Sensitive Boy - Vol. 4 Ch. 34 - Parting Ways

[cloakyboi]

Hope this manga doesn't end so quickly
And is it ending after chapter 35?

 

[Eighty-six]

What the fuck was that, I don't understand why people are praising this chapter.

Random sensei appears,
sensei used stab,
Tsubasa used protect,
Tsubasa protected Kaede,
But also took a critical hit.

Tsubasa now understand Kaede's emotional pain by just one physical stab. Wtf. Imo author just fucked this all progression of 33 chapters in just one chapter.

You can reduce anything like that to make it sound shallow, though. That, and it's not a random teacher, it's the teacher that raped Kaede.

Tsubasa doesn't realize Kaede's emotional pain through getting stabbed-- she interprets the stab as punishment for hurting Kaede in her ignorance of his trauma.

Myself, I don't have a concrete criticism of this sequence, though I can't shake the idea of it feeling "flat" despite it being high energy and the climax of Kaede's arc. That's especially not a material criticism, though. I think the closest I can get to making that criticism material is noting the following:

1. The rapist teacher comes off more as an anthropomorphized vector of violence and trauma that Kaede has to overcome in order to complete his arc, than a character in her own right. It makes sense for Kaede to have that perspective, but the reading perspective we're given isn't that intimately anchored in Kaede's perception. My impression is probably also caused by the fact that she's up to now been a character that's only existed in Kaede's recollections and trauma-- and now she shows up in the real, out of nowhere, full tilt as an entirely different person. All of these are altogether plausible circumstances, but I don't really dig what it all culminates into. And I don't even intrinsically mind contrivance, but it might be that I can dig naked contrivance when it's instrumental to a theme or motif, or is still grounded in how the characters act-- and this is neither of those. She just happened to be in the area. She just happens to decide to flip out on Kaede without anything establishing this phase of her character beforehand.

I'd have appreciated a character exploration from her perspective-- no, not to make her sympathetic, but more so because I think it would have helped establish that Kaede got raped by a human being and not merely "a rapist".

2. It's thematically a good thing that Kaede gets to declare that he'll prove that he can be happy directly to the person that robbed him of so much, but narratively speaking, he does it in the middle of a hostile situation with a woman swinging a knife around that already stabbed someone else while trying to get to him. Between this and my previous point, it feels hokey to me.

She was literally in the previous chapter

She was at the back end of the previous chapter.

 

[Rayla89]

Yeah, apparently sexual assault of a minor wasn't enough for her, let's throw attempted murder on top of it

 

[jak]

Well, I was not expecting to see the teacher so soon or if ever.

 

[Haruka]

I knew it was happening because of the spoiler pic in previous chapter but I'll say it again... what the fuck.

But like it was said already, what's the point exactly. This extreme level of violence doesn't fit that well in a story about recovery, and it's such a cheap overused trope too, even with the free double "shield each other" bingo bonus.

 

[comeonnow0]

You can reduce anything like that to make it sound shallow, though. That, and it's not a random teacher, it's the teacher that raped Kaede.

Tsubasa doesn't realize Kaede's emotional pain through getting stabbed-- she interprets the stab as punishment for hurting Kaede in her ignorance of his trauma.

Myself, I don't have a concrete criticism of this sequence, though I can't shake the idea of it feeling "flat" despite it being high energy. That's especially not a material criticism, though. I think the closest I can get to making that criticism material is by noting the following:

1. The rapist teacher comes off more as an anthropomorphized vector of violence and trauma that Kaede has to overcome in order to complete his arc, than a character in her own right. It makes sense for Kaede to have that perspective, but the reading perspective we're given isn't that intimately anchored in Kaede's perception. My impression is probably also caused by the fact that she's up to now been a character that's only existed in Kaede's recollections and trauma-- and now she shows up in the real, out of nowhere, full tilt as an entirely different person. All of these are altogether plausible circumstances, but I don't really dig what it all culminates into. And I don't even intrinsically mind contrivance, but it might be that I can dig naked contrivance when it's instrumental to a theme or motif, or is still grounded in how the characters act-- and this is neither of those.

I'd have appreciated a character exploration from her perspective-- no, not to make her sympathetic, but more so because I think it would have helped establish that Kaede got raped by a human being and not merely "a rapist".

2. It's thematically a good thing that Kaede gets to declare that he'll prove that he can be happy directly to the person that robbed him of so much, but narratively speaking, he does it in the middle of a hostile situation with a woman swinging a knife around that already stabbed someone else while trying to get to him. Between this and my previous point, it feels hokey to me.


She was at the back end of the previous chapter.

I'm not who you were replying to, but let me take a stab (😉) at explaining the criticisms of this. As an aside, technically, it was a slash, not a stab, but even I don't really care.

You're right. The sensei is a plot device and not really a character in this chapter. In the flashback arc, we got two chapters devoted to her personality. It gave this message saying even a person you trusted can do something horrible. Or something. But then this chapter happens, and it's like...none of that mattered. Who the sensei was doesn't matter here, and she is used to drive forward action and drama.

And yes, that sometimes does happen in real life. Personalities can change drastically. But that doesn't make for a good story, a narrative where the author could've, if the author wanted, elaborated on how and why that happened. In real life, I can't see a flashback of your past, but in this work, the author just made the sensei a shallow tool.

---

And, honestly speaking, that isn't the first time the author has done something like this. Sahara, the self-proclaimed possible asexual classmate, was not really that developed as a character. As another commenter stated, he gave a textbook definition of asexuality.

There was Aya's lecture to Tsubasa, specifically using miniskirts as an example. That also comes off as lacking depth. However, I can accept both of those specifically because they come from teenagers. They might have looked it up online. That's not that bad.

---

But then Kaede gives his speech about finding happiness and moving past his trauma... I was honestly almost laughing at the absurdity of him being that dramatic in the face of someone who is swinging a knife around.

---

All of that criticism can be summed up in short. The author tried to make this look deeper than it actually is. The author resorted to shallow methods and writing while trying to be dramatic.

It's the same kind of thing as "It was a dark and stormy night". The author thought they were being deep and edgy.

I'm bashing the work, obviously, but I still generally found it enjoyable, as a whole.

 

[shinshom]

dafuw man,... she doesnt deserve that .

 

[Mk006idk]

Mfing witch what do you mean by ''You ruined my life''? You ruined your own life by trying to fill the non existent emptiness in your heart using your pedo behaviour like wtf? She doesn't need asylum she needs to be tied to a thermocular bomb and thrown in ocean

 

[InsidiousIntent]

I think... I don't have much to share yet. Plenty to say, and thoughts, but I'm going to be patient.

As ever, thank you for scanlating.

 

[misskaneki]

This bitch needs to die! I can't beloeve she said all of that, fcking psycho

 

[Mk006idk]

What the fuck was that, I don't understand why people are praising this chapter.

Random sensei appears,
sensei used stab,
Tsubasa used protect,
Tsubasa protected Kaede,
But also took a critical hit.

Tsubasa now understand Kaede's emotional pain by just one physical stab. Wtf. Imo author just fucked this all progression of 33 chapters in just one chapter.

That's not random teacher tho + Tsubasa doesn't see that as understanding his pain rather a punishment... Did you even read the chapter?

 

[24HourCinderella]

That bitch need some 9mm to fix her brain asap

Generally the best way to fix a pedophile.

 

[Felana]

Eh kaede arc? so there are new arc incoming?

 

[Kurshir]

From Twitter the author said we have 3 chapters left
Did we just got axed?

 

[Tymo]

This felt so cheesy, like, who tf tries to stab someone in the middle of the street with multiple people possibly watching out of nowhere? Lol

 

[Talilover]

That chapter was so fucking dumb

 

[CADMCK]

I didn't see that coming, I thought that was gonna be a family member of the teacher that assaulted him. But that was actually her! Honestly I felt like she was going to be remorseful after all this time but instead she was scornful towards him. I'm guessing that after what she did her life became difficult, probably had to leave college and was possibly shunned by friends or family members. The negativity must have clouded her mind to the point that something in her told her that "It's not your fault, it was HIM!". Now she's angry at him and wants revenge and want to kill him for ruining her life all because of what she did to him.

 

[Yatagan]

...this feels kind of out of nowhere and something that a more poorly written manga would have used as a plot point, honestly.
I dunno, just doesn't sell it for me.

 

[zombielunch]

"This hag was your first? I take back all judgements... you were an innocent victim."

Kaede - Next Chapter, probably.

 

[Francis]

This felt so cheesy, like, who tf tries to stab someone in the middle of the street with multiple people possibly watching out of nowhere? Lol

Do you know how Shinzo Abe died last year?

She was at the back end of the previous chapter.

It still counts, is it that unusual for the teacher to find him roaming the streets when they both still lived at the same town?