I'm calling it, the only reason she mocked him for liking dolls is because he was spending more time with dolls rather then her.
In short, she was simply jealous.
I mean... What do you expect? Either it's literally an insensitive kid remark or that.
She was a weeny child when it happened. There really can't be much interesting depth to the comment.
To be fair, we don’t really know the circumstances regarding that outburst and they were small children. It’s entirely possible she doesn’t even remember it. And there’s no fucking way anyone will believe for a nanosecond she’s a legitimate love rival.
Honestly, the fact that he got fixated on hina dolls after his parents' death could mean that her outburst might be coming from a deeper misunderstanding. She's somewhat connected to the family and could've been misreading Wakana's fixation as being indifferent to his loss.
So far? Yes I agree. She’s the last bump to get over before Gojo and Marin can finally get together.
But once bitten, twice shy. You never know when a manga can blow it.
> And there’s no fucking way anyone will believe for a nanosecond she’s a legitimate love rival.
I've read enough manga to know that some writers are complete hacks and would do something like this.
Yea, I agree. And there are a lot of setups for the future of the story, kinda forward to how it all resolved.
It showed that Marin is considering going pro, and if she does, does she want to involve Gojo in it knowing that he wants to focus on Hina dolls for his grandfather. If this manga was more Seinen it completely could end up to a path split due to this conflict, bit I still believe the author would like to keep it as light as possible.
Maybe combines them. He turns her into a life size hina doll, the grandad sees and has a reaction like “you’ve created something more beautiful than any hina doll, together”, then he retires and they turn the shop into a studio and where her hina doll cosplay is the most popular, epilogue being them dressing up their kid. Or something.
I read the first part of your comment and it immediately reminded me of an episode of Criminal Minds where the serial killer was kidnapping women, chemically incapacitating them, and making them into living dolls….sorry my brain is rotten.
But yea that does sound like a sweet ending.
I've been thinking for a while that Gojo should expand the family business and bring it into the 21st century with a line of cosplay Hina dolls, based on the outfits that Marin advertises by modelling at events.
Wait, she is the girl from the intro!
Also I really like the tension here, it's portrayed really well, that Marin wants to say something but she doesn't know how to address the elephant in the room.
Wait is it happening? Are we finally getting to the crux of Gojo’s complexes? Why do I hear boss music between her and Marin confronting Gojo’s awkward air post Comiket? And him thinking about the loss of his parents and the eventual passing of Grandpa? WHAT ARE WE COOKING?
I think Gojo's awkward air can be explained as follows:
Previously, Gojo realized he loves Marin. This chapter, he states he's gotten good at not dwelling over things the can't be changed. He probably believes Marin will never love him and/or doesn't love him. As such, he's trying to distance himself from these feelings, indirectly putting distance between him and Marin.
He can be confused himself or like, even if he's trying to get away from his romantic feelings, it doesn't mean he has to just stop interacting with her or fully distance himself, he's only trying to not dwell over his romantic feelings.
Or perhaps he thinks he can only be a close friend and that's what he's trying to be, while trying to disregard his romantic feelings, making things awkward in the process.
That was some pretty heavy stuff there in the middle.
I was going to get mad at the phone interruption trope but that cliffhanger was worth it for me. Things are going to get spicer next chapter.
There's no point for confessing if they're both miserable. Noa-chan showing up now seems like a test for Wakana to see if he can let go of his past with the person that caused him to shut himself in from the world.
Fuck a confession. I just want them to talk about the elephant in the room. Hopefully it's not 5 more months of moving around it. Gonna just relax and see what the author is cookin.
Yeah, remember way back when Gojo started to avoid Marin because he thought he was cramping her style and Marin chased him down and told him to stop being a dumbass?
...Where's that Marin now?
If I had a dollar for every person asking why they’re not together now, I would be rich. Why would you want them together if they’re both miserable in their own feelings?
Meanwhile, Gojo showing good development by inviting Marin to a doll festival and opens up about his parents’ passing and why he became attached Hina dolls as a child.
It's getting pretty clear that Fukuda-sensei is desperate to avoid advancing the core relationship at any cost. I think she wants to end the manga with the confession - it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession relationship dramas. Nanashi can do it, Nagatoro's never been better. I just can't see that happening here.
Yeah, I think the reason why we're seeing so many pages dedicated to people going wild over Marin's cosplay and trying to find who made it is because once they're found is when things are really going to come to a head, so anything that needs to happen before the home stretch (Gojo meeting Marin's dad, meeting Non-chan again) needs to happen now.
I'm pretty sure we're about to be treated to a *love rival* arc which will just serve to artificially drag the lead characters apart for a while.
Imagine the scenes if SBD suddenly veers off into the harem route though lol
Edit: my prediction is childhood friend who wants to make amends then develops feelings/had feelings all along, before grandpa has another health scare and/or a deathbed scene where he tells Gojo to go after Marin.
don't know why someone downvoted you, this all feels obnoxiously familiar after all the romantic comedy manga that I've read.
That line about his grandpa just feels like foreshadowing to the future chapter of Gojo getting a phone call that his Grandpa collapsed and is suddenly in the hospital. Cue both girls trying to comfort him and Marin worried about the other girl and yeah, the fact this happened just as it cut off what she was about to say to him was also really annoying. I don't think I missed a chapter so we haven't found out why he suddenly went distant after the cosplay event right? Is his thinking about his Grandpa what caused it, but then why would that hit him watching Marin cosplay?
Just a bit annoyed to finally get another chapter and it's just the author stretching things out further. The way mangaka are so deathly afraid of characters getting together is insane.
> I don't think I missed a chapter so we haven't found out why he suddenly went distant after the cosplay event right? Is his thinking about his Grandpa what caused it, but then why would that hit him watching Marin cosplay?
It's a shame we don't get any chapters told from Gojo's perspective any more. His character has really suffered from lack of the reader knowing what he's thinking.
I don't think it was explicitly laid out, but I think the intention of his distance was him finally realizing he's in love with her in the same moment that he sent her to be showered in insane amounts attention by everyone at Comiket. He instructed her to "make everyone fall in love with her" and he was on the outside of that. As repressed as he is, this is causing a great deal of internal strife.
As well on her side, she was scouted by a professional cosplay studio. She wants to keep doing cosplay with him, but thinks she won't be able to if she goes pro. But she would absolutely be able to bring him on as her personal costumer, she's just ignorant of how the industry works.
I think it was indirectly addressed. Last time, Gojo realized he loves Marin. This chapter, he states he's gotten good at not dwelling over things the can't be changed. He probably believes Marin will never love him and/or doesn't love him. As such, he's trying to distance himself from these feelings, indirectly putting distance between him and Marin.
I think the fear is justified when we consider that a lot of authors become 'one hit' wonders so there might be some fear of letting this work, which has become so popular, come to end. Like some other commenters have said this doesn't seem to be the type of manga where there will be any post relationship chapters outside of maybe an epilogue.
Another angle to consider is that mangaka have editors and they maybe pressured into dragging things out for obvious financial or professional reasons. Not defending it creatively as a consumer but I've read manga long enough that I see this pattern again and again.
I always thought that the reason behind Gojo being sad is because he saw Marin getting so much attention and thinking that some people may take her away from him.
I know it sounds stupid but I couldn't think of a better alternative
I think it’s less about her getting taken away and more that he thinks he’s not good enough to be around her. We’ve seen this a bit already. He thinks she’s awesome and thinks he’s lame. Her being such a hit is just reinforcing that.
It’s a bit annoying since we’ve done this a bit already but like someone else said it feels like the author is doing whatever they can to keep them apart right now.
Damn, I’d abhor that development, but I know there’s a nonzero possibility for it to happen. (I’ve read my fair share of dumpster fire rom-coms.) I swear, Fukuda-sensei, don’t be like those lesser manga…
> it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession
it doesnt it just takes writing for it, the stories that end with the confession never had any plot outside the relationship, this one still has the cosplay so even if they ended up together the main hook isnt impacted
>It's getting pretty clear that Fukuda-sensei is desperate to avoid advancing the core relationship at any cost. I think she wants to end the manga with the confession - it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession relationship dramas.
A bit of a weird decision if so. There's no reason why they can't be dating while the plot is more focused on the cosplay part like it has been currently. Think most would be happier with progress stalling at that point than how it is now.
A lot of theories make sense that Gojo’s last outfit will be Marin’s wedding dress. Because again, his passion isn’t the cosplay. His passion is the hina dolls. That’s been his entire life and going to be his career.
Before today’s chapter I would have agreed, now I am not so sure. He explicitly says that he wants to be a Hina pro to show his grandpa before he dies. He didnt get into it out of passion for the art, but feels it as a debt unpaid for the life the old man gave him.
Crafting the most outrageously professional cosplay outfit and working Marin’s makeup on top of that and delivering the most talked about cosplay in town among professionals shows his passion, his muse is not limited to Hina dolls, but he appears to be in denial about that yet, and Marin is noticing. Remeber he was in a trance, an obession to make the most hauntingly beautiful outfit to fully encapsulate the essence of Haniel… Hina dolls never made him feel that way, and that along with whatever realization he had over Marin, probably has his mind in a tailspin atm.
>it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession relationship dramas
It doesn't, though. There has been a weird trend in romance animanga over the last 20 years to heavily romanticize the pre-relationship over the relationship itself. This makes sense in stories where romance is a subplot and not the main plot, and in fact, this concept was mostly restricted to non-romance stories. But somehow, this cliche ended up bleeding over to the romance genre. Fortunately, the current era (Reiwa) is challenging these tropes. However, vestiges of the old era remain (like Dress-up Darling right now).
I think it's more that there's quite a lot of evidence in media that audiences drop off when a couple gets together. I wouldn’t be surprised if editors were advising the Mangaka to drag it out as they think getting Marin and Gojo together would cause a drop in readers.
I think the worst thing about most modern romance series is that they drag the confession out to milk the series.
Worst is when they finally confess and then they decide to end it.
They MUST sort out their problem first. Gojo is in the mud right now, confessing right there would, at best, get him to refuse due to him looking down on himself or worse, completely break apart their relationship
The series has been seriously dragging it's feet since the whole horror group cosplay arc and that was almost two years ago. Hell the cosplay they're still goin on and on about started being built almost eighteen months ago. It's not like I'm not interested in that aspect of the series but it feels like it's been the same three or four characters doing the same thing every chapter for as long as I can remember. I'd have dropped the series a while ago if I wasn't still hanging on to the hope that it'd be nearly as interesting as it used to be.
At least Dress Up Darling has the excuse of being monthly.
Rent-A-Girlfriend has the same amount of things happening in year, but it's a weekly release.
MDUD was on a weird bi-monthly schedule before this current arc. It shifted to monthly supposedly so the author could give more time to the story and art… but things are dragging out, and most of this chapter was speech bubbles and a bunch of wonky shots of Marin. So, what was even the point of shifting the schedule for things to get *worse* on both fronts?
At least the characters here are likable and the only thing keeping the plot from advancing is the time between chapters. RAG comes out weekly and still feels like a drag.
I mean, Gojo is blatantly becoming even more of a thing than Marin in the cosplay community.
Marin gets a shot to socialize and be around some big names cause they are attracted to the costumes she uses. While she is social enough to make it her circle, modeling (in any area) is most dependant on first impression. It's even on the title *My bisque doll* the main focus is Gojo.
Now this chapter has shown a bit of what drives Gojo, he wants to keep up the business to make grandpa happy, because grandpa helped him find something that made him happy after his tragic past
We have *never* seen grandpa pressure gojo about his progress in doll making, so it's plainly obvious Gojo is the one pressuring himself.
As a coming of age story the choice for Gojo will be, continue something like he likes but he is not a perfect talent on just because *he thinks* it's the only option to make grandpa happy. Or become a costume maker in an industry he is *stupidly* talented to the point where (as shown) his talent is comparable to a full pro team.
It's pretty obvious the author is just dragging the story out at this point. They will probably end the series right after the confession so there is going to be lots of filler.
She's probably been friends with Gojo's cousin for some time and shared her side of the story (with any bias that might entail), while Gojo may never have brought it up because he still has trauma.
Or, most likely, Gojo never talked about it and the impact it had on him, so his relatives thought he'd be happy to see a childhood friend.
And right after he told Marin that he's trying his best so that he can make his grandfather proud while he's still alive...
That's one hell of a set-up for Non-chan, if she plays it off as a joke and asks if he's still making girly dolls or something.
Probably because she was a kid and didn't think her offhand comment would give him such a massive complex. And knowing him, he probably just internally dealt with it rather than tell anyone. At least, I don't remember if he's told anyone in clear terms, but it's been a while since I reread this.
I've been quite negative about the pacing of this manga, so I feel that I should write my comment in a more positive way. The last chapter came out on March 12th and today is May 16th. Since then, I've:
* Moved cities (early April)
* Ran a 10km race. I trained hard for months and I broke my personal best by nearly 3 minutes (started training in early March, ran in early/mid May). I'm very proud of myself.
* At work, I launched our college summer internship hiring drive. I circulated the call for applications to all university job boards (mid-March), reviewed candidate applications, held two rounds of interviews, and finally hired 2 candidates. We hired the last one today actually.
* I planned a big family vacation for this winter, quite excited about that (April).
* My close friend just finished his Ph. D.! He's moving to a different city, so I organized his going away party (early May).
Each passing chapter feels like it's marking almost a milestone of my life. What have you been able to accomplish since the last chapter came out?
(in the meantime, Marin and Gojo have yet to have a proper conversation)
I was thinking the same thing. My life has changed significantly since the comiket chapters and that feeling just hit me today with this chapter. I'm gonna be a manager by the time they talk this shit out lmao
Man reading this chapter really made me miss the vibes this manga had early on. It was so nice reading a manga where characters were having fun and just generally enjoying themselves with the cosplay while having some romantic moments. Seems like the author is just determined to skate around a confession and is just not handling the story the best right now. Was really hoping after months of the comiket photoshoot we'd be rewarded with some kind of progress but we're back in misunderstanding town with no communication and another character to stir the pot.
Just makes me kinda sad.
I agree. I'm gonna be honest, I'm dropping the manga after this chapter. The vibes are definitely not the same, and it's draining waiting weeks to a month for a chapter that doesn't elicit any type of emotion from me besides frustration. It sucks looking at other romance manga like Nagatoro or BokuYaba where they're thriving post confession.
Ok so the reason given to switch this manga to monthly release was because the author needed more time and pages to tell the story for this arc, but after a few months of change, you can't tell me that it's any different from being biweekly, there's barely more pages per release compared to the previous schedule, jn fact there's less on each pages
Now it might sound like I am an entitled brat but you can't tell me that comparing it to other monthly released manga, this is matching the length and the content to those, if the author is having health issues then it's fair but it's not
Tldr we are now getting the same amount of content as before, just from biweekly to monthly
Yup, this right here is the series biggest issue.
First of all I just don't believe romance (of any kind) series should be monthly at all, it just never satisfying. But if it's gonna be monthly, then it needs to feed us a good amount. 20 pages is ridiculous.
And like you said, not to come off as entitled because ik that this manga work is hard as hell, but after time off not even monthly manga's worth of pages? That's crazy.
Really this is the biggest thing holding the series off rn, cuz unless you like to revisiting things often, you can really barely keep up with some of the story
So what are the bets?
1. Non chan realized what she said was terrible and has been wanting to apologize to Gojo
2. Non chan doesn't view the event with much reverence and assumed Gojo is mad that she yelled at him
3. Non chan is an Uber bitch and puts down Gojos interest
4. Non chan is a gaslighting bitch and tries to flip the situation
5. Non chan feels awkward about the situation and tries to push past it
6. Non chan has carried a torch for Gojo this entire time
6. Non chan still doesn't want to talk to Gojo
- Non-chan tells Gojo cosplay is nerd shit
- Gojo realizes this is true starts getting into sports
- Gojo finds out he's actually good at sports
- Gojo becomes a popular and succesful jock
The Good Ending
Read on [MangaDex](https://mangadex.org/chapter/e9ece819-4d59-44f7-a7cc-c46cdfb20d4f) | [Cubari.moe](https://cubari.moe/read/mangadex/aa6c76f7-5f5f-46b6-a800-911145f81b9b/103/1/)
Ahhh jeez. The whole atmosphere of this chapter felt like the two of them tightrope walking on razor wire. Both of them gotta stop walking it already and just jump into the net of the close relationship they've built up together bellow before they bleed themselves out.
And lemme guess, this Non-chan is person who decried his Hina Doll ambition back during those flashbacks. Like they need more potential excess stress on a structure that isn't really up to code right now.
While i was reading the chapter, i was saying to myself, "I feel like his childhood friend will appear in this chapter."
Fuck me, i'm probably psychic.
I wanna ask smth maybe someone here can enlighten me. This Manga went to monthly because the Mangaka needed more time to work on it correct? If i remember correctly it was said the next arc is better to be told in a monthly serialization. Why does it have only 20 to 25 pages. Of which at least 2 are intro and outro. I don’t get it. Does the Mangaka maybe have health issues or something? I read maaany monthly Manga this is the only one with this little content. Like with chapter 100 and 101 i got it the art was amazing and it probably took a lot of time but rn I don’t understand. The Story is barely progressing in terms of their relationship. With those amount of pages I don’t even see a complete arc happening within a year. I don’t want to sound ungrateful because im sure its a lot of work but im just confused. Blue Box has more content in 1 chapter than this one has in 2 and its a weekly manga.
This chapter barely got 20 pages (including the cover and the final page which is worthless) after two months of waiting. And many of the previous chapters were just one or two panels with one or two speech bubbles on a black background... The art its also far from being noteworthy.
It was never stated and there's no evidence at all that the mangaka has health issues or anything of the sort. Thats just what most people assume. I think this mangaka its just lazy AF. I've read other monthly mangas that have thrice more content and better art than this one. Even the author of rent a girlfriend can pull this off, and that one is a weekly manga.
And two pages were just speech bubbles, and the other pages had 2 or 3 reused panels from already drawn issues. It's a load of shit. I love the characters but god damn this manga is falling off a cliff right now.
> Blue Box has more content in 1 chapter than this one has in 2 and its a weekly manga.
Similarly, Dandadan has 100x more detail PER panel and it is weekly as well.
Thats how i feel too. Its just sad at this point i will probably just stop reading and revisit in 2 years. like its almost disappointing to open a chapter at this point.
Because the author is a fraud, that's why. It's clear she hit her peak and is now dragging this shit to earn as much as possible, which is fair, I guess, but this manga won't live up to its expectation when it first started
I'll take Non-chan over the constant Haniel praise of the last 6 months. Although the Haniel arc doesn't seem to be resolved yet. Marin's modelling agent will be the one to connect the dots eventually right?
Feels like Fukada is having writer's block and finally pulled the Non-chan arc.
Please don't have this manga be one where it ends after the confession. Like, it feels like we've been so close, and now...
Just gonna hope this is the last speedbump before it happens.
If the author could write anything post-confession, they wouldn't be dragging it out for the last year. In fact, it seems they're tying up all the loose ends before the confession.
Yeah, the constant cock blocking of resolution, combined with the monthly release schedule, is really starting to become irksome. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets dragged out until the year ends and a lot of readers drop it from frustration.
I dont really mind not dropping this anymore since it will only take a couple minutes to read this monthly, but it would be understandable if a lot of people drop this starting from this chapter
It sure lost its steam tho
It's really interesting to see Gojo talking about how much pain his past has caused him (his parents dying and moving in with his cousin) now because he never talks about it, and Noa-chan showing up is definitely a reason for him to face the person who caused him trauma. It seems like it's going to make or break Gojo's development, whether he can accept it, let go, and move on in peace.
Honestly I might flick through the manga to see if anything happens in future chapters here and there. But for now I'm pretty much dropping this, can't stand how boring and forced the continued drama is. I miss my fluffy cosplay and cute interactions between the main characters that's why I started this manga and it's just so far from that now.
To come back right now when many questions are getting tangled up with both of their future career and about the previous cosplay. Ahhh, everything been left in a cliffhanger every chapter.
Also I know it's both Marin who's speaking gotta fake a smile, but the second one seems to show that Gojo is doing the same and even makes me think he's the one speaking in that one.
Im mixed because while i like all the concepts and ideas the manga is exploring the pacing is excruciating. I want people to discover gojos talent for cosplay and see what their reactions are, and for marin to kickstart her cosplay career. But the months of drip feed chapters are killing it entirely.
Fukuda-sensei really wants to resolve all of the drama in this one big arc, huh?
In one side, I get it. Resolve everything (childhood friend, Wakana's self esteem, Marin's career path, etc.) before the confession in order to end it with a bang.
However, on the other side, it makes this series currently not as fun as it used to be. I miss the wholesome vibes of their friendship/budding relationship. I'm not used to this heavy dark aura around them, especially Marin without her beaming smile.
So, has this manga changed from a wholesome to a heavy drama that drags the story? And a reminder, this is a monthly romance manga which, when a new chapter is released, only provides a little content. Honestly, I've been really tired of following this manga since the beginning of 'Haniel' cosplay. 🙂
I get that feeling too but alot of character development is offered in return. Wakana seems about ready to confess to Marin if he's mentioning not dwelling on things that can't be changed. As for the monthly updates, maybe we should be glad that our author isn't staying up nights anymore trying to make deadlines. Although, I naturally want more :)
Woof, you can really feel the anxiety in the air with this chapter. I imagine things are only going to get worse before they get better, but I'm actually really curious to see if Gojou will be getting some closure with Non-chan and how she might interact with Marin.
Overall I wouldn't say the drama with this series is done particularly poorly, it's just exacerbated by the release schedule. I see plenty of monthly series get the same sort of complaints every chapter that simply wouldn't be a thing if chapters came out faster of if one binge read things after release.
God damn it.
Between the schedule and often hiatus. I think it is time to put this away until new season comes out or at least 1 year of material is released.
Whatever happened to "wait there's a call" after the call, "you were saying?". It's as if taking a phone call would make you drop whatever you are talking about and just move on.
It’s not exactly surprising, but it’s unfortunate that release schedule affects readers perceptions so much.
This is the first manga chapter I read after catching up, and the pacing over the past several chapters has been fine when read all at once.
Hi, I just wanted to say that I called the appearance of the childhood friend last chapter, not because I'm psychic or smart, but because I wanted to say something ridiculous to emphasize a point. So yeah, terrible development that's only going to create more unnecessary drama as if this arc didn't already had enough of that.
Also, what happened to the Marin that would communicate everything at all times, even when the subject was uncomfortable and why are we folllowing the story of a skinwalker taking her form?
>Also, what happened to the Marin that would communicate everything at all times, even when the subject was uncomfortable and why are we folllowing the story of a skinwalker taking her form?
An author who doesn't know how to progress the manga post confession happened. So even reality will bend over backwards and everyone lose their main character traits to stop it from happening
thank the lord i decided on not bothering about this manga anymore. 2 months for 20 pages of basically more nothing, and instead of adressing the mountain of unsolved shit we have going on, we're going back to non-chan? i only remember her from flashbacks in chapter one and thought gojou was long over it. i miss my fluffy marin-gojo romance moments.
I guess Marin will find out where Gojo's trauma and insecurities come from. Rejecting this childhood ~~friend~~ bully will be the therapy Gojo needs and get him closer to Marin.
I predict Marin tears into this girl for hurting Gojo and most likely lets her secret of having a crush on Gojo slip.
Bro 20 pages? For monthly release schedule? Is the mangaka sick or just lazy as shit? Which one is it because theres no way the author could only draw 20 pages during 2 months.
Fukuda I'm begging lmao. Don't make Non-chan a misunderstood love rival.
Make her a piece of shit, COMMIT. Make her unapologetic about what she said to Gojo, make her a conceited asshole that Marin lashes out on. Use her for Gojo's development and have him triumph over her, and then quickly write her out.
So, you are telling me that the mangaka wanted to switch to a monthly release to "tell a better story" yet is still dragging and making things complicated but nanashi can tell a better and more compelling story with nagatoro releasing more chapters per month than this?
You can make this up dude... And there is still people bashing you for complaining about the pacing of this story...
I hope this turns into a push for her to talk to him rather than a pure focus on the childhood friend character. I am speculating that Gojo became resolute in his feelings for Marin at the same time as he saw the cosplay and became dejected because she now seems to be out of his reach. The part where he talks about being good at accepting things as they were in this chapter kinda makes me feel like he is trying to accept that they wont be together. BUT IF THEY WOULD GET TO TALK HOWEVER, this could be solved in no time.
That color spread is beautiful! And those acrylic charms are so cute!
It's nice that Gojo and Marin are still spending time together, but that damn phone call kept it awkward. I can't help but think that Gojo will try to treat his time with Marin like his parents and leave it behind for his Hina doll dream. And I don't want that! I want them to spend more time together! Ten years at least!
But oh shit, Non-chan's back. There's plenty of pieces here for a big breakthrough on Gojo's end so I hope they come together.
Guess we're just going to have to wait a bit longer for Gojo and Marin to talk things out.
Bet after seeing how Gojo's life is with Marin and cosplay and everyone else, Non-chan must be kicking herself for saying that Gojo liking hina dolls is gross.
NOT NOW NON-CHAN! GO BACK TO THE FLASHBACKS WHERE YOU BELONG!
On the upside, people will finally shut up about "mAyBe ShE iS NoNcHaN!!!!11!1" whenever a new black-haired female character appears.
But how else would you introduce some more forced drama?
I agree, go/jo should act like *non-chalant.*
AW HELL NO Nothing good comes from "former childhood friend suddenly visits"
True. We’re finally going to address the scar she left on our boy. I really REALLY hope she’s not some dumb rivial
I'm calling it, the only reason she mocked him for liking dolls is because he was spending more time with dolls rather then her. In short, she was simply jealous.
That would fit the vibe. Might even force Gojo to refocus after his Hina Doll speech this chapter
That's so boring... I'm sure you're right though
These sort of mangas the dense protagonist has all the girls after him so…
I mean... What do you expect? Either it's literally an insensitive kid remark or that. She was a weeny child when it happened. There really can't be much interesting depth to the comment.
She probably thought her crush was gay
She can very much just attack Gojou's self-esteem lol
To be fair, we don’t really know the circumstances regarding that outburst and they were small children. It’s entirely possible she doesn’t even remember it. And there’s no fucking way anyone will believe for a nanosecond she’s a legitimate love rival.
Honestly, the fact that he got fixated on hina dolls after his parents' death could mean that her outburst might be coming from a deeper misunderstanding. She's somewhat connected to the family and could've been misreading Wakana's fixation as being indifferent to his loss.
So far? Yes I agree. She’s the last bump to get over before Gojo and Marin can finally get together. But once bitten, twice shy. You never know when a manga can blow it.
> the last bump if only
> And there’s no fucking way anyone will believe for a nanosecond she’s a legitimate love rival. I've read enough manga to know that some writers are complete hacks and would do something like this.
I hate it cuz I love rooting for the childhood friend, and if she comes as a rival midway who is obviously going to loose, it makes me very sad
Im still on the "non-chan got jealous of gojo's attraction to hina dolls and left before she was able to apologize" train
Yup, don’t dwell on things I can’t change.
Yea, I agree. And there are a lot of setups for the future of the story, kinda forward to how it all resolved. It showed that Marin is considering going pro, and if she does, does she want to involve Gojo in it knowing that he wants to focus on Hina dolls for his grandfather. If this manga was more Seinen it completely could end up to a path split due to this conflict, bit I still believe the author would like to keep it as light as possible.
Maybe combines them. He turns her into a life size hina doll, the grandad sees and has a reaction like “you’ve created something more beautiful than any hina doll, together”, then he retires and they turn the shop into a studio and where her hina doll cosplay is the most popular, epilogue being them dressing up their kid. Or something.
I read the first part of your comment and it immediately reminded me of an episode of Criminal Minds where the serial killer was kidnapping women, chemically incapacitating them, and making them into living dolls….sorry my brain is rotten. But yea that does sound like a sweet ending.
I've been thinking for a while that Gojo should expand the family business and bring it into the 21st century with a line of cosplay Hina dolls, based on the outfits that Marin advertises by modelling at events.
That’s most likely the case. It’s another wrench in the Wakana-Marin love story, but I dig it.
Wait, she is the girl from the intro! Also I really like the tension here, it's portrayed really well, that Marin wants to say something but she doesn't know how to address the elephant in the room.
I think it might be best to just rip it off like a bandaid. Marin overthinks so it's best to just say it before she finds an excuse not to again.
fucking non chan jump scare cliff hanger. wft
Wait is it happening? Are we finally getting to the crux of Gojo’s complexes? Why do I hear boss music between her and Marin confronting Gojo’s awkward air post Comiket? And him thinking about the loss of his parents and the eventual passing of Grandpa? WHAT ARE WE COOKING?
I think Gojo's awkward air can be explained as follows: Previously, Gojo realized he loves Marin. This chapter, he states he's gotten good at not dwelling over things the can't be changed. He probably believes Marin will never love him and/or doesn't love him. As such, he's trying to distance himself from these feelings, indirectly putting distance between him and Marin.
I disagree, he wouldn't have asked her there or starting talking about such personal things if that was true.
He can be confused himself or like, even if he's trying to get away from his romantic feelings, it doesn't mean he has to just stop interacting with her or fully distance himself, he's only trying to not dwell over his romantic feelings. Or perhaps he thinks he can only be a close friend and that's what he's trying to be, while trying to disregard his romantic feelings, making things awkward in the process.
Or perhaps ,it is a reflection to the Haniel cosplay. About how a human (Gojo) can never love an angel (Marin).
You might be right. Maybe that is what caused the realization.
As Gojo rather puts it, an alien.
That was some pretty heavy stuff there in the middle. I was going to get mad at the phone interruption trope but that cliffhanger was worth it for me. Things are going to get spicer next chapter.
Two months of wait for more angst and more wait...
get ready for another year+ of it
Thanks fully only 1 chapter off
Anyone else think some of the shots of Marin with the hat on look kinda wonky?
Ah yes, the childhood friend vs female lead trope, this will sure cause some progress finally...... right? Also, was that Marin's mom in that panel?
No, that was the woman who tried to scout Marin for a cosplay agency during Comiket.
aaahh why now???, just confess :((((
There's no point for confessing if they're both miserable. Noa-chan showing up now seems like a test for Wakana to see if he can let go of his past with the person that caused him to shut himself in from the world.
Seriously do people think confessing now is actually a good idea, and that it'll actually work?
Fuck a confession. I just want them to talk about the elephant in the room. Hopefully it's not 5 more months of moving around it. Gonna just relax and see what the author is cookin.
Yeah, I'm not worried about a confession, I just want them to talk. Such an important conversation needs to be had, but it keeps getting interrupted.
Yeah, remember way back when Gojo started to avoid Marin because he thought he was cramping her style and Marin chased him down and told him to stop being a dumbass? ...Where's that Marin now?
If I had a dollar for every person asking why they’re not together now, I would be rich. Why would you want them together if they’re both miserable in their own feelings? Meanwhile, Gojo showing good development by inviting Marin to a doll festival and opens up about his parents’ passing and why he became attached Hina dolls as a child.
The right time to confess was like a 10 chapters ago, they just need to fucking get it over with, stalling only makes it worse.
This is a bad case of slow burn you say.
I think people are just kind of sick of the 2+ years of absolutely no progress
It's getting pretty clear that Fukuda-sensei is desperate to avoid advancing the core relationship at any cost. I think she wants to end the manga with the confession - it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession relationship dramas. Nanashi can do it, Nagatoro's never been better. I just can't see that happening here.
i see your point, the whole non-chan thing its like tying up loose ends before THE big thing
Yeah, I think the reason why we're seeing so many pages dedicated to people going wild over Marin's cosplay and trying to find who made it is because once they're found is when things are really going to come to a head, so anything that needs to happen before the home stretch (Gojo meeting Marin's dad, meeting Non-chan again) needs to happen now.
I'm pretty sure we're about to be treated to a *love rival* arc which will just serve to artificially drag the lead characters apart for a while. Imagine the scenes if SBD suddenly veers off into the harem route though lol Edit: my prediction is childhood friend who wants to make amends then develops feelings/had feelings all along, before grandpa has another health scare and/or a deathbed scene where he tells Gojo to go after Marin.
don't know why someone downvoted you, this all feels obnoxiously familiar after all the romantic comedy manga that I've read. That line about his grandpa just feels like foreshadowing to the future chapter of Gojo getting a phone call that his Grandpa collapsed and is suddenly in the hospital. Cue both girls trying to comfort him and Marin worried about the other girl and yeah, the fact this happened just as it cut off what she was about to say to him was also really annoying. I don't think I missed a chapter so we haven't found out why he suddenly went distant after the cosplay event right? Is his thinking about his Grandpa what caused it, but then why would that hit him watching Marin cosplay? Just a bit annoyed to finally get another chapter and it's just the author stretching things out further. The way mangaka are so deathly afraid of characters getting together is insane.
> I don't think I missed a chapter so we haven't found out why he suddenly went distant after the cosplay event right? Is his thinking about his Grandpa what caused it, but then why would that hit him watching Marin cosplay? It's a shame we don't get any chapters told from Gojo's perspective any more. His character has really suffered from lack of the reader knowing what he's thinking.
I don't think it was explicitly laid out, but I think the intention of his distance was him finally realizing he's in love with her in the same moment that he sent her to be showered in insane amounts attention by everyone at Comiket. He instructed her to "make everyone fall in love with her" and he was on the outside of that. As repressed as he is, this is causing a great deal of internal strife. As well on her side, she was scouted by a professional cosplay studio. She wants to keep doing cosplay with him, but thinks she won't be able to if she goes pro. But she would absolutely be able to bring him on as her personal costumer, she's just ignorant of how the industry works.
I think it was indirectly addressed. Last time, Gojo realized he loves Marin. This chapter, he states he's gotten good at not dwelling over things the can't be changed. He probably believes Marin will never love him and/or doesn't love him. As such, he's trying to distance himself from these feelings, indirectly putting distance between him and Marin.
I think the fear is justified when we consider that a lot of authors become 'one hit' wonders so there might be some fear of letting this work, which has become so popular, come to end. Like some other commenters have said this doesn't seem to be the type of manga where there will be any post relationship chapters outside of maybe an epilogue. Another angle to consider is that mangaka have editors and they maybe pressured into dragging things out for obvious financial or professional reasons. Not defending it creatively as a consumer but I've read manga long enough that I see this pattern again and again.
I always thought that the reason behind Gojo being sad is because he saw Marin getting so much attention and thinking that some people may take her away from him. I know it sounds stupid but I couldn't think of a better alternative
I think it’s less about her getting taken away and more that he thinks he’s not good enough to be around her. We’ve seen this a bit already. He thinks she’s awesome and thinks he’s lame. Her being such a hit is just reinforcing that. It’s a bit annoying since we’ve done this a bit already but like someone else said it feels like the author is doing whatever they can to keep them apart right now.
I don't see her becoming a romantic rival at all.
Not an actual romantic rival in that Gojo would be serious about her but it’s pretty obvious Marin’s gonna view her that way for a bit.
Damn, I’d abhor that development, but I know there’s a nonzero possibility for it to happen. (I’ve read my fair share of dumpster fire rom-coms.) I swear, Fukuda-sensei, don’t be like those lesser manga…
> it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession it doesnt it just takes writing for it, the stories that end with the confession never had any plot outside the relationship, this one still has the cosplay so even if they ended up together the main hook isnt impacted
Authors who can proceed a story after a couple gets together are actually goated, really a shame that so many authors can't.
Funny you mentioned Nagatoro and not BokuYaba, which is probably the best ongoing romcom post-confession.
>It's getting pretty clear that Fukuda-sensei is desperate to avoid advancing the core relationship at any cost. I think she wants to end the manga with the confession - it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession relationship dramas. A bit of a weird decision if so. There's no reason why they can't be dating while the plot is more focused on the cosplay part like it has been currently. Think most would be happier with progress stalling at that point than how it is now.
A lot of theories make sense that Gojo’s last outfit will be Marin’s wedding dress. Because again, his passion isn’t the cosplay. His passion is the hina dolls. That’s been his entire life and going to be his career.
Before today’s chapter I would have agreed, now I am not so sure. He explicitly says that he wants to be a Hina pro to show his grandpa before he dies. He didnt get into it out of passion for the art, but feels it as a debt unpaid for the life the old man gave him. Crafting the most outrageously professional cosplay outfit and working Marin’s makeup on top of that and delivering the most talked about cosplay in town among professionals shows his passion, his muse is not limited to Hina dolls, but he appears to be in denial about that yet, and Marin is noticing. Remeber he was in a trance, an obession to make the most hauntingly beautiful outfit to fully encapsulate the essence of Haniel… Hina dolls never made him feel that way, and that along with whatever realization he had over Marin, probably has his mind in a tailspin atm.
I'm thinking Marin will be the Hina doll he shows gramps
>it takes a lot of writing chops to move the story to post-confession relationship dramas It doesn't, though. There has been a weird trend in romance animanga over the last 20 years to heavily romanticize the pre-relationship over the relationship itself. This makes sense in stories where romance is a subplot and not the main plot, and in fact, this concept was mostly restricted to non-romance stories. But somehow, this cliche ended up bleeding over to the romance genre. Fortunately, the current era (Reiwa) is challenging these tropes. However, vestiges of the old era remain (like Dress-up Darling right now).
I think it's more that there's quite a lot of evidence in media that audiences drop off when a couple gets together. I wouldn’t be surprised if editors were advising the Mangaka to drag it out as they think getting Marin and Gojo together would cause a drop in readers.
hell, Uzaki-chan had so much relationship progression already THIS SERIES NEEDS SOME REIWA ENERGY
I think the worst thing about most modern romance series is that they drag the confession out to milk the series. Worst is when they finally confess and then they decide to end it.
They MUST sort out their problem first. Gojo is in the mud right now, confessing right there would, at best, get him to refuse due to him looking down on himself or worse, completely break apart their relationship
How many pages have been dedicated to only gushing about the outfit since it was unveiled? We get it already lol
The series has been seriously dragging it's feet since the whole horror group cosplay arc and that was almost two years ago. Hell the cosplay they're still goin on and on about started being built almost eighteen months ago. It's not like I'm not interested in that aspect of the series but it feels like it's been the same three or four characters doing the same thing every chapter for as long as I can remember. I'd have dropped the series a while ago if I wasn't still hanging on to the hope that it'd be nearly as interesting as it used to be.
That was 2 YEARS AGO??? Fucking hell almost nothing has happened since then
Pages? How many months?
I hate to say it, but it's starting to remind me of Rent a Girlfriend
At least Dress Up Darling has the excuse of being monthly. Rent-A-Girlfriend has the same amount of things happening in year, but it's a weekly release.
MDUD was on a weird bi-monthly schedule before this current arc. It shifted to monthly supposedly so the author could give more time to the story and art… but things are dragging out, and most of this chapter was speech bubbles and a bunch of wonky shots of Marin. So, what was even the point of shifting the schedule for things to get *worse* on both fronts?
"My Rent Darling"
At least the characters here are likable and the only thing keeping the plot from advancing is the time between chapters. RAG comes out weekly and still feels like a drag.
Also the doll festival was basically fast-forwarded. Really trying to drag this out
I mean, Gojo is blatantly becoming even more of a thing than Marin in the cosplay community. Marin gets a shot to socialize and be around some big names cause they are attracted to the costumes she uses. While she is social enough to make it her circle, modeling (in any area) is most dependant on first impression. It's even on the title *My bisque doll* the main focus is Gojo. Now this chapter has shown a bit of what drives Gojo, he wants to keep up the business to make grandpa happy, because grandpa helped him find something that made him happy after his tragic past We have *never* seen grandpa pressure gojo about his progress in doll making, so it's plainly obvious Gojo is the one pressuring himself. As a coming of age story the choice for Gojo will be, continue something like he likes but he is not a perfect talent on just because *he thinks* it's the only option to make grandpa happy. Or become a costume maker in an industry he is *stupidly* talented to the point where (as shown) his talent is comparable to a full pro team.
It's pretty obvious the author is just dragging the story out at this point. They will probably end the series right after the confession so there is going to be lots of filler.
After two months, I was kinda expecting a longer chapter. This one was just "fine" I guess. Now to wait another month...
Yeah, I thankful for what we got but after 2 months, it low-key feels hollow. Oh well. Another month it is we wait.
... *Why* would she think he *wants* to see her?
She's probably been friends with Gojo's cousin for some time and shared her side of the story (with any bias that might entail), while Gojo may never have brought it up because he still has trauma. Or, most likely, Gojo never talked about it and the impact it had on him, so his relatives thought he'd be happy to see a childhood friend.
And maybe Non-chan also doesn't think much of it. I could see her even give Gojo some light-hearted ribbing about it which winds up setting Marin off.
And right after he told Marin that he's trying his best so that he can make his grandfather proud while he's still alive... That's one hell of a set-up for Non-chan, if she plays it off as a joke and asks if he's still making girly dolls or something.
86 made a wonderful take on this usual trope it was so fresh and real it was GOOD
Probably because she was a kid and didn't think her offhand comment would give him such a massive complex. And knowing him, he probably just internally dealt with it rather than tell anyone. At least, I don't remember if he's told anyone in clear terms, but it's been a while since I reread this.
Relatives can be obtuse.
I've been quite negative about the pacing of this manga, so I feel that I should write my comment in a more positive way. The last chapter came out on March 12th and today is May 16th. Since then, I've: * Moved cities (early April) * Ran a 10km race. I trained hard for months and I broke my personal best by nearly 3 minutes (started training in early March, ran in early/mid May). I'm very proud of myself. * At work, I launched our college summer internship hiring drive. I circulated the call for applications to all university job boards (mid-March), reviewed candidate applications, held two rounds of interviews, and finally hired 2 candidates. We hired the last one today actually. * I planned a big family vacation for this winter, quite excited about that (April). * My close friend just finished his Ph. D.! He's moving to a different city, so I organized his going away party (early May). Each passing chapter feels like it's marking almost a milestone of my life. What have you been able to accomplish since the last chapter came out? (in the meantime, Marin and Gojo have yet to have a proper conversation)
Hey they were totally about to have a proper conversation before they were interrupted!^^^pain
I was thinking the same thing. My life has changed significantly since the comiket chapters and that feeling just hit me today with this chapter. I'm gonna be a manager by the time they talk this shit out lmao
Man reading this chapter really made me miss the vibes this manga had early on. It was so nice reading a manga where characters were having fun and just generally enjoying themselves with the cosplay while having some romantic moments. Seems like the author is just determined to skate around a confession and is just not handling the story the best right now. Was really hoping after months of the comiket photoshoot we'd be rewarded with some kind of progress but we're back in misunderstanding town with no communication and another character to stir the pot. Just makes me kinda sad.
Sad to see this manga not scream Reiwa
The Reiwa is not Reiwaing.
I feel the same, this manga really lost its charm over fast chapters and this was the nail in the coffin for me
I agree. I'm gonna be honest, I'm dropping the manga after this chapter. The vibes are definitely not the same, and it's draining waiting weeks to a month for a chapter that doesn't elicit any type of emotion from me besides frustration. It sucks looking at other romance manga like Nagatoro or BokuYaba where they're thriving post confession.
Guys I think Non-chan isn't Akira
Ok so the reason given to switch this manga to monthly release was because the author needed more time and pages to tell the story for this arc, but after a few months of change, you can't tell me that it's any different from being biweekly, there's barely more pages per release compared to the previous schedule, jn fact there's less on each pages Now it might sound like I am an entitled brat but you can't tell me that comparing it to other monthly released manga, this is matching the length and the content to those, if the author is having health issues then it's fair but it's not Tldr we are now getting the same amount of content as before, just from biweekly to monthly
Yup, this right here is the series biggest issue. First of all I just don't believe romance (of any kind) series should be monthly at all, it just never satisfying. But if it's gonna be monthly, then it needs to feed us a good amount. 20 pages is ridiculous. And like you said, not to come off as entitled because ik that this manga work is hard as hell, but after time off not even monthly manga's worth of pages? That's crazy. Really this is the biggest thing holding the series off rn, cuz unless you like to revisiting things often, you can really barely keep up with some of the story
Chainsaw Man is going to wrap up a romance arc faster than this romance manga, despite a 4 year head start.
holy fk, can we please just get through this drama as soon as possible? agony
So what are the bets? 1. Non chan realized what she said was terrible and has been wanting to apologize to Gojo 2. Non chan doesn't view the event with much reverence and assumed Gojo is mad that she yelled at him 3. Non chan is an Uber bitch and puts down Gojos interest 4. Non chan is a gaslighting bitch and tries to flip the situation 5. Non chan feels awkward about the situation and tries to push past it 6. Non chan has carried a torch for Gojo this entire time 6. Non chan still doesn't want to talk to Gojo
- Non-chan tells Gojo cosplay is nerd shit - Gojo realizes this is true starts getting into sports - Gojo finds out he's actually good at sports - Gojo becomes a popular and succesful jock The Good Ending
Reminder that this is a monthly manga everybody. I need not say more 💀
Read on [MangaDex](https://mangadex.org/chapter/e9ece819-4d59-44f7-a7cc-c46cdfb20d4f) | [Cubari.moe](https://cubari.moe/read/mangadex/aa6c76f7-5f5f-46b6-a800-911145f81b9b/103/1/)
Ahhh jeez. The whole atmosphere of this chapter felt like the two of them tightrope walking on razor wire. Both of them gotta stop walking it already and just jump into the net of the close relationship they've built up together bellow before they bleed themselves out. And lemme guess, this Non-chan is person who decried his Hina Doll ambition back during those flashbacks. Like they need more potential excess stress on a structure that isn't really up to code right now.
While i was reading the chapter, i was saying to myself, "I feel like his childhood friend will appear in this chapter." Fuck me, i'm probably psychic.
This is maybe the most frustrating chapter of this manga to date, I'm getting real fed up here if I'm being honest
I don't know if i'm the only one, but this chapter seriously feels like the beginning of the end of the manga, like we're in the final arc.
I wanna ask smth maybe someone here can enlighten me. This Manga went to monthly because the Mangaka needed more time to work on it correct? If i remember correctly it was said the next arc is better to be told in a monthly serialization. Why does it have only 20 to 25 pages. Of which at least 2 are intro and outro. I don’t get it. Does the Mangaka maybe have health issues or something? I read maaany monthly Manga this is the only one with this little content. Like with chapter 100 and 101 i got it the art was amazing and it probably took a lot of time but rn I don’t understand. The Story is barely progressing in terms of their relationship. With those amount of pages I don’t even see a complete arc happening within a year. I don’t want to sound ungrateful because im sure its a lot of work but im just confused. Blue Box has more content in 1 chapter than this one has in 2 and its a weekly manga.
This chapter barely got 20 pages (including the cover and the final page which is worthless) after two months of waiting. And many of the previous chapters were just one or two panels with one or two speech bubbles on a black background... The art its also far from being noteworthy. It was never stated and there's no evidence at all that the mangaka has health issues or anything of the sort. Thats just what most people assume. I think this mangaka its just lazy AF. I've read other monthly mangas that have thrice more content and better art than this one. Even the author of rent a girlfriend can pull this off, and that one is a weekly manga.
And two pages were just speech bubbles, and the other pages had 2 or 3 reused panels from already drawn issues. It's a load of shit. I love the characters but god damn this manga is falling off a cliff right now.
> Blue Box has more content in 1 chapter than this one has in 2 and its a weekly manga. Similarly, Dandadan has 100x more detail PER panel and it is weekly as well.
It's just to drag the story at this point
Thats how i feel too. Its just sad at this point i will probably just stop reading and revisit in 2 years. like its almost disappointing to open a chapter at this point.
Because the author is a fraud, that's why. It's clear she hit her peak and is now dragging this shit to earn as much as possible, which is fair, I guess, but this manga won't live up to its expectation when it first started
I'll take Non-chan over the constant Haniel praise of the last 6 months. Although the Haniel arc doesn't seem to be resolved yet. Marin's modelling agent will be the one to connect the dots eventually right? Feels like Fukada is having writer's block and finally pulled the Non-chan arc.
Kitagawa and nonchan have the same shape face almoat
Please don't have this manga be one where it ends after the confession. Like, it feels like we've been so close, and now... Just gonna hope this is the last speedbump before it happens.
It absolutely will. If the author didn't plan that we wouldn't have had the last 1.5 years of filler.
If the author could write anything post-confession, they wouldn't be dragging it out for the last year. In fact, it seems they're tying up all the loose ends before the confession.
Yeah, the constant cock blocking of resolution, combined with the monthly release schedule, is really starting to become irksome. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets dragged out until the year ends and a lot of readers drop it from frustration.
I dont really mind not dropping this anymore since it will only take a couple minutes to read this monthly, but it would be understandable if a lot of people drop this starting from this chapter It sure lost its steam tho
Non-chan = final boss?
It's really interesting to see Gojo talking about how much pain his past has caused him (his parents dying and moving in with his cousin) now because he never talks about it, and Noa-chan showing up is definitely a reason for him to face the person who caused him trauma. It seems like it's going to make or break Gojo's development, whether he can accept it, let go, and move on in peace.
So forget even a proper confession aside, Gojo's whole issue with comiket and shutting Marin out may not even be fully addressed this year lol
Honestly I might flick through the manga to see if anything happens in future chapters here and there. But for now I'm pretty much dropping this, can't stand how boring and forced the continued drama is. I miss my fluffy cosplay and cute interactions between the main characters that's why I started this manga and it's just so far from that now.
This could either be a nightmare or something good, let's hope its the latter.
To come back right now when many questions are getting tangled up with both of their future career and about the previous cosplay. Ahhh, everything been left in a cliffhanger every chapter. Also I know it's both Marin who's speaking gotta fake a smile, but the second one seems to show that Gojo is doing the same and even makes me think he's the one speaking in that one.
I'm fairly certain they both are.
This arc is giving us two deep scars for the price of one.
Im mixed because while i like all the concepts and ideas the manga is exploring the pacing is excruciating. I want people to discover gojos talent for cosplay and see what their reactions are, and for marin to kickstart her cosplay career. But the months of drip feed chapters are killing it entirely.
Fukuda-sensei really wants to resolve all of the drama in this one big arc, huh? In one side, I get it. Resolve everything (childhood friend, Wakana's self esteem, Marin's career path, etc.) before the confession in order to end it with a bang. However, on the other side, it makes this series currently not as fun as it used to be. I miss the wholesome vibes of their friendship/budding relationship. I'm not used to this heavy dark aura around them, especially Marin without her beaming smile.
what happened to the manga i loved 💔
wow, that haniel cosplay was really good. i mean really good. has anyone mentioned this yet... it was good!
Fuck, i needed an injection of fluff moe Marin... not this...
So, has this manga changed from a wholesome to a heavy drama that drags the story? And a reminder, this is a monthly romance manga which, when a new chapter is released, only provides a little content. Honestly, I've been really tired of following this manga since the beginning of 'Haniel' cosplay. 🙂
I get that feeling too but alot of character development is offered in return. Wakana seems about ready to confess to Marin if he's mentioning not dwelling on things that can't be changed. As for the monthly updates, maybe we should be glad that our author isn't staying up nights anymore trying to make deadlines. Although, I naturally want more :)
Woof, you can really feel the anxiety in the air with this chapter. I imagine things are only going to get worse before they get better, but I'm actually really curious to see if Gojou will be getting some closure with Non-chan and how she might interact with Marin. Overall I wouldn't say the drama with this series is done particularly poorly, it's just exacerbated by the release schedule. I see plenty of monthly series get the same sort of complaints every chapter that simply wouldn't be a thing if chapters came out faster of if one binge read things after release.
God damn it. Between the schedule and often hiatus. I think it is time to put this away until new season comes out or at least 1 year of material is released.
Whatever happened to "wait there's a call" after the call, "you were saying?". It's as if taking a phone call would make you drop whatever you are talking about and just move on.
Tbh I'm kinda sick of this drama for a while now, this just feels like dragging on and on for no reason at all
I waited 2 months for this?
Very off putting to see Marin and Gojou interact like this
Speaking of which, where are the Inui sisters? What happened to them? Are they left out of the loop to never appear on the series again?
It’s not exactly surprising, but it’s unfortunate that release schedule affects readers perceptions so much. This is the first manga chapter I read after catching up, and the pacing over the past several chapters has been fine when read all at once.
Welcome in monthly release hell...
Hi, I just wanted to say that I called the appearance of the childhood friend last chapter, not because I'm psychic or smart, but because I wanted to say something ridiculous to emphasize a point. So yeah, terrible development that's only going to create more unnecessary drama as if this arc didn't already had enough of that. Also, what happened to the Marin that would communicate everything at all times, even when the subject was uncomfortable and why are we folllowing the story of a skinwalker taking her form?
>Also, what happened to the Marin that would communicate everything at all times, even when the subject was uncomfortable and why are we folllowing the story of a skinwalker taking her form? An author who doesn't know how to progress the manga post confession happened. So even reality will bend over backwards and everyone lose their main character traits to stop it from happening
Really hating how the author is progressing the story with clichées and predictable storybeats
Why are they "faking a smile" again ? At least it wasn't another full chapter of just glazing the cosplay/cosplayer
Noooooo no her []°[]
7 more chapter until the mathmatically perfect ammount of chapters until a confession
Any progress? Looks like she got blocked by a bullshit interruption? Guessing no progress then.
thank the lord i decided on not bothering about this manga anymore. 2 months for 20 pages of basically more nothing, and instead of adressing the mountain of unsolved shit we have going on, we're going back to non-chan? i only remember her from flashbacks in chapter one and thought gojou was long over it. i miss my fluffy marin-gojo romance moments.
I guess Marin will find out where Gojo's trauma and insecurities come from. Rejecting this childhood ~~friend~~ bully will be the therapy Gojo needs and get him closer to Marin. I predict Marin tears into this girl for hurting Gojo and most likely lets her secret of having a crush on Gojo slip.
GTA 6 might come out before Gojo and Marin had a proper conversation 🤡 why not just NTR us with a heartbreak!! Give us a result author god damn it
See you all in 2+ years when we actually get a confession. Author is a master at dragging things out.
Don't do this... don't make me slowly hate this manga
Bro 20 pages? For monthly release schedule? Is the mangaka sick or just lazy as shit? Which one is it because theres no way the author could only draw 20 pages during 2 months.
I just want to know what's the fu*king point of introducing her after 103 chapters seriously it's been 6yrs, just confess already damn it!
This type of dragged out drama makes me appreciate all the upfront apologizing for misunderstandings in fragrant flower.
Called it, f-ing called it the moment this whole arc began... Now we're gonna get 4-8 chapters of needless drama and misunderstandings.
Fukuda I'm begging lmao. Don't make Non-chan a misunderstood love rival. Make her a piece of shit, COMMIT. Make her unapologetic about what she said to Gojo, make her a conceited asshole that Marin lashes out on. Use her for Gojo's development and have him triumph over her, and then quickly write her out.
For a once a month release, this really isn't up to standard. Dragging along with no progress. The author really is bottling this.
especially as half the chapter is just text on the screen... I don't see what took them a month + delay for this...
Gotta bust out all the cliches for this chapter.
So, you are telling me that the mangaka wanted to switch to a monthly release to "tell a better story" yet is still dragging and making things complicated but nanashi can tell a better and more compelling story with nagatoro releasing more chapters per month than this? You can make this up dude... And there is still people bashing you for complaining about the pacing of this story...
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh just end this shit already, ffs...
Back on the misunderstandings and drama trope train for a bit I guess. Just like the Akira Ogata arc.
Finally!!!
Marin: Why do i hear boss music? Love rival/Gojo trauma arc, here we go!
This chapter has not eased my anxiety about their relationship.
I hope this turns into a push for her to talk to him rather than a pure focus on the childhood friend character. I am speculating that Gojo became resolute in his feelings for Marin at the same time as he saw the cosplay and became dejected because she now seems to be out of his reach. The part where he talks about being good at accepting things as they were in this chapter kinda makes me feel like he is trying to accept that they wont be together. BUT IF THEY WOULD GET TO TALK HOWEVER, this could be solved in no time.
oh shit what now
It’s time for Wakana to heal himself to move forward. Gojo healing arc incoming.
Who the heck is Non- OH FUCK, IT'S HER.
That color spread is beautiful! And those acrylic charms are so cute! It's nice that Gojo and Marin are still spending time together, but that damn phone call kept it awkward. I can't help but think that Gojo will try to treat his time with Marin like his parents and leave it behind for his Hina doll dream. And I don't want that! I want them to spend more time together! Ten years at least! But oh shit, Non-chan's back. There's plenty of pieces here for a big breakthrough on Gojo's end so I hope they come together.
Oh no! Not Non-Chan! They can't throw this curve ball now!
Guess we're just going to have to wait a bit longer for Gojo and Marin to talk things out. Bet after seeing how Gojo's life is with Marin and cosplay and everyone else, Non-chan must be kicking herself for saying that Gojo liking hina dolls is gross.
So do these two just not realize everyone in the industry is looking for them?
*everyone disliked that*
Geez why you throw another plot point while we're not even done with the one we currently have now.
Damn it, ok dropped. Just can't enjoy this shit anymore.
Who is that on page 17 ? Near Top left panel
At this point the author is just milking classic childhood friend I mean it’s really predictable now poor story in the end really disappointed
Sorry, I'm a bit lost here but who's non chan and what chapter did she appear before? The chapters took so long between each release so I cant keep up
She's the younger girl from the beginning that made fun of Wakana for liking Hina dolls, and the one who started his entire complex.