Judging by the comments on this site, I don't think watayuri is going to dethrone MagiRevo in terms of "studio being passionate about yuri and pulling a huge power move, shuffling around the adaptation specifically so they can adapt farther and explicitly have them be in love and kiss"

A show like MagiRevo is much more appealing to the average male viewer's fantasy. Yuri is My Job! can't compete in that regard, and I honestly don't mind. I think its writing quality speaks for itself.

because I really truly doubt it's possible to shove a minimum of six volumes into one cour

It's definitely possible, but the studio opted for a super faithful adaptation, without rushing anything nor skipping scenes (at least so far), and I respect them for that, as I love the current pace (whether it's the right decision from a business point of view is another matter). The problem with not adapting up to Volume 6 is the lack of a proper payoff and the possibility of people believing the series is Yuri bait.

On the contrary her actions and dialogues are pretty in line with each other, she says she hates kyo, then she cuts ties with her without hesitation and in a sense kyo´s death actually relieved her from her past, she now doesn´t have to apologize nor confront her eternal rival, she can just pretend that they had great relationship and sweep under the rug all the bad parts (that mind you were all shiho fault).

Shiho hated the fact that she was better at playing the violin than her, not Kyou herself, which I don't need to explain is vastly different. It's the same thing that happened with Aki: Shiho couldn't stand not being number 1 and decided to cut ties entirely with her.

I repeat, why would Shiho visit her grave regularly if she really hated her? Guilt might be a factor, but I doubt it's the only one, as we even saw Shiho crying in front of it while remembering her. At the very least, Kyou is her inspiration to keep striving for perfection. Or at least that's how I see it.

last edited at Apr 28, 2023 12:40AM

I don't get why momoka and Hajime are so fixated on shiho, is not like she was an integral part of kyo s life, they were fiends for a brief period of time and then she just cuted ties with her altogether cuz she couldn't take the L gracefully. Is just baffling seeing her lover and sister going to this random person that haven't talked to kyo in years and who she was presumably in bad terms and practically beg her to play music. The fact that till the day of her death kyo never actually got mad and always rooted for shiho while on the other hand shiho never acknowledged that she was wrong and deeply hurt kyo is infuriating

Neither of them (not Hajime at least) know the details of their fight, but they do know how special Shiho was to Kyou, as she frequently told them herself.

She herself said that she choose to play the guitar cuz kyo wasn't allowed to and that gave her a sick sense of victory. How on earth could you read it as she wanting to stay connected to her, kyo was still alive when she started playing guitar, she could just talk to her intead of being the worst friend ever.

Because Kyou was the most important person in her life before she met Aki. The things she said and did contradict each other as proof of this. Shiho uses defense mechanisms so she doesn't have to deal with the pain: For example, in Chapter 34 she said that Kyou was just an "acquaintance" to her and that she was even relieved that she died, but if that were true then she wouldn't have gone regularly as we saw to her grave to talk to her and tell her about her life, nor would she (as I wrote before) formed a band with Momoka and Hajime for Kyou's sake when she wanted to quit music.

Shiho loves to lie to herself, repeating in her mind that she is a heartless and selfish person. Acting way tougher than she truly is. But I am convinced that those are simply defense mechanisms to protect herself, as she can't deal with defeat in a mature way.

last edited at Apr 25, 2023 10:31PM

Oh wow, I nearly overlooked that. Not "some of her actions were wrong". All. All of them were wrong. Shiho did not do a single correct thing aside from breathing in oxygen.

She is doing her best (along with Momoka and Hajime) to keep the memory of her former friend/rival, Kyou, alive. Shiho formed her current band even though she wanted to quit music altogether at that moment. The reason why she chose to play the guitar was to stay connected to her, even though at the time she understood it as a selfish act (defense mechanism). People really underestimate the weight of carrying the death of a loved one, especially at that age.

That brings me to another point of critique of the series, though. Why would Aki even want for Shiho to be part of her life? We see that she does, but we do not really know why.

I would also like to see more about their relationship from back then, but with what we've seen so far it's obvious that she was the most important person to Aki.

Maybe Vol 8 will cover Aki’s journey to getting over her first love/reconciling with Shiho whether it’s platonic or romantic.

We are currently at Volume 9, lol. But yeah, I'd love to read more chapters from Aki's perspective.

last edited at Apr 24, 2023 8:13PM

I’m also wondering what’s left for our true mains? What other obstacles are in store for them and all the other girls?

The only thing left unresolved is Aki and Shiho's relationship (plus Shiho's internal insecurities), so I'm pretty sure that fixing their bond (and helping Shiho to be happy) is this manga's endgame.

I just find it amusing that a story which primary focus was low-brow comedy, T&A and fights got this specific topic so much more right than a drama series with focus on character relationships.

Shiho told Aki the truth just two chapters ago, so let's wait a little longer before jumping to conclusions, shall we? I mean, I don't think it would make sense from a narrative point nor it would be satisfying to the readers if she doesn't come to terms with why some of her actions were wrong (it's not like she doesn't know that, but her defense mechanisms have always been stronger until now), show accountability for them, apologize to everyone and finally overcome all her inner conflicts. Otherwise, a potential relationship with Aki would still be built on uncertainty and insecurities, almost certainly leading to more problems.

I hope she's not thinking something like "meh, what's the point of even watching them perform? I already won anyways~" YOU STARTED THIS SHIT! at least have the decency to see it through.. but that's worse case scenario, right? I mean, there's no way right?

I get your point and it's valid, as it would be disrespectful of her to not even watch their performance, but it was actually Aki, not Shiho, the one that made the whole bet regarding the winner of the band competition.

Don’t think Shiho will accept Aki’s word… Will Aki have to prove herself? And besides, just because she’s over Yori doesn’t mean she’s in love with Shiho. Will Shiho be more flexible about being friends now that Aki isn’t pining for Yori?

Is Hima gonna find her in the graveyard and drag her back just in time to see Aki sing about her? What will the next arc be?

All difficult questions to answer right now. I'm particularly intrigued to find out what Aki came up with in the span of a single day. I don't think she could write an entire new song for obvious reasons, so maybe it's an old song that's special to both of them?

Whatever the case, I'm having a hard time imaging what kind of relationship they'll have moving forward.

last edited at Apr 23, 2023 9:30PM

I'm assuming she realized that she'd settled her feelings with that hand touch. She no longer has her crush and probably hasn't had it for some time. She'll try to communicate that to Shiho with her song. She seems to want reconciliation but, as per her conversation with Shiho, Aki doesn't want to reconcile while still pinning for someone else.

Yeah, I think you are right. After all, Aki wants to convey a message to Shiho with their last song, and It can't be something like "I still have feelings for Yori, but let's be friends" as she knows Shiho would never accept that.

I don't know if it was stated before, but I certainly didn't expect SS's performance to be the next day. I'm glad, because thanks to that Aki had time to refresh her head a bit. Otherwise it could have ended pretty bad for them. I wonder what was that Aki realized about her feelings.

People will start complaining about the last page, which I understand, but it obviously won't be anything serious at all. The author just wanted to end the chapter with a cliffhanger.

last edited at Apr 23, 2023 8:29AM

The challenge “if you can’t name a better-written character in the story than Shiho, that means that Shiho is well-written”

No, it means "then all the other characters you enjoyed so much reading about are even worse written characters".

This is a completely foolish assertion. “If you don’t like everything about this story, why don’t you just stop reading?” always is a nonsensical question.

there are many reasons a person might continue to read a story besides being enamored of a particular character who has come to dominate the story

You really like doing that, don't you? Extreme statements like those ones to go off on a tangent instead of answering a simple question that never implied what you are saying.

"Just give me more of Himari’s journey to becoming a thirsty little lesbian".

I get the impression you never gave a fuck about "literary quality" until Shiho started to appear more frequently in the story.

it has nothing whatsoever to do with literary quality.

I never mentioned literary quality in my post, I just tried to explain why she's a well written character in my opinion.

You have shown yourself to be utterly unable to distinguish between “liking the character and being interested in what she does” on the one hand and basic standards of narrative craftsmanship on the other.

Answer the question then: Who is a better written character than Shiho in the story and why? If you can't think of any, then the fact that you come back every month to continue reading the series can only be described as Stockholm Syndrome.

Preferences are subjective, but how can anyone say that Shiho is a bad/poorly written character? Whoever claims that is simply blinded by their hatred. She ticks all the boxes:

• Has a backstory, which allows us to understand what she has been through (not only all the self-imposed pressures we always talk about, but also the death of one of the most important people for her, Kyou, at a very young age, which many people here seem to forget) and that have led her to be the way she currently is.

• She has both very marked strengths and weaknesses (and that leaves room for personal growth and development, which is very important).

• She is, and no one can deny it, consistent, both with her words and with her actions. We all know, to a greater or lesser extent, what to expect from Shiho. Her personality does not change based on what is necessary for the story to progress.

• Personal goals. Objectives. Motivations. As I said here before, she is the main plot device that drives the manga, for better or worse.

• She is the character that feels most human out of everyone. Why? Because all of the above.

If you don't agree with what I've written, who do you think is a better written character than her? What would the manga even be about at this point if she didn't exist? It maybe be over by now.

And looking at how kyo even after her desth never got a proper apology I highly doubt that neither aki nor the SS girl will receive one

That wouldn't make sense from a narrative perspective nor would it be satisfying to the readers (not even for those who like Shiho so much, like me). I think it's obvious that there will come a point where she will take responsibility for her bad deeds (not that she doesn't know thet a lot of her actions were wrong, but her defense mechanisms have always been stronger until now), apologize to everyone, and redeem himself by the end of the series.

this is why i would have chosen to follow aki in this arc as she has been established to fuffil her role well and shiho could still get development through her.

I think that's partly what's going to happen after the band competition.

Yes, to be done coherently. It's possible they start earlier than that though, it's hard to say. There's also the economy of space. I'm not sure how much longer they intend this manga to go. Generally, I favor a more drawn out, slow building of smaller interactions but the writer could probably get away with a quicker resolution, if we go by how other well received manga have handled similar issues. We'll have to see. The next chapter should say a lot about where the manga intends to go from here.

I don't think that would be a satisfactory result. Shiho needs to grow a lot as a person, come to terms with why some of her actions were wrong, show accountability, and overcome all her internal conflicts. Otherwise, a potential relationship with Aki would still be built on uncertainty and insecurities, almost certainly leading to more problems.

Not to mention that Aki has to move on from Yori first and fall in love with Shiho.

As I mentioned a while ago, this manga is currently the best selling series in the magazine, with an anime yet to be released, so I assume the author is free to take all the time they need to do whatever they want.

last edited at Mar 19, 2023 10:36PM

It was said in this thread a million times by now so I'm not saying anything new, but the more I think about the battle of the bands, the more baffling it is. It was the focus of a significant chunk of the story by now, the characters were hyping it up forever...

Even though I loved the chapter, I have to admit that it was kind of hilarious that after so many chapters leading up to the competition, Laureley's performance lasted just a couple of pages.

Also LOL at someone who scoffs at the concept of objectivity calling someone else pretentious.

I'm not denying the concept. For example, I think we can all agree that claiming to know what's better for a story than its author is objectively pretentious. How about that?

You're definitely not alone in that, so I wouldn't worry. I wonder what you think the ending of these events between Aki and Shiho will be--also what role you think Himari and especially Yori will have? There's a lot of comments coming through so you might not see this anyway.

Regarding the band competition, I honestly can't predict which one will win, and I think the author deserves credit for that. I initially assumed that SS would win, since it made the most sense narratively (since the reason for Shiho's departure was at stake). Then Shiho promised Himari to grant her a wish if Laureley won, so I changed my mind. Then we had the chapter where Yori got the inspiration to create a new song, which made him think that SS might win. And finally it happened something that I would never have thought: Shiho telling Aki about her feelings just before the concert. This will probably have a very negative impact on her performance, so I wouldn't be surprised if Laureley wins the competition partly thanks to that.

Once the competition is over, as I wrote here before, I think that Aki will talk to Yori, tell her the truth about Shiho's departure and, now understanding how dangerous it can be to suppress feelings, will decide to come clean with her, so that she can be properly rejected and leave everything that back.

It probably sounds crazy, but I feel like Yori could be the link to bring them closer again. Himari has tried several times and has always failed (not that it's his fault). Perhaps Yori, now knowing that she is "responsible" for this whole situation as she was the one who "took" Aki from Shiho, decides to talk to her. I've been looking forward to a face-to-face talk between them for a long time and I'm pretty sure it's going to happen.

And while I do believe Shiho and Aki will be a couple at the end, It feels like it's something that's going to take a lot of chapters to be done coherently, so I might be wrong. Shiho has a long way to go to be an emotionally stable person to be in a relationship with someone.

This manga feels like those youtube content farms, where a company broke the algorithm and found a way to produce the cheapest, most brain-dead, lifeless content on the app, but still manage to rake in hundreds of millions of views, because the majority of people consuming media just want to be entertained, and don't care about quality. And while that means giving up your integrity as an artist, at the end of the day, selling to the majority always means more money.

You guys love to act like sophisticated readers, but then we have that Can't Defy the Lonely Girl, Useless Princess, and Citrus are some of the most popular series here. God helps us all.

Now I won't stand for Citrus slander. That's my mess and I'm waiting for the new Citrus+ to come out.

I'm not going to lie, I only read the first few chapters (I do have read the entirety of the other two), so maybe I shouldn't have included it. My bad.

Edit: And I noticed your question on the previous page. I will write my answer later.

last edited at Mar 19, 2023 4:19PM

This manga feels like those youtube content farms, where a company broke the algorithm and found a way to produce the cheapest, most brain-dead, lifeless content on the app, but still manage to rake in hundreds of millions of views, because the majority of people consuming media just want to be entertained, and don't care about quality. And while that means giving up your integrity as an artist, at the end of the day, selling to the majority always means more money.

You guys love to act like sophisticated readers, but then we have that Can't Defy the Lonely Girl, Useless Princesses, and Citrus are some of the most popular series here. God helps us all.

last edited at Mar 19, 2023 6:51PM

When Shiho was conceived, or with which intent, is irrelevant.

Of course it matters. If Shiho was planned from the start, then all the more reason you should make an effort to see what the author is trying to tell with her, instead of acting like she sabotaged your fluffy romance. Pretending to know what is better for a story than its own author (and calling it "objectivity") is just too pretentious.

The Dollhouse analogy that @Blastaar made fits very well, because it is purely mechanical.

The problem with that analogy is that it wrongly assumes that Shiho was something the author came up with on the fly, when in fact it was clearly always part of their original plan (as I said before, her first appearance was in the extras of Volume 2). This is the story the author wanted to write from the beginning, and I honestly doubt they "dragged" this arc out for money, as I'm not even so sure Shiho is a very popular character (she's only appeared on one cover so far).

Not only that, but it gives the false impression that the manga has become the exclusive property of Shiho, when the reality is very different. If you reread the series, you will be surprised by the number of chapters where she hardly appears or even does not appear at all.

There's plenty of space in that Dollhouse.

At the end of the day, I guess our analysis and opinions on the subject will depend on how much we can sympathize with Shiho and resonate with at least some of her struggles.
I used to like the series before, but since her appearance it has become something more special. More unique. At first was mainly because she was a disruptive character in a otherwise much more predictable and formulaic story (although I obviously like both Himari and Yori, I didn't want the manga to become just their daily lives as a couple). But then little by little that changed, to the point that I began to be more interested in her and in her story than any other aspect of the series. When I think of the manga, the first thing that comes to mind is her. In my eyes, this series has primarily become Shiho's story, and I don't think that's going to ever change.

in my opinion she is the biggest victim in the story.

In a story that didn’t have any victims at all until she came along and started creating them . . .

All the more reason why is so important to help her and for us readers to root for her happiness. She's is incredible powerful but so are her own insecurities. This doesn't validate her attitude, but she hasn't received the support or guidance to do better. And it's something she's been dealing with since she was very young. The only time she was able to escape from that (mostly imaginary) hell was when she met Aki. She was just so overwhelmed by the sudden realization that her first love was never going to reciprocate her love back, that she felt like the only way to deal with the situation was to leave the band and distance herself from her completely.

Shiho will eventually come to terms with why her actions of her were wrong and show accountability for them. I'm sure of that.

last edited at Mar 19, 2023 11:49AM

Yeah and it's her who help Yori writing the love song. Let's not re-write the story, she is the most important in the arc, not the story. Let's not pretend a character not even here for 15 chapters is the suposs driving force of the whole premise just because she leave the band.

What do you think will happen once the band competition is over? It's not like Shiho is going to be erased into thin air or moving to another city. Although she is now at peace with the idea of leaving her unrequited love behind, that does not mean that their relationship will stop at this point.

Their struggle is the flame that keep this series alive at this point, and I believe that fixing their bond is this manga's endgame.

i think regardless of shiho's character and who's at fault for what, i just dont understand why she's been the main character of this series for at least half its volumes.

Because, as I said here a couple of times, whether we like it or not (I certainly do), Shiho is the most important character in the story. And it's not even close. She's the main plot device driving the manga forward. If you think about it, even the fact that Himari was able to see Yori performing in the first chapter of the series was due to Shiho leaving the band. My point is that everything in this story is connected with her, one way or another.

And this is not an "Arc". Shiho was introduced in Chapter 15 (or even before if we take into consideration the extras from Volume 2), and we are currently in Chapter 40.

the story so far has framed shiho s struggles as stuff that´s completly out her control, as if the people around her were the ones at fault.

...Shiho's liberation feels completely undeserved because it appears to be at the expense of Aki? It feels like it's being portrayed as if she conquered her toxic ex.

Shiho's fight is with herself. Everything else are just projections of her own internal insecurities. She's someone who has always been burdened by expectations, pride, jealousy, and even guilt. I fully understand that many people believe the opposite, but in my opinion she is the biggest victim in the story. That's why the double page from the new chapter is so beatiful and important: She's smiling on the stage like we've never seen her before.

Is the story blaming Aki here at chapter 40? Are the flashback panels implying a revelation that it's her fault or is it saying Aki is blaming herself needlessly? Basically, are we supposed to buy that it's Aki's fault? Because I think that would be a tough sell for everyone here, regardless of where they stand on the whole narrative discussion.

It's obviously not Aki's fault in the slightest (by that logic, she could also blame Yori for not realizing her feelings until now). My point is that some people will use her misjudgment (probably caused in part by the shock of the revelation) to criticize Shiho.

last edited at Mar 18, 2023 12:27PM

It's a shame, but I can tell that a lot of people will focus more on the page where Aki blames herself for the current situation instead of what's really important: This is the chapter that marks Shiho's liberation. Seeing her enjoying performing was a beautiful thing to witness. Even if it definitely was a bittwerseet chapter, I'm really happy for her and her personal growth. This an incredible important moment for her.

As for Aki, I obviously feel very sorry for her. I still think that Shiho and her will end up together, hopefully. But now everything is in Aki's hands, as Shiho probably won't contact her again, even though she still likes her.

I believe Aki will follow Shiho's example and tell Yori the truth about her own feelings.

Considering that Himari and Yori get together relatively early in the series my best guess is they'll do that around the halfway point and then another 6-ish episodes of the Shiho arc. no idea where they'd leave it off though, can't imagine them cramming 5+ volumes in half a cour :thinking:

Chapter 15 would be the optimal point to finish Season 1 (where Himari finally understood that she actually likes Yori), but it's probably too little content to adapt into 12/13 episodes, so maybe it ends with the two bands making the bet of competing against each other at upcoming festival.