Please Read This Manga I'm Begging - Tumblr Posts
YEEEESSSS HOLY SHIT SOMEONE ACTUALLY SUMMARISING THE MANGA I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS MANGA IT'S SO SO SO PEAAAAKKKK (spoilers under cut)
Lmao I read the entire post-anime section, including the Bad Alien arc, in one four-hour stream I did on the Hoshitele discord, and...man. I cannot stress enough how absolutely batshit INSANE the post-anime got. I think reading the whole Bad Alien arc in one sitting, going on no food or sleep, probably shook me up more but FUCK me if it wasn't a trip.
Everyone was hyping up Chapter 42/43, when Yuu had her psychotic slip, and of course without me knowing a thing. So obviously I got there and was at a complete loss for words. Like, I don't think I've EVER seen a CGDCT manga get that heavy. Especially since the Yuu of chapter 42 is so different to the Yuu of the anime. It's like looking at two different people. Seeing someone who's always presented as either funny and energetic or calm and soothing just slowly lose their mind, lashing out and becoming cold is. Actually Pretty Horrifying! As someone on Hoshitelecord once said, "if Matataki stops using 'fruit', shit's about to hit the fan".
I think that Umika's growth is quite amazing considering the person she was at the beginning. She went from blaming and shutting herself inside her room for a week after losing one tournament, to being unfazed by her closest friend (who's an OP alien with superpowers!) pinning her down and threatening her and then fucking DIGGING THROUGH A FOREST UNTIL HER HANDS WERE RAW JUST TO SAVE HER. Most people would have lost their sanity and she KEPT. FUCKING. GOING. I initially had my reservations about her being the leader of the Model Rocket Association, but that single act convinced me that despite her shortcomings she DESERVES to be called President.
(Oh, and also count the fact that she saved Matataki from drowning with zero hesitation. She just immediately grabbed her and pulled her out. This girl is AMAZING.)
I can rant about this manga for aaaaages but I'm just so glad that more and more people are coming to appreciate it, because it really is amazing. Super sad that the anime will never get a second season, because aough people are missing out on absolute peak.
(Yuumika and Harutaki for the win, by the way. They're so married.)
When I started Hoshikuzu Telepath, I expected a mediocre CGDCT and slight yuri undertones that started and ended at the forehead-elepathy.
DAMN was I wrong.
Warning: MAJOR spoilers. This is pretty much a summary occasionally mixed in with my thoughts.
In short, if you haven't read Hoshikuzu Telepath, you should read it. It's really fucking good.
In long:
First off, Umika is a believable anxious character. She doesn't just get sad or withdrawn, she'll cry if she gets too overwhelmed or worried. That isn't to say there aren't anxious people who just shut down, but it is nice to see a character who cries and is still presented as emotionally strong.
Because Umika is! So many stories present protagonists that supposedly get up after being knocked down, but there's never the impressions that they're knocked down, just pushed back. They don't cry, get frustrated, or react poorly, they just have an obstacle they need to get around and, while the progress they make feels satisfying, it never feels like they overcome the internal strife they supposedly have.
With Hoshikuzu Telepath, things actually get worse before they get better. There's almost always something stressing out one of the members of the main cast, because they're all girls with some level of trauma, but it doesn't become oppressive at any point.
To start, Matataki joining was pretty lighthearted. There were some rough spots, but it kind of felt inevitable she'd join. The subsequent competition, Umika's panic attack during her speech, and the listless air of defeat after the competition was not where I expected the story to go, but it was what got me hooked.
The heartfelt conversation between Umika and Yuu in the lighthouse... that was YURI! It also sets up the core of Umika and Yuu's relationship and it's connection to light. And, of course, the fact that while Umika thinks she's an absolute failure, other people at school think its awesome that she makes model rockets is great! Because, yeah, that's what all people in a field of expertise experience at some point, or at least what they deserve. You have experience and think you're terrible, but someone without experience thinks its cool.
To be honest, I think Matataki is my favorite character. I'm a sucker for mechanics, I'm a sucker for characters with a gay little fang, and I relate to a lot of her character. Her relationship with Haruno is great, especially when she realizes she can't blow the material down the rocket tube because that would mean an indirect kiss. And of course, Haruno coming in when she's brooding, yelling about how she's gonna beat her in a competition and make her lose, then taking her goggles... excellent.
Side note: I would not object if this managed to become poly yuri. The relationships between our four main characters are all well established and they aren't relegated to only having deep and intimate character moments with their narrative foil.
Matataki facing off against Haruno, Umika, and Yuu was great, and her losing on purpose so she could go back to being alone was an amazing character moment. And then Haruno calling that she used an engine too small? AGHHH! Matataki getting pissed off and trying to push everyone away again is great! She's not just someone who says some kinda mean things and doesn't ever mean them, she genuinely says this to hurt, not because she hates anyone, but because she distrusts them. And earlier, she made Umika cry with her words, which just makes Umika coming back and making a speech about wanting to make a place where all of them can pursue their dreams and be comfortable... it feels so genuine because we've SEEN her pursue this goal!
Umika getting sick from all this exertion is a bit contrived, but it leads to some good yuri, so I have no complaints. Also Umika's mom works at the aquarium. I wonder if we'll get the state-mandated aquarium yuri date? Umika's gay little dream about Yuu is cute, and her asking Yuu to not do forehead-elepathy with anyone else is not just adorable, but a portent of the drama to come, as Yuu immediately does whatever Umika wants due to her desperation for someone who cares for her. While it just looks like a cute, two-sided yuri crush at this point, we can tell it's sowing the seeds for something that could be seriously codependent looking back. Also, while forehead-elepathy is obviously a (debatably) platonic stand-in for kissing, it feels way gayer. This is also where Yuu starts becoming aware of her feelings for Umika.
And here is where I start going feral over the chapter taglines. "I must be the only one who noticed that our hands are touching," shows Yuu's love for Umika so clearly. Umika is thrilled to have a companion like Yuu, and while she's pretty gay about it, she does not realize the extent of her influence on Yuu. Yuu thinks that Umika is the only one who truly and wholly accepts her and thus is desperate to be exactly what Umika wants her to be. Yet she also doesn't think that Umika could reciprocate those feelings, and thus worries about how their relationship would progress. Thus, she thinks that she's the only one who notices their hands touching.
The lighthouse meeting here demonstrates this perfectly. Yuu is following a request Umika gave her while delirious from fever with immense discipline. Then, Yuu is thrilled when Umika gets better at talking to other people. Then she's terrified. Terrified of Umika drifting away from her, terrified that if Umika doesn't need her anymore, she won't want her.
Umika gets better at talking to people and gives her presentation at the club leader meeting pretty well and tells Yuu about it. Yuu tries to voice her worries, but ultimately is afraid that Umika will push her away and plays it off and tells Umika that she's not doing forehead-elepathy with anyone else because Umika asked her too. And Umika doesn't remember, she apologizes, and Yuu calls herself stupid for it.
And the ending tagline here is GRAHHH. "An arm's length is so frustratingly short." Yuu wants to keep herself away, because she's becoming worried. She wants Umika to get better, and if Yuu gets too obsessed with Umika, she might try to stop that.
Yuu thinks that it's fine if Umika doesn't get better at talking to other people, because Yuu will always be able to understand her. And she feels terrible, because she wants Umika to get better at talking to other people, so the only person she can blame is herself.
She gets worse, but lets take a diversion to look at Haruno and Matataki and their gay ol' times together. Haruno arriving to Matataki, ready to ride on her motorcycle in a skirt, only for Matataki to put her in jeans and a biker jacket is great, but the fact that they talk about it being to Matataki's "taste," is... GRAHHHHH!!!
Haruno pouring out her worries about herself, talking about how she's grown, and thanking Matataki for helping improve is adorable. Haruno leaning over the railing, losing her balance, and falling back into Matataki's arms is adorable. And then Haruno says "I love it when... you're so strong and kind, Matataki-chan!" She was about to confess, I guarantee you.
Then Matataki gives her a new choker??? And Haruno grins like an idiot when she gets it and asks if she fits Matataki's tastes more now??? And then when Haruno asks her for help finding out what her grandfather's dreams were, she says "I love you!" when Matataki agrees????? They're so girlfriends.
Anyways, they've got a radio to the aliens now that only works intermittently and Yuu is FUCKED UP. She is panicking, torn between elation at possibly meeting her people and fear at leaving Umika. When they go to the coordinates, in the woods, where they think the UFO is going to land eventually, it doesn't come immediately. Then night passes and Matataki and Haruno leave Umika and Yuu to it.
Umika is positive, as usual, but then Yuu starts getting worried about her possessiveness. And then it gets fuckin' wild. The 4koma template that's only been broken for big moments is broken again as Yuu pins Umika to the ground and covers her mouth and starts talking about how "Only you could tug at my heart like that..." Then she starts caressing Umika's hand and face and talking about how Umika doesn't need other people, about how Yuu can understand her just fine, about how they should "stay together... forever." Then Yuu is overwhelmed with guilt and says that she doesn't really want to do any of that and runs off terrified.
I was NOT FUCKING EXPECTING THIS. I did not anticipate the series would delve into an actual toxic lesbian relationship, but here we are!
And, of course, Umika doesn't give up. Her digging through the grounds with her bare hands because she thinks that what the coordinates marked was actually a piece of meteorite that could restore the function of the radio... she really does love Yuu.
I'm getting a bit tired, so I won't go into their reconciliation, but it's nice seeing Umika realize her feelings for Yuu. And the fact that they both realize and say, in front of Haruno and Matataki, that they feel jealousy over each other in a way different than from friendship... c'monnnnn canon lesbians lets go, canon lesbians.
Also Matataki is getting interested in the Cosmic language (which is Esperanto! Pretty nice.) and I'm betting she's going to confess to Haruno in it so she can admit to herself that she's in love and then pass it off as an insult when Haruno asks what she said. Of course, this is going to be followed by Haruno saying it to Umika or Yuu, who will tell her what it actually means. Investing in this now.
The series does seem to be getting lighter now, what with Matataki in a maid outfit for the culture festival. I do like the scene where the middle schooler looks at the display from the Rocket Research Association and Umika shows her what everything does. It's nice seeing someone passing on their knowledge to someone and getting them interested in the field while sharing their passion. Even if they're only 15 (Umika, probably) and 14 (the middle schooler, probably) years old.
Also the yuri is getting cranked up after that mutual confession of jealousy, with Yuu and Umika pretty much flirting in public.
Also, can't remember when it happened, but Matataki really did say "Fuck them kids." Poor teacher gets constantly ignored, too.
This ended up being more of a summary than an analysis. Ah well.
The TVTropes page is also desperate to emphasize that these girls AREN'T EXPLICITLY ATTRACTED TO EACHOTHER GUYS ALRIGHT THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT CANONICALLY YURI!
TVTropes is wrong btw. They're gay. Gay as fuck.