A mixed bag of a volume for me, once again mostly due to the fact that I really like Tsuruga and like his chemistry with Sayama much more than Saikawa's chemistry with Sayama! Like damn, the fourth volume better give him a boyfriend or something otherwise I'm just going to be sad for him at this rate...
Setting Tsuruga aside, this volume was... fine, I guess.
On one hand, I liked seeing Sayama develop a bit more as he experienced his first bout of jealousy. This arc wasn't anything special when compared to the truly amazing depictions of jealousy that I've read this year, but it worked for him and I like how it helped him empathize with Saikawa and how it lead to active communication that strengthened their relationship.
On the other hand, it was a bit annoying to see Saikawa fumble his interactions with Sayama more than once. Like, yeah, he's only a teenager, so it's in character for him to be more emotional and less rational when it comes to navigating emotions and interpersonal interactions -- but Saikawa also, multiple times, shows that he knows Sayama's thought process by guessing what he's thinking, feeling, or about to say. Which makes the arguments just not make sense? Like, you would think that if you understand someone's thought process and know what would set them off, you... wouldn't 'accidentally' press those buttons? Especially if you're trying to be conscious of your more mean side? I just don't get it. The arguments just kind of felt like pointless plot points that were needed to help boost Sayama's character growth, but they don't feel super authentic.
Though I will say that I really liked how in all of the arguments, Sayama says he's going to leave, and then he does. Like, it's such a small thing, but I really like that Saikawa lets Sayama leave whenever he wants to without any fighting, protesting, or trapping him there. It's, sadly, refreshing to see, and was probably one of my favorite details about their relationship in this volume.
This volume was okay. I mostly enjoyed the parts with Tsuruga. The whole thing with the ex was meh. I was getting a little tired of Sayama's tsundere personality and I feel like the jealousy was just a little blown out of proportion? It just took up way more space than I would've liked and their arguments seemed pretty petty. Other than that it was a fine volume and I'm looking forward to the next volume. The author mentioned in their note that Tsuruga was more than a plot device so I'm really hoping something good happens for him.
Doncs bastant freda m'ha deixat la història... Em costa definir-la perquè no té gaire smut, són estudiants d'institut, però hi ha comportaments molt tòxics :( insisteixo que un cop superat el tema de la mascareta, la història perd tota la gràcia...
Jeszcze dzisiaj rano nawet nie wiedziałam o istnieniu tej serii, a kilka godzin później mam ją całą przeczytaną... Nigdy nie wiadomo do czego skłonią człowieka rolki na Instagramie XDDD
Non amo particolarmente le parti di gelosia nei manga, ma è stato comunque carino. E povero Tsuruga...dai faccio il tifo anche per te! Troverai sicuramente qualcuno prima o poi!