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ofoceansandtombsanew · 1 year

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My Chapter 51 Thoughts and my thoughts around ShimaMitsu in general

So @mapoeggplant had a really cool discussion thread on twitter and I wanted to contribute to it. But I got very longwinded and now idk if the pics in my google doc even loaded... so I decided to share my thoughts here on tumblr as well!

Be warned, this post is littered with manga spoilers so if you are an anime-only or haven’t caught up to the most recent chapters, avoid this post so you don’t have the journey spoiled for yourself ^o^

Mika realizing something is up with Mitsumiー Mika is definitely a character that surprised me in how much I ended up liking her! Everyone in S&L I think is a subversion of popular tropes in manga’s past where on the surface they look like a trope and then boom, sensei hits us with a reality check and explanation as to how they are. Mika is clearly the ‘mean girl in shoujo who hates the protagonist by virtue of crushing on the male lead’. *Worry not, I’m aware S&L is a seinen*

But her maturity and growth over the series? Astounding. From reconciling with her envy of Mitsumi, Nao helping her come to terms with the idea of Mitsumi and Sousuke dating hypothetically in the future and becoming such a good friend? Love it.

So I love how Mika is the first to really notice that something is off with Mitsumi in regards to Sousuke.

Pretty sure that back in chapter 47 it was established that all of the girls have noticed something was off with Mitsumi. But they decided to respect her privacy because if she wants to tell them what’s wrong, she’ll tell them and they want to give her the chance to come to them first. Though they did express they were worried she wasn’t truly seeming like herself.

And the reason Mika starting to connect the dots this most recent chapter is so ‘big’ for me, for lack of a better word, is because it really puts into perspective how Mitsumi has been handling the breakup.

Mitsumi breaking things off with Sousuke was definitely a mature move. I’ve even been in the same position of breaking things off with a relationship because of feeling like the way we loved each other was different and it would be best to go back to friends. Then spending 2 years chatting with my ex as if nothing happened before having an emotional breakdown about it and needing two weeks of space from her before I could function around her. And it feels like Mitsumi is doing the same thing with Sousuke. But by virtue of Mika spotting Mitsumi’s discomfort in sitting next to Sousuke and starting to question things, it really solidifies how Mitsumi is processing things.

Like, Mitsumi telling Sousuke she can work on her own and such when he proposed the idea when she mentioned wanting to work to get Maharu a new wallet. She wasn’t just brushing it off and being all chill, kumbaya. She was more than likely trying to avoid him because she isn’t really ready to just be alone with him yet.

So I’m hoping in this arc that Mika is going to bring up what she’s noticed to Mitsumi. Because since she’s already processed her feelings, if Mitsumi were to admit to her that she and Sousuke dated briefly before she ended things it wouldn’t make Mika spiteful or anything weird like that. If anything, I think it would bring them closer together because if there is anyone who would understand the Sousuke-failed-relationship/rejection love pains Mitsumi is going through, it would be Mika.

Mitsumi & Sousuke (and Yasaka)ー

As for Mitsumi specifically, I think that her relationship with Sousuke as present is a ripple effect of Yasaka’s statement back during the chapter Mitsumi rightfully called Sousuke out for not standing up for her when she would definitely do it if the roles were reversed.

Immediately after that, we see Mitsumi beginning to contemplate what she said, her perspective of Sousuke and she doesn’t really know how Sousuke was raised, his relationships with his family etc. Like, she knows there is some drama there, based on the school festival arc with the play and running into Sousuke’s childhood friends and mother but she also acknowledges she doesn’t know the full story and how Sousuke came to be how he is today.

While Yasaka’s assessment did give Mitsumi the idea that she should keep in mind how she was raised and how others were raised paints how they become in the present, she is almost like… overly internalizing that and trying to be overly conscious of Sousuke’s feelings. And even the feelings of Maharu. I’m not sure I’d go as far as saying Mitsumi is blaming herself for what they are going through since so far I haven’t really seen anything that would indicate self-blame. The closest you can get to that is her scolding herself for expecting Sousuke to come to her defense just because they’re dating.

When, in reality, while Yasaka is right Mitsumi should keep in mind that Sousuke and her have different frames of reference and she should be considerate of that… Mitsumi was well within her right to be upset that her boyfriend was letting some mean girls shit talk in her face and made no effort to defend her.

Then the next time you see them interact in chapter 45, she essentially brushes that under the rug. She apologizes to Sousuke for getting upset, he says he is going to turn down their party invite and they go their separate ways… But Sousuke never actually apologizes for not standing up for her which, at least in Mitsumi’s eyes, would solidify the idea that she was in the wrong and was expecting too much of her at-the-time boyfriend.

This overly considerate behavior Mitsumi is now displaying even went as far as not wanting to tell her friends about the breakup and everything that led up to it because she was worried about how they would perceive Sousuke and possibly give him some sort of negative treatment in response to how things went. Not to mention, she’d rather just bottle up her feelings than cause a rift in their friend group they’ve had since first year.

When she breaks up with Sousuke, she goes above and beyond in reassuring him they have and always will be friends. Which while that is cool because the hiccups aside, they have a pretty great friendship, Mitsumi isn’t really allowing herself to feel hurt by the breakup and thinks that, while even if a large portion of it is that she and Sousuke’s ‘love’ is different her actions thus far would imply she thinks it is on her for expecting so much. (So I guess there actually is a good portion of self-blame from her, even if subconsciously!)

And with the most recent chapter, Sousuke gets to see how Mitsumi is hiding how hurt she is by Maharu’s rejection of her gift and her outburst that Mitsumi is only thinking about herself and to me his expression is almost like a parallel to his expression in chapter 46 when Mitsumi broke up with him.

In chapter 46, Sousuke needed comfort. He’s worried about being abandoned or viewed as worthless because he wasn’t able to live up to the ‘use’ or ‘idea’ Mitsumi had of him.

This time, Mitsumi needs comfort and it’s like this moment has essentially confronted Sousuke with the fact that she isn’t as cheerful, mature and invulnerable as she has presented herself to him thus far. So while yes, Yasaka was right in how Mitsumi doesn’t know as much about Sousuke as she thought she did, the reverse is also very true in that Sousuke doesn’t really know Mitsumi as much as he thought he did.

Sprinkle all this into the fact that Sousuke is going through his own whirlwind of emotions regarding Mitsumi, their breakup and how he feels about her. He’s jealous of Ujiie and how close he is with Mitsumi, he feels left out that Mitsumi hasn’t really been including him in activities outside of school and he was pouty and perplexed in chapter 47 about her perspective of the breakup going far as to pout to Chris and Ririka:

And Chris rightfully being confused because he doesn’t get Sousuke’s reaction since back in chapter 42 he didn’t even really know if Sousuke really even liked Mitsumi romantically (as proven by how, when Sousuke told him about the breakup, he automatically assumed Sousuke was dumper and not the dumpee). Now he wants to be closer to her while Mitsumi is essentially going ‘I want to keep everything chill and normal but at the same time I’m still upset and trying not to be next to him for extended periods of time just yet’.

Fast forward to chapter 51 and Sousuke’s in Mitsumi’s childhood home and feeling out of place/out of his element. So this is all the recipe for him to confront his own misconceptions of Mitsumi and, hopefully, apologize for his part in the breakup and how he should have stood up for her. Which we do see him do later in chapter 50 when she isn’t present, but Sousuke has the self-awareness to know and bitterly accept that if Mitsumi hadn’t called him out before he likely would have let them continue talking poorly about her.

Maharu & Mitsumiー Now onto Maharu~ I’m fully looking forward to her part in this arc because it is very clear that she is dealing with insecurities regarding herself and her older sister. Mitsumi has been confirmed by multiple characters that she is essentially a prodigy in her hometown and her hometown is being hit with a very real-life problem the Japanese countryside faces. Like, it is to the point where schools in the countryside are shutting down because there aren’t enough students to justify keeping them open because the young people are leaving for the city, not returning and not raising their kids there (which most people aren’t doing anyway due to the decline in birthrates in recent years for Japan).

Mitsumi even went as far as telling Sousuke her thoughts that she might likely be the only one of her siblings to even leave their prefecture.

We don’t really know how much Mitsumi is discussed back in her hometown, but it must be enough to make Maharu feel the way she does. It is just unfortunately manifesting in taking things out on her sister rather than talking to her parents about how she feels or even trying to discuss it with Mitsumi. Hell, talking to Mitsumi about it first probably won’t even help things come to a positive conclusion. As it stands now, Maharu’s perception of her sister is that Mitsumi looks down on her for getting out of the prefecture and going to the holy grail that is the capital of their country for school.

She needs an outside perspective that isn’t ‘tainted’ by Mitsumi.

Mitsumi’s friends from Tokyo are out because 1) they are Mitsumi’s friends and 2) Maharu already is feeling insecure and putting them on a pedestal because they are Tokyonites and fancy people.

Her family is out because Mitsumi is essentially their pride and joy.

And the chapter end with Maharu running into Fumi and while I wanna say ‘Fumi, get in here and rescue this sibling relationship’-

Fumi would still fall under the category of ‘tainted by Mitsumi’ by virtue of being Mitsumi’s best friend, even if Fumi has been shown to be very close to the Iwakura family. So I honestly think it could go either way with Fumi trying to talk to Maharu and help her vent how she feels, but Maharu could easily do that and when Fumi tries to be reasonable Maharu could think that Fumi is trying to take Mitsumi’s side when she is just trying to help give Maharu some outside perspective.

So that would basically summarize all of スキロー thoughts with the most recent chapter sensei has delivered us. I’m loving it all so far and looking very forward to what happens next!

#look she's not writing #skip and loafer #スキップとローファー #スキロー #iwakura mitsumi #shima sousuke #shimamitsu #egashira mika #toyama fumino #iwakura maharu #manga spoilers #skip and loafer spoilers #skip & loafer #skip & loafer spoilers #animanga thoughts

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leaderpinhead · 4 months

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Idia - Like A Shoujo Cliche

Prompt: Role Reversal Notes: I feel like this could be read as both a romantic and platonic interaction. Personally, I enjoy a more platonic Idia/Yuu pairing, like two siblings.

Idia fiddled with the headphones around his neck. The crowd passed in front of him like a sea of faceless NPCs. Idia clutched his tablet closer and took a small step back to avoid being trampled by a trio of giggling girls.

Why had he agreed to do this? Oh, yeah because Ortho bullied him into it. “This is a once in a lifetime chance, big brother!” Ortho had insisted. “It’s a limited-time offer, and it’s right here on Sage’s Island. Do you really wanna spend hundreds of thaumarks to buy the same Premo merch from a dirty scalper?”

Honestly, Idia hadn’t minded the thought at all. Sure, he hated people who bought fan merch for next to nothing and then sold it for ten times the amount, but it made his life a lot easier. Just click a few buttons and wait a few days for the package to arrive at the Mystery Shop. Easy, breezy.

And not panic inducing like standing here like a complete weirdo taking up space in front of a cutesy cafe.

“Idia!”

Idia jumped. He nearly lost his balance spinning to face the direction he had heard Yuu’s voice. She waved when they made eye contact. The sprint Idia did to reach her would have put his record times in PE to shame, and Vargas would have given him an immediate spot on the track team.

Idia grabbed Yuu’s wrist. “What took you so long? I thought we said ten sharp. You weren’t here at ten sharp!”

Yuu rolled her eyes. She shook her arm, but he refused to let go of her. “Stop acting like I completely ghosted you. I’m literally five minutes late.”

“You’re still late,” Idia insisted. He tucked his tablet into his pocket. He clung to Yuu’s arm with both hands. He cringed closer to her shoulder to avoid a group of normies taking up over half the sidewalk. “Do you have any idea how stressful all this is? I don’t come here on the regular. How am I supposed to blend in with all the normies?”

“The first step is to stop acting like you’re being tortured for just breathing,” Yuu said. She shook her arm again, but Idia clung to her out of sheer stubbornness now. She sighed. “Come on, Idia. We’re here to enjoy something you like. The least you can do is be a bit excited.”

Idia pouted. He was excited...once he got past all the anxiety of brushing shoulders with complete strangers. He enjoyed all the livestreams of Premo’s concerts; he watched all their interviews and was active in all the big fan groups. He collected memorabilia like it was no tomorrow. He just...had never experienced something actually live.

And it seemed a bit silly to be stepping into a cutesy, pastel cafe with him being all “doom-and-gloom" like.

“We’ll even get a few crepes,” Yuu insisted when he stayed quiet for too long. Instead of trying to pull herself free again, she gave one of his hands a friendly pat. “They don’t have energy drink flavor, but Cater said the hazelnut chocolate ones were pretty popular.”

The only response Idia could give was an embarrassing groan. How lame was this? He was giving off NEET vibes like a radioactive zombie in some post-apocalyptic world. No wonder all the girls who had passed him going into the cafe had giggled and whispered to each other while shooting him some major side-eye.

Idia clung to Yuu’s arm as they stepped through the cafe’s door. It was just like he had seen through the window: cheerful pastels and bubbly employees. He liked the little woodland creature mascots pictured on the walls and displayed on the tables, but he figured a noodle with flaming hair cooing over a cute rabbit would earn him more stares.

His eyes darted across the menu hanging on the far wall. A separate board had been placed to the side of it, and the darker colors immediately caught his eye. Premo’s band logo—a stylized eyeball with a golden thread circling it—was pictured beside a parfait with several blue and purple layers topped with a cloud of whipped cream and blueberries. Another treat—a crepe with blueberry whipped cream and a drizzle of golden caramel sauce topped with whole blueberries—was pictured alongside it.

The second treat made Idia tighten his grip on Yuu’s arm. “They’re advertising a crepe with the parfait! No one mentioned a crepe on the message board.”

Yuu chuckled and patted his forearm. “I’ll get that crepe then. Why don’t you go find a table for us? The line doesn’t look too long, and I should be able to get them myself.”

Idia nodded and made a quick beeline to the tiny table in the farthest corner. He tucked himself into the chair facing towards the rest of the cafe. The other tables were occupied with mostly girls, but he spotted a few guys here and there. Mainly with one girl, and the girl was giggling while the guy looked like he took every opportunity he could to put his arm on the back of her chair.

Idia’s nose wrinkled. Talk about a shoujo manga cliche. Idia bet they had some equally cliche interaction, like the girl getting whipped cream on her cheek and the guy wiping it away with his thumb and saying something swoon-worthy. Then they’d continue their date and later have a “will-they-won't-they" kissing moment before someone else interrupts. It was kinda lame to think about it.

Idia’s tablet buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out without hesitation and found a message from Ortho. He was asking if Idia and Yuu had made it to the cafe yet. He grinned and typed out a response before holding his tablet up to take a picture of the limited-time menu options. Ortho would get as hyped as him about the extra crepe option.

Yuu stood at the counter just below the menu. She pointed up at the board just as Idia took the picture. He giggled at the serendipitous moment and shot the pic off into cyberspace. Ortho immediately responded with a happy face.

The next time he looked up, he found Yuu flanked by two guys. She held a tray with the Premo desserts and squinted up at the guys. Her head bounced back and forth as if they were talking too quickly for her to even form a response.

Idia sat frozen in his chair. Was he supposed to jump up and help her? From what he knew, Yuu usually handled her own problems without any issue. She had definitely handled guys on the campus that were twice her size. Idia getting into the mix would just cause more problems. Yeah, he was better off just waiting right here...

One of the guys grabbed her elbow. Yuu immediately jerked to the side in an attempt to free herself. The motion nearly knocked the parfaits off the tray.

Idia had crossed the cafe before he even realized it. He huffed when he reached the trio. “Are you guys some kind of shoujo creeps who can’t take a hint? The girl’s not interested.”

The guys spun on him. From a distance, they had looked to be bigger than Yuu, but up close, Idia actually thought they looked shorter than her, which made them way shorter than him. They blinked up at him like they didn’t know how to respond. Yuu blinked at him in the same way.

Idia widely grinned with false bravado. “Not so tough when you’re up against someone bigger, huh?”

One of the guys stuttered and looked down at his shoes. The other guy, the one still holding Yuu, pointed an accusing finger at her. “She doesn’t even know the names of Precipice Moirai!”

Idia’s grin faltered, and it was his turn to be confused. “Huh?”

“She can’t even name a Premo song!” the guy insisted. He pulled on Yuu’s arm again, but she braced herself to keep him from shaking anything on the tray. She glared at the guy but didn’t say anything. “The limited-time parfait and crepe are for real Premo fans. Not some fake fan who doesn’t even realize how valuable the reusable parfait cup and limited-edition crepe button pin are!”

The turn of events, while still shocking, immediately made Idia cackle. He loomed over the guy still holding Yuu, his grin widening. “For real? You’re really that type of guy. What gives you the right to gatekeep, bruh? Over a buncha sweets too? Premo would legit disown you plebs. They’d be the first to say the threads of fate can guide anyone to them. You’re thinking of clipping that thread prematurely? Lame.” Idia took a deep breath and scowled at the speechless guy. “And FYI, Yuu’s tots a fan. She might not be able to hold a tune, but she’s def jammed to a Premo song or two while waiting to queue into a game lobby. I got the proof right here—.”

“Okay!” Yuu’s abrupt interjection made all three of them jump. The guy holding her jerked away like her arm was a hot iron skillet. She shrugged between the guys to stand next to Idia. “I think we get the point. And they’re not going to gatekeep anymore because they really shouldn’t judge a person without knowing them. Right?”

The two guys picked up Yuu’s scary authoritative vibes and snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” Yuu paused. She lightly gestured the tray at them. “Now, uh, go order your own parfaits and crepes.”

The guys nodded and practically tripped their way back to the counter. Idia snickered. Idia would be the first to admit he was an otaku, but it was hilarious to watch other weebs embarrass themselves.

Yuu nudged his side with her elbow, and Idia followed her back to the table where he’d left his tablet. It wasn’t until they were seated that he realized a good number of the other customers were staring in their direction. Mainly the girls, who immediately started whispering and giggling with each other when he looked in their direction.

His face warmed with his own embarrassment, and he ducked his head into his jacket. Yuu pushed one of the Premo parfaits and the crepe in front of him and took the other parfait for herself. She grabbed one of the Premo buttons, the cellophane bag crinkling between her fingers. “Can I open this or am I committing a Premo sin?”

Idia snickered and temporarily forgot about the girls giggling at him. “I don’t care. I’ll keep mine sealed just for the collector’s value of it.”

“Cool.” Yuu unwrapped the button and swung her canvas shoulder bag onto her lap. She pinned the button to the flap of the bag. The ink used to print Premo’s logo shimmered when she moved the flap. “I’ve never actually seen the band’s logo before, but I like it!”

Idia rolled his eyes and grabbed his tablet to take pictures of the parfait and crepe. “I can’t believe you just admitted that. After I just sacrificed what little dignity I had to defend you against those gatekeeping dweebs.”

“Your sacrifice was greatly appreciated.” Idia rolled his eyes again, but Ortho had already responded to the pictures. Idia quickly responded to his brother’s awe. “By the way, thanks for the save. They were saying things I’ve never even heard from you.”

“How about we just forget that big flub,” Idia said. He grabbed the tiny spoon for the parfait but paused. He squinted and decided to attack the crepe first. “I’m already gonna suffer remembering it later.”

“I don’t see why,” Yuu argued. She didn’t have an issue stabbing the fluffy whipped cream of the parfait. Idia stared in horror as she shoveled the edible cloud onto a napkin to reach the sour yogurt beneath. “I think you made half the girls in here swoon.”

Idia choked on the large bite of crepe and blueberry whipped cream he had just taken. He stared at Yuu with wide eyes. “You’re kidding, right? Girl’s swooning over me? More like they were grossed out.”

Yuu’s eyelids drooped. “I think you underestimate the first impression you give some people. It’s not until you open your mouth that they get second thoughts, though this time it actually worked in your favor.”

Idia scoffed and went in for another bite. He froze when he realized Yuu was leaning towards him. She casually—almost too casually—swiped her thumb across his cheek at the corner of his mouth. She pulled back with a dollop of blue cream on her thumb. “Sometimes I wonder how any of you boys survive with the messes you make.”

She popped her thumb into her mouth, and Idia thought he was going to melt into a puddle of embarrassed shoujo cliche.

#twisted wonderland #twst #idia shroud #twst yuu #tbh idia was more concerned about losing his parfait #he knows yuu's a big girl who can kidney punch a guy if she needs to #ffc 2024

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mlembug · 8 months

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@oceanaves Generally difficult to make a recommendation to someone you don't know very well - because at this point it's like you partially take a responsibility for the time they spend on reading the thing. This gets even worse when you make a list of works to check out and you make it public, because then people go through recommendation list and go "this sucks, you should feel bad/you should have standards" or "this work has a problematic trope <X>, why are you recommending this", and no amount of disclaimers of me saying "the recommendations are inherently subjective" and "there is no inherently 'nonproblematic' media" stops them.

I'm gonna comment on every manga listed in the other post - in the context of that list keep in mind they're all "very heavily implied trans" rather than "explicitly trans in the text", which was the problem (rightfully) pointed out at the very start.

Kare to Kanojo no Sentaku - to be honest I haven't got a good read on the main character's situation (the one who got affected by the "gender changing syndrome"). It's implied they ran away from home, which would suggest family kicked them out, but also they have this brief moments when looking in the mirror which kinda imply as if the character dislikes their current predicament. It can go in all sorts of ways but so far I like it.

Koisuru (Otome) no Tsukurikata - I personally avoid this because this one had an entire twitter drama surrounding the official translation, and the Discord of the fan translation group who initially did it became incredibly annoying place to be back then; in addition it seems the work not only avoid admiting it, but in fact attempts to deny the trans interpretation (in a ridiculously silly way in fact). It's not a bad work I'd say, but you have to keep in mind the above.

Mahou Shoujo Bu e Youkoso!/Magical Trans! - these two are essentially the same manga. They have minor differences, but the most relevant one is that the first one was self-published, and the second one was published by ebookjapan. Ebookjapan was later bought by Yahoo Japan, and this very likely led to the author being told to wrap it up at chapter 65. It's an excellent manga to read if you like slice of life shenanigans with eggy characters, but don't expect actual plot development. (I have a theory that the reason it won't go anywhere in the gender department is the same reason for why I once wrote a gender bender story with a self-insert MC and I desperately wanted the story to not end with "and then the MC accepts being a girl")

Ikemen Joshi to Josou Danshi - To be honest this one, out of all of them, is the one I could believe the MC is actually a guy (possibly of some genderfluid variety). It's a great manga featuring a role reversal relationship. The only minor complaint I have is that it has this brief moment where MC actually does question his gender, but it is immediately dismissed, rather than actually resolved (and again, I would be just fine with them having a small character arc with them that leads to a conclusion that they are a guy... but at least address it somehow)

Shinyuu Ouji to Koshiginchaku - I read 4 chapters out of 9 that seem to be available at the moment, but I loved them all. Excellent character dynamics combined with an interesting plot.

Also check out the other list I made before.

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kimira-k · 4 months

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SOMEONE!

ANYONE!

I NEED MORE YEONWOO X HAESOL ART SO BAAADD

Look at them... LOOOK

You telling you see a handsome as woman and beautiful man and you don't wanna draw that. AUGGGHHHH

(i need more art please 🥺)

#yeonwoo's innocence #manhwa #romance #shoujo #shoujo but roles reversed

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ohmyshojo · 1 year

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5 Romance Manga recommendations: Beginners Edition

Your Name

Romance, especially romance manga has a way of capturing your heart body and soul, and with so much out there it can be hard to know where to start, especially if you've never read one or you have read too many.

Romance manga can be simple and sweet, sour or savory, giving you cute and awe-inspiring stories to fill the void in your life or simply just to make you smile. Romance manga especially comes in many forms.

From high-school, to fantasy romance is everywhere. And although it may not be the raunchiest compared to our Smut, Shoujo or Yaoi counterparts, there is still a little something for everybody.

This list is a compilation filled with some of the best romance manga's I have read to date, hopefully it can be of use to you. Taiyou no Ie (13 Volumes) (53 Chapters)

Taiyou No Ie (House of the Sun)

Genre: Romance, Slice of Life, Comedy, Drama

Warning: Age-Gap romance

Taiyou No Ie (House of the Sun) is a coming of age romance.

The story follows our protagonist Mei who is suddenly faced with a difficult situation. When left with no alternative she is left with no other choice but to move in to her older childhood friends home. Along the way a budding romance begins to bud between the 2 childhood friends (Hiro & Mei).

This romance is quite extraordinary, it deals with abandonment, death and forgiveness, whilst still leaving room for the potential of new beginnings and romance to boot. it's sweet and simplistic romance between the to really is just like a ray of sunshine, bright warm and comforting.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (11 Volumes, 44 Chapters)

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (You Lie In April)

Genre: Drama, Romance, Slice of Life, Music

You Lie in April follows the life of a young piano prodigy Kousei Arima who suddenly goes into shock at the death of his mother causing him to become tone deaf ultimately, halting his budding piano career. 2 years after the initial incident Kousei although still unable to perform, clings to music which eventually leads him to meet Kaori Miyazono, a free spirited pianist who slowly helps him get over his trauma and much more.

You Lie in April is a story about trauma, love, friendship and music and is most certainly a must read I highly recommend it!

This story whilst sweet will certainly make you shed a tear or two but it is absolutely worth it the chemistry between these two protagonists is truly heart warming to the eyes.

Akagami No Shirayuki-Hime (25 Volumes, 132 Chapters)Akagami No Shirayuki-Hime (Snow White with the Red Hair)

Genre: Romance, Drama, Fantasy

Shirayuki our protagonist is a skilled and friendly herbalist known to her local people people in her native country of Tanburin. However when placed in a uncompromising position to become the prince's concubine, it causes her to flee the country overnight. Through her escape she meets Zen Westalia a prince of the neighboring country of Clarines who is almost killed (by a poisonous red apple lol) due to Shirayuki's pursuers, despite the occurrence Shirayuki manages to save Zen and the two become unlikely friends.

Together with Zen and his two friends Kiki and Mitsuhide they travel to Clarines as Shirayuki makes plans for a new life, where she aims to become a herbalist for the royal court, whilst juggling her budding feelings for the Prince of her new home Zen.

This a modern day take on the story of Snow White, with all the roles reversed and sketched to make its own story. The budding romance between Shirayuki and Zen is nothing short of mature and sweet, just the simple interactions between the two leads makes it obvious that the two are madly in love with each other. Shirayuki is also a strong, level-headed protagonist who fights back in the face of danger, another MUST!

Ao Haru Ride (Vol 13, Chapters 53)

Ao Haru Ride (Blue Spring Ride)

Genre: Romance, Drama, Slice of Life

Among one of the most popular girls in middle school resulting in her ultimately being shunned by her other female classmates, Futaba Yoshika revamps herself in highschool as an indifferent and unfeminine female just to have "friends".

However Futaba's life takes another turn at the sudden appearance of her first love Kou Mabuchi who had disappeared during their middle school days. Despite the long absence Futaba comes to the realisation of her feelings and confesses to Kou, who coldly declines leaving Futaba shocked by his changed and negative attitude. Although Kou himself admits that the feelings were once mutual he warns her that they can not go back to the past as everything has changed including himself.

Ao Haru Ride is a bitter sweet love story, although at times cliché it still delivers in terms of romance, friendship and the necessary change needed in a to develop both protagonists in this high school love story.

Lovely Complex (Vol 17, Chapters 68)

Lovely Complex

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life

Lovely complex follows the chaotic lives of Risa Koizumi a taller than average girl and her on/off shorter than average male nemesis Atsushi Kotani as they join forces in order to pursue their love interests, unfortunately the plan does not go to plan as their crushes end up falling for each other, causing the two to form an unlikely bond that leads to friendship, rivalry and possibly love?

Lovely complex is a cult classic known to many romance and shoujo fans, catering to both female and male readers with its romantic but funny comedic troupes. Staying true to it's name it focuses on the issues, that protagonists must face because of their heights and uncanny childish similarities often causing them to rely on one another for help and assistance during their time of need. This unique and funny love story will certainly make you blush for one reason or another.

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alistonjdrake · 1 year

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Anyway in theme with “June sometimes rants about manga” now with a mix of “June rants about gender roles and reversals in fiction” an adaption of the shoujo manga Ooku: The Inner Chambers is coming to Netflix and I encourage anyone who’s into historical fiction, complex characters, and discussions on gender roles to read the original.

It takes place during shogunate era Japan where a sudden plague starts killing off young men and boys, thus women start picking up the slack and inheriting positions and titles that once belonged to men. Including that of the shogun.

#june trash #it doesn’t do any of things I said I hate in my gender reversal post

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welcometogrouchland · 1 year

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ah i gotta admit, i haven't watched TOH and all i knew about it was through fandom osmosis >< but i wanna ask about your thoughts :D what if luz tries to get everyone into non-magic things, like video games or comic books or movies/tv shows? any thoughts on which media is their favorites? do they have regular game nights?

Anon the fact that you know nothing about this interest of mine but you're still trying to communicate with me about it. My parents could never. I love you. There's a chamber of my heart dedicated to you now

On the topic of your actual question- I can definitely see her doing that! Some of the non-magic interests we know she has (based on things like posters in her room or references she makes) off the top of my head are like. Off-brand versions of soul eater, resident evil, various animes, etc.

Tbh I feel like (since this would obvi take place during the montage in Thanks to Them) all of the witch kids would really enjoy horror related media? Like. It reminds them of home when they see gnarly bodies mutilated by fungus or anime battles where some twink gets bisected. The boiling isles is Scary As Hell and there seems to be a very casual attitude towards violence a lot of the time (grudgby as a sport, the fact that a 14 yr old was allowed to enter an underground fighting ring, etc)? That's part of the whole joke is that Luz gets isekaid to a very inhospitable fantasy world so unlike her dreams! But for the rest of the hexsquad, zombies and draculas and what have you brings back memories, yknow?

Personally I'm partial to Luz getting some of the other kids into resident evil the most bc. I like resident evil lol. putting forth the hc that Leon Kennedy was Hunters bi awakening

But also Hunter has a Japanese flag patch on his sweater so I'm taking that as evidence that he's at least seen anime. I'm more versed in shoujo than shounen (willow and amity would love sailor moon btw. Amity also likes precure and willow likes cardcaptor sakura) but I feel like there's a lot of shounen anime that would appeal to Hunter. Gus too! But also I feel like Gus has really eclectic taste in media. He watches shows meant for different age groups, he watches things in different genres. He watches French new-wave and he watches kids cartoons. He's got the range.

he just wants to in take as much of human culture as possible and honestly? I think it'd be fun if Luz and Gus' roles as Human and Witch are reversed in the sense that the witch is strong-arming the human who's obsessed with magic into showing them ~human stuff~ bc they're autistic about it. It's dynamics like these that I love in the show and I know they would've loved to do more with everyone in the human realm 😭

(also anon honourable mention to the fact that Hunter and Gus are canonical Trekkies and got into it entirely independently of Luz. Local human literally does not give a shit about human things. Local witches, on the other hand, are eating that shit up like it's bread sticks)

#ramblings of a lunatic #asks #toh #the owl house #YEAH BABY I FINALLY GOT TIME TO ANSWER THESE #I'm gonna try and contribute creatively to the asks but also I'm just kinda. rambly and i know i use the asks as a jumping off point a lot #feel free to send more though 👁️👁️ statistically I'm bound to say something smart eventually

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prettyboykatsuki · 3 months

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what is the other manga that's like mizutama honey boy bff?? 🥺🤲🏽

Takane no Hana nara Ochitekoi !!! i read a LOT of role reversal shoujo but this one is one of my favorites ever!!! not plot heavy and very lovey

#return to sender

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theoneprecioustome · 2 years

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The Persona Concert went all out with Aikoto

I bought the ticket and in an unexpected turns of events: someone in Atlus decided to feed us some Aikoto!

I won't share the video out of respect for the guidelines, but I am absolutely walking you all through it with as many photos as Tumblr will allow.

Warning: the post is image heavy and contains spoilers for the concert!

Burn My Dread -Last Battle- starts with Makoto on his own. He dances a little, preparing himself for battle, and then he is joined by Aigis.

The two circle each other, turn to face one another and share a nod. Obviously, whatever is going on: they're in this together.

For the next minute or so, they fight and dance together. Each has their own choreography except for the chorus, where they dance in unison. Throughout it, we see little exchanges, like Aigis watching Makoto and placing her hand over her heart before nodding resolutely. Much like in P3D, we also see both of them doing their acrobatics, including one bit where they do a cartwheel together.

Until the shadows get the best of them. Like in the movies, Aigis is swallowed by them. The camera sadly pans away so we miss part of it, but we can see Makoto reaching out for her from afar. Next thing we know, he is alone once again. He falls to his knees, and 2D Makoto is replaced by the actor playing him in the concert.

Makoto is joined by the SEES representatives in the concert. They dance around the stage, and we see Makoto fighting with his sword. At the end, much like in the Burn My Dread - Last Battle - MV from P3D, SEES seem to give Makoto their strength.

And here is when it gets ridiculously Aikoto. After doing that, SEES exit the stage and Makoto is left on his own again. He dances/fights a bit on his own and we reach the end of the song.

At that moment, he turns his back to the audience and reaches towards the screen.

When the camera pans out, we realize Aigis is on that screen - smiling at him, surrounded by light like something out of a shoujo. Safe and sound.

The lights fade to black, and the song ends.

Now, excuse me while I gather myself, but it's really interesting how you can read this in a bunch of different ways and they all lead to Aikoto:

Homage to the rooftop scene? - You're telling me Aigis through Makoto's eyes looks like this? He's basically got shoujo filters on

Homage to the the Burn my Dread MV from P3D? - Confirms Makoto's looking at Aigis at the end, otherwise all of SEES 3D models would've been included here

Resolution to Makoto losing Aigis to the shadows during the concert? - Extra layer with SEES trying to help Makoto get her back

They all but turned this into a Memories of You role-reversal 😂

#aikoto #persona 3 #p3 #aigis #makoto yuki #posterotp #official #I don't even know what to tag this as #never in my wildest dreams would I've thought they'd have done THIS at a persona concert #this is the most hero-heroine thing I've seen since the answer #it's a crime that the camera kept panning away so we didn't even get to see the entire 2d choreo #I had to squint to realize what was happening with the shadows #how could they not have done a close up of his reaction #so the only way to get the entire aikoto experience was being in the audience lmao #okay turns out atlus do not want screenshots posted either #so please do not repost these elsewhere!

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lastdaydreamer · 10 months

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Beware The Villainess

“A refreshing, unique villainess who’s been dropped in the world of a novel, only to overthrow it all! The reason why? She couldn’t just stand by and watch the female lead be manipulated by all four shitty male leads. The story of a pragmatic villainess who intends to throw out all the jackasses, the friendly heroine who is equally miffed at said idiots, and a wolf that only yearns for her!”Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo Type: Manhwa Released: 2020

General: 3/5 stars for story, art and concept

For me: 4/5 stars until chapter 72ish then 3/5

Recommended for people who like fashion, full casts of attractive characters, fantasy, romance and strong FL

The villainess stories have been popping up all over lately and are already becoming a bit cliche in the same way most isekai are.

You typically have a goodie goodie replace someone who is supposed to be a villain in a story. They usually have a pretty strong motivation to be good so that they can avoid some terrible fate that they are aware of because they entered the world with prior knowledge of the characters.

I like the idea of the villains taking the main stage and self aware MC but there are the same tropes are reused each time for these:

The main character is brought into a wealthy and privileged home where they ignore all the rules that define their class, adhering to them only when it’s convenient for the story. (like refusing to follow rules until their rebelliousness would make certain events and plot points not happen. Like going to a ball they don’t want to attend or wearing outfits that they fought against wearing even though they already have ruined reputations for not wearing those outfits originally and would gain nothing from wearing them after the fact)

Having a small band of over powered outcast friends

All the characters being in love with the MC but the MC somehow not noticing at all because she’s too focused on fighting the plot or just ditsy.

The MC not knowing when she likes/loves someone because she’s never been in a relationship and so somehow that translate to not knowing when you like someone....somehow.

The characters not communicating vital information with each other that would help avoid easy misunderstanding.

These types of things aren’t a complete deal breaker because I liked most of the manga. But it started to drag on for me towards the end. It lost it’s edge for me at the kidnapping. And I forced myself to finish it after that out of curiosity.

Where it shined:

The comedy, art and the FL are a breath of fresh air! You will find yourself cheering for Melissa pretty early on. She’s hilarious and the faces they have her make are flawless. I had plenty of chuckles at her reactions.

The art was beautiful and the outfits was to die for. If I could tailor those outfits, I would. Anyone looking for inspiration should flip through this one to check them out!

Yona. She is the maid who is everything. She puts up with none of the bullshit without extra pay and refuses to get caught up in the mindless devotion all the other characters have towards the FL. Her attitude is endearing and I felt like the story would have been even better if she had been given more of a spotlight.

I loved the role reversals! It was so exciting seeing Melissa being so gallant! It gave me Revolutionary Girl Utena vibes but better because the outfits were so hot. I was obsessed with her strength and declarations towards her both Nine and Yuri. It was refreshing to see the men be emotional and delicate. The female prince and the male princess energy gave me life.

Beware, there will be spoilers but the heavy spoilers are at the end of this post. Tread lightly.

Where it fell flat for me

Yuri baiting. I love GL stories and I thought that Yuri had a chance with Melissa. I was sad to see her feelings being completely ignored. I was hoping that if they didn’t work out that maybe another girl might step in but that never happened and Yuri just kinda ended up loving Melissa from a distance. I thought it was shitty that the plot said that Melissa was fighting the story for Yuri’s sake but Yuri became an after thought. I would have liked some romantic tension between them or for them to acknowledge that they were both aware that they were in a story. Never happened.

OP besties trope is tired. It wasn’t really clear to me what awakening meant for the werewolves but having Nine awaken and suddenly being a match for his brother was nonsense to me. If he had become emotionally stronger instead of just getting a random power up, I would have respected it more. Standing up to his brother would have been a more powerful moment without it. Yuri is already supposed to be a super powerful magician and healer. It sucks that she was healer in general when every other character seemed to have flashier powers but even then she was OP which made her conveniently able to fill in any gaps in the story using her powers. I think that would have been more impactful if she wasn’t OP but instead her abilities were a result of her having memories from her past life. She remembered all the magic she learned and it accumulated into her having a surplus of magical knowledge and training. Yona was perfect as she was. She didn’t have any crazy powers or unreasonable hidden strength.

I didn’t like when the story started to get hypocritical and typical. Melissa gripped me because she was ready to fuck up the MLs for being shitty but she never gave them the chance to change. The reader watches them grow from her actions towards them but she wrote them all off even then. The only one who couldn’t be redeemed was Peacock because he was a monster. Watching the other boys trying to be better and seeing her continue to write them off stung a little. Especially since she was able to sympathize with the original Melissa even though that version of her never really changed, she just basically decided that dying and letting the new Melissa have her body was for the best since no one loved her. Melissa said that people didn’t get to be shitty just because they had a sad life but she only let that rule apply to the MLs.

I really wanted her to build a relationship with them but all she did was bully them into submission. Nine’s twin deserved it but after a while, I wanted her to have something other than just aggression. Carrot and stick style is more interesting to me than just stick after stick. It’s something that I see in teen novels a lot that I always hated. There’s always just OP characters or some ex machinga plot armor that protects them from the consequences of using your influence to crush someone else into submission. They make a point of gaining power only to use it in the same exact way that it was used against them. At someone point, OP aggression and bravado was all she used. Even in the final showdown with the god of the book world. I don’t even understand how she won.

Disclaimer: She doesn’t owe them shit and isn’t responsible for their mental/emotional/physical well being. I just don’t like someone using abuse to counter abuse. It’s funny and well deserved at first but when they are trying to grow, they should be given the space to do that without the constant berating. Like she hated that her brother didn’t acknowledge her but when he kept trying to, she’d attack him. If he’s building the bridge that you acted like you wanted, then stop trying to burn it down!

Which brings me to the unanswered questions that took me out of the story. How did she beat the god? Why was she in that world? When she finally dies, won’t the story start over with the original cast and the original problems? Why does Yuri have any memories of her past lifetimes in the book when no other character does? If Yona is the one that god loves, then why does the god stay with Yuri for most of the story? Did the real Melissa just die or is she aware of current Melissa’s actions?

That last question made me really sad and opened my mind to how shitty it must be for all the villainess characters in this genre who lose their entire identity to some random person who usually ends up getting everything they wanted but couldn’t have because they were who they were made to be. It’s tragic and cruel in nature. I felt bad for original Melissa who had to realize that no one loved her and never would. They would only love the person who stole her body and life without every knowing that she was gone. Having her cheer on her body snatcher made it even sadder to me. I would love to read a comic that really dug into that.

SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO DON’T WANT TO READ IT BUT WANT TO KNOW HOW IT ENDS. SOME MATURE THEMES

For sure this manga has a happy ending. Melissa ends up becoming the duke (yes Duke) and becomes a popular celebrity and hero to all. She marries her werewolf companion, Nine, who has a big dick(the writer made this canon not me!) They have a child who isn’t there’s by blood but who they love dearly. They can’t have kids because they are different species so this is a nice alternative. She was noble’s child who was unwanted for not important reasons and kinda just tossed in one of the many epilogue stories.

Yuri falls in love with Melissa but Melissa never notices this. Yona and Nine do but they never bring it up to her. Nine because he’s jealous, Yona because she can’t be bothered.

We find out that Yona was going to be a Saint because she was “loved by god” but she didn’t want to take the position because she knew it was basically just her being a prisoner to the church her entire life. She meets Yuri for the first time her and gives her one of the two sacred crystals balls she found in the church. This allows them to stay in contact with each other, which they do for years even though Yona is very standoffish towards Yuri. A wizard who cares about the acting Saint wants to free them both but the ancient Saint refuses. He helps Yona escape and they stay together for a few years until he finally goes back for the Saint. She asks the wizard to kill her and he does which gets him arrested and stripped of his magic. All the money Yona has been gathering is to get him out of jail. We don’t know his ultimate fate since we never see her get him out or even tell her story to Melissa who could probably help.

(this really made me love Yona even more. She is the only character who is resolved to solve her issues on her own, but I still feel sorry that the person she cares about is in jail and how hard she has to work for his sake)

The MLs all end up with their destinies altered. The prince dude still become emperor, the werewolf ends up co-leader with Nine’s twin brother(the brother was supposed to die in the fight against Melissa but Melissa stopped Nine from killing him. I was hoping they would end up a couple -sigh-). Peacock gets out of jail but becomes a nonentity. Melissa’s brother stops being a stalker and just kinda does it job in-between mourning his gun.

They all are better people at the end (except Peacock).

The other couple is a female knight who teaches Melissa how to swordfight and Yuri’s older brother, who is also a high class magician. They are also a role reversed couple and are very very very cute. They end up getting married at the end of the manga.

#beware the villainess #review #manhwa #manga

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