When I Returned to My Hometown, My Childhood Friend was Broken - Ch. 31

[Rayla89]

Yep this got too real for me. I'm out, thanks for the disappointment.

 

[CLee25]

Anyone noticed she got some light back in her eyes? Ahh the power of love

 

[Wheres_polo]

We all knew that it was gonna be something like this. I’m actually surprised the author said it and honestly would of been happier they didn’t and just kept eluding to it

 

[VooXoo]

Dialogue didn't make much sense.
The old lady talked of it like she was passing a piece of news to him.
Then the old man said that maybe he didn't know so it would have been better to not talk about a pretty terrible event.But the comment about she being broken and unfixable was truly malicious, wonder what the author wanted to do with that.
Of course old people from a past generation would see a event like that differently and comment about it in a way that enrage today people.
Just have to think of that, people from the past will think differently from people of the present.

 

[Liar]

At least there was confirmation her rapists were arrested. You don't get that in doujins.

 

[Crisxpy]

Great chapter... thats all i will say

 

[ZaToby]

Finally they tell us what happened to her, but still doesn't explain why her fashion sense is so bad

Trauma can sometimes cause people to get piercings and change the way they dress as a coping mechanism.

I'm not sure about what happened after the initial assault, but from what I understand a well-documented symptom that victims of sexual assault can sometimes exhibit include an increase in what are generally classified as promiscuous behaviors. Some believe that it is a form of the victim trying to take back control as a result of the trauma they experienced. It seems like that is the case as Kyouko mentions in chapter 18 that she tried to change herself on her own but underestimated her own willpower and had to return back to her parents. Most likely she tried to move on from the incident on her own and tried to do everything she could without any professional help--likely due to Japan's non-existent support structure for sexual abuse victims--which resulted in how she ended up the way she was.

There is someone I know who has gone through something similar and they exhibit the same kind of behaviors I described above. It's not talked about a lot, probably because we live in a very sex-positive society now and it's bad publicity. But it is still a pretty negative trait and a sign of the victim still suffering from their trauma. The only other instance I've seen of this was a side quest in Fallout New Vegas.

The author seems to have done their homework more than people on here have given them credit for. Her initial highly sexualized but disheveled appearance is looks to be representative her struggle with her trauma. We can see as she starts to get better her clothing style is becoming more conservative and her hair does not look as messy as it was before. I wonder if by the end of the manga we will see her earrings removed and her hair dyed back to normal, but that's just my speculation.

Also on another note. Old people tend to have no filter and this is pretty common.

 

[nhernandez90]

Told y'all it was SA.

Consider the following tho: drinking culture in Japan and South Korea is pretty rampant. This type of SA is fairly common and it's something that people try to keep hush hush for reasons. Music, Animation, Manga, Literature, all of these serve as forms of expression and ig the author is precisely using this manga as an outlet for expression.

Thankfully, this manga is going for an optimistic route: MC accepts her for who she is, not for what has happened to her. This is a manga about healing, and it's honestly doing a good job: no SA scene (and I hope the author doesn't do some stupid doujinshi about this) and it focuses on the process of moving forward after a traumatic event.

And I'm ok with that.

 

[radthezero]

Her eyes, man! My heart is melting!

 

[GlasswareGrass]

The first time I ever felt so bad when I'm right about something/

 

[Darker7]

I expected a case of bullying and isolation, with an escalating spiral of "trying to fit in with some group, any group", but this took a darker turn (pun intended). I'm loving it.

Now, if you'll excuse me for a bit, I need to get out my expensive set of filet knives. Oh, I'll also need to buy zipties again, haven't replenished them in a while :Ü™

 

[wallsg]

Being gang raped at a party is really bad. What I was envisioning could be considered worse, or not. I thought she may have been corrupted (trained) by an evil guy with drugs and sex, then discarded when he got bored and wanted to work his "magic" on another innocent.

 

[wallsg]

Am I the only one to interpret the sepia tone panel on the last page metaphorically? I think if the translation said "You really didn't bring a lot of baggage with you" instead of "luggage" it would clearly be metaphorical.

It seems that possibly he's the first person to believe in her and to think she's strong since her trauma. Everyone else has probably been blaming her (like the old lady) or at best just pitying her.

 

[Haydrion101]

Good on MC for sticking up for her.
... And for having the restraint not to tear into that fossil motherfucker

 

[wilddeath]

Pretty sure that's not just a Japanese thing. That can also happen in any society. When you have neighbors who have mouths as loud as a speaker but have brains and hearts the size of a microscopic lifeform, words can travel far and wide.

was more referring to the fact that in japanese culture to stand out in any negative way is to bring shame to your family and your friends, therefore it is perfectly acceptable to talk about her that way in the neighbors eyes cause she shamed her family and friends and is undeserving of personhood. Japanese culture is weird.

 

[Xaioner]

Ugh. Why do so many Mangas do this?

Idk. And when i was younger i didn´t care at all, but now i´m trying empathize with both main characters and don´t really enjoy the reading. Same happens with videogames, like i never realized how much rape is in Dragon Age till now.

 

[REDRED]

That was absolutely none of that old woman's business to say. And to say all that afterwards was just unnecessary.

 

[UnderWaterFodder]

I actually got socially lynched in some forum for stating this because there was a girl that was part of that forum that was raped. As someone who has always stated fact without minding repercussions, that event made me a little mindful than before.

I believe accountability runs in a spectrum. How guilty is someone who gets broken into in her own house? Not at all? Maybe she flaunted jewelry while outside. Maybe not. How about if she left the door unlocked before she slept? How about if she left her wallet outside and it got stolen? The term "victim-blaming" is just some term invented by these white knights to make themselves feel virtuous all the while completely disregarding nuance.

It's always crazy seeing people hate on the term victim-blaming and saying how the victim has to take accountability. Because all you really have to say to start dismantling the argument is "You want them to take accountability for being insert terrible thing here?"

You're kind of focusing on the wrong thing if you're looking for things that the victim did to have caused this. Especially something like a certain type of assault

 

[UnderWaterFodder]

I'd love to know what forum this was because it must have been a chill place to socially lynch someone as maladjusted as you.

Based as hell

 

[UnderWaterFodder]

whats on the fanbox?

Mainly just wholesome nsfw. Some people interpret it the wrong way though