I (almost) never leave messages but this time I just had to… This story was quite exhausting (emotionally). It was my second time reading it. The first time I was only able to bear 50% of the story before I turned off my pc for two days (I have a very low tolerance for drama and angst), but because this time I was procrastinating (yeah~ I escape to "YURU-LAND" whenever I have some deadline looming) I decided to stick with it and... oh boy! I’m glad to say I’m not disappointed that I stuck with it.

I concur; it’s quite nice to find a yuri story that deviates from the standard high school life. And although I came to hate Yukino from time to time, by the end she was truly showing signs of maturity. This made the ending feel a bit more realistic yet I think another chapter would have been better. At least in my opinion it would have eliminated the feeling that this last chapter was trying to rush the conclusion of the story.

last edited at Mar 24, 2013 3:01AM

I almost choked knowing I was on the last chapter >.<
This manga is amazing so may feels...
So many feels of me punching Yukino and just breaking the 4th wall to hug Setsuko.
Enough of that, this is an amazing yuri manga xD definitely breaks off from them happy, onee-sama/senpai cliche plots.

I like this manga because it has a realistic story...
Setsuko and Yukino's relationship doesnt build in lovey dovey emotion only, but their relationship is getting stronger because many problems that they have to deal with...and face them together...
Good work for the mangaka :)

I love this manga. :) I wish to see more of this artist's work. it's really rare to find stories like this. okay, i'm off to re-read this again!

Just reread this again for the second time in it's entirety and I love it even more than the first time. I first read it when it was updating, sooo like 4 years ago, and man does it have a different effect on me now. Back then, I really disliked Yukino. I thought she was pathetic and whiny. Stupid for hurting Setsuko like she did many times. I did end up liking her at the end after she started growing up.

This second time though. Man, I can really say that I'm really fond of Yukino now. I like her so much as a character it's ridiculous. I saw so much of myself in her that I'm ashamed. It's pretty hard to admit you are pathetic haha. So many years have passed since I last read it, and I've experienced so many more things, I was able to empathize with her. Being back in college was so easy going. I thought I knew where my life was headed and had no regrets, so I couldn't understand Yukino's life. After graduating, man, there are so many times I felt hopeless and felt like I was going nowhere, but didn't have the courage to pursue my dreams; didn't (still don't) know what I'm doing with my life; making excuses for why I failed miserably on many things...I cheered for her in every chapter now. Plus all the problems with being in a lesbian relationship reflected a lot of my own worries. Gah my heart...There's too many feelings.

Ah this just ended up being a gushing rant, but I can't express my love for this manga enough. It's inspired me again and I'll try to fix up my own life like Yukino started to do for hers.

Very interseting story. Maybe I should put it into my epic yuri manga :3

Long manga are always bad

Long manga are always bad

Well that's the vaguest complaint of long manga I've ever seen. O_o

Long manga are always bad

Bad mangas are bad, long mangas are long.

Long manga are always bad

Well that's the vaguest complaint of long manga I've ever seen. O_o

lol

Ha...and here I thought it was almost the perfect length for the story it was telling :)

Unlike say....Aoi Hana.....which dragged out way too long then ended like a truck hitting a brick wall....still enjoyed it...but still.

I almost vomited when she said that "he ejaculated in her mouth." I'm still pissed. What a horrible character.

It tries to seem mature by putting an immature character in the leading role and then trying to show her as she matures throughout the story. Except, she never matures, and to compensate for it, they dumb down the good character (Setsuko) by trying to make her seem flawed and immature, after introducing her as the cool and mature type. And they had that weird thing with Shiori going; at first, she was insightful, respectful, and gave Yukino good advice, and then she turned into a villain.They also dragged it on way too long, had way too many meaningless sex scenes, and lots of lying to friends/family for no reason. Horrible drama, bad characters, ambiguous development. It left an awful taste in my mouth (probably at least not as bad as semen) and I need to read something good now.

End less vague blog/rant. Apologies to those that enjoy it.

Honestly I felt that way the first time I read it. Then I came back to it after about a year and reread it. You have to realize that the main character should technically be in high school (I think she should be in her 2nd year when it starts...maybe end of the first, don't really know) but instead she's taken herself out of the family environment, thrust herself into the world of entertainment (which is cutthroat wherever you go). When that did not really work out she lleaves it and comes home where she is bullied and finds out that she might be better off on her own back in Tokyo. She's had no guidance really and she's just trying to figure things out like the big important question, who is she and what kind of person does she want to become. I was raised in a secure environment, was supported by family and only found out what I wanted and who I was in my early twenties. I could not imagine going through the things she did when I was her age.

they dumb down the good character (Setsuko) by trying to make her seem flawed and immature,

Lmao!! She was the most realistic character in the entire series. She wasn't dumbed down at all. I actually initially worried that she was going to be the mary-sue of the story with no flaws, insecurities, or feelings toward the main character and the kinda crap she was pulling. But when she finally put the foot down, I was happy.

She was the most realistic character in the entire series.

I agree, she was definitely the best character, and she was relatively well written. But my point was how she was introduced as the role-model sort of character that was mature and was going to help Yukino to mature. But she didn't really ever do that... Instead, she was "dumbed down" as I said (couldn't really think of a better term) from a character that was actually mature to a character that was only mature on the outside. I like flawed characters, characters with weaknesses, but I feel like she was stripped of her role-model character for no reason except to prove that she was immature just as Yukino was. Instead of either of them really growing at all, they tried to "dumb down" both of them (if you'll excuse my bad terminology) just to try to show them as equals.

I'm reminded of Hanjuku Joshi for some reason... Chitose and Yae spend the whole manga maturing and growing together as equals, in their relationship together and as individuals. To go back to the sex scenes complaint, the sex scenes in Hanjuku Joshi were always meaningful and reflected their growth and love for each other. In Octave...we start off with a one-night stand between Yukino and a complete stranger, almost like the plot of a story-less hentai. From then on, the sex scenes are thrown in seemingly to assure us that they really are in love, even though it might not really look like it. It lacks reason, except for fan-service, which is a more acceptable reason in this case anyway. Except, I don't think it was published in a hentai magazine, and there weren't enough scenes to really be able to call it an ero-manga. Instead, it felt like it was adding to how the manga was trying a bit too hard to be "mature." Sex scenes don't make it mature. Hanjuku Joshi on the other hand, really is an ero-manga...

The sex scenes themselves are a relatively minor complaint... it doesn't bother me as much as some of the other complaints I've stated. I was mainly using it as an example, and to compare it to Hanjuku Joshi.

Now don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to convince you that this is a bad series by any means. There were some parts that I liked, and it did have a happy ending. I'm simply explaining why I disliked it. It's my opinion and I respect yours.

End huge post

I felt the same way when I first read it. I will was like wtf is wrong with this girl? As for Setsuko, we need to remember this story is from Yukinos POV and her initial impression of Setsuko is the cool,mature lady. As the story progresses we see them opening up to each other and their real characteristics start to show. Which is why I agree she was such a realistic character in the fact that she wasn't perfect and had her own worries, jealousies, and insecurities.

I was on the same page a you Razzl for my first few times reading this so I get get you! :)

I love coming back and re reading this manga it's one of my favs

Long manga are always bad

Bad mangas are bad, long mangas are long.

Long manga are always bad

Well that's the vaguest complaint of long manga I've ever seen. O_o

lol

That guy need to read StrawberryShake Sweet. It's way much better than this, BTW.

If you want a fantastic realistic yuri manga thats not about high schoolers then you should read this...
I remember the first time I read this I was surprised that they kissed in the first few chapters, because in a lot of other romance manga it takes 30 chapters just for them to confess their damn feelings!! But man this is a fantastic story. No matter how many times I read it I still feel that warm fuzzy feeling when the characters become closer.
This isn't any gross fan-servicey yuri... This a great story with a interesting and complicated characters.

If you want a fantastic realistic yuri manga thats not about high schoolers then you should read this...
I remember the first time I read this I was surprised that they kissed in the first few chapters, because in a lot of other romance manga it takes 30 chapters just for them to confess their damn feelings!! But man this is a fantastic story. No matter how many times I read it I still feel that warm fuzzy feeling when the characters become closer.
This isn't any gross fan-servicey yuri... This a great story with a interesting and complicated characters.

I have rediscovered this manga after some five years. I read it in my mid twenties (and am now in my early thirties).

I hadn't even realized dynasty had the chapters on here. It was only when I realized I didn't have all the chapters in my folder for it that I went searching.

Out of curiosity, I glanced through the comments section...

And I have to say there is a lot of dislike for Yukino.

I'll be frank: when I first read this, I kept thinking what an idiot Yukino was and why she didn't just realize she had someone so wonderful in front of her.

Then I reread it. Several years later, hopefully more mature, and with a different outlook on life. And Yukino doesn't bother me anymore. That is, to say, I still got frustrated when I saw her bumbling around and making stupid decisions (like sleeping with that guy) but I was also equally frustrated at Setsuko for not being clear about her own feelings.

What I have realized, and dear readers, I hope you do, too, someday, is that this is a wonderfully drawn and written manga about two young women finding love with one another. They make real human mistakes, they argue, they have miscommunications, and yet, throughout it all, they eventually realize how deep their feelings are for one another.

Yukino is brilliantly written as a young woman who is suddenly without her original passion, her original goal, and thrust into the wide adult world. She has faults (who doesn't?), she is selfish, narcissistic, childish, and self deprecating. But this is what made her cute. For those who like that sort of childish cuteness, like Setsuko (we'll get to this), Yukino, a former idol, is very desirable. Yes, she's high maintenance, but she's also very loving and obsessive.

Which brings us to Setsuko. We have to glean a lot about Setsuko from the little she offers about herself and others in the series: she's a work obsessed shut-in, mostly. She does have relationships, but people have labeled her as 'cold' and the giver of harsh truths. This lends to her likely being the type that has a few close friends but nothing else because not many would be able to put up with that. Why does she fall for Yukino? To be honest, I think at initial glance Setsuko is slightly vapid and falls for a pretty face. There is a line at the opening of chapter 7, "Yukino, who wishes to be 'desired' and Setsuko who has 'discovered' her." This really struck me the second read through. For Setsuko, it was the thrill, getting to be with a cute idol. She definitely had no problem taking the lead (and continuing to take the lead) because that is really her personality type. She is also selfish, but in a different manner than Yukino.

Yukino is a narcissistic kind of selfish, while Setsuko is more of a 'set in her ways' kind of selfish. As weird as it is, this combination works. Setsuko eventually desired to keep Yukino to herself and Yukino constantly obsessed over Setsuko. With anyone else, I think people would find these two, separately, quite suffocating, but together, they mesh (with the fights, and even those are eventually resolved with much love).

So, this got out of hand some, and I didn't mean to type this much. I just want to close with how much I have enjoyed rereading and that this really is a good manga. Some people might not agree, but then all I have to point out is that not everyone has the same tastes.

Hate Yukino all you want, but understand, that for Setsuko, there can be no one else.

I like your analysis, cameron. I did enjoy this manga. While I got really frustrated with some of the stupider and more destructive things Yukino did, I definitely don't hate her.

Besides, it's not like I've never done stupid things in my life.

I agree 100%. I think Setsuko mentions pretty early on to Yukino that she was just turned on by her in the bathhouse initially.

Ah yeah. I forgot about that. I always had this perception that Setsuko wasn't initially looking for a relationship, but her personality ended up being quite agreeable with Yukino's.

And just an addition, Yukino gets very strong later on and is able to handle Setsuko's selfish requests with as much ease as Setsuko did with Yukino early on in their relationship.

I agree 100%. I think Setsuko mentions pretty early on to Yukino that she was just turned on by her in the bathhouse initially.

Ah yeah. I forgot about that. I always had this perception that Setsuko wasn't initially looking for a relationship, but her personality ended up being quite agreeable with Yukino's.

And just an addition, Yukino gets very strong later on and is able to handle Setsuko's selfish requests with as much ease as Setsuko did with Yukino early on in their relationship.

I very much went through the same thing you did when reading Octave (if you read my posts further on up the page). At first it's really frustrating and you hate on Yukino almost the entire time. But you come back a year or more later with a hopefully more mature, fresher, and more open mind than previously and you really catch a lot of nuances. One great thing about this manga is that it is very relate-able despite being a manga about two women falling in love. I know I was sympathetic to both characters at one point or another or even relate to their difficulties as a new couple when they were just getting to know it each other. I was actually disappointed that it ended when it did. I really wanted to see them starting their life together.

Read it the second time round (because I enjoyed it first time a while a go), it's a jewel in yuri manga.

I love this story. Beautiful artwork and highly believable characterisation. Sad to see it end.

This manga is look like my love life story. I dnt like the ending. No happy or sadnes. I think this manga beside frm true story. So i understand the writer of this manga cant decided to write happy end. Becouse in reality love in same gender do not have happy end.. The end is like this manga..