it's more accurate to TL it to "We talked about this before, didn't we?" based on the context of ch 14.

That was my guess (ignorant as I am of the Japanese language), because the wording echoed in both scenes is: "if that day came," a phrase which both Yuu and Sayaka think simultaneously in Chap. 14, and then each finishes the thought in their own way.

The way this series uses verbal echoes and visual callbacks to tighten the connections in the story is extremely impressive, but it kinda makes me dread the next time we see a train hurtling down the tracks.

I'm not entirely sure how the rest of the volume will play out. Will there be some catalyst prior to the play that can trigger a change in Touko's perception of her current situation?

I'm with you--after thinking through a bunch of possible paths that the story might take, at this point I'm officially "I don't know."

But I can't shake the image of a despondent Yuu (for a time, at least) huddled on her bed in the fetal position. Followed by, I hope, a happy ending subsequent to one or more GBS.

Great comments on Chap. 26 so far. Yuu and Sayaka have indeed joined forces and become "Co-stars" in Touko's big drama, but it really is the case that, as Faust says, it's just a play; Touko isn't required to make any change in herself at all. It's up to her what happens after this.

I think it's clear that Sayaka realizes that Yuu does love Touko, so much so that she's willing to help Touko's emotional growth even at the risk of losing her.

This chapter effectively clears the decks for a big finale (the performance of the play and Touko's response to it), but I almost wish there had been some plot twist or emotional puzzle for us to chew over for a month while we're waiting to find out what happens next.

haven't the girls also become somewhat… bustier?

I dunno--Chap. 11, p. 25 demonstrates that Ayaka has always had a certain . . . amplitude.

EDIT: As Yurine double-checks first-hand in "Do Your Best, Shiramine!" Part 2 in the Internet Shorts.

last edited at Sep 27, 2017 7:33PM

Thanks, Kobalos. I see what you're saying about the eyes in particular. I think also there is less use of dark areas and fewer dramatic high-contrast pages in general, adding to that "shinier" effect you mention. I wouldn't actuallly find much to remark on about the art if not for the sense of change from earlier chapters.

And I want Shiramine's big hair back--those flowing locks were highly expressive themselves.

I'm halfway on the side stories--they make the world seem wider than just the central couple, and they do, as Reejun says, contribute to that ensemble feel, showing that Shiramine and Yurine affect and are affected by other people.

But it's the OTP that keeps me wanting more.

^
Nice catch--I do believe you're right. That cheery email to an opponent sounds just like Kase-san.

(I don't know if anyone caught this before either.)

last edited at Sep 26, 2017 12:06PM

I honestly don't get the point of the whole Rin + Kou thing now.

I take your point (Rin is a sweet character, and Kou isn't like anyone else in the cast), but I think it may just be the manga keeping its plot options open. Kou does need to leave in order to clear the decks for Aoba's development (otherwise Aoba just stays stuck in the middle of the hierarchy). Kou hugging Aoba doesn't imply any specific narrative developments the way an overt confession from either Kou or Rin at this point would have done.

I agree that Kou's continual obliviousness to Rin's feelings is frustrating, but then, pretty much everyone at the airport farewell agrees that Kou can be a frustrating person to deal with.

last edited at Sep 25, 2017 1:54PM

what's with the art?

The different feel to the art was the first thing I noticed about this chapter, and while I don't exactly hate the art in itself, when I try to specify exactly what's different about it by looking at older chapters, I'm unsure what to say.

Shiramine's hair, for sure--less billowing than previously, which makes her seem physically smaller, and maybe her chin isn't as pointed as before. But beyond that, for every element of the style that I think seems different, I can find similar examples in earlier chapters.

I'd be interested in hearing what others see as specifically changing in the drawing style.

Got the new volume, that new page was gay.

I have to say that of the many things I like about this series, I really enjoy the moments when Kase is taken aback or embarrassed by her physical attraction to Yamada. Kase herself obviously has a conventionally "great body" (along with lots of other traits that make her an appealing character) and anyone can see that Yamada is incredibly cute (like, world-class cute), but it's Kase's POV that shows us that Yamada's also sexy, and getting more so as she matures.

The 'doing it' scenes in this one are quite well done, but for me the sexiest moments are actually the post-bed-scene head "bonks" from Kase--intimate, friendly, goofy, and seemingly very real.

I haven't gone into WDTFS in the kind of depth many folks here have done, but my impression is like yoonie0104's--the development of Seju's character, which was interesting in itself, overpowered her character's basic function in the overall story, throwing the relationships out of balance.

Seju needs to be Sungji's legitimate rival, and not simply "the toxic ex who can't let go," but the more the past relationship between Sumin and Seju is explored and validated, the less room there is for Sungji to be shown as complex (and potentially flawed). So instead of Seju being the relatively straightforward foil to illuminate Sungji's character by contrast, it ends up being the other way around.

Milton had the same problem in Paradise Lost, where Satan ended up being a lot more interesting than the angels and archangels. I'm not saying the characters in WDTFS are a direct match, but probably wouldn't object if somebody else did. :-)

If Moby Dick would have just admitted that Ahab was completely right, there would have been no problem.

I'm going to do one last Naru post, and that will be it on that issue. For me, the controversy was never about whether Naru was "a good person" or whether I liked her as a character or not, but the surprising proposition that Naru's way of working was the proper one and that her behavior and attitudes demonstrated the weaknesses of the previous Eagle Jump employees and their work habits. I believed that all the narrative cues and well-established internal values of the manga pointed directly and unmistakably the other way. (The Grand Gladiatorial Combat of Opinion-Having that took place was mostly just distracting and counterproductive.) The most recent chapters have unequivocally settled the Naru matter as far as I'm concerned. I was prepared to be surprised at the outcome, but I was . . . not surprised.

On the other hand, I've always thought of the Kou-Aoba connection as the heart of the professional side of the story, and it will be very interesting to see how our Fellowship of the Game Controller fares with the departure of their Gandalf.

UMIKO IS PERFECT.

And Hazuki knows it.

When Naru is asked, "Did you have fun making it?" and she answers with a total non-sequitur technical answer about the timer adding replay value--that was the tell right there. Then when the second problem is raised, her impulse is to just revert to the first version instead of trying to make a better game.

I think at this point that the issue with Naru has been blown way out of proportion (and I apologize for my part in doing so). Basically, there have been two contrasting interpretations of Naru as a character:

1) Naru is an exemplary employee who is modeling proper work habits to the others.

2) Naru is a bit of a pain in the butt who has yet to get with the Eagle Jump "whatever it takes to make fun games" program.

Pretty much whatever can be said in support of each of those readings has been said. Also some other stuff.

If #1 is correct, eventually the Eagle Jump staff will be depicted as changing their ways in response to Naru highlighting their shortcomings.

If #2 is correct, Naru will be shown to either change her attitude or leave the company.

I'm not talking only about kisses, or saying that all the examples are about Yuu's overt desire. I'm packing for a hurricane evacuation, so the skinship list isn't exhaustive, but off the top of my head:

The Maki-observed kiss takes place when Yuu was first planning to leave the student council with everyone else, but stayed behind when Touko gave her a sidelong glance. She could have just kept going had she wanted to.

Yuu takes Touko's hand during the group photo of student election candidates.

Yuu invited Touko outside to calm her down before the candidate speeches, a scene that ended with that half-hug-head-lean moment.

Yuu invites Touko to her house to study when the library is crowded, then grabs her wrist to take Touko's pulse when she sees how flustered her senpai is to be in Yuu's bedroom. (And Yuu literally gets up in her face about that flusteration, a scene which is as close to a no-skinship-skinship moment as you can get.)

Yuu towels off Touko's hair when they get caught in the rain (although she does stifle her impulse to take Touko's hand when they're sitting on the bench).

And, of course, there's the "You said you were going to take advantage of me so please get to it" GBS.

These aren't all about sexual desire, of course, and there are several holding-Touko-off moments going the other way. And pretty clearly Yuu didn't consciously do things like stay behind at the student council (to "use the computer") or invite Touko outside before the speeches specifically in order to facilitate "tactile moments." But I think Yuu plays a more active role in creating physical contact (not necessarily sexual, of course) than it might appear on first reading, and Touko is surprised at Yuu's forwardness several times.

last edited at Sep 6, 2017 2:30PM

It's notable that Yuu has either initiated or consciously created the conditions for some (although not all) of the significant skinship moments in the manga so far. The "ambush first kiss" and the post-sports-festival shed scene are the main exceptions, but that second one makes me think that "going all the way" (now I feel like I'm 12) is another line that Yuu (and probably also Touko) would be unwilling to cross until the relationship reset we've all been predicting takes place.

But again if the relationship reset takes place in the context of a GBS, or vice versa, all the better.

Where in a lot of yuri manga there can be an extended process of two people opening up to one another emotionally with a (sometimes extremely limited) skinship payoff at the end, in this one I'm really looking forward to the protags being honest with themselves and with each other.

Should that take place in the context of, or be followed by, a Great Bed Scene (GBS), all the better.

I have no reason to doubt that you know how a real-life company works. As has been suggested several times already, if New Game were a documentary about a real-life company, or if New Game presented itself as a template for how a real-life game company should operate, your main argument about how readers should perceive Naru would be plausible. But since the distinction between actual contemporary business practices and those of a fictional storyworld seems to be irrelevant to you, there's not much more left to say.

And how is Eagle Jump treating you?

Wow, you really do know everything.

unless you think Amazon is a really shitty company

Um, . . .

https://www.theverge.com/2015/8/15/9159309/you-probably-dont-want-to-work-for-amazon

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_than_wal_mart_amazons_sick_brutality_and_secret_history_of_ruthlessly_intimidating_workers/

last edited at Sep 6, 2017 10:35AM

At least all of that lead to Yuu holding Touko in her bed.

I'd call Chap. 22, pgs. 26-27 some pretty advanced-level "holding." :-)

When Yuu saw Touko relying on Sayaka instead of her

That incident at the fireworks did make Yuu feel uneasy. However, Touko's initial impulse was to talk to Yuu, but she didn't want to impose emotionally on her--"to use up all her sweetness." (That's not what would happen, of course, but Touko isn't aware of that yet.) And Sayaka brought up the subject to Touko, not the other way around.

Top 10 manga betrayal

Oh, I still have my hopes up for a sex (ahem) emotionally touching physical intimacy scene.

Just not as the climax of the high school play. :-)