So raw of the last chapter of Opapagoto is out and anyone wants to avoid spoiler can stop reading the lines below.
To be honest, I've always expected this manga to have an open end with no resolution between the mother and the daughter, and everything would be kept at status quo. After Haruhi left, the family would eventually find a way for her to come back, and that's it.
But in the end we got a solid yuri ending, with a full-blown victory for the Yukari and even a kiss. Yep, not a single thread of hope remained for Ayumi here. So kudos to the author for at least making a conclusive end.
Now to discuss about Yukari - Ayumi and their relationship with Haruhi. I think this is one of the compelling aspect of the story though (for me only maybe), yet also one of its weakest point
The thing is, even if I ship Yukari-Haruhi, I myself didn't really believe Yukari would win. This is because, as the way the story was presented, Ayumi was always the person closest to the role of the heroine. She was the first person to meet Haruhi , the first to like her, and the most important thing is, she was the only one in the family that we got to see inner dialogue, together with Haruhi. And as always, she would be the first one to act, the first one to reach out when things happen.
Such a contrast to Yukari. Ayumi is clearly everything she is not.
While Ayumi subconsciously rejected the system, Yukari was definitely the one who embraced it the most. She was so into the play that even she even got Haruhi freaked out. She is the last one who got introduced into the picture, and also the most composing and calculated one. In an arc, she would only appear at the end, and magically solve thing by "pulling some strings". You would expect a character like this to slowly fade into the background, as she realized the love of main heroine for MC, she would try to bring them together.
Ah, but the thing is, in this manga, Yukari fell for Haruhi. It's just one moment, and boom, all chance for Ayumi is like, gone. Because at the moment they become competitors, Ayumi has lost. The chemistry between Yukari and Haruhi is simply just one Ayumi and Haruhi doesn't have. Because from the start, Haruhi has never seen Ayumi more than a friend, and that's why even after a tearing confession, Haruhi can only kindly reject her when whoop, a kiss and Yukari completely swept Haruhi away.
Ayumi fails because instead of being the one defying fate (where she is being put as the daughter), she is actually riding on fate herself (the paper plane), while Yukari, who embraced it most, in the end turn it around for her favour. First love and fate, things like that don't always work out. And what taken Haruhi's heart, was not eagerness and perseverance from the crush of a young maiden, but instant infatuation from the moment she met Yukari and Yukari's love, though quiet, is burning with passion.
So why is it bad? Because in the end, Ayumi is just... there. All her dialogues, all her development, at the end, is for nothing, and she is pushed to the sideline. The story would be so much better if she IS the narrator, and at the end of the story, she would finally have st for herself to reflect and live on. This solution also justifies all the spotlight she got in the story. It can be like "At the Bottom of the Staircase to Adulthood", a story which i tremendously like and recommend. I wish the author would give her some closure in bonus chapter, because with how it ended now I just feel bad for her. It is puzzling to me why the author decided to give Ayumi so much screen time, when clearly he has chosen Yukari as the winner from the start.
End of my rant.
On a side note, the kiss between Yukari and Haruhi totally got me screaming like crazy. Oh boy!
last edited at Jan 2, 2015 1:54PM
