Apparently, the title on the official book cover is "Secret crush on my sister" - which would be less ominous than the current translated title.

Yeah, I wouldn't read too much into the title. I think a more word-for-word translation would be "Though the Thread Shall Not Reach" (talking about the metaphorical thread of love). But even that doesn't really imply anything about the plot. It just sort of describes the predicament Uta is in - even though her love is proscribed, she's still experiencing the emotion.

last edited at Nov 16, 2017 10:34AM

I’m not sure that “husband cheats, yuri ensues” is all that much more trite and predictable than “apparent cheating has innocent explanation”—(Reiichi’s business trip ended early, he wanted to surprise his wife so didn’t tell her, then he ran into Riyako by chance at the station, etc.).

I agree. Now that this development occurred, it'd be even trashier for the author to say it was all a misunderstanding. There'd have been no point to this incredible coincidence except for a pointless cliffhanger (and maybe an excuse for Kaoru to go crazy). So either way it goes, this development has been a big disappointment, and leads to the story feeling more and more that it is driven by events rather than characters and their decisions. Especially Uta, who is doing nothing.

Perhaps it had to do with people hoping to have male character as decent human being in yuri (which, funnily enough, happens in Netsuzou trap :3), or perhaps it's just difficult to prevent ourselves from judging a character even on a low material.

Personally, it was the hope that the author wouldn't hit us with the most obvious outcome in this type of story. Upon reading the basic setup for this series, my first thought was "I bet the husband cheats on his wife and leaves her, thus allowing the two female leads to get together free from the guilt of cheating or destroying a marriage." I've read that story several times already (for example, here), and while it can be a fun story, I would have preferred to read something new, and perhaps less predictable.

Either way, that scenario is a bit of a stretch. He married Kaoru because he realized his sister loved her, and Kaoru needed her too? This guy must have the compassion and intuition of a saint.

Though I guess I wouldn't put it past the author to throw some shit like that at us, at this point.

last edited at Nov 15, 2017 7:30AM

I'm actually enjoying this a lot. Screw you negative people. You know what you were getting into and still you complained when you got what was coming.

If I'm at all disappointed it's because I had the tiniest bit of faith in the author which I now realize was sadly misplaced. Though I guess I should've known earlier after all the recent bullshit with those two side characters.

I wonder if the mental illness in this story is supposed to be Seri's phobia of men. She denies being a lesbian and the faceless voices stress that everything is just because she had bad experiences with boys from the get go. Of course the fact that she ponders whether Ryouko was her first love implies that may be partially or completely wrong. If it isn't, though, then her condition, and the loneliness – or even isolation – it led to, made her the prey of Ryouko, whom we don't know anything about. Twice, I guess. Just a dark reading of the story based on the anthology's title. (Also it doesn't reflect my opinion about whether having such feelings towards men is an illness or not.)

I think you're right. They're both fucked up characters. Ryouko is a manipulative predator, and while Seri is more sympathetic, her behavior is rather extreme, and in the end she chooses to be with a manipulative predator. However, I'd argue that Seri is probably gay, whether she admits it or not.

Feel sorry for the husband in this case. Cheating is bullshit. Everyone gets a happy ending, except for the guy who is providing for everyone else. What a garbage story.

I'd argue that he's the happiest of them all, since he doesn't have to suffer the crippling doubt and self hatred that plagues the two women.

What a delightfully fucked up relationship.

So as lame as this development is, what'd be even worse is if the author pulls a fast one on us and it turns out to be all just a giant misunderstanding. I forgive that kind of bullshit in Netsuzou Trap since it's kinda cute how there's a horrible cliffhanger every chapter that's then completely negated. But in general it's cheap and manipulative.

The cheating just makes this series into a soap opera when I had hoped for more (well, maybe like 3 chapters ago), but I'm still gonna read it.

While not surprising, it is still disappointing.

These characters are ciphers. The majority of their interaction with others consists of angry yelling and comedic asides, to the extent that it's impossible to get any real understanding of who they are as people. As such, this diversion into childhood flashbacks is essentially meaningless. There is no feeling of connection between the events of the past and the present impacts, because in the present there is no coherent sense of personality whatsoever.

Perhaps the author is attempting to rectify the situation with this flashback, but it's too little, too late. After 25 chapters of interaction, the main characters still lack identity. That is an innate flaw, not something that can be patched up by changing the presentation.

Somehow there is a feeling that this story will be very painful

Considering the "Room with Shiori" series that is still horrible angst? Yeah, you're probably not wrong.

Others of the author's stories are quite funny though, like Love Steal. And Catch is really sweet. And even the other angsty ones have more going on that just loss and pain.

It's not just Japanese fiction. Think about how lightning behaves in every single horror or suspense movie you've ever seen. Rain shows up in the key moments in most dramas, and even many action films. Superhero films are especially fond of this - the hero's climactic confrontation with the overarching villain ALWAYS takes place in the rain.

About the story though, overall I'm glad this section is ending. It was pretty well done, but it felt sort of perfunctory, like the author just threw it in because she felt she had to. I guess it was interesting to see Yuzumori's relationship with her classmates change, and of course I can't really judge this arc until we see how it ends.

last edited at Nov 10, 2017 8:41PM

What was the point of this little sequel? To slam it into our face that the mc didn't stand a chance? I wanna see a story where this happened and the mc tells her to fuck off and that she doesn't want to be friends anymore.

That's a pretty awful way to treat a friend. It's not Megumi's fault Asuka fell in love with her (though maybe she is a bit of a flirt).

As to what's the point, the first story was about Asuka's first love, and her realization that she's gay, and then her discovery that her first love is doomed. It was also a neat little story about subverting the reader's expectations - things aren't usually so convenient as these stories typically go.

The sequel is about how Asuka copes with her new feelings, and her implicit rejection. She could have become bitter, or desperate, or angry, but instead she accepts the fact that Megumi has someone else, and she accepts the fact that her love for Megumi won't fade away so quickly. I think it was a nice story.

There are no scenes in the past. The whole story goes straight forward in time - each scene takes place sometime after the scene before (as far as I can tell).

There are obviously some time skips, but only of the usual sort (eg. skipping parts of the day where the character isn't doing anything related to the plot). There could be larger time skips, if the characters are implied to have spent more time with each other than is shown, but it's not really clear.

Judging by what Nonoka's wearing, she meets Akane on the first day of the story, and meets Aoi immediately thereafter (while the sweater tag is still on her mind). She's shopping with Shou later that same day. The next scene with Akane could be weeks later, or it could be the next week. It's unclear whether they got to know each other over time or just fucked the second time they met. The next scene, where Aoi invites Nonoka to the party, takes place at least one day later. The party scene takes place the Saturday after that.

My personal impression is that all the action is condensed over a short period of time - a few weeks or a month maybe - and that not much is skipped. The sex scene feels like something very impulsive, while they still had only known each other for a short time. The party scene is clearly not long after that, since Akane brings up the question she asked Nonoka right after they had sex.

last edited at Nov 9, 2017 4:50AM

Most of the "jumping" seems to be only in imagery - when she says "I play the guitar" there's a picture of her playing the guitar instead of a picture of her saying "I play the guitar", and so on. It gives a feeling of disconnection. The sex scene feels the most "present", where the drawings very clearly show what is going on at that moment with a clear perspective. I wonder if that was for literary effect, or just because the author wanted nice-looking sex.

Other than that, the story moves straight forward from one scene to another. Maybe there are fewer between scene transitions, but the structure is linear without any major skips or backtracks. I don't think it's difficult to follow, just somewhat stylized.

last edited at Nov 7, 2017 2:57AM

I enjoy everything I've read from this author. This feels somewhat different, but it looks interesting.

No takers? Well okay then...

I tried emailing you about translating, could you check if you got it?

Wow how come people mistook other people name in front of their girlfriend?

Read Kimi Koi Limit, it explains everything.

I generally assume that people who talk about having bad relationships with their siblings are mostly talking about childhood. It's much harder to get along when you're all under the same roof and have to share a room and such, but once you become more mature and also live apart, it's much easier. Worst case, you just never have any reason to think about one another, and it's hard to maintain hatred at such a distance.

So since seeing the new ending, all Touko has done is brood. The few pages she's in are entirely just her being upset. I think this is the source of my complaint - there isn't much focus on her, and the little focus there is just makes her look very one-dimensional. Especially the "You told me you'd help me" at the end of the latest chapter. For some reason, that scene really bothers me.

When the message is delivered via the script weeks before the performance, then there's the question of what they're doing in between. The play-within-a-play in say, Hamlet, works because the performance of the play is the delivery of the message - the King sees the play and that's when he reacts. In this example, both the sender and the recipient have the script of the play. The delivery was complete when Touko first read the new ending. So all this time between her reading it and them performing it feels very bizarre, like they're sending passive aggressive notes across a classroom but refusing to speak to each other during break.

On the other hand, Touko is of course obsessed with performing the play. This is the highlight of everything she's been working towards, and it was hinted that she might even be thinking of killing herself once it's complete. So maybe the performance itself doesn't have to be some big confrontation - she already got the message, but it doesn't mean anything until after the play is complete. Even if she feels personally attacked by the script, she still has to go along with it because performing it is her mission, which explains the passive-aggressive attitude. I am prepared to be pleasantly surprised by the next few chapters and completely forget all my complaints, but right now it just feels so awkward.

My problem isn't lack of versimilitude, it's contrivance. Obviously the setup is unrealistic, but it isn't absurd. I like that the author took this setup and played it out in a way that is faithful to the characters, treating them like human beings with motivations driving their actions. So even if things are unbelievable, there is emotional resonance with the characters.

This latest chapter made the characters feel like puppets acting according to an author's script. They go along with a ridiculous plan more because it's a nice dramatic device than because of any sort of internal motivation. I guess my problem isn't with the play-within-a-play, it's that the author has done a bad job dressing it up.

last edited at Nov 5, 2017 3:33AM

You joke, but drama (as in theater) can be useful sometimes as a therapeutic tool. Look up drama therapy.

I'm sure that it is. I've encountered it before, though only briefly. My joke is more about the obvious artificiality of the setup than its potential effectiveness.

The conversion towards this climactic play-within-a-play stands out more and more as an obvious fictional artifact, something too convenient to exist outside of an imagined story . I'm sure it will be fittingly emotional and dramatic, but personally it's just ruining any feeling of immersion I had with this story and its characters, which up till now had been one of its strong points.

Expert strategy for getting your date to take you home with them: contract hypothermia.

last edited at Nov 5, 2017 1:20AM

After the very cliche setup and silly characters, I didn't expect this to actually address the consequences of her predatory and manipulative behavior in a substantial way. It seems like the author actually has some kind of serious statement to make. I have no idea whether she (he?) will be successful, but it's definitely interesting.