Genuinely such a fucked up chapter development, this feels incredibly contrived, to the point of melodrama. You can totally feel the hand of the editor in here like “ah, but we need another volume, and we don’t know if them being together will be compelling” (it would).
Taking off the tinfoil hat, I’m not not sure how to feel about this. If this is just another way to extend the will-they-won’t-they, then it’s super shitty, it kills all the momentum, and Tsukushi’s character is being sacrificed for content.
On the other hand, i’ve definitely had moments where I fuck things up by being unable to take the last step. There’s a plausible, if narrow, path toward this decision being acceptible, if they really lean in and take this seriously. I doubt this is the case, because on top of adding more complexity to the simple concept of the story, it would have a lot to contend with—Tsukishi hasn’t been shown to have any particular trauma about making important decisions, and more seriously her reacting this way to a kiss is pretty egregious and would require a lot explaining.
I’m willing to give the mangaka the benefit of the doubt for a chapter or two even if I don’t think it’ll pan out to be anything other than what it seems, but even if it does, I really really don’t like this development, and I don’t think it serves the work as we’ve seen it so far.
last edited at Feb 23, 2024 12:57PM