Bro I love seeing your comments I just read your Shima Character Study comment and it’s beautifully written. While I recognized these traits in Shima, the way you compiled it was great bc reading these updates week to week can cause me to forget some details (but never how it made me feel)
This appreciation for Mitsumi is also so real. I love this character to pieces, if she was in front of me I would give her forehead a fat kiss. She is so adorable and very relatable to my approach with people. She reminds me of my younger self but also my current self in ways. I never find female characters written with such care and detail and relatability. They’re often so trope-y(overly kind) or anti-tropey (tomboy aggressive girl). Mitsumi is so human and I love seeing that, she gets mad, defeated and recognizes her errors and grows past them like you mentioned. She develops her relationships with intent which I’m finding is lacking in people as I grow older.
One of my favourite aspects of this manga, is showing a student who had to leave home and adapt to a new environment. Typically this is a university/college experience but Mitsumi has to deal with this as a high schooler, which takes a strong mental fortitude. The way she learns that people are backhanded and talk in roundabout ways was so well portrayed.
My absolute favourite aspect of this manga is the friendships that developed. I actually teared up when Mako and Yuzu cried and opened up at the swings. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing Mika’s development. She is a character I typically wouldn’t forgive for being a B-I-C-T-H. But she was the FIRST to recognize how mean Shima really is. Because people pleasers are inherently pretty mean people without realizing it, not a single people pleaser has pleased someone. Despite realizing how mean Shima is, she also has a moment where she sees Mitsumi is WAY too mature for Shima and even sees him as an opp because she loves Mitsumi so much. Real friendship is hating your friend’s partner/crush because you know they deserve so much better. She has grown secure through and with her friendships, it’s so beautiful to see.
One more thing because I will never shut up about Skip and Loafer!!!
“Characters that would have been a one-dimensional antagonist in other mangas have their struggles explored and become whole, realized people.”
Imagine my shock when they delved deeper into Kazakami (the senior who liked the action figures but suppresses it)
It seems like such a trivial thing to suppress, but in his earliest years he was ridiculed by his parents for liking “childish” things and gave the toys away without his consent. I’m not sure if this can be considered trauma but it definitely caused self esteem issues and distrust with his parents and eventually his peers. He didn’t feel comfortable admitting to enjoying his interests. THAT WAS A TWO CHAPTER STORY AT BEST. I was in awe and had my jaw dropped that they even bothered describing that phenomenon because my belongings have definitely been given away without my knowledge and I wouldn’t realize how much that affects me later in life.
This manga is absolutely perfect. It’s got such a great cast of characters and feels so genuine in its intentions that it puts a smile on my face with every episode. There's an overwhelming kindness to Skip and Loafer that permeates every inch of it. Characters that would have been a one-dimensional antagonist in other mangas have their struggles explored and become whole, realized people. All of them are such imperfectly perfect, deeply human characters, each with their own principles. it’s so relatable. I’m completely in love with this story; every chapter is crafted with such love, care, and maturity. It just resonates with me on such a profound level, and has moved me to tears multiple times. Barely any other manga has been able to capture my heart like this. It’s an utterly beautiful masterpiece.
And the female lead truly has my WHOLE HEART. Mitsumi’s sincerity in the way she lives is almost emotional to witness. She’s so earnest and driven, and she always faces life and its challenges with such kindness. She was raised in a loving family, and she’s unafraid to show love, both to others and to herself. It’s such a simple trait, but it makes her an incredibly compelling character. She’s not only lovable, but also mentally strong in a way that quietly inspires other characters and even me, the reader. Just by being herself, she manages to empower those around her in the best way. I also just adore how unapologetically dorky and quirky she is. It’s incredibly healing to watch her fully embrace the kind of weirdness I used to hide away. She has her character flaws, but she always finds a way to rise through them and that only makes her more endearing.