I've just been reading the titles for this ever since a couple chapters after the "I'm not a guy" reveal at the concert. I was hopeful that reveal (which was what... 35 chapters ago?) would take things in a romantic direction. And then it didn't, despite how much blushing the characters did in those chapters which was entirely some new form of friendship blushing or something.

And then I saw this chapter's title, and was like "did they fuck yet?" and was mildly shocked to learn that they haven't even realized they're in love yet. My god.

I guess at 4 pages a chapter, 59 chapters is like... 8 chapters of some other manga, so I should just continue to temper my expectations until we get into the hundreds I guess?

This is a good point. Everything feels like it's dragging out when you're reading a story week-to-week. But it actually hasn't been that long, all things considered.

I'll agree with the prevailing sentiment, though. This story is starting to give me a familiar unsatisfying vibe to traditional serialized romance manga in the way that it feels like the plot is dragging out and key developments are delayed not necessarily for any artistic purpose, but because of a concern about length.You can drag things out a lot if the stuff that happens in the meantime is interesting. But it really does need a compelling narrative reason and the pacing has been flagging more and more since the reveal.

The story implied by "I just found out my crush is actually a girl, oh shit" was very compelling and it feels like it was replaced by a story about two girls who just really like music bonding. Like, the titular conflict was resolved in Chapter 27. We've now spent more time with that conflict in the rearview mirror than we did with it as the plot. It doesn't feel like a manga called "The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All" anymore, it feels like it shot its load and is now hanging around, carried by the art and the author's obvious love for the series and the unique aesthetic and the bond we made with the characters. Frankly, I'm beginning to lose my patience.

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 3:11AM

To be honest, I find the translation of the final panel to be misleading. It makes it sound like a big reveal, or Koga learning something about herself, when the japanese やはり…大好きだ！feels more like a "aaah... I really do love her!" that is more of a progression of her feelings and less of a big milestone. So it could still totally be a "continuation of her feelings as a friend, only stronger (and in the future, potentially more)" type of deal with that reading.

But I might be overthinking. I do that a lot. Especially for yuri.

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 4:57AM

I've just been reading the titles for this ever since a couple chapters after the "I'm not a guy" reveal at the concert. I was hopeful that reveal (which was what... 35 chapters ago?) would take things in a romantic direction. And then it didn't, despite how much blushing the characters did in those chapters which was entirely some new form of friendship blushing or something.

And then I saw this chapter's title, and was like "did they fuck yet?" and was mildly shocked to learn that they haven't even realized they're in love yet. My god.

I guess at 4 pages a chapter, 59 chapters is like... 8 chapters of some other manga, so I should just continue to temper my expectations until we get into the hundreds I guess?

Worth noting that the Author has said she does not consider this a yuri. While that does not necessarily mean that the leads are not gay, it does imply that their gayness is not the main point of the story. If you're waiting for some sort of yuri "money-shot" you are likely to be dissapointed

To be honest, I find the translation of the final panel to be misleading. It makes it sound like a big reveal, or Koga learning something about herself, when the japanese やはり…大好きだ！feels more like a "aaah... I really do love her!" that is more of a progression of her feelings and less of a big milestone. So it could still totally be a "continuation of her feelings as a friend, only stronger (and in the future, potentially more)" type of deal with that reading.

But I might be overthinking. I do that a lot. Especially for yuri.

Actually nevermind I was underthinking (which happens even more often I suppose). The japanese line could also refer to Aya('s love for music), so it's not necessarily that "aaah... I really do love her!" vibe. Though if she was talking about herself, it most likely would be. I guess TL did their best, I don't know how I would have translated it, it's like two different sentences mixed into one in english - "aaah... I really do love her!" and "I knew it... She really loves it!"

Actually nevermind I was underthinking (which happens even more often I suppose). The japanese line could also refer to Aya('s love for music), so it's not necessarily that "aaah... I really do love her!" vibe. Though if she was talking about herself, it most likely would be. I guess TL did their best, I don't know how I would have translated it, it's like two different sentences mixed into one in english - "aaah... I really do love her!" and "I knew it... She really loves it!"

I feel like a literal translation would be closer to "I knew it... it's love" which is a little vague but Japanese speech tends to be highly contextual. It could be refering to her love for Aya, it could be referring to Aya's love for Rock and Roll, ir it could be her realizing that Aya loves her

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 5:36AM

I don't think you should be so wary. Maybe the author will drag the story further than intended due to its breakout popularity, but I feel the direction is clear with stuff like this: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/the_guy_she_was_interested_in_wasnt_a_guy_at_all_moonlight_magazine_spring_edition#5 and multiple characters romantically shipping the protagonists. And it's mostly the twitter release format making it feel dragged out, when you read it in collected volume form the pacing (relative to page count) is considerably faster than regularly serialized manga.

Everyone's suddenly an expert translator.

Anyway, I erred on the side of caution and kept it as vague as the Japanese is.

I Love Rock and Roll! Yes! My internet is so slow it got stuck at the 2nd page so I had time to guess what she is singing intead of just breezing through the chapter. Hahaha

Ah, a classic, from MY youth. That's telling y'all how old I am.

Yeah. I remember that song from high school, hell the whole album was pretty good the way I remember it. When I was the chapter name my mind went to Van Halen (or Van Haggar as they used to say) 'Çan't This Be Love'. But this works too.

My age: I was in high school when ... the Britney Spears version of this song came out.

Worth noting that the Author has said she does not consider this a yuri. While that does not necessarily mean that the leads are not gay, it does imply that their gayness is not the main point of the story. If you're waiting for some sort of yuri "money-shot" you are likely to be dissapointed.

I did recall something of this sort which is why I asked again. Where did she say this?

At the same time, you don't need a "money-shot" to confirm their romantic interest. Right now it's their "gayness" itself that's potentially in question still. From their actions it seems clear but it's "seemed clear" times before only for a story to go in a different direction or to remain "open to interpretation" (feels icky using that phrase now).

You really only need one conclusive, confirming line and their confirmed gayness would still not need to be the main focus. As of now it's glances and maybe romantic blushes? And maybe this or that. It all "seems" like it's leading to a romantic development but it's been long enough that the confidence in that assumption is starting to wane slightly. We'll see after this chapter I guess.

The story implied by "I just found out my crush is actually a girl, oh shit" was very compelling and it feels like it was replaced by a story about two girls who just really like music bonding.

I can agree with that. Whether that's for better or worse will depend on the reader. I like it! Their story is really interesting regardless and I don't need it to directly focus on a relationship--this journey through music and dealing with their anxieties together is more interesting.

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 7:40AM

Everyone's suddenly an expert translator.

Anyway, I erred on the side of caution and kept it as vague as the Japanese is.

Yeah, I was just thinking out loud. I dont see how to do better than you did.

Still, in an english context, I'm inclined to think "I knew it... it's love!" is about someone's own feelings and not think twice about it. That's a tough one.

Everyone's suddenly an expert translator.

Anyway, I erred on the side of caution and kept it as vague as the Japanese is.

Don't take it too personally, it's just fans overanalyzing things as we are wont to do. A lot of people struggle with the fact that Japanese is such a heavily contextual language, so if somebody has seen "Daisuki da yo!" Translated as "I love you!" or "I love her!" they feel like that's what that means, and they don't realize that the translator did some extra nudging to make the language more explicit, because there's way less unspoken ambiguity in typical English speech. I agree with your call, FWIW. I just hope the author isn't be ambiguous just to queerbait us. ;p

Worth noting that the Author has said she does not consider this a yuri. While that does not necessarily mean that the leads are not gay, it does imply that their gayness is not the main point of the story. If you're waiting for some sort of yuri "money-shot" you are likely to be dissapointed

That's not necessarily what the rejection of the yuri label implies. There's a few different authors of lesbian stories who reject it for constraining what kinds of stories you can tell via genre tropes and audience expectations. Yuri is not all lesbian manga, it's a specific genre about F/F romance with expectations that people might not want attached to their story. There's a lot of josei manga about queer women like Ohana Holoholo that you probably couldn't get away with publishing in Yuri Hime without causing a riot lol.
I can imagine one particular expectation with "yuri" this author might have wanted to avoid is the one about how the story should be a romance that's constantly developing towards a climax of the girls confessing their love and becoming a standard romantic couple. There's been plenty of complaints in this thread about the "pacing" because they want development of the romance instead of development of their friendship. So if an author wants to tell a story about two girls developing an intimate emotional connection and friendship with the possibility of eventual romance, saying the story is "yuri" risks getting frustrated readers who care about the latter development over the former development.

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 11:15AM

Worth noting that the Author has said she does not consider this a yuri. While that does not necessarily mean that the leads are not gay, it does imply that their gayness is not the main point of the story. If you're waiting for some sort of yuri "money-shot" you are likely to be dissapointed.

I did recall something of this sort which is why I asked again. Where did she say this?

In this interview
Sorry, there is no official english translation

https://getnews.jp/archives/3299988

That's not necessarily what the rejection of the yuri label implies. There's a few different authors of lesbian stories who reject it for constraining what kinds of stories you can tell via genre tropes and audience expectations. Yuri is not all lesbian manga, it's a specific genre about F/F romance with expectations that people might not want attached to their story. There's a lot of josei manga about queer women like Ohana Holoholo that you probably couldn't get away with publishing in Yuri Hime without causing a riot lol.
I can imagine one particular expectation with "yuri" this author might have wanted to avoid is the one about how the story should be a romance that's constantly developing towards a climax of the girls confessing their love and becoming a standard romantic couple. There's been plenty of complaints in this thread about the "pacing" because they want development of the romance instead of development of their friendship. So if an author wants to tell a story about two girls developing an intimate emotional connection and friendship with the possibility of eventual romance, saying the story is "yuri" risks getting frustrated readers who care about the latter development over the former development.

This is great and is why I wanted someone to clarify if the author has actually stated that this is intended to be Yuri or not, or if this has been audience assumption. A "story about two girls developing an intimate emotional connection and friendship with maybe the possibility of eventual romance," seems like what this is and the focus on the music and personal anxieties seems like it's real passion. I just think you could make their intentions clear without taking away from the real focus of the story and that doing things like ending chapters in this recent way only teases the audience unnecessarily if you don't intend to follow through. For me, the story works whether they end up romantic or not but it might be good to clarify what kind of story it is earlier on. Right now it's still ambiguous. Thanks for that write up!

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 11:29AM

Thinking about the characters realistically, it would be very difficult to make their sexualities clear when the people in question are likely not clear themselves about their sexualities. As external viewers we can tell these girls gay as hell, but they're insecure teenagers. Gay teens rarely actually get romance irl, they might get an awkward sexual experience that is hopefully not traumatizing and then only revisit the topic in college. Heteronormative society is a hell of an obstacle, especially for a child with no control over her own life in most ways.

Thinking about the characters realistically, it would be very difficult to make their sexualities clear when the people in question are likely not clear themselves about their sexualities. As external viewers we can tell these girls gay as hell, but they're insecure teenagers. Gay teens rarely actually get romance irl, they might get an awkward sexual experience that is hopefully not traumatizing and then only revisit the topic in college. Heteronormative society is a hell of an obstacle, especially for a child with no control over her own life in most ways.

Yeah, I fixed that. Sexualities isn't what I meant but I guess I changed it too late. Sorry for that mixup. I was talking more about the kind of story this will be. You can tip the audience off one way or the other in various ways and I feel this one has left itself ambiguous and that causes the slowly growing, worried reactions. This could all change very soon, though. It's still early in the story.

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 11:40AM

I still think Mitsuki's line being about Aya's love for rock/music makes zero sense. The one thing Mitsuki know for sure about Aya since the very first chapter is that she loves rock and music as much as she does.

That's essentially what got them close to begin with and what fixed the big misundertanding in the first place.

last edited at Sep 25, 2023 1:36PM

It would be handy to have very clear tags for “this is definitely yuri” and “I don’t know man, maybe don’t engage unless you’re okay with ambiguity.” Personally, I’m relatively okay with getting my hopes up and then having my heart broken. But I think that depends on where you are in life and what you’ve got going on.

I’d be okay if Mitsuki and Aya turned out to be “super best friends.” XD

I still think Mitsuki's line being about Aya's love for rock/music makes zero sense. The one thing Mitsuki know for sure about Aya since the very first chapter is that she loves rock and music as much as she does.

I've also never seen any romance do that sorta "gotcha!" to the audience. Stupid misunderstandings, drunk amnesia, last-minute-cold-feet, all sorts of rubbish however plausible or not plausible, but don't think I ever saw any sort of serious author just go for a straight up troll of the audience.

So frankly don't really get the worry ^^;

Luh paasa lang pala si author

It would be handy to have very clear tags for “this is definitely yuri” and “I don’t know man, maybe don’t engage unless you’re okay with ambiguity.” Personally, I’m relatively okay with getting my hopes up and then having my heart broken. But I think that depends on where you are in life and what you’ve got going on.

I’d be okay if Mitsuki and Aya turned out to be “super best friends.” XD

This is basically what the "Yuri" and "Subtext" tags are for.

It would be handy to have very clear tags for “this is definitely yuri” and “I don’t know man, maybe don’t engage unless you’re okay with ambiguity.” Personally, I’m relatively okay with getting my hopes up and then having my heart broken. But I think that depends on where you are in life and what you’ve got going on.

I’d be okay if Mitsuki and Aya turned out to be “super best friends.” XD

This is basically what the "Yuri" and "Subtext" tags are for.

You're right. And YET we still very often have heartache and yelling in the forums. But I guess it's all part of the fun of the "will they or won't they" tension. What is a good manga without some groaning and sighing in the forums?

It would be handy to have very clear tags for “this is definitely yuri” and “I don’t know man, maybe don’t engage unless you’re okay with ambiguity.” Personally, I’m relatively okay with getting my hopes up and then having my heart broken. But I think that depends on where you are in life and what you’ve got going on.

I’d be okay if Mitsuki and Aya turned out to be “super best friends.” XD

This is basically what the "Yuri" and "Subtext" tags are for.

You're right. And YET we still very often have heartache and yelling in the forums. But I guess it's all part of the fun of the "will they or won't they" tension. What is a good manga without some groaning and sighing in the forums?

Well, part of it comes down to people who have just been repeatedly burned by media queerbaiting LGBT audiences being slow to trust an obvious narrative. This is exacerbated when the author doesn't want to be put in a box labeled "Yuri" because while to some people "Yuri" means "two girls in an explicitly romantic relationship" others take it as "a specific romance drama laden with certain tropes and expectations."

And in my case, I actually have relatively little doubt that this series will end up explicitly romantic, but I worry that this moment specifically might be a tease, and I would seriously hate that.

Ge maniniwala bako o hindi