Tsukkomi-machi no Machino-san - Ch. 6

[Saybah]

Ayo boy made the whole domino set up just to say happy birthday. He's a keeper.

 

[UdenEmpati]

so wait did he know her birthday or just prepare that video for whenever her birthday may occur

Didn't know her birthday; he'd prepared that video back in May when they had a break from school, and it's currently "late in June" with Machino's birthday being the week prior to this chapter.

Which I believe is meant as a counter to her earlier comment about how Nitanda "never reaches out" to Machino and how she's always taking the initiative in their interactions (and larger friendship). It's clearly true, and he feels bad about it, but he has his own little ways of being proactive instead of reactive, like this pre-made "for whenever" birthday message to her.
It's even done using Dominoes, keeping to his theme and thus a little bit of himself, is something that could be made in-advance for whenever the occasion actually arose.

And I think that degree of thoughtfulness on his part is what hits Machino so hard in this chapter: he really does think about her even outside of their interactions in the club room, and he's not 100% just reacting to her presence each time.
That realization is what's got even her ears blushing in the last panel, I bet. If she wasn't already, she might be falling for him a bit now, too.

 

[coyote_vdb]

Thanks for the translation.

 

[EnFiveFour]

They are so different and they compliment each other. Also, they understand each other. That's why they have so good chemistry between them. They are really so cute!
Thank you for the translation!

 

[Bonzalez]

Why im having a boner rn

Idk maybe talk to your doctor, bro

 

[MaCl0wSt]

This won't land to non-spanish speakers but I guess he "le ha tirado ficha" wink

Thanks for the chapter!

 

[Chuito]

Yeah - we only have his thought process and it's clear that he thinks she's cute and he's wondered about whether he's "supposed to fall in love" since their first meeting back at the end of chapter 1.
But this is very much the most overt reaction from her at his words/behavior that we've gotten to date, and it's the first time there were multiple sets of her being flustered/blushing, especially the last panel of the chapter like you referenced.

And from chapter 1, he's questioned whether this was where he was supposed to fall in love. He's entirely reactive and passive as a person, and Machino has had to come to him each time.
But I think there's a nice balance in that aspect between them - she's had to drag him out of the room herself to get him to experience other things, but like she said the previous chapter, his club room is a place where Machino can "catch her breath" - it might even be a space where she can be more herself than elsewhere, though we don't have any clear indicator that she's different around Machino than she is others (and she's been around others in that room, with no substantial difference in behavior, other than maybe being more introspective when it's just the two of them, so who knows).

Interesting to see where it goes from here, now that there's definite feelings going both directions (you could say it happened before now, but it's all but confirmed I think, as of this chapter).

It's kind of interesting how layered this title has become, just in these six chapters, and with how constrained the setup is.

I gotta re read this manga, but I got a feeling she does act differently with him, tho not overtly so.

She would often go to flirty teasing with mc but not towards anybody else we've seen. It feels like she drops her guard when they're alone and feels free to say whatever random shit comes to mind.

 

[DudeWhoReadsManga]

Why im having a boner rn

You know, what? I think the black guy with lightning does have a point.

 

[UdenEmpati]

I gotta re read this manga, but I got a feeling she does act differently with him, tho not overtly so.

She would often go to flirty teasing with mc but not towards anybody else we've seen. It feels like she drops her guard when they're alone and feels free to say whatever random shit comes to mind.

I think you're correct, for the most part.

She interacts with Nagi twice; first in chapter 3 where he's introduced and then again in chapter 5; and she interacts with Yukide-san in chapter 4 with the Maid thing.

I don't know Japanese enough to look at the raws and determine if her speech patterns change or anything like that, but just visually speaking, she gets less ....I guess "authentically animated" with them. With Nagi, her facial expressions don't change much; she might smile, but her eyes lose some of their expressiveness around him, and she mostly just responds to the topic already in play.
With "Beni-chan", she gets really cutesy, but it's in relation to trying to show off Beni-chan's maid outfit to Nitanda to get him to call her cute (for the record, he still thinks Machino is cuter of the two). But again - it's like "oh, high energy to play up the moment!" and she's kinda still doing it for Nitanda, specifically.
But otherwise - when she's with Nitanda on their own, she gains an entire range of mannerisms, expressiveness, and even "levels" to her mood & demeanor. She gets flirty, mischevious, excitable, but also a bit reserved and I'd wager even melancholy, looking at the part in chapter 5 when Nitanda asks if "everywhere outside the club room is too suffocating" for her.

So it really does seem like Machino becomes herself the most when it's just the two of them, and kinda even when it's just the two of them. You even see it in the way she flashes her canine at him at the end of chapter 3 - she's high-energy in leading the kampai cheer at the Vollyball afterparty, but when she turns to him and just him alone, she winks, gets that bit of mischief to her, and her whole vibe kinda shifts for him, for that one moment.

So - yeah. It's subtle at first, but each subsequent chapter shows the gap of "Nitanda-only Machino" and "Everyone-else Machino" increasing more and more.
And with her reaction to his having made her that birthday video gift in advance in this chapter, I'm actually interested to see if she "resets" herself when she shows up again in chapter 7, or if that energy will carry through and she'll actually begin behaving differently around him (less composed, actually "breaking character" in front of him and showing him her flustered side, etc). Because he's observant enough to potentially pick up on that, if she can't keep from showing it to him, and that would likely lead to something growing out of this back-and-forth they have.

 

[azudai96]

Nah, he real for that ponytail take. They guud

 

[BusWindow]

Nitanda you sneaky fuck, both the hair thing and the birthday thing.

 

[Lunkli]

That reaction of his when she said people mistook her for a boy when her hair was short was interesting. I wonder if it means anything? Did he mistake her for a boy at some point in the past? And if so, was it just seeing her once, or did he see her often back then?

Or maybe he's gay and found the thought of a boy version of her attractive or something.

 

[HentaiMaster-TrapperFan]

so wait did he know her birthday or just prepare that video for whenever her birthday may occur

He just prepared because he didn't know it. It was the week before this (in story) and he had made it before that.
He made it at the start of May, during Golden Week.
We can know that because "long break in may", "raining season have just begun" was both said this chapter.
The raining season have just started and that is between June and September, so first week of June is this chapter.
The only long break in May is Golden Week which is from the 29th of April to the 5th of May.
So by conclusion he made it around about 1month before her birthday.

 

[Astromarine]

yo so is it me or is this one of the best written one of these to come out in a while? They talk, like ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE, they're funny, they're occasionally deep. I'm enjoying this tremendously. I wish the scope would expand a bit, but I'm happy just watching sensei cook.

 

[UdenEmpati]

yo so is it me or is this one of the best written one of these to come out in a while? They talk, like ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE, they're funny, they're occasionally deep. I'm enjoying this tremendously. I wish the scope would expand a bit, but I'm happy just watching sensei cook.

Honestly, the one-room setting kinda rocks for this. It's the one place where Nitanda can truly be himself within the school; meaning it's the one place where Machino can be herself with him within the school. Even when a third character shows up (Nagi, Yukide-san), their entire dynamic shifts and Nitanda becomes a background character in his own club room as a result, while Machino shifts gears and becomes a much more generic "extrovert idol" who acts much more two-dimensional in terms of her expressions and range of personality (she responds to the third party's questions and comments, but doesn't fully offer her own thoughts absent some prior input).

So....they really only shine, because the scope is so narrow, at least in terms of the setup of the story and each chapter. Having a small space means lots of people can't all come in and intrude on them at once, allowing Nitanda to be at his most comfortable, and thus his most genuine - and that gives Machino "space to catch her breath", as she states in chapter 5.

I imagine Nitanda will eventually spend time outside of the club room, at some point in the future - but he's gotta continue growing as a character and person first, and part of that is really solidifying his relationship with Machino, and his "safe space" of his club room is the ideal setting for that, as an introvert working to match pace with an extrovert.

 

[Chuito]

That reaction of his when she said people mistook her for a boy when her hair was short was interesting. I wonder if it means anything? Did he mistake her for a boy at some point in the past? And if so, was it just seeing her once, or did he see her often back then?

Or maybe he's gay and found the thought of a boy version of her attractive or something.

Or she's just a tomboy and used to get mistaken as a boy when she was a child. A common trope in manga.

He probably just found it odd such a cutie would be mistaken for a boy

 

[Lunkli]

Or she's just a tomboy and used to get mistaken as a boy when she was a child. A common trope in manga.

He probably just found it odd such a cutie would be mistaken for a boy

I dunno, that reaction looked more like guilt of some sort than "what a surprise!" or something. And it's a very strong reaction to just be some one-off thing to draw attention to a common trope.

 

[Elfteiroh]

That part about drifting away from friends because he is unable to be the one reaching out…
I am in this picture and I don’t like it.
Q_Q
Hit too close to home.

I also had an outgoing friend that tried to pull me out of my cocoon. She partially succeeded, but even her ended up drifting away in the end. (TBF, I have no regrets, she is now happily married with her high school sweetheart and 3 kids, after I matched them together. This was totally the right call.)

But yeah. I also get how he made a whole birthday video, but was never able to make that one last step of asking for her birthday… I have, in the past, prepared gifts that I never ended up getting an occasion to give because I didn’t manage to make that same step. Funnily, that’s how I started my fairy collection, the first I bought was supposed to be a gift for a girl that loved them. XD

 

[hmmThatsInteresting]

Why im having a boner rn

I don't know. I get the most random boners as well. I got one while petting a cow!??? Why! IDK!

 

[zerio]

@vupvoyyocyo a typo on pg 14.
When he said his name, it should be Namito. Nitanda is his family name, which was something she already knew.
https://mangadex.org/chapter/1a63b650-aba0-41d7-806c-9fb4c303c0b8/14