Aishiteru Game wo Owarasetai - Ch. 44 - The childhood friends feel the same way

[Cashini]

hmm??? next chapter again final????

 

[story645]

As things stands, their relationship CAN NOT progress in any healthy way. His growth should happen BEFORE they commit not after. Otherwise it is just plain toxic.

The author is setting it up though that confession is growth since it's his insecurity that's keeping him from taking the initiative to put himself out there - with Miku & everyone else.

 

[Rafalga]

If you have to belittle the people you're arguing against, you don't have enough faith in your own point that it would stand on its own. Make your argument about the point, not the people.

Did i hit a nerve? What a weird thing to say. People are outright ignoring the glaring issues with his personality and want him to start dating her anyway. What else is there to say?

 

[banjomarx]

GET ON WITH IT ALREADY

 

[Druhms]

Ah, I feel for Yukiya here, the social anxiety or that enormous self-doubt is really hard to overcome by themselves on your own, but coupled together, it just exacerbates the issue as they prevent you from seeking out help from other people in fear of rejection or just fear of not being worthy of their help and by asking them you'll just be a burden to them.
I, myself had self-doubt issues when I was still in grade school, and even years later I haven't truly overcome it, it diminished over the years but when it comes down to it, when something of importance happens it wells up all over again. Heck the only time I can talk about it is through stuff like this, when I feel anonymous. Even the way I handled it is similar to Yukiya, by putting up a facade whenever I'm near literally anyone, even family and friends.
Well all this is to say that Yukiya's crippling self-doubt issues aren't something that can be cured overnight. The best solution I can think of is Yukiya either expressing his worries/issues to Miku and simultaneously confessing, the confessing part is optional, so they can somehow work through it together and Miku understands his situation. But that itself requires huge mental effort to expose your weak side to someone else, much less someone you love.

 

[theshet]

People have this habit of putting all the blame on one character. Doesn't matter which one, but in these situations, I've only rarely seen cases where that's actually appropriate.

TOTALLY agree with you, I have seen so much hate just directed at him for not doing anything, but like I said, they BOTH are playing this game of chicken. So dumb if they both just hold it in

 

[AnotherDuck]

Did i hit a nerve? What a weird thing to say. People are outright ignoring the glaring issues with his personality and want him to start dating her anyway. What else is there to say?

You're inventing a reason why people have an opinion for the sake of strawmanning them so your argument sounds stronger. It's the typical sign of someone who's dishonest and deceptive.

And no, no nerve hit. That's on you.

 

[Rafalga]

You're inventing a reason why people have an opinion for the sake of strawmanning them so your argument sounds stronger. It's the typical sign of someone who's dishonest and deceptive.

And no, no nerve hit. That's on you.

Listen, i don't know what the fuck you are even trying to say since i don't have some ulterior motive to be "deceptive" or whatever the fuck but i will make it easier to understand.

Focusing solely on the confession while disregarding his fundemantal issues is pointless. I've seen a lot of comments inluding the usual "just marry already lol" shit which only tells me that people just want them to get together regardless of how fucked up his psyche is and how toxic their relationship will be if things stay the way they are. Just for reference, i went back and read the earlier chapters. Dude acts exactly the same and didn't even gain an inch of character growth. He still doesn't have any other friends, he is still insecure as fuck and he still watches her on the sidelines being jealous whenever a male approaches her when she just puts herself out there, living the life.

I'm not "strawmaning" since i have an actual arguement from the start. I'm not only targetting the people who are solely focusing on the confession, i'm also pointing out how pointless that is and also why it is potentially happening (projection/self-insert). You feeling called out not my problem either.

It looks like you love the word a lot considering you just copy/pasted the definition in your first comment but please use it where its applicable next time.

 

[BSPancake]

 

[bellkxn]

Bro is finally putting on his big boy pants

Nah dude still in diapers. He is such a dork and a loser, it's like the chick is the mom babysitting a dude bigger than her.

 

[bellkxn]

Man's just gotta take an L so he can win for the rest of his life

Yeah, Yukiya needs to lose to the popular guy so he can man up. He looks like a sorry ass b1tch all the time it's tiresome

 

[bellkxn]

Holy fucking shit, this is gonna be an extremely toxic relationship if he didn't change. Miku has grow so much, she was determinated to fix the part of herself that she didn't like to be better for her and for him yet here we are, Yukiya is still the sulky, whining man that aren't comfortable being in the group and everytime he saw someone else talked with her. I knew jealousy and shit but he himself didn't do anything that justified that jealousy, he made no efforts whatsover to be better, he is still the same person from the beginning, remember, they are still FRIEND, officially at least, he shows none, absolutely no signs to others that they are something more than that. Of course Miku is gonna get a lot of attention from other boys, because she has become better and part of that made her become popular, and because why else wouldn't they not be allowed to? Sure you could say that the Squoon boy is being quite persistent but he didn't do anything that are quite rude yet. Is he going to keep sulking everytime she get a confession or invitation to hook up because oh boys, she is going to get a fuck ton of those once these two go up to college and started socializing more and more with other people.

Yukiya SERIOUSLY needs to grow up if he want this relationship to work, he can't remain such a child when everyone, both Miku and her peers are grow up. Honestly it might be better for Miku if this didn't work out and they just generally fizzle out and I mean it, Yukiya has went from someone I and many others rooted for to become bordeline insufferable with this attitude. Fix yourself boy, your girl did fix herself already, why can't you?

I agree with everything but the part where you say that Miku is getting attention because she did the work. She is a female so of course she is going to get attention, on the other hand, we have the biggest baby boy crying because some randy is stealing his girl while he watches like a cvck. Dude needs to lose because if he doesn't he will never grow out of this stage of his life and he will remain passive and will achieve nothing. He has two options: remaining a loner without worrying about the chick and keep it p or doing everything on his hands to improve and make a comeback later on in life (he has to lose the chick regardless). This dude is too confortable being this way because the chick ia there doing him no favour honestly...

 

[AnotherDuck]

I'm not "strawmaning" since i have an actual arguement from the start. I'm not only targetting the people who are solely focusing on the confession, i'm also pointing out how pointless that is and also why it is potentially happening (projection/self-insert).

You literally said that everyone who wants the confession are projecting or self-inserting. That's you making shit up to have something to make your "opponents" seem wrong in what they do and want. You take something derogatory to say and apply it to everyone who has an opinion you want to argue against. Whether it's your intention or not to be deceptive isn't something I care about. I'm just calling your bullshit out. If you can't handle that, that's your problem.

You feeling called out not my problem either.

No, I'm the one calling you out. This is your invention and strawmanning. You claim something that isn't true for the purpose of shooting it down. It's weak and dishonest.

Personally I don't have that high stakes in what happens as long as it's some kind of progress.

 

[lonelypotatoonabench]

This manga is in love with giving its readers blue balls man, by the time I’m invested I’m left swearing at my screen cause the damn chapter ends 😭 I would love to see this adapted into and anime though, would have potential to be popular as fuck especially that Pocky scene, masterpiece man 11/10

 

[ItsThatBriGuy]

There's a similar fake-dating childhood-friends title running currently that took basically this moment where the ML has hit bottom with his jealousy and inferiority and, rather than sink further into isolation, turned the story around completely by asking the FL to help him be better.

I can't imagine that happening here. This ML's self-loathing has no bottom.

 

[Macrosis2020]

It’s interesting, the direction the author’s going with this. Instead of being just dating fluff, this entire fake relationship with Miku ended up serving as exposure therapy of sorts for Yukiya. He spent every day around Miku, and so he spent every day around the people around her, people he never was able to relate to. He’s no longer able to just curl up in his shell, and must confront the discrepancy between his mindset and those around him head-on. This exposure showed Yukiya’s inferiority complex on full force. His response to people playfully complimenting his rapping last chapter is to think they’re joking at his expense, that’s extremely pessimistic. His response to seeing a guy be generally outgoing, confident, and goal-oriented is anger, because he simply cannot relate and haven’t ever been able to relate, as it’s the exact opposite of his self-loathing. This entire event highlighted all of Yukiya’s flaws as a person, and the way things are going, I’m not sure if he’ll agree to prolong the relationship.

On the other hand, this might really be a good chance to have a heart to heart with Miku about his mindset. Reasoning with this fake relationship means he can’t avoid talking all about it. We know his reasons for not dating Miku yet is because he wants to change, but Miku doesn’t know that. Getting it all out there is the first step of self-betterment, and honestly if he does, I think it will go better than it seems, because they’ll be able to relate. Miku also has self-image issues after all, just of a different breed. While Yukiya gets depressed over how society sees him, Miku is obsessed over how Yukiya sees her, and this caused her to think just as irrationally. After getting jealous and initiating that make-out session, any normal person would be able to see that yes, he reciprocates. God damn it, you lot made out until the evening for fuck’s sake! But no, Miku instead thought it was uncute, that she was manipulating him, that it wasn’t how she wanted to do things. That’s probably even more pessimistic than Yukiya. I think a straight conversation about their feelings would do both of them a lot of good.

I see people throwing around the word “toxic” a lot in the comments section, and I really think people who do so are missing the point. These are first year high schoolers. We’re not supposed to see 2 people in a perfect relationship with each other, we’re supposed to want to see them help each other become better people. Thinking “they’re better off not being together because they’re flawed people” just goes entirely against the concept of romance. Romance isn’t a competition where you display how perfect two people are as human beings, it’s a bond, it’s a commitment to better yourself for your significant other. A perfect couple isn’t a pair of perfect people, it’s 2 people who complements each other well and pull each other out of their flaws. A young Yukiya helped pull Miku away from her antisocial nature, and here, simply Miku’s existence is having Yukiya get out from his comfort zone and face the world and his problems. It’s been a game of back and forth every since they were young, but instead of a useless “I love you” game that only serves to represent their insecurity and prevents them from starting a relationship with each other, it’s been a back and forth of helping each other overcome their flaws.

 

[EngentsuTL]

There's a similar fake-dating childhood-friends title running currently that took basically this moment where the ML has hit bottom with his jealousy and inferiority and, rather than sink further into isolation, turned the story around completely by asking the FL to help him be better.

Could you share the name of the manga? I've read few works where the ML actively asks the FL for help.

 

[ItsThatBriGuy]

Could you share the name of the manga? I've read few works where the ML actively asks the FL for boyfriend.

Nee, Mou Isso Tsukiacchau? Osananajimi no Bishoujo ni Tanomarete, Camo Kareshi Hajimemashita
https://mangadex.org/title/d4aa9b79...oujo-ni-tanomarete-camo-kareshi-hajimemashita

 

[EngentsuTL]

It’s interesting, the direction the author’s going with this. Instead of being just dating fluff, this entire fake relationship with Miku ended up serving as exposure therapy of sorts for Yukiya. He spent every day around Miku, and so he spent every day around the people around her, people he never was able to relate to. He’s no longer able to just curl up in his shell, and must confront the discrepancy between his mindset and those around him head-on. This exposure showed Yukiya’s inferiority complex on full force. His response to people playfully complimenting his rapping last chapter is to think they’re joking at his expense, that’s extremely pessimistic. His response to seeing a guy be generally outgoing, confident, and goal-oriented is anger, because he simply cannot relate and haven’t ever been able to relate, as it’s the exact opposite of his self-loathing. This entire event highlighted all of Yukiya’s flaws as a person, and the way things are going, I’m not sure if he’ll agree to prolong the relationship.

On the other hand, this might really be a good chance to have a heart to heart with Miku about his mindset. Reasoning with this fake relationship means he can’t avoid talking all about it. We know his reasons for not dating Miku yet is because he wants to change, but Miku doesn’t know that. Getting it all out there is the first step of self-betterment, and honestly if he does, I think it will go better than it seems, because they’ll be able to relate. Miku also has self-image issues after all, just of a different breed. While Yukiya gets depressed over how society sees him, Miku is obsessed over how Yukiya sees her, and this caused her to think just as irrationally. After getting jealous and initiating that make-out session, any normal person would be able to see that yes, he reciprocates. God damn it, you lot made out until the evening for fuck’s sake! But no, Miku instead thought it was uncute, that she was manipulating him, that it wasn’t how she wanted to do things. That’s probably even more pessimistic than Yukiya. I think a straight conversation about their feelings would do both of them a lot of good.

I see people throwing around the word “toxic” a lot in the comments section, and I really think people who do so are missing the point. These are first year high schoolers. We’re not supposed to see 2 people in a perfect relationship with each other, we’re supposed to want to see them help each other become better people. Thinking “they’re better off not being together because they’re flawed people” just goes entirely against the concept of romance. Romance isn’t a competition where you display how perfect two people are as human beings, it’s a bond, it’s a commitment to better yourself for your significant other. A perfect couple isn’t a pair of perfect people, it’s 2 people who complements each other well and pull each other out of their flaws. A young Yukiya helped pull Miku away from her antisocial nature, and here, simply Miku’s existence is having Yukiya get out from his comfort zone and face the world and his problems. It’s been a game of back and forth every since they were young, but instead of a useless “I love you” game that only serves to represent their insecurity and prevents them from starting a relationship with each other, it’s been a back and forth of helping each other overcome their flaws.

This is like the best take on this chapter in this thread and I'm sad I can't like it more than once. Especially your last paragraph. No romance is perfect, heck even adult romance has toxic stuff. Its by overcoming all those things alongside your partner that a true romance blossoms. I really like how you tied in the 'I love you' game as them helping each other out.

Truth be told, I remember reading this as a one shot or maybe the first chapter when it first came on r/manga 2 or something years ago. Saw it was getting a steady release, and thought of getting into it just around the time Viz simulpub started, but other manga caught my eye and I just didn't get around to it. In the midst of bookmarking some series, I remembered this and came to see all the stuff going on in the comments. For me, who was also somewhat of an introvert, I can understand why Yukiya finds it difficult to change. But the fact that it ends on him maybe taking a good decision has me hopeful.

After reading your comment, I think I'll add this to my reading list after checking out how chapter 45 goes. Hopefully it goes well, cause I know mangaka in general can write good stories even if the status quo is reset many times, like almost every other romcom during the Heisei era did, but the fact we're in Reiwa now, and alot of manga changed their tune to the opposite, it does make kinda hard to keep reading this stuff on. Though I shouldn't be too harsh in this case, since its only 44 chapters, when you compare stuff to like Amano Megumi wa Sukidarake and JK Kuzuhana.

Nee, Mou Isso Tsukiacchau? Osananajimi no Bishoujo ni Tanomarete, Camo Kareshi Hajimemashita
https://mangadex.org/title/d4aa9b79...oujo-ni-tanomarete-camo-kareshi-hajimemashita

This got a manga adaptation?! I remember reading the Vol 1 LN of almost 2 years ago. Guess I know what I'm reading while waiting for chapter 45 to come out.

 

[NfH21]

I hope they have a nerve-wracking, heart-to-heart fight, or something like that