#But why is Akira still So Bad at writing Sora 😞

[happywitchesofnewdi]

I've finally started reading a few era !! Switch stories and I'm really enjoying them. The writing style for this era feels a bit lighter. Maybe because there seem to be a lot less monologues about God?? 😂

I did notice one thing that I am both enjoying and yet...at the same time..

So ever since my second read through of Wonder Game, I'd been wondering "is this story a reveal of the true nature of Tsumugi and Natsume's relationship, or is it a retcon?"

I chose to be positive and look at it as a reveal because it makes all the past stories that much sweeter. But once I started reading era !!, it's started to feel more and more like a retcon of not just Natsume and Tsumugi, but of their relationship with Sora as well.

The first few stories of era !! have Natsume and Tsumugi acting closer than we've ever seen them. Even with implications that they get together and watch full series just the two of them. Meanwhile, the current main storyline implies that not only have they been fully neglecting Sora, but that they have spent a lot of time getting to know each other and NOT SORA. Natsume specifically says this. And this is where I started to feel a little frustrated with the writing.

Although I do feel that whatever is happening seems to be for the purpose of eventually putting more attention on Sora and hopefully moving his character forward, they've completely destroyed his relationship with Natsume. We can argue that his relationship with Tsumugi was never TOO deep. They had only started becoming close as era ! came to an end. But Natsume spent the entire last year of school attached to Sora at the hip. Obsessed with him, even.

Natsume saw Sora across a room and thought "that child is me, I must know him" and spent every single day after school with him in game research club. He got lonely for the couple of days Sora didn't come to club because he was learning to swim in Splash Pool. They ran numerous schemes and pranks together. They experimented late into the night. They held each other right while playing videogames. If he thought Sora was mad at him , Natsume felt like his world would end. And now, all of a sudden, he doesn't want to include Sora in his schemes? Now all of a sudden, "we never spent time getting to know Sora"??

Last year, Switch's relationship dynamic was Natsume/Sora + Tsumugi. Most stories included Natsume and Sora together, whether Tsumugi was around or not. And Tsumugi appeared in many stories without the other two. Natsume was constantly angry (lonely) about the fact that Tsumugi was never around.)

This year it's Natsume/Tsumugi + Sora. Natsume and Tsumugi are around each other every second, despite the fact that Tsumugi is a company president/idol and Natsume is working separate jobs and is still in high school (with Sora!)

It would be one thing if this was a new dynamic established because Natsume and Tsumugi had grown so close after Wonder Game. Which, I do believe they did! And it's wonderful to see and I'm loving every second of their new dynamic.

But the implication seems to be that "Natsume and Tsumugi were always a lot closer than Natsume and Sora, who were never very close at all." And I just don't think that change was necessary in order to move Sora's character forward.