100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project, Guest Post by Katherine Hanson

January 3rd, 2020

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.
 

Posted in Top Yuri Lists | 2 Comments »


100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project, Guest Post by Erin Subramanian

January 2nd, 2020

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!

Posted in Top Yuri Lists | 4 Comments »


100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project – Introduction

January 1st, 2020

Happy New Year and welcome to 2020 or, as I like to think of it, the first day of 2CYE (Current Yuri Era.) ^_^

To begin with, thanks to everyone who made 2019 one of the best years of a lifetime, as we celebrated 100 years of the Yuri genre!

In my final list of 2019, I imagined what Yoshiya Nobuko-sensei might have made of this last century and the growth of an entire genre out of her and her peers’ work…and what she might think looking at explicitly queer stories with openly lesbian characters. A hundred years is a long time, and tastes, technology, fashion and the sociopolitical landscape have all changed so radically. Which got me thinking about those years and all those changes. Even in the past 20 years, there have been some remarkable shifts. From a fetish on a long list of fetishes, or a reference to a century-old literary movement to a full-blown genre with recognition by companies and bookstores on both sides of the globe, there have been a lot of changes in Yuri. Yuri has gone from a niche of a niche to a segment of the anime/manga audience that has its own events and visible presence at larger events. And, so, I developed an idea – one last exciting project to cap off this 100 Year Anniversary of the genre. I asked this question:

Could we develop a list of the best, most notable, most representative, Top Yuri titles of the last century?

To help me out with this, I reached out to invite some of my favorite Yuri experts, folks whose opinions I am always interested to hear and whose knowledge about our genre is far-reaching.

Starting tomorrow, over the next several days, you’ll be hearing from Erin Subramanian  Katherine Hanson and Nicki Bauman, all long-time Yuri researchers and bloggers. These are people who I like to consider my peers in the non-academic Yuri research bubble that I have created and which I so cheerfully occupy. ^_^

I’ll be posting 4 different lists from each of these terrific writers and myself on our “Top Yuri of the last 100 Years.” Each one of us had completely different criteria for our choices which means that, even if you see some of the same series represented I ask you to read the entries, because they are on each of our lists for completely different reasons!

Please join me in welcoming all of our our guest writers as we start the 100 Years of Yuri 2020 Project!

Posted in Miscellaneous, Now This Is Only My Opinion | 9 Comments »


Okazu Top Yuri of 2019

December 31st, 2019

As we wrap up this year, the 100th anniversary of the Yuri genre, I like to imagine what Yoshiya Nobuko might think, if she were to spring to life and see Yuri anime, manga, novels, games…stories of women in love with women, in both fantasy and “real world” settings and bookstores around the world with Yuri titles and manga stores with dedicated Yuribu.  I’d like to think that once she got past the confusion of it all, she’d be pretty pleased about it. ^_^

For the 15th year in a row, I’m wrapping all the best Yuri people, companies, trends and titles up in one big old package and presenting it to you as the Okazu Top Yuri of 2019. ^_^ Please note there are no numbers, as this is not a countdown. Everything here is equally notable.

We’ll start with some well-deserved kudos to the pieces of the industry that set the places at which we sit and lay the feasts we enjoy.

 

Yuri Publishers & Yuribu
In this 100th anniversary of the genre, something almost miraculous occurred. Manga, anime and light novel publishers in the US and many of the major Japanese publishers are now investing in Yuri as Yuri.

My sincere thanks to everyone at Yen Press, VIZ Media, Seven Seas Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, J-Novel Club, UDON Entertainment, Kodansha Comics, Denpa, Lilyka Manga and in Japan, Ichijinsha, Futabasha, Shueisha, East Press, Seidosha, Hayakawa Shobo, Kadokawa Shoten, Akita Shoten and, at long last, Shogakukan.

Additionally, Japanese manga and bookstores have finally recognized that Yuri is a genre that does bring in business and have developed Yuri Clubs to help funnel money their way. ^_^ So thanks to Animate, Shosen, Gamers and Futabasha (again.) Toranoana has no Yuribu, but their Yuri Corner in the flagship store in Akihabara is worth noting, as well.

All these companies have recognized the potential of the growing LGBTQ and Yuri markets and responded to it with money and promotion (and in the case of US companies, care and attention,) which gives us hope for even more and even better Yuri in the year to come!

 

Yuri Webcomics
Webcomics have been an important arm of indie comics since the early 2000s and the last few years has really seen the growth in online platforms for comic artists.

Pixiv has quite literally changed the game for indie artists in Japan like Nagata Kabi, and Webtoons and Lezhin have been among newer platforms that opened up a whole new audience to the joy of Yuri manga and comics.

Artists like Ratiana Satis (Pulse) and Kuru of Color_LES (Mage and Demon Queen) have changed the landscape for how – and where and by whom – people are able to find Yuri.

I think this kind of work is very exciting and very entertaining and always look forward to more new independent artists breaking out!

 

Yuri Visual Novels/Games
I’m not going to lie, the visual novel landscape has a lot of problems, Steam’s inconsistent and obscure rule changes looming large among them.  But the industry is full of energy and creativity that is worth talking about.

In 2019, Studio Élan created a whole new game engine for putting out innovative, unique, and original work. What I have seen has impressed me so very deeply. Indie creators gather annually for the Yuri Game Jam which gives space for smaller creative teams and individual devs to work on their idea and for you to try them out. Itch.io has quietly become a significant independent resource for game and VN developers and players.

Even if I will never be the audience for them, there are some really excellent VNs and games being made and I think they absolutely deserve a place on this list this year.

 

Yuri Creators
There are so many creators of Yuri these days that it almost seems insulting to highlight a few names, but this year there has been some outstanding work by a few individuals, that I really believe it’s worth highlighting and celebrating them.

These are creators whose work has created change in the Yuri landscape: Yoshiya Nobuko (Yaneura no Nishojo) for setting in motion the creation of an entire genre by living her life and writing the stories she wrote;  Riyoko Ikeda (Rose of Versailles), for having conversation about gender presentation and sexuality 40 years before anyone else had words for them;  Takeuchi Naoko (Sailor Moon) who twenty-five years ago created characters so timeless, that we’re only now realizing just how important they are; Kabi Nagata (My Solo Exchange Diary), for her heart-breaking honesty – I know many of us want her to be healthy and happy; Takashima Hiromi (Kase-san and Yamada) for breaking Yuri romance out of high school where it had been locked for so long; Go Nagai (Devil Lady), for being a pioneer of queer women in his Devilman sagas;  Takemiya Jin (Itoshi Koishi) for walking us along the path with a young woman who wants to be out and open with her friends; Ameco Kaeruda (Sexiled), for writing a feminist power fantasy that is empowering, delightful and funny; Morishima Akiko (Conditions of Paradise) who at long last in 2020 will get the English-language recognition as a Yuri manga artist that she deserves.

Breakthroughs often pass unnoticed until long afterwards. I will note that 2020 will mark the end of one the most important decades in history for our genre, as well as the end of the first century for the genre. Some of these names created a solid foundation for us to build upon and some are among the leading lights as we head into a new decade. They most assuredly deserve our thanks and a place on this list.

 

Okazu Readers and Patrons
You, my Okazu readers, are critically important to our mission here. It is a testament to your engagement that so many of you have become writers for Okazu and a testament to your personalities that so many of you have become my friends. ^_^ My very sincere thanks to every one of you who reads and comments on and shares our content.

My very special thanks to Okazu Patrons for making it possible for me to celebrate this year with reviews and lectures and panels and events. Your financial and social support helps us pay for guest writers and reviewers. Every year you make this list, and once again this year I can say with all honesty, I could not have done it without you.

 

Light Novels & Novels
This year saw a veritable explosion of Light Novels and Novels in both digital and print. While as a genre LNs can be inconsistent, Yuri fans have been horribly spoiled by the high quality Light Novels we’ve seen.

J-Novel Club opened up their Yuri line with a salvo of truly excellent Yuri titles, including Last and First Idol,and Side-by-Side Dreamers. Seven Seas picked up what are extraordinarily good series-extension Bloom Into You, Regarding Saeki Sayaka. But the Light Novel that really blew my hair back was the totally-on-point brilliantly topical and deeply satisfying Sexiled series by Kaeruda Ameco. Those books scratched itches I didn’t know I had. If you haven’t read these, you should. Just go read them.

Will Yuri fans continue to be spoiled with top quality fantasy and science fiction Light Novels while everyone else has to deal with “the protagonist has no pants, hurh hurh” as a main plot point? I sure hope so.  ^_^

 

Now as we enter the final few of of our end-of-year roundup, I want to take a moment to note a few series that just deserve a moment of reverence and thanks for all they’ve done and all they will continue to do.

 

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
As I have repeatedly noted, this series is not Yuri. Instead, there is very real-world queer identity here; real problems faced by real people in the real world, which makes this series, if not unique, then at least extraordinary.

This story about self and community and creating a space in a world that isn’t welcoming…and then taking up that space and owning it, is a lot to ask of a work of fiction. Heck, it’s a lot to ask of life! Not only does Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare succeed at that, it does it beautifully.

This is the kind of LGBTQ work I hope we’ll see more and more of from increasingly open queer manga artists.

 

 

Sailor Moon Stars
Every year I joke that if there is a Sailor Moon out that year, it will find a way on to this list.  ^_^ Well this year a Sailor Moon that has never had an official English-language release is out and it so very, deeply, queer that it seems almost fantastic. Sailor Moon Stars is the final piece of the original series, and we’re looking forward to the Sailor Moon Crystal 4th season movies in the years to come.

Let me offer a toast to Sailor Moon Stars and to the permanent – and official –  partnership of Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru – and welcome to the the next iteration of Sailor Moon fandom. Here’s to cafes and night drive parfaits and anniversary albums. May we all be together once again for the 50th anniversary.

 

 

Rose of Versailles
The wait has not been in vain. It *just* squeaked onto this year’s list by having a limited release in December. Don’t be surprised to see it back again in 2020. It’s almost 50 years old but we have an official English language release of The Rose of Versailles at last and it is a truly magnificent thing. UDON has really gone above and beyond for this release.

Oscar’s struggle with gender and class expectations, with the pressures of a society in which she may not be the person she wants to be, takes us through love and loss and the overturning of an ancien regime in a story that is terrifyingly timely.

This story of the French Revolution seen through the eyes of Oscar François de Jarjayes is so very, very extra.

A classic manga just in time for our 100th anniversary. What a year we’ve had. Our Yuri shelves are already full to bursting, with even more amazing stuff to come in 2020!

 

 

Kase-san and Bloom Into You
Both the Kase-san series and Yagate Kimi ni Naru/Bloom Into You were relatively typical high school Yuri series. Both series managed to take the typical tropes of their origins and turn them into something interesting, unusual and ultimately,  original. Both had animation that went above and beyond the manga and both had a global impact.

Once upon a time, all we wanted was a genuinely happy ending for a Yuri love story, an ending that showed our characters moving into the future together. This year, we got two. Moreover, neither series is riding its fame into the sunset, yet. Takashima-sensei’s Kase-san is ongoing and we’re getting some post-series work from Nakatani-sensei in anthologies and artbooks and I desperately hope to see signs of a third Sayaka novel soon.

These series have made it onto both of the other lists and it seems only reasonable to just say this plainly – both these series were tops for 2019.

 

I’ve mentioned this repeatedly during these lists (and have to tell you, we’re not done yet…) but this year was an amazing one, for me, for the Yuri genre, for all of us. Which brings me to the very best Yuri thing this year.

 

100 Years of Yuri

Yuri Events were through the roof this year. It began with the an amazing time at TCAF and took me along, one fun Yuri-filled event to another. We did Yuri-focused Yurithon. We held the 100th Anniversary of Yuri Tour with a few like-minded friends, during which we spent time with the Sailor Senshi, and ate lunch with Fumi, flipped 500 yen coins at a shrine with Kuraku Asuka, bought Yuri goods and Yuri doujinshi and Yuri manga and glutted ourselves on food and threw money at Yuri artists at Girls Love Fest.

This celebration of Yuri’s 100th anniversary has been exhausting and amazing. I’ve met so many folks, got to meet new Yuri manga artists and see old friends and done so many presentations and had so very much fun.

The number one top Yuri thing of the year was…the year.

It’s been 100 Years since Yaneura no Nishojo (屋根裏の二) codified how we think and talk about Yuri. Thanks to Yoshiya Nobuko and thanks to all the people and companies on these lists. Thanks to all of you, my readers and commenters and my patrons.

Here’s looking forward to 2CYE (Common Yuri Era) in which the the fun is not over, as we extend the celebration into 2020 for the final 100th anniversary project here on Okazu. ^_^ Tune in tomorrow! And here’s to the next 100 Years!

 

Posted in Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Kase-san Series, Sailor Moon, Top Yuri Lists, Yuri Anime, Yuri Game, Yuri Manga, Yuri Visual Novel | 1 Comment »


Okazu Top Yuri Manga of 2019

December 29th, 2019

Annually, I say to you that this is the easiest of the lists to write. In previous years this was completely true. This year however, we hit a tipping point with Yuri manga: No sooner do I discover a series’ existence, than it’s scooped up for license, sometimes before I have a chance to read it in Japanese. Last year I called it an embarrassment of riches. This year, I’m calling it too much to reasonably list! ^_^

As a result of the absolutely massive amounts of Yuri manga being put out in Japanese and English, this list begins with groups of works, rather than individual titles. When I mention a title that is currently available in Japanese and English, I’m using the English language title. ^_^ As always, please feel free to chime in with your favorites in the comments!

 

Yuri Anthologies
White Lilies, Whenever Our Eyes Meet (from Yen Pess,) Yuritora Jump (ユリトラジャンプ), Syrup (to be released in 2020 by Seven Seas,) Éclair (out from Yen Press,) Yuri + Kanojo (百合+カノジョ), there have been – and are – so very many of these anthologies this year! I’ve written about their importance in the history of Yuri manga, and I’m genuinely thrilled that they are experiencing a resurgence in this new age of Yuri.

Anthologies provide a home for established creators to publish their original work, and a place for new, up-and-coming creators to experience publishing with a company. Fans get to see glimpses of new concepts, new art, new ideas and find new artists to care about. Almost all of my favorite artists were (and often still are) avid anthology contributors. I unabashedly love anthologies, with my endless hope for really good short stories.

As a result of this new wave, Yuri anthologies make this year’s list!

 

Shakaijin Yuri
Stories about life after high school, where love between adult women can(!) exist. Nikurashii Hodo Aishiteru (to-be-released by Yen Press as I Hate You So Much, I Love You), Still Sick (out from Tokyopop,) BariKyari to Shinsou (バリキャリと新卒), Yuri Life (out from Yen,) Fuzoroi no Renri (不揃いの連理), Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana (to-be-released by Viz Media as How Do We Relationship?) and so many more that I have read and reviewed in the past year, tell stories that until recently could not have been told. Lesbians are still few and far between but we sometimes even get a rare glimpse of one in these adult life tales. ^_^

A decade ago, Yuri was firmly embedded in school life stories, and we were still being informed that girls wear bloomers (they didn’t) and were definitely being married off after graduation (they weren’t) and were never going to be able to see each other again (they could…and there are phones). A person becoming a Yuri fan today would have a chance to see relationships between adult women functioning in the real world in a way we could never have imagined. Western companies are on board with this, bringing out more and more of the adult life Yuri manga. That’s pretty damned awesome.

 

Comic Yuri Hime/ Galette

Manga magazines have such an important position in manga culture. For most creators, seeing their work serialized is pretty much the epitome of where a title can go. And for Yuri manga, it provides the closest thing to normalization that the industry has. Where anime tends to favor the lowest common denominators (or lower, depending on how uncommon a fetish might actually be,) the constant, slow, repeated application of seeing women together as couples in manga can change the world.

For that reason, I want to once again call out the two Yuri manga magazines that exist right now. I don’t like everything in them, but for their efforts in normalizing Yuri (and, I will project a bit,) relationships between women, monthly Comic Yuri Hime (コミック百合姫) and quarterly Galette (ガレット) hold a special place in my heart.

 

Now we’re going to take a step away from the general towards specific series that, in my honest opinion, really stood out this year and did something important.

 

Goodbye Dystopia
It was easy to overlook Hisona’s 3-volume manga series from Comic Yuri Hime, Goodbye Dystopia (グッバイ・ディストピア). It’s not flashy, there was no sex, no histrionics, no drama. Instead, it opened up a whole new field for Yuri creators…one that we hadn’t seen before; two women traveling not to get somewhere, but to leave something behind. We took the time to see old and decrepit things, and most of that time was spent in silence. I would have read a dozen more volumes of that, a Yuri story in which nothing at all was important. I was able to enjoy the feeling of wandering in an almost-empty post-apocalyptic landscape set in the middle of the modern world.

As we head into what is very likely to be the twilight of the human species, we can remember that everything comes to an end and still look forward to tomorrow.

 

Bloom Into You
I had a lot of reservations about Bloom Into You from the beginning. I’m still not quite sure why it became as popular as it did. Perhaps a mix of zeitgeist and TV animation, but more probably because of the marketing powerhouse Kadokawa/ASCII Mediaworks. No joke – if you want your series to be popular, get Kadokawa to market it. It can be purest distilled crap and they’ll polish it up and sell it for luxe prices. ^_^

The main love story was nice enough, but where this series shone, where it gleams like a beacon of frickin’ hope is in its treatment of Saeki Sayaka, a serious-minded young lesbian who meets two adult women in a relationship and finds herself. I delighted in every moment we spent with Sayaka, with her time talking to Miyako about her true self and getting to know her even better in the light novels.

I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that this series made this year’s list because of Sayaka. ^_^

 

My Solo Exchange Diary
I very much hope one day soon to write an article about how creator Nagata Kabi absolutely threw the doors wide open for graphic medicine in Japan. It’s not that comic essays were unheard of, but before Nagata-sensei’s brutal self-evaluation and honest autobiographical essays about the mental and physical constraints of her existence, Josei manga artists frequently entertained readers with comic essays about life as a mother or living with cats. Nagata-sensei’s work was vastly different. Casting herself as a one-woman show on a stage of her own making, she touched the hearts of millions of people worldwide, a Raina Telgemeier of Japanese mental health, covering depression, eating disorder (and alcohol-induced pancreatitis in her newest book.) In years to come, it is my belief that we will see Nagata-sensei listed as a genuine pioneer whose work changed lives and the manga industry, much as we see the Magnificent 49ers now.

It’s not an easy read, but if I taught a course on manga, My Solo Exchange Diary would be a fixture on the curriculum.

 

Kase-san and Yamada
I’ve said it a thousand times, lesbian don’t just disappear after high school. I say this because until recently, they kind of did. ^_^; From the beginning, the Kase-san series was never groundbreaking. It trod over well-worn paths, but it stopped a little more often to notice the flowers that lined those paths. In Volume 6 released this year, Kase-san and Yamada took their first step off that path onto new territory.

When Kase-san and Yamada left high school, readers might have assumed that the series would wrap up. Instead they moved to the big city to go to college and we went along with them to see how they handled a new environment and new challenges. It’s a pleasure to spend time with these women and a pleasure to see where their experiences will take them as they enter the adult world.

Yamada and Kase-san are no strangers to this list, having made it on several times since their debut in 2011. We welcome them back once again for this year.

You’ll have noticed that my primary motivation for inclusion this year, as it has been for many years is stories with a sense of reality; stories of couples who exist in a semblance of the world as you and I might hope to experience it. With that in mind, I give you the Okazu Top 3 Yuri manga of 2019.

 

Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru
Hayama Asuka and Terano Saki are teachers at a school who have, to their surprise, fallen in love. Everyone knows they are going out and everyone, from students to administration think they could not be more adorable if they tried. This is the major handwave of this series and I, for one, think it wholly acceptable. Instead of dealing with bullying by colleagues or angry parents, we get to enjoy Saki and Asuka loving their time with one another.

Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei ha Tsukiatteiru (羽山先生と寺野先生は付き合っている) is an adult story that includes sex, but is not porn. It focuses on the the sheer joy these two women find in one another. Yes, it’s a fantasy, but it’s a fantasy I wholeheartedly endorse. This manga makes me smile. Every time. Next year you’ll be able to enjoy it as Our Teachers Are Dating! from Seven Seas.

 

I’ve never hidden my desire to see more overtly lesbian themes in my Yuri. This year, we were able to enjoy manga series that were explicitly about queer people, by queer creators, that told various stories of different gender and sexual minorities. My top two series this year are effectively tied for the position because they both are by us, and tell our stories.

 

Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare
2019 was the year we were able to read a LGBTQ manga that pulled no punches. Yuhki Kamatani’s breathtakingly beautiful and moving Our Dreams at Dusk Shimanami Tasogare is a love letter to Shimanami and a supportive hand being held out to LGBTQ youth at the same time. Each character’s story is unique and individual, there is no pretense to telling all queer stories ever. Every character is shown as three-dimensional, working on understanding themselves and their place in a world that won’t make a place for them.

It ends with a wedding ceremony for the lesbian characters; a symbol of change and acceptance.  The first time my wife and I had a ceremony, we never expected to be able to marry legally. And here we are with that right. Saki and Haruko’s wedding might not be legal, but their families being there for them is an important step forward. This is not “Yuri” but it is one of the most overtly queer manga I have ever seen. Like a symbolic wedding, I honestly think that is worth celebrating. It’s a step forward. I’ll hope that this holds the door open to more overtly queer stories, more stories of lesbian couples who don’t face “death or marriage” as the only possible outcomes. And maybe, just maybe, assist in changing the way people think, an important bit of groundwork for a new legal landscape for queer couples in Japan.

 

In the middle of the many Yuri tropes that exist, there is one trope that is so very common in western literature and yet is almost completely missing in Yuri – the coming out narrative. There is a series that I have believed since the very beginning would be the series to address this. I was not wrong. This series is my top Yuri manga pick of the year.


Itoshi Koishi
Hina, a senior in high school is going out with Yayoi, an older woman. Yayoi is very aware of the age difference and is waiting for Hina to move beyond school into adult life. They are good for each other, and take care of each other and their friends are supportive. Yayoi is a lesbian and has friends who are, as well.  Hina has friends who adore her and whom she adores, and she has slowly and surely been moving towards telling them the one thing she’s been keeping from them. My Christmas present arrived with the January edition of Comic Yuri Hime in the form of Itoshi Koishi‘s protagonist Hina, coming out to her friends and her friends responding with love and acceptance. Hina takes on a few old lingering stereotypes of gay couples (left over from Japanese TV shows purporting to show “real” gay people whose lives were miserable) and clears them away with a smile.

Takemiya-sensei has been leading up to this slowly, carefully and ever so gently. Itoshi Koishi (いとしこいし) is not a series of high melodrama, it is a series about two people who love and are loved in return. It shows that “coming out” may never be easy, but it does not have to be traumatic. I love this story with all my love.

This series, by this author, who combines Yuri and lesbian themes sweetly, without fantasy handwaves, is my number one Yuri manga of the year.

 

The next list will be an accounting of all the companies, the people, the places and things that have made 2019 an amazing anniversary year for Yuri!

 

 

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