Finally I don't have to dance around Haruyo.
There were a few hints this was a combined school — the most obvious being girls calling Momo "senpai" in chapter 4. Momo is a 1st year, so only middle schoolers would be saying that. Momo and Kuwa made indirect references to starting here in middle school too. And accessories like ribbons are commonly used to differentiate groups of students. We knew back in chapter 2 Haruyo was in a class with checkered ribbons. At the end of chapter 3 it's Kasumi's ribbon Haruyo focuses on, not the brooch. If you think about it, it's too coincidental for Haruyo to accidentally find Kasumi right after telling her to visit a specific place on a specific day. She walked by knowing it was her.
All that's to say you could have guessed this, but I didn't. These clues are tucked behind moments of high emotion or the same biased perspective Kasumi had of Haruyo. So when the reveal came I remember saying, "Oh wow," out loud.
There's a much longer conversation I need to have in the chapter 6 credits about register, the level of formality in speech. But Haruyo's language in the letters changes after finding out the truth. From flowery, to respectful with less elaborate vocab. She speaks that way too, treating Kasumi like an upperclassman. And Kasumi does the same, talking down to Haruyo once realizing she's younger. That's part of the shift in Kasumi's demeanor, from bitter wariness to comforting, though I think she's half blinded by her crush.
Mind you there's only a year difference between Kasumi and Haruyo; Japanese school systems are a bit different with 3 years of middle and 3 of high school. So it's effectively a sophomore x freshman. But it's more about the principle. The younger onee-sama putting on airs, the older little sister worn down by experience. (And that height gap.) That's what this manga is about: contrasts, anxiously guarded secrets, fantasies clashing with cold reality, and sometimes cold fears being blown away by warm truths.
In a sense, everything so far has been prologue. Building up the fantasy of "Onee-sama" to bring it crashing down last chapter and dismantled here into something awkwardly real. And while that might sound like a waste, trust me until you see what's in store.
ＣＯＲＲＥＣＴＩＯＮ: So uh it's come to my attention Kuwa wants to be in the FBI. See, in Japanese it's written vertically, and being an idiot I mistook the I for a dash and went hunting across Japanese internet to find what "FB-" stood for. Closest I could approximate was Family Business. Thankfully it's not incredibly major and I've updated it, but if there's any confusion that's why.
Little things I'm going to ramble on:
- Haruyo says "I'm very sorry I went back on my word that day." She didn't leave the letter the day after. She spent days agonizing over what she'd done. There's no timeframe given but it's probably been a week at least. Even though Haruyo replied 2 days later to Kasumi's letter, I'm sure she was checking every day. It probably just took her time to work up the courage.
- There's 4 things to take from Kuwa's moment: Hiding the truth out of kindness, projecting confidence over uncertainty, the sides we never see to the people closest to us, and the impermanence of relationships. They all cause Kasumi to reflect on Onee-sama, destabilizing her anger. Recontextualizing Onee-sama as a flawed human after the ideal she'd built up shattered. But it's the last one that's contrasted with Haruyo's response: Haruyo begs for everything to go back to how it was. Kasumi rejects that and demands they meet in person. Before you're aware, this highlights Haruyo's naivete and Kasumi's maturity. They can never go back. But it's not impossible to salvage their relationship into something new.
- Kasumi's monologue walks a razors edge between maturely rationalizing what happened and once again giving into self-loathing. She berates herself for doubting Onee-sama, convinces herself Onee-sama must be hurting more, and downplays her anger as childish when it came from a place of self-preservation. Even if it ultimately turned out for the best her confidence issues are still on full display.
- There's such perfect contrast between the spread on 24, showcasing Haruyo's height, and the 90° turn next page that shows her small and helpless dwarfed by the building behind her. The way her shoulders are bunched up, arms tight clutching the rose that blends into her. She looks so uncomfortable all the way until 31 when Kasumi asks if she's Onee-sama.
last edited at Jul 21, 2025 6:32AM
