I hated the characters, I hated the plot and I really wished they wouldn't end up together because Meiko is just... Let's just say that I felt about her exactly as I did about Hotaru and leave it at that.

Every time I start something by Kodama Naoko I end up binge reading the whole thing, because I hate it so much I can't bear to delay the conclusion. (I have to say, though, this definitely didn't reach the level of hate I had for netsuzou trap - that would be a tough task, which I am certain, only this author could possibly pull off xD).

Yet, why do I keep giving this author "one more chance" each time I come across one of her works. The artstyle is just so alluring...

Thanks a lot for the recommendations! Not all of them seem to be exactly my taste (not very into animal ears), but I'll be sure to check them out.

With an Earnest Love
Yuki and the Authoress
Walk Wit Me
Your Gaze Through the Thousand Year Old Comb

I've actually read the last one and it definitely fits the tone I was looking for, so I look forward to trying the rest on your list.

EDIT: Came across this page on reddit recently and decided to link it here in case someone else was also looking for these kinds of stories (and so that I can easily go back to it myself XD). I've only checked a couple of them out (GtkG and Shim Cheong) but so far they were very solid recommendations.

last edited at May 20, 2021 11:55AM

I'm looking for something like "Goodbye, my Rose Garden", or the story of Hino's mother and her maid in Adashima.
It doesn't need to be about a master and maid, but I'd like a (older?) setting where societal statues and/or prejudice are an obstacle to the couple's relationship. I don't mind a tragic ending (oh, but don't spoil whether it's happy or not) and it doesn't necessarily have to be a manga either, as long as it is easily accessible.
Any help is welcome :)

Edit: Just remembered that Goodbye my rose garden is not on dynasty, so it probably wasn't the best example... Well, whatever.

last edited at Mar 22, 2021 12:33PM

Y'know, this was really cute, but the conclusion to Chika and Sakiko's arc didn't make a lick of sense to me.

"I'm worried about the fact that you seem to be ignoring everything else in your life, including your own well-being, to focus on me."
"no u"
"Damn, can't argue with that."

The way I understood it, Chika liked Sakiko because she was so free-spirited and didn't care about what people/society expected of her. So when Sakiko started giving her all her attention, she felt like she was restraining her and stripping her of that freedom.

However, in the end she understood that "living for just one person" was Sakiko's way of exercising that freedom. Hence, by living for Chika, Sakiko did in fact stay true to her nature and to what made Chika feel attracted to her in the first place.

Hope that made sense...?

Haven't finished it yet, but what exactly does she have to say to sensei...? With the way she's acting isn't it way too obvious?
And I mean, no matter how "unfamiliar with love" or whatever sensei is, she'd need to have been living under a rock all her life to not realise that her student's behaviour isn't normal...

EDIT: Just read chapter 4. She has been living under a rock after all...
EDIT 2: It feels like we never got a conclusion. I'm not necessarily against open endings, but I feel that it didn't fit well for this one.

last edited at Mar 21, 2021 7:18AM

When I saw the thumbnail, something about the way the shadow of the window falls on them? made me think they were semi-transparent and I supposed they were ghosts or something. I had to first check that there was no ghost tag to then take another look at the picture and realise they were most likely alive xD

Okay, what!? How exactly is she "trying to entice her", by dating (or claim to be dating, I don't even care what the case is) man after man? Yeah, I can't see how this could possibly not work!

"She arbitrarily created this distance on her own, because she's completely oblivious...". Right, it definitely wasn't because you completely misled her to believe that you were straight and even denied the validity of her unrequited - as she thought - love!? Like, isn't it cruel to say something like that right after the other person has basically confessed that they have such unrequited feelings?

I don't know, I'm just so mad at this story... At least I was relieved to see that most people here shared my feelings.

Okay, aren't these "hints" a bit too blatant!? I honestly would have been fine with this story, whether it turned out to be yuri or not... but with how things are going, I cannot possibly see this as simple teasing on the author's part anymore!

Also, I think it's interesting how it seems that maybe Shino has been feeling something more...? than familial love for Nozomi since before the death of her brother. Then again I suppose this could also pass as her being happy to have a person like a mother/sister figure, since she had lost her mother at such a young age. Maybe.

I don't know, I might be misinterpreting things, perhaps my hoping that it's something more makes it seem so...?
Nah, it really is too much to pass off as a joke anymore. I mean, Shino is way too conscious of Nozomi. And even though this awkwardness seemed normal at first, because of their unusual not-quite-sisters circumstances, now it seems to be something entirely different.

Anyway, what is absolutely certain is that Shino cherishes Nozomi a lot. But I feel that lately the author is deliberately giving hints (and not as comedy or fanservice, but as actual hints) that this feeling is leaning towards that of a romantic love rather than that of a sisterly or mother-daughter relationship, like it was/seemed to be at first.

last edited at Mar 19, 2021 10:23AM

I mean it has reached the point where Kurokawa would rather have someone else act out her romantic feelings for Fujishiro i.e her initial shipping of Izumi X Fujishiro than be involved.

I hadn't fully grasped the reason behind Kurokawa's obsessive shipping of Fujishiro and Izumi... I mean sure, she did have her otaku tendencies and her feelings of being "unworthy" of Fujishiro, but I hadn't really understood why she saw Izumi not simply as someone worthy of being Fujishiro's lover, but as someone who HAD to be Fujishiro's lover. I can see now that you put it this way though, her seeking someone "worthy" to be with Fujishiro rather than taking that place herself. That really helped me understand her character better, so thanks.

Glasses have returned. Why? What does that mean?

As others have mentioned before, a makeover can symbolise a character coming out of their shell, becoming more extroverted and self-confident. Hence, Kurokawa wearing her glasses again might be a way of showing that she is reverting to her old self. It's as though she is denying her right to be pretty (not saying that she isn't pretty with glasses of course) the same way she is denying her right to be with Fujishiro.
So I guess going by this logic it isn't really a good thing, but... honestly my thoughts were "hell yeah, bring back the glasses!" haha