... I feel like the author went too hard to have some symbolism on this one. A pair that was essentially slacking off getting first place in the qualis just because one of them decided to have fun feels too much to me like "the power of love" pulled straight out the ass. I feel bad for all these other pairs that worked hard but had to lose because they aren't secondary protagonists of the manga.

last edited at Jan 29, 2023 7:38AM

I don't know what it is, but something about these celebrity drama stories makes it rather unappealing for me. They aren't actual celebrities of course, but I think it makes little practical difference to me, I somehow don't particularly care about them either way :P

And to discuss the actual plot... I dunno that felt like a lazy way to introduce conflict. Something about this story feels very unnatural to me in general, I don't enjoy it very much so far.

can't wait to see how they screw it up

In fact, there was another manga like this well a few but the one that it reminds me of is "I Married My Best Friend To Shut My Parents Up" or in Japanese (Oya ga Urusai node Kouhai (♀) to Gisou Kekkon Shitemita).
Where they were friends and then feelings were developed and the marriage was no longer just a formality but a truth. I only got to read a few pages of it online before it got licensed. And being broke that's all I remember about it it came out in 2018.

I'll just point out it's actually fully translated on Dynasty (it only has 3 chapters anyway, it's not long):
https://dynasty-scans.com/series/i_decided_to_fake_a_marriage_with_my_junior_to_shut_my_parents_up

... so, were there any alternative translations to "scumbag"? I feel like this is the kind of moment where a particular choice of words might slightly backfire after 40 chapters, but I don't know Japanese so it's just a guess

... is it just me or is that background shot with multiple buildings on page 5 made of 3D assets

I couldn't care less about the shiho/aki stuff

I think you should, as their conflict is the most important part of the manga. Without it, there wouldn't be a story to tell in the first place.

I think most people voicing their dissatisfaction about this manga (me included) have issue precisely with the fact that they made this conflict so central :P I would be completely fine with wrapping it up after like 15-20 chapters with a simple ending, but the manga suffers from its own success. Someone even brought out a Goku comparison earlier, which is very apt, because this conflict does feel like it goes on for like 20 chapters. At this point I feel like no matter how they resolve it, it's probably going to be disappointing.

But as they say, it is what it is :P It's not a bad manga by any stretch but I'm certainly not putting it on my list of favourites.

last edited at Jan 22, 2023 5:21PM

Very nice, but a bit bittersweet after that sendoff party which no one attended :P I wonder if there's still something in the story related to that, that whole plot thread with Inotani senpai surely will go somewhere even if she didn't show up again yet? :P

last edited at Jan 18, 2023 7:30PM

... I mean, is it big? I feel like overwhelming majority of the stuff I'm reading doesn't feature that trope at all, but maybe it's because of the stuff I pick to read. Any other examples other than these two? (I only read Kami Eshi out of these 2 though)

• "so what would you do if Kosame fell in love with someone else"
• "not much I guess, unless that person reciprocates then I'll beat the shit out of them"

Ohsawa for the love of god, I like your stuff but this is just the same goddamn thing, but with another girl and some minor differences, is there going to be a third girl that will fall in love with Nanami and then make her realize that actually Kaede was the one all along?

last edited at Jan 16, 2023 7:32PM

I actually wanted more plot this time lmao
Now I'm mildly worried this is a little fan service as a compensation for whatever is about to happen

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I see it as just a symptom of episodic stories like this. Everywhere I read chapters or episodes of things on the internet, the forums can't just discuss what is happening, they need to weigh in on every little plot point and whether the writer was right or wrong to do it, whether they are cliches, and whether the writer even knows what they're doing. It's baffling, just enjoy the story and trust the writer will get to the end in their own way and their own time. If you don't like the writer, don't read their work.

What's the point of even having forums if not to discuss the manga? I don't see why shouldn't it include discussions about the writing. I enjoy the story but I can't pretend that it isn't a little clunky and abrupt.

Uh... how would Rika know how to hit on a girl? I mean, she was the one being hit on, right?

... well, meaning she clearly saw what needs to be done :P

last edited at Jan 13, 2023 4:37PM

Lainie

@eikichi00 -- can you spoiler tag using markdown ==words== ? Not everyone in this comment section has read the novel. Thanks!

This is actually already scanlated, it's just not here but on Mangadex :P But yeah this still means that spoiler tag is a good idea

I think the fact that this is undoubtedly Yuri makes the “subtext” tag not really fit right with this series. Just cause a series doesn’t have dramatic confessions of love or people making out doesn’t mean there isn’t a relationship there.

A counterpoint, just because there is a relationship there, it doesn't mean it's a yuri manga :P This seems to melike a perfect example of what this tag is for - the relationship is not spelled out to be romantic and you have to imply/deduce it, so that's as subtext as it gets.

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but this is such an absurd theory that I laughed out loud :P It's way more believable she is "gentle and distant" because she really doesn't give a shit about any of those people except for Nanami, and probably glared at them for being "bums that sleep until noon".

[screenshots]

37-38 chapter 1

... I mean, sorry but what do these screens are supposed to prove? Yeah that's no surprise that Maho knows about Kaede (since apparently Nanami blabbed about her to her ex-boyfriend all the time), the absurd part that I was replying to here is that Maho is now supposed to be Kaede's "stalker fan" and tries to date Nanami just so Kaede can focus on her manga :P There is absolutely no basis for any of this, and there is a way more straightforward explanation.

If you're reffering to what you said earlier (Maho telling Nanami's boyfriend about her being lesbian) I would agree this one is possible, it's just unproven.

last edited at Jan 13, 2023 3:46AM

She may be a stalker fan of Kaede who doesn't want relationships to get in the way of the manga, and found out that the roommate Nanami is a lesbian while she was close with the ex in Hakata. She may even be an actual underclassman who didn't know Nanami. Also, Maho has otherwise acted gentle and distant with Kaede, so the one she was glaring at was probably Koyuki (for being close with Kaede).

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but this is such an absurd theory that I laughed out loud :P It's way more believable she is "gentle and distant" because she really doesn't give a shit about any of those people except for Nanami, and probably glared at them for being "bums that sleep until noon".

Sadly I think Ohsawa just introduced another rival because it's the only way she knows how to move the plot forward, and I think any other interpretation than just taking things at face value requires some big leaps in logic. I think Maho really is just a slightly obsessive girl in love with Nanami.

(But if it actually turns out you're right I won't even be mad lmao, it would be horribly amazing)

last edited at Jan 12, 2023 6:45PM

Then considering that Maho is the one who surely passed the word to Nanami's boyfriend that she was probably a lesbian in relationship in high school or college...

I wouldn't say there is anything sure about it, Maho apparently learned this from the ex herself in Hakata, she could have easily told this to more people

Oh hey, another woman that hopelessly fell in love with Nanami... at some point the author will have to run out of prefectures/cities to pull them from

last edited at Jan 11, 2023 3:32PM

Why do authors still do this thing of introducing the whole goddamn cast right off the bat, by the time next chapters roll out I will forget it anyway and will be confusing them, since they look very similar to each other anyway

last edited at Jan 11, 2023 5:41AM

... yeah what's with these celebrity stories indeed, are the characters at least a reference to some actual celebrities and this is just some weird quasi-fanfiction, or do manhua writers just like this theme for some reason?

I got lured into reading this one by a pretty cover (it's up to ch 22 on mangadex)... and not going to lie, so far I'm pretty disappointed. I have a hard time caring about any of the characters in it, and despite the plot being weirdly convoluted (with a backwards time skip to top it off), nothing of note seems to be happening.

I dunno why I kept on reading this, I guess I'm just hoping something finally happens but nothing does... and the whole supernatural part of the plot basically doesn't matter, I could see it play out exactly the same if she didn't have the knowledge of the future at all.
It just feels like this very awkward crutch serving as an additional motivation, and providing some additional explanation to the readers as we encounter various characters - it's like the author really wanted to add some commentary about people's backstories (forwardstories?), and awkwardly incorporated this in-universe.

Overall, I somehow didn't enjoy this very much, maybe I have a hard time caring about hardships of celebrities.

(The comment was prompted by seeing another celebrity manhua yuri with pretty art on the front page and recalling this one, which honestly now just makes me wary of them all :P )

last edited at Jan 10, 2023 7:05AM

... well this suddenly got boring, I don't care about any of this clothing stuff but it increasingly seems this is the main focus of this manga

the subtext tag is mocking us right now

... and I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think we even saw subtext yet :P

Push the stalker down the stairs instead, I accept no other outcome