Musume no Tomodachi isnt the most enjoyable manga. Its characters are flawed as people and following their story leaves a bitter uncertain taste in ones mouth. But I think that its the sort of work that needs to exist the sort of work that needs to pepper the scene. Drama and psychological manga can be tasteless offputting uninteresting in general all sorts of flavors of bad perhaps even more so because of the subjects it tries to tackle the people it tries to create in our eyes. In a way such work is also important to breathe new life into the world but regardless it often manages to only disturb or offend the reader. But the manga of this sort that succeeds at its mission seems to disturb the reader only more. Theres an uneasiness about the air of the story concern pity disgust for the characters a flavor that you dont want to taste in your life. Still we read we keep reading and we keep ourselves in this state of distrubed that on the surface we would never even want to be in a sort of state that differs from being disturbed by tasteless actions or depictions differs from being fascinated by the errors of others. It feels on one hand disconcerting on the other hand comforting. Musume no Tomodachi is a work that seems to fit this frame among many other manga much more lauded and acclaimed. It starts off with a chain of mistakes and never seems to make up for them. Ichikawa Kousuke a widower never stops his interactions with Kisaragi Koto a high school student the friend of Kousukes daughter. He regrets it finds it to be a major mistake yet he keeps going never quite clearly understanding what they are is he her caretaker her lover or her friends father? Over the course of their relationship mistakes seem to keep piling up. These people hurt themselves and those around them and yet they dont understand what they want to cling to. Was normality truly their place to be? At the end no one seems to make up for what they did no one seems to heal from what had been done. The reader is not left with a charming cheerful note there is no overtly happy ending. Kousuke and Kisaragi go about their lives their relationship still going despite the hours of thought and regret. It is never made clear whether were supposed to feel good about this. Kousuke seems only regretful and frustrated at him failing his role as father and leader. Kisaragi managed to weather a lot of the storm but it isnt clear whether shes truly able to take a breath and live prepared for many other storms waiting for them. The story was dramatic at some points perhaps unnecessarily so sweeping the reader up in all of the circumstances surrounding the characters in their fates. But this made the quiet reflective parts of the story only more precious. It never seems like any of the people in this story manage to recover or breathe not a moment of peace is left for them. Even when theyre not actively trying to find something to grasp onto when theyre all on their lonesome theyre left with this uncertainty of their current life the doubt fear and regret being their only partner. At some point in the story Kisaragi asks Kousuke whether he thought of her as a fish trapped in an aquarium doing as its told living in a world so small or as a cat a free creature unbecoming of society doing whatever it wants. Kousuke says that she is to him human. Yes human this is what this manga seems to be most about. The characters and their actions are frustrating and worrisome but in a human way. None of them ever get certainty in their lives perhaps none of them ever will find certainty never until death. They make mistakes and regret them they make mistakes and never make up for them and then they question whether or not the actions theyve taken truly are mistakes they wonder about the nature of a mistake and the nature of their lives. What are they even supposed to do here? Answers never seem to be found yet somehow they keep living they keep worrying and keep being injured. Yet they live in a life littered with regrets mistakes sorrow perhaps only for the little lights that they can find in it. The ending shows Kousuke and Kisaragis lives going on after everything that happened. The author chose not to touch upon how Kousukes daughters troubles should come to a close or many other questions that could be in the readers mind. It doesnt feel like an end but rather an abrupt close of the curtains to a story still yet to continue this is something that only fits the manga. None were satisfied many were frustrated and all of them keep living not as fish or cats but as themselves.