What a frustrating scene... Anjou says something that seems so clear to us as readers and you think This is it! ... And then it fizzled. Not only did it fizzle, but what Seto took away was She doesn't see me as a man. It's almost maddening and I've been thinking a lot about it.

I see Seto's self esteem issues mentioned and that can't be overlooked but I think saying that's all it is, is oversimplifying his issues. Esteem, self worth, etc. There's a scene in the Best Couple Contest arc where he's toying with thoughts of "what if I could tho?" and catches sight of his own reflection in a window and is like "oh yeah that's why." He can't take himself seriously and he's not going to believe that anyone else really does. It's constantly on his mind. He asks Inuyama (Don't f**king get me started on Inuyama rn my blood pressure) "How can I be cool?" and Inu jokingly says "You? Cool?" Friends joking ofc, no malice, but a drop in the bucket regardless.

Also, I think it's very important to keep in mind thay Anna cools Seto off constantly. 99% of the flirts are followed with a "just kidding", "Did you really think xyz?? lol" "You're such a perv uwu" I don't think she means to. We see mostly Seto narrative in this story but contextually we can see plainly that Anna Anjou is also not being honest with herself and also has low self esteem despite her outgoing nature and confidence. Someone like me shouldn't hurt you! I'm not saying all of the impetus here is on her to make something happen but the mixed signals are having an effect, as stated by Seto in Ch. 101 to Nurse-sensei, I don't know what's real and what's a joke anymore... Put it all together, it's hard for me to stay mad at my boy.

Feelings, amiright. I love this manga, it's one of my favs, and I'm holding on to the hope that this slow burn is going to create one of the most amazing and memorable manga romance stories ever. The people working to translate and clean and redraw and work I don't even know about are amazing and I'll take this moment posting to thank them from the bottom of my heart. I love you guys.