I woke up to a computer crash this morning, so this will be, of necessity, a short post full of random things. ^_^

Event News

As we look forward to a new year, I want to give you my schedule of appearances so far:

I will be speaking at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on January 19th for the Center for Japanese Studies. The  lecture ought to be open to the public., so contact the, if you want to attend.

I’ll be at Hunter College in New York City on March 10. This is not open to the public, but if you want to come, let me know and I’m sure I can arrange for you to be there.

I’ll be participating in Queers & Comics in San Francisco, California, April 14-15.  I hope you’ll join me there – the first Q&C event in 2015 was amazing!

If you’ve enjoyed my reviews, lectures, panels over the years, please consider supporting Okazu on Patreon! The money goes directly to helping me keep this site and Yuricon running.

***

Support Yuri News, Review and Interviews! 

Support Okazu!

***

In 2017, I will be offering a special one-on-one Skype session for any Patron who reaches the $25 mark in contributions! It’s a great way to ask me all the questions you never get to ask me in a panel. I’ll even answer the questions I won’t usually answer, like “what do you think of /this/series?” ^_^ Patrons will also get a super-secret preview of research done for publication this coming summer!

Your support will get us closer to the goal of paying guest reviewers, help us keep the Yuricon Store the largest and most comprehensive place to find Yuri anime, manga, books, CDs and more on the Internet and in the world. As little as $1/month can make a huge difference. Consider it the cheapest Yuri magazine subscription ever. ^_^

Game News

This week’s big hullabaloo was the news that Tracer from the blockbuster game Overwatch is gay. I’m glad, but still feel there’s room for improvement. One of the frustrating things about limited representation is that when the one gay character does a thing, plenty of folks think “gay people do that thing.” Tracer is portrayed is in the manner I’ve dubbed “Man Lite(TM)” in which her behavior mimics a male character’s. It’s not that I don’t think some lesbians stare at women’s butts, just that we’re less likely to objectify other women than men are, generally speaking.  If a game had more than one lesbian character, you might be able to see that. With one, that behavior is solidified as something lesbians do. Nonetheless, yay Tracer.

Yuri Manga News

Via YNN Correspondent Hannah, a new indie Yuri publication is born! Meet Galette, which will include stories by Takemiya Jin, Hakamada Mera, Amano Shuninta and more!

Animate, one of Japan’s largest anime/manga/game and related media and goods store chains has a new Twitter account, the Animate Yuribu (Yuri club). They are tweeting the various Yuri specials at their stores, specifically the original drawings you can get if you buy highlighted issues through them and any signings and the like. This week they are featuring Citrus, since Volume 6 is available, among others. Comic Natalie has the list of all the different stores that are offering original art sheets and calendars with the purchase of Saburouta’s new volume.

Cheek out the Yuribu Twitter account for more Yuri manga, like Onedarishitemite (おねだりしてみて), by Tsukiko and lots of Merry Christmas wishes from Yuri mangaka today. ^_^

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Yuri Manga

At last, the second volume of Collectors by Nishi UKO is up for pre-order!  Yahoo!

Also headed our way is Renai Log (恋愛ログ) by Takemiya Jin and Momono Moto’s Akaneiro no Kiss ha Okujou de (茜色のキスは屋上で).

Ichijinsha has several collections on the way – Sekihar’, Akumu no Rakuen (悪夢の楽園) and Numachi’s Kakinzumi Girlfriend (課金済ガールフレンド).

Online,  Cycomi presents a new Yuri manga by Nou Natsumi, Futari Monologue. You can read chapters for free online, in Japanese.

ANN has the news that this year’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! listing for female readers included My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, by Nagata Kabi, which was licensed for release next year by Seven Seas, so you too can see if this manga is amazing!

From YNN Correspondent Ary,  comes the news that Complex Age has been licensed by Kodansha. Ary says it is “a nice, unexpectedly accurate look at nerd girls on the cosplay and lolita scene as they approach those dreaded mid-late twenties and thirties.” 

Not Yuri, but super fun, from YNN Correspondent Brendan B, the French edition of  Otouto no Otto (which has been licensed by Gay Manga as My Brother’s Husband), Le Mari de mon frère has been nominated for an award at Angouleme, the French comics awards event.

According to Komatsu-san over at Crunchyroll News, manga artist Matsumoto Hidekichi drew a serial announcement of the ending of the Sabagebu! manga  on Twitter.

Yuri Anime

I’m told there’s some service-y Yuri in the manga A Centaur’s Life, and now an anime for the series has been announced.

Viz is hosting a Sailor Moon R Movie Event on January 13th in Los Angeles, according to ANN. If anyone can make that, do let us know how it is!

Live Action News

ANN also has the news that the Live-action Saki movie has released a 60-second trailer for your viewing pleasure. 

Yuri Games

Today we’ll wrap up with news that was both surprising and pleasing. A while back I reported on a Japanese Yuri game that was being worked on called Hanaemi ni Kuchizuke (花笑みにくちづけを), set at an all girls’ school. The company releasing it made a big deal of recruiting character designs, then we didn’t hear anything again for some time. In fact, just a few months ago I took the link off my “to check” links, as it hadn’t been updated since 2015. Well, Yurinavi reports that the game has launched at last, as a cell phone game in Japan. Yurinavi has some screenshots for us, I’m reading it right now on my cel, so it looks like you’ll be able to play it (in Japanese) on western phones. Click here to play. I’m playing this as I write. It’s unintentionally hilarious (to me.)

And from YNN correspondent Elizabeth F, we have the game Fight or Flirt, a dating sim originally developed for the Yuri Game Jam, which is clearly Utena inspired. Check it out and let us know what you think of it!

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Anime News

It’s an all-anime edition of YNN!

We’ve reported before that Card Captor Sakura, which has a new manga series, is getting an anime. The Clear Card arc, in which Sakura, Li and Tomoyo are now in middle school together, will debut on Japanese TV in 2018. Anime Now has a nice write up about it, including the news that the original voice cast will be reprising their roles. I’ll write up something about the manga relatively soon. ^_^

***

Support Yuri News, Review and Interviews! 

Support Okazu!

***

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha is getting a new anime as well. Set after A’s, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Reflection, will include both Fate and Hayate, as well as characters from the game, the Florian Sisters. ANN reports that Reflection will be released in the form of two films, and that the original VAs will be reprising their voice roles.

Komatsu-san at Crunchyroll has the news that Toei has officially launched the upcoming Kirakira☆Precure ala Mode. 

Once again from ANN, Crunchyroll has added Funimation and Nozomi titles, (after Hulu killed most of it’s animation catalog) including Riddle Story of a Devil. Riddle is now available for viewing in more countries than previously, with this new deal.

Miles Thomas at Crunchyroll News has some thoughts on messages about queerness in Flip Flappers.

Crunchyroll News has the story that Tokyo MX is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hidamari Sketch by rebroadcasting the final season of this 4-koma anime. Maybe this is a good time to celebrate with a rewatch ourselves!

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Yuri Manga

From Dengeki Comics comes Eclair – Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (エクレア あなたに響く百合アンソロジー), a Yagate Kimi ni Naru (Bloom into You) anthology, with works by Hirao Auri, Kitao Taki, Kanno, Mekimeki  and other Yuri creators.

NTR: Netsuzou Trap and Citrus creators Kodama Naoko and Saburouta have a round table discussion about their works and Yuri generally, on Comic Natalie. (In Japanese.)

Comic Natalie also  reports that Kimi ni Yagate Naru and Happy Sugar Life are banding together for a special 16-page collaboration to be sold with Volume 3 and 4 of each series, respectively.

***

Support Yuri News, Review and Interviews! 

Support Okazu!

***

Yuri Anime

Just in time for your gift wish lists, we’ve added a couple of Funimation titles to the Yuricon Store:

 Yurikuma Arashi Complete Series (BD/DVD)

Riddle Story of a Devil Complete Series and OVA Limited Edition.

Not anime, but definitely Animation,  YNN Correspondent astrojensen suggests this animated sci-fi short, Orbitas. It’s worth a watch. ^_^

Manga/Comics News

Crunchyroll News has the scoop on the Twitter-comic announcement by Aoki Ume of the 9th volume of Hidamari Sketch (ひだまりスケッチ).

ANN reports that creator of Jormungand and Destro 246, Takashi Keitarou, is starting up a new manga series. Just as a guess, it’ll have some fetishy Yuri, because his work usually does. ^_^

Refinery29 has a first look at America, Marvel’s new title starring a queer Latina superhero, America Chavez.

Light Novel News

Yen Press has announced they will be publishing the Sound! Euphonium light novel. ANN has the news.

LGBTQ News

Alison Bechdel last drew a Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip when Bush was president. In the intervening 8 years, she hasn’t had a lot of reason to worry about her characters. But like so many in the post-election pall, she found herself looking towards them.  And so, on November 23, 2016, Alison Bechdel drew a new Dykes to Watch Out For strip. It says so much about the need the LGBTQ community has for this and her place in our artistic community that her site was crashed by the sheer number of visitors she received.  

***

I’d like to editorialize here for just a second. I’ve received a number of kindly-meant emails from the straight, white, men of the Okazu family, most of which express calm reproach for my tone of late. I love you all, but I respectfully ask you to listen with sincerity to the fact that we, your LGBTQ, non-white, non-male, non-Christian friends and family are terrified. Not irrationally so, as the incoming government will be informed by and run by actual white Christian nationalists. It is already, not all right. 

Thank you for understanding.

***

From Japan, we have two PSA poster campaigns that offers up hope for a better world.

Yodogawa Ward in Osaka has a launched a LGBTQ issue awareness campaign, which speaks to issues like bullying over sexuality and gender presentation. 

And, in Aichi prefecture, the “We’re All Normal” poster series, teaches folks about the toxicity of presumed gender roles, and prejudisce around sexual and gender identity. 

Know some cool Yuri News you want people to know about? Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by sending me any Yuri-related news you find. Emails go to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!