What is the Japanese word (or words?) being translated as 'cute'?

Woo-hoo Shion character growth! And more Shion x Mona moments! Great chapter

... I feel like the author went too hard to have some symbolism on this one. A pair that was essentially slacking off getting first place in the qualis just because one of them decided to have fun feels too much to me like "the power of love" pulled straight out the ass. I feel bad for all these other pairs that worked hard but had to lose because they aren't secondary protagonists of the manga.

last edited at Jan 29, 2023 7:38AM

Wonderful chapter all around. Shion's fire and passion were finally lit once more, and I'm interested in seeing if this impacts her dynamic with Mona and how. Will we get a side ship? Methinks so.

Seeing the continuous development of the dynamic between Kiki and Michiru is also great. I think Michiru came to some big realization at the end there, and I'm excited to see what exactly it is and how it plays out. I'm betting it's something related to love. Not necessarily romantic, but hopefully so.

The fact that there's actually some sort of rivalry developing between the former pair and the latter is also really exciting. I'm a big fan of the fact that it is Kiki who made Shion remember and reignite her passion. Really looking forward to what comes next, hopefully some romance-related developments.

Also, my keyboard doesn't have the letters W, A, Q, and Z due to my severe drinking problems and this comment was hell to write.

...A pair that was essentially slacking off...

Pretty certain that at this point, they haven't slacked off in a good while, and both have been practicing pretty seriously. To me, it feels like both have earned it, especially now with Shion's fire reignited.

last edited at Jan 29, 2023 7:52AM

The freaking credit page is golden LOL meanwhile Michiru has an awakening of "Ooh...This must be..." which I really like.

Shion has such an overcomplicated reason to try or to even be good I can't even try to understand her anymore.. you do you, girl... I guess

last edited at Jan 29, 2023 8:24AM

The way those characters have fairly simple motives and yet complex reactions to it, constantly shifting and not knowing what to do, is wonderful. It really captures that feeling of not knowing what you want, hesitating to take the next step.

I'm happy if Shion can find her footing, too. Her complex relation to Kiki has hidden for a long time the fact that she also loves dancing, and she's finally cracking her shell. While she might be distressed about getting first place, I think it shows that her efforts to continue dancing didn't just give her an excuse to stay close to Kiki, they also made her grow as a person and as a dancer.

I try very hard to read this one. But as a student of dancing and choreography, I find the lack of authenticity difficult. Someone is not doing the right job, either the mangaka, or the editor, or both. The dances are wrong. Yes, I know Quadrilles (I hate it), Viennese Waltz and Tango (mostly box, but yes, I have taken argentine tango lessons), all mentioned in the manga. I still find it odd to have a competition on quadrilles. This is a four couple dance. And yes, sorry to say, very boring. But in its purest form, you can only dance tip toe like ballet, so if you know ballet, you have a natural advantage. You spend more energy chatting and gossiping then the actual dancing part. It came from contra dances, if the mangaka meant contra dances, then at least it makes more sense. But contra dances are anything but element. They are both social dances. Another aspect is you do not really memorize the dance, but only know the choreography, this is because both are "called", not programmed. So at least couples can compete each other (how do you compete between four couples are beyond my understanding, since you change partner in the middle of the dance often, so essentially you have FOUR partners).

Tango in its purest form are danced by two men, alternating between lead and follow, with the "couple" actually fighting against each other. Great for a gay couple. When it turned into heterosexual couple, it lost its original flair and intensity, ie. man as lead and woman as follow. And then we have the box tango (yuck).

As it is, this manga has the exact feeling of one of those sports shoujo manga/anime, like tennis or volleyball.
Why can't the editor or/and go to a University and spend half a semester studying choreography, and also ask a dance professor from the theater and dance (combined usually) department? what is the right way to dance?
Oh, if you are chosen as solo, what are you supposed to do? simple duple or compound triple pattern???
It is a manga, so at the end of the day, is just a creation from an artist. There are plenty of methods to compete. Just do not choose a social dance that requires constant change of partners. Oh yes, draw more German Windows please.

Cute.

I try very hard to read this one. But as a student of dancing and choreography, I find the lack of authenticity difficult.

I really do take the point that there’s a certain level of accuracy required in depicting specialized activities like sports, games, the arts, etc. But (and again, I’m not arguing against your perfectly reasonable points) there’s a balance to made between accurate detail and storytelling aimed at non-specialists.

I recall reading two different series about video gaming, one that received tons of hostile comments from die-hard gamers about how “unrealistic” it was (“a newbie could never get to that level in that short a time,” something about the look of the consoles, etc., etc.) and the other with lots of approving remarks about the level of detail.

But to a reader with a limited interest in/experience with hardcore gaming, the first one had appealing characters, a plausible conflict, and well-paced scenes, while the realistic one was filled with jargon and bogged down by tedious exposition about the minutia of gaming hardware.

I admit it—I’ve never come across a series that concerned some special activity that I was seriously into, so if I like the story in general I tend to be content with understanding the game, competition, or whatever on a basic “it turned out good for the protagonist/bad for the protagonist” level. I’m sure it’s frustrating for people with real specialist knowledge, though.

^
I once asked friends.. in the party why they would prefer playing basketball videos game to actually play the game as there is a hoop outside of the porch. They replied were "I do not want to get hurt".

Also, back to the manga, the whole idea is that a tall girl cannot be a follower. As a dancer, I can tell you that it is completely not true. I have done the lead with partners who are much more bigger than me, and heavier than me more than twice. It is just a matter of adjustment, and strength, If I can "force" the follower to follow, or force the leader to follow, you just need to have some strength training (I can lift the person who is more than twice my weight and a foot taller than me, in a discreet way), and memorize both lead and follow's moves. In the worst case scenario I have picked up literally the person from the center of the ballroom to gracefully put her back to a chair against the wall, without anyone noticing. If fact, the person did not even know why her feet were "dragging".
I generally read this manga in a "take a peak" way. If the first couple of pages are about the story, then I will read it. If it is not and only about dancing, I do not read it. The plot makes it illogical to me.

But then it is a manga. It really is an editor's job to make sure there is some degree of authenticity. This is as much truth as those soror system school which I have never seen in real life, yet it is a very popular setting for manga. I am currently following two of these mangas. But at least I was in a school with a house system, so I can understand somewhat about a soror or frater system.

Ooo OOO! Is she catching feelings??

Tango in its purest form are danced by two men, alternating between lead and follow, with the "couple" actually fighting against each other.

Not that this has anything to do with what we would expect Japanese school children to be dancing, so if your critique is about realism you've wandered rather far afield.

... I feel like the author went too hard to have some symbolism on this one. A pair that was essentially slacking off getting first place in the qualis just because one of them decided to have fun feels too much to me like "the power of love" pulled straight out the ass. I feel bad for all these other pairs that worked hard but had to lose because they aren't secondary protagonists of the manga.

The point is that Shion is a genuinely talented dancer, it's just nobody knew until now because she was content to hide behind Kiki's shadow.

Regarding the realism or lack thereof, I'm not going to pretend like I know anything about formal dance, but I also suspect the type of dance taught to Western adults is probably much different than what it done for Japanese teenagers, even if some of the terms are the same.

The chapter felt kind of clumsy, but I do like that the balance shifted a little. I like that Michiru tried to run away, but then stopped a second later. I feel like the same thing has happened before.

last edited at Jan 29, 2023 4:49PM

This was symbolic of something, but I am not smart enough to get it beyond the obvious.

Shion's true motivations and what they are continue to vex me, as ever.

Also, back to the manga, the whole idea is that a tall girl cannot be a follower.

It's not, though. The whole idea is that people will say "The other way around is the normal way, and therefore easier", pressuring anxious teen MCs to suppress their own desires and conform.

This was symbolic of something, but I am not smart enough to get it beyond the obvious.

Shion's true motivations and what they are continue to vex me, as ever.

She loves Kiki but is too Emo to act on it

Is this still being translated?

c16 ... it's happening ... it's finally happening ... AAAAAAAAAaaaaaa!!!

Oh no the gay typhoon came over to give Michiru the gay fever and turned her gay for senpai

"The storm passed in the night, and the world it left behind was completely different..."

I love this line. Honestly, I felt like this chapter was a bit messier than the previous ones were; like it tried to cover a bit too much in its limited span. But fuck that shit, here we go folks! I really like that she connects the dots and doesn't run away from it. It may be me reading too deeply into it, but her expression shifts in page 452 from a troubled one to one that has come to realize something, of course, but also one that is almost excited. Really looking forward to seeing how things unfold especially from Kiki's side.

Also the dream sequence really reminded me of the sequence in Tsurezure Biyori, though a bit less trippy, and I was hoping it'd end similarly, but no complaints here.

Nothing like a typhoon to unearth those hidden yuri feelings.
Still though, senpai's sister story was really sad.
I don't want that bad end.

I like how natural her realization felt.

Wow.. Kiki is popular!

This is such a slow burn, but it's finally beginning to burn real bright

"The storm passed in the night, and the world it left behind was completely different..."

I love this line.

Me too.

I really liked this chapter.