What is the most important thing in any relationship? Shared interests? Trust in each other? Being yourself? I don't know and rightfully no one really can know. Relationship between two people is such a vastly complex machine that it is fairly impossible and perhaps a little shallow to try and point out a single pillar on which it all stands. With that said though, few would dispute the importance of communication. Verbal or not, direct or implied, routine or serious - communication is without doubt the key that makes relationships function.
It is thus often disappointing to see manga/anime/light novels underestimating or outright ignoring the power of communication. Usually it's limited to some small stupid subplot like a fake love triangle or inconsequential misunderstandings - generally, plot points that can easily be resolved with two-three lines of dialogue. But Kuzumi-kun, Kuuki Yometemasu ka? takes this mistake to an absolute extreme.
Overall it is quite scary to imagine how toxic and emotionally draining the relationship depicted here is and will be. Essentially we watch a romance blooming from efforts of a single person. Forsaking her own desires, ideas and opportunities, Erika builds this relationship alone with sweat and tears, all because the person she fell in love with simply won't face her properly. What do I mean by that? Let's look at some fun facts about this paramour of hers. In 51 chapters (+ extras) of manga there were:
Number of verbal interactions - 6.5 (half point for when Kuzumi wanted to say something but was interrupted)
Number of dialogues - 4.5
Average length of dialogues (in responses) - 1.4
Average number of chapters between dialogues - 10
Chapters before the pair starts properly interacting - 42
I don't speak for others, but to me this seems as a non-relationship. Obviously, communication is not be-all and end-all, especially verbal one. There are plenty of stories that pull off incredible romance with some limitations placed on the pair's ability to communicate (and hundreds more that don't have such constrictions). But I found it impossible to believe this "love".
It started with a simple crush, interest in someone's aloofness, which is absolutely fine. Love doesn't need a big, grandiose reason to bloom. That spark that draws us to another person can lighten up from the smallest of things, after all. However, this spark is not and has never been enough to constitute healthy, stable, working relationship. Throughout the story Erika learns absolutely nothing about Kuzumi beyond surface level details, largely due to a total lack of proper interaction between them. Any sort of advancement in their relationship - all of which come exclusively after chapter 41 (!) - are either sad in their one-sided nature if coming from Erika, or baffling in their gratuitousness if coming from Kuzumi. Toward the end, I felt like Erika is the only one that puts in the work to sustain the relationship. She makes sacrifices, she tries to understand and support the other person, she tries to make everything work.
On a more positive side, though, I adore the supporting cast. They are varied, engaging and fairly realistic. There's literally no side character that I did not find enjoyable in their own way, and it is only because of them that I did not find this story completely worthless. Each one of them is given a small arc to go through, during and after which they become even more likable and engaging.
Overall, I found it a painful read. Watching a very likable and honest main character go through her story without ever really learning anything significant about her crush is disheartening. The strongest feeling I was left with in the end is that she deserves much better. After everything, one question can summarize my feelings about this poor excuse for a relationship, one that even Erika, as far as we are shown, won't be able to answer:
What is Kuzumi's name?
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