to be honest this one is not something i expected...
Such a cliche..., irl it is really bless to have an escape with ur first love.....
Why mangaka cannot be honest...there can be another way to connect Haru with the kid, dont give us this cliche...
And the story was so strong back then....
@TheSilverhand dunno if calling it cliche, but at least, the story is kind of on point here. Yuri, AKA The first love, is not like she seems to be and Souta feels something is really wrong with her smile and stares. The first dozen of episodes kind of established Yuri and his mom are special nutcases regarding their relationships with Souta.
Also, Haru decides to behave as if she didn't know his situation bc, let's be honest: if MC realizes she's being nice bc she knows he's piss poor, surely he will feel she's just pitying him and might consider suicide as the only option. And it's reasonable for him to get attached to the evul jk, she's the only one who, money aside, treats him as a normal human being instead of a special snowflake.
@WhisCalifa69 i dont know about Yuri smile and stare, i dont think it is mentioned in the manga...
I do imagined what if I am in Souta position, and having same situation like him (poor and have a mother with a situation)....
I kinda get when he rejects Yuri kiss, since he probably feels embarrassed and dont know what to do. But to run away and the thinking to be with Haru, that's i dont understand...coz he was actually hurt a lot when he knew that Haru only interest in his money and not him...
And i dont think he is a simp (if he is, well...that's sucks...)
and i hope Yuri is not a cliche third wheel that turn out has a dark sides....She seems to have a black and white justice but so far it is fine, she even didnt try to pull Souta, when he was not listening to her advice....
There's a pattern there that doesn't happen when Souta interacts with Haru or the time he interacted with his homeroom teacher. Fumi and Yuri both get heavy shadow details on their faces when smiling. And it's not bc of the dimlights or bc of being at night.
(@feelfreetopmixlonetochangenick3 might be interested on the next part too) The thing about Yuri (blackhaired girl unless authresses draw her with color pages. Thanks to the illustrations and chapter 4 colored pages we know Souta and Fumi both have brown hair) is that she's actually really insidious, but not an evil bastard, bc she always had everything handed on a silver plate (a talent for music, a pretty face, friends, suitors, and a wealthy, loving and really caring family core of mom, dad and older sister, literally the healthiest one of the love triangle. Even a social outcast and a pariah like Souta with his gentleness at the middle school entrance ceremony. That alone was enough to have an impact on her, despite of being told to not associate with him bc he's poor. Before that, she thought boys are scary). Bc of that, when she thinks she's losing the things she easily got, her true prejudical personality comes to surface. Remember she threw a tantrum bc he stubbornly defended the bridge girl and got her beta orbiters (now that i reread the first dozen of chapters, i realized one of the about-to-be-rapists is the same kid who bullies Souta when has the chance) to almost commit statutory rape on Haru by forcing her to do whatever they want bc of muh money. Not necessarily evil, but conceited, selfish and overly patronizing, just like Souta's mom and also takes things for granted.
The true thing is that she's infatuated without knowing more about Souta other than "being a cute and gentle kid" (let's be honest, MC is actually cuter than the main girls themselves). She doesn't know anything of him besides of his poverty. And that's not enough to keep your crush with you. Her technically pampering him on their date doesn't help to his personal growth.
Also, blame Souta for not letting her know he's singleparented AND being a literal SOB (justified on those 2 bc Yuri is prejudical af. She could turn against him if she knows his family is all the things she hates the most), being a horny brat and self admittedly an idiot. Haru leaving an impact on him, being open about herself about what she hates and likes (and as a response, Souta also opening himself, being sincere and also being a bit of a roastie as of ch. 16. He's still fortunately dense to not notice Haru knows about his situation but decided to act like she doesn't know and treat him like always so he doesn't drift apart from her out of shame) and treating him as he really is: a horny and naive idiot with a heart of gold and a gentle streak and not like a poor special circumstances kid only makes things way worse for Takasaki.
This manga is all about valuing people you have by your side and the meaning of their actions, things that you can't buy with money. Yuri fails at that bc she got everything very, very easily. Haru realized the true meaning and value of Souta's pennies at time, otherwise, this manga would've ended at ch. 12 and SouYu would've become endgame.
PD: last chapter (16) proved that Souta dodged the simp bullet and was smart enough to take the chance to "ask" Haru out once he noticed he was being permapissed about her family and her name and saw the announcement the aquarium was opening for free due to its anniversary. He also managed to to cheap out the (not) date he had with Haru and make her smile again after 6 chapters (hoping he doesn't push his luck this time and doesn't ask her for a kiss) . Good for him, bad for me, bc i wanted him to be a simp so i can bully him, now that KanoKari's Kazuya got enough of being such a simp and is drifting himself apart from Chizuru. Dammit, i need someone to make fun of.
@WhisCalifa69 i already write a long reply but somehow it got deleted... technically i push a wrong button...
in short :
- I think you are being nitpick about ur comment on smile...
- I dont believe the boys was Yuri's henchmen... she was simply channel her anger without any agenda...
(her, ordering her henchmen is sooo... cliche and boring)
- I also ship Haru over Yuri, but i want to see it in a believable story, in story that relate. This arc (Yuri stealing Shouta), i cant feel it happen in real life (like i said before in my previous comment)...
- IMO, author seems like trying to make a conflict but then get scared away. Or he/she simply gives a thrill only to put it down in the next chapter.... just like a cliche romcom we used to have...either ways, i hope this is only a fluke, and the remaining story will be as strong as before...
It's not that Yuri would steal Souta (tbf, she knew him since junior high's 1st year, that alone is a legit reason for her to go steady with MC),the thing is that she could turn against him and give him the cold shoulder if he favours Haru over her or gets caught. Then again, it's not like he's going steady with 2 people at the same time. Still, he's walking a thin line right now.
Honestly, Yuri ain't a bad girl or a "homewrecker" type of character. She only takes things for granted, and has manipulative streaks, those are her fatal flaws, but overall, she doesn't mean bad and looks for Souta's well being (on the surface). And those guys aren't her henchmen, just a mixed bag between some of her beta orbiters and junior delinquents (she's popular and the school idol, can't blame her for having quite a number of fanboys on her school. Sorry for using 4chan slang) and happens that one of the boys is one of Souta's bullies. My bet is that Yuri doesn't know he went to Kasuga bridge after dumping her amidst of their date, remember she thinks Souta is helping his parents on their small family business (truth is that he's doing sweatshop jobs with his single mother and giving his scarce bucks to Haru) and things will happen more or less like the first 6 chapters (with Souta "dating" her and at the same time, giving his bucks to Haru/taking Haru out to make her forget about her shitty circumstances for a while). Remember that Souta's developing a really bad habit of being a liar to both his mom and Yuri. More likely than not that shit will bite him in the ass in the next quarter of chapters.
PD: @GuitarLegend this chapter marks the end of the 2nd vol. Apparently, nips became a bit divisive about which girl should Souta gravitate into, some of them are rooting for Yuri bc she's more interesting and intriguing according to them and others for Haru bc of the issues she has in common with Souta. A few of then became Fumi defense corps
@okaerin too bad he really meant it as going outside to play at the playground, ngl. He really had such a stunted late-childhood (bc his early childhood wasn't really that shitty despite his poverty. It was when he was finishing his elementary cyclr and entering into middle school that he began to be shunned away and bullied for being poor) .
I firmly disagree with the idea that Takasaki "isn't a bad girl"; she is a 100% manipulator and completely selfish in her relationship with Souta. Look at how aggressive she's been in trying to win him over; it's not because she truly cares about him, it's like she wants to make him depend upon her, to possess his heart. Her behavior is very similar to his mother's, and to Souta's credit, he was able to push her away when Takasaki went in for the kiss. If he had kissed her, in her mind, he'd already be hers; and any further rejection from him would result in serious social consequences. Like I said before, Takasaki seems nice and everything on the surface, but that's only as long as things are going her way and her ideas are not being challenged.
Phew... that was close. She had him almost lock on her fingers...
But i get why she would be interested in him because of that flashback, but i dont get why is this girl so desperate. But surely she wants to own him like his mother wants to.
