The third volume is quite good (but is a bit shakier for scanlator work than first two?). I hope we get it on dynasty at some point.

Binge read and thought it was generally lovely and wholesome… given the tags I was braced for chapter 8 to be rough, but it seemed super clear from her thoughts and actions that Marika was very into it? Brat/brat tamer dynamic + sub space stuff was also very clear especially given the prior chapter. Actually, Marika has been clearly doing the sub space thing since early chapters. Yes, explicit consent is better IRL, misread signals and you will wreck your life and inflict massive harm, and consent play needs extraordinary communication. It shows very risky behaviors, but I don’t see non-consent.

Contrast with the very clear non-consent in KitaKawa even with explicit agreement (a story I also liked, but more as unsexy horror).

It’s funny how different the experience of incremental updates is vs binge reading!

VP is:
Tall
Yandere
Magically competent
Gloms onto head

Ideal girlfriend material clearly

I loved it. It’s brutal, miserable, and (at least for me) unsexy, but it’s compelling, goes somewhere clear with the plot, and looks close at extreme anxiety and codependency. Airi was very relatable in her emotions if not her actions… abandonment and inability to feel loved.

On the whole, I think it was slightly less toxic than my relationship with my ex.

Least horny ghost story chapter fr

Oh my god

Amazing

Chef’s kiss

… why am I more bothered by the writing quality than the humiliation catgirl slave stuff?

At least the odds of this awakening anything are low.

Xiao Lu has a shockingly low threshold for sub space. Down girl, keep it in your pants around the hets!

Is it just me or is the art getting better and better?

I liked this one a lot. No will they or won’t they, it’s about a relationship that has ups and downs and challenges. The characters felt real and realistic to me, including the side characters. The passive but pervasive and hurtful homophobia seemed realistic to me and isn’t a thing of the past at all, at least not in any part of life that I’ve seen.

I don’t think Yukino is narcissistic. That terms comes up as something a classmate says to cut her down. I think her insecurity reads more to me like borderline personality disorder. The drama, feelings of emptiness, desire to be loved but difficulty feeling loved, self-destructive moments and spending way way too much time over-thinking what others said about her make sense to me in that context. The drama didn’t read to me as contrived in that sense - Yukino gets pulled into drama or creates it because she’s dealing with some serious shit.

Being in Yukino’s head for nearly the whole story is compelling for me and very uncomfortable. I don’t think there’s unreliable narration in a visual sense, but the way she picks at and dwells on memories may be closest think we get in manga.

One series I want to contrast this with is “Still Sick”, easily one of my favorites. The Dynasty translation directly has the character Maekawa called borderline by Shimizu. I think that checks out for her behavior. There’s comparable bullshit drama and angst with Yukino that is ultimately overcome with a patient partner in both cases. Still Sick is so tonally different though in terms of feeling less oppressive and more comedic. I would posit that that is narrative, as we see most of the story through Shimizu’s eyes dealing with Maekawa’s odd behavior and drama and insecurities, often with a lot of grace. Octave by contrast puts us in Yukino’s head and keeps us there and boy is it a messed up place sometimes.

I like that Octave had a strong ending. Yukino has grown up , forged an important relationship, and is moving on past some of her past trauma.

It’s a big problem in many places. Even where there isn’t pressure to not be LGBT, there’s always pressure to meet expectations of norms in what you are supposed to want in terms of careers, family, etc.

I’ve been enjoying this.

While it’s definitely fundamentally about neurodivergence, I’ve been reading Takahashi as relatable from a trans perspective, specifically:
1. The feeling of a need to blend in, and to prove useful to others as a defensive mechanism. This is a huge drive - being useful and “valued” is safety.
2. The real exposure to violence, contempt, and extermination if clocked. In some ways things are better now in America than 10 years ago, but in some ways they are actually imo worse, with increased awareness of trans issues and use as political wedges driving my perceived risk of violence much higher. (Also agree with poster above discussing how corps pay lip service to LGBT support without it being real.)
3. Feeling of transformation/change/shelf life of my physical body and drive to alter it. This probably varies a lot from trans person to trans person. For me, modification and alteration drives are a control thing for sure.

Probably not the most flattering comparison, but I’m happy to have a giant murderous worm girl I can relate to and who speak to how I sometimes feel ~

Takahashi best girl, hope she and Itou hit it off now that they are being more honest with each other.

^^ totally. IMO LN 3 - while weak plot wise - makes the series by letting the pair settle into a more equal and collaborative relationship.

And I do believe Kasumi loves Sakurako, and any part of a relationship may leave something unsaid or unsatisfied. But Sakurako felt sort of static and not changing, even with her talk of interdependence, while Kasumi had more of an arc. It makes it hard not to read Sakurako as insecure and hurting, although that’s very much subject to interpretation. Maybe I just place a lot of weight on super clear communication and boundaries in relationships, but this one definitely got under my skin. Not a bad thing, but perhaps not a happy story per se.

last edited at Oct 28, 2024 4:15PM

I read the whole thing (inc chapters 77 and 78) over a couple of days. I enjoyed the first several volumes a lot, but the last couple sort of frustrated me and hurt a bit as it seemed to me that Sakurako wanted some things from the relationship that just didn’t seem to be in the cards - maybe it’s enough for her, and maybe something gentle in the degree of understatement in the storytelling, but too close for me to time I spent in a relationship with a girl who ultimately decided she was straight (??) and that our time together, for all the words of love, was just not actually love. Hard not to project onto a character the degree of “maybe this is enough” self-deception in that sort of relationship? Yeah, yeah, projection is a bad way to read, etc., but last volume was actually outright anxious for me, once the author at least dropped heavy hints that Sakurako wanted more than she was getting, at least in some terms. Her specific thoughts that acceptance is enough for her to feel satisfied makes me really nervous about her sense of self-worth.

So I’m unsurprised this kicked off so much forum drama. It seems written at first as wish fulfillment, stays fluffy on the surface throughout, but plays a lot with ambiguity and expectations in some complicated ways. Much may depend on the individual reader. In any case, being uncomfortable and reflective with something isn’t a bad thing even if I struggle with Sakurako’s emotions and perspectives in the context of their relationships (this is different than yuri vs subtext, and I find Kasumi much more relatable a character).

It certainly did bug me enough that I am trying to sum up my thoughts here. In any case, Cats and Sugar Bowls was great and more my speed.

Final thought - Sakurako’s Kasumi worship and generally character dynamics reminded me a lot of Rae in I’m in Love with the Villainess, at least before Rae has a chance to grow out of it. There’s a lot of parallels in behavior saying ridiculous things, thoughts on acceptance as “enough love” emotionally, age of meeting their partner, focus on cooking, general fantasy competence, etc. The character designs from the college years here are also similar enough that I can’t now unsee it as a weird AU thing.

last edited at Oct 28, 2024 8:58AM

I do want to briefly apply a personal and realistic lens to this story.

In my opinion, Asumi’s relationship with Nanao has power dynamics that I wouldn’t be comfortable with for my part (living it, not reading about it). Asumi is living in her house, getting paid by her, and would become overly reliant on maintaining a relationship that is very new, very fast, and both of their first “serious” relationships. It’s also a relationship where Nanao seems more into Asumi than vice versa. The situation is cute and funny, but in Asumi’s shoes I’d be a bit freaked.

Having a sugar mommy may sound fun, but when I was offered something like this in grad school, even with someone I liked, I declined without really considering it. It was clear that it would have meant subordinating my dreams (which were more career oriented than prostitute oriented). Maybe that sort of kept woman dynamic is more common in hetero relationships… I would still find it scary personally.

Recently, I had a partner leave because she felt her financial dependence on me was destabilizing to our trust. I should have seen it coming but it totally surprised me at the time. To be honest, trying to puzzle out why the Nanao arc bugged me really helped me process this and understand it, hence the long post.

Ultimately the series is about Asumi having one hell of a hot girl summer. Nanao, Mai, Ouka… none of them need to be the One. If she does date Nanao I hope it ends up on a more even footing in terms of power and desire.

Again, this read is definitely informed by my personal take. Don’t sweat it if yours is different please.