Forum › Posts by Chikaon

Chikaon
Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Awww Junko's upset that Kayo isn't a cutthroat bitch like her. It really feels like she thought she finally found someone she could compete on equal terms with, but had her hopes shattered witnessing Kayo being a lovestruck normie lol.

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Because things go so fast nothing actually feels impactful. We got a kiss, but I don't really care because they shoved a hundred other things in this chapter that it feels unearned. Like lol a random summons for an arranged marriage and then MC just randomly stumbling upon the Princess's diary conveniently changed her mind about the relationship.

I kind of agree in general, but the "conveniently changed her mind" thing is I think a tad unfair. She didn't change her mind. She was already sweet on the girl. It was fairly clear that she was only saying "Whoa, slow down" because she was finding everything a bit too fast and overwhelming, not because she had any intention of saying "no" in the end. So then suddenly the thing she was trying to ease into is taken away, of course she's going to be reacting like "Hang on, you can't take that away, I was just getting ready to eat it!" Sure, they do the diary thing to sort of crystallize her resolve a bit more, but the direction of her thoughts and feelings was clearly already there.

I admit my wording about her changing her mind was unfair. I think my frustration came about how ham-fisted it was to progress the story. All other plotlines aside, I thought the story was already doing an alright job progressing their relationship. Like you said, MC was already feeling sweet towards Ciel. It didn't feel like it needed a sudden arranged marriage to be the catalyst that pushes the MC into doing anything. I know arranged marriages are a very common trope to push relationships along, but I also just hate how they handled the arranged marriage here. How is Ciel supposed to do her duties as the crown prince AND appear as the wife of a duke? It doesn't make sense with the world shown to us and doesn't offer any explanations as to how it could and that's because it was only brought up to be a plot device with no further thought put into it. Then they haphazardly throw the secret diary bit in to make it extra clear to the audience lol.

So looking back on what I wrote I guess I meant convenient in the sense that I didn't like how everything was conveniently plotted to force the relationship forward at this point in time. Maybe if it was paced just a liiiittle slower, I wouldn't really think much about this plot convenience, but as it is now it's like ok what's on the menu for the trope of the day today?

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Lol I like how Ruka immediately knows that Suuna didn't get the point. Ruka understands Suuna so well now compared to when they first met. Progress!

Also wow there were a lot of crotch shots this chapter xD

Chikaon
Octave discussion 08 Dec 13:23
Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Yukino must be one of my most disliked protagonists in all yuri manga that I have read. Her lies are completely out of control. I do not see why anyone would be interested in her. If you decide to stay inside the closet, you can do so without lying by simply not talking about certain subjects. She could not even tell her mom the truth about moving in with Setsuko, when the mom clearly is not homophobic. Notice that there is only ONE homophobe inside the story, and that was Yukino's best friend in high school, and even she ended up not being a homophobe towards the end of the story. Everyone else seems to "gets it" when it comes to the relationship between Yukino and Setsuko, even though they were told that the two of them are just "friends".

She also lies to Shiori, a lesbian, and frankly Shiori should ask for a new manager.

I do understand the problem of Homophobia, the manga was drawn around early 2010s. This was drawn some 13 years ago, so Yukino does have a legitimate reason to avoid coming out of the closet. It is the way she stays in the closet that makes me dislike her. I wonder what sort of persona Yukino will have if the manga would be re-drawn, now being 2020s.

Iberis is a much better manga.

I think you fail to understand the trauma Yukino went through as an idol where she was constantly judged by everyone. Then when she came back from her failed idol career she had to constantly live being judged by all her peers. She has such a deep fear of being judged that of course she'd feel the need to lie to avoid people judging her relationship.

Even if the mom did not seem homophobic, she did not necessarily say anything that proves she would have accepted them as a couple. All she said was that she liked Iwai and for Yukino to treat her friends well. She could just be saying this to support Yukino through the rumors like (I don't believe the rumors so don't worry about it). The last thing we see the mom say is "I have faith in you". This is an incredibly vague statement and just puts pressure on Yukino to not be a disappointment to her family. For example I read that as "I don't believe the rumors because I have faith in you that you're a good daughter and you're not gay." Of course it could mean something else but that's how I understood it.

Kamo was homophobic til the end. Sure she was starting to change her views, but only after talking to her boyfriend about it. She was so bothered by Yukino being gay that she chose her feelings about it rather than respecting Yukino's and outted her to her boyfriend. And then because she didn't keep Yukino's secret, her boyfriend outted her to everyone in their town (which again shows a blatant lack of respect for Yukino's feelings). Then when they met up Kamo spent most of the time defending her boyfriend instead of supporting Yukino. Kamo was also immediately happy to hear that Yukino got into a het relationship and was way more supportive about it when Yukino lied about it. I don’t think you know how traumatizing it is to be rejected by the first person you trusted enough to come out of the closet to (she didnt even come out to Kamo on her own and was pressured to admit it). How Kamo initially reacted is why Yukino continuously stays in the closet and always feels the need to lie about it first.

There's no indication that her classmates "get it". They might not say anything to her face, but they definitely talk about it (that's how the rumors spread so fast) and that's what Yukino is afraid of. She knows that no matter what she does, no one will see her relationship as "normal" and since it's Japan, will constantly be pressured to conform.

She lies to Shiori because she was afraid of being seen through immediately. Shiori made her self conscious about the way she was acting because up to this point Yukino thought she was doing a good job blending in. Yukino was still trying to figure herself out and be comfortable with herself, but here comes a stranger saying "I know what you are". During their convo she even does the thing you said she should: lie about her relationship by omission but Shiori is relentless about making her come out before she felt ready to. Plus Shiori was just being plain creepy and sexually harassing her even after Yukino kept rejecting her advances and was obviously uncomfortable.

Again the whole point of Yukino is that she's afraid of being judged and was doing her best to appear "normal" only for everyone to tell her she isn't. The story is about her overcoming this fear and being more confident about who she as a person is because the world will never be as perfect and understanding as she wants it to be

last edited at Dec 8, 2023 2:09PM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

I smell axing

I dont even think it's really a case of axing because every chapter has had this horribly fast pacing. Problems are introduced and immediately solved in the same chapter. Characters' backstories and motives come out of nowhere and also immediately solved. Then we never hear from them again. I didn't think too much of it in the beginning, but by chapter 3 it was getting ridiculous.

Because things go so fast nothing actually feels impactful. We got a kiss, but I don't really care because they shoved a hundred other things in this chapter that it feels unearned. Like lol a random summons for an arranged marriage and then MC just randomly stumbling upon the Princess's diary conveniently changed her mind about the relationship. The author really is speed running through every western fantasy/villianess trope.

The only overarching issue that hasnt been solved is the whole thing with the brother and because of how poorly it's been handled it's a damn weak plot (and also not what most of us came to this series to read).

It really feels like it could end in 1 volume. I'd be surprised (and a bit horrified) if it went past 2 volumes. Even if the author intended to write a short series, it was still done poorly. They need to work on their pacing for longer series or stick to one shots for now.

last edited at Dec 8, 2023 2:27AM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

This story goes way too fast

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Her feelings for sister exist. She could have decided to move on, to accept, to calm down, you name it. However, it doesn’t change the fact that she loves another person, while “starting to have feelings for Kiku”. That is bad storytelling. Because her feelings for sister are now absolutely useless information, not telling anything and not helping anyhow. They only explain her depression, which could be explained by more realistic things like injury or social issues. In other words, she had a problem. She didn’t solve it. She accepted it and moved on to having romantic life. Two almost unrelated story parts, one not influencing another.

You speak as if it's impossible to move on from an unrequited love. If Yuuna was not her sister and just another straight girl she had a crush on would you still read the story the same way? There is no way to "solve" an unrequited love besides accepting nothing will come from those feelings and moving on which is what Sena is doing.

Moving on is a process and you can still have feelings your crush while starting to love another. You can love more than one person. Plenty of people with deceased partners "move on" and love another while still holding feelings of love for their previous partners. People still hold fond feelings for their exes when they break up and start new relationships.

Her feelings for her sister is not useless information. Could she have been depressed for another reason? Yes, but Sena's whole issue (and the story) is about her warped understanding of love. Her whole life she only had her sister to depend on and her feelings for her sister were the only examples of "love" she had. Kiku's introduction expanded Sena's knowledge about love beyond just what her sister showed her. Sena's world now doesn't only consist of Yuuna and herself. It's now opened to Kiku, Yuria, her editor....she realizes that there are other people who care for her.

The way I see it - the theme of incest became uncomfortable and the author decided to give Sena another love interest. The way she is now, she will always have silent unrequited love inside. Which is sad, really. Because it seems no one will be happy in this series. I feel tragedy, not romance, and it’s confusing.

I really feel like we're not reading the same story. Kiku has been there since chapter one and is in all the promotional material with Sena. How could you think that the author threw Kiku in there as a secondary love interest?....

I honestly don't know how you want the story to go for it to be satisfying for you. What would you have liked Sena to do? From the sounds of it, it would only be good storytelling if it went the incest end?

last edited at Dec 6, 2023 2:39AM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Soooo Sena’s feelings for her sister are now just… ignored?
That’s the only problem I have with this series. This question, these untold words flying in the air of each chapter.

You need to reread chapter 10. Sena clearly says that she needs to move on and she is finally able to do so after getting support from Kiku.

She was afraid of facing Yuuna while having these feelings which was why she kept avoiding her, but after Yuuna's visit and getting back into contact with her sister, she realized that it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be and now has the courage to move on. I also think having someone know about your "deepest, darkest secret" and still accepting you helps a ton with your mental health which is what Kiku did for Sena after finding out about her feelings.

She also mentions the current state of her feelings for Yuuna in chapter 17. So yeah her whole thing with Yuuna is very far from being ignored by the storyline.

last edited at Dec 4, 2023 6:39PM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Lol I love this stupid silly series and the stupid hijinks the crazy duo get themselves in. Seeing their relationship progress is satisfying too

Chikaon
Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Agughdjskkasa I just continue to love the stupid manipulative office politics game they've got going on. I've also been waiting for ages for the next licensed volumes to be coming out (even resorted to spoiling myself on the raws) so these updates will help tide me over until I can finally purchase them. I seriously don't get the release schedule for it. I kinda understood early on because it seemed to have been licensed when there weren't too many chapters out? But now it's fully complete and volume 2 is still coming out 1.5 years after the first one did D;

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Dang this was so damn good. This is canon in my book.

The author's note made so much sense. You could really feel the love and thought they put into this pairing. There was so much depth and it all wrapped up so nicely by the end. One of the best btr doujin I've read so far.

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

God this gets better and better every chapter. It captures the helplessness and heavy burden of Mary being Colin's only source of support so so well. Throwing in Riko's whole deal into the mix has added even more layers to Mary's messed up life. I really do hope all these children get the help they need by the end of the series though.

last edited at Dec 2, 2023 8:02PM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Lil sis blush! The ship of crazies is beginning to sail!

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

It's baaaack! Bless you Gouma Den for picking up these unfinished stories.

That Kirara past scene got dark so suddenly. Glad to see her finally get her happy ending ;_;

last edited at Dec 2, 2023 6:03PM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Homophobic seagull

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

I read through the localized manga, and I noticed a major difference between it and the fan translation on Page 12 of Chapter 13. For context, Shizuku's on the train and worrying about how her apology to Ruri will go.

In the fan translation, Shizuku thinks, "Back then, I basically just had my mom make a formal apology. I can't repeat that."
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/kimi_to_tsuzuru_utakata_ch13#11

In the localization, however, Shizuku thinks, "Back then, my parents had me apologize and promise never to do it again."

I'm curious as to which is correct, but I'm leaning toward the fan translation- you can see Mrs. Hoshikawa seems to be bowing but Shizuku appears to be standing up straight, implying that Shizuku couldn't apologize (most likely due to nerves after seeing the mother of the girl she bullied), or chose not to. It also fits with how Shizuku is determined to actually apologize this time.

I don’t know Japanese but since the official is done by Seven Seas, there's a higher chance the fan translation is more correct because it is not uncommon for the 7seas translation to be littered with mistakes or be a very, very loose translation that loses all nuance. There's several series I've read where the translation is flat out wrong and completely changes the meaning of the scene. Or sometimes you don't even need to have read the fan translation for comparison to see a speech bubble that completely doesn't make sense with the context.

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Wow, people are so easy to forgive... Simple ''I'm sorry'' and suddenly everything's ok eh? Not for me. Give me back chapters she took and then maybe I could at least think of forgetting that this bitcho ever existed...

I mean speaking in terms of the story and disregarding her affects on readers these past few years(?)...yes sometimes a sincere apology is all that is needed. Like if this was a situation in real life, there isn't really much of anything she can do "to make up for it" aside from acknowledging her wrongs and vowing to not do it again. It's up to the other characters whether or not they wanna remain friends/friendly with her and they are so there's not much left Shiho can actually do for now besides clear the air.

Heck her apology was sorely needed for us readers too because it was getting so bad there were people who actually believed Shiho did nothing wrong at all and was in the RIGHT for how she was acting! It was so nice to see the author properly acknowledge how petty she was being and not brush it aside. I think Shiho still needs to properly apologize to Aki and SSGirls for how she was acting, but for now I'm satisfied with where this is going.

Oh boy, this chapter really segmented the warped morality this manga is operating under for me.

Your comment was posted before I finished typing mine so I'm slightly editing.

You bring up a lot of good points that I missed about the apology. I'm still happy with what was shown in this chapter, but I agree it hasn't addressed everything and possibly never will. I think I also didn't blink about the flaws because I'm so used to this sort of brushing aside wrongs and characters saying stuff like "oh it's ok we should've known this so we were the ones that were wrong!" in Japanese media that I just sigh and move on because my expectations on how well they handle these types of issues are on the floor.

last edited at Nov 19, 2023 4:58AM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Yessss this is the chapter that was sorely needed to complete Shiho's redemption arc: a good fucking apology!

Glad they talked stuff out and funny how Yori almost hit the mark on what was going on but still missed it by a mile xD. I can happily look forward to Shiho and Aki's date now.

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Interesting start! I like how it didn't go full reincarnation and that both seem to still retain their memories. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

last edited at Nov 15, 2023 5:56PM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Pretty tame start to a Kodama Naoko story but we'll see as the story goes on lol.

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

I nearly choked when Makino had him in her phone as "Dude with the Platinum Card" it's just so on brand for her. I love her complete casual disregard of every boy she encounters

Not only boys lol. She has a complete casual disregard of everyone except Satou/Maron xD

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Omg I was not expecting that ending at all for the fiancé but it makes so much sense lmfao. Amazing

last edited at Nov 2, 2023 3:13AM

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Sigh my hope for them to have some time together as a real couple after the confession gets lower and lower after every chapter....I don't think she will die before reading the conclusion, but that might be one of the literal last things she does in her life. I just really hope sensei will write a satisfying conclusion in the end :(

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

Aw granny Reiko was Chitose's first friend as a mermaid ;_;

Soralaylaff
joined Oct 16, 2013

I think people are reading too literally into the script part. I see it as a metaphorical representation of Koto's mindset. As an adult she's more aware of Aya's personality and has gained the social skills over the past 7 years to accurately predict how Aya will react to things Koto does. It's kinda similar to when Erika just sees Aya as a small child now instead of someone unreachable back when they were the same age. So it's more a visual representation about how Koto as an adult now has the abilities to manipulate Aya to how she wants their relationship to be.