Wasted effort with せっかく～のに

せっかく and のに are used together when great effort has been put into something, yet that effort may be going to waste.

Usage

The situation reflecting the effort appears between せっかく and のに.

Further Reading

• Kamiya, Takeo. “Adverbs Expressing Circumstances.” The Handbook of Japanese Adjectives and Adverbs, Kodansha, 2002, p. 191
• How to use せっかく ( = sekkaku) (maggiesensei.com)

Examples

Is the Order a Rabbit? » Volume 1 » Page 99 (Left) » Panel 4

「せっかく今日(きょう)の出来事(できごと)忘(わす)れてたのについてないなんて言(い)っちゃだめ！」

After Cocoa has a string of bad luck throughout the day, Chiya takes her to the tea shop where Syaro works to get her mind off everything that happened. Just as Cocoa’s finally cheered up, Syaro comments to herself about her own bad luck, returning Cocoa to gloom. Chiya chastises Syaro: “We went through the trouble to forgot about today, so don’t say bad luck!”