From action, drama, and adult to comedy, romance, and supernatural, there’s a story in Japanese manga or anime for anyone looking to read or watch fiction dealing with romantic, sexual, and emotional relationships between women, also known as yuri.
If this is your first time to hear about it, welcome to the wonderful world of Yuri.
Yuri: Japanese lesbian fiction
Yuri, also called Shōjo Ai and Girls’ Love, is a term used for any lesbian-themed content in manga (Japanese comic books), anime (animated Japanese movies and TV shows), and related Japanese entertainment media.
The term is used in Japan to mean love between women, whether sexual or romantic, explicit or implied. In North America, it was initially used to denote the sexually explicit end of the girl-on-girl spectrum.
The Western use of yuri has broadened in the 2000s. American publishing companies now adopts the Japanese usage of the term.
Lesbian visibility in entertainment media
Lesbian and bisexual women are rarely represented in film, television, and other media. An increasing number of queer American women find it revitalizing to have an alternative media that can provide some lesbian visibility.
Today, women who desire to see animated women together romantically and sexually now have access to yuri manga and anime websites in the English language. Some are Yur!con, The Yur! Canon, and The Yur! Nation, including sites that focus on a particular yuri series.
With the introduction of longer, sophisticated storylines, more and more people, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, have become yuri fans.
Many have joined various virtual communities. Yuri-esque interactions are currently one of the most popular forms of comic relief and fanservice delivery.
Recommended yuri anime to watch
Sakura Trick (2014)
Haruka Takayama and Yuu Sonoda are best friends since their middle school days. After starting high school together and realizing the need to meet new people, they decide to share a special moment most other friends would not—a kiss. Their relationship blossomed and they slowly built their newfound love for each other, but it wasn’t easy as they faced challenges to hide their relationship from everyone.
Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers) (2009)
Fumi Manjōme became reacquainted with her childhood friend Akira Okudaira whom she has not seen for ten years as she began her first year of high school. Fumi and Akira helped each other deal with their respective romantic problems and get through challenges they had to face.
Strawberry Panic (2006)
Aoi Nagisa transferred to an all-girls Catholic school and attracted the attention of Shizuma Hanazono, the idol of all the other girls. Nagisa and Shizuma began to fall for each other. As they gradually became close friends, Shizuma decided that it was finally time to face the troubles of her past. Nagisa discovered Shizuma’s sad secret, which brought them even closer to each other.
