Watashi no Shounen - Vol. 7 Ch. 31 - New Year

[betelgeuse]

aw crap! this happens a lot doesn't it? he probably heard everything too.

 

[danaxf4]

Thank you sooo much for your hard work I really appreciate it!! 🥺🙏🏻🙏🏻💗💗💗💗💗
So excited for the next chapter ✨ thank you for translating 💛💛💛

 

[MeeruNoIranaiBoku]

I don't know but i think that having cameras on phones was such a bad decision

 

[firefox1234]

Lol that guy is delusional, he only has himself to blame😆

 

[MangoDude]

AH NO! Please don't let that picture or video stop her from meeting Mashuu's dad!!

 

[hina_sw]

Marriage swindler? Ugh delusional creep

 

[GTX1080Ti]

Never thought an onee shota manga would actually dwindle into legal mumbo jumbo regarding their relation, and its possible perception from others. (Though not vocal, the perceptive lawyer knew it was onee x shota). I believe there is only another sensei-student manga in the same boat (keeping distance until graduation). Though that doesn't really mean I hate something like dome x kano (teacher sleeps with minor) because you can still make a good plot out of it (crescendo).

When I saw the raw panels of this chapter I had no idea what went by (I thought Satoko is meeting an omai or something).

That said crazy co-incidence towards the end. I hope it doesn't escalate too much.

 

[princess_daphie]

@comeonnow You know, I totally know what you're saying. I understand the theory. I know the laws in general. I know more or less what your stance is when you explain this, but to me, one person being "in a position of power" doesn't automatically make a relationship immoral or invalid. It only means it requires the person in power to be very caring and altruistic. I mean, like @iamrangerbob mentioned, we see the story from Satoko's POV a lot, so we know she means well, and IRL, we can never know the others' actual intentions and all, so it's normal to be wary of age-gap/power-gap relationships, but I feel like it's unfair to automatically condemn any and all such relationships.

 

[princess_daphie]

@GTX1080Ti Yeah, I like the difficult topics and tension that builds up in age-gap stories, so it's not a surprise that I've taken a liking to this one 😅 It's interesting to read and see that they don't skip on the actual thoughts that go through someone's head when actually dealing with these things. You're like, sitting there, after the fact, and you realize you're in such a situation, then you wonder, what are the risks, what have I done, what can I do, how can I keep a relationship with the other? etc.

I also wondered what the heck was happening at the end, lol, didn't recognize the guy at first. I hope he doesn't make her life 10x more difficult than it already is. He's really a narcissistic snowflake.

 

[comeonnow]

@princess_daphie It's not condemning any and all such relationships. I had specifically contextualized it to this situation. Imagine if the genders were flipped. You might be okay with it, but it's highly likely that the comments would be unsettled by it. The author even acknowledges this fact in one of the afterwords, where the author talks about how the reactions from readers would likely be different if the genders were reversed.

Or imagine if this were "grooming", where the adult specifically wants the child to be a certain way when the child grows up. It could be bride/husband grooming. Importantly, this, right here, is also grooming. You say the person in power needs to be very caring and altruistic? Satoko wants Mashuu to grow into a specific kind of adult. An adult that fits her conception of what a "good" adult is. You can counter by saying that she wants him to have an "open" or "wide" world, but the underlying fact is that she wants him to be a specific way. Even a bride/husband grooming adult could be considered "caring and altruistic" in that they think it's in the child's best interests.

The end result is that Satoko is not merely in a position of power by circumstance. She actively and willfully chooses to exercise her power on Mashuu for the specific goal of wanting to make Mashuu into the kind of person she wants him to become. If you're okay with that, then that's your choice. The logical conclusion, however, is that you fundamentally also have to be okay with some form of bride/husband grooming because they are based on the exact same principles.

 

[fluidmello]

@comeonnow I agree. It is grooming, which is abuse. Satoko is developing deep feelings for a kid and heavily influencing him. This kind of friendship cannot exist because of the power imbalance. No matter what her intentions are, Mashuu sees her in high admiration and she can get him to do anything. It can never be an equal relationship.

 

[princess_daphie]

@fluidmello @comeonnow I'm starting to wonder why you guys are reading this manga lol I don't see the fun in hoping for a depressing fate for both MCs. I'm hoping for a positive outcome!

but you're right. Satoko is one hell of a dirty human being. Wanting a younger person to have an open mind and many opportunities in his future is such a lowly thing to want to help him with. She should be punished. /s

I don't get it. I can't see that as grooming. She's not trying to mold him into someone she likes, or like an object, or anything. I'm not in favor of this.

 

[zerothegreat121]

Amazing chapter!

This chapter really does drive deep into it. its wrong what she is doing, but at the same time its right. I'm hoping for a happy ending for both of them....But I honestly don't see it

 

[iamrangerbob]

Many of the concerns in the comments have already been addressed in the manga, or will be addressed in the coming chapters. We've had a year-long hiatus, so I would recommend going back and rereading the story.

Satoko saying she wants Mashuu to expand his world is a reference to chapter 28, when she realises that being too close to him and influencing him is harmful. She wants him to have other influences and rely on other people instead. At least, that's her intent. Of course, no matter what relationship you're in, you end up influencing each other. But Satoko recognizes the dangers and the potential "grooming" issue, and is actively trying to take a step back and do things properly.

That doesn't mean you have to agree with what she's doing. This manga is a minefield of moral questions and shaky ground, and the story is all about discussing the various dangers and perspectives on that.

 

[comeonnow]

Sorry guys, I was wrong on the above posts, I am not feeling so well

 

[starlightcitypro]

Thanks for the translation!!

I really like Sayu's boyfriend. He listened to the situation and wasn't judgemental.

Regarding the story, I have not once ever gotten the idea that Satoko is trying to groom Mashuu. I always felt like Mashuu fulfilled something in her life that was missing, and not in a romantic way, but in an almost motherly way. I've always felt like in a way, she wanted to care for him and protect him, and that brought her happiness

I mean I could be off the mark, but I see little evidence that Satoko is attempting to groom Mashuu like a sexual predator.

 

[comeonnow]

@princess_daphie Right. Massive exaggeration and making the argument into a strawman makes you look so right. I can respect that you have a difference of opinion. That's whatever. Your most recent comment here, however, is just crap.

 

[princess_daphie]

@comeonnow But you know why I used an exaggeration (which I've clearly labeled as sarcasm), because you also resorted to superlatives, saying that if I approved of their relationship as it is, that I was also in favor of husband/bride grooming.

I feel like the level of care Satoko wants to take in regards to Mashuu is not grooming, just the same kind that parents want to raise their kids to be good human beings (well, good parents that is, lol), she just wants the best for him.

I'm sorry for the tone of my previous reply, I wasn't sure how it would come out, I didn't want to insult you. Nor did I want to make a strawman? I've heard that expression before, but I don't even know what it really means. Okay, I googled it. It's just... Damn it's difficult to express my thoughts. I didn't want to, nor realized, that I was redirecting the argument, or something?

I'm not a philosopher, I'm just maybe too open-minded. Maybe I give too much credit to young people's decision-making capability. Maybe I don't feel like it's such a bad idea to leave more freedom to younger people, that when they know they want something, or in this case, see someone, it shouldn't be judged from high almighty. I also don't see relationships the same way as many, just for the fact that I'm on the ace spectrum. In my mind, a relationship doesn't have to be about sex, thus an unorthodox romance can exist at a level that is more acceptable for a younger person? I don't know. I really have difficulty putting these ideas in line, but I rarely feel offended by age-gap romances, as long as they're within some reason!

 

[princess_daphie]

@starlightcitypro Happy you appreciate our work! And I totally agree with what you've just said. It seems like everyone is better at expressing what I think, than myself, lol

 

[comeonnow]

@princess_daphie

You missed my point. I did not use superlatives. It's called reductio ad absurdum, reduction to absurdity. Logic shows that if you support this, then you have to be in favor of at least some types of bride/husband grooming. I gave reasons based on logic. You have not given reasons why that does not apply. That is not exaggeration.

I knew you would try to compare Satoko to a parent at some point. There are two problems with that. 1) "the level of care" is a bad way of deciding whether an adult's relationship with a child are good or bad. Bride/husband grooming would easily fall into a high level of care. Imagine an adult who makes sure the child eats a balanced diet, gets physical exercise, socializes well with peers, does well in school, etc. Now imagine that person is doing all of this because they want the child to grow up to be the ideal spouse for them. There's still a very clearly high level of care. The adult still wants the child to be a good person. All of that still easily applies to both Satoko as well as a bride/husband groomer.

2) Parents are already socially expected to have this kind of relationship. By almost every single society on Earth, a parent is viewed as having an inherently different relationship to their child than to anyone else. That's what it means to be a parent. Yes, that really does make a difference.

I apologize if I also sound upset. I can understand if you want to give credit to younger people's decision-making capabilities. In fact, I agree with you on some points and would actually criticize a lot of older people's decision-making. Age is definitely not a good way to tell if a person is mature; young people can be mature just like how old people can be immature.

It's just different in this particular case. Mashuu met Satoko when he was very young. I looked at the description, and he was twelve, apparently. While not quite as young as I thought, still pretty young. Not only that, he was in a uniquely vulnerable position. His father was pretty neglectful at absolute best, and Mashuu was likely the unfavorite compared to his younger brother. That left Mashuu much more needy for an even somewhat stable adult than most other children. That makes a difference for any relationship, romantic or not, between Satoko and Mashuu.

Regardless, I would still like to thank you for your translation work.