So, I'm the type of person who avoids drama and detests love triangles (or any other geometric shape of love). But I'm not really mad at the sister, or Ginga, or any of the other characters in this manga. Why?
Well, because with the way the author wrote this, it is clear that it was never about "gaining" or "stealing" or "winning" love. I feel like the emphasis in this work is quite largely and explicitly on the importance of communication. The characters confess, not because they're trying to win the affection of the others, but because they are trying to communicate. To be understood by others and to in turn understand others. We also see this in the interaction between the main characters, and between the main characters and the side characters. The turning point is when they stop "thinking" and start "saying" what they feel.
So yeah. I don't like love drama, but in my opinion, this manga... doesn't classify as such. It was made very clear from the narration that there was never any "outer enemy". This manga is about dealing with one's own internal feelings in relation to others, rather than interpersonal conflict. And I myself think that internal feelings and the expression of them through mutual dialogue and conversation is such an important and undervalued aspect of interpersonal relations.
This turned out very long, and perhaps a bit too deep, but I guess i just wanted to say that I appreciate this manga's theme and message ^^
Uhm! Exactly what I was thinking! You worded it so well! Anyways, I love this story a lot. I know that stuff like confessing to move on is not really a thing in the real word and it could ultimatley lead to complicated relationships, I still feel the authors dedication to show us that saying waht you feel is better than just bottling it all up. I learned a lot of things in this manga since Mahiro's anxiety and lack of confidence really hit home.
I might make this my Go-to manga whenever I feel unconfident. It was just THAT precious ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
Indeed ^^ while the scenario isn't necessarily ~realistic~ i feel like the manga conveys an important message, and for that i am glad. Too much romance relies on "outer threats" to create conflict and suspense in the story, which is both unrealistic and superfluous. Human interaction is already quite difficult enough without the addition of 9 love rivals and a villainous father -.-
this story shows that the key to good interpersonal relationships isn't eliminating threats created by other people, but actual communication and interaction. Even if it hurts in the moment, even if it's difficult or causes disagreement in the moment, doing your best to convey your feelings and in turn doing your best to understand the feelings of others is the way to go imo ^^
It's in cases like this I deeply wish mangago had a button for "absolutely never read ever again". I love shoujo isekai and I really wanted to like this one too, so I tried reading the novel hoping that it would be better. And I want to retroactively smack myself for that. The last time I was this angry and disgusted after reading a shoujo/josei was when I started reading yaoi. I legit hated the male/female dynamic in a manga so much I forced myself into becoming a fujoshi, and reading the beginning of this novel makes me remember those feelings from over 5 years ago. The male lead is just continuously disrespecting the mc and her opinions/feelings. In my head it's rape and assault. She did consent to have sex with him that first night. She did not consent to him trying to impregnate her, nor his plans to confine her and force her to marry her, and he just completely ignores her when she says she doesn't want a relationship with him. That is not okay. I realise it's completely my fault for choosing to read it, yet I can't help but be disappointed. This manga/novel probably isn't that extreme by normal romance standards, but I guess my brain went mushy from five years of reading nothing but fluff and cuteness, and I forgot how common toxic and manipulative relationships actually are in romance.
I'm not trying to spark off a discussion or be an asshole. Please do ignore me. I just couldn't stay quiet because I'm overflowing with indignant anger and had to rant to be able to sleep tonight. I'm sorry for starting some useless topic.
#－.－)
Not all yaoi are fluffy and cute they can have toxic relationships too. Just like not all romance is like this manga.
That is certainly true. I've just gotten fairly good at navigating the world of yaoi, and I know what to look for and what to avoid. Also, the reason I turned to yaoi was that... even though toxic relations and power imbalance happens in yaoi as well, a yaoi couple is inherently on more equal ground than a straight couple in fiction. Because a lot of girls are portrayed as passive, weak and as something to "conquer", solely because of their sex, which doesn't sit well with me (that is also the reason I love shoujo isekai. Because the mcs tend to have a stronger position than in much other romance). In the same vein, male leads will use their sex as an excuse to be forceful, horny assholes a lot of the time. Which also doesn't sit well with me. I got tired of reading shoujo where the female character cried "no, stop" and not knowing if they were "being bashful" or being raped. Because with the power imbalance portrayed between males and females in a lot of romance it could very well be the latter. While I don't like hearing "no, stop" in yaoi either, i find comfort in the thought that they can always punch/push away the other guy if they don't like it. An option female characters don't have because they're "too weak". Also pregnancy. My god I have how pregnancies can be used against girls.
This doesn't mean all straight romance is bad and al BL is good. But that gender-based power imbalance was widespread enough that 14 year old me decided "fuck this, I'm gonna learn to read gay shit instead". After I realized isekai was a thing I started reading a lot more shoujo again, because I've found a niche where those tropes that triggers me aren't as widespread. Which is why i reacted so badly to this one. I've become used to the stuff I like being the "default"
Jeez, that became long, sorry.
Yeah. So sick of this type of ML in shoujo AND in BL. I really don't find it attractive, and I trawl through all the disappointing stuff in order to find the gems that just have stories about relationships where people are treated like people...but sometimes I get disheartened when they're hard to find. Or when stories have a shaky start and I read on hoping for the initial problems with the ML to be resolved, and instead it's just brushed off because he's the ML and he loves the MC and that's romantic, right? Urgh.
Anyway, thanks for letting me latch onto the tail of your rant.
Other people, continue enjoying whatever stories you enjoy.
U don't have to apologize I just wanted to add my 2 cents.
You are very welcome xD. Feel you there. Over the years I've just gradually become less and less tolerant when it comes to gender roles and manipulative/possessive/arrogant/egocentrical male characters in fiction. That leaves me with a very limited option of stuff left to read, so when I do find a trope or genre I do like, I end up reading everything I come across regardless of how bad or how well it's written hahah
Ikr, the gender imbalance in shoujos put me off too, especially as someone who prefers the dominant role in relationships. Can you recc me some shoujo isekais with balanced power dynamics (or even better, power dynamics where the MC is on top)?
try some korean isekais, some manhwa have pretty balance relationship, some recommendation: the Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion, this girl is a little wild, the evil lady's hero (im not sure this is shoujo cuz its a bit mature)
I definitely agree with the "this girl is a little wild" recommendation, the dynamic between the mc and the male lead is great. In addition I like koushaku reijou no tashinami because the main character is intelligent and powerful in her own right, and the apparent ML is kind and intelligent as well. I'm also quite fond of "the justice of a villainous woman".
I recommend kusuriya no hitorigoto though it's not an isekai. The mc and the ML does have an imbalance in status but I absolutely love the mc's "gives-no-fucks" personality and she honestly has the ML wrapped around her finger, though she doesn't realise herself.
Other than that there's several shorter isekai stories with strong female leads. "Of course I'll claim palimony!" has a mc I'd say is definitely the dominant one in any potential relationship xD "when I woke up, twenty years passed" also has quite the OP mc, though the manga hasn't gotten far enough for me to judge how the dynamic between her and the ML will turn out.
Mmm. Most of these are slow burns though xD
Thank you for putting all my messy thoughts into actual fluid sentences XD
Hardly fluid, but you're welcome nonetheless xD
Thnk you for this!
You're... welcome? xD it's only my subjective opinion though. Honestly, a lot of the time I feel like I'm oversensitive when it comes to gender and power imbalance in fiction, but I find it very difficult to overlook. And I don't have the ability to go "meh, it's just fiction, it doesn't matter" either
I don't really mind that she had sex with a dude she just met. As long as it's consensual it's all good to me. And if we're not criticizing him for fucking a girl he didn't know, then we certainly can't criticize her for fucking a dude she don't know.
What has me in awe is how she can just suddenly drop into another world clad in nothing but a towel and still have enough chill to enjoy a one-night stand. Seriously, just how laid back do you have to be to do that?
My mom's friend had a baby some years ago. When I visited them when the kid was like 1 or 2, she was already speaking clearly in full, grammatically correct sentences. I remember being so shocked. My nephew is like 5 now and his speaking skills still aren't at her toddler level.
What. You go check if she’s reincarnated HAHAHAH when i was 2 i kept going around screaming “THE CROCODILES ARE GOING TO EAT US ALL” am I a genius yet :D
Damn, what's her IQ?
Yeah, it sometimes happens depending on the child. My mom told me that i started saying my first words when i was 8 months and could speak pretty well by the time i was 1 or 2, tho i was pretty much sluring my words and i couldnt pronounce them corectly.
I really like this! I quite like how the mc actually points out how unrealistic the setting is with the strange combo of western and Japanese combo. This is something that generally goes unnoticed in most isekai. it's not an unusual plot, but i have faith in this story ^^
When I read that part I cackled so loudly I had to slap a hand over my mouth. I'm pretty sure my brother, who's in another room watching TV, could hear me loud and clear.
Why didn't they just tell that teacher that kiriya was consoling yuuya because he was sad he couldn't play the piano anymore? It would be a perfectly legit excuse, as yuuya did hurt his fingers so he couldn't play anymore, and they were sitting in front of the piano, hugging. Oh well, I suppose that would ruin the plot (￣∇￣")
Probably because they were confessing to each other and the female teacher heard them ??
From the start I didn't really relate much to tatsumi (probably because I'm not very aggressive and also tend to petrify from social anxiety at restaurants) BUT that scene in chapter 5 where he just kinda casually outs their relationship and shinobu goes "ahhh right i didn't tell him to keep his mouth shut", like damn that was relatable content right there. As a kid i was always told i couldn't be told secrets because i never kept them. And I'd be so confused, because i did keep secrets... as long as people informed me that the piece of information I had been given was, in fact, a secret. It took me quite long to understand that people just kinda assumed you'd... be able to automatically identify what was sensitive information that they didn't want leaked and separate it from what was okay to talk about? Even knowing that, i still can't really automatically tell whether something is sensitive information or not, so when people tell me big personal things (like when my buddy came out to me, or my brother told me he was engaged) I tend to ask specifically whether it's something I should keep hush hush about or not.
Also, the jar-opening thing, man. That was lovely and I approve xp
Ahhh. And I also just walked into a store to buy new boots because my old ones were dead, and in my anxiety I just slapped the corresponding size Dr. Martens from the shelves on the desk and went "this... pair... have...err...?" And my friend had to cut in and be like "she'd like a pair of these in size 40 please" so yeah. Coming off as rude or weird without meaning to is definitely a thing that happens xp