I think that Re is actually still wearing the same uniform on pages 26 to 28. That's the same shirt. That's the same sweater; the collar is fully not drown in one panel on 27, but on 26 it is fully drawn, so the sweater is an exact match. That looks like the same jacket worn the same way; it's simply not shaded in every panel (perhaps because of her pain). It's also not shaded on page 18, and their middle school uniforms have omitted shading in several places. And finally, that's the same bag over her shoulder.

If that's the case, this would be immediately after their conversation and that would be Fuyu herself on the opposite platform preparing to board a train in the opposite direction. And if Re looks older, it would be because of the pain she's feeling.

Now would someone please point out to this blind girl how the clothes Re is wearing are different from her uniform, other than what I've already said.

Edit: Well having said all that, I can't be sure the un-shaded version of her jacket isn't buttoned up, so despite the strong similarities, I'm not sure.

Edit 2: I really don't think she committed suicide. While I'll admit that thought occurred to me with that train, I don't really think it fits, and I don't think her posture in that panel is that of someone about to step forward. Can't be sure since you can't see her lower body.

Edit 3: Ah, skip it. Doesn't the bottom of page 28 mean the cherry blossoms are blooming? Or is that a slight skip forward to their blooming? If they are blooming during the platform scene, then it must be a week or three later and that would shoot my theory to pieces. But I'm still sure that everything we can see her wearing except maybe the jacket looks the same as her uniform.

Edit 4: Okay, scratch that theory. I'm convinced the cherry blossoms are blooming as she stands on the platform. They were just starting to bud during their conversation, so this must be a couple of weeks or so later. But my point still stands that she's wearing the same clothes except for the jacket.

Sorry for thinking out loud (or online) here.

last edited at Sep 16, 2015 9:36PM

Pretty sure a piece of my heart just withered... At least she was ballsy enough to confess.
Knowing the girl as closely as the story portrays...she was probably well aware of the outcome.
Sadness.. ;~;

Italics mine. I was very glad also that she was able to confess. At least then she knows she tried. That can make it easier to move on. And you never know; sometimes, even when you think you have no chance...

And there goes my theory... Goddamn it, Yuri Girl 1001, give me back my tragedy! (goes in a corner to cry)

I think that Re is actually still wearing the same uniform on pages 26 to 28. That's the same shirt. That's the same sweater; the collar is fully not drown in one panel on 27, but on 26 it is fully drawn, so the sweater is an exact match. That looks like the same jacket worn the same way; it's simply not shaded in every panel (perhaps because of her pain). It's also not shaded on page 18, and their middle school uniforms have omitted shading in several places. And finally, that's the same bag over her shoulder.

The lack of shading confused me, so I treated it as a different set of clothes. You are right, that is her uniform, which means that Fuyu is not a figment of her imagination, but is actually standing there, in the flesh, which effectively sinks my theory.

Edit 4: Okay, scratch that theory. I'm convinced the cherry blossoms are blooming as she stands on the platform. They were just starting to bud during their conversation, so this must be a couple of weeks or so later. But my point still stands that she's wearing the same clothes except for the jacket.

Not just the clothes, but also the bags, and if you look closely at Fuyu's bag, you will notice that it is actually one of those cardboard bags, like the ones you get at fancy shoe stores. Somehow I doubt that she would still be carrying the same one after several weeks. No, that scene probably does take place immediately after the graduation ceremony (as in, that same day), and the only things that contradict this are, as you noticed, the cherry blossoms. But, I believe that they can be explained as an purely artistic ending sequence, as in "Re is saying goodbye to her dreams of being with Fuyu", and as this one-shoot established, lost dreams = cherry blossoms. So she says "bye-bye", and that is metaphorically represented by the blossoms (as in "showing us, the readers, the blossoms", not as in "they are actually blossoming in-universe at that very moment"). So yes, I would say that your theory is correct.

Now I have to contend myself with this being "merely" angst. Still, it was a good read. And I had fun over-analysing the little details, despite the fact that I do not consider my conclusion to be valid any longer. So, win-win situation.

And it would make no sense for either of them, much less both of them, to wear their high-school uniforms weeks after they graduated. It must be that same day. At least, that is my opinion. Presently.

last edited at Sep 16, 2015 11:35PM

UranusAndNeptuneAreJustCousins

And there goes my theory... Goddamn it, Yuri Girl 1001, give me back my tragedy! (goes in a corner to cry)

Your point that the blossoms are just metaphorical is a good one; I'm kind of thinking you're right. But here goes an effort to give you back your tagedy.

If the platform scene is indeed weeks later, then Fuyu is just a figment of Re's imagination and it doesn't matter what she's wearing or what bag she's carrying. But then why is Re wearing her high school uniform? If Re did indeed come to the platform to commit suicide, then she might have chosen it for it's nostalgic value and to represent what she's dying over. It's a way to keep the tragedy interpretation.

But I don't think that's it. The cherry blossom metaphor is, as you pointed out, already established, and that idea for why she'd be wearing the uniform seems kind of weak to me.

last edited at Sep 17, 2015 1:27AM

Yuri Girl 1001
It could theoretically pass (thanks for the effort), but yea... no. It would be too convoluted for a one-shoot of this length. The tragedy is dead. IT IS DEAD, JIM!!!!

wait....what... is this one of those... open endings...

wait....what... is this one of those... open endings...

XD clearly you only just joined the conversation. And yes it is, though after paragraphs of analyzing, the peeps in the comment section managed to narrow it down :p

Well to breathe life into the idea once again...the cherry blossoms blooming signify something grim in this oneshot, and I would not call it farfetched to label them as deathly. And this author was very diligent with shading the entire time, so to think that her coat not being shaded was purely an accident is unlikely. I would say we have sufficient evidence to say she was having a painful and nostalgic recollection of that day a couple years later...regarding her unrequited love partner, though?

I will point back toward the cherry blossom tree once again. The trees seem ravenous and parasitic...feeding off of dead dreams. Now from what I've gathered there are two possibilities: either it's feeding off of Re's dead dreams or it's feeding off of Fuyu's dead dreams. This leads into either the route where the trees are sapping off of their dead high school dreams and that be it, but! that would make the timeskip portion seem pointless and weak. It doesn't gel together too well. There are a few possible other routes, but the only one that encompasses the pinnacle of both their dreams dying is Fuyu committing suicide. Not only is Fuyu's dream of being a ballerina dead, but Re's dream of Fuyu officially 'dies' completely along with her.

I don't particularly think that this has to be the case though. It very well could be simply Re painfully and wistfully recalling that day (which probably hurt her a lot) when she steps into the train station again. This also carries a lot of weight, and is a sufficient explanation for the imagery used.

So, in conclusion, I think it is impossible to rule suicide out as an option, but it is equally impossible to declare it the perpetrator.

...man I love non-Western storytelling. So much dissection you just can't do in any other genre.

I love this art style.... also.... feels.... holy shiet.

I feel that Fuyu kinda gave up on her dream.. and let it all go. And she kept living as practical as she could. And from that, you can tell that Fuyu is not going to reply with a "yes" to Re-chan even if Fuyu has the same feeling.
Either, I'm not saying that Fuyu has any feeling, i'm just saying if Fuyu did have feeling.

While over here, we have Re-chan, who always look to Fuyu. She loves that Fuyu always GOES AFTER HER DREAM into her and never look back. But here is the thing... Fuyu isn't what Re-chan depicted her to be. Fuyu' gave on her own dream, she did not go after it at alll.. and her views of spring as a the end, and as something that was fed from the life-hood of dead dreams.

And at the very end, when it say "This spring is going to be more beautiful".. I think its such as ironic statement. It almost like it played along's with Fuyu earlier interpretation. Also like... this year, we get use REC-CHAN'S DREAM as a new fertilizer. (I'm so sorry, I don't mean to be cynical, and I know many will not agree with this viewpoint)

But at the end, we see a very clear ending. (or at least, it seem pretty clear)
We see Re-chan advancing to the train station, and she is walking among people. If you notice, that page was so white. It's almost like a depection of a the future. There was no more reminder of the sad past until Fuyu called out Re-chan name. Here, we see both girls say goodbye. It meant a goodbye to 2 things: a good bye to childhood, and a goodbye to a first love.

At first, I thought the story came off REALLY SAD & depressing for the ending. But if you combined it with what Re-chan's belief about spring (as giving new life..budding flowers...the birth of a new season), you'll see that this ending is really a beginning. Re-chan let a part of herself go (her feelings for Fuyu), and so, that she is given a chance to bloom again.

That's my far-fetch interpretation.

last edited at Sep 19, 2015 2:20AM

At least she saw her off with a smile on her face. It was a tragic but nice story overall.

I didn't see any implied suicide either.

I still think Fuyu isn't there at all, simply because of the fact that she's wearing her uniform and carrying her school bag. Why would she do that at all after she'd graduated? It's obviously not the same day or anything, and I doubt Fuyu would be waving that cheerfully to her immediately after rejecting Re's confession unless she's seriously insensitive. It's more likely this is days or even weeks in the future (as indicated by the now-blooming sakura, which were only buds when the confession happened), and a sign of Re recovering from her loss.

The time passing from the end of one school year and graduation being shown by budding sakura flowers and full bloom ones is pretty common, and I would guess instantly recognizable by Japanese readers, who'd know exactly how much time had passed between the two. From that, my guess is Re is heading to college for the first time, and it reminded her of when she'd share a train to school with Fuyu.

Nezchan
It is not so much a question of what Fuyu is wearing, as is of what Re actually is. Yuri Girl 1001 listed all that, and it sounds to me that she nailed it. To me, the look on Fuyu's face is not so much cheerful, more like I-am-seeing-you-off-with-a-smile kind of thing.

Re Chan confessed and she got rejected on the spot. Re Chan dream is always by Fuyu Chan. It so hurt cus after this they not going to see each other since it the last day of their school and they going to different College. and also it thre last time they walk home together.

I hope this story got continous cus both of them still young. I kinda wonder what will happened when they meet up few years later.

Pretty sure a piece of my heart just withered... At least she was ballsy enough to confess.
Knowing the girl as closely as the story portrays...she was probably well aware of the outcome.
Sadness.. ;~;

Italics mine. I was very glad also that she was able to confess. At least then she knows she tried. That can make it easier to move on. And you never know; sometimes, even when you think you have no chance...

Better to try and fail....than to have unrequited feelings forever.
No matter the answer. I'd pay gold for HALF her balls.

The ending made me think that now she is an adult so she is waving goodbye to her past dreams. Which was the apparition. No suicide just waving goodbye. May be spring currently at the end of the story and a wave of nostalgia hit her. Which made her think of her past dreams.

Recently had the pleasure of reading this author's new works (Japanese). The storytelling I agree with many of you is unique in many ways and I look forward to more of their works. I like fluffy yuri just as much as the next person but something about complex dark stories has a particular allure to me as well. I think they are mainly active on Twitter nowadays?

I always saw it as Re just crossed to the other side of the platform—because they were going different ways—and waved goodbye to her friend; not a skip in time or suicide.
¯_(ツ)_/¯
(Sorry for posting on such an old thread.)

last edited at Apr 14, 2018 6:15PM

Aw how sad. And the sakura bloom even more beautifully with another dead dream to feast on. It's nice that this work references the more morbid idea that sakura are only so beautiful because of the corpses underneath. I can't think of a more complete combination of every Japanese trope involving transitions, ephemeral beauty, and death. You've got the cherry blossoms, the high school graduation, the dreams ending at graduation, the yuri/yuri love that ends at that time, passage into adulthood, spring and probably a couple more. It makes the ending and release all the more painful. Especially since both at the beginning and the end, it is Re saying "bye-bye" last.

ooof noises

This was somehow more beautiful than such a depressing story has any right to be.

She probably took the safest route by confessing right before their separation.