GraPara! - Vol. 14 Ch. 136 - Grapara!

[DoomResetR]

I think another intent for the story was to also show the darker side of the Gravure industry since it's so sex heavy.

Granted I'll admit it was a bit annoying on how it seemed EVERY director/actor had malicious for the most part. But overall it was decent in that regard?

Literally no dark side exists for the gravure industry, it's way better than normal idol stuff or your traditional newscaster/news report stuff.
GRAPARA is a cheap sexploitation manga, which it's why it ends with the FMC reaffirming her decision of becoming a specialized actress for sex scenes (a little more and she becomes an av actress lol).

 

[box2024]

Yea, having them reunite after their careers flourished in itself was fine, but the misunderstanding being fixed by a chance run-in with Fumi was a bit weird to put it lightly.

From the conversation with Fumi it's revealed the Sakura to this point still believes that Shinobu and Fumi were an item, and so it took Fumi herself to break the years long misunderstanding, I can't defend it but there were a few comments in the past saying that it would take Fumi herself to resolve it...

Yah that was me! Lol anywho she had to been avoiding any contact with him in anyway since they both would have been working in the same circle's and the fact that there lives must have been very public it shouldn't have been hard for Sakura to figure out they weren't together. Then again Sakura is really stupid!

 

[box2024]

Not wanting to take MC credit there. But didn't Sakura career finally shoot up the roof during that period she was separated from Shinobu and dating the fuckboy?

She only got on fuckbois and his simp wingmans radar because of the gigs shionbu had gotten her. But even shinobu knew he could only get her so far.

 

[master-34]

She only got on fuckbois and his simp wingmans radar because of the gigs shionbu had gotten her. But even shinobu knew he could only get her so far.

Found out that in universe 616 of marvel comics that dr doom undid mephisto contracts

 

[diphuc1]

Yah that was me! Lol anywho she had to been avoiding any contact with him in anyway since they both would have been working in the same circle's and the fact that there lives must have been very public it shouldn't have been hard for Sakura to figure out they weren't together. Then again Sakura is really stupid!

Haha, quite a few of the stuff you suggested became prophetic minus the ultimate doomed ending atypical of NTR because either Airi or Kodansha wanted to backtrack it all in the final 2 chapters.

Man until the last two chapter I did feel like the setup was there for a better resolution but I guess they felt without the use of a multi year time skip and having Fumi herself talk to Sakura (framing it as a chance run-in) wouldn't work...

 

[box2024]

Haha, quite a few of the stuff you suggested became prophetic minus the ultimate doomed ending atypical of NTR because either Airi or Kodansha wanted to backtrack it all in the final 2 chapters.

Man until the last two chapter I did feel like the setup was there for a better resolution but I guess they felt without the use of a multi year time skip and having Fumi herself talk to Sakura (framing it as a chance run-in) wouldn't work...

Well I still say the ending is a sudo cuck ending. But I always thought that fumi would be the only character sakura would take seriously about it all I really wish we got to see her reaction to that information and see how she digested the information. But Arir likely would have trouble writing something that serious.

 

[Wyrm666]

Well I still say the ending is a sudo cuck ending. But I always thought that fumi would be the only character sakura would take seriously about it all I really wish we got to see her reaction to that information and see how she digested the information. But Arir likely would have trouble writing something that serious.

sudo cuck shinobu

Are you sure you want to cuck shinobu (y/n):


(it was supposed to be a sysadmin joke but the formatting failed me...)

 

[Alsatia]

Well I still say the ending is a sudo cuck ending. But I always thought that fumi would be the only character sakura would take seriously about it all I really wish we got to see her reaction to that information and see how she digested the information. But Arir likely would have trouble writing something that serious.

Sad thing is, I got a gut feeling telling me that how she reacted (which wasn't at all) is how we see it. She doesn't try to contact Shinobu. She doesn't go "oh my god!". Her reaction is basically saying "so that's what happened" or something along those lines.

It just makes chapter 129 all the more pointless. Really should have just ended 128 as it's cliffhanger and leave it as a "did she or didn't she?" moment to later be revealed.

 

[diphuc1]

Sad thing is, I got a gut feeling telling me that how she reacted (which wasn't at all) is how we see it. She doesn't try to contact Shinobu. She doesn't go "oh my god!". Her reaction is basically saying "so that's what happened" or something along those lines.

It just makes chapter 129 all the more pointless. Really should have just ended 128 as it's cliffhanger and leave it as a "did she or didn't she?" moment to later be revealed.

It was a bare minimum reaction, least she learned the truth. I'd like to think that more happened after, maybe the bonus expands on it (doubtful) but something had to have happened for her to be comfortable working with Shinobu again. If nothing else she at least still held onto her feeling for Shinobu after those years.

 

[Alsatia]

It was a bare minimum reaction, least she learned the truth. I'd like to think that more happened after, maybe the bonus expands on it (doubtful) but something had to have happened for her to be comfortable working with Shinobu again. If nothing else she at least still held onto her feeling for Shinobu after those years.

It's hard to say with her being comfortable enough when it comes to how she handled things. Like we can't forget she willingly decided it's best to not tell Shinobu about what happened with Toppy and the director. Shinobu never did find out about that.

She felt guilty about it for sure but rather than coming clean she goes for the.. I forgot what it was called. The "take it off your mind" sex that she overheard from the girls.

 

[Wyrm666]

It's hard to say with her being comfortable enough when it comes to how she handled things. Like we can't forget she willingly decided it's best to not tell Shinobu about what happened with Toppy and the director. Shinobu never did find out about that.

She felt guilty about it for sure but rather than coming clean she goes for the.. I forgot what it was called. The "take it off your mind" sex that she overheard from the girls.

Sakura is the kind of woman that gets manipulated into licking a cock, snaps out of it because Toppy was greedy and copes with the fact that she cheated (I mean, when she said stop, they stopped so...) by having sex with Shinobu. The woman is not daijobu.

And neither is Shinobu. White knighting doesn't pair well with a lack of spine.

But most of all, Katsura Airi, despite being a competent writer (I mean, it's not that she can't write... most manga don't reach 136 chapters) sucks at narrative building, character development and organically move both to the scenes she wants to show. She's more of a vibe writer.

All this to say that perhaps most of the frustration is that the pay-offs always fall short and feel unearned. Sakura's fall was meant to be a watershed moment, but ended up cheap and clumsy. And afterward none of the characters behave coherently nor the conversations that would've taken place were shown.

Sakura and Fumi was cut short, it's impossible that the woman still wearing the necklace her ex gave her years ago wouldn't have something more to say and I'm sure she didn't meet Shinobo only on the day of the shooting. What was the convo? My guess is that KA didn't want to write such convos because they would be dumb. Sakura doesn't think too hard and even when it concerns her own life she needs others to push her to move.

The only reason she left Nakanishi (allegedly) was because someone opened a door and Nakanishi was not on board.

All this verbiage to say that KA can write scenes in isolation but can't develop a character or a coherent, sustained narrative to save her life. Hence we have a work that will only be remembered by this bunch of reprobates and basically only chapter 129 and the last panel of 136.

 

[Alsatia]

Sakura is the kind of woman that gets manipulated into licking a cock, snaps out of it because Toppy was greedy and copes with the fact that she cheated (I mean, when she said stop, they stopped so...) by having sex with Shinobu. The woman is not daijobu.

And neither is Shinobu. White knighting doesn't pair well with a lack of spine.

But most of all, Katsura Airi, despite being a competent writer (I mean, it's not that she can't write... most manga don't reach 136 chapters) sucks at narrative building, character development and organically move both to the scenes she wants to show. She's more of a vibe writer.

All this to say that perhaps most of the frustration is that the pay-offs always fall short and feel unearned. Sakura's fall was meant to be a watershed moment, but ended up cheap and clumsy. And afterward none of the characters behave coherently nor the conversations that would've taken place were shown.

Sakura and Fumi was cut short, it's impossible that the woman still wearing the necklace her ex gave her years ago wouldn't have something more to say and I'm sure she didn't meet Shinobo only on the day of the shooting. What was the convo? My guess is that KA didn't want to write such convos because they would be dumb. Sakura doesn't think too hard and even when it concerns her own life she needs others to push her to move.

The only reason she left Nakanishi (allegedly) was because someone opened a door and Nakanishi was not on board.

All this verbiage to say that KA can write scenes in isolation but can't develop a character or a coherent, sustained narrative to save her life. Hence we have a work that will only be remembered by this bunch of reprobates and basically only chapter 129 and the last panel of 136.

Honestly I can't find anything to argue with here. It's all solid points.

 

[diphuc1]

I enjoyed how GraPara was able to make me sad for a bit, I generally avoid sad mangas and Nakige's (depression inducing Visual Novels) so in retrospect, this was fun and connected me with some fun people for discussions in this forum.

The ending was not good, but for me it was surpisingly okay...or as @Alsatia phrased it, "an ending that makes sense"

 

[Wyrm666]

Honestly I can't find anything to argue with here. It's all solid points.

Oh, I was not rebuking your point, just stating that Sakura's absence of reaction was not just her character's personality but also KA not writing scenes with earned emotional payoffs or resolutions.

 

[diphuc1]

Oh, I was not rebuking your point, just stating that Sakura's absence of reaction was not just her character's personality but also KA not writing scenes with earned emotional payoffs or resolutions.

Sakura's character being averse to conflict worked great as an escape button for Airi whenever it's convenient.

When Fumi confesses the truth, outwardly all we get is a simple death stare (kind of), but realistically it's not like there's anything Sakura can say to Fumi that won't lead to a "confrontation" and so the cop out result is it's left to the imagination just how much of the truth Sakura internalized and reflected on, given what she did back then.

This process would take way more time to properly show than the manga had left so the only option really is the off screen treatment, with the final sequence being a jump to Sakura and Shinobu working together again. Notably the emotional payoff of their reunion is warped again by Airi because the film Shinobu is directing has an intimate scene, meaning we again see Sakura with another male actor (imagine if it was fucboi so for the extra dark humor, smh Airi).

Funnily enough it's because the film proposed involved an intimacy scene, that led to the producer suggesting Sakura as a replacement actress due to Shinobu no longer wanting to cast Fumi. So while the hate is justified for how the final sequence played out in it's presentation, it was also a necessity for Sakura and Shinobu to really reunite.

 

[Wyrm666]

This process would take way more time to properly show than the manga had left so the only option really is the off screen treatment

I don't think it would be a matter of time. If Sakura's internal monologue is fully fleshed out, she would come off as a moron or a selfish bimbo and she is supposed to be neither.

S: "What? So nothing happen between you? But Shinobu was talking also about quitting being my manager..."
F: "But he only said because he felt he was holding you back, not that he wanted to stop working with you."
S: "But... I..."
F: "It broke my heart, seeing him frantically searching for you so I decided that I would be there for him."

And then Sakura would be left to ruminate on the past years which have a whole new context now. I sincerely doubt than another more competent writer would've left Sakura with an implied "Oh well, spilt milk."

And with Fumi and Shinobu we were denied a series of conversations... Were they dating? Where they in an agreed situationship? Did they ever unpacked the night they've spent? Did Shinobu hurt from her initiative? Did she fully understood what she was about to do?

No. They simply stopped working together and we have a panel conveying the distance between Fumi and Shinobu. But why such a distance?

S: "Fumi, I understand why you took the initiative. The scene is so much better. But I wanted..."
F: "I don't need you to protect me. We're not even dating. I just need you to be the best you can be."
S: "I... understand."

But no. They became estranged for no good reason.

And finally, not being privy to Sakura's and Shinobu's conversation? That was the most egregious part. I'm not talking about a full convo with tears, crying, blaming and a passionate sex scene spanning two chapters...

Shi: "So well be working again! Let's discuss the.."
Kura: "Shinobu... I didn't know... I though..."
Shi: "I know... We're here now. Let's make a great movie."
Kura: "Yes... let's."

Not satisfying, but at least not left in a stupid vacuum.
The last panels can mean a lot but it's the kind of openness that ignores the motivation of most (I believe) Grapara readers. In my opinion most of us wanted to see Shinobu and Sakura's situation resolved. After all they went through, what do they mean to each other, do they become lovers again? Do they live separate lives but will always remain partners? Are they happy now?
And that is left, not even open, but vague. For me there's a difference between an open ending (where there are arguments conveyed by the story that can point to different outcomes) and a vague ending (where nothing of substance is shown).

This is more than just time. Is the author only wanting the vibes and not the buildup.

(oof, i just got a little bit ahead of myself here. I guess i miss those weeks of dissecting Grapara with this bunch)

 

[erintesden]

S: "Fumi, I understand why you took the initiative. The scene is so much better. But I wanted..."
F: "I don't need you to protect me. We're not even dating. I just need you to be the best you can be."
S: "I... understand."

But no. They became estranged for no good reason.

I hate that we didn't have anything like this. Frankly I almost cared more about Shinobu x Fumi by the end, even knowing it was pretty much condemned.

Like, my memory is wrong but... Did Fumi also had some previous career on Gravure like Sakura did? Because I feel like doing sexy scenes coming from doing gravure would make a more smooth transition... While Fumi, if she never did gravure, jumping straight to sex scenes for her first big role, it feels like it could have ruined her career or get her typecasted into sexual roles with little substance (which maybe happened, we don't know).

So doing what Fumi did, it feels like the only purpose was to try and compete with the idea she had of Sakura.

But then she probably felt guilty about doing so and "betraying" Shinobu... which again, we don't know if they were even dating seriously, so I don't think the problem was the scene on itself, but Fumi realizing she hadn't trust enough on Shinobu to do the scene as he envisioned it.

And Shinobu... I think he saw the whole event as another proof that he was not helping but limiting his represented by beinh overprotective That Fumi would probably be better without him. So their relationship probably grew more professional after that until they separated.

It also kinda pisses me off because this whole subplot is interesting, and yet another event in which the series is basically saying "silly Shinobu, the right answer was once again to sexualize the shit out of the hot girl not protect them!"

Like, seriously did we ever saw any girl in this manga that managed to become successful without sexualizing herself or outright sleeping her way to the top?

 

[diphuc1]

I don't think it would be a matter of time. If Sakura's internal monologue is fully fleshed out, she would come off as a moron or a selfish bimbo and she is supposed to be neither.

S: "What? So nothing happen between you? But Shinobu was talking also about quitting being my manager..."
F: "But he only said because he felt he was holding you back, not that he wanted to stop working with you."
S: "But... I..."
F: "It broke my heart, seeing him frantically searching for you so I decided that I would be there for him."

And then Sakura would be left to ruminate on the past years which have a whole new context now. I sincerely doubt than another more competent writer would've left Sakura with an implied "Oh well, spilt milk."

And with Fumi and Shinobu we were denied a series of conversations... Were they dating? Where they in an agreed situationship? Did they ever unpacked the night they've spent? Did Shinobu hurt from her initiative? Did she fully understood what she was about to do?

No. They simply stopped working together and we have a panel conveying the distance between Fumi and Shinobu. But why such a distance?

S: "Fumi, I understand why you took the initiative. The scene is so much better. But I wanted..."
F: "I don't need you to protect me. We're not even dating. I just need you to be the best you can be."
S: "I... understand."

But no. They became estranged for no good reason.

And finally, not being privy to Sakura's and Shinobu's conversation? That was the most egregious part. I'm not talking about a full convo with tears, crying, blaming and a passionate sex scene spanning two chapters...

Shi: "So well be working again! Let's discuss the.."
Kura: "Shinobu... I didn't know... I though..."
Shi: "I know... We're here now. Let's make a great movie."
Kura: "Yes... let's."

Not satisfying, but at least not left in a stupid vacuum.
The last panels can mean a lot but it's the kind of openness that ignores the motivation of most (I believe) Grapara readers. In my opinion most of us wanted to see Shinobu and Sakura's situation resolved. After all they went through, what do they mean to each other, do they become lovers again? Do they live separate lives but will always remain partners? Are they happy now?
And that is left, not even open, but vague. For me there's a difference between an open ending (where there are arguments conveyed by the story that can point to different outcomes) and a vague ending (where nothing of substance is shown).

This is more than just time. Is the author only wanting the vibes and not the buildup.

(oof, i just got a little bit ahead of myself here. I guess i miss those weeks of dissecting Grapara with this bunch)

All of this couldn't be done because of a combination of Airi's inability to envision such normal conversations and the the axing. We only get a few pages more after Fumi and Sakura met, and the final chapter was only afforded an average page count.

Now the "bonus" could patch some this but that would only serve as a bit of goodwill towards readers and Kodansha, but on the flipside if Airi convinces the higher ups to let her do a specific bonus, because she assures them it'll generate way more sale, well that could also be seen as goodwill towards some readers and Kodansha in the end.

Funnily enough the lack of emotional payoff and satisfaction was also maybe due to Airi's odd idea that Shinobu bringing back out the pen, and Sakura walking around years later with Shinobu's necklace were enough to show that they still held onto something for one another after all this time, but it didn't land very well for many. As for the "substance" to the ending, it was the double edged moment of the handholding between the two where NTR bros will see it as a classic moment common in NTRs (and it is), but for copey suckers like me I could also view it as their moment of reconnecting and Shinobu forgiving Sakura because in the end he's still just that down bad for her (I mean look at when he saw the actress the producer was suggesting for this role).

 

[box2024]

Hey anybody know what's going on in wife's secret account?

 

[Wyrm666]

Hey anybody know what's going on in wife's secret account?

Close to the end... Rika was finally confronted and it's not going exactly as she planned. Still not clear if the burger has meat or not.