for people that have watched the anime but not the manga or novel
from Episode 3 ("Rumors of the Steel Lady") perfectly capture how the anime rearranges chronology, which completely warps how the characters present their romantic timeline to Kuro’s ex-girlfriend, Saki Yumihara. Here is how the timeline reality matches up with what Japanese and international fans noticed about Kuro’s honesty and Kotoko’s bold claims
1 Kuro's Contradiction in Episode 3
During the episode, Kuro tells Kotoko that helping her deal with the supernatural was never a condition for them to "go out." By saying this, he inadvertently admits that they are, in fact, an official couple. Realizing he just gave Kotoko exactly what she wanted to hear, he immediately tries to walk it back or downplay it, which fits his typically passive and reluctant demeanor regarding her aggressive affection.
2 The "Deflowered" Claim
When Kotoko bumps into Kuro's ex-girlfriend, Saki, she immediately. She boldly states that she has already been "deflowered" by Kuro without even knowing who the hell Saki was at the time. some viewers actively debated this line. Some took it completely literally, while others thought Kotoko was exaggerating or intentionally provoking Saki. The Reality The anime features a sudden two-year time skip right in the middle of Episode 3. Because of this skip, Kotoko and Kuro had been living and working together for a significant amount of time by the time she meets Saki, making her claim canonically true, even if phrased in the most shocking way possible plus she wouldn't even have a reason to say it out loud to her when she didn't even know who she was to begin with when she bumped into her on episode 3 she had no reason to lie.
3 Kuro's Deceptive Timeline (The "Matter of Days" Reality) this is what makes me not like him so much
The core observation made by Japanese fans lies in the contrast between how long Kuro made it seem like he waited to date Kotoko versus the actual timeline of the breakup. What Kuro lets Saki believe: Kuro's framing of the situation makes it look like he took a respectful, long period of time to process his breakup with Saki before eventually moving on to date the female lead, Kotoko. The Manga Chronology vs. Anime Reality: In the original light novel and manga structure, Kuro and Saki break up, Kuro almost immediately encounters Kotoko, and they enter an active dynamic right away this dude dives right in a little too fast we're talking about days after his breakup.
The "Matter of Days" Transition: Fans pointed out that Kuro essentially agreed to move forward into Kotoko's orbit within a matter of days after Saki dumped him. Despite Saki being his long-term fiancée whom he deeply cared about, the sheer speed at which his intimacy and life shifted toward Kotoko coupled with him downplaying it later to keep the peace—makes him look highly dishonest to his ex. Kuro allows Saki to maintain the illusion that he spent months or years pining or being alone, when in reality, Kotoko successfully swooped in and claimed him almost the second he became single. This gap between Kuro's passive, "honest guy" persona and his actual fast-moving reality with Kotoko is exactly why fans find their dynamic so hilariously toxic yet compelling I don't understand Japanese fans I really don't they find this compelling I find this very infuriating the character is fictional but my anger is real ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ either way it just really bothered me that he was such a jerk to the FL while he's screwing with her in the bedroom quarters behind the scenes he acts like a calm reserved young man and I think his real nature of being a jerk is that he can't ever lie to her and she's so honest and yes she can be vulgar but like come on he pretends to be a saint I understand he doesn't want her to be saying everything they do out in the open but he could at least be nicer （/TДT)/ all right I got that out of my chest I can now move on ╮(￣▽￣)╭
for people that have watched the anime but not the manga or novel
from Episode 3 ("Rumors of the Steel Lady") perfectly capture how the anime rearranges chronology, which completely warps how the characters present their romantic timeline to Kuro’s ex-girlfriend, Saki Yumihara.
Here is how the timeline reality matches up with what Japanese and international fans noticed about Kuro’s honesty and Kotoko’s bold claims
1 Kuro's Contradiction in Episode 3
During the episode, Kuro tells Kotoko that helping her deal with the supernatural was never a condition for them to "go out."
By saying this, he inadvertently admits that they are, in fact, an official couple.
Realizing he just gave Kotoko exactly what she wanted to hear, he immediately tries to walk it back or downplay it, which fits his typically passive and reluctant demeanor regarding her aggressive affection.
2 The "Deflowered" Claim
When Kotoko bumps into Kuro's ex-girlfriend, Saki, she immediately. She boldly states that she has already been "deflowered" by Kuro without even knowing who the hell Saki was at the time.
some viewers actively debated this line. Some took it completely literally, while others thought Kotoko was exaggerating or intentionally provoking Saki.
The Reality The anime features a sudden two-year time skip right in the middle of Episode 3. Because of this skip, Kotoko and Kuro had been living and working together for a significant amount of time by the time she meets Saki, making her claim canonically true, even if phrased in the most shocking way possible plus she wouldn't even have a reason to say it out loud to her when she didn't even know who she was to begin with when she bumped into her on episode 3 she had no reason to lie.
3 Kuro's Deceptive Timeline (The "Matter of Days" Reality) this is what makes me not like him so much
The core observation made by Japanese fans lies in the contrast between how long Kuro made it seem like he waited to date Kotoko versus the actual timeline of the breakup.
What Kuro lets Saki believe: Kuro's framing of the situation makes it look like he took a respectful, long period of time to process his breakup with Saki before eventually moving on to date the female lead, Kotoko.
The Manga Chronology vs. Anime Reality: In the original light novel and manga structure, Kuro and Saki break up, Kuro almost immediately encounters Kotoko, and they enter an active dynamic right away this dude dives right in a little too fast we're talking about days after his breakup.
The "Matter of Days" Transition: Fans pointed out that Kuro essentially agreed to move forward into Kotoko's orbit within a matter of days after Saki dumped him. Despite Saki being his long-term fiancée whom he deeply cared about, the sheer speed at which his intimacy and life shifted toward Kotoko coupled with him downplaying it later to keep the peace—makes him look highly dishonest to his ex.
Kuro allows Saki to maintain the illusion that he spent months or years pining or being alone, when in reality, Kotoko successfully swooped in and claimed him almost the second he became single. This gap between Kuro's passive, "honest guy" persona and his actual fast-moving reality with Kotoko is exactly why fans find their dynamic so hilariously toxic yet compelling I don't understand Japanese fans I really don't they find this compelling I find this very infuriating the character is fictional but my anger is real ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ either way it just really bothered me that he was such a jerk to the FL while he's screwing with her in the bedroom quarters behind the scenes he acts like a calm reserved young man and I think his real nature of being a jerk is that he can't ever lie to her and she's so honest and yes she can be vulgar but like come on he pretends to be a saint I understand he doesn't want her to be saying everything they do out in the open but he could at least be nicer （/TДT)/ all right I got that out of my chest I can now move on ╮(￣▽￣)╭