| Hi! A few months ago, I took my first steps into yuri's world, and it’s been an amazing adventure so far. Inspired by the wonderful people in this community (shoutout to JennyAysgarth for lighting the spark!), I decided to document my journey. What does that mean? Well, each week (maybe biweekly, according to available time and how much I've consumed), I intend to document what I read in a diary-like chronicles My personal quest board says: Main quest: Chat and connect with fellow Yuri enthusiasts. Side quest: Improve my writing skills while having fun! Fell free to discuss here. I won't cover (as much as possible) manga featured in our monthly book club, since we already have a proper place to talk about them. See you soon! (click on the link to move directly to the chosen entry) Chronicle #1: Girl Friends & Suicide Parabellum Chronicle #2: Blooming In Turn - Bloom into you Fan fiction Chronicle #3: The Moon On A Rainy Night Chronicle #4: Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii and Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume Chronicle #5: Filler episode - Why I love yuri ? Chronicle #6: The Rogue Cast - yuri novel Chronicle #7: Fun Days in Aokigahara - yuri novel Edit : Reorganized first post to act like a summary of each weeks. Edit 2 : I refreshed the first post. |
KarakiraApr 9, 6:20 AM
| CHRONICLE #1 Like this old Deckard Cain once said: Stay awhile and listen. This week, I've read Girl Friends and Suicide Parabellum TL:DR GF 7/10 and SP 9/10 SPOILER AHEAD, stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled. Girl Friends. I had some difficulties with the first 15 chapters; at some point I almost called it a day. I believe that because I'm a male with my given paradigm, it's kind of hard to tie connections with those girls. Shopping, makeup, perfume—I struggled to fully immerse myself in their world. It was the first time I've read a manga with that sort of fluff, so it might be not for me. But since so many rated that manga with a great note, I decided to continue. Oh boy, I hate when the story goes: Hence they will keep their feelings inside them forever, for little to no reason. JUST, COMMUNICATE. I know it's not that easy, but I mean, she kissed you twice, hello? Since Arko stated that kissing between girls is common, I can understand Makiko's feeling and misconception of the situation. Shifting the perspective to Arko POV definitely helped me understand their mutual feelings. I love when the main struggle of the story is (no pun intended) How do we relationship? I think this is why I love Yuri: following the struggle of two people who loved each other in a world/situation where it's hard for them to do so. This is kind of intriguing/existing to follow which actions and decisions the MC will take. At the end, things moved pretty fast after chapter 15: confessions into side stories, and then all the characters grow up and then bang a happy ending. Bonus point to Sugiyama and the teacher, thank you for helping/support Arko x Mari. I could give a 7/10. Good Yuri, side characters are funny, art is fine. The comedy moments were good; they actually made me laugh a few times ! but overall, too much high school girl stuff for me and not enough challenging romance.  ___________________________________________________________________________________________ SUICIDE PARABELLUM. I had some free time Saturday and saw this short recommendation proposed by JennyAysgarth. Well, that was perfect! Suicide Parabellum was everything I needed after reading Girl Friends—some brainy, inception-ish Yuri stuff. Please send me more of that senpai ! I had to read it twice to fully understand the gist. It was interesting how Ouka's brain tricked herself at the end even though she seems in control in the last train scene. It seems that there is a part of her who doesn't want to let that silly game go. Is the last bang killed her for good? If not, the second option is that she fell into a coma again, and thus her only solution is that her projection of Chihaya will someday change her mind, witch is possible since ouka already changed her mind and stopped running from Chihaya. 9/10. Everything was balanced. Ty for the recommandation.  ___________________________________________________________________________________________ edit : spelling errors and text fluency. |
KarakiraNov 10, 2024 2:05 PM
| Lelouch once said: You will never be able to love anybody else until you love yourself and then old Deckard Cain said again: Stay awhile and listen. Hi, it's already time for a second weekly Chronicle! Today, I'll talk about a non-canon fan fiction of Yagate Kimi ni Naru. ( I know, it's long today, tl:dr 9.5/10 and now I ship Sayuu, sorry touko) I originally planned to speak about "The Moon on a Rainy Night" by Kuzushiro, but when I was searching to understand what ship/shipping is, I found a gem that shines so bright that I had to read it all the way through (please send me energy, I'm drained). Preface #1: I don't know if it's okay to post about fanfiction; I mean, it's still based on a Yuri manga... So I guess I'm good to go? Preface #2: I'm still not sure what tone I want to give to those chronicles Warning: The following is highly erotic/sexual (light spoiler) and revolves around : Title : Blooming in turn Author : Satashi Available at : Blooming In Turn - Satashi - やがて君になる | Yagate Kimi ni Naru Words : 58.481 Chapters : 11 Synopsis : Touko is scouted by a broadway representative and was offered training in America under big names. After a mutual, unwanted, break up she asks Sayaka to take care of Yuu for her. Yuu, needing a new job for a school project, accepts a job as Sayaka's intern. In the summer of her third year of highschool, Yuu steps into the adult world with heartache and sadness. Together they struggle to put up with each other in the same room for hours on end. Can the two connect and find the love they both lost, or will their personalities clash to the point of daily arguments at the workplace? From <https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583394?view_full_work=true> Small personal backstory Like many other people, I have an affection and fondness for Bloom Into You. It was my first Yuri anime and the first manga I ever read. To be openhearted with you, I'm strongly attached to Sayaka and Yuu. The latter, though, somehow represents the troika of my interest: She's the type of girl that I like, has a personnality that matches mine, and has a voice (anime version of course) that I'm fond of. I had never questioned my sexuality before, since I've been with the same person for more than half my life. But Bloom Into made me question that. If I had to be single, I might be Demi, Lith, or maybe simply a generous lover, who knows. Either way, Yuu and Bloom into you are the sparks that ignite my Yuri journey. /End of personal backstory. Given that, imagine my reaction when I first learned there was fan fiction of Bloom Into You. I was delighted! Curiosity made me read that novel since my ship searches ended on Reddit and someone recommented it. I had no idea it was neither sexual nor erotic. To be honest, since it was my first fan fiction, I had no idea what to expect but in the end, I LOVED it. During my reading, I could hear Koito and Saeki voices in my head saying things like, Sakaya-sama? Saeki-senpai or even: little Brat! Damn, they got me big time. I never thought watching an anime and then reading fanfiction after could stimulate my brain that much (Saeki Light novels are on the way, thank you Amazon). During those 11 chapters, I was really into it, more than I wanted to admit. From my perspective, the author respected the character created by Nio Nakatani; both Yuu and Sayaka relations seem credible given their personalities and and backgrounds. I also loved how consent and security were at the center of everything; I never felt uneasy during sex scenes. Seeing Golden Eye in control made me happy, considering that I had some worry since Touko seems to force herself on Yuu a few times in the manga. Speaking of the sex scenes, they were hot but also instructive. It's almost the same as in Asumi-chan Is Interested in Lesbian Brothels, where we leave each chapter with ideas and knowledge. Still, there's some cloud in the sky; dont read that part if you dont want to be spoiled. 9.5/10, I really enjoyed how both main characters learned to love and embrace themselves, and of course, the kinky moment (I took some notes). But I don't see myself reading fanfiction anytime soon, considering the fact that I have a massive list of manga to read for the 2025 Yuri challenge. Closing last-minute state of thought: I had the same feeling when I was reading How to we relationship?. I might be more in personal growth than I thought. to be continued. Closing last-minute state of thought #2 : Read that with a good romantic piano playlist on your favorite streaming platform. Thank you for reading, I'll be back next sunday! |
KarakiraNov 18, 2024 3:35 AM
| You've mentioned this fanfic before a couple of times, so now I'm really curious. It might take me a moment or two to get into Sayaka x Yuu mode though, since I'm quite satisfied with the canon pairings. It's interesting seeing ace and demi people online latch on to this series in a way, since I didn't really see it in that sort of way while I was watching/reading, but it sorta makes sense. |
Reply to YummyLunches
You've mentioned this fanfic before a couple of times, so now I'm really curious. It might take me a moment or two to get into Sayaka x Yuu mode though, since I'm quite satisfied with the canon pairings. It's interesting seeing ace and demi people online latch on to this series in a way, since I didn't really see it in that sort of way while I was watching/reading, but it sorta makes sense.
| @YummyLunches Since I have not read "Regarding Saeki Sayaka" yet, It might explain why SaYuu is possible in my mind, Considering that I'm somewhat neutral toward Touko, Blooming in turn caught me off guard with the unexcepted pairing. My perception might shift after I've read Sayaka LN. But since then, I cannot unseen the moments Golden and emerald eyes shared. |
KarakiraNov 19, 2024 8:12 AM
| So I read Blooming in Turn. Now for various reasons I can't see the characters involved as being the same as the ones in the canonical work, but I liked the banter and some of the play they were engaged in. The domestic slice of life stuff was pretty cute too. |
| *IT'S STILL SUNDAY; EVEN IF IT'S ALMOST MONDAY, I'M NOT LATE.* Stay awhile and listen. Hi fellow members of Manga Yuri Club, I'm your loyal servant, and I hope that you are doing well! It's already Sunday, meaning it's time for a Yuri Chronicle. By the way, have you ever noticed how time flies? Well, I always knew it, but since I'm posting something every week now, my week goes from Sunday to Sunday with no in-between. This week I read 3 things: The Moon on a rainy night (all available material), How do we relationship? chapter 127 and Ki ni natteru Hito ga Otoko Janakatta chapter 106. It's the first time I'll review specific chapters; I may continue or I may not; I'm not decided at the moment. The traditional short personal backstory segment Well, well, well. The God of timing is surely a cunning one. My mom is a panist, and she asked me for a decade to teach me. I always said no (I would love to, but I'm the most unrhythmic person on earth). I finally brought home a portable piano recently, and suddenly Amaya no Tsuki is a Musical Yuri. Is my next Yuri about making good foods? Stay tuned for more oracular predictions. /End of the traditional short personal backstory segment Classical Warning about spoiler: do not continue your reading if you don't want to be spoiled with The Moon on a rainy night up to chapter 28. Individual chapter reviews will be under spoiler tags, so don't worry about those.  Title : Amayo No Tsuki Available chapter : 28 MAL's Rating : 8.20/10 Karakira's Rating : 9/10 ( maybe 8.5) Synopsis One day, while rushing to a piano lesson, a girl named Saki collides with someone on the street. As Saki collects herself, the stranger picks up the sheet music Saki dropped, hands it to Saki together with a band-aid, and continues on her way—all without saying a word. Saki is left wondering about the identity of the tall, lovely stranger, only to discover the next day that she is one of her classmates at her new high school. The girl's name is Kanon, and though she is hearing impaired, she refuses any kind of support or "special treatment" from her teachers or classmates. Over the course of the year, Saki slowly grows closer to Kanon and begins to chip away at her cold exterior. (Source: Kodansha USA) I'll be straight honest with you; either I'm just not good with words or I'm just uninspired tonight, but I can't find the magical spark I need to craft something worth your time. Instead, I'll use a template I found on MAL to guide my review. Plot: A good manga about people with disabilities with a sprinkle of Yuri. We sure are in slowburn romance. It MIGHT be a little too slow, but on the other hand, Kanon does not seem to be into women, and for now the main focus has been her personal struggle being a hard-hearing person. I can understand why the author takes more time setting the world. Although the pacing is good, and every time a secondary character has his moment, it somehow fits with where the main characters are in their development. With the last chapter, I think there's a swift toward Saki, and hence maybe their relationship will take a step forward. As a father of one, the moment where Haruka said thank you to his father, I honnestly shed a tear. The second time I almost sobbed was after the recital, where we can see Kanon sincerely smile. Characters: I would love to have more information about Saki since we didn't know a lot about her; she loves women, but we still don't know why. It might be clumsy saying a person NEEDS a reason to be gay, but I meant it in a way like I wanted more backstory on what forged her personnality. Don't throw rocks at me, please. She seems to be fond of her old teacher, but still we lack information to deduce something. Nothing to say on the older Oiwaka; I love her attitude and her ways of thinking, how she teases, and how she's joking around. I think I like her being herself. Rinne has a short but intense presence. I always thought she had a cold personality, but it turned out in the recent chapters that she's kind and depentable. **Genuine question for my readers (you can private message me if you dont want to publicly talk about it, or even just ignore my question): Is the fear to confess to someone, in a lesbian/sapphic context, realistically represented in Yuri manga/this manga? From my understanding, we have 2 extremes: How do we relationshop openly talk about and couples are formed quite easily, and in the moon on a rainy night it seems, more, taboo? It is more a Japan trope? I may walk on eggshells asking this, sorry if I'm misgendering and/or being rude. Art: 10/10 Nothing to say, I'm no expert at all, but I like the author's style. It might be the prettiest Yuri I've read (it's late; maybe my mind tricked me since I'm too lazy to open the one I already read). Enjoyment: Humm, I enjoyed the ride for sure, but… I don't know. I may want more of "how we dealt with our growing established relationship rather than "how we ended in a relationship.'" I might seek something less cute and more punchy for my next reading. To be continued. Overall I would recommend that manga to someone. The individual struggles of all the characters are interesting from a reader's point of view (either coming from disability or simply from family context). In the end I learned, and it made me think about how I would react if I was meeting someone with a hard hearing problem, so, goal achieved. Bonus question : DID THEY KISS IN THAT SCENE?. I belive that Saki closed the distance in order to speak directly to Kanon's ear. We have all agreed on that? Weekly chapter update : Readers commentary section : @YummyLunches Hope you enjoyed the ride ! Stay tune for next week chronicle. |
KarakiraNov 25, 2024 4:45 PM
John 15:13: For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life. Stay awhile and listen. Good [morning, evening, night], whichever applies to you. Here’s the Chronicle #4 brought by The Enjoyer. I deviated from posting every Sunday last week mostly because a) I didn’t read anything worth your attention. b) I had absolutely no inspiration. c) I'm a really slow writer. traditional personal backstory segment Go watch Girls band cry it's ALMOST yuri, the art is great, and the lyrics are on point. By the way, it's too soon for -20 Celsius outside. /end of traditional personal backstory segment This week I’ll broadcast about Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii and Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume Classical warning about spoilers: do not continue reading if you don’t want to be spoiled with the titles referenced earlier.  Synopsis: Satomi Ooguma has never been interested in anyone romantically; however, this changes when she meets fellow classmate Mizuki Kanda. Although Kanda is a girl, Ooguma mistakes her for a boy and finds herself developing romantic feelings for her. [Written by MAL Rewrite] *The enjoyer places both hands on his face, rubbing his cheeks and chin. The man sighed* I'll keep it short: the ride enveloped me with a heartwarming atmosphere, and I didn't dislike the overall experience. But I'll be honest with you; I won't remember it nor reread it. Mizuki getting naked in order to prove that she's a girl and even disgracing herself with a "check my genital if you don't believe me" was *sigh* awkward. The more Yuri I consume, the more I become hostile toward easygoing fluffy stories. The end.  Synopsis: Airi Sezaki and Hinako Hanamura. In the class, they are in a different group and caste with no interaction, but they have a secret that cannot be said to the others. The girls' secret is that of love, selfishness, and fetishes... (Source: Ichijinsha, translated) Go see our club members review: JennyAysgarth and Fluffygreygrass. They are worth it and well written. They captured the gist and are more balanced than what I'm about to say. Hot take: The story is a good representation of pure love. To believe in my statement, we need to remove Yoshimi and Ichika from the balance. Both of them have their issues, which are worse than the protagonist's one if you ask me. They contributed to the realism of the story, but I don't need them today. Ok now, what's more pure (said pure, not the healthiest) than a situation where each one can abandon themselves to their partner, nourishing their emotion through mutual self-submission? A perfect circle of desperation and fetish embracement. That being said, I can't deny that they clearly have both a mental illness. Still, when the disillusion of running away forever faded, they both achieved inner peace through killing and suicide. Speaking of suicide, I would like these manga to have a form of trigger warning in the beginning( I may have missed it, my bad it's the case). The real world is so harsh and cruel that somehow, I haven't been disturbed by the manga. You may be in a different situation than me, so if you need help after reading this fiction or in general, please speak to someone or DM me; I will listen. Do not worry about my mental state; I'm almost emotionally numb and found the river of eternal happiness. You won't extinguish my flame. I'm not sure yet if I want to continue with this kind of fiction. I ended up being lucky to enjoy this intense story without any drawback( If it's not luck, maybe I'm just fucked up?) Additionally, one of my life commands to stay happy is: Do not ignite the fire that will burn you (my self-abnegation meter is cranked up; I put a lot of points into that when I created my adult evolution ( hence the emotional numbness). Look at this graphic: Toxic ---???------ Fluffy. If possible, I want to harvest Yuri from the question mark interval. That is all for today; have fun and stay safe. Peace. |
KarakiraDec 9, 2024 5:41 PM
| Agree that Girls Band Cry was great, and shipable. Agree that Handsome Girl and Sheltered Girl was generally nice, but not the most memorable. Looking back on Kitakawa, I mainly see it as like a tragedy of what could have been, despite the abundance of twisted personalities, ufufu. I think it stimulated the part of me that likes to think of "what ifs," and also the part of me that processes tragedy in retrospect. I had previously asked about whether you'd woken up to thoughts about this series after reading it, because that was what I experienced, and I think a few others in the club said they experienced it too. So it was not about the plot points, but the emotional impact. I started feeling something like a chilling effect at the point where they had the news report on the incident, and then I had most of the emotional weight come down on me after waking up the next day. When I read stories I like going through characters' thoughts and feelings, and I like trying to feel all the things. I think I do an okayish job of keeping the feelings that come from characters and stories from affecting my being too much. Writing this reminded me of a long time ago when I tried to imagine what it would feel like to "hurt so good." I'm also pretty new when it comes to trying to enjoy the toxic and jealous aspects in yuri. I haven't really thought about those sorts of things in relation to yuri until pretty recently. Though looking back, I realized that some characters I've liked in the past (from yuri or not) had toxic or jealous aspects to their personality or how they related to other characters. |
| Real people are jealous, possessive, narcissistic, dependent, manipulative, and angry. These are qualities that everyone possesses to some degree. It's fine to have idealized fantasies of perfect women portrayed in fiction, but it's also nice to see the other extreme too. I love toxic yuri lol. I think seeing a realistic happy medium is the dream for me though where we get the positives and negatives of people. Everyone is capable of both good and evil. I love when a character changes over time too. When the hero becomes the villain or the villain becomes the hero. |
My Candies:        |
| @YummyLunches Unfortunately, I'm almost unable to feel that emotional weight. The best example I can give you is how Koito Yuu deals with "love" from Bloom Into You. I understand the words and what the author wants to picture, but I'm emotionally distanced. My close friends are calling me The Robot. During my reading, I'm able to feel various emotions, but as soon as I close the book, they stay trapped inside the fiction. Something, for unknown reason, I kept those feelings after the story. I called it the Book postpartum. Bloom Into You( along with the fanfic), How to we relationship? and The Cemetery Case recently gave some days of "low-depression" when I completed them. On the other hand, I have cried twice in Amayo no Tsuki and am still crying at the end of the Disney movie "Elemental" *The Enjoyer Shrugged*. @CureSolo Everyone is capable of both good and evil. I love when a character changes over time too. When the hero becomes the villain or the villain becomes the hero. I strongly agree with you ! Nuanced stories/characters are the best one (at least, where I am now in my journey)Despite being a robot, I recently started to being hooked at our conversation. I might turn into a Deredere or a Yandere ? Who knows. Peace. |
KarakiraDec 10, 2024 5:04 PM
| This is probably the first and the last time something I wrote ended up on the same list with Bloom Into You and HDWR |
| Days without rants: 283 |
 Konnichiwa yuri manga club, Like bad weeds, I'm still here this year to provide you with some Reader's Digest yuri-ish chronicles. It's been a month since my last entry, but I haven't lost any motivation to amuse you—rest assured, dear reader. I can confirm that throughout the next months, I will continue my newcomer journey. Regardless my incentive, I recently found out that I sometimes struggle with how I communicate my thoughts here. As a result, I can announce to you that I hired a writing coach to guide me toward perfection—given my skill ceiling is high enough. Last mention before we move to real matter—I’ll try to focus more on the author’s intention when reading instead of just consuming words. Some colleagues' discussions have shown me that I may have missed important feelings at some point. I hope that improving my writing will also improve my global understanding of what I read. Without further delay, let's start with our traditional personal backstory section. Traditional personal section Remember when I wrote about "The Moon on a Rainy Night," saying that I started playing piano? Well, I haven't abandoned it yet. Can't say I'm exactly like Saki, but I can do simple chord progressions with both hands. As if the black and white instrument wasn't enough, I started drawing digitally, and god, it's hard. I may not end up being a pianist or an artist, but at least my bread turned out better than I expected. If everything fails in my life, please buy my loaf. If you're an adult, the next month's project is making alcohol—stay tuned! /end of the traditional personal section Why do I love yuri ? Let's start with some background to set the table. I became a himedanshi last year when the anime version of Bloom Into You caught my interest. Until that moment, I had never bought a single manga or realized that yuri was something that existed. I never thought that my life would turn upside down so fast. At first, reading a gay story felt fresh, and as a gynephilic, the idea of fiction featuring romance between women didn't displease me at all. Even with physical appeal being a good gateway drug, I'm willing to admit that what hooked me was the emotional depth in yuri's work. I got the feeling that the romantic plot seems more complex and developed than in straight fiction. It's thrilling to see couples resolve the long-standing question "How do we relationship?" with courage and hard work. To fully understand why I'm interested in those shenanigans, it happens that one of my defining quality is resilience—I often take adversity head-on, regardless of the cost. I believe this is why I love reading sapphic fiction so much: stories where both protagonists overcome either society's difficulties or peer pressure to achieve their endgame goal resonate with my values. Here I am, 6 months later after I fell into the rabbit's hole, Bloom Into You's manga in hand. I watched toxic yuri, fluffy yuri, high school yuri, fantasy yuri, fanfiction Yuri, and even yuri bait yuri—and you know what? I just ordered a vampire Yuri. Ultimately, are my reasons really important to be entitled as a Himedanshi? As long as I'm happy, who cares? May the Yuri goddess be with all of you. |
KarakiraFeb 6, 10:33 AM
| I used to draw with pencil and paper, but I found trying to do it digitally was really hard, and I never ended up powering through it before. Now using yuri as a way to engage emotionally with a work and its characters is actually not crazy. As a genre aesthetic, I think yuri tends to have this thing where the atmosphere is thick with emotion. I don't know if you can try doing the same thing, but I like experiencing a main character's perspective, and feeling their feelings. Although a lot of people don't like the insane amounts of school life, a lot of yuri works have a theme of discovering one's own feelings. A yuri protagonist has many opportunities to question her feelings. School life is a time when a lot of other people start talking about their feelings, and you wonder whether you will come to feel those things too. Out of all of the romance genres, I feel like yuri places the most emphasis on "How do we relationship?" The memes of "But we're both girls," and "But how do two girls do it?" (even though the "it" is something different), both are indicative of the greater focus on what a romance would actually look or feel like. |
| @YummyLunches I'll definitely try to focus more on MC's perspective and feelings. I realized that I may have missed some depth when you asked me how I felt after Kitagawa. It made me doubt—even question myself if I was reading with the proper mindset. That said, I'm sure that I'll be able to improve my connection with fiction with some fine-tuning. Regarding digital art, if I ever manage to produce something presentable and Yuri, I'll show you. Fair warning — Do not build hope on that thought. |
KarakiraJan 27, 8:24 AM
Chronicle #6: The Rogue Cast Despite my love of books, modern life rarely gives the opportunity to set the mood for a comfortable appointment with paper. Light dimmed, a glass of liquor, and dark classical music are some of my key conditions to fully immerse myself. In the last months, I have completed 20 published manga series, one published and 4 professional yet unpublished novels. Put together, I have consumed more than a thousand chapters since I reclaimed reading as a hobby. In that long list, only five entries made me either question my existence or give me the book hangover.
I don't know if you notice, but 40% of that list is occupied by the same author—Origa Kaede. Fun fact, you know this author more than you think since the featured writer is @JennyAysgarth. First, she—through her half-hidden Wattpad link—introduced me to the infinity of the web's novel. Them, I started reading her work. The first I've read from her was The Cemetery Case. An underlying ghost story mixed with a slow-burning emotional journey that stayed in my mind long after the last page. I reached her to express the joy I had whilst exploring her repertoire. After some exchange, she recommended The Rogue Cast to me, her longest and most important publication. Since The Cemetery Case and Clockwork had already impressed me, I had high expectations for this one — In a nutshell, her flagship novel is a powerful girls love fiction where the character exists within a manga world, exploring many of the classical tropes with engaging characters and passionate dialogue.  Synopsis : In a manga, there are lots of omissions that matter nothing to the story. Nobody is interested to read about the heroine's way to the dating spot, when there's nothing happening. But that's where manga characters can actually thrive and fend for themselves. This is a story about an abandoned manga and its characters. And a sudden invasion by a character from another manga. I have nothing bad to say about this novel—I genuinely loved it. The unique manga setting and Kaede's talent to hide her plot under many mind-bending situations hooked me and kept me interested throughout all 10 chapters. Every character played a important role in the story’s development, resulting in an engaging and well-balanced cast. The author's descriptions are captivating and they helped the world-building without giving all the keys to the reader. She gives plenty of room to fill the gap with our imagination, making the experience more immersive. Readers who appreciate yuri will likely find a feature that matches their expectations in this work, given the number of reference to the genre in it. After the Cemetery case and The Rogue cast, she convinced me—with her skills—to follow up with her newest somber girls love fiction: Fun Days in Aokigahara. I’m eager to see where her storytelling takes me next. 9/10. Comeback after reading the last page, then read my inner thoughts; |
KarakiraFeb 7, 7:29 AM
| It's cool to see that others here are reading the writings of OK. You're right in that they're very stimulating to the imagination. |
| First of all, thank you so much. I'm very happy that you enjoyed it. Second of all, |
| Days without rants: 283 |
| I found that I'm able to experience almost a full circle of emotion when reading a novel versus consuming a manga. It may explain why, despite being an otaku, I've never been attracted to manga before recently. I have been reading fantasy and horror for almost my entire life, minus the last 5 years (where for some unknown reason, I stopped reading), and I clearly remember how thrilled I was reading every Stephen King. OK helps me recall that. Do normal people have the same kind of electroshock-emotional burst style while reading whatever medium, or do they have different emotions reading different mediums? |
| I believe it's safe to assume that these experiences are pretty much individual. I, for one, don't enjoy reading novels much, but I used to during my childhood and teen years. It's not that I find there's something wrong with that, it's just the way it came to be. On the other hand, I found that reading YuriTama, which is an LN, was pretty enjoyable despite the novel itself being quite shallow and repetitive. It somehow read like a manga despite not being one. I must say that OK really tried to transport that feeling into her own novel. And manga itself is a different matter. For some reason, whether it's yuri or not, it reads differently compared to western comics. I've read my share of both, and this includes some indisputable masterpieces like Alan Moore's Watchmen, and the difference was quite striking for me in terms of experiences. Still, I can imagine Watchmen or, if we're talking about Stephen King, say, Langoliers being a manga, Maria-sama being a novel, and Takemiya-sensei's red sailor uniform series being a western comic. In the end, what makes the difference here is the aesthetic, and that is why I believe all those experiences are purely individual—pretty much like aestheticism varies between people. |
JennyAysgarthFeb 9, 7:12 AM
| Days without rants: 283 |
| I seem to be able to get an emotional response from different types of mediums, but the pathway to the emotional response may be different. The way I understand it, at least for me, is that when I consume different format of story, I have a tendency to focus on different things. With text, I tend to want to focus on immersing myself in the thoughts and feelings of the perspective character. With manga, I tend to want to see the expressions of the characters, especially during interactions (that and sometimes fashion). Then with anime, I tend to want to focus on the voices. That said, when it comes to stories that I've experienced in multiple formats, I don't really notice big differences in emotional output that can be easily attributed to a difference in medium, but logically thinking, with the way I view things, I feel like it should. I've said before that I think reading is the closest to thinking another person's thoughts. In terms of books, I basically stopped reading fiction after like elementary school, until a stint with lesfic (most of it trashy) maybe 10 years ago, and then almost nothing until about a year ago when I started getting into LNs. During school I didn't really get many required readings that were fiction either. In the past, it was hard for me to get into manga until there was a point where it wasn't convenient to watch much anime, so I just sat down and started reading. I don't recall being as emotionally invested in manga until more recently though. I'm lead to believe that there's something about the yuri genre that helps bring out the emotion. I feel like LNs in general do tend to have some of that manga vibe, which, in terms of aesthetics, is something that appeals to me. |
| Both your insights were interesting, thank you. I think I misunderstood something. The trifecta of us loved OK's novel, yet you both declared that either you don't enjoy reading novels or stopped reading fiction. To me, OK is writing a fiction novel, hence the misunderstanding. Considering that she carries on the manga aesthetic in her work, is it becoming a light novel?—explaining why we are fond of it? I thought at first that Novel and LN were only different names for the same product. Since the latter is inheriting the animanga aestheticism, it gives me a lead to why I recently switched from fiction to LN. |
| Ugh... So long, my cute, lovely days-without-rants counter. Now, I sure can't know why @YummyLunches doesn't like to read novels, but I can speak for myself. Even if I like a story myself, I can't help but start dissecting it in my mind. It was useful when I was learning to write, but over time, it stole all the pleasure from reading. On top of that, I seemed to become more emotionally sensitive and my imagination started running much wilder when reading. With manga, this doesn't happen to the same extent because you don't have to imagine things as detailed as in the case of prose, thanks to the availability of images. It's ironic how I did all the things that made me stop reading novels to the one that I actually wrote myself. |
| Days without rants: 283 |
| I wouldn't say that I don't like reading novels. I just sorta ended up not reading them for very long stretches in my life. Stuff like anime, and videos, and games just sorta caught my attention. I don't really consider myself to be that literate, and I remember experiences where I'm trying to read a story, but I end up just glossing over it, because I'm not really understanding. I think it's more recently I've started to understand a bit more when reading something more complex than the trashy romance that I binged for a bit years ago. About being more emotionally sensitive and stimulating imagination, I think that reading also has that effect on me, but I think that is something that I want to cultivate as long as it doesn't impair proper functioning. There was a point in my life where I considered myself to have been emotionally muted. Now I haven't yet gotten into the titles that Mikami Teren seems to be best known for, but a while ago I did read their manga about high school girls writing light novels with the intent of being published. Apparently some aspects of that manga were based on their experience. In that manga, they didn't have the web novel to LN pipeline, because I think the manga took place before that become in vogue, but they did show some stuff about the author working with the publisher to choose a suitable illustrator for the work, and the back and forth involved in representing the characters rightly. Of course this is all with a cute girls doing cute things filter. It is my understanding that with normal novels, the author doesn't really get any say about what the cover looks like, and they usually don't have illustrations within as well. The cover is then really a way for the publisher to market the book. It seems common in the LN afterwords for the author to praise the illustrations of the artist. I recall afterwords where the author talks about the design elements for various characters, and how the artist was able to convey in their art, traits that they wanted the characters to have. I think that this tighter coupling between the characters and their designs is a feature of LNs. The designs of the characters are also pretty strictly honored when they get a manga adaptation or even an anime adaptation. I think a big difference between LNs and normal novels is in the characterizations and other character interactions, which may be considered to be fanservice. Various animanga tropes are readily used in LNs, and usually this lets you understand the situation quickly without too much explanation or having to speculate too much about what is going on. However, sticking close to the aesthetic of anime and manga really helps with its appeal, I think. Like you can have tsun de rais, and younger sister characters being cutely jealous, and other such animanga shenanigans. Also with light novels, there's varying degrees of lightness. I've read ones that are very sparse with their description, and combined with their light hearted nature makes it easy to just blow through, but I've also read ones that are a lot denser, and where I really wanna be careful when reading it, because I think I can get a lot more out of it that way. There's ones where I'm even sitting there trying to understand character motives and the nature of various relationships. The Rogue Cast obviously doesn't have illustrations of the characters. The characters are deliberately described with as few physical details as possible. I recall OK saying that the point was to let the reader imagine what the characters would look like, because a large part of what makes the story (and characters) come alive is the reader's active engagement with the work. I feel like a normal LN would surely at least let you get the gist of a character as quickly as possible when introduced, and then reinforce it with illustrations at key scenes. Also I feel like LNs have a tendency to be a bit sentimental. Maybe it can be considered a cheap trick? |
| I don't know if it's just me, but I always sensed that slightly psychopathic vibe in whatever Mikami Teren writes. I'm not sure if it's their own signature trait or just what makes them sell so well and is therefore cultivated, but in any case, it's always there to the extent that I can think, "huh, must be Mikami Teren" even if I missed the author's name before starting to read. Anyway, I can quite agree that LNs end up being another form of the same animanga aesthetic. The only thing I can add is that, unless we're talking about some abysmal paperback trash in the West, the author always has a say in deciding what the cover would look like. At the very least, they get to approve character designs (if any characters are depicted) and choose between several cover options. In most cases, all of them have been pre-approved by the publisher, so they can afford to let the author choose between them since they're fine anyway. The extent to which the author is involved in actual designs varies between publishers, and there's no unified industry practice here. It makes more sense to have them more involved if we're talking about an LN or, even more, if a story is adapted straight to manga. I used to have a project (a comic of a certain kind) where I was the author, and my friend was the artist, so I sort of can imagine their interactions. It's not always a cakewalk. And I think that relying on the same tropes that people already know from manga and anime, as YummyLunches pointed out, really helps close the gap between those media. Maybe that's what partially helped The Rogue Cast look more like an LN than it actually is. But you know, even if it's not your intention, when you finish a story, and people start reading it, you no longer have any say in how they see and interpret it. Basically, your work is done, and you've said all you had to say. OK just thought she'd better give the reader maximum freedom and free rein in this particular case. But if, under some unimaginable circumstances, it were to be released as an LN, I'm quite sure OK would have to settle on the characters' appearances because that's how LNs work. Not sure if she would enjoy it, though. |
JennyAysgarthFeb 11, 4:30 AM
| Days without rants: 283 |
Chronicle #7: Fun Days in Aokigahara It is common knowledge that yuri, as a whole, is a bottomless rabbit hole. Regardless of your gateway drug, the attraction to girls love only grows stronger the more you consume. Many followers of the goddess believe that the abyss consists solely of two-dimensional realms—manga and anime—thus dismissing, right off the bat, some truly fascinating mediums. In truth, light novels, regular novels, and games—so long as they explore the right themes—are wholly embraced by our sect's commandments. Each of these mediums can open yet another rabbit hole, forming a kind of holeception. As I wandered through Escher’s infinite staircase of yuri—where each step represents a genre, a trope, or a different medium—I must admit, I’ve developed a deep fondness for novels. Suddenly, a voice was calling out to me, whispering, "Come and see." And so, I did—peeking into the latest masterpiece by Origa Kaede.  Title: Fun Days in Aokigahara Author: Origa Kaede. Available at: Wattpad, link to the first chapter Chapters: 15 Synopsis: The protagonist, Jun, blows her mind out in Aokigahara, the most popular suicide spot in Japan and maybe even the world. Afterward, she meets the ghosts inhabiting the forest and learns about their life stories. Ye have been warned. From <https://www.wattpad.com/story/388586544-fun-days-in-aokigahara> In a world where love can transcend death, villainous schemes unfold, and every soul bears a powerful, haunting past—this is a story of mind-bending twists, musical awakenings, and a relentless pursuit of morality and truth. I’ll be honest—reviewing Fun Days in Aokigahara is tricky, not because it’s flawed, but because I barely have any complaints. But hey, let’s try to keep things fair. First, ever since I restarted my reading journey, I’ve developed a taste for certain tropes: toxic relationships, philosophical insight, and deliciously villainous shenanigans. And spoiler alert—this author cooked up a dish that includes all of the above. Origa Kaede showcased a remarkable ability to blend multiple genres seamlessly, each element contributing to a rich and dynamic narrative. Whether it was the emotional depth of character development, the tension of the plot, or the moments of lightheartedness, everything felt intentionally woven together. It’s as if the goddess herself whispered in her ear, commanding her to create the most thoughtful, brainy yuri ever written. Without fail, she sows chapter after chapter with seeds of knowledge, weaving a second layer of meaning into the story—like a Ghibli film, rich with quiet wisdom. Besides that, if receiving a call from Sappho weren’t enough, she also managed to stay in touch with the Mousai throughout the 15 chapters of Fun Days. Why? Because the musical references she used to convey emotion, information about the plot, or character's state of thought could not have been better. She nailed the whole process, to the point where the music became an important part of the overall experience. This may not be your go-to choice for your day-to-day listening, and you won’t miss anything crucial by discarding the music recommendation, but it adds a nice depth to the story, and you can feel that the author put lots of thoughts and signification into this. She's working with the tempo, atmosphere, and lyrics to complement her important scene, accompanying them with precise accuracy. That said, don’t worry—the intellectual expression of hidden meaning and musicality won’t cause you a cerebral meltdown. Think of it like wine: you don’t need to be a sommelier to enjoy a good Merlot. But if you're in the mood for something more layered and complex, your detail-oriented eye will definitely find something to savor in this Daedalus' labyrinth. It’s a delightful mix of simplicity and depth, waiting to be discovered with every revisit and appreciated by every reader, no matter what their reading goal may be. Still unsure about diving into this journey? Just take a look—there are over 100 comments in the club section about this novel. Would something dull or unremarkable spark that kind of emotion? 9.5/10 Come and see |
KarakiraApr 9, 6:18 AM
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