Shouwaru Tensai Osananajimi to no Shoubu ni Makete Hatsutaiken o Zenbu Ubawareru Hanashi - Vol. 1 Ch. 5

[GuerillaBae]

Having an incredibly closeted, homoerotic rivalry is just a canon event tbh

Jokes aside I started this without expecting much in the way of actual character study, and i was content to just enjoy the childhood friends-rivals-lovers beat. I did NOT expect an accurate portrayal of the confusion, angst and sense of going literally insane that happens when the misidentified passion of "I want to beat you/I hate you" starts to blur with same sex attraction.

From the moment we got the boyfriend flashback we knew Komaki was basically Hotaru from Netsuzou Trap - helplessly in love with her best friend and lost in the ugly and possessive side of it. The way she describes love is actually almost word for word how Hotaru does - something that makes you want to control and own everything about the other person, something that makes you feel crazy.

And then wanting to "save" the person she "hates" from a life of loneliness on a pedestal, to reminding Komaki that she's only human, our MC is rationalizing literally everything but her actual feelings lmao.

This honestly because one of my current favorites just because of that combination of character dynamic + character study, all rolled into one of the most dramatic "girls what are you doingggg just talk 😭" stories I've picked up to date. Genuinely didn't expect to love this so much

 

[Jkc121302]

Wakaba stay trying to act like she don't like that shit. What a tsundere

 

[NIPHY]

Did she forgot umezono literally confessed to her from previous chapter?

Although ngl I even question the author for making wakaba to small... like umezono looked like she's kissing a kid on pg 10 lol

 

[wlftchtr82]

If she says you have the body of a kid, call her a lolicon. You'll win for the first time.

 

[weleasewodger]

They're just 2 black holes
Swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year

 

[zazakmazak]

They just have a unique love language going on between each other.


LN author couldn't let go of the useless lesbian trope, but wanted some action from the get-go, so this is the justification, can't hate em for it, it's great, totally my kind of thing

 

[deathpigeon]

Did she forgot umezono literally confessed to her from previous chapter?

She wants to.

 

[A-Dashing-Rogue]

Having an incredibly closeted, homoerotic rivalry is just a canon event tbh

Jokes aside I started this without expecting much in the way of actual character study, and i was content to just enjoy the childhood friends-rivals-lovers beat. I did NOT expect an accurate portrayal of the confusion, angst and sense of going literally insane that happens when the misidentified passion of "I want to beat you/I hate you" starts to blur with same sex attraction.

From the moment we got the boyfriend flashback we knew Komaki was basically Hotaru from Netsuzou Trap - helplessly in love with her best friend and lost in the ugly and possessive side of it. The way she describes love is actually almost word for word how Hotaru does - something that makes you want to control and own everything about the other person, something that makes you feel crazy.

And then wanting to "save" the person she "hates" from a life of loneliness on a pedestal, to reminding Komaki that she's only human, our MC is rationalizing literally everything but her actual feelings lmao.

This honestly because one of my current favorites just because of that combination of character dynamic + character study, all rolled into one of the most dramatic "girls what are you doingggg just talk 😭" stories I've picked up to date. Genuinely didn't expect to love this so much

That's a very good analysis; it's been a while since I read Netsuzou Trap, and I didn't even think about the connection.

Gotta say that I started this just because, but now I am intrigued to see where the story goes.

 

[Manko-sensei]

Did she forgot umezono literally confessed to her from previous chapter?

Although ngl I even question the author for making wakaba to small... like umezono looked like she's kissing a kid on pg 10 lol

Remember, if she weren't dense they would be dating already. And being small is just so she can carry her, because small things are cuter. Yuri confirms it.

 

[recklessribbon]

Thanks for the translation!

 

[Yuri_Enjoyer_Deluxe]

I have a hunch she doesnt hate her as much as she thinks, just a hunch.

They always say the opposite of love is not hate, but I get the feeling it aint looking too dissimilar now.

 

[Kamui]

Wakaba is so deep in denial that her own body has to act on her deep seated feelings on its own. Man, I love useless lesbians hahahaha

 

[BlackElite]

Well, all that matters is that she's always reside in your brain. No matter if it's love or hate, as long as she's living rent-free inside your head, you'll be bound to her. Flipping extreme hate to love is easier than accepting your feelings. Since this hatred is fueled by ego...

 

[GreenOwlRanger]

Y'know... this tsundere romance could do without the rapey parts. No matter how you cut it, it's not okay.

Anyway, still hate that "perfect at everything" trope mangas do so often. It just boils my piss. No one is like that. No one. Humans as a species are min-maxed monsters. "I'm the head of class, but I'm also naturally gifted at sports even though I never practice!"

Yukino in Romantic Comedy SNAFU and Haruhi of her own series are good subversions. The first is only pretty good at most things, but she has no physical and mental stamina, and the other is kind of a wacko nutjob, and sucks at everything she actually likes. Those are so much more interesting.

All this serves in this is making Wakaba feel like the lesser, add to that the poor portrayal of their relationship. IRL, a couple like that would never last past high school if actual communication of feelings is established.

 

[Hyacyon]

cue "toxic" by kehlani

damn, this is so messed up that it's a great series lol. not trying to bring reality into non-fiction, but if your relationship is like this, it ain't gonna work. but as a series? oh. it's great.

edit: kinda responding to the person above me, but I think the author kinda knows not to step too far out of line. it's why we get so much of Wakaba's internal thought process on what would happen if Umezono tries to go too far with her advances/requests. basically, I feel like we're getting set for if it happens, it will be because Wakaba will consent with it (albeit it'll be all in her head and probably nonverbal. it'll be confusing for readers maybe, but what I'm getting is that Wakaba is mutually obsessed with Umezono with her white knight/savior complex/guilt because there's definitely affection for Umezono. Whether that's romantic/sexual etc, is kinda blurry tbh.)

 

[shittycoolusername69]

Y'know... this tsundere romance could do without the rapey parts. No matter how you cut it, it's not okay.

Anyway, still hate that "perfect at everything" trope mangas do so often. It just boils my piss. No one is like that. No one. Humans as a species are min-maxed monsters. "I'm the head of class, but I'm also naturally gifted at sports even though I never practice!"

Yukino in Romantic Comedy SNAFU and Haruhi of her own series are good subversions. The first is only pretty good at most things, but she has no physical and mental stamina, and the other is kind of a wacko nutjob, and sucks at everything she actually likes. Those are so much more interesting.

All this serves in this is making Wakaba feel like the lesser, add to that the poor portrayal of their relationship. IRL, a couple like that would never last past high school if actual communication of feelings is established.

It's funny when some people read a yuri work, and turn their nose up when it displays sensibilities and priorities that are otherwise typical of romance for girls and women. Those sensibilties and priorities are not 'good', but a lot of readers seem to harshly scrutinize yuri works that are similar to e.g. shoujo romance, due to a poor understanding of yuri's evolution as a genre, and a sort of passive assumption that it's meant to satisfy male readers first and foremost.

I find it odd to lament that Komaki Umezono is not like a kuudere waifu or a manic pixie dream girl for straight boys. Like, it makes way more sense to analyze her in the context of creepy love interests in yuri: e.g. Mei from Citrus and Hotaru from Netsuzou TRap. Her almost supernatural ability to be better than Wakaba at so many things, combined with her possessive behavior, is meant to make her unnerving and frustrating.

That this is a "tsundere romance" that was accidentally contaminated with "rapey parts" is a misunderstanding. Wakaba is not a character who responds with anger when approached in an innocuous way. She responds with the appropriate amount of frustration to her rival's attempts at provoking her and pushing past her boundaries. And while Wakaba does not understand her own or Komaki's true feelings, Komaki has also convinced herself that Wakaba could never love her, and that she is just too stubborn to abandon their rivalry. Komaki trying to take whatever she can from Wakaba before the latter finally pushes her away, and Wakaba risking her own boundaries to prove Komaki wrong, is the very core of this story.

Your criticisms otherwise boil down to this story failing to be realistic or a healthy/wholesome type of yuri. Which would make sense if it was trying to be either of those things, but that's obviously not the case.

 

[Roodypatooti]

Y'know, if Komaki was just a little less cruel with how she expresses her affection, then I think she would've won Wakaba's heart in full a long time ago.

 

[deathpigeon]

Y'know, if Komaki was just a little less cruel with how she expresses her affection, then I think she would've won Wakaba's heart in full a long time ago.

Yes, but that would require her to be significantly more mentally stable than she is.

 

[HimemoriLuna]

When gex?

Say gex incoming

 

[arcosapphire]

i don’t know what was on author head when they wrote thous two cuz it looks like Komaki has some type of mental issue with the way she acts, this is not some tsundere or something like that! not normal way of acting unless she has something wrong with her head!

I mean, obviously? These are two characters with serious internal issues they are working through. And slowly, because they don't have the professional help they need.

That doesn't make it a stupid story.