Even ignoring the romance, so much of the conversations about values and gender resonated with me so deeply. Youth is such a painful time in all aspects and the social part makes it all much too complicated…
People complain about the ending being rushed but I’m not mad. It was a little glimpse into the future and even if we don’t know exactly how it played out, I think it fits. Taichi values Touma Ambiguously; it is shown even in the beginning when he blushes around him. The way to keep him close while he was dating Futaba was to stay friends because his affection surpassed romance but I think evolved once he was single. It’s happened to me and it’s not malicious.
Masumi ending up with a man didn’t feel like erasure to me either. I might be biased since I am bisexual myself, but I saw it as she couldn’t love her boyfriend because she loved Futaba. Not that she couldn’t love a man. Mami’s commentary on what being a woman in society and Masumi’s reaction to the conversation also made it clear that her shown distaste for men was mostly from her position as a ‘vulnerable’ woman. Her bisexuality at the end did not irk me for these reasons.
Even ignoring the romance, so much of the conversations about values and gender resonated with me so deeply. Youth is such a painful time in all aspects and the social part makes it all much too complicated…
People complain about the ending being rushed but I’m not mad. It was a little glimpse into the future and even if we don’t know exactly how it played out, I think it fits. Taichi values Touma Ambiguously; it is shown even in the beginning when he blushes around him. The way to keep him close while he was dating Futaba was to stay friends because his affection surpassed romance but I think evolved once he was single. It’s happened to me and it’s not malicious.
Masumi ending up with a man didn’t feel like erasure to me either. I might be biased since I am bisexual myself, but I saw it as she couldn’t love her boyfriend because she loved Futaba. Not that she couldn’t love a man. Mami’s commentary on what being a woman in society and Masumi’s reaction to the conversation also made it clear that her shown distaste for men was mostly from her position as a ‘vulnerable’ woman. Her bisexuality at the end did not irk me for these reasons.
I think it is a valuable read.