As I said on first page of comments, I'm down for the Mayu end-game. Much better than the teacher we have no characterization on.

Yeah, ngl, I'm a bit sad that she stopped being present in the story...

Hm. I wonder what he could be interested in asking this new girl to do. So many possibilities, the mind boggles...

I don't know what is meant by a "Tosa Girl" but I assume it doesn't mean she's from Wauwatosa

EDIT: THIS IS INCORRECT, SEE POSTS BELOW

I don't usually put too much attention into those little banner narrations but since you've mentioned it, I presume it to be short for TOkyo School of the Arts, since that seems to be where she's looking to apply as well

last edited at Jan 28, 2024 3:36PM

I don't usually put too much attention into those little banner narrations but since you've mentioned it, I presume it to be short for TOkyo School of the Arts, since that seems to be where she's looking to apply as well

Oh! That makes sense; thanks! I assumed it was a region or town or something.

They're in Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku (in Matsuyama city mostly, dunno if protag's house is within the area or in a nearby town), the new girl is from the neighbouring Kochi Prefecture (formerly Tosa Province), probably recognizable in the raws by her speaking in one of the dialects from there.

last edited at Jan 28, 2024 12:48PM

Ah, that'd do it

Haro doesn't need a brush, he should just dip his wick in and paint with it

I felt like going full geoguessr on the panels and here's the result.

At the beginning of each part there's a link to a big map with the places marked on it. There are a few entries for panels from future chapters, but without any spoilers. Lemme know if google maps links are not working or if I f-ed up somewhere.

The places I've failed to locate are Satou's store, Mayu's apartment (these two are likely manga-original) and this street from chapter 1 (for this one there are multiple things to go by, including the washed out stop marking seemingly facing the wrong way - there actually are a few painted like this in the city so it's not necessarily a mistake - but I still couldn't find a match).

last edited at Mar 8, 2024 3:36PM

Bumping to mention that I've expanded the above post into a full guide

In the future chapters there's a good view of Iyobi's immediate surroundings, but as far as I can tell it's manga-original stuff.

Sneak peek: the nude everybody's been waiting for

Seems like Gao and Haro are opposites in their style of art or their reasoning for it. Interesting how that'll work out later. I couldn't over look how similar their hair styles are, and if wasn't for Gao's father showing up they could be mistaken for siblings or cousins.

An apology is enough? The dad should have ended up in jail for assault.

And the boy's dad is like "hahaha, it's nothing". What? That huge man knocked out his son with a punch and could have broken his jaw and give him a concussion, but "it's nothing"?

Do you job as a dad, ffs, call the cops and jail that man.

last edited at May 25, 2024 6:44AM

An apology is enough? The dad should have ended up in jail for assault.

And the boy's dad is like "hahaha, it's nothing". What? That huge man knocked out his son with a punch and could have broken his jaw and give him a concussion, but "it's nothing"?

Do you job as a dad, ffs, call the cops and jail that man.

This is not how Confucianism-inspired parenting works. An older man physically disciplining a younger one is not a big deal. The fact that he then apologizes in front of Haro's father can be interpreted as him not only apologizing for the assault, but also implicitly for disciplining someone's else son and thus for usurping his social role. Haro's father, as a responsible Confucian adult, is then quick to brush it under the carpet in the name of "social harmony". Thus, social order is restored, and everyone is happy. Except Haro's jaw, I guess, but who cares about that. /s

Haro just seems to be bulldozing Gao this whole arc and it's weird. There's this macho bullshit that seems to be going on where Gao's father instantly reduced her to a helpless damsel and she can do nothing but stand there and shake so Haro has to do everything for her. Even at the end of the chapter where SHE should be getting an Idea for how to deal with her dad, it's Haro who gets an idea instead? That's especially weird imo.

While Mayu has "First girl" rights, that's pretty much it.
Personality wise, Haro and Gao have far more in common, not to mention that they even complement one another.

So I am team tomboy!

last edited at Jun 12, 2024 5:42PM

I see this has a "het" and no "yuri" tag. Would it be correct to assume there's only het and no yuri romance?
Seems like romance isn't the main focus of the manga from the few pages I checked out.

AAAAND another one to the harem!

AAAAND another one to the harem!

Is it really a harem? So far only 2 girls like him. Anna doesn't seem to have romantic feelings for him.

That dead wife on the car window is so incredibly creepy. She turned his truck into a Silent Hill truck. Also made it illegal to drive by painting over the windows and headlights lol.

This chapter seemed like a bit of a jump, I hope nothing bad happened on the editorial/serialization side. On the other hand, seems like we're about to get a title drop in the next chapter after that "wear the world" and "break through to the other side [of the ceiling]"

I really like Gao's art. It's really evocative and kinda unnerving, especially the way she gave the person and the animals similar eyes. Haro meanwhile is fucking boring. His art sucks, his rivalry sucks, his plot sucks. Can we just follow Gao instead? She's a way better protagonist, she has interesting motivations and a novel perspective, and makes art that I actually find interesting instead of Haro shoehorning the same boring ass overly perfect male gaze ass version of the female form in everything he does. He reminds me of the one "artist" guy in Watamote that always draws girls with the same face, which unintentionally tricked Tomoko into thinking he had a crush on her when he drew her "cute". I could accept the concept of "every drawing has be a nude" if there was body variety, some kinda indication he's studying figures and anatomy, paying attention to individuals, but nah just the same idealized image of that lady he saw naked that one time, for basically every drawing, drawn in mostly the same style. One of the most one note characters I've ever seen as the supposed protagonist of a serious long form story.
For contrast from another manga you can compare Haru to Kaguhara of Kaguhara's Fetish Notebook. She's got sleazy intentions but her art has variety and real care put into it, she really highlights the things that make each of her subjects different and special in her eyes. Her art lets us get a look into how she sees the world and the other girls she interacts with, and is frequently surprising and very well done.

last edited at Oct 19, 2024 1:52AM

How boring. I was hoping neither boy would win, but we get the same tired rival tropes

Thanks for this, Daphie. The story is nothing really remarkable, but you always do good work, and it’s solid enough for adding a little variety to the Dynasty offerings.

But in the afterword, shouldn’t it be “Kamio-sensei blowing everyone else away with her,” etc.?

We’re not quite at the “Kamio-sensei blowing everyone” part of the festivities, I suspect, if indeed we ever get there.

@princess_daphie, I love this work and hope you continue to translate it but would love to see more of Destruction Lover. Yes, DL is bizarre and difficult to follow at times but that's why it's cool. It also has a mysterious 'witch' character, similar to WtS, which is why I love them both.