Straight people will think Ran's joke is simply a joke, and Keiko gets mad because she's jealous (her kouhai has a boyfriend and she doesnt).
But let us be gay.

last edited at Apr 5, 2015 8:56AM

Just 55??? You need yours readjusted Nya-chan. Mine are running at an optimal 70-75%, sometimes 80% on a good day.

telamon

I have the feeling their reactions were genuine after Ran got outed that it was the 1 of April. Meaning that Keiko really didn't like the feeling of Ran having a boyfriend and she made that 'joke' because she was angry, and compensated with being too cheery for a joke, likewise Ran probably would have started crying if maybe Keiko waited a little bit before telling it was a 'joke' and she rained her tears in so that she could make it into a 'joke' as well.

I sort of agree with this!! I think Keiko is ridiculously bad at hiding her emotions. At least when Ran is concerned. [Ran on the other hand is really good at it.] When Ran mention the bf, she actually freaked out and she was actually pissed when Ran revealed it was a joke. To compensate/hide her anger, she hid it in the guise of a joke. I completely agree with Ran though...Ran was upset (though I'm not sure she would have let herself cry even if Keiko had waited) and she exacerbated the situation to hide it. I think if Keiko hadn't pulled the "Just Kidding" card, Ran instead would have popped up with a smiling face, sort of like when she found out her dad died. [But who knows! Maybe Ran would have cried...which would have made it the second time in 10+ years]

last edited at Apr 5, 2015 4:57PM

When I read the raws, I can't help but hear the voices of Keiko and Ran, especially when she says she didn't lie about the boyfriend.

• Keiko : "Ha ha ha ha... mada mada !".... "USO DA RO ?"

• Ran : "Uso desu ❤"

• Keiko :" ......"

When you imagine their voices, it makes you smirk...

last edited at Apr 5, 2015 5:33PM

I think Ran is provoking Keiko to know what the real her feelings.

When I read the raws, I can't help but hear the voices of Keiko and Ran, especially when she says she didn't lie about the boyfriend.

• Keiko : "Ha ha ha ha... mada mada !".... "USO DA RO ?"

• Ran : "Uso desu ❤"

• Keiko :" ......"

When you imagine their voices, it makes you smirk...

When I have set the voices in my head for each characters, when they fit perfectly... that's when the anime is announced and is totally different.

Oh I remember that voice of Toshino Kyoko, it got me off guard... 3 chapters to get use to it, or even worse the blonde in Senran Kagura.

ANYWAY I can imagine Ran's voice but idk about Keiko yet.

last edited at Apr 5, 2015 10:10PM

I have to give thanks to the poster that scanned the bonus chapters; I do not feel like finding the exact page of the thread where it was first bought up.

I can't really imagine an animated version; it would have to be shorter than an episode of Inferno Cop, or completely rewritten to fit 11 minutes.

Additionally,

But let us be gay.

I think you accidentally summarized every thread on the internet that are about shipping two characters of the same sex (you know, two that aren't together canonically.)

Also, try saying "But, let us be gay," out loud. It helps if you are looking ahead sternly, sweeping one hand out, or have your hands clasped together in front of your mouth (if seated). Saying this with sufficient gravitas will not help you with anything in life, but at least you will have the experience of it.

Damn, realised we skipped the white day....

I have to give thanks to the poster that scanned the bonus chapters; I do not feel like finding the exact page of the thread where it was first bought up.

I can't really imagine an animated version; it would have to be shorter than an episode of Inferno Cop, or completely rewritten to fit 11 minutes.

Additionally,

But let us be gay.

I think you accidentally summarized every thread on the internet that are about shipping two characters of the same sex (you know, two that aren't together canonically.)

Also, try saying "But, let us be gay," out loud. It helps if you are looking ahead sternly, sweeping one hand out, or have your hands clasped together in front of your mouth (if seated). Saying this with sufficient gravitas will not help you with anything in life, but at least you will have the experience of it.

Especially the last part, or why I like hanging at Dynasty forums

notveryoften

Also, try saying "But, let us be gay," out loud. It helps if you are looking ahead sternly, sweeping one hand out, or have your hands clasped together in front of your mouth (if seated). Saying this with sufficient gravitas will not help you with anything in life, but at least you will have the experience of it.

I disagree. I felt like a badass saying it whilst seated. I also wear glasses so you know I got those villain vibes as well.

On telamon's and HypocriticalLiar's conversation; I feel that is the center of the manga. Beyond Ran and Keiko's changing relationship, I feel it's about how people can have a lot of difficulty connecting to others. Especially because our unhappy past relationships can "teach" us to be extremely wary of strong relationships. In the latest chapter, I think that is reflected in joking that hits their weak-points.

(I would like to analyze stories that are not on this site, but hell, I have no idea of how to reach an audience with that. And it's not like I can start talking about Ernest Hemingway here, he's not even moe)

oh, and jnko, that was the poster that uploaded the bonus stuff. Thanks to 'em.
_

Especially the last part, or why I like hanging at Dynasty forums

"Well, it wasn't world-shaking, but at least we discussed a lot of fictional kissing dynamics."

I disagree. I felt like a badass saying it whilst seated. I also wear glasses so you know I got those villain vibes as well.

Confession; when I typed "hands clasped together in front of your mouth," I was picturing Gendo Ikari monologuing on gayness. Frankly, mentioning glasses brings that image again.

last edited at Apr 9, 2015 2:40AM

The mere fact that this series gets 2200+ comments, even though there's no yuri (yet) in it, shows how good it is. Everything is near perfect.

I hope Shou definitely stops to write Hentai/Lolicon and writes more of this.

His storytelling and character building skills are too good. We got a nice preview in Prism, but here, it really shines.

last edited at Apr 9, 2015 5:15AM

I disagree. I felt like a badass saying it whilst seated. I also wear glasses so you know I got those villain vibes as well.

Confession; when I typed "hands clasped together in front of your mouth," I was picturing Gendo Ikari monologuing on gayness. Frankly, mentioning glasses brings that image again.

Lmao I had him in mind as well when I did it! XD ... of course, I'm much better looking than him, ya know. There ya go.

of course, I'm much better looking than him, ya know.

Calling bullshit on that

Really...?? I'm pretty sure your nose hair looks a helluva lot better than Gendo Ikari. And probably has a helluva lot of a better personality than him to boot!

The only way someone could possibly look better than Gendo is to have a respectable stache to complement the beard
And maybe comb your hair better
And find a darker sunglass
And be around 15 years older, the older the better
But not too old, anything beyond 80 gets a little weird
Unless you're Christopher Lee of course
I'm sure some stretch should help in that department YES I DIDN'T GO FULL OFF-TOPIC!

Look, I'm sure talking 'bout DILF qualities anywhere online is probably relevant on some level. Just give me enough time to bullshit a connection to manga, stretching, romance, or the author's body of work.
(Gendo might be the World's #1 Dad, but he's not the most charismatic acting or looking character)
_

I hope Shou definitely stops to write Hentai/Lolicon and writes more of this.

His storytelling and character building skills are too good. We got a nice preview in Prism, but here, it really shines.

I still feel that this is a somewhat surprising manga; his previous works didn't really tell me that he could write and draw something compelling.
I'm curious if he will ever make a jump to more mainstream dramatic manga (I mean, something longer and more focused).

Stretch looks pretty mainstream to me. More josei than anything else he wrote. It's already quite long and it doesn't seem the story is about to end soon (though the chapter before the April 1st one sounded a bit ominous).

My personal hope is that the series doesn't end with the two of them getting together, although at this point that seems likely. The two of them are interesting enough that I'd like to see them navigate an entirely new sort of relationship. I mean it's not like their personal issues (especially Keiko's) will be suddenly solved by making it official.

My personal hope is that the series doesn't end with the two of them getting together, although at this point that seems likely. The two of them are interesting enough that I'd like to see them navigate an entirely new sort of relationship. I mean it's not like their personal issues (especially Keiko's) will be suddenly solved by making it official.

Maybe if they get together, they won't be 'healed' and the manga would show how they get healed in the end, and he ends it at that. If that happened, this would become my top, no question.

Stretch looks pretty mainstream to me. More josei than anything else he wrote. It's already quite long and it doesn't seem the story is about to end soon (though the chapter before the April 1st one sounded a bit ominous).

Yeah, I used the wrong term, too evocative of "style".

I guess I mean something that is serialized in longer chunks (or with a more frequent update schedule), and is less intended as an instructional comedy thing. I mean, Stretch becomes more focused on personal relationships and back-story as it goes on, but a lot of it is essentially amusing everyday occurrences.
It's a mixture of light comedy with serious elements (chiefly, things that happened in the main characters' pasts.)

Maybe if they get together, they won't be 'healed' and the manga would show how they get healed in the end, and he ends it at that. If that happened, this would become my top, no question.

I think it would be more interesting if the characters got together and that change is explored as part of the larger story. I think a lot of stories end with the start of a relationship, or completely lose inertia after they no longer have the will-they-won't-they dynamic to fall back on.
I mean, it doesn't have to become Octave, but I don't feel there is enough out there that skillfully explores long term relationships (I mean, both in manga, and in a more general sense).

last edited at Apr 10, 2015 9:03PM

Maybe if they get together, they won't be 'healed' and the manga would show how they get healed in the end, and he ends it at that. If that happened, this would become my top, no question.

I think it would be more interesting if the characters got together and that change is explored as part of the larger story. I think a lot of stories end with the start of a relationship, or completely lose inertia after they no longer have the will-they-won't-they dynamic to fall back on.

Of course it helps to remember that Shou's other yuri series had the couple getting together pretty much right away, and following their relationship together. But it seems to me that it's typical of Japanese stuff at least to have the story be all about the lead-up, and then end on the beginning of a relationship. But if Shou's intention is to have a long series rather than have a definite ending, then he may continue. I hope so, because there's a lot worth exploring there.

But it seems to me that it's typical of Japanese stuff at least to have the story be all about the lead-up, and then end on the beginning of a relationship.

this is like... the bane of my existence, The development of a relationship and all it may entail is what I find the most interesting.

Prism is one of the very few ones that was doing something interesting with it... Unfortunately, it did not get very far.

Got Octave, as mentioned by notveryoften, but the development of the relationship there is drama-only-fueled, does not feel as natural as real relationships, tho it gets points for depicting very realistic quarrels (MC being all deflective whenever she gets into a fight fits in perfectly into her character)

On-going we have Kase-san, tho it is so unrealistically adorable and innocent that it kinda distracts you from the slow development of their relationship xD

Usually in some where characters get into a relationship (early/midway or sometimes already in one) the relationship itself goes nowhere... Not saying these are bad, a lot of my top favorites are like this, would just like something more to them.

Gokujo Drops and Hanjuku Joshi are other good exceptions, as is the last volume of Girl Friends.