In Diary of a Void, when there was abrupt skip from Week 14 to Week 36, I was confused if Shibata was actually pregnant. In Week 36, she described feeling the baby kick and feeling emotion when seeing her baby through the ultrasound. But later on, she says she takes baby photos from a mom on Instagram to show her coworkers, which made me realize that it was still a lie. I wonder what made Shibata experience those feelings in Week 36, even if there was actually no baby inside her. I also wonder what reasoning the author had for that scene.
In The Lonesome Bodybuilder, I really disliked the husband who was deeply insecure. The wife had to be super cautious of her words around him, knowing his feelings easily get hurt. I also related to the wife. She says, "I decide who I am, and never consider other possibilities." I think there are a lot of things I might like that I haven't explored yet because I didn't want to step out my comfort zone. I admire the wife for discovering something she is passionate about and using bodybuilding as a form of rebellion, which is why I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending of the story, when she gets back with her husband. This is because it seemed like the wife experienced a lot of development throughout the story, while her husband had not.
I was really creeped out by The Woman in the Purple Skirt, because the main character was monitoring the woman's every movement, every single day. It was interesting that the speaker made it sound like her behavior was normal. Meanwhile, the woman in the purple skirt is the opposite of the main character, because she is very unbothered by everyone. It is an interesting dynamic between someone who wants to gain the attention of the other so desperately, while the other is in her own world.
In The Most Boring Red on Earth, I interpreted the story as giving attention to the common experience among young girls who are not really educated on their health, and neglect it as a result. The girl had to navigate her period on her own, and dismissed a lot of problems as them being normal. I wonder what the significance of the fish leaping out of the water is at the end.
I think Breasts and Eggs brought attention to how sex can define relationships. It caused the break up betweeen Natsu and Naruse, and Natsu grew a deep insecurity of whether something was wrong with her because she did not enjoy sex. I wonder the reason why she feels this way, which might be because sex did not feel safe with Naruse, and I think this because he was probably not the best partner. Or, it might have been that she simply did enjoy the act at all, but because of societal expectations, she is beating herself up for not enjoying it like everyone else.
I sort of related to Izumi in Naked. When she was still working and very busy, she was looking forward to all the things she could pursue when she finally got a break. But when she got all the free time she wanted, she did not feel motivated to pursue those things. I feel the same way sometimes, because when I have a lot of freetime, I feel lost and lack a sense of purpose. This then makes me demotivated to use the freetime productively,.
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