#AiiLwH

[alexissara]

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko! Quick Review

I really enjoyed this story, Hiroko is a useless lesbian boss who doesn't realize the extremally explicit signals she's getting from Ayaka. I really wanna see where this story is going, I find the miscommunication at times to be frustrating but I think there is potential for a very great pay off in volume 2. The characters are so well written and cute and I think given the revelation we get in the last chapter my biggest like "why doesn't she just say this" is answered very clearly.

I feel bad for Risa for being in the unrequited love club but she is really sweet and I loved seeing her gay out for another woman near the end.

The character designs are fantastic, expressions are top tier, solid comedy that is displayed clearly through visuals. It's a story you could understand without being able to read it but is amplified so much by being able to read it. I think it's doing something really cool with actually introducing lesbian identity and everything to the formula which is always a rare but nice treat in a story.

Overall, I really enjoy this book and I look forward to reading volume 2 when it releases.

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[khaopybara]

❝The battle has only just begun.❞

KATO SHIHO as AYAKA and MORI KANNA as HIROKO episode 7 of AYAKA IS IN LOVE WITH HIROKO

[twig-tea]

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko Ep 6: The Politics of the Closet

There have been some good posts already about how forced outing is not actually excused by a character's crush or different values (@pigglepiephi here and @respectthepetty here as two examples) so I won't spend a lot of time retreading that ground. Risa should not have told Ayaka that Hiroko was a lesbian, and Mama should have known better than to spill more of Hiroko's secrets after already having been confronted on and apologizing for doing so last episode. And it would be one thing if this was a character choice that the show was clear was not the right decision, but it seems to be presenting these choices as positive because it is moving the main romance forward. @hyeoni-comb noted the parallels between this this and She Makes My Heart Flutter, specifically around how both shows have a character of a different generation explaining the mindset of an older lesbian to the younger generation, which at a theoretical level, like hyeon is talking about here, I do also like; But I think a significant difference, and why it's bothering me in this show when it didn't in SMMHF, is the very different circumstances of both characters. [For those who haven't seen SMMHF, the character in question in that case was concerned about marketing her lesbian bar on social media. Also, go watch it, it's fantastic!]

What's still sitting so poorly with me about episode 6 of Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko is the way the show seems to be saying that Hiroko is wrongly scared and irrationally continuing to be closeted at work while times have changed. Mama says her reason for telling Hiroko's secrets to Risa and Ayaka is so that they can help Hiroko with her situation. She says 'there was a time when society was much harsher and more prejudiced'. She calls Hiroko's thinking old-fashioned. This suggests that Hiroko is in the wrong for hiding her sexuality. [This also sets how this is going in AIILWH apart from how it was done in SMMHF, because in that show the characters came around to realizing the owner would need to be ready on her own time to take that risk, which is a much more compassionate place to land.]

It bothers me when queer media tells queer people that they are paranoid for being afraid of being outed, especially at school or work. Has Japanese society progressed since 2014 so much that people can comfortably be out as lesbians in office workplaces without fear of repercussion to their careers? Because Canadian society hasn't, certainly not in every office [I only started being out at work in the last year, because the VP of the office where I worked until then was homophobic, as one example]. And we know that at least some of the people from the flashbacks still work there, so Hiroko's fears seem super valid to me.

Also, it isn't actually any of her colleagues' business who Hiroko does or doesn't fuck on her own time. It is definitely also true that Hiroko feels isolated and lonely because nobody at work knows her fully--since being a lesbian is a huge part of who she is--and I get that. The closet is a horrible, isolating experience. But it's super important to me that Hiroko gets to make that decision for herself. I would have been so down for a story where Risa and Ayaka reached out to Hiroko and made space for her to be herself and comfortable with a trusted sub-set of colleagues (including Yuya, natch). I would have also been ok with Ayaka outing herself as a lesbian at work to model that things have actually changed and it is safer--with Hiroko about to step in to a manager's position, I could believe that it she'd be able to ensure there would be minimal blowback. That would put them in a good position to negotiate what a relationship might look like, and would have been a great way to have that generational gap conversation, and maybe giving Hiroko confidence to come out herself eventually.

But instead Ayaka is starting the gossip mill about her crush, and putting eyes on Hiroko, which will inevitably either out her or force her to be even more closeted to hide her sexuality from the increased scrutiny. Regardless of the genders involved, there's also the fact that office romances especially across power lines are potentially problematic and could lead to problems for both of them. It feels like we are not well set up to take the complications of an office romance between a junior and a senior (or a boss) seriously, and that has me nervous too.

I'm waiting to see what the next episode brings, but this is why the episode has left me feeling so uncomfortable, and worried about how this show is going to land it's last two episodes.