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.

Your reading would align with what I mentioned before hoping this would become. Specifically that the reason she dreads Hiyama's actions is not out of fear for bullying, but because of her excessive affection. I think you could see it that way if you really tried... but I still have my doubts.

If her trying to ignore Hiyama's attraction to her and constantly positioning her in the rival position for her boy crush is simply a defense mechanism, I would even say that is quite subtle writing... which feels very out of place compared to the very straightforward running gag.

I love this manga

Bit of a letdown Kimura's friend isn't in this one. At least, not yet.

god the expressions and dorkiness is unrivaled

The Pixiv comment section of this chapter contains roughly 230 comments, 90% of which yell "Kimura is Hiyama's bride!" That's impressive.

This page makes it all even better. :D

The Pixiv comment section of this chapter contains roughly 230 comments, 90% of which yell "Kimura is Hiyama's bride!" That's impressive.

oh gosh that's so wholesome

This is ½ Idiot couple for sure.

I guess it's partly love makes you stupid like in Futari no Monologue, but still ....

Sliding on in

smooth ride

Ya girl really just spent hundreds of dollars just to smoothly slide that ring right on.

Our pitiful protagonist aside, with how boisterously Hiyama has been declaring her love for her all across the school it seems preposterous that there are still students who would be blissfully unaware and ship her with the guy.
Hiyama spends a lot of money brazenly, but unlike last time this one seemed to kinda pay off. No full on rejection to the ring and a blush instead of a frown.

pained sighs pls call me if protagonist reciprocates (

Our pitiful protagonist aside, with how boisterously Hiyama has been declaring her love for her all across the school it seems preposterous that there are still students who would be blissfully unaware and ship her with the guy.
Hiyama spends a lot of money brazenly, but unlike last time this one seemed to kinda pay off. No full on rejection to the ring and a blush instead of a frown.

It’s pretty clear that this is not in any sense a “realistic” continuity, nor do the characters have anything like a developing psychology—this, as the title tells us in no uncertain terms, is a narrative trope machine and MC is a shoujo manga protagonist while Hiyama is (or believes herself to be) from a yuri manga.

That may change, and MC may eventually convert to a yuri manga protagonist, at which point the side characters may simply adopt yuri tropes as well.

Damn, did she spend an entire paycheck again, zamn simp

'Twas an expensive ring. I believe three months' lunch money is customary in such situations.

last edited at Dec 26, 2021 4:45PM

It’s pretty clear that this is not in any sense a “realistic” continuity, nor do the characters have anything like a developing psychology—this, as the title tells us in no uncertain terms, is a narrative trope machine and MC is a shoujo manga protagonist while Hiyama is (or believes herself to be) from a yuri manga.

That may change, and MC may eventually convert to a yuri manga protagonist, at which point the side characters may simply adopt yuri tropes as well.

Indeed, we have discussed this exhaustively last chapter I believe. I merely had the desire to point out that the faceless extras ought to be a bit more up to date, what with Hiyama forcing her classmates to write her love on the chalkboard or her kabedoning our Shoujo protagonist in public. These things spread like wildfire in schools, so sentiments like "This girl who constantly hits on another girl really looks good with that random boy! Are they dating?" would be hard to keep up.

Truly, this must be a Shoujo manga world where everyone is bound by the a certain ruleset and Hiyama's aggressive homosexuality has relieved her of such narrative bondage.

last edited at Dec 26, 2021 5:01PM

I wonder if this version will evolve in the same way as the other version did.
I kinda miss the old's vibes.

Sigh just give up on that girl. she's obviously hopelessly staight. Honestly it's getting a little painful to watch.

It’s pretty clear that this is not in any sense a “realistic” continuity, nor do the characters have anything like a developing psychology—this, as the title tells us in no uncertain terms, is a narrative trope machine and MC is a shoujo manga protagonist while Hiyama is (or believes herself to be) from a yuri manga.

That may change, and MC may eventually convert to a yuri manga protagonist, at which point the side characters may simply adopt yuri tropes as well.

Indeed, we have discussed this exhaustively last chapter I believe. I merely had the desire to point out that the faceless extras ought to be a bit more up to date, what with Hiyama forcing her classmates to write her love on the chalkboard or her kabedoning our Shoujo protagonist in public. These things spread like wildfire in schools, so sentiments like "This girl who constantly hits on another girl really looks good with that random boy! Are they dating?" would be hard to keep up.

Truly, this must be a Shoujo manga world where everyone is bound by the a certain ruleset and Hiyama's aggressive homosexuality has relieved her of such narrative bondage.

There was even a series sometime back that featured characters who were aware of the fact that they were side characters in a romance manga (sometimes characters drifted in from other genres and experienced severe culture shock)—I think it got axed or dumped by the translators just as it was really getting going, IIRC.

My point is that there’s no evidence that most of the characters, including the main ones, have much if any recall of occurrences in previous episodes. So all those chalkboarding classmates know is what happened in their specific episode, and there’s no offscreen action between episodes (like rumors spreading throughout the school) at all.

And even the MC’s “memory” of what Hiyama is about seems to be contingent and variable from episode to episode—it’s not quite a narrative clean slate every time, but it’s often close to it.

last edited at Dec 26, 2021 7:46PM

Hiyama confesses to the protagonist nearly every chapter, even going as far to say she's not into the boy and yet kimura still has the audacity to keep saying "I can't believe this completely straight girl is after my crush".

Hiyama confesses to the protagonist nearly every chapter, even going as far to say she's not into the boy and yet kimura still has the audacity to keep saying "I can't believe this completely straight girl is after my crush".

That's not what she said.

Her mental narrative is about how she is unworthy/inadequate to stand next to the protagonist. She holds Hiyama up as someone who, at least outwardly, has the attributes she thinks she needs to have before she can confess, and the other girls' comments merely reminded her of that discrepancy. That Hiyama herself doesn't have any interest in the protagonist is completely irrelevant, because this is a self-esteem/self-image issue, not a confusion over who's in a relationship with who.

How did she know her ring size?

There was even a series sometime back that featured characters who were aware of the fact that they were side characters in a romance manga (sometimes characters drifted in from other genres and experienced severe culture shock)—I think it got axed or dumped by the translators just as it was really getting going, IIRC.

I believe you are refering to the one-shot I mentioned in last chapter's discussion, "The Fourth Heroine". It fits your description, aside form the fact that it was never intended to be a series. That was exactly what I was thinking of myself.

My point is that there’s no evidence that most of the characters, including the main ones, have much if any recall of occurrences in previous episodes.

Perhaps, although evidence is tipping the scales into the opposite direction slightly. In the first chapter the protagonist already implied this has been going on for a while after all, meaning she does remember. And in the bonus page of the current chapter the friend points out Hiyama being broke again after buying the ring, which is a reference to her spending all that money on the lavish presents in a previous chapter.

Hiyama confesses to the protagonist nearly every chapter, even going as far to say she's not into the boy and yet kimura still has the audacity to keep saying "I can't believe this completely straight girl is after my crush".

Her mental narrative is about how she is unworthy/inadequate to stand next to the protagonist.[...] That Hiyama herself doesn't have any interest in the protagonist [...]

I do not disagree with your assessment about how Hiyama fits into Kimura's inner narrative, but I have to point out that you are confusing everyone by mixing up the boy and the actual Shoujo proptaonist. In Shoujo manga the protatgonist is the girl (it's literally in the title). The boytoy is the love interest.

last edited at Dec 27, 2021 4:20AM

Hiyama, sweety…honey. She is STRAIGHT. Please move on, there is no hope with this one.