Are you curious about yuri manga, but don’t know where to start? This is the guide for you. We’re going to recommend ten yuri manga for various tastes and interests. By the time you reach the end, hopefully you’ll have a recommendation that appeals directly to you. Perhaps you’ll even stumble across something you didn’t know you were looking for.
We’ll tell you about each manga’s tone, whether it’s finished or ongoing, and — crucially — where you can find it in English.
Just in case you weren’t aware, yuri manga are Japanese comic books based on romantic and/or sexual relationships between women. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the manga was created by a queer woman, however — or even a woman at all!
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How We Chose These Yuri Manga
We didn’t have a strict formula for choosing these ten manga, as recommendations are subjective, after all. However, we did keep a few things in mind.
Firstly, we chose titles with strong reputations for their stories. Not everyone will mesh with every one of them, of course, but they are generally recognized as being high quality. We’ve also aimed for a variety of tones and settings. If you’re not interested in high school stories, for example, you’ll still find something here you may like.
We also made sure every manga on this list is available in English. Some are still ongoing, while others finished years ago, but you won’t need to learn Japanese to enjoy them.
And while we have to list some before others, this is not a ranking: the first manga here is not necessarily better than the tenth.
At a Glance: Which Yuri Manga Should You Start With?
For anyone who just can’t wait, here’s our quick and easy guide to yuri manga and why you might like it.
| If you want… | You should read… |
|---|---|
| An accessible modern start | The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All |
| A completed introspective romance | Bloom Into You |
| Messy college relationships | How do We Relationship? |
| A dark fantasy/tragedy | I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day |
| Music-centered romance | Whisper Me a Love Song |
| Meta-yuri and interpersonal drama | Yuri is My Job! |
| Adult domestic slice-of-life | She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat |
| Classic friends-to-romance | Girl Friends |
| Fantasy/isekai | I’m in Love with the Villainess |
| Warm drama-light romance | Kase-san and Morning Glories |
Think you know what you’re interested in? Let’s go into more detail!
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All
If you’re looking for a yuri manga dripping with style, with a fun focus on music, and two incredibly well-written characters, then look no further.
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn’t a Guy at All (Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta/気になってる人が男じゃなかった) stars Aya Osawa and Mitsuki Koga. Aya, who loves rock music, visits a record store after school from time to time. There, she develops a crush on the handsome shop assistant. Little does she know that the shop assistant isn’t a man at all, but her classmate, Mitsuki.
Readers rave about this manga for its fun mistaken-identity hook, the distinctive lime-green visual style, and music-centered motif. We also thoroughly enjoyed it, and you can read our review here. You may have heard this manga sometimes referred to as “Green Yuri,” thanks to the bright green coloring that permeates the book.
The manga is still ongoing in Japan. In English, it is published by Yen Press, with the first three volumes available now and Volume 4 scheduled for 27 October 2026. You can find the available volumes here.
The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn’t a Guy at All
Fashionable and upbeat high schooler Aya loves listening to rock, but no one else seems to share her interest…until she meets a cool, stylish employee at a CD shop…
Bloom Into You
Set in a high school, Bloom Into You (Yagate Kimi ni Naru/やがて君になる) offers deep insights into the psychology of the central characters.
Yuu Koito, a first-year high school student, receives a confession from a younger boy, but is surprised that she feels unmoved and turns him down. When she sees upperclassman Touko Nanami go through something similar, she decides to become friends, thinking they can bond over their experiences. As they grow closer, Touko confesses her feelings to Yuu, who has to sort through her own emotions and what romance means to her.
Completed in 2019, the full eight-volume run is available in English from Seven Seas. You can find the complete series here.
Bloom Into You
A charming love story about two young women who together discover that their dreams of a heart-pounding romance can indeed come true-now with an anime…
How Do We Relationship?
How Do We Relationship? (Tsukiatte Agetemo Ii Kana/付き合ってあげてもいいかな) might suit someone looking for a story outside the confines of a high school. It’s also a top choice for anyone who wants something less idealistic and more interested in the messy complexity that is part and parcel of relationships.
College freshman Miwa Inuzuka becomes friends with Saeko Sawatari, who is her opposite in many ways. They both come out to one another at the same time, and Saeko suggests that they begin dating. Miwa has always dreamed of finding love, but she doesn’t feel any initial attraction. Still, she’s never been in a relationship before and wants to know what it’s like, so she decides to go along with Saeko’s plan.
We liked that the characters are messy and make a lot of mistakes as they get closer, owing to their inexperience in relationships.
The manga was completed in 2025, and all 14 volumes are published in English by Viz Media and available to buy here.
How Do We Relationship?
Shy Miwa has always dreamed of finding love, but living in small-town Japan made finding the right match difficult—especially since she likes girls! Even going away…
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day
A dark fantasy story, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day takes place in a world where war, death, and killing are part of everyday life.
Main character Sheena Totsuki is one of the few who struggle to handle the violence surrounding her. In contrast, Mimi Kagari, who can regenerate from any wound, is the perfect soldier, seemingly unmoved by the chaos. Assigned to be roommates in a military training institute for orphans, a living weapon and a pacifist fall for one another.
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day (Kimi ga Shinu made Koi wo Shitai/きみが死ぬまで恋をしたい) caught and kept our attention for its character-driven storytelling and brutal, gory scenes that set it apart from the other yuri manga on this list.
It’s still ongoing in Japan, with the first eight volumes available in English from Kodansha USA. You can find the available volumes here.
I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day
There’s an orphanage that’s actually a boot camp, turning out magical child soldiers for a gruesome war. Yet love finds a way to blossom amid bloodshed…
Whisper Me a Love Song
For anyone who liked Green Yuri and wants another school manga with a strong music aspect, this may be the manga for you.
Whisper Me a Love Song (Sasayaku Yō ni Koi o Utau/ささやくように恋を唄う) revolves around Himari Kino and Yori Asanagi. After Himari sees Yori playing in a band on her first day of school, she is overcome with admiration. She blurts this out to Yori, who takes it as a romantic confession. Even after the misunderstanding is set right, Yori is set on winning Himari’s heart.
We loved the manga for its sweetness, innocence, and cute aesthetic. The characters are also relatable and forthright in their self-expression.
The manga remains ongoing in Japan, with the first 11 volumes available in English from Kodansha USA. You can find the available volumes here.
Whisper Me a Love Song
An adorable new yuri manga for fans of Kase-san and Yamada and Bloom Into You. One day, high school girl Himari sees a girl, Yori, sing in a band, and it…
Yuri Is My Job!
This one is for fans of comedy and, in some ways, yuri aficionados.
Yuri Is My Job! (Watashi no Yuri wa Oshigoto Desu!/私の百合はお仕事です!) follows Hime Shiraki, a self-centered high schooler who begins working at a theme cafe after accidentally injuring the manager. The cafe is part theater, with all the waitresses acting as students at the fictional all-girls Liebe Girls Academy. Hime becomes attracted to Mitsuki Yano, who, in her role as a student, adores and dotes on Hime. After the show is over, however, Mitsuki seems to despise her.
One of the main draws of this manga is its skewering of a number of yuri tropes. Readers already familiar with the genre will probably get more out of this pick than someone choosing their first yuri manga. As the story progresses, however, it becomes more focused on the romance as the two grow closer.
It’s still ongoing in Japan, with the first 13 volumes available in English from Kodansha USA. You can find the available volumes here.
Yuri Is My Job!
The new, hilarious yuri comedy! Hime gets roped into working at a weird café where the waitresses pretend to be students at an all-girl boarding school…
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat
A manga for people looking for a story outside a school setting, as well as one with more diverse body types than a lot of yuri manga.
In She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat (Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna/作りたい女と食べたい女), Yuki Nomoto lives alone in Tokyo and enjoys cooking and posting pictures of her dishes on social media. The trouble is that she doesn’t have much of an appetite, so making larger servings would mean wasting food.
Then she meets her neighbor, Totoko Kasuga, who has a much bigger appetite. Yuki realizes she can finally cook the large meals she wants to make and share them with Kasuga. Over time, the relationship between the two becomes like a perfectly balanced meal.
The domesticity and more adult-oriented focus are what make this manga stand out. Foodies will also appreciate the meals that Yuki makes, but it never devolves into a ‘meal-of-the-week’ gimmick.
The series is still ongoing in Japan, with the first five volumes available in English from Yen Press. You can find the available volumes here.
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat
Cooking is how Nomoto de-stresses, but one day, she finds herself making way more than she can eat by herself. And so, she invites her neighbor Kasuga…
Girl Friends
A classic from the Naughties, Girl Friends (ガールフレンズ) is a tried-and-true friends-to-lovers story with a lot of heart.
The quiet high schooler Mari Kumakura keeps to herself, with her excellent grades being the only noteworthy thing about her. However, classmate Akko Ohashi is determined to bring her out of her shell and become her best friend. As Mari grows less introverted, the two share experiences like dieting, getting boyfriends, and trying alcohol. Eventually, they begin to realize that their feelings are more than platonic — but neither wants to jeopardize their friendship.
Although Girl Friends doesn’t have a ‘hook’ in the same way that other manga on this list do, its simplicity is part of its charm. It presents a classic story, well executed. If you’re looking for your first yuri manga — or you want something a bit ‘back-to-basics’ — this could be for you.
The manga was completed in 2010, and the full series is available in English across two omnibus editions from Seven Seas. You can find both editions here.
Girl Friends
When it comes to grades, bookish high school student Mariko Kumakura is at the top of her class. Socially, however, she is shy and lonely, typically eating lunch by…
I’m in Love with the Villainess
This manga is an example of the popular isekai (alternative world) genre, where the main character finds themselves plucked from our ordinary world into an extraordinary setting.
Based on a series of light novels, I’m in Love with the Villainess (Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijō/私の推しは悪役令嬢) sees office worker Rei Ohashi die from overwork and reincarnate as Rae Taylor, the heroine of her favorite game. The game has romance options, but they’re all men. As Rei is a lesbian, she instead decides to chase the real object of her affections: the arch villainess Claire François.
That alone makes it an interesting standout in the isekai genre, where same-gender relationships are relatively rare. Rei’s directness in establishing her sexuality and desires has also been praised. Beyond that, it works as a strong fantasy comedy with more serious themes underneath.
The manga is still ongoing in Japan, with the first ten volumes available in English from Seven Seas. You can find the available volumes here.
I’m in Love with the Villainess
The Commoner Movement has kicked into high gear at the Royal Academy! Its proponents are calling to dissolve the aristocracy, which leads to skirmishes…
Kase-san and Morning Glories
Another yuri manga that begins in high school, Kase-san and Morning Glories (Asagao to Kase-san/あさがおと加瀬さん) is notable for following its heroines beyond their school days.
When the story begins, Yui Yamada is a quiet and timid member of her school’s greenery committee and enjoys tending the flowers. When she meets the athletic Tomoko Kase, their romance begins to bloom and blossom as beautifully as Yui’s flowers.
Audiences found the manga charming, with an uncomplicated love story between the two leads. It should be noted that this is just the first part of the larger Kase-san and… series, which covers more stories across the couple’s lives.
The series is still ongoing in Japan, with the first ten volumes available in English from Seven Seas. You can find the available volumes here.
Kase-san and Morning Glories
Kase-san and Yamada are now university students. Yamada’s working diligently in her horticulture program, while Kase-san is training hard at her university…
Yuri Manga FAQ
Is Yuri Always Explicit?
No. Although yuri is sometimes associated outside Japan with pornographic images, that isn’t necessarily the case. Yuri covers a wide range of subjects and genres. What these works share is a focus on romantic or other deeply emotional relationships between women.
What Is the Difference Between Yuri, GL, and Lesbian Manga?
“Yuri,” “GL (Girl’s Love),” and “lesbian manga” are not synonymous, though they often overlap. There are also no ‘official’ boundaries separating them.
At a glance, “lesbian manga” is a straightforward English-language description and can include works about lesbians that do not center on an emotional or romantic relationship. “GL” is sometimes used for romances involving younger characters. “Yuri” tends to be the more all-encompassing term.
For more yuri coverage, click here, and don’t forget to check in with JGG for regular updates!
