I have a brother so I don't know if it counts the same as being "brother and sister", but I don't think is that far anywayWell, to be fair. In brother x sister relationship it's ok to badmouth each other whenever possible without any reason. Its just a given. It doesn't mean we don't love each other and we will tear down anyone who'll try to harm our closest sibling. And about the "tell me something I'm good at". Its a most cringe and hard thing to ask. Like come on, we are saying shit like "you ugly" and "lol u suck" ect every day, it's nearly impossible to come up with something nice, let alone admit it to their face right off the bat. At least sister reflected on it, you can see how she loves him and ultimately blamed herself. She was even ok to change herself to help him. Also my favorite tomboy didn't do anything harmful to him. She's acting as your average school friend gaslighting you for any reason and making fun of you, but still care for you if something happens. Imo, tomboy or morale president are two best girls in here... And his sis also
At least his sister really does care.
Siblings trash talking to each other is pretty normal. But they usually do know what the limits are. Because of Wataru's sudden change, she actually thinks she's surpassed those limits. It obviously causses confusion and guilt. Trying to make up for it apparently makes things even more confusing.
She loves the "normal" Wataru, this abnormal one is rather worrying. Wataru prefers his "normal" sister too, you can see her trying to act "normal" after that. Probably won't help the situation though. What she needs to do is drag him to a psychologist.
Their relationship doesn't seem emotionally distant. They seem to be very emotionally connected. And those emotions are mostly just negative. She's not the worst sister in the world, but I definitely wouldn't wish her on anyone I care about.His sister believing it was her fault he lost his self-esteem and him feeling frustrated over her wanting to change her behavior out of guilt for something she wasn't even part of in his life make a lot more sense in the manga. It came kinda out of nowhere in the anime, but here we get a bit of foreshadowing with the sister being present when the confession happened at their house and how she reacted in the student council room. She was definitely worrying about it on the background.
But as I mentioned in the comments of the anime, she isn't a bad sister. She does worry about her brother and wants him to be happy, but since they have this emotionally distant relationship, she doesn't know how to be open with him or get him to open up with her. In the end all the information she has on the situation is the little that she observed and, since his responses seem to fit with what she uses to tell him all the time (despite it being just normal sibling banter), she ends up believing it's her fault.
On the other hand, Sajou is comfortable with this kind of relationship he has with his sister, it's their way of connecting and the only way he has known. For her to come out and say something like she'll change over something she perceives to be a flaw on him that he doesn't see the same way, of course it would frustrate him. And I like the way the manga made his anger more obvious, it was too subtle in the anime.
But as always Natsukawa being the worst.
Fair point, in regards to teasing being more okay if you also combine it with supporting them. But teasing is a very broad range, and some person's playful teasing is another person's soul crushing mockery.To everybody saying that heavy banter or rough and tumble can be totally normal in in a sibling relationship is normal are right. And no, him calling her bitch wouldn't be out of the left field or even harsh. But what you for some reason seem to miss (to me) is the total lack of anything on the contrary. There's no support. There's no rapport. No camaraderie towards each other.
You might come to words often and with plenty fucked up barbs, even constantly. But it comes with understanding, banter and byplay. You might fight, but you don't just twist your sibling to shit and leave them laying in a sorry pile time after time --You help them up. There has been an utter lack of any of that here, instead devolving into a constant mire of denigration. If that endless hacking at somebody's roots comes without any support, it's just tearing somebody down instead of growing together.
Usually the purpose is self fulfilling in just wanting to have a giggle or unloading frustration. If you actually try to develop or shape up someone, teasing or bullying isn't likely to do the thing at all, especially without anything to go along with it. Most often those situations are just cheap platitudes to excuse poisonous behavior, like bullies "teaching something" to their targets.Fair point, in regards to teasing being more okay if you also combine it with supporting them. But teasing is a very broad range, and some person's playful teasing is another person's soul crushing mockery.
My main thing is: what is the intent and purpose behind any given teasing? Like, what do you get out of it, or what are you trying to have the person being teased get out of it? If you're playfully ribbing them in order to try to motivate them to work on something, for some people that works and for some it doesn't. If you're doing it for your own ego to feel better about yourself, or to look cooler in front of other people around you, or to make sure "they don't get a big head", then it's likely you're just an asshole.
Or people that talk about "I'm just an honest person" as an excuse to say cruel things to someone and point out their flaws.Usually the purpose is self fulfilling in just wanting to have a giggle or unloading frustration. If you actually try to develop or shape up someone, teasing or bullying isn't likely to do the thing at all, especially without anything to go along with it. Most often those situations are just cheap platitudes to excuse poisonous behavior, like bullies "teaching something" to their targets.
My thoughts exactly. It's disgusting how the MC is made to feel bad and apologize for his very normal reaction towards being mistreated. The student council president essentially says "Your sister and mother's treatment of you is the reason why you are dissatisfied with yourself and are acting coldly towards others. So apologize to your sister because her own actions made her feel sad and that's your fault".So is this series going to address the fact that he seems depressed or self-loathing? Like here he seems to dodge the question by simply saying he's "normal" rather than less-than.
It seems like before; he thought he could achieve anything, and everyone always spoke down to him, then one day it all finally became too much and he went through a sudden shift in perception of himself and decided he can't achieve much, if anything.
His sister does deserve to feel bad, because she was beating one the brother's ego as much as anyone else, and now she's the one who's upset because that ego is now bent outta shape.
Honestly the best ending this series could have is the MC gaining his confidence back, getting a different girlfriend, and bitching anyone out who put him in the self-confidence black hole in the first place... but we all know he's eventually going to come back to the fmc on his hands and knees, and smooth over all the other problems without complaining like in this chapter.
The fact that his sister was unable to say anything "good" about her brother speaks volumes.