Sensitive Boy - Vol. 2 Ch. 16 - Limit and Blockage

[jonnywarlock]

DON'T YOU RUN AWAY, YOU LITTLE...

Ahhhhhh. I'm not even surprised she ran. Just really, REALLY disappointed.

 

[SoTaKiSu]

Honestly, I imagined it much worst. At least she was honest. Is she messed up for having those opinions, yes. But she’s a kid viewing the world with rose tinted glasses and that includes the idea that males can’t be really raped. Wether or not she stays with him or not, I hope she learned something from this

 

[Ludd_]

Most of the potential of this manga is well utilized but I felt like, so far at least, it threw the potential for Kaede himself to learn about respecting Tsubasa's boundaries, a potential which was implicitly buiding up.

While not as serious as his experience, she did tell him she was groped which is something he could consider. Chapters 7-8 for example when he reached for her hands without asking her, that was a good chance for him to reflect that everyone including Kaede himself had the potential of becoming "a giant monster" or that the social expectation of what being "a normal boy" can lead him to that path. Maybe it does in the untranslated chapters or even future ones, but so far it seemed vague and underutilized. Just now Tsubasa mentioned how she was afraid when Kaede rejected her hand which adds further to the buildup.

That isn't really a good excuse for her, he has touched her before and she's fine with it but only after he told her his story she became like that, so I don't think it has anything to do with her being groped in the past

 

[Faint15]

Most of the potential of this manga is well utilized but I felt like, so far at least, it threw the potential for Kaede himself to learn about respecting Tsubasa's boundaries, a potential which was implicitly buiding up.

While not as serious as his experience, she did tell him she was groped which is something he could consider. Chapters 7-8 for example when he reached for her hands without asking her, that was a good chance for him to reflect that everyone including Kaede himself had the potential of becoming "a giant monster" or that the social expectation of what being "a normal boy" can lead him to that path. Maybe it does in the untranslated chapters or even future ones, but so far it seemed vague and underutilized. Just now Tsubasa mentioned how she was afraid when Kaede rejected her hand which adds further to the buildup.

Just going to say that her mentioning she was groped on a train was just to relate to Kaede's own experience. That's all.

 

[jak]

People will probably give me shit for this, but her asking why didn't hey try to push her off is completely reasonable.

 

[Mirzak007]

Well fuck

 

[DyArashi]

She try to date him because he's cute and look harmless, also kaede is too hurt to listen to her either. i'm curious how author will wrap this up

 

[Eighty-six]

I want to see the Tsubasa defenders now.

This is why she's an ass. Right here.

I do appreciate your spoilers, and I appreciate that you're open about your bias in your recapitulations, but it's also because of your lens that-- with each chapter-- I've consistently expected her to be more of an ass than she ends up actually being.

Her mindset is stupid, simplistic and is born from a fairytale impression of romance that not even her mother is responsible for. Her relationship expectations are equally simplistic. On the other hand, as hurtful as her words are, she's constantly struggling to try to empathize with Kaede against those preconceived notions and her general lack of experience/knowledge. It's not just in this chapter-- she struggles with it when she's alone, too. She knows that what she's feeling isn't right, but she's failing to help herself not feel those things. And despite everything, it was for the best that she was honest about her cognitive dissonance now rather than later.

It makes sense for Kaede to respond the way he does to her, because he's trying hard to overcome this broad scar on his psyche (he has an even bigger uphill battle).

Perhaps it's necessary for someone like her to get a more straightforward analogy that helps her better contextualize the matter at hand, but Kaede is obviously in no position to be the person who does that (nor is that a failing on his part, nor is he obligated to do so in the first place). That said, him saying that she can only say what she's saying because she never experienced it is salient: she in fact didn't see him right after the rape. She didn't deal with him when he was a recluse. She never saw him psyching himself up and going over strategies with his friends and school nurse.

As far as I'm concerned, Tsubasa isn't an ass-- she's a dumbass whose simple life, lack of experience, and hitherto lack of need need to think deeply have contributed to (not necessarily caused) her now being way over her head. None of that is meant as a "defense" of her actions-- her failure to quash her cognitive dissonance in order to properly understand Kaede is in fact a failure. I just think that there's a lot of context under a statement like "Tsubasa's an ass" that isn't immediately apparent.

(That said, I might have been more "angry" with her if I wasn't expecting for her to just victim blame him.)

 

[Cloymax]

People will probably give me shit for this, but her asking why didn't hey try to push her off is completely reasonable.

Not really. Physical aspects aside, a child is not ready for adult assault of either physical or sexual variety unless they already have a history of abuse. The power dynamics alone make it difficult.

Beyond that, "just resist" is easy to say but resisting is not able to actually deter assault. If you want to ensure your own safety you need to be willing to strike back, meaning harm or even kill. A child cannot, especially towards an adult.

 

[gum_rummy]

Pain

 

[NorseLoki]

What a bitch

 

[comeonnow0]

I do appreciate your spoilers, and I appreciate that you're open about your bias in your recapitulations, but it's also because of your lens that-- with each chapter-- I've consistently expected her to be more of an ass than she ends up actually being.

Her mindset is stupid, simplistic and is born from a fairytale impression of romance that not even her mother is responsible for. Her relationship expectations are equally simplistic. On the other hand, as hurtful as her words are, she's constantly struggling to try to empathize with Kaede against those preconceived notions and her general lack of experience/knowledge. It's not just in this chapter-- she struggles with it when she's alone, too. She knows that what she's feeling isn't right, but she's failing to help herself not feel those things. And despite everything, it was for the best that she was honest about her cognitive dissonance now rather than later.

It makes sense for Kaede to respond the way he does to her, because he's trying hard to overcome this broad scar on his psyche (he has an even bigger uphill battle).

Perhaps it's necessary for someone like her to get a more straightforward analogy that helps her better contextualize the matter at hand, but Kaede is obviously in no position to be the person who does that (nor is that a failing on his part, nor is he obligated to do so in the first place). That said, him saying that she can only say what she's saying because she never experienced it is salient: she in fact didn't see him right after the rape. She didn't deal with him when he was a recluse. She never saw him psyching himself up and going over strategies with his friends and school nurse.

As far as I'm concerned, Tsubasa isn't an ass-- she's a dumbass whose simple life, lack of experience, and hitherto lack of need need to think deeply have contributed to (not necessarily caused) her now being way over her head. None of that is meant as a "defense" of her actions-- her failure to quash her cognitive dissonance in order to properly understand Kaede is in fact a failure. I just think that there's a lot of context under a statement like "Tsubasa's an ass" that isn't immediately apparent.

(That said, I might have been more "angry" with her if I wasn't expecting for her to just victim blame him.)

That's fair. It's like when I see a really hyped movie that people give glowing reviews of, and then I'm left disappointed. I felt that way with The Shawshank Redemption.

I mean, Tsubasa isn't the worst character. Not even the worst character in this story (obviously the rapist teacher is worse). But when I write my summaries, it is mostly for my own enjoyment and to refresh my Spanish. I get why I come off as overly critical in a lot of what I write.

This is a joke, but I could just start lying in my summaries and say things like Tsubasa becomes a lawyer defending the rights of male rape victims. That'd put a spin on things.

 

[Angoldd]

Tsubasa in this case, and maaaany people in real life forget that all persons are different. No one reacts to a stimulus/situation the same way. It depends on your age, your personality, your life experiences, your upbringing, etc.
Therefore, men are not all the same, the same way women are not all the same.
It truly is a shame that these things are quite forgotten.

 

[Eighty-six]

How is a middle schooler supposed to overpower a grown woman? Bite her tits off?
Think what you are saying girl!

"Grown women" normally aren't strong against men, at all. Generously speaking, they'd even probably struggle against a barely pubescent teen (maybe if a given woman was heavy enough, it could be normally expected for her to have an advantage at pinning down a teen). Their body development doesn't lean much towards muscle growth.

I'm certain that's why more focus is given to the shock and later ruination of Kaede's psyche, rather than the force of the teacher.

People will probably give me shit for this, but her asking why didn't hey try to push her off is completely reasonable.

I wouldn't call it completely reasonable-- he told her that he initially struggled but was overcome by shock.

I think it's something of a normal response coming from someone who will never be in the position of a boy being raped by a woman, and it's slightly more reasonable than it being asked when the genders are reversed (given the strength advantage a man has over a woman). Regardless, given what Kaede explained to her, it's as if she wasn't listening properly.

 

[darkesword]

It takes a lot of skill to write a story that both maintains this level of tension while also continuing to push the story forward in significant ways. I appreciate that we’re not sitting here for 100 chapters waiting for something to happen. Very good pacing.

I’ll also say that this chapter hits way harder than any of the clichéd twists like “his rapist is Tsubasa’s mom” that previous commenters had been suggesting. I appreciate that the drama is borne out of characters expressing their POV on what happened instead of contrived situations like “his rapist will somehow be his tutor” (another prediction by commenters that completely misses the tone of the story).

I’d also offer this. Tsubasa completely blew it here, but she’s so naive and sheltered that she’s just not equipped to handle a relationship with a SA-survivor. Especially not if it’s her first ever experience with a boy. It’s a lot to try to wrap your head around because men and boys don’t often get thought of as victims, even though it happens way more than we think. She doesn’t even have experience with the pure vanilla type of love; now you throw violence and rape into the mix? She’s a kid, she has no idea how to navigate any of this. And she’s messing up, but it’s plain here there’s no malice. She’s just saying what society has fed her. “Boys are strong. Boys like sex. Boys can’t get raped. He would have stopped if he didn’t like it.” We see that same kind of genuine, ignorant comments here in these comment threads from people who just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that sexual assault has no gender boundary.

I’m really glad to see this manga. It’s dealing with such a sensitive issue in such a thoughtful and informative way. This might be one of the most important mangas I’ve seen in years.

 

[Iratana]

People will probably give me shit for this, but her asking why didn't hey try to push her off is completely reasonable.

I might be wrong, but I think he did tell her that he tried to fight back or resist at first, but then fear paralyzed him, which caused him to be unable to resist.

 

[idk234]

honestly so far, the way this is written doesn't make me think these two aren't written to eventually get back together

 

[Skyu]

She’s just saying what society has fed her. “Boys are strong. Boys like sex. Boys can’t get raped. He would have stopped if he didn’t like it.” We see that same kind of genuine, ignorant comments here in these comment threads from people who just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that sexual assault has no gender boundary.

Funny too cause a lot of people would say the same thing about women. "Girls get wet when they're raped so they must've liked it. She could've put up a fight if she didn't like it. She dresses with almost no clothing what'd she expect?"

I think she'd take back her words if she grew up a little and understood that what society thinks isn't something to be believed in some cases.

 

[abdullah17]

Fuck off thot

 

[comeonnow0]

honestly so far, the way this is written doesn't make me think these two aren't written to eventually get back together

The double negatives are confusing here. Do you think they get back together or not?