10 best yuri anime, ranked

This list is for the girls.

That’s what “yuri” means, after all. Girl love! Well, technically it means “lily,” but lilies have since become a symbol for lesbian attraction in the anime world. The lily = lesbian association dates back to the 1970s and is thought to come from the term yurizoku (“lily tribe”) which was coined by Japanese gay men’s magazine Barazoku (“rose tribe”) as a way to differentiate between the queer subcultures. Since the 1990s, yuri anime has exploded onto the market, and while the genre is sometimes plagued with problematic entries *cough* Citrus *cough* there are plenty of GL stories with emotional weight, depth, and maturity.

So here they are, the 10 best yuri anime, ranked.

10. Birdie Wing

A sports anime that doubles as a yuri!? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY. Building off the queer sports paradigm that was created by yaoi figure skating smash hit Yuri On Ice!!! comes a story of two golfers who are competing for fame, glory, and each other’s hearts. The series centers around the spunky young Eve, who struggles to make ends meet by competing in illegal golf matches. She’s soon introduced to the wealthy golf prodigy Aoi, and their budding rivalry soon gives way to a friendship that hints at something more. While it’s not as explicitly queer as other entries on this list (yuri is a genre that, for better or worse, is often based around ambiguity) it’s not hard to see that Aoi and Eve’s love for one another is slowly growing like golf course grass.

9. Sakura Trick

Do you want romantic girls-kissing-girls fluff? YOU GOT IT. The entire plot of Sakura Trick is based around two girls making out with one another. It honestly doesn’t get much deeper than that, and that’s okay. Haruka Takayama and Yū Sonoda were besties in middle school, but after entering high school together, they begin to drift apart. After the school announces that it will close in three years, the pair drift back into each other’s arms. They decide to keep their relationship a secret from their classmates, but it doesn’t always go as planned. If you’re looking for a high-drama story with deep emotional stakes, Sakura Trick has tricked you. It’s none of those things, it’s just a lighthearted tale about two girls who are super into each other. No complaints here.

8. I’m in Love with the Villainess

Remember how I said the yuri genre revels in ambiguity? I’m In Love with the Villainess didn’t get the memo. The threads of lesbian love that weave their way through this series are made explicit from the title alone. As you might have guessed from its name, I’m In Love with the Villainess is an enemies-to-lovers tale, though the “enemies” relationship is rather one-sided. After being isekai’d into her favorite fantasy RPG, office worker Rei Ohashi decides to forgo the romantic questlines given to her by the three princes of the Bauer Kingdom to make a move on the game’s antagonist Claire. While the Bauer Kingdom would rather see Claire punished for her crimes against the kingdom, Rei intends to use her deep knowledge of the game to prevent that from happening—and win the villainess’ heart in the process.

7. Kill la Kill

When it comes to yuri anime, Kill la Kill doesn’t often come to the mind of the genre’s fans. That’s a crime, considering that Kill la Kill features one of the best lesbian romances in anime history. Granted, that romance is buried under a tournament-style battle anime plot about scantily clad girls dressed in sentient clothing duking it out for control of a totalitarian high school that functions as a Japanese city-state, who then have to fight fashion brand trying to take over the world by stitching alien parasites into its products. Yeah, Kill la Kill is nuts. At the center of it all is the budding romance between its scissor-blade-wielding protagonist Ryuko Matoi and her best friend Mako Mankanshoku. They’ll have to contend with nudist cults, killer classmates, and one very evil fashion CEO before they can go on a date—but they do, and it’s adorable.

6. Maria Watches Over Us

Gay Catholic school drop-outs, this one is for you. Maria Watches Over Us is set at the Lillian Girls’ Academy, a prestigious all-girls Catholic high school where older girls are paired up with younger students in a scholastic big-sister/little-sister relationship. I think you can see where this is going. Maria Watches Over Us features an ensemble cast of girls, each navigating their relationships with themselves, one another, their school, and their faith. To solidify their relationship, a big sister is expected to give her prospective little sister a rosary that carries the promise that the older will always look out for the younger. It’s a woefully romantic series, and while the Lillian Girls’ Academy claims to have adopted the lily as its symbol due to the flower’s Christian purity connotations, we all know what’s really going on here—and it’s divine.

5. Aoi Hana

Also known as Sweet Blue Flowers, Aoi Hana is the story of Fumi Manjoume, who has just been accepted to the prestigious Matsuoka All-Girls High School. While initially focused on her studies alone, her academic plans go awry when she is suddenly reacquainted with her childhood best friend Akira, who she hasn’t seen for 10 years. As the pair reconnect, they quietly realize that their friendly feelings for one another have blossomed into something more. While yuri is a genre known for fluff, Aoi Hana addresses the reality of same-sex relationships in Japan with painful sincerity. The pair know that while they can pursue a relationship with one another, romantic feelings between women are not taken as seriously in Japanese society, and the girls could see their future together plagued with challenges because of it. Nevertheless, they choose each other.

4. Kase-San and Morning Glories

Don’t you just hate it when the two romantic leads take the entire series to confess their love for one another, and then the series ENDS once they start dating, depriving the viewer of subsequent warm fuzzies? Kase-San and the Morning Glories took note—this anime film begins with its two female leads striking up a relationship and continues from there. Shy green thumb Yui falls hard for boisterous track and field star Tomoka, and the two opposites pair up to navigate the nitty gritty of high school and college together. Unlike many yuri anime, where the relationship itself is the source of the drama, Kase-San and the Morning Glories sees its protagonists draw upon their relationship as a source of strength to meet life’s challenges—which is exactly how a healthy relationship should be.

3. Adachi and Shimamura

Sick of anime featuring two goodie-two-shoes lovers? Adachi and Shimamura kicks that chip off the old block and into the gutter. High-schooler Adachi doesn’t give a honk about academics, and would rather spend her time cutting class, as cool kids are wont to do. During her adventures in truancy, she meets fellow class cutter Shimamura, and the pair decide to spend their days sticking it to the man together. As the pair dive headfirst into the wonderful world of juvenile delinquency, they discover feelings for each other on the way down. What’s more romantic than blowing off math class to stare into each other’s eyes? I’ll wait.

2. Bloom Into You

Bloom Into You’s protagonist Yuu Koito meets romance with a “meh.” After turning down yet another confession from a male classmate, Yuu concludes that matters of the heart just don’t matter to her. She soon sees her classmate Touko do the same to another boy, and the two girls strike up a friendship based on their mutual ambivalence toward love. As you might expect, it turns out they were both simply looking for it in the wrong place. While their love gets off to a rocky start due to a mistimed confession, they slowly begin to understand their feelings for one another, leading to a deep romance that doesn’t pull any narrative punches. Fluff this is not—it’s real, messy love.

1. Revolutionary Girl Utena

Aside from being one of the greatest magical girl anime ever made, Revolutionary Girl Utena is the PINNACLE of yuri. The plot centers around the pink-haired Utena—the object of affection for literally everyone in her high school regardless of gender. One day, Utena sees her classmate Anthy getting smacked around by her d*ck of a fiancé and decides to step in. In doing so, she ends up challenging Anthy’s husband to a duel after inadvertently invoking an ancient ritual. It’s revealed that Anthy is a magical being known as the Rose Bride, and by defending her from her now-ex, Utena has officially become Anthy’s protector, her keeper, and her wife. The best part? Utena fights her enemies with a magical sword that is housed in Anthy’s chest—relationship goals.