Zefiberyl Translations
joined Apr 11, 2011
Well, after the last chapter I said I would wait to see what happened, but I don't think I can withhold judgement of Kousaka any longer. People are talking about "this is what an age gap would actually be like", except that in no other age gap yuri story I know of does the (significantly) older woman immediately force herself sexually on the younger. The only one I can think of that even comes close is Chiba Jirou's "Girl Meets Girl", but the worst the older one did there was kiss the younger in a momentary loss of self control.
In that story, when they meet again (though years later) the older woman is at pains to clarify the desperate nature of her desire, then and now, but still seeks understanding and clear assent from the younger before doing anything sexual. It's actually one of my old favorites due to the lonely forbearance Sensei showed in carrying such a strong passion for years.
Even what Kousaka did would've been forgivable, or at least tolerable within the bounds of the story, if they had talked afterward about what had happened, if Kousaka had explained the nature of her desire and what it had just led to. It still would not have been "good", but it would've been better.
Instead, she left this poor little girl confused about what had happened, ashamed without knowing why, and alienated from what had been her normal life. You can argue about the semantics of whether it was "rape", but it was absolutely and unquestionably child abuse.
As others have said, the author is clearly taking this approach deliberately, with the aim of depicting a messy and unhealthy situation in a compelling way. It certainly has established such a situation strongly, but I'm not yet convinced there is a goal beyond sensationalism, or the writing chops with which to plot an acceptable path out of it. Would it even be acceptable for them to end up together? Not for me I think, if I'm really honest.
last edited at May 19, 2018 4:46AM