Forum › The Trap of Being Better discussion

420e065dfd1a4d6b3655ec2b8f710afc%20(1)
joined Apr 25, 2020

Wholesome? aw hell nah

joined Feb 22, 2023

i need more

Kurumi
joined Feb 19, 2023

It's like the first chapter of an Isekai, except truck-kun never showed up...

Images
joined Apr 7, 2021

Gosh why do the glasses always need to go away. Glasses are hot, glasses are superior

Img-20241119-wa0000
joined May 3, 2020

added Glasses as tag suggestion

Img-20241119-wa0000
joined May 3, 2020

why do i love every bit of art that Amazaki Suika puts out?

Avatar
joined Aug 29, 2019

why do i love every bit of art that Amazaki Suika puts out?

Don't question it. It seems to be a natural reaction.

joined Oct 15, 2019

Cute, but i definitely want a sequel exploring their deeper relationship!

joined Mar 15, 2015

Cute, but i definitely want a sequel exploring their deeper relationship!

I feel the same way about a lot of the oneshots that end just as the leads get together.

Bagpipe%20cute
joined Sep 27, 2017

Why attend a mixer when you could date the woman right next to you that cares about you

08f6612130a20845a480034c0567fbe1d8926209_hq
joined Apr 27, 2014

I didn't understand much...they like, became friends or something?
Also, she helped me decide, I need new glasses and contacts, best of both worlds!
to be worn separately of course..

joined Jul 31, 2022

I might be blind but this feels super subtexty but had the potential to be one hot yuri! Also agree that the glasses should've stayed on. I hate the glasses off trope. Glasses on girls is great!

last edited at Jan 20, 2025 11:40PM

Internet_lied
joined Jul 15, 2016

And interesting dynamic. Sayama has very little ego, but also very little willpower, while Mizono has an excess of both. Mizono is attracted to Sayama's lack of ego and her ability to just be, while Sayama admires Mizono's willpower and capacity for self-directed change. They have a lot to learn from each other.

I didn't understand much...they like, became friends or something?

Not really? They've really talked with each other for the first time at the end of the chapter, so it's too early to consider them friends.

Kiarabg
joined Sep 6, 2018

This was so good! I love manga that's just. Observation of life, of the way people are, perhaps with a little bit of kindness in it. I love how our bully girl was like. Aware of and unsatisfied with the way she treats people, but found herself getting pulled into patterns anyway--that's really how it works sometimes, no matter how self-aware you are.

Img-20241119-wa0000
joined May 3, 2020

there are two other authors in the anthology this is part of, but Amazaki Suika('s work) seems to be the headliner
https://xfolio.jp/en/portfolio/mountgirl/works/380367
still curious what the other chapters are like, but they're all locked behind a paywall

Subaru
joined Jul 31, 2019

I didn't understand much...they like, became friends or something?

Basically? I think there's no yuri in this one, it was still nice :P Everyone's conditioned by now to look for yuri when seeing this author but I don't think this was even the intention in this one, no subtext to be found either.

Fb_img_1479131434796
joined Oct 6, 2014

Huh. I really like this. Dark-haired girl has a backbone but is a tad oblivious. The other actually does humble brag and act superior but is miserable. Feels like a nice exploration of their flaws and strengths.

Yuibless
joined Jan 30, 2017

And then they kissed, right?

Bfa11a0b864ae7153cac6fa563241e35
joined Jul 21, 2024

why do i love every bit of art that Amazaki Suika puts out?

Don't question it. It seems to be a natural reaction.

Agreed ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

dandalyn Uploader
Caster-twitch-notext
joined Aug 6, 2024

there are two other authors in the anthology this is part of, but Amazaki Suika('s work) seems to be the headliner
https://xfolio.jp/en/portfolio/mountgirl/works/380367
still curious what the other chapters are like, but they're all locked behind a paywall

At the time all three authors had mostly just done Twitter comics. As far as I can tell, Amazaki was the only one who had a one-shot in a major publication already (Shade in Summer / Natsukage). She also did the gorgeous cover art for the anthology.

OZ unfortunately hasn’t done much other than this, but is still somewhat active on Twitter.

An Mitsuko has had a couple short serializations through Comic Etoile, which I haven’t read and aren’t translated.

The other two comics were good but maybe not as confident as this one. Amazaki’s art and depth of expression is really excellent, and pacing / atmosphere are expertly handled. The other two lean a bit more melodramatic, though still had some emotional weight. They’re also both more about competition in (het) romantic relationships (i.e. fighting for a man’s affection), which isn’t as interesting to me.

joined Apr 16, 2022

This was a very good oneshot! I liked how at first, it seemed to be setting up that Mizono was being unfairly hated on by her co-workers, but nope, she actually was humble-bragging and stealthily putting them down (though as we see later the co-workers aren't any better than her).

Moreover, I really like how this manga does a relatively unique take on the ugly duckling slash jealousy character archetype. Usually the upshot is a status quo affirming "you should be happy with the way you are" thing. But instead, the oneshot is asserting that you should be the best version of yourself. There's nothing wrong with Mizono working hard to make herself pretty, the problem is her massive insecurity at having had to work so hard to become pretty that she then projects outward onto other people. It's by valuing the struggles she went to as a part of herself and her own ability to overcome those struggles and reach toward the person she wants to be that she's able to accept herself and reach out genuinely to another person.

Purple Library Guy
Kare%20kano%20joker
joined Mar 3, 2013

And interesting dynamic. Sayama has very little ego, but also very little willpower, while Mizono has an excess of both.

Hrm. I think there's a distinction between narcissism and ego, as well as between the desire to dominate and willpower. Sayama is comfortable in herself--her ego is solid, secure, but not expansive. She doesn't put herself forward because she isn't driven to by insecurity. She's more averse to conflict than I am, but my read is more that she doesn't think all the social jockeying is important enough to get in fights over, rather than that she's too weak to fight. Less fear, more "this is too much hassle". I think if someone found something she actually cared about and threatened that, they might be in for a rude awakening.

Eterna%20rinebow%20small
joined Oct 20, 2017

Yet another banger from Amazaki Suika. Yuri was not part of the assignment but this story still contrasts the main pair's unlikely friendship against the het brainrot and misogyny of their normie coworkers. And uh, whatever that tension was all about in the makeup scene.

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