Book 9 impressions (Ongoing - 19%)
Wow this book is fresh!! To start with, we have the new freshman, and our first PoV character, Noriko, is totally unlike any of the characters we’ve met until now. In fact her experience coming into Lilian Academy reminds me of how I felt when I started the anime - mildly bewildered, hard to distinguish people, confused by the French titles, etc. Also this is the first arc where the author really incorporates the religious element, beyond the superficial “this character is pious, and prays every day” characterization (yes I’m counting Shiori in that). I’m curious to see how far the novels go with the conflict btwn Catholicism & Buddhism
Just like having Shimako’s inner-monologue at the end of book 8 added so much, starting off book 9 with Noriko’s inner-monologue is really exciting. Her meeting with Shimako, and her sense of disorientation, are much more interesting to read here. I can already see the parallels between them. Also it’s fascinating how the members of each Rose family all kind of resemble each other, while still being fairly different. I’m excited to have met Touko already (I don’t care for her at all right now now, but she becomes a favorite later).
Otoh this book feels like it suddenly got harder, with some of the narrative descriptions and vocab (or maybe it’s just cuz I haven’t done as much jpdb?) - and I haven’t even gotten to the Buddhism stuff yet
Book 9 impressions - Ongoing (50%)
I got through the whole spectacle scene at the マリア祭, and wow that’s emotional!! And still really rubs me the wrong way. Now the book is about to backtrack, and show the whole well-intentioned scheming that everyone did. I prefer how everything was done simultaneously in the anime, but I understand why this way make sense for the book.
Having Noriko’s inner-monologue had been so excellent tho. I do enjoy that she thinks everyone in her class is nuts, and hung up on the most pointless things, and that the whole roses being treated like idols, and ppl obsessing over rosaries and stuff is bizarre.
It took me a few times to realize, but Touko refers to herself in 3rd person, which is always momentarily confusing. Also that girl is such a brat!! So むかつく lol. I’m really curious what exactly her angle is - like whether she was actually jealous of Noriko getting closer to Shimako, or if that was all part of the act too - as well as whether she actually actively wants to be in over of the rose families, or if that’s something the people around her have made up
The contrast between their class and yumi’s class is kind of fascinating. The kids in yumi’s class were so respectful and normal, and even helpful when the Sachiko stuff started happening. The kids in Noriko’s class are kinda terrifying.
Also, where’s the newspaper club in all this? Have they just chilled out of its not Minako running it anymore? Oh wait Minako didn’t graduate. Her little sister seemed quite ambitious too tho. I guess there can only be so many story elements at once. And tbh I’m glad that they’re not in the midst of things rn, cuz they get kinda old after a while. Edit: Mami showed up literally 3 pgs after I wrote this
I’m skeptical of how chill almost everyone in the series seems to be about heterodox religious views, having Buddhist religious items around, etc. Idk maybe it’s a Japanese thing, but I can’t imagine that flying in the Catholicism that I’ve been exposed to - which this story arc played on really well. In general I think the religious stuff in this series is a bit superficial (which I don’t mind at all), and I wonder whether mission schools in Japan were actually that lenient/casual. Not really important, just idle curiosity.
Book 9 impressions - ongoing (68%)
Yumi meets Touko (who is course is being a brat, and super rude to Yumi), and suddenly I am reminded of all the things that frustrate the hell out of me about Sachiko. Like I already know that Yumi is jumping to incorrect conclusions, but the double standard in how Sachiko treats the two of them / how oblivious and inconsiderate Sachiko is to Yumi in general just really pisses me off…
It seems Sachiko is magically back to normal the next day. That’s convenient. Yumi’s thoughts about maybe not needing their own 妹たち and wanting it to stay the five of them - I get it, but at the same time, incredibly naive
A Little Princess got a name drop as one of Touko’s roles from when she was younger
Yoshino is simultaneous brilliant, and comes up with some really outlandish theories, with glaring logical errors (which Yumi usually half recognizes, but half missed cuz she jumps the gun for emotional reasons)
Newspaper club Mami makes appearance after all. She’ll have a field day at the マリア祭! Also I thought Minato had graduated, but she’s actually in the same year as Sachiko & Rei
Book 9 impressions - Finished
“Let’s leave the door open while we have our secret conversation, so we can hear ppl come up the stairs”
Ok… And you don’t think they’ll hear your voices in the meantime?
Touko: sneaks in walks up without making noise and surprises them.
Saw that coming (well not Touko specifically)
The scene where Touko sneaks up on Yumi and then offers to show her about Noriko, and then where they go spy on them is an interesting thing that does make me question my perception of Touko, and what extent having Yumi’s narration influences that
Touko saw the exchange, look through Noriko’s bag, and then wrote a play?! This girl is nuts, precocious, and kinda scary. Watching Rei contain her, cuz she knows from dealing with Yoshino was cool
I appreciate that Yumi has misgivings about the whole plan, but I do wish they’d actually argued about it a bit
Having the events retold through Yumi’s perspective was nice, but retelling the climactic scene itself didn’t really add much. It would have been nice to get more of Shimako & Noriko’s scene afterwards.
Also Sei stopping by just to go away, didn’t really add much. She should have teased Yumi to make Sachiko jealous or something, but I guess she’s growing up a bit? Still it’s nice to know clearly that she still cares about Shimako (not that I had any doubts)
Oh look, Sachiko finally remembered how to be nice to Yumi in the last 1/3rd, and also asked her what she wants as a present for White Day & her bday combined - which she’s been putting off asking for “various reasons”. I know exactly where this is going of course, and I look forward to reading all drama, with its emotional highs and lows, that will come of it
I still don’t get: Touko pressuring Noriko about the マリア祭 or her being upset when Noriko was getting all the attention after talking to Shimako. The first I guess could genuinely be her wanting to get close, but the 2nd took place before she got mixed up in the whole “Save Shimako” operation. So I really don’t get where it was coming from - besides Konno-sensei trying to mislead us into thinking she was the villain (which she still kinda was, just not a malicious one).
It seems like Yumi and Touko are getting along a bit better than they were at the beginning. Touko still seems kinda cheeky and disrespectful, but again not malicious.
Overall it was an incredibly enjoyable read. Noriko’s perspective for the first half was so refreshing, and I’m looking forward to more of her and Touko
Book 10 - story 1 (36%)
I can’t believe Sachiko of all people is bugging Shimako about making Noriko her sister (oh wait, yes I can). I’m glad they all kept that exchange civil lol. And I like that Shimako had this hesitancy and “why exactly do we need to be sisters?” thing, like Sei had (without the unhealthy part)
I love the way Shimako dodges questions - excellent counter to Sachiko trying to forcibly say things implicitly. It’s interesting cuz both her and Yumi will ask dead-obvious questions, but in a totally different tone, and with totally different results)
The way Shimako & Noriko care so intently for each other, as they discuss the sister thing on the way home is so sweet. Amazed Noriko is willing to go help
Tsutako-san is such a great advice giver. Also the things about her not liking having her picture taken is golden
Wow, Sachiko is sooooo unbelievably toxic with Noriko. I guess I just forgot this from the anime, but she really couldn’t be any more unpleasant, manipulative, and bullying. Especially this bullshit over using Noriko -san for Shimako? After all this time?! When she rarely bothers Touko over using onee-sama? Idc if she’s doing it to push Shimako to take Noriko as her sister (not Sachiko’s place anyway), it’s so hypocritical and self-serving. And of course she strategically picks the time when Rei & Yoshino aren’t there.
I wish Shimako had enough experience to see the different options for how to handle that situation, and really feel for her that she’s so overwhelmed with everything. I wish Yumi hadn’t just sat there silently, even tho she was flustered. She could have at least blurred something out (tho I guess the result of that would have just been Sachiko telling her to shut up anyway)
Impressed that Noriko has so much emotional maturity (apparently more than me lol). It’s interesting how after being in Shimako’s head for this entire story, we get presented with an entirely different perspective. Their becoming sisters scene was so beautiful, but I hate that Sachiko’s lashing out at Noriko is the reason for it. I’d like to think there were so many other ways they could have arrived at that same conclusion. Anyway the whole “just let me borrow it for a bit, like the 数珠” thing was really sweet
Book 10, story 2 (ongoing 58%)
I appreciate that Yoshino called Rei on the fact that she had no objections to Yoshino possibly doing Kendo, after the surgery. Tho personally I agree with Rei on this one (not for health reasons), they’d probably be better off in separate clubs
Proud of Yoshino for just charging ahead with applying for the club. Kinda ridiculous that the adults all feel the need to take Rei’s feelings into consideration on that level tho
Yoshino’s narration of Noriko’s first visit is interesting. She has the totally wrong read on the situation bc of her ongoing conflict with Rei. Whereas Shimano had the correct read, but felt unable to act. Yumi probably half got it, and half wallowed - or maybe she views it naively too. We haven’t had her perspective yet.
It took me a bit to realize the story had respond like a day or two from where the first story ended. Yet another example where the anime’s ability to portray things simultaneously is an advantage over the novel.
I love how (at the very least, in Yoshino’s perception), Rei is the more emotionally fragile and dependent of the two. While they both have codependency issues, Yoshino actively tries to make Rei stronger and more independent of her - both with the earlier returning the rosary, and now with John the club. This time is as much for her own sake as Rei’s tho - which makes it extra cool!!
Omg she got paired with Tanuma Chisato of all people, upon entering the club 
- poor girls. But I’m sure they’ll work it out lol
Yoshino is starting to think of getting herself an 妹, both for labor and for getting her mind off Rei. The first isn’t so serious, but the later is certainly an idea. I wonder if she’ll manage soon (nothing ever happens that conveniently in this series lol. I imagine it will take quite a long time)
Rei’s first talk with Yoshino after 3 days, I was like ちょっと怖いそうな内容、大丈夫かな〜
General thought: I love the way Yoshino and Rei fight, but still work out their issues in the end. It was really fun to read, cuz you could totally see where both of them were coming from.
Book 10, Story 3
The 3rd story is my 2nd or 3rd favorite painful drama arc in the series (the other rival being Sei’s origin story, and later on all the back and forth with Yumi & Touko that I’m really looking forward to)
In part cuz I’ve seen the anime, I had a slightly more level impression of Sachiko in story 3 (don’t worry, she still pissed me off plenty in story 1, and some moments of story 3). And also has a somewhat different impression of Touko this time around. I’m super looking forward to next volume!
I noticed there’s some subtle things I missed when I watched the anime. Also I really wish Yumi had given back the rosary to Sachiko at that point. (Spoiler for next volume: Tho knowing what comes in the next volume, I’m glad she didn’t, cuz that would have been an excruciatingly painful time to break up, and even Sachiko doesn’t deserve that)
Anyway it’s interesting to read what’s basically a (very tastefully written) NTR storyline and (spoiler for next volume): the way the author totally subverts that
Book 11
There’s a difference btwn 台所 and キッチン. Interesting
I wasn’t expecting this one to have as light of a tone as it did, but apparently the author didn’t want to drag the dark tone over two books - which I think was a wise decision. Otherwise I’m so glad Yumi finally got some solid character growth. She’s learning to be more independent and assertive, that she can’t base all her happiness around Sachiko, that others really care for her, etc. Also her very grown-up realization that Touko isn’t the problem - the fact that she feels she can’t trust Sachiko, (which she understands is both of their fault/responsibility)
I found the thing of “my grandmother told me not to tell you” a bit of a cheap excuse, on the author’s part. She could have just as easily told Yumi something was up, like that there was an ongoing family matter that she would have to deal with for a while or something. I appreciated though that she did own up to her mistakes in the end, and also getting to see how vulnerable and afraid of losing Yumi she was. Plus the way that tied in with the old lady Yumi met & her grandmother. (You know whenever there’s an old lady in this series, they’re gonna have some sorta special role to play)
Speaking of getting to seeing different perspectives, I had a different perception of Touko over this and last volume than when I watched the anime. I still think she was plenty disrespectful to/inconsiderate of Yumi at times - but I also think she was really going all-in supporting Sachiko behind the scenes, and it’s understandable that she’d snap the way she did, b/c she doesn’t know Yumi well, and doesn’t have all this info we have about what’s going on in Yumi’s head.
And speaking of Touko, I loved the way Yumi handles her, once she realizes that Touko isn’t the issue. She’s all clever about turning the tables on her - both with the “I’ll start crying” manipulation, and the fact that she was asking her to come volunteer in the first place. The teasing her while she’s volunteering was great too, and it’s cool watching Touko both genuinely try to be helpful, and getting all bent out of shape. Also I was impressed by Touko’s ability to set such clear limits, when she gave into Yumi’s request. She needs to get better at giving hints tho - they’re too opaque. Like wth was Yumi supposed to get out of “don’t get in the car w/ Suguru, he’s a terrible driver”?? I’ve experienced the arc twice, and I still don’t get what she was even trying to communicate there. I do appreciate that both Suguru and Sei (as 18-19 year olds) are not the best drivers - that’s a nice bit of realism. Speaking of realism, I appreciate that Mami knew something was up, and had some isolated facts, but couldn’t fully connect the dots - that was very realistic. Otoh I feel like she’s a lot less interesting than Minako - all bark, no bite. Then again, it’s good that the author’s not relying on her to move the plot forward, cuz I felt like she leaned on the newspaper a bit too frequently, in past volumes.
On the topic of fault and responsibility, I love how both Yoshino and Youko were immediately like “whatever happened, I’m sure it’s Sachiko’s fault” - that felt a bit vindicating. While I don’t generally find Youko interesting, she was helpful here, and having her to balance out Suguru was a great choice. Speaking of Suguru, I love his interactions w/ Yumi in general, though I do worry about poor Yuuki… and it makes me really want to read his series to find out just what is actually going on between them (“light skinship” - yeah, why don’t I trust that?). Anyway I appreciate that Suguru’s helpful at the most important moments, but also a complete pain in the ass. It definitely came as a surprise to me that I’ve found myself liking him as much as I do.
Speaking of surprises, apparently after book 10 there were a ton of readers writing in to ask the author not to make Touko into Yumi/Yoshino’s sister. That never would have remotely occurred to me when I read volume 10. The author did outright say she’d never even considered pairing her w/ Yoshino, b/c they’re such a terrible match. (Of course that doesn’t necessarily mean she’d pair her with Yumi either). Spoiler for a lot of future volumes: knowing what’s coming, since I’ve seen the anime, I can totally see the seeds the author is planting already in this volume
Otherwise I loved the old lady and Sei & Kei’s relationship (it would be hilarious if they started dating or something). Also I found Sei basically asking if Yumi wanted to be her’s, and Yumi turning her down interesting. On one hand, I think they actually have really good chemistry and would work well in a lot of ways. Otoh, I can kinda see what Sei means about “it seems like Yumi would take a lot of energy to keep up with”… but it’s not like Sachiko has kept up with Yumi all that much. In any case, I really appreciated Sei (and others) telling Yumi to value herself more, and pointing out that (as much as Sachiko chose her), she chose Sachiko - pointing out that she’s not as helpless as she thinks she is… tho it kinda bothers me that Sei didn’t call up Sachiko to get a better sense of what’s going on.
Shimako telling Yumi she should get a sister really rubbed me the wrong way, and I don’t like that the author did that. I also don’t understand why anyone there had any objections to bringing in a volunteer, but especially Shimako of all people… It did make for a good setup for the 屁理屈 from the others, about why they couldn’t intervene with Yumi teasing Touko tho.
I didn’t really care for the umbrella thing. Losing it was great as a plot device, and I appreciated the symbolism with her getting it back (and the mystery of “who mended this”) - but like the teacher’s soliloquoy
Final thought: I’m pretty sure the anime ended with the Sachiko-Yumi 仲乗り scene (which was great), but I like that here it ended with the Sayako & Yoshino scenes
Book 12
Well if you’ve read 私の百合はお仕事です! | L27 now you know where 綾小路 and 西園寺 got their names from!
I was rolling my eyes at Sachiko in the beginning, and was like “really?! Are we just going on repeat with the terrible communication here?!”. Her calling Yumi 反抗的 was ridiculous, as were half her excuses for avoiding the amusement park… Yoshino’s suggestion of “suggest something you can only do in summer” was brilliant, and then it turned into “Yumi, come to my summer house with me”!!! I’m not exactly a big fan of their relationship, but it was like “now she’s finally getting it! I’m so happy for you Yumi!”
I enjoy seeing characters grammatically analyze other characters’ words.
The exchange between Yuuki & Yumi at home with her warning him about Suguru makes me really wonder what’s up btwn them, and what he’s not telling her. Also it’s interesting to see the things she dislikes about Suguru - like she seems bothered to an extent by his sexuality but it seems to only be because of Sachiko and Yuuki, and that he’s kinda predatory.
I appreciated Yoshino giving yumi clear and intelligent advice wrt the “invite someone” dilemma. I wasn’t really sure why Yumi considered inviting Touko as “doing the same thing to Sachiko that Sachiko had done to her”. Honestly I think it’s pretty cool that Yumi thought of inviting Touko so easily - even though she still wasn’t getting the point that Sachiko wanted her to invite people she wanted to invite (instead of ppl she thought would please Sachiko). I also appreciated that Sachiko didn’t feel any jealousy over inviting Sei (who Yumi has a bit of a guilty conscience over), and that Yumi got way overanalytical about it.
The whole その券 vs その件 & 車で vs くるまで misunderstanding was hilarious! It’s nice to see them have a light-hearted & genuine miscommunication, rather than a huge misunderstanding due to non-communication. Also I appreciate that Yumi’s improved wrt her own self-deprecation & confidence, but isn’t like 100% there yet either - nice realism
Servant-language is sooooooo annoying. It’s the most ridiculous level of honorifics/keigo possible. I got through it, but it’s just so tedious. I was amused at Yumi feeling 複雑 about their name honorifics. Also I love seeing Yumi get called Yumi-sama (every time it occurs in the series). The social class differences are utilized quite well in this story, in general.
Yumi being surprised at the presence of the knife & fork was great. Yumi requesting Ave Maria on piano (I guess that’s their “couple song”).
The scene with Yumi waking up Sachiko was golden - loved her being all flustered and stuff, was adorable!
読書三昧 - a perfect phrase to describe myself!
Yumi’s trip with Yuuki and her friends was great, but I felt soooooo bad for her, when his friends started bringing up/imagining rumors about her and Suguru (tho the actual joke about “Kashiwagi-senpai should marry Yumi, cuz then he’d have two Yuukis” was funny on its own). Tho Suguru giving her a ride back, and her feeling “maybe he’s not actually that bad”… until he made another comment about Yuki 
Yumi’s line wondering if Cinderella actually had a “happily ever after”, after having to deal with the petty rich girls was really poignant. And in general, I relate to Yumi so hard on this class consciousness stuff
One thing that was interesting is that she seemed actually relieved to see Touko at the table (she even uses 嬉しい). In the anime, it seemed like she was disappointed that Touko was still around. I love that Touko actually gave a her a decently solid, clear warning about what was up this time - and it seems like she properly understood it (in the anime she seems a bit more airheaded about it, iirc).
山百合会 showing up was a nice enough addition (probly just to plz the readers), though I found it a bit unrealistic. Otoh I didn’t feel like Tsutako & Mami’s excursion added much of anything. But maybe it will be relevant next volume?
I loved Yumi showing up to the party, and Touko being like “you came even though I warned you?! wth is wrong with you??” (Touko’s such a cute tsundere). Suguru’s interactions with Yumi at the party, and then Yumi & Sachiko were quite enjoyable (and of course a necessary explanation for the audience). It’s interesting that none of them seemed standoffish with each other this time around, and I liked that he was genuinely impressed.
More importantly: Yumi pulling out マリア様の心, and being the only person to please the old lady, is one of the best moments in the entire series (though it landed much harder for me in the anime)
The ending of this was really sweet. Overall, this is the first volume where I genuinely fully enjoyed Yumi & Sachiko as a couple, and that was a really nice change
Book 13
Story 1:
- Yuuki & Yumi at Suguru’s place was hilarious
- What was up w/ Touko just crashing on the party for 2 hrs?
- Yuuki figured out that Touko was the issue wrt Yumi’s fight w/ Sachiko, even though Yumi never mentioned anything to him
- Also he thinks Touko is cute, aww
- Was not expecting to see math analogies in this ridiculous plan!
- Yuuki being protective of Yumi when Kobayashi is trying to flirt with her
- Yumi wanting to cover her ears when Kobayashi mentions that there’s gay people and trans people (おかま)
- As the conversation goes on, it’s clear Yumi doesn’t have any actual issue w/ the trans thing. While she sometimes seems casually homophobic, it seems it’s more about social standards [I’m not sure what I meant by this, but it was in my notes], and certain characters’ behavior
- It’s nice that Sachiko was forgiving about the plan, but her saying that she would have thrown a tantrum, once she saw through the plan, b/c she knows the 山百合会 girls will be forgiving of it - so obnoxious!!
- Sachiko turning the lines on Yuuki was great! And then she fainted, cuz of the big guys… oops
Story 2:
- Overally I really didn’t like this story. Mami is boring, and I would have much rather seen Noriko & Shimako’s actual date
- I’m glad Minako wasn’t 100% gone - she’s so much more interesting
- I wonder what sort of connection Shimako & Takuya will form
- Mami getting all excited about Takuya… I have to wonder if she’s into him, or if it’s just a journalist thing
- I guess the whole twist with the old guy actually being Takuya was kinda cool… but the whole thing was just way too dragged out
- As much as Minako was way too over the top, I wish we’d see Mami actually succeed at something wrt the Roses
Story 3: Okay, I guess if you wanted some Yoshino x Rei fanservice, this was great. But for me it was a really boring omake that I could have just skipped
Book 14
- The long awaited meeting between the two student councils did not disappoint!
- Sachiko being so affirming of Alice, despite freezing up for a bit, and then Yumi being both territorial and also being like “of course we can be friends”
- I love that Yumi adds that it felt like she gained a girl friend
- Yumi’s comment that if you line Rei & Alice up, you have trouble distinguishing who’s which gender was a bit lol
- In general I really like the way Alice is incorporated into the novels. From a 2024 US perspective, it would be easy to be critical of it. But in the time & setting, I think it’s both very realistic and very affirming.
- Like they all just wholeheartedly accept Alice at the meeting
- It makes sense that the Lilian girls are gonna compare the differences between them & Alice, when it comes to clothes and stuff… but also the fact/way that they’re comparing is coming from the fact that they accept Alice’s identity in the first place
- Also Alice’s identity is certainly viewed with less of the low-key prejudice/stereotyping than how the two explicitly gay characters (Suguru & Sei) are initially characterized… tho to be fair, that has as much to do with their behavior vs Alice’s being a total sweetheart all the time
- Otoh this sorta thing is one of the few instances where Japanese is very rigidly gendered, in a way that English is not - since it doesn’t have gender neutral equivalents for 彼/彼女、男/女 afaik
- オカマ is arguably a bit vulgar - but it’s not always inherently negative. Like there’s a clear difference between when Kobayashi uses it vs when Kanako uses
- Also tbh, I’m not even sure that gendered religious schools today would be so accepting/affirming
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- I love all of Yumi & Yuuki’s interactions. They’re like the sweetest siblings, and it makes me want to just hug them both. I really hope we see more of that in the companion series
- I loved seeing Yumi get pissed at Kanako, on Alice’s behalf
- Hanadera’s split path thing, with the sports vs culture sides, was interesting. I love that Yuuki and Yumi both had the same “alternate sides every day” mentality
- Yumi pulling the “but you told me you’d always listen if I ever asked something of you” line on Kashiwagi was great
- Yumi forcing him to take off the costume was even better. Good for her!
- I really enjoy their interactions in general, they’re quite fun
- I love the way Yumi can be really supportive of Sachiko, and also knows how to handle her
- And Sachiko has some sense that this is going on, and is okay being guided in this way
I found the ending thing where Yumi’s wandering recklessly in the costume a bit hard to swallow, but I get that it was there to connect to Sachiko’s whole “I’d recognize you no matter what”
Book 15
Main thought: it managed to make a 体育祭 not boring. I’m impressed
Things I liked (if you can’t tell, I really like Touko)
Yumi x Touko:
- Touko is clearly incredibly concerned for Yumi, regularly
- Yumi is both very competent at handling her and very charmed by her.
- Yumi firmly stopping Touko, before Touko could tell her Kanako’s business! Spoiler for S4 & corresponding volumesYumi very firmly showed Touko that she’s not remotely interested in knowing about someone’s personal business, unless that person tells her directly… so wow Touko is unnecessarily paranoid later on (poor girl)
- Yumi only told Touko about how all she wanted with the wager was to connect with Kanako
- Touko being all ツンツン after she gets flustered - 可愛い
- Yumi later imitating Touko when asking Tsutako for pics
- Yumi looking towards where Touko was standing, and then being disappointed she wasn’t still there
- Yumi instinctively starting to cheer for Touko during the festival
- Touko being dodgy about allegedly wanting to dance with Sachiko (Maybe this is just my headcanon, but I’m fairly sure she wanted to dance w/ Yumi)
Yumi x Sachiko:
- At this point in the story, I actually really like their relationship. They’re secure and supportive of each other, and Sachiko has become so much more reasonable
- Sachiko being super nervous to meet Yumi’s parents, when it hadn’t even occurred to Yumi
- Yumi meeting Sachiko’s father by accident cuz of the scavenger hunt
Yumi x Kanako:
- I like that Kanako’s finally engaging w/ her as a person
- Also that fact that all she wanted was a picture together was great
Touko x Kanako:
- I love how much they hate each other
- The whole thing with them fighting in the middle of the match… I have to wonder whether that was just them being ridiculous, or (my own headcanon/wishful thinking) Touko was trying to help Yumi indirectly
- I’m really curious about the fact that they both showed up at the 山百合会の館together at the end
Yoshino:
- Fiery, cranky, and enjoyable as always. She’s like 75% of what made the sports festival beareable
- The whole bet she made w/ Eriko is great, and I’m curious to see how that plays out.
- Spoiler for S4 & corresponding: I’m looking forward to meeting Nana, and getting more of her in the books
- Her not telling Yumi about the point difference at the end was hilarious
Anyway as you can tell, I don’t like sports, but I really enjoy Toukou 
Random text b/c Discourse is being a pain… ok seriously, Discourse 
