Forum › Living with My Brother's Wife. discussion

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

Going on a trip with everyone again would be nice, but...

Lol, I thought of that one too.

I mean, then we could, like, hold hands and kiss and stuff . . . .

Miki_closeup
joined Mar 20, 2014

I still can't believe we're almost 6 years with this manga. The art improved so much since chap 1

Yeah, but there is still zero progress.

Ykn1
joined Dec 20, 2018

Going on a trip with everyone again would be nice, but...

Lol, I thought of that one too.

I mean, then we could, like, hold hands and kiss and stuff . . . .

Nice to see I'm not the only one. :D

joined Feb 1, 2021

I still can't believe we're almost 6 years with this manga. The art improved so much since chap 1

Yeah, but there is still zero progress.

There is progress. Both Shino and Nozomi are growing as people.

Sk_fb
joined Feb 17, 2013

Awww. That was nice.

Miki_closeup
joined Mar 20, 2014

There is progress. Both Shino and Nozomi are growing as people.

They have been doing the same song and dance for at least 80 chapters now, so I'm not really seeing it. They get closer, then talk about the dead guy, get upset and move apart again. Rinse & repeat.

Shoujo%20kageki%20revue%20starlight%20-%2009%20-%20large%2035
joined Apr 22, 2017

There is progress. Both Shino and Nozomi are growing as people.

They have been doing the same song and dance for at least 80 chapters now, so I'm not really seeing it. They get closer, then talk about the dead guy, get upset and move apart again. Rinse & repeat.

Tbh, this manga feels more in tune with how people deal with grief (and ignore feelings) than the power of friendship that most shows have.

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

motormind posted:

There is progress. Both Shino and Nozomi are growing as people.

They have been doing the same song and dance for at least 80 chapters now, so I'm not really seeing it. They get closer, then talk about the dead guy, get upset and move apart again. Rinse & repeat.

But it REALLY is different now, they're on the same page ... What we call progress is the healing process, not the Let's have sex RIGHT NOW (I'm not against that development either)

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

There is progress. Both Shino and Nozomi are growing as people.

They have been doing the same song and dance for at least 80 chapters now, so I'm not really seeing it. They get closer, then talk about the dead guy, get upset and move apart again. Rinse & repeat.

Tbh, this manga feels more in tune with how people deal with grief (and ignore feelings) than the power of friendship that most shows have.

I can understand why some people would be dissatisfied with the dynamic of this series.

As for me, I’ve bought into these characters, and I’m aboard for seeing whatever happens to them. What I particularly like is the way that this series shows how personal growth, especially in dealing with trauma and loss, doesn’t happen as a one-and-done breakthrough, but as an incremental process, with forward steps, setbacks, and side journeys.

I understand why most stories do focus on epiphanies and one-time learning experiences, because that’s one of the things that fiction is good for, and good at—streamlining and stylizing the messy confusion of real-life experience in order to highlight particular patterns of human behavior. And it’s easy enough for less linear storytelling to get boring and repetitive. I personally don’t see that happening here, though.

The thing this most reminds me of is the superb Ikkoku Nikki, even though this is much more tropey and conventional in its scene construction and art style—I feel like I’m actually watching the lives of people who are situated in these particular emotional circumstances rather than observing a story machine run its programmed routines (which I do enjoy immensely when it’s done well).

But, of course, YMMV.

last edited at Mar 1, 2022 9:03PM

joined Sep 4, 2021

When I see a new chapter, I can't prevent myself to check is there is a "subtext" or "yuri" tag.. And Always the same result (yet)

Type1afterthecurtaincallssoyoungregrets_sm2
joined Sep 1, 2021

Shino is maturing so much. She is increasingly thoughtful and sometimes even wise, and those wistful shots of her the past couple chapters are great. Nozomi has plenty of experience but less emotional flexibility so it's lovely how far she has come with Shino's support.

Plus they're so good for each other that as they patch up their weaknesses the "they were roommates" vibe keeps increasing. Dammit Kuzushiro.

And we got a reminder of the foreshadowing from chapter 103. We know Akiko was called to her own sister's home during vacation, Akiko's sis had an ulterior motive and paid for the trip, and now Akiko somehow got uncomfortable. Did the sister get engaged, or pregnant, or come out as queer? Those seem the most likely reasons, since Shino is going to be impacted as collateral damage after hearing about it.

The thing this most reminds me of is the superb Ikkoku Nikki, even though this is much more tropey and conventional in its scene construction and art style—I feel like I’m actually watching the lives of people who are situated these particular emotional circumstances rather than observing a story machine run its programmed routines (which I do enjoy immensely when it’s done well).

Superb is the perfect word for Ikkoku Nikki. These two stories have extremely similar premises and emotions, but they play out differently. Nozomi and Shino are more energetic than that aunt and niece. Ikkoku Nikki is a more philosophical exploration of trauma and doesn't have the romantic undertones, heck the cool aunt is dating a cool dude.

Venting: Nozomi and Shino's relationship really couldn't go romantic until recently (if it ever does) without having a big squick factor from either seeming as Nozomi manipulating a grieving child, or failing as a reliable guardian. That'd be romance genre but extremely unromantic.

Sure we could have gone somewhat beyond subtext, but subtext is probably better than representation that may be only good for titillation and undercutting the realistic trauma drama. For good angsty mistakes let alone a healthy relationship to be made, both women need to be becoming mature and mentally stable enough to slightly manage the situation. Consent is sexy. If outsiders figure it out they'll see that romance as deeply wrong, especially Nozomi's mom, but at least we the audience must be convinced it's worth cheering for. In retrospect if Kuzushiro brought in too much more romance before now it would have brought down the story quality to merely very good, and from around this point forward if the story goes romantic for a long stretch it will probably become a masterpiece. If it's nothing but subtext, I usually hate that, but this work will still be great Yes this is exhausting but it's so very good. \vent

last edited at Feb 28, 2022 11:25PM

joined Apr 7, 2016

Sure we could have gone somewhat beyond subtext, but subtext is probably better than representation that may be only good for titillation and undercutting the realistic trauma drama. For good angsty mistakes let alone a healthy relationship to be made, both women need to be becoming mature and mentally stable enough to slightly manage the situation. Consent is sexy. If outsiders figure it out they'll see that romance as deeply wrong, especially Nozomi's mom, but at least we the audience must be convinced it's worth cheering for. In retrospect if Kuzushiro brought in too much more romance before now it would have brought down the story quality to merely very good, and from around this point forward if the story goes romantic for a long stretch it will probably become a masterpiece. If it's nothing but subtext, I usually hate that, but this work will still be great Yes this is exhausting but it's so very good. \vent

^THIS. Tbh, the slowburn is amazing and I really like how it's so realistic in how grief works and how each person is uniquely affected by it. At this point, I'm here because I love seeing the development of the characters and how they're both growing. The romance is a bit of a secondary factor to me.

If Shino and Nozomi had started showing and/or expressing romantic attraction early, I don't think I would've liked this story as much and would've seen it more as two emotionally-compromised girls who needed a distraction from their grief. But them coming to terms with it, learning to live with it, and growing up into becoming more mentally and emotionally mature women? Yes, please. It'll make their romance all the more better.

last edited at Mar 1, 2022 3:54PM

Sk_fb
joined Feb 17, 2013

Huh, I missed the added bonus chapters. They're good, but the art looks odd.....

Miki_closeup
joined Mar 20, 2014

Tbh, the slowburn is amazing

Actually, it's more like a strategy to stretch out the story and churn out as many chapters as possible before readers finally drop the work out of sheer frustration, leading to the the publisher canceling the whole thing. Really, I have seen enough works like this meeting the exact same fate, and it's never a pretty sight.

Well, time will tell whether I'm right or not. I, for one, am getting thoroughly bored with this.

Img_0215
joined Jul 29, 2017

New chapter up on MD.

Shino gets lucky with Nozomi.

Sena
joined Jun 27, 2017

Nothing sours a chapter quite like casually dropping structural sexism into it ^^

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

It was quite bizarre to hear yeah, but it was random and very off topic so ... meh.

These credits pages never fail to make me smile lo/

The sadist nurse with the glove really implies a lots lol

Ykn1
joined Dec 20, 2018

Bunch of trolls, those teachers... :D

And Kacchan, eh? Yeah, hard to tell whether they'll get along. :P

Untitled
joined May 2, 2018

Nice handholding there.

joined Jul 26, 2016

Nice handholding there.

i feel filthy now ( っД⊂)

joined Mar 19, 2022

Nothing makes a manga shine like weird, patriarchal Japanese bullshit. What a country.

joined Oct 23, 2016

The raws are up to chapter 116 and it seems more drama is coming.

Image
joined Sep 4, 2020

The raws are up to chapter 116 and it seems more drama is coming.

where do you read raws? yay drama

F4x-3lwx0aa0tcu31
joined Apr 20, 2013

I've been keeping an eye on the raws and regarding the drama I didn't see any, they're really just making progress on their life and choices and exploring everyone, which sucks when you wait a month and they dedicate one to the guy in the bike, come ooooooon he already served his purpose! but the one chapter that came out today was just Nozomi and Shino alone and ...that's exactly what I needed!

joined Jun 5, 2018

I've been keeping an eye on the raws and regarding the drama I didn't see any, they're really just making progress on their life and choices and exploring everyone, which sucks when you wait a month and they dedicate one to the guy in the bike, come ooooooon he already served his purpose! but the one chapter that came out today was just Nozomi and Shino alone and ...that's exactly what I needed!

For every chapter you mourn, is a chapter I appreciate. (Because I like reading about the guy on the bike)

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