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2w5t94i
joined Feb 27, 2011

Needs a "depressing" tag or something :(

YeShallBeAsGods
Untitled
joined Sep 10, 2015

Yeah, I get feeling nonplussed by this when not much really happens, but it's 200% consistent with the kind of fiction you find in 90's lesbian magazines from Japan. It has more to do with queer counterculture art than yuri as a genre. It's not really about girls falling in love with each other, it's a story about embracing your sexuality, moving on from your small-minded family, being proud of yourself and your community, and learning not to expect too much from curious straight girls. That stuff's a little old hat for us in 2017, but I think it may have been a lot more transgressive and inspiring in 1997 Japan.

Aside from that, though, I feel like it's trying to challenge the idea that heterosexuality makes any more sense than homosexuality. If the common view of lesbian relationships at the time was that it's a bizarre and delusional diversion from the Proper Social Responsibility to meet a man and get married and the Proper Woman's Destiny to be a mother, then the manga asks whether those things are actually any more obvious and sensible by themselves, or if we're all so steeped in those concepts that we've just become desensitised to how weird they actually are.

Natsumi stumbles around the lesbian bar like it's a zoo, fascinated by these strange creatures she's discovered and their peculiar ways, but her fixation on her own ability to procreate - which she doesn't even understand! - and her fetishization of conception, is just as strange and contradictory, if not more so. She happily shows off her "egg" as a symbol of her fertility, a symbol of her womanhood as a whole, as if it's something marvellous, and then happily flushes it down the toilet. Because we don't actually think of it as something magical. Most women ovulate, and the vast majority of the times that they do, it's not a magical symbol of femininity and a deep source of pride, nor does it actually produce a child. It just goes in the waste, end of story. The manga might be pointing out this contradiction between what we say is valuable about womanhood, and how we actually treat those things in day-to-day life.

The random guy in the cafe, I'm guessing, is supposed to reflect the idea that most guys are kind of confused and grossed out by the whole process, and might not even care about the mythologising of conception and pregnancy at all, but are still willing to go along with it as long as it means they can get some.

In the end, Yuki isn't just cheerfully waving goodbye to a weirdo freeloader, she's cheerfully waving goodbye to her lingering apprehensions about her role as a woman outside of motherhood, having come to understand that, despite what her family taught her, being gay is no more perverse than being straight, and straightness was never going to satisfy her anyway.

At least, if I wanted to read a bunch of metaphors and symbolism into the story, that's what I'd come up with. I feel like it more or less fits as a response to Japanese cultural norms at the time, coming from an offshoot of second-wave feminism (the magazine says "for womyn" right there on the cover, after all) and is consistent with the tone and imagery of the manga. I don't really agree with all its assumptions and conclusions, but saying that doesn't really mean anything when I basically just made it all up off the top of my head without knowing much of anything about this stuff to begin with, lol.

This is a completely legit close-reading. Seems entirely accurate, in any case. The critical view of heterosexuality is there, at least that it can be entirely perverse while paradoxically the socially acceptable way. There's a clear juxtaposition of their two lives and which one really meets the society's values. The straight, super feminine one is a pervert and yuki is a nice person concerned with what her family thinks of her.
Hell, since it's connected to second-wave, it's probably an intentional deconstruction.

And then there's Lililicious with the consistently great releases!

last edited at Jan 15, 2017 2:01AM

Image62
joined Feb 28, 2015

Mc is cool

1
joined Sep 19, 2014

What? Why was this not tagged Depressive? I felt bad for the main character during most of this!
But at least with the other one gone she'll be able to heal.

Yuu
joined Mar 28, 2015

It's a 20 year old manga.

The mindset in Japan and in their LGBT community has, hopefully, evolved since then.

Screen%20shot%202016-04-20%20at%207.35.18%20am
joined Dec 20, 2015

Wow...

Capture
joined Dec 12, 2016

I really don't think it's all that depressing. MC knows right from the beginning that the other girl is straight. She never gives herself false hope of having a relationship. I think it's about MC figuring out that she needs to focus on making herself happy instead of trying to do the impossible to please everyone else.

Mostly%20sunny
joined Oct 26, 2016

Here it comes.
The badfeels.

Snowfox
joined Jan 31, 2015

Needs a "depressing" tag or something :(

It's Anise. That should count as a tag in itself: part story, part social commentary, and part commiseration.

Your_hair_has_gotten_longer_by_folksneedheroes-d5l5v69
joined Apr 23, 2015

That was interesting. I liked it.

Marion Diabolito
Dynsaty%20scans%20avatar%20from%20twgokhs
joined Jan 5, 2015

Yeah, I get feeling nonplussed by this when not much really happens, but it's 200% consistent with the kind of fiction you find in 90's lesbian magazines from Japan. ...

Thanks for that. I should add that it's cool the mangaka had something to say that we didn't expect. Most communication is taking shortcuts and it's interesting when you have to actually think what someone's actually saying for themselves.

Marion Diabolito
Dynsaty%20scans%20avatar%20from%20twgokhs
joined Jan 5, 2015

It's probably a warning sign if she says her favorite position is oviposition.

joined Jan 8, 2014

This was interesting, from way back since its from Anise and non-moe ...
I think the curly haired girl was wanting to experiment but was also incredibly selfish and clearly disregarding anyone but her self going around and hitting on everyone in the bar...the whole moving in together thing was weird but at least straight forward she had nowhere to stay and just did it...the gay girls story, well like so&so said is about coming to terms with themselves, but I still dont understand the significance/impact the story leaves for her to realize....
And the "egg thing" completely over my head...different times, different minds I suppose, but like most non-moe the art of the story is the significance...

Btw "so&so"...totally enjoyed reading your synopsis ;) I think u got it right

joined Jan 8, 2014

This was interesting, from way back since its from Anise and non-moe ...
I think the curly haired girl was wanting to experiment but was also incredibly selfish and clearly disregarding anyone but her self going around and hitting on everyone in the bar...the whole moving in together thing was weird but at least straight forward she had nowhere to stay and just did it...the gay girls story, well like so&so said is about coming to terms with themselves, but I still dont understand the significance/impact the story leaves for her to realize....
And the "egg thing" completely over my head...different times, different minds I suppose, but like most non-moe the art of the story is the significance...

Btw "so&so"...totally enjoyed reading your synopsis ;) I think u got it right

Actually im going to rethink part of this and say that a desperate shameless girl was out of choices and so tried to find a gay woman to use so they would have a place to say...straight women are always evil manipulators in these old fashioned stories

Ss%20(2015-08-13%20at%2011.16.07)
joined Jul 3, 2015

Fuck that blonde bitch. Fuck the parents too. But I'm sure they'll come to their senses. Or else fuck them.

This was way too sad. But I'm really happy MC is a very level-headed person. Very strong and independent. No need for her to carry around losers. Good riddance. I'm sure she will find happiness.

Sshot-8
joined Oct 25, 2011

I...liked the cover!

joined Oct 8, 2016

I love non moe art and "real" stories so this was wonderful even though it left be a bit confused.

joined Feb 1, 2013

My mom is a wildlife biologist, so I grew up with birds (mostly Blue Jays and Canaries, plus Starlings, Cedar Waxwings, a Cuckoo, and others)... And female bird's estrus is laying unfertilized eggs. So the "egg" metaphor likely was intentional on the part of the artist/writer.

Icon%20(4)
joined Jan 20, 2014

i feel disappointed. not because of the vague ending, but because i expected some REAL egg laying.

There is a little bit in Yuri Iro Gensou. Just those two pages though.

You can see it in all this manga x'D http://dynasty-scans.com/series/tama_hiyori

AnimexObsession
Screenshot%20(107)
joined Dec 27, 2014

Despite the bitter taste it still had a sweet aftertaste so ^^
And hey wot? What about sperm donors? Adoption? In the future there'll probably be the option to fertilize an eggcell with a somatic cell ;-; aren't there options enough?

Vegitab%20profile%20pic%20smoll%20tumblr
joined Sep 21, 2014

i feel disappointed. not because of the vague ending, but because i expected some REAL egg laying.

There is a little bit in Yuri Iro Gensou. Just those two pages though.

You can see it in all this manga x'D http://dynasty-scans.com/series/tama_hiyori

oh my god what the fuck lmao

Yuri
joined May 11, 2015

That was no egg.... she just shat her brains out...

Tumblr_mqsgcvuolq1s1l3cpo1_500
joined Jul 12, 2012

I was legit expecting some egg laying lol.

the feels

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