I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

Looks like you've cracked the code. Damn this author's sneaky.

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

Ding ding, we have a winner.

Man this oneshot is awesome. I figured after the ending that most of it was the in-story story, but this extra layer makes it even better. Check out page 14 to 15, her hair decoration changes between pages: 14 is real (or at least, until the desk slam) and then it stays with the string until page 27. What a great detail.

So it's sad to see people missing the point calling it "cliche" and "disappointing". Wouldn't it be cliche if it really was a requited love and they both lived happily ever after? :p

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

Ding ding, we have a winner.

I'd say. And it was a first post, too. Way to make a grand entry in the forum.

Wouldn't it be cliche if it really was a requited love and they both lived happily ever after? :p

Cliché? You're too nice. "A trope that's older than the deluge" is more accurate.

Yeah wow honestly. It's the kinda story that rewards you for being perceptive or rereading it multiple times.

Would that mean the frames where Beniko/Saku doesn't have a visible hair decorations mean that's where she's unsure who she is/what's she feeling at the moment?

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

That was brilliant, figuring it out. Clever use of story telling in this work.

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

Oooooooooooo impressive!! I had to reread it again for the third time to check the hair ties. Dang the mangaka is sneaky, that's a neat transition hahaha

This is why I failed Eng Lit.

meh

I'm glad I decided to read drama tag once in a while.

Saku's quote at the end reminds me a bit of Yuu from Bloom into You. Assuming she isn't in love with Kasumi in the first place. It would be amazing if she really isn't into her, and she is the Sora as the author portrayed.

It's fucking grim, I made a mistake of reading this while listening to Danse Macabre.
I love the art style though.

Am I the only one who thinks this screams for a sequel?
More than anything because, although pages 18-26 are "inside the novel", on page 15 Kasumi is left alone with the notebook ... and everything suggests that she may have taken a look.

Between that, and her previous statement that she "would be Sora", I don't have them all with me that sooner or later that "cliché chapter" doesn't come true ... (hopefully XD)

Edit: just read this:

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

And damn if you're not right!

My theory is totally invalidated, since in the end it turns out that what we have is a story about a story within another story ... Incredibly well overlapped to lead to confusion!

Bravo for the author!

Edit 2: Re-read. xD
And stil the statement that she "would be Sora" from Kasumi stands, so... this screams for a sequel and I want it! XD

last edited at Aug 7, 2019 11:11PM

Whyd I know it was going to end bad lol

I don't care if its cliche
For me is the chasing part the end of the story( ˘ ³˘)

last edited at Aug 8, 2019 6:13AM

I'm not that bothered by the kind of downer ending. I guess it's because every possibility that existed at the beginning of the story still exists at the end. It's not as if the protagonist is out of time, or burned any bridges. To me it's just primarily a story about her struggle to understand and accept her own feelings (even if she's not quite there yet), and less about any concretely defined relationship between the two girls.

Well, this was nice. A bit sudden-ended but all in all the idea was entertaining. The artstyle takes all the prizes, though. Very well done, with very nice details on the characters and their facial expressions.

I would also like to add that the dramatic shadows and angling are way more prevalent ("cinematic" even) in the "Fiction" pages, vs the flatness of their regular conversations in the classroom. The only time the shading gets serious in "Reality" is during an internalization.

the art was amazing the drama was fun but that ending really sucked

i didn’t expect that ending all of that was part of the story not reality

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

This should be on a notes page, for those of us who are too dense to figure it out for ourselves. Also, having re-read the story with this information to hand, I spotted that Kasumi has a mole by her right eye, while Sora doesn't (though I don't think knowing that actually makes any difference).

Neat story but I think it needed more visual distinctiveness between the characters in the story and the characters in reality.

I think the lack of distinctiveness is on purpose what with the MC's blatant denial of her own feelings/desires.

Funny you should say that. I just reread this a couple of years later and found my old comment and had this same exact thought as you. The symbolism and impact would be much weaker. There is a reason they look almost exactly the same as their real-life inspirations.

I would also like to add that the dramatic shadows and angling are way more prevalent ("cinematic" even) in the "Fiction" pages, vs the flatness of their regular conversations in the classroom. The only time the shading gets serious in "Reality" is during an internalization.

Even coming back and reading this again a second time I missed all the little visual clues.

This really is a great one-shot. This mangaka needs more recognition. Sadly, it looks like their cute romcom yuri light series are the more popular ones. Don't get me wrong, they are great too, but they lack the unique punch this artist's other work has.

last edited at Apr 7, 2021 9:17AM

you’re joking. you’re absolutely bamboozling me. you’re pulling the greatest prank ever executed and have hid cameras around my room. you’re totally cheese-balling me. you’re definitely deceiving me. you’re legitimately not being serious. you’ve got to be kidding. you’re crazy. you’re out of your mind. you’re lost in the 4th dimension and the only way back is to exploit human angst. you’re not even real. you don’t even exist in the same plane of existence. you’re only a figment of my imagination and you’re joking.

yea this sorta hurt

I think the hair decorations are different between reality and "Beniko and Sora" (Empty vs Filled, Scrunchie vs String?). Rereading it that way, it looks like the real Saku never left her notes for Kasumi to see. There are some tricky transitions in there!

This should be on a notes page, for those of us who are too dense to figure it out for ourselves. Also, having re-read the story with this information to hand, I spotted that Kasumi has a mole by her right eye, while Sora doesn't (though I don't think knowing that actually makes any difference).

Someone else noticed the mole heh. It's the one thing that gave me the hint on reread, I absolutely didn't notice the acessories change

last edited at Sep 2, 2021 10:47PM

I wish there was like a subtle visual indicator for which panels are from the story and which are from reality. Like keep everything else but maybe a very slight tone shift to the borders or something so that it's clearer upon a second look.