SAYAKA SAEKI:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/ab1d606eba91e859fc7b50aa3781dc87/tumblr_pj0i82exjv1vs148d_1280.jpg

That's a bit too true...

Project "Cloning Touko" for happy Sayaka ?

That Touko would also be in love with Yuu, which only multiplies the problem.

SAYAKA SAEKI:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/ab1d606eba91e859fc7b50aa3781dc87/tumblr_pj0i82exjv1vs148d_1280.jpg

That's a bit too true...

Project "Cloning Touko" for happy Sayaka ?

That Touko would also be in love with Yuu, which only multiplies the problem.

Yep.

SAYAKA SAEKI:

https://66.media.tumblr.com/ab1d606eba91e859fc7b50aa3781dc87/tumblr_pj0i82exjv1vs148d_1280.jpg

That's a bit too true...

Project "Cloning Touko" for happy Sayaka ?

That Touko would also be in love with Yuu, which only multiplies the problem.

You can make a yagakimi alternative universe where that happens. Maybe it can turn out like Gantz... the cloned MC was still in love with his gf but she just wanted the original MC, so he had to settle for the third wheel and eventually fell in love with her for real

Project "Cloning Touko" for happy Sayaka ?

That Touko would also be in love with Yuu, which only multiplies the problem.

You can make a yagakimi alternative universe where that happens. Maybe it can turn out like Gantz... the cloned MC was still in love with his gf but she just wanted the original MC, so he had to settle for the third wheel and eventually fell in love with her for real

Confusing, yet intriguing. I don't see how this could possibly go wrong.

Project "Cloning Touko" for happy Sayaka ?

That Touko would also be in love with Yuu, which only multiplies the problem.

You can make a yagakimi alternative universe where that happens. Maybe it can turn out like Gantz... the cloned MC was still in love with his gf but she just wanted the original MC, so he had to settle for the third wheel and eventually fell in love with her for real

Ooh, that's also nice.
For some reason, the idea of cloning of Sayaka's lover made me think of noir sci-fi like Blade Runner. And then made me think of NIN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tOaQsNa5Js

So what series do you folks read that are as good as Bloom Into You? With the decay of some other few series that shall not be named, I am kinda at a loss on what to read once this one is over :-/

last edited at Jul 16, 2019 8:08AM

I don’t think there are too many that are good in the way that this one is good, especially since A Kiss and a White Lily ended (and that was more of a YMMV thing anyway).

That said, the ones I look forward to most are:

• Kase-san
• A Love Letter for the Marching Puppy
• Life With My Brother’s Wife (jury’s still out on the yuri, though)
• Miss Sunflower (but a million years since an update, and also iffy on the yuri, but I don’t care)
• Isn’t the Moon Beautiful (what can I say—I’m a sucker for Itou Hachi)

Not here, and no yuri, but I never miss a chance to recommend Taishou Otome Otogibanashi. Stumbles into unnecessary melodrama in the last act, too, but I love it.

last edited at Jul 16, 2019 8:54AM

Thanks! I guess I am gonna try Kase-san first. :)

Can i add Tsurezure Biyori ?

Can i add Tsurezure Biyori ?

I would definitely have included that one, except that iyashikei (gentle, healing) SOL genre is so different from the conflict-driven, architectonically structured YagaKimi that it’s almost an entirely different thing. Anyone looking for any drama at all is going to be sorely disappointed.

But absolutely—a very well-made series that works superbly (IMO) in its own terms.

I left out Nettaigyo wa Yuki ni Kogareru for a somewhat parallel reason—I enjoy it immensely, but a number of readers find it frustrating beyond human endurance.

Octave?

Octave?

I thought matsuri_wins was asking specifically about ongoing series in progress, but yes, that’s a series anyone interested in the yuri genre should know.

In terms of authors, I’d also say, from most to least fluffy:

• Anything by Morinaga Milk (except the weird floating penis and rapey demon ones)

• Takemiya Jin (although the sequencing and interconnections of her series can get confusing)

• And if you really want to stay away from fluffy and can take your drama understated and minimalist: Kiriko Nananan.

And to bring this back to the forum topic: I still think that within its rather broad niche of first-love schoolgirl yuri there’s not much that comes close to the mixture of character chemistry, tightly controlled writing, and consistency of execution of YagaKimi.

last edited at Jul 16, 2019 10:25AM

This seems like a good opportunity to start referring people to the Yuri Manga Reccommendations thread. Please feel free to use it for things like this.

last edited at Jul 16, 2019 10:56AM

Octave?

I thought matsuri_wins was asking specifically about ongoing series in progress, but yes, that’s a series anyone interested in the yuri genre should know.

In terms of authors, I’d also say, from most to least fluffy:

• Anything by Morinaga Milk (except the weird floating penis and rapey demon ones)

• Takemiya Jin (although the sequencing and interconnections of her series can get confusing)

• And if you really want to stay away from fluffy and can take your drama understated and minimalist: Kiriko Nananan.

And to bring this back to the forum topic: I still think that within its rather broad niche of first-love schoolgirl yuri there’s not much that comes close to the mixture of character chemistry, tightly controlled writing, and consistency of execution of YagaKimi.

YagaKimi gave me mixed feelings throughout because I was reading it with my usual “drama junkie” expectations, but I must say it has completely won me over at this point. Last chapter specially was fantastic. I always get kind of frustrated that stories would end right when the couple solves their primary conflict, so I am glad there is an aftermath.

last edited at Jul 16, 2019 10:38AM

YagaKimi gave me mixed feelings throughout because I was reading it with my usual “drama junkie” expectations, but I must say it has completely won me over at this point. Last chapter specially was fantastic. I always get kind of frustrated that stories would end right when the couple solves their primary conflict, so I am glad there is an aftermath.

I continually mention how absolutely bizarre the enabling premise of this story is--two girls who mistakenly believe they're aromantic meet and one falls in love with the other at first sight, and the other one goes for it--and then how absolutely logically and methodically the situation is played out.

And the result is that at this point we get to see a couple unlike pretty much any one we've ever seen even though they're doing the same things and acting the same ways we've seen couples do a million times before.

That's either genius, or such damned good luck as to be indistinguishable from genius.

I continually mention how absolutely bizarre the enabling premise of this story is--two girls who mistakenly believe they're aromantic meet

I wouldn't say Touko ever thought of herself as aromantic, like Yuu suspected herself to be. Rather I think she was intentionally keeping her distance out of fear of being loved.

And the result is that at this point we get to see a couple unlike pretty much any one we've ever seen even though they're doing the same things and acting the same ways we've seen couples do a million times before.

Is that so? I don't really feel like Yuu and Touko are anything special right now. They are a wonderful couple and that's all they have to be. The path to this point has been unprecedented and fascinating, but in essence, they are not that unique as a couple. At least not anymore.

Just to be clear, I don't see that as a detriment.

I think they are special, in the sense that they had to go through much soul searching to accept to be together. While my experience is that a significant number of couples barely know each other’s fragile points even after a long time together, since the relationship doesn’t require this degree of letting their guards down in order to perpetuate itself.

I think they are special, in the sense that they had to go through much soul searching to accept to be together. While my experience is that a significant number of couples barely know each other’s fragile points even after a long time together, since the relationship doesn’t require this degree of letting their guards down in order to perpetuate itself.

Well now, we are talking about fiction here, not some RL flings. Character development and getting to know each other intimately are par for the course in this genre. I was naturally talking in context of their contemporaries.

Ok, that makes sense then if you are comparing to other manga couples, since it’s always so dramatic.

And the result is that at this point we get to see a couple unlike pretty much any one we've ever seen even though they're doing the same things and acting the same ways we've seen couples do a million times before.

Is that so? I don't really feel like Yuu and Touko are anything special right now. They are a wonderful couple and that's all they have to be. The path to this point has been unprecedented and fascinating, but in essence, they are not that unique as a couple. At least not anymore.

We're saying the same thing--they are totally different as a couple because of the path they have taken to get here.

Sure, the tightly wound hyper-competent sempai gets together with her adorable, reliable, supportive kouhai--that pretty much describes a bunch of series (the adequate but thoroughly unremarkable First Love Sisters springs immediately to mind).

But as elements of the narrative (rather than as imaginary people) they're wholly different.

To be fair Touko is different from the usual bitchy/cold competitive protagonist. She is super nice.

Ok, that makes sense then if you are comparing to other manga couples, since it’s always so dramatic.

Yeah drama is the lifeblood of romance hahaha

Though Touko and Yuu could still become unique as a couple if they actually came out to their families... I think I've never seen that in any serious romance story (aside from Citrus (serious might be an overstatement)). At least not ones where the families are actually grounded.

We're saying the same thing--they are totally different as a couple because of the path they have taken to get here.

Sure, the tightly wound hyper-competent sempai gets together with her adorable, reliable, supportive kouhai--that pretty much describes a bunch of series (the adequate but thoroughly unremarkable First Love Sisters springs immediately to mind).

But as elements of the narrative (rather than as imaginary people) they're wholly different.

I'm afraid we are not talking about the same thing then. My bad.
Certainly, the narrative and the character growth along the way are part of their relationship and define them. I agree with that.
My point was rather that as they are now (post mutual confession) they are acting like many other couples and it also doesn't feel like they are that different. It's hard to describe, but I see a difference between them as a couple and as characters. Their dynamic, interactions and relationship are really not special anymore. And to a certain extent, I believe that was the end goal... the normal floaty romance that Yuu always wished for and a stable normal relationship that Touko had always needed.

last edited at Jul 16, 2019 11:38AM

Just love.

To be fair Touko is different from the usual bitchy/cold competitive protagonist. She is super nice.

I think an interesting comparison, at least in terms of Touko's character, can be made with Notes From the Garden of Lilies, where you also have a super-class-prez who's hiding another side of herself, albeit for different reasons.

That, I think, is an example of a solidly good, perhaps even very good, series within the familiar high-school setting that still doesn't come close to the level of YagaKimi (the art is not nearly as sophisticated, for one thing, and it definitely could have used more chapters for development and denouement).

But still worth reading, IMO (especially if you're interested in a Touko-type with a touch of the friendly sadist).

Can i add Tsurezure Biyori ?

That one's good too.