this!! as readers, there will be times where we'll have difficulty understanding the situation because we're not experiencing it ourselves so we only see it as a minor issue that can be fixed easily with simple communication. we take it as tho it's a minor issue since it's so common but sometimes we aren't acknowledging the complexity of how communication with something as delicate as your personal feelings can be so the story device can seem overused and basic because of the 'simple' solution it has
YESSS YOU GET IT……… it’s SO easy as an outsider looking in as readers to dismiss these kinds of plots with “just communicate”, but it really needs to be looked at from like… that perspective Of the characters involved and how things are for them. of course the solution to the problem seems simple when you’re not facing it yourself and you’re just reading it happening, but even the simplest solutions may be a struggle to reach for those actually facing them. especially if it involves being vulnerable with someone in a way the person involved isn’t used to being.
it’s an important part of engaging with the text! facing the situation at hand and trying to understand it and why the characters are having problems communicating things out instead of dismissing it.
saying this here since it seems to be the cause of a lot of criticism regarding this story lol. certainly, it as a plot device can be hard to pull off, and it shows up very often. but it shows up so often because it’s honestly a genuinely common issue in human interaction. there’s a large difference between misunderstanding for the sake of misunderstanding for the sake of drawing a plot out unnecessarily, and misunderstanding for reason; this is very much the latter, and in this case i personally think it works.
the thing about people and feelings are that, oftentimes, they will be tumultuous, and confusing, and hard to express properly (whether with yourself or with others). readers can chant “just communicate” all they want upon stumbling into what is, to them, Just Another Misunderstanding, but communication is hard and it takes a lot of effort! it’s why misunderstandings and lack of communication exist; because clearing things up is difficult, and especially so if you’re a person who struggles understanding yourself or your situation. can it be frustrating? oh, undoubtedly. but it’s certainly very human if used appropriately, and i think it’s a little cynical as a reader to dismiss something just because it involves a lot of misunderstandings; it shows up so often as a plot device because it tends to occur so often in human interaction. even if sometimes it’s handled in a really trite, forced manner, it can be used well & i think this is one of those times because of how integral it is to the plot & how saeki and oka’s internal perspectives and individual doubts are at the forefront of each chapter.