Today, for Part 3 of the Finale 100 Years of Yuri event, I would like you all to welcome Nicki Bauman, whom you may know as The Yuri Mother. Nicki is a terrific resource for current news about Yuri and LGBTQ+ women in anime, manga, games, and media. and I hope you will all give her a warm welcome!

Once again, there were no formal criteria. Nicki said of her choices, “I didn’t work with any criteria beyond that I had to have loved the titles. I did try and ignore their importance and impact on the genre and focus solely on those works that I loved the most. But beyond that, I did not employ any specific criteria.

“Experiencing and sharing the joys and challenges of the Yuri genre is one of the greatest pleasures of my life. I have access to one hundred years of incredible works within a genre that is rapidly evolving and changing in varied landscapes and across multiple demographics. As I look back on the fantastic titles of the past century and forward to the future of Yuri, I am overwhelmed by how many amazing creations I have read, watched, played, and loved. Some works I admire because of their impact on the culture, or their historical significance, however for this list, I have chosen only my favorites. The titles, old and new, that continue to resonate with me long after I have put them aside. The following series impacted my life in profound and numerous ways. This is my personal best of 100 years of Yuri list!”

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

Amongst Us
Despite being only a few years old and updating just once a month, if that, Amongst Us has captivated me with its funny and beautiful story of two strong musical women in love. This “Alternative Universe” slice of life webcomic was born out of the author’s passion for her characters in Carciphona and sees Veloce and Blackbird together without a care for the original story’s canon or the confining tropes of the genre. If nothing else, this one is worth a read because of its astounding artwork that never ceases to amaze.

Bloom Into You
In many ways, Bloom Into You receives accolades and praise it does not deserve. No, it does not break all the conventions and tropes of Yuri. However, I will not scoff at over a million copies sold, a stellar television anime, a stage show, an anthology series, or a light novel side-story. There is a reason Bloom Into You is so successful and beloved; it is good. Yuu and Touko’s relationship only scratches the surface when it comes to this series, which sees some fantastic side characters explore their identities with proper lesbian role models (Sayaka, I am talking about Sayaka).

Butterfly Soup
This small indie visual novel, Butterfly Soup, about girls playing baseball and “memeing” is also one of the most profound and emotional reflections on racial and sexual identities, abuse, and homophobia. It highlights how we heal and thrive through our friends, community, and passions. Even with this much dense and heavy material, it is one of the funniest and lightest games I have ever played and left me feeling affirmed and loved. It can even be played for free, although I recommend donating to the creator as she is hard at work on a sequel.

The Conditions of Paradise
No “best of all time” Yuri list is complete without Morishima Akiko. There are few creators, if any, who have given more to the field of lesbian manga then her. My only question was which of her fantastic works I should list. In the end, despite how much I love Hanjuku Joshi (半熟女子) and Yuri Bear Storm, I had to single out The Conditions of Paradise. This spectacular collection of stories about adult women in meaningful and mature relationships is a must-have for any queer comic lover, and I am so thrilled to see that after over a decade, it is finally licensed in English.

Fluttering Feelings
Fluttering Feelings (설레는 기분) was a beautiful and gentle Korean manhwa about two people falling in love with each other and the awesome effect that has on each of their lives. It was gorgeous and thoughtful, showcasing a slow build and evolution of the relationship between Seol-A and No-Rae. As each of them struggled with their own identity and emergent adulthood, they learn and grow. Sadly, there will never be a conclusion to this manhwa, and its inclusion on this list is my love letter to its late creator, Ssamba.

Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ)
Series like Citrus and White Lilies in Love Bride’s showcase beautiful lesbian weddings in Yuri manga, however, this was not always the case. Yuri before the late 2010s hardly ever featured lesbian marriage, and if it did, it was never the focal point of a story. Fu~Fu (ふ~ふ) is one of the few exceptions. This charming manga from the early 2000s celebrates the affectionate love and care two adult women have for each other, culminating in a magnificent wedding.

GIRL FRIENDS
The Yuri genre has seen more than its fair share of high school girl-meets-girl love stories. However, despite the tired trope, this manga series is so detailed and engaging with its dramatic high school romance that I cannot help but include GIRL FRIENDS. Mari and Akko’s friendship and budding courtship has so many ups and downs that when they finally got together, I practically cried out in joy. The series does not stop there, as the two young women explore their relationship emotionally, socially, and physically, including looking towards a future together.

The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating! / Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei wa Tsukiatte iru ( 羽山先生と寺野先生は付き合っている)
If someone challenged me to think of a wholesome Yuri story with low stakes and a high “awww” factor, I would have a tough time coming up with anything better than Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei. The series follows two coworkers, a physical education teacher, and a school nurse, as they awkwardly navigate a new relationship. Fortunately, they have the full (occasionally overbearing) support of their students, fellow teachers, and principal to help them.

This manga will be available in English in Autumn 2020.

Kase-san Series
Kase-san is easily the most excellent high school romance story to grace the genre. It forgoes most of the typical melodramatic tropes and instead follows more grounded realistic story arcs. Kase and Yamada deal with real issues in relationships such as jealousy, sex, and worrying about the future. However, what makes this series remarkable, is its continuation, bringing the characters out of high school and into the real world where they continue their efforts navigating their relationship. Additionally, the 2018 OVA, Kase-san and Morning Glories, is a lovely visual adaptation of some of the series highest points.

Kindred Spirits on the Roof
While I do not mind the inclusion of sex in principal, I often find its use in Yuri to be immature at best and grotesque at worst. Thankfully, more creators are starting to use sex sensually and thoughtfully while still allowing their works to be titillating. Chief among these titles is the adult visual novel Kindred Spirits on the Roof. It presents a fun, if slightly ridiculous, adventure following several different and distinct couples, all of whom have human explorations of sexuality and sex that, while explicit, are not pornographic, but grounded and relatable.

Lovestruck
The mobile gaming market presents the perfect opportunity for exciting visual novel stories to be told and experienced by a whole new set of gamers. While some western apps have dominated the field with platforms such as Choices and Chapters, Voltage Inc’s Lovestruck has consistently delivered the highest quality stories using traditional visual novel style sprite work and gorgeous CGs. Lovestruck is not just a single game, but a collection of amazing otome titles in various worlds, many of which feature lesbian and non-binary romances. Whether you like fighting the evil Witch Queen’s army with your girlfriend, helping your wife maintain peace between humanity and monsters from Greek mythology, or saving your daughter from the Yakuza with your ex-gangster partner, there is a story for you here!

Maria Watches over Us
This Class S series is one of the most important and impactful Yuri works of the past few decades. The massive success of the light novels, and the four superb anime seasons it inspired, helped revive many tropes of Yuri that influenced many series in the twenty-first century, including Strawberry Panic and Bloom Into You. However, even if it was not such an important work, Marimite remains one of the most complete and praiseworthy Yuri series, with a strong cast of main and supporting characters, all of whom have intricate and complex stories and relationships.

My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness
The rise of art websites gave new pathways for creators and readers to connect, allowing for new and different stories to succeed. However, the most significant creations from these platforms are not more school romances or sapphic melodramas, but those that detail real honest human experience. No author has exposed herself more beautifully or tragically than Kabi Nagata in her spectacular personal essays My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Solo Exchange Diary, and Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi (現実逃避してたらボロボロになった話). The manga redefines what Yuri can be and uses the medium to explore issues of mental health and identity in an exceptionally moving memoir that captured my attention and heart.

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
Including this manga series feels a little bit like cheating, as it is far more LGBTQ+ than Yuri. Thankfully, Haruko and Saki’s magnificent story allows me to feature this incredible series on this list. Our Dreams at Dusk details a realistic portrayal of LGBTQ+ people and the importance community can have on a young person discovering what it means to be gay or trans. Each situation and story presented by the queer members of the drop-in center is splendidly told, with astounding visuals and writing that effectively communicate many queer experiences, struggles, and the ways we overcome them together.

Revolutionary Girl Utena
Just like with Maria Watches Over Us, this title is highly influential but, more importantly, it is incredible. I cannot think of a more astonishing or powerful Yuri work than the movie, although the original television anime and Saito Chiho’s manga are both fantastic in their own right. Utena reminds us all how unique and special this genre can be, and how cool it is to be gay and wield a sword. It was indeed a revolution for the genre, for many of its viewers, and certainly for me.

Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress
Ameko Kaeruda’s humorous feminist light novel series Sexiled: My Sexist Party Leader Kicked Me Out, So I Teamed Up With a Mythical Sorceress is a delight. The light novel reflects many of our society’s unfortunate inequalities and failures and dares place these aspects against a team of overpowered women with magic and Big Lesbian Energy. Sexiled is so cathartic, profane, and outrageously fun, and I demand everyone read it now!

Strawberry Marshmallow
I love a good laugh, and there are plenty of great Yuri offerings that can get a chuckle out of me, like Kyoko’s jokes in Yuri Yuri or Tohru’s latest misconception about human society in Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. However, nothing in my life has ever come close to the well-timed barrage of humor and adorableness that is Strawberry Marshmallow. This slice of life Yuri-ish series never fails to send me howling on the floor as I laugh at Miu’s antics, sympathize with poor Chika’s mediocrity, and treasure Matsuri’s bumbling cuteness. No matter where I am or what is going on in my life, I can return to Strawberry Marshmallow and be comforted and entertained by it.

SQ Begin With Your Name
Also known as Their Story and Tamen di Gushi, Tan Jiu’s wildly successful Yuri manhua has dominated the Yuri conversation in online communities like Tumblr, Comic Walker and Weibo, where it originated. While it suffers significantly from an inconsistent schedule and meandering plot, it has some excellent moments that remind me why so many people love it. Scenes like Sun Jing standing up against rape culture in the amusement park or when Qiu Tong finally kisses her are as close to perfection as any comic can get. The writing and characters are all brilliant and hilarious, moving between dorky comedy to more intense love and emotion effortlessly.

Strawberry Panic!
Strawberry Panic! takes the familiar tropes of Yuri and cranks them up to 11, pushing itself to the point where it is practically a parody of Yuri melodramas. And yet, I cannot think of a work that I love more. From the anime’s surprising alteration of “S” elements to the pulse-pounding light novel series, I adore everything about Strawberry Panic!, except maybe the manga adaptation. Part of my infatuation is absolutely nostalgia, as it was my first Yuri series ever and set me on a journey to become a Holy Mother of Yuri (a totally meaningless title). It affected me in powerful ways that helped me realize who I was and how I wanted to live my life.

Yuri Life
Kurukuruhime’s successful Yuri doujinshi series about Yuri cohabitation translated beautifully into a full colored printed book. It hosts a massive collection of amazing stories about (mostly) adult women living together with their partners and facing everyday struggles of work, jealousy, sex, and being two different people. The simple premise allows for the creator to exercise a tremendous amount of creativity and presents us with the perfect package about healthy people being in love.

Welcome back to the 100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project! Today we have a very special guest post by Katherine Hanson of the Yuriboke blog. Katherine’s scholarship is top-notch and it was my real pleasure to have her join this project. As I noted yesterday, I set up exactly no rules for this project, so when asked what her criteria was, Katherine replied, “My priorities for this list were trying to balance personal/sentimental value with influence on the genre, trying to balance new and old, and trying to stick to ten.” Which seems like a pretty great place to start. Please give Katherine a warm Okazu welcome!

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

1. Yoshiya Nobuko. Big surprise, since she is the progenitor, our Queen of Tropes, who had the gonads to push beyond Class S (in addition to defining Class S) in the Taisho era. Everyone reading this will probably die of old age before her most cutting-edge work, Yaneura no Nishojo, is licensed in English, but I would love to be wrong. For now, I’ll continue to be thankful we got Yellow Rose with Sarah Frederick’s excellent translation and introduction.

2. Ikeda and Yashiro and Yamagishi — the mangaka who helmed the first Yuri wave in the seventies. The Year 24 Group also needs no introduction for breaking new ground, introducing the first canon Yuri to manga with titles like Yamagishi Ryouko’s Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) and Ikeda Riyoko’s Futaripocchi (ふたりっぽち), Rose of Versailles, and Dear Brother. Though she isn’t technically in the Year 24 group, I’d like to highlight Yashiro Masako’s Secret Love (シークレット・ラブ) series that ran in Deluxe Margaret magazine in 1970. (Barely before Shiroi Heya no Futari, which I thought was the first yuri manga for years, ran in Ribon magazine in 1971.) Yashiro’s trope of choice was “In love with my best friend” (still seen in… like every other series) while Yamagishi was all about the cool, angsty girl with long, dark hair who is drawn to a more seemingly normal, lighter-haired girl (seen more recently, relatively speaking, in Kannazuki no Miko, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Bloom Into You, etc), and Ikeda was all about the Girl Prince (for later examples, see Utena, Maria Watches Over Us, Kase-san, etc) and girls’ school politics (so many series). The other title I most want to highlight here is Dear Brother for its influence and for being adapted into what I consider the first Yuri anime — the Yuri was central to the story and it treated its characters’ feelings seriously, not like a joke or porn fodder. It had to end tragically, but it was an exceptionally well-crafted first step.

3. Moonlight Flowers. (月下美人) I haven’t found a Yuri manga that respectfully portrayed the lesbian community or was aimed at an adult female audience earlier than Tsukumo Mutsumi’s Moonlight Flowers. (It ran in Office You magazine from 1989 to 1991.) For all I know, this is my josei Shiroi Heya no Futari and an earlier, even more obscure title will turn out to exist, but for now, Moonlight Flowers wins the race. Status as First aside, in addition to being a feels-punching story about second chances, Moonlight Flowers represents a bridge between the mostly tragic/repressed schoolgirl stories of the seventies and the blossoming of blatantly happy endings for teen and adult characters alike in the nineties. One of its two leads, Kaoru, helplessly sees an old school Yuri tragedy play out and doesn’t expect to break out of the tragic queer story mold herself, but she and Sahoko totally do.

4. Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is the earliest of what I call the Shoujo Big Three, along with Revolutionary Girl Utena and Maria Watches Over Us. I’d be shocked if any couple served as a Yuri gateway for more people than Haruka and Michiru (yup, they’re my gateway too) and it’s still an event if a contemporary children’s series has anything approaching Sailor Moon’s level of queerness, let alone its level of both queerness and impact.

5. Revolutionary Girl Utena TV + movie. Because for over a decade, I have consistently described watching Utena for the first time as like looking into the face of God. It’s a lightning in a bottle that can’t be remade and capture the same magic, much as I’ve enjoyed Ikuhara Kunihiko’s more recent work. (Also, Utena + Anthy for life.)

6. Maria Watches Over Us. Konno Oyuki’s MariMite definitely has the lowest amount of canon Yuri out of the Shoujo Big Three, but is paradoxically the most influential, firing up innumerable creators to do the same thing but more blatantly romantic — from high school Katherine’s beloved soap trash Strawberry Panic! to the recently-ended, less trashy but no less derivative A Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl, and beyond.

7. Friedman and Subramanian and Takashima and Tadeno — the ALC Publishing folks who planted the seeds of Yuri in North America. I’ll own I’m biased by friendship, but I need to give snaps to Erica Friedman and Erin Subramanian for their years of work spent building a Yuri audience in North America before the genre took off here, prioritizing #ownvoices/female gaze stories while a number of people labored under the misconception that Yuri is for men. (And also being years ahead of other publishers bringing over some of Morishima Akiko’s early work in the Yuri Monogatari anthologies.) Thank you to them and to Rica Takashima for creating the upbeat, now era-spanning lesbian rom-com that didn’t exist yet in the 90’s and became the first series marketed as Yuri here, Rica’tte Kanji!?, and to Tadeno Eriko for being the rare artist drawing old women adorably in love (more old couple Yuri is on my wish list for the next 100 years), and all the other folks who helped carve out a space for the genre here.

8. The Conditions of Paradise. Because this lovely collection of one-shots mostly about working women (with a dash of high school and historical fantasy) is Morishima Akiko’s first collected volume of Yuri, and nicely represents her position as someone who has prolifically been at the forefront of artists blurring the line between “Yuri” and “bian” manga for decades.

9. Kase-san. Takashima Hiromi’s little series that could. I remember reading the first volume of Kase-san and thinking “Cute!” and not expecting more, then seeing the series (and its leads) grow and evolve through its run in the now-cancelled Hirari magazine, LINE Comics, and now Wings magazine, and ALSO getting a music video that turned into a movie/OVA because people clamored for more. I can’t think of a title that better demonstrates the power that the non-creator side of the Yuri fandom has to convince the industry to give us more nice things.

10. The blossoming of Yuri in unexpected places. Because it’s been rad to see so many people around the world who grew up with Sailor Moon and other Yuri-relevant series produce even more queer content. From global Yuri’s early days with folks like Niki Smith contributing to the Yuri Monogatari anthologies and series like June Kim’s 12 Days, to Steven Universe’s blatant Utena and Takarazuka references and newer artists like Mira Ong Chua and Ratana Satis finding ways to sell their stories directly to fans, global Yuri has hit its stride. And there are too many webcomic examples by Japanese and “international” artists to count — the origins of Kurosada’s Husky and Medley are no longer a big deal in the age of Nagata Kabi’s My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and Kukuruhime’s Yuri Life. I’m excited to add more Yuri webcomic goodness to my bookmarks and shelves.
 

To begin this finale of the 100 Years of Yuri, welcome one of my longtime and most respected peers in Yuri fandom, Erin Subramanian! Erin has been a translator of  Yuri manga for years and has translated some of your favorite titles for ALC Publishing and JManga.

When I asked everyone to contribute to this project, I specified no rules or limitations. Everyone was free to interpret the idea on their own.  When she submitted this list, I asked Erin what criteria she went with  – she replied that her “only criteria was that the work be Japanese.” So without further ado, here is Erin’s Top Yuri List for the first 100 years of Yuri!

Titles have been edited so series available in English use official English-language titles, and Japanese-only are in Romaji (with Kanji in parentheses).

The Classics:

Where it all began, from the “Class S” novels of the early 20th century to the girls’ manga and anime of the mid- to late-20th century. My top titles are:

Shiroi Heya no Futari (白い部屋のふたり) by Ryouko Yamagishi: Despite the terrible ending, this was a ground-breaking manga that deserves to be enshrined in the yuri canon.

Sakura Namiki (さくら並木) by Makoto Takahashi: Though it lacks the overt Yuri of later titles, the subtext is strong and the art and setting are charming.

The Rose of Versailles by Riyoko Ikeda: One of the best series I’ve ever read/watched.

Dear Brother by Riyoko Ikeda: It sweeps you up in the dark, brooding drama and makes you care about its characters even as you know things won’t end well for some of them. There are multiple Yuri storylines.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi: A cultural phenomenon. I was obsessed with Sailors Uranus and Neptune back when I was in high school, and they still hold a special place in my heart, along with the series itself.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: It’s a wild ride. I still don’t have it all figured out

Queer Women’s Magazines:

Anise (アニース) and Phryne (フリーネ) offered manga created by and for queer women.

Each issue is a precious artifact to me. The stories were short and tended toward one-shots rather than continuing stories, but they managed to cover a variety of genres and topics. Anise also included articles and photos.

Yuri Hime(/Shimai) Magazine:

THE top and longest-running Yuri magazine. It paved the way for the plethora of Yuri content we’re currently enjoying and has produced many gems itself. Some of my top titles:
Strawberry Shake Sweet (ストロベリーシェイク) by Shizuru Hayashiya
Cirque Arachne (サーク・アラクニ) by Nika Saida
Kawaii Anata (かわいいあなた) by Hiyori Otsu
Mermaid Line (マーメイドライン) by Renjuurou Kindaichi
Fu-Fu (ふ~ふ) by Hisanari Minamoto
Ibara no Namida (いばらの泪) by Rikachi

Mist  (美粋) Magazine:

This ladies’ manga magazine was an experience. Despite the cheese and formulaic plotlines, there was a lot to love about it.

Hirari (ひらり) and Tsubomi (つぼみ)  anthologies:

Two of the better anthologies of the early 2010s. While many of the stories tread similar territory, they had much to offer. Stand-outs include:
Fujio’s under one roof
Fuka Mizutani’s works
Hiromi Takashima’s Kase-san series
Tsuyoshi Isomoto’s Girl’s Ride (ガールズライド)
Akira Kiduki and Nanki Satou’s Ebisu-san and Hotei-san (エビスさんとホテイさん)
Megane Ohtomo’s works
Yae Shimano’s works
Kirin Tendou’s Koisuru SugarCotton (恋するシュガーコットン)

Queer Women’s Manga:

Not every definition of Yuri encompasses titles with lesbian/queer identity, but mine does. My top choices:
Rica ‘tte Kanji!? by Rica Takashima: A pioneering work that’s a must-read.
Onna-doushi de Kodomo o Umukoto ni Shimashita (女どうしで子どもを産むことにしました) by Koyuki Higashi, Hiroko Masuhara, and Emiko Sugiyama: There are quite a few lesbian parenting stories in the West, but I haven’t seen many manga on the subject. This one is biographical.
Plica-chan (プリカちゃん) by Sae Amamiya: At times funny, at others poignant, whimsical, and sad. Generally a 4-panel comic.
Honey & Honey (ハニー&ハニーデラックス) by Sachiko Takeuchi: Educational comic aimed at a general audience but true-to-life.

Top Creators:

UKOZ (Uko Nishi and Koz Hojo): Subtle stories of life and love. They’ve done a plethora of doujinshi and also have several published works out. Nishi Uko’s Collectors (コレクターズ) in particular is funny and sweet.
Milk Morinaga: Girl Friends captivated the Yuri world, and Morinaga rarely disappoints.
Akiko Morishima: Don’t be fooled by the cute art style; Morishima tackles a variety of mature topics. She was one of the first to do stories about adult life in Yuri Hime magazine. Her Shiawase Enikki (しあわせ絵日記) series, which ran in Anise, is also worth a read if you can find it.
Jin Takemiya: Takemiya’s stories resonate and delight. Omoi no Kakera (想いの欠片) is one of my favorites.
Ebine Yamaji: Yamaji’s art and sparse style brought a realistic feel to Yuri.
Miyabi Fujieda: Fujieda is a master of sweet slice-of-life stories. Ame-iro Kochakan Kandan (あめ色紅茶館歓談) was one that I particularly savored.
Takako Shimura: Shimura has blessed the Yuri world with a number of great works. The anime adaptations of Sweet Blue Flowers and Wandering Son are also excellent.
Nagata Kabi: Kabi’s works are painful to read, but so necessary.
Nanae Haruno: Haruno’s quiet style sneaks up on you. Pieta (ピエタ) is a fan favorite for good reason.

Maria Watches Over Us by Oyuki Konno:

This lovely series, with its understated charm, makes you care about all the little dramas of its characters’ lives. The quintessential girls’ school story, with both Yuri subtext and canon.

Kase-san series by Hiromi Takashima:

A gem. Every volume is a joy to read, and the anime adaptation is wonderful as well.

Yuri Life by Kurukuruhime:

Not every pairing was to my taste, but I loved the snapshots into domestic life for a variety of Yuri couples.

Thank you Erin for your perspective! Tomorrow, we’ll be hearing from another Yuri collector with a wholly different outlook. Check back in for Part 2 of the Top 100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project!