It’s been a while since the last Interactive Post, huh? And while this one might not be one from back when we made that poll, when we asked you what you would like to see most, rest assured that we won’t forget about these either.
This post was actually inspired by a comment by none other than Rock The Vogt, and you can read it right here. In this comment, I was simply asked what my ideal visual novel would look like, and while trying to answer this question, I found myself wanting to say waaaay more than the short version I forced myself to go with.
So, in short, what this post will be about is asking the question what my—and later also what your—ideal yuri work would look like, not actually focusing on the story itself, but rather the parameters to make whatever story ideal to you.
For me, even though I probably get most excited about yuri anime, I’d have to go with a visual novel here. I guess you could say I don’t have the greatest imagination, so even if I love simply reading a book or a story, I always prefer media that feature pictures to help with my lack of imagination. A manga or even picture book would work, but then again, I like to immerse myself into a story, and having music, possibly voice acting, and some more color added to the mix, simply makes a story more immersive for me.
You could say that an anime or possibly even a movie adaptation would work best for that then, but given my ideal genres, or let’s say, rating for the story, I think an anime or movie version simply wouldn’t work as well as a visual novel. Plus, I just love being able to decide for myself where a story is going, and probably only visual novels or well-written stories would enable you to make the decisions, given that anime and movies are already planned out for you, leaving no room for your own direction.
Since I don’t want to use this post to write down a script for a possible story, I’d simply like to feature the genres of what I know I would enjoy most, while also giving the story a content rating, such as PG-13 or whatever.
When it comes to genres, I’m a huge sucker for romances. Yuri romances, to be more precise. I don’t much enjoy too much drama and would rather keep that on the lower end. I usually do enjoy themes like time travel and fantasy, but while I do like them in many forms, they usually overshadow the romance, which is why I don’t think I wanna go with these for my ideal work. A university setting or work life setting would be ideal in my eyes, as I think the school setting is simply used too much, and given my age (26), I simply can’t identify with high school students anymore, and I prefer reading a story about characters around my own age.
When it comes to the rating of my ideal story, I think I’d have to go with NC-17, for sexual content. Big shock, I know. 😛
Now, the reason why I don’t think a rating like this works for movies or anime is simply because it would then be considered porn or hentai, and even if this works in rare occasions, once the sex is added, it often overpowers the story. Furthermore, shows like this are doomed to air during times where literally almost no one is awake anymore anyway and thus the budget suffers, too.
With visual novels, this is not much of an issue, as you can simply turn the sexual content off or on, depending on your liking. A free 18+ patch, like ones featured in many recent yuri VNs would work as well, enabling your work to get a different rating and adding the NC-17 stuff as optional content.
So in short, my ideal genres would be: Yuri, romance, romance, romance, university or work-life setting, easy-going, and NC-17.
Given that my ideal story would be featured in a visual novel, I’ll answer by giving an estimated time in minutes/hours.
I guess you could say the longer the better, right? Though, I think given that my ideal story would not feature much drama, you shouldn’t drag the story out for too long. I think a playtime around 5 hours would probably work best, with an additional hour of content in case you decide to get the adult patch ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).
There are a lot of ways to answer this, since this is a way of making your story more unique and adding features depending on the media type you decided for.
Since I went with a visual novel, the special feature I’d like to add would be being able to direct the story yourself by adding choices that actually influence the story and the possible endings. I’d like to have some deeper layers added in than what we mostly see today in yuri visual novels, actually making the choices affect the story and making more than only two endings possible. This would also encourage people to play the game multiple times to reach all the possible endings, making it a unique experience every time. And even if I’m not a fan of drama, I guess some should be mixed in too, in order to at least implement some bad ends.
Furthermore, as featured in recent yuri VN Love Ribbon, I’d like to add in some animated CGs for key moments to make the story feel more alive, as well as voice acting. Since I’m not a big fan of English, or even worse, German voice acting in visual novels, I’d go with a Japanese dub with English subs. Of course, gorgeous art and stunning background music would also be a must, but that would of course raise the production costs.
As mentioned above, I don’t want to use this to post story scripts, just some general ideas on what you enjoy most storywise.
I guess, to appeal to a larger group of people and to justify a larger amount of episodes or chapters, we’re often met with drama to the max, sometimes even levels that are so unrealistically high that we just can’t help but frown upon it. Well, for some people, this is a must to enjoy a story and find it interesting. For me, however, it’s often more of nuisance. Let’s take Citrus, for example. Some drama can make a story more compelling, but too much just drags it out for too long. Plus, it simply gets in the way of the romance, and while a 12-episode anime could focus on the romance for the whole run of the show, the added drama can reduce the amount of actual romance we get by a whole lot.
So yeah, my ideal story would feature little to no drama, with the full focus set on romance and nothing else. Just two girls meeting and falling in love; how that happens is not even that important. I guess I don’t mind a slow burn story with some obstacles thrown in their way, where the romance takes a while to bloom. In fact, that makes the key moments on their way even more enjoyable. Over the top drama, angst, and hardship, however, can stay out of it for the most part.
Some might call it boring, but I think the story would feel wholesome, relaxing, and simply happy, without any drawbacks. Maybe that’s not exactly realistic to some of us, but well, it’s there for entertainment anyway, so that’s not an issue for me. So yeah, we haven’t seen this setting too much in anime—more often in visual novels or short manga—and I’d definitely like to see some change in that department.
- Visual Novel Love Ribbon – Minus all the drama towards the end
- Visual Novel Series Sono Hanabira – With some actual plot and less of a focus on the sex
- OVA Asagao to Kase-san. – With more episodes and a story that starts from the point where they first meet, instead of when they are already a couple
- The Kase-san manga – With more sex… 😛
- The Girl Friends manga – With less drama towards the end
Well, I could go on and on, but let’s just stop here, before the list gets too long.
So without going too much into detail or boring you to death with in-depth story ideas, I tried to list what I think would make a good yuri work, or more so my ideal yuri work.
Now, if you’re interested in sharing, it’s your turn to let us know what you’d enjoy most. Feel free to use the questions I worked with:
YuriReviews and More 
1- Visual Novel
2- Probably age gap,+16
3- min 10 hours
4- I’d add many different endings and also new packs
5- It’d be about student x teacher I think
6- Sono Hanabira but it was focused on sex in my opinion, mine would be more fluffy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Uh, Student x teacher, thats a pretty good choice~
LikeLike
1- Manhwa/Manhua
2- Student life / young workers
3- Don’t really know, a lot but not to much at the same time ^^
4- Don’t really know there too sry ^^
5- A romance between 2 womans that are not neccesary lesbian at first with a huge part of still not lovers but attracted !
6- The love doctor / What does the fox says / Miss Angel and Miss Devil / And of course Fluttering Feelings which i’m still really sad for the death of samba, i want the end so bad 😥
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see that you’re really enjoying non-Japanese works 😀
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
I’m going to have to go anime on this one.I like the longer form that you can get in manga/LN/VN but giving up on the sound/voice/motion in exchange for length is to big a sacrifice.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
As much as I do love when yuri is mixed in with other things, I always just crave a good yuri romance above all else. A little drama, a little slice of life, but mainly focused on the romance.
3. How long would your story be?
I’d look at the range of 2 or so seasons of anime. I often find that longer stories end up running themselves around in circles repeating themselves anyway. For every good “slow burn” there’s 20 “just get it over with since the outcome was guaranteed from page 1” stories. I’m pretty firmly of the belief that the vast majority of good stories can be told in 24 to 36 episodes of an anime. More than that and you’re just sticking in filler, repeating yourself or taking the story into unnecessary tangents that dilute it’s focus (especially when it’s something like a romance).
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
A feature for an anime? Well, actual merch would be nice since there’s barely any actual yuri merch out there. And maybe a movie would be cool even if it was sort of a director’s cut of the anime seasons. Also, since I love music, maybe some sort of music releases, concerts with the seiyuu. I dunno.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
If given two seasons of anime to work with, I’d actually split it down the middle with the first season being the story of the couple meeting and falling in love with the ending being them getting married. The second season would be married life focused, including raising a daughter. If we’re adding on a third season maybe even do older life with the couple parenting their adult daughter and falling in love with each other all over again as matured adults. I’d have no issues at all starting with the couple in high school, possibly including the usual coming out process, since I would plan to show the actual post confession and post marriage life as well. No big age gap, no Big Drama, definitely some sexy times but when called for by the story and not the focus of the story. I wouldn’t necessarily be looking to break the yuri mold by doing something completely new, I’d just be looking to tell the sort of definitive full scope story we never seem to get the entirety of.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Not that I can think of. I do love a number of series but, even out of the ones I really enjoy, they always seem to fall short or end before they really get going. The closest is actually probably Sound Euphonium. The story there between Reina and Kumiko is almost exactly what I would want to see except more focused on just them instead of the whole band (and, as is obvious, removing the obvious trash ending the anime had with it’s manga purist pandering). Make Reina and Kumiko’s relationship as told in the Sound Euphonium anime basically season 1 of my anime and then naturally progress it as they grow together from there.
LikeLiked by 3 people
I love your general idea for the story. Would be quite awesome to have a 2 season yuri anime split into a part in which they just get together and then seeing them being married with possibly even a child. That’s a great idea!
LikeLike
I like a wide range of works but if answering on impulse …
manga
romance drama, emphasis on ambiguity or air of mystery
long-form, 10+ volumes
I prefer the older, classic takes on yuri where the feelings are really ambiguous, foggy, cloudy … where girls struggle to define the line between friends they really like on one side and then romantic partners on the other. I think that is a quintessential quality of girl/girl relationships. That said, I do like a lot of other takes as well. I’ll read just about all of them really.
This one came really close to ideal in recent memory:
https://dynasty-scans.com/series/living_with_my_brothers_wife
LikeLiked by 2 people
Gotta read this one too. Looks interesting to me, let’s see
LikeLike
I personally don’t have any particular requests for a yuri work about media, plot or else… Though it would be awesome a story with character not lesbian just for the sake of making a lesbian work. I mean, almost all the yuri manga an anime (and this happen also with western media) out there are made with gay characters who seems to live in a parallel platonic world where they can fall in love with whoever they want and that’s all. It looks like the authors thought: “Hey, people want some gay story, then let’s create a gay story”. And then they say: “c’mon guys, we’ve got this clearly gay story romance for you. Let’s enjoy it”. I would absolutely love a story with a normal setting without any hints that it would be a lesbian story, with the character genuinly falling in love with each other just after certain events or deeds. The anime that fit the most my ideal of yuri work would be Madoka Magica (if only they were canon and kissed each other, damn!) since it has a freaking fantastic plot filled with the relationship between Homura and Madoka.
So, this is a summary:
1.Media: everything would be great, I don’t care about the media if the product is good. Though, it would nice if the yuri is adapted in every media.
2. Madoka is a fantasy… but i would prefer a realistic setting, with young characters who grow phisically and emotionally.
3. Lenght: I don’t really know lol. It depends on the kind of story.
4. Special features: Nothing comes to my mind.
5. Plot: I’m planning to write myself a novel about this, but it’s almost 01:00 and I’m quite tired xD. Everything with the features I already said would be good, though.
6. Examples: As I Already said, Madoka. But all by sudden I’ve realized there is also that awesomeness of Life is Strange. Yeah, that’s would be my ideal yuri.
7. Bonus: Bloom Into You, Kase san and My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness will get an official italian realease, I’ m so freakyng haapy, yeaaah!! Just want to let you know, Lena 😀 (Did they’ve been published in Germany too?)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh that’s awesome! A great story should be translated into a lot of languages! Though, gotta be honest, recently, I’ve not been keeping up with German releases since I usually prefer the english version anyway 😀
LikeLike
1.Media: Weekly manga series. It’s easily my favorite format for series since I’ve been Shonen Jump series since I was a kid.
2.Genre: Battle action series with more supernatural and magic elements where the yuri romance is a vital part of the series.
3.Length: 300 chapters minimum. I want to enjoy the series for a while.
4.Special Features: I don’t know what special they could add so I’ll cheat and say I want an anime. As for which studio I’ll go with my favorite Studio ufotable.
5.Story: As a giant Type-Moon fanboy I love the supernatural mysteries at night of Kara no Kyoukai Tsukihime and og Fate/Stay Night. So the story would start with one of our protagonists being protecting her city from monsters and other supernatural threats until our other protag transfers into her high school and soon they team up to take on these threats together. As the series goes on it gets crazier with the ending of the series involving the Holy Grail.
6.Similar Series: There are a few yuri series with action and supernatural stuff in it. Some I’ve read and watched like Akuma no Riddle and Mnemosyne and some I haven’t like Mai-HiME and Hayate X Blade. But really nothing like I want it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
So the ideal story would basically be some Fate Stay Night with yuri, right? Man, I would have loved to see some more yuri in these….
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
I would prefer an RPG. But probably a visual novel is more realistic in the end. Still, this is “ideal”, so i would go with RPG.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Fantasy or Sci-fi are a must. I have very little interest in a story based on reality. Not to say I never enjoy shows rooted in a more modern day setting, I just REALLY REALLY want to have a story using Sci-fi/Fantasy. Even a combination of the two would be great! I prefer non-h stuff, so M would be the highest rating I’d go for. Some ecchiservice would be good, but no actual shown sex. If something happened off screen that would be another thing entirely.
3. How long would your story be?
Preferably at least 100 hours. Would be great to be 200+. Something that someone could invest so much time in and just be free from spending money on anything else for quite a time.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Lots of puzzles! I love em! And they bring a lot of extra fun to a story. I actually don’t like multiple routes, but multiple endings are fine. Just…I’d rather relationships be set. Only with the ability to have the protagonist be alone. A single love interest for the protagonist, and pairings a plenty, including for the antagonists. Maybe even between the antagonists and the main cast in some of the cases. Anyway, that’s going off track from the question. Also would implement a lot of collectibles. Things like finding cats around the world, and other things like that. This is part of how you get to the 200+ hour playtime. Also, various methods of travel are found, including a dragon that turns into a cute dragon girl to fly around on eventually. And of course costumes. tons of them for all the party members. Costumes that aren’t just “outfits” but pieces of outfits. So you can mix and match, because dressup is the best~
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
To keep from being too expanded on this, a sorta typical fantasy RPG setup, but the protagonist is a young girl. She’s enjoying time in her peaceful village with her childhood friend (who is a guy), but then someone kills everyone, only her and the childhood friend somehow managing to live. But both of them get separated, with the MC drifting onto a deserted island. Things happen, and she releases another young girl from something. Together they begin a journey to get revenge on those who killed everyone she knew, and to figure out who this young girl is. Since she has amnesia. Along the way getting companiions, and eventually meeting up with her childhood friend who had also found himself a mysterious young girl with amnesia. The story gets more and more complex as it goes. Depending on whether the player completed certain side quests (that are not crazy difficult to find, but not easy to complete either on a first playthrough), the game would end early, with the MC losing everything. There’s another ending where the MC loses the girl she had fallen in love with. And, the true ending, where the MC pulls through and gets a happy ending for everyone.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Lots of Tales games come close, but they’re never yuri. Vesperia is probably closest, without being yuri centrally of course.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m surprised to see you all wanting such super long stories. Then again if you already know that there’s going to be a huuuuge plot to tell anyway, i guess that makes sense. Also, interesting plot idea.
LikeLike
1. ANIME
2. YURI ,SLICE OF LIFE, ROMANCE, COMEDY, AGE GAP, STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIP, CUTE GIRL DOING CUTE STUFF
3. 5 SEASONS OR MORE
4. SPECIAL FEATURE: TO BE MADE INTO AN ANIME BY KYOTO ANI., BY NAOKO YAMADA
5. A ROMANCE BETWEEN A CHILDISH TEACHER AND A GROWN-UP STUDENT.
6. Kusanagi-sensei wa Tamesarete Iru, Steps, Slow Start ( Eiko X Kiyose).
LikeLiked by 1 person
student x teacher always hits the right spots for me 😀
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
An anime or VN is oh so tempting, but my media of choice is always manga. Can’t get enough of the printed page. 🙂
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
I would go with romance, some drama, and a college setting. It would start out pretty fluffy, and spiral up to NC-17 territory.
3. How long would your story be?
It would be about 2-4 volumes spanning their years of college life.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Well, it’s a manga, so the only special features would be a some specials and side stories, and of course some art work pieces.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
Since it’s my wish, it would basically be the continuation of Girl Friends with their college life. It would be pretty fluffy, but also contain some relationship issues, and maybe a coming out to the folks. Some drama is just needed here, as they need some obstacles to over come to allow for growth of the characters and their relationship. Ends with a graduation and them moving in together (marriage?).
A special could be a flash back to their third year in high school to flesh out that part of the original story.
A required side story would be one about Sugi and Tamamin. Maybe one where Sugi finally drops all her boyfriends once she realizes that all those relationships were just meaningless. Tamamin invites her over to her dorm room to console her, and of course they get drunk, and of course they wake up the next day in the same bed. A confession ensues.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Pretty much the fanfic Women in Love by Ethereal Forest (it’s a shame it never got finished, but am grateful for what we got). 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Could anyone please bring Milk Morinaga here to show her your post? I would LOVE to see your idea actually come true! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
I’m tempted to pick VN, but I think I’ll go with anime. While I like the multiple choices/routes of VN, I feel like anime is the best medium for my hypothetical story.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Being a shonen fan before knowing yuri, I’m definitely picking action+fantasy as the genre. I don’t dislike SoL or vanilla romance stories, and while I do love my fluffs and romances like any good yuri fan, but in my opinion, those kind of stories are a little bland and oversaturated within the yuri genre.
I know very little when it comes to rating, but since I like dark and mature theme in my story, I’m going with NC-17.
3. How long would your story be?
I’d say 2-cour (24-26 episode) anime. Not too long and not too short.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
I guess adding extra/bonus episodes that focuses on other relevant side character perspective or their past.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
Have a myth arc. The main couple starts up on a rocky, antagonistic relationship and slowly come to understand and love the other over the course of the story. Two different events to show both of them goes to great length to save the other. A balance tone between dramas and fluffs/comedy. That’s pretty much the very basic of it.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
The ones that immediately comes to mind:
– Murcielago (Manga) – The genre, tone and myth arc.
– Hayate x Blade (Manga) – The genre and tone.
– Stray Little Devil (Manga) – Close, and the story is a bit too short personally.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting idea, I can see that we have quite opposite ideas of how the perfect yuri story would play out. But, oh man, I would love to see yours come true as well~
LikeLike
My ideal Yuri is probably something like Kannazuki no Miko but with a tighter plot and no boys. Haha.
(I know I’m a bit late to commenting, but you guys should review Celestial Method. It had lots of Yuri undertones)
LikeLiked by 1 person
How about no guys and no mechs? 😀
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
Visual Novel
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Yuri, Fantasy, Slice of Life. Ideally I’d have incest here too, but for now I’m trying to branch out lol.
3. How long would your story be?
10-ish hours.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Choices! Important to make the game play fun. I want the player to be able to go to different areas of this fantasy world and to be able to interact at least a little with the people who populate it. Maybe some mini games are implemented, match-3 style where the player has to complete the level successfully to make an item which needs to be delivered to different people.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
Main character meets her love interest, who’s a different race from her. MC learns about her culture and they start to fall in love. We see their daily life in this fantasy world, build relationships with people, maybe there’s even a couple of love rivals!
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Not that I’m aware, but it would be a mix of Little Witch Romanesque and Hunniepop in terms of playability.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww, no works that come to mind that at least come a little close? Well, I gotta say, we have different tastes and ideas, I guess the shows or games that would come close are not on my radar, but I’m sure there must be some works that at least come a little close.
LikeLike
1. It’s gotta be an anime, but obviously if it’s good enough I’ll both read a manga and watch the anime.
2. Something like a romantic comedy, with some light drama/angst sprinkled in here and there.
3. Standard 12 episodes at 20 minutes each.
4. I kind of like the idea of each episode or each couple of episodes being from a different character’s perspective, but that’s not super important.
5. Probably some sort of childhood-friends-turned-lovers kind of story. I also really like age gap, ideally early 20s and mid to early 30s in a coworker setting. Either of these is good, and no love triangles allowed.
6. Sakura Trick is actually fairly close to what I’m looking for. My ideal show would probably have a bit of a slower buildup to the MCs actually getting together and a little bit more angst/uncertainty, but nothing too painful. I could also do without the fanservice stuff, not because I have a problem with it generally, but just because it was a bit out of place here. I could also do without the sort-of triangle with Mitsuki, but it wasn’t exactly super dramatic so it’s fine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like the idea of featuring episodes from different perspectives. Funny enough, I would really enjoy seeing a romance take place over the course of a few episode but each episode see it unfold from another perspective – not only the two girls involved, but also from the perspectives of their friends or family.
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
I’ll probably just stay with manga and anime, probably a videogame adaptation even. I like to keep things simple.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Warfare has always been my jam when it comes to story telling so having a yuri relationship established during a war or a major conflict that involves said relationship is something I’ve always longed for. Not to mention that setting can create huge obstacles for the couple to overcome, solidifying their bonds.
3. How long would your story be?
I’d say it’s goin’ to be fairly long (around 2-3 seasons of anime) since the yuri is not the main focus but the war itself and will focus on the main couple as they fight and struggle to stay alive and win.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Not much I can think of (if any) when it comes to anime and manga.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
The story will take place in an alternate timeline where mankind developed a type of magic that was later used for warfare and combat but in the 1940s, a mysterious civilization deemed to be extra-terrestrial in nature invaded Earth with hostile intentions and the nations around the world combined forces to protect the world on all fronts. The main focus is on a a pair of female pilots as they embark on suicide missions on the battlefield providing air support all the while combating the enemies on their plane. Each of the girls have their own abilities, one is a combat engineer that can use her magic to operate and repair her vehicle on the fly while the other one uses her power to locate and relay targets with extreme precision, allowing the duo to fight effectively. For the yuri, their relationship will probably be established before the story even began but the level of intimacy will escalate gradually from subtext to canonical as their bond strengthens along with the progress of the war.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Prooooooooobably not, the closest I can find is probably the Strike Witches series and that’s already a HUGE stretch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you haven’t seen it, I’d recommend Izetta the Last Witch, that’s probably the closest you’ll get that I can think of.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve seen it, one of my all-time favourite yuri anime but I’d prefer a more nitty gritty art style to better reflect the setting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You beat me to it, was about to recommend Izetta too 😀
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
This is, weirdly enough, the most difficult question for me. I really really love reading, but don’t have much imagination, honestly, so books are kind of out. Anime is *definitely* out because 12 chapters wouldn’t be enough, and i don’t think hoping for a full-blown romance yuri with 24 chapters is realistic. So, given that, you’d say “Visual Novels, then”. The thing is, i read too fast, so the voiced bits tend to take too much time, and i sometimes end up bored and switching to another story for a while. I think I’d go with Manga/Manhwa/Manhua here, or maybe even a Webcomic.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Romance, obviously. The story would need a lot of cuddling and hugging and just general fluff, towards the end, preferably. Slice of Life, if you count this as a genre. I said it before, but i don’t want a harem isekai with an overpowered MC killing everything and solving world hunger with a cheat ability or help from God.
Fantasy, and with this i don’t mean that the MC goes around killing dragons and all that crap, but a nice medieval setting that could also give some kind of “conflict” for an arc, but that wouldn’t potentially kill anyone. Maybe one of the characters is, just an example, a princess or something, and her potential lover a peasant. Has this probably been overdone? Kinda, but I’m a simple person.
OR
Sci-Fi. But this is just because i like the genre; i really don’t see how a slice-of-life-ish story would fit into a sci-fi-ish world.
As for rating, T for profanity and swearing, maybe? I really don’t need any kind of sexual content, I’m more than happy with fluff and cuddles (would enjoy it more if it didn’t have smut, even), but eh, this varies by person. Also the Fantasy setting probably would ensure a bit of violence, but this is a “your-ideal-work” thing so, for me, as little as possible of that.
3. How long would your story be?
Probably should have thought about it a bit more before saying 1 was the hardest question. I have literally no idea. Gamma is one of my favorite mangas and it’s too short, so at least more than that. I don’t have any “too long” examples, so just as long as the artist feels like it can go.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Anyone read Kindred Spirits here? I really liked the idea of MC going around helping other couples get together. That would be really nice, and, if the story *is* set in a Fantasy world, it could help introduce a whole lot of different characters.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
This one I’m just coming up with right now, but the thing Death March Kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyōsōkyoku does, the part of having MC be a merchant of sorts and go ’round the world, that seems fitting. Especially considering i want the story to be similar to Kindred Spirits, in the sense that I’d like to see different couples getting together, yeah?
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Not… really? I mean, i can think of a lot of series that “come close to coming close”, but if I’m gonna be an ass, all of them are missing “something”.
Shuumatsu no Izetta, for example. Yes, subtext. Fuck subtext. Finé and Izetta’s relationship is really obvious, at least with yuri goggles, though, so it counts for me. Back on topic, it’s set in a fantasy-ish world with modern-ish technology, so far so good. The war. It’s like, a weeny teeny tiny bit important to *this* story, so of course i wouldn’t take it away, it’s great as it is, but that part makes this not my “ideal work”.
Gamma. I said it before, one of my favorite mangas, and damn is it good, but while i did like the development of each character there, and i feel like Yuri is happy with her life in the end, my ideal work needs to not leave anyone with the emotional scars she had. I’m as weak as i am simple, so i really would enjoy something that just lets everyone be happy. Yes (SPOILER FOR GAMMA), character death here was important for the plot, and didn’t feel forced to me, but i just want them to be happy with their loved ones. Also, the +18 bits Ogino fit there felt ehhhhhhh unnecessary. Not unwelcome, just unnecessary.
LikeLike
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
As you said, VNs can be quite flexible with length and can add some sex scenes with no problem, so I think I would go with VNs
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Fantasy and romance. Im a sucker for big fantasy worlds and power systems. Maybe even some dark fantasy with werewolves and vampires. And it would certainly have some sex scenes.
3. How long would your story be?
Pretty long. Think something the size of Fate/Stay Night. Ok, maybe shorter because Fate can get pretty slow and boring in some parts. But anyway, It would really take its time to establish the characters and world.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
At least 3 routes, and just like Fate, depending on what route you choose the story can change completely and go to very different places
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
No idea…actually too many ideas, but no conection. I think about modern fantasy worlds, classic medieval fantasy, even on a Yuriverse where there are no male humans.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
No, unfortunately. At least I dont know any, wich leads me to think of my own. I tought about 300 stories for a possible Yuriverse RPG(tabletop style) but actually getting to play it its quite hard hahaha XD
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fantasy and romance… I’d be down no matter the plot.
Do you know about the visual novel Starlight Vega?
Reading your comment made me think of it and I believe you would really enjoy that.
LikeLike
I did read it and really loved it. I wish it was a bit longer, mainly the harem route…for reasons 🙂
LikeLike
Huge news! Well… Kind of. It’s more of a hunch. But I think the new anime by Bones, Carole and Tuesday, might be a Yuri. The only characters announced so far are the two main girls and it has a romance tag. Hmm. I’m very hopeful about this. (Please, Yuri goddess)
LikeLiked by 1 person
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
first manga, then anime and maybe a vn
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Harem Yuri, Slice of Life, School Life, Adult Life,Drama and even Science Babies
3. How long would your story be?
Even it will follow the MC and her harem through time,I don’t know if it could reach 100 chapters.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Maybe a sort of collab with different authors when there are some point of view of each member of the harem, the chapter dedicated to the “X” character with one author to strenght the idea about each person has a different point of view.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
Harem Yuri, with a point of view from high school with the MC and a first harem, then university with heartbreaking separations, fluffy new members, then coworkers, adult stuff, other separations and maybe multi marriage, during the evolving of time warm meeting with past members of the harem, some death to give enough depressing moments, but lastly, with a possibily of science babies, happy ending,
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Bloom into You is the closest thing of my ideal yuri, the graphic details are amazing (like the stairs and a crossroad, not to spoil something), and the deep development of the characters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think a lot of yuri fans would LOVE to see any kind of media featuring a yuri harem.
It’s been on my wish-list too see that happen for years now, and while we have some works like that in form of manga or VNs, in anime it’s still kins of rare… How unfortunate.
LikeLike
Hi there. I just found your site so this’ll be my first post here.
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
Visual Novel.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Action, fantasy, urban fiction.
3. How long would your story be?
50+ hours.
I would love to have our own yuri epic. The most memorable stories for me are the ones with tons of buildup and an explosive ending.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
First of all, yuri romance (lewd all the way) but that wouldn’t be the main focus of the story.
I’d also put humorous hint corners after bad endings, some of them also containing yuri references.
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
First of all, just like others said, a F/SN or Tsukihime but with yuri would be my goal. Magic and vampires are some of my favourite motifs and you can create great worlds with them.
Structure-wise, Tsukihime was nice with its 5 shorter routes but I think Fate nailed it with the 3 epic very distinct routes.
I’d keep the drama on the low side but the characters should obviously have some obstacles to overcome. Tension over drama.
Other than that, sticking with the VN medium, a turn based strategy game like Eyuu Senki would also be great. You could have your own yuri haren while conquering the world, or at least a country. Think “Yuri shall conquer the Earth!”
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Akai Ito, Aoishiro, Murcielago. Maybe I’m missing other stuff, I need to read more yuri manga.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi there and nice to meet you 🙂
Reading your description now, I have a feeling there might be quite a few similar stories.
Hope you’ll find something new to read and enjoy~
LikeLike
I think I’d like a manhua (I love the way they read on phones).
Rather than be a romance I’d like something like a slice of life iyashikei.
The main pairing would be in an established relationship from the beginning. Throw in a supernatural twist but in an extremely muted way.
Think Collectors meets Flying Witch. Treating the more fantastical elements as if they’re mundane is basically rule number one for creating something that feels truly magical. Sprinkle in some light mystery and you’ve got yourself a winner.
…I think I just described Mushishi with lesbians. Yeah, I’d be game.
LikeLike
Time for me to come in super-late but I’m in a Mood. This might be a little lengthy. It’s a frustratingly open-ended idea, because I can think of a lot of Ideal Yuri Works to be honest. Truth be told I don’t necessarily want a single perfect work so much as I want piles of heroic explicitly gay garbage I can shovel down my gullet. My “ideal yuri work” wouldn’t be a singular work so much as just, a more general concept of what kind of stuff I want to see more of.
1. What media should be used to deliver the story?
A full-length show or a video game, though it occurs to me some of my daydreams would actually probably suit an otome-style work better than more traditional genres if we’re talking a game. I mean I want my Yuri Souls, don’t get me wrong, but a non-VN video game works better if you’re playing the hero rather than the princess she rescues, and sometimes I want the latter.
2. What genres would you pick for your story?
Romance (yuri), action-adventure, drama, maybe even mythology, and somewhere between PG-13 and R. I’m not looking for porn, but I’m definitely looking for something that can accommodate more mature themes, as well as immature themes like violence and gore. Actual sex is extremely optional (and doing the usual thing of only showing enough of it to know it happened is fine). As for how to order these genres, for a show or otome I’d want something where the action and adventure exist to intensify the romantic drama and give opportunity for the heroine to protect the love interest (or if it’s an otome, for the heroic love interest to protect the MC). For a more traditional genre of game action and adventure would naturally move up the scale a bit, though I’d still want it strongly balanced out with its romantic-drama storyline. Action-RPG is my favorite genre, though action with fewer RPG elements could work for something with a more tightly defined story. As for the mythology, what can I say, I like Heroic (or Antiheroic, or Villainous, or just generally Extraordinary) Gay Love, sometimes even on an outright mythological scale. I’m one of those weirdoes that, more generally, likes larger-than-life love and wish more gay works had it as opposed to being heavily relegated to slice-of-life. Think a juxtaposition of larger-than-life circumstances with actual human feelings and motivations, especially the need to love and be loved. That’s kind of my bag.
…that’s a bit long-winded but like, the point I’m getting at is *larger-than-life* love with heroism (or antiheroism) and heart-pounding danger and showing love through willingness to risk life and limb and also *protectiveness* and etc.
3. How long would your story be?
Fairly long. A 12- or 13-episode season would be about the minimum, and I’d probably want something more like a full-length 26-episode season, or multiple seasons, instead, for a show. I’m a big fan of relationships that have actual buildup and taking the time to develop a foundation and all that. You could say I prefer to have my meat before I have my pudding. A game would have to keep the same in mind: it doesn’t have to be a 100-hour epic, but it has to be long enough to give ample time to get invested in the relationship between the lead couple; that is the central determinant of how long I think it should be for this purpose. For an otome, 8 hours might be sufficient, but for an action/action-adventure/action-RPG type game, I could see 20-30 hours being a better target to make enough room to work in ample character and relationship development.
4. Are there any special features you’d like to implement?
Full Domtext. No subtext, at all, except insofar as the buildup period before a relationship reaches a romantic head might be mistaken for “subtext.” There must be the full emotional release of things like confession and kissing and owning the gay, and maybe even *marriage*! This is probably the most important thing in this post. Just abolish Subtext Hell forever and ever and the rest will kind of come on its own tbh.
Also I’ve loved works with battle couples before, but I really like themes of protection and rescuing, though not generally to the exclusion of the protect-ee having her own role to play in the relationship beyond just that. (If it’s the sort of relationship where the hero protects her love interest physically and the love interest protects her hero’s *heart*, that is Super Cute.)
Absolute bangers (I mean music).
5. What would be your general idea for the story?
Honestly this is the part where I have the least to say, given there are a lot of different general stories that could exist in a yuri work I would consider Ideal. Though to use the example of the otome, something where the main character is an imperiled princess and your love interests consist of (women) knights, noblewomen, (women) adventurers, and etc., and the meat of it is in getting to know these women, building relationships, choosing and ennobling your champion, how they will keep you safe, and also feudal marriage politics and what it’ll take for your family to accept their bid for your hand (or if you will elope), or etc. Go with a single canon couple instead of multiple potential heroines and you could make an anime out of this instead and I’d watch it.
6. Are there any works today that come close to your ideal yuri work?
Slap the 110% Domtext of Kannazuki no Miko (which itself has an absolute banger of an ED and also I love the mythological scope of the gay, even if there was a lot I didn’t like about the show otherwise) on a show with a great heroic love arc like Symphogear (which also had lots of absolute bangers and a *lot* of buildup between the main couple before the love arc proper kicked in; I basically just want an extra sixty seconds on the final episode and you know what I’m talking about) or Akuma no Riddle (I liked the heroic love and I feel it balanced the roles of the heroine/protector well) and and we’re golden. The Valhalla trilogy was one of the best things I’ve ever read and certainly is *an* ideal work on its own, and if it ever managed to get an actual movie adaptation I would watch it; it’s very antiheroic and takes some major narrative detours but definitely owns its gay and has pulse-pounding gory action and that outright mythological scope I like (it’s sci-fi with no supernatural phenomena, but heavily based on Norse mythology). Or imagine if Valkyrie Drive Mermaid replaced all the ecchi with more character and relationship development. Or for that matter imagine if the Valkyrie Drive *game* dropped the stuff that didn’t work (like the “ship-your-own” system that didn’t amount to much of anything), went with proper canon couples (like Rinka x Momo, this is a far better ship than Rinka x Ranka and you will never convince me otherwise), and ran with them, and also replaced all the ecchi with something a little more wholesome.
LikeLike