What’s better than a listicle with five great F/F manga during pride month? A second list of five MORE yuri comics to check out!
Yuri manga in the West is often overlooked and underappreciated, or dismissed as fantasies by and for straight men, ignoring the complexities and depth of this genre. But even outside the confines of the yuri label there are incredible stories being told that emphasize romantic relationships between women. As a lesbian who reads a lot of manga, I have compiled a list of my personal favorites that are currently being published in English in the hopes that other people may be inspired to check some of these out. My first list in this series featured five comics about girls in high school and college, but this list is all about women in the workplace, being adults, doing their adult things. Let’s go lesbians, let’s go!
Still Sick volumes 1-3
Akashi
Tokyopop
November 15, 2019 – February 23, 2021
A yuri manga about making manga and being a creative, Still Sick is an entertaining story that deserves more attention. Shimizu is an ordinary office worker who makes yuri doujinshi in her spare time, a secret that is suddenly discovered when her coworker Maekawa sees her at a convention. As the story progresses, we learn more about both character’s struggles and insecurities and how they think about life and love and art, as well as how they help each other grow and change. I think this comic is seriously underappreciated and want more people to read it.
Our Dreams at Dusk, volumes 1-4
Yuhki Kamatani
Seven Seas Entertainment
May 7, 2019 – December 17, 2019
Our Dreams at Dusk is my favorite manga of all time, and though the lesbian couple in this series is not the sole focus, the climax of the whole story is centered around their wedding, and the final volume has them on the cover! Saki and Daichi serve as mentor figures to the protagonist Tasuku at a drop-in center for LGBT+ individuals in their tiny rural town, and their relationship with each other and their families is explored with care and nuance as the preparations for their wedding continue. The artwork is delicate and evocative, and the story will strike an emotional chord with anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast for their sexuality.
Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon, volume 1
Shio Usui
Seven Seas Entertainment
February 23, 2021
The newest manga on this list, Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon is a simple story about two office workers falling in love and eating doughnuts under a crescent moon. What makes it stand out is the depth given to these characters despite this simple premise. Hinako Uno wants desperately to appear “normal,” throwing herself into makeup and fashion in an attempt to perform femininity the Right Way, while being secretly convinced she’s fundamentally broken and unloveable. Relatable content! It’s fun watching the characters slowly open up to each other and reveal new sides of their personalities.
After Hours, volumes 1-3
Yuhta Nishio
VIZ Media
2017-2018
Part hobby manga about event planning in the Tokyo club scene, part romance between DJ Kei and aimless-drifter-turned-VJ Emi, After Hours focuses on the magic of discovering your passions and people who share them. The creator’s love for the subject matter shines throughout the work, and the unusual premise keeps readers engaged all the way through.
Whenever our eyes meet…
Anthology, ASCII MediaWorks
Yen Press
June 18, 2019
I impulse-bought this at Kinokuniya in NYC one time and then read the whole thing on the train ride home. It’s an anthology of fourteen different short stories about working women in love. All of the stories are drawn in different styles and focus on different types of jobs and relationship dynamics, so there’s bound to be a comic for everyone in this collection! I’m not a fan of every story in this anthology, but I appreciate the variety, and I think it’s a good example of the range this genre is capable of. I think the first and last stories are especially cute.
