Honestly, this has got to be one of the best posts I have seen on this site so far. There probably is a post out there that outmatches this one, which I have not found yet due to the fact that I have yet to explore more on this site. But, I find this to be a very... how would I say it, allegorical, post. My admiration of this piece here has beaten my ability to convey my thoughts in a concise manner, eh? Although, I don't think I have ever been able to.

I digress. The first and last panel is Shiroko Terror holding Hoshino. That's pretty, right? I'd hope you agree. It's already quite lovely in itself, although, admittedly, that by itself does not have a potent enough emotional impact to sway you, unless if you are emotionally sensitive. I think, though, the middle three panels ultimately increase the emotional impact of the strip.

The second panel of the strip is Yume holding Hoshino. A young, and more naïve Hoshino. I do love how you can clearly see that Hoshino appears kind of distressed at the fact Yume is holding her. I can't tell you how she actually feels at that, since I cannot read another's mind, although, she may be concealing how she truly feels.

The middle panel is Hoshino holding young Shiroko. The "thief" herself. The roles have switched. Yume is no longer there, for some reasons I do not feel the need to discuss, and Hoshino has taken the helm. She has matured more, seen more, and has grown. She now has one, or rather four, under her wings. But she is holding the one who is basically her own successor, Shiroko.

The fourth panel is the most tragic of them all; Shiroko, holding her deceased predecessor, and dear beloved friend, breaks down in tears. Tragedy has passed on from one to the other. The world appears more broken and dark than previously. It almost perfectly captures a setting of hopelessness. If the strip ended there, it would eminate a message that says: "When tragedy strikes, there is no hope."

The final panel effectively refutes that; after all the turmoil, the ascents into power, the gaining of maturity, and the fall into the pit of death and grief, there is, eventually hope in the end of a seemingly godforsaken situation. The suffering is iron upon iron, only serving to strengthen the students through the worst of times, all the suffering, all the misery.

I believe it is a creative way of encapsulating the human experience, at least for most people. We start out life filled with joy and a naïve sense of the world around us. We are guided by our superiors, moulding us to become good people, who will pass the torch to us, to guide our own, and along our journey through life, we encounter tragedy, hardship, and suffering, which strengthens us, builds us character, and ultimately, after all the seemingly endless glee of youth and all the prosperity and hardships of maturity, there is ultimately peace, cultivated in the wisdom found all over that time, and it truly shows there is a great conclusion life itself.

TLDR: 😭

By the way, here is a translation of the original commentary that I have. I put in a translator with somewhat mediocre translation skills, so I will not insert it into the commentary section of the post, yet. Edit: I have added it.

Thanks to the artist of the post and the contributor who posted this on here!

The translated commentary of this post has now been. As I have said, the quality of the translation seems off, so if there are any mistakes please fix them. Thank you!

lyubovskaya said in comment #2603465:

The translated commentary of this post has now been. As I have said, the quality of the translation seems off, so if there are any mistakes please fix them. Thank you!

@lyubovskaya Make sure you add check commentary or check translation if you're not confident. Also, make sure you are actually analyzing the text and not just dumping it in a machine translator. See howto:translate for more information.