Black and White - Tough Love at the Office - Vol. 3 Ch. 18 - White & Black

[Unma]

I think the only way I could have enjoyed the ending more is if A: the old company was bought out in a hostile takeover by Kuroda and Sakakibara's new company and then proceeded to lay off ever one of the back stabbers. or B: If the company collapsed after Kuroda left due to an investigation by finance authorities. And Kuroda and Sakakibara just get to sit back and watch the news in the morning as they're all dragged out in handcuffs.

A lot of people here seem to have wanted some sort of revenge from Kuroda, not realizing that that would be a really bad addition to this given the very clear themes present in this ending. Any sort of revenge, or even the motivation of revenge, would mean that Kuroda in some way cares about this toxic game. The point is that she doesn't. She doesn't need to win, or lose, all she needs to do is to walk away, and that is frankly the much healthier option for her.

Not gonna lie.. kinda feels like that ending was more made for the sake of ending it ô_ô..

Like the chapter before lead in no way or form into this 😐
Junko literally went 'It's the only thing binding us' as if she wants to be connected to her, but the next second goes 'Ah whatevs' and just leaves eh

It's more like Junko had to resign herself to accepting that she couldn't have Kuroda. This ending definitely doesn't feel like it was led into, but it's thematic and honestly better than what most of us expected (like, a dramatic downfall or something). Junko has lost Kuroda, and that's clear. Junko is smart and can pretty easily tell that no amount of taunting will work anymore. She'd tried that in the past chapters after all, and Kuroda lost her bite a long time ago. The fact that Kuroda no longer cares means that she's lost her only connection to her, and Junko doesn't have much choice but to lay on the bed she's laid for herself.

 

[Goodbyefrankenstein]

FUCK YEAH BITCH!!! WE LOST THE BATTLE BUT WE WON THE WAR

 

[vicentetlg]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I WANT MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE
GOD, I hate endings like this, I don't care how, make them end up together!!
I know most of you liked it and will disagree with me. I don't care.

 

[Legionary_Hunter]

She won, but at what cost

 

[nims]

An ending with a happy satisfied Kuroda and a miserable disoriented confused Junko is perfect

 

[shittycoolusername69]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I WANT MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORE
GOD, I hate endings like this, I don't care how, make them end up together!!
I know most of you liked it and will disagree with me. I don't care.

I think it's supposed to be tragic from Junko's point-of-view. She got what she wanted, but not what she needed: she fumbled the love of her life. It makes me sad, but it feels appropriate for this story.

Of course, I'm glad Kayo found happiness, but it's mostly off-screen, so the tragedy feels more pronounced.

 

[o1ivegr1]

this is literally the best ending we could’ve gotten. but its a shame to see the hr lady end up being corrupted like that ofc she wasnt perfect but she had such good intentions and only wanted to make things right. rlly makes me sad …

 

[tantei_metal]

damn what a great short read. Junko carried this series so hard. Kuroda's character changed too drastically after meeting Satomi, it felt kinda bad for me. Imagine if L gave up on beating Light cause he got a girlfriend. I love that Junko is still in the game at the end and that the HR girl went bad too, wish the series could be longer. I also wish they would've gone more into Satomi's evil side, since they imply she is basically Junko after beating her competition, maybe she even had her own Kuroda when she was younger

 

[stavekoff]

what an ending i fucking love it 10/10 5 stars a+

 

[vicentetlg]

I think it's supposed to be tragic from Junko's point-of-view. She got what she wanted, but not what she needed: she fumbled the love of her life. It makes me sad, but it feels appropriate for this story.

Of course, I'm glad Kayo found happiness, but it's mostly off-screen, so the tragedy feels more pronounced.

I want Junko to shortly after this realize and go after Kayo. I want her to get in the way of Kayo's future relationships. I want her to fight for Kayo's attention, and for Kayo to snap at her with hate sex, and eventually, both come to terms and end up together. That's AT LEAST 8 more chapters or even a sequel. And that's my headcanon, I won't accept this ending.

 

[cornyf]

I really enjoyed this. Bought the 1st volume. Will buy the official translation when it comes out.

 

[1Sun_2Moon]

Oh wow, the ending almost left me speechless. I can say that by far, this is one of the best reads I've had in this genre.

 

[yuryuyuyuyuyuyuyu]

I feel like this have nothing to do with revenge, it seem so wrong to see this as some kind of revenge.
Clearly not the theme of this ending.

junko was willing to chase this woman across the country just to sneer at her and make her eat dirt. and then kuroda looks her in the eyes and goes "you're not worth the trouble!" and walks away! you don't think thats a huge slap in the face? kuroda gets to walk free from all the corporate bullshit and live her life as she chooses and junko is constraining herself even deeper into it? like come on

 

[ZeroBRS]

junko was willing to chase this woman across the country just to sneer at her and make her eat dirt. and then kuroda looks her in the eyes and goes "you're not worth the trouble!" and walks away! you don't think thats a huge slap in the face? kuroda gets to walk free from all the corporate bullshit and live her life as she chooses and junko is constraining herself even deeper into it? like come on

"you're not worth the trouble" pretty much meaning Kuroda don't give a shit right? How it translate to "revenge" then? if you are shirawaka yeah maybe it look like a "slap".
People already explain my reasonning better if you care to read them it woule be cool (Comment from SrNevik is just right below my original comment)
In my opinion the funny thing about all of this is that, most peoples cheer for Kuroda but only see thing as Shirakawa.

 

[yuryuyuyuyuyuyuyu]

"you're not worth the trouble" pretty much meaning Kuroda don't give a shit right? How it translate to "revenge" then? if you are shirawaka yeah maybe it look like a "slap".
People already explain my reasonning better if you care to read them it woule be cool (Comment from SrNevik is just right below my original comment)
In my opinion the funny thing about all of this is that, most peoples cheer for Kuroda but only see thing as Shirakawa.

After reading through some of the other replies like the one you mentioned, and your comment again, im realizing we were all kind of saying the same thing, one way or another. my bad.
i guess when i said what i said i was thinking of a certain saying, i don't remember how it goes exactly, but something along the lines of how living the best life you can manage, can be the best form of revenge (sometimes).

 

[Nautical]

Why does this manga have a comedy tag?

 

[Username1247]

Damn, I didn’t think it’d end that way-I fully expected them to be grappling at each other’s fates until the end. But instead, Kayo let go and went into her future and Junko stayed chained to her present, forever bound to the system she sunk into and the hollow “victory” she claimed. (Also, I know I’m the billionth person to notice this, but I really love how the last panel with both of them in it has “Black” walking into the light and “White” standing in shadow, it’s such a poetic finish.)

 

[tenedorcito0]

I did kind of want them to end up together... but the more I think about it the more overjoyed I am at Kayo walking away from Junko and her toxicity so she can rot on her own along with everyone at the top. I hope Yoshiko does the same. It's just like that one phrase, "The opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference.". Loved the art style, will check out this author's other works