Issue 77, published in Volume 8, is the 77th chapter of the manga. The tagline for this chapter reads: 'When I'm comfortable, I can relax.'
Page Titles[]
- Reading With An Intense Face
- A Complex Position
- A Conversation About Love
- Surrounded By Classmates
- Concerns Of An Adult
- All Equally
- Kind And Gentle
- A System I've Seen Somewhere Before
- A New Currency
- Pay Attention To Me
- A Wonderful Card
- No Growth
Summary[]
Sakura walks into the classroom to find her friends reading a shoujo manga series. They invite her to read it with them. By the time Sakura tries to find a copy of Volume One, the boys in their class are already earnestly reading them. She decides to start from Volume Five. After finishing it, she asks one of her friends for Volume Six. However, the boys are busy reading this volume as well. They appear to be so engaged in the storyline that it is difficult to call out to them.
Nozaki walks into the room, carrying the complete set of 'Let's Fall in Love'. He asks Sakura to hand them out to the boys, presuming that they will have no qualms against reading a shoujo manga written by a guy like him. Yet this is not the case. Judging from the art style, the boys assume that the manga is drawn by a female author and refuse to read it because it looks 'embarrassing'. This frustrates Nozaki to no end, but Sakura knows that being recognized for his ability to replicate a feminine art style also makes him feel proud.
The boys notice Seo, inviting her to read the manga and discuss 'the pains of love'. Seo claims to be bad at such things, however, she reads it anyway. Due to her lack of ability to tell characters apart, Seo ends up mistaking Oomori for Arai, Fujisaki and Nishiyama or Shiraishi, etc. Overhearing the hectic exchange of names, Sakura's friends are reminded of a conversation from their English textbook ('Is he Michael? No, he is Tom.')
Continuing to read the manga, the boys bring up a common trope where a club's underclassman is bullied when he is the only person to receive attention. This situation makes Seo think of Wakamatsu, and she becomes worried that he is getting bullied every time she goes out with him. She is also reminded of the fact that Wakamatsu always seems tired the day after they hang out, which she assumes is due to being bullied. In reality, Seo herself is the source of Wakamatsu's fatigue and his fellow club members offers him food in pity.
Slightly concerned, Seo decides to start treating everyone in the basketball club equally. During practice, she finds herself about to pass to Wakamatsu by habit. Remembering her resolution, however, Seo quickly turns in the opposite direction and throws the ball without warning. Kubota, Mukai and Kamishiro are caught off-guard. Many of the team members dismiss Seo to be simply 'trying out her new skills', and convince each other to play along with it until she grows tired.
Seo informs Wakamatsu of her intention to become a philanthropist - basically, she will 'love everyone' and 'play with everyone'. She proceeds to spray a stream of water on Wakamatsu, leaving him cold and very confused. However, Seo doesn't stop there. She throws buckets of water at everyone else as well, and tells Wakamatsu that this is an example of her 'love'. Standing amidst a pile of unconscious club members with buckets on their heads, Wakamatsu tells Seo that she may have gotten the concept of love all wrong.
Wakamatsu tells Seo that philanthropy means acting kind and gentle. Unsure as to the attributes of kindness and gentleness, Seo decides to test it out on another club member. 'Kindly', she tells Kubota that she had told his crush (Satou from Class 2C) that he likes her. Kubota is shocked and confused. 'Gently', Seo tells him that she will keep Satou's reply a secret because she doesn't want to see him look sad. Outraged, Kubota yells at her to 'Just be blunt about it!!'
Kamishiro and another member of the basketball club confront Seo with resigned expressions. Kamishiro tells her that her 'love' is impossible to understand. In order to keep her philanthropy under control, they present a new system called 'Seo-senpai's Love Cards'. It is a piece of cardboard worn around their neck, which can be stamped every time Seo touches them. This reminds Seo of the stamps people receive for participating in radio exercises. The card can also be flipped over to read 'I'VE HAD ENOUGH TODAY'. This reminds Seo of the banners used at an all-you-can-eat bread shop which reads 'I'm already full'.
Inside the school building, Mukai asks to copy Kubota's English review notes. Kubota agrees, in exchange for a blank 'Seo-senpai Card'. Mikoshiba, who knows nothing about the system, asks one of his classmates for a dictionary. His classmate lets him borrow it in exchange for some juice and '1 Seo'. Mikoshiba is left confused and wondering what kind of new currency had been announced.
On the way home from school, Seo asks Wakamatsu where his card is. He says that Kamishiro has it since he let him borrow a jersey. The day after that, Mukai will have it since Wakamatsu let him copy his homework. Since people without cards are 'safe', Seo runs away to annoy the rest of the team members. Wakamatsu feels strange, as if something is missing without Seo bothering him all the time (although he cannot pinpoint this). All of a sudden, she charges back towards him and throws five 'cards' around his neck without warning.
Confusedly, Wakamatsu points out that these belong to everyone from the basketball club. Seo is exasperated, saying that she is 'just not good with this kind of stuff' and that playing with anyone other than him is boring. Wakamatsu blushes and asks if he can still use the cards on occasion, to Seo's puzzlement. He explains that the writing on the back ('I'VE HAD ENOUGH TODAY') is very convenient. Seo tells him to 'throw them away already.'
Back in the classroom, Seo tells Sakura that Wakamatsu wasn't being bullied by anyone after all, and that she worried for nothing. Noticing a volume of 'Let's Fall in Love' in her hands, Sakura points out how rare it is for Seo to be reading shoujo manga. Seo dramatically speaks of her realisation that 'it's hard to treat everyone equally'. Therefore, she looks up to characters like Suzuki who are able to do so. Pointing to a scene where Mamiko is being harassed by a random character, Sakura informs her - "That is not Suzuki-kun."
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Chiyo Sakura
- Umetarou Nozaki
- Yuzuki Seo
- Hirotaka Wakamatsu
- Kubota
- Mukai
- Kamishiro
- Mikoto Mikoshiba
- Mamiko
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