#chika you and riko left

[sioneve]

aqours but it's out of character

"My cute little sister... is gone..."

"All the noppo bread that I saved for today... is gone..."

Yohane- Yoshiko is too stunned to speak

"I hope she won't find us"

I thought it would be fun to do a community vote to decide the next victim 4 days ago, and congratulations kanamari is winning (or losing?) Since twitter limits the choice to 4 so, I squeezed Kanamari together (not because I wanted to, huh) and they're winning wtf LMAO

So here we go, but Mari doesn’t seem to suffer at all 🤨

[transrinhoshizora]

Mari to the rest of Aqua: If Dia is the the one being cuddled between me and Kanan, does that make her a middle spoon or the tiniest kind of little spoon? 🤭

This question divides the rest of Aqours into two camps:

Ruby, Yoshiko and Chika all believe, and Dia INSISTS, this makes her the "middle spoon," because she is in the middle.

Hanamaru, You, Riko, and Kanan all believe this makes her a double-little spoon because she is being cuddled twice at once, therefore compounding her little spoonness.

It is therefore left to Mari to cast the deciding vote...

Dia is democratically determined to be the littlest spoon, so cute~

[spinnerprincess]

Listen, Learn (Love Live: Sunshine, Chika/Riko, 1368 words)

Femslash February Prompt for 2/4: Mermaid AU

The cottage on the seaside was so quaint, and the ocean beyond it so vast, its horizon expanding past what she could fathom. The wind blew with no barriers, salty and brisk. Even in these warming months of spring, with the sun tucked behind a thick layer of clouds, the chill was bad enough that Riko regretted not wearing a heavier sweater.

As her family moved in, she'd been encouraged to leave the cottage and told to "acquaint herself with the area," whatever that meant.

She wouldn't start at school for another few days, which left her with time - maybe too much of it? - to get used to living somewhere so very different from Tokyo. She worried it would be too boring here, for her. She also worried she would be too boring for it.

Riko wandered a little down the road, still stunned by the scenery. In the far distance, she could see little mountain peaks dotting the sky. It didn't feel real to her - more like something out of a movie or a video game than a place that existed, that someone could drive to, if they wished.

A structure caught her eye: a little wooden stairway just off the road, headed down the bluff, cutting through swaying reeds on its way down. Her curiosity was piqued. Was this the easiest access to the beach?

The chilly breezes accompanied her down the stairs. She could hear the ocean's roar. Stirred up by the wind, the water was full of little crests of foam, and the waves curled in on themselves as they crashed into the beach.

Dressed in just her plain old skirt, she wasn't prepared to swim in the least. But she had no desire to wander further, for now.

With some careful thought, she slipped out of her boots, and peeled her socks off, leaving them tucked into her shoes and left behind on the staircase.

The sand was cold and damp, immediately between her toes, but it wasn't a bad sensation. She got used to it, and continued further, until she found a spot that suited her: few sticks and rocks, just gentle sand, a few feet away from the very tip of the waves that slid up and down and up again.

Riko sat, her legs bent in front of her, wiggling a little to carve a spot for herself in the sand around her. She closed her eyes, hearing the rhythm of the ocean. It reverberated, rolled, and repeated itself.

She hadn't expected to love the ocean. But already, meeting it for the first time, it enthralled her.

Without thinking about it, her eyes still closed, Riko lifted her hands. Middle C there, between and above her knees: a gentle chord with her left, at first, and then a familiar melody on her right. She hummed the song, in performance for only herself. Slow, and steady, with nobody to hear.

So she thought.

"Amazing…"

Riko's eyes shot open and she looked up and down the beach, confused. Had she heard a voice?

"Over here!"

She had, but Riko hadn't expected a visitor to be bobbing away in the shallows of the chilly sea. When she finally connected the voice to its face, she saw a girl about her age, beaming with delight. She had a wide, contagious smile, shocking pink eyes, and hair so orange, even while wet, that it couldn't be natural. She had her hand on her chin and was looking at Riko with unabashed awe.

Riko squeaked, flinching back. She caught herself with her hands in the sand, grimacing since she hadn't meant to stick them there.

"That was beautiful!" the swimmer continued. "Were you pretending to play an instrument?"

"Er, yes," said Riko, trying to regain her composure. "I play piano."

"Piano?" The girl's eyes went wide. "Isn't that the one with all the keys you have to press? That must be hard."

Riko didn't know what to make of this. It was like a description of a piano out of a book. "Maybe? Oh, but I've been playing it since I was very young, so something simple like that wouldn't be so much trouble…"

"You must have practiced a lot if you can just picture the ones you need to press, though. And you have a lovely voice. I couldn't help but say hello."

Riko pressed her lips together stubbornly. She didn't want to leave a bad impression with a new neighbor, but being interrupted when she thought she was alone wasn't totally endearing her to this girl. The flattery was… kind, but surely exaggerated. "Isn't it cold in there?"

"Hmm?" The swimmer looked down at herself, lifting a hand out of the water. "It's a pretty good temperature for me. I'm used to it, though! Are you new?"

"My family is moving in today," Riko said. She gestured up the hill - the cottage itself wasn't visible, but the cliff it sat beside was.

"Welcome, then! I should introduce myself. I'm Chika," she said, smiling. "I live nearby, and I love mandarins and dogs."

Setting aside some of her resentment at Chika's overt friendliness, Riko gave a tenous smile. "I'm Sakurauchi Riko. I love music. I think I also love the ocean."

Chika giggled. "You think?"

"I've only just seen it up close for the first time today," Riko defended herself. "It's beautiful."

"Huh." Chika looked around. "Even on a gray day like this one? It's kind of greenish-brown, too. No sparkle whatsoever."

Her outlook surprised Riko. "It's so vast, though. And just… listen." She closed her eyes again. The rhythm of the waves stayed with her. When she opened her eyes, Chika was floating in the sea, bobbing with the waves, looking thoughtful.

"I guess it is a kind of music," Chika said. "I just never thought of it that way." Her gaze traveled down the beach, her smile turning wistful. "I wish I could hear more music. Did you know? Every summer, they have a concert on the beach, some kilometers that-a-way. I always go check it out when I can. But most of the time, it's quiet around here."

"You can't listen to music on your own?" Riko tilted her head. Was this girl just incredibly sheltered, or what? "I could play you a few things from my phone, if it's just a matter of having it downloaded."

Chika's eyes lit up. "I'd love that! Oh, but, maybe another time. Would you do me a favor, Sakurauchi-chan?"

"What's that?"

"Maybe don't tell anyone I was here?" Chika tucked her hair behind her ear, looking sheepish. "I probably shouldn't have talked to you, if I'm being honest."

"Sure," Riko said, furrowing her brow in confusion. "But why not?"

"Well, if I don't tell you… Then I guess nobody can say that I told you." Chika shyly looked away. "I should go for now. Please - don't mention me? And come back sometime. Another day when the ocean sounds like this, maybe?"

It was awfully mysterious all around. Was the swimmer girl being threatened, or something weird? Maybe this was some rural thing that a city girl like here just wouldn't pick up on? Still, Riko nodded slowly. "I'll come back. Do you have a last name? I don't want to get too personal…"

Chika beamed. "Oh, please call me Chika! Let's be friends!"

"Call me Riko," Riko said in return, unable to resist returning that joyful smile.

"Then - I'll see you, next time, to talk about music some more!" Chika said. She glanced around, and gave Riko a wink. Then, suddenly, she plunged herself into the water.

Riko jumped to her feet, alarmed. She ran up to the waves, ignoring the cold water washing over her feet. There was no sign, at first, of Chika and where she might have gone.

Then, she saw it: a patch of glinting scales. A tail, bright orange, finned at the end - and ahead of it, just peeking out of the water, unnaturally orange hair.

Her new friend was a mermaid. Riko's eyes widened. She gasped, shocked, delighted, and stared into the waves. But Chika was gone.

It seemed like this new home wouldn't be so boring at all.

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

hell yeah, love trick or treating

may i (pretty please) have one yuri

one yuri coming right up

...

......

.........

too many of you are requesting yuri, there's no women left in the wheel!

I thought. but I kept going.

and at the end of the tunnel there is always a light.

and there they were.

another love live ship.

Chika Takami and Riko Sakurauchi Love Live Sunshine. Congratulations

[tharizdun-03]

Love Live! Sunshine!! Season 2: EP 5-8 Watchthrough

#5: "Taking in a Dog"

i still don't think yohane ever really hit that pitch perfect note with her character like she did in her full introductory episode, but more of this vulnerability is what i wanted. cute riko/yohane episode.

yohane trying to command the umbrella to stop lol

just like the dia episode, lots of strong comedy.

a lot of misnaming this entire episode for this cute little quip at the end (you could argue the whole dog chasing was a bit mean-spirited too but it's just for giggles) but i'll just take it as an episode about riko learning to use someone's preferred name. she is yohane.

and then we check in on the girlfriend by the end, of course.

i don't think this season has been quite as strong as season 1 so far. season 1 was kind of phenomenally structured as a first season. basically perfect, if not for the always lacklustre ending.

season 2 seems to be kinda loosely jumping around, focusing on the side characters, and i'd expect the movie to pull things together to focus more on the main trio again. which all sounds like good fun.

#6: "Aqours Wave"

aaah, these two!! best girlfriends in the world, cheering chika up!

did i miss some godzilla reference they did in season 1 tho? cause they keep making those jokes as if it's a running gag. don't get me wrong, it's cute as fuck, but i have no memory of when it started so to me it's just random godzilla noises they make sometimes for no reason 

these two are cute too, but in a platonic kind of way

remember when i said that everything with the third years is so dramatic? yeah. the other girls are just goofy dorks, but there's always tragic drama breweing between these three in the background lol.

it may seem like most of my enjoyment of this show comes from my ships (cute moment here again, i'll remind you that they're polyamorous) but it's the snappy comedy and SoL which makes this franchise. the larger emotional beats (like the concert here) can be a bit rushed

#7: "The Time Left"

damn. that's a bold story decision, but very glad they're going down this route to distinguish themselves further from SiP.

respect for this. and makes me interested in knowing what other love live series will do, unless they (preferably) abandon the whole save the school set-up altogether.

#8: "Hakodate"

maybe you should hug her warm.

look at her matching scarf and earmuffs. her earmuffs are little oranges, i love that. matches her hair ofc, that too. she's an icon.

it's nice that these two share a room. we sometimes get distracted by riko, the new hot fling, but you is her oldest friend (and lover). which room is riko in tho? i think the first years share a room so maybe she's on the right to chika instead? didn't look like it.

outside of me shipping these Ruby and Leah (they were holding hands infront of a Christmas tree), the drama is a bit eh. I like conceptually a lot here, about Ruby growing up without relying on Dia, but a lot of it resulted in "nuhuh, my sister is the best!"

i do think sunshine has been a bit more effective on whole impermanence theme, but it's just not that amazing of a drama so its sentimentality can butcher its otherwise usually strong comedy (which has felt routine and repetitive lately)

[sifasdt]

SIFAS Daily Theatre Classic: 2022-06-24

(Transcription after the break.)

[Image transcription:]

SIFAS Daily Theatre for 2022-06-24

Your Effort

Chika: Ugh, I can't play it at all! My left and right hands are completely out of sync~!! Riko: It's okay, it's okay. It'll become natural to you the more you practice. Chika: Really? Riko: Yup. I know how to play because I practiced a lot. Chika: How much have you practiced? Riko: Hmm...... every day ever since I started learning to play the piano, up to now? Chika: Whaaaat!? up to now!? Every day!? Even on school trips!? Riko: Yup, yup. The only days I don't play are when I don't have a piano. Chika: Whaaat... Riko-chan, you're amazing. I was pretty dumb to think that it would be easy to play as you do, Riko-chan. Sorry about that. Riko: No need to apologize! I'm already happy that you said you were interested in learning to play the piano, Chika-chan. Just play with one hand for now, and keep trying hard, okay?

[End transcription.]

[strawbrygashez]

[yhrkcnrk]

Tainted Hearts

Chapter 86: Rumors

Riko, Chika, and You had just arrived in the classroom, making their way to their desks and settling in. Chika slumped face-first onto her desk, dramatically sighing.

"Ughhh, Monday again… so tiring," she groaned.

You chuckled, stretching as she sat down. "Monday just started and you're already this tired?"

Riko giggled at the familiar scene. "Same old Chika-chan."

Chika lifted her head slightly, pouting. "Well, I’m not Riko-chan, who actually likes school so much."

Riko smiled proudly. "Well, I like studying, thank you very much."

You smirked, leaning closer. "I think there’s another reason why she likes school so much~" She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Riko froze, her cheeks immediately turning red.

Chika, oblivious, tilted her head. "What? The food? Because Hanamaru would be the one who would love that."

Meanwhile, in the 2nd-Year Classroom

Hanamaru and Ruby sat at their desks, reading a book together.

Suddenly, Hanamaru straightened, looking up and glancing around with a serious expression.

Ruby jumped in surprise. "Pigi!" She clutched her book to her chest. "W-What is it, Maru-chan?"

Hanamaru narrowed her eyes, scanning the room. "I feel like someone’s talking about me, zura..."

Ruby blinked in confusion, but before she could say anything, Hanamaru slowly turned back to her book, deep in thought.

Back to the 3rd-Year Classroom

You laughed, shaking her head at Chika’s cluelessness.

She turned back to Riko, smirking. "Speaking of that someone, how was the family date yesterday?"

Chika suddenly sat up straight, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Oh yeah, yeah! How was it?"

Riko tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down. "Uhmm... it was fun."

Chika and You stared at her blankly.

"That’s all?" Chika asked, unimpressed.

"It's the first time the three of you hung out, and that’s it?" You added, raising an eyebrow.

Chika leaned forward. "Yeah, tell us more!"

Riko smiled nervously. "There’s really not much that happened… We just walked around the mall, looked at some stores, went to a café, and then went home. That’s all. Oh, and a lot of teasing from Mom."

You grinned. "Well, did Yoshiko and your mom bond?"

Riko nodded. "Yeah, they talked a lot… about random things and even cleaning hacks."

Chika blinked in disbelief. "Wait, Yoshiko cleans? She looks like she doesn’t do that."

Meanwhile, at the Teachers' Office

Yoshiko was sitting with Dia and Kanan, casually sipping her coffee.

Out of nowhere, she sneezed loudly, nearly spilling her drink.

Dia, startled, jumped slightly and let out an involuntary "Pigi!" before quickly coughing to cover it up.

Yoshiko rubbed her nose, sniffling. "Sorry about that."

Kanan chuckled, leaning on her hand. "Looks like someone’s talking about you."

Yoshiko smirked. "Maybe."

Then, she suddenly turned to Dia with a grin, her eyes shining mischievously. "But more importantly… Dia, did you just say ‘Pigi’?"

Dia immediately stood up, her face turning red. "I—I don’t know what you’re talking about." She quickly grabbed her books and headed toward the door. "Excuse me, I need to get to class."

As soon as she left, Yoshiko and Kanan burst into laughter.

Back to the 3rd-Year Classroom

Riko laughed softly, shaking her head. "Well, she does. She’s been living alone for years, so of course she has to clean."

Chika sighed in relief. "Oh, that’s right… Hehe. Please don’t tell her I said that."

You smirked. "Oh, I’m totally saying it."

Chika gasped dramatically, clutching You’s arm. "Nooo! I’ll give you all my mikans, just don’t say it!"

You grinned. "And your pudding later."

Chika froze, then slumped forward dramatically. "Not my pudding…!" she fake-cried.

Riko giggled at their antics.

Just then, the classroom door slid open.

Dia stepped inside, composing herself. "Good morning, class. Let’s start today’s lesson."

The students straightened up, preparing for class.

------------------

Lunch on the cafeteria was as lively as ever, with laughter filling the air as Riko, Chika, You, Hanamaru, and Ruby sat together, enjoying their food.

Chika grinned as she swung her legs excitedly. “I’m so excited for next month!”

Riko looked at her curiously. “What’s next month?”

Chika and You exchanged glances before throwing their hands up in sync. “Halloween time!” they cheered.

“Oh, that’s right,” Riko said, realization dawning on her. “It’s already almost time for the party.”

Ruby smiled proudly. “And You-senpai and I are almost done with all of the costumes!”

You gave a thumbs-up. “That’s right! We’ve been working hard on them.”

Riko felt a little guilty. “Sorry for making you two do all of the work…”

You waved her off. “It’s okay, Riko-chan. We really enjoy it. Especially Ruby-chan. I think she even wants to make costumes for the whole school.”

Ruby blushed at the statement, looking down. “T-That’s not true…”

Hanamaru chuckled. “No, it’s probably true, zura. Knowing you Ruby-chan.”

The group laughed, and Chika suddenly clapped her hands together, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, Ruby-chan, can you also make a costume for my dog? So the trick-or-treaters will get scared! Hehe!”

You deadpanned. “Or your family will throw you out.”

The table burst into laughter again.

Chika pouted. “Since this is a party, I’ll spike the drinks!”

Hanamaru’s eyes widened. “I think that’s a bad idea, zura.”

You nodded. “Yeah, teachers might throw you out too.”

Chika looked confused. “Why? I won’t do anything wrong.”

Riko sighed. “Wait, Chika-chan, do you know what ‘spiking the drinks’ means?”

Chika nodded confidently. “Yeah! It means pouring a secret drink into the regular drinks!”

The group shared a look before Ruby timidly asked, “And… do you know what kind of secret drink it usually means?”

Chika tilted her head. “Anything you want?”

You smacked her forehead playfully. “It’s typically alcohol, Chika-chan. How do you not know this?”

Even Ruby nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s what it usually means.”

Chika gasped dramatically. “Ohh! Really?! I just saw it in a movie once and didn’t know what was happening, hehe.”

Hanamaru crossed her arms. “What were you even planning to spike the drinks with, zura?”

Chika scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Uh… mikan juice?”

You sighed. “Why am I not surprised?”

Hanamaru and Ruby giggled.

Riko chuckled as well. “Well, Chika-chan, I think you can actually do that without being thrown out.”

Chika gasped, her eyes sparkling. “I can?!” She pumped her fist into the air. “Yes!”

The group continued chatting about random things, laughter ringing across the cafeteria. After finishing their meals, they packed up and headed back to their classrooms, ready for the next class.

------------------

The school courtyard was quiet as Riko walked through it alone, enjoying a brief moment of peace. However, that peace was short-lived when a familiar voice called out to her.

“Hey, Riko!”

She stopped in her tracks and turned around, already feeling tired before the conversation even started. The leader of the bully group and her followers approached her with smug expressions.

Riko sighed. “What do you want?”

The leader smirked. “I want to ask you something. Can you come with us to the back of the school?”

Riko narrowed her eyes. “I’m kind of busy right now. Sorry.” She turned to walk away, but then—

“Oh, I think you won’t be busy if we tell you it’s about a certain teacher.”

Riko froze mid-step, her heart quickening. Oh no. Did they find out about Yocchan? Keeping her expression composed, she slowly turned back to them. “Sure. I’ll hear you out.”

The group led her to the back of the school. Riko crossed her arms, standing her ground. “Alright. What is it?”

The leader grinned. “We know about Tsushima-sensei.”

Riko’s stomach twisted. She forced herself to remain calm. “What about Sensei?”

“Don’t play dumb,” another girl scoffed. “We know you know it too.”

Riko tilted her head. “I don’t know what you mean.”

The leader leaned in slightly, eyes gleaming. “Is that why your grades are so high, huh? Because you’re getting private lessons from her?”

Riko blinked, taken aback. “W-What?”

The leader continued. “Because your mom is dating her.”

Riko’s mind screeched to a halt. “I’m sorry, what?”

“The jig is up, Riko. We know your secret—your mom is dating Tsushima-sensei, and she’s helping you with your homework and stuff.”

Riko almost burst out laughing. So they got the wrong jig. She kept her face neutral. “And what exactly gave you that idea?”

Another girl spoke up. “We saw your mom and Tsushima-sensei at the mall yesterday. They were on a date.”

Riko thought back. They saw them? But not me? Maybe while I was in the restroom…

Another girl added, “And we even saw Tsushima-sensei give a gift to her!”

Oh, the butterfly hairclip…

Riko took a breath and said, “Is that all you saw?”

The leader frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, did you even consider that they just happened to run into each other at the mall? And that’s when you happened to see them?”

The girls exchanged glances. “Well, what about the gift?”

“Are you sure it was a gift?” Riko asked calmly. “Or was she just showing something?”

Another girl hesitated. “Well… they seemed really close.”

“That’s how a teacher is with a student’s parent,” Riko pointed out. “You know that, right?” She added, “And are you sure they were alone? Maybe other teachers were with Sensei.”

One of the girls murmured, “No… we went home before anything else happened…”

“See? So don’t assume things just because you see something out of context.”

The leader, though unconvinced, crossed her arms. “Yeah, I still don’t buy it. It just seems like you and Tsushima-sensei are a little too close lately. That’s probably because of your mom.”

Riko opened her mouth to refute it—

But suddenly, two figures ran in front of her.

“Please don’t bully Riko-senpai!”

Riko blinked in shock. “Ruby-chan? Hanamaru-chan?”

Ruby, though visibly nervous, stood her ground. “Onee-chan was with Tsushima-sensei at the mall yesterday buying supplies for school! Maybe she went to the restroom for a bit, so you didn’t see her.”

Hanamaru nodded. “That’s right, zura.”

The bullies looked at each other, unsure. One of them whispered to the leader, “That’s Kurosawa-sensei’s little sister. I don’t want to get in trouble. She might tell on us.”

The leader hesitated before scoffing. “I see. It’s kinda too good to be true for Tsushima-sensei to be with someone like your mom anyway.” She sneered.

One of the girls whispered, “Hey, isn’t that kinda far…?”

The leader whispered back, “Shut it.” Then, she turned to Riko. “Sensei wouldn’t go for an older woman anyway.”

Ruby frowned. “And please stop talking bad about Riko-senpai or her mom.”

The leader clicked her tongue. “Tch. Whatever.” She turned on her heel, calling back mockingly, “Look at you now, Riko, having two more bodyguards.” The group laughed as they walked away.

Once they were gone, Ruby and Hanamaru turned to Riko.

Ruby asked hesitantly, “Are you okay, Riko-senpai?”

Riko smiled and patted their heads. “Yes. Thank you, you two. That was very brave of you.”

Hanamaru pouted. “I can’t believe they thought your mom was dating her instead of you, zura. They’re not very bright.”

Riko let out a small laugh. “Well, I’m still thankful for that.” She paused before adding, “Can you two please not tell anyone about this? Especially Yoshiko?”

Ruby and Hanamaru exchanged glances before nodding.

“Sure, Senpai.”

Riko sighed in relief. “Thank you, you two.”

------------------

The school day had come to an end, and students were heading home in pairs and groups, their laughter and chatter filling the hallways.

At the classroom door, You and Chika waved goodbye. “Bye, Riko-chan!”

Riko looked up from her book and smiled, waving back. “Bye, you two!”

As the classroom emptied, Riko stayed behind, waiting for the school to quiet down so she could head to Yoshiko’s classroom and walk home with her as usual. She turned back to her book, hoping for a moment of peace.

Unfortunately, that peace was quickly shattered.

“Bye, Riko~,” a familiar, mocking voice sang.

Riko didn’t even have to look up to know who it was. The leader of the bully group, along with her usual followers, stood near the door with mischievous smiles.

“With so many rumors we’re finding out about you,” the leader said, her tone dripping with amusement, “I wonder what else you’re hiding.”

Riko sighed, already exhausted. “You were the ones who spread those rumors. You even started believing in them yourselves.”

The leader scoffed. “Oh, I’m pretty sure a lot of people believe in them. They’re just too nice to say it to your face. Not like us, who actually have the guts to do it.”

The girls behind her snickered.

Riko pinched the bridge of her nose. “You do know that a rumor doesn’t mean it’s true, right? It’s just false exaggeration.”

A different girl piped up. “We’re not as smart as you, but we do know that rumors can also be true.”

“Especially when we saw it with our own eyes,” another added smugly.

Riko clenched her jaw. “I keep telling you—that wasn’t me that you saw.”

The leader smirked. “Uh-huh. Keep saying that. But we know what we saw. You kissing that guy.”

Another girl giggled. “I bet you’re waiting for him right now, huh?”

“And I think you go on double dates with your mom and Tsushima-sensei,” another snickered.

The leader shot the girl a glare. “Hey, stop that. We’ve already moved on from that rumor. Let’s not drag Tsushima-sensei into her life anymore. We need to respect Sensei.”

Riko blinked. Respect? Since when do they care about respect?

The leader crossed her arms. “Thinking that Sensei is close to her is kinda an insult to Sensei. We all know Tsushima-sensei hates Riko.”

Riko blinked. “Sensei’s what now?”

The leader smirked. “Oh, you didn’t know? Tsushima-sensei hates you. We overheard her talking to Matsuura-sensei earlier, saying she’s having a hard time being around you.”

Riko’s mind went blank. Yocchan said that?

[Flashback]

The group had been walking through the courtyard when they spotted Yoshiko and Kanan talking nearby. Curious, they hid behind a tree and listened in.

Yoshiko sighed, running a hand through her hair. “It’s so hard to be around Riko sometimes... I just don’t know what to do... I hate it...”

To the bullies, she looked irritated.

Kanan nodded. “Just... avoid... her... and... go away...”

The girls, hiding far enough away that they couldn’t hear every word, only caught the key phrases that stood out to them. They exchanged looks, suppressing excited giggles.

“That’s all we needed to hear,” the leader whispered.

And with that, they had walked away, convinced they had uncovered something big.

[Back to the Present]

The leader sneered at Riko. “So now, not only do we hate you, but even Tsushima-sensei does, too. The kindest, coolest person in this school hates you. Sucks to be you.”

One of the other girls added, “I bet a lot of people will start hating you, too, if they find out Sensei hates you.”

Riko exhaled slowly, keeping her face neutral, but inside, her mind was reeling. So, now I have a secret boyfriend, I’m a teacher’s pet, and now Yocchan supposedly hates me? She let out a tired sigh. I can’t wait to graduate and finally be free from all of this.

The leader smirked. “What’s wrong? Can’t speak? Too shocked?”

Riko shook her head. “No, I’m just amazed at how you always manage to discover new things to make up about me. Is that a talent of yours?”

The leader scoffed. “Yeah, well, at least Tsushima-sensei hating you is a win for us.”

With that, she turned on her heel. “Let’s go, girls.”

Her group followed, giggling and whispering as they disappeared down the hallway.

Riko watched them go, her fingers tightening slightly around her book. She sighed again and leaned back in her chair. Yocchan hates me...? That was the part that lingered in her mind the most.

I should probably talk to her about this...

------------------

As the sun began to set, casting a warm golden glow over the quiet streets of Numazu, Yoshiko and Riko walked side by side on their way home. The cool autumn breeze ruffled their hair, and the faint scent of the ocean lingered in the air.

They chatted about random things, but then Riko remembered something and turned to Yoshiko.

“Oh, and get this, Yocchan,” Riko said with an amused smile. “Remember those girls who keep badmouthing me?”

Yoshiko frowned. “What about them? Want me to finally take revenge?” she asked, cracking her knuckles dramatically.

Riko giggled and shook her head. “No, but they said they overheard you saying that you hate being around me.”

Yoshiko stopped walking, blinking in confusion. “Huh? I said that?” She tilted her head. “I don’t remember saying that. And I would never say that.”

Riko gave her a teasing look. “I don’t know… I’m kinda believing them.”

Yoshiko’s eyes widened in panic. “No, no, Riri! You know I would never say that, right? I don’t hate you! I will never hate you! I love you! I love you!”

A few passersby turned to look, having caught Yoshiko’s loud declaration.

“Ohh, is that a confession over there?” someone passing by said.

“Yeah! Congrats, you two!” another person added with a cheer.

Riko immediately blushed deep red, eyes wide, and quickly covered Yoshiko’s mouth with her hand. “I-I know! So just keep your voice down, okay?!” she whispered harshly, looking around, mortified.

Yoshiko, still determined, mumbled something against Riko’s hand, her voice muffled but insistent. She was definitely still trying to say I love you.

Riko sighed and removed her hand, shaking her head. “You really like to kill me with embarrassment, huh?”

Yoshiko scratched the back of her head with a sheepish chuckle. “Sorry, I just got worked up when they said I hated you. That’s, like, the worst thing someone could say about me.”

Riko’s expression softened, and she reached out to take Yoshiko’s hand in hers. “It’s okay, Yocchan. I was just teasing.” She squeezed her hand gently before continuing, “They also said that you were talking about it with Kanan.”

Yoshiko blinked. “With Kanan…? Talking about you…?” She thought for a moment before suddenly snapping her fingers. “Oh! I think I remember now!”

Riko looked at her curiously. “You do?”

“Yeah! So, this is what really happened.”

[Flashback]

Yoshiko and Kanan were walking across the school courtyard, chatting idly about random things, when Yoshiko suddenly let out a dramatic sigh.

Kanan stopped and chuckled. “That’s some sigh, Yoshiko. Something bothering you?”

Yoshiko groaned. “It’s just so hard, you know?”

Kanan raised an eyebrow. “What is?”

Yoshiko pouted, rubbing her face as if in distress. “It’s so hard to be around Riko sometimes! Every time I see her, I just wanna kiss her in front of the whole class. I just don’t know what to do about myself! I hate it—feeling like this all the time.”

She sighed again, looking exhausted but in a dramatic, lovesick way.

Kanan nodded. “Just try avoiding meeting her eyes, and maybe that feeling will go away.”

“But it’s hard...” Yoshiko whined, practically sulking like a kicked puppy.

Kanan laughed. “It’s so funny seeing you like this.”

The two of them continued walking, Yoshiko groaning about how hard it was to have such a pretty and adorable girlfriend and how she was suffering because of it.

[Back to the Present]

Yoshiko finished recounting the story, looking at Riko expectantly.

Riko, however, was now bright red, looking down at the ground in complete flustered embarrassment.

“…Riri?” Yoshiko tilted her head.

“I… you never should’ve told me that,” Riko mumbled, face still hidden. “Now I won’t be thinking about anything else when I’m in your class.”

Yoshiko chuckled. “But I had to tell you! I never want you to doubt me.”

“I-I never doubted you from the start, you know,” Riko admitted, still red. “But I can’t believe you were talking about me like that with Kanan.”

“Well, who else am I supposed to talk to about you?” Yoshiko pointed out. “Dia? Your homeroom teacher? She’d kill me. Mari? I don’t want someone crazy teasing me every minute. Kanan was my only option.”

“…You have a point there,” Riko muttered.

Yoshiko grinned and leaned closer. “Well, I can’t exactly talk about how hot and perfect you are with you, right?”

Riko turned even redder. “Yocchan!”

“See? That’s exactly why I don’t.” Yoshiko smirked. “And that’s why I talk to Kanan. Sometimes, she even gives me good advice.”

Riko sighed, calming down a little. “Okay, I understand what you mean.” Then she added quickly, “But don’t talk to her about our… other doings, okay?”

Yoshiko immediately turned red. “D-Don’t worry, I don’t!”

Riko finally smiled, looking at her warmly. “Thank you, Yocchan… for being honest with me. Even though I didn’t need to hear that part.” She giggled.

Yoshiko let out a playful sigh of relief. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew the truth. I never want you to think that I hate you.” She looked at Riko with soft, sincere eyes. “Because what I feel for you is quite the opposite of that.”

Riko’s heart swelled at those words, and she gave her a gentle smile. “Oh… and I love you too.”

Yoshiko smiled back, their hands still intertwined as they continued walking home together.

[bokuhika]

Day 2: Sunflower

"Wooooow!"

The awe-struck gasp that left the ginger-haired girl's lips echoed around the field. "They're so tall! Taller than trees!"

"I wouldn't go that far, Chika-chan," Riko chuckled softly as she walked up to Chika's right side. "Still, I will agree that these sunflowers are breathtaking."

"Do you think we can climb them like a tree?" A thoughtful murmur came from Chika's left, as You bobbed up and down to observe the structure and size of the sunflowers in the first row of many that lay before them. "Hmm, I think we'd break it," she concluded at last with a heavy sigh.

"You-chan..." Riko could already feel anxiety beginning to form beads of sweat on her forehead. "Don't do anything reckless." Looking after Chika with her boundless energy and minimal foresight would be enough of a challenge; Riko wouldn't be able to supervise both girls if they were to go wild among the towering flowers.

You responded with a salute. "Aye aye, Cap'n Riko!" she exclaimed. That was enough to help Riko unclench her jaw; You never broke a promise made under a sailor's salute.

"But we can play hide and seek!" Chika piped up, leaping forward to partially conceal herself behind the stems of the nearest flowers. "Boo!"

Nevermind, Riko was going to be stiff and sore tomorrow from all the tension in her body. "L-let's make sure our cell phones work, first. So nobody gets lost."

After confirming that they had reception, the girls did a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to determine who would be seeking first.

"No!!" You wailed as she withdrew her outstretched fist, while Riko and Chika high-fived with their matching "paper" hands. "Okay, but you'd better hide really well, because I hate losing!"

Chika giggled and began bouncing on her toes. "Don't worry, You-chan! After your turn, then I'll go, then Riko-chan. Everyone will get a turn before we sit down for lunch! And after a picnic, we can play sardines!"

"Sardines is even harder!" Riko protested, but Chika didn't seem to hear her and continued spouting ideas. "Then we can pose like sunflowers and take pictures! Oooh, maybe they can inspire some new outfits!"

Riko cast a quick look sideways, only to find You glancing at her as well. A knowing sparkle glittered in her eye. When Chika was fired up with excitement, she absolutely glowed. And neither of them wanted to put out that light.

"Hey, hey, why are they all tilted that way?" Chika pointed to the tops of the sunflowers, which indeed were all slightly facing the left by a few degrees. "Were they all planted at the same time?"

"Unlikely," Riko mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Sunflowers face the sun when they grow, so this field must get the most light when the sun is in that position."

"Face the sun," Chika echoed. "Like me! I'm always chasing the sun to find that special shine!"

But as You announced she was going to start her countdown and Chika darted into the flowers without another word, Riko cast a knowing glance to the ashen-haired girl, who simply nodded.

To them, Chika was the sun, and You and Riko were the flowers always eager to follow her light.

[ryqoshay]

Happy Life: How to Handle a Messy Angel

Primary Pairing: YohaRiko Words: ~2k Rating: T? Fandom: Love Live Sunshine Parent Fic: Happy Life AU: Angelic? Time Frame: Sometime early during Yohane’s 2nd and Riko’s 3rd year of high school Event: Femslash Friday Event Source: @femslash-friday-prompts Prompt: Mess

---------

Author’s Note: Between this week’s prompt and a recent SIFAS Daily Theatre post, I couldn’t help writing this little bit of YohaRiko.

This chapter takes place in the days after this entry.

Summary: Yohane isn’t always the best prepared for the day, and Riko has taken notice

---------

“Yoshiko-chan!”

“Mm?” Yoshiko turned as a familiar voice called for her attention, deciding not to correct the other girl as she was simply happy to see her before heading to class. “Riri! Good morning!” She greeted with a grin.

“You seem more awake this morning.” Riko commented upon catching up with the second year.

“Oh yeah… uhm… about that…” Yoshiko sighed “our internet went out halfway through my stream last night, so I ended up turning in early.”

“Oh dear, that’s too bad.” Riko replied with an empathetic smile. “But at least you’re better rested, and you left yourself time to secure your bun properly. Although…” She furrowed her brow as her gaze dropped a bit “your bow is crooked.”

“It is?”

“Yeah, here, let me get it for you.”

“R-Riri?” Yoshiko questioned as Riko’s hands moved below her neck and deftly adjusted school uniform accessory.

“There we go.” Riko patted the knot gently. “Ohmigosh I’m sorry.” Red spread across her face as she realized where she had placed her hand, and she quickly withdrew it.

“I-It’s fine…” Yoshiko responded, wondering how badly she herself was blushing. “Thanks.”

“Riko-cha~n!” a voice called from nearby. “You’re going to be late!”

“Coming, Chika-chan!” Riko called back before returning her attention to the girl beside her. “See you at lunch, Yoshiko-chan.”

“Right, see you then.” Yoshiko responded.

Riko flashed one more smile before sprinting off to join Chika and You.

---------

“Fwaaah…” Yoshiko yawned.

“Another late night of streaming?” Riko inquired, concern obvious in her tone.

“Mm… I had to make up for ending things early the other night.”

“But that wasn’t your fault.”

“Riri,” Yoshiko intoned, “as one of Yohane’s most elite little demons, you should know by now that with the cursed luck Heaven hath bestowed upon this fallen angel, such things shall always be my fa… geh?” She cut off as she felt a swat atop her head; not hard enough to hurt, but certainly enough to get her attention.

“Blame Heaven all you want, but you know I don’t like it when you blame yourself for such things.” Riko stated decisively.

“Right, sorry Riri.” Yoshiko apologized, letting herself rise out of Yohane’s vocal range. “But anyway, even though I was in a rush this morning, I made sure to double check my bun and sash.”

“I noticed that.” Riko giggled. “Good work, Yoshiko-chan. However…”

“Eh? Wha’d I miss this time?”

“One of your stockings is slouching.” Riko said before stooping. “Let me get…”

“Heee?!” Yoshiko squeaked as a strange sensation skittered up her spine.

“Geh, I did it again…” Riko said as she stood back up, pink already dusting her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Yoshiko-chan, I really didn’t mean…”

“It’s fine, you just startled me is all.” Yoshiko said before thinking better of it.

Had she really only been startled or had there been something… No. She had decided she wasn’t going to feel that way about Riko and just focus on enjoying their growing friendship. Still, Yoshiko couldn’t deny that it very much seemed like Riko was paying more attention to her than usual. Riko was even going so far as to seek out Yoshiko during their walk from the station to school, despite taking the same bus as Chika.

But was that all really such a bad thing? It wasn’t like Yoshiko didn’t enjoy the newly increased attention. Perhaps, maybe… No. No. Stop. Yoshiko shook her head as though doing so would help shake away the thoughts she knew were coming.

“Yoshiko-chan?”

Yoshiko blinked back to reality. “Sorry, Riri, I was just thinking about… stuff.”

“Like what rituals you might perform later tonight?”

“What? No.” Yoshiko crossed her arms defiantly. “I’ll have you know that not everything a fallen angel thinks about is rituals.”

Riko laughed lightly. “I suppose. But do let me know the next time you want to perform one and I’ll try to be free for it.”

“Fufu. As expected of Yohane’s elite little demon, Riri.” Yoshiko managed to intone, despite her excitement over the fact that this was the first time Riko had been the one to offer to participate in a ritual, instead of being invited.

“Anyway, see you at lunch, Yoshiko-chan.” Riko said, before turning toward the third-year classrooms.

“Of course.”

---------

“Convenience store bento again today, Yoshiko-chan?” Hanamaru asked as the three second-years sat at their usual table, across from the third-years.

“Papa let me have it since I didn’t leave myself enough time to make one myself.” Yoshiko explained with a shrug.

“Doesn’t your mother usually make your lunches for you?” Riko inquired.

“Yeah, but she’s been on a business trip all week.”

“Hmm, well perhaps then I could make bentos for you?”

“Eh? Really?” Yoshiko perked up at the unexpected offer.

“Yoshiko-chan’s sure being doted on.” Hanamaru teased, earning a growl of protest from the girl beside her.

“Just until her mother gets back.” Riko insisted, blushing despite not being the intended target of the teasing, but caught by the splash damage, nonetheless.

“Aww, no fair.” Chika whined. “I wanna eat Riko-chan’s homemade bentos too.”

“I’d be fine making one for you as well, Chika-chan.” Riko said before leaning back to look past the orange-haired girl. “Would you also like one, You-chan?”

“If Riko-chan’s offering, sure.” You accepted. “Then I’ll get you back after.”

Chika sighed. “You-chan’s homemade bento…”

You laughed. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be sure to make one for you as well, Chika-chan. And Yoshiko-chan too. In fact, I can just make them for everyone.”

“I’ll take a turn after that.” Ruby offered.

“Then me, zura.” Hanamaru added.

“I make some too.” Yoshiko threw in.

“Just go easy on the Tabasco.” Hanamaru’s teasing tone returned.

“Pigi!” Ruby flinched at the mention of overly spiced food made by her fellow second-year.

“It will be good!” Yoshiko insisted. “In fact, Yohane’s will be the best!” She proclaimed, though immediately realized Riko’s would probably be better, at least as far as she was concerned.

The other five girls had a laugh at the proud proclamation before their usual lunch chatter resumed.

---------

Pffffsssss

“Kyaa!” Yoshiko cried, turning away from the spraying soda.

“I got it.”

A cloth began to dab at Yoshiko’s face.

“Wow, Riko-chan,” Yoshiko heard Chika’s voice “that was quick.”

Yoshiko opened her eyes once Riko had finished drying her face and had moved on to her hair. Chika, You, Hanamaru and Ruby were all looking at either her or Riko in mild surprise. She opened her mouth to say something, but…

“Oh dear,” Riko said, “your bun is soaked, Yoshiko-chan. It will get sticky if we don’t clean it properly. C’mon, let’s get you to the bathroom.”

“I’ll help.” Ruby offered.

“Thanks Ruby-chan, but I can take care of this.” Riko assured as she helped Yoshiko to her feet. “You guys go ahead and keep eating.”

“We’ll watch your food so no critters steal it, zura.” Hanamaru said.

Under different circumstances, Yoshiko might have quipped that she was more worried about Hanamaru eating her food than some random squirrel or the like. However, at that moment she just wanted to get her hair cleaned quickly so she could finish before their break was over. After all, it would be a shame to let Riko’s delicious cooking go to waste.

“You don’t have to waste your lunch time as well, Riri.” Yoshiko said as the two made their way toward the restroom.

“It will go quicker with another set of hands.” Riko insisted. “Let’s see, paper towels, warm water…” She started getting things ready.

“Riri acts like this is the first time Yohane has had to wash something out of her hair.” Yoshiko couldn’t help laughing a little.

“I know, I just…” Riko paused in the middle of undoing Yoshiko’s bun. “I… I know Yoshiko-chan has been dealing with her bad luck for years, but lately, I can’t help worrying and I…” She met Yoshiko’s gaze in the mirror. “Would you prefer I stop?”

Yoshiko felt warmth spread through her chest. “No.” She resisted the urge to shake her head so as to avoid pulling her hair out of the other girl’s hands. “And I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. Actually, knowing someone as wonderful as Riri is looking out for me and trying to counteract some of my cursed luck makes me quite happy.” She smiled. “It’s almost like I have my own guardian angel or something. Thanks, Riri.”

A beautiful blush blossomed across the redhead’s face. “Y-you’re welcome…” She forced out before turning her attention back to the blue strands with which she was working.

A mostly comfortable quiet settled between the two as Riko continued to work, leaving little for Yoshiko to do herself other than just watch in the mirror. However, after about a minute, Riko began to hum.

“Ne, Riri.” Yoshiko said after listening for a couple minutes.

“Mm?”

“Is that the same song you were humming the other day when you fixed my bun?”

“Probably. I’ve been humming it a lot lately.”

“I’m not sure I recognize it. Is it a new one you’re writing?”

Riko smiled. “Yeah, it is.”

“It sounds nice. I like it.”

Riko’s smile grew. “Although I’m not sure who I want to have sing it yet, our whole group, our subgroup or if I should sing it myself as a solo.”

“Yohane wouldn’t mind lending her voice to such a lovely tune.”

“Well perhaps Chika-chan and I can turn it into a duet for us.”

“For Riri and Chika?”

“No, silly,” Riko chuckled “for Yoshiko-chan and me.”

“Oh, uhm… I’d like that.”

“A duet it is then.” Riko smiled again. “Oh, and I’m done here.” She patted the bun she had just secured in Yoshiko’s hair. “Shall we head back to finish lunch?”

“Alright.” Yoshiko agreed and followed her senior out of the restroom.

As they made their way back, Yoshiko remembered Hanamaru’s teasing as well as her own thoughts on the topic as of late. Perhaps she didn’t need to delve too deeply into why Riko was insisting on doting on her so much. After all, Riko had just explained it; she was worried about Yoshiko’s wellbeing. And Yoshiko hadn’t been lying when she said it was nice. Perhaps she should just leave things at that and enjoy being spoiled a little.

---------

“Let’s see, bun intact, bow straight, stockings up properly…”

“Riri doesn’t really have to inspect me every single morning, you know…”

“Apparently, I do.”

“Eh? But I thought I…”

“Your buttons are off.”

“My wh…” Yoshiko cutoff as Riko began undoing the buttons of her blazer so she could reach the blouse under it. “R-Riri?”

Just what the heck was Riko doing? Sure, they were at least within the school, not outside, but they were still in the hallway where any other student could see. Thankfully, Riko redid the buttons as she went instead of undoing them all before realigning them. But still…

“There we go. All good.” Riko said rebuttoning Yoshiko’s blazer.

What? No blush? No embarrassment? Was Riko already used to doing these things?

“See you at lunch, Yoshiko-chan!”

“R-Right…” Yoshiko’s response was delayed, and as such delivered to Riko’s back.

Sure, Yoshiko had decided she would sit back and enjoy Riko spoiling her in ways like making bentos for lunch, even if she was making them for everyone else as well. And even if Yoshiko intended to return the favor at some point. Sure, Yoshiko very much enjoyed when Riko worked with her hair, even entertaining the idea of occasionally messing up her bun just so Riko could fix it. But her buttons, bow and stockings? As embarrassing at it was, she couldn’t deny that part of her kind of liked it. And that could cause problems if she was to stick with her plans regarding Riko.

As Yoshiko made her way toward her homeroom class, she decided she needed to be more vigilant about her clothes, or her heart may not survive her second year of high school.

---------

Author’s Note Continued: I know I’ve mentioned that I have a strong headcanon that my flagship redheads all have some sort of obsession or adoration or whatever concerning hair. Maki canonically plays with her own hair regularly, and I’ve extended that desire to Nico’s hair in my works. Ayumu takes the lead when it comes to styling her fellow idols’ hair before events, and somehow always manages to ensure she is the one to work with Setsuna’s hair. She also happily dries and/or brushes Yuu and Setsuna’s hair when they have sleepovers, and of course does so more often once the trio is together. And she is the head of the hair and makeup department in the Sonoda Kurosawa Theater in my monster AU.

But I really haven’t done much with Riko in this regard. Thus, this chapter can serve as one, of hopefully more to come, instances of Riko working with Yohane’s hair in some way.

Also, I know the SIFAS Daily Theare entry technically takes place with Yohane as a first year and Riko as a second year, but that is in the SIFAS continuity where µ’s, Aqours and the Nijigasaki idol club coexist at the same time. Happy Life takes place in the anime continuity, so I’ve decided to move it over a year so it fits better with the timeline I have planned for the girls.

As for Yohane’s ribbon and blazer, I went with what I believe to be the second year style depicted in the Sunshine movie at their new school. I also figure she retains her thigh high stockings even after transferring.

As for Riko’s uniform, it would likely be similar to Yohane’s. Skimming through the SS movie, I was unable to readily locate a depiction of the third year ribbon or sash style, but Otonokizaka, Uranohoshi and Nijigasaki all use green, so Numazu probably does as well.

Here is a screencap from the movie showing first and second year students of Numazu High School.

And finally, as for Riko humming while working with Yohane’s hair, that was an idea inspired by a pic that showed up on my twitter timeline shortly after the Daily Theatre entry. And I’m probably going to keep that as canon for HL, that when Riko works with Yohane’s hair, she can’t help humming happily to herself.

Edit: I tried to remove the hyperlink from the text of the two links to twitter, to give credit to the sources of my inspiration while not getting this post banned from appearing in tag searches, but tumblr decided to add them back in automatically. So I guess I have to decide between crediting my inspiration and being able to have my work actually be found by those not following me. And I’m going to go with crediting my inspiration.

Frankly, tumblr keeps making itself more and more unfriendly to fanfic authors, which often makes me wonder why I still bother posting my stuff here, so much so that I’ve long since stopped tracking my index master posts. But AO3 is awesome, and I will continue using it for the foreseeable future, so go read my stuff there. The formatting is better there anyway; they haven’t gotten rid of the line break as far as I can tell.

[puzzlebug]

 ranking of love live (only µ’s and aqours bc i dont know enough about nijigasaki or liella to really make any judgements) relationships based on my opinions alone. i should be studying for my finals. nobody needs to read this i just need to make my stances clear

the best:

yohamaru. other people had their gay awakenings to nozoeli but nooo i was an aqours fan i had to latch onto these weirdos when i was in 8th grade. anyway they have it ALL and it astonishes me that they’re not more popular. the childhood friends reunited. the jokey banter. the fact that hanamaru is DEFINITELY also a little weird but people don’t notice. the fact that their voices sound so good together and we deserve a duo song...is it really possible for a choir girl and a twitch streamer to be in a relationship... i truly believe that even if hanamaru teases yoshiko sometimes she truly believes that she’s the coolest person EVER. hanamaru sees that her old best friend is going through a warriors phase and demanding to be called ‘ravenstar’ and just goes god she’s still so awesome. they watch horror movies together and yoshiko cowers behind hanamaru the whole time while hanamaru considers the artistic merit of the plot. i think they are nonbinary lesbianisms together.

nozoeli. they’re so married. garasu no hanazono has been my top song on spotify wrapped for two years in a row. despite arguably being the most canon relationship they can fit so much yearning in there. i don’t even know what to say about them they’re so good. they really do have gay aunts energy.

rinpana. they’re t4t and the most autistic girls around and they’ve been in love with each other for so long they feel like it’s sort of an unspoken thing. like of course we love each other silly. everyone else tells rin ‘CUT YOUR MULLET NOW’ but hanayo just goes ..’wow... a mane. you’re like a cute little lion’ and rin keeps the mullet forever. who can say if this is good or bad.

chikayouriko. people always fight over these guys because they don’t realize none of them should be left out. you can’t have chikariko without you you can’t have chikayou without riko and you can’t even have youriko without chika. they’re sillay. we’re getting into the trios category now btw

kanamaridia. similar to chikayouriko in that people constantly leave dia out even though she’s so important to the dynamic.. i think they all got ‘married’ as kids and none of them have really let it go and they really can’t imagine the real deal happening in any other way. it’s always been the three of them.

honokotoumi. very similar in backstory to kanamaridia but they’re a lot stupider about it. i think kotoumi are a lot more obvious but honoka is the glue that holds them together. they all complement each other very well.

the ‘okay i can see it’:

youruby: i think this could be cute. they have personalities that mesh well together and i think they’d have a lot of fun just hanging out.

rubyleah. it’s fun! i feel like they have a lot of parallels and differences that work out in a nice way, but also i feel like leah didn’t have enough screen time to get me invested in this. i also hc ruby as arospec so i think it’d take more time than they got for her to develop feelings for anyone.

rikomaki. red hair pianists. it’s cute. this is the only cross-group relationship i’ll even consider just because it’s fun.

the ‘only platonically. sorry’:

yohariko. i actually really dislike this romantically for some reason, but by GOD their friendship is SO fucking fun. the two people you wouldn’t ever really think could be besties just end up clicking. i mean EVERYONE in aqours is friends but they usually stay within their ‘years’ yknow? it’s nice to see. i think they’re supportive forces in each other’s lives and help each other stay grounded and live a little respectively. people probably assume they’re dating bc of how close they become, but they aren’t. if anyone asks riko probably just starts laughing, which yoshiko acts very offended about.

rubymaru. this is?? kind of pushed as much as yohamaru is but i just don’t see it as anything but platonic. i think it’s also kinda boring and does a disservice to both of their characters. i like them as friends a lot but i feel like they’re more interesting when there’s other characters to interact with. i like maru being the kind of friend that encourages ruby to be more confident. emotional support hanamaru that helps her just. order a drink. ruby calls hanamaru at like 12 at night to ask for ideas for costumes and hanamaru always picks up.

nicomaki. I KNOWWWW they push it so hard in everything they put them in but the age gap bothers me. i think a lot of people look past it because maki is very mature and collected and nico is. nico. and the dynamic could be cute. but. idk  a lot of people gloss over the fact that maki is 15 and nico is 17. they’re still really good as friends.

every other relationship i haven’t mentioned. they’re all best friends to me.

very funny one sided:

ruby having a one-sided crush on kanan would be SO funny. the ‘older sister’s cool boyfriend’ effect. ruby admires her strength and carefree attitude a lot, but i think she gets over it pretty quickly and comes to see her as a friend that she just looks up to.

[transrinhoshizora]

Ficlet prompt: Chika, You, and Riko try to have a study session, but all of them get distracted over how attractive the other two are.

The indescribable joy of being with these two... Riko had never experienced a feeling like this in her life. Here she sat in Chika's bedroom, watching You and Chika see how many pencils they could balance on their upper lips. The sight of her two best friends puckering their lips and craning their heads back in an attempt to wedge wooden pencils between their lips and noses left Riko struggling to hold in her laughter.

But she couldn't laugh, because this was not the time for games, this was supposed to be a study session!

Pencils went scattering over the kotatsu, followed by a defeated groan from Chika. "Dang it!"

"Ha ha!" You raised her arms in the air in victory.

Riko giggled and tapped her own pencil against the table. "While it's fun to watch you two be goofy, we do have an exam to prepare for."

"Goofy?" You asked. "This was a serious competition to see whose lips are the strongest!"

Chika crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. "It has nothing to do with your lips being the strongest, you just have a big mouth from all the swimming you do, it's turning you into a fish!" She made her point by putting her hands to her face to make fins, and she shuffled on her knees over to You and started gasping like a fish in her ear. "Guhh guhhhh—"

You giggled and waved her hands at Chika. "Quit it! I'm not a fish, I'm not!"

Riko laughed. "Focus, you two!"

"Right, right, we need to study," Chika said. Then put a pencil on her lip. "After a rematch!"

"No!" Riko grinned and shook her head, putting her hands to her face.

"Oho, you crave defeat!" You said, and started stacking pencils on her lip again.

"You both have very strong lips, okay?" Riko said with a laugh.

You turned to look at her, head tilted, lips still puckered. "Oh yeah, and how wou'dyou know dat, hm?"

"Yeah, hm?" Chika mirrored You, and now both of them glared at her with their duck lips and pencil mustaches.

Riko lifted the kotatsu blanket to hide her face, spluttering out laughter. "S-stop!"

"C'mon, Riko-chan, now you gotta tell ush," You said, crawling over to Riko's side.

"Yeah, whosh lips are better?" Chika asked, doing the same, now boxing Riko in on both sides.

Riko peeked over the blanket, looking back and forth between the two of them in a panic. "I-I couldn't possibly choose!"

"You have to choooose," You said, closing in on her with intent to smooch her.

"You have to chooOOOoose," Chika said, also nearing Riko's cheek.

"Ahh, wait! I can't!" Riko yelped, then quickly fell backwards to dodge out of the way, just as the two of them went in for the kiss.

And they did kiss, each other, while staring right at one another with wide eyes.

The pencil under Chika's nose fell. "Oo!"

"Ha!" You parted from Chika's lips. "I win again!"

"Kissing was not part of the conditions of the contest!" Chika contended.

"All's fair in love and war," You said with a smug smile, twirling her pencil between her fingers.

"Well," Riko said from the floor. "Who was the better kisser?"

Chika and You both looked down at her, and both of their expressions fell into unamused glares.

"What?" Riko asked, only to gasp and yelp as they both dove on top of her to kiss her cheeks. "Wait—!"

"You [kiss] have [kiss] to [kiss] choooose! [kiss kiss kiss]" Chika demanded.

"Noooo we have to studyyy!"

They eventually would study, a little, sort of. When it was just the three of them, getting anything productive done was a nearly impossible. But who needs to be productive when your friends are gay and silly, right?

[yocchannk]

If you are still alive can i request a yohariko 7 minutes in heaven? Yohane dom ofc

*i had to search up what 7mih was lol

setting: in university/college

ages: 15-20

Aqours looked on curiously at the beer bottle in front of them. 

“Uh, Mari..” Kanan said questioningly. “Are we playing Truth or Dare or somethin’?” Mari grinned, “Why no~ We’re in college, Kanan, we don’t play such baby games.” She said as if it were obvious. Dia puffed “Whatever you have in store will be worse..” “Aww you’re no fun Dia~” Mari stuck her tongue out, teasingly.

“What are we playing then?” Chika asked, toying with her braid boredly. “I think I know...” Yoshiko grumbled, laying down tiredly. “I don’t get enough sleep to deal with your shit...” You laughed, “Now now Yohane, no need to be a debbie downer.” She said to Yoshiko.

“The last time we played this you always rigged the game anyways, Mari! It’s no fair!” The other girls looked questionably at Riko who whined like a little girl, all thinking the same thing, “You’re gonna ruin my manicure.” Mari rolled her eyes at the second year. “Riko, why don’t you take care of the sleepy demon over there for a change.” The golden eyed groaned, walked over to the grumpy fallen angel, and sat on her.

“Get off me.” Yoshiko glared at Riko.

“I’m sorry, I don’t talk to weirdos.” Riko flaunted haughtily, paying more attention to her pink nails than the girl she sat on.

Yoshiko pushed her torso up, being the more well built person, easily sliding Riko into her lap for a change. “Shut it, bitch.” “Why don’t you do that yourself, idiot?”. The two glared at each other, then started arguing and cussing each other out.

Hanamaru and Ruby stared smugly. “They look like girlfriends!” “Yoshiko doesn’t even notice the position they’re in zuraa~” They murmured to each other, giggling. The other second years sighed, “What happened to the old Riko?!” Chika shouted, though Riko herself didn’t hear. “I know right?! This Riko is so mean!!” You screamed in equal exasperation, dramatically.

“I bet she just wants to impress Yohane, with all her make up and fashion trends.” Kanan teased, which Dia, surprisingly, nodded in agreement to. “Yesterday on campus I saw her mocking and arguing with a girl who just touched Yoshiko the other day. When did Riko become such an attention hog.. She was doing so well too..” Dia sighed. 

Unfortunately, Riko just barely overheard, and spun around to face them, not making much effort to get out of Yoshiko’s lap. “I am not trying to impress this freak.” She said, though her red ears showed otherwise. “I bumped into that girl and she spilled her drink on my shoes, she deserved it.” She smiled, almost believing she had won already. “That girl was Ayumu, excuse me. She has a name.” Yoshiko said matter of factly. 

Riko cocked her head around, her jaw clenched and her smile from earlier far more fake now. “So? Is she your girlfriend or some shit?” Riko said coldly, emphasizing the word girlfriend. Yoshiko looked confused, “Wait, what? When did I say that?” She asked, looking at the redhaired for answers.

She fumed furiously, either from anger or complete embarrassment for revealing her true thoughts to the minor. “Can we just play the stupid game already?” Riko asked aggressively, dodging the question. 

It worked, as Mari immediately sat down and clapped her hands promptly. “That’s right! We’re playing a game!” She remembered, to which the others rolled their eyes at. “The game is called 7 Minutes in Heaven! Basically we spin the bottle twice, and whoever it lands on has to go into the closet over there,” Mari pointed at the large closet that just barely would be enough to fit two people. “and stay in there for exactly 7 minutes, you can do whatever, like kissing.. Or making out..” She threw a look at her fellow Guilty Kiss members, “Or just talking! Everybody get it?” Mari finished with a question. Ruby raised her hand. 

“Ruby?” 

“If me and onee-chan get picked, does that mean we have to?” Mari shook her head. “You two can do whatever you want, but if you want, the only thing you can do at max is maybe hug.” Ruby nodded understanding.

“Anyone else?” No one. “Alright! >Let’s starting!!<” Mari shouted in her typical shiny manner.

Mari crawled over and spun the bottle excitedly.

It landed on Yoshiko and Riko, who both groaned in unison. To which the others giggled at knowingly.

The two got up without saying anything, Riko got in first, and then Yoshiko.

“They do know that the bottle probably was meant for only one of them, right?” Chika asked, giggling into her hand. The others laughed out loud and immediately hushed once the timer started.

--

“Fuck! Tsushima give me some space!” Riko whispered loudly, her face red as the back of her head rubbed against Yoshiko’s chest. 

“Why don’t you give me space?! You’re the smaller one here!” Yoshiko rebutted, her face equally as red as she felt Riko’s ass grind against her. 

The two hushed quietly, the close distance starting to get to them.

“...Yoshiko.”

Said girl gulped, already knowing what was coming. “Your...”

“Yes! Yes I know, please don’t!!” Yoshiko whispered loudly, feeling Riko on her.

“Oh my god..” Riko said into her hands, something digging into her ass becoming more apparent, which she hoped was just her panties giving her one hell of a wedgie. 

--

Seven girls were perched against the closet, listening on to their conversation, trying not to burst out laughing. 

“Oh my god.. Yoshiko has a--” You chuckled into her hand, cutting herself off, wheezing silently.

“I’m going to die..” Dia said, who even she, was laughing quietly at the two. 

“Onee-chan?” Ruby called, to which Dia hummed to. “What does Yoshiko have?” Ruby asked, to which the others froze at. “Uh.. come here Ruby..” Dia commanded, nervously pulling her aside to explain.

--

Riko would be lying if she said she wasn’t horny right now. 

Yoshiko was already aware her horniness was already showing. 

In short, the two were desperate to get off. 

“...Lily...” Yoshiko whispered weakly, rubbing herself against Riko’s ass needily.

“You better not fucking use me to masturbate..” Riko whispered through her teeth, feeling her panties already wet as is, leaning her arms and head forward, no longer in contact with Yoshiko’s chest.

“Lily.. I--” 

“Fine! Fine..” Riko whispered aggressively, “Flip my skirt up and do whatever the hell you want.” She was too horny to argue.

Yoshiko hastily complied, flipping the girls short skirt up and seeing the innocent pink color that was soaked in something not-so-innocent. 

She slid down Riko’s panties until she could see the swollen privates of the older. “Holy shit...” Yoshiko looked wide eyed, before amusingly playing with her like a toy, eliciting small moans from said girl.

“F-Fuck you...” Riko said under her breath, trying to keep quiet before their groupmates hear. 

She slid a digit in Riko, grinning as she saw her flinch, biting into her arm. Without much preparing, she slid in another two fingers, making Riko moan just a tad louder. 

Yoshiko smirked, “Does it feel good, Lily?~” She leaned forward a bit awkwardly, thrusting her fingers in and out of her. No response, her moans muffled by her own pride. “Lily~” Yoshiko teased, digging deeper into Riko. “You’re so tight~” She whispered.

Riko mumbled something inaudible.

“Hmm?” Yoshiko hummed.

“...Out...”

“Huh?” Yoshiko cocked her head confused, her movements slowing down.

“..Take...”

“Take?” Yoshiko repeated.

“Take it out..!” Riko whispered loudly. “I need it, Yocchan! Please!” She whispered exasperatedly, bucking her lower half deeper into Yoshiko’s fingers.

“You...” Yoshiko blushed, knowing exactly what she meant, pulling out her fingers and licking off the remnants of Riko, then she started unbuckling her pants.

--

Suddenly, a loud, unfiltered moan, came out of the closet.

The girls flinched, panicking. 

“Holy shit-- Are they actually fucking in there?!” Chika shouted quietly at her other groupmates. “Mari! How much time do they have left?!” Kanan asked desperate, the smell of sex seeping out of her closet. “My poor closets gonna smell for weeks!” 

“Let me see...” Mari fumbled, before looking wide-eyed at her phone. “Woops...” “Sus, zura.” Hanamaru squinted. “Very sus.” Chika and You nodded. She put her phone up, revealing the screen. Dia fumed angrily. “You set it on Stopwatch?!!” She shouted, before being muffled by the others. “It’s been going on for 17 minutes..” You looked at the phone.

“It’s too late now..!! They’re already going at it!!” Kanan cried, “I’ll have to get a new closet!!”.

They rolled their eyes at Kanan, clearly unamused.

--

Yoshiko panted, hard, as she thrusted upwards into Riko, who moaned from her movements.

Holy shit, Yoshiko thought. She’s tight as fuck! She groaned, using the redhaired’s arms to thrust herself up again.

God, Riko felt stuffed, whining like a bitch in heat as she felt Yoshiko kiss her womb for a brief second. Their position was a little uncomfortable, with herself sprawled out on the wall, while Yoshiko’s head and top leaned on the opposite side, while her lower half balanced itself against the corners of the closet.

“Ha-Har-Harde-er..” Riko mumbled weakly, but just loud enough for Yoshiko to hear, causing her to pull out, and slam into her far rougher than before. Moans escaped Riko as she felt the thrusts speed up and go farther inside her, filling her entirely.

“Ahn~ Y-Yo-Yocchan!!” Riko screamed, where they were vanished from her mind everytime Yoshiko was inside. Their moans synchronized and the wet clapping sounds of their lovemaking increased with every pound.

“L-Lily..! I’m.. I’m..!!” Yoshiko warned, on the brink of release. That’s when Riko snapped, still moaning aloud. “Y-Yo-Yoccha-anng..!! Do-Don’t! Not in-inside!!” Riko cried between moans and grunts. “P-P-Pull.. Haah! out!! Yoccha-an!” Riko screamed, every attempt to separate futile as her wet pussy sucked in Yoshiko subconsciously, holding her orgasm as long as possible.

F-Fuck! She feels too good..! Riko thought, her cries dying out as her mind started turning to her insides building up, just about to break. It feels so... so.. good.. 

“I-I’m cumming..!!” Riko screamed, tears stained her eyes as her back arched, and her pussy caved in on itself, sucking Yoshiko in whole, spurring the bluette to release into the blissful second year.

“Lily..!!” “Yocchaahn~!!”

--

All sorts of lewd, loud, noises came from the closet, and surely, everyone nearby could hear. Of course, that was obviously the rest of the Aqours members.

“Nothings happening... Nothings happening...” Kanan and Dia whispered, clutching eachother on the floor with a clear face of distress with the closet. They both thought of how bad their dorm would stink after this.

Mari also looked a bit stressed, and regretful, despite her horny nature. Hanamaru and Ruby were so lucky, and they were blissfully unaware of why, Dia sent them off to chill with their other colleagues. 

Chika and You? Well, they were stuffing their ears in pillows, desperate to get their friends moans out of their head.

They all silently agreed to never, ever, do this again.

--

Semen and her cum dripped out of her entrance, as Yoshiko’s load continued to flow into her. Breathy sighs and hitched gasps replaced the erotic moans and grunts from before, and through it all, Riko’s soaked flower garden clenched tightly onto Yoshiko, preventing any movement to escape.

When Yoshiko finally finished, it seemed the girl loosened around her, slowly pulling out of Riko while she moaned.

The two stood there doing nothing but catching their breaths. Riko spun around (As fast and smooth as she can) and stared straight at Yoshiko, who almost immediately punched her lips with her own.

Messily, Yoshiko pushed Riko up against the wall, lifting her legs and hurriedly stuck herself back into the redhead’s insides, a loud moan escaping the girl. 

Yoshiko started again roughly, almost telling Riko that maybe, she wasn’t quite satisfied by the first round.

“Yo-occhan..?” Riko whispered weakly, feeling the familiar stuffed feeling once again, her arms gripped around Yoshiko’s neck. What a long night it would become.

--

2:AM Dia and Kanan could not sleep.

Not with the awareness they shared of how their friends were still fucking just a door away. 

The front door knocked. They groaned, hilariously right at the time a loud moan from the closet was heard.

Both of them walked sleepily to the door. Another noise complaint, it seemed.

They opened the door.

“Where. The Hell. Is Tsushima?” Maki asked frustratedly, Mia behind her, obviously not caring hell about the situation, headphones jammed in her ears while scrolling through her phone.

“Uh.” “You see Maki... she’s... um, quite busy...” Dia said nervously. “Who cares, I know she’s fucking, and I know who she’s fucking. Right Mia?” Maki asked her roommate, who nodded.

“Uh, yeah, like, shit man, look.” Mia said, showing her phone to the roommates. A very, very, very, uncensored, explicit live video of Yoshiko and Riko fucking within the confined space.

“Bloody hell!” Dia and Kanan screamed, covering the traumatic sight from her eyes.

“Yeaaaah. I sort of installed a tracking system and all sorts of other finnicky tech stuff when Yoshiko asked me to fix her phone, and when she didn’t come back to the dorm, I unlocked it through mines just to find it stepped on and cracked.” Mia grimaced, “She’s worse than Boss, sometimes. But anyways,” Mia continued, “I managed to get her screen onto mines, and am recording the whole thing for mock material.” Mia finished.

“Was that necessary?”

“No. But yes. But no.”/’

Maki slapped her face, “Oh my god, Mia. Really?” “Yes, really.” Mia rolled her eyes. 

“Whatever, the noises are killing me, let’s get Tsushima and her little pussycat and we’re outta here.” Mia snorted, waving them off and heading to the sex-filled closet.

Maki groaned, “Fucking New Yorkers..”

--

“Fuck.. Lily..” Yoshiko huffed, ruffling her hair as the redhaired sucked and licked her off. 

Riko’s mind was hazy while she bobbed her head up and down against Yoshiko. She payed little mind to those thoughts, focusing only on cleaning the semen and her own juices off of it.

Precum dribbled down her chin, staring up erotically at who she was sucking off, almost as if it were a porno.

Riko slid her tongue around her length, before gripping onto Yoshiko’s pants and stuffing her throat with it. I guess having no gag reflex has it’s perks..

Paying no mind to the footsteps getting louder, Riko continued to deepthroat the hell out of Yoshiko, the feel of her throat being filled whole surprisingly a turn on.

A thirst for dominance suddenly filled Yoshiko, gripping Riko’s head and slamming it back onto her length, eliciting moans from her, and snuffed moans from the redhead.

With her movements being took in control by Yoshiko, Riko slid her right hand down and stuffed her needy cunt with fingers. 

It was hard to focus, it was hard to think, hell, they didn’t care, what they did felt good, and that was it.

Yoshiko sighed, that pit in her stomach flushing out and her spunk flowed into Riko’s mouth. “Aah..” The bluette relaxed, releasing Riko from her hold.

Riko backed away, smiling as a string of cum followed.

“So, you two done yet?” 

The two glanced at each other, panicked, how long have they been in there?!

Mia opened the closet door smugly. “Hello, horny ‘lil shits.”

Maki pushed Mia away aggressively.

“Yoshiko.”

Yoshiko gulped, completely forgetting about she and Riko’s uncovered privacy’s. “...Maki..”

“You...”

“Left us...”

“In the FUCKING hallway, waiting for you...”

“JUST for you to go in a FUCKING closet to FUCKING FUCK piano pussy.” Maki screamed angrily, “You KNOW we lost our keys to the dorm, and you go off to fuck because why the fuck not, huh?!! What happened to the brocode?!!” She kept screaming. 

“Hey Yohane, learn to keep your dick in your pants!” Mia shouted, laughing with the humor of a 15 year old (Which, she is).

Yoshiko and Riko blushed, she fumbled with her underwear and zipper, but the embarrassment got to her, leaving her groaning in frustration from being unable to fix herself up.

Riko mumbled something, before pulling Yoshiko back in to the closet, leaving the Mia and Maki glancing at each other.

“Oh fuck.”

--

“Wa-Wait what?” Yoshiko asked, confused as Riko aggressively jammed her dick back in her pants, zipping it back up and buckling her belt. Then, Riko spun around and bent down and pulled her panties up snuggly covering her privates.

Then, to top it all off, she slammed her lips onto Yoshiko’s, “Mnh--!!” Riko furiously battling with Yoshiko’s tongue.

Yoshiko could hardly process what was going on, but still managed to grip Riko’s hands and lift them above her head, holding both in one hand while the other snaked around her waist. 

The fight for dominance was easily won as Riko quickly gave up, allowing Yoshiko full entrance into her mouth.

When the two departed from each other for air, a trail of saliva followed, before breaking from the quicker, gentler kiss Riko gave again.

“H-Huh..?” Yoshiko looked dazed, making Riko look at her sweetly and giggling. “For all this time, that was our first kiss, you know?” She said timidly, smiling up at Yoshiko.

“Fwuah?” 

She giggled again, “You dummy.”

--

“The hell?” Maki grumbled, clearly not enjoying waiting.

Yoshiko smiled, Riko smiled, there was only one answer to this: “Sus.” Mia said, “Super sus.”. 

“Nothings sus, Mia.” Yoshiko rolled her eyes at her roomie. “You want to sleep or nah?” She said waving her keys in front of them.

Maki scoffed, not saying anything and walking out the room, Mia following.

Maki and Mia passed Kanan and Dia, who were waiting at the front door, glaring with sleepy eyes.

“You owe us a new closet.” Riko rolled her eyes. “Ask Mari, she’s the rich Kiss.” She answered, with Yoshiko’s arm sliding onto her shoulder, who kissed her head while looking directly at the two smugly. Kanan and Dia glared as the two walked off, presumably to Maki, Mia’s, and Yoshiko’s dorm.

--

two months later

“Darling..”

“Hm?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Yoshiko looked at Riko wide-eyed, both in bed and clothes discarded on the floor.

“WHAT?!!”

[yurimother]

Top Yuri Anime Poll Results

Whether it is subtext or explicit, cute or sexy, school love or gay action thrillers I love yuri anime. These series either focus on or contain elements of female same-sex relationships. Pride month is the perfect time to look back and reflect on the best of this genre. I teamed up with OG Man of The Yuri Nation (yurination[dot] wordpress[dot] com/) and together we put out a poll asking what you thought the top yuri anime series were and over 1000 of you responded submitting almost 5000 different entries. We spent hours combing through the data, analyzing and commenting on the results and we would like to share our thoughts with all of you. Enjoy the reflections of me the yuri critic and OG the dedicated yuri fan!

These are the Top 20 Yuri Anime as voted by you

1. Bloom Into You - 692 Votes

OG: Be it East or West the YagaKimi took the world by storm. Citrus and BiY once again taking the top two spots remains unsurprising.There is something undeniably fascinating about our leading ladies consisting of an asexual slowly coming to love her senpai back but restraining herself for various reasons. The biggest one being said senpai having a deep case of self-loathing and a fear of romantic reciprocation, also for various reasons. She is like “I love you but please do not love me back”. Then there is one of the most popular “cursed” lesbians of all time in Sayaka, the fantastic adult side-couple (The world needs an anime starring lesbian adults/mothers) and the various other characters who have their own interesting tales to tell. The series absolutely deserves a spot in the Top 10 though it would not be in my personal Top 3. Oh and as Yurimother said the presentation was fantastic.Visually stunning from start to finish in my opinion. Special mention goes to the criminally underused first-person “camera”. So cool.

YuriMother: I agree with this series deserving a spot in the top ten even if not the number one slot. For me, it was good but not great. Moments such as the aforementioned adult couple as well as stellar art and a phenomenal score made this series enjoyable but they were not enough to overshine the problems of the narrative. For the love of the Yuri Goddess, this series is crying out for asexual representation but insists on carrying on with its confused romance. Enough complaining though, many people love Bloom Into You despite its faults and I agree. The characters are interesting and lovable and it manages to tell a yuri story more real and complex than the typical fluffy girl meets girl narratives.

2. Citrus - 452 Votes

YuriMother: The presence of Citrus and Bloom Into You prove two things to me, the importance of recency, as both anime aired only last year, and the sheer popularity of these series. Both had established and extremely successful manga runs which were adapted into English by the publishing masters of yuri, Seven Seas. Citrus is a contentious series, to say the least, as it includes elements of (non-blood related) incest and non-consensual actions as part of Mei and Yuzu’s “relationship.” However, if you possess the magical power to turn off the part of your brain screaming at you that those aspects are deeply problematic or if you seek a different interpretation then Citrus can be downright WONDERFUL. I actually loved this anime series for its characters, amazing animation, and salaciousness. As OG said, it is an operatic concussion of emotion (seriously everyone in the series needs therapy) but my is it fun to watch. The Citrus anime also holds a special place in my heart, as the first serious piece I ever wrote was a review for it over on Okazu (nice plug)! Citrus is certainly not for everyone but those that stuck with it and overlooked some of the problems ended up loving it.

OG: Here we are again with Citrus at #2. My thoughts on the series remains the same as in the previous two lists I discussed (the Akiba Research and goo Ranking Japan lists), overrated. Good soap opera/telenovela-esque series but my feelings on the cast are mixed (which I imagine was the writer’s intent). My main issue has always been the obstacles repeatedly challenging Yuzu and Mei’s feelings for each other instead of it focusing on “Hey. We like each other but our parents got married. What do we do? Can we keep our desires for each other in check?”. Instead it is one newcomer after another who want to eat either Yuzu or Mei and Yuzu repeatedly asking herself if she really wants robo-stepsister patties? I will give the anime adaptation credit. The story was easier to enjoy animated than drawn. It also helped that I grew up in a telenovela loving family. The characters’ actions, reactions and emotions were depicted better in the anime. I still consider the show’s greatest accomplishment being the humanization of Mei-Tron. In the manga it took a post-epilogue continuation to show readers “Hey everyone. Mei-Tron was human all along.” whereas in the anime I sensed the small bit of humanity quicker than in the manga where I continued seeing her as a block of wood with a brain up to the point where I dropped it. Harumin though is the greatest regardless of anime or manga adaptation. Bless her. Regardless of how I feel about the series I get its massive popularity. After all, were the rest of the story to get an animated continuation I would gladly pick it up...Not the manga though.

3. Sakura Trick - 342 Votes

OG: There are fans who understandably would disagree with Sakura Trick’s praise but I will always defend it and the anime as one of the very best in the genre. First off it aired at a time where animated on-screen close up kisses (specifically consensual ones) between ladies were rare. Haruka X Yuu’s relationship was believable for the most part. Even their season finale resolution, them not getting what being “in love” meant at the time, made sense though I get why it left some scratching their heads. Probably not the best “manga lure/bait” end I suppose. On the bright side Kotone X Shizuku’s story definitely did not have the two doubting their true feelings for each other. I do hope Kaede X Yuzu eventually hooked up in the manga as they too had potential to be a lovely couple.

YuriMother: Sakura Trick has no real narrative, no great insight, and offers little intellectually. As a teacher, it makes me furious, as a fan of yuri, elated. The anime is beloved for its plentiful soft service, presenting a plethora of kisses, cuddles, and awkward thigh shots (ew). However, it was one of the first anime to include this much explicit yuri service without being pornographic. All the characters were cute and fun, even if there was little in the way of development or complexity, it worked for the series. If you want something to make you think or to learn about yuri, pass over this one. But, if you want a cute and meaningless anime definitely watch it.

4. Yuru Yuri - 337 Votes

YuriMother: OG may not be a fan of Yuru Yuri but I certainly am, which is fairly obvious to anyone who observes that a solid 20% of my communications occur in the form of gifs from this series. It is hilarious, cute, and playful. Just like Sakura Trick, this anime is an easy watch with ultimately little substance. However, the part of me that is not rolling of the floor laughing every time I watch Yuru Yuri lives in a state of pained existence with the knowledge that this work of all things ended up being so popular when people are telling interesting stories about queer women and people in actual relationship that manage to still be funny and adorable while having something to say.

OG: The undisputed most mainstream friendly yuri series there is. It is also one of the funniest. My one gripe is that excluding a select few the main draw of the show besides the comedy and yuri is the ship wars, meaning (almost any girl can be shipped with each other). Not a fan of that but hey, it brought Namori the big bucks so who am I to judge? In any case not much else to add. It deserves all the adulation it gets but the free for all shipping irks me. Reminds me of how they botched Chika X Riko in the Love Live! Sunshine!! Anime. If you were going down the Riko X Yohane route from the start then why give us Chika X Riko in the first half? Ship wars yo. Tch. Hopefully I properly explained myself..

5. Kase-san and Morning Glories (Asagao to Kase-san) - 289 Votes

OG: Still wish this got a 12-13 episode anime. The glorious movie showed how much it deserves one. Whether it will happen or not remains to be seen. In any case the beauty of Kase-san X Yamada is how simple their romance is. No strings attached whatsoever. It is as straightforward as a self-proclaimed “ordinary” cutie, Yamada, having a crush on the super cool school beauty Kase-san. Said beauty is revealed to be just as “adorkable” as Yamada. The other highlight is their story not ending once they officially started dating (as is the case with many romance stories) but that being only the beginning, like real life. From then on, side-stories aside, the two biggest challenges for the two is Yamada accepting that it is okay for someone as “ordinary” as her to be the “cool babe”s girlfriend and Kase-san finding different ways to express her love/hunger for the cutie. As for the OVA, cramming the second part of the first series in an hour definitely had the downside of excluding some important moments, yes, but it at least covered some of the best moments in the manga. The first half of the story was summarized in a five-minute music video. One last thing. The animation, though a bit too brought for some, was glorious. It also had some long pauses which were effective (The bus stop scene being the most infamous) but while I did not mind them at all even I will admit some pauses went a bit too long. A small nitpick all things considered. Fingers crossed one day we either get that 12-13 episode anime for the first series, the sequel or both. That is one of my dreams.

YuriMother: At last, an anime that I do not have to react cynically to! Kase-san is one of the single greatest works of yuri animation to ever to be created and its glory is rivaled only by the manga from which it originated. Despite being only a one hour long OVA this adaption told such an engaging and realistic (finally) story of romance and personal growth. We get to skip the meatless girl meets girls arcs and get into the depth and complexity as Yamada and Kase work to further their relationship. They struggle with the fact that they are two different people who want different things out of life and love and have to actually work on their partnership. Kase-san also includes signs of physical affection and love that are never lewd, immature, or gross, I do not even think I could refer to them as “service”. However, for me, Kase-san’s greatest victory (both the anime and manga) is in its escape from school romance, which in this genre is often a shelter from reality, allowing for women to be in relationships without actually being queer. Kase and Yamada instead make an effort to continue their romance and build a life that includes their relationship once they graduate in a triumphant final act. This anime is a slap in the face to the class S stories and sloppily sexualized works which proliferate the yuri genre. Asagao to Kase-san shines as a holy beacon for the greatness that this genre can achieve.

6. Puella Magi Madoka Magica - 286 Votes

YuriMother: Hurray!! For two entries in a row, I get to talk about series that I wholeheartedly adore without having to constantly attach caveats. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is not considered by all to be yuri, and that is certainly not what it is best known for. PMMM is however famous for twisting the tropes of the magical girl genre and creating one of the most cohesive and thoughtful narratives ever put to screen. This series summoned a new era for the magical girl genre (what OG humorously referred to as the “Moepocalypse”) but no other title managed to top Madoka Magica’s runaway success. Every aspect of this work is highly polished including character designs, a phenomenal soundtrack, and superb writing. This is not only the definitive work of its genre but of all postmodern anime. Whether or not one is a fan of yuri every anime fan should give Madoka Magica a watch.

OG: Meduka Meguca. Its impact in the “Moepocalypse” (Shows where cute and sexy girls consistently suffering physically and emotionally. These are usually dark magical girl shows.) genre and legacy are undeniable. It deserves all the praise it gets. It scarred many unfortunate souls, Homura is a legend in yuridom, Kyouko X Sayaka are glorious (Especially in Rebellion), Meduka’s Mom Junko is a Top Tier Sexy Mama, Charlotte the Witch is a very strange girlfriend and of course Hitomi is a walking anti-fun meme. The animation, especially the creepy doodle like monsters known as Witches are memorable. However, it is not my favorite Moepocalypse show. That honor goes to Yuki Yuna is a Hero.

7. Strawberry Panic - 224 Votes

OG: Like it or not Strawberry Panic is a yuri classic. I have a strong feeling that like many readers around my age (31 during this writing) this was their first 100% yuri anime. The cheese is real but it is the yummy kind of cheese and I loved almost every minute of it, except Amane X Hikari. That was the weakest of the love stories going on. Poor Yaya trying too hard (Not saying this in condescending way. She literally tried too hard). It is like a young adult lesbian novel but more fun. I mean Nagisa X Shizuma might as well be “Lesbian Twilight but not crappy”. Let us be honest, Shizuma is a vampire. Chikaru is an undisputed goddess and Kagome is the cutest.

Oh and I will repeat this statement till my last breath…

#TamaoWasRobbed.

YuriMother: I may be almost a decade younger than OG but even for me Strawberry Panic was my first yuri and it more than earns its nickname as the “gateway yuri,” although last year’s Citrus and Bloom Into You may be presenting serious contenders for this title. If for no other reason than nostalgia, Strawberry Panic remains my favorite yuri works but this ridiculous soap-opera of an anime does deserve a fair amount of recognition. I see Strawberry Panic as the culmination of the S subgenre revived by Maria Watches Over Us. However, this work succeeds at both parodying many of the tropes of S and yuri while breaking a few. However, its greatest accomplishment is introducing many of the young western fans of yuri to the genre. Strawberry Panic, you are an overly dramatic mess but thank you for all you have done.

8. Revolutionary Girl Utena - 176 Votes

YuriMother: Another gem of the yuri genre, actually scratch that, if works like Kase-san are gems then Utena is the minerals from which gems form. I think that is how it works, I am not a geologist. My poor analogies and subtle nods to Steven Universe aside, Revolutionary Girl Utena is one of the single most important works of yuri anime, possibly even more so than Sailor Moon. These two works were the dawn of the current age of yuri, an era spurn on by social progress and the internet into a place where more yuri works featuring honest depictions of homosexuality are flourishing. Utena laid the groundwork for queer representation in anime and for that I remain forever grateful to this masterpiece.

OG: I must confess. While I saw the movie long ago and thought it was cool I have yet to sit down and finish watching the main series. I cannot say much about this show other than it is another yuri classic. Possibly one of the biggest. I think I will leave this to Her Holiness because even if I had seen it I do not consider myself someone who possesses the sufficient intellect to properly explain why this is a legendary show.

9. Flip Flappers - 132 Votes

OG: I would need an essay to explain why this show is legendary. Let me see. It is a story of a girl who discovered her gayness thanks to her growing attraction to a lovable idiot/genki. There are references to Western media, dimension hopping (including Class S Hell), self-discovery, a sexual orientation journey, a tree, armored wedding gowns, crazy third wheels, Ku Klux Klan stand-ins…You know what? Just watch Flip Flappers. It is a hot mess of random, crazy, creative and thought provoking awesomeness with a wonderful dose of gayness. Glory be to PapiCoco. However, as Her Holiness mentioned this is essentially Ikuhara-san levels of weirdness (though not as complicated I feel) but as the plot thickens it all (sort of) starts making sense...eventually. That tree yo.

YuriMother: Flip Flappers was almost too strange and abstract even for me, and that is saying something. However, upon further examination, one of the most interesting works of yuri is revealed. This heavily stylized anime delves deep into the sexual maturation of its protagonist while examining the yuri genre and representation in media. Flip Flappers is the perfect marriage of heavy visual style and intellectual substance. Definitely give them one a.. err better make that three watches, as you will want to be sure to get everything out of this beautiful series as possible.

10. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid - 131 Votes

YuriMother: This series is the closest anime fans have to a lesbian couple having a family that we have, and that is a shame. I LOVE family narratives, outside of the yuri genre Usagi Drop is my favorite anime. To me, seeing women balance life, a relationship, and children is some of the best queer representation there is. However, for every point in Kobayashi’s favor, there is also a glaring fault. Kobayashi is a modern woman in the workforce providing for herself and her “family,” but is borderline abusive to Tohru. Kanna is an inquisitive child being raising by two women, but there are weirdly sexual scenes featuring her. As previously mentioned on this list, if one can silence the reasonable part of the brain this work becomes enjoyable, hilarious, and adorable. Unfortunately, its faults prevent it from being more than an amusement and I seriously doubt that they will fade in the second season. But hey, it sells a ton of figures so… YAY!

OG: This series is one of the closest yuri fans have to a series starring a lesbian couple with a daughter and it is wonderful. Is the tale of an eternally grateful dragon who wanted to repay the human who saved her life, albeit drunk, by becoming her live-in maid. Tohru being a dragon girl had incredible power and could easily crush everyone in sight but preferred to try and understand humanity so she could live in peace with the woman she loved. It of course was hard at times but thanks to Miss Kobayashi slowly growing to accept her back (romantically she had a ways to go) and the two raising the adorable bundle of mighty puff known as Kanna they became a happy family. How long this relationship will last and whether Miss Kobayashi would come to fully love Tohru back romantically remains to be seen. I have high hopes it can and will happen. Kanna X Riko is precious (Yes. Even that scene). We even have a potential BL couple, which is nice. Not a fan of Lucoa X Shouta the shota. Not because of the age gap but it not being my kind of romantic comedy. It is the same reason I have a hard time buying Tsubame X Misha from UzaMaid. Mya-Nee X Hana from Wataten...maybe. At least Mya-Nee showed she is patient. Back to Dragon Maid. Great series. Naughty of course but great.

11. Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana) - 119 Votes

OG: Megane girl falls for a cutie but has a hard time confessing to her to the point she gives a relationship with another girl a try. Said other girl has troubles of her own courtesy of her own views on what love. Do not get me started on the OTHER girl who likes megane’s girlfriend. I did not even mention megane girl’s first love interest who she herself eventually begins questioning her feelings for the glasses wearing maiden. While this is well known throughout the history of yuri anime Aoi Hana made it clearer than ever that Yuri + Classical Music go hand in hand. Plus the show is quite pretty. Ultimately enjoyment of this series depends heavily on viewers’ patience.

YuriMother: Aoi Hana was ahead of its time in many regards. Most yuri during the early twenty-first century was unrealistic and melodramatic, especially with the revival of S stories. Aoi Hana instead presents a calm and realistic story that we still rarely see in yuri anime today. Instead of relying on tricks like service or comedy Aoi Hana presents a serene and character-driven story which is matched by equally calming scenery. It is certainly not the most thrilling watch, but a slow and beautiful slice of real life that remains one of the all-time strongest yuri works.

12. Yurikuma Arashi - 99 Votes

YuriMother: Yurikuma Arashi is strange, to say the least, but this is not out of the ordinary for legendary director Ikuhara, who also directed Utena. Parallels are easily drawn between this work and Flip Flappers, as they are both complex and encoded with enough symbolism to drown a bear. Yurikuma is one of my favorite works in the yuri genre and I have had more than a few heated discussions about interpretations of the work, including one memorable occasion when I was visiting a college professor and we ended up in a shouting match in the middle of the hall. However, while Flip Flappers holds a high degree of polish the same can, unfortunately, not be said here. Yurikuma Arashi has more than a few scenes of fanservice many of which overly fetishize the characters and relationship and some of the symbols, particularly lily flowers and the word “yuri” are practically beaten to death with an object I refuse to come up with because I am starting to have my fill of symbolism. However, despite some of its sloppiness, Yurikuma is one of the single most interesting and well-formed anime out there and analyzing it is practically a right of passage for seasoned yuri fans.

OG: Yurikuma Arashi is my favorite of Ikuhara-san’s series. To me it was the least complicated of his works but even so I needed help to understand the show. Luckily I had plenty of assistance. The meat of the story is more complicated but put simply it is about a war between a group of bear girls (and some human girls) who want to freely express their love and/or desire/hunger for each other and another group that amounts to Right to Censor from WWF. Like I said it is far more complex than that but that is the gist. The anime is quite ecchi and it has good reason for it. Again the gay bears are the more liberated of the groups and them getting more sexy scenes is meant to showcase that. Our heroine has good reason to be grumpy and a divine entity was introduced alongside a certain someone from a certain dark anime we already discussed.

In the end it is a show starring lesbian bear girls. I love love stories between women and i love bears. It was obvious I would end up enjoying this one. Like other complex stories it is not for everyone. Shows like Flip Flappers, Utena and Yurikuma have something of a learning people will have to get accustomed to in order to enjoy them.

13. Whispered Words (Sasameki Koto) - 88 Votes

OG: To me Aoi Hana and Sasameki Koto were always connected despite the former being a drama and the latter a comedy. Both star a female protagonist struggling with how to best tell the girl she likes her true feelings whereas their love interest for one reason or another makes it all the more challenging to get their feelings across. Both shows aired during a time yuri was not as popular of a genre as it would become over time. Perhaps if they had come out a little later when yuri was becoming more popular in the mainstream they would have fared better…Then again they may have helped set the groundwork for future yuri shows so it’s just as well they came out when they did. In any case both good shows worthy of “best of yuri” lists. SK has the dynamic of the megane in love and her somewhat airheaded love interest who specifically likes “cute girls”. Poor megane has a hard time figuring out what the airhead defines as “cute”. The show also features an amusing side-couple of an ojou-sama and her tsundere girlfriend. Not to mention the somewhat controversial side-girl who plays a more prominent role in the 2nd half of the anime. Heck, even Mr Crossdresser himself is cool. Let us not forget Miss “Ha Ha Ha!” Another really good show that I would love to see the rest of the manga get animated someday but considering most anime are essentially manga commercials and the SK manga ended the odds of a 2nd season are close to 0.

YuriMother: 2009 was a great year for yuri anime, with both Sasameki Koto and Aoi Hana, among other works, airing. But while Aoi Hana sought to resist many of the common tropes of the genre and tell a simple grounded story Sasameki Koto appears to have looked a the list of every convention possible and say “yeah I can do that.” It has melodrama, comedy, one-sided love, friend love stories, I worship this genre but even I think there is a limit. However, Sasameki Koto is one of the most competent yuri anime works of the current era. While all the tropes are present most of the problematic aspects of the genre are not. The story is well written, characters enjoyable, and art that is really well done for the time. I enjoy every watch and if I ever want to quickly download the genre’s tropes into another person's head I need only duct tape them to a chair and throw on Sasameki Koto.

14. Riddle Story of Devil (Akuma no Riddle) - 77 Votes

YuriMother: Akuma no Riddle was highly anticipated back in 2014, sporting a premise of student assassins that, while certainly not unique, was outside the norms for the yuri genre. It promised a dark and thrilling take on the yuri genre that would not become popular until the yuri horror trend a few years later. At first, it looked like this would be successful with an excellent setup and some pretty compelling characters but ultimately Akuma no Riddle fell flat and became more derailed as it continued. The monster of the week style of episodes left little room for complex plots and plans or proper character development, which is a shame because of how engaging so many of the assassins were upon original presentation. However, this show still has some of the best action in the yuri genre, placing it alongside series like Cannan and Utena despite its flawed storytelling. If nothing else, the anime may compel one to read the manga, which expands the story and characters more than the show was given time to.

OG: Professional assassins secretly gathered at an academy in an attempt to take the life of a seemingly innocent cutie to win the ultimate prize, one of whom wishes to protect the adorable redhead. Yes the manga, which is pretty much a Director’s Cut, is better and the anime would have benefited from having 20+ episodes instead of 12 and a delightful beach OVA but the show did a good job of showing viewers what each assassin was like, their motivations (though many of their origin stories were summarized in written biographies during commercial breaks viewers needed to pause to read) were clear enough and the duels, as brief as some of them were, had enough spicy goodness in them to be memorable, especially the ones in the latter half of the show. Oh, and although the manga wrapped up after the anime it had a very similar ending.

15. Revue Starlight - 72 Votes

OG: Gay theater girls who strive to become the top star, meaning the best actress or lead actor of the cast. How do they do it? By working hard and overcoming their personal hardships? Yes. That. What makes this show so wonderful despite being almost a year old as of this writing is not only do the ladies all have interesting stories to tell but so does the stage. Every song, prop, movement, dance, gesture etc. It is like the performers and performances are united. It is like in Spongebob where not only does the person in the boots tell a story but the boots as well.

Oh yes. I almost forgot to mention the mysterious underground theater and talking giraffe. Never forget the talking giraffe from Hell. #Wakarimasu.

Super cool and super gay.

YuriMother: Bushiroad continuously gets better at what they do, creating media franchises of cute girls filled with music and making mountains of cash from smartphone games. Inspired by the likes of Love Live, they created BanG Dream and last year Revue Starlight. However, where these franchises fell short Revue Starlight success. It never twists its characters to tell a story but rather creates compelling arcs around them. I thoroughly enjoyed and agree with its place on this list.

16. Konohana Kitan - 68 Votes

YuriMother: I know of Konohana Kitan for its constant presence at yuri events more so than the anime or even the manga. It is adorable, relaxing, simple, and fun. While it does not add anything super substantial to the genre it does not take anything either or present any objectionable material. The “plot” is nonexistent but that does not matter, as it is not trying to tell a story or make commentary, just be fluffy and simple.

OG: Konohana Kitan to me is a Girls Club (Cute girls doing cute things) and iyashikei hybrid anime. It is visually stunning as it is relaxing with Yuzu pretty much one of the cutest demigoddesses in existence. She of course is a chick magnet but her heart will forever belong to Satsuki.

17. Destiny of the Shrine Maiden (Kannazuki no Miko) - 65 Votes

OG: The other stuff on the show is still not that great but ChiMeko will forever stand the test of time as far as I’m concerned. Top 10 for their love story alone. Yes. I know THAT ONE SCENE continues being controversial and talked about every time curious new yuri fans witness greatness…but I will forever defend Chikane because I get where she was coming from. Would I have done something different? Yes. The thing is you need to put yourself in her shoes and understand what she wanted to accomplish and how far she would go to get it done. Kotoha is best side-character and Souma Ogami is real man’s man who does not deserve the hate. He was an honorable warrior to the end. He fought well and accepted defeat like a man. Plus his yell is inspirational.

YuriMother: My feelings on Kannazuki no Miko are incredibly mixed. It has many of the worst facets of early current era yuri anime, tropes include S, rape and… am I reading this correctly, demon mechs? Worst of all it presents a cycle, a never-ending loop that haunts the characters in the overarching plot and it does not resolve it. If a work ever presents such an element, like Puella Magi did, it must be overcome or confronted at least. Its presence makes the already cringy story feels cheap and lazy. However, I love the two female leads and their difficult relationship. I love the music, especially the hauntingly beautiful ending theme, and the final moments of episode 11 are some of the greatest seconds I have ever seen in an anime. I cannot wrap my mind around my view of this series but at the end of the day, I understand it. I do not believe that work like it would ever be warmly accepted today but for its time it does stand as a breakout piece of yuri anime.

18. Princess Principal - 61 Votes

YuriMother: Princess Principal is one of the best anime of the past few years. It had everything, an interesting premise, great characters, an incredible soundtrack. Alongside all this is the sharp writing and thrilling story. Princess Principal did everything Akuma no Riddle wanted to with an intriguing and action-packed story featuring strong characters. On top of all this, the animation is top notch. A six-part movie sequel is planned which has me somewhat concerned, but I am glad to see that it is being continued as the ending to the series was one of its weakest aspects. Now if you will excuse me, I need to listen to some jazz.

OG: Cute and sexy gay spies in a dramatic British Steampunk setting. What more do readers need? Allow Her Holiness to elaborate a bit further. Currently waiting for the multi-part cinematic continuation.

19. Izetta: The Last Witch - 60 Votes

OG: I am known for loving shows people do not think as highly of. Izetta: The Last Witch is no different. I love this show so much. Besides how certain events transpired some complained about the depiction of WW2. Basically think about people ranting about storylines and content featured in certain Call of Duty and Battlefield games. Here however, it is clearly a fictional great war inspired by WW2. I was invested in the following:

-The cute and sexy ladies.

-Seeing two badass lesbians lead an army against an evil empire.

-FiZetta’s romance. This of course being the major highlight. I love FiZetta so much. My sexy lesbian babies and Anne X Grea’s mentors. They taught them everything they know after all.

It is similar to how I felt watching Kannazuki no Miko where my focus was primarily on the leading ladies’ developing romance. The difference is that unlike Kannazuki I was also somewhat entertained by our heroines’ enemies along with their allies. Basically viewers’ enjoyment of the show depends on how seriously they take their history and are willing to overlook the liberties this story takes with its depictions of the weapons, military and the familiar evil empire. FiZetta are one of my favorite lesbian couples of all time.

By the way, in that famous scene, yes they did. Viewers just have to squint their eyes to see “it”.

YuriMother: Another show that I consider to have squandered its potential. I know that lots of people enjoyed this one, including OG but I could not bring myself to finish this constantly mediocre series. Perhaps I am tired of alternative light-fantasy European-war inspired plots. Trying to stand out in this bloated genre is difficult and Izetta fails. Izetta started strong and hooked many viewers with its amazing visual and auditory polish but this was quickly lost in the plot which, while set up well, struggle to gain any ground of pay off what had been established. On the yuri side, it did not really do anything interesting or satisfying, with plenty of scenes feature the character’s standing next to each other looking cute and one or two moments of actual yuri. I am glad that some of you were able to enjoy this one more than me at least.

20. Maria Watches Over Us (Maria-sama ga Miteru) - 57 Votes

OG: Like Strawberry Panic this is a “Like it or not” classic. Despite being a Class S show it did its own thing and became a pioneer for . It’s also responsible for the many yuri jokes related to all-girl schools in anime.Shimako X Noriko best Grande and Petite Souer! Yumiko X Sachiko were great too as the two grew to better understand each other. Most memorable scene for me was the panda costume. Even Sei is a sleeper icon in all yuridom. Yoshino X Rei had a very interesting dynamic. I actually think they are the real pioneers of relationships between cousins. Thank you YoshiRei. HaruKana, Kaede X Sara and several others owe you two much appreciation.

YuriMother: Another great and significant series, Maria Watches Over Us, took the tropes of early yuri works, Catholic schools, a lack of men, piano scenes, and emotional relationship rather than physical ones and turned the dial up to 11. For better or worse, it single-handedly revived the Class S genre and was copied (and parodied) endlessly for over a decade. However much I complain about S I actually do not think that we would have the current age of yuri without its popularity and proliferation at the beginning of the century so I owe a big thank you to Maria Watches Over Us for that. Ignoring its historical importance and literary significance the anime still presents an engaging plot with wonderful characters and more butchered French than my last trip to Europe. It is certainly worth a watch and worthy of a place on this list.

What do you think should be on this list?:

YuriMother: As I previously said, this is a pretty perfect list. As far as missing titles I can think of the following.

Simoun - not the greatest in terms of plot or animation but it had cute service and a fun action-packed plot.

Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl - This series may be strange and present the dreaded love triangle but it did its best to tell a transgender narrative in 2006, naturally this involved aliens, and I applaud it for its attempts.

Cannan - This series is light on the yuri but heavy on the suspense, action, and amazing character designs. The terrorist plot is exciting and the final train fight featured in the series is one of the greatest action spectacles in anime that somehow manages to remain grounded.

OG:

-Harukana Receive: Best all-female sports anime ever made. Plus the gayness is not subtle at all.

-Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku: Eruna Ichinomiya is an underrated yuri icon. While not the first of her kind (That honor, I think, goes to Galaxy Fraulein Yuna) she set the standard of cool and inspirational badass lesbian protagonists who are proud of who they are and...also happen to be super perverts. Eruna made it cool to be such a protagonist. It is nice seeing a lesbian lead who does not care what anyone else thinks. She is hungry for cute girl booties. While she often loses her control in the presence of pure beauty she, as an inspiration for others like her, has enough self-control to not go overboard (most of the time).

-Symphogear: Symphogear is love, Symphogear is life. Hopefully Season 5 will keep up the good work.

-Rinne no Lagrange: My favorite mecha anime and the reason I embrace OT3s when the signs are there. Not the greatest but man was it fun. Plus Madoka Kyouno is still sexy.

-Yuki Yuna wa Yuusha de Aru: My favorite Moepocalypse anime of all time. Yuna X Togo taught me to love and trust some people outside my closest family again.

-Mouretsu Pirates: If someone were to ask me “Hey OG. What to you is the perfect anime?”. I would tell them Mouretsu/Bodacious Space Pirates.

-Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl. Thanks to the first fan commenting and reminding me of it. Definitely worthy of a spot. #HazumuWasAlwaysFemale

Final Thoughts:

OG: Pretty good list and close to what mine would look like were I to make one. Reason I have yet to do so is because I do not feel confident enough to pick a favorite yuri anime of all time. Favorite yuri manga and couples? That I can do, but anime always seems to give me a hard time choosing my absolute favorites. Like I said though, a potential yuri list of mine would look something like this. I also found it interesting how similar the Top 10 are among both our respective fanbases and visitors to the poll conducted by the Akiba Research Institute.

YuriMother: I may have done most the complaining and left the praise to OG but I actually and really happy with this list. I think that every title presented is a worthy addition and while I would certainly move some higher or lower than their current placing I do not believe that these are too far off from my own opinions, which is surprising for a popularity poll. More than anything I am thrilled to see that works I dislike that I thought to be popular did not make this list. Perhaps I should have more faith in people and their opinions. Everyone did such a wonderful job voting and I am so grateful!

Thank you so much everyone for reading and for voting in the top yuri anime poll. To see the full results of the poll and to support yuri news, reviews, and content, check out the YuriMother Patreon. Happy Pride Month

[frozenmikan]

We’ll make sure to keep our activities going, to tell everyone about how Aqours is doing, about where Aqours is from - Inami Anju, Aida Rikako, and Saito Shuka’s unwavering resolve

First years interview: https://aikyan.dyreatic.moe/post/624225195452940288/before-a-new-departurekobayashi-aika-takatsuki

Third years interview: https://ganbaramen.tumblr.com/post/625147563563204608/their-intention-is-always-to-be-by-your-side-the

If I gave up, Chika-chan would stop growing too

Love Live! Sunshine!!’s school idol group, Aqours, has just celebrated its 5th anniversary. The “Aqours 5th Anniversary Jimo Ai! Take Me Higher Project”, which includes the franchise’s first dome tour, has also been announced.

Inami: I expected quite a few big things to happen, since it is our 5th anniversary. But even I was surprised at how huge the entire thing turned out to be.

Saito: There really is quite a lot happening, huh?

Aida: We have Aqours CLUB 2020 too, and…

Saito: There are so many things happening that I can’t wrap my head around them!

Inami: Since the phrase “Jimo Ai” is in the title itself, it’d be nice if I could shout out to everyone that we’ve come all the way from Numazu, loud and clear!

What did you think of “Fantastic Departure”, the theme song of the dome tour, when you first heard it?

Aida: I feel like our songs have gotten more and more mature over the years.

Saito: Yeah, totally! It feels like our songs are growing alongside us.

Aida: Yeah, they’re songs from a genre that Aqours could never touch in the past.

Inami: It does seem like the melody was written to conform to current trends.

Aida: You’re right, it does sound pretty stylish. It also makes you want to dance to the beat.

Inami: As an artist, I feel like we’ve managed to establish exactly what it means to be Aqours. Of course, that includes the lyrics too!

Aida: You can just feel Hata Aki-san in every phrase!

Inami: Yeah, yeah! Especially the “dolphin” and “whale” lines.

Saito: Having words related to the ocean in the lyrics makes it feel really Aqours-like. I think it’s pretty interesting how there’s a gap between the mature-sounding melody and the lyrics.

How was the recording?

Inami: It was really tough…!

Aida: If I focus too much on singing in my character voice, my sense of rhythm goes haywire!

Inami: Yeah, that! When I first heard “Fantastic Departure!”, the first thing I worried about was how I’d sing it!

Aida: Our songs started becoming really difficult around “Jump up HIGH!”.

Saito: No matter the song, the first thing I think about is how You-chan would sing it, but you’re right, it was quite difficult at the start.

Inami: So what do you do?

Saito: I just sing the entire thing as You-chan.

Aida: For me, I let my character voice out when I can, and pay more attention to the rhythm when I need to. That leads to the up-and-downs in my voice, I guess?

Inami: For me, I try singing it once with my own voice, paying attention to the syllables I’d stress. This expands my horizons and gives me more ideas. After that, I try to think of even more ideas as Chika-chan, and that makes my singing more expressive, I guess?

Aida: I think it’s amazing how Chika-chan sounds like Chika-chan whenever she sings.

Inami: I’m so glad to hear that! I’m sure all of us feel the same way, but if there was something I couldn’t do and I gave up on it without trying, Chika-chan would stop growing too. Because I feel very strongly about not wanting to stop Chika-chan from growing and developing, I challenge myself and do my best in everything I do.

Everyone in Aqours is the type to just go for it instead of worrying about it

How about the coupling song, “Aqours Pirate Desire”?

Aida: The lyrics certainly are very forceful. Our lyrics used to be things like “Got it!” and “Heave-ho!” after all, so they’ve definitely have gotten a lot more forceful compared to back then. There’s that, and how the pitch has become really low. It’s almost a full octave lower, so I was certainly a little flustered at the start.

Saito: The first thing I thought after hearing it was, “It’s so low!”

Inami: Yeah, I was like, “Dang, this is gonna be a tough one” (laughs).

Saito: I couldn’t help but wonder whether You-chan would be able to do it. That’s why I asked them to let me listen to my own singing over and over again during the recording.

The song’s atmosphere gives off the impression of a rather wild Aqours.

Inami: You’re right. It’s the first time we’ve had “pirates” as the theme of a song, after all.

Saito: They told us to go all out with the coolness during the recording!

Aida: It is a rather cool song, after all.

Inami: Maybe it’d be nice for Aqours to appear on stage while showing off our cool side. Up until now, we’ve always had a refreshing, cheerful, or straightforward look, so I think it’d be pretty fun to show off Aqours’ unyielding and firm side too.

Aida: The atmosphere Aqours gives off has changed quite a bit too, huh?

Inami: Yeah. Personally, I want to show off even more different sides of Aqours!

Tell us about your favorite parts of each song.

Aida: I like how the lyrics of “Fantastic Departure!” tells a story of us not knowing what’s in store for us in the future. But after seeing many, many things on our way here, we still want to continue discovering what’s ahead of us, and that there are still places for us to go. That made me really happy, and they’re all phrases I really love.

Inami: I’m really glad that the lyrics strongly convey how Aqours will keep pushing forward while also giving off the feeling that this is a new start for us. For “Aqours Pirates Desire”, I like the phrases like “Snatch it for ourselves!”, phrases that Aqours has never really had before. What about you, You-chan (Saito-san)?

Saito: I guess I like the lyrics in the chorus of “Aqours Pirates Desire”. I feel like it really gives off the feeling that Aqours will do anything, that we want to be given the opportunity to do anything and everything.

Inami: All nine of us are the type of people to just go for it rather than worrying about it, and maybe that personality of ours got through to Hata-san as well. For “Aqours Pirates Desire”, I find the part where we say we’ll “sail the seven seas” and “go beyond even that” interesting. We don’t usually end our sentences so forcefully too, and the word “crossbones” really packs a punch… The song is just packed with the new Aqours.

Saito: Though Riko-chan’s a part of Guilty Kiss, so I guess she’s already used to the “crossbones” part.

Aida: I wonder… Though you have to admit that there’s something about how all nine of us can now perform a song like “Aqours Pirate Desire” together, and not just as our subunits.

Inami: Yeah. Most of the Aqours members already like cool songs, and that’s being put to good use here. Maybe we’ll be able to go even further with this concept now that we’ve sung this song, and that gets me really excited.

Aida: It’s quite interesting how although the song is quite stylish, it still feels undoubtedly like a “Love Live!” song when the nine of us sing it.

The entire arena dyed in orange: “Memories never fade”

This January, you performed at Love Live! Fest together with μ’s and the Nijigasaki School Idol Club, breaking the walls between the franchise’s groups. What left the deepest impression on you at Love Live! Fest?

Aida: Can I talk about something that happened when we were off-stage? It’s got to be μ’s “Snow halation”.

Inami & Saito: That really was something!

Inami: We were waiting on the ship for our turn to perform, and because we just enjoy ourselves fully once we’re on stage, the wait before we go on stage leaves the strongest impression on us.

Saito: Yeah, that. The peak of our emotions happened when we were waiting. At that moment, I just felt really glad that I was part of Aqours.

Aida: Seeing the arena glow orange during μ’s “Snow halation” made me realize that memories truly never fade. It’d be nice if we could make the people watching one of our lives feel the same way one day.

Inami: Maybe this dome tour is our first step to achieving that. I’m also really glad that we’ve become capable of considering “sometime in the future”.

Any memories of your own performance during Love Live! Fest?

Inami: When we appeared on stage on our ship, I was really thankful that we were here as Aqours. When I first heard that we’d be appearing on the ship, we talked it out and agreed that we wanted to dance. We acutely felt the meaning behind us having to live up to the animation, as well as the power the nine of us have together, so we wanted to put that in our dance on stage.

After our performance, what we saw from the ship felt really special, and that made me really glad that we performed on the ship. Realizing that made me emotional once again.

How about you, Aida-san, Saito-san?

Aida: We were the opening act for both days, kicking the performance off with “Mitaiken Horizon”. That left a very deep impression.

Saito: Love Live! Fest was our first time performing “Mitaiken Horizon”. Also, it had been quite some time since our last concert, so I was really nervous.

Inami: I knew that I’d be frustrated if we didn’t manage to capture the attention of the people in the audience who were seeing us for the first time. I really gave it my all to make sure that we fulfilled the role of being the opening act and passing the baton on to the next performers.

How were the performances by the members of the Nijigasaki School Idol Club? They even put on some solo performances, right?

Inami: It’s really amazing how they performed on stage alone!

Aida: Fest was right after their 1st Live (Love Live! Nijigasaki School Idol Club First Live “with You”) too. Adding on to that, they even performed on the same stage as μ’s did. So that’s quite something.

Saito: If that were me back when I first debuted, I’d probably be terrified.

Aida: Yeah. Just having the courage to perform solo on that stage is already really amazing.

Inami: Amidst an audience that’s focused on them, and only them, I could tell that they really wanted to dye the entire venue in each and every one of their colors. That was just really emotional.

“We’ve started communicating with just our eyes”: The second years are the balancers

After five years, do you feel like you’ve grown?

Saito: I guess I now know how to look better in photos?

Inami: That’s really important!

Saito: I used to look terrible in photos! But now, I realize that I'm at the point where if I spot the camera cranes during a concert, I'll be like “C'MON LOOK OVER HERE" (laughs).

Inami: I used to be bad with photos too… I really wish I could change my artist photo I took way back then.

Saito: Yeah! Seeing that photo being used for some TV performance just makes me want to scream: “Just change it already!”

Inami: Exactly. Also, I used to be a very negative person, but I’ve definitely become overwhelmingly more positive over the years. Chika-chan is cheerful no matter what, and nothing can break her. She has so many ideas that it’s almost funny, and she still influences me to this day!

Chika-chan is so positive that sometimes I wonder whether she even knows the meaning of the phrase “giving up”. She’s been pulling me along, in a good way. Even now, I still have a lot to learn from her actions.

Aida: For me, it’s definitely my stamina. I really had no stamina at the start. I think I was the worst among everyone in Aqours. Especially during our 1st Live (Love Live! Sunshine!! Aqours First LoveLive! ~Step! ZERO to ONE~), I’d lose my breath halfway through a song, and just singing my solo part was pure suffering.

But I could feel myself slowly becoming more fit, day by day. There are still times when I feel like it’s too much, but it doesn’t show on my face anymore, so I guess I’ve grown in that regard.

Inami: Yeah, I get you! I’m really glad that I can now perform “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?” with a smile on my face the entire time (laughs).

Saito: “KimiKoko” is still pretty tough, even now…

Aida: Other than that, I feel like I’ve changed in lots of ways, so many that I can’t even begin to count.

Inami: During these five years as Aqours, every one of us has managed to take on and overcome different challenges, so I think about how much we’ve grown almost every day.

What do you think about the bond between the second years?

Aida: If we’re talking about the anime, the bond between the second years really solidified around “Aye-aye, My Friend” (episode 11 of the first season of the anime). I feel like after that, we took on the role of watching over the other year groups, with You-chan and Riko-chan supporting Chika-chan together.

Inami: And Chika-chan just throws her everything at anything she’s doing.

If I were to talk about myself, I’ve become much better at grasping Chika-chan’s emotions during our concerts. I’ve become able to find joy and perform songs alongside both of them with a smile on my face, even though they used to be songs where just singing and dancing took all my effort and concentration. I guess that’s when I feel the bond between us.

Aida: For me, because I know that their dances will definitely be perfect, I feel like I have no choice but to keep up with them.

Saito: Our songs as the second years are really energetic, so that shows how close we are.

What’s something that you’d never lose at versus the other year groups?

Inami: How we can be both playful and serious at the same time! That’s something I love about us too.

Saito: When push comes to shove, we’ll definitely get things done, but when we joke around, we go all out too.

Inami: Yup. We’ll mostly be fine, no matter what happens. We’re able to follow up on absolutely anything.

Aida: That’s also because of how much we trust each other.

Saito: We’ve started communicating by our gazes alone a lot more recently, right?

Inami: We can tell what the others are thinking just by looking at their eyes.

Aida: Working together as a year group feels really reassuring, in a different way from when we’re together as nine or in our subunits.

Inami: Even without talking it out, we’ll end up saying, “OK, we’ll give it a try, we’re fine!”. That’s why it’s really easy to be with this group.

Saito: The three of us as a group are pretty balanced, huh?

Inami: Yeah. Because the three of us often have to keep the conversation going during MCs and such, we have quite a lot in common. When my mind is completely occupied with reading the script in front of me, the two of them will follow up or respond to what I say with something appropriate. That’s something I can really count on, so I get to enjoy myself during livestreams and such with them around!

That, and our sense of time is pretty similar. Just when I start thinking that our MC segment during a concert has gotten a bit too long, and that now’s a good time to wrap things up, Riko-chan (Aida-san) will wrap up the conversation, and so on...

Aida: That’s something I tend to do… I’m the type to want to move on to the next thing right away. That, and to stop the first years from going on any longer (laughs).

Inami: It’s clear-cut, easy to understand, and interesting. I really like that part of you (laughs). You-chan is really good at following up when I pass the baton to her, so I can throw a topic at her without worrying too much. That’s why I feel like we’re balanced as a group. No matter what happens, our energy levels are just right, and I think that’s one of the second years’ strong points.

Be proud of the fact that you made our dome tour possible!

There’s still some time before we get the full details, but is there anything in particular that you’d like to do for your dome tour?

Aida: We’ve ridden on a ship and a steam locomotive, so I wonder what’s next.

Inami: If we’re going with the lyrics, it’s going to be a whale next. How about whales in our member colors?

Saito: I feel like people will just wonder what we’re riding on (laughs).

Aida: I guess I want to try all kinds of things without being constrained by what we’ve done up until now. Since being able to do a dome tour isn’t a given, I’d like to reflect on the fact that we’ve been given the chance to do this and leave no regrets behind.

Inami: Aside from our numbered lives, we’ve also been given the opportunity to perform an Asia tour and fan meetings. And now we have a country-wide dome tour; I think that’s really amazing. That’s why I’d like this tour to be one where we enchant everyone with Aqours’ radiance.

Saito: I wanna mess around during a concert…

Inami: Yeah, I do want to play around with some of the songs. Of course, there are songs with the choreography set in stone, so we’ll show that off when we can, and mess around when we can.

Aida: It’d be nice if the concert were something like a festival.

Inami: Yeah! I want the tour to be one that’d get everyone’s heart pumping, one that’ll make everyone in the audience realize their love for Aqours and the songs we perform!

Is there anything you’d like to be able to do by the time the dome tour starts?

Inami: There are quite a few songs that we haven’t performed yet, right?

Aida: I think there’s more than ten of them. Like “Bouken Type A, B, C!!”, “KOKORO Magic ‘A to Z’”, and “Dance with Minotaurus”.

Saito: Yeah! I can’t wait for “Dance with Minotaurus”.

Aida: That, and some more new songs, right?

Saito: The Aqours CLUB song too.

Inami: …Wow (laughs). They’re all songs with different styles and genres too, right?

Saito: Yeah. Especially the tour’s theme song.

Aida: The bridge seems pretty tough too.

Inami: Err… As soon as we can perform our new songs, I hope we can have fun while performing them! (laughs)

I’m sure your fans are looking forward to the 5th anniversary project too.

Saito: I was actually pretty surprised myself. We definitely only managed to make a dome tour happen thanks to everyone supporting us.

I’m really excited that we’ll be able to perform at huge venues, but I’ll make sure to not forget my roots too. To do that, I’m already thinking about re-watching the first and second seasons of the anime, as well as the movie before the tour kicks off. So, I hope everyone reading does the same too! Also, do watch over Aqours, who’ve surely leveled up since our 5th anniversary!

Aida: I never expected to be able to put on such a large-scale concert for our 5th anniversary. It's definitely thanks to all the fans who have been supporting us all this time that we're being given the opportunity to do this. 

I think all of our fans should be proud of themselves because they’re the ones who brought Aqours all the way here to our dome tour. I hope to make this tour one where I get to express my gratitude to everyone, and I look forward to your support!

Inami: I hope even more people get to know about “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and Aqours through this interview, and I’d be glad if we left an impression on you. Aqours is in the process of challenging ourselves in all kinds of directions, and I think there are still many words and songs we can bring to everyone.

Although we already have an anime and a movie, personally, I want to start writing a new story with the nine of us in Aqours! With that desire in my heart, in order to tell everyone about how Aqours is doing, and about where Aqours lives, I’ll make sure to keep our activities going. I’d be grateful if you’d come along to witness Aqours’ world for yourself, and I’ll do my best to gain your support from now on as well!

What are the charm points of each of the second years?

Inami Anju -> Aida Rikako

Aqours is a group of voice actresses, actresses, singers, and many more, so all of us had different levels of experience when we first started out. Riko-chan (Aida-san) was never constrained by any of those roles, and she has a very clear idea of what she wants to do as “Aida Rikako”. I thought she seemed rather mature.

What’s more, Riko-chan really loves acting, and I myself love acting too. As we attended more recordings together, we gained the ability to throw all kinds of different lines at each other.

Throughout these five years, I think the person I’ve always talked with the most about “what I should do for Aqours” is Riko-chan. No matter what I talk to her about, she’ll definitely reply with a message or some idea that’s uniquely hers. What she says is very encouraging. We’ve been pouring out our love for acting and our characters together this entire time, so I think she’s the person I can open my heart to most easily.

Inami Anju -> Saito Shuka

You-chan (Saito-san) is very friendly, and since she’s the closest to me in age, from the very start our relationship was somewhat similar to that of childhood friends—just like our characters. Although she’s friendly, she knows where to draw the line, and she’s the type to take the feelings of the people around her into consideration without realizing it.

She never lets it show, but she’s really responsible. She’s really serious, and I believe she was given the leapfrog (in “Kimi no Kokoro wa Kagayaiteru kai?”) and the center position for the 2nd single, “Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM”, because she always challenges herself to do her best.

All three of us second years are serious, and we’re all balancers, so we just grew closer naturally without needing to work ourselves up over it too much. In the end, I usually have the responsibility of wrapping the conversation up. But both of them always watch over me by my side, to share in that burden of mine. There are things that I’d only share with the two of them, and all three of us have worries that only the other two understand. But, even if we don’t put them explicitly into words, we somehow can understand each other, and our emotions resonate with one another. So, I really appreciate and trust both of them.

Aida Rikako -> Inami Anju

When Aqours was first formed, Anchan was still a teenager, but she was the perfect leader from the very start. She really has her life together, and she has no weaknesses whatsoever. I was actually quite worried for her at the start… To me, it looked as if she constantly had a huge weight on her shoulders. But, at some point, it looked like the weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she became better at depending on the people around her. So, I think she managed to strike a good balance.

That, and she cares the most about the other Aqours members. She’ll be the first to come to our rescue no matter what happens, and she’ll be the first to notice and follow up if someone is feeling down. She’s really mature and dependable, despite being three years younger than me (laughs). When we’re performing together, I feel like I can leave everything to her, and our performances only manage to happen because of her.

Aida Rikako -> Saito Shuka

She’s so capable that you wouldn’t think that she’s the youngest. She’s been hard-working ever since our 1st Live, and the professional attitude of the other two second years is something I really need to push myself to keep up with.

Shuka will never let her exhaustion show on her face; she’s always smiling. She’s usually the mood maker, the energetic one in the group, but she actually pays a lot of attention to her surroundings. She’s also a kind girl who’s capable of noticing the subtle changes in the facial expressions of the people around her.

Saito Shuka -> Inami Anju

Even among the nine of us, she pays a lot of attention to crafting her role. Since Anju’s the leader, I’m sure she felt a lot more pressure than the rest of us when we just started off. But, she managed to overcome that together with Chika-chan, and she’s now our dependable leader. Aqours would be nothing without Anju as our leader, and we can rest assured because she’s our leader.

Saito Shuka -> Aida Rikako

How she pays attention to her surroundings, and how she always has her life together. That, and I really like how she’s a little out of it (laughs). Because she’s serious, there are times when my jokes don’t get through to her, but that’s because she really values the franchise as a whole, and because she has a very strong will. I like the ups and downs in her personality.

Q&A with Inami Anju, the voice of Takami Chika

Q1) Tell us something you love about Takami Chika-chan!

There’s too many, so this is going to be hard… Among the many things, I really love how she’ll never break, and how she can continue chasing her own radiance for her entire life.

Q2) Is there something you want, or something you want to do right now?

I guess it’d be time.

That, and I really want to get a scuba-diving license someday. When I first experienced it through one of the interviews for “Love Live! Sunshine!!”, I was told that I had a knack for it. Seeing a sunfish in Numazu’s oceans is one of my dreams!

Q3) Is there a book or a game that you’ve been hooked on recently?

Because I’ve been casted in “Boku no Hero Academia” (as Toga Himiko in the stage play), I’ve been reading it recently. If it’s a game, it’s gotta be “Pokémon”.

Q4) What did you want to be when you were a child?

This is really embarrassing (laughs), but a pâtissier. Oh, that, and becoming a mermaid. That was a serious dream of mine. 

Q5) What do you normally do on your days off?

Sleep, play games, work out, and go for chiropractic sessions. There are some days where I just spend the day taking care of my body.

Q&A with Aida Rikako, the voice of Sakurauchi Riko

Q1) Tell us what you like about Sakurauchi Riko-chan!

How she really cares for Chika-chan. She’s always the first to notice if Chika-chan’s feeling down. Of course, she loves everyone in Aqours, and she’s always caring for everyone. I like how she’s usually the support for all of the Aqours members.

Q2) Is there something you want, or something you want to do right now?

It’s not easy to do this at this point in time, but I want to go on a solo trip someday.

I’ve always wanted to visit France. I love “The Rose of Versailles”, and I really want to visit the Palace of Versailles. Also, visiting some hot springs would be nice.

Q3) Is there a book or a game that you’ve been hooked on recently?

“The Promised Neverland”. I’ve always liked the comics in “Young Jump”. I also have the complete set of “GIGANT”.

Q4) What did you want to be when you were a child?

A singer.

That was my first dream, though along the way I became open to more than just singing.

Q5) What do you normally do on your days off?

I don’t set an alarm and sleep in until midday. Then, I watch TV, and just laze around mostly. I usually don’t go anywhere except for places around my house, so if I had the entire day free, I’d like to visit a shopping mall or something a little further from where I live.

Q&A with Saito Shuka, the voice of Watanabe You

Q1) Tell us what you like about Watanabe You-chan!

Can I talk about something physical…? (laughs) Since she’s in the swimming club and the school idol club at the same time, I really admire her discipline, and I also really like how strongly she feels about wanting to do something together with Chika-chan, and how she really cares for her friends.

Recently, I’ve really taken a liking to her curves.

She’s not too fat but not too thin; her body is the epitome of a healthy high school girl, and that’s really great!

In episode eleven of the first season of the anime, “Aye-aye, My Friend”, there’s a scene where the camera focuses on her thighs; the thought that went through my mind was, “That’s perfect!”. Her face also looks really pretty from the side. I like how she’s so beautiful that I don’t even have the words to describe it (laughs).

Q2) Is there something you want, or something you want to do right now?

I wanna go to a grilled meat place for some beef tongue! If the beef tongue is sliced thinly, I could eat that forever. But, I’ve started asking for a larger portion of rice with my meals, like a high school boy, so I think it’s about time for me to start cutting down.

Q3) Is there a book or a game that you’ve been hooked on recently?

I’ve liked this for the longest time, but “Bokura ga Ita (We Were There)”. I really love the character Yano Motoharu from “Bokura ga Ita”, and I seriously wonder whether he’d appear in real life. My brain is infected with shoujo manga, so I really want the heart-throbbing scenes in shoujo mangas to happen to me too.

Q4) What did you want to be when you were a child?

I really wanted to say “an idol”, but that was embarrassing, so I said I wanted to become a preschool teacher. But, ever since I was a child, I was dancing in the center for the dances we did in preschool performances, and I often thought that someday I’d become someone who’d be performing on stage.

Q5) What do you normally do on your days off?

I guess I go shopping by myself most of the time. Recently, I’ve started using my days off to go for massages or to visit a beautician, to keep my body in top shape. Most of the time I end up shopping somewhere on the way back.

TL: xIceArcher

TLC: arbshortcake

QC: Cornsplosion, Yujacha

[taperwolf]

Actually, going back to this, I was just reminded that Riko's the only member of Aqours who doesn't have a childhood friend in the unit, and most have multiples.

(Arguably Yoshiko only has Hanamaru, and whether Hanamaru was childhood friends with both Yoshiko and Ruby or just Yoshiko — and she met Ruby outside that window — seems to vary. I wanna count Dia's childhood friends, Kanan and Mari, as also Ruby's, or at least bonus big sisters, and Kanan was also Chika's and You's childhood friend.)

So you could spin the questioning in whatever direction you like, I suppose; she could feel envious of a particular pair/set, or left out of the general web of closeness, or inspired by a doujin into checking the shipping possibilities for AnaPomu.

SIFAS Daily Theatre Classic: 2021-04-11

(Transcription after the break.)

[Image transcription:]

SIFAS Daily Theatre for 2021-04-11

Album of Memories

Riko: Hey, Ayumu-chan. What is it like to have a childhood friend? Ayumu: Eh? What is it, all of a sudden....? Riko: Ah, sorry. I just read a book about two childhood friends, and I thought it must be really nice. That's why I wanted to ask someone who actually has a childhood friend. Ayumu: Fufufu, so that's what it is. Let's see.... It's like having your album of memories be doubled in size, I guess? Riko: Album of memories? Ayumu: Yeah. They're someone who remembers things that you don't even remember yourself. Riko: Waah.... That sounds lovely!! Ayumu: Ehehe.... But they remember embarrassing things too~. That might be a little.... inconvenient, maybe? Riko: Fufu. That's an enviable part too. Lat must be so nice.... Ayumu: Even if you aren't friends with them from when you're little, don't you also have countless stuff in your album of memories right now, Riko-chan? I remember my memories with you, and everyone in Aqours surely remembers even more. Let's keep increasing the count in our albums from now on, okay!

[End transcription.]