An appreciation review with some explanations Shounen Shoujo is centred on Boy and his inability to recognise peoples faces their names and personalities even the names of locations that serve to differentiate them from others which are fundamentally the same. The rest you already know from the synopsis. Although as he plans the different methods to kill Girl he also grows closer to her each day subconsciously affecting his determination. Its a short story that encourages you even for just a few moments to examine yourself and question whether your individuality is genuine or a facade. 220https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/manga/2/177109l.jpg Im sure this would be more appreciated by a Japanese person/someone wellversed in Japanese since theyre able to understand kanji wordplays and definitions more accurately. There were a few times when I thought It mustve been difficult to translate this. I had to reread some sentences a couple of times to understand their intended meaning and questioned whether certain scenes actually happened or not. A bit unrelated but the thought bubbles at the start were too repetitive and annoying like ok I get it you want to kill her before the disease does. SPOILERS AHEAD If you die you have no individuality or fame. Then what meaning is there in assuming fame after death? This epiphany was a great reality check that propelled the story and a nice foodforthought his legacy wouldve been left behind... but thats exactly it left behind. Genuine/facade 450https://i.ur.com/DuQEuFz.png this is something commonly explored in other mediums youve most likely consumed already so im not gonna go into it. Just thought it was a nice addition although only mentioned briefly here it provided greater worldbuilding lack of better word of sorts to the disease. Immortality 1000https://i.ur.com/sfGPPGN.png Theyll definitely die at the age of 12 but cant be killed beforehand. This was one of the many iffy and unexplained concepts until the epilogue. By removing all individualities from everything foreign it accepts everything as equal undifferentiated. The basis of the disease. Selfexplanatory with the people around our protagonist but the biological explanation was a little heavier: This process is likened to welcoming antibodies as opposed to creating them from within. Through this medical transplants and transfusions theoretically have a much greater chance of success and expand their possibilities as the body of the infected wouldnt reject any of them. Human cells replace themselves every 12yrs but the Yamai Disease also nullifies this meaning dead/damaged cells and whatnot cant be replaced ultimately leading to premature death by old age. However you might argue that its quite contradicting to them mentioning the disease improves recovery and regeneration abilities. Note that this recovery and regeneration only seems to apply to someone who is suffering from illnesses/ailments. Little Girl was supposed to get a heart transplant due to a heart issue I dont think this was hinted previously only mentioned in Ch15.5. With her own body being unable to replace cells themselves the transplant would be the only medically known way to keep her alive but she refused it leading to her earlier death. Conversely Boy merely died of old age not a sickness. Those infected were immortal in the sense that their cells will never change be replaced/replenished. Their definition of CHANGE here is quite loose but I feel it still works for the purpose of figurative storytelling. tldr: Yamai Disease welcomes antibodies including healthy ones through transplants/transfusions etc. to recover from ailments like Girls heart BUT Boy never got any other illness had no need for transplants etc. he merely died of old age as a result of the diseases nullification of the bodys regular replacement of cells. Their Ability to See Each Other Simply because they have the same symptom. Referring to the aforementioned basis of the disease again their illness essentially convinces them the other is the same and therefore doesnt need to be covered. However the moment Boy acknowledged his love/affection for the Girl her sexual characteristics became more prominent to him and he subconsciously started differentiating her. His body no longer recognised Girl as merely someone with the same disease thus omitting her individuality. Quite an ironic contrast as Boy believed he could see her due to her notably obscure yet charming individuality. The only other time he saw people was the graphic scene of the dead fakes as they had lost their individuality. Ending Maybe theyre for symbolism or smth but really didnt understand the significance of panels like the doctors in the classroom deceased and why theyre there in the first place those 2 pages felt so random. 450https://i.ur.com/jT7eBcp.png Girls artistic intentions were... disturbingly wholesome? She didnt want to die in the hands of someone who loved her or to die alone so she chose to die at the convenience of both her and Boy to have the ending they both wanted. Her refusing euthanasia and choosing to smile in anguish instead as she promised was bittersweet. Also this was perfect: 450https://i.ur.com/qh2oYJL.png Shounen Shoujo has a great concept. I just personally wish that NISIOISIN provided small more indepth explanations throughout the work instead of slapping all the explanations in an epilogue with btw this is this cuz this. It became more of a guessing game/mystery with insufficient or lacking in quality hints. The sudden mention of the heart transplant just wasnt it. And unless you count her vomiting and having more regular checkups as hella subtle hints no they were not indicative of it as those were expected nearing her death day. A very enjoyable read overall I always appreciate short psychological/philosophical stories that have solid and resolved conclusions. It has its downsides but I guess those too give it its individuality.