Yofukashi no Uta - Ch. 167 - Appreciation

[TanyaTheEvil]

Thanks for the great chapter,

 

[Luke_chase]

Pretty sure Kyouko is 28, and Nazuna's about 40.

Just imagine-- two women over traditional marriage age vying for the affections of a middle schooler, one of them talking about how he'd obviously prefer someone "younger" over an old hag.

Didn’t they go to high school together? I guess that means Nazuna was like 28 then? Or am I just mis-remembering that whole thing rip

 

[BadmanBlues]

Didn’t they go to high school together? I guess that means Nazuna was like 28 then? Or am I just mis-remembering that whole thing rip

Yes, Nazuna was already 28. She took quite a while to develop mentally, despite being practically born with Haru's body. Probably due to lack of stimulus, given that, by Nazuna's own admission, her time with Kyouko played a major role in shaping her personality.

 

[Mikhail]

This series is one of the best for hag lovers. God bless Kotoyama giving us so many older women.

Kyouko's the best, man. Perfect onee-san.

 

[DynJarren]

Maybe, they heavily hinted in ch 162 that Kiku met Vlad The Impaler, AKA, Dracula

Yeah, I was thinking Vlad as well. Kou's powers seemed to take everyone by shock and then it was never really touched again. I guess it could be half vampire thing or something

 

[LadyTyche]

This type of slice of life mixed with mystery/investigation is a sudden return to form. Good chapter, and I'm looking forward to them sleuthing around Kiku's base.

For people still expecting some kind of deep scar being left on the characters; the author pretty much showed in the previous chapters that nobody was actually deeply affected at all. If anything they were all just exhausted by the ordeal and apathetic. It looks like it will just be plot related call backs now.

 

[BadmanBlues]

the author pretty much showed in the previous chapters that nobody was actually deeply affected at all. If anything they were all just exhausted by the ordeal and apathetic.

They were emotionally exhausted, yes, but I don't know if they were apathetic. Direct action just wasn't on the table outside of specific circumstances. Besides that, even off a fresh re-read, I don't recall Kou crying alone like that at any other point in the story. And if it didn't affect him in some meaningful way, I don't see why Kotoyama would bother to include "Kou levelled up" in 166. Nazuna was still clearly upset too, and didn't have the emotional energy for fuccboi's bullshit. I'm sure she wanted to talk with Kou about everything, but he was sleeping through the night. That has its own meaning, IMO.

The whole narrative purpose of that arc was to demonstrate one of love's unhealthist forms, and have Kou learn from it. It's a foil to the much healthier relationship of Kou/Nazuna. But it should also get them thinking - and get them worried. If they keep pursuing love, will one of them die? Do they want to be like Kiku and Mahiru, who prized love above the feelings of friends, and above their own lives? Besides that, Kou has reflected on his relationship with Mahiru throughout the story. He was one of Kou's  two friends. I'd be surprised if Kou just got over that in two days. I'd expect at least one or two moments of reflection, as Kou and Nazuna ruminate on where to take their relationship and what they want to be to each other. Grief is a wail that echoes, after all.

tl;dr I think the emotional scars are pretty clear. Also, the narrative function of the arc would be defeated if it didn't give some meaningful scars/life experience, and if reflecting on those lessons didn't influence their decisions going forward. The arc would actually be a waste of chapters if no characters grew or learned from it.

But maybe I'm wrong. Kotoyama is the author for this story, not me.

 

[dowiet]

Q: Can we get back to Nazuna now ?
A:

Although I don't mind going along with the detective for now

 

[Jadeite_McSwag]

I think Haruka has potential to be a great character

 

[LadyTyche]

They were emotionally exhausted, yes, but I don't know if they were apathetic. Direct action just wasn't on the table outside of specific circumstances. Besides that, even off a fresh re-read, I don't recall Kou crying alone like that at any other point in the story. And if it didn't affect him in some meaningful way, I don't see why Kotoyama would bother to include "Kou levelled up" in 166. Nazuna was still clearly upset too, and didn't have the emotional energy for fuccboi's bullshit. I'm sure she wanted to talk with Kou about everything, but he was sleeping through the night. That has its own meaning, IMO.

The whole narrative purpose of that arc was to demonstrate one of love's unhealthist forms, and have Kou learn from it. It's a foil to the much healthier relationship of Kou/Nazuna. But it should also get them thinking - and get them worried. If they keep pursuing love, will one of them die? Do they want to be like Kiku and Mahiru, who prized love above the feelings of friends, and above their own lives? Besides that, Kou has reflected on his relationship with Mahiru throughout the story. He was one of Kou's  two friends. I'd be surprised if Kou just got over that in two days. I'd expect at least one or two moments of reflection, as Kou and Nazuna ruminate on where to take their relationship and what they want to be to each other. Grief is a wail that echoes, after all.

tl;dr I think the emotional scars are pretty clear. Also, the narrative function of the arc would be defeated if it didn't give some meaningful scars/life experience, and if reflecting on those lessons didn't influence their decisions going forward. The arc would actually be a waste of chapters if no characters grew or learned from it.

But maybe I'm wrong. Kotoyama is the author for this story, not me.

People don't have to be scarred to learn something or grow. Maybe the growth is that you pick people who buy you expensive sushi and care about you to be your friends in the future, and not people like Mahiru.

Since the story is about disaffected loners the point might be that people only matter so much to other people in the end. One can get absolutely obsessed with repairing a friendship, but then cry a little and move on when that friend self immolates.

Moving on quickly and forgetting the person could be a sign of growth. Not treating people as objects that were stolen away and being stoic could be the leveling up. Not being like Mahiru could be a win.

 

[BadmanBlues]

So this was going to be three short paragraphs but the character count adds up when you're having fun. Sorry.

People don't have to be scarred to learn something or grow. Maybe the growth is that you pick people who buy you expensive sushi and care about you to be your friends in the future, and not people like Mahiru.

It's true that pain isn't the only way of learning. But I read the rest of what you said as "don't befriend people like Mahiru." And I'm not sure that's the lesson. Because that lesson directly translates to "don't befriend people who are struggling." Kou didn't even realize that Mahiru was struggling until near the end - how was he supposed to avoid the ticking time bomb that was Mahiru? I don't see any concrete sign, like some reflection or rumination, which hints that Kou regrets his time spent with Mahiru or that he should have done anything differently. I also think Mahiru did care about Kou, but that care was also mixed with feelings of envy and insecurity, mirroring how Kou viewed Mahiru, but in a much more unhealthy way.

Edit: Thinking on it further, Kyouko was struggling for a decade, has conducted no doubt torturous experiments on vampires (silver bullets and observations about regeneration), and was actively violent and belligerent towards Kou and his friends. She had an elaborate and murderous suicide plan which he ultimately foiled. She was and still is pretty messed up (granted, she's working on it), and she's probably wronged some people in unforgivable ways. Yes, she buys him sushi now. But that's only because he worked with others to stop and help her. Why shouldn't he believe he could do it again with Mahiru? Was picking Kyouko a mistake too? One that just happened to work out? Given your reasoning, why shouldn't Kou have just supported killing her when she was being awful? I mean that in a narrative sense, not a moral one - you'd expect the narrative to have consistent themes and messages. If what you're presenting is the real takeaway for this arc, why was Kyouko worth helping in hindsight where Mahiru wasn't? Because he killed himself and hurt his friends? Remember that Kyouko also would have killed herself if not for Kou's intervention. Kou's only mistake was trusting Mahiru - which is all he could do as Mahiru's friend. Which frankly I wouldn't consider a mistake. He did the right thing.

Since the story is about disaffected loners the point might be that people only matter so much to other people in the end.

Kou was definitely a disaffected loner (he's also a shoe-in for schizoid personality disorder). He starts off by going out at night, and taking his first steps away from a depersonalized and inauthentic self. From statements he makes later, it's clear he felt like more of an observer in his life than a participant, just playing the part of the honors student. Having SPD, I can relate. But throughout the story, he's broken out of his shell and forged meaningful human relationships (mostly with vampires). He also revisited old friendships (all two of them). He's become a stronger, happier, and more expressive individual through those relationships. A message that "people only matter so much to one another in the end" would fly in the face of a lot of the messaging until now, IMO. It would especially run contrary to the romantic themes of the story, which seem like the main focus to me. After all, what's the point of romance when relationships can only mean so much? It's true they can't be everything, but I read your phraseology as sort of dismissive of the value of relationships, when they remain a huge source of meaning throughout the story.

There is a major difference between the Kou and Mahiru where relationships are concerned, though. The real difference between Kou and Mahiru is that Kou was comfortable being alone, and Mahiru wasn't. Mahiru was desperate for love and validation to the point that it was self destructive. But even though Kou is comfortable alone, he's come to realize that he wants relationships, and he wants healthy relationships. Kiku asked Kou who he would choose, between his friends or his lover. Kou's response was "why only pick one? Why not both?" At the end of the arc, he isn't left questioning that idea. He clearly doesn't see relationships or people as disposable. When he says "quitting while ahead is a bitch move...," I don't read that as him letting go of his friendship with Mahiru. Because that's exactly the sort of thing you would say to a friend, in exactly that casual tone. It's him accepting the death of his friend with wry humor. The way I read it, he didn't let go of his friendship, he let go of his immediate sense of grief.

One can get absolutely obsessed with repairing a friendship, but then cry a little and move on when that friend self immolates.

Moving on quickly and forgetting the person could be a sign of growth. Not treating people as objects that were stolen away and being stoic could be the leveling up. Not being like Mahiru could be a win.

Moving on quickly and forgetting can certainly have utility in some extreme situations, but I'd contend that it's an indicator of a diminished sense of empathy, not a growth in any capacity. If it's a growth of anything, it's a growth of apathy. Real strength, real growth, is the ability to be fully present with those sort of intense emotions, yet have the strength to keep moving in spite of them. I also don't think he treated Mahiru as an object. At every point along the way, he approached Mahiru as a friend and tried to respect Mahiru's choices, even though Kou wasn't comfortable with them. Once Mahiru was gone, Kou put on a stoic front around others, but once he was alone, he let his vulnerable side out and allowed it to grieve. I think he's accepted Mahiru's loss, but you can still have times when you miss your friend and wish he wasn't dead. Not being like Mahiru is definitely a win, however, and Kou has been different from Mahiru since the start, so he didn't really grow in that respect. Though I'm sure that, after this, he'll take extra care not to be like Mahiru.

tl;dr I think your interpretation might work if the end of the arc was considered in a vacuum, and we knew less about Kou's character. But I think that it's a harder pill for me to swallow when we look at the story holistically and Kou's history in particular. He clearly values his relationships with others. He's definitely grown since the story started. He's not the disaffected loner he once was. He's definitely not normal, but he's more comfortable being himself, and he wants to be his authentic self with others.

Ultimately though, we can't be certain who is right until the story is concluded, and we see how this arc is treated in hindsight. And even then we may still disagree. But I'm a freak who enjoys this sort of humanities discussion, so thanks for giving me something to think about. It's fun.

 

[TestAddress]

I don't think this anime has timeskip. This anime is a slice of life type so it would continue slowly.