ughWhy would Chihira stand still there on the sidewalk with the sweet but clueless schoolgirl/coworker when Maya…
Oh, I never meant to change your mind. I just wanted to share my own interpretations and give you a different perspective, and then for you to draw your own conclusions from that. Everyone interprets media in general in their own way, whether it is directly said/shown or not. That's the beauty of it. Also, going through it like this, helps me process what happened better.
I went back to the manga, and I think the subs on Gaga for what Maya is saying before Chihiro sucks the old man off, are wrong (Gaga moment lol). Gaga translated it as "You can call me Misato, the high school girl," but it's actually more like "I can call Misato, the high school girl." Maya is once again indirectly threatening Chihiro that should he not comply, Maya will get Misato to do it instead. I don't think I'd pick up on it if I didn't check the manga where Maya says "I/We/He (I'm not entirely sure if he's speaking for himself/his group or the old man) actually wanted Misato, the high school girl. She can come anytime," which makes Maya's intent in that scene way more clear in my opinion. This also explains why Chihiro just "goes along with it."
If I were the director, I would have wanted them to make it clear that the reason why Chihiro went as far as he did, was because he didn't want Misato to get involved. This does not come across very well in the drama, unfortunately.
I think the hallucinations are part of why Haoran decides to turn himself in and also have Chihiro give up on him. I already went over why he turned himself in, but the hallucinations are also Haoran blaming himself for what Chihiro had to go through with Maya. Haoran doesn't want Chihiro to get more hurt in the future. Typical BL tropes.
ughWhy would Chihira stand still there on the sidewalk with the sweet but clueless schoolgirl/coworker when Maya…
1) I agree. I just personally like going back and reading the manga afterwards to see if it can make me view things in a different light. I did just read the first chapter in English, however, as well as trying my best to interpret the last few chapters in Japanese with what little Japanese I do know. A lot seemed to be the same at a first glance, which means they were following the manga pretty closely. I'll definitely say you're right about the writing in that case.
I am also aware most of what I say here may across as "confirmation bias" because I will also say what it was like in the manga, but I'll be trying my best not to justify the actions in the drama with what happens in the manga.
2 + 3) In this case, it may have been fault with the acting / directing as well as the writing. Both for Chihiro and for Misato, as seeing her being terrified is the reason why he suggests going alone in the first place in the manga, but in the drama he just kind of suggests it after being pestered enough by Maya. And also while Misato seems scared, she seems surprisingly calm despite the situation compared to in the manga where she does seems way more concerned about Chihiro and also tries speaking up, but Chihiro tells her it's fine and that she should go home. The threat is letting Chihiro know that Maya has the ability to hunt down Misato should he not cooperate. It is not said outright in either version, but Maya is 100% implying that he will hurt Misato. (Which is also stupid because why would Chihiro think MAYA would keep his word💀) Chihiro is also noticeably more nervous in the manga. Other than that, what happens is the same.
4) Maya did tell Haoran that since he was an impressionable kid, and I do believe that whether it is true or not, after a while, Haoran started believing it. That's just abuse and manipulation 101. You don't just snap out if that kind of mindset. This part is not in the manga, interestingly enough.
In the drama, Haoran stops himself from killing Maya because Maya just starts pleading for his life and calling for help. In the manga Maya still calls for help, however what actually stops Haoran is when he receives a phone call from... someone? I have tried looking at that screen for so long and I am unable to tell who it's supposed to be.
I think that in the drama, Maya telling Haoran once again that "they're the same" in that situation is supposed to be what actually makes Haoran realize that they are NOT the same because Haoran could never kill someone. If that is the case, I think it's executed very poorly (they should at least have had Haoran say something akin to "I will never be like you" even if that's kind of cliché. At least it would have made the reason for why he stopped a bit more clear.)
If the paragraph above is true, I also believe this is why he turns himself in. It's proof to himself that he's not like Maya. Like I said earlier, he won't just snap out of that mindset immediately, and it's definitely something that will stay with him for a long time.
As for the train scene... Even if Chihiro had gotten off the train, it wouldn't have changed anything. Haoran had already made up his mind to turn himself in, and he probably thought it was better to just have Chihiro give up on him. We all know that didn't work, but that's probably what he thought.
I spent so long writing all this out and cross referencing with the drama and the manga. I'm going to bed lol.
ughWhy would Chihira stand still there on the sidewalk with the sweet but clueless schoolgirl/coworker when Maya…
I mean, to my knowledge, the justice system in Japan is not very fair. Could probably also be a reason for why Chihiro didn't press charges, but it was literally just said in passing, so who knows.
ughWhy would Chihira stand still there on the sidewalk with the sweet but clueless schoolgirl/coworker when Maya…
I feel like I can at least answer a few things. Do keep in mind I haven't read the manga yet, and this is simply my interpretations.
Why did Chihiro stand still on the sidewalk? My guess is that his fight/flight/fawn responses kicked in, and he was stuck like a deer in headlights.
Why did Chihiro go along with what Maya said without any immediate physical threat? The way I interpreted it, was that it was an indirect threat as Maya seemed to know the girl's name, her school and that she lives in the area. Meaning if Chihiro didn't do as Maya said, he'd go back for the girl. As for why Chihiro didn't tell the girl to run, I'm not entirely sure. That stumped me as well.
Why didn't Haoran finish the job and kill Maya? First of all, Maya was messing with his head, like he had been doing since Haoran was in his "care". Saying how they're the same and making Haoran feel like a freak. I also guess that even though it was Maya, Haoran would still feel the effects of having murdered another human (though I am using that word lightly). This is further backed up by his actions later on.
Everything in your comment is lame, but this is the lamest: "I'll wait for eternity without censorship, for the…
So curious to know where you got the "a Thai writing team replaced the Taiwanese team because the Taiwanese team was so embarrassed of what they had come up with" from. I personally couldn't find anything about it, and to me this just seems like some weird attack on Thai writers in particular, and it really doesn't sit well with me.
I'm still personally relatively new to Thai BLs, so as for now, I don't mind it too much. I have sat through worse anyway lol (like 18 minutes of review/recap in a 47-minute long episode😭)
Anyone else cringe during any of the scenes where they're playing music? Particularly when they show God on the drums because he is clearly not playing what you can hear. Not to mention the whole contest performance in episode 8, that was just straight up embarrassing. There are so many ways the rest of the band could've handled the "technical difficulty" but instead they point it out and say it was on purpose? Just say you're having a technical difficulty, it happens sometimes. Then they played the song all the way from the beginning again, from the soft piano part... At least just start it from a more upbeat part of the song? It's so obvious they're not actually a band and it hurts watching, I'm sorry.
To me, Taishin was obviously neurodivergent, not just "a country bumpkin" or stupidly naive. Taishin exhibited…
Yes! So much yes! As an autistic person, I could recognize myself a lot in Taishin, and some of the things he said to Takara are things I constantly say to others. Genuinely, I said "why is he me?" several times while watching.
Also, I know it's not that deep, but I've seen people allude to how Taishin made them want to k1ll themselves, and when you can really relate to a character, that does kind of hurt. Is Taishin a more exaggerated character of what most neurodivergent people really are? Yes, but I to me, he was still fairly believable and I feel like the actor did a great job portraying him.
Everyone interprets media in general in their own way, whether it is directly said/shown or not. That's the beauty of it.
Also, going through it like this, helps me process what happened better.
I went back to the manga, and I think the subs on Gaga for what Maya is saying before Chihiro sucks the old man off, are wrong (Gaga moment lol). Gaga translated it as "You can call me Misato, the high school girl," but it's actually more like "I can call Misato, the high school girl." Maya is once again indirectly threatening Chihiro that should he not comply, Maya will get Misato to do it instead. I don't think I'd pick up on it if I didn't check the manga where Maya says "I/We/He (I'm not entirely sure if he's speaking for himself/his group or the old man) actually wanted Misato, the high school girl. She can come anytime," which makes Maya's intent in that scene way more clear in my opinion. This also explains why Chihiro just "goes along with it."
If I were the director, I would have wanted them to make it clear that the reason why Chihiro went as far as he did, was because he didn't want Misato to get involved. This does not come across very well in the drama, unfortunately.
I think the hallucinations are part of why Haoran decides to turn himself in and also have Chihiro give up on him. I already went over why he turned himself in, but the hallucinations are also Haoran blaming himself for what Chihiro had to go through with Maya. Haoran doesn't want Chihiro to get more hurt in the future. Typical BL tropes.
I am also aware most of what I say here may across as "confirmation bias" because I will also say what it was like in the manga, but I'll be trying my best not to justify the actions in the drama with what happens in the manga.
2 + 3) In this case, it may have been fault with the acting / directing as well as the writing. Both for Chihiro and for Misato, as seeing her being terrified is the reason why he suggests going alone in the first place in the manga, but in the drama he just kind of suggests it after being pestered enough by Maya. And also while Misato seems scared, she seems surprisingly calm despite the situation compared to in the manga where she does seems way more concerned about Chihiro and also tries speaking up, but Chihiro tells her it's fine and that she should go home.
The threat is letting Chihiro know that Maya has the ability to hunt down Misato should he not cooperate. It is not said outright in either version, but Maya is 100% implying that he will hurt Misato. (Which is also stupid because why would Chihiro think MAYA would keep his word💀)
Chihiro is also noticeably more nervous in the manga. Other than that, what happens is the same.
4) Maya did tell Haoran that since he was an impressionable kid, and I do believe that whether it is true or not, after a while, Haoran started believing it. That's just abuse and manipulation 101. You don't just snap out if that kind of mindset.
This part is not in the manga, interestingly enough.
In the drama, Haoran stops himself from killing Maya because Maya just starts pleading for his life and calling for help. In the manga Maya still calls for help, however what actually stops Haoran is when he receives a phone call from... someone? I have tried looking at that screen for so long and I am unable to tell who it's supposed to be.
I think that in the drama, Maya telling Haoran once again that "they're the same" in that situation is supposed to be what actually makes Haoran realize that they are NOT the same because Haoran could never kill someone. If that is the case, I think it's executed very poorly (they should at least have had Haoran say something akin to "I will never be like you" even if that's kind of cliché. At least it would have made the reason for why he stopped a bit more clear.)
If the paragraph above is true, I also believe this is why he turns himself in. It's proof to himself that he's not like Maya. Like I said earlier, he won't just snap out of that mindset immediately, and it's definitely something that will stay with him for a long time.
As for the train scene... Even if Chihiro had gotten off the train, it wouldn't have changed anything. Haoran had already made up his mind to turn himself in, and he probably thought it was better to just have Chihiro give up on him. We all know that didn't work, but that's probably what he thought.
I spent so long writing all this out and cross referencing with the drama and the manga. I'm going to bed lol.
(Just making clear my comment is a joke, as is OP's)
Why did Chihiro stand still on the sidewalk?
My guess is that his fight/flight/fawn responses kicked in, and he was stuck like a deer in headlights.
Why did Chihiro go along with what Maya said without any immediate physical threat?
The way I interpreted it, was that it was an indirect threat as Maya seemed to know the girl's name, her school and that she lives in the area. Meaning if Chihiro didn't do as Maya said, he'd go back for the girl. As for why Chihiro didn't tell the girl to run, I'm not entirely sure. That stumped me as well.
Why didn't Haoran finish the job and kill Maya?
First of all, Maya was messing with his head, like he had been doing since Haoran was in his "care". Saying how they're the same and making Haoran feel like a freak. I also guess that even though it was Maya, Haoran would still feel the effects of having murdered another human (though I am using that word lightly). This is further backed up by his actions later on.
Hope these answers were satisfactory in any way.
As an autistic person, I could recognize myself a lot in Taishin, and some of the things he said to Takara are things I constantly say to others. Genuinely, I said "why is he me?" several times while watching.
Also, I know it's not that deep, but I've seen people allude to how Taishin made them want to k1ll themselves, and when you can really relate to a character, that does kind of hurt. Is Taishin a more exaggerated character of what most neurodivergent people really are? Yes, but I to me, he was still fairly believable and I feel like the actor did a great job portraying him.