Of course, Sorawo refuses to adress Toriko's confession. She's clearly aware of the elephant in the room, but keeps trying to give it the widest berth possible.
So, novel readers, how long do you think it'll be in manga chapters until that changes?

As a light novel reader (not yet read column 8 tho), I have 0 hope for Sorawo to address Toriko's confession. Well at least for another 60 chapters, but we will get bread crumb along the way TvT

This is the end of volume 3 and the start of volume 4, the manga is such a good adaption of the LN so far. Can't wait until that silly hotel chapter where they all get wasted.

Well volume 8 is [LN Romance Spoiler] entirely about them addressing, thinking about and discussing their feelings for each other, then coming to an answer together. That whole volume is about their romance because it's a point of rest in the series, when they can actually worry about that stuff They are kind of busy right now. Not much time to worry about a crush, or love. So It'll be a bit before we get there. The series has romance but isn't a romance, anyway and there's so much other great stuff to happen besides that.

last edited at Dec 24, 2023 2:06PM

I mean, it's really not all that different from how our first couple started.

Yeah, the lines and sentiments are very close to chapter 1's end as well (Yori & Shiho's). There's been loose main couple parallels it's been pushing (i.e Yori to Shiho, Hima to Aki).

last edited at Dec 24, 2023 12:25PM

While Shiho has had years of time to settle into her feelings, Aki is being given days. She just needs to be afforded some time to understand her feelings. That should be said first because it has a lot to do with where she is at right now.

She's not afraid of losing a friend. She's drawing a direct comparison between a potential romantic interest and her current closeness to Shiho, which she's still struggling to confidently label. She's not worried that Shiho would abandon her. She's worried that their current level of closeness and intimacy would not be the same.

Often the time and closeness you had with friends will diminish, as you spend that time with your SO. Aki has surveyed that future, deciding she would feel unsatisfied with that arrangement. She'd rather that time be for her and Shiho. She's choosing Shiho over everyone else.

In practice, she's confessing stronger more life-long emotions towards Shiho, than Shiho expressed towards her. It's not the case that she's not interested in Shiho, based on her actions here and previous chapters. She is just unsure of what her feelings mean and how to confidently label them as everything is happening very fast for her.

In that confusion, she's realized that she does already, confidently know a few things: she wants to be exactly this close to Shiho, able to do these same date-like things with Shiho and she's realized that she wants the freedom of these things over anything or being with anyone else. She doesn't want to share her time with Shiho, with anyone else, even a romantic interest. What does that sound like?

Their languages (and labels) are different but both of them are already far closer to the same page, and that's what the scene is communicating. It's basically a roundabout confession scene but in a less traditional way, which is why it's interesting and also why it's framed as such.

last edited at Dec 24, 2023 8:25AM

While it's true plenty of people start dating with a "why not, I'll try it out" mentality, I think my issue with how this situation played out is how Aki made it seem like she only asked Shiho out because she knew Shiho would continue to avoid her if they were just friends. I think it's purely this part that makes me a little uncomfortable because it makes it seem like Aki primarily asked Shiho out out of fear of losing a friendship over genuine interest in her as a girlfriend.

But that's not really what she's saying there, which is why it's portrayed as wholesome.

last edited at Dec 24, 2023 7:34AM

I'm kinda confused about Undine. It kidnaps and attacks Sara, and then continues harassing her and the princess, ostensibly because it knows Sara is holding the royal blade and sees her as a threat. But now it acknowledges that it always knew she was never a threat. So then why did it do anything in the first place? What is it trying to accomplish?

She wants the sword back with the princess.

Fantastic. Loved everything about this series. "I won, didn't I?" is such a great line to end on--the use of darkness, light and shadows, as well as the sounds of her heels fading into the black. So good.

Because she didn't win, unless you've fallen into the trap of thinking like she does. Kayo doesn't think like that anymore and doesn't even consider that there's something to be won any longer. She's happier now.

Asking for any kind of revenge plot from Kayo would have defeated the point. That would be exactly what Junko wanted--another tit-for-tat, another fight.

This is how it had to end. Kayo literally couldn't be bothered. She's living her life. Forgotten Junko. Sometimes it's better to walk away from a fight and move on. There's a lot of power in that and people definitely miss that. This is the most anti-Junko ending you could imagine. Kayo broke the cycle. A complete and total rejection of Junko's worldview. So complete that she's left dumfounded. Love it.

last edited at Dec 23, 2023 8:34PM

And i personally maintain that it would be for the better if it end soon. We somehow end up on a decently high note on that long drama-full arc and i don't need another arc with more dramas.
I think this chapter is a very good closure for Aki/Shiho and we just need a good closure on Hima/Yori and i think it could be a good way to end. Everyone got their happy end. let's be honest, you can only go so far in this kind of manga with fluff because of how drama-fueled the plot is.
OK it's popular but sometime it's good to not go too far.

I trust her with whatever decision. This isn't a situation where there aren't good creative avenues to delve into and I am not bothered by dramatic work in stories. Honestly, I've become a bit confused with "drama" being used as a pejorative around yuri works especially. Either way, the story could continue in any direction. It was successful when it was fluffy. It's been very successful when it moved into dramatic arcs. She's shown that she can do both very well, while maintaining a large audience.

last edited at Dec 23, 2023 8:03PM

Which should mean that the series still has a couple of volumes left, since, as you said, it's implied that there will be a kiss, but Aki has to develop romantic feelings for Shiho first.

I've wondered that for a while. It's at a point where it could go for a long while more or end after this volume. Lots of possibilities. She's set things up to give herself a bunch of creative freedom now and there are clear directions it could go. It's at a reset point. I wouldn't be surprised if it continues beyond their graduations, based on the discussions they had a few chapters ago.

It funny how there're so much Shiho hater on this site and western viewer in general. While when i read it on other site or translation group, Asian viewers absolutely love Shiho and don't take her rudeness that serious at all LOL. We just see her as a stundere and go with it. And the writing in my opinion is still as good as the start, i don't see anything went down like a lot of people said. More like where the story goes just don't fit their personal tatse so they're upset and hating LOL. Can clearly see they don't grow up watching drama series on television like the rest of us Asian.

I wouldn't generalise it as a western thing. Just have to remember that these forums are a select group of people and even within that there's a select group who comment. You're not even getting a full view of the opinion on here. ShihoxAki seems well liked, from what I've seen.

last edited at Dec 23, 2023 5:51PM

Yay finally "dating", even tho "it's not love yet", I want Shiho and Aki loving each other ASAP!

The build up should be fun though and it'll make the kiss that much more meaningful, whenever Aki does decide to initiate it. It's a smart way to give the audience half of what they want, with the promise of the rest later. Gives her more stuff to work with moving forward. Plus they get to do the normal thing and fall in love through dating.

last edited at Dec 23, 2023 4:04PM

Now this is a great thing to wake up to in the morning. Love them both and Aki is right, that was smooth and Shiho knows it.

They're at different stages but that's normal and fine. You literally don't need to be madly in love with someone to start dating, despite what manga would have you believe. This also respects Aki's character progress.

She'll need a bit more time to feel exactly as passionate as Shiho but she recognizes how important Shiho is to her and can clearly see Shiho as her girlfriend.

Reminds me of the start to "Love is Hard for Otaku," and of course that ended up fine and normal. Actually Aki is in a better place than he was, because at least her GF isn't doing it just for show (at the start).

Aki really thought about it, and waited until their first date to settle on how she felt. This means there's room for even more progress between them. It also gives Shiho something to continue working towards, and the big kiss will happen down the line. This was what I would have wanted. Looking forward to all of it!

last edited at Dec 23, 2023 7:02AM

fin? is it done?

One more.

Junko is amazing in a real villainess kind of way. Just love watching her, even though I wouldn't go near her with a ten-foot pole. That panel where she grinds her teeth beside Kayo's face was special. She even absorbed Yoshiko into her ways. So sinister. It's great. Should be a fun final chapter. Will be interesting to see how Kayo handles things towards the end.

last edited at Dec 21, 2023 2:07PM

So we had Naori protecting Hinata last chapter--now, Hinata protects (or wishes to protect) Naori. Hinata refuses to be one-upped when it comes to caring for her SO! Also more Naori drinks to save the day!

Mikage needs all the help she can get. She's not learned to think for herself yet. Unfortunate. Luckily, Naori is such a friendly and attentive person that she seems able to inspire and befriend ogre and human alike.

It really is Naori and Hinata vs an entirely archaic and regimented way of thinking and behaving. Pretty much everyone they meet, human or orge, is suffering to maintain a status quo that was settled so long ago. It really is a battle against traditionalist thinking, and they're the two nails sticking out, while everyone tries to hammer them back down.

last edited at Dec 21, 2023 7:31AM

Naori is always ready and alert. I love pretty much every new character that this series introduces.

Both of them say that they're interested and committed to their relationship but neither of them really act like they're interested and fully committed to the relationship.

At this point I'm not sure what either of them want out of it and I don't think they really do anymore either. Both of them seem to have people around them that they gel better with but they refuse to let go of this sunk cost and idealized relationship that they appear to be aspiring to.

last edited at Dec 19, 2023 5:23PM

This series has really great characters and is really interesting thematically. Their interplay is amazing and Junko is absolutely terrible. Can't wait to see how this wraps up in the last 2 chapters.

last edited at Dec 19, 2023 2:48PM

Lol, lmao even. It's starting to look like the villainess system really was Elsa being cursed rather than Yvonne directly.

Yeah that's what I thought too. It would make sense but we'll see!

Satomi is Junko but after she's already destroyed her competition and tasted success. It all catches up to everyone eventually. This time her love for Kayo inspired her to go back to those old ways. Ironic that, that's what brings her down in the end. 3 more chapters of fun left.

last edited at Dec 17, 2023 1:51PM

"Glances are a thing to be stolen." OH MY GODDDDDDD I love how poetic she is <33333

Yeah. That line caught my attention too.

Wow, I'm so impressed she worked herself to exhaustion. I suppose the Maron/Mashiro inspiration is legit.

I wonder if working herself to exhaustion shows her mother that she actually has worth, too, or if she just appeared to be an awful person again.

Let's hope she plans to be awfully nice.

WAAHH can someone explain?? Is it done?? Or are they going to continue it?? How?? Where??? I wanna keep reading it :/.. they haven't even kissed yet and saved the kingdom. CAN SOMEONE HELP

This was the version before the story got picked up. It never completed the story but was ended so that the story could be restarted for serialization. The serialized and updated version is up here as well. That's why this one says "twitter version." And the last page of this chapter explains the situation.

last edited at Dec 16, 2023 6:37AM

I'm not sure exactly what Sal Jiang is cooking, and I'm both intrigued and afraid to find out.

She's cooking spice and she's delivering wonderfully.

I laughed my head off at Makino calling her mother "Toxic Mom" to her face. :D

She worked hard for that nickname. Might as well give her what she earned.

Hirose is a good friend.

One thing I'm uncertain/confused on, do her boots allow her to walk? Since I think their "travel" designs are after all of this, where she's walking. I might have missed something.

That head nun said she was sending the pair to a healer who knows how to properly reattach limbs, although who knows how truthful that was since this version doesn't address that at all. Guess we'll see when the serial catches up.

No, Therese says she'll send her to someone knowledgeable about disabilities, not someone who can reattach limbs.

last edited at Dec 15, 2023 6:38AM

One thing I'm uncertain/confused on, do her boots allow her to walk? Since I think their "travel" designs are after all of this, where she's walking. I might have missed something.

I could be misremembering but yeah, basically.

last edited at Dec 14, 2023 5:52PM