Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai - Light Novel Discussion

[Miraluka]

Why would you use Oreimo as an indicator =_=;?

[relentlessflame]

Regardless of whether you use that story as an indicator or not, that was my first thought after reading that spoiler as well. This was originally part of the web teaser/preview for the new novel, so it'd surprise me if it gave away such a major plot twist without having more twists to come in the novel itself. It seems to me that it's the perfect opportunity for redirection/to lead people off the trail. Of course, the fact that they've since shortened the preview and redacted those pages throws it into doubt even further, but that too could be a stunt...

Spoiler for For those who want to know... leaked spoiler:

The original web preview apparently contained up to Page 22 of the novel. Kodaka asks Rika, his friend, for advice on how to deal with the big mess that happened. As the conversation shifts to the issue of Sena's confession, Rika asks him how he feels about Sena in the first place, and he says that he likes/loves her ("suki"). But that's where the preview originally cut-off.

The rest of the chapter titles seem to suggest that this probably won't be the last volume, so we'll see what happens...

[Lisemer]

A normal "last volume" of a novel uses the more important characters or maybe even all of them in the cover, but this volume's cover lacks Sena and put another girl instead, so I could say it almost obvious it's not the last one .

[frivolity]

I'll be amazed if that spoiler turns out to be true. After numerous rewrites and delays in publishing the next novel, the author has to have something incredible planned. Maybe it's all in the later sections of the book though.

[novalysis]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

Why would you use Oreimo as an indicator =_=;?

Going by Oreimo Logic

Spoiler for Obvious Spoiler for OreImo:

Wouldn't it end with Kodaka x Kobato? Pass me the brain bleach now please.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by novalysis

Going by Oreimo Logic

Spoiler for Obvious Spoiler for OreImo:

Wouldn't it end with Kodaka x Kobato? Pass me the brain bleach now please.

No, that's not the logic.

Spoiler for Logic implied by the comparison to OreImo:

If the protagonist goes out with a character that seems like the leading love interest before actually resolving things with the main/central heroine (who is also a love interest, but perhaps not as obviously), the first relationship portrayed will break-up and the protagonist will realize his true feelings for the main heroine.

In other words, if Kodaka goes out with Sena now before things get resolved with Yozora, the pattern suggests that Yozora may be the final romantic interest.

OreImo isn't by any means the first show to use this pattern. Some other memorable examples:

Spoiler for Comparisons to other anime, where the name itself spoils the ending:

• True Tears
• Canvas 2
• Kamimasi ~Girl meets girl~
• Kimikiss pure rouge

...and a whole lot of others that I'm forgetting, not to mention manga and LNs without anime.

This is why the conversation earlier in this thread about Sena's confession happening "too soon". It refers to this common rubric. Of course, this isn't a "rule", and there are plenty of exceptions as well.

[Miraluka]

Shuffle! says Hello~

[Johnny]

Damn shame since it seems Rika has been moved to the friendzone already...

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Johnny

Damn shame since it seems Rika has been moved to the friendzone already...

But moving to the "friend zone" in this story is actually pretty damn significant given the theme. I wouldn't necessarily say this is such a bad place for her to be as far as a romantic interest goes in this story (there are certainly stories where the friend who helps the protagonist out with his love problems ends up being the love interest)... but, by the same token, I have to admit that I never really considered her a major romantic interest for Kodaka either. I like her role as his first true friend in the story, and someone he can count on as an ally. That's a pretty big breakthrough in its own way.

[frivolity]

Spoiler for Comparison to OreImo:

Yea, comparing to OreImo, I view the character comparisons in terms of their relationships with Kodaka to be:

Yozora <--> Kirino (unresolved past)
Sena <--> Kuroneko (new potential love interest)
Rika <--> Ayase (physical attraction, somewhat weird interactions)
Yukimura <--> Saori (role in the story isn't primarily romantic)
Kobato and Maria <--> Kanako (way below the radar)

Edit: Woops, you're fast

[potchip]

Spoiler for Comparison to OreImo:

A more general form of the oriemo comparison is simply how stories are structured - provided it is fully written out as planned.

A simple example is in any detective story, by the middle of the book there will be someone that appear to be the prime suspect, with every anecdotal evidence points to that person. And yet typically it is not the real killer, who tends to reveal himself by about 1/4 or 1/5 towards the end of the book accompanied by plenty of dot joining and twists.

I see Sena's role as structural - she had a lot of 'inferred' relationship development whether by other characters or events - it's as if the haganai world wants Sena and Kodaka to be together. If someone takes a Kodaka centric view, they may think it is development between the main pair. However if you also include Yozora as the other main character, Sena's effect on Yozora has been more profound than her on Kodaka (who is about to overcome it with the help of another character used for progression, Rika). This is very much what Ruri's role has been like in Oriemo - she's the sounding board and affirmation of Kirino's true self. There is a difference however were inn Oriemo Ruri has decided to sacrifice herself - will Sena do the same eventally (which would be uncharacteristic of her current persona)? Don't know.

So in other words, Sena has been used as a tool to progress the story - and that story being making Yozora and Kodaka more and more cornered. Incidentally Sena's personality is perfect for this role, for the author can just about make any event possible with Sena as the catalyst.

[relentlessflame]

Just like to ask people to keep using spoiler tags for OreImo comparisons, since some people will not have read the work or watched the anime. Same would apply to comparisons to other shows -- better to not assume that everyone's seen it.

[mironicus]

Some new pictures:
http://blog.mediafactory.co.jp/mfbunkoj/?p=17346

The pictures doesn't spoil anything (fanservice).

[cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

Shuffle! says Hello~

I'd actually say a Shuffle! scenario adds support to the Sena route. Like Yozora self destructing from the relationship and Kodaka helping her and restoring their friendship. This way actually makes more sense in terms of the title of the series than Kodaka going out with Sena and then ending it to go out with Yozora.

[Miraluka]

Originally Posted by frivolity

Spoiler for Comparison to OreImo:

Yea, comparing to OreImo, I view the character comparisons in terms of their relationships with Kodaka to be:

Yozora <--> Kirino (unresolved past)
Sena <--> Kuroneko (new potential love interest)
Rika <--> Ayase (physical attraction, somewhat weird interactions)
Yukimura <--> Saori (role in the story isn't primarily romantic)
Kobato and Maria <--> Kanako (way below the radar)

Edit: Woops, you're fast

Yozora is self destructive, the other is angsty.
Sena is someone who won't give up no matter what.
Rika choose to be a friend for a greater good, the other wasn't interested in the mc until much later.
Yukimura is just an admirer.
Kobato and Maria are imoutos role, the other barely was there.

Originally Posted by mironicus

Some new pictures:
http://blog.mediafactory.co.jp/mfbunkoj/?p=17346

The pictures doesn't spoil anything (fanservice).

So, that other girl is part of the student council?

[mironicus]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

So, that other girl is part of the student council?

Yes, she is (the new girl on the front cover).

Based on Kodaka's description of all student members in the chapter "Oh Flower, Bloom in her Resilient Heart":

Student Council secretary, Karin Jinguuji (A quiet and pretty pure Japanese junior. One of the few actual Christians at our school.)—— who didn't have a very good impression of me at first, opened up to me quite a bit after we did some work together, and I've currently exchanged e-mail addresses with everyone on the Student Council.

[Guild Navigator]

Originally Posted by mironicus

Some new pictures:
http://blog.mediafactory.co.jp/mfbunkoj/?p=17346

The pictures doesn't spoil anything (fanservice).

whaaaaaa~ bald monk Rika? Are they playing some kind of games like Romancing Saga there? lol

[playmaker2k]

Originally Posted by mironicus

Some new pictures:
http://blog.mediafactory.co.jp/mfbunkoj/?p=17346

The pictures doesn't spoil anything (fanservice).

I didn't know Yukimura had it like that!

[frivolity]

Originally Posted by Wilfriback

Yozora is self destructive, the other is angsty.
Sena is someone who won't give up no matter what.
Rika choose to be a friend for a greater good, the other wasn't interested in the mc until much later.
Yukimura is just an admirer.
Kobato and Maria are imoutos role, the other barely was there.

In this case, I wasn't analysing the characters and their personalities, but the roles that they play relative to the story and other characters. Here, why and how they go about performing their roles is not as important as what their roles actually are. The events in BokuTomo will naturally differ from that of OreImo, but similarities can be observed from the way that the characters are set up and the type of events that occurred in terms of defining those roles.

Obviously I still have hope for Sena (see my sig ), but a Sena end will have to rely on the minor differences being significant enough to override the approach that is widely used in anime, manga, and light novels. Suffice it is to say that the odds are currently stacked against her.

[mironicus]

Originally Posted by frivolity

Obviously I still have hope for Sena (see my sig ), but a Sena end will have to rely on the minor differences being significant enough to override the approach that is widely used in anime, manga, and light novels

An easy solution if you feel insecure: Don't ever rely on patterns of already known light novel logic, just ignore them.