Tbh i don't even know what Kanna was expecting, like she chose to come back here knowing Joe would still have Mitsuki to look after which is why they split in the first place and then i guess she thought she could get him to go with her? despite that things haven't changed for Joes circumstance. Like either way someone would have to leave their home in order to get together and its not like she said any of this to Joe and has only said something when she is planning to leave anyway.

I do believe its possible that they do get back together, whether that will be because of Joe deciding to go to America which he would probably only do if Mitsuki decided to leave with him or Kanna staying in japan which she clearly doesn't want to do.

Only other option is that Mitsuki decides to stay behind and allow Joe to go with Kanna as she is technically old enough to live by herself i guess.

As much as Kanna is upset at this, imo she brought this onto herself the moment she decided to come back at all especially since she is the one mainly wanting to make the other to give up their home in order to be together, whereas Joe has not been thinking about that at all and just going with the flow resulting in this because they don't talk to each other (though i think Kanna should have been the one to talk with Joe about what she wants before just dropping it on Joe when she is about to leave).

Yeah as I thought, she really did take the advice she gave to Aya seriously. She's also been hanging on to something, like Aya and now she's going to try living for herself instead of making decisions based around someone who doesn't seem to see her in a romantic light, someone who seems comfortable with the status quo.

A lot of parallels to Aya and Mitsuki. We'll see if the outcomes are parallel too (I doubt it). Joe still has a chance to do something here though, but does he want to? Does Mitsuki want to either? We still don't have a clear understanding of how she feels about Aya, same with Joe and his feelings for Kanna.

last edited at Nov 17, 2024 6:52AM

Tbh i don't even know what Kanna was expecting, like she chose to come back here knowing Joe would still have Mitsuki to look after which is why they split in the first place and then i guess she thought she could get him to go with her? despite that things haven't changed for Joes circumstance. Like either way someone would have to leave their home in order to get together and its not like she said any of this to Joe and has only said something when she is planning to leave anyway.

I do believe its possible that they do get back together, whether that will be because of Joe deciding to go to America which he would probably only do if Mitsuki decided to leave with him or Kanna staying in japan which she clearly doesn't want to do.

I think Kanna wanted to test the saying, time heals all wounds. She might have believed that with time having passed between her and Joe, and now that Mitsuki is older, she could convince Mitsuki to move with her to the States. Unlike before, when Joe made the decision not to leave because of Mitsuki, Kanna likely thought that Mitsuki, being older and able to think for herself, might be more open to the idea. If Mitsuki agreed, it could have even influenced Joe to reconsider.

Tbh i don't even know what Kanna was expecting, like she chose to come back here knowing Joe would still have Mitsuki to look after which is why they split in the first place and then i guess she thought she could get him to go with her? despite that things haven't changed for Joes circumstance. Like either way someone would have to leave their home in order to get together and its not like she said any of this to Joe and has only said something when she is planning to leave anyway.

I do believe its possible that they do get back together, whether that will be because of Joe deciding to go to America which he would probably only do if Mitsuki decided to leave with him or Kanna staying in japan which she clearly doesn't want to do.

Kanna just comes to visit sometimes, she moved to America when Mitsuki was really young but when Joe first sees her again he says "it's been five, six years?". Her arc starts with chapter 43 if you wanna reread her introduction, since that's relevant now. This arc also reveals that Mitsuki can speak fluent English with her, which implies that Mitsuki and Kanna have been connected and talking this whole time even as Kanna's in America, and Kanna tells Aya that she's here to lure Mitsuki to come to America with her. The relationship between Kanna and Mitsuki has been a solid thing as part of Mitsuki's life for most of it, not just this current visit, and the problem Kanna's having is with being tempted to stay close to her more than anything.
Rereading her introduction has actually got me convinced that Kanna and Joe HAVEN'T hooked back up: she's not here for him and she's not hanging around the shop for him. She's here for Mitsuki and spending time with her. Kanna calls herself "something like an aunt" but clearly her attachment is even stronger than that, she really seems to look at Mitsuki as a daughter, and now she wants custody lol.

Edit: also since this arc has a lot to do with the people in parental roles for Mitsuki I'm excepting the truth about her bio family to come out soon. They were clearly still in the picture when Kanna left, which is why Kanna and Joe would have been leaving her behind, but they're pretty clearly out of the picture by now.

last edited at Nov 17, 2024 7:09AM

I think Kanna wanted to test the saying, time heals all wounds. She might have believed that with time having passed between her and Joe, and now that Mitsuki is older, she could convince Mitsuki to move with her to the States. Unlike before, when Joe made the decision not to leave because of Mitsuki, Kanna likely thought that Mitsuki, being older and able to think for herself, might be more open to the idea. If Mitsuki agreed, it could have even influenced Joe to reconsider.

Which is kind of my point She seems happy for Joe and Mitsuki to drop everything to go with her, and yet when asked (not that she was since Joe being so passive didn't even think about it and just was happy she was here without thinking really about the why) gets upset about the situation without actually having a proper conversation about what she wants, until she has already decided to leave

She had her own ambitions. I don't see why she should have given up on them.

To note, their break up was a mutual agreement. There's no real bad blood between them. But it's obviously a bitter memory for her, because he somewhat led her on to finally chicken out. She loved him and thought they would build something together, but life didn't let them.

I wouldn't say it's Joe's fault either, because he had to take care of Mitsuki (for yet unexplained reasons). That's just life.

But in the present time, Kanna came back temporarily and Joe kind of took her for granted, conveniently forgetting that she had to go back eventually and had a life over there, that he's not part of.

Maybe she even has a man there (seeing that flashback panel where she's talking with a man with glasses who looks at her gently).

So, as she says, it's too late. She needs to leave, because the longer she stays, the more they look away from reality, the more painful it becomes.

She had her own ambitions. I don't see why she should have given up on them.

To note, their break up was a mutual agreement. There's no real bad blood between them. But it's obviously a bitter memory for her, because he somewhat led her on to finally chicken out. She loved him and thought they would build something together, but life didn't let them.

I wouldn't say it's Joe's fault either, because he had to take care of Mitsuki (for yet unexplained reasons). That's just life.

But in the present time, Kanna came back temporarily and Joe kind of took her for granted, conveniently forgetting that she had to go back eventually and had a life over there, that he's not part of.

Maybe she even has a man there (seeing that flashback panel where she's talking with a man with glasses who looks at her gently).

So, as she says, it's too late. She needs to leave, because the longer she stays, the more they look away from reality, the more painful it becomes.

i also don't think she should have given up on them, but my problem with this situation is that Kanna never had a talk with Joe and Mitsuki about what she came back for and why, and i agree Joe has done that because just likw Mitsuki he just goes along with things, which is his problem in this mess. At the same time though its impossible for Joe to know exactly what Kanna wants when she doesn't say anything.

This also why i think the advice she gave to Aya was somewhat bad, as moving on rather than clinging to nothing is good advice, but doing so without actually knowing what the other person wants just going off what you think they want isn't.

She had her own ambitions. I don't see why she should have given up on them.

To note, their break up was a mutual agreement. There's no real bad blood between them. But it's obviously a bitter memory for her, because he somewhat led her on to finally chicken out. She loved him and thought they would build something together, but life didn't let them.

I wouldn't say it's Joe's fault either, because he had to take care of Mitsuki (for yet unexplained reasons). That's just life.

But in the present time, Kanna came back temporarily and Joe kind of took her for granted, conveniently forgetting that she had to go back eventually and had a life over there, that he's not part of.

Maybe she even has a man there (seeing that flashback panel where she's talking with a man with glasses who looks at her gently).

So, as she says, it's too late. She needs to leave, because the longer she stays, the more they look away from reality, the more painful it becomes.

i also don't think she should have given up on them, but my problem with this situation is that Kanna never had a talk with Joe and Mitsuki about what she came back for and why, and i agree Joe has done that because just likw Mitsuki he just goes along with things, which is his problem in this mess. At the same time though its impossible for Joe to know exactly what Kanna wants when she doesn't say anything.

This also why i think the advice she gave to Aya was somewhat bad, as moving on rather than clinging to nothing is good advice, but doing so without actually knowing what the other person wants just going off what you think they want isn't.

Kanna followed her own advice, she gave up on Joe. She just feels attached to Mitsuki, presumably for the same reasons Joe does. Kanna and Mitsuki are clearly very close and talk a lot more than we see, given Mitsuki learning fluent English from her, so they probably HAVE talked and mostly understand each other. Joe's just kind of there with Mitsuki as a package deal since he's her guardian. I don't think Kanna really wants anything from Joe and thus doesn't have anything to say to him to establish expectations.

I'm not sure why a lot of people are saying it's too late, while the fortune cookie tells otherwise. It's clearly a hint that Joe will do something about that situation.

Kanna calls herself "something like an aunt" but clearly her attachment is even stronger than that, she really seems to look at Mitsuki as a daughter, and now she wants custody lol.

I do wonder about that. Everybody just expects Mitsuki going to America at first opportunity, but from I recall she wasn't really presented with an opportunity to think what she thinks about this. I personally think Kanna will get burned second time. I just don't see Mitsuki just abandoning Joe.

I'm not sure why a lot of people are saying it's too late, while the fortune cookie tells otherwise. It's clearly a hint that Joe will do something about that situation.

I do agree. For what Kanna says that she's over Joe, I do think she still has some lingering feelings for him. Othewise she wouldn't get so upset. She probably came for Joe at least partially, be it to get some closure or some petty reason like taking Mitsuki away from him to "get back at him" (I do hope it's not the case though). I'm not sure if they necessarily get back together in the end, but there just must be a moment in this story when both of them get to express their feelings and speak honestly, because what they are doing right now is clearly not healthy for either.

I feel like y'all are ignoring the "pretend family" part. Joe saying to Kanna that she's like Mitsuki's mother now, with the implication that Joe is like Mitsuki's father, is hurtful. Even if they're ok now after their breakup, this is a level of intimacy that touches on that wound. Joe isn't courting Kanna. He has feelings for her still, as evidenced by chapter 83, but he isn't doing anything about it. So him leaving their connection implicitly through Mitsuki is taking advantage of Kanna and is cowardly. And he even acknowledges it himself in the thought bubbles in this chapter, that he had been living without thinking.

The whole situation is too much for Kanna. It's like seeing a vision of the life you wanted to have, but not actually be able to have it. It would probably be simpler if she just asked if he wants this to be something more, but it's likely that she's feeling too fragile to do that. If she gets rejected again it might just break her. I agree with other people that communication would do wonders here, but I kind of feel for Kanna in the situation. It's hard to play the emotional backbone for someone you have feelings for and be reminded that they don't have feelings for you (even if she might be wrong about that).

This also nicely parallels Mitsuki and Aya. Aya isn't communicating her feelings explicitly enough for Mitsuki (although she did communicate them), and Mitsuki, like her uncle, is going with the flow too much and living without thinking.

Well that escalated quickly

Listen to the fortune cookie. The fortune cookie knows best.

Having relationship drama like this as an adult sounds exhausting...

Have an itch to create a list so here goes my Joe and Kanna relationship list:

Kanna appears:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/the_guy_she_was_interested_in_wasnt_a_guy_at_all_ch45#2

Their plans to go to the US fall apart:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/the_guy_she_was_interested_in_wasnt_a_guy_at_all_ch49#2

Joe explains to Aya about their breakup:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/the_guy_she_was_interested_in_wasnt_a_guy_at_all_ch50#3

Kanna explains to Aya what Joe was like when they were going out:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/the_guy_she_was_interested_in_wasnt_a_guy_at_all_ch68#3

Joe and Kanna revisit their breakup:
https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/the_guy_she_was_interested_in_wasnt_a_guy_at_all_ch109#3

Maybe she even has a man there (seeing that flashback panel where she's talking with a man with glasses who looks at her gently).

I went back to look and lol that tiny sliver of a person is not clearly masculine (assuming any not feminine character to be a man is really funny in the context of this manga in particular lol) and their facial expression is also just kind of neutral, I'd read it as an "I'm listening" kind of face. Given the context of the other glimpses around it I'd first assume these are images of Kanna at her fun and fulfilling job as "stylist" that she has in America. It appears to involve painting stuff on a ladder, yelling to photographers, and being listened to by some person.
Edit: I just noticed Kanna has a heart tattoo on her shoulder in the panel of her painting, that's cute. Maybe it's a heart for "styling" :P

last edited at Nov 17, 2024 2:41PM

I'm not sure why a lot of people are saying it's too late, while the fortune cookie tells otherwise. It's clearly a hint that Joe will do something about that situation.

It's Kanna's fortune, not Joe's, and the person Kanna wants to be is not the person Joe expects her to be without saying anything.

I'm not sure why a lot of people are saying it's too late, while the fortune cookie tells otherwise. It's clearly a hint that Joe will do something about that situation.

It's Kanna's fortune, not Joe's, and the person Kanna wants to be is not the person Joe expects her to be without saying anything.

Yeah, that fortune was the one she opened, and it felt like it was reinforcing her desire to leave and be herself. Joe seems like he is staring at it, though, so it could work for both of them in that scene. I think that's the point.

last edited at Nov 17, 2024 3:56PM

this manga is so fucking good.

I feel like y'all are ignoring the "pretend family" part. Joe saying to Kanna that she's like Mitsuki's mother now, with the implication that Joe is like Mitsuki's father, is hurtful. Even if they're ok now after their breakup, this is a level of intimacy that touches on that wound. Joe isn't courting Kanna. He has feelings for her still, as evidenced by chapter 83, but he isn't doing anything about it. So him leaving their connection implicitly through Mitsuki is taking advantage of Kanna and is cowardly. And he even acknowledges it himself in the thought bubbles in this chapter, that he had been living without thinking.

The whole situation is too much for Kanna. It's like seeing a vision of the life you wanted to have, but not actually be able to have it. It would probably be simpler if she just asked if he wants this to be something more, but it's likely that she's feeling too fragile to do that. If she gets rejected again it might just break her. I agree with other people that communication would do wonders here, but I kind of feel for Kanna in the situation. It's hard to play the emotional backbone for someone you have feelings for and be reminded that they don't have feelings for you (even if she might be wrong about that).

This also nicely parallels Mitsuki and Aya. Aya isn't communicating her feelings explicitly enough for Mitsuki (although she did communicate them), and Mitsuki, like her uncle, is going with the flow too much and living without thinking.

exactly this, i am expect that if the situation is to be fixed and have a "happy" ending then joe's going to have to show up and be like "let's stop pretending"

Bla bla I don't care

I think it's a bad idea to get into these complicated subplots in a manga told 4 pages at a time, especially when the author is kinda bad at conveying things clearly :P

It seems pretty clear to me. We don't have all the answers yet obviously but that's because we're not supposed to, since it's still unfolding. That's not a skill issue on behalf of the author, she's regularly putting up grade A material.

I think it's a bad idea to get into these complicated subplots in a manga told 4 pages at a time, especially when the author is kinda bad at conveying things clearly :P

Sumiko is great at conveying these things BUT I really think the 4 page format makes it extremely hard to notice for the reader. I noticed after rereading that it actually flows a LOT better and you notice a lot of clever things and foreshadowing when you have multiple chapters available at once.

But yeah the 4 page format really limits the storytelling although it is what allows Sumiko to polish the visual front.
I will forever talk shit on the 4 page format haha