Wooohooo! <3

and hey, don't feel too bad. my friend who I'm sharing my account to comment on here is 38 years old. you're not decaying, life is.

Entropy always wins.

The adults aren’t being portrayed as old here, they’re just being portrayed as adults. They remember being teens when they see the gay kids.

Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

Anime is not real life

it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity.

I can't figure out whether this is meant seriously or as sarcasm...

Almost nobody over 30 is going to be offended by a person referring to themselves as "decaying" because we all feel it everyday.

You do? That's pretty sad tbh. 30s seem like a pretty great time. But then again most people's idea of normal ageing and maturing is a pretty foreign concept to me so maybe I'm the outlier here

Finally! I have been waiting for this for a long time!!! They have conversation at the store as they now know each other. Mitzuki no longer completely covers herself anymore! Maybe she does not need to take off her piercing while at school.

The assumption that your teen years are the best, more shining and radiant part of your life—and that as soon as you reach legal majority you become a decaying thing that can only crawl in the rotting morass of adulthood all the way to your death—is very much a common Japanese idea... but it isn't at all a Western idea; more like the opposite, in fact. I'm surprised nobody felt offended by this strip and reacted with anger.

I guess we've all already been mentally colonized by the Japanese. :P Come to think of it, I haven't read any rants against lolicon manga in a long time...

Why would we feel offended?

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

I know right? The cult of childhood and teenhood in Japan is simply baffling to Occidentals. Especially in Protestant countries: it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity. Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

If you look closely, Catholics aren't really better. Catholic tradition since the Middle Ages is that children (at least under seven but could be older too) are angels of purity that must be protected from carnal depravity. Calvinist tradition (think New England at the time of the Salem witch trials) is that children are corrupt things that must be exorcised through discipline and punishment, kind of like how Carrie's mom raised Carrie. None of them cares about the Kinsey reports and what they taught us about child sexuality. It's not easy to find a religious type who accepts the sexuality of children as a healthy and natural thing.

Somehow the Japanese, even though most of them haven't read Kinsey, have a better understanding of these things. The naughty lolis of Itou Hachi are more like real children than anything you find in American tv.

At least when it comes to post-puberty teens the mainstream media in the West seem to have accepted the notion that they are sexual in nature, as seen in most teen shows and movies... although anything beyond kisses and petting is cast in a darker light. I think the only genre where teen sex happens consistently and is presented in an unjudging way is the horror genre... too bad the slasher always comes and kills them in the middle of it, lmao.

[...] I think the only genre where teen sex happens consistently and is presented in an unjudging way is the horror genre... too bad the slasher always comes and kills them in the middle of it, lmao.

Ignoring the question of how we got to this topic, teenagers having sex should not be presented in any way. It's one of those things where you should tell not show. It's really damn creepy how some media, including horror movies, will establish their characters as underage (or barely not underage) and then show the characters have sex. Especially considering that most sex scenes, regardless of age, serve no purpose and are just there to grab the viewer's attention.

Wow I feel called out or seen by this chapter because that's basically why I read teen romance.

When I see teens holding hands in RL if feel happy for them and a bit happier myself because it reminds me of the youth where all feelings were stronger. I think that's universal. Even if my own youth wasn't perfect in any way, I can't help missing some of it.

And as someone who works in healthcare I feel "decayed" is exaggerated but not wrong. We all decay eventually and can only make the best of the hand were dealt.

last edited at Nov 22, 2022 5:20PM

Wow I feel called out or seen by this chapter because that's basically why I read teen romance.

When I see teens holding hands in RL if feel happy for them and a bit happier myself because it reminds me of the youth where all feelings were stronger. I think that's universal. Even if my own youth wasn't perfect in any way, I can't help missing some of it.

And as someone who works in healthcare I feel "decayed" is exaggerated but not wrong. We all decay eventually and can only make the best of the hand were dealt.

Same here. I'm in my mid-thirties and the decay line gave me a good laugh.

And I work at a non-profit and got wiped out by the pandemic lockdown and post-lockdown pandemic caused issues.

So, while the thirties should be fun, I am exhausted and feel 5-10 years older than I really am...also doesn't help that I am on average, 5 years older than most of my coworkers lol... -_-

aaah the "decaying" adults all look so cute as kids too (am I allowed to say that, I am almost 30, meh I don't care)
This chapter was pure sugar... and man, do I miss festivals... I wanna see Muse too...

last edited at Nov 23, 2022 7:15PM

I'm definitely a decaying 40 year old.

Punk rock lesbians are now my favorite trope in the entire world

Punk rock lesbians are now my favorite trope in the entire world

A highly specific trope but the best one indeed
(Although they are more alt than punk)

May I ask if the things the author post in their Instagram will be translated here too? Really now is just an image with the title behind and another a drawings with just little writings here and there. But in case something more is going to be post there~

Sorry if the question is disrespectful and thank you always for your hard work!!! <3

last edited at Nov 25, 2022 4:08PM

May I ask if the things the author post in their Instagram will be translated here too? Really now is just an image with the title behind and another a drawings with just little writings here and there. But in case something more is going to be post there~

Sorry if the question is disrespectful and thank you always for your hard work!!! <3

I'm not sure there's much to translate there.

It looks like some yearbook/graduation album pictures, with a few words (as per the title given by the author)

On Aya's pic there's her name and "shut up" with an arrow toward an angry smiley, and on the bottom her name (Oosawa Aya) with a few music notes and "Sorry".

On Koga's pic on the bottom there's her name, Koga Mitsuki, subtitled "Onii-san", a hand with "Yayyyy !!" beside it, and on top, a spotify logo and a drawn question "megane ha?", which means "where are the glasses?"

Reading the comments in Japanese, it looks like it's at the end of their third year I think, so yet another peek at the future.

last edited at Nov 25, 2022 4:32PM

It looks like some yearbook/graduation album pictures, with a few words (as per the title given by the author)

On Aya's pic there's her name and "shut up" with an arrow toward an angry smiley, and on the bottom her name (Oosawa Aya) with a few music notes and "Sorry".

On Koga's pic on the bottom there's her name, Koga Mitsuki, subtitled "Onii-san", a hand with "Yayyyy !!" beside it, and on top, a spotify logo and a drawn question "megane ha?", which means "where are the glasses?"

Reading the comments in Japanese, it looks like it's at the end of their third year I think, so yet another peek at the future.

Ty so much for the reply and translation!
And yes, it not really much there, was just a question that appeared in my head hahaha
Again ty so much! <3

I'm definitely a decaying 40 year old.

I right behind you.

Can the instagram drawings be posted here? (I know the title one can’t since it’s multiple pictures, but at least that yearbook one)

Edit:
On Mitsuki’s picture there is a Spotify code to an actual song.
It’s a cover of “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”

Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/track/09YeOSHcAdk3Bqel03yIw9?si=XscK-ginT66ArueGoFOe0g

YouTube (not official so might get taken down at some point): https://youtu.be/AffCqOj3nyw

(Posted 2 years ago tho)

I’ll update the Google Doc after an exam I have to take tomorrow. (So give me like one business day to do that)

Mom, please come pick me up, the government is forcing me to take an exam to grade MY COLLEGE.

last edited at Nov 26, 2022 11:54PM

Narita-kun will be the president of KogaAya fanclub

NARITA IS THE TRUE MVP
Truly one of us, huh

Narita-kun will be the president of KogaAya fanclub

He already is. Bet he made the whole committee ship them too.

last edited at Nov 27, 2022 6:54AM

OUR OTP!

kneels in respect

last edited at Nov 27, 2022 7:07AM

Oh yea The Smiths are great.
I love singing 'Girl in A Coma' in karaoke because I like to see my friends slowly realise how messed up the lyrics are.

I also pay respects to my fav OTP (-⅃L-)

Translator here.

To be noted, in the original Japanese, Narita-kun ends some of his sentences with the particle わ (wa), like よかったわ (I feel relieved/glad) which is a girly way to talk, but a pretty untranslatable nuance.

"Boys" are more prone to end their sentences with よ in general, which sounds a bit rougher.

I'm not sure if it's on purpose, but Narita-kun, to a Japanese, would probably sound a bit girly.

Maybe it hints at some bisexuality.

I think it's part of his "metrosexual" kpop idol appeal that has all the girls in the class going gaga over him.