My Beloved Zako Streamer

February 18th, 2026
Two young women wearing different Japanese school uniforms, look into a cell phoneby Burkely Hermann, Guest Reviewer
Is the internet “forever”? A recent indie anime plays with that concept, following the story of a livestreamer and her best friend, who get romantically close to one another, and kiss twice on the livestream channel. The Japanese title for the series is Itoshi no Zako Haishinsha-chan 「愛しのザコ配信者ちゃん」streaming on YouTube. That title has many different translations into English, including My Beloved Underdog Streamer Girl, My Beloved Weak Streamer, My Beloved Low-Tier Streamer Girl (from the site of voice actor Mochimiyu), My Beloved Zako Deliverer (Melon Books and Niconi Commons), My Beloved Zako Streamer (Suruga-ya), My Beloved Zako Streamer-chan, or My beloved girlfriend is an unpopular youtuber (used in official subtitles).
This series director, Naoya Ishikawa, is well-known for his short series, Kuttsukiboshi. Five episodes and four promotional videos for Zako are available to watch on the company’s YouTube channel and there have been screenings in Tokyo. Firstly, this series shows the strength of indie anime, for which there are very few examples.  The series has official English subtitles, so users do not need to use the “auto-translate” feature. 
The reality of COVID-19, and importance of stopping viruses, is clear from the get-go. I liked that it showed, in a respectful way, characters wearing masks. In the first episode, some characters even compliment each other on their masks. This is something I have not seen in any animated clips or series, even though the COVID-19 pandemic began in December 2019. Many people sadly act like the pandemic is “over,” thinking they can go back to their “normal” behaviors. Others won’t even depict it at all. Beloved Zako Streamer reminds people that the virus is here to stay and that you can, and should, take precautions. 
The series contains some commentary on YouTubers / livestreamers. Mamiko (voiced by Koyori Nohana) is a very unsuccessful streamer. However, the person who inspired her to become a streamer is Mikittan (voiced by Popura Sawano), a young woman who lives in a messy, dirty, and disorganized apartment. She might be a hoarder. She claims she knows where everything is and gets lots of comments on her stream. In the fourth episode, Shii (voiced by Yui Otogura) is completely overwhelmed by the deluge of comments that Mamiko gets on her channel and wants them to stop. It reminds me of a recent episode of Oshi no Ko, where an adult-oriented cosplayer criticizes a series online, almost bringing it down.
The first episode begins with Shii dreaming that she is in a compromising position with her childhood friend Mamiko, then kissing her. As she wakes up for school, she realizes she had a wet dream. Later that day, she thinks that Mamiko doesn’t realize she is in love with her. She is caught off guard when Mamiko declares that she wants to do a livestream with her, making her believe that her dream will come true after all. This somewhat implies that Mamiko has feelings for her as well. It takes until the second episode of this ongoing series for things to heat up. Mamiko and Shii sit naked in the same bathroom, and then the same bathtub. Somehow, Shii still believes that she could never have a sexual relationship with Mamiko.

Using a camera she borrowed from Ita, their school friend, Shii and Mamiko begin their livestream. Ita (voiced by Nadeshiko Komae) and Miseri (voiced by mochimiyu), are hinted as having feelings for each other. In one episode, one of them tickles the other with her feet. They are among the stream’s six viewers. In the third episode, everything goes off the rails. Shii pulls Mamiko to the floor. They lie together before Shii pulls Mamiko into the exact position she had dreamed about. She asks Mamiko if she would save her from a train, or five of her favorite YouTubers, in a classic description of the trolley problem. Consent should have been emphasized better. The consent should not have been dubious. Even so, when compared to other anime, including some yuri works, perhaps Beloved Zako Streamer is better.

Only seconds later, she kisses Shii. Mamiko encourages Shii to take the next step. As the calm music plays, they kiss one another again. Their kisses gain them lots of viewers. They are unaware their stream is ongoing. In the following episode, Miseri and Ita continue watching. One of them snaps a photo of Mamiko and Shii’s kiss. Eventually they get in contact with Mamiko and Shii, before they do anything racy and get banned. Both finally learn they were livestreaming this entire time!
In the last-available episode of Beloved Zako Streamer, Shii desperately tries to reverse everything by going back in time thirty minutes. She thinks that the fairy of time, Tokkie, will help her go back to when she pushed down Mamiko. Tokkie warns her that if she does so, her special relationship with Mamiko will be reset. She promises to confess to Mamiko in a better way. She soon awakens and realizes that meeting Tokkie was her imagination.
Apart from secondary coupling-of-sorts, Ita and Miseri, who spend time close to one another, in the last-available episode, Shii’s false assumptions are blasted apart. She truly thinks that no one really watched the stream. When she returns home, her aunt reveals to her what she feared: she has become a celebrity-of-sorts. Someone snapped a photo of her kissing Mamiko, effectively publicly outing her. As she scrolls through the social media feed, she is horrified. She is worried that her “normal” high school life is over, meaning that she can’t be with Mamiko in the way she originally envisioned.

Ratings: 

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 3 or 4 (there’s some nudity but it is covered up by lens flares)
Yuri – 6 or 7
Music – 8

Overall – 8

Hopefully more episodes air this year, continuing my list of series that are yuriish. A preview at the end of the most recent episode hints that Shii and Miseri will begin their relationship for real. It seems that Beloved Zako Streamer will depict a growing, healthy relationship by two people under a lot of pressure as sort-of online celebrities.

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

Posted in English Anime, Guest Review, Yuri Anime | 2 Comments »


The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Volume 8.5

February 15th, 2026

A young woman in pink dress, with blonde hair sleeps, leaning on a young woman in blue with silver hair, as they hold hands, sitting under a leafy tree in front of a colorful sunset.The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Volume 8.5 is a collection of short stories about Anis, Euphie and the folks in their orbit. It was surprisingly good for being little more than  fanfics of the authors’ own characters. 

These stories mostly take place after Euphyllia has ascended the throne as Queen, and Princess Anisphia has found a place at her side. We do spend, a little time earlier on, as we watch Lainie, still a maid at the separated palace and Ilia, deepen their relationship. Also at the separated palace, we get a nice new beginning for Tilty, Anis’ friend and a little more about why she is interested in curses.

But it’s not the whys or how that shine here.  It’s the repeated acts of reconciliation, friendship, family and love that makes this volume work. Among these is the very complicated  story of Halphys’ family and the above story about Tilty. Ultimately the strongest chapter is that in which Anis and her mother finally talk after years and years of not addressing the things between them. 

Karasu’s writing is often very superficial, but there are moments that really grab you here, presuming you care about  Anis, Euphie and the rest. I find myself among those that do.  This volume won’t change the world, but for the author and the characters, it’s all important stuff that has to be addressed before the 9th volume of the series heads our way this summer.

Ratings: 

Story – At their best a 9 and even the weakest are fine, if you like the characters
Characters – 8 Would you even be reading this if you didn’t like them?
Art – Deep, frustrated sigh. The art is getting better, the subject matter is just obnoxious
Service – Yes and there is not one good reason for it
Yuri – 10/10

Overall – 8

If you’re enjoying this series – as I am – this is a nice, if occasionally silly (please, tell us that Lainie wears a maid outfit, again, that can never be repeated too often and let’s make sure we mention breast size or have bath scenes), series of shorts, with moments of genuine emotional depth. 

Despite the flaws of the light novel medium, it still manages to be worth reading if you care about the characters.

Posted in Light Novel | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – February 14, 2025

February 14th, 2026

In black block letters, YNN Yuri Network News. On the left, in black silhouette, a woman with a broad brim hat and dress stands, a woman in a tight outfit sits against the Y. Art by Mari Kurisato for OkazuHappy Valentine’s Day! Because Yuri is now a profitable market and marketing people have the collective creativity of a cracker (speaking as a marketing person, ahem), it feels like every company on the planet is announcing new Yuri licenses this week. Plus a ton of other news, so…buckle in folks. This is a Yuri Love Valentine’s Day extravaganza edition of Yuri Network News! Ready? …. (You’re not ready…)

English Yuri Manga

Yen Press has a load of new books. We have Assorted Entanglements, Vol. 9 cover  debut and it’s up on the Yuricon Store now.  The Demon Bride: “I Love You” Are Frightening Words tells a Yuri tale of paranormal love.

From Tokyopop’s LoveLove imprint, we have How My Cute Girlfriend and I Started a Love Story, Volume 1 by Reon Nomiya.  Tokyopop has confirmed that There, Beneath the Water, Volume 1 is a Yuri horror manga. When these have official covers they’ll go up on the Store.

ANN’s Adriana Hazra has the news that Kadokawa is releasing two Yuri titles in English, Farewell, My Firsts: How My Heartless Childhood Friend Stole All My First Experiences One Bet at a Time and Shino and Ren by Minori Chigusa. I have read one Kadokawa book and was very impressed with the quality, so look forward to these.

Seven Seas is running a Valentine’s Day Yuri contest on X. They also have a a bunch of licenses this week: 

 A Love Yet to Bloom by Kon Fukaumi. This is a chance meeting at school story. 

A Couple Drifting in the Wind by Puebro. I’m reading this right now in Japanese. A nervous young photographer meets a woman with a unique tattoo on campus. 

Sleeping Idiot by Masakazu Ishiguro. I read and reviewed this here on Okazu  a lifetime ago. ^_^  Seven Seas says “Two roommates struggle to make ends meet until an opportunity changes everything—the manga that inspired the hit live-action film Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks”.

Yuri Publisher No.9 is running a Yuri Contents Festival through March 6. Yuri series are free or discounted on their platform.

 

Korean GL

Yen Press has a huge announcement this week – hit Korean GL manhwa, What Does the Fox Say?  by Team Gaji. This is a pretty popular title, so this is huge news. ^_^ I’m glad someone got this.

 

Japanese Yuri Manga

Yamada to Kase-san, Volume 5 (山田と加瀬さん。) is on JP bookshelves and on the Yuricon Store.

rui obata on X announced a new series, Isso, Koidattara Yokatta (いっそ、恋だったらよかったのに). Check it out on Comic Walker. This is the story of two women who meet years after high school, when one was just thinking about the other.

 

Baihe News

Crossed Hearts has announced their first Glam Beat imprint license on X, Borrowing Your Textbook (175160) by Taa Ro. This will be  digital-first license. They say more Baihe on the way.

Seven Seas is launching a whole new imprint for Baihe with a rather cheesy video, I have to say. I know we’re getting more, they told me so, but what, I don’t yet know. We’ll look forward to it together. ^_^

Via NongAnnTokyo X.com, who says they “found this one-shot about love and martial arts between two young women in the Ming Dynasty. It’s the author’s graduate project and honestly such a cool read. ” Liǎoliǎo Jiàn Sōngxuě (了了見松雪)  by Chen Yige is on Seika manga. 

LoveLove has announced She Is Still Cute Today by Guo Si Te which features a romance between two very different kinds of people.

 

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Yuri Light Novel 

J-Novel Club just announced the license for Unsung Epics of the Hero’s Journey. I have this on my Bookwalker to-read pile. Guess it’s time to get into it. ^_^ Hat tip to OASG for the news.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Vol. 8.5  is up on the Yuricon Store, and a review of this short story collection is forthcoming soon. ^_^ Volume 9 is also coming soon.. This completes the series. Speaking of Piero Karasu, the creator of MagiRevo is debuting a new LN, Mob Shoujo ga Rasubosu Majo o Shiawasenisuru Made (モブ少女がラスボス魔女を幸せにするまで) which is an isekai about a girl who decides to save her beloved friend from becoming the final boss.

Lycoris Recoil: Recovery Days continues the story of those happy-go-lucky schoolgirl assassins, from Yen Press. Yen also announced The Girls’ Last Tour Collector’s Edition. 

Seven Seas has announced the license for I’m In Love With The Villainess: Come On And Notice Me Already, the sequel story following Rae and Claire’s daughters, Mei and Aleah. inori.-sensei has been releasing this on her Pixiv Fanbox, so I’m caught up. It has some very good elements and some that I am less happy with, but I trust the author.

Lipton Sousaku‘s contest-winning light novel Jinsei Zenbu Kakete mo, Gin no Majo ni Kachitai (人生全部賭けても、銀の魔女に勝ちたい) will be out next week on digital platforms. This Yuri story is about two witches who meet again five years after the one defeated the other in a school battle. The author describes it as “A stubborn and talented tsundere  x a secretive and lonely genius who is an emotional rival Yuri.” ^_^

Teren Mikami has a new manga, with art by Moroko Kurasaki and original character designs by Miman, Makemasenkara to Iiharu Kao no Ii Onnanoko o, Zenryoku de Kuppukusaseru Yuri no Ohanashi (負けませんからと言い張る顔のいい女の子を、全力で屈服させる百合のお話).

Seven Seas  announced There’s No Freaking Way I’ll be Your Lover! Unless… Spin-off Collection by Teren Mikami and Musshu. They also have the audiobook for Adachi and Shimamura, Volume 9 light novel.

LoveLove has licensed Ugly Girls by Rokakoen. This multi-country paranormal story sounds intriguing. And this is a novel, not a LN. This is a trend I’m seeing among manga publishers. Yen has a number of non-illustrated LNs -y’know, novels – that I have genuinely enjoyed. Maybe I’ll do a quick round up for you all here. 

 

Support Okazu today on Ko-fi and we’ll get 2x  until the end of February!

Yuri Visual Novels

Studio Élan says that Witch You Want, their cozy Yuri fantasy game is available on Steam! Of course you can get it directly from the publisher, as well.

Takano_wf on X wants you to keep your eyes peeled for Kyuketsuki no Hanayome (吸血鬼の花嫁) a full=voice Yuri VN.

 

Yuri Short Stories

Yuri Short Story Collection wiz 2 (百合小説コレクション wiz 2) is hitting JP shelves this month. I reviewed Volume 1 briefly along with two other story collections a year ago. 

 

Animation News

Khianna Khansmith’s Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to be a Magical Girl has some exciting news at the end of the Episode 2 Animatic on Youtube!

The Rose of Versailles movie came out a year ago and there are all kind of shops and goods and celebrations and music to celebrate. There’s way too much and this news report is huge, so just follow them on X to get all the news.

 

Live Action News

Shoujo Kageki ☆ Revue Starlight El Dorado will be on stage this spring. The key visual looks good, I have to admit.

 

Yuri Events

Kinokuniya is doing a worldwide pop-up store for The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All with exclusive merchandise. That’s it. What’s even next? A themed Himalaya ride? ^_^

Anchor rainbow port Tokyo, the Yuri-friendly bar in Shinjuku has created a special Yuri Club for fans! They’ll be doing more special events and even get-togethers to do location pilgrimages and other fun things in and outside the cafe. If you’re in or near Tokyo, follow them on Pixiv to keep up with the Yuri Club activities. 

Morishima Akiko has shared a few photos from the Yuri Kuma Arashi 10th Anniversary Event on her X account.

As I write, today is the last day of Yen Press’s Yuri Cafe. It was a lovely warm spot in the middle of what has been a very cold February in NYC. My article about the cafe on ANN is live, and so is my more personal perspective here in Okazu.

Looks like the Sailor Moon Shining Theater restaurant is back in Tokyo at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX. Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details on ANN. That was so much fun, I highly recommend the experience.

 

Other News

Jiji Books announced the definitively-titled Light Novel Taizen (ライトノベル大全), A Guide to Light Novels. According to their X.com, this will include “500 Masterpieces Selected by Experts! A definitive, collectible edition showcasing their impact on publishing and society.” inori.-sensei notes that I’m In Love With The Villianess is included, I also see No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover, Unless…! on the list.

Melonbooks has a Yuri news focused X account, Melon_yuriuyuri, so you can track all their specials and extras.

Sylvia Jones review of Roll Over and Die, Volume 5 on ANN is worth reading, even if you’re not interested in the anime. CW for discussion of sexual assault and the aftermath.

I took a look at two girls taking a look at the end of the world in Touring After the Apocalypse Volume 6-7 for ANN.

Manta, the K-Comic publisher, is looking for vertical-scroll comic artists to submit work. They want committed artists and are looking for 50 panels to start.

 

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

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

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

Posted in Yuri Network News | 2 Comments »


Star Sword Nemesis

February 13th, 2026

Title art for Star Sword Nemesis. On the left a girl in a jersey jacket and short skirt floats upside down, holding an enormous sword. An older woman, with white streaks in black hair looks askance. On the right a series of concentric circles, with a round blou dot on the other circle and he title of the game.by Ashley Payne, Okazu Staff Writer

Star Sword Nemesis, a new novella from Christine Love, wears its robot anime influences on its supremely fashionable sleeves. You might think that a novel where on the ninth page someone puts up a slide that consists solely of the sentence: “GIANT ROBOTS MAKE YOU STUPID.” would be more of a subversion but no, this story is doing what I have been asking for: make a robot story for the lesbians.

Our heroine Eris is struck with a profoundly relatable problem. Her instructor Halley is so cool and competent Eris’s crush on her is making it hard to focus on their lessons on wielding Star Sword Nemesis. Having a crush on Halley is a profoundly foolish idea, not just because Halley is Eris’ instructor, as Halley was an enemy combatant until a few months ago.

This results in the irresistible force of “I can fix her” meeting the immovable object of “This is the real world kid”. What is truly impressive is that it chooses very different points of tension than you might be expecting if you were familiar with kissing books. It has great fun indulging in the expected peaks of confession and heartbreak and then pushing past them with a refreshing resolution that spins the story forward. The momentum really shifts up at the halfway point, becoming almost impossible to put down.

While the core of the story is Eris rushing headlong into what appears to be obvious betrayal, it is entwined with some of the most impressive sci-fi world building I have had the pleasure to read in a while. We learn about the semi-untopian society of the Trans-Neptunians both directly, with Eris talking with her friends and in the moments when Eris and Halley miss-communicate. It really reminded me of the brief moments in an Ian M. Banks Culture novel. Only here the Trans-Neptunians are not an idealised, post scarcity society, but a small collective holding on to their ideals in the face of direct hostility from the Earth Sphere.

Star Sword Nemesis is only one hundred and fifty-eight pages but it is broken up with wonderful art from Max Schwartz, who illiterates key events light novel style. Only we get more art per page in Star Sword Nemesis in delightful colour too. Frankly, comparing Star Sword Nemesis to a fun light novel is the ideal comparison. It is short, straightforward, has a powerful sense of its world and characters and has a denouement better than most novels.

Ratings:

Art: 10
Story: 7
Characters: 8
Service: 10
Yuri: 10
LGBTQ+: 10

Overall: 9

I know for most of the people who read this blog Star Sword Nemesis is barely an afternoon’s reading and it is well worth one afternoon.

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


Scenes From Awajima, Volume 1

February 12th, 2026

A young woman with collar-length brown hair wearing a blue-grey smock dress style old-fashioned Japanese school uniform, stares down at the ground pensively, hands in her dress pockets.Takako Shimura is a polarizing name around these parts. Shimura’s work spends a lot of time delving into the lives of queer people, addressing real and fictional issues, without the author even identifying as queer. Does that Matter (TM)? Yes…and no, of course. It matters that Shimura-sensei takes nuanced and thoughtful looks at queer life. For some years and in some series, the use of stereotypes was more common and some portrayals rankled among the queer community, both in Japan and elsewhere. I have expressed some of these concerns myself.

Then there is Shimura’s narrative style. In early works it was often difficult to follow a story, as characters looped in and out of experiences in ways that felt repetitive, or even traumatic. This was particularly true in Wandering Son. But what has taken shape, through years of tying vignettes and ensemble stories together, is a unique style that takes some getting used to, but is rewarding in the end. Even Though We’re Adults is Shimura’s best and most fully realized narrative and characters, so if you are not familiar with the earlier, more haphazard style, it might be a bit confusing to get into an older work.

I say that, because it did take me a few volumes of Awajima Hyakkei to realize what, exactly I was reading. I reviewed Volume 1 and Volume 2 here on Okazu and read, though did not review, through Volume 4. Now we have Scenes From Awajima, Volume 1 in English, from Yen Press, and all my previous feelings about Shimura’s work come rushing back in a flood.

Awajima, in this instance, is the name of a very famous all-female musical revue troupe school. This story is ten years old now, and follows Shimura’s more meandering pathways, with vignettes about girls in the school now and in the past. These vignettes intertwine, as the current classes deal with the weight of expectations from mothers, aunts and grandmothers, even teachers, who once walked the hallways they do now.  The story is heavy at times, and does include the kinds of institutionalized bullying a real all-female musical revue troupe is infamous for, as well as personal slights of many kinds. The series will address many uncomfortable topics, from eating disorders to abuse. It also is about the hopes and dreams of young women…and adult women when they live in, or leave, that world.

I was just commenting today on the Okazu Discord, that I have come to dislike the neologism “shoujosei.” It elides the perspective of adult women, lumping them in with the needs, desires and perspectives of children. Scenes From Awajima is about students, but it is not a Shoujo manga. I cannot imagine a child reading this (or Journal With Witch, or Even Though We’re Adults or any other Jousei work) with any understanding – or interest – in what is going on.  Shoujo and Jousei are different and lumping them together infantilizes adult women. At Okazu, at the very least, we’ll remain aware that adult women deserve their own place in the world. A genre of our own was important for Yuri. It is equally important for adult women for many of the same reasons.

Scenes From Awajima does include some Yuri, as one might expect. In that environment, with girls literally training to perform gender and romance, it cannot be surprising that intimacy and romance develops between students sometimes. And sometimes it has lasting repercussions. 

For the best reading experience, go into Scenes From Awajima gently, letting the stories play out around you, moving through time and space, while you just watch and listen. As characters become more developed names and situations will stick in your mind and you’ll find that things tie together in some ways and and in other ways have horrible messy loose ends. Much like life. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – Variable
Characters – 7
Yuri – 3
Service – 1 on principle

Overall – 7, but will improve with time

An anime adaptation is on the way in April, trailers are already available. I think the story will be tidied up a bit for the anime.

Thanks to Yen Press for the review copy, via ANN, where I reviewed this for the Winter Manga Guide, as well. ^_^

 

Posted in Artists, English Manga, Shimura Takako | No Comments »