Top products from r/GakkouGurashi

I was able to find a paid source specifically on Amazon's Japanese website - physical and kindle. That may be obvious to others, but I was misled when I had looked up the Japanese version ISBN on the US amazon site and didn't find much.

E.g. https://www.amazon.co.jp/がっこうぐらし-まんがタイムKRコミックス-フォワードシリーズ-海法紀光-ニトロプラス/dp/4832242369/

However I'd be grateful if anyone knows of a free source like the ones we have for scanlations; I've already paid for the English stuff and this is more for experimental purposes.

Rii’s psych report 25—Link to previous

And here I was worried that Rii would be all better after Chapter 54!

In Report #20, back in January of 2016, I said the following:

> Rather, Ruu exists as a way for Yuri to deal with Yuki’s newfound independence, and Yuri’s general unwillingness to alter the status-quo. She doesn’t want Yuki to recover, because her relationship as ‘protector’ to Yuki was how she defined herself.

My personal expectation was that Rii was going to hit a breaking point in chapter 59 and come to terms with whatever happened with Ruu, but this is being placed in jeopardy by Rii’s seemingly inoccuous comment on page 6 where she says that they can’t keep solely relying on Kurumi. She follows up on the next page with “We can’t lose… no matter what… I’ll do whatever it takes.” While this looks good and optimistic, I’m going to let lose my raging inner pessimist for a moment and tell you why this is a troubling thing.

Supposing that Ruu only existed because Rii needed to function as a ‘protector,’ and supposing that Rii became aware of Kurumi’s condition with Aosoi’s announcement, then Rii doesn’t need Ruu anymore, because she’s found someone familiar and living to latch on to. Add onto this the fact that Kurumi’s initial infection was a source for Rii’s first breakdown, and we see a return to the same parasitic cycle that Rii used to support her own sanity during Yuki’s hallucinations.

Therefore, it may shock some of you that I’m making good on my last report and moving Rii back to a REACTING status. Yes, we are still lacking a firm resolution to Ruu, but we are seeing some significant improvement in terms of Rii’s interactions with others and the way she feels about herself. Granted, the means by which she reached this state are morally questionable, but the situation is what it is.

Aside from leeching off of Kurumi, how did Rii get back to this state? I was lucky to find an online copy of my subscription to The Leader which covers some key points about in-the-field psychological recovery techniques on page 16. Chapter 58 and some components of the preceding chapters are a shot-for-shot take on many of these points. Rii herself is no longer in immediate physical danger, she’s surrounded by trustworthy people who are keeping her busy, and their expedition towards Randall Corp. gives her a reason to believe that the nightmare of the past few months has a potential exit.

The next chapter is chapter 59. If it follows the high school arc, Rii should have her finally reconciliation with the whole Ruu affair… except that she seems to be in an improved mood, so this final reconciliation is not guaranteed. That said, Yuki was substantially more determined and connected with reality in Chapter 28 than she was at any preceding point, so we may still be on track for some tears in the next chapter.

Back to beginning

• • -
    
    Chekhov’s Knife
    
    > Chapter 28 was a big one in the High School Arc. Kurumi and Miki fighting their way out of burning helicopter wreckage, Rii losing her mind, and Yuki taking charge.
    
    While Miki’s breakdown doesn’t seem to be as dramatic as Riis, it’s still there, and still significant. Miki is visibly depressed over the concept of the airborne virus. Much like Yuki and Rii, the source of her depression is a panic over whether or not the girls will survive. Also curious is how her first hallucination mirrors her core character element. Yuki was always about creating a happy, positive atmosphere, so her hallucinations were about creating a happy school environment despite the post-apocalyptic reality. Rii always strived to fill a role as protector, so her hallucinations were about creating something to protect once Yuki’s growing maturity deprived her of that. Miki has always been focused on guaranteeing her survival, so her hallucination is a constant reminder of the airborne virus—an enemy that they cannot escape and that will eventually catch up to them… and which will eventually need to be dealt with when (not if) it finally hits one of the girls.
    
    To this end, Miki picks up the knife. I think that this is a brilliant callback to the high school arc by Chiba, as it forces us to recall the scene between Kurumi and Rii. Knives, it seems, are a potential Gurashi-killer, and here we see Miki secretly taking one. Since it’s useless as a ranged weapon, it seems fair to think that Miki is planning on using it against one of the other girls or Kurumi, if the infection takes them first. Miki doesn’t want to believe that she has stooped to the same level as the MFC, but the simple presence of the knife argues otherwise.
    
    This raises lots of questions. How will Rii react once she sees the knife? Does Miki have the guts to use it? Might Aosoi find it and consider using it instead (Kaihou and Chiba took time to show us that she kills zombies with zero remorse)? Would Kurumi go behind Yuki’s back and insist that Miki use it on her? It’s the familiar potential for drama, but we probably won’t see the outcome for a long, long time.
    
    Fun fact, Miki’s notebook is real and purchasable.

It's on Amazon too, but for a higher price ofc.

https://www.amazon.com/School-Live-Blu-ray-Ari-Ozawa/dp/B06WWQGW39 (Pemium Box Set)

https://www.amazon.com/School-live-Blu-ray-Artist-Not-Provided/dp/B06X9JPXQ9 (Blu-ray only)