For the Sake of the Rose

[MangaDex]

 

[rpapo]

I am digging up the old chapters as I can find them. Some have watermarks from the original scanlators (not from aggregator sites), though not horrible ones. DONE.

FWIW, I am a little over half-way done with chapter #59. Of course, the hardest part is always that last handwritten page of randomness.

Also, this series has 64 chapters in all.

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

I continue to be in your debt for scanlating this, old chap.

 

[arusia]

So only 6 to go? I am both happy and sad to know this. I appreciate your hard work.

 

[rpapo]

@PurpleLibraryGuy: And skimming through all the old chapters like that reminds me of how badly this series wants to be redone. Properly. I had to translate two of the chapter titles for those uploads yesterday because the original scanlator didn't bother. And then there's all the untranslated afterwords, though granted, they are relatively hard to do because they are hand-written and therefore more difficult to decipher.

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

@rpapo: That and the old translations are often . . . clunky, to be charitable, and the raws distinctly lacking. Not as bad as the scanlations for "NG Life" I think it was called, a good manga all but ruined by the near-unreadable scans, but bad. That said, I'm far from suggesting you actually do such a thing; I'm sure you have plenty of good uses for your time.

 

[rpapo]

@Purplelibraryguy - FWIW, I have a hybrid version of chapter one which has the first several pages redone my way, followed by the earlier scanlation's pages. One of these days I will finish it and post it as a new take on chapter one here.

FWIW, the replacement pages owe nothing to the earlier version. They are new scans, new cleaning, fresh translations.

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

I'd definitely like to see that contrast.

 

[darknesspker]

I have a very conflicting opinion on this manga. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the older sister/mangaka artist and their relationship, while being very conflicted with the relationships b/w Aoi-Yuri-Sumire. I felt that there needed to be an actual epilogue, not just a panel or two showcasing a massive timeskip in the end. Yuri was okay as a character, but there were many times she annoyed me especially when she would never stand up for herself. Sumire straight-up annoyed me for the most part (I liked him near the end). While I understand he doesn't want to forget his one love Seri, he treated everyone else (mainly women) like trash. Similarly, their mother was god awful of a character (not her representation, but the deeds she did), especially towards Fuyou. I was also mad at how Aoi got written off in 2 sentences, and that he would meet his fated one 2 decades later - that just seems really cruel imo.

8/10 - I enjoyed this manga, but was very conflicted throughout its entirety (near the end, it was good). I would never re-read this manga, it is simply too long for what it was and got incredibly boring b/w chapters 30-45ish as it was the same plot repeated over and over again. Also, I didn't like the fact the Yuri never really changed her appearance - it would have been nice if she grew her hair longer or slimmed down in the 4 years gradually instead of loosing 12cm off her waist in 2 months (incredibly dangerous, and very unlikely in reality). Regardless, I would, however, still advise people to read it at least once and form their own opinion.

 

[LeeNyx]

I liked this until the last chapter, where it lost all my good will. It was such a waste of an ending.

 

[cupcakeparty]

First off, for the groups who spend their hard work and time to finish up this manga, I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart. This was probably a big project for you guys, and I especially appreciate it when it's older manga.

Now, onto what I think of the manga.

Spoiler

I really didn't like it. At one point it was growing on me, but it found a special way to rip that seedling of affection out of the ground and absolutely torch it. Most to blame is the main character. Yuri felt like a doormat. She was so complacent and non-argumentative, I started to look up how long could someone live without a backbone because she absolutely had none. The way characters began to like her was her accepting everyone's baggage, and she became important to their lives like some strange therapist/punching bag.

The constant jabs to her weight and other insults that she just brushed off, accepted, and didn't address pained me on a spiritual level. I'm not easy to offend, don't get me wrong. My modern sensibilities can accept certain shit as long as the manga is good. However, the way she didn't fight back (I honestly wanted her to lay down MMA championship worthy beatings on these characters) irked me. It wasn't cute. It didn't make her character seem strong, resilient, or good-natured. It pissed me off.

Then the love interest. I honestly wished she got with her half-brother. I don't care if it's incest. If I had a quarter for the amount of strange manga I've read, I could buy a house. Her half-brother actually started to respect her. I liked his personality, his goals, and ambitions. Futhermore, the way she positively simped for her other brother boiled my blood. He was a total dick. He was rude to her and wouldn't let go of his deceased girlfriend.

Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with a man being depressed over his dead first love. However, I do have issues with Yuri unceasingly hungering after him after she's seen and been told repeatedly that he doesn't want anyone, especially her. She would always be second place after his dead girlfriend, actually seeing her as a mere substitution for the woman. But no. Doormat Yuri has zero problems being the bootleg version of a woman, as long as she can get a man that constantly belittles her.

Besides the characters, I think the art is absolutely beautiful. Yoshimura Akemi's art is one of the reasons why I love old manga. They have this stylistic and detailed feel that pulls you in from the first chapter. Unfortunately, everything else about the manga really turn me off from it.

I really wanted to like this manga. If Yuri grew from the doormat in the beginning to a headstrong woman (like the asshole mother but better or her grandmother), I would've liked it. However, she didn't, and this is where my problems lie.