Adachi to Shimamura - Ch. 58 - Sakura's Ark 2

[Spinny536]

Its been a while since I remember this topic about Tarumi which finally ended but like
Why did they separate again as friends? Just feels kinda weird how you where best friends as children then 5-10 years later of no talking you finally meet again and the first thing you finally do when you meet them is "I love you"?

I'd get it if they where talking long distance all this time but I don't think they where? So to some degree I just find it sorta shocking you'd hold love for this person for all these years, like you didn't meet anyone else during her absence to be super bffs? Find some other girl that you wanted to date/love instead?

Either way rip Tarumi, your love was bitter sweet

Also I liked how Tarumi still had somewhat the courage to even attempt to tell someone you too loved them, lots of people don't do that

They only separated for the 3 years of middle school. Tarumi was meek as a kid, and Shimamura used to dragging her around and was kinda taking care of her when they were kids. She just naturally have this "big sister energy" (I'm not kidding, the LN has mentioned this on several occasions) that attracts people like child Tarumi and Adachi to her.

As for why they were separated, the obvious reason was because they went to different middle school and so stopped seeing and interacting with each other in their daily lives. But, there was also a pretty drastic change in Shimamura's mentality and worldview at the time.

There's a chapter in the LN thats not adapted that has Shimamura recalling her middle school self. It shows how Shimamura went from her open, no-boundary elementary school version; to her angry, isolated middle school version; to her detached and dried out high school version we see at the beginning of the series. And her separation from Tarumi was a pretty big event that started it (even tho Shimamura herself wouldn't admit it)

 

[blablablub]

Et tu, Tarumi?

 

[kkakasih]

Shimamura did the right thing here. its out of place for her to comfort her here, or affirm the friendship that tarumi was saying.

She probably knows that they probably will never recover from this, and theres no need for another word.

And adachi wont like that anyway, and it would take more than holding hand and forehead kiss to bribe her if she did say something nice here

 

[Wackfeck]

Man, the characters in this series have always been grey and blurry to a point where it makes me uncomfortable. Like, in a good way? But these last two chapters iron everything in the story out so well that despite the sad situation, it still feels right and satisfying in a way. All characters going through a bit of development. SUPER nice.

 

[Hikineet]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[Prismatic-chan]

i really, really like adachi to shimamura, but especially in the manga, she is way too distant, way too disconnected, way too plain and free of emotion.
she's like a soulless clay sculpture come to life.

it makes these moments hit without any impact.

 

[alanmfruiz]

You snooze you lose or whatever.

The author did a good job handling this arc and Tarumi's character. Good conclusion.

 

[Another57]

Guys, I am gonna die of heartbreak. Please help 😭

 

[TanyaTheEvil]

This was a heart touching chapter. Thanks for the chapter and translation

 

[Jybu]

Nah, doing anything like that would make Tarumi hate herself more! Think about it, you confessing to the person you like, then getting rejected, only to being comforted by the same person.. all of this is because of your action.. And it can cause mixed signals, especially in that state.. This coldness from Shimura helps Tarumi to move on.

Yeah, last chapter made me realize just how much I love this story, but this chapter made me realize why it might be in my top five manga/LN I've ever read, full stop. You just don't get inner narration or philosophical musings like this. Many a series will take itself entirely too seriously, or treats these moments as comedy, or Hallmark melodrama.

Shimamura's way of thinking about the world and herself and those souls in her life is something that should be taught to people. Being this in-tune with your brain and your heart feels like it could help many, many, many lives, from where I'm sitting--and this from someone who's spent decades trying to sort out the storms in their own head and chest.

I feel deeply for Tarumi, but I applaud them both in this moment. This is one of those quiet things that feels so small and transient, and yet anyone in this situation would likely tell you it's the hardest thing they've had to do...whether you're in Tarumi's position or Shimamura's. So to see it handled so thoughtfully and so lovingly here by the author and the artist, is beautiful.

I get it... I see where you guys are coming from and your right..... and honestly, your explanations.... THEY JUST BREAK MY HEART EVEN MOOOREEE 😭

And yeah, the way Shimamura thinks is so interesting. Sometimes I totally relate like, I’d overthink every little thing too, consider this or that. But other times, she feels a little too insightful, a little too self-aware? (lowkey dont know how to explain this without it sounding like im dissin her but her inner monologue sometimes sounds like that classroom of elite MC). BUT!!!... the way her thoughts are portrayed here, through the giving end of a rejection is so interesting, and really does highlight her way of thinking... its just that her thoughts always come out hitting like a truck... at full speed. (Tho i guess In this case she also hit the metaphorical breaks for Tamuri's sake so.... hmm)

Anyway, alls that to say, I WOULDA FOLDED, I WOULD NOT be able to just sit there while someone cried in front of me like that, like things would be fucked and signals could get mixed BUT I JUST COULD NOT T_T.

Hope Shima took that drawing tho~

Edit: just realized I responded to the wrong Udenempati comment damnit lolz

 

[Baffled]

Japanese really like to make childhood/best friends suffer
And I really hate the Japanese for that

 

[agolloh]

 

[UdenEmpati]

I get it... I see where you guys are coming from and your right..... and honestly, your explanations.... THEY JUST BREAK MY HEART EVEN MOOOREEE 😭

And yeah, the way Shimamura thinks is so interesting. Sometimes I totally relate like, I’d overthink every little thing too, consider this or that. But other times, she feels a little too insightful, a little too self-aware? (lowkey dont know how to explain this without it sounding like im dissin her but her inner monologue sometimes sounds like that classroom of elite MC). BUT!!!... the way her thoughts are portrayed here, through the giving end of a rejection is so interesting, and really does highlight her way of thinking... its just that her thoughts always come out hitting like a truck... at full speed. (Tho i guess In this case she also hit the metaphorical breaks for Tamuri's sake so.... hmm)

Anyway, alls that to say, I WOULDA FOLDED, I WOULD NOT be able to just sit there while someone cried in front of me like that, like things would be fucked and signals could get mixed BUT I JUST COULD NOT T_T.

Hope Shima took that drawing tho~

Edit: just realized I responded to the wrong Udenempati comment damnit lolz

I spent most of the latter half of my adolescence having to pay constant attention to my mental and emotional state due to a misdiagnosed mental disorder. I don't actually have what they said I did, but a decade of work went into intensive therapy, to train myself to always be aware of what was going on in my head lest I have an episode that could snowball into real emergencies without "warning flags" of thoughts or behavior to look out for.

My high school life was not the norm, but while it's a sample size of one, I can say that it's technically possible for someone like Shimamura to be this in-tune with herself, and to have this deep of a read on her own thoughts and emotions. She's not got what I supposedly did, but that degree of awareness and "knowing yourself" is something that can absolutely exist at a younger age...and some people just naturally have high WIS scores and Expertise in Insight.

Yes, there's the benefit of her being written this way so that each beat is always clear and concise and presentable to have the maximum impact for the story, but the degree of clarity with which she navigates this stuff is believable, if mighty impressive and rare among people in general.

 

[akamewamey]

 

[0ps]

Poor Tarumi. This was a really emotional chapter, the inner and outer dialogues really echoed. I actually had the feeling of a "knot" being built up in my chest when she broke down.

 

[Jybu]

I spent most of the latter half of my adolescence having to pay constant attention to my mental and emotional state due to a misdiagnosed mental disorder. I don't actually have what they said I did, but a decade of work went into intensive therapy, to train myself to always be aware of what was going on in my head lest I have an episode that could snowball into real emergencies without "warning flags" of thoughts or behavior to look out for.

My high school life was not the norm, but while it's a sample size of one, I can say that it's technically possible for someone like Shimamura to be this in-tune with herself, and to have this deep of a read on her own thoughts and emotions. She's not got what I supposedly did, but that degree of awareness and "knowing yourself" is something that can absolutely exist at a younger age...and some people just naturally have high WIS scores and Expertise in Insight.

Yes, there's the benefit of her being written this way so that each beat is always clear and concise and presentable to have the maximum impact for the story, but the degree of clarity with which she navigates this stuff is believable, if mighty impressive and rare among people in general.

Yeah no I don't doubt that people (around her age) with her mentality, thinking, and insight exist ofc they do! I guess its just that whenever written, it can be quite hard for it to (on occasion) not read in my head as a person much older narrating what theyd do while having a shower thought playout in their head.

Tho! its not to say I don't enjoy this way of thinking in written media, There are times really thought Shimamura's self-reflect'y moments really enjoyable/relatable and just sometimes kinda immersion breaking. Just depends on how its written i guess

Yes, there's the benefit of her being written this way so that each beat is always clear and concise and presentable to have the maximum impact for the story

Also yea i got no words here i just completely agree! it can be quite fun when things are clear, cut, and dried

Also tyvm for sharing that anecdote and I hope its okay to say that I'm sorry you had to go through a misdiagnosis like that! It indeed puts into perspective how Shimamura is such an outlier........... hope this isnt insensitive but honestly, kinda shows how crazy her powerlevels are... not to powerscale from your anecdote 😭 ✌️

edit: err i hope this reply got through the notifs, think i messed up again >_>

 

[bernkastelmiracle]

Chapters like this, as depressing as it is, is why I love this story so much. It's so real and strangely comforting to read something that kind of affirms life experiences many of us have had at some point. Even if it wasn't necessarily romantic there are still similarities with the drifting from old friends and trying to stay connected but knowing that yep. This is it.

Remembering those old days where you were super close as kids but somewhere along the line that just. Changed.

 

[Westes]

The author of this manga is just excellent with portraying this story, man. I felt very sad about this it was written so well.

 

[WolfenLady]

It's kind of sad that the only reason she recognises the signs that Tarumi had a crush on her because Adachi is the same awkward person who can't speak to save her life but her facial expressions are so loud you can't ignore what's going on.

 

[ezzhead]

i really, really like adachi to shimamura, but especially in the manga, she is way too distant, way too disconnected, way too plain and free of emotion.
she's like a soulless clay sculpture come to life.

it makes these moments hit without any impact.

I guess I can see how you might think this about her from like, a normal persons perspective. But, we've had more than enough introspection into her thoughts to know that she isn't being unfeeling or uncaring in this scene. There is sorrow in that "Oh, you too?" Her comments about how it her relationship with Tarumi feels so hard to maintain aren't just supposed to convey that she's disinterested. If that was the case she wouldn't bother being friends with Tarumi at all, she would've made sure to break off their relationship a long time ago. She doesn't even understand why their relationship is so much harder for her than it is with Adachi. Even her silence and decision not to comfort Tarumi aren't because she doesn't care, but because she's aware enough of the way she is (And now, of how Tarumi feels) that she believes anything she could do would make Tarumi feel worse. An affirmation that they'll stay close might as well be a lie, looking at how their relationship has been for years now. I'm not even sure why I commented this when all the little comments she's had in her thoughts have shown very clearly that this whole situation has been making her nervous and sad