That was very detailed and amazing. Thanks for basically giving a summary of those chapters and everything~! I can totally see where you are coming from and agree with what you think/feel~!!
Thank you for your detailed summary. I, found out about the 4th story, read it, Had my hopes up for senpai, and was disappointed. But after reading your summary, I feel better about it. It can work out, hopefully it just wasn't be as twisted as it was before.
Thanks a lot for the summary!! Do you know Japanese? Or did you read the Chinese raws?
If you know Japanese, can you please write a few words about the new extra, too? >> https://twitter.com/kthy_o/status/946729173250228224
The bigger picture is here >> http://pic.mangago.zone/r/post/67/raw_121468_dc5a58baa4096116a73df33746e4322d.jpg
Unfortunately I read it in Chinese, not Japanese. But if I ever find the Chinese raws, I'll summarize it for sure!
Thanks! And you're very welcome. Glad someone liked my opinion :)
You are very welcome~!! I hope to see more of your opinions floating around on different manga~!!!
Thanks! Have you read Momentum? That one is also incredible and very thought provoking. You might like it!
I actually just started reading that~! It's great. Though my heart breaks at some point, I love it so much
I agree Hanabusa should help Haruki when he need it but he didn’t lay a finger and resent him he was willing to help only after his attempt suicid. Too late, like you said Haruki was too tainted and crushed to fight back
Woah, thank you for this!
At first I was very, very angry at the conclusion, but with time I did understand and accept it because, as terrible as it is, it did make sense (although I'm still bothered that at some point the rape scenes were more an excuse to have some smutty scenes in there, I guess that was an editorial choice).
Your insight really does clarify everything.
The title of the series was "How to kill a heart" after all...
and for some reason.. Im crying now after reading this.... i love your explanation ┗( T﹏T )┛
Your detailed explanation really made my day. I always ship Haruki and Hikaru right from the start and I'm sad that people are upset with it and complain about the stocklhome
Thanku do much,I like ending.but haruki didn't know that his mother was sick.sldo he should hv tell this rape thing when it happened first time.so I dont blame him for calling his mom n telling her everything.but I love haruki n hiraku as a couple.
https://www.177mh.com/201802/380492.html?page=1
I guess you can summarize this (￣∇￣")
My thoughts on the whole story (I have read chapter 17 and the extra 4th story so spoiler alert)
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Before chapter 17, I would've never shipped Haruki and Hikaru but after the revelations in chapter 17, it actually makes sense that they end up together. Let me explain. We find out in chapter 17 that a big reason why Hikaru's mother died is because of Haruki calling her and telling her everything that happened between the brothers. Of course we all know that Haruki is not directly responsible for her death but he places the blame on himself, just like how Haruki's father blamed Hikaru for her death because he ran away from home: http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/kokoro_o_korosu_houhou/mf/manga/kokoro_o_korosu_houhou/c016/pg-11/
If you reread chapter 16 with the revelation that Haruki made the phone call to Hikaru's mother, then this moment is actually Haruki deflecting the blame onto Hikaru: http://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/kokoro_o_korosu_houhou/mf/manga/kokoro_o_korosu_houhou/c016/pg-26/
He says that but he clearly feels guilty about it since he looks extremely unstable. He wants to punish Hikaru, and in some indirect ways, Hikaru is too blame for his mother's death.
At this point, Hanabusa would seem like the perfect knight in shining armor to come rescue Haruki. And that would seem nice but the truth is Haruki probably feels too tainted in many ways. For sleeping with his brother (both rape and non rape). And for causing the events that led to his step mother's death.
You and I, the reader, know that Hanabusa would never blame Haruki for anything and that he has reflected on his past behavior, but Haruki doesn't really know that. Haruki will only remember a righteous senpai who has very clear black and white morals. And having been on the end of such unforgiving harshness, I imagine Haruki would never feel worthy of senpai. It's not that he doesn't like senpai but rather they aren't on equal footing anymore. One is a mentally healthy individual and the other has too many mental scars.
Also, in the extra chapter, senpai keeps chickening out when it comes to pursuing Haruki. More missed opportunities. Senpai is someone who respects boundaries and takes yes for yes and no for no. That's good for healthy individuals, but he probably should've been more persistent with Haruki.
Now about Haruki and Hikaru's reunion. At the 3 year anniversary of the mother's death the two men reunite. Hikaru says that the only reason he hasn't committed suicide is because Haruki spared his life that day when he was passed out by the lake. So he lives as a penance for his actions. After hearing this, Haruki confesses his role in the mother's death as well as his allowing Hikaru to take the blame for it.
We don't directly see Hikaru's reaction to this beyond initial shock but it is safe to infer from the ending of the chapter as well as the special chapter that Hikaru doesn't hold this against Haruki at all. In fact, he doesn't seem to care. In the following image, he says Hikaru has not changed in the last three years. Only Hikaru could forgive him for what he's done: https://www.177mh.com/201801/377636.html?page=24
By the end of the series, they are two broken people who find solace in each other. Most importantly, they forgive each other.
Now as to how I feel about the ending, I'm not sure I would have shipped Haruki with either senpai or Hikaru. But I'm ok with the fact that he ended up with Hikaru because it's not a simple case of Stockholm Syndrome. As twisted as the beginning was, Haruki has always been a very kind person so it makes sense that he would eventually forgive Hikaru. And the fact that Hikaru doesn't blame him for his mother's death must have made an impact.
I imagine that the two could actually have a healthy relationship at this point. At least as healthy as two dysfunctional people could be. The story is no doubt twisted. I didn't enjoy it in the same way that I do typical yaoi stories. But this really is a work of art. And I did enjoy the story, but in a more intellectual and analytical way.