Paru's Graffiti - Vol. 1 Ch. 10 - Becoming Mellow with Age

[MangaDex]

 

[justforthelulz]

"I don't even care about the guy, as long as he's not too bad. I just want to get married while I still can."
Friend B's future husband is in for a not-so-great time.

 

[Oenari]

Am I wrong but is the subtext here that friend B is just considering marriage another game to "win"? Maybe she doesn't want to "lose" by being married last among her friends.

 

[comedyxtragedy]

Lmao, Paru is right. Your life doesn't suddenly become great just by marrying

 

[lilspacebunny]

I misread the title was "Becoming Meron with Age" and got really worried lmao

Also people like Friend B who only care about marriage just because they think they "have to" are probably the same ones wishing for divorce rn during this quarantine...

 

[Raknasuu]

My mom's a lawyer. One of her teachers used to say: "If you livin' with someone, marry em'. If you stop living with someone, divorce 'em"

The subtext there, is that before anything else... Marriage is mainly a legal/political artifact. It's one of the ways to share goods with another person sustained by the law and also, gives other important beneficts (Depends on coutry). With that logic, we should be marrying our roommates/friends if the level of trust is enough to share goods, medical insurance and other stuff even if we don't love 'em that way. That said, most millionaire couples don't share properties anyway, rendering marriage as useless a merely formal thing.

So, there's that approach. Not that I've done it myself. But I think it is healthy to have a legal marriage with the person you are living with if they are not your family (boyfriend/girlfriend/friend)

Is not like people always marry because of love (The idea is kinda new), and not doing it in a grandiose bombastic way it's fine too!

 

[Raknasuu]

Mei, I think ya don't need no friend. Just someone you can talk that stuff to without getting too compromised, or feeling judged. That person might become a friend in the future tho.

 

[andrmnh]

Youd think someone who had a very wholesome family would like one of her own.. But turns out its not necessarily the case

 

[DPLBatoDex]

Many Thanks @SuMeBe for the new chapter. There's a glaring typo on the first page, though. It should be "desks had drawers to store our stuff" not chairs since it's a desk, not a chair. Thank you again for all you have done for this series.

 

[SuMeBe]

@DPLBatoDex Thank you! I fixed it! <3

 

[malu]

oh well, looks like the trope'' i have to marry before 25 otherwise i'll be an UGLY OLD 26YEAR OLD CHRISTMAS CAKE NO ONE WANTS'' is still strong in japan.

 

[Nixnaw]

@malu yeah that's kinda sad. That fact that she even says the guy doesn't matter is worrying, our girl Paru is wise, she knows marriage is not this magical thing that will make your life better instantly. Good luck friend B lol.

 

[iris_19]

Paru's reaction for "marriage" is relatable as hell, lol.

I feel for Paru's friend. Wow. Especially because I was reading this with my inner voice being "I'm a couple of years older than them, why this idea of getting married before 25 still persists in this generation..." Expecting to have everything fixed with a marriage is laughable, especially with that "I don't care about the guy" mentality.

But yeah, I agree with @Oenari - maybe the subtext here is that Friend B is looking at that as some sort of competition with her friends, too (if you compare her to her younger self), but... lol, what a a sad competition it is. No one should be pressured in getting married before a certain age, tbh.

 

[Sarsak]

Idk if there's a subtext or anything like that since this is an autobiography and we don't know what's going on in Friend B's life.

If I had to take meaning from this though, I think it'd be the opposite of what you guys are thinking. Like Paru is seeing what Friend B used to be, a girl who would cry whenever she lost, seem almost resigned to settling for any decent guy as long as she gets married (and conforms to society, with long hair etc) by 25.