Has Hotaru landed herself a French waifu?

Maybe, but I doubt that her would be sisters-in-law, Christina and Catherine, would be at all happy about it.

By the way, it's astounding how large the age gaps between siblings can be in this series. Not only is Yun 21 while her twin siblings are 5-6 at the start of the story, but Christina and Catherine are at least in their late twenties or early thirties, while their little sister Sophie is in grade school (probably why Ko assumed she's Catherine's daughter). For reference, I'm two years older than my younger brother, and I grew up thinking such relatively narrow age gaps between siblings were more common.

I love how there are still dumb arguments here about trying to justify plot holes in an industry story written by a guy who has basically run out of experience.

It's still better than people who contemptuously dismiss people discussing the story as a few people here have done. One example is the person at the top of the page who claims that Tsubame, an "experienced programmer,"(in actuality, a talented newbie who's more experienced than Nene but less experienced than Umiko) "forgot" to test her code- more accurately, she did a half-hearted job, partly due to overconfidence-fueled carelessness and partly due to rushing. In that case, if she was convinced she wouldn't make a mistake and had a single-minded focus on getting done ASAP, it's only natural that she'd prioritize speed over quality.

To get things in a more positive direction, I personally liked this chapter, as it has a nice discussion of what it means to draw for someone else's approval, and shows that Catherine's other employees haven't given up on designing the King's Hand enemy just yet.

Well, it was a matter of time before they used the old "Got dizzy for staying too long in the onsen" trope.

I'm personally surprised that they chose to play it for drama, rather than laughs. Of course, the entire school trip arc has been fairly dramatic, what with the love triangle subplot and Fujishiro being forced to come to terms with Izumi having feelings for her.

So is this gay or not? I've heard good things about the anime, but this doesn't even have the subtext tag. I think I'll read it anyway though.

It is gay, you'll see this get the yuri tag once we get to the Valentine's chapter.

How far off is that in terms of chapters? There seems to be a fair amount of material in the manga that's been published but hasn't been scanlated yet, since Episode 7 shows Inose trying to get adjusted to being president after Morino and Sakurai step down, and hosting an astrology event with some young children. Ao ends up getting a cold after watching some stars at night, resulting in Mira becoming worried about her. Since that episode seems to take place in the late fall, as it's getting colder, it isn't implausible for the anime to get that far by the end.

There's no new chapter this month.

That's unfortunate. I was looking forward to finding more about Kaoru's mother's death, and how that affected her relationship with Reiichi and Uta's family (It's strange that the manga doesn't seem to mention anyone's surnames).

Gotham2298 posted:

Why is Taiyuki giving us constant mother X daughter? Just finish 1 1/2 already!

Because she wants to do many situations but not all of them fit the same characters

That's true. Yuuki is a lot more forward about her crush on her mother than Asuka was, not to mention that Sayaka divorced her husband, rather than losing him in an auto accident. These differences effectively fit how ◯◯ Yuri is significantly more comedic than 1 x ½.

Guess every single community in the internet has toxic parts of it, even this beautiful yuri community.

Can't believe you're since 5 years and didn't realise it sooner.

I'm personally more surprised by the poster calling people criticisms of Mama Niito's well-intentioned but morally gray ruse to get her daughter to go to work "toxic." Online discussions can get rather nasty, but so far, this is reasonable debate over whether a character's actions are right or wrong, and while I'm in the latter camp, I think there is evidence in support of both sides of the argument (which, for the record, is not "Mama Niito was right" vs. "Mama Niito should get off her daughter's back," but rather, "Mama Niito made the right decision," vs. "Mama Niito should have tried something else").

last edited at Feb 15, 2020 9:10PM

Well, at least Mama Niito was aware of the huge risk she was taking and Imoko was innocent all along.

That's still a dick move from Mom. What do you mean "not any other options" ? I know you're desperate about her but baiting her like that is not the best solution and if it's the only you have come with then i'm seriously afraid. You're lucky that work this time.

What other options do you see in a country where seeking psychiatric help is a much more massive taboo than almost anywhere else, and where companies are infamous for gross mistreatment of their rank-and-file employees while comparatively coddling manager-level ones to the point that the language has a specific word for "death by overwork" and divorce almost always comes hand in hand with ruining your career prospects?

It's true that Japan has taboos against psychiatric help, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the "do it yourself" remedies that people suffering from psychological problems and their caregivers try will necessarily work. I'm in the camp that believes that Neeko being suddenly thrust into a part-time job (as a result of her mother lying to her, no less) and coming out better off for it is highly improbable, and the entire experience could very well have worsened her issues.

You do realize that Mama Niito literally admitted that she knew this ploy could've backfired majorly and was fretting over it when her daughters weren't looking, right? Also, that doesn't actually answer my question, though you're not the one I was aiming it at.

I wasn't necessarily trying to answer the question, as much as challenge the assertion that this was the best choice available to the mother at this point; her previous efforts at getting Neeko to help out had similar benefits, with less risk of backfiring. Mama Niito did admit that there was a risk, but in the end, mainly emphasized that it had paid off.

I still have no idea how she even landed the job, isn't there supposed to be an entire interview process. If I could just show up somewhere and be employed I'd have done it by now.

It reminds me a bit of the job application process in the Persona series. You pick up an application, make a call to the manager, and if your stats are high enough*, you can start work immediately, and work whenever you like; you're free to quit** whenever you're done with the social link and don't need money/stat points. As much as I enjoy those games, I know that part-time jobs don't work that way.

*Depending on the game, this can be easy or very difficult; for example, the tutoring job in Persona 4 requires maxed out Understanding, making the Tower Social Link difficult to start.

**That said, in Persona 4's Tower Social Link, the boy you're tutoring tells you he doesn't need your services anymore at the end of the social link, so there's a justification for why you don't need to show up to work any longer.

Well, at least Mama Niito was aware of the huge risk she was taking and Imoko was innocent all along.

That's still a dick move from Mom. What do you mean "not any other options" ? I know you're desperate about her but baiting her like that is not the best solution and if it's the only you have come with then i'm seriously afraid. You're lucky that work this time.

What other options do you see in a country where seeking psychiatric help is a much more massive taboo than almost anywhere else, and where companies are infamous for gross mistreatment of their rank-and-file employees while comparatively coddling manager-level ones to the point that the language has a specific word for "death by overwork" and divorce almost always comes hand in hand with ruining your career prospects?

It's true that Japan has taboos against psychiatric help, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the "do it yourself" remedies that people suffering from psychological problems and their caregivers try will necessarily work. I'm in the camp that believes that Neeko being suddenly thrust into a part-time job (as a result of her mother lying to her, no less) and coming out better off for it is highly improbable, and the entire experience could very well have worsened her issues.

Incidentally, I'm curious about something- do Hajime and Hotaru qualify for "The Scrappy" status in TV Tropes parlance? They seem to be disliked, at least as of the most recently uploaded chapters, but it's hard to tell whether a character is outright hated or merely divisive merely by reading discussion forums, and I'd like to be sure which they qualify for before I edit the YMMV page for New Game.

I guess that’s sometimes hard to say because naming a character “The Scrappy” entails summarizing what another bunch of people appear to feel. At times that’s obvious, but sometimes it’s just that characters are not especially beloved or are seen as extraneous and unnecessary but aren’t necessarily widely despised.

My sense is that the latter is the case here—relatively few people have strong feelings about the characters, and for those that do those feelings are neutral or negative.

But my main point is that’s only one person’s impression, and The Scrappy is a title bestowed by the vox populi.

That's essentially why I'm asking about it, rather than going ahead and adding Hajime and/or Hotaru myself. Personally, Hajime's one of my least favorite characters, but I've been hesitant to conclude that others feel the same way, and still am. At this point, while I did notice that a lot of the comments toward the two are negative, there doesn't seem to be enough of a consensus toward disliking the character to warrant Scrappy status.

last edited at Feb 14, 2020 4:30PM

The prevailing theory is that Kou's decision to leave was made after the promotional artwork incident during development of PECO. Since one of the major reasons she gave for leaving was that the company was kind of using her, relying too heavily on her for everything instead of letting other people grow.

Hence why I said "some time in Peco's development." The incident was almost certainly what gave her the idea, although I think she must have made up her mind at some point between then and her conversation with Yamato in Chapter 61.

Incidentally, I'm curious about something- do Hajime and Hotaru qualify for "The Scrappy" status in TV Tropes parlance? They seem to be disliked, at least as of the most recently uploaded chapters, but it's hard to tell whether a character is outright hated or merely divisive merely by reading discussion forums, and I'd like to be sure which they qualify for before I edit the YMMV page for New Game.

Anyway, the whole dodge ball project has been going downhill since they make Hajime the director (althought it's funny that iirc in the anime, Kou said she will leave the company if Hajime would become her superior. Which more or less happen in a different order and manner here) without any prior experience and without really helping her. Especially for the art contest which was the biggest shitshow. Honestly, everything scream failure from miles. It would be a miracle if the game work better than the dinosaur one.

The same exchange happened in the manga, with Yun agreeing, Rin silently concurring, and Aoba trying to be polite about sharing the same opinion as the others. I don't think any of them were imagining a scenario like this, though, especially since Ko didn't get the idea to leave Eagle Jump until some time during Peco's development.

What with Nikaidou suddendly calling Tadokoro by Kageko ?

I recall she also temporarily switched to "Kageko" when with Tadokoro's mother (who also answers to "Tadokoro-san").

As for Chapter 47, I'm willing to bet that it's a dream of some kind, given that not only does Nikaidou call Tadokoro by her first name, but she shows up in a limo (which Tadokoro thinks is out of a movie), and there's a sudden overtly romantic atmosphere without any buildup whatsoever.

At least she doesn't live with her, like in My Unrequited Love.

It's worth noting that in My Unrequited Love, Uta and Kaoru had a close relationship for many years before Kaoru married Reiichi, whereas Ogawa views the protagonist as a coworker and maybe a friend. Much of the drama in My Unrequited Love involves Uta trying to come to terms with her feelings and find out what, if any, place she has in Kaoru and Reiich's lives, whereas in Ogawa-san and I, it's most likely that Ogawa and the protagonist were never very close (at least not as much as the protagonist thought), hence why the former never told the latter about her marriage. Both stories do have the "unrequited love" aspect, but the execution seems quite different.

I always get annoyed when girls in a yuri story say say stuff like relationships between girls are impossible. I just think what rock have you been living under?

That's what I asked

I think it's supposed to be the story's way of acknowledging that there are people out there who don't approve of same-sex relationships. Citrus happens to be a bit more heavy-handed than average, at least among stories that don't demonize that type of character.

It isn't even the first time, either. I recall how Yuzu's two pre-Aihara Academy friends mocked a lesbian couple for kissing (partly for doing so in public), and how she got depressed over what she said, knowing that they wouldn't approve of her relationship with Mei.

As for the characters, I personally think the current situation is partly a consequence of introducing a new girl each arc in the original series. Not only did the cast end up growing beyond a manageable size, but I don't think the mangaka had much of a long-term vision for those characters, so some of them ended up merely taking space after they played their roles.

last edited at Jan 25, 2020 4:03PM

3.Apparently, Hiro wasn't Nanaki's first boyfriend. What happened to the other ones?

Presumably something equally banal given she's apparently gone through quite a few and seems to have singularly lousy taste in men.

That's certainly possible, although Nanaki was hit quite hard by the breakup. Maybe 1)Hiro was special to her in some way, 2)it was the first time her boyfriend initiated the breakup, as opposed to the other way around, 3)Hiro's claim that she was his "backup girl," and had no value as a person apart from her looks shook her to the core, or 4)some combination of the above, most likely 1 and 2.

This manga hits close to home for me. I've been unemployed since my company shut down early last year, and it hasn't been fun to go from being a valued employee to someone who frequently gets lost in the shuffle among potentially dozens of other applicants. While I feel as though I have a good grasp on interviewing, and do well in mock interviews, I don't like how interviewers tend to keep their cards close to their chests, making it hard to tell whether I actually made a good impression on them. The job search process always seems to favor the employers, since they get to take their pick of many equally desperate competitors, which is why I resent people seeming to think that it's easy to get a job, and that unemployed people are, as a rule, lazy.

This is something minor, but I noticed a few things about what the characters call each other in this chapter that bugged me.

1.Why does Izumi call Kurokawa by her last name in her narration when switching to first names was Izumi's idea?

2.Why did Izumi and Fujishiro initially use "-san" on each other's last names when they seem to use yobisute on everyone else's?

And a third question, unrelated to the other two:

3.Apparently, Hiro wasn't Nanaki's first boyfriend. What happened to the other ones?

last edited at Jan 23, 2020 11:15PM

I liked how this chapter had some new material, such as the aftermath of Fate and Nanoha's fight, and the scenes with Fate recalling Alicia's memories of Precia. Even if the story thus far is the same, it's nice to see a new spin on it.

I think the original Nanoha series is fairly good, even if it's not up to A's or StrikerS in terms of quality, but it definitely takes a while to get going, and is relatively uninteresting until Fate shows up.

It's nice to see a Yukari-focused dojin that doesn't focus on her obsession with Miho.

I agree. I especially liked the flashback to her childhood that shows why she didn't have any friends before meeting Anglerfish Team. While those girls weren't exactly nice, it's understandable that some people would find her preoccupation with tanks off-putting.

I actually find that a little strange within the social fiction of their universe. Tank operation is treated as a sport and a feminine activity in their universe, so it seems more like it would be like a man in the modern USA who’s REALLY into football; owns memorabilia, knows all the stats of every team back to like the 60s. Sure, everyone around him is like “Carl is REALLY into football” but Carl isn’t ostracized, really.
Unless tanks are a “feminine” hobby in the sense that like, BL is a feminine hobby; but we don’t really see, say, Miho getting the same treatment and she’s pretty “into” tanks too.

While tankery is a feminine activity, it's also apparently not as popular as it used to be. In Little Army, Miho, who didn't have many interests outside of tankery growing up, had trouble making friends until she met Hitomi, Chihiro and Emi near the end of elementary school, so she did have some of the same problems.

I suppose Yukari's problem is twofold; 1)Her only real interest is one that not many of her peers share, and 2)she pursues that interest so fervently that some people find it weird. The first point is the main reason but the second one also plays a role to some extent.

It's nice to see a Yukari-focused dojin that doesn't focus on her obsession with Miho.

I agree. I especially liked the flashback to her childhood that shows why she didn't have any friends before meeting Anglerfish Team. While those girls weren't exactly nice, it's understandable that some people would find her preoccupation with tanks off-putting.

Leaving aside the entire contract between Koduka and her landlady, I'm more than a little frustrated that Koduka didn't actually get the job. That would have been a nice way to shake up the status quo, and possibly help force Koduka and the landlady to decide where their relationship should go from this point onward.

While you’re probably right about the immediate story trajectory, I was mostly pissed at the boss. I hate people in authority who fail to communicate because they want people to think they’re nice—there are humane ways to tell someone bad news.

That's true. Whenever I have a job interview, the hiring manager generally tells me when they'll make a decision, and when they do, they usually say something to the effect of, "Thanks for your interest, but we went with someone else. Feel free to try again when there's another opening." They're generally polite and encouraging, but also honest.

Leaving aside the entire contract between Koduka and her landlady, I'm more than a little frustrated that Koduka didn't actually get the job. That would have been a nice way to shake up the status quo, and possibly help force Koduka and the landlady to decide where their relationship should go from this point onward.

I just don’t see how this supposedly disengaged and hyper-rational Risako squares with the bulk of what we know about the rest of the story.

But who is it that supposed Risako is a hyper-rational disengaged ice queen?

Is this supposed to be some kind of joke, or did you really not read the chapter?

Kaoru: “[Risako] would always make decisions based of some rational thinking.”

Kaoru: “It seemed like her surroundings couldn’t handle this girl with cold eyes behind her glasses.”

Risako: “Unlike Kaoru, I don’t get serious, or even feel emotional about anything. / I think a lot about how much more fun it would be if I could live like [Kaoru].”

So where does your question come from?

I assumed she was seducing Reiichi there. "Oh, if ONLY someone could help me FEEL THINGS!"

While we're throwing out theories, maybe Risako is a sociopath who doesn't feel anything for others, and plays manipulative games with Reiichi and Kaoru for the sheer fun of it; Kaoru mistook her for a mere "ice queen." That being said, while Kaoru isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she has been shown to be reasonably perceptive when it comes to people, with the possible exception of Reiichi.