Just as I updated my Top 10 Favorite Yuri Characters, I’ll continue with this one that I originally posted many, many years ago.
In this case as well, quite a few things changed, and we have some newcomers as well. Please enjoy, and tell us about your Top 10 in the comments as well~
Admittedly, Cross Ange didn’t end the way we all wanted it to. Hilda didn’t get her much deserved girlfriend, and Ange ended up with Tusk, a male character. In terms of yuri, this couldn’t have gone any more wrong. Though, the yuri we got through the rest of the show probably made up for the horrible outcome, if only a little.
So, basically, the whole show involves some steamy yuri sex scenes, some kisses, and even some true romance, despite the fact that Cross Ange often didn’t depict the yuri taking place as something happening out of the characters’ love for one another. In the end, there were still enough yuri characters left, and if we now add the fact that the whole plot of this show, as well as pretty much all of the important characters, were pretty damn awesome, then this makes for a damn great anime, if you ask me.
After years of barely getting any yuri, Sakura Trick surely surprised many of us. Not only is this a full yuri show—only starring lesbian characters—it goes one step further even, seemingly banning all male characters that could get in the way as well. So, unsurprisingly, the yuri content was damn high. I actually believe that it’s almost impossible to include even more than the already numerous yuri kisses, hugs, love confessions, and other yurirrific moments that happened.
Actually, if they wanted to include any more, I’m pretty sure they’d have to turn it into a hentai, since I don’t think you can squeeze in any more yuri content without actually turning it into porn.
So, yeah, Sakura Trick was probably what many of us yearned for after waiting so long for something new to appear, and this surely didn’t disappoint.
I first didn’t even want to list a specific season of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, since Nanoha and Fate share yuri scenes in each and every one of them. Though, I also can’t deny that their relationship got especially great when they got a little older (and adopted a child together). Seeing scenes of them sharing the same bed, snuggling up to little Vivio like the great mothers they are… yeah, that surely gets me excited.
Even if we were to disregard the yuri subtext that was taking place right before our eyes, this show offered some great action, a really nice story, and some totally badass magical girls fighting the bad guys, as well as occasionally fighting each other. Awesome!
Disregarding the yuri content, Yuru Yuri is probably one of the most hilarious shows I’ve ever watched. Well, the yuri content might also not be that high, or let’s just say that there is no actual romance involved, other than some characters drooling over their crushes. Even in possible future seasons, it will probably never cross that border, but at least we already witnessed some kisses happen.
Ah well, just like the title lets us predict, it will stay as light-hearted as it is right now, and truth be told, I actually don’t mind. As much as I’d like to see Ayano and Kyouko making out, I’m totally fine with their relationship as it is. And, of course, with Chitose’s random delusions about them. As much as I’d like to see Kyouko getting a little closer to Chinatsu, I don’t want to miss seeing her miserably fail trying to do so.
In short, Yuru Yuri can stay just like it is right now and hopefully get even more seasons, and maybe even movies, for us to enjoy in the future~
I’m pretty sure no one really expected to see KanColle among all the great yuri titles listed here. Admittedly, Kantai Collection is probably not what you consider your typical yuri show. The emphasis is put on the action, the shipgirls themselves, and, of course, the game aspect of it, since it was adapted from the still relevant and popular online game of the same name.
What got me interested in the first place was the game, but even after years of not having touched it, the anime is still something I regularly come back to. I just love how they adapted the characters, how all the shipgirls are depicted, and weirdly enough, even how this whole show is more or less just a compilation of filler episodes with little to no story. Usually, you’d say that this is a pretty bad sign, but in the case of KanColle, this left so much room for all the yuri moments to happen throughout the run of this show. Seriously, no episode went by without some glorious Akagi x Kaga or Mutsu x Nagato moments. In short, watching this seriously feels like heaven to me, since these are still some of my all-time favorite yuri pairings~
Where should I start with this one, I wonder…?
Seriously, I already talked so much about Strawberry Panic on this blog that I don’t even know what else to say about this anymore. Should I tell you how sexy I found the flirty, oh so confident lady-killer, Shizuma? Or how about we talk about the tragic love between her and Kaori? Or wait, we could also talk about all the other lesbian characters, namely the whole freaking school. Actually, all three of them.
So, yeah. There is plenty of great things to say about this yuri milestone, but I would only be repeating myself over and over again while gushing over all the things I already talked about a thousand times. So let’s just leave it at that. A great show deserves a great place in my list anyway, and fifth place sounds about right to me.
I guess I just said the same thing while talking about Strawberry Panic. YuriReviews is known to feature a great deal of posts talking and gushing about Citrus.
Needless to say, I did enjoy the anime adaptation. A LOT. Seeing something you already read (or more like devoured) and loved turn into an anime is always a great experience. In Citrus‘ case, it was even greater, since it was such a big title, and it seemed to get so much recognition for a yuri one. Finally, even people outside of the yuri community seemed interested in a show like that, and in my opinion, this anime delivered hard.
But in the end, it all comes down to my love for Yuzu and Mei, and seeing them act it all out on my screen to watch and follow was all I could ever ask for~
You all expected Citrus to be my number one show, didn’t you? But, surprise, surprise, there are actually quite a few other shows I enjoyed even more… Bloom Into You being one of them.
I think it’s hard not to notice just how much work and effort went into the making of this anime. From the animation, to the character design, to the music and pacing, everything seemed top-notch. There is hardly anything I can complain about when it comes to this show, and so, so many of you agreed, back when it finished airing.
Unlike with Citrus, there is hardly any negative backlash Bloom Into You received. In fact, no matter who you ask, everyone seemed to have enjoyed and loved this show, and for good reason!
Now let’s just hope that what everyone is wishing for will soon become reality… a second season of Bloom Into You.
Does this come as a surprise? Well, I gotta say, I actually surprised myself as well.
This anime surely doesn’t rank this high in this list thanks to its yuri content, because there is just not that much, especially compared to some other shows I listed. Though, the whole anime itself, as well as all three movies that followed, are simply amazing pieces of art that are all driven by Homura’s endless struggle to rescue the girl she loves so dearly. She only revealed her true feelings in the last movie, though, we have all been expecting this through pretty much the whole thing, if the ridiculous amount of yuri MadoHomu doujinshi is any hint.
Well, I guess I’d really like to see even more of this series, though I’m a little afraid it might not be able to hold up to the awesomeness of the prior works. Let’s just hope that Magia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden won’t disappoint.
Without a doubt, I think Kannazuki no Miko might be the biggest and most famous yuri anime of all-time. It was actually the first yuri anime for me as well, and it’s easy to see how it got me even more interested in the genre than I already was back then.
Well, okay, we have to see beyond the fact that the story might not have been the best, with huge plot holes and plot twists that just didn’t make any sense. Though, despite the fact that the story might not be able to hold up to the yuri community’s hype for this anime, what actually makes so many of us love this anime is rather its two heroines and the love they share. It’s not platonic, it’s not a love between sisters, and it surely passes the love between friends. This show literally throws the yuri content right into your face, presenting the love between Himeko and Chikane as something higher than anything else. This is rare, especially for the time this show aired, which is why this one belongs right where I put it.
And with that said, I will yet again re-read some of my all time favorite fanfics, them being Kannazuki no Miko ones~
YuriReviews and More 
Couldn’t agree more. Except that I would have picked Nanoha A’s over StrikerS anyday. Much more NanoFate and fewer confusing characters
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Agreed A’s is way beter than StrikerS.
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That’s actually very true. I guess I just like the grown up versions a bit more. Yuri-wise though, you’re absolutely right, way more to see there.
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“Hilda didn’t get her much deserved girlfriend, and Ange ended up with Tusk, a male character. ”
Interesting you should mention that… On my never ending to do list is a task to write a Cross Ange fan-fic that diverges in a scene between Tusk and Hilda. I plan on changing it so Tusk and Hilda come to an agreement that Ange gets what she wants, and what she wants is both of them.
The narrative laid down all of the hints. Like you said, Hilda deserves Ange. And let’s face it: Ange’s going to need people she can trust close to her.
“Mutsu x Nagato”
That’s such a perfect pair that the two of them deserve their own spin off…
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I’m down as long as Ange gets a girl 😀
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YES!!!!!!! Kannazuki no Miko at #1! I couldn’t agree more with that choice! 😀 For me another aspect that made that series so amazing was that it broke the trope of bad ends for yuri couples that we had been getting for so long before that. With that after credits scene we got a true happy yuri end! I also agree with you on everything you said about the overall plot. It just was not anything special. The only saving grace was that amazing yuri romance between Chikane and Himeko! 😀 I think we can all agree that we owe that series gratitude for giving us that epic image in the credits of Chikane and Himeko embracing. An image that has been redrawn to use so many different yuri pairings! That series will always be at the top of my best yuri anything of all time. So many amazing memories watching that show subbed on YouTube. Just thinking about Kannazuki gets me a bit teary eyed. 😛
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I think it’s time to re-watch this amazing series and skip through all the scenes that don’t involve Himko and Chikane.
Are you in? 😀
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I’m always in for more Chimeko! 😀
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I love Chikane x Himeko!
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OMG YES kannazuki no miko made it to first place!!!! praise chimeko and all of their greatness!!! great picks lena!!! definitely love your picks and i was surprised to see cross ange, i love it too, the yuri in it may have been very minimal but i still cant help that nanofate voiced the two MCs and had a kiss scene together! ahhhh ya i love cross ange! as for me i think my top 10 yuri animes would be:
10. fate/kaleid liner prisma illya series (admittedly this isnt a full fledged yuri anime but clearly miyu is head over heels for illya and kuro kicks the yuri meter into overdrive whenever she kisses illya, miyu or any of the girls in the series! also mimi (one of illya’s friends) totally is a yuri lover too so ya i think this series is plenty of yuri for it not being an actual yuri series)
9. sakura trick (i still remember when this was announced, it really made me happy since there was nothing yuri out at the time and when i came out it didnt disappoint, so much kisses, hugs and cuteness was in sakura trick and i love it so much!)
8. love live/love live sunshine (i may be cheating a bit since im putting two series into one spot but i cant help it, i love both too much! both μ’s and aqours are just full of cuteness and totally gay and i just love it!!! will never forget a lot of the scenes in both series that were super cute and had yuri written all over it!)
7. madoka series (madoka is just such a beautiful anime, it may not have a ton of yuri but homura and her journey is definitely what i love about the series! and the fact that homura loved madoka so much that she would do anything to protect her no matter what it cost is also another thing i love about the madoka series)
6. nanoha series (good old nanoha, i thought of putting this higher but after giving it some thought i put it in number 6 since my top 5 well i just love so much, but that doesnt mean i dont love nanoha any less, nanoha did so much for me, it was one of the mahou shoujo animes to make me fall in love with the genre next to ofc sailor moon but also made me fall in love with mizuki nana and tamura yukari, and ofc nanofate! nanofate is definitely still one of my favorite yuri ships ever! theyre just so lovey dovey when theyre together and ofc they have a daughter together!)
5. strawberry panic (ah yes my very first yuri anime, and yep i definitely still do love it, just everything about it i love and just so much of it shaped who i am as a yuri lover today! also shizuma is still one of my favorite yuri characters ever!)
4. yagate kimi ni naru/bloom into you (i definitely loved the anime for bloom into you, it managed to get everything right and what made it all the better was the cast that was completely perfect, it was as if they were ment to play the roles! also i love the ending song so much, it is just so catchy and makes me love yuu and touko so much more than i already do!)
3. asagao to kase-san OVA (this, this THIS! i love it so much and wanted to see more! being able to see the cute and fluffiness of kase-san animated just put a smile on my face through and through and i so want more! also i got to meet the author/artist of kase-san and it was great!)
2. citrus (when it was first announced i couldnt help but just jump up and down and smile like a total idiot and then when it finally came out i was not disappointed! the anime delivered in every single way possible imo though i still love the manga’s art more but still that aside i love the citrus anime to death and we totally need more!)
1. kannazuki no miko (chimeko ftw! definitely my favorite, the story and chemistry between himeko and chikane was just so good, it was cute, romantic and beautiful and it made me feel many things, from happiness to sadness and many more things, i just love kannazuki no miko to death! also give us more chimeko you cowards we need to see them again!!!!)
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Oh I’m seeing some good one right there, nice list! I thought long about adding Kase-san, but it was so hard given that we “only” got the OVA.
I really wish there was more, seeing that what we actually got was just beautiful…
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thanks! i couldnt help but put kase-san into my list, even if it was just an OVA, everything about it was just so beautiful! also i did ask the author/artist that with a music video and an OVA would there be a chance of an anime and she answered that she wishes so who knows maybe just maybe down the line we will see kase-san as a full anime!
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That would be pretty great. I just finished reading as much of the manga as I could get my paws on and overall its pretty great, though Yamada can be a little high maintenance at times. But when things are good, they are very good!
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Strawberry Panic… my favorite couple was Amane x Hikari honestly. Amane is a seriously cool character and Hikari is just too sweet for words.
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They were a great couple but in my eyes unfortunately had too little screen time – well, from what I remember anyway.
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Citrus at #4 and Sakura Trick at #9!? I am shocked and appalled…ok not that shocked.
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Now you gotta tell us at least your top 3 😛
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Citrus, need I say more about why? No, this series has been nitpicked by the yuri community with the good and the bad to death. Bloom into You was an easy one to pick also. The animation was beautiful, the voice actors were well picked out, a good soundtrack, important scenes were strongly delivered to us(like Touko kissing Yuu as the train passed), a great supporting cast of characters with solid memorable backgrounds and I could go on. The one negative I can find is Sayaka being such a great character but being cast as the third wheel, she deserves to be loved! (Note: this last one took about 30 minutes for me to add and that is why I do not do my own lists) Lastly, I’d have to go with Madoka Magica. Even without my yuri bias, this is one of the best animes I have ever seen, period. This is a top tier anime that us yuri fans cling onto as a comeback when others try to say yuri is more of a fetish or a niche category, etc. I digress a bit, There isn’t a single thing I would change with this anime because you simply do not touch a masterpiece. Would I have liked more flirting, yes but that is why we have a mountain of doujins of Homumado and the other ships. Anyways, there’s my top three and I would like to add that Kase-san was close to that third spot (god 2018 such a great year), but since it was only an OVA I decided Madoka Magica deserved it.
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So, that Cross Ange is in number 10 trigger me more than I care to admit. But instead of ranting why it shouldn’t be there, I think I just going to recommend an anime that I think tend to be overlooked by yuri fans in general.
Because you have Nanoha, Madoka, and Kannazuki no Miko, I personally will put there, somewhere in top 10, Mahoutsukai Precure. Let’s see, we have:
– A story about two girls meet each other
– They become close, get a daughter (or to be a more fancy, give birth to a magical daughter), and raise said daughter together, while kick some serious ass
– And the part why I mentioned Nanoha, Madoka, Kannazuki no Miko, they have a teary separation in SPACE (a bit spoiler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LrnEDeRPEw) (also, you can see subtle Miko Embrace there)
– Then they have an equally teary reunion in the middle of a night
– And they kiss in the official manga
Easily the most yuri Precure to date. From beginning to end, every episode will have at least one Mirai-Liko (the main couple) moment. And episode 49 is the most romantic episode in Precure for me. Its an anime that admittedly take me about 2 years before I realize how much it meant for me. But now that I realize it, I want to make more people knows about it.
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Oh Precure, having read so, so many doujinshi about the series, I always wanted to watch a season, but never actually went through with it.
Let’s see if your video might change my mind once again.
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Glad to see KnM holding its place. I personally like Madoka more, but KnM is something special. Although there are a surprising number of connections between the too. That scene at the end of the show with Madokami and Homura floating is space couldn’t be a more obvious reference to KnM. Plus, Homura shares quite a few traits with Chikane. I’d describe her as mini-Chikane in the sense that her time looping is like a mini-version of Chikane and Himeko’s reincarnations, and Homura’s whole not caring about literally anything except Madoka and then becoming the devil is also very similar to Chikane. Except in PMMM there’s no flute rape (yes I know it’s not actually a flute). I find it very likely someone writing Madoka enjoyed KnM.
And KnM fanfics nice. Lovers Eternal is always a fun read. Although I wish it had kept the thousands of years of reincarnations (instead of just the one) and although the rape scene was extremely controversial I kinda of associate it heavily with KnM and it feels weird to NOT have it. But I loved how it wasn’t mecha-based. I don’t really like the mecha-genre which is my biggest issue with KnM because mechs are boooooooooring. Kannazuki no Shimai and it’s accompanying stories are fun too.
Oh yeah, also, Bloom Into You, fuck yeah!
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Oh, and what ever happened to Tsuyazakura Kouyuki. All of his stuff has pretty much just vanished.
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I think a few years ago he removed it all with the explanation of wanting to correct some mistakes and such. Unfortunately, so far none of the works have been re-uploaded by him.
Luckily, some of us saved them 😀
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Since hanging out here, I have found that I am usually in agreement with Lena K.’s recommendations. So when “Kannazuki no Miko” topped the list at number one, I immediately looked for it, and began the series. But at about the 6 EP, midpoint, I was like, “Heck, this is just a traditional Mecha Battle Shonen, and I aint a 13 year old male” and so I have dropped out. This is not unusual in my anime habits. The body of work in the vault which is anime and manga is vast, and the yearly output of anime and manga of all genres is mind boggling. I cannot keep up with it. There is just too much quality anime and manga out there, and so little time. So I have relied on experts for recommendations which has worked pretty well. I realize there is a danger in dropping an anime series too soon because with the additional time, the artists take their time building their characters and world, and it all comes together at the end. I have dropped many anime only to be told that, “Hey, you dropped too soon.” and I go back and re-look, and more often than not, I realize that I did drop too soon. But sometimes not!!! A 12 EP series runs about 5 hours, and a 24 EP series 10 hours. In my schedule that is a lot of wasted time, if I do not enjoy the work.
So the question to Lena K. is, “Does Kannazuki actually come together in the second half?”
I mean Himeko(F) seems to love/like Soma Ogami(M) not Chikane(F)!
A second point of much lesser degree, is that my top 10 Yuri Anime list is almost completely different from Lena K.’s top 10 list with only two matches out of the ten! But an explanatory response to the second point would be far too wordy for a comment.
But I would like to know, if I dropped Kannazuki too soon!
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Yes, you dropped Kannazuki no Miko too soon 😀
Well, first up, it is what you said: a shonen show about mechas, and it will continue just like that. However, I didn’t put it there for the mecha action or Himeko’s “relationship” with Souma.
I don’t want to spoil anything to you, but this is a true yuri – I hope you’re getting what I’m trying to hint at 😛
It’s one of the few shows that actually made me cry and it’s one of those that inspired a lot of great writers to create their own story with the two protagonists. Himeko and Chikane are even (more or less) featured in another anime in case you can’t get enough of them by the end of it.
Long story short, I know this can be a real drag if you’re not a fan of pointless mecha action – same goes for me. BUT if you’re a yuri fan and want to see some good yuri outside of the typical romcom genre, then you better finish watching this 😛
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I’ll be back
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SPOILER WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS COMMENT UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN ALL 12
EP’S OF KANNAZUKI NO MIKO
Kannazuki no Miko(2004) 12EP lit: The Shrine Maiden of the Godless
Month
Special thanks to
Lena K.
shadesan
chimekolover88
for encouraging me to return to Kannazuki and to complete all 12 EPs.
You were right!
EP 11 and 12 just about blew a hole right through my heart, and
reduced me to tears which was totally unexpected. One of the most
moving and beautiful endings in all story telling, extremely tragic
while at the same time extremely intimate. When Himeko holds the dying
Chikane in her arms whom she has just killed, and then kisses her, I
almost lost it all in a direct shot right to the feels.
That was so emotional, moving, beautiful, and heart rending. Even
writing this is emotional just thinking about that scene.
(One can stop reading here. What follows is merely some of the details of this
highly complex world of Kannazuki no Miko)
———————————————————————————————
I have been doing quite a bit of research into Japanese and even world
mythology, visiting many fan sites, and reading the manga; and all of
this has been quite a revelation. When you have to do a considerable
amount of independent study to understand the world of a story, then
the story tellers in charge have failed. And both the Anime and Manga
versions of “Kannazuki no Miko” fail in various different ways.
This is far more than a simple Romance. The romantic relationship is
deeply embedded in a fantastical world of created mythology, Japanese
cultural mythology, Shinto religion, and even world mythology with
regard to total solar eclipses.
Kannazuki means “the godless month”, i.e. the 10th month, October in
the current calendar but this is somewhat misleading. In Izumo, the
word means “The month with all the gods” and in the rest of Japan it
means, “The month with no gods”
On Oct 1, all the gods leave their shrines and head to the
Izumo-taisha shrine, officially Izumo Ōyashiro in Izumo, Shimane
Prefecture. This is a major meeting of the gods of Japan to discuss
Japanese social life, welfare and future, and this meeting lasts for
the entire month of October. But this causes a substantial danger and
problem, for without the gods in their shrines, there is no protection
against evil spirits.
When at the same time, should a total eclipse of the Sun happen in
Japan in either the month of October, or even just on October 1
(stories differ), then the source of all evil, the Orochi,
come alive, and are able to attack Earth from the Moon through the
shadow of the eclipse which acts as a portal to this world. The Orochi
present as 8 Heads who when merged together, become the 8 headed
Dragon of all evil, the Yamata no Orochi.
But the gods were not negligent because they set up a safety net
should this happen while they were away. They leave one god sealed on
the Moon who is the sacred sword of truth and goodness, Kusanagi no
Tsurugi; and they select two souls to eternally reincarnate as two
young maiden girls who then become the Miko’s of the sword, Shrine
Maidens, Priestesses of the Sun and the Moon who have the power to
perform the Ame no Murakumo ceremony, to bring forth the Sword God who
can defeat the Orochi.
Per Wikipedia:
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (草薙の剣) is a legendary Japanese sword and one of
three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called
Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (天叢雲剣, “Heavenly Sword of Gathering
Clouds”), but its name was later changed to the more popular
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (“Grass-Cutting Sword”).
In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor.
The legendary sword Kusanagi is said to actually exist in Japan at the
Atsuta shrine in Atsuta-ku, Nagoya and was recently presented to the
new Emperor Naruhito installed in 2019. But as to the god Ame no
Murakumo or to the Miko’s of the god and sword, or to the sword’s
shrine on the moon, this appears to be a free invention of the Manga.
There does not appear to be a real Shinto ceremony in Japan called Ame
no Murakumo.
Even though a Samurai sword is physically single edged, the Kusanagi
sword is believed to be double edged. In the story, the Ame no
Murakumo ceremony has two edges:
Edge 1 is to bring the sword from the Moon to Earth.
But there is an Edge 2 in which the sword must be activated, and it
turns out to be rather horrific and tragic. The sword must first taste
the blood of one of the Miko’s who is to be killed with the sword
by the other Miko as a human sacrifice! The two innocent girls are
locked for all eternity in this cycle.
Both girls who are born on Oct 1, bear the seals of these Miko’s on
their bodies, Himeko Kurusgawa bears the seal of the Sun Goddess,
Amaterasu, on her chest; and Chikane Himemiya bears the seal of the
Moon God, Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto, on her back. On this date, the seals
are activated.
This leads to a most shocking, and unexpected story trope. While
Himeko brings Chikane a locket pair as proof of their love, Chikane
viciously turns on Himeko, and violates her.
There is a great deal of controversy on the net about this act with
many raising serious objections. I was in this camp when I first saw
EP8. It played to me like gratuitous sensationalism, a bit of Hentai
thrown in designed to sensationalize. But the scene is not
particularly graphic, mostly suggestive and as outrageous and horrible
as this act is, it makes sense in the larger scope of the mythological
story context. The manga is very clear about why Chikane should do
this to the one person in all the universe whom she desperately loves.
To be a human sacrifice, the Miko must be a virgin, and Chikane
intentionally violates Himeko to make her ineligible as the sacrifice,
and to ensure that she, Chikane, will be the sacrifice in place of
Himeko. Chikane remembers in a previous life cycle that she had been
forced to kill Himeko and has come to hate the sword god as a result.
A second reason is that, in order to ensure that Himeko succeeds,
Chikane will become the 8th Head Orochi and to do this she must
become evil, not just pretend to be evil, and no more evil act could
suffice than to violate the one person whom you love more than life
itself. Once she becomes evil, she joins the Orochi, and seals them
all, leaving only herself as the last Orochi.
So then Himeko need only kill Chikane, and all the Orochi will have
then been defeated.
A third reason is an archtype transposition of the total eclipse of
the Sun by the Moon onto the grotesque violation of innocent Himeko by
Chikane.
The Moon violates the Sun by devouring the Sun’s light during a total
eclipse casting a giant shadow on the Earth, and this becomes the
portal of darkness through which the Orochi can leave the Moon and
travel to Earth. Himeko’s seal is on her front while Chikane’s seal is
on her back. When the Sun is in full eclipse, we see only the back of
the Moon which is on top of the Sun because the Moon is facing the
Sun. Chikane(Moon), violating Himeko(Sun) and devouring her light is
Chikane eclipsing Himeko.
A fourth reason for the scene is to harden Hemiko against Chikane,
forcing her hatred so that she can kill Chikane. This only partially
works because Hemiko always loves Chikane although she does not come
to understand this act until the very end.
The anime does some rather poor storytelling about all this, but its
ending is so much better than the manga which is itself, confused and
disjointed as it attempts to wrap-up.
And rather than a sad or tragic fate awaiting these two girls, the
anime provides hope. A total eclipse of the sun in October or even on
October 1 in Japan is rather rare, hundreds, even thousands of years
pass before that will happen, and that is the only time that this
horrific human sacrifice of a Miko will be necessary.
Also the two girls on each reincarnation, in each lifetime are fated
to find each other, to fall in love all over again, and to presumably
live happily together in most of their lives over and over again. Only
on those rare lifetimes when the total eclipse takes place in Japan
during October do the girls need to remain celibate together. Since
this event is easily predicted in advance, during all other lifetimes
together, they will be intensely romantic with each other.
Talk about a romance which transcends time and space!
Chikane’s love for Himeko is so transcendent, it even surpasses good
and evil. And since ancient times the trope of one lover giving their
very lives to save the life of their beloved, has persisted even to
this day. And its more than a trope. Such self-sacrifice for love, is
real and throughout history, lovers have died to save their love. When
one thinks of the reality of this, the soul chills.
But Kannazuki no Miko while its ending is sublime, is a very flawed
masterpiece and this makes it difficult to place on any list without
an asterisk notation of some sort.
The animation art is very poor in quality, but that does not directly
effect the story.
The almost comical depiction of the persona’s of ultimate evil in the
Orochi is highly problematic.
How do you take ultimate evil seriously when you have cute loli cat
girls or funny guys with chains? They should be like the seven deadly
sins of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, seriously evil beings.
But those two aside, the major objection is the mecha. Their inclusion
here is entirely gratuitous in both the manga and the anime, and is a
total waste of narrative screen time. They are minimally used in the
manga, but in the anime, when the robots are battling each other which
is often, there is no story being told. I would like to ask the
artists, “Who was your target audience for this anime?”. After all,
giant robots appeal to young boys big time, but romance appeals to a
much older audience, and Yuri romance even more specific.
In my reading of the Yuri fan base comments around the net, there
appears to be a majority opinion among the fans against the mechas in
“Kannazuki no Miko”.
As a result of the constant mecha combat, there is an egregious waste
of narrative screen time, and the world building and character
development suffer severely. We have a lot of complex mythological
story that needs to be told, and yet the anime wastes tons of time on
pointless robot battles.
But even bringing yourself up to speed by independent study, I still
would not want to watch this again, because of all the boring robot
fights. The only way I would, is to fast forward through the mechas.
I fully understand why so many love this work. I too fell in love with
this eternally loving pair who pass through time and space together in
each others arms like the Sun and the Moon! But there was just not
enough that in the anime.
But still, EP 11 and 12, are just so wonderful and heart rending, and
sublime and (Chikane X Himeko) has to be the greatest Yuri pair of all
time, they are now number 1 in my book!
I think I am in love with Chikane.
But Look! And they lived happily ever after!
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I apologize for this formatting. WordPress replies are at 70 columns
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Wow, that was really interesting, in fact you may as well have submitted it as a possible guest post! 😀
And the whole “Would you kill someone you love, because of love?” notion totally reminds me of Ga-Rei Zero now…
Thanks for looking all that up and compiling it! 😀
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Thank you very much for encouraging me to return and complete the
series Kannazuki no Miko. I must admit I was rather skeptical that this
could end well, but everyone here was correct. Beautiful ending, even
better than the manga.
This really is a wonderful blog. I have gained so many excellent
references, and besides you and everyone here are so nice and
civilized. Very enjoyable to stop by on a regular basis.
Having done so much research on the background, I have
considerable notes, links, and references to many sources of
explanation on this story which in this case is mythology. Modern
Romances have evolved into a more “realistic background” usually
war, For whom the bell tolls, Casablanca, War & Peace, and
Gone with the wind, and have left behind the Arthurian cycles set
into high myth, Tristan X Issult, Troilus X Cressida,
Lancelot X Guinevere, Aragorn X Arwin.
Interestingly, most of these older love affairs are NTR Romances!
I am currently working on putting all my materials together, and
I intend to build a html webpage, and then post that to my
company’s website.
Thank you again for your kind words.
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SPOILER WARNING:
THIS IS A SPOILER COMMENT
ADDENDUM: I have still been researching the
background of Kannazuki no Miko, and I now realize
that I have made a number of mistakes. Probably no
one will read any of this, but just in case, I
want to correct some errors which are entirely my
fault. I cannot delete a posted comment or edit it
on a WordPress blog, so I must enter this
addendum.
The main error is the origin and nature of the
Kusanagi sword.
Per Wikipedia:
***Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi***
([草薙の剣] is a legendary Japanese sword
one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan]
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Regalia_of_Japan).
It was originally called
***Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi***
([天叢雲剣] “Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds”), but its
name was later changed to the more popular
*Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi* (“Grass-Cutting Sword”). In
folklore, the sword represents the
virtue of valor.
The Kusanagi sword is not involved in human
sacrifice either in the authentic Japanese
mythology or even in the created story of
“Kannazuki no Miko”. I had charged the anime
artists with error in using regular Samurai
single edge swords in the final duel between
Chikane and Himeko. This is an error
on my part in not fully understanding the
background.
The god Susanoo, younger brother of Amaterasu, is
banished from Heaven, and consigned to Earth.
There he falls in love with Kushiinadahime, and to
protect her, he kills the Orochi and finds the
Kusanagi sword in the tail of the monster.
As a symbol of his rehabilitation, he presents the
Kusanagi sword to Amaterasu, and this becomes her
symbol of power and authority, and is one of the
three regalia belonging to all her descendants,
the Emperors of Japan.
The Kusanagi sword is not used for killing but is
entirely ceremonial.
There is an excellent anime on youtube which
explains all of this mythology, and you can find
it at
[Susanoo and the Kusanagi sword]
Please turn on the English subtitles, at the cc
button. They are very poor translations, but
enough sense comes through to understand the
story.
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Yeah, this anime is kind of a catastrophe level train wreck with disjoint elements mashed together into a story (much like this sentence). 😛
And yes, it is a love triangle, so you don’t really see the outcome till the end.
I think what makes this so revered is the nostalgia it carries. It is one of the older yuri anime that actually has a high yuri score.
In a way it’s a right of passage for any yuri fan, you have to suffer through a lot of stuff to get to the end to find out they are over the moon for each other. 😛
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So many people talking about Kannazuki no Miko on this post I love it! 😀 But yes, you really need to go back and finish the whole series. Yes a lot of the elements of the show like the robots may seem out of place but the yuri romance between Chikane and Himeko is so amazing and when you watch the last 6 episodes you will realize why people love that couple so much. The last episodes will put you through a roller coaster of emotions up until the credits roll! Just be sure to keep watching until AFTER the credits of the final episode! 😀
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Yep. Good to see people still recognize KnM as the flawed, questionable, but absolutely most memorable yuri flagship that it is. You just don’t get that emotional depth from more recent series that easily (Yagate does a fair job on that though).
Cross Ange really needs a Type Moon-esque route rework, with “Unlimited Yuri Works” putting Ange and Hilda together in a full-scale Norma-“Human” world collision (with yuri scenes) and “Yuri’s Feel” where Ange/Salako more fully realize their lovers-over-lifetimes (see: the flashback scenes when they first meet and sing El Ragna/Endless) bond and beat some Embryo-led Orochi…oh wait, wrong anime…
Also while kudos to 2/3 of the 2000s-era yuri classics in SP and KnM, shoutout to Marimite; less impact, less obvious but still a classic.
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Kannazuki no Miko most top!!! ^-^
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Ok just saw this trailer for a new anime and I think it will be of interest to everyone here! 😀
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It looks like it’s Are You Lost? (Sounan Desu ka?) and coming in July.
It has a manga, but no yuri tag, still looks interesting 😀
https://myanimelist.net/anime/39456/Sounan_Desu_ka
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New twith about Kannazuki no Miko 🙂
You’re realy like this! 😉
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