Girls Day: Yuri Manga 101 With Erica Friedman

In shojo manga, girl meets boy. In shonen manga, boy meets girl and gets a nosebleed. In yaoi manga, it's boys in love with boys written by and for girls. So what's yuri manga?

Essentially it's about girls loving girls -- but there's much more to it than that. Perhaps no one is better equipped to explain the what, how and why of yuri manga than Erica Friedman.

Since 2000, Erica has been raising the banner for yuri manga in America, with YuriCon, a gathering for fans of yuri manga / anime and fan fiction and as the guiding force behind ALC Publishing, America's only exclusively yuri manga publisher. On top of that, she regularly posts yuri news and reviews on her blog, Okazu.

While not as explosively popular as yaoi, or boys love manga, yuri manga is being introduced to more readers as U.S. publishers including Seven Seas Manga, TokyoPop and Infinity Studios are getting hip to the girls love tip. So on the Japanese holiday of Girl's Day, it felt like the perfect time to find out about this up-and-coming genre and see why both guys and gals love reading manga about girls loving girls.

Check out my interview with yuri manga expert Erica Friedman, plus get a taste of the yuri yumminess with Erica's top 10 yuri manga list.

Image credit: © Erica Friedman / © Sakurako Kimono, Takuminamuchi / Seven Seas Manga