I guess some are forgetting she was introduced earlier, along with her crush, which isn't what's new at all. I'm pretty sure that chapter was discussed here too. It has been a while, though. It was this and one other teased relationship if I remember correctly.

last edited at May 22, 2024 7:10AM

zanpakutoman posted:

With the way this story's been going I feel like the Idiot couple and Lots of kissing tags should be added.

Nah, the idiot_couple tag is for stuff like Kase-san to Yamada or Strawberry Shake Sweet. These 2 may behave idiotically, but they're not an "idiot_couple"

You might have a point with the lots_of_kissing tag, tho....

"She's kissing my stomach and getting jealous when I talk to other girls...if only she didn't hate me!" - Wakaba, an idiot

She's definitely funny. Her friend seems to know Wakaba has some feelings for Komaki. She's known them since they were kids so she might know the game.

The overall vibe of this one reminds me of Arioto in the best way possible, and speaking of which, apparently Arioto's manga has ended now?

It was always set to only cover volume 1 of the LN. The LNs are at about 8 now and the two are still going strong.

last edited at May 21, 2024 6:45PM

Your lack of surprise at Mei’s personality is neither here nor there. Mei now reads as even colder and more distant when interacting with Yuzu than she has in the past, and certainly more so than in the original series.

I don't agree that she's acting much differently. While working on this major personal project, Mei is stressed and constantly busy throughout much of Citrus+ and Yuzu can be quite a handful. That is enough to explain a lot of her behavior. Even then, she has not been much colder to me and has made attempts to reassure Yuzu on numerous occasions. This period is just hectic for her. I can't say much more than that. Again, I don't think we'll see eye-to-eye on this one. Some certainly don't like this stretch--it's more focused on Mei's personal goal, rather than "sweet moments," etc.--but others do appreciate it.

Speaking of Yuzu wanting to help Mei, did I hallucinate or Yuzu has said she's aiming to be a teacher now?

I feel like she mentioned that but I haven't reread it.

last edited at May 22, 2024 6:59AM

But in idiomatic English, the phrase "don't concern yourself with" (as opposed to "don't worry about," say) almost always implies "butt out

Yeah, that's what I was referring to as "offensive," meaning the phrase can seem offensive. It can cause an offense. I said I thought the phrase was "inoffensive," because of her word choices that differentiate what she said from the common offensive phrase--also considering the context of the scene. So we're repeating ourselves. We just disagree on how that scene reads, which is fine. As I said, everyone won't read these scenes the same. But I wasn't surprised when the translator explained the intent because their intent is what I already got out of the scene.

The fact is that Yuzu has been very explicit that her newfound academic diligence is all about equipping herself to help Mei in her work.

In 2 earlier responses, I briefly touched on my issues with this line of thinking from her. I disagree with how she's interpreting what supporting Mei should look like and Mei seems to feel the same.

and her "Would it be all right to consider this matter resolved, then?" is perfect managerial-speak when dismissing an employee with an insignificant problem.

The rest of Mei's response is a predictable part of her personality. I'm not surprised by her personality after all this time. She has her quirks but it's noticeable when she's attempting to be "softer." For someone else that might be dry but for her it reads a bit different. She'll always be like that. I can understand not liking that character type though. It's fine for me.

last edited at May 21, 2024 3:31PM

Yuzu trying to get any affection out of Mei is like squeezing blood from a stone.

I'm not sure the author quite realizes how Mei's statement "I would rather you not feel as though you need concern yourself with supporting my work" actually sounds in this context.

I'm guessing it's supposed to be something like, "I don't want you to worry about me," but it reads more like, "I don't need your help."

True, I skim this every now and then and I'm sick of Mei. I don't need to be reminded of real life in an unserious manga like this...

Maybe it’s just a quirk of the translation, but in English the formulation “you need not concern yourself with” has big “mind your own business” vibes.

The vibe I was going for was more "I don't want you to worry about me," and I wanted to be careful to avoid making it sound like "leave me alone, I don't need your help." That's exactly why I made a point to include the "I would rather you not feel as though you need to concern yourself" rather than just "I would rather you not concern yourself with supporting my work," in hopes of putting more emphasis on Mei's concern for Yuzu's feelings. I considered going a step further and making it "I would rather you not feel pressured to concern yourself with supporting my work" in order to make the intention clearer, but I ultimately decided that that strayed a bit too far from what was actually on the page. Sorry for the confusion!

For what's it's worth, I thought the phrase was inoffensive. The addition of "I would rather," and "feel as though you need to" did soften it enough. It's much different and less direct then the common "you don't need to concern yourself with [insert issue]." And even that phrase is all about it's delivery and context.

Considering the context of this scene, it feels clear Mei is managing her words and worrying about Yuzu. I didn't get involved in that particular discussion because it's a bit too specific. You can't please everyone though, so I agree with not twisting it too much for that purpose.

last edited at May 21, 2024 2:08PM

I'm okay with love triangles unless they're like... SUPER ambiguous. Like... the type where the cover of the manga for all volumes is 3 characters (not 2 like this one), and the protagonist waffles back and forth between the two so frequently you think a poly ending is actually possible (but it still almost never is). Lots of good examples of this but they're almost all manhwa (well, South Korean webtoons).

Even then I can read it and enjoy it, but I have to read the ending first, and then go back and read the series. Reading the ending lets me brace myself emotionally for the correct route, so I'm not going to end up super pissed or angsty about not getting the ending "I wanted" because of a natural reading order.

Anyway, this manga is not that. The relationship was very clearly signposted in about 20 different ways, so while it sucks to be Jun, she'll grow up and find somebody else (probably somebody better, since that seems to be a pretty low bar).

You and I are on the same wavelength, checking the endings and all.

Very rarely is there a real love triangle. This series is more of the same. It's almost always 1 unrequited crush and an actual, developing couple (with the promotional material making it even more obvious). I don't call those love triangles, the dynamics are nowhere near the same.

last edited at May 21, 2024 11:41AM

i really hope it’s just bait plz be normal miki
if it’s really incest well…it’s gonna be awkward…i will not like it but i think i can handle it cuz it’s pretty obvious they won’t have a thing

The fact that, that's obvious is the main reason I'd at least initially be skeptical of the decision. The author has already stated her main couples and main interests moving forward are AkiShiho + YoriHima, and Aki won't suddenly do a 180. So it's not a secret it would have nowhere to go, especially with Miki's potential partner properly introduced. Another reason I'm leaning against there being anything romantic, though I could see Miki's feeling disgruntled. Execution is what matters at the end of the day though, so we'll see.

last edited at May 20, 2024 9:42PM

Uh why would anyone think that Miki has a crush on Shiho?

Mostly copium tbh, since it really seems like it'd have to be her or Aki and that second option seems unpopular.

Her issue could also be unrelated to crushes on either of them. Her support of Aki didn't really lean romantic before this chapter but I guess it's not completely out of the realm of possibility considering how little Miki has been involved. She can make Miki however she wants, since she's been mostly a blank slate.

last edited at May 20, 2024 8:38PM

Anyways... YagaKimi may have been finely engineered/crafted, introspective, even subversive... but I don't think it really made my simple monkey brain as happy as YoriHima does.

If I think of these characters not as imaginary human beings with plausible psychologies in a more-or-less realistic storyworld but more like counters in a game of love/friendship/heartbreak and confess/accept/reject, it becomes a lot more fun.

Like, "Ooh! They just played the siscon/incest card! Let's go!"

I thought about this yesterday. They clearly aren't real or realistic people (I considered using the term "hyperreal" because I want to call them "better than real" but I don't think the definition of that properly fits this situation), they're basically cartoon characters, and not in the whole "anime ARE just cartoons anyway" sense, but more that they're ludicrously caricatured characters. More akin to building blocks (like Legos) of behaviors and tropes. If you've spent too much time on TVTropes like me, you'll know "Tropes Are Tools" and that you can kind of see tropes everywhere. But with a series like this, it's more opaque and obvious.

I think everyone spends too much time on TVtropes nowadays. Not really a fan of that site or others like it.

last edited at May 20, 2024 1:18PM

It would mean she has fully taken over as chairwoman of Aihara Academy, leaving free to pursue her relationship with Yuzu without having to worry about whatever the board of her grandpa wants.

This so so unrealistic. Like, how old is Mei? 18 or so? That's way too young to fill such a position. She first needs to finish college, preferably get a degree or two in education, then perhaps teach for about at least 10 years before even considering such a position.

We don't yet know how things will shake out on that front and how responsibilities will be delegated. I doubt we get anything in-depth because that's not the kind of manga this is and would be irrelevant to most of its audience but we might get a note, or passing quote here or there. The only real relevance is Mei's accomplishing her personal goal and her and Yuzu's figuring out a balance between them as they move into the realities of adulthood (work, college, etc). Hopefully, we squeeze some Matsuri stuff in there too. I do wonder if this is the arc of Citrus+ since it's been building in the background of other arcs for a bit.

last edited at May 20, 2024 12:26PM

I kinda groaned at the developments in the new chapter because ONCE AGAIN Aki is at the center of the new drama (can someone give her a break lol), but as long as it doesn't drag on as long as the previous arc, I can roll with this being a fun lil side arc.

I'll wait and see. It's an ambiguous ending, so there's not much to worry about or speculate about until the next chapter clarifies the direction. But if it does turn out as you say, I'll agree unless the execution makes up for it.

last edited at May 20, 2024 12:17PM

So instead of being a high-school student council president and heir-apparent headmistress at one school, she’ll be the actual headmistress of that school and the head of an organization taking on an entirely different school, and said activities somehow will give her a chance to rest and potentially pay some attention to her relationship with Yuzu.

And all this is based on what evidence in the text?

Your response is a bit odd to me for a few reasons but I'd rather move on since this seems unlikely to be productive. I'll just repeat my original point again: this could be a major milestone for her and positive momentum as she moves into her life with Yuzu.

No it's more like it's on the back burner for right now

Hopefully we get back to that in the future. Really enjoyed those two.

last edited at May 19, 2024 7:24PM

She is excited about stone skipping. Princess is either a kid or already madly in love.

She does seem to enjoy having Tantai Lan teaching her. Especially the part that involves "angling her hand a bit, and using her wrist".

You could feel her swoon a bit.

The idea that things would "calm down" when the entire responsibility for running two different schools, including the integration of a boys' school and a girls' school into single academic organization, falls on Mei's shoulders alone is all the purest speculation, and in realistic terms is in fact quite preposterous.

Who says she'd be working alone? And the exact form of things is not yet clear. Regardless, she'll be in a better position once this transition is completed for the simple fact that a major undertaking and possible merging will be done. That's how these things happen in similar working environments, I don't see why this would be different.

Yes, she'll still have work to balance afterwards but these types of transitions are typically the most chaotic and filled with pressure, especially since it's so personal for her. This will be her own ideas being implemented. That's a major accomplishment if she can pull it off.

If/when this is fully done and she does respond happily, I don't see how that would be "handwaving," or "preposterous" but I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.

I think this is getting into the weeds and away from the point which is: this could be a major milestone for her and positive momentum as she moves into her life with Yuzu.

last edited at May 19, 2024 6:25PM

It's good for Mei to close this chapter of her life before fully starting her life with Yuzu.

How does adding the running of an entirely different school to her current business agenda (you know, the one that's already so full that she is unable to celebrate Yuzu's birthday despite being in the next room from her) constitute Mei "closing this chapter of her life"?

If now, without being the president of the Aihara academy, she doesn't have time for Yuzu, when be president, imagine

Most of her recent busy schedule (including in previous chapters) has been because of this transition period and the preparation required. These periods can be uniquely busy, uncertain and most importantly, stressful.

She's also apparently been in conversations with boards throughout the area, likely constructing proposals, lobbying etc. Shes even gotten a name for herself because of her work. This seems to have been a long running project with some mentions of the transition earlier in the manga. She's also been doubling as the student council leader, which we see she is now moving away from. Things will calm down when this huge undertaking is over with. Once that's done, she will certainly be able to breathe a sigh of relief (like everyone does when a major project is finished).

This is also her first major project and it's personal for her. It's her initiative (which itself is partly fueled by Yuzu's influence), a major milestone she'll want to see through and watch succeed. These issues have always been relevant to her character and her relationship with her grandfather and the conclusion of this can serve as a good cap on that.

last edited at May 19, 2024 4:06PM

I am curious to see how this arc will develop since I didn't think Aahara was outright trying to take over Akamine, I want to see how Arata will react to this development.

Agreed about Mei and yeah I'm not sure where this will go. There's a lot of places she could take it. I always thought Mei would actually be the one who is concerned by Yuzu's (unintended) closeness to Arata, who seems alright. I think I commented that here as well (that he might get the wrong idea from Yuzu), so we'll see if that does indeed become a little thread at all. It's good for Mei to close this chapter of her life before fully starting her life with Yuzu.

last edited at May 19, 2024 3:09PM

As per usual, Meibot.exe failed to execute the communication subroutine, so Yuzu went on her own with zero context, got the wrong message and ended up disappointed and hurt, yet again.

I don't really blame Mei here. If anything Yuzu has always seemed a bit too insecure based on very little interactions with this guy. Mei has reassured her a few times now, as well. I don't think talking with a guy for work warrants intense discussions but maybe that's what Yuzu will need. That can't always be the case though or it'll be exhausting for Mei too. Either way, I can understand both of their perspectives somewhat, even if I lean towards Mei quite a bit.

Yuzu does have a tendency to never press Mei on anything and to just dive headfirst into situations without taking the time to figure stuff out first. Still, with Mei never bothering to communicate the important information to her EVER, you can't exactly blame Yuzu for the situation either. She's actually a very bright, resourceful girl, but it always feels like Mei can't bring herself to trust her to handle important matters.

I view Mei as overwhelmed, focused, and driven. Often that kind of focus can create tunnel vision. She has a lot of pressure on her shoulders. She also knows Yuzu is not really knowledgeable about these affairs. I don't think Mei intends to hide things; she just prefers to work independently, which I think is fine in a relationship. Most of Yuzu's issue is with this guy, not with Mei's work. The work is tied to her worries because the guy is involved in it.

Regarding Arata, I don't see much reason for Yuzu to be this insecure. I don't think Mei needs to constantly reassure Yuzu when Mei's done nothing suspicious. I do understand Yuzu, but I just side more with Mei here. I also understand Mei's feeling offended because after a while that level of insecurity can seem like a comment on Mei's loyalty. I agree with Yuzu's desire to be supportive, but she seems to think being supportive means literally being involved in Mei's work-- even that is partially fueled by her worry over Arata.

last edited at May 19, 2024 1:11PM

As per usual, Meibot.exe failed to execute the communication subroutine, so Yuzu went on her own with zero context, got the wrong message and ended up disappointed and hurt, yet again.

I don't really blame Mei here. If anything Yuzu has always seemed a bit too insecure based on very little interactions with this guy. Mei has reassured her a few times now, as well. I don't think talking with a guy for work warrants intense discussions but maybe that's what Yuzu will need. That can't always be the case though or it'll be exhausting for Mei too. Either way, I can understand both of their perspectives somewhat, even if I lean towards Mei quite a bit.

last edited at May 19, 2024 12:36PM

Gabinomicon posted:

I think you can easily take this story seriously and enjoy it, it's a complex moral drama about characters in a complicated situation, presented with extremely good art and excellent writing. I'm glad the author is writing this for an audience of adults who know the characters are here to be actors in a story instead of being our self inserts, our role models, or being there to be judged or condemned by us in the audience. Even if it makes certain childish readers unhappy.

This tbh.

I enjoy this manga because it's really well crafted. The scenes of Yuni leading Fuuko by the hand (noticed it's a reversal compared to Osaka?), them holding hand over the popcorn after making furtive eye contact and then kissing, how Yuni is constantly blushing and feels so guilty, but just can't control her feelings, how Fuuko suddenly becomes so meek and vulnerable, how they both look so happy with their little interaction over popcorn flavor and drinks...

The author put a lot of thoughts into the meaning of each scenes, the movements, the eyes, the situations.

But here are people discussing how cheating is bad and Yuni deserves to be punished.

Pearls to swines I say.

I absolutely adore those kinds of details. The TV drama adaptation of the josei cooking yuri "She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat" is excellent for this, the actor for main character who cooks puts so much effort into communicating the character's inner thoughts with her expressions, you can track her going on a whole mental journey sometimes without a word being spoken and it's very entertaining and satisfying to watch. She's basically my new favorite actress after watching Season 2 especially.

I didn't know they had a TV drama of that series!

people here taking shit too seriously like just have fun this manga is good and fun that's all that matters

I mean… this manga is portrayed seriously… so why wouldn’t people take it seriously? If this manga was over the top and wacky a majority’s of the time, then yeah, we def shouldn’t be taking it seriously, but it’s not like that.

There's taking it seriously as a piece of work and there's taking it personally, which is what those people seem to do every chapter. Those aren't the same thing. You can "take it seriously" while also having fun with it.

last edited at May 18, 2024 11:00PM

Japanese people seems okay with their bf/gf have s*x with other people or prostitution if it's because they want to satisfied their lust I have heard from an interview. It's weird but considering a lot of cuck content they have in media and p*rn or Light novels, Mangas, maybe thats why it's acceptable for the MC

Why the hell would you assume a character given the title "scumbag" by her Japanese author would be representative of all Japanese people. The author didn't label her "extremely normal person who represents us all".

While I agree she isn't representative, the story doesn't suggest that she's considered a scumbag because she's mostly okay with her girlfriend's job.

Oh no obviously that's not a scummy thing. It's just about her not being representative as a "normal Japanese person," and I don't think the character or the author particularly value that normalcy over being real. Accepting her girlfriend's job and not being hypocritical about it makes her a good person in my opinion but I'm aware most people aren't good like her. Her mom absolutely could not accept that sort of thing.

Yeah just wanted to check, just in case. Her mom is definitely a different beast altogether!

last edited at May 18, 2024 8:07PM

Japanese people seems okay with their bf/gf have s*x with other people or prostitution if it's because they want to satisfied their lust I have heard from an interview. It's weird but considering a lot of cuck content they have in media and p*rn or Light novels, Mangas, maybe thats why it's acceptable for the MC

Why the hell would you assume a character given the title "scumbag" by her Japanese author would be representative of all Japanese people. The author didn't label her "extremely normal person who represents us all".

While I agree she isn't representative, the story doesn't suggest that she's considered a scumbag because she's mostly okay with her girlfriend's job.

last edited at May 18, 2024 7:19PM

Yeah, I dunno how reliable it is, but I saw some video of young women in Japan being asked if they'd be okay with their boyfriend using a sex worker, and several said yes. "Better than cheating on me."

I wouldn't take much from those street interviews, if that's what this conversation is based on.

last edited at May 18, 2024 5:59PM

amazing to me that this is the line that sets everyone off in the teen lesbian cheating erotica story. if y'all made it this far and were thrown off by that then i have to ask what you've been reading this whole time

At this point they should stay because those comments have become part of the fun. The dramatics are pretty entertaining.

last edited at May 18, 2024 5:58PM

I'm surprised people are surprised Fuuko of all the characters has a weird idea of family roles. My bet is that she means it like unconditional love, without any actual parenting meaning, and isn't nearly as good at communication as Yuni thinks she is lol

Yeah I'm leaning somewhere in that direction as well but we'll see. It's interesting because with Fuuko, Yuni actually takes a leading role, while she's unable to do so with her current gf. I feel that's also significant (ignoring that she also seems to get along with Fuuko more naturally).

last edited at May 18, 2024 10:20AM