Forum › Posts by Aikosaurus

joined May 9, 2017

Funny, that's not how I read the situation at all with Kanna. For me, she is telling Aya something like "if being her friend is enough for you, don't dwell on it and enjoy the thing you wanted to do with her, without her.".
Basically, get over it and continue your life (like she did with Joe).

I still see her as an obstacle for them becoming a couple. She was the one pushing for Mitsuki to go to America. She will probably push her to follow music rather than a relationship with Aya. Of course, Mitsuki can do both. But I don't think Kanna wants to think it's possible. Otherwise, it would mean that maybe it could have been possible for her and Joe to find a way to stay together.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that the impression I have of the situation.

last edited at Nov 10, 2024 7:09AM

joined May 9, 2017

Probably the same for me. It was kind of fun up to a point, but this is seriously becoming ridiculous. I'm not even angry or anything, this is just ... bad.

It's always been a bit ridiculous. Remember the early silent second MC chapters (otherwise known as the "mysterious Yuzu" chapters, as b58 called them). It kind of improved for a bit but it's gone back to being very mechanical.

The characters don't act like real people. That happens in every story to some extent but normally the writer can mask it. Here you can constantly feel the writer kicking the ball down the road, hence the comments. People don't like when the mechanics are obvious and/or repetitive. This story has a lot of both.

Yeah, you are right, this is both a problem with the same gag being overused, and seing the author pulling the strings rather than feeling the characters are real (it can be a comedy while still having believable characters).

Even if they get together during next chapter, it won't even be enjoyable at this point.

joined May 9, 2017

The issue is not really the trope of having two characters obviously into each and not noticing it. This is fine and even cute/funny to an extent. But when one of the said character is being clearly explicit and the other reacts as "don't me make me wish for the impossible", this is just plain stupid... The girl said she wants you, and is trying to kiss you... What do you think she is going? Declaring to you that she is a really, really good friend?

At one point, the stupidity of a character stops being cute and is just annoying. But well, if some are still enjoying it, maybe there is a public for that.

joined May 9, 2017

Are people still enjoying this? Because at this point it's just sunk cost fallacy that keeps me here

Probably the same for me. It was kind of fun up to a point, but this is seriously becoming ridiculous. I'm not even angry or anything, this is just ... bad.

joined May 9, 2017

Aah, finally!
Just re-read LN vol 6+ recently, and am so glad at how well this was adapted.
Noice!

At which volume of the LN this moment occurs? I'm curious at how much I have to catch up if I pick up the LN.

joined May 9, 2017

That last panel—poor Aya . . .

I feel certain that all will be well in the end. But . . .poor Aya.

Yeah, it would be nice to see a bit more of Mitsuki's side as well. I know she admitted to herself that Aya was her safe place, but at the same time, we don't know that much about her own feelings and considering what is happening lately, i understand that Aya feels like Mitsuki doesn't need her anymore (not that it's true, but it does feel that way).

joined May 9, 2017

I'm definitely on the "Fuuko did nothing wrong" train lol. She has simply acted rationally in her own interest and has not violated any agreement or relationship she had with someone else. Yuni's cheating but Fuuko isn't.

Sure, she did not. Manipulation, black mailing, temptation... Pure as an angel.

She is my favorite character, but saying she did nothing wrong is pushing thing too far. If she did, she wouldn't even be an interesting character. For me, actively pursuing someone that is already in a relationship is also reprehensible as well. Presenting the option to the other party is one thing, but pushing for it is reprehensible in my book (not as much as cheating, of course). She is like an incarnation of temptation, it doesn't excuse Yuni's actions, but it doesn't make it less reprehensible as well.

joined May 9, 2017

It's understandable why Sendai isn't confessing. She was stopped by Miyagi. After that, I'll doubt she will say anything anytime soon.

That's why I started to lost interest a bit in the WN. The author is more interested into dragging the serie as long as possible, rather than having an organic progression. It was a nice chapter regardless, but I don't expect anything significant to happen before another 40-60 chapter (it seems like there is kind of a milestone happening very 50 chapter or so).

joined May 9, 2017

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is it's now clear that Sendai's student has a crush on her. And it seems that Sendai has picked up on this crush.

I wonder how this will come into play in future chapters. Will Miyagi somehow find out about this? Will the student(Kikyo?) continue to try to find ways to spend time with Sendai? Will Sendai have to let Kikyo know that she's more than just "roommates" with Miyagi so Kikyo knows she has no shot at romance with her.

I wouldn't call it a crush. She is just someone she is looking up to and admire. Not denying her potential feelings, but that's not how I read it.

joined May 9, 2017

I am curious if there is some kind of relevance to the moon and the clover maybe being related to their names? Like sharing a kanji or something maybe? It seemed to read that way. Hopefully someone with some Japanese knowledge can fill us in on that.

In the former Japanese calender, 葉月 Hazuki was just the Japanese name for August, it was later changed to 8月 (which just mean the 8th month of the year) but it's a popular name for girls, especially born in August.

As for the significance of the necklaces, Hazuki is written with the kanji for leaf (ha 葉) and moon (tsuki 月).

I don't know is there is a particular significance for the clover as a leaf though.

last edited at Aug 15, 2024 8:35PM

joined May 9, 2017

but it might just skip ahead to the next day instead if the author wants to be a jerk and keep dragging out eeeevery possible bit of progress.

That is to be expected. I'm pretty much sure that even if Sendai will say she loves her, Miyagi just won't believe her and call her a liar :p

joined May 9, 2017

Edit: And they've mentioned "group date" several times, including this chapter. Is this like a mixer or something else?

Yeah, that's exactly that, those group date that university students often go to meet other people (from the opposite sex).

None of them are interested in that obviously, but it was mentioned a few times to test the water and see how the other would react.

joined May 9, 2017

I've only vaguely been aware of this and kind of mentally wrote this off as Miyagi's abandonment issues from her mother being projected onto Sendai. I'll add it to the list of subtle things I missed when reading the MTL.

She also has abandonment issue from her father, who promised her again and again that they would do stuff together while failing to fulfill those promises. That's why she doesn't trust Sendai when she does promises (also because for her, it's a very strong commitment while Sendai uses that word more lightly).

joined May 9, 2017

Also, damn, Miyagi really can't live down the running away accusations, huh? Can those who are caught up to the MTL not agree that she has grown past that, and very much demonstrated to Sendai that she has grown past that as well? Guess that one really stuck a nerve with y'all.

She has grown indeed. But that's why it's not the only thing that I mentioned. She is constantly denying what Sendai is saying with stuff like "liar", "don't make promises", "I don't trust you". She is showing again and again that she doesn't trust her intentions and actions.

And yeah, Sendai is pushy for sure, not denying that. But if she wasn't there wouldn't be any story to tell at this point :p

joined May 9, 2017

In the MTL it's also really easy to tell when a phrase that doesn't have a 1-to-1 direct English meaning gets used. Like when Miyagi tells Sendai that they are no longer roommates but they are "living in something important." You can tell that it's an upgrade from roommates and that's it's basically "we're important to each other but it's not a committed relationship," but it's so awkward to read. I had to stop and stare at it for a while to make it make sense because an English-speaker would never use words that way to describe a relationship.

To be fair, I read the novel in Japanese, and the Japanese itself is quite convoluted. It's not something that someone would normally tell in Japanese as well. I have no idea how I would translate that in a none awkward way as the Japanese itself if awkward.

And she is not even saying that they are important to each other. 大事なものに住んでる人 would translate more to "the person that lives in a place that is important". In reference to Sendai saying that the apartment is an important place to her (because it's the place where Miyagi is).

joined May 9, 2017

Miyagi is just so precious to me. She is definitely of my favorite characters in a story. She deserves someone who will tell her that she is loved and cherished, and she deserves someone to tell her that they want to be with her forever, but unfortunately she is stuck with Sendai.

While I do love both characters, I would definitely think the other way around, given how much time, thought and affection and much more Sendai is giving to Miyagi compare to the other way around. Again, I do like both characters, but Miyagi is sure a pain in the ass. They have been living together for more than a year at this point, and only now, she have just made her mind about doing a nice gesture to Sendai, to show her her affection. And even then, she is a pain about it.

You have to love her as she is, but I'd personally would never be able to put up with that for so long. Sendai is a saint x) Love is a verb, and in that sense, Sendai is showing her love to Miyagi all the time. She is just not expressing herself verbally.

It was in another thread, so I don't remember it exactly but someone was saying that Sendai was a coward for not expressing verbally her love to Miyagi. But I would argue that Miyagi is even more of a coward as she is not even able to admit to herself that she is in love. And I don't buy the "she hasn't sort out her feelings". In my view, she is actively trying not to sort her feelings, she is putting energy into NOT doing that. In that way she is a coward. And while Sendai could have confessed by now, I also want to insist on the fact that not only Miyagi has run away once, but more than than, she never trusts Sendai's word when she makes a promise or is showing her affection. Tbh, it must be hard to confess to that kind of girl...

Btw, this is not a rent towards Miyagi as well. I do love them both. I'm just surprised to see people "siding" more on Miyagi's side.

Regardless, I think we can all agree on the way the author is now calling the WN on twitter: "面倒くさい女の子×面倒くさい女の子の共依存百合です". "A co-dependence Yuri of an annoying girl x an annoying girl".

last edited at Aug 5, 2024 7:53PM

Aikosaurus
joined May 9, 2017

Not even gonna bother addressing the person thinking Koto wasn't being abusive in that moment, I think Aya running away from her is enough to say that that's how she read the situation, even if she did water it down in summarizing it later with Erika.

Well, you just did. To have an abusive behavior, you need a clear intend to harm. It is just not the case. Her trauma makes her say irrational and hurtful things, that doesn't mean it was the intent. Two actions can have the same results while being different.

Not even Aya reads the situation as being abusive. She is running away because she is unable to confront Koto seing her as a child, this is clearly express afterward. Nothing is showing that she thinks she was a victim of abuse.

Aikosaurus
joined May 9, 2017

Except it wasn't physical, which makes all the difference. To call Koto's behavior abusive, in my own definition, it would need to be a repetitive behavior. As a one time thing, it's out of line and not acceptable, especially with the age difference. But an isolated incident is not an abusive behavior, at least for me. And in terms of storytelling, the point of that scene was to show us her breaking point, not to show her becoming an abusive person. With this story, I feel like people are too quick to call behaviors as toxic, abusive or crossing a line.

Without going into details about my personal life (not interesting anyway), the reason I'd like to see the Aya/Koto relationship works is because I once was in Koto's shoes. Some past trauma made me possessive and jealous, to an extent it wasn't healthy. And the same as Koto, I wasn't aware of my own trauma.

The reason I was able to get past it, understand my own trauma and work on it was because I met someone that loved me enough to put up with my shit and see through it. If it wasn't for that person, who stucked with me while I was processing all of that, I don't think I would have been able to even be aware of my issues. Funny enough, I was around the same age as Koto as well when it happened (and that person was a bit younger as well, not as much though).

And while Aya is young, I definitely think she can be that person for Koto, while Koto supports her while we can finish her study and becoming a proper adult in society's eye. If they can make it work, it could end up being a strong and lasting relationship.

Erika on the other end doesn't seem fit for that role. She is too focused on her own feelings to be able to give the help or even just the push Koto needs. I don't hate the character though. Overall, she is still doing a lot for Aya, and while she does have ulterior motives, which makes her feels pathetic and like a bad person, she is still doing a lot for her regardless. If it wasn't for those flashbacks, and being able to read her thoughts, I don't think anyone would think badly of her. I don't see any of her behavior as actively trying to sabotage Aya/Koto's relationship either. That's what she hopes, but not how she behaves. Even asking the question "do you really love present Koto" is legitimate. Aya never questioned her feelings for Koto, and it's definitely necessary for their relationship to work properly. And yes, I know it's not what Erika is wishing for, but it doesn't mean the question is out of line/crossing a line.

tl:dr
While not behaving at their best, I think all characters's behaviors are relatable and understandable. This whole story seems to be written to allow those characters to go past their own flaw and trauma, in order to become better persons. That's the way I see it.

joined May 9, 2017

she's actually a nuanced character that puts a lot of thought into her relationship with Adachi.

Agreed but I'd add that...

she's actually a nuanced character that puts a lot of thought into [ nearly every aspect of her life ].

She's one of the most thoughtful MCs I've read and not over simple topics either. Very introspective and questioning. She really wants to define herself at every opportunity and feels uncomfortable when she can't do so. That makes her "slow" because she takes time to think things through first or to wonder about her experiences. That's largely why she gets misunderstood at times.

I do agree and for me that's the biggest selling point of AdaShima. But to be fair, being that thoughtful is not healthy. Instead of living in the present, it almost feels like she is an external character to the story, analysing what is happening. But this is what makes the character unique and what makes me want to see her evolve past that. The spontaneity of Adachi is certainly helping her in that regard.

I don't think there's anything unhealthy about it and she has no real issues in her life that would necessitate a change. Maybe we just use the word "unhealthy" differently. But I agree: her and Adachi definitely do balance each other out for sure.

Unhealthy was a poor choice of word indeed. But to be in a proper relationship she needs to learn to be more spontaneous and to be more in phase with her/other people's feelings. At the current time, she often Cannot react to Adachi's actions because she needs to process them first. Which in a way is good, but it kills the spontaneity and the magic a bit.

joined May 9, 2017

she's actually a nuanced character that puts a lot of thought into her relationship with Adachi.

Agreed but I'd add that...

she's actually a nuanced character that puts a lot of thought into [ nearly every aspect of her life ].

She's one of the most thoughtful MCs I've read and not over simple topics either. Very introspective and questioning. She really wants to define herself at every opportunity and feels uncomfortable when she can't do so. That makes her "slow" because she takes time to think things through first or to wonder about her experiences. That's largely why she gets misunderstood at times.

I do agree and for me that's the biggest selling point of AdaShima. But to be fair, being that thoughtful is not healthy. Instead of living in the present, it almost feels like she is an external character to the story, analysing what is happening. But this is what makes the character unique and what makes me want to see her evolve past that. The spontaneity of Adachi is certainly helping her in that regard.

Aikosaurus
joined May 9, 2017

Honestly, I've seen people hating on both Erika and Koto and being obsessed with convincing other people how horrible people they are. It's indeed not that kind of story, and while I do enjoy the debate and the passionate discussions happening around that title, I can't help but think that people hating so much some flawed but understandable characters must have problem(s) themselves... That much hate is definitely not healthy and and doesn't look good on them...

That being said, a while ago, Kabocha posted a drawing on their Pixiv fanbox, and the comment was interesting.

They said, about Aya, on the drawing:
"The line drawing was posted on twitter previously, and when my editor saw it, he said "the reason she has her hand tucked into her pocket might be because there are so many thing she is hiding". I thought it was a good setting, so I went with it. "

I think so far the story is a bit unbalanced, as we are seeing Aya struggling from her situation, but not really suffering or being traumatized by her situation like Erika and Koto are. She might be hiding something herself, though so far, we have no sign of that.

Can't wait to see what future chapters are holding! The manga was on pause during July, so publication will resume next week. The schedule also changed, as Kabocha was mentally drained, so it will be 2/3 of a chapter per month (instead of one chapter per month). Slower progress, but as long as they stay healthy, I'm happy with that.

Aikosaurus
joined May 9, 2017

This chapter felt a bit redundant? Sure, Nekomori backstory was a bit expanded but I think we got the gist of it already, and the rest of the chapter is just her overhearing the argument that alreaedy started in previous chapters :P

I agree. Knowing this is the last volume and that the ending is a bit rushed (not bad just rushed), I'm a bit sad a better editor wasn't able to do a better job guiding the mangaka through the last chapters.

joined May 9, 2017

Mitsuki is definitely super cool in this chapter and I'm glad she is able to show her real self in public, but I'm a bit upset as well that she doesn't let Aya knows that she's fine. Aya have probably been worried sick, to the point were she wonder if she did well getting angry and yet she is being completely let down by Mitsuki.

It's been like that for quite some time already. Aya seems more like a supporting character rather that being part of the main cast and the last panel makes me think she feels that way...

joined May 9, 2017

I would enjoy it way more if one of the MC wasn't looking like an 8 year old kid... I understand that some people look way younger that their real age, but I can't help but feel sickened when it is that extreme.Too bad, the story is entertaining, but I guess I'll start reading the novel instead.

joined May 9, 2017

I don't like when half chapters are released. They feel obviously incomplete (because they are, of course). I'd prefer it if they released a full chapter every two months, or shorter but complete chapters each month.

And before anyone jumps in to say this, I will be reading it every two months regardless, if this continues to be the case. I just think they're ruining the pace and make the series less enjoyable by doing this, so I'm not sure if this is a good call on the publisher's side.

It's a pretty common practice for monthly chapter being released on the internet. The other manga I'm reading that way either have really short chapter or have long chapter being divided into 2/3 parts.

I actually do prefer chapter when they are longer, even if they are being released in multiple parts. It allows for more development because have a story being contained in a few pages can feel suffocating in the long run. The thing is in this case, the cut is way too obvious. Generally speaking, they managed to cut at a place where is does feel more natural. In this case, they could have just cut at the page where Miyagi says "I'll buy you for 5000 yens" and it would have been fine.