Personally I've been torn while reading this. Part of me wants Uta to find love with Kaoru. Then again I hope that Uta can break away and find a new love. In a lot of yuri manga there's a well used phrase. It's something like "This love has no future." In Uta's case I really feel it's the truth. I mean look at how hard Kaoru pursued the brother. My heart just aches for Uta.

this is actually the most boring and pointless manga I ever read. Hopefully is reaching it's end even without a happy ending. Who actually cares at this point anyway?

^ apparently u do, since ur still here

Oh anna... You asking at the wrong time..

I'm not sure what to think of this chapter tbh. Kaoru's feelings seem so fuzzy. Kaoru's response to Uta makes it clear in my opinion she doesn't feel romantic attraction for her as of now, otherwise she would probably not say she doesn't feel the same way so quickly. At the same time, she has such an emotional dependence on this poor girl, and only thinks about herself. I mean, seriously, if you are not gonna respond to her feelings, just let her move on! I hate this type of woman.

Totally BORING STORY. It began good but the story is not going forward.

Giant Anna

And I still want Uta and Kaoru to get together, even if Kaoru doesn't want to lose what they already have.

last edited at Mar 24, 2019 6:49PM

So what happened with the brother's affair(?), Was it explained or did the author forgot about it¿?

JJzo posted:

So, it turns out Kaoru really is an idiot.

“I didn’t actually think she liked me that way.” Yes, Kaoru, how could you possibly have known? Because all Uta did was tell you, several times, as clearly as she could, that she liked you that way.

JFC, the age gap in the emotional maturity level of these two is just as big as the chronological one, only going the other way.

Denial is a helluva drug.

She already once get over her denial though... And went to discuss stuff with friend...

So why is she now sitting in a room saying that she didn’t think Uta liked her that way?

Kaoru makes it pretty clear—her own world-class denial skills are crumbling, and now she wants Uta to bail her out by denying it for her.

At this point I’m not seeing many amirable qualities in Kaoru that make her worth Uta’s affection, whatever the surrounding circumstances might be.

Edit:

So what happened with the brother's affair(?), Was it explained or did the author forgot about it¿?

Kaoru used up all her super-denial powers wishing it away, so it never really happened. That’s why she’s struggling to deny the obvious with Uta right now.

last edited at Mar 24, 2019 6:58PM

So where are we going from here? This is definitely the turning point - time to wrap things up, introduce some new love interest for Uta so she can move on or... all in in drama and angst with Kaoru being miserable after losing Uta, her only emotional support cuz husband is completely useless and Uta being unable to get over her feelings even after not living with them?

I've been on the side where I want Uta to give up on Kaoru and find someone else. Sometimes we just can't have what we want and there are plenty of fish in the sea.

Edit: I just finished the chapter and hell that credit page caught me off guard.

last edited at Mar 24, 2019 7:03PM

I know people are picking on Kaoru for being all wishy washy about things but honestly I think how she's reacting is pretty realistic. It's the kind of thing that happens with people who have been together so long. Sometimes you don't know where there's a line of romance, friendship, and/or family.

I mean I have friends I spend a lot of time with and we jokingly flirt with each other and there's absolutely no romantic undertones. We can share beds feed each other food and all that and no there's no tension. What more of these two in the story. They're living together so any show of affection could just be mistaken as normal.

I mean I have a 6 year old cousin and a 12 year old cousin that tell me they have a crush on me. We're all girls. Obviously, I'm not gonna take that seriously.

C'mon, nothing in this manga is realistic.

One of the appeals of manga is how utterly stupid things can get. It's like every author is competing with the rest to design the most emotionally incompetent set of characters.

OMG, that credit page got me. lol

Now if only this happened without all those chapters of filler, cliffhangers and unrelated drama, I'd actually love it.

Yeah, the author has some real talent with the shot framing and writing in these dramatic scenes, but my god, just drop the tropey teasing crap.

How has this manna kept so many readers, we're like 22 chapters in, if they find it boring? :-\

I don't know where this is going and maybe it doesn't feel so long to me since I wasnt all that invested in the main pair but looks like we get a resolution of somekind soon. Plus we will get one for the side characters. Woo!

Edit: Oh. I pretty much never "ship." Don't have a dog in the race, so to speak. Could explain my level of "patience" if you want to call it that.

last edited at Mar 24, 2019 10:35PM

You could do the sexy time. That usually works.

^ apparently u do, since ur still here

this manga is like a train wreck you simply can´t stop looking

side note i undestand why some people might be disappointed after reading this chapter, it really is a step back after chapter 21 but at least now there´s no excuse to drag the story kaoru (fucking finally) fully undestand uta´s feelings so now then only way to go is forward....maybe ..
if the next chapter is about kuroe
or kaoru being like "maybe uta is not really in love with me" or another pointless side story im gonna be real mad

last edited at Mar 24, 2019 8:11PM

On page 18, shouldn’t the line be, “then you won’t have to leave here anymore?”

On re-reading the chapter I have the usual dilemma that I can’t quite tell if the problems and ambiguities are with the character or the writing—is the character supposed to be so vague and unaware of her own emotions, or is the writing sending contradictory signals?

She went into the room to confront Uta about the fact that Uta is in love with her, then acts shocked (in the previous chapter) when Uta says, once again, that she’s in love with her.

She seems to realize how painful it must have been for Uta to live there feeling as she does, then she treats her like a little kid who can “go back to the way things used to be.”

These things aren’t mutually exclusive, of course, but sharper writing would clarify how to understand them.

As another example, I think we’re supposed to perceive that Kaoru prepared herself mentally for the conversation, but then froze up at the crucial moment. But the line “What would be the correct way to answer her?” makes it sound like she hasn’t given the matter any previous thought at all.

It’s sort of miraculous that I find myself still caring about Uta as a character—I want to see things work out for her, but I’m not sure the writer wants me to think that Uta needs to get away from Kaoru as fast as possible and stay away permanently.

Maybe Reiichi will come home and somehow make everything all right. lol

I don't get these stories that spend a ton of time trudging around in angst. Is that fun for anyone, really? It's like you spend the whole story waiting for it to get better. Doesn't make any sense to me.

Doesn’t have to.

I'm not sure what to think of this chapter tbh. Kaoru's feelings seem so fuzzy. Kaoru's response to Uta makes it clear in my opinion she doesn't feel romantic attraction for her as of now, otherwise she would probably not say she doesn't feel the same way so quickly. At the same time, she has such an emotional dependence on this poor girl, and only thinks about herself. I mean, seriously, if you are not gonna respond to her feelings, just let her move on! I hate this type of woman.

Well, first of all, she didn't say she doesn't feel the same way, she said she can't respond or accept her feelings. The following panel is focused directly on her hand with her wedding ring, that isn't an accident.

She isn't even considering that she might feel the same way, because she's married to Uta's brother. Even if there are feelings down there somewhere, she's not going to go looking for them.

As for the last bit, I feel like that's a little unfair. She's -trying- to let her move on. She's hoping they can still be together as family. Yeah, that's naive, but I can't really hold it against her. Uta and Reiichi are her ONLY FAMILY. Her mom is dead, her dad is gone, her in-laws are insufferable. She has couple of business acquaintances, and a small group of friends that aren't -super- close, one of which is almost certainly boffing her husband.

Honestly, up until the hot springs trip, Uta was kind of her only sanctuary.

We've been primarily seeing Uta suffer in silence up to this point, but I have a feeling that things are going to get pretty freaking dark for Kaoru now.

JJzo posted:

So, it turns out Kaoru really is an idiot.

“I didn’t actually think she liked me that way.” Yes, Kaoru, how could you possibly have known? Because all Uta did was tell you, several times, as clearly as she could, that she liked you that way.

JFC, the age gap in the emotional maturity level of these two is just as big as the chronological one, only going the other way.

Denial is a helluva drug.

She already once get over her denial though... And went to discuss stuff with friend...

So why is she now sitting in a room saying that she didn’t think Uta liked her that way?

Kaoru makes it pretty clear—her own world-class denial skills are crumbling, and now she wants Uta to bail her out by denying it for her.

At this point I’m not seeing many amirable qualities in Kaoru that make her worth Uta’s affection, whatever the surrounding circumstances might be.

Edit:

So what happened with the brother's affair(?), Was it explained or did the author forgot about it¿?

Kaoru used up all her super-denial powers wishing it away, so it never really happened. That’s why she’s struggling to deny the obvious with Uta right now.

Compared to the real world the amount of blind denial on display in this manga is a tiny drop in the bucket. Seriously take one glance at the people around you and you will see far more ludicrous examples of ongoing life destroying denial. With one quick glance I see a things like a life long friend with neurological damage and a dying liver who still to this day argues that his 30 year long alcohol and drug bender that he has been on has absolutely nothing to do with his current health problems. I see adults not just believing in unprovable fairy tales but running their entire lives based upon the rules dictated by them. I see a mother who to this day thinks her son, a life long criminal and convicted murderer, is a complete angel who just keeps getting either framed or caught up with the wrong people and situations. The list goes on.

Something as trivial as a woman looking the other way when her sister says some questionable things about her affection for her really doesn't even compare to some of the crap I see every day.

On page 18, shouldn’t the line be, “then you won’t have to leave here anymore?”

On re-reading the chapter I have the usual dilemma that I can’t quite tell if the problems and ambiguities are with the character or the writing—is the character supposed to be so vague and unaware of her own emotions, or is the writing sending contradictory signals?

She went into the room to confront Uta about the fact that Uta is in love with her, then acts shocked (in the previous chapter) when Uta says, once again, that she’s in love with her.

Eh, I don't think it's that hard, Uta confessed, but Japanese is ambiguous enough that "Kaoru, I like you" can be brushed off as just an affectionate comment between friends or family. She denied it because she wanted to deny it, but she knew what she really meant, and eventually she had to break down and acknowledge it, but even through all of that, she couldn't -really- believe it. She doesn't WANT to believe it.

She seems to realize how painful it must have been for Uta to live there feeling as she does, then she treats her like a little kid who can “go back to the way things used to be.”

Because she needs to believe it -can- go back. Uta has always been her primary support structure. Without Uta, she's walking on a tightrope without a safety net, and Risako's been kicking the line.

These things aren’t mutually exclusive, of course, but sharper writing would clarify how to understand them.

As another example, I think we’re supposed to perceive that Kaoru prepared herself mentally for the conversation, but then froze up at the crucial moment. But the line “What would be the correct way to answer her?” makes it sound like she hasn’t given the matter any previous thought at all.

I don't think she hasn't given the matter any thought, but she's in a situation where there ISN'T a correct answer. At least not one that goes where she wants to be. She's getting faced with a harsh reality. Uta can't be family anymore. It won't go back to how it was. The only way forward is change, and change is terrifying for her right now, because things are going badly with Reiichi, her "best friend" is stabbing her in the back, and the only person she's ever been that close to besides is Uta.

It’s sort of miraculous that I find myself still caring about Uta as a character—I want to see things work out for her, but I’m not sure the writer wants me to think that Uta needs to get away from Kaoru as fast as possible and stay away permanently.

Maybe Reiichi will come home and somehow make everything all right. lol

Reiichi's probably boffing Risako about now, honestly. :p

Just when I felt like crying, that credit page make me burst out laughing instead...well played

@ Looking East

Sure, but that’s basically non-responsive. I’m not reading about your friend, who has a life encompassing many decades of real-life experience; I’m reading these flashes of fictional existences and attempting to fill in the blanks, with the assumption, as is not true of real lives, that the work of art will make a coherent whole.

So when the story takes some pains to raise an issue like the possible infidelity of one of the major characters, then seems to forget all about it, I’m not inclined to say, “That’s just like life—all sorts of crazy stuff happens!”

last edited at Mar 24, 2019 8:38PM