Inside Out
: A Yuri Tale (also known as just Inside Out) is a webcomic created by Kat Williams, AKA The Yuri Canon featuring the adventures of several young women in high school struggling with Gender identity, Sexuality and love, based around traditional yuri tropes with a twist. Originally started on Deviant Art back in Dec '08 the series has been updated frequently since then, then posted on Smack Jeeves and finally moved to Tapastic and Tumblr. The artist is also on Patreon , where pages can be previewed in advance by donors.
Inside OuT is the story of the struggles of dealing with one's sexuality and gender identity. The story starts by following Junior High School Graduates Mishima Hitomi as she tries to get up the courage to confess her love to her best friend, Shiina Ayumi. The two of them made a promise together that if they were accepted into Midori School of the Arts they would confess to the one they loved. However, things don't go according to Hitomi's plans and she finds herself heartbroken. Unwilling to let fate lead her life she cuts off her long hair and, with the help of her sister, gets a boy's school uniform for her first day at Midori High. Her friends don't take to her change very kindly and Hitomi finds herself getting even more depressed when she meets one of the School Princes, Ume Setsuko. With the help of Setsuko and a group of new friends Hitomi learns to be come comfortable with herself. Only Midori High isn't your normal school and soon Hitomi finds herself tangled in a web of relationships and drama with each passing day.
The School Princes:
- Setsuko is considered the top of the Prince Chart with her boiish looks and charm. Also the fact that she is a budding model and actress helps.
- Erimi is close second due to her close relationship with Setsuko and her musical talents and charm, to be the hardest to reach.
- Hitomi only started at the school recently, but has already attained the status of Prince due to her popularty before entering the school. Considered a Genius musician who is shy and mysterious many want to get to know her better.
- Ruiko is the school Basketball Prince. She knows how to pour on the charm and uses this to her own benifits (spoiler: however soon shows that she is manipulative and can quickly turn on anyone who crosses her.)
- Suzume is another sports Prince but little is known about her other then she hangs out with Ruiko and constantly wears a sports jacket. Some fans have referred to her as the "Wolverine Prince" do to her unusual hair cut.
Inside Out: A Queer Tale is a revised version of the comic. Inside Out: A Trans Tale is another series by the author which started as a series of side stories titled Inside Out: Another Tale.
Not to be confused with the Pixar feature Inside Out.
This webcomic provides examples of:
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: Setsuko refers to themself as a "Boi" and most of the school call them a "Prince" and she is known to wear a boy's school uniform in an all-girls school. At one point Setsuko brings up the idea of taking hormones to gain facial hair and is scolded for wearing a Tension bandage to flatten their chest. Still uses "She" and "Her" pronouns, Setsuko perfers to skirt the edge of the masculine spectrum, for now.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Hisa is shown to be like this, sent to get brooms to help clean the class she is quickly distracted by a knock at the door, "Brooms, Brooms, Brooms! DOOR!"
- Cast Full of Gay: Set in a all girls highschool, the series focuses on just the gay girls. Amusingly parodied in a 'omake' series of strips with one of the 'straight' girls lamenting her probably becoming 'shipping bait.'
- Childhood Friends: Since the school of Midori High is an Escaltor system many of the characters have been going to school together since Elementary school years. Yui and Hitomi have been friends since before Elementary school, while Ayumi became friends with them in their first years of school, just not Midori High. Erimi, Mikiko and Setsuko became friends in their first few years at Midori. Akira has her circle of friends too. Along with several others.
- Even the Girls Want Her: There are several girls who are referred to as the "School Princes" and pretty much every girl idolizes these girls in one form or another.
- Princely Young Man: Gender-inverted. The school unofficially elects 'princes', young women who are liked and admired by the cast. Also romantic idols.
- Yuri Genre: The main focus of the series. However there are no subtext relationships and the series is very up front about the lesbianism, Gender identity and sexuality in general. Kat wanted to follow the traditional tropes yuri has been formed on, but at the same time not dance around the subjects and be very blunt about who loves who, focusing on the relationships of the series above all else.
