Ok first of all, you find what he didnt do with those girls, as cowardice, I think it was brave and modest, he wanted to do it with the girl he truly chose at the end and was sure of his feelings because that would be unfair on the other girls and considered cheating. You will find alot of girls, who appreciate that in guys and also, it helps to avoid situations like Schooldayz( I hope you have read/watced school days?) If he wanted to, he could easily have taken all of them, but he didnt, that's not cowardice, it takes tremendous self-control to hold back, Also he did demonstrate that he could take the lead, when he first kissed Nishino but was holding back, because he didnt want to take advantage of the girls without first confirming his own true feelings. And he finally did do it with the girl he chose at the end, and Nishino didnt exactly take the lead then, it was Manaka who was leading once Nishino invited him in.

No, I think he was able to look past looks and this what I meant and seems like Nishino agrees with me --- http://www.onemanga.com/Ichigo_100/1/41/ I could even say, even that ugly Aya intruded quite a bit on his thoughts even when he was with Nishino and he himself wondered why in his heart he compared an ugly girl to his pretty girl-friend.

Boys rarely have a mob of girls follow them around unless he is a bishie, what sets apart a man from other normal guys is his deeds and personality like how the entire school was cheering Manaka on when he was running laps, that set him apart from other guys, atleast in Nishino's eyes and Nishino did find his other hidden talents that she appreciated, like his calm demeanour in pressure situations, his singing talent and ofcourse his dreams. And at the end, he is not far behind Nishino in the looks department and I can bet he will make a lot of girls' heads turn his way just like how both Satsuki and Aya were star-struck by his looks at the reunion

Yes Nishino may have been apprenticed to a professional pastry-chef while still in high-school, but Nishino was impressed by how Manaka re-opened a film-club that had become extinct in his school and directed 3 succesful movies which were praised by the critiques, especially the last movie, as he was visited by a famous movie-dirctor himself and if he didnt have any potential, that guy wouldnt have taken the trouble to do that,

Yes, while Nishino was in France, he was working through day-jobs in order to save up but that showed his determination to succeed in his dreams, there arent many guys out there who can work that determinedly towards their goal. And if Yui, hadn't messed with his head, Manaka would've made it into College, also, if he chose to, he could retake/resit for entrance exams again by becoming a ronin while using up his parents' money but Manaka was decisive enough to stick to his own belief that he could succeed in his chosen field without academic qualifications and the fact that he did succeed was proven when his first self-directed film got acclaimed and awarded and even if you say, that we dont know which position he will be working in the company, I would say the chances are, it is a pretty high-position since he himself didnt apply for the job but instead got scouted/invited by the proprieter himself who had his eyes on him since Manaka directed films in Highschool.

Yes, Manaka wasn't an awesome or extraordinary guy like Ookusa or Amachi but niether was he butt-ugly like Komiyama and Nishino was always particular about her taste in guys and didnt care much about the good-looking ones, and Manaka was fortunate enough to have the qualities that Nishino wanted her man to have. Like it or not, Manaka did almost always rush to Nishino's aid and always cared for both Nishino and Aya. Nishino didnt want a playboy, popular type like Ookusa who can be unfaithful, she wanted an honest,caring, kind, not-a-suck-up, ethical, hard-working individual, a guy who cwould keep his word, a guy who could stand up for his beliefs, how Manaka could care more about others than himself, and Manaka was all those and the only drawback of Manaka was, he was indecisive while in highschool but he overcame this weakness at the end and became Nishino's ideal guy




Last edited by dark mage at 3:04 pm, Oct 4 2009

I actually liked the ending for School Days (anime). The bastard had what was coming to him and the girls weren't exactly likable either. It was his fault for grabbing all the wrong flags anyway. 21 different endings in the game and he chooses his way to an expanded bad ending #2. But again, Makoto was a complete bastard. Manaka was just a unworthy fool.



An interesting assessment. The problem is that the imperfect self control he demonstrated was caused by a combination of desire for another woman and guilt caused by said thoughts. I doubt any girl appreciates the idea that a guy she's dating wouldn't kiss, hug or hold them is because he likes some other girl instead.

And he still separated from Nishino after choosing her and having sex. He literally told her that she's a distraction to his film career and spends 5-6 years largely ignoring the girl. How the hell are you going to tell your girlfriend that she's a distraction to your work that you hope to do for the rest of your life? That's pretty much saying he doesn't want her in his life. He's lucky it didn't end permanently in 5-6 seconds.



Once again, I disagree. In that scene, all he was doing was sticking up for a friend. An admirable action but not one fueled by romantic attraction. If he didn't suspect and then confirm that Toujou was the girl he saw on the roof, he would have continued to see her only as a friend. It was after he saw her strawberry panties that he started to have any interest in her as the possible panties girl.



I never said he was ever close to Nishino in terms of looks. Just that he is significantly better than the skinny punk he was in the past. In that situation, anybody would be taken by surprise to see a scrawny friend turn big much less the girls with unrequited love. To your average stranger? Who knows.

He may have been a decent catch five years after graduation but three years before he was a dork pining after another woman after confessing to another girl because she was pretty and his friends goaded him to. He didn't even expect to succeed at the damn confession, he admitted to himself multiple times while dating Nishino he likes Toujou best and he sure as hell wasn't ready for the relationship.


Success in the college exam was a toss up even if Yui hadn't messed him up. Without Toujou's help, he wouldn't even have made it into the Izumisaka HS. That he chose the route of menial labor instead of ronin was more a desire for independence than confidence in his own abilities, a trait he always sorely lacked.



He was not Nishino's ideal guy. As she said herself, the person you fall in love with usually isn't your dream type. I doubt Manaka, skinny or muscular, is anyone's perfect guy.

That said, I never said Nishino didn't like him or didn't have any reason to like him. It is just that she deserved better than a guy who would date one person but has the hots for another and dump her in favor of his career. He could become a famous film maker rolling in dough in the future but that all doesn't mean a damn if he isn't there or he is harboring carnal desires for members of his staff.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/v19/c165/17.html
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/v19/c165/18.html

They really intend to separate, but in the end they can't do it.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/v19/c167/9.html
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/v19/c167/17.html

In both scene, clearly said that only Nishino who still contact with Junpei. While other already cut from Junpei live for 4 year (not 5-6 year).



Usual Aya fan boy ranting, I'm bored answer it. So i skip it.



http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/v19/c163/17.html

It that condition, it's impossible even he genius to pass exam



Normal guy act to Nishino

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/c060/13.html
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/c116/15.html

While most of guys just make her sick

Higure act to Nishino

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/c122/13.html
http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/c122/15.html

He just made her tired anyway

I hope you read all page who i highlight drunkguy. And the last word, maybe sometimes Junpei made Nishino insecure but in the end this scene clearly mention it.

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ichigo_100/v19/c167/19.html

Yeah, he is not really that much of a coward, just like the definition of "pathetic".I agree that he is qualified as not being impotent. That makes sense.


Yeah,considering that was pretty much the only thing a student used his brain for in 3 years of highschool, that s quite an achievement.


yes, Manaka has the determination, though, normally, determination multiplies time multiplies efficiency will make result, and if he always has determination for the right things ( which represents "efficiency"), his life would be different.


Err,we need to consider the mental capacity of Manaka, don't judge the whole process of studying by a single night before the exam. Just look at how his training with Toujou was and how much he progressed, he made the correct choice, to build up his career without academic qualifications, "study" just doesn't fit him - perhaps not only study in school,"study" in general...
well, essentially correct.

To sum up Ichigo 100%
1.you build a male character with low intelligence, low strength, low charisma, low etc...( i.e try to make the main lead as pathetic as possible) and give him a special trait, let say, "good" personality, a hobby, filming, esp panties shot.
2.Then build other female characters as cute / attractive / talented / strikingly hot as possible,and let all them fall in love like in trance with the guy, there we have the soap opera begins.

Of course, for the romance to start we need to make their interactions look "incidental", like how some girls always end up with her panties wide open to the eye of this guy,same thing goes for other part of other girls bodies,boobs,for e.g lol, in short make the main character like a "weird sexual accidents" magnet, and only him, no other guy like that in the story, remember that, every other male characters must not get any of the girls' love, no matter how "superior" you portray them (in fact the more superior to our main character, the better). No worry, it is an ecchi thing, no one will consider the logic or common sense of it. )

Err, then, as far as the pathetic and sentimental factors goes, people will sympathize or feel bad for the characters, lol don't forget that it is just for entertaining. At a shallow level, shallow enough that we shouldn't relate it to reality, or to "what makes sense".

Now anyone reads Anedoki , lol apply the same formula. ( if it doesn't fit, then i admit this author 's manga is perhaps something a little more than my current assessment )

Last edited by silencer at 11:00 am, Oct 5 2009

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@db84x

Didn't bother rereading. One message in five years does not a running dialogue make. Never talking to your friends make you a hermit, not a good person. Not my fault her (and almost every girl's) luck with guys sucked. Nishino was tired from constantly studying french and cooking while Manaka was flirting with Toujou. He failed because he skipped cram classes and sucked at studying.

Aya's boring. I'm a Nishino fan. I'm just not a Manaka fan.

@Silencer
Cool assessment. I really feel I didn't emphasize the incredible stupidity of Manaka enough but that would require another thread.
The break down was pretty depressing though. I know the superior rival stands no chance but damn, that just reminds me how cruel the manga gods (a.k.a.- writers) can be. Oh well, at least none of them were shot or run over by a truck.

@ drunkguy

Junpei never betray Nishino after during 4 year skip, it said clearly in my previous post that there are no contact between Junpei and his other friend. And he just made intensive contact with Nishino, about flirting with Toujo that just common custom when we met old friend.

Friendship between Manaka and Aya maybe close but it almost impossible more than that. Because Junpei and Nishino already manage mature love relation due high school age and long distant relationship for 4 year with absolute devotion with their couple while both of them still can achieve their dram, that is essence of Ichigo 100% story.

Satsuki was the best hands down, I woulda liked if things wound up better for her but I think the ending was actually good for the most part. At least it didn't end with Manaka picking no one at all, now THAT woulda been bad -__-

The ending was better than a lot of the long running series out there. It had its flaws but at least it tied things up well enough. It sure wasn't a MX0.

I know what you mean about Manaka not picking. It was already bad enough that he couldn't make up his mind until the series was pretty much over. I don't know about the Satsuki pick though. It always seemed the relationship was too one sided for it to have worked out. Then again, Manaka needed to be constantly dragged into a relationship just for it to even happen so Satsuki probably has the right idea in general. He really was a massive dumbass.

I think he was unworthy of Nishino at the beginning and a stupid ass.


For gods sake confusing Nishinos chocolate with that of others. I was glad it finnally ended though . And I liked it too ^^.

Nishino would have been better off with me.

Also why do you need to go to france to learn pastries seriously. You should travell around the world to learn specialties. France isnt special or anything imo

My thoughts on Manaka exactly. Funny thing, the only real competition you'd have to getting Nishino beside Manaka is Higure. Making Manaka disappear in an accident isn't too difficult but Higure would be problematic what with his high profile.

As for Nishino going to France, she didn't really need to go but she enjoyed her vacation there and had the connections/opportunities to make it work. Go to France, learn about pastries, come back certified as an authentic French Pastry Chef. Just having that on your resume would open quite a few doors. It is definitely something to envy really.

Bit of a necro, but hey...

The problem is this. Throughout the whole series the author makes us feel bad for poor, shy Aya. It's instinct to want to protect vulnerable women*, and in addition I bet more than a few readers have their own problems with shyness which leads us to empathize with her even more. We become angry with Manaka for being so dense. When they don't get together, though, it means that he put this poor girl through all this suffering for nothing, and makes it impossible us to relate to Manaka as a protagonist anymore. He's just too much of a douche.

I think the proof is in the storytelling. Why did the author choose to make Aya's writing career wildly, improbably successful? (Very very few people actually make it as novelists.) Because that way she can say it was a -good- thing that they didn't get together. To me, that's just a form of deus ex machina. It's like making it so the only way to resolve a character's story is to have them win the lottery, and lo-and-behold they win the lottery!

Finally, Aya's love for Manaka was constant throughout the whole series. Nishino's affection was on-again/off-again, which should rightfully make us skeptical about their long-term prospects. Oh, and then there's the fact that Aya and Manaka have a common interest (storytelling) while Nishino and Manaka really only have nostalgia for a handful of shared experiences. Really, if you look at the work as a whole, Aya was the only satisfactory conclusion.

* This instinct isn't limited to guys: how many times in this manga does a girl get all emotional when a guy comes to her rescue?

Nishino's effections never turned off/on. She always loved Manaka from the time she saw him run laps, even after their break-up but as she told Ookusa she didnt want to let Manaka know that she still loved him for fear of getting her heart-broken again and that's why she even called herself a coward but later on she realised that she couldn't deceive herself anymore and that led to the 3-day trip and her eventual confession. Nishino always loved Manaka, even durring their break-up, there was no question about that. And even though, they have different dreams, as Nishino said, their dreams do have one common point, both wanted to make people happy. As Nishino said, isnt having same sort of people get together be kinda boring?

My nerdrage has subsided but I'll keep arguing for the hell of it.

I see what you are saying about Nishino, and it's valid. My problem is with the way the story was told. That whole lap running scenario was sprung on us only at the end of the manga, and to me it feel like another last-minute addition (like Aya's wildly successful career) to make the story resolve. Sure, the author is free to make up whatever they want, but when you have over 100 chapters pointing in one direction, and then at the end throwing in a bunch of new information and changing directions entirely, it is cheesy. It's like saying "it was all a dream", or "oh woops, it turns out Aya has a dick, guess that rules her out."

Actually, that lap running thing was mentioned in chapter 78, that is, it was mentioned half-way into the manga, and, the story wasnt pointing in the same direction for 100 chapters, the moment Nishino returned into Manaka's life after their break-up, you could see that focus subtly but surely shifted from Aya to Nishino. Just compare after Nishino returned, how many chapters did Nishino and Manaka got to just themselves that focused on their developing relationship as opposed to Manaka and Aya? Nishino got alot more quality chapters to herself once she returned when compared to Aya.

The roles and focus simply shifted from Aya to Nishino, it was like their middle-school, Manaka was going out with Nishino but thought more about Aya while, after the break-up the roles reversed, Manaka thought he loved Aya, but in reality he started to think more of Nishino and spent more time with Nishino compared to Aya and continued to get closer to Nishino as the chapters progressed as bit by bit he got to know her more and realised what Nishino meant to him, how she pulled him by the hand, how precious and irreplaceable she was to him. These feelings werent after chapter 100 it was before chapter 100. Manaka just grew to love Nishino while his relationship with Aya stayed static.

And tha lap thing, was because Nishino finally felt that Manaka was alot more closer to her and finally understood how inferior Manaka felt while going out with her and she finally realised as she got to know Manaka properly to tell him, her emabarrasing secret as she finally knew him enough to reveal it.

Also, Aya's wildly successful career wasnt sprung to us out of nowhere, the hints were always there as if I remember correctly, Aya first got her big literary award after their very first film, so it was very early on in the manga. And, it was mentioned quite early on in the manga too by Aya's literature club leader that Aya writing movie scripts would hamper her career and growth. That too wasnt sudden, it was always true that Aya being overdependent on Manaka wasnt doing her any good. The hints were always there throughout the manga, but it all came to a head at the end of the manga. Nothing was too sudden. If Satsuki or Mukai was chosen to be Manaka's girlfriend that would've been sudden as there were no proper step-by-step groundwork and Aya not turning out to be a famous author would have been surprising too, and her being with Manaka wasnt doing her any good was there for all to see.

Last edited by dark mage at 2:31 am, Jan 31 2010

Ok this is an old ass topic. I posted on this like 6 months ago. But I'm still pissed off about the ending. AYA SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE........ Sorry but dudes he was in a shack naked with her. I know that it may seem that most manga have that sort of of story line but it is what makes it good. I mean I''s was amazing and it had that type of storyline. And if you hate I''s well then your a crazy mother fucker.

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