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So from what I understand, the yuri genre is always written in kanji, like this, 百合. However, I noticed that the title of the anime has yuri written in katakana, ユリ. So if the anime is a yuri series, then why would they write it in katakana instead of kanji?

Zain Alleck
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1 Answers1

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This is basically an aesthetic choice. There is no "one correct way" to write a made-up phrase like this. In this case, I can think of several possible explanations:

  1. Even if yuri is one of the themes of the anime, 百合 in kanji would look too direct and explicit. ユリ in katakana works more like a suggestive keyword, which was enough in this case.
  2. 百合熊嵐 would appear to be a 四字熟語 and thus feel too "traditional" or "serious".
  3. 百合熊嵐 is a little harder to parse and recognize because there is no clear word boundary. On the other hand, anyone can tell ユリ熊嵐 is an eye-catching made-up word instantly.

These may or may not be correct. BTW, ゆるゆり is a similar example. Here the title is in all-hiragana to emphasize the cuteness or easygoing-ness or the work. Someone who sees it for the first time may not recognize it's related to yuri, but that's expected.

Related:

naruto
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  • Thanks @naruto. I was wondering, the genre/slang for yuri is often written in kanji, correct? Second, yuri only means lesbians when you use kanji. As I said before, the kanji for yuri can mean lesbian or the flower. So couldn't kanji be used in this context as a wordplay and be ambigious as kanji could mean/refer to both? So is katakana used to like emphasize in this case then? – Zain Alleck Feb 26 '20 at 07:56
  • @ZainAlleck Yes the genre itself is typically written in kanji in ordinary Japanese sentences, but that does not mean you have to consider it a hard rule and apply it to a peculiar made-up title like this. Regardless of whether it's in kanji, katakana, hiragana or English alphabet, people will eventually understand the word is actually a reference to female-female romance. – naruto Feb 26 '20 at 08:10
  • @zain, ok but in general, for the slang reference, it's mainly written in kanji? Someone said its often writtten in katakana? On that side, 2. On that note, I had a question about ambiguity. So for example, if I wanted to merely hint/imply a character was gay by saying they like lilies because they are symbol of girls love, how would I write saying they like "yuri no hana" Would I use katakana or kanji for yuri no hana? – Zain Alleck Feb 26 '20 at 12:11
  • @ZainAlleck Please keep in mind that 百合, ユリ, ゆり, Yuri, YURI and yuri are essentially the same word regardless of the notation. As I said, it's typically written in kanji in ordinary sentences when it refers to girls' love. However, creating a title is a completely different story that involves all sorts of aesthetic decisions. Whether this word has a sexual connotation completely depends on the context, just like the English word "slash" sometimes has a sexual connotation in certain contexts. – naruto Feb 26 '20 at 15:07
  • thank you. 1. So the flower is usually written in katakana, correct. I wanted to ask you this. http://otegaru-info.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/T-Tit-Ir-co-Ron-ult_page-0003-e1571668755507-349x530.jpg I was asking cuz I was reading a manga series where a characters favorite things are said to be the lily flower-written like yuri no hana in katakana and usually favorite things reference a character trait and some think the author is using that to hint she's gay cuz of the flower-lesbian thing. So if Katakana is used, does it make the lesbian implication unlikely – Zain Alleck Feb 26 '20 at 15:39
  • is Katakana ever used to refer to girls love as well? – Zain Alleck Feb 26 '20 at 15:40
  • @ZainAlleck This ユリの花 simply refers to a flower named lily, and nothing more. Nothing changes if it were 百合の花 or ゆりの花. See also this. Many people like lilies, and that's not special. Of course this might possibly be a "hint" of something, but judging from this article I would say it's unlikely. – naruto Feb 26 '20 at 15:55
  • why would you say it is unlikely that it is a hint? Second, I was told that you cannot write it with kanji because in that context you should not write it in kanji because it is referencing the species so it falls under the realm of foreign/scientific terms that generally use katakana. The particle "no" is a possessive. If a sentence is structured as X no Y it means trait or person X takes possession of object Y. In this context Lily is the trait taking possession of object flower so it's identifying the object of flower by species. – Zain Alleck Feb 27 '20 at 00:22
  • if it wanted to hint yuri/lesbianism, kanji would be used correct? – Zain Alleck Feb 27 '20 at 00:25
  • also, doesn't it say this Also, doesn't it say this: 親友の有弓には「銀河一かわいい」と非常に愛でられている。 – Zain Alleck Feb 27 '20 at 00:32
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Zain Alleck Feb 27 '20 at 00:56
  • did you see my other messages btw? – Zain Alleck Feb 27 '20 at 19:30
  • @ZainAlleck Please see the chat – naruto Feb 27 '20 at 22:57
  • hey, this is late but i had one more question. When you said this: However, in manga, pop music or casual blogs, 百合 and ユリ are basically interchangeable and there is no difference in usage and nuance. Does this mean katakana is used to refer to the genre as well or that is not the case/rare? – Zain Alleck Mar 23 '20 at 06:41
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    @ZainAlleck That sentence is about the flower. – naruto Mar 23 '20 at 06:46
  • Ok then. I was wondering then, do you watch my hero academia/read it? – Zain Alleck Mar 23 '20 at 16:26
  • do you watch/read hero academia @naruto – Zain Alleck Mar 24 '20 at 07:03
  • do you watch hero academia? – Zain Alleck Apr 09 '20 at 20:37
  • @ZainAlleck No, I only read some introductory articles. Does that matter? – naruto Apr 09 '20 at 22:39
  • Oh was curious. Anyway, the reason why some folks in the west think that ねじれちゃん is gay is because she likes the flower and her best friend who is a girl thinks she is the cutestin the galaxy and in the light nove, this occured https://imgur.com/a/kvGsTAn I was wondering, what do you think @naruto – Zain Alleck Apr 15 '20 at 23:27
  • if you don't mind me asking, what would you say to that? – Zain Alleck Apr 18 '20 at 05:32
  • @ZainAlleck As you can see here, and as I explained many times, ユリ is a very common flower and just because someone likes it does not mean she is a lesbian. I know several real female people named 百合 and they are of course not lesbians. For a specific character, please ask at somewhere else like Anime & Manga Stack Exchange. – naruto Apr 18 '20 at 05:49