This month’s Yuri News Update consists of a second season of a beloved yuri-ish anime, some new visual novel releases, a traveling yuri fair, and more, so let’s get started~
To be honest, 2019 has been a little lackluster for yuri fans so far. Last year was so great that it feels like this year has already been pretty disappointing, and even if that might be true, this next bit of news will surely help make 2019 look a little better.
It was announced that one of 2017’s best anime, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, will be getting a second season. No specific details have been announced, so it might not even begin airing in 2019, but this is still some amazing news that I’m sure everyone who saw the first season will gladly welcome.
The manga—which has inspired a couple of spinoffs—will be ending in the near future, but it’s great that we’ll once again see Tooru, Kobayashi, Kanna, and everyone else on the small screen. Regardless of when it comes out, I think it’s safe to say that this second season will be at or near the top of every reader’s Watch List, so be prepared, people.
After a successful anime run that saw it win the hearts of all who saw it, come May, Nio Nakatani’s Bloom Into You will jump from the screen to the stage.
This obviously isn’t as great as news of a second season, but a stage play is still a good sight to see for one of our favorite yuri series, even though 99% of us won’t get the chance to travel to Japan and experience it…
But what comes next? A live-action series? A second anime season? Nothing at all? Let’s hope that when the manga eventually wraps up, we’ll have some other way to continue our love affair with these girls~
Perhaps unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know that this past weekend marked the release of Heart of the Woods, the new yuri visual novel from Studio Élan. To refresh your memory, here’s the synopsis:
Heart of the Woods is a fantasy yuri visual novel about paranormal investigation, ancient mysteries, and a love between two girls that transcends life and death.
Maddie Raines has had enough. After years of serving as manager, editor, and general business-handler for her best friend Tara’s popular paranormal vlog channel, she’s finally ready to move forward with her own life. But when she agrees to take one last trip with Tara to the mysterious village of Eysenfeld, she’s suddenly swept up in a dangerous supernatural crisis that will change the course of both of their lives forever. A strange young woman named Morgan has promised them undeniable proof of real paranormal phenomena, and what she has to offer eclipses anything they’d ever seen before.
However, out of all the strange occurrences the three of them bear witness to, one in particular captivates Maddie in a way she’s never been before: the ghost of a young woman. This woman is Abigail, the victim of a centuries-old injustice now bound eternally to the forest surrounding Eysenfeld. Drawn to Maddie in a way she can’t explain, Abigail reveals herself to another person for the first time in more than 200 years.
While Tara and Morgan investigate the mysteries surrounding the village itself, Maddie begins to form a bond with Abigail that grows to be more intense than any bond she’s felt before. As she learns the truth about Abigail’s death and imprisonment, she realizes that it falls to her and her friends to break the curse that has ruled over Eysenfeld for centuries. But more importantly than that, it falls to her to finally free the woman she loves.
The game is available on Steam, itch.io, and Denpasoft, and if you act fast, you can save 10% off the purchase price. If you’re interested, you can also find the free 18+ DLC patch over at Denpasoft, so what are you waiting for?
Continuing the visual novel news, Wicked Willow is another visual novel with LGBT themes, and we’ll be seeing more of this one, since the project has not only launched a Kickstarter campaign, it’s already met its goal. Here’s a short video to get you better acquainted.
And here’s a synopsis:
A visual novel set in 1993, Wicked Willow will turn your moral compass upside down. Will you learn the ways of a witch from someone you can’t trust? Would you turn trees into monsters to save a forest from clearcutters? Would you sacrifice your soulmate’s memory to stop a war? And speaking of soulmates, how far would you go to fight for a love that society calls wicked?
I think the game sounds pretty interesting, so if you want to support it, you can find the Kickstarter campaign right here.
What’s that you say? You want more visual novel news? Alright, alright, we’ll give you more. 😛
Snowed In is the name of this one, and here’s the synopsis as well as the trailer.
Military officer Sigma gets tasked with supervising the final exam of a promising cadet. Seems easy enough. The problem? The two of them are polar opposites.
One is a cyborg, the other is all natural. One is jaded, the other is still amazed at life. But don’t opposites attract each other?
You can pick this one up on either Steam or Nutaku, and in addition to it being NSFW, it’s also only $1.99, so have fun~
Lastly, in yet another sign that Japan has all the fun, the plans for the 2019 Yuri Fair have been announced, and it’s sounding like a yuri fan’s dream come true.
The 2018 Yuri Fair had some issues that resulted in the event being canceled mere days before its opening, only for it to be rescheduled a few months later at a much smaller venue. Well, this year’s version will be a major improvement, thanks to the event being a five-city tour that will spread the allure of the purest form of love throughout Japan, starting in March.
This year’s key features include art from Nio Nakatani as well as photography from Minori Takahashi. Everyone knows about Nakatani-san, but if you’re not familiar with Minori Takahashi’s work, be sure to check out her Twitter and Instagram accounts for more~
Seems like Bloom into You is really popular! Hopefully it gets another season. Wish I could see the stage play too but oh well. 😛
I just bought Heart of the Woods over the weekend can’t wait to start playing it! And yes I did download that patch, just for curiosity’s sake, I swear! 😀 I also just bought Snowed IN on Steam after writing this! Can never go wrong with a nsfw yuri visual novel for just $1.99!
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I seriously think I need to take some time off of work. I was so excited about Heart of the Woods and now I haven’t even played it yet.
Time to change it, like RIGHT NOW! 😀
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Take lots of time off Lena! time to catch up on some yuri visual novels! 😀 Take a year off if you have to! It’s for the good of your yuri soul! 😛
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I played Heart of the Woods as soon as it came out! It made me very happy. But I foolishly didn’t know about the nsfw patch! :O
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Ok just a heads up but now we have this to look forward to! 😀
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-02-21/voice-actresses-star-in-live-action-yuri-anthology-film/.143705
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Ooh, this looks interesting, nice find!
For once a live action that I would actually watch! Let’s hope we get some subs! 😛
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We don’t need to know what they are saying, I’m just staring at this point 😀
This looks so good! 😀
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This is what we need more of. Live action yuri! I would love to see live action adaptations of yuri anime and manga! 😀
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https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-02-24/takako-shimura-new-manga-story-visual-march-launch-unveiled/.143701
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Blooming Sequence just finished up with chapter 77, and what a good ending it was! 😀
Interesting stuff in the authors epilogue too!
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Wow, i’m starting to make a reviews for 2019 too..
https://www.yuricafe.club/2019/02/moments-of-yuri-2018.html
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bloom into you really has become popular which makes me so happy, heres to hoping a second season is on the horizon! also kobayashi-san getting a second season made me super happy, its definitely one of my favorite animes and just being able to see more cute antics between tohru and kobayashi will always put a smile on my face! and i love that more yuri visual novels are coming out! we are really off to a great start this year, cant wait for more!
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