When you realize DeLphi isn't 1/4 dead, it's 2.5/5 dead.
Relatively subdued volume finale but not unusual given the manga's settling into a long run. Only so many times you can reinvent the rules without stealing twists from the endgame. And this volume was said to be more laid back before we take a steep turn next time.
The big takeaway of course is confirmation there was a 5th member of De:Lphinus. There's been subtle hints beyond Masaki plain asking where the 5th girl went, Delphinus being a 5 star constellation for example. And the Sailor Moon theory (each member follows the same naming pattern as the 5 main sailor senshi: Tsuki/moon, Ai/love, Hi/fire, Ki/tree, Mizu/water is missing. Dorothy being a massive Sailor Moon fangirl and referencing this way back with Kidou Ange wearing a Jupiter shirt.) So 5-chan is almost certainly Mizu-something.
Unless there's an insane twist in the works 5-chan is the ghost haunting DeLphi. Which raises questions. Why was her death even quieter than Aizawa's? Tear never referenced it aside from potentially at the start of ch18, where she may have linked herself to it ("I should know better than anyone [something supernatural is happening]" coupled with a panel of her standing in blood(?)). But she's been trying to deny DeLphi's haunted for a while now, so it makes sense she'd bury it. If so though, why isn't 5-chan targeting her? Why Aizawa and then Ange? Why does she need Aizawa to be fully dead? Why does she need to possess Ange to do it? It's not like Aizawa needs possession to get things done. Why is 5-chan seemingly bound to DeLphi when we know Aizawa has some pretty strict and unique rules binding her to school? And if Karasuma is investigating the source of this mess, why isn't she going after DeLphi? It's just a hunch but I don't think 5-chan is the final boss here.
There's a lot less insight on Masaki than I expected but it was a very humanizing chapter for her nonetheless. And now we get the fun implication Aizawa could accidentally kill her the same way 5-chan is killing Ange. That's a fairly deliberate transition from Masaki coughing to Ange coughing. This also seemingly confirms 5-chan did not die of ghostly illness, otherwise Tear would have mentioned it back when she said that's how Aizawa died. And finally we have wild ghosts returning (after 2 volumes post-exorcism) which means a return to the spooky stuff.
And now for the chapter title.
Lying Mii-kun and Broken Maa-chan is a light novel series by Hitoma Iruma, the author of Adachi and Shimamura. I haven't read all 12 volumes - only the 1st - so it's hard to tell exactly what connection Dorothy is drawing here. Far from the first time an Aizawa chapter title has referenced another work, and there's always meaning to it. To sum up Mii-kun and Maa-chan's relationship (spoilers for volume 1):
'Mii-kun' and Maa-chan were victims of a kidnapping when they were kids. The kidnapper forced Maa-chan to murder her own parents, traumatizing her and permanently derailing her memories and sense of reason. 'Mii-kun' is not the real Mii-kun, but the son of the kidnapper who was victimized as well. Maa-chan mentally replaced the real Mii-kun with him as a coping mechanism. 'Mii-kun' has his own trauma including being a pathological liar (even to himself) incapable of accepting the word love after his mother died protecting him during the kidnapping. The two were separated for a while, but after reuniting Maa-chan is utterly obsessed with 'Mii-kun', immediately treating him like they're a married couple which 'Mii-kun' passively goes along with. Maa-chan also has dark tendencies like kidnapping children herself, and 'Mii-kun' is driven by a desire to protect her and set everything right.
It's kind of a classic of the yandere genre, with a complex protagonist and melancholic monologues like Iruma's known for. Again, I'm no expert on it. And I can only guess what Michi or Masaki's deal is. But there's connections in that summary which should jump out at you. So are we getting a yandere arc out of Masaki? Is there more than meets the eye to her infatuation with Michi? Or is she just ghost sick and the title extends no further than the events of this chapter? Who knows!
Hopefully (hopefully) the manga doesn't go on another 2 month hiatus like the other volumes. Volume 1's happened because Dorothy was graduating college, 2's came because she missed deadlines, 3 had no reason given. But she's hired an assistant now so maybe I'll see you again next month.
I think the point of sympathy with Misaki might be related to Michi's early comic theory that Aizawa is haunting the classroom because while alive she barely got to attend school and do school life things due to her job as an idol. Maybe there was an element of truth to that with Aizawa, which makes her sympathize with Misaki's story here
Very true and I kind of lost that detail for the trees.
last edited at Dec 21, 2024 3:14PM
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