I read this in high school and that whole thing about the caste system being like "the air itself" is so real. People will fit into these roles and unspoken rules subconsciously. You kinda don't realize it till you go out in the world that that shit isn't real, if you realize it at all. Some people never changed after high school and still "play the game"
I feel like outside of HS tho, there is an even bigger game, especially in Japan which has a much stricter hierarchy. No one will tell you if ur committing some social faux pas (ugh french) they just expect u to know and judge u if u dont. It's hella toxic and passive aggressive
Bruh the social commentary of this is so good because mob mentality yo, it's scary how hard it is to notice. It's easy to say all you have to do is ignore the game, but when there's such rigid structure it's not that easy. Even kings have to be careful or they'll get French Revolutioned. I'm actually reading a book about school castes set at an all girls school and it talks about "subconscious bullying" and how 1 kid just got excluded all the time because it kind of became an unspoken rule. No one was trying to be mean, but a rhythm just developed and it became the "norm."
Also bro I loke Kyoko. Ik the guys get all the attention, especially in BL, but omg I'm literally living for Kyoko. Loved seeing her grow into herself on her own and then encourage the other girls to love themselves as they are too. I just wish shrimpy guy had shown some growth (puns not intended).
I gotta wonder though, how is it Azusa's shirts never fit him and then Karino's got that nice slim fit? It's like he ordered an XXL or something. I'm so sad this is over tho but hopefully it just means another Ogawa masterpiece will be headed our way!