If you needed to cut the series to one cour, that's easily as good a stopping point as it gets. As I said before, this series is far longer than it has any right to be(some of the side characters could easily hold their own as protagonists of one-volume series, though).

I think the anime was quite good. Obviously the ending won't be as satisfying, that's true for anything cut down like that. That's simply the nature of anime adaptations—the vast majority of them are 12 episodes long and can't cover anything close to the whole story.

Also, I agree Sasamaki Koto is too long.That's probably the main reason I've never reread this. It's not the length itself, it's that it feels padded with pointless nonsense. Aoi Hana is longer than this (and probably too long as well), but it feels shorter to read because it keeps up something resembling momentum.

This is a very nice story though, with some excellent humor, and quite a few endearing characters.

Full disclosure, I was vehemently against reading this at first because I was pissed about how the anime ended. I was a fool. This is by far one of the best yuri manga I've read. It's slow burn and angsty as FUCK, given... But, there were so many genuinely sweet and laugh out loud funny moments that I enjoyed the entire thing.

Yea the anime ending sucks. Thank God I read this all the way thoroughly. Still one of my favorite Yuri manga of all time!

It really is amazing.

...think imma read it again, actually.

Imo, there's a really strong story here, with a lot of great moments, that's hampered by the fact it got strung out so much. That's not a deal breaker though, at least for me. I did dislike how akemiya, the cross dressing character, got treated, would've been much better if they made them a trans girl, which it kinda felt like the author wanted to do but kept chickening out of. Again, that doesn't ruin the whole thing for me, but it's certainly an area that could've been much better.

As for the anime, what's there is fairly good, the soundtrack is great and the actors give good performances, though it tended to focus a bit too much on being comedic. The ending is disappointing, but like, what were they gonna do? Correct me if I'm wrong but I think the manga wasn't completed when the anime aired, and even if it was I don't think it would be possible to cut the whole thing down enough to fit in 13 episodes.

Anyway, overall, like it a lot, could've been better but whatcha gonna do, y'know?

last edited at Aug 21, 2018 2:26AM

This was a good re-read. Yeah, there just aren't enough longer romance series ... but then, like this, they are kinda fake-long. Dragged out through side-characters and side-issues and whatnot. Could have been so much better with a stricter pacing, although some scenes really are awesome; so it's all forgiven in the end.

What was godawful was the brother's romance (and not because it's het, just because it's godawful. Bad enough to say it twice, easily).

Had a look again. Reread everything. Yeah still just as good the second/third time. I think I have to say that it gave a very good depiction of what love is and some of what it is not. The story's use of callbacks is also excellent. Constantly reinforces the feeling of consistency and thematic cohesiveness. I would have liked to see more of Toumo and Miyako frankly, cause their sort of relationship is my favorite.

What a classic. And such a satisfying, almost bittersweet ending that leaves you feeling just the right amount of hollow. I have no doubt YagaKimi is going to join its ranks for me lol.

Excuse me and hello, this is my first post, and I’m needing some help understanding something in chapter 50, page 89. Sumika and her father just finished a life-changing conversation, then her father gets up with some (grasping for the right word) distress, and goes over to the family’s shrine to ring a bell. What is the cultural significance of that? Is (ring the bell) that part of Buddhist/Shinto (I’m not good at discerning between the two philosophies) symbolism or is that pertaining to Japanese culture?

Excuse me and hello, this is my first post, and I’m needing some help understanding something in chapter 50, page 89. Sumika and her father just finished a life-changing conversation, then her father gets up with some (grasping for the right word) distress, and goes over to the family’s shrine to ring a bell. What is the cultural significance of that? Is (ring the bell) that part of Buddhist/Shinto (I’m not good at discerning between the two philosophies) symbolism or is that pertaining to Japanese culture?

Household shrines generally honor dead family members. He goes to the shrine because he's thinking about Sumi's dead mother. I don't think there's any special significance other than that. Maybe he wants to tell her about what's going on, maybe he's uncertain about what to do, maybe the way Sumi is acting just reminds him of her.

Excuse me and hello, this is my first post, and I’m needing some help understanding something in chapter 50, page 89. Sumika and her father just finished a life-changing conversation, then her father gets up with some (grasping for the right word) distress, and goes over to the family’s shrine to ring a bell. What is the cultural significance of that? Is (ring the bell) that part of Buddhist/Shinto (I’m not good at discerning between the two philosophies) symbolism or is that pertaining to Japanese culture?

Household shrines generally honor dead family members. He goes to the shrine because he's thinking about Sumi's dead mother. I don't think there's any special significance other than that. Maybe he wants to tell her about what's going on, maybe he's uncertain about what to do, maybe the way Sumi is acting just reminds him of her.

Ok thank you.

You do realize you're spamming the thread for no good reason?

You do realize you're spamming the thread for no good reason?

BV has always spammed. look at how many posts he already has compared to the date he joined, ouch.
lmao

Prince_Anime posted:

BV has always spammed. look at how many posts he already has compared to the date he joined, ouch.
lmao

Doesn't even look like they're bothering to read the thread either which kinda totally defeats the entire purpose of a forum.

I'm really not sure why you feel the need to liveblog your reading this BV, but surely you could take it to your own Twitter where it belongs?

I'm really not sure why you feel the need to liveblog your reading this BV, but surely you could take it to your own Twitter where it belongs?

Sorry, m8, I don't have a twitter.

Forums are for discussion, not places for you to one-sidedly make nonsensical posts. Note: If you really want to make a bunch of comments, write ONE post with all your comments in the single post. Double posting or triple posting, which you do constantly, is very rude and annoying on forums. Please also note that you can edit your existing posts to add more comments if you want, no need to make another post.

Not posting at all is also a highly suggested option.

last edited at Dec 2, 2018 3:17PM

I'm really not sure why you feel the need to liveblog your reading this BV, but surely you could take it to your own Twitter where it belongs?

Sorry, m8, I don't have a twitter.

I'd recommend starting one, because you're really pushing your luck.

Prince_Anime posted:

BV has always spammed. look at how many posts he already has compared to the date he joined, ouch.
lmao

Doesn't even look like they're bothering to read the thread either which kinda totally defeats the entire purpose of a forum.

the mods are really nice on BV by letting him stay so long, maybe too nice?
but hey, thats my opinion :/

Prince_Anime posted:

BV has always spammed. look at how many posts he already has compared to the date he joined, ouch.
lmao

Doesn't even look like they're bothering to read the thread either which kinda totally defeats the entire purpose of a forum.

the mods are really nice on BV by letting him stay so long, maybe too nice?
but hey, thats my opinion :/

If that's the case, it's good I went through the trouble of punishing myself.

It had been a couple years since I read this, so I decided to reread this and then watch the anime which I had never done before as well. It's a shame the anime didn't get renewed (or whatever the wording for a show only lasting one season is), I really enjoyed seeing these characters in motion. Maybe the anime played the comedy up a little too hard, but it honestly helped Sumika's character out by making her appear even more awkward and goofy. Which at her age, in this whole situation (unrequited love with a friend), I think resonates with a lot of us. I don't have much else to say other than this is a really good slow moving series that should be read by anyone who considers themselves a fan of the genre. Or a fan of angst. So much angst. If the angst here could be a physical object, it would be a money pit so that it could be swam in Scrooge McDuck style.

This fairly early on exchange between Aoi and Tomoe in chapter 11 continues to be one of my favorite insights ever. It also sums up the entire series in a few pages, haha. :D

Wow, really good manga.

Rereading this and I realized a lot of the characters have a crush on sumika LMAO

Man I love rereading this. My physical volumes are packed away because my apartment doesn't have enough room for all my books, so I'm really glad there are places like this where I can still read it whenever I want.

oh woooow i stumbled upon this gem last night and i finally finished it just now. this is so underrated. this came out in 2007-2008 i think? i was still a child back then. man, i wish i found this earlier. it's so good!!

i have a huge crush on sumika tho she's so cool and cute at the same time, the boys don't have taste i swear

last edited at Jun 27, 2020 7:53PM

I have to say, I read this back in the day, but apparently what I thought was the ending (when Ushio kissed Sumika to convey her feelings), I remember thinking that it seemed like a weak ending. I'm glad I got around to re-reading it (I thought of it again because of "The Two of Them are Pretty Much Like This") the actual ending was better than what I thought the ending was.

It does have some feelings of "why is almost everyone gay?" and the whole "meandering a bit" issue, but those are expected for the genre.

Re-read and I’m crying again. What a nice day

I don't think I can say enough how much of a glorious series this was. One of the best ways I could have been inducted into the world of yuri. A classic that I really have such fond memories of now, despite having read it after it was finished and in two days no less.