Yuri meta
Whether ベルサイユのばら itself was Yuri, or their relationship specifically?
I did see some complaints about the queer elements (that relationship, nobles showing interest in Oscar, etc) being removed. But I only survived 15 min of the movie. So idk
I think that’s a fair, and potentially useful, way to look at them. Like I wouldn’t tell a yuri fan “don’t watch these, they’re bait”. But if someone was going into them wanting explicitly overt yuri, I’d warn them it’s not that kind of show.
For context I also put ゆるゆり (which is undeniably yuri) in this category. All 3 series have noticeable yuri or yuri-like elements that will (afaict) never go beyond fan service/teasing, by design. So in that sense they could be called bait (have yuri bait elements).
Otoh New Game & Bocchi are about other things, and never claimed to be yuri - so in that sense, they’re not. (Even tho New Game has a canon couple in the cast + roommates (who I thought were a couple too, before I’d even heard of yuri)). Ironically the only one of those series I dislike is the actually yuri one 
Do you have a source for it being apparently not intended? It’s hard to take that at face value, especially once you get to Rebellion(?) and Homura actually tells her/us wtf is going on.
I’m due for a rewatch one of these days. Also I just learned that Urobuchi Gen was the writer… which makes me even more intrigued… since a lot of his writing is very unsettling
I haven’t seen yet. Have gotten the impression it’s yuri-adjacent (ie very gay in some places, but not quite yuri)
Curious - are you familiar with 声優ラジオのウラオモテ S1 | L24 or ロックは淑女の嗜みでして S1 | L26 - for me the former is basically in subtext yuri (and at least through vol 6, Yumiko has inner monologue that’s hard to read as anything but her being attracted to Chika) and the latter is “yuri but does it differently” (specifically it does it through metaphor and symbolism). I’ve seen them both called yuri or bait, by different people.
That is what I meant. 熱帯魚は雪に焦がれる | L24 is my pet example. I’ve also seen 思ってたのと違うあの子の話【電子特典付き】 (中経☆ス) | L24?? and やばいアイドルのマネージャーになっちゃった話 1 | L24?? mentioned in this context (though I have not read them yet). My third example (maybe spoiler for something you’ve partially read) would be マリア様がみてる 1 | L30 - which some people frame solely as “do Yumi and Sachiko get together romantically”, and even call bait, even though they’ve been in a relationship for the entire series. As an aside about that series and poly stuff: because of the 3 generation souer pairings, I think that マリみて actually portrays a lot of the dynamics of poly relationships pretty well, even though it wasn’t really conceived with that in mind
As an aside, I’d personally like to see a few more yuri stories where it doesn’t work out (unrequited, never confessed, broke up, was only meant to be short term, something else prevented, etc) - cuz like that happens IRL too. If every yuri has to have the same happy ending, it gets kinda boring imo. Mostly only see that in one shots though.
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