Use for LGBTQ themes in anime and manga, per discussion at Talk:LGBTQ themes in anime and manga#Proposal to add more sections on influential LGBTQ shows
| Name of series | Currently on this page (yes/no) | Quote | Source | Additional notes [if needed] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paros no Ken (1986-1987) | No | "...[this 1986 manga] explored same sex love between women" | By Your Side (book), pp. 18 | Yuri |
| "a romantic tragedy about a Girl Prince...who rejects the love of men...for the love a serving girl, Fiona" | By Your Side (book), pp. 65 | |||
| Maria Watches Over Us (light novel, 1998-2012, 2008-2013; manga, 2003-2010; anime, 2003-2009, also live-action film) | No | "[This] popular light novel series...was a game-changing franchise with strong explicit roots in the "S" novels of the early 20th century...[tying] together with well-developed characters and a fantasy setting of an old-fashioned Catholic school...Marimite, as it became known to fans...became the springboard which...similar series...[like] Kannazuki no Miko...and...[[Strawberry Panic!]...were launched...for a straight, male audience" | By Your Side (book), pp. 19 | Yuri |
| "The main protagonists...are instantly recognizable to any fan of Yuri...[but] most of these relationships are platonic romance" | By Your Side (book), pp. 57-8 | |||
| "...the yuri-ish and genre-defining light novel series...had increased interest once more in stories of girls in private girls" | By Your Side (book), pp. 77 | |||
| "...this idealized kinship system is an iteration of traditional Japanese sempai/kouhai relationships" | By Your Side (book), pp. 140 [more on this on pages 141-149] | |||
| "...Lillian is a women's world and within it, women do jobs women can do" | By Your Side (book), pp. 159 | |||
| "...an insanely popular girls' light novel series" | By Your Side (book), pp. 167 | |||
| "...[reimagining Class S aesthetic while Utena was redefining/reimagining magical girl yuri, when this series]...debuted as an anime, an entire generation of global Yuri fans learned about the specific and sister bonds between girls..." | By Your Side (book), pp. 219 | |||
| Bodacious Space Pirates (manga, 2008-2014, 2012, 2013-2014; anime, 2012; anime film [Miniskirt Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace], 2014; light novel, Super Miniskirt Space Pirates, 2019-present) | No | "...Marika is going to school in a woman's world" and stars female characters in a cast dominated by women, and they take command as they do in Maria Watches over Us | By Your Side (book), pp. 159-61 | Yuri |
| Futtemo Harettemo [does not have a wikipedia page. check spelling] | No | "...[this 1993 manga] shows same-sex attraction as an unhealthy obsession" | By Your Side (book), pp. 13 | Yuri |
| "Nagi and Hino...develop a deep, almost...possessive...attraction between them" | By Your Side (book), pp. 76 | |||
| Nobara No Mori no Otome-tachi [does not have a wikipedia page. check spelling] | No | "The girl prince trope salvaged lesbian by making masculine-presenting characters of admiration such as...Sanjou Izumi [in this series]" | By Your Side (book), pp. 13-14 | Yuri |
| "...characters like Otokyaku Izumi [are girl princes]" | By Your Side (book), pp. 66 | |||
| Cream Lemon: Escalation (maybe New Cream Lemon ? unsure) [check other sources] | No | "This [same-sex] symbolism...morphs into sexually suggestive signals in...Cream Lemon: Escalation" | By Your Side (book), pp. 14 | Yuri |
| "Cream Lemon...is a famous pornographic series that multiple episodes that...featured lesbian sex...and a three-episode lesbian arc [named] "Cream Lemon: Escalation" | By Your Side (book), pp. 180 | |||
| Cutey Honey [manga, 1973-1974, 1992-1993, 2001-2003, 2003-2005, 2004-2006, anime, 1973-1974] | No | "This [same-sex] symbolism...morphs into sexually suggestive signals in...Cutey Honey" | By Your Side (book), pp. 14 | Yuri |
| "...[Go] Nagai created an android female warrior who did not need men to help her...and a lesbian love story hat has evolved and survived over decades" | By Your Side (book), pp. 220 | |||
| Strawberry Panic! [light novel, 2003-2005, 2006; manga, 2005-2007; anime, 2006; video game, 2006] | No | "These altered perspectives are still being used for Yuri series targeted at male audiences...the frankly nonsensical Saints Miator, Spice, and Lulim from the ultimate Yuri parody, Strawberry Panic!...are indicative of nothing but male-gaze fantasy settings" | By Your Side (book), pp. 14 | Yuri |
| ...really excelled...as an homage to "[yuri] Story A" through the ages | By Your Side (book), pp. 59 | |||
| psycho lesbian | By Your Side (book), pp. 78 | |||
| "...was responsible for an influx of fans looking for more fan service from their Yuri" | By Your Side (book), pp. 118 | |||
| "...it was influenced by so many earlier series" like Maria Watches Over Us" and "Yaneura no Nishojo" | By Your Side (book), pp. 154-155, more discussion on pages 156-157 | |||
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011) | No | "...suicide [in this series] is still the only way out for the obsessed lesbian" | By Your Side (book), pp. 79 | Yuri |
| Citrus (manga) (manga, 2012-2018, 2018-present; anime, 2018) | No | "...a story about two sisters by marriage who find themselves physically attracted to one another" | By Your Side (book), pp. 79 | Yuri |
| Sweet Blue Flowers/Aoi Hana (manga, 2004-2013; anime, 2009) | No | "...[it] has no become an iconic series for Yuri fans" | By Your Side (book), pp. 60 | Yuri |
| "...Fumi comes out to classmates who are arguing in public...this moment is one of the most significant" | By Your Side (book), pp. 95 | |||
| "...embraces the interior lives of its adolescent female characters" | By Your Side (book), pp. 152 | |||
| "...deserves a place of honor.." | By Your Side (book), pp. 153 | |||
| "Whispered Words [manga, 2007-2011; anime, 2009] | No | iconic yuri series | By Your Side (book), pp. 60 | Yuri |
| My-HiME [2004-2005] | No | "Male gaze Yuri....transforms the girl prince into the predatory lesbian...[with] her unfulfilled desires drive her to insanity as we see with Mai Hime's Fujino Shizuru" | By Your Side (book), pp. 14 | Yuri |
| psycho lesbian | By Your Side (book), pp. 77-78 | |||
| Sakura Trick [manga, 2011-2017; anime, 2014] | No | "a new trope has been born in Yuri for the male audience...[with characters in] Sakura Trick...presented as truly in love, not "playing" at love. The feelings are real, nonetheless, there is no acknowledgement of real-life socio-political pressures around a same-sex relationship..." | By Your Side (book), pp. 15 | Yuri |
| Seasons [does not have a Wikipedia page, need to verify name] | No | "...characters use lesbian slang" | By Your Side (book), pp. 16 | ? |
| Gunjo (2007-2012, manga) | No | "...an out lesbian character...walks away from a successful career and a stable relationship to commit a crime" | By Your Side (book), pp. 16 | Yuri |
| Collectors (manga) [does not have a Wikipedia page, need to verify name] | No | "...[this manga] is a gentle slice-of-life comedy about two women in a long-term and very committed relationship" | By Your Side (book), pp. 16 | Yuri |
| Heart of Thomas (1974) | No | "Magio Moto drew Heart of Thomas with gay elements" | By Your Side (book), pp. 18 | Gay |
| Otome no Minato [does not have a Wikipedia page] | No | "...an "S" relationship novel published in 1938" | By Your Side (book), pp. 30, also see here | ? |
| Sakura Namiki [does not have a Wikipedia page, need to verify name] | No | "...a tale instantly recognizable to any fan of Yuri" | By Your Side (book), pp. 36 | ? |
| Gravitation (manga, 1996-2002, 2004-2011; ova, 1999; anime, 2000-2001) | No | "...The BL market in America has been built on the back of fan-subtitled series like Gravitation" | By Your Side (book), pp. 48 | Yaoi |
| Angel Sanctuary (manga, 1994-2000, 2022-present; OVA, 2000) | No | "...in which all the characters are bi- (or perhaps pan-) sexual" | By Your Side (book), pp. 49 | ? |
| Kase-san (manga, 2010-2017, 2017-present; ONA, 2017; OVA, 2018) | No | "...[it] went from being a popular Yuri manga to a major animation campaign online" | By Your Side (book), pp. 51 | Yuri |
| "...yuri anime...shown at Anime Expo" | By Your Side (book), pp. 176 | |||
| Erica Friedman saw the romance between Kase and Yamada as adorable and can be watched without seeming like voyeurs... and it can "be seen as emblematic of Yuri as a whole" | By Your Side (book), pp. 190, 193, more about it on pages 191, 192 | |||
| "born in the brief period of prosperity during a Yuri boom in 2011..." | By Your Side (book), pp. 221 | |||
| Murcielago (manga, 2013-present; 2018-2020) | No | "...stars a lesbian serial killer" | By Your Side (book), pp. 51 | Yuri |
| My Brother's Husband (manga, 2014-2017) | No | "...a groundbreaking work by [a] gay erotic artist" | By Your Side (book), pp. 51 | Gay |
| Shimanami Tasogare (manga, 2015-2018) | No | "...the creator identifies as X-Gender..." | By Your Side (book), pp. 51 | Gay |
| Hatsukoi Shimai (manga, 2003-2008) | No | "...slipping into a teasing, seductive manner" | By Your Side (book), pp. 69 | ? |
| Bubblegum Crisis (OVA, 1987-1991) | No | "her motorcycle is an example of her bad-assedness--and the vehicle by which she bonds with another woman" | By Your Side (book), pp. 69 | Yuri |
| Applause (manga) [does not have a Wikipedia page, need to verify name] | No | "...an epic story which traces the relationship of two young women" | By Your Side (book), pp. 76 | Yuri |
| Pieta (1998-1999) | No | "The romantic relationship between Rio and Sahoko is not presented as...the thing that helps them find wholeness and stability" | By Your Side (book), pp. 77 | Yuri |
| Kannazuki no Miko (manga, 2004-2005, 2020-2021; anime, 2004) | No | "...it's made plain that her desire for Himeko causes the emotional and mental conflict" | By Your Side (book), pp. 77 | Yuri |
| "...it opened a door for other Seinen takes on those hoary "S" trops" | By Your Side (book), pp. 151 | |||
| "...an insanely popular anime series based on a comic for men that used Yuri as a fetish" | By Your Side (book), pp. 167 | |||
| If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die (manga, 2015-present; anime, 2020) | No | "...explicitly sold as a "Yuri" idol series" | By Your Side (book), pp. 90 | Yuri |
| Simoun (anime and manga, 2006) | No | "...a brilliant fantasy work...and one of the first anime to be marketed as "Yuri" in North America" | By Your Side (book), pp. 174 | Yuri |
| Bloom Into You (manga, 2015-2019; anime, 2018; light novel, 2018-2020) | No | "it's still rare to encounter a character who says even in an internal monologue that they...are looking for a sexual or romantic partner...[of] their own gender...[with] Saeki Sayaka [as an example]...that series featured adult women in a stable relationship" | By Your Side (book), pp. 201 | Yuri |
| "Bloom Into You" Regarding Saeki Sayaka...was certainly representative of the older schoolgirl tropes" | By Your Side (book), pp. 223 | |||
| See sections | Bloom Into You#Critical response and Bloom Into You#Themes and analysis | |||
| I'm in Love with the Villainess (novel, 2018-2021; light novel, 2019-2021, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-present; manga, 2020-present; anime, 2023; novel, 2023-present) | No | "This series explores sexuality and gender and alternate families...[and] discusses social issues such as wealth inequality and other systemic biases...this series makes important comments about queer life and society" | By Your Side (book), pp. 224 | Yuri |
| "I’m in Love with a Villainess is full of questionable tropes, uneven writing, and muddled execution. But its earnestness and heart shines through...The story’s blend of indulgent wish fulfillment and straightforward discussion of overlooked LGBT issues is exactly what makes fans fall in love with it...[and] a rewarding, charming story filled with queer joy" | Caitlin Donovan, "My Fave is Problematic: I’m in Love with the Villainess | |||
| See section | I'm in Love with the Villainess#Reception | |||
| The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (novel, 2019-2021; light novel, 2020-present; manga, 2020-present; anime, 2023) | No | "The world of genre yuri anime is ever so gradually expanding, and Magical Revolution looks like a promising addition to the roster." | The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady – Episode 1 | Yuri |
| "This is, as you can more or less guess from the cover and the back copy, a yuri fantasy romance, and I'm very glad to say that Anis is not a member of the predatory lesbian trope" | The Spring 2022 Manga Guide: The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady | |||
| "For a cute, low-tension book, with a couple you want to live happily ever after – perhaps in another world, where women wear pants – this is a nice read with some decent visuals and a dash of grand adventure." | The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Volume 1 | |||
| The Executioner and Her Way of Life (light novel, 2019-present; manga, 2020-2024; anime, 2022) | No | "The sequence where the decaying figure of Menou is being fleshed out that you mention in your question represents Akari's ability to restore Menou by rewinding time, but it was such a ridiculously “incorrect” idea that I'm rather happy with it" | Interview: The Staff of The Executioner and Her Way of Life | Yuri |
| Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! (manga, 2018-present; anime, 2024) | No | "a frothy romance that makes for a perfect break from whatever else is going on in your day...rather than buying into any of BL's more distasteful tropes.....All of this is leading up to a relationship that is based on mutual consent...Consensual relationship development." | Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?! GN 1 & 2 | Yaoi |
| Whisper Me a Love Song (manga, 2019-present; anime, 2024-present) | No | "first three volumes of this sweet yuri series...It's what “love” is that forms the backbone of the story...Romance and attraction are simply not on Himari's personal radar...Add in a triumphant ending and this is a yuri series you don't want to miss." | Whisper Me a Love Song GN 1-3 | Yuri |
| "It’s not like Takeshima Eku’s high school love story is groundbreaking. It’s not that it’s game-changing. It’s just that this story is so pleasant and full of such pleasant characters, that it’s a joy to read..." | Sasayakuyouni Koi wo Utau, Volume 3 (ささやくように恋を唄う) | |||
| "...the beloved series...A central theme for the first three volumes of Whisper Me a Love Song is exploring what love means...However, the best part of Whisper Me a Love Song is the sheer joy Himari and Yori get from spending time together...it misses a huge opportunity to explore LGBTQ+ identity...the series’ faults are highlighted a bit more due to its unfortunate similarity to Bloom Into You... | LGBTQ Manga Review — Whisper Me A Love Song Vol 1-3 | |||
| Flip Flappers (anime, 2016) | No | "...Flip Flappers creates almost effortlessly, and it is also that trait that allows me to remember my own experiences of discovering queerness and coming to terms with it." | [1] | Yuri |
| "...crass pandering to otaku audiences," saying that the show has a problem of "the fetishization of middle school girls" and intentionally uses imagery from the yuri genre, which is at times "virtually comedic" and called Papika's nudity to be a deliberate use of fan service, arguing it "cheapens and demeans" the plot. He added that these criticisms, he liked the character development, especially of Cocona and Papika, the openness of same-sex attraction in the anime, with scenes which invoke Nausicaa, Madoka Magica, Maria Watches Over Us and Kill La Kill. | [2] | |||
| ...the series [is] "inherently rare and special" as an anime passion project which was "beautiful, original, and altogether stunning." He argued that the show is a coming-of-age story touching on how our families define us, how the world views us, and how we begin to love ourselves, containing a "multi-generational love story," broken homes, and a rebuke of "how society reinforces our fear of honest self-expression." Creamer also said that the show stands as "a remarkable union of emotional intent and visual execution" even as it is "pretty messy" by having occasional fan service, and music that isn't memorable. Even so, he said that he found himself "stunned" by everything the show accomplishes and attempts, with references to Neon Genesis Evangelion and Penguindrum, grading the sub, dub, story, animation, and art an "A," the music a "B+," while praising the "purposeful visual storytelling" and criticizing the "occasional fanservice." | [3] | |||
| Yuri on Ice (anime, 2016; manga, 2017) | No | "Yuri on Ice has raised discussion concerning its depiction of a same-sex relationship between its protagonists, with some critics praising its depiction of anxiety, its covering of homosexuality in a way that differs from most anime and manga such as the yaoi genre, and for dealing with homosexuality in a country and sport that has present-day issues with homophobia. Others criticized its depiction for being unrealistic, and of visual censorship that arguably makes it ambiguous to some viewers." | quote from beginning of show's Wikipedia page, see Yuri on Ice#Depiction of same-sex relationship for more. | Yaoi |
| Adachi and Shimamura (light novel, 2012-present; manga, 2016-2017; anime, 2020) | No | See reviews | Reviews at Adachi and Shimamura#Reception | Yuri |
| Otherside Picnic (novel, 2017-present; manga, 2018-present; anime, 2021) | No | See reviews | Reviews at Otherside Picnic#Reception | Yuri |
| Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (OVA, 2022; anime, 2022-2023novel, 2022; light novel and manga 2023-present) | No | "Yet in all those years, it took the franchise until 2022 to feature a lead female protagonist and, in a surprising two-for-one, center a queer romance..." | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Brings Politics, Queerness, and Giant Robots to a Classic Franchise | Yuri |
| "But Suletta and Miorine are happily married..." | Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury Episode 24 | |||
| "...The final scenes also show both characters wearing matching rings. In a short conversation between Miorine and Eri, Eri identifies herself as Miorine's sister-in-law. Additionally, Miorine was described as Suletta's wife in the alt text of the final end card image shared on the official Gundam.info North American Twitter account...Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury fans were in a fervor over the weekend after the digital editions of the Gundam Ace magazine September 2023 issue were updated to remove the mention of marriage in an interview...Fans online quickly noticed the change and began demanding answers from the Gundam Ace publisher Kadokawa. Bandai Namco Filmworks issued a statement on the anime's official website on Sunday. The statement explained that the editor in charge of the magazine assumed Suletta and Miorine were married, and Bandai Namco Filmworks checked the interview prior to publication and asked for the change to be made because the company felt it was better left to the viewer to decide if the pair were married or not. However, the magazine went to print without the requested changes. After the error was discovered, the digital releases were updated to reflect the requested change. Fans reacted with disappointment." | Bandai Namco Filmworks Wanted Suletta and Miorine's Relationship Left to Interpretation in G-Witch |