I have not made any ad hominems. Suggesting that someone's argument isn't realistic or that they are in denial is not an ad hominem. Argumentum ad hominem is a logical fallacy whereby you attack someone's character to discredit their argument, and I'm not doing any of that. My argument that Reiichi is clearly cheating is based on the evidence which I cited in my post.

It is, Heavensrun, AD HOMINEM.

No, it literally isn't. Ad hominem does not mean "I feel offended by what you said". It's a specific term with a specific meaning.

First of all, suggesting someone is in denial about something isn't even an insult, it's an assessment of their rationality. If someone is objectively wrong about something and is refusing to acknowledge it, they are in denial, by definition. Now we can argue as to whether that's true or not, but whether it's true or not, it isn't an insult. At the very least I don't intend it that way. A person being in denial is an objective fact about that person, the fact that it's unflattering has nothing to do with that.

Secondly, even if you had something that was clearly an insult, an insult is not always an ad hominem. I am going to use an unambiguous insult to illustrate my point, but I am not actually saying anybody here is an idiot:

"Your argument is wrong" is an unsupported assessment.
"Your argument is wrong because (justifying reasons)" is a proper argument.
"You're an idiot" is an insult, but is not an ad hominem because the person accusing you of being an idiot is not using that against your argument.
"Your argument is wrong because (justifying reasons), and also you're an idiot" is a proper argument, followed by an irrelevant insult, but that still isn't an ad hominem.
"You're an idiot because your argument is wrong because (justifying reasons)" is an argument about whether or not you are an idiot, based on an argument about the quality of your argument. This also isn't an ad hominem, because the attack on the person is not supportive of the argument, but vice versa.
"You're an idiot and your argument is wrong" is ambiguous, but could probably be reasonably assumed to be an ad hominem since no actual argument was made against your argument.
"You're an idiot, therefore I don't have to address your argument" is a clear ad hominem.

See the difference? It's about whether the insult is a dodge for addressing the argument. Now this whole tangent is off topic, so I'm leaving it there. If you don't like it, start a fight with a logic professor.

But the reason I said people are in denial is because the evidence I laid out in my post forms my argument that his cheating is near certainty, especially taking into consideration the narrative structure of the story. This isn't a mystery full of misdirection, it's a drama/romance manga. If Reiichi was going to turn out to be innocent, there would be clues and foreshadowing for that. Instead, we had extensive clues and foreshadowing suggesting that he might be cheating on Kaoru. The number of coincidences and weird circumstances necessary to steer us away from the conclusion that he is guilty of infidelity would come off as exceptionally contrived at this point.

I get that some people don't like infidelity storylines, because they're "cliche", but the fact is many people cheat. The statistics vary pretty wildly depending on how the study is conducted, but I've seen numbers as high as 70% of people cheat on their spouse. And when it comes to identifying the warning signs, well, the first 9 chapters of this manga read like a freaking textbook on the subject.

Forgetfulness. Poor planning of personal time in the marriage. Lack of intimacy. Lack of physical affection. Lack of investment in the relationship. Lack of attention to anniversaries, birthdays, and other special occasions. Melancholy and absent-mindedness at home.

And, y'know, finding him walking around with another woman under a single umbrella on his birthday when he says he's out of town on a business trip.

last edited at Dec 27, 2017 3:26PM

Still hoping for this interpretations, somehow. But we really need to wait for what happened in the past, I'm still thinking of an affair or something along those lines (because of the framed picture in the chapter I don't remember).

We know something happened to her mother that put her in a hospital, and we know that Uta thinks Kaoru felt responsible for Uta's parents divorcing. Reiichi also told Kaoru not to blame herself. The framed picture at the beginning of volume two that Kaoru looks fondly on looks like Uta's mother with Kaoru. How those elements fit together is still anybody's guess.

(My running theory is that Kaoru's mom passed away, after which Uta and Reiichi's parents helped take care of her. She was close with Uta's mom, but Uta's dad made a pass at her, which split up their family and ruined her relationship with Uta's mom, and also hurt Uta's trust in adults for awhile. But there's tons of guesswork in there, so don't hold me to it)

Looking back through things, we also know that Reiichi "cruelly dumped" Kaoru several times thoughout high school and university, and that Kaoru almost always spent, specifically, valentines day alone. We also know from her flashback dream that Risako was behind at least one of those breakups, and given that Reiichi is kind of weak willed and unreliable, I'd bet she was behind most or all of them. I also doubt it's coincidence that the first "business trip" of Reiichi's we heard about was on their anniversary. I'm betting that was a power move from Risako. Same thing with Reiichi's birthday. I bet Reiichi keeps going back to Kaoru because he feels bad for her, and Risako resents it, so she deliberately steals him back on special occasions. Valentines, Birthdays, their first freaking wedding anniversary...

last edited at Dec 27, 2017 4:40PM

Looking back through things, we also know that Reiichi "cruelly dumped" Kaoru several times thoughout high school and university, and that Kaoru almost always spent, specifically, valentines day alone.

The translation should have said she got rejected, not dumped. Valentine's is a standard day for asking someone out, so that's why her friends had to comfort her, after she got rejected each time.

Talk about disappointing and leaving a bad after taste.

Why?

The first few chapters were interesting. The protagonist Uta has a crush that is doomed (at the time at least.) Her bro seemed like a decent sibling + husband given what we had seen so far. The guy seemed a bit dense and slow, but that's hardly a crime. After what Uta has experienced with her friend's bizarre but still functioning relationship, she had come to terms with her unrequited love. The story could've ended there and I'd be fine, coming of age story and all. But then we get this curve ball with the (highly) potential cheating brother with this girl who also happened to be among Kaoru's circle of friends. This is the proverbial truck-kun coming out of nowhere and committing first degree murder on my hopes that we could've had a story that didn't have a dodgy guy. Hence I'm disappointed. And right now it's very hard for me not to read the situation as the brother cheating on Kaoru with the glasses lady. The brother's behaviors in this and the previous chapters aren't exactly helping either. I have a few issues with Kaoru as well, but right now it's hard for me get a good grasp of the full story until the author reveal more of what happened in the past.

last edited at Dec 28, 2017 3:17AM

I don't know where people are getting this notion that Reiichi is "decent" from.
He was shown consistently, from the start, to be neglectful and inconsiderate towards Kaoru.

The amount of excuses being made for the guy make me wonder whether the same people would do just that if it was a wife neglecting her husband the same way.

I hope that Uta will be able to show to Kaoru that she is a dependable partner for her. Hopefully with a love confession too.

I don't know where people are getting this notion that Reiichi is "decent" from.

I was wondering the same thing, so I went back and re-read the whole story. The very first thing we learn is that Kaoru is excited about their first anniversary, while Reiichi has totally forgotten the whole thing.

He’s not shown as being actively evil or vicious (as characters with his role in the plot often are), but he’s consistently shown as unable or unwilling to give Kaoru what she wants.

And sudden, or suddenly extended, business trips that happen to coincide with special family occasions are a huge red flag, in fiction and in real life.

I'm just wondering how Kaoru's phone survived the fall? It clearly doesn't have a phone case and I doubt that iPhones can fall a flight of stairs and remain undamaged.

I'm just wondering how Kaoru's phone survived the fall? It clearly doesn't have a phone case and I doubt that iPhones can fall a flight of stairs and remain undamaged.

Congratulations for ruining the story for me...

The story could've ended there and I'd be fine, coming of age story and all.

I guess I see where you're coming from, even if I don't have the same expectations.

Edit I should note that an ending where they're not together is still entirely possible, even if it would break my heart, it would make it an even bitter sweet story with them still being affectionate to each other but Uta having to move on. I don't really know what truck-kun is supposed to represent, but the cheating husband was hardly unexpected since the beginning of the story as Susurrus and Blastaar pointed out once again.

But I admit I prefer the yuri route, and I don't think we will (and hope won't) get the more grounded story you would've appreciated.

It's not particularly you, but I don't get why people expect romance stories to necessarily end as they would in real life (whatever that means) and, more dumbfounding, that they should hold some moral lesson and/or message attached to it - or that those who don't are bad, etc.

last edited at Dec 29, 2017 9:59AM

I'm just wondering how Kaoru's phone survived the fall? It clearly doesn't have a phone case and I doubt that iPhones can fall a flight of stairs and remain undamaged.

I like your sense for detail xDDDDD

I'm just wondering how Kaoru's phone survived the fall? It clearly doesn't have a phone case and I doubt that iPhones can fall a flight of stairs and remain undamaged.

If it was one of the old Nokia phones, they'd be needing a new staircase by now.

I'm just wondering how Kaoru's phone survived the fall? It clearly doesn't have a phone case and I doubt that iPhones can fall a flight of stairs and remain undamaged.

I like your sense for detail xDDDDD

If it was one of the old Nokia phones, they'd be needing a new staircase by now.

LOL... damn, that was good...

So is he cheating? If he did, it seems like he regrets it though. Frankly, the way this is going, I'd rather seem her and the brother reconcile than her going to the sister. This story should be about her moving on from her unrequited love.

Dafuq dude? Reconcile my ass. You must be the pussy ass weak type that goes back to the person that cheated on them. We don´t know if that´s the case, but theoretically speaking.

Because everyone is different. Just because he made this mistake (if he actually cheated) doesn't mean she couldn't forgive him. I frankly would like to see that more then her ending up with the sister. The sister's part in this story should be her trying to move past her one-sided love.

That's so dumb. Go ahead. I don't care if some random person on the internet would go back to the person who cheated on them. It's called Stockholm Syndrome, but that's just me

Well, saw the amnesia coming a mile away. A bit too cliche to be honest.

So, yeah, we have confirmation that Reiichi doesn't really love his wife and is an unreliable asshole that cheated on her from day one.That Risako is a bitch that cares only about herself and probably had a casual relationship with Reiichi since High-School and was secretly snickering at Kaoru's love antics.

Also, that page: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch11#22 puzzles me. I can't make head or tail of what she means.

Well, saw the amnesia coming a mile away. A bit too cliche to be honest.

I think it's trash, but in the author's defense, it's heavily implied that her Amnesia is mostly an act - she doesn't want to confront what happened, so she's acting as if she doesn't remember it.

Also, that page: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch11#22 puzzles me. I can't make head or tail of what she means.

I think she's saying she knows Reichi so well she could practically be Uta's sister, like how Kaoru is called Uta's older sister at times. We don't know for sure if they're having an affair but it's likely.

Also, that page: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch11#22 puzzles me. I can't make head or tail of what she means.

The Japanese was clearer. She means that if things had gone a bit differently in the past she could well have been married to Reiichi now.

We don't know for sure if they're having an affair but it's likely.

I said earlier that I've adjusted my expectations towards trashy melodramatic soap opera for this series, but if it turns out they're not having an affair, after all this build up, the looks on their faces, and the hints and everything, there better be a pretty good explanation.

Also, that page: https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/my_unrequited_love_ch11#22 puzzles me. I can't make head or tail of what she means.

The Japanese was clearer. She means that if things had gone a bit differently in the past she could well have been married to Reiichi now.

That makes more sense, thanks.

The Japanese was clearer. She means that if things had gone a bit differently in the past she could well have been married to Reiichi now.

Ohhhhh That makes a lot more sense, thanks.

Looks like actual short term memory loss that got resolved rather than the full-blown amnesia cliché, so I don't mind that much. The cheating plot is more bothersome.

Edit I should note that an ending where they're not together is still entirely possible, even if it would break my heart, it would make it an even bitter sweet story with them still being affectionate to each other but Uta having to move on. I don't really know what truck-kun is supposed to represent, but the cheating husband was hardly unexpected since the beginning of the story as Susurrus and Blastaar pointed out once again.

Truck as in arbitrary drama that looks to be coming out of the nowhere, except it technically didn't if I actually paid attention. I was busy using a magnifying class to analyze Uta and her friends that I missed the breadcrumbs regarding Reiichi. I'm used to over the top anime tropes, so the stuff with brother forgetting about anniversary and stuff I just chalked it up to another case of dense as brick male moment. Uta in the first chapter clued the readers in that the brother was already terrible with dates and birthdays. That one moment when Kaoru mentioned that the ditz even just left his phone at home; establishing that the husband's not by any means very clever or careful. (even though the very next page is the introduction of the home wrecker, a bit of stretch to jump immediately to that conclusion) Then of course the recent chapters proves I'm a terrible sleuth and I got ran over. My dying scream was SAYONARA followed by a photoshopped explosion.

Going through the earlier chapters again, I think I still would've been run over by that truck.

Regarding the brother giving off the "decent human being" illusion... In ch 6 he tried to have a talk with Uta using ice cream as a ruse. I don't see moments like these very often so that left quite a positive impression on me. Although that dangling question at the very end given the recent events seems incredibly suspicious. Was he about to ask something about Kaoru, or was he on the edge of confessing something else? Reading that chapter a few months ago the questions seems to be something that may have to do with Uta and/or Kaoru, since that had been the main focus/buildup for quite a while. Reading that chapter now I can also interpret the unfinished question as he was trying to confess something. Damn you hindsight.

last edited at Dec 30, 2017 5:48PM

I don't see moments like [the ice cream scene] very often so that left quite a positive impression on me.

Definitely true—yuri manga tend to bash you over the head when someone is a “bad guy” (or good-guy-turned-bad). It’s not that Reiichi is a particularly complex character; it’s just that we don’t often see this particular arrangement of character traits.

I feel like we need to get some clues about that past family trauma pretty soon, or I’m going to start thinking this author is just being withholding.

So is he cheating? If he did, it seems like he regrets it though. Frankly, the way this is going, I'd rather seem her and the brother reconcile than her going to the sister. This story should be about her moving on from her unrequited love.

Dafuq dude? Reconcile my ass. You must be the pussy ass weak type that goes back to the person that cheated on them. We don´t know if that´s the case, but theoretically speaking.

Because everyone is different. Just because he made this mistake (if he actually cheated) doesn't mean she couldn't forgive him. I frankly would like to see that more then her ending up with the sister. The sister's part in this story should be her trying to move past her one-sided love.

That's so dumb. Go ahead. I don't care if some random person on the internet would go back to the person who cheated on them. It's called Stockholm Syndrome, but that's just me

I agree. Strong people will automatically stop trying If they feel unwanted or mistreated. They won't try to fix It or beg. They'll just walk away. Going back to someone that cheated on you is a massive display of weakness.

Oh, by the way. Cheating is not a "mistake". It's not like "oh, shit! I tripped and fell with my dick inside this random woman. My wife will be so mad! But It was an accident" No. When you cheat you know exacly what you are doing and you make a choice of going through with It instead of stopping.

When you have the power of choice, it's not a mistake, it's lack of personality.

What is in the phone? WHAT'S IN THE PHONE?! WHAT'S IN THE F#*KING PHONE?!

The message from the cheating husband saying he will still not be back until later than the accident happened. (Unless it got deleted by his friendly and considerate mistress.)

That is actually a parody of a scene from the movie Seven. It's not a legitimate question of what's in the phone. If you haven't seen the movie though don't go spoil it for yourself :P

Finally someone got that! God bless you, loudsea. God bless you.