Forum › Shoujo Manga Protagonist x Rival-san discussion

joined Jul 24, 2021

I love you. Thank you so much for deciding to translate this. I look forward to future chapters.

joined Sep 11, 2019

Man am I glad this series is here now and following the Tankobon ver. instead of whatever messed up order is on mangadex.

joined Mar 25, 2019

Chapter 2 is missing a page at the start.

The_argent_god_100px_avatar
joined Jul 28, 2019

Chapter 2 is missing a page at the start.

It's not missing, it's just at the end/after the credits. Seems it wasn't named properly when uploaded

OrangePekoe Admin
Animesher.com_tamako-market-midori-tokiwa-deviantart-950416a
joined Mar 20, 2013

Fixed, sorry for the inconvenience!

AnimexObsession
Screenshot%20(107)
joined Dec 27, 2014

Aw heck yes I'm loving it!

Norainhere Uploader
2hu%20cats
joined Jun 27, 2014

Interesting - chapter 3 went exactly the same as the original webcomic chapter, with the exception of the last page. It's a small extra detail, but I like how Kimura's shown to actually be happy about getting complemented by Hiyama instead of just totally creeped out.

Untitled315
joined Mar 30, 2021

still really cute i see

joined Aug 21, 2017

I'd be funny if Mizushima turned out to be gay in the end.

Boy10
joined Dec 6, 2021

I am confused, this one isn't like the one I read in Gangan Joker is this like a different serialization?

(Don't mind that↑ I did some research and turns out that this one is the web version so sorry)

last edited at Dec 6, 2021 2:23AM

Ykn1
joined Dec 20, 2018

I am confused, this one isn't like the one I read in Gangan Joker is this like a different serialization?

(Don't mind that↑ I did some research and turns out that this one is the web version so sorry)

It's both, technically - see the first post of this thread.

Woof
joined Feb 8, 2013

This series are kinda amusing but gosh it pains me that the blonde is rejected each chapter

joined May 8, 2018

Such dedication!

Licentious Lantern
Lantern%202
joined Sep 17, 2021

Perhaps this is for the sake of keeping the running gag alive, but I find it highly suspect that the "protagonist" keeps resetting her brain between each chapter and somehow forgets that the "rival" is after her alone and always does nice things for her instead of bullying her. It defies my suspension of disbelief after this many chapters and will only get harder to swallow as the manga progresses.

If this were a more grounded work the author may instead transition it into the protagonist dreading what new stunt the rival will pull for her attention or affection instead. But that would basically drop the useless boy out of the equation.

last edited at Dec 13, 2021 2:17PM

Untitled315
joined Mar 30, 2021

she will never give up

Ykn1
joined Dec 20, 2018

Not overdoing it at all... :D

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

I'm amazed at how often people insist on realism in manga that are obviously cases of mangaka having fun fiddling around with the dials on the trope equipment, as the title announces in no uncertain terms that's what this one is doing.

Like Jimi Hendrix said at Woodstock, "We're just jammin' . . . "

Licentious Lantern
Lantern%202
joined Sep 17, 2021

I'm amazed at how often people insist on realism in manga that are obviously cases of mangaka having fun fiddling around with the dials on the trope equipment, as the title announces in no uncertain terms that's what this one is doing.

Like Jimi Hendrix said at Woodstock, "We're just jammin' . . . "

You mistake my exasperation at the repetitiveness of this story with criticism against creative story telling itself. I enjoy humor and I enjoy exploring out there concepts. This manga is fine for what it is trying to be I suppose. But it is not executed in an awfully interesting way. Every chapter has the same punchline. "Protagonist" wants to get close to her male crush, the "rival" does something that appears like bullying to her at first, but turns out to be going after protagonist's affection instead. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum. The core of this story does not work unless the "protagonist" exists in a vacuum or is bound by some mind-bending force that shackles her to the genre she is originally trapped in (a potential plot that reminds me of "The fourth heroine" and would be much more fascinating in my opinion).

If you throw things at the wall until something is going to stick you will have to accept that the floor will become a mess. Can we not ask for good humor and character writing?

....also I am fully aware that this is a really early point to critisize it too much and I merely expressed how my suspension of disbelief and patience for this running gag will deteriorate with time.

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

I'm amazed at how often people insist on realism in manga that are obviously cases of mangaka having fun fiddling around with the dials on the trope equipment, as the title announces in no uncertain terms that's what this one is doing.

Like Jimi Hendrix said at Woodstock, "We're just jammin' . . . "

You mistake my exasperation at the repetitiveness of this story with criticism against creative story telling itself. I enjoy humor and I enjoy exploring out there concepts. This manga is fine for what it is trying to be I suppose. But it is not executed in an awfully interesting way. Every chapter has the same punchline. "Protagonist" wants to get close to her male crush, the "rival" does something that appears like bullying to her at first, but turns out to be going after protagonist's affection instead. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum. The core of this story does not work unless the "protagonist" exists in a vacuum or is bound by some mind-bending force that shackles her to the genre she is originally trapped in (a potential plot that reminds me of "The fourth heroine" and would be much more fascinating in my opinion).

If you throw things at the wall until something is going to stick you will have to accept that the floor will become a mess. Can we not ask for good humor and character writing?

....also I am fully aware that this is a really early point to critisize it too much and I merely expressed how my suspension of disbelief and patience for this running gag will deteriorate with time.

Those are legitimate complaints--this hasn't been a terribly interesting series once it established its premise, and if the author doesn't start ringing some changes on the tropes it's playing with pretty soon I'll be ready to give up on it myself.

That's rather different than invoking "suspension of disbelief" or locating the problem in the character's psychology (or cognition, or whatever you want to call her failure to understand what's going on)--comedy protagonists in serial stories are often characterized by what would be repetition-compulsion or dysfunctional perseverant behaviors in real life.

But the writing problem here is that the MC is entirely passive and reactive--unlike, say, the wry and clever MC in the somewhat parallel series Shouraiteki ni Shindekure, who is able to fend off and deflect her half-crazed admirer's even more extravagant attempts to woo her without ever definitively rejecting or alienating her.

There's a suggestion that the MC here is actually attracted to Rival-san, so we'll see if that works out.

Licentious Lantern
Lantern%202
joined Sep 17, 2021

That's rather different than invoking "suspension of disbelief" or locating the problem in the character's psychology (or cognition, or whatever you want to call her failure to understand what's going on)--comedy protagonists in serial stories are often characterized by what would be repetition-compulsion or dysfunctional perseverant behaviors in real life.

Suspension of disbelief is essential for comedy or rather fictional stories in general. If an aspect of the story is so amiss that the reader feels a dissonance, it is most likely due to the broken suspension of disbelief. I will not critisize Scooby Doo characters for being unable to tell at first glance who the disguised criminal will be. They are portrayed just that dense.
The issue is connected to something you mention here...

But the writing problem here is that the MC is entirely passive and reactive

Our protagonist here is not portrayed as a completely naieve fool. At the end of each chapter she does either slightly reciprocate or give a disgruntled reaction, completely unlike the unaffected Shoujo protagonist she is made out to be. I cannot suspend my disbelief that someone with these reactions will reset her expectations every chapter. In the first chapter she implied that this has been going on for a while and that it bothers her. Her inner monologue nearly completely avoids ever addressing her relationship with the "rival", instead forcing the focus on her crush and his relation to the rival.

If she truly did not understand that her "rival" is trying to get her affections I could see it as the Garfield-esque one-gag comedy it portrays itself as and never question the status quo. It is indeed the glance at something more that destabilizes this construct. If it changes along the lines I will be more invested. If it does not, then the "dissonance" will grow and my patience for the running gag will wane.

last edited at Dec 13, 2021 2:15PM

Angryface
joined Mar 22, 2021

Oh man I love this series so it will be fun to start it again. I just love the rival so much and how pure she is.

Miowink
joined Aug 21, 2020

I feel as though rival-san is even more aggressive than she was in the original.

Book%20and%20cloakhbq1
joined Aug 1, 2011

Our protagonist here is not portrayed as a completely naieve fool. At the end of each chapter she does either slightly reciprocate or give a disgruntled reaction, completely unlike the unaffected Shoujo protagonist she is made out to be. I cannot suspend my disbelief that someone with these reactions will reset her expectations every chapter. In the first chapter she implied that this has been going on for a while and that it bothers her. Her inner monologue nearly completely avoids ever addressing her relationship with the "rival", instead forcing the focus on her crush and his relation to the rival.

Are you sure she's truly resetting her expectations between every chapter?

Hiyama has been shown to be rather ... extra. She tends to go well beyond what is reasonable, in both her reactions and her attempts to woo Kimura. Even if Kimura understands that Hiyama is, ultimately, harmless and that she only wants to get closer to her, it's still understandable that she'd meet declarations like "Be ready tomorrow. I won't let you get away with this." with some dread. She may not need to worry about getting hurt, but the same cannot be said about Hiyama hurting herself or accidentally embarrassing her. Case in point: Having your desk covered in lavish gifts as a public tribute is pretty embarrassing and having Hiyama spend that kind of money on her isn't good for either of them.

Additionally, it seems that Hiyama is rather loud and forceful in her manner, which can be extremely off putting, even if you're expecting it and you know the other person doesn't mean any harm. I mean, just on the first page of chapter 4, we see Hiyam cornering Kimura, slamming a hand right next to her head, and then shouting in her face. I'd cringe back from that just because of the loud and thing moving rapidly near my eyes and ears.

joined Sep 11, 2019

Hiyama is a huge fucking dork and I love her for it.

last edited at Dec 13, 2021 10:46PM

joined Feb 6, 2020

Thank you so much for the new chap Cuetie. An extra page at the end of chap 4 is so cute. Hiyama is really a huge fucking dork, haha.

To reply you must either login or sign up.