Yuri Manga

On the Yuricon Store this week:

The Moon On A Rainy Night, Volume 5 hits shelves this week! Do not miss this wonderful story by Kuzushiro from Kodansha.

I Can’t Say No to the Lonely Girl, Volume 2 also hits shelves this week.  While the premise was a bit sus, I will continue to promise that it does get better and ends in a terrific place. Just bear with this volume. ^_^;

How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend?, Volume 2 by Syu Yasaka will hit shelves in September, which seems impossibly far away, but will be here all too soon.

Twinstar Cyclone Runaway, Volume 1 (ツインスター・サイクロン・ランナウェイ) is the “comicalized” version of an award-winning story from the Literary Yuri Short Story Contest run on Pixiv annually. It tells a science fiction story of a young woman who is looking for a marital partner so she can go out and fish (something only married partners do on this world,) and the restaurant server (which is sort of meant to explain the incongruent maid costume) who joins her. It was a fine short story, I guess we’ll see what it becomes as a manga.

Via Comic Natalie, V Drive (Vドライブ！) is about a girl who joins a talent agency that is a front for saving the earth from alien invasion and is paired with someone who can’t stand her, but with whom she is in” Business Yuri” relationship on stage. Throwing everything at the wall to see if anything sticks, I guess. ^_^ Check out a sample chapter in Japanese on Comic K.

Genkai OL to Joshidai-sei ga Rei Rei Suru Hanashi (限界OLと女子大生が〇〇する話) is about an office worker and a student  who become friends, then more. Check out a sample chapter in Japanese on Comic Walker.

Yuri Drama CD

We’ve added the Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta Drama CD, Special Edition (ドラマCD 気になってる人が男じゃなかった) to the Yuricon Store. How exciting that Drama CDs are making a comeback. This is particularly a fun one as the entire premise is about retro music. ^_^

 
Okazu News

If we get $50/month more in patronage/support on Okazu this month, we can give every single reviewer – staff and guest – a raise. Help us get Yuri reviewers the wages they deserve! You can support us on Patreon or Kofi.  This is a huge help to us and allows us to do more coverage of the Yuri you love! This Pride month, help us support queer creators and their work! 

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Yuri Live-Action

Big news from Sal Jiang, creator of Black & White! Her office romantic comedy Ayaka-chan ha Hiroko-sempai ni Koshiteru is being made into a live action drama for Japanese TV. (Yet again confirming my long-held belief that Josei work is almost always more suited to live-action than anime.)  This will begin next month on several JP networks and I’ll be looking for some way to watch this without bending the rules of time and space. ^_^ I have reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2 here on Okazu, but have not yet had a chance to read Volume 3. I’ll bump it up, now.

Sailor Moon News

Netflix has announced that Sailor Moon Cosmos will be headed our way in August. ANN’s Egan Loo has details. Fans are, predictably, relived that we’ll get the final two movies of the Crystal series.

Now. Wouldn’t it be cool if the next time they redo the anime, Toei doesn’t rush or shortchange it, puts directors on it that understand the franchise and the US localizer doesn’t hire toxic asshats to handle talent? Just saying, I would like to think this series will one day actually get a chance to shine.

Yuri Visual Novels

Via YNN Correspondent Patricia B, Studio Élan has announced two new VNs!

A Tithe In Blood, is a “A dark yuri visual novel, about a quiet university student who discovers blood magic in the depths of her grief. Stepping into a world she little understands, Honoka finds unexpected love, and inadvertantly [sic] sets in motion a deadly series of events.” Wishlist on Steam or download on Itch.io. Trailer is up on Youtube!

“After getting lost in a blizzard you find yourself in Rainbow Valley—a strange mountain with even stranger villagers.” Wishlist Rainbow Valley on Steam. Creator Izzy calls Rainbow Valley a “cute dating sim, set in a secluded mountain village.”

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Other News

In honor of Pride Month, the outstanding documentary about Queer Comics, No Straight Lines is streaming for free on US PBS (Public Broadcasting Stations). If you have not seen it, I hope you will make time for it, it is fantastic. I reviewed it back in 2021 and it is even more important as we lost more of our first-gen folks this year, including the incomparable Trina Robbins.

In fantastic news, Anime NYC, The Japan Society and star anime journalist and opinion-maker Deb Aoki announce the creation of the North American Manga Awards! I know Deb’s been working on this for years and it’s amazing that it finally is off the ground. With manga accounting for almost half of comics sales in the US and only just this year being eligible for Eisner Awards outside the English Edition of International Comic (Asia) category, it’s been time for a long time that we have our own award. Congrats to all the judges and to everyone involved. I’m looking forward to the results. Get the details on ANN from Alex Mateo about this long-anticipated award.

This week’s fun fact, Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou in this month’s Comic Yuri Hime is the second Yuri manga reference to Japanese Edo-period costume drama television series Mito Koumon. The first was Fujieda Miyabi’s Iono-sama Fanatics. (Another series that just did not get the chance it deserved through bad timing and organizational incompetence.)

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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I am returned from a much-needed vacation in which I managed to do everything I wanted to – including meeting some Okazu staff and friends in London! We had a blast, thanks Ashley and Luce, Adam and Roo for coming in to chat. It was a delight to see you all. ^_^

Just like that it is June, so Happy Pride month!  Once again, I exhort you all to celebrate aggressively, persistently and publicly – fly every flag you have and insist on being proud of yourself. Those people who seek to silence one group will always come after all of us eventually, so protect others, be kind and be loud!

We have a couple of pride month wishes from beloved creators here. She Loves To Cook And She Loves To Eat creator Sakaomi Yuzaki has shared Nomoto and Kasuga celebrating Pride extremely gayly. ^_^

I’m In Love With The Villainess creator inori. has also shared Rae and Relaire wishing us a happy Pride!

Hanakage Alt has posted a wish for marriage equality in Japan today for a favorite Vtuber.

 
By Your Side Birthday Sale

This month is also the 2nd birthday of By Your Side: The First 100 Years Of Yuri Anime And Manga! I am running a limited-time special sale on direct purchases from me, with signed bookplate, and a print of either the front or back cover art by Rica Takashima. Fress shipping in the lower 48 US states, but contact me and we’ll work something out for your location.

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Yuri Manga

Viz is continuing to carve and important Josei niche with the license of Pink Candy Kiss, by Ami Uozumi, to be released Spring 2025. Thanks to Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean G for that catch!

Via YNN Correspondent Matt Marcus, Shoujo Crave on Twitter posted that the creator of Sono Uruwashiki Hito ha (そのうるわしきひとは、) Mame Zakana, has confirmed that this is a Yuri title – the first to run in Hana to Yume magazine in decades.

I cannot conjecture why, but Fantia, Toranoana’s crowdfunding site is no longer accepting Mastercard and Visa, so if you are outside of Japan, you will be getting frantic emails to change your payment scheme to Amex or Diners Club (eyeroll). I have switched to Galette magazine’s Pixiv Fanbox, which I am not entirely thrilled about, but that puts all the folks I follow and support on one system, so yay, I guess. Do yourself a favor and make sure you’ve got your copies of No. 30 and the 4th illustration book first.

Via YNN Senior Correspondent Ashley, Baka Onna 26 o’clock, Volume 1 (バカ女26時 1) is like GUNJO, ” without guilt (or forethought).” Two women kills their husbands and take to the road! Hopefully we’ll be getting a review soon.

ANN’s Anita Tai reports that Kodansha has bought Wani Books. I wonder if we’ll see a new edition of Ikkitousen,  but I bet we won’t see an English language edition of  anytime soon. ^_^

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Yuri Events

Girls Love Fest 41 is happening on June 30, back at the Pio building. Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean there will be a Spy Girls-only section.

I will be a guest once again at AnimeNYC in August, in NYC! I’m running a panel on the “Rise of Queer Manga” with some fantastic panelists, so definitely drop in and see me in the artist alley. I’ll be next to my pal Zack Davisson.

I’m also a guest at two online BL cons this summer. At Brazil’s BlymeCon, I’ll be presenting my popular “Secret” History of Yao and Yuri panel, which will be pre-recorded so they can subtitle the presentation and me answering some questions in Portugese. I’ll be there to take questions, if we have time.

I’ll also be returning to CitrusCon (which I will probably be doing from AnimeNYC….!) where I will doing a new presentation on Queer Manga as well.

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 in English

The Moon on a Rainy Night, Volume 5 is headed our way this month. It’s up on the Yuricon Store, but more links to come, as it’s not yet up on CR or Bookwalker Global.

Coming up from Tokyopop is Yomogimochi’s weirdly titled Boys Gilding The Lily Shall Die!?, Volume 1. Let me talk about this a little bit. Tokyopop had this initially listed as “Boys Interfering With Yuri Shall Die!?” and I completely understand why they went with that, but neither title has anything at all to do with the story.

At Comitia this year I picked up a sample doujinshi of the first couple of chapters of this story. I was interested because the premise of girls in band always interests me, but the title was so weird and the description focused on the wrong thing too, so I had passed when it first came out in Japanese. But at Comitia I picked it up and it was what I thought it might be. So the story is about Katagiri, a very, very serious trumpet player and Aikawa, who transfers in and takes the top position. Aikawa has a boy friend. He is not important to the story, really. But Aikawa and Katagiri begin to have a rivalry/something else thing going on that is quite good and tense. Ignore the title and just get the book.

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 Yuri Manga in Japanese

While we’re adding stuff by Kuzushiro-sensei, we’ve added Kimi no Tamenara Shineru, Volume 11 (姫のためなら死ねる) her “historical” fantasy about life in the Heian court with Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu.

Galette, No. 29  (ガレット) is also up on the Store, as is a collection of manga from the magazine by Uno Jinnia, called Mokuyoubi Ice Cream Morning + Night (木曜日のアイスクリーム 朝＋夜).

Kashikaze’s Lonely Girl ni Sakaraenai, Volume 6 (ロンリーガールに逆らえない)  completes the set in Japanese. I reviewed Volume 1 of I Can’t Say No To The Lonely Girl in April.

Kodama Naoko’s current manga in Comic Yuri Hime, Usotsuki Hanayome to Dousei Kekkon-ron, Volume 1 (嘘つき花嫁と同性結婚論), is about a lesbian whose life is upended when a woman she used to crush on leaves her husband and asks to stay with her.

Via Comic Natalie, we have another (!) fantasy series starting in Comic Yuri Hime, but also a historical series set in the Taisho period, with  “Muryoku Seijo to Munou Oujo ~ Maryoku Zero de Shoukansareta Seijo no Isekai Kyuukokuki ~” (無力聖女と無能王女～魔力ゼロで召喚された聖女の異世界救国記～) a story of a summoned” saint” with no power and a princess who cannot use her power, and “Kanaria wa Kiraboshi no Yume o Miru” (カナリアは綺羅星の夢をみる), a romantic story set in the Taisho period about Fumino, a female student who dreams of pursuing a career in fashion, and a high-class prostitute who becomes her model…and I am really hoping that one rocks.

Yuri Manga in Spanish

Via Arai Sumiko-sensei’s X account, The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All, Volume 1 is now available in Spanish for Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, México and Perú. I find it kind of interesting that this Spanish-language translation is going with the English-language title.

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Yuri Interview

Via Staff Writer Matt Marcus, here is an interview with Tamifull, creator of How Do We Relationship in Japanese on 47 News, Don’t miss out! Masterpiece depicting love between college students: 10,000-word interview with Tamifull.

Yuri Novel

Via YNN Correspondent MakiPeakSpider, Libery Pub has a an English translation of Thai GL novel Petrichor Rust In the Rain,  available on Thai novel sites, Meb, Naiin and Mareads.

 
Yuri Live Action

Via Comic Natalie, we have key visual for the Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau stage play!

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 in English

Big week on the Yuricon Store. We have someone cleaning up the old entries, so I can focus on getting new ones in. ^_^

This Monster Wants To Eat Me, Volume 1 is headed our way next month from Yen! I have been following this in Japanese, reviews of Vols. 1-7 are here on Okazu and Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 8 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし) is out in Japan.

She Loves To Cook and She Loves To Eat, Volume 4 is headed our way shortly!

I just reviewed this yesterday. The Moon on a Rainy Night, Volume 4 is another amazing volume of Kuzushiro’s manga about disability, queerness and friendship.

Sandy F reviewed Otherside Picnic manga, Volume 9 this week for us – there’s a lot of big feelings in this one.

Cheerful Amnesia, Volume 3 by Tamamushi Oku is headed our way next month.

Futaribeya: A Room for Two, Volume 4 is still available in digital format.

Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel,  Vol. 1 was released in February. If anyone has read it and wants to talk about it here, drop me a line!

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Yuri Manga in Japanese

Ai no Kotoba (愛のことば) by Inui Ayu, is a collection of her shorts from the Galette MEETS doujinshi.

Speaking of Galette magazine, I’m a few issues behind, so Galette, No. 27 (ガレットNo.27) and Galette, No. 28 (ガレットNo.28) are up! 29 and 30 to come.

Fans of The Moon On A Rainy Night might want to read Kuzushiro’s “historical” comedy, Kimi no Tamaenara Shineru. Volume 10 (姫のためなら死ねる)

Fans of outdoor cooking, food and gentle Yuri will want to get Osoto Gohan wo go-issho ni, Volume 2 (おそとごはんをご一緒に) as Fuka learns to love eating outdoors with her neighbor, Yomogi.

Yuri Light Novel News

The Adachi and Shimamura Light Novels series will not end with Volume 12, according to author Iruma Hitoma as originally planned. ANN’s Anita Tai has the details.

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Yuri Anime

Shimura Takako, creator of Sweet Blue Flowers and Even Though We’re Adults, has another anime credit under her belt. According to ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pineda, her Awajima Hyakkei, stories about students at an musical revue troupe school is getting an anime. I reviewed Volume 1 and 2 here on Okazu.

Via YNN Correspondent m and the blue bird,  The entire Revue Starlight Rondo Rondo Rondo (「少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト ロンド・ロンド・ロンド) compilation anime is available in Japanese, without subtitles, on YouTube for a limited time..

ANN’s Alex Mateo notes that anime film adaptation of Chainsaw Man creator Fujimoto Tatsuki’s Look Back will screen at the Annecy Film Festival.

Still have no idea if it is even Yuri-adjacent, but on the chance that it is, check out Rafael Antonio Pineda’s report on ANN that Momentary Lily will be premiering at Anime Expo.

Yuri Visual Novels

Via ebi-hime on Bluesky, their upcoming “cute yuri VN,” Clear Skye Thinking trailer is up on Steam.

Studio Élan has announced new merchandise for their VNs.

Yuri Live-Action

Via the Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau official X account, Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau is getting a stage play! Jonana Cayana has the details on ANN.

LGBTQ Media

Seven Seas has announced an audiobook edition of a memoir of by Ryousuke Nanasaki, Until I Meet My Husband, the story of the first same-sex marriage officially recognized by a Japanese religion.

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 Audiobook & Drama CD

As reported yesterday, when I reviewed the 5th and final audiobook of the initial I’m In Love With The Villainess series, Seven Seas has announced that we’ll be getting the Claire-side point of view series also as an audiobook series! I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner Audiobook, Volume 1 is slated for a June release.

Watashi No Yuri Ha Oshigoto Desu! ‘Cafe Liebe Onna Gakuen Yori Aiwokomete’ Radio CD (TVアニメ「私の百合はお仕事です！」「カフェ・リーベ女学園より愛を込めて」 ラジオCD) is now up on the Yuricon Store! This is a collection of all the Radio shows done by the actresses for the anime Yuri Is My Job! anime.

Yuri Manga in English

We have a lot of new, and a few old, items up on the Yuricon Store!

The second volume of the manga for There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless…, is headed our way from Seven Seas in June.

I’m in Love with the Villainess manga, Volume 6 hits shelves this week in English, also from Seven Seas. Claire learns how life is for commoners…  inori.-sensei announced on her Pixiv Fanbox that she’s working on a collection of ILTV side stories for supporters. More to come on that.

Futaribeya, Volume 3 from Tokyopop is on the Yuricon Store. I’ll work diligently to get all of this listed.

Cheerful Amnesia, Volume 2 hit shelves this winter from Yen Press!

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Yuri Manga in Japanese

Speaking of series I fell way behind on, I not only have to add the remaining volumes of this, but also update old links, but Kimi no Tamaenara Shineru, Volume 10 (姫のためなら死ねる) is now on the Yuricon Store. Those of you enjoying Kuzushiro’s Amayo no Tsuki (雨夜の月) , might be entertained by her interpretation of Heian court life, with diarist Sei Shonagan as a NEET blogger and Murasaki Shikibu as her buxom rival.

Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou., Volume 8 ( 私の推しは悪役令嬢。) manga tackles Yu’s arc with some amazing writing and art.

This series has been halted, and it’s digital only, but Monomo Moto and Izumi Kitta’s Liberty, Volume 2 (リバティ) is up on the Store, because it’s been sitting in my to-go-up list for a long time and I wanted it off there. ^_^

Japanese manga creator Aneido held a successful Kickstarter to publish their 18+ Yuri ero-horror manga, The Murderer And Her Runaway Desire in English and now you can download that comic directly from Aneido-sensei’s digital store.

Speaking of creator-owned work translated into English, via Natsuo Mutsumi-sensei, who gave this glowing praise, King Kurasaki is running their first Kickstarter to translate their Yuri manga,君と夏の音:You and the sound of Summer, into English! There’s almost 2 months left for this, so I’ll remind everyone gain, but I know I’d like to see this make it.

Aishitabun Dake Aishite Hoshii-! (愛したぶんだけ愛してほしいっ！) tells the story of a girl waiting for her prince on a white horse, who falls for a prince-like woman.

Galette, No. 27 (ガレットNo.27)  is up on the Store. Sadly, Galette no longer appears to be available on US Kindle, but they are definitely still available through Bookwalker.

Mikaunji’s story of random couples continues with Fuzoroi no Renri, Volume 8 (不揃いの連理). Read it in English as Assorted Entanglements, from Yen Press!

Queer Comics

Via long-time friend of Yuri, Niki Smith, she wants you to all know about Succulent: Trans-Inclusive Sapphic Comics on Kickstarter! The campaign page describes it this way: “Succulent is a lush collection of sapphic erotic comics. Twelve tales which are hot, humid, and above all, dirty.” With more than a week to go, this comics is only a few hundred dollars from it’s goal and is almost certainly going to make it, so jump on into the loam! ^_^

Anime News

Along with the live-action movie, Yamashita Tomoko’s Ikoku Nikki is also getting a television anime. Presumably all this attention comes from this series having been names best manga of 2023 in DaVinci magazine. Crystalyn Hodgkins has the details on ANN.

ON This Week In Anime, Nick, Chris, Lucas and Steve ask Is The Anime Girl Band Era Here? and the answer seems to be “Yes!” Some of my favorites are called out, including Hello Melancholic, but, what? No K-On!?

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Yuri Visual Novel

Via YNN Correspondent Michelangelo H, House of Chavez is a new Yuri VN from Winter Wolves, that he thinks looks promising. “Play as Adriana and travel to Europe with her brother Bruno. Meet Silke, who attended to Adriana’s grandmother Maria during her final moments, and Dolores, a stunning and secretive woman on a trip. Explore House Chavez’s shadowy hallways and navigate the mysteries within.”

Other News

Clover DeMerrit has offered up an interesting look at From Takarazuka to Terayama: The influence of queer theater on Revolutionary Girl Utena. Some of it may be familiar to readers here, but the whole has a lot of new information that I certainly did not know! It’s a great read, and I’ll be adding the link to our Yuricon Resources page, for sure.

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.