I think it makes perfect sense that high school yuri especially doesn't ever really fit my experience actually being a teenage sapphic. Especially since I didn't go to a private super high class all girls Catholic school like apparently 90% of kids in Japan go to, if yuri manga is telling me the truth :P
There's a few different adult "yuri" manga that has this feel like "This is not inspired by other yuri manga it's inspired by real life". Stuff like how Run Away With Me Girl spends a lot of time on the emotional battle of the pull of personal gay desires and the pull of your whole entire world telling you to be straight instead (much to the consternation of the comment section lol), or Ohana Holoholo's portrayal of bisexuality (much to the consternation of the comment section lol).
The Guy I Liked is the first time I've seen this kind of approach used for a teenage story. I honestly think the biggest obstacle a lot of angry posters have is that this isn't a story about a gay romance. It's a story about being gay. And a whole lot of gays spend their whole teenage years without any romance because we're all so anxious and isolated and frequently soaking in the self-denial society demands from all queers of all stripes. The fact that these girls have gotten as far as they have in how long they've known each other? Well above the curve when we compare them to real gay kids instead of yuri manga.
This is precisely it. I think a lot of people, subconsciously, want the proverbial U-haul romance where two people throw themselves at each other in a heat of passion and desire. In many cases though, things take time? Slow burn romances are real? Being a teen with a billion feelings to manage and also trying to figure out dating, let alone dating in a non-cis-het frame takes time and energy and isn't always front of mind. Also, queer relationships often exist in messy gray spaces for significant periods of time, as do really many relationships. Hell, we invented the word 'situationship' in the 00s for this sort of kind-of-but-not-quite-a-thing-but-maybe-getting-there. It's fascinating because in this case, Joe and Kanna are an obvious parallel/secondary couple who are also dealing with a lot of complicated emotions and a lot is going unsaid though there's obviously a lot of affection between them.
Idk, it's nice to see romances that are situated in stories about life generally vs. being wholly about falling in love hard and fast. Everyone here has stuff they're working through - their relationship to music, what they want in life, past choices, making friends and being open about themselves even just on the level of interests. And they've all made so much progress. Aya actually has music community and a pseudo-second family with Joe, Kanna, and Mitsuki. Mitsuki is slowly realizing that she doesn't have to live like she's some forever outsider who has to hide her true self from the world. Joe and Kanna are doing the messy business of patching up an old relationship (maybe?) that ended not because of incompatible personalities or a lack of desire, but life calling them in different directions which is the hardest sort of break-up because its not really anyone's 'fault'.
That's such a rich portrait of life, esp. in this punk slice of the world that exists on the social fringes, that you almost never get to see in media.
This is such a good post and the fact that it's starting with adding onto mine makes me feel all warm and fuzzy ^_^
