Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – July 12, 2025

July 12th, 2025

A blue silhouette of a girl with a white flower in her hair, embracing the earth. Blue block letters read YNN Yuri Network News. Art by Lissa P. For Okazu.

Yuri Manga in English

The license announcements from Anime Expo have bloomed and we’re getting a nice crop of lilies this year.

Kodansha has announced Sal Jiang’s Wicked Spot. I genuinely enjoyed Volume 1 in Japanese. This tale of a witch who leaves her secluded village and joins humanity is just dark enough to really be enjoyable.

Tokyopop also has picked up Sal Jiang’s Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko!, of which I have reviewed all three volumes in Japanese here on Okazu.

Speaking of Sal Jiang, an omnibus of Tough Love At The Office The Complete Yuri Collection, is heading our way this month from Seven Seas. They also just released SHWD, The Complete Yuri Collection. Both of these are on the Yuricon Store. 

Yen Press has two announcements for us – Out of the Cocoon, the short story collection by Yuriko Hara that includes a post Cocoon, Entwined story following our escaped protagonists. CW for the other stories that include cannibalism and death. Also, Yen is releasing a limited-edition hardcover webstore exclusive edition for The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t A Guy At All.

Kodansha also picked up one of my faves, Fall in Love with the Black Knight (For Her Money). Interesting choice on the title, as the original is about making the Black Knight fall for the Clarice. I’ve got Volume 1 of Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai! here and will be reviewing it. Thanks NinjaGoemon for catching that.

Not specific to Yuri, but Square Enix manga titles have been added to Bookwalker Global, so now you can get your Otherside Picnic manga and light novels there, including Otherside Picnic manga, Volume 13, which is hitting shelves in November.

 

Yuri Manga in Japanese

Koi Yori Aoku, Volume 2 (恋より青く) is up on the Yuricon Store. Takamine and Sakukura attend different high schools as they slowly deepen their relationship.

My absolute favorite mangaka, Hayashiya Shizuru has just announced a new series, “Butchi-gumi ~ Yoroshiku isekai Warera Mabudachi Akkimessatsu Butchigiregumi” (ブッチ組 ～夜露死苦異世界 我等真武親友 悪鬼滅殺仏血義礼組 （よろしくいせかい われらまぶだち あっきめっさつぶっちぎれぐみ）).  Check out the free intro on Comic Nora. I had to use a VPN to access it the first time, but it seems to work okay without, now. I am hoping and praying that this is one of the hilarious ideas she used in “Tanerabo manga do it!” from Yuritora Jump, Volume 2 made real. I think it might be. She loves me. ^_^

Via Yuri Zona Spain on Bluesky, Ichijinsha is releasing  yrhm Yuri Hime 20th Anniversary Anthology (yrhm 百合姫20thアンソロジー) with new work by inori., Yuama, Kashikaze, Iwami Kyouko and others!

 

Baihe Manhua

Baiheverse has just released a new manhua title, The Wayward Tenant and Her Pretty Landlady by Nihaohaohaojun. Our Senior Baihe editor Frank says of the new title, “The quality of the story remains to be seen, but the English translation reads well and the art is top-notch.”

 

LGBTQ Manga

Random House Graphics is releasing I Want to Be Your Girl, Volume 1, by Umi Takase, about Hime who has always loved Akira and supports her when Akira decides to live as her true self. Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean G tells me that this is a separate imprint from RH that just debuted called Ink Pop.

A rec from the Okazu Discord, is High Class Homos, a fantasy about a gay prince and a lesbian princess who have a marriage of convenience. 

 

Support the people who bring you Yuri Journalism 
Become an Okazu Patron today!

Yuri Light Novel

This week saw the release of The Girl Who Wants to Be a Hero and the Girl Who Ought to Be a Hero, Vol. 1 by inori.-sensei, with illustrations by Akamoku. It’s a good story with a major plot mcguffin that I hope we’ll revisit in a second volume. I reviewed it in Japanese here on Okazu.

Via Sr. EYNN Correspondent Sean G, the Girls Line light novel imprint has released Kao Dake Yoi Classmate ga, Yatara to Guigui Kuru Yuri no Hanashi. (顔だけ良いクラスメイトが、やたらとグイグイ来る百合の話。) For a “fantasy novel” line, this school story sounds not very “fantastic.” ^_^;

Ningen-chan no Keikaishin ga Ususugiru! (人間ちゃんの警戒心が薄すぎる!) is a new poly Yuri light novel from Kadokawa’s Sneaker Bunko imprint about Asuna, a succubus, who has come to the human world to create a harem of cute girls.

 

Baihe Light Novel

Just as a reminder, Seven Seas’ first Baihe Light Novel, The Beauty’s Blade: Mei Ren Jian, by Feng Ren Zuo Shu will have a November release in English.

Via Douqi on Bluesky, “Pre-orders also open for baihe contemporary romance Her Various Moments (她的山海朝夕) by Hua Yu (华予), originally serialised as The Green Pear Pub (青梨酒馆 ).” This is a Chinese release.

 

Yuri Visual Novels & Games

Studio Élan has released Upwards, Rain! The Post Office of Farewells, which Staff Writer Eleanor Walker reviewed when the staff took a group look at Élan’s Dandelion Set.

LGBTQ+ streaming service GagaOOLaLa, is also offering a free serial code to Yuri game Tied by your Red to VIP members through July 17! Reviews look very positive overall.

 

Support Yuri News and Reviews on Ko-fi!


Anime News

ANN’s Adriana Hazra has the news on Roll Over and Die TV Anime.

ANN’s Anita Tai says that the Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha 20th Anniversary Finale Event to Screen ‘Picture Drama’ Prologue.

Egan Loo on ANN has the trailer for the first Girls Band Cry Compilation movie.

The Ghost in the Shell TV Anime from Science Saru 2nd Teaser and Title Logo on ANN from Alex Mateo. On principle, I will always cover this series. ^_^

While not Yuri, an absolute treat of a story about different kinds of adult women making their way through life, Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. Anime Season 2 Slated for 2026, say ANN’s Egan Loo. I look forward to it.

 

Other News

The Okazu Discord has been full of new folks these days. I have been half present, myself, as life is pretty bumpy right now, but folks there are super chill and nice. Drop by! Someone there shared this Instagram link to the yuri.ko archive on IG, listing out some Yuri with adult characters. 

East Los Angeles College’s Vincent Price Art Museum is hosting an exhibition that spans three decades of local Latina lesbian activism.

 

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

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

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

Posted in Yuri Network News | 2 Comments »


Galette No. 34 (ガレットNo.34)

July 11th, 2025

On a festive city background in lavenders and pale blues, a woman with long, pink hair holds her hands to her cheeks in embarrassment as a woman with collar length pale hair not-very-surreptitiously takes her photo with a phone. Art by pen.With today’s review, I am caught up with Galette magazine! Galette No. 34 (ガレット) was a wonderful issue, which made me just that much happier. 

In no particular order, I really enjoyed,Nehohariko22’s “Torokeru Heya no Naka”which is a ridiculous story and a ridiculous premise, but I like it anyway, as a girl let’s classmate crash at her place because she doesn’t want to lose contact with her, and the guest finds that her classmate is actually a popular and successful writer or erotica. This story is also featured on the mini-clearfile that came with this volume and Mimi’s Owari Sazanami,” about two friends suddenly really realize how they feel about one another.

Kitta Izumi and Momono Moto’s “Liberty” is back! With a time skip. It works, honestly. The story had gotten caught in a corner with itself and skipping forward a couple of years frees it up to end with joy. I wholly approve.

Morinago Milk came in with “Himitsu no Recipe” bring us just about to or to the end of the second volume (I’m too lazy to check) and “Watashi no Kawaii Neko-chan” in which chronic anxiety is still the major plot point, but still Reina is now addressing her hypersomnia, so it’s time for Yuna to, hopefully, build her business. 

Yorita Miyuki’s “Houkenshitsu no Ano Onna” has done a 180, as we learn that Tsukino-sensei has been watching Yukino-sensei all this time.

Sakuraya Yukino offers her continuing maid story, and Nakato Nui’s not-creepy doll, but still creepy doll story continues, as well. Inui Ayu gets a center color page for her story about a girl who contracts with a cool, masculine woman for a “date,” in order to try and get used to the idea of dating a boy, but she falls hard. The pages of this volume are filled with the 140 character stories, and another novelette chapter and Yuri’kko Research column, celebrations of Galette‘s 8th anniversary and the English-language volumes, for a very satisfying 34th issue. 

I never less than thrilled that this magazine has survived this long and I look forward to another year of creator-owned, crowd-funded Yuri fun with the folks at Galette WORKS. 

Ratings: 

Overall – 9

Posted in Galette, Magazines, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


My First Love’s Kiss, Volumes 2 & 3

July 10th, 2025

Two girls in summer Japanese school uniform, white blouses with robin's egg blue ties, blue skirts, sit on a floor under windows. In the foreground the girl with medium-length brown hair smiles as she looks at her phone, the blonde watches her with a dissatisfied expressionCW: Heavy spoiler and content warning. As with Book 1; Underage sex work is a prominent theme of this series, although nothing is explicitly described. But now with more incest!

To quote myself from my review of volume 1 “I’m not really sure what’s going on here.” 2 volumes later and I still have no idea what’s going on other than surprise incest. At the end of volume 2, “Chiki”, the older woman Umi has been working for, reveals she’s actually Umi’s long lost big half-sister. Was this necessary? No? Did anyone want or ask for it? Probably some creepy men (maybe including the author) and that’s why we’re here.

Book 2 of My First Love’s Kiss opens with Takasora secretly watching Umi and Chiki kiss in a park after she follows Umi to see what she’s up to, and because we’re trying to make this as cliched as we absolutely possibly can, Chiki takes not just Umi, but both girls to a hotel room for the night. Where of course Chiki suggests they all bathe together, and it all goes downhill from there.

The big reveal comes at the end of volume 2, and it just doesn’t seem to bother anyone other than Takasora, who we know doesn’t like Chiki anyway and almost seems to see this as an inevitable next step considering how terrible she thinks the relationship between them is already.

Two girls, one with blonde hair, the other with brown, wearing white Japanese sailor-style school uniforms with bright blue ties, lay next to one another, as they smile into the camera. The blonde looks at us, the brunette looks at the blonde

Volume 3 is just Umi (and all the adults around them) not even caring that it turns out she’s shagging her half sister, and of course they then run away together. It’s already been established that Chiki is wealthy so that’s not an issue. Takasora goes to visit them and Umi might as well just be a sex doll at this point, her hair is cut how her sister likes it, and what little of her personality there was is just gone. I still don’t understand why Takasora even had a crush on her to begin with other than her boobs, which are mentioned several times over the course of both books. Hino and Nagafuji from Adachi and Shimamura pop up at some point but their role is so minor that I can’t remember it and they might as well not be there so I can’t even recommend this to fans of that series on that basis.

It’s very rare that a book series actively makes me angry, but this one did. If you want to write “a love comedy involving an evil woman” (from the afterword of volume 3), then try actually giving your characters a personality rather than just resorting to the worst cliches and stereotypes. This isn’t even “so bad it’s good” car crash reading, this is just plain bad, and there’s nothing funny about any of it. The incestuous predator wins and nobody lives happily ever after.

Please, for the sake of your own sanity, read literally anything else and if you must read something of Iruma’s, read the Regarding Saeki Sayaka novels.

Ratings: 

Art – 5. I enjoy Fly’s art style but these series is nothing special. The covers are totally misleading as well, volume 3 especially gives the impression that Umi and Takasora are happy together but oh no, couldn’t be further from the truth.
Story – 2. If you can call it a story.
Characters – 2. Again, to quote myself from the volume 1 review:
I have come to the conclusion that his (Iruma-sensei) works are much more enjoyable when he’s writing about someone else’s characters instead of his own.
Service – I don’t feel comfortable rating underage sex work and incest as service.
Yuri – 0. Incest is not yuri.

Overall – 2 . I deeply resent having spent money on this. At least I was gifted the first 2 volumes of Netsuzou Trap so I didn’t have to spend money on that.

Posted in Eleanor W, Light Novel | 1 Comment »


Without A Voice

July 9th, 2025

On a diamond shaped background with a tree, blooming with dark red flowers, two young women stand back to back, one a pale skinned dark-haired girl in black, her hand to her chest, the other a dark skinned blonde in red and white. Behind and above them is a brow skinned person with short pale hair with a drawn bow, pointing directly at us.by Pawel Cybula, Guest Writer

Without a Voice is a short visual novel that was originally written in 2016 for Yuri Game Jam. The creators, L³ – Laiska, Lorelei and Laniessa (now known as Adirosa) – missed the deadline but continued developing the project, first making a complete game, then running a successful Kickstarter for physical copies and the enhanced Blooming Edition, and finally bringing it to consoles now. So it was quite a journey, one I was happy to follow as WaV is maybe my most beloved VN, and its recent console release gave me a much-appreciated excuse to commit myself to writing this piece.

The story, loosely based on “The Little Mermaid,” introduces Cassidy – an apparently clueless princess in exile living alone in a small hut in the middle of a forest, her only link with the outside world through correspondence with her twin brother, Alexander (now the king), whom she loves and trusts wholeheartedly. Elowen, a mysterious beauty encountered during daily chores, is the other protagonist and in fact a wisteria tree (which in the language of flowers represents timeless, devoted, even obsessive love) given a human form. Her tragic past hinted at, she does not excel at conveying her emotions (being the title character, the one “without a voice”), but she feels irresistibly drawn to Cassidy… and vice versa.

As their relationship grows, you shape Cassidy’s thoughts and responses, thus affecting three hidden variables – Knowledge, Delusion and Understanding – which determine the final outcome. It is worth mentioning that the VN is very linear and your choices change just a few lines of text until the final chapter, which takes a different form depending on what decisions you have made. And it is not an easy task to ensure Cassidy and Elowen’s happiness as there are six bad endings and only two happy ones.

One interesting thing is the fact that making choices is not about gaining affection points with Elowen but molding Cassidy’s world outlook and consequently her feelings towards the melancholic tree spirit and the absent brother. However, it does not mean that Elowen plays any less important role – she is a powerful and charismatic presence and sometimes truly steals the show. By the way, there is a fantastic boon for those who participated in the Kickstarter campaign and obtained a physical copy: a printed prequel short story that fleshes Elowen out even more.

When it comes to the endings, each of them is very moving and has its own CG. The two good endings and two of the six bad ones also get epilogues with extra art added in the Blooming Edition. On a more personal note, I’ve read many VNs that conclude in a way I love, but “Together, We Are Eternal” is my favorite happy ending ever, period.

Without a Voice looks pretty. It is quite common for sprites and CGs to be of high quality these days, even in smaller games, but WaV can also be praised for its background art, which consists of very cleverly painted over and edited stock photos and shows how to achieve impressive results on a tiny budget. The music adds to the atmosphere and makes for enjoyable listening even separate from the game. However, it is the voice acting that makes the protagonists shine, the contrast between Cassidy’s chirpiness and the languid quality to Elowen’s aura, as well as moments of emotional intensity, skillfully underlined without falling into caricature. To top it all off, the visually appealing UI is well-integrated, reducing the amount of visuals hidden.

Still, it is the story that won my heart. It takes only about an hour to read through the whole thing, but even in such a short time the budding relationship is portrayed so convincingly that you cannot help but root for the girls. Granted, it’s a fairy tale, but as it is the case with all good fairy tales, there is a relevance to it. The undertones of loneliness and alienation (Elowen) and being controlled and rejected for one’s sexuality (Cassidy) add depth to the seemingly simple story and encourage replaying the game and checking out all the possible paths, epilogues and extra material, like for example the hidden poem you may discover after completing all endings.

I have to admit that I am probably one of the most biased people to review this game as I adore it so much. To my excuse, I dare say the developers must have felt similar about their project. It might be a small game but it has a big heart and I only hope more people will have fun accompanying Cassidy and Elowen on their amazing journey.

Ratings:

Art – 8 Low-budget but it is obvious that really talented people worked on it.
Story – 9 It is a beautiful story, hopeful or tragic, depending on your ending. My only complaint is that I would love it to be longer.
Characters – 9 My favorite yuri couple. Again, the length of the VN does not allow to fully flesh them out, hence I have to deduct one point.
Service – 1 Two CGs show kisses, one the protagonists sharing a bed, yet it is all very chaste.

Yuri – 10 From the get-go, you know they are made for each other.

Overall – 9 objectively, 10 subjectively.
Posted in Guest Review, Yuri Game, Yuri Visual Novel | No Comments »


Comic Yuri Hime, July 2025 (コミック百合姫2025年6月号)

July 6th, 2025

Comic Yuri Hime, July 2025Two girls take a selfie on a street decorated for a festival, as balloons rise into the air around them. One wears a red, white and blue stripped fascinator as she smiles and makes the 'v' sign into the camera, the other has her hand resting lightly on the decorative hat. (コミック百合姫2025年6月号) is an honestly excellent volume of the only monthly Yuri manga magazine! Some great stories, including a number of fantastic continuing serializations.

Our first story is a new serialization by Nishina about a girl who has transferred into an old crumbling provincial school, but who finds something to care about when she is partnered with another girl to work on the school yearbook and starts photographing the people and the places around her.

Claire is appalled at her father’s actions and Lily takes some steps to remedy her own sins in this chapter of “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou.” written by inori. and illustrated wonderfully by Aonoshimo.

Another game character wanders into our world looking for Machino, but Aurora has her own agenda, to revisit another old friend, in “Genjitsu Sekai (Real) Demo Shiawase ni Shite Kudasai ne?” by Shiborikasuko.

Tama Tamasaki’s “Muryoku Seijo to Munou Oujo ~ Maryoku Zero de Shoukansareta Seijo no Isekai Kyuukokuki” takes a HUGE step in this chapter, as Nana and the Princess not only have purged the miasma from the town, but develop a pathway for cultural and economic recovery for it, showing themselves to be the leaders this world needs.

“Chouuchyuu Yori Ai wo Komete,” by Ashidaka Woz also takes a few steps forward as Lulu’s personality is opening up Ten’s life and attracting new friends.

Kashiaze’s “Kimi Ga Hoeru Tame No Uta Wo” puts Haru to the test, as she has to sing online during a contest. Struck silent by stress, Haru finds strenghth in Yuu’s fail and wows host and audience.

AHAH! The boot has dropped exactly where we expected it in “Kanaria wa Kiraboshi no Yume wo Miru” by sheepD. As Ayano and her fiance are presented at a party, Ayano is only truly concerned about Tsubaki. She manages to convey her true feelings to the other girl. Takahiko, howver does turn out to be conspiring with his older sister to get into Ayano’s family.

“Gakeppuchi Reijou ha Kuro Kishi-sama o Horesasetai!” which was *just* licensed this weekend as Marrying the Dark Knight (For Her Money),  a title I do not love, but I do love the story. In this chapter we get the first of many pieces of Frost’s tragic back story, in which her father rejected her and her mother because of a misunderstanding about genetics, and she took her father’s life in revenge for her mother’s.

Korose’s “Gan no Hime” was amazing, if a bit talky, as we learn the final parts of the true nature of the world and who Isana is. Where this will go, I have no idea, but it’s solid plotting for sure.

And finally, we are treated to a lesbian classic + vampire story, with a young woman who meets a vampire who has been stabbed by an ex, as she lays bleeding. The vampire is looking to find someone to become a vampire with her, so she won’t be lonely anymore. Chise isn’t making any promises, but she’s willing to help the vampire to life life to her fullest right *now* at any rate. It was a pretty good story given the tropiness throughout.

And, as usually, there are other stories I read and others I didn’t and some were good and some were not. ^_^

Ratings: 

Overall  – 9 

The August issue is already on my to-read pile. ^_^

Posted in Comic Yuri Hime, Magazines, Yuri Manga | No Comments »