DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this chapter. If you want to discuss future events, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to read/download this chapter or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Manga Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
DO NOT ask where to read/download this chapter or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Manga Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
| I just feel like crying right now. Such a bittersweet ending... Throughout the entire manga it was hinted at again and again that she had some terminal disease that would end up killing her, which only made me hope for a happy conclusion more. But this manga had to have a tragic ending, there was simply no other ending for it, in my opinion. This is how I perceived the part at the shore. When they were sitting together in the boat and he asked her if she was sleepy and then said he could masturbate, she whispered in his ear "When I wake up, let's have sex.", and then she fell asleep and woke up again (or did she pass away then, I'm not sure). He definitely had sex with her because the huge "ギ" hiragana are sounds of the boat creaking, implying movement. She died either before or during the act since her body was positioned in the same way the whole time, even as he lay next to her and grabbed her hand, her fingers didn't close around his. We never got to know much at all about Kurumi, but she did mention once that she didn't have any parents, even if she later told Aiba it was a joke. I guess that part on the train and the orphanage confirmed it. Damn, that only makes me more depressed - no parents and an incurable disease... However, in the end she was happy. Meeting and spending her limited time with Aiba. The one thing I liked the most about this manga was probably the main character's growth as a person. Truly great. |
stAtic91Jul 10, 2011 6:15 PM
 |
| Yeah, Kurumi herself knew she didn't have much time left in this world. So, she decided she'd raise somebody else up to live their life for her. |
| Bittersweet... |
       |
outlawauron said: The exact fate of Kurumi and who exactly Hideo ended up with isn't completely known. I read it the first time as him marrying Kurumi later. I suppose she may died which makes this have a super sad ending. I dunno, I may choose to live in ignorance on this one. misaseh098 said: dammit.... and i was sugar coating my mind, telling that the woman she's with is kurumi... this is why i sometimes hate forums... waaaaaaaaaaah~ Well, I tend to be against everyone so I agree with you both, the latter woman with aiba on the last pages REALLY LOOKS LIKE Sahana, but if you notice, there's nothing mentioning her dying or her being alive. I believe the ending was designed perfetly to one's imagination, she does move her fingers during all those 'moans' and 'moviment indicators', and why would Aiba be looking up and smiling if she would had died, he's a frigging cry-baby afterall; but at the same time, she was bloody sick, a cold (Aiba said so) night wouldn't be much revigorating, but miracles can happen as much as tragedies.. Also, that teasing look/sentence of the girl with adult Aiba kinda looked like Sahana, but again, Sahana never complained about 'piss drinking' and the woman did... One said that when the old man told the hospital director that he would be in troulbe since she would die, why is that so? Do you think that if someone sneaked on your hospital and "kidnapped" a patient people would be happy with you? |
slycopperr said: She's dead. Sahana is still there in his memories. Of course he can never forget her. That's why he brought up the golden shower. Look at the mole on the new woman's face. She's a different person. |
| I'm still not sure if she's dead(and that's better I don't want to cry). But if that's true he should preserve her corpse and use it to jerk off, maybe use her for blowjobs or handjobs. I think she'd be happy if her dead body could make him happy(but that would be very creepy and disturbing ending). And after reading this manga I think I started liking golden showers xD |
| Y'know, I think the saddest part about this manga is that |
| I really wanted Kurumi to live. From volume 5 onwards it became more and more apparent that it wasn't gonna happen, but I kept reading in hope of a happy ending. She was such a cheerful girl who enjoyed life, and the fact that she died at such a young age after developing such deep love with Aiba and friendship with the rest of the club members makes it one of the saddest endings in manga for me. On a lighter note, the manga some really good humor. I rarely laugh out loud when reading manga, but Sundome got a few out of me nearly every chapter. Whether it's Aiba's obsession with pee, a little brother asking innocent questions at the dinner table, or sticking your penis in your love interests mail slot; it was all good stuff. I'll definitely be re-reading this sometime, regardless of the bittersweet ending. |
zilentworld said: Mangaka-san said: I really don't know how to feel about the Ending ... Its so sad that Sahana died but I there are phew things i dont understand. For example what did Hideo mean with 'When my head starts to hang ... if its tighten like this .. it feels like this part here's being pulled' (its one of the last pages) and also did they have sex? Did she die while they did it? someone already explained it, being a reference to shutter and about them doing it, most likely NO, im quite sure that was just a handjob This is a really amazing manga, and it stings my heart everytime i see the ending (yeah i looked at it for about 5 times, cause its just too beautiful) No, he had sex with her. But she died before they started cancelling out his elimination from the College group.Sahana even said "i'm never going to have sex with you." |
aznw3ir0 said: Yes I understand!! I re-read the manga and Hideo Aiba says "when my head starts to hang,... If I tighten it here like this, it feels like this part here's being pulled." let me explain for some who don't understand.. When his head hangs, like in the shutter reference, there is Sahana sitting on his shoulders. When he tightens his neck and tries to straighten it out, he points to his chin and says it feels it is being pulled. Imagine if your sitting on someone's shoulders and they stand up as straight as they can... You try to grab onto something to prevent from falling right? the only thing available is the chin. OooOoOoOoO that is sorta creepy! But an awesome reference. Awesome reference?! I won't be able to fall asleep tonight! *shivers* Really guys, I was crying before I read this. Now I'm just freaked out. *cough* Here's how I interpreted the "when my head starts to hang,... If I tighten it here like this, it feels like this part here's being pulled" part - he's talking about the imaginary collar he already mentioned earlier in the manga. So no creepy sitting on shoulders ;____; Anyway, that was so sad. I saw it coming, like everyone else, but I was still hoping for a happy ending somehow (and not happy in this way).. |
deadoptimist said: Though I think shit-flinging should also have standards - no personal, no behind the scenes. |
| This manga really is making me go crazy, giving such a tragic end to the story when I really want a happy ending. I love it and hate it at the same time. I could see the end coming from even very early in the series, but I couldn't help but wish otherwise. I wanted to close my eyes and say that woman at the end was Sahana, but I just couldn't do it because it was just too obviously not her. Even though Aiba can still feel Sahana with him at the end, it doesn't make me feel happy at all. As for the ending, I believe that Sahana says "'When I wake up, let's have sex" that is her in the afterlife talking already. I think that what Sahana whispers to Aiba after suggesting to jerk off is to actually rub his crotch against her body, so nobody's hands need to be used. While in the middle of this, Sahana dies, and Aiba finishes the job even though he knows she died because that whisper must have been a request, and Aiba always tried to fulfill Sahana's requests and promises. |
| Really enjoyed the whole manga and liked the ending. Maybe someone could put a link to the "Shutter" scene everyone's talking about, and what is that "ashes metaphor" someone mentioned? Also, I would like to think that the protagonist only imaged the sex between her and that man, as he was only a doctor coming to see her. |
decayFeb 26, 2012 9:57 AM
     |
| At first I was sugarcoating my mind into thinking that the woman at the end was Kurumi,but then I read this thread and my gut started to sink. Sad. Just,really,really,sad. Saddest manga I've read so far. The emotions that were portrayed in the manga is like none other :( |
 |
FortSandy said: In the last scenes by the shore with the failure of their attempts to have penetrative sex, Kurumi whispers to Aiba, "Tomorrow when I wake up", both knowing that because how close to death Kurumi is this will not be happening, fulfilling her promise from the beginning of the series that they will never have sex. Yet sex and passion is still important for both of them, and so Kurumi offers to use her hand to bring Aiba-we only see one of her hands in those frames Sorry, but I believe that your are misinterpreting the scene and the order of events. It has been pointed out repeatedly in this thread that the art is used very deliberately to strongly indicate that Kurumi is already dead during the intercourse. The lifeless, limp hand, the hidden eyes, Aiba's pained expression and Kurumi's body shown against the background which explains that the white foam are lifeless shells of plankton. Yet something has been bothering me about the composition of the scene since I've finished the manga (well, something besides the necrophilia aspect) and I think I have a clearer picture of what it is now: The position of her right arm seems rather unnatural if you start with the assumption that she was already dead when Aiba started having intercourse with her. I'd rather expect that the arm would be closer to the body and not be bend behind the head unless Aiba positioned the arm himself and there's little reason why he should do it in the first place. So let's change the assumption to Kurumi being alive at the beginning of the intercourse and that she died in the process. That would offer a better explanation for the position of the arm. Maybe she caressed Aiba's face and it came to rest there when her life faded away or she used it to stabilize her head. Another advantage of this explanation is that it is not so damaging to Aiba's character as he wouldn't have disregarded Kurumi's wishes in the end by raping her undead body while still keeping the sundome aspect intact (he didn't come while she was alive after all). I don't think it's a problem that she said she wouldn't have ever sex with him as she made the proclamation at the very beginning of their relationship long before they developed their deep bond so it's only natural that your opinion changes, especially at the end of your life (if it ever was serious in the first place and not only used to tease him). |
MatthesMay 4, 2012 2:15 AM
| This manga was AMAZING! The ecchi scenes really stayed by the humor and balanced it out; so it wasn't just ecchi, it had me on the ground Laughing with joy and happiness. ^^ "Le perfect manga". |
 “Fear beyond rational limits forces people to cling to normality” ― Hiroya Oku |
| I expected a more powerful ending. |
| I'm a bit conflicted with this manga. The drama is really good, but I still feel the ecchi is a bit too much. I think it actually has more to do with the extreme fetishes. I think this aspect could have been toned down a lot and still maintain the excitement of the drama. This would also help the manga to reach a larger audience. |
| This was surprisingly good, I was mostly indifferent to the extreme fetishes displayed or the ghost hunting hijikings but I really enjoyed most of it the story, I actually read this in its entirety in one afternoon. The only thing I didn't like is how vague it was about Kurumi's life and illness or the fact that it didn't give us any glimpse of what was going on in her head. As for the ending, I was expecting her to die but since a lot of foreshadowing was done leading up to it but that doesn't mean I wasn't sad when it actually happened and in the back of my mind I was hoping for some deus ex machina to somehow make it into a happy ending. |
MagEarwhigSep 3, 2012 6:10 PM
| Just finished the manga from start in one go. Think this is the first time I've ever teared up reading a manga let alone a book honestly. I don't read much manga though. I could tell what was going to happen a lot earlier with all the foreshadowing but I just wanted to believe it wouldn't happen. Now I'm very depressed. |
| Couldn't sleep last night. Finally got up at 5 and finished volume 8 this morning. The sense of loss is a bit overwhelming. I wish more had been explained about Kurumi's background and illness. What was the deal with the scene on the train where they passed a children's home? I guess I'll never know. Looks like I'm going to have to watch some comedy for a while.... |
daedalous said: The vague amount of information disclosed regarding Kurumi's past implies (perhaps it's even mentioned, I can't quite recall) that she was raised at an orphanage. So that was that, supposedly.What was the deal with the scene on the train where they passed a children's home? I guess I'll never know. |
| Wow. This manga... I'm actually at a loss right now. I thought she had some kind of a disease, but I really wanted to know what it was. Actually, I'm more mad at the mangaka for not explaining a lot of things, but yeah.. I knew it was going to be some kind of bittersweet ending. No way a manga like this was going to end with a happy feeling. Let me clear some things up. You can clearly see here that she IS dead already and how the fuck did you come up with a fucking HANDJOB?! You must be really fucking blind. This is a flashback. I don't really get what the author is trying to say here with "You were the same as me", but anyway. Still flash from the scene before they started doing it. You can clearly see that she's whispering in his ear and she is saying "When I was up, let's have sex" knowing that she'll never wake up. He's cuming here, but that's not the point. Look at her lifeless hand.. Handjob?! Saying like she was doing it with her left hand is fucking hilarious. He was talking to himself here after he came on her dead body. Probably when she talks back about the golden shower, he remembers her and shit. Probably. I'm guessing he FUCKED her, because there's not even an explanation, but you must be blind or retarded if you think she was giving him a handjob.. Why? It was quite the HARDCORE manga if you ask me. My dick feels strange and I feel strange too. Too bad the mangaka didn't want to write the details.. |
| That ending, Saw it coming but was still hard to take in. |
marduk666777666 said: If this woman is not Kurumi then why does she use 'Fu' 'Fu' all the time like Kurumi did and why is she using very familiar language when talking about Kattsun and Kyouko chan like Kurumi did and not using their family names? She is alive and still exists. Wasn't it Hideo that said that? |
     |
| mmm well the Manga was Excelent..Couldnt stop myself from reading it...and when i got the last Volume i stayed up reading it so when i got to the end i was tired and thats probly why i was confused xD...Well..at first i thought it was Kurumi who was with him at the end but the way she was talking to him revealed the Truth then reading other peoples comments i came to see what the truth was.....still saddened by the fact that they ended it with out telling us much(Like the reason she died and why she didnt want to have sex with him...Ah well do hope to find something like this soon.. |
| Ended kinda unexplained, kinda disappointed. :O But i liked the manga, it was good, i love ecchi, although this was pretty much hentai. |
 |
| Honestly a great story. I don't care about all the in-depth details that critics go into, I just care whether something is able to move me emotionally. Sundome did just that, it skyrocketed itself to the top of my manga list, and if it was an anime as well, it would be at the top of that also. I can proudfully say, as a guy, that this story has been the first to make me cry. Not tear up. Not have a few trickles run down my cheek. Fully, right out cry. These types of manga are few and far in between. A great tragedy, with a complete and fulfilling end. 10/10 doesn't not suffice to how great this truly was. |
| Kurumi is dead. If you read some of the comments in the link I provided below, you will understand. http://flabslapper.wordpress.com/2011/01/05/sundome-the-greatest-manga-with-the-greatest-disappointing-ending-the-really-unexpected-part-three/ The ending is truly bittersweet.....I sort of hate these "rough" endings, I'm generally not good with them, they just make me depressed.....gladly, I read and finished this manga about 2 or so years ago, so I've gotten over the depression that this series brought fourth. |
| Couldn't have put it better myself. |
| The scenes before the time skip into the future was open up to our interpretation from the author. So here's mine : Page 15-16 - Kurumi undresses and tells him to come over to her. The two panels at the bottom of page 16 was Aiba having sex with Kurumi. Pages 16-19 (the topmost panel) showed him with an extremely painful expression as he was having sex with her, the most painful being after he asked himself why did she choose him out of everyone. The sounds made were pretty much all from him. Page 17 shows her hands go limp.. The 2nd - 5th panel of page 19 was a continuation from top panels of page 16 as you can see that Kurumi was still sitting up, and she whispered something to him. Page 20 further shows Aiba's pained expression. He finally finishes on page 21-22. The 'When I wake up, let's have sex' was what Kurumi whispered to him back in page 19. Chronological order : Page 15 -> Top panel of page 16 -> 2nd to 5th panel of page 19 -> Bottom two panels of page 16 -> page 17 -> page 18 -> 1st panel of page 19 -> page 20 -> page 21 -> page 22. Therefore, I believed that Kurumi felt tired and that her time has come, so she lied down after the conversation on page 19. However, she woke up for the last time some time after and this led to Aiba having sex with her. However, her body was too weak and halfway during the process - possibly just before Aiba came - she died. Aiba's pained expression could be from the fact that he realised that she was dying. Eventually, the final time they showed her hand on page 20 was where she died - therefore they showed Aiba's expression again. Hence, the title Sundome - Kurumi died right before Aiba came in the midst of their first ever love-making. Although there is another possibility that Kurumi never woke up and Aiba was having sex with her dead body (Aiba's hands were straight so it is definite that he has sex with her), I choose not to take this possibility because Aiba would never defy Kurumi's words. Kurumi possibly thought that she would have died and thus never waking up, but in the event that she does - she probably wants to take it as a sign to have sex with Aiba. As for the ending, I decide to take it for what I see. He regularly has sex with a woman who has a wedding ring - it might be a colleague at work, for all I care. He is always reminded of Kurumi and says that she still exists in his heart. At the very last panel at the end, I believe that it was him talking to the woman. For thoughts about the series itself, I felt that it has quite a number of flaws - Some of the kinky sex particularly about pissing did not appeal to me at all, and a lot of the story was dragged out. A lot of really serious moments were also ruined because the author decided to turn it into something sexual. A strong point would be the fact that the main character undergoes good character development, as portrayed in the two goldfish. Also, when the sexual scenes were done at the right time, it created a whole lot of sexual tension making it extremely romantic. Although I dislike tragedies, I personally couldn't get Kurumi-chan out of my head for the few hours after reading the manga. Final Score : 9/10. Could have been 10 if it didn't drag it out with pointless scenes. |
ClawViperJan 28, 2013 12:28 AM
| This ending... just perfect. The second manga that me cry like a baby. 9/10. |
MastaJJan 31, 2013 10:32 PM
| "When life gives you lemons, make orange juice, then sit back and watch the world wonder how you did it." |
| I don't think she had AIDS, it could have been any number of things like TB or Cystic Fibrosis (I don't think it matters as most sick people in manga/anime have an "unknown" disease.) The part about her unwilling to have sex was mostly about her not wanting to form deep a connection with him and was part of their S&M play (IMO). I still say she died "during" as it fits in with the title and concept of the manga in multiple ways. |
More topics from this board
» What to read that is similar to Sundome?Elpato891 - Mar 16, 2018 |
8 |
by Toranagii
»»
Jun 7, 2023 5:57 PM |
|
Poll: » Sundome Chapter 72 DiscussionAlexSadist-sama - Jul 8, 2012 |
4 |
by DZento
»»
Jan 10, 2023 11:30 PM |
|
Poll: » Sundome Chapter 71 DiscussionAlexSadist-sama - Jul 8, 2012 |
3 |
by DZento
»»
Jan 10, 2023 11:26 PM |
|
Poll: » Sundome Chapter 68 DiscussionExplicitz - May 27, 2011 |
9 |
by DZento
»»
Jan 10, 2023 11:10 PM |
|
Poll: » Sundome Chapter 67 DiscussionAlexSadist-sama - Jul 8, 2012 |
5 |
by DZento
»»
Jan 10, 2023 11:00 PM |