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Sep 12, 2021
Natsume returns once again to show that nothing has changed and he's still as unlikable as always.
More good moments between the two of them. But it feels like these "what is this feeling?" moments should have come earlier, before he reached this stage. It feels like we skipped steps, and are backtracking, rather than organic progress. Something like this when they were still more or less "friends" would have been a lot more impactful before, as compared to now, when he already knows he pretty much likes her.
This moment with Ayane and Akihiro felt a lot more organic, so that was good. There needs to be more time to let the cast breathe. That being said, the fact that she's ready for a date not so long after she just saw him go on a rampage (and now doubts that he's even human) is a little... odd. And Rumi x Natsume? Ugh, why? What about that little toad is even remotely appealing? I don't understand at all.
This felt like way too much of a rush. Like, suddenly he's a bloodthirsty monster, with nothing to suggest that before. It's jarring. And it feels like people are way too easily forgiven in this series. They just don't feel real, they feel like they're being told to act by the script. Stuff like this needs to sit more, Rumi was bullying Ayane like, what, 5-6 chapters ago? And now they're all good?
I feel like this story hasn't spent enough focus on Akihiro's emotions. Something like someone devoid of emotion developing them should feel gradual imo, and this felt more like a switch being flipped. It feels like one chapter I was reading about a robot, and now I'm reading about a person. And I also find it strange that Rumi is so gung-ho about hanging around and watching Ayane flirt with Akihiro. Considering her character until this point, it doesn't really seem to make sense that she would have taken that so well, especially splitting up to go with Natsume and leaving the two of them alone. I still don't have a very good feel of her character.
It honestly doesn't make sense to me how much Akihiro has changed. It all feels kind of inconsistent, honestly, considering how human he's acting so quickly, while so robotically at different moments. I'm not sure how to interpret it.
So yes, Akihiro is obviously an AI or robot or something, which is like the first reminder I have that this takes place in 2090. Which feels odd. Technologically and sociologically speaking, nothing in the story seems to really suggest that this is that far in the future, even though it is. It feels like everything is still in the 2020s.
I have no idea what's going on with Rumi. Her motivations make no sense. She likes Akihiro, she's known him for years, so she stops spending time with him and begins bullying another girl? It doesn't make a lot of sense, I feel like her character isn't very fleshed out. Even this chapter, her motives don't seem to make a lot of sense. If she genuinely loves Akihiro, why didn't she just try harder to get to know him?
Am I supposed to be happy about Natsume saving the day? I know I should be, but I'm not. Meanwhile, Rumi's nature seems like it came out of nowhere. I don't remember any comments before about her bullying Ayane, and since Natsume's known about it for a while and hasn't done anything about it, just because Ayane hasn't asked for help, that just makes him look like the biggest jerk of them all.
No, Natsume is still the villain. Completely and totally the villain in my eyes. I despise his philosophy. I loathe everything about it. And since no one ever questions it, or contradicts him, I feel like I'm being preached at with a moral that I disagree with, which only makes me hate him more. The callous way he treats Ayane, everybody, he hasn't changed. He's still unlikable.
Natsume continues to be an ass, "no, don't save the drowning girl, you don't want her to get indebted to you!" PRIORITIES DUDE.
I find it hard to believe that Natsume is capable of actually fooling people that he's female while wearing a swimsuit. Unless he happens to have the smallest penis in the world. I also find it hard to believe that Rumi would actually lend them the use of her family's villa, that makes zero sense. And finally, it seems odd that there is no reaction to Natsume stealing and wearing Ayane's swimsuit. She doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Like, that seems like the kind of thing that would end a friendship. It feels like the universe is going out of its way to not treat Natsume the way his behavior would dictate society treats him.
Natsume remains unlikable. I know these are attempts to humanize him, but honestly, with how much of a prick he is, I can't bring myself to care. I just want him gone.
I don't know how the Japanese school system works, but as a teacher I know that here you can't just throw someone out of the classroom for not paying attention. Meanwhile, I think you're getting better at characterization, though I'm still confused about why Akihiro is behaving like a robot and why exactly anyone would bother tolerating Natsume's presence at all.
I know I'm supposed to feel bad for Ayane, but like... girl, how are you surprised? Akihiro hasn't exactly been the nicest person in the world to you, you should have been expecting this. I'm quite curious to find out why a Japanese national was working for NASA, though.
