It’s hard to say exactly when the yuri genre was first conceived, but if you had to pick a date, then 1919 is a perfectly good one. In that year, yuri’s godmother, Yoshiya Nobuko, published Yaneura no Nishojo, arguably the first lesbian novel with a happy ending and one which set the groundwork for the century of development we’ve seen in the time since. Yuri would not have truly been born in the 70s without it. Our beloved genre has gone through so much in that time, and it would be remiss of someone such as me not to celebrate its anniversary.
So, in honor of yuri’s centennial, I’m proud to finally announce Yuri 101, a video series meant to tell the whole history of the genre, from 1919 to 2019. Over the course of this year, I’ll be covering everything, from Yoshiya Nobuko and the Class S movement to anime airing right now. If you remember the two yuri history videos I previously made, this will be a remake of sorts, though with greater detail and a larger scope. If you’re curious about how a famous all-girls’ theater troupe set the stage for yuri’s pioneering manga, this is the series for you. If you’d like to see how yuri went from being all-shoujo all-the-time to a genre that spans demographics, you’ll want to be watching. And if you need to hear what I think about the present landscape as it stands, you should definitely listen in.
That said, this project is not a minor undertaking, in all it’ll be at least an hour in length, and if it’s to have the production value I’d like it to have, rather than slapped-together editing that I’d throw out on any random seasonal video, I’ll need your support. My patrons have made it possible for me to reach this point, and projects like the Ikuhara documentary or the novel I’m working on would be impossible without them, but I want this series to blow anything else I’ve done out of the water. If you’re interested in that, or in future projects I could work on after this, such as the Ikuhara video’s prequel, my isekai project, or a serious look at Yamakan’s work, I humbly ask for your gracious donation. A comprehensive history of yuri is something that’s been missing from the public eye for far too long. Let’s make it finally happen.
Floating into Bliss 