"Kinda rape-y..." Looked very much like a rape to me. Told repeatedly to stop, in an obviously non-comedic-hentai way, was abruptly cut off each time, even the pain did not deter the main character, and the victim is visibly distraught at the end of it. I mean, sure, it was not a brutal beating down, but it sure as hell was not consensual in any way either.
Also, I really could not get the yuri vibe out of this one. At least my subjective impression was such. I honestly do not see the yuri. To me, the main character does not seem to be in love at all, more like she just wants to keep her best friend in an ever-changing social environment of adolescence, and her main concern really is exactly what she says it is, to not leave her behind. This warped way of thinking lead her to basically rape said best friend, in order for the two of them to be on a somewhat equal footing once again. At no point does she contemplate her het experience as a "mistake", or some such (she looks genuinely proud of it, once its social ramifications filter through her head, and this despite the fact it has been a really unpleasant experience), nor does she see herself having sex with Nozomi as, well, being genuine sex. "Practice" and all that crap, only here it looks like she genuinely thinks that (as opposed to various other stories where characters use this excuse to cover up their feelings).
Even at the end, when facing the fact it was not just "practice", her reaction was not "I love Nozomi", or "that guy was a mistake", or "what am I feeling", or even "oh my God, I did something terrible". No, instead, her reaction was being ecstatic. Not over the fact she just had sex with Nozomi, but because Nozomi was no longer a virgin. She looked positively giddy about the prospect of telling everyone her best friend was no longer a virgin. Like, what the actual fuck. Amusingly, her mind seems so warped, she just glossed over the "I don't know if we'll be able to stay friends" part like it was not said at all.
last edited at Sep 1, 2017 2:53AM