Shounen no Abyss

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Spoiler for 114:

It's probably something I forgot, but how does Chako have Nagi's number? And geez, she is really obsessed.

Spoiler for 114:

My guess was that she got it after Esemori got sick and threw up on her, during the Reiji-Yuko confrontation. She gave Nagi a call to come check on him or something. I'm not sure exactly how she got it, but it's the only time I can think of off the top of my head where she would have access to it on her phone.

Looks like Esemori directly pointed Reiji out to Nagi. Actually thought that their meeting was chance, Even if Esemori told her to work at the mart that Reiji frequented, I would have not guessed he would have manipulated the situation to that degree.

But yeah, the "60% jealousy" is coming out in full force now. It didn't even matter that Nagi said that Rei was concerned and looking for her, Chako immediately seethed at the very notion that he went to see her(from Chako's perspective, ofc; we know they met coincidentally) instead. And Nagi looking more and more sympathetic, knowing she was more like Reiji than she let on. A shame really about Chako; I still feel she can be saved, but the shift toward learning and saving Nagi seems like the real endgame. I suppose I was clinging on the concept of Chako being Rei's light vs Nagi being Rei's angel of death and which one would come out on top, but seems like that is no longer a possibility.

Not sure what Ms. Shiba role at the end was. Gues we'll see next chapter.

.

[frubam]

Spoiler for 115:

Well, this chapter we get a glimpse of the moment that Kazu talks about a few chapters ago where Yuko spills the beans that Reiji is not Kazu's dad's biological son. Very interesting.

I was really impressed with young Kazu. I knew he wasn't always a shut-in, and that he was great academically, but seeing a more assertive, ambitious side to him wasn't something I expected. The way he pushed back Yuko so that Reiji can study was actually pretty amazing. I can't quite grasp what exactly he was aiming for by making Reiji follow in his footsteps and leave for Tokyo, since he said he didn't do it for him. My only guess was that he wanted a life he has now; living off of someone else, but that wouldn't make sense given his ambition.

He very well may have been the catalyst that got his father killed. I was under the impression that his dad's changing behavior happened over a span of years, but his dad went from loving father to evil, wife-beating man to dead in less than a year. Yuko must've really hit him hard with that revelation. All of this happening because of Kazu's scheme to take Reiji away from Yuko. Man that is something =0o....

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by frubam

Spoiler for 115:

Well, this chapter we get a glimpse of the moment that Kazu talks about a few chapters ago where Yuko spills the beans that Reiji is not Kazu's dad's biological son. Very interesting.

I was really impressed with young Kazu. I knew he wasn't always a shut-in, and that he was great academically, but seeing a more assertive, ambitious side to him wasn't something I expected. The way he pushed back Yuko so that Reiji can study was actually pretty amazing. I can't quite grasp what exactly he was aiming for by making Reiji follow in his footsteps and leave for Tokyo, since he said he didn't do it for him. My only guess was that he wanted a life he has now; living off of someone else, but that wouldn't make sense given his ambition.

He very well may have been the catalyst that got his father killed. I was under the impression that his dad's changing behavior happened over a span of years, but his dad went from loving father to evil, wife-beating man to dead in less than a year. Yuko must've really hit him hard with that revelation. All of this happening because of Kazu's scheme to take Reiji away from Yuko. Man that is something =0o....

Him standing up to Yuko back then isn't that special since she was playing the role of loving mother. It didn't take long for Yuko to strike back and strike back hard. The way she revealed to him she isn't his mother and that he has no blood relation with Reiji whatsoever was brutal.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Him standing up to Yuko back then isn't that special since she was playing the role of loving mother. It didn't take long for Yuko to strike back and strike back hard.

Ah yeah, you're right. After that altercation he just gave up teaching Reiji... oh well, least he seemed kinda cool for the moment .

[Kanon]

Spoiler for 117:

Yuri has been doing a good job until now. She was able to do what she failed with Reiji and free Kazu. She's also actively trying to look out for Chako. Feels like her character really has turned around since the days she was acting yandere.

The jig is up though. Yuko knows.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Spoiler for 117:

Yuri has been doing a good job until now. She was able to do what she failed with Reiji and free Kazu. She's also actively trying to look out for Chako. Feels like her character really has turned around since the days she was acting yandere.

The jig is up though. Yuko knows.

I am surprised that Ms. Shiba's really turned around; I thought for sure she'd turn into Yuko's puppet one more good time until Reiji came back. Can't believe she saved Kazu too. I feel its different from what she wanted with Reiji initially, since that just seemed like a pretense to shackle him to her, but with Kazu, it seemed much more sincere.

Yuko is not gonna like that one bit. But I'm most curious at what Yuko can do at this point; all of her pawns are gone. Kazu, Gen's father, Gen, Yuri.... she has no one. Even if she wanted to get rid of Ms. Shiba, even without considering Yuko never gets her hands dirty, or, her physical condition after the accident, she would have no way of dealing with her. So I'm curious what Yuko's next move will be. Maybe go to Tokyo?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by frubam

I am surprised that Ms. Shiba's really turned around; I thought for sure she'd turn into Yuko's puppet one more good time until Reiji came back. Can't believe she saved Kazu too. I feel its different from what she wanted with Reiji initially, since that just seemed like a pretense to shackle him to her, but with Kazu, it seemed much more sincere.

Yuko is not gonna like that one bit. But I'm most curious at what Yuko can do at this point; all of her pawns are gone. Kazu, Gen's father, Gen, Yuri.... she has no one. Even if she wanted to get rid of Ms. Shiba, even without considering Yuko never gets her hands dirty, or, her physical condition after the accident, she would have no way of dealing with her. So I'm curious what Yuko's next move will be. Maybe go to Tokyo?

I don't know what she can do either, but I'm sure she'll find a way.

[frubam]

The looks in this chapter....

Spoiler for 118:

That.... was a rather intense confrontation between Yuki and Yuko. Def had that look when Yuko closed the door, but thinking about it now, there's no way she would stab her or anything. Yuko taking the Yuko approach and using her mind games to get an upper hand is the par of course. There might have been some truth to Yuko's story, but some parts of it was bullshit. Certainly the Makoto selling tapes; I doubt that actually happened. The fact that she said Uryu beat her is bs too, most likely. She was looking at the Nozoe book, so it might have actually been just the book's story she was telling.

Yuko also keen on mentioning Reiji's father. I like the point she made about Nagi; Yuki doing as much as possible to prevent Reiji from coming back, but forgot about Nagi who's in Tokyo. Yuki doesn't know how much Reiji has progressed from that, so it was a clever way to try to invalidate Yuki's actions to make her rethink her objectives.

And Chako taking her hate to new levels; looks like she's going to ruin Nozoe's career by leaking that photo(at least that's what it implied to me). I'm not sure how that'll affect Nagi, since I don't think her relationship with Nozoe is public knowledge(unless she's gonna reveal everything to a tabloid). I'm kinda sad her despair and hate made her vengeful to this extent.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by frubam

The looks in this chapter....

Spoiler for 118:

That.... was a rather intense confrontation between Yuki and Yuko. Def had that look when Yuko closed the door, but thinking about it now, there's no way she would stab her or anything. Yuko taking the Yuko approach and using her mind games to get an upper hand is the par of course. There might have been some truth to Yuko's story, but some parts of it was bullshit. Certainly the Makoto selling tapes; I doubt that actually happened. The fact that she said Uryu beat her is bs too, most likely. She was looking at the Nozoe book, so it might have actually been just the book's story she was telling.

Yuko also keen on mentioning Reiji's father. I like the point she made about Nagi; Yuki doing as much as possible to prevent Reiji from coming back, but forgot about Nagi who's in Tokyo. Yuki doesn't know how much Reiji has progressed from that, so it was a clever way to try to invalidate Yuki's actions to make her rethink her objectives.

And Chako taking her hate to new levels; looks like she's going to ruin Nozoe's career by leaking that photo(at least that's what it implied to me). I'm not sure how that'll affect Nagi, since I don't think her relationship with Nozoe is public knowledge(unless she's gonna reveal everything to a tabloid). I'm kinda sad her despair and hate made her vengeful to this extent.

Spoiler for 118:

All she did was use that silver tongue of hers, as usual. Don't know if it'll be enough to sway Yuri.

Is the tapes story really bullshit though? We were wondering how she managed to convince Gen's father to kill himself and that works nicely. Obviously she had no intention of dying with him and she made everything sound worse than it was for her though. It wouldn't be surprising at all if she made it so Uryu would discover the tape on purpose.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Spoiler for 118:

All she did was use that silver tongue of hers, as usual. Don't know if it'll be enough to sway Yuri.

Still, I'm impressed at her ability to manipulate the scenario with truths and prob half-lies, considering how much she was sabotaged in a single night. As far as swaying goes, its a definite coin-flip for me. I mean, if nothing else, the drama must go on.

Spoiler:

Is the tapes story really bullshit though? We were wondering how she managed to convince Gen's father to kill himself and that works nicely. Obviously she had no intention of dying with him and she made everything sound worse than it was for her though. It wouldn't be surprising at all if she made it so Uryu would discover the tape on purpose.

I had forgotten about that aspect, as I thought him killing himself had to do with Gen's killing of Masaharu, and that's what "my sins" refers to(though I still have no idea how this would exonerate Gen from what he did to his gf). I guess I can't say with such certainty that the tapes are a lie. It does coincide with how Uryu supposedly sent a guy to the hospital at least, and a Yuko tape would make the most sense why he would beat a guy to such an extent.

[Kanon]

Spoiler for 119:

Yuko is just too strong. All of Yuri's resolve, gone after just a few words. She's like an evil Naruto.

She seems to genuinely believe Esemori is Reiji's father. Either she's delusional or he lied. Or maybe he doesn't actually know? I'm not sure how that would work though, but leave it to Yuko to find a way to get pregnant with his child without him knowing.

Chako to me is in some way worse than Yuko. She isn't even evil and she never had to endure a 10th of the shit Yuko did, she's just butthurt because she can't compete with Nagi. Everything she does is out of pure spite.

[frubam]

Spoiler for 119:

HAHA! YO that is TOO funny! Evil Talk-no-jutsu !

Aww man, that was a gutbuster. Anyway like you said she is just too damn good. I'm not surprised by the "Nagi in Tokyo" perspective, but I would have never guessed she could weave a story so naturally to completely negate Yuri's objective and motivations. And even though there are some definite bs statements there, it sounded so damn authentic; its easy to see why she is believed. I am just amazed every time how she does this.

That does make me wonder if she had truly given up on Reiji. Or was she still harboring some kind of hope that they could be together? Her initial objective was to destroy everything so that he'd have nothing to return to(or be shackled with), however she'd still be there, so the possibility to be his one and only anchor still existed(assuming he'd bite, ofc).

I think Yuko knows Esemori isn't the dad. Sounds like bs she said to get Yuri on board with helping her get Reiji back. The evidence is overwhelming; there's just no way that could be true. If she wasn't shackled to the town, then maybe I could believe she went to Tokyo and hid her identity while having a one night stand with him drunk or something, but until proof shows otherwise, I'll say its unlikely at this point.

Poor Chako =0(. Hope she gets a good ending. Yeah, my liking of her still carries on, even if most think she doesn't deserve it. Guess I'm just a simp =0v.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by frubam

Spoiler for 119:

HAHA! YO that is TOO funny! Evil Talk-no-jutsu !

Aww man, that was a gutbuster. Anyway like you said she is just too damn good. I'm not surprised by the "Nagi in Tokyo" perspective, but I would have never guessed she could weave a story so naturally to completely negate Yuri's objective and motivations. And even though there are some definite bs statements there, it sounded so damn authentic; its easy to see why she is believed. I am just amazed every time how she does this.

That does make me wonder if she had truly given up on Reiji. Or was she still harboring some kind of hope that they could be together? Her initial objective was to destroy everything so that he'd have nothing to return to(or be shackled with), however she'd still be there, so the possibility to be his one and only anchor still existed(assuming he'd bite, ofc).

I think Yuko knows Esemori isn't the dad. Sounds like bs she said to get Yuri on board with helping her get Reiji back. The evidence is overwhelming; there's just no way that could be true. If she wasn't shackled to the town, then maybe I could believe she went to Tokyo and hid her identity while having a one night stand with him drunk or something, but until proof shows otherwise, I'll say its unlikely at this point.

Poor Chako =0(. Hope she gets a good ending. Yeah, my liking of her still carries on, even if most think she doesn't deserve it. Guess I'm just a simp =0v.

I think what really got to Yuri is the whole suicide angle. In a series where almost everyone wants to kill themselves, she has always been very anti-suicide. Of course there's also jealousy involved because she never managed to make Reiji forget about Nagi.

Nagi basically makes all the girls seethe. She's the only one who can defeat Yuko because she has no insecurities to exploit. If Yuko's an abyss, Nagi is a void.

[frubam]

A lot of moving parts this chapter.

Spoiler for 120:

Chako passing out was true. I had read elsewhere that the sound effect at the end of last chapter was a "thud", so I wasn't surprised at the outcome as I would have been. Still, her falling into a coma is certainly unexpected. I was actually surprised at Reiji's reaction when he got the Chako/Esemori photo; gives me the impression that he really does still care about her.

Speaking of Reiji, he's really starting to mature during this ordeal. He says he's planning to confront Yuko, which is probably going to be the biggest climax of this story. And after telling Nagi he wants to ask the question he always wanted to know(why does she want to die) after seeing Yuko, I think he's ready. Definitely setting her(and maybe Chako) up for the endgame.

I'm impressed how the author made us think that Yuko had Yuri in the palm of her hand last chapter, but then this chapter she quickly realizes that Nagi's presence doesn't negate Yuko's, and that she's still a heavy weight that'll shackle Reiji. Still, Yuri thinking she's the only one who can save him is... like she's gaslighting herself. Reiji is growing through this experience to the point that her interference doesn't feel necessary, but we'll see.

The part with Chako's mom was... pathetic. But she was definitely used as a tool(by the author) to get Yuri to sprint out of there, but her blaming others for the situations happening around her is in line with how she's behaved thus far.

Small note: I really liked the contrast between Yuri's and Yuko's eyes; almost like Sensei's has a sort of innocence to her, while Yuko's is more.... desolate.

[Kanon]

Yuko's face when she heard the doorbell and thought it was Reiji coming back... she really does love him, in her own twisted way.

She want way too far suggesting Yuri should have a child with Reiji to replace Kazu, that was the exact moment Yuri told herself "this bitch is fucking crazy". Curious what the story has in store for Yuri, feels like she hasn't really gone off the deep end.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Yuko's face when she heard the doorbell and thought it was Reiji coming back... she really does love him, in her own twisted way.

Yeah, you can see that in the flashback where the unknown man takes Kazu and Reiji to the beach. There was a desperation in her eyes and actions that I feel was very authentic. She really wants him to be by her side, but still, the big "why" is, her thought process on making Reiji be the one, over everyone else.

She want way too far suggesting Yuri should have a child with Reiji to replace Kazu, that was the exact moment Yuri told herself "this bitch is fucking crazy". Curious what the story has in store for Yuri, feels like she hasn't really gone off the deep end.

I don't think it was so much as Sensei being asked to bear his child as much as it was for Yuko discarding Kazu so easily. Her anger felt more about not understanding why she is so attached to having people in the house over loving them.

Side note I missed in hindsight; "Filling the gap" as she says is quite a telling phrase to me. I wonder does this hold a clue to how Yuko thinks.

[Kanon]

This was a BIG ONE.

Spoiler for 121:

We FINALLY got a chapter 100% from Yuko's POV. She tried to leave with her brother long before she met Esemori, but he basically told her to suck it up and she was shackled by her great-grandmother's words. Because this is where her obsession with staying in the town comes from: she was brainwashed by her great-grandmother.

We also see the time the brother came back and took Reiji to the beach, funny timing giving you mentioned that last week. Guess that's pretty much it for her brother.

While it didn't cover the events I really wanted to see, this chapter still shed some light into how she became the way she is. Attachment to the town because of her great-grandmother and abandonment issues because of her brother.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by Kanon

This was a BIG ONE.

Spoiler for 121:

We FINALLY got a chapter 100% from Yuko's POV. She tried to leave with her brother long before she met Esemori, but he basically told her to suck it up and she was shackled by her great-grandmother's words. Because this is where her obsession with staying in the town comes from: she was brainwashed by her great-grandmother.

We also see the time the brother came back and took Reiji to the beach, funny timing giving you mentioned that last week. Guess that's pretty much it for her brother.

While it didn't cover the events I really wanted to see, this chapter still shed some light into how she became the way she is. Attachment to the town because of her great-grandmother and abandonment issues because of her brother.

Yeah, this opened the door into Yuko's psyche. I didn't think it'd be possible, and maybe I'm just a sucker, but I actually felt sorry for her. It felt like she's had the short end of the stick even before her brother left(which seemed to be before Akira came to town). I mean, sure, it doesn't justify all of the s*** she's pulled, especially making Gen into a murderer, but at least her actions make some kind of sense, given her past. The empathy came full force when Reiji came back from the beach and gave her that hug; hard to think of her as anything but a loving mother(well, until the next panel ofc ).

The only thing that doesn't quite line up for me is that she attributed leaving the town as this forbidden thing that will guarantee you'll be unhappy, but her brother seems like he's had a decent life.

What events you are referring to? The past arc PoV from Yuko's perspective?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by frubam

What events you are referring to? The past arc PoV from Yuko's perspective?

Yep, basically all of Esemori's flashback from her POV. I want to know how she felt having to prostitute herself, why she looked so happy to see Akira after doing the old man, how she most likely manipulated Uryu into killing for her and then killing himself, etc...

Ch 121 showed us a key moment that shaped her but it's not enough to explain her turning into a full blown sociopath.

[Kanon]

Classic Yuko in chapter 122.