It should also be mentioned that people "disappear" all the time in Japan. About 100.000 person per year are signaled as "missing". Most of them are found or come back later, but some just "evaporate".

It's called "Jouhatsu" (a term meaning "evaporation"). It can be for a lot of reasons, for family reasons, for tax reasons, for debt reasons, a woman evaporating with her child, leaving the husband for DV reason (or others), suicide, etc...

The laws about privacy are really strong in Japan, so as long as no crime has been committed, police will be extremely reluctant to investigate.

So, I think there's nothing surprising about Aya's situation regarding the authorities for a Japanese reader. She disappeared, she's back, she's 21, no crime has been reported. Everyone moves on. It's not the police's problem.

That’s certainly true in general—the classic 1967 Japanese pseudo-documentary A Man Vanishes is about that very phenomenon. But most such cases are, as you suggest, men leaving their families, whole families running away from loansharks, or other grown people escaping bad situations like oppressive jobs, etc.

But as we saw, this was a missing middle-schooler who sparked a police search, one who has now returned physically unchanged and with (essentially) amnesia. Even given the cultural concept of jouhatsu, the specific situation would seem to warrant rather more than a “Huh, that’s weird. Well, welcome back!” reaction.

It does warrant that -- but is the bureaucracy (or set of bureaucracies) capable of generating a different reaction?

It should also be mentioned that people "disappear" all the time in Japan. About 100.000 person per year are signaled as "missing". Most of them are found or come back later, but some just "evaporate".

It's called "Jouhatsu" (a term meaning "evaporation"). It can be for a lot of reasons, for family reasons, for tax reasons, for debt reasons, a woman evaporating with her child, leaving the husband for DV reason (or others), suicide, etc...

The laws about privacy are really strong in Japan, so as long as no crime has been committed, police will be extremely reluctant to investigate.

So, I think there's nothing surprising about Aya's situation regarding the authorities for a Japanese reader. She disappeared, she's back, she's 21, no crime has been reported. Everyone moves on. It's not the police's problem.

That’s certainly true in general—the classic 1967 Japanese pseudo-documentary A Man Vanishes is about that very phenomenon. But most such cases are, as you suggest, men leaving their families, whole families running away from loansharks, or other grown people escaping bad situations like oppressive jobs, etc.

But as we saw, this was a missing middle-schooler who sparked a police search, one who has now returned physically unchanged and with (essentially) amnesia. Even given the cultural concept of jouhatsu, the specific situation would seem to warrant rather more than a “Huh, that’s weird. Well, welcome back!” reaction.

I'm honestly curious if they'll even address the disappearance with any kind of specifics, or if they'll just hand wave it away. Magical Realism is a decently popular genre in Japan, and the more I read this the more I feel it sort of fits into that genre?

No one (other than Koto I guess, but even then it feels more rooted in the effect the disappearance had on her, ie. her separation anxiety.) seems to be that pressed about the 'how' of her disappearance just yet. They're all just like, "Yeah, okay."

Anyways, super excited to see how this all plays out. This definitely feels more realized (fleshed out? realistic?) than the author's previous work. And I feel like I can understand where each character seems to be coming from when they respond to things happening around them.

Interestingly, I was giving the synopsis to my partner and she thought the story almost felt like the author was/is trying to sort through an event that has happened in their life.

It should also be mentioned that people "disappear" all the time in Japan. About 100.000 person per year are signaled as "missing". Most of them are found or come back later, but some just "evaporate".

It's called "Jouhatsu" (a term meaning "evaporation"). It can be for a lot of reasons, for family reasons, for tax reasons, for debt reasons, a woman evaporating with her child, leaving the husband for DV reason (or others), suicide, etc...

The laws about privacy are really strong in Japan, so as long as no crime has been committed, police will be extremely reluctant to investigate.

So, I think there's nothing surprising about Aya's situation regarding the authorities for a Japanese reader. She disappeared, she's back, she's 21, no crime has been reported. Everyone moves on. It's not the police's problem.

That’s certainly true in general—the classic 1967 Japanese pseudo-documentary A Man Vanishes is about that very phenomenon. But most such cases are, as you suggest, men leaving their families, whole families running away from loansharks, or other grown people escaping bad situations like oppressive jobs, etc.

But as we saw, this was a missing middle-schooler who sparked a police search, one who has now returned physically unchanged and with (essentially) amnesia. Even given the cultural concept of jouhatsu, the specific situation would seem to warrant rather more than a “Huh, that’s weird. Well, welcome back!” reaction.

I'm honestly curious if they'll even address the disappearance with any kind of specifics, or if they'll just hand wave it away. Magical Realism is a decently popular genre in Japan, and the more I read this the more I feel it sort of fits into that genre?

No one (other than Koto I guess, but even then it feels more rooted in the effect the disappearance had on her, ie. her separation anxiety.) seems to be that pressed about the 'how' of her disappearance just yet. They're all just like, "Yeah, okay."

No, I think you're probably (who knows what will actually happen?) quite right about that--manga can be pretty casual about bizarre "what if?" premises that just set up whatever dynamic they're going for.

I don't really think it's a flaw in this story or anything--more like a humorously weird aspect of the situation. It's kinda fun to imagine, for instance, Aya and [whoever she ends up with] chatting with new friends who ask, "So, when did you two first get together?" and them saying, "Well, it's a funny story . . ."

last edited at Mar 7, 2024 1:02PM

But as we saw, this was a missing middle-schooler who sparked a police search, one who has now returned physically unchanged and with (essentially) amnesia. Even given the cultural concept of jouhatsu, the specific situation would seem to warrant rather more than a “Huh, that’s weird. Well, welcome back!” reaction.

Their hometown is apparently a small town in the boonies. They mention that all the neighborhood noticed she was back, so there was a lot of gossip, the local police interrogated her and found nothing amiss (if she didn't want to say what happened to her, they probably didn't push any further) and they just informed her that her grandpa passed away.

Local media probably wasn't interested (nothing really juicy there). National media even less. Especially since she disappeared 7 years ago. I think that in Japan, people disappearing and coming back years later isn't that rare or newsworthy. It made the news in the past because she was a teen, but now? Who cares?

So I rest my case: it's not that abnormal that there was not any more ruckus or inquiries about her coming back, given the cultural background of Japan and their reluctance to infringe on privacy of people. She's an adult, case closed.

Welp, I'm glad nothing bad has happened. Yet.
Koto's forwardness was really cute.
Kinda scared that a dude the age of Aya has been introduced yet however.
The love triangle-ish is about to become one messy polygon.
Thanks for the chapter!

Huh... Aya's assumptions towards Erika were way rude. Well, about as rude as you'd expect of a careless teenager, but still. That's no way of just assuming things about your friends... Was there any indication of why she'd think of Erika like that ?

Actually, did she never discuss what happened in the past seven years with Koto ?

last edited at Mar 11, 2024 12:36PM

10 bucks he's gay.

SUDDENLY HETERO

Nene posted:

SUDDENLY HETERO

I'd rather say, "suddenly a source of worry for Koto".

There's very little chance it ends up in het.

So I rest my case: it's not that abnormal that there was not any more ruckus or inquiries about her coming back, given the cultural background of Japan and their reluctance to infringe on privacy of people. She's an adult, case closed.

I'm so glad there are people like you and Gabinomicon who get it.
There's a crowd out there who don't get it at all. Even tho we explained it so many times.

10 bucks he's gay.

This is not the kind of feel-good yuri story where every girl we meet is a lesbian and every guy we meet has been raised by two married women and is gay.

I agree with Nene. He is, most likely, a sudden injection of heteronormativity in the story. A rival who is the "right" age and the "right" gender for Aya, and who'll make Koto question whether their relationship is really a good thing for her.

I lol'ed at Aya who tries to act all adult like, and even asks Erika for lessons on how to seduce a romantic partner into having sex... and then it turns out that even a hug is too much for her.

So I rest my case: it's not that abnormal that there was not any more ruckus or inquiries about her coming back, given the cultural background of Japan and their reluctance to infringe on privacy of people. She's an adult, case closed.

I'm so glad there are people like you and Gabinomicon who get it.
There's a crowd out there who don't get it at all. Even tho we explained it so many times.

Sure, we get that this is a story based on magic where everyone just ignores the magic. No need to congratulate yourself about it.

I lol'ed at Aya who tries to act all adult like, and even asks Erika for lessons on how to seduce a romantic partner into having sex... and then it turns out that even a hug is too much for her.

And that hug was like, barely a hug in my book.

"Let's have a serious important talk later, no I will not specify the subject ahead of time" aight I'm fully team anti-Koto now lol. I actually laughed out loud when in that later conversation she says her main concern is not wanting Aya to be anxious considering how classic and infamous "We need to talk about something important but not right now" is as an anxiety trigger.

So I rest my case: it's not that abnormal that there was not any more ruckus or inquiries about her coming back, given the cultural background of Japan and their reluctance to infringe on privacy of people. She's an adult, case closed.

I'm so glad there are people like you and Gabinomicon who get it.
There's a crowd out there who don't get it at all. Even tho we explained it so many times.

Sure, we get that this is a story based on magic where everyone just ignores the magic. No need to congratulate yourself about it.

Lol well that's certainly not what I was talking about. I was just baffled by people arguing over if she's 14 or if she's 21 when the fact that she's both depending on the context is basically the whole plot of the manga right now.

"Let's have a serious important talk later, no I will not specify the subject ahead of time" aight I'm fully team anti-Koto now lol. I actually laughed out loud when in that later conversation she says her main concern is not wanting Aya to be anxious considering how classic and infamous "We need to talk about something important but not right now" is as an anxiety trigger.

I'm on team Erika buuuut I think she can do better than Koto. Unfortunately in this kind of story, there's a finite cast of 3 (probably 4, now) characters, so the idea that she'd move on and find herself a better girlfriend might only be possible for the epilogue, if at all.

So I rest my case: it's not that abnormal that there was not any more ruckus or inquiries about her coming back, given the cultural background of Japan and their reluctance to infringe on privacy of people. She's an adult, case closed.

I'm so glad there are people like you and Gabinomicon who get it.
There's a crowd out there who don't get it at all. Even tho we explained it so many times.

Sure, we get that this is a story based on magic where everyone just ignores the magic. No need to congratulate yourself about it.

Lol well that's certainly not what I was talking about. I was just baffled by people arguing over if she's 14 or if she's 21 when the fact that she's both depending on the context is basically the whole plot of the manga right now.

Sorry I misunderstood--the "why wasn't there more of an inquiry?" issue is what the person you quoted was discussing.

I think you're right--the "14 but also 21" situation is simply what the author was trying to set up, and the how of it, and the wider response to how it happened, are (currently) of negligible interest to them.

I lol'ed at Aya who tries to act all adult like, and even asks Erika for lessons on how to seduce a romantic partner into having sex... and then it turns out that even a hug is too much for her.

And that hug was like, barely a hug in my book.

If Koto had said "Now that we have confirmed our feelings, let's have some French kisses and sixty-nines and tribbing!" I think Aya would have nosebleeded a geyser and died.

last edited at Mar 11, 2024 6:27PM

It's funny, it didn't really strike me until this chapter, but Koto...

Now don't take this the wrong way. I don't wanna make anyone angry. But...

I think the character of Koto is kinda creepy. :/

It's funny, it didn't really strike me until this chapter, but Koto...

Now don't take this the wrong way. I don't wanna make anyone angry. But...

I think the character of Koto is kinda creepy. :/

Koto is fine imo, she's just put into a literally unprecedented situation. The closest real world equivalent would be someone waking up from a 7 year coma, and even that isn't one-to-one.

She also has to be aware of Aya's feelings. With no family, Aya has nobody but her girlfriend and Erika to lean on right now. Suddenly distancing herself from, or even dumping, Aya right now isn't great for Aya either.

I kinda can’t wait to see what Erika is going to do next Tanabata.

It's funny, it didn't really strike me until this chapter, but Koto...

Now don't take this the wrong way. I don't wanna make anyone angry. But...

I think the character of Koto is kinda creepy. :/

I think I understand what you mean. Koto is an adult who is unable to have a romantic relationship with another adult because of memories of her puppy love crush from middle school. She tried dating many people, of both genders, but it never worked. One has reason to worry. The story is told from the point of view of the main leads, and from this subjective perspective everything seems understandable and relatable... but if you look at it from the perspective of an impartial observer, it's slightly troubling.

I'm going to guess that the scene in this chapter that disturbed you was the one where Koto swears love eternal to a 14 yo and begs her to stay with her forever, amirite?

Tbh Koto looks like a totally different person to me in this goddamn chapter.
l mean, Koto has been manipulating Aya since the day she came back.
( chapter 3：refused to see her but also didn't go back to college because she knew Aya would contact her eventually.
chapter 4：......damn this woman.
chapter 7：bought her a smartphone and let her find a part-time job as her wish. Knowing there's no possibility she would get hired. By doing this, Aya will acknowledge she can't live without her now.)

What makes her suddenly change her mind to be this kind and thoughtful girlfriend?
Because the talk she had with Erika?
l can't help but feel a bit forced in her character.

However, maybe Koto knows Aya well enough that there's no other way to erase Aya's fear except being honest.
That shows her character not really change. Koto still the yandere manipulator I think she is.

And for poor Erika, to think she doesn't even have one date of her goddamn pathetic life just to wait Koto to move on. She really needs to learn how to let go of the person who obviously can't reciprocate her feelings.
After all, that's no guarantee Koto would choose her even if she breaks up with Aya at the end of the road.
What if she falls in love with someone else instead？What are you going to do then？
Just wait them to break up again？ Oh, Koto got married. That's ok. There's possibility they would divorce, right……
When's it gonna end？( not like l care though, Erika can die for her if she wants lol )

To me, that's nothing wrong for not choosing the person you don't like in romantic way, no matter how amazing they actually are.
Like I wouldn't want Erika even if Aya doesn't exist.

last edited at Mar 12, 2024 1:51AM

( chapter 3：refused to see her but also didn't go back to college because she knew Aya would contact her eventually.
chapter 4：......damn this woman.
chapter 7：bought her a smartphone and let her find a part-time job as her wish. Knowing there's no possibility she would get hired. By doing this, Aya will acknowledge she can't live without her now.)

I don't feel like are reading the same manga... Whether it's Koto or Erika, I feel like people are really hard with them, and I don't think this is the way Kabocha wants her characters to be portrayed.

The only thing that could make we feel Koto is manipulative, was she when was shown with the manuscript on a stage. But that was more for the dramatic effect more than anything else I think (Kabocha seems to enjoy giving a bit of a creepy feeling at the end of each volume).

I think Koto just had a strong PTSD because of Aya's disappearance and has difficulties whenever she cannot control the situation. Yet, she has never hinder Aya in any way. She lodge her, pay for her expenses and don't ask much in return. She does have issues to be addressed for sure, and she does have a problem expressing herself. I bet that she was so closed off for many years, that even Aya's reappearance was not enough to trigger her coming out of her shell. And it's totally logic in a way. Aya disappeared magically, why wouldn't she disappeared again the same way?

Same goes for Erika. Her internal dialogue is quite harsh, but regardless of what she is thinking, her actions speaks for herself and she is giving good advice and helping Aya. I do think when cares about her, but she is conflicted about the fact that Koto can't let her go. Her jealousy is probably triggering those bad though, but in all honesty, she is being a good friends and is doing more good than what her internal dialogue is suggesting.

I'm not saying those characters are perfects, far from that. But I feel like the story is more about Erika and Koto resolving their personal issues, rather than it is about Aya finding her way. She is honestly doing fine and is the more adult of the three...