I love how Natsuko is so used to the groping she didn't react to it at all. XD

I couldn't agree more,
seeing how casually haru kept groping natsu like that.. I was like wtf lol

Haruko gropes Natsuko when she's distressed, it calms her down.

Just like a stress ball lmao.

u right! it could relieve da stress nd boredom.
haru ist so relatable to me, l love groping ppl too.

who's with me ?? xD

It's like the artist saw people mentioning that this wasn't yuri enough, so decided to make it more yuri.

It's like the artist saw people mentioning that this wasn't yuri enough, so decided to make it more yuri.

When I saw the cover for the first chapter in this volume i was so happy because it showed exactly that

It's like the artist saw people mentioning that this wasn't yuri enough, so decided to make it more yuri.

I know right XD
Im one of those ppl too. lol

since I recently complained about how haru n natsu relationship are kinda still up in the air, even tho it has been over 30 chap already.
kinda disappointing right

last edited at Apr 12, 2018 7:39AM

Nico as a guest

OMG that was my first thought when that character showed up!

When Will This Get An Anime !!!
this manga since the very first chapter, I thought " this would really make for an interesting cute slice of life anime"
I think it has enough chapters to settle for a full-length anime.
i'd be really really disappointed if this ends without getting an anime adaptation.(if this ever gets noticed by producers i hope they choose Doga Kobo studio)

Edit: Btw based on what some people are saying in this thread, it looks like some of them are about to start hating on this manga, please don't open this door, since the very first chapter I haven't seen one negative opinion towards this manga, some people are thinking they are getting baited or teased or something because they started it with the hope of it being yuri, this manga is already plenty cute and fun without the yuri. i mean, the romance would straight out kill the charm and the point of this manga.

Yes that would be nice if yuri was end game, but that would just be a plus. so please guys don't start acting selfish and forgetting how much fun and cute this manga is.

This also has happened with Hibike Euphonium anime, many fans said they got betrayed or baited, and lowered their rate in the end and forgot how great the show was, but nowhere in the plot hinted that they were going to be a couple in the first place(even in the light novel Kumiko was dating Shuuichi).
I'm a hard-core yuri fan and I binged the first season of this anime and always thought they were just best friends( I actually started shipping them in my head at THAT SCENE but i knew it was just a tease and it will never get canon), and before the second season I read the hard yuri shippers comments i was like " it is nice that they are shipping them, i just hope they don't take it seriously." but unfortunately they did like it was canon-confirmed in their head and by that they killed their entertainment.

last edited at Apr 14, 2018 1:18PM

This really isnt the place for this but Hibike was such huge bait that the writer had to publicly address it to justify it.

This really isnt the place for this but Hibike was such huge bait that the writer had to publicly address it to justify it.

hibike is Disgusting

I'm in kind of an awkward position in these discussions. On the one hand I really don't want to spoil anything. But on the other hand, if I stay extremely vague about whatever might happen and people are still whining about it not being enough even when those things do happen, then I just look like a liar.

Though from my personal standpoint, it can be a bit painful to see some of the opinions and guesses some people are making about how yuri this series is and how much it actually needs to be, even though I fully expect some of those people will not change their stance pretty much no matter what actually ends up happening.

...it's pretty much physically impossible for Tejima and Miyata to get any other impression than these two being a gay couple isn't it.

Tbh I got the same impression from seeing more than them so...

Btw based on what some people are saying in this thread, it looks like some of them are about to start hating on this manga, please don't open this door, since the very first chapter I haven't seen one negative opinion towards this manga, some people are thinking they are getting baited or teased or something because they started it with the hope of it being yuri, this manga is already plenty cute and fun without the yuri. i mean, the romance would straight out kill the charm and the point of this manga.

I am kind of in the same boat as you, only I do not think romance would straight out kill the charm of this manga. It would just be a whole other dimension to Natsuko and Haruko's already complicated relationship. Still, you're right, this manga would be plenty of fun even if they never got together (whatever "getting together" would mean for them). It continues to be one of my favorites because I'm attached to the characters and look forward to what funny swap-related shenanigans they get themselves into, not because I'm rooting for them to confess every chapter.

This really isnt the place for this but Hibike was such huge bait that the writer had to publicly address it to justify it.

can you give the source of when the writer addressed the yuri publicly ?

can you give the source of when the writer addressed the yuri publicly ?

https://ultimatemegax.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/animestyle-007-sound-euphonium-interview-director-tatsuya-ishihara-series-director-naoko-yamada-part-2/

It's not yuri, it's adolescence. /s

last edited at Apr 15, 2018 1:25PM

I have no problem with this manga not going into romance as long as the main characters' feelings for each other are genuine. The thing that bothers me (and I'm sure many other people here) about a story like this not crossing the line into "real yuri" (homosexual romance) is the intent behind that decision. There are basically two possibilities:

1. The story isn't romance, and having an explicit romance would go against the tone of the story. Although past a certain point this reasoning doesn't hold water, it's generally pretty understandable and I can live with it.

2. They (meaning the creatives, whether it's an artist, writer, director, etc.) want to maintain a deniability, so if they feel a need to they can step back and say "Hey, they totally like guys!" This can be downright insulting, and often says a lot about who their target audience really was and whether I was ever actually part of it.

I've never watched Hibike! Euphonium, and I don't ever intend to do so (partially because I just hate anime), so here's an example I'm more familiar with. In Ken Akamatsu's manga Negima!, when the character Setsuna is introduced it's quickly established that she has feelings for one of the main female characters, Konoka. As the story goes on, their relationship gradually progresses. HOWEVER. Even while that's happening, both girls are still being pushed as "romantic options" for the protagonist. As soon as the two became a thing, I lost all investment I had between either one of them and the protagonist, which makes me wonder why they couldn't just be together without the protagonist's involvement. Who was that supposed to appeal to? Because it sure as hell didn't appeal to me. To be fair, it's still a step up from what happened in Love Hina; but also to be fair the subtext between Motoko and Su felt incredibly cheap.

Let's not forget, it used to be fairly commonplace (mostly in manga/anime, but sometimes in other media as well) for "skinship" between girls to be used as a means to get men who thought with their dicks invested in the story, without any attempt to actually portray a lesbian relationship for people who were looking for that. From what I see, that's happening less and less (I could be wrong though), as the yuri genre expands with actual lesbian artists drawing for actual lesbian readers (as well as male or straight female artists who genuinely want to portray lesbian relationships and male or straight female readers who genuinely want to see lesbian relationships). This just makes that cheap skinship feel even more empty and demeaning than it did before, and I actually cringe when I see it nowadays.

In a situation like this, I don't doubt that this is a "yuri" manga even without romance. However, I've been burned enough times to develop a natural suspicion of this kind of writing, that approaches but never quite reaches "girls liking other girls."
Anyway, that's what's been going through my head as I read this discussion section, so I figured I'd get it out of my system by sharing my thoughts.

last edited at Apr 15, 2018 3:35PM

can you give the source of when the writer addressed the yuri publicly ?

https://ultimatemegax.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/animestyle-007-sound-euphonium-interview-director-tatsuya-ishihara-series-director-naoko-yamada-part-2/

It's not yuri, it's adolescence. /s

I'd rather read yuri hentai or gag than pure yuri love story, that just boring.

I'd rather read yuri hentai or gag than pure yuri love story, that just boring.

what are u tlkin about , pure yuri love story is boring?
Ive read a lot of hentai back then, n Ive come to the conclusion that most of hentai are mundane.
there's no build-up, there's no char development, there's no dynamic among char, there's nothin.

we could literally change all chars in em with pretty much anything n it wouldn't much different than before. since most of hentai are practically the same, yuri yaoi futanari bestiality. most of em are no more no less than aahhn ahhn kimochi ikuu ikuu,
that's all.

Honestly, I have completely stopped caring about Haru and Natsu and just want to see more of Aki and Fuyu. Like, where’s the spinoff about those two?

can you give the source of when the writer addressed the yuri publicly ?

https://ultimatemegax.wordpress.com/2016/01/26/animestyle-007-sound-euphonium-interview-director-tatsuya-ishihara-series-director-naoko-yamada-part-2/

It's not yuri, it's adolescence. /s

Oguro: Reina’s finger touching Kumiko’s lips had a lot of impact too. Whose idea was that?
Ishihara: (silently points towards Yamada-san)
Yamada: Sorry for bringing out that seductive atmosphere between Kumiko and Reina. (laughs)
Oguro: Ha ha ha ha ha ! (laughs)

Oguro: I’m not that familiar with yuri manga as well, but this wasn’t the soft fluff that they feel like; this was a work staged in the real world much like a manga for older women. That temperature also felt realistic.
Ishihara: That’s right. But it’s an example of how Yamada can go overboard occasionally.
Yamada: What?! (laughs)
Ishihara: I thought so in Tamako Market. It was awfully realistic.
Oguro: What, is that true?
Ishihara: She’s awfully serious when it comes to depicting yuri.
Oguro: But you don’t think of it as yuri, Yamada-san?
Yamada: That’s right.

"Oguro: Did you possibly think that it could be seen as yuri and playing to the viewers with no relationship to the main story?
Yamada: I thought it might, but I felt “Well, that’s okay. They’ll understand later.” (laughs)"

SO it seems they were just doing it on purpose since the very beginning lol. ugghhh those evil directors toying with the yuri fans little hearts xD..(though i can't say i didn't like it xD)

"Yamada: Okay. So I’ll say it clearly: I don’t think that’s depicted as yuri. I wanted to depict adolescence.
Oguro: For which case?
Yamada: Probably for all of them. For Tamako, for Reina, for all of it. I wanted to depict adolescence!"

And I totally didn't understand what he meant by "Adolesence". like how those gay scenes are just a depiction of adolescence i don't understand. could someone explain ? (i'm really sorry for turning this into a hibike discussion thread though)

last edited at Apr 22, 2018 3:35AM

Its a very common homophobic stereotype in Japan that teenagers will "practice" love with the same sex through some weird overly romantic friendship. They believe its just a phase some kids go through and that they will eventually grow up and fall in love with someone of the opposite gender. Its the basis of the Class S Yuri genre.

Hngg that welcome back kiss.

I've been stabbed in the heart after my experience with Stretch, so I just enjoy series like this as it is without any further expectations. If it becomes canon, it'll just be the cherry on top.

celebrating your birthday with friends,
*sigh
I can never relate

It feels notable how calm Natsuko is in the beginning of the chapter: she's reached the point where she can "wear" Haruko's body to go shopping as easily as putting on a different outfit.

In other news, I always love how happy Haruko gets whenever friendship-type stuff comes up. This girl is such a sweet little thing, I can't believe she'd gone all this time without making friends before the series started.

I always wonder if the other characters can see the change in eye shape.

I always wonder if the other characters can see the change in eye shape.

Well the other swappers said they could tell if someone was swapped because od their eyes, and one of them finds Harukos eyes to be creepy