The year went by in what seemed to be a flash, at least from my perspective. I remember getting back from Japan in early January, and now, we’re almost at the same point again.
But that’s not really what this post should be all about. Well, what I failed at actually telling you with this weird introduction is the fact that I can’t believe that another year has already passed. So since this year went by so fast, let’s do a short recollection of the most important things that pretty much characterized the year for us Yuri fans.
We could say 2015 more or less started out with the continuation of our favorite action/sci-fi/drama/parallel universe/mecha/yuri(ish) anime Cross Ange – a very nice start, if I may say so.
Added to this glory was not only one of the most hyped and anticipated full yuri shows of the whole year [Yuri Kuma Arashi], but also my personal highlight, Kantai Collection. In terms of yuri, both of these shows are reason enough to make this anime season not only the most yuri-packed season of the whole year, but probably also the most exciting one~
Though, as exciting as this first season already was, what followed managed to almost hold us at an equal level of excitement. Not only did Kyoto Animation serve queer-baiting at its finest with Hibike Euphonium‘s numerous yuri “love confessions”, we also got another season of NanoFate, as well as top-notch yuri delusions in Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku. On top of all that, Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic gave us yet another reason to love adorable girls who adore other girls. Yes, this season was pretty generous.
After that, the Yuri toned down for a while, but hit us hard again when the autumn season started in October. More Yuru Yuri was presented to us, as well as a second season of our favorite rabbit-loving baristas in Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka??. And if this wouldn’t have already been enough, Valkyrie Drive appeared and showed us just how far a non-hentai show could go without in fact being categorized as a real hentai, not to mention that Hidan no Aria AA gave us even more yuri to be thankful for this holiday season. What a year!
So now, after recollecting the most important key points in terms of Yuri Anime, we could do the same with Yuri Manga, but I think I might never be able to get done with this. So how about we simply continue with what we think made this year as awesome as it was.
Let’s start right where we left off and name some Manga highlights first.
Just like last year, Citrus managed to get even bigger than it already was, earning itself its own Drama CD, as well as an appearance in the new Yuru Yuri season. As Saburouta herself stated on her Twitter, she now wants to go even further and is thus looking for an anime studio willing to help her get Citrus its own anime adaptation. Well, I don’t think I even have to tell you guys how happy and excited this news got me, so I’ll just stop right here before some people get too angry with me for talking too much about Citrus.
Though, we yet again should name one more thing – or should I say two things. Not only did Citrus manage to win our Best Yuri Pairing Tournament, Yuzu also managed to win our very first Tournament in which we were looking for the Best Yuri Character. Now if that isn’t praiseworthy than I don’t know what is anymore! So yet again, congratulations Citrus! You’re doing amazing!
Other than Citrus, there are quite a few more Manga – or am I even allowed to call them that way – that managed to get A LOT of attention this year. I even dedicated my own little “Don’t Know What To Read Next” post to these types of Manga, since non-Japanese yuri works are so popular nowadays. It seriously makes me so happy to see so many different works from artists from basically all over the world popping up from out of nowhere, and I sure hope that this trend will hold up for a lot longer! Though, what I’m still missing is a German one 😉
As for Yuri Visual Novels, 2015 is like the year of English localizations. It’s not only Sono Hanabira that we can name here, there are seriously so many, and they all pretty much appeared from out of nowhere! So what should we all be waiting for? Well, how about Kindred Spirits on the Rooftop, Okujou no Yurirei-san, or how about freaking FLOWERS!!
And that’s not even all! It’s absolutely crazy, and I love it! Click here, if you wanna know more.
Last but not least, let’s also talk about my Anime Highlights of this year. As already mentioned, this year was packed with yuri, different kinds even! You could basically decide between the Symbolism Overload Anime that causes your brain to melt down [Yuri Kuma Arashi] or go in a completely different direction and just shut off your brain completely while enjoying gigantic boob monsters making out [Valkyrie Drive].
As for my favorite, it’s somewhere in the middle, and probably something that not many of you expect anyone to really view as their favorite yuri show of this year. Well, it wasn’t as controversial as Yuri Kuma or Valkyrie Drive, and was rather overshadowed by these two.
So yeah, my favorite show of 2015 is Kantai Collection. What a shock, right? As a die-hard Akaga shipper, as well as fleetgirl collector and awesome Admiral, I just can’t help loving this show with all my heart. Especially the fact that they really implemented as much yuri as they did, makes this show a HUGE success, and I can’t wait for the following movie (and hopefully Season 2) in 2016~
As awesome as Yuri Kuma and Valkyrie are, they simply can’t compete with all my favorite yuri ships.
All in all, it’s been another great year for us yuri fans. Maybe even a better year than 2015, considering all the awesome anime releases, as well as the numerous VN localization announcements that happened throughout the whole year.
But what do you think, or more precisely, how would you rate 2015? Is there anything you’re especially happy about or simply something you’d view as your personal highlight of this year?
YuriReviews and More 
If you say so!
I enjoyed some anime of this year too: yuri kuma arashi, yuru yuri and kin iro mosaic!
As fos citrus and kancolle, i was never interested…
If i have to rate this year, that would be 7/10
Also, i've read so many review of you and finally decided to express!
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Yeah, what a year ! There was something for everyone. Now, when you're looking on this year from it's end, there really was a lot of interesting things. Full yuri, a little yuri, yuri baiting, yuri only in our minds …
I can't propably point one show that could sit on a throne above all. You mentioned a lot, and all of them had something for me.
Cross Ange was crazy, often stupid but … but Ange x Hilda OTP !
Yuri Kuma was something else. Layers of plot here were interesting to try to understand.
Kantai was full fun, shipping ships !
Hibike had really sweet moments. I liked watching Kumiko x Reina scenes, and often almost screamed “Just Kiss” ;p
Return of Yuru Yuri was great. Some things changed, but it was still a lot of fun with Akari and gang. And yuri increased ! Kyoko x Ayano “date” is propably one of my bests from this season of YY.
Same thing with Gochuumon. Great return.
And Valkyrie Drive … hmmm … you know … It's VD xD
+ Love Live Movie was released on BD, so gonna watch it next week =D
On the manga topic: really exciting too. I'm not gonna list everything, but … Citrus of course, Their Story is awesome, Lily Love, After Hours, Virgins' Empire and lately Is My Hobby Weird ?
Good that more, and more VNs are being released in english. Still waiting for Kindred Spirits and Flowers (and more SonoHana).
On personal note: mayby it's not manga, but … bought all volumes (and more coming) of Stjepan Sejic lesbian-bdsm-erotic-romantic comedy comic – Sunstone. It's awesome if somemone don't know this ! Also bought all volumes of Girl Friends in my native language (really happy to have this in my hands) and for christmas Sweet Guilty Love Bites =D
Let's see what 2016 got for us.
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I've fallen in love with valkyrie drive, to the point I bought the game and a vita. But this year was great, keep them coming XD. Yuri Kuma arashi was one of my favorites too. Only thing I probably wasn't a fan of was cross ange.
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Awww. You finally decide to comment and it gets replied to by me. 😀
But, yes, she is great~
Only a 7 for this year? I'd probably go higher, since I think it was definitely better than last year. It's too early to get a good feel for next year, but it has its work cut out for it, if it's going to match this year's offerings.
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That's some devotion right there! I actually thought of buying one of those Mirei x Mamori dakimakura pillows as a gift for someone, but I thought better of it and threw that idea out the window. 😀
Based on how bare-bones the winter anime season looks right now, we might look back a year from now and realize how great we had it in 2015. Hopefully, that won't be the case, though.
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It truly was an embarrassment of riches this year, but it does leave me worried that we're going to have some unrealistic expectations going forward and that we'll eventually be let down. Save us, Citrus! You're our only hope! (hopefully, it won't come to that)
Earlier this year, somebody mentioned Sunstone on here, but L was put off by the art and didn't really give it a shot. 😦
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Well earlier this week I watched my first yuri. It was Strawberry Panic and it was the best thing in the world. Out of all the amine that I have watched, I easily place it first on my list (SAO is second). Anyways, I have been trying to find another yuri that is like Strawberry Panic, and I have yet to find one that even comes close. I know this is only my first week watching yuri so I haven't watched a lot lol but I was wondering if anybody here can point me into the right directions. I just saw Sakura trick and I liked it, but to me, it pales in comparison to Strawberry Panic. Fuck i'm sounding obsessed lol. I want one that has at least as muching kissing/intamacy as strawberry panic. I watched Riddle story of devil, but was annoyed because its all implied. I just want to watch one where there is romance between two girls, kissing, and preferably no males around in the anime. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks everyone!
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Well I am not a huge fan of Valkyrie Drive Mermaid, the animation looks amazing, but I kind of feel like the story has been put to the back of the line with other elements, but on the other end of the scale my favorite for this year (the ones I have watched) is Akuma No Riddle, might have been implied, but the idea of the anime was there. Not really a big fan of Yuru Yuri, I do find myself being a little picky on what I watch or read.
I have watched the playthrough of the PSVita Valkyrie Drive game, it looks a little repetitive and I am not certain of the story, since I cannot speak Japanese.
with Manga, Flag Time and Citrus have been my favorites from what I have read this year,
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In a year where I get Kiniro Mosaic, Is the Order a Rabbit?, and Yuru Yuri all in one year makes this a great year for me.
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All we hope for is more glorious yuri for 2016!
I think the most triumphal year for yuri might be 2014 that i think may get 8/10
Talking about yuri stuff, do you think i should try “sono hanabira ni kuchizuke wo”? And wich one if? I allways hear critics about that visual novel and i don't know if i should play it…
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Well, if you don't mind some NSFW yuri, then by all means, go for it. As for which one, the second post ever published on this blog was a review Lena did for SonoHana that you might find a little helpful. It doesn't feature the more recent games, but I still think it might help you find which of those (if any) you might be interested in~
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I'm with you on the first two. Yuru Yuri, I never really cared for it.
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i watched strawberry panic 3 months ago it was so cute ughh. and yep its super hard to find yuri animes where it has lesbian relationships. try yuri kuma arashi, valkyrie drive (it has mild nudity, ecchi ), sakura trick, those are yuri animes w girl x girl unofficial relationships. other yuri animes or animes w all female or mostly female cast w hints of yuri: yuru yuri, locodol, is the order a rabbit? vividred operation, yuki yuna, girlfriend (kari), kantai collection, sound! euphonium, mikagura gakuen kumikyoku, gakkou gurashi, symphogear, and a certain scientific railgun
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The “animation” looks amazing. Nice save. 😛
I also preferred Akuma no Riddle over Valkyrie Drive (Shiena FTW!). Not a fan of Yuru Yuri either~
Given how not great the story was in the anime Valkyrie Drive, you probably shouldn't get your hopes too high. And it looks like another button masher. Color me uninterested.
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Besides I don't own a Vita anyway, I have no reason to get one, meaning that I will more than likely not get one even for Bhikkhuni.
They don't fully explain the virus, there is little back story to explain the characters and even when there is some, it doesn't explain everything, you don't much development in terms of the characters, some of the characters are a little annoying and then there is the unrealistic breast sizes, how don't they have back problems? lol
on the flip side, the animation as I pointed out, isn't all that bad, the action scenes (and no I am not talking about that sort of action) is relatively smooth.
in my opinion, the Valkyrie Drive series (if they continue on with it) is a series with potential and if they collaborate the two games and the most recent anime, there could be a long saga, but they need to improve on the story, I feel like it was just an introduction to the Valkyrie Drive series.
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i enjoyed 2015 a lot as a yuri fan with all the amazing stuff we got like anime, manga and VNs especially being able to see nanofate again!!!!!!!! i think my favorite yuri anime would be nanoha vivid, symphogear gx or yuru yuri san hai i loved all three as a yuri fan because of the returning ships especially nanofate and because of the many cute moments in all three animes. i really hope that 2016 will give us more and maybe just maybe citrus can get that anime by next year, also i give 2015 a good 8/10
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Thanks for replying! I just watch sakura trick and it was pretty cute! To be honest though I have no idea how Yuu and Haruka mad it further in the best yuri couples competition than Nagisa and Shizuma. It was still a good series though:) I also just watched yuri kuma arashi and that was pretty romantic aswell. thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
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If anything resembles Dynasty Warriors, I stay the hell away. Golden rule.
Way back when this was announced and I first heard “the story revolves around a strange virus…”, I knew it was going to be terrible. That's a dead giveaway.
Oh, so that's what you meant! 😀
I was gonna say, if you thought that looked amazing, you shouldn't watch One Punch Man. Your head might explode, Scanners-style.
It definitely seems marketable and like it could have some success across mediums, but my hopes still aren't very high. Seems like they're more concerned about squeezing in as much fanservice as possible than developing a rich story.
But given how much attention this has received due to that fanservice, I can't really say I blame them. Like it or not, sex sells.
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So many people would lose their minds if Citrus really does get that anime adaptation. It would be nice to see some yuri drama in anime without weapons, for once.
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Yeah that is true, sex does sell, that is the same for any form of media. Might I suggest a review on the anime.
I find that the biggest gripe I have for the series, is the fact that we don't get given the reason why they are on this island, is it for training new female soldiers? or to keep them away from society? What makes this virus so special? apart from turn certain girls into weapons when they are sexually aroused (assaulted) and are they preparing for an upcoming war?
this series has way more questions than answers and they make no attempt to answer them. I was watching the last of the play through of Bhikkhuni and the last part there was a mention of Mermaid, so it is possible that there is a tie in somewhere and maybe they will tie that in at a later date, maybe after Siren.
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Sadly, I don't think the story really matters all that much to the target audience that this anime is geared towards. Not just the anime, the entire franchise, games included. They probably just want boobs and fanservice, and they got plenty of both with this anime.
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and sometimes it is a little too much.
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Sorry for the late reply!
I am not really in date so i can't follow most of ongiong anime :p
But still following anime from the past… and my deduction is that actual anime doesn't match ancien ones (Kashimashi, Strawberry Panic, Candy Boy)
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Oh! thank you! i will give it a try next year!
Maybe with the first one…
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Yeah, maybe someday the newer shows will become classics like Strawberry Panic. Everyone seems to love that one.
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No problem. Enjoy~
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ya i would love just a pure yuri story (no action nothing else) with drama into the mix and thats what citrus is kind of for but i can definitely see tons of yuri fans going crazy whether it be happy or mad its going to happen
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Now it's time to play the waiting game, until it actually gets announced~
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