I get it now..,
she's a sadist, with a poker face
what a combo! lol

Komaki is so great. I also get the vibe that she wants to go out with the MC but only when she's asked out as a person and not bought with money. Enjoying this so far!

welp that was creepy in the non-consensual rape kinda way

Being a little pushy is not rape. There's literally nothing wrong with a little verbal propositioning. Hishikawa hasn't crossed the line when pushed back by Komaki. If you pay attention, it's obvious Komaki is the one in control at all times. The part where Komaki was actually assaulted was all in Hishikawa's imagination. Sorry for the rant, but people who call every little thing rape seriously bother me. No offense.

The problem is, Hishikawa is being more than "a little pushy."

Between her slipping money into Komaki's clothes without the latter's knowledge (could very well be charged as sexual assault, at least here in the States), and Hishikawa's little fantasy, the first chapter had pretty heavy connotations of rape. Regarding the second chapter: propositioning sex to a person is okay. Repeatedly and aggressively doing so after they've said no is not okay; that's sexual harassment. These things are played for comedy within the series, but by their nature they will fall flat with a lot of readers.

The humor is centered around Hishikawa's desperate, unrestrained, comically absurd sleaziness combined with her complete ineffectuality. She hasn't shown herself to be dangerous, and isn't in any position of power or authority over Komaki. So she ultimately comes off as non-threatening, which helps ease things a bit. In fact, Komaki holds all of the cards when Hishikawa tries to bargain: the running gag is the latter trying to drive a ridiculous bargain and making a fool of herself in the process. It's cringe comedy.

For the record, I find the series entertaining. But other readers will be very turned off by it, and I can respect that.

P.S. "Non-consensual rape" is a very ATM-machine phrase.

last edited at Feb 7, 2018 8:46AM

Weirdly, I can't handle cringe comedy most of the time and I'm definitely a lot less tolerant to rapey stuff than a lot of folks on here seem to be.

But I like this so far. As A5PECT says, it does a really good job of defusing the situation by making Hishikawa ineffectual, and apparently unwilling to act without Komaki's agreement. It also seems clear that the constant propositioning isn't literally because she wants Komaki to prostitute herself for her, but rather that she seems to believe it's impossible for Komaki to fall in love with her and this whole thing is the only alternative she can think of. So if that turns out to be right, then it's less about pressuring her into sex than it appears at first.

Komaki, from what I can tell, spends her time insulted that the only thing Hishikawa wants from her is sex and nothing deeper.

Definitely respect anyone turned off by the folks with non-consensual and creepy concerns. You won't hear me saying they're wrong.

I think it's because despite the sleaziness the series manages to be endearing and have a positive underlying message. (Crazily enough, it might even be because of the sleaziness.) Hishikawa is pushy - even sexually offensive at times - which would usually turn you off as a reader. But the text clearly criticizes her actions rather than romanticizing them. Hishikawa gradually learning the error of her ways (e.g. overvaluing a partner's virginity) is her primary form of character development, and you root for her to make her way along that path. She starts out cringey, but the story is about how she learns to stop. She's a genuinely lovable lecher, which is pretty rare.

Also I am in love with Komaki but that would require an entire essay for me to elaborate on properly.

last edited at Feb 7, 2018 10:08AM

What's interesting is that as pushy and sleazy as Hishikawa is, she seems to require Komaki giving a clear "yes" before actually doing anything (outside her weird fantasies). That's what makes me think she really wants a romance with Komaki but doesn't think it's possible, so she's come up with this nutso approach to get the only alternative she can think of.

The irony, of course, is that if she approached Komaki like a normal person genuinely interested in her, she'd probably get a positive response. But that ain't happenin' soon.

I thought about that myself - if someone vaguely acceptable in vaguely acceptable circumstances (like out at a bar) approached me for sex (instead of the usual spiel about drinks and walks when it's all basically about the same thing) I might say 'yes', because why not and good on them for being so daring.

But if they asked the same thing and also offered me some money on top I'd absolutely definitely say 'hell no'. Why is that? (this is a theoretical question; there's plenty of obvious reasons why that is so) Funny how these kind of things work.

God I really am loving this. I don't really see how they would ever end up together for real... But I'll just leave that over to author-san

AnimexObsession posted:

God I really am loving this. I don't really see how they would ever end up together for real... But I'll just leave that over to author-san

It feels like Komaki doesn't actually dislike Hishikawa. In fact she seems like she like her stubbornness and enjoy playing straight woman to her antics. Once Hishikawa realizes she can be honest with her feelings toward Komaki I can totally see them hooking together.

AnimexObsession posted:

God I really am loving this. I don't really see how they would ever end up together for real... But I'll just leave that over to author-san

It feels like Komaki doesn't actually dislike Hishikawa. In fact she seems like she like her stubbornness and enjoy playing straight woman to her antics. Once Hishikawa realizes she can be honest with her feelings toward Komaki I can totally see them hooking together.

I think for me the line that best captures Komaki's attitude so far is chapter 1, page 15: "I'm glad you're having fun, but you really are the worst." She sincerely means both halves of that sentence: she cares about Hishikawa's happiness and is at least a little bit entertained by her idiocy, but she also fully realizes just how unreasonable and inappropriate Hishikawa is being and wants her to find a better way to approach relationships.

Interesting developments

Wow did not see that coming x3 (pun intended).

You know, I find the "buying sex with money" or "rich" lesbian character obnoxious, but at the same time I pity her.

It's official now, I love this... She's so stupid and pervert in the most cute way possible.
But I think Komaki doesn't actually like her like that yet, I mean, I wouldn't touch my crush like that without feeling something more than "wow"

Serenata posted:

But I think Komaki doesn't actually like her like that yet

I agree. She doesn't like her that way yet, but I can imagine it changing over some time.

It's a pretty strange yet entertaining setting, there's something funny and relaxing about a school girl with the demeanor of a middle aged man (and idol otaku).

She Just had an orgasm, didn't she?

Welp... hope she had some spare panties or something.

This is so over the top i just can't help but laugh x)

Midnightgunner posted:

She Just had an orgasm, didn't she?

Pretty much.

She Just had an orgasm, didn't she?

I 100% believe this.

And suddenly we're reading a Mira doujin.

last edited at Feb 7, 2018 11:25PM

This isn't so bad. Was worried about the premise from the first chapter, but this is nice.

This is so weird but I can not stop reading.

Hahahaha! I love this series more than I thought I would.

I thought maybe she was traumatized, but she was just so happy she stopped functioning.