#But being with hikaru has always represented that to Yoshiki. When he’s with hikaru he doesn’t need to conform

[honorthysalad]

k some ch22p2 thoughts

Well I didn’t realize that katana was special. Or maybe it’s not and all ghosts can be defeated with normal stuff. Like Yoshiki stabbed ‘hikaru’ with a normal knife. His body clearly isn’t special in any way. Ig its possible that ‘Hikaru’s neck was reinforced with his insides in some way since it’s necessary for his control over the head. Probably not though because that makes no damn sense.

yayay Yoshiki’s mom moment. Hopefully in the next part we see more of her. She generally seems semi-caring but quick to yell and is very nice to ‘Hikaru’.

weird that Hikaru’s mom didn’t show up. Ig she could’ve visited offscreen. Does she have a job that would keep her away? Or actually even Hikaru’s grandma. What does she do all day? I think it’s kinda sad ‘hikaru’ didnt have anyone to sit with him. (And also how sad would it have been if Yoshiki woke up to none of his family there only to see Hikaru’s waiting patiently by his bedside? Hikaru’s family was always stated to be more loving or at least, preferable to Yoshiki’s. Their house is his relief from the village, his slice of the city. Whenever we flashback, we never see Yoshiki’s house [except for ch9…. Obviously]. Yoshiki is always at Hikaru's house. [but whatever maybe Yoshiki’s family being neglectful was just something I made up in my head. I thought that was the implication but maybe they’re all completely fine except for the dad and Yoshiki doesn’t like them for brooding teenage reasons] )

I ain’t gonna touch too much on Tanaka stuff. If I did, we’d be here all day. I don’t care for ghost stuff at all; it’s without fail my least favorite part of the series. I’m just gonna chalk up the blindness unless wearing prescription specter sunglasses to more ghost bullshit and move on.

#I will always advocate for more Hikaru’s family #I need them. I crave them. We get TOLD all the time how Yoshiki’s family argues all the time or that his mom is ‘scary’ #But we never see it and I feel it could inform a lot about him as a character and why he does what he does #I think Hikaru represents like an ideal member of society. A perfectly average boy who fulfills his familial duties #He was probably gonna take over the family business; marry a woman; have kids; pass his duty and business onto them #And ‘hikaru’ is the failure to do that. He’s asexual and has only shown an interest in being with Yoshiki #We haven’t seen his opinion on running the family business. #So letting go of hikaru would represent letting go of the need to conform. #But being with hikaru has always represented that to Yoshiki. When he’s with hikaru he doesn’t need to conform #So idfk what the like conclusion Yoshiki needs to reach for his character is going to be #Like I’m trying to figure out his fatal flaw. Why is he in this terrible situation to begin with? #What’s he actually holding onto? Conformity? The status quo? The past? #Real post in the tags ig. The tags are my thinking space #hikaru ga shinda natsu #the summer hikaru died #hgsn #hgsn spoilers

[javestier]

HGSN Chapter 11 Analysis (spoilers)

Chapter 11 is my favorite by now, and i just can't stop thinking about the symbolism of that "place" Yoshiki was "taken" when that evil spirit took over his brain. So i would like to share my interpretation of this scene with you.

So this time, i will focus mostly on Yoshiki's mind and psychology, because i interpret that this "other world" where he was taken it's just a representation of his actual state of mind and his perception of the world.

An empty field with empty blocks that are very small and exposed to an open sky without any type of protection. This could represent what it feels like to live in the village for Yoshiki.

With nowhere to go, with no home. Constantly exposed in a place that has nothing to offer, small and boring. The horizon stretches as far as Yoshiki can see.

Then those creatures appear. These things look like huge brains and they enter the scene only to harass and hurt Yoshiki with what seems to be memories of things he has heard throughout his life. There are more and more, and they are going to crush him.

According to my interpretation, that these creatures do not have a human appearance can again speak about Yoshiki's loneliness. Those who said those things were people, but their faces are not recognizable. Also the fact that they look like brains may be because Yoshiki's own brain is literally attacking him with memories that torment him.

Coming to this page i really felt a relief. It's Hikaru! a familiar face. My relief was short lived, tho.

Hikaru's child version makes you think this is probably a memory. Yoshiki confirms this by saying that Hikaru is holding Caw-son, the crow they cared for together long ago.

Now things start to get heavy af.

Hikaru begins to attack Yoshiki, blaming him for Caw-son's death. At first Yoshiki looks calm (I'd say blocked) and says that it was something that was supposed to happen. That living beings are destined to die at some point. Little Hikaru gets angry and tells him that it doesn't have to be like this.

The discussion becomes more and more scandalous. Hikaru doesn't stop blaming Yoshiki and Yoshiki just tries to defend himself using logic. As he is pressured by Hikaru's cruel words, we can see how he himself transforms into a child.

That last line is the last straw and Yoshiki takes the verbal confrontation into a fight.

This whole scene, did it actually happen like this in the past? in that case, considering how important Hikaru is in Yoshiki's life, it must be one of the most painful memories for him.

Still, despite being a painful memory, Hikaru is present. We see his face, and he's looking directly at Yoshiki. They face each other without fear. That is also important to demonstrate the trust and sense of equality that existed in this bond.

But why exactly this memory? It is not just coincidence or the simple fact that it is a painful memory.

" Oh yeah?! then why is he dead, huh?! when he was perfectly fine not too long ago! "

could it be that Yoshiki has been asking himself the same thing?

" Why did Hikaru die when he was perfectly fine not too long ago?

Why did things end this way? Could I have done something to save him? Could I have said something at that time? "

" You've been always a useless fraidy-cat. "

Yoshiki is alone. That's the truth. His best friend has died and no one but him seems to know it, and the reason for his torment ("Hikaru") is by his side every day to remind him what a coward he is. To let him know that he has accepted a stranger, something dangerous that could harm him, just because if he didn't, he would be alone. And yet Yoshiki is still the loneliest person in the world.

#hikaru ga shinda natsu #the summer hikaru died #mokumoku ren #very sad #i feel like crying #edited #angsty #like very angsty #hgsn #manga

[honorthysalad]

Some people on tiktok are saying they feel hgns is turning into queerbaiting, because in 25-1 yoshiki is basically the reincarnation of the wife that was brought back to life and so its like the 2 of them are just the modern day equivalents of the husband and the wife, whats your thoughts on this? I probably didn't explain it very well but do you think the story is also going to take that direction or do you think its an over reaction ? I don't have the best analysis abilities so i was curious what you thought

I'm going to preface that I have not seen the original video making this point, and so I am working off talking points I've seen other people using.

I think hgsn has always had a problem with this. Not queerbaiting, but instead that when people are recommended this manga by other people, they are told it's a horror BL. Hgsn is not a BL. It was, but then after chapter 3, Mokumokulen removed the BL tags, and the official website where hgsn is hosted has not had it listed as a BL for a long time. It is currently listed as outsider, horror/bizarre, mystery/thriller. However, English sites continue to list it as a BL, probably for lack of an LGBT tag. Hgsn has not been a BL in a long time, and while yes, the pilot (<- btw the pilot has no bearing on the current manga. A lot of things have been changed from the pilot aside from the BL elements) and first three chapters have a lot of BL signaling, Mokumokulen has clearly changed their mind on having a romance between Yoshiki and 'Hikaru'.

Does this make it queerbaiting? I'd say no because the characters are still visibly queer. There have definitely been retcons, but Yoshiki being gay has gone unchanged. I've seen a few people pointing to Ch21 as proof that Yoshiki is heterosexual because when he looks at 'Hikaru's collarbone, he says "I don't feel anything in particular anymore". I feel the important part of that being is 'anymore', meaning he once did. This part of the chapter is a reflection on their sexualities, wherein 'Hikaru' tells Yoshiki he doesn't understand romantic or sexual attraction and Yoshiki, while he refuses to say outright, isn't straight. He was attracted to Hikaru's body and says he has feelings for Hikaru that 'Hikaru' wouldn't understand. This chapter makes it clear that Yoshiki is gay and 'Hikaru' is aromantic and asexual. They are still queer characters, the story is still fundamental a queer story of feeling othered in a small town and the terror of discovering your sexuality, and not having a romantic relationship between Yoshiki and 'Hikaru' doesn't take away from that.

I think an important part of queerbaiting is that despite being promised queer characters, the media has none or features them very little. Think of The Rise of Skywalker where the queer representation the director claimed was in the movie during press interviews is actually a kiss between two women limited to a background shot in a crowd shot. That two-second scene wasn't representative of anyone, was hidden away in the background, but then touted as a LGBT+ representation because the directors and company wanted the movie to be seen as progressive. That's queerbaiting and that's definitely not what hgsn is doing. Queerbaiting is not expecting a romantic relationship to develop between two characters and never having it actualized in canon. That's just being disappointed, which is still reasonable but not really grounds to accuse the author of something greater.

(I'm not going to touch much on that ancestors point. I think that Yoshiki actually being straight because he has the soul of a woman is a strange conclusion to come to, especially when we don't know if he even is a reincarnation of Hichi yet, and has really weird implications. And then the original sin being trying to bring someone back from the dead is the only thing that makes sense narratively because the danger of refusing to accept death as a natural part of life is a key theme in hgsn.)

So to just wrap it all up- is changing your mind mid-story about the genre messy? yeah, definitely. Is hgsn perfectly written? no- oh my god, no. Is hgsn queerbaiting? No, because Mokumokulen might have changed their mind on a romance, but they did not change their mind on having queer characters, and non-romantic stories of queer people are still important stories to tell.

And then if you disagree with people who are disappointed that hgsn isn't a BL, don't just start insulting them or their intelligence. They were picking up on exactly what the author wanted them to at the time. The introduction sets up the tone for everything that follows and hgsn changed its mind mid-introduction. Being told by the manga 'look at all these romantic implications!' and then a few chapters later getting told 'actually nvm' is going to be confusing for any reader. I think mokumokulen has put a lot of work into making this a gradual change (the real breakdown of a possible romantic relationship comes in vol2's bonus chapter and concludes in ch21), but it doesn't removed what was already there in the first chapters. And like- if you don’t like someone’s take, block them. Easy way to not see takes from them anymore. Or just like ignore it. Complain to a friend about it. Draft up a reply and delete it. No need to be a dick to them.

#also mokumokulen has written a few actual bls in the past. it's not like they're scared of touching the genre #if we're going to accuse Len of anything I'd look more at how they treat the background female characters #but that's just me #*sips tea* #the summer hikaru died #hikaru ga shinda natsu #hgsn #Lmk if there’s any more clarification needed #My HGSN shit