(Long post) OK I HAVE SO MUCH FEELINGS FOR AFTERGLOW CHAPTER 2 STORY ALREADY AND I DIDNT EVEN FINISH READING IT YET

(Spoilers)

First of all, I love how realistically Afterglow’s conflict is portrayed. In the past, Ran’s entire focus was on the band, which was her way of rebelling against her father. She spent as much time with them as possible, and her emotional attachment towards the band is obvious. But the rest of Afterglow, like the good friends they are, encouraged Ran to mend her relationship with her father, which she eventually did.

And then that’s where the problem kicks in. Ran is beginning to balance her time between band and flower arrangement. Rather than saying she’s drifting away from them, it’s more like she’s getting a life outside of the band, which means she’s not gonna have as much time for Afterglow as before. But the rest of Afterglow notices that Ran is not spending as much time with them, they think that she is “changing”, and they confront her in a way that seems to imply the change is bad.

In a way, it’s like Afterglow expects Ran to just always be there when they need her for band activities. They don’t realize that Ran also has a life outside of them. It’s like how Tsugu has her cafe work, or Tomoe with taiko, and they just think that she’s drifting away.

I can sympathize with Ran, who probably feels like she’s accused of not being committed to the band. At the same time, I relate a lot to the rest of Afterglow. I have a group of friends that I’ve known since middle school, and my life pretty much revolved around them. But as we entered high school, then college, we don’t talk as much anymore. I can’t speak for them, but in my case, I still have this emotional attachment towards them, and I don’t feel like I’ve drifted from them. It’s just that I’m busier with life outside of them now, so I can’t see them as often. And then I see my friends, who are also busy with life, and I start to wonder if they’re drifting away from me.

So what I’m trying to say is... Afterglow’s relationship is a pretty realistic portrayal of how friendships are in real life. And as I’ve said many times before, the writing in Bandori is god-tier ;_;