Man, every chapter just reminds me more and more of Bleach when Bleach was still good.

And by still good I mean literally just season 1 when it was just high school kids fighting the monster of the week and none of the soul society crap mattered.

I think you nailed it. Fuck later bleach, all my homies hate later bleach. Kubo should have stuck to deeply human ghost stories not shounen power escalation.

(Ch. 13) I hope we don’t get into a holding pattern of rom-com hijinx now. Or actually, maybe that would be a good thing: I think the author is trying to re-establish the new state of their relationship as familiar, but this time with a lot more sexual tension, so when the next Big Thing really does happen, we’ll get some really hot payoff again.

(Ch. 12) Drunk Ookuma is hot as fuck, oh my god.

(Ch 16) oh man this is so fucked up, it’s like a car crash but it’s so interesting. This is why boundaries are important people, even if part of you wants an ambiguous relationship it can be really unhealthy for you and the other person, so telling people when you’re not interested in them is kinder than letting them hold their feelings.

That said—it makes for some damn good fiction, doesn’t it?

I can’t wait to see how this confrontation goes—is it going to be an emotional explosion, or will they talk it out? If everything resolves emotionally, how could Sei even get out of the hole she’s put herself in w/only blackmail keeping her safe?

last edited at Sep 1, 2020 10:04PM

Damn I love how the more things are revealed the more context and understanding we get for the character dynamics. I loved how volume 2 explored feelings and relationships more, it’s always incredible when a gag manga has a real moment and starts to progress a bit, it’s a cerntain special feeling that’s hard to describe—like with handsome girl and sheltered girl. Is it just me, or do y’all feel that too?

(Ch. 16) I knew this manga was something special, and it has transcended. This is the coolest fucking thing, i am so hype right now I feel like exploding, this is literally everything I’ve ever wanted. She’s using her BDSM powers to heal the girls through love and emotional/sexual release, opposite to that evil girl who just hurts them. Subjugation vs submission.

Also our girl has really grown throughout this manga. She’s like a good-aligned version of Sessyoin Kiara, if any of y’all knows CCC

So I just did a big old re-read of everything, and there are some things I noticed that bear theorizing.

I think this is really insightful and probably exactly it. I love that the new reveal of the plot taking this direction is revealing more of the conceit. Every new plot beat reframes the whole story, and it’s all both compelling and interesting. I think this is truly one of the best-written yuris I’ve encountered, it is so richly layered and the presentation is amazing, on top of the author having a really good understanding of BDSM, fantasy, and desire. I pity anybody that isn’t reading this month by month with the time to re-digest and understand the plot between every sitting, because I feel like that’s how this was designed.

I actually can’t wait for the next chapter to come out; between this, Introduction to Love Triangles, and Do You Want To Go Out Or..., it’s a wonderful time to be on Dynasty.

This is probably based on CCC, so yeah definitely tragic

Cool to look back from 2020 and be like yes korrasami is real

I also think we gotta chill on judging Akira right now. Literally the only knowledge of her character we have right now, beyond the school prince/idol image, has been that she is kind of possessive/insecure about her affections toward Rin (or, more precisely, Rin's potential feelings toward her.) This superiority complex showing up in the face of being overlooked in favor of another partner (she thinks) is one of her flaws, and it's the only personal character trait we've gotten from her so far. That is to say, we have only really seen her at her worst. I'm really looking forward to finding out what else she's hiding under her, admittedly very, polished exterior.

and it is happening not from trauma to transgender persons. It is how it is

I would actually refine that a little bit: I think that a lot of these examples are responses to traumatic experiences, but specifically those traumas arise from existing as a trans person in a cis society with strong gendered expectations of your body. I think many of us feel distress from a spiritual/physical disconnect with ourselves not merely because of the characteristics of our bodies, but also how those are treated as subjects by a sexist cis society: that is to say, we are displaced from our selves because we are treated with a constant, unchallenged assumption that we "are" other than we are. We dissociate not just (or, I would argue, even primarily) because we are mentally different from our bodies, but because those bodies are taken from us and placed elsewhere, far from our true location in gender, by cissexism, and we are forced to adapt mentally and occupy that other place in order to function in a society with no room for us.

That is why, during transition, we aren't merely coming to a reckoning with ourselves and returning mentally/spiritually to the place we belong, but must also learn how to undo the incorrect and dehumanizing impositions of gender onto our bodies, and return to a healthy understanding of them. It is not enough for me to realize I am a trans woman and work through all of that: I must also recognize that my body is a woman's body, and work through the imposed belief that it does not fit or is wrong for me.

Anyway, back to the manga, it seems Saeko has to do some reckoning as well, and it's not looking like it'll be the gentle kind.

last edited at Aug 19, 2020 1:47AM

This manga is actually super exciting because of how... real, it feels, for lack of a better word. Like, so many of the developments and emotions feel very earned, and so I can 100% get on board with them. Which is making the sort of unexpected blossomings of romantic and sexual attraction out of what appeared to be a cozy chill yuri with a very basic, consistent conceit satisfying (and... pretty hot ngl). It feels like it's breaking genre expectations, and the moments where it stands out (that handholding scene, and now recently, MC pinning miss landlady and thinking "I want to mess her up) sort of break past my jaded yuri barrier so that I feel like a teenager first discovering there's manga with girls kissing (and maybe doing more?)

I completely understand how people might be squicked out by the real-world implications of this manga, and I think that's a totally legitimate reaction and criticism to draw toward this series, but the writing, the art, and how they set up the relationship and play with expectations is next level. This is some good shit.

Mochi's putting together the artistic ability to go with her creativity and culture now, she's gonna be a powerhouse

^Leave it up you're out here speaking the truth

LETS GOOOOOO

Holy shit, I thought this would be gag manga hell forever, but it was actually just building up and overstaying its welcome as a narrative device! It’s gotten so good so quickly, I love the way it’s handling gender, sexuality, and the main couple’s feelings. It’s just wholesome and good gender feels.

Also, as a trans woman, Kanda-kun’s body/styles (especially that wedding dress!) and her girlfriend’s enthusiastic reactions make me feel better about myself. It’s nice to have some hope that people might actually find you attractive, and I love how passionately the artist gives attention to Kanda’s non-traditional looks.

Holy shit Mochi has her own fleshed-out style now! It’s always been refreshing but it’s starting to get good too?

Anyway! Our queen of indulgent crack plots has arrived with some of that Good Shit, I can’t wait to see more!

This is some really cool discussion here, and I want to weigh in as a trans woman. My take on this is that Saeko’s discomfort here seems to me like struggling with any kind of vulnerability. She’s holding really tightly onto unprocessed trauma and doesn’t want anyone to see it. In fact, we see that she wants to perhaps communicate her business to Miwa, but can’t, is too afraid, doesn’t know how. We don’t know all the details, but she’s clearly holding onto some stuff around attachment/vulnerability and around “exposing” her issues through having her possessiveness recognized or her issues noticed.

That combination of being alergic to vulnerability, afraid of being “seen,” and all of that intertwining with gender and sexuality is a scenario that’s really familiar with trans people, and this author writes some really realistic emotions, which make perfect sense in terms of their source, direction, and expression.

When Saeko talked about not wanting to receive, being disgusted by the way she would respond, and dissociating super hard when she was receiving, I felt that. Even the “being super critical and judgmental of yourself to keep things hidden and safe,” that was hella real. These are all defense mechanisms of retreat and withdrawal, and all of them involve not being able to inhabit and connect with your body. Saeko seems to be a top because she has to enact her sexual desire through another’s body, in much the same way I and other trans people turn to fantasy and fiction or pleasing our partners to engage with our own sexuality without involving the gendered features of our bodies.

Is Saeko “gender-y”/trans, or is she holding trauma that alienates her from her body? It’s impossible to call right now imo, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.

(Also Sexy Akiba Detectives fucking rule.)

yes yes yes yes yes

Oh man, that hint of jealous, possessive darkness in paragon jock/ace student Akira? Rin’s sad, wistful (yet kinda heated) admiration? Mayuki’s naïve, single-minded yet open admiration? Oh man, those are some tasty feelings. I also love the sexual dynamics here, with Mayuki like “please teach me all about kissing, Senpai” I also love the sexual dynamics here, with Mayuki like “please teach me all about kissing, Senpai” while Rin holds herself back and tries to keep from going full ara ara, and now we’ve got angry, jealous Akira who will probably try to take it out on yielding, enthusiastic puppy dog Mayuki until she loses her balance in the feels and will be like, “oh shit I like this way too much.”

I love it when more dominant/aggressive/mature women with Issues top a girl that goes all puppydog pliant and accepting, and then get ensnared by her kindness so she fills their minds and hearts. Dominant ladies getting seduced by submissives is -chef’s kiss-

Anyway yeah apparently I’m really feeling this quarantine lmao

last edited at Aug 15, 2020 6:05PM

Mana transfer more like mama transfer

That disdainful face in panel four is sexy af

last edited at Aug 12, 2020 3:43AM

If you don’t know Fate, the take is that she’s nonverbal, sort of childlike, and was abandoned and reviled by her creator. She’s very tragic, with her Noble Phantasm killing her, for example. All she really wants is someone to care about her.

Holy shit panels 3 and 4...

Shimousa destroyed me, I’m so gay for Musashi

Sadly we don’t have mellow_03’s excellent work here, but check this out: https://imgur.com/a/2Uy10MD

That kiss was fucking sexy.

Also this manga keeps getting better and better. The frameworks are so good compared to everything else I've been reading lately, talking about consent, giving real life advice, etc. And the drama in these past couple chapters! It's the good kind, not the artificial padding bullshit, but stuff that makes sense and goes somewhere. Omg I'm so completely psyched for the next chapter!

Can I just say, this isn't my favorite manga but it's absolutely fucking sick that we have a yuri tokusatsu? Like, whaaaaa? And the author is just so cool??

I 100% support the diversification of the yuri genre. We can go beyond romance/drama/ modern day character plots, and bring the healing power of lesbian love to all possible fictional scenarios. Come on, if this is possible, what's next? Yuri cooking manga? Yuri urban fantasy? YURI SHOUNEN??