"The Bully" by Junji Ito is the dark version of this show

destinical said:
I've not read the manga yet so everything I'm going to write here is solely based on the show.

From what I've watched, the reason for this guy to get revenge is way too petty. She rejected you and called you a "pig", then you've been holding your hatred against for all these years? The way Aki rejects other guys is wrong, but in her relationship with the main guy, she has done nothing terrible. A dense guy may be hard to like, but as long as he's a gentleman, I'm still OK with that. However, the petty revenge of this guy is on another level of annoyance. The story will be much enjoyable if Aki has been somewhat villainous. From my perspective, she's just a normal girl with teenage problems.

Then I remember there is a short story with similar setting, "The Bully" by Junji Ito. This has been one of very good psychological horror manga I've read recently. What the girl has done to the boy in this story is beyond terrible, and even when she has already been a grown-up, she's still a bitch. The guy carried out his revenge plan without mercy, and the ending really sends a chill down my spine. I would not say it's satisfying, but it's scary and somehow realistic to me.

What I want to say here, what if Aki was a true villain from the start, just like the girl from "The Bully" but at a less extreme degree. She would go through a redemption arc, pay back for her sins and try to win the guy's heart. For the guy, he should've been much more calm and stopped being so clingy and creepy. Maybe this revenge - love story will be much more satisfied to watch? Yeah, basically "The Bully" with a happy ending and the cruelty is toned down a bit.

Setho-kun said:
the one where the girl bullies a boy and then marries him?

destinical said:

Yes, that's it. And then

destinical said:
I've not read the manga yet so everything I'm going to write here is solely based on the show.

From what I've watched, the reason for this guy to get revenge is way too petty. She rejected you and called you a "pig", then you've been holding your hatred against for all these years? The way Aki rejects other guys is wrong, but in her relationship with the main guy, she has done nothing terrible. A dense guy may be hard to like, but as long as he's a gentleman, I'm still OK with that. However, the petty revenge of this guy is on another level of annoyance. The story will be much enjoyable if Aki has been somewhat villainous. From my perspective, she's just a normal girl with teenage problems.

Then I remember there is a short story with similar setting, "The Bully" by Junji Ito. This has been one of very good psychological horror manga I've read recently. What the girl has done to the boy in this story is beyond terrible, and even when she has already been a grown-up, she's still a bitch. The guy carried out his revenge plan without mercy, and the ending really sends a chill down my spine. I would not say it's satisfying, but it's scary and somehow realistic to me.

What I want to say here, what if Aki was a true villain from the start, just like the girl from "The Bully" but at a less extreme degree. She would go through a redemption arc, pay back for her sins and try to win the guy's heart. For the guy, he should've been much more calm and stopped being so clingy and creepy. Maybe this revenge - love story will be much more satisfied to watch? Yeah, basically "The Bully" with a happy ending and the cruelty is toned down a bit.

Demientjuh said:
Although I can see the similarities between the stories, the manga takes a different turn.

destinical said:
I've not read the manga yet so everything I'm going to write here is solely based on the show.

From what I've watched, the reason for this guy to get revenge is way too petty. She rejected you and called you a "pig", then you've been holding your hatred against for all these years? The way Aki rejects other guys is wrong, but in her relationship with the main guy, she has done nothing terrible. A dense guy may be hard to like, but as long as he's a gentleman, I'm still OK with that. However, the petty revenge of this guy is on another level of annoyance. The story will be much enjoyable if Aki has been somewhat villainous. From my perspective, she's just a normal girl with teenage problems.

Then I remember there is a short story with similar setting, "The Bully" by Junji Ito. This has been one of very good psychological horror manga I've read recently. What the girl has done to the boy in this story is beyond terrible, and even when she has already been a grown-up, she's still a bitch. The guy carried out his revenge plan without mercy, and the ending really sends a chill down my spine. I would not say it's satisfying, but it's scary and somehow realistic to me.

What I want to say here, what if Aki was a true villain from the start, just like the girl from "The Bully" but at a less extreme degree. She would go through a redemption arc, pay back for her sins and try to win the guy's heart. For the guy, he should've been much more calm and stopped being so clingy and creepy. Maybe this revenge - love story will be much more satisfied to watch? Yeah, basically "The Bully" with a happy ending and the cruelty is toned down a bit.

ThatRantGuy said:
Someone missed the point of the “Comedy” tag…