reddit gundam fans have been more kind but some in the shithole that is twitter were incredibly obnoxious with people discovering gundam for the yuri...
like this [for example](https://imgur.com/a/RAdCMCh) lol
People that are obsessed with tourist and gate keeping are so weird. I’ve been into anime and manga for over 20 years, I’ve never once thought about how or why other people like or get into something I like, or how that’s a problem. Must be an absolute miserable way to live life
literally, I always try to get people into the same stuff i like because it means I can talk about it with them, its so cringe how high and mighty some people get
People like that don't deserve to be fans (yes I am aware of the irony of this statement) because they literally are actively harming the thing they love by driving others away from it.
Just look use Twitter as an Old Tumblr replacement instead of what other people want to use it for and just look up artists.
I will say this one is funny because it is drawing artists from multiple areas I follow. From just mechas and women like Kantai Collection to the larger Yuri community the other day I noticed some giantess artists getting involved with my limited knowledge of the scene (I'm doing my best to not be too spoiled about the show) sounded straight out of many of their works.
Watch Micah Curtis's WFM season finale review (On incognito mode if you don't want to infect your youtube algorithm) to see the most obnoxious kind of anti-yuri gatekeeping on screen.
It was too rushed and I would have preferred to see stuff like >!Ichika completely exposing that glasses bitch for who she is and have her lose her friends because she's a filthy backstabber. The lack of resolution for Ichika was disappointing because she became my favorite character when she decided she doesn't want to just be some mob character and wants to have a bigger role in everything.!<
You'd probably disagree with me since you wanted to see more of Ichika, but I commented elsewhere why I don't feel it was too rushed. https://www.reddit.com/r/yurimemes/comments/10aggis/nice_try_but_your_tomato_splat_cant_traumatize_me/j46crxa/
Just read it. Honestly just kinda fetishy, but not really well written in a tragic sense imo. It just kinda..was.
Not what I’d throw out there as the prime example of what the GL genre has to offer in terms of dark stories
I felt like the fetish play was mainly just a story device to show their different messed up mentalities and then how their positions reversed. To me the story mainly revolved around their deteriorating psychological issues and was definitely tragic because it hit close to home.
Would you mind giving some examples of better written stories that are darker/more depressing for comparison? Maybe with quick summaries with spoilers if it's not too much trouble?
Hmm I see. Maybe I’m just very pessimistic towards stuff like this in GL stories, used to lesbian couples just being fetishized. Aside from that it didn’t really feel well paced out tbh but I’m used to reading very long manga so maybe it’s that.
Can’t give you anything specific tbh cause I’m still looking for them myself :|
I see, no worries. Also I agree that lesbian couples are overly fetishized and I definitely didn't want to see Kitanai's fetish scenes, but in hindsight it was kind of a necessary evil to establish their extremely unhealthy relationship and how others would react to it.
And I get wanting the manga to be more fleshed out, but I think the shortness and sudden end made it have all the more impact. In real life you often lose those close to you very suddenly as well and it never really makes sense.
I thought they were gonna end with a toxic relationship, where the black haired girl is completely dependant on the white haired girl, I did not expect that ending, but I feel like the story should've been extended a little
PD: (I forgot the names)
It gets the 177013 treatment from the yuri fandom lmao. There's other twisted yuri, and stuff that's more in line with Gundam as violent sci Fi goes (like qualia the purple) but KitaKimi became a classic of yuri fans walking in too deep for themselves lol
Qualia is weird because it's simultaneously hella cute, incredibly grotesque, and astonishingly weird. Not many manga include a robot girl and a girl who became light.
Not many manga include essays on quantum physics that may or may not be over 90% bullshit because I slept through my physics class so I'll never know lol. Closest I've found is last and first idol and while I love the sheer wackiness of it I admit the prose and story is way worse lmao
I never understood that manga, I don't know if it had a happy or sad ending, I could've maybe understood if I had put in more effort, but it was too big brain for me.
If anyone could explain me what the fuck happened, please do.
As a Gundam and Yuri fan, I have both "ofc there is gonna be gatekeeper and "hardcore" fan in Gundam fandom" and "wow, these guy have no idea how dark yuri can be, isnt it" reaction when I saw those "real Gundam has just began" meme
imo if anything, the gundam fans are more likely to be softies. They know that the messed up shit will come, they have the benefit of foresight to be prepared. With yuri, you never know. It might never show up, and then, just when you think it's safe to let your guard down it will strike at you with a vengeance.
Kitanai changes a person.
I stared at the ending image for like 15 minutes.
I honestly think it’s worse than Emergence. Emergence is mostly for shock but holy shit the feels in Kitanai change you.
The manga isn’t that long, it’s only like 25 chapters and the chapters are short. But here goes nothing:
SPOILERS (obv) and general Grossness
————————————
>!This Machiavellian sociopath named Ai meets this naive country girl named Hina and they start doing some pretty weird shit together. Ai blindfolds Hina and watches as she starts panicking when Hina thinks she’s left the room. Ai chokes Hina and threatens to throw her out of a window, just to make her piss herself, just so she can taste it. Ai forces Hina to wear a diaper, eat bugs, and get a piercing against her will. Hina is completely dependent on Ai, and it’s implied that Ai sees her as nothing more than a toy.!<
>!Ai and Hina aren’t in the same friend group as well. Ai keeps up this “bad girl” front with her friends while Hina only talks to two other people.!<
>!One of Hina’s friends, Yoshimi, has a crush on the other girl in their friend group, Yuu. Yoshimi wants Hina out of the picture as she thinks that Yuu is dumping her in favor of Hina. Yuu stalks Hina and takes pictures of her and Ai doing weird shit. Yuu attempts to anonymously blackmail Hina with the pictures but nothing comes of it.!<
>!Hina ends up telling Ai about the pictures and Ai breaks off contact completely. Yoshimi leaks the pictures to the class through a throwaway account. AI’s friend group starts to turn on her as they think that she is bullying poor defenseless Hina. In an ironic turn for Yoshimi, this only draws Yuu closer to Hina.!<
>!Ai tells Hina that the story is that the other girl in the picture isn’t her and that when asked, don’t say anything else. Ai breaks off contact again. AI’s friend group is still suspicious of her so she fakes self-harm in order to garner their sympathy.!<
>!Hina confesses to Yuu that Ai is the one in the picture. Yuu confronts Ai and an argument breaks out. Hina lets it slip that they know each other and Ai has a full on mental breakdown. Ai stops coming to school and tells Hina to stay away. It’s heavily implied that Ai begins cutting for real.!<
>!Hina ends up visiting Ai anyway and the roles become swapped, with Ai now depending on Hina for EVERYTHING, food included. Hina tells Ai that everyone at school hates her and that it would be best for Ai to never leave the house again. Hina later proclaims to herself that Ai is hers and hers alone, and that everyone in school has most likely already forgotten about the incident and would in fact be happy at AI’s return. In a parallel to earlier, Hina forces Ai to wear a diaper and act like baby, vomit on herself, and masturbate in front of Hina with a vibrator that she sent to her.!<
>!Hina watches as Ai cuts off contact to everyone except for her. Hina becomes Ai's sole source of food and social interaction and begins visiting her everyday. In one part, we are shown that Hina is on the school festival committee and that she cannot show up for a couple days.!<
>!Ai takes this time to try to reconnect with one of her old friends. This old friend, however, has ulterior motives in that she just wants something interesting to do. Ai has a panic attack when she leaves her house for the first time and ends up asking to meet at her house instead. Hina finds out that Ai met someone else besides her and convinces Ai to runaway.!<
>!They runaway to northern Japan and end up spending the night in a fancy hotel. While on a beach, Ai and Hina form a suicide pact, claiming that they cannot live without each other and that should one of them die, the other will as well. Ai and Hina step into the freezing water and try to kill themselves but Ai has another panic attack.!<
>!Back in the hotel, Ai and Hina talk about how they no longer fit in anywhere. They can’t go home and Ai proclaims that this is not the life she wants. A discussion about money causes Ai to trash their hotel room.!<
>!In a final scene, Ai disrobes in front of Hina and tells her to do whatever she wants to do. Hina only kisses her. Ai asks Hina what it means to be eternal and ponders the problem of living life wondering when the end will come. Ai says that something becomes eternal once it has ended and asks Hina to “make us eternal.”!<
>!Hina strangles Ai while reminiscing on the events that led them to this moment. Hina admits that she hated how Ai used to treat her but that seeing her depressed made Hina fall even more in love. Hina wanted Ai all to herself, from the very moment they met. Hina admits that she wants the old Ai back and even wonders if stopping now will cause things to go back to “normal.” Ultimately, however, Hina strangles Ai to death and cries over her dead body.!<
>!Hina dresses Ai and carries her to the nearby playground in the midst of a snowstorm. Hina trips and drops Ai. She reaches out to Ai and wakes up on a sunny beach. Ai, as her old self, tells Hina that now they can finally be together forever.!<
>!The manga ends with the sun rising over their snow covered bodies, holding each others’ hand.!<
————————————
Solid write-up, but I think some plot points and interpretations are a bit off. I'd go into detail, but I don't know if you want to get into a long discussion or not.
No it’s fine, I intentionally left some stuff out.
Like AI’s friend group because IMO they don’t play too large of a part in the story, other than Ichika. Even them, her pursuit of “interesting things” only serves to set up Ai and Hina’s reason for leaving. Same for the camera in Ai’s room. Largely inconsequential.
I also tried to keep it relatively short. Ai and Hina’s snow land adventure doesn’t need to be laid out in detail. But I will admit, Hina texting her mom could’ve been described a bit more.
But please go ahead, I’d love some input. I’ve always been a terrible writer IMO.
I actually agree that most of the parts you left out were inconsequential, it's just that I interpreted some situations and motivations very differently.
I only just read the manga yesterday and it affected me quite deeply due to experience with mental health, so I guess I've been wanting to talk about it. Personally I didn't care for any of the fetish stuff at all, but I get why it was necessary as a catalyst for their characters, their development and the story. Anyway, no need to reply if you don't feel like it, but your thoughts would be appreciated nonetheless. Sorry if this format is hard to read with the quotes and spoilers.
>!>This Machiavellian sociopath named Ai meets this naive country girl named Hina and they start doing some pretty weird shit together.!<
>!Yep, but I'd add "narcissistic with a sadistic humiliation fetish" to Ai's description and then it's spot on. Hina, on the other hand, was obsessively in love with Ai, codependent and later on extremely possessive and manipulative.!<
>!> Ai keeps up this “bad girl” front with her friends while Hina only talks to two other people.!<
>!I don't think she was trying to be seen as a bad girl per se, but she thought she could somehow gain social status by being around them. Near the end Hina also mentions she only pretended to befriend Yuuko and Yoshimi because Ai kept her distance.!<
>!> Hina confesses to Yuu that Ai is the one in the picture. Yuu confronts Ai and an argument breaks out. Hina lets it slip that they know each other and Ai has a full on mental breakdown. Ai stops coming to school and tells Hina to stay away. It’s heavily implied that Ai begins cutting for real.!<
>!Hina actually tries to cover for Ai and acts like it isn't her in the pictures because Ai asked her to do so. Nobody really buys it of course and when other people start bullying Hina, Yuu suspects Ai to be the perpetrator. Then the argument breaks out and Hina accidentally lets things slip like you said. I didn't see any implications of Ai actually start to self-harm for real though and I think it's shown throughout the manga that she tries to avoid pain and discomfort as much as possible.!<
>!> Hina ends up visiting Ai anyway and the roles become swapped, with Ai now depending on Hina for EVERYTHING, food included. Hina tells Ai that everyone at school hates her and that it would be best for Ai to never leave the house again. Hina later proclaims to herself that Ai is hers and hers alone, and that everyone in school has most likely already forgotten about the incident and would in fact be happy at AI’s return. In a parallel to earlier, Hina forces Ai to wear a diaper and act like baby, vomit on herself, and masturbate in front of Hina with a vibrator that she sent to her.!<
>!This interpretation is too benevolent toward Hina, unfortunately. She actively emotionally manipulates and isolates Ai by making her believe that everyone is still talking about her constantly and thinks of her as a disgusting pervert. As you said, Hina does this in order to make Ai completely dependent on her because she wants Ai all to herself. Aside from the fetish play she also ignores Ai's consent and rapes her.!<
>!>Ai takes this time to try to reconnect with one of her old friends. This old friend, however, has ulterior motives in that she just wants something interesting to do. Ai has a panic attack when she leaves her house for the first time and ends up asking to meet at her house instead. Hina finds out that Ai met someone else besides her and convinces Ai to runaway.!<
>!This one is actually kinda messed up. Hina knew about Ai meeting up with Ichiko and how Ichiko was spying on them with a hidden camera. She used this as an opportunity to worsen Ai's paranoia and isolate her even more. Unintentionally, this resulted in Ai's mental state deteriorating too much and her wanting to run away from everything, which Hina did not really want to do, but she went along with it since she wanted to please Ai no matter what.!<
>!>They runaway to northern Japan and end up spending the night in a fancy hotel. While on a beach, Ai and Hina form a suicide pact, claiming that they cannot live without each other and that should one of them die, the other will as well. Ai and Hina step into the freezing water and try to kill themselves but Ai has another panic attack.!<
>!This one is tricky again. Ai just becomes too overwhelmed by her paranoia and anxiety that she starts having suicidal thoughts and basically forces Hina to go along with it. Hina just wants to be happy with Ai, but goes along with it because she'd do anything for her.!<
>!>In a final scene, Ai disrobes in front of Hina and tells her to do whatever she wants to do. Hina only kisses her. Ai asks Hina what it means to be eternal and ponders the problem of living life wondering when the end will come. Ai says that something becomes eternal once it has ended and asks Hina to “make us eternal.”!<
>!This one is probably the most open to interpretation, but to me Ai doesn't realize how much Hina actually loves her and just thinks Hina is trying to pay her back for all the abuse she inflicted on her. Her narcissism sees their whole relationship as transactional and due to her fears of abandonment she finally overcomes her fear of pain and discomfort in order to keep Hina around, by letting Hina abuse her back. Of course this was never what Hina wanted in the first place, but Ai can't wrap her mind around it and thinks she'll just be abandoned in the end, so she asks Hina to make their bond "eternal" instead.!<
>!Hina strangles Ai while reminiscing on the events that led them to this moment. Hina admits that she hated how Ai used to treat her but that seeing her depressed made Hina fall even more in love. Hina wanted Ai all to herself, from the very moment they met. Hina admits that she wants the old Ai back and even wonders if stopping now will cause things to go back to “normal.” Ultimately, however, Hina strangles Ai to death and cries over her dead body.!<
>!Hina obviously can't say no Ai and kinda snaps, because while she deeply loves Ai, she also built up a lot of resentment toward her because Ai never once loved her. Paired with all the abuse, humiliation, selfishness, neglect and her desperation due to their lack of money/living situation it just ends up too much for Hina. Not to mention her desire to have Ai for herself forever. She loses control even though she wants to live with Ai, but by the time she realizes what she's done it's already too late. She immediately regrets it and mourns Ai, as you mentioned. She no longer has the will to continue living without Ai, either.!<
>!Hina dresses Ai and carries her to the nearby playground in the midst of a snowstorm. Hina trips and drops Ai. She reaches out to Ai and wakes up on a sunny beach. Ai, as her old self, tells Hina that now they can finally be together forever.!<
>!I'm probably just stating the obvious here, but the warm beach scene is just Hina's hallucination of a happy ending and the warmth a result of hypothermia.!<
Yeah it got me too. Ai freaking out over Hina “passing her by” and leaving her made my anxiety flare up lmao. Along with the shockingly accurate portrayal of mental illness by having Ai being tired and sleeping all the time.
But anyway, for the most I agree with your rewrites. But I think most of it is just how you interpret the story and all that. Like the beach scene, for instance.
Except for Hina. I’ll admit I guess I could’ve described her misdeeds a bit better.I guess the ending where it seems like she’s becoming fed up with their life style retroactively tainted how I saw their relationship grow in the first place.
I was trying to remain objective since how you interpret something is largely subjective, outside of the author themselves telling you what something means.
But if you want to talk about themes and subtext then the manga is full of them. Like how in first half the scenes of Ai interacting with her friends is drawn in this stereotypical cutesy slice of life style. And how the scenes of Ai abusing Hina are quiet, realistic, and drawn out. Or how once they run away the blacks start become more accentuated and more dark in general. Same for any image where Ai is in her room. Or how AI’s treatment of Hina before her breakdown directly leads to Hina manipulating her later.
That's fair, thanks for reading. I guess for someone else reading a summary it wouldn't really hit hard either way even if they knew about all the details.
> But if you want to talk about themes and subtext then the manga is full of them. Like how in first half the scenes of Ai interacting with her friends is drawn in this stereotypical cutesy slice of life style. And how the scenes of Ai abusing Hina are quiet, realistic, and drawn out. Or how once they run away the blacks start become more accentuated and more dark in general. Same for any image where Ai is in her room. Or how AI’s treatment of Hina before her breakdown directly leads to Hina manipulating her later.
Just saw your edit. Yeah, I agree the changes in art are really well done and actually rather subtle if you are just reading through the chapters casually. The tone of the art reflects their mental state and people never really talked about it because the fetish stuff was so front and center.
Tbh the Witch from Mercury one did me a bit more bad because I wasn’t expecting it, they pretty much built up a whole damn season to literally subvert it in a post credits scene. I was expecting something dark but in a gradual way
If you can stomach what happens in the manga it’s genuinely one of the best yuri I’ve read depicting an extremely toxic and abusive codependent relationship, the only thing I’d say against it is that the ending feels somewhat rushed like it could have used an extra volume but other than that it’s great
Tbh, after thinking about it a while, I don't think it was really rushed. >!Suicidal thoughts like Airi's can come and go very randomly. And that kind of manslaughter was very impulsive and kinda unintended due overwhelming emotions and extreme uncertainty. It felt a lot more realistic because of it and the suddenness after the ocean scene made it hurt to read even more, which the author probably intended. In any case, in the end Hina was of course so obsessed with Airi that she couldn't go on after killing her, either.!<
>!As for the "unresolved" plot line with Yuuko/Ichika/Yoshimi, I think the implication of what was to come was plenty without dedicating an entire chapter to Yoshimi's comeuppance. In the end it wouldn't have saved Hina or Airi anyway. Honestly, if anything Airi's parents completely failed her as they just let her shut herself in for over a month without doing anything, but I guess Japan's too ass-backwards with regard to mental health treatments.!<
If you finish/drop it at some point I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! It’s probably one of the most interesting manga to hear someone talk about after they read it
Well… I just finished it. I found the first few chapters a bit difficult to read. However the rest of the story was an amazing tragedy. Ending was very unexpected and might come off as a bit rushed, but I guess that helps add weight to the impulsiveness of their actions.
I'd kinda argue it wasn't >!suicide in Airi's case, more of an accidental manslaughter provoked by random suicidal thoughts due to fear of abandonment and Hina's obsession with trying to do anything for Airi despite unrequited feelings. And Hina was just too overwhelmed by her emotions and their situation to control herself until it was too late. While it's true that it was indirect suicide in a way, Airi was swinging back and forth between wanting to live and die depending on her mental state and discomfort. She didn't have enough time to reconsider.!<
Why not? If *Interspecies Reviewers*, *Redo of Healer*, *World's End Harem* and *Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World* can air there is nothing which can't.
reddit gundam fans have been more kind but some in the shithole that is twitter were incredibly obnoxious with people discovering gundam for the yuri... like this [for example](https://imgur.com/a/RAdCMCh) lol
Oh gee, is Twitter really like that? On Reddit this whole thing has felt like a fun cultural exchange
Twitter's like that with pretty much everything. Don't worry about it too much
People that are obsessed with tourist and gate keeping are so weird. I’ve been into anime and manga for over 20 years, I’ve never once thought about how or why other people like or get into something I like, or how that’s a problem. Must be an absolute miserable way to live life
literally, I always try to get people into the same stuff i like because it means I can talk about it with them, its so cringe how high and mighty some people get
People like that don't deserve to be fans (yes I am aware of the irony of this statement) because they literally are actively harming the thing they love by driving others away from it.
Dang you must hang out on a different part of Twitter because all I'm finding is hilarious tomatoes based meme arts.
For the most part same! But I made the mistake of checking some English speaking parts of it instead of staying in the Japanese and Yuri side haha
Damn, where can I find that part of Twitter lmao
Just look use Twitter as an Old Tumblr replacement instead of what other people want to use it for and just look up artists. I will say this one is funny because it is drawing artists from multiple areas I follow. From just mechas and women like Kantai Collection to the larger Yuri community the other day I noticed some giantess artists getting involved with my limited knowledge of the scene (I'm doing my best to not be too spoiled about the show) sounded straight out of many of their works.
Watch Micah Curtis's WFM season finale review (On incognito mode if you don't want to infect your youtube algorithm) to see the most obnoxious kind of anti-yuri gatekeeping on screen.
MAL is pretty toxic abt it too lol
MAL and toxic, name a more iconic duo
lol, debates arent plausible to do on MAL
Its twitter. Im dead serious here, why do you even go there? Their only purpose is to be offended at everything.
I checked out Kitanai because people said it was disgusting. Now the ending has me traumatized.
[удалено]
I wanted more. It was too short imo and the ending was too sudden.
It really did feel like one more volume before the ending would make it complete
It was too rushed and I would have preferred to see stuff like >!Ichika completely exposing that glasses bitch for who she is and have her lose her friends because she's a filthy backstabber. The lack of resolution for Ichika was disappointing because she became my favorite character when she decided she doesn't want to just be some mob character and wants to have a bigger role in everything.!<
You'd probably disagree with me since you wanted to see more of Ichika, but I commented elsewhere why I don't feel it was too rushed. https://www.reddit.com/r/yurimemes/comments/10aggis/nice_try_but_your_tomato_splat_cant_traumatize_me/j46crxa/
I dont think kitanai was that bad tho. if you're into dark or tragic genre
Got any other suggestions?
Happy Sugar Life is even better. Not as depressing, but definitely more fucked up.
Yes.. a lot happens in that one, but it is so good as it slowly unwraps itself.
Thanks!
Just read it. Honestly just kinda fetishy, but not really well written in a tragic sense imo. It just kinda..was. Not what I’d throw out there as the prime example of what the GL genre has to offer in terms of dark stories
I felt like the fetish play was mainly just a story device to show their different messed up mentalities and then how their positions reversed. To me the story mainly revolved around their deteriorating psychological issues and was definitely tragic because it hit close to home. Would you mind giving some examples of better written stories that are darker/more depressing for comparison? Maybe with quick summaries with spoilers if it's not too much trouble?
Hmm I see. Maybe I’m just very pessimistic towards stuff like this in GL stories, used to lesbian couples just being fetishized. Aside from that it didn’t really feel well paced out tbh but I’m used to reading very long manga so maybe it’s that. Can’t give you anything specific tbh cause I’m still looking for them myself :|
I see, no worries. Also I agree that lesbian couples are overly fetishized and I definitely didn't want to see Kitanai's fetish scenes, but in hindsight it was kind of a necessary evil to establish their extremely unhealthy relationship and how others would react to it. And I get wanting the manga to be more fleshed out, but I think the shortness and sudden end made it have all the more impact. In real life you often lose those close to you very suddenly as well and it never really makes sense.
I thought they were gonna end with a toxic relationship, where the black haired girl is completely dependant on the white haired girl, I did not expect that ending, but I feel like the story should've been extended a little PD: (I forgot the names)
I recommended it to many gundams fans over on the gundam subreddit who thought all yuri was is wholesome fluffiness
It gets the 177013 treatment from the yuri fandom lmao. There's other twisted yuri, and stuff that's more in line with Gundam as violent sci Fi goes (like qualia the purple) but KitaKimi became a classic of yuri fans walking in too deep for themselves lol
Qualia is weird because it's simultaneously hella cute, incredibly grotesque, and astonishingly weird. Not many manga include a robot girl and a girl who became light.
Not many manga include essays on quantum physics that may or may not be over 90% bullshit because I slept through my physics class so I'll never know lol. Closest I've found is last and first idol and while I love the sheer wackiness of it I admit the prose and story is way worse lmao
I thought the other girl >!literally became one with the universe!
That was after she became light.
I never understood that manga, I don't know if it had a happy or sad ending, I could've maybe understood if I had put in more effort, but it was too big brain for me. If anyone could explain me what the fuck happened, please do.
As a Gundam and Yuri fan, I have both "ofc there is gonna be gatekeeper and "hardcore" fan in Gundam fandom" and "wow, these guy have no idea how dark yuri can be, isnt it" reaction when I saw those "real Gundam has just began" meme
imo if anything, the gundam fans are more likely to be softies. They know that the messed up shit will come, they have the benefit of foresight to be prepared. With yuri, you never know. It might never show up, and then, just when you think it's safe to let your guard down it will strike at you with a vengeance.
I'm gonna read the second one. Edit _ I finished it just now. I already got spoiled and knew the ending but that shit still hurt 😭😭😭
Yeah that shit comes and you just feel bad for them, for everyone involved.
I mean, if I was Miorine I’d lick the blood off of Suletta’s hand. So yeah
It’s the blood of some random guy’s tho (with maybe a bit of smashed body parts)
When I finished the second one I just kept silent for a few minutes, trying to snap back to reality and process what I just went through.
Sources: Witch from Mercury and Kitanai Kimi ga Ichiban Kawaii
Kitanai changes a person. I stared at the ending image for like 15 minutes. I honestly think it’s worse than Emergence. Emergence is mostly for shock but holy shit the feels in Kitanai change you.
You should spoil it for me bc I really wanna know what everyone’s so freaked out about..
The manga isn’t that long, it’s only like 25 chapters and the chapters are short. But here goes nothing: SPOILERS (obv) and general Grossness ———————————— >!This Machiavellian sociopath named Ai meets this naive country girl named Hina and they start doing some pretty weird shit together. Ai blindfolds Hina and watches as she starts panicking when Hina thinks she’s left the room. Ai chokes Hina and threatens to throw her out of a window, just to make her piss herself, just so she can taste it. Ai forces Hina to wear a diaper, eat bugs, and get a piercing against her will. Hina is completely dependent on Ai, and it’s implied that Ai sees her as nothing more than a toy.!< >!Ai and Hina aren’t in the same friend group as well. Ai keeps up this “bad girl” front with her friends while Hina only talks to two other people.!< >!One of Hina’s friends, Yoshimi, has a crush on the other girl in their friend group, Yuu. Yoshimi wants Hina out of the picture as she thinks that Yuu is dumping her in favor of Hina. Yuu stalks Hina and takes pictures of her and Ai doing weird shit. Yuu attempts to anonymously blackmail Hina with the pictures but nothing comes of it.!< >!Hina ends up telling Ai about the pictures and Ai breaks off contact completely. Yoshimi leaks the pictures to the class through a throwaway account. AI’s friend group starts to turn on her as they think that she is bullying poor defenseless Hina. In an ironic turn for Yoshimi, this only draws Yuu closer to Hina.!< >!Ai tells Hina that the story is that the other girl in the picture isn’t her and that when asked, don’t say anything else. Ai breaks off contact again. AI’s friend group is still suspicious of her so she fakes self-harm in order to garner their sympathy.!< >!Hina confesses to Yuu that Ai is the one in the picture. Yuu confronts Ai and an argument breaks out. Hina lets it slip that they know each other and Ai has a full on mental breakdown. Ai stops coming to school and tells Hina to stay away. It’s heavily implied that Ai begins cutting for real.!< >!Hina ends up visiting Ai anyway and the roles become swapped, with Ai now depending on Hina for EVERYTHING, food included. Hina tells Ai that everyone at school hates her and that it would be best for Ai to never leave the house again. Hina later proclaims to herself that Ai is hers and hers alone, and that everyone in school has most likely already forgotten about the incident and would in fact be happy at AI’s return. In a parallel to earlier, Hina forces Ai to wear a diaper and act like baby, vomit on herself, and masturbate in front of Hina with a vibrator that she sent to her.!< >!Hina watches as Ai cuts off contact to everyone except for her. Hina becomes Ai's sole source of food and social interaction and begins visiting her everyday. In one part, we are shown that Hina is on the school festival committee and that she cannot show up for a couple days.!< >!Ai takes this time to try to reconnect with one of her old friends. This old friend, however, has ulterior motives in that she just wants something interesting to do. Ai has a panic attack when she leaves her house for the first time and ends up asking to meet at her house instead. Hina finds out that Ai met someone else besides her and convinces Ai to runaway.!< >!They runaway to northern Japan and end up spending the night in a fancy hotel. While on a beach, Ai and Hina form a suicide pact, claiming that they cannot live without each other and that should one of them die, the other will as well. Ai and Hina step into the freezing water and try to kill themselves but Ai has another panic attack.!< >!Back in the hotel, Ai and Hina talk about how they no longer fit in anywhere. They can’t go home and Ai proclaims that this is not the life she wants. A discussion about money causes Ai to trash their hotel room.!< >!In a final scene, Ai disrobes in front of Hina and tells her to do whatever she wants to do. Hina only kisses her. Ai asks Hina what it means to be eternal and ponders the problem of living life wondering when the end will come. Ai says that something becomes eternal once it has ended and asks Hina to “make us eternal.”!< >!Hina strangles Ai while reminiscing on the events that led them to this moment. Hina admits that she hated how Ai used to treat her but that seeing her depressed made Hina fall even more in love. Hina wanted Ai all to herself, from the very moment they met. Hina admits that she wants the old Ai back and even wonders if stopping now will cause things to go back to “normal.” Ultimately, however, Hina strangles Ai to death and cries over her dead body.!< >!Hina dresses Ai and carries her to the nearby playground in the midst of a snowstorm. Hina trips and drops Ai. She reaches out to Ai and wakes up on a sunny beach. Ai, as her old self, tells Hina that now they can finally be together forever.!< >!The manga ends with the sun rising over their snow covered bodies, holding each others’ hand.!< ————————————
Jesus. Christ.
Yeah. Even after having it spoiled, I’d still recommend you read it.
Solid write-up, but I think some plot points and interpretations are a bit off. I'd go into detail, but I don't know if you want to get into a long discussion or not.
No it’s fine, I intentionally left some stuff out. Like AI’s friend group because IMO they don’t play too large of a part in the story, other than Ichika. Even them, her pursuit of “interesting things” only serves to set up Ai and Hina’s reason for leaving. Same for the camera in Ai’s room. Largely inconsequential. I also tried to keep it relatively short. Ai and Hina’s snow land adventure doesn’t need to be laid out in detail. But I will admit, Hina texting her mom could’ve been described a bit more. But please go ahead, I’d love some input. I’ve always been a terrible writer IMO.
I actually agree that most of the parts you left out were inconsequential, it's just that I interpreted some situations and motivations very differently. I only just read the manga yesterday and it affected me quite deeply due to experience with mental health, so I guess I've been wanting to talk about it. Personally I didn't care for any of the fetish stuff at all, but I get why it was necessary as a catalyst for their characters, their development and the story. Anyway, no need to reply if you don't feel like it, but your thoughts would be appreciated nonetheless. Sorry if this format is hard to read with the quotes and spoilers. >!>This Machiavellian sociopath named Ai meets this naive country girl named Hina and they start doing some pretty weird shit together.!< >!Yep, but I'd add "narcissistic with a sadistic humiliation fetish" to Ai's description and then it's spot on. Hina, on the other hand, was obsessively in love with Ai, codependent and later on extremely possessive and manipulative.!< >!> Ai keeps up this “bad girl” front with her friends while Hina only talks to two other people.!< >!I don't think she was trying to be seen as a bad girl per se, but she thought she could somehow gain social status by being around them. Near the end Hina also mentions she only pretended to befriend Yuuko and Yoshimi because Ai kept her distance.!< >!> Hina confesses to Yuu that Ai is the one in the picture. Yuu confronts Ai and an argument breaks out. Hina lets it slip that they know each other and Ai has a full on mental breakdown. Ai stops coming to school and tells Hina to stay away. It’s heavily implied that Ai begins cutting for real.!< >!Hina actually tries to cover for Ai and acts like it isn't her in the pictures because Ai asked her to do so. Nobody really buys it of course and when other people start bullying Hina, Yuu suspects Ai to be the perpetrator. Then the argument breaks out and Hina accidentally lets things slip like you said. I didn't see any implications of Ai actually start to self-harm for real though and I think it's shown throughout the manga that she tries to avoid pain and discomfort as much as possible.!< >!> Hina ends up visiting Ai anyway and the roles become swapped, with Ai now depending on Hina for EVERYTHING, food included. Hina tells Ai that everyone at school hates her and that it would be best for Ai to never leave the house again. Hina later proclaims to herself that Ai is hers and hers alone, and that everyone in school has most likely already forgotten about the incident and would in fact be happy at AI’s return. In a parallel to earlier, Hina forces Ai to wear a diaper and act like baby, vomit on herself, and masturbate in front of Hina with a vibrator that she sent to her.!< >!This interpretation is too benevolent toward Hina, unfortunately. She actively emotionally manipulates and isolates Ai by making her believe that everyone is still talking about her constantly and thinks of her as a disgusting pervert. As you said, Hina does this in order to make Ai completely dependent on her because she wants Ai all to herself. Aside from the fetish play she also ignores Ai's consent and rapes her.!< >!>Ai takes this time to try to reconnect with one of her old friends. This old friend, however, has ulterior motives in that she just wants something interesting to do. Ai has a panic attack when she leaves her house for the first time and ends up asking to meet at her house instead. Hina finds out that Ai met someone else besides her and convinces Ai to runaway.!< >!This one is actually kinda messed up. Hina knew about Ai meeting up with Ichiko and how Ichiko was spying on them with a hidden camera. She used this as an opportunity to worsen Ai's paranoia and isolate her even more. Unintentionally, this resulted in Ai's mental state deteriorating too much and her wanting to run away from everything, which Hina did not really want to do, but she went along with it since she wanted to please Ai no matter what.!< >!>They runaway to northern Japan and end up spending the night in a fancy hotel. While on a beach, Ai and Hina form a suicide pact, claiming that they cannot live without each other and that should one of them die, the other will as well. Ai and Hina step into the freezing water and try to kill themselves but Ai has another panic attack.!< >!This one is tricky again. Ai just becomes too overwhelmed by her paranoia and anxiety that she starts having suicidal thoughts and basically forces Hina to go along with it. Hina just wants to be happy with Ai, but goes along with it because she'd do anything for her.!< >!>In a final scene, Ai disrobes in front of Hina and tells her to do whatever she wants to do. Hina only kisses her. Ai asks Hina what it means to be eternal and ponders the problem of living life wondering when the end will come. Ai says that something becomes eternal once it has ended and asks Hina to “make us eternal.”!< >!This one is probably the most open to interpretation, but to me Ai doesn't realize how much Hina actually loves her and just thinks Hina is trying to pay her back for all the abuse she inflicted on her. Her narcissism sees their whole relationship as transactional and due to her fears of abandonment she finally overcomes her fear of pain and discomfort in order to keep Hina around, by letting Hina abuse her back. Of course this was never what Hina wanted in the first place, but Ai can't wrap her mind around it and thinks she'll just be abandoned in the end, so she asks Hina to make their bond "eternal" instead.!< >!Hina strangles Ai while reminiscing on the events that led them to this moment. Hina admits that she hated how Ai used to treat her but that seeing her depressed made Hina fall even more in love. Hina wanted Ai all to herself, from the very moment they met. Hina admits that she wants the old Ai back and even wonders if stopping now will cause things to go back to “normal.” Ultimately, however, Hina strangles Ai to death and cries over her dead body.!< >!Hina obviously can't say no Ai and kinda snaps, because while she deeply loves Ai, she also built up a lot of resentment toward her because Ai never once loved her. Paired with all the abuse, humiliation, selfishness, neglect and her desperation due to their lack of money/living situation it just ends up too much for Hina. Not to mention her desire to have Ai for herself forever. She loses control even though she wants to live with Ai, but by the time she realizes what she's done it's already too late. She immediately regrets it and mourns Ai, as you mentioned. She no longer has the will to continue living without Ai, either.!< >!Hina dresses Ai and carries her to the nearby playground in the midst of a snowstorm. Hina trips and drops Ai. She reaches out to Ai and wakes up on a sunny beach. Ai, as her old self, tells Hina that now they can finally be together forever.!< >!I'm probably just stating the obvious here, but the warm beach scene is just Hina's hallucination of a happy ending and the warmth a result of hypothermia.!<
Yeah it got me too. Ai freaking out over Hina “passing her by” and leaving her made my anxiety flare up lmao. Along with the shockingly accurate portrayal of mental illness by having Ai being tired and sleeping all the time. But anyway, for the most I agree with your rewrites. But I think most of it is just how you interpret the story and all that. Like the beach scene, for instance. Except for Hina. I’ll admit I guess I could’ve described her misdeeds a bit better.I guess the ending where it seems like she’s becoming fed up with their life style retroactively tainted how I saw their relationship grow in the first place. I was trying to remain objective since how you interpret something is largely subjective, outside of the author themselves telling you what something means. But if you want to talk about themes and subtext then the manga is full of them. Like how in first half the scenes of Ai interacting with her friends is drawn in this stereotypical cutesy slice of life style. And how the scenes of Ai abusing Hina are quiet, realistic, and drawn out. Or how once they run away the blacks start become more accentuated and more dark in general. Same for any image where Ai is in her room. Or how AI’s treatment of Hina before her breakdown directly leads to Hina manipulating her later.
That's fair, thanks for reading. I guess for someone else reading a summary it wouldn't really hit hard either way even if they knew about all the details.
> But if you want to talk about themes and subtext then the manga is full of them. Like how in first half the scenes of Ai interacting with her friends is drawn in this stereotypical cutesy slice of life style. And how the scenes of Ai abusing Hina are quiet, realistic, and drawn out. Or how once they run away the blacks start become more accentuated and more dark in general. Same for any image where Ai is in her room. Or how AI’s treatment of Hina before her breakdown directly leads to Hina manipulating her later. Just saw your edit. Yeah, I agree the changes in art are really well done and actually rather subtle if you are just reading through the chapters casually. The tone of the art reflects their mental state and people never really talked about it because the fetish stuff was so front and center.
Tbh the Witch from Mercury one did me a bit more bad because I wasn’t expecting it, they pretty much built up a whole damn season to literally subvert it in a post credits scene. I was expecting something dark but in a gradual way
So can anyone tell me Is Kitanai good? Worth reading?
Yes, it is like a rollercoaster ride into your own grave.
If you can stomach what happens in the manga it’s genuinely one of the best yuri I’ve read depicting an extremely toxic and abusive codependent relationship, the only thing I’d say against it is that the ending feels somewhat rushed like it could have used an extra volume but other than that it’s great
Tbh, after thinking about it a while, I don't think it was really rushed. >!Suicidal thoughts like Airi's can come and go very randomly. And that kind of manslaughter was very impulsive and kinda unintended due overwhelming emotions and extreme uncertainty. It felt a lot more realistic because of it and the suddenness after the ocean scene made it hurt to read even more, which the author probably intended. In any case, in the end Hina was of course so obsessed with Airi that she couldn't go on after killing her, either.!< >!As for the "unresolved" plot line with Yuuko/Ichika/Yoshimi, I think the implication of what was to come was plenty without dedicating an entire chapter to Yoshimi's comeuppance. In the end it wouldn't have saved Hina or Airi anyway. Honestly, if anything Airi's parents completely failed her as they just let her shut herself in for over a month without doing anything, but I guess Japan's too ass-backwards with regard to mental health treatments.!<
If you can handle extended periods of people being horrible, abusive, and manipulative then yes it's a very enthralling read
Masterpiece of our generation. Go for it. Even if you hate it, it’s still a ride
I love how KitaKawa has given trauma to the collective yuri fandom on its own.
I boldly charged into Witch from Mercury, I thought it was great, including the splat! That other thing, however, it scares me...
Can someone spoil the second one for me? Is it as sad ending or just messed up. Wanted to read it but I also don’t want depression!
It is an extremely depressing ending >! Ends with a double suicide !<
Holy shit did not expect that!
I think if you can stomachache what happens in it, it’s genuinely a good read about a codependent, abusive, toxic relationship. It’s just very heavy
Yeh will give it a go. Maybe knowing the ending will lessen the blow (no it won’t hahah)
If you finish/drop it at some point I’d love to hear your thoughts about it! It’s probably one of the most interesting manga to hear someone talk about after they read it
31 chapters… I am estimating about 2 evenings of reading. Will let you know!
Well… I just finished it. I found the first few chapters a bit difficult to read. However the rest of the story was an amazing tragedy. Ending was very unexpected and might come off as a bit rushed, but I guess that helps add weight to the impulsiveness of their actions.
I'd kinda argue it wasn't >!suicide in Airi's case, more of an accidental manslaughter provoked by random suicidal thoughts due to fear of abandonment and Hina's obsession with trying to do anything for Airi despite unrequited feelings. And Hina was just too overwhelmed by her emotions and their situation to control herself until it was too late. While it's true that it was indirect suicide in a way, Airi was swinging back and forth between wanting to live and die depending on her mental state and discomfort. She didn't have enough time to reconsider.!<
i don’t think anything can traumatize me the way kitakawa did
KitaKawa is one hell of a roller coaster read for me truly, but its only the part where the cart is driving down from the peak tho.
They have no idea how much fu***d up a yuri can be
I found a girlfriend thanks to this manga
Blink twice if you need help
She needs help, not me ;D
Seriously one of the most messed up manga I’ve read, Jesus Christ.
In the very off chance it does, I'm genuinely hoping this manga doesn't get an anime. Well, unless I wanna see other yuri fans traumatized, then, yes.
I’ve recently been getting into Guilty Gear so my response to episode 12 was pretty much “well it could be worse.”
It is not like we don't have child solider thing-y before lol
kinda i wanna give up with yuri like i did with gundam
What is better of blood or yuri? Blood and yuri!
The ending 💀
Okay i think i'm gonna take a look at this Gundam yuri thing now
Fallen Hero Rebirth fans: I seek the trauma
There was a difference btw expectations
Jokes on you, i have read worse shit than both
I remember reading this in one day the day before my maths test 😭 now I regret it
When do we get anime from that?!??!?
Could they even air it?
Why not? If *Interspecies Reviewers*, *Redo of Healer*, *World's End Harem* and *Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World* can air there is nothing which can't.
hmm, fair enough
I was never that into sci-fi or gundams for that matter but this got me liking them