#Yukiha

[beauty-marked-beauties]

Today's Beauty-Marked Beauty is: Yukiha Serizawa from Toshoshitsu no Kanojo

[citrus-cactus]

I think an interesting interpretation of Digimon Survive’s multiple endings is that of a time loop: one that the main characters are never consciously aware of, but whose echoes intrude upon the present and create ripples that can be glimpsed or felt during certain moments in the story.

Additional discussion under the cut due to spoilers for ALL OF Digimon Survive.

I don’t have many screenshots of moments in-game where you could interpret this as happening, but I’m specifically recalling Kaito’s comment to Aoi in Wrathful (about how if Miu had died, he would be going through the emotional wringer instead of her), some of Ryo’s dialogue in Truthful after his near-death experience in Part 3, Takuma waking up from his nightmare about Ryo in Truthful Part 4 (which, thanks to dialogue reuse, makes it sound worse than what actually happened in Truthful), and even this moment with Miyuki, which hints at a “bad end” for Takuma that (fortunately) we never have to witness:

“You would have been captured, just as I was. No, I think you would have gone even deeper. All of your soul, life and existence… gone.”

I realize attributing certain dialogue to “time loop visions” may seem like it takes away some of the characters’ self-awareness and diminish the game’s message of knowing thyself and others, but I also don’t see why it can’t be both. They begin to know each other so well that it grants them a window into what is (to them) an alternate reality, in a double-edged sword sort of way. Glimpsing the what-if at the right (or wrong) time would possibly influence their decisions, add additional horror, plus it’s one more thing in this strange world to overcome. And for us as the audience, it also makes all the kids’ “if only we had done x” musings that much more impactful and full of dramatic irony, since we do actually see some of those what ifs play out in different endings of the game.

The only explanation I can think of for why a time loop could exist is some combination of the Master’s influence and Yukiha’s.

The Master greatly desires to cross over into the human world, in order to take his (Haruchika’s) revenge. In most of the endings we witness, he fails to achieve this (and we can only guess at what happens in the Bad Ending).

If his rage and hatred is so great, perhaps he is resetting the timeline to the point just before this most recent influx of sacrifices, hoping that they will all succumb and his true goal is achieved.

Meanwhile, the spirit of Yukiha has been trying (and failing) to reunite with Haruchika and save him. She has (canonically) moved metaphoric mountains in order to achieve her goals, and it’s possible she knows her descendants (who are still tied to the Kemonogami World) need help, and these other children are her best hope.

I do think it’s kind of a cool theory (though obviously, it’s only a theory), given the nature of the game, the carryover of digivolutions, and the fact that you HAVE to play it more than once before you can unlock the Truthful route. Witnessing multiple endings and the cumulative effect of your choices across playthroughs makes the ending of Truthful route feel all the more significant in regards to breaking the cycle of hatred and violence that existed in the Kemonogami World, and with these characters being written to exist against a backdrop of psychological horror, having more significant flaws and interpersonal issues to overcome, and overall being a bit further away from the “let’s save both worlds” idealism of other groups of chosen children, it’s an interesting thing for the game to suggest they require multiple attempts to get it “right,” while also giving them the opportunity do so. The idea that the characters are catching glimpses of past loops in which things went differently also makes some of the storytelling choices in the Truthful route feel a bit more genuine… the most significant example of this (to me) is Minoru’s reaction to Lopmon and his temporary split from Falcomon in Truthful Part 6, which plays out the same as it did when Lopmon ACTUALLY dark-digivolved in the Moral/Harmonious/Wrathful routes. Maybe Minoru’s overreaction starts to make more sense if he had an impression of one of those OTHER times when Shuuji met a much darker fate. IS Minoru fated to mistrust Falcomon, even if it’s temporary? Can THAT ever be changed…? 🤔

Anyway, I think this stuff is neat to think about.

[fandompost]

Seven Seas Acquires ‘The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat’ Novels By Yukiha Kuroyuki & Uodenim http://dlvr.it/THrnmZ

[ljaesch]

Seven Seas Entertainment Licenses The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat Light Novel

Seven Seas Entertainment has announced it has acquired the license for The Misdeeds of an Extremely Arrogant Villain Aristocrat light novel series by Yukiha Kuroyuki and Uodenim. When one man is reborn into a fantasy novel as the villain doomed for disaster, he decides to take fate into his own hands. Can he rewrite his destiny, or is he meant for ruin? Luke Wizalia Gyleberde has been reborn into…

[woundedheartwithin]

Kazama fucking crying was not something I needed today (Yukiha punching him, however, was)

[gmoe47]

Yukiha - Maki Nishikino

[meorise]

Other characters in The Alliance Alive

1 of 2

[cypreus-and-willow]

Digimon Survive Week

Day 1 Red Spider Lilies

SPOILERS for Digimon Survive True End

Flower of Farewell

Thinking of Yukiha singing the song for her brother knowing they might never meet again and yet hoping all the same.

[oiran-geisha]

Yukiha’s timeline:

1)2014, misedashi, (Source)

2)2014, first-year, (Source)

3)2015, second-year, (Source)

4)2016, third-year, (Source)

[magicamcheck]

Thawing Snow ⚜︎ ENG Translation

Song: Thawing Snow Vocals: Yukiha (CV: Machico) Lyrics: Yumas Composition: Maruyama Kimiyoshi

[English]

“Being myself” is so — is so irresponsible Reality makes me sick, I’ll run away @3:00AM “As I am” is so — is so unreal Dreams ⇔ Reality Insomnia on repeat

I really must be selfish Idealism / Pretenses / Fantasies Things will go downhill this afternoon Just a yawning vixen Expectations / Envy / Disappointment Repeat merry-go-round “It’s just what it is,” I say An étoile idly spinning in the sky

When the rain lets up, when the night falls Make this repeating time stop

Yearning for the open sky from those days when I would run Where did my younger self disappear to? Inside the courage that melted with the setting sun I can never reach or go back to those tomorrows

Stay awake

Even if the world were to be destroyed tomorrow Just a dot won’t change anything My world revolves around me All the sweets and bitters are all up to me

But society is full of Jealousy / Illusions / Dreams I got kicked down, dropped out The weary thoughts kicked in This is where I’d bawl my eyes out Even if I preached love It was a war game of hating and being hated And I couldn’t clear it

Even though I’m screaming over and over At the end of someone’s world

I’ll never become special in this world Where should a naive amateur like me go? I’ll break through this transparent shell, even without courage Even today, when I’m petrified and can’t move Even if the sky falls down Awake from sleep

A light awoke and began to grow My hope kept on going after the end Over and over and over I reached out my hand and shook free

Even if I stray from my path

I can’t give up no matter what Looking up at that sky, I saw the stars One tiny and vague sliver of courage I’ll stuff it into my pocket and run

If I were to look back someday I hope to see countless flowers blooming in my footprints The morning I decided that I’d live while holding my pains close The sound—the music—of the thawing snow resounded

Awake from sleep

[TL Notes]

“An étoile idly spinning in the sky”

Étoile is French for “star.” The phrase “spinning in the sky” in Japanese is an idiom which means “going nowhere/yielding nothing” so I threw in the “idly.”

“Inside the courage that melted with the setting sun”

Wordplay. The word for “courage” (yuuki) sounds the same as “snow” (yuki).

“I’ll break through this ... shell”

This phrase exists in English too, but the meaning is different. While in English it means “to become more confident,” in JP it means two things: “to toss out your old ways and start anew” and “to grow by overcoming difficulties.”

[Romaji]

“jibun rashiku” nante nante musekinin shinjitsu mushizu run away @3:00AM (gozen sanji) “ari no mama” nante nante higenjitsu yume ⇔ utsutsu kurikaesu insomnia

hontou migatte da ne risou / kyozou / gensou gogo kara will go downhill akubi hitotsu vixen kitai / senbou / shitsubou Repeat merry-go-round “douse sonna mon desho” to sora mawaru Etoile

amamai ni yo hate ni kurikaesu toki tomete

oozora koi kogarete kaketa hibi no osanai watashi wa doko kieta no? yuuhi ni tokete itta yuuki no naka todokanai modorenai ashita

stay awake

tatoeba sou ashita sekai ga horobou to nani hitotsu kawarazu ni “.” (piriodo) watashi no sekai wa watashi o jiku ni mawaru Sweets and bitters subete jibun jidai

dakedo yo no naka wa shitto / genzou / musou keri keotosare Drop-out darui shikou Kicks-in koko de nakiwameite ai o toita tokoro de nikumi nikumare War game Clear dekinai desho

dareka no yo hate de kurikaeshi sakendemo

tokubetsu ni narenai no kono sekai de wa mijuku na watashi wa doko ikeba ii? toumei na kara o kowasu yuuki mo naku tachitsukusu ugokezu ni kyou mo Even if the sky falls down Awake from sleep

mezameta akesome owari kara tsudzuku akogare nando mo nando mo nobashita te furihodokare

michi hazuretemo

akirame kirenai no doushiyou mo naku ano sora no mukou hoshi ga mieta chippoke de tayorinai yuuki hitotsu poketto ni tsumekonde hashire

itsuka furikaereba ashiato ni wa ikutsumo no hana ga saitemasu you ni itami dakishimete mo ikiteyuku to kimeta asa yukidoke no oto ga uta ga narihibiku

Awake from sleep

[geisha-kai]

Farewell 2016: sum up of retirements (part I)

1. Maiko Mamekiku and Mamefuji of Gion Kobu

2. Maiko Yumeno of Gion Kobu

3. Maiko Fumikyo of Miyagawacho

4. Maiko Ichikoma of Pontocho

5. Maiko Miena of Miyagawacho

6. Maiko Kanona of Gion Higashi

7. Maiko Komako of Gion Higashi

8. Maiko Fukunae of Miyagawacho

9. Maiko Yukiha of Gion Kobu

[redpeng]

I know I'm not technically one of the people tagged but

Here's a gaggle of my recent OCs!

Napoleon 'Fio' DiFiore,

Later Napoleon 'Fio' DiFiore

Valentine Yao

and Yukiha Kojo!

okay okay. oc picrew tag game. cute cute condor in my case.

hope y'all don't mind the tags-- @sea-of-dandelions @raincxtter @gaybunnygirl @cloudisyelling @catcze @venvens

[beccalendsahand]

ZuCasino, Yuzuka Rei: October 2022

Long time no translations! It's been a busy year but I finally found the time to finish an interview that I really really love, I hope you are able to understand more about Rei with this sweet Q&A! ZuCasino is a current segment in Takarazuka Graph magazine where prominent otokoyaku get interviewed via a series of casino-style games and questions. October was with Yuzuka Rei. I've tried something a little different this time around where the first time an actress's name is mentioned I link her takawiki page. I've also done translation notes as I go rather than putting them all at the end. Let me know if you find this helpful or just too much. Without further ado, enjoy!

Part 1: Episode Roulette

We challenged Yuzuka Rei to play our Episode Roulette game!

(Rei has been given a roulette wheel, each section has a topic of conversation, whichever she lands on she has to answer)

A Joke That Went Wrong

Episode 1：

Alright so, this is something that happened to me today. Earlier today I went to the quick-change-station* backstage to pick up some hair products for our photo shoot. But then suddenly, our flower troupe musumeyaku from the 100th class* (Oto Kurisu, Hoshikaze Madoka and Itotsuki Yukiha) popped out of nowhere wearing Japanese biker gang outfits!!! I think they had mistaken my footsteps for those of another classmate because they jumped out in sync pulling the same funny faces as if they had known I was coming!  It was so hilarious I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at them! (laughs)

*The "quick-change-station" is an area in the wings at the Takarazuka theatres where the actresses can change between scenes, it has dressing tables and any costumes/props needed for quick changes but it's not part of the actual dressing rooms. *100th class refers to the 100th class of actresses who graduated from the Takarazuka Music School, Takarazuka is based on hierarchy, not just hierarchy within the star system but also hierarchy based on years in the company, so what class people were in at TMS is quite significant, and actresses have a strong bond with those in their troupe who they were at TMS with. When Rei refers to “another classmate” she means another girl from the 100th class. Later on in this interview, Rei will refer to one of her own “classmates”, Rei’s class was the 95th class.

Something you've been thinking about

Episode 2:

My baby nephew has been on my mind a lot! I often get sent videos of him, he’s over a year old now and has started walking and saying things that sound like words, I can’t get over how fast he’s growing. There’s quite a lot of us in the flower troupe who have nieces and nephews around the same age, so I like to know how they are doing too. Even though I haven’t met them in person, because me and the other flower troupe members are always sharing videos with each other, I feel like I’m watching over them. You know how when you were little you would get those adults who would come up to you and say “Ahh look how big you’ve grown!”? Well, I’m pretty sure I’m becoming that person!

A Special (insert here)

Episode3:

When I’m performing, I like to try and use my eyes like a camera and take pictures of everyone's faces to save to my memory. Those of the flower troupe and those of the audience. There are lots of times when I see someone's lovely sparkling smiling face and I think “Ahhh I wish I could share this with someone”. So, I want to create my own “Special SSS Seat View!”* Like, you know how when you go to theme parks you can buy photos of yourselves on the rides? It could be like that, after seeing a show you could go to Quatre Reves* and get the photos straight from my brain.

*In Japanese theatres, seats are divided by B, A, S, and sometimes SS seats too. In the Takarazuka theatres the SS seats are the middle block of the first floor at the front, so what Rei means here is that what she sees standing on stage is an even closer view than that, therefore her view would be called SSS. *Quatre Reves is the Takarazuka merchandise store, you can find them at the theatre as well as in major cities across Japan and online!

Praise someone!

Episode 4

I want to praise everyone on this earth! I think none of us expected this fight (covid) to go on for so long, but even without an end in sight, we have all carried on, one day at a time. There are probably people out there who feel a loss in confidence, and aren’t able to fight on…So I feel like we and the audience are like “comrades” living through this era of great change together. 

There is a lot of pain right now but the fact that everyone keeps going and doing there best is amazing!

Part 2: Card Game

(Rei has been given 2 decks of cards with words written on the back, deck 1 has an adjective, deck 2 has a type of person. She must take one from each deck, name a person that relates and give us an anecdote about them.)

Deck 1: Cute, Passionate, Must-See, Respected, Bizarre

Deck 2: Upperclassmen, Underclassman, Teacher, Classmate, Flower Troupe Member

Passionate Underclassman*

The “Fashionable Empire” Rockettes

When I was watching the rehearsals for the Rockette number I found myself thinking “wow they really are the picture of youth!”. They are all just so energetic and have a high awareness of the space and each other, you can tell they are thinking about how to make the dance the most effective, they are such promising underclassmen. It was a Rockette dance delivered with so much confidence!

*Underclassmen generally refer to actresses who have been in the company 7 years or less.

(Fashionable Empire, 2022) Cute Classmate

Kizuki Yuuma

We were reunited for the first time in forever in the musical “Top Hat”, it was funny though because she’s a senka member now, so everyone was treating her incredibly politely which she seemed quite humbled by (laughs). On stage, she had an immense stage presence in her dandy-style costume, and her character had a high tolerance for people's behavior, but in the wings and in the rehearsal rooms she would bow more than anyone else! I found it very cute how she would suddenly get smaller and smaller and smaller*. Her embarrassment was in huge contrast to how much she helped us throughout the show, in the way she would speak to the underclassmen and the wonderful insight she gave us into her thoughts on the performing arts. It was just so adorable to me, I remember thinking “You don’t have to make yourself so small!!” (laughs).

*In Japanese culture it's common to lower yourself when speaking in order to show respect for someone higher in age or status than you. So what Rei means here by Kizuki getting smaller and smaller is that she was probably bowing her head and bowing with her whole body so often to everyone that she was getting smaller and smaller, which is quite a funny image when you consider how she usually towers above every other actress. Kizuki recently transferred from the Moon Troupe to Senka (a troupe made up of superior members who guest star in different troupes) so there's no need for her to be lowering herself when she is actually higher ranked than everyone else, but she's not quite used to all the politeness and respectful language the actresses are giving to her yet, so she still feels a little embarrassed and finds herself doing it back to them. 

(Top Hat, 2022) (from left to right: Minami Maito, Kizuki Yuuma, Yuzuka Rei) Must-See Flower Troupe Member

Mikaze Maira

She's been Kumicho (Troupe Leader) * for half a year now and she looks after us all by giving us positive encouragement and strengthening the troupe morale. I think she makes it easy for us to all unite and move towards the same goal together by guiding us, not only in the arts but in our emotions as well. Please pay attention to our Kumicho who is full of charm and positivity! *The Kumicho (Troupe Leader) is the oldest member of the troupe, it is her duty to support the troupe and basically make sure everyone is okay, she is usually the first port of call when an actress is struggling with things like stage fright or other worries. Mikaze transferred to Flower Troupe from the Cosmos Troupe with current Flower Troupe Top Musumeyaku Hoshikaze Madoka in 2021, and took over from Takashou Mizuki as Kumicho in 2022

(The Fascination, 2022)

Part 3: Dice Game

(Rei has been given a white dice and a black dice, similar to the last game, whatever number she lands on has an assigned word, white dice adjectives, black dice nouns, the difference this time is whatever she gets she has to perform!)

White dice: 1. Cool 2. Sexy 3. Powerful 4. Flirty 5. Sweet 6. Dynamic

Black dice: 1. Face 2. Flying kiss 3. Wink 4. Pose 5. Back pose 6. Kabe-don

Part 4: Big wins at the Zucasino Question Corner

1. If you are already doing well would you place another bet? I think I usually stop myself when I start thinking about going all in on something. So rather than taking another big bet, I’m the type of person who quits while they are ahead.

2. Are you daring? Or cautious? Tenma Michiru once surprised me by saying “I used to think you were a cautious person, but actually you don’t care at all!”, her idea of the difference between daring and cautious people sounded quite black and white to me. It’s true though that I do just go for it when making decisions. For example, after deciding to move house I moved the next week, and the time between me discovering Takarazuka and enrolling at the Music School was very short.  Timing and chance of course had a lot to do with it, but I do think that when it comes down to those life-changing decisions I get this feeling of intuition to just go with my gut, maybe that's when I become daring.

3. How do you spend big money? For the last 3 years, we haven’t been able to do any trips or go out for any meals together as a troupe, so I’d like to hold a big event where the current troupe members and those who have left the troupe from 2020 onwards all go on a gorgeous trip to Hawaii together! There are so many places I want to go explore so maybe it could be a 3-4 day long trip where we can do our own thing, and then we could plan some kind of special event to do all together during our stay! The girls who have only been in Takarazuka for 1 to 3 years and those who have joined the flower troupe from other troupes like Hitoko-chan (Towaki Sea) have not experienced our dinner entertainment tradition yet, and many of the upperclassmen are itching to perform again so, I think we should put on a banquet and have a good time! Other things I’d like to spend big money on would be buying a holiday home for my parents and maybe starting my own business. Maybe something to do with children's education, something that mothers would appreciate….But I need to know how to spend money wisely first, time to study up!

4. Are you lucky? Or unlucky? I think I’m a lucky person, I’m very happy! Every now and again there are moments where I look at my life and think how happy I am that I am able to make art with the people I love. I may not be lucky enough to win in raffles or lotteries (laughs), but I’m overwhelmingly blessed to live a life surrounded by the many things that I love.

5. What is the luckiest moment you’ve experienced in your life? Entering Takarazuka was a big moment for me, both a lucky and a happy moment (laughs). Not only did I get to be a part of something I love but I met so many lovely people and learnt all sorts of things! Takarazuka has taught me so much, not just about the performing arts, but about being a person as well, I think if I hadn’t joined Takarazuka I would be completely different to who I am today.

6. A moment you’ve betted on In the early stages of joining the Takarazuka Music School you have to make the decision of whether to become an otokoyaku or a musumeyaku. But at the time I was still getting used to it all, I was kind of drowning, overwhelmed by everything, and so I completely forgot that I needed to decide…And before I knew it, we were all lined up about to make our decision! Everyone in turn saying “musumeyaku!” or “otokoyaku!” down the line! My height at the time meant that I was on the threshold between musumeyaku and otokoyaku, and so I was worrying and worrying like “Ahh which do I choose?!”. But then I heard the person before me say “Otokoyaku!” and in a spur of the moment decision I went “Yeah!” and said I wanted to be an otokoyaku. I guess you could say that was a bet? I wonder what would have happened if I had chosen to be a musumeyaku instead. I would have had to use completely different muscles, so my shoulders probably wouldn’t have broadened like they have now…Choosing to be an otokoyaku was a big turning point in my life.

7. A moment that was a close shave! The time when I was still a junior in the company and decided to climb Mt.Rokko by myself on my day off. It was a nice day despite it being winter, and so after enjoying the mountain to my heart's content I strolled back to the bus stop, only to discover the buses had already finished for the day! Looking around frantically I realised there was not a single soul to be seen, I was all alone, it was getting cold and windy and the sun was starting to set… After standing around in the cold for about 20 minutes, just as I started to worry for my life, a cyclist came speeding down the road towards me. But he passed by so fast there was nothing I could do to get his attention, but then he came back and gave me a ride to the cable car! I was one step away from ending up being a news story. I hope that man is doing well…

8. Something you want to protect with all your life The number one thing i want to protect is everyone's smiles. Maybe it's unrealistic to ask for, but I don’t want anyone's smiles to be clouded by anything, not those of the troupe, not those of the audience, or anyone I meet. Everyone is working so hard every day, the people who look after the company so that we are able to perform, the people who come to the theatre, the doctors and nurses who continue to fight to save lives, everyone, so their smiles must be protected. We are forced to endure a lot which can make our hearts feel heavy, but it's for that very reason that I want to be able to capture the smiles of the audience with my “Yuzuka Camera Lense”! No matter your birth, upbringing, age, or gender, people from all walks of life come to the theatre, lose themselves in the story being told and laugh and cry together in that shared space. How amazing is that? I’m so grateful to get to have that experience and so I want to continue to protect it.

Part 5: My Treasure

Illustrations from manga artists I have been fortunate enough to get to be a part of several plays based on famous manga, and have been gifted original illustrations from their creators. Yamato Waki who made “Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern”, Hagio Moto who made “The Poe Clan” and Kamio Yoko who made “Hana Yori Dango/Boys Over Flowers” . Even now whenever I look at the pictures they drew for me I have a deep feeling of amazement of just how great their work is.

My beloved dog, Noir He’s so intelligent that it’s like he’s a human trapped inside a dogs body and at any moment he’s going to start talking to me. He is in tune to so many things and keeps at juuuust the right distance from me, all traits that would make me want to marry him if I could, he’s so cute!

Letters I’ve received from flower troupe members There is a custom in Takarazuka where you give “Pre-Raku Cards”* to those who have looked after you during the performance. I’ve kept all the ones I have received so far. It just makes me so happy that in these letters the actresses get to share with me thoughts and feelings that they don’t normally get to say to me. 

*Senshuuraku is japanese theatre speak for the final performance of a show, it is usually shortened to “Raku” by both fans and actors. “Pre-Raku Cards” or “Maeraku Cards” is a short hand for “Mae Senshuuraku cards” or “The night before closing night cards”. Celebratory messages from fans My album full of birthday cards, top star anniversary messages and other milestones is my number one most precious treasure. “No matter how far the distance may be, my heart will be your side…” This is a line from the song “An oath made on the wind” from “Haikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern”. During the initial period of the pandemic, these words would often come to mind and they became a phrase which is now very close to my heart. The underclassmen who couldn’t perform the show quoted this line in a video they made during the theatre shutdown, it really cheered me up at that time.

Videos and photos from the flower troupe During the last performance cancellations, I was sent many videos of things like funny little updates, and people singing whilst playing the ukulele. Performance cancellations are so hard, but if we hadn’t of had them then these exchanges would never have happened..

Video title: “I will become the wind” Misora Maru Ukulele Version Picture: Flower Troupe Love Picture Caption: “Flower Troupe Love” Will never end!

Behind the Scenes!

Thank you for reading! For more Takarazuka translations click here

[shihalyfie]

Survive pays homage to a lot of aspects of Adventure including some character archetypes presented much differently than in the anime. Do you think there's any correlation between these Survive characters and the anime's Crest traits at all? I suppose the easiest comparison is Taichi and Takuma and whether or not Courage suits Takuma as well, but there's also Kaito and Friendship or Aoi and Love, for example.

My answer is that there's both less and more correlation than you'd think!

There are definitely some correlations in terms of rough group position (see my meta on this), but the fact that the Survive kids were yanked into the Digimon/Kemonogami world because they happened to be the nearest losers lurking around the shrine instead of naturally good people is a significant point (they are explicitly meant to not be "chosen ones" in the traditional sense). The Crests were basically ways of solidifying the fact that Homeostasis and the Agents pinpointed the Adventure kids specifically because of their virtues, and on a meta sense to give the kids self-awareness about what was good about themselves (since all of them tended to be somewhat self-effacing and lacking in self-esteem in many ways). It makes sense that the kids don't fit into the Crest archetypes very easily...but as with anything, there is a but.

To go into this more deeply, let's go into the history of the Crests in Adventure's narrative. It all started when Homeostasis, the Digital World's security system, realized that the Digital World was in danger and that they needed to do something. However, Homeostasis unfortunately had the major obstacle that they had no physical body and no ability to talk to anyone (it's implied that Hikari channeling them in Adventure episode 45 may have been the first time they were able to talk to anyone at all, especially since they themself say they wanted to speak with the kids as early as File Island). The most they could do was create the Agents (autonomous agents) like Gennai, who seem to be unable to communicate with Homeostasis directly but are capable of carrying out their will to some extent. Based on the need to do something to save the Digital World, the Agents analyzed the data from the Hikarigaoka incident in 1995 to find that some of the kids exhibited certain "most wonderful traits" that, when used in partnership with a Digimon, could lead to them becoming much more powerful. (In line with the Digital World's ability to manifest feelings into a visible form, it seems the Crest symbols come directly from those traits under a lithograph.)

This is why I tend to emphasize to the very end on this blog that contrary to popular belief, in Adventure and 02, Homeostasis was not portrayed or depicted as a deity in any way -- they wouldn't have used such a roundabout way to save the Digital World if they were any more than a voiceless security system whose sole direct abilities were repair work. They have as much power over the Digital World's inner workings as a building custodian does. So even though the origin of the Crests has a fantasy nuance to it, they did not come out because some omniscient god was determining their souls' destiny or something, but because that was what they were able to do within the limitations of Adventure's Digital World mechanics. In many ways, they were basically in a similar position as Yukiha.

The Adventure novels also explicitly state that the Crests aren't about what traits they have, but the traits they have the potential for having. The Adventure and 02 kids weren't completely defined by said Crests, and they had very wide-ranging meanings that allowed for different interpretations between the Adventure kids and 02 quartet. On a meta level, they're really meant to help summarize the characters' stories and make them more easily understandable to the children's audience, but I think the fandom has had a tendency to assign too much weight to them and oversimplify the characters trying to cram them into some kind of "archetype" -- it should really be the other way around, in that the characters themselves are complex and multifaceted, and the Crests treated as a shorthand guide to defining their personal priorities.

So if we had all of the existing Adventure and 02 Crests on the table and thought about which kids had what as their priority, or what their character arc can be best described as, and make maximum use of the different potential meanings of each Crest, I think we can draw a rough correlation. Personally, I think the easiest ones are Minoru (Courage; his entire thing is about getting himself together to be an ideal hero), Ryo (Friendship; his personal goal and best trait, even if it's not initially apparent), Saki (Purity; believing in being true to one's feelings), Miyuki (Light; the desire to treasure all life), and the Professor (Knoweldge; the desire to know the truth and do things with it). I would say that Aoi should still get Love even if it seems like it should be Faith at first, because in fact she personally dislikes being seen as someone tied to responsible obligations and is much happier if she's appreciated as a person capable of taking care of others in a more emotional, warm manner. Contrary to his original Adventure counterpart, I would give Kaito Hope because the worst outcome of his character arc is if he completely gives up on the world from the idea it's meaningless if Miu isn't there, and the best is if he resolves it's still possible to do better.

The most difficult remaining ones are Takuma, Miu, and Shuuji, and I'm really not sure about these; I think there's a lot of room for interpretation and different potential outcomes, but I would give Takuma Faith (the worst outcomes of the story happen when he acts too selfishly while the best ones come when he knows the right thing to do and what the group needs). I am actually kind of tempted to give Shuuji Kindness -- yes, really -- because of the fact his Truthful character arc involves him knowing he can do better instead of falling into the pattern he was raised into. Miu is personally the toughest one for me because there's a handful of options here; the way her Part 4 character arc resembles the Princess Mimi incident in Adventure episode 25 and her desire to do things and express hobbies the way she likes would suggest Purity, but her character arc also has a strong nuance of needing to take responsibility for herself, which would suggest Faith -- and considering Survive takes cues from 02 as well, maybe she can be like a 02 kid and have both?

[not-too-many-eyes]

Digimon Survive, Mistakes and Moving On Part 5: Truthful

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Takuma Addition]

Day 7 of Survive Week: Farewell

This part will focus on the Truthful Route, and what it means for the story, exploring how this route connects to the larger themes of the game.

Were almost at the end! When I started this I didn't expect to make a series of meta posts but I'm honestly glad I did, there really fun to write and I like talking about this game so much.

Spoilers for: parts of Moral, parts of Wrathful, parts of Harmony and all of Truthful CWs: Death, abandonment

Children's Sacrifices

As I briefly touched on in Moral, the Kemonogami world is being sustained by children's sacrifices and Ryo and Shuuji's deaths are connected thematically. You are lead to believe that without Ryo and Shuuji, your journey would flow smoother, that without them your goal can be more easily achieved.

But that's not true, Shuuji and Ryo's deaths are what causes Truthful to be locked, you can't get the best ending without them.

But aside from Shuuji and Ryo, the cast of Survive is filled with children who are seen as disposable, and some of them have been taken advantage of for one reason or another. Kaito and Miu are the best example of this, both of them felt abandoned by there parents because of how they treated them after the stalking incident and were ostracized when they moved.

And the ones who aren't seen as disposable are usually trying to keep a "persona", one that's often likable and "not bothersome". Saki acts carefree and open because she's scared of people hating her, Aoi is responsible and patient even if it harms her and in Wrathful specifically she is very concerned about proving that she's "right" and Minoru forces himself to maintain a happy-go-lucky demeanor and jokes around to ignore his problems.

There's seemingly a divide here between "bad kids" and "good kids" but both camps suffer anyway. Because it doesn't matter if your the goodest kid to ever exist or someone that was kicked out of hell for being too bad. Because there's always the chance you'll be "sacrificed" for the greater good, used by others for there own gain, abandoned for no good reason.

Even before the events of this game, people that believed in the Kemonogami would sacrifice children to the for good harvest or prevent disasters, sacrificing them for "the greater good"

And one of these kids is the main villain of this story, Haruchika. Haruchika Truthful is called Truthful because the cast is finding out the "Truth" of this world, and the history behind the villain they've been facing this entire time.

You see, some time in the past, (Wikimon says the Kamakura period but I can't find the text in game that says that so-) there was a lot of war and strife so five children were sacrificed for "the greater good," those five children harnessed the power of the "God Beasts" also knows as the Four Sovereign Masters, and the one who orders them all, Fanglongmon.

Haruchika was one of these children, offered up by his sister, Yukiha Minase. The feelings of hatred and betrayal that he felt from this is what created The Master in the first place.

The four other children sealed him away, turning them into ghosts in the process. But that really didn't do anything to stop him, and he's been able to drag people into the Kenomogami world and use them to sustain it. Until now.

The main villain of Survive only exists because of a "sacrifice for the greater good" and his hatred of his is only able to continue because all the ghosts did was to seal him away.

Even the ghosts acknowledge their failure, and hope that the cast can do the thing they couldn't do. Save Haruchika.

Takuma and the rest, when asked, hesitates a bit, because Haruchika is trying to End The World, has been trying to kill them all, and has abducted Miyuki. Why should they help him? Because it's the right thing to do.

Seiryu Ghost: The boy is simply drowning in anger Seiryu Ghost: If you can bring him to his sense, this entire world will be saved! Seiryu Ghost: So please, help him-help Haruchika. Takuma: (The Master-Haruchika. The mastermind behind all of this. Is he also a casualty of power?) Takuma: (I can't forgive him for throwing the world into chaos, and abduting Miyuki...) Takuma: (I can't say I'll save him for sure. Who knows if our power will work on the Master.) Takuma: (Still...If someone's in trouble, and only we can handle it, there's only one answer.)

Sealing him away does nothing, killing him means that the worlds will take forever to connect again, leaving him alive and unchanged means he's able to hurt others again, but helping him, however means that the worlds can unite slowly and peaceful.

So they do, they help him, they bring him back to his senses, and Haruchika cries, the guilt of his actions weighing him down, but his sister is there to bring him to a place where this sad, angry, hurt, boy can finally rest.

Conclusion

Digimon Survive, like most Digimon properties, is a deeply empathetic work. It's about doing the right thing even if it's hard, it's about sacrifices and bad kids and kids who are trying there best to not mess up horribly. It's about how we fail the people around us and how we have to do better.

And it's one of my favorite works of fiction ever.

Ending Notes: The Takuma addition has also been posted so if you want you can go read that! I've wanted to get into the "bad kid/good kid" Survive subtext since Part 1, very happy I finally get to explore it. Writing this series of essays made me realize how many games I've been playing with similar themes, I seem to have a type when it comes to what themes I enjoy in a story-

While I think Truthful isn't as great as the rest of the game I do like how it connects with the games themes and what not. I really wish Haruchika was fleshed out a bit more, the villain of Survive being another sacrificed child, thus making the entire conflict of the game be caused by a sacrifice for "the greater good" just works so well thematically.

Honestly just generally while I don't think Truthful is as great as the rest of the game I really like what it does for it thematically. It kinda unites

I know Haruchika and his sister mainly parallels The Professor and Miyuki but I feel like Kaito, Miu and Dracmon and Aoi, Saki and Labramon are the stronger parallels. Feel like there's a stronger connection with the Harmony and Wrathful routes than the Minase siblings we know...

Survive week is created by: @surviveweek

[woundedheartwithin]

Idk which part of episode 8 was my favorite. The part where Kazama scares the absolute shit out of Yukiha, or the part where Kazama basically makes fun of unexpectedly radioactive homeboy by repeatedly pointing a Geiger counter at him