Okuru Kotoba - Vol. 3 Ch. 14 - Answer

[MangaDex]

 

[77BLc9JwJGpLVARkamJx]

Damn....

 

[UnluckyGrape]

So to put it into perspective, he was the reason Mi-tan died, but gaslit himself to thinking it wasn't his fault. He saw everyone not as the people they were but these fitted boxes that he was unsastified with no matter what they did, both staying in them or trying to venture out of them. Dude was unintentionally toxic.

 

[ActingRikka]

it would have been more interesting if the girl was a serial killer and she killed him amd the kid, and thw ending would have been finding a way to uncover her killings with no clear proof and the help of a ghost

 

[Weoooo]

it would have been more interesting if the girl was a serial killer and she killed him amd the kid, and thw ending would have been finding a way to uncover her killings with no clear proof and the help of a ghost

I actually really like this turn. The manga starts with that being the idea; that the girl is a serial killer and the only way they're ever going to stop her is if the gyaru who can see ghosts figures it all out by talking to the guy who was killed.

But slowly, as the story progresses, things just don't feel right. There so much history and pain, but it's not caused by Chiaki, but instead just suffuses all the relationships we see. She doesn't have any reason to do anything. She's odd, but nice. Rather than being a killer, she seems utterly wracked with guilt and prepared to kill herself at any time if given a reason. Meanwhile, Sahara keeps finding things out that don't make sense. His memories are wrong. We hear things about him that don't fit how we see him act as a ghost. He seems to be quick to deflect and find reasons why he didn't ever do anything wrong, but they feel more and more hollow.

Now here, at the denouement, we finally see it all come together. Chiaki isn't a horrible person, she's a broken one. She doesn't want to do anything but help, but the tragedy that happens around her forces her to become insular. She blames herself for everything that happened, but no one accepts it. Her empty eyed smile that we've been afraid of this whole time is her reaction to sudden strong negative emotions, conditioned as a child by her Grandmother and Sahara himself. It didn't come out of nowhere, either, she said that back in chapter 9. The reason she'll smile when something sad, or scary, or anything emotionally troubling occurs isn't because she's fuckin' loving it, it's cause her face moves independently of her thoughts as a defense.

Sahara has been running, this whole time, from the fact that his temper and impatience hurts people. It killed someone he saw as a little sister. He can't accept that part of him, but he won't change it. He instead denies it. It's always everyone else's fault. If everyone else would've just gotten their shit together, it'd be fine. He'll dodge responsibility like the matrix because he doesn't want it, even if he knows its the right thing to do. So everyone just swallows their feelings when he hurts them. Shoulders the guilt that should be his. Burdens themselves by saying "I just took it wrong," or "I shouldn't have been bothered," or "it's my fault Mii-tan died."

I'm pretty sure, actually, that both of them are alive. Just in a coma. That's why Ken needed to stick around and needed the scholarship to even go to school, Mii-tan is in the hospital there. Maybe Sahara will wake up when he finally accepts what he's been running from; that he abandoned a little girl and caused her to get hit by a car by leaving her alone. Maybe she'll wake up then, too.

It's been a mystery, but much less about crime and much more about characters, their history, and their interactions. It's all been really strong, and I'm glad that it's gone this route.

 

[Itsn]

Yeah, it's an interesting twist. Kinda goes with a theme of people not just being as they appear, like Mei being pretty smart and a nice girl.

 

[Weoooo]

Yeah, it's an interesting twist. Kinda goes with a theme of people not just being as they appear, like Mei being pretty smart and a nice girl.

The first time we see her she's deriding the memorial and getting chewed out for taking pictures. When we realize its cause she can see spirits clearer through her phone and that she's scared of people being influenced by the two she sees there, her actions make sense. This is absolutely the theme of the manga; everyone has reasons for why they act the way they do.

 

[enustaHukiM]

I actually really like this turn. The manga starts with that being the idea; that the girl is a serial killer and the only way they're ever going to stop her is if the gyaru who can see ghosts figures it all out by talking to the guy who was killed.

But slowly, as the story progresses, things just don't feel right. There so much history and pain, but it's not caused by Chiaki, but instead just suffuses all the relationships we see. She doesn't have any reason to do anything. She's odd, but nice. Rather than being a killer, she seems utterly wracked with guilt and prepared to kill herself at any time if given a reason. Meanwhile, Sahara keeps finding things out that don't make sense. His memories are wrong. We hear things about him that don't fit how we see him act as a ghost. He seems to be quick to deflect and find reasons why he didn't ever do anything wrong, but they feel more and more hollow.

Now here, at the denouement, we finally see it all come together. Chiaki isn't a horrible person, she's a broken one. She doesn't want to do anything but help, but the tragedy that happens around her forces her to become insular. She blames herself for everything that happened, but no one accepts it. Her empty eyed smile that we've been afraid of this whole time is her reaction to sudden strong negative emotions, conditioned as a child by her Grandmother and Sahara himself. It didn't come out of nowhere, either, she said that back in chapter 9. The reason she'll smile when something sad, or scary, or anything emotionally troubling occurs isn't because she's fuckin' loving it, it's cause her face moves independently of her thoughts as a defense.

Sahara has been running, this whole time, from the fact that his temper and impatience hurts people. It killed someone he saw as a little sister. He can't accept that part of him, but he won't change it. He instead denies it. It's always everyone else's fault. If everyone else would've just gotten their shit together, it'd be fine. He'll dodge responsibility like the matrix because he doesn't want it, even if he knows its the right thing to do. So everyone just swallows their feelings when he hurts them. Shoulders the guilt that should be his. Burdens themselves by saying "I just took it wrong," or "I shouldn't have been bothered," or "it's my fault Mii-tan died."

I'm pretty sure, actually, that both of them are alive. Just in a coma. That's why Ken needed to stick around and needed the scholarship to even go to school, Mii-tan is in the hospital there. Maybe Sahara will wake up when he finally accepts what he's been running from; that he abandoned a little girl and caused her to get hit by a car by leaving her alone. Maybe she'll wake up then, too.

It's been a mystery, but much less about crime and much more about characters, their history, and their interactions. It's all been really strong, and I'm glad that it's gone this route.

Giga-agree, this was a really nice turn. Definitely cemented my opinion that this is a way better murder mystery-style manga than something like tilmcm.
Only 2 chapters to go, so hopefully the author can wrap this up nicely. Wish it could have gotten some more fleshing out tbh.

 

[ActingRikka]

Meh, this could have been better if there were no ghosts ,or a girl being able to see one then. If you want to make a tragedy feelgood manga don't start with a supernatural crime mistery at the start, and twist it at the end. I still think a short publication where a girl with no real proof ,because she managed to communicate with the victim's ghost,tries to uncover a psychotic 17 years old serial killer's murder history is more interesting. I was kinda looking forward to how she could navigate the water within a grieving community with the only conception of her as " weird girl from a quack medium family butting in". Welp, to each his own

 

[Coldlight]

Hmm, so my previous post got most of it right; Chiaki didn't kill Sahara after all, confirming Sahara is an unreliable narrator whose memories are all messed up, to say nothing of the fact that he's mastered how to run away from blame since his childhood. What I didn't get right is that Kenta doesn't seem to be blaming Sahara, but then how would we explain his angry trashing of the memorial to Sahara at the crossing? (I suppose if Sahara isn't actually dead either it'd make sense, he'd see a "memorial" as an insult to someone who's not actually dead since he's a childhood friend and the whole thing hits too close to home for his own sister)

Chiaki thinks that Michi died... but we've seen at the end of chapter 12 that Micchan's in a coma at a hospital, she doesn't know because Kenta has kept it a secret. Now I can feel sorry for Chiaki, she's an innocent girl who's become very broken from the many years of trauma of being blamed for the "death" of a girl who's not actually dead, to say nothing of witnessing another death (perhaps for real this time, of her childhood friend Sahara) at the very same crossing.

I hope Chiaki gets to learn the truth, girl has suffered long enough. Mei in particular has the power to do this.

 

[Ranzo]

This was an interesting twist! When I first read that first chapter (Holy shit five years ago!) I was legitimately disturbed by that smile and wanted to read more. The mystery of that smile kept me kept me waiting for new chapters. (And made me remember several times it was an actual series)
I feel that now even though it isn't over yet I feel vindicated now that I know what that smile finally meant.

 

[Gravitypull]

Damn, man was toxic the entire time. ( Also I swear I thought he looked like zuko with that scarred eye)

 

[B1rdDuck]

I know I shouldn't be using logic in something fictional but was there no common sense for a car at mid-day to see Mit, stop and report about a child on the road instead of going normal speed and not checking your front view?

 

[Connoisseur_Ryan]

I am flabbergasted

 

[LilithRaven]

Meh, this could have been better if there were no ghosts ,or a girl being able to see one then. If you want to make a tragedy feelgood manga don't start with a supernatural crime mistery at the start, and twist it at the end. I still think a short publication where a girl with no real proof ,because she managed to communicate with the victim's ghost,tries to uncover a psychotic 17 years old serial killer's murder history is more interesting. I was kinda looking forward to how she could navigate the water within a grieving community with the only conception of her as " weird girl from a quack medium family butting in". Welp, to each his own

so you just don’t like the story that is all, nothing ACTUALY worng with this twist, you just as ass and don’t like the story :/

 

[LilithRaven]

Damn, man was toxic the entire time. ( Also I swear I thought he looked like zuko with that scarred eye)

toxic my fucking ass you idiots forgot he was a child and only wanted to do something he wanted, he got the idea that he needs to do something about everyone around him, and probably got really messed up by the mit-accident as a fucking CHILD! so that affect him up until now, all of this could had been solved if the parents of mit will had taken care of her and not let children alone! also WHO THE FICK SITS IN THE MIDDEL OF THE STREAT !!! all of this was a tragedy without much of an fualt but every characters got bad outcomes

 

[HunterCO]

What a twist, no one was really at fault and everyone mentals is just a mess

 

[Birdo878]

Twisty

 

[nyaasar]

I know I shouldn't be using logic in something fictional but was there no common sense for a car at mid-day to see Mit, stop and report about a child on the road instead of going normal speed and not checking your front view?

That ... or Mi-tan really wanted to go to the Magical World by catching whatever vehicle coming to her.

 

[Ritsuaka]

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯