Wait what, what's up with this, is there a time skip or something? Is that Erika? And what do you mean you two broke up? Were you even dating? I'm so confused man

Tl:DR answer: yes there's a short skip, yes it is Erika, who apparently got her hair cut. No they haven't broken up, Akebi suggest (doing a play of) breaking up to stop the yurification of the school. Yes they are dating, but I feel like Akebi doesn't quite get the specifics yet.

Very long answer + a bit of speculation:
It's definitely Erika, (they talk about being in the theater club, she calls Akebi "komichi" which I think only her family does)
Akebi is suggesting breaking up (maybe not even for real, just having a performance of breaking up) to stop the yuri boom. Erika immediately shuts the suggestion down.

I feel like akebi only suggested it without really thinking about how she felt about it and, even though she doesn't like it, she suggests it because she is thinking in a problem solving way, it will be interesting to see how she reacts next chapter, when Erika's reaction makes the emotional stakes clear to her.

I also think that Akebi hasn't quite realized that her emotions about Erika aren't irrational and she should act on them more, she says that if Erika is serious about the girl who proposed to her she should date her. The lighting getting darker in the scene as she says it makes it clear that she doesn't like saying it but I think she either doesn't get how far she is allowed to go in wanting Erika for herself (because she is a people pleaser with a bit of a tendency to put herself last) or that she still feels like she isn't good enough (despite Erika going "you are so awesome it sometimes makes me mad)

Honestly the school should just stop being such hardasses about everything. Or maybe this will be the start of Akebi and Erika's rebel arc.

last edited at Aug 27, 2026 6:55PM

This was a bait and switch huh? Since we are led to believe Erika is no longer around. Then we see this new short haired blonde who is somehow very familiar with Komichi to the point she's on first name basis and... is part of the 4 (technically 5 counting hebimori) member drama club, and is wearing a very similar blazer tie trouser combo that only Erika wears in the school then it hits you that OH THAT IS ERIKA!

Honestly i don't think we can accuratly guess what the general overaching storyline is going to be from here since a timeskip undoubtedly occured and we don't have enough leverage from the 3 chapters post kiss. So like, as always I just gotta hope hiro cooks.

However about Erika hair cut reveal... I like it alot. Seems like the natural conclusion to her becoming the "prince" of the story and the story being a reflection of her and Komichi's real life romance and is a fun way of indicating that her thought about cutting it way back in chapter 78 had weight to it (pls she's cute af... she's not ugly guys...) If people still have doubts on whether the girl is Erika or not, cross check the way Hiro draws the edges of her bangs and notice its hatched the exact same way here (long, thin, multiple strands / compared to hotarus more sparse strands and nawashiros more rounded bang shape)

I think essentially, a new obstacle has appeared: the more Komichi and Erika gay gay lesbian, the more they feed into the gay frenzy that is their school rn. Komichi is incentivized to not act on her love for Erika in order to stop this. I think udfets makes some really illuminating points about how this predicament will challenge Komichi. It’s designed pit Komichi’s people pleasing tendencies, the way she sidelines herself, and her low self-esteem against a precious love. She must learn to treasure their relationship and champion her own desires, for once.

Komichi’s role in the story is largely made up of what she symbolizes to other people. That is, an indomitable will for good and the purest act of self-actualization that goes beyond the superficial. She has been the core of her classmate’s transformation into more full people because she led by example for how to act, unadulterated by shame and the justifications they cocoon themselves with to stop pursuing their authentic desires. Her stardom is the natural result of her magnetic and deeply resonating personal philosophy for living life. She is, as the story built her out to be, an ideal to idolize, a subject of admiration to model after.

But now this idol girl who finally got her just desserts must struggle against the very condition of being known and admired by others. The stardom she fought for during the festival, that she literally got two chapters ago, is at odds with her happiness. Komichi’s purest form of self-expression will be to love Erika openly, but can she do that as she is? She has spent so long being a symbol, but now she must learn to pull back from the public’s opinion and learn to retreat into and defend her private concerns. She can’t be both a symbol, a clean ideal, and also be someone with the messy desires brought on by love. This tension is there in her willingness to break up with Erika without complain if Erika had indeed found someone else she loves, choosing to do what’s right for Erika while steamrolling over any negative emotions she may feel from that*—highly unsustainable behavior. This tension, the pain brought on by future instances of ignoring her own desires, will keep building until she’s left with no choice but to choose between stardom or happiness. I predict that by the end of this arc we will peel back Komichi’s unproblematic good girl persona and reveal the much more complex and much more messy girl beneath.

*I can’t emphasize enough just how Quickly she decided to ”yeah I guess Erika found somewhere better. I’ll just lead myself out,” and “oh I guess I’ll do something that would hurt my soul such as pretending to be cold to someone I love, every hour that I’m at school. This is fine” without a SINGLE protest or any hesitation. This is incredibly unsustainable and completely at odds with her desires. Shes just like yeah I guess I’ll throw my happiness away. She is just so…. starts shaking uncontrollably. RAH.

Also sorry for ragging on Erika’s hair so harshly lol

TL;DR Komichi’s apparent willingness to perform a breakup is merely apparent but not actual. She’s unwilling, but just hasn’t gotten to the point where she can express these negative feelings due to her place in her and other people’s imagination as an ideal, unproblematic girl. Erika and Komichi are in love but Komichi needs to learn that she can be flawed, such as not wanting to break up with your gf, or curb your relationship because other people can’t keep their hands to themselves in public

last edited at Aug 27, 2026 9:49PM

I didn't even consider the possibility that wasn't Erika, that would be a very weird misdirection. But this whole timeskip has been a weird misdirection, so who knows.
Assuming that is Erika, maybe chapter 89 Komichi was waiting for Erika in abstract way and not in a physical separation way. From the chapter 56 conversation, Erika needs her dad's approval to go to high school at Roubai, maybe he stuck a stipulation on that they can't actually date yet or whatever.

Good luck getting teenagers to stop smooching once they find out it's an option, Glasses.

I agree with botmj and udfets' commentary, but especially:

She has spent so long being a symbol, but now she must learn to pull back from the public’s opinion and learn to retreat into and defend her private concerns

I believe that the mistress subplot might even be another way for Komichi to grapple with what "love" really entails. If she loves Erika, is that enough? If Erika loves her, does that mean she really has her all to herself? Etc.

My only fear is that it will take a year+ to resolve this plot, so we might be in the weeds for a while with how the pacing goes. But honestly, when it comes to story arcs, there hasn't really been something I disliked so far. Dialogue bubbles and unclear timeskips muddy it a bit, but it all just becomes something to think about in the long waits and I have no reason to be a pessimist when it comes to the story. I think all these side characters are super interesting, and I liked Hebimori's arc so much. I hope we get a musical rendition of her song one day. If Hiro can portray all these characters around Komichi that have complicated lives and messy feelings, well, it was bound to catch up to Komichi one day too.

So what if students at the school start dating each other? I mean, it can't be that that has never happened at all, right?

And of course, the most bizarre thing is taking those pictures of girls hugging and kissing. What the ...

The whole situation between Erika and Komichi makes little sense either. What the heck is going on between them? Was Erika gone? Are they together?

I never considered dropping this one completely, but here we are.

"Akebi and Erika put something in the water that turned all the students gay!"

"Akebi and Erika put something in the water that turned all the students gay!"

fr

Also Komichi, "hugging" each other? Surely she meant to say "embracing", they're kinda kissing...

Komichi calls the girl "Erika" but it got lost in the translation.

Komichi calls the girl "Erika" but it got lost in the translation.

Lol well everyone's theorising is out the window now since it is undoubtedly Erika. I can understand why the translators omitted 'Erika' in the line "If you are really serious about her" but i wish they kept Erika's name instead of the 'you'. Yes it's more conversationally clunky in English, but it deters from any confusion regarding Erika's identity since post timeskip has been vague about it her whereabouts and the next time readers see her, her iconic long hair is drastically cut short

last edited at Aug 28, 2026 4:08PM

She has spent so long being a symbol, but now she must learn to pull back from the public’s opinion and learn to retreat into and defend her private concerns

I believe that the mistress subplot might even be another way for Komichi to grapple with what "love" really entails. If she loves Erika, is that enough? If Erika loves her, does that mean she really has her all to herself? Etc.

Same with the idol subplot. Akebi has the adoration of the students, but that's indirectly causing problems for her relationship and school life.
It looks as if there is no way she can get out without facing consequences (or at least the school is framing it that way). If she and Erika break up on stage, she is disappointing her fans and retroactively ruining the performance they worked so hard for. But, not doing that can cause reputational damage to the school (which the school can frame as indirectly hurting the students) and cause trouble to her, Erika and the rest of the theater club. It really is a sticky situation. I feel like akebi has the resilience to rebel and maybe even call the school out on its hypocrisy of stating "personal freedom" so long as that freedom leads yo into doing the "normal" thing

We getting into Strawberry Panic territory

Komichi calls the girl "Erika" but it got lost in the translation.

Well shit, gotta say idk if it’s because Hiro’s art style has changed that much but face wise it just straight up doesn’t look like Erika to me. Like compare chapter 80 Erika to 91. Maybe the middle part is just fucking with me that much.

Komichi calls the girl "Erika" but it got lost in the translation.

Well shit, gotta say idk if it’s because Hiro’s art style has changed that much but face wise it just straight up doesn’t look like Erika to me. Like compare chapter 80 Erika to 91. Maybe the middle part is just fucking with me that much.

We're used to the bangs, she had them even when she started wearing the low ponytail. Seeing Erika with a middle part was probably what threw people off; she's always had bangs regardless of any other change

That said I still don't give a rat's ass about the haircut, I'm moreso focused on the fact that i haven't seen lovey-dovey KomiEri yet and Komichi herself is aiming a gun at it already

Catching up to last chapter, I didn't expect this manga to be this yuri yet still feel subtle.

Komichi calls the girl "Erika" but it got lost in the translation.

Well shit, gotta say idk if it’s because Hiro’s art style has changed that much but face wise it just straight up doesn’t look like Erika to me. Like compare chapter 80 Erika to 91. Maybe the middle part is just fucking with me that much.

We're used to the bangs, she had them even when she started wearing the low ponytail. Seeing Erika with a middle part was probably what threw people off; she's always had bangs regardless of any other change

That said I still don't give a rat's ass about the haircut, I'm moreso focused on the fact that i haven't seen lovey-dovey KomiEri yet and Komichi herself is aiming a gun at it already

Yes, that's my potential issue as well. Don't want things danced around for "poetics" sake. If handled well, the setup could lead to fun interactions though.

last edited at Aug 30, 2026 8:34AM

Komichi calls the girl "Erika" but it got lost in the translation.

Well shit, gotta say idk if it’s because Hiro’s art style has changed that much but face wise it just straight up doesn’t look like Erika to me. Like compare chapter 80 Erika to 91. Maybe the middle part is just fucking with me that much.

We're used to the bangs, she had them even when she started wearing the low ponytail. Seeing Erika with a middle part was probably what threw people off; she's always had bangs regardless of any other change

That said I still don't give a rat's ass about the haircut, I'm moreso focused on the fact that i haven't seen lovey-dovey KomiEri yet and Komichi herself is aiming a gun at it already

Yeah it was more so a cope on the slight chance it wasn’t Erika. That being said though ,Erika is very adamant about the relationship meanwhile Komichi is quite literally an airhead about love which I can only see as the series progressing towards an even more stable “real” relationship. There’s no way in hell you spend 7 volumes building up this relationship dynamic just to throw it away as a side note. Like “Hey Erika remember that one time we dated, man wasn’t that weird? Kissing was kinda cool though”, with 2 out of the 3 chapters in volume 17 having teases of Komichi and Erika getting “confessions” from other classmates I can see Hiro writing about the shallow crushes for drama to circle back to what love means to Komichi. End goal of the series is probably for Komichi to achieve her dreams and to show the process, relationships are nuanced parts of life, I believe in the slow burn. Also since this series definitely did not start out as a romance series, it’s unlikely that it will play out like one. Ideally this is an arc of Komichi figuring out romance and then the series goes back to Komichi being an icon and we have sprinkles of Erika and her’s relationship throughout as bonus. Ironically as much as I adore the two’s relationship the series realistically won’t survive if it’s just about them, this isn’t Moon on a Rainy Night or Whispering a Love Song where school is just the environment, school is pretty much the series.

We made a small update to the Erika and Komichi conversation to make it a bit clearer that it was Erika with the new 'do. Apologies for the confusion.

last edited at Sep 2, 2026 7:44PM