Warning: The following contains spoilers for Masamune-kun’s Revenge R Episode 2, “The Princess’s Confession”, now streaming onCrunchyroll.
The source of Masamune’s frustration andthe fuel for his so-called revengeis the traumatic event that happened when he was a child. That time when the girl that he liked flatly rejected his feelings because he was a chubby kid. This one incident forced him to embark on a journey to obtain a muscular body that would enable him to take revenge on the girl that broke his heart, Adagaki Aki.
In this episode, Aki opens up to Masamune and tells him aboutthe story of her childhood crush, without realizing that Masamune is actually the subject of her story. As it turns out, her side of the story is entirely different from what Masamune distinctly remembered. Although there are still some puzzle pieces that need to be uncovered, we as the viewers finally realize that the whole thing is actually just a big misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the two protagonists haven’t realized it yet.
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Different Side of The Truth
There’s a line in an early episode ofa thriller anime calledBaccanothat provides an interesting take on the concept of “the truth”. They said something along the lines of when an accident happens, there are as many versions of that accident as the number of people who bear witness to said accident. That is true to some extent because everybody has their own perspective on things that are based around the information that they have at the time. When one party lacks a piece of knowledge or information, it will inevitably end up affecting their version of the truth, for better or worse.
That seems to be what happened during that fateful night when the chubby Masamune frantically called out Aki’s name with flowers in his hand. In his eyes, a girl that looked like Adagaki Aki ruthlessly rejected him and mocked his appearance.Leaving a huge scar in his heartthat still exists till this day. In Aki’s eyes, nothing of importance happened that night. She didn’t remember Masamune coming to her house at all. She simply remembered waiting for Masamune to come the next day, and he wasn’t there. She kept waiting every day, and he never came to meet her again. So Aki thought that Masamune grew tired of her, and left her behind.
Both of them are telling the truth, but unfortunately they only have a piece of the puzzle. They only have a part of the real story. Only by combining those pieces with other key pieces of the puzzle, that haven’t revealed itself at this time, will they be able to finally see the whole truth.
Misunderstanding Breeds Contempt
Having a partial truth is arguably more dangerous than not knowing the truth at all. After all, just like Masamune, knowing a part of the truth becomes a source of great distress, anxiety, and distrust that keeps consuming his heart for years. Missing a key part of the truth leads to a misunderstanding of the real situation, which inevitably leads to contempt.
Misunderstanding breeds contempt. That is pretty much the main theme ofMasamune-kun’s Revenge. Sure, the whole thing is covered by over-dramatic dialog, silly gags,and subtle fan service, but at its core, it is still a story about how a misunderstanding changed the life of two young people, with one of them being consumed by anger, disappointment, and contempt for years.
While the story ofMasamune-kun’s Revengeis purposely dramatized in order to make it interesting to see, the idea of misunderstanding asthe main cause of broken heartand irreparable damages to a relationship is actually aligned with reality. After all, everybody has experienced, or at least knows people who have experienced, heartache due to a simple case of misunderstanding. Lovers are separated, best friends no longer talk to each other, and it can even cause a rift in a family. So yes, Misunderstanding can certainly breed contempt.
Treacherous Roads Ahead
So what’s next for Aki and Masamune?Well, when it comes to misunderstanding, the simplest way to resolve the problem is to talk to each other. Both parties need to open up their hearts and properly communicate their thoughts, their doubts, and their feelings. That is pretty much the sure fire way to not only rejoin the broken bond and gain the missing trust, but also to clear up the troublesome past to make way for a promising future.
That being said, be it in real life or in fiction, especiallyin the world ofMasamune-kun’s Revenge, ego has always stood in the way. After all, in order to properly settle a misunderstanding, both parties need to accept the fact that they don’t have the full picture, and are willing to let the others explain their version of the story.
That is not an easy thing to do, especially for something that has been nesting in their heart for a long time, which is pretty much the case for both Aki and Masamune. So rather than sitting down and talking about their past properly, it is highly likely that Aki and Masamune would keep this confusing dance of love, suspicions, and distrust for a while longer.
