This chapter gives us the extremely important information that Yvonne likes thicc girls (not irony)

It's fantastically constructed so far, every chapter setting up greater mysteries and subplots while keeping the tone light and fun. Aizawa's situation is undeniably tragic (I mean look at her sleeping on the floor) but she's the final piece, being so playful and expressive despite never saying a word. She single-handedly stops this manga from being horribly depressing, which is funny given she's the victim in all this.

That's a very good point I hadn't thought of. It is very ironic that Aizawa provides most of the comedy and lightheartedness despite her life (or, well, undeath I guess) being objectively terrible. On the other hand, the fact that she seems to genuinely enjoy being in her classroom perhaps is suggestive of what her life used to be like...

I can't put it into words. And I don't really know why. But somehow this feels different from mangas in general. And that's not a bad thing.

It's an extremely "full" manga that you can't boil down to a specific set of tropes or even a particular genre. It's comedy, horror, romance, mystery, drama, and slice of life friendship all in one.

Awful person/awful person messy romance is my not-so-guilty pleasure. Awaiting future chapters with bated breath.

Also how long are break typically between volume? I can't wait for the next chapter.

Last time the break was around three weeks.

I feel like it might be winding up?

The web novel is at over 200 chapters.

Net chapter a letter arrives informing Yvonne of the beheading of all her relatives. siiigh

Yvonne had majorly serious reasons to reject Elsa's advances. It wasn't just a case of "But we're both girls!"

For real?! Please add spoilers if so.

And where did you see this? Did volume 4 already start releasing in Chinese, or is this based on the (Chinese) web novel?

They're speculating, presumably.

The entire reason Yvonne could do this is that the witch temporarily suspended the villainess system so I don't think we have to worry about this specific result.

You can't stop a dunk from a stronger bulkier person that's not how basketball works

It's wasn't a dunk?

Also you absolutely can stop a dunk from a stronger/bulkier person through good positioning and timing.

I certainly wasn't expecting that, but the manga has been incredibly melodramatic from the very beginning so it fits with the tone. I genuinely respect the mangaka for doing something actually rather unique within this well-worn premise.

last edited at Dec 11, 2022 3:55AM

Spam here

Zhu Ci is certainly living the life

Has Karin had her "it's love" moment yet or is she still running on "it's an attractive girl who was more than okay with me kissing her"

"It just... isn't quite the same. They used to all taste good in their own way. But now..."

This was one of the funnier manga chapters I've read in a while

Nanatsu Fuji's previous works were a dark drama (Kimi Wa Shoujo) and screwball comedy (Let Me Hear You Moan, Kanade-san); it looks like this one will be somewhere in the middle tone-wise. But Tsukiko was introduced as being totally disillusioned so that final scene does make sense. I'm curious to see how her character development will intersect with the presumed romance, especially since I wouldn't exactly call the relationships in the author's previous two works "romantic."

Nakano is the smartest villain in manga history

I just realized this was licensed. Is this one of the few series that'll stay on the site after being licensed (like Citrus) or will it be removed once it actually starts releasing?

It actually has already started releasing. As far as I know this site has no policy of removing licensed content, it's entirely up to the individual scanlators.

One of the things I appreciate about this oneshot is that, aside from the man in Lillia's backstory, none of the humans were demonized here. Usually in stories like this with a sympathetic monster, their victims are portrayed as objectively evil so the reader doesn't feel bad when they die, but here everyone Lillia kills is a (more or less) normal human being, certainly not deserving of death at least. That gives the manga a good amount of moral complexity, and casts Mikhel's willingness to forgive her for her extensive crimes in a much darker light than it might initially appear. Thanks for the translation!

Finally, while he may or may not be doing his best with his daughters, I haven't forgotten that he started dating his second wife, Suu's mother, while she was in high school (and he was much older). After the way Minamo condemned Reika for what she did -- though she was somewhat motivated by jealousy I'm sure -- her opinion on that particular saga has probably started to change as well, even if only subconsciously.

Yes . . . although oddly, he might come out of that comparison/contrast better than one might expect. He went out with a younger girl . . . and rather than refusing to acknowledge her in public and then dumping her, he married her. He had the courage of his convictions, put his money where his mouth was, did not lead his younger partner on but followed through. Doing that in the first place was still inappropriate, but still, he very precisely did not do what hurt Yurika so much. He did something ELSE that was decidedly questionable, but not that.

You could argue that breaking up with her was the best thing Reika ever did for Yurika. Suu's mother certainly ended up being unhappy enough that she left behind both him and her daughter. There's still a lot we don't know about that whole situation, and I strongly suspect we'll learn more eventually so I don't want to draw super strong conclusions. But I don't think the comparison was accidental, at least.

I take your point that his gift-buying in this case was mostly an apology, but his lack of communication has become a real trend -- not only did Tsukie point it out explicitly, iirc he rarely even calls his home while he's out at his job. I think he means well (then again so did Reika), but "emotionally distant" feels like a fair description of how he's behaved thus far. We'll see though, seems like he'll be around for the next few chapters at least.

On the other hand, while they clearly feel awkward around him, Minamo still felt relief upon seeing him, so it's not like he is disliked.

Also, another interpretation of Tsukie leaving is that Tsubame feels awkward around a father that, while absent for long periods of time, still has a close relationship with his children, considering her family.

Honestly, I like the father so far, he seems to be doing reasonably well, considering the circumstances.

A lot of stuff about this manga is open to interpretation, it doesn't hit you on the head with exposition, one of the things I really like about it. But with Tsukie, it's not just that she left, it's that her immediate reaction upon seeing him again was to criticize ("Wow, he really came home. If he was taking an overnight bus, he should've said something").

As for Minamo, I don't doubt Minamo's honesty about her anxiety going away when he came back. But what we're shown is that the two of them don't really know how to communicate with each other. You can even see that in how when Tsukie says her food is "the best" she engages in light banter, while when her father says something similar they end up in a weird, awkward moment. I don't think she dislikes him, but I don't think you can call them close either.

Finally, while he may or may not be doing his best with his daughters, I haven't forgotten that he started dating his second wife, Suu's mother, while she was in high school (and he was much older). After the way Minamo condemned Reika for what she did -- though she was somewhat motivated by jealousy I'm sure -- her opinion on that particular saga has probably started to change as well, even if only subconsciously.

The father has been like a spectre hanging over the entire manga, but I shouldn't be surprised that when he finally shows up it's treated in the same low-key on the surface but implicitly dramatic way this manga treats most events in everyday life. The easygoing rapport Minamo and Tsukie have at the beginning of the chapter (itself not a given but an achievement they both made through their struggles earlier in the manga) is broken; Tsukie uses Tsubame as an excuse to get the hell away while Minamo (inadvertently?) throws veiled barbs at him as soon as he wakes up. As for the father himself, it's hard to tell for sure but he certainly seems like the type who doesn't or can't express love through any means other than buying gifts -- I unfortunately am all too familiar with this type of father...

Great chapter as always, and congrats to the translator on their midterm results. Good luck with your English project!

Reading the comments thread was almost as fun as the manga itself. I think what trips a lot of people up is that the manga is trying to do multiple things at once. I agree most with the point @Meursault made here:

So, no, the author is not inept. They portrayed it as uncomfortable, most readers feel uncomfortable, and that's absolutely the point. (Though more specifically, it's like, "hot", and "wrong". The eroticism is built on how it feels wrong.)

Kousaka is unambiguously framed as predatory. Chapter 1 ends with her embracing Maki with pacing straight out of a horror manga. She drags Maki into her room after the latter asks to go home, fucks her (and bites her!), takes advantage of her intense crush, then cowardly abandons her. At the end she admits she did all this purely out of lust. The only thing that complicates her character is the implication that she, herself, was abused as a child and so -- perhaps -- is subconsciously trying to retake control by playing the role of her old abuser. We're even shown how her actions continue to impact Maki a decade later, as she is unable to extend romantic intimacy to her own partners.

And yet, Kousaka is not just framed as an abuser. She is, of course, drawn as stunningly beautiful. More than that, her scenes with Maki are highly sexualized. And Maki, herself, holds complicated feelings toward Kousaka. She was greatly hurt by her actions, and says she feels "sullied." At the same time, even with the benefit of hindsight she views her experiences with Kousaka positively, and still holds feelings for her at the end. Kousaka's willingness to break all legal, moral, and ethical boundaries for her own pleasure gives her a certain charisma and seductiveness, at least in Maki's eyes, which is why the ending ambiguously suggests they may end up rekindling their relationship.

In other words, as @themusicman500 says:

The author is presenting an obviously disgusting and awful thing, but leaving open the question of whether there's some beauty to be found in it too despite the awfulness.

Is Maki merely a victim of abuse desperately rationalizing it as something positive in order to not just feel like she suffered for no reason? (Not exactly an uncommon phenomenon!) Or did she genuinely gain some things from her experience? Is anyone except her even in a position to determine this? The manga very deliberately avoids taking a stand on this, and leaves it up to reader interpretation. I can certainly understand why a lot of people don't like a work that leaves "is statutory rape sometimes good actually" an open question. But people like Maki absolutely exist in reality, I've met one of them, and I think it's valuable to have a manga that explores these concepts with honesty (albeit not with perfection, naturally).

last edited at Nov 26, 2022 1:28PM

^ Magenta is actually the leader of the magical girls, not Azul. And Utena isn't really aligned with Enormeeta's convictions, she's just loyal to her friends, so once the evil mascot is taken care of I can see Utena turning it into more of a "fun mischief" thing (sort of like in chapter 42).

Y'all know I've been shipping Baiser x Azul from the start, but I can no longer deny that by now, Kiwi has grown into an overall much better long-term partner for Baiser. I mean, Baiser and Azul are still better sexually compatible, but it's Kiwi who puts all the work into her relationship with Baiser, and that's what ultimately counts the most in my experience.

I'm still on the OT3 train, but Kiwi's my favorite character so I loved this chapter. Fight for your love, Kiwi!

Edit: Also I think Berserga is the most likely of the Shio-chans to turn if her faith in Imitatio can be broken. Or maybe I'm just hoping for this because her design is fantastic.

last edited at Nov 24, 2022 1:59PM

Alright y'all, place your bets on what kind of girl Assistant-chan winds up with.

Valkyrie, after she transmigrates into Inko-sensei's manga

last edited at Nov 23, 2022 10:30PM

The more manga I read, the more I appreciate how important small details are in making characters feel real and compelling. Things like the dumb "permission to speak" joke and Ichika whispering her order to Kuran aren't necessary for the plot but do a great job of encapsulating their respective personalities, relationship dynamic, and how close/comfortable they are with each other -- with barely any expository dialogue, too. I've already reread the chapter several times and haven't gotten bored.

Finally got around to reading through this, and it is amazing. The art is great but the writing is absolutely stellar; each character is depicted with nuance and complexity without relying on exposition telling us what to think. Umi and Shou in particular are compelling protagonists, I especially like how proactive Umi is despite her anxieties and how self-reflective Shou is despite her social difficulties. Really looking forward to future chapters!