Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu Chapter 161 Discussion

Okay, so as much as I like love declarations as much as the next guy (which is why for now I score this chapter a 4/5), it pains me to say this but I’m not impressed or optimistic at all with how this manga is going.

First of all, they’re video calling every night now? That’s nice I guess, but it’d be nice if the manga made ANY sort of hint or foreshadowing that this’ll change and they can actually, you know, TALK IN PERSON like they used to. But no, not the case. It just makes me quite angry to read “they don’t see each other very often” when this situation was kind of forced out of nowhere by the author and now she’s making no effort to actually have the characters fix it.

Second, we’re glossing over key facts that contribute to this current relationship malaise. Yamada isn’t going to school much anymore, and she’s also getting even more popular and so “they can’t make careless contact.” Okay, so that’s being written, and we see absolutely no depiction of it? We just have to accept this? That’s dumb. It’s even worse to read that considering those are direct reasons as to why Ichikawa and Yamada are barred from spending any significant time together. Furthermore, this whole “careless contact in public” thing is getting maddeningly old at this point. We’ve been dealing with this problem since the previous volume, and it’s taken off since the flash mob incident, but again, there’s absolutely NO HINT that this will ever change. It’s such a pain following a slow burn manga like this that’s giving absolutely no reason to expect a positive upturn.

Third, sorry if this is toxic, but why is the story depicting a convo between Ichikawa and Moeko in the sacred library as just the simplest thing in the world, but if Ichikawa attempts to converse with Yamada in the library now, it’s like the whole universe awakens to hatewatch and do anything to prevent it. Like, I’m sorry but it just puts a bad taste in my mouth how the library has just lost its meaning in the story and specifically to the main two characters, and now all that happens there is Ichikawa is face full of a studying notebook, other girls can just waltz in like nothing, and Yamada is relegated to looking depressed around corners and bookshelves. Are you kidding me Norio? Yamada getting mad is silly on the surface, but honestly, I agree! Why is Moeko getting library convos now and Yamada can’t? And I know they had one like 3-4 chapters ago, I know this, but that didn’t mean shit when Ichikawa kept quiet on telling Yamada she inspires him and then Yamada was behind him looking all sad, so don’t even give me that as a legit positive example.

Fourth, and maybe the worst of the lot, actually no it’s not but it’s still annoying: why for the love of all good things is this band breakup suddenly critical to the narrative? When there’s tons of other things that need to be addressed and resolved, like the exam, Yamada’s popularity, the agency, their communication, their long-term viability or lack thereof, we’re spending all this time on Onee’s band and side characters that haven’t even been in 10 chapters in this series (namely Momo and the other NPC band members). I’m sorry but that’s a total joke to me. This focus is a total waste of time to me at the current moment, and unless Norio is planning on having this be some kind of turning point for Ichikawa and Yamada, I refuse to give this whole band subplot any praise or legitimacy. It’s filler done extremely poorly to me.

Bottom line is, as things currently stand, they’re going to keep drifting apart as every possible obstacle to them hanging out suddenly occurs and becomes a constant to where they’re going to break up once they graduate and it makes me sick how Norio is completely selling this relationship all because of some stupid ass flash mob that honestly killed the series. Nothing has been the same since, and now Ichikawa and Yamada are suddenly worried about all this external garbage more than each other, and I get the exam and the acting stuff are important, but they shouldn’t be all consuming to where they both can’t do the simplest things a couple should do, nor should it deprive them both of the most basic and efficient communication possible that once made this series so lovable and charming. The long term picture is bleak because Norio is making no effort to change it, disappointing.

@sauragorn10 Let her cook, if there's one thing this manga is known for, it's working things out over time, and it does it quite well.

You make good points, but I think it's too early to judge, don't you think that focusing on Kanna onee and her gang has something behind it?

There is no filler in this series, everything has a meaning and a reason, the way they handle their relationship in a mature way and how the series treats it as “the right thing to do” is a given, but at the same time it's clear that their relationship is slowly getting affected and it's something YOU AND I AS A WATCHER FEEL, isn't this a good thing?

If Norio did this for that purpose, he has done it quite well, now I think this volume will be another climax for the couple and their future, I doubt that the problems that have been raised in the previous volumes will be solved but at least, it will be a turning point in their relationship and future, where they will both ask themselves if they are doing the “right thing” and reflect on their future as a couple.

@kleb90 Brother, I understand sitting back and "letting her cook," but respectfully, Norio has been cooking very little story-advancing chapters recently. The last significant moment was that festival and the whole "we can't go outside anymore," and that isn't positive, that's negative. Now, at the time, I gave Norio the benefit of the doubt because I THOUGHT we were going to receive more at-home interactions between the two, and sure, we got some hanging out at Yamads's house for a few chapters, but that was an unresolved/unfulfilling moment because Ichikawa and Yamada attempted to be more intimate and physical and they both got cold feet and chickened out, which makes complete sense, I am not saying it doesn't because they're super inexperienced with all that stuff, but I would honestly ask the question of why not go a different direction instead of having them move too quickly and then have no payoff for the home date?

I understand the common response of "wait, we haven't seen the result yet" and that is objectively true, which is why my opinions are subject to change, but I cannot sit here and give Norio credit or blind faith for something she hasn't even done yet nor has given any reason to expect something to happen. At this moment in time, there is no clear path or hint given by the story that Ichikawa and Yamada are heading to a better place than where they are now. Norio by the chapter is slowly inputting more restrictions on them and killing the overall story setups and beats that attracted many of us to follow and adore this series to begin with, and I am concerned by this. Look at the facts, they have gone from totally normal and all is well at the start of vol. 11, to the flash mob which effectively killed their lives at school as they knew them, then the growing awkwardness and pains of simply going outside together as Yamada becomes a social media star overnight along with her existing modelling and acting, and then it culminates in the agency ruining her ability to enjoy that festival, which culminates in Ichikawa saying no more going outside. Since then, they're both largely avoiding each other and biting their tongues instead of saying things that would advance the relationship or at least calm current anxieties. I named the recent chapter of Ichikawa staying quiet in the library as an example in my initial response. Bottom line is, what am I supposed to expect Norio to cook up if she is slowly deteriorating the relationship instead of doing anything to enhance it?

Sure, fleeting moments like this last chapter are nice and all, but it all means NOTHING as long as all these current huge problems still persist. I mean for crying out loud, Ichikawa has been worried about this exam since the summer training camp arc that was 30 chapters ago, and he still hasn't even taken the exam. Therefore, all he's doing now is studying or getting literally phased out of chapters to where Norio is trolling him lol (last chapter before this). If they keep missing out on doing the simplest things together and slowly drift apart and then go to different schools and break up because their connection is gone, then this chapter will mean absolutely nothing. That is my biggest issue with BokuYaba currently since vol. 11 and especially now. See, before, everything that happened meant something cuz it was heading towards Ichikawa and Yamada falling in love and beginning to date, but now, there is just tons of tangled webs and a lot of unresolved plotpoints that are not being addressed because instead we need to focus on Onee's band and Niko Koda for... some reason?

Me personally, I wish the dang chapters were longer. Like, it makes me so mad how Norio is just glossing over critical information and focusing on nonsense that doesn't really matter in the allotted 8 pages she gives herself every 2 weeks. As I said in my OP post, why are we not seeing any depiction of Yamada reacting to not going to school? Surely that bothers her, seeing as her relationship with Ichikawa is slowly crumbling by the day and they already are scared of going anywhere outside, but no, it's just... written, and we just have to accept it. I refuse lol. And Ichikawa, our narrator, is not reacting either. I mean, I thought his school life is largely empty without Yamada, but there is no depiction of this or how it affects him cuz all he does now is study. Like, bro, show him reacting to something for crying out loud instead of him hunched over a dang notebook.

When I read your original reply, I agreed with you, their communication has gone largely off a cliff, it is so much worse and no where near as polished as before, which makes no sense because they are dating and thus closer than they have ever been at least on paper. I think Norio is way too hung up on the whole "oh I am so worried about what other people think." Yamada is now getting way more concerned of her external image and how others see her than before, and I get it, she is more popular, but I think it is getting too detrimental to the relationship and I would expect her to see that since she is supposed to value Ichikawa the most according to HER. Ichikawa for some reason is STILL withholding saying nice things to Yamada unless he reacts to something or he thinks she won't hear. Bro, HE IS BETTER THAN THIS. Why is he still having some deluded vision that Yamada is gonna make fun of him if he tells her "hey, I am studying harder because of you," THIS IS NOT CHAPTER 20, it's chapter 161! Norio needs to stop holding them both back. Any character flaws I attribute to her writing, not the characters themselves since, you know, she is the writer.

Anyway, sorry this was so long lol, but I am not going to blindly act like everything Norio is doing is somehow this magical 6D chess pathway to the promised land when all I am seeing is her finding newer ways to prevent them from seeing one another and talking in person, much less going on dates. My opinions won't change until Norio's storytelling improves.

@sauragorn10 Anna Yamada is my favorite female character in romance precisely because of the way she is written. Norio doesn't need to delve into her to bring her character to life, it is in fact, one of her talents as a writer.

Now, the issue of her popularity is something that has been brought up for a long time in the story, even since they were not a couple, however, Yamada's stardom was sudden, this said by Suwa-san her agent and the agency itself, they expected everything to be progressive and NEVER expected her to go viral so fast, taking into account that this story takes place between 2019/2020, social media does its thing so it's not to be expected that overnight these things happen.

Now, regarding Ichikawa, I understand that it can be annoying the way he acts when we talk about flirting or complimenting his girlfriend, but it's something his character has always struggled with, he's good at it, sure, but it's not THAT that makes his character shine, complimenting her is not his way of expressing how much he loves her, it's his actions and what he does for her that's more important and valuable.

He's certainly gained more confidence and grown a lot since last time, but it's all so progressive that I don't understand why you think his character stagnates simply because he doesn't say something nice to his girlfriend, he's done it before but it's still hard for him and it's totally normal since he's not used to it, he's a teenager with self esteem issues and I'm glad the series deals with this realistically, overcoming social anxiety or low self esteem can take a lifetime, kyotaro himself has said it “I don't think it will go away, but reduce it as much as possible and live with it”.

Also, Anna doesn't need praise to let him know how much she loves her, she is quite aware of how hard he works for her and their relationship, I see it more as a whim of his and as a way to see him grow, when he praises her she can't hide her excitement and emotion, the same thing happened at the white day event where she couldn't hold back the tears.

Finally, I think Norio is doing this on purpose, as I mentioned before, they seem to be aware of the risk that Anna's career runs if their public finds out that she is in a love relationship, that's why they choose to act in the most “mature” way possible to face the situation, they pretend to agree and as you say, they bite their tongue, they just hide their relationship and don't see each other in person to avoid risks, the point with all this is not that Norio as the author interferes and fixes the problem, it is that THEY themselves realize the mistake they are making, they are overthinking things too much (they are teenagers after all) and although it is something that makes sense, in the end it can't be that bad either and can be coped with somehow, hiding their relationship will only make the truth come out at some point.

Do you think Norio doesn't want to fix the situation and make them closer than ever? Of course, but If something has characterized this work and its author for a long time is how much she takes care of her characters, at the moment they seem to cope with things although with some wear and tear and it shows in the atmosphere, a wear that is noticeable with the passage of time and that sooner or later will explode.

Regarding “their communication has gone off the cliff, it's much worse and not as polished as before, which doesn't make sense because they are dating and therefore they are closer than ever”, in this case it makes sense and a lot, it's not a normal teenage student relationship, Anna is a celebrity, I think the problem in their relationship is the difference in values/maturity between the two, Kyotaro is much more emotionally mature than Anna and that's why he is so determined to protect his future as an actress/model, while she is the one who is guided by him and the one who seems more unhappy with the current situation, I reiterate, I think the purpose of this volume is that both intertwine their thoughts about it and come to a better conclusion than hiding their relationship, because that will only bring problems in the long run.

This is my conclusion and my analysis of everything we have seen so far, as far as I am concerned it makes a lot of sense and Norio is handling it quite well (for the moment), something important to mention is that realism has not been lost at any time, this is a realistic problem and it is not forced because it has been worked before, it has always been implied that Anna Yamada has a life behind her partner and school, in that factor, the story has not changed and I'm glad that it is so because it is one of the things that most characterizes the series, most romances tend to imply that the life of the main characters revolve around their partner and not that this is wrong, but if this were the case in BokuYaba, the story would lose the message it wants to convey, the message of self-love and the importance of emotional independence that is key to lead a stable relationship.

It's always good to read the opinions of others, I agree with you and I myself have felt that way, but when I analyze it further, all this way in which the story is portrayed makes more sense to me considering that we are no longer at the stage where their feelings sprout, now they are in a more mature stage, the hardest thing is not to form the courtship, we already went through that stage, the hardest thing in relationships is to cope with the long-term relationship and so far, Norio is handling it well in my opinion.

Sorry for my english.

@kleb90 Thanks for your reply. I think you make fair points, although I do not fully agree with everything but that is probably down to a slight difference in story interpretation and expectations between you and me. I do want to quickly explain myself in regards to a few of your replies.

I love Yamada to death too, but I personally believe the story has reached a stage where Ichikawa and us as readers deserve to have a much clearer picture of her feelings and thoughts. Norio making us figure Yamada out worked brilliantly up to them confessing since we needed to pick up clues and hints to when Yamada fell in love and how deep her feelings are, but now I find this style problematic since it reflects their overall decline in communication which causes almost every problem in relationships, and these two are no exception. If the readers, and Ichikawa as well, were given a more transparent Yamada than how she is now, I think the story would be much more stable and easier to process and unconditionally support, but that is my opinion. I am not questioning Yamada's vibrancy or bubbly nature lol, its just it is not as present as before since half the time Yamada looks concerned, anxious, or upset nowadays.

I think the story should explore Yamada's popularity better regarding the CURRENT atmosphere, particularly through Yamada herself and how she is handling it, or not, instead of off-handed comments from side characters like Niko or Norio's glossing over it through Ichikawa's narration.

Ichikawa is doing his best and I acknowledge that, all I am saying is it would be nice if every once and a while he was proactive in complimenting or reassuring Yamada, instead of constantly needing it to be pulled out of him or him only being expressive if he thinks he can get away with it without his girlfriend actually knowing. If he did, would that not be a better depiction of his personal growth instead of him being the "stoic sacrificial lamb" where its like "oh I have to not see Yamada, its for the best, I can't say this she'll make fun of me, I can't get in the way, I have to study and study and study, I can't lose focus and be a boyfriend to my girlfriend." Come on. I am not saying he needs to be a simp nor does he need to remake his entire personality, but Norio should allow more expression from him that is a bit different and outgoing than before, I think it would improve BokuYaba.

Side note, in promotional images and all that stuff, he never smiles, like, ever. I would call for whoever is in charge of that stuff to let him smile once or twice. Like bro does not need to maintain this edgy, grouchy persona forever. It doesn't even fully reflect him anymore because he isn't the cringe edgelord he was at the start of the series anymore to begin with.

I am not saying Ichikawa's entire character is stagnating, I am saying his ability to move and impact the story is stagnating. Ichikawa is just studying and MAYBE saying nice things to Yamada depending on the situation, but overall he is shackled by the exam and is not making any story advancing moves like he used to. Again, I get that the exam is a natural thing, I was a student for a long time, but man, should it really be consuming his character for the most part for 30+ chapters? I find it telling how Norio can take the time to draw and publish a page essentially taking the piss over Ichikawa not appearing in a chapter instead of advancing all this studying nonsense in the story to where it can be put behind him.

Norio is doing this on purpose yes, that is precisely my problem with her at the moment. I personally do not like where she is taking this manga in terms of the bigger picture and the style of it all. Ichikawa and Yamada are not the true centers of the narrative LIKE THEY WERE BEFORE (key part of my statement, please consider this). The story still revolves around them in the basic sense, but they are not influencing or moving the narrative at the same level from vol. 1-10. Whenever anything major happened, it came from either Ichikawa, Yamada, or both of them. Now, they are both just going with the flow and filtering in and out of importance as the likes of Onee, Suwa, Niko, Momo, and others are getting more and more power in impacting the narrative. This is my more controversial opinion compared to the rest of the fandom, because I honestly do not care for the side characters. That doesn't mean I do not like most of them (I hate Niko and Momo, sorry not sorry), it is just their stories and problems simply do not particularly interest me. I am reading this manga for Ichikawa and Yamada's relationship, not for the fate of Onee's band or how obsessed and weird Niko can become.

I want Norio to fix the problems, and if they are fixed, it would be because of her. I will be the first to credit any questionable story decisions and questionable characterization from her since she is the writer, I do not blame IchiYama for their flaws, they are the fault of Norio's writing, but on the flip side, any fixing and problem resolution would be from her. She can incur my love and support as quickly as she has recently incurred my disappointment and apathy. That would not be from Ichikawa and Yamada realizing their mistakes, since they are fictional. If they did it would be because Norio finally allowed them to lol, which is what I want lol, I WANT Norio to allow them to express themselves more and actively start figuring out all these problems.

"Do you think Norio doesn't want to fix the situation and make them closer than ever?" I mean I don't know lmao, NONE OF US KNOW. She HERSELF DOES NOT EVEN KNOW. She literally said in a recent interview she has no idea how she is going to end this series. You need to understand that an IchiYama happy ending is not guaranteed. She said "her original idea of the ending is not matching where the story is going" (paraphrasing). If I knew for a fact Norio was going to magically make everything work out in the end, I would not be arsed to write all these criticisms lol. I mean Norio literally told Japanese fans to buy these social media sticker things that depict Ichikawa and Yamada and said "they cannot see each other anymore, so I hope the fans will take them on dates." Idk about you but that's a red flag to me. Marketing ploy sure, but maybe aim it differenty to "my main two characters are unable to see each other in a romance manga."

This has gone too long lol, last point, but on the whole communication thing, I agree that hiding it is causing issues, but also, them not being transparent about how they feel about the current situation is a huge issue that needs to be resolved. And I get they do not have a normal relationship lol, but Norio has failed to properly capture any sort of consistent balance yet. I get that is not easy and that is one of Yamada's critical challenges at the moment, I am not trying to discredit that, however I am bothered at how Norio has depicted the rise of this problem. From vol. 1-10, we knew about Yamada being a slowly but steadily growing model and actress but nothing happened fast, Suwa and the agency were hands off, Yamada had a fairly balanced lifestyle, and she was able to grow closer to Ichikawa with little significant problems associated with her career and could lead a fulfilling school life. Now, it is completely flipped, and it completely flipped because of two things, the flash mob and Yamada's viral TikTok thing. Those two sudden moments, which came with no warning, completely turned this manga upside down, and I question how "realistic" that is. My gripe is that these were sudden, it isn't like there was a slow buildup to these events which have since negatively impacted IchiYama's relationship. Ichikawa and Yamada are not actually dating anymore, it is just by title, Yamada can barely go to school, we have to assume and accept she is super busy with her work since Norio tells and doesn't show, the agency is not being addressed but their sheer presence in the background makes both characters afraid., etc. I just do not like how a bunch of these things that the story brought up pretty casually to begin with are suddenly gigantic problems that are since marinating and not being acknowledged anymore to be fixed.

Okay, I told myself to not type another long reply and I failed lol. I just needed to properly explain my position more. I am not trying to dig my heels or have an unending back and forth of trying to up-end one another. I also do not mean to clog the discussion thread. At the end of the day we both want the same thing in that we want Kyotaro and Anna to be in a happy, healthy, and stable relationship. I still fully hope that will come to pass and then it will stay as such. All my beliefs are tailored towards my desire for that ending. That is all, sorry forum for writing so much.