What is Yuri?

nekotine · What is Yuri?

So I've used the term yuri here quite a few time in regards to anime, manga and games so for those who aren't too familiar with it, allow me to shine a bit of light on the subject. :3

Yuri is the term used to associate various forms of artwork to 'girls love' in Japan. Yuri literally translates to 'lily', which is how the term was first coined since it was used in a gay men magazine called Barazoku (bara meaning rose). So Barazoku (rose tribe) was used in association with gay men, while Yurizoku (lily tribe) was used in association with lesbians. Of course, this doesn't mean that every Japanese character you happen across with the name Yuri or Yuriko is the blatant lesbian...though every once in a while...

A term I haven't used often but is used a lot, mostly by anime/manga fans OUTSIDE of Japan, is 'Shoujo Ai', which literally translates to 'girl(s) love'. Some fans argue that Yuri is the more explicit/adult/sex oriented works while Shoujo Ai are more romance/love based but it should be noted that in Japan, yuri refers to ALL girls love oriented works, whether it is sexual in nature or not. If you were to use 'shoujo ai' to describe what you're looking for, they would understand but it's just not the term they regularly use. Typically, you will see things either under 'yuri', 'gaaruzu rabu' (the romanji of 'girls love') or 'rezu/rezubian' (romanji of 'lesbian'). 'Shoujo ai' was a term than was created by an American fan to mirror 'shounen ai' or boys love.

It's a very 'po-tay-to, po-tah-to', semantics thing but I generally stick to the Japanese terms because...it's their terms. n.n; For more info, there's the Wikipedia entry and Yuricon, which also provide lists of yuri works available.

So in short, yuri refers to any story where girls/women are in like/love/lust with one another. Shoujo ai is okay to use as well but according to Japan, there are no separating terms between stories that are more romantic or sexual in nature.

Margali

And all this time I thought Yuri was a cosmonaut.

but seriously, the Japanese do come up with some cool stuff.

Jude

xKiDDOx

That's cool. I was always one to use shoujo-ai for romantic stuff, and yuri for more 'hard-core'. There are picture threads like, on shoujo-ai.com that are labeled shoujo-ai, which there isn't any nudity allowed, and yuri, where nudity is allowed and most pics are rated xxx. That's one of the first sites I went to when I was looking into shoujo-ai anime...so I guess I just picked it up from there.

nekotine

yeah, i dunno. maybe it's just me being picky but i just say yuri for everything. it's in human nature to seperate stuff so can't really do anything about it. n.n; i've been discussing it with a friend of mine that wants to do a yuri panel at the upcoming anime convention for our area, and we figure we'll just do our best to cover it from both a native Japanese and a foreign fans view. of course, we need to convince more people around here that yuri isn't ALWAYS hentai in content. apparently, at least year's 'yuri' showing, they tried to play things like Marimite and Kashimashi but it was a REALLY late night slot, and everyone that was there only wanted hentai so yeah... we're hoping to get 2 timeslots this year- one for hentai and one for cleaner stuff.

brinstar

I use the term 'yuri', regardless of how 'soft' or 'hard' it is. I think 'shoujo-ai' is an unnecessary distinction.

acro_circus

Lol, I had to say "gaaruzu rabu" at this doujinshi place in Ahkihabara, I was looking for Dorepanda TOURS stuff for my ex, the girl kept blushing and giving me the big X with her arms... sorry just random banter ^^

Babycha

Sugar Rune

i dont see the hype in cartoon porn. I'd much rather hookup with one of my gfs and read playboy or something!

MiradoBwarrior

tsurara_mai

"shoujo-ai" is actually a form of pedophilia. ie. it's usually used for love for LITTLE girls. Be careful looking for (or asking for) that.

Yuri isn't really much of a genre unto itself, existing, for the most part, within other genres (shoujo, josei, shounen, seinen and ero-manga). There are two yuri anthologies of note - Yurihime and Yuri Shimai which are published 4-6 times a year and there's only one label devoted exclusively to lesbian stories - Yurihime (the label began 2 years ago and has only about 20 titles in its lineup). Commercial yuri, like commercial Boys Love tends to pander to the "oh hey, isn't that hot/interesting" voyuerism of straight men and curious straight women. Most of Yurihime's comics, in particular, are designed to appeal to men.

Most of the really relevant stuff is published on the fringes with the independant publishing and arthouse community being particularly receptive to serious or interesting girlgirl romances. FxErotics runs "Blue Flowers" along with 3 or 4 other frequently sapphic titles wedged between kinky heterosexual stories, indie fantasy epics, gore, and other curiosities. Comitia, a twice annual indie comic/original doujinshi event is an amazing place to search for new material... as are gay bars. For nearly 40 years, the actual lesbian community has been protecting their anonymity by distributing their own writings and artwork with a system of deliberate abandonment in friendly bars and behind the counter sales at certain shops.

So -- like Boy's Love -- most gay comics available in Japanese bookstores aren't written by (or for) homosexuals or say very much about the experience of being homosexual. They're written by heterosexuals looking for a new interesting or erotic twist on their own favorite genres and cliches. That doesn't make them unenjoyable... just shatteringly uninsightful sometimes Sad

There are good ones. They're just a bit harder to dig for.

TLC DEMON

wow there is alot of new people

Babycha

I can't find yuri anywhere, so I gave up looking.

nekotine

Babycha