Thats been a whole topic that the mangaka brought in a long time ago lol. Of course, shes come to like the mc in a loving wayI sense some romance.. perhaps his body started to affect his mind
I heard someone once talked about the theory that Haruki might be transgender deep inside (but have no idea about this), that’s why he loved his sister(‘s female body) and had that admiration towards Robin, though he is still in the middle of identity crisis when he achieved his ideal body the worst possible way.Maybe this mangaka woman, The Bandit Owl is not the original author, Kenuma Gosaku, but the assistant, she had better handwriting so she was in charge of lettering, and that's why both the manga and letters share her writing
Then the real Gosaku died, and Bandit Owl continued the story for a while using old manuscripts Gosaku's pen name, since she was the one in charge of lettering and probably other things people didn't notice the changes in the art
But then she ran out of material for the story and had to stop, but instead of thinking about some ideas on her own she is planning on either getting rid of the competition or finding old classic material to plagiarize
Then she will be found out and after some short drama either makes up with the other mangaka girl, Katagiri Polka, and they become each other assistants to keep both manga in circulation, or...
The drama gets her killed, or both of them killed, you never know with this story
Seems like Kikuro is starting to develop feelings of romantic attachment and jealousy for Maru
Which sucks if you remember that this was enforced after Robin mind raped him, while regular raping him
But well it was never going to be a natural process since the brain transplant was also nonconsensual
With that said, Kikuro always came out as kind of bisexual, what with him having a crush on his sister and a very, very gay admiration for Robin, plus even before the rape he had his moments in which Maru was making him blush or act in a maidenly way, like when he got jealous of Maru being cuter than him while wearing a girl's wig
So this development is not all that unlikely, or hard to believe, but the path we had to follow to get to this point is one of the weakest aspects of the story
Kikuro may fall for Maru, but given the circumstances behind the foundation of abuse and trauma that are behind those feelings, the chances of something healthy coming out of this are really low
Think about it, he is a gay/bisexual dude, who also had the hots for his sister, ends trapped in the body of his sister, and then is fucked into becoming a woman in and out, and as a result has an identity crisis for like half a chapter, he is a mess and I have no idea for how this will be resolved
Kiruko showed obvious signs of liking Maru from much before the Robin incident. That incident didn't cause those feelings. Also I'd strongly disagree the way you're describing what happened with the Robin situation. As for these romantic feelings, they've been clearly and slowly building for a while in the story as Kiruko gradually comes to terms with this new life. That's been a large part of Kiruko's arc. This is just another in a long line of these, dating back from very early in their journey together.Maybe this mangaka woman, The Bandit Owl is not the original author, Kenuma Gosaku, but the assistant, she had better handwriting so she was in charge of lettering, and that's why both the manga and letters share her writing
Then the real Gosaku died, and Bandit Owl continued the story for a while using old manuscripts Gosaku's pen name, since she was the one in charge of lettering and probably other things people didn't notice the changes in the art
But then she ran out of material for the story and had to stop, but instead of thinking about some ideas on her own she is planning on either getting rid of the competition or finding old classic material to plagiarize
Then she will be found out and after some short drama either makes up with the other mangaka girl, Katagiri Polka, and they become each other assistants to keep both manga in circulation, or...
The drama gets her killed, or both of them killed, you never know with this story
Seems like Kikuro is starting to develop feelings of romantic attachment and jealousy for Maru
Which sucks if you remember that this was enforced after Robin mind raped him, while regular raping him
But well it was never going to be a natural process since the brain transplant was also nonconsensual
With that said, Kikuro always came out as kind of bisexual, what with him having a crush on his sister and a very, very gay admiration for Robin, plus even before the rape he had his moments in which Maru was making him blush or act in a maidenly way, like when he got jealous of Maru being cuter than him while wearing a girl's wig
So this development is not all that unlikely, or hard to believe, but the path we had to follow to get to this point is one of the weakest aspects of the story
Kikuro may fall for Maru, but given the circumstances behind the foundation of abuse and trauma that are behind those feelings, the chances of something healthy coming out of this are really low
Think about it, he is a gay/bisexual dude, who also had the hots for his sister, ends trapped in the body of his sister, and then is fucked into becoming a woman in and out, and as a result has an identity crisis for like half a chapter, he is a mess and I have no idea for how this will be resolved
Kiruko showed obvious signs of liking Maru from much before the Robin incident. That incident didn't cause those feelings. Also the way you're describing what happened with Robin is not a good read of that situation. As for these romantic feelings, they've been clearly and slowly building for a while in the story as Kiruko gradually comes to terms with this new life. That's been a large part of Kiruko's arc. This is just another in a long line of these, dating back from very early in their journey together.
So it's the opposite of what you said at the end: as Kiruko becomes more stable and more comfortable in this new skin (and therefore healthier) Kiruko becomes more comfortable with these feelings. That was the whole point of Maru's speech after the incident--reinforcing and providing comfort in Kiruko's new and unique identity. None of this means there's not some bumpy roads still ahead but not in the way you've characterized
Kiruko's emotional and psychological journey is likely not over and it wouldn't surprise me to see Robin again in some capacity. But like you said, Kiruko is currently on an upward trajectory. That upward trajectory coincides with Kiruko's continuously growing feelings for Maru (feelings that have been subtly growing since near the beginning of the manga). We've been leading to this for a while, so I'm surprised some people seem surprised.I agree with this. IMO, this is a sign that Kiruko is coming into terms with who she is.
Kiruko is being more expressive, open, and curious, all of which are good things. Had this been a negative side effect of what happened with Robin, the author would represent it as such.
I just see it as the mind being a plaything of the body type of deal. I do recall that sexuality is tied to the genetic code, which is, as far as I'm concerned, an important part of the body (indeed, when I read about these isekai genderbenders in which the female has to be gay because she remembered being a straight dude, I disagreed, a lot). Let us not ignore the influence our corporeal forms have on our personalities. I suspect that following the brain transplant, Kiriko's body began to change the chemistry of her brother's brain. According to the logic within this universe. I have no idea how this would end up in real life.Maybe this mangaka woman, The Bandit Owl is not the original author, Kenuma Gosaku, but the assistant, she had better handwriting so she was in charge of lettering, and that's why both the manga and letters share her writing
Then the real Gosaku died, and Bandit Owl continued the story for a while using old manuscripts Gosaku's pen name, since she was the one in charge of lettering and probably other things people didn't notice the changes in the art
But then she ran out of material for the story and had to stop, but instead of thinking about some ideas on her own she is planning on either getting rid of the competition or finding old classic material to plagiarize
Then she will be found out and after some short drama either makes up with the other mangaka girl, Katagiri Polka, and they become each other assistants to keep both manga in circulation, or...
The drama gets her killed, or both of them killed, you never know with this story
Seems like Kikuro is starting to develop feelings of romantic attachment and jealousy for Maru
Which sucks if you remember that this was enforced after Robin mind raped him, while regular raping him
But well it was never going to be a natural process since the brain transplant was also nonconsensual
With that said, Kikuro always came out as kind of bisexual, what with him having a crush on his sister and a very, very gay admiration for Robin, plus even before the rape he had his moments in which Maru was making him blush or act in a maidenly way, like when he got jealous of Maru being cuter than him while wearing a girl's wig
So this development is not all that unlikely, or hard to believe, but the path we had to follow to get to this point is one of the weakest aspects of the story
Kikuro may fall for Maru, but given the circumstances behind the foundation of abuse and trauma that are behind those feelings, the chances of something healthy coming out of this are really low
Think about it, he is a gay/bisexual dude, who also had the hots for his sister, ends trapped in the body of his sister, and then is fucked into becoming a woman in and out, and as a result has an identity crisis for like half a chapter, he is a mess and I have no idea for how this will be resolved
Most people if not all read stories through the deforming lens of their own prejudices, me included, but in the case of this one, it obviously made many people setting aside big chunks of the story to only keep the elements that fit their own interpretation. Kiruko's path is pretty clear and interesting when you pay attention to details and her growing acceptance of being a new person, a woman, with feelings for Maru is one of the main themes overarching this story.We've been leading to this for a while, so I'm surprised some people seem surprised.
As you say, everyone will read through different lens but it's not as though this stuff was ambiguous sub-text. It's been pretty upfront, and tied into Kiruko's journey.Thanks for the translation.
Most people if not all read stories through the deforming lens of their own prejudices, me included, but in the case of this one, it obviously made many people setting aside big chunks of the story to only keep the elements that fit their own interpretation. Kiruko's path is pretty clear and interesting when you pay attention to details and her growing acceptance of being a new person, a woman, with feelings for Maru is one of the main themes overarching this story.