Huh... Also this (12) chapter reminded me, didn't Michi have like a pentagram or some kind of symbol on her neck? Or was that a different manga? I remember her leaving the school and we saw some kind of occultic symbol on her neck. Was that used in some way already and I'm just a dumdum for not remembering it right?

The mark makes it so that Aizawa can leave the classroom when Michi is inside of the school premises

Now there's some revelations I did not see coming... Looks like Michi and Aizawa were at the very east friends before Aizawa's death, likely went to the festival together, and it's very likely that Michi actually knows what happened to Aizawa, but has completely blocked the memory.

I think it's important to note that Senpai drew Micchi and Aizawa holding hands as well as saying that its nice to see girls "all over each other" so that strongly indicates that something romantic was going on between them at the festival.

However I agree with what others have said that Aizawa's behaviour from the beginning of the manga does not indicate any particular romantic interest or even just special attention towards Micchi. I wonder if that means that Aizawa too has suffered some sort of amnesia?

@fauce: Japanese school year starts in early Spring so your analysis/facts sheet has holes :/
As an explanation of what I mean, you tie the festival event to why Michi lost her friends between middle and high school, but by the time the festival occurred, she had been in high school for at least a few months.

last edited at Aug 11, 2023 6:01AM

Good God what a chapter! With how Dorothy-sensei is drawing connections between things, I wouldn't be surprised to learn
A) the ghost little girl heard crying at the beginning of the chapter was the same one that Michi saw as a child
B) The hand that grabbed senpai's ankle on the mountain was the same that grabbed Michi's in the storage shed

That little ghost girl was missing her eyes. The storage shed ghost had way too many eyes. When the image of Aizawa got corrupted when Michi called out to her, her eyes have been particularly separated from her face, one pulled to the top right and the other to the bottom left. Michi and senpai can both see ghosts and share a special fuzzy eye design nobody else has. There's definitely something very specific in the plot going on wrt eyes and/or eyeballs. I would guess the too many eyes ghost and not enough eyes ghost are directly related.

last edited at Aug 11, 2023 8:32AM

Anyway the world is well and truly unfair. This manga deserves a better publication than Comic Valkyrie, what the hell

I really like the expressions in this manga. If it has a good ending, I'll definitely collect physical copies. Please be a happy ending yuri gods.

Maybe Aizawa-san is a bit possessed by that kid huh.

last edited at Aug 11, 2023 11:44AM

This manga is impressing me so much. It started so innocently and now it all keeps coming together.
[...]

@BLAMEY that was an amazing post!!! Your analysis of the plot is packed full with good information and I feel like I have now a much better understanding of what's going on. Thanks for sharing all of this with us!

last edited at Aug 11, 2023 12:21PM

If you look carefully at the Perfect Yellow front page you'll see that among the verdure that surrounds Aizawa there are other things, hidden among the leaves, mostly plushies—bear plushies, rabbit plushies, and even a Michi-chan plushie.
And also this barely-concealed drawing:

I really don't know at all what the hell this is. Any ideas?

Anyway the world is well and truly unfair. This manga deserves a better publication than Comic Valkyrie, what the hell

What's wrong with Comic Valkyrie? I know it's not a high class magazine but afaik they're a common avenue for yuri mangaka who otherwise wouldn't get published to get paid. Odoro Dorothy was just posting comics on Pixiv and twitter before this.

Anyway the world is well and truly unfair. This manga deserves a better publication than Comic Valkyrie, what the hell

What's wrong with Comic Valkyrie? I know it's not a high class magazine but afaik they're a common avenue for yuri mangaka who otherwise wouldn't get published to get paid. Odoro Dorothy was just posting comics on Pixiv and twitter before this.

If it was published in Yuri Hime I'd have a reason to subscribe again, more or less. lol

If you look at Sayaka's drawing of Michi and Aizawa you could see the mark or charm at Chapter 6 above them..

Yeah. And there's also that it wasn't completely harmless, since we see that something grabbed senpai's leg, left a noticeable hand print and likely made her fall there too.

True, I guess at this point I just mentally file Sayaka as completely impervious to ghosts. Plus it got her a girlfriend.

This manga has got me COOKING.

Here's what we know:

Good writeup. I'd forgotten we had a hard date for Aizawa's death.
I really should reread at some point, but I'm bad at looking at my older work.

I assumed the pentagram only appeared on Michi's neck after the dream and wasn't there all along, transferring Aizawa from the desk to Michi, but I don't think we have proof. Michi hasn't even checked the desk yet to see if that mark disappeared. Another thing I'm wondering is if Aizawa herself recognizes what the mark is for and what rules bind her, or if she's totally clueless.

That little ghost girl was missing her eyes. The storage shed ghost had way too many eyes. When the image of Aizawa got corrupted when Michi called out to her, her eyes have been particularly separated from her face, one pulled to the top right and the other to the bottom left. Michi and senpai can both see ghosts and share a special fuzzy eye design nobody else has. There's definitely something very specific in the plot going on wrt eyes and/or eyeballs. I would guess the too many eyes ghost and not enough eyes ghost are directly related.

I'm not sure if those ghosts were particularly important or just one-offs. There's also the long-mouthed ghost at school and whatever that guy Sayaka saw was. Sight is definitely a big theme that keeps coming up though.

I also get the impression there's a more major incident Michi's not talking about. Chapter 1 shows a glimpse of something with a bunch of arms, and she's afraid of getting possessed. Also whatever approached her at the festival looks like something new. There could be some kind of gathering of spirits going on, considering Sayaka's mentioned seeing more of them lately, but whatever's at the top of the mountain is probably on another level from anything we've seen.

If you look carefully at the Perfect Yellow front page you'll see that among the verdure that surrounds Aizawa there are other things, hidden among the leaves, mostly plushies—bear plushies, rabbit plushies, and even a Michi-chan plushie.

I think they might be the other 3 members of De:Lphinus actually: Theia in the top left, Non in the middle right, and a portrait of Ange beneath her. Just going by the hairstyles. I could be wrong, but it would also fit the idol theme. When volume 2 is out we'll have a clearer image, though I doubt it'll show much more.

On a tangent I'm kinda shocked the idols still haven't made a real debut as characters yet. We saw some behind the scenes hints in the first few chapters, but they've only made background appearances ever since. Then again they just plain didn't exist in the original twitter version (which only went about as far as chapter 5). Still, Dorothy's drawn more side art of them on twitter since the serialization started than they've gotten in the manga itself.

I'll admit I have an unreasonable fixation on the mystery of Theia: she's often shown paired with Aizawa, had strong feelings towards Aizawa's death, deliberately cameos in practically every chapter, had a damn pentagram randomly inserted into one of her speech bubbles—there's got to be something there. I'll eat my translator hat if she doesn't do something in volume 3. But maybe that's waiting until Aizawa gets unbound from school.

I am loving both the story and the various analyses and theories in the comments. I'm incredibly impressed with the author's ability to weave new elements into the story and interweave already existing elements with either the newly introduced ones or with one another; everything has a meaning, and foreshadowing is ubiquitous in a way that I feel is simply very skillful.

Sadly I do not have one of my own at the moment, a combination of exhaustion and lack of proper attention primarily, but there is one thing I particularly chew on every time I read a chapter, and that is the question of how far back do Aizawa and Michi go. Some comments have mentioned that Aizawa's behavior, in the beginning, doesn't necessarily suggest she had a particular interest in Michi, but I'm inclined to think that she had and that showing her fool around was either a misdirection or just her fooling around in her relatively newfound ghost form.

In any case, I'm very much looking forward to seeing more and learning more. Also Michi's getting hit with that big gay; good.

Huh... Also this (12) chapter reminded me, didn't Michi have like a pentagram or some kind of symbol on her neck? Or was that a different manga? I remember her leaving the school and we saw some kind of occultic symbol on her neck. Was that used in some way already and I'm just a dumdum for not remembering it right?

The mark makes it so that Aizawa can leave the classroom when Michi is inside of the school premises

Thanks! I completely forgot about that part

THE PLOT THICCEN

I really was not expecting that, the author sure is great. I was getting all giddy at the prospect of seeing Michi and Ai interact. But I am not against some "dark" moments to come around too, I actually really am fond of those. It makes it hard to wait for the next chapter though !!

I really am amazed at how every little panels in this manga are awesome. They make me laugh so hard and smile.

Just caught up, and I probably have more to say, but for now just commenting on how I love the emotional whiplash this manga pulls off. Drama melts into comedy, and then BAM NIGHTMARE FUEL reminder this is still very much a ghost story. Great stuff.

If we go by Japanese myth, ghosts can fuck all right. They'll come out of their graves at night, pick you up, take you someplace private and bang your brains out! And if you both liked it, you can keep seeing each other! Wheee!

Of course one morning the city guard will find in a ditch, on some random street, your dead body hugging a skull and some old bones. Oh well -- nobody's perfect, as Joe E. Brown said.

I always thought "Daphne" would have no choice but to marry him after that reply. I mean, Osgood Fielding demolished "her" in that discussion—and after the last reply, "she" was left speechless and with no arguments left!

...Wut?

last edited at Oct 10, 2023 1:24AM

Rereading the series, and a few mysterious reactions stuck out to me:
1) In chapter 8, when Honda sees Michi pinned under the shelf in the gym storage shed, she does not shout "Michy!" as you'd expect, she shouts Michi's last name, "Kurotori!". She's right back to calling her Michy again the next panel, as she helps Kasumi pick the shelf up. What's up with that? Given that was a reflexive shout in panic compared to everything else, it makes me wonder if her apparent closeness to Michi something that she's forcing to some degree.
2) When Senpai arrives at the nurse's office afterwards, Michi and the possessed Kasumi are behind a curtain, with Honda on the other side. What's she doing out there, separated from the others? And when Senpai tells her to go find the nurse, she's got sweatdrops and seems really nervous. It's just kinda weird. Why was she still hanging out in the nurse's office but not with Michi and Kasumi? Why was she scared of Senpai?
3) In chapter 10, when Aizawa helps Senpai find the sulking Michi in the stairwell, Michi is shocked to see Senpai talking to Aizawa as if she's normal- and I am too, considering this scene has Aizawa floating around (it's even got a "float..." sound effect to emphasize it. And the "weird guy" she threw ink at in the previous chapter's flashback is obviously inhuman as well, given his shape: Does Senpai just think it's totally normal for some people to fly or have wounds that never heal forever on their bodies or have monstrous shapes?
4) In that same conversation, Senpai waves to Michi, who plays dumb and says "maybe it's a ghost then I dunno lol". Senpai laughs it off, who would believe in ghosts at their age? And Aizawa breaths a sigh of relief for some reason. Why was Aizawa relieved? Did she want Senpai to think she's a normal living student? If so, why'd she float in front of her lol.

Does Senpai just think it's totally normal for some people to fly or have wounds that never heal forever on their bodies or have monstrous shapes?

I mean, if you've always seen such "people" around you, it would be normal for you...

Does Senpai just think it's totally normal for some people to fly or have wounds that never heal forever on their bodies or have monstrous shapes?

I mean, if you've always seen such "people" around you, it would be normal for you...

But then why does she react negatively to some of them, throwing ink at the figure from the first day of school and commenting later that a bunch of "weird people" are around lately? She seems to categorize people into two categories, and I'm wondering what her criteria are where looking misshapen makes someone weird but flying does not.

last edited at Oct 11, 2023 2:55AM

Aizawa-san's been on a 2 month hiatus now; it's not that I've fallen behind. Nothing to be concerned about either, just a standard volume break. Apparently chapter 13 is done but just missed the October deadline. Dorothy said she's "excited/scared" to see everyone's reactions to it.

Also volume 2 is on November 8th. Back cover is a super cute Kasumi getting princess carried by Sayaka.

Rereading the series, and a few mysterious reactions stuck out to me:
1) In chapter 8, when Honda sees Michi pinned under the shelf in the gym storage shed, she does not shout "Michy!" as you'd expect, she shouts Michi's last name, "Kurotori!". She's right back to calling her Michy again the next panel, as she helps Kasumi pick the shelf up. What's up with that? Given that was a reflexive shout in panic compared to everything else, it makes me wonder if her apparent closeness to Michi something that she's forcing to some degree.

I think Reona just drops her silliness when things get serious. Though there's room to suspect she'd get a subplot later related to why she's hanging out with the unpopular kids. I think we are due for a Reona arc soon since she's the best gateway into De:Lphinus.

2) When Senpai arrives at the nurse's office afterwards, Michi and the possessed Kasumi are behind a curtain, with Honda on the other side. What's she doing out there, separated from the others? And when Senpai tells her to go find the nurse, she's got sweatdrops and seems really nervous. It's just kinda weird. Why was she still hanging out in the nurse's office but not with Michi and Kasumi? Why was she scared of Senpai?

She knew about Sayaka's reputation as an unpredictable weirdo so didn't want to go near her. But since she's the one who told the teachers, she was probably stuck explaining to Sayaka (since she helps the nurse) and Aizawa wouldn't leave Michi's side.

3) In chapter 10, when Aizawa helps Senpai find the sulking Michi in the stairwell, Michi is shocked to see Senpai talking to Aizawa as if she's normal- and I am too, considering this scene has Aizawa floating around (it's even got a "float..." sound effect to emphasize it. And the "weird guy" she threw ink at in the previous chapter's flashback is obviously inhuman as well, given his shape: Does Senpai just think it's totally normal for some people to fly or have wounds that never heal forever on their bodies or have monstrous shapes?

I don't like attributing everything to memory loss or curses, but since they're in play, it's possible Sayaka is also cursed to somehow not recognize ghosts. Or there's the line of thinking that Sayaka is actually the special one for not triggering Aizawa's ghostliness. I wouldn't bet on it—I think it's extremely likely she's just a big gay dummy—but until we know what kind of ghost Aizawa is or more about ghosts in general it's a possibility Michi isn't the unique one getting spooked by her.

Also I'm not sure how literal the floating is. It's a consistent SFX Aizawa gets but it could be more of a metaphorical thing with her being lighter than a physical body. Normally she's running around on the ground except in gag panels where she might come out of top frame or something.

4) In that same conversation, Senpai waves to Michi, who plays dumb and says "maybe it's a ghost then I dunno lol". Senpai laughs it off, who would believe in ghosts at their age? And Aizawa breaths a sigh of relief for some reason. Why was Aizawa relieved? Did she want Senpai to think she's a normal living student? If so, why'd she float in front of her lol.

Sayaka had just asked if Michi if she was ignoring Aizawa because they were fighting, so I imagine that's what she was sighing in relief at. Which is interesting if we assume Aizawa hasn't lost her memories, doesn't know that Michi has, and thinks Michi might be mad at her for something.

4) In that same conversation, Senpai waves to Michi, who plays dumb and says "maybe it's a ghost then I dunno lol". Senpai laughs it off, who would believe in ghosts at their age? And Aizawa breaths a sigh of relief for some reason. Why was Aizawa relieved? Did she want Senpai to think she's a normal living student? If so, why'd she float in front of her lol.

Sayaka had just asked if Michi if she was ignoring Aizawa because they were fighting, so I imagine that's what she was sighing in relief at. Which is interesting if we assume Aizawa hasn't lost her memories, doesn't know that Michi has, and thinks Michi might be mad at her for something.

... Wait wouldn't that require Aizawa to think Michi sees her? Because if she thinks Michi can't, as she's trying to pretend in the scene, then she'd have to idea who Senpai was referring to with her question about fighting. She doesn't mention Aizawa's name, and actually would have no way to know it unless Aizawa secretly talked to her where we didn't see it. Honestly, considering that Michi's friends have noticed her "starring into space" it would be more weird if Aizawa DIDN'T think Michi could see her.
Actually that reminds me, in the chapter where Michi visits Aizawa in child form in her sleep, Aizawa instantly reacts to seeing her real body the next day, diving in for a hug. She clearly perceives both forms of Michi as the same person. That feels interesting to me but idk what if anything it implies lol. Maybe Michi saw herself as a child in the dream but Aizawa didn't, or maybe it'll turn out they knew each other as kids.

last edited at Oct 13, 2023 9:57AM

KITOU AKARIIIIIIIII

The distorted images are always quite the sight...