In the mid-2010s, the runs of two of the three existing quarterly yuri manga magazines, Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari published by Shinsokan and Tsubomi published by Hobunsha came to an end, leaving some yuri artists with unfinished series and no place to serialize them. Some of those series continued online, and at least one, Hiromi Takashima's Kase-san and... series resumed serialization and is still ongoing in Shinsokan's flagship magazine Wings.

At that same time, yuri sections at Comic Markets and dedicated yuri doujinshi events were steadily growing. A generation of artists was entering the field in a world that had never been without a yuri genre. Yuri artists were forming a much larger community, and they had the chance to network with each other through these markets. Many of them had worked with Ichinjinsha's yuri magazine, called Yuri Hime at that point, and had left for one reason or another. Yuri fans and creators who had enjoyed the halcyon days of three yuri manga magazines were ready for a new outlet. In 2017, several big yuri names joined together to form GaletteWORKS, the committee that would put together a new, independent, crowd-funded magazine named Galette. One of those big names told me that the name “Galette” was chosen as a response to my blog's name “Okazu.” At the time I began my blog, the word "okazu" was slang for lesbian sex scenes in porn, as it wasn't the "main course," per se. They chose the name, in part, I learned, because a "galette" is a whole meal!

Galette has no editorial board. It takes already-complete submissions, the kinds of stories creators were using for their comic event doujinshi. This led many established yuri artists to join early issues. The names attached to this project have shifted and changed over the years since the project began, but several names that have stuck around will be familiar to many yuri manga fans. These include Milk Morinaga and Mera Hakamada, whose books have been translated into English by Seven Seas Entertainment. Many of the early stories in the magazine were one-shot, doujinshi-like works. As time passed, some of the creators who hung on began creating longer serial stories. And that is what we see when we look at the first issue of Galette Special English Edition 01. This is not a one-for-one version of the original Japanese volume; it is an adapted edition for the English-reading audience.

Galette Special English Edition 01 includes localized cover art from the Japanese edition by pen, who has been the cover artist since the first issue. Immediately, this magazine feels a bit more stylish, a little more grownup than other manga magazines, as befits work that is mostly by adult women, creating for an adult, (presumably queer) reading audience. Additional color pages by pen from other issue covers are also included.

Because the Kickstarter campaign, which raised over US$45,000 for this inaugural issue, was so successful, the magazine includes works and color pages by Izumi Kitta, a voice actress, and veteran yuri manga artist Moto Momono, Haru Yatosaki, Nekohariko 22, and Ringo Hamano, Miyuki Yorita, Mera Hakamada, and Milk Morinaga.

The English edition marks the first time Hamano's work has been translated into English. Yorita, on the other hand, conducted a successful Kickstarter campaign for her own collected series her kiss, my libido twinkles and Hakamada's The Last Uniform was published, but never completed, in English by Seven Seas in 2007. Morinaga's current Galette serial, My Cute Little Kitten, is available in English from Seven Seas.

The book begins with “Liberty,” by Kitta and Momono, a series I like very much for its mood swings – a common feature of Momono's work. This story of a game company employee, Maki, drawn into the emotional whirlwind of a relationship with a rock singer is full of ups and downs and currently is unfinished at 2 volumes in Japanese, as Kitta has said she can not continue writing. Momono's art here is dark – that is to say it is frequently gothic, in this case in the form of Liz, the singer for the band Liberty. Emotionally unpredictable and gothic in clothing, there is a heaviness in her that the art conveys beautifully. Momono's art contrasts Maki's average life with Liz's high-energy concerts and unstable moods beautifully.

Milk Morinaga's contribution is a doujinshi previously unpublished in English about her characters from GIRL FRIENDS, her break-out series in English, also published by Seven Seas. Mari and Akko are the pink-cheeked girls we remember from Morinaga's series. The art which dates from years just after that concluded, is the exactly the same schoolgirls on a date, with some deep kissing closeups that we might expect.

This is followed by color pages and two chapters of That Woman In The Infirmary by Miyuki Yorita, a story of two school teachers with similar names, but completely different personalities. Yorita's art focuses on the adults in this school, one teacher is well-put together, the other drab, the art tense and imbued with frustration as the drab teacher admires the other.

Mera Hakamada's Fluffy, Fuzzy, Dreamy, is a more typical school life story about a “good” girl and a girl with low self-esteem who idolizes her. Hakamada's art has a tendency to have characters with slightly overlarge heads for their bodies, which I have always referred to as a “carnival head” look. It can distract from the story, if you're not used to it.

Color pages begin with I Want You To Show It Only To Me, a school life series by Nekohariko 22. Art and story here are firmly rooted in shoujo manga tropes. Yatosaki Haru's The Girls' Arcadia is a story about college roommates who create an idyll for themselves. Yatosaki's art style might not be as familiar to overseas readers as other artists'. There is a style that focuses on a frilly and cute life, full of teddy bears and fluffy things.

The final story is the opening of Sky Blue Melancholic, a school life series by Ringo Hamano. Art here is a plain, simple black and white story, with minimal backgrounds, not quite as stark as Kiriko Nananan's Blue, but very similar.The volume ends with more color pages and pages listing the project backers.

The mix of school and adult life scenarios uplifts the tone of the content. Not everything here is high school drama, and not every adult character is all that mature. Long-time manga readers will not find anything too experimental in these pages, but because this is an independent magazine, these are stories that the artists want to tell. With no editorial pressure, this is yuri as the creators envision it.

Galette WORKS also published a periodic doujinshi-style publication, with shorter, often more adult contributions than the main magazine (not that the magazine proper shies from nudity or sex) called Galette MEETS. The Special Booklet reward, with a cover by Milk Morinaga, feels very much like an adapted issue of MEETS, featuring short stories by the same artists who contributed to the main volume. Both the magazine and this booklet are the typical B5 size used for Japanese magazines, mooks, and doujinshi.

At the backer level chosen, I also received a small A5-sized copy of the first Japanese issue of Galette magazine. Of course, I have the original issue in Japanese, but this was a fantastic reminder of why I've been a supporter since the beginning. The volume includes work by several of the above artists and Amano Shuninta, Ōtomo Megane, Takemiya Jin, and Yotsuhara Furiko. The lineup of this initial issue of Galette was a clear indication of it being the spiritual successor to the aforementioned Tsubomi and Hirari magazines.

The translation here was handled by Red Strings Translation, a team that not only has good English-language skills but also an excellent grasp of otaku humor and life. They were suggested by several backers who had become familiar with their work for other Kickstarter collections, including Mutsumi Natsuo's Boyish² Butch x Butch Yuri Anthology. Although I promised myself that I would not review yuri for ANN, I felt that this debut issue of an independent yuri manga magazine in English was important enough as a historical moment for the yuri fandom in and outside of Japan, that I wanted to tell as many people as possible about it.

The Kickstarter for Galette Special English Edition 02 is already well past the final stretch goal and on its way to surpassing the first issue in support. For those who missed their chance to get Issue 01, as long as supplies last, that will be available as an add-on.

Not every yuri series is for every yuri reader. The advantage of a magazine is that you have a better chance of discovering yuri that appeals to you. With Galette magazine, you're getting the stories that the creators want to tell and that, hopefully, you want to read.