THIS IS A MANGA ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING BEYOND THIS CHAPTER.
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Cool chapter! I liked what was done with the initial train scene. With three flashbacks we see exactly how this circumstance came to be and explore the character motivations and dynamics that we will be looking into at the boarding house. Hongou made that nefarious face last chapter because she got this idea to use the boarding house she eavesdropped about to get alone here with Yamagishi.
Speaking of that, Hongou has shown a shift in her motivation! That last highschool writer seemed to not do as well as they hoped and Hongou is now being told not to write eroticism. This proves she initially didn’t want to but has shown a shift. Wanting to have real experience to write appropriately she pursued Milo and now the thing that is driving her is her fluttering young heart. The montage we saw of her interactions with Yamagishi which she clearly cherishes were partially the ones she chopped up to lust but also the times of emotional support. When he could tell something was wrong on their chat, and when he helped her as she cried in his car. I’d say she certainly likes him more than simply lustfully, as Sugawara did say, girls don’t separate love and sex like guys do!!!
Then we got some more clarity with Sugawara! She was understandably hurt that one of her self-coined best friends doesn’t have faith in her and instead of seeing her as a friend sees her as competition. But, getting past that, she decided that she would use this misunderstanding to force Kazusa into action. It’s slightly cruel of course, to boldly mention the things she knows about Izumi, to show off in the bath, and to even take the sandwich Kazusa didn’t as if it was Izumi himself. It’s like throwing Kazusa into the water to force her to learn how to swim. She’s prodding her with a stick and asking if she will fight or curl up and resign. That said, I’m all for it. Sugawara suggested something she’s been doing the whole time, giving Izumi and Kazusa stimulation to engage with each other and defeat their cowardly sides, she’s planning to do that here too, just more extreme than ever. It should be entertaining and potentially a way to push Kazusa into action. Further, it was Kazusa’s insecurity and doubt over Sugawara’s friendship that started this! It reminds me of how the friends helped Taiga and Ryuuji in Toradora. Oh, and of course Momoko unfortunately knows everything and has to sit idly by during this torture. Sugawara being such a good actor is frightening, she can be a cold enemy and a cold friend.
Then Sonezaki will be thinking about how to move her love with Amagi into hiding with the rest of the trees. It’s charming how experiencing love has made her seem so happy and warm, seeing beauty all around her. However, to say “I’ll prepare the best forest to hide our love” is odd. Hiding love doesn’t sound that great to me. And to go with her character arc of accepting her feelings internally and then externally with Amagi but still fearing showing them, I think the final act for her would be to not hide their love but announce it as Amagi would love to himself! Still, this is a great step and I love her determined nature regarding it.
So this train scene jumped right to the point and let us know what to expect between the Hongou and Yamagishi ”debt paying”, the Sugawara-Kazusa “rivalry” and awkwardly, supportive Momoko dynamic, as well as Sonezaki’s planning for how to approach her love with Amagi!!! It was super effective. And to speak more generally, the way we had the adorable planning of the urban legend at the beginning warp into what it did later with the “kiss and fall in love” or even better “whoever burns down the school will get married in the afterlife” was fantastic. It was hysterical seeing past Sonezaki come out to burn present Sonezaki as an enemy through her complaints. I love that we get to see all our girls in new outfits and not locked to school uniforms most of the time. And it’s cute to see Yamagishi called Tomo-kun. |