Reading Report: 05 April 2026

マブラブ

マブラブ

This week I reached the end of Sumika's route! The story follows victory at the lacrosse arc as I suspected last week. There are a handful of little story beats that take place, including Takeru's birthday, a trip to a luxurious onsen, and plenty of quality time spent with both Meiya and Sumika. I honestly wasn't sure if the route was going to pair me with one girl or the other, if I'd have a choice, or if Takeru would end up alone, but it all worked out in the end in a way that was fairly satisfying.

The final moments before Takeru chose Sumika made me feel so conflicted, I wasn't sure where Takeru or I would end up going. It was enjoyable reading and I really want to explore Meiya's route now.

I've started another save giving attention to Meiya and Miki. I'm hoping I can pivot to Miki on a lacrosse defeat and then follow Meiya's route after that. I'm also curious how to get on the Mikoto route, because I'm starting to think there might be something worth exploring there that isn't just the "no girlfriend" route.

Part of the time spent on this new route included choosing Miki as my date partner (by choosing her food in the cooking competition). The date with her didn't reveal any particularly interesting points of her personality that I didn't already know. This contrasts against Chizuru and Kei's dates which both revealed slight parts of their character flaws (Chizuru's inability to let things go in particular).

あきそら

I finally finished this manga series. I really enjoyed it up to the last moment. Volume five finally resolves the tension between Kana and Nami, and I mostly felt like it was done alright, though I would have liked a bit more post-resolution storytelling between those two characters. Volume six quickly introduces the family's father who returns to the household to encourage Aki to move with him. When he finds out about Aki and Sora he forces the subject and Aki leaves with him, causing Sora to fall into a month-long depression. The latter part of volume six is about Sora trying to find Aki so they can be reunited. I won't spoil how it plays out, but it was pretty good! The scene at the train station really worked for me.

I feel a little bit conflicted about the series as a whole. The use of incest does eventually come to a head as a barrier for Aki and Sora's relationship, but it probably would have worked just as well if Aki was unrelated and had similar pressures on her. I was hoping I could hold the series up as an example of very good, very explicit, but mature and interesting storytelling. I still think it's really good, but I think the barrier most "average" people will face with the amount of taboo sex in this series is just too much to hold it up as an example.

恋する乙女と守護の楯

I played just a bit more of this in the week, some of which was on a stream call with my fiance, showing him some of the earlier scenes in the game.

We finally had a confrontation with Sasazuka and apprehended him with the help of Yuri. The fight scene was pretty cool, and I liked how he used his scientific background during the confrontation. I wonder how it would have played out differently if I hadn't confided my plans to Yuri before facing Sasazuka.

GOLDEN BOY さすらいのお勉強野郎

I decided to resume my anime a little bit, and watched two episodes of Golden Boy. Episode four was the one with the swimming instructor, and episode five was the one with the motorcyclist. Both episodes were really funny, and I was pleased to see how well both stories managed to balance the perverse and sincere elements of Kintarou. He's such an enjoyable character to watch, and I love how he always stumbles his way into charming the women around him through his actions.