Eiko Abu, 29 years old and single. She divides everything in the world into two categories: “normal” or “not normal.” In her quest for normalcy, her obsession slowly destroys the relationships she had built. What is normal? What is abnormal? Logic is questioned and normalcy challenged in this psychological suspense.
I just read 77 chapters in a handful of hours.
I reviewed the beginning before, but didn’t get to read past the first 20 chapters. Now I got to finally read the whole damn thing.
Abu somehow managed to find the most twisted road to normality she possibly could, dragging the most twisted person into her life to live alongside her. Somehow Kawahara, an absolutely fucked up little dude, ended up becoming a redeemable and okay dude in the very last few chapters because he came to accept the abnormal and honestly kind of fucked up way of Abu being the way she is. And Abu, being a total brick wall, ended up somehow being the perfect match for shitty Kawahara with her utter indifference to his shitty attitude.
Shitty Kawahara becomes instrumental to Abu, and he gets molded into who she wants him to be. In turn, Abu finds change that is necessary for her to become the “normal” person she wishes she were. She learns from the people around her how to pursue and become normal, studying. Analyzing. Running them with the utmost efficiency. It’s insane to watch. Sometimes the lessons she learns aren’t really the ones she’s supposed to and it turns out… poorly.
I really enjoyed watching her trying to understand and interpret her emotions. Sometimes I really understood her way of thinking— calculating, what do people want me to say? How am I supposed to react to gain favor? Is this the appropriate thing to say? What is the most normal thing for me to do in this way? Her pursuit of normality is like the EXTREME EXTREME EXTREME EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!!! version of daily calculations that go into interacting with people on the daily. I distinctly recall myself doing the same as her in some situations. “I don’t understand.” “That doesn’t make any sense.” “Could you clarify of the two, which of the situations is the actual goal, since they contradict one another?” Etc.
It takes some pretty wild turns— a cabaret club side story, a live-streamed sub plot, several stabbings— multiple stabbings!!!! Many stabbings!!! And there are more than a few strange people around Abu! But she perseveres, and honestly, everyone loves that about her. Failures are steeping stones to success, as she says.
