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やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。 #14
My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected, Vol. 14 (light novel)
AT LONG LAST, SPRING IS HERE AGAIN After all the hardships, struggles, and mistakes, the only thing Hachiman, Yukino, and Yui can do is ask the same questions in search of new answers. Yes, it’s the same routine, but each day is always new. Hachiman has struggled to answer truthfully, and his relationships have suffered for it―but it’s time for that to change. This romantic comedy has gone wrong enough times. The story may be coming to an end, but youth lives on.
- GenresLight NovelJapanManga
376 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 4, 2020
Befitting conclusion to a lovely series.
September 23, 2022
The end is the beginning is the end.
And for Hachiman Hikigaya, every awkward and fidgety breath he takes in the final weeks of the semester drags him ever closer toward resolution. Whether that resolution bends to the ephemeral will of a youth gone terribly awry or the oversimplified yearning of a burgeoning adulthood that thrives on indecision, Hikigaya knows this: the nebulous, triangular affection between he and Yuigahama and Yukinoshita must be made real, lest it be increasingly, if not eternally, bent out of shape.
MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14 capably fulfills the novel series' enduring promise of delivering a character drama among selfish people who are consistently too stubborn to believe the truth about themselves.
Yukino Yukinoshita must overcome her mother's withering glare and her elder sister's insufferable pretentiousness to prove she's capable of governing her own future. She'll never succeed if she keeps bowing her head and taking the easy way out. Yui Yuigahama is overloaded with kind-heartedness but never ventures beyond a careful, cheerful, appeasable smile. She'll choke on her own charm if she's not careful. Hachiman Hikigaya detests in others what he sees reflected in himself; he is rotten, hopeless, and friendless. And yet, somehow, his reliability and persistence, however dark, have proved endearing. Now is not the time to be idle.
The prom event that was so masterfully called into being by Hikigaya and his bespectacled allies in the previous volume comes to full fruition. This end-of-year celebration required intense and roundabout haggling that kept Hikigaya on his toes. But the event is here. Will things go smoothly? Will the event meet senior students' expectations? Will the event meet the expectations of worried teachers and meddling parents?
Funnily enough, the prom itself is of little concern or consequence to the narrative. More critical to note are the dramatics rummaging about in the shadows. Yukinoshita is under pressure to validate her capacity as a business woman and problem-solver extraordinaire. Yukinoshita is also trying to figure out why she's so comfortable letting Hikigaya get so close, to help her with her problems, and to bolster her position in her most arduous, personal fights. But she cares for that rotten-eyed boy with the messy hair. What would happen if she left him behind? Would she be stronger for it? Or would she suffer her loneliness all the more?
Unresolved loneliness is a recurring theme in MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14. The turning over of winter into spring, and the changing over of the academic year, parallel and cradle these thematic notes. People come and go, but loneliness and separation permeate every adult's lived experience. One requires courage and affection and steadfastness to fill these gaps and endure their turbulence.
And that's when Hikigaya functions at his best (worst). The young man feels Yukinoshita and Yuigahama slipping away. He doesn't want to lose them; they don't want to lose him; and the girls don't want to lose each other. The tenderness of their bonds varies, but the realness of their relationship is so new and so tenuous that to dismiss it and move on would be a colossal mistake.
So Hikigaya hatches a plan. And it's a doozy. It involves that fake, joint-prom from before. It involves deliberately drawing Mrs. Yukinoshita's icy gaze (and then fleecing the woman of her own expectations). It involves shedding the skin of presumption in allying with the idiots at Kaihin Makuhari High School. It involves backing person after person into a corner, leaving them only one way out, and then tagging them on the back as they flee. If readers learn one thing from MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14, it's that Hikigaya will rake everyone over the coals for the sake one, fragile relationship with one, fragile girl.
And it'll take all of this guy's guile, resilience, and self-inflicted buffoonery to make it out alive. But if it works, if his plan succeeds, even in the slightest, then the young man will have finally bargained with his inner idiot to confess how he truly feels to the young woman who pushes him the most. Best-case scenario: He will have successfully bartered a sheepish acknowledgment from the source of his affection as to how she truly feels about him.
In short, Hachiman Hikigaya manufactures a literal crash-course of human emotions. Yukinoshita feels so worn down that she falters in the face of honesty ("I knew my expression was abnormal, poorly executed, and awkward, but nevertheless, I would have to get better at smiling from the next day onward," p. 57). Yuigahama sobs because her sweetness is a poison to her heart and her heart alone ("I wish I could have hated her," p. 107). And Ms. Hiratsuka, in another grand flirtation with off-brand maturity, reminds readers that human relations, as with life, are hard, because they wouldn't be worth it otherwise ("The answer is inside you. You just don't know how to get it out [..] If understanding came so easily, there'd be no suffering," pp. 198, 200).
What does one say when "I love you" clearly isn't enough?
Why would one willingly burden oneself with the emotional frailties of another?
How many tears must one shed to replenish a heart constantly running on empty?
In the end, we learn that romance at the heart of youth only exists when one wants it to. This is paradoxical and inconvenient, and also entirely true.
Which is why, once more, Hachiman Hikigaya gambles with his own emotions. But this time, it actually pays off: "It was so arrogant to hope for something unbreakable and real, so I had to use everything in my power to twist it, smash it, hurt it -- test it, or I wouldn't be able to believe it really existed" (p. 238).
Structurally, MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14 feels like multiple stories in one. A story with multiple twists and turns, multiple climaxes, and multiple shifts in the emotional latitude the author is willing to reveal about his characters. For example, early in the novel, the author uses rapid-fire exposure to the three Yukinoshita women to draw a definitive, compare-and-contrast calibration of the family's professional-grade loneliness. That is to say, the Yukinoshita women are consistently beset with aloneness, but it's how they respond to it that differentiates them: haughtiness (Mrs. Yukinoshita), bitterness (Haruno), and comradeship (Yukino). As the novel progresses, readers, as well as the protagonist, unintentionally peel away the layers of egotism, shortsightedness, and pity, respectively, which denote and decorate these women's lives.
But the journey is worth it.
By the time a certain character bashfully chirps, "I love you, Hikigaya" (p. 336), the reader feels just as awed and unready as the narrator. And the peaceful, complicated, meaningful dynamics that enter the fray are a hassle. Such a ridiculous hassle. But it's not unexpected.
And for Hachiman Hikigaya, every awkward and fidgety breath he takes in the final weeks of the semester drags him ever closer toward resolution. Whether that resolution bends to the ephemeral will of a youth gone terribly awry or the oversimplified yearning of a burgeoning adulthood that thrives on indecision, Hikigaya knows this: the nebulous, triangular affection between he and Yuigahama and Yukinoshita must be made real, lest it be increasingly, if not eternally, bent out of shape.
MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14 capably fulfills the novel series' enduring promise of delivering a character drama among selfish people who are consistently too stubborn to believe the truth about themselves.
Yukino Yukinoshita must overcome her mother's withering glare and her elder sister's insufferable pretentiousness to prove she's capable of governing her own future. She'll never succeed if she keeps bowing her head and taking the easy way out. Yui Yuigahama is overloaded with kind-heartedness but never ventures beyond a careful, cheerful, appeasable smile. She'll choke on her own charm if she's not careful. Hachiman Hikigaya detests in others what he sees reflected in himself; he is rotten, hopeless, and friendless. And yet, somehow, his reliability and persistence, however dark, have proved endearing. Now is not the time to be idle.
The prom event that was so masterfully called into being by Hikigaya and his bespectacled allies in the previous volume comes to full fruition. This end-of-year celebration required intense and roundabout haggling that kept Hikigaya on his toes. But the event is here. Will things go smoothly? Will the event meet senior students' expectations? Will the event meet the expectations of worried teachers and meddling parents?
Funnily enough, the prom itself is of little concern or consequence to the narrative. More critical to note are the dramatics rummaging about in the shadows. Yukinoshita is under pressure to validate her capacity as a business woman and problem-solver extraordinaire. Yukinoshita is also trying to figure out why she's so comfortable letting Hikigaya get so close, to help her with her problems, and to bolster her position in her most arduous, personal fights. But she cares for that rotten-eyed boy with the messy hair. What would happen if she left him behind? Would she be stronger for it? Or would she suffer her loneliness all the more?
Unresolved loneliness is a recurring theme in MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14. The turning over of winter into spring, and the changing over of the academic year, parallel and cradle these thematic notes. People come and go, but loneliness and separation permeate every adult's lived experience. One requires courage and affection and steadfastness to fill these gaps and endure their turbulence.
And that's when Hikigaya functions at his best (worst). The young man feels Yukinoshita and Yuigahama slipping away. He doesn't want to lose them; they don't want to lose him; and the girls don't want to lose each other. The tenderness of their bonds varies, but the realness of their relationship is so new and so tenuous that to dismiss it and move on would be a colossal mistake.
So Hikigaya hatches a plan. And it's a doozy. It involves that fake, joint-prom from before. It involves deliberately drawing Mrs. Yukinoshita's icy gaze (and then fleecing the woman of her own expectations). It involves shedding the skin of presumption in allying with the idiots at Kaihin Makuhari High School. It involves backing person after person into a corner, leaving them only one way out, and then tagging them on the back as they flee. If readers learn one thing from MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14, it's that Hikigaya will rake everyone over the coals for the sake one, fragile relationship with one, fragile girl.
And it'll take all of this guy's guile, resilience, and self-inflicted buffoonery to make it out alive. But if it works, if his plan succeeds, even in the slightest, then the young man will have finally bargained with his inner idiot to confess how he truly feels to the young woman who pushes him the most. Best-case scenario: He will have successfully bartered a sheepish acknowledgment from the source of his affection as to how she truly feels about him.
In short, Hachiman Hikigaya manufactures a literal crash-course of human emotions. Yukinoshita feels so worn down that she falters in the face of honesty ("I knew my expression was abnormal, poorly executed, and awkward, but nevertheless, I would have to get better at smiling from the next day onward," p. 57). Yuigahama sobs because her sweetness is a poison to her heart and her heart alone ("I wish I could have hated her," p. 107). And Ms. Hiratsuka, in another grand flirtation with off-brand maturity, reminds readers that human relations, as with life, are hard, because they wouldn't be worth it otherwise ("The answer is inside you. You just don't know how to get it out [..] If understanding came so easily, there'd be no suffering," pp. 198, 200).
What does one say when "I love you" clearly isn't enough?
Why would one willingly burden oneself with the emotional frailties of another?
How many tears must one shed to replenish a heart constantly running on empty?
In the end, we learn that romance at the heart of youth only exists when one wants it to. This is paradoxical and inconvenient, and also entirely true.
Which is why, once more, Hachiman Hikigaya gambles with his own emotions. But this time, it actually pays off: "It was so arrogant to hope for something unbreakable and real, so I had to use everything in my power to twist it, smash it, hurt it -- test it, or I wouldn't be able to believe it really existed" (p. 238).
Structurally, MY YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY v14 feels like multiple stories in one. A story with multiple twists and turns, multiple climaxes, and multiple shifts in the emotional latitude the author is willing to reveal about his characters. For example, early in the novel, the author uses rapid-fire exposure to the three Yukinoshita women to draw a definitive, compare-and-contrast calibration of the family's professional-grade loneliness. That is to say, the Yukinoshita women are consistently beset with aloneness, but it's how they respond to it that differentiates them: haughtiness (Mrs. Yukinoshita), bitterness (Haruno), and comradeship (Yukino). As the novel progresses, readers, as well as the protagonist, unintentionally peel away the layers of egotism, shortsightedness, and pity, respectively, which denote and decorate these women's lives.
But the journey is worth it.
By the time a certain character bashfully chirps, "I love you, Hikigaya" (p. 336), the reader feels just as awed and unready as the narrator. And the peaceful, complicated, meaningful dynamics that enter the fray are a hassle. Such a ridiculous hassle. But it's not unexpected.
May 17, 2020
The first book I read straight through without stopping. An incredible emotional rollercoaster over seven hours.
November 13, 2023
Hoy no habrán resúmenes inútiles e innecesarios aquí.
Este es el final magistral de Oregairu. Un final con confesiones —una no dicha pero aun así rechazada y otra dicha de forma extrañamente entrañable y aceptada—; con relaciones destruidas y vueltas a reconstruir para crear algo diferente —algo mejor, más genuino y más fuerte— y con muchos sentimientos —dichos y no dichos y comprendidos y no comprendidos— (eso último es hecho mayormente de forma intencional. Este es Oregairu, que haya drama incluso en estos momentos no debería sorprender)
Este es el final magistral y a la vez imperfecto de Oregairu. No es definitivo y cerrado: Hikigaya Hachiman podría haber encontrado lo genuino que buscaba o podría estar cometiendo un error, Yukinoshita Yukino podría tener la oportunidad de tomar su futuro sentimental y familiar en sus manos ahora, pero eso podría torcerse luego y Yuigahama Yui podría estar intentando ser feliz con la nueva relación de sus amigos, pero eso podría cambiar a medida que pase el tiempo.
Y, sin embargo…
Tal vez este sea el final perfectamente imperfecto que la historia, esta historia, tiene que tener y tal vez, probablemente, mi percepción está completamente equivocada.
Por eso…
Argh. ¿Realmente no tengo más remedio que decirlo, verdad…?
Grr, aunque no quiero hacerlo…
...
...
...
Mi reseña sobre el final de Oregairu está mal, como esperaba.
Este es el final magistral de Oregairu. Un final con confesiones —una no dicha pero aun así rechazada y otra dicha de forma extrañamente entrañable y aceptada—; con relaciones destruidas y vueltas a reconstruir para crear algo diferente —algo mejor, más genuino y más fuerte— y con muchos sentimientos —dichos y no dichos y comprendidos y no comprendidos— (eso último es hecho mayormente de forma intencional. Este es Oregairu, que haya drama incluso en estos momentos no debería sorprender)
Este es el final magistral y a la vez imperfecto de Oregairu. No es definitivo y cerrado: Hikigaya Hachiman podría haber encontrado lo genuino que buscaba o podría estar cometiendo un error, Yukinoshita Yukino podría tener la oportunidad de tomar su futuro sentimental y familiar en sus manos ahora, pero eso podría torcerse luego y Yuigahama Yui podría estar intentando ser feliz con la nueva relación de sus amigos, pero eso podría cambiar a medida que pase el tiempo.
Y, sin embargo…
Tal vez este sea el final perfectamente imperfecto que la historia, esta historia, tiene que tener y tal vez, probablemente, mi percepción está completamente equivocada.
Por eso…
Argh. ¿Realmente no tengo más remedio que decirlo, verdad…?
Grr, aunque no quiero hacerlo…
...
...
...
Mi reseña sobre el final de Oregairu está mal, como esperaba.
March 16, 2020
Read up to chapter 9 so far and just waiting for chapter 10 to be translated to finish the full and final volume. Overall, I really like it, mainly because it is the culmination of the series and done in a satisfying way. I always liked Hikigaya and Yukinoshita's dynamic, and I enjoyed watching the two grow and work together and finally come together with their true feelings. I found it really sweet/cute/touching, and I enjoyed it.
The side characters are mostly enjoyable too as is the conflict, and though I want to see more of their story, I do feel pretty satisfied with what I've read so far and the MC's growth as a person. There were minor slow points reading the series and this volume in the beginning, but around the halfway point, it picked up, and I also felt that it had some deliciously juicy irony with well timed symbolic moments like Hikigaya finally getting the key to the clubroom, him taking their hands, the group sitting relaxing on a bench reminiscent of the clubroom, and other things.
Overall for the series - pretty good, though I prefer the anime for its music/pace/tone/atmosphere/color, but these LNs had nice details to flesh out the characters, moments, and story.
3/5 liked it so far
Edit finished series and nice and satisfying overall though there's some more plotpoints I want expanded like Yui's dynamic with them and meeting Yukino's mother for dinner. But overall was good and looking forward to anime and side stories.
The side characters are mostly enjoyable too as is the conflict, and though I want to see more of their story, I do feel pretty satisfied with what I've read so far and the MC's growth as a person. There were minor slow points reading the series and this volume in the beginning, but around the halfway point, it picked up, and I also felt that it had some deliciously juicy irony with well timed symbolic moments like Hikigaya finally getting the key to the clubroom, him taking their hands, the group sitting relaxing on a bench reminiscent of the clubroom, and other things.
Overall for the series - pretty good, though I prefer the anime for its music/pace/tone/atmosphere/color, but these LNs had nice details to flesh out the characters, moments, and story.
3/5 liked it so far
Edit finished series and nice and satisfying overall though there's some more plotpoints I want expanded like Yui's dynamic with them and meeting Yukino's mother for dinner. But overall was good and looking forward to anime and side stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2022
Clever defenses are overcome by something real
Two socially awkward, intelligent and introspective high-schoolers fall into each other’s orbits and slowly learn to recognize what their powerful but unstated feelings really mean. Complicating matters is a third person, passionate, and caring, with strong affections for the other two.
This story is a slow, gradual burn full of witty observations of high school angst and life, from the first chapter to the last.
The protagonist defends his ego with clever, sarcastic, insights and self-deprecating, even self-sabotaging behavior all of which are gradually overcome by the power of friendships and the realization that he wants “something real”.
The story-telling is superb: you care for these people; you celebrate their successes, feel sad for their losses, and cry for their happinesses!
Two socially awkward, intelligent and introspective high-schoolers fall into each other’s orbits and slowly learn to recognize what their powerful but unstated feelings really mean. Complicating matters is a third person, passionate, and caring, with strong affections for the other two.
This story is a slow, gradual burn full of witty observations of high school angst and life, from the first chapter to the last.
The protagonist defends his ego with clever, sarcastic, insights and self-deprecating, even self-sabotaging behavior all of which are gradually overcome by the power of friendships and the realization that he wants “something real”.
The story-telling is superb: you care for these people; you celebrate their successes, feel sad for their losses, and cry for their happinesses!
December 7, 2023
Although not technically true, for the most part this is the final novel.
Despite being the longest in terms of page count, this novel didn't feel as long winded as some of the others.
I don't think its a spoiler who ends up with who, its very obvious from the very first novel. however that doesn't change the fact that the confession scene is probably the best I have read. finally seeing these characters express how they truly feel almost feels worth it... almost (it took us 17 volumes to get here)
But what stands out just as much is the friendship between Yukinon and Yuigahama is absolutely amazing and heart-warming. and that is what made it worth it for me.
...But lets be real He should of ended up with either the Teacher or Totsuka.
Despite being the longest in terms of page count, this novel didn't feel as long winded as some of the others.
I don't think its a spoiler who ends up with who, its very obvious from the very first novel. however that doesn't change the fact that the confession scene is probably the best I have read. finally seeing these characters express how they truly feel almost feels worth it... almost (it took us 17 volumes to get here)
But what stands out just as much is the friendship between Yukinon and Yuigahama is absolutely amazing and heart-warming. and that is what made it worth it for me.
...But lets be real He should of ended up with either the Teacher or Totsuka.
June 11, 2021
Que decir que no se haya dicho ya, en un principio empecé a leer las novelas ya que hubieron muchas cosas que no entendí del anime y sabía que aquí encontraría las respuestas que quería, y lo hice. Realmente fue muy bueno el viaje de toda la historia y te encariñas bien con todos los personajes, y el final está hecho de la misma forma que fue toda la historia, de forma retorcida y llena de engaños y trampas de la forma que solo Hachiman podrá hacer, ya que como dijo, su comedia romántica juvenil es un error, como esperábamos.
January 14, 2024
A Rarity a kind of Long Light novel series, comes to a conclsion. The Service Club nears it's end by trying to put on a Prom. Then the three members have to resolve their feelings for each other and the unhappy way they are parting. The Solution, another Prom, this time with another High School.
The Novel is pretty entertaining, you really feel for the characters and he issues they are dealing with, even if the issues are ones they created. The Ending leaves a bit open-ended, so maybe there will be more to come.
The Novel is pretty entertaining, you really feel for the characters and he issues they are dealing with, even if the issues are ones they created. The Ending leaves a bit open-ended, so maybe there will be more to come.
August 15, 2022
What can i say.
The confession scenes by both Hachiman and Yui is stellar. I kinda like the way Hachiman rejects Yui and how mature Yui to handle the situations. It's so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.
Especially how Hachiman confessing his feeling to Yukino. It's so magical and very Hikigaya style at its finest! Loved every word and i'm gawking, happily tearing up to read every analogy he puts in. Love, love, love it!
The confession scenes by both Hachiman and Yui is stellar. I kinda like the way Hachiman rejects Yui and how mature Yui to handle the situations. It's so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.
Especially how Hachiman confessing his feeling to Yukino. It's so magical and very Hikigaya style at its finest! Loved every word and i'm gawking, happily tearing up to read every analogy he puts in. Love, love, love it!
April 5, 2021
i didn't like the end. It ruined my whole dedication.
July 18, 2022
I loved it
June 19, 2022
กว่าจะรู้ ยอมรับ ไม่อยากเป็นแค่คนที่รู้จัก แล้วค่อยเลิกติดต่อกันไป
อยากเจอเธอในทุกๆวัน ต่อไป เรื่องราวชังยืดมานานจริงๆ
อยากเจอเธอในทุกๆวัน ต่อไป เรื่องราวชังยืดมานานจริงๆ
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