Yuri Events

It is my very great pleasure to announce that I will be presenting 100 Years of Yuri at Toronto Comic Arts Festival at 10AM on Saturday, May 11, 2019 in the Toronto Public Library Learning Centre. This will be followed by a Creator spotlight with Kase-san series creator Takashima Hiromi at 12 noon (location TBD)! This is very exciting and I hope to see you all there. Admission to TCAF is free and open to the public.

Kara Dennison has the scoop on the Kunihiko Ikuhara Exhibition -The Survival Strategy of Desire and Revolution That Connects Us  at Crunchyroll News which opens April 27 in Tokyo.

If you’re going to be in or near New York City on May 18  and 19, definitely make time for Queers & Comics at NYU! It’s all LBTQQ comics for two sold days. I’ll be moderating a panel on Queer Manga on Saturday. It will be really educational and fun! Admission is only $20 for both days. There will be a shop full of queer comics, with proceeds split between Prism Comics, the event and creators.

Yuri Manga

Tokuwotsumu’s Tsuki to Koi wa Michireba Kakeru (月と恋は満ちれば欠ける) follows two childhood friends who meet again as adults.

Salad Bowl, Volume  1 ( サラダボウル) by Kiyan is a rollicking fantasy about four women who live and travel together in a trailer, serialized in Comic Yuri Hime.

Seven Seas announced the license for Yuino Chiri’s Yuri not-a-vampire series Scarlet, this week.

Yuri Light Novel

Super exciting news. There will be a second Yagate Kimi ni Naru: Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite (やがて君になる 佐伯沙弥香について 2) light novel. Again authored by Iruma Hitoma and illustrated by series creator Nakatani Nio-sensei.

Takashima Hiromi-sensei has illustrated the online light novel on Yomuco, by Nanbu Kumako LOVELY！～ Aishi Mamecchi (LOVELY！～愛しのまめっち)。It’s pretty a straightforward Yuri school romance, and good for reading practice. ^_^

Also on Yomuco is a Yuri romance between a cop and a criminal, Sheets no Shita ni Jun Futatsu (シーツの下に銃ふたつ) written by Hoshii Nanao and illustrated by Kitao Taki!

Yuri Visual Novel

I recommend taking a look at Yurimother’s review of Lingua Fleur: Lily for a non-romance LGBTQ VN!

Yuri Live Action

Fuji TV’s on Demand service is premiering Yuridano Kandano (百合だのかんだの) in late May. The story follows Ebara Yuri, who is forced out of her house by a stalker. When she finds a new place to live, she is recognized as a former idol, “Yuri-chan.” The story is meant to focus on forms of communication and affection between women. Check out a few pictures on Yuri Navi. Interestingly, Fuji was the network which showed Transit Girls a few years ago.

Other News

If you’ve been wondering what Morinaga Milk-sensei has been up to, Comic Natalie has your answer. She’s been working on a Comic Essay about fostering cats that a friend had to give up because of allergies, Neko Borabu no Milk-san (ねこボラ部のみるくさん).

Get 3 James Tiptree, Jr. Award (for female science fiction authors) novels on Kindle for only $9.99.  Liz Hand’s Waking the Moon, Eleanor Arnason’s A Woman of the Iron People, and Nancy Springer’s Larque on the Wing.

Natasha H. takes an in-depth look at her exploration of asexuality with Bloom Into You at Crunchyroll.

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, 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!

Yuri Manga

We’ve got a bunch of new manga on the Yuricon Store!

White Lilies in Love Kaoru Toki, Anata ha. Shakaijin Yuri Anthology (White Lilies in Love 花香るとき、貴方は。 社会人百合アンソロジー) is yet another adult life Yuri anthology from Kadokawa. I am not complaining. ^_^

I have been waiting for this book for literally a couple of years now – Liberty (リバティ), Volume 1 by actress Kitta Izumi and manga artist Momono Momo is finally getting a collected volume!

End of the world Yuri fantasy Sekai no Owari to Majyou no Koi  世界の終わりと魔女の恋 by KUJIRA looks interesting.

Haru meets Midori, her best friend’s daughter at the funeral. She’s not great with human relationships, but she’s got to take care of Midori in Haru to Midori (春とみどり).

Iwami Kyoko’s short story collection Transparent Light Blue is out in English this month, and her vastly superior ongoing Comic Yuri Hime serial Luminous= Blue, Volume 1 (ルミナス=ブルー ) was released in March. Hopefully we’ll get that series, as well.

It’s Vampire x Vampire Hunter in Akiyama’s Killing Me! hitting shelves this summer in English from Yen Press.

Here’s an online illustrated novel (in Japanese) I’ve got on my to-read list: Sheets no Shita ni Juu Futatsu (シーツの下に銃ふたつ) with art by Kitao Taki and story by Hoshii Nanase, about a criminal and a cop who fall for one another.

Lastly, for fans of Otome no Teikoku by Kishi Tojiroo, a digital-only Otome no Teikoku / Ah-Chie Special (オトメの帝国／あーちえスペシャル) is available on JP Kindle inside Japan and Book Walker outside Japan. Follow the extra adventures of couple Ai and Chie including special color illustrations!

Yuri Anime

YNN Correspondent Super lets us know that ANN has the scoop on Anime Fans Pick the Most Heart-pounding Yuri Anime! The list has a surprising few series.

Yuri Game

So I popped on to HIDIVE to watch something and found that there was a huge banner announcing pre-registration for the Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight game in English. According to the Lilycat, pre-reg has reached 300,000 as of this past week. I’m still smarting from the loss of Sailor Moon Drops, and need a new game, so I’ll give it a try.

Yuri Nurse fetish game Nurse Love Syndrome is getting a new game and an English release, says Joseph Luster over at Crunchyroll News. The PC game with English subtitles will be followed by a PS Vita iteration.

Other News

Check out Wild Nights with Emily, a new movie based on poet Emily Dickinson’s passionate love letters to Susan Ziegler.

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, 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!

Yuri Manga

Taifu Comics has announced that the Kase-san series will getting a French release in May with Kase-san & les belles-du-jour! Check that link for a few sample pages in French. ^_^

From Yuri Navi, we have news of Shimura Takako-sensei’s newest series, a Yuri series running in Kiss magazine called “Otona ni Nattemo” (おとなになっても). I’m more surprised that is running Kiss than anything else.

Uzu’s Leonhart is a Yuri webcomic that tells the story of a young woman who wants to meet the player behind the dashing paladin who always saves her in an online game, and finds that her prince is a woman! Sample pages can be found on Yuri Navi, or you can read the current chapter on Takeshobo’s MangaLife Storia site. (In Japanese.)

After it celebrated a successful Kickstarter, Seven Seas has licensed Mira Ong Chua’s Yuri Graphic Novel,  ROADQUEEN: Eternal Roadtrip to Love! That’s pretty fabulous.

New on the Yuricon Store:

Doku Yuri Otome Douwa (毒百合乙女童話) is a “little pervy poison Yuri maiden story.”

The popularity of My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness did not teach the publishers the lesson we has hoped and instead of more authentic stories about lesbians dealing with life, we’re seeing more stories about lesbian sex workers. BariKyari to Shinsou (バリキャリと新卒) is about a lesbian sex worker who finds a client of hers is her boss, when she takes up an office job.

In Teiji ni Ageretara (定時にあがれたら), Mizuki becomes acquainted with Yukawa while eating lunch. One day she finds a sticky note in her coat pocket.

Fuzoroi Renri (不揃いの連理) is about a  broken-hearted office lady and a younger woman who find each other, despite the many things that ought to keep them apart.

And Satsumaage’s Douseiseikatsu Watashi o Sukittekoto Desho (同棲生活 わたしを好きってことでしょ) has a sequel, Douseiseikatsu 2 Watashi dake ga Tokubetsunara ii no ni (同棲生活2 わたしだけが特別ならいいのに).

Shigoto no ato ha Koishiyou (仕事の後は恋しよう) is another office romance, this one from East Press, so I hope for some actual lesbian identity. Fingers crossed.

The Lilies Anthology is once again open for submissions. You have until June 15th to get those stories in.

Looking for a comic with queer witches and contemporary social commentary? Listen to Kirsten Thompson talk about Hexed!

Yuri Events

Barcuch College in NYC is running a special event on Prewar manga and LGBTQ manga on April 18th with speakers Andrea Horbinski and Anne Ishii.

Kase-san series creator Takashima Hiromi-sensei  will be a featured guest at Toronto Comic Arts Festival on May 11-12 at the Toronto Public Reference Library. I’ll be interviewing her (!) and doing a presentation on 100 Years of Yuri. I will also be curating an exhibit of items from my personal collection. It’s going to be a fantastic event and just a little even queerer than usual. ^_^(And it’s always a little queer. ^_^)

I also hope you’ll consider spending a week with me in Tokyo on the 100 Years of Yuri Tour! Okazu Patrons get $100 off the deposit, everyone who signs up will get a specially-designed Tour t-shirt (I just saw the final image this week. it looks brilliant!) We’ll be visiting locations of Yuri importance, great Yuri shopping and loads of fun stuff!

Other News

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood has been envisioned as a graphic novel, by Renee Nault from Bedside Press. You can read some sample pages on The Mary Sue.

On the good news side, YNN correspondent Roberto R. points us to Republica, where there is an article about a female couple, one Italian Navy Lt. Commander, and the other a marshal who have been bonded in a civil union in Italy. Do check out those smiling faces. ^_^

Check our the Twitter hashtag “Koito Yuu Matsuri” (#小糸侑生誕祭2019) for fun pictures of of Touko and Yuu from Bloom Into You.

We’ll wrap up today’s report with this Atlas Obscura article on Yoshiya Nobuko which manages to discuss her work and life without mentioning Yuri once. ^_^

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, 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!

Yuri Manga

Viz announced the license for A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, with a projected Autumn 2019 release. I’ve reviewed the first four volumes in Japanese. This is good news as it is the first Yuri Viz has picked up since Sweet Blue Flowers and I’m glad to see them still in the game. 

From Comic Natalie, YuriSkebu (百合スケブ) is about a young woman who draws her fantasy Yuri pair-ups in a sketchbook, running in Comic Ryu magazine. You can read a sample here (in Japanese.) It looks cute.

Akili, who you may remember from Stretch, has a new manga called Vampires. Read a sample (in Japanese) on Sunday GX online.

Hannah Blumereich’s Full Court Crush, about “Gentle high school dingdongs find love” is available as a PDF for what you want to pay.

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

Hero-san to Moto Onna Kanbu-san (ヒーローさんと元女幹部さん) about a superhero and the evil mastermind she loves.

Ikemen sugi desu Shiki-sempai! (イケメンすぎです紫葵先パイ!) which is a fun little school romance from Comic Yuri Hime, about a girl i  love with her too-cool-for-her-shirt sempai.

Hisakawa Haru’s Yurikon, Volume 2 (ゆりこん) was cute, but I wish it hadn’t had to end. ^_^

Maid Yuri and possibly creepy faux-historical Sayonara Rose Garden (さよならローズガーデン) which is on my to-read pile. 

And Ichayarafushikanai Yuri Anthology Comic (いちゃらぶしかない百合アンソロジーコミック) which centers on stories in which the characters talk things over. ^_^ I think they finally found *my* fetish.

Also from Comic Natalie, Yoshitomi Akihito is promoting his new book Lilystem (リリィシステム) at the Yuriten event.

Yuri Events

Speaking of the Yuriten, the Tokyo show is wrapping up on the 24th, and the exhibition will re-open on the 30th in Osaka!

I’ll be updating my speaking schedule shortly, but do not miss me at  Toronto Comic Arts Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for May 11 &12 for a 100 years of Yuri celebration! TCAF is always an excellent event and this year will be Yuriful!

I once again invite you all to join us for the 100th anniversary of Yuri Tour of Tokyo. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

If you are in or near Michigan State University on Friday March 29, they are hosting two interesting talk events! Jennifer Robertson on Gendering Robots: Robo-Sexism & Retro-Tech in Japan  and  Roundtable on Pedagogical Approaches to Sexual Minorities in Curriculum Development.  If you do go, let us know how it was!

Yuri Anime

YNN has the news that bottom-feeder magazine Champion Trap manga Fragtime is gettting an anime and I am once again angry at the unfairness of the anime gods. Women don’t upskirt each other. It’s sexual assault, not sexy.

Other News

Check out the new 100th anniversary banner we have on the top of Okazu! Thanks to our endlessly talented webmistress Lissa! I’ve decided that they are named Natsuki and Kaoru, which will make perfect sense if you’ve been reading Okazu long enough. ^_^

Komatsu-san has the news that in celebration of Yuru Yuri‘s 10th anniversary, fans can get a special series art T-card from entertainment retail chain Tsutaya with other extras. 

HBO is going to show the BBC series about cross-dressing 18th century lesbian Anne Lister, Gentleman Jack. You will want to watch the trailer. ^_^

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, 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!

Yuri Anime

From Senior YNN Correspondent Verso S, we have the news that Japanese subscription satellite channel Wowow will be  broadcasting the TV debut of Asagao to Kase-san at 11:45 on March 29! Another great piece of news for this series that has accomplished so much.

Sailor Moon Super S The Movie is now out, with its moments of Haruka  and Michiru wonderfulness as the Senshi  battle a threat from outer space. The music isn’t as epic as “Moon Revenge,” but any moment we can intrude on Haruka and Michiru on a date is a good moment. ^_^

YNN Correspondent Eric P wants to let you know that ANN’s Mitch and Steven covered an under-the-radar Yuri anime called Mysteria Friends. High production value and tits, so if that’s your boom, you ought to like it. ^_^

Speaking of high production value, I watched Liz and the Blue Bird yesterday thanks to Verso,  (I plan on watching it again today before I review it tomorrow) and you could argue that it is a Yuri story, if you were so inclined. It certainly was an interesting and thought-provoking story. The US release is out from Eleven Arts and I think its worth a watch. 

Yuri Manga

Couple of new items on the Yuricon Store, where we are rapidly approaching 1000 Yuri items!

Mochi Au Lait’s Rental Shop Onee-san wo Rental no Suru Hanashi (レンタルショップでお姉さんをレンタルする話) looks fun. I sincerely hope it actually is.

Yuino Chiri’s werewolf feudal fantasy Scarlet, Volume 1, (スカーレット) is violent and bloody, but hey, Yuri werewolves and vampires, oh my.

Itoshi Koishi, Volume 1 (いとしこいし) by Takemiya Jin is sweet as cream. ^_^

I have no idea yet what to make of Watagiri Saya’s  Sunami Yuko to Yurina Hitobito (須波優子と百合な人びと). I presume its a comedy, but that’s always a questionable premise for me. ^_^;

And here’s today’s important thing of note: You may recall that My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness‘ Japanese title is Sabishi-sugi Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report (さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ).  Well, this week I see that Ichijinsha, publisher of Comic Yuri Hime in an all out race to put out as many Yuri anthologies as Kadokawa, has listed Lesbian Fuzoku Anthology (レズ風俗アンソロジー) No contributors listed yet, but one Pixiv creator is talking about being part of it. Based on that one creator’s comics, it appears to be a collection of stories about not-queer women having a “lesbian experience,” with a sex worker not about the lesbian experience of life.  I’ll let you know as I get more info. 

Speaking of things happening in Yuri – the pre-order for Yen Press’ English edition of  Kurukuruhime’s Yuri Life – about the daily life of a cute happily coupled couple – is up for pre-order!

Seven Seas weighs in with Naoko Kodama’s I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up which is slated for a July release and the preorders for all four volumes of Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare! (Volume 1 May 2019 | Volume 2 July 2019 | Volume 3 September 2019 |  Volume 4 December 2019). 

These two rivalries (Ichijinsha/Kadokawa and their English localizers Seven Seas/Yen Press) are going to be something to watch…and also the market reaction to this veritable flood of Yuri manga. I take a look at this major moment in Yuri’s development as a genre – and the trend in Japan that spawned it – on this week’s Okazu YNN Podcast! 

LGBTQ Comics

Sparkler Monthly ran a successful kickstarter for Yuri comic Before You Go and now they are releasing the ebook for LGBTQ comic For Peace by Alexis Cooke about Bebe and Lillian, who meet on a forum for truckers.

Kickstarter Watch 

The third Dates! An Anthology of Queer Historical Fiction kickstarter from Margins Publishing is live. If you enjoyed the first two volumes (which I totally did: Volume 1 and Volume 2 reviews here) this third one looks to be just as much fun. 

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to address them on the Okazu YNN Podcast, 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!