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- Dec 23, 2019
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damn.. i think i read this back in 2012
AKB49 - Renai Kinshi Jourei - Vol. 29 Ch. 262 - AKB49
- Thread starter MangaDex
- Start date
To help those better swallow the ending. Minoru in the end was on the phone with haruko talking about the right hair color for the wig. Judging from the way they talk they are most likely dating but in secret mostly via text and twitter just like when minoru was using the kurokami persona
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
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- 3
Lovely, emotional ending. Despite starting with a goofy romance cross-dressing plot, AKB49 became a really engrossing "sports shounen"-type manga about the idol industry with a lot of heart. And it makes sense that it did't end with any romantic bits. They hadn't been important for hundreds of chapters by this point.
I think the only way I would have liked it better would have been if Minoru had fully been accepted as an idol despite being a boy, instead of this "keeping the secret" business. He was friends with everyone else in the group, and now he has to remain isolated from them. Even if its implied that he remained in contact, having to keep the secret seems like a real punishment after all his success. Its kinda tragic, especially when you consider how much of his life performing had become.
It would have been an incredibly affirming message have him performing, as a boy, with everyone else. "At the end of the day, you're still an idol". But maybe that's just too ahead of the times for Japan.
I think the only way I would have liked it better would have been if Minoru had fully been accepted as an idol despite being a boy, instead of this "keeping the secret" business. He was friends with everyone else in the group, and now he has to remain isolated from them. Even if its implied that he remained in contact, having to keep the secret seems like a real punishment after all his success. Its kinda tragic, especially when you consider how much of his life performing had become.
It would have been an incredibly affirming message have him performing, as a boy, with everyone else. "At the end of the day, you're still an idol". But maybe that's just too ahead of the times for Japan.
*Semiannual re-read accomplished*
There I have been since when the original Japanese chapter was released - wild it was, although not of a storm comparable to the more popular mangas at the time.
Anyway, Minoru is just suffering from a spontaneous emotional burnt-out. His blazing love for AKB and for the stage, combined with the belated confession, eventually became the deterrent to ward himself off from it. No, it is not quite the fear of contradicting himself, but more of the fear of his own experience - a gorgeous chapter of life it had been. We can see in the previous chapter, and some prior to that, whereby Minoru had thought over a normal life, a normal experience, and thus a strong desire to settle for the peace of his mind. Minoru is not Minori, whenever he cannot think like, or, be the Minori, his emotional instability would be observed rather frequently (ye, curse you god, why must you make males so fragile...)
That being said, he is accompanying Alice often - much to his annoyance, though of which he did not seem to mind it in particular. He is solitude for sure, but loneliness would not be the correct word to attach to him.
It was hence a good and satisfying ending - except the (unexpected unnecessary) part where I wish I could see a showdown between the girls as to how Minoru should be divided among them - or conquered solely by one goddess. I would bet $100,000 on Okabe Ai though. Lowest odds, highest gains.
There I have been since when the original Japanese chapter was released - wild it was, although not of a storm comparable to the more popular mangas at the time.
Anyway, Minoru is just suffering from a spontaneous emotional burnt-out. His blazing love for AKB and for the stage, combined with the belated confession, eventually became the deterrent to ward himself off from it. No, it is not quite the fear of contradicting himself, but more of the fear of his own experience - a gorgeous chapter of life it had been. We can see in the previous chapter, and some prior to that, whereby Minoru had thought over a normal life, a normal experience, and thus a strong desire to settle for the peace of his mind. Minoru is not Minori, whenever he cannot think like, or, be the Minori, his emotional instability would be observed rather frequently (ye, curse you god, why must you make males so fragile...)
That being said, he is accompanying Alice often - much to his annoyance, though of which he did not seem to mind it in particular. He is solitude for sure, but loneliness would not be the correct word to attach to him.
It was hence a good and satisfying ending - except the (unexpected unnecessary) part where I wish I could see a showdown between the girls as to how Minoru should be divided among them - or conquered solely by one goddess. I would bet $100,000 on Okabe Ai though. Lowest odds, highest gains.
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2021
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- 33
I really wasn't sure how this was going to end, but I'm glad I finally finished this after first checking it out years ago. I more or less marathoned the series over the course of a week as my unwind between studies. In some ways, I feel some disappointment that things are so mixed for Minoru, but I'm glad that he was able to maintain his dignity as an idol in the end.
I'm also surprised by how much I grew to like Alice over the course of the story; I initially thought she was annoying and would only serve as an annoying "blackmail the MC cuz of some secret" cliche, but she grew from an annoying 'bad guy' into the person I actually wanted Minoru to end up with. The fact that they seem to be dating at the end is actually really great in my mind, as Minoru's affection for Yoshika wasn't really something either of them could really achieve. In a way, the two felt like that couple in Bakuman that are supposed to be in love, but because of how much time they spend apart, it feels really weird when their affection is being shown off.
All in all, I'm glad that we got such a long crossdressing manga that actually went somewhere beyond "oh no, I'm a boy in an all-girl situation! time for lewd!". I don't regret my time with the manga and even though it has its faults (the reckless abandon that it has for idol worship & the lack of stakes whenever the MC continually had challenge of doing X or being kicked out), this is a story I will never forget. Even though I have 0 interest in the actual AKB49, I think this has made me appreciate the people over at Hololive more.
I'm also surprised by how much I grew to like Alice over the course of the story; I initially thought she was annoying and would only serve as an annoying "blackmail the MC cuz of some secret" cliche, but she grew from an annoying 'bad guy' into the person I actually wanted Minoru to end up with. The fact that they seem to be dating at the end is actually really great in my mind, as Minoru's affection for Yoshika wasn't really something either of them could really achieve. In a way, the two felt like that couple in Bakuman that are supposed to be in love, but because of how much time they spend apart, it feels really weird when their affection is being shown off.
All in all, I'm glad that we got such a long crossdressing manga that actually went somewhere beyond "oh no, I'm a boy in an all-girl situation! time for lewd!". I don't regret my time with the manga and even though it has its faults (the reckless abandon that it has for idol worship & the lack of stakes whenever the MC continually had challenge of doing X or being kicked out), this is a story I will never forget. Even though I have 0 interest in the actual AKB49, I think this has made me appreciate the people over at Hololive more.
