Chapter out since literally a minute ago on HS' website. EDIT: And here.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#44
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch01#55

Talk about the long-winded foreshadowing. I'd actually been waiting for it since the beginning of the series.

last edited at Oct 27, 2020 7:58PM

Well well, the classic literature reference game is confirmed to be received and surreptitiously reciprocated, at last. Konatsu, please continue "push push", I'm sure senpai will definitely "push push push" back.

I thought I was going to be okay with a friendship ending, but this just keeps making me want a solid romance more and more

Alright, so I'm dedicating an entire post to callbacks because there are so many that the author is basically plagiarizing herself lol
First we have this one, pretty easy to spot

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch09#28
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#33

Then we have this one here, which may be a little bit of a stretch, but it really just shows a marker of Koyuki becoming a newer person:

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch28_5#15
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#34

Not really a callback, but its obvious that Konatsu's texting her dad
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch01#35
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#38

If we evaluate character actions as development, it appears Konatsu is around where Koyuki was here:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch19#39
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#13

I thought that this was a cute callback. I think its pretty cool how Konatsu was presented as the one who had her life together and was totally level-headed, only to devolve into this:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch13#27
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#19

I'll note here that its even nighttime in both instances she says "morning"

It looks like Koyuki has a resting wake position whenever she has a dream about Konatsu:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch10#3
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#20

Here, it actually appears that Koyuki had been wanting to bring up the festival with the intention of apologizing for a while. Also, Konatsu seems to be really embarrassed from getting lost:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch28_5#3
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#22

Another OBVIOUS callback here:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch08#36
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#28
EDIT: This also happens here:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch14#31

Konatsu has done this one 162738494 times, so I'm only putting the most recent one here:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch26#6
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#47

Once again, this one is a little vague, but I'm sure Konatsu has mentioned this so many times, because its engrained in my memory. If someone can find a better panel on it, plz do
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch28#19
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#47
EDIT: Koyuki has said this too. I'm not even sure what they talk about Their hot and thoughtful dads?
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch15#43

This page is what Koyuki is presumably referring to, when she says "This always happens"
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch13#10
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#8
EDIT: and here too:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch15#37

EDIT: These people need to finally finish that sentence omg:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch14#32
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#48

EDIT: More parallels between the two characters here:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch13#39
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#43

I think that's all for now, I'll probably go back and look over it to see if I missed anything

last edited at Oct 27, 2020 9:50PM

Lot to unpack in this chapter. First off, the title is almost identical to that of chapter 12. In that case, Konatsu was trying not to be dependent on Koyuki as she wanted to prove herself to have become a fully-fledged member of the aquarium club able to help her out, in a display of selflessness. This time, she has become the president of the club and not being dependent means taking on the burden that was Koyuki's by herself (if not a larger one since there are more junior club members compared to when she was the only one). As opposed to the previous time, Kaede and then Konatsu herself put into question whether this selflessness is ideal or if she should be more selfish and dependent. The other club members almost certainly won't factor in significantly to easing Konatsu's troubles like she did Koyuki's, so I think this is setting up a reversal where Koyuki herself will come in and help Konatsu out with the club, whether on her own accord or prodded by her.

Then, the matter of the summer festival callback (which I totally called, yay). Back then, not only did Koyuki not have a good answer as to why she called out to Konatsu on her first day at school, she couldn't even understand why she'd ask that, while Konatsu was discouraged by their first meeting not being special to Koyuki as it was to herself. Now, Konatsu realized there didn't need to be a deep reason in the first place and that Koyuki calling out to her in the spur of the moment and appearing in her life to ease her loneliness is what truly matters. As for Koyuki, she finally gained the understanding of why she was asked that question and that their meeting was indeed special because Konatsu also saved her from being lonely.

This leads into two of my favorite pages: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#33 https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#34 They stand in direct contrast to this scene from the festival: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch09#28 Back then, their distance made it so that Konatsu felt too awkward to look at Koyuki and when the latter noticed, she averted her eyes. This time, it's Koyuki who keeps staring at her and smiles upon being noticed, bringing the previous year's fireworks scene full circle.

On to the frog in the room. Konatsu notices the plushie and realizes through Koyuki's later words that she must've figured out the reference she made to the Salamander short story and accepted Konatsu's wish of being the frog to her salamander. Of course, there is already a ton of baggage here with how the metaphor has been applied and twisted throughout the series, but above all else I'd like to recall the elements that have hinted at this version of the story going a different way from the short story itself. On Koyuki's side, when she figured the reference out, she outright changed the story's ambiguous ending by adding "I wish we could always be together.", something she proceeded to be embarassed about and that even led her to not giving Konatsu the frog plushie like she intended. Konatsu has been struggling with her career aspiration after high school and wrote "frog" on the survey. Like Koyuki did with her original ending, she erased what she wrote as she thought it wasn't something she could do. Then the author slammed us over the head with how this version of the short story ends with the salamander and the frog finding a way out and staying together by outright drawing the whole thing. I think it will all lead to Konatsu and Koyuki eventually finding the courage to tell each other they wish they could always be together as girlshipfriends and to make their inevitable separation only temporary.

Last but not least, god fucking dammit, the art is beautiful. It seriously deserves props for how far it's gotten since the early chapters, made particularly apparent by the several flashbacks in this one. I want to bury my face in Konatsu's hair.

last edited at Oct 27, 2020 9:39PM

Y'all are putting a lot of thought into this series. It's pretty cool to see.

https://twitter.com/haginomakoto/status/1321316247217209344

(per google translate) "Finally, the story of Konatsu and Koyuki goes to the final chapter. Everything is connected."

That's clearly not a literal final chapter since volume 8's dropping in december so we've got at least one more volume to fill out, but I wonder if this means volume 9's our last? At any rate, seems meaningful that Hagino-sensei's starting to signal the off-ramp for us after pointedly declining to do so after Konatsu and Koyuki reconciled before.

Been a wonderful run, however long we have left ahead of us.

This time, she has become the president of the club and not being dependent means taking on the burden that was Koyuki's by herself (if not a larger one since there are more junior club members compared to when she was the only one). As opposed to the previous time, Kaede and then Konatsu herself put into question whether this selflessness is ideal or if she should be more selfish and dependent.

I think this is a good point to make. Konatsu has cause a lot of problems for herself and for others (Specifically Koyuki) because she was't being outright with how she felt. Looking back at all of their progress, she's gotten far, but there are still things that she withholds from Koyuki (Specifically the "I want us to always be together" that comes with wanting to be a frog) An interesting thing about her is that she seems to be super dependent but also someone who does not want to become a burden on others. I really think that this is something the author may address with the next arc. Konatsu's words are essentially contradicting her actions (Standard in any romance manga ever) where she tells Koyuki she needs to focus on herself, she can do things on her own, yet she speaks about how lonely she is without Koyuki, and how much she wants to spend time with her, to the point where she can't even have fun without her (This happens both during the culture festival, and in this chapter)

Another thing that really has been catching my eye is the fact that they keep stating that they don't understand each other. Like THEY DO, but they're just talking about everything but that. They both have a pretty long way to better communication in their relationship. if we use what Koyuki has been thinking internally this chapter (granted that we get some chapters from her perspective starting December) It looks like she might go on towards the route of trying to understand Konatsu:

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#32

I love that this chapter is basically saying that you can meet someone on a whim and still be the closest person to them. They acknowledge that their relationship isn't one of childhood friends and was strictly situational, yet it had the ability to grow into what it is because they wanted it to.

I've mentioned this already, but Konatsu's hands have begun to tell a lot about her thoughts:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#31
Taking a look here, both her and Koyuki are holding the fireworks the same way

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#35

In the top left panel, we can see that she completely forgot about the fireworks and is probably thinking "A pretty girl is looking at me" This very much parallels their first meeting:

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch01#11

It's kind of confirmed when Konatsu says "You were trying to distract me!" the next panel. If I put on the Yuri goggles, this would be confirmation that Konatsu is physically attracted to Koyuki, is aware of it, and tries to bury it away by not actually mentioning it.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#11

Here in the bottom right panel, her hands (and her overall body language) reflects how she feels. You can see in the next page, as she gets less reserved with her thoughts and becomes more assertive, she starts to physically open up:

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#12

I actually kind of feel bad for Kaede here. It's the first time that she hears Konatsu refer to Koyuki by her first name. After that, she immediately retracts her bath offer and leaves to go take one by herself. Knowing her, she's probably hiding how she actually feels. Hopefully we will get a chapter where we can see how she feels about her place in their relationship. This all could be part of her grand shipping scheme lol

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#16

Looking at the top right panel here, we see her asking if it okay to depend on her, she looks like a little kid who has lost a parent at a store. We have really yet to hear about Konatsu's life before she moved here, there have been a couple of drops, but unlike with Koyuki, where Kaede and her dad have filled us in on it, we don't have anything regarding Konatsu other than "She tends to get lonely very easily".

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/nettaigyo_wa_yuki_ni_kogareru_ch30#26

More hands on this page when she's talking about her dad not coming back.

Just to close off this weird hand commentary/analysis, I'll go back to what I said after the first half of 28 came out. I really think that Konatsu wants to properly define her relationship with Koyuki. I see a lot of parallels between this story and "Watashi no Shounen" where the characters first have their relationship, they know what it is, and despite defining what it consists of, that definition doesn't really fit into any conventional category. Theres even a chapter where the two main characters ask each other how would their relationship be like if they were co-workers, Mother and son, or classmates. I really like where we are headed, I think there are plenty of amazing scenes that will be referred back to in this next arc, (hopefully we will get a callback to the whole moon thing) and that the author keeps up her amazing storytelling.

https://twitter.com/haginomakoto/status/1321316247217209344

(per google translate) "Finally, the story of Konatsu and Koyuki goes to the final chapter. Everything is connected."

That's clearly not a literal final chapter since volume 8's dropping in december so we've got at least one more volume to fill out, but I wonder if this means volume 9's our last? At any rate, seems meaningful that Hagino-sensei's starting to signal the off-ramp for us after pointedly declining to do so after Konatsu and Koyuki reconciled before.

Been a wonderful run, however long we have left ahead of us.

I'm gonna guess volume ten, so maybe about 8 chapters? nine volumes seems a bit too little since we still have to solve Kaede's problems and there needs to be AT LEAST 3-4 chapters of internal monologuing about whether someone should do x y and z

I'm guessing she's saying that the final arc is up next, which is basically them conveying that they always want to be together. Honestly, can't see how you can continue on from something like that anyway lol. It would make sense since we thought that 28.5 would be an end, but chapter 30 has introduced a new conflict that needs to be resolved.

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 1:51AM

Koyuki: I didn't do anything unfair.

Konatsu's thoughts: Yes you did! You looked at me with those beautiful eyes and that soft smile of yours.

And if I put my yuri goggles on, them mimicking eachother is a sign of attraction.

Though, I sure remember when I was at my friends sleepover, and got out my comfy spot on the floor to go caress my friend's hair while she was sleeping, but possibly still awake.

Okay in all seriousness, I really liked this chapter I'm a sucker for callbacks and for them finally talking a bit about their relationship. Konastu just needs to give herself another push, or well maybe Kaede does, or her hot and thoughtful dad, so she can say what she really wants to say and that is girlshipforever. Thanks for the chapter. Can't wait to see wherever we're headed.

Ps: really lovin the effort y'all are putting into those comparisons.

Man these two are just too intense for friendship, if they liked each other romantically then this series makes sense otherwise it's just kinda weird

I haven't read this for a while because the subtext got to be too much for me (stretch was painful) but after coming back and they're still doing the sam e sort of thing like I just can't see how this can be seen as friendship because that friendship is just Too Much

But then also I can't see a Yuri ending after this much subtext unless some open ended interpretation ending happens

Hmmm

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 3:13AM

Man these two are just too intense for friendship, if they liked each other romantically then this series makes sense otherwise it's just kinda weird

I haven't read this for a while because the subtext got to be too much for me (stretch was painful) but after coming back and they're still doing the sam e sort of thing like I just can't see how this can be seen as friendship because that friendship is just Too Much

To be fair, the girls here are probably just as frustrated and confused as everyone in the forum. Therefore, the author intends for you to experience this sense of unfilfillment.

I guess Nettaigyo really is the Dark Souls of the {I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Yuri (Or Maybe It is) [It's Complicated]} genre.

This subtext is so frustrating QnQ it could make such a great Yuri QnQ

Well, that sure ended yuri.

Also... Since for the last few pages we only saw Koyuki from behind, I'm pretty sure next time we'll find out she was actually still awake the whole time, especially when Konatsu was doing yuri things playing with her hair.

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 6:09AM

Man these two are just too intense for friendship, if they liked each other romantically then this series makes sense otherwise it's just kinda weird

Honestly, if the author is trying to tell us about toxic co dependent relationships instead of yuri ones, everything kinda checks out

Man these two are just too intense for friendship, if they liked each other romantically then this series makes sense otherwise it's just kinda weird

Honestly, if the author is trying to tell us about toxic co dependent relationships instead of yuri ones, everything kinda checks out

I'd say: not yet it doesn't. There's part of codependency going on--the reliance on another person for approval and sense of identity--but there's not really much controlling behavior or enabling of negative behaviors, nor is there self-sacrifice or self-denial in favor of the other person's needs. Except for a couple of severe cases of Can't Spit It Out Syndrome, I'm not seeing much toxicity here.

At this point it's really just two previously lonely and isolated people learning how to open up to one another.

Otherwise the question is simple is what do you imagine one second that koyuki accepts that konatsu goes out with a boy and vice versa? the answer is clearly no, they would be desperate both of them, it's more than friendship then... Will they assume their feelings or have eternal regrets by repressing their feelings as from the beginning...
It's a possible sweet and bitter end that would be terribly frustrating, not having succeeded in admitting that they can't live without each other when koyuki leaves for Tokyo...
I wish more an end where konatsu promises to koyuki to join her in a year. I find it really hard to see the author ending with a simple "we finally understood each other and now we can each go our own way and still be good friends"... their relationship is so intense and full of innuendoes based on their loneliness as an excuse, that it can't end like that, it would be a huge disappointment of "all her for her".

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 8:31AM

Man these two are just too intense for friendship, if they liked each other romantically then this series makes sense otherwise it's just kinda weird

Honestly, if the author is trying to tell us about toxic co dependent relationships instead of yuri ones, everything kinda checks out

I'd say: not yet it doesn't. There's part of codependency going on--the reliance on another person for approval and sense of identity--but there's not really much controlling behavior or enabling of negative behaviors, nor is there self-sacrifice or self-denial in favor of the other person's needs.

I would agree with this if it weren’t for Konatsu’s behavior during chapters 21-24, where she literally doesn’t want Koyuki to do what she wants to do (make new friends, change for the better) because then Koyuki wouldn’t depend on her, and their relationship would lose their special-ness. Stuff like that happens when people choose to latch onto one person, instead of branching out and making more friends, and having healthier relationships. Maybe toxic is too strong of a word, but to me it seems like she doesn’t really know how close she’s supposed to get to Koyuki, which is why she is actively making sure she isn’t being “selfish” if we use her words, while us as readers know that she wishes to be.

Looking at the whole Karaoke event as an example: she couldn’t even have fun with other people because Koyuki wasn’t around (we’ve actually seen this numerous times, even in this chapter). It became to the point where she pulled Koyuki out of her own event. Although her actions in the end were fine, it very much mirrored the salamander trapping the frog. Koyuki doesn’t do this emotionally, she seems to be fine with making other friends, and just needed that push to do so.

Looking even at the career survey, Konatsu doesn’t care about what she does as long as it’s with Koyuki (I mean, we all know she didn’t join the aquarium club because she liked fish .-.). If we are looking at the story from a darker, less yuri point of view, Konatsu seems to be someone who latches on to the things that bring her comfort (I’d like to bring up what her dad said in ch 7 as a point, he mentioned that he was so glad that she could get herself engrossed in something over there as well, implying she’s done so in the past). This could simply be because she felt like Koyuki could be someone to save her from her loneliness, or some angst filled backstory, which led her to developing abandonment issues. All in all, I wouldn’t necessarily denote her behavior as healthy.

Although after 26, their relationship has become healthier, Konatsu still has to understand that she can’t be emotionally reliant on Koyuki, which it appears she is trying not to be. I’ll rephrase my original post: if not a romance, the story appears to be depicting an unbalanced relationship, rather than Co-dependent, since it’s mostly Konatsu actively acting like a salamander, and Koyuki is mostly just socially awkward.

Edit: looking back on it I just realized that I agree with you lol

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 8:34AM

Otherwise the question is simple is what do you imagine one second that koyuki accepts that konatsu goes out with a boy and vice versa? the answer is clearly no, they would be desperate both of them, it's more than friendship then... Will they assume their feelings or have eternal regrets by repressing their feelings as from the beginning...

Que aquarium boy asking Konatsu out next ch and Koyuki going ballistic

The author has yet to do the biggest yuri cop out which is the “boy talk” with the intention of proving the main characters aren’t gay. Even if it doesn’t end in romance, I’ll give it to her that she never tried to actively make it not one.

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 8:38AM

The boy from the aquarium club is supposed to like the other girl according to the one-shot they are from, even though in true Hagino fashion he accepted not to ask her out so that other potential club members wouldn't feel too awkward to join and although they're probably not outright the same characters in Nettaigyo, I think they're basically meant to be and won't be used differently. Though of course there is one more boy in the aquarium club now who is original.

last edited at Oct 28, 2020 8:51AM

Edit: looking back on it I just realized that I agree with you lol

Dang--that makes it, like, a conversation, doesn't it? On the internet.

Is that even allowed? lol

Edit: looking back on it I just realized that I agree with you lol

Dang--that makes it, like, a conversation, doesn't it? On the internet.

Is that even allowed? lol

Not that's illegal >:c

Go straight to jail, do not pass Go.

This feels like the start of a beautiful [insert gender here]ship between you two.

This feels like the start of a beautiful [insert gender here]ship between you two.

Blaastar is always taking my page long dissertations and shortening them to a sentence and I’m over here like :0 How

Also, Do you like Salamanders? lol

Blaastar is always taking my page long dissertations and shortening them to a sentence and I’m over here like :0 How

It's actually Clint Eastwood himself behind that nick and goofy avatar :v