Why does it feel like this series never gets anywhere?

It's going somewhere, just not the way you like, I guess.

You mean right back to where we started? Because as it stands I wouldn't be surprised if we get some big play that ends the engagement just like what happened in chapter 2. The only question is whether Yuzu will do it or someone else.

Right now Mei is deciding how Yuzu should feel for her, which I feel like is something that this series has also already grappled with and condemned as well(I don't remember anymore). So I don't expect the engagement to stick unless the series ends and Saburouta goes for the convenient sham marriage ending.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 2:59PM

someones badmouthing Mei,another ones badmouthing Yuzu another badmouthing SU.people here being so rude.I have never seen any sites or groups in which people are so rude.

There are plenty of people here who like the manga. Negative feedback is just more readily posted than positive ones. Tbh dynasty scans is pretty mild compared to some other sites out there. Part of the reason being gatekeeper Nez-chan. (Thank you for your continuous work and effort.)

Saburouta has already received death threats from (western) fans. Go figure.

NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!

Why does it feel like this series never gets anywhere?

It's going somewhere, just not the way you like, I guess.

You mean right back to where we started? Because as it stands I wouldn't be surprised if we get some big play that ends the engagement just like what happened in chapter 2. The only question is whether Yuzu will do it or someone else.

Right now Mei is deciding how Yuzu should feel for her, which I feel like is something that this series has also already grappled with and condemned as well(I don't remember anymore). So I don't expect the engagement to stick unless the series ends and Saburouta goes for the convenient sham marriage ending.

Yeah unfortunately every time progress gets made it goes right back. It would be nice if progress would have stayed and they could have worked things out together like a couple because surprise couples can deal with problems together you don't need to force one character to be Superman saving Lois.

Maybe Citrus is meant to be figurative spelling of sour. Short rant:

This oddly well-timed English release outlines what I wish would happen on Yuzu's end. This includes that I wish this note would have actual consequences, like a decision should. Probably neither will happen.

Long rant:

I'd also be interested in how Mei managed to erase her presence in Yuzu's live in school. The whole premise works against this chapter not being absurd execution-wise. For me this manages to be a new bottom even after the latest chapters in the quality of the story's writing. Maybe it has the intended effect on people still being invested in the characters, though I still wish there was a co-author or Saburouta worked only on the art.

I started watching the anime and was relieved to see that they managed to make the characters a bit more believable. I mostly mean Mei.

The story is quite obviously set up for them to end up together. That means this chapter is either a filler or intended as a punch on the emotional plane. Both would be equally selfish from the story/author. So I really wish it would be what will happen. Mei supposedly understood her options fully, then made a conscious, well-informed decision, then formulated a plan. She should work hard at being a great chairwoman, head of the family, a good wife of her husband, and an exemplary mother of their children. Yuzu should deal with her effectively unrequited love for Mei and that should end in either tragedy, pathetic angst/vegetation, staying alone, or finding someone, anyone else other than Mei. That person could be from Matsuri to even a guy, maybe even Mei's husband, but that story I'd expect earlier from other authors, e.g. Kodama Naoko, Kawanami Izumi, or even Takemiya Jin.

I'm curious whether this arc will be part of the anime. Did anyone measure the relative pace between episodes and chapters? They could just have a divergent ending, of course, like it often happens, or could leave it open and add an OVA with the remainder of the manga's story after it ends. As for the manga, another frightful thing that came to mind after thinking about the time skip is the possibility of a Strawberry Panic! ending.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:13PM

Image the salt if this would’ve been the last chapter :D On a sidenote, how many episodes will the anime have in the end?

I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!
I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!
I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!
I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!
I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!
I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!
I beg that Mei hasn't fucked her fiance and will share her first time with Yuzu!

Btw, how long was the time-skip? A year?

Btw, how long was the time-skip? A year?

Six months.

On a sidenote, how many episodes will the anime have in the end?

12.

Is chapter 36 the last one? If so, then that's a rather abrupt ending, almost as if Saburouta was just waiting for this to be turned into an anime, so she could grab the money and ditch a story she was not interested in anymore.

So let's see. Mei seduces Yuzu, toys with her feelings for 8 volumes, then just turns poor Yuzu's world all pretzel-shaped by entering an arranged marriage which hadn't even been mentioned until this volume. This is SO damn cliche as to be insulting, and of course very disappointing for all the readers who were rooting for Yuzu and Mei to be together.

So, really, what was the point of all of this? Was it all just a ruse so Saburouta could cash in on having two cute girls kissing each other? Sure, I liked that, and I realize this story basically just very tastefully drawn trash, but I still feel the Yuzu-Mei pairing had a lot of potential.

Still, I can't say I am THAT surprised. I remember being extremely pissed off when Yumi and Sachiko's relationship in Maria-Sama Ga Miteru just fizzled out after some 33 volumes of teasing, but now I realize that this is just how girl-girl relationships in Japanese media get treated in general. It's all just youthful silliness, they will get married to a guy after all, and their feelings for another girl will turn into nothing but bittersweet memories.

In any case, I feel no urge anymore to keep watching the anime, since seeing Mei will only make me want to throw something at the screen. Bummer.

Is chapter 36 the last one?

It's not.

And read it now. Yep, it hurts, but I really can not say I am surprised. This is very Mei-like. I also do not think this is bad writing, since it has pretty clear internal consistency.

Fipse
"Inheriting the academy became something I wanted to do of my own will." That being said, as Klice stated, we already discussed at length what Mei's social position entails, but of all that we covered I would want to bring one possible explanation as to why the marriage.
Female heiresses inheriting the business in lack of male heirs is nothing unheard of in Japan, however, Mei is not just a woman, she is also very young. How many CEOs do you know who are just fresh out of high school? Her fiance is older, from a prestigious family himself, a second son (so he will not be bogged down by running that business), and has management experience. The grandfather specifically selected him because he has an unimposing, gentle character, and he would serve as practical help for Mei, while the union alone would put business partners, boards and parents of students at ease, since they would know a high schooler is not running the academy unchecked.

I know I might sound boring bringing this up again, but you really can not have a lesbian who is dating her step-sister openly as the charwoman of a prestigious girls' academy. For one, gay and Japan. Two, step-sibling relationships are viewed as actual incest by many people, and are generally not socially acceptable (even outside Japan, even if heterosexual). I mean, name me one prestigious school anywhere in the world, east or west, that is run by an openly gay person. Let alone a gay person who is in a relationship with their own same-sex step-sibling. It is stupid, and it is not something I am fond of, but such is the world at present.

Mei basically has three choices, choose family and duty over Yuzu (as she seemingly did here), choose Yuzu openly (in which case her dream of running the academy is finished), or try to compromise (somehow convince the boards, any potential investors, and the parents of students that someone as young as her is up to the task, break off the engagement and come clean to grandfather she does not wish to marry; then she would be able to be with Yuzu, provided they keep the relationship a secret from the general public).

Each chapter hurts more than the last.

so mei was crying last chapter not just because she was hurting but because she finally decided she's gonna leave her and saying her goodbyes deep inside.

I want Yuzu to be happy but I got a feeling she will only be happy at the Final chapter which sucks to be honest, she deserves more than that, and let her actually live in it.

Edit: Also it will be a very disappointing ending if in the end yuzu has to chase after mei again, she's been doing that since chapter one. Give the girl a break and actually make her feel she's actually loved.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:54PM

Saburouta has already received death threats from (western) fans. Go figure.

Holy fuck... Some people are mental. I was actually wondering if Saburouta had to deal with angry fans judging by the reactions of some people in here (most notable one, a person wishing that the author of Nestuzou Trap gets cancer); but to have it actually happen... Well, what am I saying, this is the internet, the place where the respect died some time since... Wait, do you have to be born in the first place before dying?

I like Yuzu [...].

This at least proves that the author can write good characters; the fact that you're angry at the writing when the whole point of the genre is to make the character suffer is also proof that author succeeded in the type of story she wanted to write. She's not perfect, far from it, the story isn't original, far from it, but it's still pretty good, otherwise not that many people would have taken interest in it.

I want Yuzu to be happy but I got a feeling she will only be happy at the Final chapter which sucks to be honest, she deserves more than that, and let her actually live in it.

She was quite happy for the last three volumes.

On the other hand...

THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER! ahem, sorry.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:31PM

This was a terrible way of ending the whole story. It reeks of the author getting bored with it (or not knowing what to do with it) and moving on. Sure, Japan (like many other countries including my own) has a thing against gays and lesbians. And Japan has a hard-on for family inheritance of businesses and institutions. But that's not what bothers me.

What bothers me is how we got to this place. The story ends not with a bang but a whimper. It was a story of romantic and sexual tension between two characters that saw no movement toward release and resolution. It just... ended. That's weak storytelling. And really, this has been my feeling throughout the series. I had a feeling it was going to end like this. I really hoped it wouldn't. The premise of it was really great. The art is fantastic. The girls in it are absolutely beautiful to look at. But this inability to allow the relationship between the two of them to grow or change is what really killed it for me. Sure, their own personal feelings would change and whatnot. But that's what makes the whole thing feel so artificial. Relationships are like people. They grow and change right alongside the two people who are in them. And in this story, it never did. And it just felt very wrong.

Soooo... Yeah. This is a very disappointing series for me. You can take apart what I say and tell me how wrong I am if you like. But that's how I feel about it.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:29PM

Wait a moment, if this is not the last chapter cos there's no way on earth it can be..
Maybe after this 1 year, six months time skip thing, Mei grows a pair and decides to choose Yuzu? Cos if it's Yuzu again who "forces" her to do what she really wants, that's pretty lame.
If Mei, even if she needs an ungodly amount of time, does stand for herself and accepts this sort of life with Yuzu.. I'd like that honestly, cos ending it like this is basically going back to the very beginning, it'd mean Mei hasn't changed much, yeh ok she wrote a letter before running away instead of just running away..that's not improvement.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I'd pull my hair if it wasn't wet from the shower T_T

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:30PM

This was a terrible way of ending the whole story. It reeks of the author getting bored with it and moving on. Sure, Japan (like many other countries including my own) has a thing against gays and lesbians. And Japan has a hard-on for family inheritance of businesses and institutions. But that's not what bothers me.

What bothers me is how we got to this place. The story ends not with a bang but a whimper. It was a story of romantic and sexual tension between two characters that saw no movement toward release and resolution. It just... ended. That's weak storytelling. And really, this has been my feeling throughout the series. I had a feeling it was going to end like this. I really hoped it wouldn't. The premise of it was really great. The art is fantastic. The girls in it are absolutely beautiful to look at. But this inability to allow the relationship between the two of them to grow or change is what really killed it for me. Sure, their own personal feelings would change and whatnot. But that's what makes the whole thing feel so artificial. Relationships are like people. They grow and change right alongside the two people who are in them. And in this story, it never did. And it just felt very wrong.

Soooo... Yeah. This is a very disappointing series for me. You can take apart what I say and tell me how wrong I am if you like. But that's how I feel about it.

It has not ended yet though. The series is ongoing

And read it now. Yep, it hurts, but I really can not say I am surprised. This is very Mei-like. I also do not think this is bad writing, since it has pretty clear internal consistency.

Fipse
"Inheriting the academy became something I wanted to do of my own will." That being said, as Klice stated, we already discussed at length what Mei's social position entails, but of all that we covered I would want to bring one possible explanation as to why the marriage.
Female heiresses inheriting the business in lack of male heirs is nothing unheard of in Japan, however, Mei is not just a woman, she is also very young. How many CEOs do you know who are just fresh out of high school? Her fiance is older, from a prestigious family himself, a second son (so he will not be bogged down by running that business), and has management experience. The grandfather specifically selected him because he has an unimposing, gentle character, and he would serve as practical help for Mei, while the union alone would put business partners, boards and parents of students at ease, since they would know a high schooler is not running the academy unchecked.

I know I might sound boring bringing this up again, but you really can not have a lesbian who is dating her step-sister openly as the charwoman of a prestigious girls' academy. For one, gay and Japan. Two, step-sibling relationships are viewed as actual incest by many people, and are generally not socially acceptable (even outside Japan, even if heterosexual). I mean, name me one prestigious school anywhere in the world, east or west, that is run by an openly gay person. Let alone a gay person who is in a relationship with their own same-sex step-sibling. It is stupid, and it is not something I am fond of, but such is the world at present.

Mei basically has three choices, choose family and duty over Yuzu (as she seemingly did here), choose Yuzu openly (in which case her dream of running the academy is finished), or try to compromise (somehow convince the boards, any potential investors, and the parents of students that someone as young as her is up to the task, break off the engagement and come clean to grandfather she does not wish to marry; then she would be able to be with Yuzu, provided they keep the relationship a secret from the general public).

Your comment reminded me, the only reason she has to do this is because of her father, she has to do all this shit because her dad decided to do his thing and let a teenage girl have to shoulder everything. Regardless of if he loves her that is a giant dick move.

Even if it meant he had to do something he hated a parent's job is to protect and provide for their kid, this is the opposite of that.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:33PM

Great. Give up on this moron Yuzu and find someone who isnt desperate to be miserable and abandon you.

Mei. Does. Not. Deserve. Yuzu.

Please don't let Mei fuck the fiance!... I feel like i have to write this 10 times and then sacrifice a goat over an altar to Satan, so that, for the price of my soul, my wish will come true

It has not ended yet though. The series is ongoing

Hey, if the author decides to continue it and actually allow the relationship to change and grow, that'd be awesome. The reason I'm so disappointed is because I really like the premise, the characters, and the art. I'm just having a hard time seeing it after reading what was essentially a "good bye we're ending this now" chapter.

Please don't let Mei fuck the fiance!... I feel like i have to write this 10 times and then sacrifice a goat over an altar to Satan, so that, for the price of my soul, my wish will come true

That won't happen.
Japanese fans loved this chapter (while being sad, how could they not) because of Mei's POV, and they're very hopeful. As I said earlier, completely different reactions.

I just hate that Mei continues to pull crap like this and continues to be terrible at communicating, and yuzu puts up with it. Let Mei ruin her life if that's what she's so desperate to do. find someone more genuinely loving and balanced.

last edited at Feb 17, 2018 3:37PM

Please don't let Mei fuck the fiance!... I feel like i have to write this 10 times and then sacrifice a goat over an altar to Satan, so that, for the price of my soul, my wish will come true

That won't happen.
Japanese fans loved this chapter (while being sad, how could they not) because of Mei's POV, and they're very hopeful. As I said earlier, completely different reactions.

I had failed to see this until you pointed out, I re-read the chapter, I am actually crying a bit, but I'll blame it on my period, anyway, Mei surely cares about Yuzu after all and now I am hopeful as well, thanks mysterious person.