Wow. I was surprised this came out so fast. It's like Shirobako. Clear hints and all but the show doesn't market itself in that direction and isn't, like, steamrolling in popularity.

Also, this is so realistic I thought Chuchu was a real life human just cosplaying or something for a second.

last edited at Jun 8, 2015 3:34AM

I don't think I can describe this beyond beautiful and tranquil. It's like those photos of a girl whispering into a guy's ear that make something like coke increase sales by 130% or whatever the stat is.

...not perverts all the time? I don't think there's any situation in which a guy can comment on a girl's undergarments and it not be taken as perverted haha.

But yes I agree

Personally I don't think there's any premeditated cruelty on Elle's part. What I believe is that she didn't plan to do this, but rather upon seeing Fleur's pain at the ceremony and the fact that she clearly hasn't been able to let go decided to take advantage of the circumstance of Fleur being alone to try to make a clean break. She wasn't necessarily successful because she was too honest about her own feelings, but it does end with a mutual agreement to move on from those feelings and a wish for Fleur's happiness with someone else, both of which Fleur seems to accept.

A good decision on Elle's part? Probably not. There were probably lots of better approaches. But this is a very human one, and the story doesn't pretend Fleur is without flaws.

Yeah. I think if we put ourselves in Elle's shoes the right decision becomes far less clear, even in hindsight.

^ Do keep watchin if that's what deterred you. I won't speak more on that for your sake, but I can 100% guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Are people seriously still arguing over this? I thought it was clear and simple.

If you didn't like the story, fine. That's fair. Everyone has an opinion, and if feeling angsty with a not-bad-but-definitely-not-happy ending is not your cup of tea (heaven knows I don't like it) no one is in any place to criticize you for it. But it's a completely 'nother thing to take that angsty feeling and claim the story doesn't make sense and is bad because it has roots in a completely factual reality.

I'll repeat, it is Oh-Kay to not like this and it is Oh-Kay to not agree with the author's choice of story pathing. So bag and embrace that, and don't try to take the barber with you on a journey across the desert.

This is lovely because it reminds us of what the beginning of KyouSaya's relationship was.

Where everything began. Why everything happened. What their start was like.

After reading through these comments, I think people have officially started misreading Aaaaaaangst as Bullshit.

last edited at Jun 5, 2015 1:02PM

"I've always loved you, and I'll make sure to only tell you when I get married to someone else in front of you to make sure it really hurts."

I don't mind angsty stories or bad/sad endings, but this was needlessly cruel on the bride's part. Maybe that's just me though.
Even if it's the whole "I'll tell you so I won't have any regrets", there's better times to do that other than literally at the wedding cerimony...

I think that's a tad unfair. This was probably the best way they could have handled the situation, because unlike what we melodramatic watchers want, running away is not all that practical. If the bride's family was REALLY pressuring her to get married and whatnot, she needed to.

If anything, she brought proper closure to the relationship, just their inability to be together is unfortunate (understatement of the week right there). And I'm sure it was just as hard on her, and Fleur knows that. I'm sad they couldn't be together in the end, but their friendship runs deep and powerful and I'm sure the world will keep spinning in color.

@Nez If "offbranch" came off as mitigating and/or patronizing, I apologize. I don't mean it because it's not valid; I meant it to be more of a "this is a valid ship but it's not the most popular or with the most hints".

But I will say I think calling who ends up being OTP a matter of luck is a bit incorrect for various situations. And I can speak from personal experience there because I was a fan of NicoMaki before I figured out yuri fanart/doujin/etc communities/congregators was a thing.

I think it's worth mentioning she could also be talking withing the confines of the game itself, and that there was an Akagi before her who was sunk and the poor/doofus admiral had to find another Akagi, because Akagi and Kaga are technically not sister ships.

Would they really be sisters though? I mean... They'd technically be the same person?

Hard to say. It could also be one of those "Onee-chan" type 'sisters'. And in that case she could be talking about Kaga, and maybe the last part was a flashback or the first part was a nightmare.

It's up in the air. That's what's fun about introspection.

I think often times, a show being dropped after a few episodes says more about the person watching the show than it does the show itself

Golden line.

@Nez Plus it doesn't hurt that basically the only reason why Maki is a thing in the first place is because Honoka is stubborn and airheaded and awesome and dragged her out into the group because she was fascinated by her piano. I think the problem that comes in with offbranch ships that rest within concept only are just too personalized. This one doesn't rely on that nearly as much as say, UmiEri, but that just breeds ground for ship fights.

Personally I'll do all my ship fighting on KanColle tyvm.

@OriginalGengar

I'd recommend forgetting about those MAL forums you are in, even with the language barrier, that user ur talking to is quite clearly a moron. Claims that sexual orientation of a female MC being lesbian = generic (that.. makes no sense...), As if that is the only determining characteristics of a character.

I cringed at the sheer relentless stupidity, now I remember why I quit that site.

I never understood MaL as a forum site. It's better as a review congregator. Which it's...okay at. Better than most others like, say, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. Since about 2/5 of critics actually don't know what they're talking about and seem to forget that entertainment's first priority is to, ya know, entertain. But I digress.

AND in regards to the translation...

As far as I've heard from my friend's friend the last couple episodes have started deviating from the novels. I don't know anymore if he's just baiting me into it or not but I hope for the best.

He also stands firm that the novel is still ongoing because there has been no official announcement of it ending. And if one considers the fact that KyoAni had to review and talk over the show with the author ahead of time (for legal copyright purposes...remember Shirobako), the fact remains that there is clear headway toward yuri in the anime. So whether the two entities decided the anime take the yuri route while the novel takes the het route, or the author let slip that the novel is gonna become yuri in the future and the anime uses that to its advantage or w/e, I think it's not time to lose hope.

Of course KyoAni could theoretically make an uncharacteristic and idiotic move. I don't think so yet, especially considering how apathetic Kumiko was about Shuuichi this last episode. Plus, Shuuichi has done literally nothing to mend their relationship which he broke in any way, shape, or form. I don't think Kumiko's the type to just let that go and pretend it didn't happen.

She has a terrible personality after all.

I didn't understand what she was talking about... someone care to explain?

Not sure why I made an account for this but it was gonna happen eventually I guess..

According to Wikipedia the Akagi was originally a large cruiser of the Amagi class, but during it's construction a treaty lowered the allowed ship displacement down to 22 000 tonnes.(she was intended to displace 47 000 tonnes)

Because this caused problems for multiple countries they added an amendment allowing each nation two 33 000 tonne carriers. Japan chose the Akagi and the Amagi cruisers for this as they were closest to being finished. Then during conversion an earthquake fatally damaged the hull of the Amagi so they opted to convert the Kaga (originally a Tosa class Battleship) instead.

Which ultimately led to Akagi and Kaga being somewhat sister ships as they shared their carrier design and were built toward the same specs.(and they're the only two carriers with 3 superimposed flight decks ever built to boot.)

She could be talking about Amagi, which would be rather interesting in it's own right (and fairly humorous if a future event introduces her as a new ship).

I think it's worth mentioning she could also be talking withing the confines of the game itself, and that there was an Akagi before her who was sunk and the poor/doofus admiral had to find another Akagi, because Akagi and Kaga are technically not sister ships.

Colonal Cat

Hm, but what if said person has no inferiority complex and never has any idolization in stock for leaders, and recognizes no authority whatsoever? Were this not the case, radical left movements such as anarchy couldn't be possible.

There are people like that. It's just not the majority. Ultimately people who are informed anarchists hate government and leaders and all their bullsh but understand that after a certain point humans need a leadership group of some kind. It's a very masochistic political approach.

More seriously, it looks like Ran is reading the book she bought on their date. She's clearly comfortable enough with Keiko now that she's ready to show a side she'd only been hinting at before.

Keiko isn't used to Ran being serious, so she's left trying to provoke the response she's used to by being the silly one which she's definitely not used to. In a way, this chapter shows some significant progress in Ran's unseen side coming out, and Keiko "missing" the Ran she'd come to know.

I saw much the same. And we've known Ran is an avid bookworm for some time, we just finally get to see what she's like when delved into a good story. When Keiko 'needed' her she helped without a complaint and also seemed quite happy to be doted on.

Sooo, I have a question but thought here would be a better place for that. Basically,

ColonalCat said:

**I have somewhat good news regarding the novels. Some spoilers below, just don't wanna black bar EVERYthing.

[...]

tl;dr - yuri subtext comes from novels, hibike is not necessarily a het end (its just a het pitstop most likely), kyoani is more likely than we expect to commit.

Is that like, first hand knowledge? Cause on the episode 8 discussion on MAL some random person pretty much fights every yuri claim with fire. I think they especially registered on MAL for that discussion and they say

Mostly first-hand knowledge due to my connections. Now I cannot confirm these connections myself due to language barriers. And as good at it as I am and as much as Google Maps wants me to, kayaking across the Pacific Ocean is not a feasible option.

Plus the parts where I speculate on where things are going and the why of Shuuichi are purely that: speculation. Backed up with knowledge and educated connections ofc, but speculation. Not I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I've been around this game a while, and considering storytelling is something I'm doing currently and learning, I think it's fair to say I have a good hand at this thing. Plus my history shows I'm good at this kinda thing. Not predicting entire plotlines ofc, but simple basic stuff like "Why would Kumiko go out with Shuuichi when it doesn't sound like she has feelings for him" and "Where could the story go from there knowing that" is doable.

so they are probably like, pretty biased but apparently

an image

this happens and, judging by said random person's comments, seems to be the death of all yuri in like any show ever. Can somebody translate or something?
Seems to happen in Volume 3 and that individual also said that Volume 4 are just side stories to the first the volumes.

I can't translate said image so I don't know what it's saying, but as I said from my perspective the novel stands right now at what I think is a het pitstop. It's not like Kumiko was any closer to Shuuichi or treated him any differently in the novels (know for a fact), so that relationship won't change in 2 more volumes dramatically.

Side story or not, it wasn't the fact the yuri-like interaction happened volumetrically latest that convinced me things are moving in that direction. It was the conversation that transpired. The short of it is that it happened after "winning the competition" (no clue what competition or what that even means exactly tbh), which also happens to be after Reina confesses to Taki-sensei. Plus, the volume was released way before the author could have possibly known of the intense reaction fans have to episode 8. There's no way he could have been yuribaiting us.

The most likely case scenario is that short-sighted asshole random person is likely trying to convince him/herself more than anyone else.

last edited at May 31, 2015 7:23PM

Lmfao offship hate. I actually seriously considered this for the first bit of the show...then Nico came in and I was disillusioned. Plus considering how unlike the anime the manga and game are there's probably a lot of working material for it in those universes.

It's one thing if the non 'canon' ship is inherently unhealthy and bad (not gonna name any for obvious reasons), but this one is not in that boat. I ship TsubaHono to death but this one's good too.

Kadamon WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN THIS ENTIRE THREAD'S LIFE.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. Point is, homosexuality on a superficial level is accepted, but it doesn't preclude one's responsibility to society. As much as I love Japanese culture, modern society is admittedly materialistic and superficial, and many relationships form out of convenience or personal advancement. Genuine love seems surprisingly rare, and that suppression makes genres like yuri much more alluring to Japanese audiences.

I can relate to this because I'm much in the same boat. I love Japanese traditions and styles of entertainment (beyond just anime...their film styles, their art, their poetry, everything) but the spoiler of it all is that very traditionalist mindset. I live in the "south" (quotes because I live in an area that is not southern at all...but drive 15 minutes out of the suburbs and you get confederate flags on posts and unregistered "hunting" shotguns in the trunks) and it's shocking how similar the comparisons are. If you fit into what is 'acceptable' for the culture, it's amazing (a lot of fun and friendliness down here), but if you don't...oof. Not fun times. Luckily I don't have to deal with it and I'm not anything inherently disliked by the culture--so I can go paintballin' way out there without any issues.

^ For clarification, it's not that I'm irked at those who drop stuff at ep.3 (well, I am because many stories coughcoughYukiYunacoughcough take time to get going; I just won't call them out on it because time is a commodity not all of us have), it's more the ones who claim to know and accurately judge the ENTIRE thing on that small sample.

'Das all.

It was a bit of a disappointment from Diomedea. They coulda done better. I wasn't particularly upset with the aforementioned cop out (they handled it well imho), but it felt like the end of an intro arc to a larger series. Which it isn't.

Are you people kidding me. This anime was absolutely incredible.

It's one thing to watch it all the way through and dislike it because, yes, there was a LOT of subtextual reading-between-the-lines of plot devices you had to think hard about to understand. So yes, it's not for the casual viewer. But dropping a show before even getting 1/4 of the way through and acting like it was the right decision is a bit short-sighted.

**I have somewhat good news regarding the novels. Some spoilers below, just don't wanna black bar EVERYthing.

The novel at volume 4 (I believe that's the latest one) gets even more yurilicious as things go on. After the whole ordeal with Reina and Taki-sensei going not the way she expected, she starts drifting more and more toward Kumiko to the point that it seems she's legitimately falling for Kumiko, and Kumiko starts to reciprocate.

Now as far as I'm aware, Kumiko doesn't fall for Shuuichi. it's more of a "agrees to date" kind of thing (volume 3). So my best guess is that Hazuki pushes for it hard, and for some reason Kumiko feels like she has to do so to respect her friend (and it probably happened around the same time she heard about Reina 'liking' Taki-sensei so she probably subconsciously rejected the idea of her as an option). Based on what we've seen from this novel's writing, I bet after not too long Kumiko will pull away from Shuuichi.

Also good food for thought is that we probably shouldn't be distracted by Tomako Love Story. Remember that Chu2 had a LOT of OCs...including Dekomori who they've all but confirmed is at least in a mutual love with Nibutani, so KyoAni is definitely NOT opposed to yuri. And since recently there's been a lot of successful testing of the water in terms of gay relationships, so companies are more and more inclined to use them.

tl;dr - yuri subtext comes from novels, hibike is not necessarily a het end (its just a het pitstop most likely), kyoani is more likely than we expect to commit.

Thanks for the bump. I missed out on this gem until now.

I don't know what rgen number I drew for this chapter but I like it.

MAMI-NAGI!!!

Agreed

Whats with Mami x BitingHerHeadOffWitch?

I'm sure you know by now, but Rebellion Story is why.