Zenbu Kowashite Jigoku de Aishite - Vol. 4 Ch. 19 - Lenticular

[MangaDex]

 

[Mistilteinn]

Starting with the title, "Lenticular" is a term related to optics. It can carry a positive or negative interpretation. On the positive side, it can refer to the "Change Of Perspective" lenticular lenses cause. On the negative side, however, it can refer to the "Illusion Of Change" created by a lenticular lens. The title in both cases seems to be referring to Kokoro.

Kokoro is at a crossroads. She acknowledged she's still not fine by the end of the chapter, so things could go either way with her based on how things play out next chapter. And her potential outcomes are characterized by Kudou and Akane, who are seemingly playing the little angel and little demon on her shoulders.

The series has made it repeatedly clear that people don't change easily or overnight. Something like Kokoro's obsession with Kurumi even more so. Plus, you have Kokoro's behavior after her seeming realization, which amounted to calling Kurumi despite acknowledging it could end up making things worse for everyone. And instead of merely just asking Kurumi to talk, Kokoro invited Kurumi on Kokoro's dream date of going to the zoo together that Kokoro brought up in chapter 9. A date that chapter 9 made it very clear that Kurumi was uncomfortable with the thought of. And then you have things like Kudou wanting Kokoro to join her in trying to breakup Kurumi and Naoi, which would seem odd to just drift that idea only to have it go nowhere. It's very possible if the zoo date goes badly enough, or Kurumi ends up leaving Kokoro behind for Naoi for some reason, that Kokoro will feel scorned. Having her dream date ruined could be the catalyst that causes Kokoro to backslide. And then of course you have Akane, who revealed that Kokoro's animosity extended to anyone who got close to Kurumi since the beginning, even Kurumi's other friends. This makes Kokoro's possessiveness out to be an inherent trait.

Akane's role here is interesting. She was added to a scene in chapter 7 during Kokoro's flashback sequence in the volume release, to show her looking back at them after the narration says that everyone else left. I took that to mean that Akane at least didn't truly leave them behind. That was added foreshadowing for this chapter, where we ended up getting at least part of Akane's account of events, which in turn gave the reader a clearer picture of what actually happened in the past. Kokoro appeared to be a toxic friend, who gave hostile looks to people who tried to spend time with Kurumi. Akane also highlighted Kokoro's immaturity, since it seemed like she liked to cry and throw tantrums when things didn't go her way even in middle school. It seems like Kokoro's lived her entire life being coddled, much to the detriment of Kokoro's personality and ability to deal with things not turning out how she wants. Kokoro pointing out the type of people that annoy her made it seem like she dislikes the type of person who would give her a reality check. The ironic thing is that Kurumi's true personality falls very much within that category too, which Kokoro is currently unaware of.

I'm kind of wondering if the author really intends to let Kokoro have zero consequences for her previous actions. It would feel really bizarre if Kurumi meets up with her after everything that happened in this volume, and their meetup is only being on a date with someone you don't like romantically level of awkward. After all, Kurumi will almost certainly agree to the meetup. She still called Kokoro a friend this chapter. Plus, the author likely had Kokoro leave her parents cooking equipment at Kurumi's house to give Kurumi an extra reason to agree to the meetup, so she could return them. That said, I wonder if anything will come from the marks Kokoro left on Naoi's neck. They're very visible as shown this chapter. Would be interesting if Naoi's dad or Kurumi end up being the one that get blamed for putting them there.

It seems Kudou's true motives are finally coming to light. Her first appearance made it clear she wasn't happy seeing Naoi with another girl, but until now has played that off. It seems like she was only biding her time and slowly trying (and failing) at getting Naoi more comfortable with her. But when Kurumi called and Kudou answered the phone, it was an opportunity to sow some chaos. Her chance only got better when she followed Naoi to Kurumi's house and learned about Kokoro. She sees Kokoro as a potential pawn to separate them. However, Kokoro should be careful, as the chapter 14 flashback makes it clear that when confronted that Kudou is quick to throw other people under the bus. She's a master manipulator. And even if Kokoro doesn't help Kudou willingly or intentionally, her actions could still end up playing into Kudou's hands. It's also possible that by refusing Kudou's offer, that Kudou could come to see Kokoro as an obstacle herself. Meaning Kokoro could end up as another target on Kudou's "To Eliminate" list.

As for Kurumi and Naoi, they both need to communicate better. By Kurumi refusing to budge on her and Kokoro still being friends after the previous night, Naoi doesn't seem to know how to react to that. Plus, Kokoro made it sound like her and Kurumi actual slept together when they didn't. And then on Naoi's side, while she denies her and Kudou having a romantic relationship, she won't tell Kurumi about her deal with Kudou and what happened when they were younger. This leads to Kurumi doubting Naoi's words. She realizes that Naoi is hiding something, and thinks more is going on between Naoi and Kudou than there actually is. Plus, Kudou revealing that Naoi was at a hotel with her, and she lied about Naoi being in the shower when she was using the bathroom. Once Naoi and Kurumi open up, things will likely sort themselves out quickly enough, but that might take some time.

Next chapter should be the last of the volume, which has always had some good Kurumi/Naoi moments, so I expect chapter 20 to be the same. There are around 54 pages left, unless the author decides to have more volume bonus pages that use up the page count instead. Something big will definitely happen. Looking forward to next month.

 

[deathpigeon]

e getting told "you're not a bad person" by someone even worse might be exactly the push sho needs to not be a bad person.

 

[Mistilteinn]

e getting told "you're not a bad person" by someone even worse might be exactly the push sho needs to not be a bad person.

I just don't see Kudou leaving it at just this. She didn't even seem upset that Kokoro ran off. She might try again if Kokoro faces another setback. Plus, Kudou could lie and tell Kokoro she used to be a model student until Naoi came along. That would make it seem that Kokoro was right all along. Plus, I don't think Kokoro is against manipulation, just violence.

 

[Ohin]

e getting told "you're not a bad person" by someone even worse might be exactly the push sho needs to not be a bad person.

Frankly I don't think there's much in it between Kokoro and Kudou. Kudou is a manipulator and (maybe?) a bit of a sociopath but Kokoro is violent and willful. Not everything she does is intentional but that really puts her lack of reflection into perspective - it looks like she feels bad about all the things she's done, maybe she actually does feel bad, but she keeps doing them anyway.

 

[Mistilteinn]

maybe she actually does feel bad, but she keeps doing them anyway.

That sums up Kokoro's main issue in a nutshell. And it's completely intentional by the author. That's why Kokoro keeps saying "I'm sorry" and then doing more things she knows on some level are wrong or will hurt others. She does the exact same thing at the end of the chapter. It's like she can't stop herself.

This is especially true when you consider her actions at the end of chapter 19 are the same actions she attempted in chapter 9. It's an invite for the exact same date to the zoo.

 

[AnnieAturday]

The only way Kokoro gets through this plot relatively unscathed (and by that I mean not booted out as the villain and never seen again) is if Kurumi says yes to the date, saying no will likely only cause her to spiral more. In fact, for both characters, I think this date could only do good for them, which is why I'm almost counting on her saying no lol. Imagine doing something that would absolutely, unarguably, make your station better. In this manga? No way. Half expecting Naoi to ask her to a date same time and her going with Naoi instead to really make things explode.

Though as a side point, I think this date could be just the thing to drag the teacher/student subplot back into the manga since it's something that's obviously going to swing back around into relevancy, having Kurumi and another person out at the same place and same time as the teacher and the student who's name I can't remember because who cares about her, would be prime for some more juicy drama to lead into returning to school.

Also Kurumi and Naoi desperately need to sit down and talk things out, but while this is always something that definitely peeves me about other manga where not talking about things is the easy drama starter, I don't mind it as much in this one because these are definitely two characters that are going to struggle to have any sort of important conversation they need to have whatsoever.

Thank you for the translation, and very excited for next chapter.

 

[Mistilteinn]

I'm almost counting on her saying no lol. Imagine doing something that would absolutely, unarguably, make your station better. In this manga? No way.

Or she initially agrees, but then cancels on Kokoro last minute in favor of a date with Naoi. Naoi realized this chapter that Kurumi felt lonely because they hadn't spent much time together recently, so Naoi could invite Kurumi on a date to make up for that. Of course, Kurumi would likely lie to Kokoro about why she was cancelling on her. And if Kokoro saw them together on a date, especially after being lied to, that would likely set her off big time.

 

[Kanade0021]

Thanks for the translation!

 

[Patryk02Kalita]

Ugh... When will she finally break and fall with Naoi? Because it doesn't look like I'm going to cut ties with her. And I don't know about anyone else, I'm tired of her balancing...

 

[Sunzo]

Starting with the title, "Lenticular" is a term related to optics. It can carry a positive or negative interpretation. On the positive side, it can refer to the "Change Of Perspective" lenticular lenses cause. On the negative side, however, it can refer to the "Illusion Of Change" created by a lenticular lens. The title in both cases seems to be referring to Kokoro.

Kokoro is at a crossroads. She acknowledged she's still not fine by the end of the chapter, so things could go either way with her based on how things play out next chapter. And her potential outcomes are characterized by Kudou and Akane, who are seemingly playing the little angel and little demon on her shoulders.

The series has made it repeatedly clear that people don't change easily or overnight. Something like Kokoro's obsession with Kurumi even more so. Plus, you have Kokoro's behavior after her seeming realization, which amounted to calling Kurumi despite acknowledging it could end up making things worse for everyone. And instead of merely just asking Kurumi to talk, Kokoro invited Kurumi on Kokoro's dream date of going to the zoo together that Kokoro brought up in chapter 9. A date that chapter 9 made it very clear that Kurumi was uncomfortable with the thought of. And then you have things like Kudou wanting Kokoro to join her in trying to breakup Kurumi and Naoi, which would seem odd to just drift that idea only to have it go nowhere. It's very possible if the zoo date goes badly enough, or Kurumi ends up leaving Kokoro behind for Naoi for some reason, that Kokoro will feel scorned. Having her dream date ruined could be the catalyst that causes Kokoro to backslide. And then of course you have Akane, who revealed that Kokoro's animosity extended to anyone who got close to Kurumi since the beginning, even Kurumi's other friends. This makes Kokoro's possessiveness out to be an inherent trait.

Akane's role here is interesting. She was added to a scene in chapter 7 during Kokoro's flashback sequence in the volume release, to show her looking back at them after the narration says that everyone else left. I took that to mean that Akane at least didn't truly leave them behind. That was added foreshadowing for this chapter, where we ended up getting at least part of Akane's account of events, which in turn gave the reader a clearer picture of what actually happened in the past. Kokoro appeared to be a toxic friend, who gave hostile looks to people who tried to spend time with Kurumi. Akane also highlighted Kokoro's immaturity, since it seemed like she liked to cry and throw tantrums when things didn't go her way even in middle school. It seems like Kokoro's lived her entire life being coddled, much to the detriment of Kokoro's personality and ability to deal with things not turning out how she wants. Kokoro pointing out the type of people that annoy her made it seem like she dislikes the type of person who would give her a reality check. The ironic thing is that Kurumi's true personality falls very much within that category too, which Kokoro is currently unaware of.

I'm kind of wondering if the author really intends to let Kokoro have zero consequences for her previous actions. It would feel really bizarre if Kurumi meets up with her after everything that happened in this volume, and their meetup is only being on a date with someone you don't like romantically level of awkward. After all, Kurumi will almost certainly agree to the meetup. She still called Kokoro a friend this chapter. Plus, the author likely had Kokoro leave her parents cooking equipment at Kurumi's house to give Kurumi an extra reason to agree to the meetup, so she could return them. That said, I wonder if anything will come from the marks Kokoro left on Naoi's neck. They're very visible as shown this chapter. Would be interesting if Naoi's dad or Kurumi end up being the one that get blamed for putting them there.

It seems Kudou's true motives are finally coming to light. Her first appearance made it clear she wasn't happy seeing Naoi with another girl, but until now has played that off. It seems like she was only biding her time and slowly trying (and failing) at getting Naoi more comfortable with her. But when Kurumi called and Kudou answered the phone, it was an opportunity to sow some chaos. Her chance only got better when she followed Naoi to Kurumi's house and learned about Kokoro. She sees Kokoro as a potential pawn to separate them. However, Kokoro should be careful, as the chapter 14 flashback makes it clear that when confronted that Kudou is quick to throw other people under the bus. She's a master manipulator. And even if Kokoro doesn't help Kudou willingly or intentionally, her actions could still end up playing into Kudou's hands. It's also possible that by refusing Kudou's offer, that Kudou could come to see Kokoro as an obstacle herself. Meaning Kokoro could end up as another target on Kudou's "To Eliminate" list.

As for Kurumi and Naoi, they both need to communicate better. By Kurumi refusing to budge on her and Kokoro still being friends after the previous night, Naoi doesn't seem to know how to react to that. Plus, Kokoro made it sound like her and Kurumi actual slept together when they didn't. And then on Naoi's side, while she denies her and Kudou having a romantic relationship, she won't tell Kurumi about her deal with Kudou and what happened when they were younger. This leads to Kurumi doubting Naoi's words. She realizes that Naoi is hiding something, and thinks more is going on between Naoi and Kudou than there actually is. Plus, Kudou revealing that Naoi was at a hotel with her, and she lied about Naoi being in the shower when she was using the bathroom. Once Naoi and Kurumi open up, things will likely sort themselves out quickly enough, but that might take some time.

Next chapter should be the last of the volume, which has always had some good Kurumi/Naoi moments, so I expect chapter 20 to be the same. There are around 54 pages left, unless the author decides to have more volume bonus pages that use up the page count instead. Something big will definitely happen. Looking forward to next month.

Very long bro 😭,I feel like reading a novel

 

[Sunzo]

Thx for Chapter ,I hope the next 2 months will pass 🥲

 

[LMXInferno]

Very telling that Kokoro's breakdown doesn't include any consideration for her trying to assault Kurumi. Even when she recognizes her bad behavior, she can't process that her 'love' has harmed Kurumi. If she does agree to this date, it's only going to enforce Kokoro's delusions, and likely Kurumi's willful ignorance of how badly Kokoro has treated her.
Of course, if she turns Kokoro down, or cancels on her for Naoi, a backslide is very likely. Either way it seems things are not so Kokorover, as whatever happens she's clearly not done antagonizing the main couple. The question is what direction that will take, and how soon Kurumi gets over her mental block about Kokoro's behavior.

 

[KatzenoYuri]

Starting with the title, "Lenticular" is a term related to optics. It can carry a positive or negative interpretation. On the positive side, it can refer to the "Change Of Perspective" lenticular lenses cause. On the negative side, however, it can refer to the "Illusion Of Change" created by a lenticular lens. The title in both cases seems to be referring to Kokoro.

Kokoro is at a crossroads. She acknowledged she's still not fine by the end of the chapter, so things could go either way with her based on how things play out next chapter. And her potential outcomes are characterized by Kudou and Akane, who are seemingly playing the little angel and little demon on her shoulders.

The series has made it repeatedly clear that people don't change easily or overnight. Something like Kokoro's obsession with Kurumi even more so. Plus, you have Kokoro's behavior after her seeming realization, which amounted to calling Kurumi despite acknowledging it could end up making things worse for everyone. And instead of merely just asking Kurumi to talk, Kokoro invited Kurumi on Kokoro's dream date of going to the zoo together that Kokoro brought up in chapter 9. A date that chapter 9 made it very clear that Kurumi was uncomfortable with the thought of. And then you have things like Kudou wanting Kokoro to join her in trying to breakup Kurumi and Naoi, which would seem odd to just drift that idea only to have it go nowhere. It's very possible if the zoo date goes badly enough, or Kurumi ends up leaving Kokoro behind for Naoi for some reason, that Kokoro will feel scorned. Having her dream date ruined could be the catalyst that causes Kokoro to backslide. And then of course you have Akane, who revealed that Kokoro's animosity extended to anyone who got close to Kurumi since the beginning, even Kurumi's other friends. This makes Kokoro's possessiveness out to be an inherent trait.

Akane's role here is interesting. She was added to a scene in chapter 7 during Kokoro's flashback sequence in the volume release, to show her looking back at them after the narration says that everyone else left. I took that to mean that Akane at least didn't truly leave them behind. That was added foreshadowing for this chapter, where we ended up getting at least part of Akane's account of events, which in turn gave the reader a clearer picture of what actually happened in the past. Kokoro appeared to be a toxic friend, who gave hostile looks to people who tried to spend time with Kurumi. Akane also highlighted Kokoro's immaturity, since it seemed like she liked to cry and throw tantrums when things didn't go her way even in middle school. It seems like Kokoro's lived her entire life being coddled, much to the detriment of Kokoro's personality and ability to deal with things not turning out how she wants. Kokoro pointing out the type of people that annoy her made it seem like she dislikes the type of person who would give her a reality check. The ironic thing is that Kurumi's true personality falls very much within that category too, which Kokoro is currently unaware of.

I'm kind of wondering if the author really intends to let Kokoro have zero consequences for her previous actions. It would feel really bizarre if Kurumi meets up with her after everything that happened in this volume, and their meetup is only being on a date with someone you don't like romantically level of awkward. After all, Kurumi will almost certainly agree to the meetup. She still called Kokoro a friend this chapter. Plus, the author likely had Kokoro leave her parents cooking equipment at Kurumi's house to give Kurumi an extra reason to agree to the meetup, so she could return them. That said, I wonder if anything will come from the marks Kokoro left on Naoi's neck. They're very visible as shown this chapter. Would be interesting if Naoi's dad or Kurumi end up being the one that get blamed for putting them there.

It seems Kudou's true motives are finally coming to light. Her first appearance made it clear she wasn't happy seeing Naoi with another girl, but until now has played that off. It seems like she was only biding her time and slowly trying (and failing) at getting Naoi more comfortable with her. But when Kurumi called and Kudou answered the phone, it was an opportunity to sow some chaos. Her chance only got better when she followed Naoi to Kurumi's house and learned about Kokoro. She sees Kokoro as a potential pawn to separate them. However, Kokoro should be careful, as the chapter 14 flashback makes it clear that when confronted that Kudou is quick to throw other people under the bus. She's a master manipulator. And even if Kokoro doesn't help Kudou willingly or intentionally, her actions could still end up playing into Kudou's hands. It's also possible that by refusing Kudou's offer, that Kudou could come to see Kokoro as an obstacle herself. Meaning Kokoro could end up as another target on Kudou's "To Eliminate" list.

As for Kurumi and Naoi, they both need to communicate better. By Kurumi refusing to budge on her and Kokoro still being friends after the previous night, Naoi doesn't seem to know how to react to that. Plus, Kokoro made it sound like her and Kurumi actual slept together when they didn't. And then on Naoi's side, while she denies her and Kudou having a romantic relationship, she won't tell Kurumi about her deal with Kudou and what happened when they were younger. This leads to Kurumi doubting Naoi's words. She realizes that Naoi is hiding something, and thinks more is going on between Naoi and Kudou than there actually is. Plus, Kudou revealing that Naoi was at a hotel with her, and she lied about Naoi being in the shower when she was using the bathroom. Once Naoi and Kurumi open up, things will likely sort themselves out quickly enough, but that might take some time.

Next chapter should be the last of the volume, which has always had some good Kurumi/Naoi moments, so I expect chapter 20 to be the same. There are around 54 pages left, unless the author decides to have more volume bonus pages that use up the page count instead. Something big will definitely happen. Looking forward to next month.

Thank you, I lack the mental energy, perspective and in-depth analysis interest to consider all of this myself, but it was awesome to read it!!

 

[Unma]

A lot of the previous comments have said most of what needs to be said about this chapter; it's really insightful stuff. I'm just waiting to see how bad things get, because I know things are about to get so much worse if Kokoro doesn't change or truly realize how she's hurt Kurumi.
I do find it interesting how Kokoro has managed to take the spot of Kurumi's mother, in terms of being that one overbearing, controlling person she can't resist. Kokoro is much much different, obviously. For one, she actually clearly cares for Kurumi's wellbeing. She cares a hell of a lot. She sees the need to eliminate anything that could harm Kurumi, she is just simply incapable of seeing herself as one of those things, even if she's slowly realizing this. She hasn't realized just how much she's hurt Kurumi. Maybe this date will be a chance for her to finally get that. Maybe not.
I do at least hope that by the end of this Kokoro grows into a much better person. She is trying her best, even if she's being a little overbearing about it.

 

[dse14th]

I need a Kudou in my life ....

 

[mangaburner1979]

One of my favorite parts of this series is how every plot development makes the dynamics between the characters messier, more toxic, more complex. Anything that resembles a conflict resolution on the surface is just another thread coming undone.

 

[mogzig]

Thanks for the TL! As always I can’t wait to see where this all ends up. Nowhere good im sure, but im all in.

 

[VonLoewe]

Chat, can she fix her ?!?

 

[Ninoren]

e getting told "you're not a bad person" by someone even worse might be exactly the push sho needs to not be a bad person.

What do you mean ?..

She literally has been a bad person, since her first appearance 😐
She's literally just a toxic, possessive B and nothing more.. also calling jumping on top of someone and strangling them "a scuffle", she's really just delusional 🥲

And having the mc still date her is honestly frustrating as fuck, especially when she then goes and is jealous, if Naoi isn't around her.. and doubt that mess is going to be ended anytime soon