Im pretty sure it would actually be illegal. Despite the common misconception that Japans age of consent was 13 with no further limitations, there are actually a bunch of laws in place (also varying across prefectures as far as i know) that prohibit different sexual encounters that this might well fall under. In general i think alot of ppl would consider someone in their (probably?) late 20s having a threesome with a 15 and 16 yo to be problematic to say the least.

Oh, I'm not denying any of that. But at the same time, it's right there around the legal line in the civilized world where it's usually around 14-16, and exactly at the time most young people actually start having sex (saw a study in the newspaper just last week that put it mostly at 14 years of age). Not saying I approve of Karen doing what she's doing, but it's not nearly as horrible as the initial comments made it sound, either.

Yes, most people start having sex in that age, but not with 20 year people. I see it gross. And I feel the first comment appropriate, to be honest.

So the exact situation with Japan's age of consent is that federally the age of consent is 13, however every single prefecture has adopted laws that up that age to 16-18. So while theoretically the age of consent is 13 in Japan in reality every prefecture independently says "no it's 16-18 actually". Groups have been lobbying to have the age of consent to 16 federally for peace of mind, but like the only places in Japan where the age of consent is actually 13 is a couple of rocks that Japan claims as uninhabited islands to have greater sea borders so those don't actually matter because nobody ever goes there.

Additionally an important note is that having sex with someone under the age of consent as set by the prefecture is fine if you are also under the age of consent, two 15 year olds having sex is legally speaking a-okay it's a problem when someone over the age of consent has sex with someone under the age of consent. Additionally if both people are under 13 the federal age of consent then it is actually again a problem because under 13 any sex at all is illegal and if two kids under 13 had sex then legally speaking they could both be tried for statutory rape. Though realistically this would be unlikely to actually happen.

TLDR; the age of consent is 13 in Japan only theoretically, it has been 16 to 18 depending on what prefecture you live in since an age of consent has been established, and teenagers are legally allowed to have sex but only with other teenagers in between 13 and the age of consent in their prefecture.

Also if you're wondering why I know this, it's because I kept seeing people spread this idea that the age of consent in Japan is 13 and I didn't believe it and I looked it up, and what do you know it wasn't true.

last edited at Jan 31, 2023 8:39AM

I've gotta ask, what's the LN/web novel like past this point? Is there much more drama, do either Aya or Marika ever have sex with some one else, or is it mostly just smut of the two of them?

I don't mind a full spoiler reply I need to know if I am going to hate reading this or not.

Alright spoilers incoming. I'll use spoiler brackets for actual events but themes are just going to be out in the open.
Keep in mind that the manga is a somewhat streamlined story, the events are pretty much just the first and half the second books but thematically Marika's whole journey is in just that small chunk, the books spread it out more.

Vol 1 is about Marika realising that she likes Aya. Its chief antagonist is Asta, who is Marika's foil as someone who has already embraced her sexuality and doesn't see a problem with standing out.

Vol 2 is about Marika embracing Aya as her girlfriend and getting to know more about her. Its chief antagonist is Sae the girl who tried to stab Aya in middle school, she is Aya's foil in that she used her trauma as an excuse to stop moving forward rather than rebuilding herself.

Vol 3 is about Marika struggling with her internalised shame about dating someone of the same gender, she's still not there folks. Its chief antagonist is Reina who discovers Marika and Aya are going out, she functions as a kind of nega!Marika, someone who uses her popularity for evil and has not grown out of her homophobic beliefs.

Vol 4 is about Marika bonding with other queer girls and finding community outside of weird sex stuff with Aya. Its chief antagonist (not really) is Natsumi who gets rejected at the end, exposing Marika to a different way to be queer. Vol 4 is really special because of how much it grounds Marika's sense of queerness. A lot of stuff happens in this one despite it feeling like a filler episode.

Vol 5 is about Marika placing herself within the queer community and thinking about the future of her relationship. Its chief antagonist is Karen whose backstory we finally get as she leaves town for a week to chase the woman she fell in love with fresh out of high school. Marika has to grapple with her relationship to Aya not being uniquely special and therefore subject to all the regular struggles a relationship goes through. Nevertheless she comes out publicly at the end. I cried.

Vol 6 I haven't read yet but I'm looking forward to it! These crazy kids are still in love and still not quite done stepping on each other, I love reading about them.

This has to be one of the most frustrating reads on this site, and no amount of "spicy scenes later" will change that.

Im pretty sure it would actually be illegal. Despite the common misconception that Japans age of consent was 13 with no further limitations, there are actually a bunch of laws in place (also varying across prefectures as far as i know) that prohibit different sexual encounters that this might well fall under. In general i think alot of ppl would consider someone in their (probably?) late 20s having a threesome with a 15 and 16 yo to be problematic to say the least.

Oh, I'm not denying any of that. But at the same time, it's right there around the legal line in the civilized world where it's usually around 14-16, and exactly at the time most young people actually start having sex (saw a study in the newspaper just last week that put it mostly at 14 years of age). Not saying I approve of Karen doing what she's doing, but it's not nearly as horrible as the initial comments made it sound, either.

Yes, most people start having sex in that age, but not with 20 year people. I see it gross.

You're not wrong to feel this way, really. Then again, it's easy for straight kids to find a partner, but where's a queer kid to go when the prevailing opinion surrounding them is still rather hostile? Finding someone in a bar like this may not be the smartest idea, but one might not be able to think of better choices either.

And I feel the first comment appropriate, to be honest.

On the other hand, we did learn that Astarotte was the one coming on to Karen, not Karen herself going after minors left and right as the first spoilers claimed. However one feels about Karen not turning down anyone who comes to her, calling her a predator goes too far when you consider these revelations.

last edited at Jan 31, 2023 9:20AM

Can we... can we still get that foursome with bar lady and the other girl, though?

I'm conflicted. I like the premise of this story still and a previous comment had some spoilers that I honestly would love to read... but there are some depictions and content in the recent chapters that are just... uncomfortable.

I wish there were more characters in Yuri manga like Astalotte.

"Are they fighting? I know, let's just have a threesome!"

what if she was a man? teenage pregnancy? at fking 13? who knows if that predator can control even a little bit of his lust or not? no need to change the sex, lets assume she has stds or something like these
people can be so contradicting and hypocrite it makes me feel sick

of course im not hating the story because predators like her get glossed over irl even some rapists too
i dont like that female predators have some kind of 'privilinge' or whatever it should be called just because they are 'just' female and theyre not even seem as a threat so some people can say its not illegal compared to gay males. is this not sexist?

aya and marika are the same age
who knows what the kids are doing alone anyway or even in a group? but who thinks about kids these days anyway..
also i think the ln is better than manga, i was thinking abt what i read on ln while reading the manga and the manga did not please me

I hope I haven't crossed any lines, sorry if that's the case.
english is not my native language

last edited at Jan 31, 2023 10:45AM

That was a surprisingly good chapter. Marika's reaction was very understandable, after what Aya has said she had every right to be angry at someone appearing to her door and claiming to be her sex friend, while after what Aya has done there was no particular reason to doubt Asta.

Aya had to be particularly convincing to defend herself, but after talking with Karen she managed to say it right, and Marika accepted her explanation. And they clearly made a lot of progress. I actually didn't expect for Aya to have been hiding so much.

Threesome and foursome jokes aside, for someone like Marika, being dragged into that kind of discussion unexpectedly will naturally make her feel like she was toyed with, so I'm glad it was treated seriously and cleared up as a misunderstanding caused by Asta and Karen, and not brushed out of the way with a sex resolution.

On the other hand, we did learn that Astarotte was the one coming on to Karen, not Karen herself going after minors left and right as the first spoilers claimed. However one feels about Karen not turning down anyone who comes to her, calling her a predator goes too far when you consider these revelations.

I'm continuing to read the manga because I can look past some of its weirder characters (and generally don't get into these debates) but this is a bit much. So as an adult: if a 13-15-year-old minor "came on to me first" and I slept with them multiple times, I would not be classified as a predator? What would I be then? A victim of a 13-15-year-old? I'm not sure about that one. I can look past her character and don't have strong feelings one way or the other but at no point do I think what she's doing is fine, or that she is not the predator when compared to a child. I didn't think that was a debatable aspect of her character but I guess I was wrong.

last edited at Jan 31, 2023 12:49PM

Yeah like as a more experienced homo by more than a decade shouldn't Karen be setting her up with someone and not smashing her herself??? And even if the latter was somewhat justifiable via self discovery and education, to continue on with it is really suspect.

Bruh this is just conversion therapy and rape, still as bad as if it was het.

Bruh this is just conversion therapy and rape, still as bad as if it was het.

I mean from some accounts I've read online, the gay (mlm) community leans towards being similar to this portrayal
I could have just been reading a 4chan psyop, but yeah.
Moral of the story: Sometimes you need a safe space inside the safe space because your safety needs are more granular and this bar owner is so irresponsible she might become the patron deity of not being responsible

Predatory Karen aside (gross) I reeaaaally didn't expect to find such a healthy way of dealing with and resolving conflict within a relationship in a trashy porn manga. Usually the drama is contrived and drags an issue forever when it should have been resolved ages ago by just talking.

Karen is fucked up.

Predatory Karen aside (gross) I reeaaaally didn't expect to find such a healthy way of dealing with and resolving conflict within a relationship in a trashy porn manga. Usually the drama is contrived and drags an issue forever when it should have been resolved ages ago by just talking.

Yeah for what it's worth I thought this was handled pretty well. They didn't patch things up immediately but also didn't drag things out.

Aah, it become problematic :(
Will be easy put Karen having 18 and the girls 16 to had a correct rank

What place could be more relaxing and romantic for two girls in love, than the bar owned by a woman that groomed one of the two girls (and a third girl)?

And isn't it just wacky and goofy that the owner of a lesbian bar doesn't reject any girls regardless of their age? She's such a silly prankster. A real comedian, if you will.

The real kicker is that it's not very common for the wider wlw community to be explored in yuri manga, and this one just tosses in a grooming subplot that takes place in a lesbian bar, and it's mostly played for comedy. Haha, isn't it goofy that she doesn't reject any girls regardless of their age? Funniest shit I've ever seen!

This manga could've had real potential I now realize. If for example instead of offering her money Aya simply challenges her and Marika had simply accepted the challenge because she was so convinced it wouldn't work. Maybe Aya is aloof but popular instead so Marika's reasoning is that she will improve her social status.
Then remove the rapey scenes. Aya says let's do it and Marika accepts like "okay, sure but I'm not gonna like it" or "I kept fantasizing about guys all the way through".
Also make them be in college or something so that threesomes and stuff sound more believable.
And remove Karen or make her normal anw.

If you remove all the problematic stuff the story isn't all that bad and the sex scenes aren't bad either. It's just... Manga has this obsession with blurry lines of consent that I'm starting to get tired of. It's time to move on from that.

Damn son,this went off harder then 'Nam with all that proxy war.

Even here in the comment section.

Intrude on a couple

Refer to one of them as your "sex friend" for no reason

Watch as they start fighting

Suggest a threesome to make up

Refuse to elaborate

Leave

What a great character, honestly.

Well, once volume 3 is finished, the novels are always there for those who enjoyed the story and want to read more about Marika and Aya
.

Spoilers people. You aren’t even in that forum thread.

last edited at Feb 1, 2023 2:52AM

I couldn't believe the comments of this thread could take anything else from me but I can't believe you bastards have spoiled an unrelated series i was reading

I liked it.

the most hideous and stupid thing I've ever read in my life.

Nice life you've had.