Go back and read Chapter 20 again, before the battle of the bands proposal was even made. Shiho approaches Aki and makes demands that Aki renounce her own band and friends. Chapter 21, again before the bet is made, Shiho is insulting Aki and her friends. Aki tries to be polite, and Shiho literally grabs her by the collar and yells in her face.

What are you talking about? In Chapter 20 all that Shiho wanted was for Aki to admit that she was a better singer/performer than Yori. And in Chapter 21 she grabs Aki by the collar after hearing her say that she "loves Yori's singing and that that opinion will never change".

Shiho has actually always been very nice while she's hanging out with Momoka and Hajime, or when interacting with Himari alone, except for that chapter at the studio when she got angry for a moment with her because of how happy she looked chatting with Yori, something for which she apologized a second later.

It's hilarious that people think Aki didn't do anything wrong.
All she wants in this arc is to get back with Shiho. However, when Shiho left the band, all Aki did is asking Yori to join the band instead of asking Shiho what's wrong.
That say. If you have a sudden fight with a really close friend, maybe you will not talk to him/her on that day. But after few days calming down and if you still want to be friend with that guy, it's reasonable that you call him/her and say something. But Aki? No she never calls Shiho or says something. I mean, if you really care about Shiho, you should at least do something to be in contact with her instead of finding another person to replace her.
All in all, if Aki doesn't care about Shiho, she did nothing wrong. But if she does care about Shiho and consider her a close friend, she made a big mistake.
Still, Shiho did many things wrong and she has to apology to all people she hurts.

last edited at Jul 21, 2023 10:18PM

Aki this time showed an increased awareness for Shiho's feeling that she didn't have when she was fixated on Yori back then. That could be an interesting thing to discuss when thinking about how long she had actually moved on from that infatuation. The hand holding a couple chapters ago was her final moment of recognizing her crush was over. And in that moment she says something that implies she'd already known her love was over, even before the handshake test. So it was over a while before this chapter and that was hinted at (pretty bluntly) chapters ago.

Oh wow, you're right. I didn't even really realize that, but that backs up my theory that Aki wasn't ever really in love with Yori and maybe when they got closer and she became her friend her feelings kinda changed but she couldn't tell because she still liked her as a friend and admired her as an artist.

It's hilarious that people think Aki didn't do anything wrong.
All she wants in this arc is to get back with Shiho. However, when Shiho left the band, all Aki did is asking Yori to join the band instead of asking Shiho what's wrong.
No she never calls Shiho or says something. I mean, if you really care about Shiho, you should at least do something to be in contact with her instead of finding another person to replace her.
All in all, if Aki doesn't care about Shiho, she did nothing wrong. But if she does care about Shiho and consider her a close friend, she made a big mistake.

Awesome point actually. You're totally right. It must have hurt Shiho a lot to see Aki just replace her, especially with Yori, and those hurt feelings must have contributed to why she's so hostile and wants Aki to say she made a mistake, that she's better than Yori in the band.

Gee, when you stomp off and quit a band it must be incredibly emotionally shattering when you get replaced. Oh, the humanity!

Gee, when you stomp off and quit a band it must be incredibly emotionally shattering when you get replaced. Oh, the humanity!

When the person in question is the girl that your crush is in love with? I'd say so, yeah.

And it's not like they're just having fun together. They're doing it while playing music, so it's doubly hard for Shiho, as we all know how complex her relationship with it has been so far.

Also, someone said the author made Aki "commit character assassination" because she "magically" isn't in love with Yori anymore, and I also disagree with that. I don't think this was very sudden, although it may seem like that to people. I think Aki let go of her romantic feelings for Yori when she accepted Hima and Yori were together and in love with each other, she just didn't know it at the time. I also think there's an argument that Aki never really had true romantic feelings for Yori, and they were more akin to a fan infatuation with a celebrity, but I digress.

It just always amazes me how unsympathetic and/or empathetic people can be.

nice fanfic and all, but where in the story is the evidence that support these claims, cause from where i stand this seems a lot like the head cannon from an overtly sympathetic super fan, dont ya think?

like, why would a romance story have one of its major supporting characters, whose most memorable trait is that she is also in love with the main heroine, just.... suddenly fall out of love?

and to make matters worse, there was little to no build up to this revelation, to the degree that the handshake chapter itself had so many people confused, and then this chapter rolls up and aki is out here liberated from a one sided love she held for so long, how is this not pulling a houdini?

just in case some misunderstand my stance, its not like i want aki to still be in love with yori, its just that this was a long held trait of her character, yet its resolved in such a convenient way to make her single for shiho, which i find to be subpar as far as writing goes.

[edit:grammar]

last edited at Jul 21, 2023 11:24PM

Gee, when you stomp off and quit a band it must be incredibly emotionally shattering when you get replaced. Oh, the humanity!

When the person in question is the girl that your crush is in love with? I'd say so, yeah.

Exactly. Also, Shiho is human and it didn't seem like her quitting was very premeditated. I doubt she really thought about what would happen afterward. Subconsciously though, there had to be the hope that Aki would ask her to come back. But, it is interesting as well that Aki just seemed to accept her quitting, and then replaces her like what would admittedly be normal, but then when they run into each other again she questions why she really quit. It supports the theory that Aki was just too fixated on Yori in the past to really give a thought to Shiho before.

Gee, when you stomp off and quit a band it must be incredibly emotionally shattering when you get replaced. Oh, the humanity!

When the person in question is the girl that your crush is in love with? I'd say so, yeah.

Exactly. Also, Shiho is human and it didn't seem like her quitting was very premeditated. I doubt she really thought about what would happen afterward. Subconsciously though, there had to be the hope that Aki would ask her to come back. But, it is interesting as well that Aki just seemed to accept her quitting, and then replaces her like what would admittedly be normal, but then when they run into each other again she questions why she really quit. It supports the theory that Aki was just too fixated on Yori in the past to really give a thought to Shiho before.

So many mindreaders here with the ability to explain away the most basic everyday details like when you quit your job (and being in a band is indeed a job), you don’t have that job anymore.

If that's how you want to continue to view it (blame, deserve), that's your right. We obviously are focused on different things.

More like responsability but again I guess being oh so hurt like shiho justifies basically everything, I guess not everyone is interested on craftsmanship of a story and would rather just enjoy the emotions of the moment regardless of how the character got there

Lol so wich is it? What was aki supposed to do? leave shiho so she could heal her one sided love or persue her more insistently, there's comments amost back to back, 1 saying that she should let shiho alone and the other saying that if she truly cared for shiho she would go after her Inmediatly
At this point every pro shiho argument goes like this
Shiho didn't do anything wrong - if she did it was justified - if it isn't justifiable it wasn't that bad - if it was that bad it's because she a teenager
I guess I'll just accept that shiho can literally do no wrong

Exactly. Also, Shiho is human and it didn't seem like her quitting was very premeditated. I doubt she really thought about what would happen afterward. Subconsciously though, there had to be the hope that Aki would ask her to come back. But, it is interesting as well that Aki just seemed to accept her quitting, and then replaces her like what would admittedly be normal, but then when they run into each other again she questions why she really quit. It supports the theory that Aki was just too fixated on Yori in the past to really give a thought to Shiho before.

I agree. Although I'd say it's likely that she had unconsciously started looking for an excuse to leave the group and distance herself from Aki, the truth is that she continued practicing with the band after finding out that her love was unrequited, and it was only after Aki criticized her singing (needless to say, Yori is also a singer) that she quit. Can someone really blame her?

nice fanfic and all, but where in the story is the evidence that support these claims, cause from where i stand this seems a lot like the head cannon from an overtly sympathetic super fan, dont ya think?

Check out Chapter 17. She gave up after Himari reciprocated Yori's feelings.

Also, someone said the author made Aki "commit character assassination" because she "magically" isn't in love with Yori anymore, and I also disagree with that. I don't think this was very sudden, although it may seem like that to people. I think Aki let go of her romantic feelings for Yori when she accepted Hima and Yori were together and in love with each other, she just didn't know it at the time. I also think there's an argument that Aki never really had true romantic feelings for Yori, and they were more akin to a fan infatuation with a celebrity, but I digress.

It just always amazes me how unsympathetic and/or empathetic people can be.

nice fanfic and all, but where in the story is the evidence that support these claims, cause from where i stand this seems a lot like the head cannon from an overtly sympathetic super fan, dont ya think?

Yeah, honestly, I understand where you are coming from. I wouldn't call myself a "super fan", but Aki has always been my favorite character, so maybe I am just biased. But maybe I've just always paid more attention to her than you?

I did pause and consider that maybe some of what I was saying was a bit head cannon from me while I was writing that original post, however upon further discussion and reflection I do genuinely believe there is some substance to back up my opinions, as you can see from my previous posts. They aren't just based on nothing. Sure, there's not much to support my claims, but there's not anything to disprove them either.

That doesn't make it not head cannon though, I understand that. But then, there's the conversation of how much you can infer about the character's thoughts and feelings based on the drawings. Everything the author draws is deliberate, obviously, but especially expressions. They have to convey things that aren't spoken or written because most of the text is dialogue and characters don't always say exactly what they mean or feel. So, when Aki isn't really jealous and she's teasing Yori about her dates with Hima, I was thinking, "That's not really how I would expect someone with a crush on her to act." But again, it's open to interpretation. Manga is very similar to movies and tv in that way I guess. You have to guess how characters are feeling based on their actions.

like, why would a romance story have one of its major supporting characters, whose most memorable trait is that she is also in love with the main heroine, just.... suddenly fall out of love?

Maybe because she's not just a one dimensional character? I don't mean this disrespectfully, I'm just genuinely pointing out; a lot of people would be criticizing an author for having such a single-purpose, simple character. And people who love the character, like myself, would be disappointed with the lack of care the author would have to show her to not give her any development or thought.

and to make matters worse, there was little to no build up to this revelation, to the degree that the handshake chapter itself had so many people confused, and then this chapter rolls up and aki is out here liberated from a one sided love she held for so long, how is this not pulling a houdini?

Like I said before, I understand how it came out of nowhere for people. I'm not saying you're completely wrong. It basically came out of nowhere for Aki herself, and maybe in your opinion that's bad writing, but for me it's relatable. I myself have struggled with understanding and interpreting my own feelings and understanding why I feel the way I do about things and people at times. But, again, maybe you would call that head cannon.

just in case some misunderstand my stance, its not like i want aki to still be in love with yori, its just that this was a long held trait of her character, yet its resolved in such a convenient way to make her single for shiho, which i find to be subpar as far as writing goes.

I think that's understandable and I respect your valid opinion. I can admit that this revelation that Aki was not in love with Yori anymore was easier for me to accept and rationalize because I was also pretty relieved about it, because I would like Aki and Shiho to be together. But, to me there were hints that she was not romantically inclined towards Yori anymore for a while, as I've stated in my previous posts now.

Also...

So many mindreaders here with the ability to explain away the most basic everyday details like when you quit your job (and being in a band is indeed a job), you don’t have that job anymore.

Dude, they are in high school. Clam down.

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 1:53AM

I’m sorry I don’t think Aki did a single thing wrong at all throughout this relationship so her pouring her heart to Shiho as a plea for forgiveness and/love confession just don’t really work for me, if anything the roles SHOULDVE been reversed, the cheeky “don’t regret it later lol” kinda rubs me the wrong way, I just want her to apologize for being a emotionally stunted brat who brought most of her misfortune on herself really.

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 1:58AM

Check out Chapter 17. She gave up after Himari reciprocated Yori's feelings.

i just gave it a reread, and from what is shown that isnt her giving up on yori, as much as its her doing the best she can to act as a good friend in the moment, considering that the next time we see her in chapter 20 she is swooning over yori again, which i would say indicates that she is trying to give up but cant due to lingering affection.

For the multiple people that wrote that this story is not even about blame and responsibility as concepts... we know, that is what we are critizing. We are saying the story SHOULD be about that, or at least incorporate this concept. Fact is, there is unadressed blame to go around due to the actions and behaviours taken so far, and blame that is unfairly assigned by the story that is not warranted. The story's inability or unwillingness to adress that is leading to a disconnect that leads many to be dissatisfied with this arc, among other reasons.

I'm kinda suprised how this chapter could be 40+ pages long, and concluded this arc, despite how those previous chapters were so stalling that make the arknights cc9 max risk clear to be a shame.

So many mindreaders here with the ability to explain away the most basic everyday details like when you quit your job (and being in a band is indeed a job), you don’t have that job anymore.

Dude, they are in high school. Clam down.

Good job—when a copout for shitty writing like “they’re in high school” works, you might as well mash that button every time.

I guess I’ll just have to clam down.

They finally made up YIPEEEEEEEEE

More like responsability but again I guess being oh so hurt like shiho justifies basically everything, I guess not everyone is interested on craftsmanship of a story and would rather just enjoy the emotions of the moment regardless of how the character got there

Haha yeah there it is. Yes, everyone else just doesn't like, understand, or can't identify quality. At least you said it. I always respect it when it comes upfront rather than being wrapped up in other language.

I did pause and consider that maybe some of what I was saying was a bit head cannon from me while I was writing that original post, however upon further discussion and reflection I do genuinely believe there is some substance to back up my opinions, as you can see from my previous posts. They aren't just based on nothing. Sure, there's not much to support my claims, but there's not anything to disprove them either.

I wouldn't let people convince you that your headcannoning anything. You're interpreting text and using common human experience to contextualize the story. You're drawing parallels. That's normal when reading and analyzing a text. Because some disagree with you does not make your interpretation any lesser and you shouldn't be convinced of that. You have evidence and explanations to explain yourself. You're fine. Stories don't have to and don't normally show everything. They're not all so blunt, though most manga can be. Besides these discussions that are sparked are actually interesting rather than the "ughhs."

You're also clearly thinking deeply about the material and willing to go back and forth on it. So I'd say you're good.

i just gave it a reread, and from what is shown that isnt her giving up on yori, as much as its her doing the best she can to act as a good friend in the moment, considering that the next time we see her in chapter 20 she is swooning over yori again, which i would say indicates that she is trying to give up but cant due to lingering affection

Yes, the only definitive point where she realizes she's given up on Yori is a couple chapters ago. In that chapter she alluded to not being surprised to realize that her feelings for Yori were done ("I knew it"). It seems they'd been done for at least some time and she'd felt that change somewhere. But that's also human nature. There's not a single point where you're in love, then out of love. It's like a color gradient. It happens gradually and often you realize it in retrospect. This is what Aki does.

We don't know exactly when she drops out of love because much of the last 30 chapters were mixed up with Shiho and the battle. Maybe you were looking for something more dramatic (a "relevation?"). Aki had little time to pause and really assess her feelings for Yori but once she did, she realized that somewhere along the way she'd already lost that love. That made her happy and finally confident that she could responsibly enter another relationship with a person. She was afraid to connect with another person (Shiho or not) while she still harbored a deep crush. So when she realized that her heart has no longer been tied to an unattainable person, she fully decides it's fair to be with someone else ("I've decided"). In this case she later says something about it being fair to Shiho. Fair in this context is not in the sense of blame or culpability.

That's a major change for her and one that happens before she's even realized it, hence the handshake revelation's not being her finally moving on but being the moment she realized that she'd already moved on ("I knew it"). The handshake was more of a confirmation rather than a decision. I also don't think it's unreasonable to assume that the situation with Shiho helped those feelings for Yori dissipate over these last chapters as she focused on something else, but that's another thing and doesn't change much.

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 8:44AM

Haha yeah there it is. Yes, everyone else just doesn't like or understand not cant identify quality. At least you said it. I always respect it when it comes upfront rather than being wrapped up in other language.

Lol if by everyone else you mean you and the small minority that seem to believe this is some sort of flawless masterpiece and will deflect all criticism by claiming it's from haters or headcanon a solution out of thin air then yeah, but hey don't le me disturb that echo chamber of yours

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 6:59AM

Haha yeah there it is. Yes, everyone else just doesn't like, understand, or cant identify quality. At least you said it. I always respect it when it comes upfront rather than being wrapped up in other language.

Lol if by everyone else you mean you and the small minority that seem to believe this is some sort of flawless masterpiece and will deflect all criticism by claiming it's from haters or headcanon a solution out of thin air then yeah, but hey don't le me disturb that echo chamber of yours

At least you're honest.

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 9:00AM

i just gave it a reread, and from what is shown that isnt her giving up on yori, as much as its her doing the best she can to act as a good friend in the moment, considering that the next time we see her in chapter 20 she is swooning over yori again, which i would say indicates that she is trying to give up but cant due to lingering affection.

I worded it poorly. Of course love isn't something you just give up and magically disappears, what I meant was that Chapter 17 was when she began to try to give up on her. My point is that by the time of the handshake she had stopped having any romantic feelings for Yori for quite some time, even if she wasn't even aware of it.. And I found her realization to be quite natural and realistic.

For the multiple people that wrote that this story is not even about blame and responsibility as concepts... we know, that is what we are critizing. We are saying the story SHOULD be about that, or at least incorporate this concept.

Not even the two or three pages where Kyou "appeared" in this chapter made you realize the weight of guilt Shiho has been carrying with her all this time?

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 9:50AM

Now into more productive discussions, does anybody noticed that a lot of popular woman targeted media seem to incorporate some form of the "I can change him/her with my love" trope and/or the "deep down she /he is a nice person". It sees to be a constant across all types of media western or eastern, like 50 shades of gray, twilight, kaicho wa maid, citrus, sasakoi, a lot of yaoi/yuri fanfics and long list of etc.
It was just recently that shoujo decided to take a more wholesome approach to romance ie sonó bisque doll, shikimori is not just cute, tonikaku kawaii, the dangers in my heart etc

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 10:37AM

The good thing is that the author does understand that Aki continuing to follow Shiho and eventually forcing her to confess was not right, and made that very clear in chapter 40 - along with facing their mismatched feeling between chapters 40 and 43.

In the end, that the author was able to write this story well and is receiving recognition for it matters a lot more than (and, if I think about it, comes less as a surprise) than a bunch of random people on these forums.

But, it is interesting as well that Aki just seemed to accept her quitting, and then replaces her like what would admittedly be normal, but then when they run into each other again she questions why she really quit. It supports the theory that Aki was just too fixated on Yori in the past to really give a thought to Shiho before.

I was thinking about this after I received a reply over on Mangadex. Forgot to mention that Aki does regret not stopping Shiho back then. She says this directly in this chapter ("I don't want to repeat the regret I felt from not stopping you back then"). It's not really her responsibility to do so, but being human, it seems she did feel guilty about not looking into Shiho back then. I imagine that stems from her never actually believing Shiho's reasoning for leaving. She has alluded to (and outright said) that there's something else bothering Shiho, and never fully inquiring about that motive must have been one of her regrets. That being the case can further explain her present insistence on getting Shiho to admit her real reasoning this time (with the battles and the tricks), once she's run into Shiho after the year had passed. She really wanted to make up for what she saw as a regret and had been bothering her for some time (plus just normal irritation from Shiho's antics).

last edited at Jul 22, 2023 11:49AM