#Sarasa x Ai

[toxins-very-gay-thoughts]

live laugh love yuri

[teaah-art]

Only for lesbian visibility week! Not at all self indulgent! Not at all!

[yurimultiship]

Fateful Encounter

For this Femslash February, I'd like to talk about ships I like through the lense of particular ship tropes.

But I'm already starting with something that's a bit up to interpretation for the ship I chose, with the notion of "fateful encounter".

When we think of that, there's an aspect of "destiny" to be taken into account. But when looking at it from more of a meta level, we could also perhaps be talking about the big encounter between the two main characters of a story that starts everything and is the basis/center of what the plot will be about.

So today the ship is Ai/Sarasa from Kageki Shoujo!!

Their meeting happens in the first chapter/episode, in front of a beautiful cherry tree. The two characters are about to see whether they'll be admitted to the Kouka academy, a school dedicated to the art of theater and the first step towards joining the Kouka all-female troupe, which references the real life Takarazuka Revue.

What they don't know is that there is a rumored curse about the Kouka cherry tree: anyone who stands in front of it before being admitted will never be a top star!

The scene starts off with Ai (ex-idol with a traumatic past, wants to join Kouka mostly to get away from the presence of men) being attracted by the sight of this lonely, beautiful tree. Someone calls out to her, talking about taking a picture and startling Ai who accidentally let go of her application paper, blown by the wind into the tree.

Ai describes the girl she sees in front of her as having long arms and legs like a graceful gazelle, sparkling eyes full of stars and more importantly being terrifyingly tall!

Enters Sarasa (otaku, wants to join the Kouka revue to play Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles) who effortlessly picks up the paper stuck in a high tree branch with a beautiful and impressive jump, before turning back to Ai and asking her to take photos of her under the cherry tree so she can send them to her grandpa later. This leaves Ai quite baffled (since she probably feared someone was wanting to take her photo, as a former idol), especially with Sarasa being very, very energetic and taking poses for way more than one picture.

Of course, they are then admitted to the school. And of course, they end up being roomates at the Kouka dormitory! It's like fate is pushing them together or something, to Ai's horror because she is looking for peace of mind and can't really deal with Sarasa's bombastic personality at this point.

So it will take a little bit of time for Ai to warm up to Sarasa and for Sarasa to get past the barriers Ai has between her and other people. But despite being initially annoyed by Sarasa's antics, it's clear that Ai is also fascinated by her from the get-go. An attraction that will lead her to find new purposes in life.

While Sarasa does have a bit of a complicated boyfriend relationship with a secondary character, her and Ai are still very shippable. Sarasa references some yuri-flavored work that makes it feel like she could be into girls too and Ai especially is so easy to interpret as having feelings for Sarasa.

Outside of the cherry tree curse, there might not really be any in-story association of their encounter with "fate" but it still has such a great vibe of a life-changing meeting and makes for a beautiful and impactful first encounter, "romantic" in its aesthetic but also with a side of comedy that will stay present in their relationship. And the development of it that comes after that is as enjoyable, some of the content in the manga going past what the anime adapted even shaking things up between them in interesting ways!! From that very first meeting on, they are full of surprises.

[flamizu]

Kageki Shoujo is an hidden gem and I really recommend it, I tried replicating the soundtrack illustration with a little twist to fit more my style

[browngurl99]

Girlfriends ❤

[kurayamineko]

[seiyatraumasquad]

I have like 3.5 sarasa x ai fics living in my head rent free, how many do you guys think i can force to pay up

[miraitte]

[docholligay]

So she’s tall and strong, and that’s good! But I can’t help but wonder if she has the chops. I mean, I think I know what the story is going to do, which is, show her struggling and failing and then of course at the end she triumphs and does a beautiful job and she and Ai hold hands under the cherry tree or some shit, I mean, I have seen an anime and I know how they are generally structured, but do I think it will pull that off in a way I find WINNING? 

I think it depends on if the show is cognizant enough of what it’s doing. I was talking about this with Jetty this morning about unrelated media--the trouble with walking someone OUT as bad or incompetent or unkind is you have to remember that it takes the same amount of time to hike out as it does back. And that’s a lot of my trouble with media that have the incompetent loser or the naughty person ‘change’ is there’s usually a lot of windup, and then I’m expected to accept a VERY quick ‘fix’ that’s usually less than half the time the show spent convincing me X was bad or stupid. THis was my problem with both Catra and Harrow--not the idea that these characters set up to be fucking jerkasses COULD change, but that I was accepted to swallow it so quickly. 

So! If Sarasa is a fuckup for a couple of episodes, nails down, and starts to slowly get better, great! If she has a magical turnaround in episode 10 of 12 (I have no idea how many eps there are) I’m going to be annoyed. 

Please don’t hint, correct, confirm, deny, or anything that would lead me down a certain path. No “Just you wait until,” no, “Well the creator/manga said.” Not even if it’s cultural! Just let me be wrong! This includes trigger warnings! I’ll be fine.

[recentanimenews]

Sawa Sugimoto Is Passionate for Musicals in Kageki Shojo!! Chara PV

  The curtain is rising on a new character from Kageki Shojo!!, the upcoming anime about students aiming for a theatrical career. Today we get to know Sawa Sugimoto, voiced by voice actress and idol Sumire Uesaka.

  Sawa is an honor student and a skilled ballerina — but she's also a massive nerd for musical theater. Check out her new character PV below:

    The manga series Kageki Shojo!! The Curtain Rises is licensed by Seven Seas Entertainment, who summarizes the series:

  Like the Takarazuka Revue, the young women who go to the Kouka School of Musical and Theatrical Arts play all the parts of musical theater, be they female or male. Narada Ai is a jaded former idol performing female roles—her roommate, playing male roles, is bright-eyed country girl Watanabe Sarasa. From the school to the stage to the rest of their lives, there is no challenge these young women can’t face with their passion for performance. Also known as Kageki Shoujo!! Season Zero in Japan, this recent re-release of the original two-volume series for the franchise is packaged in one updated and beautiful omnibus.

  Kageki Shojo!! premieres July 3 on AT-X, TOKYO MX, and BS11, and will be simulcast on ABEMA and d Anime Store.

  Source: Comic Natalie

    By: Kara Dennison

[yurimultiship]

[lamangasserie]

Kageki Shojo !! The Curtain Rises de Kumiko Saiki

Kageki Shojo !! The Curtain Rises nous emmène dans les couloirs de l’école Kouka, une école de l’art musical et théâtrale, qui vise à former les futures actrices de la troupe du même nom, avec à nos côtés Watanabe Sarasa, une jeune fille pétillante avec un grand rêve et Narata Ai, une ancienne idol qui rêve de vivre dans un monde sans hommes. Nos deux héroïnes, si différentes, se rencontrent le jour de la rentrée, vont devoir partager la même chambre au sein du dortoir de l’école et vont faire la connaissance de nombreuses autres jeunes filles qui partagent le même rêve.

Intéressée par la revue Takarazuka, une troupe théâtrale composée uniquement de femmes, sur lequel la revue Kouka est basée, je ne pouvais pas passer à côté de ce manga. Quelle lecture ! Je m’attendais à quelque chose de beaucoup plus académique sur la-dite revue, mais pas du tout, l'autrice se concentre sur les personnages qui font la grande force du manga. En effet, on retrouve une large palette de personnages entre la vive Sarasa et la plus éteinte Ai, aussi bien au sein des élèves que de l’équipe pédagogique de l’école. 

Avec son lot de personnages, son lot d’histoires ! Toutes ces jeunes filles, au-delà de la magie du rêve de l’école Kouka, portent aussi des histoires moins glamour. Toutes sont touchées par des évènements plus ou moins traumatisants et typiquement féminin: harcèlement sexuel, trouble du comportement alimentaire ou encore poids de la tradition familiale. Selon quel personnage ces histoires touchent, elles sont traitées avec plus ou moins de justesse mais surtout avec vélocité. C’est là la limite de Kageki Shojo !! The Curtain Rises. En effet, la narration souffre du changement éditorial qui a dû se faire en cours de route. Alors que le manga est prépublié dans le magazine Jump X, celui-ci est arrêté et pousse le manga à se conclure. Rebondissement, le manga est apprécié et est reconduit, sous la forme d’une suite, dans le magazine Melody. Suite qui devient finalement la série principale et ce manga-ci devient le prequel. Ce sont tous ces changements qui font que, par exemple, l’histoire de fond de Sarasa n’est qu’à moitié explorée et est laissée en suspens à la fin du manga, nous laissant entrevoir une suite.

Côté dessin, bien que ce ne soit pas exceptionnel et assez classique, je l’aime beaucoup. Tout en rondeur et assez épais, on peut dire que c’est kawaii (pas juste mignon, kawaii.). Le découpage est plutôt simple, en case distinctes, mais Kumiko Saiki n’hésite pas parfois à prendre exemple sur des shojo manga rétro, avec des cases éclatées, comme dans La Rose de Versailles. La Rose de Versailles étant aussi un spectacle joué par la revue Takarazuka ! Évidemment, l’autrice va au bout de son idée et ne laisse rien au hasard ! Les moments poignants, portés par la narration, sont aussi très bien soutenus par un dessin représentant justement les états d’âmes de nos personnages. Il y a un moment que j’ai particulièrement trouvé juste: un personnage revit son traumatisme dans une situation donnée et est désemparé. Dans le désarroi de ce personnage, je me suis trouvée en totale sympathie avec celui-ci. Peut-être que j’étais très empathique au moment de ma lecture mais ce passage si bien fait m’a énormément touché.

Un découpage plutôt simple mais puisant une partie de son inspiration dans le shojo manga des années 1970, le tout pour évoquer La Rose de Versailles.

En somme, c’est un manga sans prétention, dont on peut relever bien des défauts. Pourtant, comme évoquer plus haut, sa force réside dans ses personnages auxquels je me suis beaucoup attachée. Il me tarde de lire la suite des aventures de ces jeunes filles !

Kageki Shojo !! The Curtain Rises de Kumiko Saiki est publié aux États-Unis, en anglais, aux éditions Seven Seas pour un prix de $19.99. La série principale sera aussi de la partie à partir de juillet 2021, toujours chez Seven Seas ! En français, la série sera disponible chez Noeve Grafx d’ici fin 2021 !!

[yurimultiship]

[kurayamineko]

[kurayamineko]

[kurayamineko]