Forum › How Do I Get Together With My Childhood Friend? discussion

Subaru
joined Jul 31, 2019

My fucking god, the author is even more afraid to show anything from Yuzu's point of view than I thought is physically possible, it's honestly kinda insane - she was almost directly asked if she liked her and we still managed to get to the end of the chapter with nothing but another blush. Come the fuck on. I really think that this is mostly just a detriment to the story, it already was like 10 chapters ago.

last edited at Oct 29, 2023 5:37PM

A8655427-a1fe-40eb-9c2f-10bb35cb2487
joined Aug 26, 2018

tbh shipping the tall cutie with her kohai. yuzu falls into the boring and useless love interest category

last edited at Oct 29, 2023 5:38PM

543633_50
joined Sep 10, 2022

For better or worse: short of a backstory explanation, it only really works if this is indeed her first full realization.


I think she's just been in denial but the kouhai read her like a book throughout the day

Yeah that's what I mean by "full" realization. Denial, unaware, etc--something had to give or else she would look bad as a character because Minami has been beyond obvious and we've just got a bunch of stares and 1 blush to account for it. They've not shown much romantic chemistry because of this and I kind of liked the new girl more as a result.

last edited at Oct 29, 2023 5:42PM

9286787ab50153acb27cd03b385edb3d949d719e0b569799723637ee189d1f4b_1-1
joined Aug 14, 2020

Guess she realized she couldn't win, she'd already lost before she started playing.

joined Mar 23, 2022

Well finally salute to the kohai, your sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Couple_under_the_stars
joined Nov 7, 2022

I hope that when all this is over, we don't find out that this was the catalyst for Yuzu's self-realization, I'd rather it have been earlier.

Feels like it's... kinda between the two. We don't know what Yuzu was thinking precisely, but she seemed to be convinced that she could just keep the status quo forever. It's hard to know if it's because she was content with it and didn't think any further, or because she was worried about taking risks in changing.

I mean, I don't buy that she viewed Minami as just a friend. Especially as we've seen her act as a normal friend with the others. So she must have had some kind of "realization" long before, without pursuing that line of thought all the way. After all, she reacted immediately when the kouhai asked if she'd be fine with Minami dating someone else, without any hesitation or denial.

Realizing that Minami might be courted by someone else probably forced her to put certain words on her feelings that she might have avoided before. To me, it feels less like a realization of her feelings and more a realization about what they mean in terms of the future of their relationship.

Either way, that was a surprisingly straightforward resolution of the kouhai plot. At least one of them three is capable of expressing her thoughts and feelings.

Mitsuki%20kaicho%20small
joined Jan 1, 2021

it's not that i hate characters like kamiya, they just happen a lot for how improbable and specific they are. the super self-aware, late in the game sudden appearance of an extra character who is emotionally aware enough to see through everyone, appears to be trying to drive a wedge between the oblivious couple-to-be, but it actually makes them take a step closer. the kamiya then has a moment of bitterness at her defeat, but also is mature and collected enough to give one or both of them a deliberate nudge or two, gives her blessing to the union, and completely breaks off her own pursuit. it's just kind of a convenient deus ex machina-type device that feels a little odd for a romance set in a school where the whole premise is that nobody is fully that emotionally self aware yet. it feels like an alien intrusion into the story, but it's hardly a usual part of romance for like, a strong rival to show up and actually kind of make it LESS complicated, yk?

it hits a bit fairytale for me somehow. like, kamiya almost realises or just knows she's not the main character. when have you ever met a teenager who knew they weren't the main character?

Khancrop
joined Feb 18, 2013

I get your point, yeah. Kamiya at the start seemed like she was gearing up for a fight to the bitter end. It's kinda weird that she just folded so quickly.

I guess that's what happens when you write yourself into a corner, though. I get it.

Tongtong.exe
joined Apr 27, 2021

Guess she realized she couldn't win, she'd already lost before she started playing.

Ultimately, that's the point. Kamiya was of course well aware of Minami's feelings for Yuzu, but if Yuzu didn't reciprocate those feelings, Minami's crush would ultimately be hopeless and thus leave a window of opportunity for Kamiya. However, seeing Yuzu's reaction and thus realising clearly that she's also got romantic feelings towards Minami, Kamiya can do nothing but give up, there's just no angle for her here.

Of course, one can criticise this as being just an expression of the trope where a convenient rival appears just at the right time of the story and then disappears again quickly, but in character it actually makes perfect sense for Kamiya to give up at this point, the more unrealistic part being her not being present as a love rival from the start.
Ultimately, I think that this series doesn't take itself too seriously and clearly follows tried and tested romcom patterns, so being a bit tropy is honestly par for the course.

Purple Library Guy
Kare%20kano%20joker
joined Mar 3, 2013

While I agree that intellectually, it makes perfect sense for Kamiya to give up at that point . . . nobody ever does that. Not high schoolers, anyway. So it still feels kind of weird to me.

joined Dec 28, 2016

Can the April Fools chapters get removed ever? They always mess up the next chapter feature.

joined Dec 28, 2016

I get your point, yeah. Kamiya at the start seemed like she was gearing up for a fight to the bitter end. It's kinda weird that she just folded so quickly.

I mean she didn't think that Yuzu actually liked her back. She thought it was an unrequited one-sided crush. Once she saw Yuzu's real reaction up close she realized she had no chance so it kinda makes sense why she folded.

Tongtong.exe
joined Apr 27, 2021

While I agree that intellectually, it makes perfect sense for Kamiya to give up at that point . . . nobody ever does that. Not high schoolers, anyway. So it still feels kind of weird to me.

Well, "nobody" is definitely an overstatement, I personally did the exact same thing when I learned that my crush was in love with somebody else in high school. In general, individuals react different to such things and I don't think that it is emotionally strange for a high schooler to become overwhelmed by what feels like an utterly hopeless situation and just give up quietly. To be fair, not sure if this kind of reaction entirely fits Kamiya's character though

joined Mar 26, 2021

Friends can't kiss friends

Says who? This is why you failed, Kamiya.

1558977628371
joined May 29, 2019

Can the April Fools chapters get removed ever? They always mess up the next chapter feature.

yeah, there's gotta be a better way than eternally having them as the last chapter. this isn't the only series with this issue too

Tron-legacy
joined Dec 11, 2017

it's not that i hate characters like kamiya, they just happen a lot for how improbable and specific they are. the super self-aware, late in the game sudden appearance of an extra character who is emotionally aware enough to see through everyone, appears to be trying to drive a wedge between the oblivious couple-to-be, but it actually makes them take a step closer. the kamiya then has a moment of bitterness at her defeat, but also is mature and collected enough to give one or both of them a deliberate nudge or two, gives her blessing to the union, and completely breaks off her own pursuit. it's just kind of a convenient deus ex machina-type device that feels a little odd for a romance set in a school where the whole premise is that nobody is fully that emotionally self aware yet. it feels like an alien intrusion into the story, but it's hardly a usual part of romance for like, a strong rival to show up and actually kind of make it LESS complicated, yk?

it hits a bit fairytale for me somehow. like, kamiya almost realises or just knows she's not the main character. when have you ever met a teenager who knew they weren't the main character?

Look, the point of a "deus ex machina" is that an improbable or even impossible event, something that could only be engineered by the gods, swoops in and solves an unsolvable problem. It is what it is because it's vanishing unlikely.

This? This is literally a thing that happens. I know people that have done this. I've nearly been this It's a common trope in fiction because it's plausible.

Sure, there are also lots of people who can't take a hint and keep trying, and there's people who keep pushing and worm their way in between the other two, and there's even people who, despite knowing they don't have a chance, actively sabotage the couple out of spite. But the existence of those situations don't make this implausible, certainly not on the level of "deus ex machina".

Ykn1
joined Dec 20, 2018

Minami and both her points of IQ. :D

joined Aug 21, 2017

bruh moment

Kohaku%20avatar%20500px
joined Jul 10, 2016

Oh nooooooo

joined May 10, 2021

Can we get a tag upgrade from "idiot couple" to "big idiot couple"?
Because my words this is more stupid than I had anticipated.
However, since we now know what they both think, things will speed-up a bit.
Thanks for the translation!

joined Mar 4, 2018

Can the April Fools chapters get removed ever? They always mess up the next chapter feature.

yeah, there's gotta be a better way than eternally having them as the last chapter. this isn't the only series with this issue too

Thirded.

joined Feb 1, 2021

Insane Amounts of Idiot Couple

Mariya%20and%20karin%202
joined Nov 27, 2022

I hope that when all this is over, we don't find out that this was the catalyst for Yuzu's self-realization, I'd rather it have been earlier.

Feels like it's... kinda between the two. We don't know what Yuzu was thinking precisely, but she seemed to be convinced that she could just keep the status quo forever. It's hard to know if it's because she was content with it and didn't think any further, or because she was worried about taking risks in changing.

I mean, I don't buy that she viewed Minami as just a friend. Especially as we've seen her act as a normal friend with the others. So she must have had some kind of "realization" long before, without pursuing that line of thought all the way. After all, she reacted immediately when the kouhai asked if she'd be fine with Minami dating someone else, without any hesitation or denial.

Realizing that Minami might be courted by someone else probably forced her to put certain words on her feelings that she might have avoided before. To me, it feels less like a realization of her feelings and more a realization about what they mean in terms of the future of their relationship.

Either way, that was a surprisingly straightforward resolution of the kouhai plot. At least one of them three is capable of expressing her thoughts and feelings.

Well we finally got our answer! Loud and clear. Gaaaah yuzuuuu ♡♡♡

X2(edited)2
joined Jan 2, 2022

It feels like it's been literal years. Finally, a Yuzu perspective chapter.

Jpeg_20190202_220408
joined Mar 21, 2019

For gods sake
Minami what you have done...

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