osananajimi is suffering

This was pretty good, an emotional story and a rewarding ending.
I wonder if the rest of the book is related to this first chapter?

The stories are unrelated. However, the volume-end extra is a very short continuation of I Don't Care About the Music.

From Ruriko's behavior during their relationship, and especially from her lyrics afterwards, it's pretty clear she was completely incapable of moving on. That bit about madder red really struck me, but the whole song was about the break-up. In general I really liked the way the songs paralleled the story. The "milky-mint sky" song was about living a life disconnected and unattached, and wishing for love, even if it's unfulfilled, while the "salmon-pink scar" song was about the pain and regret of loss.

I don't think Akane's cruelty was justified. She seemed to be acting out of her own fear as much as concern for Ruriko and her music. It all worked out happily in that they got back together. But also they aren't shown really addressing the original problem in their relationship, so it's interesting to imagine how they'd deal with it going forward.

last edited at Jul 18, 2017 6:55AM

I'm so happy Tokunou developed Hajime and Yun more since although they're a part of the main 4 group even like Ahagon had more screentime and development than them.
God I'm also really jealous of Hajime too, the last time I cut my hair short I came out looking like an emo scene boy with a mullet

Agreed. Cutting your hair is incredibly difficult, impressed with Hajime.

This is an older one so perhaps you've read it, but one of the my favorites is Octave. It's rather unique and quite far from the genre stereotype. There's kissing, and sex, as well as quite a bit of angst and just general ups and downs in the plot. The only downside is that the art is pretty bad. It gets the job done, but it's not very interesting.

Her entire personality is extremely scummy and underhanded. Just look at how she treats Shoko who is clearly not actually okay with what she's doing but gives in due to her manipulations and fear that resistance would lose her the president. If it's not rape it's still coming really close to bordering on it.

Agreed that she's scum, but there's a difference between rape and being a terrible person, and it doesn't do anybody any good to mix those two up. Sex under false pretenses is not rape, nor is playing upon a person's fear of abandonment to demand sex/favors, at least not in any legal system I know of. Her being scum is immaterial to the determination of rape.

During the whole process depicted here, it was unclear to us (as readers) whether Chiho consented, but her behavior seemed to indicate that she was willing, and her thoughts and actions afterwards confirmed that.

I have a feeling the MC is gonna get the best of the president somehow. It just feels like that kind of story.

Maybe Hotaru wants to distance herself because she knows she's a terrible person and wouldn't want to inflict herself upon the person she loves.

From what we've seen, and since there's more, I'm predicting that Saeki likes Nao and was taking advantage of her.

But this just leaves an unpleasant feeling after reading. The lie Nao told feels strange and out-of-place. Perhaps with more backstory about her relationship with Tsubaki it will make more sense.

Alice Cheshire posted:

Haven't people who read the raws said that it's not a harem manga? Unless I'm just misremembering it seems like those worries aren't too big a deal.

It would be nice if you used spoilers for the sake of those of us following along here.

Torn between desire for pure love romance and yuri harem.

I hope she brings snacks for that homeless dude.

I think what really bothered me the first time I read this, was the fact that Sato didn't seem to care about Sono at all, and Hiroko was probably trying harder than Sato in every aspect of their respective relationships. One-sided love always kind of bugs me for that reason.

I kinda like that. I think it is realistic in a way: most of the time, we simply don't choose who we love. It's not about who tries harder, or who deserves anything. Sono just loved Sato, and that's all there was to it.

Though I will say that it's pretty clear Sato did care about Sono the whole time. She invites Sono to stay as long as she wants, no questions asked. Not many people would do that for their friends, even for their best friends. Rather than comparing Sato to Hiroko, just look at Sato's actions on their own. It's obvious that she cared.

Okay, gotcha: bottom line, if your friends say you're terrible, then you deserve only unhappiness.

No, I did read that. So yeah, she says that she sleeps with people with no strings attached - ie. neither of them has any expectations of fidelity towards the other. You argue that this is a sign of degeneracy etc. But you also say that those who cheat are degenerates. Since you brought it up, Sono is pretty unfaithful, and thus by your argument, also deserving of eternal damnation.

Or does her infidelity "not count" because she was just cheating on a degenerate?

last edited at Jun 23, 2017 12:10PM

I'm a little confused. The only character here who arguably cheats on anyone is Sono. So she's the one who deserves eternal suffering and hellfire? You have to be a little more clear in your sermons, or I won't know who is damned.

I don't really think it's about deserving or not deserving, in this story, at least. Sono loved Sato, not Hiroko, and that's really all there is to it. Yeah you feel bad for Hiroko, what happened to her fucking sucks. It doesn't really have anything to do with her promiscuity either - she loved somebody who didn't love her back, that can happen to anyone.

I wouldn't really call her a "tool" either, since she's very much a main character, getting a perhaps more development than Sato - her experience is integral to this story. Just by shifting your view, this is the story of Hiroko's first and doomed love, falling apart despite her desperate attempts to hold it together. It's still a damn good story.

last edited at Jun 23, 2017 7:09AM

Hoping this is really a Time Traveller manga because it would awesome like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - (Then it will be "The Girl Who Leapt Back 7 years Through Time" Haha) but what if it turned out to be like this manga? Sorry just having some trust issues.

You haven't even mentioned the best time-travel manga of them all.

My problem is that bottom panel on this page. Look how tall she is! She must be a full 15cm taller as an adult than she is at age 16! Maybe it's just Pure embellishing things in her mind.

Anyways, this looks fantastic.

last edited at Jun 23, 2017 3:29AM

I'm no expert, but I think this genre appeals to people (presumably this one is targeted at young women) because viewers don't see this as sexual assault. There's a ton of erotica where the main character is pushed down and "forced" to have sex, but is perfectly happy doing so, because the aggressor is someone she's attracted to and the sex is enjoyable.

It's pretty common "rape fantasy" fare, and it occurs in yuri often enough as well (to start with, every single work by Mira). It's hard to judge whether it crosses the line just by a synopsis.

This story seems to be headed in the direction of a surprise romantic drama, and I'm all for that.

Not a huge fan of the way it turned out the daughter was "in love with" her friend, but it seems to be a very odd kind of love, where perhaps the love she felt was different than the love Sayuri accused her of. Either way, I think the perspective shift in this chapter was compelling, and succeeded in adding something interesting.

Like most of the author's works, this is written in a realist style where characters are flawed or even broken, and the author passes no judgement on them, except through the telling of their thoughts and decisions, and the results of their actions. It's pretty clear that the affair will not end well. It's a selfish act of impulsive people. Katakuro Ako obviously isn't promoting infidelity, just writing a story about it, examining how the characters would respond in such a situation, and what emotions drive their actions.

That character's romanticizing "forbidden love" is juxtaposed against the unhappiness shown to result from the affair - the twisted emotions, petty cruelties, and of course the constant potential for exposure. The fact that there is no "reason" for the adultery is an important element of the story. Chitose's not cheating because her husband beats her or abuses her or is always gone or cheats on her himself. She's doing it because she feels empty, because she's attracted to Sayuri, and because she can. These are far more common motives for infidelity than any of the dramatic nonsense that might morally "justify" it in the minds of readers.

I just think it's strange to get so hung up on adultery in a story like this. If you want to read stories that are only about good people, then you're really going to miss out on the vast majority of literature.

Apparently Japan has the lowest teen birth rate in the world. You'd think they could come up with a more likely way for childhood friend to disappear forever.

Though I do think this was super funny, especially how it was just suddenly dropped that she was pregnant with zero fanfare.

The mention of the vase is probably a reference to a common scam where "religious" organizations trick people into buying overpriced junk for its supposed spiritual value.

Great... now we get to see multiple overlapping timelines of her doomed loves.