We're getting meta: Female Yuri Fans in Anime and Manga

On Skype this past week, I attended a panel on sexism in anime and anime fandom by Patrick and Lauren that spawned some interesting discussion of how female otaku are portrayed in anime- predominantly in an objectified or male-otaku-wish-fulfilling way, even though there are exceptions like most of Kuragehime's cast, Hyouka's Mayaka and Sasameki Koto's Aoi. (Heads up, Lauren and Patrick recorded the sexism in anime and anime fandom panel they held at Otakon and posted it here.) Hence my idea for this post, going character by character.

Ritsuko in "Where the White Flowers Bloom" in Sakuraike's Hanakotoba doujinshi (publication date circa 2004, but I'm not sure exactly when) and later republished in English in Yuri Monogatari 5:

"Where the White Flowers Bloom" is a comedy one-shot about a yuri doujinshi circle composed of two friends- a straight girl named Kotomi, who attends a coed high school, and a lesbian named Ritsuko, who attends an all-girls' high school and has a cute girlfriend named Miyuki. There is no angst here- Ritsuko and Miyuki are completely comfortable with themselves and quite happy together. Amusingly, Kotomi's little sister discovers Kotomi and Ritsuko's doujinshi and tearfully tells Kotomi that she'll support her and Ritsuko as a couple no matter what hardships they go through, not listening when Kotomi tries to explain that she's mistaken.

This one shot was originally published as a doujinshi by Sakuraike, a yuri circle known for their sweet, realistic take on high school romance. It's cute, it's funny, and it's frank about its characters' sexuality without objectifying them.

Kannazuki no Miko's Himeko:

I'm counting this drama CD (released in 2004 also) here because it contributes to the KnM anime's canon.

One of the many ineffective villains in the KnM anime is Reiko-sensei, a manga artist. One of KnM's two protagonists, Himeko, is a fan of Reiko-sensei's manga. In a scene from the drama CD that I would love to have seen animated, Himeko giddily attends a book-signing by Reiko-sensei and tries to explain why she loves Sensei's manga to Chikane. (For the two people reading this who don't know, Chikane is in love with Himeko, but thinks her love is hopeless at the point at which the CD takes place.) Chikane is suddenly very interested in Himeko's manga when Himeko describes the manga's heroine, Asuka, confessing her love to a princess. After Himeko acts out Asuka's love confession, a secretly giddy Chikane apologetically says that she had something else on her mind and didn't catch what Himeko said, so could she repeat it? Himeko does because she's glad Chikane is now interested in the manga. Oh guileless, naïve Himeko.

Nothing in this drama CD contradicts the anime's canon, but the overall thing feels more humorously self-aware than the anime, so it makes sense that, in it, Himeko's fannishness over Reiko-sensei's manga turns out to be fannishness over a yuri couple in said manga. It doesn't feel objectifying at all, just cute.

Yurina in "Hana no Yurina Gumi" in ES ~ Eternal Sisters anthology 2, and later Yuri Hime S issue 3:

Presenting the earliest example I've found of the cute-girls-slashing-their-friends trend in moe, from the ES anthology that came out in 2005. (See also: Hiyori in Lucky Star, Mugi in K-ON!, and Chitose in Yuru Yuri. I'm not doing a write-up on Chitose in this post because as much as she slashes Yuru Yuri's other characters, she isn't actually portrayed as someone who reads or watches yuri. I'd bet a million dollars she does, though.)

Yurina attends your classic yuri all-girls' school, and she makes a pest of herself by seeing every interaction between her classmates as gay and trying to get them to realize that they're experiencing, doki doki, forbidden love. She writes yuri doujin novels based on her "pairings."

Like every other moe girl slashing her friends in this post, Yurina's behavior is meant to be identified with by male yuri fans rather than female yuri fans- most evident in how she fetishizes lesbian relationships being "forbidden", which I've only seen straight guys do since the idea of gay relationships as taboo simply for being gay is distressing to the people who actually have them.

Unlike the other characters on this list who friend-slash, on the plus side, Yurina gets a love interest (who acts as a tsukkomi foil to her behavior.) But on the worse-than-average-for-her-character-type side, there's the "Yay, forbidden love!" thing. The best thing about this one-shot is its title, which parodies the title of a classic yuri-ish shoujo gang girl manga called Hana no Asuka Gumi.

Girl Friends's Tamamin:

In late 2006 (yeah, I can't believe it was that long ago either), Morinaga Milk's Girl Friends started running in Comic High! One of the closest friends of Girl Friends' central couple, Mari and Akko, is Tamamin, the resident otaku and flaming weirdo.

She cosplays! She's in the school manga club! She brings doujinshi to school! In fact, when she bumps into Mari in the school restroom, she drops her smutty Revolutionary Pretty Girl Marriage doujinshi, which Mari unwittingly reads and flips out over. (Partly in a "What the hell did you bring to school" way and partly in a "*light bulb goes off* Is this what I want to do with the girl I like?" way, thus joining the ranks of teens who have explored their sexuality through manga smut.) As with all of Tamamin's otaku moments, it's played as a comedic moment to lighten Girl Friends' angst. I think Morinaga just wanted to reference her own prolific yuri doujinshi drawing (and probably collecting), which has included Utena and Sailor Moon yuri slash.

Some of Tamamin's cosplay choices do pander to Comic High!'s seinen audience, like the cosplay Ohno does in Genshiken, but Girl Friends does a good job of not making it feel male gazey. Kind of like how Kaichou ha Maid-sama avoids making its scads of maid cosplay feel servicey- although in Maid-sama's case, because it's shoujo. (Tangent: If someone finds Tamamin's cosplay more problematic than I do, their opinion is totally valid. I don't want some defensive fanboy linking here to be like "See! A girl wrote this! Tamamin's cosplay isn't male gazey at all!" to someone who thinks otherwise. If a woman says she finds a story's depiction or treatment of a female character sexist or icky or problematic in some way and you're a dude who disagrees, step down. You'll step into condescending jackass territory otherwise. Or framed more broadly, if you enjoy privilege in any particular area and someone who has less privilege than you in that area finds a portrayal of a character in their less-privileged-than-you group problematic as a depiction of people in that less privileged group, it isn't your place to argue that it isn't problematic.) I am, admittedly, biased by the fact that I like Girl Friends as a whole and I like Tamamin, shameless nerd that she is.

Tamamin shares her nerdy interests with a group of otaku girls, which is quite nice to see. Interestingly, she's the only conventionally pretty one. The other otaku in Girl Friends, including a couple otaku guys who attend a mixer Tamamin attends, fit the gawky, not-caring-much-about-their-looks otaku stereotype. In the afterword to Girl Friends volume 1, Morinaga depicts herself and her friends in high school as plain and nerdy/not mingling with the Beautiful People- so her depiction of Tamamin's otaku group feels like she's poking fun at herself in a way. Tamamin's closest friend, ironically, is Sugi, a more image-conscious girl who loves Tamamin as a friend despite her otaku hobbies.

Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora's Kozue:

In the winter 2007 anime season, we got Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora, Kaishaku's Tsubasa Chronicle-esque mish-mash of series they'd done, including expies of Kannazuki no Miko's Chikane and Himeko, named Kaon and Himiko. Like KnM's Himeko, KyoSora's protagonist Kuu has a chummy, tomboyish roommate who teases her about her love life, named Kozue. When Kuu sees Kaon and Himiko kiss in episode 2, with sparkles around them and everything, she's like "Doki doki! Oh my! Two girls kissing, just like in the manga Kozue owns!" It is but a fleeting comment, but it counts. It's also one of KyoSora's few intentionally funny moments. KyoSora has plenty of service, but none involving Kozue, for what little she appears.

Lucky Star's Hiyori- and Konata?:

Hiyori is a fan of BL and yuri. She guiltily draws yuri doujinshi based on two of her friends who, blessedly for her, are too naïve to catch on. Hiyori has some funny moments (my favorite being the one in which she trips and twists around mid-air to save her drawing hand from being injured) and like every other otaku character in Lucky Star, is meant to parody how otaku practice their hobby and relate to non-otaku.

I'm sure the Konata x Kagami fans drew all sorts of inferences from Konata's geeking out over Maria-sama ga Miteru and watching Strawberry Panic! in episode 7. She could count, but she isn't as definite as Hiyori.

Lucky Star's entire premise (the daily lives of moe otaku girls) is service. And as with Tamamin's cosplay, it has elements that could be read as what we more commonly think of as service for people who really want it to be there. But like pretty much everything by Kyoto Animation, Lucky Star does a good job of avoiding feeling male gazey. I've only read a smidgen of the manga, so I can't comment on it. A lot of women like the Lucky Star anime, myself included, but I get that, even though I and other female anime fans identify with some of its characters' behavior, the female otaku characters in it are meant to, overall, be identified with more by male otaku than female otaku.

K-ON!'s Mugi: 

So basically, Mugi's as gay as a rainbow banner festooned with lilies at a pride parade.

She slashes her friends, which is obviously an unrealistic meta gag (I've explained why I don't like it before), but she's also the first one in her group to decide to go to a women's college. (<- Said with a wink and a nudge, y'all. I know there are other great reasons for attending women's colleges. But it's Mugi, so... ^_^ ) There's also her brief thing for Sawako-sensei in the anime.

After Mugi graduates, her kouhai Sumire (in the original K-ON! manga's high school sequel) confirms that Mugi has read her share of yuri. (I'll assume anime-Mugi has done it too, because I can.) Once again, just a one-time reference to the yuri fandom of the character in question, but still nice to see it mentioned- especially for a character who is already pretty gay.

Sasameki Koto's Aoi:

Sasameki Koto's Aoi, "Where the White Flowers Bloom"'s Ritsuko, and Hanjuku Joshi and Ruruiiro no Yume's Chie are the only characters in this post whose yuri fandom isn't A) only referenced once/obscurely or B) at all meant to make them act like your stereotypical otaku guy in a cute girl suit. Like Ritsuko and Chie, Aoi isn't a sex object at all either.

Aoi is a yuri fangirl (in love with a series of Maria-sama ga Miteru-esque shoujo light novels written under a female pseudonym by the brother of SK's protagonist's love interest, Ushio- try keeping that straight) who crushes on SK's protagonist Sumi after Sumi accidentally gives Aoi the impression that she likes the same novels. Thus, Aoi ropes Sumi into helping her publish and sell a doujin novel for a yuri event aimed at female yuri fans. Aoi's fan behavior is over-the-top when we first meet her, like a lot of otaku characters, but SK gives us a thoughtful reason for that. (Besides her age and inherent awkwardness.) None of the other girls she ever knew were into yuri, and they acted like she was "forcing [her] interests on [them]" when she acted the same way about yuri that they did about BL. So Aoi's really, really excited about having a friend (Sumi) who she thinks not only doesn't mind her interests, but shares them.

Aoi buys into some problematic, Class S literature-esque assumptions about lesbian relationships, but Sasameki Koto makes the point that that aspect of Aoi's fandom is ridiculous and deconstructs it while otherwise portraying her fandom well- as an outlet for her own gayness. I want to point out that, while Class S lit and the Class S feminist movement that spawned it have their problematic aspects, yuri fandom and feminism in Japan owe them a considerable debt, as explained here. Not trying to sugarcoat the problematic side of Class S, but I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water either. Which I don't think SK does, given the positive aspects of its portrayal of Aoi's fandom for those novels.

Anyway, Aoi doesn't get a love interest before graduating high school, but she does become more comfortable in her own skin. See: Her befriending Sumi's out lesbian friends Tomoe and Miyako, who provoked some homophobic blustering from her when she first interacted with them.

Maria Holic's Kanako:

Ech, I have to include Maria Holic, don't I. I prefer writing about titles that haven't made me want to taser myself unconscious, but yeah. Kanako digs girls and yuri and attends her dead mother's all-girls' high school alma mater to find a girlfriend. That premise has potential to be charming, but MH's execution of it sucks. Rather than rehash what's wrong with the show, I'll just point you to my old review of it. Kanako is another example of a yuri fangirl character whose behavior is meant to resemble what otaku men stereotypically behave like rather than otaku women, but unlike, say, Mugi and Hiyori, I don't know a single woman who is a fan of the series she's in. I sat through MH's first season, didn't bother with its second, and haven't tried the MH manga.

Hanjuku Joshi and Ruriiro no Yume's Chie:

A lot of Morishima Akiko's fans (*pauses to leave fresh incense and flowers at our collective shrine to her*) are familiar with her "YurixYuri Observation Diary"- a funny series of short autobiographical manga she used to draw for Comic Yuri Hime in which she draws a parody version of herself acting like a mega-fangirl in various situations. It's hard for me not to think of them when I read Chie's story ("Soft-Boiled Fujoshi") in Ruriiro no Yume.

In Hanjuku Joshi, Chie's a side character. Chie's little sister Chitose tells her about her relationship drama before asking to borrow some of Chie's yuri manga. (Chie's also a huge BL fan, so she has a sizeable stash of that genre too.) Having far less experience with real relationships than fictional ones, she pretty much fails at giving Chitose advice.

But then! In Morishima Akiko's Ruriiro no Yume one-shot collection, Chie gets her own story.

In "Soft-Boiled Fujoshi", Chie attends Chitose's school culture festival (where Hanjuku Joshi fans get to see Chitose being lovey-dovey with her girlfriend Yae) and meets a cute girl named Yuria, who offers to show her around. Chie feels like she set off an "event flag" and thinks that everything is happening so conveniently, she's probably being delusional. Turns out Yuria recognized Chie as her favorite doujinshi author and is as big of an otaku as Chie is. Chie eventually finds that what she's feeling for Yuria isn't moe but, gasp, real love, and realizes that love is better than moe. Sayuri-hime volume 4 includes a cute, brief one-shot about Chie and Yuria working on a doujinshi for Winter Comiket.

So yeah, obviously I like this example. It's funny, it doesn't treat Chie and Yuria like sex objects or male wish fulfillment vehicles, and Chie's the only character on this list whose love interest digs anime and manga also, making for some charmingly nerdy interaction between them. I also quite like that Chie's surprise at her feelings for Yuria aren't caused by Yuria being a girl, but by her being that unused to non-fictional relationships. While some of her behavior is over-the-top (including shipping some random girls from a distance), she doesn't feel like an avatar for male yuri fans- just a weird girl who likes another weird girl who likes her back. I can get behind that.

Yuri Characters Who Are Out To Family Members in Manga

As you might know, I love good coming out stories. I thought a list with this theme would be fun to compile.

"A White White Dress" by Sengoku Hiroko in Hirari volume 6:
A sweet one-shot about a young woman who comes out to her mom about the fact that she likes women and is currently dating one. Thankfully, mom's cool with it and wants to meet the girlfriend to see if she's good enough for her daughter. :-)

Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (6 volumes, ongoing):
In a display of stellar timing, Yasuko comes out to her mom and sisters about her relationship with Fumi when Fumi visits them- without forewarning Fumi about it. Amusingly, Yasuko's family not only doesn't care, they call Yasuko out for dating Fumi while having feelings for someone else. Yasuko's older sister Shinako's bisexuality doesn't seem to be a secret to her family either. Last but not least, Fumi's friend Haruka's gay older sister Orie comes out to her family about her relationship with Hinako.

Clover by Otsu Hiyori:
Clover is a short story collection about four sisters, two of whom (Fuuka and Midori) are interested in women. At one point the second oldest, Fuuka, vents to her older sister Ichige about losing the girl she likes to another girl. Ichige's reaction is perfect: "You got your heart broken, and you never even told her how you felt. If you tell me something that pathetic again, I won't let you in the house!" Coming out isn't an issue at all in this family.

Concerto by Hattori Mitsuru, chapter 5:
Chizu's mom catches Chizu kissing her girlfriend Yayoi at home. Chizu and Yayoi panic and run away, but they run out of money after a day. When they return, Chizu's mom tells them that she'll keep their relationship a secret and she understands what they're feeling since she dated some girls when she was younger.

Ebisu-san to Hotei-san by Kizuki Akira and Satou Nanki:
Ebisu and Hotei are two office workers who hate then like then eventually love each other. Ebisu has an older sister who instantly picks up on Ebisu and Hotei's feelings for each other and is cool with it. Later, Ebisu's niece not only figures out that Ebisu and Hotei are a couple, she likes a girl herself.

"Female x Female = Love" in Yuri Hime volume 13 + "The Mystery of the Yuri Cage" in Sayuri-hime volume 1 by Chi-Ran:
The lead in "Female x Female = Love" tells her girlfriend, who is self-conscious about their relationship, that she is used to the idea of girls dating other girls because her older sisters have girlfriends.

The protagonist of "The Mystery of the Yuri Cage" finds out about her older cousin (the protagonist of another Chi-Ran story, "The Yuri Cage") having a girlfriend before she starts falling for the girl who likes her.

Free Soul by Yamaji Ebine:
Keito comes out to her parents. Her dad isn't hostile about it, but he doesn't get it either- and his and Keito's relationship is strained by other issues. Keito's mom is more...vocal about her lack of understanding about Keito's sexual orientation, but her understanding of Keito improves over the course of the story. Keito, in turn, starts to understand her mom more. What we last see of Keito's relationship with her mom promises further positive change.

Fu~fu by Minamoto Hisanari (one volume, ongoing):
Kina is out to her gay older sister Kana about her relationship with Suu. In the Fu~fu doujinshi Minamoto Hisanari made, after agreeing to be Suu's girlfriend, Kina tells Suu that dating girls has always seemed normal to her because of Kana.
Annnd here's a cute pic of Suu and Kina I found at Minamoto Hisanari's blog:

Gokujou Drops by Mikuni Hajime (three volumes, completed):
Yukio's parents object to her relationship with Komari since they're rich and Komari isn't (and there's that niggling issue of same-sex marriage not being legal, which this story doesn't emphasize) and they want Yukio to marry someone who can contribute to the family fortune. Thankfully, Yukio and Komari are able to be together, with the support of Yukio's aunt and brother.

"Guilty Love" in Sweet Guilty Love Bites by Amano Shuninta:
Niina finds out that Mayu, the woman she had a drunken one night stand with, is her daughter Ryuna's kindergarten teacher. lol Mayu continues to pursue Niina and they fall in love, making Niina, Ryuna and Mayu a family of three by the end. :-)

Gunjo by Nakamura Ching (three volumes, completed):
In the final chapter of volume 1 of Gunjo, the ex-wife (because she is nameless, I will call her B) of one of the leads comes out to her mom as a lesbian- and her mom not only doesn't care, she cements her place as the most awesome mom on this list. Dad finds out from mom, and he is just as cool with it. B's fate is ultimately horrible and sad, but this chapter will forever remain one of the most heart-warming, achingly poignant things I have read.

Hanjuku Joshi (two volumes, completed) + "Soft-Boiled Fujoshi" in Ruriiro no Yume, both by Morishima Akiko:
Chitose and Yae are in love. Chitose comes out to her older sister Chie, a fujoshi who loves BL and yuri, when she asks if she can read Chie's yuri manga. In the one-shot "Soft-Boiled Fujoshi," Chie finds a girlfriend (who turns out to be a fan of Chie's work as a doujinshi creator) at Chitose's school.

"Living-Room Flower" by Takahashi Mako in Yuri Hime volume 25 (the July 2011 issue):
Jitsuko comes out to her mom Hanae and aunt Tsubomi. Hanae is accepting, but Tsubomi sputters in protest- because she has been repressing her feelings for her sister-in-law Hanae. Tsubomi confesses to Hanae after Jitsuko comes out, but Hanae seems oblivious. Because Tsubomi's confession is so freaking obvious- and feigned obliviousness is A) the easiest way to reject someone you don't want to hurt and B) less sad than the idea of Hanae willfully denying the nature of Tsubomi's feelings- I want to think Hanae feigned not getting it. It stretches credibility too much to think that she really didn't understand. Jitsuko, who doesn't witness Tsubomi's confession, stays pretty chill despite Tsubomi's behavior.

Love Flag Girls!! by Takahashi Itsumi:
In this silly historical fantasy, Princess Lucia boards the dreaded pirate Maria's ship to get the cross pendant that Maria stole from Queen Beatrice. Instead of Maria, Lucia finds the ship captained by Maria's daughter Eliana. Lucia and Eliana fall in love, and it turns out that Beatrice and Maria dated and Beatrice is just pissed that Maria dumped her. Maria returns and makes up with Beatrice, so Happily-Ever-After for everyone. ^_^

Love My Life by Yamaji Ebine:
Yamaji Ebine had a stroke of genius when she came up with Love My Life's premise. Ichiko comes out to her dad, who then tells her that he is gay, as was Ichiko's mother. Ichiko is obviously accepting, but her head reels a bit from learning that her parents' lives differed from what she had thought.

"Lover" in Himitsu by Ohtomo Megane:
After having a lovers' spat with Monayo, Mayu returns to her family's house and tells them what happened. Mayu's homophobic mom subsequently sets Mayu up on an omiai. Mayu tells the guy she meets at the omiai that she loves someone else and goes home with Monayo after her brother tells her that Monayo came for her.

"My Sister's Wedding" in Works by Tadeno Eriko:
Emi attends her younger sister Yuka's wedding, and she and her long-term girlfriend Takako get engaged during the reception. After the reception, Emi comes out to her mom. Emi's mom cries, but starts to improve when Yuka (who already knew) tells her that she doesn't have a problem with it.

Octave by Akiyama Haru (6 volumes, completed):
Yukino comes out to her mom about her relationship with Setsuko via email. From Yukino's follow-up email, we can tell that her mom is accepting. After Yukino comes out to her, Yukino's mom asks Yukino to visit home again with Setsuko. :-)

Poor Poor Lips (three volumes, ongoing):
Ren has been out since high school, but her mom, Nei, still wants her to get married. Homophobia aside, the fact that the "ideal" spouse for Ren would boost the enormous family fortune gives Nei a strong incentive to marry Ren off. When Ren confronts Nei about her trying to bribe the girl Ren loves, Nako, to stay away from Ren, Nei cuts Ren off. Ren only agrees to return home and do what Nei wants on the condition that Nei will erase Nako's never-ending debt. Ren's father, Akio, can't change Ren's situation, but he does support Ren and helps Nako get a job as a maid at Nei's house so Nako can reunite with Ren. What will happen!? Dun dun dun.

Pure Marionation by Takagi Nobuyuki (three volumes, completed):
Anon is in love with Miamo, but coming out about that isn't an issue. Her main worry is coming out as an android. :-) Like everyone else in this series, Anon's mother/creator and little sister Minon (another android created by Anon's mother) root for Anon and Miamo to be happy together. Minon opposes Anon's feelings for Miamo at one point, but only because of her short-lived crush on Miamo.

"A Yuri Double Suicide" in Renai Higan Nekomedou Kokoro Tan by Shinonome Mizuo:
Shiho's mom finds out about Shiho's relationship with her classmate Hiyori, and she is furious. Shiho and Hiyori's classmates find out also, and react with bullying. Shiho and Hiyori decide to commit suicide, but when they search for a place to die together, each is separately spirited to a place called the Cat's Eye Hall. The Cat's Eye Hall is where people go "when their hearts are lost," and its owner helps Shiho and Hiyori realize that they want to live when they reunite.

Rica'tte Kanji!? by Takashima Rica (omnibus volume coming out soon):
The "More Rica'tte Kanji!?" chapter in Yuri Monogatari 4 shows its protagonist Rica coming out to her parents and little brother during her high school years. Rica's dad is a lot more accepting than he first appears to be, Rica's mom has no problem with Rica's sexual orientation because she's bisexual (she even goes starry-eyed remembering her first time with a female sempai in high school) and, best of all, Rica's gay little brother feels like he can come out sooner because of her. Awww. ^_^

Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi (9 volumes, completed):
Our protagonist Sumi comes out to her dad in volume 9, but I won't spoil how that goes. Sumi's love interest Ushio is out to her older brother and grandmother from the beginning of the story. (Her parents died years earlier.) Her brother is understanding, at least. ^_^; Good thing she's able to live with him. Her grandma does comes around by the end, though. Additionally, our side couple Tomoe and Miyako are out to their families throughout the story.

"Spicy Sweets" in Butterfly 69 by Natsuneko:
Coming out to one's parents is nerve-wracking enough. But coming out to your mom when she's the leader of a yakuza syndicate? That's what Yuu does, and her mom isn't pleased. Despite everything, this story ends happily.

"That's Why I Sigh" in Yuukan Club volume 14 + Maya no Souretsu by Ichijou Yukari:
Reina, the protagonist of Ichijou Yukari's Maya no Souretsu, comes out to her mom about her relationship with another girl, with...less than happy results. Btw, I like Maya no Souretsu. It's tragic, but in a stylishly over-the-top Gothic/film noir way, and I could see the story playing out just as tragically (given the skeletons in Reina's family's closet, Maya's revenge plot and...uh, certain hidden family ties) if Maya had been a guy.

Decades later, Ichijou Yukari re-visited coming out in the humorous, upbeat "That's Why I Sigh," which features a teenaged lesbian who is in love with her best friend. Mako serves drinks at the okama bar where her "dad" works as the Mama. ("Mama" = the term given as a nickname to the head okama at okama bars.) Mama is weirdly gung-ho about the idea of Mako getting a boyfriend, but is on the same level of pushiness as that ineffective great auntie type who lightheartedly ribs you about when you'll finally get a boyfriend even though you express no interest in it rather than, say, someone like Ren's mom in Poor Poor Lips. Even with Mama's not-exactly-ideal response to Mako's lack of interest in men, "That's Why I Sigh" is a sweet coming out story.

"The Female Body" by Konno Kita in Yuri Hime volume 22 (the January 2011 issue):
Sumi has been in love with Kaori, her philandering brother Ryou's wife, since they met. After things fall apart between Kaori and Ryou, Sumi admits her feelings to Kaori and they get together. Sumi is afraid that Kaori isn't as serious about their relationship as she is, but Kaori tells Sumi she's in love with her and accepts Sumi's marriage proposal in a public park. They tell Kaori's son Takkun that they're getting cake on the way home to celebrate the birth of their new family. ^_^ Squee! I wish Konno Kita would draw more stories for Yuri Hime.

Takeuchi Sachiko's Honey & Honey and Chi-Ran's "Her Temptation" one-shot in Shoujo Bigaku technically don't count because their protagonists do not come out to family, but I still highly recommend them for their explorations of what it means to think about coming out to family.

Know any examples that I've missed? Let me know!

Yuri Manga Highlights of 2011

As with my anime list, I decided to list the titles in this post alphabetically (well, alphabetically within each category) rather than worry about ranking them.

Top 5 Finished Series: 

Ameiro Kouchakan Kandan by Fujieda Miyabi (2 volumes + drama CDs):
A Happily-Ever-After ending to a very sweet, very gay series. (The Amber Teahouse is simply awash with women of the yuri persuasion.) May we continue to see Sarasa and Seriho cameo in many more Fujieda series.

Even though this isn't manga-relevant, I'd like to mention again that I really appreciate Fujieda for writing a new story for every single drama CD based on his works. Excluding the Marimite drama CDs, my face falls a little every time I find that a drama CD I've gotten re-enacts an already existing story.

Blue Friend season 1 by Eban Fumi (2 volumes):
This story incorporates some of the less positive tropes of yuri but, in a way, transcends them. Blue Friend's themes about overcoming the past and the fear of opening up about the bad experiences in one's life to someone whose opinion one deeply cares about were poignant and well-integrated with the yuri between its two leads.

Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi season 1 by Shirasawa Marimo (2 volumes):
This story is a love letter to many of the fun tropes of yuri, made for a shoujo audience with nods to the older folks who know what series Nobara owes its heritage to. Even though I know that "yuri" isn't synonymous with "lesbian," etc, etc, I love that something like this (or Blue Friend, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc) can come out in Japan without the homophobes collectively getting their panties in a twist over "protecting" children from being exposed to the idea of same-sex relationships.

Octave by Akiyama Haru (6 volumes):
We loved it, we hated it, we loved to hate it. But really, we mostly loved it. I would have loved to see Yukino come out to her family (she seemed like she was just about to before this series ended), but the ending to this series was still great, and we know that Yukino and Setsuko will be happy. As not only a yuri series, but a series about growing up and sorting out one's life as a young adult, Octave was excellent.

Renai Joshika by Morishima Akiko (2 volumes):
Morishima Akiko knows how to hit all of the right buttons. She loves writing about cute, lovey-dovey adult couples, and I love her for it. Arisu was a hoot to follow, and I'm glad she got a Happily-Ever-After with the girl she wanted. (Among the other cute couples this series has covered.) I also love Renai Joshika for making same-sex marriage a prominent point of discussion.

Honorable Mention: 

Sweet Little Devil by Nanzaki Iku (1 volume):
My most "subjective" inclusion in this post. This was a highlight for me because it's the first time I've bought a tankoubon by someone whose doujinshi I have liked for years. For a very particular niche of the yuri fandom, this book's publication was a huge "OMG!" moment.

Top 5 Series That Have Been Collected Into Tankoubon This Past Year But Are Still Ongoing:

Aoi Hana by Shimura Takako (6 volumes so far):
For Fumi coming out as a lesbian to her straight friends- showing how much she has grown since she first came out- and Orie and Hinako getting married and coming out to Orie's family. I still love this series to pieces.

Fu~fu by Minamoto Hisanari (1 volume so far):
For being an sweet look at domestic bliss, starring Suu and her wife Kina. (Plus Komugi and Hayase, the lesbian couple next door, and Kina's sister Kana, the lesbian Don Juan who finally meets her match.) Watching Kina and Suu just makes me happy, the other characters are fun, and I love Minamoto Hisanari for making a case for two women to be able to use the term "wife" for each other.

Gunjo by Nakamura Ching (2 volumes so far):
Speaking of transcending negative tropes...but in this case, tropes that are ascribed to queer women across different media rather than simply yuri. Gunjo is a challenging read (in more than one sense), and that's refreshing when- as in this case- it's done well. I cried for the character who died in volume 2, and I'm on pins and needles waiting to see how things end for Gunjo's nameless lesbian protagonist and the woman she threw everything away for.

Omoi no Kakera by Takemiya Jin (1 volume so far):
Out of all of the titles I've read for the first time this year, Omoi no Kakera easily has my favorite protagonist. Mika is a loveable, intelligent, refreshingly self-aware lesbian, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her life. 

Sasameki Koto by Ikeda Takashi (8 volumes so far):
Sasameki Koto occupies a gray space between this category and the first category because it has ended but its final tankoubon hasn't been published yet. For its loveable characters and depiction of what it's like to be a gay teen in a way that rings true again and again, Sasameki Koto always deserves a spot on this list. I'm really looking forward to getting that final volume.

Series That Haven't Been Published As Tankoubon Yet:

Collectors by Nishi UKO:
Collectors is about Shinobu and Takako, two women who are complete nerds for very different things. Shinobu loves books and Takako loves fashion. They love each other despite, and to some extent because of their different passions. (Someone who isn't passionate about anything wouldn't make someone who is happy, imho.) I love the premise and look forward to seeing it in tankoubon form.

Kuchibiru Tameiki Sakurairo by Morinaga Milk:
The return of Morinaga Milk's first (and arguably most) popular couple! And it addresses an issue that Girl Friends, realistic though it was, tiptoed around- coming out! (Four for you, Morinaga Milk! You go, Morinaga Milk!) The announcement of Nana and Hitomi's return was the best yuri news of 2011.

Must-Read Manga of Yuri Interest Published in English:

Cardcaptor Sakura omnibus 2 by CLAMP:
For continuing to re-introduce Tomoyo, one of yuri's most iconic classic characters.