god koga-san is such a hunk

I'm still following this, but I think it's impressive (not in a good way) that this story manages to feel really dragged out while being served only 4 pages at a time... and sometimes said 4 pages don't tell what is happening too clearly.

I want to like it, with cool art and all that, but it keeps falling short for me.

last edited at Nov 13, 2022 4:38PM

I'm more of a lurker on this site, but this chapter gave me the final avatar to use here, bless this chapter

LOL THE PROFILE PICTURE!
I was going to use it but you beat me to it

jk we are now matching idc

we can be both thief mitsuki, dw dw, there is plenty for everyone

last edited at Nov 13, 2022 5:00PM

Just because someone is a "tomboy" does not make them any less feminine or somehow automatically one questioning their gender.

Which is funny bc at the final ch of that series the Tomboy i dont remember her name XD actually wanted to use a wedding dress too and not suit so yeah not very trans at all

Someone is confused about SOMEONE ELSE’S [gender identity] and shenanigans happens.

This story in a nutshell.

And the statement that it's "essentially a trans story but without actual trans characters" seems like an obvious oxymoron--wouldn't the "essence" of a trans story be . . . the presence of actual trans characters?

Yeah.

There isn’t even anyone to reasonably head canon as such, and it wouldn’t be relevant, anyway.

Just because someone is a "tomboy" does not make them any less feminine or somehow automatically one questioning their gender.

Which is funny bc at the final ch of that series the Tomboy i dont remember her name XD actually wanted to use a wedding dress too and not suit so yeah not very trans at all

Bit of an oversimplification of gender…

Someone is confused about SOMEONE ELSE’S [gender identity] and shenanigans happens.

This story in a nutshell.

And the statement that it's "essentially a trans story but without actual trans characters" seems like an obvious oxymoron--wouldn't the "essence" of a trans story be . . . the presence of actual trans characters?

well no, because sometimes stories use metaphors or allegories or subtext or themes to engage with these subject matter without explicitly referencing them, and this is especially common with explorations of queerness.

This story is pretty grounded and clearly about what is actually happening.

I haven't really read up on the current conversation mind, I have no thoughts on that. But queer themes don't need to be, and are very often NOT, explicit. Especially considering how people treat trans people. I dunno if I personally would call this a trans story but I see nothing wrong with someone taking it that way, right?

By this logic Moby Dick is a trans story if someone wants to read it that way.

Authorial intent does matter. If you need to mangle the story to invent metaphors out of it, then it’s not worth doing.

last edited at Nov 13, 2022 5:16PM

Iirc, author said it was a story about teens being troubled about their sexuality, NOT their gender.

There isn't a speck of evidence Mitsuki ever wished to be a guy. She's just not conforming to the standard of girls around her, be it what she wears or what music she likes, but that doesn't make her any less of a girl. People equating "dressing/acting like a guy" with "wanting to be a guy" are trying to erase butch lesbians from existence.

i appreciate Aya confirming without a doubt that Mitsuki is indeed still her crush~

tbf, I use "crush" because that's what Amarrez used in the beginning of the translation, so I kept it.

But in JP, she says "oshi" which is slightly different and hard to translate.

Aaaah so that's how it is! I get it now. I was puzzled by Aya saying "crush" when the story has been trying very hard to avoid going there.
"Oshi" is different of course. Makes sense now. Thanks for de explanation.

Yes. Oshi is different from crush. But those people writing that the manga is now officially yuri, did they fail to understand Kirin-kun's message?

Iirc, author said it was a story about teens being troubled about their sexuality, NOT their gender.

There isn't a speck of evidence Mitsuki ever wished to be a guy. She's just not conforming to the standard of girls around her, be it what she wears or what music she likes, but that doesn't make her any less of a girl. People equating "dressing/acting like a guy" with "wanting to be a guy" are trying to erase butch lesbians from existence.

THATS NOT WHAT I FUCKING MEANT, I NEVER INTENTED TO ERASE ANYONE

god, i shouldve just shut up

i celarly stated that i dont believe its a trans story, yet all of you fuckers twisted my words, for no fucking reason

i hope everyone of you is proud of themselves, cuz now i feel like crying

if this thread learns about butch trans women, he/him lesbians or bio queens it will probably explode

in terms of "oshi", i've usually heard it translated as "fave" but that's in the context of celebrities, and i guess that translation would be kind of an odd word to use for someone you know personally?

if this thread learns about butch trans women, he/him lesbians or bio queens it will probably explode

in terms of "oshi", i've usually heard it translated as "fave" but that's in the context of celebrities, and i guess that translation would be kind of an odd word to use for someone you know personally?

I think that's why crush kind of works in context. You wouldn't actually ask your oshi for their number.

if this thread learns about butch trans women, he/him lesbians or bio queens it will probably explode

Of course, the fact that this series contains none of the above means that those particular terms may well not be relevant to this thread at all.

Social Panic VS Gay Panic

Truly a powerful duo we have here :P

Useless lesbianssssss

For Grohl's sake why does the trans debate is back on this forum??? PLEASE, we are already 108 pages in, the story progressed and we will see their relationship develop. Can we PLEASE drop the same old discussions?

Anyways, for those who didn't see it, there is a Google Drive with all the bands/artists mentioned in the story so far. I will be updating if the author comes back to referencing music.*
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eezro_84dB1jGdWRxwJP3aBx1qXpYH1AT0mVaTf4_dw/

*I mean, Sumiko could just focus on the storyline developing at school at this point and the bands they talk about would not really be the focal point, but a part of me still hopes they will have some gushing moments and get too close after talking about a certain indie band they thought no one else listened to.

Anyways, for those who didn't see it, there is a Google Drive with all the bands/artists mentioned in the story so far. I will be updating if the author comes back to referencing music.*
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eezro_84dB1jGdWRxwJP3aBx1qXpYH1AT0mVaTf4_dw/

Many thanks for putting that together

i hope everyone of you is proud of themselves, cuz now i feel like crying

Sorry if this is weird to post this in the forum but I'm new here and there doesn't seem to be a way to DM people(?), so I just wanted to say to Behanort that I knew what you meant and I hope that you are feeling better now.

If Mitsuki was trans, the story could still follow a pretty similar progression without changing that much. The tomboy identity and the nerd identity are like two separate people, and it seems fairly clear that Mitsuki is more comfortable when she can present a little more masc :) Even though she's not trans, there are a lot of parallels you could draw!

last edited at Nov 13, 2022 8:28PM

Oh how I've missed Aya's bubbly embarrassment.

Mitsuki hasn't thought over her identity, beyond being a guitarist, so we can enjoy her cute panic without worrying about anything serious. The gender-nonconforming subtext is heartfelt, and wonderful, but only some of it is intended by the author. That's still subtext, though it can only help people see depth in what's already there and won't connect the dots between plot events. I love to see people make those connections to their own knowledge, in this case with experiences far more common among trans and GNC populations. It costs you nothing to treat the comparison charitably even if you blow it off. I just acknowledge any common points and can forget any labels and norms that the characters ignore or don't reference.

if this thread learns about butch trans women, he/him lesbians or bio queens it will probably explode

That's a terrible idea and I want to see that. I wonder how many labels feasibly suit the characters, and how many more we could just force through because they're unfalsifiable. Maybe Uncle is an ex-yakuza drag queen. We'll never prove who is cis either.

last edited at Nov 13, 2022 8:34PM

I'm still following this, but I think it's impressive (not in a good way) that this story manages to feel really dragged out while being served only 4 pages at a time... and sometimes said 4 pages don't tell what is happening too clearly.

I want to like it, with cool art and all that, but it keeps falling short for me.

I feel ya. I am impressed as well

With each chapter, much of the time I'm left thinking "That's it??". Often covers very little and then jumps to the next day with the next chapter.

last edited at Nov 13, 2022 8:36PM

So all that buildup is just over? They've made up inbetween chapters or something? Feels a little weak to me

I'm still following this, but I think it's impressive (not in a good way) that this story manages to feel really dragged out while being served only 4 pages at a time... and sometimes said 4 pages don't tell what is happening too clearly.

I want to like it, with cool art and all that, but it keeps falling short for me.

I feel ya. I am impressed as well

With each chapter, much of the time I'm left thinking "That's it??". Often covers very little and then jumps to the next day with the next chapter.

Gotta say I'm not feeling what you folks are. I don't really have expectations that a lot is going to happen in a 4 page chapter. If you took 8 of these chapters and strung them into a single 32-page monthly-manga style chapter, it would be a chapter where a bunch happened.

Iirc, author said it was a story about teens being troubled about their sexuality, NOT their gender.

There isn't a speck of evidence Mitsuki ever wished to be a guy. She's just not conforming to the standard of girls around her, be it what she wears or what music she likes, but that doesn't make her any less of a girl. People equating "dressing/acting like a guy" with "wanting to be a guy" are trying to erase butch lesbians from existence.

Wow… ummm…

What’s that high-pitched ringing?

Oh, a dog whistle!

…he/him lesbians…

offs!

Not THIS shit, again!

“Lesbian” is an adjective, not a club. If you say people that aren’t homosexual women (cis or trans!) can be lesbians, then the word becomes pointless.

I’m done with commenting on all things forever online. Sick of shit like this.

“Lesbian” is an adjective, not a club. If you say people that aren’t homosexual women (cis or trans!) can be lesbians, then the word becomes pointless.

So this is gonna blow your mind, but listen: turns out that out in the real world you cannot neatly place people into boxes and both "woman" and "homosexual" are reductive categories. We're not sims.
You don't get to decide where to draw the lines, noone does. "lesbian" is an identity, not just an adjective