Midori is on the spectrum of autism. At least she’s high functioning. How did she get her job?

High functioning people can get jobs, too. This doesn't need to be debated.

Huh? Wasn’t Midori in love with Tsugumi?

Yes, almost all the chapters we have underheard and outright statements from Midori that she loved more than anything in the world tsugumi.
And the most dramatic thing is that tsugumi also seemed to have more than friendly feelings towards Midori. Her risk of being in the future the development of why tsugumi got pregnant at 17, that she didn't stay with the boy and that she preferred to stay alone afterwards...while keeping Midori's phone and talking regularly about her to her daughter… why her relationships with her parents were so difficult...maybe through them we will learn things...

I could totally see if Tsugumi thought very fondly of Midori and chose to not act on her feelings due to complications or whatever... That is an all too real outcome along with the out of touch. It's just sad that unless they find a note Tsugumi sacked away in her belongings, Midori will never find any answers... Well... Until they look through the belongings, of course.

At first it was a story about a teenager that looked like her mom, then it was about a teenager and an adult that looked like their moms and now the teenager thinks that the adult girl is like her own mom.

This is the turning point and now we've reached the raws available... Next chapter could really shakes things up. I hope not... not so much

so is this going to update monthly or be released in a "batch" like these and the first 4 chapters were?

I'm gonna end crying with this manga, I'm pretty sure, but... It's just... So incredible T_T it touch my soul. I'm enjoying this at a slice of life level more than at yuri level, I don't even care if they ended together or not, this it's just too pure.

So many regrets for Midori compared to tsugumi it must be terrible for her. She knew she was not well and yet she could not help her and she feels guilty. If she had done something maybe tsugumi would have acted differently if she imagined it, ah it's too sad....
Alas as she says, we can't go back and she wants to do for haru what she couldn't do for tsugumi.

Midori is on the spectrum of autism. At least she’s high functioning. How did she get her job?

High functioning people can get jobs, too. This doesn't need to be debated.

Huh? Wasn’t Midori in love with Tsugumi?

Yes, almost all the chapters we have underheard and outright statements from Midori that she loved more than anything in the world tsugumi.
And the most dramatic thing is that tsugumi also seemed to have more than friendly feelings towards Midori. Her risk of being in the future the development of why tsugumi got pregnant at 17, that she didn't stay with the boy and that she preferred to stay alone afterwards...while keeping Midori's phone and talking regularly about her to her daughter… why her relationships with her parents were so difficult...maybe through them we will learn things...

I could totally see if Tsugumi thought very fondly of Midori and chose to not act on her feelings due to complications or whatever... That is an all too real outcome along with the out of touch. It's just sad that unless they find a note Tsugumi sacked away in her belongings, Midori will never find any answers... Well... Until they look through the belongings, of course.

It is even obvious that tsugami did not say what she meant, in this last chapter even feeling lonely she says that everything is fine in Midori while not.
She may have buried her feelings deep inside herself so as not to hurt Midori... the problems with her parents may have pushed her into a relationship with a boy and keep the child because she was tired of this loneliness and see no way out.
For the hidden notes I think some will come out later because the haru's aunt said she would carefully keep the tsugami case.
But this manga is one of the most intensely moving I have read in recent years.

For me the most important question for the moment is why Midori and tsugami totally lost sight of each other after school? something must have happened, an event their bonds were so strong.....

last edited at Aug 12, 2019 8:58PM

AAAAAAAAAANGST

so is this going to update monthly or be released in a "batch" like these and the first 4 chapters were?

The manga updated monthly. And at the moment this reached the latest chapter. So probably you wait a month and weeks for the translation to be out. It’s pretty normal on mangas updated monthly. They only seems to released it like in batch coz they’re catching up on the raws.

I find the developments in Chapter 8 interesting. While it's been implied that Tsugumi didn't have a good relationship with her family at the time of her death, this chapter seems to imply that the problems first came up while she was in high school.

I'm also still curious as to why Tsugumi apparently never once contacted Midori in the fourteen years between Haru's birth and Tsugumi's death. One would assume that Tsugumi and Midori parted on bad terms the last time they spoke, but Haru's narration seems to imply that she didn't try hard enough to be there for Midori. As such, it's possible that Tsugumi ran into a problem of some sort, possibly an unplanned pregnancy, and deciding that she couldn't confide in Midori, went off to deal with it by herself.

Incidentally, while it's certainly possible that Midori is autistic, it doesn't seem that farfetched for her to be able to hold down a job. I'm autistic, and am perfectly capable of holding down a job, even working as a reporter. That said I'm not even considering getting married or having children.

After this chapter, the Yuri tag seems to be more plausible. I could be wrong though, so don't start a flame war over it

I find the developments in Chapter 8 interesting. While it's been implied that Tsugumi didn't have a good relationship with her family at the time of her death, this chapter seems to imply that the problems first came up while she was in high school.

I'm also still curious as to why Tsugumi apparently never once contacted Midori in the fourteen years between Haru's birth and Tsugumi's death. One would assume that Tsugumi and Midori parted on bad terms the last time they spoke, but Haru's narration seems to imply that she didn't try hard enough to be there for Midori. As such, it's possible that Tsugumi ran into a problem of some sort, possibly an unplanned pregnancy, and deciding that she couldn't confide in Midori, went off to deal with it by herself.

Incidentally, while it's certainly possible that Midori is autistic, it doesn't seem that farfetched for her to be able to hold down a job. I'm autistic, and am perfectly capable of holding down a job, even working as a reporter. That said I'm not even considering getting married or having children.

Thanks for reply... ok, that spectrum bit I mentioned is helping me understand the characterization of MC. I mean, if an actress is going to tackle this part in a live action movie, such tidbits like autism will help realistically portray the character on camera. I surely am not demeaning the character. I must say this aspect of the character does help explain away why Tsugumi left her by the wayside... she (Midori) wouldn’t be able to cope with such a revelation (pregnancy) at a young age.

This manga has serious follow-up potential... anime or live action.

The problem is why Midori doesn't remember the period when tsugami was flirting with a boy? and where is the boy? we don't see the parents at the funeral either.

Wait, people are debating the yuri tag? Even though Midori lives constantly under the spectre of her unrequited love for Tsugumi? If anything the age gap is (still) much more questionable.

Atonement, huh?

I'm anxious to see what develops after Haru learns of Midori's feelings for Tsugumi. Well, how it happens, too. Will Midori tell her, will she figure it out on her own?

There ya go, Midori is making a difference for Haru when she couldn't do that for Tsugumi. I wanna see some ignorant boy try to hit on Haru and watch Midori blow him the fuck out of the water. Did Haru's father survive the crash? Or was he dead too?

last edited at Aug 13, 2019 4:21AM

Apparently they had been separated for a long time and he was not involved in the accident so...tsugami seemed to have remained alone with her daughter, which still raises questions about her life.

There ya go, Midori is making a difference for Haru when she couldn't do that for Tsugumi. I wanna see some ignorant boy try to hit on Haru and watch Midori blow him the fuck out of the water. Did Haru's father survive the crash? Or was he dead too?

For what the story been told so far, Tsugumi and Haru’s father separated already before the accident happened. Though it’s really not clear if they really did live together and got divorce or he just got Tsugumi pregnant and ran away. Coz it seems even Haru didn’t have any idea about her father, less not talking about him. Even in her flashbacks, she and her mother’s memories she only treasured. And Haru always left at home while Tsugumi at work.

The problem is why Midori doesn't remember the period when tsugami was flirting with a boy? and where is the boy? we don't see the parents at the funeral either.

It seems Tsugumi left the town where Midori lives after middle school to move to where her parents live. I'm guessing she was living with her aunt during middle school for some reason, probably because of her parents' work. So Midori never met the guy who knocked up Tsugumi, since she had Haru when she was 17, well after middle school, and it also said that Tsugumi never went to high school. I do wonder if it's more that she dropped out of high school because she got pregnant, though. It's also mentioned that her parents disinherited her for some reason. Whether it was because she got pregnant at 17 with a boy they didn't approve of or because she divorced her husband and they didn't approve of that, we don't know yet. It's very clear that Tsugumi didn't want anything to do with her parents though.

I have a theory, but it isn't pretty... But it would explain why her parents weren't part of her life after she got pregnant...

For what the story been told so far, Tsugumi and Haru’s father separated already before the accident happened.

Yeah, well before that...
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/haru_and_midori_ch06#21
Something about that scene gives me the impression, that at that time the father was already out of the picture. (Take your guesses how old Haru was at that point - mine would be +/- 8yo.)
But, so far the text only goes as specific as "it seems they broke up a while ago" in ch01.

[snip] got pregnant at 17 [snap]

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/haru_and_midori_ch01#32
Haru was born when Tsugumi was 17. She may as well have been 16 still when she got pregnant (possibly within half a year after middle-school graduation, depending on Tsugumi's birthday-date).

I'm guessing she was living with her aunt during middle school [..]

Auntie said "it was just the two of them [ref. Tsugumi&Haru] by the time I met them", so it seems, they moved in some time after middle-school. (And in ch06, it seemed they lived just the two of them for a while..?)

As for Tsugumi's family issues, I still call the "no-bento" thing a foreshadowing .-.

.
Maybe Haru knows more than the lets on (although, she lets on a lot, between the lines). Like, about her mother's feelings for Midori. The way she reacted to the girl sitting behind her in class (who's obviously crushing on her) has me thinking, while she's not particularly interested in that girl, she's neither offended nor thinks ill of it.

((...probably obvious for y'all, but when I read this new chapter, still half-asleep, it took me a moment to realize, that someone on present-time parents day (p7) called out to a Haruka "Haru" which triggered our Haruko's flashback, which then left me all sad, when it returns to the present having her ~watch~ the other girl interacting all annoyed-teenager'y with their mother... "they don't even know what they have ...and neither did I"-kinda thing. No wonder she "pulled a sickie"...))

last edited at Aug 13, 2019 4:32PM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Haru was born when Tsugumi was 17. She may as well have been 16 still when she got pregnant (possibly within half a year after middle-school graduation, depending on Tsugumi's birthday-date).

Suppose the infirmary scene where Tsugumi had a headache in that case are dizziness where she later knew she would be pregnant, the uniform in that scene is long sleeve so I guess they were in the first or second quarter (spring season) of the last school year, already with Tsugumi having 17 means that she turned years maybe in May or June giving birth to Haruko in February or March.

last edited at Aug 13, 2019 8:24PM

It seems that the age of Japanese students in middle school ranges from 13 to 16 years old and finally in high school from 16 to 18 years old...
It also seems to me that Midori when she talks about the haru age says that it is the 14 years or she knows nothing about tsugumi.....
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/haru_and_midori_ch01#47
Finally Midori naive did not see anything or wanted to notice out of friendship or love the problems of tsugami.
Tsugami may have gotten pregnant at the very end of mid-school... I feel that tsugami's story is likely to be extremely painful and Midori's regrets will be amplified because tsugami was really alone.

last edited at Aug 13, 2019 9:05PM

The flashback transition early in chapter six really nicely simulates that feeling one experiences just when waking. Not sure if it was my personal feeling or the feeling of empathizing with Midori, but that waking moment - and the brief period between dream and reality - felt like a gut punch. The moments leading up to Haru's return on pages 4 and 5 feel so empty and melancholic. The immediate callback to the previous chapter's discussion, now with the added context of Midori's memories, her dream, and the emotional weight of engaging with it all just after waking...

I really like these stories where the reader can dwell individually on the words, the art, the construction, and gather bits and pieces of meaning from each aspect. If one so desired, I imagine they could glean through each chapter three or four times and gain some new depth to their understanding as a result.

It'll never happen, but I sure would love to see that sequence animated someday.

Haru was born when Tsugumi was 17. She may as well have been 16 still when she got pregnant (possibly within half a year after middle-school graduation, depending on Tsugumi's birthday-date).

Suppose the infirmary scene where Tsugumi had a headache in that case are dizziness where she later knew she would be pregnant, the uniform in that scene is long sleeve so I guess they were in the first or second quarter (spring season) of the last school year, already with Tsugumi having 17 means that she turned years maybe in May or June giving birth to Haruko in February or March.

Well, I learned that kids in Japan are usually enrolled into elementary school in April after their 6th birthday (so if they have birthday in May they would be enrolled just before their 7th birthday). Elementary takes 6 years and middle school another 3 years, so that would typically add up to kids being up to 15 going on 16.
There may be exceptions (e.g.: sickness delaying enrollment) so kids would be a bit older than that, though...
So, I suppose, it could be possible Tsugumi could have been 16 going on 17 at the end of her last school year (which ends in March)...
But:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/haru_and_midori_ch01#62

We know Haru was born in April and a pregnancy doesn't last a full year (it's 38 weeks). Since Tsugumi appearantly attended her graduation (?) and nobody knew she was pregnant / a month away from giving birth, I kinda doubt that.
So my bet is still on her getting pregnant a few months after middle school graduation (and the headache scene being unrelated to Haru).