WAOW BASED BASED BASED BASED BASED

What an incredibly strong first chapter... My interest is piqued, that was fucking sexy and I'm so excited for more <3

last edited at Nov 8, 2026 11:43PM

As an aside, I do think it's extremely funny that, in discussions surrounding ShuuKura, pretty much everybody calls them Sendai and Miyagi rather than Hazuki and Shiori.

To begin with, these two aren't even on a first-name basis with each other, and they both get majorly pissed off whenever somebody else calls the other by her first name, so naturally, the audience isn't allowed to do that, either...

Reading ShuuKura feels like being a third wheel to the most baffling and annoying couple in the world.

It's great.

Oh, you're definitely jealous. And finally starting to realize your own feelings as well. ^_^

hmm if only that was the case fr

Laughs hollowly, stares into distance

What. How could things possibly not escalate from here. What are you even doing, Miyagi.

The thing is, they absolutely do escalate from here.

Without spoiling the novel too much, I will say that Sendai and Miyagi's relationship absolutely makes concrete (albeit agonizingly slow) progress. It's just that these two have an incredible amount of issues, which make intimacy more than just a hurdle for them-- it's more like a mountain. A very tall mountain. Which they climb very slowly.

ShuuKura is basically a prolonged game of gay chicken between two girls who will do anything but actually get into a relationship, even though they might as well already be married.

Awwww. The intensely blushing Fate after Nanoha kisses her is so cute.
I also noticed that, in the "not dating" side, they're drinking from straws that are in each other's colors (Nanoha drinks from the yellow, Fate drinks from the pink)... How risque...

Yeah... This is definitely one of the best yuri manga that's being serialized right now. Yukari and Shouko have such great chemistry with each other, they are so freaking cute, I always end up feeling restless after I finish the newest chapter because I'm still hungry for more...!

^Guess you now know why I'm working through it very slowly. I picked it up years ago thinking it would be interesting, but then it devolved into a string of tropes. I've read the whole thing a long time ago and it's a bit of a snooze. It's okay, but quite boring to me, when I translate other stuff much spicier, like Kyoukano.

I'll eventually finish it though.

It's perfectly understandable to want to put more focus on the works you find more interesting. Your efforts are appreciated, so thank you for your hard work.

last edited at Oct 7, 2026 2:46PM

Rereading Yukidoke to Agapanthus has got me thinking about some things.

It feels very much like the story is lacking in an underlying structure, and well, these super stimulating "events" are just getting hastily stuck together in this rapid fire way. And everything resolves so quickly, so it's like your brain has no time to process any of it, or rather, it's like the author is trying to keep you occupied with constant stimulation, to make up for the fact that they have no confidence in the substance of the underlying story...

Like, there's just this "Shun almost drowns" event that happens suddenly and is immediately resolved, and it doesn't have any relation to the story space around it, it's like a postage stamp that's just been slapped down and stands on its own.

Shun has a brief moment where she wonders if she sees Natsuki as Natsuki, or as a prince, and if it's ok to face her with halfhearted feelings, but then it gets immediately resolved in a single chapter! Like, what the heck!? I would have wanted the story to sit with and mull over that question for a lot longer, you know?

It's like, "Omg, Shun got a part time job at the beach! She's wearing a swimsuit and Natsuki is flustered!! Oh no, but now Shun is drowning!? Oh, but Natsuki saved her, so it's fine! Oh, and now they're going to wear yukata at the summer festival! Omg, and Shun has realized that she likes Natsuki romantically!! But she's not confident in whether her feelings are genuine... Oh, but she got encouraged, so it's fine! She's made up her mind to confess! But it's hard to get the words out... Waahh, and now a love rival is getting in the way!?"

Just this constant sense of overstimulation and disorientation, y'know? It's all packed in so tight, but there's not really any substance to it... It doesn't linger on anything for long enough to create any actual feelings or attachments... It's just breezing through it all, like it's trying to speedrun through the developments as fast as possible, dutifully checking things off a list. :T

Rather than having a bunch of disparate, short-term conflicts that get introduced and then immediately resolved one after another, isn't it better to have one or two core conflicts that get immediately introduced at the start of the work, and then slowly chew through them before finally swallowing them at the end of the story?

I saw somebody compare this story to Bloom Into You (which I think is an insult to Bloom Into You, but whatever), but well, Bloom Into You is the kind of story where it immediately puts forth the problem of "I want to fall in love, but I can't fall in love with anyone" and the reply of "That being the case, I love you", and all the developments that come from that are a natural escalation of the characters' inner conflicts evolving from that point while crashing against each other, right?

It's a story that straightforwardly explains its premise right off the bat, and sticks to that premise, dutifully fleshing it out and iterating upon it, until the very end.

Plenty of other stuff happens, but it all serves to benefit the development of that central idea. There's absolutely no extraneous pieces whatsoever.

This story seems to be trying something similar, and it's absolutely the case that obfuscation can be utilized to great effect in a story, but well... In this case, although you could say that the central idea is, "Everybody idolizes me, but I'm happiest when I'm just treated like a normal girl", the story spends barely any time properly sitting with that idea, so I can't really be happy with that answer...

It just seems like this story doesn't actually have anything to say, since nothing that it puts forth ever accumulates into anything substantial, and I feel like my time is being wasted...

To begin with, I have a soft spot for this kind of couple, but I just feel bored and frustrated while reading this... All the spice is missing! Seriously, what's even the point if you're not going to depict the parts that are actually interesting!? I don't want frictionless nothingburger... So flavorless...

Ah, a direct hit, straight to Homura's heart! That dose of Madoka was so powerful that even the hand she touched is blushing.
Homura is utterly weak against your charms, so you might want to be a bit more careful, Madoka.
(Or don't, since it's more fun for us that way.)

This is just a feeling, but right now, the vibe I'm getting from Mona is that she's a super parentified kid.

She and Naoi's mother escaped from Naoi's abusive father together, which must've been hard for Naoi's mother, right? Children in unstable situations, where the parent is socially isolated and doesn't have a reliable support system of fellow adult confidants, often end up becoming the only "friend"/confidant of the parent -- being relied upon for emotional support and other responsibilities -- and need to become "mature" (though it's not actual maturity, just fawning and extreme over-accommodation) way sooner than they're ready. They were prematurely forced into adult roles and never allowed their own emotional space, resulting in a personality that is excessively "nice" and doesn't have any sense of emotional distance.

Her behavior struck me as particularly disturbing in this chapter because it's so familiar. The extreme pushiness and lack of emotional boundaries, being super upbeat and friendly and considerate, yet excessively clingy, eager for approval, and with a sort of frantic anxiety underlying it all, along with the sense that she doesn't quite trust you/is hiding things from you...

It's the exact blueprint of this specific type of abused child who was never quite allowed to have any kind of emotional boundaries. The manner of her loneliness and desperation is just too familiar... I have known this type of person. I have been -- am -- this type of person.

I think this read is also pretty much in line with the story's theme of adults pushing off their emotional labor onto teenage girls. It's the dynamic Kurumi has with her mom and the teacher, and what Manaka had with her mom and sister. (And just from glimpses of Kokoro's life, maybe her parents and the restaurant).

I don't think Mona's necessarily trying to manipulate anyone, she's just in a really bad spot in life and raised in a way that makes it difficult for her to make the deeper connections that will help her through it.

Very well stated. I totally agree.

For another example, Naoi has a similar kind of relationship with her father (taking out his anger on her, forcing her to give him money, and so on). It's that kind of relationship, where an adult wields power over a teenage girl for their own benefit, at her expense.

last edited at Aug 26, 2026 9:57PM

This is just a feeling, but right now, the vibe I'm getting from Mona is that she's a super parentified kid.

She and Naoi's mother escaped from Naoi's abusive father together, which must've been hard for Naoi's mother, right? Children in unstable situations, where the parent is socially isolated and doesn't have a reliable support system of fellow adult confidants, often end up becoming the only "friend"/confidant of the parent -- being relied upon for emotional support and other responsibilities -- and need to become "mature" (though it's not actual maturity, just fawning and extreme over-accommodation) way sooner than they're ready. They were prematurely forced into adult roles and never allowed their own emotional space, resulting in a personality that is excessively "nice" and doesn't have any sense of emotional distance.

Her behavior struck me as particularly disturbing in this chapter because it's so familiar. The extreme pushiness and lack of emotional boundaries, being super upbeat and friendly and considerate, yet excessively clingy, eager for approval, and with a sort of frantic anxiety underlying it all, along with the sense that she doesn't quite trust you/is hiding things from you...

It's the exact blueprint of this specific type of abused child who was never quite allowed to have any kind of emotional boundaries. The manner of her loneliness and desperation is just too familiar... I have known this type of person. I have been -- am -- this type of person.

last edited at Aug 26, 2026 1:29AM

Ugh... This hits way harder now that it's actually been properly translated, and I'm not reading vertical oriented text from a machine translation with my head awkwardly cocked to the side.

I don't know what kind of ending she'll get in the movie, but it warms my heart to know that this story exists, as do other stories like it, even if the reality ends up being much sadder.

There are people out there who want Homura to be happy, right? I'm so glad.

last edited at Aug 25, 2026 4:03AM

The lesbian doggirls have been eating well as of late. Now we finally have another manga for the lesbian catgirls.

You had been taking care of a stray cat who liked to drop by your house every so often. One day, though, she just stopped showing up. Until she finally returned, and then, she never left. The collar around her neck-- tangible proof that this is her home, that she's yours, that she's here to stay. Mhmmmmm. Very good. Me like.

So, let me get this straight. The main couple in this series is...a cool black-haired girl with a hairband and a "demon" theme, who used to wear her hair in long twin braids, before she later swapped to a "cooler" hairstyle with her hair loose, who has a purple theme color, and is extremely protective of, devoted to, and softened by her beloved...and a bubbly and kindhearted pink-haired magical girl with strong protagonist vibes, with a pink transformation item in the form of a gem in the center of her collarbone, who wears short, high pigtails tied with matching ribbons?

Hmmmmmmm. I wonder where else I've seen that before... Oh well, I suppose it will forever be a mystery. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Did you change your PFP to Homura to make your post more obvious? I don't usually track PFPs but the relevance was obvious here.

No. My icon on this site has been Homura for a long time.

I was naturally aware that the icon would make my joke more obvious, but I think it would've still been obvious even if it was something else. Madoka Magica isn't exactly obscure media, after all.

...Sorry, I really did just want to let the bit speak for itself, but I seriously can't stop laughing about how derivative this is. The bootleg Homura even has diamond-shaped earrings, and her eyes turn fuchsia when she uses her demon powers... I mean, come ON.

Listen. There's nothing wrong with being inspired by the art you love, and I'm all for artists wearing their influences on their sleeves. That being said, if you're pulling almost entirely from One Source In Particular (as opposed to combining multiple sources), then you might as well just write fanfiction, right? I promise there's nothing wrong with just writing fanfiction.

Anyway, I'll reserve further judgement until more of this gets posted, but until then, I'm very skeptical.

last edited at Jul 9, 2026 10:24AM

So, let me get this straight. The main couple in this series is...a cool black-haired girl with a hairband and a "demon" theme, who used to wear her hair in long twin braids, before she later swapped to a "cooler" hairstyle with her hair loose, who has a purple theme color, and is extremely protective of, devoted to, and softened by her beloved...and a bubbly and kindhearted pink-haired magical girl with strong protagonist vibes, with a pink transformation item in the form of a gem in the center of her collarbone, who wears short, high pigtails tied with matching ribbons?

Hmmmmmmm. I wonder where else I've seen that before... Oh well, I suppose it will forever be a mystery. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

last edited at Jul 9, 2026 10:04AM

Ahhhh... Now this is some high quality yuri comfort food.

"Girl with a 'cool' appearance and a non-expressive face who actually has super intense feelings of love and is extremely straightforward and affectionate about how she expresses them" is a great character type.

I also like that the "cool" girl is the boke and the gyaru is the tsukkomi. It's a simple subversion of the kind of dynamic you'd normally expect, but it works really well.

It's fun, it's heartfelt, it's silly, it's sincere. It's great. I want more.

(This is just a random thing, but I also love that the author intermittently depicts background extras shipping the main couple. I cannot deny that the audience-self-insert-himejoshi-peanut-gallery is Just Like Me Fr, lmao.)

I think if anything, my main criticism of this author is that she doesn't know how to write actual happiness. Whenever there's a moment during the story where things are supposed to seem truly alright, it just feels incredibly fake, like you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And those parts also end up feeling obviously rushed, like you can tell the author doesn't really like writing them, and is just eager to "get back to the good stuff". It makes it a little hard to get invested, because a tragic ending feels utterly inevitable. I don't think this author even knows how to write a truly happy story, so I can't believe she'd write a happy ending for this (and for the record, I know she's written non-angsty manga, but my opinion is that they all feel similarly empty and "off").

I kept struggling to put my finger on what was making this story so unsatisfying and stressful to read when I've enjoyed far messier stories, and now I see that it's this. And that feels weird to me, because I'm keenly aware how much I don't enjoy misery porn. I have an easy time recognizing misery porn in film because I know the visual language they use to accentuate it, but I guess it just doesn't crop up in yuri often enough for me to get a good sense of it. Thank you for sharing.

I actually wasn't quite sure how to articulate what was bothering me about this story either, until the day I made this comment. It had been nagging at me for a while, too.

I'd actually be curious to hear your take on the visual language of misery porn in film, since it's not something I think I'm particularly adept at recognizing, myself. Either way, this is a very nice comment, thank you. I'm delighted to hear that me sharing my thoughts was able to help you better understand your own.

This chapter is a pretty blatant parallel to the scene in chapter 4 where Kon is driving while begging Ai not to die, and Ai is telling her to look at the road. In the next chapter, Kon apologizes for it and says that she doesn't want anyone to get hurt. Here, though, Kaede is totally unapologetic about it and later keeps pushing for a double suicide. So it goes.

There's the thematic parallel of Kon telling Ai, "If you die, I'll die, so don't die," and Kaede telling Ai, "I'm going to die, so come with me." Kaede drags Ai along behind her, and Kon chases after Ai.

Sadly, I'm definitely getting the impression that things aren't going to work out for the better this time around. It was a series of coincidences (or fate, if that's how you want to think of it) that brought Kon and Ai together time and time again, and now, coincidence/fate will drive them apart forever.

I think if anything, my main criticism of this author is that she doesn't know how to write actual happiness. Whenever there's a moment during the story where things are supposed to seem truly alright, it just feels incredibly fake, like you're just waiting for the other shoe to drop. And those parts also end up feeling obviously rushed, like you can tell the author doesn't really like writing them, and is just eager to "get back to the good stuff". It makes it a little hard to get invested, because a tragic ending feels utterly inevitable. I don't think this author even knows how to write a truly happy story, so I can't believe she'd write a happy ending for this (and for the record, I know she's written non-angsty manga, but my opinion is that they all feel similarly empty and "off").

I suppose that might be fitting for this particular manga (what with the aforementioned themes of "fate" and "inevitability" and all that), but it just makes it a little hard to get emotionally invested when there's not at least some impression that there might be hope, you know? In this case, the story is just so relentlessly miserable the whole way through that it feels monotonous, like wading through Depression Sludge, so even though it's playing with some genuinely compelling themes, I just end up feeling like, "Ehhhhh..." In short, there's too much darkness and not enough light to balance it out, at least for my tastes. Bit too indulgently angsty.

I also think the author is kind of mishandling Kon as a character. Her core conflict was set up so well in the first chapter, but it has been so underutilized and poorly integrated into the rest of the story since then that it feels practically criminal. For one, the parallel between her and Ai having a shared background of being abused seems ripe for exploration, yet it has gone completely unaddressed, and Kon's abusive mother barely has a presence in the story, in stark contrast to Kaede, whose abuse of Ai is the primary driving force of the plot. Kon has had some wonderful moments of characterization sprinkled throughout the work despite that, and she has the makings of a great protagonist, which is why I feel especially sorry for the misery she will soon experience as everything goes to shit.

Well, those are just my thoughts and predictions, at least. I'd love to have my pessimism proven wrong, so we'll just have to wait and see.

(As an aside, I think the color symbolism is interesting. Kaede is red, while Kon and Ai are both blue. Kaede's desire is to merge with Ai and become one with her, but in actuality, Kaede and Ai are on completely different ends of the color spectrum from each other, whereas Kon and Ai are "gradient neighbors" and are therefore much closer to actually merging with each other... That's how I'm inclined to interpret it, at least.)

A beautiful illustration of a beautiful scene. I love the tenderness of the atmosphere here, especially when contrasted with the way the red ribbon looks like it's cutting a wound across Homura's throat. Delightful. MadoHomu is the best.

My heart is going to explode from all the sugar. This manga continues to be an all-time favorite of mine.

This is most definitely a long shot, but does anyone know if any of this author's other Madoka Magica doujinshi are still available online? I really really loved this one but it doesn't seem like any of their other fanbooks are even available for purchase anymore, never mind translated... I'll pay for the raws if I have to, I just want to read them ;_;

Lovely and heatfelt as always. Thank you for the TL.

Lovely pfp. Very good taste. ;)

Ahaha, a kindred spirit I see. Right back at you, fellow Devil enjoyer.

Lovely and heatfelt as always. Thank you for the TL.

I hope Nmi creates a full series someday. Their works are just banger after banger, I can't get enough of 'em.