Do not think of this as a psychological story. Do not ask what personal motivations drive these characters. This is a sociological story, just one anecdote in a country full of ruthless and vengeful selfishness.

What you're seeing in this story is the consequence of the Cultural Revolution (1965 to 1976). Long context short, Chinese leader Mao Tsetung was facing a Rebellion among the Chinese Communist Politbouro for the rather trivial act of killing sixty million Chinese people by engineering the greatest famine in human history. Rather than go meekly into retirement, Mao (with assistance from the head of the People's Liberation Army) started a countercoup that enlisted China's Post-Revolution generation who were mostly idealistic youths that were dedicated to Mao's desire to finish the Revolution's goals.

These youths formed a militia called the Red Guards, and they targeted older Chinese in traditional positions of authority (professions, community leaders, religious figures, university professors) by denouncing them for so called revanchism. Most of the accusers were employees or students of the accused, and in many cases they were relatives or neighbors. The accused were tortured and dragged into public denunciation meetings to be humiliated for their alleged crimes, destroying their reputations before neighbors and colleagues. Most of those denounced lost their jobs and livelihoods, and were packed off to prison. Some of the humiliated committed suicide. And many died from execution or further rough treatment in Chinese prisons.

Mao's campaign effectively crippled his adversaries, since millions of their loyal cadres were arrested and imprisoned, and much of China came under the de facto control of the Red Guards. But the CR also destroyed Chinese society. Because of the unprecedented mobilization of youth against traditional authority, and the insidious way that the Red Guards were recruited, brainwashed, and weaponized, basic societal trust was completely destroyed. Many people found that it was easier to preemptively accuse or denounce relatives, neighbors, and colleagues to save their own reputations and positions, adding a permanent bias of betrayal to the proceedings.

Chinese youth of this period, both the victims and the perpetrators, were taught that nobody could be trusted, and that you should only look after yourself. Love is an illusion, camaraderie is a lie, and solidarity only exists as an ephemeral mob mentality for mutual enrichment. Everybody cheats everybody else, and if your not trying to win then you're a fool. This attitude permeates every layer of Chinese society, particularly the Communist Party. The cheating girlfriend is only exhibiting this ethical selfishness, having learned it from her peers and elders in a conspiratorial manner.

That's just how China is now. And it could take a century or more for the country to return to its traditions and to regain it's moral grounding.

last edited at Jul 22, 2024 11:51AM

In case you're wondering.... the band whose name Aya is mangling is the Australian group King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

I'm wondering if it's a wish granting spirit. Not to try and claim it's benevolent, but Aunt went looking for Trilobites, and maybe it made trilobites that died not long after. Idk, spitballing, we don't know how long Aunt was going back to that spot so it may either make no sense they dried in a short amount of time or make perfect sense if it's been over a week.

I don't think it made anything. This monster seems to be very good at manipulating the perceptions of its victims or intended prey. More likely those "trilobites" are just dead bugs, but the monster uses its influence to make them appear that way to an earnest fossil hunter. Gaslighting is a classic sexual predator behavior, after all.

Gem symbolism, huh? Garnets are semi-precious stones that until quite recently were never known to come in a blue color. The blue garnets that do exist are only known from one source in Tanzania, and are very expensive stones. Unlike most garnets which consist of a single mineral, blue garnets are made of umbalite, a mix of two garnet minerals (Equal amounts Pyrope and Spessartite). Umbalite is also known as Malaila (pronounced Malaya), a Swahili word meaning "outcast" or "outside of the family", owing to its atypical properties. Umbalite can change in color from deep blue to bright green, depending upon the intensity of illumination its viewed under. (Reading from the Internet)

Edit: In Japanese there are no separate words for blue and green colors. "Midori" can refer to both colors, and any other word (like the names of the two main characters) are merely "gradient neighbors" or variations of shade and color pitch.

last edited at Dec 28, 2023 1:50AM

The cocktail Naori makes in this chapter ("Caribbean Creole") is actually called a Bee's Kiss here in the USA (place of origin). This is a beverage of rum, cream, and honey simple syrup shaken together. This shouldn't be confused with the actual Creole cocktail, which is a stirred drink of whisky, sweet vermouth, and amer picon.

True Fact: I Love Rock n' Roll was originally written and performed in 1975 by the Arrows, a British band. The Joan Jett version is a cover from 1981.

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:

-Why is she living with her uncle, of all people?
-When Kanna invited her uncle to live with her in the USA, he declined because he wouldn't leave Mitsuki behind. That implies that he isn't her legal guardian, and if he left she would either be placed in a state orphanage or worse.
-When Kanna reappears years later, she is trying to entice Mitsuki to move to the States upon her graduation, is it because she's offering a fresh start with an entire ocean between the girl and her problematic past?
-The Mangaka shows some understanding of US immigration policies, and familiarity with the H2B visa.

This manga has a lot of references to rebirth, reincarnation or resurrection. In western societies both the black lotus and black rose can symbolize death, but also rebirth. And the name Renna means "rebirth" in Latin.

Also this isn't a yuri series (at least not yet): Kyoko refers to Renna as a "little pink bud," or pink rose. In the language of flowers a.pink rose symbolizes gratitude, admiration and filial love between friends or family members.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

...a slide? Seriously? The next manga I read on here with a love hotel in it is probably going to have, I don't know, bumper cars or something.

Also, how many of Japan's trains really stop running late at night? I thought public transit was king there, and the NYC subway, which in all other situations is a 19th century relic that struggles to approach even bare-minimum adequacy, still runs nearly 24/7.

According to their website trains only run between 5 AM and 12 midnight.

I also think it's fairly safe to assume that rather than a full-on dream, Michi was projected into the real-life classroom, and actually talked to Aizawa.

EXTREMELY intrigued by this theory. I am supportive of this (also noting the fact that it was dark outside when they talked too)

Like other readers, I think there’re a Lot of mysteries yet to be solved so far. From the seemingly trivial question “who hid kasumi’s hair clip?” to the central theme “why is aizawa seemingly obssessive with michi?” to the grand finale “what is aizawa’s cause of death?”

I like the fact that the manga keeps it lighthearted despite all these questions.

1) Korotori Michi subconsciously hid Honda-san's hairpin. This was purposely done.
2) Honamin is obsessed with Michi because the latter is protecting her.
3) Honamin's death was faked by her family under extreme duress.
4) This manga has been lighthearted, but there is a major threat to Aizawa Honami's safety.

last edited at Jan 21, 2023 8:22AM

I think the flowers Little Michi gave Aizawa-san anemones. What's up with all these anemones in yuri manga lately...

Purple Anemones represent protection from evil... which is what a normal pentagram also represents.

How can one bundle of anxiety possibily handle two extroverted yanderes.

Handfuls of Xanax?

https://mangadex.org/title/4bdc1694-0055-46e6-ad8b-2ba1e59f6f74/ears

Lewd ear cleaning.

Meanwhile I'm just here admiring that nice VW bus on page 7. Looks like the 21 window model.

Chekov's Gun.

omg blessed you translator and the translator group for the fast release of updates.TvT. thank you soooooo much.

daym tae yar the true legend among all the lolicon I've seen, but she haven't still yet get the mother's approval welp atleast her courage is still admirable.lol

Unfortunately with this chapter we've caught up with the raws, and releases will go back to a normal pace.

I smell ORGY (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)

Having seen the raws.... the body count is a little less than that.

Or, to be pedantic, "She's a Citron, and I'm a Pomelo."

Tatarimokke?

https://yokai.com/tatarimokke/

I'm gonna take a guess here, and say that Ayaka is jumping between parallel universes. She actually lives across several worlds simultaneously, which she perceives in a linear fashion, but afterwards she can only follow a path established by a "dominant day" chosen at random by mathematical variables. Her existence is defined by disjointed timelines, and an infinite of her parallel selves are similarly uprooted. The author is probably a fan of Fragtime, but decided to escalate things to a cosmological degree.

...did she really use "imita shion" as her pseudonym? i guess it's probably less obvious to japanese people but still.

Pantano Pesca means "swamp fishing" in Italian

And now a really deep cut: Berserga was the name of a mecha in Armored Trooper VOTOMS, used by Fyana (the Macguffin/antagonist that the original series revolved around).

Temp's musings on cannibalism and feeding provoked my curiosity. Some other man eating yokai with mouth and/or childbirth fetishes:

Ōmukade: giant centipede yokai that can be defeated by weapons coated in human saliva

Jikininki: An impious priest or monk cursed after death to feed on humans or human corpses. A pregnant woman that outsmarts a Jikininki will give birth to a Jijinki, a kind of ghost.

Nure-onna: Sea serpent with a woman's head, capable of shape-shifting. Nure-onna carry a bundle shaped like a swaddled child, which they hand to strangers that offer to relieve her of the burden. But upon trying to return the child, the stranger discovers it has transformed into a heavy stone, trapping them. The Nure-onna will feed upon them, or they will disappear and a Ushi-Oni (the Nure-onna's "offspring") will appear to consume them in her place.

And the yokai in this chapter is "futakuchi onna"

https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Futakuchi-Onna

And the yokai in this chapter is "futakuchi onna"

https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Futakuchi-Onna

Thank you Matoboo, now we can see that she can see her ear clearly and the holes for piercings too

Mitsuki also used the line "have you been looking forward to it that much?“ in Chapter 2 when talking to Aya in the CD store.

And when she originally said it, it put Aya into a swoon. One page after resolving to clear up Aya's confusion about her identity and gender.