It makes me really happy that multiple people read Yuhki Kamatani's manga because I recommended it here :D That series is one of the rare ones I've sought out physical copies of to have displayed on my bookshelf because it means so much to me.

Here's hoping this manga can be half as good? The second chapter only establishing "this wasn't a one time quirk" is a little disappointing though, of course it wasn't a one time quirk or we wouldn't have a story, we just learned something we'd assume to be true already. Aren't there more interesting questions you could focus on with this story author-san?

what in hell is that even supposed to mean?
like did you learn up until now in life that what you find interesting ain’t the same for others?

Yes, I am aware that there's plenty of people out there with minimal to no standards for fiction who would be happy with a chapter that's just spinning the plot's wheels, congratulations on being one of them if that's you. However, I am entitled to have my own more complex preferences that are different from (and superior to) yours, such as not wanting a story's pacing to stall out as early as chapter two.

This newest chapter was better. There's something that feels very off about the pacing but I suspect that's intentional, as they're deliberately attempting to speedrun finding closure to lifelong hangups. The talk of "lingering attachments" feels like they're thinking of themselves as ghosts even, which is fascinating.

People talk about Groundhog Day. Bah. I'm a bit irked that nobody seems to remember Been There, Done That. This manga's plot has much more in common with that Xena episode than with the film, as in both cases (the Xena & Gabrielle story and the manga story) it's a suicide because of thwarted love that brings about the time loop.

The murder of Otome is a definite possibility ONLY if the plot goes the comedic way and the two mcs start trying to break the time loop by doing every random crazy thing they can think of — thus repeating the loop again and again hundreds and thousands of times... but I daresay that's not where the author wants to take her characters. ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)

In the last iteration of the loop, Kinka throws her chakram and mows down Otome, Otome's evil boyfriend, and everyone who ever wronged her, all in one fell swoop! And in that way the timeloop is broken. Works for me.

last edited at Jan 31, 2024 9:54AM

It makes me really happy that multiple people read Yuhki Kamatani's manga because I recommended it here :D That series is one of the rare ones I've sought out physical copies of to have displayed on my bookshelf because it means so much to me.

Here's hoping this manga can be half as good? The second chapter only establishing "this wasn't a one time quirk" is a little disappointing though, of course it wasn't a one time quirk or we wouldn't have a story, we just learned something we'd assume to be true already. Aren't there more interesting questions you could focus on with this story author-san?

what in hell is that even supposed to mean?
like did you learn up until now in life that what you find interesting ain’t the same for others?

Yes, I am aware that there's plenty of people out there with minimal to no standards for fiction who would be happy with a chapter that's just spinning the plot's wheels, congratulations on being one of them if that's you. However, I am entitled to have my own more complex preferences that are different from (and superior to) yours, such as not wanting a story's pacing to stall out as early as chapter two.

This newest chapter was better. There's something that feels very off about the pacing but I suspect that's intentional, as they're deliberately attempting to speedrun finding closure to lifelong hangups. The talk of "lingering attachments" feels like they're thinking of themselves as ghosts even, which is fascinating.

Here to speak as someone who preferred the atmosphere and pacing in the first chapter to the one in the latest. Nah, I think suicide is an interesting enough topic in itself. Conversely, I think the third chapter got a bit too grounded in real-life dramas and resolutions for my tastes, if that makes any sense. But that is my own preference and we always need diversity in readership. I'm most happy when characters mull over existence without necessarily resolving their real-life issues. Because everything we do originates from a long succession of causes extending way back into the past, and fixing things quickly (i.e. identifiable plot developments in a scripted manga) ain't how it works. I like it when the authors linger on that complexity without necessarily making the characters work past it. Rings a bit false to me.

People talk about Groundhog Day. Bah. I'm a bit irked that nobody seems to remember Been There, Done That. This manga's plot has much more in common with that Xena episode than with the film, as in both cases (the Xena & Gabrielle story and the manga story) it's a suicide because of thwarted love that brings about the time loop.

The story reminds me more of Russian Doll than anything else.

Also, are we sure it's thwarted love what created the loop? The characters seem to think so but, given that we don't know Kinka's reasons for wanting to die, the loop could be linked to her.

It makes me really happy that multiple people read Yuhki Kamatani's manga because I recommended it here :D That series is one of the rare ones I've sought out physical copies of to have displayed on my bookshelf because it means so much to me.

Here's hoping this manga can be half as good? The second chapter only establishing "this wasn't a one time quirk" is a little disappointing though, of course it wasn't a one time quirk or we wouldn't have a story, we just learned something we'd assume to be true already. Aren't there more interesting questions you could focus on with this story author-san?

what in hell is that even supposed to mean?
like did you learn up until now in life that what you find interesting ain’t the same for others?

Yes, I am aware that there's plenty of people out there with minimal to no standards for fiction who would be happy with a chapter that's just spinning the plot's wheels, congratulations on being one of them if that's you. However, I am entitled to have my own more complex preferences that are different from (and superior to) yours, such as not wanting a story's pacing to stall out as early as chapter two.

This newest chapter was better. There's something that feels very off about the pacing but I suspect that's intentional, as they're deliberately attempting to speedrun finding closure to lifelong hangups. The talk of "lingering attachments" feels like they're thinking of themselves as ghosts even, which is fascinating.

Here to speak as someone who preferred the atmosphere and pacing in the first chapter to the one in the latest. Nah, I think suicide is an interesting enough topic in itself. Conversely, I think the third chapter got a bit too grounded in real-life dramas and resolutions for my tastes, if that makes any sense. But that is my own preference and we always need diversity in readership. I'm most happy when characters mull over existence without necessarily resolving their real-life issues. Because everything we do originates from a long succession of causes extending way back into the past, and fixing things quickly (i.e. identifiable plot developments in a scripted manga) ain't how it works. I like it when the authors linger on that complexity without necessarily making the characters work past it. Rings a bit false to me.

My problem with chapter two wasn't the subject matter, but rather the focus: the entire chapter was dedicated to them testing to see if their survival was a fluke by just reenacting chapter one. They're asking a question that has two possible answers and one of which instantly ends the story of this comic, so we can basically assume the correct answer (it's not a fluke, they'll keep looping) without spending so much page time on the test. Meanwhile we still don't know much of anything whatsoever about one of our main characters outside her suicidal feelings. We learn in chapter 3 that she's got a bunch of money saved because "I have nothing to spend it on" but that's pretty light on revelations or characterization, and then the chapter ends at what feels like should be the middle of the chapter, where they finally start talking about the feelings they've been trying to solve by acting blindly.

one of which instantly ends the story of this comic, so we can basically assume the correct answer (it's not a fluke, they'll keep looping) without spending so much page time on the test

Not a fan of journeys, are you? If the only thing you care about is the destination, I think most stories could reach their logical conclusion in about 1/4th as many pages as they're typically told in. But there's more to a story than a beginning and an end, you know? I don't really see a problem with the second chapter. In the first 10 pages, we learn that beneath her cool exterior, Kinka is manicly desperate to die, while Kazura doesn't really want to die. The next 9 pages aren't even about "the test", they're about Kazura's relationship with Otome. Kazura stands up for herself for the first time in her life, while Otome hints at a possessive side that will probably lead to conflict with Kinka later. Finally, the last few pages are... for lack of a better word, "suicide porn". It's not necessary to the plot at all, and you could communicate their second suicide in one panel if you wanted to be efficient, but there's no emotion or feeling in doing that, is there?

tl;dr chapter 2 has character development, drama, and at least attempts some kind of emotional impact. Sure, you could sum it up in one page by having them say, "hey, we're manga characters so the story isn't going to end if we try again right away, let's figure something else out", but there's more to a story than advancing the plot as quickly as possible.

one of which instantly ends the story of this comic, so we can basically assume the correct answer (it's not a fluke, they'll keep looping) without spending so much page time on the test

Not a fan of journeys, are you? If the only thing you care about is the destination, I think most stories could reach their logical conclusion in about 1/4th as many pages as they're typically told in. But there's more to a story than a beginning and an end, you know? I don't really see a problem with the second chapter. In the first 10 pages, we learn that beneath her cool exterior, Kinka is manicly desperate to die, while Kazura doesn't really want to die. The next 9 pages aren't even about "the test", they're about Kazura's relationship with Otome. Kazura stands up for herself for the first time in her life, while Otome hints at a possessive side that will probably lead to conflict with Kinka later. Finally, the last few pages are... for lack of a better word, "suicide porn". It's not necessary to the plot at all, and you could communicate their second suicide in one panel if you wanted to be efficient, but there's no emotion or feeling in doing that, is there?

tl;dr chapter 2 has character development, drama, and at least attempts some kind of emotional impact. Sure, you could sum it up in one page by having them say, "hey, we're manga characters so the story isn't going to end if we try again right away, let's figure something else out", but there's more to a story than advancing the plot as quickly as possible.

Oh I don't think the problem with chapter 2 is that it didn't "forward the plot," but rather it focused so much on an unimportant plot beat (confirming that the loop is not a fluke). I'd much rather the author focus on the emotional reaction to what they just experienced instead, unpack what they're feeling and what they think about the supernatural experience they just had when they tried to die. Chapter 1 was full of pathos, in comparison chapter 2 and 3 feel almost like it's dissociating from that to focus on plot instead.

She should just curse Otome when she gets pregnant that she'll have a daughter that will love her. It works every time. Little-known secret. you have to say "may the child in your belly fall in love with me in your stead." The earlier you say it, of course, the better it works.

last edited at Feb 2, 2024 1:40AM

Just decided to binge the first chapters, it's a neat premise, but am I the only one that feels that this is so dramatic and angsty it somtimes wraps around into being darkly comedic

She should just curse Otome when she gets pregnant that she'll have a daughter that will love her. It works every time. Little-known secret. you have to say "may the child in your belly fall in love with me in your stead." The earlier you say it, of course, the better it works.

Ah, I see you are familiar with structural formulas of love, as well. :-)

ok, so what do we think Kinka's deal is? why does she want to die?

I'm going to say it's something like no job and no social life, just sort of living a life of apparent meaninglessness, unmoored from the society she otherwise exists in. her growth comes by way of helping Kazura, because in the process they become socially tied to each other, even though Kinka's motives are at least partly self-serving

Seeing that double-page spread coming up on the reader and going "hmmmm I bet that's going to be another suicide attempt."

The pacing of this manga and the set-up is interesting. I like that I can't predict where it's going, and it feels at once tense yet untethered

It's a good thing they live in a universe where this stuff actually kills them because like, jumping in front of a train is kind of remarkably unreliable and can really fuck you over if you survive because like you still got hit by a train.

But yeah there's no way this is just the end for Kinka, though if it was then it would be really interesting to see what Kazura does from hereonout because there's no way she's just going to stay alive alone.

Seems like this manga is less about the supernatural stuff, which appears to be a framework for letting the characters become better people by letting go of their inhibitions.

It ain't easy being a sugar mommy.

Man, Kazura's flashbacks trigger me something fierce. Never taught socialization skills -> repeated traumatic rejection by peers -> prolonged isolation -> slavish devotion to the first person to reach out -> hypersensitivity to rejection & readiness to go to extreme lengths to avoid it -> maladaptive survival mechanisms -> full-blown quiet borderline personality disorder (QBPD). Yup, yup, effing familiar ground.

last edited at Mar 24, 2024 4:25AM

That kouhai seems shady... Were they in a club or something? 8o

Very interestingggg

Noo, she should give her crotch first!

That kouhai seems shady... Were they in a club or something? 8o

Very interestingggg

I don't think clubs would have handovers worth mentioning

I bet on a burnout in a black company, after people piled up work on her and she had to prove her value every day, losing her health in the process.

And then she overheard said people sneering in her back about how she a was convenient workhorse and someone she liked (?) was among the crowd, laughing along.

Typical corporate scenario.

Was that a genuine accident or was that a supernatural “push” to put her in danger?

I bet on a burnout in a black company, after people piled up work on her and she had to prove her value every day, losing her health in the process.

And then she overheard said people sneering in her back about how she a was convenient workhorse and someone she liked (?) was among the crowd, laughing along.

Typical corporate scenario.

I first thought her issue was a medical one. Like an incurable disease or a degenerative one, but I think your interpretation it's more likely given recent developments.

Now, is the other one going to save her or will she jump to get hit by the train too?

I'm assuming we're about to see what happens when one goes, but not the other. I'm betting on one of two outcomes:
1) A reset like what's been happening already, or
2) Kinka totally does die from the train, and Kazura thinks that the curse has been lifted, and goes to off herself -- and then once they're both dead, the reset happens.

"Why?" Holy hell that's intense lmao