Rottcodd
I thought to mention those too.
I assume you noticed that I posted chapter 11 of it the other day, then deleted it. And likely figured out why - because I only read it after I posted it, and the translation is so awful that I couldn’t in good conscience leave it up. And I didn’t even bother with chapter 12 - I just read enough of it to find it was the same.
A lot of the problem though isnt just that the translation is poor - it’s that that particular manga needs a good translation just to work. Since so much of it is centered around duplicitous supposed friends, much of the conflict is communicated by subtle things the characters say, or notably don’t say, to each other. It’s all little digs and innuendos and passive-aggression, and all of that gets lost with a poor translation.
So I’m waiting and hoping for a better one.
And that’s part of the reason that this one is okay. It is at least a bit better overall, but also, the dialogue and thoughts are straightforward - it’s not people playing complex mind games, but just Hiiragi witnessing her own life. So even when the phrasing isn’t quite clear, we can work out what was meant, since it’s simple and earnest.
I debated posting chapter 11 because of the MTL, but with 12 too, and the fact that it’s at least readable, I went ahead.
I do suffer from social anxiety, so this manga really hits home for me. I’ve never been as low energy as Hiiragi, but if you just substitute an endless parade of hobbies and diversions for sleeping, her life is much like mine.
And that’s a lot of what I appreciate about this manga - it’s one of the clearest and most accurate portrayals of social anxiety snd depression I’ve seen, and it’s nicely balanced - neither overly sympathetic nor judgmental. It’s just… realistic. And a bit hopeful.
There was a moment there, after we met mom and found out she’s more or less as much of a goofball/troll as onee-chan, and dad was there but out of frame, when I just knew he was going to be like Chie. And sure enough - even the same ahoge.
Yeah - I immediately smiled when I saw Usagi. I’d like to see some focus on her and Takae - I think they’d have an interesting relationship, since they’re similar in some ways and polar opposite in others.
And hopefully, broadly, this whole situation will lead to Saotone finally working up the determination to stand up for himself. I’m not holding my breath though…
Wow - a surprise guest appearance by the character the manga is actually named after. I didn’t expect that.
I suspect that that was a retcon - that the author wasn’t satisfied with the master character for whatever reason, or maybe just preferred Uruchika (as do I), so just ended up shifting the focus to Uruchika. And then had to do… something. And this was it.
It is sort of odd, but there jave been periods during which Chikagecwas basically incommunicado so it’s not entirely out of line. I think it’ll work out, and if the series runs long enough, the master will get a chance to be a recurring character.
Ooh…
I expected this chapter to pick up where the last one left off - with her walking through the door to save him from his awful day.
Nice twist though to flashback through her day, which was at least equally awful.
So now we know that they both need healing, and they both immediately thought of the other.
The next chapter’s going to be glorious…
Go mom!
This is an odd situation. Mom’s basically right about Sanda, and about Yagiuda’s effect on him - Sanda really has been conned into being submissive to adults who mean him harm. But at this point, Sagiuda isn’t one of them. He’s sincere. But that’s part of the problem.
Sanda’s earnest and naive and sort of willfully ignorant. He’s not very good at thinking about difficult things and he’d rather not do it. And Yagiuda provided some crucial feedback to him early on - he was the first adult that Sanda decided to go ahead and trust anyway, when he really shouldn’t have. And just sort of coincidentally, Yagiuda really ended up more or less worthy of that trust, so Sanda could just ignore all the difficult stuff and go back to being a dumb kid and get away with it, and he did.
But now that’s become a pattern. Whenever he’s faced with an adult who means him harm, he wants to go ahead and trust them and submit to them so he can just keep on being a dumb kid. And it’s not working out for him like it did with Yagiuda, but he’s so busy being a dumb kid that he’s not aware of that.
So it’s arguably a good thing that mom is stepping in to show him that some people just cannot be trusted ever and really need to be dealt with fully. It’s just sort of unfortunate that she’s directing that against someone who actually can be trusted, rather than one of the many (most notably the headmaster) who really do need to be dealt with… with extreme prejudice.
Curious to see how this plays out…
Finally caught up with this.
First, it’s notable that it took this long to read 28 chapters, and a reflection of the fact that it was a slog.
And it’s either the case that the “last chapter” bit is misleading or that it was entirely unexpectedly axed, since the story isn’t even close to wrapping up.
I really can’t recommend it. It’s not entirely awful, and there’s still some intriguing mysteries that might shift the tone a bit, but as it is the story is too rushed and superficial, and pretty much every character, and most notably the protagonist, are all some variety of loathsome POS. In fact, the few characters who weren’t utterly loathsome were apparently there solely to be murdered, and just as likely murdered by the protagonist as by the supposed villains.
I’m not sure if I’m going to keep following it or not. There’s one specific mystery that’s been broadly hinted at that could undermine everything - could make the protagonist manipulated and/or delusional instead of what he appears to be - just a smug, self-absorbed and entirely conscienceless POS. I still want to give NISIOISIN the benefit of the doubt but…