Sooo... Rin and Ko are way canon. I'm just saying.

Really liking the series as a whole, the setting is good, the art is good, the characters are good and Rin and Ko are way canon.

On a side note, this and this are basically the same thing.

True on the comparison between Collectors and this...

I really like it so far. I kept wondering why there wasn't at least a sub-text marking. I wasn't really sure if Hifume or Hajime would be the likely ship with Aoba. I think the kicker was when Hifume saw Aoba eating and it reminded her of her hedgehog, and the thing with her smile. :) They are cute together, I think. Rin and Ko are sooo a couple, at least in Rin's eyes. That bit when she was "dissatisfied" with Aoba's pouring technique and made Ko pour her a drink was precious, not to mention the hot springs trip that Ko forgot...

I personally disagree about the assumption that Keiko has never shown physical/romantic attraction to Ran. I think there have been a few times where it seemed like she was a bit smitten and she frequently talks about how flippin' adorable she is. (Not to mention the grope fest with her friend a while back...)

I love this backstory segment. I really had the feeling that Sun Jin was yuri all along, but I'm guessing she had never fallen in love before. I love Mop Head's reaction to her statement... But what I really love is how he supported her when she was trying to get closer to Qiu Tong. Best Wingman EVAR!

Based on Qiu Tong's reactions to Sun Jin, I think SHE was already aware of her preference. If you go back to the first time the two of them talked (12/12/2014 Update) when Sun Jin looks so damned cute, saying she was hoping to talk more, Qiu Tong has one of those "AHA! moments" and her eyes soften before they continue on together. The rainy day reactions just cement it. Qiu Tong reacts so strongly that the convenience store clerk even gets the idea...

Then to top it off, she pretty much invites her over to her place for cake.

I really liked Emi in the one shot. This could be really interesting! I hope it gets regular updates.

While I could do without Sacchan teasing Ruki by not telling Remi where she can go with her innuendo, it is clear that she wants no part of Remi hitting on Ruki, which is a huge change.

I love the Massa x Meru relationship and while I would have liked to see Asuna and Fuu get back together, I think it is probably better to leave it as it is. Fuu didn't tell her that she never wanted to talk to her, she obviously is still attracted to her and paying attention to her to a certain extent, and it is clear as day that Asuna still loves Fuu a ton. It is very typical that Fuu told her that she can contact her, but not to expect her to initiate contact. After all, that is just too much bother... The fact that it leaves some hope for them to be happy together is nice.

All in all it was a good manga.

I just compared the magazine chapter with this version... When this first came out I didn't realize how different they were. This version is MUCH better! It gets much more into Kase's thoughts and has so much more detail. (Not to mention the wet shirt part near the end where Kase is totally turned on by Yamada's sexy bra showing through while the naive Yamada is totally clueless that she is turning making her girlfriend so hot! That was priceless!)

I do love this series. It is fantastic! Such a similar concept to "The Princess's Mirror", but just enough different to give it a unique flavor.

Delighted to feast my eyes upon a new chapter as always! :D

My only major complaint is the undone art, which I feel breaks the flow and thus my immersion as well. Also, the pace feels a lot slower in this one. But, it could also be attributed to the lengthier down-time than usual between the previous chapter and this chapter.

On another note, I see a few people saying that Sara's confession sparks a realization within Mei, in regards to Yuzu's feelings for her. But I beg to differ. I think it causes her anguish. Like she feels that Yuzu doesn't return the kind of romantic love she is hoping for. She knows that Yuzu genuinely cares for her as person (I hope! Or the mangaka needs a good shaking in terms of storyline consistency). Now, how about as someone more? To be fair, Yuzu has never been really clear in giving out the right sort of signals in that department.

I foresee more angst, not less, in the near future! But I will love it all the same. ^_^

I totally agree! I was put off by the incomplete art and wondered what was going on...

I hope the tankoban version is complete!

Best case scenario: Mei treats Sara the same way she has been treating Yuzu and Sara, either immediately or after a few "dates", confronts Mei about the fact that she is always wanting to be physical and asks her "if she really loves her" or "what love means to her" and Mei has a revelation about why Yuzu was acting the way she was.

I am curious to see what Nina's game is. I don't think she really wants Sara and Mei to be together... I don't know if her reference to what Mei really wants was to "being needed" or if it was a reference to her wanting Yuzu and she was suggesting that using her sister was a way to get that.

It would be interesting if, after eavesdropping on Mei and Yuzu and successfully undermining their relationship, she then goes to Yuzu with some sort of plan to win Mei back or make Mei jealous or something like that... I really don't trust the girl!

I wonder what Sara's reaction to both the fact that she just stole Yuzu's love and that her sister was entirely aware of the fact that she was setting her up to do so would be? I think Sara would be mortified to think that the friend who she commiserated with and made such a great connection with was hurt by her actions, even accidentally. To find out that her sister actually plotted to do it, fully aware of the fact that by getting Sara together with Mei it would break Yuzu's heart, she would probably be furious and totally feel like she was in the wrong...

That just seems to be the type of girl she is. I just don't see Sara finding out what happened and saying "Oh well! All's fair in love and war! She who hesitates is lost! I got her first and she is MINE now!"

At least I hope not!

What I really expect to happen is Sara and Yuzu to meet incidentally, either during the trip or after, possibly both missing the train again or something like that, and the two of them will get caught up on each others' love situations. Sara will tell Yuzu that she confessed and was accepted by her "fated person", never using Mei's name. Yuzu will tell her that she messed up and was lying to herself about her feelings and, when she had resolved to do the right thing and be fully honest with her love, she was told that she had accepted another person's confession and was dating someone else.

Sara will then ask her if she is just going to give up? Is your love weak enough that you will let a little setback like some random person confessing to your love get in the way? If you keep trying to communicate your true feelings to your love it is sure to work out in the end. Then when they get back together with everyone else, both of them will run to Mei and they will realize that they were talking about the same person all along!

We'll see if I'm right...

last edited at Mar 2, 2015 11:59AM

So I have been re-reading the last few chapters and I think Sachi and Remi only had sex that once. Remi was the only one that gave the month time-frame. Also from the conversation she had Ruki it was about since Sachi slept over at Remi's and borrowed her clothes. Ruki then assumed that was the date they started having sex together. Also from the confession Sachi gave Ruki she admited to doing lots of naughty things, but she gave no indication of an extended engagement, so to speak.

My issue is that the only actual points of reference of time was Sachi mentioning it was the rainy season while she was with Remi, and the Ruki commnenting that was already summer in the following. From what I have read the Japanese rainy season in from June to July. At this point I may be over thinking it, I am not sure if Ruki was making comment about it being the season of mummer or summer vacation. Which from I can remember from other sources is usually the month of August. Although Remi made the comment that Sachi was at home writing a report and Ruki is obviously still busy doing all her schoolwork, driving lessons, and working which is why she hadn't contacted Sachi yet.

Also it would make more sense that Sachi would forget her cellphone after a single night instead of one into an extended liaison. Plus this makes more sense for the characters in general. I couldn't see Sachi continuing on with an affair for that length of time. A moment of weakness certainly, but not a prolonged act of cruelty against someone who she may not have loved then but definitely cared about. I think that is why I had such a hard time understanding how I felt since this one issue just seemed so out of place. Furthermore it makes more sense for Remi character's since I think she just wants to see the world burn. Since I think from the conversations in Chapter 12 Remi was abused by her father for an extended period of time.

I agree... but it could be otherwise as well. I think Remi overstated it.

[A lot of people have commented on the the first scene in chapter 13. I think that is from three months ago when Sacchi and Remi first did it. The first time it was shown from Sacchi's point of view, this time it is Ruki's.]

I decided to go back to the beginning of the "more than friends" relationship between Ruki and Sachhi to review it and make sure everything is in context... here are my thoughts:

Reasons why Sacchi isn't as much of an iron-plated female dog as people are painting her as:people are painting her: (In spoilers because it is gonna get long and have quotes and stuff... Feel free to just skip it if you don't feel like reading long, boring exposition... I did it more for me than other people... LOL)

Chapter 5, page 164 - Ruki is being a shoulder to cry on for Sachi, who broke up with her boyfriend after catching him in bed with another woman and Ruki gives her the charaacter towel that she had bought for her as a gift.

Sachi: "I feel like maybe it would be better if I didn't get involved in something... like... love again."
Ruki (fighting back tears at her saying that) "You'll be fine. Don't say things like that. If the people who love you heard that, they would get sad, y'know?"
Sachi: "Hehe, Does anyone like that exist, I wonder? Thanks Ruki-chan. You're so nice to me."
Ruki: "I'm not saying this to be nice or to comfort you y'know." I might make her feel bad if I say it now, but... "They exist. Because I... Love you Sacchan."
[Sachi says its no good because she thinks Ruki is going out with Remi, that gets cleared up, with Ruki breaking down in tears.]
Sachi: "I see...So that's how it is... Then this present was... I get it..." [smiling ever so sweetly and holding up the towel] "Say, Ruki-chan. Do I have to give you an answer right away?"
Ruki: "No, Its okay. Whenever you feel like it.".
There is absolutely zero commitment at that point. They are friends, with the potential of more, nothing else.

Over the next few chapters they go on the occasional date and talk a lot while the Meru situation blows up around them and Fuu and Asuna's relationship dissolves into nothingness. Ruki does things like falling asleep at the movie, spacing out because she is worried about Fuu and not really listening to Sacchi, despite Fuu telling her to just concentrate on Sacchan, and obviously, to Sacchi's point of view, not sharing her troubles with her.

When Ruki finally tells her about how Fuu's break-up and Fuu not talking with her about it has her down and how she doesn't feel very comfortable hanging around Fuu right after her break-up, Sacchi gives Ruki a piece of her mind, telling her to take care of her friend, going as far as giving her a twack to the forehead hard enough to hurt both Ruki's head and her finger. Then she talks it over with Asuna, of all people, and all parties seem to feel better for it. When they get together later, Sacchi gives Ruki a sweet pat on the head to congratulate her on helping Fuu come to grips with her break-up. It is a very clear sign of affection, but still no commitment here. The section with the two of them ends with Ruki asking Sacchi if she could take a later train... The implication is that the beginning of the next chapter occurs that night.

Chapter 10 starts with what seems to be a flash-back to that night, when they first had sex, with Sacchi's thoughts accompanying it:
Sacchi: The first time I had sex with a woman was in the winter, about three months ago.
Ruki: "I Love You, Sacchan."
Sacchi: [i]hmm... What am I supposed to say to that?[/i] It was a cold day and it was snowing. I was happy she was serious about me. "Thanks." [i]Ruki is so slender. I can wrap my arms all the way around her... It feels different from a guy. But that she'll calm down if I let her do me is the same.[/i] Things became unclear between us.

They then proceed to run into Sachhi ex, which throws both of them off a bit. Ruki is concerned, but doesn't want to be pushy. Sacchi gets contacted by her ex who asks her to introduce him to Ruki. Sacchi's reaction to that is the first sign that she might have actual feelings for Ruki. She is terrified of her ex and afraid he might even rape her, but she absolutely does NOT want to introduce him to Ruki. She wants to talk to somebody about it, but Ruki is busy with work and her driving class. Sacchi decides to ask Remi for advice, which is probably the biggest mistake anyone could make.

Remi convinces her to just refuse to introduce him to the girl. (Sacchi doesn't say who it is but says she won't introduce her to him.) Remi considers her a pain, but understands that she is legitimately scared. She tells him to turn down the request and to tell him to stop contacting her. He actually apologizes to her for asking and for all the stuff that happened. Sacchi is so relieved that she cries. Remi seizes the opportunity to pounce on a vulnerable girl and kisses her. Sacchi is freaked out by it. She realizes on the way home that telling Ruki about what happened is a bad idea, though it might have been better in retrospect if she had, because Ruki could have warned her to stay away from Remi's predatory advances.

So, still no committed relationship, but Sacchi seems to have legit feelings for Ruki stirring, though she hasn't acknowledged them or told Ruki that she loves her or even agreed to go out with her on an exclusive basis. Sacchi's thoughts on Ruki at this point are as follows:

Ruki-chan is cute, earnest, and doesn't get angry. She's a really good girl. Even when we do it, she treats me so nicely. So why... Why does such a good girl say that she loves me, I wonder? I'm sure that someone much more suitable for Ruki-chan will appear some day.

It is clear that Sacchi doesn't consider their relationship long term at all and really doesn't love herself, let alone anyone else.

When Fuu asks Sacchi how things are going between her and Ruki, she just gives her a creepy smile that makes Fuu shudder and decide that it isn't worth the trouble to jump into that mass of dysfunction. (Typical Fuu... if she didn't avoid the tough stuff so much, so many things in this story would have been much smoother, including her and Asuna's relationship, which really shouldn't have broken up...

Ruki is insanely busy and they don't have much time to spend with each other. Ruki is worried that Sacchi hasn't contacted her, but specifically thinks that she doesn't want to tie her down because she is different from her ex. (complete with the dog collar visual...)

Meanwhile, Sacchi is waking up in Remi's bed. Remi assures her that nothing happened, just that she got too drunk with the rest of the girls last night and couldn't get back to her own home, so Remi brought her to her place, changed her clothes (into a racy, leopard print cami), and fixed her breakfast. They have a discussion about who would make the better wife, with Remi leveling heavy "You aren't really gay" hints at her. Sacchi talks about how she is having trouble understanding herself and states that being controlled by her scary boyfriend was easier in a lot of ways. Remi gets totally turned on by this vulnerability, thinking that "lovesick girls are seriously cute", which kind of indicates that Remi gets that Sacchi is falling for Ruki.

When Sacchi says she wants to go home to change, Remi tells her that she wants to see the "stronger side of her" and suggest that she borrow some of her clothes and get her some make up on the way to school.

Ruki notices that she looks different and thinks it is really cute, but is kind of zoning out. Fuu asks if everything is OK with them and points out what looks like a hickey on her upper arm, wondering why she wore a sleeveless blouse with that mark on her arm.Remi watches as Ruki freaks a bit about the fact that it looks like a hickey. When they get together, Ruki asks her about it and Sacchi genuinely is surprised that it is there, having no clue about it.

As they are about to part, Ruki asks Sacchi where she was last night and she tells her she was at Remi's. Ruki freaks a bit about that, since she has ... mixed memories .. of spending time there. Remi goes through all of her issues with it in her mind, realizing that the problem is hers because of her "mistake" last year and that if Sacchi says nothing is going on, she should believe her. Then thinks:

What am I to Sacchan? There's no reason for her to tell me everything in the first place.

We then find out that this is all happening during her driving lesson and she nearly crashed the car because she was so distracted.

The next chapter is where everything starts hitting the fan. Sacchi confronts Remi about whether she and Ruki had done it. She has a diagram showing Ruki --- loves --> Sacchi and Sacchi --- don't know --> Ruki, as well as Ruki <---did it last year ---> Remi.

It is clear that Sacchi is still not clear on how she feels about Ruki at this point. Sacchi comments that it didn't seem like it was the first time for Ruki, though she said she had never been in a relationship, so the thing with Remi explains a lot. Remi seduces her, but tells her she has to initiate it with a kiss, but not to expect it to stop there.

After having sex, Remi teases Sacchi about showing Ruki, who is working so hard, how she looks right now and Sacchi calls her awful. Remi asks if she is the only awful one, Sacchi says:

"I know I'm a more awful person than I thought I was. There's no way I can say anything bad about my ex-boyfriend now. Remi proceeds to spout a bunch of promiscuous philosophy, saying that it is normal to give in to temptation and that neither her or her ex are really awful, that in 10 years, her ex will be a normal :"good dad" and that Sacchi will "probably forget about your college experimentation, become a normal adult, marry normally, and live a normal life." Sacchi agrees with a smirk and Remi bites her shoulder and says, "But for now, let's fool around and do lots of bad things."

Fast forward a month. Ruki has gotten her driver's license and is talking with Fuu about the fact that she has been so busy she hasn't even been able to tell Sacchi about her plans to take her on a trip. It is clear that the fact that she stayed at Remi's is still weighing on her mind and probably part of the reason she has not really been seeing much of her over the past month, in addition to being way to busy. She is hesitant to even send her a text telling her she got her license. She decides she wants to hear her voice so she calls her and...

REMI ANSWERS!

Ruki asks her to go on a drive, which is typically scary. She confronts her about whether she is sleeping with Sacchi, which Remi gladly tells her they have been "doing it like crazy" for about a month and that they did it last night. Ruki asks if they are going out and Remi says no, she asks her why she is doing this and states that she just wants to make Sacchi happy and Remi retorts that "Sacchan's as straight as they come. She's not even bi. There's no way a woman could make her happy. To her we're no more than sex friends." Ruki reacts angrily, Remi kisses her forehead. Ruki asks her if she hates her or something and she tells her she likes both of them, but she just wanted to see her hurt, jealous face, pretty much. (Remi really lacks worth as a human being.) Ruki leaves, with Sacchan's phone and without Remi, who doesn't feel safe riding with her right now, for good reason...

Ruki thinks back to the first time she had sex with Sacchi, remembering that she wanted her to like her and accept her, and if she didn't, she wanted her to tell her. She notes that it was a "gentle acceptance, but just as much a refusal." In other words, Sacchi has still, to this day, not actually accepted Ruki's feelings and she understands that. In other words, she doesn't consider what Sacchi did with Remi to be cheating, it just hurts her to think that she was having casual sex with someone else and not making an effort to see her or respond to her feelings.

She goes to Sacchi's house to return her phone and asks her out on a date. Interestingly Sacchi wonders if she wants to go to a hotel, which pretty much says what Sacchi thinks of their relationship. (That is isn't really any different than her and Remi's, or that sex is all that really matters to people who say they love you? Not sure which.)

Ruki takes her on a drive, horribly. Gets lost, Sacchi notices Remi's perfume in the car right away and Ruki says they were on a drive earlier. (One wonders if Sacchi was a little jealous there, or nervous?)

When Ruki gets lost and breaks down crying, Ruki talks about wanting to make the girl she loves happy but being a failure. She mentions that she wanted this to be the last time before she gives up. Sacchi takes over driving and takes them where they were going, which turns out to be a bad luck date spot.

They talk about her ex and why she dated him and Sacchi talks about how she figured that she was supposed to date a strong man who would control her and "drag her along" and protect her. She tells Ruki that she was happy when Ruki said she loved her but thought that someone would surely come along to protect Ruki soon and had never really thought about a real future with another girl. Pretty much confirming what Remi had been saying up to this point. Ruki says she worked hard to get stronger for her and Sacchi tells her she did work hard, then tells her about her fooling around with Remi. She actually does phrase it as cheating, suggesting that she did feel bad for about it to some extent, but says that she really enjoyed sex for the first time, indicating that she hadn't really enjoyed sex with either remi or her ex, and that she feels she is a much stronger person than she used to be. Then she tells Ruki that, seeing her crying in the car, she felt that SHE could be the stronger person to protect Ruki and that it was the very first time she felt that. Ruki asks if this means she wants to go out with her, which seems to confirm that they hadn't been going out officially. Sacchi asks her why she is still in love with an awful person like herself and Ruki can't tell her why, is in a huge amount of pain, but still loves her beyond all comprehension. When she says she doesn't know where to start, Sacchi suggests with an embrace, and they do, and she teases her about her crying face being cute, which Ruki says is awful of her. Sacchi asks if she wants to do the love-lock thing that they bad-luck date site is famous for and she says there is no need.

The most telling thing that says that Sacchi is now ready to be a good girlfriend to Ruki and that she is actually in love with her is what happens when she gets home. She comes out to her sister.

That, my friends, is serious.

Sacchi did some bad things, she did some mean things, but she didn't actually violate Ruki's trust. They never had a committed relationship. They were dating informally, good friends, sex partners on occasion, but not in a monogamous, committed relationship. At this point, I'd say they are.

Sorry if this is overly long and massively redundant, but I felt that I needed to go through all that myself to really understand where things were. Frankly, I felt that Sacchi was horrible and being unfaithful to Ruki the first time through. Reading the chapters as they come out, I had forgotten how uncertain the relationship was. It seemed like they were a couple when, in reality, they were not. They were friends with benefits, and, it appears, that those benefits were really only on Ruki's side, as Sacchi was totally not into the sex they were having.

I hope there is some scorching hot sex between Ruki and Sacchi in the final chapter, with the two of them going off into a highly uncertain future as lovers who want to make it work for the long haul. I also want to see the rich girl and the food addict getting some serious aerobic exercise between the sheets. They are so right for each other! (I'd love to see Remi get hurt and torn to shreds, but she would have to be capable of emotion for that to happen. I don't want to see her physically hurt, that is not good, just emotionally scarred. To bad it won't happen.)

If Fuu and Asuna could get back together I would love it, but sometimes love isn't enough...

last edited at Feb 24, 2015 4:01PM

I had to double check and make sure that this wasn't the last chapter since I can totally see this would be how the series ends.

heh. there have been several chapters that i thought was the last. the authors gonna wring this manga dry.

on a serious note though, i predict another 30 or so chapters of bs 'til we get into the juicy yuri romance of the manga.

But that is where all of the really interesting stretches happen. I want to read those step-by-step instructions for things like the 69 stretch and the tribadism stretch. LOL

Reading the chapter over I am starting to understand sachi a bit. You'll notice that, up to this point, she really didn't take their relationship seriously. She thought that it would be nice if someone strong and capable came along to protect Ruki and assumed that Ruki's feelings for her wouldn't last. She never gave serious thought to a lasting same sex relationship. Sure, she felt bad about herself for cheating, but also learned that sex can be enjoyable, which, I gather, she hadn't experienced with either Ruki or her ex. Then, realizing how badly she hurt this girl who seems to love her, even if she doesn't feel worth loving herself, she realized that she actually does care for her. If she didn't realize that, I don't think she would have admitted to cheating the way she did. She didn't know that Ruki knew already, after all. She wanted to come clean and start over, if Ruki would still have her. The fact that she has come out to her little sister says that she is serious about the relationship now.

Sure, I would like to see some more remorse from her and a promise to be a good and faithful girlfriend from now on, but I don't hate that they stayed together, or that they finally really are together, would be more accurate.

It should at least have a Shoujo Ai tag. It is very clear that Ran leans that way and the Valentine's Day chapter certainly indicated that they share mutual feelings that go beyond friendship. I do wonder at the fact that they had that exchange and just... let it go...

last edited at Feb 18, 2015 9:28PM