"Refused to learn how to communicate" is assuming that Shouko's mother has the time to learn how to communicate.

You're trolling right? You've got to be trolling. If you can't make time to learn sign language for the sake of your own daughter you're a failure as a parent and probably don't give two ***s about them.

"Refused to learn how to communicate" is assuming that Shouko's mother has the time to learn how to communicate.

You're trolling right? You've got to be trolling. If you can't make time to learn sign language for the sake of your own daughter you're a failure as a parent and probably don't give two ***s about them.

I never said she was mom of the year, or even a parent to emulate, just that things like horrific and the post you apparently signed up to make are hyperbolic. We've only seen her a few times, and each time she's trying to keep her daughter from being bullied or trying to keep her away from one of her previous abusers.

Yes she probably should have learned sign language, but then Shouya's mom should have stopped her son from jumping off bridges, or picking fights, or getting the shit kicked out of him, or done something during all the time he spent being bullied, or noticed he was suicidal sometime before the moment when it would have been too late, but she didn't. And that's only when talking about Shouya, and not his sister, neither of whom (I assume) have the complication of a disability.

And no one said Shouya's mom was parent of the year either - in fact Shouya and Shouko can be seen as a study of opposites: Shouya's mom allowing him and his sister too much freedom and bringing suffering to themselves and others through that and Shouko's mom being too controlling of her life in an attempt to shield her from the world, but in the process not letting Shouko express what she wants - and in fact couldn't even understand if Shouko told her mom what she wants unless there were writing utensils handy.

And I disagree that Shouko would have taken any abuse from Shouya if that was what he intended - sixth grade Shouya is the only person who ever got her to fight back of her own accord after all, and in fact her first response to seeing him again was to run the hell away - it wasn't until he tripped and fell and stopped his pursuit that she returned to ask him why, and then was suitably shocked to discover that he had taken the time to learn sign language to talk to her properly when he saw her again.

Was that a little gesture? Maybe so, but for Shouko who has rarely had anyone, aside from her sister, take the time to learn to specifically talk to her on her own terms - not even her own mother - it was likely a big enough one, particularly from this one boy who was the only one that got past her "smile and bear it" defenses and forced her to fight back for herself.

Basically what I'm getting at is that Shouya, even when he was a little shit, both forces and allows Shouko to express her own desires, instead of always deferring to or being protected by others, while Shouko forces Shouya to confront the effect his selfish actions have on the people around him, and forces him to interact with the world beyond himself that he had shut himself off from. Shouya certainly doesn't believe he deserves Shouko's forgiveness yet, but he wants to interact with her more so that he can earn it, and Shouko seems to want to have him around to talk to because he's the only person we see that talks to her like an equal and listens to what she wants.

Whoa... Initially, Ishida was a little shit. The recent chapter really showed that he had improved a lot! I like him.

Out of the blue, Brazilian guys appear in the plot. Haha.. that caught me off guard.

I'm liking ishida more and more with each chapter.. Also I laughed out loud at yuzuru at the first page "are you retarded?! she's deaf she won't hear you!" idk it was funny to me

Shouko should be already fine with talking, no? After all she wore her hearing aids for a little while and i don't believe that she didn't try to say something.

this! favorite scene so far. sisterly love, the closest to yuri from this manga xD call it crack, for all i care

I'm liking this manga more and more.
Seriously, I can see myself being one of those "OMGUPDATE!MADE MY DAY!" fangirls already.
....Yup, it just happened. Can't wait to see how this develops. Thank you scanlators :3

Ah those last two chapters were really nice. Shouko's mom is beginning to accept him as well. <3

this! favorite scene so far. sisterly love, the closest to yuri from this manga xD call it crack, for all i care

SAME HERE! it was just too cute! yes i would ship them!

To chip in on the whole forgiveness debate: I am a deaf person. Do you know how many people I know have told me they wanted to learn sign language? Many, many, many. How many got to a point where they could actually hold a proper conversation with me? One person outside my immediate family. That's right. One. Learning any new language's hard work, and many give up. At this point if someone says they want to learn sign language, I assume they won't actually accomplish it. I don't really judge them negatively for it; I simply don't have high expectations for their success, it's far more easy to say than to do after all. Hell, you see a glimpse of that in chapter 16--the two girls saying it'd be cool to learn sign language. Spoiler: they almost certainly won't actually do it. I hear that kind of thing all the time from others.

Now, remember, in the manga it's been years. If someone came to me after years and apologized for something like that, I would probably forgive them--that's more than enough time to mature and realize your own crimes. But then again, I often give people the benefit of the doubt (though not as much as Shouko seems to do). But even putting that aside, learning sign language just to apologize would leave me outright dumbfound. I would really appreciate that, let's be frank, absolutely amazing and unbelievable gesture. I'm being serious, it really isn't a trivial gesture doing something like that.

last edited at Nov 26, 2013 8:41AM

I want to spend some time with you, naked and exposed!

^ lol

Omg omg omg shouko and shouya are finally alone together. I can't wait to see what happens next when they find Sahara o.o

Everytime I read the updates to this manga I always get a 'feel-good'. I love it for that reason, the journey of redemption. I mean, I hope there ends up being some romantic leanings... even though it might not be from the healthiest of basis... but that sort of would be some extra yay.
The story as it is, is lovely. <3 Yay for scanlators and uploaders~ Thanks!

Good god that fuzzy-haired kid is annoying...

I freaking LOVE Nagatsuki! He's so cute and awesome! Such a good friend, too. I wonder what he'd do if he found out about Shouya's past as a bully?

I'm starting to feel like maybe Shouko has some sort of problem. I think she blames herself for things that aren't her fault. She has the right to be mad at the way people treat her. No one could be so accepting of undeserved abuse unless they're Buddha or Jesus. It might be that she cares a ton for others, but not nearly enough for herself. This girl deserves so much better than what the world's given her, and she needs to know that.

i actually find shouya kinda handsome... but i still dont like him too much

I freaking LOVE Nagatsuki! He's so cute and awesome! Such a good friend, too. I wonder what he'd do if he found out about Shouya's past as a bully?

I'm starting to feel like maybe Shouko has some sort of problem. I think she blames herself for things that aren't her fault. She has the right to be mad at the way people treat her. No one could be so accepting of undeserved abuse unless they're Buddha or Jesus. It might be that she cares a ton for others, but not nearly enough for herself. This girl deserves so much better than what the world's given her, and she needs to know that.

hehe, I love Nagatsuki too, best wingman ever. This chapter seemed to hint that he's kind of got his own problems with bullying or something. In addition to borrowing Shouya's bike and it getting stolen, the line about Nagatsuki telling another one of his lies, makes me think that he's probably an outcast/pushed out of the school "society" norm.

It surprised me that Nagatsuki knew Yuzuru was a girl, makes me wonder if he also knows, or came to know of Shouya's and Nishimiya's past.

I want to see Sahara too, but I'm holding out for a happy reunion. It finally seems like the story is at a happy, moving forward spot, but at the same time this feeling seems to be very fragile. Like it might come crashing down in the next chapter where we meet Sahara and see that she's grown up to be someone bitter and cynical due to the way she was bullied in elementary school.

To chip in on the whole forgiveness debate: I am a deaf person. Do you know how many people I know have told me they wanted to learn sign language? Many, many, many. How many got to a point where they could actually hold a proper conversation with me? One person outside my immediate family. That's right. One. Learning any new language's hard work, and many give up. At this point if someone says they want to learn sign language, I assume they won't actually accomplish it. I don't really judge them negatively for it; I simply don't have high expectations for their success, it's far more easy to say than to do after all. Hell, you see a glimpse of that in chapter 16--the two girls saying it'd be cool to learn sign language. Spoiler: they almost certainly won't actually do it. I hear that kind of thing all the time from others.

Now, remember, in the manga it's been years. If someone came to me after years and apologized for something like that, I would probably forgive them--that's more than enough time to mature and realize your own crimes. But then again, I often give people the benefit of the doubt (though not as much as Shouko seems to do). But even putting that aside, learning sign language just to apologize would leave me outright dumbfound. I would really appreciate that, let's be frank, absolutely amazing and unbelievable gesture. I'm being serious, it really isn't a trivial gesture doing something like that.

@Kaja Rainbow

The stuff they've been signing in the story, were there any gestures that were similar (similar gesture, similar meaning) to the sign language you know (American, Chinese sign language/whatever sign language is used in your country, or was it totally different (for example as different as Japanese Spoken is to English Spoken)?

@kingtiger

hehe, I love Nagatsuki too, best wingman ever. This chapter seemed to hint that he's kind of got his own problems with bullying or something. In addition to borrowing Shouya's bike and it getting stolen, the line about Nagatsuki telling another one of his lies, makes me think that he's probably an outcast/pushed out of the school "society" norm.

I think Nagatsuki had no idea Yuzuru was a girl.... just a thought. Ahaha. But that being said, I like him too. Shouya deserves a friend.

@Kaja Rainbow

The stuff they've been signing in the story, were there any gestures that were similar (similar gesture, similar meaning) to the sign language you know (American, Chinese sign language/whatever sign language is used in your country, or was it totally different (for example as different as Japanese Spoken is to English Spoken)?

What I know is American Sign Language, which's pretty different from Japanese Sign language. But I still recognized the signs in the manga as clearly sign language, if sign language in a foreign language. There seem to be certain universal elements, like the general kinds of handshapes people'll be making--gestural stuff using easy to make finger shapes. Some of those handshapes're ones ASL use, but in different ways and for different words. Overall, I'm fairly certain that was actual JSL in the manga.

last edited at Dec 27, 2013 4:28PM

@Kaja Rainbow

The stuff they've been signing in the story, were there any gestures that were similar (similar gesture, similar meaning) to the sign language you know (American, Chinese sign language/whatever sign language is used in your country, or was it totally different (for example as different as Japanese Spoken is to English Spoken)?

What I know is American Sign Language, which's pretty different from Japanese Sign language. But I still recognized the signs in the manga as clearly sign language, if sign language in a foreign language. There seem to be certain universal elements, like the general kinds of handshapes people'll be making--gestural stuff using easy to make finger shapes. Some of those handshapes're ones ASL use, but in different ways and for different words. Overall, I'm fairly certain that was actual JSL in the manga.

to tell the truth i always thought that sign language was universal...like a drawing.... good that i always learn something new everyday :D

@Kaja Rainbow

The stuff they've been signing in the story, were there any gestures that were similar (similar gesture, similar meaning) to the sign language you know (American, Chinese sign language/whatever sign language is used in your country, or was it totally different (for example as different as Japanese Spoken is to English Spoken)?

What I know is American Sign Language, which's pretty different from Japanese Sign language. But I still recognized the signs in the manga as clearly sign language, if sign language in a foreign language. There seem to be certain universal elements, like the general kinds of handshapes people'll be making--gestural stuff using easy to make finger shapes. Some of those handshapes're ones ASL use, but in different ways and for different words. Overall, I'm fairly certain that was actual JSL in the manga.

to tell the truth i always thought that sign language was universal...like a drawing.... good that i always learn something new everyday :D

I was told by a friend who was taking sign language that there is a kind of "general" or "universal" sign language that people can use aside from the ones that coincide with national languages like ASL or JSL. The way she described it made me think it was a bit more like standardized charades though, but that's just the way I interpreted her second hand information.

Yay an update! Obligatory thanks to the scanlators.

I'm surprised Ueno can actually admit that to Shou when she didn't exactly help him out (heck she probably participated) back when he was bullied.