Linnea's manga / #ugly crying(4)

11.7.2020 The story of Rui and how he fell for an aquaintance after seeing him cry his eyes out.

June 2020, 26.5.2024 The first two stories about the five university friends were the best, followed by the story about the bento bar worker and the (picky eater) salaryman. The ugly crying is in the fist chapter.

25.7.2020 So, this story has a side character that’s a trans woman, and we get to see a bit of how s(he) is starting to date this older guy who doesn’t know about it. In the end, they go out on a New Year date, and we’re left wondering how it went.

25.8.2020 There was one review about this one which went like this: I'm so happy I read this in spite of the slightly lower rating. This was such a thoughtful, powerful story - it made me cry many times. (Spoilers follow.) What struck me most was how much Nakamichi changed after he transferred to the country hospital; I wonder how happy he truly was before? I feel he'd resigned himself to scraps of stolen happiness - like the cup - but never imagined a lifetime of it. The hospitals themselves seem like metaphors for Nakamichi's mental state: the city hospital is sophisticated but large and confusing. It's so large, the staff doesn't even realize Nakamichi was the one who cared for sensei before he died, just as no one recognized his grief or went to his home to check on him when he was sick. But the country hospital is simple, friendly, and surrounded by nature. Now that I think about it, Nakamichi and the younger Tsutsumi's relationship is associated with nature and the outdoors, beginning with their moment in the hospital garden when Tsutsumi falls out of a window and then holds Nakamichi as he cries. In contrast to his father, the younger Tsutsumi is open about his affection for Nakamichi, even crawling into his hospital bed toward the end of the story. And while Nakamichi's relationship with sensei had been utterly secret, in the wonderful final scene, just as Nakamichi has decided to accept the younger Tsutsumi's feelings, someone slides open the door to reveal both of them in the bath. (Nothing malicious; there's a hospital emergency.) I so appreciate the subtlety of the writing in this story and its exploration of complicated feelings. I look forward to reading more by this mangaka!