Chihaya Re:Start! - Vol. 1 Ch. 3 - And the summer begins.

[MangaDex]

 

[Shadow_Murlock]

No posts yet but I’m just here to say this is absolute cinema…

 

[Serenata]

We all need an Ayase in our lives

 

[UdenEmpati]

I really fuck with Chihaya being this negative and self-pitying.
So often a character in their "super down & out and pitiful" position, whether self-induced or externally forced - is either internal with their "woe is me" whining, or are weirdly upbeat in the face of overwhelming (or even just realistic) depressing circumstances.

Chihaya fully just deflecting every instance of her failure toward something else, blaming everything and everyone for her struggles and accusing Mio of having "such an easy life" is just so weirdly relatable. Not everyone is even-keeled or has a solid emotional foundation; and Chihaya has, arguably, an actual reason (if not a 'rational' one) to feel that way, with her One Thing she had being taken from her (in her eyes) by Mio back in middle school.

Her going all-in on the pity party from that point onward makes for compelling reading, because you know as the reader that she's in the wrong, but the self-destruction train just becomes an emotional car crash you can't look away from, to see whether others will coddle her, or help her, or abandon her.
And I personally think there's a great balance in the petulance of her character, but without going to the extent that it becomes exhausting to get through.
As childish as she's being....it makes sense, and you can empathize with her, because I suspect many people have had similar sentiments when they really would like to just crash out and scream and cry and feel pity for themselves, rather than sucking it up and pushing through it all.

She's kinda like a release valve in that sense.

And, there's the expectation that she will work through this and come out better (and hopefully happier) on the other end. So seeing her hitting rock bottom now, only to get to witness the journey back up and onto her feet, should be a treat.



Thanks for the TL work on this series. I'm super looking forward to more.

 

[nikutameruraput]

I really like where it's going. I was scared the author would take the easiest approach and made them time slipped to redo their lives.

 

[jackjack9]

Feeling like the world and everyone else has moved on while you're stuck in one place really hurts.

 

[jonnywarlock]

Oh, I like where this is going. Time to get their RUN on. 🤭

 

[alfirizkyr]

That is probably one of my favorite spreads of any manga ever. It was such an important moment in their entire setup drama and it hit so fucking hard. Nearly made me cry there. Goddamn.

 

[mcmoor]

Ok this turns better than expected.
I'm excited for next chapter. Still don't know how it'd go more than 1 volume tho.

 

[ninjacookie]

I get Chihaya.

With the unfortunate circumstance happening, you are stuck and let it haunts you while everyone else moved on. You know it's your own fault, but you can't fully accept it and blame everything else.

Also the bestfriend being buddy buddy with someone else while kinda cold towards you because you havent met up for a long time really hurts. You thought they will always be with you just like before, but they also moved on from you.

 

[detarameMangadex]

Thanks for the chapter :D

I love how this chapter implies that Ayase ordered Coke high-balls because she was thinking of Chihaya. As someone else said, we all need an Ayase in our lives.

That aside, I think I'm beginning to understand Chihaya. She's not just someone with a "woe is me" mentality; she has this mentality and is aware of how this mentality makes her struggle. She is absolutely aware that the reason why she feels stuck is because she has a mental breakdown every time a setback occurs. It is absolutely her own fault.

The issue is, she is past believing in changing this mentality: every time she tried to prove that she can make a change in her life and outlook, external circumstances have caused her to fail. If her life being a mess is her own fault, to what extent are her actions and reactions determined by her? She feels doomed to fail again and again because of herself, which is the one thing she feels she cannot change.

In this sense, she is just as rational as Mio. Common sense can't save her because she knows exactly what is wrong with herself. She knows that she wants to run, but doesn't believe life will let her.

It's hard not to relate. It feels wrong saying that without bringing up personal anecdotes – which I'm sure we all have – but I think, like Chihaya, I'm not ready to talk about past experiences of failure yet.

Really, Mio is the only way out for Chihaya. Chihaya needs an irrational urge to improve that can overcome her more rational mentality of "I can't improve because I won't improve." Being drunk helps too, I guess.

Lastly, this is a bit of a reach, but I just noticed that Chihaya's t-shirt has a very angry tanuki on it. I'm not familiar with Japanese culture at all, but tanuki symbolize transformation and change, which is rather apt for this chapter. If this was intentional, that's pretty neat.

 

[UdenEmpati]

Thanks for the chapter :D

I love how this chapter implies that Ayase ordered Coke high-balls because she was thinking of Chihaya. As someone else said, we all need an Ayase in our lives.

That aside, I think I'm beginning to understand Chihaya. She's not just someone with a "woe is me" mentality; she has this mentality and is aware of how this mentality makes her struggle. She is absolutely aware that the reason why she feels stuck is because she has a mental breakdown every time a setback occurs. It is absolutely her own fault.

The issue is, she is past believing in changing this mentality: every time she tried to prove that she can make a change in her life and outlook, external circumstances have caused her to fail. If her life being a mess is her own fault, to what extent are her actions and reactions determined by her? She feels doomed to fail again and again because of herself, which is the one thing she feels she cannot change.

In this sense, she is just as rational as Mio. Common sense can't save her because she knows exactly what is wrong with herself. She knows that she wants to run, but doesn't believe life will let her.

It's hard not to relate. It feels wrong saying that without bringing up personal anecdotes – which I'm sure we all have – but I think, like Chihaya, I'm not ready to talk about past experiences of failure yet.

Really, Mio is the only way out for Chihaya. She needs an irrational urge to improve that can overcome her more rational mentality of "I can't improve because I won't improve." Being drunk helps too, I guess.

Lastly, this is a bit of a reach, but I just noticed that Chihaya's t-shirt has a very angry tanuki on it. I'm not familiar with Japanese culture at all, but Tanuki symbolize transformation and change, which is rather apt for this chapter. If this was intentional, that's pretty neat.

The fact that I can personally relate to Chihaya should fill me with resentment and a bit of dread, but honestly it's refreshing being introduced to a protagonist that just...well, as you said, is justifiably defeatist and pissed at everyone and everything about it.

And most importantly - in a way that absolutely makes sense, and is vindicated by the fact that it's not quite all her fault, as you stated. I wager every human being out there has some way to relate to Chihaya on some level, and that humanness of her state of mind and being over all the shit that's happened to and around her, makes her intensely likeable, even as one might hesitate to ever try and express the why.

And you don't see that often in manga, maybe literature at large - at least not done in a way that makes you want to root for a character, and not feel exhausted or annoyed by them. The author really did thread the needle of a down-and-out protagonist who whines and complains and despairs, and does so in a way that makes you empathize and sympathize, and want to see her come out the other end standing tall.

I agree that Mio is the way to that; though I'm curious if this will be a story purely of Chihaya's growth and redemption, having been "left behind" by everyone around her, or if others will have their own struggles and journeys that they will embark upon alongside her.
Mio's clearly got her own stuff going on, even if it seems like nothing compared to Chihaya (going off what we can see due to Chihaya's POV bias), and given the two are seemingly inextricably linked over this history between them, I daresay Mio's got her own arc to push through as well.

Excited to find out, though.

 

[Jybu]

lovin this so far hahaha, had a big dumb smile the whole chap lowkey

 

[HawkGoggles]

I can't stop thinking how diabolical these volume covers are after every chapter.

 

[UnvalidUserName]

These manga has been an absolute blast so far. The art, the comedy, the grounded drama, the flawed characters, it's all excellent. This is some gourmet shit

 

[alfirizkyr]

Lastly, this is a bit of a reach, but I just noticed that Chihaya's t-shirt has a very angry tanuki on it. I'm not familiar with Japanese culture at all, but tanuki symbolize transformation and change, which is rather apt for this chapter. If this was intentional, that's pretty neat.

In a way, this is correct! Though not quite literally, as tanuki also symbolize other things (going with the flow, as they're a lot less vindictive than kitsune or itachi; innocence, as they're a lot less brutal than kitsune or itachi; loneliness, as they didn't form communities or hierarchies like kitsune or itachi; etc.), but of the three animals ascribed with the power to shapeshift, the tanuki was always considered to be the best at it.

 

[MeganeR]

The way the crying face was drawn really gets me. Series is absolute cinema so far

 

[awwwchuu]

noice

 

[Bireus]

I understand the discombobulated crashout

 

[sarusa]

I like this way better than the cliche sports manga it started out as. Fight Chihaya! Never give up Chihaya!