My favorite manga of all time. I re-read again and again always with new different feelings. Reading and knowing this is one of the things I love about myself.

last edited at Mar 18, 2016 9:50AM

So that was it...

One of my faves, the story itself seems more realistic by bringing in these characters that have these faults and personalities that can be seen within ourselves or with people we know. I guess one of the parts that still bugs me the most after reading this manga a couple times is when Yukino cheated. I understand what was meant, I just thought it was a dick move.

last edited at May 26, 2016 12:35AM

This aaaangst is killing me XD

What perfect story has everything

Honestly a very well-written story, definitely one that will stay with me for a long time. The plot is very mature, and character development stands out. I love that the characters are so three-dimensional and have such depth in character. The author really explores change and growth on so many different levels. Easily one of my favorites!

last edited at Aug 3, 2016 4:37AM

That's all? No extra chapter.. Really.

I still like this one. It's about defining yourself, what's the process Yukino goes through (and why she's a bit narcissistic, because that's useful when you're trying to define yourself). It's very much a story for grown ups who want a story about coming of age in general. I like how her job is a not inconsequential factor in the story (and not something she can just half-ass/whine about). How she has to deal with the consequences of past decisions (being only a middle school graduate), etc. She's not some wunderkind highschooler who has the world at her feet. She's a flawed character with a past who is uncertain about the future, as most adults are. Granted, she doesn't have good judgement, but that's expected for 18 year olds.

If you want to escape to a world of fantasy where only love matters, this isn't the comic for you. If you want to read a story about a young adult finding her place in the world, this may suit you better.

Goddamn, Yukino is an insufferable, selfish attention whore who is constantly victimizing her way out of every adult situation ever. And here I was thinking I was bad with people.

S-she gets better

Yukino gets waaaaay to much hate. The only thing I disliked about her was that time she Slept with that one guy and that's it. I don't really mind her. She isn't as mature as Setsuko Y'know. She's 18 ( which is the age when teens start doing shit they'll regret later in life ).

Required reading.

Yukino gets waaaaay to much hate. The only thing I disliked about her was that time she Slept with that one guy and that's it. I don't really mind her. She isn't as mature as Setsuko Y'know. She's 18 ( which is the age when teens start doing shit they'll regret later in life ).

I didn't hate her for sleeping with the guy. Her entire conception of her self and her plans for the future were based on her assumption that she was straight. Like, even the fact that she's never really been attracted to men is just explained to her by Japan's cult of female purity, she just assumes that one day she'll meet her future boyfriend and everything will finally click into place.

Sleeping with the guy is a move of desperation, she's not attracted to him. But she's in a really bad place emotionally, and she basically tries to force herself heterosexual... And of course, it doesn't work. It's her lowest moment, but after that she does start to come to terms with herself.

It also kinda demonstrates her changing view of her relationship with Setsuko. When she has sex with the guy iirc she still hasn't really come to terms with them being a couple, in the same way that a man and woman would be a couple. Their relationship is kind of undefined and fleeting - at least to Yukino, who just can't really conceive of two women being a real couple, or of Setsuko being willing to commit in that way. So her sleeping with someone else, especially with a man, is not exactly cheating, because she doesn't know what Setsuko is to her, she doesn't think there's any future there. But later on Yukino does feel guilty over it, because now she thinks of their relationship as real, that they're a couple and that Yukino cheated.

Yay, finally got around to this one, completely forgot it existed. I'm on Chapter 9 right now, and, uh...is this "masterpiece" supposed to have this rough of a start? I'm sort of remembering now why I stopped for a while and completely forgot about it. It's a weird feeling having a story trying to give off the vibe of being mature while simultaneously having my suspension of disbelief slowly breaking as I go along; and this is before I inch ever closer to those Het tagged chapters. Oh boy, I can see this coming a mile away even without reading any of the comments based solely on how our protagonist has acted so far.

Edit: Also nine chapters in and it already made me realize that my age is inversely proportional to how "mature" I want any form of media nowadays. I can handle and preferred stuff like this years ago but now I need to take a break every few chapters with all these insecurities weighing down on me too much. Can our protag, like, chill and be happy, for at least half a chapter without finding something problematic? :(

last edited at Jan 3, 2017 4:00PM

You remember..in the bath that time.
Did i fart?

that was..i dunno, i couldn't stop laughing. now I'll get back to reading last chapters.
edit: that was so cute (except het parts..anxiety got too strong near them), and didn't have a bad ending!!! but yeah, it was really, really angst, i felt it the whole time reading it.

last edited at Feb 25, 2017 2:53PM

I'm skeptical to read this. it says het....should I be afraid? I hate het in every way. at least, in the entertainment I try to enjoy. someone reassure me this is worth reading and the het wont deter me

The main character and the love interest are lesbians, but the main character discovering and coming to terms with their sexuality is a major part of the plot and het interactions are an element of that.

Personally, I really like the story, think it's very good, and generally recommend it to people looking for a grounded - but still very compelling - exploration of lesbian identity in manga.

last edited at Jul 19, 2017 1:45AM

my intro yuri glad to see it again

There aren't that many long, completely scanlated yuri stories out there that are bit more serious, so in that way I appreciate Octave. But I think it's mostly down to there not being much competition - it has it's moment, but I definitely feel there's a lot there that could have been done better (well, going by memories, it's been a while).

Been a very long time since I've read this.
Always thought of it as my favourite but since I was still new to the yuri back then I was worried that it wouldn't still stand up.

Nope, still one of the best, still love it.
Keeping its spot.

Found out about this manga thru a youtube video that recommended it, and I just finished it. Glad I checked it out because it's new favorite for sure, and probably my favorite yuri manga now. I wish it was more well-known because it deserves more attention, or maybe it did have attention when it was came out and it's just simply the fate for things to become less popular or forgotten over the years (unless it becomes a timeless classic or too popular to die).

Lots of Yukino hate, but people have already said the reasons why I like her. The only thing other thing I could ask from this manga is another chapter or volume to see what happens next, but honestly it's fine like this and it's just me being selfish. It's kind of like how a lot us don't know what the future has in store for us, even when we're trying to better ourselves and we may improve or may continue to be stuck where we are at. It's really exciting and scary at the same time, but the ending ended on a somewhat positive so I'm sure . I love the ending so much and I hope everything will turn out okay for them. Can't wait to reread sometime in the future.

Kind of sucks that the mangaka just seems to have faded away into nothingness. I've tried looking for more of their stuff, but this is their only work to be translated (even if there are only 2 other manga they have done). The homepage they used is gone too. It seems like the last manga they worked on ended, or at least stopped publishing volumes, in 2014 and I can't find out anything about them after that time. I hope they're doing alright ;__;

Yukino gets waaaaay to much hate. The only thing I disliked about her was that time she Slept with that one guy and that's it. I don't really mind her. She isn't as mature as Setsuko Y'know. She's 18 ( which is the age when teens start doing shit they'll regret later in life ).

I didn't hate her for sleeping with the guy. Her entire conception of her self and her plans for the future were based on her assumption that she was straight. Like, even the fact that she's never really been attracted to men is just explained to her by Japan's cult of female purity, she just assumes that one day she'll meet her future boyfriend and everything will finally click into place.

Sleeping with the guy is a move of desperation, she's not attracted to him. But she's in a really bad place emotionally, and she basically tries to force herself heterosexual... And of course, it doesn't work. It's her lowest moment, but after that she does start to come to terms with herself.

It also kinda demonstrates her changing view of her relationship with Setsuko. When she has sex with the guy iirc she still hasn't really come to terms with them being a couple, in the same way that a man and woman would be a couple. Their relationship is kind of undefined and fleeting - at least to Yukino, who just can't really conceive of two women being a real couple, or of Setsuko being willing to commit in that way. So her sleeping with someone else, especially with a man, is not exactly cheating, because she doesn't know what Setsuko is to her, she doesn't think there's any future there. But later on Yukino does feel guilty over it, because now she thinks of their relationship as real, that they're a couple and that Yukino cheated.

When I was a kid, and not so understanding, I hated Yukino but still loved the story and the progress I saw in her. But after re-reading it (after gaining a lot of adult experiences), I grew to really appreciate and understand her.

And I always appreciate it so much when others understand Yukino (who is 18, uneducated, inexperienced, extremely insecure and all alone in a big city working a shitty job with a heavy past). I'm glad other people get what the writer intended to express in this realistic Japanese adult portrayal of this chance meeting and the progress we see in both Setsuko and Yukino.

I see a lot of my younger, hurt self in attention-hungry Yukino and it's painful to watch someone who have my qualities make these mistakes (some I've made personally). But it was also kind of wonderful to watch her grow emotionally on different levels, for her self and relationship (which took time for her to define and understand for a lot of reasons already mentioned).

This is one of my favorite yuri manga's, I like that it really goes in depth into their relationship. So many yuri series just end with the confession and first kiss. I liked it so much I even wrote a review of it.
https://forums.fuwanovel.net/blogs/entry/2234-octave-manga-review/
I really wish this would get picked up for an English release. It's definitely something I would be proud to own.

Maybe whole series can have introspective tag. Yukino does that a lot

last edited at Jun 1, 2018 8:50PM

Absolutely love this manga