March Comes in Like a Lion - Ch. 204

[RaiteiShourai]

Thanks for the translation!!!
Kiriyama my boy, love you so much

 

[DanJADO]

The zoom and resolution part was so great, I want that ability XD

 

[Kaarme]

Rei, go talk to her you dope.

She's busy working, serving customers. It would be unnecessary to disturb her until she gets a break.

 

[milkedicecubes]

I havent read this series in a while, what a delightful chapter.

The sincerity of their feelings always strikes so heavily and its just.... Wonderful.

I hadn't read anything in about a year! and I came back, re-read the entire series and my heart is bursting with joy!

 

[alucard680]

Rei and Hina are indeed a cute couple, but I still think Rei and Akari were a better option for the story, the autor didn´t make any other character had a development with Akari until now so any character other than Rei feels weird for Akari. This makes me feel that the autor sacrificed Akari when Hina already had the baseball guy with who she already had a long relationship even before the story started, they even have the same age. But don´t get me wrong I like Shimada and sensei but they don´t have any development with Akari until now and the story is near the ending so there are not enough episodes to develop something for Akari with anyone. But oh well, I hope Akari ends with a no name character in a time-skip and that character is not shown so that doesn´t feel weird.

 

[apstorm]

Rei and Hina are indeed a cute couple, but I still think Rei and Akari were a better option for the story, the autor didn´t make any other character had a development with Akari until now so any character other than Rei feels weird for Akari. This makes me feel that the autor sacrificed Akari when Hina already had the baseball guy with who she already had a long relationship even before the story started, they even have the same age. But don´t get me wrong I like Shimada and sensei but they don´t have any development with Akari until now and the story is near the ending so there are not enough episodes to develop something for Akari with anyone. But oh well, I hope Akari ends with a no name character in a time-skip and that character is not shown so that doesn´t feel weird.

The problem is... Akari didn't have the fire that Rei needed. Rei explicitly has said that Hina saved him, and it was all due to how she just is ... Akari could care for his body, but Hina can care for his soul like no other. And besides, pretty sure the baseball guy turned out to be more of a convenient infatuation thing than anything really serious. By the time he left, it felt like she had already half gotten over him. Pretty sure by the time that was happening, she was already subconsciously growing more attached to Rei than anyone else and vice versa.

Yes, I get we want to see Akari happy, too, but Rei and Hina were explicitly written to end up together, far as I can tell. Their character development towards being a couple started way, way back, and was highlighted, even, when they actually became one at the end of the school festival, with a flashback montage of key moments.

Akari wasn't 'sacrificed'. She just was never in the running from the beginning, but people loved her so much they wanted to pair her with the MC, even if the MC didn't ever see her that way, and never would. In my mind, shipping shouldn't be about what characters we like, but what characters we feel fit each other best, and Akari... never would have made enough of an impression on Rei like Hina had.

Hell, I love Akari a lot. I'd date her over Hina. But I'm not Rei. And, to be honest, I do wonder if I'd actually need the same sort of fiery personality in a partner that Rei needs, too, and I'm fooling myself that I'd settle down with someone like Akari.

Anyway, the clues have been there almost since the beginning. Hell, just going back and checking the very first chapter of the manga, I see the excitement in Hina as she talks with Rei about his shogi match, versus Akari's reaction that's kind of like a mother going, 'that's nice, dear,' in an almost apathetic way. It was never going to be Akari.

Yeah. Re-reading through that very first chapter, and it's quite plain to see that Hina was already the one growing closest to him, seeing and noticing him at his most vulnerable states. Right from the very beginning. Umino made it very clear, looking back, that Hina would be the one to truly watch over and care for Rei, because she was the one doing it right from the beginning in that first chapter, while Akari was little more than a bystander that offered food. Sure, Akari offered him the hospitality of the Kawamoto household, but she never really saw and attended to him the same way Hina did.

 

[Jet515]

The problem is... Akari didn't have the fire that Rei needed. Rei explicitly has said that Hina saved him, and it was all due to how she just is ... Akari could care for his body, but Hina can care for his soul like no other. And besides, pretty sure the baseball guy turned out to be more of a convenient infatuation thing than anything really serious. By the time he left, it felt like she had already half gotten over him. Pretty sure by the time that was happening, she was already subconsciously growing more attached to Rei than anyone else and vice versa.

Yes, I get we want to see Akari happy, too, but Rei and Hina were explicitly written to end up together, far as I can tell. Their character development towards being a couple started way, way back, and was highlighted, even, when they actually became one at the end of the school festival, with a flashback montage of key moments.

Akari wasn't 'sacrificed'. She just was never in the running from the beginning, but people loved her so much they wanted to pair her with the MC, even if the MC didn't ever see her that way, and never would. In my mind, shipping shouldn't be about what characters we like, but what characters we feel fit each other best, and Akari... never would have made enough of an impression on Rei like Hina had.

Hell, I love Akari a lot. I'd date her over Hina. But I'm not Rei. And, to be honest, I do wonder if I'd actually need the same sort of fiery personality in a partner that Rei needs, too, and I'm fooling myself that I'd settle down with someone like Akari.

Anyway, the clues have been there almost since the beginning. Hell, just going back and checking the very first chapter of the manga, I see the excitement in Hina as she talks with Rei about his shogi match, versus Akari's reaction that's kind of like a mother going, 'that's nice, dear,' in an almost apathetic way. It was never going to be Akari.

Yeah. Re-reading through that very first chapter, and it's quite plain to see that Hina was already the one growing closest to him, seeing and noticing him at his most vulnerable states. Right from the very beginning. Umino made it very clear, looking back, that Hina would be the one to truly watch over and care for Rei, because she was the one doing it right from the beginning in that first chapter, while Akari was little more than a bystander that offered food. Sure, Akari offered him the hospitality of the Kawamoto household, but she never really saw and attended to him the same way Hina did.

I think the reason why people are shipping Akari and Rei is Akari would open up to Rei about their past and that she was leaning on him. It also felt nice the way she would worry and take care of Rei.
He also fits what Akari and the household needs. Someone mature and financially stable.
Rei and Akari both had the grow up in a hurry because of their parents deaths.
Akari and Hina both fit what he needed. Someone warm and caring

 

[apstorm]

I think the reason why people are shipping Akari and Rei is Akari would open up to Rei about their past and that she was leaning on him. It also felt nice the way she would worry and take care of Rei.
He also fits what Akari and the household needs. Someone mature and financially stable.
Rei and Akari both had the grow up in a hurry because of their parents deaths.
Akari and Hina both fit what he needed. Someone warm a caring

Fair- they both could offer things he needed. I just noticed there's a preponderance of moments with Hina, and one of the first ones was literally encouraged by the grandfather when he told him to go after Hina during the night of Obon. The narrative frequently had him 'going after' Hina, which is something I feel like gets ignored by the people that preferred Akari for him, and I just didn't have an opinion going in, and just noticed he grew far closer to Hina during the course of the story.

I feel like when people ship, they grow blind to all other possibilities. I've seen it happen with other stories, too.

At least one particular story in question was Nisekoi, where I noticed a lot of people clung so desperately to Kosaki as the chief love interest, but I went into binging that story without much of any expectation, but I could tell from very early on that the mangaka seemed to be reinforcing the idea that she was little more than a 'distraction' from the real pairing that turned out to be true. And, to be honest, narratively, it made far more sense, and would result in a far more interesting love story, for the girl he hates at the start of the story to grow on him, and vice versa, as they both grow as people and a couple, even if it started as a fake relationship. And that the promise would ultimately turn out to be more of a drama bomb waiting to go off instead of a romance bomb. The entire ending for that story didn't really surprise me that much because I just analyzed the evidence as the story progressed and made a conclusion based on trends, instead of going 'Kosaki Onodera is nice, she'd make a lovely wife' and then just blissfully ignore all the relationship progress Raku and Chitoge have throughout the entire manga while Kosaki constantly stalls or even backpedals in progress, making it clear to me she was never meant to end up with Raku.

 

[Jet515]

Fair- they both could offer things he needed. I just noticed there's a preponderance of moments with Hina, and one of the first ones was literally encouraged by the grandfather when he told him to go after Hina during the night of Obon. The narrative frequently had him 'going after' Hina, which is something I feel like gets ignored by the people that preferred Akari for him, and I just didn't have an opinion going in, and just noticed he grew far closer to Hina during the course of the story.

I feel like when people ship, they grow blind to all other possibilities. I've seen it happen with other stories, too.

At least one particular story in question was Nisekoi, where I noticed a lot of people clung so desperately to Kosaki as the chief love interest, but I went into binging that story without much of any expectation, but I could tell from very early on that the mangaka seemed to be reinforcing the idea that she was little more than a 'distraction' from the real pairing that turned out to be true. And, to be honest, narratively, it made far more sense, and would result in a far more interesting love story, for the girl he hates at the start of the story to grow on him, and vice versa, as they both grow as people and a couple, even if it started as a fake relationship. And that the promise would ultimately turn out to be more of a drama bomb waiting to go off instead of a romance bomb. The entire ending for that story didn't really surprise me that much because I just analyzed the evidence as the story progressed and made a conclusion based on trends, instead of going 'Kosaki Onodera is nice, she'd make a lovely wife' and then just blissfully ignore all the relationship progress Raku and Chitoge have throughout the entire manga while Kosaki constantly stalls or even backpedals in progress, making it clear to me she was never meant to end up with Raku.

In the begging it felt like him taking care of a younger sibling or a gf's kids. The way he would bring sweets and for Momo and Hina. Also it I understand the feeling of him wanting to contribute to them for always inviting him for dinner ect

When Rei was told to go after Hina I thought it was a better response then sending Akari. Sometimes its better to send a friend / stranger vs sending a sibling / family member depending on the situation / person