Seriously, Sora... be careful what you wish for! Midterms every week? [shudders] I haven't been in school for decades and that makes me feel ill!

You make some excellent points, but I wanna circle back around to something that seemed slipped in; “make love for 72 hours straight”? Damn girl make sure you hydrate! Also, just saw that art and it’s already in a credit page. Nice!

Seriously! Just give that girl an IV drip so her lover doesn't kill her!

WOW! I love the realistic take on the normally unrealistic characters!

When was sensei introduced? I don't remember her like at all

She is Aizawa's first (or at least the oldest we are presented) god artist she fell in love with, back in her days. I don't remember in which exact chapter, but we're shown how sad she was when Camuno-san disappeared from social media without a trace.

She also seriously tried to discourage Misumi from pursuing a career as a mangaka because of her own issues.

As for Madoromi, I think this chapter made her even MORE unlikable. Finding out that her biggest issue is that she's always been a spoiled rich girl that always had everything she wanted handed to her and was always gifted as an artist and THAT'S the main reason why she can't deal with the fact that the person she developed one-sided feelings for before they ever met in person is in love with someone else just makes her an entitles rich brat. Then add to that an attempt to force herself on Misumi in the bath while Misumi's girlfriend was sleeping in the next room and you get an entitled rich perverted brat that has way too much trouble taking NO for an answer! And that doesn't even get into the whole "classist" attitude about the difference between creators and consumers of art!

Of course, it really doesn't help that Ai herself believes she isn't good enough because she's a no-good, dirty otaku that will never be worthy of being with a godly artist like her girlfriend. That's probably the biggest hurdle that needs to be leapt in the story.

the art is really nice BUT THIS IS SO ILLEGAL IM CRYING

Um... the younger girl is 18 and graduated from high school. That's legal just about anywhere that same-sex relationships aren't outright illegal because of outdated laws. And the older woman is a neighbor, not a teacher or a step-something. This is just about the least illegal age-gap story I've seen in a while.

I don't know... saying you'll come right home and then NOT sending a message to say she's stopping by the party for a short time, even though she has an established pattern of sending a lot of messages to update Ayu on her day and when she's coming home and stuff like that, seems a bit out of character for Kon. That said, Ayu could have sent her a message as well, right?

Well... you created her to serve your needs. You just didn't quite realize what needs you had that she would recognize as in need of ... serving...

last edited at May 6, 2022 1:44PM

Glad I didn’t read this based on comments and the last chapter. Yes, there are such relationships IRL, but it doesn’t have the literary payoff for readership (they’re not even ROOMMATES! God what a let down). Good luck getting this picked up for publishing stateside.

This manga deserves the “non-binary” tag as the relationship went no-where by choice.

Please don't use terms if you don't know what they mean. Non-binary has absolutely NOTHING to do with this manga or anything you said.

Re: tags. Rio is into Matoi that way. By Dynasty’s standards that alone makes it yuri, full stop.

I don't think that applies here, since Rio is only a side character. Of course it would add to the argument that this still stands as a yuri work (as would the appearance of the lesbian couple), even if there is no conventional romance between the main leads, but it wouldn't define it as such. (The same way having a female side character crushing on the main female lead of a het romance wouldn't make that work yuri).

If that's the case, then WTF are there so many posts about Rio? It seems like, to the readers, many of whom don't understand the concept of the relationship between Yuriko and Matoi and think Matoi should have gotten together with Rio, someone she NEVER expressed any romantic interest in, Rio was one of the main characters...

And it doesn't matter anyway, because Matoi makes a romantic confession to Yuriko, who gives that confession due consideration before answering her and also telling Matoi that she loves her, but not in a romantic way, but she still wants to stay by her side if she'll have her.

The problem with the ending is that Matoi is, subconsciously, unsatisfied with the non-physical/non-romantic relationship. She starts of the story thinking she may not have those kinds of feelings but it seems that they just hadn't bloomed until she met Yuriko. Six years is a long time holding back on what she wants, she may not have a strong drive for a physical(sexual)/romantic relationship but it is evident that she wants one.
There's more to their emotional states to be explored than to just randomly time skip SIX YEARS and have them living as neighbors, this needed another two or at least one more volume in order satisfy the audience with a resolved and fleshed-out ending. This was a good series but needed just a bit more development to make it better.

There is nothing in the entire story that gives any indication that Matoi is anything but asexual. The author outright states that the character is asexual in the author's note at the end. It's also clear, based on the final chapter, that MATOI is the one who is the most reserved about the current state of their relationship among EVERYONE involved. Matoi's mother treats Yuriko like a daughter-in-law, thanking her for always looking out for her and promising to send food soon, etc... Matoi makes a comment about Yuriko not being obliged to go to her sister's wedding and Yuriko practically takes offense at it, telling her that she thought she counted as family.

A little disappointed that they live next door to each other. What the heck??? Isn't rent kind of expensive in Tokyo? This story was supposed to be about the characters maturing, yet they're not mature enough to prioritize practicality over comfortable distance? SMH.

and

That felt a bit abrupt, but I'm mostly happy to see a manga representing acespec in such a wholesome, understanding way. While it does feel weird they don't live in the same apartment together (that's just wasteful monetarily imo), I'm glad they stuck to their queer-platonic relationship.

The only thing that really leaves a sour taste in my mouth is where we left Rio. I had personally kind of hoped for an acespec QP/Poly sort of... thingy? for the three of them

etc...

I guess nobody read my earlier post right after this chapter landed... There is another potential reason for the two of them not sharing an apartment in Tokyo: prejudice. In other manga, it has been mentioned that it can be difficult for two adult women to rent together because landlords don't like to rent to groups of single adult women. Single women, fine. College-age groups of women, fine. But multiple adult, working women they have problems with. It might stem from the assumption that young women of a certain age will be getting married soon and, when there are several of them sharing rent and one gets married and moves out, the ones left behind are more likely to not be able to cover the rent and have to be evicted. I'm not saying this is CORRECT or a good way to do business, but it is something I have seen in other stories.

If you factor in the fact that people might make assumptions about their relationship if they were living together, it could very well be Matoi who doesn't want to share an apartment. They also might be not sharing an apartment so there is less of a chance of Yurko being seen naked in passing by Matoi, which Matoi understands is upsetting to her because of her scars. If one thing was patently clear in this story, it was that Matoi is hyper-aware of things that might be troubling to Yuriko and tries to avoid them. In a way, that behavior delayed Yuriko from telling Matoi about her feelings about wanting to stay by Matoi's side because the first time she tried Matoi cut her off and told her that she understood that she would never fall in love with her and that was fine. Yuriko MIGHT have been about to tell Matoi that she thought she might be falling in love at that point because she did have feelings of some sort, but on further reflection, she realized that Matoi was right and her feelings weren't romantic but were still, in a sense, a type of love.

As for the thing with Rio not getting "resolution"... who was this story about after all? But seriously... I really can't understand why so many people WANT Matoi to get together with someone she has not expressed any interest in romantically and who would be just as "unsatisfied" in a relationship with Matoi as people seem to think Matoi SHOULD be in a relationship with Yuriko, because Matoi would not want to have sex or even kiss, while Rio was portrayed as being pan/biromantic and demisexual (though I thought she fell for Matoi awfully fast for that... Maybe they had been at school for a few months already and we only saw snippets?) I mean, why not the guy who confessed to Matoi at the beginning of the manga getting together with her, if you're just looking for someone who has a one-sided love for her? His feelings are pretty much equal to Rio's, except for the small fact that Rio fell for Matoi AFTER she had feelings for someone else and backed off... somewhat... gracefully. (She only pushed her feelings on her a few times after saying she understood and got those jealous eyes when she finally met Yuriko.) What if Rio was a guy? Would that have made a difference? Would people still be saying that a male Rio was "done dirty" and things like that? That's the kind of entitled speech that you hear from people who say they were "friend-zoned" by girls who were never interested in them in the first place but think that their feelings somehow magically give them the right to have a relationship with them. Sorry, but Rio didn't HAVE a love interest in the story. She had feelings for one of the protagonists that were not returned. Six years down the road would be at least four years after their graduation from trade school, so it wouldn't be surprising that they lost touch. They weren't in the same field, after all.

I decided to re-read this, partially because it's such a fun series, and partially because of the informational stuff on the credits pages of the chapters. When I got to chapter 4 and read the one on "Summer Gifts", I had this thought... since the date that the gifts are given differs by region, what happens if you move from one region to the next between the two dates? Do you end up sending gifts twice that year? LOL!

I think I'm the only one who doesn't care much about the ending (I don't find it surprising after the author explicitly dropped "asexual" in first chapter and then reinforced it in the character bios or whatever)...

... but the fact that the author just straight up demolished a house in the second to last chapter for no apparent reason other than moving the plot drives me nuts - did I miss something really obvious before, like did they mention somewhere that demolition is planned? Also, that wasn't even necessary for the plot to move, Yuriko could have just decided to move to Tokyo because she wanted to spend more time with Matoi.
I know it's kinda stupid to hyperfixate on a detail like that but it makes absolutely no sense to me. She didn't even sell the house, it just got fucking demolished, what the hell, why. They even alluded to moving back in the last chapter, well guess what, you could have done it but you demolished your house.
Did I mention yet the house got demolished? Yeah I'm out.

When they went on their "date" over Matoi's summer break from college, when Matoi drove, and Yuriko was afraid at the old, broken-down place that Matoi had taken her to when they went back there at night, Matoi commented on the fact that Yuriko is afraid of "Haunted House" like places, yet lives in THAT house? This kind of indicates that the house had one foot in the grave already. That's the closest I could come to foreshadowing for it.

That was a fantastic manga and the author's note at the end was one of the absolute best I've ever read!

As for the chorus of "That ain't yuri" comments. Why the heck not? It's about a loving, committed relationship between two women. In the final chapter, it is clear that Matoi is still very much in love with Yuriko, but also still hyper-aware of the fact that Yuriko isn't one who feels that type of emotional connection, though she loves Matoi in her own way. Neither of them have any interest in a sexual relationship and would be uncomfortable sleeping together because of that. One might think that sharing a two-bedroom apartment would be less expensive, but that would also involve renting it together as adults and inviting other people, like their landlord, to butt their noses into their relationship and make assumptions about them. Living next door to each other means that they are close and can rely on each other for support without the baggage related to living together in a society that doesn't recognize same-sex relationships, let alone same-sex platonic partnerships, as valid. It was also made clear that they share household tasks since they discussed stopping by to pick up some cleaning cloths on the way home and the other one mentioned that they had just stocked up on them last week. So they share cleaning supplies and, most likely, food and other necessities.

There was one point in the final chapter where I thought Matoi's hyper-awareness about Yuriko's aro-ace status was getting in the way of her appreciating how dedicated to "being with" her Yuriko is. When they were returning to Tokyo and she made the comment that, as a friend, she didn't really need to go all the way out to the countryside for the wedding and Yuriko responded with, "Huh? I thought I counted as family!" This, and the conversation Yuriko had with Matoi's mother, made it clear that Yuriko and the rest of Matoi's family perceive her as being in a "partner" like relationship with Matoi, despite the fact that they don't "date". (Though it certainly sounded like they were arranging one at the end of the manga...)

last edited at Apr 29, 2022 5:29PM

I was actually wondering if the girl was the retired idol...

Pages 9 and 10 are in the wrong order. That, or they keep offloading the scarf onto each other when nobody's looking.

I think you're right, but I like the idea of the two of them tossing the scarf on the other's neck when the other is turned back and forth.

Great ending to this chapter, but it would have been funnier if Kase would have accidentally hit the "accept" button on the call instead of the "reject" button and broadcast her relationship to her team because she was so thirsty she didn't pay attention to what she was doing.

Nothing quite like an established couple flirting on a date to the countryside to stargaze.

I think this is missing the "What the fuck am I reading" tag.

The only thing that the last panel is missing is "YOU IDIOT!"

Just that one panel with the wedding ring in the last chapter... subtle yet showing that they did go and make it official.

Wow... a chapter that goes precisely nowhere... what a surprise...

Did anyone get the 3D thing to work? And if you did do you have a raging headache afterward? And, DAYAM! Ai certainly knows when to call! That's your future girl! Enjoy it!

That bug was a literal and figurative wingman.

It did just leave on its own once Yuuri got home, didn't it... I believe you are correct.

Alrighty, I need some help understanding this manga… here’s my perspective on this story: the big blond (BB) seems to be a player concurrently breaking her first loves heart. Yet the last panel states she, the first love, basically doesn’t care as long as she gets some nookie from time to time. Am I correct so far?

It's not clear that the blond is actually cheating, especially now that the original doujin has been linked to it, in which we get her thoughts, which are that she knows that her girlfriend is an anxious girl and she keeps her that way because it's the only way she thinks she can keep her, which suggests that she is not cheating but she is playing on her insecurities and possibly gaslighting her.

As for the assertion that the anxious girl "doesn't care as long as she gets some nookie from time to time"... I'm unclear whether you mean to suggest that she's willing to cheat with the girl who is currently stealing a kiss from her, while she looks a bit light a deer in headlights, or that she's willing to put up with her girlfriend's abusive behavior for sex... either interpretation is a bit premature, I'd say. She appears to be unhappy, but in love and wants assurance from the girl she loves that she's not just one of many and she doesn't want the other girl butting in and telling her how to live her life, especially when she's saying things that are uncomfortably true, up to the point where she started talking about how she wouldn't hurt her and then proceeded to do just that by kissing her without consent.

last edited at Feb 22, 2022 4:02PM

AWWWWWW.

Love this series. Now if only it'd cross over with Sasameki Koto....

I don't believe that I read 100 chapters of this without figuring out that it was by the same author as one of my all-time favorites! I feel so dumb! And that is a BRILLIANT idea!

Those Ohanana panels are amazing!

This really is a story of healing more than anything. This plot could have taken a turn for the worse at any point, a generic "We are fooling around to get over our personal pain" kind of deal. It's what both of them told themselves it was at first too, exactly because they couldn't believe they deserved more. Instead they genuinly love each other and form a solid bond.

Outcasts in several ways, but not actually bad people in any way. Kashiwagi who is treated like the worst delinquent is actually the one with more common sense and emotional stability. Kusumi is in a worse place, but she is also more honest about her feelings. Their dynamic is truly charming and this manga oozes cuteness between the pain. Definitely a far better read than what the tags would imply. Glad I read it.

IKR! From the start, I was impressed by the way Kashiwagi appeared to almost be trying to protect Kasumi from harming herself by stopping her from smoking on the roof, though one of her later comments made it fairly clear that this wasn't the first time she had a crush on a girl, just the first time the other girl felt the same way about her.

What a cliffhanger!