First, I will start with some questions and then move into impressions, predictions, wishes, that sorta thing.
Story questions, comments, predictions and such things; many spoilers here, and also long...
It is so weird to see Suwa include and encourage Kakeru to hang out with them so much (inviting him to the football club and such), when it is also so clear that he is interested in Naho. Honestly, the thing that made me cry this chapter was when Suwa and Kakeru was walking home and Naho joined them, and Suwa bowed out to let them be alone. Just the heartache in his expressions are so:
You know what I want the new future to look like? A modern threesome/three-way poly relationship (not sure what they are called). Kakeru, Suwa and Naho all together in one happy couple three-ouple.
Kakeru’s bonk on Naho’s head early on was so much fun. Especially everyone’s reactions around it. (Except Suwa’s, his is just sad )
I understand Naho so well. When she’s debating whether to make a bento or not, what would cause the most trouble for her and for Kakeru, would he accept it?, would he be happy to get it or embarrassed? Etc.
And while I probably would have managed to give Kakeru the bento for lunch, actually I’d probably have given it to him first thing in the morning rather than have that clawing at me until lunch. I get why Naho doesn’t. I also get why she reacted so strongly when Kakeru tried to take her bag to help her carry it. She was both embarrassed and feeling guilty. She had this good food for him but she’d been to shy/embarrassed to give it to him. The guilt would have been so much. And then he goes to be all nice and gentlemanly and she just feels worse.
Not how anyone would like to react, which is why she apologized, staying behind and probably telling Azu and company to go home without her. So honestly, while I can understand how someone could find that annoying, I also kinda can’t.
I like how she has such good intentions and try to carry them out and still it falls short of what she wants to do. It makes her so human.
Same reason why I like good guy Suwa. He could go being super jealous and try to push Kakeru away, it would probably be the most common way this kind of conflict would show up. But instead, we see a person having the conflict of seeing the girl he likes falling for another and he chooses friendship (instead of strife/envy), and doesn’t try to interfere to stop the romance, instead he helps it along.
I was a little confused in the middle. I think Naho started to decide she wouldn’t read the letters any further, but then that goodbye at the park, where she could see how much Kakeru was hurting, she realized how much she wanted to make him not hurt and if future Naho could help her, then reading she will.
Another thing, did I understand it correctly that Kakeru promised his mother he wouldn’t join any clubs? Seems like such a weird promise. But then, it also looks like if Kakeru hadn’t gone with them to Azu’s family bakery, that Kakeru might have been able to stop/prevent his mother’s suicide. I expect to learn more in the future.
For me, it doesn’t seem strange. Sometimes I’ve found it so much easier to tell my trouble to virtual strangers, than it might to someone I care a lot for. All that not wanting to be a burden stuff, but with a stranger (or close to it) it doesn’t matter so much. If they walk away, I hadn’t invested a lot in them already, so it wouldn’t hurt.
Also, sometimes things just have to come out. Naho and Kakeru clearly have this instant connection and the ability to see what they try to hide from most people. That kinda understanding would make it feel safer to tell Naho, and certainly more comfortable than telling any of his other new friends. Honestly, sometimes you just need someone to know so you’re not carrying it all yourself.
Argh, this is already super long but I’m finding it so interesting and fun, and I don’t have anyone else to talk to about this so… a little more.
So we get to see all of them (that are alive) in the future. Although if I understood it right, this was the first time since graduating high school that they were all together again? I wonder what made them get together right then, if they revealed that in this chapter, I missed it. Also kinda sad, but not unusual for school friend groups to stop hanging out when spreading out across different schools/jobs.
And we learn how Kakeru dies. Well, we learn he dies in an accident, and not a detail more about it, except possibly that Naho can save him from that accident. That kinda made me quite revealed, because considering his mental health, I was fearing he’d go the same way as his mom. T_T
Anyway, I’ll shut up now.