When I Returned to My Hometown, My Childhood Friend was Broken - Ch. 29

[Entryhazard]

It's ominous but she wasn't distressed and trying to turn him down, rather she was extremely happy and the last panel shows steam rising up, but in a weird smile, like she did in chapter 7 when she found out that Touma was single so was ready to jump his bones right there at the karaoke

 

[Deoxyribo9]

We're her nails digging into the skin on her other hand in the last panel?

It's probably just me I can't stop thinking about it.

She's got those scratches and scars all over her arms and body in general if you look back in the previous chapters. She was not in an okay place at all.

 

[SpudWumper]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PROTECT THAT SMILE FOREVER TOUMA BOY

thanks for the translation

 

[gsilva112]

I think there's a hidden message here, hear me out...

This manga has the most accurate depiction of trauma and healing that I've ever seen in manga. And it's especially good at having the reader experience it too. How, may you ask?

Kyouko is hurt, very hurt, and she clearly shows it in every panel she's in. From her lifeless eyes, dramatic change in appearance, her personality, anxiety-induced scratch marks and self-loathing, she shows all the signs of experiencing a traumatic, life changing nightmare.

Zyugoya never tells the reader what exactly happened, but it's clear something did. We know along the way she was in a place that she didn't want to be in, drinking far too much, and experiencing an event that horribly traumatized her. We know she felt and blames herself for being powerless, weak, and far too ignorant. And afterwards we know she tried to change herself, from her appearance to how she acted to regain some of the control she lost but failing to do so. In the end she had to move back home. It was too much for her to bear.

Zyugoya, through his protagonist Touma, does an amazing job portraying how a close friend and intimate partner can help a loved one. Touma is sensitive, patient, and present with Kyouko. He never asks about what happened, but instead is there for her whenever she needs him, treats her with warmth and kindness, and patiently waits beside her with an open ear if she ever wants to talk.

This story isn't about what happened, it's about what's next. Getting hung up and consumed about what exactly happened to Kyouko is exactly the downward spiral portrayed in trauma: being stuck in the past. And if you do get stuck while reading, it will make you question every little detail and make you doubt every experience that has, or will happen. Zyugoya knows this. However, much like how Touma cares for Kyouko, he wants the reader to instead embrace what is happening in the present, move on from a past that cannot be changed, and to look forward to all the warm, happy dreams and memories to come.

Thanks for readin'

Edit: cleaned up my spelling and vocabulary

 

[Xystus]

I hope the artist draw her getting drugged and had her virgin pussy spread and double teamed and she enjoyed it in her drunken state in his fanbox.

Would be fucking hot.

 

[rayce]

Well its pretty obvious what happened. We've all indulged in those works of fiction to know. The real nail-biter is whether she will accept this seemingly unfathomable happy future for her, or will she self destruct in an avalanche of guilt, trauma, and self hatred. Theres clearly a tenuous thread of self worth holding herself together. One does not simply have a one night mistake to become a withered former turbo gal.

 

[xXPenisXx]

The way she straddled him has me believing that she wasn't assaulted sexually.

That's not necessarily indicative. That aside, it's good to keep in mind that Japanese black companies are so crushing and pitiless that they drive people to suicide. Just the cruel conditions of her workplace could have traumatized her to this degree.

 

[JustSomeGuyOnHisPhone]

Do it MC. Make. Her. HAPPY!

 

[odst57]

Kind of disappointed that we still didn't see anything about her problems

I'm 90% sure it had something to do with sexual assault

 

[wassssaap]

Kind of disappointed that we still didn't see anything about her problems

Im guessing her taking the drink was the tipping point anl everything went downhill

 

[Kampfarsch]

This artstyle is so fucked I cant tell if shit is supposed to be creepy or just turned out that way sometimes