Nibanme na Boku to Ichiban no Kanojo - Ch. 5.2

[krater]

Who the fuck just walks up and starts a conversation like that?

A bitch

 

[Ingway]

I'm sorry but that character completely took me out of the vibes this manga was going for. I know there's assholes out there, but the mood whiplash is insanely jarring, and the exposition feels weirdly forced. "Yoyoyo cutie pie, you see this guy? He's my icky "friend", he ultra murdered his sister, you wanna fuck?"
Like what? Dude acts like a psycho from those revenge manga.

 

[jc9]

This felt like an accurate response to a traumatic situation, given the implied history between Hajime and the dude and the hinted-at events of Hajime's past.

I would argue this was very much not the 'usual spineless MC situation' that admittedly is somewhat commonplace in manga.

Yeah, MC will show a lot of spine in this series - probably too much even to be realistic. But MC with some real backbone is nice.

How many chapters away is what you said in the spoiler? By your estimation

Should be next one, he explains his past immediately after her

I'm sorry but that character completely took me out of the vibes this manga was going for. I know there's assholes out there, but the mood whiplash is insanely jarring, and the exposition feels weirdly forced. "Yoyoyo cutie pie, you see this guy? He's my icky "friend", he ultra murdered his sister, you wanna fuck?"
Like what? Dude acts like a psycho from those revenge manga.

he doesn't really appear again

 

[blablablub]

This guy needs to learn about fistintheface.

 

[UdenEmpati]

This guy needs to learn about fistintheface.

fistintheface is my favorite public outreach program.

love how hands-on it is.

 

[Coffin_]

thankfully we won't be seeing this guy again

 

[Darkshade13]

Obviously the backstories needed to be addressed, but they could've come up with a better lead into it than "here's a random obvious sociopathic monster to just spill it all out of nowhere on the train."

It makes the character feel less like a character than a walking plot device.

 

[StormSen]

Why does every damn Mc have no backbone to speak like for real? It's literally every damn romance manga.

Yep, better response is to punch the guy in his shitty smirking face. Then kick him in the balls.

But if the MC had the balls/initiative to do that, then he would have solved the problem long ago.

And this gives the girl her chance to step in and save the MC.

And it appeals to sad sack guys beaten down by life. And with the way JP culture works... that's probably a good sized audience.

 

[AsteroidCreator99]

It took a dark turn

 

[Cecey55]

Obviously the backstories needed to be addressed, but they could've come up with a better lead into it than "here's a random obvious sociopathic monster to just spill it all out of nowhere on the train."

It makes the character feel less like a character than a walking plot device.

In theory, returning to his old hometown and encountering an old friend who unintentionally exposes Hajime would be good. But this dude was a downright supervillain. But something from the JP script that I didn't manage fit into the EN translation was that Hajime was "utterly alone". That kinda implies he was isolated after whatever happened. So it might be that EVERYONE turned on him and not just this guy uniquely being evil... We'll see I suppose.

 

[lesseffective]

Sorry for killing the mood with the meme page, but don't pretend you weren't thinking it too. Anyway! I was quick with this chapter because I was looking forward to it. But starting now I'll be releasing full chapters instead of half-chapters. You can expect the next one around new years!

Makes me think of what would happen if someone dared to give Hajime a burger with pickles.

 

[Ideon]

thankfully we won't be seeing this guy again

That's a shame, I was hoping Minamino would have the chance to crush his balls if he tried anything.

 

[Darkshade13]

In theory, returning to his old hometown and encountering an old friend who unintentionally exposes Hajime would be good. But this dude was a downright supervillain. But something from the JP script that I didn't manage fit into the EN translation was that Hajime was "utterly alone". That kinda implies he was isolated after whatever happened. So it might be that EVERYONE turned on him and not just this guy uniquely being evil... We'll see I suppose.

I expect that. There's no way he would have the backstory and isolation he does if it was just this psycho dropping him. I totally expect that the guy spreads the rumors about him and everyone starts avoiding him. It's just that it's so ridiculously over-the-top that it's hard to invest in because the "friend" is obviously a lunatic and should be easily visible as such to anyone paying attention in-universe, yet they're going to believe him because he's handsome and smiles (however fakely) and nobody will think a thing about him being so transparently shady/scummy.

they would've almost been better off not having the guy there and just having the rumor get out in some unexplained way, only remarking that somehow it took on a life of its own and became twisted into "he killed his sister" just because that's how rumors work in a general sense. Making it into one sociopathic weirdo purposely telling everyone this story and then everyone believing him without a moment of reflection shows too much of the writer engineering the situation to make the MC a victim and needing sympathy

 

[Kagimizu]

I expect that. There's no way he would have the backstory and isolation he does if it was just this psycho dropping him. I totally expect that the guy spreads the rumors about him and everyone starts avoiding him. It's just that it's so ridiculously over-the-top that it's hard to invest in because the "friend" is obviously a lunatic and should be easily visible as such to anyone paying attention in-universe, yet they're going to believe him because he's handsome and smiles (however fakely) and nobody will think a thing about him being so transparently shady/scummy.

they would've almost been better off not having the guy there and just having the rumor get out in some unexplained way, only remarking that somehow it took on a life of its own and became twisted into "he killed his sister" just because that's how rumors work in a general sense. Making it into one sociopathic weirdo purposely telling everyone this story and then everyone believing him without a moment of reflection shows too much of the writer engineering the situation to make the MC a victim and needing sympathy

Look back at high school and think about how easily rumors could spread about people. Hell, look at the modern internet where a claim or statement that gets enough traction eventually gets treated as fact by virtue of sheer repetition. Even if it's actually complete and total bullshit. It's unfortunately very hard to stop a rumor like that when it spreads, especially when the only who can say otherwise is the subject of said rumor- who was clearly traumatized by the situation.

Asshats like this guy exist in real life, and they're everywhere. He saw the MC hanging out with a cute girl and thought he could step all over the MC by exploiting his bad reputation, then woo the FMC when she was put off by the revelation. It's dramatized here, but it's not that unrealistic; like approaching a girl at a bar or club to "warn her" about someone else, then striking up a conversation by virtue of being a "nice guy."

He's not a lunatic; he's an opportunistic creep. Which is worse because there's logic and intent behind his actions, whereas a lunatic is out n' out crazy.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I expect that. There's no way he would have the backstory and isolation he does if it was just this psycho dropping him. I totally expect that the guy spreads the rumors about him and everyone starts avoiding him. It's just that it's so ridiculously over-the-top that it's hard to invest in because the "friend" is obviously a lunatic and should be easily visible as such to anyone paying attention in-universe, yet they're going to believe him because he's handsome and smiles (however fakely) and nobody will think a thing about him being so transparently shady/scummy.

they would've almost been better off not having the guy there and just having the rumor get out in some unexplained way, only remarking that somehow it took on a life of its own and became twisted into "he killed his sister" just because that's how rumors work in a general sense. Making it into one sociopathic weirdo purposely telling everyone this story and then everyone believing him without a moment of reflection shows too much of the writer engineering the situation to make the MC a victim and needing sympathy

If the guy back in middle school was seen as popular at the outset (he's physically attractive and charming, so I think it's a safe bet that he was), then he would likely have had the social credit to be able to spread rumors and torpedo Hajime's reputation, and everyone would gravitate toward him & his word because that's how popularity works.

Especially if it was an established status for him by the time whatever transpired for Hajime occurred. If he was popular in sports (basketball being a running sub-theme, I could see that being the case here), and reasonably good at it, all of that combined with his charm & looks means he carried emphasis among the student body, and hangers-on who wanted to be liked by "the popular kid and his circle" would bend in favor of going along with the rumors and perpetuate the ostracizing of Hajime.
And whatever the actual context - Hajime being responsible for his younger sister's death would be a big deal and very dramatic. Rumors being what they are, all you need are a couple slightly-varied stories going around, and suddenly they become self-corroborating and Hajime can't push back against all of it on his own.

Such is the way of peer pressure in the social gauntlet that is school. This is honestly entirely believable, and leads me to think that Hajime was thoroughly pushed all the way outside the social system of his old school, which goes a long way to explain his lack of trust, insular personality, "masking" constantly at school, and his declining to push back the whole "#2" thing.

 

[Purplelibraryguy]

Not looking for spoilers so I won't be actually reading, but I appreciate you taking the time to type it all out.
I'll find out once we get there, anyway. Or I can read the novelization (started it and just got distracted, so I guess I can pick that back up this coming month).

I respect people who can resist spoilers.

 

[jc9]

Such is the way of peer pressure in the social gauntlet that is school. This is honestly entirely believable, and leads me to think that Hajime was thoroughly pushed all the way outside the social system of his old school, which goes a long way to explain his lack of trust, insular personality, "masking" constantly at school, and his declining to push back the whole "#2" thing.

to not spoil anything, look at chapter 4.1 (him saying he didn't quit basketball, he just plays it elsewhere) - and later on chapter 4.2, discussion with Kana (especially the castes remark). Hajime has a lot on his plate (studying and part time job at least), AND an actual life outside of school, so he can just don't really care about the school hierarchy - and try to not stand out not because he's a spineless loner loser, but because rumors would be a pain in the ass.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I respect people who can resist spoilers.

There are times I don't care when a story is more like "this isn't good and I just want to know how much time I should be wasting here looking for resolution", in which case, spoil me rotten.


But this one's really grown on me, so I'll just go pick the WN back up, since it seems pretty 1:1 with the manga adaptation.

 

[ProbablyWill]

What kind of fucking middle schoolers torment other people like that?

 

[UdenEmpati]

to not spoil anything, look at chapter 4.1 (him saying he didn't quit basketball, he just plays it elsewhere) - and later on chapter 4.2, discussion with Kana (especially the castes remark). Hajime has a lot on his plate (studying and part time job at least), AND an actual life outside of school, so he can just don't really care about the school hierarchy - and try to not stand out not because he's a spineless loner loser, but because rumors would be a pain in the ass.

right - I can see that as his way of being now. I was mostly speaking to his time in middle school when I'm assuming all of everything went down.
Hajime's got a good head on his shoulders, and seems less overtly bothered now in general (on the outside, absent some asswad coming up and prying open old scars) - but I also could see all of his extracurricular stuff as a means of "busying" himself so that he has less time to sit and be allowed to think.
(Mostly because I'm the same way sometimes.)

But again, this is me also being unaware of the full plot (currently picking the WN back up where I left off around the point he and Chinatsu take the kitten to the author), so I'll likely be caught up on everything at that point.
This is just me reasoning out what I can and guess at the fuller picture, with what has been presented thus far.

And I definitely don't think he's a loser MC, by any stretch. I don't know what went down with his family, but if it's at least as bad as what I think (I guess I'm probably wrong about "terminal illness", but I'm not going looking further until I read it myself), then his reaction to Asswad in this chapter is very much not "wimpy pushover behavior".