Bitch, please! Her sleeping with her husband is okay. But her sleeping with another woman!!! That's too much for you!?
Come on, you are intending to do the same.
Also, Kanon has a legit point. Instead of confronting her husband, she prefers pushing away her friend and fellow lesbian.
Go for the head! Take the husband down!

last edited at Apr 19, 2026 7:09PM

Hario must have no clue or does not care. If you were straight and have sex with a lesbian, you will know. If Hario were experienced, he will almost know right away. Maybe he never heard of or know of the existance of lesbians before. If he knows, and still have sex with one, that's on him. Regardless of what kind of crap he did, a little sex education should enlighten him to file for a divorce. Go find someone who is not gay. He will be a very eligible bachelor anyway. The only alternative is to agree with Ema to have a form of lavender marriage, but I do not see any reason to do so other than to cover things up (divorce due to one of the partners being gay).
Ema will not change her strategy, nor Takara. They will continue to play their little games until Hario is out of the picture.

last edited at Apr 19, 2026 9:21PM

She hold her husband's hand in the taxi. Look at where she sit and the the hand that hold the other, as well as the design of the Jacket. She let it happen. They're a married couple and its very rare for her to initiate intimacy that's why the husband was eager. The husband also seems like he has his doubts about the closeness between his wife with her so cold "friend" and if he really does know he obviously doesn't have any plan of loosing her.

Its the wife who can't decide what she really want. She can't give up her life and at the same time can't let go of her first love. Dhe can't even give up the intimacy between her and her husband. Very realistic actually. In reality humans prefer betrayal than honesty. I'm curious how this story will unfold.

People on here are wild. Ema is obviously the one at fault, she's emotionally cheating on her husband while stringing along Takara with no plans to actually pursue something with her even tho they both have feelings for each other and Ema using that cute innocent act to get away with it. It's obviously a complicated situation but Takara and Hario are in the right, Ema is the one being shady because she wants to have her cake and eat it.

The story has basically been spelling this out for us for a while, Ema's own dialog this chapter shows she is very much aware of what she's doing and feels guilty. She's a married woman actively flirting with her childhood friend she has a crush on. Maybe we need to imagine Takara as a man/Hario as a woman to understand just how shady Ema is (obviously there's more nuance to it as Ema is into women but currently married, but the point is that Ema is married. As in officially off the market, flirting with someone you have a crush on while married is wild and yet the husband is the one somehow catching heat loll).

"If you were straight and have sex with a lesbian, you will know. " - This is just ridiculous loll.
People on here probably don't wanna hear this but Hario and Ema have been married for a long time and sex is a natural part of marriage.

We want Takara and Ema to get together but Ema is the one married and choosing to stay married. The ball is in her court.
I actually like how the story is currently going because it doesn't take the cheap route of making Hario a horrible husband. Very fitting for a mature story, exploring the complexity of such a situation.

last edited at Apr 20, 2026 3:27AM

Ema-chan
Lesbian* 0 points
White woman* -10 points
.

Takara

Lesbian* -0 points
White woman* (unmarried) -5 points

White woman? I definitely don't think white women and Asian women have the same equivalence. Especially in Japan. Also this was indeed a fun chapter to read comments for

last edited at Apr 20, 2026 3:09AM

"If you were straight and have sex with a lesbian, you will know. " - This is just ridiculous loll.
People on here probably don't wanna hear this but Hario and Ema have been married for a long time and sex is a >natural part of marriage.

It is never about duration or frequency, It is about something you feel that is not quite right. This is just my personal opinion. I have been with hetero parters, bi partners, and gay partners. They feel different. Both the emotional level and characteristics of the imtimacy are not the same. You can call it vibes. I am relatively old here, so I have dated at least one and half dozen of people.

I doubt the artist would get that idea into Hario's head. I think Hario does not know any better. Whatever Ema gives in intimacy, he would assume it is normal. Ema probably just does her best, or does what she thinks she is supposed to do. It is a lie to oneself.

Ema will not change her strategy, nor Takara. They will continue to play their little games until Hario is out of the picture.

Cheating is "playing their little games?"

The story has basically been spelling this out for us for a while, Ema's own dialog this chapter shows she is very much aware of what she's doing and feels guilty. She's a married woman actively flirting with her childhood friend she has a crush on. Maybe we need to imagine Takara as a man/Hario as a woman to understand just how shady Ema is (obviously there's more nuance to it as Ema is into women but currently married, but the point is that Ema is married. As in officially off the market, flirting with someone you have a crush on while married is wild and yet the husband is the one somehow catching heat loll).

It's wild but not unexpected. Some of the takes though have surprised even me. If even this guy is treated this way the bias is deep. I guess some will disagree but the sudden shift on Hario once it became clear Emma and Takara are just plain cheating is a bit funny. He should be happy he got to sleep with her. He should know she's gay from their sex. He's a rapist. He's this. He's that. All to say "he deserved it" in new roundabout ways. It's really something. A lot of victim blaming but I guess some don't want to view him as a victim, so we get all this gymnastics instead.

Emma needs to make a decision. It's extremely difficult and that's understandable. She clearly loves Hario and their life together (he helped her during her worst moments) even if that's not romantic but she needs to decide one way or the other. As her friend has alluded to: Emma has options, has always had options, has supportive friends and now has a woman waiting for her. Her mom has been out of the picture for a while now. It's not fair to anyone and not fair to the husband who married someone who wasn't honest with him and continues to cheat behind his back. She's got to at least talk to him. There's no major force preventing her anymore besides her own doubts and guilt. It's a tough situation for everyone but this has gone on for long enough without any discussion of concrete future plans.

As for Takara, she should listen to the friend and begin asking the important questions more often: When will you tell your husband? When will you at least separate from him? When will you file for divorce? Are you still sleeping with him? When will we be together? Why are we waiting? People get into bad situations when they are the "mistress" because they're too scared to demand this answers. The two of them should have better answers to these questions if they're going to sneak around. I feel for Takara though because it's hard to bring uncomfortable conversations up but the whole situation is more messy by the day.

last edited at Apr 20, 2026 8:31AM

I did not expect this much comment drama checking back in to this manga.

All I'll say is Takara deserves better.

I don't think Hario san knows about the affair Ema san is having now...ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

But yes, Takara san
If you decided to be with Ema san, then you've got to think far and deep.
You've got to think about the future D;

last edited at Apr 20, 2026 8:09PM

Takara deserves better.

Okay y'all, this may be a hot-take but.

I don't think it's wild to have sex with someone you've been dating/married to for many years while they're drunk.

I personally don't, because I prefer not to, but I know my girlfriend has expressed several times that it would be fine and has gotten really really pouty over me not touching her while she's inebriated.

Does consent matter? Yes, always, absolutely. Can consent be revoked at any time? Yes, of course. Are there some consents which are assumed at certain times in a relationship or per relationship? Also yes. I don't ask for permission everytime I kiss my girl--that'd be odd and it's well established I'm allowed to do that. If at any point she doesn't want me to kiss her, she can say it and I won't but until then, I'm assuming I can--- that's not crazy pos rapist behavior (to quote some comments here)

Which brings us back to. They have implied or explicit permissions within their relationship and having sex with one party drunk is not an insane one after many years of partnership. Just my two cents after reading some strong opinions on Harlo.

there is a complete contextual framework you are missing. Ema has been coerced into this marriage, by hario and everyone around her, the societal mechanism of lesbophobia.. Hario has been pressuring and guilting her for lack of sex, He has used coercive tactics. The shame and guilt motivating Ema to intentionally endanger herself with one outcome in mind were deliberately stoked by Hario. That 'i am inebriated" communicates instantly and precisely one thing to Hario, at least textually, strongly indicates that this is a historical pattern in relationship. Ema may be intentionally using the alcohol purely to endure the "duties" she has been made to feel obligated to, to dull and kill her body and memory temporarily so that it can be consumed, but this is under clear duress. it is marital rape. I dont think its an untoward interpretation for her to have ritualized sexual self-harm within a relationship that is foundationally self-harm. I dont know what others here understanding of self-harm or suicidality is—I firmly believe they are intense social failures, not personal failures—but I do not think she is able to act in full agency because of people like her mother and Hario who have shaped her environment over many years.

Okay y'all, this may be a hot-take but.

I don't think it's wild to have sex with someone you've been dating/married to for many years while they're drunk.

I personally don't, because I prefer not to, but I know my girlfriend has expressed several times that it would be fine and has gotten really really pouty over me not touching her while she's inebriated.

Does consent matter? Yes, always, absolutely. Can consent be revoked at any time? Yes, of course. Are there some consents which are assumed at certain times in a relationship or per relationship? Also yes. I don't ask for permission everytime I kiss my girl--that'd be odd and it's well established I'm allowed to do that. If at any point she doesn't want me to kiss her, she can say it and I won't but until then, I'm assuming I can--- that's not crazy pos rapist behavior (to quote some comments here)

Which brings us back to. They have implied or explicit permissions within their relationship and having sex with one party drunk is not an insane one after many years of partnership. Just my two cents after reading some strong opinions on Harlo.

there is a complete contextual framework you are missing. Ema has been coerced into this marriage, by hario and everyone around her, the societal mechanism of lesbophobia.. Hario has been pressuring and guilting her for lack of sex, He has used coercive tactics. The shame and guilt motivating Ema to intentionally endanger herself with one outcome in mind were deliberately stoked by Hario. That 'i am inebriated" communicates instantly and precisely one thing to Hario, at least textually, strongly indicates that this is a historical pattern in relationship. Ema may be intentionally using the alcohol purely to endure the "duties" she has been made to feel obligated to, to dull and kill her body and memory temporarily so that it can be consumed, but this is under clear duress. it is marital rape. I dont think its an untoward interpretation for her to have ritualized sexual self-harm within a relationship that is foundationally self-harm. I dont know what others here understanding of self-harm or suicidality is—I firmly believe they are intense social failures, not personal failures—but I do not think she is able to act in full agency because of people like her mother and Hario who have shaped her environment over many years.

I think my question generally would be about intentionality. If Hario is looking at the situation as "my wife won't have sex with me unless she's drunk so I'll get her drunk so we can fuck" then yes that does feel like marital rape in the way you've defined the situation. If, on the other hand, Hario thinks "my wife is very shy and does not have much of a sex drive but on occasion when drinking alcohol she seems to want to have sex so I'll just wait until she wants to do it" then it's not marital rape but can certainly still be a self-harm from Ema. And I have no idea what Hario is thinking about the situation since we don't have his thoughts on this scene. But we've never seen him intentionally trying to get Ema drunk, so I would lean more towards the second scenario than the first.

I feel like you're making assumptions about the text that aren't actually there in the text. Now maybe in a later chapter we'll get more context and it turns out Hario is malicious, but so far we haven't been shown this. There can be harm in a situation without the people involved being the perpetrators of that harm. Ema is obviously not happy, but that doesn't mean that Hario is the one causing that situation. Again, later on we might find that he is one of the ones causing the situation, but right now we can't say that.

the brain rot in here is insane

there is a complete contextual framework you are missing. Ema has been coerced into this marriage, by hario and everyone around her, the societal mechanism of lesbophobia.. Hario has been pressuring and guilting her for lack of sex, He has used coercive tactics. The shame and guilt motivating Ema to intentionally endanger herself with one outcome in mind were deliberately stoked by Hario. That 'i am inebriated" communicates instantly and precisely one thing to Hario, at least textually, strongly indicates that this is a historical pattern in relationship. Ema may be intentionally using the alcohol purely to endure the "duties" she has been made to feel obligated to, to dull and kill her body and memory temporarily so that it can be consumed, but this is under clear duress. it is marital rape. I dont think its an untoward interpretation for her to have ritualized sexual self-harm within a relationship that is foundationally self-harm. I dont know what others here understanding of self-harm or suicidality is—I firmly believe they are intense social failures, not personal failures—but I do not think she is able to act in full agency because of people like her mother and Hario who have shaped her environment over many years.

Most of this take seemed so distant from my understanding of the story that I was motivated to re-read the entire series in order to double-check my impressions about what the text itself actually says, which is:

• Ema obviously has been the victim of severe emotional abuse from her mother all her life, and she is extremely insecure, emotionally vulnerable, and suffering from very low self-esteem as a result.

• Hario has been shown to be extremely kind, thoughtful, and understanding of Ema and her vulnerabilities, so much so that his gratitude and lack of jealousy toward Takara seems if anything a bit excessive. The "worst" thing he has been shown to do (if one wants to interpret it that way) was to continue to pursue Ema romantically in college after being rejected a number of times. But Ema's decision to marry Hario was not a result of him "coercing" her, but of Ema begging him to rescue her from her mother's abuse.

Absolutely nothing in the text supports the assertions that:

Hario has been pressuring and guilting her for lack of sex, He has used coercive tactics. The shame and guilt motivating Ema to intentionally endanger herself with one outcome in mind were deliberately stoked by Hario.

The only depiction of their sex life is the most recent scene in Chap. 28, where Ema explicitly is the one who initiates skinship in the taxi, and there is not the slightest suggestion that their sexual encounter involves anything like "clear duress" on Hario's part. (And, assuming the translation is being precise, when Ema announces that she's "tipsy," she says "I just want to go to bed," rather than "I just want to go home.")

Certainly comphet has been a major issue throughout this story, one which has played a significant role in Ema's marriage, and Hario's desire to be the one to "protect" her does position him as the "one-up" person in their marriage dynamic. He's also well aware that Ema is more reserved emotionally with him than she has been lately with Takara, which has resulted in some degree of insecurity on his part.

As flowsthead says above, it's theoretically possible that Hario later will be shown to have darker motivations and more sinister behavior than he has displayed so far. But this deliberately coercive, manipulative rapist forcing Ema into patterns of self-harm simply is not the character who has been depicted in the story up to this point.

Why does almost everyone in this comment section (not Blastaar) feel the need to be mean to at least one of the characters?

They're all pretty nice people. Not perfect people, but pretty nice. On one hand, Hario has done nothing wrong and has been nothing but nice throughout. On the other, yeah, Takara and Ema shouldn't have kissed with her being married and all, and ideally should get serious about coming up with an ethical and honest course of action. But geeze, they've been in love for 10 years or something without ever being able to forget each other; this is big love, it conquers a whole lot, they had one slip-up in the heat of the moment, I think we can agree they shouldn't have while still cutting them a bit of slack, eh? Not like they had sex.

At least one person is going to end up getting hurt really bad, and I think we all know the biggest hurt will be headed for Hario, but that doesn't mean anyone has to be seriously in the wrong. Life can just be messy like that, it isn't anyone's fault, and they're not going to get through it perfectly but they're trying and none of them is facing each other with ill will, so why rag on them?

Why does almost everyone in this comment section (not Blastaar) feel the need to be mean to at least one of the characters?

They're all pretty nice people. Not perfect people, but pretty nice. On one hand, Hario has done nothing wrong and has been nothing but nice throughout. On the other, yeah, Takara and Ema shouldn't have kissed with her being married and all, and ideally should get serious about coming up with an ethical and honest course of action. But geeze, they've been in love for 10 years or something without ever being able to forget each other; this is big love, it conquers a whole lot, they had one slip-up in the heat of the moment, I think we can agree they shouldn't have while still cutting them a bit of slack, eh? Not like they had sex.

At least one person is going to end up getting hurt really bad, and I think we all know the biggest hurt will be headed for Hario, but that doesn't mean anyone has to be seriously in the wrong. Life can just be messy like that, it isn't anyone's fault, and they're not going to get through it perfectly but they're trying and none of them is facing each other with ill will, so why rag on them?

I agree with this in theory, but I think you're downplaying Ema's role here in the story. She might be generally nice, but I also think she's been fairly manipulative. I'm not saying it's all been intentional manipulation, I think a lot of it stems from her trauma with her mother, but she has not been treating Takara or Hario honestly and well.

Let’s assume the categorical imperative. No matter how this works out, each person’s transgressions against another’s autonomy cannot be discounted in our final judgment.

Hario-kun

Heterosexual* -10 points
White guy* -10 points
Repeated advances -10 points
Drinking -10 points
Makes Ema dinner +10 points
Advises Ema +10 points
Advises Ema +10 points
Throws himself into work +10 points
Makes plans for Ema and Takara +10 points
Tracks down Takara +10 points
Consults with Takara +10 points
Consults with Takara +10 points
Gets Ema clothes +10 points
Gets Ema her own apartment +10 points
Calls a taxi +10 points
Sexual assault** -5 points

Not looking great for Hario-kun

Ema-chan
Lesbian* 0 points
White woman* -10 points
Abuse victim* +10 points
Marriage +10 points
Works hard for her husband +10 points
Takes her own space +10 points
Straight at a lesbian meetup -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Calls Takara -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Cheating -10 points
Cheating -10 points

Okay, not good either.

Takara

Lesbian* -0 points
White woman* (unmarried) -5 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Making Ema’s friend an accomplice -10 points
Doesn’t put her all into work -10 points

…So yeah, I don’t think we need to count this one. Takara needs to die.

She is the vector that brings a system at equilibrium to a scary new trajectory of indecency. Legally speaking, it should probably be Ema-chan for the violation of contract and on a personal level I’d like to shoot Hario-kun with a gun. Obviously I’m here because I love lesbians in love but methinks Takara should leave these two to their domestic bliss and find a new girlfriend who doesn’t have an entire hecking job and marriage. Otherwise these two will not stop until her corpse is picked clean.

*I know the inclusion of identity markers will be controversial, but it’s an acknowledgement that broader social hierarchy gives undue advantage in interpersonal conflicts. And yes, I know these characters are Japanese, but they are Japanese in Japan (a first world country, hello) and as such the equivalent of white in that context.

I haven't posted in so many years that it's been multiple device changes and I had to make a new account, specifically to tell you to seek help. Touching grass isn't enough for this level of unhinged, racist, dehumanizing craziness. Scoring people's WORTH / MORALITY as a mathematical number using their inherent characteristics like race and sexuality is not rational adult behavior and is not OK, and the rest of your post is just as / even more deranged as well.

last edited at Apr 23, 2026 12:51PM

the brain rot in here is insane

for real

Romalcohol posted:

Let’s assume the categorical imperative. No matter how this works out, each person’s transgressions against another’s autonomy cannot be discounted in our final judgment.

Hario-kun

Heterosexual* -10 points
White guy* -10 points
Repeated advances -10 points
Drinking -10 points
Makes Ema dinner +10 points
Advises Ema +10 points
Advises Ema +10 points
Throws himself into work +10 points
Makes plans for Ema and Takara +10 points
Tracks down Takara +10 points
Consults with Takara +10 points
Consults with Takara +10 points
Gets Ema clothes +10 points
Gets Ema her own apartment +10 points
Calls a taxi +10 points
Sexual assault** -5 points

Not looking great for Hario-kun

Ema-chan
Lesbian* 0 points
White woman* -10 points
Abuse victim* +10 points
Marriage +10 points
Works hard for her husband +10 points
Takes her own space +10 points
Straight at a lesbian meetup -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Calls Takara -10 points
Lying -10 points
Lying -10 points
Cheating -10 points
Cheating -10 points

Okay, not good either.

Takara

Lesbian* -0 points
White woman* (unmarried) -5 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Sees Ema again -10 points
Lying -10 points
Making Ema’s friend an accomplice -10 points
Doesn’t put her all into work -10 points

…So yeah, I don’t think we need to count this one. Takara needs to die.

She is the vector that brings a system at equilibrium to a scary new trajectory of indecency. Legally speaking, it should probably be Ema-chan for the violation of contract and on a personal level I’d like to shoot Hario-kun with a gun. Obviously I’m here because I love lesbians in love but methinks Takara should leave these two to their domestic bliss and find a new girlfriend who doesn’t have an entire hecking job and marriage. Otherwise these two will not stop until her corpse is picked clean.

*I know the inclusion of identity markers will be controversial, but it’s an acknowledgement that broader social hierarchy gives undue advantage in interpersonal conflicts. And yes, I know these characters are Japanese, but they are Japanese in Japan (a first world country, hello) and as such the equivalent of white in that context.

I haven't posted in so many years that it's been multiple device changes and I had to make a new account, specifically to tell you to seek help. Touching grass isn't enough for this level of unhinged, racist, dehumanizing craziness. Scoring people's WORTH / MORALITY as a mathematical number using their inherent characteristics like race and sexuality is not rational adult behavior and is not OK, and the rest of your post is just as / even more deranged as well.

whoosh

EDIT: actually I do have a quibble with one part of this:

*I know the inclusion of identity markers will be controversial, but it’s an acknowledgement that broader social hierarchy gives undue advantage in interpersonal conflicts. And yes, I know these characters are Japanese, but they are Japanese in Japan (a first world country, hello) and as such the equivalent of white in that context.

I don't think you need to hedge at all. Hario is white. Look at his skin tone on the average page of this manga, it's pure white, identical as the empty page it's drawn on. Dude is extremely a white dude, there's no ambiguity here.
That said, I don't agree with the rubric, being straight should be worth at least -100, not a mere -10

last edited at Apr 23, 2026 9:03PM

Not sure what to personally make of the latest chapter yet so I'll focus on something else instead.
When I skimmed through my newly acquired volume, the line in chapter 9 jumped out at me: "I'm just glad that I'm with you." While it sounds more natural with the follow-up "That's my line.", I can't help but get a fundamentally different feel from it in comparison to "I did well to choose you". I'm really happy to have the opportunity to read it here as well (although I'd still love for a local publisher to pick it up).

She has a baby and never to see Takara again. The end. Lol.

But seriously I just can't root for Ema.

what exactly is ema doing broo?? She straight up admits their relationship is temporary, that it’s "bound to end," but then turns around and feeds Takara all these soft, intimate words like "i can’t wait to see you" and "i don't think i can hold myself back " blah blah blah. And don’t even get me started on the husband situation. If she has no intention of leaving him, then fine that’s her choice. But then atleast have the decency to be clear with Takara!!!
Takara deserves so much better. You can literally see she knows something is wrong deep down, but she’s so emotionally attached that she can’t face it properly.
Ema sorting out her issues with her mother should’ve been the turning point but instead of growing into someone honest she just became more comfortable living this double life. I fucking can't at this point.
My heart breaks for Takara so bad , i don't think I can see this ending in them being together, in any good way.

last edited at Apr 29, 2026 8:02AM