Some of the best LGBTQ+ stories in anime are found in shojo ai or yuri, also called Girls’ Love. Strictly speaking, yuri refers to series involving explicit girl-on-girl romantic relationships. However, some of these spell it out as a special bond between two female characters without clarifying if it’s only platonic. As it happens to most anime sub-genres, some yuri series stand out among the rest for their quality.
Whether it is due to their relatable characters, their thoughtful reflection on the Japanese LGBTQ+ experience, or their excellent writing, these series are top-notch. Any yuri lover out there cannot miss series such as Maria-sama Ga Miteru, Adashi to Shimamura, or Kannazuki no Miko.
10 Strawberry Panic
Based on Sakurako Kimino’s eponymous manga, Strawberry Panic follows the students’ daily lives at an all-girls institute. The 26-episode series centers specifically on Nagisa Aoi, a new fourth-year student who develops a romantic connection to Shizuma Hanazono, the school’s Etoire or “star.”
Strawberry Panic is a classic yuri series focusing on the romance between Nagisa and Shizuma. It doesn’t delve into other anime sub-genres but doesn’t need it. Instead, it focuses on familiar themes of the high school experience that viewers will find relatable, such as friendship, crushes, and even the politics of social hierarchy.
9 Sasameki Koto
Sumika Murasame is a 15-year-old with a huge crush on her best friend, Ushio. Although Ushio is openly a lesbian, she only likes cute and shy girls. Unfortunately for Sumika, she isn’t that kind of girl. Instead, she’s confident, athletic, tall, and popular. Given this, Ushio only sees her as her biggest confidant.
Sasameki Koto has a simple premise — unrequited love. However, it’s far from boring or overdramatic. Instead, it’s one of the best romantic comedies ever, as Sumika often finds herself in funny situations as she tries to confess her feelings, as well as having the most outlandish daydreams about her friend.
8 Adachi To Shimamura
Adachi to Shimamura is a slow-burn romance between two high school girls that couldn’t be more different. While Sakura Adachi is an introvert at heart, Hougetsu Shimamura knows her way around other people. Their opposite natures make it difficult for them to communicate their true feelings. Regardless, their friends-to-lovers journey is incredibly sweet.
Adachi to Shimamura sees Adachi and Shimamura explore their sexuality, but it doesn’t make it a dramatic storyline, which makes it incredibly cozy. This coming-of-age story is all about the two girls knowing each other, starting to care for each other, and eventually falling in love. Viewers get the chance to see it happen practically one day at a time.
7 Bloom Into You
Yuu Koito, a girl who feels like she doesn’t understand love, strikes up an uncommon friendship with Touko Nanami, a girl from her school. This prompts Touko, a second-year, to confess her feelings toward Yuu, who can’t reciprocate them. Bloom Into You sees their bond turn into something romantic as Yuu learns more about Touko.
Bloom Into You stands out from other yuri series because it is a serious take on romance. This series doesn’t depend on drama to engage the viewer. Instead, it prioritizes fleshing out its characters. Although the characters are high schoolers, both Yuu and Touko are incredibly complex, and their bond depends partly on how they become compatible as they mature together.
6 Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story tells the story of Eve and Aoi, two golfers with very different backgrounds and golf styles. Eve plays rough while Aoi plays smart; Eve plays underground games to get money for her family while Aoi does it as a professional career. These differences won’t stop them from falling for each other.
Eve and Aoi have an “opposites attract” kind of connection that makes the story a passionate tale. Additionally, the two girls share the same intensity in the field, which is incredibly inspiring. Birdie Wing combines all the traits of a great sports anime with the tropes of an even better love story.
5 Aoi Hana
Also known as Sweet Blue Flowers, Aoi Hana centers on Fumi Manjōme, a lesbian first-year student who has recently made reacquaintance with Akira Okudaira, her childhood best friend, and is currently in the first stages of a budding romance with Yasuko Sugimoto, a popular senior.
Aoi Hana is a very complete coming-of-age story. Viewers will relate to Fumi’s experiences with friendship and love, even if they aren’t part of the LGBTQ+ community. Besides, it’s one of the first yuri series to actually address the sexuality of its main characters and the inner conflict that comes from it, so it has better representation than many other anime.
4 The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady
Fans of isekai will surely like Tensei Ōjo To Tensai Reijō No Mahō Kakumei. This series, also named The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, tells the story of Anisphia, the princess of Palettia who loves inventing magical items, and Euphyllia, Anisphia’s brother’s former fiancé with a reputation to save. While helping each other out, they inevitably fall in love.
Tensei Ōjo To Tensai Reijō No Mahō Kakumei has been widely praised for its sweet take on Anisphia and Euphyllia’s romance. The series steers away from fan service and avoids sexualizing them. Instead, it offers a lighthearted fantasy story with an intense emotional connection between its main characters.
3 Watashi No Yuri Wa Oshigoto Desu!
After injuring the owner of a maid cafe, Café Liebe, by accident, Hime Shiraki has to cover some of her shifts. Turns out, Café Liebe is an immersive experience, so Hime has to pretend to be a student at a fancy institute where students have close relationships that the customers can ship — the name of the series translates as Yuri Is My Job!. As expected, slowly and steadily, this yuri plot in the café trickles into real life.
WataYuri — as the fandom calls it — has a bit more drama than necessary, but it stands out from other yuri series for its meta-commentary. The fan service roleplay at Café Liebe and the reaction of the customers — often out of line — is a commentary on the toxic fandoms’ behavior and the most popular tropes in yuri (such as the senpai/kohai power dynamic). Anyone who likes to analyze tropes will enjoy this series’ humor.
2 Kannazuki No Miko
Himeko Kurusugawa and Chikane Himemiya are two high schoolers at the Ototachibana Academy who are developing innocent emotions for each other. However, they’re also the reincarnations of two shrine maidens — the solar and the lunar miko — whose tragic story is set to repeat again and again until the end of time unless they defeat the Orochi.
Kannazuki no Miko is one of the best yuri out there because its romance storyline is only the tip of the iceberg. This series combines magic, LGBTQ+ representation, Japanese mythology, and even mecha into one story pumped full of complex lore that could easily be expanded into a whole franchise.
1 Maria-sama Ga Miteru
At Lillian Girl’s Academy, a Catholic school in Western Japan, a whole generation of girls prepares for their future. This prestigious academy witnesses the wholesome romance between Yumi Fukuzawa, a bashful freshman, and Sachiko Ogasawara, the star student of the school.
Maria-sama Ga Miteru is the blueprint when it comes to modern yuri. This series recovered several 19th Century tropes from the genre, such as the setting at a girls’ academy, the big sister/little sister dynamic, and the obsession with religious imagery. If its importance in yuri history isn’t enough to pique the viewers’ curiosity, it’s also a beautiful story with graceful art and wholesome characters.
Leave a Reply