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Originally Posted by Sol Falling

That would be pretty stupid, because Zen explicitly said "it's time for me to change" and it's clear this is character development.

Anyway, as I've said frequently, there are no constants with regards to this series. Every aspect of Medaka (her box, her motivation, her being the strongest or being unable to understand other humans) has been deconstructed enough, now it is finally time to deconstruct Zenkichi's devotion to her. Let's put an end to the sickeningly cliche shounen romance between them. The infantile interdependency of Medaka and Zenkichi's relationship has been since the start one of the very worst aspects of their characters.

(You guys should realize this is only a start, right? Zen was long ago put on this path when Ajimu helped him self-realize and get over his obsession with "protecting" Medaka, this chapter does not actually represent a major development for him. However, a major aspect of Medaka's character which she has never addressed or been pushed to develop away from is her emotional dependency on Zen. This is one of the major flaws of her character -- her inability to stand up to the loneliness of the universe, the challenge of communicating with other humans, by herself. This chapter and this development is a trigger for that. What I'm saying is that what we will be getting is an arc about Medaka getting over Zen. (Though it might not be an entire arc, Nishio could probably address all the development in a single chapter if he wanted to.))

The one thing I'm sure of in regards to Medaka x Zen's relationship, is that Medaka will never stop loving Zenkichi. It's just not a possibility for her. Of course, it's also not a possibility for Zenkichi, but that's been well-stated. But, by all means, continue to think that this is going to happen, merely so that, if it did, you would be able to once again start up with the whole "Kumagawa x Medaka are obviously going to become a couple", but, as most everyone knows, none of that is going to happen. Also, if you actually read Medaka's words in this chapter as she was saying goodbye to Zenkichi, you would understand that her love for Zen is deeper than you are willing to admit. No one gets over someone they have loved since the age of two in one small arc. If it didn't happen in the first 186 chapters, it's definitely not going to happen as the manga is nearing its end.They're simply going to become better and more individualistic people, primarily Zenkichi, at which point, upon reuniting with one another, they will inevitably come closer to the marriage that has been one of the most defined foreshadowings in the entire story up to this point.

Her love for Zenkichi, though very sporadically noticeable, is one of the only elements of her characterization that actually relates her to the humanistic nature of the world. If she were to unrealistically shed that particular inclinnation, she'd only be more ridiculously alienated from actual depth.

Originally Posted by Wolfenstein

Thank you for proving my point.

Where, pray tell, does it say that he's changing himself for her sake, or to be with her in this chapter?

That's right. It dosen't. Because he's changing himself so he can be a person who isn't so dependant on his love, like Hanten. Why? Because he's having fun living his current life.

In-fact, it explicitly says he's changing himself, from someone like Hanten, who would've accepted the request because all that he wanted was to be with her, to someone who dosen't - someone who isn't satisfied anymore by just being with Medaka, and wants to live his own life instead of sacrificing what he wants to do.

Like it or not, his character just grew out of his ridiculous and overblown dependency on Medaka's love.

This lack of nuance is seriously ridiculous. It's as if people think everything Zenkichi does is for love, when that's a disservice to his character in this chapter. Sorry for being so blunt, but that's just the way it is, it's an extremely myopic view.

Since when Sol and I agree on something, that's gotta be right.

I completely agree about his disdain for ever being similar to Hanten, but that doesn't indicate that his love for Medaka has diminished at all, only that it's thankfully changed into something far more mature. He realizes that he'll only be able to grow and become someone who's life isn't solely determined by his love for Medaka with this decision to temporarily be separated from her side, but he's also obviously aware that it's not permanent, or else their conversation would have likely been considerably more dramatic.