I know that many people don’t bother reading one-shots because they think that they are just too short to really leave some kind of impression on you. Some people even say that one-shots feel too rushed due to their length, so the story doesn’t even get the chance to become interesting.
I have to completely disagree with them. One-shots are short, so far that’s correct, but that’s exactly what makes them so good. You don’t always need a (love) story with 20 chapters or even more. In fact one chapter can be just enough. If the story is good enough it can captivate you within only a few pages and furthermore leave a much greater impact on you than most lengthy manga could.
So hopefully I can get some of you to try out some one-shots and maybe you’ll even come to like them.
This time it was really hard to not only choose the titles but also to put them in order of preferrence. There are so many yuri one-shots out there that it took me quite a while to just briefly go through them again to see which ones might make it to the list.
So here you have it, my top 10 yuri one-shots. I hope I can show you some nice ones that you didn’t know before or maybe you’ll even find some interesting new artists.
10.
Author: tamamusi
Genre: School Setting, Winter
Description: Atsuko always had an unusually high body temperature, making her the centre of attention in winter. And while her classmates try to avoid her during summer, only Minami stays by her side, proving that she is Atsuko’s only real friend.
Year: 2010
Pages: 11
Scanlation Group: Wings of Yuri
This is a really short and simple story, yet it is enormously cute and I’m sure this will bring a smile to your face.
9.
Title: KatakoihimeAuthor: Otsu Hiyori
Genre: Unrequited Love, School Setting
Description: Despite her age Ooishi never had a crush on anyone before and is still rather uninterested when it comes to love. Yet meeting Mizuho, a girl hopelessly in love with someone she can never have, will drastically change her attitude.
Year: 2008
Pages: 32
Scanlation Group: Dynasty Scans
Otsu Hiyori is one of the only artists I know that alongside with other artists, like Vivit Gray or Isya, never fail to please me. If you are a yuri fan and don’t know her yet, you should probably go check out her works, she made a lot of one-shots and a few manga, so give them a try. They are all great!
8.
Title: Romance
Author: Ootomo Megane
Genre: School Setting, Romance, First Time
Description: Is it really that weird to love another girl? Even though Kanako has a girlfriend herself, she still can’t stop thinking about that question.
Year: 2010
Pages: 32
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
How does it feel to fall in love with someone of the same gender or more precisely, how does one feel about it? In this case Kanako will answer these questions for you, which is really interesting since I think that’s actually how many girls feel about it at first.
7.Author: Minase Ruruu
Genre: Fast Romance, School Setting
Description: One day, as Rika passes by her classmate Saki in the hallway, she notices a pleasant smell that lingers over Saki. Liking this scent she tries using the same shampoo and perfume but can’t really find out what exactly makes her classmate smell so good.
Year: 2008
Pages: 25
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
This one-shot is amazing in its own ways. The story is so simple yet interesting and I couldn’t agree more to what is presented here; the scent of the one you love really smells the best.
6.
Author: Kazuma Kowo
Genre: Telepathy, School Setting
Description: After being hit with a ball on the head, Yuki is temporarily able to hear the thoughts of one of her classmates, Miyazaki, the one she secretly has a crush on. To her surprise, the usually rather stoic and quiet Miyazaki has a totally different personality on the inside.
Year: 2011
Pages: 14
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
This one is a little weird since I think that telepathy is an ability you would rather expect characters of fantasy stories to have. In this case it’s a love story and I have to say, it’s weirdly fitting and I would love to see more stories like this.
5.
Title: Blank + Blank Continued
Author: Yotsuhara Furiko
Genre: Drama, Memory Loss
Description: After an accident, Minaho suffers from memory loss, making it impossible for her to remember anything that happened during the last two years. Unfortunately that’s exactly when she got to know her girlfriend Tokitou…
Year: 2011
Pages: 55
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
Depressing and bittersweet are probably the most fitting words to describe this story. It will most likely leave you with mixed feelings, which is why I wish there actually was another chapter of this one.
4.
Author: Yotsuhara Furiko
Genre: Love Triangle, School Setting, Jealousy
Description: Asagao is in love with her best friend Fuji, but since they are both girls, she fears Fuji would soon be taken away from her by their childhood friend Sakura. Since he is also in love with Fuji, but is seemingly hated by his crush, the two of them decide to compete with each other and let Fuji decide who she will take in the end.
Year: 2010
Pages: 20
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
It’s very interesting how the main problem of the story is introduced to the reader. I won’t tell you how that is done though, you need to find that out by yourself and trust me, it’s worth the effort of searching for it 😉
3. Title: Graffiti
Author: Furutsuji Kikka
Genre: Romance, School Setting
Description: Sitting at the same desk at different times of the day, Kana and Rise exchange short messages and drawings that they write on the desk that they both use in school. After getting to know each other by only writing, they accidently meet in person and start spending more time together.
Year: 2010
Pages: 47
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
In this story, you will see that it’s not always a bad thing to write stuff on the tables in school. In fact it could lead you to your future boy/girlfriend. I loved the way Kana and Rise got to know each other, it’s kind of romantic and also very exciting, especially the way those two finally got to meet in person.
2.
Title: Sweet Emotion
Author: Asatsuki Shinobu
Genre: Romance, Drama, School Setting
Description: Aki has been in love with her friend Rie for a long time now, but she can’t tell her about these feelings since Rie is obviously only interested in guys. After seeing her friend getting dumped by yet another guy, Aki decides to take matters into her own hands.
Year: 2011
Pages: 23
Scanlation Group: Yuri-Project
The story of this one is so cute, the art is gorgeous and the characters look amazing. It’s exactly what I’m looking for in loves stories, but unfortunately that’s also the only work out there by Asatsuki Shinobu.
1.
Author: Otsu Hiyori
Genre: Romance, School Setting, Comedy
Description: While trying to take a nap during lunch break, Kaede meets a strange and very outspoken girl. After receiving an unexpected kiss and even a love confession a day later, Kaede finds herself wondering how she got herself involved with such a strange girl. But even though she doesn’t really get it, she is still strangely interested in her new friend Erika.
Year: 2007
Pages: 33
Scanlation Group: Lililicious
I can’t really tell why this one in particular is my number one, it’s probably the combination of great art, interesting characters and a story that just feels right. There is not one thing I would want to change about this story, it’s just perfect and I absolutely love it.
YuriReviews and More 
When it comes to one shots, I really like authors who can write a good text. For me, most of these authors are remarkable for that aspect.
Your top 5 is pretty impressive, and it seems that they all have something that is not a common place to develop yuri stories.
My favorite in your list is Yotsuhara Furiko. I liked all of her works, and Blank was an amazing story that is not only sustained by yuri romance, but it's interesting for it's own premise.
Very good post.
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Thank you 🙂
I absolutely agree with you, Yotsuhara Furiko is a pretty amazing author, the stories she comes up with never fail to please me.
Blank is probably the only one-shot in my list, that could also appeal to people that are not into yuri/shoujo ai. It's like you said, it's interesting for it's own premise.
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I didn't know about some of these, thanks for the recommendation 🙂
Reading them right now, really liked Sweet Emotion.
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No problem, I'm happy I was able to show you some one-shots you didn't know before 😉
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And here i was thinking that i've already readed all that is to read in Dynasty! There were a couple of titles here that i didn't know and i've read them at the same time that i was watching to this list.
I was sure that something from Tanaka Minoru would make it's way in your list…
“Abracadabra” was the first one i read and i was pretty moved, i found the story original and fun in many ways, althought my favorite is “My teddy bear” but i think it may no longer be a one-shot because there's a continuation… and i really enjoyed “When you say no, i say Eek”.
Yeah, Otsu Hiyori and Yotsuhara Furiko are just amazing ♥
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Good thing you mention Tanaka Minoru, because I just realised that I haven't read “Abracadabra” yet.
Let's see whether it will be as good as you make it sound 😉
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haha Fuyu no shi (10) is actually a doujin about Takahashi Minami and Maeda Atsuko of AKB48..XDD
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😀 Really, it's a doujin? And even about AKB48?
Haha didn't know that and the only member of this band I know is Yuko…
Ah well now this manga is in the wrong Top 10 list… my bad.
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“Cigarettes does not equal Love”, if you haven't read it. It's unrequited love, and I'm always moved to tears by it.
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You mean “Cigarettes don't equal Chocolate” right?
This was a really nice yet bittersweet one-shot and it's really nice for a change to read stuff like that once in a while, but I'm a fan of happy endings, even though unrequited love stories are way more memorable.
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You know I found it on Pixiv on the atsumina tag and wished I could understand it entirely and BAM now I find it here. I'm so happy!
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Oh I'm happy you found it through my blog 😉
And I think there are more doujinshi like this by this artists, if I remember correctly some of them should even have a translation.
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hey admin, can you tell me how the main problem of the story is introduced to the reader in 20,21 one shot. I keep reading it over and over again but I just can't figure it out.
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Yup, of course.
The girls in their class are doing this “Who would you go out with ranking” and even though Fuji put that Sakura guy on last place, she didn't even put Asagao in the list at all, which just means that Asagao is not even regarded as someone who might have a chance with her.
I think it's interesting how such a more or less meaningless piece of paper could actually mean so much for someone like Asagao. This way, she doesn't even have to ask Fuji out, because she already knows that she can't even compete with someone like Sakura, who Fuji claims to hate.
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ahh now I understand, I also like this one shot and also hoping that there will be a sequel for it. But the ending is ok for me. I like it how Asagao didn't give up but instead she keeps fighting until she have the 1st place in Fuji's heart. It all makes sense why the title is 20, 21
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I think I would also like to see a sequel, but then again I also think that this one ended at just the right moment. It leaves you thinking about it and I for one was wondering whether Asagao might actually have a chance after all.
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yah yah.. I understand what you're trying to say, I'm also wondering if she will really have a chance with Fuji. That's why I want a sequel, XD but just like you said the ending is at right the moment. 😀
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“Romance” is the third chapter of a 6-chapter book, Himitsu, which I think ran in Tsubomi. I am glad you enjoyed it as a one-shot, but honestly, if you haven't read all the others, you should, because it makes “Romance” much easier to understand fully. For one thing, when she's treated for her sprain, it's a very big deal that the school nurse's girlfriend has left to go stay with her parents. They're the two main characters. The series starts with their romance. I think it's the most romantic relationship and the most interesting, but whenever it comes up the HS girls are always “sensei! boring!” or “isn't she too old to have relationships?” even though she's pretty young. It's kind of a running gag. Also, the drama club there really delivers on its name, and Romance is advancing the plot of the drama in the drama club – Kanako and China are the only two in the club that have requited love, everyone else is one-sided and heartbroken over each other. The club practically ends up disbanding over it. In the middle of a production. Anyway, Kanako and China's story in Romance is a combination of giving them a day in the limelight and showing (in contrast) what a happy mutual love at their age is like (compared to the endless tears and theatrics of all the other girls China and Kanako know and compared to the school nurse and girlfriend's more adult relationship).
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I've read the other chapters as well, or at least I think I did.
When it comes to this authors' works, it's always hard to tell whether I've actually already read something.
Many stories are really similar, plot-wise and character-wise.
It's just really hard to tell them apart.
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Reblogged this on Lillies and Ducks and commented:
A very useful list.
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