he's not smoking FOR his ex, his ex led him to start smoking but he continues bcuz he became addicted like all other nicotine addicts
that's in real life logic, in literature these kind of things should be analyzed with the character , changed with the character and so on...
Yea and i would have been under the impression he's smoking for his ex if he showed signs of still thinking of his ex, but not only did Azuma rarely speak about his ex (except to state he was dumped and started smoking because of that), he never really showed any sign of being still concerned with his ex. the only person overly conscious of azuma's ex was tsubaki (the MC).
Tsubaki, just like some other readers, took the knowledge and drew assumptions from it because of the smoking/break-up association the book drew. He then even started thinking that the glass set and sofa in Azuma's apartment were part of the past-lover equation. This was just to build up that Tsubaki was overly concerned with the ex because he was concerned about azuma's romantic relationships. These were not to speak for Azuma himself or his feelings, but to help trigger Tsubaki's feelings narratively.
There is no evidence to support he kept smoking for his ex even in the present or that he is still in love with his ex even a smidgen. Even in the book exert about Aiko, she started because of her ex, but after smoking for some time, she was just smoker. Ch 4 Page 5 supports this, "by the time AIko killed the loneliness in her, she was completely addicted to nicotine". If we are to draw a parallel btw Aiko and Azuma, and with what we know about him, he must loved his ex and they probably lived to together. After getting dumped, Azuma may have become a smoker to try and overwrite the memory of his former lover with the cigarettes, but cigarettes are addictive, so even if he forgot about his lover, he made himself addicted to cigarettes. The book supports this analysis.
And even in literature if someone is going to include smoking they will most likely include the real life logic that nicotine is addictive and long-term use will cause addiction.
Long story short, the Azuma Tsubaki met is not smoking for his ex, he's smoking for himself. And Azuma has shown more through his actions that he likes Tsubaki than he's shown possibly having lingering feelings for his ex.
yes i went through this kind of idea and kept asking why would the author choose to leave us with such back and forth thinking about real life and story devices, as i said we could see both of the characters developing , it could be to show readers one bad side of japan which r smoking addicts but that's the easy analysis, then if i dare say the mangaka just wants to build the sense of being hurt cuz of the ex or a bad relationship , and that such scar stays long even with new relationships, this is what disappointed me cuz i wanted to see them change once and for all...
yes i went through this kind of idea and kept asking why would the author choose to leave us with such back and forth thinking about real life and story devices, as i said we could see both of the characters developing , it could be to show readers one bad side of japan which r smoking addicts but that's the easy analysis, then if i dare say the mangaka just wants to build the sense of being hurt cuz of the ex or a bad relationship , and that such scar stays long even with new relationships, this is what disappointed me cuz i wanted to see them change once and for all...
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ps: forgot to click reply cuz reading yours delighted me...
to fall for the first person u meet after years and for that person to keep on smoking for his ex, i would hate it but u can see how their relationship on the uke's part is real , he also met with the neighbors but did not go for it, and they r effecting each other, i mean both wanting to be spoiled...