Forum › Dandelion Among Lilies discussion

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

Lilies stand for purity, what does Dandelion stand for in the flower's language? I found in Spanish something related to oracles... And in English: DANDELION - Faithfulness; Happiness

But I'm not sure about that topic ! I just want to understand the name of the manga and maybe then... The characters.

Canaan2
joined May 9, 2013

Lilies stand for purity, what does Dandelion stand for in the flower's language? I found in Spanish something related to oracles... And in English: DANDELION - Faithfulness; Happiness

But I'm not sure about that topic ! I just want to understand the name of the manga and maybe then... The characters.

Well Lily = Yuri, so that could very easily be the reason why that was used rather than it signifying some kind of purity. And a Dandelion is just a common weed that would be out of place amongst a bunch of lilies, as Kana is out of place amongst a pair of lesbians. Kana probably doesn't really get why Mizuho is so self-conscious and acts the way she does, nor does she seem to get Ena at all and can bring a more common understanding of relationships to the fearful couple.

As for the faithfulness/happiness meaning of dandelions, it could mean that Kana will bring about faithfulness and happiness to the relationship between Mizuho and Ena.

last edited at Jan 2, 2014 4:16PM

Tmp_bh7jrkjcyaakw52-1123006053
joined Apr 15, 2011

I personally took that Mizuho does love Ena (I doubt that "I still love..." was referring to someone else considering she was talking about Ena right before and after) and that she might even think that Ena's cheating on her, putting her in that gay boyfriend's "disadvantageous" position.

I have to agree with Kitty_Kay on this one point. Going back from pages 8-12 (chpt. 4) we are given hints of information alluding to why Mizuho left home, why she has an aversion towards being labelled homosexual and why she is stand-offish with Ena. And again, I think we will need to wait until chapter 5 to see if more relavent information is given.

I am waiting to say whether or not the I still love was for Ena because if it was it wouldn't need to be so ambiguous so there's still that slim chance she's talking about her ex boyfriend.

actually, I'm torn here. I think she could be talking about her boyfriend. why? because from pages 5-12 (chpt. 4) that leads up to Ena's return, we are presented with a flashback (prior to her leaving home?) where she is confronted by her boyfriend's lover. where the pages alternate between flashback and present day, Ena is mentioned, but more as an afterthought then the main topic. more so, the dialogue bubble say this, "i still love..." and "I'm begging you..." before Ena enters. if those thoughts and memories from the past were meant for Ena, why not have a frame where Mizuho is thinking of explicitly of Ena? Better yet, if that dialogue was meant for Ena, why use 'still' when refering to someone you're suppose to be in love with in the present tense? that implies that either at some point Mizuho's love was wavering for Ena, but somehow the spark is 'still' there OR that she (Mizuho) fell out of love, but realized that she 'still' felt a connection to Ena. To me, that makes no sense! Especially if they are suppose to be in love (in the present tense of the word), how can she 'still' be in love as if love was lost like a lucky phone strap? so again I agree, this is too ambiguous given the information we are presented with. guess we'll have to wait-n-see.

Why did Mizuho even accepted Ena as her girlfriend?

this has bothered me for a bit now. I'm about to do some hand waving in my explanation, so please bear with me...

One thought is thatMizuho did so only out of loneliness and/or fear of the male species. As has been mentioned, the oh so cliche 'woman scorned turns lesbian' thing appears to be playing out. however, I'm puzzled as to why? if Mizuho honestly believes the whole "there's no way homosexuality can turn out well," then why date either sex? so my hunch is that Ena showed Mizuho just the slightest shred of kindness (chpt. 3). this was enough to make the possibility of dating a woman palpable.

Finally, does Mizuho really love Ena (which I believe is Ena's main concern)? in her own way she probably does. is she gushing and madly in love with Ena? I'm not sure. if she is, then her own internal homophobia is keeping her from being able to show Ena the type of love she needs to see.


Now never mind everything I've just written. let's take an alternate look at everything... As was mentioned earlier, what if Mizuho left home because she was lesbian? does that mean the ex-boyfriend was a prop? I've been toying around with this idea for a bit now and constantly refer back to this phrase: "there's no way homosexuality can turn out well" as supporting evidence.

if she is/was, then:
- the ex-BF was for show to the outside world. I've also wondered if Mizuho was using the boy to force herself to accept being straight. Why? refer to the phrase above. and again, as has been mentioned, culture and wanting to be accepted can make people do things that are inherently not in their best interest.
- this would explain why she has no (sexual) intimacy issues with Ena. I contend that in 2 years of dating, I cannot image that they have not had sex. also, if she were 'straight' then I think she'd have a much harder time showing PDA in front of her sister than in public. although I am kinda contradicting myself here.
- while Mizuho realizes (opinion here) that she's pushing Ena away, she does so out of fear and says so on pg. 5. chpt. 4.
- she's concerned that Ena missed work and whether she would return. I think both this bullet and the one above are directly related to her feelings about homosexuality (again, refer to the phrase above)
- she is worried about people "finding out" and goes out of her way to not be labelled "that way." again, internal homophobia related issue.
- finally, why reciprocate someone's feelings? is she were a woman scorn, then stay asexual. if she's running from men then I believe the whole female intimacy thing would be a very real issue. why continue to look for housing with another woman if you really aren't into it? for that matter, why stay in the relationship? I believe it's mostly due to her own internal homophobia. but again, we still have too little infomation to come to a concrete conclusion.

All, I truly apologize for this excessively long post. I guess I had a little too much free time on my hands. i will try to keep future replies much shorter.

last edited at Jan 3, 2014 1:28PM

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

Well Lily = Yuri, so that could very easily be the reason why that was used rather than it signifying some kind of purity. And a Dandelion is just a common weed that would be out of place amongst a bunch of lilies, as Kana is out of place amongst a pair of lesbians. Kana probably doesn't really get why Mizuho is so self-conscious and acts the way she does, nor does she seem to get Ena at all and can bring a more common understanding of relationships to the fearful couple.

As for the faithfulness/happiness meaning of dandelions, it could mean that Kana will bring about faithfulness and happiness to the relationship between Mizuho and Ena.

Thank you for that, I was reading that dandelion is a very common flower but I couldn't just get the meaning, it seems that way (the way you put it), but I don't know... Since Kana was for me the main character and was introduced first, is it really okay to turn her into a support character later ? I will wait the next chapter with lots of expectations.

last edited at Jan 3, 2014 8:28AM

Canaan2
joined May 9, 2013

Thank you for that, I was reading that dandelion is a very common flower but I couldn't just get the meaning, it seems that way (the way you put it), but I don't know... Since Kana was for me the main character and was introduced first, is it really okay to turn her into a support character later ? I will wait the next chapter with lots of expectations.

No problem, schools out so I don't really have anything else to possibly overanalyze. With that said, Kana could still be the main character, the story would just be from the perspective of someone outside the relationship; it wouldn't be the first time a story was about someone dealing with one of their family member's issues. Though it's kind of giving everyone's perspective at this point and Kana might just not be the protagonist.

%d0%a1%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%bc%d0%be%d0%ba
joined Nov 10, 2013

I feel really stupid... but I'd be really glad if somebody explain me what happened in the last 2 chapters.

Doggirls-small
joined Jan 2, 2014

I feel really stupid... but I'd be really glad if somebody explain me what happened in the last 2 chapters.

Chapter 3 switches a lot between the present day and Ena reminiscing some past events : if the girls are wearing winter clothes it's present day, and for summer clothes it's a flashback (they also have shorter hair sometimes).
I count 4 flashbacks : the first is when Mizuho invites Ena to her appartment and it's a mess, the second and third are when they gift each other necklaces. The last flashback is the important one. It starts when Mizuho says they should go to work separately and Ena, realising Mizuho might not be as committed as she thought, thinks of leaving but finally comes back. It's similar to the present day situation : Mizuho makes a comment that casts doubts on her commitment (she did this in chapter 2) and Ena thinks of leaving. The chapter ends with present Ena crying in the coffee shop like flashback Ena did.

Chapter 4 is a retelling of chapter 3's fourth flashback, but from Mizuho's point of view. To complicate things further, Mizuho's flashback has a flashback of its own, where's she's still wearing a school uniform. The last two pages are present Mizuho worrying Ena is going to leave for good this time..

Sj%20celine%20icon
joined Mar 2, 2013

By that same logic you could say if it was for the ex-boyfriend there's no need to be so ambiguous. She just got done having a flash back saying she loved him, why reiterate the point.

It was cut off to build suspense in the story, a kind of cheap literary device.

True the ambiguity could be to anyone and that's why there's that slim chance it was for the boyfriend. Now as a literary device cutting off information isn't always a bad thing if it is executed correctly later, but this manga thrives on cut offs and suspense builders. So the more they do it the more it begins to turn into a cheap trick without much meaning or effect behind it anymore, which I hate.

%d0%a1%d0%bd%d0%b8%d0%bc%d0%be%d0%ba
joined Nov 10, 2013

Kruom, thank you very much, now I understand.
I think mangaka loves flashback TOO much.

Tumblr_n2xarzavhs1qze9qao1_1280
joined Apr 7, 2013

I-I think im about to cry!!(T^T)

Canaan2
joined May 9, 2013

d'awws, everyone's stopped acting like insecure idiots. Was expecting something a bit more to convince Mizuho to break out of her habit, though.

And, other than wondering why Ena doesn't want to call Mizuho (I'm thinking she wants to go out and find her herself), how was Kana actually going to call her? Didn't Mizuho give Kana her cellphone?

last edited at Jan 17, 2014 10:59PM

Z%20ss
joined Oct 15, 2013

d'awws, everyone's stopped acting like insecure idiots. Was expecting something a bit more to convince Mizuho to break out of her habit, though.

And, other than wondering why Ena doesn't want to call Mizuho (I'm thinking she wants to go out and find her herself), how was Kana actually going to call her? Didn't Mizuho give Kana her cellphone?

I was about to point that out. Maybe a 2nd cellphone? xD

Just joined in the reading of this, anyone knows how many more chapters are left?

Zaolu-newlandscapes-500x500
joined Jul 23, 2013

d'awws, everyone's stopped acting like insecure idiots. Was expecting something a bit more to convince Mizuho to break out of her habit, though.

And, other than wondering why Ena doesn't want to call Mizuho (I'm thinking she wants to go out and find her herself), how was Kana actually going to call her? Didn't Mizuho give Kana her cellphone?

From what I gathered, Ena doesn't want Kana to call Mizuho because the last time Ena walked out, Mizuho didn't even try to look for her-she just expected Ena to come back. Rather than talking it out their problems, they just swept it under the rug and carried on with their lives...until it reached a breaking point. Their relationship is so fragile that Ena overhearing Mizuho and Kana's fight triggered those same feelings of dread in her: does Mizuho even truly love her? Or is she just another obligation for her?

...Which is why Ena cries upon hearing that Mizuho is still looking for her. Mizuho going out to look for Ena at this point shows growth: both in her commitment to salvaging their relationship as well as her love for Ena. As such, I imagine Ena wants Mizuho to worry over her a little more, if just for a little longer.

last edited at Jan 17, 2014 11:28PM

joined Jan 5, 2014

Yo! When's next chapter gunna come out?!????

OrangePekoe Admin
Animesher.com_tamako-market-midori-tokiwa-deviantart-950416a
joined Mar 20, 2013

Ena's awesome, the "I won't mess around" line is a definite favorite.

It's been 5 chapters and I still find myself impressed by the character designs and attention to detail. Kind of a shame what went down with the magazine - hopefully we'll get to see some more from Yamaguchi at some point.

(To avoid being cryptic; the magazine was kinda sorta cancelled, and that inevitably had an effect on how everything ends.)

Just joined in the reading of this, anyone knows how many more chapters are left?

Just one, as mentioned in the release post.

last edited at Jan 17, 2014 11:41PM

Sensei
joined Nov 28, 2011

Just one more left? ;___; Noooo! This is such a great series.
Really loved this chapter. Mizuho getting back into gear was great.

Z%20ss
joined Oct 15, 2013

Just one, as mentioned in the release post.

Oh God, don't tell me I will be disappointed...

Another_random_anime_girl_render__by_bakachasity-d5qdads
joined Feb 8, 2011

Even though there is just one chapter left, I think the flow of the story is pretty good. Nothing to complain about, but I do hope the relationship of Ena and Mizuho ends well.

joined May 28, 2013

This turned out to be a pretty good read.

Tmp_bh7jrkjcyaakw52-1123006053
joined Apr 15, 2011

Even though there is just one chapter left, I think the flow of the story is pretty good.

darn. I know this may sound off, but I really wish this story would drag out for a few more chapters. it's quite a dense and complex story where the characters are in a dysfunctional relationship. it is kind of a shame to wrap it up all nice and neat in a final chapter (this is my assumption of course).

on a different note, I "kind of" did not see Kanae's reaction coming. Funny how having her sister scold her for not looking for Ena and taking the lead pushed her into motion. also my little mini thesis on where this story was going got shot to she-it! hehe, guess I'll go take a back seat and enjoy the last chapter.

last edited at Jan 18, 2014 9:08PM

0b955f79-53d7-4077-9788-189760d17f51
joined Aug 21, 2013

I just want to know why she's crying

Sensei
joined Nov 28, 2011

I just want to know why she's crying

Because it's the first time in ever that Mizuho is actually out there looking for her instead of waiting at home.

Tmp_bh7jrkjcyaakw52-1123006053
joined Apr 15, 2011

I just want to know why she's crying

Because it's the first time in ever that Mizuho is actually out there looking for her instead of waiting at home.

sarroush, I don't think that's why she's crying. especially since she asked Kana not to call Kanae.

last edited at Jan 19, 2014 4:27PM

Canaan2
joined May 9, 2013

I just want to know why she's crying

Because it's the first time in ever that Mizuho is actually out there looking for her instead of waiting at home.

sarroush, I don't think that's why she's crying. especially since she asked Kana not to call Kanae.

Why would asking Kana not to call her support that? If it's the first time Mizuho went searching for her, that seems like a pretty good reason to cry if the entire issue with the relationship was that both of them wondered how much the other cared. She probably wants to go find her herself instead of having Kana call her magic double phone.

Tmp_bh7jrkjcyaakw52-1123006053
joined Apr 15, 2011

I just want to know why she's crying

Because it's the first time in ever that Mizuho is actually out there looking for her instead of waiting at home.

sarroush, I don't think that's why she's crying. especially since she asked Kana not to call Kanae.

Why would asking Kana not to call her support that? If it's the first time Mizuho went searching for her, that seems like a pretty good reason to cry if the entire issue with the relationship was that both of them wondered how much the other cared. She probably wants to go find her herself instead of having Kana call her magic double phone.

Possibly, which would set up a very nice ending to this story.

to answer you question, the reason i did not think so was because i thought Ena's request was rather odd. why not ask Kana to call, especially if Kanae went off by herself? as to Ena running off to look for Kanae? to me (opinion here), that's right silly. now you have too people roaming around looking for one another. however, it does make for a nice and tidy ending. anyhoo, maybe i'm being too practical here. after all it's just fiction and it looks like its coming to a resolution. guess I should know better (i.e. should not expect weird plot twists).

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