Erika really isn't all that much of a schemer or manipulator, because she simply doesn't have the skills for it lol.

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

I honestly think Aya is actually the most talented in this area. Koto just win by her age.
(The same, you can be so talented but don't want to do it at all at the same time)

last edited at Nov 6, 2024 12:51AM

Also, I'm not really sure if Erika is trying to break the triangle "without hurting either Koto or Aya." She knows very well that the breakup she always wished for hurt both Koto and Aya a great deal. Of course, from an objective perspective, the breakup was necessary regardless. But Erika still knew her plan would result in this pain, and she went through with it anyway.

I’m not following this last part at all—what “plan” of Erika’s did she “go through with”? That phrasing implies that Erika has played an active role in causing Koto and Aya to break up.

She's given them valid, reasonable advice. It's also advice that she intentionally framed in a way to encourage them to break up.

She pretty explicity tells her that she needs to do the thing that Aya was upset she wouldn't do or she wasn't ever going to come back to her. I don't understand how people see this as having an ulterior motive. There's very little to interpret here. Yes, some of what she's saying is true about herself, but that's the irony for the reader to pick up on. It seems like she values Koto's happiness over her own and and that's why she hates herself so much. Because she has very little self worth and doesn't think she's deserving of love.

And I see people constantly saying that she is somehow planning this when she absolutely hates herself to an unhealthy degree. And it can't be because she's breaking them up. She hasn't done anything but push them together. She also might knowingly be the cause of Aya's disappearance, which would explain all of this behavior,

last edited at Nov 6, 2024 1:03AM

The only scenario I can imagine where 14yo Erika played an active role in Aya's disappearance is if Aya asked Erika for help with running away.

Some of you guys are blaming Koto for being immature and this and that even after years... Poor girl "lost" her first and only love at 14 (emotionally immature), it's not suprising that she couldn't cope with the fact that Aya dissapeared. She sadly got stuck in that state of mind as you said it before but it's shows how much she loved her and it also wasn't a typical farewell, like breaking up or smth and the emotions between them at that time was really intense, so... Big big trauma she has, kinda understandable, imo. Koto didn't do anything remarkable in her life.. I think she just wanted to survive those seven years after Aya went missing. Also, she always wanted to replace or find Aya but it never worked out. These are the facts.. so, yeah, she needs a good therapy for sure. I feel like, soon there'll be a lot of drama !!!

It's not blaming, at least for the most part, just describing. I personally have zero interest in assigning guilt or blame or moral culpability when discussing characters in fiction, just their the details of their characterization and role and relationships instead.

Right. Pointing out that Koto is the only one who currently refers to the others with “-chan” like in middle school isn’t criticizing the character or saying she shouldn’t do it—it’s pointing out a device the author is using to show a difference between her and the other two. Same with the depiction of Koto and Aya in middle-school uniforms when Koto pleads for things to go back the way they were in the past—it’s a narrative technique for showing Koto’s view of the world.

EDIT: And it’s interesting how the (so far minimally developed) supernatural aspect of the story affects our perception of the characters’ emotional and psychological development. I’d bet strongly that seven years later few college students are in relationships with the person who was their first crush when they were 14. If Aya had just moved away without notice (which is not an uncommon romance-manga trope) or otherwise disappeared and stayed gone, Koto’s hanging on to Aya’s memory as she has would, I believe, come off as very unusual, to say the least.

last edited at Nov 6, 2024 6:38AM

Don't know why some people have to paint Erika as a perfectly innocent angel in the whole story while it's obvious not the case. Because you can't like her anymore if she truly had done something bad in the past？(real angel is boring as hell anyways. Like Tsukasa from Nanashi no Asterism and Mayuki from An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles)
I am curious what even makes you like this character in the first place.

I admit l don't like Erika at all, not even a little. However, it has nothing to do with her behalf. From the very beginning, she is not the type of person l will like. It's the same l don't like Yuu (Bloom Into You), Nadeshiko (Nanashi no Asterism), and Akira (An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles).

Maybe this forum should have been called "We all hate Koto". I have noticed people getting more criticism when they have something to say about Erika. I didn't get a "Koto hater" name even though l said a lot about her not that long time ago.

To be clear, even if Erika is the main cause of Aya's disappearance back then and does try to encourage them to break up, it doesn't mean she is a bad person or anything (well, she will be my hatest character in the history if she has a hand in Aya's disappearance since l love Aya so much). Erika is a human and human makes mistake all the time. Same goes for Aya and Koto.

She definitely said something really mean out of jealousy and furiousness towards Aya that day, which goes back to hunt her after Aya disappeared to the point she can't stop hating herself.
(Even as an adult now, she barely can control herself in chapter 13. You can't convince me she was far more mature in her 14)

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 6:38AM

I admit l don't like Erika at all, not even a little.

Yes, we know.

From the very beginning, she is not the type of person l will like. It's the same l don't like Yuu (Bloom Into You), Nadeshiko (Nanashi no Asterism), and Akira (An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles).

I don't know about Nadeshiko, but how is Yuu the "same type of person" as Akira (or Erika)? What exactly is this type supposed to be? I don't see the connection. If anything, Sayaka from Bloom Into You has way more in common with these characters than Yuu does.

I just don’t like people who “like” or “blame” fictional characters. It’s just the way I am.

Oh, wait—saying that is just as pointless as “liking” or “blaming” fictional characters, isn’t it?

My bad.

I don't know about Nadeshiko, but how is Yuu the "same type of person" as Akira (or Erika)? What exactly is this type supposed to be? I don't see the connection. If anything, Sayaka from Bloom Into You has way more in common with these characters than Yuu does.

Serious personality type, which makes you feel you can't even play a joke on them. It's just my preference.

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 6:16AM

I don't know about Nadeshiko, but how is Yuu the "same type of person" as Akira (or Erika)? What exactly is this type supposed to be? I don't see the connection. If anything, Sayaka from Bloom Into You has way more in common with these characters than Yuu does.

Serious personality type, which makes you feel you can't even play a joke on them. It's just my preference.

Huh... Was Yuu really like that?
Time for a re-read I guess

I don't know about Nadeshiko, but how is Yuu the "same type of person" as Akira (or Erika)? What exactly is this type supposed to be? I don't see the connection. If anything, Sayaka from Bloom Into You has way more in common with these characters than Yuu does.

Serious personality type, which makes you feel you can't even play a joke on them. It's just my preference.

Huh... Was Yuu really like that?
Time for a re-read I guess

Yuu was not like that. She was mostly (but not always) serious with Touko, but she bantered with her friends like any other character. That’s my subjective, personal read, anyway.

How did Yuu even came up here.. Love triangles are always complicated and dramatic.

So, the theory about the "spiriting away" thing is that when someone feels like there is no reason to stay, like around the people they like and they feel like that they're always just a nuisance to them, that causes the "spriting away" thing? I'm sure it's pretty much related to Tanabata but we don't really know anything about that topic yet. In that case, it's started when Aya's family has fallen apart (her mother left her alone) plus when Erika told Aya that she's just a bothersome person after she became jealous of them? Imo, Erika is not the only one whom induced her disappearance but she sure played a big part in that.. Then Aya is the no.1 victim here.

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 8:58AM

Yuu was not like that. She was mostly (but not always) serious with Touko, but she bantered with her friends like any other character. That’s my subjective, personal read, anyway.

That's how I remember her as well, but I've been looking for an excuse to re-read Bloom Into You lately lol

So, the theory about the "spiriting away" thing is that when someone feels like there is no reason to stay, like around the people they like and they feel like that they're always just a nuisance to them, that causes the "spriting away" thing? I'm sure it's pretty much related to Tanabata but we don't really know anything about that topic yet.

So far the story has played it very close to the vest regarding its supernatural aspect, and at this point we really don’t know anything at all about the “spiriting away”—how it happens or why it happens.

In that case, it's started when Aya's family fallen apart (her mother left her alone) plus when Erika told Aya that she's just a bothersome person after she became jealous of them? Imo, Erika is not the only one whom induced her disappearance but she sure played a big part in that.. Then Aya is the no.1 victim here.

It’s reasonable to speculate that Erika expressed her jealousy to Aya at the festival, but we have no solid evidence about that. Erika’s present-day guilt and self-loathing could simply be about wishing for something bad to happen to her friends’ relationship that then actually happened. (And the story has made it crystal-clear that Aya and Erika actually were friends (as well as rivals) in middle school.)

The fact that Erika later made a Tanabata wish that Aya would return and then Aya returned suggests that Erika does have some connection to the “spirited away” phenomenon, but exactly what that relation is and how much Erika is aware of or in control of it is a completely open question.

As far as Aya being a “victim,” while her “missing years” can hardly be seen as a good thing, she definitely viewed not having to deal with her aging grandfather’s dementia as a major positive aspect of her “hiatus.”

It’s reasonable to speculate that Erika expressed her jealousy to Aya at the festival, but we have no solid evidence about that. Erika’s present-day guilt and self-loathing could simply be about wishing for something bad to happen to her friends’ relationship that then actually happened. (And the story has made it crystal-clear that Aya and Erika actually were friends (as well as rivals) in middle school.)

I don't think it's a coincidence that author let Aya and Koto both use the same word (親友) to describe the friendship they have with Erika. And the different way how Erika reacted to it (guilty degree) is very interesting (chapter 12 and chapter 8). That's even before Aya broke up with Koto.

But ofc there's nothing l can say if you can't tell the difference.
(l am not intended to insult you or anything. Just l still remember our debate before. You seem like not very sensitive when it comes to people's emotional issues)

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 10:36AM

So, the theory about the "spiriting away" thing is that when someone feels like there is no reason to stay, like around the people they like and they feel like that they're always just a nuisance to them, that causes the "spriting away" thing? I'm sure it's pretty much related to Tanabata but we don't really know anything about that topic yet.

So far the story has played it very close to the vest regarding its supernatural aspect, and at this point we really don’t know anything at all about the “spiriting away”—how it happens or why it happens.

In that case, it's started when Aya's family fallen apart (her mother left her alone) plus when Erika told Aya that she's just a bothersome person after she became jealous of them? Imo, Erika is not the only one whom induced her disappearance but she sure played a big part in that.. Then Aya is the no.1 victim here.

It’s reasonable to speculate that Erika expressed her jealousy to Aya at the festival, but we have no solid evidence about that. Erika’s present-day guilt and self-loathing could simply be about wishing for something bad to happen to her friends’ relationship that then actually happened. (And the story has made it crystal-clear that Aya and Erika actually were friends (as well as rivals) in middle school.)

The fact that Erika later made a Tanabata wish that Aya would return and then Aya returned suggests that Erika does have some connection to the “spirited away” phenomenon, but exactly what that relation is and how much Erika is aware of or in control of it is a completely open question.

As far as Aya being a “victim,” while her “missing years” can hardly be seen as a good thing, she definitely viewed not having to deal with her aging grandfather’s dementia as a major positive aspect of her “hiatus.”

Sorry but Aya's déja vu moment (forgotten talking) was kinda sus and also Erika's reaction to it but we'll see.

It’s reasonable to speculate that Erika expressed her jealousy to Aya at the festival, but we have no solid evidence about that. Erika’s present-day guilt and self-loathing could simply be about wishing for something bad to happen to her friends’ relationship that then actually happened. (And the story has made it crystal-clear that Aya and Erika actually were friends (as well as rivals) in middle school.)

I don't think it's a coincidence that author let Aya and Koto both use the same word (親友) to describe the friendship they have with Erika. And the different way how Erika reacted to it (guilty degree) is very interesting (chapter 12 and chapter 8). That's even before Aya broke up with Koto.

But ofc there's nothing l can say if you can't tell the difference.
(l am not intended to insult you or anything. Just l still remember our debate before. You seem like not very sensitive when it comes to people's emotional issues)

"Tell the difference" between what? I'm talking, as usual, about actual evidence in the text.

I give up. This is a manga not a novel. Sometimes we can simply tell character's emotion from the picture. The text is not the only and usual way to show it. But l guess it's pointless since you can't even sense Koto's unhappiness in chapter 7 when it's like a piece of cake to me. And l don't have the obligation to teach you.

I give up. This is a manga not a novel. Sometimes we can simply tell character's emotion from the picture. The text is not the only and usual way to show it. But l guess it's pointless since you can't even sense Koto's unhappiness in chapter 7 when it's like a piece of cake to me. And l don't have the obligation to teach you.

Lol. Like any other person familiar with the criticism of comics/manga/manhua/bandes dessinées/fumetti, etc., by “text” I mean the combination of the words and the pictures that are actually on the page.

In other words, what the manga actually shows rather speculation or projection about what did or will happen.

I give up. This is a manga not a novel. Sometimes we can simply tell character's emotion from the picture. The text is not the only and usual way to show it. But l guess it's pointless since you can't even sense Koto's unhappiness in chapter 7 when it's like a piece of cake to me. And l don't have the obligation to teach you.

Lol. Like any other person familiar with the criticism of comics/manga/manhua/bandes dessinées/fumetti, etc., by “text” I mean the combination of the words and the pictures that are actually on the page.

In other words, what the manga actually shows rather speculation or projection about what did or will happen.

The only interesing thing is that who induced the disappear of Aya because that was/became the main problem for everyone or it was just simply Aya who wanted to disappear, we don't know yet. The second option is that her environment generated it, like Erika or Aya's "poor status/condition, family issues" or both... I don't think Aya really wanted to disappear because at that time she just fallen in love with Koto and wanted to go to the Tanabata festival with her, the only risky thing that happened around that time is that Erika saw them kissing, so I think that's says a lot or i'm just imagining things.

Her reappearance is related to Erika but I strongly think that her disappear is also somehow related to her. My guess is: they talked (Erika, Aya) with each other after the "kissing scene" (deja vu moment confirms it) and she became jealous, so she wrote a paper at the Tanabata but I don't think she really wanted anything bad thappen to Aya. Maybe it's not that simple but... lol

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 1:33PM

Her reappearance is related to Erika but I strongly think that her disappear is also somehow related to her. My guess is: they talked (Erika, Aya) with each other after the "kissing scene" (deja vu moment confirms it) and she became jealous, so she wrote a paper at the Tanabata. Maybe it's not that simple but... lol

That’s all perfectly logical and may well turn out to be the case. The question of why Erika felt guilty after Aya disappeared, however, doesn’t necessarily depend on Erika a) having supernatural wishing abilities, or b) having conscious knowledge that she has such abilities.

I’m sure any number of people in history have had the misfortune of saying something in a fit of emotion to someone they were connected to like, “I wish you were dead!” or “Why don’t you just go away forever?” only to have that person die or disappear without seeing them again, leaving the first person feeling terrible forever without actually believing themselves to have supernatural mental powers. (Although bringing someone back unchanged after seven years via a Tanabata wish would probably cause a reconsideration of the whole matter.)

Of course, if we get a flashback of a demon appearing to Erika at the middle-school Tanabata festival offering her three wishes in return for her immortal soul, I’ll take all this back.

I just re-read the whole manga, and I didn't spot a single questionable thing that adult Erika has actually done.

She's given them valid, reasonable advice. It's also advice that she intentionally framed in a way to encourage them to break up.

Gonna need examples of this "intentional framing".

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

Gonna need examples of Erika trying to be manipulative.

The fact that Erika later made a Tanabata wish that Aya would return and then Aya returned suggests that Erika does have some connection to the “spirited away” phenomenon, but exactly what that relation is and how much Erika is aware of or in control of it is a completely open question.

Honestly it would be pretty bad writing at this point to reveal that Erika knew her wish would make Aya return, since we got that scene from her perspective, with plenty of internal monologue. She's written pretty unambiguously as shocked and confused with Aya's sudden appearance.

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 3:43PM

The fact that Erika later made a Tanabata wish that Aya would return and then Aya returned suggests that Erika does have some connection to the “spirited away” phenomenon, but exactly what that relation is and how much Erika is aware of or in control of it is a completely open question.

Honestly it would be pretty bad writing at this point to reveal that Erika knew her wish would make Aya return, since we got that scene from her perspective, with plenty of internal monologue. She's written pretty unambiguously as shocked and confused with Aya's sudden appearance.

My guess is that they were never aware the fact that tanzaku is a valid stuff but the reappearance/disappearance was always related to the Tanabata thing, so... (Also, the president's Tanabata story is kind of similar to Aya/Koto's but with happy ending.)

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 4:05PM

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

Gonna need examples of Erika trying to be manipulative.

①Chapter 1：
→"Well, anyway, we're going to be busy with the club. There's no need for us to be in love yet, right？"

Erika's trying to let the other two think it's a bad idea if they choose to date right now. But it was mainly said towards Koto. You can see Koto was feeling the pressure (next picture) because she knew Aya loved acting and always be the lead role of their drama club. Erika implied "you might disturb Aya if you ask her to go out" here.

However, it turned out Koto still can't help but confess. Erika is suck at manipulating people all due to her not knowing that person who she wants to manipulate pretty well (and never notice that fact). Koto has the most selfish character out of the trio. Normally, people who had been refused will be hesitant to confess again for fearing he/she might feel bothered, but Koto couldn't care less.

Compared to Aya, who successfully pushed Koto to do the script things while jokingly playing Koto around at the same time. Yes, Erika literally has no talent in this area.

②Chapter 3：
→"So, if your feelings died down and you move on…You have to make it clear to her, don't you think？"

Even that's the case, you don't have to say in this way. As their friends, "You have to figure out how you feels about her now" is far more appropriate in this situation. But of course l can get it, Erika loves Koto and wants to lead her to think she has no feelings towards Aya now. It's understandable.

③Chapter 16：
→"She's fine. It's even surprising."

That's the reply when Koto ask "How is Aya-chan？" Erika knows Aya is not really fine but still chose to say that. She wants Koto to move on so badly to the degree that she is disgusting me here. Erika thought Koto would be miraculously moving forward if she acknowledges Aya doesn't even feel any sorrow about their breakup (while it's not the truth lol). So we can see why she gets mad next page that Koto is still all about Aya as usual.

I have said it before and l am going to say it again. Holding an unrequited love that long is never a good thing. Ultimately, you will be hurting the people you love because you can't control yourself, to think you already cost too much on it.

Accepting someone might never loves you back is a maturity which should be marked with a red line.

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

Gonna need examples of Erika trying to be manipulative.

③Chapter 16：
→"She's fine. It's even surprising."

That's the reply when Koto ask "How is Aya-chan？" Erika knows Aya is not really fine but still chose to say that. She wants Koto to move on so badly to the degree that she is disgusting me here.

This is a fine example of how your personal antipathy towards the characters distorts your “analysis” of the story. Yes, we are shown that Erika assumes that Aya is suffering emotionally from the breakup with Koto, but Aya is presenting herself to Erika precisely as Erika describes her. Almost certainly Erika’s description is exactly what Aya would want her to tell Koto.

Erika is not Aya’s therapist or someone whose job it is to reveal to Koto what Aya is really feeling, nor would it be her place even if she were an entirely neutral party to facilitate the obviously unhealthy relationship that Koto wants to have with Aya.

You of course are free to be “disgusted” by anything you choose.

last edited at Nov 8, 2024 8:50AM