I should be doing other important stuff, but I felt that I need to bring this up as this will serve as a reminder to me in the future, should I ever feel discouraged.
I'm not sure how many of you have read this amazing shoujo manga called "Hirunaka no Ryuusei". If you have not, go read it. In the simplest way that I can describe, it is really good and worth a read.
Anyway, do you remember how I mentioned my dislike for love triangles?
Yeah, I still do. Anyway, quick introduction. Girl is Suzume, who fell in love with her teacher, Shishio. Meanwhile, classmate Mamura also likes her. Initially, Shishio likes Suzume too, but broke up with her when he felt the pressure of having to keep a secret teacher-student relationship (Good for you, Shishio.) So Suzume felt that she should move on, and she made the decision to be closer to Mamura.
Trust me. The story is much better written than my summary. Yes, yes, it's a typical shoujo manga plot, what were you expecting?
From here, the story spent a bit of time on Suzume and Mamura's relationship, while Shishio at the side, felt that he was not as willing to be apart from Suzume as he thought. The recent chapter has begun to climax the story, as Suzume finds out that Shishio was hospitalised and was concerned for him. Mamura, knowing of this, told Suzume to find Shishio.
Damn.
By the way, this post is NOT going to be a rant. I'll get to the real part in a bit, but allow me to say that to be honest, I was quite upset that the story was going to progress to a SuzumeXShishio ending (seems like it). I liked Mamura. He was the consistent character in the story and had always tried his best without being irritating. I also felt that Mamura and Suzume makes a more compatible pair.
Okay, that's over. Now, the REAL reason for this post.
Shortly after Chapter 76 was released, there was a ton of tweets sent to the author of the story, Yamamori Mika.
There were quite a number of tweets, but I just selected some. I was quite glad I was not on some impulse to send the author requests too. For one, I did not know that she was on Twitter, hehe.
Shortly after, Yamamori sensei made her Twitter private. Honestly, who would like to see that? Firstly, I suspect that since she has locked her Twitter account, it means that she really is going for a SuzumeXShishio ending. I will get over that.
I felt bad for her. She did not deserve the horrible comments from the readers, at all. Seeing what had happened to her reminded me that many years ago, I had something like that happening to me. I was writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", and I paired Kyoshiro and Yuya together (by the way, the canon pairing is Kyo and Yuya, which I definitely prefer). I wrote with that pair in mind because Samurai Deeper Kyo had not ended yet, and it was a long time since I first started the initial "KISS Me!" that led to "Their Memories of Fukinara High".
So there was a reader who messaged me a few times over the story requesting for a KyoXYuya ending instead of a KyoshiroXYuya one. She even suggested plots to help 'salvage' the situation (as I saw it).
No. I remembered that feeling. It was bad. I felt torn on one hand to want to make my readers happy, and on the other hand, I wanted the story to go MY way. In the end, I ended the manga on hold so it ended as a KyoshiroXYuya story.
If Yamamori sensei's initial idea was for Suzume and Shishio to be together, then I WILL truly be disappointed if she changed to Suzume and Mamura just to make some readers happy. I want Yamamori sensei to do what she wants to do, even if the ending is something that I do not like.
So what has Hirunaka taught me? It has reminded me of how I felt when my readers wanted me to do things their way. It has reminded me that I am ultimately writing for my pleasure (and someday hopefully, for a living). It has reminded me that while feedback is good and should be considered, I should follow my heart for the best interests of the story and characters.
I will support Hirunaka no Ryuusei regardless of the ending.
やまもりせんせい、がんばってください！
Picture taken from:
Hirunaka no Ryuusei
Tweet posts
Chapter 1 coloured cover
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