Yeah, I am not getting why people are calling this a "leap". This is just a look at the present times, as seen in the prologue. The next few chapters will probably be more flashbacks, and will only see glimpses of the adult stuff until we are near the end.

The art is good, the plot... not so good. I don't like the flashback/flash forward format

I like the setup of the story. It's very easy to understand. Sahoko is going to a class reunion in hopes of seeing Aoi, who she hasn't been able to get out of her mind even though they've lost touch after Aoi stopped responding to her messages as frequently and she eventually stopped sending them, probably because she felt like she would seem desperate if she continued sending messages to someone who wasn't replying. They were extremely close in high school. She kissed Aoi out of the blue when they barely knew each other but both denied that they had "those kinds of feelings", but as the years have gone on and Sahoko has matured a bit and, probably, found that she doesn't click with men at all (though she has probably also not gone out with other women) she has come to wonder if they were lying to themselves back then and if there wasn't more than friendship there. But she fears that she's the only one of the two that wants to see the other.

Meanwhile, Anna, who has never liked Aoi, at least in terms of Aoi being close to Sahoko, would be happier if Aoi didn't show up. But she doesn't seem to have the guts to tell Sahoko how SHE feels either because it's pretty obvious that she's been harboring a long term crush on her friend.

Not that hard to understand at all...

the end credits page has me crackin' up

I like her friend she knows what’s up

5 bucks says Aoi is married and Anna knows about it. That's why she hopes Aoi won't show up and Sahoko won't get heartbroken

5 bucks says Aoi is married and Anna knows about it. That's why she hopes Aoi won't show up and Sahoko won't get heartbroken

I'd love for it to be something different (not what you mentioned specifically because that's Angst in the main couple in a series that seems to warrant a happy ending for them).

But I think it's the cliche that Anna has always been secretly in love with Sahoko (or at least possessive of her)

5 bucks says Aoi is married and Anna knows about it. That's why she hopes Aoi won't show up and Sahoko won't get heartbroken

I'd love for it to be something different (not what you mentioned specifically because that's Angst in the main couple in a series that seems to warrant a happy ending for them).

But I think it's the cliche that Anna has always been secretly in love with Sahoko (or at least possessive of her)

Expect the worst because the author is a garbage.
Imagine never actually into yuri then making yuri out of nowhere

Pls let the blonde hook up w the mc. Worst case scenario she comes with some stupid internalized homophobia, aoi is married and mc just wonders about her high school situationship her whole life...........

Isn't it great how adult women are depicted as mentally adolescents on Yuri so many times?

5 bucks says Aoi is married and Anna knows about it. That's why she hopes Aoi won't show up and Sahoko won't get heartbroken

Not a problem! If that happens, we just apply a bit of "Netori" to the plot!

I want Sahoko's long fluffy hair back. She still looks good though.

Even if it is HS it has adult life overtones. Shades of Ebisu Mayo and Yazawa Nico, too.

I agree with Anna in love with Narita. Also, while what she asked about is a common allusion to being gay, what I think Aoi asked was really are you that sort of beauty queen type. Just an impression I got.

last edited at Apr 11, 2020 11:59PM

Maybe, it's because I am getting old and start implementing these mechanisms into my routines to counter my failing memory...
But, if a chapter of a story comes out, that I haven't touched in more than 4 months, I tend to at least re-read the previous chapter and if the story hadn't proceeded too much yet, glance at the very first chapter again.
THIS TIME THIS REALLY HELPED!

As someone, who reads a lot of stories at the same time (because they all only have one new chapter every so often) with sometimes rather similar base-plots and/or character designs, I do highly recommend that little ritual.

This has been licensed

I hope we get some kind of happy ending. Dramas just break my heart. :(
But at the moment, I would also be happy for the next part. Which hasn't been since April 9th.
So Author please do something for us.

The art is good, but the story isn't captivating me. I feel like it's lacking something.

i can't really pinpoint it, but the dialogues and expressions at times feel very, very weird and out-of-place, but is still readable for the drama at least. And now it got licensed...

.

this shit is so bad i dropped after chapter 2, the main girl is such a bitch

I do find this an interesting series and I want to keep reading, but I have to agree that we seem to be heading in the direction of a bittersweet ending and my heart is already in for trouble when Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata concludes. I guess we'll have to see where volume 2 takes this if/when Archivers get around to it. I would say that the theory of Aoi being married and Anna knowing is pretty likely as a safe guess for a bittersweet ending, but hear me out with a different thought.

Anna knows that Aoi is a lesbian and doesn't want the bright and shining Sahoko to be "like that" too, I think that's why she says in the last chapter before we flash to the present again "I just can't see it." I think Anna wants to keep Sahoko preserved in this pretty little hetro bubble, she doesn't want Aoi to show up because she knows she will lose "her Sahoko". I don't think Anna is against same-sex couples but the character seems to like things to be very static and organized, I think she's afraid of having to change her view of Sahoko (even though it shouldn't make any difference if your best friend is gay or not) or she's afraid of how it will look if she supports her.

The official, english Vol. 1-3 are out and imo it does get better and interesting, so it's worth it to keep reading. Not gonna spoil anything but i personally am enjoying it so far

I do find this an interesting series and I want to keep reading, but I have to agree that we seem to be heading in the direction of a bittersweet ending and my heart is already in for trouble when Kimi to Tsuzuru Utakata concludes. I guess we'll have to see where volume 2 takes this if/when Archivers get around to it. I would say that the theory of Aoi being married and Anna knowing is pretty likely as a safe guess for a bittersweet ending, but hear me out with a different thought.

Anna knows that Aoi is a lesbian and doesn't want the bright and shining Sahoko to be "like that" too, I think that's why she says in the last chapter before we flash to the present again "I just can't see it." I think Anna wants to keep Sahoko preserved in this pretty little hetro bubble, she doesn't want Aoi to show up because she knows she will lose "her Sahoko". I don't think Anna is against same-sex couples but the character seems to like things to be very static and organized, I think she's afraid of having to change her view of Sahoko (even though it shouldn't make any difference if your best friend is gay or not) or she's afraid of how it will look if she supports her.

I think you are waaaay over analyzing her line. It’s more likely that she doesn’t like the two of them together; either she doesn’t like Aoi or doesn’t think they’re a good fit. Sahoko has also started acting differently, so she probably feels like her friend is being taken away a bit. And I also wouldn’t be surprised if she actually has a thing for Sahoko but either can’t come to terms with it since she’s struggling just understanding her own definition of love, or because she can’t muster the courage to confess to her best friend. And now I’ve over done it, but I’d place Anna in the not homophobic category.

last edited at Mar 10, 2022 2:51AM

Giftnova posted:

The official, english Vol. 1-3 are out and imo it does get better and interesting, so it's worth it to keep reading. Not gonna spoil anything but i personally am enjoying it so far

YES!! I just found out https://kodansha.us/series/chasing-after-aoi-koshiba/ I thought that this series entered hiatus infinitus mode but looks like (according to mangaupdates) it's finished with 4 volumes!

And according to the raws site the latest chapter came out in April ? Is it really finished? I don't see vol 4 even in amazon Japan ... Anyway, so excited to come back to this series and see how it actually ends

can someone please spoil on what happens... i'm hearing things and it's apparently disappointing??

The ending is disappointing, yes.

In volume 4, Aoi becomes impatient about not being able to spend time with Sahoko due to her other friends, so she confesses to Sahoko with a kiss. Sahoko is overjoyed, believing they've become a couple.
When Sahoko goes to Anna's house alone to ask Anna about dating advice (not knowing about Anna's feelings for her), Anna tries to forcibly kiss Sahoko with the excuse that such physical contact is what "romance between girls really means". Sahoko is repulsed by Anna's touch and pushes her away -- Anna plays off her actions as a joke, but Sahoko is shaken, questioning if her feelings for Aoi are really physical/romantic love
Aoi continues to try to escalate her physical connection with Sahoko out of jealousy towards her other friends. Sahoko initially tries to suppress her discomfort, but has an outburst and finally refuses Aoi as well. Sahoko concludes that her feelings towards Aoi are not romantic, which then leads to Aoi breaking off their relationship, because Aoi can't bear just being friends. This sets up the lack of contact between them for the rest of/after highschool, leading to the class reunion scene which gradually progressed throughout the story.
In the "present" time years in the future, during the class reunion, Sahoko is trying to get ahold of Aoi because she wants to "confirm her feelings". Despite their separation, Sahoko has been thinking of Aoi this whole time.
Aoi initially refuses to contact Sahoko until she hears that Sahoko will soon be leaving on a student exchange program to America. She has also been thinking about Sahoko all this time, so she rushes to meet Sahoko.
Sahoko reveals that her exchange program is only for a month, so it's not a permanent separation. However, when Aoi then tries to take off, Sahoko invites Aoi to a love hotel.
Sahoko and Aoi have sex in order to "confirm their feelings". Sahoko is depicted as enjoying it, finding it deeply emotionally fulfilling.
However, in the morning, Sahoko wakes up to find Aoi gone, with just a note left behind. In the note, Aoi admits that she was mistaken in forcing Sahoko to choose between love and friendship/admiration. After so many years had passed, she could no longer find meaning in waiting to hear Sahoko's decision on her feelings. Rather, she was simply glad for having met her and grateful that Sahoko tried seriously facing Aoi's feelings.
The note concludes with "Be well; thank you for everything" so Sahoko runs out of the hotel and yells the same words into the sky as well.
Afterwards, the story fastforwards to Sahoko's last year of university where she's shown voicecalling with Anna. Sahoko and Aoi are implied to still be always thinking of each other but never to actually meet. In particular, back during the class reunion Sahoko had already been shown as having cut her hair short like Aoi's in highschool, while Aoi had grown hers out like Sahoko's.
The "message" is that, although the emotion Aoi and Sahoko felt for each other was both admiration and love, in the end admiration won out, so that -- with Aoi and Sahoko having become different people during their separation -- their distance is "necessary" for them to continue holding on to the connection they had in highschool.