I kind of expected a horror fest for the sake of simple shock value after that opening, but it quickly turned out to be a serious and well crafted story and I was pleasantly surprised. I especially liked the realism with which the characters were portrayed, particularly the main girl. An alcoholic single parent who depends upon her daughter for support through the drunkenness and actively rewards said support with expressions of affection and love, creating a positive feedback for the child. No wonder Mea came to regard her mother's alcoholism as a good thing and felt helpless and abandoned once that positive affirmation was taken away from her.
It is not really a common situation, as most alcoholic parents are physically and psychologically abusive towards their children, creating a negative feedback that would hardly have the kids actively wanting their parents to continue being alcoholics (the mother here is psychologically abusive but in a different way). That being said, if the kind of situation depicted here actually developed, I could absolutely see the child taking on these really messed up sets of values.
The mother never tried talking to Mea, explaining the situation before and after getting clean, and lashed out violently when Mea tried getting her back into her addiction (which was absolutely the wrong thing to do, the child was not really aware of what she was doing and the violent outburst just deepened the feeling of rejection on her part, though I do fully understand how and why the mother snapped under such circumstances). All of which just worsened the situation.
Though, to be fair towards the mother, next to nobody in her place would think "my child might actually like me being an alcoholic because I seriously messed up her values system". I doubt that actual therapists would even pick up on this possibility, let alone the alcoholic themselves. As realistically as the mental development Mea went through is depicted, it is a really uncommon set of circumstances, which is an element I greatly enjoyed. Having this unlikely situation (a strangely non-abusive, or as close to that, alcoholic parent who gives the child positive affirmation through said alcoholism) but then developing it in a detailed and realistic fashion.
All of which made it painfully obvious what would happen when Mea was later paired with Aise, a person in dire need of someone to take care of her due to her injuries. Aise herself was also fairly well fleshed out as a character. I especially liked how the story avoided the cliche of having her being a needy person paired with someone in need of a needy person. She is in definite need of help but she also resents and regrets that and feels bad over it, seeing herself as a burden on others.
In a way, as messed up and unhealthy as both of their perspectives are, I think they are actually better off being together than either of them would be on their own. They are a perfect match, Mea gets someone who genuinely needs her support and, more importantly, will always need her, fulfilling the deep-seated urge in Mea to be needed, while Aise gets someone whom she is absolutely certain wants and even enjoys taking care of her, thus relieving her of the feeling of guilt over being a possible burden on someone else.
As a side note, I liked the detail of Mea exhibiting yandere tendencies but also having a functioning moral feeling as well, as although she pushes Aise down the stairs she also immediately regrets it and understands it was wrong of her to do it.
On another side note, I also liked the art style, I think it actually fits nicely into the mood and themes of the story itself.
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