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This was soo good. The uncanny experience of being frozen in time was so well depicted, but I love how the story centred on suspended animation as a slice of life concept that focused on the impact being frozen has on a person and their loved ones. Ito and Chiharu had such an interesting and unique dynamic, and such an unconventional age-gap romance xD
I usually hate love triangles, but god, there was so much heart in this. I appreciate that there was no confusion on where Ito stood, the mutual respect the Chiharu and Yatarou had for each other, and the story not trivializing the 'losers' feelings or ending Yatarou's arc with an altruistic bow out - loved how the manga showed his bitterness over Chiharu waking up and taking ‘his’ place and the guilt he felt over not being a ‘good guy’.
Ultimately, I’m really happy that Ito and Chiharu were end game. I’ve seen a lot of comments putting him down for his supposed indecisiveness, but I don’t think those comments really consider his perspective: While Ito loved him her entire life, Chiharu only has memories of her as a child. He says time and time again that suspended animation feels like waking up from one day’s rest. He already has to deal with a world that moved on without him, and in that time the little girl he saw as his sister becomes his age and his equal. He learns to ADAPT.
And ever since he found about Ito’s feelings, he has done his best to seriously consider her as a romantic partner and shift his love from platonic to romantic. Not to say he doesn’t have his flaws - the festival incident was painful - but again, this stems from him seeing her as that little girl he once knew and wanting to shield her from pain; he grows from this - and hey, it only takes him a year, so maybe cut him some slack :)
Ps. loved an and mio - hilarious side couple xD