Ressentiment

[FKW_ll]

on chapter 33 sakamoto borrows 100,000 from nagao, telling her he is planning to undergo liposuction and instead uses it to buy a cock sheath, and then she founds him fucking tsukiko in the roof, i didnt say it was cheating, i said it was treason, and he did betray the trust she put on him, and he did again on chapter 47 when he decides to go back to tsukiko, at that point he didnt even knew that tsukiko's wound was lethal, so no, it wasnt the same as nagao having pity on tsukiko. 6th volume? it only has four volumes, and again, you thinking that the outcome was going to be some specific scenario because of the art of a cover, is nonsense, that isnt even subversion of expectations, but the work failing to meet your specific scenario, and your ending may be happier but better i dont think so, if something the ending as it is redeems the manga, having nagao, a pretty woman taking a sudden interest into a fat ugly bastard, fix takuro's life is idiotic thinking how through the whole manga escapism has been depicted as the last resort for pathetic, ugly people with dead end jobs, happiness doesnt just happen, pretty women wont fall in love with you and fix your life, for the manga to have ended the way you propose it would have been like evangelion ending with shinji still afraid of forming bonds with others or accepting the fucking Human Instrumentality Project because he reckons he cant deal with others, the ending was fitting with the general themes of the work, and i prefer that over a happy ending.

"even so, he fail to commit to that woman twice, and you are telling me he was going to ask the very same women he had betrayed twice for some help to rescue his lover?. "He chose Nagao over Tsukiko" no, he first cheats on nagao..."

You said cheated yourself. Betraying and cheating can be synonymous, but there are differences. He betrayed her trust before they started dating, so it's not as impactful as your boyfriend cheating on you with another woman. It's like betraying the trust of acquaintances. Bad, but compared to cheating it's nothing. After they started dating, Takuro decides to choose Nagao over Tsukiko, even packaging the PC to sell later. Only when Tsukiko gained the ability to influence the real world did she contact Takuro, leading to Nagao to misunderstanding he's still contacting Tsukiko, thus chasing him away from her home. If Tsukiko was a simple NPC, Takuro and Nagao would've stayed together.

On the topic of Takuro's actions in chapter 47, he ultimately chose Tsukiko, because she was hurt by an unknown being, the virus. Tsukiko's facial expressions indicated that she wasn't well. If it was a simple bite, she wouldn't look exhausted out of nowhere. Only when there was a clear danger to Tsukiko's wellbeing did Takuro rush to save her. Before that bite, Takuro hesitated, not knowing whom to choose.

That's the thing, if the author wanted it to be realistic, an attractive woman would've never taken an interest in Takuro IN THE FIRST PLACE! The story ended with the MC being alone and it ended with MC being worse off than before. I would've been fine with that unless the cover art didn't depict the opposite! In the second page of the last volume, you can see Nagao holding a CHILD, and Takuro attending a funeral of his bestfriend. NONE of those scenes were in the manga! That's why I think the manga was axed, and everything was rushed. Nagao and Takuro slept with each other, so we know they had feelings for each other, even after Nagao found out Takuro spent the money on something else. The author literally had to change Nagao's action in the last minute, staying with Takuro and giving birth to Tsukiko, and everything would've been moderately fine.

You reasoning for why the MC should suffer has no standing, when the MC chose the real world and only went back to the virtual world to save Tsukiko, who was threatening to destroy the world with nukes. The theme of the manga is of a loser starting to live a better life. The ending destroys this, because it was rushed, probably due to the manga being axed, or the author really can't write endings. Look at the comments of the other manga of this author "I am a hero" https://forums.mangadex.org/threads/i-am-a-hero.7626/ . People are not happy with the ending too. It's really the author being bad at endings.

 

[rodmanii]

"even so, he fail to commit to that woman twice, and you are telling me he was going to ask the very same women he had betrayed twice for some help to rescue his lover?. "He chose Nagao over Tsukiko" no, he first cheats on nagao..."

You said cheated yourself. Betraying and cheating can be synonymous, but there are differences. He betrayed her trust before they started dating, so it's not as impactful as your boyfriend cheating on you with another woman. It's like betraying the trust of acquaintances. Bad, but compared to cheating it's nothing. After they started dating, Takuro decides to choose Nagao over Tsukiko, even packaging the PC to sell later. Only when Tsukiko gained the ability to influence the real world did she contact Takuro, leading to Nagao to misunderstanding he's still contacting Tsukiko, thus chasing him away from her home. If Tsukiko was a simple NPC, Takuro and Nagao would've stayed together.

On the topic of Takuro's actions in chapter 47, he ultimately chose Tsukiko, because she was hurt by an unknown being, the virus. Tsukiko's facial expressions indicated that she wasn't well. If it was a simple bite, she wouldn't look exhausted out of nowhere. Only when there was a clear danger to Tsukiko's wellbeing did Takuro rush to save her. Before that bite, Takuro hesitated, not knowing whom to choose.

That's the thing, if the author wanted it to be realistic, an attractive woman would've never taken an interest in Takuro IN THE FIRST PLACE! The story ended with the MC being alone and it ended with MC being worse off than before. I would've been fine with that unless the cover art didn't depict the opposite! In the second page of the last volume, you can see Nagao holding a CHILD, and Takuro attending a funeral of his bestfriend. NONE of those scenes were in the manga! That's why I think the manga was axed, and everything was rushed. Nagao and Takuro slept with each other, so we know they had feelings for each other, even after Nagao found out Takuro spent the money on something else. The author literally had to change Nagao's action in the last minute, staying with Takuro and giving birth to Tsukiko, and everything would've been moderately fine.

You reasoning for why the MC should suffer has no standing, when the MC chose the real world and only went back to the virtual world to save Tsukiko, who was threatening to destroy the world with nukes. The theme of the manga is of a loser starting to live a better life. The ending destroys this, because it was rushed, probably due to the manga being axed, or the author really can't write endings. Look at the comments of the other manga of this author "I am a hero" https://forums.mangadex.org/threads/i-am-a-hero.7626/ . People are not happy with the ending too. It's really the author being bad at endings.

nagao finding out that takuro lied to her in order to fuck a girl that mocks her and bites her to finally receive a slap from takuro himself, its more than lying to an acquaintance, its more than a simply inconvenience to nagao

If Tsukiko was a simple NPC, Takuro and Nagao would've stayed together

thats irrelevant, she isnt an NPC.

indicated that she wasn't well

there is a diffenece between not being well and being fatally wounded, and between being exhausted and dying, and takuro even without knowing which was the case decided to go for tsukiko.

Takuro hesitated, not knowing whom to choose.

that doesnt make it better, when confronted by tsukiko he wasnt able to give a clear cut rejection to her despite nagao presence and previous commitment to her, this doesnt make him more desirable to nagao.

art didn't depict the opposite!

again, cover art != volume content, you wanting to believe otherwise is on you, not the author.

an attractive woman would've never taken an interest in Takuro IN THE FIRST PLACE!

correct, and thas why the ending is a redemption of the manga, because it scrapes away what should have never happen, nagao didnt have any reason to be with takuro, hence they not ending together felt just right.

the virtual world to save Tsukiko

no he didnt, he went back despite not knowing the severity of her wounds, for all he knew, that could have been a situation ehara could have solve, and he also didnt do it to save the world, as ehara said, that was threat difficult to believe and neither nagao or takuro felt the danger from it, otherwise he would have inmediatly decided to go back instead of needing further convincing from tsukiko

loser starting to live a better life

how? takuro never gets a better life just the faint hope of it when nagao is forced into the plot, before that he has fully commited to his relation with tsukiko in the virtual world, and at no point in the plot he decides to lose weight or search a better job or even try, try go get a girlfriend, he is defeated and remains that way till the very end.

It's really the author being bad at endings.

Maybe, i havent read any of his other works, but the ending of this manga, even if not a master piece, i found it to be good.

 

[FKW_ll]

nagao finding out that takuro lied to her in order to fuck a girl that mocks her and bites her to finally receive a slap from takuro himself, its more than lying to an acquaintance, its more than a simply inconvenience to nagao

thats irrelevant, she isnt an NPC.

there is a diffenece between not being well and being fatally wounded, and between being exhausted and dying, and takuro even without knowing which was the case decided to go for tsukiko.

that doesnt make it better, when confronted by tsukiko he wasnt able to give a clear cut rejection to her despite nagao presence and previous commitment to her, this doesnt make him more desirable to nagao.

again, cover art != volume content, you wanting to believe otherwise is on you, not the author.

correct, and thas why the ending is a redemption of the manga, because it scrapes away what should have never happen, nagao didnt have any reason to be with takuro, hence they not ending together felt just right.

no he didnt, he went back despite not knowing the severity of her wounds, for all he knew, that could have been a situation ehara could have solve, and he also didnt do it to save the world, as ehara said, that was threat difficult to believe and neither nagao or takuro felt the danger from it, otherwise he would have inmediatly decided to go back instead of needing further convincing from tsukiko

how? takuro never gets a better life just the faint hope of it when nagao is forced into the plot, before that he has fully commited to his relation with tsukiko in the virtual world, and at no point in the plot he decides to lose weight or search a better job or even try, try go get a girlfriend, he is defeated and remains that way till the very end.

Maybe, i havent read any of his other works, but the ending of this manga, even if not a master piece, i found it to be good.

You're conflating the past with the present lol. When Takuro borrowed money from her, they were work acquaintances, nothing more and nothing less. Plus, you have to remember Nagao herself rejected Takuro, saying he was too ugly. No wonder Takuro will be pushed further into his virtual girlfriend.

It is relevant to the plot. The whole reason why Takuro chose Tsukiko over Nagao was BECAUSE she wasn't an NPC. If she was a simple NPC, Takuro would've stayed with Nagao, because after they started Takuro would continue with selling his PC and date her. That motion was disrupted BECAUSE Tsukiko was special. Now you're just being pedantic to not lose the argument.

She was bit by an unknown entity and her reaction to it was severe. The harm was high enough for it show on her face.

Nagao leaving Takuro after it would've been fine, if she didn't give birth to her RIVAL. Either she leave Takuro and let Tsukiko die or she stay with Takuro and give birth to Tsukiko. Otherwise Nagao is shown to be just as half-assed as Takuro.

Again, I promise you a cake and tell you to close your eyes, then you get sucker punched. Same thing. Everything going well for Takuro and the cover photo will lead to expectations. Of which the author betrayed!

What's the point of the manga, if there's no real progress? The MC ends the same way he started.

The MC resorts to the virtual world BECAUSE he has no hope in the real world. He's too ugly, fat and works a dead end job. The whole plot of the manga is him having a reason to live again, even if the reason is shallow from outside viewers. The characteristics of Takuro is that he was rejected by women all his life, so what makes you think he would suddenly change? Vast majority of the people in real life do not improve themselves and are stuck in the same place, because their current situation is more comfortable than the unknown improvement.

Takuro is the same way. He wanted intimacy from a woman, and the virtual world provided it. That gave him a purpose. In his eyes, his life had become better. He achieved the goal he wanted for all his life and now attained it. Objectively, his life didn't get better. He's still out of shape and ugly. Subjectively, his life went from 0 to 100.

The author objectively can't write endings to save his life.

 

[rodmanii]

You're conflating the past with the present lol. When Takuro borrowed money from her, they were work acquaintances, nothing more and nothing less. Plus, you have to remember Nagao herself rejected Takuro, saying he was too ugly. No wonder Takuro will be pushed further into his virtual girlfriend.

It is relevant to the plot. The whole reason why Takuro chose Tsukiko over Nagao was BECAUSE she wasn't an NPC. If she was a simple NPC, Takuro would've stayed with Nagao, because after they started Takuro would continue with selling his PC and date her. That motion was disrupted BECAUSE Tsukiko was special. Now you're just being pedantic to not lose the argument.

She was bit by an unknown entity and her reaction to it was severe. The harm was high enough for it show on her face.

Nagao leaving Takuro after it would've been fine, if she didn't give birth to her RIVAL. Either she leave Takuro and let Tsukiko die or she stay with Takuro and give birth to Tsukiko. Otherwise Nagao is shown to be just as half-assed as Takuro.

Again, I promise you a cake and tell you to close your eyes, then you get sucker punched. Same thing. Everything going well for Takuro and the cover photo will lead to expectations. Of which the author betrayed!

What's the point of the manga, if there's no real progress? The MC ends the same way he started.

The MC resorts to the virtual world BECAUSE he has no hope in the real world. He's too ugly, fat and works a dead end job. The whole plot of the manga is him having a reason to live again, even if the reason is shallow from outside viewers. The characteristics of Takuro is that he was rejected by women all his life, so what makes you think he would suddenly change? Vast majority of the people in real life do not improve themselves and are stuck in the same place, because their current situation is more comfortable than the unknown improvement.

Takuro is the same way. He wanted intimacy from a woman, and the virtual world provided it. That gave him a purpose. In his eyes, his life had become better. He achieved the goal he wanted for all his life and now attained it. Objectively, his life didn't get better. He's still out of shape and ugly. Subjectively, his life went from 0 to 100.

The author objectively can't write endings to save his life.

was BECAUSE she wasn't an NPC

correct, she wasnt an NPC, what could have been if she was indeed an NPC is irrelevant, since, again, she is not, and if only the author had wrote the ending you wanted you would have felt better, if only, but he didnt. "

it was severe

looking exhausted != being on the brim of death, you as a reader knew the severity but takuro didnt, to think that of all the possibilities he went straight to "oh, she is dying" its an assumption.

Otherwise Nagao is shown to be just as half-assed as Takuro.

again, she didnt remain with takuro because why would she stay with someone who couldnt commit to her?, and she gave birth to tsukiko out of pity, or hell, maybe she did it to spite takuro, to make tsukiko unreachable so he would never know again the joy he once knew with her

What's the point of the manga, if there's no real progress?

to tell a story, to send a message, to me it clearly depicts escapism as something dangerous that only prevents you from achieving any real meaningful happiness.

not improve themselves and are stuck in the same place

exactly, and where does that lead them? you cant expect for things to change if you yourself dont change, only you can solve your problems or improve your life, takuro did neither, he simply accepted defeat and escaped to the unreal.

his life went from 0 to 100.

hardly, i mean, by the end of the story he was still the same fat ugly bastard with a dead end job, he didnt improve, nor did he try to improve.

The author objectively can't write endings to save his life.

nah, the ending is quite okay, even good by being consistent with its themes

 

[FKW_ll]

correct, she wasnt an NPC, what could have been if she was indeed an NPC is irrelevant, since, again, she is not, and if only the author had wrote the ending you wanted you would have felt better, if only, but he didnt. "

looking exhausted != being on the brim of death, you as a reader knew the severity but takuro didnt, to think that of all the possibilities he went straight to "oh, she is dying" its an assumption.

again, she didnt remain with takuro because why would she stay with someone who couldnt commit to her?, and she gave birth to tsukiko out of pity, or hell, maybe she did it to spite takuro, to make tsukiko unreachable so he would never know again the joy he once knew with her

to tell a story, to send a message, to me it clearly depicts escapism as something dangerous that only prevents you from achieving any real meaningful happiness.

exactly, and where does that lead them? you cant expect for things to change if you yourself dont change, only you can solve your problems or improve your life, takuro did neither, he simply accepted defeat and escaped to the unreal.

hardly, i mean, by the end of the story he was still the same fat ugly bastard with a dead end job, he didnt improve, nor did he try to improve.

nah, the ending is quite okay, even good by being consistent with its themes

Okay, I can see we're going nowhere. You and I keep repeating the same things, especially you without understanding me. I hated the ending, you enjoyed it. End of discussion.

 

[rodmanii]

Okay, I can see we're going nowhere. You and I keep repeating the same things, especially you without understanding me. I hated the ending, you enjoyed it. End of discussion.

"especially you without understanding me" that is far from true, but besides that, you are right, we agree to disagree

 

[wormpeeler]

Okay, I can see we're going nowhere. You and I keep repeating the same things, especially you without understanding me. I hated the ending, you enjoyed it. End of discussion.

FKW is right, generally. it is presented to the MC that he must sacrifice himself to prevent a nuclear holocaust. he must appease the AI so that it won't kill everyone. the earth was held hostage. this isn't about the women at all, really.

the ending is just an abrupt shift, and it doesn't really make sense. why did his friend die, for instance? dying in the game doesn't actually kill you. additionally, while the ugly bastard getting the girl is ridiculous, we had already crossed the bridge of dismissing that fact when he entered into a relationship with his older coworker. to then backtrack on what was previously established is just tonally inconsistent. that's like if an anti-war film ended with a montage praising lockheed-martin. it's just bad writing.

the problem is not that the ugly bastard didn't get the girl, it's that he did, but the author didn't have the confidence to follow through to the logical conclusion. would he in real life? no, but we're clearly past the point of no return. you don't get to change your mind that far after the after the fact and still expect me to take it seriously. this is an issue of consistency, it's not about whether a happy or sad ending is preferable, it's about working within the previously established parameters of the series. in this case, the particular parameter in question is that the ugly bastard did, in fact, get the girl. additionally, saving the AI after it tried to kill everyone is just insane. there's absolutely no motivation for this. how is it that a man marrying a woman he's already dating is unrealistic, but saving a computer program that tried to commit global genocide is realistic, SPECIFICALLY the woman who did save said computer program? that's the other thing, the AI really wanted to kill the MC and his girl more than anyone. again, tonally inconsistent. it was clearly done for the sake of misery porn. not only does he lose the real girl, but the fake girl becomes real and he loses her as well. it's obvious that there is no purpose to the AI being made flesh (in the most asinine way possible. "digital DNA"? are you kidding me?) OTHER than to create this very specific scenario wherein losing the AI girl has extra misery. they didn't even bring it up as a possibility until after he was rejected by his real girlfriend.

to not only dismantle his computer, but to also throw it off the bridge, is the MC taking the rejection of his AI girlfriend to it's logical conclusion. backtracking on that entirely by joining her is inconsistent. the AI even told him that it wouldn't be the real him in the program, he knows that he won't actually be living with her. it's just a shitty clone. he will just die and not experience anything. he's killing himself because the AI would otherwise nuke everyone. that's really the only way it makes any sense.

additionally, he doesn't actually do anything to save the AI until after she's bit. that was made extremely obvious, idk how that's even a point of contention. he absolutely flips his shit when he sees her get bit and immediately rushes to kill himself. ffs, he fucked his girlfriend in public right before he met the doctor and then ran off to kill himself. you could not establish a character's intent to side with his real girlfriend any more clearly. there is absolutely no ambiguity or second-guessing, no room for doubt. the AI literally tells the MC "if he doesn't come back soon, i'm going to destroy the world". it's pretty clear that it was about saving the earth, not choosing his glorified masturbation aid over his girlfriend. they are only relevant to the decision insofar as the AI is the one in control of the nukes, it has nothing to do with love. and his real girlfriend heard that threat as well, so she also knows what the situation is, which means she should understand why he was doing it. in conclusion, his act was selfless and he should be praised. the fact that the AI was killed by the virus was simply a happy accident. otherwise, the AI would have killed everyone (had he not sacrificed himself). of course, since this was initiated by the US, they didn't really understand the nature of the virus and therefore could not appreciate the fact that the problem was solved and they didn't need to do anything at all.

 

[FKW_ll]

FKW is right, generally. it is presented to the MC that he must sacrifice himself to prevent a nuclear holocaust. he must appease the AI so that it won't kill everyone. the earth was held hostage. this isn't about the women at all, really.

the ending is just an abrupt shift, and it doesn't really make sense. why did his friend die, for instance? dying in the game doesn't actually kill you. additionally, while the ugly bastard getting the girl is ridiculous, we had already crossed the bridge of dismissing that fact when he entered into a relationship with his older coworker. to then backtrack on what was previously established is just tonally inconsistent. that's like if an anti-war film ended with a montage praising lockheed-martin. it's just bad writing.

the problem is not that the ugly bastard didn't get the girl, it's that he did, but the author didn't have the confidence to follow through to the logical conclusion. would he in real life? no, but we're clearly past the point of no return. you don't get to change your mind that far after the after the fact and still expect me to take it seriously. this is an issue of consistency, it's not about whether a happy or sad ending is preferable, it's about working within the previously established parameters of the series. in this case, the particular parameter in question is that the ugly bastard did, in fact, get the girl. additionally, saving the AI after it tried to kill everyone is just insane. there's absolutely no motivation for this. how is it that a man marrying a woman he's already dating is unrealistic, but saving a computer program that tried to commit global genocide is realistic, SPECIFICALLY the woman who did save said computer program? that's the other thing, the AI really wanted to kill the MC and his girl more than anyone. again, tonally inconsistent. it was clearly done for the sake of misery porn. not only does he lose the real girl, but the fake girl becomes real and he loses her as well. it's obvious that there is no purpose to the AI being made flesh (in the most asinine way possible. "digital DNA"? are you kidding me?) OTHER than to create this very specific scenario wherein losing the AI girl has extra misery. they didn't even bring it up as a possibility until after he was rejected by his real girlfriend.

to not only dismantle his computer, but to also throw it off the bridge, is the MC taking the rejection of his AI girlfriend to it's logical conclusion. backtracking on that entirely by joining her is inconsistent. the AI even told him that it wouldn't be the real him in the program, he knows that he won't actually be living with her. it's just a shitty clone. he will just die and not experience anything. he's killing himself because the AI would otherwise nuke everyone. that's really the only way it makes any sense.

additionally, he doesn't actually do anything to save the AI until after she's bit. that was made extremely obvious, idk how that's even a point of contention. he absolutely flips his shit when he sees her get bit and immediately rushes to kill himself. ffs, he fucked his girlfriend in public right before he met the doctor and then ran off to kill himself. you could not establish a character's intent to side with his real girlfriend any more clearly. there is absolutely no ambiguity or second-guessing, no room for doubt. the AI literally tells the MC "if he doesn't come back soon, i'm going to destroy the world". it's pretty clear that it was about saving the earth, not choosing his glorified masturbation aid over his girlfriend. they are only relevant to the decision insofar as the AI is the one in control of the nukes, it has nothing to do with love. and his real girlfriend heard that threat as well, so she also knows what the situation is, which means she should understand why he was doing it. in conclusion, his act was selfless and he should be praised. the fact that the AI was killed by the virus was simply a happy accident. otherwise, the AI would have killed everyone (had he not sacrificed himself). of course, since this was initiated by the US, they didn't really understand the nature of the virus and therefore could not appreciate the fact that the problem was solved and they didn't need to do anything at all.

You had the eloquence to explain the situation that I couldn't. The author just seems to be incapable of writing good endings. As if he gets off on writing angering/confusing the readers after getting his manga read by them.