Anyone else get the feeling that this story won't end with the "happy ending" that most people will want? Something tells me that at the end of it all, Yuu will reject Touko.

Yes, all that yuri baiting and those plot twist doujins can make you into one cynical mess... Let's just hope for the best but prepare for the worst

Are you talking about Nakatani? Because her previous stuff doesn't have that type of stuff

Anyone else get the feeling that this story won't end with the "happy ending" that most people will want? Something tells me that at the end of it all, Yuu will reject Touko.

Yes, all that yuri baiting and those plot twist doujins can make you into one cynical mess... Let's just hope for the best but prepare for the worst

Are you talking about Nakatani? Because her previous stuff doesn't have that type of stuff

Nakatani is the the furthest from yuri baiting or plot twister that you can get.

Mai-HiME.

:^)

That's (relatively) old school, but I loved it.

This volume as a whole is rather weak, especially as a follow up on last vol. I was hoping this chap will justify the writing of ch 25 & 27, especially 27, by showing some thematic connection and resulting developments that clarify how those chaps are appropriate build-ups within the volume. Maybe later vol(s) will justify them, but with how well structured the other vols are, especially 3 & 4, vol 5 just comes off really incohesive with those two seemingly filler-y chapters disrupting the flow of the main focus of the vol--Touko's development.

The confrontation on the rooftop was great though. Yuu proves to us once again why she is best girl. However, I'm a bit unsure about how this chap is resolved. Touko obediently listens is very unexpected & it almost makes it seem like the story is about to wrap up soon. But if the series is wrapping up on this note, it'll just feel really anti-climatic. Touko's internal turmoil is the only real conflict that drives the series, so with her now being open to change, I have a hard time imagining how this series is going to stir up any sort of climax at all (& by climax, I don't mean people yelling and crying and running away from each other, something around the same level of intensity as ch 10 would be perfect). For a series that has been building up a lot of tension, ending on "everything works out smoothly" does not seem to be the best fit, IMO. Basically, I'm a bit unsure how future developments will play out after this chap, which can be a good thing or bad thing.

I'm happy for Touko's development though. Being put back on the right track & having a whole new world of possibilities opened up before her--poor girl deserves it. The one thing that the story can still expand on with Touko's development is in that last line "I still think I'm empty, but I'll believe in Yuu for now." She's still unable to make decisions of her own yet & I think her coming to point where she can say "I'm choosing to live this way for my own sake" is when she can finally start freeing herself from self-hatred (I honestly was hoping that the confrontation in this chap would lead to Touko self-reflecting and coming to this very conclusion just before the play, but I guess not). While I'm a bit unsure how things will play out from here on out (aside from the inevitable confession from Yuu), I look forward to future developments, waiting for Nakatani to surprise me.

Nakatani is the the furthest from yuri baiting or plot twister that you can get.

She does do plot twists, just not asspull ones.

I realized this a while ago, but something I love about YagaKimi is that it makes yuri deeper than it usually is. Not that pure fluff, etc. stories are bad, they're my guilty pleasure, but this grand scale yuri just isn't usually done.

This. This is why YagaKimi is my fav yuri manga right now. Too bad Nakatani won't be making anymore yuri-centric manga after it. I was really hoping for a yuri fantasy from her. Let's just hope she'll throw in her doujin-level "subtexts" in her next work at least.

Nakatani stating she can't draw Touko and Yuu being lovey dovey yet gives me hope that she'll eventually show it later in the story after the main problem is resolved.

She said in a recent interview that YagaKimi is everything she wants to write in a yuri. So let's hope GBS is part of it :^)

Gotta believe in Yuu, who believes in me.

Believe in Yuu who believes in Touko who believes in Yuu who believes in Nakatani who believes in us who believe in that anime adaptation this series -Kamina

last edited at Dec 3, 2017 3:35PM

This volume as a whole is rather weak, especially as a follow up on last vol. I was hoping this chap will justify the writing of ch 25 & 27, especially 27, by showing some thematic connection and resulting developments that clarify how those chaps are appropriate build-ups within the volume. Maybe later vol(s) will justify them, but with how well structured the other vols are, especially 3 & 4, vol 5 just comes off really incohesive with those two seemingly filler-y chapters disrupting the flow of the main focus of the vol--Touko's development.

I agree with this, I just feel vol. 5 is the weakest so far. First 3 volumes are great because they are the build-up of Touko and Yuu's relationship. Volume 4 is also great because it shows how Yuu is in love now and the way she expresses her feelings-even to merely herself in her thoughts-. They also build up Touko's conflicts in a progressive way, culminating in the development of the play that's approaching soon. But chapters 25 and 27 are imo what make this volume weak. Specially chapter 27, chapter 25 is a bit better but both really do feel like fillers. Chapter 25 at least was related to the play's writing and developed Koyomi's character in the process, the focus in Akari's situation with her crush felt random as fuck, like it doesn't even parallel Touko and Yuu's relationship to say it's at least useful to the plot, and Doujima's talk doesn't seem to have helped Yuu with her feelings or anything. Chapter 25 had a purpose, so I really hope chapter 27 will be at least a bit useful in the future, because for me it's the worst and only bad chapter so far. Maybe Nakatani did chapter 25 and 27 to complete volume 5, who knows. Highlights of this volume for me are 24, 26 and 28, 23 was good too.

The confrontation on the rooftop was great though. Yuu proves to us once again why she is best girl. However, I'm a bit unsure about how this chap is resolved. Touko obediently listens is very unexpected & it almost makes it seem like the story is about to wrap up soon. But if the series is wrapping up on this note, it'll just feel really anti-climatic. Touko's internal turmoil is the only real conflict that drives the series, so with her now being open to change, I have a hard time imagining how this series is going to stir up any sort of climax at all (& by climax, I don't mean people yelling and crying and running away from each other, something around the same level of intensity as ch 10 would be perfect). For a series that has been building up a lot of tension, ending on "everything works out smoothly" does not seem to be the best fit, IMO. Basically, I'm a bit unsure how future developments will play out after this chap, which can be a good thing or bad thing.

Maybe it's wrapping up. I hope not, and I don't want to believe Nakatani is giving up on yagakimi and because of that the manga will probably end soon. I definitely was expecting Touko being way more stubborn and as a consecuence of that some drama but she seemed more open to listen than before. While it's unexpected, I don't think it's necessarily a bad development. There are 2 things that I feel made her more willing to listen: her desire to be herself and her feelings for Yuu. She has expressed a genuine desire to be herself while at the same time she wants to fulfill her wish to be like her sister (even after knowing the sister she wants to be is a fake). And I think her feelings for Yuu have deepened, so that's another reason why she's willing to listen to Yuu and wants to believe in her. She wasn't disposed to listen to Sayaka for that very same reason. It also helps that Yuu had the right words while Sayaka didn't know how to reach to her.

Touko still has doubts, she hasn't changed yet, she hasn't accepted people's feelings yet, she hasn't admitted her way of thinking is wrong and she hasn't said "I deserved and want to be loved" yet. So I think the huge climax is the play, where after it, she'll be able to address the things I mentioned. Yuu's talk is more like a beginning, is just Touko more open to listen opinions different than hers. Ofc everything can still go to shit, but I hope they won't.

I do have mixed feelings about chapter 28. On the negative side, if only Yuu's talk was enough to make Touko change, then I will be disappointed, because being realistic, it's needed way more than that to make someone as stubborn as her change. Ofc it's only speculation so far, we'll see how volume 6 turns out to be.
On the positive side, I think it may be good, because if you really think about it, having Touko act extremely stubborn and unwilling to listen to everybody until the play happens and she magically changes her mind after it would be even much more unrealistic (specially since she has already read the new end, the play is just her performing the lines). For me, the ideal deal would be Touko having a progressive change (just like rl, people don't change all of a sudden) with Yuu's help /and Sayaka's/. Not sure if there will be a climax and I'm not sure if it's really needed (maybe the climax is happening right now, who knows). We don't know how the play will turn out yet so it's only speculation from readers. By the way, I feel some readers (including me) were getting tired of this Touko has problems plot. For me, the other thing that made this volume weak was the huge focus on the play's rewriting (esential part of that plot), I felt it took away Touko and Yuu moments. So with Touko more willing to change, I hope we can see more of their relationship again, since the play's rewriting is over and Touko has accepted the new script.

last edited at Dec 3, 2017 4:26PM

I'm happy for Touko's development though. Being put back on the right track & having a whole new world of possibilities opened up before her--poor girl deserves it. The one thing that the story can still expand on with Touko's development is in that last line "I still think I'm empty, but I'll believe in Yuu for now." She's still unable to make decisions of her own yet & I think her coming to point where she can say "I'm choosing to live this way for my own sake" is when she can finally escape self-hatred (I honestly was hoping that the confrontation in this chap would lead to Touko self-reflecting and coming to this very conclusion just before the play, but I guess not). While I'm a bit unsure how things will play out from here on out (aside from the inevitable confession from Yuu), I look forward to future developments, waiting for Nakatani to surprise me.

Agree, but Touko's coming to that conclusion before the play would make the play performance useless imo. I'm not sure if you meant that you were expecting Touko coming to the conclusion you mentioned in this very same chapter, but if you did, one chapter isn't enough imo. It takes time to build it up. And Touko accepting herself won't lead to inmediately stop hating herself I guess. I suppose her overcoming her insecurities will slowly lead to love herself.
Anyways, I always mention this, but I hope yagakimi won't end after the main and only problem (Touko's issues) that keeps the main characters from being together is resolved, even if everything seems to point to that. I had enough of romance stories that end after the couple gets together, I want to see what's next here, even if only for one volume. I think there's potencial to see what happens next, but it all depends on Nakatani. I feel she may want to end it after the official couple moment happens and then pull an "and they lived happily ever after". Sayaka getting a gf of her own is also my dream, but I'm sure that one will just remain a dream. ;w;

This. This is why YagaKimi is my fav yuri manga right now. Too bad Nakatani won't be making anymore yuri-centric manga after it. I was really hoping for a yuri fantasy from her. Let's just hope she'll throw in her doujin-level "subtexts" in her next work at least.

Tbh her answer was pretty vague, it wasn't definite. I don't think she has thought about the plot of her next work since she's very careful about it and a yuri plot well elaborated takes time. And she's still doing yagakami. Maybe her fantasy work will be like her Touhou stuff: "I-It's not yuri at all, there are girls kissing and fucking but the main plot is fantasy not yuri!" Oh well one can dream I guess :v Since she likes writing about girls' relationships that fantasy manga can have lots of female characters and that's enough for shippers.

Touko's internal turmoil is the only real conflict that drives the series

You make a plausible case, but I think the above may be rather overstated--we all seem to be taking Yuu's development for granted, but she still hasn't overtly said, even to herself (almost), that what she feels for Touko is romantic love. Sure, it looks to us like we're just one confession away from moonlight and roses (etc.), but even if that's where the story is heading, given the rather tangled emotional/psychological knots involved in the Touko/Yuu relationship, getting our pair to a steamy sleepover while someone's family is out of town may be considerably more complicated than we (and I do include myself in that group) have been assuming lately.

In other words, Yuu herself isn't necessarily a done deal as far as character development goes quite yet.

Granted, all it would take is one thought balloon of Yuu saying, "I want to touch senpai and be touched in previously undreamed-of places" to negate my argument. So there's that.

last edited at Dec 3, 2017 4:30PM

The title of the series is Eventually, I Will Become Yours. At the very least, it foreshadows that the two will enter a relationship (even if they happen to break up at some point). The tone of the series also doesn't signal a tragic or even bittersweet ending.

That's a mistranslation. The literal translation of the japanese title is "eventually (no subject) will become you". Bloom Into You is the official english title chosen by Nakatani, who is fluent in english. That means she meant the japanese title to mean bloom into you. And she stated she wanted the title to be pretty yurish, and "bloom into you" sounds pretty gay.

Agree with everything else. It doesn't make sense for Yuu to reject Touko at all. That would happen only if Touko refuses to change, but that would be more Yuu giving up on her than rejecting her. Chapter 28 has "good end" written all over the place so I see unlikely that happens.

On the positive side, I think it may be good, because if you really think about it, having Touko act extremely stubborn and unwilling to listen to everybody until the play happens and she magically changes her mind after it would be even much more unrealistic (specially since she has already read the new end, the play is just her performing the lines). For me, the ideal deal would be Touko having a progressive change (just like rl, people don't change all of a sudden) with Yuu's help /and Sayaka's/.

I agree. I'm not one to hope for Touko's stubbornness to drag on to the next volume. I want it to be resolved this volume since like you, I do want Yuu & Touko's relationship to take prominent stage again. What gives me mixed feeling about this chap's resolution is how it was resolved. Just having her somehow opens up to Yuu's logic without much back and forth kinda goes against her characterization up to this point, considering both ch 10 & 22 as well as Nakatani's comment on how her character is driven purely by emotions rather than logic. This same confrontation can have a bit more tension & even act as the climax if Touko's stubbornness causes Yuu to resort to emotional appeal, maybe unintentionally. Like, having Touko tries to dismiss/argue against Yuu's plea which causes Yuu to have the most hurt expression (similar to the one in ch 22) or have a mini breakdown before Touko while giving out the same speech. That alone acts as an emotional trigger to help Touko reconsider her actions because she sees how her stubbornness hurts the one(s) she cares about. This then leads her to self-reflect, admitting she's wrong, and choosing to follow the changed script. Maybe not for her own sake yet (since you're right, Touko coming to the conclusion to live for her own sake now would be a bit rushed considering how deep-seated her self-hatred is), but at least for the sake of those she cares about. Anyway, it all boils down to me wanting something more resemblance of a climax, more emotionally intense like ch 10 & 22, before the story wraps up. I was thinking that this was going to be that chapter, but it's not and how it is resolved makes it hard to imagine how this story is gonna have another opportunity to create that climax. But these are just my thoughts after this chap, I'm open to the fact that Nakatani might blow my mind away next vol tho.

Your new ava is gr8, btw.

Maybe her fantasy work will be like her Touhou stuff: "I-It's not yuri at all, there are girls kissing and fucking but the main plot is fantasy not yuri!"

That's what I hope, too. Her subtexts are basically just texts, so unless her next work is het, we will get our yuri fill some way or another.

You make a plausible case, but I think the above may be rather overstated--we all seem to be taking Yuu's development for granted, but she still hasn't overtly said, even to herself (almost), that what she feels for Touko is romantic love.

True. Honestly, I might have used the wrong wordings to phrase my thoughts a bit there. Instead of the only real conflict, it's probably more accurate to say that Touko's internal turmoil is the only real stake in the story. I'm very much looking forward to Yuu's development and eventual confession, it'll be a glorious chapter. Just not sure how emotionally tense this whole situation can get when the stake is seemingly dealt with. Maybe it'll be so tender, it'll make me forget I care about steaks in general.

Sure, it looks to us like we're just one confession away from moonlight and roses (etc.), but even if that's where the story is heading, given the rather tangled emotional/psychological knots involved in the Touko/Yuu relationship, getting our pair to a steamy sleepover while someone's family is out of town may be considerably more complicated than we (and I do include myself in that group) have been assuming lately.

Everyone should start headcanoning how this will play out ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I agree. I'm not one to hope for Touko's stubbornness to drag on to the next volume. I want it to be resolved this volume since like you, I do want Yuu & Touko's relationship to take prominent stage again. What gives me mixed feeling about this chap's resolution is how it was resolved. Just having her somehow opens up to Yuu's logic without much back and forth kinda goes against her characterization up to this point, considering both ch 10 & 22 as well as Nakatani's comment on how her character is driven purely by emotions rather than logic. This same confrontation can have a bit more tension & even act as the climax if Touko's stubbornness causes Yuu to resort to emotional appeal, maybe unintentionally. Like, having Touko tries to dismiss/argue against Yuu's plea which causes Yuu to have the most hurt expression (similar to the one in ch 22) or have a mini breakdown before Touko while giving out the same speech. That alone acts as an emotional trigger to help Touko reconsider her actions because she sees how her stubbornness hurts the one(s) she cares about. This then leads her to self-reflect, admitting she's wrong, and choosing to follow the changed script. Maybe not for her own sake yet (since you're right, Touko coming to the conclusion to live for her own sake now would be a bit rushed considering how deep-seated her self-hatred is), but at least for the sake of those she cares about. Anyway, it all boils down to me wanting something more resemblance of a climax, more emotionally intense like ch 10 & 22, before the story wraps up. I was thinking that this was going to be that chapter, but it's not and how it is resolved makes it hard to imagine how this story is gonna have another opportunity to create that climax. But these are just my thoughts after this chap, I'm open to the fact that Nakatani might blow my mind away next vol tho.

The type of development you propose for this chapter is good and I would have liked to see it too, but the negative part of it would be Touko agreeing to do things for someone else instead of herself, a pattern that has been shown regarding her sister. Even if that's not the intention, Yuu being hurt would have been the catalyst of Touko's change of mind regarding the play instead of Yuu's words, making Yuu's speech seem pointless (bc of the emphasis on Yuu's suffering). If there's a climax, I think it will be the play, since all the build-up is for it. It may look like an act on the outside, but it'll show Yuu saying her lines from her heart.

That's what I hope, too. Her subtexts are basically just texts, so unless her next work is het, we will get our yuri fill some way or another.

Did she say her doujins are subtext? There's no subtext about kissing a girl and telling you love her. I just know she said she just wanted to draw Touhou relationships bc they were troubled and wasn't thinking about it being yuri or not or something like that. Sound like denial though

Just not sure how emotionally tense this whole situation can get when the stake is seemingly dealt with. Maybe it'll be so tender, it'll make me forget I care about steaks in general.

The way things look, it seems the whole Touko's situation will be resolved first, then Yuu will finally be able to confess. As of chapter 26, she still can't manage to say her feelings even if she knows what they are. I think it's better that way, Yuu having some emotional breakdown which causes her to confess to Touko would take away the tender, romantic aspect of it and it will be a tearjerker instead. Nothing bad with the latter I just prefer the former.

Everyone should start headcanoning how this will play out ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I guess the level of explicitness would be like the Yukari/Ran sex scene she did or hopefully a bit more explicit. But obviously much more romantic than that twisted doujin which will make the scene better.

On another note, what the hell was the cover of chapter 27 implying? Touko doesn't want anyone to see what?

last edited at Dec 3, 2017 10:29PM

Mai-HiME.

:^)

That's (relatively) old school, but I loved it.

I rewatch it every year. I can't believe it was made in 2004 and has four canonically gay characters, one of which is a main promotional character. And who has a healthy relationship with her love interest. Like. What.

Edit: I also realised I forgot to add my comments about this chapter. I agree with people who say it felt underwhelming; I was anticipating some resistance here, given that, like other users say, she's more of an emotional person than a logical one. Yuu denying her the kiss would shock her, sure, but she seems to have reached a resolution to believe in her remarkably quick with remarkably little conflict. I also find it odd that Nakatani goes out of her way to portray Touko having such disdain or dismissiveness regarding what Yuu was saying and to have her subsequently accept it with little resistance.

But, who knows. Maybe Nakatani will surprise me.

last edited at Dec 3, 2017 11:49PM

Granted that they can handle the potential backlash from their families

Except from Rei-chan and her boyfriend, of course. Seriously, she's so cool and straightforward, just like imouto-san. She's lowkey shipping it, too. https://imgur.com/a/BywnH

This same confrontation can have a bit more tension & even act as the climax if Touko's stubbornness causes Yuu to resort to emotional appeal, maybe unintentionally. Like, having Touko tries to dismiss/argue against Yuu's plea which causes Yuu to have the most hurt expression (similar to the one in ch 22) or have a mini breakdown before Touko while giving out the same speech. (...) Anyway, it all boils down to me wanting something more resemblance of a climax, more emotionally intense like ch 10 & 22, before the story wraps up

That sounds a bit more like having tension for the sake of tension and not because Touko would be canonically bull-headedly stubborn. For reasons I'll get to later, I don't see Touko as being stubborn, as if it's just that easy to throw away all your preconceptions of self/lack of self to accept what others tell you. In addition, Touko does try to dismiss Yuu's plea, that's what page 20 is, and we see Yuu's response is to point out something which is undeniably true.

I actually thought this chapter was very emotional. Yuu rehashes a similar argument to one she's used before, but with a clearer and clearer emphasis that other people's feelings and love are directed at Touko herself, not a mask, not a shell, not the figure of a person who Touko has worked to make exist but doesn't believe is hers. Yuu's final appeal is not logical, it is all emotional. "Please... Don't disregard what you've been given" is powerful not because she reasons out why Touko should do this, but because it is Yuu's wish. Pg 21, left panel, Touko, staring at Yuu, mouth slightly parted, sees how important this is to Yuu, even if she doesn't understand why. She sees the intensity with which Yuu means everything she's said. That page gives me chills.

I would say every volume ends with a major change/revelation and in that regard, this volume is no different. Just comparing chapter 10 and 28, it's obvious how much Touko has changed.

Touko still has doubts, she hasn't changed yet, she hasn't accepted people's feelings yet, she hasn't admitted her way of thinking is wrong and she hasn't said "I deserved and want to be loved" yet. (...) Yuu's talk is more like a beginning, is just Touko more open to listen opinions different than hers. (...) On the negative side, if only Yuu's talk was enough to make Touko change, then I will be disappointed, because being realistic, it's needed way more than that to make someone as stubborn as her change. Ofc it's only speculation so far, we'll see how volume 6 turns out to be.

I think this is far more realistic, to have a talk be an opening for her to edge towards the possibility, and the change being initiated by her later. Change on the scale of accepting people's feelings or outright admitting she was 'wrong' indeed haven't come yet, but just the fact that she is unsure is already a big change. It means both her past and the new way of thinking could be true. The practice run-through depicted right after Yuu's wish shows Touko doesn't reject that line "but now I know that was wrong" as she did before, even if she doesn't know how to feel about it.

From the way people have been using 'stubborn' in describing Touko, I always get the impression the implication is Touko rejects the healthy way of thinking because she's being unreasonable. I don't think she rejects it because she's unreasonable, but because she can't see any other way. She can't see how it could be true. This is where Touko being driven by emotions comes in. There's a great big ball of hollowness inside her, a void lacking any substance or worth. Everything about her is detestable. Her emptiness, her insecurity are reasons to hate who she is. If people like her it's just because they don't know what she's really like. If people compliment her they're complimenting who she is on the outside, a facade. Who would compliment an empty shell? A lingering memory of fearful incompetence?

The point of this is not to be depressing or argue Touko would need to be shaken up severely to feel differently. It just illustrates how her view colors the ideas others present to her. Touko doesn't 'stay' this way because she wants to but because she feels she has to. Becoming her sister was that outlet, but she's known for a long time it's a hollow pursuit too. Volume 5 shows Touko being trapped, internally and then externally. She's more confused and frustrated than anything.

Volume 5 also shows Touko and Yuu's relationship developing, courtesy of Yuu, which is a counterweight to Touko's struggle and the lead-up for the volume's conclusion making sense. Touko essentially goes to Yuu for answers and comfort. Of course it's not exactly as she wanted, but it's something.

Except from Rei-chan and her boyfriend, of course. Seriously, she's so cool and straightforward, just like imouto-san. She's lowkey shipping it, too. https://imgur.com/a/BywnH

That collage reminds me, I wonder if Touko will ever get around to making Yuu her cheesecake.

That collage reminds me, I wonder if Touko will ever get around to making Yuu her cheesecake.

I love the double meaning in your phrasing, since in the last panel of that penultimate page Touko looks like she wants to have Yuu for dessert.

As always, I'm grateful for the thoughtful and well-supported comments on this board. Although it's hard to avoid it completely, I try not to get too heavily invested in specific predictions about what will happen in the story, but I will say that from a storytelling/craft perspective I'm very interested in seeing how the actual performance of the play itself is handled.

As others have said, we've spent an awful lot of story-time building up to this event, and this chapter's confrontations (and Touko's initial response) have already accomplished a bit of what might hypothetically have been caused by the play itself--Touko's realization that her friends were using the play to try to help her, for example.

This story has tended to work by the accumulation of lots of nuanced, relatively low-key scenes rather than by big emotional set-pieces (Chapter 10 being the biggest counter-example); even the pivotal Love in the Shed scene, emotionally significant as we know that to be, to an outside observer was "only" a matter of which person initiated the kisses.

I'm looking forward to seeing if/how the execution of the play can possibly live up to the extensive build-up it's been given.

Sorry to butt in on a very long and thoughtful conversation which I enjoyed reading a lot.

I just wanted to add my two cent in regards to Touko's Stubborness, I honestly think her self hatred stems more from the survivors guilt then incompetence.

In the flashback we saw her mother asking one of them to go buy a drink and Touko and her sister used hammer siccors paper to decide who had to go. Touko won so she stayed behind while her sister had to go, where she got into the accident and died. I think Touko feels at fault for her sisters death since had she, the worthless one, went instead then her sister, the perfect one, would have survived.

It was why she strive so hard to be perfect to make up for her sister's death that she feels she caused and why she hates her true self that she feels was the reason why her sister died. It would explain why when faced with the realisation that her sister isn't perfect nearly destroys her sense of worth as it didn't fit in with her mentality.

I really like this series and will order it on Amazon to keep, I hope it has a happy ending.

PS: Shiznat shippers Yay!

Survivor’s guilt is certainly a plausible explanation for at least part Touko’s state of mind. The only trouble with leaning too heavily on it is that we don’t actually have any direct evidence that she even feels particularly guilty (it’s more than reasonable to think that she does, but it’s still just our inference). We do see what she tells Yuu in Chapter 10 along with her memory/thoughts at the end of that chapter, we see her dream/recollection of her sister’s death, and we see her being pensive in the cemetery. (The dream could suggest that she feels some degree of guilt, or it could just be a replay of her most traumatic memory.)

What she does directly say is that a) she couldn’t accept her sister’s death, b) she decided to become like her, and c) she liked the praise she got when she acted like her sister. That is, the loss of her sister opened up a role/niche in the family for her, and she took it, partly for herself and partly to honor her sister’s memory.

Even her discovery of what her sister was really like at school leads her to just say, in a very low-key way, “I have no idea what to do now,” as if a student council plan for some school event has hit an unforeseen snag rather than this new knowledge sparking an emotional/existential crisis.

You may well be right about guilt playing a major part in Touko’s ongoing emotional state; I’d be very surprised if it didn’t have some role. But my point is that, while we as readers almost can’t help reading these events in very dramatic terms, we’re basing that reading on inferences rather than on explicit evidence in the text.

I believe part of its fault comes from Touko's relatives and people who knew the perfect version of her sister and as such expected that, in a way, she should act similar since they're siblings. It is shown that, when they're mourning her, they're spouting "live for her sake", "you have to live for your sister" and it's clear that Touko took that the wrong, literal way + survivor's guilt and a possible blame feeling for not having been the one going out. Sure enough, they realize what she's doing later on but didn't know what they've put her through back then.

I just wanted to add my two cent in regards to Touko's Stubborness, I honestly think her self hatred stems more from the survivors guilt then incompetence.

I agree with this, although I think the way in which it manifests suits both sides. Like, she does obviously have a large inferiority complex that was exacerbated by her sister's death. She loved her sister and obviously still places her on a very high pedestal, viewing her as an ideal to strive towards at the expense of her own identity. Part of this, though, is because she feels guilty that someone she believes to be better than her was killed and yet she remains alive, so she's trying to fill the void she feels she created by being the one to survive.

Or, something like that.

PS: Shiznat shippers Yay!

lmao, I will literally die on the Shizuru/Natsuki hill. What an #iconique pair.

Sorry to butt in on a very long and thoughtful conversation which I enjoyed reading a lot.

Don't apologize for adding your opinions. :p New thoughts are always welcome.

I just wanted to add my two cent in regards to Touko's Stubborness, I honestly think her self hatred stems more from the survivors guilt then incompetence.

There was a minor discussion about this a while ago. The end summary of all that amounted to survivor's guilt probably does play a part, but there's no doubt her inferiority complex existed before too, and in terms of how it affects her now, there's no indication direct survivor's guilt is a main motivator. Main evidence against that being true is how her parents literally say she doesn't have to try so hard being like Mio but she brushes them off.

Blastaar's Dec. 6, 2017 post covers the rest.

last edited at Dec 9, 2017 8:08PM

The TV Tropes website specifically mentions this manga as an example of the “My Sibling Will Live Through Me” variant of the “Replacement Goldfish” trope, saying,

“Bloom Into You has one [example] that goes into detail about the emotional and mental consequences of this [trope].” (Warning: time sink ahead.)

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe

and "bloom into you" sounds pretty gay.

Lol :D

and "bloom into you" sounds pretty gay.

Lol :D

Hmmm, I was beginning to suspect that this manga may be yuri, but your argument has finally convinced me. :-)

Special out.
Rei-chan teasing Yuu and spouting "date, date!"
Yuu thinking it's not so bad anyway
Cute. But it's painful to wait another month for us to get a compensation from the latest weaker chapters.

the latest weaker chapters.

Chapter 27amirite?