#akane tokyo blade arc i miss you

[randomshipperhere]

I’ll make a post regarding my thoughts about the Oshi no Ko manga in the near future but I think safest things to say about each character:

Aqua needs something that hits harder than therapy.

Ruby needs to be utilized more in the story.

Kana should have a happy ending.

Akane is a really good character so long as Aqua isn’t around.

Ship wars: I’m on the fence on either but lean just a bit towards Kana and Aqua. My hesitance to ship can be traced to the fact that the manga gives mixed messaging about what they want Aqua’s future to be or even its genre…

[ambrosiaocto]

chapter 117 and episode 5 releasing on the same day and having the events of ch117 and ep5 be 2 years apart in canon is SO fucked up dude tjis chapter broke me

[nanakah]

onk mini-rambling

tl;dr i feel going against the current a bit as a die-hard ishimiko shipper, but I love Aquakane a whole lot ahahahah

heavy spoilers under the cut

Apparently this is an unusual take, but I'm not really convinced Aquakana is that similar to Ishimiko. The power balance is off and Kana in general reminds me more of how Maki behaves, with some shades of being too "bright" and removed from Aqua's real worries and business. She is still a complex character with good motivations, but the stakes she operates on are too different from what Aqua's revenge plot hinges on.

I've been fighting this feeling that Aquakane was more similar to Ishimiko since chapter 26.

Most people seemed to think otherwise, so I considered I was just seeing things and tried being more into Aquakana once, but I realized it required downplaying what really was going on with Akane too much. And the more I really tried to read Akane with unbiased eyes, the more I came to love her. There is something fundamentally missing for me to think the time Aqua and Kana spent apart is setup for a stronger SINCERE development now, and his protectiveness and admiration of her seem too rooted in the idea of salvation/redemption for Ai, which is platonic. Most of the time, the protectiveness he displays of her is too similar to Ruby for me to think it's romantic or concealing some deep forbidden attraction.

Overall, I think Kana is cute but I can't feel much for the ship. Her chemistry with Akane is really good too, I'm hoping the anime gets a second season for the Tokyo Blade arc because it's amazing.

Kana does bring light to Aqua's life. I can see it, but that reminds me more of Tsubame's role than Miko's..."The Sun".

She helps Aqua get in touch with acting again, he supports her and plays around with her, but at the end of the day, that always seems distant and only a symptom of Aqua's true struggles. He can be happy besides Kana, but it somewhat only happens at the cost of shutting down what is actually eating him alive, and what could have been if his life hadn't been such a mess of tragedies.

And Kana, despite learning the truth, doesn't seem to be able to grasp how deeply that actually affected Aqua, and how badly he is screaming for help. That he wants to be saved. She knows he is more hurt than what he says, but has no idea how it's dragging his whole life down a rabbit hole he can't crawl out of.

On the other hand, Akane sits besides Aqua in the darkness, and offers him some comfort to rely on, so he can at his own pace dig deeper inside himself to drag out his ghosts and finally heal his wounds.

Not only that, she has a path she'd like him to take, but she's letting it be of his own choosing. She'll stop him no matter the cost, but she's also teaching him the hard way to take the hard route of choosing his happiness for himself and to admit he doesn't truly want to toss his life aside for revenge.

The plot isn't all that similar. Neither are the stakes. But the deeper reasons that make me appreciate Ishimiko feel more similar to what I can see here.

This might get people miffed with me (onk fandom can get a little scary with waifu wars), but I see far more in common with Aqua and Akane's relationship. Through their "fake dating trope" relationship, they ended up opening to eachother and blurring the line of "I can't feel something for you" too much, and as of recent chapters are developing something closer to a rivalry and spite born out of love that is....*chef's kiss* more what I'm into? NEURON ACTIVATION IN MY MONKEY BRAIN.

LOOK AT THAT EX ENERGY....THE BITCH PLEASE EXPRESSION ON A GIRL THAT WAS ONCE THE SWEETEST CINAMMON ROLL EVER

FUCK YES GIVE ME SOME RIVALRY AND ANTI-VILLAIN SHIP GOODNESS. I'm sorry, but only Akane gets to see him like this and I love it

Constantly wondering what is a lie, what is Aqua concealing his feelings and having his expressions hidden is delicious. In a way, both of them fell for the mask ("the savior" and "the perfect imitation of Ai") but stayed for what was underneath (a wounded lonely person and someone who wants to be by their side).

Because Aqua, despite being shrouded in lies and using "It's a business relationship, a game" like a shield, truly felt like he tasted happiness and comfort. He felt understood and like he had an ally for the first time in ever, but he did not want to drag her down with him, despite saying he "just wants to use her". And he's willing to protect her by becoming hateful.

And this was the point of no return for me.

Aqua is still Goro, and no matter how much he tells himself it doesn't matter that he was dead like a nobody and that he couldn't connect to anyone after Sarina's passing...

Isn't that awfully lonely?

And yet, Akane was able to find him. She's seen his literal worst, most rotten self, and she was still by his side and grateful to him.

Does it matter how it started, then? Despite Aqua using her as a tool, she's aware of the best and worst parts of his personality. She knows how much his kindness is a heavy burden, and how it drives him to his most reckless self. Akane feels for him, but loves him for all he's done for her. Aqua doesn't allow himself to enjoy life or live for himself, but he has been able to put his objectives aside simply because he thought Akane needed help.

"When you fall down the stairs, I'll be there to catch you"....ahahaha

god help me, if this ship is going down, I'll sink with it

[redge]

【OSHI NO KO】 Season 2 Episode 18

(I am writing this while Episode 20 is already airing haha)

I will never stop wishing that this character keeps on smiling and finds happiness when this manga ends. Everyone deserves to be happy but I want this character to be happy even more. Please, Akasaka-sensei I beg you. 🙏

"actors who've been at it their whole lives" There's sadness in those lines. Arima Kana really clings to this harsh world of the entertainment industry. 💭

I will miss this Shinjuku faction when the Tokyo Blade ends (which is today's episode I think [episode20])

Look at these two watching each other's acts! They won't admit that the other is better than themselves but you know deep down they both acknowledge each other's talent for acting. (this is further proven after the Tokyo Blade play, I hope it will be animated in today's episode)

The voice acting in this script was spot on!

Tokyo Blade theme is so beautiful! I loved reading this arc but the music just really adds angst to the play. Even that Sayahime music was so good (Tumblr says I am only allowed to post one video so go watch the episode if you're curious haha) I hope they release these tracks officially 😁

"What is it she doesn't like about me so much?"

HAHAHAHA oh my gosh I don't remember Netflix having this sub but I remember so many accounts who don't like Kana to the extent of unhealthily hating on her like where are you all coming from what did she do to you 😅

I will never understand how some fans of Akane hate Kana when in fact in the manga, and now in this episode, it was so clear that Akane started her footing as an actress because of Kana. It was not the best experience but from that encounter, Akane started to study the psychology of other people which we see as a huge part of her personality. The actress that she is now is due to her hard work and talent but she wouldn't have even started if she hadn't seen Kana act. If her parents had not encouraged her to try acting, even persuaded her with "you might even become friends with Kana-chan.", we wouldn't have seen the actress that she is right now. In the OnK universe, Akane does not even hate Kana. I mean, do you actually hear an ounce of hate on the way Akane calls Kana "Kana-chan"? Because I don't. 🤷‍♀️ (It's because of hating on characters that I don't really enjoy interacting with people in this fandom. Some Akane fans hate Kana. Some Kana fans hate Akane and it's making the series less enjoyable. 💭)

Young Akane is so adorable! It was narratively satisfying to see the effect of the Bell Pepper Exercises on other kids, from a different perspective than Kana. Kana hated bell peppers but she was able to convince Akane to eat them. If that's not good acting, then I don't know what is. 😹

How can anyone hate these two when they're the characters who understand each other so well?! Remember how in season 1 episode 8, Kana talks about Akane saying "She thoroughly prepares for roles, displaying deep consideration and insight into the parts she's given. Her natural talent allows her to assume those roles with perfection. Though her personality might not be suited for reality shows, as an actress, she can only be called a genius.".

And this season, we get this from Akane. They both acknowledge each other's talent so really I don't get where the hate energy comes from. Maybe I'm too old for fan wars that I don't get them anymore. 😅

I just noticed that the hand guard of Sayahime's sword is crescent moons assembled together. Interesting detail.

These frames were so good! The symbolism of Sayahime turning into young Akane as she is inviting Kana to act with all she's got because that's what young Akane loved about little Kana-chan: her acting that devours everyone. What an adaptation. I hope Akasaka-sensei and Mengo-sensei feel the same as Kichijouji-sensei when they saw Melt's acting improvement, or as Abiko-sensei when she's watching this play. I hope they both feel the satisfaction of the anime adaptation of their manga because it's been really doing a great job this season. ♥

The way Kana sees herself is so pale in comparison to Aqua's "She shines brightest when her face screams "Look at me!". 😭 And it's so curious that most of those frames are just from normal conversations he's had with Kana and then the anime goes extra as to include frames from the Full Moon music video 😂 Even more curious that that first encounter as a child actor also comes to mind when Aqua remembers how he wanted to kill the arrogant child actor Kana 😂 Anime prod why are you doing this to me I love Kana enough no need to show these frames to me, please. Ah. I just want Kana Arima to be happy. T_T

The way these two believe in Kana while Kana does not even think of herself as someone who deserves anything. The relationship of Kana, Aqua, and Akane is so interesting. I don't hate anybody in this universe. 😁(except Himekawa Airi sorry Taiki)

This post got longer than expected 😂

[skania]

Hello, I've been reading all of your Akane posts and they're all amazing. I've always missed details in manga, so your analysis, especially aquakane is really appreciated. Also, I want to ask something since I see you never talk about it. Can you please explain about the scene from the Tokyo Blade arc where Aqua believed that Akane will lose against Kana? I what some people in Twitter said it was rude for him to say that when she came to him since he looked miserable alone. Thank you in advance.

Hi there! Thank you for the kind words!

I think Aqua was just being honest and telling Akane that if she wants to win, she needs to go all out. I feel like that scene needs to be read within the context of Chapter 42, where we are told that actors hate to lose and that a true actor would see Kana's and Himekawa's display and immediately start thinking of ways to beat them.

Aqua keeps telling himself that he doesn't want to be an actor, but this alone shows that he's lying to himself. Like a true actor, Aqua gets fired up and starts thinking of ways to compete against them, which is why he keeps watching Kana.

But instead of being honest with himself, Aqua goes on his usual I-have-no-talent drivel and tells Akane that he knows he can't win.

Akane is different though, because Aqua knows how talented she is. And he also knows that she desperately wants to win.

Unlike him, Akane can put up a fight. So when Aqua realizes that Kana will be matching Himekawa's level, which means that she will be giving a top performance instead of handicapping herself, Aqua bluntly tells Akane that she needs to up her game, too.

And he's right! After all, he has already seen what Akane is capable of, but the script just wasn't giving Akane enough to work with at that point. Her take on Sayahime was at odds with the script's, which was messing with her performance.

Notice the tiny star eyes! She wasn't at her full power.

If things carried out that way, Akane wouldn't be able to outshine Kana and Himekawa.

So I guess Aqua's bluntness could be seen as rude, but I saw nothing wrong with it. By telling her the truth as he saw it, he fired Akane up. After all, he knows that there's nothing that she would hate more than losing to Kana.

And in turn, thanks to Akane, Aqua gets the enough motivation to give it his all too so they can beat Kana and Himekawa together.

[skania]

I've just done re-read OnK in case I miss something. And God it made me realize how funny Akane is when fan-girling. Like she even breaks character when seeing Kana finally acting her best in Tokyo Blade arc just to fan-girling. Akane even act like a strict mom when Kana wears her outfit wrong. On side node, it's cute how Ruby wanted to refer to Akane as older sister. Aqua I swear you better get back with Akane once the manga ends 🤧

I know! She really is the funniest, that and her pout whenever she gets annoyed are just a killer combo 😭

Aqua we're rooting for you buddy, you can do it