google translate can be pretty good nowadays, though sometimes it mixed sentences up and create nonsense, so I use DeepL alongside it to check for any mistakes.
I'm torn about this... on one hand, I fucking love "childhood friends" trope, but on the other hand, I've never been a fan of these "rivals to lovers", "games/challenges that are actually just sexual harassments" things and characters who are "perfect" or act holier than thou...
I probably will put this off for now and wait until it has more chapters.
and dear good lord this thing is just toxic relationship: 101. Long story short this is the classic "bully someone you like so that they will get mad at you" taken to the max.
I will leave a quick spoiler of the entire novel below, for anyone who might want or need it. I read it with MTL so I might get something wrong or forget some details btw.
Plot summary: So the "perfect" Komaki is in love with Wakaba, ever since who-knows-when. In junior high, Wabaka had a crush on a Senpai, and Komaki decided to "steal"/date that Senpai so that Wakaba will hate her (basically Komaki's logic was: if Wakaba won't like/love me romantically, I will make her hate/resent me so that she will remember me for the rest of her life). (Komaki quickly broke up with/discarded the Senpai tho. Poor Senpai, being hurt for no reason.)
Wakaba was rightfully confused and hurt, and hated Komaki so she decided to challenge her and lost so she lost her dignity to Komaki. Since then she continuously challenged Komaki to regain her dignity (but she never wins because why would she ever win, she needs to lose so that we can have all the sexual harassments duh!).
Then Komaki confessed that she actually likes Wakaba, so Wakaba was even more confused. And then after some soul-searching chapters she thinks she like Komaki too so she agrees to dating her and that's the end.
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Now, the thing is, Komaki's action alone makes this toxic relationship: 101, but there's more! The really toxic part of this is how the author basically just forces Wakaba to like Komaki. From around chapter 28 to 32, Wakaba was doing a lot of thinking about how her relationship with Komaki. And here's what she constantly thought:
"If I suddenly can't see Komaki tomorrow, maybe I'll be fine. Komaki will always be in my heart, but I don't think it's that I don't want to be separated.
It's okay to be next to you, but it's okay not to be next to you. I think that's what Komaki is like to me.
After all, I don't think it's possible to like her in a romantic sense. But I couldn't share my feelings for Komaki and Rin together. If you ask me what the hell it is, I can only say that I don't know." - chapter 31
"Even I don't know why I came to like Komaki. I just wanted to be with her for a long time, and before I knew it, I wanted to see her smile and want her to be happy.
...., but I don't think it's the same as the liking that Komaki has towards me." - chapter 31
"Even if you kiss or do more than that, there is no resistance anymore. But I didn't think we could be lovers." - chapter 32
And somehow, despite thinking all that, in chapter 33 Wakaba agreed to date Komaki?????? Like, it could be that the MTL fucked things up and I'm not understanding the story fully, but from what I understand, Wakaba just regards Komaki as a close friend whom she really likes, but it's not romantical love!!! I was rooting so fucking hard for Wakaba to not end up with Komaki because that whole relationship is a red flag, but fuck me I guess.
Thanks for the warning, "toxic"/dark psychological subgenre in yuri manga kills me inside. If I wanted to be more depressed, I wouldn't be reading girls kissy manga.
