The editing is a bit lazy, with the ugly whitening of the original writing.

But it's still legible, so whatever.

And the triangle got solved in a poly relationship, so I suggested the polyamory tag for the chapter. (though it would be a spoiler I guess...)

The relationship is quite balanced at the end.

Amane is the anchor between Nina and Ryou, and at this point, if one of them were to go, the other two would be sad.

Still Amane didn't get enough development. She looks the type who would add more people to the mix if she ever met someone interesting.

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 3:32PM

I want to be the first one to apologize after claiming this would turn out to be a cheap love triangle.

I was wrong and I'm sorry.

This is fucking amazing

The editing is a bit lazy, with the ugly whitening of the original writing.

But it's still legible, so whatever.

Err, I believe Lyendith mentioned that this release is the LQ version because their redrawer is late, so they wanted to push this out for those dying to read the next chapter and that they'll be reuploading it once the redrawing is finished.

I can basically understand why the primary focus of the arc was about how the three of them could be in a relationship at all, since that's probably the part most people would have the hardest time swallowing. It's just unfortunate that it came at the expense of fully establishing why any two of them have feelings for each other at all.

Nina and Amane were an established fact and perhaps didn't need building up, but they didn't really get a chance to showcase that supposedly long-standing relationship outside of equally long-standing inner conflict. I think they actually get one scene where they're happy and together, and even that culminates in Nina angsting quietly about Ryou.

Ryou apparently falls for Amane after a few pages of Amane being generically friendly while Ryou was injured, and she confesses pretty much immediately (at which point Amane doesn't even seem particularly interested in Ryou, as much as she just seems to like the idea of free love) but after that, most of their scenes together are either talking about polyamory or about Nina.

Nina and Ryou get the most screen time, but most of it is spent with Nina resenting Ryou. They have a prior relationship online, but they didn't seem to have much chemistry with each other beyond friends and fellow cat lovers, despite the joke page where Ryou's friend says it sounds like she's been hitting on "Shin'ya". They fight a bit, Ryou finds out that she's Shin'ya, Nina continues to be flustered and hostile while Ryou is positive, understanding, and inadvertently flirts a bit, and then suddenly Nina kisses Ryou, with Nina then realising that she's falling for her. They have some time offscreen, I guess, and by the time we get back to her, Nina's already talking about how much she needs and loves Ryou. Their relationship basically reverses completely in the space of maybe three scenes.

The way it all adds up, I'm just left feeling "eh" about the whole thing. I appreciate the effort to write a polyamorous relationship in a positive way, and trying to develop all three sides of their relationship in three chapters was definitely ambitious, but it didn't quite work out for me as a story.

Would the resolution to Amane x Nina x Ryou in ch30 count for the Polyamory tag?

It was cute and it ended well, but it felt a bit fast. But I guess this happens when you have to introduce a new couple per volume

Kitsune Inari posted:

Would the resolution to Amane x Nina x Ryou in ch30 count for the Polyamory tag?

I suggested it already, but it would be spoilery. It's up to the site admins.

Yeah, the last chapter definitely felt rushed. I think it's all summed up in the phonecall scene, which breaks the "show don't tell" rule that Canno usually follows pretty well. It felt like "here's the situation explained in a couple pages because we don't have time for more."

After reading chap 28 and 29 a couple more times, I found it easier to believe Nina and Ryou's relationship, and Canno established things pretty well in just 60 pages. But chap 30, eeh... it definitely would have needed more fleshing out. Still, in terms of dynamic, I do think the trio is pretty nicely balanced at the end.

Now maybe the additional content in the tankoubon will polish things a little bit, as it did for volume 4.

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 4:19PM

Seira posted:

The editing is a bit lazy, with the ugly whitening of the original writing.

But it's still legible, so whatever.

Err, I believe Lyendith mentioned that this release is the LQ version because their redrawer is late, so they wanted to push this out for those dying to read the next chapter and that they'll be reuploading it once the redrawing is finished.

Oh, you're right. I had forgotten they mentioned this. The redrawing, which is usually good quality, just made me raise eyebrows this time. I was not complaining, just being a bit "shocked".

But I understand they wanted to get it out as fast as possible, as long as there's a HQ version later.

Mm, I'm glad that this is only one romance arc out of many as polyamory simply isn't of interest to me nor do I really understand it in action, but in principle I understand it, so with that said this particular arc has left me feeling a bit empty. In this instance, it just doesn't feel like it will last due to the characters. Where Ryou seems fine with it and Amane of course being very accepting, I feel Nina is simply struggling more with which one she wants to be with. Less than Polyamory, it feels more like Nina is asking to have the opportunity to figure out her feelings while not having to give up Amane nor Ryou. At the end, Nina responds to Amane's kiss more with a surprised expression while on page 29 she's looking over Amane with a pensive expression and right at Ryou. Meanwhile, Ryou and Amane appear completely at ease and happy.

I do hope to see more development from these three girls.

(I really don't know what should and should not be put into a spoiler)

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 4:46PM

I'm also pretty torn on this. The relationship doesn't feel strong enough to last and it does very much seem forced because it happened so quickly. Maybe if we get more time with the three of them I'll feel otherwise, but as it is it seems a bit empty and leaves me wanting a real resolution.

Sooo...OT3?

I think I am going to reread this series with the chapters for each group bunched together. Also, I feel like Canno kind of anticipated a lot of the sense of Kindred Spirits on the Roof - anyone else get that feeling?

Rushed and underwhelming, feels like there is a chapter missing between 29 and 30. Amane's feelings are never justified, she seems way too damn flaky to even consider to have serious romantic interest in anyone. It seems she will take any girl that gives her a suggestive look, spells problems for them in the future. Nina all the sudden falling for Ryou is jarring, it never establishes whether or not Ryou even likes Nina romantically.

I can appreciate Canno attempting to represent a polyamory trio but this arc was just a mess.

I can basically understand why the primary focus of the arc was about how the three of them could be in a relationship at all, since that's probably the part most people would have the hardest time swallowing. It's just unfortunate that it came at the expense of fully establishing why any two of them have feelings for each other at all.

That's kind of how I felt about this. I don't mind a story about polyamory, but it just didn't really bring the doki-doki for me. The whole thing seems a bit hollow . . . actually, no. Most of the negative emotions ring pretty true. Most of the positive ones seem pretty hollow. I'm a sucker for a sappy romance, but this just did not deliver enough sap to feel like it made any sense for any of the frustrations and tensions to be overcome.

Also, as stable and equal a triangle they're in right now, does Amane still consider herself as being open to new relationships? If so, would the other two be fine with that? I can see Ryou being okay, since she was more accepting than anyone of Amane's ideas and personality, but Nina struggled a lot more, and I sort of feel like she was only able to accept Amane being with Ryou because she also wanted to be with Ryou and Amane. It's kind of a unique circumstance for her. Unless Amane has changed her mind after learning how much Nina has been hurting, and now wants to be exclusive to Nina and Ryou. But that sort of contradicts her philosophy of love as being free and multifaceted. I guess it's fine for her to change, but I feel increasingly unsatisfied not knowing one way or the other.

Yeah, these three are definitely going to need some follow up chapters.

Amane is still a weak link in this, I feel. She's too flighty.
It wouldn't take much to collapse this dynamic down to a monogamous relationship between Nina and Ryou. I get the feeling Nina's feelings toward Ryou might be stronger than her feelings for Amane. And Ryou just seems the type to go along with however the situation unfolds. The stayer.
A triangle is a stable shape, but it has three times as many bonds to break.

Amane is still a weak link in this, I feel. She's too flighty.
It wouldn't take much to collapse this dynamic down to a monogamous relationship between Nina and Ryou. I get the feeling Nina's feelings toward Ryou might be stronger than her feelings for Amane. And Ryou just seems the type to go along with however the situation unfolds. The stayer.
A triangle is a stable shape, but it has three times as many bonds to break.

I don't feel Amane to be flighty at all and I do not think that any girl will do for her. We just need to see more of what she sees in Nina and Ryou.

I don't feel Amane to be flighty at all and I do not think that any girl will do for her. We just need to see more of what she sees in Nina and Ryou.

And Izumi… She did say that her red ribbon to Ryou was her "third" one in chap 28. Apparently Amane is the kind to observe the girls that pique her interest in silence for a while before reaching out to them.

If we do have extra material for these girls, I don't expect them to fall apart at least. That just wouldn't like Canno to do that. But they certainly need to be solidified, like Chiharu and Izumi were.

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 6:14PM

Amane is still a weak link in this, I feel. She's too flighty.
It wouldn't take much to collapse this dynamic down to a monogamous relationship between Nina and Ryou. I get the feeling Nina's feelings toward Ryou might be stronger than her feelings for Amane. And Ryou just seems the type to go along with however the situation unfolds. The stayer.
A triangle is a stable shape, but it has three times as many bonds to break.

If Amane were flighty she wouldn't have gone out of her way to fight for her relationship with Nina despite Nina going out of her way to be as difficult as possible she would have said "Oh, well what can you do" and moved on to someone else. Just because she is romantically attracted to multiple partners doesn't mean she isn't dedicated to those partners.

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 6:10PM

I don't feel Amane to be flighty at all and I do not think that any girl will do for her. We just need to see more of what she sees in Nina and Ryou.

And Izumi… She did say that her red ribbon to Ryou was her "third" one in chap 28.

Yes, but three doesn't make a crowd. Even so, even if she were to give a dozen red ribbons, I see it as majere says.

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 6:16PM

Yes, I didn't mean that she doesn't care. I agree with that too.

Yes, I didn't mean that she doesn't care. I agree with that too.

Ah, my apologies. It seems that I had missed some of your post. But I do agree and would much like to see more material regarding these three. Mm, there was a sort of fall out between Chiharu and her Senpai (name?) and with the pasts to the main pair slowly coming out along with other bits of drama, I wouldn't rule out a possible collapse. But there would likely be an overall positive resolution to the situation.

Ryou and Amane seem to be rather comfortable with the arrangement with Nina the variable.

last edited at Mar 20, 2017 6:30PM

If Amane were flighty she wouldn't have gone out of her way to fight for her relationship with Nina despite Nina going out of her way to be as difficult as possible she would have said "Oh, well what can you do" and moved on to someone else. Just because she is romantically attracted to multiple partners doesn't mean she isn't dedicated to those partners.

Except she did exactly that with Izumi. Amane shows no dedication at all to the girls she likes. Even with Nina, Amane is completely fine with breaking up as long as it's what Nina wanted.

Yup, Poly still triggers me. Watching the dynamics play out was annoying, but if that's your thing that's fine I guess.