#and the different kinds of love... i think kana is the only one who actually expresses romantic love in this manga

[bnuuygrils]

47news interview with Tamifull

Earlier this month Tamifull, the author of Tsukiatte agetemo ii kana? AKA How Do We Relationship?, did an interview with 47news. I've translated the full text below:

Out of the innumerable manga published every year, there are always a few titles that one simply can't afford to miss. Tamifull-sensei's How Do We Relationship? (Shogakukan) is one of these. It's a story of young love and heartbreak, centering on college students Inuzuka Miwa and Sawatari Saeko. Though fiction, it has a powerful sense of reality that leaves one feeling as if the real Miwa and Saeko might just be out there somewhere right now. If Agasawa Tea's Ramparts of Ice (Shueisha) is the pinnacle of high school romance, then How Do We Relationship? is the pinnacle of college romance. With the help of supervising editor Watanabe Saori-san, we were able to secure an interview with Tamifull-sensei to discuss the story--now on its 12th volume, and at the height of its climax.

The story so far:

Soon after starting college, mild-mannered beauty Inuzuka Miwa joins the light music club and finds herself the center of attention from the boys at the welcoming party. Miwa, who "only likes girls", is rescued from the situation by the energetic Saeko. Saeko, who "prefers women (to men)", buoyed by liquid courage, asks Miwa out on the spot and the two begin dating. But the two are clumsy and inexperienced with love, and fail to be fully honest with each other. By the end of the year, their romance has ended in disaster. After maintaining a sex-only relationship for some time they return to being friends and even move on to new partners... Finally, as their respective relationships have both ended, the two look at each other anew, not as lovers, but as exes, and as absolute allies.

47: How Do We Relationship? has a very unusual structure. Shoujo manga tend to portray a dramatic path to the start of the relationship, but Miwa and Saeko begin dating at the very start of volume 1 and break up in volume 4. As we're now on volume 12, they've actually been exes longer than they were together.

Tamifull: Well, it has stretched a little longer than I expected (laughs), but the story is proceeding as planned from the start. I think rather than starting decisively with some sort of "All right, I'm falling in love now!" moment, real love tends to build up out of small things over time. I didn't want the relationships in How Do We Relationship? to start in this exaggerated, romance story kind of way.

47: And that helps with its sense of reality.

Tamifull: I don't believe dating and breaking up are things that we need to think about in such dramatic terms. It's easy to feel like every relationship has to be perfect, or that you need to have some sort of fated encounter, or that breaking up is a bad thing, something hopeless. Why shouldn't there be manga that throws away those stereotypes? Life is so much longer than a single relationship. It keeps going after you start dating someone, or break up with them. I think that's a message that I've consistently tried to tell with this manga.

47: Can you tell us how it got to be serialized?

Tamifull: It started out as a oneshot I did for Comitia (a doujin festival and marketplace in Tokyo) in 2017. Up until then, I had mainly been drawing yuri--manga about relationships between girls. And I wanted to tell a little bit of a different story at that event. Doujinshi are generally about 20 pages, so usually you introduce the main couple, have them confess, and wrap it up right around there. So I thought, what if they're already in a relationship and we watch them break up? I was basically thinking, "why not draw what I want to read!?"

Watanabe: Ashima Yuki-san, one of the first freelance editors, reached out to Tamifull-san then.

47: At the time, yuri was considered a pretty small market. It felt like unless you got into one of the specialized publications you'd have a very hard time, right?

Tamifull: That's true. There are a lot more varied works coming out now. At the time most of these stories were actually aimed at men, so the relationships would stay platonic, or at most they might kiss. I knew stories like that were easier to market and less likely to ruffle feathers, but I found myself thinking, "If we all settle for that, we'll never get to see what happens next! If no one else is drawing it, why shouldn't I?"

47: What did Ashima-san say to you?

Tamifull: She told me, "I've been wanting to read a story where the characters and relationship feel free like this". I do remember thinking it might be more marketable without the eroticism when I was developing it for serialization (laughs). But I ended up just being like, well, let's see what happens!

47: "Realistic" LGBTQ romance stories tend to end up falling into a handful of patterns. Whether it's manga or movies, you see a lot of stories that feel like "the tragedy of same-sex love", or that seem intended to make you feel sorry for the characters. Like the audience is meant to walk away thinking, "How thought-provoking! I really learned something". But How Do We Relationship? is pretty different, isn't it?

Tamifull: Rather than being "yuri" or being viewed as an "LGBTQ story", I want people to get into the story just because they see it and go "Hey, there's girls dating in here!". Sexual minorities aren't here to be instructional materials for anyone. LGBTQ people live in the same world as everyone else. I want the characters to seem like people you might meet anywhere, and to have relationships you might see anywhere. I want the fact that the relationship isn't heterosexual to just be a detail. That's why Watanabe-san and I decided not to advertise How Do We Relationship? specifically as a yuri manga.

47: Achieving that sense of reality must take a lot of care. I imagine you have to be careful to avoid the set phrases and compositions that readers see all the time in romance manga.

Tamifull: That's true. For example, in the scene where Saeko opens up to Mikkun, their male friend, about her dating Miwa, she asks him if he finds the two of them dating "gross, or wrong, or unnatural", and Mikkun, while looking away, asks in return, "What? Do I have to feel that way about you?". The orthodox move would be to have the handsome guy character looking straight out of the page, smoothly delivering some cool line. But in real life we don't have convenient handsome guys just lying around, and you're not usually looking people straight in the eye. It's not that staged. I think the casual nature of the lines, and the casual nature of the situation, actually make it all the more resonant. I want to keep that natural feeling to the story, and I go out of my way to avoid making it feel "romantic". I think my ideal is for it to feel like a movie.

47: A movie?

Tamifull: That's right. I think one of the strengths of film is the ability to show the drama of everyday life. I always include backgrounds in my panels to try to get closer to that feeling. For instance, in a scene in volume 12, Saeko is on a boat at night looking out over the water with her girlfriend, Yuria. They're talking about breaking up. It's a very romantic setting, but the painful nature of their conversation blots out everything except for the blackness of the water. I want readers to feel like they're there experiencing it alongside the characters.

47: I see. The city you see at night while breaking up with someone certainly does feel different...

Watanabe: And Tamifull-sensei's art has really helped deliver that sense of reality to readers. There are no wasted panels: from the camera placement to how the viewer's eye is led, even the placement of the dialogue, everything serves to guide the reader to what she's showing. Due to my job I read a lot of manga, but there are very few manga artists as skilled as her.

47: Personally, as a reader, it's that sense of reality that has me praying for Saeko and Miwa to end up happy, so next I'd like to ask a little about about how you learned to imbue your writing with such reality, and what techniques you use.

Tamifull: I'll do my best (laughs).

47: First, the depth and internality of your characters. For instance, after breaking up with Saeko, Miwa dates the younger Tamaki. Tamaki is reserved and very low-energy. She's clearly at a loss with the more sexually-motivated Miwa, but nonetheless does her best to reciprocate in her own way. She's straightforward and can be a little childish, but has an intellectual side to her, as well. Accurately portraying such a complex, difficult character must necessitate having an incredibly keen eye for people. How did you learn to understand other people so well?

Tamifull: I think it was mostly my experience in school. In primary and middle school I was low on the pecking order, so I became very sensitive to other people's hostility.

47: Ah, the pecking order... That does happen, doesn't it.

Tamifull: Yes. I'd be in a group of maybe 5 or 6 friends in a class and then once every few months I'd get the silent treatment and end up being ostracized from the group, in this sort of rotation. I'd go through 2 or 3 groups and it would always happen. I think all the time I spent thinking about how to avoid being targeted like that played a big part.

47: Planning out the battle to make it out alive, so to speak.

Tamifull: I think that really helped cultivate my eye (laughs). Like, this girl's the ringleader, and these ones are joining in because they don't want to become the target themselves, but this other girl is actually nice so even when they're ganging up on me she won't join in.

47: I see. Even while you were being mistreated, you were trying to understand things from their perspective. Certainly How Do We Relationship? doesn't have any one character that you would really call a villain.

Tamifull: That's right. Take Kan, who tells Miwa "I hate you" in volume 2, or Tamaki's friend Nagi who calls her "gross" in volume 8. I think it would be too convenient if nobody was ever mean or unpleasant, so it's important to have such characters. But I also try to portray them as having their own reasons. It's not like everyone will be good to each other all the time, but for each person, there's a community out there somewhere that will accept them as themselves. I'm always including that idea, that wish, almost, as I write the various members of the music club.

47: The story has this warmth to it you can really feel, and I think that idea has a lot to do with it. That said, it sounds like you weren't always successful at avoiding bullying. That must have been difficult.

Tamifull: I spent a lot of time wrapped in my futon wondering, why do they treat me like that? As the days went by I'd end up sublimating my anger and frustration by telling myself, "They have their own problems so there's nothing I can do about it." Like, this girl might have a lot of stress at home, about her grades or other things, so she just feels too much pressure and gets pushed into bullying, or things like that. I really got in the habit of thinking about things from their perspective.

47: You are an incredibly kind person. I do think the eye you cultivated that way serves you well in writing characters. For example, in volume 3, we meet Miwa's first crush, Shiho. At home, we see Shiho being horribly mistreated by her parents, who only care for her more academically-minded younger sister, Maho. One day Maho snaps at her, saying "Don't talk back to me, moron! You know how much I have to carry thanks to your stupidity!?". But Shiho just accepts it, and keeps her unhappiness to herself. That's in volume 11, that we finally find out how Maho, who's caused Shiho so much pain, has been feeling.

Tamifull: Maho also feels a lot of pressure from their parents, and she's desperate not to fail. She's under a lot of stress from that. When they were younger, Shiho and Maho were actually very close--Maho loved her older sister--but as grades and examinations started to get involved that connection became twisted... I wasn't able to show all of this in the story, but I always think through these details before drawing.

47: That sort of thing does happen between siblings, doesn't it... Just remembering is a little painful.

Tamifull: But, as much as I analyze people like this, it's very difficult to put into words.

47: In what way?

Tamifull: If you say "Well, this person has this kind of background, so that's why they do these things" then everyone will be like, "And what do you know about them?". You'll end up hurting feelings. So I can't say it about real people, but with How Do We Relationship? I'm the author so I can draw whatever I want. When I hear readers talk about the "realism" I'm always like, "Really? You mean I actually did it?". I secretly get a little happy about it (laughs).

47: Did you always want to become a mangaka, growing up?

Tamifull: I did always like drawing. But when I was pretty young I read one of those "So you want to draw manga?" kind of books and I got very intimidated by all the different erasers and tones and things, and I sort of gave up (laughs). It wasn't until I'd completely retired from extracurriculars in college that I realized I didn't have enough to do and started drawing manga.

47: And then you became a mangaka as soon as you graduated?

Tamifull: Yes, that's right.

47: That's quite something. Not many people manage to do that, right?

Tamifull: The reason I started attending Comitia was because in college I finally learned that editors would be there. Up until then I was working with my childhood knowledge--I thought I had to submit my work to a company and then become an assistant before I could become an author myself. When I found out I was like, "Doujinshi will get me fans and even expose me to editors? What could be better!?". I had my heart set on it.

47: (laughs). What kinds of things were you inspired by when you were a child?

Tamifull: All the way through school I was into stuff that was a little different from whatever was in fashion. I liked watching slightly older anime on Kids' Station, for instance. Like, look at me! I'm not into the same stuff as everybody else! Aren't I cool? (laughs).

47: (laughs).

Tamifull: When everyone else was into Cardcaptor Sakura, I was watching Takahashi Rumiko-sensei's Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku. I remember when I read one of Ito Junji-sensei's works at a relative's house it left a big impression on me. When I was in college I bought the collector's edition of Tomie at Village Vanguard.

47: You grew up into a bit of an alt college student.

Tamifull: In college, going to Village Vanguard and fishing for manga nobody else had became something of a passion for me.

47: What about Takahashi Rumiko-sensei's work did you like in particular?

Tamifull: I especially liked the way she drew girls. In the early 2000s, when I was in primary school, it was very in fashion for girls to be drawn very slender and light, with delicate limbs.

47: Slenderness was certainly emphasized a lot back then, yes.

Tamifull: I preferred how Rumiko-sensei drew them--a little squishy. As far as the story goes, I loved the ending of Maison Ikkoku, how it portrays the characters moving forward in life. I read it over and over. I think that passion for people comes through a little in How Do We Relationship?.

47: In the afterword of volume 3, you mentioned that from middle school until about halfway through college you lost interest in manga, and were more into drama and music.

Tamifull: That's true. Sometimes I'd draw a buff Pikachu or something on the blackboard to try to get a laugh out of people, but that was about it.

47: A buff Pikachu? (laughs). I wish I could see it.

Tamifull: At co-ed schools I think girls mostly end up ranked by looks, but I went to an all-girls high school, so... It was really about who was the funniest.

47: So art was a way of giving yourself a gimmick.

Tamifull: That's right. That continued into college, so I always had the position of somebody who's just a little bit good at drawing. In college everyone was nice, though.

47: In that same afterword you mentioned that during the time you weren't drawing manga, you really enjoyed making things together with a group.

Tamifull: In high school I was in the school band, and we'd all put on plays together at school festivals. I joined the light music club in college. I did percussion in high school so I mostly played drums, or did vocals.

47: Oooh. What kinds of things did you play in the light music club?

Tamifull: Just normal rock. Popular stuff, like Go! Go! 7188.

47: I have an impression of you as being a little bit countercultural, so rock seems perfect for you (laughs).

Tamifull: In college I was also on the student festival committee, so I was doing double duty a little bit. And as much as I enjoyed making things with other people, I started to feel this hole open up, like inside I'd be thinking "I could do this so much better...". Then I started looking into manga again on a whim and realized everything had gone digital. You don't need to hire a bunch of assistants, and you can do tones with the press of a button. It was like this new environment where I could try my hand at manga by myself was prepared just in time as I came of age. I didn't have to hold myself back for anyone, and could do everything just how I wanted. That's why I've always worked alone.

47: What!? You don't have any assistants even now?

Tamifull: I don't.

47: Watanabe-san, is that normal?

Watanabe: It's extremely precious to us. She's really something, isn't she? I don't know how she puts out so much in just two weeks.

Tamifull: I want every angle and composition just so. I can't really express it well, so when I think about trying to explain it to someone else, I just feel like it would end up taking even more time... But then sometimes I'll be working from my storyboards and I'll be like, "Why did I make myself draw it like this!?" and end up suffering a little (laughs).

47: It's certainly a work that cuts no corners. The dialogue is always so well written and moving--do you start by writing the characters' lines?

Tamifull: Yes, I do. I'll write them all out at once, then adapt them to the storyboards as I go. I think all the time I spent agonizing in my futon when I was younger like "I should've said this..." or "And then they'd say that..." might also help here.

47: You always include afterword comics and omake in the tankoubon releases, so I get a sense that you're quite particular about manga books.

Tamifull: I love manga that includes a lot of little extras. And I want readers to enjoy How Do We Relationship? as much as possible, so I always go all out drawing them.

47: Your first announced works were around 2012, and in 2014 you made your commercial debut with Don't Call me a Goddess! in Bungeisha's 4-koma magazine Manga Time. The main character, Saotome-san, is a bit of a tryhard, and as much as that wins her respect from her peers, it also tends to alienate them. Into her life barrels the far less inhibited Ryou. After that, you had My Little Sister and the Sex Doll (Shueisha) serialized in Tonari no Young Jump, about an innocent and naive high school girl and a talking sex doll. Both manga were comedies.

Tamifull: How Do We Relationship? was a little bit of a break in genre, yes (laughs). My Little Sister and the Sex Doll also started as something I made as a change of pace for Comitia (laughs).

47: It's a very rhythmical work--the talking sex doll's lines are incredibly well crafted.

Tamifull: The editors at Young Jump really liked it. It was a little more crude than what I usually write, so I did have some doubts... but they were very kind in offering me the serialization. I had to exercise my vocabulary to the fullest.

47: As much as it made me laugh, I could also somehow feel your desire to break taboos coming through.

Tamifull: That's true. I was trying to make fun of dirty comics, while making a dirty comic (laughs). Even when there would be the setup for some sort of fanservice scene, with something sexual happening to the girl, I would always interrupt it with a joke and turn it into something decidedly not fanservice.

47: On the other hand, something about the relationship between Saotome-san and Ryou in Don't Call Me a Goddess! feels like it connects to Miwa and Saeko. Are you particularly fond of that sort of relationship?

Tamifull: Honestly, that was... completely unintentional. I think, when it comes to protagonists, I do like a character who is quiet, but unexpectedly stubborn... When I think about my time in school, I had a lot of experiences where there would be another girl, and she'd have this sense of separation, like a bit of a boundary around herself, but when I approached her she'd turn out to actually be really interesting. And I'd have this feeling of "Everyone else doesn't even know how cool she is!? I need to let everyone know!". I think that feeling, almost like wanting to become a producer for girls like that, has led me to write my protagonists that way.

47: You really love girls.

Tamifull: I may have spent long years in fierce battle with them at school, but when I translate it to manga they become strangely appealing. Even when they're a pain, their being a pain is good in of itself (laughs). It's true that characters who aren't straightforward can make a story more interesting, but I also think that's just how people are--you can't sum anyone up in a few words. Don't you agree?

47: Your manga, including How Do We Relationship?, really don't tend to have characters that you can sum up as "the cool one" or "the tsundere" or anything like that.

Tamifull: That's right. I don't want them to be symbols.

47: And that's exactly why, in each case--Saeko and Miwa, Miwa and Tamaki, Saeko and Yuria--when they break up, it's so emotionally impactful. You can't just point at one of them and say, "It's her fault."

Tamifull: Right. In reality, lots of people break up all the time without either one really being at fault. It makes me really happy to hear that people read the story as just being how things ended up for them. It's so easy to assume that when a relationship falls apart, it's because someone's in the wrong. I worked very hard to make sure that Tamaki and Yuria would be charming enough characters for readers to like them, and to accept it when I made them break up with Miwa and Saeko. I always look at readers' reactions and think carefully about how to proceed.

47: How Do We Relationship? really feels like you want to closely examine real, "normal" relationships.

Tamifull: I think it's a pity for the socially accepted image of love to be something so narrow. When two women date, and after breaking up return to being friends, I think people have a tendency to look a little askance at them. But why is that? I always find myself thinking, "Are you okay with living like that?". With How Do We Relationship?, I wanted to create a world where Miwa and Saeko and everyone else's desires wouldn't be crushed by those around them.

47: Especially during the first 3 volumes, you often shine the spotlight on the other characters around Miwa and Saeko. Is that also a part of fleshing out that view of the world?

Tamifull: Something like that. I don't want the idea of someone who likes the same sex to be something fantastical. I want to show that sexual minorities are all around--even around you. I want heterosexual readers to also get into the story, and I was very conscious of that early on in the serialization. I think whether you're gay or straight, you can still understand this story. These characters are just like you. That's the message I've tried to send.

47: It would be really wonderful if we could become a society where everyone views each other with respect. What would that take, I wonder?

Tamifull: Delusions, maybe.

47: Delusions? (laughs).

Tamifull: Yes (laughs). This is just my own experience, but when I meet someone and feel off-put by them, I always thoroughly imagine their background. By the time I'm finished whatever anger I felt has faded, and I feel ready to treat them better--maybe even to become close with them. And if you write stories you can come up with great material this way, so it's two birds with one stone (laughs).

[skania]

AquaKane & OnK 148

Ohhhhh boy. I thought we would have to wait until July to get back to Aqua and Akane, so this chapter blindsided me lol

I know that the most on-the-nose reading of this chapter is that Aka is preparing to pull the classic romcom trope where the love interest gives up on the MC only so the rest of the cast can reassure her that she is the one who makes the MC happy, etc. etc. Considering that this is happening two chapters after Aqua told Kana that he has fun with her, it's like Aka is leading us all to believe that's where it's going. It's all very tropey and in-your-face and perfectly on brand with the way Aka has always written that particular ship.

So instead of talking about the obvious, I'd like to indulge my hopes for good writing and discuss the possibility of Aka actually subverting those tropes by playing this straight, regardless of how likely or unlikely it may be. Because if he does, then all of the stuff I've always loved about Aqua and Akane may just end up meaning something.

This is the possibility I'm rooting for against all odds after all, so I figure that I may as well go down throwing my ship the hurrahs it deserves while I can still do so lol

So buckle up because this is going to be long!

This chapter is a wild ride because it touches upon a lot of different things at once.

First, Aqua supposedly didn't want to be involved with Akane any longer in order to keep her safe.

However, when Akane announced that she would stop his plans — in other words, that she would stay involved in his life — Aqua looked giddy.

Look at him. When Aka allows him to actually emote and be an actual character, Aqua can be so funny!

True to form, in this chapter we see Akane come up to him and Aqua just... welcome her. In fact, he even asks her if she feels awkward around him. Instead of acting like they never dated (which is exactly what Akane has been doing, mind you), he himself brings their former relationship to the forefront.

There's a pause splitting his question in two, meaning that this is something Aqua hesitates to ask. Almost like he is scared of the reply. Or like he may be feeling a little awkward himself.

Which is no surprise, because that is how Aka himself presents their current era. Akane isn't just Akane and she isn't just a friend; she is Aqua's ex girlfriend, a title that never fails to bring attention to the fact that they used to be romantically involved.

From colleagues, to a fake couple, to partners, to a real couple and now they're in their Exes era. I've been waiting for Aka to explore all the tension and complexity that should bring, but he's been kind of busy off-paneling most things Aqua. Alas!

When I commented on Chapter 131, I mentioned that (to me) it feels like after Chapter 116, Akane found something to focus on. She isn't thinking about her relationship with Aqua, the only thing she has in mind is Aqua. Keeping him safe, helping him achieve happiness.

Even here during this chapter, she goes to him to ease his loneliness and remind him that he has people worth living for and that he deserves to be happy, but... nothing she says includes her. It's all about Aqua and the others, the others and Aqua.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Akane walks away from him with her eyes closed. Her mind is consumed with thoughts about wanting Aqua to be happy, and so she doesn't even notice the way he turns to look at her retreating back.

Until Kana shines her proverbial light on her, making Akane open her eyes.

The way the chapter is structured, it's like Kana is there to give Akane the answer — the missing piece to solve the Aqua Happiness Conundrum™ that Akane is so focused on. It's easy to think that the answer is predictably Kana herself, but since I'm here for Aqua and Akane, I'd like to believe the answer can be just as Kana says.

After all, who is prominently featured in what Aqua considers to be his happy days?

Kana's words are abrupt, yes, but the silver lining is that they reflect what Aqua himself has already told us.

Akane is front and center in what Aqua has come to know as happiness.

One may wonder: How TF does Kana know that though?? And it's a fair question that I'll talk about in a little bit, but maybe what matters most is that she knows it at all.

In a way, it feels almost like meta commentary. Like the story has finally reached the point where Aka can afford to go back to Aqua and Akane, and so he is getting ready to reap all the seeds he sowed during the previous arcs fingers crossed.

And this is the very first one of those seeds: Aqua was happy with Akane, but Akane never let herself think that she played an instrumental part in his happiness. She seems to think that it was just being freed from his revenge.

I'd even argue this right here was the true reason of their downfall. It wasn't Aqua finding out about the loophole and Akane not coming clean, it was the reason why she didn't come clean.

Aqua's happiness mattered so much to her that Akane failed to consider that risking her life for him was the last thing Aqua wanted.

So when I read the leaks and Kana's comment, my kneejerk reaction was to think Finally! because this could be setting in motion something I've been waiting for all along.

For Aqua and Akane to revisit their dynamic, their relationship, and come clean about what they mean to each other — wherever that may lead them.

Now, going back to Kana and that earlier question of how does she know? Perhaps she saw something we haven't been privy to (in classic Aka fashion). Or maybe it's as simple as Kana finally realizing that Aqua is deeply unwell, and knowing that the last time she saw him happy was back when he was dating Akane.

Considering the information Kana has and — especially — all the information she lacks, it's not far-fetched for her to come to the conclusion that Aqua's state is partly to blame on his break-up with Akane.

Once again, it would be easy for Aka to say that Kana got it wrong because she doesn't know anything about Aqua's revenge. But wouldn't it be ironic if Kana's lack of insight into that particular side of Aqua is what allows her to see something so simple that the very parties involved are missing it?

Regardless of the road she took to get there, I'd like to think the manga has given us enough reasons to believe Kana is not quite wrong.

After all, Aqua didn't get his black stars when he found out that his father was alive. It wasn't finding out about his father's identity that did it, either.

It was turning his back on Akane and on the naive thoughts of being happy in order to walk down the Revenge Road, on a chapter aptly titled "Going Astray", that gave Aqua his two black stars.

If that was the chapter where Aqua stepped away from the "correct path", so to speak, then it stands to reason to believe that Akane may be front and center in the path Aqua is meant to take.

Coincidentally, this was the last interaction Aqua and Akane were allowed to have before this chapter.

Another thing I find very important in c148 is the way Kana words her realization. Kana isn't telling all of this to Akane as an observer. She's saying it as someone who likes Aqua romantically.

This is in contrast to Akane and Aqua, who are two hot messes when it comes to identifying the nature of their own feelings.

Throughout the entire manga, we've never seen Akane put a label on the way she feels about Aqua. We've seen her realize why she feels the way she does, but we haven't seen her say what she feels, even though Aqua himself has questioned it.

Closest we got was this, and they broke up a chapter later.

Aqua has unexpectedly been more open than Akane in that regard, but... once again, they broke up literally one chapter after Aqua was at his most candid.

And considering everything that happened before and after that, I'm not sure if Akane actually got the message.

But before I get to that, there is an important difference in the way Akane was thinking of Aqua's happiness back then and the way she's thinking about it now.

Chapter 97 was even titled Together. Akane wanted to make Aqua happy, yes, and she also wanted to be together with him always. Just like Aqua wanted them to, according to his own admission: "I don't want to let go of these days... when you're by my side."

But all of that is missing in this most recent chapter. She no longer includes herself as part of the equation at all.

It truly feels like Akane is back to completely underestimating how much she means to Aqua.

Back when Aqua told her this:

Akane reacted like this:

And what is her reaction to Kana's words this chapter?

Every single time, Akane is taken aback by the thought of meaning more to Aqua than she thinks. Every. Single. Time.

This is sad and a little frustrating, but it's far from surprising. After all, this is how Akane has always interpreted their relationship:

As far as Akane is concerned, their relationship was a lie that was turning into truth little by little. She never dared to hope that he loved her back; hell, she even thought that he was attracted to Kana and wondered why he decided to date her instead.

To make matters worse, in Chapter 98, Aqua deliberately set the stage so that Akane's trust in him — the very basis of their relationship — would be broken.

So while Akane realizes that Aqua doesn't want to use her, she may have explained that away as Aqua being his kind self rather than as Aqua harboring any kind of special feelings towards her.

Regardless of how she interpreted his actions though, it seems likely that Akane thinks that she failed him.

She couldn't save him as his girlfriend and Aqua told her he would have nothing to do with her anymore, and so Akane is now trying to save him as something else entirely. Not even as a friend, because she hardly interacts with him at all.

She's trying to save him while staying away just like he wanted her to. While only stepping in when she deems it appropriate and/or necessary.

But is that really and truly what Aqua wants?

Most importantly, is that what Aqua needs?

This chapter suggests that may not be the case, and the rest of the manga agrees. Staying away is not how Akane saved Aqua little by little. This is how she did it:

That's why the way Kana worded her realization is important. It isn't only that Kana — the very girl Akane thought Aqua was attracted to — is bringing romance to the forefront and thus setting the stage for the nature of Akane's (and Aqua's) feelings to be finally cleared up.

It's also that Kana is showing Akane that it's possible to own her feelings while being selfless about his happiness.

After all, the ball right now is in Akane's court. In the state he is now, Aqua would never ever allow himself to chase his own happiness. Even when he thought he was free to do so, he felt that Akane deserved better than to be held back by him.

So all in all, it's like with this chapter alone Aka has laid the groundwork to address all the AquaKane elephants in the room. Just in time for the very season that will be showing AquaKane in all its glory to all the anime-only watchers, at that.

In each of the last arcs, Aqua has reconciled with someone important to him. Kana and Ruby are fully back in his life now, yet he isn't doing any better. Maybe it's finally Akane's turn to try again.

So yes, Kana's change of heart is so abrupt that it may be a red herring leading to a very predictable end.

But since I've made it this far, I may as well keep hoping for the opposite to be true: maybe, just maybe, Aka is planning to tie all of this together and lead it to a satisfying conclusion. I can only hope that is the case, because it's where I feel that the writing is at its best.

Besides, if "giving up on Aqua" and "turning his black star white" are so-called "winning flags", well... Akane did both of those first 😂

[yuseirra]

Relationship Anaylsis: the parallels of Aqua-Akane & Aqua-Kana and Hikaru-Ai

In short, what Hikaru had with Ai is the combination of what Aqua has with these two girls.

I'm really good at analyzing emotions. It is my forte. I think I got this!! I got a huge hunch after having seen the most recent episode of the onk anime (S2 EP 15).

this post is mostly about Aqua's relationship with the two girls. It does lean towards aqukana.

If you're okay with it, please read!!:

*this was originally written in a different language, then translated through chatgpt..hshsh I've been doing this a lot..wow but it's so helpful though..

I just watched this episode, and oh, there's definitely something to it this time. I do have the volumes, but I read them last year... haha, and the memories are really coming back.

I think this episode really highlights how the relationship dynamics were set up.

It became clear that Hikaru and Ai's relationship split into Aqua-Kana and Aqua-Akane. Akane's relationship with Aqua feels like she emotionally supports him. On the other hand, Kana tends to break through Aqua's barriers and pulls him towards her.

Moreover, Akane's feelings towards Aqua seem to be a mix of wanting to help him, feeling sorry for him, and a tender affection, wishing he wouldn't be sad.

Kana's feelings towards Aqua, on the other hand, are the kind that make her happy and excited. Seeing Aqua lifts her spirits and energizes her. This greatly affects her condition—when Aqua responds to her, Kana can perform at more than 200%, but when their relationship isn't going well, she drops to below 70%, becoming subdued and deflated. Acting is her main job, so she'll perform regardless of Aqua, but when it comes to her idol work, which she started because of Aqua, the fluctuations are much more pronounced.

I think Aqua's main feeling towards Akane is gratitude. If I were to classify it as a type of love, it would be more like storge or pragma, a comradely affection accompanied by a sense of stability. He sees her as someone who understands the difficult parts of himself that he finds hard to express to others.

Aqua's feelings towards Kana, on the other hand, are romantic. If we were to classify it, it would be eros or philia—love that makes his heart race. The reason I felt it would be hard for this character to end up with Akane is that he has never shown any romantic excitement towards her. On the other hand, he's shown this a lot towards Kana throughout the manga, consistently. If Akane provides stable support, Kana's actions have a significant impact on Aqua. Kana is the one who shakes Aqua, making it clear that "Aqua likes her." Aqua is usually a very subdued character, but Kana stirs him up, provoking meaningful reactions and lifting his spirits. Whenever this happens, Aqua is a bit surprised and troubled, wondering why he's feeling this way, but he definitely becomes brighter.

I believe this would be similar to his biological father. Actually, Aqua has never once been distracted. He is clear about who he likes, and this consistency makes it hard to call him a playboy, even if he might seem like a bad boy.

Hikaru probably liked Ai and only Ai. There's little room for doubt about that. Even if he dated someone else, his heart was with Ai, which would have left the other person feeling very hurt (similar to how Aqua was with Akane). That's the type he is.

Speaking of which, I think Aqua and Akane might have ended up together if Akane hadn't taken a knife and tried to find Hikaru. Storge-pragmatic love is still love, even if it doesn't have the thrill. Being with someone can feel comfortable and stable, bringing peace of mind. That's a feeling usually found in couples who have been together for years. If nothing had happened and Aqua decided to focus on Akane and ignore Kana for a few years, it might have been possible.

However, Akane has an unusually strong desire to protect Aqua, which sometimes makes her overly intrusive into his personal space. It's not that her character is bad, but this is the opposite of Kana...

Unfortunately, Kana hasn't had many opportunities to deeply understand Aqua, while Akane goes in too deep. That's probably why it's hard for me to fully attach myself to her character. She's skilled at profiling and understanding others, but it feels like she's crossing a delicate line—almost rude, even if it's out of affection. Her character is kind. But, as someone who analyzes characters, I find that dissecting someone's personal life and then acting based on those assumptions, before they've said anything, can be really touchy and intrusive. It's more considerate to wait until the person opens up to you. Akane, however, strongly believes in what she perceives, which is why she took up the knife for Aqua. She saw something so clearly, but the problem was that Aqua didn't want her to go that far. That's why things didn't work out.

I understand where she's coming from. Akane is very sensitive and perceptive. When it comes to characters, analyzing deeply doesn't hurt anyone, so I can comment on them. But with real people, even if I notice something, I can't act on it with such certainty. It's important to experience things directly and listen to what the other person wants. Akane's confidence in her perceptions led her to act, thinking it was the right thing to do for Aqua. However, Aqua didn't want her to take such extreme measures, and that's why it didn't work out.

Watching today's episode gave me some insights. It seems that Akane's feelings for Aqua are indeed love, but they also resemble a maternal kind of love, wanting to protect and support him. Saying "I'm on your side no matter what you do" is something a deeply loving partner might say, but Akane and Aqua aren't at that level in their relationship yet, even if they have mutual affection. At this stage, such words seem to stem more from a sisterly or motherly instinct to protect rather than romantic love.

So, it struck me that Ai's feelings for Hikaru are essentially a combination of Akane's feelings for Aqua and Kana's feelings for Aqua.

To add, Ai's influence on Hikaru is similar to the combined influence of Akane and Kana on Aqua.

In the current movie arc, the emotional aspects of Akane-Aqua and Ai-Hikaru relationships seem very similar. Ai was a source of protection for Hikaru, someone he could turn to in times of great distress. When they were dating, Hikaru genuinely loved Ai and saw her as his only understanding companion. Their relationship was one of emotional support.

Ai wanted to share Hikaru's burdens, and it seems they might have even lived together for a while (in chapters 153-154, Ai packs her belongings, including a toothbrush, to leave. The fact that she could fit everything into a small bag and leave in such a sudden manner feels very real;; This must have been devastating for Hikaru, as it signaled the end of their relationship, she didn't even leave so much behind). To Hikaru, Ai was a refuge, and Ai wanted to provide that for him.

However, their relationship wasn't just about emotional support. The excitement and "I'm in love" feelings that Kana has for Aqua seem to echo in Ai's recorded videos.

Scenes of Hikaru and Ai dating or kissing are said to be fictional and Hikaru himself claims they are fictional. However, if we compare these scenes to Aqua's relationships, they resemble his interactions with Kana (and these emotions are typically found in romantic relationships, which is why I think Aqua and Kana will end up together). While they might be labeled as fiction, Aqua's immediate rebuttal suggests that, although not exact replicas, these scenes are likely rooted in truth.

I feel that the Akane-Aqua relationship has already reached a certain conclusion (I think these two will remain partners and good friends).

What's still unresolved is the Kana-Aqua relationship. The theme here is that while Akane was the one supporting Aqua, Kana is the one pulling Aqua towards her, bringing him into the light. I think this is the significance of Kana's role in the story. Just meeting Kana brings Aqua to life (honestly, this alone makes me think that Aqua would be happy with her).

I believe that ultimately, this is also what Ai wanted to do for Hikaru. She wanted to support him, share his burdens, and then, move forward to live a future together with him.

The fact that such words could be said about Hikaru shows how much Ai cared for him when they were together. A few paragraphs up, I mentioned Kana's excitement towards Aqua.

Actually, Ai's character is rather indifferent. She's cute and pretty, but Ai rarely shows genuine emotion, even when smiling. Hikaru even thought that Ai never loved him, just like everyone else. Even though they had two children together, he still wasn't sure if he was loved.

But Ai says that Hikaru was the first person she ever wanted to love. This is significant. When Kaburagi explained the moment Ai fell in love, Ai's face showed a blush and an expression of infatuation, which was really how she felt about Hikaru. This wasn't well depicted in the movie arc (I think it's because of the idea that Hikaru thought he was relying on Ai had to be convincingly portrayed. That's why it was handled this way). I think there's a chance this might come out more clearly as the Kana-Aqua relationship develops. I was cautious about whether Ai truly loved Hikaru because her feelings towards him seemed similar to Akane's feelings towards Aqua, which is a form of love but not quite the romantic, heart-fluttering kind between lovers. However, after watching the video, I understood. Ai really liked him. Romantically.

Both Ai and Hikaru must have had the same kind of love that Aqua and Kana share.

The emotional trajectory of Aqua and Kana is moving towards the brighter side together.

Ai probably wanted to give that to Hikaru. She wanted to take him, who was wandering in the dark, and bring him into the light where she was.

But she couldn't do that before.

The reason Kana's turn comes at the end is because of this. I believe Kana represents light and the future, and moving towards that direction would conclude the story.

It reminds me of Death Note. Everyone knows that L is far superior to Near and Mello. But Near says that combining his and Mello's abilities could surpass L.

Akane and Kana individually might not surpass Ai's abilities. But if they combine their strengths, the outcome for Aqua could be better than what Ai achieved for Hikaru.

The relationship dynamics for this comic are set up incredibly well. This is truly well done.

And I think Ai didn't give up on Hikaru. Something Ai left behind will likely offer redemption for Hikaru. It's like accomplishing something with the main characters that she wanted to do but couldn't as a child...

Additionally, as I mentioned before when analyzing Kamiki, Ai was an immensely significant presence for this character. Hikaru was originally a person who lacked love, and Ai gave him almost all the love he longed for. He couldn't help but love her. Look at what he says about Ai in chapters 153 and 154. He loved her enough to sacrifice his life for her—I've always thought this line was crucial. When would he have risked his life? He also said he genuinely loved her from the bottom of his heart.

Those words have to be true. Seeing his reaction after watching the video, I'm sure of it. I think there's a high probability that he never tried to harm Ai. I'll estimate about 70%.

Losing someone like that? The reaction should be something like Mephisto or Fatal. He would definitely be capable of doing anything for her sake. Such a strong feeling towards someone would lead to that.

And Ai really did like him.

I believe Ai will ultimately get everything she wished for because she's ambitious :) I think the true essence or the final impact of the song "Idol" hasn't come out yet. I believe that song will encompass everything until the end of this story. It seems like it was made with the ending in mind.

I'm looking forward to it~

[aihoshiino]

chapter 150 thoughts!

Chapters Since The 143 Kiss Happened And Went Entirely Unacknowledged And Unaddressed Count: 7…. ttttttechnically? they don't actually mention that the kiss happened, so i'm counting it…

ladies, gentlemen and those who know better, our long national nightmare is finally over

after… literally I've lost count of how long it's been since we had some proper Aqua introspection, our landmark chapter 150 is almost entirely dedicated to putting us back in Aqua's head (quite literally!) and sort of catching up with him. Some things about Aqua that have been mostly only communicated through showing over telling are explicitly told in text and i'm ngl, there's one or two things where seeing textual confirmation of them got me barking like a fucking dog. Overall, while the pacing of the start of this arc has been bit clunky and this chapter itself isn't free of that either, it actually feels like things are moving and meaningful characterization is happening which after the Movie Arc is a bit of a luxury lol.

As usual, I want to gush about Mengo's art before I touch on anything else. Setting the majority of this chapter in a dream sequence allowed her to do some incredibly fun things with the staging and imagery here. Aqua in that eerie void with his feet drenched in blood… Aqua and Gorou still stuck in that hallway where Ai died, while Ruby has managed to take steps to leave… It's so fucking good.

There were some absolutely top tier Kanas this chapter, too… her little baby tantrum in flashback and that gorgeous final page of her… But I'm getting ahead of myself.

While I described this chapter up top as being communicating things about Aqua, it very much feels to me like it's also serving as closure for Gorou, both in the sense of him as a person and resolving the posthumous arc that he's been going on as part of Aqua. This chapter at last draws a clear and explicit distinction between the two, that Aqua is no longer Gorou, even if he might have been built on the foundation of his identity. Gorou is even described as a 'role' that Aqua has been compelled to play that Gorou himself is now urging him to step down from - he is offering to relinquish Aqua's future back to him… if that's what Aqua wants.

This was how I'd initially read the relationship back in my 143 review - that 'Aqua Hoshino' created from Gorou, his core values and driving ideals, but 18+ years of living a whole new life in a whole new social role, meeting people and having experiences Gorou would never have and literally having a different body and brain in the process have made him different and the sum total of those differences is the person we call Aqua Hoshino. This chapter seems to lean into this interpretation, casting them as a pair of briefly intersecting lines that once crossed but have now diverged onto their own paths.

I also just really liked the dynamic that they were shown to have this chapter. Whenever we've seen this conflict externalized in the past, Gorou has always been this frightening, overwhelming presence whose existence actively prevents Aqua from having any kind of happiness or peace. Here, though, they have a much less adversarial energy, which is a really nice reflection of Aqua being able to gradually start pulling himself out of the shit he's been stuck in. Gorou almost feels fatherly or big brotherly here, not just in how he behaves in regards to Sarina-as-Ruby, but for Aqua, too.

But……….. okay, I'll stop dodging around the elephant in the room now lol

After over 25 chapters of very deliberately avoiding putting us in his headspace, 150 finally puts the ball in Aqua's court vis-a-vis the AquRuby tension and he answers in a way I think would be pretty hard to walk back: That Ruby is his precious sister and that's it. That her feelings for him are the result of her projecting Gorou onto him, chasing a ghost that is fading from this world and that she does not actually love him. Whoof.

This was another thing where seeing it in text felt pretty great. I'd caught pretty early on that there was a weird divide in the way the story was handling the AquRuby dynamic - namely, that there wasn't an AquRuby dynamic and all the supposed ship development of it was largely happening in retrospect, beefing up the intensity of the GRSR relationship and having Ruby express her feelings to Gorou-through-Aqua. When the idea of Aqua and Ruby romance was floated, by contrast, it was always treated like a gag. With the Movie arc being as much of a mess as it was, it was hard to work out what the intentionality of that was (if there was any to begin with) but this seems to make it about as clear as it can be: neither Gorou or Aqua have any had any feelings of that sort of Sarina-through-Ruby and neither of them want to pursue romance with them.

Once again tapping into my powers of Claire-voyance, I already know a lot of people are trying to insist that this is Aqua lying to himself or 'settling' and that he does secretly want a relationship with Ruby for reals! but that really isn't how it comes across to me in the art. He's calm, speaks straightforwardly and without hesitation and makes his point pretty clear. We know how it looks when OnK character lie to themselves and this isn't really it. It would also just be strange for that to be the case when this is a scene about Aqua starting to consider the idea of moving past the things that hurt him and live out his future with someone.

And who that someone is… seems to be coming into focus, but I don't think we'll be getting there quite yet.

I will say that for as much as I liked this as a chapter and as a goodbye for Gorou… it kind of doesn't really make a lot of sense as a resolution for his guilt lol. This chapter frames things in such a way that centers his guilt on Sarina and that seeing her live her life as Ruby has given him some catharsis over it. This is a sweet idea but… that's, uh, not how this was framed anytime prior! When we've seen Gorou intrude on Aqua's happiness before, his self hate and his guilt all center on Ai's death and his inability to save her. The last time we saw him in this capacity in 95, that's what he was saying with his whole chest: that he deserves to suffer as punishment for Ai's suffering, Ai's death. I'm sure that knowing Sarina is living on as Ruby was very cathartic but… it has nothing to do with Ai! Why is this being framed as narratively resolved in this way?

Like… if I chew on it a bit, I can make it make sense: since chapter 1, Gorou has been pretty open about projecting Sarina onto Ai, processing his grief that way and imagining her living vicariously through Ai's success. The idea of Ruby doing the same by continuing Ai's legacy and keeping her radiance alive being the thing that gives him release over Ai's death is interesting and I can understand it emotionally, it just feels like a weird unexplained leap for the narrative to make. I was talking to a friend about it, trying to work it out by externalizing it, and they theorized that this was always the intended endpoint of Gorou's posthumous arc but that the story had drifted in the middle section and Akasaka hadn't quite realigned them. This makes a lot of sense to me and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case.

I will say that it really bugs me. I've already talked about the ways Ai's importance to the twins as their mother has been gradually downplayed and diluted as the Movie Arc has gone on. In my original post, I attributed this to Akasaka trying to amp up the intensity of the GRSR -> AQRB relationship in a soap opera-y sort of way, but given that this chapter seems to shut down AquRuby, I don't really know if that's the case. In general, Ai has been treated as sort of narratively 'resolved' as of 137, as if that chapter was the capstone to her posthumous character arc and while that might be the case for Ruby… I really don't think it is for Aqua!

It's possible that this is intentional. Aqua still has a shitton of work to do on unfucking his relationship with Ai and the ways his view of her, as implied by the Movie Arc, is warped by his grief. I could see this final stretch of the story being primarily about that - after all, this chapter is about confronting Aqua with the binary choice of revenge or love. In a lot of ways, this has always been what he's struggling with but putting the ball this firmly in his court establishes Ai's death entirely as his own trauma that he has to work through on his own. After all, Aqua might have confronted Gorou in this chapter, but there's a certain someone we also saw in chapter 95 that Aqua hasn't dealt with yet…

I'm talking about Kana, obviously! (ducks thrown tomatoes)

I don't have a ton to say about the AQKN romance setup in this chapter other than… yeah, I kinda saw this coming! It's interesting to see Gorou, the representation of Aqua's guilt and self destruction, be the one to so directly confront him and push him towards trying to find some happiness with her. Aqua quietly noting that he knows the things he likes about Kana and he knows that moving on with her makes a lot of sense - but what makes this especially interesting is the way it mirrors Kana's own reflection on her relationship with Aqua at the end of the chapter.

I like that a lot of the AQKN moments the two reflect on are just… mundane, everyday instances of the two of them stumbling through life together. I've seen a lot of people say AQKN is 'boring' or 'flat' because it lacks the drama of AQAK or AQRB but honestly, I feel like this is what makes it work (when it does work) - their relationship, whatever form it takes, is a safe and quiet space where they can just exist outside the drama and transactional utility of so many of their other relationships.

That said, while those montages mirror each other, what makes them interesting is their divergence point. Kana decides to commit to choosing 'love', with that absolutely gorgeous full page panel, but Gorou hands the knife - the symbol of the violence that blighted Aqua's life - back to him and makes it clear that love or revenge, the choice is now entirely in Aqua's hands. We don't see what he chooses, but… if Oshi no Ko really is a story with a happy ending, I think it's a foregone conclusion. And that makes me really happy.

Not that it's happening anytime soon, lol. I'll be very shocked if Kana's confession doesn't result in a rejection from Aqua, at least at this point in time - there's too much else going on in the story for this to be the right place for Aqua to commit to Kana. She's still an idol, after all and Kamiki is still around. The bets I'm placing right now are that AQKN are going to get their resolution, whatever form it takes, at the Dome concert during or after Kana's graduation.

As for their date… Call me cynical, but I also don't see it going particularly well. After all…

Aren't we forgetting somebody?

[shoujomangathoughts]

Chihayafuru Thoughts - Random Moments

The return of my Chihayafuru thoughts! This time I’m gonna focus on a couple random scenes that either stuck out to me in some way or that I don't really have another post or larger topic to fit them into. This may become a series for me to talk about moments I enjoy but I don't really have a larger narrative through line to talk about in regards to them. There will be light spoilers for essentially the whole series so here's your warning.

This scene has always fascinated and lowkey amused me. This comes right after the chapter where Taichi wouldn't allow Chihaya to go to his room and when he ate the cake off her spoon, and for Chihaya to notice that he's acting strange is interesting to me. I say this mostly because it's so early on and yet she just kind of forgets or gets used to it because she doesn't ever really mention it again. Technically Taichi still had a girlfriend at this point and I don't think he'd fully figured out his feelings either, but the fact that she seemed to be noticing and then later was completely blindsided by his feelings has always made this moment stay in my mind. It's also fascinating because so many others noticed his feelings too; Kana, Sumire, Harada, Tsuboguchi, Desktomu (he wasn't surprised Taichi liked Chihaya, only that he was turned down), hell even Chitose called it out and she was hardly ever around them.

//Also as a sidenote, while I love many of the different art styles and the evolution of the manga's art, something about the art early on hits different.//

I know this chapter and Chihaya's "answer" ruffled some feathers, especially when the author seemed to say Arata was soft-rejected here (some people seem to think of that as "damage control", but with this among some other things she's said, I think it's worth noting when an author who writes so many things in interpretable or relatively vague ways actually comes right out and clarifies what she meant). My reading of this scene (even before knowing what Suetsugu said) was that Arata was indeed soft-rejected, and that him saying "I'll work on getting closer to you" is an acknowledgement of the fact that outside of karuta, he and Chihaya don't have all that much of a bond. I think this is interesting since I can't think of many instances where he did truly work on that, but I always thought that he was becoming more aware of the fact that he and Chihaya weren't as close as he probably wanted them to be. I've seen the blushing get brought up as a defense of her "not actually rejecting" him but I think in general, they're both awkward and talking about love and his romantic feelings which can be a bit embarrassing and awkward. The most important thing here for me was that Chihaya herself never really gave an indication that she was telling him to wait or that she'd have more to say at a later time. She said how she was feeling in that moment; doesn't mean it'd never change, but to me she very clearly didn't reciprocate his feelings in this chapter despite having every chance to say it if she had.

I think, on a whole, Shinobu is one of the most fascinating characters in the series. Seeing how isolated she is and how much the game means to her, and seeing how dejected and outright frustrated she gets that she can't make a career out of it is one of my favorite parts of her arc. This line about creating a profession being the reason she's using social media (rather than reaching some level of celebrity) has always stood out to me. She realizes that she can't make money from the one thing she has the most interest and passion in, and resolves herself to carve a place out for herself instead of accepting that no such place exists. I've also always found her relationship with her mother interesting as Shinobu very clearly sees certain things in her mother that she doesn't want for herself (there's a line about being a leech off her grandmother that particularly drives this home). And similarly her mother is clumsy in communicating with Shinobu and is at times almost vicariously living through her and her accomplishments in karuta, yet here we get a moment of her mother starting to see her in another light. After this is when we start seeing her mom try a little harder to support and watch over her because she sees her daughter fighting for her future in a way that she seemingly stopped doing (if she ever did). Shinobu on a whole is quite independent at the start of the series, in part due to her isolation, but I loved watching her gradually gain more people around her and how she opened up.

This is a small moment but one that I really like. Taichi and Chihaya seem to have mostly gotten past the awkwardness of some of their previous post-Taichi confession interactions and seem comfortable again. But then when Taichi mentions the fact that Chihaya covered for Hanano when they took a picture at the queen match, we get a panel where she just stares at him. I've always seen this as a moment where it's reiterated to Chihaya how well Taichi knows her and how easily he reads her. In a way it seems like she feels she can't hide things from him, which makes sense as this is right before she confesses her feelings. It almost feels reminiscent of the "he's the guy who's always been working hard with me" line and the "Taichi's always been by my side" line. She's entirely focused on him.

Though she's by no means a super prominent character in the series, I really like Miyauchi-sensei. From going to a teacher who thought of Chihaya as only being an eccentric girl to seeing how much passion and effort the karuta club was putting into practicing and playing. There are a lot of small but great moments with her throughout. Making the team tasukis and later headbands, supporting the students even at tournaments unrelated to the school (Yoshino and the Queen match come to mind); she really ended up attached to and inspired by these kids. That's why I picked these panels to talk about her. It's a full circle moment where she thinks about the end of the first generation of the karuta club, and the fact that she's emotional is proof that this club has become something special to her as well something she will likely protect in the future.

Another relatively brief moment but one that I think encapsulates one of my favorite themes in the series: youth. This moment where Tsuboguchi talks about youth describes a lot of the commentary the series makes on the topic. We see primarily high schoolers but also characters like Harada, Inokuma, Sakurazawa, Tsuboguchi himself, Sakura, etc. all be examples of players who continue playing despite varying life circumstances. We see people carry passion way further into life than just during their high school years and I feel as though that's an important thing communicated in the series, especially given how karuta and its tournaments work. Having something you're passionate about and continuing down that path or finding new ways to reach people with a similar interest is a beautiful thing. It's reiterated throughout the series how important the time they have in high school is because life will get more complicated when they graduate, but this panel of Tsuboguchi talking to his team and telling them that he enjoys the game even more now is a great reminder that life doesn't end with graduating high school. As someone who was already out of high school when I read this series for the first time, I really enjoyed moments like this that remind younger people to value time in high school while not letting it be their peak (though in some physical aspects like Chihaya's hearing, it might be the peak lol).

This one is based almost solely on Taichi's line "sorry for standing in your way". I've always been intrigued by the author's choice of using this line because it comes across as somewhat more negative and direct than I expected when reading this part. I know sometimes this is the result of fan translation (still unbelievably grateful for the work they put in to help make things accessible though!), but for sake of analyzing this, I'll refer to this translation. To me, Taichi says this probably for a couple reasons. One of which is that it's the end of the match where Arata truly saw him as a proper rival for the first time, and just as Arata could tell that Taichi "loathed him", Taichi could also tell that Arata viewed him as a nuisance. I think this just kind of slipped out after Taichi lost which makes sense because no one is happy to lose to their closest rival. I think another reason that he specifically uses "standing in your way" is because as we essentially know (but it's confirmed later), Taichi feels left behind after watching Arata and Chihaya announce their goals to be Meijin and Queen as kids. They both have been chasing that dream the whole time whereas Taichi has been unsure of himself. He probably doesn't think he is as "deserving" of facing the Meijin because that hasn't been his goal the entire time and he knows that's always been Arata's goal. Either way, even if it was said only out of bitterness, Taichi and Arata hug it out afterwards and Taichi is able to encourage Arata to win. Just always been an interesting choice of dialogue to me.

One of the best parts of Arata's arc for me is when he finally realizes that as much as he loves his late grandpa and his karuta, there is a certain pressure that comes from following a prominent player. Realizing that he's been hypocritical about playing your "own" karuta and that he's tried to avoid nervousness for important matches by leaning on his grandpa's style are truly great moments for him. I also love how this is explicitly communicated by his dad, who turned away from the game because his father was so extraordinary at it. Watching Arata use things that he learned from practicing with his grandpa as well as playing in a way that suits him is genuine growth. He's taking the time they spent together and using it as a push to help him continue down the road to become Meijin himself. I also really like the support that he feels from Chihaya and Taichi in these moments as well; a nice reminder of some of the other people most instrumental in who he is in the present. The moment when Taichi walks in and Arata realizes that he "crushed his dream" is a nice way of showing Arata getting out of his head and just playing in a way that feels the most natural to him. He realizes that to get to where he was, other people have had dreams trampled and that this was a match he shouldn't waste by getting mentally blocked. At the end, when he describes playing Suou as being similar to playing his grandpa, it's nice to see him acknowledging that in order to be himself, he had to feel as though he'd surpassed his grandpa in some way. Reminds me of the times throughout the series where students are afraid of playing their teachers because of the fear of "acting like a student" rather than a rival. Arata came a long way as a player and the Meijin matches provided a lot of good insight into a character who was so confident most of the time.

This was something that's been in my drafts for a bit as a space to put some ideas down for another Chihayafuru post, but I didn't really feel the need to make long posts about each so I just kind of put them all together. Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

[echantedtoon]

Monster Bride Rambles

*Firstly any and all art linked is by @rottencoreflesh101 and @yuki2sksksk on Tumblr.

*Secondly and this is VERY important!! The designs for the monsters linked ARE NOT the cannon ones used in the story!! I repeat my designs for them are different and I only linked the ones by other artists to give others an idea for what they MIGHT look like!! I do not claim these designs linked and they ARE NOT the designs used for the story!! Only to give a brief idea of what they are!!

This will tell you all about this small AU.

Hey everyone. In honor of Halloween I thought I'd bring you a second installment for Demon Slayer fans. But this time it'll be a bit different. Instead of a long storyline there will be just a few chapters and then multiple endings with all the Demon love interests from Demon Bride. Sorry for Haishira Lovers. I might do one with the Haishira cast in the future but I just really like the Demon Cast. This is just the summery chapter to introduce you to this small AU and what everyone's roles are in this storyline. I shall now refer to it as the Monster Bride au. Some designs are inspired by rottencoreflesh101 and yuki2sksksk on Tumblr but THIS IS A COMPLETELY different au from their monster au and nothing about their au is cannon to mine except maybe the monsters. With that out of the way let's get into the important info!

*What makes the Monster Bride AU different than the Demon Bride Au?

Well it's kinda like Demon Bride only all the demons are some kind of monster instead of a demon. Except all are intelligent races that can reproduce with humans (think Hotel Transylvania type of monsters). However in this au the Monster population is MUCH bigger than the human population and not everyone knows it. In order to keep peace, Kagaya's family runs a monster hunting business and they can be both hired by people to slay certain monsters or they slay them themselves. ONLY THE HOSTILE ONES HOWEVER. Kagaya has made it his mission to improve relationships with monsters and humans and only attack the hostile ones.

However some villages placate monsters by leaving offerings of food or their daughters as brides. However once every hundred years when there's a full blood moon, the monsters come out to drag away their wanted brides whether the unfortunate victim wants them or not.

(I like the bride trope don't mock me pls-)

Also not all the humans believe in monsters. Monsters are often VERY elusive so a lot of people still don't believe in them or don't know what to believe.

*Who are all the Haishira in Monster Bride?

 All of them are just regular humans as in cannon but instead of just demon slayer they're all monster hunters.

-Kaygaya and his family has inherited the organization from his deceased father and run the entire thing to help people however in retaliation, Kagaya was cursed by a witch long ago with blindness. However the kind man doesn't blame all monsters and tries to help improve relationships by sending letters to the Monster King Muzan...Even if he never gets letters back.

-the Kocho Sisters plus Aoi and their helpers run the research and development sector of the organization. They sell everything from garlic to wolfsbane to breaking curses. Kaneo, Shinobu, and Kanae are also monster hunters specialists after a monster claimed the lives of their parents. Often relying on Shinobu's weird concoctions or traps  They also receive samples of DNA and sometimes live monsters and/or their bodies from Kanae's fiance Sanemi and his brother or Shinobu's  partner Giyuu. Kanae also believed that most monsters deserves a chance to be heard out even if her sisters and fiance disagrees.

-Sanemi, Genya, and Gyomei are some of the powerhouses in the organization and they usually handle the bigger problems or bigger monsters such as ogers or werewolves. Gyomei is actually the one training Genya after a demon attacked his temple leading him to join the organization. Sanemi and Genya joined not too longer after they had gotten old enough too after a tragedy with a vampire. A stray vampire had turned their mother leading her to slay most of their family aside from the two brothers. Gyomei is also an exorcist and helps to remove ghosts or helps the poor souls move on. He's also one of the teachers who teach the new recruits.

-Rengoku and Tengen often work together and can be quite a team. It is said Rengoku's family was blessed by a Phoenix spirit long ago giving his family the signature red hair. The two are the fastest of the monster slayers and are usually the ones to take jobs around towns or villages with monster problems. Sometimes they will be seen with Mitsuri if they need extra muscle.

-Mitsuri is the strongest and most flexible hunter and is the one who handles the REALLY big monsters like giants or dragons if they get too close to towns however she's also the negotiater between humans and monsters. If there's ever a situation that they can solve peacefully usually she's the one called to talk to the monster. She's also the one who's responsible for rehoming the tame magical creatures if they get too close to humans such as unicorns or jackolopes.

-Iguro is an expert hunter and usually has to help Gyomei teach the new hunters. He doesn't like it however. He is secretly dating Mitsuri after a cupid shot him with a confession arrow while the two were alone. Therefore he hates things like love potions and cupids. He literally dives under the nearest biggest object of he thinks he sees one. His expertise is hunting nagas and other reptile like monsters due to one killing most of his family and leaving him scared. The only monster he really won't say anything bad about is ghosts because he often sees them as poor lost souls.

-Tanjiro, Inosuke, Nezuko, and Zenitsu are monster hunters in training after one monster or another claimed the lives of their families. Zenitsu might have a crush on Nezuko which Tanjiro has mixed feelings about. He can often be seen training with the Tokito twins or being mentored by someone. Both Tokito boys were taken in by Gyomei after their parents died of natural causes 

-Giyuu is a hunter that specializes in water based monsters. Rogue mermaids, sirens, water elementals, maybe even a young kraken or two. He's seen them all and can often be seen soaking wet from missions and dragging the carcus of some water dweller behind him for Shinobu and her sisters to study.

*Who are the Demons in Monster Bride?

All are some kind of monster but they're personalities are the same as cannon.

Muzan Kibutsuji 

-The king of all monsters and non-human beings.

-He's part demon and part fae so he is INCREDIBLY powerful and handsome. 

-his blood can be used to give blessings or curses however he can also turn a human into any monster he wishes. Was the one to turn Kokushibo into a monster.

-Lives in his own pocket dimension known as the infinity castle and rarely shows himself due to a secret fear of humans made by Yorichii. The only human he completely trusts is his wife Rei.

-Has a semi deal with the humans. If any creature invades their territory or causes harm then they are free game.

-Doesnt really make an appearance in the story.

Kokushibo 

-Muzans right hand man and spy for anything he needs. Was turned into a monster by Muzan after willingly rejecting his humanity to become stronger.

-Was human however he was turned into an Omukade (centipede yokai) by Muzan. He looks like the links ago.

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619890069487616/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Out of all the monsters Kokushibo has slain the most hunters and is the most skilled fighter. Often using ambush attacks, being silent but deadly, and his lethal venom. 

-He acts as Muzan's assistant doing anything he needs outside of the infinity castle

-He is also Kaigaku's mentor and raised him after finding him abandoned as a child.

-He can switch to his human form but it's incredibly painful 

Douma

-Douma is possibly the second monster that has the most interactions with humans. He's a kelpie-centaur seen like in the links below

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619890069487616/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619815851245568/wip-of-douma-and-daki-for-my-monster-au-since-i?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Douma has exactly 3 forms. His human form, centaur-ish form, and water form where his horse back legs turn into a fish tail. He can breath underwater, and use his skin like glue when he wills it so. He often likes to pretend to be a centaur or human to catch prey off guard or visit Akaza in his body of water.

-Douma rules over a pretty large lake that's just chalk FULL of fish and other wild life. Surrounding villages think he is some kind of water god and make sacrifices in exchange for letting them take fish from his lake. He devours any sacrifice his lovely followers gift him although raw beef and human flesh is his favorites.

-he likes bothering Akaza as he's one of the few monsters that'll pay attention to him mostly by yelling or fights.

-He has a special relationship with Daki and Gyutaro. Mostly because he partially raised them after their mother attempted to drown Gyutaro in his lake. He ended up drowning her instead and devouring her body. However he took mercy upon the siblings when realizing that they weren't human either. 

-He often drags big fish to their forest home or sometimes brings them his human sacrifices. Was also the one to give Gyutaro tips on navigating around hunters if he encountered them.

Akaza

-Akaza is a Betta fish merman like seen in the links below

www.tumblr.com/yuki2sksksk/729990049783021568/lionfish-based-merman-kyojuro-and-betta-fish-based?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Was actually born into a human village with a poor father whom fell in love with a mermaid. It is unclear what happened to his mother however his father tragically took his own life.

-Was once engaged to a human woman called Koyuki but a group of male villagers murdered both her and her father after learning of her monster fiance. After murdering all the ones responsible, Akaza fled to the safety of a nearby series of streams where he continues to live.

-Because of his experiences from humans, Akaza drowns any unsuspecting men whom wonder into his waters but spares women and children. However he remains unseen so everyone just thinks the series of streams are cursed.

-Met Douma when the kelpie-centaur attempted to eat a woman who was fishing in one of his streams. Akaza was luckily able to save her but now Douma somehow sees him as his 'best friend' and continues to make numerous trips a year to see him. Akaza hates him for his eating habits.

Nakime 

-Not much is known about her. Her identity is mostly secret to everyone but Muzan.

-He is a cyclops siren hybrid but instead of her voice her power stems from her musical talent for the biwa.

-was taken in by Muzan after he saved her from a hunter and she now dutifully serves him mostly by transporting him and his family about the areas.

-was rumored to once be a famous entertainer for a king

Hantengu And His Sons

Hantengu:

-Hantengu is a shadow elemental often using his abilities to hide in the shadows and whimper and cry until one of his sons find him and brings him home again. He can also shrink his size and has a slight victim complex.

-Was married long ago to a harpy woman who bore him fives sons. However she was tragically killed by some humans when caught stealing a cow when Zohakuten was a baby.

-The death of his wife has made him fear humans more and make his sons very protective of him.

Sekido

-The oldest quadruplet brother and the angriest.

-A lightning elemental. He is 100% immune to lightning and often can be found outside in thunderstorms

-He's the leader of the brothers even if Urogi and Karaku don't always listen to him.

-Surprisingly doesn't hate humans but finds them really, really, REALLY weak and annoying and if one would annoy him he wouldn't hesitate to taze them.

Karaku:

-The second eldest brother and the one with the most experience with humans. 

-He has actually dated quite a lot of men and women humans

-Wind elemental

-The most carefree flirty brother and doesn't get along with Gyutaro after flirting with Daki once and then being chased by an angry wendigo brother.

Urogi:

-Urogi is a golden eagle harpy being the only one who took after their mother and the third oldest

-Also the second friendliest of the brothers and like Karaku has had a few relationships with them. 

-LOVES hunting prey. Everything from rabbits to giant bears. It's the birds of prey in him.

-Unlike Karaku however he knows how to tone it down more and laughs whenever he's chased by another's angry partner.

Aizetsu:

-Metal elemental and youngest of the quadruplets.

-Aizetsu is the weakest of his brothers being only able to use the iron in his body to create weapons however his favorite is a spear he usually carries in his back.

-Being the weakest has him being self conscious of himself despite his kind demeanor 

-He enjoys any compliments or praise he gets and often gets crushed easily.

Zohakuten:

-Tree elemental and the youngest brother of the Hantengu boys. Can manipulate wood and trees.

-The strongest of the brothers despite being only fourteen years old.

-He's as hotheaded as Sekido and often the two will fight and but heads even though they do legitimately care for one another. However his closest brother is Aizetsu whom listens to him. He's also the one who usually stays home with their father.

-Has five earth dragons as pets and gave them all tree names: Maple, Oak, Pine, Birch, and Willow. They were gifted to him as babies by Urogi whom found them while hunting.

Gyokko

-Was a merman mutated by a curse for stealing a vase from a sea witch, is now a spirit cursed to forever haunt the vase he once stole.

-Despite his appearance he's surprisingly content and often just wants to be left alone to work on his own artwork.

-VERY gay for Hantengu

-Doesnt really show up in the story

Gyutaro 

-a wendigo born from a wendigo father and human mother. Looks like the links below 

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619937633828864/gyutaro-daki-monster-au-wips-bleh?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-theres not really a lot of his kind left due to humans constantly hunting them. So he's usually on edge especially when it comes to his little sister. No human or monster is allowed near her except for Douma who half raised them as kids. He's also very self conscious about his appearance due to not getting enough food sometimes.

-hates humans for their treatment of him and the fact their mother attempted to drown him as a child. Although...he finds a few human women very pretty looking. Y/n in particular. Not as beautiful as his sister though!

-he secretly likes having someone scratch behind his ears. His tail thumps when someone does scratch him there

Daki

-Daki is a albino jorogumo (spider centaur creature) born from a human mother and drider father and looks like the art linked below

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619937633828864/gyutaro-daki-monster-au-wips-bleh?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-despite a spider's reputation, many creatures both human and non-human alike have come to try and court her. Most are usually caught in her webs for food or run off or killed by her older brother. The only creature they both welcome unconditionally is Douma who partially raised them and often brings food if they haven't eaten in a while.

-her views on humans is...mixed. she adores the jewelry and cloth they make and her brother seems to have a crush on one. Plus some are delicious! But on the other hand they're really REALLY annoying.

-He's often very vain and complains a lot but is very protective of her brother for how much his kind is hated and hunted by humans so she often puts up web traps around their home.

Enmu

-Corrupted sandman, A K.A. Boogeyman. This man used to work for the man in the moon but would torment the poor souls he was supposed to help sleep by giving them traumatic nightmares. After he was caught he was immediately kicked out and banned from the moon's light.

-knows many kinds of tricks including hypnotism and a few medical techniques from being around humans for so long.

-he's nocturnal and usually sleeps in the shadows or somewhere dark during the day to walk around and torment others dreams at night. However he was surprised to find someone not affected by his abilities.

-he adores the human invention of trains and thus is often spotted sleeping hidden away in train stations or on trains or tormenting sleeping people on trains.

Kaigaku 

-Kaigaku is the only known demon-vampire hybrid and was abandoned by his parents as a young child. Was later found by Kokushibo and trained him to use a sword.

-He's not very powerful amongst other monsters but is definitely faster and stronger than a human. He also doesn't need blood to live like a full blooded vampire however he drinks it to make himself more powerful. Different monster's blood has different effects on him.

-Despite his blood thirsty heritage he adores peaches and any food with the fruit in it. He's actually gotten in trouble a lot for trespassing onto human farms for the fruit and was chased away by angry villagers.

-his demon half cancels out most of his vampire halfs weakness. So while he CAN walk in sunlight he's prone to get sunburns very easily. More than once he's shown up to training with red patches all over him.

Susamaru and Yahaba

-both are yokai whom work for Muzan

-they usually just protect his human wife and child whenever they go out and Kokushibo can't accompany them

-they surprisingly work well together

-they don't appear in the story

Kyogai 

-Elf-demon hybrid and is actually pretty weak. Is the reason he prefers to remain hidden in his forest mansion and write.

-his two main hobbies are writing and playing the Tsuzumi drum even though he's not very confident about either because of his now deceased father's constant disapproval.

-Actually very neautal towards humans. He doesn't hate them but he doesn't want them around either preferring to just be better left alone. However he does go into monster friendly towns nearby to purchase more books or writing utensils.

-has secretly published MANY popular books under a fake name and has made a decent amount of money from it.

Rui

-Spider tiefling. 

-He lives with his parents and many brothers and sisters in the forest and often they compete with driders for territory and food both being spider creatures. 

-he's very much like his cannon self and doesn't make an appearance in this story but thought it'd be interesting to mention him anyways.

Honorable Mentions

-Rei is a human while her and Muzan's daughter is a mixture of demon, Fae, and human but looks completely human.

-Hairou is plain and simple a vampire.

-The Swamp Demon is of course a trio of Swamp Monster triplets.

-Yushiro is a fae. Either a fairy or elf.

*What is Tamayo in the AU?

A celestial maiden and Y/n's mother. She was very beautiful and many men attempted to work her, Muzan included before he met Rei years later. Instead she fell in love with a human before he tragically passed away.

She again fell in love with Y/n's father after healing him and years later Y/n was born. Those related to a celestial maiden are blessed with kindness and beauty and Y/n is no exception. And unlike Demon Bride, Y/n does have a good relationship with her parents.

I left whom Y/n's father is ambiguous so you can imagine if it's Yushiro or not.

*What is Y/n in Monster Bride?

Despite her mother being a celestial maiden, Y/n was born completely human. I also left what Y/n looks like completely up to interpretation. So imagine her to look however YOU want.

[hazbinextgeneration]

Demon Slayer Monster Au

*Firstly any and all art linked is by @rottencoreflesh101 and @yuki2sksksk on Tumblr.

*Secondly and this is VERY important!! The designs for the monsters linked ARE NOT the cannon ones used in the story!! I repeat my designs for them are different and I only linked the ones by other artists to give others an idea for what they MIGHT look like!! I do not claim these designs linked and they ARE NOT the designs used for the story!! Only to give a brief idea of what they are!! And they are not my art nor am I claiming them as such!!

Please support both original artists linked!!

This will tell you all about this small AU.

Hey everyone. In honor of Halloween I thought I'd bring you a second installment for Demon Slayer fans. But this time it'll be a bit different. Instead of a long storyline there will be just a few chapters and then multiple endings with all the Demon love interests from Demon Bride. Sorry for Haishira Lovers. I might do one with the Haishira cast in the future but I just really like the Demon Cast. This is just the summery chapter to introduce you to this small AU and what everyone's roles are in this storyline. I shall now refer to it as the Monster Bride au. Some designs are inspired by rottencoreflesh101 and yuki2sksksk on Tumblr but THIS IS A COMPLETELY different au from their monster au and nothing about their au is cannon to mine except maybe the monsters. With that out of the way let's get into the important info!

*What makes the Monster Bride AU different than the Demon Bride Au?

Well it's kinda like Demon Bride only all the demons are some kind of monster instead of a demon. Except all are intelligent races that can reproduce with humans (think Hotel Transylvania type of monsters). However in this au the Monster population is MUCH bigger than the human population and not everyone knows it. In order to keep peace, Kagaya's family runs a monster hunting business and they can be both hired by people to slay certain monsters or they slay them themselves. ONLY THE HOSTILE ONES HOWEVER. Kagaya has made it his mission to improve relationships with monsters and humans and only attack the hostile ones.

However some villages placate monsters by leaving offerings of food or their daughters as brides. However once every hundred years when there's a full blood moon, the monsters come out to drag away their wanted brides whether the unfortunate victim wants them or not.

(I like the bride trope don't mock me pls-)

Also not all the humans believe in monsters. Monsters are often VERY elusive so a lot of people still don't believe in them or don't know what to believe.

*Who are all the Haishira in Monster Bride?

 All of them are just regular humans as in cannon but instead of just demon slayer they're all monster hunters.

-Kaygaya and his family has inherited the organization from his deceased father and run the entire thing to help people however in retaliation, Kagaya was cursed by a witch long ago with blindness. However the kind man doesn't blame all monsters and tries to help improve relationships by sending letters to the Monster King Muzan...Even if he never gets letters back.

-the Kocho Sisters plus Aoi and their helpers run the research and development sector of the organization. They sell everything from garlic to wolfsbane to breaking curses. Kaneo, Shinobu, and Kanae are also monster hunters specialists after a monster claimed the lives of their parents. Often relying on Shinobu's weird concoctions or traps  They also receive samples of DNA and sometimes live monsters and/or their bodies from Kanae's fiance Sanemi and his brother or Shinobu's  partner Giyuu. Kanae also believed that most monsters deserves a chance to be heard out even if her sisters and fiance disagrees.

-Sanemi, Genya, and Gyomei are some of the powerhouses in the organization and they usually handle the bigger problems or bigger monsters such as ogers or werewolves. Gyomei is actually the one training Genya after a demon attacked his temple leading him to join the organization. Sanemi and Genya joined not too longer after they had gotten old enough too after a tragedy with a vampire. A stray vampire had turned their mother leading her to slay most of their family aside from the two brothers. Gyomei is also an exorcist and helps to remove ghosts or helps the poor souls move on. He's also one of the teachers who teach the new recruits.

-Rengoku and Tengen often work together and can be quite a team. It is said Rengoku's family was blessed by a Phoenix spirit long ago giving his family the signature red hair. The two are the fastest of the monster slayers and are usually the ones to take jobs around towns or villages with monster problems. Sometimes they will be seen with Mitsuri is they need extra muscle.

-Mitsuri is the strongest and most flexible hunter and is the one who handles the REALLY big monsters like giants or dragons if they get too close to towns however she's also the negotiater between humans and monsters. If there's ever a situation that they can solve peacefully usually she's the one called to talk to the monster. She's also the one who's responsible for rehoming the tame magical creatures if they get too close to humans such as unicorns or jackolopes.

-Iguro is an expert hunter and usually has to help Gyomei teach the new hunters. He doesn't like it however. He is secretly dating Mitsuri after a cupid shot him with a confession arrow while the two were alone. Therefore he hates things like love potions and cupids. He literally dives under the nearest biggest object of he thinks he sees one. His expertise is hunting nagas and other reptile like monsters due to one killing most of his family and leaving him scared. The only monster he really won't say anything bad about is ghosts because he often sees them as poor lost souls.

-Tanjiro, Inosuke, Nezuko, and Zenitsu are monster hunters in training after one monster or another claimed the lives of their families. Zenitsu might have a crush on Nezuko which Tanjiro has mixed feelings about. He can often be seen training with the Tokito twins or being mentored by someone. Both Tokito boys were taken in by Gyomei after their parents died of natural causes 

-Guyuu is a hunter that specializes in water based monsters. Rogue mermaids, sirens, water elementals, maybe even a young kraken or two. He's seen them all and can often be seen soaking wet from missions and dragging the carcus of some water dweller behind him for Shinobu and her sisters to study.

*Who are the Demons in Monster Bride?

All are some kind of monster but they're personalities are the same as cannon.

Muzan Kibutsuji 

-The king of all monsters and non-human beings.

-He's part demon and part fae so he is INCREDIBLY powerful and handsome. 

-his blood can be used to give blessings or curses however he can also turn a human into any monster he wishes. Was the one to turn Kokushibo into a monster.

-Lives in his own pocket dimension known as the infinity castle and rarely shows himself due to a secret fear of humans made by Yorichii. The only human he completely trusts is his wife Rei.

-Has a semi deal with the humans. If any creature invades their territory or causes harm then they are free game.

-Doesnt really make an appearance in the story.

Kokushibo 

-Muzans right hand man and spy for anything he needs. Was turned into a monster by Muzan after willingly rejecting his humanity to become stronger.

-Was human however he was turned into an Omukade (centipede yokai) by Muzan. He looks like the links ago.

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619890069487616/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Out of all the monsters Kokushibo has slain the most hunters and is the most skilled fighter. Often using ambush attacks, being silent but deadly, and his lethal venom. 

-He acts as Muzan's assistant doing anything he needs outside of the infinity castle

-He is also Kaigaku's mentor and raised him after finding him abandoned as a child.

-He can switch to his human form but it's incredibly painful 

Douma

-Douma is possibly the second monster that has the most interactions with humans. He's a kelpie-centaur seen like in the links below

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619890069487616/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619815851245568/wip-of-douma-and-daki-for-my-monster-au-since-i?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Douma has exactly 3 forms. His human form, centaur-ish form, and water form where his horse back legs turn into a fish tail. He can breath underwater, and use his skin like glue when he wills it so. He often likes to pretend to be a centaur or human to catch prey off guard or visit Akaza in his body of water.

-Douma rules over a pretty large lake that's just chalk FULL of fish and other wild life. Surrounding villages think he is some kind of water god and make sacrifices in exchange for letting them take fish from his lake. He devours any sacrifice his lovely followers gift him although raw beef and human flesh is his favorites.

-he likes bothering Akaza as he's one of the few monsters that'll pay attention to him mostly by yelling or fights.

-He has a special relationship with Daki and Gyutaro. Mostly because he partially raised them after their mother attempted to drown Gyutaro in his lake. He ended up drowning her instead and devouring her body. However he took mercy upon the siblings when realizing that they weren't human either. 

-He often drags big fish to their forest home or sometimes brings them his human sacrifices. Was also the one to give Gyutaro tips on navigating around hunters if he encountered them.

Akaza

-Akaza is a Betta fish merman like seen in the links below

www.tumblr.com/yuki2sksksk/729990049783021568/lionfish-based-merman-kyojuro-and-betta-fish-based?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Was actually born into a human village with a poor father whom fell in love with a mermaid. It is unclear what happened to his mother however his father tragically took his own life.

-Was once engaged to a human woman called Koyuki but a group of male villagers murdered both her and her father after learning of her monster fiance. After murdering all the ones responsible, Akaza fled to the safety of a nearby series of streams where he continues to live.

-Because of his experiences from humans, Akaza drowns any unsuspecting men whom wonder into his waters but spares women and children. However he remains unseen so everyone just thinks the series of streams are cursed.

-Met Douma when the kelpie-centaur attempted to eat a woman who was fishing in one of his streams. Akaza was luckily able to save her but now Douma somehow sees him as his 'best friend' and continues to make numerous trips a year to see him. Akaza hates him for his eating habits.

Nakime 

-Not much is known about her. Her identity is mostly secret to everyone but Muzan.

-He is a cyclops siren hybrid but instead of her voice her power stems from her musical talent for the biwa.

-was taken in by Muzan after he saved her from a hunter and she now dutifully serves him mostly by transporting him and his family about the areas.

-was rumored to once be a famous entertainer for a king

Hantengu And His Sons

Hantengu:

-Hantengu is a shadow elemental often using his abilities to hide in the shadows and whimper and cry until one of his sons find him and brings him home again. He can also shrink his size and has a slight victim complex.

-Was married long ago to a harpy woman who bore him fives sons. However she was tragically killed by some humans when caught stealing a cow when Zohakuten was a baby.

-The death of his wife has made him fear humans more and make his sons very protective of him.

Sekido

-The oldest quadruplet brother and the angriest.

-A lightning elemental. He is 100% immune to lightning and often can be found outside in thunderstorms

-He's the leader of the brothers even if Urogi and Karaku don't always listen to him.

-Surprisingly doesn't hate humans but finds them really, really, REALLY weak and annoying and if one would annoy him he wouldn't hesitate to taze them.

Karaku:

-The second eldest brother and the one with the most experience with humans. 

-He has actually dated quite a lot of men and women humans

-Wind elemental

-The most carefree flirty brother and doesn't get along with Gyutaro after flirting with Daki once and then being chased by an angry wendigo brother.

Urogi:

-Urogi is a golden eagle harpy being the only one who took after their mother and the third oldest

-Also the second friendliest of the brothers and like Karaku has had a few relationships with them. 

-LOVES hunting prey. Everything from rabbits to giant bears. It's the birds of prey in him.

-Unlike Karaku however he knows how to tone it down more and laughs whenever he's chased by another's angry partner.

Aizetsu:

-Metal elemental and youngest of the quadruplets.

-Aizetsu is the weakest of his brothers being only able to use the iron in his body to create weapons however his favorite is a spear he usually carries in his back.

-Being the weakest has him being self conscious of himself despite his kind demeanor 

-He enjoys any compliments or praise he gets and often gets crushed easily.

Zohakuten:

-Tree elemental and the youngest brother of the Hantengu boys. Can manipulate wood and trees.

-The strongest of the brothers despite being only fourteen years old.

-He's as hotheaded as Sekido and often the two will fight and but heads even though they do legitimately care for one another. However his closest brother is Aizetsu whom listens to him. He's also the one who usually stays home with their father.

-Has five earth dragons as pets and gave them all tree names: Maple, Oak, Pine, Birch, and Willow. They were gifted to him as babies by Urogi whom found them while hunting.

Gyokko

-Was a merman mutated by a curse for stealing a vase from a sea witch, is now a spirit cursed to forever haunt the vase he once stole.

-Despite his appearance he's surprisingly content and often just wants to be left alone to work on his own artwork.

-VERY gay for Hantengu

-Doesnt really show up in the story

Gyutaro 

-a wendigo born from a wendigo father and human mother. Looks like the links below 

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619937633828864/gyutaro-daki-monster-au-wips-bleh?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-theres not really a lot of his kind left due to humans constantly hunting them. So he's usually on edge especially when it comes to his little sister. No human or monster is allowed near her except for Douma who half raised them as kids. He's also very self conscious about his appearance due to not getting enough food sometimes.

-hates humans for their treatment of him and the fact their mother attempted to drown him as a child. Although...he finds a few human women very pretty looking. Y/n in particular. Not as beautiful as his sister though!

-he secretly likes having someone scratch behind his ears. His tail thumps when someone does scratch him there

Daki

-Daki is a beautiful albino fuzzy drider (spider centaur creature) born from a human mother and drider father and looks like the art linked below

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619937633828864/gyutaro-daki-monster-au-wips-bleh?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-despite a spider's reputation, many creatures both human and non-human alike have come to try and court her. Most are usually caught in her webs for food or run off or killed by her older brother. The only creature they both welcome unconditionally is Douma who partially raised them and often brings food if they haven't eaten in a while.

-her views on humans is...mixed. she adores the jewelry and cloth they make and her brother seems to have a crush on one. Plus some are delicious! But on the other hand they're really REALLY annoying.

-He's often very vain and complains a lot but is very protective of her brother for how much his kind is hated and hunted by humans so she often puts up web traps around their home.

Enmu

-Corrupted sandman, A K.A. Boogeyman. This man used to work for the man in the moon but would torment the poor souls he was supposed to help sleep by giving them traumatic nightmares. After he was caught he was immediately kicked out and banned from the moon's light.

-knows many kinds of tricks including hypnotism and a few medical techniques from being around humans for so long.

-he's nocturnal and usually sleeps in the shadows or somewhere dark during the day to walk around and torment others dreams at night. However he was surprised to find someone not affected by his abilities.

-he adores the human invention of trains and thus is often spotted sleeping hidden away in train stations or on trains or tormenting sleeping people on trains.

Kaigaku 

-Kaigaku is the only known demon-vampire hybrid and was abandoned by his parents as a young child. Was later found by Kokushibo and trained him to use a sword.

-He's not very powerful amongst other monsters but is definitely faster and stronger than a human. He also doesn't need blood to live like a full blooded vampire however he drinks it to make himself more powerful. Different monster's blood has different effects on him.

-Despite his blood thirsty heritage he adores peaches and any food with the fruit in it. He's actually gotten in trouble a lot for trespassing onto human farms for the fruit and was chased away by angry villagers.

-his demon half cancels out most of his vampire halfs weakness. So while he CAN walk in sunlight he's prone to get sunburns very easily. More than once he's shown up to training with red patches all over him.

Susamaru and Yahaba

-both are yokai whom work for Muzan

-they usually just protect his human wife and child whenever they go out and Kokushibo can't accompany them

-they surprisingly work well together

-they don't appear in the story

Kyogai 

-Elf-demon hybrid and is actually pretty weak. Is the reason he prefers to remain hidden in his forest mansion and write.

-his two main hobbies are writing and playing the Tsuzumi drum even though he's not very confident about either because of his now deceased father's constant disapproval.

-Actually very neautal towards humans. He doesn't hate them but he doesn't want them around either preferring to just be better left alone. However he does go into monster friendly towns nearby to purchase more books or writing utensils.

-has secretly published MANY popular books under a fake name and has made a decent amount of money from it.

Rui

-Spider tiefling. 

-He lives with his parents and many brothers and sisters in the forest and often they compete with driders for territory and food both being spider creatures. 

-he's very much like his cannon self and doesn't make an appearance in this story but thought it'd be interesting to mention him anyways.

Honorable Mentions

-Rei is a human while her and Muzan's daughter is a mixture of demon, Fae, and human but looks completely human.

-Hairou is plain and simple a vampire.

-The Swamp Demon is of course a trio of Swamp Monster triplets.

-Yushiro is a fae. Either a fairy or elf.

*What is Tamayo in the AU?

A celestial maiden and Y/n's mother. She was very beautiful and many men attempted to work her, Muzan included before he met Rei years later. Instead she fell in love with a human before he tragically passed away.

She again fell in love with Y/n's father after healing him and years later Y/n was born. Those related to a celestial maiden are blessed with kindness and beauty and Y/n is no exception. And unlike Demon Bride, Y/n does have a good relationship with her parents.

I left whom Y/n's father is ambiguous so you can imagine if it's Yushiro or not.

*What is Y/n in Monster Bride?

Despite her mother being a celestial maiden, Y/n was born completely human. I also left what Y/n looks like completely up to interpretation. So imagine her to look however YOU want.

Kokushibo, Douma, Akaza, Sekido, Urogi, Aizetsu, Karaku, Enmu, Kaigaku, Gyutaro, and Kyogai 

*Firstly any and all art linked is by rottencoreflesh101 and yuki2sksksk on Tumblr.

*Secondly and this is VERY important!! The designs for the monsters linked ARE NOT the cannon ones used in the story!! I repeat my designs for them are different and I only linked the ones by other artists to give others an idea for what they MIGHT look like!! I do not claim these designs linked and they ARE NOT the designs used for the story!! Only to give a brief idea of what they are!!

This will tell you all about this small AU.

Hey everyone. In honor of Halloween I thought I'd bring you a second installment for Demon Slayer fans. But this time it'll be a bit different. Instead of a long storyline there will be just a few chapters and then multiple endings with all the Demon love interests from Demon Bride. Sorry for Haishira Lovers. I might do one with the Haishira cast in the future but I just really like the Demon Cast. This is just the summery chapter to introduce you to this small AU and what everyone's roles are in this storyline. I shall now refer to it as the Monster Bride au. Some designs are inspired by rottencoreflesh101 and yuki2sksksk on Tumblr but THIS IS A COMPLETELY different au from their monster au and nothing about their au is cannon to mine except maybe the monsters. With that out of the way let's get into the important info!

*What makes the Monster Bride AU different than the Demon Bride Au?

Well it's kinda like Demon Bride only all the demons are some kind of monster instead of a demon. Except all are intelligent races that can reproduce with humans (think Hotel Transylvania type of monsters). However in this au the Monster population is MUCH bigger than the human population and not everyone knows it. In order to keep peace, Kagaya's family runs a monster hunting business and they can be both hired by people to slay certain monsters or they slay them themselves. ONLY THE HOSTILE ONES HOWEVER. Kagaya has made it his mission to improve relationships with monsters and humans and only attack the hostile ones.

However some villages placate monsters by leaving offerings of food or their daughters as brides. However once every hundred years when there's a full blood moon, the monsters come out to drag away their wanted brides whether the unfortunate victim wants them or not.

(I like the bride trope don't mock me pls-)

Also not all the humans believe in monsters. Monsters are often VERY elusive so a lot of people still don't believe in them or don't know what to believe.

*Who are all the Haishira in Monster Bride?

 All of them are just regular humans as in cannon but instead of just demon slayer they're all monster hunters.

-Kaygaya and his family has inherited the organization from his deceased father and run the entire thing to help people however in retaliation, Kagaya was cursed by a witch long ago with blindness. However the kind man doesn't blame all monsters and tries to help improve relationships by sending letters to the Monster King Muzan...Even if he never gets letters back.

-the Kocho Sisters plus Aoi and their helpers run the research and development sector of the organization. They sell everything from garlic to wolfsbane to breaking curses. Kaneo, Shinobu, and Kanae are also monster hunters specialists after a monster claimed the lives of their parents. Often relying on Shinobu's weird concoctions or traps  They also receive samples of DNA and sometimes live monsters and/or their bodies from Kanae's fiance Sanemi and his brother or Shinobu's  partner Giyuu. Kanae also believed that most monsters deserves a chance to be heard out even if her sisters and fiance disagrees.

-Sanemi, Genya, and Gyomei are some of the powerhouses in the organization and they usually handle the bigger problems or bigger monsters such as ogers or werewolves. Gyomei is actually the one training Genya after a demon attacked his temple leading him to join the organization. Sanemi and Genya joined not too longer after they had gotten old enough too after a tragedy with a vampire. A stray vampire had turned their mother leading her to slay most of their family aside from the two brothers. Gyomei is also an exorcist and helps to remove ghosts or helps the poor souls move on. He's also one of the teachers who teach the new recruits.

-Rengoku and Tengen often work together and can be quite a team. It is said Rengoku's family was blessed by a Phoenix spirit long ago giving his family the signature red hair. The two are the fastest of the monster slayers and are usually the ones to take jobs around towns or villages with monster problems. Sometimes they will be seen with Mitsuri is they need extra muscle.

-Mitsuri is the strongest and most flexible hunter and is the one who handles the REALLY big monsters like giants or dragons if they get too close to towns however she's also the negotiater between humans and monsters. If there's ever a situation that they can solve peacefully usually she's the one called to talk to the monster. She's also the one who's responsible for rehoming the tame magical creatures if they get too close to humans such as unicorns or jackolopes.

-Iguro is an expert hunter and usually has to help Gyomei teach the new hunters. He doesn't like it however. He is secretly dating Mitsuri after a cupid shot him with a confession arrow while the two were alone. Therefore he hates things like love potions and cupids. He literally dives under the nearest biggest object of he thinks he sees one. His expertise is hunting nagas and other reptile like monsters due to one killing most of his family and leaving him scared. The only monster he really won't say anything bad about is ghosts because he often sees them as poor lost souls.

-Tanjiro, Inosuke, Nezuko, and Zenitsu are monster hunters in training after one monster or another claimed the lives of their families. Zenitsu might have a crush on Nezuko which Tanjiro has mixed feelings about. He can often be seen training with the Tokito twins or being mentored by someone. Both Tokito boys were taken in by Gyomei after their parents died of natural causes 

-Guyuu is a hunter that specializes in water based monsters. Rogue mermaids, sirens, water elementals, maybe even a young kraken or two. He's seen them all and can often be seen soaking wet from missions and dragging the carcus of some water dweller behind him for Shinobu and her sisters to study.

*Who are the Demons in Monster Bride?

All are some kind of monster but they're personalities are the same as cannon.

Muzan Kibutsuji 

-The king of all monsters and non-human beings.

-He's part demon and part fae so he is INCREDIBLY powerful and handsome. 

-his blood can be used to give blessings or curses however he can also turn a human into any monster he wishes. Was the one to turn Kokushibo into a monster.

-Lives in his own pocket dimension known as the infinity castle and rarely shows himself due to a secret fear of humans made by Yorichii. The only human he completely trusts is his wife Rei.

-Has a semi deal with the humans. If any creature invades their territory or causes harm then they are free game.

-Doesnt really make an appearance in the story.

Kokushibo 

-Muzans right hand man and spy for anything he needs. Was turned into a monster by Muzan after willingly rejecting his humanity to become stronger.

-Was human however he was turned into an Omukade (centipede yokai) by Muzan. He looks similar to the links ago.

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619890069487616/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Out of all the monsters Kokushibo has slain the most hunters and is the most skilled fighter. Often using ambush attacks, being silent but deadly, and his lethal venom. 

-He acts as Muzan's assistant doing anything he needs outside of the infinity castle

-He is also Kaigaku's mentor and raised him after finding him abandoned as a child.

-He can switch to his human form but it's incredibly painful 

Douma

-Douma is possibly the second monster that has the most interactions with humans. He's a kelpie-centaur similar like in the links below

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619890069487616/some-monster-au-doodles-i-did-at-work-im-also?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619815851245568/wip-of-douma-and-daki-for-my-monster-au-since-i?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Douma has exactly 3 forms. His human form, centaur-ish form, and water form where his horse back legs turn into a fish tail. He can breath underwater, and use his skin like glue when he wills it so. He often likes to pretend to be a centaur or human to catch prey off guard or visit Akaza in his body of water.

-Douma rules over a pretty large lake that's just chalk FULL of fish and other wild life. Surrounding villages think he is some kind of water god and make sacrifices in exchange for letting them take fish from his lake. He devours any sacrifice his lovely followers gift him although raw beef and human flesh is his favorites.

-he likes bothering Akaza as he's one of the few monsters that'll pay attention to him mostly by yelling or fights.

-He has a special relationship with Daki and Gyutaro. Mostly because he partially raised them after their mother attempted to drown Gyutaro in his lake. He ended up drowning her instead and devouring her body. However he took mercy upon the siblings when realizing that they weren't human either. 

-He often drags big fish to their forest home or sometimes brings them his human sacrifices. Was also the one to give Gyutaro tips on navigating around hunters if he encountered them.

Akaza

-Akaza is a Betta fish merman similar to the art seen in the links below

www.tumblr.com/yuki2sksksk/729990049783021568/lionfish-based-merman-kyojuro-and-betta-fish-based?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-Was actually born into a human village with a poor father whom fell in love with a mermaid. It is unclear what happened to his mother however his father tragically took his own life.

-Was once engaged to a human woman called Koyuki but a group of male villagers murdered both her and her father after learning of her monster fiance. After murdering all the ones responsible, Akaza fled to the safety of a nearby series of streams where he continues to live.

-Because of his experiences from humans, Akaza drowns any unsuspecting men whom wonder into his waters but spares women and children. However he remains unseen so everyone just thinks the series of streams are cursed.

-Met Douma when the kelpie-centaur attempted to eat a woman who was fishing in one of his streams. Akaza was luckily able to save her but now Douma somehow sees him as his 'best friend' and continues to make numerous trips a year to see him. Akaza hates him for his eating habits.

Nakime 

-Not much is known about her. Her identity is mostly secret to everyone but Muzan.

-He is a cyclops siren hybrid but instead of her voice her power stems from her musical talent for the biwa.

-was taken in by Muzan after he saved her from a hunter and she now dutifully serves him mostly by transporting him and his family about the areas.

-was rumored to once be a famous entertainer for a king

Hantengu And His Sons

Hantengu:

-Hantengu is a shadow elemental often using his abilities to hide in the shadows and whimper and cry until one of his sons find him and brings him home again. He can also shrink his size and has a slight victim complex.

-Was married long ago to a harpy woman who bore him fives sons. However she was tragically killed by some humans when caught stealing a cow when Zohakuten was a baby.

-The death of his wife has made him fear humans more and make his sons very protective of him.

Sekido

-The oldest quadruplet brother and the angriest.

-A lightning elemental. He is 100% immune to lightning and often can be found outside in thunderstorms

-He's the leader of the brothers even if Urogi and Karaku don't always listen to him.

-Surprisingly doesn't hate humans but finds them really, really, REALLY weak and annoying and if one would annoy him he wouldn't hesitate to taze them.

Karaku:

-The second eldest brother and the one with the most experience with humans. 

-He has actually dated quite a lot of men and women humans

-Wind elemental

-The most carefree flirty brother and doesn't get along with Gyutaro after flirting with Daki once and then being chased by an angry wendigo brother.

Urogi:

-Urogi is a golden eagle harpy being the only one who took after their mother and the third oldest

-Also the second friendliest of the brothers and like Karaku has had a few relationships with them. 

-LOVES hunting prey. Everything from rabbits to giant bears. It's the birds of prey in him.

-Unlike Karaku however he knows how to tone it down more and laughs whenever he's chased by another's angry partner.

Aizetsu:

-Metal elemental and youngest of the quadruplets.

-Aizetsu is the weakest of his brothers being only able to use the iron in his body to create weapons however his favorite is a spear he usually carries in his back.

-Being the weakest has him being self conscious of himself despite his kind demeanor 

-He enjoys any compliments or praise he gets and often gets crushed easily.

Zohakuten:

-Tree elemental and the youngest brother of the Hantengu boys. Can manipulate wood and trees.

-The strongest of the brothers despite being only fourteen years old.

-He's as hotheaded as Sekido and often the two will fight and but heads even though they do legitimately care for one another. However his closest brother is Aizetsu whom listens to him. He's also the one who usually stays home with their father.

-Has five earth dragons as pets and gave them all tree names: Maple, Oak, Pine, Birch, and Willow. They were gifted to him as babies by Urogi whom found them while hunting.

Gyokko

-Was a merman mutated by a curse for stealing a vase from a sea witch, is now a spirit cursed to forever haunt the vase he once stole.

-Despite his appearance he's surprisingly content and often just wants to be left alone to work on his own artwork.

-VERY gay for Hantengu

-Doesnt really show up in the story

Gyutaro 

-a wendigo born from a wendigo father and human mother. Looks similar to the links below 

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619937633828864/gyutaro-daki-monster-au-wips-bleh?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-theres not really a lot of his kind left due to humans constantly hunting them. So he's usually on edge especially when it comes to his little sister. No human or monster is allowed near her except for Douma who half raised them as kids. He's also very self conscious about his appearance due to not getting enough food sometimes.

-hates humans for their treatment of him and the fact their mother attempted to drown him as a child. Although...he finds a few human women very pretty looking. Y/n in particular. Not as beautiful as his sister though!

-he secretly likes having someone scratch behind his ears. His tail thumps when someone does scratch him there

Daki

-Daki is a albino jorogumo Yokai (spider centaur creature) born from a human mother and drider father and looks similar the art linked below

www.tumblr.com/hazbinextgeneration/731619937633828864/gyutaro-daki-monster-au-wips-bleh?source=share&ref=itshauntedtoon

-despite a spider's reputation, many creatures both human and non-human alike have come to try and court her. Most are usually caught in her webs for food or run off or killed by her older brother. The only creature they both welcome unconditionally is Douma who partially raised them and often brings food if they haven't eaten in a while.

-her views on humans is...mixed. she adores the jewelry and cloth they make and her brother seems to have a crush on one. Plus some are delicious! But on the other hand they're really REALLY annoying.

-He's often very vain and complains a lot but is very protective of her brother for how much his kind is hated and hunted by humans so she often puts up web traps around their home.

Enmu

-Corrupted sandman, A K.A. Boogeyman. This man used to work for the man in the moon but would torment the poor souls he was supposed to help sleep by giving them traumatic nightmares. After he was caught he was immediately kicked out and banned from the moon's light.

-knows many kinds of tricks including hypnotism and a few medical techniques from being around humans for so long.

-he's nocturnal and usually sleeps in the shadows or somewhere dark during the day to walk around and torment others dreams at night. However he was surprised to find someone not affected by his abilities.

-he adores the human invention of trains and thus is often spotted sleeping hidden away in train stations or on trains or tormenting sleeping people on trains.

Kaigaku 

-Kaigaku is the only known demon-vampire hybrid and was abandoned by his parents as a young child. Was later found by Kokushibo and trained him to use a sword.

-He's not very powerful amongst other monsters but is definitely faster and stronger than a human. He also doesn't need blood to live like a full blooded vampire however he drinks it to make himself more powerful. Different monster's blood has different effects on him.

-Despite his blood thirsty heritage he adores peaches and any food with the fruit in it. He's actually gotten in trouble a lot for trespassing onto human farms for the fruit and was chased away by angry villagers.

-his demon half cancels out most of his vampire halfs weakness. So while he CAN walk in sunlight he's prone to get sunburns very easily. More than once he's shown up to training with red patches all over him.

Susamaru and Yahaba

-both are yokai whom work for Muzan

-they usually just protect his human wife and child whenever they go out and Kokushibo can't accompany them

-they surprisingly work well together

-they don't appear in the story

Kyogai 

-Elf-demon hybrid and is actually pretty weak. Is the reason he prefers to remain hidden in his forest mansion and write.

-his two main hobbies are writing and playing the Tsuzumi drum even though he's not very confident about either because of his now deceased father's constant disapproval.

-Actually very neautal towards humans. He doesn't hate them but he doesn't want them around either preferring to just be better left alone. However he does go into monster friendly towns nearby to purchase more books or writing utensils.

-has secretly published MANY popular books under a fake name and has made a decent amount of money from it.

Rui

-Spider tiefling. 

-He lives with his parents and many brothers and sisters in the forest and often they compete with driders for territory and food both being spider creatures. 

-he's very much like his cannon self and doesn't make an appearance in this story but thought it'd be interesting to mention him anyways.

Honorable Mentions

-Rei is a human while her and Muzan's daughter is a mixture of demon, Fae, and human but looks completely human.

-Hairou is plain and simple a vampire.

-The Swamp Demon is of course a trio of Swamp Monster triplets.

-Yushiro is a fae. Either a fairy or elf.

*What is Tamayo in the AU?

A celestial maiden and Y/n's mother. She was very beautiful and many men attempted to work her, Muzan included before he met Rei years later. Instead she fell in love with a human before he tragically passed away.

She again fell in love with Y/n's father after healing him and years later Y/n was born. Those related to a celestial maiden are blessed with kindness and beauty and Y/n is no exception. And unlike Demon Bride, Y/n does have a good relationship with her parents.

I left whom Y/n's father is ambiguous so you can imagine if it's Yushiro or not.

*What is Y/n in Monster Bride?

Despite her mother being a celestial maiden, Y/n was born completely human. I also left what Y/n looks like completely up to interpretation. So imagine her to look however YOU want.

[psychopasss4]

Previous anon here thanks for answering the ask🫶🏻I’d like to clarify I don’t mean to spread negativity at all.I am just a little disappointed with how things are turning out to be.I know we won’t know further until the next installment comes out but what do you think about Frederica so far?In providence did you notice how upset she was when her boss Yabuki asked her not to tell Kougami about using Saiga as bait?She also followed Kougami into the Akane rescue mission when she didn’t have to.I think she likes Kougami?😅Also what do you think about Kougami’s feelings towards her?He is a stoic through and through.I don’t think he’s directly expressed anything for anyone so far,has he?I know Kougami likes a“bijin”a traditionally attractive woman who can also be a good companion he can talk to but has he ever expressed anything for someone at all?I know he loves his mother and Tenzing,I am talking about his romantic relationships strictly.

I need to clarify this but I meant a Kougami x Frederica x Ginoza love triangle in my previous ask since Kougami and Ginoza both like Frederica.😮‍💨

Hi Anon! Again, sorry for the delay 😅

I kinda step back to writing down my own views for the series, coz I feel I have pour them all out on my previous posts (especially about Kogami x Frederica). And I should promote the official work instead.

But as a fan, I could definitely say Frederica likes Kogami. And Kogami tolerates her SO MUCH. 😁 And that's what the writers seem to impose.

Like for hundreds of times they mention Shinya x Akane is not a thing. They can't be in a relationship. But the fans keep on insisting so in the end they created Frederica Hanashiro to be paired with Kou.

Yet they saw the ShinKane is a BIG FANBASE so they use it's influence to bank on the merch. 😅😂

For the "rescue mission", she only joined because Kogami tagged her along.

Right after Akane called Kou, he asked Frede "I would go, how about you?" And the next day they showed up in front of Akane wearing the same coat. 😅

The whole Kogami x Frederica thing starts on the indirect bottle kiss and the fact that Kou calls her without honorifics. Like they're too comfortable with each other.

I don't think I have to explain things further. The whole fanbase felt it. Notice it. Got it. The writers are into something. And I don't have to expound that. And most of us are heartbroken with the transition. 🤧

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

For Ginoza, I don't think he's completely smitten by Frede. I mean, he's nice to everyone but also a bit reserved when it comes to relationship. That's why he remains NGSB (No GF since birth).

The Seiyuus, particularly Kana Hanazawa-san, said she likes Ginoza for Akane. Because he's way too nice to her and more concern to her. He is always on Akane's side. Even when he didn't visit her often when she's on her cell. More on that on my actual (Shinkane or Fredegami analysis which I will post when there's time).

Ginoza is kind but I don't think he is as smitten as Kougami. In my heart, I will remain a Shinkane fan, and no one can stop me from shipping them. Eventhough I am still in the process of accepting or digesting the fact that the author's have different plan.

I think Kogami should be more worried over Shizuka Homura 😂

Overall, let's just wait for the Season 4 ☺️

[kokushibosbestie]

My favorite ships are

ZenNezu

TanZen

Ocs ships InoAika and ObaKanna

RenKana or Rengoku x Kanae

SaneGiyuu

SabiGiyuu

ShinMitsu

Deku x Urakaka

BakuCamie

Jiro x Denki

TodoIida

TodoMomo

Okaayyy! Let's get started with the very deep, in detail ship analysis! (The first ones are very simple though so forgive me!)

ZenNezu, like I said before, is one that I enjoy. 8/10

TanZen is okay, but I don't think Tanjiro would be into men, so I can't see it. 3/10

InoAika and ObaKanna (I'm sorry, I don't know much about your ocs! If you still want me to rate them, lmk!)

RenKana is actually not that bad, but because they have never actually interacted (from what I know), I can't say I ship it. 5/10

SaneGiyu is a no from me. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I don't really like this ship. They have no chemistry and Sanemi is not open to the idea of being friends with Giyu (before the final arc). Sanemi has been shown to dislike Giyu and has stated why on several occasions. Giyu hasn't shown much distaste for Sanemi, but he does give him sass and kinda just disregards what he says. And I also have an HC where Giyu is Asexual/Aroace/confused. That's only my opinion though! 2/10

SabiGiyu is always one that I am open to! I enjoy their dynamic and how Sabito cares for Giyu. I think it's important to note how Giyu only changed after Sabito's death. Things might've been very different if Sabito had survived. Giyu was happy around Sabito, and vice versa. 8/10

ShinoMitsu IS MY FAVORITE OF ALL TIME. One, I genuinely think Shinobu is Lesbian and I live for it. Two, Mitsuri is believed to be Pan/Bisexual, so it'd make sense. I love how Shinobu has been shown to care about Mitsuri and how Mitsuri believes Shinobu to be beautiful and cool. They have a ship dynamic similar to ObaMitsu, Mitsuri being the bubbly and kind person she is x Shinobu, being the soft though angry/jealous(?) person in the relationship. They would work well and already do. 10/10

Deku x Uraraka isn't one I was always fond of because I thought Uraraka was also Lesbian and/or Bisexual. Just an HC of mine. Though, now that I think about it, they would make a cute couple and are very much loved characters. 8/10

BakuCamie is not one I like. One, they barely interact at all. Two, Camie is into Shoto (I'm not saying I ship Shoto and Camie). Third, I don't think Bakugou is even shippable at this point. Their personalities clash and don't mix well, considering Camie is one who looks for attention and is gaudy, while Bakugou just doesn't care. He cares about being the number one hero, not being considerably famous. I think that's what a lot of people don't understand about his character. He is always angry while Camie is usually collected and flirty. Bakugou would likely get annoyed by that behavior. 2/10

Jiro x Denki is an amazing ship. This ship is badass girl x worshipper guy and I love it so much. They are one of the only sane ships in BNHA and I'm here for it. 9/10

TodoIida is not one I expected but that's okay! I think this might work, though their personalities don't work together. Both of them are stoic most times and are probably touch-starved. Iida would be inflexible (like Iida is) and Shoto would kinda just stand there like 🧍‍♂️. Their dynamic is similar to what I think Muzan x Kokushibo is. (I do NOT ship Muzan with anyone, I just need another example). 5/10

TodoMomo is a cute one! I think positively about it because of the concern Shoto showed for Momo in season 2/3(?). And the way Momo and him work together so well. He is a gentleman and I think that works well with Momo's slightly timid and respectful personality. 7/10

[mrawkweird]

Well since FLCL is gonna be relevant again for a bit I'd love to bring up something I noticed but never saw discussed (mostly because everyone hated or avoided the shows on principle) but it's about Haruko. Specifically it's about how Progressive's and Alternative's two versions of Haruko parallels the two views of Haruko most people have. One where she is a rough but well meaning big sister and the other where she's the antagonist of series hiding in plain sight.

Full Swing is the best of the example of both views, Haruko knows Naota has feelings for her and deliberately spends a chunk of the episode having a robot version of his dad preform lewd acts in front of him, even going as far to have actual sex out loud with the door cracked open. Not to mention she's shown to be a pro at baseball another thing he's insecure about and something he's connected her with since the 1st episode. All this to get a satellite thrown at Mabase knowing that if Naota couldn't "swing the bat" the town would have been wiped out. Despite all this manipulation and disregard for life she gives Naota genuine good advice about "swinging the bat". Even her little disappearing act right as Naota swings the bat can be seen in the same light as parent letting go of their kid as they try riding a bike for the first time.

Now in regards to the two sequels Haruko has seemingly been split in two. In Progressive Haruko is openly manipulative and even more prone to anger. Her obsession on getting Atomisk (whether or it's just for his power or actual love) on full display. Seemingly going along with the viewpoint of people who after re-watching the original that she was the villain in plain sight.

Progressive is interesting because Haruko is almost uncharacteristly helpful to the group of girls even when she's not showing it directly. Giving the girls advice on their rocket, knocking around Hijire's ex after he dumped her for Haruko, wearing Mosan's outfit for the fashion show, and do I even need to mention her little therapeutic rap to Kana? Not counting the episode where she fucks around with Kana's crush (which only lead to her realizing she didn't really care about him as much as she thought) She even kinda sorta tries to reassure Pet's is alright leaving Kana behind for Mars. This reflects the chaotic big sister view to a T. It's also worth mentioning that Atomisk doesn't seem to exist in Alternative at all. So I guess when he's not around she just remains chaotic neutral.

Since they've done both of these types of Haruko in these shows I can't help but wonder if for the next two will she be different or will they flip between the two for whatever version fits the show they're trying to make.

I think there are 2 ways to look at what happens with her character to determine where we go from here and it comes down to the 2 views I've seen about Alternative and it's the idea of it being a prequel to the first FLCL VS it being a sequel to Progressive.

There's the possibility that Alternative showed her being more helpful for the protagonists because if this is a prequel then it's before she started becoming fully driven by the Atomsk obsession. However, the whole thing surrounding the prequel talk has been iffy because there's confirmations and non-confirmations with evidence disproving it being a prequel flying all over the place. At least from what I've found on the subject.

Now if we're looking at things from a sequel perspective then the way she acts can also be seen as her actually maturing as a character and showing how the events of Progressive changed something in her. You kind of can't be the same person after crying on your own shoulder. While dropping certain bad habits though she's still gonna be Bugs Bunny in these streets regardless.

The Haruko we get next depends all on what side of the coin they choose to ultimately fall on with Alternative and whether or not they're about those stealth prequels or full on committing to everything being a sequel. If it's a sequel then we may be continuing with Haruko being that helpful chaotic force but if it's a prequel then we're getting the Haruko that's only going to become more reckless and ultimately split. Grunge from just the first trailer is giving such heavy Season 1 energy that either they're just wanting to "return to form" or there's some timey wimey shit going on.

Maybe it is just as simple as the presence of Atomsk or lack there of actually altering how she behaves. Or perhaps she's just different with every story. Maybe there's a multiverse of Harukos, maybe her whole life is an anthology. Part of me feels like ultimately the endgame of FLCL could turn out to become her story all along. That she's not just the mascot of chaos but the main character.

[haro-hawayu]

Spirited Away: Live Stage

I watched the Spirited Away Live Stage in theaters on Sunday AND Thursday because there’s two sets of casts for some of the major characters~ just wanted to write my thoughts down. This is me trying to be organized but gets a bit rambly later.

Prior to watching: I already learned about some of the cast. TBH, the only names I knew right away were Hashimoto Kanna and Kamishiraishi Mone--both of them playing Chihiro on separate shows. I’ll just refer to them as Show A/Cast A (Hashimoto) and Show B/Cast B (Kamishiraishi) when talking about them~ Another name was Paku Romi who was part of Cast B. I was familiar with both actresses from different movies: Hashimoto as Kagura in Gintama and also Kamishiraishi as Kana in Chihayafuru (and voice of Mitsuha in Your Name) so I really wanted to watch both shows because I was really excited to see how both actresses would interpret the role of Chihiro.

Thoughts: I love the use of the projections and stage mechanisms that they used to depict movement, and changing of scenes. I think a lot of it was very very very cleverly used.

+Stage projections: I especially loved the part where they projected the Japanese title 「 千と千尋の神隠し 」(literal translation is something like “Sen and Chihiro’s Spiriting Away”) on screen, and they took the kanji 千 from both Sen and Chihiro to form the little torii ⛩ (gate commonly seen in shinto shrines that separate the mundane and sacred worlds) that they drive right through (in the movie they pass by one that’s just leaning there), kind of to represent the moment when the Ogino family entered a different realm. 

+Stage mechanisms: The very obvious ones was how they just rotate some big parts to show different scenes, like Kamaji’s boiler room, Chihiro’s room, the inside/outside of the bathhouse, Yubaba’s office, etc. I liked how they made use of ladders, walkways, and doors/entrances. The whole train scene was amazing too~

+Stage hands: So many things were definitely made possible thanks to all the stage hands!!! It’s interesting that instead of black, they went for a brownish color, but I think it fits very well. I know some people might feel a little distracted by them, but I learned to really ignore them lol. It’s thanks to them that we have Kamaji’s arms/hands, the really cool scene of Haku grabbing Chihiro and running through/past many doors (that one part where they purposely did a “slow-mo” moment during their run when running past the pigs was really cool), the elevator scene, as well as the movement for the soot sprites, mouse-Bo, fly-bird, dragon Haku, and many other things. Oh yeah, and major props to them for the part where they lifted Chihiro and Haku up in the final scene where they reveal Haku’s name.

+Funny oopsies caught: Because it’s a stage play, not everything is full-proof and completely “perfect.” Although I tried to ignore the stage hands, there were some moments that made me giggle a bit. One of the earlier ones (Show A) was the scene where Chihiro is eating the onigiri from Haku and the camera just happened to show Chihiro handing off the onigiri to one of the tree stage-hands to hold onto. Another funny moment was (Show B) where a hurt Haku turns back into his human form, and again, the camera just so happened to show an angle where Haku’s actor sneaks onto the set and tries to quickly hide into the little doorway in Kamaji’s boiler where he waits to “roll out” when his dragon form disperses.

+Unique moments: There were def things that I noticed were unique and great specifically for the live stage play. I loved all the extra singing that was added. I absolutely love the sung version of 神々さま with the whole bathhouse cast. I know this song actually exists but every now and then I wonder if I dreamed that a sung version of this song exists because there’s no full version online. My Googling skills only helped me find the lyrics and clip of it. I also liked that they expanded the scene of everyone cheering/dancing when they freed the River Spirit, and for the play, they had everyone dance and Chihiro was dancing along with them. I loved that they added a (new?? pretty sure it is) theme song for No Face/Kaonashi, and there’s always that same musical motif that plays when he appears. NGL I felt like Kaonashi was extra creepy/scary in the live stage play >< There’s also a song that Kamaji sings and a sung version for The Sixth Station with the ladies which I found were quite nice additions too. Definitely appreciate all the music that was added.

I actually teared up both times during that scene when Chihiro goes back to her parents in the beginning and sees that they got turned into pigs and she was screaming in a panick as they were getting hit and those strange things started to appear around her. I think they were amazing at depicting how scary of a situation it is when a kid finds themselves in such a situation and seeing all these strange apparitions too. I personally felt that the parting scene for Haku and Chihiro more sad and bittersweet in the live stage version, especially when Haku is telling Chihiro to not look back, and in the live stage play, you can see that initial hesitation she had. My favorite added tidbit was the part at the very end where you see Haku standing at the entry of the tunnel. THERE IS HOPE IN THEIR PROMISE!!

+Additional thoughts: I really loved Hashimoto Kanna’s depiction of Chihiro. I really think she was the perfect Chihiro. There was that one scene where she was just about to cry when eating the onigiri and I think the camera angle was perfect because you see her eyes getting shiny just as she starts crying and I was just kinda wow’ed by that (angle wasn’t quite the same for Show B at that scene). I was kinda on the fence on how I would feel about seeing Show B with Kamishiraishi Mone, but she exceeded my expectations~! I still love Hashimoto’s Kanna more though. As for Haku, I’m a bit partial towards Cast B’s Haku, but I appreciated that Cast A’s Haku appeared to be the better dancer??? I liked that he had a little dance thing in the play. I was also really excited to see Paku Romi in Show B, but tbh I got a BIIIIIT distracted by her voice because I can’t help but go “kyaaa it’s Paku Romi!!” Oh yeah, small thing but I loved that they had Chihiro trying to read her new name and went “Chi” and Yubaba was like “CHIGAU (wrong!) it’s Sen!”--it made me giggle.

Overall, I think the stage play did such an amazing job at being true to the original movie, and even expanding a little more on some scenes. I was skimming through the original movie and soundtrack while writing this, so there were some things that made me go “wow, they actually were able to include this and this and this into the stage play”??!” They even copied some of the same guests/patrons of the bathhouse, but I was a bit disappointed that Ootori-sama was only mentioned but didn’t actually appear in the play (unless I was blind both times)?? Not sure what else I missed out on but will edit this post if I remember something important later~

tl;dr Spirited Away Live Stage is an excellent adaptation for the original movie. 100 out of 10 recommended! Also Blu-ray has been announced for July as well as return/rerun of the play in August with both Hashimoto and Kamishiraishi reprising their roles!! So exciting!!

[skania]

What are your opinions on people saying that Akane loves Aqua unconditionally, and that's a problem, because in a romantic relationship you're not supposed to love unconditionally. They say that Aquakane is not a two ways street, ,because a relationship is supposed to serve BOTH people in it. For a relationship to work, you have to prioritize yourself in the first place. When you do something for your partner, this is NOT supposed to hurt you or put you in danger. I'd like to hear your thoughts

Akane loves Aqua unconditionally, and that's a problem, because in a romantic relationship you're not supposed to love unconditionally.

People are grasping at straws at this point, why don't they just say "I don't like this ship. I don't vibe with it." instead of jumping through hoops to try and paint everything about Aqua and Akane in a negative light? 😂

Akane does love Aqua unconditionally and I love that. Unconditional love is my jam. 90% of my ships are about unconditional love. And I'd argue that the kind of love where you want to spend your life with another person is supposed to be unconditional. That's the entire point of the for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish marriage vow.

Unconditional love doesn't mean you're willing to put up with anything your partner does even when it's harmful to you as a person (that's not love, it's dependency). It just means that if they go through any hardships, you won't drop them like a sack of potatoes. It also means that you love them because of who they are (not because of who you want them to be). Similarly, you love them for them - not because of what they can do for you or because you want them to give you the gratification of loving you back.

This article is pretty good at explaining that.

So, different strokes for different folks!

They say that Aquakane is not a two ways street, because a relationship is supposed to serve BOTH people in it.

Have they missed how much Aqua has helped Akane? How happy he makes her?

Aqua saved her life, gave her a choice where she felt like she had none, paved the way to emotionally saving her, helped her beat Kana, and then he became her attentive and doting boyfriend for an entire year. She wanted to complain about something? He was there. It rained? He was there to pick her up with an umbrella. She sent him a text? He replied right away.

Whoever thinks their relationship did nothing for her is completely ignoring the many times Akane has clearly said (and showed) that being with Aqua makes her happy.

For a relationship to work, you have to prioritize yourself in the first place.

Yes and no, because things aren't white and black. You have to prioritize your well-being and your boundaries if the relationship is causing you harm, that goes without saying. But for a relationship to work, you have to be able to put the other person first as needed. If you make yourself out to be the only person that matters there, then it isn't a relationship at all.

When you do something for your partner, this is NOT supposed to hurt you or put you in danger.

Obviously! lol How does this need to be said? I think whoever wrote this just forgot we're reading a fictional story where the stakes can afford to be higher than they should be in real life 😂

To actually talk about Akane though, we have been shown that she is more than capable of stablishing boundaries when it comes to her relationship with Aqua and to what she, personally, views as harmful to herself. One perfect example of this is Akane saying that she won't tolerate Aqua cheating on her. She loves him unconditionally, yes, but there are certain things she won't put up with.

Akane however doesn't view Aqua's revenge as something that brings her harm, she views it as something that hurts Aqua. And as such, she sees it as something she needs to deal with at any costs because she wants him to be happy and well above all. Should she have cared more about her own well-being in Chapter 98? Absolutely, and not doing so is even shown as a mistake that backfires on her.

But Akane being self-sacrificial has nothing to do with her loving Aqua unconditionally, it's a character trait that has been there since the very beginning of the manga.

She doesn't say that she's "a vegetarian", but that she's "training". So from the get-go, we're shown that instead of eating, Akane prioritizes grilling the meat so that others will eat it.

So what Akane needs to outgrown isn't her unconditional love for Aqua. What she has to work on is her self-sacrificial nature.

[yuseirra]

Obviously, "Fatal" must be Kamiki's song

Random talk (Akane, Kana, Aqua & Aqua's parents etc)-Analyis

Since I don't have Twitter, I often use this place to unload my thoughts… hehe

I went on in my notes again, I'd love to share it with you all here! I've really been enjoying doing so! :)

Ha… I don’t know why this manga makes me so anxious; I’ve drawn too much fan art for it. I’d feel so embarrassed if I’m wrong. Even so, I pour my heart into it! I’m really serious about my interpretations!

Over-immersion is definitely not good, but this story touches on human psychology in such a way that I can't help but get drawn in. Some of the psychological elements are so intense that they hit me really hard, almost instinctively. But emotions aren’t objective, right? That makes me anxious about being wrong. Even though there’s no need to be…

But no matter how much I say it’s just a manga, I don’t want to defend a serial killer or someone who stalked and murdered their girlfriend (well, at least that does seem to be almost out of the way, isn't it? seeing the direction how it's going, Aqua's motives for taking on the guy has shifted from Ai's revenge to protecting Ruby).

You can definitely like a character for what they are, even if they’re twisted. Characters are characters after all—you can find attraction in villains.

But you see, I’m not liking this particular character for those reasons. I’m drawing them while thinking, “This character doesn’t seem to be that kind of person.”

That's why I’m nervous about misinterpreting everything, even though it wouldn’t be a big deal if I did. But honestly, what’s wrong with seeing the good in a character and thinking, “Couldn’t they actually be a good person?” Even so, I really don’t want to misread things.

Hmm… I think I’m seeing things correctly though. I believe my interpretation of the character is on point. I feel what I see about him would prove to be true.

This manga isn’t devoid of mystery elements, but at some point, I started to speculate from a different angle; like, “What kind of person is this?” and it’s made me so focused on it. I just want a proper, concrete answer already!!

I mean, even if it’s just a manga, defending someone accused of such heinous crimes going “This person couldn’t have done that,”'s pretty anxious, right? Of course, I haven’t exactly drawn them in the context of “they didn’t commit murder,” but the way I’m drawing them feels gentle, doesn’t it? But that’s because I genuinely see them that way.

If this is all there is,

I have a lot to say… I have too many things that bother me.

I never imagined I’d feel this way from reading a manga;;; I wish it would handle things delicately while also wanting it to wrap up quickly so I can feel at ease. It’s unsettling, weighing on my mind. There’s something beneath the surface that seems just out of reach.

Back to the title topic—It’s really obvious that Fatal is Kamiki’s song because,

Though Ai is someone very special and important to Aqua, I think at this point, Ruby is even more precious to him. Aqua still has people around him who are alive, and he has to live for them. Living for the dead is exhausting and hard. There’s so much for him to look forward to (which is, in a way, the essence of what Kamiki says to Aqua in chapter 161). Aqua has Ruby. Ruby is incredibly important to him. He also has Kana and Akane. He’s not at the point where he lives solely for Ai, nor should he be.

Kamiki doesn’t have people like that. Ai is his only reason. To die, to live- whatever he's doing, I feel he's in it for what he THINKS is for her sake.

The Fatale in the song clearly refers to Ai. For him, Ai is everything. He's the one that can become like the song if it's about her. That’s why Kamiki has to be the speaker in Fatal.

When I read this manga, I was like, “Wow, the relationships are so well-crafted.” If someone has lived that kind of life, inevitably, they’d only be able to see Ai. Whether his basic personality is good or bad (and this is what gives the story its flavor, lol, he’s fundamentally a good person, but for Ai, he could completely lose himself and fall apart. He probably kept pushing through a lot of things, even while dying inside the way I see it.) The narrative is constructed so that if Kamiki believes “Ai died because of me,” he’d be willing to risk everything. He really can't bear to live on doing nothing if that happens.

I’ve analyzed the relationship dynamics in this manga many times, right?

If you combine Ruby and Aqua and divide them in half, you can see how they inherit traits from their parents. (Aqua and Ruby are really a blend of both Ai and Kamiki. They resemble both their father and mother.)

The Aqua-Akane and Aqua-Kana dynamics are strikingly similar to Ai-Kamiki when they're combined, but the former are a little less dark. Akane is protective of Aqua to an unusual degree—it goes beyond repaying a debt or liking him a lot. She’s almost at a guardian level, more like a mother at this point than your usual lover. Akane has said that she feels something akin to maternal instincts, and that fits. It’s almost like Ai sent Akane to be Aqua’s guardian angel. There’s a strange, blind devotion there. It’s not just romantic love; it’s something different. Kana’s feelings are romantic, pure and simple. She gets those fluttery feelings. But Akane’s protective instincts are overwhelming, almost agape-like—"I want to protect this person." It’s not a normal high school crush. And when she’s willing to pick up a knife and deal with things for him, it’s beyond normal, right? Akane comes from the most stable family out of all the characters, yet she acts like this, and it’s puzzling… (On the other hand, Kana didn’t come from such a good environment, but her emotions are more typical of a regular high schooler, so she fits better in the everyday slice-of-life aspects.)

Anyway, this kind of protective instinct is a huge part of what Ai felt toward Kamiki. If you combine Kana’s feelings for Aqua with Akane’s protective nature, it’s likely very similar to how Ai felt about Kamiki. Ai, if you look closely, really, really liked him. She treasured him so much.

So, I ended up dissecting the character to figure out why she liked him so much, and the conclusion I came to was, “Wow, this really is a rare personality. He must have been a really good person.”

It’s hard to believe someone like that could be accused of such horrible things… that's what's been getting at me.

He really was a good person. Don’t you think? His personality is just so kind…

If it weren’t for the murder charges, I’d probably like it if someone like him were to be around me. Doesn't have to be in a romantic sense really, but just being near someone like that would be healing. I wish more people like him existed. That’s the feeling I get. Seeing him described as “noble” reassured me that my interpretation was correct. The many comics I drew with him in it? I feel I'd have captured his nature in an accurate sense. I’m confident in that. He’s kind. Really kind.

I’ve always liked these kinds of characters. Ai and Kamiki feel so familiar to me. If my interpretation is right, they’re exactly like the favs I have in every other series. Their environments were awful, which left them broken in some ways, but I believe their innate personalities were good. They’re good people. I love good kids. I just really enjoy portraying characters with lovely nature and I see that in them.

But looking at the plot, I get nervous, wondering if I’m really seeing things correctly. But I think I am.

Returning to Fatal,

If you look at it as if Kana and Akane were one person for Aqua, and there was no one else by his side, and his life was truly miserable, and that person saved him—what meaning would that hold for him? That’s how you explain it. Ai is that person for Kamiki. He would inevitably love her. And he truly did love her.

And she died. So, of course, it wouldn’t be strange for him to want to die too, or give his life away for her sake (Mephisto is saying exactly that).

In his mind, she was more important than he was, so he’d give anything, even his life, for her. That’s why the emotions expressed in those songs make sense.

But… it seems like something happened. That’s why he didn’t or couldn’t follow her in death. I think something made him believe that if he did something, he could meet Ai again. That’s the impression I get from the songs.

If Kamiki went insane, it would be because of that, right? But when you look at what he’s doing on screen, he doesn’t seem completely insane. If Ai wants him to be helped, then perhaps there’s still hope. Even if it doesn’t seem like it. They brought that idea in, so I felt that's what would eventually happen. It doesn't make sense for me for that to be left a lost cause.

If Ai chose him, I think he must be a good person. That’s the feeling that hit me… Looking at how meticulously the relationships and character dynamics were set up (the more I see, the more impressed I am; if you merge Ai and Kamiki’s character traits and split them in half, there are so many parallels with the relationships of the other characters), it feels like this was crafted with great care.

It’d be a real waste if this story didn’t go anywhere. There’s clearly so much there. That’s why I keep drawing.

Just look at Mephisto’s lyrics! The speaker is constantly saying, “I’ll give my life if it means you’ll come back.” Isn’t there a lot to unpack from that alone? “I’d give anything because I want to see you again.” This is a project from two romance writers teaming up with each other; how could this not be explored?

It’s fascinating to see a character who was once so gentle and mild-mannered become someone willing to give everything, saying, “I can’t live without you.” If this character had originally been strong-willed, that would be interesting too, but instead, this was a soft-spoken and gentle person who has become so desperate and heartbreakingly eager to see someone again. The narrative is incredibly intense, isn't it? And… from Kamiki's perspective, it plays out exactly like that. He couldn’t help but love Ai that much, and even if the situation hadn’t been that way, he would have still loved her deeply. This character could never harm Ai. To him, Ai was more important than his own life. (And in chapter 161, he does says something like that, though… the phrasing is a bit strange. But in my opinion, that expression was just acting. He's already said something along those lines in 153 and 154 that he's loved her that much too so it's pretty consistent.)

This isn't about Aqua, you know, haha. Aqua has other people, and if you look closely, he’s already moving in a somewhat different direction from those lyrics.

Hmm, I think something will come up within the next 5–6 chapters :)

[protect-namine]

actually upon getting more backstory? yeah I do think the potentially uncomfortable relationships were done on purpose. or um at least, with awareness and intentionality? themes are theming, context matters, etc etc.

I'm about 50 chapters in and while I personally don't mind the relationships in the manga, I can definitely can see how it will read as off-puttting to some readers

also, I love aqua, but I am holding on to the promise that ruby will get her protagonist moment in the future soon. protagonist ruby would be amazing 🙏

[eyes-like-obsidian]

8. Does your muse get jealous easily? 10. A ship in your fandom you love (that does not include your muse)?14. How many ships is too many?

Mun Related Shipping Questions!

8. Does your muse get jealous easily?

Uta is not the jealous type, knowing very well that Yoriichi would never go do anything to hurt her. She trusts him more than she trusts herself. Though she would give another women the side eye if they are eyeing her s/o.

10. A ship in your fandom you love (that does not include your muse)?

Oh yes! I love love love ships and there are actually plenty ships I love, besides YoriUta! Let me list them for you.

Shinjuro x Ruka; No men turns to the alcohol and grieves like that if he didn't loved his wife. What a pity that we nearly see nothing of them.

Zenitsu x Nezuko: Zenitsu is no pervert, like most people love to say. That was proven in Mugen Train. I mean did you'll saw his dream? How innocent and pure his love towards Nezuko was? Where he takes her where the peaches, flowers and river are? And nothing more? If he was a pervert the dream would different. Zenitsu just wanted to be loved from a kind soul, as he was scammed by his previous dates who even piled her debt on him (they didn't even let him hold her hands). And yet he still believes in love and when he heard from Tanjiro how kind Nezuko actually is or was as a human? I mean the boy was already head to toe in love with her by her looks, but also hearing that she was kind? You know the drill.

Sanemi x Kanae: Okay this may be not entirely canon and nowhere confirmed but if you look closely to the details and what Gyomei has to say about them in the Databook gives me vibes that Sanemi actually had feelings for Kanae, but it was not further developed since she died. But we see that Sanemi and Kanae are talking on a regular basis in Kimetsu Gakuen. Also the combination of brash and badass Sanemi with the sweet Kanae is just too cute!

I actually love all canon ships of KnY like Tanjiro x Kanao, Inosuke x Aoi, Obanai x Mitsuri. But the one I listed above are my faves :3

14. How many ships is too many?

If you ever ask me: Curly how many ships do you want? My answer would be simply "Yes" I am sorry but I love love love shipping so much that I think that I don't even have a limit for that. Of course that doesn't mean I ship with everyone. I ship via chemistry as I do believe that muses can develop an own character after a while in your head, but I am very open to try it! Even i I expierenced it way too much that the chemistry didn't felt right. But you can only find that out after plotting and chatting together.

[lettersfromandie]

2020 Highlights

I guess it'd be an understatement to say that 2020 was a really awful year, given the devastating effects of the global pandemic and the innumerable disasters and issues happening in our country. I think we got jinxed with our "2020, please be good to me" posts 🙍

We all started that year still not knowing about the presence of COVID-19, and from then on, it all went pretty downhill after that. From everything that has happened in my life and others', I can frankly say that 2020 was actually the worst 😠 However, while reflecting on it, I can also count some bright days. I guess it wouldn't hurt to kind of celebrate the good ones during that horrible year, eh?

I fully acknowledge that so many lives were (and still are) at stake and just trying to get through that year wasn't easy for us -- even much more for others. I also know that terrible things can still happen regardless if there's a pandemic or not. But I too still acknowledge that despite the horrible year, there were actually bits in my life, however small or big they seem, that remind me to keep moving forward and get through the day no matter how mentally and emotionally challenging 2020 had been.

So I just want to share some of the good highlights I had that kept me sane during that dreadful year, without seeming tone-deaf or tactless:

HK & Macau Trip

Litrato mula sa sandaling bago mag sakuna??  Wow pre-COVID days na we were still not stuck in our homes? and still be able to travel?? Gosh I miss those days  😞 

Anyway, this was my first time in Macau and second time in Hong Kong! We went back a year after our first HK trip because our fam loves it there. What I most especially like in HK is its easy-peasy convenient public transportation system -- which, I reckon, is a huge factor why we wanted to visit again since it's less hassle to go to many different places. Macau though, has one of the most beautiful and extravagant-looking architecture and interiors (we only visited a whole day because too laysho for my layf LOL). 

With High Honors

I don't have a photo to share for this highlight (well I actually have a few but for privacy reasons I wish not to nalang) but I'm really so happy to know that my hard-earned efforts led to the expected performance and reward! I remember back in JHS I made a deal to myself that if I ever belong in the Top 10, I'll treat myself with a large Sbarro lasagna! HAHAHAH grabe noh kana ra jud haha it's been long since I last ate one (gi dibdib jud ang deal ba) and I actually haven't treated myself one after the recognition program. When everything starts to settle down I hope to get myself one!! hihi (I can only imagine how the food tastes better after not eating it for years!)

Happy Birthday to me!

I turned 19 on May 19th! Ew, I am growing old. Just the thought of me turning 20 this year makes me puke 😖 chz. But this is obviously worth celebrating because I am blessed with the gift of life and the time to celebrate it with my family <3 

Passed UPCAT

MOM, I PASSED UPCAT! AAAAHHHHH Well this is unexpected as someone who just skrrrt-ed my way through the Math part and didn't even finish half of it! Luck doesn't always favor me but I'm happy that I got lucky in this 😊 I feel like I don't deserve it but still, thank you so much, Lord!

The Weeb Life

If there's one thing to describe what I did the whole time while I was just at home, I would say... BINGING ANIME! My fave anime characters are my fave fictional companions during quarantine huhu I'm so glad I started watching anime (and reading manga) this year. Honestly at first it wasn't really my cup of tea after watching some anime recommendations but then I tried watching one episode of Attack on Titan and after that MY LIFE STARTED TO CHANGE (HAHAHA OA kaayo noh).

There were actually days and moments I did not include in my highlights that gave me a sense of strength and purpose while coping everything that had happened that year. But I wish to just keep it to myself for these are my little personal winning moments hihi. 

Albeit this "wasted" year of mostly spending my days within four-cornered walls, 2020 was actually a year of learning and growth for me. I just hope this year everything will eventually get better for all of us and we'll no longer have to get by with those community quarantine classifications 🙏

Love, Andie