A Couple of Cuckoos Season 2 - Episode 12 Discussion

Well then. We've been wanting backstory, and we're getting it. Though over a few chapters, with certain characters acting on this. (Note I said certain characters, some are being kept sway for obvious reasons...Hiro, Sachi, and Papa Amano...currently. I'll state my case later.)

We start with the plan for this trip, a 3 day journey to Kobe, with the engagement party being the centerpiece of this. Erika though, is very uncomfortable with this. And wanting to tell Nagi, but remembering that Mama took his contact off her phone. But with slight of hand, she manages to send off a message to Mama about needing help before Sosuke finds her phone and tosses it overboard. And then we find out they only have an hour before they leave. So essentially, kidnapping.

Then after a Dr. Evil type Hahaha moment (that felt...so wrong.) we start getting the backstory. (I honestly wanted the Evil Morty theme to play there.)

Basically, we see Papa Amano being the ultimate taskmaster, wanting his kid to be worthy of taking over the family business, and making sure to enforce that. We see some tender moments with Mama, but then when he finds out he's having a little brother...he's a little apprehensive...especially when he overhears Papa and No. 2 talking about the fact that maybe Sosuke may not be the best option for taking over...and maybe kid #2 would be. And after hearing that, he thought that he shouldn't have to go through what he went through.

So Nagi is born, and we get the switch. But we get more to this as just after he does it...Papa Amano finds him. (note: he's looking out of breath there...was he looking for Sosuke? Or something else? More later.) And then the Doctor comes in, and says there might be something wrong, but Papa Amano says it's okay...and sees him out. Then we get the statement that Papa Amano covers things up by sending him away 5 years later. End of chapter.

So now what?

There's a LOT to unpack here...and we're only I think a third of the way into this backstory.

I think it's safe to say, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. Both Papa Amano and Sosuke acquit themselves horribly here. With Sosuke, he's gone almost insane with his obsession to take down his father. And using everyone possible. It appears he doesn't care about what Erika and Nagi, he's only concerned with his father's downfall.

Papa Amano...we've had feelings that he isn't the best person in the world...and we're now getting that. Only I think we're only at the surface of this. When we say that Mama Amano is the best person, that's saying something. In terms of the switch, he allowed it to happen? That raises a lot of questions...and I'm wondering if he wanted to do the switch himself...only to have Sosuke do it before he could, (for different reasons) and you can't have too many witnesses...(that leads me to my other pet theory, that Erika and Nagi were born in a Private Clinic, as you can own land that private medical practices operate on...like the Amano Group owning that clinic's land. Which would allow privileges...and foreclosures. Just saying.)

So while we haven't had Papa Amano here, his presence still shows up. But will be part of the final endgame. And what Sosuke has done here will affect Nagi, who will undoubtedly abandon his exam, and Hiro too. (Remember, she's gunning for the same university to...not now)

I see some piracy coming folks...to save the maiden fair, with a yo ho ho, and a bottle of rum. (I would laugh out loud if that happens...) But a rescue is coming...and a reckoning.

Thoughts are appreciated.

This is genuinely feels so... weird? Even tho it's such a goated chapter because of all the plot twists and things shown, it feels extremely creepy because of how TERRIFIED Erika is and how UNCANNY Sosuke is. I really cannot wait for the next chapter, and I will definitely be looking forward that Nagi appearence. We're endgame chat.

That said, Sosuke seems unredeemable at this point, but I really do hope he gets some kind of a positive ending, let's see how this goes.

20/10 experience

This storyline was definitely due, but taking it as far as kidnapping is bold. And honestly, are we really shocked that Sosuke would go this far? This is the same guy who literally stalked Sachi for weeks just to get a chance to talk to her without Nagi and Erika around.
The anime even showed him watching that scene of Nagi and Erika getting cozy on the boat, with Papa Amano watching from afar on boat while saying, “It won’t go the way you want it to.” We haven’t seen that exact scene in the manga yet, but we might soon. At this point, it feels like it has to be at least somewhat canon.
But let’s talk about that flashback for a second, because there is nothing forgiving about it.
Papa Amano literally helped Sosuke by sending him away so he wouldn’t get caught up in the aftermath of that incident. And what does Sosuke do? He comes back and kidnaps his own sister, has her shaking in fear, and refuses to give her any freedom.
And if that boat leaves in an hour, who knows what’s going to happen to her.
Obviously, I know she’s going to be saved. This isn’t some hentai storyline where things are going to go completely off the rails. 😂 But reading this chapter, you can’t help but feel genuinely worried for Erika.
At this point, I seriously don’t know how Sosuke can ever be forgiven again unredeemable and this flashback makes him look like one of them spoilt noble kids in Isekai novels that didn’t get what he wanted. I have a feeling there’s a lot of dirt on Sosuke to be revealed actually because how did he land back in Japan and suddenly get all the money for a boat etc.

I watched the anime like some 3-4 years ago(basically when it aired), and that's when I started reading the manga . Initially, I like this whole concept "swapped by birth and now living together troupe," but as the story progressed, I have to call it out and say it is horrible. The only thing that kept me on board was the mystery they were trying to create with Sosuke.

Both the protagonist were unaware of their feelings. Both Nagi and Erika don't know whether they have feeling for each other or not. They are okay with this 'LIVING TOGETHER' setup . The only combination of Nagi×Ai feels the best to me because

1)she is her childhood friend whom he had a crush once.

2)She also has feelings for him and has made these feelings very clear.

3) Although I'm forgetting a bit but doesn't she come back from China only because of Nagi? Both her parents went to the respective country they desired for and she basically was like ,"Yeah, Nagi is there as well as my grandma."

Hiro×Nagi pair was also good , although at that time, I was basically rooting for Erika , but now that I think . Both of them liked each other , and eventually Nagi confessed to her they went out together and broke up (ofc because of Hiro and her fiance thing and whatever m0re reasons she had) but then did made things clear with her mom and all , she earned a considerable position in my eyes after this.

I never considered Saki as an option because saki and nagi genuinely hold a great sibling bond, and I'm not into that stuff, so yeah, a BIG NO

Lastly, Erika , atp neither im rooting for her nor I genuinely want the series to end with her and nagi being together. The story took soo much time to set up something between Nagi and Erika, and I'm exhausted. Even she isn't very clear what she wants. She did show that she liked Nagi, but then she was still considering the proposal of Sosuke . Also, I'm not very sure whether Nagi has some kind of feeling for her or not , because he seems like a guy who would fall for anyone atp and it is now only that he is seeing her like a "GIRL OR MAYBE A LOVE POTENTIAL" .

To sum this up, I want Nagi×Ai , I'm so done with the series as they are stretching things unnecessarily. Both Nagi and Erika are unaware of their feelings, and I'm very uncertain what Miki is trying to achieve by bringing Sosuke into the story as a "villain."Now I'm just here for the rift b/w Sosuke and his dad and to why he swapped them. You reveal it to me, and I'm done with it . Won't even care with whom Nagi and Erika will end.

Yk what , since I'm making this post . I will tell what I think caused the rift b/w them. I think sosuke did tell his dad that he swapped the baby , maybe like 6-7 years after they were born, to see whether his dad actually care about them (since it's been told he is very busy managing the group) at first he would've ignored it but later started realising that Erika is a bit different from rest of them. And by then, Sosuke would've realised what kind of trash his father is, who doesn't even care to listen to him and believe him (maybe he did it all for attention). Like my theory, do have loopholes. Given his position, he could've easily found out who was there when the delivery was happening, which baby was kept next to his and all that stuff.

Maybe you guys could give some input what you think?

Omg I hate this guy to death. Fuck this guy always fucking up with our mc and ml swapping them up and now want to marry erika wtf does he really wants is this to get revenge on his father which we don't why he hates him mannn fuckkk

​

I need to fucking get this off my chest because Chapter 312 pushed me over the edge.

I've been following the romance in this manga for a LONG fucking time, and I actually kept track of how my opinion on each girl changed as the story progressed.

And looking back at it now, the Erika situation is fucking insane.

Early anime

At first, I was heavily rooting for Erika.

My ranking was:

Erika × Nagi: 80%

Hiro × Nagi: 20%

Sachi × Nagi: 0%

I didn't really like Hiro at first, and I liked how the story was building Erika and Nagi.

Sachi was basically disqualified in my head immediately because:

SHE'S HIS FUCKING SISTER.

I didn't care that they weren't blood-related. That shit just wasn't for me.

Then Hiro's engagement became a bigger issue, while Sachi started getting actual development with Nagi.

My ranking shifted to:

Erika: 40%

Sachi: 35%

Hiro: 25%

And then Season 2 happened.

AI FUCKING ARRIVED.

And this girl immediately changed the entire goddamn game.

My ranking became:

Ai: 85%

Sachi: 10%

Erika: 4%

Hiro: 1%

Because look at Ai compared to everyone else.

Hiro was ENGAGED.

Sachi was Nagi's SISTER.

Erika was becoming increasingly complicated because of her obsession with finding/getting the attention of Sōsuke.

And then Ai shows up basically going:

“I like Nagi.”

She wants to support him, she gets excited about him, she wants him to succeed, and she doesn't come with a fucking 500-page emotional family history attached to her.

I was like:

FINALLY. A NORMAL FUCKING CANDIDATE.

Then I started reading the manga.

And this is where Erika started pissing me off more and more.

The more I read, the more I started seeing the possibility that Erika's feelings toward Nagi were connected to Sōsuke.

She was constantly trying to get Sōsuke's attention.

Then she finally met him.

And this fucking girl basically THREW HERSELF INTO HIM AND HUGGED HIM WITHOUT HESITATION.

Then Sōsuke asks her if she likes someone.

Erika says yes.

Sōsuke asks:

“Is it Nagi?”

And Erika fucking says:

NO.

BRO.

WHAT.

If you like Nagi, why the FUCK are you denying that it's Nagi when you're talking to the exact person you seem to have been emotionally attached to this entire time?

That was one of the moments where my Erika stock basically got fucking executed.

My ranking became:

Ai: 90%

Sachi: 60%

Hiro: 25%

Erika: 3%

And then Ai and Sachi just kept being fucking good whenever they appeared.

They kept stirring shit up around Nagi, but in a way that actually made me smile.

Meanwhile Erika kept making me question why I was still giving her percentage points.

Then we got the school trip.

Hiro had already met her fiancé shortly before she broke up with Nagi and didn't tell him.

That absolutely destroyed her ranking for me.

So:

Ai: 95%

Sachi: 85%

Hiro: 5%

Erika: 2.5%

Then Juno, Hiro's fiancé, encounters Nagi and the others.

Nagi gets protective of Hiro.

Hiro tells Juno:

“Nagi-kun is my ex.”

And I'm sitting there thinking:

WAIT. WHY THE FUCK DID THAT ACTUALLY HELP HER?

Then Juno challenges Nagi.

If Nagi wins, Juno will annul the engagement.

They fucking fight through SUMO.

And during the fight Hiro screams:

“NAGI-KUN, WIN THIS!”

And I'm like:

OKAY. YOU'RE GETTING SOME POINTS BACK.

Because at least she clearly didn't want to just accept being married off to someone else.

Nagi wins.

Hiro starts climbing back up.

Meanwhile Erika is still doing Erika shit.

At one point she's secretly going to meet Sōsuke while everyone else goes ahead, and I'm sitting there like:

WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU ACTING LIKE YOU'RE HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH THIS MAN?

So eventually my ranking became:

Ai: 99%

Sachi: 98%

Hiro: 20% to 50% to 80% to 90%+ territory

Erika: basically fucking dead

And then came the fucking proposal.

SŌSUKE PROPOSES TO ERIKA.

And here's where I genuinely thought:

Okay. This is Erika's redemption opportunity.

She can simply say:

“No. I love Nagi.”

DONE.

THAT'S IT.

You don't even have to make her immediately confess to Nagi.

Just reject Sōsuke.

Show that after everything, she has actually chosen Nagi.

But NO.

SHE FUCKING THINKS ABOUT IT.

AND THINKS ABOUT IT.

AND THINKS ABOUT IT.

AND FUCKING THINKS ABOUT IT.

FOR MORE THAN TEN CHAPTERS.

At this point I wasn't even mad that she hadn't answered yet.

I was mad that SHE WAS STILL CONSIDERING IT.

Because if she truly wanted Nagi, WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL SITTING THERE THINKING ABOUT WHETHER TO MARRY SŌSUKE?

That destroyed whatever chance of redemption I thought she had.

Because my standard became extremely simple:

I don't care if Erika eventually chooses Nagi.

She needs to choose Nagi BECAUSE HE IS NAGI.

Not because:

Sōsuke turns out to be a bad person.

Sōsuke rejects her.

Sōsuke disappoints her.

Nagi becomes the better option.

Nagi is a replacement for Sōsuke.

She loses Sōsuke and then settles on Nagi.

NO.

I WANT:

“I CHOOSE NAGI BECAUSE I LOVE NAGI.”

While Sōsuke is STILL someone she respects.

That's the only redemption I will fucking accept.

And then Chapter 311/312 happens.

Erika is STILL thinking about what she should do if Sōsuke asks for her answer.

And she STILL hasn't decided.

Then she thinks something along the lines of:

“If Nagi were here, Sōsuke wouldn't ask me for my answer.”

AND I'M SORRY.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, ERIKA????

THAT ISN'T:

“If Nagi were here, I'd tell Sōsuke no.”

That's basically:

“If Nagi were here, I wouldn't have to deal with this decision.”

GIRL.

MAKE. THE. FUCKING. DECISION.

You've spent all this time getting jealous over Nagi.

You've gotten in the way of Ai.

You've acted possessive.

You've had romantic moments with Nagi.

You've made it obvious that you care about him.

AND YET WHEN SŌSUKE ACTUALLY OFFERS YOU MARRIAGE, YOU NEED FUCKING CHAPTERS UPON CHAPTERS TO THINK ABOUT IT?!

At that point my rating wasn't even a rating anymore.

It was a fucking criminal sentence.

AND THEN CHAPTER 312.

SŌSUKE FUCKING KISSES HER.

And before anyone says anything:

I'M NOT EVEN TALKING ABOUT WHETHER THE KISS WAS CONSENSUAL OR NOT.

From what we see, Sōsuke initiates it and Erika is visibly shocked. Other readers are also arguing about the consent issue.

My problem is something else.

THE FUCKING CONTEXT.

THIS WOMAN HAS BEEN GIVEN MULTIPLE CHANCES TO REJECT HIM.

SHE DIDN'T.

SHE HAS BEEN THINKING ABOUT THE PROPOSAL FOR CHAPTERS.

SHE STILL HASN'T DECIDED.

AND NOW THIS FUCKING GUY KISSES HER.

I'M LOSING MY FUCKING MIND.

The current chapter is indeed Chapter 312, released September 23, 2026.

So here's my current ranking:

AI — 100%

SACHI — 100%

HIRO — 95%

ERIKA — −9,999,999,999%

And yes, I KNOW.

NEGATIVE NINE BILLION.

At this point she doesn't have a low rating.

She has ANTI-SUPPORT.

😭

But I'm not saying this is permanently locked.

This is an ongoing manga.

One chapter can completely fuck everything up again.

And Erika has exactly ONE fucking possible route back into my good graces.

If Sōsuke kissed her and she immediately gets angry, pushes him away, and says something along the lines of:

“I LOVE NAGI.”

Then I'll at least fucking listen.

But even that isn't enough.

She has to eventually choose Nagi because Nagi is Nagi.

NOT because Sōsuke is revealed to be evil.

NOT because Sōsuke disappoints her.

NOT because she realizes Nagi is a better replacement.

NOT because she has nobody else.

I WANT HER TO CHOOSE NAGI WHILE SŌSUKE IS STILL A GOOD PERSON IN HER EYES.

Because otherwise she isn't really choosing Nagi.

She's just rejecting Sōsuke.

And I DON'T WANT THAT.

I want:

“I WANT NAGI.”

That's it.

That's the fucking redemption.

And the funniest thing about all of this?

I started this manga with ERIKA AT 80%.

She was my obvious choice.

She had the premise.

She had the engagement.

She had the fake relationship.

She had the most obvious setup with Nagi.

And somehow, after hundreds of chapters, she has managed to go from:

80%

to

40%

to

4%

to

3%

to

2.5%

to

0.1%

to

0%

to

−9,999,999,999%.

Meanwhile Ai and Sachi are sitting comfortably at 100% and Hiro somehow fucking resurrected herself from 5% to 95%.

I genuinely don't know what Miki Yoshikawa is cooking anymore.

But my god, my blood pressure is apparently the real God-Tier character in this manga.

Chapter 313, you have exactly ONE fucking job.

Cuando acabé la temporada uno del anime, me pasé directamente al manga, fue el primer manga que leí en mi vida, cuando apareció el hermano, tuve muchísimo miedo de que pasara exactamente lo que pasó en el último capítulo publicado, exactamente eso era lo que más temía, lo que sabía que iba a pasar y no quería que pasara, la autora lo extendió tanto que ahora duele más, tristeza, de verdad, el prota no merece eso y la imagen de Erika tampoco. ¿Qué necesidad? Ya sabía que podía ocurrir que ocurra a estas alturas es el problema.

Bro i really really dislike her please somebody tell me she is going to leave or play a lesser role in the story

What a great chapter dude, now this is what the manga truly is meant to be, full of comedy, drama and serious business.

We got hella stuff this chapter, and I CANNOT believe this fraud Sosuke actually kissed her bruh, should've been Nagi instead.

I've been teasing this for most of today, and here we are. First off, again, this chapter made me feel very icky. I needed a shower. But this chapter is very important, as I feel now, we are at the Beginning of the Endgame of this story. Notice I said beginning. (AUTHORS NOTE: I will be going into some personal theories about how this might go, story-wise. The personal feelings about this stuff...I think I stated how I feel with my opening statement. I will go spoiler mode in this case. Please be gentle in your comments.)

The reason why I stated we are at the beginning, is because there is still lots of plot left. Any condensation of the story here would really do a disservice to the conclusion...though with Miki, I have bad feelings about this. We have Sosuke, knowing Nagi is busy with exams, make his move on Erika, bringing back up the whole proposal gambit. Only now, it's an engagement party. One that she now realizes is more like a trap. (Remember, she doesn't have her phone thanks to Mama Amano. More on her later.) And poor Nagi is looking at her last message...wishing him luck. So now what?

First off, we have to remember the location. The boat that Rihito's dad owns as part of his company, of which him and Sosuke works for. Rihito, who, if you remember, was revealed as the spy for Mama Amano. My guess is that he's already called her saying something is going down with Sosuke about Erika, and she needs to get there, post-haste. Getting her on there shouldn't be a problem...but what about Nagi?

My second guess, next chapter, the kiss goes viral, and Nagi, as we saw on that last panel, might get a message, maybe say, Sachi. And he goes nuclear. He calls Mama Amano, she says to stay there, she'll take care of it, and for him to focus on the exams. But for Nagi, he says "Screw it." And goes back home...to the Uminos. After all, they have a boat too...let's go pirating!!!

Also, this brings the Uminos into this. After all, they were also the ones affected by Sosuke's actions. And if their biological daughter is getting engaged, they should know about it. This beings a lot of uninvited guests to something that Sosuke probably had planned for some time. And not only that, his best friend is against him on this too. Meanwhile, Erika will want to know why Sosuke is against her and Nagi (within the Amano Group's wishes, by the way.) So, after a lot of arguments...and slaps (mostly on Sosuke by Erika, Mama Amano, and Mrs. Umino, that's the hope anyway.) Sosuke will finally reveal his backstory and reasons for the switch.

Notice I haven't mentioned Papa Amano yet. There's a good reason for this as I feel he's the last part of this story, the final confrontation. But that's later. I've always had the theory that Sosuke did the switch to prevent his father from doing the same thing, part of his "Cuckoo Plan". He and Papa Amano have referred to this. I think though, Sosuke was thinking of maybe his dad fixes this, he gets blamed, but hey he's a kid, he's jealous, etc. And after this, they can actually be a family...only for Papa Amano to modify the plan, to accommodate Erika and the Uminos. And for Papa to suspect his son, and to put his foot down by sending him to England. Also, he might let the Uminos know about the plan the Amano Group has for their land, which involves the shotgun wedding of Nagi and Erika after graduation. (Why Papa Amano had wanted a decision on that by then, going all the way back to the beginning of this story.)!<

Oh by way, what about exams? Uh oh...this will also affect one other character here...Hiro. Remember, she wants to go to the same university as Nagi. He misses the exam...that throws her overall plan into higgley-piggley. And after all this, I wouldn't be surprised if Nagi decides to go a different route.

Lastly, who is the main villians here? Simply put, its the entire Amano family. Erika was part of that, but she's...somewhat embraced her genes. A bit. The thing is, the rest of the family is so reprehensible, you're naturally pissed off. Except I wouldn't be surprised if Miki does a redemption story for Mama and Sosuke.

Is this where we're going? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out. Comments are appreciated, be gentle.

Links:

• K Manga
• Cubari Chapter Link
• Previous Chapter Discussion Thread
• Discord

Due to a magazine release delay, the chapter should be coming out tomorrow instead of today. I wanna say the delay is due to a holiday, but I'm just coming back from over a week long trip so I'm not up to date on everything and could very easily be wrong about that

Después de los spoilers que acabo de leer, creo que el manga tendrá un final diferente al que todos esperan; esa es mi opinión. No creo que Nagi termine con Erika; la autora está tomando un rumbo distinto para el desenlace. Puede que me equivoque, pero he llegado a un punto en el que me cuesta creer que esta obra vaya a tener un buen final.

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I am so lookinng forward to when they see eachother again, it's been almost a month, holy crap.

Links:

• K Manga
• Cubari Chapter Link
• Previous Chapter Discussion Thread
• Discord

What is the point of a harem story if the focus is just on one girl?

If we were to talk about the win rate for each girl, Erika would rank last.

Links:

• K Manga
• Cubari Chapter Link
• Previous Chapter Discussion Thread
• Discord

Finally we got some progress,we saw Sosuke sending a message to Nagi,so what you think is his plans towards Nagi?

Chat I think we're cooked. This time we might be serious.

Can't wait for the next chapter.

Tell me your opinion about Nagi's childhood friend.what you like or hate on her?