I'm actually not sure why people are assuming that this is the last chapter.

36 chapters later, Mei's feelings and intentions are finally revealed.

Although she unknowingly ended up running away from her feelings again, this time, she knows where she's going. She was able to make a choice for herself for the first time in her life.

I hated Mei for the first 20+ chapters of the story. Her indecision, unwillingness to communicate and lack of independence caused so much unnecessary drama, it made (arguably) the two most sensible characters (Harumi and Matsuri) dislike her (which is obviously not the case anymore).

But the past several chapters have shown Mei growing up and hatching from her shell, thanks to Yuzu's endless supply of patience and persistence. Mei now has a sense of self, and has come to understand her own feelings.

It just sucks that, thanks to Yuzu's guidance, Mei has chosen to walk down this new path alone. But at the same time, I think it's good that Mei doesn't attribute Yuzu as her meaning in life, and instead, thinks of Yuzu as the person who helped her find her place in the world.

iirc, there's one more chapter? Last I read this series was over a year ago, so I'm not sure at all. I think the last chapter heavily implied that Alice was in love with Koko, and she was going to comfort her.

Also, I think when Yagi said she had a "harem", she meant a group of friends, but I don't remember the original text.

last edited at Feb 16, 2018 9:49PM

Y'all gotta have more faith in Shun. :')

The art style :0 I thought it was drew by Namori for a second

This author and Namori are close friend irl,and she usually uses that black sea urchin with Namori face as her avatar.

iirc Manishi Mari was Namori's editor or used to help out with some of Namori's works.

Something like that anyway.

Aw.

I like how the second to last bubble is almost heart-shaped :^)

I mean, I'm on team Megumi here. Nadeshiko and Megumi have that Sakurako x Himawari dynamic (idiot x not idiot), and the idea of Nadeshiko being all gushy with Megumi privately despite bullying her when they're in front of their friends is cute.

Frankly, the dynamics between Nadeshiko x Ai (aloof x sweet and innocent) or Nadeshiko x Miho (typically stoic girl getting teased and bullied by a relatively tame S character) are both nice as well, but I'm personally a fan of Sakurako x Himawari, so :^)

https://bookwalker.jp/dea22ada9b-2162-4787-a838-cdc92b536dcd/
Let's buy it

この作品は、日本国内のみでの販売となります。
購入後は海外でもダウンロードが可能です。

Based on google translate, the second sentence talks about how after being bought it can be downloaded overseas? But still only available within Japan? Think something was lost in translation. Just based on kanji I thought the second sentence might say it could be bought overseas.

I think it should say .
"This product is only for Japan domestic sale.
After purchase, you can download the data overseas."

Yep, that's exactly what it says when you click the link, LMAO.

Is this a hint about her relationship or just a false flag?

I thought it was a hint.

Holy, I thought it was fan art at first. I couldn't believe it.

Rather than dismissing criticism, I was trying to challenge the people that have been wanting the story to progress in an unrealistic fashion and betraying what the story has built up so far. There were also comments here that suggested the story wasn't realistic at all, since Uta is boring, or that Kaoru has amnesia (which we've seen isn't actually amnesia, but a card she's pretending to dish out to avoid confrontation), or that Reiichi supposedly showed no signs of cheating, or that Reiichi deserves some sort of divine punishment for cheating, or that Kaoru should straight up slap that grade A bitch and dump him for Uta right away, etc.

I personally am enjoying the story despite its slow pace and build-up. People are expressing lots of frustration towards it, and there's nothing wrong with it (why would there be, lol). There are plenty of reasons to dislike the story, the characters, the setting - everything, and I'm not trying to discredit others by pointing out its realistic. I'm trying to argue against the people that are expecting unrealistic things to come, and those that don't think this is realistic just because Uta can't get over her feelings quick enough, or that Kaoru hasn't suddenly turned gay for her.

I'm sorry, but I disagree. Reiichi cheating on Kaoru is too convenient to ignore in this kind of storyline. It could happen in real life? Maybe. But we can't dismiss the fact that the author put it there as a way to solve Uta's unrequited feelings eventually, what would hardly happens in real life. I mean, this is a yuri manga on a yuri magazine, so we know Kaoru will end up falling for Uta eventually, but that's pretty unlikely to happen outside fiction. Finding out that your husband is cheating on you and falling in love with your sister in law who happens to be years younger than you and also of your same gender isn't the kind of story you can find everyday. And that's why it's interesting, and I won't judge the author to make it, but it's taking too long to get to something we know will happen.

An actually realistic story would be Uta giving up on Kaoru completely and ended up with another girl. Maybe helping her sister in law with her bad marriage in the process. But we know that's not how it's gonna be, the story has been pretty predicable so far. And that's the problem. It's not really realistic, it's just slow. You might think the pacing is realistic, sure, but even if something take days to happen, we don't need to see all of the process, even less when the story start to repeat itself, what I should say, is considered a writing flaw.

So, in short, what I mean is, maybe rushing the development is bad, but the author should have a grasp to show us just what need to be shown, and keeping the sense that the time is passing, instead of showing every uneventful day of their lifes.

This was the most popular new manga in YH. On a recent poll made by a japanese yuri site, it ranked behind Watashi no Yuri wa Oshigoto Desu. So I guess like with NTR, people just lose interest when the story starts to repeat itself.

Ah, I'm inclined to agree with you there, but that's assuming Kaoru does ends up with Uta. There's probably a "logical" (not to be confused with justifiable) reason why Reiichi cheated on Kaoru, whether that's him feeling dissatisfied with her or him not loving her the same way she loves him, and it didn't come out of nowhere either, which is why I think it's realistic. But yes, it is unrealistically convenient for it to happen if it's solely for the sake of getting Kaoru and Uta together. I don't disagree with you whatsoever there.

However, I think unlike many readers, I've been reading the story with the idea of them not ending up together. It's a yuri story, yes, but Uta could still end up with anyone else. I agree that Kaoru x Uta is the most expected and probable pairing, but it's not the one that was on my mind when I was reading the story. I understand my opinion is probably an uncommon case and not shared by many other readers, lol.

Sorry for not sharing that thought earlier. I hadn't considered that I'd been reading the story with different expectations in mind, so that was an oversight by me.

Rather than dismissing criticism, I was trying to challenge the people that have been wanting the story to progress in an unrealistic fashion and betraying what the story has built up so far. There were also comments here that suggested the story wasn't realistic at all, since Uta is boring, or that Kaoru has amnesia (which we've seen isn't actually amnesia, but a card she's pretending to dish out to avoid confrontation), or that Reiichi supposedly showed no signs of cheating, or that Reiichi deserves some sort of divine punishment for cheating, or that Kaoru should straight up slap that grade A bitch and dump him for Uta right away, etc.

I personally am enjoying the story despite its slow pace and build-up. People are expressing lots of frustration towards it, and there's nothing wrong with it (why would there be, lol). There are plenty of reasons to dislike the story, the characters, the setting - everything, and I'm not trying to discredit others by pointing out its realistic. I'm trying to argue against the people that are expecting unrealistic things to come, and those that don't think this is realistic just because Uta can't get over her feelings quick enough, or that Kaoru hasn't suddenly turned gay for her.

last edited at Jan 29, 2018 2:33AM

Enami x Eiko when?¿?

It's difficult to "fall out of love" or to stop liking someone that quickly, especially when Uta's had a crush on Kaoru for so long and not to mention they live together, so they see each other all the time.

What Uta has given up on is having her feelings returned, meaning she's not going to continue pursuing Kaoru whenever she's conscious of her actions. She's forcing herself to keep her relationship with Kaoru as just sisters-in-law, and for the most part, you can see that she's trying her best to keep her distance, but you can't exactly fault Uta for slipping into the palms of her feelings from time to time.

I think Uta is an incredibly (relatively) realistic character. That doesn't necessarily mean she's going to be interesting though, but not every teenage girl with unrequited feelings for someone else is interesting anyway, lol.

Yep. Tomoko picks up a bunch of new and equally eccentric (save for Yuri and Mako... probably...) friends after the school trip arc.

I personally highly recommend SeaBed. It is hands down my favorite visual novel, with or without the yuri. It is difficult to tell who is talking, but trust me when I say you'll get used to it. It is really slow in the beginning, so it's not for everyone, but it adds so much feeling and impact. Trust me. SeaBed is a narrative game and is carried by the characters, so if you're unable to develop a connection to them, you won't be get that much enjoyment from it. Therefore, if you can't sit through 4-6 hours of slow build up, you most likely will not get the full experience.

Otherwise, it seriously takes off from the prologue. It's a psychological story with lots of foreshadowing and little hints spread everywhere. The characters are lovable, and again, they absolutely carry the story.

I'm in love with the story's writing style. The characters make note of every little detail, but not everything has to do with the story. Just like how you might notice the sound of a bird chirping at daybreak, or you may notice the voices of people in a packed train station. There is a reason for it, but no spoilers.

The characters are all adults (late 20s - early 30s, so don't expect explosive, cheap drama plot devices anywhere, haha...

I haven't stopped thinking about SeaBed since I finished it a month ago. I binge read it, and re-read it already. It's well worth its price.

Well damn, you've sold me and I'll be picking it up. One thing that did strike me from my short time with the game was how... clinical the writing was, in the sense that there's a lot of descriptive prose about seemingly everything except the characters' internal thoughts and feelings. It immediately reminded me of the style of English contemporary short stories and I was wondering whether this was done intentionally. Great to know this is the case, thank you.

And 4-6 hours is just the prologue?? Looking forward to setting aside some good time for this. I've been needing something to fill the void that LiS Before the Storm left in my heart.

Yeah, the prologue is quite long. It sets the stage for the rest of the story, and was absolutely worth the read. I highly doubt the story would've left this much of an impact on me if it weren't for that.

The game spans about 11 chapters, but they aren't as long as the prologue - just so you know what you're in for. I'm usually a fast reader, but I took my time with this one and absorbed every word of it. Ended up being about a 20 hour play through, haha.

Help, I'm actually translating Kotonoha Amrilato.

Fingers crossed my progress doesn't get axed by MangaGamer in like, two weeks :'))

That's awesome! I'm sure a lot of us would appreciate the chance to experience this game, it looks really lovely.

Has anyone here tried SeaBed? I tried the demo but found it really difficult to keep track of who was saying what because of how the game presents the text. Would be nice to get some opinions on whether it's worth the buy.

I'll probably still TL it even if it gets licensed - for personal use, anyway, haha. Seemed like a fun project to develop my writing skills, since I suck at descriptive writing and often find difficulty in putting my thoughts into words.

I personally highly recommend SeaBed. It is hands down my favorite visual novel, with or without the yuri. It is difficult to tell who is talking, but trust me when I say you'll get used to it. It is really slow in the beginning, so it's not for everyone, but it adds so much feeling and impact. Trust me. SeaBed is a narrative game and is carried by the characters, so if you're unable to develop a connection to them, you won't be get that much enjoyment from it. Therefore, if you can't sit through 4-6 hours of slow build up, you most likely will not get the full experience.

Otherwise, it seriously takes off from the prologue. It's a psychological story with lots of foreshadowing and little hints spread everywhere. The characters are lovable, and again, they absolutely carry the story.

I'm in love with the story's writing style. The characters make note of every little detail, but not everything has to do with the story. Just like how you might notice the sound of a bird chirping at daybreak, or you may notice the voices of people in a packed train station. There is a reason for it, but no spoilers.

The characters are all adults (late 20s - early 30s, so don't expect explosive, cheap drama plot devices anywhere, haha...

I haven't stopped thinking about SeaBed since I finished it a month ago. I binge read it, and re-read it already. It's well worth its price.

Help, I'm actually translating Kotonoha Amrilato.

Fingers crossed my progress doesn't get axed by MangaGamer in like, two weeks :'))

Mistakes happen, divorces are a thing because you can't really know what will happen next and sometimes engagement were a mistake. I think the reason he's cheating, if that's the case, is because the marriage was probably a mistake. That's a bit of stretch but with the neglect, the 7 rejections, the things that happened with Uta's parents, I think he was playing it "safe" or something but, sadly for him and Kaoru, it didn't turn out so well...

Yeah, probably played it safe. Kaoru was his childhood friend, so he might've seen no reason not to be with her (I mean, after rejecting her several times). Plus, she has always been a good influence on Uta, save for whatever happened with her parents. I also partly think that their parents split due to cheating. It could've influenced Reiichi into doing the same, but it would crush Uta if that were the case. This is kind of a stretch now, but it would be natural for Kaoru to not want to spill the beans or confront the issue with Reiichi so she could protect the happiness that Uta had recently just found.

Honestly, everyone sucks at communicating in this story, but I think that's what makes it feel so real (and simultaneously, incredibly frustrating). People are like this all the time.

Holy shit, thank you. I'm a bit annoyed to see users say things like "communicate like normal people!!". I get the frustration, I get that sometimes it can be over the top, but more often than not, people don't communicate or very poorly on their issues.

And pretty nice analysis overall.

It feels like he's done a complete 180 from when we first saw him in chapter 1. The event of the accident must've snapped him out of whatever he was in trance about.

I have the feeling that it's like those couples who won't divorce or break up because "they should make it work" somehow, like it's just a phase and they would feel bad if they failed at their marriage (in addition to other stuff as well, probably). Damn, this manga is doing great.

P.S. This has probably been mentioned a million times, but perhaps the unrequited love isn't only Uta's.

People don't like confrontation, especially not Kaoru, who has been seen keeping all sorts of things to herself (e.g. when she saw Reiichi with another girl, or why she picked up selling online handmade goods - I know it was just a hobby at first, but she clearly feels much happier being able to support the people around her; and more notably, her fear of loneliness), and Reiichi is now aware he's made a huge mistake. More than likely, they'll have the "make it work" mindset. I feel like it's up to Uta to make Kaoru realize she deserves better. That doesn't necessarily mean they'll end up together, though. :P

I feel like Reiichi is more than willing to own up to his mistakes at this point, and it might seem like he deserves a second chance for that reason, but I don't think it fixes anything. Even if he does suddenly become the perfect husband, the underlying problem that pushed him into cheating is still there.

But then again, what do I know ¯\_(・ᴗ・)_/¯

Honestly, everyone sucks at communicating in this story, but I think that's what makes it feel so real (and simultaneously, incredibly frustrating). People are like this all the time. Up until now, Reiichi has never expressed his thoughts or feelings to Kaoru or Uta. Kaoru rarely voices her fear of loneliness to Reiichi (possibly due to her fear of being seen as a "troublesome woman", as seen in chapter 2). Neither of these two's needs are ever expressed to each other, so I find it unsurprising that some kind of drama has stirred up. It was bound to happen sooner or later, with or without cheating.

Reiichi was shown to be neglectful since chapter 1 (so it's not like he suddenly broke out of character or anything). We don't know why, but it honestly could be anything - and I won't try to justify his actions, because I think he's making terrible decisions, but he probably felt like he had no time for himself, with him working full time (most likely overtime as well, knowing the culture) in order to support his stay-at-home wife and his younger sister, who was probably incredibly depressed until recently. He must've gotten frustrated with himself and felt hopeless, being unable to make the two of them happy, and found another way to release all of this stress.

Alternatively, there's also the possibility that he might've never loved Kaoru in the same way she loved him. He could feel indebted to her for saving Uta, or he might love her as a childhood friend. He might've married Kaoru because of her impact on Uta. Nobody knows what this guy was thinking.

But right now, he looks like he's full of regrets. He wanted to discuss the events of the accident while at the hospital, he spent Christmas with the family (somehow, I feel like if the accident never happened, he'd be out on another "business trip" by now... which I personally think would be unsurprising considering his track record), and he vowed to Kaoru that he would never leave her again and tried to seal the deal through physical affection. It feels like he's done a complete 180 from when we first saw him in chapter 1. The event of the accident must've snapped him out of whatever he was in trance about.

But the damage is done. The ball is in Kaoru's court now, but it looks like she's tired of playing. Hopefully, Uta can free her from the game so they can move onto other things.

I'm not gonna lie though, I'm still rooting for Miyabi x Uta.

"The movies' titles look the same, so the content is probably also the same."

Oh, okay.
Looks like Miho & Kaho's father has been instilling some fresh knowledge into that boy's brain.

Am I missing something here?

I'm assuming Hikari accidentally touched someone... did that really have to be made into a big deal? I'm sure accidents happen all the time in sports clubs.

Are they seriously trying to kick two people out because lesbians? Okay, I'm willing to toss all reason aside and chalk it up to them being ultra conservative, but are they seriously kicking them out based solely on suspicion???? What if everyone's a lesbian?????????? What if only one person was a lesbian????????????? What if you're kicking the wrong people?????¿??¿

And you're telling me that Rina trusts the people around her to vote against Saki even after someone specifically mentions that people can lie?????

And you're telling me that, even if Rina and Ayumi were in a monogamous, faithful relationship, that leaving a swimming club warrants this much angst and drama?????????? And Rina, who wanted to do everything to protect Ayumi, didn't really bother to protect her????????????????

Like, girl, y'all are going to the same school and I bet you could've spent lunch with her or seen her outside of school or something or I mean you could've left instead of Ayumi or you could've fought back against the decision or-

??????????
I can't even.

last edited at Jan 23, 2018 6:29PM

Holy shit, there's going to be so much more hate directed toward the husband.

I just read the raws, and.... ooh.... alright then, Reiichi....

I've just seen the preview images Chaosteam has put up on their FB, but I guess they already speak volume as to what will be happening during the chapter. Can't wait.

Ah, I just saw their post. Yeah, I was referring to that, haha...

Holy shit, there's going to be so much more hate directed toward the husband.

I just read the raws, and.... ooh.... alright then, Reiichi....

last edited at Jan 22, 2018 5:13PM

It's frustrating to watch Mei be so reserved because we're spectators to her story, but she's just a regular teenage girl who grew up without a proper mother figure and a flaky father. She was raised by her grandfather, who she probably feels deeply indebted to having taken her in during her time of need. She thinks she owes this to him, and she's just a kid, but it's precisely because she's a kid that she feels like she's invincible and that she can handle it. She fears confrontation, but I mean, don't we all? :P

Although, I'm not gonna deny that there was too much over-the-top drama in the beginning of the story, LOL.

I feel like the series is going to end after this arc.

Personally, I think the series was primarily meant to portray Mei's growth as an individual, and this is the perfect setup for it. This is her chance to prove that she can make her own decisions and become her own person instead of becoming someone that everyone else expects her to be. This is her opportunity to show that she can find her own happiness without someone else deciding it for her.

None of this could've been accomplished without Yuzu's help.

I want to see Mei find her own voice and stand up to her grandfather. I want to see Mei use all of the strength and support she has received from Yuzu over the course of the series to carve her own path for the future. I want to see Mei... finally realize that she is not alone.

Earlier, I had a crazy idea that the arc was going to play out like this:

• Mei will keep everything to herself, as usual, and gradually become more distant towards Yuzu.
• Yuzu will pick up on this, and perhaps turn to Tenchou-san (Mei's fiance) for advice.
• Tenchou, who has been given instructions to not tell Yuzu about Mei's situation, will give some kind of vague, but supportive advice that'll push Yuzu in the right direction.
• At this point, Mei will either tell Yuzu what's up, or Yuzu will find out by herself through other people (probably the latter).
• Yuzu and her friends come up with some kind of a grand scheme to stop the arranged marriage. But knowing Yuzu, who has been pushing for freedom throughout the entire series, might try to help and free the entire student body from their fiances.
• Mei, inspired by this, realizes that she needs to finally take action for once. Perhaps she'll try to call off the engagement with tenchou (who has never liked his strict upbringing and planned future). Tenchou might feel moved by this, and agree to it, vowing to carve his own path along the way.
• And if the student body sees Mei calling off her own engagement, they might be inspired to do the same as well.
• But the problem still remains: If Shou and Mei both refuse to take over the Aihara academy, then who will do it?

Oh wait!
Don't forget about Aihara Yuzu!

• Now imagine if Yuzu (who has now vowed to study harder to be seen as Mei's equal) actually took over the school. She could loosen the rules and let girls be girls! Students can finally stop being so uptight! Harumin's sister, who was moved by Yuzu's fighting spirit during the student council election arc, might actually approve of it! Nene can dye her hair blonde again!

Or... or maybe not.

The point is, Mei will most likely find the courage to step up and do something right for the first time in the series. Everyone will be happy.

As a random side note, while I like Harumi's dynamic with Yuzu, I personally can't see myself shipping them. Reason being, Harumi would only hold Yuzu back and stop her from being the person she wants to be. We've seen repeatedly in the series that Harumi has continuously tried to stop Yuzu from being herself (e.g. telling her to not look like a gyaru at school, trying to stop her from running in the student council election, begging her to dye her hair back when her sister visited, etc.), while Mei brings out a better person in Yuzu.

So... fingers crossed for Matsuri x Harumin. :^)