Ngl, this was in line to be one of my favorite manga like 10 chapters ago but anyone feel like it's kinda starting to drag on? Endless new characters, chapters where nothing basically happens. Just feels like the manga is in the serialization goop now, where its just stretching out chapters as long as possible now and each chapter accomplishes less and less as a result.

Same. It's really a shame, but is the logical result of a production model where you have to keep going on forever without pause and aren't really allowed to end properly.

I'm not a fan of the Shio-chans either, but I doubt this is quite the case here; Vena has been set up as the villain long before this - if forcing Utena into this role at the very start may have been more ambiguous, then at the very least since the end of Lord Enorme.

Yeah, not really too into this more recent chapters either, but it's more to do with the over-the-top edgelord-ness of the new characters than anything else. But, eh. We'll see, we'll see. Sometimes a bit of a lull is necessary to build up to something great ...

Ngl, this was in line to be one of my favorite manga like 10 chapters ago but anyone feel like it's kinda starting to drag on? Endless new characters, chapters where nothing basically happens. Just feels like the manga is in the serialization goop now, where its just stretching out chapters as long as possible and each chapter accomplishes less and less as a result. The momentum has been severely drained and the overall story doesn't feel as focused anymore.

I like the Shio-chans! They exist outside the camps of the two mascots and they seem something like the magical girl answer to what Lord was doing. They’re also a good way of refocusing the conflict toward Venalita specifically

I am not really fond of the new group either, but I expect they and their goals are mostly a device for explicitly (perhaps in both senses...) revealing how power is gained by magical girls and their counterparts in this setting. In that sense, the progression of their arc probably does bring the story closer to the climax and/or completion.

I feel bad for the original magical girl trio as they just keep getting wrekted. Still have no idea what the new trios goals are. Interesting that the weak one is so strong now.

Based on pages 14 and 22, I think Berserga's weakness might be Imitatio, since she's emotionally invested in her. Maybe an NTR-adjacent angle or something? Or maybe Utena has to do something to get her invested, like maybe if she humiliates Imitatio she'll be mad enough to respond when she's losing.

I really don't know where the negativity is coming from with this. There are a few chapters for setting up the new opponents and their intents, but then it's more playthings for Baiser.

Endless new characters

Since chapter 12 we've been introduced to 3 new characters... That's 0.1 characters per chapter... They're also not just the same baddies as before but more powerful. They're not evil like Lord, but they're not warriors of justice like Tres Magia. They seem like magical girls who leaned into their sexual side super hard so they have a different, yet unveiled path. I'm optimistic for where this is going.

chapters where nothing basically happens

Chapter 36: Introduction to the Shio-chans. They clearly establish themselves as a third party that will be antagonistic toward both Baiser and Tres Magia. We also see that Venalita speaks rather casually with Vatz, which is intriguing.
Chapter 37: Sulfur starts to deal with her developing feelings for Magenta.
Chapter 38: Relationship development between Utena and Sayo. Utena completes the part of her arc where she moves from being a reluctant pawn of Venalita to accepting the entirety of herself. The change had progressed over the series, but it was nice for her to recognize it herself.
Chapter 39: I think there's a ton of good in this chapter. First, we don't see much power creep from Berserga, which is great from new characters. I was worried about it at the end of chapter 35, but they directly stated earlier that berserk Baiser was a blob of magical energy that was caught off guard. Second, big-horn Baiser shows up right from the start instead of showing up when she gets excited/horny in the middle of a fight. I think this shows that chapter 38 wasn't just filler but an actual shift in Baiser in terms of her strength and motivations.

Looking at these four chapters, half of them have the Shio-chans either staying out of the way or actively supporting the interactions between the main cast. For new characters being introduced to an established setting, I think they're working pretty well.

Second, big-horn Baiser shows up right from the start instead of showing up when she gets excited/horny in the middle of a fight. I think this shows that chapter 38 wasn't just filler but an actual shift in Baiser in terms of her strength and motivations.

Also interesting to note is that everything Baiser animates is anthropomorphic now. Both the candle and scissors in this chapter for example. The scissors’ change is the most apparent since she uses them so frequently.

So uh, with the magical girl hunt, are we just supposed to accept the fact that the two girls on the team literally committed mass genocide against highschool girls and then just...said "sorry?" Are we not gonna talk about that?

So uh, with the magical girl hunt, are we just supposed to accept the fact that the two girls on the team literally committed mass genocide against highschool girls and then just...said "sorry?" Are we not gonna talk about that?

"Kiwi-chan, are we the baddies?"

So uh, with the magical girl hunt, are we just supposed to accept the fact that the two girls on the team literally committed mass genocide against highschool girls and then just...said "sorry?" Are we not gonna talk about that?

They glossed over whether the magical girls were outright killed or just defeated and their transformation star taken away, and I assume it will stay that way.

Hrm, that lip scar might not be so hard to hide.

So uh, with the magical girl hunt, are we just supposed to accept the fact that the two girls on the team literally committed mass genocide against highschool girls and then just...said "sorry?" Are we not gonna talk about that?

They glossed over whether the magical girls were outright killed or just defeated and their transformation star taken away, and I assume it will stay that way.

We might get confirmation in this arc since it's dealing with Berserga the "survivor."
Remember, the trend with Baiser is that she ends up correcting and improving the lives of pretty much all her enemies, who were usually doing something "in the wrong way" or "for the wrong reasons", besides Lord. The way Berserga is "dealt" with might be a reunion with her former Magical Girl teammates - now normal girls - who talk her down with the power of friendship, maybe even talk her into becoming just a normal girl again.

Alternatively, if they really are dead then "dealing" with Berserga will likely have to involve addressing the issues of her dead team.

last edited at Jul 22, 2022 6:43AM

Also interesting to note is that everything Baiser animates is anthropomorphic now. Both the candle and scissors in this chapter for example. The scissors’ change is the most apparent since she uses them so frequently.

Wow, I barely even noticed that! She’s definitely going to be building armies by the end of this.

The way Berserga is "dealt" with might be a reunion with her former Magical Girl teammates - now normal girls - who talk her down with the power of friendship, maybe even talk her into becoming just a normal girl again.

Hmmm, for some reason I kind of doubt this since from the start those three magical girls were never introduced as particularly relatable characters. That said they’re a total mystery overaall right now, we’d have to find out their actual motives/plan first.

gosh this manga is actually just so full of wisdom. Like, yeah, the key to having a balanced attitude it not to have different parts of yourself suppressed but to bring them out in appropriate measure to the situation and have them inform each other.

I also love how this fits with the framing of her unfortunate transformation as a domme losing control, and needing to so some soul-searching so that she can reach the far shores of kink while also keeping things safe and on-track. Very cool.

I wonder who the “she” the two parts of Utena refer to is, though…

I think it's Vena, if you look at the long dark panel, his face appears.
So either the 'her' is a mistranslation, or Vena has been misgendered since the beginning.

You also see Utena giving Vena the side eye after this conversation, giving more evidance that Utena was talking about Vena. but then again Utena has been quite confrontal/budding heads with Vena for the last few chapters and at least give the impression of not trusting Vena throughout the manga.

That would be all sorts of banana pancakes awesome, but I doubt anything this risque would ever air on Japanese TV, so we'd have an OVA, at most, and even that will probably get axed before we ever got the full story. :-(

Well there's redo a healer, Isakai reviewers, val x love, And lets not forget the juggernaut that is highschool DxD which is about as risque as this series. it'll have to be a later time block

Shion's cape looks like Lord's cape.

Shion's cape looks like Lord's cape.

Not just that, but she made a point of spanking Azul and she got angry when Berserga tried to touch her butt. Plus the name Imitatio. I’d be very surprised if she had no connection to Lord or isn’t just Lord herself.

Shion's cape looks like Lord's cape.

Not just that, but she made a point of spanking Azul and she got angry when Berserga tried to touch her butt. Plus the name Imitatio. I’d be very surprised if she had no connection to Lord or isn’t just Lord herself.

Could be she's Lord's little sister, trying to imitate her big sister through the warped lense of a young child who doesn't truly understand the concepts she's imitating, hence her soulless attitude as a dom.

Finally got around to reading through this manga for the first time, and it is legitimately excellent. It exists in perhaps my favorite genre of fiction, utterly ridiculous premise that's taken completely seriously and explored with full sincerity. That a character like Kiwi, who would be a one-note joke character in most manga, is given enough attention and development to become my favorite is just one example of this.

I do understand why people don't like the Shio-chans, and they definitely could've been introduced better, but I understand their purpose. I actually don't think it's because the mangaka wanted to end at volume 7 but was "forced" to keep going due to popularity; I suspect it's the reverse -- the mangaka doesn't know in advance how many volumes they'll be able to write, so they had to set up the previous arc as potentially being the final one, and when they got enough sales to keep going they were able to extend the series further. It is the nature of shonen manga to extend themselves by introducing new enemies, and this series is a (very unique) shonen manga at the end of the day.

To the author's credit, we saw a similar dynamic with the Lord arc (who received very similar complaints to the Shio-chans at the time), and while Lord is certainly a less compelling antagonist than Tres Magia that arc did ultimately contribute to the manga both in terms of character development and increased thematic depth. The author has earned enough faith from me that I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here too. Plus Berserga has the best character design in the entire manga and it's not close.

Edit: Chapter 40 confirms that Utena/Kiwi/Sayo (aka dom/switch/sub) is endgame

last edited at Aug 24, 2022 8:56PM

You gotta admire the author's commitment to yuri making all the ghost women LoL truly a 404 series.

Nemo and Matama still being an absolute blessing !! God I LOVE WINNING SO EARLY! everyone else has to sit down and wait if their ship sails or not xD

Ahahahahahahahahahaha i cant hahahaahah this ch was too weird and funny hahahahahaha

last edited at Aug 24, 2022 9:06PM

Being Magenta is suffering

Yooo Mieruko-chan changed a bit than what I remember

Kiwi really get an handful of Azur here.