Yuri (Girls' Love)
Yuri, or girls' love (GL), is a genre of manga and other fiction centred on romantic relationships or deep emotional bonds between women.
Where the word comes from
Japanese 百合, "lily", a flower long used as a symbol for love between women.
In depth
Yuri tells stories about love and intense friendship between women. Early twentieth-century Japanese girls' fiction (Class S stories about close bonds between schoolgirls) is often cited as an ancestor. Dedicated magazines appeared in the 2000s, including Yuri Hime, and the genre now spans school romance, adult relationships and fantasy.
In English
Bloom Into You by Nio Nakatani and Citrus by Saburouta are among the best-known yuri manga in English. Publishers increasingly label yuri and GL lines on the cover.
Range of the genre
Yuri covers a wide spread of tones. Some stories are about first, unspoken feelings at school; others follow adult couples through work, family and everyday life; others place the romance in fantasy or science-fiction settings. Many series are complete in a handful of volumes, while anthologies collect short stories by several creators. As with boys' love, publishers mark explicit titles for mature readers, and those belong on the adult shelf rather than the general one.
Finding it in a shop
English publishers have launched dedicated yuri and girls' love lines, so the label is increasingly printed on the cover or spine. Where it is not, the series description usually makes the central relationship clear.
Where it appears
Bloom Into You by Nio Nakatani. yuri school drama
Citrus by Saburouta. popular yuri romance
What it means today
Readers looking for adult relationships between women will find them in yuri written for older readers and in our LGBTQ+ section.
