After Mei witnesses Matsuri kissing Yuzu Mei hugs Yuzu from the back, feels her up and licks her neck. She then tells Matsuri to back off her future girlfriend. If that's not going on the offensive I don't know what is.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 10:13AM

@Yuri Queen Mei went on the offensive? Where? The only time Mei's acting ''offensive'' is in her interactions with Matsuri. She never directly confronts Yuzu in any way, except the shoujo hug in ep 7/chap 9 and chap 12. Heck, she even goes on a compensation date with a old fart after Matsuri blackmails her, even though she could have told Yuzu the truth. After Yuzu rejects her in chap 13, she never approaches Yuzu by herself again. It is Yuzu who chases her in chap 16. So tell me, what was ''offensive'' here?

^ Except I did mention it.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 10:34AM

Sorry, didn't think we were talking about the same thing since you were asking where Mei went on the offensive.

Then I don't know what the issue here is. Mei is still on the offensive in chapter 12 and they are officially dating by chapter 16. Mei went on the offensive after shutting down Yuzu the first time and that makes it hard to forgive her in the long run.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 10:43AM

Mei just reciprocated Yuzu's feelings. She never actively participated in any ''relationship stuff''. Look at their 1st date. She is so clueless that she needs help from a frigging notebook. Yes, Mei should have told Yuzu about the marriage thing at some point. But as I said before, maybe she didn't know that she would be having 2nd engagement talks so quickly after all the drama regarding the 1st one. She knew she had to get married eventually, but she didn't know that this was gonna happen so soon. She was kind of living in the present, not thinking about the future, like Yuzu. She isn't that oblivious like Yuzu (chap 22), but she ain't that prudent either.

I really don't see how you can claim any of that. It's just not there in the story, at least not yet. Mei has been shown to be a smart capable woman. She has shown to have issues with relationships but not with school or taking over as headmaster while her grandpa was in the hospital. She has always had her future planned out and should have known that her engagement was right around the corner.

Even if she wanted to act selfishly and childish for once she still played with Yuzu knowing that it would eventually end with Yuzu being heartbroken. Maybe not that month or year or 5 years, but she knew it was coming eventually and did it anyways. Even if you want to excuse it as her being a selfish teenager it still doesn't make it right or make me any more sympathetic to her.

Sometimes being a smart capable woman doesn't mean she is long-sighted too. Maybe she didn't know about everything. Not like grandpa would tell her everything he is planning right?

And I never said Mei Aihara is a flawless person. She is a selfish and a childish person with communication issues. But saying she ''played'' with Yuzu's heart, and framing her as some kind of dirty bitch that takes advantage of others is a bit of a stretch. She loved Yuzu too, y'know? That's all I am trying to say. I am not trying to prove or claim something.

Well whatever. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I respect your opinion so please bear with mine. Thank you and good night (in my time zone).

Wow that chapter nearly beats u to death, this shit was deep I hadn't been this emotional since WDTFS, I really didn't see it happening that way like I thought Mei would tell her in person or Yuzu would find out and they get in a big fight etc. Sigh like where do we go from here? I mean this is crazy I just hope....*sigh*

The time skip was stupid though, but for that SU is to blame not Mei.

As I mentioned in another post, I think the use of the time skip was pretty smart (even if it's an easy narrative tool). The betrayal the audience felt with it is akin to the betrayal Yuzu might have felt when she read the letter (which was an easy break-up tool). It's a bit meta, but it makes the intent of the author even more powerful and bring the audience closer to Yuzu's suffering.

Also, every relationship is supposed to end at some point, and I guess many are saying stuff like "we will be together forever", etc. at the beginning, because that's how they feel at this moment. So I wouldn't really hold it against Mei in the grand scheme of thing, if it weren't a romance story. Even in the context of the story, she's damaged so she isn't irredeemable.

She was kind of living in the present, not thinking about the future, like Yuzu.

I agree, I think Mei was just indulging herself in Yuzu's love because, well, it was hard not to. She was selfish on this one, because she wanted to be happy for a brief moment.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 12:27PM

But Mei is all about the long play. Even as a child she did everything she could to prepare for her father's return. Children are not suppose to plan that far ahead. And her dream to take over the school requires her to plan at least her next 5 years. And with her already having been engaged once before she had to have some idea what she would have to do sooner or later. I just don't see how she couldnt have known about future engagements.

Knowing all that, I just can't help but feel like Mei played Yuzu. Even though she actually loves her she did play her by not telling her the whole truth.

Children are not suppose to plan that far ahead. And her dream to take over the school requires her to plan at least her next 5 years.

I wouldn't say she planned it thoroughly. Many people also say things like: "I want to start my own business in 5 years." but don't actually make proper plans to reach their goal. Her plan could have just been: become Student Council President, do paperwork, get good grades, get married, take over school.
And she's been doing these tasks properly, so her plan was basically to work hard.

And with her already having been engaged once before she had to have some idea what she would have to do sooner or later. I just don't see how she couldnt have known about future engagements.

She might not have known she would get another engagement if she was not informed since the last incident with her previous fiance. It's not like she could've avoided yuzu from the start either. People just can't ignore their feelings and be completely selfless.

@Yuri Queen say you were in Mei's shoes:
You spent your entire life wanting nothing more than to take over the school. You don't care if you have to marry someone you hate if it's necessary and if your beloved grandfather wants you to (also he's really sick and probably dying).
You just met this wonderful girl that changed your life. You know things might not end well, but you want to cherish this feeling that is new to you and don't quite understand. It made you selfishly wanting more, and then you take it too far. And now no matter how much you will regret hurting her, the best thing to do is leave asap before it gets worse. Because now you know you're getting engaged soon, and you can't rewind time. Her life will probably be better without you too, you're both girls and sisters on top of that. Yuzu, being the kind person she is, can easily find someone who will treat her better Bc I'm trash for hurting her from the start.
Your father, a loved one, abandoned you for his resolve. But you still respect him. Why can't you do the same to Yuzu? Is there a difference if it's between father and daughter or between lovers? You question yourself. You don't really know. You're like 15/16 years old and you never had to ask yourself this and you're terrible with relationships (whether it's love, friendship or family). You grew up only following rules and orders.
If not, are you going to give up the work and time you spent your entire life trying to get? Your resolve is too strong to give up now.

I'm just not following you. How is any of that suppose to make me sympathetic to Mei crushing Yuzus heart? I have said that excusing her actions being that of a selfish teen doesn't make any of it better in my eyes. She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen. Getting caught up in the moment isnt an excuse, especially when after turning Yuzu down she went on the aggression after Matsuri entered the scene.

I also want to make a correction. Mei didn't want to always take over the school. She spent the last 5 years taking care of everything in hope that her father would return and take it over. Only after he told her he wasn't returning did she finally choose to do it herself. And he didn't necessarily abandon her, he offered for her to come with him but she refuses and stayed behind. Not exactly what you should do with a small child but he did give her a choice.

Welp, I’m convinced. Midnight at Mei’s place with torches and pitchforks, everybody . . .

^finally somebody who speaks through actions

She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen.

She didn't play with her and certainly not for her own satisfaction only, Yuzu was a willing participant in this. She just had a brief relationship with somebody and it didn't last, it happens, it's sad but that doesn't make her an horrible person. In Yuzu's perspective, perhaps but even her can't hold it against Mei, probably.

And if you tell me "but if she knew it would end, why go along with it?", well, if you don't anything for the pretext that it's going to end, you won't do much, right? She could have been honest about the whole thing, but nobody's completely honest and especially not when strong feelings are involved. If it weren't a romance story, no one would expect the relationship to go on forever, it just ended a bit quickly.

Well, the reason I have some sympathy toward Mei (instead of just not hating her) is that she is probably hating herself at the same time; of course, from an exterior pov, that doesn't change the "betrayal" but it gives her extenuating circumstances in my judgement of her being a complete human scum.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 7:22PM

I'm just not following you. How is any of that suppose to make me sympathetic to Mei crushing Yuzus heart? I have said that excusing her actions being that of a selfish teen doesn't make any of it better in my eyes. She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen. Getting caught up in the moment isnt an excuse, especially when after turning Yuzu down she went on the aggression after Matsuri entered the scene.

I also want to make a correction. Mei didn't want to always take over the school. She spent the last 5 years taking care of everything in hope that her father would return and take it over. Only after he told her he wasn't returning did she finally choose to do it herself. And he didn't necessarily abandon her, he offered for her to come with him but she refuses and stayed behind. Not exactly what you should do with a small child but he did give her a choice.

He gave a primary school kid a choice. How on earth was she supposed to make a good decision for herself at such a young age? She loved both the school and her father. Her train of thought was most likely: "if dad is gone, who will take care of the school?" and therefore chose to stay. You may say she's independent and mature, but she's really just a young girl in the end who can actually make really rash decisions.
I don't think you can ever sympathise with a girl that has probably never smiled or experienced or love since before her father left her because OBVIOUSLY only Yuzu is hurt here, so I'll stop trying.

I'm just going to copy and paste an excellent analysis of previous volumes and how they tie with Mei's letter made by an insightful anon at /u/

Volume 1 - Had Harumin explain how relationships between girls worked at their school and established the deal with fiances. Also had Mei's grandfather as a huge influence on Mei.

Volume 2 - Yuzu learned of Mei's troubled upbringing and dedication to the school from Himeko. Then Shou shows up and we're given the message that there's no one way to live your life.

Volume 3 - Matsuri is there to trigger Mei's jealousy to get her to pursue Yuzu. And while the reader is made to doubt Matsuri's observations, most of them about Mei do ring true to some extent in hindsight.

Volume 4 - Shows that Mei is willing to try to run away from her problems.

Volume 5 - Mitsuko forces Yuzu and Mei to make hard choices, but also introduces the concept of creating your own path with a strong will. Volume also showed how much Mei loved the school, even having to hide her grandpa's photo when kissing Yuzu in his office.

Volume 6 - Yuzu and Mei's relationship intensifies and the ring is given to Mei, which triggers her deeper feelings. Mei acting awkward while comforting Yuzu in the library now has a more negative meaning in hindsight.

Volume 7 - Mei starts actively trying to figure out if she loves Yuzu. By the end of the volume she realizes that she does.

Volume 8 - Sexual tension reaches its peak and is really the "calm before the storm" of volume 9.

Volume 9 - Everything starts to go to hell when Matsuri learns of Mei's engagement. Their friends worry and ponder their future, Yuzu is oblivious to why Mei is acting weird, while Mei is obviously torn. Eventually the guilt overwhelms Mei when Yuzu is thinking of their future together, so timeskip to after Mei bails in order to fulfill her duties. We get a short "where are they now" of the rest of the cast.

Honestly I'm confused as why people are taking these development this hard or assuming this will only end in a het, loveless marriage. I mean, if this were an het story and Yuzu were an idealistic if commoner guy, everyone would be confident on this being just another obstacle to be solved by true love~

Oh, and nothing is really know about Saburota's personal life beyond what she shared on that German interview.

Can I just say thank you for providing this list for us? This actually does help explain most of (if not, all) of Mei's actions if you go back and reread the entire thing again.

And changing subjects here, does anyone else feel like stuff is also starting to make more sense by watching the anime? For example, the forced kiss in the first chapter. The anime makes it very forceful and emphasizes how unpleasant it was for Yuzu, and it gives hindsight as to how unpleasant it was for Mei when she was given a forced kiss. The manga...is much more subdued, imo. It's just a panel of Mei pinning Yuzu down and kissing her, i.e. something we see a lot in manga in general.

Some comments here feels like reading from the same person with multiple accounts.

The time skip was stupid though, but for that SU is to blame not Mei.

As I mentioned in another post, I think the use of the time skip was pretty smart (even if it's an easy narrative tool). The betrayal the audience felt with it is akin to the betrayal Yuzu might have felt when she read the letter (which was an easy break-up tool). It's a bit meta, but it makes the intent of the author even more powerful and bring the audience closer to Yuzu's suffering.

I thought the chapter was great lol. I was surprised everyone was so offended with this chapter cos I thought the crafting of the writing (and the angst kek) definitely upgraded a ton in this chapter. That said, I felt the time skip was oddly lowkey? I didn't even notice there was a time skip until I read the comments here.

She was kind of living in the present, not thinking about the future, like Yuzu.

I agree, I think Mei was just indulging herself in Yuzu's love because, well, it was hard not to. She was selfish on this one, because she wanted to be happy for a brief moment.

I do think Yuri Queen has a point in stating out Mei's lies by omission were shitty af though. And I feel like this goes for all her rich friends (Eyebrows, even Harumin tbh)?? Like did they all just think she already knew and they were just having a fling?? But it doesn't feel like it?? IDK. The onus was definitely on Mei to make sure things were clear between them, but I'm absolutely baffled that NONE of them thought it was worth bringing up to their friend.

last edited at Feb 22, 2018 11:45PM

I'm just not following you. How is any of that suppose to make me sympathetic to Mei crushing Yuzus heart? I have said that excusing her actions being that of a selfish teen doesn't make any of it better in my eyes. She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen. Getting caught up in the moment isnt an excuse, especially when after turning Yuzu down she went on the aggression after Matsuri entered the scene.

I also want to make a correction. Mei didn't want to always take over the school. She spent the last 5 years taking care of everything in hope that her father would return and take it over. Only after he told her he wasn't returning did she finally choose to do it herself. And he didn't necessarily abandon her, he offered for her to come with him but she refuses and stayed behind. Not exactly what you should do with a small child but he did give her a choice.

He gave a primary school kid a choice. How on earth was she supposed to make a good decision for herself at such a young age? She loved both the school and her father. Her train of thought was most likely: "if dad is gone, who will take care of the school?" and therefore chose to stay. You may say she's independent and mature, but she's really just a young girl in the end who can actually make really rash decisions.
I don't think you can ever sympathise with a girl that has probably never smiled or experienced or love since before her father left her because OBVIOUSLY only Yuzu is hurt here, so I'll stop trying.

Adding on to that, it's not just about the school, it's also about her family. The choice was, "come with me and turn your back on THE REST OF YOUR FAMILY, or stay with our family and be cut off from me". In what UNIVERSE is that an appropriate choice to give a kid? No one should be forced to choose between their family. And she clearly loves her grandfather very dearly too, she's made that incredibly clear in her devotion. Shou's choices throughout are incredibly self-centered and it's no wonder Mei is highkey damaged because of it.

The time skip was stupid though, but for that SU is to blame not Mei.

As I mentioned in another post, I think the use of the time skip was pretty smart (even if it's an easy narrative tool). The betrayal the audience felt with it is akin to the betrayal Yuzu might have felt when she read the letter (which was an easy break-up tool). It's a bit meta, but it makes the intent of the author even more powerful and bring the audience closer to Yuzu's suffering.

I agree with what you've said. The reason I said it was stupid 'cause I wanted to see what happened in those 6/7 months. How Yuzu reacted when she first read that letter, why isn't she doing anything and just crying and pretending to be fine etc.. I felt like we were missing something and somehow, it felt incomplete. So i was a little disappointed. But I have to say, this was a good chapter. Does justice to the aaaaaangst and drama tags.

I am glad some people are able to see what a douche bag Shou is. It won't be an exaggeration to say he single-handedly destroyed both Mei's childhood and her smile.

And, Mei DIDN'T PLAY with Yuzu's heart. Period.

last edited at Feb 23, 2018 3:55AM

I'm just not following you. How is any of that suppose to make me sympathetic to Mei crushing Yuzus heart? I have said that excusing her actions being that of a selfish teen doesn't make any of it better in my eyes. She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen. Getting caught up in the moment isnt an excuse, especially when after turning Yuzu down she went on the aggression after Matsuri entered the scene.

I also want to make a correction. Mei didn't want to always take over the school. She spent the last 5 years taking care of everything in hope that her father would return and take it over. Only after he told her he wasn't returning did she finally choose to do it herself. And he didn't necessarily abandon her, he offered for her to come with him but she refuses and stayed behind. Not exactly what you should do with a small child but he did give her a choice.

He gave a primary school kid a choice. How on earth was she supposed to make a good decision for herself at such a young age? She loved both the school and her father. Her train of thought was most likely: "if dad is gone, who will take care of the school?" and therefore chose to stay. You may say she's independent and mature, but she's really just a young girl in the end who can actually make really rash decisions.
I don't think you can ever sympathise with a girl that has probably never smiled or experienced or love since before her father left her because OBVIOUSLY only Yuzu is hurt here, so I'll stop trying.

Adding on to that, it's not just about the school, it's also about her family. The choice was, "come with me and turn your back on THE REST OF YOUR FAMILY, or stay with our family and be cut off from me". In what UNIVERSE is that an appropriate choice to give a kid? No one should be forced to choose between their family. And she clearly loves her grandfather very dearly too, she's made that incredibly clear in her devotion. Shou's choices throughout are incredibly self-centered and it's no wonder Mei is highkey damaged because of it.

^ Mei never had a choice

I'm just not following you. How is any of that suppose to make me sympathetic to Mei crushing Yuzus heart? I have said that excusing her actions being that of a selfish teen doesn't make any of it better in my eyes. She played with someone for her own self satisfaction when she knew the entire time what was going to happen. Getting caught up in the moment isnt an excuse, especially when after turning Yuzu down she went on the aggression after Matsuri entered the scene.

I also want to make a correction. Mei didn't want to always take over the school. She spent the last 5 years taking care of everything in hope that her father would return and take it over. Only after he told her he wasn't returning did she finally choose to do it herself. And he didn't necessarily abandon her, he offered for her to come with him but she refuses and stayed behind. Not exactly what you should do with a small child but he did give her a choice.

He gave a primary school kid a choice. How on earth was she supposed to make a good decision for herself at such a young age? She loved both the school and her father. Her train of thought was most likely: "if dad is gone, who will take care of the school?" and therefore chose to stay. You may say she's independent and mature, but she's really just a young girl in the end who can actually make really rash decisions.
I don't think you can ever sympathise with a girl that has probably never smiled or experienced or love since before her father left her because OBVIOUSLY only Yuzu is hurt here, so I'll stop trying.

Adding on to that, it's not just about the school, it's also about her family. The choice was, "come with me and turn your back on THE REST OF YOUR FAMILY, or stay with our family and be cut off from me". In what UNIVERSE is that an appropriate choice to give a kid? No one should be forced to choose between their family. And she clearly loves her grandfather very dearly too, she's made that incredibly clear in her devotion. Shou's choices throughout are incredibly self-centered and it's no wonder Mei is highkey damaged because of it.

^ Mei never had a choice

Not just that, either. She was probably confused as hell, too. Think about it. You're 11-years-old. Throughout your whole life, your parent taught you that the family business takes priority, doing your filial duty is important, and that you should be proud of your family name. And then have them one day just 180 that on you and tell you that you guys should just run away together and ditch all the responsibilities that your parent told you to prioritize and be proud of. Any kid--no matter if they're rich or not, the heir to some business or not--would be so confused.

I feel like Mei's 11-year-old mind went to, "Maybe Dad just wants a break because this whole thing is really stressful. So I'll keep the academy running until he gets back." Because that's something a lot of kids--specifically good kids who are considerate of their parents--would think.

last edited at Feb 23, 2018 6:27AM

I do think Yuri Queen has a point in stating out Mei's lies by omission were shitty af though. And I feel like this goes for all her rich friends (Eyebrows, even Harumin tbh)?? Like did they all just think she already knew and they were just having a fling??

Who actually knows for sure that Mei and Yuzu are/were in a romantic relationship? As far as I recall, it’s Matsuri, Shirapon, and the twins. Himeko may suspect because she’s Mei-sexual herself, but Harumin seems to be entirely out of the loop. Or am I forgetting some key revelation scenes?

I do think Yuri Queen has a point in stating out Mei's lies by omission were shitty af though. And I feel like this goes for all her rich friends (Eyebrows, even Harumin tbh)?? Like did they all just think she already knew and they were just having a fling??

Who actually knows for sure that Mei and Yuzu are/were in a romantic relationship? As far as I recall, it’s Matsuri, Shirapon, and the twins. Himeko may suspect because she’s Mei-sexual herself, but Harumin seems to be entirely out of the loop. Or am I forgetting some key revelation scenes?

Himeko knows, it would seem. In fact, when Matsuri had her outburst during that vacation they had together (when she found out Mei is facing another arranged marriage), effectively outing the main couple, she had it right in front of Momokino, and Momokino does not react with surprise of any kind. Momokino knows, but it was never shown how or when she found out.

last edited at Feb 23, 2018 7:47AM