The core of the issue then, is that there's a fundamental lack of characterization in these later chapters. Everything Adachi thinks and is shown to do is so heavily centered around Shimmura that Adachi themselves has become hollow in nature. Who even IS Adachi outside Shimmura? I don't even fucking know anymore. It's all like a shitty version of the co-dependence trope without the "co" part. I have the impression that to some people this might be a realistic interpretation of their crushes as a dumbass, moody teenager, but from a narrative perspective I feel that this is a serious decline in quality compared to its more humble beginnings.
I'm not sure I understand your point. You concede that it is realistically feasible for a teenager to behave like this, but then attack it for "lack of characterization" anyways? It's fine if you don't like Adachi's characterization, and as a result have lost interest in the story, but to say that this isn't characterization is just bizarre. Are authors not allowed to write about certain types of people because you don't find them to be interesting...?
Adachi is what drew me into this series, because I was literally Adachi as a teen. A disaster gay who had no interest in anything in life but love. I got a job when I was 16 just to buy things for the girl I loved, my only hobbies were the same as hers so I could spend as much time with her as possible, and eventually I had a full Adachi mental breakdown too. I was certainly not an interesting character, that much is true. It probably had a lot to do with why my feelings were never reciprocated - I didn't have a personality outside of being obsessively in love. It's perfectly understandable not to like such a character, but I was glad that an author out there wrote a story I could relate to so strongly. If you can't relate to Adachi, it's easy to see why the story wouldn't be for you, but that's not a flaw in the quality of writing at all.
Thaaat being said, this following chapter was where I kind of lost interest myself. After last chapter's bombshell, the drama is swept under the rug as though it never happened, which I did not find to be very narratively satisfying. Granted, while my take was that last chapter's Shimamura felt uncharacteristically callous to me, given that it happened already this chapter felt like a very Shimamura thing to do, but it became harder for me to relate to Adachi at this point. Here Adachi has a much stronger will than I did as a kid, because I would have continued breaking down until the relationship was ruined if I didn't find some kind of resolution to my emotions rather than just pretending it never happened. That panel where Adachi is ranting in her head but says the diplomatically correct thing to not make her own life even worse? Absolutely not me.
last edited at Dec 24, 2022 10:49PM
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