Anon will keep scratching the door until Soyo lets her in

but this was a good chapter in terms of Erika. We see her being careful to try to have a good impact on everyone, including drunk Koto. This is despite snarking at people and questioning herself. The fact that she's not sure if she "has a right" to confess suggests to me that getting with Koto is in fact not her primary goal, despite it clearly being something she wants a lot.

I agree, this chapter was good in terms of Erika. It made me even more curious about Erika's intentions and the purpose of her character in the story. For me, this chapter highlighted that when Aya isn’t around, Erika is the one taking care of Koto, and vice versa. I have a feeling the story is going to get really intense. For some reason, I can’t shake the thought that Erika might leave the picture toward the end of the series, realizing her feelings for Koto won’t reach her.
Chapter 8 kind of hinted at this through Erika’s internal thoughts.
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/how_to_break_a_triangle_ch08#26

Also I don’t mean to sound rude by saying this, but after reading the discussion about Erika in this forum, I feel more confused than informed. The discussion about whether she is or isn’t manipulative or selfish etc are slightly distorting my perception of her. At this point, instead of speculating about what might happen, I’m more curious to see how the story unfolds with each update and being surprised along the way. :D

I totally forgot that Koto already asked Erika out on a whim when they were in high school... I'm not sure I'd count the fact that she declined back then as foreshadowing, as it seems she didn't want to just be a replacement for Aya. Though Erika does feel like the designated third wheel independently from that.

I don't think that's a rude think to say at all. I kind of feel like I need a drink after just skimming the latest "debate" because sweet Jesus that did not need to take up more than a hundred posts again. I only don't completely regret it because i found an actually interesting explanation of how the characters' names reference Tanabata lore buried in there.

The girl who wants to seduce the black knight is now getting propositioned by a shady businesswoman. I appreciate the variety.

Also Frost is somehow still being confused for a guy despite not wearing the exoskeleton? ...Actually she kind of looks like the titular handsome girl Kanda from Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl. I guess the main difference is Kanda was not as tall and didn't have a perpetual scowl on her face.

last edited at Dec 27, 2024 2:47PM

Woah. This ship works too, huh. Love the bickering lol

It's always made sense to me. Subaru's role in the show felt a bit like Nina's second love interest, as if by the end she wished she could have captured Nina's interest the way Momoka did, though it might not have been intentional

I would be wary of a female "pick up artist" on the street most of the time, but I find this scenario very sweet. For one, this girl is cute and the fact that she checks on the other girl sitting on the bench is a humanizing element.

And two, street harassment is a public nuisance caused mostly by men. A woman looking for company on the street does not read as a threat on the same level, in fact she risks her own safety way more than a man doing the same would. It makes her odd, but her guts and the novelty of the situation make her interesting.

In general, I tend to find the "'if this was a man you'd hate it"/"it's not better just because it's gay" genre of criticism (both from outside and inside the yuri fandom!) tiresome. It implies that yuri and similar media pulls a trick on its audience by subverting heterosexuality, and thus unfairly 'gets away with' improprieties. For some reason it's accepted as a fact that straight people don't measure straight stories by queer standards (imagine someone commenting under hetslop that the depicted scenario isn't less gross just because it's straight), but yuri fans who like yuri for its own sake, and maybe even treat F/F as the default relationship type, are considered hypocritical or lacking in self awareness.

It's normal to react to yuri scenarios with "I would not like this if that was a guy" (happen to me all the time), but when the conclusion drawn from that is "therefore this is gross and bad too", to me it suggests a defensive posture, and one that consumers of straight media don't tend to assume with it. Why should yuri fans hold themselves to a standard of impartiality, of being unbiased? What do we really get in exchange for disavowing a female character just because she would be unappealing to us if she was a man?

What's the deal with censoring kisses nowadays? I don't get it, and it's getting on my nerves.

They are afraid that seeing same-sex kisses will encourage the audience to engage in such activities

Is she called Galacta because she loves milk? Like what the hell is that leaking from her mouth lol

Side note, they'll probably clear this up later, but I'm confused. So, Wu Qing, the maid, is a robot made in the likeness of Xiangsi's former lover, who was also named Wu Qing? But why did they show Wu Qing getting sold to the black market?

My guess is that the original Wu Qing was sold on the black market to Xiangsi, who treated her like dirt at first before falling for her. Then, however, she did something that resulted in Wu Qing's family dying, prompting Wu Qing to turn against her, after which she also perished (killed by security?). Later, Xiangsi has a robot commissioned to look just like Wu Qing and gives it (her?) her lover's old name because she cannot let go and wants a second chance.

I gathered that the original Wu Qing was just a regular friend of Xiangsi and the "mistress" thing was just them goofing off; Xiangsi reminisces about their friendship and fallout after the robot version introduces herself.

The robot version seems to be a Trojan horse manufactured by the ladies with the red hair and pink hair to get close access to Xiangsi. The sale of the robot through the black market, along with the memories she seems to carry, are a charade meant to obscure her true origins from both herself and Xiangsi. The fact that her creators still named her Wu Qing may make for pretty bad opsec, but maybe the name is meant to hurt and insult Xiangsi just like the face.

My takeaway from "it was you who killed my parents" is that the original Wu Qing's parents died due to the incident involving the plague vaccine that Xiangsi worked on. It would not make sense for public opinion turn against Xiangsi for causing the death of Wu Qing and her parents if they had been of low status, which again makes it unlikely that the original Wu Qing was sold to the Yao family.

last edited at Dec 17, 2024 6:18AM

One of the first methods of "flirting" Okiku used on Ryouyo in chapter 1 was making her clothes disappear item by item. So these chapters seem more like a return to form than anything else.

One must be deft at fingering, yes

I've been complimented before for my arm vein being easy to find; must be rough to have stealthy veins like that. But yeah, this is a pretty interesting read.

Just like "king" has been used as a title by some female rulers in real life history, I assume "patriarch" is also a title in this case. It implies that a man is supposed be the head of the family, so these people might also be deliberately calling her patriarch to emphasize that she is breaking social norms by leading her family despite being a woman.

last edited at Dec 15, 2024 3:37PM

It's not like limited POV is that rare in yuri manga, but keeping the thoughts of a quiet and aloof girl like Sumie obscured creates an uneasy mood. The reader sees tiny glimpses of her memories but those too are presented without any commentary from her. (And I think this is cool, to be clear.)

hey I haven't talked about Blue Star recently

But seriously, that is a similarity. The Blue Star "camera" mostly follows Umi, though sometimes Shou and occasionally others, but the Blue Star "thought stream" is only Umi. Which can create an uneasy mood, because just like Umi, we don't know (not directly) why Shou (or anyone else, but Shou's the main one and quiet and aloof) is doing something.

Oh, nice. I never noticed that Shou didn't get to narrate, perhaps because her behavior is a lot easier to read; clearly troubled and isolated.

this has definitely been my favourite manga this year. I keep rereading it, not just because of Manatsu's ridiculously expressive emotionw, but also, because of Sumie's slow and subtle ones.

By the end of chapter three, we are basically certain that Manatsu has fallen for Sumie. (Whether it's love or lust is debatable). at the start of Chapter 4, she reaffirms that it's okay if it's temporary https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/girlfriend_limited_to_7_days_ch04#3

by the end of chapter 4, it looks like Sumie is falling for Manatsu, too. just look at that subtle smile: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/girlfriend_limited_to_7_days_ch04#26

And, i mean, who wouldn't. Despite how different the two are, Manatsu treats her as a peer, and is ready to protect her when Sumie needs it. And she would never belittle her.

Makes me wonder if either of them will dare to step thru the pile of complications they are building over their seven days if dating, confess their feelings on day eight?

Sumie may be catching feelings, but I'm not totally sure if that's a smile on the last page. To me her lips look more compressed, which in this context suggests she wants to say something but pushes it down. I'd also assume the thought of falling for Manatsu would make her anxious, since her reasoning for the time limit was to "end it before things get complicated".

As for what happens at the end of the seven-day period, if Manatsu does not manage to catch on to Sumie's unresolved anxieties, she will probably end up spilling the beans. This may even be prompted in a situation where they're about to sleep together (provided that the flash-forward on the first pages of chapter one is not a red herring), and Manatsu wants to confirm that Sumie feels the same way before they take that step.

In any case though, I have a feeling that Sumie will not go for it, at least not quite yet. The narration being so consistently limited to Manatsu (combined with the little flashbacks from the enigmatic Sumie) is building a kind of tension that is just begging for a switch to Sumie's perspective after the story reaches a turning point.

last edited at Dec 13, 2024 12:28PM

This is one of the best things about "casual dating" yuri. A moment where the mood is just right for a kiss comes around, and the leads actually take the opportunity. Not that I don't enjoy yearning and pining and stuff but this is nice too sometimes

It's not like limited POV is that rare in yuri manga, but keeping the thoughts of a quiet and aloof girl like Sumie obscured creates an uneasy mood. The reader sees tiny glimpses of her memories but those too are presented without any commentary from her. (And I think this is cool, to be clear.)

I barely know anything about Homare and basically nothing about the other two in her love triangle, they dance around the topic so much that the stakes are unclear, and they just laugh it off in the end anyway. So... What was the point? And I do not feel like their business resonates enough with the main couple's conflict to justify opening the chapter that should by all accounts serve as a pivotal moment for them.

Looking back this series has always had some similarity to Takako Shimura's style of storytelling but Homare's love triangle is where that style really shows its age. Shion's shitstirring is arguably another example, even if now I like where that character ended up going.

This story has a quality I can only describe as sleepy (plotting, art style, physicality) and everything Kiki's sister contributed recently slowed it down even more, but then with Kiki and Michiru's reunion the pendulum swings to the opposite. The scene feels oddly rushed, as if the dialogue was just rattling off the bullet points of their conflict. It doesn't click for me.

last edited at Dec 8, 2024 10:11AM

I like that the ropes binding her arms held out but the chair got pulverized

This won't just be the shitty het cliché straight up, right? Surely there will be a clever twist or something

Saying Kanna would have to give up her life in LA to be with Joe is a bit of stretch. As far as I remember, we don't know much about her life there, if she truly enjoys it or if she would feel like giving up something if she was to go back to Japan. It is also entirely possible that she would like to be back, but doing so, while not being able to be with Joe would be too hard for her, so she prefers to be far away.

I do agree with others though, that if Joe finally confessing or having them talk at the airport is enough for them to be together and resolve the situation is also too much of a stretch. They clearly need time and proper discussions about it, but at the same time, we shouldn't assume what Kanna truly wants out of this.

The reader doesn't normally have to make unfounded assumptions about this stuff, because a drama plot normally tends to set up the stakes in a timely manner so the reader has something to go on when trying to predict outcomes.

In other words, it's actually reasonable to assume that Kanna was not unhappy with her life or career overseas if this detail has not been brought up so far, given that her subplot seems to be right on the cusp of its climax.

last edited at Dec 4, 2024 4:50PM

Wow okay I don't know how I missed that. Thank you for the tip!

That girl wasn't really hiding her himejoshi tendencies though

The prison seems to be on an island so it's possible there are only seabirds around

I'm surprised to see this so quickly after girlswhokiss floated the idea, but I am excited too.

For those like me who prefer to read on mobile, the neocities page hosts the HTML version.

Oof the narrative is so weirdly jumpy it's impossible to get used to. Skipping and hopping from plot point to plot point so quickly that every development can only get a shrug out of me.

I don't think there was a problem when the series was just a gag comedy but the coming of age drama it has transitioned to bleeds out from being handled like this.

I actually can't recall a single other stepmother/daughter yuri series. I'm kind of hooked for that reason alone, but the drawings are pretty nice too.

Anyway, this chapter was cute