Why is Last and First Idol so emotionally taxing?
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Part of my theory on why this short story series, which still isn't completely released as of yet, is such an emotional rollercoaster is because it is also an amazing piece of Yuri drama wrapped in existential horror. So far of the two stories currently available for the book deal with the relationships of 2 female characters and their obsessions.
First and Last Idol deals with the one woman's obsession with Idols and her partner's obsession with her and her obsession.
Evolution Girls deals with mobile gaming addiction and again more females that are come off as being more than friends and more like life partners.
Am I just crazy seeing this like I am or did anyone else notice them Lily vibes?
Edit: Just going to remind people descriptions aren't really part of the mobile apps and not everyone goes through the website to look up descriptions.
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@n33k5 Gengen self-describes the genre as widescreen yuri baroque, so the yuri themes are definitely an intended part of it, and something he's clearly been consciously amplifying in each subsequent piece. I think that thread does help ground the stories, giving them a trace of an emotional core in what could be just an overwhelming spectacle.
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@n33k5 I mean, it's right there in the description: "This existential widescreen yuri baroque proletariat hard sci-fi idol story has carved out a new legend in science fiction history! "
Though I don't think anyone would classify the first 2 stories as romance and the Yuri is more flavouring than a central aspect of the stories.
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@jaquobus my apologies for not reading descriptions before diving into a book. I also disagree with the first two not being romances as their are charcters describing romantic feelings and actively trying to show those feelings. Whether or not they fully see them as being entirely that is another discussion. The stories may not look like a typical romance they do indeed expand on such topics even if they are not the active focus.
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@doceirias much appreciated and I do apologise for not having read such descriptions and only really coming to that conclusion while reading and sleep deprived. I am glad that it is tastefully handled and isn't so much a a scream for attention as much as it is a natural feeling part of the overall stories. If it is being amplified with each subsequent story I am really looking forward to seeing what is next for our next group of ladies.
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@n33k5 Hmm, is "Last and First Idol" or "Evolution Girls" a romance....?
I think this maybe is demonstrating something I've seen come up a lot in the more serious yuri stories out there: it seems like what people consider "romance" in yuri is often more ephemeral than in other genres. Evolution Girls I think gets closer to that for me, anyway.
Idol, for better or worse, was very much one-directional... Mika never saw her mentor there as anything other than a self-esteem generator. Well, Mika was a weird duck.
Oh! But I forgot that Mika got a chunk of her brain stuck in with hers. So... I guess that's kind of like some kind of ultra-super-romance? Nothing like having one's physical brains merged, right? -
@n33k5 I'd also like to point out that there aren't any male characters. At first, I was defaulting to male on a few incidental characters, but then he would later mention that they were women, and I looked a little closer and realized he never once specifies any genders except female, so I made sure to never use a male pronoun.
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@sam-pinansky the brain splicing was a pretty intense point of discussion in my own home. We also have a pretty broad interpretation of what constitutes as a romance.
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@doceirias that is also interesting to hear makes me wonder if he intentionally removed male characters or just didn't feel the need to include them. I also think there is a western sci-fi space drama novel series written by a woman that defaults to female pronouns even if a character would be biologically "male." Wonder if any if this could have inspired one another?
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I enjoyed the start of idol but after Maori died the pacing just was too hectic, it felt like a PowerPoint presentation of Mika's life journey. I wonder how much is self delusions in regards to getting alien fans and the. blowing up their planet.
