I'm just glad that someone is even misidentifying others as lesbians. We've seen a similar gag before with Shino's kohai but a fakeout at least gives the illusion that Kuzushiro isn't 100% messing with us. It would be nice to have another queer side-character or anyone making Shino be introspective about her relationships.

Right now, what even is the main plot? Shino will study for sports medicine, and make peace with no longer being in high school and becoming independent. Nozomi will learn to feel slightly less empty and lonely, and to share her pain and anxiety. Eventually they stay apart or have a just-roommates ending. There's more to explore about Shino and Nozomi's mindsets but the human drama of coping with Taishi's death and post-traumatic growth has lessened over time. The story isn't stale but the long-term conflict is much weaker than earlier, unless the subtext is foreshadowing (hope). It's the same problem as some romances where the getting-together part has conflict and drama but the author loses momentum in the being-together part. I love this story regardless, I just no longer understand what it's aiming for if "that's the full story" as Shino's narration said at the start. Either we're in the wind-down after the main conflict or the wind-up to gay chaos.

last edited at Sep 11, 2022 6:23PM

Considering the poster is about a love festival, I think it would have been nice to see the translation again for the billboard. It's a bit funny to meet a cute girl underneath an advertisement for love and peaches.

Mu's expression is so different and eager on the staff board that I'm more interested in why she's so slothlike now than how the heck this woman is the Farm Director and Sixi's boss. Mu's eyes are sometimes a bit blank, as she rested against the billboard, and when she gave up on talking with Shi, I really like how the art uses eye-shine when a character is interested but in this chapter the contrasts in her expression made me expect Mu has reasons for losing her enthusiasm.

As for any above replies, I think it's useful and interesting when people use descriptive definitions to talk about art. Not much can be said about people with just hard-edged prescriptive categories, especially for gender expression, orientation, and neurotypes, all of which are usually indistinct. Mu is definitely diverging from mental norms and not straight, so that's neurodivergent and queer. Maybe we can call her a newly-aware lesbian if we're daring with our labels.

So cute. How heart-meltingly sweet. Elsa looked cool when wishing Evie would share the burden. Would Evie explain things a bit before confessing? I think that's the flow.

Predictions:
* This deviation in the plotline was to bring Elsa where she would meet the Demon King or prince or whatever. The demon was somehow connected to Miss Dahlia and was searching for her before or after being injured. In the other timeline(s) Miss Dalia never revealed herself to the demon.
* The Demon King will fall for Evie because comedy.

Less supported predictions from most likely to least supported:
* Demon Yvonne is a mare that regressed with Yvonne into the past, and maybe even a duplicate of the one that deviated from the plot by possessing Elsa and was killed by Evie. Evie couldn't be possessed twice so the mare attacked Elsa. The only reason this high-level mare can't control Evie is the time-leap Elsa blocked or delayed it early on.
* Evie was adopted, that's why Dalia considered her memories incomplete. It's also an excuse for why her style includes apparently-invisible hair clips identical to what Elsa wears, as a "don't forget me" sort of memento.
* Evie is more or less the same as the other Yvonne and lost her memories in the time-leap reincarnation. She got new ones instead to replace the trauma. Because she was possessed by a mare until late in the story, her pride and sensitivity were amped up. Maybe the obsession was attraction warped into hate. So the extreme character truly was Evie but drugged and brainwashed and things got out of hand after meeting Elsa. Elsa figured this out eventually and rescued Yvonne, and Yvonne may have even been rehabilitated, but Yvonne was still executed in at least one timeline.
* Time-leap Elsa is a counterpart to Yvonne's missing memories of her past life, and only present like a guardian angel. Elsa eventually died too, slightly similar to the couple in the original tragic ending to Evie's favorite book. This timeline is more like the happier remake play. So the duplicate Elsa is a spirit who will fade away naturally, which will avoid some of the plot shenanigans of having a time-traveling duplicate. I wouldn't be surprised if this spirit is powered by love or something.

last edited at Sep 7, 2022 1:27AM

An 18.5 insert chapter would help quite a bit. Where are the chapter titles from? I don't see chapter numbers nor titles on twitter. In any case if the author left out a relevant event for things to make sense I'm not going to worry about it yet. I've liked Agu / Arai Sumiko's other manga, so I'm not worried it will be too brooding or lose mojo as an episodic series.

Aya's straight-faced emotions are unclear. I could try to guess based on where a story would likely go but there's not much evidence. She definitely isn't blushing as much as when Mitsuki became the "Prince" before. That's kind of nice actually. Things are vague enough for wild mass guessing. My guess is this comic is lesbian but Aya doesn't feel that way at this point, because some of the charm is gone and she will feel ambiguously about the awkward-but-cool Mitsuki in a way she can dismiss. The guess can be disproved in like a week.

anyone else getting serious psychological horror vibes coming off chapters 18 and 19? like... you felt that right??

what are you talking about?

Not sure how to explain it. It’s just the vibes I’m getting? “Slight” probably would have been a better word to use rather than “serious” but I feel like editing my comment now would be disingenuous. So the chapters gave me slight psychological horror vibes. I’m Not saying that is the direction the story is going in at all but there is definitely something interesting happening with the tone of these two chapters. From my perspective at least.

I wouldn't say it's horror per se, but these two chapters explore similar concepts in a similar style to psychological horror. Specifically, both are very much focused on the extreme cognitive dissonance that Aya has experienced upon realizing that Mitsuki and her crush are the same person. I am not a fan of horror, but from what I know about the aforementioned subgenre, it often explores the same kind of dissonances, albeit exaggerating and embellishing them with fantastical elements. Also, the fact that we are only given glimpses of what is going on in Aya's head at the moment may be further enhancing the feeling of suspense that you are picking up on.

Cognitive dissonance! Thank you. I couldn't find the words the past few chapters. I got as far as disconnect due to confusion, and being disconcerted due to reality not matching her thought. So yeah, Aya can't resolve the contradictions among her thoughts and feelings yet - cognitive dissonance. Aya might even be feeling the sort of mourning for her past beliefs, though all I'm sure of is she is getting over stinging shame and embarrassment.

last edited at Sep 5, 2022 11:29PM

Try Pop Team Epic after seeing it on the main page
Newest comic references t.A.T.u., a real band marketed as lesbians (they weren't but there's a few good songs)
Comments reference a comic which turns out to be transphobic joke 2/2: 'what if a deceitful gender fake looks and acts wrong (like by going into a forbidden women-only area)'. A lazy stereotype fails to blend in. WTF. Not surreal.

The quality, brainlessness, and wasted time in this manga balance out at 0. I pass. Your mileage may vary.

This almost certainly wasnt the authors intent but Xiaoen feels very nuerodivergent to me, I think its cool even if its unintentional

I think it's already fair to say Xiaoen isn't neurotypical. Whether or not the author thought about labels in their stories or own life is secondary to Xiaoen's actions. Watching Xiaoen is a treat so far because she focuses on such different things than others.

This story is good so far, and it's nice to see farm / orchard workers as major characters. The art is amazing with some really great (cheesy?) moments. Golden Orchid and Ichirin no Hana are some kind of yuri sommeliers for sharing this.

last edited at Sep 1, 2022 5:16PM

I like this slightly messed-up premise way better than premises where the System / Admin is trying to coerce the main character towards falling in love with the lead. Fight the system with the power of lesbian!

Just when Yvonne was deciding to form a long-term stable relationship with Elsa, even more than as roommates, things go bad... This chapter may not be as ridiculous as a full-on interrupted confession, but it's gut-wrenching seeing Yvonne go from taking a huge step in the ambiguous relationship to Yvonne being forced to be cruel to Elsa. The next few chapters will hurt a bit.

We know Elsa can see Yvonnes expressions and freezing up, but I still find it a bit amazing that she rarely fears Yvonne's mood swings and keeps trying to satisfy (or rescue?) her girl. It'll be really underwhelming if Elsa doesn't eventually reveal a solid running interpretation of Yvonne's reactions to the System pop-ups beyond being concerned for 30 seconds.

That kiss wasn't romantic at all, just nervous. It got me a lot more curious! Mariya's feelings, when surprised, weren't all that deep - but Tenma seems to care for her.

Tenma has a fancy name but doesn't seem too attached to fancy lifestyles. Well if paying back Mariya is sharing your inheritance with her then I guess it's fair, though that probably-immanent plot is a bit too idyllic. Bring on the twists and turns.

After the drama it's nice the two of them may become close enough to go shopping like this someday. A day with no gender confusion, no embarrassment about being uncool, no embarrassment you flirted with a girl, no anxious secrets... just absentminded touching and debatable fashion choices. And taking a call while your girlfriend* shops. It's a good end!

Aya's simple skirts in 18.1 and 9.1 flow well, and show personality, but I don't get Arai Sumiko's logic logic with Aya's new shoes. I really don't like the lack of heel counter with the uneven soles ... they're probably not a safety hazard but that particular kind of fake ruggedness irks me.

I'll say again that I appreciated the discourse. Mitsuki is being totally chill about this and giving plenty of consideration to Aya; I like that mindset just fine. Aya isn't seeming insulted though so I can't wait to see her views on events!

It's fine to extrapolate arguments from examples and metaphors. That's part of the fun of literary criticism! Though that's not fun for all. The more angry and dismissive comments creeped me out sometimes, a first for this site. Forgiveness and no grudges but like... myself and people I know lived similar stuff to the story at times, it's very common, very mood for butch folks and trans folks. Lived experience: every extended misunderstanding (say on gender or sexuality) has different nuance for logic, decency, and safety. Mitsuki's familiar worry is gratifying, heartwarming in a way. Disagreeing with her is fine too (edit: she's kind of a coward). Please remember there's all kinds of folks and experiences relevant to enjoying or talking about a story that may not be obvious from our own experiences. I love that about fiction; parallels and disagreements highlight parts, additively.

It's really cool to see this portrayal of something familiar, and the premise (and art!) resonates widely enough for 69 pages of comments. Wow.

last edited at Aug 25, 2022 8:36PM

Oh and the VP is dying 100%, calling it now. This chapter is an obvious death flag. Villain's stoic sidekick gets a tragic backstory chapter? She dead.

Maybe. I agree with the flags, and the description of VP being the main serial killer and prez being her idol and her weapon weapon. I expect Prez will kill her or murder-suicide. Then the broader mystery continues because these two (thankfully) aren't the main antagonist.

Having just binge-read Walk to Death, I want someone like Tokiko for an antagonist too. We know there's some supernatural element in play, from Satsuki's grade-level, so a curse or ability makes sense. Komachi is a bit different sort of psychopath than Tokiko but we have no evidence she's supernatural, though Komachi could be willing to facilitate murders and suicide. Satsuki and prez have been surrounded by deaths they could prevent, but it seemed like the number is even higher since high school. Maybe a third person can see bodies and the influence tripled? Or maybe Satsuki and prez have no pull towards deaths unless there's a third party involved (like VP).

last edited at Aug 25, 2022 5:20PM

That was amazing. I worried that I'd have a difficult time staying engaged but Tokiko, and reactions to her, was an absolute treat.

The biggest downside for me was I wanted a bit more breathing room in the story for us to see more sides of Tokiko's personality. It would have been nice to see her alone, or her devious or talented sides with Natsuki, beyond short flashbacks and the extra. Nowhere in the story did the teen Tokiko behave like she did in the extra fight against Satsuki. Tokiko was a psychopath who stuck to simple logic, sure, but she had a wide range of emotion. I love characters with uncommon but otherwise reasonable minds!

I feel a bit mixed that I was wanting to see more deaths by the end, I guess that's also easier than reading the emptiness and confusion left behind. The resolution was a very rationally satisfying explanation but the curse was unsatisfying intuitively. Or maybe tragic, if that makes more sense. I don't exactly pity Tokiko, but her cosmic situation was too cut-and-dry negative. Her lack of desire saved people, and her learning to desire would have been even more disastrous. Oh well. Her happy reaction to being empty fit with the narrative perfectly.

Aww, Michinaga truly died. I liked her character. She held too many clues, and was too able to be rehabilitated, for her not to be removed from the equation in some way. The scenes leading up to her death felt like a walk to an execution, and there's already Seo's survived-but-damaged plot so two was unlikely. The student council went as far as killing one of their own, and even worse they were around her as she was affected by bad influences, so Michinaga damns their whole good guy argument.

Vice pres seems to have mentally broken in elementary school... Pres is cynical and has a savior complex, but VP seems to enjoy suffering and is worshipful of the guy. At least we have an idea what their bond is now.

I'm curious how Satsuki will change in the wake of being unable to stop a murderer. Everything is happening while Satsuki has no backup and no emotional support. Eventually Akira is going to have a tragedy arc and won't be much help. I'm now guessing Akira won't die, but her dad could see her mom's location by Akira's GPS so her mom is likely going to be murdered.

last edited at Aug 25, 2022 3:02AM

I only came here to say Aya is blaming herself, and I'm not even 100% sure Aya grasps the situation yet. I guess we'll see how Aya thinks about the friendless girl who has basically only smiled at her but otherwise kept to herself... If she buys into Mitsuki's mood, how could she expect someone like that would throw away a close friendship, even if Aya is someone Mitsuki could never fall for? Mitsuki did the same flattered accidental flirting when she was surprised by Aya at work (and had planned to come out as female to Aya that day), and when Aya used Mitsuki as an excuse to not be alone with the guy. So Aya noticed Mitsuki's identity just after telling a half truth and using Mitsuki as a convenient shield. Aya accidentally became a lonely girl's only friend, by crushing on her, and never outright talking gender. Aya didn't think anything out, may not have expected much progress on the crush, definitely didn't expect to be attracted to a woman, may even think Mitsuki is romantically dense, and now the mortification is hitting.

And I will never recommend Nettaigyo, but your mileage may vary. It had an uncomfortable resonance of character loneliness that I'm sure is a beautiful aesthetic to some, but for me it felt like indistinct mud. I don't feel burned, or that the author wasted my time, though I guess it would have been better to never start it so I didn't have to finish.

In any case I don't think this story will get that muddy even if the mistaken attraction doesn't lead to dating (give that time though).

I appreciate the passionate responses people here have shown about human rights. Stories reflect people and as our understand of what people can be evolves, that deepens stories rather than entrenches cliches. It's enriching to have more perspectives to examine things.

What if Mitsuki was a trans man? Let's assume for a moment that Aya got the gender right but not the assigned sex. After all Mitsuki's real self is cool and stylish, she's stealth at school, and she swears to stop wearing skirts when she's an adult. In that sort of situation there's even more reasons why Mitsuki's real persona would be a secret and both sides of that dual life would be separated. There's no reason the (low-testosterone) body matters at this point. The "boku" pronoun Mitsuki has used isn't out of line for women. If Mitsuki was a man there would be no reason so far to ever talk about sex assigned at birth. And your junk only needs to be mentioned immediately before a potential situation to use it comes up because coming out and spilling your medical information to someone carries large social and emotional risks, and a risk of physical violence. Awkwardness can be survived, and you should minimize putting yourself at a disadvantage to someone you don't trust.

If sexuality wasn't at issue here, would the deception-by-omission be different? Let's say a popular person (whatever gender) liked a cool record store employee (of a gender they know they're attracted to). If the employee was secretly also the lanky quiet person sitting next to the popular person in class, with no gender issue, they may be delaying the reveal because it's all kinds of awkward. So far the relationship hasn't passed any barriers beyond the platonic range. I think this would carry if the employee was a gender they know the popular person is attracted to though not the one the popular person thinks they are. There are a lot of grounds for mutual embarrassment even if sexuality was less of a potential conflict here.

The real situation has elements of those two examples, and not much else. Gender or birth sex let alone what's in someone's pants does not obligate them to break their privacy and trust others with their well-being. Delaying the awkwardness is otherwise reasonable at this point in the relationship. Avoiding potential awkwardness and embarrassment, for liking a person or employing a person, are not reasons for them to share information with you that would not necessarily have changed their actions, especially with them bearing all or most of the social, emotional, and physical risk.

Mitsuki is not responsible for Aya having a crush on her. The potential embarrassment of flirting with someone not of a gender you like, because their gender expression was your type, is not an embarrassment worth someone else bending over backwards for you. The situation may be a teen drama tragedy for Aya, especially as it seems to be her first love, but at this platonic point in the relationship it's tragic in the funny-in-retrospect way like misplacing your lunch -- not tragic like someone stealing from her. The conflict is much more interesting when we can see both sides of it, without getting weirdly entitled about someone owing someone else.

last edited at Aug 25, 2022 5:40PM

Himawari simply needs support, and has taken Yurika's feelings for granted. It's the common situation where someone exploits a difference in attraction or sexuality for favors, cachet, or even pride. I doubt Himawari had ill intentions so much as she's just inconsiderate, desperate, and volatile. She may never have thought about it in terms of taking advantage of Yurika. Beyond that I don't think it matters if Himawari eventually saw Yurika romantically.

Reika's arc and Himawari's sub-arc are mostly inverse. I love how much juxtaposition is in each arc of this manga.

• Reika acted kind, took advantage of Yurika like a crutch for her own weakness, with purely selfish intentions, as a groomer, and apologized and made excuses like it was inevitable.
  
• Himawari acted irritated, implicitly expected to take advantage of Yurkia's kindness to cover her own weakness, with neutral or hopeful intentions, as a friend, and unfairly (?) blamed Yurika assuming things could have been different.
  

Next moment after this chapter is where Yurika saw Minamo having her "for the first time my... my heart gravitated towards...". I hope we get an acknowledgement of this.

Deep depression and less money for food are dangerous and hurt. Support yuri ( ﾉ ﾟｰﾟ)ﾉ https://masatsuka.fanbox.cc/

last edited at Aug 21, 2022 7:56PM

ch16:

Totally immersed in the book, Yvonne was getting worked up over the love story of two girls overcoming obstacles of class.

They were finally at this point... The mistress and the maid had finally agreed to elope!

It's clearer in the novel that the book is a love story, so it's far enough beyond subtext that Yvonne can't miss it. But her being lesbian for Elsa? It's unthinkable.

Also, everything we learn about Yvonne's favorite book series over time (in the comic) makes it sound way better than Goodbye, My Rose Garden which probably inspired it. So far it's similar and later it diverges.

I'm not sure about the mood in this series. The wish-fulfillment stuff is sadly relatable, but it made me uncomfortable because we didn't know enough about Tenma to see things from her perspective yet. She's just suddenly there like a mascot or purchase. Having no home sucks and can be very dangerous, so it makes sense how Tenma is very desperate and thankful. It's easy to see Tenma as suspicious though, especially only reading a chapter once in a while and forgetting the bit of empathy I had for Tenma in the previous chapter. Mariya is a total saint, and sadly an aimless blank self-insert protagonist, so it would be easy for a cute girl to play her. I can't tell if the manga is setting up smart stuff or has good ideas it won't fully execute.

If this was originally a monthly release I would feel like the manga is wildly fighting for its life, like trying to grab attention with a gimmick each chapter, hoping to buy time for its main plot to get momentum. But because it's 1 volume of 12 chapters I guess it's just odd pacing.

last edited at Aug 11, 2022 9:36PM

How did I not notice that the GF put back some books and other things that the NEET got rid of!? Oh good, so it was only packed. The girlfriend's love heart now has a different vibe to me.

Not just the same Switch but vibrant books (manga / LN) were put back in the exact same spots and order. Some other books magically changed colors.

last edited at Aug 8, 2022 2:05AM

Putting aside that Reika was going way too far by dating an innocent (second year?) high-schooler, she started the relationship knowing she was taking advantage of Yurika's expectations. From their early conversations, Reika probably even recognized that Yurika was deeply yearning for another lesbian to be in her life, which didn't need to be dating. (Yurika believed "I might not meet someone like this again in my life!") It's an unfair trade for Yurika. Maybe Reika was a just a creep, maybe convoluted manga writing (edit - now it seems like Reika was a totally realistic creep)

By her own standard, Yurika falls for people quickly, which has more downsides than upsides in real life. There's probably a phrase for this. Yurika also came to like Minamo very quickly when they barely had a conversation before their first 'home date', as the vulnerable and considerate Minamo kept furiously blushing at her. It's a bit sad but some of her sudden interest in Minamo may have been loneliness from Yurika being on the rebound and having low hopes for meeting compatible lesbians IRL, instead of just her warm sociability. (edit - the usual Tautology repetition comes into play for the "it didn't take me long to" at the start of 30 and end of 31)

Himawari's small appearances so far haven't shown her in the best light. Wanting Yurika to deny herself and always hide her sexuality is messed up, but I'm guessing that (maybe after initial homophobia) she thought it was for Yurika's own well-being. And an overprotective straight person can be possessive and feel betrayed about their bestie taking even small risks. (edit - she's much more nuanced and interesting in the next chapter)

last edited at Aug 13, 2022 1:51PM

I don't think Saki was relieved to see Rinne nearly as much as thankful to escape from the hand-holding with Kanon. It's like Saki was trapped and forced to illicitly steal warmth from her crush who seems to like men! Her emotions got stirred but they're not equally shared, so it's stimulating but feels a bit alienating. At least she applied that hand-holding feeling to the face for storage! How diligent.

Lacking ambient reference points and situational awareness in the dark is hazardous and can be exhausting, with many times the risk especially with some street layouts. Though I only know secondhand. Kanon is innocent but she could have just held Saki's sleeve like Rinne does. Hand-holding with someone she deeply trusts may be freeing for her but she dealt massive Damage-Over-Time to Saki. I wonder what she saw in Saki's nervous expression.

last edited at Aug 1, 2022 4:16PM

Thin-skinned arrogant pretty-boy --> adoring fan arrogant pretty-boy (NEW!)

I don't think he'll ever act malicious, he's just not reliable nor thoughtful. If anything he'll try to force Mitsuki and Aya to close the distance and laugh at the results.

That boy needs to find himself a boyfriend instead of interfering. I get he probably just admires stylish manly people for their craft, though...

Shino doesn't realize she's popular...

I think the tsundere kohai (Koizumi) is like Nozomi's gender-nonconforming friend (Heidi) in that both are set up to be pivotal characters if and when the sexual tension in this series finally snaps. And they're flavor if it doesn't. Koizumi's entire life is shaped by suddenly being forced to take care of her younger sister, and being rigid and fiery about it. She is a sisterhood fundamentalist who may be attracted to Shino, which is an explosive combo.

For instance, if Shino is outed to Koizumi as romantically attracted to Nozomi, a big sis figure and the teacher of the Koizumi's little sis, Koizumi will definitely be grossed out by the messed up sisterhood and age gap. Maybe she'll try to prevent her (platonic?) crush from doing something with Nozomi. Koizumi also may be used to verify super-dense Shino's orientation. Koizumi is fireworks prepared for if Shino is gay.

"Hot chocolate tastes so good~" "It sure does" "Sweet stuff really perks me up" "Yeah! Especially when they're warm" "You said it"
(same conversation) "Minamo, if you wanted to be with someone forever, what would be the most important?" "...A shared taste in food?"

When Minamo was put on the spot she nearly flirted. Nice. Lots of callback and mirror moments in this series.

More great cutaways to gestures that sell the emotions in a way closer to animation and storyboarding than traditional manga has space for.

last edited at Jul 24, 2022 6:18AM

If nothing else, the new pairing makes Gujou feel less tragic. Maybe I'm just distracted by the newly launched ship with Chou.

Gujou has mostly acted bittersweet and resigned, because Ibuki and Botan already like each other. This chapter could be a tad bittersweet but it felt like Gujou wasn't held back by anything anymore. The incidental new ship in this chapter was like a signal Gujou is moving on.