Queen Regnant

Welcome to In Control, a shrine dedicated to the character Yuyuka Nekota from the manga Daytime Shooting Star (Hirunaka no Ryuusei) by Mika Yamamori, created as part of BAB’s Metamorphosis Challenge. Included is a slight detour regarding Mami Shirakawa from Sugars, a series by the same mangaka.

Yuyuka is a very dear and important character to me within the context of shoujo manga set in high school: not just due to her pride that shapes her character arc and leaves a lasting impression with its message, but also in her role as a female best friend to the protagonist Suzume — notably in the way their relationship progresses, and how they affect each other with their growth as they stumble through adolescence. It’s the combination of all these things that makes her stand out when compared to characters in similar roles across different series belonging to the same genre. Even her side story, a chapter in volume seven that retells some early developments from her perspective, stresses the importance of Suzume’s part in her life, once again highlighting the narrative of friendship instead of romance. (I will refer to this chapter multiple times as I examine different aspects of Yuyuka; it is tremendous and it is my favourite.) Because it is not possible to talk about Yuyuka without also talking about Suzume, the relationship between the two girls — along with themes of growing up — makes up a major and equally important part of the shrine.

Note that there are unmarked spoilers all across the site. This shrine is a character study and as such explores Yuyuka’s development throughout the series. Daytime Shooting Star isn’t plot-heavy though, as is often the case with series of its genre, so the only major spoilers concern the realization of romantic relationships. The sections Firsts, Surface, Trivia, Review and, well, Site are all safe to read if you’re interested in checking out the series yourself.

The content is based on the English translations provided by several scanlation groups, namely Evil Flowers, Silent Dream and Damn Feels, and Matteiru Scans for the side mention of Sugars. The German publication by KAZÉ (2014–2016) is consulted secondarily.

The site is intended to be viewed at a minimum resolution of 1024x768.

If there are any thoughts you’d like to share, I’d be delighted about any feedback in my guestbook. Thanks a lot for your visit! ❤

listed at: Emotion
last update: June 2022

Context

Daytime Shooting Star is a school life romance manga of twelve volumes that was first serialized in the shoujo manga magazine Margaret between 2011 and 2014. The plot sets off with the 15-year-old Suzume Yosano having to leave her friends from the countryside to move to Tokyo due to her father’s new job, which forces him to go abroad. She starts living with her uncle, who she isn’t close to, in an unfamiliar city and without friends to help her out. The only person she knows is the young man who lent her a hand when she got lost on the way to her new home… Turns out he’s her homeroom teacher at the new school!

Suzume Yosano Protagonist. Country girl. Hopes to make new friends in the city.	Daiki Mamura Classmate. Suzume’s first friend at the new school.	Satsuki Shishio Homeroom teacher. A close friend of Suzume’s uncle.