All of this is pretty standard, it's just the random encounter in the middle of the street that's the issue. Switch it up so they're either walking by the old middle school, or the prestigious high school, and the encounter is suddenly less contrived since it's a place where this type of encounter might happen.

Is it random though? I think Glasses may have stalked Nagisa once she found out her school at the festival. Maybe Nagisa's dream school is on a similar route toward Mashiro's house?

But yeah, don't think Glasses girl is bringing up any new insecurities. They've been hinted at for a while. New player is just aggravating wounds that haven't healed. Mashiro's clearly mentioned she's a clinger. We thought, ooh cute. But really she's a deeply insecure individual. Sure Nagisa has time for her now but I believe she'd mentioned going to cram school, probably in hopes of getting in a good college to go to med/nursing school so she can be informed on how to care for Mashiro, so I imagine Mashiro might have a rough time making new friends in class.

Her old friends might get busy too, leaving her at the mercy of her insecurities. Remember, girl didn't really have friends before since she was always sick and there may have been a mention of people treating her differently/drifting away because they felt she was too fragile?

So yeah, new girl will probably come with a backstory explaining why she's in love/fixated on Nagisa since they only talked once? Maybe defended her from bullies? Hard to tell since the tone of this always felt feel good/romance vibes.

Hopefully Mashiro will become stronger and become an equal partner in her relationship with Nagisa. As cute as the boob hug is, I'd really like another sleepover with Mashiro helping a tired Nagisa to bed and giving her yet another kiss that Nagisa won't know about.

Still seriously hoping for Fuuko/Yuni but it seems more like it's going to end with everyone parting ways after having learned their lessons with an epilogue of an open ending with all three meeting years down the line as well-adjusted adults.

Does this mean she's going to be bonding with Arata so he'll no longer be "the unknown"? Still hoping for a jealous Mei arc this time around.... I mean I know Mei's stunning and smart and rich but Yuzu has some stuff going for her too! It's her turn to be wanted by someone in a romantic sense since I don't think Harumin will ever be confirmed.

Yuni's gonna be back in Fuuko's arms in like two chapters. There's no way Nanase will be able to uphold her promise. Whatever she's offering won't be enough for Yuni since she isn't quitting the club and that one girl has a mad crush on her there from what I remember. Plus, I think Yuni's going to miss being someone's priority. Love this train wreck.

Shiho literally just saving face right now. The song and effort worked! She’s just covering her tracks by claiming her intention was to date Aki all along…

Girl hasn’t changed. Maybe Aki can help loosen her up though so she’ll stop lashing out and throwing a fit when things aren’t up to her standards.

last edited at Aug 20, 2023 5:05AM

HOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH BABY We're back in action https://mangadex.org/title/9f78bb87-b2d9-4e2c-b9fe-7e07b481d8ca/utsushicha-dame-na-kao

THANKS FOR HEADS UP!!!!!

I want to see what happens if and when Arata turned out to like Yuzu and started to flirt and asks for dates, will Mei still be in robot mode? Will she be ok? Or jealous? lack of confidence? will she not care because she is 100% into the school?
She may as well tell Arata about she and Yuzu's real relationship. Many people inside the school have already known. Exchanging small personal info and story is always a key to a successful business partnership.

I have been wanting an insecure jealous Mei! We only got a glimpse with Matsuri. It's always Mei being chased, admired, and wanted by others for various reasons. Yuzu gets zilch... sure there's some subtext between Harumi and her going on but then again Harumi hasn't been shown to have a suitor outside of maybe Matsuri...

I'd prefer to see Mei in the hot seat for once. Maybe she can understand Yuzu's feelings better this way... to see someone connect better with Yuzu and provide the emotional support Mei struggles with giving and receiving. How would this "evolving" Mei feel about that? How would she handle thinking Yuzu would actually give up on her and leave her? Has the idea ever crossed her mind? Or is she simply confident Yuzu will persevere and be patient with her given how Yuzu has ALWAYS chased after her?

They are way too cute! Someone pick them up now please! Seven Seas! Yen Press! Literally any printing company! I need this in my collection!

I do think that last sequence, with that utterly adorable confirmation of Mio as a clingy wife, could have pushed the envelope a bit with an almost kiss - interrupted by Eri - that ends with foreheads touching instead.

I think she just doesn't want to hurt her anymore. Nanjou's told Riri "no" multiple times now and it hasn't gotten through or turned her off. Could also just be that she thought she'd just put up with it until graduation and she wouldn't have to see her anymore.

After the shrine visit in Chapter 30, I think Nanjou is at least somewhat confident that Sensei likes her back, so no reason to try and make her jealous.

We see multiple instances where Nanjou looks uncomfortable with what's going on, but she puts on a friendly face so as to not hurt Riri. I think she just doesn't know what else she can say or do that what just crush Riri. It's difficult to hurt someone you thought of as a friend.

I think that too. I’m probably just making it more complicated than it has to be. This manga has always been simple, direct, and not as angsty as others.

I think we're likely going to delve into the reason why Prez is so “nice” on her POV chapter.

Damn it Uda… me thinks you just jinxed their relationship! Cram school and lack of time can come between the two!

Maybe it’s not just Prez being nice though. Maybe her imperfection is she’s using Riri’s feelings for her?

Either it’s because she likes the attention and affection she’s being showered with and that’s why she’s letting it happen even if she knows she’ll never reciprocate.

Or maybe this is her moving on? Using Riri to get Nurse to be jealous?

I mean Nurse likes her back but she doesn’t know that for sure and Nurse has to push her away. It’s probably only until graduation but Prez has no guarantee of Nurses feelings.

Looks like we’ll be getting her POV next. Can’t wait!

Yay! Another Yuzu jealous arc…… we haven’t seen that in a while. TBH would have preferred not seeing it at all.

Though Arata’s comfortable around Yuzu, I hope it turns around to him liking Yuzu and Mei for once even just being a little jealous. He seems like a good guy so he doesn’t seem like he’d flip out after being rejected and still want to continue their joint venture…….

Hope it doesn’t turn out too predictable.

Or since Yuzu’s sick maybe Mei will ditch her meeting with Arata and show Yuzu she’s her priority. That’ll probably quell the jealousy monster no?

So.. open ending with Tae and Mai still being "friends" without outright confessing to each other and continuing to hang out after they reject the others? Sad to see this get the axe so soon!

last edited at May 30, 2023 8:04PM

Mai's about to get a crash course on romantic feelings! I think she'll reject rando but could just be wishful thinking...

More likely scenario is Mai will tell/ask Tae about romance and then Tae will avoid Mai after realizing how her first love will never come to pass because of the age gap. Maybe throw in some guilt about keeping Mai from people her own age as well.... then Mai will chase after Tae!

This manga is absolutely underrated! Great art and perfect lighthearted beat which is a feat since they’re dealing with heartache and struggles.

Seven Seas!! I need this in my shelf!!!!

Possible, but at this point, entirely too late. We have spend way too much time on Aki and Shiho already without the reader having a chance to care about their relationship beyond surface-level shipping, if even that.

It isn’t too late if the reader actually cares about Shiho and if/how Aki’s relationship with her will progress.

Besides, it does not feel necessary to see how close they were to determine whether or not Aki is justified to miss Shiho/wants her back. The characters are established and it’s easier to picture the what might have been of their dynamic based off of the quick montage.

A lot of people hate Shiho/think she’s immature/just over all a scene thief and unnecessary plot device so most here would be on the too late boat/just straight up drop if she shows up in more chapter but the set up right now seems perfect for a flashback but only the author and their team knows.

That brings me to another point of critique of the series, though. Why would Aki even want for Shiho to be part of her life? We see that she does, but we do not really know why. We simply did not see their relationship, so we did not have a chance to get attached. The whole drama relies on the peril that their relationship is in, but we as readers have not been shown how that relationship even was, so it is hard to get invested. Structurally, we needed a flashback showing how great a time Shiho and Aki had to really care about the threat of it ending for good. All we got was the confirmation that Shiho was petty and salty from seemingly day one.

We might get a flashback of their relationship from Aki’s POV. Maybe before the actual performance/during that can highlight special moments.

Aki’s whole “I’m over Yori” feels really abrupt so the whole thing with Shiho might not end just with the performance? Even Shiho’s chapter with how she fell for Aki was just a quick montage so a more in depth chapter might be shown. Maybe Vol 8 will cover Aki’s journey to getting over her first love/reconciling with Shiho whether it’s platonic or romantic.

Though I’d like to get a little break from their drama and touch base with the mains, see how everything is affecting them.

Don’t think Shiho will accept Aki’s word… Will Aki have to prove herself?

Prove herself? Why? Aki has done literally nothing wrong. That would be like me having to "prove myself" to the thief that ransacked my appartment so he will deign himself to rob me again.

I never said Aki did anything wrong. I mean that if Aki wants Shiho to be in her life she may have to prove that she’s over Yori since Shiho’s pride won’t let her stay beside pining Aki.

Likening Shiho’s immature actions to a criminal isn’t really on the same level but to each their own.

All difficult questions to answer right now. I'm particularly intrigued to find out what Aki came up with in the span of a single day. I don't think she could write an entire new song for obvious reasons, so maybe it's an old song that's special to both of them?

Whatever the case, I'm having a hard time imaging what kind of relationship they'll have moving forward.

Same here. Shiho’s pride doesn’t seem like it’ll let her just accept Aki back into her life since Aki knows how she feels. Will we get an arc on how to let go of first loves?

I’m also wondering what’s left for our true mains? What other obstacles are in store for them and all the other girls?

last edited at Apr 23, 2023 10:04PM

Don’t think Shiho will accept Aki’s word… Will Aki have to prove herself? And besides, just because she’s over Yori doesn’t mean she’s in love with Shiho. Will Shiho be more flexible about being friends now that Aki isn’t pining for Yori?

Is Hima gonna find her in the graveyard and drag her back just in time to see Aki sing about her? What will the next arc be?

I mean, president is gonna graduate soon so Uda def has a chance. God, Uda hang in there! I guess we’ll see how well the author can handle this unrequited love situation.

Uda can easily be a rebound but I think it’s gonna be a situation where she’ll inch closer and closer to Riri’s heart that Riri won’t even realize. I can see her unknowingly associating only positive feelings for Uda and where as when she thinks of President it’ll just be heartache and longing. That’s a step to moving forward. Uda I’m praying to Cher for you!

I hope it’s not another “Mei would be better off with someone else” arc. Honestly would be refreshing if Mei was the jealous one. She was briefly like that with Matsuri only so it would be nice if there’d be no more jealousy/envy/miscommunication/self pity from Yuzu’s side but Mei’s instead.

Original Citrus focused on Yuzu’s take on their romance so it would be nice if + can show Mei’s side more, seeing as her capability to access and assess emotions are slowly growing.

Picture clueless Yuzu being jealous of Arata and completely missing that Arata is hitting on her but Mei is the one steaming for once.

Or instead of a rival angle, Arata can be shown as a sort of mix between Mei and Yuzu. Someone with the same responsibilities as Mei but the social capabilities/knowledge of Yuzu that way both mains can see a glimpse of their future and how they can compromise.

Will Nagisa want to delay until marriage? I feel like she'll want to heavily research the topic to make sure she can give Mashiro the optimal experience. Will Mashiro faint from excitement? Or will she unleash the power bottom within? They are just so adorable! I hope this too gets an anime! I expect hand holding and sleepy cuddles but I'll settle for some heavy making out.

So, no one thinks Ill Girl is about to die? Anything shy of that is okay, given that's in the realm of possibility here.

It's possible but, maybe mostly optimism on my end, the overall mood of the manga has been uplifting and relatively light. The heaviest drama we've encountered were Mashiro finding out how they first met, the Love polygon with UdaXRiriXPresXNurse, and that (adorable) "fight" about the beach. Nagisa seems to know the severity of Mashiro's condition/her actual diagnosis since her hesitation about the beach was about not knowing what to do for Mashiro, not because she believes Mashiro's illness is fatal and could worsen due to the trip.

Besides, Mashiro's fear is losing Nagisa so it seems more like she's anxious about their future in a way that doesn't imply her death. Mashiro's aware that her condition makes her heavily codependent, needy, and a little selfish. They could momentarily part so Mashiro can seek treatment to better her condition so she can gain independence. There's also Nagisa's tendency to become hyper-focused on her goal (which might be becoming a doctor so she can help Mashiro) that can cause some friction between them. Hopefully the foreshadowing is just misunderstandings or even arguing because Nagisa's too busy with cram school.

But again, it could just be me wishing the ominous cloud doesn't necessarily mean instant death flags.

Yeah, I'm worried about this too. I figured after last chapter that the series would get all its angst going forward from the Uda×Riri×Prez×Nurse polygon, but it looks like the main couple might still have more angst in store. Here's hoping it isn't a jealousy arc with the girl in the crowd last chapter.

Same. Way too early for college acceptance drama. But maybe not so much jealousy of a third party but interactions with different people can ensure insecurities to come about.

Someone brought up the idea that maybe they'll meet new characters that they'll help and those interactions will create the drama that'll strengthen their relationship. They have very different personalities, inexperienced in the ways of love and dealing with such powerful emotions, so outside forces/situations can easily come through to rock the boat. Though they've had pretty good communication so far so who knows. I trust the author though.