Damn. I really have a hard time finding any value in love triangles. This latest development isn't changing my mind. Will try to remain open-minded.

I mostly feel like they're narrative dead ends, y'know? We know Touko will end up with Yuu, so the point seems to be a setup for contrived drama later on.

Hopefully, Nakatani resolves this peacefully without any Sayaka/Touko drama.

Good! Contacting family and friends is part of responsible hotel-going with strangers. Nice to see.

You never get polyamory outside of porn. Monogamous society prefers to portray it as a fetish rather than a viable relationship model.

Such a shame. I like the idea of Sayaka wondering what Touko sees in Yuu and, through that effort, begins to see it herself. I don't think the poly model suits all ships, but I certainly think it could suit this one.

I fricking ship Sayaka and Touko now.

So do I. Any chance of a poly ending? ;p

last edited at Jun 3, 2016 7:21AM

Honestly, I don't like this development. But I do like Sayaka even more now, so, at the same time,I do kind of like it.

I also like that Sayaka isn't that, "we're in love, but we're both girls!" trope. She seems to recognise that it's because she's a giant homo.

It's fluffy for this mangaka. Normally a Hirao Auri character has the pain and ennui drawn out for so many centuries of subjective time that when they kill themselves quietly it's not a cry for help, and everyone that knows them doesn't go "oh, my God!" but rather, "Finally!" and then they go back to researching their own escape. I picture a world where that's the only pleasant activity legally allowed. In their world the chromosome that makes lesbians attracted to you has a side effect of brain damage, though, so that's par for the course here.

In all seriousness, she's a good artist, good at setting up plots, good at creating characters, but beyond that, I've always wished she'd let someone else do the plotting, and perhaps the writing. Even things that were obviously dragged out as long as possible like Citrus or Stretch really don't compare to her "masterwork."

I don't know whether or not I agree, but I love the way you phrased it.

I hope Sayaka is actually jealous that her best friend position is being usurped, and is actually okay when she finds out that it's intact because Yuu occupies an entirely different section of Touko's heart.

I feel like there was a plot here, but I have no idea what it was. :v

I dunno I think the whole "confession" thing we see in manga is super healthy, as an adult can anyone say they haven't had those moments spent wondering how someone feels about you? Id love to see a romcom where an actual "confession" takes place because im sorry sometimes you dont just bump into someone, or have so wacky story that led you to a relationship... (im sure you can tell, but a "confession" has great appeal to me, itd be amazing to meet someone so upfront/direct/brave about how they feel , tho I do admit its far more complicated as an adult )

I'm someone who struggles with understanding some social nuances, including the definitions of relationships between people, so the confessions always made sense to me. Of the 2 people I've liked in my life, I've told both of them upfront for this reason. It's too easy for me to misunderstand things otherwise.

Has Takase even confessed? Why is she acting like she lost already without even giving a fight?

Not even that, but this weird possessive mentality of "I'll never have her for myself!" and then, after her episode of self-pity, railing on the brunette for... Self-pity. Like, dude. Back off a bit. Have a glass of milk. Reflect.

omggggg what on God's green earth is going on.

Bring on the next chapter.

I like literally nobody in this manga.

But I'll keep reading, because I hate myself, too. :p

I could enjoy this, trashy as it is*, if there weren't the rape backstory.

I feel like so many things use rape as the Ultimate Drama Torture that I don't react to it in fiction anymore. I'm completely desensitised to it as a narrative device.

seriously why they don't upload the remaining chapters here?

It got licensed, which is good, since it indicates popularity. Hope it comes to Europe, though. I'll probably end up importing the Japanese either way.

I want something really out of the left field, and for Ice to get with Mew.

Nakatani seems to know what she's doing, so I'm not too worried.

That's pretty much why I'm okay with waiting to see how it turns out. Besides, I love everything else in this manga so much that something so small would just be a minor annoyance, even if it doesn't work out well.

predictability

I somewhat agree with this, as I'm also not a fan of switching the narrative perspective to mostly irrelevant side-characters.
Focus on primary characters is an important part of consistency to me, and doing otherwise can make things feel a little disjointed.

However, I'm also leaving the jury out until I see where it goes.

Normally I'd feel bad for her cause of the rape (I think it was)... but somehow I don't. Doesn't make me like the story, thought..

Well, I still feel bad that it happened, but that doesn't mean I like her character.

Honestly, I don't really see the point. Miscommunication is annoying enough in real life, even more so when it's to perpetuate contrived drama that wouldn't exist if everyone acted like a normal person instead of some weird caricature of a psycho.

I think that Yuu is supposed to be in love, but the mangaka is deliberately not drawing attention to it to make it seem like she isn't, because her reaction to love is a lot more subdued than Touko's is. For example, saying she doesn't hate Touko kissing her, noticing Touko has lovely eyelashes as they're about to kiss, flinching in that small panel because of all the shoujo sparkles going on, saying she doesn't want anyone else but Touko to be in love with her, etc. However, in a way it's dismissed because it's accompanied with with a "but I'm not in love with you" in the narration, since it's from Yuu's PoV and she doesn't think she is. She's sort of tricking the readers using contextualisation; things that would normally be viewed as romantic suddenly aren't, purely because the narration frames them as platonic.

I think it's quite clever. You can see it again when there wasn't any glaring focus to Touko freaking out about the indirect kiss when they shared their drink, instead depicting it only as a panel of hesitation before drinking. Some of Touko's behaviours are also treated this way: her curiosity in Yuu's room, her going out of her way to seek Yuu out, etc. They're not explained in the narration because they don't need to be. They've been contextualised as romantic, so that's how the reader sees them.

I think the mangaka knows that drawing something is an active choice, so decides what she includes carefully. there's a lot from Yuu's side that isn't platonic, but the unreliable narrator mechanism is used well enough that it doesn't seem like there is. I think it's especially glaring when you compare the fact that she wanted to reject the dude who confessed to her beforehand, although she said they'd become close, and thus might be even more willing to endure his overtures in the same way she endures Touko's now. Despite that, she never made anywhere near an effort, and allowed Touko to pursue her from the start, whereas she intended to turn the dude down from the start.

Might just be projecting, of course! It's fun to think about, though.

"Friend zone" wahahaha dAmn that most hurt

Confusing skinship strikes again!

Ooooor you could go with the simpler solution that he did a series about two friends for a non-yuri magazine and still managed to slip some yuri in anyway. But I guess conspiracy theories are more fun.

Probably this. Still kinda disappointing to read, but I don't exactly hold it against Shou.

I call bullshit - if they're super-friends, what are their powers and where are the comic relief companion animals?

If they can't combine rings and morph, what kind of super is that?!

I really like this series.

Probably inspired by Once Upon A Time. Red Riding Hood/Belle is the true OTP.

I don't mind the side story of yaoi but at the moment the audience has no resolution of what happens after the rejection between the two main girls.

Wasn't this addressed when they got caught in the rain straight after?