Forum › Posts by BLAMEY

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

The author on Twitter is telling us to buy the comic if possible. And from the look of it, they are probably serializing their work by themself. I hope that maybe we can contribute some and not just read the thing. I really don't want this adorable series to be axed because of the artist not getting enough food to live...

Edit: the thing is published by... KADOKAWA? Uhm, so still the calling to buy the comic holds.

Easiest way to buy it would be something like CDJapan if you want it physically or Kobo if you want it digitally.
Both accept foreign payment and CDJapan ships overseas.

Saying that, I think Kamejiro is a pessimist and it's not that at risk. But every little bit does help.

Also it's published by Dengeki Comics Next, which is a subsidiary of Kadokawa, who control like half the manga industry. New chapters are digital only which is both a blessing and a curse, but Kamejiro did say simply getting physical volume releases was a milestone of success that wasn't guaranteed at first.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

I really hoped the sleepover scene would be in this because across all works of this it's the best scene of them all, but you can't have it all I guess.

I wouldn't write that off just yet, considering before the flashback Natalia made arrangements so Sara would be staying the night in the castle with her. Even if Snake Princess is on board after hearing Sara's story (which I doubt since she likely thinks the danger outweighs keeping Sara alive regardless, though probably won't be so aggressive anymore) there's no reason for them not to stick together.

It'd be a good opportunity for Natalia to dwell on how she feels about Sara, since Natalia's been out of focus for a while, but also provide a moment of calm before presumably we start dealing with the wall falling apart.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

The Princess of Sylph started in early 2019 when Kamejiro began sketching out ideas for a fantasy romance between a nun and princess. Over the years it developed into a proper story, and in 2022 when the 1st major arc concluded Kamejiro was given an offer to officially serialize it. One of the publisher's only demands was that the story be started over from the beginning.

So what you're reading here is essentially a rough draft. Kamejiro's stated several times the new version is meant to follow the same plot, and as of the serialized ch11 most elements are set in place for that to happen. There's also a few hints in the serialized version's future extras that line up with the ending of the indie twitter version. Basically everything that happens here should be treated as spoilers.

The differences are stark however. It's important to keep in mind the indie version took 3 years to make and is around 300 pages (34 chapters total). Many of these chapters released months apart. The serialized version is 1 year old now at roughly 500 pages, only adapting to around indie ch11. I expect the new one to pick the pace once the plot starts—maybe adapting the entire twitter version by volume 5—but it's dedicating serious time to establishing the setting and Sara and Natalia's relationship.

Probably the most notable change is how the indie version was told entirely from Natalia's perspective, while the serialized version is more of a 7:3 split favoring Sara. Sara's motives used to be treated as a mystery, though she had some side material explaining what she's going through. The serialized version is also more whimsical and lighthearted early on, gradually ramping up the tension in the most recent chapters (ch11).

Since the manga already had a following, Kamejiro consciously wrote the serialized version to be enjoyable for both new and old audiences. That means a lot of detours, but also careful layering of details you might not recognize on a first time read. It's a story designed to be read twice.

Does the princess have other siblings?

In this version she had a sister who died young. That was likely changed for the new version, maybe because it didn't fit with the royal family being treated as superhuman. It's also stated Luis died to monsters in this version, but that probably doesn't fit with the new version either.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

I'm going to try to have the original twitter manga fully translated before December's over. I might wait to upload it on Dynasty until it's done, just because I don't want to flood submissions daily, but I'll be trying to put out a chapter every day on Mangadex. It will have heavy spoilers, since the story seems to be following the exact same path, but it's different enough.

I'm not sure if it's better or worse that she wasn't chosen by a True Fae with an alien viewpoint but actually the brother on a weird whim...

It's not impossible the sylph did intentionally give it to Sara. Luis wasn't responsible for giving her Sylpheed in the first place, but he took full advantage of a bad situation, if for a noble purpose. Save his sister and disregard Sara's will, or let Sara sacrifice herself and abandon Natalia to the full responsibility of a position she never wanted.

This whole chapter is two people with their minds made up from the start making excuses. It's heavily implied Luis was lying about pulling the sprout killing you; he shows shock initially when Sara chooses to take her own life but calmness as she does it, and Sara's confusion that pulling it out didn't kill her indicates the same. Also one of the flower meanings of snapdragons is deception, along with good intentions going wrong. Luis likely wanted to test Sara's character first and didn't want her accidentally starting the ritual. Though I doubt he ever would have let Sara die.

I don't think this is worth spoiler tagging, but in the original the only way to transfer Sylpheed was for the former host to die. Sara sees it as a noble sacrifice, but she's choosing to irrationally ignore the pain she sees Natalia in. Luis isn't willing to sentence a good person to death to increase his sister's burden. There's a lot of hints about Sara's deeper personality here, from how she keeps framing the situation as her needing to be punished to her complete willingness to die. It's not as obvious yet, but Sara is someone who needs to be saved just as much as Natalia.

While Luis was blatantly setting up flags with the whole 300 years of peace talk, from their perspective there's no reason to believe anyone's being endangered by Sara keeping Sylpheed. Chapter 2's little monster intrusion hadn't happened yet.

I think this chapter also interestingly re-contextualizes many earlier scenes. Sara's wistfulness at realizing her resolve is failing because she's falling for Natalia, or her willingness to throw herself into danger because she's convinced her death is the best outcome.

This page right here is going to be the crux of the upcoming conflict. We're leaving the story's intro and it's time for our heroes to start making choices for themselves. Luis's early line about the weight of personal choices building on you is something to bear in mind, as it sets the tone of the story. Along with good intentions not always having the best outcomes.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Wait what’s this about michi’s memories being gone? When did that get established?

At the end of chapter 12 when Michi couldn't remember going to the summer festival.

She also doesn't remember

The last one is her getting her memories wiped in real time, so we can assume it's all related to Aizawa, the seal, and her younger self. We do see young Michi's shoes as she's running away from Aizawa.

Though it's fine to be lost on this stuff. It's all minor details without much context that I'm sure will get explained in greater focus later. It's not necessary to the story right now.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

I can never repeat enough how impressed I am with Aizawa setting the mood of the manga. Her dorkiness keeps it all afloat, and when she's terrified it all comes crashing down. Her heartache and despair is as vivid as her playful joy. She's full of mysteries but her emotions are as loud and clear as can be.

Michi's profile is low-key concerning... maybe it's just because she's been too busy dealing with ghosts, but it's like the girl has been living her life on auto-pilot. Detached from earthly existence.

I see it as evidence she's a shell of a person after getting her memories sealed. From middle school to high school, Michi went from outgoing and sporty to a reclusive stuttering mess. Even she seems confused by the transformation sometimes, and there hasn't been a decisive incident it's pinned on. Or there's plenty room to believe the change happened after she entered high school, with how she forgot speaking to Kasumi and Aizawa. Though at the same time she was likely still a bit distant considering she didn't have any close friends that would have wondered why her whole personality changed. Maybe everything related to her powers is blocked which rewrote a lot of her identity.

I could also maybe tie this into Michi's constant repetition of wanting to help Aizawa despite always reminding herself she's powerless. It's like she has the muscle memory of knowing there's something she should be doing here. Her avoidant attitude towards ghosts might not have always been the case, considering how upset she gets feeling like Neo is mistreating them. She might have been an exorcist herself, one that worked to save ghosts more peacefully.

lol same, If figured ol' multieyes was a primary antagonist. Honestly still kinda conflicted about the rather extreme deescalation of tension that comes with Girl Neo coming through and bullet timing all the ghosts in the school. Wonder if we're going to end up rebounding hard from this in some way.

I think if anything the potential tension just rocketed up. This chapter shows none of the ghosts we've seen so far were a serious threat, but there's something out there Neo (and Michi?) can't handle still putting Aizawa in danger. And with Michi being given the means to defend herself, confrontation is inevitable. Like when a survival horror game hands you your first weapon and you know it's not any comfort.

And if I had to guess about primary antagonists, this dark figure could be the same as the conspicuous one on the left here that appears to be making a little eye collection.

Neo also comments young Michi's(?) powers are failing which might be why ghosts are getting in. We did see she couldn't do anything to the shed ghost. Neo's exorcism shouldn't be a permanent solution and more ghosts will likely get back into the school. I'm also thinking back to that ghost seemingly going for the mark on Michi's neck, as if that's what attracts them.

Also interesting is that Neo herself couldn't enter the school — it seems like she needed to use her crow familiars to break open a spot at the 3rd floor window. So my guess is the barrier around the school is keeping powerful ghosts out but weak ones can still slip by, and as Neo said Aizawa's(?) presence makes them more aggressive. This would also imply Neo isn't fully human, which might explain her eyes.

Neo also alludes at the very end to there being something unique about Aizawa, and how Aizawa has the potential to go very right or very wrong. Aizawa does seem to be a pretty unusual ghost, with how quickly her powers are developing over the past two months.

(Something maybe important to keep an eye on is I don't remember Aizawa ever being shown along with another ghost? The shed ghost was oddly gone the moment she came in to save Michi.)

To speculate, I think Neo came here fully intending to put Aizawa down after hearing she'd become dangerous. Which means Aizawa might not just be sealed for protection, but for everyone else's protection from her too. It's almost certain Neo knows about the circumstances of Aizawa's death and sealing, considering how she comments on failing Michi in some way. It's important to note Michi only got called Kurotori-san in her presence this chapter, so it's certain they knew each other, and she recognized the school at the start despite sounding like she'd never been before.

Wait if the exorcist new Michiru when she was young why didn't she say anything to her when she went through that window? Or even react at all? Throughout the excorcism she didn't act like there was anything special with Michiru or that she knew her at all until the very end.

I'm positive she knows Michi lost her memories. She turns right to her and essentially asks "It's been a few months. Do you know how this all started?" When she doesn't get a response she moves on. She was very likely checking to see if Michi's memories came back and keeping her distance otherwise. It's also the only other time she opens her eyes a bit, when she first sees Michi. It's hard to notice until you know what her eyes look like.

Would any of this be remotely relevant? Probably not. But hell, maybe Michi had a near death experience that created a ghost of herself without actually killing her. It'd be a better plot than some kinda split personality-based concept at least. Another possibility I can imagine is that "young Michi" is not actually Michi but a dead twin sister she blocked out the memories of or something?

Young Michi is something I can't even begin to guess at this point. I initially thought she was something like the embodiment of her repressed spiritual powers when they first awakened, but just about anything could be the case. It's also weird we're first introduced to her with Michi becoming her in a dream, but everything else suggests she's autonomous.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

I love all the extras she writes. There's so many. I know it must be a slight hassle to figure out which are ok to include and which would be too spoilery.

This one was borderline. I translated it more because its omission would break the pattern and it's already a slim month with work on volume 2 needing to be done. It didn't tie in too much to the interlude, and I'm leaning a bit on everyone acknowledging by now that Natalia and Sara's updated designs means this is describing the future once the plot gets going.

Not that I don't love it. It's exciting to see Kamejiro taking a serious look at the nitty gritty details of adventuring. There's also some bits that will probably stand out more on a reread; Kamejiro's puts a lot of effort into making things interesting for both new and old readers. Though a hidden detail that might stand out to anyone is them only packing a single sleeping bag.

I'll be translating the original twitter manga in the next few months so hopefully I won't have to worry as much about spoilers. I'll probably have to start submitting all the one-off art Kamejiro draws as images rather than chapters on Dynasty. Never done that before, but it can't be too complicated. Just complicated condensing all this material into one location.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Aizawa-san's been on a 2 month hiatus now; it's not that I've fallen behind. Nothing to be concerned about either, just a standard volume break. Apparently chapter 13 is done but just missed the October deadline. Dorothy said she's "excited/scared" to see everyone's reactions to it.

Also volume 2 is on November 8th. Back cover is a super cute Kasumi getting princess carried by Sayaka.

Rereading the series, and a few mysterious reactions stuck out to me:
1) In chapter 8, when Honda sees Michi pinned under the shelf in the gym storage shed, she does not shout "Michy!" as you'd expect, she shouts Michi's last name, "Kurotori!". She's right back to calling her Michy again the next panel, as she helps Kasumi pick the shelf up. What's up with that? Given that was a reflexive shout in panic compared to everything else, it makes me wonder if her apparent closeness to Michi something that she's forcing to some degree.

I think Reona just drops her silliness when things get serious. Though there's room to suspect she'd get a subplot later related to why she's hanging out with the unpopular kids. I think we are due for a Reona arc soon since she's the best gateway into De:Lphinus.

2) When Senpai arrives at the nurse's office afterwards, Michi and the possessed Kasumi are behind a curtain, with Honda on the other side. What's she doing out there, separated from the others? And when Senpai tells her to go find the nurse, she's got sweatdrops and seems really nervous. It's just kinda weird. Why was she still hanging out in the nurse's office but not with Michi and Kasumi? Why was she scared of Senpai?

She knew about Sayaka's reputation as an unpredictable weirdo so didn't want to go near her. But since she's the one who told the teachers, she was probably stuck explaining to Sayaka (since she helps the nurse) and Aizawa wouldn't leave Michi's side.

3) In chapter 10, when Aizawa helps Senpai find the sulking Michi in the stairwell, Michi is shocked to see Senpai talking to Aizawa as if she's normal- and I am too, considering this scene has Aizawa floating around (it's even got a "float..." sound effect to emphasize it. And the "weird guy" she threw ink at in the previous chapter's flashback is obviously inhuman as well, given his shape: Does Senpai just think it's totally normal for some people to fly or have wounds that never heal forever on their bodies or have monstrous shapes?

I don't like attributing everything to memory loss or curses, but since they're in play, it's possible Sayaka is also cursed to somehow not recognize ghosts. Or there's the line of thinking that Sayaka is actually the special one for not triggering Aizawa's ghostliness. I wouldn't bet on it—I think it's extremely likely she's just a big gay dummy—but until we know what kind of ghost Aizawa is or more about ghosts in general it's a possibility Michi isn't the unique one getting spooked by her.

Also I'm not sure how literal the floating is. It's a consistent SFX Aizawa gets but it could be more of a metaphorical thing with her being lighter than a physical body. Normally she's running around on the ground except in gag panels where she might come out of top frame or something.

4) In that same conversation, Senpai waves to Michi, who plays dumb and says "maybe it's a ghost then I dunno lol". Senpai laughs it off, who would believe in ghosts at their age? And Aizawa breaths a sigh of relief for some reason. Why was Aizawa relieved? Did she want Senpai to think she's a normal living student? If so, why'd she float in front of her lol.

Sayaka had just asked if Michi if she was ignoring Aizawa because they were fighting, so I imagine that's what she was sighing in relief at. Which is interesting if we assume Aizawa hasn't lost her memories, doesn't know that Michi has, and thinks Michi might be mad at her for something.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Next chapter will be an interlude while Kamejiro prepares for volume 2. So expect ch11 and the conclusion to this flashback in November.

I found this chapter particularly well constructed. The whole manga is—as you might expect of a retold story—but 10 is noteworthy in its escalation.

Since we've already seen the foot of the spirit tree in chapter 5, there's no need to make it a tranquil spectacle now. It can serve as a dedicated action setpiece. Sara anxiously races her way up it, beating increasingly painful setbacks in the manga's longest action scene so far, which makes the reprieve even more welcome. And you're almost distracted from the fact this is the story of how Sara got the sword, as the blooming spirit tree begins a countdown to the real action.

Last chapter already speculated the uniqueness of blood from Children of Spirits. The start of 10 introduces two ideas: butterflies being attracted to the blood and the possibility of using blood to imitate a CoS yourself. The latter obviously plays off with the proposal to drink Natalia's blood—now needing no explanation to not sound insane in the already chaotic climax. But the former comes back subconsciously when you see butterflies clouding around Natalia like flies. Which, instead of naturally macabre, comes off as ethereal and surreal, downplaying the violence.

That surreality is pivotal for the transition from lighthearted action to a brutal life-or-death scenario, bridging the gap so it doesn't feel quite so disorientingly shocking. The oddity of a casually talking butterfly breaks the trauma of Sara liquefying. The cute SFX (which are not just me translating it that way; they're all in the raws) only take the slightest break for sharp contrast. It peaks with this dark comedy: Luis cheering Sara on as she licks the blood from his sister's cratered face.

We know this is all a flashback, so the tension is subdued, more dreamlike. It can flirt with brutality without dissonance.

There's an ongoing escalation in the uncomfortable moments the manga has put them through; from Natalia eating the ant-ridden cookies in ch2, to the post-puke kiss in ch7, to the blood drinking in ch10. The bar keeps rising. I'll warn again, the original went to some dark places beyond this, and it seems all-but-guaranteed this version will do the same. I used to worry how that would reconcile with the lighter, sillier atmosphere but it seems like that was needless.

Some other minor points, like the nod to the woods' shortcut or the harmony in Sara saying she can't cast her convictions away as she throws the fake sword aside, don't add much but they're satisfying. Or how there's no need to explain what happened to Natalia either, given all the times she's fainted and bonked into trees. And the skeletons on the path at the beginning do put a dark shade on things from the start.

I also think you should make a note of Sara condemning Natalia's obligations to her family rather than to her people. It's a bit of projection on her part and a hint at her past. That first page is definitely not the whole of her backstory.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

In 2019, before the twitter version of Princess of Sylph had even started going, Kamejiro published a 2-part doujinshi covering Sara meeting Natalia and taking Sylpheed in her place. There were some heavy retcons after, but parts of it remained canon to the later series.

And it looks like chapter 9 and 10 will be following roughly the same story. Major differences in that version include:

  1. Sara being concerned Sylpheed's ritual itself would kill Natalia, in her poor health
  2. The minister encouraging Sara to try taking Sylpheed because of this
  3. There being no replica of Sylpheed
  4. Sara tricking Natalia by putting her to sleep with magic
  5. The lack of Sara's backstory, which is probably being saved for later.

The first half ended with Sara going off to the spirit tree, same as 9.

Instead now Sara's alone and somehow Natalia has to not find out about any of this. But there's a few exciting things from part 2 which are very likely to happen again. As noticed, the blood's going to be important.

While this chapter feels like the calm before a storm, there's still things that stand out as a reader of the old version. You now get the full picture of how isolated Natalia is, idolized and reliant on maintaining the peoples' faith in her. That faith became one of the core conflicts at the end of the first arc.

There's also some foreshadowing in the extra I feel like highlighting. It's a bigger spoiler, but I'll be vague.
Natalia's headache could be because of mana exhaustion. And her armor is arranged a certain way.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

webmanga-sousenkyo.com
Pixiv is running a 'favorite web manga election' through the 31st and Kamejiro's asked fans to nominate Princess of Sylph.

All you need to do is hit the blue 総選挙にノミネートする button at the top, then fill シルフの花姫 in the top box and submit.
You can nominate multiple manga too (like 見えてますよ!愛沢さん for example) but be sure to only submit one name at a time, or they won't count.

Any manga will do so long as

  • It was first published online
  • The 1st volume will release as of December 31st, 2023
  • The latest chapter has been released after December 31st, 2022
  • There are 5 or less volumes published as of August 31st 2023
Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Yeah. And there's also that it wasn't completely harmless, since we see that something grabbed senpai's leg, left a noticeable hand print and likely made her fall there too.

True, I guess at this point I just mentally file Sayaka as completely impervious to ghosts. Plus it got her a girlfriend.

This manga has got me COOKING.

Here's what we know:

Good writeup. I'd forgotten we had a hard date for Aizawa's death.
I really should reread at some point, but I'm bad at looking at my older work.

I assumed the pentagram only appeared on Michi's neck after the dream and wasn't there all along, transferring Aizawa from the desk to Michi, but I don't think we have proof. Michi hasn't even checked the desk yet to see if that mark disappeared. Another thing I'm wondering is if Aizawa herself recognizes what the mark is for and what rules bind her, or if she's totally clueless.

That little ghost girl was missing her eyes. The storage shed ghost had way too many eyes. When the image of Aizawa got corrupted when Michi called out to her, her eyes have been particularly separated from her face, one pulled to the top right and the other to the bottom left. Michi and senpai can both see ghosts and share a special fuzzy eye design nobody else has. There's definitely something very specific in the plot going on wrt eyes and/or eyeballs. I would guess the too many eyes ghost and not enough eyes ghost are directly related.

I'm not sure if those ghosts were particularly important or just one-offs. There's also the long-mouthed ghost at school and whatever that guy Sayaka saw was. Sight is definitely a big theme that keeps coming up though.

I also get the impression there's a more major incident Michi's not talking about. Chapter 1 shows a glimpse of something with a bunch of arms, and she's afraid of getting possessed. Also whatever approached her at the festival looks like something new. There could be some kind of gathering of spirits going on, considering Sayaka's mentioned seeing more of them lately, but whatever's at the top of the mountain is probably on another level from anything we've seen.

If you look carefully at the Perfect Yellow front page you'll see that among the verdure that surrounds Aizawa there are other things, hidden among the leaves, mostly plushies—bear plushies, rabbit plushies, and even a Michi-chan plushie.

I think they might be the other 3 members of De:Lphinus actually: Theia in the top left, Non in the middle right, and a portrait of Ange beneath her. Just going by the hairstyles. I could be wrong, but it would also fit the idol theme. When volume 2 is out we'll have a clearer image, though I doubt it'll show much more.

On a tangent I'm kinda shocked the idols still haven't made a real debut as characters yet. We saw some behind the scenes hints in the first few chapters, but they've only made background appearances ever since. Then again they just plain didn't exist in the original twitter version (which only went about as far as chapter 5). Still, Dorothy's drawn more side art of them on twitter since the serialization started than they've gotten in the manga itself.

I'll admit I have an unreasonable fixation on the mystery of Theia: she's often shown paired with Aizawa, had strong feelings towards Aizawa's death, deliberately cameos in practically every chapter, had a damn pentagram randomly inserted into one of her speech bubbles—there's got to be something there. I'll eat my translator hat if she doesn't do something in volume 3. But maybe that's waiting until Aizawa gets unbound from school.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

This manga is impressing me so much. It started so innocently and now it all keeps coming together.
The Kasumi subplot was perfect setup for

  1. Telling us the romance is going to be taken seriously, as Michi gets worse at dismissing her feelings for Aizawa, and
  2. Lulling us into a false sense of security before hitting hard with the fact Michi can't do it like Sayaka.

We can now safely assume Michi is having her memories erased. The 1st hint was when Kasumi contradicted Michi by saying they'd spoken before chapter 3. 2nd case would be whenever Sayaka saw Michi and Aizawa talking. 3rd was the night of the summer festival. 4th is potentially right now, where Michi is uncharacteristically unconcerned with whatever the hell just happened.

There's an implication Michi's younger self(?) is behind this; her shoes are seen reflecting Michi's as she runs from Aizawa. We know she can independently protect Michi—though this was more like an attack on Michi instead. Maybe it's a condition of the mark binding them? Since Michi's losing memories, it's possible she's the one who originally made that mark on Aizawa's desk too.

The festival is also a new focal point. Japanese folklore often puts powerful spirits up on mountains, and festivals are when they tend to get strongest. The way it's harmlessly introduced at the start of the chapter only to be sinisterly re-contextualized it at the end exemplifies how seamlessly this arc tied back into the plot. Since Kasumi couldn't hear the person crying, it was most likely still a ghost. Younger Michi, or...

We see this chapter it's October, which should be only a couple months after the summer festival. And it's already been over a month at least since Aizawa died. It's not hard to connect the two. Michi can't remember that night. Confronting Aizawa makes Michi feel like she's about to remember something horrifying. Was she there to see her die? Did she bind her back to the world of the living?

2nd big reveal: Kasumi saw Michi and Aizawa talking. But that could have been before or after she died.

Let's assume before. The problem is, while Aizawa clearly liked Michi a bit from chapter 1, she wasn't head over heels for her yet (Or at least, it took her a while to stop kissing and looking up other girls' skirts.) So they couldn't have known each other too well. It makes it hard for Aizawa's regrets to be specific to Michi too. Unless Aizawa's also missing memories, which could explain why she's so immature now. Though I think it's safer to say she was just acting out her mature idol role.

Still, Sayaka also drew the pentagram mark, which should only have a connection to them after Aizawa died. So was Michi talking to ghost Aizawa? There's a suspicious shadow covering half of Aizawa too, which can't just be artistic liberties from our dense Picasso. Either way, at the time Sayaka saw them, there was already something supernatural going on. Sayaka also mentioned a few chapters ago how she's been seeing the mark everywhere, and that more ghosts have been appearing recently. Something big's going around.

Anyways, too many questions, no answers to be found. The plot's now feeling a lot more evenly spread with both Aizawa and Michi having their own share of questions. A perfect ending to the 2nd volume.

Also every single panel this chapter was too cute. It's almost unfortunate how good the mystery stuff is here because it's overshadowing Michi's cuteness, Aizawa's dorkiness, Reona's lunacy, Kasumi and Sayaka's couple fluff. Dorothy's getting too good.

Minor details: Sayaka draws on a flyer for the Koga(古賀) Festival. Koga being a city in Fukuoka, in southern Japan. Likely where the story's set.

The frontispiece and title, Perfect Yellow, are a reference to the Satoshi Kon film Perfect Blue.

Perfect Blue of course being a psychological thriller about an idol faced with the darkness of fame and starting to lose herself. I wouldn't draw comparisons yet, but it's something to keep in mind.

Yellow is also a particularly common color in western horror at least; The Yellow Wallpaper and The King in Yellow are two major examples. You wouldn't think it, but yellow can be a surprisingly difficult color to work with. In the right tones, it represents prosperity and luxury, like gold or fields of wheat. But if the hue is slightly off or there's unevenness, it easily slips into a sickly color that brings to mind decay or deterioration, and it fades easily too. It's a color of two great symbolic extremes.

And of course yellow was Aizawa's signature color in De:Lphinus. Which is probably all it means, but it's fun to ramble.

@BLAMEY just want to drop a note that Odoroo Dorothy-sensei is going to have a oneshot name "Extreme Super Darling" [エクストリームスーパーダーリン] in the next YuriHime 2023/10 issue, coming out 2023/08/18 Just in case you're interested in working on it

Thanks, I'm definitely going to take a look. Won't promise I'll be translating it, but I've liked a lot of the shorter things Dorothy's worked on in the past. They usually have the same sweet but twisted feeling. Aizawa has actually been relatively tame in comparison.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

If anything the message is simply, "it's not worth stressing over your dreams if they're getting in the way of what's truly important." And that you're going to have to work and suffer a little for the things you love. So yes tearing up the marriage certificate was a symbolic gesture of throwing away the dream of making a living on the island and getting married there, because it wasn't feasible. It turned out to be more stressful than returning to the city. Which isn't presented as something inherent to the countryside or city—it mirrors Haru putting herself through the same needless pressure as in chapter 1—but them simply making poor decisions and weathering out a rough patch in their lives through commitment to each other. They aren't rejecting the idea of ever getting married at all either.

Really it's just a story about love persevering. In the end they're just as in love as they were in the beginning. The stress couldn't break them. They never wanted to change society or escape working, they only wanted to be happy together.

Now it's hard to say if that's the story Keyyan always wanted to tell, and it certainly wasn't meant to run through all these plot points in a single chapter. But that's the story we got. The only other endings I could imagine on such a short notice would be serious downers.

From what I heard of what was going on with the author, I feel like the author’s personal life just made this series too painful to keep writing so they just wanted it to end because it was starting to affect them personally too.

Entirely possible. I can't imagine what it must be like to write a story like this while also going through the same pressures yourself. Worse if you're going through them alone.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

There's sadly plenty reason to believe this wasn't a natural conclusion. The frequent unexplained hiatuses, volume 3 ending a full chapter (40 pages) shorter than usual, the narrative undoing a few themes in the end (Naruko going from being an example of 'work being something you can love and not just suffer through,' to being an example of 'needing to work harder to even enjoy occasionally work' comes to mind, and seems depressingly like Keyyan speaking through the characters. A lot of this chapter felt like that.)

The fact that Suit has gotten reprints and officially licensed into English shows it was a financial success, and Yuri Hime isn't quick to end manga that disappear for a few months, so I really don't know what happened. I'm kind of tired of thinking about it.

I really cherish this manga. Haru and Hinoto have such a raw, grounded relationship the likes of which are rarely found—they share all their best and worst together with unshakable faithfulness, and a casual intimacy in every quiet moment that leaves no question to the depths of their love. It was never scared to confront real, uncomfortable issues yet the strength of the romance kept you hopeful. The drama was purely external while the yuri remained a constant source of comfort—an example many writers could learn from. If Keyyan feels like making another serialized yuri manga after this, I'd very much look forward to it. Though I don't think I'd have the heart to translate it.

Volume 3 releases in September, and the usual bonus chapter might be quite a bit longer to make up for the shortened page count. It's no guarantee, but there's possibly a still happier ending on the horizon. Though in the greater context of Keyyan's situation I think this was about the best ending we could hope for.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

More hints at Sara's past. In case you hadn't noticed, the dial's shifting from Natalia being a mess that needs Sara looking after her to the other way around. Kamejiro recently summed up their relationship as, "If I take my eyes off her, she's going to get herself hurt (x2)" which I find very appropriate.

Unfortunate that the chapter cuts off right when we're getting to the plot, but this was a nice peaceful break. Sweet to see Natalia turning down every doubt and only growing more curious and concerned for Sara. When she isn't feeling vengeful.

We're back on track with the original here; while Sara never got kidnapped by Snake Princess, they did have a sleepover at the castle the night Sara told Natalia the truth. And Snake Princess looks to be settling into the same old untrustworthy support character role. You can even see her poking out of the teapot again at the end.

As for the extra, it'll probably make more sense later. Just know that Sara's actually fairly reserved when it comes to sex and intimacy, so she's genuinely shocked at getting called a pervert.

last edited at Jul 23, 2023 3:00AM

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Did not see that reveal coming even though I probably should have. I'm so used to manga dancing around the idea instead of committing straight away, even with a side couple. And it gives me hope Michi and Aizawa's relationship will get serious at some point too.

Cute how, after unlocking the power to touch Michi, Aizawa keeps doing it after. Holding onto her arm, hiding behind her when Kasumi comes up, shoving Michi into Kasumi's arms (and looking adorably conflicted about it), resting her chin on Michi's shoulder at the end. Hopefully this ghost gets extra clingy. Hopefully it's not a bad thing her powers are evolving by the chapter.

Dorothy confirmed this is the end of Kasumi's arc for now, and ch12 will be the end of volume 2, so my guess is Michi's about to run out of excuses ignoring the mark on her neck. It's been a while since we had any serious supernatural or horror moments. Also I imagine Michi's now going to be even more suspicious about the kiss instead of trying to forget it.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

I just gave a try at reading it with a ton of google translate (sadly I haven't learnt japonese by osmosis from manga/anime yet lol) and from what I understood the mangaka said it was just chapter 1 and everything else is in the fanbox. Is the prequel (what is here in dynasty) what is being published at the moment or it there a direct continuation too?

The old chronology would go like:
1. Princess of Sylph (doujinshi)
2. Princess of Sylph (twitter)
3. Princess of Sylph: For Ranunculus (fanbox).

The doujinshi covered Sara getting Sylpheed, which was canon to the twitter manga but was also retconned a little. The twitter manga began with Sara approaching Natalia, the same as the serialized manga, and ended with them leaving the capital. The entire thing is considered the 1st major chapter of the overall story. For Ranunculus covered a bit after the end of the twitter manga but it didn't run for long before the serialization offer came.

The currently serialized manga (the one here on dynasty) here is incorporating everything that came before into a new, ideal version of the story.

I always feel like I just make this more confusing whenever I explain, but you need to understand the series wasn't that structured at first. The story began with some loose ideas that evolved over time. This new version has lots of new material to make it fresh for long-time fans, but the basic plot seems to be the same retold. Uniquely though, this version is spending far more time on the beginnings of Sara and Natalia's relationship. The original didn't have the same tension between them and quickly reached Sara explaining Sylpheed to Natalia.

So when I call these first 7 chapters prologue, I'm just informally referring to this being the earliest phase of the story before the main plot begins. The core conflict was never Sara gaining Natalia's trust or breaking the news about her family sword, but the consequences that came after that reveal.

Additionally, Kamejiro wants this version to be explicitly romantic. Before, there was always this vagueness between the main story, where Sara and Natalia are just friends, and the indeterminate future shown in bonus art where they're lovers. Kamejiro always wanted to gradually bridge the gap between the two but never found the chance. Even so far, the serialization's been much more blatant about Sara being attracted to Natalia, and of course the vomit kiss is something new too.

I imagine the next couple chapters will make it clear how much of the plot's the same. Sara's confession of how she got Sylpheed will probably resemble the early doujinshi story; there's been several hints her backstory hasn't changed. From there I expect the pace to pick up, since the 2nd half of the twitter manga was already a more focused narrative. There's not as much that needs to be fleshed out, or anything newly introduced that would complicate it.

TL;DR: this version on Dynasty is meant to be a polished retelling of the entire story that will hopefully continue as long as possible into brand new adventures. Kamejiro's said if the serialized version fails she'll try to go back to self-publishing the rest, but ideally it won't come to that.

last edited at Jun 30, 2023 1:25AM

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

It's so refreshing seeing volume 1's chapters in normal human size instead of the postage stamps the web version gives me to work with.

Awesome. Really looking forward to whatever they do. They also said they don't think they handle emotional scenes well but I think they've done a wonderful job.

I get the feeling Kamejiro is pessimistic in general; the original had some powerful moments. There's a specific scene that comes to mind for pillar of my heart's payoff which will be devastating even if it's simply copy-pasted.

Anyone know where I can read the webmanga? I'm super curious because ppl keep mentioning it here ;_;

It's not translated, though here it is on the author's twitter. Heavy spoilers of course.

I won't say I'm not considering translating it, but it would take me a while. And I'm not sure how worth it that would be if the serialized version truly does end up being a greatly revised version of the same events.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

This is the prologue? Like, there's a whole entire rest of the story after this that we get to see? They're not just going to run off into the sunset?

The original web manga covered what the author calls Arc 1: The Capital Incident. Everything so far in the serialized version is likely prologue for that; it's gone well out of its way to flesh out the beginnings of Sara and Natalia's relationship in a way the original mostly sped through. The drip-feed of lore we're getting does seem to be setting things in place for the same incident to occur. And it ended with some consequences that necessitated the two going on a journey.

Kamejiro started this serialization with the intent of getting past that point and exploring more of the world. By now everyone could guess there's an earth nation and fire nation in addition to the wind and water nations, and there's even a decent amount of art for what the princesses of those nations are like—some very minor spoilers here—despite them never appearing in the original story. It's one of those stories the author has been brainstorming for a long time.

Which is all assuming the manga is successful enough to get there and other fun things to worry about, but yeah. While it's not set in stone or anything, Kamejiro wants this to be a sprawling fantasy adventure.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Cool Natalia is finally back. Sadly that tends to come at the expense of happy Sara.

In case anyone forgot, children of the spirits have near limitless mana unlike normal humans. Next chapter will probably get into the consequences of Sara taking Sylpheed. Fun to note that the original pre-serialized version reached the Sylpheed reveal in 50 pages (out of 300 total) while the serialized manga is now doing it at about 250 pages. I expect things to speed up now that the prologue is over.

As for Snake Princess, she's gone through some significant changes in this version. Used to be more passively manipulative yet helpful, but now she's a lot more overtly villainous. A recent concept art for her hints she comes from a noble family that fell into ruin, likely due to some kind of betrayal by common folk which might explain her extreme stance. And yes she is a princess like Natalia so I don't know why she's going around calling herself Undine. But she never had a name in the original so for all I know Mizuchi's it.

About the extra, I hope that doesn't mean we shouldn't expect another kiss before their change in wardrobe. This is their first "plot kiss", but the old version's extras had a lot of non-canon kissing (and much more.) Kamejiro does want this version of the story to be more explicitly romantic.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Sadge
But at least they didn't completely reject it like some other people cough Kozue Amano cough

If you want a more accurate translation, it's more like "I don't go out of my way to read yuri, but I do often find myself really getting into manga from people who draw it." It's not a rejection of yuri by any means. I still wouldn't hold my breath for Liar Satsuki to get an explicit yuri ending, but the only reasonable outcomes are for it to stay as subtexty as it is or everyone to die.

Also, I wouldn't call Komachi reliable, but I wonder why Satsuki never told her about the premonitory corpses, given how often she was involved with them.

Back when they were saving Sensei, Komachi just naturally joined the team as Satsuki's hall pass. Some people assumed Satsuki told her off-screen but I doubt it. I think what happened is Komachi never questioned anything and Satsuki never questioned her not questioning anything. Those two get along like matches and gasoline; Satsuki's naivete and history of social rejection causing her to gladly take at face value the crazy girl who approves of everything. She hasn't considered that she'd need to explain the whole story to Komachi.

It's like when Satsuki saved Komachi recently. Satsuki tells her she's going to die, Komachi says Okay! (I'm going to die then!) and Satsuki is so happy someone easily trusts what she's saying. They're never really on the same page but Satsuki sure thinks they are.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Especially if it skips a month as well.

Frankly it's been skipping a lot of months. Around the start of volume 3 there was a 4 month hiatus with no explanation given, and it's skipped months 2 more times since then. All of these were unannounced. During the hiatus, it was listed as returning every month and never did. It's clear there were some kind of production troubles. But that alone isn't enough for Yuri Hime to axe a manga. Chasing Spica for example has had an incredibly spotty attendance rate from the 1st volume, to the point YH almost suspended its publication; still only a temporary measure.

It's also uncommon to announce the final chapter 1 chapter in advance. And it should be noted Throw Away the Suit Together did get reprinted, which confirms it was selling above expectations, so that's confusing too. If it's because it was getting too depressing, surely YH's editors would have checked over the direction it was going, and YH isn't averse to publishing bleak manga these days either. The premise simply leads itself to ups and downs; there's no reason to think these girls wouldn't pull themselves back up and find happiness again. It's all a big mystery we'll probably never understand. This certainly isn't the way it was planned to end, not just narratively but thematically. The story's always been a reflection of the author's state of mind. I'm afraid the ending's going to be as dark as Keyyan's likely feeling.

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

Akira's growing self-doubt also got a lot of focus in the past few chapters so it would be strange to just cut that all off here.

That's one of the main reasons I'm sure she's alive. But an injury is going to make her feelings of uselessness a hell of a lot worse. This could be a turning point where Satsuki starts getting confronted with the value of saving people. It wouldn't surprise me if Akira's dad manages to get away with this and Akira takes the student council up on their old offer to kill him, fearing for her own safety. And with everyone believing more people need to die to stop the deaths, Satsuki would have a tough time talking anyone out of it.

But everything's sort of reaching a fever pitch at this point so it's tough guessing at the structure of the rest of the story. It could be that it's all set to wrap up in the festival, with Satsuki's momentary vision calling back to chapter 1, but there's still so many subplots unresolved and main points that remain mostly mysteries. I keep thinking back to Shi ni Aruki's finale taking up around half the manga. In any case somebody's bound to die soon.

last edited at Jun 15, 2023 5:17AM

Satsuaki
joined Oct 9, 2021

But I also desperately need someone, preferably Michi, to enlighten her that she can fucking see the fucking dead.

It's hard to tell exactly what tone this manga will end up taking—pure fluffy comedy or mixing in more dangerous dramatic elements as it goes—but Sayaka is currently exposed to everything Michi fears and has no idea. They've really got to work that out.

There's an impressive web of misunderstandings between them but it's all on the thinnest ice. Sayaka could easily see Aizawa's idol goods and strike up a conversation that quickly leads to learning she's dead. Michi on the other hand thinks she can continue as normal, but there's an implication the mark is putting her in real danger which ignoring ghosts can't protect her from. At least she knows trusting Aizawa is an option now. I think she's still a little scared of Aizawa herself, and Aizawa did comically toss her around the room this chapter so it's understandable, but sooner or later Michi'll give in. The real question is how Aizawa reacts to learning her crush has seen her being all gay and dorky this whole time.

Since this is Kasumi and Sayaka's little side arc I don't expect big revelations next chapter, but 12 should be the end of the volume and maybe that's when we'll see things start to move. Dorothy did say upcoming chapters would investigate the strange circumstances of Aizawa's death and the special connection Michi and Aizawa have, both of which are hard to get into without Michi interacting with the girl.

This reminds me that Kasumi mentioned she has interacted with Michi before the story began, I'm really curious to see what went down and why Michi doesn't seem to remember it.

I even went back and checked the raws and Michi cleanly states she hasn't spoken with anyone in class since school started, so yeah it feels like setup. Whether Michi got possessed or it was just some passing words that meant a lot more to Kasumi and Michi totally forgot. They are cute together, the way Kasumi looks after Michi, and she's one of the softest characters I've translated which is a fun change of pace.

I don't think Aizawa would be happy with Michi ending up with anyone else (she's a very possessive spirit) but maybe right now she feels like things between her and Michi are impossible. Meanwhile Michi seems to be the most skittish member of the cast towards anything romantic, but I like the detail that, when she imagines talking to Aizawa she's unconsciously touching her too.

On another note...Honami literally never talking has gotta mean something, right? It's not a ghost thing, we've seen ghosts talk in this manga. And she certainly wasn't mute while she was alive, she had songs. If it turns out she's not actually dead, not a totally unreasonable prediction given how different she is from every other ghost in the manga so far, that has some potentially quite dark implications...

Important to note that even in flashbacks she never speaks. Which I think is just for dramatic flair and not indicative of any condition she had while alive, but it hammers in the point that Aizawa is mute. And it was very deliberate to show us other ghosts can talk. Getting Aizawa's voice back or finding out why she can't speak will probably be a major part of the plot later.

Every time a new chapter is translated, I come here to write that this manga is CRAZY GOOD.

I fear I'm becoming repetitive and boring.

I don't know how it is for other scanlators, but with all the time it takes typesetting manga, I drive myself crazy with every wild thought bouncing around my head. A lot of the time I lose all perspective on the chapter since anything gets stale when you've read it 20 times. So I always appreciate every comment and reaction, no matter how meaningless they might seem. And writing out big walls of text helps detox my brain.