Octave

My relationship with this manga goes about like this:

Year X, first read - didn't even finish, got too annoyed and frustrated at Yukino at the part when she covered up her swing with that man just like that, argh

~2012, second read - FINISHED, but kinda went on with a "the positives didn't beat the negatives" -feel

2016, now, third read - already liked it better... enjoyed the happy bits and the plot a lot more, anyway. (Maybe it's because I've grown up, seen many things which are presented in this manga in my own life, more or less.)

Only now did I finish this manga. I remember seeing it...Pft, hooo...A few good years, 3-4 at best....But I completely dumped it at that time, the initial chapters are too melancholic without proper aim, the protagonist has a shitty life because she has a shitty life....And then her future lover, Setsuno, arrives out of nowhere and bangs her.

It felt all over the place, without any direction or purpose -- wallowing in obtuse doom & gloom with distraught characters.
I want to say that the exposition portrays the soul of the protagonist perfectly, her journey as well, but at the same time it was simply not really fun to read through.
But, this time : I carried through. I read it all, almost in one sitting.
And I loved it.
This is such a good story, once the relationship between the main couple actually starts.

I started reading Octave right after I finished reading Girl Friends for the second time, and it bothered me that Girl Friends is hailed as the "ultimate Yuri manga"...Verily, Girl Friends is a very enjoyable manga...But, the ultimate Yuri? It didn't make sense to me that's the quintessential manga of the genre.

So, I started to read Octave...And the emphasis on the lesbian relationship, its hardships inherent to social axioms and the difficulties the characters themselves were facing (all a must within adult yuri stories), by their lonesome and as a group-unit were brought up so well -- especially the fact the protagonist was completely sexually unaware and exploited the security a random bishi gave her, at a time Yukino was distraught with nihilism, by essentially selling her body just so someone -- anyone, will value her existence and affirm it, was both sad and awe-striking. Even though some of the character-flaws were not covered within the story -- It left me wanting to pick up on the traits of the characters myself because the plot was moving ahead without holding my hand, all the while providing enough information to sympathize and relate.
As I read, the characters kept evolving subtly, everyone kept moving forward with such both dexterity and horrible awkwardness inherent to an abnormal couple, at an age, apparently, in which they cannot even marry -- with such stride and decorum, upon an emotional landslide that by the time I reached the twilight of the manga, I thought to myself : "Ah....This is definitely the best Yuri manga I had have ever read thus far."
Naturally, that does not say much. This story is not all fireworks, it has its share of mouth-grinding agony with circling around due to character-stupidity, but for the very least the stupidity was manageable -- it was an honest and frank plot-device : the protagonist's escapism, running away to her home, to her friends, returning to Toyko, evading, forcefully causing problems for herself, self-destructing -- those are traits insecure children have, and the story fully used them, even if at times it was torture to read through, my experience was generally positive.
And I'm a fuck-all grumpy cat, I hate first and ask questions later. Anyway, it's easy for me to say the positive outweigh the negative.

I read manga for so long, perhaps 5 or 6 years now, and I never felt like I ever wanted to purchase a manga.
But this? I would honestly feel proud to have the entire 6 volumes in my book shelf.
Just like I feel Octave, for me, topped Girl Friends, I hope to find a manga which tops this experience as well. What a pleasant journey that was.

P.S: I'm positive, that in a few years from now, I'll look back upon this comment with snide and think to myself : "Ah, I was way too indulgent in relaying my blabbering opinions as if a donkey's rump gives a darn."
But for now, I'll just shame myself by simply relaying what I feel about this manga, because I honestly do think : I should really read more stories like Octave more often. シ