Kusunoki-san wa Koukou Debut ni Shippai Shite Iru - Ch. 59.1 - Otobe is definitely acting weird today (Part 1)

[JoeKerr]

I believe in tiny, tanned, tomboy supremacy.
I will die defending the flat plains of Otobe plateau!

 

[ItsThatBriGuy]

What’s up with the random time skips, is this getting the ax

It's not necessarily much of a skip. Summer is mentioned, but they're also clearly still in school and nobody is freaking out over finals, so early June is a reasonable point for this to take place.

 

[MrPP118]

My point in all of this is that Hebikawa needs to also be redeemed, and one way of that happening is her realizing her worldview is tilted prior to her being the one to help Kusunoki.

Having them flip narrative positions and then having Hebikawa "save" Kusunoki heals them both. Plus, Kusunoki would gain more dynamic range in her character by becoming more than this flawless moe girl who can do no wrong. Her turning "dark" doesn't validate Hebikawa's worldview if Hebikawa also turns toward the "light" before it happens, which is why I said it this festival arc isn't when the switch occurs, only that this could be the next step in the process.

You make a good point, I'm still not sold on Hebikawa and Kusunoki switching roles but one thing I should say is that Kusunoki is not flawless, she's already got a few problems and she's aware of those.

One thing I would like to see is Kusunoki and Moe ambically solve their mutually shared feelings for Keisuke without harming their friendship, it helps Kusunoki get over her previous trauma and it gives another reason for Hebikawa to start changing.

 

[Skater901]

Kusunoki is so cute. 🥰

 

[UdenEmpati]

You make a good point, I'm still not sold on Hebikawa and Kusunoki switching roles but one thing I should say is that Kusunoki is not flawless, she's already got a few problems and she's aware of those.

One thing I would like to see is Kusunoki and Moe ambically solve their mutually shared feelings for Keisuke without harming their friendship, it helps Kusunoki get over her previous trauma and it gives another reason for Hebikawa to start changing.

No, I'd argue Kusunoki is flawless, because there's no inherent part of her character that stands in the way of her narrative goals at this time. Hebikawa has an obvious flaw, and even Otobe has her abrasive/tsun-ish personality that prevents her from being honest about her feelings toward Keisuke (and we even see it come into play aganist Hebikawa, and also in this chapter when the random classmate asks her and Kusunoki about crushes—so it's not just blunt wording and aggressive mannerisms towards the target of her affection, but basically every character who isn't Kusunoki).

But Kusunoki has resolved every challenge in front of her with surprisingly minimal effort due to her natural talent, which is a consequence of the way she was written. She's academically gifted, she's athletically untouchable, and even in sociability, she stole the show during the theater performance back in the festival arc and managed to win over even her detractors among her classmates by "just so happening" to have both the cultural knowledge and the savvy to speak directly to them about things they found interesting or important. She can even talk to boys now, in the absence of Keisuke, as evidenced by the train scene in this chapter, and that's just being depicted as something that's happened off-screen because there was never any moment in the actual storyline where we see it addressed and resolved.
The only "big thing" she has is the aftermath of that traumatic incident of hers from sixth grade, but that's not an inherent facet of her character, and she's shown throughout the series that she could easily resolve it the moment she applies herself, just like she's easily solved every perdicament the moment she applies herself before. It's also a simple matter of communication, which is something she's shown she can do proficiently, and talking with Keisuke and Otobe would resolve things almost immediately. I'd even argue that if it were resolved amicably between Kusunoki and Otobe in that moment, then it would just reinforce Kusunoki's flawless nature, because even her "big narrative trauma", for all its supposed weight in the story, wouldn't amount to much if it could be fixed with a conversation and everything was all smiles in the end. After all, Otobe is deferential to Kusunoki first and foremost. She'd bow out of the way at the first sign of actual friction, and it would result in her having to effectively shut down her feelings for Keisuke in order to keep Kusunoki as a friend, which she would do only because she's been a set up as Kusunoki's friend. There's no agency for her in that instance, unless an actual confrontation were allowed to happen that saw them push against one another before finding a solution that (hopefully) allows them to remain in one another's lives.

Thus, what would be more interesting, in my book, is if she actually wasn't able to immediately resolve it, because she started feeling jealous of Otobe and how close Otobe was getting to Keisuke. It pushes Kusunoki toward that "darkness", which would give her something meaningful to fight against in order to resolve her past trauma that would give real weight to the accomplishment. Everything's been quite easy for her, up to this point, and the anxiety she feels is something that could naturally turn ugly. I personally think it would be a more compelling story if she really did start to "fall", and needed help to pull out of it.
And I would argue that would dovetail perfectly with Hebikawa changing as has been portrayed, because she's also an integral part of the series both as a romantic foil for Kusunonki but also as her mirror/"dark" iteration. Kusunoki and Keisuke inadvertently working together to help pull Hebikawa away from her old worldview would set her up to turn around and use her newfound perspective and healthy mindset to prevent Kusunoki from sinking down to where Hebikawa herself once was.
That would also satisfy Hebikawa's arc and resolve it, because she would have the perfect chance to gloat at Kusunoki's darkness being exposed, and instead she would seek to help save her in the same way she was, herself.



I'll say that this is all if I were an editor of the series with a say in its direction. I think it would effectively tie each important character into the story arc of the others, and force them to confront themselves in a meaningful way while resolving the underlying themes of mirroring and growth that are present in each of their characters. I don't know if the author will go that direction, of course, but it would be nice to see another side of each character that shows they've more depth than we've had depicted up to now.

 

[brndndss]

i can see it now. Kusunoki will see them walking around together (Otobe probably with big smile on her face) and she'll leave early, prioritizing her friends feelings over her own.

 

[MrPP118]

No, I'd argue Kusunoki is flawless, because there's no inherent part of her character that stands in the way of her narrative goals at this time. Hebikawa has an obvious flaw, and even Otobe has her abrasive/tsun-ish personality that prevents her from being honest about her feelings toward Keisuke (and we even see it come into play aganist Hebikawa, and also in this chapter when the random classmate asks her and Kusunoki about crushes—so it's not just blunt wording and aggressive mannerisms towards the target of her affection, but basically every character who isn't Kusunoki).

But Kusunoki has resolved every challenge in front of her with surprisingly minimal effort due to her natural talent, which is a consequence of the way she was written. She's academically gifted, she's athletically untouchable, and even in sociability, she stole the show during the theater performance back in the festival arc and managed to win over even her detractors among her classmates by "just so happening" to have both the cultural knowledge and the savvy to speak directly to them about things they found interesting or important. She can even talk to boys now, in the absence of Keisuke, as evidenced by the train scene in this chapter, and that's just being depicted as something that's happened off-screen because there was never any moment in the actual storyline where we see it addressed and resolved.
The only "big thing" she has is the aftermath of that traumatic incident of hers from sixth grade, but that's not an inherent facet of her character, and she's shown throughout the series that she could easily resolve it the moment she applies herself, just like she's easily solved every perdicament the moment she applies herself before. It's also a simple matter of communication, which is something she's shown she can do proficiently, and talking with Keisuke and Otobe would resolve things almost immediately. I'd even argue that if it were resolved amicably between Kusunoki and Otobe in that moment, then it would just reinforce Kusunoki's flawless nature, because even her "big narrative trauma", for all its supposed weight in the story, wouldn't amount to much if it could be fixed with a conversation and everything was all smiles in the end. After all, Otobe is deferential to Kusunoki first and foremost. She'd bow out of the way at the first sign of actual friction, and it would result in her having to effectively shut down her feelings for Keisuke in order to keep Kusunoki as a friend, which she would do only because she's been a set up as Kusunoki's friend. There's no agency for her in that instance, unless an actual confrontation were allowed to happen that saw them push against one another before finding a solution that (hopefully) allows them to remain in one another's lives.

Thus, what would be more interesting, in my book, is if she actually wasn't able to immediately resolve it, because she started feeling jealous of Otobe and how close Otobe was getting to Keisuke. It pushes Kusunoki toward that "darkness", which would give her something meaningful to fight against in order to resolve her past trauma that would give real weight to the accomplishment. Everything's been quite easy for her, up to this point, and the anxiety she feels is something that could naturally turn ugly. I personally think it would be a more compelling story if she really did start to "fall", and needed help to pull out of it.
And I would argue that would dovetail perfectly with Hebikawa changing as has been portrayed, because she's also an integral part of the series both as a romantic foil for Kusunonki but also as her mirror/"dark" iteration. Kusunoki and Keisuke inadvertently working together to help pull Hebikawa away from her old worldview would set her up to turn around and use her newfound perspective and healthy mindset to prevent Kusunoki from sinking down to where Hebikawa herself once was.
That would also satisfy Hebikawa's arc and resolve it, because she would have the perfect chance to gloat at Kusunoki's darkness being exposed, and instead she would seek to help save her in the same way she was, herself.



I'll say that this is all if I were an editor of the series with a say in its direction. I think it would effectively tie each important character into the story arc of the others, and force them to confront themselves in a meaningful way while resolving the underlying themes of mirroring and growth that are present in each of their characters. I don't know if the author will go that direction, of course, but it would be nice to see another side of each character that shows they've more depth than we've had depicted up to now.

I respect your view on the matter, I'm not sure if I would like seeing Kusunoki turn dark and I still don't think she's a flawless character, albeit the series can do a better job at showing her flaws.

i can see it now. Kusunoki will see them walking around together (Otobe probably with big smile on her face) and she'll leave early, prioritizing her friends feelings over her own.

If things go this way, cue a misunderstanding arc of Kusunoki believing that Keisuke and Otobe became a couple or something or worst, Otobe confesses, Kusunoki gives them some room but then as Kusunoki tries walking away, Keisuke rejects her and just confesses that he likes Kusunoki.

So many different ways this whole festival could go, I just don't want Otobe or Kusunoki getting hurt.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I respect your view on the matter, I'm not sure if I would like seeing Kusunoki turn dark and I still don't think she's a flawless character, albeit the series can do a better job at showing her flaws.

If Kusunoki does have a flaw it would be her anxiety and issues surrounding the notion of romance informed by her past experience, and even then it makes her fairly indistinguishable from most shoujo heroine protagonists in romance manga. and it still makes her the "flattest" of the main cast when it comes to depth of personality for that same reason, because it's nothing novel for a lead of a romcom series to have anxiety and uncertainty around love; coupled with her overwhelming "best in class" list of talents, she's not far off from the "perfect class idol heroine" found in lots of male-lead romcom series where the gloomy class outcast pulls the perfect girl that everyone adores.

Which is reinforced by that one Twitter poll from the author asking for readers to rank the three; she came in 3rd behind Hebikawa and then Otobe, and I'd argue it's because of the way she's been presented, the list of qualities she's been given compared to the others, and how her one big narrative obstacle is entirely conventional and something we've seen played out time and time again.

Having her "go dark" and then be pulled back would make her a novel character, and someone who stands out among the many examples of the archetype she represents. It would elevate the series by having an author willing to take that sort of risk, because having a nice & neat resolution to this rivalry between her and Otobe would play out very generically where Kusunoki basically gets to have her cake & eat it too, with minimal effort or narrative tension.

And I don't fault you wanting things to end up happy for Kusunoki and Otobe; my argument is that doing that with no further involvement of the axis of narrative that ties Hebikawa to Kusunoki basically undercuts Hebikawa's involvement entirely within Kusunoki's character journey, and it minimizes the trauma she went through the first time by saying "all she had to do was put in the minimal effort she's always put in for the perfect payoff that she's always given".
To that end, this series simply becomes another generic romcom that we've seen play out over and over and over again, and it wastes multiple characters and plot points in the process.

 

[pataponaccount]

Thanks for the chapter!
I think I prefer this TL because it's not blurry.

I can see the moiré patterns in this version

 

[Wizardrone]

thanks for chapter

is nice seeing Moe with in Yukata

not enough snek though

 

[FatUglyCrazyKid]

The friend's face is like the most NPC to have ever NPCed

 

[Tinker_OwO]

OTOBE FANS WE ARE EATING SO FUCKING GOOD!!! LET'S FUCKING GOOOOIIII

 

[nihaoma11]

Thanks for the chapter. Crazy snipe

 

[Lunkli]

(Someone walks past a game controller sitting on the table without looking at it) Heh, he's so bad at video games.

 

[delmain]

Is it just me or did the art take a major turn recently?

 

[jnoltz16]

yeah im droppin this

 

[Natsuki_Subaru_Flugel]

Where is Snek???

 

[Kaito57]

The confrontation is near... I can feel it.

 

[long0963]

snake girl didnt participate?

 

[ilusatus]

Tan girl in a dress always wake something in me.