Suimasen Scans
joined Feb 8, 2024
I think it's neat how well the art shows how conscious Takamine and Sakura are of one another even when they're not directly interacting. Like yeah, there's the obvious bit with Takamine hallucinating her crush in the library, but some of the more subtle paneling decisions really help create the sense that they're always thinking of one another.
The pair of pages with Sakura reading on a park bench and Takamine picking a book in the library are a good example. Sakura is shown on the park bench from an angle that makes it look like there's a big open space in Takamine's usual spot to her right. There's not a big open space to Takamine's left in the panel where Sakura usually stands, but the way the bookshelf extends across the bottom of the page creates the sense someone is missing.
I get the feeling this is symbolizing their feelings being slightly out of sync with one another [like in the last page of ch.5]. Sakura has realized her feelings for Takamine are romantic, but Takamine hasn't quite realized the same. There's another bit later on in this chapter in the park where Takamine is thinking about Sakura, but mostly in the context of how her encouragement makes the world feel less intimidating. Again, in that panel, the open space is to her right.
I thought Hatori was going to go in a completely different direction with, "Why'd you choose Takamine?"
I think it's definitely meant in that way, since Hatori makes the point of saying she has the same build as Takamine. She's just cloaking it behind her usual veil of aloofness. And since Hirose mentions Hatori seeming disinterested as a reason she didn't ask, I think it's why Hatori says it's not a bad thing that she's the one who has changed the most.