Alright, had to dive back into this because the Yuu hate felt... seriously off. And yeah, after a re-read, my gut was absolutely right. It's not just that protagonists confessing after drama is common (generally someone confess to the protagonist and the love interest see and we get drama, here was the other way around); it's that the narrative heavily leans on the girls' perspectives, leaving Yuu's internal struggles mostly in the shadows until the very end.
People forget, or maybe as the story doesn't scream it enough from his PoV, but Yuu was crushing on Hikari for AGES. We see this clearly when he tells Yami about Hikari (Chapter 23: "There's someone there I want to catch up to, to stand beside"). His attempt to get into her high school, despite the odds (revealed in Chapters 16 & 17), wasn't a whim; it was a testament to his long-standing, one-sided love. Hikari herself admits internally she would have rejected him flat out if he'd confessed back then (Chapter 17: "The 'manly' me back then, according to her. The me who had never even considered romance. I might not have nodded yes to his confession."). She literally only saw him as a childhood friend, almost a younger brother figure, for the longest time.
Then Yami enters the picture. And let's be brutally honest, based on Yami's own recollections (Chapters 22-30, especially 29 & 30), she was the one who initiated and escalated their physical relationship, used him to cope with her own immense trauma, and then abruptly cut him off without a real explanation, leaving him in the dark. For her to then reappear and, in Chapter 40, unleash that tirade blaming him for not magically finding her or "chasing her enough" despite her being the one to ghost him? That's an incredibly unfair burden to place on anyone, let alone a teenage boy who was clearly just as invested. Of course, he'd be emotionally guarded after an experience like that. It's no wonder he tells Seki (Chapter 12) that his feelings for "someone" (Hikari) existed before he even met Seki, showing his emotional landscape was already complicated.
So, when Hikari finally catches feelings (like the title clearly spells out), Yuu is initially... cautious. That's not him being "indecisive"; that's a kid who's been burned, trying to protect himself. Remember Chapter 1? Hikari leans on his back, and there's no emotional flicker from him mentioned. Fast forward to Chapter 18, same scenario, and he's blushing intensely. That's him responding to Hikari (finally) showing some (albeit incredibly confusing and often demanding) interest. He isn't just "going with any person"; he showed zero romantic interest in Seki or Matsuyama (Chapter 16). His focus has always been narrow.
And let's talk about Hikari's "interest." She herself knows she's a handful (Chapter 19 is a prime example: "Even I can't defend myself today."). The whole festival invitation drama, where she spiraled because he hesitated for a moment? He didn't even say no! He ended up practically begging to go because she made him feel like he'd ruined everything. She repeatedly puts him in situations where he can't win, expecting him to read her mind. How many of us would keep pursuing someone who consistently pushes away or sends such mixed signals? Both Yami and Hikari did this to him in their own ways.
He does try to be open when he feels it's safe. He confessed his feelings of inadequacy to Hikari during their date (Chapter 17), how he always felt he was chasing her shadow, and she interpreted it as him seeing her as a "rival." Then, when he finally gathers the courage to confess his love directly at the festival (Chapters 37-38), a moment that should have been a triumph for both of them, Hikari rejects him (Chapter 38: "But! But! I hate liars!") because of the Yami situation that he was just as blindsided by.
So, why is Yuu getting all this flak? We're seeing the world almost exclusively through the girls' emotionally charged and often unreliable narration. This guy:
- Loved Hikari from afar for years, got no reciprocation.
- Got into an intense relationship with Yami, was deeply invested, then got abruptly abandoned and later blamed for her pain.
- When Hikari finally shows interest, he cautiously opens up again, only to be emotionally manipulated by her mood swings.
- Gets physically and verbally assaulted by Yami in front of Hikari (Chapter 40).
- Confesses his long-held love to Hikari, only to be rejected again.
He's not "indecisive"; he's reacting to the emotional chaos these two create around him. He’s the one consistently putting his heart on the line when he feels there's even a sliver of a chance, only to have it crushed. The poor dude just got slapped and thrown to the ground (literally and figuratively) and rejected by the two people he genuinely cared about. Yeah, that's definitely not going to affect him at all, right? The distress is pretty evenly distributed, if not more so on Yuu's side for being the emotional punching bag. Seriously, cut the guy some slack. What would you guys do in his shoes?
