A couple details I noticed but forgot to mention:

You might have noticed the letters Mebae wrote looked kind of unusual (page 18). They represent publisher questionnaire insert cards that manga are often sold with. If you've ever imported manga from Japan you might have found a small postcard with questions on the back, and that's what these love letters are based on. 112-8580 at the top of the card is the postal code for Hobunsha, the publisher of Tsubomi. I have a few books from Tsubomi and they all have cards just like these.

Not as interesting, but 101-8388 on one of the cards is for Shounen Gahousha, a non-yuri magazine. My guess is that the author works there. The postage dates stamped on the cards are after Tsubomi ended (Dec 2012). Since I couldn't find any connections with this, I like to think it is just Mebae's unending expression of love for Tsubomi.

I enjoy the secret story this oneshot tells:

Aside from Yuri Hime and Hirari, Tsubomi used to be one of the only other big names in yuri publishing. It has since gone out of business, but recently Mebae has taken its place (it is also the magazine this oneshot ran in). This story literally has Mebae sending love letters to Tsubomi. I consider this oneshot as a love letter from Mebae (or the author) for all the good Tsubomi has done for yuri.

It has a lot of amusing parallels which further personify these magazines as their characters:

"I found Senpai at a book store I just happened to visit" and "After some time, she graduated, but I ended up entering the same world as her." start the story off strong on Mebae talking about finding a Tsubomi magazine, and then Tsubomi going out of business but having Mebae enter the industry soon after.

"You were born in April, Me-chan." Refers to Mebae's Volume 1 release on April 31st 2014.

"I've graduated, we live in different worlds now" again refers to Tsubomi going out of business, but then Mebae responds "We're together! I chose to enter this industry so I could be closer to you, Senpai". Pretty obvious.

Tsubomi has a lot of stories that never get to the kiss (infuriatingly, at times), hence the kissless virgin moment.

Tsubomi ran for 21 volumes, thus "There's 21 minutes left to my birthday" and the subsequent "Unfortunately, I'm out of time" when those 21 minutes are up.

Unrelated specifically to this oneshot, but Tsubomi means flower bud and Mebae means seedling. This connection runs deep!

This is possibly the first instance of someone shipping yuri magazines in a yuri magazine.

last edited at Apr 20, 2015 3:22AM

The main issue is whether or not the author intended to imply meaning with plastic references or if we are inventing a reason for them to connect with the story. My current view is the author realized the potential for an interesting way to number chapters using the recycling codes (how recycling plants process different types of plastic):

1 = PETE (no plastic imagery or naming included in this chapter); 2 = HDPE; 3 = V (for PVC, used EPR instead which happened to be a plastic and also served as the title hint); 4 = LDPE; 5 = PP.

I don't really think there is enough evidence to say that the author planned ahead to make any connection between characteristics (bonding, naming, physical properties, etc) of the plastic and the characters, especially since Ch 1 was unused and Ch 3 was not properly recycled.

This is still an incredibly layered and nuanced story that deserves a lot of credit for doing what it did so well. All the other references were just a fun bonus.

He also promised an omnibus of the series, but that was well over a year ago.

I saw First Love Tectonics was published from this author but I had no hope for Triangle Struggle to get a similar treatment since it was so lewd towards the end. I hope it pulls through, I'd get it in a heartbeat.

It's too bad the other stories aren't related, I wanted to believe there was a short lookalike to Hikaru who confesses to Shinobu, causing all sorts of comparisons and confusion along with Shinobu's style of pranks befitting something titled Joker.

Also, I updated the post above with Ch 3's EPR Paradox. I think it fits nicely in such a layered story, this author really went all-out on these clever science references.

Wow, yes! Also, thanks for translating this, you are my yuri incest love triangle hero.

I can't believe I missed EPR Paradox. I was trying to tie it into the plastics and completely ignored the possibility that there was something else implied by the title as well. If anyone wants to try and crack the code which I couldn't: Chapter 2 HDPE (High-density polyethylene), Ch 3 EPR (Ethylene propylene rubber), Ch 4 LDPE (Low-density polyethylene), Ch 5 PP (Polypropylene). I'll definitely write how EPR Paradox is relevant to the events of Ch 3 now that I know of it (I'll edit it in later).

Some other things I was curious about: Ch Ex's "Published in 2673/8/11". I thought it might be related to Fallout since Hikaru was reading it at the end of Ch 5 but I couldn't find any evidence to make a solid connection. Also the samples of the Joker story and sequel from the author's Pivix. It looks so similar to Shinobu, and there is even a sample page that seems to compare the cover page's character with Hikaru. Wishful thinking has me hoping it was an alternate Shinobu route, but I know that it's probably just a recycled character face. Would you happen to know anything about it?

This manga is getting a lot of discussion, but has yet to get down to the very real science involved in a yuri incest love triangle. The titles are obvious, but how they reflect on the story requires a deeper look at the basic scientific principles referenced by each title. The final two chapters in particular are very revealing, and might help anyone unhappy with Ch 5's end, as it implies that the time skip was only one possible outcome, allowing the reader the chance to decide which ending they want without breaking canon.

Chapter 1: Schrodinger's Cat Went Meow

Schrodinger's Cat being dead or alive depends on observation: Shinobu poisons the box (i.e the love triangle) by trying to goad Hikaru with a love-steal scenario. Akane observes Shinobu and Hikaru fight-groping each other, collapsing the two possibilities into one. Initially I thought this meant killing the cat (i.e Hikaru's chances) but in hindsight this manga was made without harming animals, so the cat lived happily ever after.

Chapter 2: Maxwell's Demon Laments

Maxwell's Demon is obviously Shinobu, as she attempts to remove the heat (i.e romance) from Hikaru-Akane and push it to Hikaru-Shinobu. Hikaru closes Shinobu laments, entropy won, the laws of thermodynamics remain undefeated.

Chapter 3: (E)xposition, (P)anties, (R)everence

"The original EPR paradox challenges the prediction of quantum mechanics that it is impossible to know both the position and the momentum of a quantum particle." Simplified, the EPR Paradox is the challenged belief that two particles can 'know' each other's quantum state across time and space. This paradoxical quantum entanglement (which correlates nicely with shared feelings/mutual love) can be applied to the story very easily: Akane is the particle with which Hikaru wants to entangle. Before Hikaru can do this, however, she wishes to know Akane's quantum state (i.e how she will react to a confession). Shinobu argues that Hikaru should just confess. Following one side of the EPR Paradox, knowing Hikaru's quantum state would allow Akane's to be known as well (if they are entangled, i.e mutually in love). This paradox travels from the end of Ch 3 into Ch 4 with the letter Akane writes, which can be summed up as the EPR paradox successfully breaking the known laws of physics by having Akane's feelings transcend time and space (in this case the chapters, via Shinobu) to relay her message. If only Einstein had yuri incest for reference, then the world might have benefited from a revised model of quantum mechanics and the EPR paradox would not have stirred such controversy.

Chapter 4: Thus Feelings Converge at the Lagrange Point

A Lagrange point is a place where something can remain in a stable orbit between 2 bodies. In this scenario, Shinobu is the object in orbit, and Hikaru and Akane are the 2 bodies around which she is currently spinning. Hikaru and Akane's combined gravitational pull gives this 3rd object (Shinobu) the energy necessary to stay in a stable orbit. Shinobu has purposely positioned herself in the Lagrange point between Hikaru and Akane, knowing that their happiness together will give her the stable orbit she desired. She even says it herself: Hikaru's happiness makes her happy. Equilibrium has been found in the three-body system, and everyone is happy. Additional layer to this science puzzle: L4 and L5 are the only Lagrangian points where a stable equilibrium can be maintained, potentially implying that either Ch 4 or post-timeskip Ch 5 can be considered stable orbits (canon endings).

Chapter 5: Bust Size Decoherence

This title refers to Quantum Decoherence, which is probably the most complicated concept the author used. I suggest reading the page on Quantum Superposition since it relates to it, but if you're not interested then this sentence will provide enough to understand the ending: "Quantum decoherence gives the appearance of wave function collapse, which is the reduction of the physical possibilities into a single possibility as seen by an observer." This concept directly applies to the story: since we already had the incest ending in Ch 5, this one goes for the unexplored possibility of a threesome ending via a 6 year time-skip. Of the many positions in which a yuri incest love triangle can end, this is but one possibility. As mentioned in Ch 4, they are both canon endings from which you can choose your favorite.

last edited at Feb 24, 2015 3:12PM