That ended really abruptly, but I honestly think it could have been a lot worse. We see her become the An to somebody else and actually have a social life and network.

Looking back at this series, it was a bit of a rough read in the beginning. However, the slow but steady growth as it went on turned out really satisfying.

Wow… that really was abrupt.

I kind of get it though - if she had started to actually get Shiraishi to open up, then that would’ve called for more detail, and so on So instead it ended at the point that it started to look as if she was going to be able to get Shiraishi to open up.

It’s sort of a shame though - I really liked Shiraishi’s design. Her eyes keep making a subtle shift between angry and sad that’s really effective.

And at least we got to bask in An-san’s radiance one last time.

Sad it got the axe, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. An-san was a joy

Read all the chapters in one go, and I noticed what the author might have cooked up had this not gotten the axe.

An wasn’t depressed at when she met Hiiragi. An was just overwhelmed, but this meeting set-up An’s presence in Hiiragi’s life. It was An’s infectious cheerfulness and plucky attitude that got rubbed off Hiiragi. Even the manager’s gruff and no-nonsense attitude helped as well.

Shiriaishi likely would have been Hiiragi’s foil, and would have served a couple of purposes: to remind Hiiragi of her progress thus far, and a way for her to pay it forward. Shiraishi would also help An move forward by identifying (through analogy, I suppose) which areas she would need more work in–not through rumination, but by witnessing someone else act in the way they’ve been acting.