Archive for the Yuri Manga Category


A Yuri Love Story That Begins with Getting Dumped in a Dream, Volume 1

January 18th, 2026

Two girls wearing blue button down short-sleeve shirts and red striped ties lay next to one another but facing in different direction, so only their heads are near. A girl with long, dark hair looks at the girl with short blonde hair, whose eyes are closed.A Yuri Love Story That Begins with Getting Dumped in a Dream, Volume 1 by Hijiki, is exactly what it says on the package. When I read it, I took some time to do an internal retrospective of the state of Yuri these days, because this felt very much like a (decent) throwback to Yuri manga of the late 00’s and early 10’s. 

Tsukushi and Hinoka have been friends since childhood. When Tsukushi wakes up from a dream in which she had told Hinoka she liked her…and was rejected, Tsukushi is going to think about that friendship a lot differently. First, she’s questioning if she does have those kinds of feelings, then when that is an obvious affirmative, what to do about it. 

The only thing Tsukushi is not doing is *looking* at Hinoka, who is likewise struggling because she is very in love with Tsukushi, who just doesn’t seem to notice. This situation would be annoying if their friends weren’t openly and overtly rooting for them. The friends watching them flail and being kind and supportive is both very cute and lightens what otherwise would just be two teens overthinking.  It also helps that among those supporters is a lesbian couple at school who are watching the baby dykes with kind eyes. As the people around them involve themselves in the budding relationship, both Hinoka and Tsukushi can flail cutely. Because being rejected by friends isn’t in the story set-up at all, both protagonists are free from worrying about larger issues of rejection of bullying, but are then able to get stuck in the muddiness of their own feelings. 

There very little else by way of story. This is an old-school school life Yuri romance, if you will. Hijiki’s art and characters help make this a cute and fun throwback read for folks that are looking for some “classic” school Yuri suitable for younger teens. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Service – 0
Yuri – 6

Overall – 7

Thank to Seven Seas for the review copy, via ANN, where I will also review this book for the Spring manga guide!





Love Bullet, Volume 2 (ラブ・バレット)

January 16th, 2026

Cover of Love Bullet, Volume 2 by inee. On a blood red background, a girl with white wings and pale blue tactical gear, holding heart-shaped grenades, is surrounded by bullet shells with a heart shape on the primer part of the casing.Now that we have Love Bullet, Volume 1 in English, I know we’re all wondering what will become of our new favorite Cupid, Koharu. Well, luckily Love Bullet, Volume 2 (ラブ・バレット)  is out now in Japan and you can bet I scooped that baby up right away!

Koharu is still getting the hang of her job, with her “sempai” Kanna’s assistance when wild card Chiyo shows up to challenge them all to a duel. If Kanna or Koharu wins, she’ll leave them alone, but if she wins, Chiyo wants them to do something for her.  The result of that duel will take the three cupids well out of the city, to a small town, which is still reeling after a landslide had tragic consequences at a local high school. And we’ll meet the fourth member of the cast, Cupid Ena, who insists that this is her territory. 

Once again, the story is breathtaking, with ripples that will affect everyone in the story. 

Not a huge spoiler and one of the funnier moments is Koharu appearing to a human as she cuts vegetables. With Chiyo and Kanna assisting invisibly, the person is gobsmacked by how much Koharu is able to chop.  

Like Volume 1, the real story here is sad, full of lost opportunities and missed moments and maybe an impossible future. Now that we have all the characters on the stage, I am very interested to see where this story will take us. I expect to need tissues wherever that is.^_^;

The armaments get absolutely ridiculous in this volume, with heart shaped drones and mortars. I love inee’s commitment to the bit.  ^_^ We also learn a little about the Cupid economy and just how much our eternal joy is worth. Also, I am even more deeply skeptical that becoming a Cupid is a Goddess of Love’s “blessing.”  I wonder if there is a story behind the scenes here. I hope there is.  Volume 2 has the same kind of happy-go-lucky violence we see in Volume 1, with Chiyo going even crazier about reckless use of weaponry. She’s definitely a stray bullet on her own and I wonder what well find when we get to her backstory. 

Ratings:

Art – 8 
Story – Poignant, violent, terribly sad and hectic, 8 
Characters – 8
Service – Violence with hearts
Yuri – 2

Overall – 8

The art is great, the story is both frantic and deeply, tightly wound. I’m looking forward to Volume 3 for sure. ^_^





Galette No. 36 (ガレットNo.36)

January 12th, 2026

Turned 90 degrees, a woman in a beret style cap looks at us, another woman hiding behind a piece of paper look sideways at the first. Colorful, but blurry red and yellow apples make up the foreground air.As Galette prepares to step into a tenth year, we are here celebrating the completion of their 9th successful year. In an industry which is very much subject to editorial whims, reader fads, distribution breakdown, declining self space and a host of other disruptions, to see a Yuri magazine committed to consistently to creators telling the stories they want to tell, the way they want to tell them, is extraordinary. Galette is that magazine.

Galette No. 36 (ガレットNo.36) opens with an ending this volume. Morinaga Milk’s “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan” comes to an end, as Yuna and Rena take a short trip just before Yuna finally opens her own salon. This feels like an end of an era. It’s also really nice to see a Morinaga Milk story that is left alone right to the *very end* where the characters can actually address the issues and come together as a partnership.  Theclearfile that came with this volume celebrates the end of this story, with Yuna and Rena in wedding gowns on one side and Chibi wearing a ribbon on the other.

“Otome no Shinden” by Nakako Nui, which has been a not-creepy doll story takes an interesting turn as Rikako joins the handicrafts club at school and makes a friend…a friend who wants to see her doll. The doll is all for it, but for some reason Rikako is not. 

“Koi ni Shitakunaina” by Inui Ayu is the second female client falls for a hired escort story already this month. This series takes Momoa and Karen a step closer as they share their real names…but is that really okay in a paid relationship? Momo is thinking that she’s falling too deep.

There are a lot more stories that I genuinely enjoyed in this volume including some new work by artists I  am not familiar with, like Sagami’s swet “Cosmos no Saku Tokoro” and the end of the two-part short story that began in the previous volume, as well as all the 140-character entries including the illustrated one. 

Galette hits more than 200 pages once again in this volume, something I always want to celebrate. I hope more indie artists and writers submit to Galette and we get to see their unique view of Yuri, as well. 

Ratings: 

Overall – 9

2026 is going to be trying for all of us, so it’s really lovely to know that Galetter is here, bringing us more great independent Yuri!

 

 

 

 

 

2026 is going to be challenging for many of us, 





She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5

January 9th, 2026

Cover of She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 by Sakaomi Yuzaki. On an unadorned background, 4 adult women walk together chatting and eating or drinking. A tall woman in pants and shirt, a shorter woman in woman in a winter jacket and long skirt.Somehow I never got around to review this volume, so I treated myself to a re-read of this fantastic volume of a fantastic series to get myself into healthy headspace for the new year.

Sakaomi Yuzaki’s She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 covers a lot of territory- in such a gentle and affirming way that it’s only when you are done that you see how much has been addressed.

Nomoto and Kasuga, that is to say, Yuki and Totoko, have committed to moving in together. There are a lot of considerations going in to this – of course, it’s a sign that their relationship is developing, and it makes sense for them to share a kitchen and expenses at this point. We know that Totoko’s family relationship is not a healthy one, and her father is demanding and emotionally…draining, if not outright abusive. So this new place will be a safe haven for her in many ways.

Of course, looking for a place to live isn’t easy in the best of circumstances. And for same-sex couples in Japan bias and discrimination is often insurmountable. This is yet another reason why one party of a same-sex couple adopted the other for so long in Japan. It was, and still is, a tactic that gave them access to inheritance, power of attorney and living together, that was denied to them as a couple. The book takes us through the frustrations, but then once again Kaname comes to the rescue with a reference to a realtor that supports same-sex couples.

May I digress here for a moment and tell you a story?

It was 1984, the woman who is now my wife and I were looking for a place to live. I won’t detail how many awful places and people we met, and how many times we were looked at weirdly. Eventually we found a ridiculously good spot and were there for many years before we moved to our house where we are now. In that time, I discovered a LGBTQ+ friendly services pamphlet/magazine for my state. We ended up consulting an accountant who is himself gay. This was long before we had any legal rights as a couple, so taxes were both simple and complicated. He was with us, as we insisted the state treat us as a couple, even before that was law, and as the laws were so different for state and federal taxes. We are still with his company, 40 years later. My point is – a LGBTQ+ friendly company did, can and will make a huge difference.  The moral of the story is – support your queer community publications and networks! Kaname’s reference made a difference and, out here in the real world, that little booklet made a huge difference to us, as well.

Yuki and Totoko find a place to make their own and we get to enjoy them doing something my wife and I call “playing house.” I will never get enough of watching a happy couple just looking at furniture and appliances. It’s moments like that make a life together.

We also spend some time with Sena, who now has a diagnosis to explain what she has been dealing with her whole life, And again, Kaname comes to the rescue with a look at what “accommodations” look like in daily practice. Asking first, making sure people are all right, not assuming that what is best for us, is right for them. It’s as simple as asking a person first if they need help.

My favorite scene is when the realtor goes on a little rant about the unfairness of trying to find a place for same-sex couples. He didn’t rant, but my accountant had choice words for the inequitable tax situation for same-sex couples for sure. ^_^ 

This series is on hiatus for the moment, although I have seen some shorts and illustrations starring these characters on Yuzaki-sensei’s socials. Yuzaki-sensei also went through a period of illness, so art – especially in the first half – is a bit rougher than in previous volumes.  Even if this should end up our very last volume, it is an excellent place to stop. This found family has covered so many issues for us, the hard and the joyful, that it is an incredible pleasure to read. 

Ratings: 

Art – Due to the creator’s illness, I don’t think rating it is appropriate
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 3, them snuggling in bed, is definitely “service”
LGBTQ+ – 10

Overall – 10

I am still very thankful that Yen Press picked this up and gave it to us in English. ^_^





Lilies Blooming in 100 Days

January 5th, 2026

In a classroom, in front of a window glowing with sunshine, a teacher in blouse and slacks stands behind a student in a chair, her arms gently over the girl's shoulders. The student leans back and reaches up to touch the older woman gently on her face.You may be familiar with the name Muromaki from their monthly Comic Yuri Hime column about global Yuri fandom. Or maybe you followed the creator on social media, where they took on a challenge of drawing Yuri scenarios for 100 days, first back in 2022, then again in 2024.

The collection of Muromaki-sensei’s first 100 Yuri scenes was collected into a single volume in Japanese and has now been adapted into English by Yen Press as Lilies Blooming in 100 Days.*

This is a full-color book, but is not a story. It is a collections, broadly arranged into categories like “enemies to lovers” of single scenes, and short strips that were fist debuted online.   Most of the scenarios are meant to be amusing, a few are touching and every once in a while we get a fully rendered beautiful illustration, like the one used here for the cover, of two women sharing an intimate moment in front of the glow of windows on a sunny day. Look for carefully and you’ll notice that this is a teacher and student, a common theme in this collection. How that makes you feel is entirely up to you. 

Muromaki’s work in Comic Yuri Hime often addresses common fandom tropes and this volume is an expansion of that interest. If you like full color online comics, and seeing an artist’s range from silly scribble all the way to cover-art worthy illustration,  and the juxtaposition of that with common Yuri tropes, you’ll want to grab a copy of this book. It’ll also make a nice gift for someone who doesn’t know where to start with Yuri, or a conversation starter with friends who like to talk about Yuri tropes! 

Ratings: 

Art – From goofy to great – 9
Scenarios – 7 Typical tropes. Would love to see less secret/forbidden myself.

Overall – 9

And if you are looking for a place to chat about Yuri after you have a copy, drop by the Okazu Discord where we basically are always talking Yuri, even when we’re not. ^_^

Thanks to Yen Press for the review copy via ANN, where I reviewed this for the Winter Manga Guide!

* For. It should be Lilies Blooming For 100 Days. Yen, why do you fail on titles so often?