imma be honest here: I didn't get this chapter at all, it felt too... meh (and somehow shorter than usual)

last edited at Oct 5, 2022 5:55PM

I'm not too sure what the point of the backstory is, since it sure doesn't make them sympathetic. I wouldn't reject a plot where traumatized kids with superpowers have decided to take revenge through violence and we're expected to empathize with them, but after showing that they actually find killing people fun in chapter 51, I don't think that was the purpose.

Maybe it's just to show that even though they like killing, this didn't come out of nowhere and they had reasons to turn out like this? That addition would make sense, I guess.

I just hope I'm not wrong. If this all turn out into a "they were victims first, let's support them and just forget about how happy they were about killing before", I'd find this pretty annoying.

I don’t think Kai actually enjoys it, he just gets a rush from being in the “right”, and the vice-prez acts as a source of positive reinforcement. The vice-prez does seem to genuinely like to see people she doesn’t like be hurt or worse, at the start of the flashback it’s even shown she would like to murder and dismember her bullies (which is NOT to say thoughts of revenge or fantasies of turning the situation around on your abuser are unhealthy, cause they’re not, it’s a coping mechanism. However it seems as though the Vice President finds genuine pleasure in that fantasy rather than a release.)

I'm not too sure what the point of the backstory is, since it sure doesn't make them sympathetic. I wouldn't reject a plot where traumatized kids with superpowers have decided to take revenge through violence and we're expected to empathize with them, but after showing that they actually find killing people fun in chapter 51, I don't think that was the purpose.

Maybe it's just to show that even though they like killing, this didn't come out of nowhere and they had reasons to turn out like this? That addition would make sense, I guess.

I just hope I'm not wrong. If this all turn out into a "they were victims first, let's support them and just forget about how happy they were about killing before", I'd find this pretty annoying.

I don’t think Kai actually enjoys it, he just gets a rush from being in the “right”, and the vice-prez acts as a source of positive reinforcement. The vice-prez does seem to genuinely like to see people she doesn’t like be hurt or worse, at the start of the flashback it’s even shown she would like to murder and dismember her bullies (which is NOT to say thoughts of revenge or fantasies of turning the situation around on your abuser are unhealthy, cause they’re not, it’s a coping mechanism. However it seems as though the Vice President finds genuine pleasure in that fantasy rather than a release.)

Akira: "Yodayo."

Akira gracing us from all the trauma and suffering with just one ':)'

Nice chapter.
Finally the KaiSayo flashback ends.
And it ends with the bestie.
Nice.

This really fell off in a handful of chapters :(

Akira seems like the ideal choice (definitely not my bias talking)

I can't believe the scanlator is secretly the author.

Oh there was a scar, I thought the acid coverd her eye a bit. Glad it is over, couldn't care less about those two.

I was hoping for a bit more focus on Satsuki's mental state on her own, might still get some of that but I was hoping for at least a chapter of Satuki's inner turmoil before bringing her friend group in, even if I do love Akira's character.

Finally... That was waaaaayyy too long. Their backstories should've been 1 or 2 chapters at most. It completely ruined the pacing for me.

Now that the backstory of the villains has ended i now expect a backstory for Satsuki, we already know how the Prez and Vice Prez are like that we now need to know why Satsuki is like that, is her mothers death her whole reason? Or it was just a part of it

At th is point I'm kind of over this story

This entire section to me was blah blah nothing will make me feel bad for these two... ooo Akira is finally back!

Akira's back and surely all will be right in the world.

It's interesting seeing Kai so reluctant to kill. It probably takes a heavy degree of dehumanizing to convince himself his targets deserve nothing but death, and Sayoko gives the validation he needs to keep running from addressing his guilt. Once again there's a strong parallel between him and Satsuki: if it wasn't for her trauma with her mother, it's possible Satsuki could have ended up using her vision the same way. She came close to wishing Miho died a couple times.

With the flashback arc over, I am glad to have a better grasp on the StuCo. Some of it felt rushed, but it's a tough balance trying to fit such a complicated issue into only 3 chapters. I think it made its point, of how it can be easy to rationalize taking justice into your own hands—and setting up a hefty amount of foreshadowing—while serving the larger narrative purpose of isolating us from Satsuki and resetting the tension. I'm excited to see how this pans out between both sides. Neither's going to be willing to compromise.

And of course there's further parallels between Kai+Sayoko and Satsuki+Akira, with the latters being right there to comfort the formers when they're feeling vulnerable. Akira likely doesn't know what happened yet, but what better way to cheer Satsuki up than her partner literally beaming at the door? In a manga full of cliffhangers, this is the rare positive one. This arc was never going to be a fan-favorite, but Ryouko does know what the audience wants and what to tease. Which can be a double-edged sword.

Still expecting the reaction that they killed an innocent girl as Michinaga was probably tricked into the attempted murder by that other girl

Yikes that guy for sure posts on r/iamveryedgy frequently

Akira still best girl. For Satsuki, at least. :-)

Anyhoo, the way I understand the whole StuCo situation, the Prez is the kind of highly intelligent person who lives so deep inside his own head that he basically has no grasp of social reality around him. Unfortunately, the person he has latched on to as his moral compass (the VP) is so heavily traumatized, she happily rewards and reinforces his murder spree. So on the one hand, we have a moral guide who is so alienated from humanity, she views murdering fellow kids as an appropriate disciplinary tactic; on the other, we have a guy with spooky powers who gets his advice from her and views himself as an impartial superhero protecting the good from the bad (has he actually ever been bullied himself?). In short, a train wreck.

last edited at Oct 6, 2022 5:16AM

Does this mean we can go back to Satsuki and ditch the two?

I get all those points about this flashback, but it boils down to the girl being bullied and the guy finding himself as some defender of justice or the meek or whatever he tells himself to make himself sleep better at night. Did we need 3 chapters of this is my question? Because it's pretty dull. The backstory was, like everything in this manga, over the top, which didn't help and we already knew the outcome of how it would turn out. Teenage punisher duo. Tbh. I "liked" them more before learning about the circumstances. At least then they were menacingly mysterious and all that. Now I know that this is just a power fantasy. Great.

Also, nice job bullying Satsuki who for all we know didn't do anything terrible. I guess the longer you stare into the abyss yadda yadda. Like I said before, I don't care what the purpose of this was. Make me understand them or make them sympathetic, it's just that it was sort of pointless to make it this long and regardless of length boring. The appearance of the two in the story already made this take a turn towards the "meh" but filling out 3 chapters with them was definitely a big oof

But flashback aside, what's the end goal of this arc? Will they realize the fault of their way? Or will they have to die? Because that's also one thing that made me dislike those two, the fact that either the author will suddenly dig out a masterpiece solution, or that'll just end up like a wet fart.

The point of this arc is that the straight people are not as good or cool as the gay people. Lol

Jokes aside, context is cool, and it is really sad, but they just end up turning into the type of person the teacher was for different reasons and those two will probably not see that point until some other arc.

Akira is in for a surprise

idc about the both of them, what matters is Akira's still alive

And another one bites the dust!

And another one down, and another one down, and another one bites the dust!

People hating on the backstory arc but I think it was invaluable to the characterization of the villains. This was important everyone, narratively essential. Cut the author slack, they set out to make hate-able characters and certainly succeeded!

GUYS GET OUT OF THE WAY AKIRA IS HERE