I feel the side characters would have a bigger appearance in the story. And there were a sudden change of pace throught the story too. So I disagree, it is plausible to think It was axed, even whithout the author's comments about it. The real question is: why the annoyance by people saying it was axed?

I'm not annoyed by people saying it was axed, I'm annoyed by people assuming something without any evidence.

For example, why do you feel the side characters would have a bigger appearance in the story? They don't have any hanging plot threads or unaddressed developments. They are exactly as involved as the story would lead you to believe they are, and there's not really much they could do that would change the outcome in any way.

It seems to me like you just wanted more, and you're projecting that on to the author regardless of what she has said or indicated.

There is a sudden change of pace because the story hit a crisis when Kashiwai is confronted with the fact that she's not happy being one of three lovers Like I said, when a car is driving towards a wall, things are going to change fast once it hits. That doesn't mean the wall is a surprise. You can see it coming. It's a wall.

I'm not even saying I know with certainty that it wasn't cancelled early, but I think it's worth it to point out that there's not really any evidence to suggest that this isn't exactly the story Akiyama-sensei wanted to tell.

Announcing the story is going to end doesn't mean it was cancelled, it just means it's going to end. Every story gets a "here is when the end is" announcement. That's not evidence of cancellation.

I disagree that it's obvious. There's no hanging plot threads, every character played a particular role in the story and all of those roles were fulfilled. I genuinely see no evidence that the story was cut short.

https://twitter.com/_akiyamaharu/status/1574969638495977472?t=V9iIUt6MVSTRa6tAAL3Fkw&s=19

https://twitter.com/_akiyamaharu/status/1574969640572227586?t=TE5ZPTX9d6jiHbb5CwPX-A&s=19

Based on her announcement on twitter (through machine translate) it reads like she wanted to continue on longer. I don't think she would word it like wanting to focus on writing the end so she won't need to write more and writing it so the readers would have been happy to have read it if it wasnt cut shorter than planned.

Yeah, I went back and read them. I don't see how you're getting that at all. Some of the fans say they wanted to continue longer, and she responds with pretty generic "thank you" messages, but that doesn't say anything about how she feels. She says she hopes to create a good manuscript and that she hopes everybody likes the story. She estimates how long it will take to write the ending. There's nothing about the language in either of those tweets that suggests she had to cut it short.

Ofc I could be wrong and maybe someone who understands Japanese can give more clarification, but I think it was axed. Looking at some of the Japanese reader's tweets reacting to her announcement, it seems like they believe it was axed as well.

Yeah, but this entire topic of conversation is about how I believe people are just assuming that it was cut short without any evidence, pointing out that Japanese people are doing the same thing doesn't actually mean anything. It would be one thing if they were citing evidence, but can you show me a single example of such?

Akiyama Haru loves her slow burn and the first 5 chapters of het would not have been that dragged out if she knew it was ending in only 2 volumes. We only got 1 chapter from Tsuzuki's pov which I'm sure we would have gotten a couple more of if it had continued longer. I think the fact that it doesn't feel axed to you is a testament to Akiyama's writing skill.

You are assuming that she meant for this to be a slow burn because Octave was. But like....there are also several one shots on her resume. Not every story from an author is necessarily planned to be the same length. Her other series are 3 and 4 volumes long. Octave is her longest work by a big margin, I think it's easy to argue that it's not necessarily representative.

And again, how would this be longer without fundamentally changing the characters? I'm just not seeing it.

Yikes, this was fricken awful. There goes several months down the drain.

You spent several months reading this? It only took me like a few minutes per chapter. ;p

Last chapter it was like, just starting to become sundown. This chapter, the sun was completely down. Were they making out for like 30 minutes?

Really. I saw the color on the first panel and got a little stunned, like how's that even possible?

Well, not to be a buzzkill, it's possible, but it's also just as possible that the artist has never actually paid attention to how long it takes the sun to set.

Who says it was axed? I mean, sincerely, was there a twitter post I missed somewhere where the author lamented having to cut the story short, or are people just assuming it was cancelled because they assumed it was intended to be a long story?

Sorry, but the author really announced a while ago on twitter that the story was going to end with the next 3 chapters. If you look back on the comments, there should be a link. I doubt she wanted to end it so soon.

I think it's obvious the author had planned things with Jun, Fukunaga, Hiroki and Awa but all these threads were cut short.

Announcing the story is going to end doesn't mean it was cancelled, it just means it's going to end. Every story gets a "here is when the end is" announcement. That's not evidence of cancellation.

I disagree that it's obvious. There's no hanging plot threads, every character played a particular role in the story and all of those roles were fulfilled. I genuinely see no evidence that the story was cut short.

I think the problems tackled in this series are probably too ahead of it's time.... (or maybe needed a different marketing strategy)

I do think so. It's really a shame for its edge contents which is trying to draw a novel relationship besides the social dominant.

I'm so sad that this manga are going to be axedT_T

Who says it was axed? I mean, sincerely, was there a twitter post I missed somewhere where the author lamented having to cut the story short, or are people just assuming it was cancelled because they assumed it was intended to be a long story?

There's a trend on here where people assume that because a story isn't long that it must have been cancelled. This was a story about a monogamous person who has fallen in love with a polyamorous person. It's like watching a car drive at a brick wall. Yeah, it's moving smoothly enough now, but you know it can't go for long, and when it hits, it's gonna stop suddenly and violently.

So yeah, this ending is what I have been expecting for several chapters? Edit: Honestly, I don't really see how you could make it longer if you wanted to. Brick wall is brick wall, yo.

last edited at Dec 27, 2022 9:31AM

I....what???

If we were in the same room, I would be staring at you like you just grew an eyeball out of each nostril. I cannot imagine how in the world you could read this comic, where Ai is giggly and blushing like crazy over a text roleplay kiss, and think she is "treating her like a nuisance" or "taking her for granted."

It's like if you started talking about the mecha combat on page four. Just, like....you're describing things that are explicitly not in the comic.

Never mind. I'm apparently losing my mind. I've been feeling frustrated with Ai for a while now and yet looking back over old Ai x Chie chapters I can't even figure out why. There've been plenty of kisses and physical intimacy I didn't even remember. Apparently I've either been transported to an alternate reality, or I read too many damn comics to keep them all straight ... or parenting life is just too stressful and my memory is suffering ...

That's fair enough. You might've just been getting wires crossed with one of the many other storylines. I was actually a little worried that my response was too snarky, and I really appreciate that you reconsidered your perspective instead of getting defensive and doubling down. Respect.

Fuck this lol.
"I love you"
series ends
What a joke, why are most yuri series like this? It's a complete joke

For the same reason most action movies end after the bad guy is defeated. I mean, yeah, they COULD spend thirty minuites at the end of the movie documenting the hero's return to life as an ordinary beat cop, but the central conflict of the story is over.

I get wanting more, but it's not like there isn't a reason.

As an aside, does this make the Kiss list? Is the Kiss list still being maintained?

Poor Chie. She must be so frustrated. Ai has become tiresome and pathetic.

Sorry, but I really don't get why people still enjoy this pairing. I used to love them, but at some point Ms. "can I touch your boobs" turned into a mega-prude. This isn't a couple anymore. This is one person trying to progress a relationship and the other person treating her like a niusance to be kept at arm's length. Let me know when Ai realizes she's actually in a relationhip and stops taking Chie for granted.

I....what???

If we were in the same room, I would be staring at you like you just grew an eyeball out of each nostril. I cannot imagine how in the world you could read this comic, where Ai is giggly and blushing like crazy over a text roleplay kiss, and think she is "treating her like a nuisance" or "taking her for granted."

It's like if you started talking about the mecha combat on page four. Just, like....you're describing things that are explicitly not in the comic.

Titular summary of the whole story:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/crescent_moon_and_doughnuts_ch01#23

Thanks to all who made this possible

Yeah, in retrospect, the title really should have been a clue. The Crescent Moon and Doughnuts are both things that are what they are because they have something absent. The hole is what makes the doughnut a donut. It isn't something the doughnut is missing, and the doughnut isn't defective because the hole is there. Same thing with the crescent moon. It's the absence of the fully lit face of the moon that makes it a crescent moon, but it isn't diminished because of it.

The point of the story is about how not having something most people have doesn't make you lesser, it just makes you different, and there's not anything wrong with being different.

3rd base: dropping honorifics

2nd base: using her first name

1st base: sexy sex sexing.

Not sure if joking or if unaware of how baseball works

Is joke about using names being more intimate than having sex.

Fair enough. I take it a home run is hand holding.

I'm so happy they confessed, but this would have been so much better without that Witch's interference. It doesn't ruin it, but it takes away some of it. I'm happy, but there's this annoying nagging feeling.

It hurt especially when they said destined soulmate. Like, they probably would have ended up together, but we can't be sure.

Right now they only got together because of meddling from a third party, like, it seems like this wasn't meant to be, but not in the "braking the chains" kinda deal.

I'm happy, but I feel somewhat cheated ;-;
Help.

I disagree. Without the witch interfering, Yvonne would never have let Elsa get to this state of pain, and without seeing that Elsa is being hurt by the unintended consequences of her efforts to keep distance between them, there's no way Yvonne would have the resolve to say "Fuck the system, if there's no villainess route, I'll make one."

The whole point is that we make our own destiny by making it happen.

Remember, the only "destiny" in the original game is that Yvonne is exiled or killed and Elsa either dies or ends up marrying one of the 50 husbandos. Destiny is bullshit here.

last edited at Dec 12, 2022 3:14PM

3rd base: dropping honorifics

2nd base: using her first name

1st base: sexy sex sexing.

Not sure if joking or if unaware of how baseball works

Observing gayness does generally make mcdonald's taste better, I've noticed

Also being in Japan. They tend to use better ingredients.

Wooohooo! <3

and hey, don't feel too bad. my friend who I'm sharing my account to comment on here is 38 years old. you're not decaying, life is.

Entropy always wins.

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

I know right? The cult of childhood and teenhood in Japan is simply baffling to Occidentals. Especially in Protestant countries: it goes against the whole tradition of Reformed Christianity. Japan is the only country in the world were a woman of 25 is a decrepit old-timer no man would pay attention to.

. . . Again, I gotta disagree. Western countries are getting better about this, but that's not a japan "cult of teenhood" thing, that's just plain old fashioned misogyny. Women are expected to prioritize getting married. A woman who isn't married in her late 20s used to be considered an old maid in a LOT of western countries, not because they idolize youth, but because they devalue women as individuals.

Genuinely, where did this idea come from that nostalgia for youth is something exclusive to Japanese culture?? I was raised in the midwest in the 1980s, and I saw that shit ALL THE TIME. Also saw women getting judged for being unmarried at 25, BTW.

The assumption that your teen years are the best, more shining and radiant part of your life—and that as soon as you reach legal majority you become a decaying thing that can only crawl in the rotting morass of adulthood all the way to your death—is very much a common Japanese idea... but it isn't at all a Western idea; more like the opposite, in fact. I'm surprised nobody felt offended by this strip and reacted with anger.

I'm also going to chime in on the side of people who are like...No, man. This isn't a Japanese idea, this is part of the human condition. It's universal across all cultures. There is a reason why, in the 80s, there was a huge surge of media about the 60s, and in the 00s, the 80s were big, and in the 20s, now the 00s are remembered fondly. In another 10 years they'll be waxing nostalgic about the 10s.

People making media about their youth to appeal to other people who want to remember THEIR youth is a huge part of culture.

I guess we've all already been mentally colonized by the Japanese. :P Come to think of it, I haven't read any rants against lolicon manga in a long time...

Why would we feel offended?

They call "decaying" people of thirty something. It's a pretty strong word.

It's clear that the adults are regarding themselves as decaying, and I'd be willing to bet the artist is being self-deprecating here, as well.

Almost nobody over 30 is going to be offended by a person referring to themselves as "decaying" because we all feel it everyday.

I know I was the one who pointed out the song but I can’t picture Mitsuki singing “I Promise” by Radiohead AT ALL.

Hope I am not the only one.
I was betting on something like Anyone Can Play Guitar or Blow Out because they sound like stuff to be played at parties as a closing act…

I am prejudiced against Creep because I just heard it too many times as a tween

I dunno, it's a simple enough guitar riff for a relative beginner, and the lyrics are appropriate to the message she wanted to send.

I was prejudiced towards Creep because it seemed appropriately self-deprecating for Mitsuki, but I think "I promise" is pretty likely given the lyric drop.

Edit: I don't think Mitsuki would even bother thinking about the venue or whether the song is appropriate for a closing act. She picked the song for Aya, because she's there to sing to Aya, period.

last edited at Nov 19, 2022 9:01PM

I don't think people pointed it out but turns out the song she performed at the party was probably "I Promise" by Radiohead.

もう逃げない = I won't run away no more.
Mitsuki was quoting the lyrics here on Chapter 24.

This song was released in 2017 on the reissue of their 'OK Computer' (1997) album, titled 'OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017', so it was recorded in '96 and released 21 years later. It makes a lot of sense to say it's a lesser known song by them. So Aya was probably right

---

Btw, I added it to the Google Doc with all the bands compiled.

Nice catch, I wouldn't have gotten this one.

So what was with Mahiru? Was she trying to protect Mahiro's innocence by distracting her with car talk?

I doubt it. She and Mahiro kiss each other all the time, so what's so special about YuuMari just walking close to each other? I think she really did just get distracted by the car.

I think she's clued into the fact that Yuu and Mari like-like each other. Her expression on page 2 struck me as sad at first, but after looking back at it I think it was more gentle. I suspect she ships it. The bit with the car could be her distracting Mahiro, but I took it as a joke about Mahimahi's ditziness, like you said. You think she's noticed them snuggling, because that's where our attention is drawn, but actually she's just distracted by the expensive car.

last edited at Nov 15, 2022 6:47PM

^Is that a joke? I mean I know they are physically close but I dont remember them ever saying or doing anything to say they were a couple.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/virgins_empire_ch102#5
I mean, you don't -have- to be a couple to kiss someone, but pair stuff like this with their general lovey-doveyness, and I think the evidence stands on its own.

Chapter 30 spoilers: the girls are in the lockeroom for gym class and Mitsuki pulls an accidental smooth move, Aya just drops dead. The series ends.

How does she go from socially awkward SUPER DORK, to super smooth, charm master in seconds? Is this some kind of mutant power?

Lack of awareness of personal boundaries. It's a double-edged sword. With strangers, it leads to faux pas and social anxiety. When dealing with someone that already likes you, it leads to heart-squeezing physical contact.

Is hard to get a good grasp of how small Midori really is, in the last chapter with the manga club, she was midget size small, now here she's just short... But I guess when it comes to pussy destroyers, size doesn't matter? hahaaa

It's relative. She's only a bit shorter than Hibiki, but Hibiki is already quite tiny herself, and most of the other girls in the manga club are some of the tallest girls in the school.

You don't get to decide where to draw the lines, noone does.

They're not wrong. Words have usages. Dictionaries catalogue usages so people can communicate with each other, but no one person decides what a word means, and usages evolve and change gradually over time.

Gender and sexuality are increasingly accepted as spectrums, which means the terminology surrounding those topics are going to drift as that changes. It doesn't mean they're meaningless, it means the meaning to somebody else might be different from what it has been to you.