Musume no Tomodachi - Vol. 4 Ch. 31 - Runaway Daughter

[Glomoro]

@wilddeath It definitely doesn't excuse what she's doing now or even mitigate the potential consequences for anyone involved, but this is still pretty in line with what actual dumbfuck teenagers (A.K.A. just about every person who ever was that age) might do. Sometimes the only way someone will learn to stop being a petulant child is by being one and catching some serious shit for it, I suppose.

Really though, I think losing his job wouldn't really be the worst thing for this guy. He might be able to find something less stressful next time around. There'll be a rough patch there in between, sure, but he clearly needs to change something about his working conditions anyway.

@Urappy There's a bit of a difference between siding with someone and understanding why they would be acting like an incorrigible little shit.

 

[Heddell]

Honestly, I hope she gets pregnant just to see how down the rabbit hole we can go, but at the same time I know that, even if she consents to have sex, the father is gonna be blamed for it.
I see suffering, I want more suffering!

 

[Acolytus]

Every chapter I wish this dude would just tell everyone to fuck off and go live in the countryside or something.

 

[flaine]

@Urappy Miya's actions are way more believable coming from a 15 year old compared to her dad who should be way more emotionally mature by his age. You're looking at the situation from an omniscient perspective instead of the character's.
Miya's mom died only a year before the story began that's nowhere near enough time for anyone, especially a child to get over the death of someone as close as a mother.
Miya doesn't know her dad is going through pain too, from her perspective it looks like he doesn't give a shit about her mother and already moved on.
In the first chapter we see that after her death they don't interact with each other much beyond Kousuke telling Miya when he's leaving the house, or that there's food on the table.
He just goes about his day bottling everything up and acting normal, but to Miya it looks like he's unaffected by the death.
It's absolutely terrible parenting, as a parent you're supposed to also be an emotional support for your child. At best Kousuke is just keeping Miya alive by the time of the 1st chapter.
Kousuke's a father who doesn't know how to raise his family, and Miya's hikikomori status is the result of that.
Even back before his wife passed he was barely at home and focused on work so much that he wasn't even there when his wife died.
And Miya was also dealing with the stress of trying to keep up with her classmates at school before that all happened.
It doesn't help that the one time that we did see Miya try to reach out to him back in chapter 8 he was off fucking around with Kisaragi.
To Miya the whole situation just looks like Kousuke doesn't care about the her or her mom at all and she's probably also realized by now that the only reason her "friend" even got back in touch with her was to fuck her dad.
Miya's definitely making a stupid decision going off with this dude, but her actions come from a place that I find way more sympathetic for someone in her position at that age.

 

[Invader_Retro]

@flaine @sirflimflam except he has always been trying to talk to her and she has never listened at all only making the problem worse.
He's an adult and he tried everything he could, the other option would have been to leave his job.
However when could he get a high paying job to take care of him and his daughter again?
Only thing left was what the grandparents asked but she ran away with some guy she barely knows.
This is only relatable if the child is spoiled and takes everything for granted.
Father should have put his foot down and take control as an adult?
She probably would have ran away sooner if that happened given her reaction here.
Both are going through issues I agree but she isn't making it any easier by not even having a long discussion with her dad.
Plus don't act like the dad isn't relatable either if everything is against you, you will try and find comfort from anywhere and anyone 😐

 

[MoonStoneX]

@Invader_Retro
yep all of this right here are my exact thoughts of the current situation.

 

[flaine]

@Invader_Retro I never said her dad was unrelatable, in fact I think the manga does a really good job at showing how he's gotten to this point, he's an extremely sympathetic character and even when he's doing stuff I disapprove of I still feel for him.
That being said it still doesn't mean I agree with his actions.
Also you mentioned he tried to talk to his daughter, but that only happens after he meets Kisaragi, before then he barely seems invested in his daughter's wellbeing
Even him opening up to his daughter about his feelings on the mom passing is something he does only after his first night out with Kisaragi.
The guy is in a relationship with a high schooler and has been prioritizing that over his daughter's well being throughout most of the story.
It's no wonder she flips her shit and goes running to the first person who even shows a slight interest in her when she finds out.
I thought that was a bad call by the daughter too, but like I said with Kousuke, I understand why she did that.
A lot of the posts talking about this chapter are just shitting on the daughter without seeming to take into consideration why her character's taking such action.
I just hope that from here on the story moves towards developing the characters by having them resolve their problems in a realistic, non-escapist manner.

 

[Jamminrabbit]

My heart breaks for this dad. I'm rooting for a happy ending, but the way the author is leading this story feels like someone is getting the short end of the stick.

 

[Dr_Coke]

No matter how irresponsible her dad is, Miya is the most irresponsible ones, as being a daughter.
Spoiled, self-centred, selfish child does not deserve any empathy from others,under every circumstance.

 

[wilddeath]

Again I have been defending the daughter from previous chapters, and I do understand her perspective and feel that the father could have handled things alot better. But at the end of the day I sympathize for both Father and Daughter and feel that both have made mistakes. I don't think the father should have accepted the advances of his daughters childhood friend, there are much more appropriate advances being made towards him by other adults. The daughter is also in a dark place but shouldn't act so rashly without listening to the fathers side of it.

The father has yet to do anything wrong, but it doesn't appear that way from the daughters limited outside perspective. From her perspective her father is a cold distant man who is only going through the motions of helping her. Add to that the survivors guilt and lack of properly grieving her mother and we get an emotional time bomb the father did little to actually disarm. People say he made an effort and he did but it was a very minimal effort from what we have been shown. Just working and talking to her through a door and making her meals does not a relationship make.

Yet overall despite everything I understand I am done defending the daughters actions. I get where she is coming from, i understand her actions, but she is no longer defensible in my eyes. So I will continue to read as she implode and while i will understand and sympathize with her I won't feel bad watching it happen.

Sidenote: the blonde shit being aware of how to disable a phones gps and so quick to do so is suspicious as fuck

 

[HYBRID_BEING]

You people call dad and Miya trash, but the real trash is the font used for the voice over the phone. It's fucking unreadable.

 

[instant_noodle]

Incoming best-seller: How to get kidnapped and raped at an abandon building by your male friend and 5 other complete strangers for dummy - by Miya Ichikawa

 

[jolynehoestar]

@HYBRID_BEING straight facts and lol people really dissing the father here like losing your wife is different than losing your mother or less important

 

[Kinmou]

Hope the bear only caught normal flu

 

[Tamerlane]

Honestly, I hope all the blonde does is take Miya out on the town and then give her a heart-to-heart, explaining to her that her father only means well and that she should sit down and talk with him in order to try and work through what they're going through.

I don't think we have any evidence of the blonde being a bad person, aside from his asocial behavior and smoking too young, but I think he's the only person that can get through to Miya and have it so she understands what her father is going through. If anything, I think his ability to empathize and read people is one of his strengths and if the author has him connect to the daughter and be able to lead her to an epiphany, the manga would be better for it.

I think that both your arguments is one of the manga's strengths in that every character's position has a rationale and you can easily both argue for and understand the angle of approach that every one of them is coming from. Even though some characters are meant to be less likable than the others such as the mother and Miya, there is still enough textual and contextual evidence to understand why they act the way they do. There's no clear distinction between who is right and wrong in these scenarios, and the author does a great job showing the emotional and mental tool these characters are going through, as well as what shapes them and leads them to do the deeds they do. @Invader_Retro @flaine

 

[kazu19]

and the downfall begins -although he was already at the bottom from the very start.

 

[dube]

Why is the comment section of every manga with some troubled, natural, imperfect characters filled with virtue signaling judgmental critics?

If you really think any person in this manga is “bad” you guys seriously need to start looking more at yourselves instead of just gossiping.

Real people have emotions, mood swings, say stupid things and regret dumb stuff. All of us. No exceptions.

BTW, should we cancel daddy or daughter first?

 

[Tersione]

@Tamerlane given the adjective he used for her dad, I find that heart-to-heart thing very unlikely unless Miya's potential venting makes him realize he isn't that bad of a guy. The GPS thing makes him pretty suspicious, though.

 

[Tamerlane]

Fair point, I missed that. From his prospective, all he knows is that he was in a fling with his daughter's best friend.

Still, I don't think he's a bad person like everyone here is describing him to be. I genuinely don't get the impression he would abuse or manipulate her based on what we've seen and I think he is trying to take her mind off of things. Sure, I think the GPS is suspect, but you could say that's just something a teenager would do and I think he thinks she needs her space right now and her privacy.

Still, at some point, if he has a heart-to-heart and they can come to the realization that her father isn't that bad of a guy, I think that would make for a decent character arc on the daughter's part. I really don't want this guy to be the stereotypical "bad boy antagonist that the heroine thinks she can turn but can't and turns out to be abusive," because I don't think that fits with the tone of the manga, which has heretofore mostly been comprised of multi-dimensional and complex characters, and I don't think it would improve it much, as it would just add unnecessary drama into a situation that's compelling enough without it.
@Tersione

 

[Tersione]

@Tamerlane I am hoping that it's all meant to mislead us. Like his knowledge of the GPS comes from a place of experience with overbearing parental figures himself, which is why he became a bit of a delinquent. As much of a complete pain Miya is being and for all the trouble she's causing, she shouldn't deserve something so horrible happening to her.