Well, you know... you still have to buy groceries, do laundry, wash dishes, fill tax forms... all the joys of real life. Maybe boring is not the right word. Dull maybe?

Once you have settled in a relationship, it may not be boring in itself, but it's not like there's a dramatic turn of events every week.

And that's why we love manga. There's always something happening.

Except 34-sai Mushoku-san. I don't think something remarkable ever happened in this one.

last edited at Apr 15, 2015 5:39AM

In real life relationships, sometimes, nothing happens at all.

Daily boring life, you know. Like 34-sai Mushoku-san.

Real life doesn't have timeskip though...

It really is an entertaining series. I'm usually not that thrilled by lolis, but this one is hilarious.

I like that the author still has untapped material : all the "real magic" stuff, getting Mahiru a girlfriend, the two stalker girls... it could go on for a while...

When characters go out of their way to overreact to drama, crying, screaming, punching walls or windows, fits of rage, etc...

A classic device to turn up the feels over 9000.

Some people read waaaay too much into this.

But then, I did the same with Stretch, or Citrus.. >///>

I'm not sure Ssamba delved that deep in the mind of her characters.

It's quite fun to read all these speculations anyway.

Namori is such a troll.

Btw, I'm on #TeamMegumi too.

But the hint dropped in the chapter on mapletanabi is quite anvilicious and depressing.

Or it's just a tease and I'm gonna kill Namori.

But now, Ai is the most likely candidate. Megumi using makeup (see chap 54 of YRYR) is unlikely.

last edited at Apr 14, 2015 7:45AM

Another thing too Nya-Chan is that Yuzu realized at some point that Mei needs that support and that she also has to be her friend/sister and not just some possible romantic interest. Most romances seem to only focus on the romance and less on meaningful character growth and progression, at least Citrus is one of the few I've come across that identifies this aspect of relationships.

My point exactly. Some people complain that the romance isn't going anywhere fast, but I find it more entertaining to watch the characters grow, rather than hop in the sack and live happily ever after, after a few drama scenes.

That's what I liked too in Prism for example. After the romance started, Megumi realized that it wasn't all there was to it, that she wanted/needed to know and understand Hikaru better. Because that's what love is about if you're serious about it and not just infatuated.

Mei needs to learn to trust others and herself before she can really "accept" Yuzu. And Yuzu needs to understand where Mei comes from and why she reacts the way she does, before she can really help her and see clearly that it's not only infatuation, but a real love.

last edited at Apr 14, 2015 5:04AM

Mei is a wounded character. Yuzu starts the story as a carefree character. Mei didn't have Yuzu in her life for that long, so that she'd change instantaneously for the better just because Yuzu loves her would be cliche.

But I think Mei deserves Yuzu because she's the only one that can help her get out of the pits of despair and fear she's in. It will be difficult, it will be hearwrenching, but that makes Yuzu's character all the more lovable.

I don't see how Yuzu and Mei wouldn't end up together. If Saburouta were to introduce a new love interest for Yuzu, it would derail the whole thing. Not to say she couldn't do that, but any mangaka worth her salt knows what her readership wants.

And I bet 10 internet cookies that it's Yuzu and Mei together.

All in all, I enjoy Citrus because the author made me care about Yuzu AND Mei and I want to see things work out between them. I won't say it's perfect (it's slow as hell), but then, if they were all lovey dovey after chapter 8, this manga would already be over.

I'm probably going to be flamed, but...

Quite underwhelming resolution if you ask me.

But hey, to each their own.

Too bad the translation is stalled.

5 volumes in Japan and it's still ongoing. And it's stuck at chapter 6 here.

I wondered what the author of Sasameki Koto could come up with next.

I don't shy from conflict, or I would have stopped posting here. I just don't particularly enjoy it. Anyway, this is not about me, this is about FF.

In the end, after thinking it through, I know what's keeping me from enjoying FF completely.

In MY opinion, which doesn't seem to be shared (but I don't care), the characters in FF are really good (and I want to know how it's going to work between them,) because the author thought a lot about their personality and obviously put much love in them, but the way the plot moves forward is weak because the author uses weak devices.

I'm sure we can agree to disagree about that, and that's it.

Well, if I recall correctly, I said that the overhearing of the conversation was a weak way to make the plot move forward, in my opinion, because it was based on pure randomness and not because the characters acted on their feelings. That's what ticked me off. That's all the extent of my initial criticism.

I compared it to Their Story, because, although it's not hyper-realistic either and it's not about the same thing, it's at the same point in the plot : trying to make the two MCs get closer. Sun-jing acts on her feelings and works hard to make the plot move forward. Like asking her friends to get data on Qiu Tong, or waiting for her and pretending to just be running. In real life, it wouldn't be that easy of course, but it's not based on randomness. The initial encounter, at the sliding doors, is random, but it's not unlikely. You have to have a starting point in the story.

Anyway, I think that my critics make sense. Actually the start of the relationship between Seol-a and No-Rae (the guy trying to strangle her and No-Rae to the rescue) was odd too. Why would you use a baseball bat on some random guy? Any normal person would probably have screamed at the top of their lungs. That's what I would have done if I had witnessed such scene. Ssamba choose another way, okay. Doesn't keep me from thinking it was a bit off. She's prone to use violence to make things move forward no? An attempt on Seol-a's life to start the story, and now, probably, a foiled rape attempt to get them closer.

I don't ask for hyper-realism either. Any fiction demands some measure of suspension of disbelief. But sometimes, it's just too much when the author seems to aim for a realistic setting and characters (like FF) but derails it by using weak and unrealistic plot devices to make major progresses in the story.

Apologies for the wall of text, but these are my opinions, my preferences and that's all there's to it. And if I want to write them here, I will. I will not bow to someone who says "I don't want to hear your negative criticism".

last edited at Apr 12, 2015 12:39PM

I'm mildly offended at "none of us particularly want to hear your negative opinions". Who is this "us" you're talking about? The FF cultists? So this thread here should only be dedicated to fangirlism of FF? I feel somewhat bullied into self-censorship, for the sake of avoiding conflict. For me, it actually triggers flags to fight back, even so I don't really want to.

I didn't complain "over and over", I just answered to people who dissented with me. It's not because someone dissents that I'm going to switch opinion or shut up.

I'm too old to be bullied without reaction, but at the same time, I find it silly to argue about a definition in the dictionnary, instead of talking about the flaws I see in FF.

There's no logic at work here. And I don't think there should be.

That Saburouta would be a he or a she is irrelevant, as long as the story is good.

Both male and female mangaka have written really good pieces of yuri, so I don't really look that up before reading and loving something.

As you say, it's ongoing. I don't think Saburouta announced how long it would be. Just like any manga, it depends on numerous factors, like the interest by japanese readers, the sales, etc...

He may wrap it up quickly if the need arises, or he may prolong it if asked to by his editor.

This must have been a hell to translate. Quantum physics?

On yawaspi, there's the date of the next chapter. April 16. It will take a day or two to get translated probably.

I think the author of SK made a timeslip to graduation day for its emotionnal value (last days of school together, separation to come). Once the pair had confessed, he dealt with a few consequences (coming out to family and friends, what are you doing to do next...) but the story was essentialy over.

Anyway, in 5 days maybe we will know where Shou want to go. I hope he keeps on writing about Keiko and Ran and that this relationship gets deeper.

If Inugami were to choose Aki, I'd be really sad for Nekoyama.

Because Nekoyama obviously has eyes only for Inugami. It matches her cat persona : cats aren't friendly with everyone. They are picky. They don't have owners, they have a person they like. I know, I had a cat for the longest time and she owned me as much as I owned her.

And the kuudere act of Aki makes her the main obstacle between Inu and Neko. That she'd do that out of jealousy or to protect either of them is debatable.

The author should find her a love interest.

Loving the punchline. Jumped right in the trap.

Look, I'm not here to argue about semantics, but to share my opinions about a story we enjoy. I wouldn't post in this thread if I disliked FF. My critics were pretty minor points of details and it doesn't make FF a less enjoyable story and the characters any less lovable.

Romance between these two just barely started. Let's see where it goes from here.

Stretch looks pretty mainstream to me. More josei than anything else he wrote. It's already quite long and it doesn't seem the story is about to end soon (though the chapter before the April 1st one sounded a bit ominous).

PLEASE don't tell me this is going to turn into another Fluttering Feelings type thread.

Seriously, I'll die.

Since you update in batch here, it's bound to happen that people will discuss unreleased strips.

It just means that some people feel more comfortable discussing it here than elsewhere. Should be happy about this ^_^;

^^ And there hasn't been a first kiss anywhere afaik

Can't we just speculate without spoilers ?

last edited at Apr 10, 2015 10:20AM

Aoi Hana starts at the same point. Chizu dumping Fumi-chan to get married.

At least Fumi-chan didn't threaten to commit suicide.