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Aww, that senpai.
This whole Exams arc has just been too adorable. Himawari is too damn precious.
Also, didn't we learn Himawari's real name at some point? I feel like we did, but I can't remember. May have to go back and read again.
This whole Exams arc has just been too adorable. Himawari is too damn precious.
Also, didn't we learn Himawari's real name at some point? I feel like we did, but I can't remember. May have to go back and read again.
Nope, conspicuously not. Many characters must know Miss Sunflower’s real name (having known her before she owned the bookstore), but no one has ever said it on-panel.
When your doki doki's are so bad you can't help buy just say them out loud yourself @_@. What a cute chapter! her Matsuri withdraws are getting worse as these few chapters go by xD her being frantic before just giving up and giving her the whole basket of chocolate was so damn adorable.
Also Fuuko is even more oblivious then a male harem protag (Gross I hate them) But I'm sure 90% of that chocolate were NOT friend chocolates and more along the lines of what she was given here.
Also really love the last two cover pages and want to see them side by side each with the pose and the heart <3 Just soo damn adorable.. As always this series never fails to make me fall in love again after each chapter.
Gotta love how Fuuko is the equivalent to Kaoru as this generation's resident siscon.
useless lesbian
How is Kaoru siscon?
This whole Exams arc has just been too adorable. Himawari is too damn precious.
Also, didn't we learn Himawari's real name at some point? I feel like we did, but I can't remember. May have to go back and read again.
Nope, conspicuously not. Many characters must know Miss Sunflower’s real name (having known her before she owned the bookstore), but no one has ever said it on-panel.
Yeah, I even pointed out once how hard this series worked to keep it a secret...
I just want a couple of chapters with only Matsuri and Miss Sunflower...
This is the last volume, right?. It's not like I hate any of this... but having Matsuri hostage during half of the last volume. I can't say I'm really enjoying it.
This whole Exams arc has just been too adorable. Himawari is too damn precious.
Also, didn't we learn Himawari's real name at some point? I feel like we did, but I can't remember. May have to go back and read again.
Nope, conspicuously not. Many characters must know Miss Sunflower’s real name (having known her before she owned the bookstore), but no one has ever said it on-panel.
Yeah, I even pointed out once how hard this series worked to keep it a secret...
Yes, it was your work I was thinking of with the “conspicuously.” (I always forget Nagi-san’s name). Thank you for your service.
I want to give the current arc props for showing just how deeply Miss Sunflower is emotionally entangled with Matsuri without Matsuri actually being present, and how subtly Matsuri has become more confident about that relationship but without the story spilling the beans (yet) as to the ultimate nature of that emotional bond.
There’s little doubt in my mind that Miss Sunflower and Matsuri will end up as (essentially already are) Same-Sex Life Partners. Whether that’s with Miss Sunflower as surrogate Onee-san, surrogate Mom, the two of them as age-gap Best Friends, or as an actual yuri couple, however, still remains to be seen.
I just want a couple of chapters with only Matsuri and Miss Sunflower...
This is the last volume, right?. It's not like I hate any of this... but having Matsuri hostage during half of the last volume. I can't say I'm really enjoying it.
This is volume 12.. It's either 13 or 14 I believe. So still have some time left. This time around the separation has been much more enjoyable as you clearly see how much not having Matsuri around has started to effect Miss Sunflower herself. Before everything was a bit more light and sublet... This time she's arguing in her head with a fake Matsuri is that's just the tip of everything. You can't sit there and tell me her asking Fuuko about her and then freaking out thinking about how she wants to give Matsuri some chocolate before just getting overjoyed and shoving the whole basket at her and telling her to give it all to her isn't cute AF.
it's been built up since way early on.
If by "built up" you mean "he exists" then, yeah, I guess you can call that romantic development.
I find it a bit annoying since it's the typical yuri-isn't-serious sorta vibe; where Ayame is obsessed with Ms Sunflower but obv. that's not to be taken as anything of substance. It was the same earlier on with basically all the various "pairings", only recently-ish it pivoted to take them as something more serious than "they are just being cute together".
Then again how is this seemingly one-sided attraction by Shou any different from not-very-serious and without much substance? Sadly, in my opinion, but I know many here balk at even a slight sign of het so I will leave it at that.
I just want a couple of chapters with only Matsuri and Miss Sunflower...
This is the last volume, right?. It's not like I hate any of this... but having Matsuri hostage during half of the last volume. I can't say I'm really enjoying it.
This is volume 12 out of 13.
Oh I thought it was just 12, good then.
Then again how is this seemingly one-sided attraction by Shou any different from not-very-serious and without much substance? Sadly, in my opinion, but I know many here balk at even a slight sign of het so I will leave it at that.
If it's yuri, then in the context of society and the way lesbianhood is and was historically viewed/treated the connotation is that of something fleeting and fundamentally not as valid or serious as a straight relationship. In het though, the thing is that since any two people of opposite sex will be paired up together by default just by the virtue of being of the opposite sex, the purpose here is more to show that it is not meant to be or at least fairly unlikely. Shou's just "being a boy" here by crushing on an adult woman, so the attraction itself isn't less serious or valid or temporary, it's just that she doesn't reciprocate.
If it's yuri, then in the context of society and the way lesbianhood is and was historically viewed/treated the connotation is that of something fleeting and fundamentally not as valid or serious as a straight relationship. In het though, the thing is that since any two people of opposite sex will be paired up together by default just by the virtue of being of the opposite sex, the purpose here is more to show that it is not meant to be or at least fairly unlikely. Shou's just "being a boy" here by crushing on an adult woman, so the attraction itself isn't less serious or valid or temporary, it's just that she doesn't reciprocate.
I don't have a problem with Shou's crush, but I do think thematically it kind of shows how differently woman/woman and man/woman relationships are treated.
Matsuri repeatedly professes her love for Miss Sunflower and acts in ways make it clear Miss Sunflower is the most important influence in her life: "Maybe she just admires her!"
Shou starts working for Ayame and shows the barest hint of consideration beyond professional: "He's totally got a crush on her."
Man/woman relationships are just seen as inherently romantic or sexual in a way that woman/woman relationships aren't. (and, similarly, man/man relationships, but this is primarily a yuri site) So even with what might be described as Strong Evidence that Matsuri has a real crush on Miss Sunflower that's evolved into a genuine romantic bond (and that Miss Sunflower has gone from seeing Matsuri as a cute little kid to, increasingly, a young woman who is an important part of her life), there's still this doubt in a lot of readers' minds because, frankly, it wouldn't be the first time a series seemed to be setting up a romantic relationship between women that turned out to "just" be deep friendship or sisterly affection.
So even with what might be described as Strong Evidence that Matsuri has a real crush on Miss Sunflower that's evolved into a genuine romantic bond (and that Miss Sunflower has gone from seeing Matsuri as a cute little kid to, increasingly, a young woman who is an important part of her life), there's still this doubt in a lot of readers' minds because, frankly, it wouldn't be the first time a series seemed to be setting up a romantic relationship between women that turned out to "just" be deep friendship or sisterly affection.
I have no brief for the larger “society” point one way or the other, but I don’t think this series would be a strong example of “a series [that] seemed to be setting up a romantic relationship between women that turned out to "just" be deep friendship or sisterly affection,” should it turn out that way.
It’s useful to recall just how unlikely an actual romantic relationship between Miss Sunflower and Matsuri has been positioned for much of the series (which, of course, started as a one-shot and was not originally scheduled to run more than 5 volumes).
The age gap between the two (an adult shopkeeper and a first-year high schooler) originally seemed to be almost insurmountable, exacerbated by:
The personality/affect gap between tiny genki girl Matsuri and tall stoical Miss Sunflower
Miss Sunflower’s extreme emotional reserve in connecting to anybody
(What originally looked like) the almost arbitrary nature of Matsuri’s feelings for Miss Sunflower—Matsuri basically shows up and starts shouting, “Miss Sunflower, I love you!”
Through a number of what almost amount to retcons, the series, which for much of its first half was comedy with almost no hint of actual romance, gradually made a deeper emotional connection between the MCs seem plausible: the age-gap was shown to be much smaller than it seemed at first, Matsuri’s diligent side has been emphasized along with her physical and emotional maturity, and Miss Sunflower’s reserve has been positioned not as simply an innate characteristic but as the result of grief (at the loss of the first Miss Sunflower) that Matsuri has helped her to overcome.
I think this series is pretty remarkable for the way it has subtly and (to my mind) successfully shifted gears from an “Odd Couple”-type comedy to something with much more emotional depth and character development. While remaining sweetly funny.
last edited at Aug 15, 2022 9:55PM
Personally, I am perfectly fine with Ayame being paired with Shou, it's been built up since way early on.
riiiiight, "built up early on" being that it's a young man and woman that work together... ya totally a "build up" :/
Shou having a crush on Ayame is w.e, it's clear Ayame doesn't reciprocate or see him in any romantic way at all with how she calls him Shou-kun and treats him in an almost little brother type way.
Shou starts working for Ayame and shows the barest hint of consideration beyond professional: "He's totally got a crush on her."
true
Man/woman relationships are just seen as inherently romantic or sexual in a way that woman/woman relationships aren't.
yup, sadly that's how people see things. A man and woman show any sort of care for one another = people are off the the races shouting "omg it's love" cause it can never be anything else -_-
heck, I've seen people pairing off male and female characters who literally just look at each other
last edited at Aug 14, 2022 11:11PM
How is Kaoru siscon?
heck, I've seen people pairing off male and female characters who literally just look at each other
I’m sorry, but this happens wayyy more with gay relationships (at least in the circles I am familiar with).
Shou starts working for Ayame and shows the barest hint of consideration beyond professional: "He's totally got a crush on her."
??? In literally the second chapter he features in it’s explicitly stated that it was “love at first sight”, and this is repeated several times throughout the chapter. I don’t see how it could be more explicit. To me, this chapter reads as an equivalent of Matsuri’s chapter 82, although you would have a much stronger for Matsuri’s romantic attraction before then.
I have no brief for the larger “society” point one way or the other, but I don’t think this series would be a strong example of “a series [that] seemed to be setting up a romantic relationship between women that turned out to "just" be deep friendship or sisterly affection,” should it turn out that way.
Yeah, I guess I wasn't speaking specifically to this one (for which I agree with all your points), and more in general. As you say, this one has done a lot of legwork to show a natural shift between the early tone and how it is now.
??? In literally the second chapter he features in it’s explicitly stated that it was “love at first sight”, and this is repeated several times throughout the chapter. I don’t see how it could be more explicit. To me, this chapter reads as an equivalent of Matsuri’s chapter 82, although you would have a much stronger for Matsuri’s romantic attraction before then.
I'm not arguing that he doesn't have a crush, I'm arguing putting a male character in a position like that with a female character is seen as inherently an invitation to romance in a way that having another woman wouldn't. And yes, there are certainly people who will do otherwise and ship female characters together, but that's an individual impulse rather than what I'd say is a general cultural thing. There's also some obvious context bias here, since this is a website where most of the stories are yuri so of course you're going to get more readers who want to see women get together.
I'm not arguing that he doesn't have a crush, I'm arguing putting a male character in a position like that with a female character is seen as inherently an invitation to romance in a way that having another woman wouldn't. And yes, there are certainly people who will do otherwise and ship female characters together, but that's an individual impulse rather than what I'd say is a general cultural thing. There's also some obvious context bias here, since this is a website where most of the stories are yuri so of course you're going to get more readers who want to see women get together.
Fair point. My experiënce of fandoms is just this site and AO3 so obviously super-biased, I can’t say much about more general cultural themes.
Once again sidestepping the general point and focusing on this story, there’s a good bit more going on in the Ayame/Part-Timer-kun (real name: Tobio Shoubu) relationship than just random het-shipping. As others have said, he fell in love with her at first sight, but he’s also quite aware of her feelings for Miss Sunflower.
But well before we learned anything about him directly besides his mere existence, Ayame had been praising him to a notable degree as being reliable, competent, and basically indispensable to her. And perhaps most importantly, they have a well-established semi-domestic bantering relationship, with him as the “responsible, practical” one and Ayame as the “artistic” one; i.e., they already are a kind of “couple,” albeit a work couple. It’s still hard to see how that admittedly close bond could actually make the leap into romance, though.
Ayame’s feelings about Miss Sunflower are really interesting—she’s obviously been smitten by her from the very beginning, and meeting her was explicitly life-changing in the same way that meeting Miss Sunflower Light was for MS Dark (Ayame was never interested in photographing human subjects until she met her classmate’s younger sister).
But she always has intentionally taken a back seat to Matsuri in regard to Miss Sunflower; she may have been the first person to really notice how Miss Sunflower was changing for the better because of Matsuri.
Even her jealousy when she thought Miss Sunflower had given her gift dress away to Matsuri (Ayame’s pouty face is top-tier cuteness in a series swimming in mega-cute moments) was instantly cured when she realized that their special memory was still special to Miss Sunflower. Maybe the photography part is the key—Ayame is OK with being close to Miss Sunflower through the distancing mechanism of the camera lens.
last edited at Aug 16, 2022 9:38AM
As others have said, he fell in love with her at first sight
What he's actually talked about initially was her photography. Specifically a picture she took of Ms Sunflower (because there's only a dozen people in that universe so of course). It's only later in the chapter that Miss Sunflower kinda connects the dots for him, and actually is basically a scene that's right at the heart of the conundrum: given that Miss Sunflower literally says she loves Ayame in it. But nobody would go "ooooooh" at that. It's just taken as some sort of female friendship affection. Meanwhile part-time-dude is embarrassed by the idea of being in the same category because of course for him it's immediately romantic.
Either way I don't think anyone's debating he isn't into Ayame. It's just that there's nothing there regarding her. He's there and useful and clearly she doesn't hate him, but that's about it ...
Either way I don't think anyone's debating he isn't into Ayame. It's just that there's nothing there regarding her. He's there and useful and clearly she doesn't hate him, but that's about it ...
It’s more than “not hating” him—Ayame clearly likes him a lot. Her gushing about all his good qualities well before we saw very much of him was a quite notable feature of the story.
The question (so far answered in a clear negative) is whether (as we used to say in 6th grade) she like likes him, i.e., considers him in a romantic light. And there hasn’t been the slightest hint of that.
This story has a very long list of characters who have light or transitory or distanced attractions to other characters, with moments of heart emojis or “ba-dump” sound effects, but I’d say that nearly all of those feel like they’re bracketed off from real in-story romantic possibilities except for Matsuri and Miss Sunflower.
I’m not going to list all the examples I can think of now because I know I’ll miss important ones, but the paradigm case is Fuuko, who can’t decide whether to be jealous of Miss Sunflower’s connection to Matsuri or Matsuri’s to Miss Sunflower or both. And in the end it’s neither.
I knew this was going to be an emotional chapter, but dang it, I'm still crying.
Funny how relevant this bit is.
last edited at Aug 16, 2022 10:58PM
Ahh this was a good chapter! Should be a reunion of the souls next chapter. Soooo looking forward to Matsuri and Miss Sunflower being together again!
last edited at Aug 16, 2022 11:10PM