Just because you didn't get the subtlety of it doesn't mean sensei made a mistake. I personally thought it was obvious that societal values got in the way and made Akira break up with Yuuki. The character development was subtle and realistic and beautiful. And the years that passed were enough time for us to understand the depth and strength of Akira's guilt and and regret for his mistake. Shame you couldn't see that :)
The thing here is that Itou more than being pressured by social values what he shows in ch3 is apathy, like he doesnt love Yukii anymore but then in ch4 he says to himself that he do that for Yukkis sake and to not fall inlove more, society... One thing or another, both not do. He could have been scared but how the mangaka shows it in ch3, he was fall out of love of him too.
He didn't fall out of love. Sense said that he was scared of how deep his feelings for Yuuki were on the morning of their trip to the beach. Combined with societal pressures, he "closed off his heart" to Yuuki. It has the same symptoms of falling out of love but it's much more complex than that. In reality Akira loved Yuuki more than he could bear, and that was part of the problem.
Same Anonymous as above .... yes perfectly said here! I completely agree.
Well, if you say so.. I think is free of interpretation I think, but how sensei read it and draw it doesnt convey that at all to me. They sound more like excuses that he make to himself to me or otherwise make no sense. "close my heart" or whatever more than realistic feels melodramatic. And the way he break up with him was cold, he didnt show barely emotion. But well, its my opinion.
I see your point and I totally agree it's up for interpretation. Personally I think the fact that he was cold to Yuuki during the break-up is perfectly in line with him having closed off his heart. He had to be cold and build that barrier around himself in order to leave someone he loved and tell himself it was the right thing to do. As for whether it's realistic or melodramatic, I can see your point of view. I suppose that's up to each reader to decide.
Thanks I'll be sure to check it out! Btw I really like that your approach to giving your opinion was balanced and that you said it was only your opinion. (Unlike the person who started this thread, who seems to think the mangaka is flawed without considering other interpretations first..... anyway.)
Yep. I loved how this started, and then dramatically, it got way too slapdash. There is some beautiful symbolism. And I can see the author working with the idea of terror at losing happiness (makes total sense when you have a true love, fear of them leaving or dying or whatever). And the truth is, he never gave a shit about societal rules and we are pretty much told it was more about his own fear (same as the first time he disappeared after the kiss).
He is just a coward and it's got nothing to do with normality, or he'd have had kids with the wife. He didn't. He married for years and never reproduced, so this wasn't at base about "normal." It was running away (again). And it was about Yuuki desperately waiting "on the line"--again.
A few words about "societal values" cannot make up for actual character development, Tokokura sensei. It just doesn't.
Before chapter 3 Itou didn't need anything more than the assurance of mutual affection to enter into a relationship that went against "societal values". He put his romantic life on hold for about a year, even though he wasn't confident enough to be Nishi's proper bf, because he was so in love with him. They then have a long term relationship, stable enough that they live together, go on vacations, make career decisions together...they function as a married couple in all but name.
And he gives it up for the first woman (we get to see) who confesses? *Just* like that? It doesn't make sense...I don't care how many babies giggle at him. You needed at least two chapters to show how that break down happened. It's only "realistic" if we accept the idea that Itou is a selfish asshole who prioritises his insecurities over others...and there just isn't any evidence of that all. Quite the opposite.
I mean if they'd even shown him being attracted to the woman, being really engaged by her so that we could infer that *she* had something to do with what made a "normal" relationship seem feasible.
Let's not even get into that slapdash reunion in which Nishi somehow forgives him for that years long betrayal in an instant. Realistic my ass.