2020 marks an interesting new phase for me in regards to Yuri manga. Because there are so many more comics about adult women, written for adults, my specific vocabulary of school-related words is more irrelevant than ever before. ^_^ As a result, I find myself reading manga through two or even three times, to make sure I’m following the complications of more adult language and situations. I’m not complaining! Tsukiatte Agetemo Iikana, Volume 3 by Tamifull was a frustrating read, every single time I read it, but wholly worth it.

The volume starts off by wrapping up what might have become a problem. Unbeknownst to Miwa, band drummer Tsuruta has developed a pretty intense crush on her. Miwa never learns about it, but we watch Tsuruta try to figure out his feelings without causing too much collateral damage. Although he does muse about leaving the circle, in the end he doesn’t. But he’s legit hurting and the fact that he never had a chance doesn’t make it better.

Miwa and Saeko stay with Saeko’s family and once again, family dynamics complicate their relationship. Miwa discovers Saeko’s “secret past” and meets some of her old friends, while Saeko want nothing more to distance her current self from that past self.

And they are still having a hard time having sex. I really feel for these two, it’s like their bodies and minds are just conspiring against them. Miwa’s worked past her bad experiences, but Saeko’s really struggling with her body which just won’t respond the way she wants. From our perspective, we can conjecture several things this might be, but without good communication between them, we’ll never know what it is.

I’ve talked about “after the happily-ever-after” many times here on Okazu. This is the big honking problem with first love and school love stories. Once the princess and the princess get together the story just ends, We know that that is hardly the end of the story…for most people it’s just the beginning. Relationships are hard. Communication is complicated. People are complex systems that are constantly changing and are affected by internal and external stimuli….that any couple manages to work at all is almost a miracle. There’s no miracle here – yet – for Miwa and Saeko, but I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping that they figure it out.

Ratings:

Art – 8
Story – 8 Getting harder, not easier to read, but getting more relevant as it does
Characters –  7 I’m rooting for everyone, but not sure I actually like anyone
Yuri – 8 / LGBTQ – 6 still room for more
Service – 3

Overall – 8

Complexity is complex. This is much less a Yuri romance at this point than a referendum on relationship communication issues, featuring a same-sex couple.

How Do We Relationship, Volume 1 from Viz Media will be another June baby, so you’ll have a chance then to weigh in with your opinions on this.