Tons of news this week as we get ready for TCAF festivities! (So, no YNN report next week.)

Yuri Events

Galette Yuri Matsuri – May 6 in Tokyo at Culture Culture in Shibuya. The folks from Yuri manga magazine Galette are running a Yuri event of their very own! Artists Momono Moto, Hakamada Mera, Hamano Ringo, Morinaga Milk and Morita Miyuki will be there.

Yuriten 2019 wraps up its time in Nagoya this weekend with a lot of signings! It will move to Fukuoka from May 18-26 for its final week.

Toronto Comic Arts Festival – May 11,12 at the Toronto Reference Library with events in the surrounding area. Check out a 100 Years of Yuri exhibit at the Toronto Reference Library, listen to me talk about 100 Years of Yuri and speak with Kase-san creator Hiromi Takashima and lesbian horror comic artist Emily Caroll! The schedule is jam-packed with great stuff and its free!

Comitia is returning to Tokyo Big Sight on May 12! There’s always tons of good stuff to be had. Galette No. 10 will be available among other Yuri circles.

Queers & Comics – May 17, 18 at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Over 140 LGBTQ cartoonists, scholars, publishers, and librarians will participate on panel discussions. Prism Comics will be running a shop full of amazing queer comics. Don’t miss this biannual event. We’ll be talking about the History of Queer Manga on Saturday evening!

Phew, May is a heck of a month for us. Help us to get to these events and pay our writers! If you enjoy our work here – Okazu needs your support. $5/month will make a huge difference for us.

Yuri Manga

Yen Press announced the license for the remainder of the ÉCLAIR: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates In Your Heart series – BLEUE, BLANCHE, and ROUGE by ASCII Media Works. Following anthology Éclair: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart, the series features artists like Reine Hibiki, Miman, Canno, Nakatani Nio.  BLEUE comes to stores everywhere November 2019, BLANCHE in January 2020, and ROUGE in April 2020.

Via YNN Correspondent zestuboshi, Rakuen le Paradis magazine has a chunky sample of Takemiya Jin’s Fujyourina Atashi-tachi( 不条理なあたし達) on their web comics page – click the white bunny on the left, then click April 5th. On April 20th, you can also read Shigasawa Kaya’s Stay Gold, which is a Yuri short, as well. Site and manga are in Japanese.

Chapter 1 of Seta Seta’s funny/weird series Yuri Wall is available in English on Amazon Kindle.

And we’ve got yet another “sweet” Yuri anthology,  Syrup Shakaijin Yuri Anthology (シロップ 社会人百合アンソロジー) featuring stories by Morinaga Milk, Kodama Naoko, Yoshimurakana and more, on the Yuricon Store. The important thing to nore here is that this anthology is from Futabasha, which means we’ve got yet another publisher throwing their hat in the already full Yuri anthology ring.

YNN Correspondent Catherine C. wants you to know that the English language version of Renta, “an online digital manga site targeting primarily women,” recently started publishing Yuri. One of their titles is Want to Sell Me Your Body? which I’ve reviewed here on Okazu (in Japanese).

Yuri Anime

YNN Correspondent Super writes in to say that “in the fourth episode of Carole and Tuesday, it was shown that the former wife of one of the side characters is in a happy lesbian relationship and is going to marry with her partner soon.” Thanks Super, something to check out!

Yuri Podcasts

Check out the Manga Mavericks Podcast on May 5th where I answer some seriously good, thoughtful questions about Yuri! 

Date TBD, but later this month I’ll be going over some important Yuri history with the Tomochoco Yuri Podcast.

Okazu News

We have hit our 4000th post here on Okazu. Wow.  I take a look at an anthology of Yuri brides (that actually includes lesbians and everything!) for that milestone.

LGBTQ Manga

Wahh! OUR DREAMS AT DUSK: Shimanami Tasogare is hitting shelves this week! Do not miss this terrific LGBTQ manga, in English from Seven Seas.

Other News

From Carmen Philips at Autostraddle,  “Saving Face” Director Alice Wu Is Bringing a Lesbian Teen Rom-Com to Netflix! Also Wahh! Everything about this news sparks joy. ^_^

Japan Times’ Kris Kosaka takes a look at Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon: Two pioneering women in Japanese literature.

DaVinci magazine takes a look at Shimura Takako’s series about a performing arts school which is not-Takarazuka-at-all, Awajima Hyakkei. I am, somewhat to my own surprise, still reading this series. ^_^

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

The English-language  Yuri Anthology Lilies v7: Lily Bulb is live & V8 is open for submissions! Get your copy of Volume 7 as a download on Gumroad or buy a print copy on Lulu.. To submit your work to Lilies, Volume 8, which will have the theme “Dreams” check out the Anthology team’s Twitter or Tumblr for more guidelines.

Volume 9 of Kiss & White Lily for My Dearest Girl is getting a May release in English. Only one volume left in the series!

ANN has the news that Yagate Kimi ni Naru will be ending with Volume 8 in November 2019. In the meantime, Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 7 was released this week in Japan! While we’re on the topic, Comic Natalie reminds us that the Yagate Kimi ni Naru live-action play is running May 3-12 in Tokyo and offers us some visuals of the main characters.

Wahhh! The Yuritora Jump ~ Ultra Jump Yuri Digital Anthology~ (ユリトラジャンプ～ウルトラジャンプ百合アンソロジー～ vol.2)  from Shueisha is back with a volume 2!  This is digital only, so if you’re in Japan, it’s available on Amazon JP Kindle and for the rest of us, from Bookwalker Global.

Ichijinsha’s Chocolat 2 Shakaijin Yuri Anthology ( ショコラ2 社会人百合アンソロジー) and Rezu Fuuzoku Anthology (レズ風俗アンソロジー) are up on the Yuricon Store!

Rakuen le Paradis magazine is publishing yet another Yuri story, this time on their web version, Shigisawa Kaya’s Stay Gold. Click the link to read a sample in Japanese.

ANN Reports that DMP is launching a new Yuri doujinshi imprint Lilyka. The online store will go live on May 1st. One of their two initial titles is a Momono Moto book reviewed here as Ame to Kimi no Mukou (雨と君の向こう), The Rain and the Other Side of You. The second, Lily Fairy Tale -Little Mermaid met Hansel and Gretel– by mintaro, I saw at Comitia, but declined to pick up. Another publisher in the Yuri space is always a good thing, but I have reservations about DMP. Their business model is a mess and they start a lot of projects, but rarely follow through with consistency. I hope this works for all of us!

Yuri Light Novel

Via YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney, ANN reports that J-Novel Club has licensed two Yuri light novels. Side-by-Side Dreamers by Iori Miyazawa, translated by Sean MCann (follow the link to a free sample in English) and Seriously Seeking Sister! Ultimate Vampire Princess Just Wants Little Sister – Plenty of Service Will Be Provided which was published online on Shousetsu ni Narou, where you can read it in Japanese. Written by HiironoAme, it is listed as “coming soon” at J-Novel Club.
 

Other News

Pride.com offer up a list of 7 LGBT Comic Anthologies Every Queer Nerd Should Have on Their Shelves. We have reviewed 5 here on Okazu. . ^_^

The Loyola Phoenix reports that First-year Latin Student Wins Foreign Language Graphic Novel Contest. How fun!

Kayla Cobb  looks at She-Ra, Season 2 and finds it funnier and queerer than ever on The Decider. (I’m watching it now.)

Do you have questions about Yuri? Write in and ask and I’ll do my best to adreordress 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 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!