Huh… I’m going to be honest. It was cute, but it was also a bit underwhelming. So much was set up that just… never materialized. It’s like I’m looking at the bones of a story after someone has already picked most of the meat off. I can see the traces of something interesting in there- the barest trace of a fantasy star-crossed lovers story, a whiff of some action, the tiniest crumb of sexiness- but there’s not enough of anything there to actually be noteworthy.

Also, you can’t just call someone a “surviving demon” and then do nothing to explain why you had to use that adjective.

last edited at Feb 9, 2024 12:11PM

She's going to pass out isn't she?

I’d put money on that. Then again, I would have also put money on the beach date ending without any major progress, and look where we are now!

Edit: I just saw the raws for the next chapter. I can’t read Japanese, but I fear it may be worse than any of us expected.

last edited at Feb 9, 2024 3:15PM

For someone so analytical, the lass is still denser'n osmium lol

I’m all for some density, but I’m not sure I’d call this lady particularly dense. She was catching on until she misinterpreted the meaning of “uniform” and just immediately eliminated herself from the running. I wouldn’t give her the osmium treatment for that.

I’m thinking/hoping it’ll be the first option. This chapter at least shows that she cares enough about Makino to help her even after she refuses to come home, so she seems to at least care about her daughters in her own shitty way. She even apologized to Makino after realizing how much her recent actions had hurt her.

Should she be pat on the back for that? This is the bare minimum for a parent. It's not not a compliment to think, "Wow, looks like she does actually care for her daughter!?" That should have been a given. The floor for her is beyond low. Her feelings can be whatever, it's actions that matter in the end. Her actions have been terrible, misguided or not. If she didn't apologize and visit her own daughter in the hospital, she would have been a whole different level of trash.

She'll need to do a lot more than that and I'm not holding my breath. Her response to a previously aimless daughter finding a partner she loves, a place to live independently and confidently stating that she'll continue to study hard and succeed, is to wonder why things don't work out like she wants. It's still a negative to her. She's still just as self centered.

I’m not saying it automatically makes her a good person, just that there’s a tiny spark of a caring parent in there, behind the shittiness. It means that there’s still potential for her to realize how much of a shithead she’s been, and start trying to reconcile with her kids. It wouldn’t erase or excuse her previous terrible actions, but it would at least mean that Makino and her sister don’t have to keep viewing their parents as a potential threat to their happiness, and allow them to move forward without that baggage.

Also, you’re right, her wondering why nothing works out the way she wants is a sign that she is still a little self-center, and might indicate dark clouds on the horizon. Alternatively, it could be her first step towards realizing how bad she’s been. “Why does nothing go the way I want? Is it something I did?” Given how much this story likes to oscillate between angsty drama and mushy sweetness, I feel like it could go either way.

Who would have thought I'd be feeling kinda sorry for the mom

Don't, this is the consequences of her actions catching up to her

What with her basically insulting Reina's partner.

Then treating Makino like she is nothing, and only really taking notice of her when she is no longer a spare.

Also, the end there I see 2 outcomes, depending on how cynical we get, either mum comes to the realisation her shitty attitude has cost her, and properly tries to make amends, or she doublesdown and effectively gets herself cut off from her daughters.

I still have thoughts on the dad in this situation, like does he even know Makimo has left home.
I doubt he'd be different from the mum, just more so, is he even aware of what happened with Makino.

I’m thinking/hoping it’ll be the first option. This chapter at least shows that she cares enough about Makino to help her even after she refuses to come home, so she seems to at least care about her daughters in her own shitty way. She even apologized to Makino after realizing how much her recent actions had hurt her. She might stir up a bit more trouble before this is over (depending on how much longer this series will continue for), but I do think that, ultimately, this is a case of a mother who loves her children but is just isn’t aware of how bad she is at showing it, and I feel like the story will reflect that in the end and have them make up, at least a little.

And, if nothing else, she should love Mashiro once she gets over the whole woman thing. She’s barely been able to get Makino out of bed in the morning, yet Mashiro’s been able to get Makino motivated enough to work the point of exhaustion.

As for the dad, I imagine he just follows his wife’s lead on this stuff. Makino’s family definitely feels like the highly traditional nuclear family, where the husband focuses almost solely on work and the wife controls the household. Not to say he’s any better than Makino’s mom (her sister did seem upset with both of them, after all), just that he’s probably something of a yes man for her. If he is aware of what’s going on with Makino, he’s probably just leaving it up to his wife anyway.

last edited at Feb 5, 2024 10:30PM

As a writer myself, I brainstormed just now and came up with about 10+ other ways their childhood friendship could’ve been introduced that would’ve actually helped the pair synthesize more, as opposed to just giving us poorly written randomness

Alright Shakespeare, lay them on me.

Maybe one day the Dynasty forums will learn that ambiguity and incompleteness have been extremely common themes in Japanese art for millennia.

Since when has tradition stopped anyone from complaining about tropes in fiction?

I still enjoy the story but at this point Mai is like an industry plant, and with barely any marketing. We're just supposed to want her to win out based on....?

Is it really any wonder that many are supporting actual developed character relationships over empty pinning for someone we essentially don't know, based on a non-crush from when they were basically toddlers?

The setup and choices of this manga have seemed suspect the more it's become clear that we really are supposed to view Mai as an end goal, rather than a catalyst. "I Won't Sleep With You for Free," is almost the same type of story but handles this specific issue much better.

I do feel like introducing nanao, while positive in the short term, kinda went too far and is detracting from the entire idea of the lesbian brothel escapades the story was built around.

This has been my feeling as well.

Can you really call Mai an industry plant when she is the literal driving force of this story? Bear in mind that everything Asumi has done in this story, from Chapter 1 onwards, has been for the express purpose of meeting Mai. Going to brothels, getting her job with Nanao (and, by proxy, becoming Nanao’s FWB), none of this story would have happened if not for Asumi’s desire to meet Mai and figure out her unresolved feelings. In that way, Mai could almost be looked at not as a character, but as some sort of force that is driving the story along.

I also think Nanao’s whole story has had an important role in the story. This whole arc has basically demonstrated that Mai has become something of an emotional “block” for Asumi. You have this almost perfect relationship with a young, cute girl who is madly in love with Asumi. Just about anyone would jump at that sort of relationship, but Asumi seemingly can’t emotionally commit to it while Mai still remains unmet. It’s the sort of baggage that can, if left to fester unresolved for too long, can destroy relationships. Meeting Mai, then, has become less a matter of falling in love with a specific girl, and more a step that Asumi must take before she can allow herself to fall in love. I think that’s what the author was trying to tell us in this chapter.

Either that, or I’m just over analyzing porn.

Man, seeing both Kasumi's pain and Aizawa's despair really sucks...
It's weird though, that what happened went against her will.
Or maybe, her loneliness and lack of love is what keeps her as a ghost, but at the same time, she's really enjoying her time here and don't really wanna move on?
Thanks for the chapter!

That caught me off guard, too. The possession itself can be explained away as Aizawa being unable to stop it once it had been initiated, but the way she acted before the possession and after taking over Kasumi definitely felt like it was uncontrolled. It could just be jealousy (both in the romantic sense and in the “being alive” sense), but maybe it has something to do with the nature of ghosts in this work? We already know that most ghosts, save for Aizawa, seem to automatically become hostile once they realize they’ve been seen. Maybe Aizawa getting jealous of Kasumi’s relationship with Michi caused some sort of ghostly instinct to take over and force her to attack? It could also be related to her abilities becoming stronger.

I’m also wondering what broke the possession. Did Aizawa shunt herself out after realizing what she was doing (and if so, why), or did Kasumi somehow manage to regain control?

last edited at Jan 23, 2024 1:43PM

There isn't really a good or bad answer to Linda's excuse. Relying on a trustworthy prophecy to get the best outcome for everyone isn't a bad thing, but at the same time, choosing to trust a prophecy that claims a child must bear a burden (which is a literal torture) for the sake of others is never not irresponsible. Guess we just have to accept that she made her decision, anyway.

Looks like we're starting to head towards the end of the time travel part... I wonder if the issue has been resolved ? I assume the curse itself is still to be taken care of, but did Elsa taking on the curse was the solution to mitigate its power and prevent the demon attack ?

That they'd have to be separated was obvious, otherwise the timeline would be messed up. I'm not particularly seeing in a good eye the whole "You pretty much sacrificed your life for my family, but now you're a liability, so take this money and leave". Nobles gonna be nobles, and well, that guy already has a bad ending in store for himself, anyway.

TL;DR Adults suck, Evie's job is done, Elsa still unlucky.

My guess is that having a better understanding of what’s going on might help Evie to avoid whatever tragic future was being predicted for the two of them. There could also be a final revelation coming up that’ll hold some key to the future.

Also, in defense of Evie’s dad, his reasoning was less along the lines of “you’re a liability,” and more like, “if I allow you to stay here, then the very thing that you sacrificed yourself to avoid might come to pass anyways, so tell me what you need and go.” I’d say it’s pretty fair, all things considered.

She definitely could've worded that better lol, it's valid for her to not want to associate with her anymore as friends after confessing but making it seem like an ultimatum made this bad for the both of them

Well, a confession between two best friends/childhood friends kind of inherently is an ultimatum—it’s trying to get what you want at the risk of losing what you have, which is why so many useless MCs agonize about it so much.

Agreed, to both. This is a similar scenario to another series right now. Perfectly reasonable to distance oneself from a crush like that--just need to do it right. It's the reality of the situation. Can't force someone to date you but you also shouldn't be forced to feel that pain constantly. It's unfortunate, but the friend made her choice to date her. We don't know enough about them to tell whether the friend has feelings or not. Also agree on the headlock thing but I feel that was meant as a joke between friends (though pg13 could suggest something else).

I get what you’re saying, but I don’t really think this sort of scenario needs to inherently be an ultimatum. Even if the feelings aren’t mutual, sometimes just being able to get them out there is enough. I remember asking out a friend of mine in college and getting shot down. It hurt, bad, and things were a little awkward (at least on my end, don’t know how she was feeling) for the next few months, but we eventually got past it. I even attended her wedding a few months back, and felt nothing but joy for her. And I know there are people who have had similar experiences to me.

My point is, confessions between two friends only need to be an all-or-nothing ultimatum if the involved parties choose to treat it as such, such as is the case in this story.

last edited at Jan 19, 2024 3:36AM

Welp, there’s a relationship that’s not going to last long.

if not for the last page, it would have seemed that she was a straight girl blackmailed into relationship, but i guess there are some feelings?

There’s probably some amount of affection there, since they’re longtime friends, but I’m not sure if it would be enough to classify as romantic love. Regardless, even if it did have a chance of developing into love, the circumstances surrounding the relationship would make that incredibly unlikely,

^ It’s the pink one’s leg ya git. Look at the kneecap. If the orange git’s leg waz pointin’ dat direction in dat position, something would be very, very wrong.

And there we have it. Certainly not much of a father, but not the asshole many expected either, to the point that in the end he never even touched the money.

On one hand, that does say a lot about him. On the other hand, he did hold a woman at KNIFE POINT and (temporarily) stole his friend’s car so he wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of his actions, so I feel like it’s still fair to call him an asshole.

I absolutely adore how giddy Hinata is in this chapter. She’s literally bouncing in her seat in some of the panels here.

Hinata is thankfully not a cheat! Though to be fair if we took bartending as the relationship it is analogous for it does paint a very fun picture wherein Hinata is exclusive to Naori but Naori is open to pretty much all female ogres. Lmao

So you could say that Hinata is the leading lady in Naori’s Harem of Hooch, then?

so how come yuzu didn't mind extreme skinship in the past and now that it's revealed that she was in love since ages ago she's so self-conscious? it's like her character has changed tremendously in only 2 chapters, no consistency at all

If you’re referring to what they did when they were little, that might just be an example of childhood innocence. If your referring to Yuzu’s actions earlier in the story, it seems like she had done a pretty good job suppressing her feelings until the cultural festival, so I would just assume that she’s becoming too conscious of it now that her feelings have welled back up. Either way, I wouldn’t call it completely inconsistent, just somewhat.

I don’t know what happened to the pink girl’s legs, but they are freaking me out.

I don't understand how people would see this as pointless at all, it's just... puzzling. Does the story suddenly have no meaning now?

Yes. As they betrayed the primary point of the story. I have the same opinion about Your Lie in April btw.

What do you believe the primary point of the story is?

I don't understand how people would see this as pointless at all, it's just... puzzling. Does the story suddenly have no meaning now?

As for me, probably one of the best works I've read tbh

In fairness, I’ve had moments where I’ve criticized a story with an ending that made me upset in some way, especially when I was holding out hope for a happier ending. A lot of times it’s less of a “here’s my well thought-out critique of the work” and more “fuck you for making me feel these emotions!” I can’t actually speak for the people calling it pointless, but that’s what it’s been sounding like to me.

Well everything was pointless. All of that for nothing she dies, end of the story. It was too long for what its worth.

Death comes for us all eventually, but it is never the point. The point is the journey we take before it, and the people we meet along the way.

Fuck.

Kaori has to be the unluckiest name in anime/manga. This, Akira, Strawberry Panic, A Lie in April...

I mamed my siamese cat Kaori and it just got ran over.

I’m so sorry for your loss

it's becoming increasingly ridiculous that "oni" is being localized as "ogre". they're two very distinct creature types.

Why? Both are hulking, supernaturally strong, human-like monsters with a penchant for cannibalism. There’re differences, of course, but not enough to detract from the story. Plus, “ogre,” or “demon” tend to be the two most common translations for “oni” in English, and the former fits better here than the latter.

Photographic memory, good observational skills, strong enough to lift another person, lightning fast reflexes, and an interesting aptitude for magic . . . .

The strength, observation skills, and reflexes could potentially have been developed as survival mechanisms from whatever hell her "adoptive parents" put her through. Her magic may be some kind of "monkey see, monkey do better" baloney, but I'm going to assume from the pacing and immediate introduction of a rival that that's not the case - she was probably just kinda slapped together to be able to handle just about anything with little to no character development.

Ah, well, it's still interesting :)

Yeah, the first chapter had me thinking the MC was going to have to rely on her observational skills to survive the world of the nobility and all their scheming, low-power badass style, but now she can apparently use magic at an almost expert level simply by seeing someone do it once or twice (despite having almost no familiarity with it before said chapter). Add to that the fact that how unintentionally charming she apparently is, and my Mary Sue alarm is starting to go off.

I’ll probably give it a couple more chapters to see if this is all just a case of early story weirdness and my suspicions are wrong (which, considering the pacing so far, might constitute the entire story), but I’m not holding my breath.

TFW you’re so prone to overthinking things that losing intelligence can be considered a buff.

These two are taking the term “idiot couple” to a whole new level and I am here for it.

last edited at Dec 21, 2023 1:05AM

Hmm… you know, this is pretty baseless speculation right now, but I wonder if Lord was faced with an Azul-type situation when she was on her “magical girl hunt.” Baiser and Lord were already pretty direct foils for each other as sadist leaders, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for there to be a masochistic blue foil to Azul who was actually allowed to break, a la chapter 10.

Is… is that ghost hunting down Aizawa’s idol group one-by-one? I know this series had a dark side, but zoinks.

Ah yes, the good ol nebulous bloodspewing Japanese cough
At least we MIGHT know about how she died

In fairness, the Bloody Cough of Doom is a pretty common trope throughout the world. Even Shakespeare made use of it it. It makes sense, since coughing up blood is generally (although not always) a bad sign no matter where you are.