I usually read the chapters pretty quickly (in one sitting) but boy did this week's assignment feel shorter than usual, as if I just blinked and saw everything that happened.
Compared to the previous chapter, this one hurt pretty bad. But the nice thing is two of the major plot points in the series are finally revealed! One is in the very first pages of the chapter and the second is in the very last pages And some of you guessed right!
I think it wasnât until after reading this chapter that it didnât strike me that Naho was recording everything in a diary hence why her memory is very detailed (as her future self can easily refer to certain events in her diary). Iâm sure it was mentioned in the opening pages of the first chapter, but I guess I zoned out because I kept wondering how can anyone recall so many details so well from 10 years ago, haha.
This is also the first time Naho chooses to read ahead, which is very necessary because now she knows the truth of Kakeruâs death. And I think I know why future Naho didnât just come right out and tell her what happened from the get-go. I mean Naho knows herself better than anyone. Obviously she didnât fully trust the contents of the letter until more and more of the stuff started coming true as it said it would in the letter.
But also most importantly, I think, maybe she didnât want her past self to be swayed to fall in love with him out of pity knowing that he was suffering and going to commit suicide. Maybe she wanted herself a chance to get to know him and fall in love with his character like her future self did. If she took away that relationship from them, even if Kakeru were saved, I just think it wouldnât be the same.
Itâs like a reverse Florence Nightingale Syndrome, instead of the patient falling in love with the person who takes care of them, the caretaker starts to care deeply about the person that needs saving and itâs confused for love because itâs a very emotional process. Itâs easy to feel pity towards a person that way, but since the roles are unbalanced, itâs not really love because youâre not seeing them as a whole person - just feeling pity for them.
So in this sense, while I was initially frustrated that future Naho didnât just come right out and tell her whatâs up and possibly prevent a lot of drama from happening, itâs also important for present Naho to go through all these experiences with Kakeru (for example, watching him date senpai) so she can affirm her own feelings and decide for herself why Kakeru is so important to her instead of simply being told what to do. After all, if she didnât have these experiences with Kakeru, he would only just be an important person to her future self without any relevance to her current self. And thatâs not going to make much of a romance. 