Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 4

February 25th, 2026

Cover of Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 4 by Ami Uozumi.Two women in green dresses embrace, lightly, looking forward at us, with soft unfocused eyes.by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Reviewer

At the very end of volume 3, which I also reviewed here on Okazu, an unexpected character from Ema’s past reappears. It’s her mother and there’s clearly some history between them, as within the first two pages of of Pink Candy Kiss, Volume 4 she makes a snide comment about Ema’s hair and clothing choices. Ema also contemplates how long it’s been since she saw her, and how much older her mother looks. Hario does at least stand up for his wife, but the cruelty is very pointed and definitely hurts Ema in a way that I’m sure many of the audience will be able to relate to, so much so that she’s ready to give up on the cafe and have Hario handle it instead. There’s nothing like a mother’s love and support is there? At the end of this chapter, Takara asks Ema if she wants to run away. The next chapter opens with another confrontation with Ema’s mother, but this time it’s Takara standing up for her.

The “will they won’t they” dynamic continues to be the crux of this series, although I do worry about how much longer it can carry the story. We’ve known for a while now that Ema and Takara are head over heels for each other, and I just hope that we get a proper confession from someone sooner rather than later, since we did not in this volume. The characters are still wonderfully messy, flawed and above all, realistically human. For that reason, Pink Candy Kiss continues to be one of my favourite ongoing Yuri series, and I’m eagerly awaiting volume 5. I also think it would make a fantastic live action drama, if a company would be brave enough to produce it.

Ratings: 

Art – 7 It’s still a shame there aren’t colour pages with the chapter art on.
Story – 8 The living apart situation is still a little contrived, but the rest works very well. 
Characters – 10. Ema’s mother is vindictive, cruel and totally realistic, as is Ema’s reaction to her. 
Service – None. It still doesn’t need it. This is a story about women’s feelings, written by a woman for other women.
Yuri – 10 So much yuri.

Overall – 8

 

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Queer Manga That Changed The World at Citrus Con

February 24th, 2026

Please join me on Saturday, February 28 at 2:30 to 3:30 PM Eastern US time, online at Citrus Con, for “Queer Manga That Changed The World,” a panel I have been thinking about for years and years, as I delve into stories that had an impact on queer readers…and queer creators.

We always have a great conversation at Citrus Con and there is a ton of queer content, so take a look at their schedule and see if anything else looks interesting! 

The panel will be held on Zoom and shared to the Citrus Con Discord server. Registration is free, but you do have to register. I hope to see you all there!  Now I gotta go finish writing this presentation. ^_^;

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Comic Yuri Hime, March 2026 (コミック百合姫2026年3月号)

February 22nd, 2026

In an orange palette, a young woman sits with multiple outfits thrown on her head by an older woman whose face we cannot see, as she holds out yet another outfit for approval. Art by Chiriko.Comic Yuri Hime, March 2026 (コミック百合姫2026年3月号) cover is another colorful piece by Chiriko. This time a girl is being playfully buried in different clothes by a woman behind her. I still don’t know if these  cover hair, lips and fits will also include blades, but we can hope . ^_^

A new series about a earnest, naive young lady being hunted by the school “wolf”,  “Dareka Ookami-san no Shitsuke-kata Shirimasenka!!?” by Anmi Tsuki has begun. I am not entirely sure how I feel about it and will give it time.

Touma’s “Kimi no Sei dakara, Sekinin totte yo ne” is heating up as both rental girlfriend and her client are thinking it could be more. If the series is going to wrap up swiftly, they’ll be fine. If this is supposed to continue…expect drama. ^_^

In “Hareta Hi no Dress Code” our protagonist is thinking about how the scars on her legs have shaped her life and shes really not okay with that anymore, while Natsuki wishes she could just wear pants and doesn’t really know why she won’t.

Inori. and Aonoshimo are absolutely killing it in “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” as Rei has to face the complete failure of her plan to save Claire. Misha is there to slap her out of it (and send her to her death, but…)

Hirao Auri joins the magazine with a one-shot about a girl who obsesses about aliens who learns that her club kouhai has been an alien all along. This is a silly as it sounds.

A quick note to note that “Genjitsu Sekai (Real) Demo Shiawase ni Shite Kudasai ne?” by Shiborikasuko, in which a young woman built a harem as the protagonist of a otome game, now has become a harem in our world as all the game characters have tracked her down in her reality. It is as exhausting as it sounds. ^_^

SheepD’s “Kanaria wa Kiraboshi no Yume o Miru” comes to an end, although I would have loved to see an extended after-happily ever after, as Ayano and “Tsubaki” make a life together overseas. (We haven’t seen that trope in years!)
 

As always there are other stories I read and enjoyed and others I did not or never read, which is exactly why a magazine is so useful! I am always interested in a theoretical way, for instance at the “other Yuri” recommendations by the staff. Obviously I don’t always agree, but seeing what they are reading and watching is interesting. I’m really hoping someone there will pick up 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) and mention it…but I can definitely see why there might be reasons why they would not, as well.

Ratings: 

Overall – 8

As always a good volume that would be perfect if we just had a little action and sports to balance out the school and adult life stuff. The April issue is on sale now in Japan!

 

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Yuri News Network – (百合ネットワークニュース) – February 21, 2026

February 21st, 2026

In blue silhouette, two women face each other. One wears a fedora and male-styled attire, one is in a dress and heels. Their body language is obscure - they may be dancing, or laughing or fighting. Art by Mari Kurisato for OkazuYuri Events

I’ll be talking about Queer Manga That Changed Everything at Citrus Con on Saturday, Feb 28 @ 2:30 PM EST. It’s free to attend, you do have to register. I’ll see you on their Discord!

 

Yuri Manga in English

Viz Media released Not So Shoujo Love Story, Volume 3 this month. Curryuku’s ongoing school rom-com is actually quite funny as it plays with the tropes of rom-com manga.

Yen Press has put their “Do You Know Your Yuri?” crossword puzzle from the Yen Press Cafe online so you can play too! It’s really do you know your Yen Press Yuri, but it’s a really cute thing to play.

Via Sorryteam on X, who noticed that Tokyopop did not announce this new Yuri manga last week, What is Normal Love? Volume 1 by Hana Ikuta. Ikuta is the creator of the series Oni to Yoake, in which the souls of Bakumatsu “patriots” re reborn in high school girls. I’ve reviewed several of those volume here on Okazu. Hang tight, more Ikuta is on the way. ^_^

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games, Volume 9 is up on the Yuricon Store and headed our way in April. We have reviews of Volumes 1-6 here on Okazu.

Inklore Books just announced and English edition of HER TALE OF SHIM CHONG, the popular Korean GL based on a historical Jeoson story.

If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die, Volume 10 is up on the Yuricon Store. It’s a big volume as Cham Jam front Reo is retiring.

 

Yuri Manga in Japanese

I’m trying to catch up with the vast backlog of books to get up on the Yuricon Store, so let’s start with something new by Ikuta Hana, Nise Ai, Hon Ai, Volume 1 (ニセアイホンアイ) is about a romance between an actress and a college student who saves her.

Shin’uchuu] Yori Ai o Komete, Volume 1 (超深宇宙より愛をこめて) by Ashidaka Woz, tells the tale of an ostracized girl and the alien princess who saves her. 

Anemone ga Netsu wo Obiru, Volume 6 (アネモネが熱を帯びる) spreads the Yuri love around this Yuritopia of a school with more couples.

Koi Yori Aoku, Volume 4 (恋より青く) is when the story takes big turn towards love as Takamine and Sakura collaborate on a joint club magazine.

 

Yuri Manga in English and French and Japanese

Last week Yen announced the license of Chigusa Minori’s Shino and Ren. This week French publisher Meian announced Shino et Ren in French, and in Japan, the sequel, Shino to Ren Future, Volume 1 (志乃と恋Future) is on the Yuricon Store. This follows the two after school, when they are trying to find time together as adults.

 

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Yuri Anime

The anime for Kimi ga Shinu Made Koi wo Shitai /I Want to Love You Until Your Dying Day, which is premiering in July,  has a new promotional video on their official X account.

Sentai Filmworks is reprinting the Bloom Into You complete anime collection! We were recently disussing how rarely Yuri gets a reprint. It’s nice to see this influential series get one. If you missed it the first time around or want to have a copy that a streaming license loss can’t steal away, preorder it on Blu-Ray now.

 

Yuri Visual Novels

Studio Élan announced a new Yuri VN – My VTuber Rival is Actually Cute?! Wishlist this rival to lovers streamer romance today on Steam. 

 Via the official account on X,  A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 will be on sale on Steam and Itch.io from February 17 to March 3. We appreciate your support. 

 


Yuri Audiobook

The audiobook adaptation of Adachi and Shimamura, Volume 3 is up on the Yuricon Store.

 

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Yuri Light Novels

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady has come to an end with LN volume 13. T celebrate, Karasu Piero’s official X account offers up a lovely voice-drama video retrospective of all of the volumes.

“Hitokiri Shoujo,” Koushaku Reijou no Goei ni Naru, Volume 1 (『人斬り』少女、公爵令嬢の護衛になる) about  a girl who is trained as a bodyguard, but exiled for a crime she didn’t commit and a nobleman’s daughter who is running for her life. 

 

Yuri Research

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) is on sale now in Japan! I cannot wait to read this. ^_^ I am also very honored to have an essay included in this book.

 

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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.

 

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Tayutau Futari, Volume 1 (たゆたうふたり)

February 19th, 2026

A woman in a loose blouse and long skirt, with a camera around her neck, opens the door to an outside smoking area, where a woman has unzipped a coverall as she smokes, revealing parts of a stylized centipede tattoo winding around her torso.This manga first crossed my feed a few weeks ago, when I saw a social media post about it. Over on Bookwalker, I saw that I could read the first chapter for free, and so I did! At which point, this series came in and out of conversations on multiple platforms and in different contexts over and over for the next few weeks. So, when I saw Volume 1 at Kinokuniya, in our after-Yen Press Yuri Cafe visit, I grabbed it to see what the rest was like. Then, last week, Seven Seas announce they had licensed it as A Couple Drifting in the Wind.

Tayutau Futari, Volume 1 is a chance meeting that presages changes in two lives. First-year college student Kaori is huddling by herself on a bench, wishing she had some friends when a captivating beauty sits down, unzips her coverall to reveal a tattoo of a stylized centipede winding around her torso. Kaori asks if she can take a photograph, to which the answer is yes. This sets off a series of unexpected meetings and circumstances between her and the other woman.

The story moves quickly, almost too quickly for a collected volume. It will make more sense if you slow down, read a chapter, then come back to it in a few days or a week. That will give the story the time it needs to develop behind the scenes. Reading one chapter after another makes the events seem an almost ridiculously swift set of coincidences. Regardless, those coincidences gather two completely different women to set them on a path together in a tale that is charming and gentle. 

There is very little drama here, also very little of what we might think of as Yuri, except for Kaori being very aware of Momo’s attractiveness. There’s no time for romance or deep intimacy, but as a story of two strangers who become friends (and…maybe more as he story goes on? I have no idea, honestly) Tayutau Futari is a pleasant read. 

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Story – 7
Characters- 8
Service – The whole point is the tattoo
Yuri – 1

Overall – 7.5

A Couple Drifting in the Wind, Volume 1 will be headed our way in English from Seven Seas in December 2026

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