Kusunoki's Flunking Her High School Glow-Up - Ch. 33 - It's my first time seeing such a sad-looking smile

[Doutorfunga]

I'd worry about Hebikawa, but Kusunoki play scaring him and "confessing" liking a magical girl was too adorable and I don't give a toss about anything else

 

[mgRdr]

gonna regret this later: name, please?

It's not as dire as I made it sound, but here you go:

Spoiler

https://mangadex.org/title/cf1c93cc...ga-osananajimi-wo-suki-ni-natte-shimaimashita

 

[Erbakhan]

Okay...? Honestly I wonder how the snake girl's problem gonna related to the story...

 

[Litreara]

she is also a dumbass minor (all minors are). being dumbass and punished for that is not an excuse for this kind of an asshole adults to exist and do that they do. lists for registered sex offenders exists for a reason.

She’s not just a dumbass minor—she’s fully aware of what she’s doing and even admitted to encouraging his actions. Being reckless doesn’t excuse what the guy is doing, but it also doesn’t mean she’s entirely innocent in this situation. She’s consciously making these choices, and while that doesn’t excuse the adult’s actions, she’s far from blameless here.

 

[Litreara]

tbh playing along might be the safer option in the immediate. guy seems to not take a no for an answer...

I’d agree with you if she hadn’t admitted to encouraging his actions. But given that, it's hard to justify playing along as the 'safer' option. That said, none of this excuses what the guy is doing, but she’s not innocent in this either.

 

[RakshaJaeger]

lol
bro has no clue how families with issues work

lol, trying to woo her new stepdad was the way to go then. Lmao even

 

[Lunkli]

Keisuke actually looks fairly similar to Hebikawa, especially in his eyes. Maybe he'll end up disguising himself as her to deal with this "mother's boyfriend" guy at a later point?

 

[MadScientist666]

So, MC did the right thing and intervened. Fortunately, the old guy did not attack him or something like that. However, I can see that Hebikawa will at some point use it against him...

 

[MiguelH224]

Here you go everyone the perfect soap opera drama

That's how it be sometimes irl, shit is disgusting

 

[volodyuka]

She’s not just a dumbass minor—she’s fully aware of what she’s doing and even admitted to encouraging his actions. Being reckless doesn’t excuse what the guy is doing, but it also doesn’t mean she’s entirely innocent in this situation. She’s consciously making these choices, and while that doesn’t excuse the adult’s actions, she’s far from blameless here.

She is a minor though. 15-ish. people of this age are partially exempt of full responsibility for crimes for a reason they still not fully formed their psyche and can be swayed easily into doing heinous shit. Yes, she might be aware of what she is doing, yet she still won't be having proper perspective of her actions and won't fully understand them.

 

[volodyuka]

It's not as dire as I made it sound, but here you go:

Spoiler

https://mangadex.org/title/cf1c93cc...ga-osananajimi-wo-suki-ni-natte-shimaimashita

Ah, this, yeah, not that bad.

 

[Dunslax]

"I-I don't even like her!!"
visibly seething and shaking at the implication she might have a sugar daddy

 

[Litreara]

She is a minor though. 15-ish. people of this age are partially exempt of full responsibility for crimes for a reason they still not fully formed their psyche and can be swayed easily into doing heinous shit. Yes, she might be aware of what she is doing, yet she still won't be having proper perspective of her actions and won't fully understand them.

We'll have to agree to disagree. While I understand the argument that at 15, a person may not have full perspective or maturity, I still believe Hebikawa’s actions show a level of awareness that can’t be ignored. She’s not acting blindly—she’s actively encouraging the guy’s behavior. Even if she doesn’t fully understand all the consequences, she’s still making conscious decisions. Her age doesn’t make her blameless, especially when she’s aware enough to contribute to the situation. That said, I do agree the guy is far more at fault here, but she’s not without responsibility.

 

[volodyuka]

Even if she doesn’t fully understand all the consequences, she’s still making conscious decisions.

can they be called fully conscious though? besides there is whole another aspect, which in IRL often can be a thing behind similar behaviors (which Adder-chan shows some signs of too) - mental illness. more specifically: personality disorder. can you in clear consciousness say that mentally unstable person can be making actions which will be fully conscious? that not fully sane individual can be held fully responsible?

 

[Isobe-jan]

I’d agree with you if she hadn’t admitted to encouraging his actions. But given that, it's hard to justify playing along as the 'safer' option. That said, none of this excuses what the guy is doing, but she’s not innocent in this either.

She hasnt really said she's done anything to encourage his actions apart from playing along which to my understanding just means she has been nice to the guy. Also I wouldnt take how she describes it in this chapter too literally, even keisuke feels like she's just saying shit to throw him off.

 

[the_Bear_from_Bearcave]

also in eyes of law he might even became an accomplice (it is a stretch, but a stretch that can be played out) as is you kinda should report crimes (or potential ones) you are witnessed happening

That's enormous stretch actually. Unless she openly called for help, all he saw was a kid arguing with adult, an adult that she clearly knows well personally, about getting into some place. Even adult would be very unlikely to be found guilty, since it's not at all clear if there is any crime happening there, much less a teenager. Unless such adult was someone potentially responsible for kids, like her teacher maybe, I don't believe anyone could be charged as accomplice here, frankly sounds a bit like thought crime. Which country do you live in that you think that's a risk for him?

And that's even before you account for Japanese dislike of butting into other people's business, especially familial one, to the point it makes it hard to find and protect victims of domestic violence, because people often ignore and don't report it. Same issue with those "nanpa" guys who aggressively hit on women, so common in manga, I've heard it's also real life problem there, since bystanders are not likely to help even visible distressed girl. And with culture of respect to even one year of seniority, not to mention respect owed by kids to adults, you think anybody would blame MC for not challenging an adult and potentially her family member? No way.

By the way one infamous case, that was like I think 30 years ago so a lot could have changed, especially since AFAIK Japan got a lot more active about preventing harassment on trains with campaigns, posters and shit, was where woman was dragged by a guy from her seat in a train car to the toilet and raped there, and afterwards most passengers said they didn't intervene because they thought it was a case of "lovers' quarrel".

 

[the_Bear_from_Bearcave]

She hasnt really said she's done anything to encourage his actions apart from playing along which to my understanding just means she has been nice to the guy. Also I wouldnt take how she describes it in this chapter too literally, even keisuke feels like she's just saying shit to throw him off.

Also her other option is to risk escalating argument with him to the point where her mom hears of it, which could be for her something she doesn't want to risk - either because she doesn't want mom to find out about this, or because she thinks mother will blame her somehow, hard to say without knowing more about her family situation. I can see how she thinks pretending to be nice will be enough for him, as long as she can keep it to dates in public places, or her mother's place, and think he wouldn't be dumb enough to risk forcing her into actual sex.

Though in that case she should hear giant warning bell right now, and she doesn't look like it. We'll see next chapter I guess.

 

[orangerain7734]

Personally I would've turned the other way but if I did help Hebikawa out & learned all that, just state your piece then move on. Keisuke did the right thing by telling her that but how much she'll take that advice to heart is a different matter because you can't always help someone out. Great job on the redraws of that juice & thanks for the translations.

This really puts the phrase 'love your enemies' in a certain perspective for me.
Do you not have affections for your past love interest anymore? Sure. Do you care about their well being because they're still a person with flaws at the end of the day, regardless whether they affected your life? To some, that can be a form of love.

The opposite of love isn't hate, but apathy or disinterest, and I can imagine sympathy, empathy, or pity is a type of love that someone like Hebikawa would severely despise because it frames her as being weak, but she probably needs it more than she thinks, because she's not realizing how weak she really is. I'm pretty sure that 'sad smile' of hers was the first sign of weakness that she's been so desperate to hide but was leaked out to someone who genuinely longed for her in the past.

I'll be curious whether she goes ballistic from getting pitied on by Kusonoki, who she's trying to bring down to her level, but then crumbles when she realizes how poor her approach to life up to now really is.

 

[GregoryFregory]

friendly reminder Hebikawa is the first girl therefore she'll win

 

[Litreara]

She hasnt really said she's done anything to encourage his actions apart from playing along which to my understanding just means she has been nice to the guy. Also I wouldnt take how she describes it in this chapter too literally, even keisuke feels like she's just saying shit to throw him off.

She openly admits to saying things she knows will please him and agreeing to go on 'little dates' with him. This isn't just being nice—she's aware of his intentions and is actively engaging in the behavior he's pursuing. She could be kind without encouraging him this way. And while I understand you might not take her words literally, given the limited information about her family situation, we can only interpret her actions based on her own words.