u/SignalsCounterparts1

Nagi getting to the ship was a bit quicker than I thought. But this might be on purpose...as I think we might get our confrontation next chapter. If Nagi gets his wits about him after that last page.

The problem? He might get thrown into the brig for this. And that will make him both another hostage, and make him miss his exam. (Expect a shot of Hiro looking at an empty chair...)

As well, we might see Erika blame herself for this...which might lead to a kiss somehow. Remember too, this isn't Sosuke's ship, it's Rihito's family company ship...which might mean he's also on board. And ready to help.

One thing you noticed was that Sosuke cut off his backstory again, right around the sending off to England. What happened after that? This might be deliberate, as he might finally tell the rest of this after all this crap is done, and there are a lot of unimpressed adults around. (Except Papa Amano. He's still Radio silent, very deliberately.)

Thoughts will be appreciated.

Well then. We've been wanting backstory, and we're getting it. Though over a few chapters, with certain characters acting on this. (Note I said certain characters, some are being kept sway for obvious reasons...Hiro, Sachi, and Papa Amano...currently. I'll state my case later.)

We start with the plan for this trip, a 3 day journey to Kobe, with the engagement party being the centerpiece of this. Erika though, is very uncomfortable with this. And wanting to tell Nagi, but remembering that Mama took his contact off her phone. But with slight of hand, she manages to send off a message to Mama about needing help before Sosuke finds her phone and tosses it overboard. And then we find out they only have an hour before they leave. So essentially, kidnapping.

Then after a Dr. Evil type Hahaha moment (that felt...so wrong.) we start getting the backstory. (I honestly wanted the Evil Morty theme to play there.)

Basically, we see Papa Amano being the ultimate taskmaster, wanting his kid to be worthy of taking over the family business, and making sure to enforce that. We see some tender moments with Mama, but then when he finds out he's having a little brother...he's a little apprehensive...especially when he overhears Papa and No. 2 talking about the fact that maybe Sosuke may not be the best option for taking over...and maybe kid #2 would be. And after hearing that, he thought that he shouldn't have to go through what he went through.

So Nagi is born, and we get the switch. But we get more to this as just after he does it...Papa Amano finds him. (note: he's looking out of breath there...was he looking for Sosuke? Or something else? More later.) And then the Doctor comes in, and says there might be something wrong, but Papa Amano says it's okay...and sees him out. Then we get the statement that Papa Amano covers things up by sending him away 5 years later. End of chapter.

So now what?

There's a LOT to unpack here...and we're only I think a third of the way into this backstory.

I think it's safe to say, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Both Papa Amano and Sosuke acquit themselves horribly here. With Sosuke, he's gone almost insane with his obsession to take down his father. And using everyone possible. It appears he doesn't care about what Erika and Nagi, he's only concerned with his father's downfall.

Papa Amano...we've had feelings that he isn't the best person in the world...and we're now getting that. Only I think we're only at the surface of this. When we say that Mama Amano is the best person, that's saying something. In terms of the switch, he allowed it to happen? That raises a lot of questions...and I'm wondering if he wanted to do the switch himself...only to have Sosuke do it before he could, (for different reasons) and you can't have too many witnesses...(that leads me to my other pet theory, that Erika and Nagi were born in a Private Clinic, as you can own land that private medical practices operate on...like the Amano Group owning that clinic's land. Which would allow privileges...and foreclosures. Just saying.)

So while we haven't had Papa Amano here, his presence still shows up. But will be part of the final endgame. And what Sosuke has done here will affect Nagi, who will undoubtedly abandon his exam, and Hiro too. (Remember, she's gunning for the same university to...not now)

I see some piracy coming folks...to save the maiden fair, with a yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum. (I would laugh out loud if that happens...) But a rescue is coming...and a reckoning.

Thoughts are appreciated.

I've been teasing this for most of today, and here we are. First off, again, this chapter made me feel very icky. I needed a shower. But this chapter is very important, as I feel now, we are at the Beginning of the Endgame of this story. Notice I said beginning. (AUTHORS NOTE: I will be going into some personal theories about how this might go, story-wise. The personal feelings about this stuff...I think I stated how I feel with my opening statement. I will go spoiler mode in this case. Please be gentle in your comments.)

The reason why I stated we are at the beginning, is because there is still lots of plot left. Any condensation of the story here would really do a disservice to the conclusion...though with Miki, I have bad feelings about this. We have Sosuke, knowing Nagi is busy with exams, make his move on Erika, bringing back up the whole proposal gambit. Only now, it's an engagement party. One that she now realizes is more like a trap. (Remember, she doesn't have her phone thanks to Mama Amano. More on her later.) And poor Nagi is looking at her last message...wishing him luck. So now what?

First off, we have to remember the location. The boat that Rihito's dad owns as part of his company, of which him and Sosuke works for. Rihito, who, if you remember, was revealed as the spy for Mama Amano. My guess is that he's already called her saying something is going down with Sosuke about Erika, and she needs to get there, post-haste. Getting her on there shouldn't be a problem...but what about Nagi?

My second guess, next chapter, the kiss goes viral, and Nagi, as we saw on that last panel, might get a message, maybe say, Sachi. And he goes nuclear. He calls Mama Amano, she says to stay there, she'll take care of it, and for him to focus on the exams. But for Nagi, he says "Screw it." And goes back home...to the Uminos. After all, they have a boat too...let's go pirating!!!

Also, this brings the Uminos into this. After all, they were also the ones affected by Sosuke's actions. And if their biological daughter is getting engaged, they should know about it. This beings a lot of uninvited guests to something that Sosuke probably had planned for some time. And not only that, his best friend is against him on this too. Meanwhile, Erika will want to know why Sosuke is against her and Nagi (within the Amano Group's wishes, by the way.) So, after a lot of arguments...and slaps (mostly on Sosuke by Erika, Mama Amano, and Mrs. Umino, that's the hope anyway.) Sosuke will finally reveal his backstory and reasons for the switch.

Notice I haven't mentioned Papa Amano yet. There's a good reason for this as I feel he's the last part of this story, the final confrontation. But that's later. >!I've always had the theory that Sosuke did the switch to prevent his father from doing the same thing, part of his "Cuckoo Plan". He and Papa Amano have referred to this. I think though, Sosuke was thinking of maybe his dad fixes this, he gets blamed, but hey he's a kid, he's jealous, etc. And after this, they can actually be a family...only for Papa Amano to modify the plan, to accommodate Erika and the Uminos. And for Papa to suspect his son, and to put his foot down by sending him to England. Also, he might let the Uminos know about the plan the Amano Group has for their land, which involves the shotgun wedding of Nagi and Erika after graduation. (Why Papa Amano had wanted a decision on that by then, going all the way back to the beginning of this story.)!<!<

>!Oh by way, what about exams? Uh oh...this will also affect one other character here...Hiro. Remember, she wants to go to the same university as Nagi. He misses the exam...that throws her overall plan into higgley-piggley. And after all this, I wouldn't be surprised if Nagi decides to go a different route. !<

>!Lastly, who is the main villians here? Simply put, its the entire Amano family. Erika was part of that, but she's...somewhat embraced her genes. A bit. The thing is, the rest of the family is so reprehensible, you're naturally pissed off. Except I wouldn't be surprised if Miki does a redemption story for Mama and Sosuke. !<

>!Is this where we're going? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out. Comments are appreciated, be gentle.!<

After last week, we thought we might get something rare with this story...plot progression. But alas, we fell for it. Again. The whole Nagi going away is another "Let's separate Nagi and Erika and make them realize feelings for each other" arc. But there is a slight difference this time, as Mama Amano is the one instigating this. And predictably, while Nagi is living it up stress-free, Erika is making the house a complete nightmare. And that's day 1.

However, there is something different here. And that's the fact that Erika is by herself. A perfect situation for Sosuke to make his return. The whole reveal of the switch is weighing on his mind, and as we know, the proposal still doesn't have an answer yet. So that is where I think this may be going, with Mama Amano and Nagi maybe checking in on her...with Sosuke there. Awkward...(It would be the most logical way for this to go, right...right? Otherwise, next chapter will be a girl's emergency cleanup session with seething jealousy thrown in. And we'd be all up in arms over this.)

One last thing. I noticed, again, that Erika's increasing celebrity status is making things awkward for everyone. I've felt that this may play a role in the final part (to quote the late great Bill Hicks..."WHEN?????") as Erika's social media feed was a part of the initial plot line, and may play a role at the end.

Comments and thoughts are appreciated, be gentle.

Have a subscription to TSN here in Canada, using Prime Video...and lately, I've been getting the error message when selecting a channel, is this more because of a lot of traffic due to the World Cup?