All of those points you mention is precisely what makes obvious that Yuzumori is confusing her longing for companionship and fill the void left by her absent mother for actual romantic feelings for Mimika. Mimika is in fact aware of this.

I think the jury is out. How much of the relationship is Yuzumori's attraction to Mimika, and how much is Yuzumori using Mimika as a substitute mother figure is something that has to be further explored by the narrative.

last edited at Jul 22, 2017 5:40PM

All of those points you mention is precisely what makes obvious that Yuzumori is confusing her longing for companionship and fill the void left by her absent mother for actual romantic feelings for Mimika. Mimika is in fact aware of this.

Oh, no, she just got mad when Mamika played off her confession as "just friends", was bummed out that Mamika sets up the rules that they couldn't kiss until they are older, was the one that snuck in a kiss on Mamika's cheek, and confirms a couple of tries that "her heart is being filled with Mamika". Not to mention she knows exactly what a lolicon is and decides to date one.

Totally no romantic feelings. /s

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/yuzumori_san_ch21#6

I think that's the first time a loli tries to get the lolicon into the "free candy van"

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/yuzumori_san_ch21#6

I think that's the first time a loli tries to get the lolicon into the "free candy van"

Was gonna agree, but then I remembered the movie Hard Candy, though in this case, it wasn't played for laughs lol

It's really only an issue if they're sexualized. The magazine in the manga is aimed towards kids her own age so I don't really see the issue. Similar to child actors.

When was the last time you opened a clothing magazine ? 'cause it's pretty comon to have boys and girls of any ages wearing some clothing to advertise them. As other said, it's usually casual poses, nothing "dangerous". XD

so yeah, it's not exactly something specific to japan and I don't really see the issue with a model her age as long as it's not "risqué" work.

That argument doesn't hold water when Ririha is not only well aware of the existence of lolicons but she actively tries to use her own (or perceived at least) sex appeal to win Mimika's favor. To not mention the idolization her classmates indulge in.

She isn't trying to use sex appeal to lure Mimika because she's a child model, she's doing it because she's a jealous creep. And her classmates don't idolize her for sex-related reasons, they idolize her because she's got a tiny bit of fame.
It is a somewhat creepy situation, but none of the creepiness so far is directly related to the nature of her modelling career.

Did you forget the bit where Ririha invites Mimika to a party with the express goal of introducing Mimika to all the elementary school models?

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 10:53AM

Your triggered selves are not the intended audience. The author doesn't even know this is read outside Japan. No real person, or even actual children are depicted in this manga.

Get over it.

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 2:18PM

Did you forget the bit where Ririha invites Mimika to a party with the express goal of introducing Mimika to all the elementary school models?

That's an indictment of the character, not the business she's in.

I personally think that one of the IRC users nailed it when we discussed this up there. Basically, the author made a cute romance story about a lolicon and a loli who is into said lolicon, and that simply does not sit well with some of the readers.
The first chapters where it was all still mostly inside Mimika's head were seen as much more comedic, but now when their feelings are out in the open, it started to raise all sorts of questions. I actually think people would have less problem with this if it was either a straight up loli porn, or a full-on comedy about the inner turmoils of a high school lolicon, as it was in earlier chapters. The fact that the lolicon herself shows awareness of what she is, in-universe, and clearly does not go all-out as if it is a completely normal thing to be attracted to a kid, takes away the ability to pretend this is some 'alternate universe' where lolicons are not something meant to be taken seriously, which just further feeds the underlying cause of all this recent discussion. Which is, in my opinion, precisely the combination of a lolicon/loli theme, and the manner in which it is presented, basically, as a cute romance story, and that has some people scrambling to interpret Yuzumori's feelings as anything but romantic.

As for the 'sexualised' models, I really do not see it. As people pointed out, those modelling careers, and the manner in which other kids make a fuss over it, are something completely normal, in real world, for both fashion magazines, and the way kids usually react when some of their peers are famous in some capacity. The new kid does have some uncanny character traits that could indeed be interpreted in more nefarious ways, but I personally think there is nothing sexual there. I do not think she invited Mimika to the party because "hehe she will get horny over all these cute kids", more like "she thinks kids are cute, this will take her eyes away from Yuzumori".

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 3:07PM

I'm on board the Mimika and Yuzumori boat for the foreseeable future. There's still a lot about their relationship for the story to address.

Ririha has even more to explain about herself. She exhibits very troubling behavior and I'm very interested in seeing how it's attributed by the story. Like Dark_Tzitzimine, my initial assessment points to her line of work as the source. However I acknowledge that that's not a well-evidenced claim, it's simply the only one available at this point in the story. It may or may not be proven true as more of Ririha's story is revealed.

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 3:20PM

See, I can roll with the angle of this is just a cute romance story between a child and a teenager and paid no mind to the implications said story has laid on its own setting. The problem comes when the author choose to introduce a character that one way or another brings those implications front and center in such a way that they become impossible to ignore. Of course this can be clarified down the line but at the present conjuncture there's not a lot interpretations one can make about Ririha's character and all of them are unsettling.

Your triggered selves are not the intended audience. The author doesn't even know this is read outside Japan. No real person, or even actual children are depicted in this manga.

Get over it.

Oh and I trust you're aware of the way the modelling industry is in Japan, yes? Japanese readers will have an even easier time than me to make similar readings of Ririha's character.

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 3:28PM

This manga is Japanese, intended for Japanese people. I've read far worse. Did you know Japanese love toilet humor? You think it's weird or gross. They don't. They find it funny.

Same for this. You find it weird. They find it cute.

I still don't get what your point, or goal, is.

Opening the eyes of us, dumb readers, that this is an horrible manga subliminally promoting pedophilia and that it should be removed from here, that we all should write angry mails to Yawaspi and getting the author behind bars?

I mean, the new kid being all devious and plotting, using any angle she can see to dislodge Yuzumori in Mimika's eyes, is not what really sets her apart. Kids can be just as devious, jealous, cruel, or underhanded as any adult, even more so, I would argue, because many still do not have the right-or-wrong variables properly calibrated. I mean, when I look back, I was far more malevolent towards my peers in primary school than college. What could be interpreted as unsettling, is not the fact she uses the lolicon-angle, I honestly do not think she is interpreting it in a sexual way, it is the mere fact she knows the word. I mean, kids usually do not know the word 'paedophile', and even less what it actually means. As far as I know, the word 'lolicon' is used as a synonym in Japanese every-day language, I doubt people would throw the word, much less its meaning, around fourth graders. But since Yuzumori herself also knows the word, I actually do not think there is any deeper undertone to it, and is probably the result of the author writing a cute romance story with a comedic overtone. Not everything the authors put in their work is well-thought out, or multilayered. Though many people, myself included, sure as hell like to speculate. It is fun to over-analyse, but I agree with one of the above posters, at this point it is all basically guesswork on our part.

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 4:25PM

The problem comes when the author choose to introduce a character that one way or another brings those implications front and center in such a way that they become impossible to ignore.

I have to strongly agree with this.

The first arc of the story has allowed the audience to build a certain amount of trust in Mimika. The issue of sex in her relationship with Yuzumori has been touched upon, but so far only just that.

The introduction of Ririha feels very much like a test of the audience's trust. There are hints of the story directly engaging the issue of sex soon, but I don't want to bank on them too much.

Opening the eyes of us, dumb readers, that this is an horrible manga subliminally promoting pedophilia and that it should be removed from here, that we all should write angry mails to Yawaspi and getting the author behind bars?

None of "us" are advocating any of this.

Nobody has claimed this work promotes pedophilia. If you look closely, many of our comments are analyzing the ways in which the story implies sex with children is a Very Bad Thing.

None of us are condemning Ejima Eri. Some of us are fascinated by and even grateful for a story exploring pedophilia in a way no other work in the genre has.

You probably don't believe me when I tell you, but we enjoy following this series. We want to see where it goes.

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 4:51PM

Your triggered selves are not the intended audience. The author doesn't even know this is read outside Japan. No real person, or even actual children are depicted in this manga.

Get over it.

I mean, if you don't want to read conversations about the work like you don't have to participate in the thread. This sort of thread is always going to tend towards reading into things, at times more than necessary. Like, I disagree with some of the things being said but I don't think using "triggered" as a pejorative, especially when it doesn't apply here, and saying people aren't the intended audience helps things. It just pushes it further toward being personal and people yelling at each other. As an experienced at yeller-atter, I'd know.

People who enjoy the work are talking about the characters and the events and have different interpretations. Some of them are wrong. And we'll have disagreements about which ones those are. But that's all it is.

last edited at Jul 23, 2017 6:45PM

Your triggered selves are not the intended audience. The author doesn't even know this is read outside Japan. No real person, or even actual children are depicted in this manga.

Get over it.

I mean, if you don't want to read conversations about the work like you don't have to participate in the thread. This sort of thread is always going to tend towards reading into things, at times more than necessary. Like, I disagree with some of the things being said but I don't think using "triggered" as a pejorative, especially when it doesn't apply here, and saying people aren't the intended audience helps things. It just pushes it further toward being personal and people yelling at each other. As an experienced at yeller-atter, I'd know.

People who enjoy the work are talking about the characters and the events and have different interpretations. Some of them are wrong. And we'll have disagreements about which ones those are. But that's all it is.

This, from you out of all people- I've got to say, is incredibly funny.

Oh and I trust you're aware of the way the modelling industry is in Japan, yes? Japanese readers will have an even easier time than me to make similar readings of Ririha's character.

Still don't understand why you are so hung up on this child model stuff. Name one western country that doesn't have child models.

People who enjoy the work are talking about the characters and the events and have different interpretations. Some of them are wrong. And we'll have disagreements about which ones those are. But that's all it is.

You, of all people, advocating for tolerance of disagreements.

This is somewhat ironic.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/yuzumori_san_ch21#6

I think that's the first time a loli tries to get the lolicon into the "free candy van"

Was gonna agree, but then I remembered the movie Hard Candy, though in this case, it wasn't played for laughs lol

Wow. Sounds like some crazy misandrist's wet dream. Surprised it was popular at all. Very off topic though.

Oh and I trust you're aware of the way the modelling industry is in Japan, yes? Japanese readers will have an even easier time than me to make similar readings of Ririha's character.

There is modeling and there is modeling. Modeling for a clothing magazines happens the world over. You've never seen clothing story advertisement fliers that have children in them? Like seriously you're being utterly delusional. Reality or fiction what you're saying has no basis.

I wasn't talking about modelling on that post but about the whole "get Mimika into a party with other child models" bit

I wasn't talking about modelling on that post but about the whole "get Mimika into a party with other child models" bit

Except you are talking about the Japanese child modeling industry like it's vastly different from any western nation.

It's a fact that Japanese media has a lot of sexual imagery involving children, or at least teens. It's been the case for decades.

Whether or not it's acceptable, the author here, doesn't make a comment about it. They don't "explore pedophilia", they don't make a statement about sexualization of children in the media industry.

They just use a fact of life there, known to the readers, as a plot device, perfectly suited for their characterization. Nothing more.

And people saying that 10 year olds don't know what a pedophile is, makes me laugh.

Maybe they don't know precisely what it involves, but children are taught very early, especially in Japan, to be wary of suspicious people. Every elementary school children has an alarm on them, they can pull if they feel threatened. Yuzumori has one too, from chapter 1 : https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/yuzumori_san_ch01#5

last edited at Jul 24, 2017 8:37AM

And people saying that 10 year olds don't know what a pedophile is, makes me laugh.

I was using my own experiences. At age 10, we were not introduced with the word, or the concept. We were told never to go anywhere with strangers, and to avoid conversing with them if at all possible, but no one used the word 'paedophile'. And in my time internet was not a thing, so no chances of coming across it while cruising the social platforms. I guess today's kids have more exposure to all sorts of vocabulary.

And I still can not quite imagine parents or teachers saying "avoid strangers, some of them might be paedophiles".

last edited at Jul 24, 2017 11:20AM