I think whether yuri manga need to address lesbian identity is a side argument; a manga could do it successfully, or it could successfully opt to not do it, but I think the real issue for yuri connoisseurs is how editors and mangaka think up these overly harsh restrictions that compromise quality.
That's how I see it too. Yuri can tackle identity or not, it isn't necessarily required to be part of the manga. But, there's been a huge drive lately, in America at least, to not have fictional depictions that do not accurately reflect the subject matter the fiction covers. The article seems to be a proponent of that. Personally, "adult life" and "romance" are my two favorite tags and I love when that stuff is woven into the story. But I don't want to see yuri reduced to one story-type. And reduction of fiction to one type of story seems to be the direction of the writer's argument.
Still, Japan seems really damn insulated from that particular discussion, and what matters more to us is what you say about how the harsh restrictions can compromise quality. Yuri manga can totally ride that line and remain clearly fictional whereas something like the Report on Lesbian Experience will clearly have that stigma. Takemiya Jin moves in that direction while still staying clearly in the yuri zone, but I wonder where the line is?
Edit: Kindred Spirits also rides the line. It's kind of crazy, because it doesn't deal with identity, but the relationships seem so much more real (most of the time) than others. In it's own way. While clearly sticking to the yuri category.
last edited at Oct 7, 2016 5:50AM