Distant Smoke

Kemuhana sideblog I'm multitasking this conversation

[selachii-dragon]

What I love about Kemutai Hanashi is how it allows the characters who are opposites and parallel each other to have a lot of small similar traits. Like we have Arita and Takeda, who are our main character duo, right? Usually any author would jump to opportunity to make them completely opposite in every way, only leaving a few core similarities to keep the parallels going, but not here.

They are both neutral towards cats and dogs, but love their cat. They are both good listeners and in general patient, calm people. This makes them good with kids. Both are pretty okay in cooking, no "excellent chef - can't cook to save their life" dynamic. Both have a sweet tooth(a trait they also share with Hinako). Both are not really ambitious in job or traveling aspects, content with their small lives. Both are labeled strange by others, while they feel like there is nothing special about who they are.

When characters are made to be different in every possible way, it screams fiction, gives you a "yup, that's a story!" thought, because in real life, we have so much more in common with other people than we notice. And Kemutai Hanashi reflects this, since it is, first and foremost, a story about people and about connection.

[mikeblocky]

good morning, and farewell to the sea

summer has come

[mikeblocky]

i long to be seen without fading away

[mikeblocky]

cat-like behavior (oji and arita literally...)

[dau-saa]

isn't it interesting how when Arita is talking to his family, it's framed such that flowers are often associated with his brother's marriage

whereas when the topic turns to Arita and Takeda's relationship, this potted plant is often shown

idk something about the gorgeous flowers in full bloom vs the simple evergreen plant

the carefully arranged flowers vs the overgrown plant spilling out of its pot

neither is necessarily better but one is the stereotypical image of "a beautiful plant" while the other seems like nothing special in comparison - just a normal houseplant that needs a trim

and yet Arita's eyes always seem to get caught on it

(Look at it, how it's grown, is it really any less beautiful?)

i think it's some neat imagery for the contrast between a "normal" relationship and the one that Takeda and Arita have

[dau-saa]

another cameo by mr houseplant in the latest translated chapter!

[distant-smoke]

I really love the chapters where they’re at the flower shop. The way the flowers are illustrated are so beautiful. I wonder what kind of research Fumiya Hayashi does whenever she’s writing a chapter like this? It seems like there’s a lot of effort being put into it.

I’m not sure why, but whenever something comes up like ““It’s nice having something you like.”, it stands out to me more than everything else. It’s probably because I remember reading something similar elsewhere, but it’s memorable nonetheless. And it’s true, of course. I think people should always watch the world around them carefully for things they like.

Also, is this the first time valentines has been brought up here? It makes me think about how traditions and holidays naturally evolve after a while, as they get more and more disconnected with their original meanings and purpose. In the end, [in the chapter] it’s become something more about community and fun than ‘love’, which I think can be seen (even if it might not be intentional) as a parallel to Takeda and Arita’s relationship. Taking something typically seen as a sign of love (living together, etc) and experiencing it in a fun way for everyone (living together simply because it is fun). And of course there is more build up to whatever Tamaki is involved in. I’m betting it’ll come out in one of the next couple of chapters. I have A Suspicion of what’s going to come out of it, so it’ll be interesting to see.

[distant-smoke]

No chapter review this time, just a question. Out of curiosity, what other manga do you guys read? I’m interested to see if there’s like. a trend or an overlap of genre or style or both or something like that.

[distant-smoke]

So. Chapter 37 huh! It was very fun to read. It brought to mind my own experiences with school ski trips. I went on two, neither of which I had a particularly good experience with. To be fair, I think that was mostly because unlike Ririko, I didn’t have anyone I was particularly close with. The snow is so wonderful though! The place where I live hasn't seen snow in around 15 years, so I can’t see it unless I go to the mountains. Okay, actual chapter thoughts now. Maybe it's because I've had some troubles recently so I’m reading into it too deeply, but the comments about the steep slope at the start seem to be a relevant theme of the chapter. It’s like, when you start something or something comes up and it’s way harder or demanding or overwhelming than you thought it would be, so you don’t want to face it, right? In that case, it’s good to take it slowly, and to get someone to help you out. Chishima’s here again as well! I'm glad to see him appear, although it does feel natural that he's here. It doesn’t feel like we’re reaching the end of his introduction yet, if that makes sense? Unlike the other characters we don't know a lot about him, which makes him interesting. Still, it’s a nice surprise. As for his actions… haha, it always catches you off guard when someone calls out your own behaviour, right? This is an interesting parallel, though. Ririko has been thinking about how he didn't act differently, and now he's asking about her behaviour. Although, this part does make me think a lot on how other people might perceive you. "Is that so", to me, doesn't really imply that he doesn't care. It feels more like small talk, really. Aside from that, it’s good to see how Takeda is doing. It’s interesting seeing what he’s up to, as this is a completely different environment than he’s usually in. The end of the chapter is kinda interesting in that it's sort of a cliffhanger, which is something I didn't expect to show up much in kemuhana. I'm curious, but I'm sure we'll find out eventually, so I'm not dwelling on it too much.

[distant-smoke]

I have. some thoughts about chapter 37

[distant-smoke]

Hi!!!! You said we can ask whatever, so... When did you start reading Kemutai Hanashi? And how did you stumble upon it? :3

Also waiting eagerly for your thoughts on this manga aroaceness, it would be very fun to see it from other's point of view.

Have a good day!!

Hello!! okay, so. Disclaimer this will get a bit long because I have some other unrelated things I wanted so say as well.

Firstly, I’m glad people seem to like my thoughts on ch 36. I was a bit nervous about whether I should post it, to be honest. Whenever I think about kemuhana I end up thinking about it more in relation to myself, what my thoughts or feelings are about what’s happening. Which is perfectly natural but I don’t think it’s something other people would be particularly interested in lol. Well, I’ll continue to talk about it here so I guess you can make up your own mind on it.

Okay, onto your actual question! The answer is…… I forgot. Or, I’m pretty sure I started reading it sometime at the start of the year, but I genuinely do not remember how I came upon it?????? The most likely explanation is that I saw someone else mention it briefly on some reading list or other and that’s how I found out about it, but I might be wrong.

About my thoughts on kemuhana and aroaceness…. I won’t lie, I wasn’t actually planning on saying anything more about it, haha. My opinion is pretty closely linked to/because of some of my own personal experiences and troubles. Also, it’s kind of on the opposite side of your own opinion(?), so I wasn’t sure how people might feel about it. But if you’re really curious about it, I’ll see if I can manage to articulate it in a way that other people can understand, and in a way where I’m satisfied that I conveyed my thoughts on it properly.

By the way, and feel free to ignore this, but I did see that you said you were saying you felt a bit lonely, so I’ll just say now that if you want to say something but are feeling a bit lonely, feel free to tell me about it. I’m happy that there’s someone who is genuinely analysing the themes and ideas behind each chapter, which is something that I tend to struggle with. Often when I read your posts that are analysing chapters, I feel that I better understand what kemuhana is trying to say.

I hope your reread is going well, I’m also looking forward to what you think about ch 36.

Have a nice day :) (and thanks for asking about something haha, if you have anything else you’re curious about I am happy to answer ^^)

[distant-smoke]

Anyway I won't have a lot to say until I read the next chapter, so in the meantime feel free to ask me about anything you're interested in, or something you want my opinion about

[distant-smoke]

got around to reading ch 36 finally. an unexpected callback to the phone call in volume 3, but i like it! I’m hoping that we get to see a bit of Chishima’s viewpoint sometime, or at least some more pagetime. I ended up getting invested in his character weirdly quick, but then again the same thing is true to some extent or other for all characters in kemuhana.

Anyhow, I’m sure there’s discussions or allusions to themes happening that I didn’t pick up on, but I’m also happy with what I did notice. Acting normal and different after something happens is always a difficult thing to think about, let alone to make up your mind on other people. I can’t say for sure since I only have this chapter to go off of, but I do feel I understand Chishima’s point of view. When you aren’t quite sure how to feel about something, or how you’ll be perceived based off of something, of course you’d make an effort to behave the same as always, and be treated normally. Who knows though, he might also have mixed feelings about it. I also agree with the direction Ririko’s thoughts seem to go in, though. In situations like these, acting normal is fine and all, but you should also put some thought into it. Physical or situational change should be accompanied by change of thoughts or attitudes. It’s good to make sure other people are doing okay. And, you can’t go on acting as if everything is fine forever. Often that will only weigh on you.