Having just read this, I think the Good Morning chapter was one of my favourites, but also, in retrospect, the point where it all started going downhill. While reading it, and the rest of volume 4 with the flashback arc, it felt like the story had reached a point where the readers would be sufficiently invested in the characters for the author to be able to take some time out and have a bit of a change of pace... but it turned out to be a permanent change of pace, and the initial momentum was never recovered. Rather disappointing, overall.

Also, the way "Akemi" was treated really annoyed me. First she's set up to be a major character, then she drifts out of the spotlight, but keeps popping up again every so often just when you think the author's forgotten about her, until eventually she gets killed off for good with the runway incident... except that she comes back again, and ends up pursuing a successful modelling career despite all of that... And the author didn't even have the decency to pair Akemiya up with someone at the end, to make up for having his heart broken by Sumika. (I mean, you could ship him with Lotte based on this page, but it's hardly solid evidence.) Though having said all of that, I don't know if this particular character was actually treated worse than any other, or if I singled them out due to my own preferences...

^all the side characters could have had more development but it's not necessarily the author's fault. I believe the character of Akemiya-kun needed more attention because many readers think of him to the end as a boy, and that he was mistreated and used by Sumika who consider him a friend. I think what we see in the final chapter and the fake date was meant to show that he at the very least liked wearing cute clothes even if it began with the insistence of his sister. I would have liked to see him happy with someone too since he is soo sweet and sensible, and the same goes for Azusa, but I am sure they will eventually find love

last edited at Mar 23, 2021 1:01AM

Came back to this after years and I have to say its still one of the best yuri manga for me.
The story is not too focus on romance, but like a slice of life of every characters. Their life go on after the manga end.
The best part was the manga not just end when they started dating. Ushio and Sumika actually come out to families and friends. Too bad that Ikeda end the story when they're done with high-school. I want to have a glimse of their futhure, and also the story of Mayu and Koino!!

I feel like this series has some really great moments, especially some of the more angsty scenes between Sumika and Ushio, but there’s also a lot of pretty meh stuff bundled in with those moments of crazy goodness. Overall series is still really good, but I agree with other commenters that Akemi and the other side characters should have gotten more development.

For the time period this came out in its definitely impressive though. I only got into GL in the past year or so, so I don’t have a great grasp on the history of the genre, but this seems like it’s one of the big series from the 2000’s/early 2010’s alongside stuff like Octave and Girl Friends.

last edited at May 2, 2021 7:52PM

Just rereading this and I feel so empty now, definitely one of the best yuri manga I ever read. The story is really good, the characters are great, there are some impactful moments. It's not perfect obviously it had some things that could be better development but it's still a great manga.

last edited at May 2, 2021 10:33PM

I read it 3 times already. I love this serie sooo muchhhh

Rereading this I was left with pretty much the same impression as the first time: Sumika was cool (well, except when she turned to jelly...), young Ushio and Sumika were cute (though perhaps not enough to justify 4 whole flashback chapters *intense eye rolling*), Tomoe was still awesome, Miyako's eyebrows were as great as ever and half of the side characters were still unnecessary.

Oh, and the grandma was awesome.

The forgotten side characters were really the greatest issue of the manga I think. It kinda felt like the author threw in a bunch of characters and then didn't know what to do with them. Like, did I miss that Aoi girl? No. Did I really want her to play any part in the story? No, not really. But I still found it disappointing that she just disappeared off the face of the earth for half the manga. Like, if you're gonna add a character only for them to become completely irrelevant ten chapters later, then don't add them in the first place. And I could say the same for Akemiya too. They were both rather unlikeable for me to be honest, but that was largely due to their existence seeming unnecessary. Well, at least the author had some level of awareness I guess...

But even with these issues and despite the drama occasionally dragging on a bit more than was needed, it definitely had some very strong moments and was an overall great read.

last edited at May 6, 2021 10:57AM

(though perhaps not enough to justify 4 whole flashback chapters *intense eye rolling*)

Oi, those are some of my absolute favorite chapters to re-read from time to time, along with Sumika running to Ushio when she learns of her broken arm.

(though perhaps not enough to justify 4 whole flashback chapters *intense eye rolling*)

Oi, those are some of my absolute favorite chapters to re-read from time to time, along with Sumika running to Ushio when she learns of her broken arm.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely liked those chapters. I just felt that having almost a whole volume taken up by a flashback was not the best choice in terms of pacing.

And I agree, Sumika running to the hospital was great. (And the aftermath was pretty great too xD)

And I agree, Sumika running to the hospital was great. (And the aftermath was pretty great too xD)

Indeed.

It's also the one part where I have to remind myself that it was in fact not in the anime. Every time I read it, it feels like I can actually see the movement as if I'd already seen it animated...

If Sasameki Koto were a musical score, it would be one of the most amazing compositions ever written...except that 25% of it sounds like the orchestra tuning their instruments.

last edited at May 6, 2021 6:08PM

Read it for the first time just recently, this series is really amazing at its high points, but some chapters really feel unnecessary or even a bit out of place. It's a bit of a shame, with some trimming and a better focus on consistently driving the main plot it could have probably become one of my all time favourites. It still is a manga I liked and enjoyed though.

On a different note, does anybody else feel how quickly times are changing when reading Yuri "classics" like SK or Girlfriends now? I feel like in those kind of manga, portraying lesbian characters almost inevitably meant that they'd need to portray social backlash, struggle, and fear of being outed. On the other hand, many more recent manga seem to not care much about this anymore and often even have characters explicitly mention that being gay isn't a big deal these days. Not saying we are living in gay utopia now (far from it sadly), but it still feels like perceptions have changed massively and you can somehow see that in Yuri as well

last edited at May 7, 2021 3:06PM

Feels like it went on for 20 more chapters than it should have. but fine overall. Felt like watching Seinfeld.

Thanks for the translation of this serie!!! <3
This was something! the drama of the plot was real, but still with touches of comedy well done, I didn't like the cliche japanese "oh, this is awkard, i'm out of here" and other more but still reaaaallly solid story.

Just read this recently and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I decided to watch the anime first and continue from there on where it left and at first was a bit confused by how goofy the story seemed until suddenly it wasn't and it became full on Kazama angst. I do kind of wish we had gotten more of Sumika and Kazama together portrayed towards the end.

I love this manga and wow it's pretty ahead of it's time in a lot of ways...and at the same time, you can tell it's from the late 2000s cause oof that "humor" sometimes misses hard.

That and the constant patriarchal, regressive Japanese bullshit.

Featured again? Time to read it for the 8th time!

I'm on chapter 13, page 13. Is that a fucking Hellsing reference?

A classic, in my opinion, but it’s not a timeless classic. It was good at the time it was published. There are newer mangas that have done a better job with all characters in their respective manga. I consider this manga a good introduction for new readers in this genre.

I wonder: What would an update from the author look like? Happy with non-science babies? Or divorce?

Man, I really wish this'd gotten a few side-stories. Specifically for Mayu and Koino. I really wanna know if their romance developed.