@davievalkyrie yeah while i know changing couples will extend the series i'd rather end on a satisfying conclusion then have forced drama when we know what the ending pair is.
I hate romance shows/stories now. There are a few good ones and the rest are bullshit. This is just the most mediocre story. They'll keep 'building up emotions' with each chapter and then either a) cuck everyone by introducing a new character or b) everyone just goes home sad with nothing to gain and you've wasted your time.
As others have said, this romance is notable for having two female competitors that are--on the surface--equally appealing. Both are physically attractive and both have good character (when you get to know them/beyond initial characterization in Akari's case, anyway, which I think was done simply to establish her "distance" from the kind of guy Jirou is--especially in contrast with Minami). But when you go well beneath the surface, the differences appear.
As a result, I have zero (0) sympathy for Shiori.
Women have a third eye, a sixth sense for this sort of thing. That donkan stuff is barely believable from a man, but is absolutely unimaginable coming from a woman, and Shiori's been playing
(when you think about it, the previous word is debatable)
stupid since before the story started. The moment they had in that park (ch.4, before Shiori transferred away, separating from Jirou in the past) was pretty obviously one with a heavy atmosphere: it was just the two of them, possibly one of their last moments together, and Jirou was blushing from ear to ear, stammering as he fought to get some obviously difficult words out...and Shiori, for some reason, felt the need to interrupt him and give him talk about being "friends". Later in that same chapter, she implicitly instructs Jirou to eat the porridge she made for him himself, subsequently making a show of being cognitively stopped by the thought of Jirou's opinion of Akari's housekeeping skill. In just chapter one, she tells Jirou, whom she would claim to have feelings for, that she's going to be the "bride" of another man. Yes, Shiori, that's the way to win a man's heart--by showing him your back as you make your way to another.
Now that she sees real competition for the guy, she wants to get serious? Though the treatment of Jirou by the girls are essentially two sides of the same coin, at least Akari had the excuse of her dying infatuation blinding her on top of her own shyness (in addition to Jirou's ridiculous indecision) when her feelings for Jirou first sprouted and as time went on--but Shiori had Jirou from the start, and chose to repeatedly sabotage her own progress with him. That behavior goes beyond mere shyness. A lot of childhood friends unfortunately get stuck in the friendzone, but Shiori's a rare example of one that deserves to be there.
Ehhhhh this was a useless ch 😣
But to be honest even tho I want the childhood friend to end with the MC ik that isn’t the ending that we are going to get probably some misunderstanding is going to screw it over😔
Let's see...
He was being kinda assertive with Akari and kinda hitting the nail when it mattered, but now when it matters the most, he's suddenly a coward?
Dunno man, could've done it better.
But oh well, i really wouldn't like to see Akari lose considering how natural is the main couple even if he's suddenly stoopid.