Igarashi on the chapter: "I'm so delighted to finally put this chapter out. After I drew it, I'd either spent all I had or suffered divine retribution because I wound up in bed with an awful fever for a week straight."
Oh good I was worried Sayori was trapped in a crazy relationship. Instead she's thriving in one.
What a ride between the first half of chapter 10 and the second of 11. Sweet, to psycho, to confusingly lovey dovey, then settling into psycho sweet.
In 2 chapters we've effectively speedrun the male MC, Etsurou's arc from Igarashi's previous manga, Dominant. And Igarashi openly considers him and Sayori similar archetypes. To parse this:
Miu who gaslit Etsurou into being her loveslave with emotional and physical abuse is cheering Mizuki-senpai on while Etsurou looks concernedly at Sayori-senpai (Kasumi has reserved seating in this group for whatever Igarashi's planning) meanwhile Seika (female MC) who didn't know about her manga's drama until it literally punched her in the face halfway through worries for the innocent Haruyo.
Both are abused by their partner after misunderstandings that corrupt an innocent love and ultimately snap, turning them into the dominant one in their relationship and giving into the darker side of themselves. Though it remains to be seen if this is such a bad end for Sayori. She ultimately gives into her bitterness, now treating Mizuki a little derisively. But clearly it works for them?
I said last time it felt like Mizuki was projecting some when she decided Yamabe wanted to expose the secret of the 2nd letter. That, of the 4, Mizuki's approach to secrets showed the most excitement towards revealing them. Well wearing a top that exposes her upper back touched by scars, hidden only by her hair, definitely lines up with a risk-taker.
Mizuki seems to recognize her lack of artistic talent and would have quit at one point if she didn't think it's the only thing keeping her and Sayori together. She might have had better college prospects if she hadn't pursued art, which makes it even more tragic. A pile of misunderstandings that unraveled their relationship (Mizuki not realizing in her paranoia that Sayori wasn't even trying to leave her). It's a scenario that evokes a lot of the bitter parting into adulthood you see in Class S — but this one has a sickly sweet conclusion that's much more modern menhera.
I'm very curious how the senpais will be involved from here, since they do seem genuinely supportive of Kasumi and Haruyo. Or if we're headed down an anthology route of crazy side couples continually nudging the mains back on the wholesome road. It's hard to say yet what exactly this reflects onto the main pair, but it certainly colors the tone going forward. At the least it cements themes of hidden sides, secrets and lies, and ultimately acceptance. In a twisted way that rotting flower imagery from the start of chapter 11 represented "healthy" communication and openness between the two.
I didn't feel it was worth the post-credits essay but I've deliberately avoided swearing in this manga. It's something I always give extra caution to (I went back and toned down Michi's swearing in early Aizawa-san) because it can easily be tonally jarring. But it can also make certain characters' dialogue more natural or accentuate a moment. In this case, AriSaku's first swear goes to Mizuki stabbing Sayori in the back, that piercingly vulgar break feeling very fitting to me.
(If you're interested and have 15 minutes here's a video essay on the topic of swearing in JP to EN translations I always think back to. With ongoing manga it's especially challenging because I can't tell how future chapters will go, to pepper swearing in evenly.)
A Japanese comment described the senpais relationship as a mad dog and her indulgent owner. I think that works.
EDIT:
Taking it one step further, flowers are intrinsic to Class S. Hanamonogatari, the novels these girls rightfully treat as the Class S bible, titles each chapter of its anthology format (and every pair of girls) after a flower. Beautiful, delicate, pristine. Untouched when the girls go their separate ways.
When you pick a flower it rots. In the very modern context, yuri has become somewhat removed from its old taboos. It freely indulges in sex and abuse, examining them as many facets of romance without shame. The roots of Class S remain but it's bloomed wholly anew to be almost unrecognizable at times. If you want to view AriSaku as a bridge across time, a love letter to Class S respectfully carrying it into the modern age, the rotten flower isn't something ugly but a transformation of its beauty. I would not be surprised if this symbolism sticks around.
last edited at Sep 26, 2025 4:05PM
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