[frubam]

OMFG!! These chapters are INSANE!! I could def let my excitement carry me all the way and finish all the chapters in one day, but then I'd couldn't properly digest the events. I'm having fun just trying to piece the current situation together. Not to mention, I will no longer having anything further to read, so I'm gonna make this last as long as I can(which won't be long ). Where to begin?

Spoiler for up to end 48:

The meeting with Esemori, aka Nozoe(going with this; easier on the tongue). Well it was an interesting conversation. Probably the most tame part of these batch of chapters. We find out that the man that abused Rei wasn't his actual father. Wow. Thats some revelation. Combine that with the fact that Nagi said that Rei looked(reminded?) her of Nozoe, and its clear where that declaration is heading. Either Nozoe WAS the man in the flashback, OR, it was implying Nozoe was the father(least to me). I believe it to be the latter. I knew Nozoe and Yuko had more of a relationship, the way Yuko warned Rei that Nozoe was "dangerous" and in a later chapter laughed about Nozoe committing suicide. Never knew their connection was that deep though. But it would make Nozoe's interest in Rei make all the more sense.

Chako got totally destroyed by Ms. Shiba. Not only losing her chance at a recommendation to go to university; losing her phone, and being forbidden to see Rei. Just complete devastation. I felt her reactions had a strong sense of realism. The way she cried, both at the school office and at home; it felt really relatable. It was def heartbreaking, for sure, but artistically, I was super impressed how the situation was presented. Not over-the-top or "anime-like" at all. You can see that moment, where the fear strikes you so hard, you curl up and start sobbing and apologizing. And that moment at home, when her father handed down the death sentence; last time we saw him, he was all smiles and happily bragging about his daughter. Now we see his other side. Demands absolute obedience from his daughter and wife. Hits wife. That's as real as you can get. Hit me harder than I realized. At least at the end of the chapters I read, she's set to run away with Rei. As touching as that was, I'm worried that Rei's declaration to want to die with Nagi makes me think even after they do get away, its going to go downhill, at least for Chako (;_; ). I mean I hope not, but man, I'm not left with much hope.

Miss Shiba though... wow, I'm actually kinda torn about her. When she completely f**ked Chako over, my jaw hit the floor. That was some S-grade f**kery she did. It was an amazing reverse-Uno after the date > car ride incident, but then a couple of chapter later, you see her playing pong and being mentally anguished knowing she'll be hated. The smile while crying kinda hit me in a way I didn't expect, and that quickly reminded me that in some way, she is also a victim. It looks like she is going ALL out to push everything away in Rei's life, even bribing Yuko to give up her son. Damn those were some scary looks they were giving each other in that car. Still, its hard to believe that she's doing all of this with the ending intention of just leaving after he's graduated and went to college. I think in the deepest heart of her mind, she thinks that Rei will return to her or something after 'all she's done for him'. Or maybe she believes he'll rely on her once all of the other 'obstacles' in his life are gone. She's so far past the line, she doesn't know how to stop. And unfortunately, it seems like Yuko is going to get Gen to teach her one terrifying lesson. I dunno if the cut-in to that bulldozer in chapter 46 or so was a hint at what happened to "Rei's dad" or something, but it was sure ominous as f**k. Not sure if I want to see Ms. Shiba die some kind of horrible death.

But speaking of Yuko... OOOOOH BOI, that was some CRAZY freakin' twist right there (O.O )! I mean, the signs where here-and-there, but nothing concrete, because most of the time, she was in front of Rei. But when she called Gen to that room, that whole chapter blew my gotdamn mind! To think that she was manipulating not only Gen, but his dad, and maybe even Rei to some extent. Seeing Gen's eyes cower in fear shows just how scary Yuko can be. Can't believe the author could make even Gen look like just another victim. Even more scary that she AND Gen was EXTRA pissed at the notion of Ms. Shiba trying to buy Rei from her. She was easily able to pick up that Ms. Shiba gave the key to her apartment to Rei after that teacher's meeting they had, and even did and put away Rei's laundry to cover up her snooping and retrieving it(figured that out after reading it the 3rd time round). Its clear she loves Rei to some insane extent; I dont' even have the vocabulary to put it into words how much. I mean, you could gather that maybe from her dedicating herself to be Gen's dad's sex slave, but she's gone to think so far ahead as to make sure Rei was raised so wouldn't even think of suicide, and will stay shackled to her and the town. Maybe to do the lover's suicide like when she was young? Nah, maybe that was just some manipulation tactic to ensure he wouldn't leave her.

Either way, it looks like Nagi really was the catalyst to everything that's happened. If Nozoe brought her just so he could interfere in Yuko's plans to shackle Rei, that would be some next-level 4D chess right there. Its a lot of writing on the wall, and with it, a lot of clues, but I cannot yet draw any end conclusions from it. Next chapter looks like it'll delve into Nozoe's and Yuko's past. Curious to know what events brought those two together, and also broke them apart.

Edit: Going back to beginning chapters, I can see a lot of change between then and now(now = chp 48).

Spoiler for :

Like the foremost thing is Reiji's mentality. Yuko was right when she said she "raised a good boy that would never think of suicide." Even though he was suffering so much, and you could see it in moments here and there throughout the beginning chapters, its like he didn't have a single defiant bone in his body. He took everything with a smile, not because of fear or retaliation, but just because he wanted to satisfy and support the people around him, at his own expense. Yuko is such an manipulative woman; she says "I wish I had it easier..." not to Reiji directly, but knowing her personality from the later chapters, I think she says this to cement his mind into going into the workforce right after high school. This is even though he has no desire to be around Gen, nor to do that type of work.