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Cake day: November 12th, 2023

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  • I can’t tell if she’s a romantic or a realist either.

    I’m thinking there’s a key to Chokki-chan’s appeal there. Somehow her world is both fantastical and mundane.

    She’s not a chuunibyou - it’s not that she fantasizes about a fantastical life. It’s more that she recognizes her very mundane life for what it is, but sees wonder in it anyway.

    There might be an existentialist lesson to be drawn there…









  • It’s doubly a shame too, since it could’ve been done pretty well.

    Having Reona step in to handle the beatdown is actually a pretty good idea, since she’s been shown to be at worst only barely short of Kazuhana in ability, and she’s been so eager for an opportunity to prove herself, so it’s pretty much a perfect chance for her. And with a bit of narrative framing, that could’ve been made satisfying. But instead it just came out of nowhere.

    And yeah - it really looked like they were setting up an opportunity for the stuco prez to shine, then just missed it entirely.

    There’s another unfortunate missed opportunity in the chapter too, and again it seems as if the author went out of his way to introduce it, then just didn’t do anything with it - Kazuhana’s mom showing up just in time to hear those guys say the dojo is a yakuza front. There then should’ve been a scene of her confronting them. That would’ve been the final indignity - even getting dominated by, or better yet getting their asses whooped by, Kazuhana’s mom.

    Broadly, I wonder what the deal is with this manga. It’s not just that it’s gotten lazy, which would almost be better. Instead it’s almost as if the author is trying and is setting up something interesting, then suddenly switches to lazy right at the last moment. Instead of just not going anywhere, it looks for all the world like it’s going to… then doesn’t.





  • And with a dash of Made in Abyss too.

    This mangaka did an earlier series called Kyoukai Senjou no Limbo that was very good but sort of flew under the radar and ended up prematurely axed. This one thankfully got enough interest to keep going.

    He has an unusual talent for blending fluff and drama, so the story is sort of alternately cute and harrowing, and neatly balanced. And there are a bunch of intriguing mysteries surrounding this world and Yakone’s place in it that have slowly been revealed.

    I actually thought the series was winding down over the last few months - there have been some momentous events and answers to some very central questions - but with this most recent chapter, it looks more like it’s going to instead go into another entire arc. Which is fine by me.


  • The biggest event for me last week, by far, was getting a new chapter of Food Court de, Mata Ashita (See You Tomorrow at the Food Court).

    It was originally self-published, and then the author got a serialization deal but for whatever reason, it then went on a sort of hiatus. Now, apparently, it’s finally starting back up. And it’s easily in my top five all-time favorites, so I’m thrilled.

    It’s a deceptively simple premise: Wada and Yamamoto came to be friends late in their time together in middle school, only to discover that they were going to different high schools. Wanting to keep their friendship going, they agree to meet at a centrally-located food court every day on the way home from school, where they talk and catch up.

    It’s brought to life by their very unique personalities and the way they play off of each other.

    Part of the reason they’re so dependent on each other is that they’re the only ones who really know that the other is entirely different from who the rest of the world thinks they are. Yamamoto looks like a gyaru and is very reserved, so people think she’s mean and scary. She’s actually extremely intelligent and observant and compassionate, and with a wonderfully dry sense of humor. And Wada looks like a quiet, studious, reserved ojou-sama, and she’s actually a loud, brash and moody self-proclaimed menhera. They keep up their deceptive appearances at school, and it’s only with each other that they can relax and really be themselves.

    And their conversations and interactions are wonderful and hilarious. And I’m so happy that it’s back.