The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All - Ch. 68 - We, on the Waiting Side

[ariel_haymarket]

Holy smokes, some of y'all just want the yuri fluff and tropes when the author was writing two teenagers who happened to like the same music and hit it off. Of course this story's going to be a slow burn - it's a twitter comic.

I'm with Thrembs in that this story is sticking less heavily to the original title and premise and is looking into a more organic growth of the plot that is based on realistic situations and thinking. I'm a school teacher and I have to remind folks, including admins, that teenagers are neither babies nor little adults, and they are trying to make sense of a lot of new circumstances. There's a reason teen angst is a trope.

While it's easy to sort this into girl's love or yuri, this and more serious queer works get more heavily nuanced with the content so that a simple tagging system as Mangadex has (or sites like nhentai with their more involved tag set) can fail to properly describe what's going on. We want simple labels for our favorite content because we don't like nuance and we want something that can be more readily marketable. The problem is that ... well, we have to remember the tropes BL and GL can be rife with, and other than a few bits and pieces, "The Guy She Was Interested In" doesn't really fit into our experience with GL.

While there is the point to be made that the two leads (and Koga's uncle and friends and ex) are rather quick to be okay with two girls dating each other, bear in mind that Koga's uncle is a punk, and you can't be punk if you're transphobic and/or homophobic.

In short - some of y'all want a magical resolution to the story and it shows.
The folks needing to poorly react need to assess their library and why they have what they have in there.

 

[outinthegardener]

...I am legitimately flabbergasted people have this opinion that its not romance.

Its like if someone were to tell me One Piece has no pirates or Naruto has no ninjas.

I am just honestly confused as all hell right now.

---

Again though, I AM Aroace so maybe...I just really dont get this? Do you need to want to instantly get into someones pants for people to view it as romance? To me thats just lust which isnt the same thing...

Plus they are...still young dont forget...

I'm aroace too, but it took me a long time to learn that was an option. The normative stance was that everyone was looking for a soulmate, you'd start dating in middle/high school, have sex by college, figure out your life goals and get married, etc. A lot of my exploration of relationships was finding a common interest (music) and trying to define my romantic feelings with those described in songs. It was very much me trying to shoehorn my expectations for what romantic feelings should be into what my actual feelings were. It was unrealistic to try and fit all my feelings in a mixtape, and not develop authentic romantic feelings.

That all said I agree with AccForManga that the "shift" in this story is from superficial attraction to deeper knowing of another person. Koga is a person who puts up walls and has a hard time relating to others, and Aya is slowly figuring out those walls. What at first was a spark over their common interest in music is becoming the more difficult journey of figuring out another person, and learning the boundaries of how you relate to that person. Aya is the extrovert so she's the primary instigator of pulling Koga the introvert out of her shell.

I won't say how they'll resolve it (that's up to the author to show us). But I do find it fascinating to see it unravel because I'm aroace and I don't understand why people do relationships in the first place. One of the things I like so much about this story is how winding and unclear the path they're taking is. I think that's true to life, especially for awkward teens who are figuring it out for the first time. It's way better than formulaic teen romances where they confess and time skip to the wedding, as if confession were the hardest part and final hurdle.

 

[wlftchtr82]

The Koga family (past and future) girlfriends are having a ✨bonding moment✨

 

[Mangamoz]

So much hostility in these comments Jesus Christ.

If you can't find joy from a simple fluffy romcom why even bother coming here?

 

[Hicleric]

Just gonna leave a comment specific to the chapter:

There is never going to be a correct answer to that question

 

[cranscape]

I don't get how people could miss Koga literally going weak in the knees flirting with a girl on the phone, prolonging a misunderstanding she was fully aware of and continuing to flirt and enjoy it, singing for her at the festival despite her social fears, letting her into her life like no other, all the way to finding out she was shooting for college and trying to follow her there despite how difficult it was for her, buying everyone a stupid souvenir so she could sneak her a special one, being profoundly moved by a terrible Joan Jett cover, sharing earbuds to an unsanitary degree... and think she's shown no feelings so far in the manga?

Koga has a lot of love hang ups likely based on whatever happened to her parents and how she saw Joe give up so much for her. She's seen Joe and Kanna not work out (so far) despite loving each other. She uses music to filter her feelings and in the midsts of desperately trying to study and stay beside Aya she got sucked into the music. It's all tied together more like a muse situation to me and I can see things intersecting with that prerelease concert art someday soon. I'm not worried about the romance side of it as some, but then again I apparently see more romance than everyone to begin with. Which confuses me, but whatever.

 

[luigiymario2]

Oh my, she's probing a bit to see if she'd wait for her crush owo

 

[Seether00]

So lesson is not to get in a relationship with musicians.

 

[TanyaTheEvil]

Thanks for the translation

 

[SrNevik]

Holy smokes, some of y'all just want the yuri fluff and tropes when the author was writing two teenagers who happened to like the same music and hit it off. Of course this story's going to be a slow burn - it's a twitter comic.

I'm with Thrembs in that this story is sticking less heavily to the original title and premise and is looking into a more organic growth of the plot that is based on realistic situations and thinking. I'm a school teacher and I have to remind folks, including admins, that teenagers are neither babies nor little adults, and they are trying to make sense of a lot of new circumstances. There's a reason teen angst is a trope.

While it's easy to sort this into girl's love or yuri, this and more serious queer works get more heavily nuanced with the content so that a simple tagging system as Mangadex has (or sites like nhentai with their more involved tag set) can fail to properly describe what's going on. We want simple labels for our favorite content because we don't like nuance and we want something that can be more readily marketable. The problem is that ... well, we have to remember the tropes BL and GL can be rife with, and other than a few bits and pieces, "The Guy She Was Interested In" doesn't really fit into our experience with GL.

While there is the point to be made that the two leads (and Koga's uncle and friends and ex) are rather quick to be okay with two girls dating each other, bear in mind that Koga's uncle is a punk, and you can't be punk if you're transphobic and/or homophobic.

In short - some of y'all want a magical resolution to the story and it shows.
The folks needing to poorly react need to assess their library and why they have what they have in there.

I don't think this responds to all of the comments on the issue or the main discussion (at least the points I made). I don't remember the discussion really being about the title's label either. That sort of came up later.

Anyway for those who are running up against the medium, it will all likely read better if you let some chapters go and read them all at once.

 

[Akaishishi]

Your English is excellent.

out of random curiosity, what is your first language?
I‘m obsessed with linguistics. Only fluent in two but I got an understanding of a few more.

Hey thank you!

Mother language is Turkish but I was born and live in France so both !

 

[LilithRaven]

I dont know if ive ever disagreed with something more.

They are so extremely clearly gay for each other its crazy you dont see it. Its really not subtle, they are just teenagers and are not ready to confess.

that is such a exageration of the story porgression! i don’t agree with Jakist but the supposed romance is not there at all! they are bearly friends and one of them is thinking of caring more about the other but NO WERE near the level of romantic feelings actualy being in this story, especialy the other girl that we got no idea if she even thinks of her friend as an potential lover

 

[LilithRaven]

I really dont think it shifted at all. It just evolved into something more healthy.

Progression is not the same as shifting.

at this point you are just delusional, i love yuri but this does not focus on the romance only SOME REALLY small moments when they seem to care “more” about the other in an sense that DOES NOT break the friendship boundary! like UGHHH i get it teen drama and all of that but we GOT NO progress on their romance!

 

[LilithRaven]

"Evolving," or "shifting." The wording isn't really important. Earlier the series was more primarily and typically romance focused, with a focus on the crush, revealing the crush, thinking about the crush etc. An audience member might have a set of expectations for how the story would progress from there.

As time has passed, it has  evolved into a story more about the appreciation of music and how those girls revolve around it. It's still a romantic story, but it's no longer the primary focus of the typical chapter. You'll go many more chapters now without more than a hint to the romance (which can be fine).

I could see someone losing interest if they do not care much for music or the slow burn romance happening behind the music stuff. They may not have expected it to as much of a slow burn as it has turned out to be, for example. I still read it and enjoy it but I enjoyed it a bit more earlier on.

YESS some one gets it!!! but i guess i feel more annoyied by the shift in the story T^T the music thingy is OK but not the reason i started to read this :/ and at this point the story is just an 3 sec read for me and I move on because there is still not much progress.

 

[gearoi92]

It’s a queer romance written by a queer person inspired about her discovering she was queer.

Yuri is a genre made of specific tropes, which I have told you before.

Who are you even

 

[gearoi92]

That person thinks yuri is above criticism because “2D and 3D are different”, loves loli, and is homophobic.

How about you stop slandering me here with what YOU deem homophobic. Again, who are you even??

 

[Ikerot]

what is happening in this comment section

 

[Theozilla]

I don't see how this still isn't romance? Like if this series was actually between a male and female lead, no one would be denying that a high school romance story was being portrayed? Like this very chapter is about contrasting the two leads' current developing relationship with the past romantic relationship the uncle was in.
Just because the content of the series isn't solely about "romance" (as in there are other things explored than just the two leads eventually hooking up and dating) doesn't mean the primary story isn't still a romance story.

 

[Jackist]

I don't agree with all of this, or the dropping of yuri stuff you said but the series has shifted it's tone and focus, so I can understand that. The format also does make events move at a slower pace, so if you're not into the slow slow burn, coupled with the shift in focus, yeah it might drag for you now.

It's not nearly as bad as "My Dress Up Darling"

Because that was when she didnt really know her and it was just an infatuation of a pretty store employee. It was a shallow thing for the most part.

As she found out more about her, besides just that Koga is actually a girl, she formed a real crush/fell in love and that made it much harder to just come out and confess.

I mean I'd assume its far more easy to admit having an infatuation with some random pretty person that openly admitting it to literally the person sitting next to you in classes that you actually know and formed an actual relationship with.

Its clear she is in love though, its not...a secret.

"with the only intention being romantic."

Which...is a bad thing. Its GOOD that its now more about the person she likes and getting to know her as a person than just romance-only focused. Its a big difference thats far more healthy.

“the only intention being romantic” is a bad thing???????????????????????????????????

I’m sorry do you become friends with everyone you date before you date them? That’s fucking madness. If people had to become close friends before dating, no one would go on a date. It’s not predatory to want to date someone you find attractive Jesus Christ

 

[AccForManga]

“the only intention being romantic” is a bad thing???????????????????????????????????

I’m sorry do you become friends with everyone you date before you date them? That’s fucking madness. If people had to become close friends before dating, no one would go on a date. It’s not predatory to want to date someone you find attractive Jesus Christ

I fundamentally dont understand not at least getting to know someone first at a bare minimum before seriously dating.

I cant wrap my brain on people only seeing someones appearance and that be enough of a reason to be infatuated. Can that be a start of an interest? Yeah, I never said it cant, but for that to be it? For that to be enough? I just dont get that at all. It makes little to no sense to me. It feels shallow.

(I never said anything about needing to be close friends or...it being predatory(???) though. You are taking it to extremes that I never meant)

----

But like I said in a previous comment, I fully admit I might just not get any of this because of how I am. But I can only see things how I see them.