the japanese wikipedia page states outright that it's a genre about samesex romance between women, and contains links to other pages like lesbian slang and such. there's no ambiguity.

???「百合（ゆり）とは、女性同士の恋愛や親密な関係そのもの、またはそれを題材とした作品のジャンル。」certainly does not unambiguously or otherwise read to me as "yuri" = "same-sex romance" (and「GL(ガールズラブ)と混同されやすいが、百合はそれより広い範囲の関係、作品を指す。」 is the next line...?).

that yuri naturally includes broader homosociality and homoeroticism and can operate smoothly within various intimate relationships between women (Childhood Friends, Student x Teacher, Incest, sometimes Co-worker or Roommates, whatever's going on in Contract Sisters, etc) without ever shifting gears or assigning the kind of relationship hierarchy or teleology "lesbian romance" would is incredibly useful for (certain!) stories. trying to pave this over because some genre conventions were shaped by homophobia (as if this were a uniquely japanese phenomenon) and yuri fans have a (imo by now maladaptive) suspicion of Subtext/ambiguity doesn't really serve anybody, nor does it address the structural root of the problem, as Any_ILL pointed out

Really funny

the japanese wikipedia page states outright that it's a genre about samesex romance between women, and contains links to other pages like lesbian slang and such. there's no ambiguity.

???「百合（ゆり）とは、女性同士の恋愛や親密な関係そのもの、またはそれを題材とした作品のジャンル。」certainly does not unambiguously or otherwise read to me as "yuri" = "same-sex romance" (and「GL(ガールズラブ)と混同されやすいが、百合はそれより広い範囲の関係、作品を指す。」 is the next line...?).

that yuri naturally includes broader homosociality and homoeroticism and can operate smoothly within various intimate relationships between women (Childhood Friends, Student x Teacher, Incest, sometimes Co-worker or Roommates, whatever's going on in Contract Sisters, etc) without ever shifting gears or assigning the kind of relationship hierarchy or teleology "lesbian romance" would is incredibly useful for (certain!) stories. trying to pave this over because some genre conventions were shaped by homophobia (as if this were a uniquely japanese phenomenon) and yuri fans have a (imo by now maladaptive) suspicion of Subtext/ambiguity doesn't really serve anybody, nor does it address the structural root of the problem, as Any_ILL pointed out

so they changed it since i last read it. mildly annoying. all of those examples you gave are based in romance, even if it's written more subtly (though i haven't read contract sisters admittedly, i wasn't interested). your definition of romance is just too narrow to encompass them. that's what i'm trying to say here. stuff that eng speakers consider subtext is often seen as unambiguously romantic by the original japanese audience. all arguments, imo, stem from that

Using Wikipedia as a source in this day and age, you people might as well quote randoms on twitter. Excuse me, on X.

Using Wikipedia as a source in this day and age, you people might as well quote randoms on twitter. Excuse me, on X.

yeah i was more using it as a cultural comparison than stating either as fact. dumb move either way

I feel like this oneshot was a scheme to make fun of us specifically. At least it was fun.

Contract Sisters ain't subtle.

What's wrong with a dirty co-ed school :(

Sheesh, woe if people from different parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds use the same word slightly differently. (I am super guilty of hair-splitting discussions in many such cases)

Awww alien-chan is smitten

See everyone, not every alien is bad. Sometimes they just crave some yuri love from a human.

Where for them Yuri is a very specific genre, and for me it's more of a broad term for lesbian centric stories, art, and the like. I guess I'll have to think about this for awhile still, ultimately though I'll probably just have to accept that I have a different understanding of the term than a lot of people, and that it's okay that I'm not on the same page as them.

Hey, genre is classically an incredibly ambiguous means of storytelling categorization. By discussing your own experience with media here you've also contributed to the ongoing, social process that is genre definition.

I just assumed "yuri vs lesbian" was acknowledging that bisexuals exist. Oh well, one can dream.

I think my main thought ultimately is that language is tricky and everyone has their own definitions, perspectives, and so on.

Where for them Yuri is a very specific genre, and for me it's more of a broad term for lesbian centric stories, art, and the like. I guess I'll have to think about this for awhile still, ultimately though I'll probably just have to accept that I have a different understanding of the term than a lot of people, and that it's okay that I'm not on the same page as them.

Hey, genre is classically an incredibly ambiguous means of storytelling categorization. By discussing your own experience with media here you've also contributed to the ongoing, social process that is genre definition.

That's a good way of looking at things, thank you.

I just assumed "yuri vs lesbian" was acknowledging that bisexuals exist. Oh well, one can dream.

I should say that I think Yuri includes Bisexual and Pansexual women in relationships with women. Korra and Asami are both Bi and works of them as a couple is Yuri as far as I'm concerned. Apologies if my wording sounded excluding when I was discussing things, that was not my intent.

Houkago Kitaku Biyori is one of my favorite het / "shonen romcom" series out there right now, so it's both unexpected and a delight to see a yuri oneshot from the same author!

…if Chokki made a yuri manga, it would be exactly like this.

I loved this oneshot so much. It's so wacky and silly. While still being insightfully hilarious about the story conventions it comes from. I appreciate monsters and aliens also not following human beauty standards to be shown or be worthy of romance.

For me personally, i agree with the main character that Yuri as a genre just HAS to focus mainly on close relationships with women and this doesn't exclude lesbianism. That's why Birdie Wing is yuri to me but not lesbian rep and Rent a Girlfriend is not yuri.

That being said this debate in the forum about specific use of terminology and how cultures use them brings up an excellent example in the word "lesbian" itself. A lot of people will use it to mean any women loving women relationship even if participants could be into any range of non man or man relationships. I'd prefer to use wlw or even sapphic but many ppl also have a problem with that term.

That aside I also agree that gay romance terms like yuri/gl or yaoi/bl should stay away from real life gay people (or actors of thise shows) unless they bring it up first. It feels like forcing story conventions and 1 dimensional standards to actual oppressed human beings. Also the idea of the most debased yuri/yaoi ever (not in a bad way) being labeled LGBTQ+ representation feels off. Ofc can be great for someone to be seen, but also feels like I'm telling people that's a resource for them to learn from, which is wrong. Like The Moon on a Rainy Night is deaf representation but not a resource.

This got almost the exact same discussion when it was posted on mangadex haha

I'd really recommend "Yuri is Taboo to a Yuri Otaku," which I think does the best (or at least most explicit) job talking about this, but I think this oneshot, YuriOta, & "Yuri is My Job!" are all like thematically similar, as like a metatextual examination of the difference between (class-s) yuri and real / realistically portrayed sapphic relationships

I should say that I think Yuri includes Bisexual and Pansexual women in relationships with women. Korra and Asami are both Bi and works of them as a couple is Yuri as far as I'm concerned. Apologies if my wording sounded excluding when I was discussing things, that was not my intent.

Yeah, this is why I mentioned sapphic. As long as the main relationship is between women/girls it doesn't matter if they are also attracted to men. No goldstar bullshit in this house.

I think Class S is a type of sapphic love depicted through a certain lens of literature, at a certain time in history. One that is an important part of history and the path that to lead to us having stories with better representation in modern times. Class S obviously has issues and should be discussed, but I personally don't agree with the thought that Class is "Yuri and not real sapphic love". Especially as it's once again saying Yuri doesn't count as sapphic love, and it's trying to separate the two in a way that I don't agree with personally.

I should say that I think Yuri includes Bisexual and Pansexual women in relationships with women. Korra and Asami are both Bi and works of them as a couple is Yuri as far as I'm concerned. Apologies if my wording sounded excluding when I was discussing things, that was not my intent.

Yeah, this is why I mentioned sapphic. As long as the main relationship is between women/girls it doesn't matter if they are also attracted to men. No goldstar bullshit in this house.

Yeah that makes sense, and I agree.

^^^Id say yuri is an umbrella term for lesbian IN MANGA & ANIME. The anime/manga spins on lesbian are quite specific and contain a lot of tropes and ideals that just often dont apply to real life in japan. or elsewhere. Its not exactly normaly a realistic accurate representation of life for lesbians.. Tho sure, some are.

Yeah, but that's like saying romance manga aren't like real relationships, or martial arts manga aren't like real martial arts. It's fiction, it's implied, and series would still fit in the same category if they were realistic. I will admit that it would feel wrong to call a western lesbian film or novel yuri, but a japanese film or novel feels like it counts?

the alien girl is really cute i'm glad she has a senpai who clearly likes drawing her :)

Actually the kouhai just gives an amazing point to make a new serialize * yuri manga!

Let's connect the dots that goes with
Senpai-sushi-kawaii!

Senpai likes to eat sushi, meets a kawaii apprentice who works there as sushi shop!
So there goes senpai sushi kawaiiiii relation x'DD

Just kidding

It's been so long I haven't read this what the -- I'm reading x'DDDDD
The alien is shocking , scary yet funny at the same time

Why though? ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ...ahaha

Will there be a continuation of this where eventually the kouhai alien is discovered?

I think this has potential to go for a continuation (just kidding! I know this is meant for a joke but great work x'D)

last edited at Sep 4, 2026 5:09AM

Man this is a real "this is not a pipe" comment section.