Souboutei Must be Destroyed - Vol. 18 Ch. 172 - Over The Line

[MangaDex]

 

[boldmonkey]

You'd think that at this point he'd think "maybe that line symbolized how my father cared about my well-being, in the way I never cared about my daughter", but I guess the author has to shoehorn Takoha into it somehow. I consider it weak writing when an author tries to turn a character's previously unsympathetic traits into sympathetic ones. Augustus was a fine character even if he behaved like a prick much of the time, there's no good reason to try to make him more likable like this. Also, now Fujita portrays Nancy in a more unsympathetic light by making her someone who was looking to ride on the coattails of Augustus' reputation.
I don't want any crap Avengers gathering of good guys. All I need is a bunch of rag-tag, bickering specialists looking to destroy Souboutei.

 

[MisterSteak]

@boldmonkey

Hard disagree. This chapter doesn't even try to excuse Augusto's treatment of his daughter. But at the same time, it allows you to understand the emotions behind it. I think bad writing would be writing a jerkass character with no underlying reasons for his jerkish behavior.

The flashback has nothing to do with Nancy at all. It's all about Augusto's ridiculous expectations for *himself*, which he self-admittedly pushed onto his daughter. And in his own stubborn way, he did apologize for it.

Augusto DID realize that the line was a meaningless metaphor, and that's portrayed very very clearly in the flashback. His desire to nevertheless conquer that line was shown as strictly illogical, and based in childhood trauma he never got over.

And the cut to Takoha was, in all honesty, masterfully done.

I'm also hoping that Augusto didn't die right there, because this has very much made me interested in his character. And his lines seem to suggest he wasn't planning on this being a suicide move.

About Nancy being portrayed unsympathetically, that's because she's possessed by an evil emotionless alien hellbent on destroying Augusto's heart. I personally don't even believe her that she was only trying to ride his coattails, OR that she flat-out hated her father. She was saying the most hurtful things possible to make Augusto lose motivation. And also, it was to juxtapose his character development with her hammering home all of his worst qualities at the same time.

 

[velamela]

Augusto is a prime death candidate now, most characters that need to repent for something tend to die by the end of Fujita's other manga. I'll be surprised if he makes it all the way to the end now.

 

[AnimuVsMango]

Augusto enters the True Man's World.