Heimin No Watashi Desu Ga Koushaku Reijou-sama o Taburakashite Ikite Imasu, Volume 3 (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)

January 26th, 2026

Cover of Heimin No Watashi Desu Ga Koushaku Reijou-sama o Taburakashite Ikite Imasu, Volume 3 / 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. A red-headed girl leans over a dark-haired girl, stroking her face with predatory expression. They both look at us and are wearing the same fantasy school uniform of red and white.In Volume 1 we meet Laila, a commoner who parents sold her into slavery so they could debauch, and Evangeline “Eva” Mayer, the daughter of a Duke, and Laila’s childhood friend who, through accident, runs in to Laila and is able to take her as a bodyguard to the Royal Academy. In Volume 2, Laila deal with some prejudice and bullying, but her magical abilities are so significant, her fighting skills so good and her personality strong enough that she gains the respect of some of the students. 

In Volume 3 of Kitao Taki’s Heimin No Watashi Desu Ga Koushaku Reijou-sama o 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) the 4 major houses are set against each other in a battle of wits, magic and combat by the King, who mostly wants some entertainment. He’d also like to get a feel for how strong this commoner is and to show off his beloved grandchild Eva’s power. 

The Mayer family starts down a member, but a masked (but not disguised, really) person joins them…with intel. The competitions get more and more complicated in the first round. There is no clear winner going in to the second round which is a dungeon that the King needs clearing. But once in the dungeon the students find that there’s some very serious magic in the dungeon, and the magic is going to mimic the person they want to fight the least. Eva and Laila watch in trepidation as another Laila walks out of the mist….

I know I say this every volume, but I really do enjoy Kotao Taki’s manga. And this story is building on itself, well away from simple romantic comedy to a full-blown epic adventure, with tons of fighting, magic and intrigue.Will Laila and Eva end up together? Probably, but that is not the story. I’m still holding out for Laila, Lisette and Eva kicking Catherine’s butt and all out ass whoop. ^_^ It’s also nice to read a fantasy that isn’t an isekai for a moment. 

For loads of action, adventure and a pleasant bit of Yuri seasoning, I’m really enjoying this series. 

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 8
Characters – 9
Service –  1? Very little, as everyone is busy fighting
Yuri – 4, as everyone is busy fighting

Overall – 9

From Volume 3 on, this book is only available in digital format on Amazon JP, Bookwalker and other online platforms. Thank heavens for Bookwalker.

Posted in Kitao Taki, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


Yuri News Network – (百合ネットワークニュース) – January 24, 2026

January 24th, 2026

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 OkazuYuri Research

The top news of the week is that Japan’s first Yuri research book, Hajimete no Yuri Studies: Queer/Feminist no Shiten Kara (はじめての百合スタディーズ: クィア/フェミニストの視点から) by Nakamura Kasumi, Kondoh Ginga, and Mizukami Aya with supplemental essays by myself and Shinada Reika, published by Ohta Book, will hit Japanese shelves next month. I hope you’ll pre-order it and give it the push it deserves! This book is a big deal, as I mentioned in my Okazu post this week about it.

BBC China has a Chinese-language article about Yuri/GL/Baihe, with a brief discussion of Thai Dramas: 泰国女同性恋爱情故事如何发展成为一个价值数百万美元的产业 by 南甘帕特·帕昌 (Nongnapat Patcham).

 

Yuri Manga

Morishima Akiko-sensei (who did the cover art for the Yuri Studies book), noted on X that Yuri Kuma Arashi turns 10 years old (!) this year. The Kadokawa Store is selling anniversary acrylic stands.

Also from Morishima-sensei, Chapter 10 of her manga Hitorimi Desu. (ひとりみです) will take on the travails of a lesbian couple trying to have a child back in the early 2000s. Read it in Japanese on Comic Walker.

Edition 88 is doing an art merch collaboration with Rose of Versailles prints and acrylic stands this week at the gallery in Tokyo.

Ikuta Hana’s Ryuu to Ryuu no Kekkon (竜と龍の結婚), a tale about two dragon princesses in a political engagement, is on the Yuricon Store!

ANN’s Crystalyn Hodgkins notes that Girls Band Cry is getting a manga. 

Galette on Bluesky announces the cover for Galette No. 37 (ガレット). Cover art by pen, and again, so grown-up. ^_^

Gal x Gal Yuri, which is currently running on Viz.com and their app is getting a merchandise collab with Oshi-Challe. Check out the site to get in on the lottery to grab cute gal Yuri acrylic!

 

Your support makes a difference – 
Become an Okazu Patron today!

 

Yuri Light Novel

So far on JP Kindle only (but fingers  crossed for other options) the sequel Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku Reijou. Furimukinasai, Watakushi ni! (振り向きなさい、わたくしに！) follows the twins, Aleah and Mei, as teens.

Via inori.-sensei’s Pixiv Fanbox, she has another new light novel, Reijou Tame (令嬢テイム), which she plans on debuting at Bungaku Flea Market Tokyo 42. 

Chaser Game W has been novelized with a two-volume series on JP Kindle.

 

Baihe News

From Baiheverse, we have a new series,  Remaking of the Unforgotten Love from creator Causticsoda, translated by longlegdog. “Hitting a slump in life, Li Han turns to Lu Shiyin—an author and her childhood friend—for help. Shiyin, having long liked Li Han, accepts on the terms that Li Han becomes her assistant. However, Li Han soon finds out that this author’s life is not as peaceful as she imagined…”

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Sean Gaffney, Baiheverse on X just announced the license for Have no Fear, Shijie’s Here by Can’tNameThings. It’s an isekai/transmigration tale that sounds very fun, tbh.

 

Yuri Anime

Awajima Hyakkei, the anime adaptation of Shimura Takako’s manga series has a second promotional trailer up on Youtube.

Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai (きみが死ぬまで恋をしたい) anime key visual is up via the official anime account on X. Crystalynn Hodgkins has details and a link to a promo video on ANN. 

The Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising– anime film is delayed, says Rafael Antonio Pineda on ANN.

For more Madoka fun, check out Ken Iikura-Gross’s report on the Shaft Exhibition at the Mixalive Tokyo venue in Ikebukuro, 50 Years of Shaft Works in One Exhibition: Exploring the SHAFT 50th Anniversary Exhibition.

 

Support Yuri News and Reviews on Ko-fi!

Other News

ANN’s Winter 2026 Light Novel Guide is up and I read a lot of LNs so you didn’t have to and a few you should, even if they aren’t Yuri. There were three I really enjoyed – all three are novels, rather than light novels. ^_^ 

Via Comic Natalie, here are some images from the Look Back Exhibition in Azabudai Hills in Tokyo, based on the live-action adaptation of the manga by Fujimoto Tatsuki. I’ve reviewed the manga in Japanese and English and the anime here on Okazu.

DaVinci magazine is publishing a special Looking at 20 Years of BL through DaVinci,  (別冊ダ・ヴィンチ ダ・ヴィンチが見つめたBLの20年 2006～2026) available on Amazon JP and Bookwalker JP. And other bookstores in person and online, undoubtedly.

Cutie Honey and Kekko Kamen creator Go Nagai is being inducted into the Eisner Comics Hall of Fame. Crystalynn reports on that as well on ANN.

 

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

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 »


Introducing Hajimete no Yuri Studies Queer/Feminist no Shiten kara (はじめての百合スタディーズ: クィア／フェミニストの視点から)

January 22nd, 2026

On a white background, three people sit on a curved cushion reading on various platforms, such as a book, a phone on a table, a magazine. One is an adult-looking woman with a short professional haircut in a button down shirt, slacks, and high heel. The second is non-binary person with a short boyish hair wearing a hoodie and pants, the third wears long hair, a low cut blouse and white skirt. A bouquet of lilies sits on the cushion.Did I say 2025 was a great year for Yuri? Well hold on to your hats, because 2026 is going to blow your hair back!

Our first announcement of 2026 is Hajimete no Yuri Studies: Queer/Feminist no Shiten Kara (はじめての百合スタディーズ: クィア/フェミニストの視点から) from Ohta Publishing. While there have been some mooks and an issue of Eureka, a literary magazine, this is the first serious book by a commercial publisher on Yuri as a genre in Japanese. In fact, one of the authors, Mizukami-san commented on X that the success of this book will likely set the tone for Yuri research publishing, so if it is successful, that would be huge.

The main part of this book is a conversation between three feminist Yuri otaku, Nakamura Kasumi, Kondoh Ginga, and Mizukami Aya on the history of Yuri, it’s relationship to lesbian lives, unique issues in Yuri and more. I am honored to have been able to contribute an essay on the history of Yuri in the USA and there is a second essay on the history of Yuri by Shinada Reika, a Yuri researcher from Tokyo University.

In 2023, I had the genuine pleasure of visiting Nakamura Kasumi-sensei’s class at Keio Unversity. After my presentation, we went to lunch with some of the students and had the most wonderful conversation about queer manga and Yuri and BL (in the very elite academic environment of the formal faculty dining room, not at all the kind of place one talks about such things, which we all kinda loved.) This book feels like the continuation of that conversation and frankly, I cannot wait to read the other parts of the book!

I must stress how amazing it is to have a book about Yuri in Japanese from such fantastic scholars and from a queer and feminist perspective. I know when I wrote my book, that was part of my motivation – to get a queer and feminist reading out there first, so it lays the groundwork for research that comes after it. To have such incredible people take up the mantle for Japanese scholarship and do the same thing is beyond thrilling.

Ohta Books has made the introduction by Mizukami Aya available to read in Japanese for free.

Last, but not at all least, the cover is by Morishima Akiko-sensei whose artwork for same-sex marriage and her own manga has long championed queer narratives. I almost cried when I saw that she has drawn the cover. It’s really perfect. ^_^

For the moment, for outside of Japan, Amazon JP is your best bet for purchase, but feel free to ask other outlets, like Kinokuniya USA to carry it. 

When I began Yuricon in 2000, our mission was to build a bridge between queer Yuri fans in Japan and the west. With  this book, that goal is achieved. This year, I’m going to have to create a new mission statement for real. ^_^

Thank you to Suga-san at Ohta books for being fantastic, and to Nakamura-sensei, Kondoh-sensei, and Mizukami-sensei for letting me part of this project! Go, run, pre-order the book and enjoy this on-going conversation about Yuri.

 
 

 

 

Posted in History of Yuri | 1 Comment »


There’s No Freaking I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… ~Next Shine~

January 21st, 2026

There's No Freaking I'll Be Your Lover! Unless… ~Next Shine~ promo art. The 5 faces of the main characters, all wearing different, characteristic, expressions, above some information in Japanese giving the airing information

by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

**SPOILERS BELOW**

This sequel was announced at the end of season 1 in September 2025, and originally premiered in Japanese cinemas in November 2025, then on Japanese TV at the very beginning of 2026. REMOW has also brought the series to Western fans on Youtube, as they did for the first series.

 

All 5 main cast of No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover, Unless...members in their school uniforms, with Renako standing slightly forward of the others, a maid cosplay outfit over her arm. Kaho is immediately behind her, jumping and punching her fist into the air

This series is basically an almost exact adaption of volume 4 of the novel series, which I reviewed here on Okazu. As such, if you didn’t enjoy the first season, there is absolutely nothing for you here. This is solely for the fans who wanted more. The animation, art, music, and voice acting haven’t changed at all in style from the original 12 episodes. Picking up where season 1 left off, we can now properly meet the final member of the harem, Koyanagi Kaho, an extroverted cosplayer with a few secrets of her own, and a jealous streak as well.  There is however one very important difference between this adaption and the original novel, which ends with Renako confessing to both Mai and Ajisai and asking to date them both, but the anime ends with a screen showing a text message from Satsuki saying “Hey, you’re already dating two at once, so one more wouldn’t hurt, right?” Obvious sequel bait aside, I do respect that the show didn’t make Renako pick just one of the girls, and actually committed to the harem premise.

It’s nice to see a yuri anime get a sequel, especially when it was announced pretty much at the end of season 1. I hope the bait which was dangled in front of us is taken and we get “Season 2” of the series animated some day.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 6
Characters – 7
Service – 7. Renako has now bathed with every member of the group in animated form.
Yuri – 7

Overall – 7

Posted in Eleanor W, English Anime, Takeshima Eku, There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless, Yuri Anime | 2 Comments »


Galette Magazine 04, Special English Edition

January 19th, 2026

Galette 04 Special English Edition cover. A woman with dark hair , wearing glasses, hides behind a woman with long, blonde hair in a beret, playing a game of hide-and-seek with her, as the blonde looks to one side to see her, she is on the other.It was a long, difficult road for everyone, but this week folks began to receive their Kickstarter rewards for Galette Magazine 04, Special English Edition and, as usual, everything is truly lovely.

To begin with the dustcover on the magazine is a full image by pen, with silver accent in the title (that scanned as black here). The magazine cover proper is also by pen, with more color illustrations in the magazine, as part of the stretch goals. Stories by Miyuki Yorita, Mera Hakamada, Haru Yatosaki, Nekohariko 22, Milk Morinaga, Ringo Hamano, and the joint work by Izumi Kitta and Moto Momono fill these pages with Yuri stories about school and adult life.

As you may know from my reviews of the magazine in Japanese, I love Kitta and Moto’s “Liberty” very much. It’s a tale about trauma and passion which really suits Moto-sensei’s art. Nekohariko 22-sensei’s “I want you to show it only to me” is deeper than it appears, and I just love Hamano-sensei’s “Sky Blue Melancholic.” I wanted to take a moment to explain a small thing about the main character of this last one. The character is named Fumino, but her friends call her Bun-chan. This is because the first character of her name in Japanese is 文, the same character used in bunko 文庫, paperback. ^_^

Miyuki Yorita’s “That Woman in the Infirmary” has just finished in the Japanese issues and I already miss it, so it’s really nice to read it in big chunks in English. Milk Morinaga  has give us a one-shot that might make us think twice about rash choices.

My backer level gave me a cute standee, art postcards and Galette Special Booklet, a doujinshi of short stories, much like Galette Meets.

I know times are tough and life is uncertain, but I believe that queer and Yuri manga are important, and I will always do everything I can to make sure that these stories are told and available to as many people as possible. I really want to thank everyone at Galette for the effort they put into this for the English-reading audience. It’s so nice to see so many backer’s names in the credits and know that so many of us enabled this to exist.

Good new for folks that missed this or previous Kickstarters – the next Kickstarter for Volume 5 is in March! You can usually get back issues when you back the current one, if there are extras. Until then, enjoy another beautiful Galette magazine!

Ratings:

Overall – 9

Posted in Galette, Magazines | No Comments »