Now Loading sounds a lot like New Game. Lets hope it has more than just subtext.

Anything by mikanshi is good. There's already a kiss in chapter 1 but we all know everyone on dynasty would say that they're just very good friends so it's probably not gay at all amirite

Saw it too. I have high hopes for that series now. Art style looks a lot like Kindred Spirits and the characters look really gay. Lets hope a scanlation group picks it up in the near future.

Funny seeing everyone suddenly change their minds from "Kotooka is so annoying omg!!" to her suddenly being the favorite... She's been the most interesting one from the start. Not sure how y'all didn't see it ;]

Though now I want her with Nadeshiko, since she's smart too and seems to have caught onto how Kotooka feels. They can date and be all introspective together, yay

She was annoying and the worst for the first 5 chapters without a doubt. She acted like she knew what was best for Tsukasa by almost forcing her into dating a guy she clearly wasn't interested and she was extremely nosy during her date as well. BUT, once we saw why she was so annoying at first, everyone warmed up to her since she's probably the one who's hurting the most out of the whole group since she knows the girl she likes is into the person who likes her and none of that can't happen, according to her.

I get that. I kinda understand how it's selfish of her, but I see it more like... she chooses not to be selfless, not like the way Tsukasa chose to be for Nadeshiko. She's honestly afraid Nadeshiko could return Tsukasa's feelings. If that were to happen, she'd be the one with the shorter of the stick. It's pretty harsh. You can't root for one pairing without another one being left out and heartbroken (which a lot of readers wouldn't care for tbh, because there's probs one character they care about less than the other two). But considering that they're all close friends, it's pretty heartbreaking yeah. "You're not supposed to fall in love with your friend', and that's legit what every single of them did and now they're fucked.
I have no idea how this is gonna end. Often, even tho they're "love triangles", each individuals aren't "equal". Often you have the more obvious pairing, and one person left out, with unrequited feelings for one of them, or two people who like the same person, tho you can tell that there's one of the two that person fancies more, so it's pretty obvious too, the way it's hinted. But as of now I can't tell for this one. So far we've mainly had Tsukasa as the narrator, so seeing it from her point of view, I think it's natural more people ship her and her own love interest, but the author does try to maintain this balance by having none of the girls show actual interest in the one "pursuing" them (basically, no one reciprocates the feels of another). It's pretty frozen for now.
As much as Asakura's interference make me nervous, he does seem to be the one to have stirred things up a whole lot, the balance was fragile for a few chapters. I guess that's the boys' purposes in the series, somehow move that balance/loop the 3 girls are [trying to remain] in.

I think her being worried about being left out is just a part of her actual problem, which i think its seeing the girl she really likes ending up with another girl, which is something she would like to have but can't due to her own insecurities. If her problem was just the feeling of exclusion from her group of friends, Tsukasa falling in love with a boy would be the same thing since we even saw how she felt that her friends were feeling left out after she got a boyfriend in chapter 1.

As to how this is going to end, you're right, theres not a clear winner or loser so far, but if i were to bet right now, i'll say that Tsukasa ends up with Washio. The reason is that they've been hinting at that boy with the takoyaki shirt Washio felt in love when she was younger more than once and they also have been hinting at how tomboyish Tsukasa was back in the day. The part about Kotooka being the "balance" in their group could also be considered a hint at how things are going to unfold at some point since i think things are going to get really bad for the group once Washio finds out Tsukasa was in love with her the whole time.

This chapter was really interesting I find, I think Kotooka makes a good narrator, seeing things from her point of view was refreshing. Her angst is darker than Shiratori's, likely Washio's as well, as she is burdened by the knowledge of it all, and has to maintain appearances to keep everything balanced. She's a libra. (I was totally like oh shit when I saw this page and the huge scale)
It was a lot to take in tho. You get the gist of her feelings, her thoughts, her character, but you get all of the truth behind her facade for the last 6 chapters in a single chapter, I'll have probs have to reread, or wing it and hope I understood and remember most of it.
I like Kotooka. As she was presented in the first 6 chapters, she wasn't as interesting as she is now. Seems like she gave up on her love from the very start, but also can't support Shiratori and Washio's, so this is all she can manage, all she can think of, this peaceful stalemate.
It's interesting that they all have it tough with varying degrees, each only seeing the one(s) in front of them, uh, like:
Washio is bittersweet from unrequited love, it's pretty simple actually. Meanwhile, Shiratori acknowledges Washio's love and pain but is also trying to deal with her own unrequited feelings, and is quite hurting too. Finally, you have Kotooka, who suspected and then confirmed everyone's feelings and while trying to deal with her own unreciprocated feelings, is trying to subtly let Washio down and aware of Shiratori's love and pain.

tl;dr: Kotooka is an interesting narrator, a really good chapter. I already knew cus spoilers, but thank god she has more depth. Has the heaviest burden of them all.

Kotooka was pretty interesting in this chapter. We get to see how much she cares for her friends, but at the same time we get to see how selfish she is with her feelings by not trying to help Tsukasa get with the person she really likes. Overall, this is the best chapter of the series so far, but knowing how slow it has been for the first 6 chapters, we'll be back to the glasses guy trying to get with Tsukasa by next chapter.

omfg. I'd been wondering, how is it that no one has noticed the circular love triangle yet, given that if you like someone, you tend to watch the person and end up figuring out who that person is watching too, and this chapter happens.

Even before this chapter, I had some suspicions that Kotooka knew that Tsukasa liked Nadeshiko, but I thought I was just overanalysing stuff. But with this chapter, it seems there's quite a bit to unpack from the characters are not saying, and I'm going to go into overanalysis overdrive now.

First off, I think Nadeshiko knows that Kotooka has feelings for Tsukasa. One example is during that rooftop chat with Kotooka, when Nadeshiko looks thoughtful and says "...but I guess you'd be concerned about that". And the expressions on Nadeshiko's face (especially the thin smile in the first panel) when Mama Kotooka said Kotooka had practised a lot for cream puffs because Tsukasa likes them.

This is a bit shakier, but I also think that Nadeshiko is actually aware (or at least suspects) that Tsukasa likes her - the line about "and then there's when they realize you've changed" feels like a reference to Nadeshiko commenting on Tsukasa's hair. I found it significant that Kotooka's thought bubble on "what's going on, does she have feelings for Tsukasa?" blocks out that line - it seems to suggest that Kotooka didn't hear that part, which led her to conclude that Nadeshiko was only talking about her (Kotooka).

So far we've gotten Tsukasa and Kotooka's take on things, I think we'll see Nadeshiko's perspective soon, and it'll be interesting to see if my theories play out. What do you all think? Is Nadeshiko more aware about the circular love triangle than she has appeared to be so far?

Washio doesn't seem to know Tsukasa is in love with her at all. If she did, i doubt she would keep quiet about the whole thing and would even try to hook her up with glasses kid. That would be a pretty selfish and scummy thing to do, specially after how supportive Tsukasa has been with her love for Kotooka and Washio doesn't seem to be that kind of selfish person. And she doesn't seem to know how Kotooka feels either, she's probably the type of girl that would try to set them up if she knew her beloved is in love with her friend.

As interesting as your theory sounds, i think Kotooka is the only one that knows the feelings of everyone in the group since she's the scale that keeps things balanced in the group. The author made a lot of emphasis on that in this chapter.

Well, i'll be damned, this chapter was actually interesting for a change and Kotooka has managed to not be the worst for 2 chapters in a row now.

I read the first 12 chapters, and so far, his presence is far from light. He becomes a coach of the team. And every girl on the team has a thing for him. the male is the reason that the female MC is even playing soccer. I'd say he has a large impact, and continues to have an impact (even when he's not in the chapter, like ch 33, I skipped ahead). She has had delusions about him almost every chapter, kissed him and at least 1 chapter. And 1 yuri delusion so far. Personally, I like the manga, but if you are looking for a yuri soccer manga, you will be disappointed.

I knew it sounded too good to be true. I don't really dislike non-yuri manga, My Hero Academia, Shokugeki, Prison School and Jojo are a few of my current favorite mangas and theres zero yuri in those, but i do dislike harem mangas where everyone does everything for the male character's sake. Some harem manga like Monster Musume are decent since it feels more like a parody of the genre instead of being your run of the mill harem manga. But anyways, i'll better wait for a yuri soccer manga to arrive at some point. It's bound to happen at some point, since female soccer is on the rise popularity wise.

Ultimately I think a lot of people would benefit from holding off and reading several chapters at once. I actually think the pace of the manga is quite good, but ymmv, of course!

I think thats the best choice for me and anyone that feels that this series is getting to its destiny at a snails pace.

Kal3d posted:

4noki posted:

I would read a soccer manga starring Tsukasa.
Argh, bishie glasses, please give up though.

I read "Mai ball" about soccer and the girls are pretty gay with each other.

I just google it and the art style looks fine, but it also looks like theres a male love interest right? Please tell me the girls don't fawn all over him like in your typical harem manga. Might give it a shot if thats not the case though.

Well, it's somehow a harem manga, and yeah, he's the "love interest". But strangely, the story is more about the relationships between the members of the harem than about the harem king, who's actually a minor character. And it's mainly about soccer too, not really focused on romance.

If you can't stand the presence of a male love interest, then I guess you can forget Mai Ball.

But the MC (Mai) has serious lesbian delusions. And the girls are drawn with hips and thighs fit for soccer players.

The presence of the male character is so light, it doesn't bother me. It's almost never about him at all.

Oh no, it doesn't bother me at all. I read Asterism and my favorite character is the siscon brother, so yeah, i can stand male characters quite well. What i can't stand is harem mangas that revolve around the guy and all the little "yuri" stuff that happens is to get the attention from said guy and has no actual value at all. Since you say thats not the case, i'll give it a shot.

4noki posted:

I would read a soccer manga starring Tsukasa.
Argh, bishie glasses, please give up though.

I read "Mai ball" about soccer and the girls are pretty gay with each other.

I just google it and the art style looks fine, but it also looks like theres a male love interest right? Please tell me the girls don't fawn all over him like in your typical harem manga. Might give it a shot if thats not the case though.

I wonder what Washio was gonna say before Kotooka cut her off like, twice

The first time she was going to say what she told Tsukasa by phone. I didn't know there was a second one though.

twice for the same line
are you sure tho? i dont think she couldve said that in front of kotooka

Thats what i'm assuming. Either that or she was going to give her a half-assed congratulation.

BTW did anyone else noticed that they brought up the Takoyaki shirt once again? I think its obvious that Tsukasa owns or used to own that shirt. But with the pace the manga has, we'll know for sure by chapter 80.

I hope that now that they're together and Citrus is getting a monthly release schedule, the story would have a more natural flow to it and Saburouta won't force unnecessary drama into it.

I kinda, kinda want more drama. I'm just a horrible person, though.

Lol Drama is fine, its a yuri manga after all, but unnecessary stuff like the whole "love triangle" crap on the school trip arc felt so pointless to the whole plot. You could argue that it helped the main characters get together in the end, but they could've easily reached that point without Nina and the loli sister.

Why do I feel like both Kotooka and Washio are relieved she turned him down?

Kotooka definitely did. Her reaction when Tsukasa told them she was going to give the guy a chance was priceless. I think Washio just felt that she forced Tsukasa into something she didn't want to do it.

I wonder what Washio was gonna say before Kotooka cut her off like, twice

The first time she was going to say what she told Tsukasa by phone. I didn't know there was a second one though.

last edited at Nov 18, 2016 12:00PM

Nishi Uko has the Adult life yuri genre on lock.

Only long yuri drama stories that I think have a natural flow is Wdtfs and Their Story. And that's also because the authors focus on the side characters quite lot too. It's not really possible imo to solely focus on the two people of the main pairing in a long story and make it interesting too.
Compared to the other stories around, Citrus is not as bad as some people say. It's not great either, but I see why it got an anime adaptation.

I think one of the biggest issues some people had with Citrus, was their constant teasing. The "Would they, should they" crap they were doing on every chapter was getting annoying. I don't remember who said it, but in one chapter they're kissing each other and in the next two, they're avoiding each other and pretending it never happened and on top of that, Saburouta added needless drama once it seemed that they things were going to settle in. I hope that now that they're together and Citrus is getting a monthly release schedule, the story would have a more natural flow to it and Saburouta won't force unnecessary drama into it.

Well, its not like those feelings would actually dissapear if she tries to pursue her new feelings.

Thing is she never said she had feelings for the guy, just that he made her heart race, and until that point Washio was the only one that has ever done that so she got confused but it's not like her heart raced for him for the same reason it does for Washio, i mean my heart raced a bit when Godzilla atomic breathed the fuck out of King Ghidorah's head but it's not like i want to date the monster because of that... I think... ...Well, maybe a little bit

Godzilla looks quite dreamy doing that tbh. In all seriousness though, i re-read the chapter and came to the conclussion that her heart probably raced because of how forward the guy was with his feelings and how he expressed them without hesitation. She probably felt some sort of admiration for him due to that.

Nooooo!!! Give up please! Let this crap be over with!

I'm starting to get the impression that this Asakura crap is not just an arc or some shit but rather the entire deal of this manga

You might be right. I was kinda hoping that the glasses kid was just a gay person who hasn't come to terms with his own sexuality and was just trying too hard to suppress his actual emotions in order to appear "normal" in front of his friends. But, it might be something else entirely and completely boring like the usual "Good looking guy who could totally get with any girl he wanted, but obsesses over this one girl who rejected him."

So... Nothing interesting happened... Again. A thing that bothered me about this chapter was, why did Tsukasa said that glasses guy made her feel something only Washio have ever made her feel and then she goes and turns him down? Isn't it better to explore those new feelings since you're pretty certain your old feelings aren't reciprocated?

I think Tsukasa decided that even though she felt her heart race a little, she feels a lot more for Washio and that her feelings for Washio are more important, even if she never confesses or that it's not reciprocated.

Well, its not like those feelings would actually dissapear if she tries to pursue her new feelings. I know this was just a way to prolong the "Would they, should they" crap, but even so, it feels like she just enjoys feeling like shit everytime Washio fawns over Kotooka.

I think she was happy being liked rather than actually liking him.

Yeah, it feels like she doesn't actually liked the guy, but she liked how forward the guy was with his feelings? I don't know, i really hope we get some sort of actual development soon.

last edited at Nov 18, 2016 12:26AM

B for drawing effort
http://puu.sh/slsPG/fbbaa0bae7.png

A for originality though. You can't say that stick figures are something you usually see in manga, much less in yuri manga.

So... Nothing interesting happened... Again. A thing that bothered me about this chapter was, why did Tsukasa said that glasses guy made her feel something only Washio have ever made her feel and then she goes and turns him down? Isn't it better to explore those new feelings since you're pretty certain your old feelings aren't reciprocated?

Hmmmmm. It stopped before I could make this comment but.....wouldn't it be interesting if Tsukasa ended up liking Kyousuke? And then Washio turned around and ended up liking Tsukasa because she accepted her for everything? and then Kootoha ended up liking Washio? But now it went back to Tsukasa being content for now so things have stabilized again. Also brother is giving me more than siscon vibes. I feel like he has more to him underneath than just siscon. Incest would be too predictable since they're already calling him a siscon but maybe...? For now I love all the development. How each one is watching each other and how things are shifting is different and unexpected directions.

No, it wouldn't be interesting at all. We would be going in circles and never actually going anywhere in terms of storytelling.

Wasn't expecting much, but i was left pleasantly surprised after reading it. Love the art style. Really looking forward for more of this.

Thank god, we could at least expect a kiss by the end. I also love the Kindred Spirits-esque vibes the art style gives me.

Oh, I'd recognise that style anywhere
That's the mikan artist, who in fact, did do a KSotR doujin

Yeah, when i first saw that one, i thought that Peg was the one who made it. Really looking forward to Mikanuji's series just for the art style alone.

The illustration on top with the megane girl and sakura petals, is just decorative? not an actual manga?

I think its just the cover of the next Yuri Hime.

Now Loading sounds a lot like New Game. Lets hope it has more than just subtext.

Yeah. Good it's not 4koma.

Thank god, we could at least expect a kiss by the end. I also love the Kindred Spirits-esque vibes the art style gives me.

last edited at Nov 15, 2016 5:18PM

@Faust There has been plenty of anime with yuri elements on it, but you're right, this is the first time in a while where the yuri is the main selling point. Kinda excited for that fact alone, maybe its a sign that we would get more and more yuri in the future? I'm getting ahead of myself here now.

With yuri not just present in subtle or less subtle ways (ngl, many not passing the limits of subtext), but actually as the genre of the work

NTR Trap has always felt male gazey to me, there's this way Kodama draws them, presents them. I wonder (+sorta fear) how male gazey the anime will be >_>

Yeah, it does feel like that since even one of the male characters tries to have a 3P with the girls. Still, i hope they don't handle the series like a hentai or an ero-anime.

@Rina I get your point too, the first 4 or 5 chapters i did feel bad for her, but when she never tried to do anything to get out of those situations and got herself and the other girl into more trouble, i just didn't care anymore. Maybe i'll give it another shot and try to see it in another perspective in the near future though.

Understandably so.

Still, hope you could find some new insight or appreciation for Hotaru's character or the manga in general from another perspective.

I'll try to watch it again once there's more chapters. I think the reason that i didn't like it that much is because the amount of chapters they were out were few when i started reading it. Maybe once there are more, i could legit start to care about the characters.

Kal3d posted:

Just heard about the anime adaption, HYPE. Although they could've picked literally anything else but ok... I'm still excited.

They picked NTR too, which is a million times worse than Citrus.

It's NTR, for Japan that's gold

Yeah, they do love theire netorare.

Both Citrus and NTR Trap are doing really well in Japan

Have you read that anywhere? I mean, I knew about Citrus but had no idea about NTR. Anyway, I feel like yuri genre has gotten a bit more recognised since the past year. We got all these shows this season with yuri subtext. Now they are doing two canon yuri shows in one year. Maybe this genre is gaining more audience

Thats exactly what i was thinking. I really do hope that the announcement of these two getting an anime is a sign of things to come for yuri fans.

@Rina I get your point too, the first 4 or 5 chapters i did feel bad for her, but when she never tried to do anything to get out of those situations and got herself and the other girl into more trouble, i just didn't care anymore. Maybe i'll give it another shot and try to see it in another perspective in the near future though.

@Faust There has been plenty of anime with yuri elements on it, but you're right, this is the first time in a while where the yuri is the main selling point. Kinda excited for that fact alone, maybe its a sign that we would get more and more yuri in the future? I'm getting ahead of myself here now.

@Rina No don't worry, you didn't came off as a aggressive or anything. It's nice to see a passionate opinion once in a while. Anyways, i like Hotaru but her constant need to put herself in shitty situations just because she hates herself kinda gets tiresome and it becomes difficult to feel sorry for her.

@Seira I feel that if Citrus and NTR's anime adaptations do well in sales and ratings, we will see the likes of AnoKiss and YagaKimi animated in the near future. There was also some rumors earlier in the year about Kindred Spirits getting an anime if the reaction from the VN was positive here on the west, but i haven't heard anything for a while. Maybe if we get a sequel of it, we would get an anime.

BTW, theres nothing i would like more than a Flowers anime, but i feel that no matter who gets to animate it, it would never look as good as the VN does. Still, Yuzuriha animated is something i need in my life.