Quite an interesting read. The series is not at all subtle with its messages or with its mise-en-scène, but it doesn't need to, really. And it makes a point of showing that prejudice doesn't always come from ill intent, just an unfortunate social conditionning. It also shows that being gay, trans or whatever doesn't instantly make you an expert on those issues (as shown in the Tasuku & Misora arc); there can be prejudice even between LGBT+ people, and not everyone fits neatly into a specific box.

The ending felt… a tad lackluster, but on the other end I'm not sure what more there was to say. Except maybe for Misora, whose character arc is just kinda left up in the air. It's an almost unrealistically happy ending where every homophobic character ends up seeing the light, and in the end the drama that did happen throughout the series was always resolved fairly quickly. Hell, even the death of Mr. Tchaiko's husband was depicted in a happy way (and the scene was beautiful).

Did the author insist too much on the hopeful and positive aspects? Not necessarily. Not every story has to be gritty and filled with tragedy, and considering how badly a lot of LGBT-centered manga ended until not so long ago, you can't blame them for wanting to overcompensate. It also gives some representation to trans men through Utsumi, which is inexplicably rare in manga or in media in general (seriously, even on Youtube the trans podcasters I've seen are all trans women).

My favorite characters were probably Haruko and Mr. Tchaiko. The former for her loud and assertive personality that made her a good foil to Tasuku in the early parts, and the latter because Tchaikosvky of course. :þ Tasuku was… okay? I found him a bit annoying and whiny at first, but he learned from his mistakes. Tôma I never really managed to like. I don't know, even when he acted nice I felt like punching him, and his epiphany at the end of volume 3 was a bit hard to swallow.

I also have mixed feelings about the Host. She was this mysteriously beautiful figure that didn't seem to live in the same reality, and that made her kind of appealing… but if I met someone like that in real life she'd probably get on my nerves rather quickly. >.> Though I did find a bit of myself in her at times. That's also why I find this page absolutely beautiful.

That brief moment where her façade of indifference cracks and you realize that, yes, she's human after all. She's incapable of love, but not of affection.

So yeah, a nice read. It put a smile on my face while making me reflect on some things, and that's cool. Plus the art's beautiful. It would definitely make a good anime.

PS: By the way, I noticed that every main character has a name that's composed of two first names, one male and one female (Kaname Tasuku, Daichi Haruko, Misora Shuuji, Tsubaki Touma…) That's quite fitting.

The official French translation of the title (yeah, it's being published in France) is "Eclat(s) d’âme"

Which is a wordplay between multiple meanings of the word "éclat", which, without s, means brightness, but also shattered/burst/flare. But with an s, "éclats" means shards.

So, the title evokes "bright/flaring souls" as well "small pieces of soul"

Oooh… I wondered why they chose this title, but the double meaning had flown over my head. Shame on me.

last edited at Jan 24, 2019 8:55AM

Not in this one, but in story 8…

And thus Sayaka fell to the dark side…

Though it would have been funnier if it had been Maki's dress from story 8. :þ

Chapter 10 is… Hng…

NAKATANI-SENSEI, GIVE THESE TWO A SPIN-OFF ALREADY.

So, uhm, yeah, Miyako and Riko are a bit gay. And Hiroichi artstyle is probably the one that most ressembles Nakatani's in the lot.

YagaKimi's drama was also pretty lowkey and it still worked… Tonally I don't think it would be too hard to adapt but some of the couples would have to be adapted out for the story to fit into 25-ish episodes.

"That's called being a stalker, Moe" in chapter 4. That, or Ayaka's sappy imitation of Moe in chapter 16. Or the dicitonary definition gag in chapter 46.

…A lot of those involve Mizuki or Moe, don't they. XD

^ Also yes, ChihaIzu is comedy gold.

last edited at Jan 20, 2019 11:00AM

Yeah, I'm always mixed between liking the more polished and controlled style of later volumes and regretting the liveliness and spontaneousness (?) of the early art. Not just for AnoKiss either.

Chiharu is especially beautiful in this chapter.

Thanks for pointing out the typos. Also, chap 48, page 18, second panel is "Do I want Kurosawa and I", not "Do you want".

Regarding the couple/non-couple thing… It actually reflects Canno's own evolution in her approach. If you remember, in the early volumes no one talked about "couples" or "love" (except Yurine, and that was in a superficial way), the romantic aspect was very subdued. There wasn't even a real kiss until the end of volume 3. That goes with that interview 2 or 3 years ago where Canno said she tended to like ambiguous relationships that skirt the line of love. Then you had Moe screaming "I love you" to Mizuki in volume 4 and it gradually became more and more explicit, until volume 9 where we had a bona fide conventional couple, with confession and all.

The thing with this series is that every couple defines their relationship in their own different way, so having all of them go "we lesbians yo!" would kind of defeat the point. Even in Mizuki's case, saying that Moe is her "most intimate friend" isn't inaccurate. As she says, "she never had to think about it", she just knows they're together.

Sawa's case is a bit baffling though, as I'm not sure what has changed between her and Itsuki after this chap.

By the way, I liked that callback:

I think this manga will end like Sasameki Koto, where the third year goes by in a single chapter or so to quickly wind up the manga. This latest volume will be the last, IMHO.

The author already confirmed that this would be the last volume, so yeah. X)

Well, since we’re coming to an end, which relationship deserves a spin-off manga?

I'd say Chiharu-Izumi. These two are just too good together. <3 Or Mizuki and Moe as they plan their marriage or something.

last edited at Jan 20, 2019 8:41AM

Well, there was that, but…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqXZjfI8uc

It is useful to remember that "netorare" literally means "being stolen in bed".

Waiting for proofreading. I sent them to Dynasty today though, so they might pop up soon.

Let's Write a Script might be my favorite so far. Really reminds us that we need more Akari. XD Also, I'd totally buy Maki in that dress.

I personally like most of the stories, only Moke's and Yuikawa Kazuno's ones haven't done much for me.

That touko in a suit fans self oof

It works…!!

^^ It's not just the art, she just seems… goofier in general − except in the stories with Sayaka.

Hopefully she ate all of it just to make sure no one else did. :þ

Regarding the festival… Is it me or Touko's is a little… dorkier than in the manga in a lot of these stories?

What the world has lost…

By the way, there's a mistake on the anthology's Dynasty page − the third story is written by "Chomoran", not "Chororan".

What's up with that world's logic, though? You'd think sharing a kiss hot enough to melt steel would be enough of a clue that you're beyond the "friendship" stage, but apparently not. And Towako does her best to pretend she doesn't mind being basically friendzoned. >.>

…You know, with these last few chapters I'm only noticing now that Ayaka is basically the anti-Touko (the YagaKimi one). Both aspire to remain perfect by fear of letting others down, by carefully building a "model student" image that crumbles when they interact with those they love, and both girls' issues are rooted in their family situations − Touko wanted to replace her sister, Ayaka seeked the acknowledgement of her mother. But unlike Touko, Ayaka's model student side seems just as much a part of the real her as her tsundere side. She's soft-spoken and genuinely likes helping people around… as long as they don't get close enough to make her uncomfortable (which I relate to oh so much). Touko seeked someone she could show her weaknesses to, and found her when she met Yuu; but Ayaka doesn't want anyone to break into her comfort zone, hence why she has no close friends outside of Mizuki and stubbornly convinced herself that she hated Yurine despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. One wants to embrace love and revel in it like in a warm blanket, the other is scared of it and covers herself with invisible spikes.

I'm kinda in love with Ayaka's soft dorky side honestly. <3 She's such an underrated protagonist.

last edited at Jan 13, 2019 4:32PM

Volume 4's bride cover also gave ideas to Shimanami Tasogare's author for her own series' 4th volume it seems. :þ Probably a coincidence, but a nice one.

I... I don't think I can handle these characters being this cute. Moe is not something you expect from YagaKimi I guess.

Oh boy, you're not ready for story 5 then. XD

Koyomi gets no love.

That feeling of excitement when a good story pops up in your head is so relatable. X3

[name](imagelink) for links or ! [name] (imagelink) for images.

[Chiyokosheep](link of the image) > Chiyokosheep

! [Chiyokosheep] (link of the image) >

Little correction, the fourth story "Onigiri, Croquette, Tamagoyaki" is by Miyama Okara, not Fukuyama. >.> I noticed too late.

As for this story, it's weird to see Touko so hyper, but the uniform swap thing does sound like an idea she'd have. XD Too bad she didn't quite think this through.

last edited at Jan 5, 2019 6:57AM

Classic Canno. Seeing Touko in that artstyle is making my head ache tho (it surprisingly fits Sayaka however) lol

Yeah, Touko looks jarringly… cute (except that look at the end)? but I love Canno's Sayaka. She has just enough of that adult charm to her.

And you know, that "best compatibility" between Yuu and Sayaka isn't that farfetched. Had they known each other without Touko in between, they could have made for a fun, snarky kind of couple. Although physically, petite girls like Yuu might not be Sayaka's type.

Oh, I didn't know about that one! It's a bit different from her usual stories, I like it!

Please make a series with an adult couple, Canno. You have to.

…Wait, didn't she see the customers "real" appearance when she first visited?

It might seem to come at the worst moment, but it might be for the best. Touko now has to consider that there are two people who love her for who she is, flaws included, and maybe she'll start to see how… arrogant it was of her to think only her perfect self deserved to be loved.

Kinda the opposite, isn't it? Instead of arrogant it's self-loathing. She doesn't think her perfect self deserves love either, after all that is the anti-thesis of what she has been trying to do. Her sister wasn't in a relationship, so her perfect side couldn't be either. She doesn't perceive it as her real self either way, so the only part people can love is her true self, which she can't accept due to self-loathing.

You're right I guess… rather than "arrogant" I should have said "disrespectful", in that it shows a lack of trust in people she knows. That's also what Sayaka means by "Don't look down on me."