just2comment:

Teppu 32 is out! Go read it right now because here comes the spoiler-filled analysis!

SPOILERS

SPOILERS

To start off, let’s reiterate a few things: Natsuo hates her brother. She hates his guts. But at a young age, Natsuo idolized him to the point where she took pleasure when he physically struck her. This idolization of her brother reached its tipping point when Natsuo saved her brother from a gang of bullies in dramatic fashion, but rather than thanking her, he lashed out at her, ashamed at his own weakness. Emotionally devastated, Natsuo deluded herself into thinking she needed to “finish the job” and sought out “the other bully” that had tormented her brother, Sanae, who had beaten him in a spar and inadvertently humiliated him.

These two moments are when Natsuo turned her idols against her and what causes her to become the twisted girl that we know today.

So as Natsuo remembers these two moments, she recalls what she said to both of them with clear regret. It’s taken her awhile to realize, but Natsuo shouldn’t have so caustically insulted Sanae, just as she shouldn’t have tried to coddle her brother. In fact, Natsuo realizes that it’s Sanae who she should’ve asked “Are you alright?” and her brother she should’ve told “Take that, bitch”.

And that’s precisely what she does. As Natsuo’s brother arrives at the arena just in time to see Natsuo before she gets choked out, she finally tells him what she should’ve said years ago. “Take that, bitch.”

Natsuo’s brother has locked himself in his room, refusing to come out or do anything besides eating and sleeping. He’s given up on the world and the reason he has is absolutely fucking pathetic. He gave up because his little sister was better than him, no matter what he did, she outshone him. And of course, there’s no doubt that Natsuo is insanely talented, everyone says as much, but to give up because someone else was talented and even worse to blame them for it. It’s pathetic.

But despite that, Natsuo has felt guilty for her brother’s pain for all this time. She’s never been able to confront him about his truly ridiculous insecurities because she couldn’t help but feel he was right. Natsuo was more talented, she did everything with ease and worst of all, her brother wasn’t alone in hating Natsuo for her abilities. Everyone was envious of her and hated how casual Natsuo was about her skill, the volleyball club, the karate club, etc. At the start of the series, Natsuo had come to the point where she believed that this was just how life was.

And then Natsuo met Yuzuko.

Some how Natsuo immediately understood that Yuzuko was her perfect doppelganger, the Hard Work to Natsuo’s Talent and that she would be able to answer Natsuo’s lifelong question: Was Natsuo doomed to be the best? If her brother had trained and trained and trained, would he ever manage to be better than her? Or was he right in his resentment of Natsuo – that simply because Natsuo existed he would be doomed to be the lesser of the two no matter how hard he tried?

Well, as Natsuo gets choked out by the human embodiment of Hard Work, Natsuo silently proclaims to her brother that she’s “won” because she just answered all those questions. Losing the tournament isn’t as big of a deal to Natsuo as finally being free of the guilt her brother tried to pin on her. After all, if Natsuo wants to keep fighting, she can always train more, work harder and try again, it’s not like she would crawl away and hide in her room forever like some pathetic loser just because her ego was a little hurt.