That's actually a sign of past trauma, most commonly of being neglected by primary caretakers. A common result is a dissociation of words and actions, since the former are controlled by the prefrontal cortex, which attempts to maintain an image of strength and self-sufficiency, while the latter are controlled by the deeper limbic brain, which earns to be cared for.

Ah fuck. That explains a lot. Oof ouch owie, my absolute trauma.

I am sorry if I brought up unwanted memories, but yes, unfortunately, neglect by primary caretakers (often non-malicious -- simply because the parents have to spend so much time working, none is left for the child) is endemic to the modern world. I am not sure how this comic will handle this topic yet -- all signs so far point towards it being treated seriously, but I haven't read the original novel. For instance, He's chronic abdominal pains may also be a symptom of elevated levels of stress hormones (another common symptom of trauma); her empty fridge may indicate a basic inability to recognize her body's needs and, hence, a lack of self-care; finally, heavy drinking has a huge co-morbidity rate with major depression.

If you want a highly realistic (and depressing) exploration of neglect trauma, I also highly recommend The Private Report... by Nagata Kabi.

last edited at Jun 13, 2021 3:20AM

It won't come back from Binbou, but as time allows, I'll retranslate what's missing.

Just wanted to say: you're a hero, please keep being awesome. :-)

And you seem to have misinterpreted my criticism

I didn't. Overconfidence was a short and apparent reason as to why the villain may have acted as she did. Akari was already on the altar surrounded by her underlings in a setting of her choosing. Menou's assistance was underground fighting a dragon. She doesn't think Menou has a rat's ass chance against her (see: overconfidence) so why bother pretending anymore.

Oh, I see your point now. But still, overconfidence and reasoning like "why shouldn't I do this stupid thing?" are not attributes of a competent mastermind (see also: Evil Overlord's List), so my point still stands :-)

Because, what was the point of chapter 13, why was it in this story? First, we learn that the Princess is some kind of magical hacker who can trace magical cellphone jamming (which exists, just so) without any foreshadowing that she had ever specced into that build.

This is the second time we really met with the princess and the first time was a purely physical fight. What reason is there for any need of foreshadowing?

The reason is Sanderson's first law of promises and payoffs: An author's ability to solve problems with magic in a satisfying way depends on how well the reader understands said magic. Introducing a complication just so that a side character can reveal a cool new ability to solve it three pages later violates that law, as it creates an expectation that any character can gain whatever power the plot requires at any time.

So this half of the chapter introduces a new problem (jamming) in addition to the one already introduced last chapter (dragon), then immediately pull a solution for it of nowhere without any progress made on the dragon issue, then caps it off with a cool action scene. That's amateur fanfic-level writing, at best, and lazy delaying tactic, at worst.

If the jamming wasn't there, you would be sitting here claiming it as another 'low IQ' oversight from the villain.

Please don't try to read my mind and/or put words into my mouth. :-) Jamming devices have not been featured in the series up until this chapter (do correct me if I am wrong), so even I wouldn't expect the villain to have something in their lair whose existence has never been indicated in the story.

The dragon haven't been dealt with because events from both places are happening at the same time and will likely conclude at the same time too or possibly even converge at some point. What's to complain about a cool action scene in an action fantasy manga?

Again, you are putting words into my mouth: the action scenes in this manga are definitely cool-looking, I do not deny that. It just that the first cool-looking fight in this chapter was watered down because the author felt the need to introduce a new fact about the universe and about the Princess in the laziest way possible, while the second cool-looking fight is now happening because a supposedly smart villain has proven herself not very smart. And in a manga that starts off with the murder of a kidnapped child, I kind of expect cool action scenes to happen for reasonably intelligent reasons.

See how I nitpick your nitpick? If you still don't see it as so, oh well.

All I see is you countering my criticism with valid, if often weak arguments and examples.

A story is only as intelligent as its dumbest main villain, and this story's IQ has just dropped faster than Bitcoin after an Elon Musk tweet.

It's easily apparent that the villain thinks Menou doesn't have any chance of beating her. In fact, she tells you that outright. Overconfidence precedes failure. You seem to have a lot of bones to pick with this manga, valid or not. At a certain point, it just becomes nitpicking.

At certain point, it will, but I don't think it has yet. :-) And you seem to have misinterpreted my criticism: I do not complain about the villain being overconfident, I complain about her behavior towards a potential threat (Menou) and her apparent contradictory tactical goals (one the one hand, to earn Menou's sympathy; on the other, to rile up her anger) not aligning with her stated long-term goal and motivation (to extract even more benefits from her already privileged position while shirking her responsibilities instead of abdicating/retiring due to advanced age). "If hero meets villain, they must always fight" is the kind of formulaic, by-the-numbers writing that simply does not engage me intellectually -- which is what I typically look for in a fantasy story.

last edited at Jun 12, 2021 3:40AM

That's actually a sign of past trauma, most commonly of being neglected by primary caretakers. A common result is a dissociation of words and actions, since the former are controlled by the prefrontal cortex, which attempts to maintain an image of strength and self-sufficiency, while the latter are controlled by the deeper limbic brain, which earns to be cared for. As a result, the experiential and the verbal parts of the brain run on two different tracks, one screaming for help and the other rejecting it, without the person consciously noticing the dissociation. Because the limbic brain is ultimately the main driving force, the conscious one usually either refuses to process its actions ("No, I did not drink that milk, what are you talking about?") or retroactively justifies them ("Yeah, I drank it, because you left me no choice."). All-in-all, "Teacher He" is consistently written as a deeply traumatized individual.

Oh... em... gee!! This is so awful!
I will never be able to look at tsunderes the same way...

To clarify, my argument here is that He is not a tsundere, but rather suffers from dissociation due to past trauma. A tsundere in a classical sense is a young character displaying emotional immaturity due to not having learned to regulate their relationships and emotional distance yet. That is why most tsunderes "grow out" of their running-hot-and-cold as they gain relationship experience and mature. By contrast, traumatized individuals are not guaranteed such a high rate of recovery, and often require years of therapy to heal -- though, of course, fiction (and romance fiction in particular) often presents this healing process as unrealistically straightforward and quick, often reducing it to meeting your destined soulmate and starting a relationship with them.

In other words, by all means, continue to enjoy tsundere antics with the rest of us. Just don't confuse emotional immaturity due to youth and inexperience with stunted emotional and relational development due to traumatic experiences. :-)

last edited at Jun 11, 2021 4:42PM

Who else thinks that the "mishap" with the teapot has all been according to the keikaku?

Just holding a cup of coffee can make you feel invincible, right?

Darn right, it can. Coffee is the lifeblood of office economy.

I thought the exact same thing.
"No I don't want help." And she lets Feng Yu help her.
"No I don't want to drink." And she drinks Feng Yu's milk.
"No I don't want to eat." And she eats Feng Yu's congee.
And she keeps telling Feng Yu to go home cuz she's okay, I lost count of how many times, when it's infuriatingly obvious she's not okay at all!

There's tsundere, and then there's this sort of childishness. I can't believe a grown-up would behave like that, like a little kid who when offered a bonbon yells "I don't wanna!" and at the same time grabs the bonbon and wolfes it down.

But I guess it's a little cute. ♡

That's actually a sign of past trauma, most commonly of being neglected by primary caretakers. A common result is a dissociation of words and actions, since the former are controlled by the prefrontal cortex, which attempts to maintain an image of strength and self-sufficiency, while the latter are controlled by the deeper limbic brain, which earns to be cared for. As a result, the experiential and the verbal parts of the brain run on two different tracks, one screaming for help and the other rejecting it, without the person consciously noticing the dissociation. Because the limbic brain is ultimately the main driving force, the conscious one usually either refuses to process its actions ("No, I did not drink that milk, what are you talking about?") or retroactively justifies them ("Yeah, I drank it, because you left me no choice."). All-in-all, "Teacher He" is consistently written as a deeply traumatized individual.

last edited at Jun 11, 2021 3:00AM

There seems to be a chapter missing. The one with the wedding...

How the next chapter should begin
[snip]
I mean it won't but man, that would be sweet

Thank you for making me aware of that manga. :-)

^ I think I should have put a line break or two in my original post... The church thing is just a pet peeve of mine that I already discussed elsewhere, while the manga went off the deep end the moment it had spent an entire chapter on the villain monologuing at the hero about how society has made them evil.

Because, what was the point of chapter 13, why was it in this story? First, we learn that the Princess is some kind of magical hacker who can trace magical cellphone jamming (which exists, just so) without any foreshadowing that she had ever specced into that build. So this half of the chapter introduces a new problem (jamming) in addition to the one already introduced last chapter (dragon), then immediately pull a solution for it of nowhere without any progress made on the dragon issue, then caps it off with a cool action scene. That's amateur fanfic-level writing, at best, and lazy delaying tactic, at worst.

Second, the Little Sister Archetype (LSA) calls the Heroine and tells her that her Respected Mentor Figure (RMF) who has so far given her zero reasons to doubt her trustworthiness is Actually Evil(tm). She offers zero proof or evidence, but that's OK, because the RMF takes one single look at the Heroine's face, immediately figures out what the LSA told her, and instead of making any attempt to salvage the situation or at least to stall her until the Earth Girl (EG) gets blanched, immediately goes "Muahahahaha, I am Actually Evil(tm)!". She then attacks the Heroine without provocation, reveals an incriminating location she was not supposed to know existed, confesses to every accusation, and then starts whining about how hard it is to have responsibilities in addition to all the perks and privileges of high status in the society. She then also tells the Heroine of her Special Destiny(tm) and, oh, just by the way, I killed your entire village, too, no hard feelings.

Now, just what is the Evil Old Lady's goal and motivation here? If she just wants the "blanching" ritual to succeed, why did she blow up a hole in the floor in the immediate vicinity. instead of using her official and personal pull with the Heroine to stall her? If she wants to gain the Heroine's sympathy with her sob story, then why confess to indirectly killing her parents and mock her for "not having a self" immediately thereafter? If she wants the Heroine to keep working for her out of her free will, why provoke and antagonize her? If she wants to brainwash her, why give the long-winded speech instead of just sucker-punching her while she's still confused? None of this makes the Evil Old Lady look like a competent and intelligent mastermind she supposedly is -- more like a entitled teenager throwing a tantrum.

A story is only as intelligent as its dumbest main villain, and this story's IQ has just dropped faster than Bitcoin after an Elon Musk tweet.

last edited at Jun 9, 2021 2:26AM

Welp, the series just went off the deep end. Can anyone in Japan write a plot where a pseudo-Catholic church does not turn out to be led by evil old folks? I dunno, just for the sheer shock factor.

Given that the Catholic Church (among others) has been behind some EVIL SH!T for hundreds of years, this is just art imitating life.

Indeed, but art does not have to imitate life that dogmatically. As a counterexample, if most manga closely imitated real attitudes towards homosexuality (in Japan and the world), a good half or more of this site's content wouldn't exist. And yet it seems much easier for Japanese authors to paint non-heteronormative societies than non-evil organized religions.

I am just saying that it could be fun to subvert the rote genre conventions.

last edited at Jun 8, 2021 12:55PM

Welp, the series just went off the deep end. Can anyone in Japan write a plot where a pseudo-Catholic church does not turn out to be led by evil old folks? I dunno, just for the sheer shock factor.

last edited at Jun 8, 2021 10:36AM

That whole subplot about the pink girl is so vague (we get very little information every once in a while), that I kinda don't care about her anymore :P The payoff better be good because so far she just takes away the focus from the actual main characters, for some yet undetermined reason.

What's strange is that in her first appearances she came across to me as a yandere-like person, but not since. Maybe it differentiates how Tachibana sees her (for whatever reason) and how the rest of the world perceives her.

I think it's more like the author doesn't really know where they want to go with her yet.

Darn, this could have been a regular episode if this manga didn't end. :-(

watagiri- verse confirmed

Huh, these cosplayers are from another manga by the author?

"Gunjou, your B key is turning into Azurite."

I guess my brain stopped working but I just... can't parse this sentence. I don't know what she means.

She informs Gunjou that while apologizing, her regular voice began unconsciously shifting to her Azurite voice, probably as a defense mechanism.

Oh, so the "starry eyes" thing that Iris-sensei is always doing means the character went into the Author Mode. Gotcha.

Also, this proves that every horror movie protagonist lives in permanent author mode.

Every day we inch a little closer to yuri

Let's just hope it's not asymptotic in this case.

Don't know why everyones so down and out they made out like 5 chapters ago

fake news!

I think they referred to this.

I like that the one gal plainly stated her hunting plans right in front of her prey.

Clear and upfront communication is the foundation of every good relationship... which is why the two of them will never get together, since it wouldn't make for an emotionally charged story. :-)

last edited at Jun 3, 2021 11:09AM

If it was a guy doing it people would be screaming bloody hell.

That's pretty much one of this forum's unofficial mottoes. :-)

last edited at Jun 3, 2021 11:07AM

Is it just me, or does Zanka maybe have a thing for maids?

Nah, it must be all in your head.

That was a good ride.

The best.

Endings are hard to write well and even more so with a slice of life type series like this one where there isn't really a perfect ending point. I feel like a lot of people are just upset there wasn't a clear confession, when I think it would have been even more (pleasantly) surprising if they actually had a serious confession since the whole time they were playing it off for laughs and subtext without any sign it was gonna be anything more.

My problem wasn't the lack of a confession, but extremely short build-up to the final arc. The series has effectively wrapped up in 3 chapters, published within 2 weeks of each other, with little warning that this was coming. Chapter 24 was the big whammy where Harumi and Azusa's identities got revealed out of the blue (harhar), and even then, the way it was written was ambiguous as to whether this was the finale, or just the start of an new arc. In hindsight, it is clear that the identity reveal had been the author's intended endgame all along, with the title drop obviously planned from the very start. However, the skip in pacing between chapter 23 and 24 is breakneck, with little in the first 23 chapters indicating whether the series would last for another 3 or 100 episodes.

As I mentioned before, the author seems to be an explorer-type writer, so he simply wrapped up the series with a pre-planned conclusion when he ran out of ideas (or, more likely, decided to work on something else). I get why he would do that, but it doesn't make the story's ending in itself any less abrupt.

last edited at Jun 2, 2021 4:53AM

I feel like reality just made some mistake. The thing that was supposed to end (Asumi yada yada) did not and instead dragged on. And by end I mean the Mai arc, maybe therell be more after their first encounter. Instead, this thing here ended rather abruptly (although I do not mind the ending at all, I think something like that is good enough). Im sure, something went wrong with our world!

That makes a frightening amount of sense.

... how are so many writers bad at endings? Is it really that difficult? Must be.

I think it's mostly because most manga writers aren't sure how long their story will last when they start it. Even if it doesn't get axed, a manga's length can fluctuate depending on a number of real-life factors, so pacing it properly becomes a Herculean task. Stories like Bloom Into You, which had a clear, novel-like story and character arc, are an exception.