Ch2 kinda just felt like a rehash of ch1 but with even more sadism energy coming from Ami. I hope this manga doesn't devolve into each chapter being "I AM JEALOUS BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LIKE ME LIKE I LOVE HER" "THAT IS TRUE BUT I WANT TO MAKE YOU HURT" "OH. I LOVE YOU ANYWAY"

Manga are made by Japanese people for Japanese people.

Deal with it.

Unnecessary, and an absolutely terrible response to mild criticism lol

So she's just trolling her. To see her various reactions.

I guess my main reaction to this is — they are so YOUNG. They are little baby high schoolers. Kids that age do incredibly stupid stuff sometimes. Some high schoolers have almost zero self awareness. So I feel like that’s Ami here, and also Rei in her own way. Ami is wrapped up in her own life so she can’t actually see things from Rei’s point of view. That’s why I would hesitate to call this sadistic or abusive per se… it’s more like… stupidity?

On Rei’s end, she’s so wrapped up in this crush, I kind of wonder how much she’s got her whole identity riding on social and romantic acceptance.

In general, not a good scene, but mostly because these are emotionally immature teenagers.

I agree, it makes sense because they're kids but wow. They're both so annoying lol

Needy Girlfriend x Narcissist? Or something like that. At least Ami straight up admitted to be a sadist, so now Rei doesn't have to wonder about the hot-and-cold treatment. It's kinda maybe consensual if you squint!

But seriously, instead of whining and crying in public about how Ami's not all over her at school after two days of dating she could've just... invited her on an actual date like a normal person. Then again, Ami apparently liked this better, so.

Yeah, they're freaks. This should be a fun ride.

Omg...Rei, flee ! It's a trap !

I like sadists in fiction a lot of the time. They at least always keep things interesting, even when it becomes messy as hell.

Rei, grow a back bone

Uggh, this makes me remember High School and the sucky relationships my friends had.

And the embarrassing crushes.

So the art is very cute at a surface level, and obviously there's a setup here for lots of mischief, but is anyone else getting Kitakawa/Manio vibes? Like there's something that could be potentially even darker beneath the surface?

This manga is twisted. I don't like the sadism. It's not for me.

Oh shit we just got KitaKimi'd

That's a pretty bad relationship. Glasses girl's right. She'd be better off if she just turned her down.

I've decided I like this one. This is high school to a tee

I feel like there's a line between teasing someone and being emotionally manipulative, and Ami's certainly crossing that. I don't get the idea of wanting to see your partner emotionally distraught, it just feels like being an ass to someone who cares about you deeply. Is this just some weird Japanese cultural thing where borderline abusive relationships are normalized or what?

You say that as if Japanese manga has only toxic relationships and the stuff from other countries have no toxic relationships at all. Like all those other manga with cute fluffy yuri doesn't exist or that all Japanese people think the relationship in the manga is something normal instead of the author just wanting to write a story about a messed up relationship instead of something more normal.

This is it. Generalizing a whole country as a monolith of decadence and perversion because non-wholesome media exists there (too) is an insane leap of logic. "Those Japanese are all the same, and just like me (a bigoted pervert), so they're good" and "those Japanese are all the same, and not like me (an unproblematic progressive), so they're bad" both start with the same incorrect (and orientalist) premise.

Morally condemning whole nations over anything unfamiliar - is this just some weird American cultural thing?

I guess my main reaction to this is — they are so YOUNG. They are little baby high schoolers. Kids that age do incredibly stupid stuff sometimes. Some high schoolers have almost zero self awareness. So I feel like that’s Ami here, and also Rei in her own way. Ami is wrapped up in her own life so she can’t actually see things from Rei’s point of view. That’s why I would hesitate to call this sadistic or abusive per se… it’s more like… stupidity?

On Rei’s end, she’s so wrapped up in this crush, I kind of wonder how much she’s got her whole identity riding on social and romantic acceptance.

In general, not a good scene, but mostly because these are emotionally immature teenagers.

I agree on not calling it abuse or outright sadism, but ascribing what Ami does to stupidity doesn't make sense to me. When Rei gets upset, Ami clearly recognizes it, but she also definitely enjoys it. Who or what is tricking her to enjoy getting a variety of emotional reactions out of Rei? She's also not simply provoking Rei to get her attention, after all, she already has her full attention.

I don't know, assuming that the characters lack any self-awareness or initiative just makes the story sound more boring to me.

last edited at Oct 5, 2023 1:25PM

I feel like there's a line between teasing someone and being emotionally manipulative, and Ami's certainly crossing that. I don't get the idea of wanting to see your partner emotionally distraught, it just feels like being an ass to someone who cares about you deeply. Is this just some weird Japanese cultural thing where borderline abusive relationships are normalized or what?

You say that as if Japanese manga has only toxic relationships and the stuff from other countries have no toxic relationships at all. Like all those other manga with cute fluffy yuri doesn't exist or that all Japanese people think the relationship in the manga is something normal instead of the author just wanting to write a story about a messed up relationship instead of something more normal.

This is it. Generalizing a whole country as a monolith of decadence and perversion because non-wholesome media exists there (too) is an insane leap of logic.

All that said, I would argue there ARE Japanese cultural tendencies in storytelling. But the psychological dynamic in this particular story isn't one of them--I don't think the Japanese do this kind of thing any more than anyone else.

So the art is very cute at a surface level, and obviously there's a setup here for lots of mischief, but is anyone else getting Kitakawa/Manio vibes? Like there's something that could be potentially even darker beneath the surface?

The stuff about how Ami is the teacher's "favorite" is giving me some bad premonitions for sure. If Ami were groomed by her teacher and is treating Rei this way in an attempt to retake the power and control that was stripped from her, that would explain a lot. Not sure if the author wants to get that dark with the story though.

Seeing all the wild speculations, I'll chime in to say that I (obviously) read the whole thing. It's a single volume. There's only 9 chapters and an epilogue.

And it doesn't get that dark. Just a lot of drama and some stuff people will probably dislike even more about Ami.

Maybe I should release the next 8 chapters all at once in a few months instead of one by one, so people won't be furious for nothing.

But the drama on the forum is scrumptious too

last edited at Oct 5, 2023 3:40PM

oh my

My reaction reading this chapter:
"Oh? Aromantic maybe?"
flips 2 pages
"Oh nevermind; I see we have chosen the path of destruction."

I'm frustrated.

This has a fun vibe like it's deliberately playing with hetero/bl shoujo relationship dynamics, with Ami playing the part of the inscrutable sexy popular boy who mysteriously likes the gloomy main character for perhaps dark or kinky reasons.

Morally condemning whole nations over anything unfamiliar - is this just some weird American cultural thing?

Yes it is, probably started with "all russians are evil because communism" and has devolved into "all latinos are evil because illegal immigration", "all muslims are evil because terrorism" and in this latest form "all japanese are evil because uhhh a manga has a toxic girlfriend"

Seeing all the wild speculations, I'll chime in to say that I (obviously) read the whole thing. It's a single volume. There's only 9 chapters and an epilogue.

And it doesn't get that dark. Just a lot of drama and some stuff people will probably dislike even more about Ami.

Maybe I should release the next 8 chapters all at once in a few months instead of one by one, so people won't be furious for nothing.

But the drama on the forum is scrumptious too

We are getting proper cheating aren't we? I will save myself the pain and stop reading.

this looks like a setup for heartbreak.

I'on't like where we're headed, feel like we're being set up to be angry in a few chapters.