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Capturedsfdsss_x213
joined Mar 16, 2018

Quick! While she's distracted, run to your childhood friend girl! Avoid all this upcoming dramapalooza!

Chitose is a little busy falling down the stairs at the moment . . .

She could also be falling up the stairs the perspective is a bit wonky. Still, whenever she gets over that she should start running.

shadesofgreymoon
Swxj4ro
joined Jun 5, 2016

It doesn't look to me like they were twins. It looked like Touka was an older sister, based both on how the imagery of Ayaka was looking up to her from behind, and how her comments seem to frame her as being older and someone to aspire to become like. Yeah I know that she could still be a twin and be looked up to, but it seems not to fit as well for me.

joined Jul 26, 2016

She could also be falling up the stairs the perspective is a bit wonky.

I don't think gravity works that way. Even in mangaland, most of the time.
Doubly so as, well, they were at the top of the things.

DR2 Hajime Hinata
Image_2023-07-05_193410907
joined Jul 20, 2016

I don't see an end with the childhood friend anytime soon, she didn't even show up in this chapter and Ayaka is starting to fall in love with Chitose

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

It doesn't look to me like they were twins. It looked like Touka was an older sister, based both on how the imagery of Ayaka was looking up to her from behind, and how her comments seem to frame her as being older and someone to aspire to become like. Yeah I know that she could still be a twin and be looked up to, but it seems not to fit as well for me.

Well, twin or not, she looks enough like her sister to convince a girl who was in love with her.

In real life I’ve known a couple of pairs of twins who looked enough alike from a short distance that you couldn’t always tell which one it was until you got close enough to talk to them, but even then it wasn’t that hard, and they were the exceptions—once you know them, most “identical” twins aren’t that identical, even when they’re trying to be.

A lot of the diffference is in the voices—it’s pretty easy for two people to have similar voices, especially within a family, but it’s really hard to sound and speak exactly alike.

A8655427-a1fe-40eb-9c2f-10bb35cb2487
joined Aug 26, 2018

I feel like people are just using other manga/anime plots to form their theories about the girl

Well of course. Tropes exist for a reason.

Of course, that’s why I did it too :-)

984ee08ca42d308f9bdaa33a06c653e7
joined Dec 24, 2015

Chitose be like "guess I'll die"

2641afdd-9dc4-4327-a1c3-a5b558c33522
joined Mar 12, 2014

Looooooooooool

This chapter omg

  1. What kind of waiter comes over to a table and tells them their food is ready, shall I bring it over for you??
  2. The reveal for not-Touka being not-Touka was just kind of matter of fact in not-Touka's thoughts, so much for the "big reveal" at the end there
  3. Great another love triangle with angry short hair girl
  4. Omfg she's now falling down the stairs
  5. She better not get the cherished and convenient MEMORY LOSS from it

I can't, this chapter was so mehhhhhh

Utenaanthy01
joined Aug 4, 2018

It's strange, but I feel that this manga is kinda... boring.
Like I can predict what's gonna happen and exactly how it's gonna happen... and unlike other series, where knowing what's coming makes me feel eager and giddy, this one makes me feels tired in advance... like it's gonna be so tedious...

I wonder why. It's so unlike me to feel this way about a yuri manga. ?_?

I get what you mean. So far, it's piqued my curiosity just enough to keep reading long enough to see what THE BIG REVEAL would be, but reading it is genuinely a chore and I've been skimming really quickly. I have absolutely zero investment in whatever actually happens.

If I had to say why, I think it's because the plot is entirely one-track. There wasn't any build up at all, and I don't care about these characters or what happens to them in the slightest. Almost from the beginning, it's been constantly shoving "MYSTERY! THERE WILL BE A PLOT TWIST!" in our faces without any subtlety or development of the characters in other ways.

last edited at Oct 17, 2018 3:30AM by

81gpaz9q9tl._sl1500__cropped
joined Mar 22, 2014

Chitose will develop amnesia and assume a new identity that will fall in love with Ayaka nbd

Rsz_uzfg
joined May 24, 2014

[insert squint emoji here]

Senkomaid_pinkbg_160
joined Jun 4, 2018

Chitose will develop amnesia and assume a new identity that will fall in love with Ayaka nbd

If this story goes anywhere near amnesia I am so out no matter how cute I think it is overall.

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

It's strange, but I feel that this manga is kinda... boring.
Like I can predict what's gonna happen and exactly how it's gonna happen... and unlike other series, where knowing what's coming makes me feel eager and giddy, this one makes me feels tired in advance... like it's gonna be so tedious...

I wonder why. It's so unlike me to feel this way about a yuri manga. ?_?

To me it’s the pacing—we barely got a glimpse of Touka before she “went away” (that “I want to remember your smile” line was such obvious tragedy foreshadowing) and all we really knew about Chitose at first is that she seemed to be a sweet girl who had a crush on Touka. Then we learn more about Rikako’s interior life than we ever did about the other two combined. And since I never got much sense of who Touka was in the first place, it didn’t matter much to me that she turned out to be Ayaka.

So we’re presented with two ships—Chitose/Touka and Chitose/Rikako—each apparently as seaworthy as the Titanic, post-iceberg. Then there’s the future possibility of a Chitose/deceitful, identity-mimicking siscon pairing. Yay!

The most interesting character to me at this point (besides the unfortunate Rikako) is Soft-Butch-Sensei.

Art’s pretty decent, though, wonky perspectives aside.

Tron-legacy
joined Dec 11, 2017

A couple of odd things:

(But first, Chitose has just become a first-year high-school student, right?)

  • The 3rd-year students all seem to know that Touka is gone.
  • (We might assume) that the twins attended the same school.

Maybe, maybe not. They might not be twins. The intro of this chapter makes me question that. ("they're cousins...identical cousins, and you'll find...")

  • Ayaka used to have short hair.
  • Ayaka thinks “Touka loves . . . Chitose,” present tense.

Taking the last one first, if the tense is correct Ayaka could be referring to “fake Touka who lives on in me.” Or Touka literally could have “gone far away,” and still be alive. Or it could just be a translation glitch.

Touka could be in a coma. That would explain why she was "on leave" from the library instead of them being told she'd passed on. It would also complicate the situation a lot. Ayaka's motives are still pretty unclear here. Does she have a crush on Chitose, and she's using her resemblance to Touka selfishly? Or is this some kind of weird "I will become my sister" Bloom Into You-style grief processing? Or was she just thinking she could spare Chitose some grief by filling in for her sister until Touka returns? (If Touka isn't actually deceased, that is.) There's still a lot of unanswered questions.

But the hair. We know that about a year has passed, but I’m pretty sure it takes more than a year to grow hair from about shoulder length (p. 5) to all the way down to your waist. But maybe she started growing it before Touka “went away” in order to “get closer.”

I think the implication is that she started growing it out when she was a child as shown in the flashback at the beginning.

In any case, the 3rd-years would all know that Touka is gone, and that Ayaka is now mimicking Touka’s appearance.

But is she, around them? I mean, in a deliberately deceptive sense, that is? I mean, they have similar faces, apparently, and Ayaka grew her hair out to match Touka, but she also wears her hair differently. To the 3rd years, that know them,they're just twins/identical cousins/whatever that happen to look really similar, rather than any concious impersonation. At school, she'd be wearing her uniform, as well, so it isn't like she's intentionally dressing like her the way she clearly is on her date with Chitose.

And maybe for some reason the twins didn’t actually attend the same school, which explains why the sensei was previously unaware of Ayaka’s masquerade.

the Sensei also might not be a teacher at their school. She could be a cram school teacher or a personal tutor. Or she could be Touka's doctor. Or, it could be that at school, there's no masquerade to be aware of, and that what the sensei is reacting to is specifically her clothes.

At the very least, we ought to have some pretty creeped-out 3rd-years.

Eh, it depends. They do seem concerned (gossiping and such) but whether they're creeped out would depend on how much they know and what reasons Ayaka has given about it. It's not that hard to imagine a conversation where Ayaka seems reasonable. Something about feeling boxed in and not having the nerve to break Chitose's heart by telling her the truth would probably at least evade the creep factor, even if most people would agree that it's the wrong thing to do.

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

But the hair. We know that about a year has passed, but I’m pretty sure it takes more than a year to grow hair from about shoulder length (p. 5) to all the way down to your waist. But maybe she started growing it before Touka “went away” in order to “get closer.”

I think the implication is that she started growing it out when she was a child as shown in the flashback at the beginning.

Her thought, "No matter how much time passes, I can't get used to this long hair," plausibly supports that idea (it's been a very long time, perhaps), but then also suggests a deep and chronic discomfort with her physical form--I've had my hair be longer or shorter at various times, but I got used to either style fairly quickly.

Then she blurts out, "But in truth, I prefer my hair short," which we take be the prelude to a confession, although one so half-assed it gets derailed by the arrival of dessert.

I try to be as patient with tropes as I can (they're the basic wardrobe of narrative, after all), but that "I have something vitally important to say . . no, it's nothing" tease wore out its welcome some time ago.

In any case, the as-yet-unspecified length of time that Ayaka has been imitating Touka (remember, Sensei recognizes Ayaka but has not seen her since she's been faux-Touka) would be an important clue about her motivations. At this point it seems to be, "I want to be just like the person I admire, which has a surprise bonus of a cute girl who likes her/me/us."

EDIT:

I mean, they have similar faces, apparently, and Ayaka grew her hair out to match Touka, but she also wears her hair differently

In regard to the "different hairstyle" premise as well as the "maybe they're not really twins" issue, um:

True Touka;
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/pages_in_search_of_a_bookmark_ch01#9
Faux Touka:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/pages_in_search_of_a_bookmark_ch01#26

last edited at Oct 17, 2018 8:26AM

Sshot-8
joined Oct 25, 2011

All these possibilities and I don't really care which one it is. What is up with this series.

52722-l
joined Nov 8, 2017

So the impersonator theory was right, huh?
BUT WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING?!
And why do so many Yuri series go for the drama route? :'(

Setsuko2
joined Jan 20, 2014

uh you guys seem to be forgetting one key possibility! fake touka could in fact be some kind of forest witch who transformed to look like touka! i mean, all you with your twin theory, then why was there such a huge age gap of them at the very beginning of the chapter? and it shows them together in a forest ;) just as likely to be true than any of these other guesses lol.

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

uh you guys seem to be forgetting one key possibility! fake touka could in fact be some kind of forest witch who transformed to look like touka! i mean, all you with your twin theory, then why was there such a huge age gap of them at the very beginning of the chapter? and it shows them together in a forest ;) just as likely to be true than any of these other guesses lol.

A forest witch who is especially drawn to books, libraries, and having sweets in cafes! That’s so crazy brilliant it just might . . .

No, that’s just crazy.

joined Feb 18, 2015

Hmmm... but the line: "What I know is that Chitose is as precious to me as I was to the person who said the exact same words to me." (referring her telling Chitose that she "really likes that part of her" in reference to her love of books) suggests that the relationship between Ayaka and someone else that is analogous to the relationship between Ayaka/Touko and Chitose... One would think that would be Touko, who she wanted to be like... but other things point toward the twin theory, especially the way she reacted at the school and the way Ayaka's classmates reacted to Chitose asking for Touko. ("Did she just say Touko?" Can someone tell her...?" "No way!")... Needless to say it's confusing at this point, but I look forward to reading more...

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

I basically agree with @sleekie above—the situation and the characters aren’t really that compelling, but the story keeps offering obvious “mysteries” and clues, so for me guessing about it is like doing one of those “find the hidden objects” puzzles in magazines for kids—kind of an idle game without much ultimate significance.

As for the “twin theory,” one thing we do know is that we either have an identical twin or an identical non-twin. The physical resemblance between Touka and Ayaka has to be so close that Chitose, who paid the closest attention to her crush, can only suspect a difference because “Touka” doesn’t treat her the same way or remember the same things.

So I don’t know what gets accomplished for the story by having Ayaka not be Touka’s actual twin except avoiding the subject of incest (since Ayaka clearly had some sort of intense feelings for Touka). I can’t quite decide whether the “identity switch” thing is creepier with or without them actually being twins—and I’m leaning toward creepier without.

Kikaluna Uploader
Ef2_zi-u4ae1h8g
Noca Scans
joined Nov 20, 2017
  • Ayaka thinks “Touka loves . . . Chitose,” present tense.

Taking the last one first, if the tense is correct Ayaka could be referring to “fake Touka who lives on in me.” Or Touka literally could have “gone far away,” and still be alive. Or it could just be a translation glitch.

Updated that page, it was a typing mistake in the TL script (it wasn't obvious to me at the time of the typesetting... Please excuse me).

So it leans towards the theory that Touka is missing/deceased/in a coma rather than the split personality one.

Setsuko2
joined Jan 20, 2014

uh you guys seem to be forgetting one key possibility! fake touka could in fact be some kind of forest witch who transformed to look like touka! i mean, all you with your twin theory, then why was there such a huge age gap of them at the very beginning of the chapter? and it shows them together in a forest ;) just as likely to be true than any of these other guesses lol.

A forest witch who is especially drawn to books, libraries, and having sweets in cafes! That’s so crazy brilliant it just might . . .

No, that’s just crazy.

no it's not. she was so obsessed with touka that she literally wanted to live her life. not the first time i've seen that in a story lol. what's going to be really funny, if the author just totally drops the ball on the big reveal after everyone getting so worked up on what it could be lol. like she's a space alien or something and super weak reasoning why it all happenedXD

last edited at Oct 19, 2018 3:21PM

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

uh you guys seem to be forgetting one key possibility! fake touka could in fact be some kind of forest witch who transformed to look like touka! i mean, all you with your twin theory, then why was there such a huge age gap of them at the very beginning of the chapter? and it shows them together in a forest ;) just as likely to be true than any of these other guesses lol.

A forest witch who is especially drawn to books, libraries, and having sweets in cafes! That’s so crazy brilliant it just might . . .

No, that’s just crazy.

no it's not. she was so obsessed with touka that she literally wanted to live her life. not the first time i've seen that in a story lol. what's going to be really funny, if the author just totally drops the ball on the big reveal after everyone getting so worked up on what it could be lol. like she's a space alien or something and super weak reasoning why it all happenedXD

I didn’t say the forest-witch theory was definitively wrong.

I just said it was crazy.

I think we need a much more reasonable explanation—that it really still is Touka, who had a psychotic break and went away and killed her identical (whatever), Ayaka, and now is Touka but is convinced that she’s really Ayaka pretending to be Touka.

Something reasonable like that.

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