Yuri Light Novels

Manga Planet has announced an exciting new license for 7 “Super light” Yuri novels from Parsola, featuring art by popular Yuri creators Akiko Morishima, and Hiromi Takashima, as well as Kitao Taki and others. These all were serialized on the Yomuco platform. These super light novels are formatted for mobile reading, with a few lines of text on every page, and color illustrations. I recently reviewed – and enjoyed! – the first “volume” of Girls Love of the Dead, here on Okazu.

Nio Nakatani (Bloom Into You) and Hitoma Iruma (Adachi and Shimamura) are teaming up again for a new LN called End Blue (エンドブルー) about two former lovers who meet for a second time. It’s very cool to see them teaming up again. Their work on the Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka light novels was pretty terrific.

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Yuri Anime

Via YNN Correspondent Megan, Vlad Love creative team interviews are going up on Youtube.

We’ve got the Battle Athletes Complete Collection up on the Yuricon Store. This classic series is awkward and often servicey…and it contains some obnoxious stereotypes, but the primary Yuri love triangle is right out in the open and  Mylandah and Lahrri’s burning desire for one another might be worth it. YMMV.

Adventure Time : Distant Lands – Obsidian is absolutely the Marceline x Princess Bubblegum story we need! It’ll be running on HBO Max. Give the trailer a look – it actually tempts me to add yet another stupid streaming service just for that.

HIDIVE is streaming Yuri anime Fragtime.

Via Chris Beveridge at the Fandom Post, ARIA The CREPUSCOLO‘s first trailer is on Youtube.

Yuri Manga

New on the Yuricon Store is  Hana ni Arashi, Volume 7 (はなにあらし), the ongoing charming romance of Nanoha and Chidori may have finally hit a snag with a rival for Nanoha’s affection!

Via Comic Natalie, Yuri manga Yume no Hashibashi (夢の端々),  Volume 1 and Volume 2. YNN Correspondent Megan has this to say about this two-vol historical Yuri series: “…this one follows two young women in post-war Japan up to the Reiwa era. The story begins with one of the women, now an old lady, visiting the other at home, though she doesn’t seem to remember her. Back in the 70s as teens, the girls attempted a 心中 (lover’s suicide) together. Later, one of the girls is entered into an arranged marriage, while the other girl arranges one last trip for the two of them before the marriage.”

Via Yuri Navi, we have news of a Yuri android manga, Tengoku no Nakoniwa, by Hirono Tsukiko. You can read the chapter on Comiplex, in Japanese.

Reminder that you can still get a piece of Yuri manga history! Grab WORKS, by Eriko Tadeno and Yuri Monogatari Vols. 3,4 & 6 for $25 – with free US shipping, from our friends at Cheapmanga.com with the code ALC2020!

Yuri Visual Novel

Curse of Kudan, fully voiced, available in English, Chinese and Japanese, is up on the Yuricon Store. This occult-ish Yuri story from SukeraSparo looks interesting, I’m reading the manga as it runs in Comic Yuri Hime.

Yuri Event

Girls Love Fest looks like it’s going ahead in February.

Other News

Once again via Megan, we have the pretty spectacular news about Kodansha’s licensing Boys Run the Riot, a story about trans kids by trans creator Keito Gaku. Adriana Hazra has details of the story on ANN.

Translator Jocylene Allen talked to the folks at Manga Mavericks about her work on Shiminami Tasogare: Our Dreams at Dusk.

Via the Yuri/GL Phillippines group on Facebook, namori-sensei posted this delightful reaction to seeing Yuru Yuri characters plastered around Shinjuku, advocating for social distancing measures.

Seven Seas has teamed up with Bookwalker Global for this month’s licensing survey. Make suggestions and get a coupon for Seven Seas books on Global Bookwalker! Do Yuri, get a coupon! ^_^

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Yuri Manga

Akiko Morishima’s The Conditions of Paradise: Our First Time is a prequel for Sumi and Sabrina’s relationship in The Conditions of Paradise, coming to you this month from Seven Seas!

Our Teachers are Dating, Volume 2 will be here at the end of January.

Takako Shimura’s Even Though We’re Adults, Volume 1 is heading our way from Seven Seas next February,

Yen Press has Kujira’s A Witch’s Love at the End of the World, Volume 1, coming our way this month!

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Yuri Anime

RetroCrush TV has added Yamibo: The Darkness, The Hat and the Travelers of the Books. ANN’s Jennifer Sherman has details.
This rather mediocre anime has had ridiculously long staying power. It’s quite befuddling.

RetroCrushTV also has announced that they have the Vampire Princess Miyu OVA, which is wonderful. I hope they get the TV series, because it fantastically queer and creepy.

Via YNN Correspondent Megan, Takarazuka-esque revue troop story, Kageki Shoujo, is getting an anime. While not Yuri, it’s a really great story, I hope you’ll enjoy it. Seven Seas has the manga as Kageki Shoujo: The Curtain Rises!.

Otherside Picnic anime gets some key visuals and frankly, I’m a little disappointed at the service. Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details on ANN.

Yuri Light Novels

We’ve added I’m in Love With the Villainess Vol. 2 to the Yuricon Store. It has a January release date.

And ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! is now out in print!

Other News

The fabulous Stitch has written about rap artist Megan Thee Stallion’s love for anime and says, clearly, “No one gets into anime for clout.”,  for Teen Vogue. (Lizzo, whose chanteuse voice and flute playing charmed me, is also is a fan of Sailor Moon and that’s just one more of a zillion reasons to love her.)

Legendary composer Yoko Kanno is collaborating with Takarazuka for an upcoming work about the Silk Road, reports Sora24’s Casey Baseel.

The Yagate Kimi ni Naru live-reading of the stage play is happening in Japan, in two parts. Streaming is available for purchase for an earlier version and they have an English language page, which I presume means they allow overseas viewers.

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Yuri Live-Action

Huge news this week as Netflix announced a live-action adaptation of Nakamura Ching’s GUNJO (羣青). This dark, but magnificent, Yuri manga follows two women – one, abused and desperate, the other a lesbian who loved her, after they conspire to kill the abusive husband. To be called Kanojo (彼女) in Japan, the series is getting simultaneous global release and has a site named Ride or Die on US Netflix. The synopsis on the US page reads, “Her abusive husband is dead, killed by her lesbian friend who’d do anything for her. Now they’re running for their lives.”

Check out Komatsu-san’s report on Crunchyroll News of the initial announcement!

GUNJO has long been one of my favorite series. Volume 1 of GUNJO is available in English on Nakamura-sensei’s website as a chapter-by-chapter purchase. Erin Subramanian did the translation and I was editing, until the pandemic put the project to a halt.

The Queer Japan documentary is alive! and will be available on demand through Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Google Play on December 11.

Yuri Manga

We’re doing a massive cleanup here and as a result, you have a chance to get some Yuri history for amazing prices. Our friends at cheapmanga.com are doing a sale on the remaining ALC Publishing manga, including WORKS, which was the second Yuri manga ever published in English and our global anthology Yuri Monogatari.

You can get all of the remaining ALC Manga, Yuri Monogatari 3,4 &6  and WORKS for $25 on Cheapmanga.com – and they are offering free shipping for $25 or more with the code ALC2020! While you’re there, look around. The folks there are good friends and have lost a lot of business to the pandemic. If you have the money, fill in a few holes in that collection, try a new series, give them a hand. ^_^

I get a lot of questions about Yuri Monogatari Volumes 1 and 2. They were both extremely limited runs. Only 200 copies of YM1 were ever published. I don’t even have a final copy, only a proof. So, no, we don’t have more of those, sorry. We didn’t have Volume 3 until a little while ago when I found another box. ^_^ There only the one box left, so get ’em while you can!

Seven Seas has announced a January release for Takako Shimura’s new series Even Though We’re Adults, her adult-life Yuri drama manga.

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Yuri Doujinshi

YuriMother has taken a look at a new Yuri doujinshi over at Lilyka, As You Wish by Aosaki Rusou. She’s noticed some improvements in their offerings. Lilyka are doing another signed art event, this time for Ruri Kumashika’s work.

 Irodori Sakura has a new title, Yuriyon which is a collection of shorts by Why Does Love Do This To Me? creator Ayano Ayano.

 The University of Tokyo’s Yuri Enthusiast Research Group has announced on Twitter the 4th volume of their doujinshi collection, Lilliest, Vol. 4 available through Booth.pm. Check out the free sample pages (in Japanese).

Yuri Light Novel

Yuri LN ROLL OVER AND DIE: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! is now out in print from Seven Seas.

Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 3 is slated for the end of December. ^_^ Don’t forget to add it to your holiday wish list.

Yuri Visual Novel

Meru on Twitter notes that Kudan Folklore from Sukera Sparo is now available in Chinese, English and Japanese. That’s pretty awesome.

Other News

Via YNN Correspondent Sandy F., Shinsokan is planning a  2021 Kase-san series calendar. This is exactly the kind of thing we have Tenso and Buyee accounts for. ^_^ It appears that you can customize the calendar by putting the images in the order you want. I’m fascinated by this and may have to try it out.

The Murderbot series by Martha Wells stars an agender cyborg protagonist in a humorous and action-filled science fiction series. mar has created a 5-book synopsis animatic (spoilers!) on Youtube that I found to be superb. Check out I’m Not Your Hero – The Murderbot Diaries Animatic, using Tegan and Sara’s song of the same name.

BBC Bitesize interviews creator Cienan Muir on superhero diversity, touching on Indigenous and LGBTQ representation and even a bit about anime.

This week was the 110th Birth Anniversary of Kenkoy’s creator, Mr. Antonio “Tony” Velasquez, who is regarded as the Godfather of Taglog Komiks!

Via YNN Correspondent Kat C, check out this handmade lily-themed Japanese school uniform in early 20th century style. The Haruka Kimie shop is worth a look if Meiji-Taisho period cosplay is your schtick.

The Library of America shares this fun snippet: “When Clare Winger Harris’s byline appeared in Weird Tales in 1926, she became the first woman to publish a story under her own name in any of the American science fiction magazines.” The name of the story? The Miracle of the Lily. ^_^ It’s not at all Yuri, but the title made me smile.

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Yuri Games

The 2020 Yuri Game Jam is happening right now. Make the games you want to play! EVN Chronicles has a terrific write up of the Visual Novels from last year. 

shino on Twitter shared their previous game (while working on their new submission!) tender feelings like water.

Yuri Manga

We’ve got some new items up on the Yuricon Store!

A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, Vol. 5, Makoto Hagino’s soft and slow seaside romance continues.

The Rose of Versailles, Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 and Volume 4 are now listed on the Store! I can’t wait for you to read them all.

And we finally have a pre-order for Asumiko Nakamura’s A White Rose in Bloom, Vol. 1. I’m so looking forward to this!

New from Ichijinsha is Volume 1 of Majyou ga Koi Suru 5 Byou Mae (魔女が恋する5秒前) about a solitary witch and a witch-hunter in a sort of relationship.

Another slow, gentle school romance, Hana ni Arashi, Volume 6, ( はなにあらし)and it looks like an actual thing might happen! ^_^

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Kodansha Comics has announced the license of Whispering You a Love Song, by Takeshima Eku. I very much enjoy this series in Comic Yuri Hime.

Seven Seas has released all of Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl on digital. If you missed your chance to read this super-problematic, but also not all that terrible Yuri series, grab it it on digital now!  This series has its own category here on Okazu, as it was a biggish thing back in the day, with manga and  an anime. Check out the Kashimashi Category for all my reviews from 2005 – 2008. My opinions and reading of this series will undoubtedly have evolved significantly in the last 15 years (so be warned.)

Comic Natalie reports on a “Manga Music Video” for Shimura Takako’s Donikanaru Hibi, Happy Go Lucky Days.

Yuri Anime

Added to the Yuricon Store is the new Diskotek release of Devilman Lady – The Complete Series.

YNN Correspondent Megan notes that the VLADLOVE team had a press-only event where director Oshii Mamoru spoke. You can find it on YouTube with English subtitles!

Get a look at Ecchan and Aya-san, the lesbian couple from the anime Happy Go Lucky Days on Comic Natalie!

Yuri Navi talks about Yuri fandom’s interest in the up-coming anime of I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level due to the various relationships among the women in the story.

ANN’s Alex Mateo reports on Viz’s removal of all free Hulu videos on their site. Now you’ll have to subscribe to Hulu to watch classic Sailor Moon anime.

Other news

You can stream the music from Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah ze Musikal, based on Carlo Vergara’s brilliant transsexual superheroine on Spotify. ^_^ I still find myself humming “Babae Na Ako,” years after watching the movie. ^_^

MSN finally gets me. This week I opened up a browser and found Latonya Pennington’s article, A Beginner’s Guide to Modern LGBTQ+ Manga. ^_^

Lauren Orsini interviews Waka Hirako, creator of the powerful, award-winning My Broken Mariko. This manga is getting a lot of buzz and looks like it’s well worth your time. Lauren asks if here could be a queer reading of it.  ‘My Broken Mariko’ Manga Is An Emotional Journey Of Love And Loss

And speaking of possible queer reading, J-Novel club announced on Twitter, that Volume 4 of My Next Life as a Villainess is being released as a paperback next week.

One last item, Vertical Comics has shared the acceptance speak by Macoto Tezuka on behalf of her father Osamu, as he is inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.

Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to – thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network! Special thanks to Okazu Patrons for being an important part of the Okazu family. I couldn’t do it without you!

Yuri Manga

We have some new items on the Yuricon Store!

December is going to see loads of Yuri riches, beginning with Tamifull’s How Do We Relationship, Volume 2 from Viz.  Volume 5 of the same series is just out in Japan, with Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 5 (付き合ってあげてもいいかな ), but if you’re reading the EN edition, do not read the summary of V5! Huge spoilers. ^_^;

Inui Ayu’s office romance Teiji ni Ageretara, Volume 4 ( 定時にあがれたら) continues as Kaori and Kayoko celebrate their 1st anniversary together.

Hero-san to Moto Onna Kanbu-san, Volume 3 (ヒーローさんと元女幹部さん) continues the tale of hero Rapid Rabbit’s love affair with a former middle manager for the bad guys.

Naoko Kodama’s Days of Love at Seagull Villa, Volume 1 has a November release in English, while the series has wrapped up in Japan with Umineko Bessou days, (海猫荘 days) Volume 3.

Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts creator, Usui Shio, will be starting up a new series in monthly Yuri magazine Comic Yuri Hime, Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita, according to ANN’s Crystalynn Hodgkins. This should not be confused Tanaka Yuuki’s Shonen Jump Plus one-shot webcomic, Tomodachi Kekkon. Usui’s series Donuts Under a Crescent Moon,is slated for a 2021 release from Seven Seas.

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Anime News

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P., Diskotek’s new releases for Devilman Lady and Battle Athletes (TV series *and* OVA on Blu-Ray!) are up for pre-order. Justin Sevakis has been tweeting about these and it’s interesting to read about the process from the inside. I’m really looking forward to seeing Devilman Lady. These will be getting December releases as well.

Kim Morrisey at ANN lets us know that Shiraishi Jougi, creator of Wandering Witch: The Journeys of Elaina has asked the animation staff to not upskirt the character. I hope more creators request this, because as an industry, animation is far too comfortable with what is – at absolute minimum – a pervasive form of sexual harassment. I’d really like to see it shamed out of existence because it is fucking creepy to upskirt. The anime is streaming on Hulu. Yen Press publishes the Light Novels, Square Enix is publishing the manga.

ANN’s Alex Mateo want us to know that a new extended trailer for Sailor Moon Eternal is now out. This is the first of two movies that will cover the “Dream” arc. of the manga. It’s not my favorite arc, but there’s still some good stuff to look forward to. For one thing, it looks honestly really well animated. This will also be the first time the Inners’ power up includes the spirits of their planetary castles, which I’m actually really excited about. (Nerd!) Naomi Watanabe as Zirconia is a great choice, but I feel like we’re all owed a redo of the first two seasons of Crystal with Kon Chikai in the director’s seat, because she is absolutely killing it.

Can we declare a “curse” on the first two seasons, since they’ve kind of been screwed over twice now? ^_^;

RetroCrushTV is streaming – free and legally – Dear Brother (Oniisama e) based on the manga by Riyoko Ikeda, directed by Osamu Dezaki. I’m going to keep reminding you of this until you have all watched it. This should be assigned homework for any Yuri 101 course. In fact, one could do an entire class on it. Monique Thomas and Steve Jones cover some of this vast territory in their review on ANN, Does Dear Brother Still Hold Up?

Yuri Light Novels

Via Senior YNN Correspondent, Sean G. J-Novel Club has announced the license – and new translation – of GL Bunko’s Girls Kingdom 1 written by Nayo with art by Shio Sakura. Part 1 is available on the J-Novel website as a preview. I reviewed this novel back in 2018, when GL Bunko did their own translation. I’m really liking Shio-san’s revised art on this current crop of webnovels-turned-LNs.

J-Novel Club has also announced a December release date for Otherside Picnic, Volume 4. This link leads to the Kindle edition. It will also be available on Global Bookwalker.

Yuri Games

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Louise P, we have Thirsty Sword Lesbians Tabletop RPG by April Kit Walsh. This Kickstarter has one of the most compelling video pitches I’ve ever seen and if I played games, they’d definitely have my money! With 26 days to go in their campaign, they blown past their initial goal almost 4x over.

Other News

My brain got five times bigger, listening to Third Impact Anime Podcast’s Interview with Anime Scholar Helen McCarthy. Helen is my idol and anytime I have a chance to learn from her, I take it. I hope you will, too.

Become a YNN Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news with your name and an email I can reply to – thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network! Special thanks to Okazu Patrons for being an important part of the Okazu family. I couldn’t do it without you!