Shin'yuu no Otto wo Ubatta no wa, Watashi deshita - Ch. 3

[Nuclear_Feacesist]

you see, if Rio were the Main character in a roncom and the main story didn't exist, we would all be cheering for her getting "the man she deserves" and praying for her husband's downfall

Would be hard to do so if shes actively destroying another relationship and rubbing it in to assert dominance

 

[donlanthirion]

you see, if Rio were the Main character in a roncom and the main story didn't exist, we would all be cheering for her getting "the man she deserves" and praying for her husband's downfall

I am entertaining this idea... Let's say the main series and this spinoff were combined, and now we see it develop through Rio's PoV. I think you are right in the sense that at chapter 2,without any prior knowledge, we would be rooting for her, alright. I wonder how much support she would get when the cheating starts, and when she leaves the used condom by Mahoro's door.

I think at that point, some people would drop the series entirely. Others would keep reading to see the downfall this sad heroine.

The more I think about this idea, the more it reminds me of ningen shikaku (no longer human)... But let's hope for brighter days.

 

[Crisisninjax]

I know it's not all men but my god, some of the culture in Japan that breeds these cretins is repulsive. If this is the modern man in Japan, no wonder people aren't having kids. You know outside of the poor work life balance, and high cost of living.

*(Edit: wording and spelling. )

 

[Beatrice]

Assholes in everyone's lives. Rio is still a bad person.
She falls for the shallowness in men and betrays her friend in the process.
She's much too superficial a person, so no, I don't feel sorry for her. In fact, I think I feel less sorry for her than at the party. Itsuki, barring that psychotic dress shearing act in the last chapter, isn't as hands-on as I thought.

 

[gum_rummy]

It really rubs me the wrong way when both husband and wife are working and the wife is still expected to do all the household chores and cooking.

It seems like they have enough money to hire a housekeeper based on his job.

 

[wiz_gmc]

you see, if Rio were the Main character in a roncom and the main story didn't exist, we would all be cheering for her getting "the man she deserves" and praying for her husband's downfall

Even without the context of the original series, I don't think I would be cheering her on in her pursuit of her friend’s husband. I really don't like it when characters do that, I would drop the series. But regardless, I would be praying for Itsuki's downfall and, even with the context of the original series, I am praying for Itsuki's downfall.

 

[hawk7034]

Nah, toxic trait aren't difficult to identify, it's just the rose colored lenses you wear at the start of the relationship that screw you up.

like how she's doing with Rei. She didn't learn

Nah, vibes do shift if you move in with someone. Should always live with somebody for like a year before you actually sign the papers.

 

[donlanthirion]

Nah, vibes do shift if you move in with someone. Should always live with somebody for like a year before you actually sign the papers.

Even that brings no guarantee. Marriage is a legal agreement and brings more weight to the relationship, thus changing things... But, it's better than blindly jumping into a marriage without any sort of trial period.

 

[Cynn]

Rio knows that all these comments from Itsuki and even strangers are bothering and eating away at her, she knows it’s not right.

When Kyouko says her efforts at home are taken for granted, Rio had the opportunity to lean on friends that have the same issues probably getting comfort and solidarity, but she chooses not to do that and instead to one up all of them, especially Mahoro, by layering lies, even saying that Itsuki is ALWAYS kind.

Itsuki’s builds a cage around Rio, and around that, Rio builds a fence to keep her friends out.

I was hoping to see her inner thoughts regarding not sharing her relationship struggles, or her choice to lie to her friends but instead we see that all she is focused on is Rei and what he represents to her, a happy way to forget Itsuki.

I was surprised to see that Rio’s interaction with her customers be later mirrored by her and Itsuki. It makes me think that Itsuki is not the sole cause of her grief.

Edit: a word

 

[feignedremoteness]

the slow buildup of Mahoro not really being aware of the flaws in her relationship and accidentally making Rei look like a “better choice” to Rio is soooooooo painful. he’s more of a pushover so he’d probably be better than Itsuki in a lot of ways, but it hurts knowing that Rio is…forming this image of him because Mahoro is still in “my relationship is normal and fine!” mode
like if either of them had been more honest or self-aware then this just WOULDN’T have happened

 

[Friendly-Sentence710]

It really rubs me the wrong way when both husband and wife are working and the wife is still expected to do all the household chores and cooking.

It really rubs me the wrong way when both husband and wife are working and the wife is still expected to do all the household chores and cooking.

Rio is likely running a 10-2 lunch cafe with a limited menu and requires extra work (ordering food, cleaning, etc). and is still more mentally draining than just a normal part time job, but Itsuki would be working full time, hence Rio gets the housework.

Rio is... not very responsible, even though its getting downplayed and pushed onto Itsuki.
I get the impression that Rio had it in her mind it would be fun and easy to run her own cafe, and something to post on insta and brag to her friends about.
I also wouldn't be overly shocked (given the genre) that Itsuki pushed her into doing something. And ideally something flexible so she can drop everything to do whatever he wanted.

But she really needs to do something else.

I have neighbors who literally order delivery food every day (I swear I know all the uber eats drivers in my town thanks to them) and have cleaners come in at least once a week and as far as I can tell, while they're certainly way more well off than me, they're not "fuck you money" well off.

Itsuki here seems clearly capable to have all that and much more. It makes absolutely zero sense for Rio to do all the house chores, if any. It's obviously about control to him.

Hired help is one of those things where it isn't cheaper in Japan. As a portion of disposable income, It costs more to hire cleaners in Japan unless you are giving someone you know some bucks. There is also a social stima about letting people into your house.

Addiitionally, I had a neighbor of sorts for a while who was very wealthy, low 8-figures networth.
His wife worked, some office administration job, more than part time but less than full (and had the flexibility for fuck off for months at a time). The topic had come up of this, and he explained in a way that's stuck with me; when they were dating, he was well off but not rich. She was not. And he said he willing to bankroll their lifestyle, but the condition was she had to do SOMETHING that came with responsibility. She could be a housewife and run their house, she could get a job, she could work for a charity. He didn't care if she flipped burgers, but she had to have something that provided direction. She couldn't sit around all day watching TV or just shop or lunch with friends.
He saw what people did when they had nothing to do - money or not - and wasn't going to date let alone marry someone who only aspired to be a lump.

He also said one of the reasons for this was bored people were unhappy, and unhappy people cheat. Which I've seen be accurate, and demonstrated her.

Granted because she worked they had did have a cleaner that came through I think once a week, and I was invited to a couple get togethers and he helped do things like cleanup/bag tash/load the dishwasher. They were both tidy people and I think if he'd found a washer full of forgotten clothes from the night before he'd have put them in the dryer. so not apples to apples.

 

[EchoGirl]

do cafes usually serve beer or is it an Upscale bistro?

Dang you’d think they’d have a bit more patience even if she does need to hire an
Employee

You’d think they’d be rich enough to buy a dryer versus hang drying unless he wants her to manually do chores
(tho im
Sure there are housekeeper affairs too)

I wonder if we’ll get an epilogue of them moving out of the city since it seems like they didn’t get divorced like Mahoro did

 

[XUnDEaDViperX]

Nah, vibes do shift if you move in with someone. Should always live with somebody for like a year before you actually sign the papers.

I agree. Abusers and toxic people can be really good at hiding their toxic traits especially in the honeymoon stage of a relationship. But even after that it can be still be difficult if they keep up the act.

A few years ago I thought I had a really good thing going with a really nice and sweet girl.... Until about a year and a half into our relationship and she moved in to my place and proceeded to insult me, downplay my contributions, tried to isolate me and finally (what broke the camels back for me) punched me. People say that in hindsight you can see the red flags that were always there but even now almost nothing stands out as a red flag to me. The one thing that does stick out is how proud she'd be of her constant abysmal tips to waiters, service staff etc: but she was never rude to them like another ex was.

Had to call some friends to help bag all her crap and get the locks changed while she was at work but it was well worth it. Then after I wouldn't let her back in her and her mother blew up my phone about it being a "misunderstanding" and that I was "making a mistake." On the other hand also I spoke with her Father and sister (who hadn't lived with sis and mom in a decade) and they were super nice and apologetic. Gave me major whiplash when he called his ex wife and my ex "deranged leeches" right after the deranged leeches in question gave me an earful lol.

 

[gingerpunch]

A

Nah, toxic trait aren't difficult to identify, it's just the rose colored lenses you wear at the start of the relationship that screw you up.

like how she's doing with Rei. She didn't learn

Abusers rarely engage romantically with those not susceptible to abuse. Rose colored glasses are always a factor, but the prescription strength varies.

 

[feignedremoteness]

I think Rio is also very bought into the idea that she needs to be in a relationship with a man or should be in a relationship with a man. The misogyny from other customers reinforces that there isn’t really a “better” choice than Itsuki and that she “should just be happy” that she’s financially stable. I think she sees marriage as primarily about security and stability?
Unlike Mahoro (who is willing to be independent), the actions that Rio takes that go outside the marriage are focused on the fantasy of a “different relationship.” We’ll see if she ever becomes someone who would leave for her own sake.

 

[sleepyknight]

Rio knows that all these comments from Itsuki and even strangers are bothering and eating away at her, she knows it’s not right.

When Kyouko says her efforts at home are taken for granted, Rio had the opportunity to lean on friends that have the same issues probably getting comfort and solidarity, but she chooses not to do that and instead to one up all of them, especially Mahoro, by layering lies, even saying that Itsuki is ALWAYS kind.

Itsuki’s builds a cage around Rio, and around that, Rio builds a fence to keep her friends out.

I was hoping to see her inner thoughts regarding not sharing her relationship struggles, or her choice to lie to her friends but instead we see that all she is focused on is Rei and what he represents to her, a happy way to forget Itsuki.

I was surprised to see that Rio’s interaction with her customers be layered mirrored by her and Itsuki. It makes me think that Itsuki is not the sole cause of her grief.

i think kyoko and rio are pretty similar people, both are diligent, goal-oriented, successful and want to be regarded as such. however rio doesnt struggle with kyoko's history of self esteem issues and self-loathing, shes never been made a laughingstock, rather, shes used to getting very positive receptions from people, so when she doesnt shes at a loss and begins to question her sense of self. its clear that now that her marriage is becoming caustic and eating away at her ability to run her business- shes experiencing both personal and professional "failures" as someone who is used to effortless success. this changes her dynamic within her friend group pretty significantly. Mahoro described her as being an older sister figure despite being the same age, for her to now have to seek help from people shes used to advising would just be another blow to her ego at a time when shes feeling increasingly threatened. as a result she doubles down, seeking admiration instead of solace, in front of the only audience she has to provide either

 

[AcidVlad]

"Damn it sucks to be in couple" moment

Glad to be "free"

 

[Friendly-Sentence710]

do cafes usually serve beer or is it an Upscale bistro?

As long as you serve food and have limited capacity, it is easier to be able to sell alcohol in Japan than the states, especially a place that wouldn't be open late.

Dang you’d think they’d have a bit more patience even if she does need to hire an
Employee

I think the implication is the cafe doesn't do enough business to get an employee. What she really needs is to learn better management.

You’d think they’d be rich enough to buy a dryer versus hang drying unless he wants her to manually do chores
(tho im Sure there are housekeeper affairs too)

I will try to condense this the minimum possible:
Clothes are stupid expensive in Japan. Not just comparitively, they are ridiculous. There is a long history in japan of clothes (that is, kimono) being handed down for generations, so taking extra care of clothes is second nature in Japanese culture.

Tumble-trying clothes is rougher on them then air-drying. It shortens the lifespan of clothes vs line drying due to the heat and friction from tumbling. This makes clothing softer, but it makes them not last as long.
there is also a... cultural belief (I wouldn't go quite as far as superstition) that clothes that line dry are... "fresher" than something that was just put in the dryer.
That is, I can see Itsuki requiring Rio to air dry their clothes.

Adding to that, the majority of Japanese homes/apartments were built before proper ductwork had entered Japanese building practices, as well as less-good eletrical amperage to the home. This means that dryers are less effective, can heat up the home, and may simple put not be able to get hot enough to tumble dry clothing in a reasonable time.

This adds up to Dryers are now quite common in Japan, but they are usually only used to damp-dry clothes and clothes are usually hung up to finish drying on racks or lines.

I wonder if we’ll get an epilogue of them moving out of the city since it seems like they didn’t get divorced like Mahoro did

Honestly I think if Itsuki could unfuck his control issues life on a farm would be good for both of them.

 

[EulBassist]

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[UdenEmpati]

I wonder if we’ll get an epilogue of them moving out of the city since it seems like they didn’t get divorced like Mahoro did

Chapter 50 of the main series had Mahoro narrating that Rio and Itsuki moved away, after not divorcing.

The TL said that this 11-chapter series covers a time period before, during, and after the events of the main series, so I suspect the final chapter will give at least a bit of insight on where they end up.