After reading what has been translated so far, I have to say this is the most intense "yuri-ish" SoL story I've ever read. It's full of adorable fluff, but it also manages to be angsty too and often in the very same scene alongside all the sweetness.

Whether just Shino is queer (I can't quite see her as straight) or they both are, I'm pretty sure this will be a wild ride until the end. It's nice to not be invested in an outcome and just being able enjoy seeing it unfolding.

last edited at Jan 4, 2019 12:31PM

Ahahaha, literal yuri milk!

That first face is great.

last edited at Jan 5, 2019 11:21AM

I'll be honest, every comment I see against the Sayaka x Touko pairing makes me wish they would get together more. Maybe I'm just very attached to Sayaka since she's my favorite character, but man, hearing some of y'all be so against the relationship is sure annoying.

Personally I'm so against it because if this DOES happen then Touko not only used Yuu but used her in a totally tragic way where Yuu will have it thrown in her face day after day that the person that used her is now dating not only someone else, but someone that she has known and has in the past (several times) talked down to Yuu like she was Touko's play thing and not worthy of respect (the dismissive "I'll take care of her like I always have" at the mini mart comes to mind). It will also (in my mind) cheapen every bit of personal and relational development that went on between Yuu and Touko because it will NEVER confront Touko's statement that she "can't love anyone that love's something she hates."

That's because somewhat ironically, Yuu is kind of a "third wheel" or "interloper" in this story. She sort of just drops between an established relationship and confuses Sayaka at first.

We just don't see much about Sayaka's and Touko's past. It's mostly delivered as exposition or shorter snippets and thus it doesn't strike a chord emotionally, until this late in the manga when Sayaka has finally gotten enough scenes by herself and with Touko to become a proper part of it.

If this series started with Sayaka and Touko meeting for the first time, and went though all their school years first in like say 60 chapters (30 per school year)... What would you think about Yuu then? Would your perspective shift or change regarding her and what role you would assume she should play? Would you be more comfortable thinking of her as that helpful nurse who gets her patient back on her feet, or a heroine who will get the girl in the end?

last edited at Jan 2, 2019 6:26PM

shojie07 posted:

Maybe the manga simply should have been about three teen girls figuring out teen life and then ultimately staying friends as they become adults and their paths diverge ...

I can see some people will go rage with this endgame. Lol.

Isn't that Nanashi no Asterism?

Asterism was quite messy towards the end, wasn't it?

I'd say Kuzu no Honkai would be a better example of that kind of story.

I wonder if Sayaka's confession will lead Touko to a personal epiphany- if Sayaka's loved Touko all this time and still remained a loyal friend, as well as loving her both when she was "perfect" and after learning of her vulnerabilities* might it be possible that being loved isn't such a bad thing? Perhaps she won't necessarily get together with Sayaka (the same goes for Yuu), but it's likely that she'll learn that lesson anyway. Alternatively, maybe having some time apart to talk to their other friends will help Yuu and Touko work out their issues.

*While I still hope Yuu and Touko ultimately get together, Yuu never saw Touko as perfect. Perhaps the fact that Sayaka once did, but her feelings never changed even as her perception of Touko did may prove significant.

One thing I like about this series, similar to what other people have said is that Sayaka's love for Touko is presented sympathetically, and she actually has a chance at winning Touko over. Rather than being just another member of Touko's harem, Sayaka's a well-written character in her own right.

Way I took that hallucination where little Sayaka picked up little Touko was that it was a moment of personal integration for Touko.

Touko's psychological development was partially arrested when her sister died. She has lived both as a "fake" Touko who has grown up and a little Touko that has just been sitting in the dark, mourning and wishing she had not lost her sister and blaming herself. Going through the play allowed Touko to leave her self-destructive feelings behind, but didn't fix the inner conflict completely.

When Sayaka bluntly refuses to entertain her non-sense about "don't confess, because I'm a bad person" and just goes through with it like a confident adult, she also takes that little kid in her arms and tells her that it's ok to be a complete Touko. She has her back and she won't back out or run away from her. While Touko and Sayaka experience a different thing here (both have their own perceptions about it), it's a powerful moment for the both of them regardless.

This is also why 36+37 are my favorite chapters in this manga as a combo. This is actually raw and genuine stuff that doesn't hide behind anything.

last edited at Jan 1, 2019 10:44PM

Too gay to function.

I think they are functioning quite well considering how thirsty they both seem to be. :)

This is one fast series, but I like the mains so it's actually quite exciting.

last edited at Jan 1, 2019 9:35PM

Chapter 23 was really just Miyaji putting his feelings on paper. Honestly, this happens to everyone who has an unrequited love. We play all sorts of fantasy scenarios in our minds where we are together with our love interest, outside the bounds of our real situation.

I interpreted it as more a roundabout thank-you for the role Yukimori played in Miyaji getting over a rather rough patch in life, wrapped up as an actually marketable storyboard (he is restarting his mangaka career after all). Seemed to be more or less how she read it too.

Yes, he was also thankful to her for waking him from the depressing slump he was in. After all, this manga was about discovering your passions either for the first time or rekindling them.

Chapter 23 was really just Miyaji putting his feelings on paper. Honestly, this happens to everyone who has an unrequited love. We play all sorts of fantasy scenarios in our minds where we are together with our love interest, outside the bounds of our real situation.

last edited at Dec 31, 2018 7:38AM

Seems perfect for 404: Men Not Found tag.

I wanna know if this is really a Yuri Manga or not...

The definition of Yuri that I use is stories that focus on the emotional, social, sexual, and or all three aspects of lesbian relationships. And this is in line with how the genre is used in Japan (so this excludes Shojo-Ai which is lesbian lolicon in Japan).

Yuri isn't all romance requiring pairings to come through at the end; it's not all sweet fluff and hand holding isolated in secret gardens protected from a hostile world where love reigns supreme. There can be a lot of struggles and things don't, like anyone's feelings of love for another, work out.

This story has a young women in love with and adult married woman and the story focuses on the young woman's feels and desires for the older woman. In addition to the difficulties there there are familial dynamics, other relationships struggles, and difficulties in expression and falling out of love. A layered story with other presented views doesn't make this series any less Yuri as ultimately the story comes back to the feelings of attraction, that don't have to end in romance, for and growing between two women.

That doesn't make every story with a lesbian pairing Yuri, but here the focus stands.

Hello!!! THIS IS FICTION!!! Not the real life, and besides, why are telling us that we need patience for what? If they don't get over together, what's the point? In my case, I'm only here for the end...nothing more...and besides, why the tag "ROMANCE" is here if you suggest that this will not end with romance...besides, where is the romance? The YURI romance? I must be blind because I don't see it

Seriously, your level of masochism is way too low to read anything but stories approved and beamed by the Yuri Fairy.

Yuri romance can be one-sided too. Unrequited or impossible love is a staple in romance genre. And that romance doesn't even have to be the main plot in the story.

last edited at Dec 25, 2018 4:30PM

OK then. What next sayori x Monika?

Actulythatdbeprettycute..

What would that be like? Hardcore bondage?

So, Hoshihara gets sassy to help her new friend and crush. Nice. I'd rather read that than see her being angsty and sexually frustrated.

Also, this chapter should have a bullying tag.

last edited at Dec 26, 2018 10:06AM

"Hey, you know Mei and Yuzu who got married last year?"

"Yeah?"

"I hear they're dating!"

"What?! No way!"

I think this is occurring after her proposal but long before their actual marriage.

It's literally just two weeks after chapter 41 balcony scene.

Lol... Kano was exactly as hopeless as we all feared she would be. (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

I guess "the extreme" advice might work on her if you kept doing it for a while, but Miyuu is too timid to just drag Kano in bed with her.

I have a yuribetes attack every time there is a Moe x Hikari chapter.

last edited at Dec 21, 2018 5:17AM

So diligent girl has a super cute and silly young mother...

Also, the best friend is awesome and it's nice how much the hopeless lesbian delinquent appreciates her help in the last panel. :)

last edited at Dec 20, 2018 5:50AM

@Sup, Liz and the Blue Bird (Liz to Aoi Tori).

It's a great movie, but you should watch Hibike seasons 1 and 2 before it to have the full context.

This reminds me of Haruka and Michiru having hand sex in Sailor Moon.

"But what comes next after kissing?"

It's s̶e̶x̶ HANDHOLDING of course!

That's just it. Yuika already held BOTH of Miuy's hands when they kissed in chapter 9. I'm not sure what comes next...

Totally checkmated.

This type of assertiveness is really nice. Capture the attention of your darling gently and just tell her what you'd like.

last edited at Dec 16, 2018 8:48AM

"Sun Jing's response to the Park Employee was out of line in the way she presented herself. She used physical intimidation, made actual physical contact, and verbally accosted the employee. "I hate people like you the most!" Really? The guy that just assaulted your girlfriend is on higher ground than a slightly misguided person with good intentions? The park employee never said anything about rapists nor did she say QT couldn't dress in a skirt, only to be more mindful in crowded places. The suggestion to wear pants took things a little further than necessary but SJ in response was just being nasty. Perpetuate the cycle of wrongful behavior or give sound information. I'm not saying SJ can't be mad or be emotional, but you rarely get anywhere with people using forceful means. The employee likely just walked away thinking SJ was a "bitch" and learned nothing. "

Context. SJ is angry, so psychological attack on QT after she's been already attacked is going to get a nasty reaction out of her.

If you let people act in a bad way with good intentions (in their mind), they won't learn. There is a little bonus chapter 181.2 where SJ goes more into detail. She didn't just lash out, she explains what she meant to that person.

https://www.tumblr.com/privacy/consent?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fyaoi-blcd.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F181099684375%2Fupdate-from-tan-jiu-translated-by-yaoi-blcd

last edited at Dec 14, 2018 7:29PM

Fantastic that she's not allowing the victim blaming. Props to the artist for pointing this out here.

For me this point was far more important than clobbering that dude. It's a nasty real world phenomena, where people think they are helping but in reality it just makes the victim feel they've done something wrong.

last edited at Dec 14, 2018 3:37AM

I love those expressions.

It looks like Maya teased Claudine too much and she went off like a frustrated lesbian nuke.

last edited at Dec 11, 2018 2:13AM