The past met the present as the Yuri Revolution, Yuricon's all-yuri
event, was held on April 17th in Tokyo, Japan. The follow up event to
Yuricon 2003, the Yuri Revolution continued Yurikon LLC's commitment to
creating, distributing, and celebrating lesbian images and stories in
Japanese animation and comics.

Chaired by yuri manga artist, Rica Takashima, author of "Rica'tte
Kanji", the Yuri Revolution was sponsored by Erica Friedman, President
of Yuricon and ALC Publishing. Guests included yuri mangaka, Eriko
Tadeno; Bungaku Itou, the man who coined the term "yuri"; Mami
Hagiwara, editor of Anise, a Japanese lesbian magazine; Japan's most
famous lesbian author, Rieko Matsuura; shoujo manga scholar Matt Thorn;
Akiko Mizoguchi, a lesbian scholar of yaoi; shoujo and yuri mangaka,
Akiko Morishima; and Natsuko Mori, a lesbian essayist and sci-fi
novelist.

The first panel was a broad discussion of the history of Yuricon, and
of American yuri fandom, followed by a more focused panel in which
Guests discussed their feelings about creating yuri work. Following
this, attendees were treated to yuri-themed anime music videos and the
event ended with a "Yuri for Yuri Women" panel, in which the guests and
organizers chatted about their ideas and hopes for yuri anime and
manga. Press from both Western and Japanese sources attended the event,
which ended with a late night of karaoke, enjoyed by staff, guests,
attendees, and industry.

This event is just one of several developments for Yurikon LLC, which
recently signed a deal with Diamond Comics Distribution to distribute
their ALC Publishing yuri manga in North America. In October, Yurikon
is co-sponsoring Onna!, a festival of women's roles in anime and manga,
with Shoujo Arts Society.

For more information about Yuricon, ALC Publishing, or yuri manga and
anime visit our website at http://www.yuricon.com or email us at
yuricon@hotmail.com.