that last panel was weird. (or maybe i’m just being crazy and delusional, seeing how no one talks about it). but the detail in the final panel — the "continue? 3" fighting game screen seems deliberate and feels definitely NOT meaningless. (imo. probably just me being delulu.) i mean, if the author just wanted to show nagi defeated/done for good (let’s just say that he’s giving nagi so much screentime even after his elimination because it’s his favorite character, nagi is a popular character and so on, so he just wants to give him a proper and respectful ending), a "game over" screen would’ve made perfect sense, no? it would have fully closed the metaphor and then we could have gotten the sharp feeling that it’s really the end for nagi (just like what we can feel after reading what ego said about never choosing nagi and making him come back — it felt like a "stop coping, nagi might be a popular character but he isn’t coming back" message from the author, if you ask me).
but in the last panel, instead, we get: "continue? 3" — the classic countdown in arcade games that gives the player a few seconds to decide if they want to keep playing or let the game end. i don’t know… right there, the symbolism feels kind of intentional. and for me, it means two things for nagi’s arc: he has a moment to choose. either he stays where he is (checked out, aimless) or he inserts the metaphorical coin, stands up, and chooses to keep playing (just like how isagi told him to not quit soccer at the end of chapter 300). if you ask me, i feel like the story is literally asking "will nagi continue — yes or no?" (the word "continue" might mean continue as continue to stay the nagi he has always been or continue as not quitting football.) for sure, there is not a comeback confirmation but for me, it feels like a narrative question.
like if this tiny detail doesn’t have a narrative purpose, it seems totally unnecessary? nagi is shown all depressed, adrift, and CLEARY ignored by ego (who said he’s not making him come back) and yet that panel shows a question mark as if it leaves nagi with a choice to make? why? is the author just playing with us? or am i missing something?
is it really just a panel filler or i’m not crazy and it’s a metaphorical language?
i’m not saying that this one tiny detail is proof that nagi is coming back soon. but it feels absolutely not meaningless either. maybe i’m just wrong about the meaning and i just see the positif aspect of it. still? it feels like a narrative hint that nagi’s arc isn't fully over and he has the final say in whether it continues.
but then again, bro might just pull a kenma and quit soccer forever, starting his career as a pro gamer or wtv and it would really be the end for him. because crying and feeling all depressed doesn’t guarantee that he’ll do something about it. (but yeah. i do hope he does.)
that last panel was weird. (or maybe i’m just being crazy and delusional, seeing how no one talks about it).
but the detail in the final panel — the "continue? 3" fighting game screen seems deliberate and feels definitely NOT meaningless. (imo. probably just me being delulu.)
i mean, if the author just wanted to show nagi defeated/done for good (let’s just say that he’s giving nagi so much screentime even after his elimination because it’s his favorite character, nagi is a popular character and so on, so he just wants to give him a proper and respectful ending), a "game over" screen would’ve made perfect sense, no? it would have fully closed the metaphor and then we could have gotten the sharp feeling that it’s really the end for nagi (just like what we can feel after reading what ego said about never choosing nagi and making him come back — it felt like a "stop coping, nagi might be a popular character but he isn’t coming back" message from the author, if you ask me).
but in the last panel, instead, we get: "continue? 3" — the classic countdown in arcade games that gives the player a few seconds to decide if they want to keep playing or let the game end.
i don’t know… right there, the symbolism feels kind of intentional. and for me, it means two things for nagi’s arc: he has a moment to choose. either he stays where he is (checked out, aimless) or he inserts the metaphorical coin, stands up, and chooses to keep playing (just like how isagi told him to not quit soccer at the end of chapter 300).
if you ask me, i feel like the story is literally asking "will nagi continue — yes or no?" (the word "continue" might mean continue as continue to stay the nagi he has always been or continue as not quitting football.)
for sure, there is not a comeback confirmation but for me, it feels like a narrative question.
like if this tiny detail doesn’t have a narrative purpose, it seems totally unnecessary? nagi is shown all depressed, adrift, and CLEARY ignored by ego (who said he’s not making him come back) and yet that panel shows a question mark as if it leaves nagi with a choice to make? why? is the author just playing with us? or am i missing something?
is it really just a panel filler or i’m not crazy and it’s a metaphorical language?
i’m not saying that this one tiny detail is proof that nagi is coming back soon. but it feels absolutely not meaningless either. maybe i’m just wrong about the meaning and i just see the positif aspect of it. still? it feels like a narrative hint that nagi’s arc isn't fully over and he has the final say in whether it continues.
but then again, bro might just pull a kenma and quit soccer forever, starting his career as a pro gamer or wtv and it would really be the end for him. because crying and feeling all depressed doesn’t guarantee that he’ll do something about it. (but yeah. i do hope he does.)