journal
"how do we relationship?" | tsukiatte agetemo ii kana
manga by: tamifull
started: feb 14, 2026 | finished: mar 03, 2026
"oh my god, i'm so lonely". those are the words that would come out of me when i finished this manga.
"how do we relationship" by tamifull (original jp "tsukiatte agetemo ii kana") is a yuri romance about a few college girls figuring out what relationships mean in their lives. it disects deep into their psyches and pins down why people want to be in relationships, why people stay, and how everything that makes an individual plays into this mess. and boy, does it get messy.
miwa starts her college life and hits it off pretty well with her outspoken classmate saeko. after saeko reveals that she's into women, miwa very quickly let's her know that she's also into women. immediately, the two decide that they should date because "why not?".
the series pitch is already breaking the mold for romance manga by deviating from a 150 chapter long 'will they, won't they' vamp. also, the first page thrusts the reader right into a passionate lesbian sex scene which is definitely one way to grab attention. this is apparently pretty typical yuri stuff. even so, tamifull beautifully flourishes every single character with plenty of life and believablity. whether they're a main character, side character, or even a background character, you can see how much they breathe in the world. people remember things and each and every word that anyone says is filtered through all of their life experiences. all the while, you can see how much love tamiful has for making these characters human. in fact, i dread that they haven't fell into the same pitfalls as hayao miyazaki who's able to create the richest characters while being the worst of person in real life.
upon finshing this series, i was assaulted by the highway of emotions that were piled up throughout 133 chapters. in fact, i keep imagining myself running into the author only to tell them in broken japanese "kokoro wa itai".
miwa's nails
the manga was full of subtle details that support the story and miwa's nails are a big indicator of what's going on. when she wants to "do it" with a reluctant and normally dominant saeko, miwa removes her nail polish ahead of time to show that she's prepared and thought it through. while it didn't end well, it was great at showing that miwa was ready to comprimise a bit of herself even while saeko wasn't in agreement. later on when she starts dating tamaki, even she starts doing her nails similarly to how miwa does hers; miwa starts spreading some of her personality onto tamaki. and when they later breakup, miwa was extremely depressed and physically sick. her apartment, like in most manga, was a mess with takeout containers and bottles everywhere. if you looked a little bit closer, you'd see that her nails, which are usually kept very pristine, are slightly grown out with the natural nail peeking through.
as i noticed all of these tiny details, i knew that this mangaka was truly a pro.
maybe im just a freak nail fetishest who looks at them too much, but you can't deny tamifull's dedication to the craft. thumbs up.
timing
i started reading this manga at an... inopportune moment in my life. i was halfway through my last semester of college when i started reading a manga about a very realistic walkthrough from the first to last day of college steeped with personal growth, hardships and lotsa sex. i hate to admit it, but i felt a profound angsty jealousy over this manga. i look back at four years of my life and wonder if i had wasted my time.
had i stunted myself? is this more inline with what growing up should be?
honestly speaking, 50% yes.
i would be lying if i said i didn't half ass most of my way to get to where i am, and i definitely would prioritize self preservation(staying home) over socialization. the amount of times i've done that, miss events, purposefully forget, throw out ideas out of laziness, it makes me feel a little ill. do i think that the book is a guideline? fuck no, of course not. i feel that humans develop differently and this story depicts how these characters spent their years from 18-22. even within the story, some secondary and background characters have their own pace in relationships. some have plenty, some have few, some even feel averse to them. but they all graduate eventually. i feel i have the resolve in myself to see some good in that.