Excited to see where this one goes

Ooooh me likes. Excited to see how this goes.

I kinda dislike how they specifically mention her being ace only to dismiss it again right away but aside from that, I'm intrigued

Finally! Something on aromatic or asexual.

I kinda dislike how they specifically mention her being ace only to dismiss it again right away but aside from that, I'm intrigued

They dismissed it? Still seems to fit the definition?

I kinda dislike how they specifically mention her being ace only to dismiss it again right away but aside from that, I'm intrigued

What do you mean dismiss it? Being ace doesn't mean they can't fall in love. They can be in love but don't want the sex part in the relationship. Aromantic is a different story. Aromantic don't experience the falling in love but in this story the mc simply wants to know the girl better. That doesn't mean she's heart-pounding in love with her.

Cool to see aros getting acknowledged

Is it just me or does this manga seem a little sporadic? It was like they were trynna kill two birds wit on stone wit the subtle mention that she might be aromatic as well as her wanting to be an announcer in the same time frame, like it felt off. And it’s weird cuz right after she came to the conclusion that she doesn’t have romantic feelings, the next scene right away has her thinking she might like a girl. I just wish the aromatic thing wasn’t only used as a ploy to further the plot cuz it’s looking that way to me.

And I feel like if they wanted to make their passion as an announcer a significant thing they should have established that in the beginning so that the compliment the other girl had given her would have had a greater impact.

I think it's not uncommon experience for people to just assume they can't feel romantic attraction until realizing they can but it's just same sex. This theme has been done 10000 times in yuri manga but I think people are setting themselves up for confusion or disappointment because this specific manga used the terminology "asexual aromantic" specifically instead of just saying "I've never had any interest in romance" because that's a term that exists now. This is pretty clearly just going to be one of those types of yuri developments. It's not sporadic or bait it's just a common yuri (and well. Gay media in general) trope.

I actually really like that they used the terms asexual and aromatic here, I hardly come across these terms in any kind of manga and this it's good that they get a bit more exposure here instead of just the usual "I've never been interested in anyone before..." line. I used to think I was a outright ace until I met my girlfriend, (I still think I'm on the ace scale somewhere, but not really that bothered in putting a label on it) so it's really not that surprising to me that she thinks she's ace&aro, especially if she's not been interested in any romance at all up until this point.

Orangey posted:

I actually really like that they used the terms asexual and aromatic here.

I smell a misspelling.

Eh there are quite a few women who think they are "asexual" before realizing they are just gay. Like late-blooming lesbians who spend years thinking they must be straight but can't feel anything.

I think it's not uncommon experience for people to just assume they can't feel romantic attraction until realizing they can but it's just same sex. This theme has been done 10000 times in yuri manga but I think people are setting themselves up for confusion or disappointment because this specific manga used the terminology "asexual aromantic" specifically instead of just saying "I've never had any interest in romance" because that's a term that exists now. This is pretty clearly just going to be one of those types of yuri developments. It's not sporadic or bait it's just a common yuri (and well. Gay media in general) trope.

Exactly.
And I think fans of aromantic for dead sure, and asexual nearly all the time, are going to be disappointed if they think those are going to be featured as leads in ROMANCE manga. Because, like, if they really are aromantic then it ISN'T a romance manga, is it? Even the robots in romance manga aren't aromantic.

And I mean, from a plot perspective, what's supposed to happen? The character starts to think maybe they have odd feelings for someone, but it turns out to be a false alarm, they just had indigestion, so they make no changes to their relationship, the end?

On the other hand, it's distinctly possible that many leads of adventure manga are aromantic. We don't know different, anyway.

last edited at Feb 3, 2022 3:55AM

the art is really nice, not too moe but not too old-school.

Is it just me or does this manga seem a little sporadic? It was like they were trynna kill two birds wit on stone wit the subtle mention that she might be aromatic as well as her wanting to be an announcer in the same time frame, like it felt off. And it’s weird cuz right after she came to the conclusion that she doesn’t have romantic feelings, the next scene right away has her thinking she might like a girl. I just wish the aromatic thing wasn’t only used as a ploy to further the plot cuz it’s looking that way to me.

Plenty of people think they don't/can't love romantically because they're just gay and didn't know it. It's not uncommon and not "a ploy to further the plot". It's just realistic.

Also she's a teenager, most teenagers don't exactly know themselves absolutely. They might think they're one thing, but in the future they might not be so.

Like me, I thought I wasn't capable of love because I wasn't aware that being gay is a thing. And then when I thought I was a lesbian, I fell in love with a guy. Turned out I was just bisexual and demisexual.

Yeah, if you want to read about an aroace MC, just read One Piece.

There, you'll have representation.

And now she'll sleep with the helmet, carry it into the shower, eat dinner facing it, take it on romantic daytrips...

At least that's what I'd do if I had the helmet of my beloved. The mangaka characterises moods wonderfully. Can't wait to see more.

Eh there are quite a few women who think they are "asexual" before realizing they are just gay. Like late-blooming lesbians who spend years thinking they must be straight but can't feel anything.

Hmm. I will admit my ex thought she was asexual aromantic until she met me. Since I was attached to my demisexual and quoiromantic lesbian identity (side note: I had high sex drive and was pretty certain of my labels but never “tested them out” since I never fell in love) I thought I had met another fellow aro ace spec friend. Of course by the time we started dating and I learned she developed her sexual and romantic attraction way faster than my slow ass, we knew she wasn’t aro or ace. As she developed those attractions before getting to know me well while I had to wait for those conditions.

I had almost argued a lot in the comments section in Bloom Into You about what asexuality means, as I felt that the commenters were criticizing based on impression or biased knowledge. I do want to observe the comments in this series, and I hope I don’t get myself triggered if I see things I don’t agree with. Most of what sets me off is the misconception about how sex plays a part in the attraction identity. And lemme just say, sex = activity, asexual = type of attraction, asexual =/= celibate or no libido or sex repulsed. Before people go off the rails and start fighting about the representation here -_-

Also probably will forget I posted in here lol.

That's the problem with labels, they can be so easy to slap on but hardly ever stick.

Semi-unrelated, but if that credit page is any indication of what Gouma-Den has in the pipeline, I'm very excited.

last edited at Feb 3, 2022 8:22AM

This wasn't a very exciting start. Unless that means the author gonna put more time and effort into building up the (social) environment since it was briefly mentioned. I also don't think people should have their hopes up for that aromantic/asexual part. Not the first nor the last manga with an MC who thought they're either or both, only to become a horny love mess. Unless just mentioning it by name is enough.
Well, regardless, Let's see where this story will take us.

last edited at Feb 3, 2022 8:59AM

I think a romantic slice of life setting is always going to be antithetical to aromantic characters. Also, I don't see anything wrong with her identity changing, she's still in high school. It is completely within reason that it's just a matter of lack of experience. She's not some omniscient being.

There's not really anything wrong with a teenager wondering if they're aroace and it can be a gay experience with cisheteronormativity and all, but it just sucks that the manga will especially use the terms aro ace only to go down the trope of "you just haven't found the right one yet". This isn't real life with a real teen questionning herself, it's a cafted story where the author has full control. Saying "I've yet to feel romantic attraction" or smth would've felt better than mention probably being aro to then be thrown out the window cause it's a romance manga.

What surprised me more isn't so much the fact that she probably mistook being gay with being ace, but rather the fact that she's apparently heard of the terms "aromantic" and "asexual", yet she can't imagine liking a woman...? I may be wrong here, but isn't homosexuality a lot more well-known? Idk

the art is really nice, not too moe but not too old-school.

It actually is old-school, just not yuri old-school. The author is a yaoi artist, and it shows, lol. Long arms, large hands with long fingers, long faces with sharp features, particularly the sharp chins, it gives a rather stereotypically masculine appearance (in terms of manga looks) to the characters. Mind you, I dig this, it is good stuff.

last edited at Feb 3, 2022 5:40PM