Since the first volume, I have been cautious.
“All this having been said, I need to bring up two important issues I have with this manga. The first is that it is presented as a romance. The story is apparently that we’ll side with Touko as her sincere feelings for Yuu are eventually returned. ”
I have repeatedly pointed out a glaringly obvious problem with this series.
“I’m still not sure if Yuu is supposed to be confused because she just hasn’t had an “a-ha!” moment or because she’s genuinely asexual. I don’t think the mangaka knows, either and I’m positive Yuu herself has no idea.”
“Which leads me to the, I think, obvious conclusion abut Yuu. What if she’s asexual? If so, she’s never going to have those feelings for Touko or anyone. She might come to love Touko and continue to admire and like her, but never have sexual interest in her. So, then I can’t help but see Touko’s coming on (to be crude) to Yuu as another burden, rather than a blessing.”
“Both these things nag at me while I read this manga. And I worry that Yuu’s agency will be stripped from her as the narrative continues.”
“Where they will end we cannot say (well, okay, obviously we can. It was abundantly clear from the first page of this series it was meant to be a romance. As I noted in my review of the first volume back in 2016…. So, yeah, obviously it has been heading in this direction from the very beginning. Which I’m still kind of sad about. I would really have preferred to have Yuu as a rare aromantic manga protagonist. Oh well.”
And so on…. every volume has been problematic.
Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Volume 7 (やがて君になる) is not helping. ^_^;
That said, there is a lot to like in this volume. We get another moment when Sayaka sits down with Miyako and really talks about the thing that they have in common; a thing Miyako has largely dealt with, but that Sayaka has not, yet. We also get a chapter backstory for Miyako and Riko, in which we see how they met and came to be a couple. Those are both wonderful moments. And, continuing on, we see Sayaka take an important step forward in her own growth. For all of this, this volume is very, very good.
But the big glaring problem does not get smaller here. Yuu is going to have deal with how she feels about Touko – – which is not the glaring problem. The big glaring problem is how her being set up as an aromantic is going to be dealt with. I do not want to spoil a thing, but… I did was neither surprised, nor impressed by the way it was handled. The way it was handled is the big glaring problem. When the series is complete in English, we’ll talk about it. Until then, I look forward to spoiler-free comments from you!
Ratings:
Art – 9 It is palpably better in this volume than it has ever been
Story – If the point of art is to create a reaction in its viewer, then this is a 10, for both good and ill
Characters – 10
Service – Nothing salacious, buy Miyako and Riko getting ready for bed was a kind of service. ^_^
Yuri – 10+
Overall – 9
It was very “aauuggghhhhh!” and very “yay!” and I need you all to read it asap so I can *talk* about it! You will have the chance to read it in December, while Volume 8, which will hit shelves in autumn in Japan, will be the final volume. When this all over about a year from now, we shall sit down and have a good long talk about this series. ^_^;
I just got and read vol.6 (English) yesterday, so I’m rightly hyped up to read what comes next. Somewhat hesitant based on what you’re saying, but moreso excited to have a big say about it with everyone when we’re all ready ^_^
Volume 6 was the pinnacle of the story so far. ^_^
It sounds like maybe this story would be more enjoyable if one began it with the assumption that Yuu is demiromantic.
The manga being a romance might feel like an issue if you started out with the assumption that Yuu was set up as aromantic, but I never got the feeling she was aromantic myself. Maki is set up as aromantic. I think Yuu was set up as a person with unrealistic (idealized) expectations from romance. Maki himself has said multiple times that he can tell Yuu is not like him, for instance.
That was my point – many people did and I kept warning about it.
As I think, if the work allows us to discuss, analyze and argue a lot, then this is a good work. In my country, it is called “food for the mind”. Not to mention the fact that it helps to be more “involved” in what is happening in story.
Well, personally, I think that if this manga didn’t have a romance tag, then a lot less people would assume that Yuu already has romantic feelings for Touko, but does not realize it. On the other hand, I fully support the interpretation of this manga as a message that real love is not as melodramatic as in the media.
Well, I don’t know whether this is dictated by his sexuality, but personally I always liked to see Maki’s subplot as a metaphor for shiping and a modern trend among Japanese men who care more about cute girls in anime and manga than real relationships.
Argh. I’ll spend the next few months wavering between being too lazy to work through the Japanese and too impatient to wait until December……