Boku no Ikezu na Konyakusha - Ch. 20.2

[havelmom]

he doesn't love her
that's why he said that

 

[SupBroZX]

Ahhh now we will have to wait another 2 to 3 chapters divided into .1/ .2

 

[arimareiji]

About some comments her that portray it as if she was hiding her feelings entirely. I decided to check the first chapters again since that wasn't my impression and imo she really hasn't, she is super reserved and easily embarassed about outright saying stuff but unless you interpret half the things she says as the opposite (which of course the MC is doing) I wouldn't say she has hidden them.

First chapter she asks him on a date (and I would consider getting close and whispering about getting a photo alone together next time flirting), second one she asks him on a study date where she deliberately switches sides to sit beside him and then moves closer to sit so their arms are touching then tells him how he has always be different than the rest (after complaining about how others treat her), the declaration of baking the cookies with all her feelings in chapter 5 after detailing the effort she took to make ones he might like, in chapter 6 on that class excursion explicitly pulling him away to be alone with him to take the promised photo of just the two of them (though her not showing him that second photo would be an instance of her hiding her feelings)... She is also just smiling at him a lot.

Like I don't blame him for the misunderstanding, that is the premise of the whole manga and it is explained why he misunderstands. But in all ways except direct statement about feelings I would consider her the one that shows her feelings more obviously among the two. So I find some comments a bit odd.

Thank you for the productive, thoughtful discourse. 🌱

It's life-affirming to be reminded that Simon and Garfunkel's "Still a man hears what he wants to hear, and disregards the rest" isn't a universal truism.

 

[UdenEmpati]

About some comments her that portray it as if she was hiding her feelings entirely. I decided to check the first chapters again since that wasn't my impression and imo she really hasn't, she is super reserved and easily embarassed about outright saying stuff but unless you interpret half the things she says as the opposite (which of course the MC is doing) I wouldn't say she has hidden them.

First chapter she asks him on a date (and I would consider getting close and whispering about getting a photo alone together next time flirting), second one she asks him on a study date where she deliberately switches sides to sit beside him and then moves closer to sit so their arms are touching then tells him how he has always be different than the rest (after complaining about how others treat her), the declaration of baking the cookies with all her feelings in chapter 5 after detailing the effort she took to make ones he might like, in chapter 6 on that class excursion explicitly pulling him away to be alone with him to take the promised photo of just the two of them (though her not showing him that second photo would be an instance of her hiding her feelings)... She is also just smiling at him a lot.

Like I don't blame him for the misunderstanding, that is the premise of the whole manga and it is explained why he misunderstands. But in all ways except direct statement about feelings I would consider her the one that shows her feelings more obviously among the two. So I find some comments a bit odd.

And everything you've listed here would also apply if Miyuki were dutifully following the wishes of her late grandfather.

One of the big impetuses to their relationship is the fact it was an arranged marriage set up by their grandfathers, coupled with Miyuki being very close to her grandfather and holding him in high regard. Because of this, the issue then stems from the fact that she is unable, or refuses to, be direct in her feelings with Sorata. Every word and action then reads as her simply "honoring her papaw's wishes", which is very in-line with her character.
And so it would be reasonable to assume that she's doing all of it out of a sense of duty, rather than her own volition, because of the established history and characterization for her. Add onto that the ongoing misunderstanding due to the Kyoto Dialect Thing, and the ongoing conflict is justified in how things get misinterpreted between them.

Like, Sorata's not blameless in all of this. But again, the way he is, is at least explained and rationalized throughout the series by way of how Miyuki interacts with him, how Ayano has always treated him, and in the way that all their classmates speak about him.
He's harangued and derided on all sides, the engagement itself is called into question on more than one occasion, and through it all Miyuki fails to ever be direct when that would be the quickest way to solve everything. She neglects to even call out those who badmouth Sorata in front of her, something that Sorata has shown he will do as recently as chapter 19.


But again - you list a series of actions that Miyuki had taken, but Sorata doesn't need her actions or her roundabout wording. He needs her to speak to him directly, because he has established reasons to doubt or misconstrue anything else. Sorata can only do so much, after years of self-doubt brought on by the actions of others.
He has a precedent of misreading or overthinking everything Miyuki does, because she herself was incredibly reserved and rather emotionless in childhood. Expecting him to "get" what she's doing when all of it has a double meaning---because she never simply says "I like you for you Sorata, and I want to be with you for you, Sorata, and not for any other reason"---is unfair to him.

And yes - the premise of the manga's central conflict is reliant on that misunderstanding being thoroughly engrained in Sorata when it comes to Miyuki as a person. Whether that's appealing for a reader, is subjective, but the author's gone to considerable lengths to establish justifications for Sorata being so unsure and anxious all the time about Miyuki's true feelings.

We as readers can see the truth, but we see everything, and the characters do not. And from Sorata's perspective and through the lens of his experiences, Miyuki's not made it clear where she really stands on the topic of their relationship.

 

[DaBlackMamba]

The worst kind of MCs, I hate these stupid loser ass dudes man

 

[Guesto]

Kinda regret read this chapter, i will saving for like 4 chapter. I'm not read this series for this smh

 

[happypurple]

I think this chapter really shows the flaws in the premise. Their relationship has progressed to the point that the main drama feels unsatisfying and artificial. Its hard enough to buy into romance manga where the main pair can't confirm their feelings after X chapters, just because the author doesn't know how to make it interesting after the will they/won't they is resolved.

Most of the time, romance manga aren't about romance, they're about waiting for a confession. This chapter, and others like it, are basically just engagement bait. Meant to make you upset, make you want to keep reading. Manga often have a lot of unrealistic things in them, because reality is boring. But, you can't piss on my leg and expect me to believe its raining.

If you want to be with your fiancée so much that you move cross-country to go to his school, you're gonna at least hear him out, or try to confirm things, and not ninjitsu vanish the second it sounds like he's rejecting you. If something sounds like a rejection, you don't have much to loose by trying to get clarification, since if its a rejection nothing's changed, and if it's not a rejection, then there's still a path foreword in the relationship.

If you're so considerate of your fiancée's feelings/future that you think it's a waste of her talent to go to your school, you're gonna be considerate enough to REALLY THINK about her actions vs your perception of her, or at least express your concerns in a way that it doesn't sound like you're rejecting her, if you really can't be honest with how you feel about her.

Neither party is really aware of the other's actions, or even thinking about perception v.s. action. Both of them are apparently unable to communicate their feelings and so insecure about that, they'd rather ruin the relationship than connect the dots, realize the feeling's mutual, and tell the person they intend to spend the rest of their life with that they care about them.

it's so beyond the pale and ridiculous, esp because this is the type of manga that gets a happy ending. This whole thing is probably gonna get brushed under the rug in a couple chapters and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled agonizing insecure "She smiled at me wrong, that must mean she's going out of her way to spend all this time with me because she hates me."

I'm having a really hard time remembering why I started reading this comic.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I think this chapter really shows the flaws in the premise. Their relationship has progressed to the point that the main drama feels unsatisfying and artificial. Its hard enough to buy into romance manga where the main pair can't confirm their feelings after X chapters, just because the author doesn't know how to make it interesting after the will they/won't they is resolved.

Most of the time, romance manga aren't about romance, they're about waiting for a confession. This chapter, and others like it, are basically just engagement bait. Meant to make you upset, make you want to keep reading. Manga often have a lot of unrealistic things in them, because reality is boring. But, you can't piss on my leg and expect me to believe its raining.

If you want to be with your fiancée so much that you move cross-country to go to his school, you're gonna at least hear him out, or try to confirm things, and not ninjitsu vanish the second it sounds like he's rejecting you. If something sounds like a rejection, you don't have much to loose by trying to get clarification, since if its a rejection nothing's changed, and it it's not a rejection, then there's still a path foreword in the relationship.

If you're so considerate of your fiancée's feelings/future that you think it's a waste of her talent to go to your school, you're gonna be considerate enough to REALLY THINK about her actions vs your perception of her, or at least express your concerns in a way that it doesn't sound like you're rejecting her, if you really can't be honest with how you feel about her.

Neither party is really aware of the other's actions, or even thinking about perception v.s. action. Both of them are apparently unable to communicate their feelings and so insecure about that, they'd rather ruin the relationship than connect the dots, realize the feeling's mutual, and tell the person they intend to spend the rest of their life with that they care about them.

it's so beyond the pale and ridiculous, esp because this is the type of manga that gets a happy ending. This whole thing is probably gonna get brushed under the rug in a couple chapters and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled agonizing insecure "She smiled at me wrong, that must mean she's going out of her way to spend all this time with me because she hates me."

I'm having a really hard time remembering why I started reading this comic.

Only part I would push back on is your last (full) paragraph where you say this'll be brushed under the rug and things will return to the previous status quo--

And I say that because this reads like the third act of the series, as it's bringing all of the central conflict between them to a head. It's the perfect setup for their friends to see that something is really wrong between Sorata and Miyuki--beyond the usual nonsense we've all witnessed the first 19 chapters--and for one/both of them to start asking the hard questions that force Miyuki & Sorata to examine how they feel, and start questioning if what they think the other is doing/saying is really the case.
I don't think this fight between them will be swept under the rug, because it very much reads like the final fight before they realize the problem at the base of everything that's been "off" between them, and once they address it and talk it out and work toward fixing it, all their ancillary problems are effectively solved at the same time.

This is the fourth chapter of the 4th volume, and each volume before had no more than 6. So if we allow the 4th volume to be the final, and allow 1-2 extra chapters at the most to round out the story, that's 3-4 more chapters to see the conclusion. That gives 1 chapter each of Blondie talking to Miyuki and PrettyBoy talking to Sorata, one chapter of Miyuki & Sorata having their Big Talk and resolving everything, and then maybe an "epilogue chapter" that ties up loose ends and has them riding off into the proverbial sunset.
What would be not-great (in my opinion) is if this actually goes to the end of this volume, and then we get a 5th volume of 5-6 chapters where the conflict is then concluded. It would allow for more dedicated space for each conversation that needs to happen between the main cast of characters, but the monthly release of chapters would give the impression of the resolution being drawn out. It's the simple reality of releasing series in this manner (chapter by chapter), and once it's all completed and in volume form, it would likely read fine. But if readers following the series grow weary of the release schedule and having to wait to see the resolution, it just sorta sucks.
Nothing to be done about it; writing and drawing a manga takes time and releasing chapter-by-chapter is how publishers operate and keep money coming in, but it's the "double edged sword" of manga versus stuff like light novels that are released as a complete book.

But anyway, I'd be very surprised if we get anything after the resolution of what's just occurred.
As you said, romance manga tends to be more about the confession, than any actual romance. In this instance, the "confession" is replaced by the need for resolution of the ongoing miscommunication between Miyuki & Sorata. So once it's resolved--and it has the fully resolved, because it's the central conflict of the manga, so not just "brushed under the rug"--everything gets fixed and they can be happy and the series will end.

 

[loki234567]

Well ever since ayano told him that she's with him because her grandfather told her too. And she even stated in previous chapter that she went to his school because his grandparents told to go. Which didn't seem important but after sorata's conversation with ayano makes him question her actions whether they were genuine or not. She saw that sorata was pretty depressed but sorata tries to hide it and it worked. She didn't even try to dig further. And she never tells their friends that the love is not one sided when they joke about it on sorata's face. After the conversaation in this chapter , she never even once mentioned anything which would have made the situation better. The way she framed her sentences can easily be understood as she was doing everything because of her grandfather's will and nothing else. And at last she left sorata before he could say anything.
The only character who slightly understand him is the guy friend , which I guess play a important in fixing this issue in upcoming chapters. But Miyuki has stop being vague, because currently sorata mind feels like a bomb which can explode anytime.
I like their dynamic but ever since they have been in Kyoto she's pretty distant to him.

 

[arimareiji]

If he actually understood that she's choosing their school to be with him of her free will, Sorata would would also have accepted that she has special for him.
Her intentions are not clear-cut to him because they're being obfuscated by the will of her grandfather, whom he knows Miyuki holds dear.


Edit: Also maybe I'm wrong but the "and that fulfilling grandfather's will by going to a school fit for me was a waste" line might be coming from Sorata? Reads to me like he's paraphrasing the brother and self-depricating.

Noticed this while glancing back, and: It feels like it's worth repeating (and explaining better) what I replied afterwards to a different comment you made (that I'm unqualified to do more than make wild-🍑 guesses, whether the translation accurately relates the spirit and not just literal wording of what was said).

It's always extremely plausible that a too-literal translation (or misunderstanding) of an ambiguous language can give the wrong impression, as evidenced by the fact that we reached different conclusions in good faith.

To me, the combination of [whoever is speaking] referring to "grandfather" (instead of "your grandfather", which is what someone would almost always say in English when talking to someone about that someone's grandfather) almost clinches it by itself. In English if you talk about "grandfather" with no possessive pronoun, by default you're talking about your own grandfather. Then following that, saying it's "a school that fit me" works perfectly fine with Miyuki as the speaker, considering that she's previously expressed being glad about her choice to go there.

But I should reiterate more strongly that I can't be certain it's not an unfortunate translation mistake, and explain why: Japanese leaves a LOT of context to be inferred… so it's plausible that (in Japanese) it would be weird/stilted for him to explicitly say "your". If so, a translator whose native language is Japanese might have a blind spot to the fact that in English it would be very misleading to talk about someone's grandfather as "[my] grandfather" instead of "your grandfather".

Apologies for the length of the above. This is a big part of why I wasn't keen on going into "Maybe it's a translation nuance", because it's generally TLDR.… and I can only make guesses that would offer different ways of looking at it. (Which is a huge waste of time, with regard to anyone who's heavily emotionally invested in their chosen viewpoint… which I don't perceive you as being, but a lot of folks here do seem to be.)

Footnote: If you're wondering, I finally did give into temptation and transliterated those lines looking for clues… but only found vague indications, some of which supported Sorata and some of which supported Miyuki.

I think this chapter really shows the flaws in the premise. Their relationship has progressed to the point that the main drama feels unsatisfying and artificial. Its hard enough to buy into romance manga where the main pair can't confirm their feelings after X chapters, just because the author doesn't know how to make it interesting after the will they/won't they is resolved.

Most of the time, romance manga aren't about romance, they're about waiting for a confession. This chapter, and others like it, are basically just engagement bait. Meant to make you upset, make you want to keep reading. Manga often have a lot of unrealistic things in them, because reality is boring. But, you can't piss on my leg and expect me to believe its raining.

If you want to be with your fiancée so much that you move cross-country to go to his school, you're gonna at least hear him out, or try to confirm things, and not ninjitsu vanish the second it sounds like he's rejecting you. If something sounds like a rejection, you don't have much to loose by trying to get clarification, since if its a rejection nothing's changed, and it it's not a rejection, then there's still a path foreword in the relationship.

If you're so considerate of your fiancée's feelings/future that you think it's a waste of her talent to go to your school, you're gonna be considerate enough to REALLY THINK about her actions vs your perception of her, or at least express your concerns in a way that it doesn't sound like you're rejecting her, if you really can't be honest with how you feel about her.

Neither party is really aware of the other's actions, or even thinking about perception v.s. action. Both of them are apparently unable to communicate their feelings and so insecure about that, they'd rather ruin the relationship than connect the dots, realize the feeling's mutual, and tell the person they intend to spend the rest of their life with that they care about them.

it's so beyond the pale and ridiculous, esp because this is the type of manga that gets a happy ending. This whole thing is probably gonna get brushed under the rug in a couple chapters and we'll be back to our regularly scheduled agonizing insecure "She smiled at me wrong, that must mean she's going out of her way to spend all this time with me because she hates me."

I'm having a really hard time remembering why I started reading this comic.

Yup. The first time, it can be funny that "he constantly misunderstands her in the harshest possible light, holds it all in and never gives her a clear indication how much it hurts him, and she remains oblivious to how he's misinterpreting her" (especially to people who don't need the inherent joke explained).

Ditto the second and third time, and maybe farther.

But this far in, when it keeps leading to painfully-contrived drama… it gets really old, and I wish the author would let the vaguely-reminiscent-of-the-masochism-underlying NTR* joke premise fade into the background.

* - Although here it's Nihongo-TR rather than NeToRare. 😏

(Heck, even in the Okinawa-fanboy manga "people misunderstand each other due to language" has gotten fairly old. And it doesn't get used nearly as often for angsty, contrived drama.)

 

[beThereShortly]

Motherfucker actually messed it up worse than I could imagine. I'm amost impressed.

 

[Eolandel]

BRUUUUHH

 

[EnFiveFour]

Don't be mad at Sorata or Miyuki. Be mad at Ayano.
Yes, communication between the couple is not the best in the world, but her brother has schemed, manipulated and spewed lies for years. He need a nice dose of fists in the face.
Thank you for the translation.

 

[MadScientist666]

Imagine: Them talking WITH each other instead of past each other...

 

[thegreatonyx575]

Sorata recovered and then fumbled, but I don't blame him for it as frustrating as it is. Not being able to communicate well as teenagers is tough shit.

Adding in the fact that not only did he find out from Ayano about the grandfathers will, it reframed what he felt about his entire relationship with Miyuki. He's always had alot of anxiety about his relationship with Miyuki and honestly people around him confirm Ayanos worldview of "Why is he with her?", which he takes on personally.

Miyuki has tried to show how much he means to her, but Sorata doubts it because of Kyoto mannerisms, it's deeply ingrained, and who's kinda at fault for that? Well...

Like an earlier comment said, lowkey, Ayano should get jumped. He planted the seeds, and you can clearly tell that Sorata takes his words seriously as a future brother in law. Ayano has a lot of power over him and I can't imagine what type of shit Ayano has fed him over the past decade.

But as others in this comment section mentioned as well, I don't know how far this Manga can go on dialectal misunderstanding alone.

Sorata isn't extremely spineless, but Miyuki has not been super clear either. She let some stuff slide that she shouldn't, and has been wishy washy, especially since Sorata confessed chapter 1.

I'm still curious to see where this goes, and I think the next 2-3 chapters will be the hinge point on whether some of these things get properly resolved or not.

I'm hyped to hopefully see Miyuki call out her brothers bullshit and manipulation. With sorata mentioning Ayanos opinions to her, I beg on my knees Miyuki is about to give her brother a piece of her mind.

 

[DeOneChester]

The worst kind of MCs, I hate these stupid loser ass dudes man

Her brother could tell him to jump off a bridge and he'd convince himself its what he deserves. So frustrating.

 

[aheiekf]

but she also confirmed it was her decision to go through with it specifically so she could be with him. She told him clearly she wants to be by his side and he STILL had the GALL to say she should move to a better school because it's a waste for her to be by his side.

No, she told him she wants to go to the same school as him. The entire story she’s never made it clear to him that she holds a serious romantic interests in him, and now the expectation is that because she chose to go to a school near him, her romantic intentions are authentic?

I'm not excusing Miyuki's lack of communication but I'm for sure damning Sorata's lack of any spine or decency towards her.

What more decency is he expected to have after twenty chapters of being strung along and made to believe he’s dragging her down? Her brother, her friends, their classmates, even the fmc herself have made him feel like his romance is completely one-sided.

I agree with the op: this is the take of someone who didn’t read, because his reaction is a clear response to her never expressing her true feelings until it comes to a boiling point where it suddenly jeopardizes their entire relationship—and even then, that’s done in an indirect way which does nothing to comfort Sorata.
Call him spineless all you want, but don’t act like it’s not the direct result of everyone around him making him that way. How can you expect him to have any character growth when the whole dynamic hinges on her developing first or them splitting?

 

[Friendly-Sentence710]

Not sure why you're calling Sorata a fucking idiot.

He's not the one who has been incapable of speaking their actual feelings to their fiancee this entire time.
That would be Miyuki.
And even here, she could have pushed back. But did she? No. She just said "okay then" and walked away.
Sorata has been under the impression that everyone around him thinks he and Miyuki are a terrible match and that she's wasting her potential because of him.
Even those middle school friends of hers that they met at the diner a couple chapters back said as much when they found out what school she was attending in Tokyo, and when they found out that Sorata was her fiancee.

Do you just not read the manga chapter by chapter? You're not the first person I've seen try and lay the blame entirely at Sorata's feet, and I'm just really confused as to how you seem to have missed the mark so badly on the actual dynamic between the main pair of this series.

He's a fucking idiot but not in the way people are roasting him for.

He's prioritzing her happiness over his, "I want you to do what's best for you" because he doesn't understand those are the same thing to her. He realized too late how what he said might come across.

 

[UdenEmpati]

He's a fucking idiot but not in the way people are roasting him for.

He's prioritzing her happiness over his, "I want you to do what's best for you" because he doesn't understand those are the same thing to her. He realized too late how what he said might come across.

Sure.

Again, not really his fault that he doesn't understand, when the whole way through he's been lead to question and second-guess Miyuki's feelings toward him, due to her own actions, and those of everyone surrounding them all the way back to her brother in childhood.

He's had this fear that she's solely with him in Tokyo out of a sense of obligation toward her beloved grandfather, and that was corroborated by Ayano in showing Sonata the will that Miyuki's grandfather left behind.
Their classmates at school all think he's nuts for insisting that the two of them are dating, and that he's not at all worthy of her. Same sentiment Ayano has echoed, and voiced to him directly, since they were all kids.
Sorata's been dealing with constant derision and skepticism from all sides for almost as long as the two of them have been engaged, and that will take its toll a person's psyche and make them wonder if what they hope is the case, actually is.

And it doesn't help that Miyuki, the one person who could instantly assuage all fears if she would only be direct and tell him that she actually likes him and wants to be with him for him, never once has. She's done things that could be construed as showing fondness, but all of that is just easily rationalized as "I'm doing what my grandfather asked of me because I respect him". Again, backed up by the will of Miyuki's grandfather. But she's never just straight up said "I like you, Sorata". And that coupled with all the "Kyoto Dialect Misunderstandings" that are a direct result of Ayano's meddling over the years behind Miyuki's back, have lead Sorata to the predicament he's in.

He cares about Miyuki. A lot. And he wants what's best for her in life. But she's never told him that what she wants is him, and so being the self-deprecating person he's become through all the low-grade abuse, he speaks his mind. He's at the end of his rope, here, and what he said--as silly as it was, from our perspective--is still entirely in line with who Sorata is as a person.



Funnily enough, Miyuki just says "okay" and walks away. Hard to even tell she cares, if she didn't question or push back on his decision after he voiced his fears about being worthy of her, and how her own brother seemed to think he wasn't.

 

[thegreatonyx575]

Sure.

Again, not really his fault that he doesn't understand, when the whole way through he's been lead to question and second-guess Miyuki's feelings toward him, due to her own actions, and those of everyone surrounding them all the way back to her brother in childhood.

He's had this fear that she's solely with him in Tokyo out of a sense of obligation toward her beloved grandfather, and that was corroborated by Ayano in showing Sonata the will that Miyuki's grandfather left behind.
Their classmates at school all think he's nuts for insisting that the two of them are dating, and that he's not at all worthy of her. Same sentiment Ayano has echoed, and voiced to him directly, since they were all kids.
Sorata's been dealing with constant derision and skepticism from all sides for almost as long as the two of them have been engaged, and that will take its toll a person's psyche and make them wonder if what they hope is the case, actually is.

And it doesn't help that Miyuki, the one person who could instantly assuage all fears if she would only be direct and tell him that she actually likes him and wants to be with him for him, never once has. She's done things that could be construed as showing fondness, but all of that is just easily rationalized as "I'm doing what my grandfather asked of me because I respect him". Again, backed up by the will of Miyuki's grandfather. But she's never just straight up said "I like you, Sorata". And that coupled with all the "Kyoto Dialect Misunderstandings" that are a direct result of Ayano's meddling over the years behind Miyuki's back, have lead Sorata to the predicament he's in.

He cares about Miyuki. A lot. And he wants what's best for her in life. But she's never told him that what she wants is him, and so being the self-deprecating person he's become through all the low-grade abuse, he speaks his mind. He's at the end of his rope, here, and what he said--as silly as it was, from our perspective--is still entirely in line with who Sorata is as a person.



Funnily enough, Miyuki just says "okay" and walks away. Hard to even tell she cares, if she didn't question or push back on his decision after he voiced his fears about being worthy of her, and how her own brother seemed to think he wasn't.

100% agree and I think the next couple of chapters will be a really interesting "make or break" depending on how this situation is handled. As much as Sorata can apologize for what just happened, it won't go anywhere unless Miyuki speaks up or, atleast clear this up a bit. This definitely needed to happen to move things along and I hope it does result in progress.