Forum › Posts by flowsthead

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joined Jan 2, 2022

Gyaru is a specific fashion subculture, which is noted in the first sentence of the Wikipedia page linked. She is not matching any listed gyaru fashion trends or subtypes or previous gyaru depictions in other manga, so this won't be tagged with it.

But don't forget, the best gyaru on this site is pale, has black hair, and is a cool, smooth lady-killer. I'm speaking of course of our stealth gal Harumi from Citrus.

Personally, I think "tomboy" fits because she's a tomboy by the western definition of the word but not so much by the Japanese trope for "boyish," which is mainly how the tag is used on the site (alongside prince types). It's still unclear if the western definition of tomboy should be tagged across the board on the site

I don't think she looks like a tomboy by the western definition, she looks alternative. You could say that the alternative look has some things in common with the tomboy look, but I'd say tomboy has more of a sporty connotation. All of the piercings and jewelry are not what I'd typically associate with tomboy. Even in chapter 2, she gets called a "rocker" which is not a particularly western term, but fits more closely with "alternative" as the vibe.

flowsthead
X2(edited)2
joined Jan 2, 2022

Putting lip balm or lipstick on someone else, the most lesbian of lesbian come ons.

flowsthead
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joined Jan 2, 2022

Chapter 59
If there's one thing I didn't expect from this for the first 50 chapters, it was a rape plotline. Ugh.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

On page 5, the two girls behind skirt girl look like Aya's friends, but that doesn't really look like Aya. It could just be the art style.

flowsthead
Ma Chérie discussion 17 May 23:17
X2(edited)2
joined Jan 2, 2022

I'm surprised none of the girls she "dated" ever did anything with her. I figure some of them would have wanted to at least fool around a bit.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

Yeah, I don't care if the the author came out and swore up and down that "No, no, they're totally straight, this story isn't gay at all." I'd just call them a goddamned liar. Even if the translation were being way too generous, nobody straight daydreams about the nape of their bestie's neck like that.

What you don't think about the napes of your homies' necks?

Also, was that the nape of her neck she was thinking about? I just assumed it was generally how close they were.

flowsthead
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joined Jan 2, 2022

Ren Wei is so obviously into it, but just waiting for confirmation that this isn't just in Youzi's head but happening for real. Get on it, mom! Your girl is waiting for you!

flowsthead
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There's something about the hands, and maybe the proportions in general, that threw me off and was uncomfortable.

flowsthead
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joined Jan 2, 2022

I think this Arc had some of the best written chapters in the entire series, but to each their own. The manga shifted its tone lone ago by now, so no one should be surprised by all the drama.

Chapter 57: It was always pretty clear from her first appearance back in Volume 4 that Youko was/is a psychopath.These types of people like to play with people and their feelings. There isn't really much more to it. I just hope she stays well away from Yano and Hime.

The Nene focused chapters were really good, I'm not saying all of this was terrible.

And there is a difference between drama and whatever this was.

flowsthead
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joined Jan 2, 2022

I think this is the first chapter where I got the feeling that this might not have a happy ending, or at least that our two leads might not end up staying together at the end.

flowsthead
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joined Jan 2, 2022

Chapter 57
I have no idea what's going on anymore. We're reaching levels of melodrama I didn't think were possible. I'm just waiting for Geouido to twirl her mustache and reveal she is Yano long thought dead twin who is pregnant from having sex with Nene. This Kanoko subplot is killing some of my love of the series.

It feels a little contrived at this point but i don't think the whole deal about Goeidou is all that mysterious or complex. Barring any future reveals how it looks to me is that Goeidou is a hedonistic manipulator who gets a kick out of making ppl dance to her tune despite or exactly bc it goes contrary to their own feelings/wishes. And she seems to have pegged Sumika as her favorite target bc she's such a polar opposite to her "play hard, care less" attitude when it comes to "love"/relationships. That's why she keeps preying on the issues of ppl close to her like Nene or Kanoko.

Oh I get it, I was being facetious about not knowing what's going on. I just hate this characterization as it feels like it's simplifying her character as just "the villain". I was hoping for more shading.

X2(edited)2
joined Jan 2, 2022

The phrase "down bad" was invented for that last page.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

Up to this point I have enjoyed this series. But chapter 32 crossed a lot of lines. Rape in a story is not exactly the best plot device, but in certain situations can be used effectively. This, however, isn't it. This is creepy, violent, and extremely off-putting. Even worse is the fact that given the way the author writes, they are almost certainly going to try to play this off as some lighthearted prank. That's completely insulting and callous towards victims of actual rape, and if does happen, I will lose every ounce of respect, and will probably drop this author and series.

This is not a serious series. This is porn. It’s obviously been porn from the start and as such each chapter has always prioritized pushing kinks over any sort of story or characterization. And, like it or not, a big beautiful woman trying to hunt you down to have her way with you is a kink a lot of people have as evidenced by comments here and other places.

Sure, but that doesn't mean people have to like any and all decisions a story takes.

flowsthead
X2(edited)2
joined Jan 2, 2022

Chapter 57
I have no idea what's going on anymore. We're reaching levels of melodrama I didn't think were possible. I'm just waiting for Geouido to twirl her mustache and reveal she is Yano long thought dead twin who is pregnant from having sex with Nene. This Kanoko subplot is killing some of my love of the series.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

.....A+. Would read again.

flowsthead
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Oh, this is actually a pretty cute comic. Youzi really needs to tell Ren that she's going to marry her mom, though.

(Me being me, I don't mind if Chen comes too... (⁠~⁠‾⁠▿⁠‾⁠)⁠~ )

She knows cause of Chapter 15. I think the implication of the following chapters is that Ren is into the idea.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

With the little xs for eyes, her heart is dead too lol.

flowsthead
VAMPEERZ discussion 21 Apr 21:05
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The ending is a bit disappointing. Not necessarily the events, but the speed of the events. I wish this part had been elongated by a few chapters. Good manga overall, though.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

Natori is so cluelessly gay it's adorable. Diana seems well aware of herself, and I'm not sure about Lapis.

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The title of the chapter made me think that Mitsuki would finally start catching feelings too, but I guess it meant a literal spring.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

Obviously we're not going to agree on this, but I do think your analogies here are not particularly fair. A name is much more personal and important than a greeting. You really don't see any difference between saying a character's name correctly and how someone says good morning? Names are usually pretty important in many stories. And I've absolutely seen films where a person saying someone's name correctly is a part of the plot. Which doesn't imply anything about this manga, but it will just be a character detail, but I do feel like you're being dismissive too early.

People use nicknames, pet names, suffixes and other such things to alter how they address someone all the time. It personalizes interactions, but unless a name has story significance it is simply not an important matter.
Your entire conceit here is that it matters because it somehow shows a lack of interest or investment from Diana, as she doesn't care about Natori's corrections, but that just appears so basic that I cannot help but call it as I see it... overanalyses.
Not that I am a stranger to such myself.

A name by itself might no have story significance, but different people using different names for the same person usually does. Not always, but often. Also, yeah, if in real life someone was corrected on a pronunciation and did nothing about it, it would seem rude to me. I don't really see an issue there.

Also, unrelated, but "I just tried to perhaps broaden your perspective" is incredibly condescending. You don't know me or my perspective from reading a couple of comments I've made here. Let's not go there please.

That is your opinion. I phrased it completely neutrally actually, in fact to avoid you feeling attacked.
Maybe such a defensive reaction shows a cetain dissonance between how we perceive things, but it is obvious to me that none of us can see the full picture of things at all times, especially when locked on a very particular detail like this. You may not have been aware the Natori and Natalie are pronounced nearly the same in Japanese. Or some outside input could have allowed you to change your perspective.

That is what broadening one's horizons is. It is unfortunate that you consider it a condescending concept.

Ok so I'm not reading the Japanese, but someone in the comments on page 9 said this:

ナタリー na-ta-rii vs ナトリ na-to-ri
Not the same pronunciation, the last two syllables are different

I don't know what it looks like in the raws, but if it's coming up in the translation it must be different enough.

Lastly, sure, broadening one's horizon by looking at outside perspectives is nice, but when you put yourself in the position of broadening someone's horizon explicitly, unless you're literally their teacher, it comes off as condescending. It's one thing to display information from another perspective, it's another to tell someone explicitly that you're going to broaden their horizon with your perspective. There's a lot of assumptions there that depend on you knowing more than me and being more correct, which inevitably come off as condescending.

last edited at Mar 31, 2023 1:12PM

X2(edited)2
joined Jan 2, 2022

Probably I am focusing on it a little too much, but if the translation is giving us this contrast then it must be an important contrast, especially since Natori herself has tried to correct Diana and others before and Lapis never needed correcting. It could just be a sign of the level of education between the two potential love interests, but I do think since it gets focus then it probably also represents something about the relationships, otherwise there wouldn't be a difference at all.

I mean, you're basically asking me to ignore a consistent story element, which is odd to me. Why would it be there if it wasn't important? It's like the difference between the suitor that gets roses and the suitor that gets sunflowers knowing they're the love interests favorite flowers. Chekov's love details.

One character saying "G'morning" while another says "Good morning" can tell you on a surface level that one is more casual than the other. In this scenario you are determining that a character using "G'morning" will lose a love triangle romance because they are not using the proper wording.

Sometimes little details are little details that exist to be little details. It was already mentioned above, but it seems the author simply wanted to show a difference in education and status with this. A fairly standard way of characterisation with no especially deeper meaning in regards to every other plot point, let alone the blossoming romance. You cannot compare flower language, a matter that is build on deeper meaning and metaphors, to a simple character trait.

Though I want to end this by saying that you are free to interpret whatever you want into any aspect of a story. That is how we process art and storytelling. So I'm not telling you to stop anything, I just tried to perhaps broaden your perspective. Especially because Natori has stopped correcting her already and just accepted it.
It appears to me that it matters more to you than the actual characters.

Obviously we're not going to agree on this, but I do think your analogies here are not particularly fair. A name is much more personal and important than a greeting. You really don't see any difference between saying a character's name correctly and how someone says good morning? Names are usually pretty important in many stories. And I've absolutely seen films where a person saying someone's name correctly is a part of the plot. Which doesn't imply anything about this manga, but it will just be a character detail, but I do feel like you're being dismissive too early.

Also, unrelated, but "I just tried to perhaps broaden your perspective" is incredibly condescending. You don't know me or my perspective from reading a couple of comments I've made here. Let's not go there please.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

I think the prince immediately getting Natori's name right while Diana still fails to makes Diana seem even less likely to be successful in a love triangle.

Your obsssesion with the name matter is honestly baffling. Is this perhaps supposed to be a running gag of yours?
In case it is not: Natori and Natalie are pronounced almost the same in Japanese. That is the entire joke. Natalie would be a more understandable name in a Western style fantasy world. If you want to go any deeper than that you can call it a nickname or a character quirk and be done with it.
This is the least important, relevant or significant part of their entire chemistry, so perhaps it would be foolhardy to hinge the entire relationship on it, wouldn't you agree?

Probably I am focusing on it a little too much, but if the translation is giving us this contrast then it must be an important contrast, especially since Natori herself has tried to correct Diana and others before and Lapis never needed correcting. It could just be a sign of the level of education between the two potential love interests, but I do think since it gets focus then it probably also represents something about the relationships, otherwise there wouldn't be a difference at all.

I mean, you're basically asking me to ignore a consistent story element, which is odd to me. Why would it be there if it wasn't important? It's like the difference between the suitor that gets roses and the suitor that gets sunflowers knowing they're the love interests favorite flowers. Chekov's love details.

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joined Jan 2, 2022

I think the prince immediately getting Natori's name right while Diana still fails to makes Diana seem even less likely to be successful in a love triangle.

flowsthead
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joined Jan 2, 2022

I've been thinking about the art, since I'm never sure if I love it or not, but I think I finally figured out what I do love about it. The body language just looks great in this art style. It's got this casual fluidity that really works for our two main characters. They way they flow into each other feels really natural and emphasizes their chemistry really well. The transition from sitting next to each other to holding each other and almost kissing works really well because of that.