I haven't read this in a while; I forgot that it's probably the best 4-koma.

These are getting increasingly, densely sweet; if a third was released, it would be impossible for light or blushing to escape it.

I thought it was cute. Sometimes people and/or situations are just like that. Sure it would've been nice to have more build-up, but in this land of Moe up the butt, you tell a girl your feelings directly! Consequences be damned.

It's downright depraved! God as my witness, they skipped right to holding hands

Can too much moe poison you? I think it did me.

Just remember; if you feel the need to vomit, it's just your system's natural defenses kicking in.

I've not had much experience with long-form translation in quite a while, and then I wanted to keep the 'children's book' feel to the language as well...

I think it was faithful to that storybook tone. I didn't think about it before, but I'm guessing it can be hard to pick the right wording and punctuation for translations of simple (linguistically speaking) stories.
It runs the risk of sounding flat and mechanical if it's too direct, or sounding too complex if one lapses into more conventional, more "adult" language.
In this case, it sounded sufficiently "all ages."

I came for "what the fuck am I reading?" and by gum I wasn't disappointed

AUs can be so weird, but there is something weirder to me about something so normal.

Here, you have everyone as normal schoolgirls, and Nico working for her family's butcher store. I mean, it's still super sugary and cute, but you don't exactly see a lot of butchers in doujins, or in manga in general.

(is this the next step up from the maid cafe? Will girls with everyday jobs be the next moe fixation in Japanese nerd culture? It reminds me of a strange piece of K-On fanart, with an older Ritsu as a lineworker.)

CAKE

is a pretty good onomatopoeia.

I'm invoking the old school and saying Oniisama E (God, I forgot I left this unfinished ages ago, so I'm going to read it too.)

But anyway, it's the kind of glittering angst that only 70s shojo can really manage (through, Utena draws very well on that time and genre).

Everyone is prone to just the grandest goddamn gestures and speeches in its boarding school, it's hilarious and captivating. Sorta like a soap opera, or its modern mainstream equivalents, the pro-wrestling program and the prestige drama. But, you know, fabulous and anime as fuck.

last edited at Apr 15, 2015 1:52AM

Yeah, that one makes sense, after I thought about the set-up of the visit, and the mother considering the sight of her daughter driving away.
But, it does seem a bit odd, flipping through old chapters.

I remember the Girlfriend character being upset by Les-chan, you know, kinda leaving her, and kinda murdering a guy to get back in with her childhood love, and kinda bringing that love with her to lie low at Girlfriend's home while they decide what to do.

But, that seemed more like, well, the normal devastation that comes from a bad break-up of a good thing. Plus, her family is supportive and she has opportunities to move on. And, the start of the latest chapter, she looks like she is considering apartments, not how to die.
I mean, unless the next chapters are going to reveal her clinical depression or something, it seems a bit out of nowhere.

I don't know; the only thing I can accurately predict in Gunjo is that the main characters will do the wrong thing, and all joy dies in their presence. It's so bleak, it's almost comedic.

I wonder what is the angstiest manga with the tag. Not in the sense of, "which has the most unpleasant stuff happen to the main characters?", but in the sense of, "which focuses the most on being miserable, and never talking about/reacting inappropriately to issues?"

I'd say one of Takemiya Jin's works. I love her stories, but I think she has a fondness for characters that feel that they can do nothing, or can only pick a worse option. Like, the kind of person that feels trapped by their unhappiness.

(I apologize if that is vague, or if my starting question is too off-topic.)

It's so weird; the ex and her parents are like normal people that wandered into this melodramatic tragedy full of people collapsing under the weight of their choices. They're so nice and straight-forward, it is giving me a pleasant whiplash.

edit: oh yeah, it's been so long since I read this, I forgot about the end of chapter 14. I do wonder how this idyllic chapter leads to the brother's statement. My basic guesses are that:

• She went looking for reconciliation, and that led to death (accidental or murder or such)
• She left the dogs and visited her parents as a way of tidying up things before committing suicide.
• Outside chance; the brother is misinformed or lying.

last edited at Apr 14, 2015 5:12PM

i'm so confused. i haven't watched pokemon since the best wishes series. what's even happening? is this an actual yuri pairing lol

I was the same way, there seems to be a lot of backstory that's necessary to really know what's going on here.

It's like some Touhou doujins; the author took a simple framework and constructed a far more elaborate story (reliant on their takes on the characters). In this case, they somehow created an angsty story about one of the protagonists and a gym leader from Black & White 2 (it's not like they added a lot of interaction in that game; gym leaders act the same as they do in other games).

So, you're not missing things; it's in media res of someone's fanon.

edit: I don't strongly object to story-heavy doujins on story-light material. But, this is a case where I think the author might as well have done an original work, as they're adding enough material to completely change these simple characters.

last edited at Apr 12, 2015 6:03PM

It is a very unusual and fun game; I feel it always could use more exposure.

I think the voice acting works well; the writing and general "quality" of acting were deliberate attempts to make the game sound more like 70s anime.

(Ha, searching for the other games Sandlot made, they did end up working on EDF games. I love them more now.)

This might be the last kind of story I expected from a Pokémon doujin.

(I liked it)

I think ZOE1 and ZOE2 might be the most drastic leap in quality between sequels that I have ever seen.

The first one feels like a bad Gundam anime rip-off that got a quick game adaptation. The second one is like a super-robot simulator.

(the closest thing to a super robot simulator is Robot Alchemic Drive/RAD, another underappreciated PS2 game)

Actually, let me recommend RAD, now that I remember it. It's a loving parody of 70s mecha anime, where each part of the robot's body is controlled with a different part of the controller; you also have to run your main character around the fighting robots/city battleground (as the mecha is remote controlled like Giant Robo or Giagantor).

Like the EDF games, it has an impressive sense of scale for a PS2 game, but a bit of a shoddy frame rate.

You had three giant robots and three versions of the same protagonist (typical spiky haired mecha protagonist, cool older protagonist, and mecha nerd girl protagonist who protests that liking mecha does not qualify her in any way to pilot one.)

The best robot is the most experimental one, because that one has a super-powered mode with a dramatic, voice-acted countdown until the engine is overloaded. It can dive kick through skyscrapers, and if that doesn't sell you the game, nothing will.

Changing the protagonist doesn't change the story significantly, but changes a fair bit of dialogue (mainly, your own character's.)

Now that I remember where I am posting (it's been a while, I need to play again,) there was a thing if you picked the female protagonist.
Your character has a klutzy best friend with a tragic past (of course,) and her story changes the least
(looked it up; Nanao was the friend, Yui is the name of the third version of the protagonist.)

So, if you picked Yui, some of the dialogue is changed to be about close friendship rather than romance. However, if you focused on her side-story, Nanao still ends up talking about how much she loves the protagonist and you'll end up with her rather than the male love interest. It's a friendship that is straight as a rainbow.

Exactly. It's kind of funny; the two non-cancelled yuri examples you mentioned are on the opposite ends of the spectrum from one another. One is a telenovela, one is sugar.

The only other manga that were leaping to mind are Inio Asano's Goodnight PunPun and Aki Eda's Bonnouji. PunPun's central romantic relationship is an adorable bullet of misery plowing into the spine, while Bonnouji is a cheerful comedy about deepening relationships and how your best friend can be your romantic partner. It's reminding me of earlier examples.

Asano's is generally blackest comedy about modern life, while Eda's other works are like her Touhou and yuri stuff, very sedate and introspective. I haven't read of much of Asano's other works, but I would recommend anything by either of them.
_

Nez replied while I was writing the reply, so:
I forgot about those three. Especially Girl Friends, as I haven't read it in a while.

Girl Friends has an interesting structure, now that I think about it. Beyond how it shifts between the two main characters' perspectives, it has clear arcs of friendship, conflict/confusion, and reconciliation/dating. It's much more well rounded than most romance mangas.

Stretch looks pretty mainstream to me. More josei than anything else he wrote. It's already quite long and it doesn't seem the story is about to end soon (though the chapter before the April 1st one sounded a bit ominous).

Yeah, I used the wrong term, too evocative of "style".

I guess I mean something that is serialized in longer chunks (or with a more frequent update schedule), and is less intended as an instructional comedy thing. I mean, Stretch becomes more focused on personal relationships and back-story as it goes on, but a lot of it is essentially amusing everyday occurrences.
It's a mixture of light comedy with serious elements (chiefly, things that happened in the main characters' pasts.)

Maybe if they get together, they won't be 'healed' and the manga would show how they get healed in the end, and he ends it at that. If that happened, this would become my top, no question.

I think it would be more interesting if the characters got together and that change is explored as part of the larger story. I think a lot of stories end with the start of a relationship, or completely lose inertia after they no longer have the will-they-won't-they dynamic to fall back on.
I mean, it doesn't have to become Octave, but I don't feel there is enough out there that skillfully explores long term relationships (I mean, both in manga, and in a more general sense).

last edited at Apr 10, 2015 9:03PM

Look, I'm sure talking 'bout DILF qualities anywhere online is probably relevant on some level. Just give me enough time to bullshit a connection to manga, stretching, romance, or the author's body of work.
(Gendo might be the World's #1 Dad, but he's not the most charismatic acting or looking character)
_

I hope Shou definitely stops to write Hentai/Lolicon and writes more of this.

His storytelling and character building skills are too good. We got a nice preview in Prism, but here, it really shines.

I still feel that this is a somewhat surprising manga; his previous works didn't really tell me that he could write and draw something compelling.
I'm curious if he will ever make a jump to more mainstream dramatic manga (I mean, something longer and more focused).

Well, it was worth a try.

Oh, you can try what you want. I just feel that it saves a lot of time and effort to pick your battles, you know?

This needs a denial tag.

Denial she's a lesbian, denial she's an otaku, denial that everyone knows she's all of these things.

Yes. I think the manga is funny partially because the main character frequently panics about things that absolutely no one she knows will care about. It's a game of deception with only one player.

I don't really play many visual novels, but I will give it a try (and try to give useful feedback.)

I am not the most well read when it comes to older romantic stories, but I feel Itou Hachi's stories feel like they come from another era. I mean, they have gay marriage, women in masculine jobs, and fox ears (because the author likes fox ears.) And, of course, it's a manga with a modern art-style.

But, the way that a lot of the stories focus on a young woman or girl falling in idealized, chaste love with an older, wealthier person, the familial matchmaking, the upper class focus, the 19th to early 20th century technology; it feels like an early romance novel.

It is strangely jarring, to read modern yuri manga with this sort of nostalgia for old-fashioned romances (it is something I think comes through also in Hachi's author's notes). It is interesting to read, despite not fitting my tastes.

last edited at Apr 9, 2015 2:59AM

On telamon's and HypocriticalLiar's conversation; I feel that is the center of the manga. Beyond Ran and Keiko's changing relationship, I feel it's about how people can have a lot of difficulty connecting to others. Especially because our unhappy past relationships can "teach" us to be extremely wary of strong relationships. In the latest chapter, I think that is reflected in joking that hits their weak-points.

(I would like to analyze stories that are not on this site, but hell, I have no idea of how to reach an audience with that. And it's not like I can start talking about Ernest Hemingway here, he's not even moe)

oh, and jnko, that was the poster that uploaded the bonus stuff. Thanks to 'em.
_

Especially the last part, or why I like hanging at Dynasty forums

"Well, it wasn't world-shaking, but at least we discussed a lot of fictional kissing dynamics."

I disagree. I felt like a badass saying it whilst seated. I also wear glasses so you know I got those villain vibes as well.

Confession; when I typed "hands clasped together in front of your mouth," I was picturing Gendo Ikari monologuing on gayness. Frankly, mentioning glasses brings that image again.

last edited at Apr 9, 2015 2:40AM

pfft a true lolicon doesn't find kids attractive, that just makes you a pedo, a true lolicon finds lolis attractive, there is a difference in that lolis look absolutely nothing like real children.

You know "Lolicon" is just the Japanese word for pedophile right?

I've learned that this is the kind of logic you can't argue with. Not because it's strongly argued, but because it's an understanding of pedophilia formed from anime and anime fans with a similar mindset.

Bringing up the earlier clarification does help clear up how formal, full names are shortened in colloquial Chinese.

Chinese to English translations, brought to you by the letter X.

You have to respect the X, it's one of the hardest working letters in the business.

Well, stories don't need to have characters that are nice, or even relatable. They can be about terrible acts, and even terrible people that enjoy such things. I think I'm open minded when it comes to violence and sexuality; I like films that have shocking scenes and grotesque atmospheres.

But I feel there is a clear line between stuff that explores the morally reprehensible, and stuff like this that just wallow in it. I mean, it would still be bad if it was just pretentious (like it is), but it also aims at creeps.

how many citrus characters does it take to change a light bulb?

we don't know. they haven't gotten that far yet.

the essence of citrus

Those are both correct; Famitsu has the issues of being stodgy and predictable, and Yakuza is good because it is absurd in many different meanings of the word.

To be fair to Famitsu, Japanese news is pretty bad at the whole critical thinking journalism.
You wouldn't want to upset anyone by saying something mean that might rustle some jimmies.

Well, the problem is that Japanese businesses, including journalism, tend to be very centralized and monopolistic. Such conditions don't cotton to rocking the boat, or the boss' friends' boats.

Famitsu reviews are actually interesting, because they're incredibly brief and vague. They sound like a recommendation on Steam, but with an incredible weight of advertising behind it.

I'm surprised 5 and 0 are getting official translations. Sega is both prone to bad decisions and to courting safe markets like pachinko and mobile. Yakuza is something I would see long-term videogame players would be interested in, which is a smaller and sometimes fickle market.

I mean, I am delighted that they're getting released in the West, and I hope they do well enough to localize more games. It just seems not in line with Sega's recent history.