2013-09-25, 23:01 | Link #9545 |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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My inherent slothfulness does not grasp your mortal sense of time. Oh all right...
Actually I'd seen some contrasting theories that made me second-think it a little but I still reckon I'm right. So the part of Ruka's doujin that obviously goes awry is the ending. It's BS. Not only is it unsatisfying, but it's completely unconnected to the plot of the story up to that point. The character goes from trying to prove herself as a writer to "screw it, Got a man, I'm good!" in less then a page. There's a lot of obvious parallels with Ruka's own situation here. To save myself a lot of typing, she is, in fact, trying to skip straight to her own happy ending and isn't afraid to force the issue. She doesn't just want Hayate, she needs him, as she just told Nagi like two chapters ago. She went from writing a bucket list with "boyfriend" at the top to noticing Hayate was pretty hawt to hitting on him to, well, escalating every time she got turned down. She worked herself up to a marriage promise within a matter of days, in no small part because she was increasingly frustrated with his obvious lack of interest. It's a one sided relationship and Ruka isn't oblivious enough to not see it, she's just lying to herself. So that's the big lie, I think, but it's still a bit more nuanced then all that. Like the writer in her story, there's no clear path from point A to point B. The reincarnated writer is mad at these new-fangled light novels and determined to prove herself, but why? How? What does she actually want to do with her new life, and what kind of books is she going to write? Basically, Ruka needs to deal with her own problems and decide what really makes her happy before she's ready for a relationship. She still does have the debt dragging her down, and that will have to be removed somehow before she's really free to do what she wants. I've seen some people suggest that the big lie is that Ruka really really loves singing more then manga but ehhhhh I don't see it. Certainly she doesn't hate singing other than that big black ball of bitterness she's currently directing at her parents but there's been no real hints or build up in that direction in the manga, and her doujin doesn't seem to lean that way either. Ruka is explicitly presented at being talented enough in both paths that she could make a career at either if she chose to do so. In the end, she probably will give up on Hayate, at least in the "gotta make him marry me" sense and go back to being an idol but I don't think it will be as simple as losing a contest or suddenly realizing she likes music more then manga. She'll have to deal with her inner turmoil one way or another and then she'll be able to make clear decisions. ...Or she'll fall into such depression that she'll end up using a stone and fleeing to the RG but we'll just consider that a highly probable detour in getting her life sorted out. On an different note, I really like the reveal that Kayura is secretly Ruka's biggest fan from way before it was cool. It explains a number of things in both the manga and the anime and makes their future interactions more interesting. Last edited by madmac; 2013-09-26 at 07:09. |
2013-09-26, 08:23 | Link #9547 | |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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Besides, given how much Ruka is like Hayate and how much he refuses to let anyone else pay his debt I don't think she'd accept anyone just handing her a pile of money. |
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2013-09-26, 08:32 | Link #9548 |
dat apple
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: I'm aliens
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Well, maybe not handing her a pile of money, but transferring the debt so she works for Kayura/the Kayura family rather than the idol people. But you're right, she probably doesn't have the money for that.
Incidentally, Ruka realising she doesn't want Hayate leaves the possibility of her winning the competition without breaking status quo, since she could just concede the prize. And with her latest burst of inspiration and Nagi's cold, that might actually happen. Well, at least it wasn't for lack of trying on Nagi's part.
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2013-09-26, 09:10 | Link #9550 | |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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Besides, at this point I'd say Nagi needs a win for her own credibility/capping her character development over the summer more than Ruka needs to win so Hata can do a minor fake-out. I don't think the arc ends on the competition anyways. Either Nagi will win and Ruka will do something unfortunate or vise versa. He's been teasing the supernatural side of this since the first Convention that introduced Ruka, he's got to work it in somehow. |
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2013-09-27, 12:49 | Link #9552 | |||||
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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I had been thinking that a Nagi win would be the obvious route since CTMYOY showed that Hayate was still with Nagi, but the two were still friends with Ruka, who'd remained an idol. But, developing Nagi's character, which has been making progress of late, would be a good reason to have Nagi actually win. Quote:
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2013-09-27, 14:24 | Link #9553 |
dat apple
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: I'm aliens
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I can see Ruka coming back to idoling someday, but I think right now what she needs is to step away from it and what her parents left her with and just get herself sorted out.
I also find myself wondering how Hayate would react if he actually ended up forced to marry Ruka... he's shown that he'd prefer it if Nagi won, but other than that we haven't really gotten his thoughts on the matter. Though I can't see how that would actually happen at that point if we're right about how Ruka's lying to herself.
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2013-09-27, 15:00 | Link #9554 | ||
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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2013-09-27, 18:24 | Link #9555 |
dat apple
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: I'm aliens
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Only because she still has to cover her huge debt. She's made it clear she wants out, but that she can't because of the debt. Unless that scene where she breaks down in front of Hayate was supposed to be the lie, but I don't really see it going that way.
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2013-09-28, 23:10 | Link #9556 | |
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Join Date: Apr 2004
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Spoiler for for those who've not seen CTMEOY anime:
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2013-09-29, 09:57 | Link #9557 |
dat apple
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: I'm aliens
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I have indeed watched CTMEOY. Ruka's role there mostly consisted of whatever the hell she was doing as a pseudo-narrator. I'm not sure that can really be taken at face value. Though I can see your point.
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2013-09-29, 10:39 | Link #9558 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
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New chapter is up. Nagi is...man. There was less tension in the chapter where she ended up collapsed in an empty parking lot. Ruka's not the only one in turmoil right now, certainly.
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I feel dumb for not realizing earlier how much Radical Dreamers is the root of Nagi's trust in Hayate. I blame reading those chapters wildly out of order the first time. (That's the ticket...) It was shortly afterwards that she was able to start shedding her tsundere side and break the stone, and it's still the thing she comes back to mentally to reassure herself. Although there are apparently, limits. Really looking forward to the next chapter, and not just for color pages. Oh, and even though I gripe about Maria's lack of attention in recent years, the more explicit framing her as basically being Nagi's mom is the sweetest thing and I never get tired of it. Last edited by madmac; 2013-09-29 at 11:02. |
2013-09-29, 11:19 | Link #9560 | |
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Join Date: Apr 2010
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(You know, I just realized, Hata wrote the lyrics to this song. I'd completely forgotten him mentioning it before Season 3 came out.) Spoiler:
(Yeah, still no clue on the apple thing.) |
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comedy, shounen |
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