Can you believe, new characters introduced for the new volume to be about. It's like this is AnoKiss or something.

How are there still people who don't understand the nature of this series?

YES. These comments are getting really annoying, seriously, it's the same bullshit every time. You KNOW there's gonna be a new couple every volume alongside the main one, get over it already. =___= Like, there's been ten comments to complain about the obvious and almost zero to talk about the chapter. If you don't have anything to say, then just don't. Sorry, but it just pisses me off.

Anyway… That was unusually depressing for a Canno story. Though there's probably more to it − I guess Ayaka and/or Yurine are gonna get involved in all this one way or another. If you wonder when your relationship went off the rail, though, Asuka… that might be the day you stopped interacting with people? I can't think that's a good foundation for a healthy relationship.

Really liked the imagery in this chapter though, especially at the end. It's like that train announcer was watching them break up or something… Also, page 26, that leaf on the mirror reminds me of the way Tanuki transform in Japanese lore. Might be a way to symbolize that Asuka is trying to be someone she's not… I'm also pretty fond of Asuka's design. She looks a bit more adult than the characters we've seen until now (though since she's 19 that makes sense). Anyway, I'm curious to see how Canno continues that story. Their relationship seems pretty hard to fix right now.

Oh, and chart.

last edited at May 10, 2018 6:14AM

Was this a chapter about how relationships sometimes don't work out?

In a way? I'm pretty sure they're gonna be back together by the end of the arc though. But Asuka's gonna have to change a little for that. It seems like she just running away at the end.

I love the little touch that places this chapter in the bigger timeline, that being Kurosawa telling Shiramine that they're in the same class together for 2nd year

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/a_kiss_and_a_white_lily_ch41#5
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/a_kiss_and_a_white_lily_ch11

And these complaints are weird - is a story completely lacking in any value simply because it's not about specific characters? Is the main character's story over when they finally start going out? Because that's not how real life works; that's when things just start getting good.

Does anyone else ever confuse this with Bloom into You?

Every chapter update and i have no idea why it happens. They seem quite disimilar.

But yeah, this new one isn't really interesting for me, and like Lyendith said, a teacher x teacher or age gap relationship would be welcome.

I could get behind a teacher x teacher but would almost certainly dislike any teacher x student arcs.

Are any of us actually still reading this only for the 'main' couple? It's more a collection of interwoven short stories. The art, stories and translation are good. That's enough for me.

Was this a chapter about how relationships sometimes don't work out?

Part of me hopes so. I still think that many of these chapters are possible forshadowings of what could happen with the main two. Yeah, maybe the relationship doesn't work out.

last edited at May 10, 2018 8:07AM

Are any of us actually still reading this only for the 'main' couple? It's more a collection of interwoven short stories. The art, stories and translation are good. That's enough for me.

I like the interwoven story structure well enough, but I like the pieces best when they’re actually interwoven with the other arcs. Lyendith’s chart indicates why for me this was an especially underwhelming start to a new arc (if this chapter is the first of more, as I assume it is, rather than a one-shot)—two characters we’ve never seen before, unconnected as yet with anybody we have seen before (the time-setting cameos aside).

And we barely had time to figure out who these new people were and what they were about before they broke up, apparently (although probably not actually) forever.

As just one example, Yukina and Towako weren’t exactly my favorite characters, but that arc ultimately worked very well as part of the overall story (and not just because of the presence of Yurine and Shiramine).

These counter-reactions about the perennial “new couples” issue are the ones that seem over the top to me.

^ Now that criticism I can buy. If this arc doesn't end up connected in some way to the main arc I'd be disapointed, but I'll wait and see. I can see how that could be done − Asuka could for example serve as an inverse parallel to Yurine's evolution (started out sociable but detached herself with time). Hopefully Canno does something with that.

In a way? I'm pretty sure they're gonna be back together by the end of the arc though. But Asuka's gonna have to change a little for that. It seems like she just running away at the end.
Isn't this the only couple where they get together within the first chapter?

Well, Mizuki and Moe were already together from the start, but yeah, it's the first time we see the "whole process" within the first chapter.

That Asuka....what a shitty character :/

I like the interwoven story structure well enough, but I like the pieces best when they’re actually interwoven with the other arcs. Lyendith’s chart indicates why for me this was an especially underwhelming start to a new arc (if this chapter is the first of more, as I assume it is, rather than a one-shot)—two characters we’ve never seen before, unconnected as yet with anybody we have seen before (the time-setting cameos aside).

Agreed. This isn't my favourite chapter. Though i realised with the student council arc (with tatsumi and torayama) that even when i dislike the start of some volumes or some characters, i grew to like the two of them very much by the end.

And we barely had time to figure out who these new people were and what they were about before they broke up, apparently (although probably not actually) forever.

I did like how it was told. Whether it worked well is another matter. Showing us the end, then how that came to be is not unique to this manga but i don't remember if it was done before with another arc. And since we have seen so many different arcs, a change of style or story-telling is welcome.

People: Stop dragging out the plot, and wasting chapters on other characters!
Canno: Aight. [compresses an entire new arc into a single chapter]

Haha! This got a laugh out of me.

I did like how it was told. Whether it worked well is another matter. Showing us the end, then how that came to be is not unique to this manga but i don't remember if it was done before with another arc. And since we have seen so many different arcs, a change of style or story-telling is welcome.

It's a bit early to tell how "well" it worked since it will depend on how the arc will unfold, but I personally love the bittersweet tone of the chapter. How Mikaze went from a shallow crush to a deeper attachment and how Asuka realized she might have someone she can relate to, if even a little, before it all went downhill. The chapter does a good job at making both Mikaze's heartbreak and Asuka's disillusionment easy to understand (though the latter seems more at fault for the relationship petering out).

last edited at May 11, 2018 8:10AM

Serian Academy is the gayest place on earth. Unless the university is somehow even gayer.

Also this chapter was sad.

Before I read the last page, I was so confused about why 飛鳥 was being read as Asuna, haha. I thought Mikaze was talking to someone else entirely when she said “Asuna”, LOL.

It's a bit to tell how "well" it worked since it will depend on how the arc will unfold, but I personally love the bittersweet tone of the chapter. How Mikaze went from a shallow crush to a deeper attachment and how Asuka realized she might have someone she can relate to, if even a little, before it all went downhill. The chapter does a good job at making both Mikaze's heartbreak and Asuka's disillusionment easy to understand (though the latter seems more at fault for the relationship petering out).

I'm a bit split on this. A chapter should stand on it's own in general but also relate to the arc. So did it work as an introductory chapter on it's own that makes you want to see more and did it fit well into the overall arc are two different questions only one if which we could answer now. But yes, i enjoyed the tone of this and would like to see where it goes.

I just wish the chapter didn't feel so rushed. We only saw flashes of how the relationship developed and left me thinking it was rather one-sided. But i don't know if it could have been done slower in a single chapter and give us such a summary of events.

I agree that it feels a bit one-sided, Asuka seems to have gotten with Mikaze more for amusement than out of genuine feelings at first. I didn't mind the pacing though. I don't think it would have worked as well if split in several chapters − after all it's a sort of "how we got here" chapter, with the first page and all. The visual transitions between seasons worked pretty well.

Before I read the last page, I was so confused about why 飛鳥 was being read as Asuna, haha. I thought Mikaze was talking to someone else entirely when she said “Asuna”, LOL.

Yeah, someone later pointed out that I could have written her pseudonym "Asca" or something, but it's too late now. >.>

I like Moe and Mizuki, They are best couple in this manga

I frankly lost track of so many characters over time but I appreciate the fact these two are one of the most blatant lesbian couples so far. No subtext, no "we're really CLOSE friends", no "they're already a couple when the arc starts" just a old fashioned confession and (unfortunately) break up.

But that is precisely the issue with the chapter, it has an erratic pacing with things happening too fast, failing to give them the needed room for the whole thing to be developed organically (the somewhat ambiguous panel layout and word balloons' position don't help either) leaving to the break up to fall flat.

Awesome art tho.

(the somewhat ambiguous panel layout and word balloons' position don't help either)

Hmm, like where? I didn't see that, but I translated the thing so maybe I biased…

It might be just me but pages 24 to 27 doesn't feel as fluid as the rest of the chapter, with the off-screen voices making a little difficult to follow the narrative. And is not a translation issue, is just the layout what makes it read oddly.

Chapter 42 is not released yet?

Chap 42 and 43 are out in French, if you are impatient. :þ For the others, they'll be out in English in a few days.

I might actually leave a few days' gap between the releases because there's a good chance all the discussion will focus on chapter 43 if I release them simultaneously.

It happens sometimes. The titles are usually added when the compiled volumes come out. Same for the occasional chapters with no "Little Theater".

Chapter 42.
Wow. Both of them are struggling to find their own footing and believing that they're not what the other needs or wants. I'm happy to see that Mikaze took the initiative to find her identity in this chapter. She's got her first foot forward now, even if it doesn't bring Asuka back. Ironically, it is actually Mikaze who ends up being strong enough to accept that she doesn't need to, and will not change for the sake of someone else in the end, seeing as how Asuka still thinks she herself isn't enough for Mikaze on the last page.

last edited at Jul 10, 2018 11:01PM