That's a shame. I do really enjoy this story. The tropes are pretty straight-forward, so it's not really showcasing anything that's super groundbreaking or different, but it's presented well, and that's when tropes shine their brightest. Fictional media has existed for millennia; you just have to package it better than the rest... and get the simple-minded rabble to buy it, I guess. (I've only read synopses of Rent-a-Girlfriend, but it always sounds like the kind of brainrot that shouldn't sell buckloads, but somehow does because too many people are either stupid or simply don't want complexity, logic, or progression in their entertainment.) Anyway, with Chapter 9 of Nibanme, we're only at Volume 1, Chapter 4, Part 3 of the light novel (and not even all of it). I've read up through the end of Volume 2, so I'm kinda sad that some of what's coming won't be drawn, given the manga axe.
I really enjoy how both Chinatsu and Hajime have depth to their characters. Neither of them are pushovers, and they're both rather mature but have failings in different aspects. Many of their character limitations are directly related to the issues they're personally dealing with, and they're rather proactive in other aspects. Of course they're dealing with the whole "do they really like me" issue, but fuck, NO ONE has ever been THAT certain about reciprocated love in real life, especially in high school, and it's simply more acceptable in fiction due to the compressed timeframe. Their struggles are largely realistic, and they even solicit feedback from others about what to do once they realize their feelings... and then they actually ACT on that. (Though Papa-Minamino had to remind us of how much of an asshole he is first.) Next chapter (the final chapter😭) of the manga will have them sorting the initial relationship stuff out, and the narrative builds from there.
I wonder how much they'll tease in the last chapter, because there's a lot that I like between here and the end of volume 2 of the Light Novel, and that's not even saying how much they have to cover just to get to the "relationship tease" that was shown in the very first manga chapter.
Hajime and Chinatsu agree to date right after this confrontation, and one of their early dates gets slightly interrupted by the other Hajime, who apparently is childhood friends with Chinatsu's friend Yuuko. They agree to keep things secret on both sides. Then when Hajime and Chinatsu plan their Christmas Eve trip, Chinatsu hears that her paternal grandmother, who she's really close to despite her asshole cheating father, is on her deathbed. There's an entire sequence where Hajime brings her to her grandmother's home, but decides to stay out of her family gatherings, deciding that he'll only be an interloper during their time of grief. Well, during the family bonding, her asshole father arrives with his knock-ed up girl/wife-replacement in tow; it's obvious he's trying to validate his decisions through his mother, even as his new wife is uncomfortable being there (I honestly feel bad for her). Chinatsu realizes that Hajime's decision to remain distant was respectful in the way her father's wasn't, and she's able to browbeat her entire extended family as to how little they care about their grandmother during her time of ailing... which rouses said grandmother to offer her support to Chinatsu. Her family basically gives her the go-ahead, and during the New Years celebration, the two phyically seal the deal. There's some more drama involving her friends, but it takes until Volume 2, Chapter 5, Part 1 before they pick up where they reveal their relationship to the entire class.
So there's quite a lot that will inevitably be left out of this last chapter. The group dynamics that occurs after that public reveal, i.e., the basketball match between Satou and Satou, is less interesting, but I can see how it can be a final closure considering one of the main underlying aspects of this series is the fact that the MC is considered a lesser version of another character with the same name; a confrontation would be a natural plot completion. I'm not as interested in the group dynamics beyond that, so I haven't read anything beyond LN volume 2, but I was satisfied with how this particular story ended. I'm just sad it won't end that way for the manga.
I really enjoy how both Chinatsu and Hajime have depth to their characters. Neither of them are pushovers, and they're both rather mature but have failings in different aspects. Many of their character limitations are directly related to the issues they're personally dealing with, and they're rather proactive in other aspects. Of course they're dealing with the whole "do they really like me" issue, but fuck, NO ONE has ever been THAT certain about reciprocated love in real life, especially in high school, and it's simply more acceptable in fiction due to the compressed timeframe. Their struggles are largely realistic, and they even solicit feedback from others about what to do once they realize their feelings... and then they actually ACT on that. (Though Papa-Minamino had to remind us of how much of an asshole he is first.) Next chapter (the final chapter😭) of the manga will have them sorting the initial relationship stuff out, and the narrative builds from there.
I wonder how much they'll tease in the last chapter, because there's a lot that I like between here and the end of volume 2 of the Light Novel, and that's not even saying how much they have to cover just to get to the "relationship tease" that was shown in the very first manga chapter.
Hajime and Chinatsu agree to date right after this confrontation, and one of their early dates gets slightly interrupted by the other Hajime, who apparently is childhood friends with Chinatsu's friend Yuuko. They agree to keep things secret on both sides. Then when Hajime and Chinatsu plan their Christmas Eve trip, Chinatsu hears that her paternal grandmother, who she's really close to despite her asshole cheating father, is on her deathbed. There's an entire sequence where Hajime brings her to her grandmother's home, but decides to stay out of her family gatherings, deciding that he'll only be an interloper during their time of grief. Well, during the family bonding, her asshole father arrives with his knock-ed up girl/wife-replacement in tow; it's obvious he's trying to validate his decisions through his mother, even as his new wife is uncomfortable being there (I honestly feel bad for her). Chinatsu realizes that Hajime's decision to remain distant was respectful in the way her father's wasn't, and she's able to browbeat her entire extended family as to how little they care about their grandmother during her time of ailing... which rouses said grandmother to offer her support to Chinatsu. Her family basically gives her the go-ahead, and during the New Years celebration, the two phyically seal the deal. There's some more drama involving her friends, but it takes until Volume 2, Chapter 5, Part 1 before they pick up where they reveal their relationship to the entire class.
So there's quite a lot that will inevitably be left out of this last chapter. The group dynamics that occurs after that public reveal, i.e., the basketball match between Satou and Satou, is less interesting, but I can see how it can be a final closure considering one of the main underlying aspects of this series is the fact that the MC is considered a lesser version of another character with the same name; a confrontation would be a natural plot completion. I'm not as interested in the group dynamics beyond that, so I haven't read anything beyond LN volume 2, but I was satisfied with how this particular story ended. I'm just sad it won't end that way for the manga.
Last edited:
