I honestly can not see how Honda could possibly have come away the most negatively here. What she did was abhorrent but it pales in comparison to a rape attempt. There is no hurt in the world that justifies that.
Because Masaki is in small part a victim in the grand scheme, unlike Honda. I'm not excusing what Masaki's doing right now - this is likely both Masaki and Honda's lowest point and in isolation they're incomparable in Honda's favor. Masaki deserves getting chaired and more.
But Honda knows what Masaki's like. She knows what Michi's like, she knows what Masaki's been like with Michi, knows entirely that Masaki will take advantage of Michi to hurt her. Honda is the character described by word of god as having a maxed charisma stat. Abandoning Michi to this because she's too cowardly to face Masaki is unconscionable. Abandoning Masaki the first time is only more forgivable because she was younger.
Masaki is someone with zero self-esteem who only sees value in what Honda turned her into. I wouldn't say this is solely about taking from Michi or Honda; in her warped way I think this is how Masaki thinks she should offer herself to someone. She might look the part of an outgoing gyaru but she's as bad at socialization as Michi is. Had no friends before or after Honda, spends all her time on "the ass end of the internet". But she knows she's pretty because that's what Honda, the audition, and her bullies told her. She only ever wanted someone to value her like Honda did at first. Both times she claims this is just to hurt Honda she sounds unsure of her own feelings. Deep down she's desperate for connection and doing all the wrong things to get it.
Honda forced her own dream onto Masaki, gave her shaky confidence, then the moment Masaki failed pretended like she hardly knew her and dropped her to get bullied into quitting school. From Masaki's perspective, Honda might have only been using her and stopped caring when she couldn't live vicariously through her. It's completely self-fulfilling that Honda lets Masaki hurt her still. But Michi absolutely does not deserve to get pushed into this by Honda, just the same as Masaki's a monster for what she's doing right now. An actual monster on par with the ghosts. And a monster of Honda's making.
I'm not saying anyone's wrong to think Masaki is past the point of no return. Honda will have a far easier time redeeming herself. It's just personally I've suffered a lot more betrayal of trust than invasion of bodily space and it's a line I'm heavy on.
Now in Honda's defense I think she's lost in self-loathing and completely wrong in her own judgment. She's changed since middle school. She's reliable(when the drama doesn't directly involve her), she helps others like it's second nature, she cares about Masaki more than simple penance. This is just her lowest point and 100% foreshadowing for Honda to prove herself wrong and save Michi down the line. But right now she's doing exactly what she warned in self-pitying self-serving self-deprecation. Michi would be right to feel even more abandoned by Honda than Masaki was.
EDIT: Thinking on it more I want to add as a lesser charge against Honda how messed up it is telling a girl who was in Masaki's position (no friends, no social skills, you were one of the few people she's comfortable with) that you never thought of her as a friend and to cut ties with her. Like this is just repeating history.
Love Honda anyway. She's a great character. I never expected Dorothy's comment about this volume being Honda vs Masaki to come to this much of a head.
last edited at Sep 2, 2025 9:17AM
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