Aoi actually seems to have had a reason to fall in love with Kaede though. This whole saga makes me kind of disappointed at the lack of chemistry between our actual MC and Kaede.

Also, Kaede was so harsh. Ouch. May as well have slapped her in the face and said "how could you ever have said something like that seriously."

I really hate Aoi, but holy crap Kae's rejection felt awful...
And now we know how Aoi became such a player.

Aoi actually seems to have had a reason to fall in love with Kaede though. This whole saga makes me kind of disappointed at the lack of chemistry between our actual MC and Kaede.

Also, Kaede was so harsh. Ouch. May as well have slapped her in the face and said "how could you ever have said something like that seriously."

Yeah, I feel for Aoi. And Kaede did the same thing to Nanami. Wonder what Nanami will think now knowing it's happened before exactly as it happened to her, and with someone who was with Kaede just as long (if not longer), seemed closer to her and did the same things for Kaede that she's been doing. It's gotta be an important crossroads for her now--do you confront Kae again and make her at least be clear with her rejection (and stop with this pretending not to hear thing) or do you just move on?

I can also understand Kaede's reasoning. I'm assuming she's afraid a real rejection will end important relationships but she gave her assistant a better rejection than she's given both of these more important women in her life--which likely says something about Nanami and Aoi's importance to her but still.

All in all, this was great info for Nanami because it should hopefully clear up any confusion about whether Kaede actually heard her when she confessed. Nanami was in a bit of denial about that (while it seems Aoi understood what had happened more clearly).

"what play is that from anyway" has got to be the worst response to a confession imaginable lmao

Yeah it was so terrible and clearly a panicked response, I'm amazed she thought she played that one off.

last edited at Feb 19, 2023 7:58AM

Aoi is clearly not a great person, but she's now unironically my favorite character in this story (sorry, Louko, you're still a national treasure). And yes, I know I questioned bringing her back into the spotlight again earlier, and I am still not sure it did much for the overall story, but as a character and mood piece, her flashback is a reading pleasure... Funny how that works. :-)

last edited at Feb 19, 2023 9:59AM

The poor guys fantasizing there while she's kissing a girl instead... :D

kaede the indirect communication confession-rejector, rip all her serious suitors lol

i look forward to this series updating every few days and i’m gonna be sad once it’s completed. gonna have to find some new stuff to wait for while i (embarrassingly frequently) refresh the updates page. serious props to the scanlators for keeping up the pace for the past few months.

What the fox?
She has experience with woman before and could be a gold start
but trash faceless man, eak

Gotta say I thought the Kaede spinning like her obi was being pulled was kind of hilarious/adorable. Sad for Aoi, but at the same time it's one of those little things that makes me get why all these girls are falling for this total dork.

Aoi is clearly not a great person, but she's now unironically my favorite character in this story.

I feel you.

God damn, Kaede. Absolutely stone cold.

Kaede can be really mean sometimes lol. She did exactly the same with the MC

And yes, I know I questioned bringing her back into the spotlight again earlier, and I am still not sure it did much for the overall story, but as a character and mood piece, her flashback is a reading pleasure... Funny how that works. :-)

Just goes to show you can't doubt my dog Osawa Yayoi, lol. trust the process!

Do we think ch29 page 31 is a callback to ch15.5? :eyes:

Gotta say I thought the Kaede spinning like her obi was being pulled was kind of hilarious/adorable. Sad for Aoi, but at the same time it's one of those little things that makes me get why all these girls are falling for this total dork.

It seems like she only did the spin after seeing Aoi's serious face. That's less dork, more dark lol

Do we think ch29 page 31 is a callback to ch15.5? :eyes:

Good catch, I was wondering what Aoi was referring to when she said that.

Why do I like Aoi's backstory more than the main story, I wonder.

I still hate it when a yuri woman gives up the life and marries a man. Please kick that jerk to the curb and find yourself a nice girl to settle down with Aoi.

I hope the author has a very well thought reason for Kaede to reject both Aoi and Koyuki and fall for Nanami (if she does), for a manga so well written the reason can't be just "she is different". I'm guessing the next arc we go in after the wedding will be on why Kaede acts the way she does towards relationships, very excited for it \o/

I always feel very... odd when I see a plotline where a woman settles for marrying a man after having been rejected or the like. I could understand if she genuinely loved him, bisexual people exist after all, but I don't see that being the case here... Feels like it reinforces the idea that you absolutely need someone else to be happy, even if they aren't someone you love, and that is just... sad.

That convo with Aoi makes it sound like Nanami will back off and give Kaede space instead of continuing to pursue her.

So sad to feel a good chemistry between two characters that won't have a relationship, rip Aoi x Nanami ship. Honestly, why do they keep falling for Kaede?? She's such a Mary Sue, goddammit. If I were smater, I'd drop this.

I always feel very... odd when I see a plotline where a woman settles for marrying a man after having been rejected or the like. I could understand if she genuinely loved him, bisexual people exist after all, but I don't see that being the case here... Feels like it reinforces the idea that you absolutely need someone else to be happy, even if they aren't someone you love, and that is just... sad.

Aoi wasn't just rejected. She had lost hope after getting burned with Kaede and then finding another girl she liked was into Kaede as well. She was even disappointed in her own motivations as well. Not because she couldn't get a girl in bed with her, she was quite capable of doing that and good at spotting girls who liked her. But for whatever reason, none of them were either truly available or she wasn't really into them.

It didn't seem to be about men or anything, she's just tired. Her describing how most of her relationships are shallow and convenient was pretty telling. Japan has oodles of women who married someone who was maybe sort of ok, but not exactly their heart-throb. Marriages come with improved public image and legal conveniences as well. Some polls I've seen indicated many women were profoundly unhappy with these marriages as well in their 40's and 50's.

There are also women who wanted a couple of children, without really liking the father candidate they had at hand. It was just that they had to deal with him, because single parenting can be bit hellish in Japan, especially in the past. You'd get dirty looks because people would think you have intolerable personality or some other severe flaw to have gone through a divorce while already having had children.

I think she's a decent fictional version of how that happens to a hopeful 20-something. It's sort of dramatic, but also not at all. Depressingly banal might be a good way to describe it. Just being worn down with the world and other people, and lying down under some tree completely exhausted. It's very, very common. Everyone either is one, or knows few like her.

last edited at Feb 21, 2023 2:02AM

Imagine the pain of being Aoi,
Losing Kaede and then losing Nanami to Kaede.

Aoi x Nanami made so much sense

Why do I like Aoi's backstory more than the main story, I wonder.

Because Aoi's story is a well-paced, right-to-the-point heartbreak. The main story meanders a lot, while Aoi's flashback delivers a gut punch of intense melancholy that makes the main story feel like an overly long setup for it. Where the main story feels like romcom fantasy at times, these 2.5 chapters are incredibly raw, emotionally intense, and (at least to me) highly relatable -- and that's what ultimately counts in good storytelling.

That was a much more helpful discussion than expected.

Honestly, why do they keep falling for Kaede?? She's such a Mary Sue, goddammit.

Hahaha, no. She's way too much of a slob to qualify as anything even close to a Mary Sue.