Kimi ga Hoeru Tame no Uta wo, - Vol. 5 Ch. 21 - I Won't Lose

[MangaDex]

 

[UdenEmpati]

Still not the biggest fan of what looks to be a case of Yuu's mother being forgiven at the end of this, after breaking that family apart and abandoning one daughter to whisk the other away across an ocean with no contact for a decade.

I look forward to Haru proving herself and finding her courage and footing in all of this and proving Miyuki wrong, but it's clear that both the mother and the sister are being set up as these gigantic roadblocks to Yuu's character, and by extension Haru's, and yet there's already hints that we're meant to expect that Miyuki's initial vitriol toward Haru will be handwaved and forgiven after Haru (presumably) crushes her in the final, and she'll just cry and Yuu will forgive her and Haru will, too.

The point is Yuu and Haru's happiness, and whatever form that takes is what's necessary for the story. I think it's just the setup of "my mother took my sister and left me behind" that paints them as antagonistic figures--along with Miyuki being so aggressive and confrontational toward Haru with the whole "stealing my sister (that I left behind for a decade)" shtick. And sure, Miyuki was a child--the mom is who separated them and broke her family apart, and I couldn't find any mention of them maintaining contact during that time--but she makes no effort to understand why Yuu might be with Haru now, or trust her sister's judgment in partners.
She's just arrogant and judgmental, which plays out again when she derides those calling the competition rigged; sure, she might have the raw talent and put in the work, but she clearly has no problem simply dismissing anyone else on the presumption that she clearly worked harder than them, when she'd have no way of knowing (speaking mainly to Haru's case).
They're just not likeable people at this point; Miyuki's rude, demeaning, and falling squarely into the "hostile jealous sibling & rival" role, and the mother's still an engima. When we get the eventual sob story backstory explanation for breaking up her family to push Miyuki into a musical career, I guess I'll make a more complete judgment of her character at that time, but as of now I'm not sure what would justify those past actions, given how much it affected Yuu even after Haru entered her life.

It'll be awhile to find out, though, I expect, as I suspect we'll need more than 3 chapters to do all of this, and thus volume 6 will have the meat of all the interrelational stuff as the contest continues to play out.

 

[Litreara]

Huh. I'm very curious about how this Ruriko plot is gonna unfold. So she's happy that Yuu came to the audition, but she didn't bother telling Yuu that she was coming back, or even meeting with her now that she's back. So I'll stick to my previous post: she regrets leaving her behind and is avoiding Yuu because she's afraid of being hated by her.

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[Brobobo]

Oh i know im gonna get so pissed these coming chapters.... mom showing regret hidden away in a closet but not expressing remorse directly to her daughter... i really hope she gets some sort of shit coming her way

 

[shinmera]

Man I really don't like characters that bully others but then in the story's framing their shit attitude is being used as a "growth lesson" or whatever.

 

[irwen]

thank you for the tl!

 

[BrotherCoa]

Didn't you heard that famous proverb - sharing is caring?

Shimaidon is after all very delicious meal.

 

[Prismatic-chan]

she's making the sister fall for her, too.
but in all honesty, she needs to get much better.
you really shouldn't be doing all of this prep, just to fail at the starting line, that's unfair to everyone else involved.
she has the talent already, even confirmed by Yuu's mother now, and she still struggles to believe it.
what a silly girl.

she can do it.

 

[pik3rob]

Don't want a deadbeat Mom redemption arc.

 

[darkniter123]

I have a feeling they’re going to justify everything the mother did and redeem her—or something like that—and that she’ll be forgiven and they’ll all live happily ever after.

I think the only Yuri series I’ve seen where that doesn’t happen is My Dear Lass; the protagonist’s mother is told it’s too late and shouldn’t force her daughter to forgive her out of obligation. I mean, in this case, she might have her reasons, but that doesn’t mean the daughter she hurt is automatically required to forgive her—which is what almost always happens in these stories.

So anyway, I hope they surprise me; forgiveness isn't always necessary, and sometimes it’s actually quite selfish.

 

[Resound]

GAWD both the mother and her sister have some issues, not contacting her for years and suddenly acting like they didnt ignore her

Yuu should just fuck Haru so she wouldnt be embarrass anymore :3

 

[Niewaznekto]

this is the most 2.5/5 manga writing i've read. Enjoyable enough to read if you are into the genres/tags, but maan

 

[sollasollew]

wait wait im too lazy to read back, is yuu her biological daughter or was it like marriage of two people who already have kids?

 

[UdenEmpati]

wait wait im too lazy to read back, is yuu her biological daughter or was it like marriage of two people who already have kids?

Yuu is Ruriko's daughter. When she and and younger Miyuki were kids (like elementary school age), Miyuki showed talent for singing when Yuu didn't, and Ruriko started focusing on Miyuki more and more and getting her specialized tutors and coaching. It put so much strain on the familial dynamic that she and the husband divorced, and then Ruriko took Miyuki with her to America for ever more focused training and coaching, and she abandoned Yuu and her ex husband, and never contacted her, including when she returned to Japan. It's also not stated outright, but it would appear Miyuki also never once contacted Yuu the entire time, either.

(Yuu tells Haru all of this regarding Miyuki in chapter 5; but Haru doesn't find out Ruriko is Yuu's mom until end of chapter 15/ into 16.)

 

[Kagimizu]

I went back and reread a little bit of Chapter 1 to make sure, but Yuu was already somewhat established via Vocaloid songs right? I wonder if there's a possibility that the mother and daughter both already discovered Yuu's "Yuuri" account, and are thus already keenly aware of the effort she's put into her music. The growth she's undergone in the years since. Which probably made the mother realize that nurturing Miyuki's talent at the expense of Yuu's effort was the wrong way to go about things. She probably realized that breaking up their family and taking Miyuki with her was a mistake, and regrets what she did.

Spoiler: blatant speculation

And this is without assuming there was some well-meaning intention behind it, like Ruriko believing Yuu simply wasn't meant for a musical career. Perhaps she underestimated her daughter's devotion and passion, and didn't want Yuu wasting her life pursuing a hopeless dream. But it's not like she could sacrifice Miyuki's chances at success just to spare Yuu's feelings. Yet keep the two of them together and you'll inevitably breed resentment; either Yuu lives in Miyuki's shadow and suffers the agony of a hopeless/failed pursuit, or Miyuki is forced to stifle her own talents and potential for Yuu to remain happy.

Following that thought process, it's not impossible for a parent to decide the best way to do right by both children is to take their lives in different directions. But that may just be me reading too deeply and theorizing her motivations are deeper than they actually are.

Whatever the case may be, it's a universal truth that parents struggle to admit when they're at fault or have done wrong by their children. And for any parent who loves their child, one of the worst fears imaginable is making your child well and truly hate you. So, assuming Ruriko is already aware she messed up and did wrong by Yuu, she may not have reached out because... well, how do you make amends for such a devastating mistake? How do you confront the possibility of making someone you love and care about resent if not hate you? And so you keep avoiding that confrontation, and before you know it weeks have become months have become years...

As for Miyuki not contacting Yuu in all those years... mayhaps it was some kind of misplaced diligence, as often happens in these kinds of situations? She wanted to not only live up to Ruriko's expectations but also become good enough to perform alongside her sister at the highest level. But she resolved to wait until she was "ready" and had reached the point where she had the skill and the means to do more than just talk big. Also little sisters being little sisters, "she'll be so surprised to see how much I've grown and changed!" kinda deal is also possible.

 

[summoningthegl]

Slowly but surely, Haru will get sister-in-law's approval

 

[UdenEmpati]

I went back and reread a little bit of Chapter 1 to make sure, but Yuu was already somewhat established via Vocaloid songs right? I wonder if there's a possibility that the mother and daughter both already discovered Yuu's "Yuuri" account, and are thus already keenly aware of the effort she's put into her music. The growth she's undergone in the years since. Which probably made the mother realize that nurturing Miyuki's talent at the expense of Yuu's effort was the wrong way to go about things. She probably realized that breaking up their family and taking Miyuki with her was a mistake, and regrets what she did.

Spoiler: blatant speculation

And this is without assuming there was some well-meaning intention behind it, like Ruriko believing Yuu simply wasn't meant for a musical career. Perhaps she underestimated her daughter's devotion and passion, and didn't want Yuu wasting her life pursuing a hopeless dream. But it's not like she could sacrifice Miyuki's chances at success just to spare Yuu's feelings. Yet keep the two of them together and you'll inevitably breed resentment; either Yuu lives in Miyuki's shadow and suffers the agony of a hopeless/failed pursuit, or Miyuki is forced to stifle her own talents and potential for Yuu to remain happy.

Following that thought process, it's not impossible for a parent to decide the best way to do right by both children is to take their lives in different directions. But that may just be me reading too deeply and theorizing her motivations are deeper than they actually are.

Whatever the case may be, it's a universal truth that parents struggle to admit when they're at fault or have done wrong by their children. And for any parent who loves their child, one of the worst fears imaginable is making your child well and truly hate you. So, assuming Ruriko is already aware she messed up and did wrong by Yuu, she may not have reached out because... well, how do you make amends for such a devastating mistake? How do you confront the possibility of making someone you love and care about resent if not hate you? And so you keep avoiding that confrontation, and before you know it weeks have become months have become years...

As for Miyuki not contacting Yuu in all those years... mayhaps it was some kind of misplaced diligence, as often happens in these kinds of situations? She wanted to not only live up to Ruriko's expectations but also become good enough to perform alongside her sister at the highest level. But she resolved to wait until she was "ready" and had reached the point where she had the skill and the means to do more than just talk big. Also little sisters being little sisters, "she'll be so surprised to see how much I've grown and changed!" kinda deal is also possible.

The sticking point for me is that it was enough of a breakdown of their family that their parents got divorced over the strain, and Yuuri was left hearbroken with the only explanation being that she was left behind because she wasn't good enough, like Miyuki.

And whatever regrets Rurika may or may not have, she's still the adult, and she still abandoned her daughter and broke the family apart. She chose to push Miyuki into a singing career, at an age where it's often the parents/adults imposing on the child—and it's easy to interpret Yuuri's recounting in chapter 5 as Rurika doing exactly that. Reading back through, how much of that was Miyuki's wish, and how much of it was Rurika trying to make another version of herself, casting aside whatever got in the way? Maybe an unfair interpretation, but it lines up with the lack of contact for years, and the seeming uncaring manner in which Yuu described her departure in the first place.

Sure, she may have developed doubts and regret, but then she's the adult who's now running away from her child. Hardly becoming of someone in her position.

Ultimately it comes down to whether Yuu will forgive her, and/or want a relationship with her. Chapter 5 also kinda plants the notion that Yuu will do just that, but I think it's also fair to want Rurika held to some account for her actions and behavior and abandonment of her family because of some desire for Miyuki to have a singing career.

Whether she thought she was doing the right thing shouldn't take away from the real hurt she caused Yuu—because it left Yuu feeling like she was part of the reason her family fell apart. It might add texture and context to her actions up to this point, but she's not owed forgiveness, either.

 

[PlsJustLetMeRegisterFfs]

20 chaps in, I am not enjoying this as much as lonely girl. That one was an excited read and a few excited rereads. But here something is just off, for some reason I just don't care as much.
Wonder what's the cause...

 

[Makore]

this is the most 2.5/5 manga writing i've read. Enjoyable enough to read if you are into the genres/tags, but maan

I've been feeling the same for a long while, it's a pretty standard romance story that is decent to follow but the main theme (music industry) is not any good and catchy as other on-going series like Idolatry, IDOLxIDOL STORY and recently Asayake Refrain.

I still like Kashikaze's works but yeah, the plots are not quite good compared to her art lol

 

[quantumcroissant]

this is the most 2.5/5 manga writing i've read. Enjoyable enough to read if you are into the genres/tags, but maan

the romance is solid but the music plot is super weak and gets in the way of the romance. Should've just been Haru gaining her confidence while they perform at a smaller local scale