It’s the final Yuri News Update of the year (and decade), so, unsurprisingly, most of this month’s stories involve some of what will be taking up our time in 2020. So for the last time in 2019, let’s do this.

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First up, there’s a brand-new yuri visual novel to get excited about. Lock and Key is from Studio Élan (Heart of the Woods) and here’s the synopsis from the official page.

What does it mean to be a magical girl?

This is the question at the heart of Lock and Key, a magical mystery set in a world shaped by your interpretation of the magical girl genre.

Sherri and Kealey Cohen, now a married couple in their late 20s, left the title of magical girls behind them over a decade ago. Now on the verge of losing their powers and entering a life of true normalcy, a string of unexplainable murders forces them to come out of retirement for one last adventure. Together with Nina, their old friend, and Ruby, a new protege, Sherri and Kealey will have to face a mystery connected both to their past and future. In the world of Lock and Key, the player shapes their path…and more importantly, determines where that path will end.

Granted, I’m obviously not the super VN fan that some others are, but I like how this sounds. I’m surprised we don’t already have more (English) yuri visual novels that feature magical girls—and better yet, they’re magical women—but this is looking to fix that. Also included in the press release was another look at the main cast, and they’re looking good.

Heart of the Woods was pretty great, so hopes are high that Studio Élan can deliver the goods once again. There isn’t yet a release date, but keep your eyes peeled for more info in the coming months.

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A lot of people seem to be excited about Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T, the third entry in the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun series that’s set to premiere next month, and now Railgun fans have even more reason to be excited.

It was announced that the new season of Railgun will be getting a smartphone game adaptation titled Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Spectrum Story. It’s not yet known when Android and iOS users will be able to fit Mikoto in their pockets, but I hope it’s before this new season finishes airing, just because I want to see some cool product tie-in. 😛

But doesn’t it seem like every anime is getting a mobile game? Princess Principal had one, Revue Starlight has one, Love Live! had one, etc. But where are all of the yuri anime games?! It’s a huge untapped market!

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We’re now less than a month away from one of the most anticipated anime of the 2020 winter season, Magia Record: Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Gaiden, so let’s get even more hyped by watching the 2nd PV.

＼TVアニメ『マギアレコード』放送日時決定🎉／
📺放送日時
・MBS 1/4より毎週(土)26:08〜
・TOKYO MX 1/4より毎週(土)24:00〜
・群馬テレビ 1/4より毎週(土)24:00〜
・とちぎテレビ 1/4より毎週(土)24:00〜
・BS11 1/4より毎週(土)24:00〜
第2弾PVも公開! #マギレコ ぜひお楽しみに! pic.twitter.com/cxqhHWzLpY

— マギアレコード公式 (@magireco) November 30, 2019

 
It seems there’s going to be at least a couple of other winter anime that could be yuri-ish, but this is the one that I can’t wait for, even though it has A LOT to live up to. *counts the days* Only 24 more days!

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And now on to a strange story that’s not really yuri news, but it does kind of involve this year’s only pure yuri anime, so it’s included anyway.

Tear Studio, the anime studio responsible for animating Flag Time, has seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth, with no one being able to come in contact with them. To make matters worse for Tear, some freelance animators report not being paid for their work, and they’ve mentioned a class-action lawsuit as a possiblility.

Flag Time is already in Japanese theaters, and it’s already been licensed by Sentai Filmworks, but it’ll be interesting to see if this situation affects that in some way. In the meantime, let’s keep our fingers crossed and patiently await the home release.

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In more exciting news, Ratana Satis has opened her own official store, so if you’ve been wanting to stock up on volumes of Pulse or Lily Love for the holidays, what better time than now?

You can visit her official shop right here.

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Finally, the new PV for Oshi ga Budokan Ittekuretara Shinu has arrived ahead of its January 10th premiere, and if it wasn’t already obvious, you can already consider Eripiyo the super early favorite for 2020 Best Yuri Anime Character award. Let’s take a look.

Looks fun, doesn’t it? At the very least, we should be getting some yuri subtext in this one—in addition to some laughs—so when you combine this with Magia Record and Railgun T, the winter season is looking somewhat promising~

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