Okuru Kotoba - Vol. 3 Ch. 15 - The "you" that I love

[MangaDex]

 

[shadowsito]

 

[Guyincognitus]

What do you mean everyone is just alive now? What the fuck are you talking about?

 

[Itsn]

What do you mean everyone is just alive now? What the fuck are you talking about?

Seems like kind of a pull, but looking back, there was never a funeral shown or anything.

 

[undeed]

What do you mean everyone is just alive now? What the fuck are you talking about?

my thought exactly
I was very interested in the early mystery
but then it got weirder and weirder

Seems like kind of a pull, but looking back, there was never a funeral shown or anything.

there was no funeral,
but I believe it is heavily implied that he is dead since the first chapter
(or even well established with all that flowers and all)

 

[redscizor]

my thought exactly
I was very interested in the early mystery
but then it got weirder and weirder


there was no funeral,
but I believe it is heavily implied that he is dead since the first chapter
(or even well established with all that flowers and all)

Yep, it was a rumor created by Chiaki because she was in the accident (chapter 1)

 

[undeed]

Yep, it was a rumor created by Chiaki because she was in the accident (chapter 1)

that is some outstanding rumor she created that even the school and teachers believe it and let the students put that little shrine memorial on his desk

 

[benshapiro]

Dude got hit by a goddamn truck and still alive???

 

[Weoooo]

Nobody ever said anyone was dead.

But, hospital expenses, moving, being places for scholarships, doing things for scholarships, the fact that no funeral was held, and that Mei can see people in a near-death state were all planted long ago, multiple times.

Sahara taking responsibility for his actions has long been the underpinning drive of this manga. It slowly became clear that so much of the tension and pain around him was because he basically didn't really give much of a shit if he hurt people. He didn't deliberately mean to, so why care? He didn't do anything wrong. That attitude drove everyone around them to blame themselves for everything, from drawing a manga that they didn't want to be seen to killing someone cause they didn't leave their house fast enough.

If you're confused or you think this came out of nowhere, go back and read it. Like, for real. This thing isn't full of asspulls, the entire plot focuses on the theme of "people do the things they do for a reason," so every action is understandable when given context. This ain't no Billy Bat, you're not gonna get lost.

 

[Guyincognitus]

Nobody ever said anyone was dead.

But, hospital expenses, moving, being places for scholarships, doing things for scholarships, the fact that no funeral was held, and that Mei can see people in a near-death state were all planted long ago, multiple times.

Sahara taking responsibility for his actions has long been the underpinning drive of this manga. It slowly became clear that so much of the tension and pain around him was because he basically didn't really give much of a shit if he hurt people. He didn't deliberately mean to, so why care? He didn't do anything wrong. That attitude drove everyone around them to blame themselves for everything, from drawing a manga that they didn't want to be seen to killing someone cause they didn't leave their house fast enough.

If you're confused or you think this came out of nowhere, go back and read it. Like, for real. This thing isn't full of asspulls, the entire plot focuses on the theme of "people do the things they do for a reason," so every action is understandable when given context. This ain't no Billy Bat, you're not gonna get lost.

Uh-huh

Yeah, no it's actually just a stupid twist. Even assuming the story did plant the seeds for this reveal it's just not a good reveal. A murder mystery but actually no one died and everyone just forgot to mention it. It's just the writer's equivalent of having your cake and eating it too. Honestly, I wouldn't have had a problem knowing they were comatose from the start because it wouldn't actually change anything but revealing it now just looks silly.

 

[undeed]

Nobody ever said anyone was dead.

If you're confused or you think this came out of nowhere, go back and read it. Like, for real.

just got back and read it
for real

well, there is a lot who said that someone else dead
I even checked the raw to see if they used some ambiguous phrase
even the synopsis stated that he died
only in the last volume it suddenly stated that everyone turned out to be alive

 

[77BLc9JwJGpLVARkamJx]

Isekai truck will be fired after this. Shameful display. Its gonna be awkward for Sahara later still when he is all healed up, but hey, still alive!

 

[CatLife]

in the end no one dies happy end. truck kun drives into the sun set

 

[FrostAether]

Ever think about how much of a psycho you have to be to run over someone just standing in the middle of a straight empty road

 

[dingo12345]

Ever think about how much of a psycho you have to be to run over someone just standing in the middle of a straight empty road

Actually, yeah. that dude is fucking crazy!

Is it just me or does it look like Taku look beat up?

 

[DestroyerK]

Uh-huh

Yeah, no it's actually just a stupid twist. Even assuming the story did plant the seeds for this reveal it's just not a good reveal. A murder mystery but actually no one died and everyone just forgot to mention it. It's just the writer's equivalent of having your cake and eating it too. Honestly, I wouldn't have had a problem knowing they were comatose from the start because it wouldn't actually change anything but revealing it now just looks silly.

100% Agreement on this. If the entire vibe of the manga is meant to be a murder mystery with ghosts being used as a central lined source for backstory, why not just start with the childhood and build up to the accident? This entire thing played out as a detective trying to figure out the facts that inevitably lead to a big reveal of: "No one did anything at all and everything is okay." Is one of the weakest twists you can have for any story.

 

[comeonnow0]

This was bad. The comments here saying the author was not doing an ass-pull are just wrong.

First, there's Mit-tan. Explicitly, the parents told people that she did die from the accident. They outright said it.

For Sahara, there were official statements too. So apparently his parents also just decided to lie too.

Let me put it a different way. For Sahara, let's say that it was mildly ambiguous, that there were no official statements.

It's still crap writing because Sahara being alive was NEVER hinted at anywhere. So yes, it is completely natural to think he did die given all the other factors. Then the author makes this ass-pull of lol, the parents just lied to everyone, and he's actually still alive.

 

[HopelessReader]

Actually, the teacher said that "If he heals, he will go back" or something similar back before. He never said Sahara died or anything because even he didn't know anything since his parents were quiet about it, also it's maybe he being irresponsible for assuming Sahara is dead and allowing his students to put flowers on his desk.

For me, this is a great twist. It's kind of unpredictable yet reasonable (being hit by a trunk doesn't means a death sentence). And even if it has some kind of loopholes, you can't blame the creator, he tried to create the best ending possible.
Personally, if the story would go like exposing Chiaki as a murderer and punishing her for it would be too cliche, and trying to reason for her psychotic nature would be dumb.

Furthermore, this is the most wholesome ending possible, not like other stories depicting mistakes are not undoable. Everyone is alive, and all misunderstandings are solved. I love this story.

 

[Coldlight]

Alright, now everything makes sense. Ken-tan wrecked the "memorial" to Sahara on the road because he knew his old friend Sahara wasn't dead. That was one clue. Thankfully MC finally owned up to his part in the accident instead of running away all these years. Also, this means no main character really died - not Michi, not Sahara. I'm not particularly disappointed though.

Sahara is an example of an unreliable narrator. I realized this even before this chapter, so I don't really have any complaints with the "they're actually alive" reveals. I feel like Michi's mother, high on emotion, was not really acting in good faith when she told Chiaki that her daughter "died". She just wanted to lash out at somebody for her daughter getting hurt, and unfortunately it was Chiaki, despite being a child herself at the time.

 

[BlackHarrier]

Why are there so many comments focusing on the big reveal but so few on how poignant Michi's predicament was all this time? Not some ghost with a grudge like it may initially have appeared, but a scared and lost child desperately clinging on to what she was told years ago to "earn" the love and approval of everyone, which was personally downright heartbreaking to hear. And the way that Sahara actually finds this out is when he "takes the plunge" in owning up to his part in what was overall an unfortunate accident built on misunderstandings - not really anyone's "fault" as such. Rather than ascribing blame, the whole point here was that Sahara needed to step forward so that a frightened and confused child could be reassured of the unconditional love that everyone around her held for her, which was an incredibly touching moment.

There seems to be too much focus on criticism of plot mechanics, and too little appreciation for the emotional truth and resonance of the story