Top Ten Yuri Manga of 2017

December 27th, 2017

2017 brought us a veritable excess of Yuri riches. So much so, that with 2 exceptions, every item in this list is available in English and Japanese – and even one of those is available on USA Kindle. It’s been an amazing year and has set up an amazing 2018 for us. What a perfect time to look back and celebrate some of the best the year had to offer. Check out the Yuricon Store for links to all these Yuri manga series and more.

 

 

10. Hana & Hina Afterschool /Hana to Hina no Houkago (ハナとヒナは放課後)

A new story by Morinaga Milk is always good news. This story contains all her favorite themes, which means we can sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.  ^_^

Hana and Hina are both likable, their struggles with “what is this feeling?” are adorable rather than awkward and we spend all our time with them hoping for a happy ending.

A solid example of “Story A” – exactly what Morinaga-sensei does best. Cute, sweet, slightly sexy, without deep emotional commitment.

 

 

9. Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru (やがて君になる)

Nakatani Nio seems to have hit a zeitgeist with this story of an aromantic and the girl who is in love with her. Provocative, with sleek shoujo manga-style art in a seinen series, and a lot of unanswered questions, makes this a fascinating (if occasionally maddening) series to read.

The addition of an adult lesbian couple as role models and guides for the young lesbian character puts this series up on LGBTQ points, part of a positive new trend in Yuri. 

 

 

 

8. Kiss and White Lily for My Dearest Girl / Anoko ni Kiss to Shirayuri wo (あの娘にキスと白百合を)

I admit to being a sucker for stories that do all the Yuri tropes, all at once but don’t let that sentence fool you. Characters here are more than a single trope, and the main relationship is given plenty of time to develop past it’s own set-up, so when this series ends, we’ll have gotten a well-developed relationship rather than just a Yuri coupling.

Yes, this series by Canno lacks the emotional gravitas of her previous series, but trading one emotional triangle tangle for multiple ways to explore relationships – including poly relationships – makes this an interesting take on the all-Yuri couple school.

 

 

7. After Hours (アフターアワーズ)

Adults doing adult things. Check. Adults struggling to find meaning in life. Check. Actual relationship dynamics that make sense, by making no sense. Check.  The complexity of the character’s emotions, the conversations they have – even the way their spend their time signals that this is not a child’s story. 

Nishio Yuhta does a good job of building two unique and interesting characters without pandering, even if the art is the only not-adult thing about the series.

It’s so refreshing. I can’t wait to find out what will happen in Volume 3!

 

 

6. Sweet Blue Flowers / Aoi Hana (青い花)

Classic S tropes wrapped gently around a modern tale of a young lesbian coming to terms with herself and her place in the world. Shimura Takako never loses the touch with early 20th century, but gives her characters a 21st century sensibility.

More importantly, the main characters have family, they have friends, they have agency. Decisions have consequences and we watch them mature as a result of making them.

The art is simple and stylish, the roots deep and literary. And Viz had given us the definitive English-language edition of this new Yuri classic.

 

 

5. My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness / Sabishi-sugi Rezu Fuzoku ni Ikimashita Report（さびしすぎてレズ風俗に行きましたレポ）

A heartfelt and  honest look at a life with chronic depression and an eating disorder, Kabi Nagata’s autobiographical online comic made it’s mark on both the Japanese and English manga scenes by speaking directly about real life issues for many.

With a rough style that echoes the storyline, this manga has been on the top of the charts since it’s release. This story, of the less functional aspects of adult life, clearly resonated with many readers. 

 

 

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4. MURCIÉLAGO (ムルシエラゴ)

Yoshimurakana’s “Violence Yuri” manga is unique in being an action manga, starring a lesbian serial killer, a lesbian sociopath and a lesbian Yakuza, with a bunch of other random lesbians, all in the middle of gonzo violence and ridiculous enemies.

The art is ugly, which suits the characters and situations well. 

Blood, guts and lesbians all around. I love it.

 

 

3. Kase-san Series/ 加瀬さん シリーズ

This schoolgirl romance is awkward and wonderfully realistic in turn. A “story A” that reminds of all those moments when we first had those feelings. 

The art is loose, a little service-y and occasionally excruciatingly sweet.

Asagao to Kase-san, the first book, already has been made into an adorable animation clip and will soon be a OVA getting theatrical release in Japan in 2018.

Sometimes all we really want is a story where two lovely people get to be together. This is that story.

 

 

 

2. 2DK, GPen Mezamashitokei (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

I love this Josei Yuri series by Ohsawa Yayoi for what it isn’t, as much as for what it is. A story of adult life that includes things that adult women often care about, like having more than one outfit and nice smelling face soap and, I don’t even know, normal life things like having a drink with a friend, and being competent at work. 

Kaede is a human golden retriever and Nanami is a girl magnet and I want them to get together…just not yet.

This series is a “josei” series, for adult women by an adult woman. It would make a terrible anime, which is exactly why I like it. No hijinks, just humans.

 

The Top Yuri Manga for 2017 is….

 

1. Galette (ガレット)

This is the Yuri magazine I have been waiting for for years. Talented Yuri creators banding together, supported by fans, creating the Yuri they want to create, rather than the Yuri editors want them to create.

Already the magazine has taken a few chances with narrative, but in ways that expand the genre. There’s still plenty of schoolgirl Yuri for readers, but the stories about adults are some of the best I’ve read this year. 

For this…for being the Yuri magazine I’ve wanted to be able to support for so long, Galette is my top Yuri Manga of the Year. 

 

 

Posted in English Manga, Now This Is Only My Opinion, Top Yuri Lists | 10 Comments »


Yuri Manga: 2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei, Volume 5 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。)

December 25th, 2017

In 2DK, GPen, Mezamashitokei, Volume 5 (2DK、Gペン、目覚まし時計。) Nanami comes to a decision regarding her feelings for Kaede, then the world conspires to make her rethink that position.

First of all, Nanami’s kouhai from school tracks her down in Tokyo. Mahiru has always been in love with Nanami and when it’s apparent that Nanami has feelings about Kaede that she’s not admitting to herself yet, Mahiru sees an opportunity to get her foot wedged in the door, so to speak. She lays down a foundation of doubt and jealousy that come to fruition when, luckily for Mahiru, Nanami is required to stay in the office for a few nights for a major launch.

Meanwhile, Koyuki can’t stand it any more and tells Kaede that she likes her. Kaede, predictably misses the point, but does let Koyuki know she’s important to her. The tension between them settles a bit, as Koyuki figures out that she has an important place in Kaede’s life.

Nanami manages to come home, only to see that (to her brainwashed and exhausted self) that Kaede and Koyuki are having the time of their lives without her around. Nanami runs back to Mahiru who tries to take advantage of her and, in doing so, Mahiru tells us and Nanami something we didn’t realize. Nanami tries to put Mahiru off by saying she’s uninterested in women – but Mahiru says that she has met (and slept with) Nanami’s girlfriend in college. Oh-ho! Nanami can no longer deny that she has been (and is) interested in other women.

The veil lifts and Nanami can see clearly once her own denial of years getting back and her denial of her feelings now. She leaves Mahiru and goes home. When Koyuki leaves, Nanami, finally, confesses her feeling to Kaede(!).

This was a tough volume to read, while Mahiru was attempting to manipulate Nanami – something that would not have worked for half a second, if Nanami wasn’t so invested in her own denial. On the other hand, it’s still pretty funny to see how much of a girl magnet Nanami is.

I absolutely adore this series for little things. Coffee at work being a life saver, all-night marketing campaign launches, and other realities of adult life. The drama is personal, the story is not-quite-realistic and I love that Nanami just has not really noticed how every adult women she knows is in love with her. ^_^ There’s a lot to love. She’s competent and cool and human. The humanity in this series is, to me, relatable and enjoyable, even when the love polygon gets a little silly. ^_^

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 4
Service – 3 Mahiru hitting on Nanami (with all the subtlety of a bag of bricks.)

Overall – 8

This was a perfect choice for my last review of 2017. Adult characters, emotions, situations. Lesbians don’t die after they graduate high school in Yuri manga any more! We’ve come a long way baby (this year.)

Posted in Ohsawa Yayoi, Yuri Manga | 5 Comments »


Torikaebaya Manga, Volume 12 (とりかえ・ばや)

December 24th, 2017

It’s all coming to a climax in Torikaebaya, Volume 12  (とりかえ・ばや).

The penny dropped in Volume 11, as the emperor got an inkling of an idea that the person he knows as his consort Suiren is quite likely the young lord he cultivated as Sarasoujuu.

In Volume 12, Umetsubo Naishogami boldly asks the Emperor to remember that the young Sarasoujuu was injured by an arrow and to look at Suiren for that scar, which he finds. He now knows for sure that his Suiren is really Sarasojuu (and thus that Sarasojuu is really Suiren.) But, now he has it the right way ’round. It’s obvious that his lover is a woman and as she was clearly Sarasoujuu, Sarasoujuu was a woman all along.

Evil priest Ginkaku attempts to assasinate the Emperor with a snake hidden in a plant, but Sarasoujuu as Suiren is quick to suck out the poison and save him. So he’s got to be convinced that whatever the story, she is not his enemy.

But Ginkaku is not done interfering. In a last attempt to destroy the Emperor, he brainwashes poor little new heir Yuzuru-shinou. Undoubtedly to do nefarious deeds to the Emperor.

Next volume is the end of this series and I can see a couple of options here, both with and without Sara and Suiren dead. If Sara gets to be with the Emperor and Suiren with Ichinomiya-hime they’d all be happy, but they won’t be themselves. So mostly happily-ever-after. I guess.

Ratings:

Art – 10
Story – 9
Characters – 9 No matter what her gender presentation, Sarasoujuu is a hero
Service – 2

Overall – 10

One day when I grow up and my Japanese is much better than it currently is, I’m going to read this whole thing over again. ^_^

Posted in Miscellaneous, Saitou Chiho | 2 Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – December 23, 2017

December 23rd, 2017

Short report today. I dislocated my shoulder Thursday night and typing is not so fun.  I’m fine, I promise. I put the shoulder back in Friday morning and just have a nasty sprain now. Just want to keep this short. ^_^

Yuri Anime

The trailer for the citrus anime is here and it is not as awful I as I expected. I don’t know if the anime will even be able to approach the layers of dysfunction in the manga, so it might just stick to the top one or two issues. 

 

 

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Bunches of new theaters in Japan have been added for the Asagao to Kase-san anime OVA premiere!

Via Crunchyroll News, a new Cutie Honey anime is heading our way in 2018! Waaah! Called Cutie Honey Universe, I’m with Go Nagai, I wonder how Cutie Honey will look in these times. 

Also from Crunchyroll, the Revolutionary Girl Utena BD box set from Nozom/RightStuff has been delayed.

To celebrate the release of a new Blu-Ray set in Japan, Digimon Tamers is being rebroadcast on Japanese TV. 

 

Other News

Universal Studios Japan is opening a Sailor Moon attraction, according to a report on Crunchyroll News.

ANN reports on the Revolutionary Girl Utena Musical, with main visuals. 

 

Become a Yuri Network Correspondent by reporting any Yuri-related news to anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. Not to the comments here, please, or they might be forgotten or missed. There’s a reason for this madness. This way I know you are a real human, not Anonymous (which I do not encourage – stand by your words with your name!) and I can send you a YNN correspondent’s badge.

Thanks to all of you – you make this a great Yuri Network!

Posted in Yuri Network News | 6 Comments »


Winter Reading: Queer-Friendly Science Fiction

December 20th, 2017

I know I usually write about non-Yuri stuff on Sundays, but I’ve read a pile of great science fiction recently that I wanted to share with you before the holiday season slams down on all of us and I spend my days slaving over end-of-year lists.

To start things off, I highly recommend the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie. The Sad/Rabid Puppies hated this series with the burning of thousand fiery dyspeptic stomachs, which was good enough for me to give it a try. ^_^ I’ll do my best to no-spoiler synopsize the books, but no promises.

The series, which consists of three books –  Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy – follows an artificial intelligence that runs a troopship, Justice of Toren. The timeline of the first novel is split as Justice of Toren tells us of her experiences before and after a massively traumatic experience forces her to involve herself in the personal politics of the rule of the Imperium. The language of the Empire is non-gendered, and Justice of Toren is herself not really all that keyed into understanding gender, she she defaults to calling everyone “she.” (And for the moment, so will I.) This enraged the Puppies, as did some implied and actual homosexuality. It’s true that the different perspective on gendered language makes the book difficult for some folks, but of itself not enough to call the series good. That said, the story is not good – it’s brilliant. Characters, writing, world-building are all impeccably tight and extremely well-constructed. Leckie’s ability to create a society based around the principles of the Roman Empire that feel fresh and also very human, and her ability to create characters that are not at all human in stark contrast is astounding.

I have literally one complaint about this series and it has nothing to do with the series itself, but entirely is about my own needs as a reader. We – unfortunately, IMHO – do learn the sex of several of the main characters, when gendered language is used. I felt that to be a bit of a betrayal of the core concept. Other than that one thing, I found the entire series to be compelling reading. I’ve got Leckie’s next book, Provenance on my to-read list.

My next book of interest was Martha Wells’, All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries. This follows an artificial intelligence security bot, who refers to itself as “Murderbot” assigned to protect a scientific expedition. When it appears that they are being sabotaged, Murderbot teams up with it’s humans (despite it being generally uninterested and incapable of dealing with humans all that well) to find out what the heck is going on. 

Based on the size of this book and it’s font, I assumed it was an YA novel. I certainly could have read it easily in one sitting had I had the time. Even so it only took me two evenings to finish it. It was amusing, rather than compelling. I found myself fascinated by the behaviors of the protagonist who, despite calling itself Murderbot, seemed a peaceable enough being. There is also homosexuality in the story and gender and sexuality are topics that are covered within the story. Murderbot was, like Breq in the Imperial Radch series, not interested in sex for themselves, although it understood the concepts, and was, unlike Breq, not very good at relating to humans. More and more as the story unfolded I started developing an idea about AI behavior being patterned after or reflecting our understanding of neuroatypical thought. I can totally see the behaviors associated folks on the Asperger Spectrum reflected in these characters. I am not saying “ASD folks are like robots” or that they are inhuman. I am saying neuroatypical folks might see themselves reflected, as I did. These AIs were empathetic for me and they allowed me to see my own neuroatypicality reflected as I watched them process human relations. It seemed to me to a useful lens with which to understand my own processes.

I’m wrapping up a third book about an AI tonight (I’m still not sure if the trend here is with stuff that’s being published or just me, honestly). Autonomous: A Novel by Annalee Newitz is good, but I have some reservations about it. It follows a pharmaceutical drug pirate and biotech engineer, a woman who goes by the name Jack, as she seeks to stop an outbreak of a deadly adverse event in a reverse engineered drug she’s bootlegging. The powers that be have sent a human-AI team to track her down.

Sexuality and gender are part of the plot in this story. Jack is bisexual and that’s a non-issue, but the human detective Eliasz and his AI partner Paladin have a sexual relationship, as well. And this is where my reservations come in. Paladin is a military-grade bot, and is therefore gendered by humans as male. Eliasz has a very self-loathingly homophobic reaction to his own attraction to Paladin. When they commence an actual relationship, Eliasz ask Paladin whether he should refer to it as a he or a she. Paladin chooses “She.” I 100% support Paladin having a choice and the choice she makes, but, by making it, she allows Elisz to skip over his very serious issue with homophobia. And Paladin realizes this. So she appreciates the act of being able to consent and the fact that she is an active participant, not just a receptacle, but also thinks this is more complicated than Eliasz realizes. I agree. I’m not done with this book, should be wrapping it up tonight, so maybe I’ll feel differently in a few hours…but I don’t think so.

Also queued for me is Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer, which I am told also deals with gender in an intelligent way. It’s worth noting that Tor is really reach out to find and publish interesting books on sexuality and gender (and by women,) and so are getting a lot of my money these days. ^_^

If you’ve read anything you think people ought to know about for their winter reading, throw it out in the comments! We can all always use a good book recommendation.

 

 

Posted in Miscellaneous, Queer Fiction | 12 Comments »