Shoujo à la Carte - Ch. 26 - A girl's heart, and a clueless parent

[MangaDex]

 

[Kaarme]

Why did she even bother to get him a present, huh? She clearly didn't enjoy the idea of choosing one and even less the idea of giving it to him. I guess she just wanted to feel a bit better about herself by honouring the (non-Japanese) tradition of the fathers' day, but obviously that's not going to work when it wasn't what she really wanted to do.

 

[manabi]

@Kaarme I think she really loves her dad, but she's too embarrassed to admit it openly, so she's pretending to be annoyed about choosing what to get with her friend.

 

[Kaarme]

@manabi I thought so at first as well, but then I realised what on Earth would be the point of being tsundere with her own father? They have been living in the same house ever since she was born. He's not her love interest or anything. He could also be a decent dad, being worried about her, with what we saw in the chapter likely not being the first time. Thus, it seems kind of unlikely this was a display of tsunderism. It would be bizarre if she couldn't deal with her own family.

 

[sirflimflam]

@Kaarme Everything that happened right here can be summed up in one sentence: kids/teens are stupid hormonal monsters.

She loves her dad, but the fact that he exploded on her the moment he saw her (even if for a good reason) set her off cause she's a kid and kids are immature like that. It's like "While I'm out here spending my precious time finding you a present, you treat me this way?" She wasn't being tsundere. She inadvertently took an attitude because her dad got mad at her for something that should have been a positive thing (even if he's unaware) and turned it into a fight.

If she had better control over her emotions (something obviously notoriously difficult for teens), she would have just told him the truth instead of turning it into a fight.

Edit: I mean for real though the author could have intended for her to just be embarrassed by the reason like @manabi mentioned, leading to her rebellious attitude. It wouldn't be a first in anime or manga. Depending on how openly friendly she is with her father, it might be embarrassing for her to obsess over a gift for him.

 

[manabi]

@sirflimflam I meant she's embarrassed to admit how much she loves her dad to others, like the guy she got to help her pick out the present. That's why she was pretending it was a hassle. I think you're dead on for her reaction to her dad, just miscommunication and teenage emotions.

 

[Kaarme]

@sirflimflam You must be right. I just don't know how she finds communicating with her own father difficult to that level. And what's that "lost the chance to give it [the present] to him", seeing how they live in the same house.