Week 4 - first 1/3rd of chapter 2
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I’m halfway through chapter 2 and still haven’t seen the end line. I’m at 24% on bookwalker. they just entered the game center.. Did I miss it? is it further ahead? Is the end line wrong?
I swear, if I ever publish a novel, each chapter will have the same shortish character count.
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Sorry, I made an error in the chart. The line for this week is ひとまず、引かれないことだけを願っておこう。.
Updated in OP, and will double-check the rest of the lines later tonight. Update: rest of the lines are good.
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Week 4 - Ch2 (1/3) thoughts
Amami just giving him her number like that after the confession spying
Was not expecting that! Does she just give her number to anyone in class who she’s acquainted with? The 口止め pretext seems kinda odd… on a different note, I appreciate that there’s just a passing sentence about how half the class would be jealous he has her number, and it’s an otherwise normal (for the situation) conversation. The story doesn’t portray this as some kind of an achievement - just an event that happened in passing.
Being popular seems like it would be a pain
I agree Maki, I agree… that said, yeah your attitude is probably not the healthiest for a high schooler (I have friends of course… but being popular in the way that Amami or Asanagi are seems like a huge pain)
That’s the sorta thing I like about you. As a friend of course
Ok, so I guess despite all the flirting teasing and being silly in Ch 1, she doesn’t have a thing for him… Also I love how he throws the “as a friend” line right back at her, with “don’t get the wrong idea”… quite cheeky of him…
I just started doing this whole socializing/having a friend thing - it’s probly a bit premature for me to think about a love life
Probly not entirely wrong, but I feel like maybe he’s not giving himself enough credit here… but I guess part of the point is that it’s an adjustment for Maki himself - since he’s still kinda got this complex about his social life
Amami questioning Asanagi on what her after school plans are
For repeatedly lying to her best friend, Umi is not really convincing here, until she pulls out the “it involves my brother” line… who I guess Amami doesn’t really get on with? But then on top of that, her being visibly happier than usual during class… like girl, who do you think you’re fooling? It’s cool seeing her be excited tho
Also poor Nitta…
Maki waiting at the train station
Aww that feeling that other ppl are secretly focusing on/judging/making fun of you, when you’re a socially anxious person… I feel ya there
Asanagi spooking Maki
He’s not being overly びびる… anyone would react like that, if their friend snuck up on them… that’s half the fun 
I assumed you’d come early like this, so I came early too, cuz I’d feel bad
Considering how excited she seemed all day, I don’t really buy this. If she was worried he’d come early, she could have just texted him not to.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to their friend date around the city, and this anime shop
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I also stopped reading yesterday when it became suspicious 
I think the following only covers this week.
End percentage for Booklive is 21% (I assume it’s the same for BookWalker)
week 4
So, from the discussion of the girls I gather that the 先輩 keeps getting rejected. That’s an interesting detail, considering that my assumption would be that this kind of stories would have hot dudes getting all the girls (except for the love interest because blah). I’m surprised (in a positive way) that attractive guys can have a hard time too here. I hope we get to see more about 先輩 later.
それこそ違うって。(…)
Wow rude. Also, I don’t even believe it.
ほとんどの男子が喉から手が出るほど欲しいであろう天海さんの連絡先……
I guess that’s supposed to be the case, but it’s kinda weird to me. What are those hypothetical boys going to do with it? Just contacting her would probably lead to an instantaneous block, so it’s not like it’s really useful… On the other hand, getting it willingly from her means that at the very least she doesn’t mind being on friendly terms. Considering that he can also normally talk to people, I guess his lack of friend is a problem on his side…
なにせ、今まで『友達になって』とすら同性のクラスメイトに言えないぐらい筋金入りの俺
Okay, that pretty much confirms my last statement. He just doesn’t really know what “being friends” entails I am now going to distrust any judgment of character he makes about anyone. He obviously doesn’t know what he is talking about.
一人ぼっちなのもそれなりに辛いけど
Is it, though? You have left me completely unconvinced on that front (when it comes to you). Sounds more like it’s something he feels he should say, especially since his mother does worry about it, but doesn’t really believe.
俺ができることなんてたかが知れているけれど、それで朝凪さんが少しでも楽しく過ごせたり、気が楽になるのなら、それでいいと思う。
But… then what was that message exchange about? You literally did the opposite of making her relax. The first message sounded like a joke but the 頼む made it sound like it was not (and her reaction certainly sounded less positive).
MC would be probably rolling straight 1s if he ever plays DnD.
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re week 4
I don’t know about high school, but I have been a university student in Japan. After meeting someone, it was really common at the end of the conversation to get the other person’s Line, which is functionally the same thing. So, it’s not that surprising.
I’m pretty sure Asanagi exchanged contacts with Maehara immediately too. (I don’t remember honestly)
But that’s just his idea, right? Which I’m pretty sure is wrong. She literally said she will register him as well later, too, so she does expect to keep in touch (little did she know the depth of his lack of interest for social stuff).
Actually, I’m curious to see what he will do. If he really believes it to be a “bribe” (still unsure how that would work), his best course of action is simply to not save her number. If she did meant it as a way of becoming on friendly terms (which I assume), not adding her would not be nice (personally, I would be annoyed; not enough to confront him, but still).
I didn’t read it as cheeky. For me, it felt more like he was also making sure she doesn’t get the wrong idea.
I don’t remember that part, but (in general, then), I disagree. Being in a relationship requires a lot more social skills than being friends. If he really never had friends, then he is absolutely not ready to be in a relationship.
My guess was just that he has been repeatedly hitting on her or something.
I don’t know about fun, but yeah, that was my impression too.
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re week 4
I’ve never lived in Japan, but that feels like a very “college thing” to me, in general.
Afaict he exchanged numbers with Asanagi at that first meeting (not shown) - but that was a pretty different scenario than “randomly bumped into a classmate I’ve never spoken to, during school, wound up eavesdropping on a confession, and talked for a few seconds afterwards”. Like Maki & Asanagi were mutually intending to hang out
Yeah good point - I read that section a bit too fast earlier.
Mm, cheeky is probably the wrong word… but like, it was never in question in the first place (whereas she had just made a “that’s what I like about you” comment). My brain is kinda mush rn, so I can’t quite figure out how to word what i had in mind… So nevermind
I actually agree, contrary to what I suggested earlier
Yeah this was a nice touch of realism
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I’ve started, but at my current rate I suspect I will take quite a while to catch up. Head spinning and I’m not past the 自己紹介 yet. Oh well, lotsa old words I need to reinforce…
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頑張ってね - glad to have you joining 
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I also started yesterday. I’m about half way though the prologue and then made the mistake of seeing how many hours were left in the book (
). But hopefully I’ll catch up in a week or two.
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you really just need to know how many hours are left till week 4 tho fwiw… anyway looking forward to your thoughts as/when you catch up
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Two weeks down, two to go (probably three by the time i catch up)
Prologue
Will probably need to reread the 自己紹介 section. Not really sure what 真樹 screwed up with his own intro, feels like it’s all in his head, but that’s what being a high schooler is like I guess.
Chap 1 part 1
Very manic pixie dream girl but frankly at this stage of my reading I’m okay with it.
I won’t say it’s not not normal to describe a girl’s hand as soft as silk in Eng works, but it’s funny how often it comes up in web novels.
Generally I’m finding this a fairly comfortable effort read. I think the kid’s books like 四つ子, while still good, were getting a little bit overly elementary school for me … even if I still couldn’t really read them fluently lol.
It is a damn sight easier than 薬屋 but it’s compensated by the fact i haven’t seen an adaption, so I don’t have any guideposts to help out.
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Re prologue
You didn’t miss anything. It’s all in is head as far as I am concerned. There’s no explanation of what the problem is supposed to be.
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Up to date in time for the next week.
Enjoying myself so far though MC is a fair bit of a dweeb (fairly par for the road for LNs i think) and I don’t think I completely get stuff on a first read, so it often needs a re-read (either of just the sentence or more often the whole segment). But it’s building confidence at least.
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It’s now Week 5 - ch 2, pt 2
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week 5 (ch 2 pt 2) thoughts
じゃあ、朝凪が真樹って呼んでくれたら俺も言ってあげるよ」
「いや、私たちまだそんな仲良くないし」
Ok I love the 突っ込み and all, but girl you literally just asked him to do this to you
The teasing over the 18+ section lol… I would have felt weird about that request, but for a different reason
俺が手に取ったのは、少年誌で連載されているラブコメ作品である。わりときわどい描写の作品が多くある昨今、ハーレムなしの一対一のラブコメで、どちらかというと真面目に恋愛をしている作品だった。
「へえ、前原もこういうの読むんだ。もっとエッチなやつかと思ったけど」
What has there been to suggest that he’d like ecchi stuff so far? Esp after he didn’t want to go into the 18+ section. Seems like someone’s projecting
「そういうのはちょっと･･････まあ、マイナー気味だけどそこそこ売れてるし･･････話自体もいいからさ」
マイナー気味 means “not mainstream” / “kinda niche” here?
「そうなんだよね。こういうのみたいに、みんなが優しい世界だったら快適なんだけど」
She said something sensible
「いや………………創作は創作で現実は現実だから。ちゃんと弁えてるから」
To be fair, some people seem to have a lot of trouble with that…
現実で例えるなら、天海さんのような人が俺に好意を抱いて言い寄ってくるようなもので、どうぞ
I think most ppl aren’t being pursued by manga protagonist-esque ppl
「･･････あの、朝凪サン?」
「なんだい、前原クン?」
I see the 呼び捨て is being put to good use already
逃げようとしたが、寸前のところで襟をむんずと掴まれてしまった。思っていたよりも握力が強くて、俺はそこから一歩も動くことができない。そして首が痛い。
「いや、だってここはやばいでしょ」
「そう?でも、なんだかんだここが一番安いし腹だって膨れるし」
I see her risk meter is still buggy
「あ、朝凪･･････もう」
I appreciate that the author didn’t do the whole “but it’s so hard to 呼び捨て, I’m gonna just keep calling you with honorifics” trope
およそ席の8割が学生で、学校の話やこの後の予定の話などでうるさ･･････じゃなくて、とても賑やかだ。そにぎ
It’s ok dude, you can say うるさい
いつもは持ち帰りなので、揚げたてのポテトを食べるのも久しぶりだ。
I can’t see that phrase without immediately hearing 一人ぼっち東京…
そう言われても、さっきのアニメショップで引き出しは空だし･･････げ、ゲーセンとか?」
Always cool to see 空 (から) pop up
最初は周りの人を必要以上に気にして縮こまっていた俺だったが、朝凪の話し方が上手いのもあ次第に気にならなくなってくる。
Conversation with someone you like/enjoy spending time with us nice like that glad he’s finally calming down a bit… Also テンシザメ sounds so silly 
朝凪がそう言うなら俺としては信頼するだけだが、楽しさのあまりに足元をすくわれないよう、俺のほうでも一応気を付けたほうがいいかもしれない。
俺は影が薄いからいいけれど、きっと朝凪はそういうわけにもーー
I’m a little lost on what his concern is here… Stick with your initial thought - her social life is hers to manage
Unsurprisingly - someone saw them together, and recognized her… Well that was rather a creative way to create a mutual あーん scene. Idk if I buy it as an effective tactic for getting the girls off their tail, but w/e
「私はいいよ、慣れてるから。でも、前原だってひどい言われようだったし。･･････友達が悪く言われるの
は 、やっぱり腹立つよ。前原のこと、なんにも知らないくせに」
I love her getting angry on his behalf, tho feel bad for her that she has to put up with crap like that regularly. Also love that Maki’s reaction isn’t “no they’re right I’m just a loser” but instead is “I don’t really care what random strangers think, if my friend sees me for who I am”. That’s surprisingly secure of him, given his sorta isolation complex he’s had the whole novel
「まあ、前原がそれでいいなら、闇討ちはやめるけど」
「気持ちはわかるけど、どのみち闇討ちはやっちゃダメだから
「え〜」
「だから」
「･･････な〜んて、わかってるよ」
Makes me nostalgic for the arcade in my home city. We didn’t have a batting range though 
「じゃ、まずはこのメダルを増やしにいこっか」
違和感
カップ山盛りになったメダルを手に次の場所へ移ろうとしたが、さっきまで隣にいた朝凪は、いつの間にか元の液晶の場所にいる。
「･･････・朝凪、なにしてんの?」
は? いやいや、前原こそ何言ってんの。ここからが本番じゃん」
嫌な予感がしたが、やっぱり。
Yeah saw that coming lol… Anyway, it’s nice to see she has some flaws
今後朝凪と遊ぶ時はこういうことにならないよう注意しておかないと。
He’s advanced quite far, from being freaked out at the idea of going out on a date hanging out together in the city vs thinking forward to next time
「う~ん、惜しくも二位か･･････やっぱり初めのミスが響いたかな」
「いやいや、初めてのプレイでランキング乗るほうがやばいんですけど･･････こういうのならたまにクラスのみんなとやるけど、だいたいクリア前にやられちゃうし」
Hardcore gamer vs reality
最初は朝凪に適当に付き合うだけだったのが、今は俺が朝凪を振り回しているような。 そうさせてくれるのは、多分。
I think the meaning of this sentence is that he was just following her around at first, but now he’s leading her around… But not 100% sure. Can anyone confirm?
I don’t entirely get what そうさせてくれるのは means/translates to
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Week 5
Summary
That was a fair amount of fun.
I don’t feel like there’s a lot of tension or plot in this book so far, but it’s early days yet. No idea how this sustains an entire series of books.
me during this entire just hanging out session:
I wasn’t expecting my recent uma musume obsession to become fleetingly relevent.
Generally I will probably need to reread everything again because I would say I’m only getting vibes from a first read, but it’s breezy enough and the club pace is slow enough that that’s not an issue.
Q re some sections:
闇討ちは
「まあ、前原がそれでいいなら、闇討ちはやめるけど」
「気持ちはわかるけど、どのみち闇討ちはやっちゃダメだから
I got lost at this bit, something about a surprise attack. Were they talking about the game again?
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re: week 5
What’s the connection?
Love the Frieren reaction btw. (Tho I really like their friendship so far)
No, she’s joking she would ambush the people who were making fun of them, as revenge
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Week 5/Ch 2 pt 2
lmao i thought she was but wasn’t sure that she was like ‘yeah imma beat them up’ lol
It’s a series about horse racing (more or less) so i’ve been internalising horse racing commentary by osmosis for the last week or so
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week 5 connection
Ohhh makes sense. I get really damn bored during horse race sections lol (here included). Probably more interesting to watch in anime form
