GraPara! - Vol. 14 Ch. 135 - Sex Scenes

[tongarro]

You know what !

Sakura and Shinobu didn't see or didn't contact each other for 9 chapters (from chapter 127 to chapter 135).

And the volume 14 contains chapter 128 to 136!

Will Airi Katsura (sensei) let them meet in last chapter 136 for a few panels ? LOL

Will it be the first ever love comedy manga that the MC and the FMC don't even meet each others in the whole volume. LOL

The script is written with no regard for logic or consistency. AK (sensei) just throw in whatever she thinks and abruptly alters characters' personalities. This is insane !

Them not ending up together doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. At one point, I thought the ending might be Shinobu writing and directing a movie based on his experiences with Sakura.

Through working on the film, Shinobu could come to terms with his feelings, let go of the past, and move on with his life. Meanwhile, Sakura could watch the movie and finally realize what Shinobu had done for her, as well as recognize her own mistakes and mature as a person. In the end, they could simply go their separate ways and continue with their lives.

Something along the lines of the ending of La La Land.

The problem for Airi would be an ending without showing any boobs.

 

[elisias]

It honestly feels like Airi has started confusing Sakura's personality with Fumi's. Fumi has always been the kind of character who speaks her mind whenever she gets the chance, unlike Sakura, who tends to keep things to herself. That's why what happened in Chapter 135 feels so absurd to me—it comes across as a problem with Katsura Airi's writing rather than a natural development for Fumi's character.

KA doesn't care about these character anymore, now they're just like chess pieces to complete this dumster fire.

Honestly, I really hate it when author forget to write human character but treat it as convenience plot device. Like Sasuga Kei did for the last 4-5 chapter of Domestic na kanojo.

 

[iamsean]

Alright, with literally one chapter left and Volume 14 wrapping up at 136, here is my prediction for how Airi Katsura is going to try to land this plane. At this point, there are too many open threads and zero runway left, so expect maximum page compression and complete pacing whiplash.
The "Standard Cop-Out" Route (Most Likely)

• Pages 1–6: The 30-Second Misunderstanding Clear-Up Fumi and Shinobu finally talk. The entire "elephant in the room" issue that was dragged out from Chapter 131 to 135 gets resolved in about three lines of dialogue. Shinobu says something completely oblivious, Fumi realizes it was all just a massive misunderstanding, and all that artificial regression gets swept under the rug like it never happened.
• Pages 7–11: The Token Sakura Reunion. After 6 straight chapters of Sakura and Shinobu having zero contact, Sakura finally pops back into the frame. Katsura Sensei will give them maybe 3 or 4 panels together just so readers can't technically say they were completely isolated for the entire final volume setup. It’ll be a rushed, high-speed conversation acknowledging their past, but with zero emotional weight.
• Pages 12–20: The "Fix Everything" Time-Skip. Because the present timeline is backed into a corner, we get a classic 3-to-5-year time-skip: Shinobu is now a successful director. All the professional growth we should have seen in real-time happens entirely off-screen. The romance gets slapped with a fast-forward band-aid. Either we get a wildly rushed "final choice" that feels completely unearned, or a vague, semi-open ending where Shinobu is just married to his career.

The Absolute Disaster "Bad Route" Scenario (Worst Case)

If you think things are bad now, here is how Sensei could drive this story completely off a cliff in 20 pages:

• Fumi Nuke (Pages 1–5): Instead of resolving the elephant in the room, Fumi's built-up insecurity explodes. Due to the total lack of communication, she breaks things off with Shinobu on the spot. Because Shinobu is still completely clueless, he just lets her walk away without fighting for it.
• The Whiplash Pivot (Pages 6–12): A confused, brooding Shinobu randomly bumps into Sakura for the first time in 6 chapters. Staring into the sunset, they have a forced, 3-page "epiphany" conversation where the story tries to convince us that Sakura was the real endgame all along—completely ignoring the zero buildup or setup for it in the past volume.
• The Bittersweet Cop-Out (Pages 13–20): Fast-forward a few years. Fumi is gone from their lives entirely, Shinobu is a director, and his relationship with Sakura is framed as this solemn, "we made it through the pain" dynamic.

Why this route would ruin the series:
It turns the entire final arc into a contest of who gets written into a corner first. Fumi gets reduced to a casualty of forced miscommunication, Sakura gets a hollow "win" with zero emotional foundation, and Shinobu comes out looking like an emotionally incompetent tool who just drifted into whoever was standing closest to him.

Bottom line:
Whether it's the standard cop-out or the absolute bad route, Chapter 136 is going to feel like an author trying to beat a deadline rather than delivering a satisfying conclusion. Prepare yourselves for maximum damage control.

You say all that, but i say Airi can't write. Maybe you are right, but history says otherwise. I expect more of the same disaster with no resolution and more questions than answers.

 

[Renvis]

You say all that, but i say Airi can't write. Maybe you are right, but history says otherwise. I expect more of the same disaster with no resolution and more questions than answers.

You are right. I am putting too much faith in Airi's ability to write. She already has proven to us, so far, that she can't write a good story. Doesn't help as well that the editor is just as abysmal.

 

[Renvis]

Signing off before my blood pressure explodes. Time to get some rest so I have maximum precision tomorrow for the Tau army build. If I accidentally superglue my fingers together in the name of the Greater Good, just know I died serving the Empire.

 

[iamsean]

You are right. I am putting too much faith in Airi's ability to write. She already has proven to us, so far, that she can't write a good story. Doesn't help as well that the editor is just as abysmal as well.

But the art is top notch now! At least someone from the project benefited

 

[Des0]

But the art is top notch now! At least someone from the project benefited

At this point, I honestly hope Nishikida Keishi parts ways with Katsura Airi and goes on to grow as a manga artist without her—just like Sakura did with Shinobu.

Or, if Airi ends up working on a new project with another artist or creative team, I honestly hope they ignore her directions—just like Fumi is doing now.

That's the best ending I could ask for at this point.

 

[SS-2010]

So in saying that he isn't leaving her she isn't going to leave him so there is nothing to show that sakura and shionbu will get back together at all. Arir is consistent in one thing she dose in fact set up what will happen between characters and she hasn't set up a shionbu/Sakura reunion at all so don't expect it I think the last chapter will focus on the fallout with fumi showing them parting ways so bullshit ending incoming.

Fumi will leave Shinobu because she knows he will never love her. In opposite, don't you think fucboy can be ignored by Sakura and know he will never win her heart? For how long?

There is no relationship to keep? I do believe both Sakura x fucboy and Shinobu x Fumi are one-time sex as the story portrayed that they didn't live together. (Mio gave Sakura a ride) They didn't stay close to each other or contact each other every day like lovers. If Sakura is fucboy's lover, she can call him to ask on the day she received the offer, not visited him at his place with a different dress (seem to be the other day). So, fucboy's priority is low. If you're lover, you'll call your partner to ask immediately, not to wait for a few day and visit him to ask.

With a gap of relationship like this, it won't last long. No regular meeting. Still call each other with respect (Sakura changed from Yuma-kun to Yuma-san). Though Sakura won't leave him, she won't contact him daily as lovers. How long the fucboy stand being nobody to Sakura?

For sex, with the relationship like this, do you think Fumi or fucboy can call Shinobu or Sakura and say "hey, come to my room tonight after work and let's have sex."? Both Sakura and Shinobu won't accept that invitation because they're not a prostitute. LOL

So, both Sakura and Shinobu had one-time sex (implied by the meeting of Nagi and Mio) and never said "I love you" to fucboy or Fumi. Both Sakura x fucboy and Shinobu x Fumi relationship are easy to break at any time. It's not a relationship of lovers, not at all.

Sooner or later, fucboy will break up with Sakura and Fumi will fade off Shinobu also. Maybe, we'll see it in chapter 136 after the timeskip. If they're not going to break up, why chapter 135 spent many priceless panels to show the weak relationship thru the immoral conversation of fucboy and the blond ?

The author (may be Keishi Nishikida sensei now) wants to show us fucboy relationship is callapsing, right? Maybe after time skip, both Shinobu and Sakura will become single. I believe KN sensei took care of the ending now because Airi Katsura (sensei) concentrates to her Comiket participation. I mean they already reached an agreement on the ending. However, the power is in the hand of the artist because manga is the drawings, not just the story like novels.

@diphuc1 I don't know Sakura and Shinobu will meet but I'm sure they'll become single. To be reminded, Shinobu and Sakura haven't met or contacted each other since chapter 127 (the last chapter in volume 13). It's 9 chapters now! If they didn't meet in chapter 136, they won't meet in whole volume 14.

Is it a rom-com manga? LOL

 

[SS-2010]

Aren't there 6 chapters? The message was in 130

Sorry the message is one-way comunication but you can count it. LOL

 

[ItzDonner]

This is one of the biggest examples of why you shouldn't be a simp. In the end you get nothing. Just wet your dick and get out

 

[Des0]

This is one of the biggest examples of why you shouldn't let your pride get the better of you. In the end, the sales ranking you were so proud of fell out of the top 10 as soon as another series released around the same time overtook it.

 

[VuongOuki]

I think Airi has never had a partner, or she got dumped mercilessly by a man. Airi has no idea how to show how a normal couple actually communicates

 

[ItzDonner]

This is one of the biggest examples of why you shouldn't let your pride get the better of you. In the end, the sales ranking you were so proud of fell out of the top 10 as soon as another series released around the same time overtook it.

She has the same situation with gal cleaning author. She's not coming to manga ever again. It's just not getting in her head the readers aren't her yes man. They are her client. It's her job to make them satisfied as custumers. Her career as a manga writer just took a nosedive and it's never going to recover. That's it.

 

[Yuricrap]

To be honest, I’m not upset, because I never got emotionally invested in the characters; I read this like an extremely long doujin, enjoying the sex scenes and the NTR moments, like when the lesbian couple gets addicted to cock.

The only thing that annoys me is that we’ll probably never see Chico-chan lose her virginity... Personally, I would have loved for it to happen with Muutan or Toppy, and for her to end up becoming a slut.

 

[Orpheus7]

Dude the netorare made the entire romance aspect of the story pointless there was no point other than to set up the ntr. That took over a hundred chapters by itself. That didn't need to take as long as it did since now Arir is recycling plot elements from that to do the same with fumi breaking them apart most likely.

I don't get why we're overlooking all the other NTR/romance plots in the manga with the side characters. It took long cause the main story is some guy wants to fuck Sakura and Shinobu or plot reasons stop her from going all the way meanwhile the side characters have their romance and their NTR stories being told in the arc. Why does everyone want the plot to stop just to have Sakura get fucked by some rando when Sakura and Shinobu weren't even dating like 50~ chapters in.

 

[iamsean]

To be honest, I’m not upset, because I never got emotionally invested in the characters; I read this like an extremely long doujin, enjoying the sex scenes and the NTR moments, like when the lesbian couple gets addicted to cock.

The only thing that annoys me is that we’ll probably never see Chico-chan lose her virginity... Personally, I would have loved for it to happen with Muutan or Toppy, and for her to end up becoming a slut.

Uhhh, that was the bonus story to pump sales up for volume 13. Its on here anyways and its got more comedy than the whole main story.

 

[joshalper]

…what the fuck are these people doing?

 

[ItzDonner]

I don't know man, i'm genuinely baffled. To have a promising career and shoot yourself in the foot.

 

[e3136282]

Just a heads up to everyone enjoying this thread..

Real life is nothing like this. Fictional works often oversimplify real life to make their stories more compelling to the readers. In the case of grapara, Airi has taken the real life idea of misunderstandings leading to critical decisions being made in a flash by people whose minds are clouded by their feelings of betrayal and want for revenge, and cranked it to illogical levels.

People talk. Whenever they face a difficult situation, when they feel like they're not getting enough out of a relationship, hell, even when they're feeling sad about something, people will talk to their loved ones. Sure, there are people that don't.. but that's what you get when you only try to see the negative part of this. A vast majority do try to clear up these misunderstandings.. atleast from my personal experience.

Almost all these major events that happened in the last twenty chapters could've been solved if Airi wrote these characters to be human. But no! These are just two dimensional characters with a one dimensional train of thought. They're written to do this. They were doomed from the start.

Sure, we get some instances.. but those are outliers in the grand scheme of this manga. Sakura could have talked to Shinobu about him allegedly cheating on her. Fumi had a WHOLE MONTH to talk to Shinobu about what he thinks about her, and about his lingering feelings for Sakura, which would have led to this current shooting going normally..


But at last, we can only talk about how Grapara could've had a decent ending.. the work was doomed a lot earlier than this when Airi started to hyper focus on the NTR to make it in her vision. What she sees her characters as will remain a mystery. She's.. truly a special specimen.

In the end, it's just a bad ending to a manga. Correction, a trainwreck at the end of a manga. We got these threads out of it, with 134 crossing 5500 comments, so.. atleast everything that came from this wasn't bad.. right?

 

[900samm]

Ok GUYS actually clear it for me

Why was the cheating/NTR plot "bad"

Ive heard it was rushed - I said it wasn't it took 10~ ish chapters and every instance throughout the manga anyone trying to get with Sakura also had that "rush vibe" if not worst there's a chapter early on were Sakura sees this guy with a huge cock censor (pretty funny there's a comedy) and like the next chapter or 2 he ends up fingering her like ? BUT THAT WASN'T RUSHED?

I've heard the misunderstanding - i don't think it was JUST the misunderstanding. Again Shinobu went soft on her and neglected her for a couple chapters. Plus the Fuckboi found Sakura's pen gift so it's not like he was some irrelevant character either

What other reason?
I do blame the readers cause like I really don't understand how anyone picks up this manga from the beginning reads 5-10 chapters even and go "this is gonna be a really good normal RomCom"
Thats like me watching Goblin Slayer the first episode then I continue to watch and I'm like "eh why is there so much goblin rape in this series. I thought it was gonna be a normal fantasy series what is this garbage" no

Because at the root of it, it's a paper thin drama that somehow has these monumental stakes over 100 chapters in, like notice how nobody actually talks about the issues in this story, especially lately because they are so easily solvable that it becomes apparent that the author can't have the characters talk about the drama and use all the shittiest cliches from the most bottom barrel romance dramas to execute it.