this chapter handles the bed situation well and i think the little date was a good addition structurally but it felt like there was a little too much "ayako is just beginning to bring asuka into a more equal role/asuka still feels like a child" for the "ayako is breaking a little" part to not come off awkwardly mistimed, especially when asuka's outfit makes her look half her age and she's getting scolded and making her goofy buhh face so much of the time. in theory "ayako finally seeing asuka as more of an adult changes her perception in other ways" should work as a through-line and the manga usually walks this tightrope pretty well, but i was instead just left wondering what ayako actually finds attractive in asuka other than her being a human space heater or maybe having a thing for watching her eat steak. the sleeping ayako/"i have to pee" asuka panel is a top 10 though
I think the idea of the chapter was to show the stable mundanity of their relationship. So far, the things we’ve seen crossing the typical parent/child line have been passionate, eros, chemistry-driven. It’s effective to get across the idea that they could be lovers, to raise that possibility.
But the project of this manga all the way back to the original has always been to show a positive relationship where the two are both parent/child and partners at the same time, where part of the ultimate healthiness is that the parental dynamic isn’t destroyed by the emerging romantic one. I think purpose of this chapter is to poke at a sustainable everyday superposition between family and lovers, in the little domestic things.
On a side note, I love that Asuka is reading what seems like a dense popular science book on her free time, it’s great characterization that really grounds her in the scene.
