor Moon Crystal and Sailor Moon S finally got the definitive release it deserved, but also, I was able to see the Sailor Moon 20th anniversary exhibition in Tokyo!

2016 was a good year for me and Sailor Moon and for that, it just has to be present on this list. ^_^

 

 

4. Yuri Games

Without any doubt, this was the most surprising thing that happened this year. 2016 was the year I started to play Yuri games, read Yuri VNs and promote Yuri games that did not suck the life out of me! There were two Yuri VNs that were excellent, a couple that were good and a lot more that weren’t terrible, just not for me.   I am still shocked that I have an actual Steam account I have used multiple times this year(!). That’s just…amazing.  

So, yay for Yuri games! I’m glad to see some good ones from Japan make it over here, like Kindred Spirits, but even gladder to see good original games from domestic creators, like Highway Blossoms. And best of all, I think the Yuri Game Jam may be the best thing ever for all Yuri gamers. Support and play those games, then come back here and let us know how they are! Let’s go Yuri gaming!

 

So, we’re here at the Top Three Yuri anythings this year, and I’m pretty sure if you’re a regular reader you won’t be surprised, just from the sheer number of times I have raved about all these things….

 

3. Steven Universe

I don’t know what to say about this cartoon that I haven’t already said. It speaks to me in ways I had no idea a cartoon even could. Multiple episodes this last season have been Emmy-worthy. I sing the songs on repeat for days on end. The story is strongly anime-inspired, but never pretends to be something it isn’t. This is a true child of the Utena generation of American anime fans.

The acting, storytelling and sheer radical diversity of every single facet of it’s production, including staff, cast and characters, makes Steven Universe the cartoon I’d been waiting my whole life for. With so many canon couples between gems who identify as “she,” and such strong Yuri anime roots, I have no qualms about claiming it as ours. ^_^

Without question, Steven Universe has been one of the absolutely best Yuri things about 2016. 

 

2. Yuri Community

You, my Okazu Family. You, my readers, and writers, and commenters, my social sharers, my YNN Correspondents, my Patrons.  Every year you make the list and every year, it always feels a little inadequate on my part. I can never quite express how thankful I am for your support, your Guest Reviews, your comments and corrections, your news tips and the tremendous outpouring of generosity which always takes my breath away. I’ve been touched over and over by your kindness,  your humor and your insight. 

The Yuri Community is, once again, one of the very best things of the year. Thank you for being part of the Okazu family. 

 

There’s been one thing that I think has been conspicuous by it’s absence from these lists. We will now rectify that. ^_^ The number one Yuriest thing of 2016 is, without question…..

 

1. Grand Stage Drama CDs

These are so Yuri…! Otokoyaku of the Grand Stage Revue, all voiced by high-Yuri cred actresses, in which *we* play the part of the partner? The only way this could have been Yurier, is if these women showed up at our house dressed in suits and proceeded to read romantic poetry to us directly.

Having Ogata Megumi, Toyoguchi Megumi, Inoue Marina, Kitamura Eri and Saiga Mitsuki swooning all over you (metaphorically) while whispering sweet nothings in your ear?  This is so. fucking. Yuri. ^_^

This series hits me square in all my weak points, so short of a manga about a motorcycle riding, eyepatch-wearing martial artist librarian lesbian, this is pretty much it, this is the champion.

The Yuriest anything of 2016 is étriere’s Grand Stage Drama CD series. ^_^

As we finish up our look at the best of the year, I offer my fervent wish that our year going forward is a very good one. From my family to all of you in the Okazu and Yuricon family, we wish you a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.