My guide to yuri
My guide to yuri
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What you need to know to get into yuri!
Preface:
Yuri is something widely unique to anime and otaku culture. Very little other forms of media give such a focus to this kind of story. Yuri, translated to “lily” in english, is a subgenre of romance that focuses on a lesbian love story.
The writing and directing styles of yuri and it’s gay male equivalent, yaoi, are little found in other forms of media. The level of care put into a lesbian love story, or sometimes the lack thereof, and the way Japanese storytellers use lesbians in their storytelling is something of note.
In this short guide to yuri, I will describe the different kinds of gay girl stories, the different subgenres of yuri, and recommendations for what to watch, read, or play. This is not an exhaustive list, rather a starting point to get into this fantastic subgenre. After reading this, I hope you will have enough knowledge of yuri to know what to go to, what to watch or read for, and eventually begin to form your own opinions on the subgenre. Let’s begin!
Differentiating yuri:
The library and different genres used to tell a yuri story is vast, however, the best way differentiate a yuri tale is to break it up into four parts. Shoujo ai, direct yuri, explicit yuri, and yuri hentai*.
Shoujo ai: Shoujo ai translates literally to girls love, and rather than a sexual or
gay approach, shoujo ai refers to more to the strong friendly bonds between two girls. I’m not a girl, but I know the relationship between a girl’s best friends and my best friends are different emotionally and socially. However shoujo ai stories often implement legitimate yuri into them, with the use of undertones.
Undertones are the superstitions that yuri may be present, however are never proven to be real. Sometimes content creators would use undertones to fool the audience to believe yuri is present, when there is none at all. Other times however, undertones are important tools to progressing and adding depth to a story.
Shoujo ai doesn’t always have to include undertones however. Often shoujo ai anime and manga would place a gay tsundere character to add some spice to a story. A tsundere is a character that tries to hide their true feelings, often loudly or sometimes even violently, for another person. Works with a singular gay tsundere are classified as shoujo ai as the tsundere will never confess to the other character, and there will be very little development of how she feels for her, normally ending little past the “crush” phase.
Direct yuri: Direct yuri is a proper romance story, or one that uses romantic elements to tell the story using lesbians. Direct yuri stories are either dependent on the yuri to advance the plot, or is a very side-element to the overall progression of the story. Direct yuri tales tend to either be eloquently subtle with the yuri, or discuss it openly, and progress the relationships from one episode to the next. However, don’t expect much in terms of body contact or sex.
Direct yuri is the most difficult subgenre to define due to subjective opinions differentiating one yuri anime from another. However, a well-versed and knowledgeable yuri fan will be able to detect a direct yuri production spot on most of the time.
Explicit yuri: Explicit yuri shows vivid and descriptive scenes of cuddling, kissing, and sometimes sex. Depending on how it was broadcasted, explicit yuri can involve only vanilla kissing scenes, to full on sex scenes. Explicit yuri stories usually have yuri as the main or primary force to telling the story, or have it be a very very serious part or element.
Again, what defines explicit yuri might be different from viewer to viewer. In my opinion, what best differentiates direct yuri from explicit yuri is if two girls start kissing in real life, in prolonged segments, in vivid detail. But as I say again, much is up to interpretation and experience within the genre
Yuri hentai: Hentai in general is highly considered simply as porn but in anime form. But realistically, hentai is more related to when the sex takes precedence and is more important than the story. The detailed and vibrant sex scenes are what people are there to see in a hentai, and is more important than the plot and characters.
While hentai doesn’t always provide the greatest avenues for creativity (there’s only so many ways you can have sex), the way yuri hentai present the sex can be critiqued and appreciated, whether or not you’re fapping to it or not.
What should I watch first?:
Now that you know the different kinds of yuri story, you need recommendations to lead you on the path to yuri greatness. I will provide a brief list by type to watch later, but now I’ll provide a recommended list of works to watch first.
Shoujo ai recommended anime: K-On!
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy
Source: 4-koma manga
My anime list: Link ssssssssssssss
Description: If you don’t like K-On, then you don’t like Slice of Life or shoujo ai. It’s that simple. There isn’t a more definitive and pioneering work to subtle yuri in anime or any other platform.
While appearing to be a simple story of girls drinking tea and occasionally playing light rock-and-roll music, K-On has much deeper and impactful motives and themes. The developments and experiences of the five main girls are the cornerstone and defining point of the anime, making you happy and encouraging you to want to do more in life.
K-On isn’t just an anime I’d recommend for people wanting to get into shoujo ai, but to any anime fan in general. It is one of my all time favorite anime (#2 to be specific) and re-watching it at any time brings me joy.
In terms of the yuri content it provides, keep in mind it’s shoujo ai, so the love between girls is more focused on friendship than sexual love. However this isn’t to say the show isn’t chock full of undertones and subtle references. Some characters, such as Tsumugi, even make direct comments on girls love, while only brief.
Direct yuri recommendation: Aoi Hana
Genre: Romance
Source: Manga
My anime list: Link
Description: I had a largely strange and unique experience with Aoi Hana. I don’t know why, but it felt like throughout the whole series that I’ve seen it before when I was a kid. The anime came out in 2009, when I was 10, and perhaps sometime then I saw a clip or two. When I first turned it on, I immediately felt nostalgia looking at Acchan.
Aoi Hana is very melodramatic and is very much focused on developing the romance. There is zero fanservice and it is very focused on the plot and characters.
Nothing given in Aoi Hana is what we expected and sometimes not even what we wanted, in a lustful kind of way. It is the epitome of a serious lesbian romance, and something I highly recommend to someone wanting to watch a direct yuri anime.
Explicit yuri recommendation: Sakura Trick
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy, Romance
Source: 4-Koma Manga
My anime list: Link
Description: Sakura Trick is a silly, funny, entertaining, and a highly satisfying production. Right from the word go we know what we’re going to get, girls kissing. Rather than a melodramatic romance, like Aoi Hana, Sakura Trick is much more light-hearted and revealing.
Much of the lust built up watching Aoi Hana will be released with Sakura Trick. It wavers to no one, and goes head-first into yuri. But there’s more to the anime than just kissing. It’s a blast to watch, hilarious, and a huge stress reliever.
In addition this guide I have also written a Watch This post for Sakura Trick! If you would like more detail, inquire here!
Yuri hentai recommendation: Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo: Anata to Koibito Tsunagi
Genre: Hentai
Source: Visual Novel
My anime list: Link
Description: Some hentai are very complicated with many side plots and complex character arcs. Some are as simple as can be. This hentai is the latter. But through its simplicity, Sono Hanabira presents itself as a masterwork through how it presents the sex scenes, with many saying it possessing some the best sex scenes of all time.
There is no rape in Sono Hanabira, no depravities or disgusting content. Just love. The amount in which these two girls love each other is heartwarming and intense. Throughout much of Sono Hanabira, instead of being aroused and awaiting perverted content, you’ll be saying “aww that’s sweet”.
Sono Hanabira transcends itself as more than just a porno through it’s impactful presentation of sex and love. While the story segment is brief and subdued in the background, you don’t need a complex story to know how much they love each other; you know by just watching the sex. Sono Hanabira is a cunning demonstration of genius and masterful production, even in a “porn”. It’s a must watch for any fan of hentai, yuri or not.
What should I read first?:
Rather than the anime section, listing recommendations for every yuri subgenre, there is only one suggestible manga that is a quintessential must read for anyone getting into yuri. Being my all-time favorite manga, I recommend it to everyone, even people who aren’t fans of yuri.
Yuri manga recommendation: Girl Friends
Genre: Romance
Yuri subgenre: Explicit yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: What makes mangaka (manga author) of Girl Friends, Milk Morinaga, so great is how she takes common tropes found in yuri works and flips them over their head to present them in a proper and realistic light. I’ll recommend more Morinaga works later, and each trope she tackles, but the trope she took on in Girl Friends was the hardest and most complex: a mature lesbian romance story.
Morinaga not only does this in shining colors, near satirizing common yuri elements, but creates new ones in telling unpredictable and enthralling stories. Girl Friends is a masterpiece in how each character goes through change and has depth, no plot point or side character is unimportant: everything has substance, and every detail is choked down to the tee in how it shaped one of the characters in the story.
Girl Friends is a cunning tale and a piece of inspiration for anyone wanting to create a great romance tale. Even if you’re not a lesbian, Girl Friends will resonate with you emotionally, and let you see romance in general in a new light. Girl Friends is a modern classic, and the fact it still doesn’t have an anime is one of my greatest shame to the industry.
More yuri anime recommendations:
Now that you’ve seen the required entry-level anime to your yuri subgenre of choice, you (hopefully) would be wanting more. The following will consist of small lists to get you in the right direction. I’ll write less about these, and hopefully after watching you’ll be able to get more on your own. Let’s go!
Shoujo Ai:
Recommendation: Is the order a rabbit?
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy
My anime list: Link
Description: Is the order a rabbit? is an entertaining SoL. The yuri comes from gay tsundere, and is largely in the background in undertones.
Recommendation: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Music Slice of Life
My anime list: Link
Description: Love Live is an excellent and highly beloved musical anime about a group of school idols who strive to be the best they can. A very popular show, and yuri is in a lot of places through many characters. However, the yuri is still placed in undertones, and is thus considered largely more shoujo ai than yuri.
Recommendation: New Game!
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy
My anime list: Link
Description: New Game is another example of a simple SoL but is filled with girls who have strong friendly bonds with each other. Expect a copious amount of undertones.
Recommendation: Sound! Euphonium^
Genre: Music Slice of Life
My anime list: Link
Description: As someone who actually played the euphonium in high school, it still kind of bizarres me an anime about my little known instrument exists. But hey, even better it’s chocked full of yuri (even though it’s in undertones).
Recommendation: Non Non Biyori
Genre: Slice of Life
My anime list: Link
Description: A grade-schooler moves from Tokyo to a small town in the middle of nowhere. She befriends her silly and fun classmates, all of whom are at different grade levels in her five classmate schoolhouse. Yuri comes from her falling in love with her oldest female senpai.
Recommendation: Lucky Star
Genre: Slice of Life
My anime list: Link
Description: Lucky Star is a well beloved and classic Slice of Life series. Things are very much implied and in undertones until the later part of the series, and especially the ending, where we start to get more of that sweet Konota x Kagami ship development.
Recommendation: Kemono Friends
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
My anime list: Link
Description: Cute animals with human characteristics occupy the spacious land of a closed-down park, and a new “friend” is born with no knowledge of what animal she is. Very cute and heart-tugging show with the yuri coming from the MC and her companion.
Recommendation: Kiniro Mosaic
Genre: Slice of Life
My anime list: Link
Description: A foreign exchange student comes to Japan to make contact with her childhood friend. Multiple yuri ships and butchered English AND Japanese!
Direct yuri:
Recommendation: Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Magical Girl
My anime list: Link
Description: One of my all time favorites, Madoka Magica had profound and near spiritual affects on me. One of the first anime I even watched, Madoka Magica will always be a staple in my library and something I’d recommend to everyone.
Recommendation: Maria-sama ga Miteru^
Genre: Romance
My anime list: Link
Description: This show is one of the first mainstream direct yuri anime to ever air. Very very melodramatic, it’ll make you feel like you’re watching a soap opera. Recommended to anyone who wants an ultra serious lesbian romance.
Recommendation: Yuru Yuri
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy
My anime list: Link
Description: Yuru Yuri is a straight up hilarious slice of life comedy with very obvious and clear yuri. One of the first anime I have seen as well, Yuru Yuri’s impressive wit combined with it’s serious bits makes it a pleasure to watch.
Recommendation: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy
My anime list: Link
Description: One of the more recent anime to hit the list, Kobayashi was a pleasurable experience and a blast to watch. Yuri is a little less obvious than other anime under direct yuri but it’s still quite evident.
Recommendation: Yuri Seijin Naoko-san
Genre: Science Fiction Slice of Life
My anime list: Link
Description: A bizarre and short OVA, Yuri Seijin was quite the experience to watch. I won’t tell too much about it due to its length.
Recommendation: Candy Boy^
Genre: Romance
My anime list: Link
Description: Another set of short ovas, all with a strong and direct yuri focus.
Recommendation: Sasameki Koto
Genre: Romance
My anime list: Link
Description: A serious romance but at times hilarious and silly. A tall well-performing student is in love with her childhood friend, but she only loves short and cute girls. She ends up falling in love with a boy dressed up as a girl. What’s more awesome than that?
Explicit Yuri:
Recommendation: Scum’s Wish
Genre: Romance
My anime list: Link
Description: While coupled with heterosexual relationships and sex, the yuri sex scenes in Scum’s Wish are nothing to mess around with. If you’re a fan of lesbian sex in your romances, check this one out.
Recommendation: Shinsekai yori^
Genre: Science fiction mystery
My anime list: Link
Description: Can’t say much for this personally, but have heard great things from this anime and it showcases explicit lesbian (and gay male) sex. Though the sex and romance takes a back seat to the grander details of the show.
Recommendation: Simoun
Genre: Science fiction
My anime list: Link
Description: Simoun is an older yuri production that uses the yuri and places it among other elements, many of which are philosophical and allegorical. It is a very interesting watch with a lot of kissing.
Recommendation: Kashimashi^
Genre: Science fiction romance
My anime list: Link
Description: Another older yuri production. Not exactly good, but if you want more in the genre after Sakura Trick and the other three then this isn’t a bad place to go.
Recommendation: Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya
Genre: Magical girls
My anime list: Link
Description: Much as been said of this show, good and bad, but if you want to unwind with a cute magical girl where the girls actually kiss and some pretty awesome fights, this show is for you.
Yuri Hentai:
Recommendation: Shoujo Sect
Genre: Hentai
My anime list: Link
Description: With three Ovas and 75 total minutes of run-time, Shoujo Sect is one of the of the largest and most ambitious yuri hentai to date. The vast amount of detail they put in every couple and girl is impressive, even though it’s a hentai. Like most hentai, it’s quite strange but a very impactful and entertaining watch.
Recommendation: Kuttsukiboshi
Genre: Hentai
My anime list: Link
Description: This hentai is straight up strange. Some parts make absolutely no sense, and I can write a whole essay on the bizarre nature of this production. But again, great watch if you need any research material for any biological experiments on yourself.
More yuri manga recommendations:
Unlike the anime, I will suggest the manga in one long list, and tell individually which yuri subgenre it is in.
Recommendation: Kisses, Sighs, and Cherry-Blossoms Pink
Genre: Romance
Yuri Subgenre: Explicit yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: Cherry-Blossoms Pink is a large collection of yuri works made by Milk Morinaga (of Girl Friends fame) that span a decade. Most of the stories are one-offs, with one being a long multi-chaptered piece. This time, Morinaga discusses yuri trope of preconceived lesbian love, where girls deceive themselves that they are gay because they go to an all girls school and form a crushes on boyish females.
Recommendation: Secret of the Princess
Genre: Romance
Yuri subgenre: Direct yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: Another Morinaga work, Secret of the Princess is a short piece that discusses the yuri trope of two girls “practicing” on each other before finding a man or a real significant other.
Recommendation: Husky and Medley
Genre: Romance
Yuri subgenre: Explicit yuri
Link to read it: Link
Description: Husky and Medley is a webcomic depicting two real life girls in high school in the mid 2000s. The entire log and events in the comic were documented on a real life board on 2channel where Medley described every event of what happened with her online peers. Everything in the comic is non-fiction (the board on 2channel can actually still be found in the archives) and the couple is still together to this day.
Recommendation: Kase-san Series
Genre: Romance
Yuri subgenre: Explicit yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: A very wholesome and enjoyable yuri manga. Reading it lifted my heart and there’s a lot of great quotable lines in the series for anyone having emotional problems. A short 6 minute OVA was made for it as well (as well as a longer OVA coming out this summer! HYPE!).
Recommendation: Shiroi Heya no Futari
Genre: Romance
Yuri Subgenre: Direct yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: The very first yuri manga ever made, only recommended to people who appreciate manga/anime history and want something old.
Recommendation: Citrus
Genre: Romance
Yuri subgenre: Explicit yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: Gyaru moves homes and begins to go to an ultra-conservative high school and through a series of events starts dating the student body president. Melodrama ensues. (NOTE: This also applies to the anime as well, previously aired).
Recommendation: Strawberry Panic
Genre: Romance
Yuri Subgenre: Direct yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: Due to popular demand I decided to add Strawberry Panic, even though I wasn’t the biggest fan. Also I’m putting under the manga section because I read the manga for it, and have not seen the anime yet. Anyways, three elite religious high schools compete in a yearly contest to find out the best lesbian couple in the three schools. It was made by the same mangaka who made Love Live, so at least we know the yuri in Love Live is legit.
Recommendation: My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness
Genre: Slice of Life
Yuri Subgenre: Explicit yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: Less about yuri, but more of a biography of the troubling and emotionally traumatic early adulthood of the mangaka, with a lesbian awakening conclusion at the end. Very powerful and inspiring read, not super much about yuri but more about her life leading up to it.
Recommendation: Gauken Police
Genre: Slice of Life Romance
Yuri Subgenre: Direct yuri
My anime list: Link
Description: Simple tale of two undercover cops hitting it off while working together in a high school.
What about visual novels?
Visual novels are great. They can tell a very long story with new avenues of creativity not given in the creation of manga or anime. However, I’m not an expert in visual novels, and thus am not a good source. But I do however have a few suggestions for yuri visual novels.
Recommendation: Kindred Spirits on the Roof
Genre: Slice of Life romance
Yuri Subgenre: Explicit yuri
Visual Novel database: Link
Description: Girl is confronted by two friendly ghosts who want to learn how to be physical by watching others. Your job is to get girls together in relationships to teach the ghosts, and ultimately, create a “yuritopia”.
Recommendation: Sono Hanabira
Genre: Hentai
Visual Novel database: Link (NSFW)
Description: Remember the OVA I mentioned earlier? It is based off a rather large library of Sono Hanabira visual novels. They are highly recommended to check out (3&5 are my favs, involving the girls from the OVA).
Recommendation: Highway Blossoms
Genre: Western adventure romance
Yuri subgenre: Explicit yuri
Visual Novel database: Link
Description: An American vn, tells the tale of two girls finding treasure and going on a roadtrip in the western United States. A shorter visual novel, I definitely recommend if you want a high quality vn but don’t have the time to play one.
Recommendation: Love Ribbon
Genre: Western incest romance
Yuri subgenre: Explicit yuri
Visual Novel database: Link
Description: Another American vn, but this time without the cute adventuring you get some sisterly love! For anyone who wondered “what would oreimo be like with gay girls?”. Pretty good vn.
Conclusion:
With this brief but detailed guide, I hope I am putting you in the right direction to enjoying the vast world of yuri. Whether it be in undertones, or full on sex, yuri is found in a lot of works and is a very important facet of the industry. As my favorite genre, I’ve always wanted to write a guide like this, in the hopes others will enjoy the genre at the same level as I do. Wherever yuri takes you, I hope you will have an enjoyable time with it. Bon voyage on your new yuri adventure!
Footnotes:
*: Another subgenre of yuri, known as “Class S”, will be excluded as it pertains more towards classic Japanese literary works rather than anime, manga, light novels, and other “otaku culture” works. For more information on Class S, visit the article on wikipedia found here.
†: Cover photo from “Girl Friends”.
^: This work I have not personally seen/read/played, but I know it to be a well-respected work.