It would be handy to have very clear tags for “this is definitely yuri” and “I don’t know man, maybe don’t engage unless you’re okay with ambiguity.” Personally, I’m relatively okay with getting my hopes up and then having my heart broken. But I think that depends on where you are in life and what you’ve got going on.

I’d be okay if Mitsuki and Aya turned out to be “super best friends.” XD

This is basically what the "Yuri" and "Subtext" tags are for.

You're right. And YET we still very often have heartache and yelling in the forums. But I guess it's all part of the fun of the "will they or won't they" tension. What is a good manga without some groaning and sighing in the forums?

Well, part of it comes down to people who have just been repeatedly burned by media queerbaiting LGBT audiences being slow to trust an obvious narrative. This is exacerbated when the author doesn't want to be put in a box labeled "Yuri" because while to some people "Yuri" means "two girls in an explicitly romantic relationship" others take it as "a specific romance drama laden with certain tropes and expectations."

And in my case, I actually have relatively little doubt that this series will end up explicitly romantic, but I worry that this moment specifically might be a tease, and I would seriously hate that.

It would be handy to have very clear tags for “this is definitely yuri” and “I don’t know man, maybe don’t engage unless you’re okay with ambiguity.” Personally, I’m relatively okay with getting my hopes up and then having my heart broken. But I think that depends on where you are in life and what you’ve got going on.

I’d be okay if Mitsuki and Aya turned out to be “super best friends.” XD

This is basically what the "Yuri" and "Subtext" tags are for.

Everyone's suddenly an expert translator.

Anyway, I erred on the side of caution and kept it as vague as the Japanese is.

Don't take it too personally, it's just fans overanalyzing things as we are wont to do. A lot of people struggle with the fact that Japanese is such a heavily contextual language, so if somebody has seen "Daisuki da yo!" Translated as "I love you!" or "I love her!" they feel like that's what that means, and they don't realize that the translator did some extra nudging to make the language more explicit, because there's way less unspoken ambiguity in typical English speech. I agree with your call, FWIW. I just hope the author isn't be ambiguous just to queerbait us. ;p

Okay. Okay. Look. I've been fine with the subtle, low key subtext approach this series has been taking. If they never took things in an explicitly romantic direction, I would've been disappointed, but I'm used to those kinds of stories and it's pretty obvious that you can read between the lines and see the nature of it. I've been reading ambiguously gay fiction for decades, I'm used to that.

But this better not be a fakeout, or I'm gonna be so mad.

It's so weird, I can handle a series that never runs for the finish line, but I can't stand narrative edging. If the future strips continue with this, great, if they pivot to "I love her as a fan! She's my Oshi!" or "Man, she loves Rock & Roll so much!" I'm gonna riot.

last edited at Sep 24, 2023 4:11PM

https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_moms_a_superstar_ch28#38 I'd imagine sharing a mom would probably have a relation of some sort, though I got the direction wrong. She's the older one.

Thanks.

So Xiao Pei and Xiao Qi shouldn't be related, despite the names. Xiao Qi is Ren Wei's younger brother... despite not sharing either name. But we've got the text above, and shared pink hair color. Unless Xiao is an honorific. Anyway Qi seems to be Ren's gopher/manager, at least now, like Xiao Pei for Youji.

The Xiao prefix has already been covered, (Although I think I've heard that it also can be a name sometimes, so I don't know enough about Chinese to tell you how it's being used here.) aside from that, we don't know Qi's surname. Ren is probably Weiwei's surname, so Qi might be Ren Qi, or they might have a more complex family dynamic involving a step-parent. It definitely seems like they're related, they're definitely drawn with a resemblance.

And yeah, Xiao Qi is definitely working as his sister's manager. First shown here:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_moms_a_superstar_ch09#1 in this pov chapter.

It's interesting now that we know that they're siblings. First time I read that comic, I thought he seemed a little presumptuous, but now that we know that she's his sister, his reaction seems more reasonable.

(Though man, there is just nepotism all over in this story. ;p )

Compare-the-Japanese-to-the-translation person here :)

Notice the dialogue in each girl's recollection is explicitly different. I don't know if that's a translation issue or if it reflects the original Japanese, but assuming it's like that in the original, one or both of them are remembering the conversation differently.

Checked just in case, there is a little bit of a translation issue. In Japanese, the dialogue is the same letter-for-letter. However their impression of the dialogue is definitely different (in Fuyu's recollection, the kanji are all shaky). They don't remember it differently, but Fuyu knows how she felt at the moment (being nervous), and she obviously does not know what Mika was thinking. For the record, the second translation (Mika's POV) is basically what was actually said.

There's also another minor thing that got lost in translation. In the Japanese, the word "development" was actually emphasized (like italics in English). And the word choice is one that usually refers to developments in stories, like plot twists (展開). That was the one that triggered her defensive reaction. So your interpretation is not incorrect, more like blatantly obvious in the original.

Awesome, thanks so much for clarifying that.

A fair chance Haruka has a buzzing Kanae in her bedside drawer.

This comic honestly might just be metaphorical.

The sentences "They're yuri", "It's yuri", "She is yuri to X" are such a nonsense and mostly put aside the use of the word lesbian in yuri manga, come on lesbian it's not an insult, and lesbian relationships.

But that's literally the point here. Mika didn't have the words to describe her feelings without using a fictional genre label, and when her friends called it yuri, she's like "No, that's not what this is, this isn't a story, this is my life.

although it's worth noting, it's my understanding that in Japanese, "Rezu" (lesbian) is kind of an insult, or at least it's considered crass. Yuri is more of a euphemism, which is more polite in conversation. It probably shouldn't be, but it is what it is.

This twist is honestly heartbreaking. And genuinely clever, it didn't even occur to me that Mika said what she said because she felt objectified, but it makes complete sense. Another reminder that you can never assume what other people are thinking.

The problem shows up with how we can't know if Mika was making a statement at the time about the terms yuri (fiction) versus real (lesbian) sapphic romance, rather than a statement about yuri versus doubt that relationships between women can be romantic. Reading this chapter I realized that Yoshioka would have learned a lot about her sexuality through online sources outside of yuri fiction and otaku culture, so realistically her self-perception would gravitate more to the term lesbian and less to the marketable "yuri" through which Fuyu learned about her own sexuality.

If I'm understanding right, Mika was in love with Fuyu when Fuyu was working up to a confession, but Mika hadn't labelled her own feelings yet? So Mika's mistake was she rejected the idea of romance with other girls because she really did believe it only happened in stories, and took offense because a "yuri" fiction label or an assumption that romance is present would devalue what she considered a close friendship? Though Fuyu seemed pretty open about being a yuri fan she wasn't mentioning it directly when she was working up to confess, so I get the impression Mika hadn't come to terms with her own feelings at that point. Eventually Mika realized that Fuyu was distancing herself because of "the kicker", probably even that Fuyu interpreted it as rejecting her and not just demeaning her genre. If not while the two were growing apart in middle school, Mika respected her own feelings by the time she sent a text at the exact moment the mythic lovers supposedly meet on Tanabata earlier on. That's a bit tragic.

If Mika already knew her feelings were romantic (lesbian), and answered Fuyu while making assumptions about Fuyu's connection with yuri (imaginary), and still let the relationship crumble, the development is more of a forced misunderstanding.

I don't feel like it's forced, but I definitely think she knew her feelings were romantic. You have to look at what Fuyu actually said, and think about it from Mika's perspective. Notice the dialogue in each girl's recollection is explicitly different. I don't know if that's a translation issue or if it reflects the original Japanese, but assuming it's like that in the original, one or both of them are remembering the conversation differently. Fuyu remembers trying to dismiss things in a panic and then Mika dropping the "Yuri is fiction" bomb, but from Mika's perspective, Fuyu is talking about it like she's writing fanfic in her head. (something she actually does seem to have a habit of doing)

In the bit before, her friends online had gone "It's yuri!" basically fangirling, joking around, and essentially objectifying her feelings. It must have felt like they were making light of her very serious emotions.

Then Fuyu comes to her and says "What would you do if someone confessed to you?" Her first thought is a fearful "Did someone confess to Fuyu-chan?" Before, this gave me the impression that she was looking for an explanation that didn't imply romantic feelings for her, but now we see that she was worried about losing Fuyu to someone else.

But Fuyu was trying to come at her from the side by pretending it wasn't about them, so when Mika zeroes directly in on this is about you, isn't it? Fuyu panics and retreats, so she tries to play it off like it's just part of the fiction. "I just wondered what would happen next after that kind of a development..." Fuyu is trying to go "It's no big deal, I was just wondering..." but to Mika it feels like Fuyu is doing the same thing that her friends did, and she's been dwelling on that, thinking about why it bothers her, and it comes down to "Yuri is something that happens in a story." And the unspoken part, the part she's probably just as afraid to say as Fuyu, is "...and my feelings are real, so please don't treat them like they're fiction." But without that unspoken bit, to Fuyu it sounds like "Girls don't love each other in real life."

If I'm understanding right, Mika was in love with Fuyu when Fuyu was working up to a confession

If this is really what happened then Mika needs to go to a gay bar and have a few dozens drinks with that girl from Chouchou Nannan. And while they drink they can discuss which one of them is the dumbest one.

I get where you're coming from, but like...Mika is a child? I don't think she should be going to a bar and drinking with anybody. ;p

last edited at Sep 20, 2023 12:14PM

1st page, bottom panel: that the two managers?

Yeah, Xiao Pei and Xiao Qi.

(No relation or anything, and maybe not a coincidence? My understanding is that Xiao is a name prefix in Chinese, using it on yourself is a way of showing humility.)

2nd page: we have Youzi and Caicai, but also a totally new couple?

We certainly haven't seen them before as far as I've noticed.

last edited at Sep 19, 2023 6:51PM

I love it, I love it, I love it so much!!!! ><
What do we think of the manager guy? Is he the ex husband/father?

At first I thought you were suggesting that Han Jing was Youzi's father and I almost choked. Then I got what you were talking about. :)

Sure looks like him.
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_moms_a_superstar_ch08#2

So he had ulterior motives after all!!!
Well, kinda obvious, really. Haha.

He might have, or he might just end up getting caught up in Youji's rebound.

This is why the next chapter is going to be pain. It has to explain why Youji's obvious and extremely deliberate romantic overtures towards Weiwei transitions to Youji marrying her manager and having a kid while Ren bops off overseas for years.

That link does pretty strongly suggest to me that part of the reason Youzi ships her mom with Ren is because of something she heard Dad say during the divorce.

Thanks for the link! I had completely forgotten about that part.
I seriously need to reread everything from chapter 1.

I've reread these chapters so many times piecing the puzzle bits together. For some reason it really resonates with me and I really enjoy seeing how new bits fit into the larger picture. When you reread it with later context, so many things jump out.

so what you wanna say, is that this is good in YOUR EYES so other can buzz off with complaining?? ah funny no one ask to make YOUR definition of progress the universal one, you might not see this as an flaw of the manga but others have as much truth to their words as you self proclaim that we complain for nothing

You might not like it, but people are allowed to disagree with your opinion and think poorly of you for the way you express it.

And they're not wrong. You've had dozens of chapters to leave. If you don't like the series and it's format, then stop wasting your time on it, and stop cluttering up a discussion thread of people who are here because they want to talk about the characters and plot developments.

last edited at Sep 10, 2023 11:47PM

I don't think she would feel very different in the US. It's not like changing country will make her suddenly less awkward and find a place where to belong. I mean, if she really wants to leave, she should and I encourage her to do so. But leaving with the expectation that it will change anything regarding her feeling of awkwardness and her inadequacy with other is wrong. Just because the music industry is different and more open in L.A won't make her magically belong to a group of people and find her place.

Exactly what I was about to say. If she has a hard time with people who are loud and overbearing, America is really not the best place to go directly after growing up in Japanese culture… But then again, it could be a chance for her to open up and discover a new part of herself. Sometimes people need that kind of push.

I don't think she's thinking about America in that moment. She's just feeling out of place there. But clearly Aya's going to connect it to that, because that's where her anxiety lives right now.

I love it, I love it, I love it so much!!!! ><
What do we think of the manager guy? Is he the ex husband/father?

Sure looks like him.
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_moms_a_superstar_ch08#2

University Arc chapter is insanely good, it almost feels like the rest of the manhua was just setting up this flashback

It really kinda was. The chapters up to this point have all been fractured, out of order vignettes mostly told from Youzi's perspective, almost like she's trying to put the pieces together as we are. And then Ren comes out and just says "Yeah, I love your Mom." and at this point, the ambiguity is out the window so the narrative snaps into focus and bam, it's backstory time.

Yes, it's here!

Ren was literally the only color in Youji's world.

I must have missed the scene where dicks were involved. To me it just looked like two people who love each other flirting and kissing.

One yuri guide from the olden time described the different types of yuri fans and mentioned that a large segment of the fandom doesn't want yurigirls to ever come closer than 10 m. to a penis—or an individual equipped with one.

I assume it's even less desirable if the individuals in question are sexually aroused.

But I guess for some people, the mere existence of two people (fictional, at that!) in love who both have hypothetical penises that you are not currently able to see is enough to elicit revulsion. I wonder if there's a word for that.

Lesbians who have been so victimized and hurt by patriarchal society that they don't want anymore to read about males in their comics. Even if they are shown as good guys. Especially if they are shown as good guys.
As one of my friends once told me, men in fiction can be much more tolerable if they're evil assholes who are in the story only to be killed by the heroines.

Let me emphasize that point: this is an attitude towards men in fiction and has nothing to do with real world behaviors and real world people. One should be able to tell reality from fiction. Some writers in this forum have an inordinate amount of trouble with that.

Expressing revulsion at a simple act of intimacy between two people in love because they happen to be men is exactly the same kind of abuse that lesbians routinely suffer at the hands of patriarchal society. I don't really care what someone's justification for their bigoted behavior is. If you treat people poorly because you've been traumatized, that makes me sympathize with you, but it doesn't make the behavior any more acceptable. Tons of homophobes and transphobes have rationalizations for why it's okay for them to hate people on the basis of their sexual preference or gender expression. I don't have patience for them, and I don't have patience for this. Expressing revulsion at two men kissing is, by definition homophobia. It doesn't matter if they're real. They don't have feelings that can be hurt by this, but other readers on this forum sure do. Your treatment of fictional characters in a public space reflects your respect for your fellow human beings in that space. People who identify with those characters get to feel like your disdain is directed at them, whether that's what you intended or not.

If you don't want to see a story that features male characters at all, good for you, you do your thing, the 404 men not found tag is right there specifically for you. But going on a public forum to express disgust about two gay men appearing in a comic that you know has featured those supporting characters for years ? That's shitty behavior. It makes people feel bad. And I'm not gonna let it go by without calling it out for what it is.

The point of the "LGBTQ+" community is to show solidarity and support for each other, not backbite and make vomit noises when we see each other.

last edited at Sep 9, 2023 9:47PM

Translation for the new chapter is making the rounds on other sites now, just FYI. Hopefully it'll be up here soon, Because woooow there's a lot to talk about.

Nao, Onibi, Mask, Kaoru, Hibiki and Midori

I like the way you listed them, hehehe, I see what you did there. (⁰͡ ͜ʖ⁰͡ )

Nao x Onibi x Mask x Kaoru x Hibiki x Midori

Kaoru x Hibiki??????? wtf have you been smoking?

As far as I can remember, Kaoru was all about Shizuka for a long time and then her interest switched to Mayoi. I don't know at which time she could have gone after Hibiki. Rereading the series from the beginning would be needed to perhaps find something but it's a lot of work.

IIRC, when she first showed up, Kaoru was hitting on Hibiki. It was our first clue that Kaoru was a player.

The whole air pocky sequence with Ed and Ian was uncalled-for, unneeded and superfluous. Yuck. Blegh.

Frickin homophobes in even Dynasty.

Many yuri fans don't want dicks in their yuri. A few years back, they were the vast majority of yuri fans. Today, maybe not; but they still are huge numbers who want to read only about girls' love and want male eroticism as far away from the genre as possible.

Everyone is entitled to their tastes so they're right to express their views. But you know what's not right? Personal attacks and insults. That's bad and wrong. It's against the rules as well.

I must have missed the scene where dicks were involved. To me it just looked like two people who love each other flirting and kissing. But I guess for some people, the mere existence of two people (fictional, at that!) in love who both have hypothetical penises that you are not currently able to see is enough to elicit revulsion. I wonder if there's a word for that.

last edited at Sep 9, 2023 4:05PM

Listen.....

Billy Corgan wrote Tonight, Tonight for two reasons. As a homage to his favorite band (Cheap Trick) and as an encouragement letter to himself after surviving a nightmare childhood. Corgan's father was a talented professional musician, and also a mentally unstable petty criminal and deadbeat. His mom was divorced from dad and wasn't a major presence, and his stepmother was (allegedly) physically and emotionally abusive to him and his brothers. Corgan eventually taught himself how to play the guitar, and got the hell out of there to become a musician.

Boring bio data aside, the choice of THIS song for this chapter has to be deliberate. Suddenly it recasts some otherwise inexplicable aspects of Mitsuki's life:

I'm fairly certain every song choice for every chapter is extremely deliberate, but this is helpful context.

This chapter is clearly meant to be sweet and all, but I just can't link her explanation to her slap, I can only make sense of it by concluding that it's a rationalisation

The slap was a panicked reaction to having a drunk person violate her personal intimate space. The discussion here is more about why she's been weird about the whole situation after the fact.

It's not just some drunk violating your personal space, it's your crush kissing you while an intimate mood has been built up

It is both of those things. Which is why it is both wrong and not that big a deal. Life has nuance.

This chapter is clearly meant to be sweet and all, but I just can't link her explanation to her slap, I can only make sense of it by concluding that it's a rationalisation

The slap was a panicked reaction to having a drunk person violate her personal intimate space. The discussion here is more about why she's been weird about the whole situation after the fact.

"I'm afraid that if I ask for more from our relationship you'll end up unhappy or resentful of me."

"But I'm sure I can slap the shit out of you and that won't make you in the least unhappy or resentful of me."

As I already pointed out, they were both wrong in that situation, and they've both apologized for it.

Oosawa going "I shouldn't talk about love." shows she learnt her lesson from the first chapters

I dunno, I think it's more just that she is now aware that the person she'd be talking about is sitting right next to her. ;p

I still kinda want to know if her friends have sussed out that Koga is the music shop guy.