Yuri Anime

 Via Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P., Sentai is reissuing Maria Watches Over Us as a complete collection on Blu-Ray. So all four seasons and the shorts in one collection. This has a March 2020 release date, so if you missed this modern remake of classic ‘S’ tropes, definitely take a look now! Also via Eric, there is a sale on the Aria The Animation Season 1 Blu-Ray set over at RightStuf.

HIDIVE is excited to announce that they premiered Kase-san and Morning Glories this week on the HIDIVE streaming service. The press release includes a strong list of territories and subtitle language choices with, you may note, a lack of Asian countries. Hrm.

While we’re talking Kase-san, listen to me talk about Kase-san and Morning Glories with the gentlemen at Oldtaku no Radio! We had a lovely chat about this wonderful series.

Via Twitter, Ishikawa Sachi-san comments on an interview with Toei Animation Producer Takashi Washio by the Huffington Post, as he discusses PreCure and his desire to “protect safe spaces for minorities.” This was very heartening.

Via ANN’s Lynzee Loveridge, Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu‘s (streaming on Funimation) featured pop idol group, ChamJam has a custom-made AMV, complete with creepy male gaze. ^_^; Lynzee doesn’t say that last bit, btw..I did.

Rafael Antonio Pineda has the news at ANN about the Starlight Revue compilation film which is scheduled for a late spring theatrical release in Japan.

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Yuri Manga

Seven Seas announces the preorder for Ajiichi’s Failed Princesses, which has been given a Summer 2020 release date!

The final volume of Takemiya Jin’s Itoshi Koishi,(いとしこいし) hit shelves this week in Japan.

Mimoto’s Koisuru Meiga (恋する名画) pairs Yuri and fine art. ^_^

Kodama Naoko’s newest, Uminekosou days Volume 2 (海猫荘 days) hit Japanese bookshelves shelves this month, as did Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 2 (ささやくように恋を唄う) by Takashima Eku.

Nettaigyo ha Yuki ni Kogareru, Volume 6 (熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる) by Hagino Makoto hit shelves last month in Japan. Volume 2 of A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow will be arriving on our shores in English in February!

We have to wait for March, but Tokyopop is delivering Akashi’s Still Sick, Volume 2 in English.

Volume 3 of the Sailor Moon Eternal Edition is up on the Yuricon Store. I’m woefully behind on these. I’ll be caught up shortly. ^_^

Via Twitter, jena is posting a new Yuri comic on tapas, Where The Flowers Lead.

Our old Yuricon friend Kat has her Yuri comic Inside OUT – A Queer Tale on Webtoons. This is a redrawn and remastered version of the comic that she launched in the late oughts. ^_^

The first chapter of Okafuji Mai’s nostalgic Forget Me Not (フォーゲット・ミー・ノット) is up on Shodensha’s Manga Jam (in Japanese) to read for free.

Yuri Light Novel News

This took a few moments to dig up: GL Novels, the folks that put out GIRL’S KINGDOM 1&2, have put out a bunch of their titles on US Kindle in Japanese. This one, Kunoichi Bette-gumi Satsuki Igarashi, Volume 1 (くノ一別手組ー五十嵐五月ー) is available as kunoitibettegumi. I was all excited to see that it was a kunoichi (female ninja) story….but it’s also a vampire story, so, YMMV. ^_^ This e-book includes Volume 1 and 2 of the Japanese series, which seems to be at Volume 4 now.

Yuri Visual Novel News

Studio Élan has posted a video teaser for a new Yuri VN, Voice at the Edge of the Universe. Everything they do is so beautiful, I really wished I liked VNs….

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Starting the week off with a bunch of new items on the Yuricon Store!

Yuri Light Novel

Via ach on  Twitter, Inori’s Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. (私の推しは悪役令嬢。) is available in Japanese on US Kindle. The author is comfortable sharing the English fan translations on her Twitter, so I can feel free to share Jingle Translation’s link, this as well. I cannot vouch that they have permission for their other translations, so you’ll have to use your own moral compass for those.

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Sean G, a new volume of Iori Miyazawa’s scifi thriller Otherside Picnic has been released by J-Novel Club, so we’ve put Volume 1 and Volume 2 up on the store.

Yuri Manga

We’re still reading Hana ni Arashi ( はなにあらし) so Volume 3 is up on the store. ^_^

Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart, the second of  the Éclair anthology series from Yen Press, has a March release date.

In Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu! Volume 6 (私の百合はお仕事です!) by Miman, we turn full-on to dealing with what is going on with Mitsuki.

I’m really digging Usui Shio’s adult life drama Kaketa Tsuki to Donuts, Volume 1 (欠けた月とドーナッツ) from Comic Yuri Hime.

Akili’s Vampeerz, Volume 1 (ヴァンピアーズ ) is a vampire Yuri romance, falling somewhere between goofy and erotic.

Pocket Shonen Magazine online has Magnum Lily, (マグナムリリィ) a manga about a girl discovering boxing, if that is your boom. ^_^

Yuri Anime

Jennifer Sherman at ANN reports that Asteroid in Love (streaming on Crunchyroll) episodes are being paired weekly with a series of educational shorts, which is a nice bonus. ^_^

Oshi ga Budokan Ittekureta Shinu is up on Funimation.com raw for non-subscribers. I will have thoughts about it that I will share, after I do my usual post-series read meditation to get my blood pressure back under control.

The Yuri Network News report is made possible by Okazu Patrons. Your support funds reviews, interviews, news and helps pay writers. As little as $5/month can make a huge difference!

Other News

Time Out magazine has this hopeful article on Minato Ward in Tokyo passing a “freedom of expression” policy to protect LGBTQ people, and allow for school uniform of choice for students.

Cynthia Medina at Rutgers Today takes a look at Why Are Manga Outselling Superhero Comics?

The great Torsten Adair has a brilliant article over at the Comics Beat, that I hope you will read past the somewhat aggressive headline: We are not in a “golden age” of comics. He’s right – and he’s right about what age we are in. Totally worth the read. ^_^

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We’ve got a big pile of news to start off the year!

Yuri Anime

Via YuriNavi, the promotional video for Adachi to Shimamura is up on Youtube, astronaut and all.

Crunchyroll has Yuri anime Asteroid in Love. It looks to be a cute little club + childhood promise Yuri story.

Funimation has stared streaming If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die for subscribers.

A number of YNN correspondents wrote in to note ANN’s Crystalyn Hodgkins has the details on Mamoru Oshii’s new vampire girl-meets-girl comedy anime, Vladlove.

The Yuri Network News report is made possible by Okazu Patrons. Your support funds reviews, interviews, news and helps pay writers. As little as $5/month can make a huge difference!

Yuri Manga

We have a couple of new items on the Yuricon Store!

Kanojo no Idea, Volume 1 (彼女のイデア) about a high school student and a classmate who is an actress.

The second volume of Chayama to Mizuno (水野と茶山) by After Hours creator Nishio Yuhta, completes the set of this Romeo and Juliet style story.

Via Melon on Twitter,  Tanizaki Junichiro’s Manji, a “forbidden love” story, between two women, one of them married, has been turned into a manga by Motomachi Natsuo. Check out the digital edition on Global Bookwalker.

Yuri Events

2020 is already shaping up to be a lot of fun. My first speaking event of the year is with the Japanese Translators of NYC at Baruch College on January 21 at 6:45:  “Beyond Politeness: Challenges in Translation”  is free, but you must reserve a spot by January 17th.

February will see the first of two Girls Love Fest events in Japan. Once again in the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Center Asakusa, GLFes 29 will be held on Sunday, February 2, 2020.

I’ll be participating in Mechademia 2020, “Ecologies,” May 30-June 2 in Kyoto, Japan. I’m kind of freaking out. ^_^

Bloom Into You News

Via Nakatani Nio’s Twitter account, the Bloom Into You Artbook, Yagate Kimi ni Naru Astrolabe (やがて君になる画集 アストロラーベ ) is slated for a February release in Japan.

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Sean G, Dengeki Bunko lists the third Bloom Into You Regading Saeki Sayaka light novel is slated for a late March release in Japan. The first book is available in English, and the second book will be out for June 2020, and(!) Volume 3 has a scheduled September release for the English edition.

How can that be? Well, Japanese companies are less interested in pre-orders than American companies. Their industry is very much “just-in-time” inventory oriented, a process helped along by excellent countrywide logistics. Even now that online buying is more common, quite often, pre-order links don’t appear on Japanese online retail sites until days before a book will be released in stores. Because American manga releases run a a comic-release model, pre-orders are critical to ordering and stock, so pre-order links appear as soon as the items they are “solicited” for entry, months ahead of time.  ^_^ This is why US companies beg you to pre-order books from bookstores. Those are the only numbers that count.

Check out this fantastic Bloom Into You, Touko and Nanami Figurine. It says it’s 1/8 scale but I went on a tear about that scale on Twitter and determined that it’s actually more properly 1/9 scale. ^_^

Other News

The Fragtime OVA production committee is putting together a book of production materials in order to raise money for the staff members who worked on the anime, but have not been paid for their work in the aftermath of Studio Tear’s bankruptcy filing. Kim Morrissy has the story over on ANN.

Yuni, creator of Nikurashii Hodo, Aishiteru, (which has been licensed by Yen Press as I Love You So Much, I Hate You,) shares this collection of adult women in love, with us on Pixiv.

LGBTQ News

Via Autostraddle we can all get excited for a new season of Gentleman Jack and via Pink News, we have a brilliant article about the women working to decode the 20 volumes of Anne Lister’s diaries.

From their twitter feed, we have a lovely little comic from mieri hiranashi that she translated into English for her audience, The Moment I Realized I Wasn’t Straight.

Rica Takashima let us know that her artwork will be on display at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum Dec 2-March 17 as part of the LGBT and Social Diversity Exhibit.

Niki Smith’s new queer kidlit book The Deep & Dark Blue is available in print, paperback and digital!

Ross Johnson over at Barnes & Noble takes a look at 11 Works of Trans-Positive Science Fiction & Fantasy.
 

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 essential part of the team!

Yuri Manga

A bunch of new items on the Yuricon Store, just in time for your final holiday gift lists!

February will bring us Kase-san and Yamada, the 6th volume of the Kase-san manga from Seven Seas.

Also headed our way in February is Our Wonderful Days, Volume 2!

The Rose of Versailles, Volume 1 is hitting shelves at the end of January.

If I Could Reach You, Volume 3 is headed for a mid-January release.

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Yuri Anime

Not sure how Yuri this might turn out to be be but ANN reports that Crunchyroll, Funimation and HIDIVE will all be streaming Magia Record: Puella Magi Magica Madoka Side Story in the new year. Check out Alex Mateo’s report for details and for the promotional videos.

It is with utmost delight that I can tell you that Go Nagai’s The Devil Lady is streaming on Amazon Prime. It’s dub only, but still so very worth watching. In fact, I’m watching it as I type this report. ^_^

Yuri Visual Novel

Studio Élan has announced a new Yuri Visual Novel, Lock and Key. From the website:

“What does it mean to be a magical girl?”

This is the question at the heart of Lock and Key, a magical mystery set in a world shaped by your interpretation of the magical girl genre. 

Sherri and Kealey Cohen, now a married couple in their late 20s, left the title of magical girls behind them over a decade ago. Now on the verge of losing their powers and entering a life of true normalcy, a string of unexplainable murders forces them to come out of retirement for one last adventure. Together with Nina, their old friend, and Ruby, a new protege, Sherri and Kealey will have to face a mystery connected both to their past and future. In the world of Lock and Key, the player shapes their path…and more importantly, determines where that path will end.

This sounds really fun if you like actual games in your VNs.

Yuri Light Novel

The digital release of Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka, Volume 1 is out. You definitely don’t want to miss this if you like Sayaka best (which you obviously should. ^_^)

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress! Volume 2 is out now and every bit as worth reading as Volume 1. The print version of Volume 1 is heading our way in June 2020 (which is going to be a hell of a month for Yuri fans.)

Other News

Rafael Antonio Pineda over at ANN has a report on the Cutie Honey Stage Play cast and visuals.

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! Write me with any questions you have, and I’ll do my best to answer them on the YNN Podcast!

Yuri Manga

We have some new items on the Yuricon Store! (One of my stretch goals for Okazu in the future is to hire someone to help me keep up on this. There is *so* much Yuri coming out now, I can barely manage it. ^_^)

Tsurezure Biyori, Volume 3 (徒然日和), the final volume of this pleasant series of 4 girls living their lives.

Mizuno to Chayama, Volume 1 ( 水野と茶山)  by Nishio Yuhta, creator of After Hours, which is a small-town Yuri Romeo and Juliet of a sort.

In Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 3,  (付き合ってあげてもいいかな), Miwa and Saeko continue to work on building a relationship with opposing personalities.

Just yesterday Seven Seas announced the license of Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru as The Gym Teacher and the School Nurse Are Dating! which is slated for a September 2020 release.

In honor of the second volume of Mikanuji’s Fuzoroi no Renri manga ( here’s my review of Volume 1) being released, Fuchigami Mai and Aiba Aina have recorded a voiced promotional video. Check out Comic Natalie to see it. It’s quite nice.

Creator of Sasamekikoto/Whispered Words, Ikeda Takashi will be starting a new Yuri manga on Comic Boost online in January. Yuri Navi has the report on Futari ha Daitai Konna Kanji (ふたりはだいたいこんなかんじ).

Mai Okafuji announced the launch of her new Yuri series on Shodensha’s online Manga Jam, Forget Me Not (フォーゲット・ミー・ノット).

Comic Walker has launched SQ Kimi no Namae kara Hajimaru (SQ 君の名前から始まる). What makes this very interesting is that it is a Japanese digital release of a Chinese Yuri comic that ran on Weibo from creator 壇九 (TANJIU). I think this is very interesting.
 

The Yuri Network News report is made possible by Okazu Patrons. Your support funds reviews, interviews, news and helps pay writers. As little as $5/month can make a huge difference!

Yuri Doujinshi

Lilyka has the official English release of Yuunagi Marbled, a doujinshi put out by Momono Moto, which I reviewed in 2017. This was one of the very first Galette Works publications, which gives me hope that we’ll see more in the future. Lilyka is Digital Manga Publishing’s Yuri doujinshi imprint. When you purchase with them, you are given multiple formats to choose from for your download of the file.

Yuri Anime

Via Senior YNN Correspondent Eric P, Sentai Filmworks has picked up the Maria Watches Over Us Complete Collection  on Blu-ray which includes all 4 seasons of the anime and all the shorts. The set is up for pre-order! If you missed getting this series from RightStuf, this is a great chance to have it all in one streamlined set.

Yuri Game

Via translator Meru on Twitter, SukeraSomero, the English-language arm of SukeraSparo announced a new Yuri Game – OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbandos. As you might expect, I will not be playing this, so if you do and would like to do a review for Okazu, please feel free to contact us!

Other News

@animaltextures on Twitter posted a really interesting thread about Rune Naitō, one of the pioneers of “kawaii” art and animal mascots in Japan who was also an artist for the gay magazine Barazoku.

Mary Borsellino took on the topic of happy endingd in queer lit and why they are so important for Writers Victoria. In Defence of Happy Endings is 60% introspection and 40% extrapolation and worth a gander.

On Anime Feminist, Kris Avila writes about something I have attempted to address here multiple times. Predictably, the comments about my comment make the wrong point. The author prefaces this very excellent article with a supposition that is – only the face of it – incorrect. They then ignore that supposition. When I pointed it out, people tell me that that is not relevant, which is absolutely true, only, I’m not the one who said it. Avila did. Sheesh.  ^_^ Anyway, aside from that one phrase,“Queering” Heteronormativity: Biological essentialism in genderbending manga is a very good read.

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! Write me with any questions you have, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

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