You're making it sound like Kumiko interacts with Reina the same way she interacts with her Classmates/Teachers. Throughout the show, Kumiko seems to act in a very strange way around Reina. A way that make's it seem that she could have some feelings for her, and in a way that she never acts around her friends.

This "evidence" that the show has given me is just a bunch of mixed messages. The show tells us that Reina has a crush on the teacher but it doesn't really expand beyond that,There aren't any interactions between Reina & the Teacher that suggest that she likes him. All the show tells us is that she seems to have feelings for him. On the other hand with Kumiko though, Kumiko's interactions with Reina are unlike any of her interactions with her other friends or Teachers. These interactions highly suggest that Kumko might be in love with Reina.

I don't remember the first season so well, but I do remember that Reina seems determined to get closer to the teacher. She chose that school because she knew he'd be teaching there, and she definitely admires him. The point is, they tell us at the outset that she's in love with a man, so it's not like that's just suddenly revealed after hiding it to make us hope for a lesbian romance.

Kumiko is fascinated by Reina. She could be in love with her, it's not really clear. This isn't a romance, so the exact nature of her attraction to Reina simply hasn't been important to the story so far. Also, some of her relationships with other characters get very intense in a similar way, particularly with Asuka.

To me, "yuri-baiting" means that they lure viewers in by suggesting that the show will focus on or at least include lesbian romance, and then don't follow through on that. I just don't think that really happened here. There were times where I thought or hoped that romance might develop between Kumiko and Reina, but I don't feel tricked. Early on it's always unclear what a story is going to focus on. As this one progressed, it became more clear what the show was about, and I think the nature of the relationships they concentrate on makes that ambiguity integral to the story they're trying to tell.

Long post, and I hope you can bear with my Engrish, but here’s some speculations on why Ririha is “bullying” Yuzumori based on what we know so far.
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I think you're probably right. From the perspective of the series as a whole, the author loves these dramatic cliffhanger endings, with giant faces twisted into some intense emotion taking up the whole page. So far, none of them have really followed through with a sudden major development. The issues driving the plot are consistent, and develop slowly.

The series practically shoves ships in our faces and leads us on to believe that Yuri is going to play a major role in it. This series make's us believe that Kumiko & Reina might lead to something, Except it doesn't, It leads to nothing. The only reason this series ever gave us these boatloads of Subtext is because they just want to lure some Yuri fans in. That's my main problem with this series, It put in some extra amounts of subtext to get some extra fans.

Pretty early on, Reina admits to liking that teacher. They weren't hiding it from us, at all. It's clear from the beginning that Kumiko and Reina's relationship is not that of lovers, and that they're unlikely to become lovers. Believing that it could come to something might be kinda fun, but if you seriously got your hopes up with this one, then you only have yourself to blame.

Sure there are hints and signs and the usual bullshit, but in this case I think it there to show what an odd person Kumiko is - whatever her sexuality, she just has a very strange way of relating to people. Over and over again, she quickly gets involved with someone on a much deeper level than would be "normal", with the male teacher as well as with several of her female classmates.

That is the point of the show, and the purpose of her interactions with Reina. There was no "bait" - all of this was integral to the show as a whole. It wasn't something they could just ad or remove to target customers.

last edited at Jun 4, 2017 9:55PM

Wtf does Yuzumori have to lose anyway? Mimika? That's all she has in life really. I somehow doubt Ririha could steal Mimika away unless she blackmails her.

I think that's the implication - one page Ririha sees Yuzumori hanging out with Mimika, next page she's slamming her against the wall and issuing vague threats.

Despite the sudden intensification, the author has foreshadowed something of a conflict between Yuzumori and Ririha. I'm guessing right now that Ririha and Mimika have some things in common.

It's not necessarily just her ear. Maybe Maki responding aggressively threw her off (if she expected her to be confused and submissive throughout). Though from the structure of the page, it does seem like there's something special about that earring.

This is interesting. I don't like it when the main character is completely passive and pulled into events beyond her control, since too often it feels like sad wish fulfillment, and just isn't a very interesting way to structure a story. But this looks different in that Maki does take initiative - she decides to go to the concert instead of ignoring it, and she allows herself to be seduced instead of just sitting there doing nothing. So she's not necessarily a passive person - she's taken aback by surprising events, but she's also willing to take action.

last edited at May 31, 2017 6:08PM

so she was involved with a teacher and the STUDENT gets a year suspension? like in what universe is statutory rape something punish the victim for, especially with an entire year suspension. i'm sure the teacher got off worse but why would you even bother punishing the student?

Nowhere in that section does she say she was suspended, or that the teacher wasn't punished. She just says that she spent time out of school, which makes sense. If it gets out that a teacher and a student are sleeping together, it's likely that all kinds of factors would point towards the student taking time off and perhaps switching schools, for her own benefit, regardless of any punishment the teacher receives. Going back to school where something like that is widely known would be very unpleasant for her and even her family, especially in a society as scandal-averse as Japan.

last edited at May 29, 2017 7:22AM

A picture is worth a thousand words
I just heavily disagree with Mustang's comment though. I don't understand why you would think that disliking something would mean that you secretly like it, While there are a few cases where that's true I doubt it would be the case for expressing dislike for a manga.

I'm assuming the meaning was that vocally disliking something (as opposed to disliking it and simply ignoring it unless asked) was a sign of secretly liking it, which makes slightly more sense - why bother complaining about something you could easily ignore? Still, it doesn't seem like a generally applicable characterization. I love complaining about things I dislike and often go out of my way to do so, and I assume others are similar.

Oh well, hello, old friend Mr. "Statutory rape and gayness are just the same thing really, just two different ways of being unorthodox!" I didn't miss you.

I don't think that's a message implied in this story. It's pretty clear that her unfortunate circumstance results mainly from the fact that she's in love with her brother's wife. The main character could be swapped out with a boy, and so far the plot would progress pretty much the same way (I'm sure I've seen some story with a plot along those lines before). She could be 18 or 20 or whatever age and her fundamental problem would still be pretty much the same.

The author isn't saying that being gay is equivalent to being a teenager in love with an adult, or that either of those things is equivalent to being a person in love with a sibling's spouse. Those are simply three aspects of the main character's love.

last edited at May 28, 2017 2:25PM

There aren't enough anime adaptations of yuri series. If I could choose a series to be turned into an anime, it wouldn't be this one. But that's not how it works. Netsuzou Trap clearly offers some kind of unique appeal that many people find fascinating, or at least that's what the publisher seems to think. Pinning the hopes of an entire genre on a single series is ridiculous, especially one like this that is a clear and obvious outlier. No one is going to watch this and then assume that every single work of yuri is a convoluted, melodramatic soap opera about girls secretly cheating on their boyfriends, especially when basically every other yuri anime has a complete absence of male characters.

ah well, pretty mediocre manga overall.

It was sweet, at least. But yeah, overall not very original. The whole arc with Ploy, the kidnapping, and the sudden "departing for 2 years" felt out of place, just dramatic events that padded out the plot.

PV looks alright. Honestly, I can't imagine how they could fuck this up so badly that I wouldn't watch it. It's just so entertaining.

why am I still reading this, every chapter always leaves me feeling like I've just been punched in the stomach

then the next chapter comes out and I think maybe things will start getting better!

You're reading it incorrectly. It's meant to be enjoyed from a distance, where you can simply admire the absurd twists in their bizarre and unhealthy relationship without getting emotionally invested in the characters.

At this point, it should be obvious, even to Hotaru, that Yuma reciprocates, or even is the one who desires the relationship (and probably has always desired it unconsciously). I don't think she believes confessing would drive Yuma away.

I don't know. I've found that characters are in stories like this can lack any kind of awareness whatsoever, to an extent that is often absurd.

Perhaps she does know already that Yuma loves her back and has some other reason for acting so oddly (blackmail? self-hatred? fear of commitment?), but I think it's possible that she's still completely oblivious somehow (out of necessity to continue the story, if for no other reason).

We really lack, in this story, the POV of Hotaru.

Thus, her motivations and behavior seem irrational.

I hope at some point, we will understand her more.

I think it's possible to get a general idea of what Hotaru might be thinking. She's conflicted by her desire for Yuma, and her strong belief that this desire will never be satisfactorily fulfilled. She wants to be close to Yuma, to "possess" her in a relationship, but she's afraid that openly confessing her feelings would drive Yuma away.

So she ends up in this bizarre push-pull relationship where she messes around with guys, pushes Yuma to date someone else, and plans on moving away all to try and get rid of those painful feelings, but at the same time those same feelings compel her to get closer and closer to Yuma in this deceitful, seductive manner.

I don't know if it's very realistic, but it seems like a common character arc in yuri manga. Generally it's not taken to such an extreme as this, but Kodama Naoko sure loves her clingy soap opera drama and cute but manipulative girls.

so, did they manage to get any homework done?

That homework assignment could really set off some red flags for any teacher who reads it

Ayame is just running through every fetish so she can go back and pick her favorite.

last edited at May 18, 2017 3:15AM

Is the new couple trying to out-gay Sakurako and Kasumi? Sakurako is stepping up, for sure.

She has a position to maintain.

So if Yuu turned Nana into a vampire, then Yuu needs to get another person to have her fresh supply of blood, and so Nana will get another person for her own supply of blood.

I see. This is how harems are formed - like pyramid schemes.

isnt the tutor the ex gf of the school nurse?

That's what I finally realized, after reading this a half dozen times.

This is getting a little off tracks from vampirism....

Let's be real. The vampirism was only ever an excuse. And I'm 100% fine with that.

It would make more sense later on if we get to see Sato agonizing over having to give Shio's sock to the boy, if only for a few panels. For simplicity's sake, Sato probably gave the real one.

What I meant to say was that I could imagine her going about this another way xP Getting him familiar/addicted to her scent and existence instead of Shio's so that she can have a certain control over his trauma of women and insert other twisted reasons.

I can imagine Satou giving a sock Shio had never touched, but she might not have a problem with Mitsuboshi having her sock after all. She doesn't seem to care about other people loving Shio as much as she cares about Shio loving other people - when she heard Asahi repeat the vow she's been saying with Shio all this time, she almost ended him on the spot, but she never had that reaction to Mitsuboshi. The difference seems to be that Asahi's interactions with Shio were mutual, whereas Mitsuboshi only has this one-sided worship. Of course, it could be that she hates Mitsuboshi as well and is planning on murdering him once she's through using him.

The really twisted thing to do would be to give Mitsuboshi her aunt's sock. He'd just die on the spot if he ever found out.

Ploy twist, now we have two yandere characters

I count 4 so far: Satou, Mitsuboshi, the manager who molested Mitsuboshi, and Suu.

Mitsuboshi acts so goofy so much of the time that it's easy to dismiss him, but I found his lines this chapter profoundly disturbing. I think that's what I like so much about this series - even though it's so theatrical and extreme, I still end up empathizing with the characters.

last edited at May 4, 2017 6:41AM

"I just love characters like Ririko, who are cute but have a naturally bad personality"
You don't say...

In sum, it depends on the author to turn table from Yuri to Het or Het to Yuri. But for Yuri fans, Scum wish, Cross Ange, Binbougami ga, Mnemosyne are some thing we Don't want to see in this series.

I think Kodama Naoko is pretty committed to yuri these days. It feels like the male characters are there just to add drama and serve as foils to the main characters' awful, dishonest, manipulative, codependent relationship. According to the author's notes in her various works, she loves these twisted relationships more than anything, so I doubt she'd throw that away for some bullshit happy boy-gets-girl ending.

This story wasn't my favorite, but I really enjoyed it, like all of Imura Ei's work. Something about these awful, dependent relationships really gets me.

I've been working on translating her collection Innocent Noise for a while, hopefully will be able to release that eventually.