"Stand back a little, though... Everyone's gonna see us..."
"Oh... Err... So... Sorry..."
"... So... We should go where they can't see us..."
That's downright refreshing! Especially since the character's been, pretty much, a tsundere in the making up to this point.

"Please Mr. Monster... Don't Eat Furuka..."
In other words: "I've got that covered... There are other girls that I have no interest in that you can eat all you want!"

last edited at Mar 24, 2021 2:01PM

Shades of the early morning cafeteria scene between Remi and Hori in Horimiya:
[Not precise but close... I'm doing this from memory]
Remi: So... Miyamura is pretty hot, eh?
Hori: Huh?
Remi: Are you two dating? It sure looks like you are...
Hori: What? No... not at all...
Remi: Then he's fair game. Remi can take him.
Hori: Uh... I guess...
Remi: Great! Remi calls dibs!
Hori: NO! There's no dibs! He's MINE!
Remi: WHAAAAAT? You just said you're not dating and now you're saying he's yours?
Hori: I don't care! He's mine! I'll NEVER let you have him!

Stories like this would be less creepy and weird if they were just set in college.

Wow, what a good point. It would be really helpful in lot's of ways

That's a cultural issue, though. It is, sadly, a fact that high school-aged compensated dating is a very real thing in Japan. The main event that started the plotline was when the MC who insists that two girls can't be a legit couple was stating that she might give that a try to make more money, probably in reaction to the fact that she had been sexually harassed at the part-time job she had just quit, now that we have the full details about that. Sort of "If I'm gonna get groped on the job anyway, I might as well get paid better for it and have at least a chance of choosing which clients I want to make money from."

So far, at least, there hasn't been anything in this manga that has been nonconsensual, no matter how much the lady doth protest. She agreed to their bet and the terms of the bet included physical intimacy of the type that has occurred. In addition, the type of things they have done are not out of the ordinary for people of their age group in a relationship. Indeed, since they are 2nd year high schoolers, they are old enough that they are almost old enough to legally buy the porn they were watching. Yes, they are not technically old enough to watch porn, but, let's be real here... how many people who WANT to watch porn don't find a way to watch it before they are legally of age to watch it?

The next arc, showing Fuwa working at a lesbian bar as a 17-year-old, might be a bit more sketchy, but she's already stated that she's legally allowed to work there, but only until 10 pm and only if she doesn't handle alcohol. I presume she's working as a hostess, greeting guests and chatting with them if they request her company. This is another legal form of employment in Japan that, I'm sure, many people will find squicky and think is wrong, but it is a valid form of employment and looking down on the legal sex trade, especially the low end of it where there isn't any actual prostitution involved, is something that the Puritan founders of the USA would be ooooh so proud of! Right along with condemning gays and lesbians! There's not really any valid reason to do it. This isn't the TV hookers from 70s and 80s TV shows. It's entirely different.

Ask yourself: Would two years really make THAT big of a difference in this story? Were you REALLY that much more of an "adult" when you started college than you were your second to last year of high school? (My personal answer is NO! I am pretty sure I regressed in maturity when I went to college and didn't really recover to the place I was as a high school junior until about my junior year of college!)

There are definite parallels between the teachers' thruple and the MC's roommates, at least visually.

And the young girl suddenly sees a solution to ALL of her problems... and probably has already started growing her own arrows, whether she can see them or not.

The twist ending actually raises this one above the average.

Both of those girls are primed to lose their magical power really soon! If the "magical girls lose their power if they fall in love" thing is true, that is...

I'm not sure that's really subtext... I think they're in a real relationship. Found family is the best type of family.

last edited at Feb 22, 2021 2:09PM

I was hoping they were a couple...

Someone has a different definition of the word "Gentle" than most of the population....

Will she be able to control herself at home, alone with Mihoko... both of them soaking wet... and their clothes damp as well?

That credit page!

Haruki: "It feels like I'm doing something really messed up."

LOL Ya think?

I'm usually not a fan of emotional-trainwreck yuri, but I'm kinda loving this one. I just hope the "who's a good person" readers don't blow a gasket trying to identify the admirable moral center character in this situation.

If someone is searching a good character, they have picked the wrong manga. The only good character so far is the male teacher and i don't think he is suposs to have much importance beside for Mochida.

I don't know... Aya's mother is probably not totally messed up... she's just clueless about how messed up her daughter is. But... also not very important...

last edited at Feb 22, 2021 1:34PM

That's just too sad! She could at least not sit between them!

As for the story content about the couple... It makes sense that Nanoha might be thinking about getting a job instead of going to school since she isn't really the academic type. And she might have a better chance of doing that in Tokyo than in Sendai... maybe? Don't really know what the job market is like there. She could also look into trade schools once she moves to Tokyo and gets some part-time work, sharing an apartment with her girlfriend, of course...

last edited at Feb 19, 2021 6:00PM

I'm happy with both endings.

Agreed.

I also agree...

I appreciate that opinions can differ, but I don't really UNDERSTAND why so many people didn't see this ending coming. It was hinted at throughout the manga.

Kaoru pretty much came to the realization, through the events that occurred, that it was really Uta that made her life livable all along and not her brother, especially knowing that her brother had only married her because of a sense of guilt based on his last conversation with her dying mother. There were several scenes that hinted that she might be developing feelings beyond "sisterly" feelings for Uta earlier in the story, which were always commented on by readers and frequently highlighted on the credits page by the translators. You can say what you will about the "rushed" or "time skip" ending being an issue, but, frankly, any ending where they got together where there wasn't a significant amount of time between when Kaoru's marriage ended and she realized her growing feelings for her former sister-in-law, now roommate, would have seemed FAR too soon and a bit contrived after the way she left things the last time they talked, which was, pretty much, 'I still love your brother, but you were the person who kept me grounded and made me feel like I had a real family and possibly the person I truly needed to have with me all along.' Going from that directly to, 'I've changed my mind and I think I've fallen in love with you!' would have come across as false. Putting time between those events and Uta moving in with her, allowing Kaoru time on her own to become more her own person and then more time after they started living together again for her to come to grips with her real feelings makes much more sense. However, those would have been BORING manga chapters, so a time skip makes a lot of sense.

last edited at Feb 17, 2021 6:23PM

Well... the title doesn't lie!

And the totally coincidental giant boulder falling toward the heroine getting sliced in half by the hero with the giant sword in the school hallway provides JUST the inspiration needed... This manga is just too funny! It really deserves to be animated, but it would probably be best as a short, which would mean it would be relegated to forgotten land in the long run... Then again, the original Horimiya was a lot like the web version of this and the tank version of this is a bit more like the official version of Horimiya, so I suppose there is hope at some point... It's just too cute! (The art style is so important to it though...)

If she'd open her eyes she'd get an adult girlfriend!

And if it were more fleshed out the Glasses Friend would have been subtly undermining the MCs confidence in the Blond's true feelings all along, and telling the Blond she shouldn't confess too soon or she'll ruin their friendship, and then she's there to pick up the pieces... the master manipulator of the whole thing!

I love the ending of chapter 53! A classic gag!

seems really obvious kyoko is her sisters ex girlfriend

Ya think?

The art style is rather weird. I'm having trouble recognizing that the main character is supposed to be female.

I'd personally like to see more about Kyouko and the main character's sister's relationship, particularly why they aren't seeing each other at the moment, but that'll probably be revealed later.

I think the POINT of the main character's design is that she's supposed to look "boyish". Otherwise, she wouldn't get so upset when she's teased about looking like a boy. (Despite the fact that she's clearly wearing a girl's uniform and also clearly has breasts.

I do expect we'll find out more about why her sister and Kyouko broke up, though I'd bet it has SOMETHING to do with the fact that Nacchan is dating a guy now... that tends to put a damper on a relationship... when you start dating someone else... ya know... But if you look at the blurb for the manga on the main page, it suggests that Nacchan is going to be one of the primary characters in the story:

"At the age of 14, her first lover was her sister's former best friend, Kyoko. It was a time where Noriko would meet Kyoko after school and be thrilled by the smell of her adult perfume and enchanting eyes, nothing like spending time with her boring classmates. But why did Kyoko and her sister stop being friends in the first place? This is the story of three women and their discovery of what true "love" entails."

(The blurb also seems to have the name of the MC as Noriko instead of Ruriko,which doesn't match the translation. Since she's usually called Ruri, I hope Ruriko is right, otherwise it's a stretch to go from one name to the other.)

I think there's something off in the text messages on this page:

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_sisters_friend_ch01#18

For one thing, on the next page Ruri says "Saki-chan... She just doesn't understand... but I called her "dirty"..." When in the text messages it says "Yikes! You're dirty, Ruriko!!" (Which doesn't make sense...) The other question I have about that section is: WHO IS SAKI-CHAN? The top of the screen says Kyouko, which suggests it's a chat screen on Ruri's phone with Kyouko, yet she's not calling her Kyouko... If her name is Kyouko Saki, that might explain it, but she hasn't referred to her as Saki prior to that and she doesn't after that. And the girl Kyouko is dating calls her Kyou-chan, so it doesn't really make Saki a strong contender for part of her name... Oh well... probably just a translation glitch...

Let’s have a smoking tag so I never have to see such things ever again

God you people are weird

Not a fan of smoking, but THAT is the offensive thing in this manga that burns your eyes beyond redemption? It might help to recall that this story is written and published in Japan, which, though in decline, is a country that still has one of the higher percentages of their adult population who smoke.

Hmmm. I don't know if I love the whole ~humans are flawed~ angle (read: making characters flawed with things like age gaps, cheating, smoking, rape, etc for the sake of "realism" instead of just giving characters more depth personality-wise) this is taking. I don't know if there's a more appropriate term for it (I feel like 'edgy' would be too harsh) but a lot of manga/anime are guilty of doing it without even making the characters 3-dimensional in the first place. I don't want to judge this manga so harshly so early into its run so hopefully I'm just jumping the gun here.

Well, that's thing people do in real life, I'm not sure why in a story grounded in reality a character couldn't have such flaws ?

It's kind of hard to criticize a story for "lack of character depth" when there is only one chapter out, isn't it? Not to mention the fact that the character of Kyouko is purposefully designed to be "mysterious" to Ruri. She's not supposed to understand her or why she's drawn to her at this point. She doesn't know why Kyouko stopped being "friends" with her sister. I'm sure that a large part of the plot is Ruri finding out that Kyouko and her sister were far more than just friends and that they used to do things like kiss and possibly even more than that... and then realizing that how similar she and her sister look might be part of the reason Kyouko is interested in her.

I'm curious about the re-gifting plotline. It's clear that Kyouko would have expected that Nacchan would eventually notice that all of her gifts were now showing up in her sister's room. The question is: Was it a not so subtle FU to her ex, a plea to her ex to think of her again, or just divesting herself of painful memories without regard for what her ex would make of the destination of the items?

last edited at Feb 9, 2021 5:26PM

Pretty much saw that one a mile away...

The end of Chapter 12 is a HUGE leap in character growth for Hinako! Sure, she's not outright confessing her feelings to Asahi, but she is at least asserting herself, taking advantage of the opportunity Asahi has provided for her, and stating her desires (in a sense, at least, by saying "I want to have you all to myself").

This manga is another great stride in representation in yuri manga! Hinako realizes that she is in love with Asahi, though she doesn't necessarily feel sexual attraction, at least not yet. This suggests that Hinako MIGHT be asexual/homoromantic, or she could be a demi-sexual lesbian. It was very clear from the early part of the manga that she has NEVER felt either sexual or romantic attraction to men. Over the course of the 12 chapters so far, it is clear that she DOES feel a romantic attraction toward Asahi. However, she seems to be wavering about whether she is interested in a physical relationship. Of course, we really don't know what Asahi's position is on any of this since she has pretty much closed herself off from relationships of any sort in order to be mother, father, and older sister to Subaru.

I really am looking forward to the next chapter! I expect it will reveal some hidden emotions at least!

For an interesting take on the topic of legalized prostitution including reasons for choosing to work as a sex worker, the impact on relationships, and entrenched bias in society, see Harper Bliss' "Pink Bean Series" volumes 7-9.

If you are interested in a summary of the novels, see the spoilers:
Volume 7, "Love Without Limits", only briefly touches on the sex trade, introducing one character who is a sex worker and another who frequently uses escort services. Volume 8 focuses on the character who frequently uses escort services during a particularly trying time in her life. Complicating matters, the escort service has to send a replacement escort because her "usual" escort has retired. The story delves into the different ways escorts can help people with personal problems they don't feel comfortable exposing to co-workers and friends but need help dealing with none the less. (One might think this is what therapists are for, but hey, they cost about the same and one probably leads to considerably less drug use... and it's not the prostitute!) It also deals with the concept of falling in love with your client, which is an age-old trope, but then deals with how one goes about dating a FORMER client when they no longer purchase your services but you are continuing to work as a sex worker because you have goals and don't want to take a hand-out from your new girlfriend in order to achieve them. Volume 9 deals with life as a retired sex worker and dealing with bias against the sex trade in both interpersonal relationships and business relationships. The novels are set in Australia. They are part of a series, but reading the previous books in the series is not usually necessary to enjoy each volume. The main character of a volume is frequently introduced in a prior volume of the series, though, so it's not a bad idea to read them all... and they're quite good. In particular, Volume 7 might be easier to understand if one reads an earlier volume in the series, Volume 3: "Everything Between Us" which is the story of how the two main characters in Volume 7 start their relationship, while Volume 7 is the story of how they continue on in their relationship and begin to open the relationship up while maintaining their commitment to each other. It's probably one of the more controversial of the novels in the series. (One of the characters is a firm "non-monogamist", which doesn't mean she cheats. There is this thing called consent. But she does have a history of not having relationships last. I found it interesting that Ms. Bliss chose to never use the term "polyamory" in her writing, but after reading two volumes of novels about the character, I understand that it is not the correct term. The character doesn't fall in love with multiple people, she merely believes that sex is something that can be enjoyed independent of romantic love and it is unhealthy to stifle those types of feelings. One might say that she probably had not felt real romantic love for anyone prior to meeting the other main character in these novels. Not particularly something I understand, but it is different from polyamory as I understand it as well.

God, so much flufff, not an ideal ending, and definitely shallow in parts. There's a lot of them coming to terms with jealousy and dealing with the realities of polyamory that I would have liked to have seen, but I enjoyed it a ton all the sake

i dont like the ending. author really did go to the trio relationship (or luminous=blue route). dont judge me, just didnt like it. like bro, just choose one person. again, disgusting ending. didnt like it.

Like I get that's its not your thing and don't have issue with that, but calling it disgusting a sentence after saying you don't want to be judged is pretty :/ like you know poly lesbians in happy relationships exist right?

Exactly! 'Don't judge ME, but I am free to judge others with extreme prejudice.' That's like prefacing a statement with "No offense, but..." That is almost always a prelude to saying something offensive.

Polyamory exists. To someone who is poly, the desire to claim ownership over another human and restrict their freedom to love others is what would be viewed as disgusting.

And, in the end, it was VERY clear from the first page of the manga that this was a story about a polyamorous triad, so... if that's not your thing, you have no one to blame but yourself for actually reading the manga. Nobody forced you to read it and it was very upfront about what it was.

As for the end of Volume 1: It's fantastic, but it has a very "ending" feel, as opposed to an "end of volume" feel. I was actually quite surprised when it said Volume 2 was coming out in March. I'm really happy that Canno isn't just ending it at the point where the relationship has been established, though. Exploring the difficulties, and joys, of making a polyamorous triad work, as well as the continuing development of Akira's feelings as she grows into her love for Mayuki and Rin as her love for Akira deepens should be a lot of fun. I also expect that we'll get more info on some of the side characters like Mayuki and Akira's friends as well as Rin's exes. I have to wonder if Chiyono is going to be an antagonist despite having claimed to move on after seeing the trouple together.

Looking forward to it!

last edited at Feb 3, 2021 11:23AM