Original manga is slow. The translation is pretty up to date all things considered.Is the translation slow, or the original manga slow? Wikipedia says 27 volumes are out, which I guess would be 5-6 chapters per volume?
The story in my opinion was much more enjoyable when it was more unrealistic with zen and shirayuki being able to see each other more, now it's basically an ntr route waiting to happenThe speed of this comic plus the how interconnected the cast is in motives, makes picking this up months later a challenge.
So enjoy this comic, but each chapter starts with me wondering what is happening for a while. Sadly, don't think there is a way to address this without maybe writing myself a recap.
Obi is 100% a love interest the author has been writing the story around obi's unrequited love for 8 years while zen gets shafted and reintroduced when the volume sales are low, it's like jaggling keys in front of a baby to keep it entertained and it's not working anymoreI don't think Obi is a rival love interest. I do think the long distance relationship is losing the original appeal of the series, not helped by a glacial release pace. Also, my god! Chapter 143! Where is this story going?
If or when that happens the author will be flooded with hate. They really shouldn't have structured it like this where zen and shirayuki have been in a committed relationship for 12 years irl and 3 years in the story and then just essentially retconned it so obi can be the male lead and romantic interest, it is legitimately killing the series in real time like I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea to sideline half of the reason the merch is still selling it's really idioticYeah, I was willing to see Obi as potentially keeping his love a secret and serving both Zen and Shirayuki faithfully forever, but she totally knows, and Obi seems like he's getting less and less platonic too. With this manga I could almost see Zen being okay with the situation, but realistically, this isn't going to keep working. At some point Shirayuki's going to say,
"Hi Zen! Guess what? I'm getting married to Obi next month, and I decided I'm not serving as court apothecary anymore. So, good luck getting your brother to let you marry some other girl you decide you love in the next 10 years. Hey who knows! Maybe he'll let you see the next one more often than once every 6 months."