I agree that there's no real equivalent ship from Sunshine, but that still doesn't explain NicoMaki's staying power.

It does seem like this is the one ship out of all the Love Live! media that will outlast the franchise itself. You don't ever get NozoEli anymore, nor HanaRin, nor KotoUmi. Not even TubaHonks.

But NicoMaki still going strong.

Wonder what it is about that pair that resonates so strongly with the fans.

They are NOT wrong though- anyone who thinks otherwise must be in denial imo.

That said, it's been a while and she doesn't seem to be the same person anymore and isn't up to her old tricks -
so while I won't ever trust her 100% or like her much, I like seeing her grow and move on and hope mask is good for her.

People can change - i'd rather she became a better person than not and she deserves a chance at least.

But I can also see why some people dont want anything to do with her - and I can't fault that.

My issue with Kaoru is that she was introduced as a very manipulative, self-centered character. Which is fine, not every character needs to be puppydogs and butterflies and rainbows.

But if the character is manipulative and deceitful and unable to give a shit about anybody but themselves, that's how I'm going to interpret her words and her actions. So, for example, when she told Honoka that she wished for Honoka to become a mangaka, I didn't believe it. I just figured it was more of the same lying manipulation. She was trying to make Honoka feel bad for treating her like a lying, manipulative bitch.

However, reading the thread, I saw many people hold that moment up as one of her positive moments. They clearly perceived that declaration as being sincere and honest. They were picking up on some signal I didn't see, and still don't. And in general, I could never figure out when Kaoru was being sincere this time, as opposed to all the other times when she wasn't.

When she started interacting with Mask, though, it became much more obvious when Kaoru was being sincere, because Mask wasn't giving her any other choice. Manipulative insincerity doesn't work on Mask, because Mask is just socially awkward enough to call Kaoru on her bullshit directly, in a way that doesn't leave Kaoru any wiggle room. So I am really enjoying their interactions.

There's also the fact that the comic overall has shifted in tone over the past 13 years. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, Chapter 1 Ayano was straight-up groping Miyoshi's tits in the middle of class without any hint of embarrassment, while Chapter 274 Ayano goes beet-red at the mere glimpse of Miyoshi's bra and cleavage. I think it's safe to say that whatever image Kishi has in his head for Kaoru's personality now, it's probably not quite the cold-hearted manipulative ice queen she was in the early chapters.

last edited at Jul 31, 2023 9:45AM

I love how Mayoi doesn't give Kaoru any refuge but sincerity.

^ Of that I am absolutely certain.

It does not dissuade my nitpicking instincts, however!

Also: If you think about it, Bocchi has the ring boxes backwards. The blue box will be in front of the yellow-haired girl, and the yellow box will be in front of the blue-haired girl.

A fence is someone who buys stolen goods from thieves and other criminals. Can be used as a noun (to describe a person who does this) or a verb (the act of selling stolen goods to a fence).

I wouldn't take any of that as evidence of anything other than they know what gets 'em page views.

Kojiro481: You can't make a li--
BlueDsc: LEEEEEEEEROOOOOY JENKINS!!!!

Good work, you dorks. I chuckled for a good minute or so. :-)

last edited at Jul 29, 2023 9:47AM

Missing a lot of tags atm, like Read left to right

But anyways, great doujin. I like the Riko x You dynamic a lot

Yeah, I suggested a bunch of 'em. Read Left to Right, Romance, Adult Life, and Slice of Life.

Also: I would imagine that the artist didn't draw the background. They just drew the characters and photoshopped the background in, which is why the angles are wrong.

Phew. I'm glad we cleared that up.

Neither one is looking where they're going. They gonna have a comedic moment here in a few where they trip over the curb or walk into a lamppost or something.

Also, they're both have the exact same facial angle, which may be causing the uncanny valley.

Man I love manga featuring adult versions of the teenagers we got to know in other media.

This is a very sweet doujin. Just a cute, happy, fuzzy little slice of life. And since I am an old guy I really love the nostalgia aspect. The older I get, the more I like to indulge in that nostalgia, so this story really hits me right in the kokoro.

Also: 21th

Love the "can't train AI on this" text. I'm sure it'll be as effective as those "You cannot send me junk email or I will call the FBI" notices you used to see in people's email signatures way back in the early days of the Internet.

Gotta say I don't remember either one of 'em in the anime being stacked like Hitomi Tanaka...

We don't know that they're drunk.

But with Toba-sensei it's always a good bet.

Street sign spilling the tea.

Also, girl on the left looks like she's just come out of her marksmanship qualifiers.

also to clarify, separately, I don't have a problem with people writing about problematic shit, I think that's fine. the specific issue I was trying to express was that it seems like so much fiction content about BDSM is off or uncomfy that it's really hard to find stuff that I really enjoy or that does a good job representing the actual realities of the practice/community.

Very, very late reply here, but in my experience most BDSM manga reads like it was written by people whose only experience with BDSM is BDSM manga.

I continue to believe that this whole subplot started off as editorial meddling, but Takashima-sensei prevailed and is now course-correcting as best they can.

Duplicate upload:.

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/men_men_musubi (uploaded in 2017).
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/men_men_musubi_1 (uploaded last week)

Most recent upload has some additional cover art the older upload doesn't, but it is otherwise the same manga.

Gratuitous "seeing double" bump.

Bumping this so we can have two "Men Men Musubi" threads on the front page of the forums.

Mikawacchi has zero chill.

What the heck happened to Miyoshi's legs? Why are her feet so small?

Foreshortening