For the sake of those who haven't read or skimmed the raws, it'd be nice if y'all could stop discussing the ending...

Sorry about that, I saw it getting badmouthed and I was worried people were quitting the manga over it.

last edited at Mar 4, 2018 9:21AM

Has the story run out of steam? Or are the last few updates just side things before the main story returns?

I am hoping they are side stories, though even then, I am starting to be a little disappointed. Sure, these are all cute, but after the whole first-kiss-is-a-big-deal-after-all-this-time-plus-fangirl-drama angle has been systematically built up for several chapters, to be followed by a series of unconnected little episodes is starting to grate on my nerves, to be honest. Especially episodes such as this, if you are not going to continue the main story with the two leads, at least give me more stuff on the side characters, they also interest me. And if you are going to give me the main couple, then give me the main storyline from where we left of, not a random snippet from who knows how far into their future.

Nothing against these little scenes per se, they are cute, but I probably would have appreciated them better at some later date, after the current big theme got a little more spotlight.

Well I'll take these vignettes over another 100 year basketball game, but I'm starting to worry that the author doesn't have a plan moving forward after the kiss. Even before then, the plot seemed kind of like it was written on the spot from chapter to chapter. Now we're right in the middle of the story, and it seems like it has nowhere to go.

Has the story run out of steam? Or are the last few updates just side things before the main story returns?

My thoughts on the ending: I think it sounds sweet. Himari realizes that Airi loves senpai, and makes a sacrifice to protect her sister's love. it's very over the top, but I think it makes sense for a romantic story.

last edited at Mar 3, 2018 11:58PM

I have no idea who swapped with who this chapter. Didn't Natsuko and Haruka decide earlier they weren't going to swap with other people?

Ugh. Honorifics contain so much context that when they are missing it feels like you are missing half the story. And there is just no good direct translation for them in English, where he have no clear way to denote (or desire to denote) fifteen different levels of respect, deference, or familiarity--and that's just when talking to a sibling!

To me, stripping out the honorifics also strips out a good deal of the Japanese culture that informs and colors the storylines. And if you are stripping out the Japanese culture in manga, then you are doing little more than reading American comic books, except that everyone has eyes the size of tea saucers. You might as well change all the octopus and rice in the dinners to hot dogs and mashed potatoes while you are at it.

I'm not sure why non-professional translators would want to strip out honorifics in the first place. 99.9% of the readers of fan-translated manga are people who are already well versed in the ins-and-outs of -sensei, -dono, and oujo-sama. The other 0.1% are people who are reading their first manga, and are going to find many more challenges from the culture shock than just the nuances of honorifics.

Goodness gracious.

Beautiful.

Exactly what it says in your quoted text, it's an aside. The main point was the two different kinds of "joshi", not the egg thing per se.

I think Nevri is implying that, based on her experience with Japanese, the title having joshi in it was definitely NOT intended to reference the word "fujoshi," even though it seems to me like it could have been. I believe it.

Nezchan posted:

Wait, this never occurred to me before, but is the title a joke on the word "fushoshi"? It seems like "hanjuku" here means something like half-formed, or half-done, and that's reinforced by the half-cooked egg in the beginning and the (translated?) title of "soft-boiled" for the extras.

Meanwhile the otaku sister is a fujoshi herself, maybe open for a "rotten egg" pun while Chitose is a "soft-boiled egg". Which makes the title more clever than I realized, if true.

Sadly no. Hanjuku simply mean half-cooked/soft-boiled​ or simply half-done, but also can be used with meaning of immature (half-mature, not yet fully/completely mature). Mari even refers to them like that, while implying that in order to become fully mature, they need to have sex with a guy. I'm pretty sure the words she used were "hanjuku joshi", but in the context of the scene, they decided to tl them as half-mature. And it fits with themes of the story, where they are still immature (half-baked) and try to better understand themselves and what it means to be yourself or to love someone else in order to become more mature. Bonus most likely simply uses the same word, but translated as soft-boiled.

So while it is tempting to make some jokes about Chitose's sister being half-rotten egg, the word itself doesn't really specify it has to be egg.

Couldn't it still be a pun on the word "fujoshi" in addition to that stuff? I don't see how what you said contradicts Nezchan's observation.

No Octave or Girl Friends option, oh well.

Goes into nerd rage for 5 minutes

Never read Bloom into You but I'll vote for it anyways seeing how it's the manga that probably offers the most quality Yuri out of the other two.

I guess that's the overall best option. Himawari-San is the overall best of the three, but it would be too easy for them to make it subtext-only which would be a waste. AnoKiss is good, but some parts are funky and I could see the adaptation ending up not much better than NTR and Citrus.

Bloom Into You has both explicit yuri and a story with some depth. I can't take the "I can only love you if you don't love me" thing seriously at all, but it's unique and might work in animation.

^What was Nico dishonest about exactly? How much she was getting paid?

Kind of a revelation for NicoMaki. No fighting, no antics, no forced sexual tension like in all the doujinshi, just them running into each other and having a fun time together in a natural way. Just look at Maki's face:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/love_live_school_idol_diary_ch02#38
Now that's a look of real, vulnerable joy in a shy person.

^Looks creepy at a glance seeing the protagonists together, but I guess maybe the guy's likable if you watch the show?

I don't think you can really say who deserves what. Tamao did take initiative. She invited her to a romantic lunch date that Nagisa completely blew off to meet Shizuma, who acted creepy and intimidated her like usual.

The fact that Mei decided to date Yuzu, give her hope for the future, while fully knowing that one day they would have to break up the entire time makes it very hard to be sympathetic to her. I can fully understand people hating her, not because of her duty to her grandfather and family but because of the way she played with Yuzus heart.

To be fair, Mei resisted the relationship for a long while. It was Yuzu who aggressively and persistently pursued her, even though she should have known how unlikely it was to turn out well.

^They're just bracelets. Sakuya is wearing them too in a different color.

I hate Strawberry Panic. The results of deciding the couples by fan vote? The most frustrating love triangles ever written. Wasn't it great when Nagisa ditched Tamao for Shizuma? Wasn't that fun? I mean wasn't Yaya getting heartbroken and almost raping Hikari just delightful? (I'm sorry for the salt)

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 12:58AM

The facial expressions are K.I.L.L.E.R.

Once upon a time there was a man with an enormous penis who scoured the land for small children and dogs to rape he was then shot and killed. The end. R E A L I S T I C

That could be a black mirror plot. Just add smart phones gone wrong.

Jokes aside, people were defending the manga's realism because they thought the manga was being unjustly criticized for lacking realism.

last edited at Feb 21, 2018 5:47PM

I guess she just isn't as keen on traditional Japanese culture like you guys.

Actually if you've been paying attention she's clearly not keen at all on this sort of thing. It's been one of her fatal flaws the entire series.

yeah, sure, whatever you say. Just glad that we got it straight that you guys believe that you are more keen on traditional Japanese culture than the characters in the manga.

I don't believe that at all. This particular character is notably bad at conforming, and in love with a person she probably shouldn't be.

Since you seem to know so much, if Mei refused the arranged marriage would she be denied the headmistress position?

It's certainly possible. There are also plenty of other possible reasons she believes she has to do it, even if she in fact doesn't. Would it kill you to use some imagination? I've never once seen you able to handle a manga with any ambiguity present. It's your kryptonite.

last edited at Feb 19, 2018 8:22AM

I guess she just isn't as keen on traditional Japanese culture like you guys.

Actually if you've been paying attention she's clearly not keen at all on this sort of thing. It's been one of her fatal flaws the entire series.

I never thought I'd say this, but the yaoi is way better and cuter than the yuri. What the heck happened with this manga?

last edited at Feb 18, 2018 5:54AM

Oh come on guys, it's simple to assume she formally breaks up with the GF right after this, the author just decided to leave it to the reader's imagination.

Am I the only one who's not surprised?
Mei has been iffy on the relationship from the very beginning, and clearly was still loyal to the grandfather. Sadly, this was kind of inevitable.

I don't think this is a way of skipping the story arc. It's an unfortunate development WITHIN the story arc.

Should I be glad I only read the first chapter of the series version?

It was mediocre. Predictable, but ultimately a sweet story with good art. The update schedule I think made it feel more drawn out than it really was.