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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
would be three stars but I'm knocking a star off for the super troubling relationship aspects which I'll discuss near the bottom in case people want to avoid spoilers
Mizuno and Chayama is a yuri about two star-crossed lovers, unable to be together b/c their fathers are running against each other in their towns election. it's also b/c they're both girls, but this reason is only briefly touched on and the main focus is how different the two girls are and how the town itself is keeping them apart due to social pressures
honestly this follows some pretty basic beats, especially for a Japanese high school romance drama. it has the same mood as many coming-of-age stories, a bittersweetness with flashes of extreme pain (due to bullying and/or abuse) or the lightness of puppy love (the two main girls relationship is hardly fleshed out). there's overdramatic scenes in the rain and during storms. throw in an occasional musing on homophobia and you've got a pretty good picture of how this whole thing will play out
the paneling and action can be confusing at times; I often found myself rereading multiple panels to try and understand what was being depicted, especially in scenes near the end. there's an entire subplot that is not given time to breathe (as it exists solely to inject high drama and stakes into the story) and is wrapped up extremely quickly in a very unsatisfying way. it also took me far too long to realize mizuno's dad was running an anti-pollution campaign and that chayama's dad's company was the alleged pollutant. I think this is more a translation issue than anything else.
as for the troubling relationship aspects... tw sexual assault + lack of consent
for the "start" of their relationship, mizuno basically assaults chayama, kissing her out of nowhere (they had barely ever spoken!) and getting a little physical in the process, then smugly proclaiming "you must have liked that" when she's pushed away. weeks later, mizuno takes an audio recording of the two of them going at it w/out chayama's consent or knowledge. she only confesses when she loses her phone, which causes chayama to become irate and throw a pair of scissors at mizuno (I honestly don't blame her!), which chayama apologizes for later (mizuno never gives an authentic apology for recording w/o consent, just seems embarrassed to be caught). afterwards, the two are depicted as blissfully in love, and none of these topics are really touched on again.
I don't think yuri needs to be light and fluffy to be good, but it is upsetting to see such blatant red flags shown as mere roadbumps in a relationship. instead of taking mizuno to task for her clear lack of concern for chayama's personal boundaries and agency, these incidents are played as sexy or as comedy. the part where chayama throws scissors at mizuno, nearly stabbing her in the face, is played as lighthearted slapstick instead of a girl violently responding to being sexually violated.
this would have been a pretty middle-of-the-road yuri except for everything stated above. nothing that exciting or different, overly melodramatic, and honestly could have had the main couple switched to m/f and been practically the same.
Mizuno and Chayama is a yuri about two star-crossed lovers, unable to be together b/c their fathers are running against each other in their towns election. it's also b/c they're both girls, but this reason is only briefly touched on and the main focus is how different the two girls are and how the town itself is keeping them apart due to social pressures
honestly this follows some pretty basic beats, especially for a Japanese high school romance drama. it has the same mood as many coming-of-age stories, a bittersweetness with flashes of extreme pain (due to bullying and/or abuse) or the lightness of puppy love (the two main girls relationship is hardly fleshed out). there's overdramatic scenes in the rain and during storms. throw in an occasional musing on homophobia and you've got a pretty good picture of how this whole thing will play out
the paneling and action can be confusing at times; I often found myself rereading multiple panels to try and understand what was being depicted, especially in scenes near the end. there's an entire subplot that is not given time to breathe (as it exists solely to inject high drama and stakes into the story) and is wrapped up extremely quickly in a very unsatisfying way. it also took me far too long to realize mizuno's dad was running an anti-pollution campaign and that chayama's dad's company was the alleged pollutant. I think this is more a translation issue than anything else.
as for the troubling relationship aspects... tw sexual assault + lack of consent
for the "start" of their relationship, mizuno basically assaults chayama, kissing her out of nowhere (they had barely ever spoken!) and getting a little physical in the process, then smugly proclaiming "you must have liked that" when she's pushed away. weeks later, mizuno takes an audio recording of the two of them going at it w/out chayama's consent or knowledge. she only confesses when she loses her phone, which causes chayama to become irate and throw a pair of scissors at mizuno (I honestly don't blame her!), which chayama apologizes for later (mizuno never gives an authentic apology for recording w/o consent, just seems embarrassed to be caught). afterwards, the two are depicted as blissfully in love, and none of these topics are really touched on again.
I don't think yuri needs to be light and fluffy to be good, but it is upsetting to see such blatant red flags shown as mere roadbumps in a relationship. instead of taking mizuno to task for her clear lack of concern for chayama's personal boundaries and agency, these incidents are played as sexy or as comedy. the part where chayama throws scissors at mizuno, nearly stabbing her in the face, is played as lighthearted slapstick instead of a girl violently responding to being sexually violated.
this would have been a pretty middle-of-the-road yuri except for everything stated above. nothing that exciting or different, overly melodramatic, and honestly could have had the main couple switched to m/f and been practically the same.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment
This had me STRESSED but overall it was a entertaining read! I loved the dynamic between Mizuno and Chayama, and the artwork was very nice as well! 人(_ _*)
the artwork in the manga was stunning but i feel like the story itself left a little to be desired
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked the art style and some of the scenes in this manga, but I found a lot of it hard to follow. I’m not sure if it’s a translation issue, but the dialogue seemed to jump from one topic to the next and I wasn’t sure what the characters were talking about in multiple scenes. I also thought the town and the side characters needed more fleshing out, especially the antagonists as their motives are not especially clear.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It was alright. Very easy read, but wish there was a bit more depth. Hopeful ending. This manga didn't bring out any strong feelings while reading, which is what I prefer, but was still engaging