I sure love Kazuma Kowo's art. Even if it's not always perfectly refined, there's something about it...I think it's partly how she does eyelashes/eyes, and the way she does expressions in general. Really good stuff.

Rereading Pure Water Adolescence also reminded me of how good it was. In general, I think I like the art in her later oneshots better...and I didn't like Sayonara Folklore much, but in terms of writing Pure Water Adolescence is pretty impressive due to the defined and thoughtful way Kazuma explore's its themes. In that regard, some of her later work can't really compare...

There are other differences like the way Kazuma has kinda stopped using chibified versions of her characters in her later oneshots...sort of reflects her development as an artist, I guess. In any case, her stuff is quite good in general, I like it.

I sure love Kazuma Kowo's art. Even if it's not always perfectly refined, there's something about it...I think it's partly how she does eyelashes/eyes, and the way she does expressions in general. Really good stuff.

Rereading Pure Water Adolescence also reminded me of how good it was. In general, I think I like the art in her later oneshots better...and I didn't like Sayonara Folklore much, but in terms of writing Pure Water Adolescence is pretty impressive due to the defined and thoughtful way Kazuma explore's its themes. In that regard, some of her later work can't really compare...

There are other differences like the way Kazuma has kinda stopped using chibified versions of her characters in her later oneshots...sort of reflects her development as an artist, I guess. In any case, her stuff is quite good in general, I like it.

Yah, Kazuma's art is really good, and you're right about eyes and eyelashes, i wasn't sure myself why i was so immersed by the drawing :) Thanks for pointing that out ^^
I'm re-reading PWA too xD Well.. It's pretty hard to draw some mangas and i'm sure everyone knows it's hard to draw the same when you have more experiences, different feelings/moods and stuff :)
Are you sayin' that you want to see more chibified versions or that you're glad that there's less of them? o.O
Uh.. I also like it :)

I have one stupid question: At chapter "Firts Love Canon", it's practically about canons, what the fu*k is canon? I know just that weapon (cannon) but it kinda doesn't make sense?

last edited at Apr 3, 2013 1:32PM

"A general rule, fundamental principle, aphorism, or axiom governing the systematic or scientific treatment of a subject; e.g. canons of descent or inheritance; a logical, grammatical, or metrical canon; canons of criticism, taste, art, etc." - OED.

Basically, the general rule of First Love, given the title. We talk about canonical literature, music, texts, etc. These are all a sort of "general rule" of things that should be read for criticism and history.

Basically, the general rule of First Love, given the title. We talk about canonical literature, music, texts, etc. These are all a sort of "general rule" of things that should be read for criticism and history.

Oooh. Now i get it.. Thanks :)

Anybody else thinks that Kiyo x Nanao wouldn't be so bad?

Another definition of the word "canon" in this case is also specifically a type of musical piece of work. This is the wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_(music) -- the main idea is that there are multiple "voices" repeating the same melody of music. The musical canons that the teacher's teacher used to play can be seen as a metaphor for the "repeating patterns of first love", so that the teacher coming to like canons again shows how she's regained an appreciation for love.

Are you sayin' that you want to see more chibified versions or that you're glad that there's less of them? o.O
Uh.. I also like it :)

Anyway, as for this, I liked the chibified versions, lol. However, I also still really like Kazuma Kowo's later work which doesn't have them. So I guess my main point was just that I like her work either way :P. Maybe that I'm also a little curious about if Kazuma Kowo has noticed she's stopped doing it.

Kiyo is quite a cute girl, but in the end I still prefer Nanao x Sensei. I hope Kiyo still manages to find happiness elsewhere, her perspective was kind of interesting.

last edited at Apr 3, 2013 3:18PM

To nitpick, or rather, the opposite of nitpicking by unification, that definition is essentially the same as the simplified one that I stated. "Repeating patterns" are equivalent to the "general rule". Canon follows a similar definition for most forms of art, though I specifically study English literature. Though certainly giving the staff and piano, it probably is a direct reference to musical canon, but I'd argue its relevance to canon in literature and art given that manga is a combination of the two. That is, the manga that is art and literature is depicting musical canon as well as that "general rule." If we were to create a diagram of story structure, I'd put it as circular ripples in a pool, where each form of expression, including social context and culture (that is, the canon of falling in love with teachers), is a reflection over time of the theme.

I did my thesis on Faulkner. Who would have guessed?

I appreciate that Nanao is breaking out of what seems to be canon, and is able to have a successful relationship.

Anybody else thinks that Kiyo x Nanao wouldn't be so bad?

Don't say that!... e __e Age gap for the win! /o/.

Age gap forever! <3

Anybody else thinks that Kiyo x Nanao wouldn't be so bad?

Mmm, I don't know if Kiyo would be a match for Nanao's serious side. So even if they got together I can't see it lasting.

I would like to see a one-shot about Kiyo finding someone of her own though.

I blushed from reading this lol

I found myself liking the side story "Lovesick Over My Best Friend" more than the rest...

Cripes, I can't believe how long it took me to really get what was going on in "First Love Canon". Basically, after the music teacher she was in love with broke up with her under the guise of "graduating" from her, Hanada took this as the way it should be done. In order to accept what her own first love had done, she's been repeating the pattern over and over, accepting the confessions of girls and then letting them go when they graduate, as you can see by the line "I just grew up and got used to saying goodbye." Continuing with any of those girls would expose the lie that she had to break up with the music teacher in the first place.

So basically, she couldn't stand canons because they reminded her of what she was doing, and she couldn't face that. Only when she finally broke the cycle by accepting the graduating girl at the end (and thus finally admitting the original breakup was wrong and finally taking on a continuing relationship), could she listen to that music once more.

What really makes me wonder here is how many times, with how many girls, has Hanada gone through this cycle with, and how many broken hearts (hers included) have been left behind?

I love age-gap yuri!!!

Since according to the description, an example of a canon is "Row Row Row your Boat" (and it's the only one I know too :3), I kind of imagine Hanada, not being able to listen to it, and then after, being able to listen again. Hahahaha.

Went back to this classic and i still LOVE IT

Cripes, I can't believe how long it took me to really get what was going on in "First Love Canon". Basically, after the music teacher she was in love with broke up with her under the guise of "graduating" from her, Hanada took this as the way it should be done. In order to accept what her own first love had done, she's been repeating the pattern over and over, accepting the confessions of girls and then letting them go when they graduate, as you can see by the line "I just grew up and got used to saying goodbye." Continuing with any of those girls would expose the lie that she had to break up with the music teacher in the first place.

So basically, she couldn't stand canons because they reminded her of what she was doing, and she couldn't face that. Only when she finally broke the cycle by accepting the graduating girl at the end (and thus finally admitting the original breakup was wrong and finally taking on a continuing relationship), could she listen to that music once more.

What really makes me wonder here is how many times, with how many girls, has Hanada gone through this cycle with, and how many broken hearts (hers included) have been left behind?

I'm not sure she really "started" something with those girls and in a way she didn't really accept them. I understood it in a way that she perhaps told them she'd go out with them, but didn't actually do anything with them. I also doubt that her teacher back then got actually physically involved with her or took her serious on an emotional level. You know, all that "it's just a phase" crap )not even necessarily aimed at the girl/girl aspect).
And so I think what she stopped was actually lying to those girls and starting "fake" relationships. I think in the final scene of that chapter, her response letter actually turns down the girl. She doesn't start a relationship there and thus she will also no longer pretend it's just natural to end it with graduation (saying "Thank you. I was flattered" is usually a let down). She accepts that her own teacher was simply not serious and not that her "relationship" came to a natural end back then.

Think about it: If she had actually had real relationships with countless students (as in with full emotional investment and with full physical aspects), she wouldn't act the way she acts towards Nanao & Matsumoto.

This is a fun read :3
One of the series that somehow got some sense into it.

Cripes, I can't believe how long it took me to really get what was going on in "First Love Canon". Basically, after the music teacher she was in love with broke up with her under the guise of "graduating" from her, Hanada took this as the way it should be done. In order to accept what her own first love had done, she's been repeating the pattern over and over, accepting the confessions of girls and then letting them go when they graduate, as you can see by the line "I just grew up and got used to saying goodbye." Continuing with any of those girls would expose the lie that she had to break up with the music teacher in the first place.

So basically, she couldn't stand canons because they reminded her of what she was doing, and she couldn't face that. Only when she finally broke the cycle by accepting the graduating girl at the end (and thus finally admitting the original breakup was wrong and finally taking on a continuing relationship), could she listen to that music once more.

What really makes me wonder here is how many times, with how many girls, has Hanada gone through this cycle with, and how many broken hearts (hers included) have been left behind?

I'm not sure she really "started" something with those girls and in a way she didn't really accept them. I understood it in a way that she perhaps told them she'd go out with them, but didn't actually do anything with them. I also doubt that her teacher back then got actually physically involved with her or took her serious on an emotional level. You know, all that "it's just a phase" crap )not even necessarily aimed at the girl/girl aspect).
And so I think what she stopped was actually lying to those girls and starting "fake" relationships. I think in the final scene of that chapter, her response letter actually turns down the girl. She doesn't start a relationship there and thus she will also no longer pretend it's just natural to end it with graduation (saying "Thank you. I was flattered" is usually a let down). She accepts that her own teacher was simply not serious and not that her "relationship" came to a natural end back then.

Think about it: If she had actually had real relationships with countless students (as in with full emotional investment and with full physical aspects), she wouldn't act the way she acts towards Nanao & Matsumoto.

Wow, I read this in a completely different way than both of you. Here's what I'm pretty sure happened:

The Music Teacher is gay (well, duh.) She was in a relationship with her own music teacher (who, based on what happened in the story, was probably a sexual predator), but her teacher broke up with her abruptly when she graduated, telling her she needed to "graduate" from her. I think the key point here is that the teacher was telling her that both a teacher/student and a lesbian relationship wouldn't work.

Since music teacher's music teacher (what a moutful!) obviously held huge influence over her, she was seriously emotionally scarred and a). had no other relationships, and b). probably didn't believe it was possible for her to have relationships. Nanao's words made her realize she did love the teacher, by extension was gay, and also that there was nothing wrong with that and thus nothing to "graduate" from.

The story ends with the music teacher determined to find love and make it last. It seems totally obvious to me that she accepted the girl's letter. The story ends with these words...

That melody, those words... I'm sure I'll hear them next spring... with someone by my side.

Based on the fact it's overlayed over her hugging the girl who gave her the letter... well, to me at least, it seems clear she accepted and is determined to make it last. It honestly might be my favorite story in the collection. So moving.

last edited at Feb 26, 2015 12:53AM

Havent seen Kazuma sensei manga in a long while. I wonder what is up? . z .
Reread and want to see more of her manga now cries

Re-read! Still excellent! (Took me forever to find it...)
It was fun browsing thru the "age gap" tag tho when looking for it ^_^ lol!

Matsumoto isn't sexy!!

Yes, I am.

Gotta love Matsumoto. Also: it's scary how much okay I am with this romance.

I was just rereading this last night. It's an interesting series.

none

Also: it's scary how much okay I am with this romance.

The fact that both of them are actually fairly innocent about it probably helps.

The fact that both of them are actually fairly innocent about it probably helps.

The creepier part in Student teacher is the teacher reciprocating (regardless of how innocent it is, I guess)... That I'm okay with many works with this tag is what scares me.

The creepier part in Student teacher is the teacher reciprocating (regardless of how innocent it is, I guess)... That I'm okay with many works with this tag is what scares me.

You... get used to it, I guess?
CCS numbed me down about Student-Teacher relationships.
Reading Fuuga's hentai works numbed it down further.

Just like Yuri, it's forbidden by society but sometimes, it just works a lot better than a normal relationship.

last edited at Oct 16, 2015 7:49PM

Just like Yuri, it's forbidden by society but sometimes, it just works a lot better than a normal relationship.

More like it's highly unethical from the teacher's part.

I was just rereading this last night. It's an interesting series.

none

Also: it's scary how much okay I am with this romance.

The fact that both of them are actually fairly innocent about it probably helps.

Matsumoto deliberately so as one of the later stories confirms. She loves Nanako very much, and refuses to jeopardize that by having sex with her or going any further than kisses, which could conceivably be explained away as innocent.

That is, until she graduates. Then her girlfriend's fair game.