The only thing MUL and this series have in common is that both are attempting slow-burn story arcs.

The major difference is that this one is succeeding while the other one fizzled out like plastic wrap falling on a hot stove.

Hot and thoughtful dads get together at the end

This would salvage it.

last edited at Oct 21, 2020 9:17PM

Even if it did end like MUL, this author would still write a more satisfying ending.

https://mangadex.org/title/22955/nettaigyo-wa-yuki-ni-kogareru

Yuri tag on mangadex?? For what reason?

https://mangadex.org/title/22955/nettaigyo-wa-yuki-ni-kogareru

Yuri tag on mangadex?? For what reason?

None

So that yet more people will get the wrong impression and be disappointed, I guess.

So that yet more people will get the wrong impression and be disappointed, I guess.

I literally had to check to see if they consolidated the yuri and shoujo-ai tags... this really does seem like it was changed for no reason

One girl says to another "The full moon is beautiful" = yuri.

That's just science. (Erotastronomy, to be specific.)

I don't have an issue with people feeling like some of the content in the manga feels like bait, that line from Koyuki is probably the most blatant example. It's just that I've seen some people on mangadex complaining about the series not being yuri because they were led to believe so by the tags, as even before this change, I think it had the shoujo ai tag. That's being misled and it in turn leads to not giving the manga a fair chance because you go into it expecting something else.

I don't have an issue with people feeling like some of the content in the manga feels like bait, that line from Koyuki is probably the most blatant example. It's just that I've seen some people on mangadex complaining about the series not being yuri because they were led to believe so by the tags, as even before this change, I think it had the shoujo ai tag. That's being misled and it in turn leads to not giving the manga a fair chance because you go into it expecting something else.

Yeah, now the comments are going to be filled with how they were baited instead of commentary on the plot after next weeks chapter... unless the taggers know something we don’t.

The “moon is beautiful” thing really hurt a bit, though since she was imitating Konatsu’s dad, maybe she said it in a way that made it obviously a joke? Kinda like she says “Suprise!” In English in 28.2, a callback to Konatsu’s dad in 27.1 (I only found this out by looking at the raws)

I don't have an issue with people feeling like some of the content in the manga feels like bait, that line from Koyuki is probably the most blatant example. It's just that I've seen some people on mangadex complaining about the series not being yuri because they were led to believe so by the tags, as even before this change, I think it had the shoujo ai tag. That's being misled and it in turn leads to not giving the manga a fair chance because you go into it expecting something else.

Yeah, now the comments are going to be filled with how they were baited instead of commentary on the plot after next weeks chapter... unless the taggers know something we don’t.

The “moon is beautiful” thing really hurt a bit, though since she was imitating Konatsu’s dad, maybe she said it in a way that made it obviously a joke? Kinda like she says “Suprise!” In English in 28.2, a callback to Konatsu’s dad in 27.1 (I only found this out by looking at the raws)

OK, so unprotected hand-to-hand contact means nothing?

Pfft, kids these days, what with their "Netflix and chill," and their "friends with benefits," and whatnot . . .

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch28_5#16

I don't have an issue with people feeling like some of the content in the manga feels like bait, that line from Koyuki is probably the most blatant example. It's just that I've seen some people on mangadex complaining about the series not being yuri because they were led to believe so by the tags, as even before this change, I think it had the shoujo ai tag. That's being misled and it in turn leads to not giving the manga a fair chance because you go into it expecting something else.

Yeah, I definitely feel like this is one of those series that is actively ruined if you go into it with any grand expectations of progress or shows of affection or just simple, clear-cut character arcs in general. Nettaigyo is muddy, jumbled-up, messy, ambiguous and frequently self-contradictory and unsure, because it portrays a pair of girls who have absolutely no idea about what they're trying to be or achieve.

It's one of the most pronounced cases of emotive storytelling I've seen in a manga, where extensive amounts of space are devoted to exploring minute changes in emotional states and attitudes, to the point where it feels more like an observation diary for neurotic girls who simultaneously overthink and overfeel everything. The swing between rationalisations and indescribable moods, the comfort and terror of banal conversations, the stagnancy of routine life versus the terror of marching time, and that aching, bizarre dilemma of wanting to change whilst dreading new things- Nettaigyo depicts all of these with painstaking detail.

The issue is that emotions are often fleeting, immediate things that sweep you up in moments, and the best uses of emotive storytelling in manga often feature the creation of these moments through strategic plotting, pacing and structure- think of a standard confession scene, which builds anticipation into a giddy cocktail of emotions and brings the plot to an emotional climax, often to the point where there's this one panel that confirms acception/rejection and seals the deal.

Nettaigyo doesn't do this- it focuses more on emotions as overarching moods that mix and blend into atmospheres, requiring both readers and characters to 'read the room'. If you're not receptive to these subtle, shifting moods and can't instantly empathize with the characters, you'll simply be left peering at a theatre of nonsense and mixed messages. Therefore, the best way to read Nettaigyo is to binge it, so you can understand the mood as it evolves from chapter to chapter, empathising with the wordless, indefinable longing that our leads feel for each other, struggling to vocalise and define their own feelings across the massive distances of a cordial relationship that might or might not change at the drop of a hat.

If you read the manga as it releases in monthly installments, you'll disconnect from the plot and the mood, and wonder what the 'point' of each chapter is, looking for concrete signs of 'progress' in order to confirm that the time you've put into reading this series is worth it. Of course, this is a flaw in the manga's storytelling, because writers have to take into account the durations and gaps involved in their release schedules and structure their plots accordingly. I'm not saying that Nettaigyo becomes a masterpiece if you read it at a stretch- if anything, the sense of the plot stagnating even as you plow through dozens of chapters can be immensely depressing. But it rarely feels like filler, because the author genuinely puts so much emotion into every chapter- not easily understandable emotions, but genuine ones all the same.

All in all, this manga feels like it's written by someone in an emotional state similar to the protagonists- entirely unsure of what they want to do or achieve, contemplating potential routes without taking more than a step in any direction, dithering and introspecting over the smallest things and running off on random tangents. It reminds me of shows or movies I've seen that were made by people who were explicitly grappling with anxiety or depression whilst working on their projects, and poured those feelings into their work, creating stories that weren't coherent or neat in any sense, but felt raw and genuine regardless. Ultimately, you can't stick labels on Nettaigyo, because it's about a pair of girls who're terrified of labeling anything, written by an author who seemingly dislikes confining themselves to categorisations and genre tags like 'Yuri'. It'd be much more at home in a bookstore with nothing to speak for it but the title and cover art, as opposed to manga websites that compulsively tag everything to give readers some semblance of order amidst a sea of titles. Whether you think this a failing on Nettaigyo's part to compete with better titles, or whether you simply think it's a victim of an industry obsessed with demographics and classification is, like everything else about the series, a matter of deeply subjective opinion.

I don't have an issue with people feeling like some of the content in the manga feels like bait, that line from Koyuki is probably the most blatant example. It's just that I've seen some people on mangadex complaining about the series not being yuri because they were led to believe so by the tags, as even before this change, I think it had the shoujo ai tag. That's being misled and it in turn leads to not giving the manga a fair chance because you go into it expecting something else.

Yeah, now the comments are going to be filled with how they were baited instead of commentary on the plot after next weeks chapter... unless the taggers know something we don’t.

The “moon is beautiful” thing really hurt a bit, though since she was imitating Konatsu’s dad, maybe she said it in a way that made it obviously a joke? Kinda like she says “Suprise!” In English in 28.2, a callback to Konatsu’s dad in 27.1 (I only found this out by looking at the raws)

OK, so unprotected hand-to-hand contact means nothing?

Pfft, kids these days, what with their "Netflix and chill," and their "friends with benefits," and whatnot . . .

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch28_5#16

Yeah... I can't really explain that one lol. Maybe they just don't realize that they're madly in love with one another yet? Still waiting for the inevitable conversations about potential boyfriends to come up.

last edited at Oct 26, 2020 3:34AM

They're not gay until they intertwine those fingers, which they will in twenty more chapters as a callback.

They're not gay until they intertwine those fingers, which they will in twenty more chapters as a callback.

This.

All in all, this manga feels like it's written by someone in an emotional state similar to the protagonists- entirely unsure of what they want to do or achieve, contemplating potential routes without taking more than a step in any direction, dithering and introspecting over the smallest things and running off on random tangents. It reminds me of shows or movies I've seen that were made by people who were explicitly grappling with anxiety or depression whilst working on their projects, and poured those feelings into their work, creating stories that weren't coherent or neat in any sense, but felt raw and genuine regardless. Ultimately, you can't stick labels on Nettaigyo, because it's about a pair of girls who're terrified of labeling anything, written by an author who seemingly dislikes confining themselves to categorisations and genre tags like 'Yuri'. It'd be much more at home in a bookstore with nothing to speak for it but the title and cover art, as opposed to manga websites that compulsively tag everything to give readers some semblance of order amidst a sea of titles. Whether you think this a failing on Nettaigyo's part to compete with better titles, or whether you simply think it's a victim of an industry obsessed with demographics and classification is, like everything else about the series, a matter of deeply subjective opinion.

I really think your post here encapsulates what a lot of us- at least I - love so much about this manga. Before anything else, this is a story about two teenage girls, putting that priority above all else makes sure that nothing is ever forced.The fact that you mentioned that this is a story about a pair of girls who are terrified to label anything just serves as proof for that. I mean, even they don't know what the heck they're doing, the author just isn't going to simplify a story, where its entire premise is on how complicated emotions are.

All in all, this manga feels like it's written by someone in an emotional state similar to the protagonists- entirely unsure of what they want to do or achieve, contemplating potential routes without taking more than a step in any direction, dithering and introspecting over the smallest things and running off on random tangents. It reminds me of shows or movies I've seen that were made by people who were explicitly grappling with anxiety or depression whilst working on their projects, and poured those feelings into their work, creating stories that weren't coherent or neat in any sense, but felt raw and genuine regardless. Ultimately, you can't stick labels on Nettaigyo, because it's about a pair of girls who're terrified of labeling anything, written by an author who seemingly dislikes confining themselves to categorisations and genre tags like 'Yuri'. It'd be much more at home in a bookstore with nothing to speak for it but the title and cover art, as opposed to manga websites that compulsively tag everything to give readers some semblance of order amidst a sea of titles. Whether you think this a failing on Nettaigyo's part to compete with better titles, or whether you simply think it's a victim of an industry obsessed with demographics and classification is, like everything else about the series, a matter of deeply subjective opinion.

I really think your post here encapsulates what a lot of us- at least I - love so much about this manga. Before anything else, this is a story about two teenage girls, putting that priority above all else makes sure that nothing is ever forced.The fact that you mentioned that this is a story about a pair of girls who are terrified to label anything just serves as proof for that. I mean, even they don't know what the heck they're doing, the author just isn't going to simplify a story, where its entire premise is on how complicated emotions are.

While the author's online comments do invite speculation about their ultimate authorial intention, I myself don't particularly feel the need to read this in terms of inferences about the author's state of mind. And I certainly do perceive why this story could be frustrating to readers who are focusing on plot development, on romantic progress, or on clear yuri-genre signaling.

I personally value this series as a change of pace from standard yuri stories, where any number of self-insights that these characters gain could be the entire point of the endgame--Koyuki realizing how lonely she is and finding a friend who helps her to open up, for instance. But here the story really explores how such insights will lead to new situations (if not precisely "problems") that require the characters to figure out new ways of being in the world. And I do think one can infer the author's commitment to developing the story in their own particular way (as opposed to those stories that seem to wander around without a real sense of purpose).

I wouldn't want every genre series to take this approach, but this one has been interesting and (so far) satisfying.

We have this conversation every month, and every month it basically all reduces to a question of how much you like a slow burn (I do, quite a lot) and how much you trust the author to respect established character dynamics even without a bespoke genre label (I've yet to see a reason not to).

Personally I don't see any reason to think of Nettaigyo as being any slower or less gay than the likes of Adachi And Shimamura, tbh - and the fans seem perfectly happy with that series right now. Granted Nettaigyo doesn't have a character like Adachi whose inner monologue always makes her intentions very clear, but I don't think it's fair to hold that against the series when it's very clear that Konatsu and Koyuki just aren't wired to think that way, and that aspect of their personalities is and always has been a big part of the point of the series.

last edited at Oct 26, 2020 12:08PM

Raws are out and looks like we were right about everything :)

Edit: ALMOST everything

last edited at Oct 26, 2020 1:25PM

While the author's online comments do invite speculation about their ultimate authorial intention, I myself don't particularly feel the need to read this in terms of inferences about the author's state of mind. And I certainly do perceive why this story could be frustrating to readers who are focusing on plot development, on romantic progress, or on clear yuri-genre signaling.

I personally value this series as a change of pace from standard yuri stories, where any number of self-insights that these characters gain could be the entire point of the endgame--Koyuki realizing how lonely she is and finding a friend who helps her to open up, for instance. But here the story really explores how such insights will lead to new situations (if not precisely "problems") that require the characters to figure out new ways of being in the world. And I do think one can infer the author's commitment to developing the story in their own particular way (as opposed to those stories that seem to wander around without a real sense of purpose).

I wouldn't want every genre series to take this approach, but this one has been interesting and (so far) satisfying.

I agree with you here. The authors state of mind probably doesn't play to much into a story like this, and often times we can completely ignore it (There are some cases, like with Evangelion for instance, that state of mind of the creator can reveal many new themes and aspects of a rather straightforward story, but I do not believe this is one of those cases). I really just think that this is a coming-of-age story at its finest; you can try to categorize specific chapter arcs or character motivations, but all of that lies within the bigger scope of taking a piece of these character's lives and presenting it to us. I'd like to reiterate that point that the previous poster made; you really can't label something that was never meant to or intended to have one.

We do seem to have this conversation every month, but every time someone brings up a new perspective that makes it never seem boring or redundant lol

We have this conversation every month, and every month it basically all reduces to a question of how much you like a slow burn (I do, quite a lot) and how much you trust the author to respect established character dynamics even without a bespoke genre label (I've yet to see a reason not to).

That's probably a legitimate take, although I don't think the conversation here has been just repetitive--for me it's also interesting to watch readers (besides the "kiss already, or I'm outta here!" folks) thinking through the author's recognizable but slightly unconventional approach to this material. EDIT: Or, pretty much what Palmfire said.^

There is that issue of the thematic boundary between "girls who discover that they like another girl in a very, very special way" and "girls who discover that they want to kiss and get naked together."

Some stories are about breaching that barrier, while others are clearly determined never to do so, while others hold off on giving clear signals about the matter one way or the other. Some readers run out of patience with the latter category sooner rather than later--I tend to take them on a case-by-case basis, and I'm fine with this one.

last edited at Oct 26, 2020 1:29PM

Raws are out and looks like we were right about everything :)

Edit: ALMOST everything

Can I ask for a link or at least a hint where to find them? I had no idea they were available. Not that it's usually a concern given how lightning fast Hachimitsu Scans are.

Raws are out and looks like we were right about everything :)

Edit: ALMOST everything

Can I ask for a link or at least a hint where to find them? I had no idea they were available. Not that it's usually a concern given how lightning fast Hachimitsu Scans are.

I gotchu

https://www.facebook.com/LaDiosadelLirio3.0/photos/pcb.193356835633520/193355855633618/

I'm always contemplating reading the raws because the translation comes out so fast there really isn't a need to, but this time I REALLY couldn't help myself. In the process of google translating a few lines that caught my eye lol

Yeah I actually bought this month's dengeki maoh off ebookjapan to take a peek, lol

Looks like good stuff, looking forward to the TL.

There is that issue of the thematic boundary between "girls who discover that they like another girl in a very, very special way" and "girls who discover that they want to kiss and get naked together."

You can usually tell the latter is the case when one of the girls go "Wow her eyelashes are so long/pretty/any kind of obscure description of eyelashes lol. One thing thing that I find so interesting and novel about this manga is the lack of these rather tropey predictable physical descriptions. The most we get out of this manga is one calling the other "cute" and the other (Most of the time Koyuki) completely fizzing out. It's kind of a nod towards how "underdeveloped" or " innocent" their minds are in that aspect, where evaluation of physical characteristics are never in an sexual or creepily detailed way If you've read Urasekai Picnic you would know that about 30 percent of the text is spent on how beautiful Toriko's " " is

Looking at how these two characters started with zero earnest social skills or friendship knowledge, it'll probably be 20 more chapters before Koyuki realizes that Konatsu's ponytail hits different than Kaede's.