Hitman (Seou Kouji)

[DragonOsman]

Do we have to think of it as NTR this soon? The mentor might make the MC good enough to make the manga a hit on his own. I think he noticed the sort of "natural talent" he has, and now he'll try to get him to acquire the one he has himself.

[MAX_COLA_POWER!]

I'm just gonna wait until the end of the series when Seo decides to make special chapters featuring the MC getting it on with every hot chick he met in the story. Sidebar Fuuka's being translated and it's on chapter 5, Sara and the sensei have been my favorites so far.

[germanturkey]

yooooo. why did i not know about this?! time to get back on Seo's crazy ride.

there are actual fuuka extra chapters? i almost lost hope for those..

[Tenzen12]

Originally Posted by DragonOsman

Do we have to think of it as NTR this soon? The mentor might make the MC good enough to make the manga a hit on his own. I think he noticed the sort of "natural talent" he has, and now he'll try to get him to acquire the one he has himself.

Of course we don't have to, it's completely voluntary

[MK-95-]

Heroine: "What are your favourite movies?"

MC: "I can't really name anything specific, but I don't like the kind with happy endings, where the hero gets fame, money, glory and the girl. In the end, I think stories where you have to lose something to gain something tug at the heartstrings more."

Oh boy, the first sign that things are gonna south sooner or later. Oh well, at the very least, I don't think it'll reach Fuuka levels of depressing.

[DragonOsman]

I also hope it won't be a tragic ending. It'd be great if Kenzaki and the heroine hooked up, although it's a forbidden love (I think they can make it work, actually, such that their manga won't get ruined because of their relationship).

[MK-95-]

Just finished reading chapter 16. Tsubasa just can't catch a damn break can she? I understand that the MC/FMC should have to face and overcome challenges to make the story interesting, but this is getting a little ridiculous now. It's starting to feel like every time they take a step forward, they take two steps back.

[Diluc]

Originally Posted by MK-95-

Just finished reading chapter 16. Tsubasa just can't catch a damn break can she? I understand that the MC/FMC should have to face and overcome challenges to make the story interesting, but this is getting a little ridiculous now. It's starting to feel like every time they take a step forward, they take two steps back.

But the new editor in chief do has a point though, there are many romcom genre in the magazine, i also thought for that issue when Tsubasa get serialized.
I have theory Seo might trying to experiment for other genre from this direction, since he is known for the best for romcom and drama author, well i can't imagine Seo do battle genre although he could do that from early chapter, maybe he changed his mind on midway Seo known to be spontaneous guy when he have an idea which is why Truck-kun happened in Fuuka.

[MK-95-]

^That's fine and all, but it gets annoying seeing them get the rug pulled out from under them every time things finally seem to be going their way.

Logically speaking, I understand why the new editor in chief would prioritize the other author over Tsubasa, but she's been screwed over so many times at this point that even tho there's a good reason for it, you'd still feel cheated to see her get screwed over again.

In this case, my problem isn't about why she was screwed over, but the number of times she's been screwed over.

[DragonOsman]

I agree here. It's getting ridiculous and annoying at this point with how they keep getting the rug pulled out from under them, and I can also see some romcom drama incoming involving the new girl and Tsubasa. Love triangle shenanigans coming? I'm dreading that too.

And I hope Kenzaki isn't being dense with Tsubasa. It sometimes seems like he is. I think she's falling for or has fallen for him, and if I'm right but he hasn't noticed, then that really sucks. I know it's forbidden love for them, but it's a Shounen manga so it'll work out somehow.

[MK-95-]

It doesn't help that the new editor in chief is a dick for the sake of being a dick. The development doesn't feel natural and doesn't try to hide how forced and abrupt it actually is. Seo straight up added more drama just because he can, but didn't take into account whether it'd be appropriate or not.

I'll continue reading for now, but if future events continue to develop in a similar manner, I may end up dropping this.

[MK-95-]

That declaration of war tho... Forced romantic development incoming. Then again, why'd I expect any solid romantic developments from Seo of all people?

[DragonOsman]

Eh, if there's any romantic development at all between Tsubasa and Kenzaki then I'm all for it. I just hope Tsubasa finds out that it's forbidden love first, though (and also the reason for it being that way--that thing that the previous chief editor told Kenzaki about an editor and an author having a romantic relationship).

[MK-95-]

Originally Posted by MK-95-

That declaration of war tho... Forced romantic development incoming. Then again, why'd I expect any solid romantic developments from Seo of all people?

Chapter 24 pretty much reinforces this statement perfectly. No real buildup to his relationship with either girl, yet both are already interested in him... At least give me a reason to feel any kind of attachment to the girls before you step into romcom territory. As things are right now, I cringe a wee bit when I see them being all clingy/pushy like that.

I'm dangerously close to dropping this. I'll at least finish this arc before deciding if to drop it or not.

[DragonOsman]

What about the hotspring chapter and some of the stuff before and after it? When Kenzaki's parents thought that he and Tsubasa were a couple while they were at the hotspring at his family home, she didn't hate it and actually welcomed the idea. Her reaction actually made me think she already loved him. I think there a few things already there that may been leading up to it. And the other girls always clingy and friendly with him.

[MK-95-]

The thing with the hot springs chapter is that it was mostly one-sided on Tsubasa's end. Sure she made him have a doki doki moment or two, but I won't exactly consider those as good buildup. I'd consider it more in the realm of a tease. Also, his parents "approving" of her despite not knowing what level their relationship is at, was played for laughs more than anything else. So I won't consider that a good indicator either.

Good buildup is what I'd consider as them overcoming a massive hurdle together and growing closer as a result of overcoming said hurdle or someone helping the other in a time of need (ideally when they're dealing with some type of emotional distress).

All of the above that I just described has happened to some extent already, but it was never presented in a context where it "felt" as important or significant as it should be. It was always just kinda there and that's the problem. Even though he's helped her overcome a few problems already, it was always done in a way that it really doesn't justify why her feelings for him are developing so quickly like this.

Basically, Tsubasa's interest in him stems mostly from him telling her that her manga was "interesting". Does simply telling a girl something she does is "interesting" warrant that she easily develops such a strong romantic attachment to you? Feels pretty shallow if you ask me.

With Shimakaze, she likes him for pretty much the same reason and he hasn't even done anything specifically to help her like he's done for Tsubasa. So, her feelings are even more shallow than Tsubasa's...

Tl;Dr, the payoff doesn't feel satisfactory because there isn't much invested into it to begin with. Hence why I said "At least give me a reason to feel any kind of attachment to the girls before you step into romcom territory" in my previous post. That's how I feel about it anyway.

[DragonOsman]

Even if the hot spring scene thing was one-sided on Tsubasa's part, that's exactly what I was referring to because I wanted to point out that she was already in love with him back then. But yeah, the reason for it is shallow. I do hope there was something more. But either way, I do still hope he ends up with Tsubasa. Especially in favor of Shimakaze, but also because I just like Tsubasa more.

[MK-95-]

Shimakaze just gave the most meta overview ever with regard to this story's expected length and the character relationships.

I haven't seen fourth wall breaking outside of American comics in quite awhile. Then again, I don't really read gag manga to begin with.

She acknowledged Kenzaki and Tsubasa are the MC and heroine. She knows that she's a secondary heroine and she estimated the manga's serialization to run for around 18 volumes. It'd be pretty funny if the manga really does adhere to these predictions. lol

I enjoyed this chapter the most so far solely because of how outlandish it is in comparison to the other chapters.

[WingedAccelerator]

Supposedly Truck-Kun striked again.

[DragonOsman]

Nobody got hit by Truck-kun in Chapter 76 IIRC. Are you talking about Chapter 77? Are the spoilers already out?