Kusunoki-san wa Koukou Debut ni Shippai Shite Iru - Ch. 44.1 - Why Do I Even Like Him? (First Part)

[Siddasloth]

No way she actually said that lmao

 

[Arcverson]

She's so shawt and smool 😭 😭 😭

 

[Rafalga]

You' re definitely a push-over, little losing heroine.
Your name is not on the title, so give MC up and maybe have a go with the random guy, he might be cooler than you'd expect. And then you might win on your own little side story.

Exactly. For all we know, he might be 10 times better than the MC anyway since, you know, he doesn't have much going for him in the first place aside from being the MC.

 

[Asheron]

I like the tanned loli, but where is best girl Hebikawa? That's the main interest in the story!

All 3 of these girls are really good but snek #1!

 

[Rafalga]

There was a tweet where the author was shocked that everybody voted for Hebikawa.

I mean he should start working on making the FMC little more interesting then. Right now she is way too shoujo heroine coded.
"i don't understand love" is the worst trait for any FMC to have because you know things will never get anywhere.

 

[Qnomei]

She's so shawt and smool 😭 😭 😭

Big steppy

 

[AStrangerIsHere]

Otobe, here's some piece of wisdom from Alfred de Musset, a French writer from the XIXth century: "The heart has its reasons that reason ignores."

You don't choose who you fall in love with.

 

[Seraph_Dalgon_]

Meanwhile....

There was a tweet where the author was shocked that everybody voted for Hebikawa.

 

[Qnomei]

Meanwhile....

There was a tweet where the author was shocked that everybody voted for Hebikawa.

I'm with the author on that one tbh. She kinda sucks. Obviously written to be an antagonist and past trauma and not much else. Guy's only reaction to her so far has been "fuck off."

 

[UdenEmpati]

I mean he should start working on making the FMC little more interesting then. Right now she is way too shoujo heroine coded.
"i don't understand love" is the worst trait for any FMC to have because you know things will never get anywhere.

I kinda suspect that we're seeing it start to turn the corner for her at this point.
She just found out she can oh so magically make instant friends with people after her cafe meetup with those three girls.
That was the last piece of the puzzle for her - she can now do all the things she needed help with from Keisuke.
And I bet within the next chapter or three, she'll find out Moe's crushing on the MC; she doesn't know about Hebikawa yet, but that'll get the gears turning in her head.

And suddenly! gasp! She'll find out she wants to know more about romance, and who better to do that with than.....Keisuke! He might like her, anyway! It's perfect!

Whether it happens immediately or not, I can't say, but the broad strokes as I see them are "Perfect Shoujo Heroine Discovers Love" and Keisuke will get his happy little ending with his crush, and Hebikawa and Moe will lose out and find some consolation prize to be happy about.

Tragically formulaic given the setup of this manga, but. Alas.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I'm with the author on that one tbh. She kinda sucks. Obviously written to be an antagonist and past trauma and not much else. Guy's only reaction to her so far has been "fuck off."

It's because Hebikawa at least has flaws and nuance to her that Kusunoki lacks.

People will tend to root for the "underdog" in lots of situations as well, even if they're the "antagonistic" rival, and that goes doubly so when the "main hero/ine character" is written as impossibly perfect as Kusunoki is.

 

[faaresemo]

that's right girl! why do you like him? you don't, you're just a pushover~

you came into this manga with a major crush on Kusonoki, it's time to return to your gay roots!

and hey, for all the HebiXKei shippers, what better way to resolve Moe and Kusonoki than for them to pair up~
(screw this random guy tho, if it takes a maid uniform for him to see the tomboy appeal, than he doesn't deserve it)

 

[Kromwulf]

Man this series kinda makes me revive all those painful feelings of my first love again. I never felt such intense joy and intense depression afterwards like in those times. And after mulling that for years, one of the conclusions I came to was the same as otobe, I loved being in love, and living my first true love, and I would never be able to have a second first time at that.

 

[3turtlesinacoat]

Thanks for the chapter.
Even though i think basically any ending but kusonoki and the mc in a relationship has potential i am aware that its most likely just gonna be the lamest option.
So im rooting for you little miss losing heroine! Youre way more interesting to follow than that girl you idolized!

 

[Ninoren]

"Before I've never thought about you like that", why even think about it 🥲
Guy just confessed to her cause she was wearing a maid costume 😐

 

[xerather]

if Shizuki doesn't reply with "Huh" on the first page, I'm dropping this (just kidding but seriously tho what?)

 

[UdenEmpati]

"Before I've never thought about you like that", why even think about it 🥲
Guy just confessed to her cause she was wearing a maid costume 😐

He must've wandered over from the Machino manga after the Maid Hunt concluded, looking for his fix.

 

[Shad24772]

So - I guess the line here is Kusunoki had a friendship fall apart due to an unrequited confession.
I'd have to go back and read everything again to see if that was explicitly referenced before this point, but.
If that is what happened, then maybe that's her rationale with Keisuke: she's afraid their friendship would evaporate if romance got involved, so she's shut down the mere thought of it even to herself, to the point she looks clueless and ignorant of the concept whenever it's broached.
Or, taking the chapter where she meets up with those three girls as a clue, she actually is clueless about romance, but knows that it did ruin a relationship in the past, and so she stays away from it entirely, and doesn't really do any introspection into her own feelings (or, doesn't let herself).

Either way, Otobi actually having no real basis for liking Keisuke was actually more aware of her character than expected, because I too thought something big had to have happened off-screen for her to actually like him enough to be occupied about it.
Turns out, not the case. She might just have latched onto the first guy who was nice to her in close proximity, or she likes the idea of romance, as she said.

I personally think she should try going out with the the Confessor Friend. Even if it doesn't work out, it would give her some valuable insight into how she feels about relationships and dating and romance, and she's friends with him already; it's not unheard of to see that be a solid foundation for a relationship.
And that could potentially give her another perspective on Keisuke and her feelings toward him. Are they just surface-level? Is there something deeper she just hasn't hit upon yet?

Guess we'll see, depending on what Keisuke says next (because of course).

not a fan of "just go for it for shits and giggles." or more nicely put, to figure things out. if it doesn't work, there's this random kid who'll get wrecked because he ain't good enough, or as good as MC. and it doesn't sound like their friends-friends. Today, friends is stuck to basically anyone you know. Especially in school at that age. Watered down the term for me. Like going past, classmate, acquaintance, straight to f-ing friends...Sidetracked... Anyway: if it works, at some point, it'll come in the conversation "yeah, started dating you to find 'me'" still gives a pretty bad taste in ones mouth.

 

[UdenEmpati]

not a fan of "just go for it for shits and giggles." or more nicely put, to figure things out. if it doesn't work, there's this random kid who'll get wrecked because he ain't good enough, or as good as MC. and it doesn't sound like their friends-friends. Today, friends is stuck to basically anyone you know. Especially in school at that age. Watered down the term for me. Like going past, classmate, acquaintance, straight to f-ing friends...Sidetracked... Anyway: if it works, at some point, it'll come in the conversation "yeah, started dating you to find 'me'" still gives a pretty bad taste in ones mouth.

By that same token - from everything I think we can reasonably gather via the story, the guy confessed to her because she wore a maid outfit. Not exactly a deep line of endearment/attraction that would lead to confessing to a classmate, friend, acquaintance, or whathaveyou.

I also think there's nothing wrong with being up front about Otobe's situation and mindset about it, should she accept. If she states her situation and that she's happy to try going out to see if it works for them both, that seems more than fair on her part, without being deceitful or anything.

 

[KuroViLolitannia]

Wait this actually happen to me in college with her asking me advice and all. Does it mean she liked me? And I was being all serious giving her advice like I'm a relationship counselor lmao.