Hachigatsu Kokonoka Boku wa Kimi ni Kuwareru. - Vol. 7 Ch. 45

[MangaDex]

 

[BongoKatze]

We’re one chapter behind because the latest one isn’t free anymore

I’ve got a lot I want to add, but I’ll share it tomorrow. I’ve been stuck in front of a computer for like 10 hours straight, I’m deadass tired

If you guys have any questions, just ask I'll answer it tomorrow as well

 

[BalrogDeMorgoth]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[blablablub]

So, is it the 9th of august? Looks like he's getting eaten so it must be.

 

[Hikineet]

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[BongoKatze]

So, is it the 9th of august? Looks like he's getting eaten so it must be.

Yes, it is August 9th. We’ve actually reached this day multiple times before, and there are a couple of details that hint at it:

1. The sky appears flesh-like, just like we saw in chapters 17 and 43

2. As the loop nears August 9th, Ao’s personality gradually starts being overwritten by Shin’s, which happens in chapters 8, 15, and 26

3. A cut appears on Ao’s face. I didn’t think much of the injury at first, so I completely overlooked it for a long time. But as Ao slowly starts being overwritten by Shin, you can also see the wound reappear on his face, which is most likely the same injury Ueda gave him back in chapter 1. There are honestly so many deep cuts like this throughout the series. A lot of the foreshadowing is hidden in tiny details that don’t seem important until dozens of chapters later

This gives us a rough estimate of when the loop starts, probably the day after Okuri Ookami killed Ueda. Right now, I can only narrow the time of starting point down to somewhere between July 27 - August 9, 2014. (Read my comment on TsureAo ch 66 if you want to see how I figured out the time setting)

My thoughts on this chapter

Being nothing more than a vessel for Shin seems to have destroyed Ao’s sense of self-worth. He starts believing that maybe it would be better for him to simply disappear and let Shin take over completely. He even asks Ushi Onna whether she would prefer Shin over him, and her response makes it clear that she genuinely cares about Ao as well. Samejima also shares this sentiment, showing that there are monsters who truly love Ao for who he is, not just because of Shin

Okuri Ookami’s case feels a bit different, though. Her love for Ao is inherently tied to the fact that he carries Shin’s heart. At the same time, she doesn’t actually want Shin to fully take over Ao, because she believes Shin would realize that she is merely a beast who killed the real Miyako and then began taking her place so that Shin could love her too

That’s why she asks for forgiveness here. She’s confessing her sin and begging Ao/Shin to continue loving her despite it

To become someone Ao could love, Okuri Ookami even goes as far as abandoning the core of what makes her an Okuri Ookami, trying to become something closer to a human. But that attempt never truly succeeded

However, that failure might end up becoming a saving grace for Ao and the others. Because Okuri Ookami is not human, she isn’t bound by the laws that constrain most supernatural entities born from human ideas and beliefs. That makes her a powerful force against other entities that operate within those rules

Other details I missed

There’s a ritual called Hitobashira (人柱), meaning “human pillar,” where a person would be buried alive under or near structures like bridges, castles, or walls. People believed the victim’s spirit would become part of the structure itself, protecting and stabilizing it

The reason I bring this up is because Haruo’s surname, Hashiraba (柱場), roughly means “pillar ground,” and it shares the same kanji for “pillar.” Then in chapter 43, we find out Haruo’s main objective in this town is to sacrifice himself to seal Ushi no Kubi inside the town of August 9th

Now I can’t stop wondering if that was intentional foreshadowing for Haruo’s fate. And if it was, that’s honestly kind of crazy to think about, especially since the name “Hashiraba” already appeared way back in tomomi’s 2018 four-page manga, before Hachigatsu Kokonoka even become a series

It’s him…
Damn it…
Everything is his fault...
That bastard…
「Hashiraba」

What makes me believe this even more is that Tomomi actually referenced Hitobashira very vaguely in a single page of TsureAo ch 62. There’s a photograph showing a ghost beneath a bridge with flowers left there, probably as some kind of memorial for her

My prediction for this manga ending

I think Ao is really going to die in this manga, eaten by Okuri Ookami. Haruo will probably die too, sacrificing himself to seal Ushi no Kubi and the other supernatural entities. And once Ushi no Kubi breaks containment, that’ll likely become the plot of the next series. I’m not sure what’ll happen to Natsume, but Shidou will definitely survive

 

[Zet1502]

insanity

Thank you for your service and for your sacrifice