Stagnant is accurate all right. Rather than creating an interesting twist on the usual "but what if they were BOTH fucked up!?" thing the mix of tropes just makes this feels even more stale. Like Kodama Naoko brand edgy gal pals is just not the spice to revive this dish.

Nono was already a beast, but now she's lost all reason to feel self-conscious about her dangerously powerful top energy. RIP Takamine. Gonna be a lot of la petite mort in your future.

It really might turn out that Hina enjoys Airi being vulnerable and reliant on her. She did make it clear she'll put up with Airi's gross and weird requests in order to be "wanted". That concession leaves her as the only one Airi can trust with her more intimate desires, and thus allows her to be someone "special" who Airi "loves" and "needs" most. It would also mean Hina is being just as selfish as Airi in her own twisted way.

Puking Reversal

Having Ran and Amy wear reversed colored wigs was definitely a disorienting choice. The ladies on the last page aren't them, just folks who got disappointed the two were banned before they could vote for them.

That Hibiki and Kanade pair seem like a reference to Suite Precure. Mana and Mai make "use some precure names" a decent possibility.
But also... They really went and referenced the yagakimi fundraiser madness. "Yuri fanservice" and "yuri otaku" are... something all right. That aquarium comment also makes some of those last names seem like references to Koizumi Moeka and Kawauchi Misato, the ones who played Touko and Yuu respectively in the stage play. "Kotobuki" also immediately makes me think of Kotobuki Minako (Touko's VA). Can't be bothered to check if any of the other actresses / VAs check out though.

Oh damn, this is becoming really interesting. It's great to see the careful character writing actually build up to something instead of just getting repetitive one note torture-porn. Thank you Glasses, may you realize that bullying the "disgusting fucked up weirdos" is also a jerk move.

Airi's favorite season of Precure being Fresh... that would be hilarious foreshadowing for a redemption arc.

Given how short Kotooka's hair was when they all first met one another

Something, something, girls cut their long hair short when they get rejected and they have to start over again. It would be interesting if Kotooka got completely shut down, then socially ostracized, during the wave of the cliched end-of-year confessions. Also explains why she went so out of her way to attend her new school and why she seems so distantly traumatized by the concept of a trio of close friends splitting up.

Her relatively newish wound still festering with ten thousand chittering maggots.

*Edit; also congratulations on your first post.

Yo thanks! Cutting her hair after rejection does make more sense in the long run, yeah. And since her own feelings would have destroyed the equilibrium of her last friendship it makes sense why she's so obsessed with 'balancing' and changing everyone's 'unequal' feelings. "One-sided love sucks and third-wheels are unfair so all that can be done is rid everyone of their romantic feelings by becoming 'normal girls'!"

Given how Kotooka talks about unrequited feelings it seems like chapter 18 has all but confirmed that she was rejected by her old crush. So any empathy she feels for Washio wouldn't be 'I know what it's like to have an unrequited love' but 'I know what it's like to be rejected by the one you love' I guess. Previous chaps have Washio's own dialogue make it clear that there's a big difference between knowing and getting direct confirmation. Kotooka is definitely is "too nice" in this way. Trying to get Washio to give up and grow uninterested instead of having to tell her "the feeling isn't mutual." I mean she has straight up questioned if it's "okay" for two people to have "unequal" feelings, so stuff like that eats away at her it seems.

Also damn, the girl who rejected Kotooka must have been an ass if she made her want to go to an entirely different school. Maybe gave her the "don't wanna be friends with a creepy girl who loves girls" thing. It'd bring Subaru's comment about love confessions being creepy full circle. Given how short Kotooka's hair was when they all first met one another, maybe one of her 'abnormalities' was being a tomboy. That'd be hurtful word ammunition for her crush to shoot off but that almost seems too obvious. It'd give an added significance to her crush on Shiratori though!

As a sidenote: I think? Kotooka takes Washio's love as a serious thing. She didn't acknowledge any of her past boyfriends as someone who 'loved' her. Washio though? Cancelled the "nobody has ever loved me" thought. Kotooka's methods are very "don't think about feelings for too long/must end this madness" and it makes it harder to interpret how in/significant her passing comments are now that everything's gotten so complicated. Could her line about one-sided love being the "best weakness possible" be a hint about her own feelings? That not only is she frustrated that her plan is failing, but is also worried things might get more convoluted if she lets Washio too close? I doubt Kotooka would like to check 'loving two people' into the box of added 'abnormalities'. She could be referring to her man gallivanting but it'd be hilarious if the triangle keeps building till they all secretly love each other. The legendary triple triangle; all love no confessions! Unmarried 30 year olds end get. Since Kotooka already (most likely) has the dichotomy of been rejected/ has to reject girl I do think I'm probably overthinking the Washio stuff though. It'd be sadistic af.

last edited at Jan 6, 2017 10:46PM