I think this part is pretty interesting because… before @Sylph brought it up, I had read it differently from you and never doubted my interpretation.
I read it ironically as something like “even if you went artificial, no way you could manufacture such a smile” = it is too perfect (implying something’s off).
It kind of depends on how you parse でも, it could be either など “something like” or であっても “even if it were”. I picked the second option instinctively. At that point, there is still the literal reading: “even if it were artificial, it wouldn’t be like this [this perfect/great/etc.]” (implying “it was really superb”) but, simply put, I found the comparison too strange to be genuine—plus the protagonist is generally sarcastic, so I read it ironically. Plus, I guess it’s just the kind of cliché character that popped in my mind.
I agree with your parse, I just don’t think it’s ironic. Asakura is generally (and has before been) described as being super perfect and nice and sincere.
Hmm, I guess I just didn’t get that impression as much as you did… or simply I’m too genre-savvy. I fully expect her to turn out to be the so-called “bitch in sheep’s clothing” Although now that I think about it, the narrator has a history of making stranger comparisons so you may well be right… it’s just interpretation at this point anyway.
… I’m already lost with character names.
That’s the class president, right? If so, I thought her character was genuinely nice, but now that I have read @Carvs’ message above, it really makes sense to me.
In any case, though, I also don’t think Kyon would be sarcastic. At the very least, he has no way to know whether she is like that.
Yeah I think that’s her… must say I don’t remember all that well either so take what I say with a grain of salt. Maybe it’s just my re-reading the passage now and going all “oh must be that”.
Isn’t he narrating from an a posteriori view, though? He mentions several times “I didn’t know it then but…” if I remember correctly. So I always assumed that he was half-sarcastic all the time.
Oh, true. I just thought it was just one of those times he was not sarcastic
Anyway, if we see more of her character, we may get a more definitive answer. (If we don’t, I guess it doesn’t really matter… but the author has been through the trouble of giving her a name and make her interact with the protagonists, sooo I think she will be recurring at least)
Honestly think half the reason I want to stick with this book is so that I can see reactions from people who’ve never read it yet as their predictions of future events pay out… or don’t.
That waffles back and forth. If the narration was entirely from that perspective, there wouldn’t really be any tension. And there’d be no reason to ask himself まさか、俺にも一枚噛 めと言うんじゃないだろうな。 if he was always speaking from the perspective of already knowing
