Kusunoki-san wa Koukou Debut ni Shippai Shite Iru - Ch. 43 - Keisuke-kun... seeing me that way... I’m just overthinking it... Right?

[koga88]

https://imgur.com/a/4PLMW70

Around a week ago, the author asked through Twitter who people's favorite girls are and the vote went overwhemingly to Hebikawa even the author acknowledged it and Kusunoki had even fewer votes than Otobe. Not surprising though since Kusunoki is fucking boring.

Not too surprising honestly. Snake girl is best girl and the tomboy is the next best. This is one where the main female character is legitimately the most boring. Not sure if that's supposed to mimic the whole "failed debut" thing but she really is. I'd much rather there be some big dramatic make-up between MC and Hebikawa than more FMC stuff.

 

[UdenEmpati]

SNAKELETS IN ABSOLUTE SHAMBLES

Kusucons taking things out of context as usual I see

 

[Tinker_OwO]

if she Botans this series I'm gonna be over the moon.

Who's Botan?

 

[Veruschka]

Not single snake appear

0/10 chapter

 

[UdenEmpati]

Who's Botan?

"Ookami Shounen wa Kyou mo Uso o Kasaneru" is the series she's from.

Spoiler: big story ending spoilers

sadly just saying "Botan" in this context kinda gives away the ending of the manga. It's a romcom crossdressing manga involving the ML and an androphobic love interest, but I think the story holds up well enough on its own that even with the contextually-spoiled ending, it's a quite enjoyable (and not too long) read.

 

[Tinker_OwO]

S

"Ookami Shounen wa Kyou mo Uso o Kasaneru" is the series she's from.

Spoiler: big story ending spoilers

sadly just saying "Botan" in this context kinda gives away the ending of the manga. It's a romcom crossdressing manga involving the ML and an androphobic love interest, but I think the story holds up well enough on its own that even with the contextually-spoiled ending, it's a quite enjoyable (and not too long) read.

Seems like a short manga, I'll read it today

Edit: oh shit, it's by the same author of "Coppersmiths Bride" I love that manga. Definitely reading this now

 

[UdenEmpati]

Seems like a short manga, I'll read it today

Edit: oh shit, it's by the same author of "Coppersmiths Bride" I love that manga. Definitely reading this now

I was very pleasantly surprised by it, so I hope you enjoy it as well.

 

[CheesiBoye]

it was all legible & comprehensible, and the language flowed in terms of "natural" English, so I think you did well enough, cheers.


I'm amazed it's taken this long, tbh - though after the events at the maid cafe during the cultural festival I feel like this was coming down the pipeline sooner than later.
I'm curious how Kusunoki will react on the back of starting to become more aware of romance in general - I'm assuming she'd be happy for Otobe just in an abstract sense ("what else are you supposed to say in this situation?"), but I wonder if she'll probe Otobe for questions about how she feels about it to suss out her own perceptions of Keisuke, or something.

I feel like a conversation of the confession leading to them talking abput their feelings for Keisuke has the most potential for melodrama and pace, unless theyre still gping to want to build up the vibe by making it more vague and awkward between the three (i just dont see it (a scene where the two of them get an awkward vibe) happening between the two girls whatsoever)

 

[UdenEmpati]

I feel like a conversation of the confession leading to them talking abput their feelings for Keisuke has the most potential for melodrama and pace, unless theyre still gping to want to build up the vibe by making it more vague and awkward between the three (i just dont see it (a scene where the two of them get an awkward vibe) happening between the two girls whatsoever)

I would have to go back and read Otobe's appearances - but I don't think she has any reason to believe that Kusunoki would have hypothetical feelings for Keisuke.
The fact that she seems so nonchalant about talking to Kusunoki about being confessed to makes me think she might not by shy about the concept of romance, or at least talking about it with someone else (Kusunoki being who she is to Otobe probably helps a lot here), so maybe Otobe might say something like

"I got confessed to, but I need to figure out how to turn them down because I like someone else" in however many words/panels it would take.

Kusunoki says she'll help, and off the back of her convo with those three at the cafe, she maybe asks Otobe who she likes (maybe Otobe having romantic feelings period is big news to Kusunoki, given they've known one another since they were little), and that's when Otobe bashfully admits to liking Keisuke. If she's hesitant to say the name, I expect it to be because she used to dislike him for getting close to Kusunoki; but maybe she'll come out and let his name slip.

And that would maybe startle Kusunoki, who's only just now reassessing her own feelings toward the ML - and the question then becomes whether she freaks out and feels like she has to fight for him, or she decides to lock even thinking about it further inside her and offer to support Otobe in pursuing him.
Either of those feel like effective ways to introduce further drama/narrative tension, especially with Hebikawa in the mix independent of their impending conversation (assuming Keisuke comes up during their talk next chapter, of course) - the only difference being one further sees Kusunoki's romantic arc delayed all the more.

 

[PrototypicalLurker]

https://imgur.com/a/4PLMW70

Around a week ago, the author asked through Twitter who people's favorite girls are and the vote went overwhemingly to Hebikawa even the author acknowledged it and Kusunoki had even fewer votes than Otobe. Not surprising though since Kusunoki is fucking boring.

Makes sense to me. If not for Hebikawa I would have dropped this series already. Nothing to seperate it from any other romance manga.

 

[chiruno09]

please let the tomboy accept the confession or something. don't sideline her into being the girl that the mc doesn't like back. we already know she is losing

 

[UdenEmpati]

please let the tomboy accept the confession or something. don't sideline her into being the girl that the mc doesn't like back. we already know she is losing

if nothing else this means she's got options.

 

[ItsThatBriGuy]

I'm guessing it's a flashback to pre-high school, and the subtext of what that kid is telling Kusunoki is that "no guy could be just friends with Kusunoki".

Since she doesn't think about romance, up to now she hasn't been picking up on any of the subtext of Keisuke's behavior - so she's just assumed that up to this point that Keisuke simply likes her as a friend.

But I think that "Ah!" moment is her realizing that maybe something is up with the way Keisuke is acting, assuming she's putting new context to the words spoken in that flashback.

Pre-HS, she was way too plain and reserved for that flashback to mean that. What it does mean, though...I dunno.

 

[UdenEmpati]

Pre-HS, she was way too plain and reserved for that flashback to mean that. What it does mean, though...I dunno.

well - that was in middle school.
Before that, she was much brighter and the center of attention in primary school (when she was around Otobe all the time, before Otobe moved away for middle school), and looking at the size of the kid in that panel and the fact it doesn't look like a uniform of any kind, there's a chance it's from that period of her life - and might be part of the contributing factor to her suddenly hitting her "gloomy era" in middle school once her best friend had moved away and she had no friends.

 

[USB3pt0]

Kusucons taking things out of context as usual I see

This coming from the dude writing fanfiction every post for like a week after the chapter drops

 

[kiero13]

https://imgur.com/a/4PLMW70

Around a week ago, the author asked through Twitter who people's favorite girls are and the vote went overwhemingly to Hebikawa even the author acknowledged it and Kusunoki had even fewer votes than Otobe. Not surprising though since Kusunoki is fucking boring.

Drama > realism I guess

Can't really say which had more stories where the "more interesting" girl won than the "innocent" one, but I am definitely bored with these "I can fix her" stuff

 

[UdenEmpati]

This coming from the dude writing fanfiction every post for like a week after the chapter drops

nice to know I have a fan who takes the time to read everything I write here.

 

[kenrms]

https://imgur.com/a/4PLMW70

Around a week ago, the author asked through Twitter who people's favorite girls are and the vote went overwhemingly to Hebikawa even the author acknowledged it and Kusunoki had even fewer votes than Otobe. Not surprising though since Kusunoki is fucking boring.

Snek supremacy 🐍

 

[AzraelPrimal]

I'm guessing it's a flashback to pre-high primary school, and the subtext of what that kid is telling Kusunoki is that "no guy could be just friends with Kusunoki".

Since she doesn't think about romance, up to now she hasn't been picking up on any of the subtext of Keisuke's behavior - so she's just assumed that up to this point that Keisuke simply likes her as a friend.

But I think that "Ah!" moment is her realizing that maybe something is up with the way Keisuke is acting, assuming she's putting new context to the words spoken in that flashback.

The timelines do track. If she was said that in primary school, she may have decided to dress like a nerd in middle school then do her debut in highschool.

 

[UdenEmpati]

The timelines do track. If she was said that in primary school, she may have decided to dress like a nerd in middle school then do her debut in highschool.

yeah - I don't think we've gotten the actual tea on what all went down between elementary and middle school to see her change so drastically and lose her "social standing", as it were, to then want to reinvent herself again come high school via the premise of this title.

I kinda suspect we'll see a detour away from her debut arc and either into her "what does romance mean" arc, or focusing instead on Keisuke & Hebikawa (since that was put on hold for this and I assume next chapter), - but assuming the ML & Snek interplay leads to jealousy for Kusunoki or something for taking her totally-a-friend away, Kusunoki and Keisuke get into an argument about whether she even needs him around her anymore, and maybe that'll lead into her finally telling her story of what happened to make her the way she was in middle school.