#and the characters that aidairo often connect to art

[theevilthatismokke]

/chapter 101 spoilers/

What an interesting chapter…!

Gotta say, I didn’t expect the new chapter to give us a Yugi twins flashback right from the start.

And, honestly, there’s quite a bit to unpack here…

First, I guess we can add clockmaker (or… tinkerer..? in this case) to the myriad of Amane’s nerdy abilities, heh. Very curious as to why HE specifically had to fix the clock before the school festival was over.

A few things to note:

a) The mysterious hand/ghost mentioned an accident, all but outright stating it had to do with the school play;

b) The Yugi shinju is heavily implied to have happened during summer, due to the twins uniforms;

c) It’s very likely that the conditions presented to Amane (so he would fix the clock) have to do with Tsukasa. Otherwise, I doubt Amane would do it.

I think it’s very probable that he felt, or knew, that they’re going to be separated again. The clock, the power to (literally and figuratively) control time, Amane could make sure that he could either fix or prevent whatever was coming to separate them again.

But Amane failed. Or he didn’t get the answers or results he wanted. Or Tsukasa decided for both of them to disappear again (like he callously tells Amane, urging him to decide whether he wants Tsukasa to stay or disappear).

After that… Amane probably decides to take drastic measures and kills his brother (so they won’t be separated again), committing suicide immediately after.

All I’m unsure about is whether the timeline. They are in their first year here. Meaning they are 12, while they died when they were 13. Sooo, there’s a gap of nearly a year, maybe, between this scene and the shinjuu. Did he kill Tsukasa during another school festival? Or was it unrelated?

Also, I know we’ll likely learn it soon, but… what the heck is the deal with the Clock Keepers?

Do they really need so much help with their clock that they constantly need to threaten teenagers with their beloved’s lives to get the work done? Are there literally no clockmakers in the After Shore? Because…

That’s genuinely hilarious. Good job, AidaIro lol

Now, onto the other stuff…

I was not expecting Wizard of Oz as the play??

Did AidaIro get interested in Lloyd Webber’s other works after the Phantom of the Opera Musical?

It’s a very interesting choice, to say the least. An adventure about a lonely and misunderstood girl who craves more from life, a story about people yearning for things they think they don’t have and could only attain through magical means- only to discover they didn’t really need such changes, as they were capable of it all along… A Wizard without any real powers, from the same world as the protagonist… Dreams and wishes… hm…

Also!! Also!!

Both Tsukasa and Nene being interested in theater!! Musicals at that!!

Small note, but, yes, The Wizard of Oz was the play that Tsukasa’s class did back in the day! It’s not just that Hanako somehow knows it after Nene recites a few lines…

But I’m pretty sure that’s “Over the Rainbow” they’re singing!! The notes match!

I’ll be expecting the Tsunene Wizard of Oz fanarts/animatics/fics. Don’t disappoint me fandom!!

Tsukasa is even singing along here!! And considering that Hanako knew the lines of the play, 50 years after, makes me think that Tsukasa may have been quite excited about the play!! Did he know all the lines?? How much did he help?? I wanna know!!

And speaking of theaters, accidents and Lloyd Webber musicals…

Is there going to be a “Phantom of the Opera” situation here? Was there one 50 years ago??

I mean, look at this auditorium:

It’s begging for something to happen!! Pleeeeeaaase, AidaIro!! I wanna see some chandeliers drop!! Get Nene the main role lol

Not to be that person, but. Nene’s class has absolutely no taste.

Look at her!! Looook at heeeer!! She’s so cute! So charming! Where you gonna get a more passionate actress, huh?!? Huh?!

Honestly, though, I love how AidaIro really hammers how Nene’s an artistic, romantic girl at heart. This is very cute too:

Awwww. Can’t wait for Hanako to drop those chandeliers and get scolded by his girlfriend again

Wasn’t expecting for Akane and Aoi to retain their firework party looks. But I guess this is it!! They’ve changed, and so do their looks! It’s a really nice, simple way to signify their character development, I love it.

Akane isn’t going to lie (to Aoi, at least) anymore, nor is he going back to pretending he doesn’t see Aoi for who she is, even her flaws, so, he’s ditched his glasses.

Aoi isn’t going to wear her mask all the time (to Akane, at least), or worry she isn’t loved by anyone (aka Akane) anymore. She can relax a bit, she has someone she doesn’t need to wear her mask of saccharine perfection for, she’s literally letting her hair down, heh.

EDIT: it has come to my attention that maybe Aoi can’t tie her hair well anymore because of her hand. And of course, she’s not ready to talk about it with Nene yet. In this case, the hair down can also signify a distraction. Just because she’s not going to wear her mask around Akane, that doesn’t mean she’ll do it for anyone else.

How lovely for them. I can’t wait to see the shenanigans that’ll make them do crazy shit for each other again!

Finally the two funniest scenes of the entire chapter (plus a comparison):

How dare…! You leave miette?? Out of fun?? Jail for daikon!! Ten thousand years jail for daikon!!

And the final scene:

Look, I’m sorry. Honestly, AidaIro do make him get across as very shady and menacing here, it’s a wonderful cliffhanger!

But…

I can only imagine Akane going “who the fuck are you” immediately after ( insert old most popular girls meme)

Like, in the very same chapter, Nene goes:

She’s forgotten!! She has Natsuhiko’s number and she’s forgotten!!

He’s shady, and he has an agenda, and he can look menacing and creepy and he’s air!!

He’s air!! (Also the probable reason he can do as likes. But still. So funny.)

Also, lol at AidaIro flexing their knowledge. Is that a warning? Should I be prepared for more Alice in Wonderland parallels/nods?

All in all, really enjoyable and cute chapter! Can’t wait for the horrors and heartbreak that await us in the future!

[hanathoughts]

The three major relationships follow the same color scheme: the supernatural has a more red color scheme and the human is more blue.

Characters frequently change clothes and color stories in official art but some elements of their design stay the same, especially in cannon.

Nene/Hanako

Hanako has warm brown hair and red rings around his eyes, as well as red trim on his gakuran top and a red rope in his hat. He’s often pictured with red camellias, red rope, and presumably lived and died in the red house.Hanako’s Hakujoudai are a similar shade of red and blue to his and Nene’s color palettes. 

Nene’s palette is very cool toned in comparison to Hanako. She’s pictured in blue partly to contrast Hanako, but also to reference her connection to water as a girl who’s half fish and nearing the far shore.

When they’re together in official art, they often keep these color themes.

Mistune/Kou

Mitsuba’s palette leans very pink, Kou’s is blue and yellow. 

Mitsuba

Together

Aoi and Akane

This post does a great job detailing how both characters’ names reference the colors “red” and “blue”. I had a hard time finding official arts of Akane alone but my point still stands when they’re together. 

So what does it mean? Aside from color symbolism, red and blue are opposite to one another on the color wheel. AidaIro have a theme of referencing dichotomous relationships, such as life and death, yin and yang, good and evil, weak and powerful, sun and moon, etc. I’ll add a part 2 to this later because the symbolism in this manga is so blatant yet so subtle, in a good way!

By the way, the Royal AU switched the palettes around. Hanako + Mitsuba are wearing blue, while Kou and Nene wear red. Foreshadowing? Possibly. A coincidence? Knowing AidaIro, probably not.