Yuri News Network – (百合ネットワークニュース) – January 10, 2026

January 10th, 2026

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

Via Comic Natalie, we learn that SakaShima‘s student council Yuri manga  Fukukaichou no Omona Oshigoto (副会長の主なお仕事)  is getting a live action adaptation. The drama is currently airing on TokyoMX on Fridays.

Fans of Chaser Game W (reviewed here on Okazu by Frank) will be thrilled to hear that the second season of the live-action series is getting a sequel film in Spring 2026, Chaser Game W Intimate Relationship. ANN’s Rafael Antonio Pineda has the details.

Discotek has announced the release of 2016’s cyberpunk Cutey Honey Tears. I know it probably won’t be Yuri, but Honey always is welcome on Okazu. ^_^

Also not Yuri, but darn interesting-looking is Cosmic Princess Kaguya, which will be streaming on Netflix this month. Japanese mythology, idol/band stuff and girl stuff. ^_^ Maybe adjacent? We’ll see. Looks colorful.

*Also* not Yuri, but adjacent is the news that the Sound! Euphonium Final Movie, Part 1 has a theme, by TRUE. I do wish to express displeasure at multi-part final movies. Bad. No cookie.

 

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Yuri Manga

Hanakage Alt’s Unnie’tte Yonde mo Ii desuka? (オンニって呼んでもいいですか？) about a K-pop stan and the star she idolizes meeting on a dating app, has moved to CMOA and is heading for a tankoubon collection, according Hanakage-sensei’s X account. Check out the free sample chapter in Japanese.

Adeline Kon‘s Yuri GN about two competitive skaters, Just Between Us is available from YuandMe Books!

 

Yuri Light Novel

inori. has announced a new I’m In Love With The Villaness sequel novel, which will be released in Japan with GL Bunko, Furimukinasai, Watakushi ni! (振り向きなさい、わたくしに！), which follows the adventures of Rae and Claire’s adopted daughters Aleah and Mei. The link above goes to Kindle JP only, but I’m sure we’ll see it in other formats and languages soon enough. 

 

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Other News

Of interest to fans of the series and/or libraries, Berkely Hermann discusses the library design in Bloom Into You in An open library and the value of studying in “Bloom Into You”.

Via Sr. YNN Correspondent Ashley, yoneztsu on TokTok got to ride the Comic Yuri Hime x Eizan Railway collab cars! Check out the video for fun Yuri on train action. ^_^

My ANN reviews for this week are Black Jack – The Complete OVA collection, with direction by Osamu Dezaki and wow, was that weird and wonderful and 10Dance, the live-action adaptation of Satoh Inoue’s BL manga, streaming on Netflix. 

Also key your eyes out for my upcoming review of another live-action series, The Drops of God, second season on AppleTV. Alex Mateo has the news on ANN for that series. 

 

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Posted in Yuri Network News | 1 Comment »


She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5

January 9th, 2026

Cover of She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 by Sakaomi Yuzaki. On an unadorned background, 4 adult women walk together chatting and eating or drinking. A tall woman in pants and shirt, a shorter woman in woman in a winter jacket and long skirt.Somehow I never got around to review this volume, so I treated myself to a re-read of this fantastic volume of a fantastic series to get myself into healthy headspace for the new year.

Sakaomi Yuzaki’s She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Volume 5 covers a lot of territory- in such a gentle and affirming way that it’s only when you are done that you see how much has been addressed.

Nomoto and Kasuga, that is to say, Yuki and Totoko, have committed to moving in together. There are a lot of considerations going in to this – of course, it’s a sign that their relationship is developing, and it makes sense for them to share a kitchen and expenses at this point. We know that Totoko’s family relationship is not a healthy one, and her father is demanding and emotionally…draining, if not outright abusive. So this new place will be a safe haven for her in many ways.

Of course, looking for a place to live isn’t easy in the best of circumstances. And for same-sex couples in Japan bias and discrimination is often insurmountable. This is yet another reason why one party of a same-sex couple adopted the other for so long in Japan. It was, and still is, a tactic that gave them access to inheritance, power of attorney and living together, that was denied to them as a couple. The book takes us through the frustrations, but then once again Kaname comes to the rescue with a reference to a realtor that supports same-sex couples.

May I digress here for a moment and tell you a story?

It was 1984, the woman who is now my wife and I were looking for a place to live. I won’t detail how many awful places and people we met, and how many times we were looked at weirdly. Eventually we found a ridiculously good spot and were there for many years before we moved to our house where we are now. In that time, I discovered a LGBTQ+ friendly services pamphlet/magazine for my state. We ended up consulting an accountant who is himself gay. This was long before we had any legal rights as a couple, so taxes were both simple and complicated. He was with us, as we insisted the state treat us as a couple, even before that was law, and as the laws were so different for state and federal taxes. We are still with his company, 40 years later. My point is – a LGBTQ+ friendly company did, can and will make a huge difference.  The moral of the story is – support your queer community publications and networks! Kaname’s reference made a difference and, out here in the real world, that little booklet made a huge difference to us, as well.

Yuki and Totoko find a place to make their own and we get to enjoy them doing something my wife and I call “playing house.” I will never get enough of watching a happy couple just looking at furniture and appliances. It’s moments like that make a life together.

We also spend some time with Sena, who now has a diagnosis to explain what she has been dealing with her whole life, And again, Kaname comes to the rescue with a look at what “accommodations” look like in daily practice. Asking first, making sure people are all right, not assuming that what is best for us, is right for them. It’s as simple as asking a person first if they need help.

My favorite scene is when the realtor goes on a little rant about the unfairness of trying to find a place for same-sex couples. He didn’t rant, but my accountant had choice words for the inequitable tax situation for same-sex couples for sure. ^_^ 

This series is on hiatus for the moment, although I have seen some shorts and illustrations starring these characters on Yuzaki-sensei’s socials. Yuzaki-sensei also went through a period of illness, so art – especially in the first half – is a bit rougher than in previous volumes.  Even if this should end up our very last volume, it is an excellent place to stop. This found family has covered so many issues for us, the hard and the joyful, that it is an incredible pleasure to read. 

Ratings: 

Art – Due to the creator’s illness, I don’t think rating it is appropriate
Story – 10
Characters – 10
Service – 3, them snuggling in bed, is definitely “service”
LGBTQ+ – 10

Overall – 10

I am still very thankful that Yen Press picked this up and gave it to us in English. ^_^

Posted in English Manga, LGBTQ, TsukuTabe / She Loves to Cook, She Loves To Eat, Yuri Manga | No Comments »


There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless…, Volume 4

January 7th, 2026

Cover of There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover Unless...! Two girls embrace, looking out at us. One has pink hair with a crossed barrettes as decoration on the front, the other has silver-blue hair tied up with a gold ribbon. They both wear Japanese style school uniforms of white blouses with red piping, and gray plaid skirts.by Eleanor Walker, Okazu Staff Writer

It’s been a while, but I’m back to volume 4 of the light novel There’s No Freaking Way I’ll Be Your Lover! Unless… We’re back to the standard cover design of Renako x whoever is the focus of this volume. If you’re looking to start where the anime ends, this is the volume you need.The anime which aired earlier this year covered volumes 1-3 of the novel series and introduced our first 3 members of the harem who are Oduka Mai, Sena Ajisai and Koto Satsuki.  There is, however, this one more introductory volume to go, which focuses on the last member of the group, Koyanagi Kaho.

Like the other members of the group, there is more to Kaho than meets the eye, but it turns out Kaho and Renako have actually met before, at cram school when they were younger. Kaho, much like Renako has reinvented herself from nerd to popular girl, and due to changing her surname because her parents divorced, Renako doesn’t immediately recognise her. Hijinks of course ensue, including an amusement park trip with a ride on the Ferris wheel of course, and we learn that Kaho is actually jealous of Renako and her newfound popularity, partly because she likes Mai too.

By now, if the first 3 volumes or the anime didn’t grab you, then this one won’t either. The writing style is as it always has been, with lots of exaggerated freaking and internal monologues from Renako especially. Eku Takeshima’s art continues to be pleasant and I do enjoy Renako’s panic face. This volume, much like the previous 3 with the other characters, focuses mostly on Kaho and sets her place in the harem. As well as reinventing herself as an extrovert, Kaho is also now a pretty popular cosplayer, and she ropes Renako into dressing up with her and doing a photoshoot together. and then performing together at a cosplay event where Mai is a surprise judge/special guest. Nothing is ever simple for a harem protagonist is it?

In the afterword, the author describes this volume as the conclusion of season 1, and I am interested to see what happens in the next volume. The harem is assembled, Renako hasn’t been forced to choose just one person, so now we’ve been introduced to everyone, let’s see what happens next.

Ratings:

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

Overall – 7

Posted in Eleanor W, Light Novel, Takeshima Eku, There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless | 1 Comment »


Lilies Blooming in 100 Days

January 5th, 2026

In a classroom, in front of a window glowing with sunshine, a teacher in blouse and slacks stands behind a student in a chair, her arms gently over the girl's shoulders. The student leans back and reaches up to touch the older woman gently on her face.You may be familiar with the name Muromaki from their monthly Comic Yuri Hime column about global Yuri fandom. Or maybe you followed the creator on social media, where they took on a challenge of drawing Yuri scenarios for 100 days, first back in 2022, then again in 2024.

The collection of Muromaki-sensei’s first 100 Yuri scenes was collected into a single volume in Japanese and has now been adapted into English by Yen Press as Lilies Blooming in 100 Days.*

This is a full-color book, but is not a story. It is a collections, broadly arranged into categories like “enemies to lovers” of single scenes, and short strips that were fist debuted online.   Most of the scenarios are meant to be amusing, a few are touching and every once in a while we get a fully rendered beautiful illustration, like the one used here for the cover, of two women sharing an intimate moment in front of the glow of windows on a sunny day. Look for carefully and you’ll notice that this is a teacher and student, a common theme in this collection. How that makes you feel is entirely up to you. 

Muromaki’s work in Comic Yuri Hime often addresses common fandom tropes and this volume is an expansion of that interest. If you like full color online comics, and seeing an artist’s range from silly scribble all the way to cover-art worthy illustration,  and the juxtaposition of that with common Yuri tropes, you’ll want to grab a copy of this book. It’ll also make a nice gift for someone who doesn’t know where to start with Yuri, or a conversation starter with friends who like to talk about Yuri tropes! 

Ratings: 

Art – From goofy to great – 9
Scenarios – 7 Typical tropes. Would love to see less secret/forbidden myself.

Overall – 9

And if you are looking for a place to chat about Yuri after you have a copy, drop by the Okazu Discord where we basically are always talking Yuri, even when we’re not. ^_^

Thanks to Yen Press for the review copy via ANN, where I reviewed this for the Winter Manga Guide!

* For. It should be Lilies Blooming For 100 Days. Yen, why do you fail on titles so often?

Posted in English Manga, Yuri Manga | 3 Comments »


Comic Yuri Hime, January 2026 (コミック百合姫2026年1月号)

January 4th, 2026

Cover of Comic Yuri Hime, January 2026 - a bold red background. Looking into a mirror, a young woman with a lace bow tying up her purple-brown hair, has lip color applied by brush held by a woman with long pink braids, her face mostly offscreen.Happy new cover art ! Cheriko’s bold colors lead us into a new year. A young woman has lip color applied by a pink-haired woman. Will we see them again or is this a snapshot? We’ll have to wait and see!

The magazine opens with news of a Comic Yuri Hime 20th anniversary cafe at Cure Maid Cafe in Tokyo, which runs through January 12, 2026.

The first story is a tale of the bizarre, “Hina-chan ga Ikiterunara” about a childhood friend who disappeared years ago, but has returned…at the same age she was when she disappeared.

Touma’s “Kimi no Sei Nandakara, Sekinin Totte yo ne” is a story about a woman who contracts with a female escort and is finding herself falling for the other woman. This is absolutely the plot de l’année, as we’re going to see that come back again soon in other publications. 

“Hareta Hi no Dress Code” by Ageru is not going where I expected, wanted or feared it might go and that is all very good. ^_^ A girl who wears pants at school because of scars she wishes to hide and girl who just can’t quite bring herself to wear pants because – well, of a lot of things, really – become friends and begin to change each others lives. 

The girls are being asked what they want to do in their futures and Hime can’t just admit that “marrying rich” is her plan, in “Watashi no Yuri ha Oshigoto Desu!” by Miman.

After enduring introducing Himari to her parents, Yori and Aki are likewise discussing the future. Shiho enters with the terrifying news that one of Lorelei’s videos from the festival is going viral, in Takeshima Eku’s “Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau.”

In “Watashi no Oshi ha Akuyaku  Reijou.” by inori. and Aonoshimo, Rae and Claire are not at all in alignment about the future, as the revolution grow ever nearer.

Sal Jiang offers up a messily terrific one-shot about a girl who sees, meets and falls in love with an Edo-period prositute in “Tamao no Koi”.

Ten finally tells Lulu the whole story about how she became persona non grata in “Chouuchyuu Yori Ai wo Komete,” by Ashidaka Woz and of course Lulu is affirming and kind. And then all hell breaks loose.

There are many more hundreds of pages of great columns, and comic essays, other series I like and some I do not. At 668 pages, this is an amazing amount of Yuri to begin this new year! 

Ratings: 

Overall – 9

Here’s to a very Yuri 2026 for Comic Yuri Hime! The February issue is already out and on my “currently reading” pile. ^_^

Posted in Miscellaneous | No Comments »