It’s been a while, but I thought before the year ends, I just have to talk about all the gay things that really stood out to me in 2022. Fair warning, this is not necessarily yuri stuff, just gay in general.
As last year quite literally ended with a bang, that being the release of League of Legends‘ TV show, Arcane, I was pretty much spoiled for anything else. I didn’t really seek out any other show, but luckily in the beginning of the year, I stumbled upon a TikTok of all things, showing an audio sample of a gay fantasy book and decided that I would simply try that out. Up until that point, I had never even thought about the possibility of consuming gay media in audio book format. And oh what a pleasant surprise that was. Doing your daily chores, going on walks, or simply laying in bed while listening to some slow burn gay fantasy novel. That was such a joy, and oh how many books I consumed that way in such a short amount of time.
I started out with fantasy titles such as Malice and Misrule by Heather Walter, continued with (my all-time favorite) Aurora’s Angel by Emily Noon, and then moved on to The Chronicles of Dorsa series by Eliza Andrews. Those were all great fantasy novels with amazing gay female leads, and once I couldn’t find more fantasy ones that caught my eye, I simply jumped to romance novels. If you didn’t know about all the gay books available on Audible, you’d really be surprised. There is quite a nice selection to choose from, and they keep adding more. It’s really amazing.
In the rom-com department, I can absolutely recommend both Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake, and, of course, Written in the Stars and Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur. Those are all simply delightful, fun, and more often than I would expect, quite sexy. It’s truly an experience to go on a walk in the middle of the day and suddenly having a very detailed and graphic sex scene read to you. 😀
Those audio books kept me entertained for the majority of the year, and I’m still actively seeking out more books. But while I was waiting for new titles to catch my eye, something else entirely did.
I didn’t watch the first season of Warrior Nun when it released about two years ago on Netflix. I was told it had some gay moments, but since the two characters didn’t actually get together, I never ended up watching it… until the second season released and everyone and their mom suddenly started showing off gay scenes of the two main leads, Beatrice and Ava, into my face. And thus, I watched it, and while the first episodes of season one were hard for me to get through—since Ava just started out as a very annoying character in my opinion—the series totally changed for me in the second half of season one. I fell in love with the main characters and even the admittedly wacky premise of the show.
By the end of season one, I was so invested that I finished the second season within like a day or two, and oh man, I LOVED it. The new season simply blew me away, and the slow burn relationship between Ava and Beatrice was honestly one of the best things I have ever witnessed on TV. As some of you might know, of course the series got canceled by Netflix…. BUT the fans have made their anger about this decision heard, and they are still fighting for season 3 to happen. If you’re interested, you should check out the #savewarriornun hashtag on Twitter and sign the petition right here.
Last but not least, I just have to talk about my most recent guilty pleasure, a gay Thai show, which is certainly a first for me. GAP the Series, which is an adaptation of a girls love novel, just started airing in November this year. The internet, or well the places I mostly lurk around, was beyond excited for this show, and from having watched the trailer, I could see why. Two gorgeous women falling in love, making out A LOT, and being in a boss x employee AND huge age gap kind of relationship.YES, PLEASE.
However, as excited as I was, the first episode was very, very hard for me to get through. Maybe it was the fact the budget must have been low, or maybe it was simply the fact that (thus far) I had never watched a Thai show before, but I couldn’t get into it at all. The first episode, in my eyes, showed some very… let’s call it black and white (or in this case, black and pink) characters with a very predictable and over-the-top kind of plot. Sam, the boss character part of the main duo, was and probably still is a walking red flag and her almost villain-like behavior in the first two episodes made me question how anyone could ever fall in love with her. Then againm she probably is the prettiest woman I have seen in a while, so yeah… 😛
However, the more I watched, the better it got. The chemistry of Mon and Sam is just beyond anything I have ever seen. They go so well together, and the series takes FULL advantage of that fact. This could have been called Fanservice the Series, with how many gay moments they squeeze into it. Some episodes almost exclusively feature the two main girls and how they slowly but surely make their way into the bedroom. I mean, into an actually healthy relationship.
This show truly makes me feel like a teen again, squealing about fictional romance. It’s such a guilty pleasure, and I want more! Have a trailer~
Good thing that apparently 2023 has quite a bit of gay shows in store for us, with more Thai novel adaptations, and luckily, also some yuri anime to come.
Well, admittedly, 2022 didn’t really give us too many good yuri pairings. I, of course, watched Lycoris Recoil and shipped Takina and Chisato hard. However, the show didn’t quite go all the way with their relationship, which was a big letdown. I’m also currently debating watching the new Gundam anime, but I’ll have to wait and see how the yuri develops in there.
Well anyway, I hope everyone had a great 2022! Let’s hope 2023 will be even greater~
YuriReviews and More 
Great to see you are doing well Lena! This year was definitely slow for yuri but for sure we did get some gems like Takina and Chisato! Also OMG you found some great gems, I will definitely check them out! Also we got some great yuri news as well which I am super excited for so hopefully next year will be a good year for us yuri fans!
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Hehe, I’m glad to hear that you found the recommendations helpful. I can guarantee those won’t disappoint~
Also, I’m so glad to see you back on the blog, it’s always so nice seeing you guys here 🙂
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Great to see another post from you Lena, glad you are doing well! Yeah sadly this year was not too great in terms of yuri anime, but that is all going to change next year! With I Fell in Love with the Villainess, Yuri is my Job, Hoshikuzu Telepath, and The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady all getting anime in 2023! Not to mention Gundam The Witch From Mercury gets it’s second part next year. While I have yet to see this particular Gundam series yet(I usually wait until they release on Blu-Ray) it does look promising and from what I have seen and heard of the latest episode the yuri appears to be growing stronger! Here’s hoping for a good yuri end to that series next year! 😀
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Chimeko~ I’m also super glad that you came and checked out the update, I hope you’re doing well!
I read up on all the titles that will come in 2023 und 2024 and it almost sounds too good to be true 😀 I also watched the trailer for I Fell in Love with the Villainess and I’m so excited!
I can’t wait for all of this to come out!
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Hey Lena, great to be hearing from you again!
I’ve been wondering about Warrior Nun, I guess I will have to check it out, will add it to the ‘to watch’ list. 🙂
When I watched LycoReco, I couldn’t help thinking you would really enjoy this one.
Glad to hear that was the case given the subtext. Am enjoying the fan art of the two, and am hoping we get to see them develop in another season!
Have you been reading much manga lately? There’s a new comer artist who been a big hit lately, maybe you’ve heard of them – Arai Sumiko.
I’ve been a big fan of their art for some time, but their new series is just great (The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy At All)!
Oh, and GRS has been doing some great stuff too!
https://dynasty-scans.com/authors/grs/images
Each is only a page, and quite puntastic, so it may even be readable by Rock with his allergy to literature 😛
Take care, and happy holidays!
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Hey shade, so glad to see your here again as well! 🙂
With LycoReco I think it’s really hard to not fall in love with Chisato and Takina – they go so well with each other and every interaction between them and even the supporting characters was just so fun to watch. I really wish there was more.
As for Manga, I haven’t really been reading all too much, but I’m glad I can confirm that I’ve been following “The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy At All” – I hate that it has such short chapters though 😀
The only other one I’ve actually been eager to see more of is “Bad Thinking Diary” by Park Do-Han. The combination of stunning art and steamy scenes is just too good to miss out 😀 However, I can’t say the story is all too strong…. oh well, I’ll keep following it just to see Yuna 😛
Let’s hope 2023 will have many more good ones in store for us. I wish you a great year shade!
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Ah, the real yuri anime hit of the year was undoubtedly Birdie Wing ~Girls Golf Story~ If there’s one anime of 2022 I’d recommend it’d be, well, it’d be Bocchi the Rock (which had plenty of gay subtext), but after that it’s be Birdie Wing.
Also, im pretty sure it’s set in the same universe as MADLAX.
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It was because of your review that I was encouraged to watch Arcane and I’m grateful for that (I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time)
To make up for it, I would like to suggest that you watch , The Owl House or Stupid Wife, if you haven’t already
Unfortunately, this year we had almost no yuri anime and they were all speculation and ship
I was tired of all the discrimination in the anime world, which is full of anime with straight characters or harem genre
That’s why I went to watch animation and western series, at least there is less discrimination and overall it was a good year, although Netflix really…
This year, Netflix canceled almost every series with a queer main character, like First Kill or Warrior Nun, which were great, as if the fans are right to say that Netflix is Lesbophobia.
Anyway, I watched three animes this year (the least in my entire life) and I think Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Ultra Romantic was the best (as usual, a straight anime :)). I’m watching Kidou Senshi Gundam now, and I can’t say it’s Yuri, but I can hope for the next season
Also, Willow, although it is not of high quality, but it is not a bad suggestion for us gl fans who rarely have a main character in fantasy works.
I hope we have a better year and I’m sorry my English is not very good 🙂
Suggested animations gl that aired this year
The Owl House
Harley Quinn
Dragon Age Absolution
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous
The Dragon Prince
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It’s always nice to see that my recommendation reached the right people 😉
Also, I can confirm, I’ve watched most of what you listed 😀 I actually loved The Owl House and First Kill wasn’t bad either. However, with First Kill I can’t say I’m all too sad to see it getting canceled – with Warrior Nun though I’m still furious…
I’m also watching Willow right now. I can’t say I really understand what is going on since I also just never saw the prequel, but oh well, it’s worth it for Kit and Jade 😀
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I want to forget LycoReco was even a thing and move on with all the new yuri anime 2023 has in store.
Don’t really care about non-anime lesbian stuff or most non-anime shows in general.
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I recently noticed a TV series called *hundred*, and decided to watch it, mainly because I found out that there are lesbian relationships there. And honestly, Lena, if you haven’t watched it yet, I advise you to watch it, even though there are a few scenes with kisses, but I really liked how the relationship between Clarke and Lexa looked, especially there was one moment that touched me deeply (when Lexa knelt down, well, I think whoever watched, will understand what I mean, it was only once when Lexa got on her knees, but I was very hooked on this scene, I haven’t seen this anywhere else), and in general, the series itself is very good for me. Thank you Lena for looking for and posting Lesbian content, often I find something that I missed or didn’t know about, you help a lot with this, you help me find something that will brighten up loneliness, of course it’s a little pity that you post so rarely (. Thank you for everything you’re putting out to us Lena❤️
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Awww thank you! 🙂
I’ve actually watched The 100 like a few years ago – of course because of Clarke and Lexa and ohhhh man did I love Lexa! 😀
It’s such a pity thought that they of course had to kill her…
I think if you’re a fan of this dynamic you might enjoy shows like Supergirl – though, it doesn’t actually feature lesbian characters…
As for that, I can only say again how great Warrior Nun and GAP are – then again, I’m pretty addicted to these two shows right now anyway 😀
I hope you can find some more you like, I’ll definitely keep everyone updated once something new and noteworthy!
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Thank you very much, I have already watched GAP and warrior nun recently, there is a good plot in GAP, but for me their relationship seems too stretched, I had to wait a long time for their kiss
. Warrior nun I liked very much , also it’s a pity that only at the end of the second season they kissed *o*. I’m trying to find yuri content whenever possible, but probably no one can compare with you in this, Lena😘 At the moment I’m reading the manga *Mage and demon queen* and *Beast knights* from Ratana Satis, I like it. I can also remember an interesting TV series * The Chronicles of Shannara * there is also a relationship between girls there:3, I also remembered the TV series *Dominion* also liked it, there was an angel girl and a human girl as a couple, I advise you to see if anyone has not seen this series) I really hope that in 2023 they will release more yuri anime and more TV series and films with fem relationships than in 2022!
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Oh, I also remembered a very cool series called *Warrior* (2019), especially fans of fist fights will like it, there is also a fem couple whose relationship is fully revealed by the end of the second season. I highly recommend viewing.
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