The Missing O
literally one of the reason i love stl. mc's friendships are not instruments to her romance. it's a whole nother theme explored. i want more of this bc most of the slice of life shoujosei and even teen bl/gls are so romance-focused. i dont want impressionable v young readers to think a romantic relationship is the only relationship they should prioritise above all
exactly!!! i found it so refreshing that there's such a heavy focus to Mitsumi's desire to belong to Tokyo, and finding friendship in girls so different from her, all flawed and clumsy with their feelings, but with hopes and dreams and talents of their own. whenever the focus goes to them exploring being teenagers together and exploring the fears of growing older i miss being a teenager. such a great story, we need more romances that expand to friendship and growth for all characters
u articulated this so well im lwk baffled that the anxieties and angst of trying to find ur footing and belonging at that stage is not that explored in other school romance anime. i feel so nostalgic watching mitsumi and the girls huddle around in their sleepovers. mika's story was relatable asf they might as well use my name instead of hers
kimi no todoke and horimiya are the ones who focus a bit on friendships but they def fall short to stl :D
I KNOW RIGHT!!! like, there's so many romance stories based on being new to a whole world, and those anxietes and fears are so loosely recognized is sort of sad. i love mika, and i love that at the beggining of the story is very easy to dislike her, but she eventually finds her own value besides being pretty or recognized for whatever she does good, and starts to experience love and acceptance just because she's deserving of it. i feel like it's a very similar story to yano from kimi ni todoke, but mika has been developed as a character through the whole manga, unlike yano, who is still a very good character.
i also like busu ni hanataba wo and Tabata's quest for friends and love, but since it's a lot more comedic and lighthearted, it's not really comparable to stl. well, none of them are, sadly!
sorry for the yapping i just love stl so much..
anyone knows any romance manga/manwha/manhua that has a heavy focus on female friendships? i'm obsessed with they way skip to loeafer portrays the friendship between the main girls and i really wish to read something similar to that（TДT)