Strobe Edge
Jun. 24th, 2020 10:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
satalasers Hmm. This was a manga that I had read, I think, up to the midway point, and then forgot about, and then thought, ah, hell, I'll start from the beginning and read to the end.
- It's a fairly simple story, Ninako, unaware of what love is, finds herself falling in love with Ren, a 'cool' kid, the most popular guy in school, unaware that he has a girlfriend. When she does find out, both re: her feelings and Ren's girlfriend, she resolves herself by determined to remain Ren's friend, regardless what happens. Naturally, Ren, who is more kind and shy than people realize, falls in love with Ninako anyway. But Ando, Ren's best friend, happens to fall in love with Ninako, too.
- There is something to be said about the youthfulness of the story. The emotions are simple, but they do feel realistic. Ninako totally got on my nerves, but I understood why she only gravitated towards Ren, in spite of the fact that I actually really like Ando/Ninako, and wanted them to end up together. I so badly wanted her heart to be swayed to Ando, and Ninako and Ando did become really good friends. And you know, Ren falling for Ninako, was sweet because Ninako really did bring out more emotions of love out of Ren.
- I feel mixed about Ren/Mayuka. On on hand, I did like them, I liked the stability Ren gave to Mayuka, I didn't really feel that either of them were in love with each other. Maybe in their past chapter, but they were comfortable together, and I feel like Ren was 'bound' to Mayuka, because of the promise that he would never leave her. And Ren, even though he realized that he was in love with Ninako, chose to stay with Mayuka, because she was in a really vulnerable moment, I thought that was a really smart decision that showed how integral he was. What I'm not sure about about this pairing is: how old is Mayuka? She's got a modelling job and she's applying to university, so I'd presume she's 18? And if Ren is 15/16, then I'm a bit :/ about them.
- But the thing is, Mayuka was so likeably written. She was a very sympathetic character, and even if she was a bit clingy and insecure, and could tell that both Ren and Mayuka were drifting apart, (though Ren did try several times for them to spend time together, and make an effort, as did she!), she also grew from it, and was the one to break up. She was a nice person, and even if they didn't work out, and she realized that she kept prioritizing her job over Ren, it wasn't a shown as a bad thing.
- Also, what a great breakup. The speech about Mayuka being afraid that Ren would sprout wings and fly away, and then Mayuka being the one to end things, and Ren watches her, and the wind is flapping her scarf/shawl, to make it look like Mayuka had wings instead? So that she was the one who flew away? Simply breathtaking.
- God, Ando tried so hard. He tried so hard to win Ninako's heart. He was cute and sweet, and he was my favourite character by far. But the thing is, love isn't about earning it. It's freely given, and despite everything, Ninako just wasn't interested. But I liked Ando, and I wanted him to be happy, and that's kind of why I rooted for them, even if Ren/Ninako was obvious from the start, and they really were cute together.
- I don't know if I like his ending though, TBH. I don't like that Ando is implied that maybe he'll get together to his ex. Like, I hated her, to begin with. She dated Ando just to get with Ren, and kissed Ren in a moment of weakness, and was the catalyst for Ando and Ren never being as close as they were, and then realized that actually she liked Ando all along, but by then, it was too late. And I did grow to like her, when she revealed that she was acting the way she was: trying to break up Ren/Ninako in order to get Ando/Ninako to happen, and she knew that Ando wouldn't forgiven, so she was trying atonement in actions, because she knew if she repeatedly said sorry to Ando, he wasn't going to listen. Her actions had a devastating consequence on him, and he has good reason to hate her. But she's sincere in when she says she fell in love with him, and this time around, will make an effort with him, and hopefully, the second time around will be better. But -- he's not in love with her anymore, but she's going to try this time, and so it's a kind of ambiguous ending, while I grew to respect her and the change she went through, I don't think they should end up together, all the same.
- I guess something that didn't satisfy me was that Ren and Ando never quite were as close as they used to be. Maybe that's okay. I do think the ending was certainly closing the gap between them, so they were in a better place, and would continue to improve their friendship, because now that the love triangle was over, twice, over, they could truly make amends. But IDK, I liked that it took a while to realize how strained the relationship truly was, and that Ando pulled away because he felt embarrassed, and always in second place in love triangles. Part of it, is probably just because Ren was unaware of how far the relationship had deteriorated, and partly because, there kind of always was the vitriolic friendship that how the relationship had become, because Ren did become more active in the end, but IDK. A lot of the time, Ando struggled with his own insecurities, so that miscommunication, putting on the brave front, didn't help matters either.
- I didn't mind the Yuu/Sayuri/Daiki love triangle in the middle, because it did develop the characters more, and I really did like the Yuu/Sayuri past relationship, but things change, hearts change, and they both needed closure. But at the same time, you could have cut it. But I do think they were a good foil to Mayuka/Ren/Mayuka, all the same.
I'm curious about this mangaka's work. There's something sweeping about the emotions, that I like a lot in her style, so I think I'll read Ao Haru Ride and Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare soon.
- It's a fairly simple story, Ninako, unaware of what love is, finds herself falling in love with Ren, a 'cool' kid, the most popular guy in school, unaware that he has a girlfriend. When she does find out, both re: her feelings and Ren's girlfriend, she resolves herself by determined to remain Ren's friend, regardless what happens. Naturally, Ren, who is more kind and shy than people realize, falls in love with Ninako anyway. But Ando, Ren's best friend, happens to fall in love with Ninako, too.
- There is something to be said about the youthfulness of the story. The emotions are simple, but they do feel realistic. Ninako totally got on my nerves, but I understood why she only gravitated towards Ren, in spite of the fact that I actually really like Ando/Ninako, and wanted them to end up together. I so badly wanted her heart to be swayed to Ando, and Ninako and Ando did become really good friends. And you know, Ren falling for Ninako, was sweet because Ninako really did bring out more emotions of love out of Ren.
- I feel mixed about Ren/Mayuka. On on hand, I did like them, I liked the stability Ren gave to Mayuka, I didn't really feel that either of them were in love with each other. Maybe in their past chapter, but they were comfortable together, and I feel like Ren was 'bound' to Mayuka, because of the promise that he would never leave her. And Ren, even though he realized that he was in love with Ninako, chose to stay with Mayuka, because she was in a really vulnerable moment, I thought that was a really smart decision that showed how integral he was. What I'm not sure about about this pairing is: how old is Mayuka? She's got a modelling job and she's applying to university, so I'd presume she's 18? And if Ren is 15/16, then I'm a bit :/ about them.
- But the thing is, Mayuka was so likeably written. She was a very sympathetic character, and even if she was a bit clingy and insecure, and could tell that both Ren and Mayuka were drifting apart, (though Ren did try several times for them to spend time together, and make an effort, as did she!), she also grew from it, and was the one to break up. She was a nice person, and even if they didn't work out, and she realized that she kept prioritizing her job over Ren, it wasn't a shown as a bad thing.
- Also, what a great breakup. The speech about Mayuka being afraid that Ren would sprout wings and fly away, and then Mayuka being the one to end things, and Ren watches her, and the wind is flapping her scarf/shawl, to make it look like Mayuka had wings instead? So that she was the one who flew away? Simply breathtaking.
- God, Ando tried so hard. He tried so hard to win Ninako's heart. He was cute and sweet, and he was my favourite character by far. But the thing is, love isn't about earning it. It's freely given, and despite everything, Ninako just wasn't interested. But I liked Ando, and I wanted him to be happy, and that's kind of why I rooted for them, even if Ren/Ninako was obvious from the start, and they really were cute together.
- I don't know if I like his ending though, TBH. I don't like that Ando is implied that maybe he'll get together to his ex. Like, I hated her, to begin with. She dated Ando just to get with Ren, and kissed Ren in a moment of weakness, and was the catalyst for Ando and Ren never being as close as they were, and then realized that actually she liked Ando all along, but by then, it was too late. And I did grow to like her, when she revealed that she was acting the way she was: trying to break up Ren/Ninako in order to get Ando/Ninako to happen, and she knew that Ando wouldn't forgiven, so she was trying atonement in actions, because she knew if she repeatedly said sorry to Ando, he wasn't going to listen. Her actions had a devastating consequence on him, and he has good reason to hate her. But she's sincere in when she says she fell in love with him, and this time around, will make an effort with him, and hopefully, the second time around will be better. But -- he's not in love with her anymore, but she's going to try this time, and so it's a kind of ambiguous ending, while I grew to respect her and the change she went through, I don't think they should end up together, all the same.
- I guess something that didn't satisfy me was that Ren and Ando never quite were as close as they used to be. Maybe that's okay. I do think the ending was certainly closing the gap between them, so they were in a better place, and would continue to improve their friendship, because now that the love triangle was over, twice, over, they could truly make amends. But IDK, I liked that it took a while to realize how strained the relationship truly was, and that Ando pulled away because he felt embarrassed, and always in second place in love triangles. Part of it, is probably just because Ren was unaware of how far the relationship had deteriorated, and partly because, there kind of always was the vitriolic friendship that how the relationship had become, because Ren did become more active in the end, but IDK. A lot of the time, Ando struggled with his own insecurities, so that miscommunication, putting on the brave front, didn't help matters either.
- I didn't mind the Yuu/Sayuri/Daiki love triangle in the middle, because it did develop the characters more, and I really did like the Yuu/Sayuri past relationship, but things change, hearts change, and they both needed closure. But at the same time, you could have cut it. But I do think they were a good foil to Mayuka/Ren/Mayuka, all the same.
I'm curious about this mangaka's work. There's something sweeping about the emotions, that I like a lot in her style, so I think I'll read Ao Haru Ride and Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare soon.
