Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – October 12, 2024

October 12th, 2024

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

Yuri Manga

Sal Jiang has announced a new series,  Wicked Spot (ウィキッドスポット), as part of the Candle A imprint from Kadokawa. “Sada is a modern-day witch who is tired of living quietly in the mountains and wants to get more attention. Why shouldn’t human beings know about witches? A story of modern-day “witches” who break the curse and live freely!” It’s a departure from her last few series, and looks very fun. Candle-A is also launching with Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna/She Loves To Cook She Loves to Eat, and Hime Miko to Hime Kishi (姫巫子と姫騎士), an isekai about two female friends transported to another world in which one is a powerful princess and the other a powerful knight (Okay, I’m in. Thank you, yes.)

Hayashiya Shizuru has a short 18+ comic and promo images from her raunchy series, ULTIMATE-MAMA available on her Booth.pm. Grab a copy of ULTIMATE MAMA EX today!

This news post gives me a chance to show off the newly framed art I have in my office. Hayashiya-sensei was clearing out her original Hayate x Blade manuscript pages and had the brilliant idea of cutting them into clips and selling them to obsessive fans like me. She included a few sketches and I had them all framed. They now hang in my office where I can see them at my desk. Here is an not-quite adequate picture. The framer did a fantastic job.

I am very pleased to announce that the first collected volume of Heimin No Watashi Desu Ga Kōshaku Reijō-sama Wo Taburakashite Ikite Imasu, (平民の私ですが公爵令嬢様をたぶらかして生きています) by Kitao Taki is now available in print. This is a story of a commoner who is sold to a duke’s daughter who was actually her friend when they were younger. She takes on the role of bodyguard  – and seducer – to the duke’s daughter. I am a long-time fan of Kitao-sensei’s work, and very glad to see this in print!

Tsukiko, creator of Futaribeya, has drawn a Yuri vampire story for Comic Boost, Hakutae-sama, Himitsu Desu yo (白妙様、秘密ですよ). “Shio Hananoi is a high school girl who attends a vampire school. In fact, Shio hides the fact that she is human, but one day she happens to meet Hakutae, the founder of vampires, and her true identity is revealed. In a world where humans are food, Shio and Shiratae are mysteriously growing closer…? “

Via Comic Natalie, three middle school students, Koto, Aya, and Eirika, are secretly in love with each other. Koto’s feelings become clear to Aya and the two begin dating, but soon after that, Aya disappears as if she had been spirited away. Seven years later, Aya, who had been missing, appears before Koto and Eirika, who are now university students, in Sankakkei no Kowashi-kata, Volume 1 (三角形の壊し方).

 

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Yuri Anime

Bandai is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the My-HiME franchise with new videos and illustrations. 20 years? Wow. I have “Shining Days” on my mp3 player, so was just listening to it the other day. Joana Cayanan has the details at ANN.

Look Back anime movie premiered in the US  – ANN’s Anita Tai tells us it made almost $700,000 in it’s opening weekend in theaters. The ANN Aftershow warns you – as I have, every time I mention this story – you will cry. You should see this. You should read the manga. It will make you cry.

The Rose of Versailles anime movie has announced a January 31 opening. Joana Cayanan once again has the news and key visuals on ANN.

Support Yuri journalism on Ko-fi!

 

Crystalynn Hodgkins has the news that Netflix will be removing Glitter Force and Glitter Force Doki Doki on November 9. I hope this will free Crunchyroll to pick up the original Doki Doki PreCure and add it to their roster.In my opinion, this is the last relic of media companies taking a shoujo anime, carving it it up, gluing it back together and pretending it’s not an anime. Hopefully, we’ve seen the end of that.

While I’m on my PreCure bullshit, I need to tell you that current season Wonderful PreCure! is actually really not-terrible. ^_^ When I read the synopsis, I gave myself 3 weeks, but here I am still watching. The main couple is straight, but I wouldn’t fight you if you ‘shipped Yuki and Mayu. ^_^

 

Other News

It has become morally unsupportable for me to remain on X at this point, so I am moving my main social feeds to:

Okazu Discord: discord.gg/4NPHGH7Vc4Okazu
Patreon: patreon.com/Okazu
Bluesky: okazu.bsky.social

You can find all my socials on the Yuricon Links page.

There are three ways you can find Yuri on Bluesky, so jump right in!

Yuri Starter Pack of creators and publishers, so you can follow them in one click! https://bsky.app/starter-pack-short/9XWHsMz
Yuri List has the same people, if you don’t want to follow accounts: https://bsky.app/profile/okazu.bsky.social/lists/3kkvv6dqal72g The Yuri Feed, run by Seriously Sempai, includes fan posts: https://bsky.app/?feed=feedgen%7Cat%3A%2F%2Fdid%3Aplc%3Absscwymf2aivrvico5ik6ztb%2Fapp.bsky.feed.generator%2Faaagklnz7g7ea

 

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 2024, 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.

 

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Spoil Me Plzzz Hinamori-san, Volume 1

October 11th, 2024

On a background of bright yellow and white radiating stripes, a girl with long dark hair grabs a girl with lighter collar-length hair by the waist, surprising her.I’m Luce, one of the staff writers here at Okazu! I hope you enjoy my review of this new Yuri manga!

Yaya Suo is the darling of the school: admitted by everyone, she is academic, athletic, and kind, to boot! Ichigo Hinamori is one of her admirers, even though they’ve never spoken, and Suo doesn’t know she exists. However, later on, Ichigo hears some pathetic crying coming from the nurse’s office – on investigation, she finds Suo, desperate for some relief from being the model student! Turns out, she’s actually quite needy in private, and wants someone to dote on her. Now the secret’s out to Ichigo, the illusion of the perfect Suo is broken… But Suo won’t leave her alone!

Spoil Me Plzzz, Hinamori-san, Volume 1 is undoubtably a gag manga about the gap between the public and private personas, the joke being the especially wide gap in this case. However you could argue that it’s also a very real thing that the pressures of society can be suffocating. Why Suo is putting herself under such pressure to be perfect at school isn’t explored in this volume, but clearly she’s attached her self-worth to being liked, and to her, that means being perfect.

Surprisingly, her behaviour doesn’t annoy me. Maybe it’s just so over the top, or that each individual episode of it only usually lasts a few panels… or maybe it’s just that, imperfect as I am, I can sympathise with the weight of expectation and societal norms being too much. It’s also quite funny seeing how quick Ichigo, faced with a pretty girl in tears, will do as she asks.

Ichigo doesn’t say the word ‘lesbian’, but she states on the page that she’s ‘into girls’, and was turned down by her senpai in middle school because she was too immature, essentially. This has stuck with her – the reason she admired Suo was that she appeared mature, and she wanted to be like that. Safe to say, that quickly changes, but even by the end of this volume, she’s catching feelings…

I was expecting to dislike this, but I actually really enjoyed it. The only gag that didn’t quite land for me was the love letter, but only because I didn’t quite get the issue. I think the point was it wasn’t on the right kind of paper, rather than the text itself – I think the flower with a spiral in it is a symbol used for ‘well done’, so considering it’s a rejection, possibly not great – I would have liked a translation note on that, but there are none at all, so.

Speaking of which, I wanted to call attention to the translation, lettering and such, as it’s not a ‘straight’ translation, but it really works (ie, having a girl says ‘oklie doklie’ really amused me). They’ve also gone to the effort of having different handwriting for the two girls, as it’s a gag, which must have been some effort for the retouching and lettering teams. I don’t normally notice this kind of thing unless it’s done badly, but I wanted to praise them!

Ratings:

Art – 7 (it’s the right level of exaggerated and comic for this kind of manga)
Yuri – 8 (it’s established in the first chapter that not only is Ichigo attracted to girls, but even confessed to one)
Translation, Retouch, Lettering etc –  9
Service – 3 (the only thing I can think of is Ichigo licking Suo’s finger, and it’s more cute than salacious)

Overall – 9

This is not a manga that is taking itself too seriously, and I mean that as a sincere compliment. It’s because of this that I can recommend it – even on second viewing, I laughed at some of the panels. If you enjoy a silly Yuri, this is definitely worth checking out!

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


Girls Band Cry, Guest Review by Cryssoberyl

October 9th, 2024
Pictured: On a blood red background, four girls spin in magical-girl power moves, color streaming from their instruments.There’s a show called Shirobako, which began airing exactly ten years ago today, as it happens. A love letter to its own industry, it’s an anime about making anime. In that show, there is a conflict between the cast about the place of 3D computer-generated imagery in anime, with many of the senior animators dead-set against its then-nascent creep into the industry. “2D anime is about hand-crafted animation, unlike 3D!” says one. “3D animation is a waste of time. There’s no flavor or style to it,” says another. I have always been in complete agreement with those characters. So when I learned that there was a 3DCG show called Girls Band Cry that was blowing up in Japan, I was unhappy. I felt like a popular 3DCG show would only accelerate its rise in anime.
 
In short, I didn’t want to like this show. I didn’t want to watch this show. But my partner Zefiris, always the more reasonable of us two, wanted to give it a chance – and well, we can add this onto the large and ever-growing pile of wonderful experiences I would not have had without her intervention. Thank you for everything and for this, dearest.
 
Those animators were wrong, and I was wrong. At least about Girls Band Cry.
 
This is both an odd show for Toei to have made, and a completely unsurprising show. Odd, because Toei is known primarily for safely commercial, mainstream, primarily children’s animation. Unsurprising, because Toei has become one of the most routine and extensive users of 3DCG in their shows; Precure ending sequences have for many years been tech demos of what 3DCG can do, at least in terms of expressiveness and fluidity in dance sequences. In short, Toei has been building their in-house 3DCG muscles for a long time, and it’s clear the company felt that it was time to show them off. The result is one of the most carefully and masterfully crafted shows you may ever see, with a staggering amount of polish and uncountable small flourishes of attention and care. This is never more true than during the show’s frequent band performance scenes, which may just be some of the most visually and cinematographically impressive scenes of that kind that anime has ever produced.
 
What Toei has done here, though, is not only to have made a great show. It is just possible they have shown us a blueprint of what the future of anime might look like. One of the most interesting parts of GBC is when it chooses to use, not 3DCG, but conventional 2D animation. This happens frequently, and at both high- and low-budget moments. Some of the most important and climactic scenes of the show are in 2D, but it is also used for many quick and simple moments when making and choreographing another 3DCG model clearly would’ve been more work. The show leverages both formats to cover, contrast, and enhance the weaknesses and strengths of the other. If this is a blend that will be adopted to a greater extent in the future, we can only be hopeful that it shines the same way as in GBC.
 
All of this is to say, the show is a clinic of technical excellence – but so far this is all just an anatomy lesson. We have yet to speak of the soul of the show, of the writing and the characters, and just as much care, thought, and effort went into crafting that spirit as did the body for it to live in.
 
The cast of GBC, and their relationships, are by turns beautifully, hideously, startlingly human. Let’s not pretend they aren’t cute anime girls, they certainly are, but they are also a diverse and thoughtfully-written group of complex, flawed, self-contradictory, self-destructive young people. The soul of the disillusioned counterculture rocker abides deeply within them, manifesting in a myriad of flavors: Nina’s adamantly inflexible self-righteousness and anger at the world for constantly disappointing her idealism; Momoka’s wounded cynicism and trust issues, still moving forward but only in a kind of bleak inertia at times; Subaru’s awareness and dislike of her own two-faced facade, though she is in fact healthier in her relationship with herself and her problems than most of the others; Tomo’s deeply antisocial perfectionist nature at odds with a desperate desire to be heard, included, and valued.
 
Finally, there is the contrasting spice to the rest of the cast, Rupa. The only true adult in the band, in a maturity sense if not an age sense, the tragedy in Rupa’s past dwarfs all the other girls’ first world problems, but her whimsy and gentle kindness is of one of those extraordinary people who were able to emerge from hardship with their wisdom and empathy tempered by the experience, to be a blessing to all who encounter them.
 
The cautious friendships between these girls, all hurting in their own ways, tentatively reaching out despite their fears of more pain and disappointment, are all the more endearing, all the more believable for their frequent clashes. The arc of this group of young women is of groping slowly toward greater understanding and greater unity, with their resonating feelings of hesitance and fear leading ultimately to an intense trust and comradery that might otherwise be impossible. There are many funny, cheerful, and feel-good moments that are all the stronger and better for the struggles betwixt.
 
And in fact, the moments when the choice of 3DCG shines the most is not in its sumptuously-wrought performances, but in these moments, the emotionally intense interchanges between characters. There is a subtlety and intimacy to the interplay of the body language at these times that 2D simply cannot replicate, and it adds so much to the effectiveness of emotional scenes. I won’t spoil, but there are many movements, touches, and gestures that you will remember later as defining moments of the show.
 
The only real weak point in this glorious mélange is that the show makes liberal use of stock “girl band drama” tropes to drive its greater ambitions. There are times, more than once, when you may roll your eyes at another “X is threatening to quit the band!” moment, or feel yourself benumbed at “will they cancel the event?!” furor. But if this is an anatomy lesson, think of these moments as the bones of the show, supporting the meat. This unassuming scaffolding is what makes the great performances, the growth of the band, and the wonderful, ugly, beautiful character moments possible.
 
But yuri, you ask? Well…in the classic sense of the word, this is a very yuri show, one that is centered on deeply emotional, consequential relationships between women. But if you are asking about romance specifically, the picture must largely be one of your own making. Nina and Momoka have a particular scene that would be easy to read in an explicitly romantic way but (as often happens with such moments in anime), the show never follows up on that moment or invites the participating characters to reflect on what it meant, leaving the viewer to fend for themselves. Of more interest to me is Tomo and Rupa, who come into the show with an established relationship of deep trust, intimacy, and mutual care which is so beautiful to see. Again nothing is ever confirmed, but it is worth noting, Rupa is more than once shown to be incredibly popular with the female fans…
 
Well, I better stop here. I haven’t even mentioned the music itself! Which is its own galaxy of interest and execution that could be talked about! Go watch the show!
 
Ratings:
 
Art – Honestly? 10. For sheer craft and the success of that craft, nothing more could reasonably be asked.
Story – 7, the show frequently resorts to the tried-and-true “band drama” playbook, but it’s all in service of the,
Characters – For me 10, a frequently irritatingly human, always supremely lovable cast of prickly young women and their relationships.
Service – 1, there are a vanishingly few number of scenes and shots that could be taken this way.
Yuri – 3, there are two couples here if you want them, but you must do the mental legwork yourself. Rupa’s a ladykiller though, that much is certain.
 
Overall – 10, an amazing achievement and its success is richly deserved.
 
Girls Band Cry is, finally and at length, available for purchase on the Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu), and for free on Hoopla if you are fortunate enough to be a member of a library within the Hoopla network (unlike my local library). If this distribution seems odd, you aren’t alone in thinking so; this is not the first Toei work to have a confusing and difficult path to the West, and probably won’t be the last. But it’s here now. Take advantage of it.
Posted in English Anime, Guest Review, Yuri Anime | 6 Comments »


Okazu Staff Reviews Studio Élan’s Dandelion Set

October 6th, 2024

In pink and white, a girl sniffs white daisies with yellow centers next to words in pink that read "Élan Garden Variety." Below, in white letters on a yellow bar, it reads"Dandelion Set."Studio Élan has announced a 4-story collection of short Yuri VNs as part of their own internal Yuri Game Jam, titled Garden Variety: Dandelion Set. Each of these stories are developed by a different team working with Studio Élan. All four of these games are playable on desktop. Individual games may be playable on Android or IOS. The idea of not having to log in, download, signing in, etc, piqued my interest – and short stories appealed. So, I reached out to our Okazu Staff members and we agree to each take one VN.

Today, Okazu presents 4 short reviews for the 4 short VNs of Studio Élan’s Garden Variety: Dandelion Set on itch.io!

 

Connect Rain! (v1.03 Gameplay Update) - Upwards, Rain! The Post Office ... Upwards, Rain!, Eleanor Walker

This was a sweet little game with an adorable twist at the end and I enjoyed it enough that I’d like to see more stories from this world/a sequel which explores the MCs’ relationship a little more. The characters are well thought out, I particularly enjoyed a certain one who only appears on screen towards the end and isn’t as black and white as she first seems. One minor character casually uses they/them pronouns which I thought was a nice touch as well. My only slightly minor gripe is that the puzzle solving could get a little repetitive, but that might just me not being very good at puzzles. Especially recommended if you’re an animal lover.

Overall – 7

 

On Wings Bringing SleepOn Wings Bringing Sleep | vndb, Matt Marcus

In a dark fantasy world, the fae, known as the Folk, live a secluded life in the forest. In ages past they had preyed upon humans, but after a human found a way to slay their immortal adversaries and avenge her loved ones’ deaths, a peace pact was formed. One day, a young Folk named Morgaine, shunned due to her inability to use magic, meets a beautiful human girl on the edge of the woods. I can imagine you can see where this is going.

If “dark fantasy” doesn’t give you enough of a hint as the tone of what the story includes, the developer includes a content warning for “implied domestic abuse, explicit violence, animal death, and toxic lesbianism”. If that doesn’t push you away, there are the bones of a good story here, if not a tad cliché. Morgaine’s magic struggles may make you think that ableism could be a central theme, but the story breaks a different way. To say any more about the story will spoil it, but I do like that our main character has an ex, and that the history of their relationship isn’t exactly what you’d expect. One thing I found odd was a recurring element of food being used more or less as magic recreational drugs, which makes a couple scenes that are intended as romantic feel unintentionally twisted. There are no interactive elements here, which could have allowed for some interesting narrative branching paths. I think there is some potential to expand this into a fuller game. It’s not going to blow your mind, but it certainly held my interest for the hour or so I played it.

Overall – 7

 

Yuri PaddleComments - Yuri Paddle: An Anime Convention Murder Mystery by Studio Élan, reviewed by Christian LeBlanc

I really wanted to like Yuri Paddle, because it has some good things going for it: murder mystery at a realistic-feeling, poorly-managed anime convention? Check! Compellingly charming artwork with a monochromatic pink color scheme? Check! Snappy, fresh-sounding dialogue with references to contemporary anime and manga touchstones and fandom/online culture? Also check!

Where the game falls apart for me is the characters. At one point, the manager of the convention talks the protagonist into temporarily ignoring a crime for the sake of the success of the convention, even though it could mean putting their guests and attendees in mortal danger. So while a panelist we meet is written as every negative, miserable person online who lives only to fight with people, I couldn’t help rooting for her, especially since she was directing her hostility at our protagonist.

For a murder mystery, we don’t even have a suspect, until the main character accuses someone in the middle of a conversation and the game just…ends. If the developers had had more time, then I think the story was meant to continue on from there and introduce us to multiple suspects, but as it was, it just felt jarring.

In spite of my negative impressions, I’d really like it if you could play this game yourself because you may have a completely different experience. The premise is solid, and the snappy banter and immensely enjoyable artwork may be more than enough for you to overrule my objections.

Overall – 4

 

Witch You Want | vndbWitch You Want, reviewed by Erica Friedman

It was a cute, fluffy Yuri romance. You are a young witch who suddenly finds herself in need of a job and the worst-rated potion shop in town (1 stars on Whelp!) needs help. What could go wrong?

We help Mirabelle, the bewitching store owner, who is flighty as a rescue kitten and as flaky as pretty much most of the witchy shop owners I have ever encountered (Which is actually quite a lot, now that I think about it. ^_^;) Can we help her rescue her reputation and save the shop? Well.. sure. And we fall for her, because it is a Yuri romance. This was the only weak area of the story. We think she’s hot from the beginning, but there isn’t any real time for us to bond. On the other hand, this is so short it now is the third VN I’ve made it all the way through, so yay for that!

Game play is in the form of relatively simple puzzles to build the potions and  and while they were not complicated, I still managed to screw up my last go. Luckily that didn’t affect the outcome. Recommended if you need some fun Yuri fluff.

Overall – 8

Posted in Yuri Game, Yuri Visual Novel | No Comments »


Yuri Network News – (百合ネットワークニュース) – October 5, 2024

October 5th, 2024

In blue silhouette, two women face each other. One wears a fedora and male-styled attire, one is in a dress and heels. Their body language is obscure - they may be dancing, or laughing or fighting. Art by Mari Kurisato for Okazu

This week was a veritable cornucopia of licenses and cover reveals, but before we get in to this week’s news, I want to say this – Okazu will not be reporting on, supporting, or listing on the Yuricon Store, any AI-created or localized anything. All AI in actual existence is “trained” on the work of humans, often without their consent, AI companies have been clear that without stealing content they are not profitable. Equally, the environmental cost of AI is devastating and this planet is already teetering on the edge of no return for climate change.  Every AI prompt consumes 20 bottles of water on an already-warming Earth. Lastly, and most importantly – no one is guaranteed success in any creative endeavor, but one is especially undeserving of success when one cannot even be bothered to do the actual work.  Okazu is about the celebration of human creation; the art, the stories, the media we make for each other so our stories are told. 

That all said, let’s jump into things – there’s a lot of human creative effort to talk about today. ^_^

 

Yuri Manga

Viz Media took to X to announce the extremely fun license of webtoon Not So Shoujo Love Story, by Curryuku. I guess I haven’t managed to review this, but it is a fun little shoujo Yuri story that I still read when I have time to catch up. I’m pleased that it will be coming out as in collected volumes.

Also from Viz, we’re getting Girl Crush, by Midori Tayama, which Senior YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney assures us has some non-binary and LGBT content, even if it isn’t a Yuri title.

Kodansha announced the cover reveal for Volume 1 of I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day, by Nachi Aono. This orphanage/school story is pretty violent. Look, I’m just gonna say it – CW: it’s about an immortal little girl who gets her body chewed up in battle, over and over. For Important Reasons. This manga  ran in Comic Yuri Hime for a volume or two, then was moved over to their Pixiv Yuri Hime account, I presume because of the loli guro.

We’ll be getting I’m In Love With The Villainess, Volume 7 of the manga from Seven Seas this month. Fans of Cardinal Lily are in for a treat as we move into Lily-centric territory. Woops, it looks Like I never reviewed volume 7 in Japanese. It was fun with some filler that serves a purpose later.

 

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Baihe News

Seven Seas has licensed some Baihe!

We’re getting The Beauty’s Blade: Mei Ren Jian by Feng Ren Zuo Shu. According to my Baihe colleague, Douqi, this is an older title. I hope that this leads to a LOT more. And maybe some of the Thai GL novels. …I really want to really all of this stuff, okay? ^_^

Which brings me to my second editorial opinion of this report. Some folks online were crowing that they had “bullied” Seven Seas into licensing Baihe and when I pointed out that “bullying” is a shit idea to get anything, they claimed they were using the term as a joke.

The way to get companies to license stuff is to share it, support it, and ask nicely for it. Tell them you want it – don’t be a jerk about stuff you don’t want. “Companies” are made of individual people working very hard to get us what we want and to make money. Buy the stuff you like, ask politely for more. Fill out surveys. Be positively engaged and trust me – companies are doing everything they can to get what they can, if it will sell. I swear to you.

Also, seriously, my beloved Okazu readers, “jokes” that are mean are not jokes and we all know this. Please do not. As I said on X, “remember to support the Yuri love, suggest more to companies, be kind to other fans and don’t make “jokes.”” I would absolutely hate to see a small group of malcontents make Yuri toxic, when I have been working for decades to keep Yuri accessible, welcoming and kind. Yuri is for everyone, let’s keep it that way.

Also in exciting Baihe news, Taiwan Travelogue, the upcoming English translation by contemporary Baihe author Yáng Shuāng-zǐ (the same Yáng Shuāng-zǐ who wrote Girls’ Love: The Development History of Lily Fan Culture in Taiwan’s ACG Industry 2023 Revised Edition (少女之愛：台灣ACG界百合迷文化發展史 2023增修版), which I reviewed here on Okazu in May of this year,) is nominated for the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature! Translated by Lin King, this story sounds absolutely fantastic. I’ve already pre-ordered a copy, because this book hits every damned button I have and I cannot wait to read it!

 

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Light Novels

I’m in Love with the Villainess: She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner, Volume 3 by inori-sensei is out now from Seven Seas. Review as soon as I have a moment, but once again, it was absolutely worth reading, as there is a ton of new material. It’s not just a reverse point of view of content you already know.

ANN’s Joanna Cayanan & Rafael Antonio Pineda team up to tell us that Gen Urobuchi’s Fate/Zero Novels are getting a musical stage play in 2025. Since that is the story that gave us suit-wearing Saber and Irisviel as a couple we’d like to see more of, I thought this was worth mentioning. Also because I have spent all day singing the Fate/Zero anime opening theme, To The Beginning, for Important Reasons, none of which have anything to do with the fact that Kalafina is getting back together for a January concert. (But it didn’t help to get the song out of my head, for sure.) Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details of that on ANN.

 

Other News

Animo on X has announced a new pop-up shop for  Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau anime, which given the lack of completion of the anime, seems even more like a cash grab than usual. But the goods are pretty cute. If you find yourself in Akihabara from October 11-20, drop by.

ANN’s Alex Mateo has the very interesting news that Kadokawa is running a global “wordless” manga contest. Interesting idea and a chance to get your work out to a broader audience.

We’ll wrap up the week with this article from Comics Beat by Samantha Puc about MISMATCHED, by  a graphic novel that “successfully queers” Jane Austen’s Emma. Written by Anne Camlin and art by Isadora Zeferino, Samantha calls this “a delightful rom-com that reads like a movie, with fast, quippy dialogue.”

 

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 2024, 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 | 1 Comment »