Imouto Sae Ireba Ii returns with another great volume.
Don't actually read this thread if you want to eventually read the official English releases, but at the rate Yen Press is going, it's going to be at least 2-3 more years before you get to material not covered in the anime.
Itsuki and Nayu fall into a deep depression after their mutual breakup. Upon returning to her apartment, Nayu runs into Miyako's arms bawling her eyes out, and Itsuki drinks himself half to death to numb the pain. When Haruto visits Itsuki the next day (to talk to him about rejecting Chihiro half a month ago), he finds Itsuki not having eaten or slept, asking him for more booze. Whenever Itsuki would fall asleep he would have nightmares, so as he woke again he continued to drink. Haruto tries to snap Itsuki out of it by talking about how he's just come from a meeting about his new series, trying to bring out Itsuki's competitive drive. Itsuki doesn't care though, he's long since given up on anything beyond mediocrity. Frustrated, Haruto says a bunch of chuuni shounen sports manga lines like >I'm going to surpass you while you're standing still. I'm not going to just wait for you and then leaves, only realizing afterward that he forgot to ask about Chihiro.
Chapter title: Aoba Route (trap) A few days later, Aoba is at Itsuki's place doing her usual cooking and cleaning. Itsuki has stopped giving any fucks and continues drinking right in front of her. Desperate to bring Itsuki out of his depression, Aoba offers to do ANYTHING, and then explicitly specifies that she means including sex when Itsuki is taken aback. Overtaken by grief and lust, Itsuki actually takes her up on her offer and jumps her, and we actually get a more explicit sex scene than any of Nayu's. Waking up in the morning, Itsuki is arrested by the police. Aoba's parents had questioned her about returning late and figured out what happened, then reported Itsuki for statuatory rape. Aoba tries to salvage the situation by saying it was consensual and under the premise that marriage was to follow, but Itsuki admits himself that it was nothing but primal, animal lust. His professional career is in ruins, and all his friends and family, including his father and Chihiro, break all ties with him and he wanders the streets with nowhere left to go. Suddenly, a bright flash and a loud crash sends him into brief, agonizing pain. When he awakes, he is confronted by a goddess calling herself Aquarius who has given him a second chance in an alternate world and obviously this is a dream gotcha. He wakes up for real and asks Aoba how much of it was a dream. Aoba confirms that her offer to have sex actually happened, and Itsuki emphatically refuses and chastises her to value herself more. Aoba agrees but reponds that Itsuki is the one who should really be valuing himself more. After she leaves, Itsuki is so shaken by the experience that he dumps out all the alcohol in his fridge, shaves his head, and buys a monk constume to cleanse himself of sinful thoughts.
Am I looking at double CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT right now? What the fuck.
David Watson
At the same time, Nayu has closed herself off in her room. When Miyako walks in to give Nayu her dinner, she sees Nayu naked and sitting in front of her screen, playing a third person shooter and swearing like a sailor. >Nayu: "Fuck! Shit! Fucking fuck! I understand "Fucking Jap" at least!" She's been at this since last night and hasn't eaten or showered. This continues on for a while until one day Miyako finds Nayu with her hair cut. Nayu sees no point in having to take care of her long hair. >Nayu: "Not like I have anyone to fuck even if I make myself pretty." Eventually, Nayu misses an important meeting for the live action movie of her LN and just decides to quit writing on the spot. When informed of this, the head editor lowers his head to Miyako and begs her to save their company by bringing Nayu back, saying he'll give her any personnel and resources she needs.
After a brief strategy meeting with Haruto, Miyako returns to try to convince Nayu to go back to being a writer. She emphasizes how many people need her, her fans, the publishers, all the staff of all the adaptations that have their jobs on the line. However, Miyako is soon left speechless when Nayu asks why Miyako is trying to convince her, and whether Miyako herself needs Nayu to be a writer. Miyako comes to the conclusion that she really doesn't have any stakes in this, and returns to the office defeated, and gives up on convincing Nayu to return to writing. The next day, Miyako and Kaiko grow progressively more worried as Nayu fails to return late into the night. Miyako starts to panic and wants to call the police, but Kaiko remains calm and convinces her to hold off, try to contact other people, and look for some sort of evidence that something bad has happened before acting rashly. Nayu eventually returns and it turns out that she was just at the arcade. Miyako and Nayu hug while in tears and Miyako promises to stop asking Nayu to go back to writing, and just wants Nayu to never disappear on her again. Nayu promises to not worry Miyako ever again and also promises to continue being a womanchild who does nothing but play vidya. >Kaiko: "So, are you guys gonna fuck? Can I sketch you?" >Miyako: "NO!" >Nayu: "Aww, I kind of want to." After this Nayu started to take showers with Miyako and even sleep together all the time, basically being a big baby.
Middle aged loser author Kaizu Makina has been invited out by rookie author Kamo Tadashi, to thank Kaizu for solving his tax troubles by introducing him to Ashley. Eventually he reveals that he's interested in Ashley and asks Kaizu about her hobbies and interests. Kaizu helps him, but for the first time in his life he took a kouhai up on the offer of a free meal instead of paying for himself. Later, Kamo goes on his date with Ashley, taking her to small cosy bars and B movie horror flicks (and eating steaks after, because of course you'd want something bloody after watching slasher films. Ashley loved it but Kamo didn't seem to have an appetite). Of course all of this is suspiciously close to Ashley's tastes and she figures out pretty quickly that Kamo is interested in her and that he got Kaizu's help. She rejects Kamo's confession. Ashley invites Kaizu to a bar to talk about his involvement, and the conversation quickly turns to Kaizu's love life. Kaizu reveals that he doesn't think he's financially stable enough as a mediocre author to feel comfortable with what, in his view, is dragging someone else down with him. >Ashley: "Marry me." (in the way one would issue a command) >Ashley: "I'm the only one who'll be able accept your stupid way of life until the end." >Ashley: "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I like you or anything. You're just the only one I can allow to follow me all the way to hell." >Kaizu: "Feel free to abandon me once you're bored with me." >Ashley: "You know me, I'll get bored with you right away." >Kaizu: "Fast and heavy, huh?" >Ashley: "At least say my love is heavy."
It's Christmas Eve, and Haruto was suddenly invited to dinner by Itsuki. Turns out Itsuki made a reservation at an expensive restaurant for Nayu and himself, and completely forgot about it. He can't get the deposit back so he's having a nice romantic $500 dinner with Haruto on Christmas Eve. Jokingly, Haruto takes a picture of them and uploads it on twitter for the fujo appeal. However, he's miscalculated, because the restaurant is so exclusive that all his twitter followers think he wouldn't go so far for a joke and now are convinced that he's actually dating Itsuki. At the same time, the girls are having a Christmas party in the shared apartment. Present are Nayu, Miyako, Kaiko, Ui, and Aoba (Chihiro is studying for exams so she couldn't come). They see the tweet from Haruto and Nayu panics slightly, even though she claims to be over Itsuki. This makes the conversation turn and Aoba (drunk on cans of what looked like canned juice but is actually a cocktail) tells the story of when she offered to fuck Itsuki. >Nayu: "You little thief! I knew I should've taken you out back then!" Then Kaiko calmly chimes in that she might go after Itsuki, saying he was her type and that they had a lot of fun together on their trip to Taiwan. Nayu finally realizes that Itsuki is surprisingly popular, and has to think seriously about whether she's really ok with letting him go. >Nayu: "Watashi wa Myaa-san sae ireba ii" There's a short interlude with Miyako working at comiket while cosplaying and awakening 9 year old Nadeshiko's interest in cosplay. Then Itsuki and Chihiro go for their New Year's shrine visit.
Itsuki's newest book has been published to mostly good reviews (due to being a soulless commercialized product) and Miyako brought home a copy to read. Kaiko walks out of her room having already finished her advanced copy and starts talking to Miyako about it with Nayu watching closely on the side. When both Miyako and Kaiko express that they liked it, Nayu becomes indignant and starts yelling at Kaiko, calling her a traitor and saying of all people a creator like Kaiko should be able to understand her point of view. Kaiko doesn't back down and says that while she respects creators who follow their passion, she respects creators who can power through creating content they don't like even more, because they have it much harder. >Kaiko: "Besides, you have no right to say anything about Hashima-san. At least he continues to write while you're nothing but a shit making machine! I'd much rather have a writer who writes trash than a genius who doesn't write at all." Not being able to have any comebacks, Nayu stews for a while and then suddenly runs to her room. When asked if she's running away, Nayu responds >Nayu: "I'm going to write!" And slams the door. Kaiko looks proud of herself while Miyako looks on in shock. They have a discussion about how sometimes people need tough love. Miyako realizes that even though she's trying to be an editor she's been enabling Nayu being a lazy womanchild and that editors aren't an author's mother or friend.
After Nayu comes back to writing, she gets an interview request from the male lead of the live action movie adaptation, Takashina Yuuma. For all intents and purposes he is the ideal man for girls her age, and in the interview Yuuma reveals that he's become a huge fan. They start analyzing Nayu's writing and she says that she really doesn't think about it all that much. Yuuma tells her how she's able to still write convincing characters despite not having experienced the things she's written about isn't something to be ashamed of and it doesn't indicate that she's an imposter, it just means she has talent. He likens it to acting, he can be objectively good at acting as a soldier or fireman despite never having done those things. For the first time Nayu gets over her imposter syndrome and realizes that she has talent. She begins understanding a little why Itsuki felt she was so high above him, but also enjoyed the interview enough to exchange contact info with Yuuma.
Chihiro is feeling self conscious about her femininity while talking with Ashley. She runs into Puriketsu on the way home and he asks to see her ass again. they have a conversation about why Puriketsu feels Chihiro has the perfect ass and Puriketsu launches into a rant about how asses evolved from the need for balancing the body and how having a flat chest actually contributes to better balance and thus a more attractive figure. Chihiro questions why Puriketsu needs to see her ass if he's trying to draw things that exceed real life instead of just mimic it. Puriketsu had never thought about this before so he just starts mentally striping Chihiro instead and runs off to draw. This all culminates with Chihiro sending Haruto a text that reads >Chihiro: "Fuwa-san, do you like asses?"
Yuuma invites Nayu out for a date and confesses to her, but Nayu turns him down. >Nayu: "I have someone else I like. He's not particularly handsome, and his personality is a pain. He pretends to be an egomaniac but has a million self confidence issues. To be honest, there's no category he can beat you in. Even his novels are trash. But I love him, no matter what happens. No matter how much of a loser he becomes, he's my one and only hero. I try so hard to hate him, but I can't imagine any future except with him. I love him with all my heart." At the same time, Miyako couldn't contain herself and texts Itsuki telling him that Nayu is on a date with a popular actor. Itsuki's responses however are surprisingly apathetic. Miyako presses further, only to receive the following response: >Itsuki: "Now's really not the time right now. My mother's giving birth."
At the Hashima family home, Itsuki and Chihiro are awaiting the birth of their baby sister. After what feels like an eternity of waiting they get permission to go to the hospital to see her. >Natsume(Itsuki's stepmom): "Hi Chihiro, Hi Itsuki-kun." >Itsuki: "Just Itsuki is fine...mom." Itsuki's parents want him to name the baby due to being an author. He spots some of his old trashy novels in the room and his parents say they had a lot of time to kill. He spots a bookmark (栞) in one of them and decides that should be the baby's name, 栞 (Shiori), as a bookmark symbolizes the continuation of a story after a pause, which is what this moment is for their family. As he looks on at his happy family, Itsuki could come to only one conclusion: he wanted to start his own family like this someday, and he knew who the only person he wanted to start it with was.
Apologizing to his family, and saying he had something he had to do no matter what, Itsuki runs home and starts writing without rest. For five days he stays in his room writing a love story disguised as an LN, about a writer who falls in love with his kouhai. In the cold February night he runs to Nayu's apartment and collapses after delivering his novel written for an audience of one. Itsuki wakes up on Nayu's lap with her tears dripping on his face, and she tells him it was the best novel he's ever written. >Itsuki: "Please be my heroine again." >Nayu: "What are you talking about, senpai? You are, have always been, and always will be my main character."
Ok here's an image I didn't get to post. Other things: in the afterword the author confirmed that volume 14 will be the last volume and he already has all of the plot worked out. Author is of the opinion that the MVP this volume was Kaiko, and honestly if you don't agree then shame on you. There's also a scene at the end of that last chapter where Kaiko and Miyako tell the couple to go get a room.
>>Itsuki: "Please be my heroine again." >>Nayu: "What are you talking about, senpai? You are, have always been, and always will be my main character." Based.
Thanks for keeping these going. Looks like we are back on track for a happy ending.
William Morris
Thank fuck the break up arc was so short.
Cooper Lee
Holy shit those are some heavy developments. Can’t believe an LN summary actually managed to get me to tear up.
Thomas Lewis
I think this is the first volume without any board game chapters, though Itsuki and Chihiro do play a few when they're waiting for news about their sister.
Wyatt Wilson
S2 when? ;_;
Colton Johnson
The fuck is this normie soap opera shit?
Jack Reed
The series doesn't need redemption but fuck S2 fucking never.
Kayden Rogers
FLIPPY WIGGLERS
Mason White
This is looking to be a genuinely good series all-around. This is why having a single main girl with no illusion as to who would win is good. No waifu-wars, no having to pander to fans.
Justin Morales
Can't wait for the TLs to get to this point in 5 years.
Think user meant the author's redemption for the contentious ending in Haganai.
Brandon Green
>Puriketsu launches into a rant about how asses evolved from the need for balancing the body and how having a flat chest actually contributes to better balance and thus a more attractive figure. This man is my hero.
The contentious ending was the author's way of telling Kadokawa to eat shit while waking out the door. It's a shame the fans got caught in the crossfire, but at the same time, Haganai was mediocre at best.
Connor Phillips
Thanks for the summary, HarutoxMiyako is the last loose end to end this series.
Luke Thompson
Thanks for the summary
Alexander Walker
So how long did their break up last for?
Benjamin Evans
more than two months if we take Itsuki's hair into account
Adrian Diaz
Holy shit what a ride
Christian White
OTP.
Julian Cox
Looks like more harem shit.
Nolan Bailey
Yeah it was about 3 months.
That's not a forgone conclusion, Haruto seems more likely to end up with Ui.
Remember, Ashley says she's definitely NOT a tsundere.
Bentley James
Thanks user, bless you.
Jordan Harris
That was pretty nice, thank you.
Isaiah Hernandez
Elaborate.
Nathan Hill
Not him, but from what I heard, the author wanted a "we're all friends" ending, but the editors/Kadokawa forced him to write either a harem ending or Kodaka choosing someone.
