Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta, Volume 4 (気になってる人が男じゃなかった)

April 2nd, 2026

On a vivid green background, a woman with dark hair in a sleeveless top holds the cords to earphone in the ears of a woman with lighter, longer, wavy hair,, as they lean in close to one another. While Volume 4 of Kininatteru Hito Ga Otoko Janakatta, Volume 4 (気になってる人が男じゃなかった) was one of the most-anticipated manga to arrive in my house, it’s also something that both my wife and I are following online, so we are more or less tuning in, rather than seeing it “finally.”

Volume 4 finishes the “prom” arc, in which Mitsuki and Aya finally give up any pretense of “maybe.” If you haven’t been following along on any of Arai-sensei’s social feeds, then all I want to say about this is…it’s a good kiss. ^_^

And then the story turns towards life after high school with short, but critical time slip after graduation. Again, if you haven’t been keeping up, you’ll get to see a much more masc-presenting Mitsuki who is working on her music with a band, and Aya who has committed to a career in translation. Joe makes a huge decision for himself, as well. 

In many ways the second half of this volume is a wholly new story, about two young adults building their new adult lives and their relationship. Old friends are still part of those lives, but new people are joining the cast as well. 

I’m going to re-read this volume at least once more in Japanese and will be looking forward to it when Yen puts it out in English. There’s no release date at time of writing, but I’m hoping for it in early summer. 

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 9
Characters  – 9
Service – There’s a valid argument about the prom outfits as service. But as for salaciousness, 0
Yuri – 10

Overall – 9

Posted in The Guy She Was Interested In / KiniOto, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


No Love 1/2

April 1st, 2026

In a noir palette of dark, muted colors, a woman wearing a dark suit with a blunt collar cut dark hair leans in towards the chest of a dark-haired woman in a sleeveless dark blouse.by Burkely Hermann, Guest Reviewer

Since its release in late January, tens of thousands of people have watched the first episode of No Love 1/2 on Internet Archive and on YouTube where it is age restricted because it “may be inappropriate for some users.” No Love 1/2 is created by Anne Yue (also known as Atelier), with help from producer Matthew Nguyen, and crew members working on 3D animation, sound design, casting, and voice direction. In a YouTube comment, Atelier stated that due to disappointment over rarely animating women or working on any girls’ love projects as a professional gaming industry animator, she worked for nine months to complete episode one. She promised at least two more episodes and hoped the episode would inspire others.

No Love 1/2 is more than a “cocktail mix of yuri with neo-noir and girls-with-guns.” Although those elements are prominent in the only episode presently released, which is 20 minutes long, there is more going on.

The episode begins with Hannah (voiced by Hanako Watanabe) meeting Melissa “Mel”/”Lisa” (voiced by Tasch Ritter). Mel worries about the planned heist while blowing smoke at Hannah even though she says her girlfriend, Annabel, “hates” that smell. It quickly goes wrong. Mel is hanging out at her bar when Nicky (voiced by Amanda Hufford) beats her up. She tells Mel she needs to give her the amount that the platinum bars, which she stole, are worth. She gives Mel three days to get “her” money back. Some time later, Mel busts into Hannah’s office, confronting Hannah when she’s about to make sweet love to Annabel (voiced by Madeline Dorroh). Surprised to see this in front of her, she says they need to talk.

She threatens her with her gun, believing that Hannah sold her out. However, Hannah is a skilled one-armed fighter and she easily disarms Mel. Hannah learns about a woman she detests: Nicky. Mel says she throws “one hell of a haymaker,” referring to a powerful, wide-swinging punch “designed to deliver a heavy blow” to any opponent. It turns out that Nicky, a mid-level mob boss in the criminal organization, is working for a crony, Holland (voiced by Maia Harlap). The latter threatens her, demanding money equivalent to ten kilos of “her platinum” and claims that Nicky will be targeted after she gets the money.

The next day, Hannah admits to her girlfriend that she is responsible for Mel getting into this mess. Later, her boss, a Black woman named Velda (voiced by Maganda Marie), who saved her in the past, coldly implies that Mel’s death is an “acceptable loss.” Hannah worries that Mel might compromise them. Her boss tells her she is getting “soft.” In a poignant scene, Mel challenges Hannah, saying she is only worried if she will rat her out and not about if she lives or dies. They have a nice heart-to-heart afterward. All this makes the series stronger than Metallic Rouge, which also features girls with guns, but has an infuriating storyline.

The episode’s final part has a gun fight between herself, Hannah, and Nicky’s goons, mostly involving handguns, with Hannah expertly using a sniper rifle. Hannah and Mel escape while Nicky is terrified to learn about Hannah. Velda is disappointed. She says that because Hannah got too “sentimental,” they couldn’t off Nicky. This sets the stage for future episodes.

No Love 1/2 was animated with Blender/Goo Engine. The resulting smooth 3D animation used various sources for modelling and animation, without using any machine learning/A.I. tools/algorithms. The neo-noir style, with music by Damien Osborne and lo sé, reminded me of yurish anime centering on girls with guns like the ever-popular Lycoris Recoil and three classic Bee Train series: Noir, El Cazador de la Bruja, and Madlax. Even though I thought immediately of early seasons of RWBY, that series did not use Blender. Seasons 1-3 used Poser and Autodesk Maya. Blender was prominently used in films like Flow, I Lost My Body, and Next Gen.

The voice cast of No Love 1/2 includes VTubers/streamers, game developers, vocalists, and singers, and those who are LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, Cantonese, and bilingual. Some voice cast lent their voices to characters in indie animated series (The Amazing Digital Circus and Monkey Wrench) and assorted anime (Wadance, Yakuza Fiancé, and Reborn as a Vending Machine). Furthermore, Nguyen, producer of No Love 1/2, is Vietnamese-American. He previously created an arcade flight action video game, Project Wingman.

The relationship between Hannah and Annabel is a major part of No Love 1/2. Hannah demands that Mel leave while touching Annabel’s breast, and asking if Mel if they can talk later. This is shown openly and unabashedly. When Mel enters Hannah’s office, she is taken aback at her boss’s boldness but does not object to the fact that Hannah is in a romantic relationship with a woman. Later in the episode, Annabel and Hannah lie the same bed together.

In another scene, Hannah’s shirt is unbuttoned and Annabel’s neck has hickeys, implying they had sex the previous night. The romance between these two characters is healthy, rather than toxic or abusive. In addition, Annabel and Hannah softly look into each other’s eyes and, at certain points, it is almost like they are staring at the viewer.

When Hannah and Velda talk at an arcade, Annabel is happily playing a claw game. Velda doesn’t mind her being there. Again, in the world of No Love 1/2, characters don’t even bat an eye at lesbian relationships. Lastly, Hannah shows she is considerate by not smoking around her girlfriend because she dislikes the smell.

Ratings: 
Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service – 4 or 5 (There’s some partial nudity, implied sex, and an almost-sex scene)
Yuri – 5 or 6 (at the very least)
Music – 9

Overall- 9

Burkely Hermann is a writer, researcher, and former metadata librarian. His reviews can be read on Pop Culture Maniacs or his personal WordPress blog. He can be followed on Instagram, Bluesky, or on Mastadon communities such as library.love, glammr.us, genealysis.social, and historians.social.

Posted in Guest Review, Western Cartoons, Yuri Anime | 3 Comments »


2026 Yuri Publisher Roundup

March 29th, 2026

2026 has come out of the starting block full blast in terms of Yuri and I thought it would be cool to do a roundup of all the many Yuri, Baihe and GL publishers putting works out in English right now, so we can all see exactly who is in the space and what they are doing. ^_^

These are in alphabetical order off the top of my head. If you have other suggestions, leave them in the comments.

Yuri fans are so long in the habit of assuming that no one cares about Yuri, that often they simply forget to *look* and see what Yuri is out there. Many of these companies have licensing request forms, but  they can’t license from companies they have no connection to. I will try and give a broad overview of the licensing relationships each publisher has if I know about it or can parse it from the site, so you have a sense of who is talking to whom and who you can ask for what.

There is a ton of Yuri and GL out there and more Baihe everyday. Yuri is a hot market right now, so don’t miss any chance to support the series you like with all these publishers!

 

Baiheverse

Baiheverse is doing official translations of serialized Chinese Baihe manhua, novels and audio dramas. They have one video serial, as well.

 

BluPetal

BluPetal is a brand new publishing company with plans to bring out “Boys’ Love, Shojo, Yuri, Josei, Teens’ Love, & Gay Comics.” They’ve started with a Kickstarter campaign for doujinshi Let Me Fix You.

 

Crossed Hearts/Glam Beat

Crossed Hearts publishes manga, manhwa and light novels. They recently announced a GL imprint Glam Beat, with a number of licenses of Yuri doujinshi. “Crossed Hearts is a global publishing house specializing in the English localization and international distribution of Japanese manga, Korean webcomics, and Asian novels.” They appear to be working with creators directly.

 

Inklore Books

An imprint of Penguin Random House, Inklore started licensing GL manhwa from Tapas (see below) including Her Tale of Shim Chong and Sora & Haena! They are still new, so we can look forward to their work.

 

J-Novel Club

J-Novel Club is a light novel focused publisher. They have licensed several Yuri titles in the past (Girls’ Kingdom was much better than it deserved to be) and have Unsung Epics of the Hero’s Journey coming out soon. Chapters can be read separately on their site if you sign up for their club, or purchased in volume format.

 

Kodansha 

Kodansha is the US division of the Japanese publisher and is, therefore, able to access a great number of Yuri manga published by Kodansha. They also license works from Ichijinsha, the publisher for Comic Yuri Hime magazine. They are deeply committed to bringing out not just Yuri and BL, but also LGBTQ+ manga and have done some great work with openly queer titles.

 

Mad Cave Studios/Maverick

Mad Cave and the Maverick imprint has quietly been adding a couple of  sapphic titles, like Navigating With You  and Blüdwire.

 

Manga Mavericks

Quick Disclaimer: I work for Manga Mavericks, just to be transparent. Manga Mavericks is an independent publisher that is working with multiple smaller Japanese publishers, like Two Virgins and directly with artists. They have a distribution agreement with Red Strings, who has worked on Boyish² Butch x Butch Yuri Anthology and Aneido Anthology. They currently are publishing Horon of the Closed Country, which features an agender and nonbinary characters. Manga Mavericks has some exciting Yuri license announcements coming soon!

 

Manta

Manta is a Korean webcomic platform that is “connecting with creators globally.” They have a number of GL manhwa titles and a category for them on their site.

 

(Monogatari)

Monogatari had licensed a bunch of Baihe titles in English, but has announced that all their books are delayed. The site appears to currntly be “suspended”.

 

Seven Seas Entertainment

Seven Seas has always a had a pretty clear interest in publishing Yuri manga. They are licensing fairly widely these days and even stepping into Baihe and  GL manhwa. I’m In Love With The Villainess continues to be a big seller for them. They have licensing connections with Futabasha, Hobunsha, East Press, and Ichijinsha, probably other companies.

 

Square Enix

Square Enix Manga and Books is the US division of JP company Square Enix , They don’t have a lot of Yuri, but they do have Otherside Picnic and they are doing a very good job of it. A few of their other titles are “queer-ish”. I wouldn’t say they are a major player, and they tend to license Square Enix works, for obvious reasons.

 

Tapas

This webtoon platform has a GL category and has licensed at least one of their series for print publication to Inklore Books. 

 

Tokyopop/Love is Love

Tokyopop’s Love is Love imprint is adding Korean GL manhwa, Japanese Yuri manga and Global sapphic comics.  They have some genuinely excellent titles, so don’t skip them. They license from Shonen Gahosha, European and Korean publishers, Line Direct and Futabasha.

 

Webtoons

Webtoons has been pretty consistent about supporting popular GL cartoons. Several of their most popular have become print volumes through indie publishing or Viz Originals, including Always Human and Not So Shoujo Love Story. They don’t have a separate category for GL/Yuri.

 

Viz Media

Viz has licensing connections with a number of the biggest publishers, including company ownership by Shogagkukan and Shueisha, and licensing with Hakusensha. They have Rainbows After Storms, and Gal x Gal Yuri among other. 

 

Viz/ Viz Originals

The Viz Originals imprint is killing it with stuff like The Girl Who Can’t Get A Girlfriend and Not So Shoujo Love Story. The folks there are very committed to bring out good queer stuff.

Yen Press

Yen Press has a strong licensing relationship with Kadokawa, and some of Ichijinsha’s titles as well as a few other publishers. The success of titles like The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All, and Love Bullet all but guarantees they will continue investing in hit Yuri series.

Yen Press/Ize Press

Ize Press is a separate imprint for Yen, focusing specifically on Korean comic and novels. Their first (and only at time of writing) GL comic is I Love Amy, but they feature it on their page, so perhaps look for more?

 

 

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – March 28, 2026

March 28th, 2026

In black block letters, YNN Yuri Network News. On the left, in black silhouette, a woman with a broad brim hat and dress stands, a woman in a tight outfit sits against the Y. Art by Mari Kurisato for Okazu

Yuri Manga

Galette Vol.5  Special English Edition Kickstarter has cleared the final stretch goal with 3 days left to go. Selected back issues of the booklets have been made available, as well. These are selling out and, as they have said in updates, there are no plans to reprint them. So nab what you can while you can.

I believe this is the first of the issues to reach the final stretch goal, so congratulations to Galette, and to us!^_^

Kinokuniya is offering a special edition of Girls x Vampire Doujinshi by Mikami Teren (No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover, Unless…!) and Minori Chigusa (Shino and Ren).  I admit, I would never have expected to see something like this advertised, ever, at a Kino, much less published by them. ^_^ (Also…is Kino entering the publishing space? Remind me to do a round up of all the publishers we’re seeing in Yuri and Baihe in English right now.)

Via Seven Seas, Becoming a Princess Knight and Working at a Yuri Brothel Vol. 5, the final volume of the series, is out now.

Watashi o Tabetai, Hito de Nashi, Volume 11 (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし) is up on the Yuricon Store.

Haru no Hikari ni Nomarete mo (春の光に呑まれても) by Nishina is story about two girls who find themselves and each other through photography club. This Comic Yuri Hime series is out now as a collected volume from Ichijinsha.

Via Manga Mogura on X, non-binary Yuri Pale Blue-Green Colored Saudade has been licensed in French. You can check out the original Japanese on Comic Walker.

Via The Comics Beat‘s Christopher Chiu-Tabet, we have news of Blüdwire from Mad Cave Studios. This dystopian queer comic is a story about two female sex robots who go rogue. Sound right up my alley. ^_^

 

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Yuri Anime

Via ANN’s Joanna Cayanan we have cast news and a premiere date for the upcoming Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games anime!

In my travels around X this morning I came across a few Yuri anime celebrating their booths at Anime Japan. This Monster Wants to Eat Me, There’s No Freakin Way I’ll Be Your Lover…Unless! and I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day all have a presence at this event! I attended this event at Big Sight once – it was overwhelming and amazing.

Joanna Cayanan also reports a cast announcement for Episode 12 of the Roll Over and Die anime.

I know it’s not Yuri, but the Major always has a place here: The new Ghost in the Shell anime key visuals and promotional videos are on ANN, with Alex Mateo reporting in. I’m actually quite interested in how Science Saru is animating the manga.

 

Yuri Events

Girls Love Fest is on tomorrow, March 29 at Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho-Kan. If you miss this one, GLF will be back at the Ota-ku Sangyou Plaza PiO in June.

The authors of Hajimete no Yuri Studies: Queer/Feminist no Shiten Kara (はじめての百合スタディーズ: クィア/フェミニストの視点から), Nakamura Kasumi, Kondoh Ginga, Mizukami Aya and cover artist Morishima Akiko will be doing a Yuri talk on April 3rd from 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM JST. They are streaming the event for folks that cannot make it to Honya B & B to be there in person. You can be sure I’ll be watching! The streaming ticket costs ¥1,650 (a bit over $10USD) and you’ll be able to watch after the event for 3 months, according to the information on the ticket page.  Get your ticket today on Peatix!

 

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Yuri Visual Novel  & Games

Via YNN Correspondent Roxie, Takano’s The Vampire’s Bride, “a visual novel game featuring a pure love girls’ love story bound by blood, with the concept of “Vampires x Military Uniforms x girls’ love (yuri) ” is available on Steam.

Congratulations are in order – Roxie has been nominated for Advocates for Representation at the*gamehers Awards for her work with Aikasa Collective!   There are still three days left to vote if you are part of that community. Congrats to our friend Roxie!

Fans of the Blue Reflection games will be excited to know about BLUE REFLECTION Quartet release from Koei Temco, featuring all four titles in the series!

 

Yuri Pop-Ups & Merch

The Kinokuniya Global pop-up event for The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy at All, is still running and via Matt Marcus, Muzzle announced on X a new pop-up for Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta in six locations in Japan.

 

Other News 

Adam Wesott at The Comics Beat offers up a short piece on how SAILOR MOON changed superheroes.

And while I have been killing myself reading and writing for the upcoming Spring Manga Guide at ANN, my review of Wandance, Volume 8-10, is up now. I cannot express to you how much manga, K-comics, LNs and other print media is out this spring. ^_^;

 

Your support for Yuri journalism and research has never been more important than right now. Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

Your support goes straight to paying for Guest Reviews, folks helping with videos, site maintenance, managing the Yuricon Store and directly supporting other Yuri creators. Just $5/month makes a huge impact! Become part of the Okazu family!

Become a part of the Yuri Network, by being a YNN Correspondent: Contact Us with any Yuri-related news you want to share with us.

Posted in Yuri Network News | No Comments »


Galette No. 37 (ガレットNo.37)

March 27th, 2026

Two women embrace. We see the back of the head of a woman with collar-length light brown hair. We can see part of the face of a woman in a hoodie with darker brown hair and glasses, as she holds the other woman tightly.Happy 10th anniversary to Galette magazine! Galette No. 37  (ガレットNo.37) begins their 10th year in business and is filled with exactly the kind of independent Yuri manga, stories and art that makes this magazine such a treasure.

The print issue comes with a mini clearfile for the lead story by Hakamada Mera. “Akuyaku Reijou ha Tenseishitara Yurisakka ni Natteshimashita”. This is, exactly as the title suggests, about a villainess who has been reborn into our world. When invited to a get-together for artists, she is confronted with  her idol…who is the very woman who killed her in her former life.  ^_^ I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes!

Inui Ayu’s story about an escort and client falling in love, “Koi ni Shitaku naina” continues to be cute. Momo is feeling her feelings for Ren very much and has no idea what to do with them. 

In an important moment, Ririko has Rikako over to meet her doll, Mimi and it goes about as well as could be imagined in “Otome no Shinden”!

In “Me ga Au, Sono Saki e” a girl find that being online doesn’t mean having friends…but also making friends isn’t impossible.

Continuing series include, “Kanojo no Kuchizuke, Kansensuru Libido,” ” Torokeru Heya no Naka,” “Himistu no Recipe” and a collection of 140 character stories and essays. The final pages are filled with happy 10th anniversary cards by magazine contributors. 

There is a unique joy in being able to enjoy Galette magazine. Knowing that young Yuri artists and writers will grow up with an independent, creator-owned option for Yuri, as well as the more traditional publisher-driven routes makes me incredibly happy for the future of Yuri. That this independent venture has thrived for 10 years speaks to the perseverance of the creators and management team, but also to the support of the fans who help this magazine thrive. 

Once again, happy birthday to everyone at Galette!

Overall – 10

The Kickstarter for Galette Vol. 5 Special EN Edition has 4 days to go and is very close to that final stretch goal! Let’s get it over the line, shall we?

Posted in Galette, Magazines, Yuri Manga | No Comments »