2018 Reader’s Choice Awards: The Winners

2018 reader's choice awards winners

After crunching the numbers and tallying the votes, you guys have made your voices heard as to what your choices are for the best yuri that 2018 had to offer.

There were a lot of very familiar names that rose to the top, but there was also a pick or two that took us a little by surprise. Without any further ado, here are the winners, as chosen by you, the fans. And regardless of who you voted for, thanks to everyone who voted for their favorites~


★ BEST YURI ANIME ★
bloom into you yuri anime

Any one of the three anime would’ve been great choices, but you guys let it be known that Bloom Into You was your overwhelming choice for Best Yuri Anime of 2018, garnering a staggering 60% of the vote.

While Bloom Into You winning isn’t a huge surprise, I think it is really surprising just how much it won by. Citrus came in a distant second, finishing with 22.5% of the vote, and bringing up the rear was the fluff-filled Asagao to Kase-san., with just 17.5% of the vote.

You can probably make a strong case that Bloom Into You is not only the best yuri anime of the year, but the best yuri anime of the entire decade (thus far), so needless to say, let’s hope that we end up seeing a second season/movie/OVA. We just want moar! 😛


★ BEST YURI MANGA ★
hana ni arashi yuri visual novel

This was one of the most intriguing decisions that you guys had to make, but after a hard-fought battle, it was Hana ni Arashi that ended up victorious. It brought in over 21% of the vote, with A Love Letter from the Marching Puppy and Lily Love 2 ~Frosty Jewel~ coming in second and third with nearly 16% for the former and more than 14% for the latter.

It would’ve been interesting to have included a handful of manhwa in this category, but that shouldn’t take away from Hana ni Arashi‘s win, since this is another excellent choice.

And no matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree that there’s a lot of good yuri out there to read, so unlike the previous category, there should be no shortage of great nominees for the foreseeable future~


★ BEST YURI VISUAL NOVEL ★
sono hanabira maidens of michael a kiss for the petals yuri visual novel

The race for Best Yuri Visual Novel saw longtime incumbent Sono Hanabira take on a new generation of yuri visual novels, but despite the new generation’s best efforts, the winner was the series that put yuri visual novels on the map for a lot of people, SonoHana.

Trailing Maidens of Michael‘s 44% of the vote, we saw Flowers with 27%, Sisterly Bliss with more than 22%, and Wolf Tails with nearly 7% of the vote.

I’d like to say that I’m surprised by the outcome of this one, but I just can’t. Flowers may be the VN du jour, but whenever there’s a new installment in the SonoHana series that makes its way to the West, you best believe that it’s going to be met with a lot of fanfare. That begs the question: If a red-hot series like Flowers can’t beat out SonoHana, what can?


★ BEST YURI ANIME CHARACTER ★
yuzu citrus yuri anime

In what was one of the closest races of the election season, Yuzu Aihara continued her dominance and eeked out a victory over a field of very game challengers that were coming for her crown.

She received more than 27% of your votes, which was just enough to edge Yuu, whose 23.5% wasn’t quite enough to claim the top spot. Rounding out the top three was Sayaka, but her 12% was still respectable.

What’s left to say about Yuzu that hasn’t already been said? You guys obviously seem to love her, and with Citrus+ now ongoing, I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of her on these awards posts of ours…


★ BEST YURI CANON PAIRING ★
yuu touko bloom into you yuri anime

This was another close race, but Yuzu’s popularity wasn’t enough to elevate her and Mei to the award. The Citrus pairing finished third with nearly 23% of the vote, so despite the SonoHana fans supporting their girls, it came down to the other two superstar pairings of yuri anime in 2018.

Obviously, you folks gave Yuu and Touko got the nod, with nearly 38% of the vote, compared to Kase and Yamada’s total of nearly 35%. It’s already an impressive showing for Bloom Into You in these awards, and we’re not even halfway done yet.

This win is really impressive, considering that Touko & Sayaka have a sizable fanbase of their own. Beating uber popular couples AND doing it with what some may consider the “B-Team”? That just goes to show how the fandom has embraced this series, so it’ll be a shame when the manga eventually comes to an end.


★ BEST YURI KISS ★
touko yuu bloom into you yuri anime

I’m sensing a theme here. Yes, Bloom Into You wins another award, this time, in the form of Best Yuri Kiss, and it wasn’t even close. 46% of you chose Yuu and Touko’s liplocks over the rest of the field, with Yuzu x Mei (23.5%) and Kase x Yamada (more than 20%) finishing a distant second and third.

In arguably one of the greatest years in yuri history, you guys seem to have one series standing head and shoulders above the others. No matter which kiss of Yuu and Touko’s you’re thinking about, you can’t really go wrong with any of them.

Yuu and Touko’s kisses seemed to have it all, and even if you’re on Team Sayaka, you can’t deny that these were pretty damn great. Take notes, future makers of yuri anime.


★ BEST YURI-ISH ANIME ★
shoujo kageki revue starlight

There were some solid nominees up for Best Yuri-ish Anime, but only one of them produced several viable pairings and helped elevate a genre (music) that some people tend to look down upon.

More than 46% of voters went with Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight as their choice for Best Yuri-ish Anime, which was easily enough to beat out Comic Girls, which finished second with just over 16% of the vote.

I loved how Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight was not just another Love Live! clone, and in my eyes, any future music anime is going to have a lot to live up to in order to match the pure spectacle and yuri goodness that this one brought to the table.


★ BEST UNOFFICIAL YURI ANIME PAIRING ★
shoujo kageki revue starlight claudine maya

Given how Bloom Into You has been raking in these awards, you’d probably expect Touko and Sayaka to easily take this one home… and that’s where you’re wrong, kiddo! 😛

In what has to be considered a major upset, the MayaKuro fans rose up and showed some love to their two Top Stars, giving them 32.7% of the vote. The pairing that I thought would’ve won, Touko x Sayaka, only mustered just over 25%.

Despite not even being the most visible pairing in their own series, Claudine and Maya seem to have captured the imagination of the yuri community, and even though it won’t happen, I’d love to see the two of them (and the other pairings from Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight) each get their own OVA.


★ CRAZIEST YURI CHARACTER ★
satou happy sugar life

This was the most simple race of the entire election season (only two nominees), and to no one’s surprise, Satou won in a landslide, with over 71% of the vote.

It seemed no matter how crazy Tsubame was, Satou was always one crazy step ahead of her. Tsubame’s in love with a child? Big deal! So is Satou. Tsubame goes to highly inappropriate lengths to be near her pint-sized love interest? So what? Satou KILLS in order to preserve her and Shio’s “happy sugar life” together. Edge: Satou.

Like Yuno (Mirai Nikki) before her, Satou showed exactly why people are so fascinated with yanderes, and it’s only a matter of time before she’s declared a Yuri Anime Legend.


★ MOST SUFFERING YURI CHARACTER ★
sayaka bloom into you

In a way, Sayaka winning Most Suffering Character is a bit of a surprise. I mean, Aya is beaten and bullied on a regular basis, and at one point, she tries to take her own life, so she clearly has it REALLY bad. Then again, these are your awards, so if you want Sayaka to win, that’s up to you, and it’s not like Mahou Shoujo Site is incredibly popular or anything, so maybe people just aren’t aware of Aya.

Anyway, Sayaka pulled in more than 42% of the vote, with Aya getting more than 22% and Touko finishing third with nearly 16% of the vote.

I’m a big fan of Sayaka, so it’s nice that she was able to get an award of her own, and it’s yet another one for Bloom Into You, which has absolutely dominated this awards post. Maybe we should’ve just named this post the Bloom Into You Awards instead… 😛


Did things play out like you thought they would, or were there surprises you didn’t see coming? Let us know in the comments~


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22 thoughts on “2018 Reader’s Choice Awards: The Winners

  1. Damn I’m really disappointed that Yuzu won over Yuu. I mean I don’t hate Yuzu or anything but common Yuu is a waaaaay more interesting character.. Happy with the other results though.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I actually didn’t vote on anything, but I’m not surprised that Bloom Into You was so popular. Granted I think it’s kind of dragging on at the moment, for the most part, it’s still enjoyable.

    Hana Ni Arashi is pretty much what I want in a Yuri manga. It’s one of the “newer” manga that I really can’t wait to read everytime it’s released.

    Like

  3. I’d guess part of Bloom Into You’s popularity is simply that it’s more recent. I think if Citrus was the one aired now instead, the roles would’ve been flipped around. To me, they’re about equals. Citrus appeals to me more personally though, since I like the characters more and how it’s more vibrant and colorful 🙂 I do love Sayaka though ❤️ Hoping 2019 and 2020 will be good years for yuri anime as well! Also, I hope some of the popular yuri manwhas will get animated adaptations eventually, that would be cool 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Woooo SonoHana, go!! Best Yuri VNs, hands-down. Flowers is good, but the MariMite style “vague lesbians” and slow pacing are not as appealing to me. I can’t believe MayaxKuro beat out ToukoxSayaka, though… I was really sure they would take the cake.

    Not surprised about Yuzu at all; I would guess that most yuri fans (specifically the queer girls) are more interested in an explicitly gay girl who’s upfront and earnest about it than one who’s (atm) still in the process of discovering her sexuality. Yuu is an amazing character with great development, but that’s just my guess. Fun to see the results, thanks for putting this together ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  5. I’m surprised Bloom Into You is so popular with nothing happening most of the time.
    I just found my self being disappointed even after catching up to the manga.

    I would have voted for some manga, but I haven’t read many new series lately.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Lowkey salty that Kase-san didn’t won any awards, but BiY has been hyped for years and the anime delivered everything the fans wanted, so I cant be mad about it. Also really glad Hana ni Arashi won best manga, even tough the competition was strong.

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    • Yeah same here, I thought they would win the yuri pairing one for sure, seeing how popular the manga is, but I guess nothing can beat Bloom Into You right now 😀

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  7. Man, Yagakimi and Sono hanabira are everywhere

    I have read Yagakimi and I think it’s good enough but not that great to be this hyped
    haven’t watch anime yet, maybe I will change my mind when I do

    played Sono Hanabira once too, immediately bored and sadly I even came to the conclusion that yuri fans will only love when there’s NSFW scene

    I guess regular daily school life romance isn’t my thing even though I love Citrus

    a bit lowkey salty that Fatal Twelve isn’t anywhere, yeah to be expected since there’s like nobody knows there’s a yuri vn with such a mystery and thrilling plot

    I guess i’m more expecting something that come out top if it has unusual story
    but i guess general audience prefer something more general too

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  8. I can’t believe these results I’m so mad.

    None of my votes was chosen >=(

    Sigh. I’m still the outcast I don’t understand >=(

    I think Citrus would have gotten more voted if it was more recent…

    I hate Bloom into You!!! >.<

    #SadTsun

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Awwww! I really thought Aya was going to be the most suffering! Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough on Sayaka. I feel really bad now…

    Obviously Satou was the most Craziest Yuri Character. Come on! Who wouldn’t? XD

    And another obvious thing is: Bloom Into You was the most popular Yuri anime of all. That’s why it won. XD

    Liked by 1 person

  10. All the winners are worthy of there hard earned victories! But every anime, manga, light novel is a winner in my book! 😀 And with so much yuri to sink our teeth into, are we the fans not the true ultimate winners? 😛

    Liked by 1 person

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