The divorce thing on Japan does tend to be like that - I'm not sure the concept of "visitation rights" even exists there. I know that Japanese nationals with half Japanese children are known to flee to Japan with the kids and courts over there would block any attempt by foreign parents to see their kids. For the longest time Japan was not party to international treaties regarding this, though they may have changed in the last few years (or not).

Basically, divorce is even worse in Japan, unless it's an amicable divorce.

Yeah, I'm just gonna echo Purple Library Guy here. It's all unstable but saying "it's not love" seems to me to be trying to put love into a very small, socially acceptable box. Which is funny coming out of a forum for lesbian manga.

Certainly something has to change. It can't stay the way it is, but that doesn't mean it's just "infatuation" or a "midlife crises". Just where it ends up and how is the question. It seems like Wei Wei is going to try to end it from the cliffhanger, but if I were Ding Yi, I'd probably think "aren't you just doing to me what your ex did to you?" Find a reason and just cut it off... Not saying the age gap isn't a problem but...

This story reminds me a bit of "All You" in the age gap and the conflict of the older character. What we're missing is the story from the other side.

I am dead. "The level of porn" with the nihonga... Then the shimada x sailor suit x pole dancing... The alchemy of mixing these three fundamentally sexy things creates something utterly ridiculous.

This killed me with laughter.

I do get why she's so focused on her 1st crush,

It's not her first crush. That's plot device-kun.

I kinda wonder if plot device-kun isn't Kotooka, it might be too convenient but I almost expect it as it's so common a plot device.

The only thing about this manga is I want them all to be happy...

It seems like the resolution for Subaru's complex is for him to get with Asakura - when he's not being "left behind" but is "going ahead" instead. And it's clear that it's heading that way. Probably he's going to get caught out and then confessed to maybe.

Washio I sympathize with - I think it's unfair to fault her for being "selfish" in love, as romantic love and desire is naturally selfish in this respect. She's out to win, if she has to play the game she will. I find Kotooka more annoying, she's hurting one person to maintain some sort of status quo that doesn't need to be and can't be maintained. Plus I find it annoying that she's in the lesbian clique, realizes everyone is lesbian, and feels like she's obligated to bring down everyone with straight norms. But I want her punishment to be falling for Washio and getting more than she ever thought possible. There have been some hints about her past and her being boyish then, I really suspect she's just really having trouble coming to terms with herself.

But I don't want Tsukasa to be sad either... It's a shame because she's the most open and honest of them all. And she doesn't have the manner of Washio, who seems like she could easily seduce lots of girls. Then again, she does tick a lot of boxes and is one haircut away from being the sort of sporty prince archetype that's all over. I guess I feel like she's the least likely to angst over her own identity, over liking girls. So I guess I expect her to be happy in the end even if it wasn't in the frame of this manga? In real life I wouldn't be so cavalier in judgement, the people you expect to be okay often turn out to be fragile and the people you think are a mess turn out strong...

And then, the bullying started. None would want to group with them, they'd find trash in their shoe-lockers, "Dykes" scribbled on their desks and get the silent treatment.

Welcome back to reality in a Japanese high-school.

Well, that depends on the school, on the people there... Japan is a harder hurdle than the US and the US is no cakewalk, but I'm reminded of a long ago blog by an American teaching English as a JET who named a certain school the "school of peace" because of the lack of bullying and general good conduct of the students AND faculty. What you get is a crapshoot. I'm sure if you have the right friends it helps, but you don't ever know if you have the right friends until it comes down to it.

Which means you're rolling and hoping the d20 comes up with critical success. The reason so few people gamble the long odds is obvious, sadly...

So where can I read/order "Gyaru Yuri"?

Just found this one (lucky I can read Japanese, though it's so full of slang they put translations in there). The comico app is free but you have to get tickets which recharge over time. At least they let you use it overseas (like in the US), unlike the Monogatari app they had for Koyomi Monogatari (I'm still salty about how they blocked overseas users).

Gyaruyuri is pretty silly. Really silly.

I decided to read the stuff under the transgender tag just out of a whim, and this was probably the most surprising of them all. It really turned out well in the end... It was a really moving story with all of them.

As for the afterstory, I don't think that Palow is as doomed as all that, he's got problems but I kinda think that he could have a real relationship if he met the right guy (hopefully before he gets a bunch of STDs). But his sexual tendencies are probably always going to be... unusual, and he's probably always going to have a big sex drive. That things haven't turned out for him YET is not EVER. I know lots of people who had various problems in their lives, that managed to find a way through later on (and "normal" people who ended up having serious problems). And lots of people have kinky sex.

Even with everything, I think Palow is MUCH more well-adjusted compared to what he was like at the beginning of the story. Really, he seems to be having fun.

I want to know the ending but this is in the same category for me as Umareru Kachi - it's just bad news for the sake of bad news.

That said, well, the dude certainly deserved to die. It's a shame for anyone to lose anything over the well deserved death of someone like that.

Man, I love the old school shojo look. Lots of great artists out there but that style is so nice to see sometimes. Always have been a shojo manga fan anyways. Something about it screams "fluffy romance" and I am a sucker for that.

I bet everyone else in the school is just thinking, "the tea club lesbians are having sex at school again..."

I wonder if he plans a sequel, and why he ended it there. Perhaps he needs to move to another magazine to do what he wants with the series. I don't know what Yawaspi's editorial policies are.

or perhaps he is going to make the rest full hentai

God, this chapter. Some people just can't resist shitting on other people's good time. And nail polish bought in a 100 yen store is hardly luxury or waste.

On a separate note, can someone confirm that it's a "him" in "So you broke up with him for good this time, huh?" It might be my inner denial, but did I miss a time skip where Keiko got back with her ex?

It's very clear, Keiko unambiguously and totally broke up with her ex - I think when they broke up initially it was somewhat unclear what their status was due to the circumstances. It's not that she was ever back with him but that there was no clean break the first time.

The Japanese is きっぱり別れた (kippari wakareta) which is very clear.

So far this is heading into a happy yuri ending! In the last three chapters, there's been a confession, hand holding, watching the sunset, and they're going to go to the amusement park.

I know something is bound to get in the way, but this is amazingly in sweet yuri territory right now. Seriously amazed that nobody's talking about it.

Ran has it hard... She's got two choices, either she has to attack or she has to seduce. And by seduce, she has to crank up the level to 11. Keiko is STILL wavering, for some stupid reason.

Ran can't just wait forever for Keiko to move. Because Keiko will never be ready.

Needs a "WTF am I reading" tag.

I liked the setting, perhaps because I've been doing welding and electrical stuff recently. Incidentally, she wasn't "machining" the part but grinding it (on a bench grinder). I don't know if grinding a part to fit by hand like that would count as machining, typical machining means lathes, mills, CNC machines. Almost decided to study machining but decided on electrical instead...

You don't see much blue collar stuff, except "Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep". It would have been more interesting if Madoka had decided to train Mei in that sort of work. It's the backside of everything, really, though more people work in the service industry everything (cars and computers and everything) has to get made somewhere.

Well, I guess it wasn't going to go anywhere, so whatever. But I would have liked to have had something.

I just read this (even the raws) and I have to say it was dark as hell. And, as it typical with time stuff, it really doesn't make much sense in a certain way. But it was interesting that it went the other direction from most time skip stuff (like Again! or others). The usual premise is that the protag does good, or does things better at least. Again! had that one douche who decided to be a dick, but this is a whole 'nother level.

It also raises questions about the protag himself - in his first life, he appears to have been harmless. Deep down, was he evil then? Or did living the life of a virgin NEET make him evil? There is more than that but it's all spoiler talk so I won't say anything.

This is one of those things that just makes you feel terrible by reading it. It is pretty powerful, though. I am glad that at least Dynasty has this (along with several other weird manga), because it's actually pretty well done. That it makes people uncomfortable, well, that's the point.

Is anyone other than me reading this? It's by the same guy as Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil) and it is very, very relevant to this site. The main character is almost certainly a lesbian, the girl she gets close to is probably also gay, and it's pretty interesting. There is a lot of crazy going on as well.

It's also on CR's manga section, so it is licensed.

It's a rollercoaster, as can be expected from the guy who wrote Aku no Hana, and there is a lot of angst. Really beyond angst, more crazy, but whatever. In any case, I suggest it for people who like that type of story. Very intense.

That look on Ran's face though, it's like something suddenly hit her. It's as if she has seen a nightmare. I wonder what went through her head at that moment (her mood kinda changed, she looked sad in the next panel)...Maybe it's the thought that Keiko might someday leave her to get married and have kids, and that I believe is not something she would want to happen.

I think that's exactly what that look is. Which is a change from before where she's usually been the stronger one. So she must be insecure about her relationship. Considering that she knows the ex as well she must have a good idea of the situation. So the question is how she deals with it and what Keiko does.

Honestly I wonder what Keiko really thinks of the whole thing, she is pretty reserved and much more the passive partner. But she's gonna need to make herself clear or the instability is going to cause problems. I worry that Ran might try to push her away if she thinks Keiko really wants the hetero family route. The Nanoha route is not really doable yet in Japan, is it?

This reminds me a bit of Satchi and Ruki from The Feelings we all must Endure but without the bad parts. That one ended with a role reversal - where is this gonna go?

last edited at May 6, 2015 3:52PM

Bad news

Guys, I regret to inform that Chapter 33 has been postponed until April 2, for reasons of work in the third volume.

Below the explanation about the delay, I would like someone to translate it because I did not understand very well the last part of the message:

●編集部コメント
ストレッチの３３話ですが、
作者単行本作業のため
ひと月更新日をずらさせて頂きました。

楽しみにしていた皆さま、本当に申し訳ありません。

単行本第３集は５月１２日頃の発売です。
１集に引き続き、描き下ろし４C漫画もありますので
ぜひともお買い求めください!!

"Editorial division's comment:
Stretch 33 has been delayed for a month due to work on the new tankobon.

For everyone who has been enjoying the manga, apologies.

Stretch 3 will be on sale 5/12. Continuing our practice from volume 1, special 4-koma(?) manga are included so please check it out!!"

Re-reading it the relationship between Ruki and Sacchan is not totally clear. They definitely got into a sort of bad loop too, Ruki was kinda forcing herself and Sachi wasn't exactly communicative either. Ruki got so caught up in herself that she didn't really pay enough attention to Sacchan, and then their relationship got even more estranged... And Sachi just went with Remi because it was easy.

I think people who say Sachi was not thinking about Ruki at all are wrong. I also don't think Ruki was "destroyed", just that there was a lot pent up that needed to be let out (which she had been keeping back for a while). It's sad, it sucks, but they've figured something out in the end. And I feel like people are being far too naive and perfectionistic about relationships. Really. This stuff happens all the time. People cheat, lie, stop talking, get wrapped up in work, relationships have rocky spots. If people just said, "that's it, I'm out" every time something got screwed up than even fewer relationships would last.

I think Ruki and Sacchan's relationship is one that can be saved (with more openness for a start), while Fue and Asuna's couldn't be saved even with love. I think that's part of the point here. People seem to want to divide them up into good guys and bad guys but I just don't see that.

I thought it was pretty realistic. I can understand what Ruki is feeling, and Sachi comes out as a different kind of person than expected. At least she knows she's cruel.

This reminded me of a part toward the end of Maison Ikkoku. Towards the end, Godai gets called by Akemi to a love hotel because she got abandoned and couldn't pay the check to get out. Of course, Kyoko sees them leaving and thinks that Godai was messing around with Akemi, and she gets in a fight with him about it. She then accuses Akemi, who says something like, "So what if we had sex? We're not children. Does that change who Godai is? Does that really change what you think about him? Just grow up!" Now, the situation isn't exactly the same (since Kyoko and Godai were never officially together until later in the story), but it does come to mind.

If you're really in love with someone, you're not going to stop loving that person so easily. Ruki isn't going to stop loving Sachi because of the cheating. I can see why she forgave her.

The whole point of this arc was they weren't playing by the same rules because they didn't view the relationship the same way. Sachi saw it unseriously, while Ruki was playing for keeps the whole time, desperately trying to make it work. Sachi didn't understand because she was trying to view it from the "normal" perspective, in which it DOESN'T make sense. In a girl-girl relationship, who's the "guy"? Who takes the lead? Who's the "strong" one? You can say "relationships don't have to be that way", but this is obviously a key issue or there wouldn't be the whole butch/femme thing. Ideally a relationship should not need these type of fixed roles, and I think in most longer relationships this dichotomy breaks down to a greater or lesser extent (can't say for sure because my relationship experience is basically nil), but it IS an issue.

Now that Sachi realizes she can BE the strong one, that she likes Ruki even though she's weak and awkward - even partly because she's weak and awkward - they've restarted their relationship seriously... Does Sachi deserve it? I'm not even going to go into that territory. I have a friend that cheated on her fiance with 2 guys (at the same time, as in threesome). It came out before they were married but in the end they stayed together and have been happily married for many years (and I'm pretty sure she hasn't done anything like that since). Who's to judge?

After reading that my first though was... Wow, you really brought that on yourself, didn't you?

This is probably going to be pretty rough.