#hiro kurusu

Kono Oto Tomare icons

Like/reblog if you save or use

This chapter had so many great things in it, such as some much needed humor and smiles. I really missed the silly side of these fools!

This chapter is a great time though to talk about something I love about KOT but haven't written about yet: Satowa and Hiro are some of my favorite depictions of high school girls in love. All the awkward moments and stumbling that's typically in teen romance are there, but rather than lean hard on the comedy side of it, KOT feels grounded and dignified to me. These moments aren't flat, just there for laughs or cringing, they are part of their character development and taken seriously. They feel more relatable. Some of the best examples of this are:

1.) Hiro crying tears of joy when she realizes she is, in fact, allowed to love and can turn her feelings into her strength rather than see it as an unnecessary distraction.

2. Satowa in general is a strong character, but her delicate side is shown through her feelings for Chika. She needs to strengthen this side of her, but not get rid of the feelings themselves. The feelings themselves aren't the problem. One of my favorite scenes with her is when she cries after Chika bumps into her. Unexpected crying from BIG feelings is so relatable to me. I love the panels in 109 of her looking embarrassed for the same reason. She's upset, and has tears in her eyes, but the soft emotion is drawn so beautifully. I see myself in this face.

3.) Satowa and Chika's awkwardness is handled with great care to explore how to respect personal boundaries. I love that when Chika asks for advice from another boy, it is serious. Tetsuki's advice is mature and thoughtful. They aren't reduced to monkey-brained goofs that don't understand women.

At the end of the day, KOT repeatedly implies that being in love is not a bad thing. It is not a silly weakness that will take your focus away from your serious goals. These feelings can co-exist with those goals and be taken just as seriously. This chapter continues that message. Satowa still has these worries about love affecting the club, and Chika just effortlessly crushes them by publicly stating that he loves her too, proudly and happily.

About his confession, I believe it is genuine and romantic. The only reason everyone reacted strongly to them both is because they know what they mean. But besides that, Chika is not the type of person who's going to see Satowa looking like that and then go ".....as a friend." He is good at reading people.