It perfectly made sense for me that he pick her but i thought the sexy type would be my pick...hehehe idk she did ALOT...

= Stress is what we Live FOR =

/===CODE OF CONDUCT===~\
|A Life For A Life|

Quote from Hostile

It ended the way it should have, even if it surprised me. Toujou and Manaka did almost nothing with their relationship while Nishino scratched and crawled her way to the top. I really loved the manga for making me change my mind on who my favorite is. Aya was quickly taken over by Satsuki, and Nishino climbed the steep hill that was my love for Satsuki to remain at top.

Yep, couldn't have said it better.

A great deal of people don't like it because they feel that Aya was the first, but in reality why should the first always be the one that happens to end up with the guy? The ending actually made me appreciate the series more because it didn't fall into the cliche of knowing who the protagonist was going to end up with, within the first volume of the manga.

Loved the finale/"all 'growed' up" part as well.

Mmm... stories where you already know the ending are boring. This ending was very surprising and refreshing. Toujou and Manaka did get along very well, so it's not strange either. I kind of feel sorry for Satsuki though... but in life, not everyone is going to have a happy ending =/

Quote from ironbomb

Indeed, Nishino did struggle majority of the series to be with Manaka. Showing/Telling someone that you love them is a REALLY hard task especially when its your first love. She WAS really timid, even more before she met Manaka. That wouldn't be a strong enough reason to say that Aya's love is INFERIOR to Nishinos toward Manaka. You gotta remember that Aya did attend the same high school as Manaka which she was not obligated in any manner to do. That was out of her own heart because she wanted to be with him. Contrary to Nishino, she went off and took Oumi tests, unknown to even his boyfriend at the time[not like Manaka woulda listened lol]. I do agree that Nishino and Manaka complete each other though. She was the 1 I liked the most and was cheering for Manaka to end up with. But by no means is Aya's love towards Manaka any less than Nishino's.

I have to disagree with you on one thing regarding Nishino. You forgot that the reason she left her spot at Izumizaka high school and went to Oumi was to give Manaka her spot so he can enter the high school of his dreams and not remain on the waitlist.
Also, I see alot of people bashing Manaka and saying that he is useless. I believe these people fail to realise the true worth of Manaka. Manaka's character has affected the lives of all the female leads that have interacted with him. Yui was saved by him (situation with her father), Nishino gained a love for cooking and found her path in life mainly because it started out as a way to feed manaka. I dont need to mention Toujou since its pretty obvious that he made her break out of her shell and exploit her talents as a writer through his guidance, Mizuki (Sotomura's sister) gained admiration for Manaka (over time) and evntually aspired to be like him and rebuild the film club in her own university, Kozue also was helped by manaka to escaped her fear of men and experience love for the first time and also a love of movies. I am pretty sure there are more things that manaka has done for the girls but I cant remember all the details from the manga but if you look at the manga carefully you can see how manaka has affected all the girls in his life for the better.

[img]http://dragcave.net/image/HbYb.gif[/img] [img]http://dragcave.net/image/PpOf.gif[/img]

Just last night, i was wondering if i should read the last 10 chapters to get over Ichigo 100%. I was like, what the heck why not. I didnt think what was going to come would cruch me. I seriously went to my bathroom so my sister could not see my crying. It felt like I was the one being rejected lamo. That ending i was expecting, but the events that happened were what i dont understand. First of all, when Nishino met Junpei for the first time after their "second breakup" i was like where the fuck is this going to go!? After that i kinda knew that Nishino was going to end up with Junpei but i didnt want that so i didnt beleive my thoughts. But the fact that Aya was so late in the game and Junpeis stupidity was what made me angry. I really wanted them to end up together. But all in all, even after my anger and sadness. it was one of the most flawless endings to a manga i have read. I say this because i think of the outcomes like this. By halfway through the manga, I was thinking about which one of the girls i would go with and which one really really completes Junpei. I would not choose Nishino, because to me she is a female version of me in personality (no way we fucking look alike physically lmao) but junpeis idiotic, clumsy and indecisive ways really contimplates with Nishino like 2 pieces in a puzzle. And the fact she fought alot for Junpeis affection gives her a win. Now my type of girl is Satsuki. Her sexyness,
assertivness, agresive, energyless, self confidence, very friendly and sociable nature were what made me love Satsuki. But to a guy like Junpei shes the perfect friend but with tits. He never looked at her with loving eyes at ANY point. She just burnt her friendship into his heart.They would have been a good couple but Junpei would not be as happy with her. As for Aya, i liked her. She was cute to the point u wanna give her a nice bear hug lol but to me she was tooo shy. And plus she a total Junpei type girl. She resembles junpei with huge tits. But they both loved eachother. Call me romantic and super cliche retard but both were eachother first love. I mean, i couldnt believe Junpeis incredible, super, unbelievable, idiotic stupidity when he thought Nishino was Aya. "Oh she turned blonde in the short period of time i saw her, i guess its the girl of my dreams then". I was like, is it me or is Junpei the biggist retard in Manga history, or was it me that suddenly turn stupid. But junpei and aya would not have been 100% perfect, it would have been the best relationship turn out. Just like Junpei, Aya was too stupid to say anything, even after her "perfect performence" confession, why didnt she say "I ment what i said". And Junpei just didnt hear what the others were telling him cuz he is retarded. After everything that adolescent Junpei went through, i came to the conclusion that he was retarded, but all this made him become a mature and respectful man in the end. Hes dream chasing made me realize that u have to just chase what u want till the very end. He didnt do things Half Ass (ok, he did alot most of the time) and that if u follow what ur heart tells u it wont matter what happens in the end. But Junpei couldnt make hes but with 4 girls during most of the manga could he lol.
Ok, another thing that bothered me was that the author just kept adding girls. Why? In the end, Yui didnt turn out to be anything. What about this other girl called Kozue, all i have to say is wtf. And that devil little girl Chinami, didnt really have anything to to do with the story. junpei is way to dense to even have those girls near him too. I know this may seem stupid, but i wanna know what else happens. That ending was flawless to the point that it seemed like it said "To be Continued..." at the end. I read this manga at a time when i was emotionally delicate, and it tore me. But i learned from it ina way. But to me its unfinished. thats why i will post this :http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ichigo-100
A stupid petition i signed for there to be a sequal to Ichigo 100%. I dont fucking care about junpei anymore, if he fucks Nishino or not but i wanna know what happened in that time skip, what he filmed, and what happenes to the other girls, not just that weird guys sister. But if theres never ever a sequal, i really dont care either. It ended where it should. I dont know if this is a rant, but i really had to get that out of my chest cuz that story really filled my heart with unwanted emotions. All in all, Ichigo 100% was fucking good and ill never forget it.

NOOOO this not how i wanted it to end! 😔

This is my belief of how it shoulda ended 🙂

1. Aya and Manaka get married (or at least start going out... and what about that perfect couple matching festival thing? didnt they both get the same number? I was sooo happy when i found that out but then the ending just drained all my hopes...)
2. Satsuki and Amachi start liking each other... i thought this would be a nice pair somehow (u can disagree with me lol i will completely understand)
3. Nishino somehow breaks up with Manaka and goes with Okusa, the pastry dude, or Aya's brother 😛 (u can also disagree and i will understand)
4. The octopus dude and Chinami have a octopus and devil looking child (it resembles both of them lol)
5. Sotomura (boy) hooks up with an ugly looking person, but has a nice body (heheh nobody woulda seen this coming)
6. Sotomura (girl) and her boyfriend (who is he anyways? cause i couldnt find the extra chapter 😔 ) get married and eventually have a baby 😀
7. Kozoe Mukai and Migishima (for those of u who forgot, its that one scary looking guy from cram school with the X shaped scar on his forehead.) he was the only one who talked to her besides Manaka (even though she was scared like hell)
8. Yui got rejected so many times she cut herself so many times until she died (no offence but she was annoying 😀 )

THAT IS MY PERFECT ENDING!!!!

Whats a Flapple?

This is probably one of the few things (manga, anime, movie, etc.) that gave me such a pain in my heart when I finished it. I find that kind of weird since the ending was a happy one, but I just couldn't get over the fact that Aya wasn't the one chosen. This is even funnier since through most of the manga, I actually liked Nishino. I thought she was cute, a kind person, and had deep feelings for Manaka. However, when it finally came time for Aya's confession, I couldn't help but think, "How could I have actually preferred Nishino over Aya?" It all came crumbling down in the scene where Aya tells Manaka that she has given up on him (basically what that conversation was about) and as Aya walked away, Manaka burst into tears and had flashbacks of the time he spent with her. From that point to the end of the manga, there was such a deep burning in my heart that I felt like crying. In fact, I was hoping I would cry because that would have made me feel better, but I just couldn't cry, and I ended up going to my room and just lay down until I feel asleep (although I woke up a couple hours later and felt just as bad). I heard someone's interpretation of the ending (I don't know if it was here or somewhere else), but basically they said that the story shows that two people do not need to be perfect for each other to live happily, and can make it through with hard work. That's a fair assessment, but not one that I particularly agree with. My interpretation is much more bitter.

In plain terms, my interpretation of the ending was, no matter how perfect two people may be for each other, if neither side takes action, they can not be together. That's what happened in this story. We all know that Aya was in love with Manaka, but she never did anything because she is a shy person. Manaka was also in love with Aya (although some people may not agree with that). But the evidence was there. In fact, I'll be willing to say that Manaka preferred Aya over Nishino and Satsuki for most of the manga. I thought this was evident when he decided to draw that little diagram showing his connection to the other girls. I believe one of his friends made some statement along the lines of, you know how Nishino and Satsuki feel about you, but you are unsure of how Aya feels. Why don't you just move past Aya (it was something like that). When he drew the diagram, he drew an arrow pointing towards Aya to show that he had feelings for her, but there was no arrow pointing back at Manaka. This lead me to believe that Manaka was in love with Aya, but could not confess because he was afraid that she wouldn't return his love. After that, it missed opportunity after missed opportunity, along with a bunch of misunderstandings, until the biggest misunderstanding took place.

This misunderstanding was when Manaka believed Aya had a boyfriend. He was shocked and hurting, and didn't know what to do. Then when Aya was in the clubroom bra-less (because she was changing for some reason) he tried to approach Aya to ask her about it, but Aya was too embarrassed and ended up running away. He took it as her trying to ignore him, and he saw her running into who believed was her boyfriend (as we know now, it was her brother). At that point, Manaka was in an even bigger depression, but was comforted by Nishino. By then, he knew that Nishino wanted to be his girlfriend again, and he did in fact have feelings for her (although I don't believe it was more than his feelings for Aya), and finally all of his emotions built up to the point where he genuinely feel in love with Nishino. After that, it was over for Aya. He fell in love with Nishino, and he wanted to be with her, no one else.

All of that could have been prevented if Manaka manned up and confessed to Aya when the opportunity was golden (he had plenty of those). In fact, if he would have chased after her during that incident I mentioned earlier (which I was screaming in my head for him to do), they could have still gotten together. Instead, he blew every opportunity and chose to just let her go without even confronting her. Aya is also at fault, though. She could have confessed to Manaka at any point through the course of this crazy roller coaster ride, and she didn't need to run away from him in that incident I mentioned earlier. That was a bit extreme, and ultimately became the final straw that made Manaka fall in love with Nishino. To think that all of this could have been prevented if either one of these things happened. Even Manaka says something along the lines of, if I would have just confessed, how would things have turned out? I can tell you how they would have turned out. They would have gotten together, Nishino would move to France (and may have even stayed there), Aya would still become a prolific writer, and Manaka (with the help of Aya's amazing scripts) would have made a bigger impact in the film industry than he has so far.

It's too bad things didn't turn out that way, but I can say that during the five years that were skipped through at the end, they all grew up and became happy with the lives they chose. It may not be happier than it would have been if Aya and Manaka got together (that's just speculation), but this is what they chose and they are satisfied with that. This was not the ending I would have preferred, but it was definitely a good ending because no other ending in recent memory has made me think, or has left such an emotional impact, as much as this. I just wish the impact have been more pleasant than this.

i liked it it was pretty good...but i think it should have gone to maybe more detail about everyone else other then nishino and junpei getting back together and the other girl meeting a mangka...i think he should have made more omake's about other characters like amachi...i wonder what happened to him O.O

i was nervous at first it was big & long & went straight up i had to try it i eased onto it & liked it! i went up & down on it.... i love escalators now! 😀

(great onizuka ftw)

@sandman- complete agreeableness. i was dead inside for a few days after reading that(the long epic romcom's tend to hold power over me). but i sort of enjoyed the emotional roller coaster ride so looking back i dont think i would change anything about it(except maybe ignoring some characters towards the end)

Quote from tazman0208

Quote from ironbomb

Indeed, Nishino did struggle majority of the series to be with Manaka. Showing/Telling someone that you love them is a REALLY hard task especially when its your first love. She WAS really timid, even more before she met Manaka. That wouldn't be a strong enough reason to say that Aya's love is INFERIOR to Nishinos toward Manaka. You gotta remember that Aya did attend the same high school as Manaka which she was not obligated in any manner to do. That was out of her own heart because she wanted to be with him. Contrary to Nishino, she went off and took Oumi tests, unknown to even his boyfriend at the time[not like Manaka woulda listened lol]. I do agree that Nishino and Manaka complete each other though. She was the 1 I liked the most and was cheering for Manaka to end up with. But by no means is Aya's love towards Manaka any less than Nishino's.

I have to disagree with you on one thing regarding Nishino. You forgot that the reason she left her spot at Izumizaka high school and went to Oumi was to give Manaka her spot so he can enter the high school of his dreams and not remain on the waitlist.
Also, I see alot of people bashing Manaka and saying that he is useless. I believe these people fail to realise the true worth of Manaka. Manaka's character has affected the lives of all the female leads that have interacted with him. Yui was saved by him (situation with her father), Nishino gained a love for cooking and found her path in life mainly because it started out as a way to feed manaka. I dont need to mention Toujou since its pretty obvious that he made her break out of her shell and exploit her talents as a writer through his guidance, Mizuki (Sotomura's sister) gained admiration for Manaka (over time) and evntually aspired to be like him and rebuild the film club in her own university, Kozue also was helped by manaka to escaped her fear of men and experience love for the first time and also a love of movies. I am pretty sure there are more things that manaka has done for the girls but I cant remember all the details from the manga but if you look at the manga carefully you can see how manaka has affected all the girls in his life for the better.

I don't believe the reason why Nishino attended Oumi was to give the spot up for Manaka. They didn't know the results until she has taken the examine for both schools and it was obvious that she would have chosen Oumi over Izumizaka.
Manaka definitely motivated and generated alot of dreams for every female character that interacted with him. He helped everyone of them out but its more coincidental than out of his own will power that such actions took place. How did Yui end up in such a predictament? Her father found out about the "sleeping nude" habit in the same room. Toujou, would she have remained unrecognized of her latent talent if she never met Manaka, I think it would have revealed during highschool if she attended Oumi, even have a greater influence than Manaka..but that is just now me ranting on about that possibility lol. Kozue..truly an interesting character ^^, I feel that Miyamoto(err name check, guy with scar on forehead) would have approached her either way if they ended up in the same class, she wouldnt have gotten demoted to B-Class if she never met Manaka which caused her to tense up during the examine. Nonetheless, Manaka definitely influenced all the characters, male and female, that was around him.

This is a "thank you" and "i freakin totally agree with you" to sandman1008. I thank you because now i know im not the only one that was emotionally hurt by this story. i thought i was alone lol and now i feel, ummm i dunno, not so alone 😀 . You said things i didnt express in my post that i kinda wanted to point out. So thank you. Finally, i totally freakin agree with you. I felt the same way you did at those points when I just wanted to yell "Manaka, You're a dumbass!! Go get her!!". As i said, if those 2 would have had the guts to confess to each other, or other events in the story would have been different, then i bet the outcome would have been different. But all in all the ending is flawless because it really sums up all of the romance. But i still think the mangaka is a bitch for not totally finishing the story with the other characters.

Hello, Good Day.. I would like to Thanks the author of this manga-series, its such a great story, it because it's remind me my high-school day in my life bonding with the pretty girls,(im not a womanizer okay?) HAHAHA, I think the author of this manga know how is beating a man's heart.... But i think Aya-san is well-known as a will be a last chosen woman for Manaka, right?(that's why i think while i read the manga) I am really curious the line that Manaka think to Aya-san, Until the Final Chapter, Aya-san is still in a heart of Manaka (That i Think).....That's Man's Heart is in love after how many year to past is never die, (I thought Manaka is just kind of Man that is said)and also I really like Satsuki,Tsukasa,Misuzu and Kozue because they are attractive and large intimacy on a main male character. if Manaka's heart multiply by any number, the women who like him will be happy.( Im just kidding). That Author said for last chapter that " Its Hard to Succeed in Love but It's also hard to keep it". After I read it all the chapter, I am really dead also in a day because of it, the story pinch in my heart.

By The Way i think that Ichigo 100% is not already finished that i think because of
AYA's MIDDLE SCHOOL NOVEL/STORY to be a MOVIE is not finished yet... maybe AYA-SAN get a chance to win in MANAKA's Heart... (hahaha, Funny)

for the people who want a alternate ending:

MANGAKA seems like a god in their work...
After they done it they'll never changed anymore.

PEACE Out

Life is not so Short,
But life is Unpredictable......

Quote from ironbomb

I don't believe the reason why Nishino attended Oumi was to give the spot up for Manaka. They didn't know the results until she has taken the examine for both schools and it was obvious that she would have chosen Oumi over Izumizaka.
Manaka definitely motivated and generated alot of dreams for every female character that interacted with him. He helped everyone of them out but its more coincidental than out of his own will power that such actions took place. How did Yui end up in such a predictament? Her father found out about the "sleeping nude" habit in the same room. Toujou, would she have remained unrecognized of her latent talent if she never met Manaka, I think it would have revealed during highschool if she attended Oumi, even have a greater influence than Manaka..but that is just now me ranting on about that possibility lol. Kozue..truly an interesting character ^^, I feel that Miyamoto(err name check, guy with scar on forehead) would have approached her either way if they ended up in the same class, she wouldnt have gotten demoted to B-Class if she never met Manaka which caused her to tense up during the examine. Nonetheless, Manaka definitely influenced all the characters, male and female, that was around him.

Well it is true that nishino took both exams (Oumi and Izumizaka) but I believe what determined her decision in picking Oumi was the fact that Manaka was on the waiting list and needed a spot to get in, also the fact that she saw Aya taking the exam for Izumizaka (which made her understand Aya's feelings towards Manaka) and seeing Manaka's expression when he believed Aya was crying (eye contacts incident). The fact that his help was more coincidental then deliberate has no importance, what I am saying is that the very existence of Manaka Jumpei has turned the lives of all these young women aroud him. True that the "sleeping nude" habit in the same room is what caused the problem for Yui but this was in no way Manaka's fault. This was a misunderstanding that could have occured with anybody if Yui slept at other childhood friends as well. In the end Manaka came through and helped Yui out (even though she eventually screws him over at the end of the manga). About Tojo, like you said that was a possibilty that her talent would have shown in Oumi and it is a matter of opinion. But in my opinion I believe without Manaka, Aya's talent would have remained latent and undiscovered. It is due to Manaka's interest in Aya's stories that gave her the courage to write more and eventually join the litterature club and publish her writings. Her personality was too shy otherwise to break out of her own shell. The person I feel sorry for and probably the only person to gain nothing out of dealing with Manaka is Satsuki. She is trully the picture of a tragic heroine in a greek tragedy. Maybe she gained a friendship with Manaka but as we all saw in the last chapter, what kind of friendship is that to not contact each other for 4 years. Well I have ranted long enough and I leave the rest to other people.

[img]http://dragcave.net/image/HbYb.gif[/img] [img]http://dragcave.net/image/PpOf.gif[/img]

Wow... there's a lot written about the ending. I actually read the manga twice over once I got to the ending, primarily because I'm an emotional nerd.

Be that as it may, I will now prepare to offer my defence of the reasons why the current ending is, in fact, the best ending. First, a look into some character profiles:

Manaka: Many people have commented on Manaka; his weakness, indicisiveness, his underserved popularity. Could it be possible for three amazingly desirable girls/women to fall in love with this "loser?" Possible, but in the real world, not likely. However, that's why this is fiction. Having said that, Manaka's character and actions in response to this unrealistic situation is not, in itself, unrealistic. First of all, Manaka is extremely insecure of himself, particularly in regards to girls. (Being a grad student, I can offer references to volume and chapter, if anyone so desires, but on this point, I don't think anyone would disagree). Second, Manaka is, perhaps overly, concerned about other people. This is not a good combination for confessions. These types of people are not only concerned with their own emotions, but also think about the impact their confession would have on the other party, such as, "would my confession become burdensome to her?" However, when a quick decision is required, Manaka acts. This is one of the points of attraction for the girls, that he is reliable in dire situations. It is when he is given a chance to think too much. Fourthly, he is cerebral. Finally, he is honest, or at least tries to be.

Now how do these character traits explain his actions? Simple. First, in terms of his indisiciveness in picking one girl. Exhibit A. He doesn't really understand, and most of us would agree, why any of the girls would actually be attracted to him, so has trouble believing that is the case. This is what limits his relationship with Toujo, and why Nishino and Satsuki needed to confess to him first. (The reason why he confessed to Nishino is that he never believed she would agree in the first place. Afterall, it was only because of his friend's prompting that he experience the same rejection from Nishino.) Exhibit B. He is afraid of hurting the feelings of the girls he doesn't choose (thereby tacitly rejecting), not understanding that not choosing at all hurts them even more in the long run. I think eventually, he understood this concept. As stated before, in fiction, unrealistic situations occur to realistic people. Case in point, BAD TIMING. When Manaka tries to clearly reject Satsuki by not accepting her present, she ends up being even more hurt. It was bad timing on his part. Rejecting a carefully thought-out (at least, Satsuki thought so... I'd never wear those boxers) present is not the right time. However, this would reinforce his idea that rejection would just end up hurting them even more. Exhibit C. In terms of his own heart and feelings, Manaka likes all three, not equally, but in varying degrees which are proportional to his confidence of them liking him. Satsuki, he likes the least, and not so much romantically. However, she is the most clear about her intentions. This is your small gain/low risk scenerio. Toujo he likes the most, but is the most unsure of. And because Manaka is an honest person, he feels it would be wrong for him to be in a relationship with someone without clearly understanding his own feelings. Others (most people, I would think) would approach a relationship as a way to find out how deeply their affections may run. I agree that if Toujo had just made her heart clear, then Manaka's decision would have been easy. But that goes against her character (which I will evaluate later).

As for why the girls would be attracted to him, I still ponder, but here are some reasons why. 1) Because one girl likes him, he instantly becomes more attractive to other girls. Girls may argue with me about his point, but I think real-world experience would support this theory. 2) Considering his personality, he will more likely be courageous in regards to others' benefit than his own. He would not stand up, I think, to defend his own use of booksmarks with half-naked idols, but when his friend is being attacked, he would stand up for him. To certain small percentage of the female population, this is a desirable attribute. 3) His passion towards his dream. When he talks about film-making, he losing much of his awkwardness and insecurity. I think this is what initially attracted Satsuki and Toujo, and what deply affected Nishino later on. This is attractive to women, a man with a clear goal. 4) The paradox of women and echiness. I think his resolve in not taking advantage of the girls in ecchi situations is a point of attraction to the girls. This is a paradox, however, because at the same time, the girls want him to be ecchi with just them. It is similar to how a man might view a girl who is "pure" and be attracted to her, while desiring to be the one to make her "unpure." 5) As meantioned before, Manaka also has impactful interactions with all the characters within the manga. He is the catalyst for the character development of all the major characters. Although he himself remains static until near the end, he changes every other character, both major and minor, both directly and indirectly. Even his soccor friend, Ookusa, is affected. His attraction towards Nishino and his inability to understand why she isn't attracted to him. 6) A final point of attraction, most assuredly for Toujo and Nishino, but maybe for Satsuki as well, is Manaka's concern with the "inside" of a person, and not the "outside." This is why Toujo loved him, because he was the only one who was considerate of her before her awakening as a swan. This was also a reason why Nishino loved him, because he could see beyond her looks. This is also one of the areas of major insecurity for Satsuki, because she felt she couldn't compete with Toujo or Nishino on the "inside."

In conclusion, I don't think it's too unbelievable that any one of these girls would feel attracted to him.

Toujo: This girl is tragically interverted. That is the most major aspect of her personality. Next would be her own insecurities. Having grown up all the way through middle school as the "ugly girl," she can't help but think that she still is that way. She is also, obviously, very intelligent. However, she also lacks perception and insight into other people. Like Manaka, she is considerate of other people, often times at the sake of her own benefit. Her character changes first as a result of her encounter with Manaka, but otherwise, remains static until the end. As many mentioned, she is the most like Manaka himself in many respects.

Now as to some of the motivations for her actions. First, her love for Manaka. I think that her love for Manaka is actually, at least in part, a form of hero worship. She sees Manaka as the one who brought her into a new world where people appreciate her. He is her confidence, the actualizer of her dreams. Contrary to what some others have written, I believe that she would not have pursued a writing career if not for Manaka's suggestion. She never showed her writing to anyone else, until Manaka read her novel. At Oumi, I believe she would have pursued an academic career, not in liturature. Perhaps, later in life, or as a result of her brother's constant pestering, she would have submitted a piece of her writing and her talent would have been discovered, but this is doubtful, since she was not affected by his support prior to meeting Manaka.

Her lack of self-confidence also shows in her decision to follow Manaka to high school. It is his passion to make movies with her scripts which gives her confidence to write more. She would need this confidence in order to move further in her pursuit of writing.

As for why she never confessed to Manaka, first of all, she thought that Manaka and Nishino were continuing to date well into high school. As such, she tried to openly deny any attraction to Manaka beyond working together, while continuing to harbor love for him. In her mind, she would support Manaka and make him happy. This, of course, would lead to much confusion on Manaka's part, as his appreciation for Toujo's talents deepens into love. Later on, she would be envious of Satsuki's overt sensuality and Nishino's history with Manaka. Such insecurities would cause her to confuse Manaka constantly, as one moment, she seems to have a deep passion for him, while the next, turning a cold shoulder. Perhaps, in a way, it would ruin her ability to write if her muse became human.

Because I feel that Nishino's character was best developed, I will proceed to examine Satsuki. She is, without a doubt (well, maybe barring Kurogawa sensei), the sexiest of the girls. She has much confidence in that, and perhaps had some experience with other guys. However, she lacks confidence in other areas, primarily, in any area that doesn't involve her body. Granted, she and Manaka speak the most naturally with each other. However, even she understand that is not the basis for a romantic relationship.

As for her reason for liking Manaka, this one I understand the least. Perhaps, and I conjecture here, it is because no other guy made her feel normal. She admittedly has the most fun with Manaka. Perhaps other guys were so intimidated by her looks that she never felt quite human with them. Also, as I meantioned earlier, it may be the very reason that he seems unattainable the he becomes attrative to her. Any other guy would fall drooling at her feet, so why doesn't he?

As for why she was doomed to fail, it was because she believed she would fail from the start. She was the last of the major three girls (I don't include Yui because there NEVER was a development of romantic feelings between the two) to meet Manaka, and she knew it. She also knew she had the least in common. So her greatest insecurity was her place in Manaka's heart. This caused her to react defensively, overly aggressive. It would have been to her benefit is her strategy had been more subtle. Case in point, in volume 9, when she said, "If I ever felt like it, I could easily attack you," she had great impact on Manaka (who wouldn't be, in that situation?!?!), causing him to desire her, and not the other way around. However, playing from behind caused her to make mistakes which would inevitably play her downfall. If, instead of forcing kisses from Manaka, she would, for example, look at him trapped under her, almost brush his lips, but instead, smile and run away, I think Manaka would have been more likely to start desiring her. Alas, men's heart are wired in such a way that we desire most the things which we seem the least likely to get.

Finally, we come to Nishino. She has the most development throughout the manga, and is realitvely consistent with it. Since her character changes the most, I will examine her character as it changes. We know from volume 1 that she was not like other girls. Her tastes in guys were very particular, even though she was wildly popular. In fact, it is alluded to that she hadn't had a boyfriend prior to Manaka for some time (we know, at least, that she never confessed to anyone other than Manaka). We also know that, while the things which attracted her to Manaka reveal much about her character, in many ways, she had no ambitions. She wanted to go to a particular school because it was closest. Think also her eagerness to go home to eat her mother's pie. We also know that she was willing to become physically intimate with Manaka relatively early.

As for her reasons for liking Manaka, I think the Mangaka made that clear on three occasions (at least to start with). First, though not coming until much later in volume 9, was how he stood up for his friend. Even then, he impacted people around him, as he ran 50 laps and people were cheering for him. This aspect of Manaka was attractive to Nishino. Second, in volume 1, was Manaka's attraction towards the inner characters of a girl. Third, was his very creative (well, Toujo's creative) way of confessing.

Her attraction for Manaka was somehow strong enough, or deepened enough, that, even though she noticed the budding mutual attraction between Manaka and Toujo, she desired to continue pursuing him.

As for her reasons for choosing to go to Oumi, I agree that it was not soley based on letting Manaka go to Izumizaka. I actually think she saw how Manaka and Toujo interacted, and realized that she herself didn't have a dream. This made her want to have a dream of her own. She understood that, in terms of trying to follow Manaka in his dream, she would never be able to compete with Toujo. This is a major character development from who she started off as. Their Middle School relationship also showed that she was willing and able to get Manaka to move forward when he was stalled in his insecurities.

Having now gone to seperate High Schools, Nishino decides to dump Manaka. However, his willingness to come to her defense makes her more attracted to her. However, as she continues to see him interact with Toujo and Satsuki, she makes another decision which shows her character development. She dumps Manaka. Not because she stopped liking him, but because she understood that she was not the one that Manaka liked the most. Had Satsuki been in that situation, she would never have dumped him, using her relationship with Manaka to improve her chances. Nishino, likewise, should have known that dumping him would be a huge disadvantage for her, and yet she does. Why? One possible reason is self respect. She didn't want to further carry on a relationship with a guy who loved another girl. Another might have been for Manaka's sake. She understood that Manaka felt guilty liking Toujo while dating Nishino. Manaka also would not have dumped Nishino because of his character. Therefore, Nishino freed Manaka from that burden.

The next character development occurred on valentines, when Nishino, after finding a dream to pursue, makes chocolates and leaves them at Manaka's door without a card. She never expected Manaka to know that it was from her. This shows that, while she still loved Manaka, she didn't want her love to, once again, be a burden on him. However, because of the misunderstanding with Yui, she comes to think that Manaka still cares for her.

However, it seems that she was willing to let it be as a one-sided love. Even when, by chance, she meets Manaka at night, she give him advice towards his future girlfriend and ends to encounter quickly.

Their next encounter deepens Nishino's love for Manaka, as he defends her in front of her fanboys. And later, because of another chance encounter, they start seeing each other regularly after work. Nishino realizes at this point, that, in terms of competing for Manaka's heart, she should have gone to the same high school. But she also shows the depth of her interest in Manaka, because she started watching many movies in order to better understand him.

Her desire to participate in Manaka's dream is fulfilled when they cast her as the heroine of the next movie. You get the sense during these times that Nishino is struggling with her attraction for Manaka. She thinks that she doesn't have a chance, so has decided to let Manaka go. However, circumstances keep thrusting them back together. It was during these times, I think, that Manaka's love for Nishino also deepened. I think NOT dating Nishino endeared her to him more than when she was dating him.

The next encounter that showed Nishino character (whether it was there from the beginning of developed later, I can't say) was when Nishino invited Manaka over to taste her cake. Here, Manaka spies Nishino in the arms of Higure, and misunderstanding it, runs out. This is a critically element of Nishino's character which made her the right choice for Manaka at the end. Instead of avoiding the awkwardness of the misunderstanding, she confronts it directly. Even after she tried to probe Manaka about it, he, coming to his own conclusions, and as a result of those conclusions, seeing it more proper to let Nishino go, avoids the situation. So does she let it stand? No, she goes to his house and confronts him directly. Had that been Toujo (think of the misunderstanding with her brother), the relationshp would have been over right there. Instead, she takes it as an opportunity to, once again, affirm her love for Manaka.

By this time, I think Nishino had set within her heart to love Manaka again and get back into the competition. On the next encounter, she should her concern for Manaka's happiness again, when she returns to the building in order to retrieve his prized possession, his camera. Then she waits for Manaka, to fulfill his promise to take her out after the party. Here, she makes clear her feelings for Manaka again, and her willingness to carry that out intimately. Unlike Satsuki, Nishino lets Manaka be the aggressor, while making plain that she desires it.

Here, I think the Mangaka gives us the biggest clue of all who Manaka will end up with. When she tells him of the first time she saw Manaka, Manaka realizes that, contrary to his understanding, his relationship began with Nishino first, because Nishino was the first to see the attractiveness in him (although she forgot about it promptly 🙂 .

Later, when Chinami comes on the scene, once again, Nishino doesn't allow misunderstanding to creep in. This time, however, it is Manaka that comes to Nishino, perhaps because he knows that she would be concerned about it. Once again, had that been Toujo, she would have assumed that what she saw was correct and never broached the subject.

She shows the next development when she shows that she is taking pastry making seriously. Instead of waiting till later, she talks to Manaka about her desire to go to France. Henceforth, she is constantly reaffirming her love for Manaka while giving opportunities to ask her to stay.

Next, when Higure is setup as Nishino's fiancee, she clearly states her intent to Manaka. Here, I feel Nishino would have gladly done the third movie, if only Manaka had asked. However, since he didn't, instead of moping about it, she asks him to go on a trip with her. She is bold in asking Manaka to do something that is clearly selfish, yet also opens up her heart to him during the trip, confiding her difficulties with pastry making. None of the other girls had done either asking or telling.

She continues to be very clear with her feelings towards him, culminating in her confession on the pullup bars. If nothing else sealed the Mangaka's decision on who would be Manaka's girl, then this use of paralellism should.

When Manaka was feeling down, while talking with Nishino, she queried him about it. And then she told him to depend on her, as she depended on him. This is what is involved in a recipricated relationship, and I think this is the final element which tipped Manaka's heart towards Nishino. Interdependancy.

Here, we get a peak at Nishino's insecurities. She still feels that Toujo is highest in Manaka's heart. When she sees Toujo's confession in the film, she rightly interprets that as an honest confession. We see a little bit of her wickedness, when she meets Toujo and her brother at the fair, when she asks if he was her boyfriend. When she reads Manaka's reactions to Toujo, she confronts it again, instead of avoiding it. This forced Manaka to really examine himself, and forced him to "man-up" to his decision, until finally, he comes to Nishino, and confesses again and tells her he told Toujo ab out their relationship. I think it is at this point, that basically, the question of who is over. From this point on, it's Nishino, and no one else. The rest of the story is tying up the loose ends.

Now, after all this, (wow, what a grad student nerd I am) Why did Manaka break up with Nishino again at the end, and why did Nishino go to France after all. Here it is. Maturity. Love is not one life following after another. Love is the pain and difficulty of two lives joining together. Nishino needed to establish her own identity, apart from Manaka's girlfriend. This is the same for Satsuki and Toujo. Therefore, in order to pursue her dreams, she went to France. Had Manaka asked her to stay, she could have continued in the pastry world there, it is true. I think, ultimately, if Manaka had asked her to stay, she would have, although not without trepidation. It was a decision that had no easy way out. Go to France, give up Manaka. Stay in Japan, give up a great opportunity.

Now as to Manaka's decision, it is because he finally matured as well. He understood that he was as yet not mature enough to make the right films. I think he also wanted a chance to change and become a man worthy of Nichino's love. Also, he wanted a chance to seperate from the confusion of being around Toujo and Satsuki. Would I have made that decision? No. I would be worried that Nishino would realize what a loser I was and find some hunky guy in France. I would have asked her to stay, continued our relationship, and probably not have been invited to work at that film company. But since it's fiction, then their love was strong enough to carry them through their time of seperation.

Finally, the allusion Manaka makes about Toujo's novel at the end. This doesn't mean that Manaka still has feelings for Toujo. It means, as he stated when he told Nishino he wanted to start over again, that he was in love with her novel. He thought in order to honor all their time together, he needed to bring her novel to film in a proper way.

Anyway, enough with my rant. As you can tell, I really like Nishino. In fact, I can say that she is my favorite Manga/Anime girl ever. Yet, I have never met anyone like her, and don't expect to. But it was a fun ride.

😲 I haven't seen a post like that since that intro a guy gave a few months back about his entire clan history...

can't find it...anyway, good post, can't believe I actually read it all...

and this thread just won't die will it? 🤣