WOahwoahwoahwoahwoah. Slow down there. Honoka is not unpopular. People love her because she is just a natural leader, and no one can be credited for u's except for her. She is impassioned and goofy. I don't think we can call someone who started up a club that involves ridiculous amounts of physical activity and training "lazy".

Plus 'getting forced onto Tsubasa'...no one's forcing that ship. It just feels awesome the idea that the two leaders of the most popular idol groups find inspiration in each other and fall in love through the process of going through that.

Personally, she the one i like the least because I thinks she doesn't deserve most of the credit she get in the anime. Yes someone cheerful and always positive (which is not even always true) is great and can be great as an idol leader but not to the point to deserve all the merit and admiration she get from everyone. Plus being recommended for student council president is totally illogical, I don't see any merit in what she did at one and yet she was said and showed to be an incredible one (as esteemed if not more as Eri) because she's cheerful

It's more exaggerated than a classic childish boyish shounen

If they had made her less exaggeratedly important and essential in everything, I would have liked her better.

last edited at Apr 2, 2015 5:39PM

That's not what I got from the bar discussion he had with Ran, was there more flashback after that discussion? My memory might be more faulty than yours lol.

http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch21#8
"Though in the end I was the one who got tired"

http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch32_5#3
"I used to live her with someone actually and well... things hapened"

And there is no sign of him trying to contact Keiko again

Yeah i get what you were trying to say, just that in your version the guys seemed too great compared to what I remembered x)

I beg to disagree. Keiko isn't in denial, because she's not "in love" with Ran. She just needs her very very badly, for her own sanity.

Guess what Keiko has been craving for almost all her life? What her mother never gave her : love. Unquestionning and unconditionnal love, that only a parent usually can provide. Or a child.

"If I can't have something I want, I fill the void with something else". She hasn't changed really : for now, the something else is Ran's love for her.
I don't rule out a yuri ending, but Keiko still has a long way to go before considering it a valid option. Because she needs to get closure about that lack of love, before being able to give it back.

I agree with you, she isn't "in love" but craves it and it's hard for her to give it. For a long time it didn't matter who it was since she slept around. At some point she met that ex boyfriend guy and some sense of normal and steady came in her life. But with the miscarriage everything changed. The boyfriend is at fault for some of it but I suspect she is mostly at fault for the break up. From small glimpse we can see she pushes him back, probably over and over and in the end she most likely left her/their old apartment and changed her phone ( this is why he can't find her at all ). The boyfriend tried to help her, but she needed to help herself and she did not. She went back to her old habits of "if it's too hard to deal with it then just don't". That defense mechanism is also a favourite of mine so I get why she does it. But at some point you have to face things to grow as a person and Keiko isn't quite there yet. If she walks out each time something bad happens, she will stay alone. Because shit happens in life.

I believe it's mentioned that the boyfriend couldn't stand her mood anymore so he broke up and left. The apartment in which Ran and Keiko are right now (or the one when she first met again with ran if it's not the same) is the one in which Keiko was with the boyfriend

I don't remember him not having Keiko's number... it may be because of my bad memory but I can't find it

last edited at Apr 2, 2015 3:52PM

So Keiko is in denial of her obvious feelings for Ran, which isn't helped by Ran's often silly behavior. Fine. We get it. It seems to me though that the author doesn't really know how to build their relationship based on this premise. I am getting a bit frustrated by the constant game of "one step forward" and "one step back." SOMETHING has to happen, and Ran getting a boyfriend (or even girlfriend) might just be the trigger.

I think things are moving forward, it's just that Shou doesn't just show them clearly in front of our eyes. He's still showing us bit by bit their background and at some point we will understand what changed.

Something that we need to keep in mind is that in the beginning Ran was just moving in Keiko's place, they didn't see each other for a long time before that and they were both in a really bad shape. A lot happened even if we didn't realize at that point.

Personally, I like it that the development doesn't happen right in front of us but is hidden as a classic comic slice of life. I don't want a new boyfriend to appear out of nowhere or the ex suddenly becoming a big part of their life, that would be too straightforward.

16638776... if I fail my exams in the end of the semester it will partly be your fault =D

Ah, I see luggage, they will go to Keiko's mother place very soon. Next chapter if Shou doesn't pick up after them visiting the mom... x)

last edited at Apr 1, 2015 2:57PM

Anyway, the way Seol-a is drawn, she doesn't look like a "girl". She looks like a woman in her early twenties. It's maybe why I have a hard time believing in her innocence when it comes to relationships.

I've met plenty of people from their early twenties to much older than I (late 20's here) that are a helluva lot more innocent in their relationships than I was before I had my first one (still going). And, despite going through multiple relationships, still have an innocent outlook on them.

That too x)

Not always tsundere, but tsundere when they start to have a closer relationship with someone.
Like Sena from Boku wa tomodachi (the first who came to my mind, not the best exemple)

They are generally not clearly dating guys (particularly in comedy) like Seol-A but in Seol-A's case, there doesn't seem to be a lot more between her and her dates than with the others guys

It's not hard for her to keep and make superficial relationship (with men) but when it comes to deeper or more complicated relationship, it shows that she's naive and not that good with people. It's not hard for her to be popular with and date guys, all they need is a good look. But she doesn't go any further and it leads to what we saw with the ex. That's the only thing she manage to handle so she stick with it

last edited at Apr 1, 2015 9:04AM

Though, it's a kind of girl we see every once in a while in manga : the lonely smart and beautiful girl who play with men because it's simple but is totally awkward when it comes to any other relationship. Only that this kind of girl is usually pretty tsundere

Frankly, after reading all that's translated so far, I have a hard time with Seol-a's personality dissonances. That she'd be all over No-rae, craving skinship with her, acting very much like a crushing teen with jealousy twangs just doesn't seem consistant with her background. That she'd appreciate her because she has no prejudices is believable. That she'd fall head-over-heels for No-Rae almost at first sight, like it seems to be implied since the beginning, gives me a hard time at connecting the dots.

Really ? What i've understood from her background and the rest is that she's a childish (even if it doesn't looks like it from the outside) spoiled girl who craves for girls company and don't know a things about love. She 's also not the type to think too much before acting. So it seems to fit to me.

last edited at Apr 1, 2015 5:44AM

I bet and hope for the joke x)

^^^^^ that is one hell of a speculation. Same goes for the one above it. From how Prism and the previous chapters of Stretch have been written, I doubt Shou is "that" dark. Now I could be wrong because he has revealed some very dark issues from Keiko's past and when the chapters get dark and twisty (to borrow a phrase from Grey's Anatomy), they are dark, but they are top-layer dark with the one exception of Keiko's dream sequence. By top-layer dark I mean the issues are definitely emotional. in some cases the topic is very painful to either relive or to tell another person. So if you are correct, I will be even more impressed with Shou than I already am. But right now, nothing points to thoughts of death on the part of Keiko nor ill wishes for her mother. (so prove me wrong. which chapters would you be refering to?)

Man hitting on Keiko (wel, not hitting on her actually, but being a scum) :
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch22#7

The mother treating her badly after the miscarriage, not giving her any comfort and Keiko having a grudge on her because of that :
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch14#7
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch11#last

after that we have this :
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch22_5#14
and this :
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/stretch_ch22_5#15

Seing how Ran's dad is dead, we can suppose that Keiko and Ran's hometown is in tohoku. Keiko having a fresh grudge against her mother, probably only thinking about that, her ex and her couldbe child and the next thought after smilling creepily being "did I really consider that..." with a shocked face, it's not hard to suppose she had evil thought about her mother.
She just lost her child and had no comfort from her mother, it's not that dark and unreal that in her weak moment, she thought things like that.

I'm betting for this theory because apart from this one, I can't think about any thought with the epicenter being in Touhoku as trigger that could end with this creepy smile.

last edited at Apr 1, 2015 3:16AM

Drama is lurking around the corner, with the ex making a come back, the mother hated for some unknown reason (the "man shoes" beside her mother's shoes in the entrance means I guess she was at least promiscuous with men, so Keiko is an unwanted child ?).

We've already had a bunch of reason. A man that the mother brought home hitting on Keiko (maybe always hook up with scum) and the mother treating Keiko badly after her miscarriage
I bet on the unwanted child, when Keiko try to get some comfort from her mother, she get nothing. Instead, the mother put the blame on her.

Keiko seemed to have a death wish (smiling at the earthquake) and her encounter with Ran seems to have "saved" her. I

I don't think she had a death wish, I think she thought it would be great if something bad happened to her mom and got disgusted of herself.

last edited at Mar 31, 2015 5:49PM

The anime and manga are different, season 0 is closer to the manga: pharaoh loves to mind crush ppl xD.

@Trafi that's fine I'm just saying different doesn't mean bad.

They are not that different, I remember seing Kaiba being defeated by a great number of kuriboh and threatening to kill himself if he didn't win (x)) and lots of other thing that also are in the manga

last edited at Mar 31, 2015 5:30PM

That must be because you didn't see the very first season (or season 0). Must never have been dubbed in english too.

Yes in the very beginning the story wasn't about a card game but about games in general, Yugi didn't know/wasn't aware of Yami Yugi (he had just finished to assemble the puzzle) and Yami Yugi was punishing bad people with a game of darkness without Yugi and his friend knowing. So yeah he looked very dark but as the story moved on, Yugi and Yami Yugi learned to communicate and to know each other and everyone was aware of Yami Yugi and his intention so he looked a lot less dark.

And at one time, the card game take all the story and this is were you've started

last edited at Mar 31, 2015 5:25PM

Personally, I watched the anime randomly on the TV and we didn't have the first season before the card game took so much importance in the story (not licensed in europe) but from what I remember, the anime was pretty close to the manga

last edited at Mar 31, 2015 4:47PM

Haha, but it doesn't work, Yugi already have Kaiba x)

I can't, I started manga with Kazuki Takahashi's Yu-Gi-Oh when I was a child. It's mythical. Those spinoffs are too different, you can see it's not the same author and I can see my old Yu-Gi-Oh's universe in them... It's physical, I just can't >.>

All the Yu-Gi-Oh without Yugi as main character are heresy :o

Oh god Nez this takes me back. What in the hell where we actually even arguing about back then? I didn't bother re-reading.

Looks like good ole' Takemiya angst is coming in hot with this one. Looks like this Taneda chick's gonna play an important role for Yamanaka and Mihashi. Whether that role is mender or comforter remains to be seen. I think we need a little more background on Mihashi, and for that matter we need to see what she does after Yamanaka's rejection in chapter 1 to make a good value judgement on the relationships in this one.

I may be wrong but I doubt we will see this Mihashi again seing the end of the previous chapter and how there is absolutely no mention to her in this chapter
I think Mihashi is just past for the main girl, she's already moved on.

last edited at Mar 31, 2015 3:07PM

Also, the Meru Maasa Remi triangle at the end confused me. Remi seems moved by Meeru's caring for her but there is a lot of ambiguity as to what she thinks of Maasa. Before reading the extra, I pegged Remi as being unable to love, but now I think that might actually being Maasa's plight. She only allows herself to use people. Meru is her secretary investment and somehow she also took interest in Remi's skills (I guess those are making things complicated and grade A scheming). Having read the story, I have no idea what we are to expect to develop from that. I expect Remi to create a lot of problems and the only answer to Maasa being okay with that would be that she likes Remi (something I never picked up vibes for).

I saw it as Maasa being nice to her like she is with every of the other girls. Maasa is not different with her than with the others. Plus Remi is the best in her area Manipulation x), I'm sure Maasa can put this particular ability to good use
...
At least that's how i want to see it x)

last edited at Mar 31, 2015 8:55AM

Her boob size changed like 7 times

That's the author specialty, magic boobs !! =D

last edited at Mar 30, 2015 6:05PM

^ But Aoki Ume does mostly het

Hmmm... Not the ending I was hoping for, I would have liked more of an exploration of Remi and her past. Kinda feels like there could have been another volume in here. Since this ending feels like it was planned to always be the ending, regardless of story length.

As for Ruki and Sacchan. I still think they are committed to each other. The exchange with Remi was probably Sacchan teasing Ruki, but also that yes she still may be attracted to Remi. Honestly I don't see why this is such a big deal though. I am sure countless people in committed relationships are attracted to people other than their partner, and some may even flirt with others. But does that mean that every single one of those people are going to cheat?

For me I see Ruki and Sacchan trying to make their relationship work, since they do care for each other. Will they stay together? I honestly can't say. Since this story to me does have the a bit realism that a lot of romances seem to lack. I doesn't try to predict or project a future for the characters, it is left open. All I can say is that as of the moment we leave them, I think are happy with each other.

To me, it common sense that you don't tease that way a girl as insecure as Ruki, even as a joke. It's as if she was saying "See, I can dump you/cheat on you whenever I want". And just before she that, she make it clear that nobody apart from her can touch Ruki. The balance of power is way off, and it's nothing near protecting Ruki as she said she would do.
This is just very similar to the relationship between Sacchi and her ex, there is absolutely no progress

last edited at Mar 30, 2015 1:46PM

Can someone explain what is going on here? Is Akagi cheating on Kaga or is she doing Shoukaku because she can't have Kaga or what? Is there a sequel, prequel of sorts?

We don't know if Akagi and Kaga were together (I don't think so) but there definitely was something between them. Akagi is a player, she have sex and smoke for fun (or self destruction). Kaga found out and don't let Akagi have her way anymore.

last edited at Mar 30, 2015 6:01AM

I hate Sacchi (Yep i'm saying I hate a fictional character)... She doesn't even keep her promise to protect Ruki. She keep Ruki for herself, doesn't let Remi flirt with her but when Remi flirt with Sacchi, she totally go along with it...
That character became so detestable...

On the contrary, Meru became much more likable and adorable... I've got the two extremes

last edited at Mar 30, 2015 5:18AM