LGBTQ Events

April is the second-best month to be in NYC, so if you’re around, join me and Rica Takashima at the Rainbow Book Fair at CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies in midtown. Pick up a dual-signed copy of By Your Side: The First 100 Years Of Yuri Anime And Manga in person!

Anime News

Whether you think they will be “Yuri” or not, the YURI TIMES has an overview of what they think is the upcoming season’s Yuri anime in Yuri Anime of Spring 2024!

To start, the definitely Yuri anime Whisper Me a Love Song, which will be premiering in Japan on April 13. Adriana Hazra has the details over at ANN.

Also check out the write-ups on ANN for maybe-there-will-be-some-Yuri series; Seiyuu Radio no Ura Omote (which initially was being promoted as Yuri, then that disappeared, so who knows), Highspeed Étoile  both by Crystalyn Hodgkins and I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, Season 2 by Egan Loo.

Definitely not Yuri, but golf, because they think golf is what made Birdie Wing great, Sorairo Utility. Joanna Cayanan covers this one.

In the Ep. 24 cast commentary for Mobile Suit Gundam – The Witch From Mercury, the cast and staff once again take the opportunity to note that Suletta and Miorine are married. ^_^ I love that they are not letting that go.

Toei Animation noted on Twitter that March 7th is the anniversary of the very first time Sailor Moon appeared on Japanese TV.

This year, with your help we have added four Staff writers. 
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Yuri Manga

Heading our way this month is How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend? Volume 1 from Seven Seas, by Syu Yasaka, creator of Monologue Woven For You.

Maitsuki Niwatsuki Ooyatsuki – Monthly With Ooya, Volume 4 (毎月庭つき大家つき) by Yodokawa is out in Japan (and on my to-read pile!) Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord, Volume 2 will be headed our way in English this month from Yen Press!

Usio Shio, creator of Doughnuts Under A Crescent Moon, is starting a new Yuri series starting in Storia Dash called “Koi ni Koi suru Koibito no Kankei.”

Yuri Light Novels

Stellar Step, Volume 1 (ステラ・ステップ)  tells the tale of a post-apocalyptic Earth in which idol competitions take the place of wars.  Undefeated Rain meets and has her life changed by Hana, whose song moves her heart. This is the first of a series.

Via Yurimother, we have news of Miss Savage Fang: The Strongest Mercenary in History Is Reincarnated as an Unstoppable Noblewoman, which is about, according to Yurimother, “a gender bender light novel focuses on a male mercenary reborn as a woman and becomes involved in a bisexual love triangle.”

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Other News

I am incredibly pleased to announced that Rediscovery: Science Fiction by Women, Volume  3 (1964-1968)  is now available from Journey Press. I was able to contribute to this volume in a small way, as I wrote the end word for the story by Miriam Allen deFord. I also contributed to Volumes 1 and 2 and am thrilled to be in such amazing company as Seanan McGuire and Marie Vibbert. I hope you will pick this book and the rest of the series up. It’s amazing stuff.

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

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Yuri Manga

We’ve added a bunch of stuff to the Yuricon Store!

Ratana Satis’ Pulse, Volume 3 , Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6 and Volume 7 to complete the series are now all out or available for pre-order.

Boyish², Vol.2 is the second volume of this successfully kickstarted “butch x butch anthology” and is now available for pre-order. The first volume was lovely. This second volume includes artists from in and outside Japan, that’s always exciting. This is available in both English and Japanese.

Futaribeya: A Room for Two, Volume 10 concludes this series that, had it been 20 years ago, I probably would have been all over, but in 2024…I require more conviction in my Yuri than /handwave/ “Isn’t it obvious?”

This May will see the final volume of Hara Yuriko’s school series Cocoon, Entwined, Volume 6 from Yen Press.  Her short story collection Out Of The Cocoon (アウト・オブ・ザ・コクーン) is available in Japan, which includes sequels following Hana and Youko post-series.

Yodokawa’s Monthly In The Garden With My Landlord, Volume 2 is headed our way this month. This romantic comedy is a lot of fun. I’ve reviewed the first three volumes of the series in Japanese here on Okazu.

Arai Sumiko’s Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta, Volume 2 (気になってる人が男じゃなかった) is out now to great acclaim.

Shikabane to Ai ga Omoi Seikishi no Toubatsu Gakuen Life, Volume 1  (しかばね少女と愛が重い聖騎士の討伐学園ライフ) is a school life fantasy of a holy knight and a zombie and a mystery that may be better off unsolved.

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Yuri Light Novel

The Executioner and Her Way of Life: Book 7 Lost light novel is hitting shelves here this month, once again from Yen Press. 6 months have passed and Menou is still looking for a way to restore Akari’s memories.

Don’t forget that this series is now available as an audiobook, with The Executioner and Her Way of Life, Book 1 Thus She Is Reborn available on multiple audio platforms!

Yuri Live-Action

Here’s a sweet little “lesbian” movie in full on Youtube, about my two favorite things – cute women and food. ^_ ^ Check out Brandon Okamura’s Maneki.

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Yuri Literature

Girls’ Love: The Development History of Lily Fan Culture in Taiwan’s ACG Industry 2023 Revised Edition (少女之愛：台灣ACG界百合迷文化發展史 2023增修版) is a Chinese-language look at Yuri history and fandom in Taiwan. The order period runs through this month, so don’t miss it.

Also not to be missed, James Welker’s amazing-looking book, Transfiguring Women in Late Twentieth-Century Japan: Feminists, Lesbians, and Girls‘ Comics Artists and Fans that will be coming out from the University of Hawai’i Press this summer.

Other News

Via YNN Correspondent Patricia B. wants you to know about Knapsack Magazine, Volume 1: Cassette, “A brand new anthology series of comics & illustrations encompassing our collective weird-kid nostalgia, by Lucky Pocket Press!”

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with us.

Yuri Manga

Italian manga publisher Toshokan has licensed Sal Jiang’s Black & White. Check out their catalog for preview pages.

Via YNN Artemis, Aneido’s  18+ The Murderer and Her Runaway Desire is available in English as a digital download.

Titan Manga has licensed The Elegant Courtly Life of the Tea Witch written by Ameko Kaeruda, illustrated by Yorifuji to be released in November, according to ANN’s Joana Cayanan. I read a bit of this, it was really cute.

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Light Novel

Yen Press announced the license of Hitoma Iruma’s Yuri romance My First Love’s Kiss.

 
Yuri Live-Action

Check out this trailer for Who’ll Stop The Rain, a Chinese lesbian movie by Su I-Hsuan that’s hit up a bunch of film festival circuits. ^_^

Via YNN Correspondent Patricia B, The Japan Society has scheduled a showing for Summer Vacation 1999, an adaptation of Moto Hagio’s BL classic, Heart of Thomas. I reviewed this movie back in 2005. It was a really interesting, featuring an all-female cast playing the parts of the boys in the story. That added an interesting gender fuckery to the quality of the storytelling.

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Other News

Congratulations to our good friend James Welker on his new book, Transfiguring Women in Late Twentieth-Century Japan: Feminists, Lesbians, and Girls‘ Comics Artists and Fans, which will be  available from The University of Hawa’ii Press in July. This is going to be totally worth reading and, with a cover like that, I want it on my shelves. ^_^

Netflix has put the whole movie of Nimona in its entirety on Youtube for free. Give it a watch, it was a nice little queer fantasy.

Via Sr. YNN correspondent Sean G, we have new that the perfect figurine can be made, Check out this Chautury Panlunch, aka Chuchu, from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury, by Figurise Standard.

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with us.

Yuri Manga

Some news from Seven Seas this week. They have licensed Mochi_Au_Lait and majoccoid’s Ikemen Onna to Hakoiri Musume (イケメン女と箱入り娘) series as a 1-volume omnibus under the name Handsome Girl And Sheltered Girl: The Complete Collection. I reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2…and I missed “the joke,” but primarily because I was desperately hoping that that wasn’t the joke. But, it is. A naive woman assumes the handsome person she’s met is a man… spoiler, she is not. Alex Mateo has details on ANN.

Seven Seas also wants to remind you that How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend?, Volume 1 is up for pre-order right now. By  Syu Yusaka, creator of Monologue Woven For You, this manga series hits shelves here in March!

New Items on the Yuricon Store!

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Volume 5 (作りたい女と食べたい女) has hit shelves in Japan just as the TV drama is airing NHK. This story of found family is just so good.

Odoriba ni Skirt ga Naru, Volume 4 (踊り場にスカートが鳴る) by Utatane Yuu continues to be an interesting look at body image and self-esteem through the lens of ballroom dancing.

Relationships are not always forever, as we discover in Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 12  (付き合ってあげてもいいかな). YNN Staff writer Matt notes that a Tsukiatte online merchandise lottery is opening up shortly at Oshi Chara (this is in Japanese and they probably will only deliver in-country, so you’ll need a shipping company like Tenso or White Rabbit to give you a JP address.) 1 ticket is 770 yen (a little over $5 USD right now.) The lottery runs through March 25.

Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata, (君と綴るうたかた)  by Yuama has ended in the March issue of Comic Yuri Hime.  I’ve added Volume 5 and the final volume, Volume 6, to the Yuricon Store. The Summer You Were There, Volume 4 just hit EN shelves last month from Seven Seas!

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Yuri Audiobooks

On the heels of my review this week of Volume 3 of I’m in Love with the Villainess Audiobook, Volume 4 is out now!  They’ve thwarted the Pope’s assassination, but the tensions in Nur continue. This has been a very rewarding way to re-experience this series. Narrator Courtney Shaw does a great job.

Yuri Light Novels

It’s been a month since I reviewed Heimin no Kuse ni Namaikina!, Volume 3, the finale of this series, but we’ll be getting I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, Volume 2 of Claire’s perspective in April in English.

I mentioned this last week, but as a reminder  Karasu Piero’s new LN series, Seijou-sensei no Mahou wa Sunderu! Ochibore no Kyoushitsu (聖女先生の魔法は進んでる!1 落ちこぼれの教室 ) is hitting JP shelves this upcoming week. Adriana Hazra has more details on ANN.

Yuri Literary Fiction

The second volume of Zerogo, Yuri Literary Fiction magazine, (零合 百合総合文芸誌 第2号 ) actually exists in the universe! Yay! I reviewed the first volume last autumn and found it to be one of the best Yuri short story collections I have read. This second volume already intrigues me, as they are serializing some new works, which means that they definitely have a plan for future volumes, at least.

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Yuri-ish Anime

Check out Twitter for a key visual on the Look Back anime official account. Alex Mateo has details on ANN. This one-shot by Chainsaw Man creator Fujimoto Tatsuki was a profound read. I reviewed it here on Okazu in Japanese and English.

Crystalynn Hodgkins has the news about the music for the upcoming Sound Euphonium 3 anime series over at ANN.

Other News

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney, ANN’s Monique Thomas and Christopher Farris take a look at a roundtable by Nick, Chris, Nicky and Steve on When Your Fav Anime Couple Is Problematic, with some of our own Yuri favs popping up.

Scholar James Welker has put together a list of fan (doujinshi) events in Japan. It’s on Facebook, so you’ll need an account to read it, but this is an incredible resource for those of us who research in fan spaces.

Polygon has done a survey of 4000 anime watchers and broken it out by the numbers in Who Watches Anime?

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with us.

Yuri Manga

Melonbooks is doing a promotion if you buy Volume 2 of Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Jankakatta (気になってる人が男じゃなかった), by Arai Sumiko, you will be entered into a drawing for a signed copy. Purchases must be made by February 18th.

Galette No. 29 (ガレット) is available for pre-order through Fantia until February 16. Galette web is taking 140 character descriptions for “a world of Yuri,” for a shorts in the magazine. This would be in Japanese, but if you think you can do it, why not take a stab at being part of the project!

Probably no one but me cares, but ANN’s Joana Cayanan says that Sukeban Deka Pretend (of which I have reviewed Volume 1,  and Volume 2  and read, but did not review, Volume 3) will end in March. It ‘s been a lot of fun. I think Wada-sensei might actually not have hated this one.

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Yuri Anime

Members of the Birdie Wing staff will be doing an event in Osaka on March 3. Luminaries include the producer, director, art director and other staff, and they will be doing an audience Q&A. I find this lingering of the anime very interesting. 

Of course, JP companies decided that since Birdie Wing went so well, we need more…golf anime. Sigh. So we’re getting the generic sounding Sorairo Utility. Undoubtedly there will be no Yuri, and it will be real golf, which just utterly misses the point of everything we loved about Birdie Wing. Check out Crystalyn Hodgkin’s article on ANN for details. It probably isn’t Yuri, but it will be cute girls doing things cutely.

For another cute girls doing things cutely anime, we may wish to check out Yoru no Kurage ha Oyogenai (夜のクラゲは泳げない) for which an anime is coming in April. Check out the trailer on Youtube and grab the details on ANN from Joanna Cayanan.

Also coming in April is the anime for Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, which is both cute girls doing things cutely AND a darling Yuri romance. Some of the voice actors will be attending a preliminary screening of the anime. Details can be found at Comic Natalie.

Yuri VN

The demo of Love In A Bottle from Studio Élan is available now on Steam and Itchi.io. “Ankora the Love Demon only has a month to prove she can live on her own, but the CUTE SINGLE LADIES IN HER AREA might turn out to be a distraction! Can she settle down and find love?! “

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Other News

Alex Mateo has the news that a new Nogizaka46 Sailor Moon musical will be opening in Tokyo this spring. This is the first in four years and will feature performers from the 5th generation of the popular idol group.

Casey Baseel on Sora24 News, has the news that Sailor Moon art manhole covers will be appearing in selected sections of Tokyo that are related to the series.

Bluesky has opened to the public, please join the anime/manga/comics community there! There is a Yuri feed run by Seriously Sempai and my Yuri Resource List, which I am rebuilding slowly as folks move over. If you know of – or are! -an artist, writer, game dev, notable or company related to Yuri on Bluesky, contact me there, and let me know, so I can add it to my list!

Dafne Veliz take a look at The Tezuka Revue: How an all-woman theatre troupe influenced the Godfather of Manga,  for Anime Feminist.

YNN Correspondent Patrricia Baxter wants you to know that comic Influenca by Jade LFT Peters is available for pre-order now. This Short Box Comics Fair entry is a collection with a queer take on a zombie apocalypse.

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2024, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with us.