Whiny voice: "I'm a helpless dark-haired cliché who is a slave to a confident blonde cliché and we were created to please the sick fantasies of people who hate dark-haired women."
Nobody cares about your boring misogynist couple, tNmR. The only thing we care about are Uta and Kaoru... And Uta's mother. She actually seems interesting.

I'm guessing the side couple is just to fulfill the souls who actually want some yuri action, but I do agree with you that they are kind of boring

Yeah, the mother does seem interesting, we've been getting hints about her since the early chapters

The side couple aren't even real yuri, but rather a lesbian with a one sided crush on what appears to be somebody on the asexual spectrum. That brings up an interesting question. If you have two people in a relationship and one views it as a romantic relationship and the other views it as platonic, would they be considered a couple? Are they dating?

last edited at Aug 2, 2018 4:06AM

You know, the back story between Erica and Sakura would be a great set up for a romance shoujo. I think I would rather have read that story.

Another side note: Why do they keep having little moments where the characters act like a girl being into another girl is unusual, or weird. like ch 11. pg 9. Where Sakura asked if Aoi has ever kissed another girl before, or like ch 8. pg 15. Where Aoi is absolutely shocked to see Klara an Mizuki kissing. I'm pretty sure girls loving other girls would be the norm in an all girl world. I don't even know if it would be considered homosexuality anymore.

Just because the male half of the species is wiped out it isn't likely to change the fact that the vast majority of women would be born heterosexual. They just sadly wouldn't have any way to fruitfully pursue those desires. I guess it is true that society as a whole would tend to be a lot more accepting of homosexuality, but I imagine it would still be a minority of people that are actively lesbians.

last edited at Aug 2, 2018 3:54AM

"Not a Lizard"

Also, I don't think Yuu has any significant life problems. She is so healthy, other than having the naive misconception she could not fall in love just because she hadn't yet.

Yuu is certainly more mentally stable and healthy than Touko, but she is not without her issues. Her greatest defining trait and flaw is that she always puts the feelings of others before her own. She is quite emotionally rudderless and just goes with the flow which makes her a very kind person, but it's also not good for her sense of agency or for finding her own happiness in life.

This is what makes Yuu finally standing up for herself and telling Touko how she feels and what she wants from their relationship such a huge step for her.

last edited at Aug 1, 2018 11:34PM

Thank you so much for this, sly ♥ all of the people who is worcking inthis project, thank you so much.

Ditto. The people translating these manga don't get enough credit. This is one of the stories I really want to see the end of.

last edited at Aug 1, 2018 9:24PM

Anybody think that Minato won't find out that Asami's connected to her dad for at least another three chapters? I feel like the unwanted third wheel is going to try and worm his way into the gap that Asami left, and that's going to take up maybe two chapters of drama.

This is a pretty serious story. I think the shit has really hit the fan in a way that there will be no quick, clean resolution, but I could be wrong.

In my opinion Touko's lack of self-awareness is ridiculous here. That's what ruined this scene for me.

How can she just now suddenly realize that she's been doing bad things to Yuu like it never even crossed her mind? And how it is relevant at all to whether that person loves her or not? So sexually ab(using) strangers or people that don't care about you is totally ok? Touko not only comes off as stupid, but immoral as well. I just... I just see author's pen here. I can't suspend my disbelief about her any longer. I was pretty hard before in few a occasions, but this was the bridge too far for me.

Nakatani is great at composing art and composite storytelling. Competent at actually drawing art. Hit and miss with the characters.

If Yuu doesn't care then there is no harm being done. What makes a sexual act abuse is simply whether or not the other person wanted it done to them. The moment Touko realized that Yuu does love her back and does care about their relationship is the moment Touko becomes aware of the fact that what she is doing has likely been harming Yuu's feelings and Yuu has simply been hiding it out of fear.

There is nothing inherently wrong or immoral about using somebody if you are up front about it and the other person is completely cool with it.

No @Amberheart, Mei didn't have sex with the teacher. Especially not if he's her fiancé before the marriage her grandfather already prepared for her after school at this time, not knowing that this man was manipulating her. The more she had with him was these molesting and forced kisses we saw... enough to already give her a very disturbed view on physical intimacy.

If you talk about Mei's behavior in chapter 8 ("that is your first time"), it is clear that she's all bravado and tries to project the image of an experienced and assured person when she's not. It's one of her traits: keeping control by showing she's full of confidence when she lacks this confidence. Another trait is that she's someone that mimic things she reads or listens to because she needs guidance and needs "to follow the plan". She quoted Nene's word about her admiration for Yuzu in volume 5. We know she read Yuzu's mangas, so she probably copies lines and gestures she saw ...

It's especially proved during one of the bonus when she perfectly quotes the Peach sisters and knows the exact page of her quote.

She is also looking for a book on "Romance for beginners" in volume 6 at the Academy's library. So Mei is totally clueless about these things, she doesn't have the first-hand experience except chapter 1.

It's a real misunderstanding of her character if you proclaim she had sex already. I will add, it is an arranged marriage with the teacher so of course, she is still a virgin! And from the air of disgust she had in chapter 1 after the kiss, pretty sure that she didn't identify, as you state, with him. She's disconnected, her feelings and her mind in one part, her body in the other part.

Don't assume that romantic experience and sexual experience equate to the same thing. For instance most cheap hookers are grand masters when it comes to sexual prowess, yet many of these same women have very little experience with actual romance outside of the occasional beating from their pimp.

I am not saying Mei is a hooker, just that her behavior is quite indicative of somebody that has quite a bit of real world sexual experience, but little or no real romantic experience. Particularly in the early chapters she is shown to be very physically sexually aggressive and quite adept at physical seduction, but conversely is incredibly underdeveloped when it comes to understanding or sharing emotional intimacy with others.

Ultimately, as in most stories like this one, the whole premise is demolished by the author's failure to make the main character ugly. You can't just draw a normal girl, put some glasses on her, and call her ugly. Now I have to just pretend that this character, who obviously isn't ugly, is. When the author of a visual medium forces you to ignore your own eyes in order to buy into their story, they have completely failed.

I don't know about you, but I still wake up up in cold sweats screaming from the horrifying visions of those hideous eyebrows burned deep into my psyche.

The more I look at it the better this chapter becomes.

Random example: that last splash page. Page 10 clearly shows two flights of steps down the embankment to the water. But as Touko looks up at the end she sees only the lower one—the top flight is now gone.

It’s just barely possible that the angle of the shot puts those steps just out of frame, but as far as Touko is concerned there’s literally no way to follow after Yuu.

Random observation: Yuu is unbelievably cute.

Good eye for detail. Nakatani Nio is masterful with using lighting, environment and framing both symbolically and to set mood and atmosphere. What's said between them in this chapter is nothing earth shattering or particularly special as far as manga confessions go. It is the visual story telling that makes this chapter a masterpiece.

There are so many small details that make this scene so powerful:

The instance where the weeds are literally binding the terrified Touko's feet to the ground as she tries to go after Yuu.

The way the contrast between the dark and light frames traps the characters that are paralyzed by their own fear, isolating them from the rest of the world and each other.

How we can no longer see Touko's eyes once communication has broken down between them.

There are too many great little symbolic details to list, but this chapter really shows off Nakatani Nio's craft like few others have.

In the final shot Touko stands alone in the shadows with her head cast down, no longer able to see the final flight of stairs leading up from the ditch she stands at the bottom of. The text in this final frame simply reads, "Yuu has changed," but the message is very clear. Yuu has changed leaving Touko behind where she no longer knows how to reach her. She stands alone, lost in her fears unable to go after her.

I really hope who ever is in charge of the visual direction of the anime adaption knows what they are doing or all of this sort of visual story telling will be lost.

last edited at Jul 31, 2018 2:25AM

I’m just a little disappointed because I expected a little more understanding from Yuu.

It's her first time confessing, girl thought she jumped the gun there. Remember that Yuu has been expecting rejection more so than acceptance from Touko so Touko saying "I'm sorry" comes off as an answer to her. Classic misunderstanding.

Not to mention the fact that she just broke her long standing promise to Touko. It's understandable that she freaked out and ran.

Autumn posted:

Harukana Receive Ep 04:
(https://i.imgur.com/pXUSmTo.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/hzeduj8.png)

Wish there would be some subtext between Hanesaki and Elena. :(

You should REALLY read the manga instead, trust me on this one please... start from the beginning and you'll be much happier

The yuri overtones are more pronounced in the manga.

last edited at Nov 22, 2018 11:40AM

Ouch, that ending was quite brutal. I have to give the author credit that took guts. Nothing will piss people of more than a dose of real world ugly to finish off a fairy tale. Not a bad story all in all. Unlike so many other fluffy yuri tales, I won't be forgetting this one.

last edited at Jul 30, 2018 10:21PM

Rape is not funny, nor should it be used as a joke.

Better watch out. If you keep talking like that the writers from Family Guy are going to show up at your house with baseball bats.

Lol, I think this could be better with character development and not just fanservice? But I guess it's fine it's just going for fan service :)

These are very short chapters that are currently being printed in a strait hentai magazine which is probably why each chapter always ends with some light fanservice and doesn't leave a ton of room for exposition or character development. People have been saying that the cute romantic yuri portion of this magazine is splitting off to become its own publication which may mean this series will have more room for story line in the future assuming the project doesn't get the ax.

last edited at Jul 29, 2018 6:13PM

Comic ExE is a hentai magazine, 99% full of regular straight hentai, but at the end of the magazine is a yuri section that is generally non-H.

Yeah, I can see now why there is pessimism about the odds of survival. I can also see why they are splitting up the content since there isn't much audience overlap between strait porn and cutesy yuri love stories. It's a shame when talented artists get shafted by incompetent publishers.

Or maybe the editor of comic ExE is a yurifag and wants to help those yuri artist by creating a special yuri section for them, hmm? Anyway they done a great job so far. They even published two yuri anthologies: Avalon and Avalon ~bitter~. And their work will be contiuned online.

True, perhaps I was a bit harsh in my pessimism. It's wrong to call people incompetent for something they haven't failed at yet. You must admit though that it does seem like a very odd choice from a production stand point to splice cutesy yuri stories onto the end of a het porn magazine.

Having said this, I wish them all the best of luck. I hope they prove us pessimists wrong.

last edited at Jul 29, 2018 5:54AM

Harukana Receive is all just subtext!!!

That really is some very heavy subtext, particularly in the manga. I mean they aren't being subtle about it.

Psychoanalyzing fictional characters is always a bit silly, but I think the term that best describes Yuu's behavior is demi-sexual. Demi-sexuals are people who only develop a sexual attraction to others after they have formed a strong emotional connection with that person.

We've already debated this in an earlier post. We have no idea what Yuu's sexual attraction is like, we only know about her romantic attraction. If you argue Yuu developed a romantic attraction to Touko after a long time getting to know her, then you could say she's demi-romantic. But Maki-san has stated right at the beginning of the story (chapter 7 I think) that Yuu was also in love with Touko, even back then. So it's not like she and Touko were just friends and she slowly began to develop romantic feelings for her, those feelings were always there, they just grew stronger and more evident with time.

Also, thanks everyone for using the spoiler tags. I really don't want to read spoilers to this next chapter.

You are correct in that the term I probably should have used was demi-romantic. However, it is made quite clear in the story that Yuu does not begin to develop romantic feelings towards Touko for quite some time into their relationship and chapter 7 is actually a good one for making this case and point.

To begin with Maki is just an outside observer. Basically the driving narrative in chapter 7 is Maki's misinterpretation of Touko's public display of affection leading him to confront Yuu about the type of relationship he perceives they are having. Maki asserts that he thinks they are a couple and are dating and Yuu tries to correct his misunderstanding.

Maki states that the affection in their relationship seems to be quite ones sided, but then notes that Yuu must really love Touko because she worries about her welfare before her own. Yuu however is puzzled that Maki would believe this equates to love because this is just generally how Yuu treats other people. It's one of her defining character traits and flaws. She tends to always put the feelings of others before her own.

At this point in the story we are a month into their relationship which is not a trivial amount of time and Yuu herself still does not believe she is in love with Touko and argues such with Maki. It is however noteworthy that this is really the first time in the story that Yuu does begin to question what her feelings towards Touko really are and she begins to wonder if there is something more to it.

Ouch. Well written, but sad little story.

Comic ExE is a hentai magazine, 99% full of regular straight hentai, but at the end of the magazine is a yuri section that is generally non-H.

Yeah, I can see now why there is pessimism about the odds of survival. I can also see why they are splitting up the content since there isn't much audience overlap between strait porn and cutesy yuri love stories. It's a shame when talented artists get shafted by incompetent publishers.

The moment of realization at the end. Beautiful.

Indeed, I was waiting for it the whole chapter and then "Bam!" right at the end the cold hard realization hits her like a thunderbolt.

last edited at Jul 28, 2018 4:46PM

I'm not too optimistic about this series continuing. Separating from ExE just sounds like the whole yuri section is going to die a slow death

For those of us who are clueless, what is this ExE you speak of? It sounds like this manga is being published in an anthology style magazine that's being split up by genre into new publications? It would be a shame were this to get the axe over something like that.

It's sad that yuri is sooo much less popular than its BL counterpart, but recently I have seen signs that the fan base is actually growing albeit slowly. Perhaps the this manga and its brethren will have enough support to take flight on their own.

I am the only one that thinks the growing dick back is the most unrealistic part of it?

And the dicks eating watermelon?

Everyone knows they prefer honeydew.

I fucking love this mangaka. Guys should really quit using the guillotine urinals.

Fool me once...

last edited at Jul 28, 2018 5:59AM

As others have pointed out the artwork is beautiful.