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*spoilers*
There are mangas that look like junk, but are in reality great. And there are mangas that look like great and balanced alternatives to bad yuri stories, but in reality don't live up to expectations. 2DK belongs to the second sort.

I don't think the manga is particularly bad, but I think it is not as good as it initially appears. It's a soft and very slow manga. Usually this is a good sign, indicating that both the characters and their relationships are developing slowly and realistically. But this does not apply to 2DK, at least not throughout, because the manga complements the slow development with ... comical and totally out of context actions.

Generally, you could argue 2DK has mostly good characters; I would consider some of them to be very good and to have a convincing back story. But it doesn't help if the character the story is all about, has such a boring and one-sided personality! And no matter how cute you think Kaede is, she's not a good character. She can be summed up as the person who only focuses on their mangaka work and behaves like a child. Done, that's all there is to her. Any plot that involved Kaede was only interesting because of other characters involved in it. Kaede seems to be a kind of MacGuffin in this story.

But the biggest disappointment was actually the end of the show. How can it be that the ending that actually gives most readers what they want, namely a good ending for everyone, is still so unsatisfying? It is because the ending is so undeserved - and that is despite the slow pace of the manga. I mostly enjoy it when the story develops slowly because it gives time to develop characters, etc. But 2DK doesn't do it well. If you look at the story as a whole it is obvious that this slow development has no meaning, it was almost just boring stretching of the story. Not because it takes a long time, but because there is hardly any progress and then bam! suddenly things change spontaneously.

The most glaring example: It doesn't make any sense that Kaede likes Nanami in a romantic way after all. For so long there has not been a single indication that she sees Nanami as more than a friend. Until she kisses her. Then she has an inner conflict that could be quite interesting, except that you don't even notice it because she just doesn't do anything until she changes her mind.

It would be so much more convincing with the narrative if Kaede were simply not interested. Because she shows hardly any romantic interest in anyone throughout the entire manga. Therefore this manga is neither realistic nor convincing nor satisfying. Ah, I also think it's funny that three different women all fall in love with Kaede. So much for realism, it's nothing more than one of those cheap moves to bring up the issue of homosexuality over and over without the main plot moving forward. Why couldn't it have been men? It would be so much more realistic and have the potential to get so much more complex.

Therefore: It's not a good manga, but I still had some fun.

Tsukiatte agete mo ii kana or how to get from good to great (spoilers till chapter 45)
I read the first volume of Tsukiatte agete mo ii kana maybe a year ago. It quickly became one of my favourite yuri mangas due to deep characters and abandonment of typical yuri cliches. The manga sure had lots of potential - so I thought.

While reading volume 4 (chapters 28-36) I felt really bad. I was watching this awesome couple of this great manga slowly falling apart. Here and there they seem to make up again - but those who pay attention must know that's just desperate hope. ... Saeko and Miwa never manage to solve any of their problems. They just both try to keep being together despite of the unsolved conflicts. These conflicts lead to their unavoidable breakup. Tamifull makes it really painful. Do you remember the first few pages of the manga in which Miwa is happy about having a girlfriend? You probably used to think it's one of these wholesome moments of being loved and fulfilled and all. Well, no, this is the scene where they break up - and it tears my heart apart. It was painful because it was realistic. It was not a melodramatic breakup based on misunderstanding or some other silly reason. It was a process of gradual allienation of the partners from each other. And anyone who experienced a breakup can relate to it.

Volume 4 was great. Not because I liked what happened, but because it was not an illusionary story of two people superficially making up after few pages through the power of love. Instead it was a sad story of a failed relationship of two people who really liked each other. I read this volume three times in a row. And I was flashed by the complexity of this relationship and of it's dynamics. Now, rereading also the first three volumes I realized that the relationship of Saeko and Miwa was doomed for way longer than volume 4. Miwa and Saeko needed to break up because both of them were not at peace with themselves, they were not mature enough to handle their problems. In Volume 2 they make up during their trip, but they never really process the conflict. Not having a follow up on that would be bad. And Tamifull does not do bad in this manga.

In Volume 5 (chapters 37-45) she could have made tons blunders. It was my nightmare that the volume could start with Saeko having a new girlfriend and Miwa slowly also getting a new love interest. In this case the complexity of the manga would have been thrown out of the window. Tamifull didn't do that. Instead she managed to increase the complexity. You can argue that the characters just continue to go down in this volume. But it just makes sense that it happens like this. It's the result of the weaknesses of the protagonists. The only way for them to move on is to confront their own contradictions and wishes.

I am crazily excited to read more of this manga. I want to see how Tamifull follows up on this master piece. She set my expectations high and I hope she can keep delivering on this level. Generally, I am a fan of happy endings and satisfying payoffs. So all in all, I'm looking forward to a happy ending - or at least to a good ending.