[mitsuganae]

Hi, brand new member here, so please bear with me. Someone commented in the Season 4 Ep. 13 thread how there is a sense that Yumi is "moving on" from Sachiko to Touko. Without spoiling particular plot points etc., I just wanted to ask readers of the novels if they also get this impression in the last 5-7 novels of the series. I myself am limited to what English translations/summaries appear on the web (okazu and Baka-Tsuki, etc.).

Call me old fashioned, but the crux of the franchise for me has always been the development of the Yumi/Sachiko relationship. Now, I don't view it as a lesbian relationship (neither is the Yumi/Touko one IMHO), but rather as an eloquent apostrophe to romantic friendship (look it up in wikipedia) -- a type of relationship that (for too many reasons) is all too rare in this day and age (alas!).

[quasi-rant mode on]

If there really is a sense that Yumi is "moving on" from Sachiko to Touko in the novels, I must say it makes me worry about Sachiko. I'm not too worried about Yumi -- she's got a great support structure in place, and she has gained so much in confidence and maturity. Despite how much more warm and open Sachiko has become, I still get the impression that only Yumi can completely unlock her heart. Yes, I know where Sachiko will be going for college, but that doesn't make me worry about her any less. Though I could see how it is (in many ways) inevitable, the thought that Touko's presence has diminished Sachiko's place in Yumi's heart just saddens me (for Sachiko's sake) to no small degree.

Of course I'm aware that it is Sachiko herself who pushes Yumi into finding a petite soeur. Aside from that poignant conversation between the two about the importance of love at the end of Soeur Audition (completely and utterly ruined in the anime!), do the novels give any insight into Sachiko's thought process on this matter (forgetting the practical matter of the Yamayuri Council)? Does Sachiko somehow think that she can do nothing more for Yumi, that Yumi is better off with someone else, or that she is being a burden to Yumi? If so, I must disagree with Sachiko herself -- the stories covered in Season 3 touchingly show how the relationship becomes a catalyst for personal growth for both of them. Sheesh, I've succeeded in depressing myself even further!

And if Sachiko ends up being stuck in a loveless marriage with her cousin, that would sadden me even more! No need to address this particular issue -- I'll wait until the last novel is translated.

[quasi-rant mode off]

Mods, please feel free to move this post to another thread if necessary. I myself am unsure whether it belongs in this thread, the Ep. 13 thread, or the Q & A thread.