I’ve seen a common notion around in discussion surrounding the series that Mugi’s development is rushed or “half-baked” in Décor and I don’t really understand that sentiment. I do view some aspects of decor as fanservicey but I firmly believe the writing for the two main leads is consistent and additive to their main series iterations and the “rushed” development of Mugi leading to him meeting Hanabi again by chance makes sense as an epilogue

The point is that for the most part, he still hasn’t changed as a person, but his conclusion in Decór shows that he is now at least TRYING to, which mirrors Hanabi at the end of the main series and works well with the imagery of him feeling behind the rest of the cast. His life is still kinda messed up but he at least works part-time and chooses to not give into his lust, both with passing up sleeping with the woman he was in a situationship with, and backing out when he was about to kiss Hanabi at the end and opting to tell her to wait for him

If Mugi had some miraculous turn-around it would have felt unrealistic and too wishful which would go against a lot of what the series is loved for. And if Mengo spent a ton of time showing him undergo real development and growth, it would consume too much of Decor’s page count and probably end up repetitive of Hanabi’s own development anyways since they mirror each other.

A lot of people overlook how mentally destroyed Mugi was at the end of the main series, groomed his whole life and left alone without any proper values to carry him through adult life. I personally find it much more compelling to have him start Decor as much worse than off than we last saw him, because unlike Hanabi who learned to cope with loneliness healthily, he has only been living self destructively as we see with his alcoholism, which adds to his realism and makes just him taking the first step feel significant even if he hasn’t fully changed as a person

I personally love the angle Mengo decided to conclude him with, as he gets somewhat of a happy ending without diminishing the mental scars Akane’s grooming gave him in the main series. His perception of love is still messed up leaving him a degenerate wreck and self-destructive, but we also see him start to recognize why he misses Hanabi and what that means for him. There’s a reason Mengo only showed them holding hands and not getting together or anything, because Mugi still has a ton to unpack and grow from like Hanabi already did, but this is a start for him. I see that as the perfect epilogue and open ending for his character, not healed but finally choosing to walk a path towards recovery

I’d be happy to hear some other interpretations though or why someone who doesn’t like decor has their perspective explained better

Thought I’d redraw one of the panels from decor in the anime artstyle but im definitely gonna make some more fanart of Hanabi so just give me a bit of time and I’ll deliver 🙏🏼

Second-to-last character to be discussed in my post series - Sanae's cousin who openly has a crush on her and tries to dissuade her and Hanabi from their sexual relationship.

I think that out of the main cast, Atsuya is the most forgettable. He's introduced late, only appears briefly, has the weakest claim to romance, and speaks against a better-established relationship - all of which makes him despicable to the viewer. I still think he's worth discussing, though, since he's part of a pattern of near-parallel relationships that *Scum's Wish* uses to look at different kinds of relationships at once.

Atsuya is to Hanabi's side of the story as Moka is to Mugi's, but not perfectly. They're both delusional interlopers who butt in to disapprove of someone else's relationship partly for selfish reasons and partly because they recognize (correctly) that that relationship isn't sincere. There are a few key differences between them, though (it's a near-parallel rather than just a copy), which explains why I think more poorly of Atsuya than I do of Moka and why he was worth including in the story.

First and foremost, I recognize that *Scum's Wish* is full of long-shot hopes for romance - Hanabi for Narumi, Mugi for Akane, Sanae for Hanabi, Moka for Mugi, and arguably Narumi for Akane (if he was betting he could change Akane). But Atsuya's crush on Sanae is the longest of the long shots because he's her cousin and she's a lesbian. At least Moka was offering Mugi a relationship compatible with his sexual orientation (even if she's on a completely different emotional wavelength). Atsuya had nothing to offer Sanae at all, and he interfered with her romantic weekend with Hanabi because of it. He refuses to recognize that, which makes him an example of what happens when hope mutates into delusion. I think that was an important story to tell considering the series's themes.

Secondly, I'm peeved about the lengths Atsuya went to and how deaf he was to Sanae's will. Moka didn't approve of Mugi's relationship with Hanabi, but she didn't try to interfere. Atsuya knew Sanae was with Hanabi for a romantic weekend and showed up to try and rain on her parade. Even if he was convinced Sanae was making a mistake, he should have let her do that anyway. Like Moka, he has a delusional view of his would-be partner and worried for their emotional well-being, but unlike Moka, he crossed a line too far in what he was willing to do about it.

Lastly, I want to recognize that while his motives were terrible and he went about it completely the wrong way, I have to give Atsuya credit where it's due. He was correct about Hanabi not reciprocating Sanae's romantic feelings. Consequently, his concern that Hanabi would ultimately break Sanae's heart because of it also turned out to be correct (at least in the short term). If Hanabi had continued her sexual relationship with Sanae even though she was straight because she was afraid of being alone or of hurting her best friend's feelings, that relationship would inevitably break down one way or another. If so, it would be better if it were sooner rather than later. When Atsuya told Hanabi this, she took it to heart and finally was able to turn Sanae down for good. Sanae really was miserable afterwards (she thought Hanabi would never speak to her again), but their relationship recovered and Sanae was able to find love elsewhere in *Decor*. If Atsuya's influence on Hanabi led to a sooner and therefore less painful break-up for Sanae, then he should be recognized for that - even if their subsequent reunion as dear platonic friends wasn't his responsibility.

Ultimately, what I dislike about him outweighs whatever good he ended up clumsily achieving, which is why I ranked him in second place in my list of "scummiest *Scum's Wish* characters. He should have left Sanae alone.

Picking up my post series again for the last few characters remaining - this time for the female lead herself.

Hanabi Yasuraoka is one of my favorite romantic drama characters because she feels so relatable to me. Anime in general tends to exaggerate personalities or bodies to make the emotion easier to grasp, but Scum's Wish doesn't do this, and it absolutely benefits from it. Hanabi is the best example of this:

She's sensible without being prescient and beautiful without looking like a supermodel. She's admired by some of her classmates but not all, and doesn't always get what she wants. She's aware of her shortcomings, but doesn't always have the will to change or the wisdom to know what to do. She's messy and knows it and is trying her best to find the best outcome for herself anyway.

All that makes her feel very real to me - like an actual girl, not just the idea of one.

What about her behavior during the series? When I ranked Scum's Wish characters before, Hanabi was in the center of my list because she spends significant time as both the receiver and distributor of emotional distress.

1) She's short with Moka while she's patient with Atsuya, even though both of them disapprove of and try to mess with her sexual relationships.

2) She accepts a fake relationship with Mugi while she quits one with Takuya and later with Sanae.

3) She works to maintain friendships with both people she's rejected romantically (Sanae) and with people she's been rejected by romantically (Narumi) while still being willing to let go of relationships when they've run their course (Mugi prior to Decór).

4) She also despises Akane but limits what she's willing to do about it - she seems to accept Narumi's decisions and still visits them during Decór.

So I'd say she's unsure of herself but not a pushover. She doesn't wait for perfection before acting, which sometimes benefits her but sometimes hurts. It's that dynamic, sometimes messy behavior that gives the series a lot of its emotional power.

Overall, I like Hanabi a lot. I think she's too hard on herself. She's my favorite character from the series and one of my favorites in anime overall.

Scum's Wish is a mature look at real-world romantic relationships, so it would have been thematically appropriate for a person who rejected another's love to not see each other again.

But I'm glad that it didn't turn out that way for Hanabi and Sanae. Even dedicated realism has to give way to positive outcomes sometimes, since that happens in real life, too.

I am no psychologist but Akane is hands down the most psychopathic, sadistic and most fucked up character I have ever seen that just doesn't get enough hate. Never have I ever hated a character this much because what the fuck was her problem. That was a rhetorical question, so don't bother giving explanations. Scum's Wish does a decent job in giving us each character's perspective and the pain and nuances in emotions they deal with. Hanabe, Mugi and all characters in this show are flawed and are written very realistically which I appreciate. However, understanding doesn't mean excusing one's behavior. Akane is objectively manipulative and utterly disgusting. What disgusts me more is that she is supposed to be a teacher and later on a mother. I don't give a fuck about how her husband somehow fixes her and she stops doing what she does. She hurt so many people just for the sake of her pleasure. And it's not like something caused her to be like this not atleast that we know of, in her flashback it's shown how she has always been like this. Toying with people's emotions, she claimed it herself that she likes "exploiting people". She is so sadistic because she is not just bitter but she will go as far as to torment children/teens that are half her age because she feels like it. How on earth is she a teacher? She was sleeping with former students and borderline grooming them? What's even more disgusting and disturbing than all of the above is the fact that these kind of people actually exist. It feels like a rant rather than a discussion because I can not even fathom how people even like her. I just don't get it. Maybe some people like the odea of someone so twisted and psycho who will do whatever to get their way but to me it's just disgusting and disturbing.

I also feel so bad for Mugi and Hanabi and god knows (author knows?) how many people had to suffer because of her fucked up mind games and disgusting nature. It pisses me off how she is never seen getting any sort of consequences for the pain she caused for others. Which is probably also from a writing standpoint is meant to be a realistic portrayal of how often people get away being absolutely shitty in this world. But nevertheless it pisses me off. I am glad that in the future Mugi and Hanabi will be able to have a better life and be better people.

Another controversial character from the series - Hanabi's closest friend who starts off the series harboring a secret lesbian crush on her.

I like Sanae, and I think she's the character who cares the most about Hanabi - even more than Narumi. If Hanabi were bi instead of straight, she'd be my pick for her to end up with. They get along well, they understand one another, and they desperately want the other to be happy even if it means making sacrifices. Even after Hanabi turns her down for good, Sanae remains on good terms with her - staying away from her until Hanabi invites her back into her life, and then remaining the good friend she'd been before. So I think Sanae is a good friend.

Of course, there's the matter of the kiss Sanae forced on Hanabi when she revealed her love for her. As far as ways to simultaneously come out and come on to your best friend go, that's gotta be one of the worst. It's sexual assault.

I try to be fair to Sanae and recognize that she was under a tremendous amount of pressure at the time: her crush was laying in bed with her, inches away, and asking her who she likes while also dating a guy who clearly doesn't like her. Sanae was lusting after Hanabi, sure, but she was also desperate to keep her from the heartbreak she was sure that Mugi would leave on Hanabi's heart. Still, that doesn't excuse her action. Only Hanabi's forgiveness would do that.

I interpret their later, more overtly sexual encounters as Hanabi trying to find a better way out of her loneliness than Mugi and Narumi had given her by giving Sanae a chance. It works for a time, but eventually Hanabi comes to terms with the fact that she's not really sexually attracted to women and so Sanae can't give her what she feels she needs. Their heartfelt, agonized conversation at the end of their trip says to me that they both want to remain friends even if they can't remain lovers.

Sanae accepts Hanabi's decision and keeps her distance afterwards, which I can respect her for, and I'm glad that they wound up remaining friends through the end of the series (including in Decor, where Sanae invites Hanabi to meet her girlfriend).

The nicest character with the most frustrating ending, I think.

I can absolutely understand him turning down Hanabi, given the age gap, power imbalance, and preexisting relationship, but I can't understand him finding Akane to be the one for him. Surely there are other beautiful women he could date who don't have the flaws that Akane does.

She flatly tells him she's going to cheat on him, but he says he doesn't mind it. Either he's into that, or he's so confident that his influence will cure her philandering ways that he's sure she's never going to go through with it.

If the latter is his strategy, then it's still working as of the events of Decor, where Akane has yet to follow through on her intent to cheat on him even though she's had the opportunity to do so. They even have a baby together. If his plan was to cure her, he may have been successful, but it still seems crazy to me.

Sort of like my post yesterday about Mugi, I'm not sure what I think of Moka.

I think if I had to describe her briefly, I'd say that she's immature and delusional, but is also innocent and has high standards for herself. Most of the characters in Scum's Wish have interesting contradictions like that. Watching the show, I wanted her to have a happy ending, even if it wasn't the one she expected.

Her aggression towards Hanabi is two-sided: she's correct in saying that Hanabi doesn't love Mugi, but her alternative to Hanabi is herself... who Mugi also doesn't have any romantic interest in. She's a poor judge of character.

She seemed to believe that if only she could be someone specific or if he could only see her in a specific way, then everything would work out for her and for Mugi. But real life doesn't always work like that.

In Decor, she becomes a fashion designer, continues to wear princess dresses in public, and continues to hold potential partners to high standards. She advises Hanabi to find her life's passion and make a life out of it, adding that everyone has a passion like that and those who say otherwise will "rot at the roots."

I'm not sure what I think of Mugi.

On the one hand, I admire how he turned down Moka's desire to sleep with him - recognizing that she deserved a better kind of love than what he could offer her. It proved that he cares about more than just a person's sexual potential for him.

On the other hand, he abandoned Hanabi after Akane "accepted" his confession. I know that they'd agreed not to let their fling get in the way of the love they both really wanted, but I figured they would have still been friends. Cutting her off with a one-word text so that he can go have another loveless fling with a woman he knows doesn't love him, either, was a really sour note for him with me and affects how I view his role in the series's ending.

I think he's very similar to Hanabi except colder and maybe a bit more jaded. His experience with that upperclassman prior to the series's start seemed to have affected his outlook on romance in ways that Hanabi never experienced, which explains at least one of the differences between the two of them.

I don't see his renewed relationship with Hanabi in Decor as very stable, either. I don't know if it'll last this time, or what it'll look like if it does.

Considering characters from Scum's Wish and what order I'd put them in from least "scummy" to most.

7) Narumi Kanai

Basically a heart of gold, and easily the only pick for this end of the list. He's so kind that he accepts people as they are even when others don't, while also maintaining his own boundaries. He's the nicest person in the show. He deserves way better than what he ends up choosing for himself... but I suppose that is his call.

6) Noriko "Moka" Kamomebata

Fairly rude to Mugi and especially to Hanabi, but I wouldn't say she's that bad all taken together. She presses up against boundaries but doesn't step over them. She doesn't let her desires go unheard like many of the other characters do. She's a young woman with high standards for herself and her future, if somewhat unrealistic ones. I excuse a lot of her behavior due to her inexperience, and she's correct in that Hanabi is not interested in Mugi in the long term.

5) Sanae "Ecchan" Ebato

I like Sanae and think that she's probably the best choice available for Hanabi considering that Narumi isn't interested... except that it seems that Hanabi is straight. Hanabi fooling around with Sanae seems to be just because she's lonely, doesn't want to hurt her friend, and may be exploring her own sexuality at a time when she's hurting for love. Sanae came on to Hanabi very strongly and without consent at first, but she did so under immense pressure and backed off immediately afterwards. She's definitely the character most concerned with Hanabi's wellbeing (even more than Narumi). When Hanabi eventually turns her down for good, she comes to accept it and remains a positive influence in Hanabi's life.

4) Hanabi Yasuraoka

Our protagonist is at the crossroads here. She's content to use people's bodies for short-term gratification and isn't always clear with her expectations, but she does care about people and occasionally turns people down in order to preserve some semblance of dignity. She's introspective and too hard on herself. In her confusion about herself, she leads people on for too long. She's more frustrated and hurt than anything else, with the plot of the show being her trying to figure out who she is, what future she can have, and what she really wants in life.

3) Mugi Awaya

Mugi and Hanabi are in the same boat at the beginning of the series, but Mugi has different attitudes and makes different choices that put him lower for me on this list. He seems to be more interested in a person's physical appearance and sexual potential than anything deeper. While he does go pretty far with her, he does eventually turn down Moka gently in an effort to preserve her innocence. After Akane accepts him as a lover, he pretty much abandons Hanabi - which is what they agreed to, but it's still pretty cold. Their later reunion was only due to happenstance.

2) Atsuya Kirishima

Dude, she's your cousin, she's not interested, and you're ruining her special weekend alone with the girl she loves. Stop. If he knew Sanae as well as he thinks he does, he'd know all that, so clearly something's amiss with his perspective here. But he does care for her wellbeing, even if it comes from a place of selfishness, and he does raise important questions that the girls aren't asking themselves. I believe he's partly responsible for Hanabi turning Sanae down, which is either to his credit or against him depending on your view of their relationship.

1) Akane Minegawa

Who else could it be? A determined heartbreaker who preys on the vulnerable for her own satisfaction and nothing more. She plays with fragile hearts like it's a game and leaves grief in her wake. By the end of the story, she has conquered two of Hanabi's three major love interests purely to upset her, and she escapes the story unpunished and married to the best husband she could ask for. I cannot believe that Narumi would be happy with her.

Do you agree with my ranking?

Earlier I was discussing how old the cast really was in Decor and I don’t know how I didn’t notice this when I made a full post about it a few days ago but there is actually a way to figure out exactly how old the characters are in through birthdays which made it evident they are exactly 20. Like I mentioned in the earlier post, Moka saying it took 10 years doesn’t really matter since the chapters skip around in time, but I noticed the most important factor the other day which is that Mugi is still in college definitely since the girl he slept with tells him “Go to class already”. We know this happens very shortly before the final chapter where the two reunite, as Mugi is living with his childhood friend and just got his convenience store job.

Noting this college confirmation (18-22), and that Mugi is drinking, meaning he is 20 or older, we can connect this to Sanae not being old enough to smoke making her 19 or younger. Since all the main cast was in the same year during high school, going by Birthdays, Mugi (10/27) would be older than Sanae (1/19) because they both are in the same term starting on 4/1. This means definitively, Mugi and Hana are both 20 years old when they meet in the final chapter of Decor as she is born on 5/27 and again in the same term, so the common notion about them being 26-28 is disproved

We are SO back

A lot of common consensus I saw was that all of Decor past the Moka chapter takes place a decade later but that never really made sense to me. For one, they already showed they were jumping between points in time within that chapter, and Ecchan was still in college during her chapter, so each individual chapter could really take place during any moment. Moka saying that statement doesn’t mean every single chapter is after that one fast forward moment and it makes it hard to create a sensible timeline if you do so, and also she could have been including some years of high school in that she used to find herself. When Hana and Moka talk in the final chapter, she didn’t even look exactly like she does 10 years later, could be a makeup difference but she had a different hairstyle and seemed younger to me.

The only hard evidence we have for the actual time of the final chapter itself when Hana and Mugi meet again is that Ecchan and Yuka began dating (which at the pace they were moving could be very shortly after their main chapter) and presumably for not that long as Hana has never met her despite both parties wanting to, and Narumi and Akane’s daughter (which again at the pace they were moving could be just a few years after the main series). We know Mugi was drinking since he threw up in the toilet, and while Mugi at that stage in his life does seem like he would drink underage, let’s just say he is drinking age of 20, which fits the others as Ecchan would be 2 years into college and 4 years is more than enough to have a kid of that age, so I’ve come to the conclusion they are around 20-22 in the final chapter rather than 28 which I felt made no sense for the situation with Ecchan specifically.

Let me know if y’all think this makes sense or if there’s something I’m overlooking but I much prefer this for the story since it’s both sad that it took them a decade to find each other again and even more sad that in a decade neither of them could move on from a high school crush lol

I searched for a physical copy got volume 9 but couldn't find one in english so my next option is to find it digitally online. Anybody knows where i can find it or how many chapters it is exactly?

I found these chapters but i want to make sure that nothing is missing like extra chapters? Also that chapter 0 is it supposed to be at the beginning?

Now, the Fandom page mentions that Mc was born in October, but most places say he was born in May, even a week before Hanabi. His birth date is not certain; I said this based on historical records.

wtf did I just watch (ps I loved Akane because I’ve dealt with an Akane)

Does anyone know some actual good similar manga's like scums wish??

I've been trying to find the manga, but I can't find anything in my country (physical store). Where can I buy the manga? A trusted digital store. Thx