Innocent Noise - Vol. 1 Ch. 6 - A Day the Angel was There
- Thread starter MangaDex
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Why. I was legit considering buying this book. Why. WHYYYYYYY. RUINED
Honestly it was well written though
Honestly it was well written though
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So this was a very well written depiction of the kinds of feelings you get after being sexually assaulted. The self hatred, the attempts to pretend it never happened, the fear of intimacy. It was all conveyed in a way that really resonated with me. Which is why it is inexcusable that it ends so badly. Those feelings are an illusion, brought on by pain and misplaced guilt. And like all illusions, they do fade, eventually. Faster if you talk to someone about them. To have a character who's life is defined by those feelings end their story on a fantasy that the "real them" is somehow living on in the prayer charm is horrible. It frames Shiori as beyond saving; a fallen angel who's "feathers are no more". Which is complete bullshit. Shiori is still worthy of love, just like everyone else.
I should make clear that I don't have a problem with endings that are "too sad," as the author's note next chapter suggests. I like some of avogado6's stories, which for anyone unaware are relentlessly depressing. But I do think misery is an emotion that needs to be evoked with care, especially when it is as raw and realistic a portrayal as this. For example, avogado6's "Odorless" oneshot uses extreme tragedy to comment on the strength of our bonds with animals, and that life is more than a haphazard mixture of body and memory. I cried at the end of reading it, but I also felt satisfied. Suffering with those characters taught me something. In contrast, "A Day the Angel was There" just makes me sick. Shiori didn't need a fairy book reunion with Minami, but she needed a more satisfying conclusion than crying in an alley and fantasizing of a time when she wasn't broken.
Something else worth mentioning - in the afterword, the author alludes to a happier ending being on the other side of the cover. I checked my kindle copy of the book, and there is indeed a 2 page little after story at the end. There's no dialogue, excluding a line from the author saying "A Day the Angel Was There 2-page Afterstory." So if you own the kindle version you can take a look yourself, even if you don't speak Japanese. Nevertheless I'll describe what happens so I can discuss it: Minami notices Shiori crying in an alley. Minami and Shiori are initially shocked. Shiori shakes her head as if to indicate she isn't worthy of talking to Minami. Minami grabs her hand anyway and takes her along, implying that she still loves Shiori.
On paper, this does a lot to fix my problems with the original story. And I do think it is a massive improvement on the original end. But I'm still not satisfied. Like I said before, whether Shiori got together with Minami at the end wasn't the issue. What mattered was Shiori learning to love herself, and to start dealing with her pain in more constructive ways than angry prostitution. This ending kinda has that, in the sense that Shiori realizes Minami still loves her. And we can infer that Minami will help Shiori in healing. But while recovering from that kind of pain is doable, it is not a simple process. I really think we needed another like 10 pages of them talking about what happened, and showing the process of Minami helping Shiori to accept herself. Two pages is way better than nothing though, and I appreciate the author at least tried to fix the issues with the old ending.
I should make clear that I don't have a problem with endings that are "too sad," as the author's note next chapter suggests. I like some of avogado6's stories, which for anyone unaware are relentlessly depressing. But I do think misery is an emotion that needs to be evoked with care, especially when it is as raw and realistic a portrayal as this. For example, avogado6's "Odorless" oneshot uses extreme tragedy to comment on the strength of our bonds with animals, and that life is more than a haphazard mixture of body and memory. I cried at the end of reading it, but I also felt satisfied. Suffering with those characters taught me something. In contrast, "A Day the Angel was There" just makes me sick. Shiori didn't need a fairy book reunion with Minami, but she needed a more satisfying conclusion than crying in an alley and fantasizing of a time when she wasn't broken.
Something else worth mentioning - in the afterword, the author alludes to a happier ending being on the other side of the cover. I checked my kindle copy of the book, and there is indeed a 2 page little after story at the end. There's no dialogue, excluding a line from the author saying "A Day the Angel Was There 2-page Afterstory." So if you own the kindle version you can take a look yourself, even if you don't speak Japanese. Nevertheless I'll describe what happens so I can discuss it: Minami notices Shiori crying in an alley. Minami and Shiori are initially shocked. Shiori shakes her head as if to indicate she isn't worthy of talking to Minami. Minami grabs her hand anyway and takes her along, implying that she still loves Shiori.
On paper, this does a lot to fix my problems with the original story. And I do think it is a massive improvement on the original end. But I'm still not satisfied. Like I said before, whether Shiori got together with Minami at the end wasn't the issue. What mattered was Shiori learning to love herself, and to start dealing with her pain in more constructive ways than angry prostitution. This ending kinda has that, in the sense that Shiori realizes Minami still loves her. And we can infer that Minami will help Shiori in healing. But while recovering from that kind of pain is doable, it is not a simple process. I really think we needed another like 10 pages of them talking about what happened, and showing the process of Minami helping Shiori to accept herself. Two pages is way better than nothing though, and I appreciate the author at least tried to fix the issues with the old ending.
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Unfortunately, theres people who had this horrific experience out there.
I didnt payed attention if there was a theme for the series or were just random stories... but nonetheless, the weight here is completely out of place by comparison. Like, i understand the author for whatever reason wanted to write about it, but it simply ruined the mood of the rest of it. Something like a bloody knife hidden inside a fluffy bunny, u surely would only remember the knife and completely forget there was a fluffy bunny there too.
I didnt payed attention if there was a theme for the series or were just random stories... but nonetheless, the weight here is completely out of place by comparison. Like, i understand the author for whatever reason wanted to write about it, but it simply ruined the mood of the rest of it. Something like a bloody knife hidden inside a fluffy bunny, u surely would only remember the knife and completely forget there was a fluffy bunny there too.
