I really loved the chapter, and I feel that there was a lot to it. I'm not even sure where to start.
I'm a huge fan of how the whole contact info thing, which is often a cliche made into much bigger a deal than it really is, was resolved so organically and in an almost by-the-way kind of manner. I also love how it was "twisted" or built up into actually learning about their first names. I also love that it is only now that we are learning their first names, at the same time they do and in the same way. There's something I find enthralling in that, something that really pulls me in.
I like Takamine's friends. They're good eggs, stalking or not. But what I loved even more was how Takamine was glaring at the one of them every time she "stole a moment" from her. And then the silky-smooth "...it can also be just the two of us." Mmm. Hit me with that good shit.
While definitely a possibility and wouldn't really surprise me, I do not necessarily read the brooding friend as a potential love rival. Something that popped to me was how they mentioned that Takamine always just went along with what they suggested or wanted to do, which makes me think that Takamine never really let herself be herself with them, which I feel is very in character, and there's the whole club deal that I feel is directly related, so it might be this sort of development, where Takamine will slowly open up and they'll get to know the real her. This is me spitballing more than anything else, though. I do feel that out of the three, Hirose is the perceptive one, so I'd say she'll be the first one to really see what's going on. I feel like she caught onto something here, already.
Sakura is full-on horny-on-main. Just straight up fantasizing about first-name basis, next thing you know the dirty girl will reach for her hand. Absolutely debaucherous. Seriously though, I feel that it's a more subtle way of showing her attachment and/or attraction to Takamine and I actually really like this sort of subtlety, and I really like seeing this sort of yearning come specifically out of Sakura and especially so early on. Another option that came to mind was that seeing her full name gave rise to memories of the past of a certain Tsukasa-chan, though I really don't think this is the direction here.
I'm not really sure exactly what about it or why, but just reading this brings such a big smile to my face. I really like that. It's so good, dude.
no drama please no drama please no drama please.
Are you new to this author?
I think it's interesting to think about this. If I use Haru and Midori as an example, the "drama" they've (as in, the author) constructed was deeper, and a lot more sincere, heartfelt, personal, and grounded, rather than "simple" teen-age romance-related drama. And it was well-balanced, in my opinion. It wasn't "just" drama for drama's sake, you know? And there was some really nice fluff as well. I'm pretty confident that they can do a full-fluff story, though I'm also confident in their ability to create drama that isn't grating or unnecessary. Kinda went lost with my original comment on this lol.
last edited at Jun 18, 2023 8:47AM