I wonder if "one-sided feelings" is meant to refer to the narrator's point of view, rather than unrequited love. As in "this is how I in particular feel about the situation".

I wonder if "one-sided feelings" is meant to refer to the narrator's point of view, rather than unrequited love. As in "this is how I in particular feel about the situation".

I think the narrator is unsure whether her ex's feelings have lingered over the years as hers have. They smile at each other, but both can only wonder at what the other is thinking. The narrator takes the safe path and walks away, deciding her current feelings are probably unrequited anyway, so it's no use reaching out any further.

last edited at Mar 15, 2018 9:59AM

Well at the start at the start the dialogue it's shown from the short hair girl's POV of her unrecruited feelings but in the last panel the way the long hair girl stares at short hair girl implies that the unrecruited feelings and the "I just want her to smile" dialogue belongs to her so my interpretation of the story is that either this is one of those twist stories where short hair's POV is shown at the start and monologue of unrecruited feelings are shown but then revealed in the end that the unrecruited feelings monologue are the long hair girl's monologue all along not the short hairs, or this is one of those both thinking of the exact same thing kind of stories where the monologue is both long hair's molologue and short hair's monologue so it's a scenario of mutual "unrecruited feelings".

Man with all this meta, self-aware shit from anime/manga people how come we never get any real confessions? Why can't a Yuri author make a Yuri manga as a form of confession to another Yuri author? At this point they may as well be collectively obligated to do something like that.

Or, shit, how about Mira and her girlfriend(s?) and Asagi Ryuu and her girlfriend(s?)?

Sometimes I legit wish that "One Who Depicts Love" was an actual confession because that would be so awesome guys.

This was good.

I'd like to know why they ended up parting ways. i mean I reeaaaaally would like to know. To me, why people don't stay together is about as interesting as why they do.

last edited at Mar 15, 2018 6:21PM

I regret reading this. I want sweet stuff, not this...

I seriously don't get why people think this story is so depressing. They broke up a long time ago, and the narrator seems to consider herself lucky that they could become friends again after how messy the breakup was. She seems happy with her life and the situation, and talks to the other girl comfortably and honestly wishes her the best.

I think the author wanted this to be a positive, personal sort of story, not a failed romance.

I think the point is that it was a failed romance. But that that wasn't the end of the world, and they eventually managed to build a less committed - but still positive - relationship between each other.

Most readers are used to narrative conclusions of the "happy romance" and "dramatic tragedy" binary, and they aren't quite sure where to place this. It's too far from the former to even consider it, so they automatically assume it's the latter.

But that ambivalence is what makes this story interesting. It isn't supposed to fit neatly into one box or the other.

last edited at Mar 15, 2018 10:06PM

^The narrator is uncertain and insecure about their current relationship too. That's the depressing part of it, the suggestion that they may or may not have a mutual understanding but don't have any way of finding out for sure. In the end I think this story is very subjective and designed to mean different things to different people.

last edited at Mar 15, 2018 10:27PM

^The narrator is uncertain and insecure about their current relationship too. That's the depressing part of it, the suggestion that they may or may not have a mutual understanding but don't have any way of finding out for sure. In the end I think this story is very subjective and designed to mean different things to different people.

I think you're putting far too much emphasis on the "things that will never be" line. In order to do that, you have to assume that the entirety of page three is a lie.

"One-sided feelings" doesn't necessarily mean "I love her but she doesn't love me" in this case, and seems to be "These are my personal feelings and I can't speak for her" instead. It's possible that's a translation thing.

last edited at Mar 15, 2018 10:38PM

I don't mean "I love her but she doesn't love me." I mean there's an element of, "I don't know if this person is having quite the same emptional experience that I'm having when we see each other." I think page 3 was all true, but relationships like this rarely ever reach absolute closure.

last edited at Mar 15, 2018 11:21PM

It seems like a story of an unrequited love but idk how to interpret the expression of the Mangaka at the end. Looks like "regret" to me but I'll never know.

last edited at Mar 16, 2018 9:14AM

Oh, man, this hits close home.
Maturity, such a complex concept. It implies many things, and not everyone agrees on what they are, and even fewer people achieve them.
To accept loss. To understand the end of a relationship is not the end of the world. To cherish the time you once had together, while leaving it in the past, where it belongs.
Life moves on; yours and theirs. You both deserve happiness, wherever you may find it.

Pikachi must've gone through hardships like this and it shows. Learning is difficult enough. Acknowledging your own mistakes is even worse. Voicing it to the world, so they can learn (or begin learning) from your pain? That takes true courage. And is the very essence of maturity.

Well that's kinda sad but also kinda true but also sad and :( just makes me sad.

I love boobs!

Ones sided love huh? How sad..

I don't know how to feel about this.

If someone is interested about this pair, Pikachi has a story in the anthology "Chocolat" based in this duo.

One word:

OUCH

or fuck..

This is a really good short. Praise be Pikachi.