Thanks, Nevri! I just hope they do not receive the notice as well.

last edited at Sep 26, 2015 11:37AM

We can take it from the translator site directly ?

I heard that they do not have a site, just a Twitter account, or something like that. Shame, I really liked this one...

http://www.yuricon.com/essays/

You can also find it on Yuricon, under essays, along with plentiful other works.

Jesus, Takemiya, how are you this terrible at endings...? I've read all of Takemiya Jin's works and I swear to god there are only like two endings that I don't absolutely hate. And don't even get me started on the stupidity of the characters...So is this the final chapter? Is this seriously how it ends? I know there are Extras but do they actually add to the story at all or are they ACTUAL extras?

What would constitute a terrible ending? Because if it is a 'happy ending' that you seek, there are plenty of those in Takemiya's works. Love Flicker, for example, is just happy endings piled on top of each other.

That being said, this particular work is somewhat unsatisfying in its endings, at least for me personally. Not because of the rejection scenario, but because the rejection (on Miku's part) came pretty much out of nowhere, from my point of view, that is. The story seemed to be building towards Miku developing feelings for Mayu, and then...

As for the extras, this latest addition was somewhat frustrating. So, Takako saved (with great personal sacrifice on her part) Yui from an obvious (painfully so) jerk, and yet, the only thing Yui can think of is "she has taken away the only place blablabla". And then proceeds straight to attempted murder?! I mean, what the bloody hell? The bit with her reexamining her own feelings later was an excellent ending (for me, at least), but the part that preceded it...

last edited at Sep 21, 2015 8:31PM

Nezchan
It is not so much a question of what Fuyu is wearing, as is of what Re actually is. Yuri Girl 1001 listed all that, and it sounds to me that she nailed it. To me, the look on Fuyu's face is not so much cheerful, more like I-am-seeing-you-off-with-a-smile kind of thing.

tries to count the number of re-readings... shudders

I can easily imagine myself in deep old age, still re-reading this.

Talking about teachers, anyone know what happened to that lesbian music teacher that was fired and arrested for sleeping with one of her students?

Where was that?

Random Reader
Of course! My two favourite brands uniting under the same banner, it is like a cross between Earl Grey and white Darjeeling! The fan mode was not bad either, at least for me, but I kind of lost interest after some time.

last edited at Sep 20, 2015 10:51AM

Also, training in a public park at night is all the rage in Japan.

I have seen people do stranger things in public parks. Like having sex.

Or reading books.

where's the muscle!!

http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/duel_ch01#20
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/duel_ch01#24
http://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/duel_ch01#43

Slightly muscular. Not as in 'woa, a bodybuilder'.

I rather enjoyed that. What I found particularly well done was the bullying; it was not that manga-stereotypical most-beautiful-and-popular-girl-at-the-school picking at the unattractive, 'ugly' duckling (I mean, unattractive by in-universe manga standards, Himeko anyone?). This one portrayed it fairly realistically, with bullies going for Minori because of her meek personality. The bullies themselves are not portrayed as being a part of any 'popular' crowd (at least, that is the impression I got), and the rest of the girls in the class are clearly uneasy about the whole thing, although none of them try to intervene, again, something that happens all too often in real life.

Minori is cute. The fact that I usually hate characters who are not capable of standing up for themselves, and despite that I found her to be appealing, has me thinking that I might really like this series. As for Alice... well... the moment I saw those sharp eyes, combined with that hair... and a sword... My mind drifted to Signum (although Fate also fits nicely), and voila, sold! Also, that lithe, slightly muscular body... (drools uncontrollably)

On a completely irrelevant side note, I also like her personality. Especially how she is not that stereotypical I-will-protect-you-at-all-costs-despite-the-fact-that-I-only-met-you-five-minutes-ago type of hero; she was perfectly comfortable with leaving Minori to her tormentors, with an almost visible not-my-business aura to it. Which makes her return after Minori manages to stand up to Satomi all the more "Yes!! Hooray!!!" kind of experience.

As for the French, well, I do not speak the language, so... And I also know nothing about fencing, so any unrealistic moves Alice makes will not dampen my experience. I mean, the most unrealistic thing in there was surely this (she clearly took the red pill).

In any case, I liked this chapter.

Wow I saw it ages ago, it was promising but so far no new releases so I forgot about it. Didn't expect it being uploaded here

How long ago? Because if this is one of those manga that get stuck at chapter 1 in perpetuity...

last edited at Sep 19, 2015 2:30PM

Just Yuki is very manipulative.

If you want spoilers, read the review on Okazu.

The end is not bad or good. It's quite open, with a timeskip of 7 years. Not necessarily a yuri ending, but at least it's not a het ending.

So, implicitly, you are telling me that if I want to avoid spoilers (like revealing important personality traits of main characters, time skips, open endings which do not necessarily contain yuri, those sorts of things), I should simply refrain from reading Friedman's review? Got it! Thank you! Wow, I waited a long time for a new multi-volume yuri series that could spark my interest, and then hold it for months (or possibly even a year, or two, depending on the speed of releases), and this one looks like a real gem, I enjoyed it immensely! I am rooting for you, Akari!! Oh, she will get her girl, after first crossing a sea of angst, I can just see it (crosses his fingers)! This will have me on edge with that will-they-or-will-they-not, probably until the very last episode...

last edited at Oct 3, 2015 11:09AM

Just checking, one of the gaming forums I frequent actually has a "thread-removal" policy, so...

Nezchan
But just those specific posts? Not the entire thread, right? Because if it is the entire thread I will delete my question forthwith.

Nezchan
Should I remove my post? It was just genuine curiosity, not a flame bait, that comment piqued my interest, it was somewhat oddly composed. And since I actually ship anyone with everyone, it would be difficult for this to degenerate into a shipping war.

last edited at Sep 17, 2015 10:26PM

Marion Diabolito
I do not believe Nico had any romantic feelings for Maki, those last pages would seem to indicate that it was Hanayo she was invested in. A question, though; the ruining of two popular ships in-universe (if one interprets it in such a way), why would that be an up-side?

last edited at Sep 17, 2015 9:55PM

Yuri Girl 1001
It could theoretically pass (thanks for the effort), but yea... no. It would be too convoluted for a one-shoot of this length. The tragedy is dead. IT IS DEAD, JIM!!!!

And it would make no sense for either of them, much less both of them, to wear their high-school uniforms weeks after they graduated. It must be that same day. At least, that is my opinion. Presently.

last edited at Sep 16, 2015 11:35PM

And there goes my theory... Goddamn it, Yuri Girl 1001, give me back my tragedy! (goes in a corner to cry)

I think that Re is actually still wearing the same uniform on pages 26 to 28. That's the same shirt. That's the same sweater; the collar is fully not drown in one panel on 27, but on 26 it is fully drawn, so the sweater is an exact match. That looks like the same jacket worn the same way; it's simply not shaded in every panel (perhaps because of her pain). It's also not shaded on page 18, and their middle school uniforms have omitted shading in several places. And finally, that's the same bag over her shoulder.

The lack of shading confused me, so I treated it as a different set of clothes. You are right, that is her uniform, which means that Fuyu is not a figment of her imagination, but is actually standing there, in the flesh, which effectively sinks my theory.

Edit 4: Okay, scratch that theory. I'm convinced the cherry blossoms are blooming as she stands on the platform. They were just starting to bud during their conversation, so this must be a couple of weeks or so later. But my point still stands that she's wearing the same clothes except for the jacket.

Not just the clothes, but also the bags, and if you look closely at Fuyu's bag, you will notice that it is actually one of those cardboard bags, like the ones you get at fancy shoe stores. Somehow I doubt that she would still be carrying the same one after several weeks. No, that scene probably does take place immediately after the graduation ceremony (as in, that same day), and the only things that contradict this are, as you noticed, the cherry blossoms. But, I believe that they can be explained as an purely artistic ending sequence, as in "Re is saying goodbye to her dreams of being with Fuyu", and as this one-shoot established, lost dreams = cherry blossoms. So she says "bye-bye", and that is metaphorically represented by the blossoms (as in "showing us, the readers, the blossoms", not as in "they are actually blossoming in-universe at that very moment"). So yes, I would say that your theory is correct.

Now I have to contend myself with this being "merely" angst. Still, it was a good read. And I had fun over-analysing the little details, despite the fact that I do not consider my conclusion to be valid any longer. So, win-win situation.

School Days being utterly depressing and fucked up anyway.

I thought that it was a rather sweet story... in that innocently cute way...

Correct me if I am wrong (it was several years ago that I watched/read this), but the boat was in the anime, not the manga, right? Also, why does this not have a yandere tag?

last edited at Sep 16, 2015 7:11PM

Also, I forgot to add this: in Japan, railroad tracks and stations are a common place for suicides (Japan, as no doubt many here know, has a rather high suicide rate).

I rather like that ending, and actually have no real need for a continuation. It feels rather real-life-y. I mean, judging from personal observation, the percentage of people who never work up the courage to confess is somewhat higher than those who do. So, rather than letting her feelings loose, Nico just kinda gently petted them, and in the end decided to keep her distance. And I am okay with that. (Although a small part of me is not okay that I am okay with that, but overall...)

I wouldn't mind it being a bittersweet ending, except that's pretty much the first time the story really indicates that Nico has genuine feelings instead of just being a good friend and helping her understand what her friend is going through. If we'd gotten more clues that's what was going on I would have accepted this a bit better..

I actually had a hunch that Nico's feelings were sincerely romantic in nature, from page 15, chapter 1. Mind you, it was just a hunch, and I pretty much forgot about it by the time 3rd chapter came out, so I agree that it was somewhat last-minute reveal. But, I rather felt like I was a spectator here, rather than a reader, and by that I mean that I was not privy to character's innermost thoughts and feelings, like one usually is when reading romance fiction, but rather, that I observed the characters as though I was physically present in the scene, and since I have no mind-reading powers... At least, that is the way I experienced this work.

last edited at Sep 16, 2015 4:55PM

I rather like that ending, and actually have no real need for a continuation. It feels rather real-life-y. I mean, judging from personal observation, the percentage of people who never work up the courage to confess is somewhat higher than those who do. So, rather than letting her feelings loose, Nico just kinda gently petted them, and in the end decided to keep her distance. And I am okay with that. (Although a small part of me is not okay that I am okay with that, but overall...)

Uranus I read your review of Sakura Trick. Amazing review well done. You said my toughts exactly.

It was a pleasure.

they totes know what they are doing. especially after the two resolved the pool incident.

Adorable, that entire scene. If only it was incorporated into the anime, it would even redeem the ending (up to a point, at least) by giving us a solid, definitive, probably-to-be-long-standing yuri couple. As it is, there is not a hint in the anime that either of them is willing to fight for their relationship.

Also, I have a question for those of you that have read the manga: do Haruka and Yuu ever learn what dating is, or do they just keep it at "special friendship" (and sadly, that one is not a euphemism)?