Our Dreams at Dusk (June 2020) Buddy Read Discussion - Bopeep & Raquel

[Aless, Discord/Readathon Procrastinator]

Welcome to Our Dreams at Dusk Vol. 2-4 Buddy Read Discussion thread! This thread officially opens on June 28th and anyone can join at any time. Please keep in mind that spoilers are allowed in this thread but only up to the group's current reading place. Do not spoil the book if you've read further than the group. Any extra days can be used to catch up!

Each week we will be reading by chapters. The suggested Buddy Read discussion schedule is as follows:

Week of 6/28
June 28: Volume 2
June 29: Volume 3
June 30: Volume 4


PARTICIPANTS
~ Raquel
~ Bopeep

[Aless, Discord/Readathon Procrastinator]

Oh, I forgot about this manga...I might join this. I'll come back if/when I finish volume 1

[Bopeep]

It's so beautiful Aless! Totally recommended 100% no fake. So you're welcome if you want to join us!

[Bopeep]

Before start commenting about volume 2 I want to say that the lesbians in this manga are SO CUTE. I adore them ^^ I feel represented, is so hard to tell your parents that you're not hetero because you don't know how they will react. Even nowadays it's hard to tell.

AND the drawings are amazing!! I loved the one when Tasuku's heart is shattered. Plus the non-explained crush he has... I want to know if the other one feels the same or what ^^

[Bopeep]

Volume 2 read!

(view spoiler)[OMG I just started and the trans girl <3333 The transformation is amazing <3
Okay, I said it just on my comment above and know BAM my wish came true. Let's see how this develops...

I love this manga because of all the different experiences about queers. People need a lot of thinking about their sexuality/gender/whatever... It's not that we wake up one day and we say "yep, I like girls!". It needs a lot of thinking and reading. And this is not the situation in Japan only, but all over the world.

After readin The gentleman's guide, I totally understand Misora (if not, maybe I thought it was exaggerated?), but when Tasuku "compliments" him as a consequence of someone groping him... is not nice, even if Tasuku think's it's fine.
Alos LOL when Tsubaki stops the fight... FOR THE GOLDFISHES hahahaha x'D I missed a dumb guy in this manga.

I'm sad about how the bittersweet ending... :( (hide spoiler)]

[Raquel]

I like the lesbian characters too! They really are cute and I wish we had gotten more of them in volume 2. I also love this artist's art style! Have you read their other work, Nabari no Ou? It's super good.

Here are my thoughts after Volume 2.

(view spoiler)[
I loved Misora and his tsundere personality so much! I also liked how he started to view Tasuku as a kind of brother figure. Their interactions were so funny but then Tasuku just had to go and ruin it by saying something so stupid.

Telling someone they were sexually harassed because they're cute is not a compliment and makes it seem like they're being blamed for being sexually harassed. I really hope Tasuku realizes that what he said is NOT RIGHT and apologizes. I like your comparison to The Gentleman's Guide! Tasuku really was a lot like Monty in this scene.

I really liked the messages in this volume. I think it was super understandable that Misora didn't know what to identify as. He's only 11 and figuring out your identity isn't always easy like you said. It takes some time to think about and may even take years before someone knows what to identify as.

That ending did make me sad too. I really hope we see Misora again. I'm also curious in learning more about Tsubaki, he seems like a cool guy for saving those fishes.
(hide spoiler)]

I can't believe this series is only 4 volumes long, it needs to be longer! I want to read the next one already but I'll hold off until tomorrow lol. I have other books I should be reading anyway...

[Bopeep]

I'll chwck Nabari no ou then, but I love the slice of life mangas!

I keep forgotring their names but I really love the blond lesbian hehe that hole she punches on the wall...
And I'm sad that Misora didn't appear but I'm glad that Tasuku starts thinking about what he did wrong...

Utsumi is just a cinnamon roll, and his friend drives me crazy. It reminds me of some people, and she keeps calling him Natsumi. But her daugther is a cutie pie. Her mother is so traditional, she doesn't understand the situation and I don't think she tries neither.

But I loved this ending! let's see if Saki doesn't conplain about that ^^

[Raquel]

I finished volume 3 a few hours ago but forgot to post my thoughts here. Better do that before I go to bed...

That scene where she punches the wall was pretty funny. I liked how her partner took a pic of it lol.

Yeah, Utsumi's friend was the worse. Some people really believe they should be congratulated for doing the bare minimum for a marginalized group but they don't realize that if that's the reason why they want to help they're doing it for the wrong reason.

Not to mention that she wasn't being understanding in the least. Continuing to call Utsumi by his dead name and then telling him he has a disorder 😡 I wanted to give his high school friend a piece of my mind because that was Not Cool. I'm proud of Utsumi for speaking up in the end.

Tsubaki really creeped me out in this volume. He seemed so fake. All that homophobic language he was spouting made me dislike him. I get he might be going through some stuff but I don't see how that's a reason to go off on people like that. I'm glad Tasuku took a page from Utsumi's book and told him off.

I can't believe the next volume is the last. I feel like we're just starting to get to know the characters 😭 I'm excited to find out what Tasuku is going to decide to make the building he's in charge of though.

[Raquel]

One more thing, I have a theory that his friend's daughter might be transgender too? I might be reading too much into it, but it seemed like her daughter was always super uncomfortable whenever her mom started pushing Utsumi to talk about his experience with kids so that they can have a better understanding of themselves.

[Bopeep]

Tsubaki was... weird here. Firts wanting to hang with Tasuku and then saying all this homophobic stuff... Including that the people helping there were all the same and that he felt weird. Let's see what happens with him, but it doesn't seem a bully so I hope Tasuku will be good.

After the problems with Utsumi, Tasuku is regretting saying that to Misora. Do you think he would appear on the next one?
I feel heartbroken too, I want to read more and more about them and how they solve their problems.

Oh yeah, I have the same theory! But not because she was uncomfortable but because she did things and her mom obliged her to be feminine, like the ship she draw. Her mom said that "they need to be more flowers there". I like that, in the end, she really enjoys staying at the lounge.

Let's go for the last one!

[Bopeep]

Volume 4 read!

This volume made me feel like a rollercoaster. I was so happy about Saki and Daichi <3 It really makes me want to marry my girlfriend right now. Maybe I could gift her the mangas with a not? Hmm that would be nice but I don't think I'll do it! Though that couple are so cute. And Saki's mom! The moment she says to her father that she was glad he didn't say anything harsh. Best supportive mom <3

Also Tsubaki's mixed feelings are so real. As I said before, it takes a lot of thinking to realize what you are, in case you want to label yourself. But I'm glad he wants to be friends with Tasuku anyway ^^

Finally we got to see Misora once more! <3<3 He's so lovely, and Tasu apologized. His dress on the wedding was awesome, she seems older as a girl.

Uff, Tchaikov's story was nice. Their relationship when they were young, and then 30 years together... I cried. Actually it's not hard for me to cry with mangas haha. But when he went to the hospital, and faced his partner's son, and he smiled was... amazing. Ah, I'm crying as I remember it T_T Not all relationships are based on friendship, but when they are and they end somehow, it makes me sad.

[Raquel]

Sorry this is kind of late again! I had to wait for my volume to come in and it didn't get here until today. I was excited to see how thick it was compared to the others!

Misora YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad he's back for this volume, and he looked beautiful when he dressed up for the wedding.

I'm so glad everything turned out all right for Saki and Daichi 😭 I was worried for a moment and ended up so happy when Saki's parents accepted her and wanted to come to the wedding. Her mom really is the best! Giving the manga as a gift is a cute idea! I'm sure your girlfriend would love it if you decide to do it 😉

I did like Tsubaki a lot more in this volume. Those feelings of confusion are not uncommon. I'm glad he learned from his actions in the previous volume. He seems a little like a sadist with how much he teases Tasuku lol.

Tchaiko's story was so sweet and sad 😭 I was definitely bawling my eyes out at the end there. They were so cute and that ending was so beautiful! They were so happy together. I'm rambling and I'm crying while I write this lol. I just love seeing old queer couples like that. There's something so inspirational about it. I'm glad Tchaiko got to meet his son.

While I'm still curious to know what'll happen between Tsubaki and Tasuku, along with seeing more of Misora and Someone-san, I'm happy with the ending. Not everything needs to have a clear resolution. Sometimes it's nice to imagine what their future will bring yourself.

One thing I do wish we had learned was what Tasuku decided to do with triangle house! That seemed like a major plot point in the last three volumes but there was no mention of it in this one. Kind of disappointed...but oh well! Everything else ended perfectly!

[Raquel]

When we put these down for our team do you want to do contemporary romance and Asian author and I'll do orange cover and nonbinary author?

[Bopeep]

I'll do those tags then!

And what Tasuku decided to do was transform it for the wedding of those two! After that, it doesn't say anything, but it was the main purpose ^^

After reading it I really think the characters are so brave... When facing certain situations, I'll probably shut up instead of speaking up. Maybe we have to be more brave irl.

I think Tchaiko and Seishirou's story was like a goal for me. Growing old together but never stopping being friends and laughing a lot.

Also it was fun the part when Tasuku started talking about how he sees Someone-san and linking her isolation to asexuality. It's a nice theory but it hasn't to do with that~