I'm constantly 8 pages late on Dynasty, but this manga I always read on day 1

So far evidence is mounting in favor of my interpretation of the story. The adult side seems to be en route to a resolution, while the childhood side is nearing a critical point before the college stage.

And the more time goes on the more every plot thread converges on one person... Mika. Reading chapter 12 and 13 back to back makes this all the more clear. What really stood out to me in Chapter 13 was Kanoko's line "It may be the same school as Mika-chan's, but I will choose what to study myself." This is a very heavy hint that Kanaoko's decision to go to that school was pushed on her and that this is not the only aspect either. To study what she desires is almost portrayed as a small bit of emancipation. Then when we return to chapter 12, there is an inocuous little line from Shiori's mother about the fact that Kanoko's father paid for a shared appartment for Kanoko and Mika when they moved to Tokyo (which we now know was when Kanoko went to school there). This means Mika continues to be an all-encompassing presence to Kanoko during college.

There is basically no doubt in my mind at this point that the "loved one" who "hurt" her and rejected her was Mika. It cannot be her mother, as their family clearly lives far away from Tokyo (unless of course she just came to visit). As Mika's child is now entering grade school (so around 6-7 years old) and Kanoko/Shiori are 26 at the current point in time... it is basically undeniable that the woman with the baby is Mika.
The only on-screen presence Mika has had in the manga was the flashback to when Shiori and Kanoko were small children and she seemed protective of her little sister. It is often the case that family you trust and respect may turn on you after a coming out. That is the harsh truth of this world.

last edited at Oct 27, 2021 4:20AM

This series was fantastic. I'm glad I read it.

well that was a fun story, I really liked it. The way it was told by looping back and forth was also really interesting to me.
I especially liked seeing how the way they showed their affection to each other and internalized it essentially flipped over the years. With Kanoko being openly in love with Shiori when they were small, growing up to find her that her love wasn't always recognised as such by society and thus shutting herself off. And Shiori who struggled giving a name to her feelings and allowing herself to be in love with Kanoko, growing up to being openly in love with Kanoko no longer caring about it anymore.
It's also kind of interesting to consider that Shiori mostly had to deal with accepting that she was in love with Kanoko, overcoming internalised homophobia while Kanoko had to overcome the stigma of being in love with another woman from outside sources. With their struggles to allow themselves to be in love with each other essentially mirroring both in time and the struggles themselves (one being internal, and the other being external)
All in all a great story that I certainly have to reread soon now that it's all here.

I kind of thought we would get a chapter about them breaking up, but I'm not complaining. Good end.

This was a really beautiful conclusion to this series, I was unsure how they’d tie everything together but it all just fell into place.

reading this last chapter made me cry so damn hard. I haven't come out ot my family yet so I'm so very afraid of how they will react.

Thank you scanlation team for doing these series of Tokuwo Tsumu, they're amazing!! I'm gonna go re-read Ise-san to Shima-san now to lift my mood.

The pacing was interesting. Absolutely loved the ending!

I think the interleaving of the chapters between schoolgirl and office lady was neat.

That was an awesome read, thanks for the story! <3

I thought it was going to be her trying for self harm or a suicide attempt or something

Great end, was really a soothing manga

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The impression I got was she tried to hang herself, fell and cut her neck on the chair.

last edited at Oct 30, 2021 12:13PM by OrangePekoe

well that was a fun story, I really liked it. The way it was told by looping back and forth was also really interesting to me.
I especially liked seeing how the way they showed their affection to each other and internalized it essentially flipped over the years. With Kanoko being openly in love with Shiori when they were small, growing up to find her that her love wasn't always recognised as such by society and thus shutting herself off. And Shiori who struggled giving a name to her feelings and allowing herself to be in love with Kanoko, growing up to being openly in love with Kanoko no longer caring about it anymore.
It's also kind of interesting to consider that Shiori mostly had to deal with accepting that she was in love with Kanoko, overcoming internalised homophobia while Kanoko had to overcome the stigma of being in love with another woman from outside sources. With their struggles to allow themselves to be in love with each other essentially mirroring both in time and the struggles themselves (one being internal, and the other being external)
All in all a great story that I certainly have to reread soon now that it's all here.

this is a really great take from it, and well done by the author. i really like how they did this. great story, i loved these characters :)

edit: and re-reading it i still really don't know how to interpret what happened with her scar. i think the most likelihood would be suicide by handing, but i don't really get how she'd get the wound on her shoulder from that.

last edited at Oct 30, 2021 5:57AM

What an awful sister. Not quite sure which way to interprete the passage with the chair

Ah... "I'm sorry."
That is so much worse. If it was merely ignorance and disgust it would be easier to draw a line in the sand, but Mika did the worst thing possible... she was trying to "help" Kanoko because she blamed herself for allowing her to "become" this way. Family that wants to "fix" their homosexual children and siblings. To consider it a childish phase, wrong upbringing, bad influences... of course that's what it was. That glimpse of Mika being overprotective, the mentions of her being a constant watchful eye and influence on Kanoko for her entire life, it all culminated in the ultimate betrayal. To hurt your loved ones out of a self-centered desire to "save" them can only lead to the worst outcome. Mika probably never understood how far she pushed Kanoko with those words, didn't even remotely comprehend how she ruined her life for years. Just how she never figured out that Shiori was the same as Kanoko and that she was indeed the one she loved.
I think it was amazingly handled. Shiori did exactly what you should do: cut out those who will hurt you, and tell you they are doing it for your sake, from your life. Mika never had the right to meddle with Kanoko's life, to impose her idea of happiness and adulthood onto her. If she had been supportive, maybe Kanoko could have braced herself for the rejection and ignorance that the rest of the world would throw at her. But bereft of the support that family should provide, she only had Shiori to lean on, someone she felt would be hurt by that world all the more. So she pushed her away.

They spent ten years running in circles. At least 7 of those years they were dating, but only now at the present have their minds fully aligned. Ultimately this really was a story about growing up, but those words mean different things to different people. Shiori grew up to embrace who she was, while Kanoko went astray, never being able to fully grow up... not until she accepted the changes she needed to make herself. As a "child" Shiori learned to accept her love for Kanoko, as an "adult" Kanoko learned to accept her love for Shiori.

Pushing people away to protect them, trying to tie people down to protect them, trying to fix people to protect them... all of these are one-sided desires. They only hurt. What is most important is communication and trying to best understand each other. Kanoko and Shiori learned to say what they should say and to express all of these things together. Mika will most likely never learn this lesson and so she has no point of connection to them.
Children are selfish, adults make compromises. A compromise always benefits both parties. Love in its most base essence... is a compromise of emotions. No two people can be the same, but love ties them together, making them want to fit like slightly jagged puzzle pieces that eventually connect.

Damn that was good. Time to binge re-read.

It was very good

I'm constantly 8 pages late on Dynasty, but this manga I always read on day 1

I hear you! The trick is to just have 200 tabs of yuri open on your phone

Oh my god, you're shitting me, it's over now??? I was just getting invested! It's a good conclusion but I still feel left wanting more...

Beautiful read! For those wondering about the scar, it could've just been a sudden outburst that ultimately resulted in self-harm. Might not seem realistic if you've never experienced it, but it's surprisingly easy to go from throwing over a chair to grabbing a nearby knife––your head goes blank and time doesn't feel linear at all, so it seems plausible. Much more likely than hanging, anyway.

Really good story, i want more, a little unsatisfied with the view of Kano's family at the end, not much effort trying to understand her feelings... But i apprecied the ride since chapter 1, a good 8 out 10.

Thanks for translating this. Tokuwo Tsumu's two for two with me after this and Ise-san and Shima-san.

She doesn't seem to have anything else in serialization right now, but if you go to her Pixiv, there's acres of good stuff, some of it featuring some very familiar faces.

Oh my god, one of the stories on her Pixiv has these two getting drinks with Ise and Shima and it is almost too cute for words.

Ah... "I'm sorry."
That is so much worse. If it was merely ignorance and disgust it would be easier to draw a line in the sand, but Mika did the worst thing possible... she was trying to "help" Kanoko because she blamed herself for allowing her to "become" this way. Family that wants to "fix" their homosexual children and siblings. To consider it a childish phase, wrong upbringing, bad influences... of course that's what it was. That glimpse of Mika being overprotective, the mentions of her being a constant watchful eye and influence on Kanoko for her entire life, it all culminated in the ultimate betrayal. To hurt your loved ones out of a self-centered desire to "save" them can only lead to the worst outcome. Mika probably never understood how far she pushed Kanoko with those words, didn't even remotely comprehend how she ruined her life for years. Just how she never figured out that Shiori was the same as Kanoko and that she was indeed the one she loved.
I think it was amazingly handled. Shiori did exactly what you should do: cut out those who will hurt you, and tell you they are doing it for your sake, from your life. Mika never had the right to meddle with Kanoko's life, to impose her idea of happiness and adulthood onto her. If she had been supportive, maybe Kanoko could have braced herself for the rejection and ignorance that the rest of the world would throw at her. But bereft of the support that family should provide, she only had Shiori to lean on, someone she felt would be hurt by that world all the more. So she pushed her away.

They spent ten years running in circles. At least 7 of those years they were dating, but only now at the present have their minds fully aligned. Ultimately this really was a story about growing up, but those words mean different things to different people. Shiori grew up to embrace who she was, while Kanoko went astray, never being able to fully grow up... not until she accepted the changes she needed to make herself. As a "child" Shiori learned to accept her love for Kanoko, as an "adult" Kanoko learned to accept her love for Shiori.

Pushing people away to protect them, trying to tie people down to protect them, trying to fix people to protect them... all of these are one-sided desires. They only hurt. What is most important is communication and trying to best understand each other. Kanoko and Shiori learned to say what they should say and to express all of these things together. Mika will most likely never learn this lesson and so she has no point of connection to them.
Children are selfish, adults make compromises. A compromise always benefits both parties. Love in its most base essence... is a compromise of emotions. No two people can be the same, but love ties them together, making them want to fit like slightly jagged puzzle pieces that eventually connect.

Beautifully said. I really wish we could get more from these two, but I'm satisfied they were able to talk things through :)