u/DaniDa15

The symmetry between chapters 37-39 and 137-139 has already been mentioned before, highlighting how important these chapters are for each of the series' couples. Because yes, even though Saku and Subaru aren't together yet, they will be, we just have to keep inhaling the copium.

However, the end of chapter 189 definitely gives us food for thought regarding Kaorin's future. Obviously, a breakup is highly unlikely since there isn't any serious issue of that kind. The point is that we are going to see a more mature and serious side to this relationship, perhaps a minor argument so they end up closer, and I feel we might see this in chapter 200.

So, regarding their development, chapter 200 specifically just makes it look nice for a major step in the relationship to happen every 100 chapters. With every date they've had, they have been getting closer and closer. To mention a few instances, they would be the following:

• Ch. 59: Rintaro calls Kaoruko by her first name for the first time.
• Ch. 73: They hold hands.
• Ch. 100: Their now-famous first kiss.
• Ch. 116: Even if it's under the excuse of a horror movie, there is more physical contact, plus Kaoruko showing her desire for it and Rintaro being comfortable with it.

So, I feel their next big step forward could develop similarly to >!Love is War (chapter 220 of its manga). That's right, doing ir, having sex, but in a more subtle way.!< It’s a huge step for couples, and just like in the manga I'm using as an example, it’s a way to reinforce the connection they share as a couple, showing that no matter the distance, they will always be together.

Honestly, it’s a topic that imo could be handled further down the line, but as a comment in the chapter 189 thread says, it could be the path the series takes.

There are 11 chapters left until chapter 200; it's something that could happen before, after, or not at all. But with Christmas and exams around the corner, the moment could be built up for this to happen.

Obviously, not all of these chapters would be dedicated to this, since the upcoming ones will also focus on the whole group, and Subaru's birthday is close too. Still, the possibility of it happening exists. It might be a bit of an exaggeration that they can't see each other that much; from what I understand, they are in regular contact, just obviously not physical. In the manga's timeline, they will have gone about 2 weeks without seeing each other, and as I mentioned, this path could serve to make it clear to them that no matter the situation, they will be together.

And for Natsubaru, in case all of this doesn't happen, they don't necessarily have to get together right now anyway. Since both of them are going to the same university, and in this very chapter they mention the paths everyone will take, it could be that they make it official once they are college students, with more development along the way, of course.

https://x.com/_mikami_saka_/status/2054578843936240078

As we all already know, the manga is going to end around late 2027 or early 2028, so there are probably about 85 weeks left (counting from the week the manga returns from break). Obviously not every week will be used for chapters, so let’s say the manga will end up being around 240–250 chapters total, leaving us with about 60 chapters left.

Their school year is already close to ending. It ends in March, and right now the story is in October, plus the manga tends to use a lot of timeskips. On top of that, the series is usually structured around short arcs, aside from the school conflict arc of course. There honestly isn’t much left to explore regarding the schools, so I’d say that plotline is 99% wrapped up already, aside from showing how the relationship between the schools will heal in the future, something they could show either during graduation or in a final timeskip at the end of the series.

There also aren’t many date-dependent events left that are likely to be shown, at least from what I remember:

• Subaru’s birthday
• Christmas
• Rintaro’s birthday
• Valentine’s Day
• University entrance exams (I don’t know the exact dates)
• White Day
• Graduation

Before getting into the timeline of the story, I want to point out the ages of the main cast, since they help as a reference for where we currently are in the timeline.

CURRENT DATE: MID-OCTOBER

• Rintaro: January 28, 2005 — 17 years old
• Kaoruko: July 22, 2004 — 18 years old
• Subaru: November 19, 2004 — 17 years old
• Saku: August 21, 2004 — 18 years old
• Yorita: March 16, 2005 — 17 years old
• Usami: May 17, 2004 — 18 years old
• Madoka: June 11, 2004 — 18 years old

We know Rintaro and Yorita are the youngest because of their profile cards, since even after their birthdays they’re still shown as 16. Also, for the birthday illustrations, Usami is the one who starts each new format (school uniforms, formal outfits, chibis, etc.), while Yorita is always the one who ends each format.

So now let’s look at the manga’s timeline. As a starting point, the story began in 2021, but first I’ll “exclude” a few chapters that happen outside of this timeframe.

1991 — Rintaro’s parents’ backstory: Chapters 154–156 (3 chapters)
This doesn’t affect the progression of the main story and is more about exploring Rintaro’s parents (those chapters were beautiful). Though I guess you could say that if Mikami explored the characters’ pasts, she could also explore the protagonists’ futures as young adults.

The flashback fragments shown throughout the manga, like the characters’ first year of high school, will still count as part of the story’s timeline since they aren’t entire chapters set in the past. I also won’t exclude chapter 40 because it shows how Kaoruko met Rintaro, which is a very important moment for her character, and I also won’t exclude Toki’s chapters because they’re an important part of the school arc.

April–July: Chapters 1–31 (31 chapters lol)
In special chapter 2.5 released alongside the anime, it’s shown that they’re in April. Kaoruko also goes to PLAIN to pick up a cake right around Kosuke’s birthday, so aside from the obvious hints, it makes sense narratively that the story begins in this month. Kaoruko met Rintaro in December 2020, so with winter vacation and final exams happening afterward, it makes sense that she never saw him again despite their schools being neighbors. Plus, the schools didn’t have a good relationship, so there weren’t many opportunities for them to run into each other.

I end this timeframe in July because it’s easy to place thanks to Kaoruko’s birthday. By the next chapter it’s already summer vacation, which starts in July, though it seems to happen slightly after her birthday.

August–November: Chapters 32–83 (51 chapters)
As I mentioned before, summer vacation had already started and the school festivals were approaching, which places us in August. Here the story clearly starts focusing more on specific events, which explains the increase in chapter count. Events like the Ayu arc, which at that point was the longest arc in the story (not counting the main couple getting together, since the manga develops through mini arcs and I wouldn’t count that as one big arc), and the summer vacation chapters spanning from the beach trip all the way to Rintaro meeting Kaoruko’s family. Most of this takes place during August and September, while October and November only cover around chapters 73–83.

December–March (2022): Chapters 84–120 (36 chapters)
I start counting this period as December because of chapter 87.5, since the date Rintaro and Kaoruko are going on is mentioned there, and based on the outfits and dialogue we know it takes place the same day as chapter 87 and therefore during the Nabata chapters (Rintaro’s former middle school classmate). This period is shorter than the previous one, and the event that takes up most of the chapters is Yorita’s arc. Outside of that, this section mostly consists of mini arcs and slice-of-life moments.

Fully into 2022 now.

April–July: Chapters 121–147 (26 chapters)
The shortest period so far, but not any less important. The beginning of their final year of high school is the clearest indication of the current month. This section explores the characters really well, showing Rintaro aspiring to become a pastry chef, Rintaro meeting his future father-in-law, Kaoruko’s worries about her future career, and the biggest turning point for Natsubaru, with this beautiful ship taking up most of the chapters.

This time I didn’t end the period with Kaoruko’s 18th birthday because the dates around these chapters aren’t completely clear. They could take place in the last week of July or the first week of August, so let’s just leave it as part of July.

August–October: Chapters 148–187 (36 chapters, excluding 154–156)
According to Google, cultural festivals usually happen at the beginning of August, so together with Kaorin’s anniversary we know exactly where we are in the timeline. Here the high chapter count becomes really noticeable, once again with August and September covering a lot of chapters, and the reason is obvious because of the school conflict arc, which spans 30 chapters from 157 to 187.

Even though the arc was criticized, it was 100% necessary, including its length (the pacing could’ve been improved, but that’s not the point of this post). This was a key arc for the story’s development, showing the growth of the protagonists and giving us, in my opinion, two of the biggest peaks in the series: Toki and Chigusa’s reunion in chapter 185, and the parallel in chapter 187 with chapter 2, symbolizing how the barriers have finally fallen, at least for the protagonists.

Right now we’re in mid-October in chapter 187 with a new arc about to begin. As I showed earlier, this month itself usually isn’t that important since the manga tends to skip through it fairly quickly. With a new arc likely starting soon (though I think chapter 188 will either focus on the whole group or on Rintaro and Kaoruko), I think it’s very likely we’ll see the return of Natsubaru.

The thing is, there honestly isn’t much left to explore during their third year of high school, and with around 60 chapters remaining, it feels logical, and honestly kind of obvious lol, that a good portion of the remaining chapters will be dedicated to university life, since studies and the protagonists’ futures have always been a very important theme in the series. It could also give the manga a somewhat different tone while still staying wholesome.

Some hints that this could happen (aside from the obvious) are the illustrations in the post (images 1 and 2), since the characters look older there than they currently do. The boys, even from behind, seem to have different hairstyles from their current ones.

And even though Subaru’s illustration doesn’t come directly from the manga, you could say Mikami has already “spoiled” things before with certain illustrations.

Like image 3, which that theme was later used for the extra chapter included with the first Blu-ray, so that “adult” Subaru could very well be foreshadowing the upcoming university arc.

And if that really happens, I hope she makes the image 4 canon too.