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On Right Stuff and Anime News Network it indicates that Maria†Holic is shoujo-ai/yuri but Wikipedia doesn't say this. (For reference, Citrus on the same sites is listed as shoujo-ai/yuri.)

Also, Wikipedia, Right Stuff and Anime News Network have almost the same description which is

Maria Holic revolves around a high school girl named Kanako Miyamae, who is scared of boys and breaks out in hives if a boy touches her. During her second year of high school, she enrolls in an all-girls school hoping to find a female romantic partner. However, her ideal candidate, Mariya Shidō, turns out to be a sadistic cross-dressing boy.

Now sure, the premise might be interesting, a story about a girl getting over her fear of men through dating a cross-dressing guy (going by only what's been quoted) but if there is one thing I really, really, really really really hate it's being lied to about shoujo-ai/yuri, so how is Maria†Holic shoujo-ai/yuri? Are there actually lesbian relationships in it?

NOTE: I ask fully expecting spoilers.

senshin
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Memor-X
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    because even he is cross dressing , on the first glimpse people will see 2 normal girl lovey dovey . – Tanya von Degurechaff Sep 07 '16 at 03:18
  • @NamikazeSheena but the genres and themes aren't for the benefit of the characters in the story (and unless they break the 4th wall they're not even aware), they're for the benefit of the audience who is reading/watching. it's like saying Bleach is Slice of Life because at first glimpse Ichigo and his friends are normal teenagers, but half of them fight even spirits and dead people most of the time – Memor-X Sep 07 '16 at 03:23
  • hmmmm,i'm not good explaining it, maybe if you read Uso Lily you will understand – Tanya von Degurechaff Sep 07 '16 at 03:26

1 Answers1

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I've read the manga up through Volume 5, and I would describe it as a yuri comedy. None of the girl-girl relationships are developed in real depth, but Kanako is definitely a lesbian and is only attracted to Mariya insofar as he appears to be a girl. The two of them are not dating and Kanako has no interest in getting over her fear of men; in fact, Mariya's torture probably deepens her fear of men.

Kanako actually spends most of her time in the series chasing/lusting after various cute girls who are bona-fide females, such as her tomboy sempai Ryuken, the rotini-haired student council president, and Mariya's identical twin sister Shizu, who is a girl in disguise as a boy at an all-boys school (and hates men due to her experiences there). The comedy gets steadily weirder and takes over more and more as the series goes on, but Kanako being a lesbian is pretty much her defining trait and she never shows any sign of being attracted to men or of wanting to be.

If you're looking for a deep, romantic story, it's definitely not this, but there is real girl-girl attraction in Mariya-holic, so in that sense it can be called yuri.

Torisuda
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