Imagine this chart a year or so later.

"The love affair of just the two of us"

Isn't "Futari dake no Abanchuuru <3" supposed to be "The adventure of just the 2 of us <3"? It still sounds wildly gay either way, though less explicit.

from what i was told:
アバンチュール
(n) amorous adventure; love affair

Ah I see. Thanks for clearing that up!
All these magazine poster & spread have been rlly gay so far, so I hope the show will be more explicit about it soon.

"The love affair of just the two of us"

Isn't "Futari dake no Abanchuuru <3" supposed to be "The adventure of just the 2 of us <3"? It still sounds wildly gay either way, though less explicit.

lol
This girl would make a nice meme.

The rough af artstyle, the MC yelling every single 2 panels, the over-the-top drama, & the incoherent plot. This is Attack on Titan. But more drugs.

^ Not saying that it's not bittersweet cuz it is, although I feel like some are emphasizing the bitter note quite a bit so that's why some of us are trying to offer a more hopeful look at things. The perceived sad reading is not unreasonable & I get where it comes from, but it's not the only way to see this story, either.

last edited at Aug 3, 2017 12:18PM

Oh, this got uploaded. Short & somewhat savage.

Minori: What should I wear?
Saki: Riiri (Lily?) won't care about that.
Saki: What should I wear...
Minori: literally doesn't care

It's a story about a one-sided crush (for now), no doubt about it, but I agree w/ Schuyguy & Ceciliasol that it's not as bitter as some are making it out to be. The short is mostly about Saki finding her hyped up fangirly friend much cuter than their favorite idol. & like Schuyguy pointed out, her crush is not hopeless. If anything, her crush on her cute friend has more substance & way more chance to go somewhere than Minori's crush on some cute idol (& I do think that the juxtaposition of these 2 different crushes is intentional).

last edited at Aug 3, 2017 4:15AM

I'm enjoying the anime as a comedy right now. It's so bad, I can't even get mad at it.

^ The only rule regarding spoilers is to not spoil contents that haven't been officially posted to the site (like, posting it in the 4rum thread doesn't make it ok to start spoiling) or anime eps' contents that are still fairly new. Other usages of spoilers are entirely up to you. I tend to use it if I think anything I post might spoil the fun for other people or for comedic purposes.

I don't find it cute though...

On the other hand, I find the giant isopod to be cute.

Koyomi, is that you?

@Ceciliasol Glad to know you enjoy my overanalyses lol Come back more often & join in the discussion. Always nice to have more people around sharing their thoughts.

Also, all 4 YagaKimi vols just went on reprint. Good news.

last edited at Aug 2, 2017 2:14AM

I was waiting for something to happen in the OP of the latest Aho Girl ep... & nothing happened. Feel cheated.

The actual ep was gr8 tho. Yoshiko's mom is mom of the century.

I think you need to do a request here, or you could ask a mod to help you. It's a beautiful fanart, so more people should see it!

Glad you like it! Well, I uploaded it on Pixiv: https://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=64165718. If anyone wants to upload/share it anywhere else, that's fine.

IKR! It is so rare that a story has me this uncertain of how it will end, without the writing being just horrible. I do NOT believe that the writing is bad at ALL in this story. I think it is excellent. The ability to keep me on the edge of my seat with, what is essentially a simple romance story, is WONDERFUL!

The writing is great. No doubt about that. Complex, fully fleshed-out, & well-developed characters. Slow but naturally progressing plot with well thought out & well-executed themes that still manages to keep possibilities open for different endings. Good use of subtle parallels & symbolism which gives it great re-read value. It also doesn't rely on cliche developments so the experience feels fresh. I'm glad this series is getting the attention it deserves in JP. I'll continue to hope for an anime.

To have come this far in the story and given us such a clear picture of how and why the characters have changed, and yet still leaving us pretty much in the dark about where things are finally going to end up is pretty remarkable. (I can think of four or five different outcomes where I could look back and say, "Ah, of course, we've been given clear indications that would happen all along.")

Agree!

last edited at Aug 1, 2017 6:39PM

^ Dunno how image upload works around here. Thank you for reminding me that I have a Pixiv page I never use lol

I reckon if they were to start living together, they'd own a cat (Touko is a cat lover, obv) & a dog or several of them.

Decided to make a fanart out of this.

Perhaps I'm looking too much into it

Nah, you're pretty spot on about the train scene. The only thing that is still questionable is whether this new direction that they're taking will be one where they'll end up together or one that will bring their (romantic) relationship to an end. I'm with you on the happy ending train though. Let's just hope we won't get wrecked.

I reckon if they were to start living together, they'd own a cat (Touko is a cat lover, obv) & a dog or several of them.

The scenes I mentioned suggest she would be a sweet girlfriend.

Yes.

So I think her confessing after coming to terms with her feelings and Touko resolving her issues would be a cute moment, like some very sweet confession, but not extremely sugarish like some shoujo manga. That is, if she is the one who confesses first, maybe Touko could do it (properly this time) so Yuu would just say she loves her back. But still I think it will be a sweet scene.

She's definitely not gonna get all embarrassed & blush like mad, I don't think. I imagine something slightly casual but really tender & heartwarming. Like maybe during a conversation where Touko is trying to apologize for what she has put Yuu through, Yuu accepts her apology & with a similar gentle expression she made in ch 13, she'll confess. That is, if her confession happens after Touko has gotten her problem somewhat sorted out (as in she's fine with Yuu reciprocating then).

I'm more looking forward to the moment she finally admits she is in love tho. I'm sure she'll cry, I mean Nakatani didn't make the whole scene where Natsuki compares Touko and softball for nothing. Or if she doesn't cry at least she could break down, but seeing how Yuu is happy right now and also working hard on the play makes me doubt this idea a bit. Touko would have to do something big that'll cause Yuu to break down and admit her feelings I guess.

There's a part of me thinking there's a possibility that Yuu might slip & accidentally confess before Touko is ready to accept her feelings. & yeah, Touko would have to do something big to trigger the pent up frustration in Yuu (maybe Touko finds out about the revised script & strongly rejects it) & cause her to breakdown, slip out the confession, & possibly cry (ch 19 definitely suggests that this'll happen).

And am I the only one who noticed how much Yuu smiled and laughed this chapter? Especially when you compare her attitude to pretty much all the other chapters.

Don't worry, lots of ppl noticed it. You're not alone. She has definitely loosen up & is now more comfortable around Touko. Another reason why she's so happy is probably because she really loves the aquarium, it seems. I was talking to a friend the other day about the possibility of Yuu being really into animals in general. Nakatani always draws her to be very comfortable & excited around them, such as w/ frog, doge, birb, & now the entire aquarium. It's just a fun speculation, nothing to confirm it. But if it's true, 10k+ best girl points to Yuu.

@Scarlet128 Good analysis on Yuu there & I agree.

This chap kinda brought a question to my mind, but how do you guys think Yuu will react when she confesses? Or how do you think her confession will play out if it happens?

last edited at Jul 30, 2017 12:50AM

All true, and yet I would argue that Yuu has a fair amount of growing up to do as well. Being someone who "always does what anyone asks" is not an entirely positive thing. Maybe it's that seeing herself that way, as she does, allows her to deflect ownership of her own decisions and then lament that other people aren't being "fair." Even before she meets Touko she claims that she was "manipulated" by her homeroom teacher into checking out the student council when he simply made a suggestion, to which she had responded with some interest (a fact which she then admits).

Yet another thing that keeps me, as a reader, a bit off balance with this story is that we can't always trust Yuu's inner thoughts. It's extremely common in yuri manga to have scenes where characters aren't being forthright about something, then as they walk away or in the next scene we hear what they're really thinking; those thoughts are usually presented as the real deal. But, especially in the earlier sections, Yuu often will think things that we can tell aren't true, at least not completely. She'll say things like, "I'm just being soft-hearted," or "anyone would have done what I did," or "she's not being fair," when we can see that she's not exactly lying, but is basically spinning her own decisions to herself.

So I think there's some blooming to be done (and in fact is well under way) from Yuu's end as well as Touko's.

I agree about Yuu also being the one going through the growing process as well. She has been the character that receives the most developments thus far. Going from someone who is completely indecisive & just goes along w/ whatever is asked of her to someone with clear determination & resolve to help her loved one even if it means putting their current relationship on the line. Her growth in the romance department is also significant. She's learning more and more about what falling in love actually means compares to the initial idealization she has of it. This is why I'm more subscribed to the first interpretation of the title than the 2nd one since the coming-of-age theme can be applied to both Yuu & Touko & not just Touko.

Yuu's inner thoughts are good example of unreliable narration (Touko's thoughts, too, I may add). I think it's well done since as you said, they're not lies, they're her actual thoughts & perfectly show just how confused/stubborn she was about her own feelings in the beginning. Thanks to these conflicting thoughts (& all the wonderful visual storytelling & parallels throughout this series), we get to see just how much Yuu grows as a character. It's been a ride watching her grow & hope we'll get to see more of Touko's growth too, eventually.

Make a cute, drama-free sequel solely about these two being gay.
It would completely atone for everything prior.

Yes.

It would focus on yuri halfway through

This must be Kobayashi Kina's grand plan... 1) create a yuri manga but have it focus on the yaoi dudes halfway through. 2) create a sequel marketed as yaoi, introduce some random straight people, focus on them halfway through. 3) create another sequel marketed as het (is there a Japanese name for this... well, obviously, but something like yuri and yaoi... I guess it's not really necessary since most people just assume that a romance thing is centered around a straight couple unless it's made explicit that it's not but still), suddenly start focusing on the trio from Nanashi no Asterism again. It'd be the holy trilogy of baiting literally everyone.

& by the end of all this, still no one ends up together.

"Congratulation! You've been adolescence'd!" will be the afterwords.

last edited at Jul 29, 2017 5:47PM

The title seems to promise that the characters will end up together, but for long stretches it's hard to see exactly how they can ever get there.

The title doesn't really promise that they'll get together. But it does seem to promise that Touko will overcome her identity problem. "Eventually, [no subject] will become you" & "Bloom into you". I posted one interpretation earlier that "you" means "oneself" due to the inherent lack of subject in both the official titles given by Nakatani herself. You can see a more universal coming-of-age theme coming through with this interpretation, so Touko might be able to find herself eventually.

I've read another interpretation where someone points out the use of "kimi" is how Touko addresses Yuu, so they suggest that the title refers to Touko eventually becoming more like Yuu, who is essentially gentle, kind, patient, has lots of self-control, & above all, mature. I think it's an interesting interpretation since Touko's characterization has been like that of a child. Gonna go on another stupid ramble here, but I absolutely love the tunnel scene in this chap. Aside from the fact that it looks gorgeous, I also love how the sequence plays out with Touko being lost for a moment there (like a kid) then Yuu grabbed her hand & guided her through the beautiful tunnel. But yeah, the latter interpretation zones into Touko's coming of age specifically.

Touko overcoming her problem doesn't necessarily promise that they'll get together though since some ppl, & even Yuu herself in this chap, have been bringing up the question of whether Touko's feelings for Yuu are genuine love or just fleeting infatuation. Personally, I still stand on the view that Touko's feelings have grown to be more genuine over the course of the story, it's just still misguided atm & her overcoming her problem will be the necessary step for her to come to embrace these feelings. But I agree that series can go either way at this point.

It's quite good,did you do it?

.....Could you make a Sayaka too?
Jk unless you want to xdxd

Hmmmmmmm... We'll see about that lol No promises tho.

Dunno if you know it by now since it's p obvious, but I'm a huge Yuu fan. So here, have a Yuu.

TL;DR What are your thoughts on train?

Nice eye! Unfortunately, Makoto Shinkai made me hate trains.

Y-you don't like trains? I've only watched 2 of his movies so far, but yeh, train imageries everywhere. Thanks for the insights, they make lots of sense!

Just wanna start a discussion on the train imagery in this series. It's been a recurring imagery in this series since vol 1 & I'm still not exactly 100% sure about the meaning behind it.

So, the first time the train appears is in ch 2 when they first kiss (Touko is trying to make it clear to Yuu that she likes her sexually). The train basically passes by, separating the 2 from all the ppl on the other side, leaving them in their own little world basically.
Then it appears again in ch 10 when Yuu confronts Touko & learns the truth about Touko's problem how she'd rather die than be herself. The train passes & intensifies the tension between them. Here, it seems like it embodies the gap (in understanding) between the 2 that Yuu only starts to realize.
In ch 22, we get a shot of the railway signal. Yuu confronts Touko again, now w/ more resolve & better understanding of Touko's problem, & no train passes by.
In ch 23, Touko is at the train station right next to the empty train track (also note the sign that says "Non-trop train to the final destination"), completely lost & confused about her life (& possibly suicidal). But Yuu manages to reach out to her through text, which helps comfort her. No train passes by here either.
Then in this chap, they are on the train heading home from the date & Yuu wakes Touko up & says "It's time to change train" & this is paired w/ Yuu's resolve that the current stage of their relationship can't go on forever.

So far it is obvious that the train serves as a mark of major developments in Touko & Yuu's relationship as well as their relationship dynamics. Direction & change are two things I can come up w/ that it can embody. Though I also notice the ideas of distance & understanding as well. I haven't come up w/ anything solid yet, sorry if this is just a stupid & vague af rambling lol

Edit: Another interpretation is maybe the idea of catching the right moment.

TL;DR What are your thoughts on train?

last edited at Jul 29, 2017 5:15AM