Yeah, showing what you're writing, especially the early drafts, can be very embarrassing... And in their case, doubly so, if they're writing about each other! Very cute!
I wonder if this is what will take them from a subtext-y "very good friends" kind of relationship to something more... But I'm not sure of how explicit the author wants to make the series... It still gives subtext vibes to me, honestly.

Honestly, I'd be shocked if this series goes with subtext. The title is literally "A Love yet to Bloom" I'd go so far as to call that queerbait-y if they didn't get together.

Yeah, showing what you're writing, especially the early drafts, can be very embarrassing... And in their case, doubly so, if they're writing about each other! Very cute!
I wonder if this is what will take them from a subtext-y "very good friends" kind of relationship to something more... But I'm not sure of how explicit the author wants to make the series... It still gives subtext vibes to me, honestly.

Honestly, I'd be shocked if this series goes with subtext. The title is literally "A Love yet to Bloom" I'd go so far as to call that queerbait-y if they didn't get together.

I don't know if that's the exact title though (the manga seems to use "Bluer than Love" on its volume covers), but I agree with everything else.

last edited at Mar 19, 2025 9:54PM

This series is so cute and lowkey. I hope this writing exercise is what helps her finally realise she's in love...

SEX WHEN

Oh wow, looks like everyone reached the same conclusion I did.

As in, I'll be damned if what she's writing isn't a love letter of some form

Yeah, showing what you're writing, especially the early drafts, can be very embarrassing... And in their case, doubly so, if they're writing about each other! Very cute!
I wonder if this is what will take them from a subtext-y "very good friends" kind of relationship to something more... But I'm not sure of how explicit the author wants to make the series... It still gives subtext vibes to me, honestly.

Honestly, I'd be shocked if this series goes with subtext. The title is literally "A Love yet to Bloom" I'd go so far as to call that queerbait-y if they didn't get together.

I don't know if that's the exact title though (the manga seems to use "Bluer than Love" on its volume covers), but I agree with everything else.

So I'm still learning, so I'd be really interested to hear from someone that is more confident in their Japanese about this, but as best I can figure:

The adjective 青い (aoi) also has a meaning of "unripe" or "inexperienced." Since 恋 より 青く (Koi yori aoku) is using the く (ku) form, it seems like the author is using "Aoku" as a noun describing a time. You can't do this with just any old adjective, it has to specifically be an adjective that is related to time. Since "blue" doesn't have anything to do with time, that implies the other, admittedly rarer meaning of the word. So the translation would literally refer to a time when the romantic love was "unripe", hence the translated title "A love yet to bloom."

(Edit to add: The ku form can also turn an adjective into an adverb, but there's no verb to ad here, so I don't think that's what's happening, unless there's an implied verb I'm not aware of)

Either way, my previous point stands, honestly, you don't use 恋 unless you're talking specifically about romantic love. The usage of that word in the title takes this pretty directly out of subtext territory for me.

last edited at Mar 29, 2025 1:11PM

Yeah, showing what you're writing, especially the early drafts, can be very embarrassing... And in their case, doubly so, if they're writing about each other! Very cute!
I wonder if this is what will take them from a subtext-y "very good friends" kind of relationship to something more... But I'm not sure of how explicit the author wants to make the series... It still gives subtext vibes to me, honestly.

Honestly, I'd be shocked if this series goes with subtext. The title is literally "A Love yet to Bloom" I'd go so far as to call that queerbait-y if they didn't get together.

I mean, I mostly agree with you, there's a lot in the early chapters that makes tagging the series as "subtext" rather silly. Maybe subtext wasn't the right word for me to use... Still, it just feels like romance has been kept at a distance, even when the option was present from the start, and Takamine and Sakura have fallen into a comfortable lull without much progress. A slow burn so slow it just feels warm and cosy, like the Love will remain "yet to Bloom" by the end, so to speak.
Maybe I'm just too used to stories with an endgoal that's easier to guess early.

I mean, I mostly agree with you, there's a lot in the early chapters that makes tagging the series as "subtext" rather silly. Maybe subtext wasn't the right word for me to use... Still, it just feels like romance has been kept at a distance, even when the option was present from the start, and Takamine and Sakura have fallen into a comfortable lull without much progress. A slow burn so slow it just feels warm and cosy, like the Love will remain "yet to Bloom" by the end, so to speak.
Maybe I'm just too used to stories with an endgoal that's easier to guess early.

I suspect however this zine storyline shakes out, the way they both write about each other will spur some kind of development.

This new chapter was great...!

Hinata is so great. Just a wonderful, hyperactive bundle of positivity.

Hinata is the low key MVP, yet again ^_^ It's a cute touch that she choose a star hairpin for Hoshino, to fit her name. Hinata is really good at taking care of people and it shows.

Ah, t'would appear we have unlocked some side Yuri. Very good, very nice.

New ship alert

Everyone deserves a person like Hinata in their lives honestly

This might be my favorite chapter of the series

How did Hinata manage to tell Shio and Takamine "a little" about Hoshino being worried about something if they literally just arrived? I must be misinterpreting what's happening here because I'm rereading it and it makes no sense, Hinata had literally no time to "spill the beans" :P

Texting?

She must've texted them off-screen, yeah

Hinata is the low key MVP, yet again ^_^ It's a cute touch that she choose a star hairpin for Hoshino, to fit her name. Hinata is really good at taking care of people and it shows.

And it matches her own sun hairpin.

she was too cute with her hair over one eye it had to go

My girl Hinata is such a great kid

And thus another introvert was adopted by an extrovert

I love hinata's earnestness :D

Hinata and Hoshino should kiss and hold hands.

This was a cute chapter and it was fun to see Hinata get some focus. She's such a cheery and straightforward girl who is easy to like. Although, it does feel like this was a bit of a one-off chapter that won't be all that significant in the long run. But I don't think that's really necessarily a bad thing.