If there is more... then Canno is being surprisingly delicate about this detail in a story full of sledgehammers. lol
This is an interesting way of putting it, since I've always thought that good manga (or good popular narrative generally) always tends to alternate subtlety with trope-y sledgehammers, or perhaps the subtle deployment of sledgehammers.
I understand that particular tropes are notoriously pet peeves for individual readers at best or traumatic personal-experience-memory triggers at worst, but I personally tend to find tropes mostly pleasurable when deployed in an interesting story, and their relative realism mostly irrelevant (although I've heard more than a couple real-life "practice-kissing" stories, not as the gateway to a lesbian relationship but as a slightly more grown-up version of "playing doctor"-type experimentation).
Cultural festival? Class trip? Interrupted attempt at confession? Bring 'em on!
I tend to agree, except this story in particular had no such nuance until now, so that's why I didn't even consider it until Lyendith brought it up.
The thing with realism or fantasy is... you ought to pick one. Or find an incredibly hard to achieve balance. As I mentioned in my comment about the "Kissing practice", Canno is going for the fantastical storytelling that strains the suspension of disbelief, which in general I think is fine, that's how AnoKiss mostly panned out and I loved it. Her perception of polyamory, romance and cliches are all very fantasy like and lack in realism.
In her narrative world I can fully believe that there is a school filled with nothing but lesbians and even that every girl loves everyone or whatever, but when she then attempts to ground it or defy her own narrative by treating kissing as less of a meaningful thing after establishing it is or attempts awkwardly to add a dose of realism to polyamory while still stuck in the fantasy version of it... well it just doesn't jive.
I think we both agree that writing carries everything, even tropes, so it is important that the author knows what they are doing. I don't feel like Canno does as of right now, at least for this story.
