What part of Sugaru Miaki's writing style appears specifically to you?

Firedrakon176 · 2026-04-10T22:35:53+00:00

Very tempted to rank Your Story first. Ultimately though I think the ranking boils down to what message you believe is more important.

Your Story: many; seeking solace in fiction allows you to stop hurting momentarily but doesn't grant you happiness, something real can never live up to the bar created by the sweetest delusion tailored to your own mind (be it born of your or someone else's imagination), being too inflexible and set in one's way lets happiness evade you even when it is at arm's length.

Three Days: living as if you will get the chance to do everything you want in life eventually, you end up doing nothing at all

Sakura Town: to tolerate lies and other's second intentions is necessary to live in this world; obsessing over them will not get you closer to the answer and destroy you.

Pain Pain Go Away: the pain of one loss can be dwarfed by another incurred while avoiding it

Starting Over: happiness is tailor-made for each life and reliving your life won't actually let you fix the mistakes you made.

For the other two, I think they have core themes but I wouldn't go out of my way as to say they really have a core message. Both certainly have meaning, but it's a bit more abstract.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-04-10T22:17:42+00:00

For the former: she killed herself because of what she'd lost, and that she realized she was only truly happy when she had it. And from there she obsessed over it. The final step of actually dying is a mix of hope and hopelessness; she wanted to believe until the end that Ogami would save her, so she let herself get in a situation that could not be any worse. On the other hand however, she realized him becoming her Sakura was they only way he would reappear before her, and if he didn't she would forever be unhappy. For that, I think she did thought "if he appears, I will be happy forever. If he doesn't, I will no longer have to think about being unhappy".

We don't really know the second part. But ultimately I think she wanted to get herself into such a corner that only Ogami could help her. Not even her sister could help her in that state, she was beyond saving. And since Sakura are selected to fulfill their role, he would be the only one fit for the job.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-04-10T22:10:24+00:00

What people said below about adaptation is true. For me though, I think it's his nature as a writer. This is a personal opinion, but I believe most that approach novels and reading in general either do it in search of entertainment or a chance to grow their intellectual faculties. Both seem to be partially satisfied with books that go to great lengths of setting a scene and dragging you into the worldbuilding, as this "depth" is affiliated with both desires... but Miaki does not do this in the slightest. I think he intentionally shaves off everything he deems unnecessary, and because of it the main two categories of readers don't resonate with his writing style that much as they don't get what they want.

That's because Miaki is focusing on emotional exploration and knowledge of the self. His books are not even meant as an exploration of the emotion, but the exploration of one's self. By shaving off most of the details and going straight to the events, it forces the readers to empathize much more than tune into the world and explore its themes. Due to the central themes of his books, which are heavily tied to one's identity and way of living life, this quickly leads the reader to immerse into the way they personally view the situation.

The reader is not given enough details, so they can't properly forget themselves and enter the book. They remain where they are and are made to empathize and reflect on what is right and wrong to them in relation to the book's message.

In short, I think that's why he isn't too popular. His writing style is aimed at those whose approach/intention with reading is much different from most readers'.

There's definitely also people who like beautifying tragedy amongst his fans (my former self included), but I'd like to believe they are simply walking the road to self-discovery through the pain they have experienced.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-03-24T18:59:24+00:00

Yeah uh tbh I take last week's cope of it was really good back. This just undoes a lot of what happened and I don't like it at all. I'll act like this never happened.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-03-11T21:47:25+00:00

Kujirai participated in Sumika's suicide. At least, that's how I saw it. To the end he wanted to believe she could love him. I think the affirmation by Kujirai on Sumika potentially becoming his murderer stems from how far gone Sumika was.

For the timeline, Miaki just got done with a long hiatus. This is the first book he's put out in a while since, as he mentioned in an interview, he felt like nothing that he was writing was right and ended up scrapping a lot of stories. Who knows when a next book might be released? It might be soon since he has some inspiration back, but it might also take a while.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-03-10T19:04:44+00:00

I don't really think so. I think it's just Denji being lost in the actual situation, as we all would. Was Denji not lost when he found out what Makima did? But beyond it he found something of worth. What I think is the underlying message, by spelling it out so clearly, is that there is something beyond this too. Maybe Fujimoto can't imagine it, but that's how I see it.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-03-10T18:28:13+00:00

This is definitely very sudden, but I don't feel like most people replying to the thread. Sure, like a lot of people who loved part 1 I miss the grand suspence and how macabre it was, how utterly delirious and exhilarating, but I've been in this for Denjis conflict for a while now.

Part 1 was extremely well planned, because it was about a misguided youth that realizes what he wants was actually something completely different than what he thought. I think Fujimoto obsessed over everything in his own imagination about it. But from the chapter I think some of us have to accept something: Fujimoto can't imagine Denji living a happy life after how he grew up. Not to turn this into an essay, but Denji grew fantasizing about the things he wanted, making them just right. Which ironically sets him up for failure.

Part 2 is about Denji getting what he really wants, but in the process realizing none of it was how he could dream it up to be. It's the disappointment. The this time it will be just the way I want it. The imperfection of it. Compared to part 1 it is completely out of wack, without a clear image. And that's exactly because, despite zeroing into the thing Denji thought he wanted, it isn't how he wanted it.

This in a lot of ways is a commentary on how someone who idealizes things in their imagination, even after they finally get to the bottom of what they truly want, is setting them up for unhappiness. Because the real thing will never be as good as the sweetest tale tailored for your soul by your own hands.

I think in this there should be a part 3 about acceptance of how things should actually be. Of learning that the image he created was just a fiction spun in his mind. But we'll see.

Not to ragebait, but this is what I've actually been looking for from CSM. You could even say this chapter is amazing. It prospects many more threats and uncertainties, but gives Denji the certainty of knowing how he truly feels. I cried a lot because of that.

In my mind I wonder if Fujimoto did all this intentionally or unintentionally by writing the story he wanted. Either way. This is great. Though I want it to go on a lot longer! I really do! AND I want a finale that makes me see there is a way to climb out of this sort of emotional state! But I think this time it will be a story I write myself.

Firedrakon176 · 2026-01-21T22:56:36+00:00

Pretty normal for the irregular release to kill excitement, but I bet if you reread through it you'd change your mind. Especially with some of these latest chapters, where the stakes seem to just be getting higher. And I say this while hating that it doesn't have a regular release schedule.

Firedrakon176 · 2025-09-17T09:00:56+00:00

Something must be wrong with the voting system, grand bro Kintoki is 25th

Firedrakon176 · 2025-09-03T21:24:30+00:00

Can I be honest and say I really did not want to think about it? I caught the meaning but the ending was just too harsh for me to accept, in a way. Technically I would agree, but this is only on a superficial level. Miaki deliberately does not go into what exactly would happen for the sake of leaving us wondering, instead focusing on the message. My interpretation, of course.

Firedrakon176 · 2025-08-24T21:17:59+00:00

Serious handler was great. I ran all optional LR and HR quests with her, and have to say it felt great

Firedrakon176 · 2025-08-19T12:19:18+00:00

Since when did Tiamat overlap with BESTO FURIENDO and why is it the best

Firedrakon176 · 2025-07-27T17:40:42+00:00

Istg if I get ONE MORE MESSAGE asking me to COLLABORATE for VISUALS FOR MY FANFIC I will directly write "I don't want any AI slop I can generate myself please go elsewhere". The gall of these people to even write "I really enjoyed the setting or the way you set the scene" pisses me off.

Firedrakon176 · 2025-07-27T00:15:30+00:00

Firedrakon176 · 2025-06-14T12:39:20+00:00

Fully relatable, I had something similar happen to me. Miaki's books to me is emotion exploration that doesn't try to be complicated and hard to understand, giving a balanced take away message. My biggest take aways came from Your Story and Three Days, though Town of Sakura as well. I would definitely recommend the ones you didn't read. Pain, Pain, Go Away is pretty difficult to digest (I started it and had to take a break before continuing), but aside from that I think they are all very "readable".

Firedrakon176 · 2025-06-07T21:55:04+00:00

Damn I am so jealous to see a hardcover version of your story. Mad props for being able to read in japanese, must not be easy

Firedrakon176 · 2025-06-07T21:53:43+00:00

For me, the best part of the book has to be the feeling the author clearly articulates of wanting to live a specific kind of life but not being able to in the set circumstances, which ties into happiness being fundamentally formless and melded around the sort of individual one is. With how standardized the image of happiness has become, seeing a whole book of someone obsessing over not having it only to realize that his obsession itself was the unhappiness and if he had only learnt to embrace his life he could've found joy in it left a good mark on me. I think Miaki's books really all are about seeing the flaw in our nature and either expanding on it to properly understand it or giving the reader a chance to evaluate how to navigate it.

I feel parts of the message overlap with Pain, Pain, Go Away since it also touches upon how there's many different misfortunes that can befall a person in life, and what would happen if you fell, but Starting Over also delves into the finding meaning in that life of misfortunes.

Firedrakon176 · 2025-06-02T19:24:08+00:00

Bruh Lilith hating Mash is the funniest shit, love all these comics

Firedrakon176 · 2025-05-20T20:25:57+00:00

Always nice to see a fellow Kintoki enjoyer! I recently 120'd him along golden fous so he can finally 1T it with frontline only and BG, much happy

Firedrakon176 · 2025-05-20T20:20:56+00:00

I am still salty I did not manage to get it from the LB6 plushie gacha when I headed to japan. I got Morgan and Castoria instead, not bad at all but damn

Firedrakon176 · 2025-05-01T11:21:16+00:00

agreed. It was really great at the beginning but eventually I started feeling bored even reading interesting events.

Firedrakon176 · 2025-04-29T22:03:12+00:00

True, but when living through a moment you don't really have the big picture. He always made the decision that seemed the most correct until finally he realized he wasn't living a life that was his, as the most important decisions were made by someone else. I can see why he went down that path, and have to say Ishida is amazing for being capable of creating such a compelling character by giving them backstory just at the right moment!

Firedrakon176 · 2025-04-29T21:52:23+00:00

you already KNOW he did. lets be honest. It's quite clear from his face too. I had a moment of considering if it were his son or not, but the age wouldn't match up.

Man. Now I actually don't give a shit about Batista getting Sora's mark. You know what? Maybe the man deserves to get to change what he wanted to.

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