am I really the only one who doesn't see Youko as some sort of sociopath/master heartbreaker? Liike, it seems pretty clear to me she was acting on what she though Nene wanted ("let's date to make Sumika jealous") and didn't seem to realize Nene atually wanted to be with her (hell, I'm not sure either given how it seemed Nene used Youko as a replacement for Sumika)

I think she clearly has sociopathic behaviors. Youko was the one who pulled the strings to get Nene and Sumika to fight in the first place, so she could be the one to comfort Nene later.

During this chapter, we can see that Youko doesn't care about her feelings at any moment. She is perfectly aware that Nene is unconfortable and confused, and she just play with her emotions over and over again. Because Youko knows that Nene is in the palm of her hand.

Even in the flashback from Volume 4 we can see the same pattern. For example, I'm pretty sure the way Sumika "found" them kissing wasn't a fluke, but part of Youko's meticulous plan. Nene is just a victim of her in my eyes.

last edited at Sep 8, 2022 12:01AM

am I really the only one who doesn't see Youko as some sort of sociopath/master heartbreaker? Liike, it seems pretty clear to me she was acting on what she though Nene wanted ("let's date to make Sumika jealous") and didn't seem to realize Nene atually wanted to be with her (hell, I'm not sure either given how it seemed Nene used Youko as a replacement for Sumika)

I think she clearly has sociopathic behaviors. Youko was the one who pulled the strings to get Nene and Sumika to fight in the first place, so she could be the one to comfort Nene later.

During this chapter, we can see that Youko doesn't care about her feelings at any moment. She is perfectly aware that Nene is unconfortable and confused, and she just play with her emotions over and over again. Because Youko knows that Nene is in the palm of her hand.

Even in the flashback from Volume 4 we can see the same pattern. For example, I'm pretty sure the way Sumika "found" them kissing wasn't a fluke, but part of Youko's meticulous plan. Nene is just a victim of her in my eyes.

Nene agreed to play up her romance with Youko to get Sumika angry/jealous, of course Sumika finding them kissing was intentional. Just because later on Nene decided she wanted to be with Youko for real doesn't mean she wasn't a willing participant in the charade from the start.

All I saw from their date was that Youko hurt Nene by not wanting the same things Nene wanted, and being overall oblivious and insensitive towards Nene's feelings. And sure it sucks for Nene, but she wasn't manipulated into sending Youko a message or into sleeping with her, those were all her (in hindsight) bad choices.

last edited at Sep 9, 2022 4:36PM

Nene agreed to play up her romance with Youko to get Sumika angry/jealous, of course Sumika finding them kissing was intentional. Just because later on Nene decided she wanted to be with Youko for real doesn't mean she wasn't a willing participant in the charade from the start.

All I saw from their date was that Youko hurt Nene by not wanting the same things Nene wanted, and being overall oblivious and insensitive towards Nene's feelings. And sure it sucks for Nene, but she wasn't manipulated into sending Youko a message or into sleeping with her, those were all her (in hindsight) bad choices.

Nene agreed to do it, that's true, but it was all Youko's idea to begin with. And in my opinion she did it just to have fun, not to really help her, or do you get the impression that she truly cares about Nene? I would love to be wrong, but I find it hard to believe that she does. Youko didn't even contact her again after she left.

Ch. 50
Kanoko is just the worst. I don't mind Youko being potentially the worst since she's not a main cast member, but I don't really see a way to redeem Kanoko. Because we see her perspective so much, we're constantly in her thoughts. And I certainly don't mind jealousy in some characters, Yano is also jealous over people spending time with Hime. But Kanoko's form of jealousy is so ugly, I just can't stand her. She's an awful friend.

Chapter 50:
I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy seeing Hime drop that bomb in front of Kanoko...

Nene agreed to play up her romance with Youko to get Sumika angry/jealous, of course Sumika finding them kissing was intentional. Just because later on Nene decided she wanted to be with Youko for real doesn't mean she wasn't a willing participant in the charade from the start.

All I saw from their date was that Youko hurt Nene by not wanting the same things Nene wanted, and being overall oblivious and insensitive towards Nene's feelings. And sure it sucks for Nene, but she wasn't manipulated into sending Youko a message or into sleeping with her, those were all her (in hindsight) bad choices.

Nene agreed to do it, that's true, but it was all Youko's idea to begin with. And in my opinion she did it just to have fun, not to really help her, or do you get the impression that she truly cares about Nene? I would love to be wrong, but I find it hard to believe that she does. Youko didn't even contact her again after she left.

I don't think it being Youko's idea paints her in a worse light than Nene since she still chose to go with it.

Yeah, I think so. Don't get me wrong, seeing Sumika losing her mind probably was fun for Youko, maybe a little bit for Nene too, but I think she is being honest when she says the whole thing was for Nene's sake. Otherwise she wouldn't bother telling Nene they are just playing romance against Sumika again, she'll just enjoy Sumika's reactions while having fun with Nene.

I'll wait and see how her suddenly abandoning the café is explained before I make any judgements. After all this is "miscommunication, repressed feelings and worst possible asumptions" the manga.

In Chapter 49, it's scary how manipulative Youko is. She was able to play Nene like a fiddle despite Nene having called her over to ask her about whether her relationship was serious. I also still think there's more to Youko's decision to leave the cafe than she's letting on.

As for Chapter 50, while Kanoko needs to get over her jealous hatred of Mitsuki, it's still painful to watch her get ever so closer to a breakdown as Hime gets closer to Mitsuki. I wonder if her jealousy of Mitsuki will cause a rift between her and Hime, just like Mitsuki feared.

I wonder if I'm the only one on this forum who doesn't hate Kanoko. She's definitely flawed, but when you consider that all her other classmates pushed her around and Hime not only was nice to her but confided her secret in her, you can understand why she values her status as Hime's only "special" person. She needs to learn to be more tolerant than Mitsuki(who's a bit better at managing her own jealousy of Kanoko), but it's not surprising that she'd envy a person who's known Hime for longer.

In fact, one could argue that since Hime told Kanoko about how Mitsuki betrayed Hime, Kanoko's worried that Mitsuki will do so again. Keep in mind that she heard about how Sumika chose to step aside and let Nene break off her schwestership with Sumika so she could get together with Youko, only for Youko to manipulate and dump her, so she realizes that the "I Want My Beloved To Be Happy" approach doesn't always work out for the beloved.

In short, Kanoko's hardly a saint and her fixation on Hime is unhealthy, but most of the others are flawed in their own ways, so I'm hoping Kanoko is able to develop a healthier bond with Sumika.

last edited at Sep 11, 2022 1:28PM

And here I was thinking that Youko was going to get her Redemption Arc. I wonder what's going to happen with Nene from now on.

That's not going to happen.

Honestly, if Youko was at all repentant, she should have just sent an apology letter to Liebe and then never saw or contacted any of the others again. Not only has Sumika always hated her, but Nene can't forgive her, either, and Mai, despite being the most reasonable of the three, implies Youko is no longer welcome at Liebe. At this point, it's clear that Youko has ruined her relationships with her former coworkers, and while an apology won't fix things, it's the most she can do.

As for Nene, I'm personally curious myself. I suspect that she's mostly come to terms with her feelings for Sumika being unrequited(although I think Sumika may have been in love with Nene), and if Sumika gets together with Kanoko, Nene will support them.

I wonder if I'm the only one on this forum who doesn't hate Kanoko. She's definitely flawed, but when you consider that all her other classmates pushed her around and Hime not only was nice to her but confided her secret in her, you can understand why she values her status as Hime's only "special" person. She needs to learn to be more tolerant than Mitsuki(who's a bit better at managing her own jealousy of Kanoko), but it's not surprising that she'd envy a person who's known Hime for longer.

In fact, one could argue that since Hime told Kanoko about how Mitsuki betrayed Hime, Kanoko's worried that Mitsuki will do so again. Keep in mind that she heard about how Sumika chose to step aside and let Nene break off her schwestership with Sumika so she could get together with Youko, only for Youko to manipulate and dump her, so she realizes that the "I Want My Beloved To Be Happy" approach doesn't always work out for the beloved.

In short, Kanoko's hardly a saint and her fixation on Hime is unhealthy, but most of the others are flawed in their own ways, so I'm hoping Kanoko is able to develop a healthier bond with Sumika.

I can only speak for myself, but I don't think Kanoko's flaws are as excusable as the others.

Hime's lies aren't actively harmful to other people. Yano puts in effort to be better than she is and feels bad about not being good enough. She also knows that she should feel bad about being jealous of Kanoko, even if she won't stop being jealous of Kanoko. Sumika cares about the general atmosphere of the group, even if it comes at the expense of people getting what they personally want.

Kanoko only cares about herself. It's not a problem that she's jealous and only wants Hime for herself, it's that she literally doesn't care about anyone but herself, not even Hime. She's not concerned with whether Hime would be happy in a relationship, or happy with a change, she only wants things to stay the same as they are, and she doesn't care who gets hurt as a result of that. Yano has desires, but no expectations, while Kanoko isn't happy unless things are exactly the way she wants them to be. "Unhealthy" is an understatement.

The other characters have normal problems that teenagers or even adults might face. Kanoko needs to see a therapist.

I wonder if I'm the only one on this forum who doesn't hate Kanoko. She's definitely flawed, but when you consider that all her other classmates pushed her around and Hime not only was nice to her but confided her secret in her, you can understand why she values her status as Hime's only "special" person. She needs to learn to be more tolerant than Mitsuki(who's a bit better at managing her own jealousy of Kanoko), but it's not surprising that she'd envy a person who's known Hime for longer.

In fact, one could argue that since Hime told Kanoko about how Mitsuki betrayed Hime, Kanoko's worried that Mitsuki will do so again. Keep in mind that she heard about how Sumika chose to step aside and let Nene break off her schwestership with Sumika so she could get together with Youko, only for Youko to manipulate and dump her, so she realizes that the "I Want My Beloved To Be Happy" approach doesn't always work out for the beloved.

In short, Kanoko's hardly a saint and her fixation on Hime is unhealthy, but most of the others are flawed in their own ways, so I'm hoping Kanoko is able to develop a healthier bond with Sumika.

I can only speak for myself, but I don't think Kanoko's flaws are as excusable as the others.

Hime's lies aren't actively harmful to other people. Yano puts in effort to be better than she is and feels bad about not being good enough. She also knows that she should feel bad about being jealous of Kanoko, even if she won't stop being jealous of Kanoko. Sumika cares about the general atmosphere of the group, even if it comes at the expense of people getting what they personally want.

Kanoko only cares about herself. It's not a problem that she's jealous and only wants Hime for herself, it's that she literally doesn't care about anyone but herself, not even Hime. She's not concerned with whether Hime would be happy in a relationship, or happy with a change, she only wants things to stay the same as they are, and she doesn't care who gets hurt as a result of that. Yano has desires, but no expectations, while Kanoko isn't happy unless things are exactly the way she wants them to be. "Unhealthy" is an understatement.

The other characters have normal problems that teenagers or even adults might face. Kanoko needs to see a therapist.

You raise some fair points. That being said, the narrative doesn't treat her actions as justified. Sumika refuses Kanoko's request to abolish the schwester system in no uncertain terms and was planning to do the opposite by making schwesterships permanent. In fact, both Sumika and Hime want Kanoko to make an effort to get along better with Mitsuki(who, despite her jealousy, tries to keep things civil between them).

I'm not so sure that Kanoko doesn't even care about Hime. Her anger toward Mitsuki isn't solely based in jealousy, but because Mitsuki's love confession caused Hime anguish due to her being unable to return Mitsuki's feelings, which is probably part of the reason why Kanoko hasn't confessed. She even tries to convince Hime to stay at the salon, whereas it would probably have been easier to let her go; Kanoko could still see her at school, whereas Mitsuki, who goes to a different school, would probably never see Hime again.

Considering the warnings Kanoko received about the consequences her jealousy might have, I personally think that Kanoko's going to eventually face some backlash as a result of her feelings for Hime and her jealousy of Mitsuki coming to light, since Hime only has an inkling of the latter and no idea of the former, and the fallout will probably make the drama between Hime and Mitsuki in Volume 7 seem tame. This will probably lead to her relationships with Hime, Sumika and Mitsuki changing, although it's too soon to say how.

In short, I'm not denying her flaws, but I still believe she can change for the better.

You raise some fair points. That being said, the narrative doesn't treat her actions as justified. Sumika refuses Kanoko's request to abolish the schwester system in no uncertain terms and was planning to do the opposite by making schwesterships permanent. In fact, both Sumika and Hime want Kanoko to make an effort to get along better with Mitsuki(who, despite her jealousy, tries to keep things civil between them).

I'm not so sure that Kanoko doesn't even care about Hime. Her anger toward Mitsuki isn't solely based in jealousy, but because Mitsuki's love confession caused Hime anguish due to her being unable to return Mitsuki's feelings, which is probably part of the reason why Kanoko hasn't confessed. She even tries to convince Hime to stay at the salon, whereas it would probably have been easier to let her go; Kanoko could still see her at school, whereas Mitsuki, who goes to a different school, would probably never see Hime again.

Considering the warnings Kanoko received about the consequences her jealousy might have, I personally think that Kanoko's going to eventually face some backlash as a result of her feelings for Hime and her jealousy of Mitsuki coming to light, since Hime only has an inkling of the latter and no idea of the former, and the fallout will probably make the drama between Hime and Mitsuki in Volume 7 seem tame. This will probably lead to her relationships with Hime, Sumika and Mitsuki changing, although it's too soon to say how.

In short, I'm not denying her flaws, but I still believe she can change for the better.

Kanoko wasn't mad at Mitsuki because Hime was unable to return Mitsuki's feelings, but because Hime wasn't able to reset like she usually does when someone confesses to her. Kanoko was mad because Hime had to take her seriously, unlike most people who confess to Hime. She sees Yano as a threat.

Look, I fully expect Kanoko to have a redemption arc of some kind down the line, but I think from everything we've had from her perspective she's never once taken the time to think about how anyone else feels. Even in the latest chapters she keeps thinking that Hime and Sumika are acting strange, and she means not how she wants them to act like. She is sorely lacking in empathy.

It's not about flaws. Like I said last time, it's not the jealousy that's the problem, it's the lack of self-reflection. That goes beyond a flaw to a personality defect.

That's not going to happen.

Yeah, I just automatically assumed that the point of reintroducing Youko into the story was for Nene and her to reconcile, clear up misunderstandings and finally start dating again, this time for real. And that's part of why Chapter 49 was such a big surprise to me.

I feel so bad for Nene. She even helped Sumika a few times to realize that her feelings towards Kanoko are different from how she felt about her.

Kanoko wasn't mad at Mitsuki because Hime was unable to return Mitsuki's feelings, but because Hime wasn't able to reset like she usually does when someone confesses to her. Kanoko was mad because Hime had to take her seriously, unlike most people who confess to Hime. She sees Yano as a threat.

I agree with you on almost everything you wrote, but I'm a bit conflicted by this last part. Why did Kanoko try to convince Hime to go back to Liebe then? As I see it, either she doesn't consider Yano to be a real threat (just to clarify, by this I mean "someone Hime could fall in love with") or she does care about Hime's own happiness.

last edited at Sep 13, 2022 12:31AM

Kanoko wasn't mad at Mitsuki because Hime was unable to return Mitsuki's feelings, but because Hime wasn't able to reset like she usually does when someone confesses to her. Kanoko was mad because Hime had to take her seriously, unlike most people who confess to Hime. She sees Yano as a threat.

I agree with you on almost everything you wrote, but I'm a bit conflicted by this last part. Why did Kanoko try to convince Hime to go back to Liebe then? As I see it, either she doesn't consider Yano to be a real threat (just to clarify, by this I mean "someone Hime could fall in love with") or she does care about Hime's own happiness.

My best guess would be because she underestimated Hime's feelings for Yano. She thought if Hime could just reject Yano, then they could move on and things would go back to normal. If you go back, at first she thinks it's good Hime quit Liebe, but since her personality was affected by it, Kanoko wanted to her to go back. I mean, when she finds out Yano has the anklet that matches their accessories, she slaps Yano. She both sees her as a threat, accurately, but also thinks it's inevitable that she'll be rejected, also accurately. As far as why she wants her back at Liebe, chapter 12 answers that doesn't it? She gets more Hime time she would never get otherwise.

That's not going to happen.

Yeah, I just automatically assumed that the point of reintroducing Youko into the story was for Nene and her to reconcile, clear up misunderstandings and finally start dating again, this time for real. And that's part of why Chapter 49 was such a big surprise to me.

I feel so bad for Nene. She even helped Sumika a few times to realize that her feelings towards Kanoko are different from how she felt about her.

When I saw Nene's text to Yoko, I initially assumed that her claim that she was "through" with Yoko was a lie and she still had feelings for Yoko. But then, Chapter 48 ended with her saying to herself that she wanted to bring things to an end in a way that she could come to terms with, and I had no reason to doubt that she was being honest.

Yoko's return to the salon raises the possibility that she might not be so bad, but if you pay close attention, Sumika's right- Yoko is good at manipulating others and avoiding being seen as "the bad guy." (For example, accusing Nene of not working up the nerve to say what she needs to, which essentially puts Nene on the defensive and draws attention away from Yoko's subtly trying to keep Nene distracted). It's subtle enough that Kanoko, who only knows Yoko through what Sumika told her, and Nene, who has an emotional weakness that Yoko can exploit, are fooled.

As for Nene, I predict that she'll end the story at peace with being single, hook up with Shinooka(assuming Shinooka isn't a spy for Yoko), or meet a girlfriend we don't know about (like Haru from Bloom Into You).

Ch. 51
Seriously, I understand that Sumika can be considered a hypocrite, but I don't think that detracts from her being sympathetic. Kanoko is completely irredeemable. I'm going to hate when this manga tries to redeem her and make her friends with everyone again. Even if she genuinely falls in love with Sumika, I really hope it doesn't go well. Sumika deserves better. And Hime deserves a better friend.

Ch 51
Assuming the third party has malicious intent, this raises 2 questions for me.
1. What do they want to achieve from this?
2. What does Kanoko think she'll gain from this?
I mean, as much dread as I felt when I reached the last pages, I'm really curious to know what Kanano think she's doing. If she wants the sympathetic Sumika-san back to listen to her unrequited love woes, it doesn't make sense to think that "ending" her hate of romance by dating her would achieve that if you ask me.

Chapter 51:
Kanoko is absolutely desperate, especially after learning that Yano kissed Hime, and will do whatever it takes to doesn't lose her. Obviously I'm not justifying her, but this extreme action makes sense given the selfish nature of her love/obsession. She wants Hime at all costs, and nothing else matters to her. She has always been like this.

Ch 51
Assuming the third party has malicious intent, this raises 2 questions for me.
1. What do they want to achieve from this?
2. What does Kanoko think she'll gain from this?

I mean, it's Youko we're talking about. Or do you think it can be someone else?

1. Having fun. We've already learned enough about her twisted personality and how she enjoys messing with people.
2. Hime's attention. The only thing that she cares about.

Chapter 51:
I was personally expecting Kanoko to have a complete emotional meltdown this chapter. She's lost her main source of support now that Sumika refuses to talk about Hime, and her jealousy of Mitski is getting worse, since she ends Chapter 50 begging for someone to help her. It would have been quite the note to end Volume 10 on, just like how 1 ends with Mitsuki revealing her identity, 6 ends with Hime resigning and 7 ends with Hime and Mitsuki in tears.

Unrelated, but I like how a good 80% of this page is blacked out.

Chapter 51:
I was personally expecting Kanoko to have a complete emotional meltdown this chapter. She's lost her main source of support now that Sumika refuses to talk about Hime, and her jealousy of Mitski is getting worse, since she ends Chapter 50 begging for someone to help her. It would have been quite the note to end Volume 10 on, just like how 1 ends with Mitsuki revealing her identity, 6 ends with Hime resigning and 7 ends with Hime and Mitsuki in tears.

I mean, that's kinda how last chapter ended, with Kanoko having an emotional breakdown. Either way, I'm sure we're going to get a flashback in Volume 11 (which, by the way, has an estimated English release date of mid-June, so I'm more grateful than ever to the person who decided to start scanlating this series), explaining what happened between chapters 50 and 51, where we will see Kanoko's desperate state. I personally like how the latter subverted our expectations.

last edited at Sep 23, 2022 6:34PM

Chapter 51:
I was personally expecting Kanoko to have a complete emotional meltdown this chapter. She's lost her main source of support now that Sumika refuses to talk about Hime, and her jealousy of Mitski is getting worse, since she ends Chapter 50 begging for someone to help her. It would have been quite the note to end Volume 10 on, just like how 1 ends with Mitsuki revealing her identity, 6 ends with Hime resigning and 7 ends with Hime and Mitsuki in tears.

I mean, that's kinda how last chapter ended, with Kanoko having an emotional breakdown. Either way, I'm sure we're going to get a flashback in Volume 11 (which, by the way, has an estimated English release date of mid-June, so I'm more grateful than ever to the person who decided to start scanlating this series), explaining what happened between chapters 50 and 51, where we will see Kanoko's desperate state. I personally like how the latter subverted our expectations.

What I meant was something even more severe than Kanoko slapping Mitsuki in Volume 7, something that could get her suspended/fired from Liebe and/or strain her friendship with Hime. Then again, perhaps this was too dramatic of a result, not to mention that I don't know what would be bad enough for the former outcome(Yoko was never fired, even if Mai no longer trusts her).

It's certainly possible that a flashback to earlier in the story will happen. It happened before, when the story flashed back to when Miitsuki first learned that Mai's arm had healed in the spring.

On a non-spoiler note, I wonder how far ahead the manga is, since Volme 11 getting an English release date presumably implies that it's out in Japanese, and most mangas have at least one to two volumes worth of material ahead of the tankobon releases. For this reason, I'm also grateful to the scanlators, although I plan on buying Volume 10 in English at the end of November. It's worth it to support the creator, see a professional translation and have an ad-free experience.

On a non-spoiler note, I wonder how far ahead the manga is, since Volme 11 getting an English release date presumably implies that it's out in Japanese, and most mangas have at least one to two volumes worth of material ahead of the tankobon releases. For this reason, I'm also grateful to the scanlators, although I plan on buying Volume 10 in English at the end of November. It's worth it to support the creator, see a professional translation and have an ad-free experience.

Volume 11 hasn't come out in Japan yet, but Chapter 56 (the last one to be part of that volume) was released a week ago.

Edit: Now that it's complete, I have to say that Volume 10 is one of my favorites in the entire series, which surprises me given that Hime and Yano hardly got any screen time in it.

last edited at Sep 23, 2022 9:54PM

On a non-spoiler note, I wonder how far ahead the manga is, since Volme 11 getting an English release date presumably implies that it's out in Japanese, and most mangas have at least one to two volumes worth of material ahead of the tankobon releases. For this reason, I'm also grateful to the scanlators, although I plan on buying Volume 10 in English at the end of November. It's worth it to support the creator, see a professional translation and have an ad-free experience.

Volume 11 hasn't come out in Japan yet, but Chapter 56 (the last one to be part of that volume) was released a week ago.

Thanks for the information. Now that I think about it, since Amazon doesn't have a cover for Volume 11, and the description includes the generic summary of the series, the Japanese volume hasn't necessarily come out yet. In fact, the June release date is probably tentative, and it could very well be pushed back.

Thanks for the information. Now that I think about it, since Amazon doesn't have a cover for Volume 11, and the description includes the generic summary of the series, the Japanese volume hasn't necessarily come out yet. In fact, the June release date is probably tentative, and it could very well be pushed back.

Volume 11 will come out on November 17 in Japan.