Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – July 05, 2025

July 5th, 2025

In black block letters, YNN Yuri Network News. On the left, in black silhouette, a woman with a broad brim hat and dress stands, a woman in a tight outfit sits against the Y. Art by Mari Kurisato for Okazu

Thanks very much to Okazu Staff Writer Eleanor Walker for her assist on today’s YNN!

Welcome to a bumper edition of YNN from across the pond, including Anime Expo licensing announcements, toxic yuri and more!

There are lots of new additions to the Yuricon Store, in both English and Japanese!

 

Yuri Manga in English

How Do I Turn My Best Friend Into My Girlfriend?, Volume 4 Yuzu admits to herself that she’s still in love with Minami but neither wants to ruin their friendship

I Don’t Know Which Is Love, Volume 3 the harem rom-com continues as Mei is roped into acting (mostly kiss scenes.)

It’s All Your Fault, Volume 1 is a Cosplay Yuri rom-com(?) by Merryhachi, out from Yen Press.

The Lying Bride and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate, Volume 1 Naoko Kodama’s classic “lesbian in love with a straight coworker” find her life turned upside down when the former cowerker lands on her doorstep.

Otherside Picnic Manga, Volume 13 gets into the extremely important and intense “Red Person” arc, as Sorawo will finally confront her past.

Rainbows After Storms, Volume 4. It’s summer and Nanoha and Chidori are making memories, even if they have to hide their relationship from their friends.

SHWD Complete Yuri Collection, by sono N., is on shelves from Seven Seas. This story about big, muscular women fighting monsters that cause insanity is intense and kind of sweet.

 

Yuri Manga in Japanese

Anemone ga Netsu wo Obiru, Volume 3 (アネモネが熱を帯びる) and Volume 4 

“Furetai” ha Koi no Hajimari, Volume 1 (触れたいは恋の始まり) An idol and a school star – rivals and lovers.

Galette No. 34 (ガレット) is out and “Liberty” is back, with, it appears a bit of a time skip.

In Koharu to Minato: Watashi No Partner Ha Onna No Ko, Volume 3  (小春と湊 わたしのパートナーは女の子) Koharu and Minato decide it is time to make their relationship as legal as it can be in Japan.

Koi ni Koi suru Koibito Kankei, Volume 1  (恋に恋するコイビト関係) Usui Shio’s school story pits the school prince against th Student Council President for another rivals/lovers story/

Koi Yori Aoku, Volume 2  (恋より青く) Girls from two different schools grown closer in this school days story.

Muryoku Seijo to Munou Oujo ~ Maryoku Zero de Shoukansareta Seijo no Isekai Kyuukokuki, Volume 2 (~無力聖女と無能王女～魔力ゼロで召喚された聖女の異世界救国記～) Nana and Princess Luriam are called to a village to defeat the miasma poisoning their food and water.

Tsumetakute Yawaraka, Volume 3  (冷たくて 柔らか) Emma and Takara struggle with their feelings some more. ^_^;

Yuriniko, Volume 1  (ユリノコ) is a “creepy doll and lesbians” story.

 

Yuri Audiobooks

Roll Over and Die: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword!, Vol. 3 Audiobook

Adachi and Shimamura, Vol 2 Audiobook hit shelves this May! Volume 1 is also listed on the Yuricon Store.

 

Thai GL Live Action

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Frank Hecker, There are two Thai series premiering this month. The first: Only You from Channel 3 Thailand, starring LingLing Sirilak Kwong and Orm Kornnaphat Sethratanapong (LingOrm) as a bodyguard and the celebrity she’s protecting. Beginning July 18 on the 3Plus app. Teaser trailer with English subtitles is up on Youtube.

Harmony Secret from Change2561, starring Lookmhee Punyapat Wangpongsathaporn and Sonya Saranphat Pedersen (LMSY) as business rivals. Beginning July 26 on iQiyi. Teaser trailer also on Youtube.

 

Yuri Light Novels

Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei, Volume 11 ( 転生王女と天才令嬢の魔法革命) has hi JP shelves.

Courtesy of YNN Sr. Correspondent Sean G we have news of a new Yuri light novel from Toshizou in August. No title or plot as of yet, but they are very excited about it!

 

Yuri Visual Novels

Two very different new Yuri visual novels are now available on the Yuricon store:

Three Peach Hill is a cozy, feel-good lesbian romance visual novel about a fox spirit and the human girl who woos her.

A Tithe in Blood is a dark yuri visual novel about a quiet university student who discovers blood magic in the depths of her grief. Stepping into a world she little understands, Honoka finds unexpected love, and inadvertently sets in motion a deadly series of events.

Via High on Lullabies on the Okazu Discord, we have an ongoing Toxic Yuri VN Jam. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum but this is definitely not for me.

We also have a full release of Upwards, Rain! from Studio Elan. I personally reviewed this one as part of a group review of Studio Elan’s Dandelion set last year and enjoyed it a lot so I’ll be getting this new version for sure.

Team ANPIM are bringing us an “Adult Life Yuri Bundle“ which also has my interest and is set to release on the 8th July.

 

Anime Expo licensing announcements (so far.)

By Alex Mateo on in Anime News Network: 

“Yen Press have announced a deluxe hardcover version of The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy At All, a short story collection by the creator of Cocoon Entwined, Yuriko Hara, and another series by Takako Shimura, creator of Sweet Blue Flowers, called Scenes from Awajima.

“Experience the vibrant, captivating story of the rock-loving pair-now in an exclusive, limited-edition hardcover only available from the Yen Press webstore! Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya falls head over heels for an employee at a local CD shop. He’s stylish with an air of mystery about him, and his taste in music is impeccable. Little does she know—this supposedly male employee is actually her female classmate Mitsuki! Mitsuki generally keeps to herself, but since her seat is right next to Aya’s, she can’t help but be extremely aware of the other’s crush. And although she’s afraid to reveal the truth, Mitsuki finds herself talking with Aya more and more.

Yuriko Hara, author of the atmospheric, eerily beautiful yuri Cocoon Entwined, brings us five haunting stories of love and attachment. Ranging from horrific to wistful, these captivating tales, featuring both yuri and Boys Love, are sure to ensnare readers. Fans of her previous work will be especially delighted by the final piece, which provides an extra chapter of Youko and Hana’s story…

Awajima Opera School—where countless girls from across the country flock in hopes of one day standing on the big stage. As they work toward achieving their dreams of stardom, their time at Awajima is filled with as much friendship and admiration as competition and jealousy. The precious feelings of girls who are at once both classmates and rivals, tenderly captured in the portraits of an ensemble cast!”

From ANN’s Rafel Antonio Pineda:

Kodansha USA are bring us a new series from Sal Jiang, creator of the original manga Ayaka Is In Love With Hiroko, which is now a popular drama, entitled Wicked Spot (Volume 1 reviewed by Erica in Japanese) and from author Sometime Suoh, whose previous work Superwomen in Love has been released in English, comes a dark fantasy yuri romcom called Marrying the Dark Knight (For Her Money). Volume 1 was reviewed by Erica in Japanese.

After spending over a century hiding in the shadows, powerful sorceress Sadako stumbles upon the dazzling world of social media and decides to post her way into her first real contact with humanity. She soon becomes an internet sensation, attracting a huge following of doting fans—and shocks them all by announcing she is a witch. The big reveal turns one follower called Hanako, a lonely young woman with seemingly inhuman strength and a curious resistance to magic, into a dedicated hater, and inadvertently sends them both on a whirlwind adventure beyond their wildest dreams!

Clarice’s younger sister is her whole world. In a world of monsters, born into a noble family that’s gone broke, there’s nothing Clarice wouldn’t do for her. So when she gets sick, and there’s only one way to save her, Clarice doesn’t blink! She agrees to an arranged marriage with the Dark Knight, a ferocious warrior who goes everywhere in magical armor—even their wedding! Afterward, Clarice is ready to consummate the marriage and charm her new spouse into paying to save her sister’s life. There’s just one problem: The Dark Knight won’t let her into the bedroom! And Clarice finally finds out why…she’s secretly a woman! With female knights forbidden, the Knight seriously lacking in social graces, a household full of servants scared out of their wits, and monster fights breaking out constantly, Clarice realizes that this wedding of convenience is going to be more inconvenient than she bargained for!

 

Yuri Webcomic

Again with thanks to High on Lullabies on the Okazu Discord, Yenzu’s webcomic Literary Link has been picked up as a Webtoon Original series. 

 

Yuri Movie

Miyuki Yorita’s Kickstarter to produce English subtitles for her movie Her Kiss, My Libido Twinkles, has been successfully funded.

 

Licensing surveys

Baiheverse is doing a survey on Baihe works and how folks are enjoying them.

New English manga publisher Blupetal also has a yuri specific survey.

 

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 »


Into the Baiheverse: When We Met and The Clouds of Past Millennia

July 4th, 2025

Poster for the short baihe film When We Met, written and directed by Wu Chuanxin. The poster shows the two main characters embracing, the top half showing a younger woman (He Lei as Jin Qingqing) facing the camera, the bottom half showing an older woman (Ni Jia as Peng Yun) facing the camera.by Frank Hecker, Staff Writer

The baihe (百合) genre, sapphic media in Chinese, is becoming increasingly popular in China and elsewhere, but, as with yuri manga and anime in the early days, translations of baihe works into English and other languages have thus far been mainly produced by fans. That situation has been slowly changing. For example, Seven Seas Entertainment has followed up their publication of danmei (BL) novels by licensing the baihe historical novel The Beauty’s Blade: Mei Ren Jian (美人剑).

Now comes Baiheverse, a recently launched site proclaiming itself as “Your Gateway to Baihe . . . Literature and Media.” It features a variety of licensed baihe works in English translations, including two manhua/webcomics, two audio dramas, one novel, and a short film. The last two of these are particularly worthy of note.

The film When We Met (去年烟火), written and directed by Wu Chuanxin, is a drama set in present-day China. It’s available in an “official” version and an “uncensored” version that’s ten minutes longer; both are free to watch if you register with the Baiheverse site. (The official version is also available on YouTube.) When We Met is the story of two women in a (relatively) small Chinese town, 32-year-old Peng Yun, who owns a small shop she runs by herself after her divorce, and 22-year-old Ji Qingqing, who sets up her BBQ stand outside the shop. (Avoid reading the official synopsis of the film if you don’t want to be spoiled about their back stories.) The two women find themselves growing closer together, but ultimately face a decision on the future of their relationship. I won’t spoil the ending, except to say that the uncensored version provides a clearer resolution.

Ni Jia as Peng Yun and He Lei as Ji Qingqing both deliver solid performances. Ni Jia is especially good in portraying Peng Yun’s conflicting emotions: recognizing her growing feelings for Ji Qingqing but afraid to break out of the comfortable but confining cocoon she’s spun for herself as a single woman in a small town. The writing, direction, and production are also of high quality, and the English subtitles are idiomatic and grammatically correct; however, with a couple of exceptions, on-screen text is not translated. This can especially cause confusion for viewers who can’t read the Chinese text at 1:51 (in both versions) and 30:53 (in the official version), and thus may not realize that the main body of the story is a flashback from the opening and closing scenes.

Ratings:

Story — 7
Characters — 8
Production — 7 (one point off for not translating important on-screen text)
Service — 5 ( a scene involving bras)
Yuri — 10
LGBTQ — 4
Overall — 8

Despite its relatively short length, When We Met tells a complete and satisfying sapphic story. It’s especially recommended for fans interested in realistic contemporary dramas that avoid manufactured melodrama and excessive angst.

Cover of the baihe historical novel The Clouds of Past Millennia. It features a full-length portrait of the main character Wei Tai in traditional dress in the foreground, with a portrait of the other main character, Xu Jianyu, in the right background.Unlike When We Met, which solely depicts lives in present-day China, The Clouds of Past Millennia (白云千载), written by popopo, straddles past and present. Originally published as a web novel, it comprises 28 chapters plus an afterword; the first three chapters are free to read while the rest can be purchased using a coin system ($1 US for 100 coins).

Wei Zai was the supreme ruler of an ancient Chinese dynasty, but now she’s dead. Even worse, she‘s stuck being a ghost in her own mausoleum. She decides to take a rest, wakes up after a long sleep, and finds that the world outside her tomb has utterly changed. Being a ghost, no one can see or hear her, except for Xu Jianyou, a university student who’s the spitting image of Xu Qingchu, Wei Zai’s previous right-hand woman and lover, and even shares her courtesy name. The remainder of the novel alternates between Wei Zai and Xu Jianyou’s life in the present (including Wei Zai’s amusing encounters with Chinese social media and shipping culture) and the story of Wei Zai and Xu Qingchu a thousand years ago. Is there a way for the two lovers to be united once more? And does anyone doubt what the answer will be?

The English translation of The Clouds of Past Millennia (by hazevie) is generally readable. Its main quirk is that many Chinese terms, especially those involving kin relationships, are left unlocalized and glossed with a translator’s note. However, fans of Asian media have shown themselves willing to acquire a fairly extensive vocabulary from other languages, and it’s possible that they’ll one day recognize and use terms like a-jie as easily and freely as they do now with terms like onee-san.

Ratings:

Story — 6 (I would have liked more contemporary scenes)
Characters — 7 (present-day Xu Jianyou is less fleshed-out than the other two characters)
Service — 8 (a couple of steamy sex scenes)
Yuri — 10
LGBTQ — 2
Overall — 7

The Clouds of Past Millennia is an entertaining read targeted at fans interested in the historical settings and court intrigues that are the stock in trade of many Chinese novels, enlivened by the interspersed contemporary scenes and their occasional metatextual humor.

The Baiheverse site itself is a young enterprise still finding its way, and is dependent on support from fans to allow it to acquire and host more baihe works. I encourage all fans of sapphic media to check it out. For updates on new works, follow @baiheverse.com on Bluesky or @baiheverse on X/Twitter.

Posted in Baihe, Frank Hecker, Live Action, Novel, Staff Writer | 2 Comments »


Assorted Entanglements, Volume 7

June 30th, 2025

The cover of Assorted Entanglements volume 7. Shizuku and Saori lie in bed together in their school uniforms, both looking at their phones. Shizuku has her arm around Saori's shoulders and is looking over at her. You can see their matching gorilla phone charms hanging from their phone cases.

by Matt Marcus, Staff Writer

I ran into an ex once at the public batting cages in Arlington, VA. Well, she wasn’t really an ex, more like the other half of a pseudo-situationship. I spied her out of the corner of my eye as my then-girlfriend-now-wife and I looked for an open spot. If I were punching up this story, I would say we locked eyes through the wire fence. In a moment frozen in time, I’d be shot through with the pain of regret of decisions not made sooner, words left unsaid. My date would notice I had become quiet and distracted; I would shrug off any questions about it despite my soured mood, kicking off a downward spiral that ruins our date. But nothing so dramatic happened; we simply found an open cage, hit some dingers, and had a lovely rest of our evening.

In the previous volume of Assorted Entanglements, Shizuku was rattled by seeing a woman we haven’t seen before while walking Saori back to her house. Saori noticed, but couldn’t bring herself to ask. Turns out that the garishly-dressed woman is Shizuku’s ex.

A notable amount of Assorted Entanglements Volume 7 is dedicated to Shizuku’s past with this woman, Miki, and what Saori decides to do in response. This is the most seriously dramatic tone that Mikanuji-sensei has gone for in this series and I think that it pays off. We thankfully get no more detail about the abuse she suffered from her parents (and the violent reaction that landed her in juvvie), but her story with Miki, a hairstylist who took Shizuku in after she ran away from her foster parents, is tantamount to grooming. We don’t know much about how Shizuku extricated herself from that relationship or how she feels about it now (though she still wears her hair with the cornrows that is Miki’s personal style), but the effect of the encounter in the present makes her retread into her prickly Bad Girl shell.

Thankfully, what could prove to be a setback in “progress” turns into the opportunity for Saori to finally admit her honest feelings–that despite all her bluster and dismissal, she does indeed love Shizuku. Shizuku tacitly accepts this, and another ship sails. To be honest, I’m still iffy on the recurring theme that these so-called delinquents (read: abused young women) who have severe self-worth issues need to be whipped into shape by the normie girls/women who happen to love them. If I am being charitable, I’d highlight that the point being made is that they (Shizuku and Minami) are indeed worthy of the love they receive, which is good and true. I just wish they weren’t punished by their lovers for struggling with accepting affection.

Let’s not forget that this is still an ensemble story. Iori and Minami are up to their normal hijinks (this time they go to an onsen!). We get one short chapter of Sugimoto at her part-time job glowing about her aquarium date and not taking heed of her boss’ advice not to get her hopes up. Unfortunately, Heke-sensei and Shinohara-san finally succumbed to Mikanuji-sensei’s love of “slapstick” violence for one gag, but otherwise their chapters continue to be a sweet love story of a failgirl nerd and her blunt-but-secretly-tender lover/boss. It’s all solidly entertaining stuff.

If you have been waiting, nay, shouting at the pages for Shizuku and Saori to finally just get over themselves and have it out, then you will be pleased as punch here. With 3 out of 4 couples established, that leaves one last problematic pair to wrap up.

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 1
Yuri – 8 / LGBTQ – 8

Overall – 8 Somehow made me “happy” for the worst couple here

The story of these mismatched women continues in Volume 8, coming our way in August.

Matt Marcus is a cohost of various projects on the Pitch Drop Podcast Network, as well as the writer for the blog Oh My God, They Were Bandmates analyzing How Do We Relationship in greater depth.

Posted in English Manga, Matt Marcus, Mikanuji, Staff Writer, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games, Volume 5 & 6

June 27th, 2025

Volume 5 cover. Tamaki, a girl with light brown hair and yellow eyes stares at the viewer, tears in her eyes, looking stricken. It’s Luce with the ‘2’ of the 1-2 punch of reviews, so let’s get down to business on the series that can be best described by removing the ‘don’t’ in the title. Volumes five and six, memorise your combos and hit player select!

Well into the tournament by Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games, Volume 5, Aya, Mio, Tamaki and Inui all have their battles to play, and hopefully win. Into the second pool battles, the opponents are more difficult. Mio is 1-1 against Cafe au Lait, a pro-gamer with a grudge match he wants a rematch on. Aya is in the same position with his previous opponent, Gekido, and struggling to keep her composure. Inui is trying to get the vitriolic kid Arisa to eat her words through the screen, while Tamaki battles her demons – or rather, her sister.

In Volume 6, Mio faces down Arisa in the loser’s bracket… . But, due to a viral tweet about her previous match, it’s been moved to the main stage! Who will win, between Mio fighting on instinct and Arisa with rage?

Do not smack yourself in the head with a game controller. Aya and Mio did break through a window escaping detention, so they clearly have anime sturdiness, however! Despite how metal it might look, it is not a proven strategy for… anything. Other than a trip to hospital with possible concussion. Also, never, ever tell people to ‘kill themselves’. Even in the heat of tournament. It makes sense for Arisa’s character and shows her immaturity, but even still. Just don’t. (The commenters are clearly shown to also disagree with her, so there is push back in canon). Sorry, had to get that out of my system. Onwards.

It’s somewhat odd to have the girls in a more anime style, and then most of the men in a more realistic style. That said, it’s nice to have ‘not perfect’ looking characters? Some characters that look closer to how Japanese people look? I just wish this could be extended to some of the women. Although the implications that those drawn in a more manga style are the prettier ones, so… I do like the art, it just stuck out more in these volumes, where we have a lot of different people commenting.

Volume 6 cover. Girl with bright green eyes and reddish brown long hair elaborately braided at at the top, Arisa glares at the viewer, tears in her eyes and looking frustrated.

Speaking of the art though, the rage faces in this area off the charts. Arisa is just a small ball of rage, all of the time. Her back story is probably pretty relatable to anyone who’s tried to connect with someone over something and had it gone badly. Gosh, she was just so desperate to impress Miyu, but it backfired. It’s really difficult as a kid when you’re good at something – most normal adults would be able to go ‘it’s impressive you’re so good at this’ and any jealousy is (should be) kept behind the eyes. For kids though, that’s a lot more difficult. In Miyu’s eyes though, I can see how she thought Arisa had flat out lied to her. I hope they get some resolution, actually.

The match between Mio and Arisa is just absorbing. Between the commentary of the crowd and online (I particularly like ‘nani the fuck?!’ as a comment) and their thoughts, it felt engaging in a way I haven’t felt with the other matches. Part of that is that we know a bit more about these two, and why they play fighting games, but it’s also panelled really well, flitting between them, the crowd, and the commentators without losing focus on the action. The visual of being underwater, not breathing, just living completely in the game works fantastically. I won’t spoil who won, but if you have enjoyed the series so far, volume 6 is the peak of the fighting game action.

Outside of this, Aya gets some of her gayest lines in these volumes. ‘I want to mean more to you than anything else’. If this series doesn’t have a moment where Aya kisses Mio in the heat of victory/defeat, I’ll be disappointed. That said, Aya has some thinking to do, when seeing Mio and Arisa’s match, and realising that she might not be Mio’s biggest rival, and being really upset by that. I want gamer girlfriends by the end of the series, dammit! Is that too much to ask?!

Ratings:

Story: 8
Characters: 8
Service: 0
Yuri: 9

Overall: 9

 

Volume 5 was good, but volume 6 was great. If you’ve enjoyed any of the series so far, highly recommended. In the imMortal Kombat words, Fatality!

Posted in English Manga, Luce, Staff Writer, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Rainbows After Storms, Volume 3

June 26th, 2025

A tall girl with long blonde hair and a short girl with short dark hair that frames her face smile at one another. They wear matching white sailor-style school uniform blouse with blue collar.Exams, summer break, sleepovers, birthdays. High school life is both chaotic and relaxed for Chidori and Nanoha in Rainbows After Storms, Volume 3. 

This summer, they are both devoted to having fun and making memories, so their prioritize a group sleepover at Nanoha’s house with the requisite number of underwear discussions for a not-really-shoujo manga about girls. Despite the fantasies of those in charge of this manga fantasies, girls, who are mostly mortified that they have bodies at all, hardly ever discuss underwear. 

Chidori and Nanoha go on a date. They are impossibly adorable.

We are told, repeatedly that they are keeping their relationship secret, but in Volume 4 that faced is no longer really credible. In fact, I read this volume this time thinking that their friends are gently trolling them, because the lead-ins to Nanoha and Chidori stuffing their hands in their mouths, felt way too on the money to be accidental.

The art and story here are gentle, silly and just a little banal, presumably to create a soft nostalgic feel for the presumed readership. It makes for a very fast-reading volume, as nothing unusual or complicated is going on. This story is exactly what it appears to be, a high school love story between two nice girls. 

And then the final chapter shows up, throwing that whole last sentence out of the ring.

In an earlier volume Chidori has indicated that Nanoha is not her first love. And she looked clearly pained at the memory. In the final pages and older girl is seem arriving on a train, confidently, perhaps even arrogantly, wondering how her kouhai is doing…. and we know immediately that this woman is Chidori’s sempai. And…we already don’t like her. Something is about to happen.

What will the next volume bring? Well, Rainbows After Storms, Volume 4 is already out from Viz Media so don’t wait to find out. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – 6
Yuri – 3
Service – 4 Underwear, bras, etc.

Overall – 6

 

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | No Comments »