yuri recs, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood eng. lit. major

yukari—precocious, rebellious, self-centered wild-child—finds her antithesis in miki, unsullied good girl. her preexisting prejudice gives way to geniality when she finds miki kissing a statue of mars, and realizes they are not so different after all, both housing vulnerability and desiring love and comradeship. yukari never finds a fulfilling resolution for her feelings for miki, but she does learn of her capacity to love, and becomes a better person for it.

ichiko comes out to her father only to find that both him and her late mother were queer. the narrative's a superb way to frame the intergenerational differences in lifestyle of queer people. its exploration of family—the contrast between eriko's authoritarian father and the rapport of ichiko's less orthodox parents (+their partners)—highlight the necessity for empathy rather than ostracism. a strong supporting cast brings depth and diversity to its portrayal of queer

lo and behold, my chinese public school memories memorialized

except with prettier uniforms instead of the industrial tracksuits (trashsuits) i was forced to wear