Haikei, Arishi Hi ni Saku Hanatachi e - Ch. 18.2

[MangaDex]

 

[Beltaro]

Igarashi's comments:

When we have our meetings, the password will be: "The good times ended with Yamabe..."

The original plan for the Lily arc was a bittersweet ending where Yurika always had feelings for Aoyama and still does to this day. But around the time I was drafting it, there was a grooming scandal in the manga industry. I had to reflect on if it was wrong of me to glamorize this sort of relationship in a modern manga. I've never viewed age-gap relationships very positively to begin with, and wasn't sure I could proceed. By the time I'd written chapter 17 I couldn't stand making Yurika come across as a decent person. After a lot of thought I consulted my editor, who understood my perspective and helped change to the current ending. That's what happened behind the scenes.

Stories in the S genre often depict beautiful age-gap relationships and I was inspired to try my hand at it too. But as the times change so does culture. After weighing my respect for S against my moral values, I decided I lacked the capability to beautify such a relationship and gave up on the idea. It's nothing more than me being stubborn about not wanting to portray it sweetly, even bittersweetly. I still very much enjoy reading age-gap relationships from other authors. I simply didn't want to feel so conflicted toward my own writing.

I'm known for being stubborn, and as someone who works in the entertainment industry I'm always cursing my stubbornness for working against myself. But after hearing about that scandal it brought to mind students I used to teach in cram school, and hurt to think of it that way. I couldn't separate my personal feelings from the issue and couldn't bring myself to profit off glorifying that sort of relationship... So the story took a 180 turn to its ending. I deeply apologize to Aoyama and Yurika... With all that said, don't you think the writing was crazy good!? Wasn't the artwork on another level!?

It's hard to discuss the arc without addressing Igarashi's circumstances, but I think it plays well into the meta-narrative of the manga. Arisaku is a love letter to the past, carrying Class S into the future, without shying from the ugly nature of such a transformation. Sayori and Mizuki represented a tragic parting commonly seen in Class S up until boxcutting their way into a toxic yuri epilogue that wasn't shamed for being so. It was raw in the way romanticized feelings tend to be once dragged into reality, but reciprocal and fulfilling. That isn't the case here.

In days of yore this age gap relationship with an abrupt separation might have been treated bittersweetly. But in a modern lens it's a much uglier thing. Aoyama wasn't left meekly pining but abused and confused, frustrations twisting her into something she hated while Yurika suffered nothing. It did seem at first Yurika's perspective could change the tone in hindsight but plans changed, though Igarashi seems to have always had a bittersweet ending in mind. And with reflection she chose to make Yurika irredeemable.

As another stubborn creative, this was a challenging chapter to translate. It didn't feel right using such harsh language in an otherwise delicate manga but at the same time it was Aoyama's voice. Her roughness overcompensating for the pitiful softness welling up as Yurika threatened to give her another chance. Ultimately Yurika was and is a fucking child, irresponsible and careless and undeserving of her position looking after others, both then and now. I think we've all had that realization as part of growing up, that the adults around us aren't much more than kids in suits (especially with the world today). It leaves you aimless and wondering if you'll be any better. I hope it wasn't as traumatizing for you as it was for Aoyama, but unfortunately that's the truth for many. I respect Igarashi for not wanting to romanticize it even if it makes the manga that much bleaker.

At the start of chapter 18 Igarashi deliberately gave Aoyama no shadow to show she wasn't part of the same dimension as the lily field. At the end she has a faint shadow in the desolate field her old self is buried. You could interpret that as Aoyama starting to live again, finding new presence in the world after ridding herself of the past. Or the opposite, that she's become less attached to this world and a more spiritual presence. You never see this Aoyama's face in any of those panels. It's an expression of uncertainty in who she is. But in a way, her facial expressions would color our impression of who she's become. And as the purely unadorned ユリ she's left without meaning in both senses.

The rest of the symbolism at the end is more straightforward. Plants only flower once mature; flowers are their reproductive structure after all. Aoyama wishes they could have stayed in immature innocence. Pollen is how plants reproduce, and once Aoyama is stained by it there's no going back. The smell of lilies masks the rotten nature of what happened yet she can't let herself be seduced by it again. It's all buried in one grave.

If there's any hope to my analysis (I keep trying to turn this around into something less depressing sounding I swear) it's that ancient symbolism of lilies sprouting from graves. Aoyama is buried and a new Aoyama blooms. She's not as awful as Yurika, she recognizes her wrongs. We likely won't see it but I trust she has a brighter future in store.

I don't remember if we talked about it here, but with all the flower symbolism it has been talked about and on my mind: in a sense the passing down of Class S tradition is a form of reproduction. A reproduction via thought that still molds others in your likeness. If Kasumi and Haruyo are the descendants of Class S they're the descendants of Aoyama as well. While it was a painful experience for her, it still led to brighter times. And that encapsulates the relationship between Class S and Yuri. We can only hope Yamabe wasn't really the end of the good times.

 

[BreadBunny]

ough!!!!!! those three panels after Yurika sits down and her face fades out of view. AND THEN AOYAMA'S THREE PANELS FACE SQUARELY IN VIEW THE EMOTION CLEAR AS DAY

FUCKKK

Aoyama didn't just shut the door behind her she slammed it in Yurika's face.

 

[AssassinCat4]

I'm too scared to read this chapter someone tell me what happens please...

Edit: oh thank God it went so much better than I expected. I am glad Aoyama is able to escape her past and start to work on recovering and moving on.

 

[jk5654]

I don’t often feel as much pride for a character as I do for Aoyama, who was able to recognize her emotional state pretty much entirely on her own and address them headfirst. She’s amazing, and while it’s sad to see she has to essentially bury her former self to move on, I think she’ll be able to have a happy future

 

[Kirakirafox]

I wasn't sure how this would go, but I absolutely love the way it twisted. The past had meaning to those who were a part of it, but with the changes over time, what was once seen as bittersweet is now much less so. Seeing Aoyama basically choose for herself to not be buried with her past and to move forward instead to me was a fantastic resolution. It felt less bleak to me than it would have if they had wound up back together. I love this manga so much q.q

Also the moment Haruyo immediately was ready to jump to Kasumi's defense was so adorableeee

 

[Attqqqq]

You’re lucky to turn into an adult without realizing it, you blink and the child is gone
For others, the child needs to be put down by hand- it’s not an easy process

 

[GLFanatic]

Yes! Know your value girl and toss that shallow bitch aside! So tired of dumb characters that cave in to the people who have wronged them after being offered scraps of affection. Good thing Aoyama broke the chains that awful woman had on her. NOW GO CONQUER THE WORLD, GIRL!

And damn... Sumi's Onee-sama was ready to use the ancient Kitty Claw technic to defend her.

 

[Cholin26T]

Am I crazy? Did this get reposted? I thought I had already read this. Fabulous work as always though, Beltaro

 

[SrNevik]

Loved these comments from the author and a glimpse into the writing process. That scandal was very annoying to read about. Very insightful. The result was a fantastic chapter and conclusion anyway. Thanks for posting those author quotes along with the chapter.

 

[onedumninja]

This is the best outcome for aoyama and what I wanted from this arc. Yurika is a criminal groomer and needs to be removed from the education sector! No forgiveness and no mercy! Aoyama deserves peace T_T

What I don't like is that our main pair is being directed to talk with yurika without a proper explanation of why she's dangerous and they can't be alone with her. Aoyama shouldn't have to tell them she was sexually abused by yurika, something so deeply painful and hard for her to overcome, but I worry that "never be alone with her" isn't a strong enough warning 0_0

 

[Noel00]

This manga and your explanation on all the symbolism made me realise how bad my media literacy is.

 

[useless]

This chapter was quite hard to read, but it's a very nice and fitting conclusion. Aoyama came to terms with what happened to her, and will be able to move forward.
Thanks again @Beltaro for the translation, and also for your analysis! It's not frequent to see such deep reading of mangas, so I'm thankful you're doing this. <3 And we have to thank Igarashi-sensei for her thoughtful writing process!!!
(Also Haruyo getting ready to fight on Kasumi's behalf was so cute \o/)

 

[Cornonthekopp]

The usage of empty space and plain text really is so evocative and incredible. Not just Aoyama, the fiction of the world itself is stripped of it's romanticism and meaning through the loss of illustration

 

[NilnisNilneef]

That funeral scene hurt. Aoyama burying her deluded childish feelings and lamenting the untimely and unrecoverable loss of her innocence. Describing the flowers that we know are richly symbolic in stark, functional terms, reiterating that there's nothing pretty about them. There's an implicit acknowledgement that Aoyama might have been able to find the lily beautiful, but Yurika "Didn't take care of it right when the time was right."
Aoyama's standing tall in a clear sky at the end regardless.

I hope we get more Aoyama after this arc, I like her a lot. She's such a strong willed character, I think she could lend our insecure Kasumi some confidence.

 

[salthejackman]

I still want that creepy ass teacher to have real consequences, BUT contributing the first whole sunlight to the victim and her story conclusion was indeed a much more better and beautiful choice

Along side with the perfect sunflower couple, this arc is another 10/10 for me regardless how opposite they are

Thank you so much for the translation, such wonderful work

 

[rkbrillantes]

Goddamn this mangaka never misses with the chapter, Im quite satisfied with this conclusion even though the sensei didnt get any comeuppance. Its kinda is for the better I guess and they were children back then but the hairs at my nape stood up when she started coming on to Aoyama in their "secret place".

Aoyama I was so wrong judging you at the start of your story and I really hope you get the love your past self wanted.

 

[quantumcroissant]

Aoyoma could've kicked her teeth in from that position and istg she should've

 

[flowsthead]

Igarashi's comments:

The authors explanation fits with how I thought of chapter 17 which was that Yurika did have some kind of real feelings for Aoyama, so that's an interesting in the moment reversal. I also agree with the author that times have changed and we shouldn't be beautifying this type of relationship. That said, if this is all we see of Yurika and she just ends up as a narcissist I think I'll be disappointed because I feel like the character has a lot more potential in the story.

 

[dqvdqv]

Phew, toxic craziness avoided. And I fully agree with the author's comment.