w_iju's manga / #slice of life(78)

(WARNING: VERY LONG. Tl;dr at the end.) I'm reading through the comments and am really astonished at the amount of hate Airi is getting-- even the scanlation group in the first few chapters seemed to be againsthim. Like fr, why? Were all of you born perfect human beings, knowing who you were, who you wanted to be with, and never once doubted yourselves? Airi is still in high-school, which encompasses the peak of puberty, ffs, this *absolutely* the time for him to be going through so much. He's a young boy who can't forgive himself for an old crush, and because he can't forgive himself, he's unable to move on. Him "liking" his brother was something that came at an too early age, and because he never gave himself the chance to understand that as he grew up (or, better put, understand anything beyond that it was wrong and *he* was wrong for feeling that way), that feeling was just stuck there, glued to him with guilt. As children, every sort of feeling can be brought up; almost everyone has heard of a kid saying they'll marry someone older than them, for example, because as a kid growing up they don't understand the scope of emotions they are talking about and assume things with what little they know. So, when Airi experiences an sort of Oedipus complex (remember Itsuki saying Yuiichi seemed "motherly"? it's kinda on-point lmao) at a young age, then learns guilt from it, he is unable to overcome it. He is not and has never been a naturally courageous person like Itsuki, and currently (storywise), as we can see when looking at their date in the movies, he's still capable of putting aside whatever fears he might have with a nudge in the right direction-- again, when looking at their date, we can see however hesitant he is, he still comes around and holds Itsuki's hand in the end. Because seeing Itsuki happy and unafraid made him realize that he could, and that there was no shame to be had. You can't really say "yeah but he shouldn't ever have felt shame in the first place bc there was nothing to be ashamed of" because, yeah, however true that might be, it's something *you* know because *you* learned it. Be it through simple observation or through being directly taught by some situation(s), you still had a moment were that kind of notion was learnt-- or, better yet, the prospect of it ever being something shameful is the thing you never learnt in the first place. But here's the thing; the same does not apply for Airi. He *was* taught shame, and he *was not* taught there was no actual shame to be had. Actually, Itsuki was the one who was beginning to teach him that-- he was, and is, in the process of learning both at that time and by the end of the story. This is the story of a young boy who is still discovering both himself and the world, by very cautious and small steps, because he's being partially emotionally stunned by the brother complex he never acknowledges and therefore never resolves. STOP painting this literal child as some sort of villain, and holding Itsuki on a pedestal like a saint. Not even a lot of adults are fully emotionally matured, why do you expect Airi to be? Just because of that old "if X can, then Y should be able to as well"? No two individuals should be compared, and this is why. They will not necessarily be able to do the same things at one single equal point in both of their lives. Someone might need more time than other person. GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO GROW. Tl;dr chill out and stop cussing Airi out when he still has so much to learn, this whole manga is about showing how he *can* change and *does* change when given the right opportunity

Looks cute, is probably running into psychological horo-esque characteristics. My favorite kind.