She lacks empathy. She notices Aya hides her pain behind a smile, but she doesn't really care and immediately thinks about how to exploit the opportunity. She comes off as calculative and cold, even though she's racked with guilt. She admits to herself that the breakup made her happy.

It's like the fact that Aya is a 14 year old without any family, who's struggling to survive after losing everything is totally abstract to her. It's like she never considered Aya as a friend, even in middle school. Only as an obstacle she can finally push aside and forget.

Not just Aya, I think the same could be applied to Koto too, Erika's love toward Koto is kind of weird. The idea of Aya coming back to give Koto false hope, then leave her again is incredibly cruel to Koto. Yet why would Erika want that to happen? Because to her, Koto's - the girl she supposed to love - well being is not as important as herself having her damn chance. I feel like to Erika, it's not about Koto, but herself and her chance to win Koto over.

I get that being selfish is very human or reality etc, but it's still bad and Erika feeling guilty about it is not undeserved at all.

If there's anything l would criticize this manga is Kabocha loves Aya too much, which seriously impact the balance of the love triangle story. Despite truly loving Koto, Aya is willing to let her go if it's for Koto's well being. She knows it's not right to keep Koto stuck in the past, even though that Koto would undoubtedly "love" her forever. In Erika's case, she also wants Koto to move forward but for another personal selfish reason. In brief, she wouldn't give two shits if Koto could just fall in love with her.

As a reader, l love Aya the most and don't actually care about Erika, but I don't really like the comparison. Just like defeating a villain who is cartoonishly bad and stupid is fucking boring. Not to mention Erika is also one of the protagonist. My beloved Aya deserves a better rival than this.

last edited at Nov 12, 2024 5:10PM

So you're telling me Americans are never ambiguous, Japanese people always are,

Normally.

and it's impossible for translators to make a Japanese person make sense to an American when translating their dialog huh. What else can I say but lol.

Translators sometimes have to guess. But of course you can't understand.

(I had a close personal friend in college who came to America from Japan specifically to study sociology and we had a lot of great conversations on cultural differences and similarities, I learned a ton from her, but I don't really think I need to go citing anything rn lol)

Yeah. That's why l say you never talk with real Japanese in japanese (which l have a lot of experience). You have never truly in Japan's society to really get close to them. The only Japanese you have known is an international student, which can use your own word (act like it's some inherently Japanese thing).

I have to tell you. You said Erika is just expressing her anxiety and hoping her friends will validate her (example①). That's not the normal way Japanese will choose to do. That's Americans thinking. Thank god you can ask your Japanese friend now, l don't need to explain a lot.

What's the point of manipulating the truth to break them up

But she didn't! She told the truth of what can be directly observed: Aya is 'fine', energetic and pushing forward. "Aya hiding her pain" is Erika's own inference.

I never say Erika is trying to break them up here. What l am saying is Erika is trying to let Koto give up on Aya. Letting her know Aya doesn't even feel any sorrow about their breakup is a good way to let anyone give up.

You can't find a sentence in english has the meaning of consent and refusal

Sure you can.

"Do you want ice cream?"
"I'm okay." or "It's okay." Very close to "ii desu yo" as a positive refusal.

So…"I'm okay." or "It's okay." here can also mean
"l want an ice cream."？

last edited at Nov 9, 2024 1:57AM

Well, that's because you don't know anything about Japan and their culture. The author and the characters in this manga are not Americans lol.

https://note.com/yuzuuudayo/n/n31522799dc47
This is the site which have analyzed this manga, and also have said about my example ①&② ( l believe she can't talk about ③ simply because chapter 16 hasn't come out yet when she had a analysis). You can see how a Japanese read Erika's action.
And this is the definition of manipulation from Cambridge Dictionary：controlling someone or something to your own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly.
I think we can call Erika's behalf manipulative according to the definition, fairly.

Fascinating double header of appealing to authority here: first you find a Japanese reader who interpreted the character similar to you and act like it's some inherently Japanese thing that's completely alien to the mind of a westerner going on.... And then you cite the Cambridge Dictionary to define manipulation?? You know Cambridge isn't in Japan right?

Yeah. My bad.

Personally, I've yet to find an argument that "oh Japanese emotions and social relations are just completely different from us normal peop- uh I mean Americans" to be compelling. I've been reading manga for fifteen years now and have never seen an emotion or social dynamic that I haven't also seen in Western fiction. Mostly it just seems kind of implicitly racist to claim they're fundamentally different tbh. Japan was colonized by America and still has American military bases. They learn English in schools, watch and read translated American media, have a ton of loanwords from foreign languages, etc. I feel pretty confident in asserting there's a lot more cultural difference between you and I than the difference between us on average and modern Japanese culture.

This is exactly why l said there's a big cultural difference between Americans and Japanese. Americans always say things they want in direct no hiding ways (which l prefer) while Japanese at the pretty opposite. I can be sure now you never learn japanese, nor have the experience of really talking with real Japanese (in japanese). All your impression of them is from the manga, which are all translated in english.

For easy example:
大丈夫です。
いいですよ。
This two sentences can both express yes and no, which you have to identify speaker's real intention yourself (fuck). You can't find a sentence in english has the meaning of consent and refusal. This is their 空気読む culture which you might never be able to understand.

last edited at Nov 8, 2024 9:36PM

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

Gonna need examples of Erika trying to be manipulative.

①Chapter 1：
→"Well, anyway, we're going to be busy with the club. There's no need for us to be in love yet, right？"

Erika's trying to let the other two think it's a bad idea if they choose to date right now. But it was mainly said towards Koto. You can see Koto was feeling the pressure (next picture) because she knew Aya loved acting and always be the lead role of their drama club. Erika implied "you might disturb Aya if you ask her to go out" here.

However, it turned out Koto still can't help but confess. Erika is suck at manipulating people all due to her not knowing that person who she wants to manipulate pretty well (and never notice that fact). Koto has the most selfish character out of the trio. Normally, people who had been refused will be hesitant to confess again for fearing he/she might feel bothered, but Koto couldn't care less.

Compared to Aya, who successfully pushed Koto to do the script things while jokingly playing Koto around at the same time. Yes, Erika literally has no talent in this area.

②Chapter 3：
→"So, if your feelings died down and you move on…You have to make it clear to her, don't you think？"

Even that's the case, you don't have to say in this way. As their friends, "You have to figure out how you feels about her now" is far more appropriate in this situation. But of course l can get it, Erika loves Koto and wants to lead her to think she has no feelings towards Aya now. It's understandable.

③Chapter 16：
→"She's fine. It's even surprising."

That's the reply when Koto ask "How is Aya-chan？" Erika knows Aya is not really fine but still chose to say that. She wants Koto to move on so badly to the degree that she is disgusting me here. Erika thought Koto would be miraculously moving forward if she acknowledges Aya doesn't even feel any sorrow about their breakup (while it's not the truth lol). So we can see why she gets mad next page that Koto is still all about Aya as usual.

I have said it before and l am going to say it again. Holding an unrequited love that long is never a good thing. Ultimately, you will be hurting the people you love because you can't control yourself, to think you already cost too much on it.

Accepting someone might never loves you back is a maturity which should be marked with a red line.

None of that is manipulative lmao. You're accusing her of thought crimes for having and expressing feelings. That first example in particular is just hilarious to me to call it manipulation, because it's just Erika expressing her anxiety and hoping her friends will validate her. Saying something to someone in hopes they'll reassure you or make you feel better is hardly "manipulation".
And both the other examples are Erika literally just being a good friend to Aya. The first was her expressing some wishful thinking, that Koto having seen Aya as a child would realize "oh she's a child and I'm an adult I guess this ain't really a thing I should pursue, huh?" because Erika frequently overestimates Koto lol. The second is, as Blastaar said, Erika telling Koto what Aya would want told to Koto: reassuring her that she's safe and okay. Because Koto's extremely anxious about Aya and would not handle it well if she was given more reason to worry about her.

Well, that's because you don't know anything about Japan and their culture. The author and the characters in this manga are not Americans lol.

https://note.com/yuzuuudayo/n/n31522799dc47
This is the site which have analyzed this manga, and also have said about my example ①&② ( l believe she can't talk about ③ simply because chapter 16 hasn't come out yet when she had a analysis). You can see how a Japanese read Erika's action.
And this is the definition of manipulation from Cambridge Dictionary：controlling someone or something to your own advantage, often unfairly or dishonestly.
I think we can call Erika's behalf manipulative according to the definition, fairly.

To note：Blastaar can't even understand what l am trying to say in example ③. I don't know why you drag him here while his refutations are always not at the point. That's a reason l agreed it's wasting our time to have any discussion with him before (nearly 8 months ago).

To be clear: Erika HAS problems. I'm hardly calling her an "angel" as you've accused me before, lmao. Her problems just don't include being a bad friend to either Koto or Erika: Instead her flaws are about self-neglect, self-hatred, and overestimating Koto and Aya (mostly Koto).

But…you sure seem like denying Erika has anything to do with Aya's disappearance even though chapter 13 obviously shows that's not the case. I'm curious how you explain her self-hatred if not from the guilt of things she had done in the past.

Erika's bad for herself, not her friends.

That's pretty much see her as an innocent angel to me.

last edited at Nov 8, 2024 6:33PM

Obviously we are shown what Erika is feeling and thinking--I never said we weren't. But the challenge was to present concrete evidence that Erika has been manipulating the truth in an attempt to break up Aya and Koto.

That's not what l'm saying. Aya and Koto had already broken up. What's the point of manipulating the truth to break them up？ Before you can understand what I'm trying to say (the subject Erika wants to manipulate in chapter 16) in that post, we can't continue any discussion. It's just so stupid.

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

Gonna need examples of Erika trying to be manipulative.

③Chapter 16：
→"She's fine. It's even surprising."

That's the reply when Koto ask "How is Aya-chan？" Erika knows Aya is not really fine but still chose to say that. She wants Koto to move on so badly to the degree that she is disgusting me here.

This is a fine example of how your personal antipathy towards the characters distorts your “analysis” of the story. Yes, we are shown that Erika assumes that Aya is suffering emotionally from the breakup with Koto, but Aya is presenting to Erika precisely as Erika describes her. Almost certainly Erika’s description is exactly what Aya would want her to tell Koto.

Well, you would convince me if Erika didn't show her disappointment the same page and her annoyance next page.

To note, Koto had been talking all about Aya the moment Erika sat in her apartment. Then why suddenly got annoyed？ You can see Erika's face was full of hope after replying Koto that Aya is pretty fine, but turned to great disappointment (in the same page) when she found out Koto still only focused on Aya.
(Of course, if you can't tell it from the picture. We can't continue this pointless talk)

Erika is not Aya’s therapist or someone whose job it is to reveal to Koto what Aya is really feeling, nor would it be her place even if she were an entirely neutral party to facilitate the obviously unhealthy relationship that Koto wants to have with Aya.

I couldn't care less about that part. Aya is far more stronger in mind than the other two. For crying out loud, she is the only one who can survive in an unrequited love as a fucking 14 yo lol.

You of course are free to be “disgusted” by anything you choose.

Yes, l know. What are you trying to say here？
l just don't know where your hostility comes from. But l guess l don't actually care. You are free to hate me.

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

Gonna need examples of Erika trying to be manipulative.

①Chapter 1：
→"Well, anyway, we're going to be busy with the club. There's no need for us to be in love yet, right？"

Erika's trying to let the other two think it's a bad idea if they choose to date right now. But it was mainly said towards Koto. You can see Koto was feeling the pressure (next picture) because she knew Aya loved acting and always be the lead role of their drama club. Erika implied "you might disturb Aya if you ask her to go out" here.

However, it turned out Koto still can't help but confess. Erika is suck at manipulating people all due to her not knowing that person who she wants to manipulate pretty well (and never notice that fact). Koto has the most selfish character out of the trio. Normally, people who had been refused will be hesitant to confess again for fearing he/she might feel bothered, but Koto couldn't care less.

Compared to Aya, who successfully pushed Koto to do the script things while jokingly playing Koto around at the same time. Yes, Erika literally has no talent in this area.

②Chapter 3：
→"So, if your feelings died down and you move on…You have to make it clear to her, don't you think？"

Even that's the case, you don't have to say in this way. As their friends, "You have to figure out how you feels about her now" is far more appropriate in this situation. But of course l can get it, Erika loves Koto and wants to lead her to think she has no feelings towards Aya now. It's understandable.

③Chapter 16：
→"She's fine. It's even surprising."

That's the reply when Koto ask "How is Aya-chan？" Erika knows Aya is not really fine but still chose to say that. She wants Koto to move on so badly to the degree that she is disgusting me here. Erika thought Koto would be miraculously moving forward if she acknowledges Aya doesn't even feel any sorrow about their breakup (while it's not the truth lol). So we can see why she gets mad next page that Koto is still all about Aya as usual.

I have said it before and l am going to say it again. Holding an unrequited love that long is never a good thing. Ultimately, you will be hurting the people you love because you can't control yourself, to think you already cost too much on it.

Accepting someone might never loves you back is a maturity which should be marked with a red line.

I give up. This is a manga not a novel. Sometimes we can simply tell character's emotion from the picture. The text is not the only and usual way to show it. But l guess it's pointless since you can't even sense Koto's unhappiness in chapter 7 when it's like a piece of cake to me. And l don't have the obligation to teach you.

It’s reasonable to speculate that Erika expressed her jealousy to Aya at the festival, but we have no solid evidence about that. Erika’s present-day guilt and self-loathing could simply be about wishing for something bad to happen to her friends’ relationship that then actually happened. (And the story has made it crystal-clear that Aya and Erika actually were friends (as well as rivals) in middle school.)

I don't think it's a coincidence that author let Aya and Koto both use the same word (親友) to describe the friendship they have with Erika. And the different way how Erika reacted to it (guilty degree) is very interesting (chapter 12 and chapter 8). That's even before Aya broke up with Koto.

But ofc there's nothing l can say if you can't tell the difference.
(l am not intended to insult you or anything. Just l still remember our debate before. You seem like not very sensitive when it comes to people's emotional issues)

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 10:36AM

I don't know about Nadeshiko, but how is Yuu the "same type of person" as Akira (or Erika)? What exactly is this type supposed to be? I don't see the connection. If anything, Sayaka from Bloom Into You has way more in common with these characters than Yuu does.

Serious personality type, which makes you feel you can't even play a joke on them. It's just my preference.

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 6:16AM

Don't know why some people have to paint Erika as a perfectly innocent angel in the whole story while it's obvious not the case. Because you can't like her anymore if she truly had done something bad in the past？(real angel is boring as hell anyways. Like Tsukasa from Nanashi no Asterism and Mayuki from An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles)
I am curious what even makes you like this character in the first place.

I admit l don't like Erika at all, not even a little. However, it has nothing to do with her behalf. From the very beginning, she is not the type of person l will like. It's the same l don't like Yuu (Bloom Into You), Nadeshiko (Nanashi no Asterism), and Akira (An Easy Introduction to Love Triangles).

Maybe this forum should have been called "We all hate Koto". I have noticed people getting more criticism when they have something to say about Erika. I didn't get a "Koto hater" name even though l said a lot about her not that long time ago.

To be clear, even if Erika is the main cause of Aya's disappearance back then and does try to encourage them to break up, it doesn't mean she is a bad person or anything (well, she will be my hatest character in the history if she has a hand in Aya's disappearance since l love Aya so much). Erika is a human and human makes mistake all the time. Same goes for Aya and Koto.

She definitely said something really mean out of jealousy and furiousness towards Aya that day, which goes back to hunt her after Aya disappeared to the point she can't stop hating herself.
(Even as an adult now, she barely can control herself in chapter 13. You can't convince me she was far more mature in her 14)

last edited at Nov 7, 2024 6:38AM

Erika really isn't all that much of a schemer or manipulator, because she simply doesn't have the skills for it lol.

She's suck but it doesn't mean she never tried lol.

I honestly think Aya is actually the most talented in this area. Koto just win by her age.
(The same, you can be so talented but don't want to do it at all at the same time)

last edited at Nov 6, 2024 12:51AM

After reading chapter 3.5 and chapter 4.5 (total 12 pages, you can only see it in paperback edition, maybe even translator doesn't have it), l think Aya does see Erika as an important friend, despite not loving her in romantic way, she's equal to Koto. That's why she did went to the Tanabata festival but chose not to meet Koto after that conversation with Erika. Aya's blaming herself for ruining the friendship triangle by accepting Koto's confession.
( l can be sure Erika said something mean like l wish you never exist in the first place etc. We can see in chapter 4, chapter 8, chapter 12, and chapter 13, where Erika feels guilty and self-hatred. The real reason Erika also be trapped in the past and can't give up on Koto)
It can also explain Aya only comes back because Koto and Erika (finally) both want it to happen.

I have to say l feel really complexed towards Erika now. While she does help Aya a lot, she also let Aya deal with Koto's sadness and trauma alone without knowing what Koto had been through in that seven years.
Yes, it should be Koto's right to decide whether telling Aya or not. However, if Erika tells Aya to figure out her true feelings towards present Koto (deciding to get involved into friend's love affair anyways), she should also give Aya the information.

I have next chapter and no, they didn't have sex or anything like that

No offense.
Really confused since translator is the one who makes the rule of no spoiler here.

Edited：l gotta say l lost all respect towards translator because he can't even follow the rule himself. Now who would give a fuck of no spoiler rule？It's not like l don't want to discuss it immediately when raw chapter 8 came out.

I'm grateful for translator's hard works and high quality translation. It gives me a place to discuss my favorite manga. However, l feel betrayal by now.

last edited at Oct 29, 2024 8:28PM

Erika, after learning that her best friend and decade-long crush started emotionally abusing her girlfriend and then got dumped: "Surely now is the right time to tell her my feelings."

(I like Erika but she needs a reality check almost as much as Koto does lol.)

Clearly, Erika is not very sagacious regarding this kind of things.
Like in chapter 8, even though Koto told her she broke up because she wasn't able to reciprocate that kind of feelings, Erika "She got a boyfriend. Surely Koto can fall in love now".

It's not like l hate her for that or anything.
Just…l can understand why Koto falls for an outsider and not her childhood friend.

last edited at Oct 10, 2024 1:48PM

While it's not a bad thing they broke up, l still feel very uncomfortable that Erika actually plays a vital role in it. If she hadn't asked Aya the question of her feelings towards present Koto, Aya would eventually but take a longer time to notice that fact, which l would prefer in that way.

I'm not saying Erika shouldn't help her friend when they ask her for help or advice. However, as their friend, especially when you are in love with one of them, you have to be very careful and not to get involved in "couple's issues". Though clearly Erika can't control herself anymore.

Yes, Erika never really had done anything bad towards Aya since the day she came back. It just doesn't feel right what Erika is going to do now (decide to pursue Koto right away after they broke up a moment ago). I can't imagine how hurt Aya would be if she finds out Erika never really wants their relationship to work out when faking a face of a supporting friend in front of her and Koto. I guess it would be a bit too much for a child to handle.

And Erika's negative self talk is somehow so hypocritical in this chapter. Like she thought " How can l do such a terrible thing？" but still chose to push Aya off the cliff after 5 seconds.

It's nice to come back here after every chapter and see a new theory about how somehow Erika is to blame for everything, even after a chapter she was barely in. I appreciate the consistency, just like how Aya appreciated Koto's consistency.

Relax. No one is blaming Erika here lol.

However, the idea that Aya had no reason to leave her situation is pretty much directly unambiguously contradicted by the manga's text. Aya and Koto were actively talking about running away together, remember? Aya's life continued to get more and more unbearable after the end of this flashback, to the point where we see her in chapter 1 where she'd rather anything but to be here and now.

No. And it is so uncomfortable to see you trying to explain her action in this way. Aya never really complains anything that happens to her. Although her situation is so shitty, she always keeps moving forward nonetheless. The girl with such a powerful mind while being a fucking teenager. Even adult Erika is no match for her. To think Aya is still a 14 yo child. I can't imagine what kind of adult she would become.

That's why you are not gonna convince me Aya wants to escape from anything after knowing her from entire fourteen chapters.

Aya's "if not here, where is it？" is just a question, as simple as that. Considering she's still a minor, her grandpa's unavoidable death will lead her to leave the town where she once thought she belongs to (no matter adapted by her relative or taken care by the government).

Fun fact：Aya is still looking somewhere in chapter 5. Is it because Aya wants to escape from Koto in that chapter？ l don't think so.

I have never meet a character like Aya before. She is like the most wonderful thing you can only meet once in your entire lifetime. That's no wonder why Koto never really gets over her.

last edited at Sep 8, 2024 12:45AM

I wouldn't be so sure. We also saw in this chapter that, after her grandmother died, her grandfather's mental capacities started declining rapidly. With her mother not in the picture, Aya was facing the prospect of soon having to become a full-time caretaker of a senile elder while still only being 14 herself. This is a situation almost anyone would want to escape from.

Well, other people maybe. But this is Aya.
A ridiculous 14 yo who has an incredible strong heart. Since she never gives up on anything, nor does she ever even consider it, l will tend to believe that's not the case.

In Chapter 3, Aya says that when she found out her grandfather was dead, "The first thing that came to my mind was that it was finally over."

Yeah, l remember that part of story.

(This is my way of understanding, you can disagree with me)
Aya's biggest fear is things will end up changing. She is so fed up with losing sb dear to her.
First, her friends, then her mom, now her grandma.

Her grandfather is dying in a slowest way. She knows she will lose him eventually. That's why she acted that complex way in chapter 3.

last edited at Sep 7, 2024 1:33PM

I wouldn't be so sure. We also saw in this chapter that, after her grandmother died, her grandfather's mental capacities started declining rapidly. With her mother not in the picture, Aya was facing the prospect of soon having to become a full-time caretaker of a senile elder while still only being 14 herself. This is a situation almost anyone would want to escape from.

Well, other people maybe. But this is Aya.
A ridiculous 14 yo who has an incredible strong heart. Since she never gives up on anything, nor does she ever even consider it, l will tend to believe that's not the case.

last edited at Sep 7, 2024 1:04PM

After reading chapter 14, l tend to believe the theory Erika is the cause of why Aya disappeared in the first place.
Aya definitely has no motivation to wish herself away. Her looking for "if not here, where is it？" was just an imagination of the place she truly belongs to.
Some of the readers had been misled by the way the author intentionally showed us. You had been tricked (just like Koto). Freedom is not that important in Aya's desire list.

She longs for something which would never change. She loves Koto because she believes she (Koto) is the last person in this world would have a change.

However, like l said before, Aya never gets to understand the real weight of that "love" she asked for. That's why l am glad she can start experiencing now. To figure it out if "this" is what she really wants.

last edited at Sep 7, 2024 12:34PM

First thought I have when seeing your name is "oh look it's that poster who thinks Erika killed their firstborn".
Sorry I've just been skimming your posts for a few chapters now because I wrote them off as little more than unfiltered hatred for Erika.

It's not like l care. You can go ahead.

Or perhaps I'm confusing you with another poster that doesn't have a profile pic?

If others have similar thoughts about your posts, you may want to consider condensing your posts a bit so they're not as easy to misinterpret and/or adding a profile pic that makes you easier to identify.

You know there's a reason l don't even want to talk to you？You are so condescending.
Don't bother to quote me again, l won't reply.

Or it's just laziness and poor reading comprehension on my part.

Not my problem lol.

It's like this: if you and I both read a scene of Erika thinking "I'm such a piece of shit" and I go "poor Erika, she has such a poor self image, because she's obviously a good person based on her actions" and you go "that piece of shit Erika has an accurate self image, so all her actions probably have secret bad intentions," we're both making choices, informed by the context of the story and our personalities and experiences.

You literally made me spill my drink because I can't stop laughing when reading your text.

"that piece of shit Erika has an accurate self image, so all her actions probably have secret bad intentions,"
That's not true. I never consider Erika a bad person. And having bad intention doesn't mean she's one. Same goes for Koto.

"As the one who's not being loved, Erika always compromises her own principles when things related to Koto."
I actually believe Erika has a high moral standard. However, this standard can be changed when things related to Koto. She does sincerely see Aya as a friend but has to use her like a tool to make Koto change. That's the reason she has self-loathing when Aya said "you're really a great friend". Because she knows she isn't in her own standard.

And in such a situation where people have essentially opposite readings of the same text, is it not understandable that people might wonder why you read Erika unsympathetically compared to those who read her sympathetically?

I won't deny l can't sympathize with her compared to Koto due to my own life experience. But l don't think l am being especially harsh on Erika. You can even see my previous post to get the same conclusion that l hate Koto, which is really far away from the truth.

I don't think I've seen anything concrete in the story or discussion that points to Erika deserving to be seen in such a negative light except her own thoughts where she feels guilty for hoping for a happiness that would come at the expense of her friend. And I'd point to that guilt as itself evidence of her being good: she doesn't embrace that desire, she's repeatedly shown resisting it and feeling terrible for even having the passing thought. And I think having a selfish thought and feeling bad about it and not acting on it is a pretty normal relatable thing, personally.

I have to disagree here. From my point of view, I think Erika did ACT on it. Several times.

Chapter 1：
"There's no need for us to be in love yet, right？"
The last, hopeless act trying to stop Koto to confess again.

Chapter 3：
"If your feelings died down and you move on…You have to make it clear to her, don't you think？"
You can't sense anything wrong in this way of speaking？

Chapter 13：
Throwing her laundry basket hard on the sofa with Aya sitting very next to it.

One thing to be clear. Erika hasn't done anything l would see her as a villain yet. Her action is quite realistic as the one who is hopelessly in unrequited love with someone.

If Erika didn't try to do anything in this chapter, Aya would come home the same day Koto thinks it's right time to show up at Erika's frontdoor and apologize.

You do realize that when you make these categorical assertions without evidence from the text about what characters are really thinking even though we haven’t seen them thinking it or what would hypothetically happen instead of what actually happens that there’s no reason for anyone else to believe it, right?

When story is written with such good characterization, it only be natural for readers to assume what they would possibly do or think even without text showing it.
You definitely can not believe it and make your own guess (or not wanna do it at all).
It's not like l care, tbh.

Edited： l still remember you asked me evidence for why Koto actually doesn't want Aya really landing on a part time job like 5 months ago.

last edited at Aug 6, 2024 7:58PM

I think l have to make it clear.
Tbh, I don't even care a bit if it turns out Erika being a villain ( l don't think she is as of now). Nor do l have interest in painting her as one.
I like analyzing character's intention behind their actions. Why they are doing this？What goal do they try to achieve？
It's an enjoyment when the story is written in a realistic style (except time traveling and the cause of it. That's the part l don't want to discuss).

You can disagree with me and express your own opinions, which might convince me (or not). I don't get the point of accusing someone hating certain character while they did explain why they are viewing things this way.

The same goes for Koto.
When l say l consider Koto is a genius manipulator, l think it's a finest way to describe the imbalance power she has over the others.

For Aya, because she is still a kid. As an adult, Koto can easily sense her emotions and kinda predict the action she will take.
If Erika didn't try to do anything in this chapter, Aya would come home the same day Koto thinks it's right time to show up at Erika's frontdoor and apologize.
Despite being a ridiculous 14yo kid, Aya still lacks a great amount of life experience comparing to Koto or Erika. She would believe Koto's promise even if she did value her freedom the most.

For Erika, because her unrequited love (obsession？) for Koto. As the one who's not being loved, Erika always compromises her own principles when things related to Koto.

Aya has her own issues too, which l might give a further talk when chapter 15 is updated.