I Wanna Be Your Girl, Volume 1

September 11th, 2025

by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

It’s always nice to see a new publisher enter the manga space, especially one whose first title is explicitly LGBT+. I Wanna Be Your Girl ,Volume 1 tells the story of two childhood friends, Hime and Akira. But when Akira comes out as trans before starting high school, headstrong and fiery Hime makes it her life’s mission to protect her best friend from the world. Only the world turns out to be a little more complicated and less black and white than Hime realises.

It’s so nice to read a manga where the teenage characters actually feel like real teenagers, but this one is just a little more personal to me than most. When I was in high school, I had a crush on someone who I thought was a boy, but she told me she was actually a girl. My reaction at that point was “huh, that’s a bit weird but ok” and still kept kissing her. Maybe I should have realised earlier on that I wasn’t straight… But having experienced something similar myself, I can believe Hime when she acts the way she does to try and protect Akira. She’s clearly madly in love with her and will do anything for her, and in a show of entirely well meaning solidarity, shows up to school in the boys’ uniform Akira’s parents bought for her. This however causes a new set of problems (Disclaimer: I am not trans but I am married to a trans woman and have many trans friends) Akira, like most trans people, just wants to get on with her life and not have people make a big deal about the fact she’s trans, and Hime is unintentionally shining a spotlight on her. The classroom erupts into chaos and their rather strict teacher yells at everyone to calm down and be quiet.

It seems though, that there is more to the teacher than first meets the eye. He sits Hime down for a talk one day, and it’s strongly suggested that he’s gone through something similar regarding identity in the past, but by the end of the volume Hime and Akira have even managed to make some friends in their class, and they struggle over which after school club to join together. Just normal teenager things.

I cannot recommend this series enough for queer/questioning/curious teenagers and those around them. I wish something like this had existed when I was this age.

Ratings: 

Story – 7
Art – 6. It’s nothing groundbreaking but it does the job.
Characters – 8
Service – n/a
LGBTQ — 10

Overall – 8 but probably 9 if you’re a confused teenager looking for something to relate to.

 

Posted in Eleanor W, English Manga, LGBTQ, Staff Writer | 1 Comment »


Yuri Visual Novel Demo Mini-reviews: Comet Angel and Distant Oceanic Getaway

September 8th, 2025

Staff writers Eleanor and Ashley take a look at the demos for two upcoming visual novels that are participating in the Fall in Love Fest on Steam.

Eleanor takes a look at Comet Angel, described by the developer as “A sci-fi yuri visual novel with puzzle elements that tells the story of two teenage girls going through an emotional journey of self-discovery after they make the world’s first alien encounter.” while Ashley takes a look at Distant Oceanic Gateway, described as “The cruise ship’s horns blast. You’re going to be spending the next 10 days aboard the Distant Oceanic Cruise, a luxury vacation for sapphics only! Play as Maeve (customizable name), a heartbroken soul determined to move on from a cheating ex. There are only seven other single sapphics on board— could one possibly be your soulmate? Only time will tell!”

Eleanor

Key image for Comet Angel Yuri Visual Novel by Cross Couloir. Two women stand back to back looking longingly up at a night sky as a comet passes overhead.Comet Angel is a childhood friends-to-lovers scifi story, which I enjoyed the demo of enough that I’m going to play the rest when it comes out.

The demo lets you play the first two chapters, and the puzzle element gives a little bit of interest to the standard visual novel gameplay. The voice acting is pleasant as well, as is the soundtrack. My one gripe is that the dialogue can be a bit corny in places, it feels like it was written by someone who’s just learned what a simile is and is now trying to cram them EVERYWHERE, but the story and the characters make up for it.

The teenage girls actually act like teenage girls, with all the overdramatic angst that brings and there’s definitely more to find out about all 3 of them, Faerie the alien included.

Recommended if you like a scifi story with a human touch.The Comet Angel demo is available on Steam or from developer Cross Couloir, and will be out in full on October 28.

 

Screenshot #1

 

Ashley

A woman with hair cut below her ears, wearing a blue button-down blouse cuffs rolled up below her elbow, leans on a wooden railing, her cheek in one hand on a ship's deck. The wind plays through her hair.I would say that three games with the same setting makes a sub genre. Distant Oceanic Getaway is the third game that I have seen and the third game I have written about for Okazu that focuses on a lesbian’s fun adventures on a cruise ship. (Ashley has previously reviewed Ladykiller in a Bind and Sapphism Gensou for Okazu) 

Distant Oceanic Getaway bucks tradition right away with a second person narration and for good reason. The main character Maeve is highly customisable. You can choose both a name and fully any pronoun you want for Maeve depending on what situation.

 

Not only that but Maeve also has six different personality variables that you can tweak at the start and across the game with your choices. Changing what decisions might be available to pick when the time comes.

But after playing the demo for Distant Oceanic Getaway I am not surprised that the developers, Red bean Taiyaki, are okay with tracking so many independent variables. Aside from Maeve’s own personal stats there are relationship values with all six heroines that are kindly visually noted when we make a decision. That’s something we all would expect from this game, but what really made me sit up are the traits you can give Maeve. By making relevant choices you can give Maeve really specific aspects that allow her to be as unique as the heroines you will be pursuing.

Said heroines are a delight however in the demo we only have three days to get to know everyone and things seem to be just starting. I will say that the sprites for everyone are fun for live 2D style sprites. They are not filled with unnecessary or frivolous movements that you might be expecting from sprites like these.

But with only three days it is hard to know what to make of all the heroines. But what is good is that following the sapphic cruse tradition you are mostly in full control of what scenes you see during the day and who you talk to. When you do talk to your chosen character even if you don’t have a big scene with them you have the time to try out all sorts of interactions branching into dating game territory as well.

Red bean Taiyaki has said they are aiming for ten days of events in the full version of Distant Oceanic Getaway. While that sounds like a delightful full vacation to take with such a wonderful cast with ten days of all these variables and stats, the programmer in me more wants to see how Red bean Taiyaki plans to organise everything so that the game can work. 

Distant Oceanic Getaway demo is available on Steam or from developer Red bean Taiyaki with a 2025 projected date for the full VN.

 

 

Posted in Ashley P, Eleanor W, Staff Writer, Yuri Visual Novel | 1 Comment »


Hybrid Heart

September 7th, 2025

I came across Iori Kusano’s Hybrid Heart at Flamecon 2025 in New York City. The man at the table pitched it to me, but I was already sold after looking at the cover. This is a story about an idol, Rei, who is the remaining half of a duo, Venus Versus. When her partner Ririko left, she stayed…and is regretting the decision more every day.

The setting is a recognizable near-future in which implants and intelligent software create more effects than just a Vtuber skin. Think of Hololive if the people themselves and their environments are modded on the fly for virtual performances. 

Rei is stuck in what anyone will immediately understand to be an abusive relationship with her manager, who controls literally everything about her, from the calories she consumes to the way she sings the words. And every day, she thinks more and more about the partner she’s lost.

When her manager brings in a new talent, immediately grooming the younger woman with the same tactics he used on her, Rei has a decision to make – does she save someone else, or herself?

I’ve referenced this before, but there are some stories that are reminiscent of the “women in peril” genre favored by Lifetime TV, which of the 2 hour movie included 1 hour and 45 minutes of threats to women and 15 minutes of retribution. If this story has a major failing, it is this. We learn in detail how Rei is manipulated, controlled, gaslighted, threatened and her decision, when it comes, is late in the book, the denouement is rushed. If I were to have edited this, I would have suggested bringing the climax a bit sooner and spent more time with the consequences.

Despite this, Hybrid Heart is not a bad read, and if you are interested in/convinced of the dark side of the idol industry and it’s similarity to human trafficking, this is a smart and devastating look at it from the inside. Not as extreme as Last and First Idol, (oddly, also by a Kusano, although there is no apparent relationship between them), but dark in its own human way. 

And there is Yuri, in the sense that Rei has a growing understanding of her feelings of intimacy with and affection for her former partner Ririko, which drive her to make her choices.  

Ratings: 

Overall – 7

As a small press published book, this is a pretty slick volume, with cover art by the author. It’s not perfect, but it kept me reading until the end.

Posted in Novel, Yuri Doujinshi | 1 Comment »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – September 6, 2025

September 6th, 2025

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 Anime

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Patricia Baxter, we have a release date for A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace based on a manga by Kuzushiro. Joana Cayanan has the news at ANN. I’m waiting on tenterhooks for announcement of the spring debut of The Moon On A Rainy Night anime. ^_^

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney, Manga Mogura says that Futari Escape will be getting an anime in autumn 2025. The protagonists will be voiced by Nogizaka46 members Iwamoto Renka and Tomisato Nao.

The folks at Empty Movement have posted the first post-series official Revolutionary Girl Utena art by Chiho Saito on Bluesky.

 

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Yuri Manga

Galette WORKS is delaying the Galette Volume 4 Kickstarter because of the tariffs imposed on all items from overseas, by the idiocracy that current runs our country. Call your representatives and let them know that importing manga and supporting small businesses are both important and these tariffs are absurd.

Via YNN Correspondent Burkely Hermann, Yen is offering a Rock Is A Lady’s Modesty Calendar page for this month! 

Ichijinsa’s Comic Yuri Hime is partnering with the Eizan Electric Train for a collaboration, in two parts, each celebrating different Comic Yuri Hime series.

Yodogawa’s newest manga Neko ni hakuchō, hotaru ni koban (猫に白鳥、蛍に小判) is on Comic Walker.

Via Okazu Staffer and YNN Correspondent Matt Marcus, Bookwalker is hosting a one-shot set in Tikkili’s Drifting Into Summer universe, Sky Full Of Stars.

 

LGBTQ Comics

Sr. YNN Correspondent (and as of this week, official Okazu Staff Writer! Wooo~~~!!) Ashley, wants you to know about
Good Morning, Salwa (BUUZA!! Volume 1), an original graphic novel by Shazleen Khan from Abrams. This is a collection of their Ignatz Award–winning  YA webcomic. ” Zach, a down-on-his-luck phone operator, receives a misdialed call from a distressed man named Zhen which sparks an undeniable connection. Zach is thrown into a search for his mystery man that stretches across multiple cities and a tangled web of exes, missed connections, and frenemies.”

The Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced and Navigating with You by Jeremy Whitley, Cassio Ribeiro & Nikki Foxrobot (Maverick/Mad Cave) is a cute little F/F story that i picked up at Anime NYC to read. And The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All  was nominated for the Best Manga category! The awards will be held at the  Small Press Expo on September 13-14 in Bethesday, MD.

 

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Yuri VNs

This month is a Fall in Love Visual Novel Festival on Steam and we have a couple of groups that have written in to tell you about their titles: 

Red Bean Taiyaki Studios wants you to take a look at the demo for Distant Oceanic Getaway. They say “Play as a heartbroken soul determined to move on from a cheating ex. There are only seven other single sapphics on board the cruise ship—could one possibly be your soulmate? You’ll have 10 days aboard the ship to explore, interact with characters, and have fun. Get drunk at the bar and pass out after having three drinks! Contemplate the meaning of life with a stranger you just met! There are endless choices for you to make and infinite opportunities for you to explore! And… perhaps even a secret hidden storyline for you to uncover?

Our game is choice-heavy, with lots of different options and branches for sailors to explore! You can also customize Maeve’s personality, which affects the choice options. We recommend it for players 16+ who are looking for something light and funny. “

And Cross Couloir is excited to introduce you to the demo of Comet Angel, “a sci-fi yuri visual novel with puzzle elements that tells the story of two teenage girls going through an emotional journey of self-discovery after they make the world’s first alien encounter.” Full game is coming October 28.

Studio Élan wants you to know that Lock & Key: A Magical Girl Mystery releases September 30.

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Patricia Baxter, Crunchyroll is making Black Lily’s Tale available to Premium members. This coming-of-age story is by Fukahire.

 

Other News

For those of us at Anime NYC, Seven Seas reports on the results of the Best Girl Character Poll they did for There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover, Unless….! The winner is Koto Satsuki! I voted on behalf of the Staff for Ajisai. ^_^

On ANN’s This Week in Manga, Coop and Chris think the best comic in Kodansha’s English-language Young Magazine was Gaku Keito’s sequel, Boys Run the Riot – IN TRANSITION. As a reminder you can read this whole issue *for free* on Azuki. Or drop in to a local Kinokuniya and grab a physical copy if there are any left.

I still haven’t had a chance to write my Anime NYC report for Okazu, but here is a look at this year’s festivities by me for The Comics Beat in Anime NYC 2025 Is The Room Where Everything Happens, For Manga and Anime.

 

If you’d like to support Yuri journalism and research, Patreon and Ko-Fi are where we currently accept subscriptions and tips.  Our goal now, into 2025, is to raise our guest writers’ wages to above industry standard, which are too low!

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Posted in Yuri Network News | 1 Comment »


Whale Store xoxo

September 4th, 2025

Official poster for Whale Store xoxo, with Milk and Love in the foreground as Wan and Maewnam respectively, and View and Mewnich in the right background as Tonnam and Chompoo respectively.by Frank Hecker, Okazu Staff Writer

When last we saw Milk Pansa Vosbein and Love Pattranite Limpatiyakorn, they were playing high-schoolers in the oddly-named GMMTV-produced romantic comedy 23.5: The Series. They’ve now graduated to playing adults, in the oddly-named GMMTV-produced romantic comedy Whale Store xoxo, based on the novel The Whale Store by Snow Leopard and available for streaming on YouTube.

Many Thai series open with shots of the modern skyline of Bangkok. Whale Store xoxo instead highlights the gleaming Golden Mount (Phu Khao Thong) of the Buddhist temple Wat Saket, which commands the heights above the historic neighborhood in which the main action of the series takes place. A key theme of Whale Store xoxo is the contrast between globalized corporations and local Thai small businesses: Wan (Milk) leaves her job at a branch office of a Japanese company to take over her father’s corner store after his sudden death, but soon finds it threatened by the nearby opening of Mouse Mart, a convenience store chain.

Meanwhile Maewnam (Love), who hides her family’s connection to Mouse Mart from Wan, spends her days as a a lecturer at a business school and her spare time picking up extra cash doing odd jobs in the neighborhood. As Wan and Maewnam meet and fall in love, they must each decide in which of these two worlds their destiny lies. It could be the plot of a Frank Capra film, and Milk and Love make for a very Capra-esque couple. In her endearing gawkiness Milk resembles a young James Stewart., while Love is an almost preternaturally adorable “girl next door.” They’re joined by a group of veteran Thai actors playing colorful neighborhood characters.

It should have been a wonderful series, but alas doesn’t quite live up to its considerable promise. Part of this is down to the direction: Not content to let Love work her natural charms and Milk to respond to them, the show early on is somewhat heavy-handed in throwing Maewnam and Wan together: not quite the “I fell on top of you and we almost kissed“ level of cringe, but annoying nonetheless. The more intimate scenes of them kissing also seem somewhat stiff and awkward. This may be on Milk and Love, or it too may be down to the director, a man whom just this week was fired by GMMTV for participating in crass sexual conversations about GL series and actors on social media.

Turning to the writing, much of the series run time is taken up by a subplot involving two other university lecturers, Tonnam (June Wanwimol Jaenasavamethee) and Chompoo (Mewnich Nannaphas Loetnamchoetsakun). The couple have been in a secret relationship for three years, as Tonnam waits forever for Chompoo to come out to her mother Som (Thansita Suwatcharathanakit), the owner of a neighborhood salon, and acknowledge Tonnam as her girlfriend. It’s not a bad subplot, and June and Mewnich acquit themselves well, but  the writers’ desire to postpone the subplot’s resolution until the final episode means that a large chunk of the middle episodes merely mark time. It also means that the last episode itself is stuffed to the gills with incidents, including last-minute plot twists, and the fulfillment of Wan’s and Maewnam’s journey doesn’t seem fully earned.

Rating:

Story – 7 (a refreshing change from the typical Thai melodrama)
Characters – 8
Production – 6
Service – 4
LGBTQ — 5 (the show takes note of Thailand’s new legislative landscape)
Overall – 7

Whale Store xoxo is sapphic comfort food, not as delicious as it might have been (due in large part to chefs who apparently didn’t quite know what to do with the ingredients), but still good enough to satisfy yuri fans hungry for down-home unpretentious fare.

Posted in Frank Hecker, Live Action, Staff Writer, Thai Drama | 3 Comments »