Ane no Kekkon

Chances are good she's going to end up with Maki at the end, but I'm guessing that Yoichiro is going to end up with her sister. You don't create genuinely likeable side characters without wanting to make sure they end up just as happy as the main characters.

Sigh. Yeaah, she fell for him hard from day one. Best of luck to her, but I have a feeling this guy will keep on bringing more and more bad news.

OH! Blondie is so nice... I can't... They won't.. Still doesn't sit well with me.

Just discovered this with the recent update. I was steeling myself for the moment I was going to drop this violently, and still am, but I find myself more and more compelled with each page.

 

The guy is just all kinds of slimy and manipulative in ways that make my skin crawl. But the narrative never suggests that his Freudian excuses legitimize his current behavior in any sense. Just as important, Iwatani knows exactly the minefield she's treading, knows he's preying on her insecurities, does a remarkable job of trying to keep him at an emotional arms length so she can get the fuck out the moment she spots an escape. Of course, if she really wanted him out of her life she could just slap a restraining order on him - though perhaps that's something that doesn't happen in Japan - but like kelinci says sometimes somethings can't be helped, like falling for terrible people. It's an ugly, toxic relationship and the mangaka has been doing a stellar job so far of making no bones about what it is. I'm just terrified, given he's plastered all over the covers, that this will actually turn out alright.

Well, sometimes something can't be helped. 

Update it pleaseeee heheheheh Good job! anyway.

For some reason I really am reminded about Memoirs of a Geisha when reading this. Especially the quote about how they could be only half-wives. Is she the real wife? Is she just a shadow of a memory?

Meanwhile, probably a lot of people would actually profit from going to see a philosopher about their problems.

could also try a shaman or priest. some of them are intelligent enough to not blame everything on demons...

random encounters and online not really friends have given me much more than i'd ever hope to get from someone who does counseling as a job.

Ah~ok but doesn't answer my question and the diss...ok..so I did some digging and found articles on NCBI/PubMed; undergraduate education for psychiatry in Japan includes the learning of psychology in Japanese universities. 

A psychiatrist takes the approach from a medicine/physical stance, while psychology takes a more "feelings" approach.

 

For instance, you'll been feeling inexplicably sad for the last year or so. A psychiatrist would probably recommend some pills to make you feel better. A psychologist would try to guide you through your emotions. (I'm vastly over generalizing.)

 

When Maki says it's out of his expertise, you can think of it as if he said "Hey, I was not trained as a marriage counselor" if that helps. Lots of a fields have overlap, but just because your training includes related subjects doesn't mean you know what you're necessarily qualified to "practice" in it.

Ah~ok but doesn't answer my question and the diss...ok..so I did some digging and found articles on NCBI/PubMed; undergraduate education for psychiatry in Japan includes the learning of psychology in Japanese universities. 

Psychiatry is medicine, psychology is glorified philosophy. Psychiatrists are doctors in medicine, psychologists are not medics.

To turn that around, psychology is the study of human thought and behaviour, psychiatry is semi-random pill dispensing.

Meanwhile, probably a lot of people would actually profit from going to see a philosopher about their problems.

Wait a minute. isn't he a doctor in psychiatry? how is psychology outside of his field? Is it different in japan? don't need to learn psychology in order to become a psychiatrist? What? 

 

Psychiatry is medicine, psychology is glorified philosophy. Psychiatrists are doctors in medicine, psychologists are not medics.

Wait a minute. isn't he a doctor in psychiatry? how is psychology outside of his field? Is it different in japan? don't need to learn psychology in order to become a psychiatrist? What? 

kids, fully capable of treating each other like insects.

without even realizing they should feel bad about it.

 

that teacher seems like he was really nice. may have saved some kids.

I really like this.

whoa he's so... punchable

Harsh chapter.  She wants him . . . she also wants her self-respect, her honour if you will.  She can't at this stage have both, and the twisting that puts on their relationship is getting worse.

@tohukyo: in ch4p9 Yori's sister mentions having bragged about her older sister getting married soon, so this is probably where the title comes from.
As for Maki's marriage, it looks to me like it was convinient arrangement for both him and his wife. She was probably under pressure to find a husband to continue her dad's business and keep up appearances ('it's no good if you're not a doctor') - after all she must be nearing her forties as well; he was going to have the next best thing to his childhood love, at least looks-wise.
...more:

Good story.  Good writing.  Thank you!

It's announced that Ane no Kekkon has surpassed printing 1,500,000 copies.

Hey guys, just to let you know. Discussion is fantastic, and you guys are addressing a lot of difficult but important issues I always like seeing aired.

 

BUT. Rules for comments on manga have changed, see here. Bottom line is, if your comment is more than ten lines, you need to put at least part of it in a spoiler.

 

^{Mod warning} 

Pretty real imo. Unhappy marriage, I think it was even political or at least mostly decided on by benefits rather than affection. She's having an affair too. Morally corrupt, yes. But unheard of? In an unhappy marriage? I don't really think so. It's complicated and messy, yeah, but relationships between people tend to be, especially intimate ones. 

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His wife has been having an affair for a while though it showed that several chapters back, not that it makes it right for him.   I don't get affairs, just break up cleanly if you dont' want to be together. 

what I don't get is that the wife doesn't seem like a cheap ho (i.e. high maintenance) so whoever she has an affair with probably would have some sort of wealth and status. If he does have wealth and status, she should just break it off with the husband but then again, it is only an "if" hence, uncertain. If she's shacking up with a loser, I suppose it makes sense why she isn't letting him go. The husband has status and wealth to support her high maintenance self so being satisfied materialistically, she needs to satisfy her physiological urges. It's conniving and all but it makes sense, as long as they divorce before she conceives, well the sooner the better too since the husband reignited his childhood flame. But seriously, this marriage appears so hopeless and stagnant. It's like a 1950s middle class suburban marriage (minus the kids)-only together for "appearances". It makes me a little curious as to how their relationship started....(no coincidence he fell for her looks). 

 

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His wife has been having an affair for a while though it showed that several chapters back, not that it makes it right for him.   I don't get affairs, just break up cleanly if you dont' want to be together. 

If you're hot/attractive enough, stalking will become seduction, and raping will become assertiveness.

 

If you're ugly/dirty enough, looking will become stalking, and confessing will become raping.

 

If you're successful enough, crime testimony will become allegation.

 

Just the way this society works. I could give props to this guy for working the irrationality and inconsistency of public morality to his advantage.