Ah yes, the old country girls don't understand the finances of cityfolk chestnut. It did seem rather fishy to me that she can afford all this as an author. But when it comes to manga the exceptional can be sold all too easily as the standard. Even as we trade the setting of an unbelievably successful author with a rich CEO's daughter it seems about equally extreme.
This manga is very intent on pushing for the greatest contrast possible between the two main characters. Age, finances, family situation, maturity, education, success, life skills, interests. They all are far apart. The question is whether there are simply commonalities that are not immediately apparent (like homosexuality) or whether it is a more traditional story of pulling each other into unfamiliar territory to become more complete as people.
Myaa-san is the true driving force of this plot without any screentime. Truly remarkable.
This story is directly challenging the established yuri convention of women in love with women who are very carefully made not gay, and all the effort that typically goes into avoiding any societal commentary. Call it escapist fantasy, call it squeamish, I’ve been getting pretty frustrated with Japanese yuri lately because of how it feels like there’s this layer of film separating it from reality. A lot of the Chinese and Korean modern-setting yuri has this more grounded sense of reality and verisimilitude, because the gay women are fucking gay, whether they’re on lesbian internet communities, have read shit like Citrus and make references to it, talk about the dangers of falling for straight girls, or literally just use the word lesbian at all, ever, at any point in their series.
As I brought it up in the first place I can only say that this is exactly my perspective on the matter as well. While there are notable exceptions that have a more grounded view of lesbianism in Japan, they still tend to pull their punches or keep things focused on just one issue at a time.
Something I need to point out, however, is that labels are hugely unpopular in Japan, even within the LGBT community. At least the more straightfoward type of the West. Of course you could make a very strong case for cause and effect being reversed here... no labels due to negative reaction to labels is an all too common development. Only does it seem to have been more culturally persistent in Japan to the point where even the involved parties keep it to a minimum within their own ranks. While naturally a lesbian bar will have many women who can tell you exactly what they prefer, it is still more than common for such women to not seek out those communities in the first place. As expected of a society where even the interactions between the opposite sex are kept to an awkward minimum.
Nearly all Japanese yuri series I’ve read on this site seem to exist in a world where there is zero queer community, zero place for self-identification as someone who is attracted to women—where all the trappings of a heteronormative society exist, like comparing one’s love interest to boys or a presented scarcity of female/female couples, or where characters start out unaware that women can even be together. You know who doesn’t do that? Still Sick, So do you want to go out or…?, and Even if it was just once, and do you know what else they have in common? They fucking slap, first off, but also they are innovative and soulful, and I still think about them months or years after I’ve been reading them.
Though I have my own misgivings with "So do you want to go out or...?", I can see your point about the level of acknowledgement that all those series deal with (though "Even if it was just once I regret it" being on the more superficial side on that topic). All I want to ask is to also understand that different series go for different things. It is disappointing how few series actually delve into the nitty-gritty of homosexual life in such a place, but many of the tropes you mentioned also attempt to deal with ignorance and bigotry in their own way. Often enough the isolation of being completely disconnected from homosexual communities or even proper education on the topic at all is the most painful reality. And for those people who may find themselves in such a lot or spend a considerable chunk of their lives in it, the wish fulfillment of a world where this can be the case and a yuri protagonist still finds unconditional happiness is a rewarding experience.
Alas, it is usually simply a side-effect of the author themselves having no experience with the topic, so perhaps I give too much credit.
I’m hype as fuck for this manga, and if you’re not, that’s cool, but I’m not hearing it when people start talking this “clichéd” shit like it’s not brave as hell for the artist to defy genre conventions so starkly and bring up real societal ills that seemingly nobody else will speak to.
Brave? Perhaps not. Subvertive and intriguing? For sure. Though after three chapters it is hard to gauge how much of this manga will truly focus on that aspect in particular. I believe the author used these matters to ground the setting and characters, but the real meat of it may be in different areas.
last edited at Jan 19, 2022 5:59PM
.jpg?1616287299)
