Gigolette, huh...

An interesting conundrum.

Kasumi vs. Yurika: who'd win?

If they are competing for Sakurako, Kasumi wins hands down.

Yes, Kasumi wins. You can't beat true love, doesn't matter how smart you are or what tricks you use.

As a matter of fact, that's why I was so shocked when BugDevil wrote:

Sakurako could get literally any guy to fall for her if she even remotely tried.

Those are her words, saved for posterity.

Any guy. Literally any guy.

Like, a happily married man who loves his wife and family. He would abandon them immediately if Sakurako wiggles her finger at him. He has no choice, no free will on the matter.

Or a gay man who lives with his same sex partner, he would ditch him for Sakurako in a heartbeat. She's the cure for homosexuality. Her milkshake brings all the gay boys to the yard and turns them straight.

The mind, it boggles.

BugDevil fancies herself a warrior of political correctness, and will hurl words like "dumb"/"appalling"/"messed up"/"douchebag" at anyone who says anything against her dogma. It's incredible that, in her desperation to sell Sakurako as a beauty equal to Kasumi (a pet idea of hers, deemed absurd by everybody else in this forum), she ended up insulting both the faithfully committed men and the publicly gay men in the worst possible way. That's pc warriors for you.

last edited at Jun 6, 2019 1:02AM

I can't... I can't do it anymore... This is worst than Hino san cliffhanger, I'm dying peopleeee
https://i.imgur.com/kfrqCE6.jpg?1

Evil cliffhanger. Evil

^ I stand by what I said. :P

Haha didn't know there were peopz who thought Mari's tan was her natural skin color. I just expected it seeing as she's japanese(even if mangas/animes are super colorful in most cases) and a sporty track and field girl. Lots of mangas draw those kinda characters with a tan

There was a long discussion about that. The problem was, I think, the absence of tan lines at the right places. I mean, you don't get stark naked to do track and field practice... right? You wear at the very least shorts and a top - so you should get tan lines from that! And yet, her skin seemed to be the same dark shade all over. That's why there was some speculation that brown was her natural skin color.

And, well... as it turns out, it was a tan after all. ¯⧹_( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)_⧸¯

But so what does the title stand for?

From what Strike Witches told me, Fuso is ancient name for Japan, so FUSO and USA.

FUSSA

lol

Haha, I too was wondering about that. I like your explanation much better than it being an actual place. As far as I'm concerned, you've solved it! Thanks! ^.~

The next chapters? Sure!

You know how the story proceeds in arcs and we are now in the middle of the College arc, right?

Well, it is followed by the Graduation arc. Then come the Getting a Job arc, the Buying a House arc, and the Marriage arc.

And then, perhaps, the Science Babies arc. (Not 100% sure about this one.)

Hope this helped! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡~)～☆

isn't this published in a seinen magazine?

If you mean Monthly Birz, it went bung last year. It's no longer published.
Futaribeya is a web manga, these days.

So there is a website where you can find the untranslated Japanese chapters, all the way since the beginning?

All online chapters of Futaribeya are here:

Comic Boost website.

Aww they're still doing hair pearukku. ♡

Seriously, have you folks looked at actual Japanese street fashion? This stuff's pretty tame.

https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/tokyo-fashion-week-street-style-spring-2019

I'd overall agree that she wouldn't stand out in Tokyo much (they love layers...), but comparing what people really wear to a Fashion Week has never been a good glimpse at "realism" ^^;

I for one I'm happy we get to see these girls wearing lots of differents outfits, drawn in extreme detail, and in all sorts of styles.

There are too many manga where the characters wear nothing but one set of generic clothes and never seem to change.

(Or they switch between a sailor fuku at school and their one & only set of casual clothes everywhere else.)

Ok, here's a question:
How many of you have read or are reading Spotted Flower, by Kio Shimoku?
And another one:
Would you say it's worth being uploaded here on the Dynasty server?

I'm pretty certain it's not a licensed manga (Genshiken is, yeah, but this one is a different series by the same author) and I doubt it will ever be licensed (as the reactions of Western readers have not been positive, heh heh) so there should be no problem with that.

Hey, was that a kiss in page 28???

I think it was... even tho it's not shown distinctly... I mean, in panel 2 Nene and Taru seem to be face to face and close enough to touch lips... and in panel 3 we see that Taru is standing on tiptoes, which is a classic movie shtick meaning that you're trying to reach the lips of a taller partner...

I think they kissed. I'm guessing that's why sempai is smiling so smugly: she caught them on camera. I foresee lots of angst when Amane sees the pics.

Oh, and are those beads of sweat, or saliva just a few panels after? :^)

Hey... you're right! I can't believe I missed that. Laugh at me if you want, but I must admit I hadn't noticed at all. >_<

Taking another look, I also saw this:

https://dynasty-scans.com/system/releases/000/023/993/00029.jpg

Two beads of saliva on Nene's lips! :-D

(Well, either that, or just light reflected on her lip gloss or something... :P )

On a side note, it’s interesting how we don’t see Nene’s eyes whenever she has strong reactions in this chapter, like when she’s told off by her sister’s friend or when she’s blushing while staring at Kou.

I remember reading comments on that before... it's been suggested that the reason for that is to hide that, at those times, her third eye opens, lol.

Hey, was that a kiss in page 28???

I think it was... even tho it's not shown distinctly... I mean, in panel 2 Nene and Taru seem to be face to face and close enough to touch lips... and in panel 3 we see that Taru is standing on tiptoes, which is a classic movie shtick meaning that you're trying to reach the lips of a taller partner...

I think they kissed. I'm guessing that's why sempai is smiling so smugly: she caught them on camera. I foresee lots of angst when Amane sees the pics.

Oh, and, since they are at it, they will also crusade against the idea that a wealthy man will easily attract swarms of girls who find the allure of money irresistible, while a poor man (especially if he's poor and unprepossessing) will find that it's much more difficult for him.

Lol, and yet even the most airheaded girl knows it...
Like Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee: "Don't you know that a man being rich is like a girl being pretty? You wouldn't marry them just because of that, but my goodness, does it help!"

Haha, good quote. I don't recall which movie it is from, though. (Lorelei Lee? What kinda name is that? Half German Aryan, half Southern Confederate?)

This is especially true when talking about Japanese manga. Manga is created by Japanese authors for the Japanese audience, and yuri manga is made by Japanese yuri authors for Japanese yuri lovers. Yuri manga is not made for American lesbians. Nobody in Japan who is involved in manga creation gives a flaming rat's ass about the petty peeves of feminists, social warriors and pc-minded people in America. That's why trying to smash manga with the self-righteous moralizing of American political correctness is especially ridiculous and absurd.

This is actually a pet peeve of mine against certain American so-called experts on manga (cough Erica Friedman cough). Lambasting manga because it doesn't follow your political agenda and doesn't cater to the sensibilities of American lesbian feminists, which is what these reviewers do, is beyond moronic -- and leads to rejecting 95% of the yuri manga out there. But I have written extensively on the subject in the past, so I'll say no more now.

I remember. I think that was the longest piece of text I have ever seen in this forum since I am a member - which, admittedly, is not so long, only about a year.
Mind you, the difference between your post and a typical brick of text is that your post was actually full of good, detailed information about a subject that interested me a lot (and should probably interest anyone who wants to better understand Japan and manga). I call that an essay, rather than an ugly brick.

https://i.ibb.co/7N0X6dw/Clipboard01.jpg

There are two girls. One is incredibly beautiful. How do we know? Well, first, because of the way she's drawn, following the manga codes for feminine beauty. Second, because of the sparkles around her, meaning that her beauty is dazzling to those who look. Third, because the other girl turns SD when she sees her, indicating her shock in presence of such beauty. Fourth, because the heart of this other girl starts beating wildly in arousal. Fifth, because this other girl wonders if the one in front of her comes from another species, like a Tolkien elf, gifted with otherworldly beauty. Sixth, because the author FUCKING TELLS US SO in a caption with the narration: "An incredibly beautiful girl arrived!"

Great writing. Instant classic. Well done!

Why, thanks. (blush) I wrote that in two minutes, under feelings of extreme exasperation. I didn't even reread it before posting. It's good to know that it's been appreciated.

What should we make, then, of someone who suffers and agonizes while reading this manga, so much that they deny the facts in front of their eyes? Who launches into a logorrhea of bland moralizing where they denounce reality for failing to conform to their particular scripture?

I had to check the dictionary to make sure...

Logorrhea: pathologically excessive and often incoherent talkativeness or wordiness.

It's a very useful word. ^_^

Wow, harsh. But there is some of that in her last message... I mean, it's one thing to preach against the evils of the world (or what you perceive as evils), it's another thing to claim that those evils cannot exist because they clash with your notions of good and right.
When you try to deny that there are widely-accepted criteria of beauty in our world, that beautiful people are more successful at many things than those who are not, and that wealthy men tend to have an easier time with women than the poor and destitute, your whole argument is diving head first into stark raving incoherence, all right.

Yes.
I can tell you the exact moment I realized she had gone off the deep end - it's when she wrote this: "Sakurako could get literally any guy to fall for her if she even remotely tried." A person who writes something like this is out of touch with reality... or, at least, has gone completely out of touch with the reality of the manga we are talking about, and is now lost in her own little world, writing about the headcanons in her brain. In the real world, if someone starts talking in this way, you back away slowly and get out of the room. In a web forum, you start talking with someone else instead.

After all, most of us have lives outside the internet - and there is only so much time we can give to these things. It's better to invest it wisely.

I can't believe BugDevil and WhiteRose have been debating for several dozen chapters already, when everyone knows that the Bug menace has already shot down over a million Yuri ships and executed the survivors at Klendathu.

Really? I have discussed with her at some length... oh, two times, so far. The first time, the discussion ended when Nezchan told her to shut up. The second time, she ended up apologizing to me. I don't think she's such a terror.

For what I've seen, her main method of debate is drowning the opposition under an ocean of noise. She keeps posting bricks of text, repeating herself again and again, not caring if her points have been debunked, until everyone else is too tired or too bored to go on. My experience from other forums is that, when you meet someone like this, the best thing to do is to start ignoring them the very moment they start rehashing old posts - and focus on having a pleasant conversation with those people who post comments that you actually find interesting.

^ C’mon, BV—the argument may have become a little repetitive, but it’s gotten back on-topic, using specific evidence from the text, and is only barely testy (so far) around the edges. Gotta keep the criteria consistent.

Actually, the argument has been progressing... and, after reading the last posts, I think we have now the core of the problem in sight. It's like this: some people just can't stand the idea that, in our world, certain individuals are considered more beautiful or attractive than others. It goes against political correctness, and for these people the mere idea of challenging political correctness is absolutely insufferable. A social warrior makes their holy duty to fight the demons of "lookism" and "objectification" wherever they find them, never mind the context, never mind reality, never mind how ridiculous or absurd this moralizing seems. Oh, and, since they are at it, they will also crusade against the idea that a wealthy man will easily attract swarms of girls who find the allure of money irresistible, while a poor man (especially if he's poor and unprepossessing) will find that it's much more difficult for him. Political correctness hates these simple facts of life, and will try to deny them every time they are met... with the result that pc warriors who try to talk about our world or our media usually sound so completely outlandish you'd think they are talking about planet Mars.

This is especially true when talking about Japanese manga. Manga is created by Japanese authors for the Japanese audience, and yuri manga is made by Japanese yuri authors for Japanese yuri lovers. Yuri manga is not made for American lesbians. Nobody in Japan who is involved in manga creation gives a flaming rat's ass about the petty peeves of feminists, social warriors and pc-minded people in America. That's why trying to smash manga with the self-righteous moralizing of American political correctness is especially ridiculous and absurd. Well, unless, of course, you have an agenda to push and you don't care how you sound to the people who listen; in that case, your job is done as long as you keep endlessly repeating the same speeches no matter how many times people explain your errors to you. Look at this scene:

There are two girls. One is incredibly beautiful. How do we know? Well, first, because of the way she's drawn, following the manga codes for feminine beauty. Second, because of the sparkles around her, meaning that her beauty is dazzling to those who look. Third, because the other girl turns SD when she sees her, indicating her shock in presence of such beauty. Fourth, because the heart of this other girl starts beating wildly in arousal. Fifth, because this other girl wonders if the one in front of her comes from another species, like a Tolkien elf, gifted with otherworldly beauty. Sixth, because the author FUCKING TELLS US SO in a caption with the narration: "An incredibly beautiful girl arrived!" And thus, we know from the very beginning that this story is about a girl who is incredibly beautiful and a girl who is not so... or, more precisely, who is short, thin, flat-chested, cute in a childlike or puppylike way, and very much the epitome of the kind-hearted but plain-looking female MC most Japanese girl readers can identify with. And it goes without saying that any normal Western reader is, or should be, perfectly able to do as their Asian counterparts. In other words: love the tale of how a humble MC girl wins the heart of a beauty who could have married a millionaire, and then enjoy without qualms as the story lets us relish the vicarious pleasure of their lovey-dovey bliss. What should we make, then, of someone who suffers and agonizes while reading this manga, so much that they deny the facts in front of their eyes? Who launches into a logorrhea of bland moralizing where they denounce reality for failing to conform to their particular scripture, and then accuses of subjectivity (of all things) those who understand the workings of Japanese fiction, take this manga at face value and accurately categorize it as a lovely wish-fulfillment story in the grand tradition of romantic fantasy that goes back to the early 19th century?

chapter 8 page 8 to this day still makes me cry tears of joy

I feel you.

Sniff.

♡
♡
♡

White Rose posted:

"Didn't you get an award in a sketching competition?"

Wait, what?
Is this a retcon? Or can anyone recall when it was mentioned before?

In any case, I have trouble believing that a judging panel would give an art award to Nikaidou if this sort of doodling is the best of her ability. And it took her an hour, too! I could have done better in ten minutes, and I totes suck at art. :-/

Maybe it was a competition against preschoolers? XD

and...

https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/325/934/060.png
is this the award she won?

@bubbleteabird, I think you solved the mystery. Good job! d(^ ͜ʖ ͡^)b

Ah, finally confessed... it was ve-e-ery indirect, but she confessed...
And the other girl was sleeping. ( ͡ಠ ʖ̯ ͡ಠ)

I can't believe you just called Fujishiro slutty... jesus.

Oh? You don't approve of the term? Interesting. I myself wasn't especially shocked or saw any problem with it, when I first read that post.
Sure, slutty in general use is not a nice word. But look at how she was in the beginning. She was dating that boy not because she had special feelings for him, but because he was the perfect picture of a dream boyfriend - the sort of arm candy that makes other girls crazy jelly. When she finds that he's a cheater, and he breaks up with her, she cries because of humiliation, not heartbreak. And, since their relationship was like this, we have to ask: what did she have to do, in the first place, to get him to date her? How much did she put out for him? I mean, coz he sure wasn't dating her for her nice personality. >_< As he himself stated: he only saw her as a piece of ass on the side...

last edited at May 21, 2019 10:59PM

Not that the main point is entirely wrong, but I was under the strong impression that in b&w manga, unless a character is specifically cited as being “part-Westerner,” (or a hair-dyeing gyaru) what looks like “blonde” hair is really assumed by convention to be chestnut-colored or otherwise just lighter than standard dark hair. In other words, the significance of hair color is primarily of function of a set of binary oppositions (dark/light, long/short, messy/styled, etc.) rather than of cultural associations, per se.

There are plenty of dark-haired beauties in manga and anime, after all.

^Yes yes, there are. I was about to say that myself. Hell yeah, there are! The blonde sexy girl (whether real blonde or only lighter-haired) is a popular archetype, but the Yamato Nadeshiko is every bit as popular. In all genres, yuri included! And the cool short-haired sporty girl is totally adored by readers as well! Right now, we were talking about manga series with stories patterned on the standard of old romantic dime novels. Well, two have been mentioned that are really big hitters, Marimite and Kase-san. In Marimite, Sachiko Ogasawara is a classic Japanese beauty from a conservative family; she has long black hair and masters all the skills of a traditional Japanese lady. In Kase-san, Kase is a splendid beauty no matter how you look at her, but she is also a tomboy with short black hair who has a "manly" personality and is also a star of school sports.

There are so many like them... oh, the list is huge! Trust me on that one, blondes are not the only "fetish" yurigirls go for. ( ͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ ~) – ✧

I found another good example in a manga that was just uploaded:
≀

≀
Then Nagi (the blonde) replies like this:
≀

≀
As it turns out, Chi-chan (who is a gloomy, unkempt writer living an otaku lifestyle in a room that looks like a garbage dump) has won herself the worshipful admiration of Nagi (a statuesque, stylish blonde belle) with the only book she ever published. So Nagi now wants to live with her and be her devoted servant, cooking and taking care of domestic chores and (it hasn't been mentioned yet but we all see it coming, yes we do) providing tender and attentive sexual services if Chi-chan feels like it.

Of course, to bring tension into the story, there must be some kinda token problem with the whole situation... and indeed, a problem rears its head when Nagi proudly declares herself a stalker! Oh no, taihen desu, stalking is bad! How can Chi-chan accept Nagi in her life now??? However, we, savvy readers that we are, can tell that this small hurdle will be overcome very quickly and very simply... as soon as Chi-chan realizes that when a gorgeous buxom stunner comes to you saying that she's crazy about you and wants to be your loving servant from now on, that's not called a stalker, that's called a dream come true. (˵ ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°˵)♡*:･

"Didn't you get an award in a sketching competition?"

Wait, what?
Is this a retcon? Or can anyone recall when it was mentioned before?

In any case, I have trouble believing that a judging panel would give an art award to Nikaidou if this sort of doodling is the best of her ability. And it took her an hour, too! I could have done better in ten minutes, and I totes suck at art. :-/

She could also just off the editor if he pushes too much.
And anyone else who starts talking to her crush.

Or she could be Count Dracula in disguise.
Or a female clone of Adolf Hitler.
Or she could summon Cthulhu, or bring an alien army to destroy Earth.

She could! She could, COULD!! Be afraid, be very afraid!

/sarcasm off

What's with this "yandere, yandere" litany I keep hearing?

There isn't even the smallest hint of Nagisa being violent of brutal. There are no reasons to believe that she would resort to bloody violence if she's displeased or if she doesn't get her way.

As far as I can tell, with the data we have, my best guess is that she is a big fan of Chi-chan's first book... so big, in fact, that she wanted to meet her, become close to her, and (perhaps) have a amorous entanglement with her. Nothing yandere about this.

Wow this is reaaally twisted and creepy. XD

No, this is reaaally cute and adorable.

I do have a quibble, however: I find the imouto character difficult to understand.
I had figured, from the title of the manga, that imouto-chan had already noticed her oneechan's secret feelings for her - and was totally ok with them! However, the more I read, the more oblivious she seems. Um, wtf?
Could it be that the author has decided to rewrite her as some sort of pure angel who is completely unaware of Shima's siscon?
If that's what it is, it kinda sucks.

If you took any random person off the street in any country, odds are rather high that they don't have any fetish at all.

Someone needs to visit the Kinsey Institute website and read a few reports.