We’re at the halfway point for this volume’s first chapter.
Considering は and が will only ever attach to a noun (or noun phrase with の), that should help us out a little on understanding.
It’s important to know what functions は and が each have.
I’ll proceed here assuming you have either followed the link and read what I wrote, or you that you already have a basic to moderate understanding of は’s role as identifying the topic in the topic-comment sentence structure, and が’s role as identifying the subject that is either performing an action (verb sentence), being defined (noun sentence), or being decribed (adjective sentence).
Continued under a details for length and discussing page 11 dialogue...
If we visualize this with the noun phrase in 『quotes』 (to help visualize), we get:
「『こういう時に目を合わせなきゃいけないの』は残酷に感じる」
Considering the noun phrase is acting as a noun here, we can also think of this as:
「『noun』は残酷に感じる」
The topic here is: (noun)
The comment is: “cruelly feels”, but in English, “feels cruel” reads better.
This comment is a feeling (with an adverb, cruelly).
But what is the comment on the topic of? The topic being commented on is the noun with は attached to it. However, having a whole sentence (phrase) stuffed in that noun slot makes it a lot more complex.
Let’s look at some simpler examples first.
Momoko ends up being tutored in basketball by Ritsu, the boy she likes from her class. At one point, she successfully tosses the ball through the basket.
Ritsu: 「すごい。やったね」
Momoko: （すごいのは律くんだ）
To a new learner, it might look like she’s saying that すごい is Ritsu, but that’s not quite right.
Remember, a noun is the name of a person, a place, or a thing.
As such, you can think of すごいの not as 「すごい」 but rather as 「すごい[person]」 or 「すごい[place]」 or 「すごい[thing]」 (depending on context). Or, otherwise, think of it as 「the すごい one」
Since Ritsu said that Momoko is すごい, Momoko thinks, “(Regarding) the すごい person, it is Ritsu.”
(By the way, you can see one reason は is considered contrastive here. “In contrast to me, Ritsu is the すごい one.”)
Akiko plots a fake kidnapping to get attention from her workaholic father. The butler helps, only for Akiko to be kidnapped for real. After Akiko is found and the culprit arrested, her father gets ready to let the butler have it. Akiko steps in, saying the butler isn’t in the wrong.
Akiko: 「悪いのは晶子よ！！」
Topic: “The bad one…”
Comment: “…it is Akiko!”
(You can see the contrast here as well. “Rather than the butler, Akiko is the bad one.”)
Let’s try something a little more complex in the noun phrase topic slot.
Nishikata was up late watching an anime. He gets to class late, and is pretending it’s because he caught a cold. Takagi surmises as much and says so to him. Nishikata shouts back that she’s being too loud. This catches the teacher’s attention.
Teacher: 「声デカいのはお前だ」
Topic: “The loud voiced one…”
Comment: “…it is you.”
(Likewise on the contrast: “Other than Takagi, you are the loud one.”)
How about making the topic a little longer?
Zen behaved badly around Shimana to the point he decides to move out of the house where they are both renting rooms. Before he leaves with his things, he talks to Shinama for a bit, with a bit of explanation of his behaviour and an apology.
Shimana (narration): 「謝らなきゃいけないのは私のに」
Topic: “The one who needs to apologize…”
Comment: “…it is me, and yet…”
(And there’s that contrast again: “Rather than Zen, it’s me who should be apologizing.”)
I purposefully focused on noun phrases that ended in an adjective to keep all the examples similar, since that’s what we have here on page 11.
「『こういう時に目を合わせなきゃいけないの』は残酷に感じる」
Topic: “The thing of having to look in the eye at such a time as this…”
Comment: “…cruelly feeling.”
You can think of it as the act of “having to look Itsuomi in this eye at a time like thing” as being what has a cruel feeling for Yuki.
How about のが?
Remember, が simple marks the subject, so the noun or noun phrase before it is the person, place, or thing that is doing the action (verb sentence), or being defined (noun sentence), or being described (adjective sentence).
At a club retreat, curry is being fixed for everyone.
Takeru: 「めちゃくちゃ辛いのがいいスよね！！」
Subject: absurdly spicy one (referring to curry)
Adjective description: good
Rin: 「私も辛いのが好きです」
(Inclusive) Topic: Me (also)
Comment:
— Subject: spicy one (curry)
— Adjective description: like
