Blaming Touma is like blaming society for your own shortcomings or your own problems.

It's interesting that some people would consider these girls, that are drawn to Touma like moths toward a flame, as if they were somehow brainwashed by Touma and just dump the responsibility on Touma.

Touma isn't really fleshed out. She's just a trigger. Hating on the trigger is denying these girls problems.

Ultimately, they are responsible for their own behavior and Touma never ever forced them to do anything. And in every chapter, these girls get stronger after overcoming their own immaturity.

It would be an interesting turnover if the "plain girl" Karen somehow manages to snatch up Touma.

nah that'd actually be kinda boring since that's how most stories go. plain protag catches the attention of some hottie. Cue melodrama. I want to see a twist where something actually interesting happens

Blaming Touma is like blaming society for your own shortcomings or your own problems.

It's interesting that some people would consider these girls, that are drawn to Touma like moths toward a flame, as if they were somehow brainwashed by Touma and just dump the responsibility on Touma.

Touma isn't really fleshed out. She's just a trigger. Hating on the trigger is denying these girls problems.

Ultimately, they are responsible for their own behavior and Touma never ever forced them to do anything. And in every chapter, these girls get stronger after overcoming their own immaturity.

I think that sums up the main theme of the series. Bunch of girls all normal has individual problems. They seek out Touma cause she has what they don't. Their problem gets fleshed out with their interaction with Touma. They solve their problem. The problem for me is that each chapter feels so disjointed. Or maybe I'm supposed to read it like Mushi-shi, kinda like treating each story as a stand-alone strung faintly together with a thin thread.

last edited at Mar 10, 2019 2:23PM

Ultimately, they are responsible for their own behavior and Touma never ever forced them to do anything. And in every chapter, these girls get stronger after overcoming their own immaturity.

Well, not every chapter, evidently. Turns out that someone who thinks they have no value because they're not pretty isn't going to get better because they learn that they can, in fact, be considered pretty. Because the core issue of tying self-worth to external beauty norms is still bad, and receiving fleeting validation from Touma didn't change that, it just reinforced it.

I do agree that Touma is basically a cipher for whatever issue the girls already had, and blaming Touma for the girls' obsession is definitely like blaming society for people's personal issues. But people having personal issues doesn't mean society can't fuck them up worse, y'know?

It's funny, I actually think I like this series more after chapter eight. The other chapters don't really deal with the negative consequences of Touma-exposure, and it was too easy to read the series as uncritical of Touma and what she represents. Chapter 8 makes it much clearer that Touma isn't a purely positive influence on others, she's just a catalyst for change, and change can be good or bad.

last edited at Mar 10, 2019 3:25PM

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

This is Shuninta after all.

She does not write fluffy yuri, but usually tackles serious issues using yuri.

-_-

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

It's not a bad comparison, but I find it pretty funny. Then Touma would equal the Mushi? :D

I think that sums up the main theme of the series. Bunch of girls all normal has individual problems. They seek out Touma cause she has what they don't. Their problem gets fleshed out with their interaction with Touma. They solve their problem. The problem for me is that each chapter feels so disjointed. Or maybe I'm supposed to read it like Mushi-shi, kinda like treating each story as a stand-alone strung faintly together with a thin thread.

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

It's not a bad comparison, but I find it pretty funny. Then Touma would equal the Mushi? :D

Touma would be Ginko in this comparison i guess

I think that sums up the main theme of the series. Bunch of girls all normal has individual problems. They seek out Touma cause she has what they don't. Their problem gets fleshed out with their interaction with Touma. They solve their problem. The problem for me is that each chapter feels so disjointed. Or maybe I'm supposed to read it like Mushi-shi, kinda like treating each story as a stand-alone strung faintly together with a thin thread.

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

It's not a bad comparison, but I find it pretty funny. Then Touma would equal the Mushi? :D

Touma would be Ginko in this comparison i guess

With the addition that Touma is nowhere near as cool as Ginko, maybe...

last edited at Mar 12, 2019 7:42PM

Oh god I fucking hate this series. It’s about some creepy af womanizer who “helps” people out in very unsettling ways. This series encourages people to think they cannot be special if they’re not born to be so. But everyone is an individual and they are unique and born with a talent. Fuck this manga.

It’s been a while since I read all these—do we ever see Touma treating any woman as “not special”?

I think that sums up the main theme of the series. Bunch of girls all normal has individual problems. They seek out Touma cause she has what they don't. Their problem gets fleshed out with their interaction with Touma. They solve their problem. The problem for me is that each chapter feels so disjointed. Or maybe I'm supposed to read it like Mushi-shi, kinda like treating each story as a stand-alone strung faintly together with a thin thread.

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

It's not a bad comparison, but I find it pretty funny. Then Touma would equal the Mushi? :D

Touma would be Ginko in this comparison i guess

With the addition that Touma is nowhere near as cool as Ginko, maybe...

It’s been a while since I read all these—do we ever see Touma treating any woman as “not special”?

I almost wanted to take back my mushishi comparison since mushishi is so wonderfully written and this story seems a lot less flattering, BUT I think the correlation is that Touma doesn't get emotionally attached to any of the girls except for the first one that died. Just like Ginko. He doesn't stay in one place (is forced to, but it means he can't get attached to anything) and keeps on moving on to the next people afflicted by the mushi. Hah! I guess the girls are the people getting affected by the mushi then. And the mushi are the vanity problems everyone keeps on having.

Still debating whether this story is even worth a mushishi comparison

I think that sums up the main theme of the series. Bunch of girls all normal has individual problems. They seek out Touma cause she has what they don't. Their problem gets fleshed out with their interaction with Touma. They solve their problem. The problem for me is that each chapter feels so disjointed. Or maybe I'm supposed to read it like Mushi-shi, kinda like treating each story as a stand-alone strung faintly together with a thin thread.

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

It's not a bad comparison, but I find it pretty funny. Then Touma would equal the Mushi? :D

Touma would be Ginko in this comparison i guess

With the addition that Touma is nowhere near as cool as Ginko, maybe...

It’s been a while since I read all these—do we ever see Touma treating any woman as “not special”?

I almost wanted to take back my mushishi comparison since mushishi is so wonderfully written and this story seems a lot less flattering, BUT I think the correlation is that Touma doesn't get emotionally attached to any of the girls except for the first one that died. Just like Ginko. He doesn't stay in one place (is forced to, but it means he can't get attached to anything) and keeps on moving on to the next people afflicted by the mushi. Hah! I guess the girls are the people getting affected by the mushi then. And the mushi are the vanity problems everyone keeps on having.

Still debating whether this story is even worth a mushishi comparison

Definitely not. ... xD Then again few stories would deserve to be compared to Mushi-shi.
But I think it does serve as a comparison to underline what the author probably wanted to express. Actually without the comparison I would not have been able to see the point.
At first I saw her in the part of the mushishi, because it felt more like she made a mess of things, without noticing, just by being there, rather than helping anyone. But I also see your point^^

last edited at Mar 15, 2019 4:41AM

Oh god I fucking hate this series. It’s about some creepy af womanizer who “helps” people out in very unsettling ways. This series encourages people to think they cannot be special if they’re not born to be so. But everyone is an individual and they are unique and born with a talent. Fuck this manga.

I think it runs deeper than that, some of its content deeply upset me for how close it came home. I don't think it encouraged me feeling bad, instead it made me realize (again) just how damaging my self-loathing thoughts and how unjust the impossibly high standards of society can be. The last chapter especially; Touma-kun tackles self-hatred, brings comfort and reassurance that everyone is cute, with just a few words-- I don't think that calling Touma-kun a womanizer is fair. I respect your opinion, though.

I think that sums up the main theme of the series. Bunch of girls all normal has individual problems. They seek out Touma cause she has what they don't. Their problem gets fleshed out with their interaction with Touma. They solve their problem. The problem for me is that each chapter feels so disjointed. Or maybe I'm supposed to read it like Mushi-shi, kinda like treating each story as a stand-alone strung faintly together with a thin thread.

The Mushishi comparison kind of makes sense when you think about it. Touma-kun seems more a pretext for exploring relationship issues than the star of the show.

It's not a bad comparison, but I find it pretty funny. Then Touma would equal the Mushi? :D

Touma would be Ginko in this comparison i guess

With the addition that Touma is nowhere near as cool as Ginko, maybe...

It’s been a while since I read all these—do we ever see Touma treating any woman as “not special”?

I almost wanted to take back my mushishi comparison since mushishi is so wonderfully written and this story seems a lot less flattering, BUT I think the correlation is that Touma doesn't get emotionally attached to any of the girls except for the first one that died. Just like Ginko. He doesn't stay in one place (is forced to, but it means he can't get attached to anything) and keeps on moving on to the next people afflicted by the mushi. Hah! I guess the girls are the people getting affected by the mushi then. And the mushi are the vanity problems everyone keeps on having.

Still debating whether this story is even worth a mushishi comparison

Definitely not. ... xD Then again few stories would deserve to be compared to Mushi-shi.
But I think it does serve as a comparison to underline what the author probably wanted to express. Actually without the comparison I would not have been able to see the point.
At first I saw her in the part of the mushishi, because it felt more like she made a mess of things, without noticing, just by being there, rather than helping anyone. But I also see your point^^

Good point, I didn't think of it that way. And you're right, this story is definitely not something worthy enough to be compared to mushishi lol. This is, at most a casual type of story tryna act a little edgy and deep but also kinda disconnected I feel? I'm just slightly disappointed cause I like a lot of the other stories Amano Shuninta writes and this one is a little lackluster

last edited at Mar 16, 2019 4:45PM

What a fabulous piece of garbage the whole ride.

Well, it was the type of manga you read a weekend that you have nothing to read. I enjoyed it, thought.

I really Love this authors Art

That was... interesting. Not your usual fodder, a nice change of pace and stuff!

Poor Touma, seems like her commitment to keeping girls happy led her to become very lonely later in life.

Poor Touma, seems like her commitment to keeping girls happy led her to become very lonely later in life.

I think she’d prefer the loneliness as no one would know the shenanigans she’s getting away with. In high school, it was considered generous and kind to offer her (budding) skills to improve looks of fellow students. Now, her skills are an excuse to woo girls with serious age gap. I kinda shudder at the thought of such a predatory person.

Reminds me of that “UnRipe Fruit” manga.

last edited at Sep 30, 2019 4:06PM

I hope Touma-kun is not only interested in little girls now

i feel good after reading this. When i finally realize that Touma-kun is purely surreal, it kind of gives a light feeling every chapter.

Shine on you crazy diamond, Touma-kun.

Moral of the story: Living for other people can lead you to live a lonely and empty life because you will always be living for other people, but never for yourself.

This theme is exemplified both in Touma and some of the girls she pampers.