That's why I'm so hung up on this story. If Mimika had the same character, performed the same, and simply had her gender flipped, I would still think it's a good story. I probably wouldn't be as interested in the story, but I'd still support his relationship with Mimika as it stands now. But that support would crumble the moment he crosses the line, and I put the same onus on female Mimika.

it gets me that a lot of people rooting for the story as it is would never give boy!Mimika nearly as much sympathy.

I know that I definitely wouldn't give boy!Mimika anywhere near as much sympathy as I give actual!Mimika, but I do have to (reluctantly) agree that the story would still be just as good. I would not touch such a story with a ten-foot pole, but I would probably think of it as a good story if I ever decided to read it. I think it's kind of similar to Kodomo no Jikan. Now, I've never read/watched that horrible thing and I never will, but, from what I hear, it actually is a pretty realistic take on... pedophilic relationships... now, assuming that's correct, I am still never going to read it just because the protagonist is a dude. I mean, even if she was female... but, I mean, I guess I did read Hoshikawa Ginza District without any hesitation so I guess I wouldn't.

As for that whole issue of "crossing the line..." I can't say that I feel the same, really. I would certainly be disgusted to a certain extent if actual!Mimika crossed the line, but if male!Mimika did that, I would drop the series then and there. If actual!Mimika did that, I'd most likely continue onward and still support her. Is that wrong? Probably, but, well, at least I can acknowledge that I'm pretty irrational and hypocritical. If this were a real-life relationship, I would definitely not support it under any circumstances, but since it's fictional, well, I guess I would regardless of the circumstances. Not really sure how I started to think this way, but I suppose it is how it is.

I know that I definitely wouldn't give boy!Mimika anywhere near as much sympathy as I give actual!Mimika, but I do have to (reluctantly) agree that the story would still be just as good. I would not touch such a story with a ten-foot pole...

I think the author was aware of this on some level and the creation of the story as yuri was purposeful. It's disarming. You think "Oh, Mimika isn't a boy so there's no (or just less) potential for harmful, predatory behavior here." You let the story play out, and Ejima gets to elaborate on the relationship and its implications.

I definitely fell for it. I don't think I would've gotten to this point with the het version.

I would certainly be disgusted to a certain extent if actual!Mimika crossed the line, but if male!Mimika did that, I would drop the series then and there. If actual!Mimika did that, I'd most likely continue onward and still support her.

I'd stop supporting the relationship, but I'd continue reading as long as Ejima can continue creating an interesting story around it.

last edited at May 15, 2017 12:03AM

Hmmmm I think is better to compare it to a yaoi couple instead(like, with a shota), because with a het couple we're missing a BIG deal of the troubles that Mimika is dealing with. As a yuri fan I wouldn't willingly go for loli+het, hell these days I rarely look for conventional het romances.

For me, if Mimika was a boy, it'd hit too close to home. To the reality of child abuse and coercion and all that. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief because of it. I think for these sorts of stories suspension of disbelief can be very important. I doubt I'm the only girl who feels this way either. If it was a boy every part of me would be screaming for him to leave her life if he was so well intentioned. But maybe I'm projecting when I say it'd hit too close to home for a lot of folks.

For me, if Mimika was a boy, it'd hit too close to home. To the reality of child abuse and coercion and all that. I wouldn't be able to suspend my disbelief because of it. I think for these sorts of stories suspension of disbelief can be very important. I doubt I'm the only girl who feels this way either. If it was a boy every part of me would be screaming for him to leave her life if he was so well intentioned. But maybe I'm projecting when I say it'd hit too close to home for a lot of folks.

Does "suspension of disbelief" even apply here? What's the unbelievable part of this manga that are we believing in? It's not like a puppet show or a fantasy novel. Yuzumori may be a little on the precocious side, and a lolicon highschool girl may be uncommon, but other than that, I don't see any unrealistic side to their relationship.

Compare this to Kodomo no Jikan where you definitely have to suspend your disbelief as the main character acts in an increasingly unrealistic way (for a child).

you have to suspend disbelief to believe that a romantic relationship between an elementary schooler and a high schooler could be sweet and not exploitive and gross. suspend disbelief to believe that a high schooler who would date an elementary schooler and is a lolicon would try so hard to keep their relationship pure and not letting her sexual appetite surface.

i love yuzumori. its a great comic for a lot of reasons. and i think it handles its subject matter well. i also just dont think i could suspend my disbelief enough to appreciate the good things about it if mimika were a boy.

you have to suspend disbelief to believe that a romantic relationship between an elementary schooler and a high schooler could be sweet and not exploitive and gross. suspend disbelief to believe that a high schooler who would date an elementary schooler and is a lolicon would try so hard to keep their relationship pure and not letting her sexual appetite surface.

i love yuzumori. its a great comic for a lot of reasons. and i think it handles its subject matter well. i also just dont think i could suspend my disbelief enough to appreciate the good things about it if mimika were a boy.

I get you. For me, their relationship so far requires zero suspension of disbelief, but it certainly would if Yuzumori or Mimika took things much further. Probably different people require different levels of suspension of disbelief depending on their tolerance for the subject matter. Even Hoshikawa Ginza District 4 was a little hard to believe at some points, on account of never knowing any 13-year-olds like that.

last edited at May 15, 2017 3:20AM

The new one is out (well, in batoto)
This is death by sugar... Really, is so cute like a room full of hamsters.
Gravitational field lol

The woman who did Kodomo no Jikan tried to explain that Rin is troubled and that's why she's "precocious." I actually found the other main character suddenly turning down Houin-sensei (who's pretty, stacked, loving, fun-loving and generally perfect) because he's had the epiphany that he's really in love with little Rin the hard part to believe. Since Rin's troubling, unchildlike behavior was flagged by everyone as troubling, unchildlike behavior.

Can't even pull a double quarter circle with a fightstick? What a dirty casual, Mimika deserves better

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

...Dude

Omg im just .... This is just amazing qnq such scenes... Ima die right now!!!!!

Cute AF!!! <3

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

......well that's neat

This was so deadly ..i had a heartstroke... Thank god i was revived again to reread it once againヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

Awwwh! They're so cute when they snuggle! <3<3

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

sweet milk

Uh... it's lovely but I don't think that they love each other the same way... Mimika loves Yuzu-chan in a sexual way, but Yuzu-chan loves Mimika because she wants someone to be at her side, like an older sister figure? I mean, of course, kids in Yuzumori's age RARELY develop sexual atraction to (or wanting sexual pleasure from) other people... I said rarely 'cause there are many cases in which happens (me included, my sexuality started when I was eleven I think?).

last edited at May 22, 2017 11:08PM

cries

Uh... it's lovely but I don't think that they love each other the same way... Mimika loves Yuzu-chan in a sexual way, but Yuzu-chan loves Mimika because she wants someone to be at her side, like an older sister figure? I mean, of course, kids in Yuzumori's age RARELY develop sexual atraction to (or wanting sexual pleasure from) other people... I said rarely 'cause there are many cases in which happens (me included, my sexuality started when I was eleven I think?).

AFAIK it's really not uncommon for 10 / 11 / 12-year olds or even younger to want that kind of pleasure from others. I was that way and I knew at least a few other kids who were the same, leading to a couple of pseudo-sexual experiences in elementary school. My friend who has a degree in psychology (with courses in child development, etc.) told me it's more common than people tend to believe.

I think it is somewhat rare for them to want pleasure from older people though, oftentimes it's from other kids their own age (though Yuzumori doesn't seem to identify with her peers at all, which might explain it).

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

Hm let's uh, I dunno, say, the faintest hint of lavender or some frilly shit like that why not

Yuzumori hasn't expressed any sexual attraction or sexual interest so I think for the time being its safe to say that she's not reached that stage of development. I do worry that Yuzumori will get pulled aside by a teacher for the things she's written about spending summer with Mimika. That is a very real possibility. Mimika's attraction to Yuzumori is sexual but it's also more than that. She clearly experiences emotional attraction to Yuzumori as well. Whether that would remain as Yuzumori grows up and changes is hard to speculate on.

I know people who developed sexual feelings really young but nothing about Yuzumori has parsed that way yet. So I think she wouldn't really /get/ sexual things. Not in a meaningful way, tho she might go along with them if Mimika asked because she loves Mimika a lot and is afraid of losing her. Mimika probably knows this on some level and part of her restraint is not acting on that knowledge.

last edited at May 23, 2017 12:00AM

Another cute chapter. <3

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

sweet milk

So she smells like Shio-chan :D

Also, I know the chapter ended on a happy note but ow...

I want to know what Yuzumori-san smells like

...Dude

I'm pretty sure of all the things she might smell like, she assuredly doesn't smell like dude.