Anonymous #3 10h

I haven’t watched the movie but that’s not what the manga does

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Anonymous #1 10h

what I mean is more that I’m simply not interested in seeing a character who bullies a disabled child (to the point that she has to switch schools) be depicted as sympathetic at all, period, regardless of my real-world feelings being a lot more nuanced than that

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Anonymous #1 10h

and I have to imagine this must be a relatively common sentiment amongst other people who grew up physically disabled. it’s frankly kind of alienating to see people who Haven’t lived through that type of thing—much less had their entire childhood shaped by that trauma—talk about it like it’s totally wholesome

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Anonymous #3 10h

The story isn’t wholesome at all

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Anonymous #1 10h

Like it’s genuinely effed up in multiple ways

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Anonymous #1 10h

OP didn’t seem to get the memo 💀

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Anonymous #3 10h

OP was talking about the ending which is at the very least hopeful

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Anonymous #1 9h

I haven’t finished it. I’m about halfway and it made me happy seeing Ishida’s character development. I thought it was really powerful how his takeaway from listening to Nishimiya’s and Ueno’s conversation on the Ferris wheel was “I want Nishimiya to be happy” as opposed to focusing on how awful Ueno is

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Anonymous #3 9h

I was bullied for having type 1 diabetes growing up. Not saying anyone needs to forgive. Everyone’s situations differs. I do think holding on to hate is not healthy even if it’s justified. I’m trying to change my perception on things that would normally annoy me and find Ishida and Nishimiya’s character to be very interesting, even if I don’t follow in their footsteps

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Anonymous OP 9h

I said very explicitly that I’m not personally “holding on to hate”. still rubs me the wrong way to see that redemption narrative in fiction

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Anonymous #3 8h

My apologizes, I had only skimmed others comments before commenting myself. I completely understand your side and I do agree. I think people can be awful at a young age but we sometimes forget the factors that made them that way. If you continue to be a bad person after your brain develops, I have no sympathy. Also not trying to argue but would love to discuss this more if you have other thoughts

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Anonymous OP 6h

for sure, at this point in my life I recognize that children’s behavior is just a reflection of what they’ve been taught + how adults have treated them. so it would be goofy to act like the adults they’ve grown into are still responsible for choices they made as elementary school kids. and I do think that for the sake of fairness, a lot of people need to update their perspectives and stop blaming children for being, well, childish

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Anonymous OP 6h

that being the case, I think it’s a bit muddier when we try to map that logic onto fictional characters, since “growth” for them is purely an authorial choice rather than an organic real-world process more importantly, I dislike when “bullying” narratives don’t go out of their way to zero in on the broader systemic & political forces which lead to particular kids being singled out as targets, i.e. ableism in this instance.

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Anonymous OP 6h

now tbc I’m really only familiar with this work at a distance, but I get the impression that it opts for a sympathetic portrayal of the bully Instead Of exploring ableism as a societal issue which is far too complex, pervasive & insidious to just boil down to “she got ostracized cause she’s ’different’”

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Anonymous #3 5h

Thank you for this perspective. You are absolutely right. Now I’m trying to rewrite it in my head in a way that is satisfying for viewers while also capturing the perspective/ sympathizing with someone deaf or disabled. Even using T1D or celiac for me seems impossible

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Anonymous #3 56m

I guess we’re just different. I enjoy redemptive fiction and I wish that the people who bullied me could be my friends. And the I wish people could pull their heads out of their asses and realize they’re wrong about deaf people. That’s why I enjoy the manga because I want people like that to exist more and more.

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