Aikosaurus posted:

I could be wrong though, because there's not enough hints yet and "Aya" seems to be her own person rather than a play character.

It's not like I don't like you theory, but we've seen Aya interact with the police, former classmates and a lot of other people when Koto is not even present. I think this was done precisely to tell us that she is not an illusion.

I didn't say she was an illusion.More like an avatar of Aya summoned by Koto's obsession (and maybe also Erika's wish for this obsession to be resolved).

"Rewinding a day, going back home from school and suddenly, facing Koto and Erika 7 years later on the road" doesn't explain anything at all.

The missing tanabata day and what Aya and Erika discussed are still mysteries.

last edited at Jan 26, 2024 5:54AM

My personal theory is that the current Aya is a product of Koto's obsession.

It doesn't explain everything, but "Aya" only reappeared when Koto came back to visit Urihata's school, "Aya" doesn't remember what happened on Tanabata day because Koto's memories of her only go up to the previous day. "Aya" is very in love with Koto, which may be wish fulfilling on Koto's part. There's that scene also where Koto thinks about a play and says that Aya said exactly what she expected. Koto looked unstable mentally after Aya's disappearance.

For all we know, the actual Aya got "abducted" by her mother on Tanabata day and was not especially in love with Koto. There was no time travel at all and an "Aya" popped up because of Koto's obsession when she came back to Urihata.

I could be wrong though, because there's not enough hints yet and "Aya" seems to be her own person rather than a play character.

H A U S posted:

I want Aya to fall in love with Kumagaya-san and stop bothering Koto. Please please Kami-sama grant my wish.

Aya needs a fresh start. There's too much baggage in her relationship with Koto. Knowing that Aya is a child of fourteen weighs heavily on both of their hearts. They aren't comfortable with each other. The poor girls haven't even smooched since Aya returned!

The world sees Aya as an adult. A very childlike 21-year-old adult who is hopelessly incompetent, yes, sure; but still an adult. Somebody like Kumagaya, who doesn't know about any time-travel shit and will treat her like an adorably naive and innocent adult woman, is perfect for her.

Kumagaya saw her, like everyone else not in the know, as what she really is: a 14 yo girl.

I'll just leave this here: https://findmyparent.org/country_page/japan/

It's a difference in culture I guess. Family issues are considered highly private. Police probably didn't spread the news.

She's over 20 and so not considered a child anymore. She has no family, but some people vouched for her and she's not homeless. What else are they supposed to do?

Right. I don't understand people who say "Aya should go back to school, blah blah blah". "She should contact child service", etc... it's clearly not the point at all. She doesn't need a guardian at her official age.

She's legally 21. There's no way around it. The time travel hasn't been addressed (yet), but going around saying you've been spirited away for seven years ala Urashima Taro or Rip Van Winkle is a surefire way to get locked up in a mental ward. And what middle school would enroll a 21 yo?

Aya has no family left also. Maybe her mother will show up later, but as of now, her only family, her grandpa, is dead (and it's been hinted it wasn't going well with him). So, in effect, Koto and Erika (and the two people from the drama club) are the only people who'll accept her and believe her.

Now, what the author is doing is exploring what consequences it has. On her relationship, on her daily life, what is she supposed to do now, etc.

Aya clearly loves Koto and doesn't want to be a burden to her. I think it relates to how she's been abandoned by her mother. In chapter 4, Aya gets super anxious when she gets the impression Koto is distancing herself from her and has a flashback of her mother. So it's not surprising she wants to do everything to blend in Koto's life seamlessly.

But the reality of her body and mind is still here and these are these discrepancies that are explored.

last edited at Jan 25, 2024 3:14AM

Some people can be really insensitive.

Well, artists have to make a living somehow. Guess they need that ad money.

uwuwu posted:

Gabinomicon posted:
If you don't care about something, why would you care enough to bother commenting?? Surely there's something else around that DOES spark your interest. Wouldn't it be better to go talk about that instead?

Sure, let's all circle jerk (or schlick, your choice) in peace and never interact in any meaningful way.

This is the internet man, you'll have to bear with opinions you don' agree with.

To comment on a manga and say it sucks (or rules) and why you think so, is what this forum is for.

Shutting down dissenters by telling them to go away is rude.

"Shutting down dissenters" LMAO, that's cute. It's a valid question to ask why you're even here and complaining about a work that seems to be going over your head.

E.g.: "Here, the MC is like "Oh, I become a girl when I kiss and it may become permanent. Okay. if I can be with my beloved I can accept that". Zero depth. I couldn't care less if they're a trans woman or just thoughtless."

That's not at all what happens. The MC is both visibly conflicted about it, and at the same time has an internal monologue about how they're telling a white lie. And add to that how they've spent three chapters now depicting the MC trying to process these rightfully confusing emotions and thoughts.

Are you paying attention? Is this a circle jerk, or are you just getting upset when people interact with you by asking you questions?

Why should I justify myself for being here and commenting? Do I ask you why you're here? Because you have opinions.

So do I and they're not the same as yours. I don't see what's complicated to infer here. Moving on to the manga now.

Sorry, but the MCs of this manga have as much personality as doorknobs, the magic gender change is just waved away as a "curse" and some people seem to think that "plot" is interesting because they somehow project on the MC's "conflict", when there isn't even much of one to begin with.

last edited at Jan 17, 2024 1:56PM

Gabinomicon posted:
If you don't care about something, why would you care enough to bother commenting?? Surely there's something else around that DOES spark your interest. Wouldn't it be better to go talk about that instead?

Sure, let's all circle jerk (or schlick, your choice) in peace and never interact in any meaningful way.

This is the internet man, you'll have to bear with opinions you don' agree with.

To comment on a manga and say it sucks (or rules) and why you think so, is what this forum is for.

Shutting down dissenters by telling them to go away is rude.

cecile posted:

I was going to address the "gender politics" thing but I guess other people already made very good arguments in that regard. Simply put, it's an internet forum topic about a gender bender story, you should expect discussions of gender. If you don't like this part of the debate you can simply ignore it. Talk about the stuff you're interested in, instead.

Tbh, I don't find this manga particularly interesting.

I didn't like that much their previous series (Koi to Uso) either. I dropped it at some point, because it was boring.

Their MCs are supposed made to be likable, but I just find them boringly "proper".

About the gender thing, the MC isn't a trans woman by any definition. It's not like he was uncomfortable being a guy before.

When you talk about a trans girl in manga, I would think about the MC of "Hourou Musuko". She was very obviously a girl from the start and I have no problems with that. It's a really good portrayal of a trans girl.

But here, it's not obvious at all. Take a "normal" person and change their gender by magic.Suddenly, they're supposed to have been wanting it all along?

It's the problem with "magic" genderbending. It's not a choice, it's imposed magically on the character. They just have to accept it.

Other manga have tackled the subject of "magic" gender change much more intelligently, like "Until I become me", or "Shishunki Bitter Change", where the change itself is not something natural for the characters and they struggle with it and their identity and it's the whole point.

Here, the MC is like "Oh, I become a girl when I kiss and it may become permanent. Okay. if I can be with my beloved I can accept that". Zero depth. I couldn't care less if they're a trans woman or just thoughtless.

Pretty sure shark boy is gay and has an unconscious thing for Akizuki.

And when he's turned into a girl, he/she will get helped by Akizuki and will fall even harder.

Also, stop trying to shoe in gender politics in a manga (who's trans, who's an egg, who's a woman or not..). It's rarely the actual topic of this kind of genderbender/genderswap manga. Japanese authors are not playing by your rules.

They needed a 3rd girl to stop them from being useless lesbians.

Needs a supernatural tag.

Forget about the uncle. He doesn't exist anymore in tankoubon universe, which is the canon version.

last edited at Jan 7, 2024 4:10PM

I can kinda see this turning into an existential crisis for the couple.

Having the husband at home all the time and the wife as the breadwinner is the nightmare scenario of many a Japanese couple (and other places too).

The guy seem to be willing to make it work, but the wife seem to have a short fuse. It's doesn't bode well.

Well, it was written on the wall since the beginning.

TerryBet posted:

TerryBet posted:

I liked Octave. I expected to like this. I do. Nice when things work that way, eh? Is it just me, or is there a run of Yuri mangas with toxic mothers. I feel as if I have seen a lot lately.

You mean your mother isn't toxic?

My mother died in 1995. She had had a miserable life and decided to terminate life support.

Sorry to read that, but that doesn't say anything about her toxicity.

to be clear, it was in jest

TerryBet posted:

I liked Octave. I expected to like this. I do. Nice when things work that way, eh? Is it just me, or is there a run of Yuri mangas with toxic mothers. I feel as if I have seen a lot lately.

You mean your mother isn't toxic?

Chikaon posted:

This new series seems to not have any men (yet) so we'll see. Akiyama Haru could always pull an Octave and have the dude be a one off plot point. I doubt this'll be as experimental as Brides of Ibris since it didn't sell well.

There's a man. The one who was waiting for the co-MC in the bar. Which seem to be chasing her.

Kaede may be a celebrity (Kon kind of recognized her), which probably means her relationship with Ai isn't simple.

More drama at 11.

last edited at Dec 28, 2023 3:37PM

BlackPaladin posted:

Inami Didn't Go To College?

College can come in flavor of 4 years or 2 years in Japan.

And 70% of them are F-Run大学, ie, third rate colleges.

Not everyone, especially someone like Kon, can enter Todai or Waseda.

ArtemisOnVtubers posted:

I recently visit the twittee author and she post a bunch of age gap stuff so is related here
Also how well she listen the girl having a girlfriend without questionin but them leave this doubs for herself

The hell are you on? Akiyama Haru never wrote any age gap manga and her twitter has only adult yuri, and maybe some yaoi.

resonance posted:

I could have sworn I'd read this before. Am I just tripping?

It came out on Dec 27th, so it's impossible.

Blastaar posted:

But it’s not just a matter of Aya’s report or of her looking young. She was reported missing years ago; a search was made for her. Now she has returned with no explanation. She has a social identity. There are official files on her that were closed that needed to reopened. But nobody seems to more than mildly surprised.

Well, there was a police investigation. People confirmed her identity and she's legally an adult. If she says she doesn't know what she did in the last seven years, they may think that she just doesn't want to tell and leave it at that. They may think it's none of their business. And since no crime has been committed, what else can they do? Harass her?

For all intent and purpose, Aya is 21 year old in the eyes of society and can do whatever she wants.

Euchreiade posted:

Did anyone else notice that Yuni litterally has no friends?

She does. She's seen hanging out in class with the faceless gyarus. We even see them hanging out on the roof in chapter 6. Yuni's not a loner, contrary to Fuuko. She even probably has a lot of friends (as far as classmates are friends), much like Nanase actually.

She may not have a "best friend" or a childhood friend, but she's not isolated.

It's just that during recess, she has to wait for Nanase to have some private time with her girlfriend, and can't hang out with the others. That's why she feels lonely. And that's why Nanase is a horrible girlfriend, because she's unable to make her her priority.

She's supposed to sing and play her own composition.

It's stupid to try to guess what she will cover, since it won't be a cover.

last edited at Dec 17, 2023 2:26PM