Zenbu Kowashite Jigoku de Aishite - Vol. 7 Ch. 32 - Unravel

[flowsthead]

Those parents really fucked up all their children, huh.

 

[flowsthead]

I'm not sure it's fair to call Mona manipulative, she's just a middle school student who seems to be struggling with a difficult home life. Manaka and Kurumi are the only people we've seen show any kind of interest in her well-being, so I think it's natural that she would gravitate towards them. Especially Kurumi, given how she was the one who pushed Manaka to hear Mona out. There's a brief moment where Mona looks like Manaka does when she's drowning in hopelessness after Kurumi asks why she came over, so I get the impression she's looking for any liferaft she can cling to. Asking Kurumi not to tell Manaka seems more like trying to not fray the relationship with her sister even further.

I think there's a difference between culpability and manipulation. I don't think Mona is culpable per se based on what we've seen so far, but she's definitely manipulative. Toddlers can be manipulative, it's not an age thing so much as just trying to get something out of someone without revealing the reasons.

 

[Colonel-Picquart]

Hmmmm Naoi is catching feelings and Kurumi is moving towards some sort of reckoning with her mum.
Mona throws a spanner in the works though, I can't quite work out her game if she wants Kurumi to play protector or use her to get to Naoi.
Equally her line "How would you feel about having a little sister?" could be read as "I've seen the way my sister looks at you and gurl your closets are transparent. Just make me an in-law already!"

 

[JKTV]

She sure attracts the crazies

 

[Mistilteinn]

I can't quite work out her game of she wants Kurumi to play protector or use her to get to Naoi.

I think it's both based on how Mona's acted these past 2 chapters. Last chapter, Mona asked about Kurumi's parents, then Kurumi gave a very blunt reaction. My guess is that Mona realized that Kurumi currently lives alone, so wants to turn her house into her new safehaven. No adults around to ask questions. Plus, based on how she behaves, Kurumi is clearly the helpful type, so that's something Mona can use.

For that matter, Mona asking about Kurumi's blood type and astrological sign was a form of trying to further determine her personality type, however unscientific those methods are. And I think going so far as saying Kurumi is cute enough to be an idol, was flattery to get in Kurumi's good graces and set her up for the following request of becoming sister-like. Though the idol thing was also likely a reference to the volume 1 bonus about Kurumi actually being an idol during one of her strange dreams. The sister-like request is creating an obligation for Kurumi that Mona can then leverage.

Though I don't think Mona's really given up on Naoi either. This chapter she says "And it's so rare that my sister has such a close friend! I knew I wanted to talk to you more...!" So, she admits that part of why she wants to talk to Kurumi, is that she's someone in Naoi's good graces. And that, that kind of person is hard to find. Likely to try and leverage her support like before. And Mona agreed with the assessment that she wanted advice about Naoi, only that she wanted more information about Kurumi too.

 

[sebaasdf]

She wants to be pampered and receive attention, and now that both her mother and Naoi are not interested in it, Kurumi is the next option

 

[Mistilteinn]

She wants to be pampered and receive attention, and now that both her mother and Naoi are not interested in it, Kurumi is the next option

Chapter 31's opening made it clear Mona wants to be protected from something. If it was just wanting attention, she wouldn't be so desperate to get Naoi back living with them. The future step dad might be abusing her in some way. Even Naoi noted last chapter that there's something wrong to make Mona act the way that she is.

Edit: Plus, even their mother, who Naoi knows doesn't really want her back, wants Naoi to live with them too. That's also a bad sign that something is wrong that they want Naoi to shoulder the burden of for them.

 

[Yuri_Enjoyer_Deluxe]

Has a meltdown, gains two siblings for the trouble.

She should meltdown more, this works way too well.

 

[agolloh]

I sense jealousy from Naoi in the near future

 

[AiFruit]

It seems like Mona maybe grew up having an older sister unconditionally protect her/defend her when things go bad, as Naoi was essentially all that stood between them and their father. So maybe her learned defense mechanism when feeling unsafe (possibly due to a father figure again) is to seek out comfort from her "older sister", which is why she seeks out Naoi to live with them. This would make Naoi's suspicion of what Mona benefits from this surprisingly accurate (even tho its a Naoi defense mechanism more than anything). Once Naoi rejects her, she seeks out the next most compatible "older sister" for her to rely on and seek comfort from. Which is, like the comments above me said, pressuring Kurumi into a specific role once again. Mona might not necessarily be aware of how manipulative this is (or she might be who knows), it might just simply be the way she grew up imprinting on her behavior. It would suck majorly for Naoi tho and might push her deeper into her "everyone wants something from me" defense mechanism. I also wonder how Kurumi will deal with being pressured into another role to play after all her character development, tho Mona being Naoi's little sister might complicate things a bit in her mind.

Ah, so she's pulling a Contract Sisters.

 

[WolfenLady]

Same game but different players? Well, good luck Kurumi

 

[Mistilteinn]

I think the manga's getting ready to transition phases. During the interview with the author last year, it was mentioned they wanted "Yoshizawa getting jerked around by the free-spirited Naoi, and the dynamic between the two of them who can't be honest with each other... Maybe there isn't enough of that yet, but I want to draw more!" So, it sounds like their relationship is meant to gradually progress. With Kurumi's confession, the road to them eventually becoming a couple and having new challenges to face has been set. The festival arc has now entered its third volume, so it seems like it's meant to be this grand setup that leads to Kurumi and Naoi to finally start dating.

Also, there was an interesting bonus in volume 6, titled 29.5. Basically, Naoi bandages Kurumi up at Kurumi's house after Kudou bit her, to which Naoi tells Kurumi to stop doing reckless things all by herself, to which Kurumi agrees. Considering these bonus chapters are canon, means that Kurumi has already promised to be more careful, or at least to seek assistance before just jumping into risky situations. So, it's possible Kurumi decides to check with Naoi before giving Mona any answer. Plus, Naoi already said she's concerned about Mona's situation and wants to keep an eye on it, so Kurumi would be directly going against Naoi's established wishes if she keeps Mona's visits and request a secret from her.

Of course, even if Kurumi does the right thing by Naoi, Mona wouldn't necessarily take it well, because then it would seem like Kurumi was only manipulating her to get closer to Naoi by reporting all of her actions to Naoi. I saw one theory where Mona gets upset at this and ends up under Kudou's influence, since Kudou would likely take an interest in Mona due to her resemblance to Naoi, who she's so obsessed with. Plus, Kudou herself has been established to have lingering issues with her own older siblings.

 

[KitsuKyouno]

Imouto trying seducing skills
The thing is that no one of the main girls family are in good condiction so stay away of them is a decent option

 

[dixiegray03]

Good lord, these girls need trusted adults. kurumi, you have every right to avoid your mom. She’s not a younger sibling with minimal power

 

[Eukene]

I think it's both based on how Mona's acted these past 2 chapters. Last chapter, Mona asked about Kurumi's parents, then Kurumi gave a very blunt reaction. My guess is that Mona realized that Kurumi currently lives alone, so wants to turn her house into her new safehaven. No adults around to ask questions. Plus, based on how she behaves, Kurumi is clearly the helpful type, so that's something Mona can use.

For that matter, Mona asking about Kurumi's blood type and astrological sign was a form of trying to further determine her personality type, however unscientific those methods are. And I think going so far as saying Kurumi is cute enough to be an idol, was flattery to get in Kurumi's good graces and set her up for the following request of becoming sister-like. Though the idol thing was also likely a reference to the volume 1 bonus about Kurumi actually being an idol during one of her strange dreams. The sister-like request is creating an obligation for Kurumi that Mona can then leverage.

Though I don't think Mona's really given up on Naoi either. This chapter she says "And it's so rare that my sister has such a close friend! I knew I wanted to talk to you more...!" So, she admits that part of why she wants to talk to Kurumi, is that she's someone in Naoi's good graces. And that, that kind of person is hard to find. Likely to try and leverage her support like before. And Mona agreed with the assessment that she wanted advice about Naoi, only that she wanted more information about Kurumi too.

The interesting part is that Mona is open about all of this, for the most part. Flowsthead's definition of manipulation, "trying to get something out of someone without revealing the reasons," doesn't really apply there.

What she's not open about is the baby/pregnancy, her parents fighting a lot, and the "the real question is how bad it is" dynamic implied by that. From what I remember, she hasn't made any claims other than that the dad is a nice guy who isn't violent, which could be true if the point of reference is the biological dad. She hasn't made any outright lies I can see.

The win for Naoi here is repairing her relationship with Mona without moving in, which she's currently unable to do and would have failed at without Kurumi. Kurumi's helping instincts are at odds with Naoi's disengaging instincts, but they might be able to find out the right approach together.

 

[TanyaTheEvil]

Another awesome chapter and we are getting closer to hopefully a confession and relationship. Thanks for the chapter and translation

 

[-OpsKuro-]

cucked by imouto
lmao

 

[xRoyalCraft]

I can't wait for the new chapter!!

THANK YOU FOR THE TRANSLATION!

 

[Rezuo]

Also I noticed It seems that Mona is developing (or) has already developed a crush (or hopefully just a platonic admiration) for Yoshizawa. Considering how she blushed around Yoshizawa while calling her cute. I may be going crazy but It seemed that way for me. Either way I hope It's not the case, but if It is... Yay another drama added to the pile

 

[Mistilteinn]

Also I noticed It seems that Mona is developing (or) has already developed a crush (or hopefully just a platonic admiration) for Yoshizawa. Considering how she blushed around Yoshizawa while calling her cute. I may be going crazy but It seemed that way for me. Either way I hope It's not the case, but if It is... Yay another drama added to the pile

I think it depends if Mona picked up on the fact that Kurumi and Naoi are into each other. If she did, then she might partially be doing this to get to know her sister's future girlfriend better, since Mona clearly admires Naoi a lot, so of course would also think anyone her sister's in love with must be amazing as well. Also, Mona blushed similarly when pointing out that Kurumi liked Naoi last chapter, or in the flashback while holding Naoi's hand.

Though whether or not Mona did pick up on Kurumi's feelings for Naoi, she currently only has a very superficial understanding of Kurumi at this point. And likening her to an idol means her opinion of her has nowhere to go but down. Like for example, if she finds out about all the things that happened in volume 1. She might eventually deem Kurumi a bad influence on Naoi and want to separate them, thinking Kurumi brings out Naoi's violent side.

Though I wonder how this volume will play out, since with the school festival this weekend in the story, and Kurumi's mom now imminent, that seemingly leaves very little space for Mona's plot to really expand. And of course there's the fact that last chapter established much of Mona's behavior being due to trying to fix whatever her home situation is. Meaning anything she currently says or does likely has an ulterior motive with that goal in mind. She views Kurumi and Naoi as liferafts, even if she does genuinely like them.