#and while this is a theory post about Tsukasa it's more of a theory about Amane honestly

[nanabansama]

Tsukasa Is Tsukasa

Recently I discovered a poll asking if people thought the Supernatural Tsukasa and the Red House Tsukasa were different, and the results surprised me! A majority of voters thought they were not the same. Not only that, but I've seen many people in the fandom start believing they are separate people, if they hadn't already believed it before.

I think this stance can very easily be explained by the scene in Chapter 111 where Amane comes to the conclusion that the Tsukasa who went missing isn't the same as the one who came back:

While people might be divided on the details, the conclusion is basically the same: whatever that is inside of him, it's not Amane's brother.

And I can see why they think this! In fact, it used to be a popular theory back during the release of chapters 78-82 when we didn't know the specifics of what happened. Heck, we still don't know many of the specifics...and many people continued believing the Tsukasas were different anyway!

There's decent evidence to support this, too. When Tsukasa returned, he had sharp teeth and supernatural powers. He knew that Kunishige's wish was that the head priest would die. He's demonstrably different from the innocent little Tsukasa that sacrificed his life for Amane.

If that wasn't enough, even his own mom came to the conclusion that Tsukasa wasn't her son! This is basically the same conclusion Amane comes to in Chapter 111. That's 2/3 of Tsukasa's family members thinking some evil entity is larping around in his skin--not a good look!

In any case, while I could try and convince you guys there are two Tsukasas and the Tsukasas are different, that's not what I'm here to do. If you read my blog you already know I'm 100% on the side that Tsukasa is Tsukasa and always has been, and nothing AidaIro has shown me so far has been convincing enough to change my mind. In this post, I am here to argue that the Red House Tsukasa is the same as the Supernatural Tsukasa and that he merely works in tandem with the ancient god living inside him.

1. Chapter 82

This is the chapter when a lot of people dropped the theory that there are two Tsukasas, including me. (Yes, I used to believe there were two Tsukasas--people change!)

Kou and Nene had determined that the Red House Tsukasa was the real Tsukasa and that the one Amane killed was a fake. They come to this conclusion because this Tsukasa was trapped in the Red House for 50 years and acts a lot nicer and sweeter than the one we know.

The issue is, Kou tells this Tsukasa that Amane is going to kill Tsukasa and die at the age of 13...and unbeknownst to Kou, the seemingly innocent little Red House Tsukasa is EXCITED at the idea! Tsukasa, thankful to Kou and Nene, helps them escape the house but stays behind. This scene is when a lot of cool stuff happens.

First, we learn that Tsukasa wasn't actually trapped in the Red House and he always knew how to get back home, but that he never left because he was worried about what would happen to Amane. However, once Kou told him that Amane wasn't happy after Tsukasa left and that Amane kills not just Tsukasa but also himself, Tsukasa realizes he doesn't know that much about Amane and wants to learn more. The most shocking part of this scene to me was that Tsukasa's excitement at dying was very similar to the lighthearted way the Supernatural Tsukasa brings up his death with Amane.

Second, we see Tsukasa not only has the entity he sacrificed himself to to save Amane stored in his chest, but that he holds a conversation with it.

The entity being shown in his chest is actually a popular argument for the "Tsukasa isn't Tsukasa" theory, but I feel this scene proves otherwise. Tsukasa is not the unwilling host of this entity, as one might expect, but instead almost treats it as a friend. They have a sort of symbiotic relationship going on, and Tsukasa makes the decision to go back wholly of his own, despite them both knowing how to get back the entire time. He even says "let's go back TOGETHER," which supports the idea that they work together and that it isn't simply piloting a Tsukasa meat puppet.

We can argue Tsukasa is the victim to the entity's machinations, that the entity needed Tsukasa to do it willingly or that the entity took full control of Tsukasa after he succumbed to the flames or what not and tricked him, but so far AidaIro has only shown cooperation between these two characters. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Tsukasa gaining supernatural powers after he comes back isn't a sign that he's a different being entirely but that he's just working with one.

2. Mother Doesn't Always Know Best

This one will be a quick section, but considering Mother Yugi is basically the origin of "Tsukasa isn't Tsukasa" I wanted to cover why I think she's wrong.

In Chapter 79 Kunishige recounts how Mother Yugi took Tsukasa to their shrine because she thought her son was possessed by a demon after being spirited away. Kunishige thinks she's crazy at first, and so do the priests, who find nothing wrong with Tsukasa. Put a pin in that btw.

However, Kunishige later learns she was onto something because Tsukasa is not only an incredibly unsettling child but he correctly predicts the death of the head priest of the shrine and tells Kunishige his wish, for the head priest to disappear, would be granted tomorrow. This proves Tsukasa has otherworldly power, since he knows Kunishige's wish without Kunishige telling him, and also might have the ability to grant wishes, something the entity in his chest is shown to be capable of.

Now, I personally think the fact that the priests found nothing wrong with Tsukasa is HUGELY in favor of my theory. I understand how you can argue that the entity somehow avoided detection because it's powerful, or because there was nothing left of the original Tsukasa or something, but I still think the fact the priests detected nothing wrong is extremely weird. What if that's because Tsukasa is still in control?

I think the fact Mother Yugi was convinced Tsukasa isn't her son and wasn't persuaded otherwise is important, too. In fact, I think it might directly correlate with the conclusion Amane makes in Chapter 111. I think Amane is more or less coming to the same conclusion his mother made, something he hadn't wanted to believe at first but eventually, finally, succumbed to. I have to imagine his mother's insistence that Tsukasa wasn't Tsukasa left a big impression on Amane, and it's something that's bothered him for years.

I can't exactly blame them both, either. By the time Tsukasa came back, he'd lost a lot of his innocence. Keep in mind that they think Tsukasa was gone for six months. Any normal 4-year-old kid might have been traumatized by leaving his family for six months, but Tsukasa just acts creepy and possessed. And despite him meeting Nene and Kou 50 years in the future, it's possible it really was only six months for Tsukasa! Time worked differently there. Still, it's not hard to see how the extreme circumstances he was in might have changed him. Not only was he stuck in a haunted death house, he later learns the wish he granted for Amane wasn't Amane's true wish and that Amane kills Tsukasa. This is all pretty life-changing information, and when you tack on the fact that he's buddy-buddy with an ancient man-eating god, it's really not that surprising Tsukasa has changed so dramatically, especially when he's still at the tender age of 4.

3. Behavior

For something that's supposedly replaced Tsukasa entirely, it certainly gets very personal with Amane, doesn't it?

I said before that Red House Tsukasa in Chapter 82 acts similar to Supernatural Tsukasa. How they find delight in death. But I don't think this is the only point of similarity between them, either. In Chapter 81, Red House Tsukasa is under the impression that Amane hates him.

In Chapter 111, after Amane tells Tsukasa he hates him, Tsukasa tells him he already knew that.

Mind you, this line comes seconds before Amane comes to the conclusion that Tsukasa isn't Tsukasa.

Think about it. Tsukasa tells Amane that he knows Amane hates him, echoing a sentiment that the Red House Tsukasa shares. And Amane, after hearing this, comes to the conclusion that this Tsukasa is an impostor.

Isn't that... really sad?! I mean, I'm not going to say that Amane's whole reasoning for Tsukasa being a fake is that he thinks Amane hates him, but...before this scene, Amane was saying he couldn't destroy his yorishiro because he cared about Tsukasa too much. And for Tsukasa to say something he's thought ever since Amane pushed him as a little kid, and for THAT to make Amane say he thinks Tsukasa is fake... it really shows they've never understood each other at all.

Tsukasa's never been shown to get extremely upset about being hated by Amane, either, so you can't say Amane is right just because Tsukasa is laughing in Chapter 111. Tsukasa initially seems shocked when he was pushed, and overall seems a little sad about it in Chapter 81, but he still remarks that Amane hates him with a smile. He's selfless about it. And later, when he learns Amane kills him, this feeling gets more complex. Despite Kou's attempts to convince him otherwise, I think Kou's reveal only made Tsukasa more convinced that Amane hates him, and this is shown in Chapter 111 when he laughs about it. It's just a funny joke to him at this point.

I...genuinely cannot reconcile this behavior with Tsukasa being a fake. I just can't! Why would the entity be this personal with Amane? Why would it share opinions that the supposedly "real" Tsukasa had? If AidaIro really is trying to write a story about a little boy being replaced by a supernatural entity, then they could at least do a better job of making them act different. TBHK makes it clear that supernaturals can experience human emotions just as strongly as actual humans, so it wouldn't surprise me if the god has its own personality and feelings, but for them to just...be the exact same as the human it replaced? I'm not buying it.

There is no difference between the Red House Tsukasa and the Supernatural Tsukasa that can't be explained away by the fact that people change as they grow older. Everything about Tsukasa's character arc as I've presented it is completely logical.

Conclusion

With so little info on the ancient man-eating god, it's kind of impossible to reach a proper conclusion at this point. All we really know about its personality is that it hungers for flesh and will grant any wish in exchange for it. With this in mind, it's incredibly easy to see why people think the god and Supernatural Tsukasa are one and the same, especially when the cast tends to treat them as such. I could just as easily write a post in favor of them being different as I could of them being the same.

And I think this is what AidaIro ultimately wants! I think AidaIro wants us to second guess ourselves. If I know anything about Aidairo, it's that they like to keep up on our toes and shock us with surprising twists. Who really knows what they have hiding up their sleeves?

Still, I feel the theory that the god replaced Tsukasa raises more questions than answers, and I hope I managed to explain my side of things.

[rosquinn]

Thoughts on the dr stone petrification scars

Big disclaimer,

This is just my personal thoughts and stuff I put together n noticed, a subjective interpretation, don't take it seriously Im probably wrong

Some of these are very elaborate while others are just me pointing out details I liked. Sorry. I'll start with the longer rants

This post contains characters (currently) exclusive to the manga and main plot spoilers. Maybe I'm looking to much into it but I swear to motherfucking God there's scar symbolism. anyway

Senku and Taiju

Something that always stood out to me is how similar their scars are both in shape and position, except that Taiju's is cut on the right eye and the points are on opposite sides. Now listen to me... Senku and him are opposites; one's big brained but physically a twig and the other one is the strongest most resistant man you'll ever meet but doesn't really understand anything about science. That's why opposite scars and why they need each other to go on... But their marks are in the same direction because they have the same goal and interests + deep down they're both extremely caring people who would do anything for those around them, despite how different and contrasting their personalities are at first glance.

Oh and Senku's marks are completely symmetrical and do NOT go away. Idk logic perseverance etc + Taijus are more coarse and asymmetrical. To contrast their way of thinking I think. They could be similar because they were the first ones to wake up from the petrification too but you know

Francois & the Nanami brothers

Francois' scar looks like explosion or sound waves. (Manga) Ryusui snaps his fingers to call them creating a similar shape, which is really cool I'll admit. Their scar is on their hand, just like Ryusui's.

So, both Ryusui and Sai also have scars on their hands, except Ryusui's may resemble a glove so pirate-like if we don't count the color + it's on the hand he snaps his fingers with. Mark resembling a rich man or a pirate's glove on the same hand he uses to call his butler and ask for service, and it only covers his fingers. Could be something like a symbol of power/status.

On the other hand, Sai's scars completely cover the lower part of his arms and hands, which are what he uses to code. Sai ran away in order to be able to schedule quietly and is completely locked in his work. Tell me you get it please

Yoo

I'm getting into crack theory with this but please do bear with me. His scar makes him look like Alex, the protagonist of A Clockwork Orange. A Clockwork Orange deals a lot with the theme of unscrupulous rebellion, hurting someone because you think you have complete freedom, and police brutality, which are big parts of Yoo's character. As far as I remember the eyelash marks are left on the MC after being forced to watch 484737 movies showing super brute crimes so he understands what he is doing is wrong and redeems himself. Yoo covers his face a lot to hide the mark and only removes the piece of stone that covers it at the end of the manga when he is 100% team Senku.

IN ADDITION, something important in A Clockwork Orange are the vulgar idioms and slang that teenagers invent and are completely unknown to the viewer and curiously the name and surname of Yoo are formed by informal interjections in Japanese. I've only read the book tho, never watched the movie so if I got anything about the eye marks wrong mb

Tsukasa and Stanley

I really like how similar their scars are, considering both were absurdly overpowered antagonists that had to be defeated using much more advanced science + both kill Senku at one point + their eyes are similar to some extent. I love parallels

Dr Xeno

Scar becomes? White? Splits into pieces? After he's revived a second time and decides to help Senku. Something about his ideals splitting/changing maybe. And being no longer evil thus willing to kill teenagers

Gen

Gen's scar seems to resemble a mouth that changes shape depending on whatever emotion he's feeling (or pretending to feel). I don't have anything else to say genuinely peak character design, specially taking into account that facades are a huge part of his arc and relationships with other characters (let's remember that he's the one to suggest everyone paints their scar again in solidarity with Senku. Hm).

Yuzuriha and Mirai

Yuzu's resemble the roots and vines that protected her body while she was petrified, while Mirai's make her look like a baby chicken breaking out of its shell. I think they're both cute details considering their characters:)

Homura

Considering she's a gymnast who uses her legs a lot to move, I find cool that it's on her thigh. It makes her legs look like they're cracking

Hyoga

Very circular and repetitive, something related to his weapon maybe. I find interesting that he covers them. Insert cursed speech jujutsu kaisen joke

Addition: Ukyo has no visible mark which is also cool on its own way, given that one of his abilities is easily perceiving sounds other people don't notice at all

[project-sekai-facts]

i recall some kind of theory or pointing out of the fact that tsukasa's focus sets have had him getting less and less authority each time, and with the role of a minor character, it seems to have been intentional

oh i remember a lot of players on JP and KR side pointing that out when Phoenix released! and yeah I think it's definitely true

he went from king -> commoner -> jester/circus performer (for the king) -> a shadow

actually i have a lot of thoughts about his new card and i doubt this set will get an official blog post so i might just ramble a bit. (ftr: haven't read the event yet, sekai.best isn't updating and i surprisingly haven't really found anything from looking through JP/KR side either). specifically, i have a few thoughts about tsukasa being a shadow in this card because it's actually way more than that. oh to be a media student

first off the costume name: phantasmagoria. according to wikipedia, this was an old form of horror theatre that involved projecting scary images. (it's quite interesting actually you can read the article here). the effects in phantasmagoria productions would be done using magic lanterns, the ones you slide a disc with a picture into so it projects it onto a wall. usually, they'd use rear projection, where the lantern is placed behind the surface it's being projected on (so the surface would usually be smoke or some sort of semi-transparent screen) to keep up the illusion (rear projection is how old movies did backgrounds for reference).

now here's where the light in the card comes into play. for starters, rear projection clearly isn't being used here because he's on the stage-thingy (that will be relevant later). also instead of the light shining at him as if he were the subject being projected, it's shining down on him. while partially this was definitely done in part for composition cool points (the composition on this card is so fucking good actually it has nothing to do with symbolism but like holy shit), it's very reminiscent of a spotlight. as i said, i haven't had the chance to read the event yet but i'm assuming this will connect with him having to play a minor role (or play the shadow as the gacha says) and still putting himself in the spotlight.

i like that idea actually because if you link the fact he's standing in the spotlight that means he is still casting a shadow. it may appear to the viewer as if he's the centre of attention - he's right in the light, literally hitting all the composition marks to make him the sole focus of the card - but he's still just a shadow in a larger phantasmagoria. and actually, the spotlight sort of goes around him, he's pretty much cast in darkness despite being in the light and i love how that reflects him being part of a smaller role or "shadow". he stands in the spotlight and puts on a great show no matter if he's truly the star.

lastly: the pose. now look at this 4koma where he does a bird pose:

familiar? while in this 4koma he's meant to be imitating an eagle, i can't help but notice some striking similarities in how he's posed.

also the gacha has a feather! specifically a black one. unfortunately since there are no actual birds on the cards, nor are there feathers, I can't tell you exactly what bird he is meant to be..,

although if you wanted to really grasp at straws then his last event was called Towards the Phoenix at the Sky's Edge the play from that event was called Happy Phoenix and both the play and the lead role in it are incredibly significant to Tsukasa personally and he ended up cast as the lead role in that play and even though the lead role isn't the phoenix that bird is still significant to him in some way.

also going all the way back to the original point of his class decreasing with every set i think while yes in this set he has been reduced to nothing more than a prop, or even less so a mere shadow, but at the same time if you chose to go with that incredibly reachy phoenix idea, it's a comeback. the phoenix rises from the ashes, tsukasa can be reduced to nothing and still be the star owning the spotlight, the most powerful one in the room. hell, he's still on a stage despite everything. i think it's super neat actually that despite this being him at the lowest rank, he's actually in the place where he belongs.

i believe i've only briefly mentioned it in passing on this account before, but theatre is his life. above all else Tsukasa is an actor and the stage is where he thrives. i think it's so interesting how with each set he loses authority, but he also gets closer to being on the stage. the king is at (well, near) his castle where he leads (link to WMS), Torpe is at his piano where he performs (link to Dazzling Light), the Jester is at the circus where he performs, and then you get the one that's hardest to define as any set character. it's not a king or a pianist or jester, it's just some performer on a stage. this time there's no character, and it's not just "some performer" because this is tsukasa. it's still another role, but this time the role is, as the event synopsis states, more "real". this is tsukasa where he belongs, he never needed any sort of power or to play the role of another performer in order to shine because he himself is a performer at his core. Torpe is a performer, but Torpe is not Tsukasa. Tsukasa is Tsukasa, and Tsukasa is a performer. Something like that.

sekai.best please update

[musicalmoritz]

i’ve been following you for a little while because i’ve been considering getting back into TBHK. it was one of my strongest fixations but i was totally put off by the fandom’s reception of one part of the story until i dropped it entirely.

i thought i’d ask to see if the fandom has changed at all since i was last in it, and you seem really good at analyzing media: what’s your take on the amane/(possessed) tsukasa sa theory? i won’t argue regardless of what your opinion is! i’m just curious to see how the fandom is treating the story now. i miss the series alot ngl

Have I finally made it as a TBHK fan creator now that I’ve gotten an ask abt the SA theory?? Jk jk, that was a terrible joke I’m sorry guys

Before I get into this I wanna say thank you for being so respectful, people tend to have very strong feelings in this theory (for good reason, it’s a serious subject) and that can lead to pitchforks whenever it’s brought up. I’m going to try to discuss this as neutrally as possible but I will warn you that I’m very biased. I love Tsukasa as a character and the Yugi twins as a sibling duo so as much as I try to see both sides, I simply don’t want this theory to be true and that plays a large role in how I perceive it

TW: This is going to contain more mature themes than my usual posts. Talk of incest, abuse, sexual assault, sex, trauma, PTSD, and a very brief mention of lesbian fetishization

Starting off with how the fandom as a whole talks about it, people are very against it nowadays. When the anime first came out it was super popular, but now you can’t even mention it without someone telling you never to bring it up again. I have only posted about it once and it was a joke about Tsukasa and Teru both having allegations made against them (tho the Teru ones are way less common and only made by fans who want them to be true bcuz they hate him or ship him with his brother). So far I’ve strayed away from going in depth with my thoughts on it, writing this feels like I’m swinging a bat at a hornet’s nest. If your problem with the fandom was that they denied this theory, then I would continue to stay away from it. People on here are more open towards it than TikTok tho so if you still want to get back into the fandom, I would recommend staying on Tumblr. Someone made ONE post implying it on TikTok recently and the entire fandom was shitting on them for like a week. Those instances are rare, I like the fandom overall, but it has its toxic moments and areas just like every fandom

Okay now onto the theory itself. I’m not going to pretend I don’t see where it comes from, there are some scenes in the manga that are drawn and worded weirdly. Most notably the scene in the Picture Perfect Arc where Mei wrote “Brother Lover” on Amane’s face made me wonder if they were trying to imply something. I have since learned that other translations don’t have the incest implication, but it’s still odd to me that they allowed that in any version. Still, he just looked kind of annoyed as opposed to getting flustered like he would have if something was going on with him and Tsukasa (the way he gets flustered when his feelings for Nene are brought up). So I viewed that scene more as a dark humor joke from Mei, I don’t think it was meant to imply anything serious between the twins

There is another scene in that arc, however, when Nene sees Tsukasa clinging to Amane and Amane does get flustered. He starts blushing and says “um…we were just…” and doesn’t really finish his sentence. This made me raise an eyebrow, but I also wouldn’t take it as confirmation that there’s anything romantic or sexual between them. It could very much be viewed as Amane being embarrassed. I feel that the strongest evidence for the incest theory comes from this arc, but that’s only if you want to run with the scenes I mentioned. I also find it strange that people never use these scenes as evidence, only panels that are drawn kind of weird. Fans seem to be stuck on a lot of early scenes with this theory which weakens its substance

For the record, I will not be analyzing the scene from the anime intro. That has already been debunked, the shadowy figure wasn’t Tsukasa, it was a representation of Hanako’s guilt. Although I disagree with the theory, I’m trying to be fair to the campaigners by debunking the stronger pieces of evidence

The strongest evidence for this theory comes from the art, which is just as important to the story as the writing. With manga and graphic novels, the art tells half the story. It shouldn’t be overlooked, so I understand how some fans lean into it. Look back at the official art I put at the top of this post, it’s weird. Hanako is leaning over Tsukasa while Tsukasa holds his chin/lips and arm. They’re posed like a couple. We would never see the Minamoto brothers posed like that. In other scenes, we see Tsukasa touching Amane’s face or holding him from behind. They’re very touchy with each other, more-so than the other siblings in the series

I have two reasons for not taking these type of scenes/arts seriously in a romantic sense. One is that Tsukasa is simply an affectionate character, and Hanako is the same way. I think it’s more part of their behavior than being specific to each other. Secondly, if it’s intended to be taken in an incestuous way then I genuinely believe it’s fan service. That’s one part I don’t deny, AidaIro have certainly given us reason to believe the twins are like the Property Brothers. I just don’t believe it has any place in the actual story or their dynamic. Fan service is common in TBHK and sometimes it veers into problematic territory. Just look at the scene where Hanako possesses Nene to assault Aoi, and then Kou gets flustered by it and can’t help. A random lesbian fetish scene that is never brought up again and plays no role in the story other than moving us from A to B. I have also heard that there’s incest in some of the other works they’ve made, so it’s not a reach to assume they’d throw in a little fan service for the Yugi twins. How seriously you want to take those scenes is up to you, personally I will continue to deny it until we’re given undeniable confirmation

Back to the twins just being affectionate, we see them act that way with lots of characters. Tsukasa is clingy to Sakura and Mitsuba too, sometimes very suggestively. That doesn’t mean he’s into them. I will say that Hanako is most notably clingy to Nene, someone he’s in love with, but we see him get close and friendly with the other characters too (he sat on Kou’s side and booped his nose during their first meeting). And Tsukasa is the one who initiates their physical affection 99% of the time, Amane’s been receiving it since early childhood so him copying Tsukasa’s behavior makes sense. Romantic relationships in adulthood are determined by the way we interact with our families as children so him repeating these actions in a romantic context doesn’t indicate anything abnormal. In fact, it’s a very realistic portrayal of how our love languages and attachment styles evolve over time

And keep in mind, they’ve been that way since they were three years old, it’s just the way they interact with other people and each other. Tsukasa is a very childish character too, one who has very little concept of personal space and boundaries. So him being a little too clingy with his brother might not mean anything. Again, you could read into it if you really wanted to, but the way he interacts with Amane is nothing out of the ordinary. It aligns with his usual mannerisms, if it were specific to Amane then he wouldn’t act that way with the other characters (Amane was also clingy with Nene before he fell for her). Think of it this way, you don’t see Akane holding Teru’s hand or confessing his undying love to Nene. Characters are going to act differently in their platonic relationships vs. romantic/sexual, and we don’t see that difference with the Yugi twins

A difference we do see with them, however, is that Tsukasa isn’t physically aggressive with Hanako the way he is with everyone else. He never attacks him or tries to hurt him, in fact every time he sees him he gets overjoyed and tackles him in a hug. He has no problem hurting him emotionally and mentally, but we never see any physical aggression between the two. This leads me to believe that the SA theory is invalid, it doesn’t line up with how Tsukasa treats Hanako currently or in any of the flashbacks. If anything sexual took place between them, it would have had to be consensual, because the more solid evidence backing this theory focuses on Hanako’s side of things. He’s very possessive of Tsukasa, and he doesn’t experience a trauma response when they’re touching normally. If it’s an intense scene and Tsukasa is telling him horrible things while touching him, then he freezes in place and starts crying. But when Tsukasa is just hugging or clinging to him, he only gets embarrassed. Hanako does show some signs of PTSD, but that trauma is rooted in him killing Tsukasa. If the trauma were anything sexual, we would see him experience those same trauma responses he displays in violent scenes when Tsukasa touches him in any context. At the very least, we’d see him get way more uncomfortable than being mildly annoyed

(Note: I am aware that not everyone reacts to trauma and PTSD the same way. I do not have any trauma of my own so I am going off what I have heard throughout my life from others sharing their stories. I am in no way trying to invalidate anyone’s experiences, no matter how you react to your abuser your feelings are valid and I hope you get the help you need)

Another common piece of evidence used is that Hanako is hypersexual. I believe this is a serious misuse of the term, hypersexuality is so much more than being a pervert. People who are hypersexual usually think about sex all the time, they engage in excessive sexual behaviors and even think about it in completely normal contexts. This is a common response to many types of trauma, not just sexual. It’s a way for people to gain back control after they’ve been abused, or sometimes it’s a problem that arises from porn addictions or a weird relationship with sex. Even if Hanako were hypersexual, that wouldn’t necessarily indicate SA. He has canonical trauma aside from that, and it could also come from the pent-up frustration of being a middle schooler for 58 years

This is another situation where we have to account for the context. You can’t just take one element of a character’s canon personality and run with it, that’s the leading cause of mischaracterization. You have to consider how that behavior lines up with their other traits. Hanako is an allosexual boy who has been 13 for literal decades. Middle school boys are already one of the horniest species on our planet, it’s an awkward time when you’ve just learned those feelings exist and what they mean but you’re not emotionally mature enough to do anything about it. That usually goes away in the next few years when teens start getting into relationships. Now imagine that feeling staying with you for fifty-eight years. That’s over half a lifetime of being stuck in a transitional period. You have so many strong feelings, but you can’t do anything about them. Not just because of maturity, but because there’s no one to do them with. It makes sense that you wouldn’t know how to act when you get your first girlfriend (not excusing any of his weird behavior btw, frustration is not an excuse and it doesn’t make the way he treats Nene and Aoi okay. But it’s still important to understand his reasons, especially in this context)

I also want to note something I don’t see pointed out often, which is that most of the major scenes of Hanako’s pervertedness occur when he’s talking to Kou. TBHK has a very realistic portrayal of male friendship imo, and this is one of those examples. Having a girlfriend isn’t the only thing Hanako’s missed out on, he also hasn’t been able to make any friends his own age. He’s trying to get Kou to engage in “locker room talk” as a way to bond with him. Whether he’s trying to convince him to share his own preferences, or just wanting to mess with him, it brings them closer in a way. One of the main ways Hanako expresses affection is by annoying people, but I do think part of it is because he wants to be able to talk about hot girls with his only male friend. Sadly, he got stuck with the only middle school boy who respects women

We as a fandom tend to focus on these scenes as “omg Hanako’s a pervert,” or for people that ship him with Kou it’s “aww he’s teasing his boyfriend,” but I think the purpose is more-so to build a realistic friendship dynamic. I find it funny that the fandom as a whole leans more into the teasing explanation whether they ship Hanako and Kou or not, it’s funny to me that we all automatically go with the gay interpretation. But Hanako often uses jokes to cover up his deeper feelings, he acts like he doesn’t care when he actually cares very deeply. So him playing up his pervertedness in an attempt to make friends seems very on brand

My last piece of evidence against this theory is a bit silly and a lot of ya’ll aren’t going to want to hear this but Hanako is most likely straight

*the crowd boos me*

I know, I know, I love the bi headcanon too and I think it makes sense, but unlike with some of the other characters I don’t think it has a place in canon. He acts overly friendly with Kou sometimes but if you’re going to assume they’re queercoded, you have to assume the same about Aoi and Nene (both affectionate friendship that look a little queer sometimes). Shipping aside I read them as a purely platonic duo, if there are feelings on either side then it’s more likely Kou since he’s bisexual. Lots of people point out the scene where he flirts with Kou as a girl, and I agree that was gay af but I kinda think he was just trying to mess with him. And keep in mind that the first thing he wanted to do as a girl was look at girls changing in the locker room (yuri yuri lesbian yuri wlw gay gay lesbian yuri)

This isn’t to bash anyone’s headcanons btw, I headcanon Hanako as bisexual and I do ship him with Kou. I’m just saying that I wouldn’t bet my money on him being intended to be bi in canon. In my post about possibly bisexual TBHK characters I included him as an honorable mention, I just haven’t seen enough substantial evidence so far to believe he was intended to be interpreted that way

I’m aware that sexuality isn’t the biggest obstacle for Tsukasa and Amane, but it’s a relevant mention. If Hanako doesn’t like men, I doubt he’d want to be with his brother of all men. Even if he liked men that would be a terrible option. AidaIro have also confirmed in one of their official arts/doodle skits that Nene is Hanako’s first love, which further leads me to believe nothing happened between him and Tsukasa. You don’t get with your sibling if you’re not ride or die about it. And as I mentioned before, anything that happened between them would have had to be consensual in order to be in-character and line up with the evidence surrounding the incest theory

Lastly, I do believe the love between the brothers is somewhat genuine. It’s horribly toxic, Hanako left Tsukasa in some sort of void for decades and now he continues to keep him around as a yorishiro despite knowing it makes Tsukasa miserable. He loves him so much that he can’t let him go even when it would be good for Tsukasa. That’s selfish, it’s toxic, and on Tsukasa’s side things aren’t much better. He adores his brother but he also resents him for everything he’s done. He hurts him emotionally and attacks his friends. And, of course, Amane killed Tsukasa. Not exactly Brother of the Year

But through all of this, you can’t deny that the love is there. Fans who believe Amane hates Tsukasa kind of miss the point, Tsukasa wouldn’t be Amane’s yorishiro if he hated him. He loves him dearly but in a very complicated way. Adding romance or lust to that love frankly doesn’t make sense to me, it’s adds an unnecessary layer that doesn’t line up with the rest of their dynamic. It feels like a “yes and” to their story. I have read analyses that explain both sides, and ultimately I remain against this theory

I hope this helped you understand my perspective!! I tried to be fair to both sides but as I mentioned, I’m very biased. This is a very uncomfortable subject so it was difficult to write about, but I like tackling more complex topics. I don’t block people who believe this theory unless I dislike the way they talk about it, some people insist it’s canon to the point of hating Tsukasa for it or saying the series is bad. But for those that are more open-minded about this theory, I don’t mind interacting with them. In general though this is something I try not to think about lol

[maramarabum]

I can't sleep so it's tbhk theory time

Okay so this is something i have posted before, but now i'm gonna lay more examples supporting my theory

The theory being that everything (or most of) what Tsukasa does is based on Hanako's wishes, based mostly on old chapters

So situation one: Chapter 19, The one where Mitsuba dies

So in this chapter we find out that Tsukasa grants wishes of supernaturals, and we also see that he does it in very unconventional and grotesque ways, as we see him granting Mitsuba's wish of having many friends by turning him into this weird ass monster. And I think in this chapter, we also see him granting Hanako's wish for the first time in the series, but we will get to that later.

Chapter 21, The Tea Party and the door dimension

Yashiro gets kidnapped by Tsukasa and the rest broadcasting room gang to a tea party, the reason being, apparently, to kill her by drowning her in the room, but even as Yashiro herself points out, it doesn't really seem like they actually want to kill her

The weird water that they drowned her in instead transported her to the door dimension that can lead her anywhere, and this is where she goes through the door that leads her to the dimension where Hanako is a living student at her school (and then she gets transported to the current year. oh well).

I know it's a lot of talk and no explenation but bear with me we will get there soon

Chapter 32, Then Mitsuba becomes a school mystery

So 11 chapter later we get direct confirmation that Tsukasa in fact does not want Yashiro to die

And most importantly, we find out Tsukasa actually remade Mitsuba

And this is where it gets to the connection point of the chapters discussed

Kou asks why did Tsukasa remake Mitsuba if he was the one to kill him, to which he answers:

""Just because?" "There was a movie I watched with Amane with an artificial human, I wanted to make one" "But, I dunno... pretty cool, right?"

A hell of an unsatisfactory answer, and he sounds really unpassionate and not really sure, forming the answer more like a question, almost like he's thinking about the reason at the spot, which is exactly what i think hes doing, and it's not the first time.

Chapter 21, the reason he wants to kill Yashiro. We know for a fact that's not how he views his relationship with Hanako, and he literally ends the sentence with "Well, whatever. Anyway."

Chapter 19, asked by Hanako why he turn Mitsuba into that weird ass monster, similiar to chapter 32, he starts with a "hmm..." and thinks for a minute, before actually answering (except this time, his actual answer seems more honest, in a way)

It's really easy to tell when he's hiding his actual motives. And the actual motives, what were they?

To get an answer to that, we don't exactly look for direct quotes for Hanako saying what he wishes for, we more start to speculate what he might be wishing for inside, what he doesn't say.

It's really not that hard, take for example, Hanako wishing he could have somehow met Yashiro when he was still alive, which is exactly what Tsukasa caused in chapter 21

This would be his true intentions behind sending Yashiro to the door dimension.

So how about the whole Mitsuba thing? Well, Hanako was never really happy about Kou having a crush on Yashiro. He has probably thought something like "I wish he would stick to someone else" at least once, right?

And then Kou brings over a ghost student his age to the bathroom stall, asking him how can he deal with him instead of exorcism

Hanako looks like hes getting a bad feeling about him (is he... you know...)

"I want friends. I want to stay with my friends..." Here we have the exact wish that allowed him to "kill" Mitsuba, while also granting his and Hanako's wish. If Tsukasa didn't do anything, Mitsuba would be free to go. He found a friend, and his unfinished business is done. But then, Kou wouldn't stick around with him anymore, so Hanako's wish wouldn't be granted, and also Tsukasa would have taken no part in granting Mitsuba's wish.

The actual way Tsukasa wanted to grant these wishes is by letting Mitsuba turn Kou into a supernatural similar to him, quote "If you make him just like you... you could be together forever, huh?" (THE PARALLELS THE PARALLELS UNRELATED TO THIS THEORY OHHH THE MITSUKOU PARALLELS GOD DESTROY ME SMITE MY BEING)

Directing Mitsuba, guiding him what to do, while also making it seem like it's his own choice, like it's what he wants.

But then Hanako comes over and kills him before that can happen. And he doesn't even look like his confused about whats happening, but he still asks Tsukasa, asks why is he doing this, like he want's a conformation.

Because he knows it was because of him.

Since Tsukasa could tell what Mitsuba wished for because Mitsuba already made a deal with him, it would mean Hanako made a deal with Tsukasa too, all these years ago, a wish that might have been "a little vauge". And also, Hanako doesn't know which one of his thoughts made Tsukasa do this, considering his ways of granting anything are very off the wall, and also, as we discussed before, Tsukasa won't tell him.

(Hanako touching his seal after Kou asks Yako about Mitsuba. His face looking sorrowful, like he's thinking about something)

All he knows is that this happened is because he met Yashiro. He hasn't seen his brother for 20-50 years, and he showed up right after Yashiro became his assistant.

His ghost "life" was boring, nothing really happened, and he stopped wishing for anything. He accepted that he had no future, he needed to take care of the school so he could gain god's forgiveness. But then Yashiro showed up, and his life suddenly was more eventful, he now had a girl to protect. Then after her Kou showed up, and now he had two friends who still had young hope in them.

And it rubbed off on him, it had awakened some hope in him too, made him start wishing again. And now his friends are paying the price of that.

And also it's almost 4 A.M. now as I'm writng this.

So yeah if you have any thoughts on this, other examples or something that contraries my theory please reblog and let me know, i would really like to hear it

(me right now)

[tsutsumi-kurose]

Someone had this theory that Amane was the one hurting Tsukasa and that Amane was wounded cause Tsukasa fought back. Like throughout all the flashbacks we see, Tsukasa and Amane have a nice relationship and Tsukasa has never tried or wanted to hurt Amane at all but we don’t know that about Amane

hiiii sorry i took so long with this response!! things have been super busy for me this past week or so, so thank you for the ask and for your patience!!

that is an interesting theory!! I hadn’t thought of that possibility. I’ve been reading it as… amane is a pretty passive guy who, in killing tsukasa and himself, becomes hanako, our morally complicated hero who saves our heroine no matter the cost and finds a way to puppeteer all the situations he finds himself in. amane just feels so different from hanako in many ways, and I think there’s no way the murder wasn’t a huge turning point character-wise. but I do like the idea of glimmers of hanako shining through in amane—we certainly have seen many examples of how hanako is very much still amane!! so to see it go the other way would be really interesting!! could be interesting to see if hanako’s traits were actually in amane the whole time

personally though, I do think the murder was probably a drastic change in behavior for amane. the amane we’ve seen was pretty quiet and passive and clearly going through a lot internally that he wasn’t expressing outwardly (at least not directly). and i read this line from ch20 as an implication that amane was "holding back" for a long time before killing tsukasa:

so those lines make me think amane was probably not too aggressive with tsukasa during life, since he was supposedly "holding back," at least to tsukasa's perception.

regarding how healthy their relationship seems, it definitely seems like there was a gradual deterioration. 9-year-old amane and tsukasa at the festival seem to have a pretty normal sibling relationship, but things definitely seem off by middle school. that could potentially be amane’s doing! but I wouldn’t necessarily rule out tsukasa wanting to hurt amane… considering this is how he looks at a crying hanako:

and this is how he looks at a downtrodden, conflicted, tired amane:

and this is how he looks when he’s picturing blasting the clock amane is trying to fix to smithereens!!:

tsukasa is often a hard to read character, so I think it’s hard to say he definitely wasn’t thinking about hurting amane in these flashbacks. it''s still very up in the air to me!

it is true though that we don’t know what caused the shift to these thoughts he’s having in these middle school flashbacks, so it could have been pushed by amane’s hand! whatever it was that caused the rift between the twins during the time between tsukasa coming back from the red house and their deaths, i'm sure it was very complicated!!

amane clearly had a lot he was weighing and thinking about when it comes to tsukasa!

but personally, i think the damage amane/hanako does to tsukasa is more emotional than physical

i think ch91 is a good example of this:

i think hanako pointedly misses tsukasa physically here--i believe it's hanako's words and choices that have tears welling in tsukasa's eyes in this moment! and the blowing the clock to smithereens bit i referenced earlier in this post also seems like it was probably in response to whatever amane was doing with the clock--another potential instance of amane emotionally rather than physically wounding tsukasa, whether he means to or not.

also, while hanako is more active than amane, he's more tricky and controlling than physically aggressive. he doesn't seem to delight in violence and destruction or pain the way characters like tsukasa and teru do. all of his kills are relatively one-hit? he seems to like to keep things clean, so i don't really see an inclination toward violence in him, but hey, it could be a surprising twist!!

I still think the murder was amane’s breaking point, and probably his first big decisive action, one tsukasa pushed him to in one way or another for one reason or another—maybe he could sense amane’s suspicion and was hurt by it? maybe the god started taking over? who knows at this point! so many different possibilities. but this is definitely an interesting theory!! and i would be interested to see/hear what possibilities could lead to this

[pixelatedtaken]

What a fascinating thing it is to re-read something.

A while back, I had a theory about Kou and Yashiro messing with the timeline. More specifically, putting in motion the events of the yugi twins lives. That was back in December 2021, and I never ended up posting that theory. (it's still in my drafts)

The reason I'm bringing it up is because of recent events in the manga and a little theory of what the clock keepers changed.

Spoilers

It's fairly obvious that Hanako or Amane, more precisely, never killed Tsukasa, meaning that the 4 years old Tsukasa that Kou and Yashiro met in the red house never went back.

If it hasn't clicked yet...

I think the clock keepers changed a present type of event rather than a past one. Since Tsukasa in the new present still seems to be possessed and Amane lived beyond his 13 years old self (and got possessed as well wtf), it means that they never changed the event of Amane killing Tsukasa because it never happened. No, they changed Kou and Yashiro ever meeting toddler Tsukasa in the red house.

Tsukasa returned because Kou told him that Amane died at 13 and killed him as well. If the event of Yashiro and Kou going in the house had never happened in the first place, then the young boy would never go back. And in the new present, he didn't. Something else is going on with the both of them [Tsukasa, Amane] this time around, sure, but I do believe that at least one of the core things the clock keepers changed was that meeting in the red house.

Don't think I'm the first one to point this out. I just have a wack timing for it since I keep these things to myself.

[thelunarfairy]

Could you talk about the "abuse theory" a bit?

Many fans have discussed the interpretation of the ropes as a symbol of Tsukasa's control over Hanako, including its possible physical or sexual connotations. It was a popular theory within the fandom at one point.

While Tsukasa has always enjoyed physical contact, Amane has always appeared reluctant. Hanako's reaction to reuniting with Tsukasa, along with his desperate demeanor, suggests that his trauma may be more profound than just guilt. He appeared to feel fear and even revulsion towards his brother. When he first saw him, he seemed completely traumatized and was frozen in place.

Not only that, but Hanako seems very reluctance to reveal his body—evident when he went to the beach and still chose to wear the school uniforms—and, commonly, abuse victims also have this reluctance to wear 'revealing' clothing.

Additionally, some of the bruises on Amane's arms look like rope burns, and the marks on his neck resemble bite marks. These types of injuries are unusual in cases of purely physical abuse.

Tsukasa’s fixation on his brother is also notable; he frequently responds to questions by mentioning Amane's name and even declares that Amane is his type.

Tsukasa sacrificed himself to save Amane when they were children. I believe that, in response, the God might have distorted Tsukasa’s love for Amane, turning it into something completely abusive and violent. Also, making him completely obsessed.

But... personally...

Although I believe AidaIro may have initially aimed to explore the theme of sexual abuse, this focus likely diminished over time, especially as the manga gained popularity among a younger audience. This change is evident in the reduction of ecchi elements, which were more pronounced in the earlier chapters.

But what’s your take on the "abuse theory"? Do you think it still holds any validity? And... are there any evidence that I missed?

Hello, so the abuse theory is complete on its own, but lately we've been getting a lot of signs that the theory is falling apart.

That's because we don't see Tsukasa being aggressive towards Amane once, and also, as a big sign, Tsukasa is shocked to discover that Amane wants to do perverted things.

If the abuse theory were real, Tsukasa wouldn't have this kind of behavior, at least theoretically. That's the basis of the theory.

If in order to abuse someone he needs to be aggressive and perverted, how would Tsukasa have done this to Amane if he's oblivious to it?

Tsukasa has never been aggressive towards Amane, he may have been with other characters, but never with his older brother. On the contrary, he has been showing himself to be too altruistic for him.

This theory was well-founded on the evidence that existed at the time, so it has not been updated with new information about Tsukasa's personality and the twins' relationship, leaving room for misinterpretation.

Despite this, I have made some posts that talk a little more about their relationship and some symbolism.

[tearwolfe]

Okay, but there are a number of possibilities as to how this latest event with IdolKasa transpired, and I would like to share the ones I've come up with, even though I highly doubt you'd tell me if I somehow got anything correct.

(Warning, this is a very long ask, read at your own risk, lol.)

While very very unlikely I think, there is a non zero chance that this was a ploy (most likely by Tsukasa himself) to try and boast his ratings back up- one last desperate attempt to save himself from obscurity. After all, who wouldn't want to tell everyone they know about the Dying Star Idol Tsukasa Tenma almost actually dying at the end of his very last show? (This does not end up working out btw; at best, people talk about it nonstop for about a month or so before he takes too long to recover and his fame finally fizzles out for good.)

This could also be an attempt at faking his own death (again, likely orchestrated by Tsukasa himself), because he's finally reached his breaking point and is hoping this will get him out of the eye of a public that no longer adores him. Why exactly he made this decision and what exactly he plans to do afterwards, I've no clue, but that's another theory (and probably one of the more likely ones imo).

This could have also been a very real and legitimate public murder attempt by someone who doesn't like Tsukasa. Either by one of his competitors trying to pick off the competition, or by a hater of the famous idol (or the industry as a whole) who's taking his significant drop in popularity as an opportunity to kill him off now that no one will really care.

(Worst case scenario, RuiNene are somehow related to/behind this, though I highly doubt they'd ever go to such lengths, especially Rui.)

Hell, this could have been nothing more than a frightening and unfortunate (depending on who you ask lol) coincidence- for all we know, that stupid star thingy has been threatening to fall off for ages at this point, and the hopes and prayers that have been holding it up have simply given out at the worst possible time.

Either way, if this event isn't somehow the result of it, it's definitely the inciting incident that results in IdolKasa's final thread of sanity snapping and him doing something drastic and making some decisions he probably won't be proud of down the line.

(And this all is under the assumption that he's not dead from this, which I refuse to believe he is, even though it's a very real and likely possibility.)

Anyway, I am entirely too engaged in this AU, especially after you dropped THIS madness, and I cannot wait to see how things develop in the future (whenever you get around to making more, obviously. Take care of yourself <3)

this was a fun read!! i love the theories. i can say you're close on something.. what that is, is up to you.

(i fizzled out a little bit with this AU in the past month, but finally posting this part after sitting on it since july has given me my spark back!)

[makshu]

Hey hi! :)

So I'll start by saying that I thank you for the fact that you actively defend Tsukasa in this fandom, your posts almost make me cry to know that there is actually someone who understood him as a character😭, it's too misunderstood simply because some can't see it in another light from the anime, which is essentially something that bothers me a lot considering that in the anime we didn't know about the whole backstory and entity, so it's normal that he seemed like a "completely evil demon kid" compared to his brother of which we had flashbacks with tsucigomori that made us empathize more (even though I always liked tsukasa more from the beginning), but now we're advancedii, someone simply has to open their eyesii.

Then, secondly, I wanted to ask you, how do you think Tsukasa was treated upon his return? his relationship with his mother and father? all very mysterious and strange, the only thing we know is that probably, at least his mother treated him as if he were a demon :(

Hello! Owwn I'm glad you like the posts <3

Since Tsukasa is my favorite character of all times, I feel it's my duty to always protect him lol, especially from people who distort his image.

And yes, unfortunately it's normal that the fandom have a bad image of him because of what was presented in the anime, but even with people reading the manga they still remain ignorant about him.

About Tsukasa's relationship with his family... I've always read more about it than I've actually thought about it, but I have a few theories about what might have happened.

The twins' mother realized that something was wrong with him, and even took the extreme measure of taking him to an exorcist, but it didn't work. About her, I theorize that this estrangement continued throughout his life, and perhaps at first she still treated him well, but then she began to treat him in a distant and somewhat harsh manner.

About their father, he's a real mystery, we know nothing about him. He seemed to be a man who worked a lot and only stayed home on special occasions (like the twins' birthday), and in an official art we see Tsukasa with his father. Having this art as a basis and I assume they were closer, then I believe his father was kinder to him. Yes, he probably noticed something strange, but he preferred to ignore it, he imagined it was because of his development, maybe something had happened while he was away, or even the whole situation of his brother almost dying, he tried to think of many more plausible possibilities than something possessing Tsukasa. Over time, he was the only one who continued to treat Tsukasa normally, as normally as he could, and I also imagine that the twins' parents had many arguments about Tsukasa, with the mother accusing him and the father protecting him.

I'll take a moment to talk about his relationship with Amane as well. Amane was apparently the first to notice that something was off with his brother, but he was just a child at the time, he felt that something was wrong but didn't know what. As the years went by he tried to ignore this feeling, but it was impossible to ignore how Tsukasa had changed, which made him act distant with his brother but still always keep him close (which created a lot of doubts in Tsukasa). Theorizing now, he may have discovered the entity and was destined to remove it from his brother's body, which made him kill Tsukasa at age 13 and then kill himself out of regret and guilt. But this was in vain, since Tsukasa continued with the entity after death, and now Hanako searches incessantly for a way to save him, even though Tsukasa himself does not want to be saved.

Well, these are my opinions mixed with theories and headcanons, it's very difficult to think about this subject since we have almost no information about their parents, which leaves us with only speculations to make. I hope I was able to be clear with my words lol.

[nanabansama]

Catvestigating (Update)

Within the last two chapters, we have gotten much more information on the cat, and I wanted to compile all of the interesting new information and update you all on how I'm feeling about it. Spoiler alert, there is no clear answer as to who the cat is yet, and you will not find it here. (Or will you...!? *Gasp*!)

While I was initially quite certain it was Tsukasa for several reasons, and I'm loathe to admit I'm ever wrong, I do think there is great argument for it being Amane. AidaIro has done a good job of keeping up the mystery. 👍

For one thing, the cat says he was human and was changed into this feline form after messing with the past. So the Clock Keepers were not punishing the supernatural Tsukasa for being an accomplice in the crime of destroying the Big Clock by turning him into a toy cat after all...and I'm inclined to take the cat for his word on this. (But you must admit, it would be fitting if he were being punished for both crimes incidentally!!)

It's also established that humans who change the past have a part of their soul taken out and put into a doll by the Clock Keepers. The fact that it's a part of the soul is especially interesting - it begs the question where the other part goes. And the fact that there are already a Yugi Amane and a Yugi Tsukasa accounted for in the altered world could explain how they are able to exist whilst another part of either (or both?!) of their souls dwell within the toy cat.

Anyway, given that the Clock Keepers very likely went back in time to 1968 to create this new timeline, and one of the twins was trying to fix the clock during this time to travel through time... well, it's very easy to imagine that they got punished for this. And of course, the one that I'm referring to is Amane.

However, we do know that Tsukasa was often with his brother during this time, and it's really not that hard to believe that Tsukasa (in all his multi-talented glory) could have done something to the past himself here. So while there is more evidence pointing towards Amane, we still can't completely rule out the possibility that it's the other Yugi either.

It's also still quite a mystery as to why the Clock Keepers chose to go back to this point in time... it seems the overall goal was to get rid of Tsukasa and the thing inside him. Additionally, Hanako can't remember why he tried to do it let alone whether he succeeded in fixing the clock or not, and Tsukasa claims nothing came out of Amane's efforts. There's really so much we don't know...so how can we know what the Clock Keepers were trying to change?

Well, we can't...but what if one of the twins actually did use the clock in the old timeline, then either suffered amnesia or didn't reveal this, and the Clock Keepers stopping him from doing that created this new timeline? Or maybe it's that they helped Amane finally do what he wanted, thus creating a new timeline, and then punished him afterward? Or what if Tsukasa (and/or the thing inside him) tried to get in the way, and were stopped and punished for that...?!

Personally, I like the idea that Amane was responsible for getting rid of Tsukasa in the new timeline for thematic reasons, but since the Clock Keepers more or less wanted that to happen, I would find it kind of cruel if that were the reason why he was being punished. That's another reason why I lean towards Tsukasa being the one punished - it seems more likely that he would do something the Clock Keepers would punish. Otherwise, perhaps the Clock Keepers are just strict about the rules, so even if Amane changed the past in the way they wanted they still had to punish him? 🤔 Uhh...anyway. This is a post about identifying kitties, not really a theory post...

In Ch. 124 and 125, the cat got quite close to Nene by riding on her shoulders multiple times. While he appears to derive no visible pleasure by being near her like this, you can't deny this behavior is reminiscent of when Hanako (the ghost) cuddles up to her. Still, there is enough plausible deniability here to cast doubt, and Tsukasa himself has gotten up close with Nene and even been carried around by her before:

I mean come on... he's even blatantly being compared to a cat here... I'm not that crazy!

Good boy!

Anyway, the other thing I wanted to mention is that the cut of the kitty's suit is similar to the trim on the old school uniform of Kamome Academy (aka the gakuran). I hadn't realized this until someone I knew pointed it out!

Additionally, as you can compare in the images above and below, he also exhibits a similar behavior to Hanako: explaining something with a starry wand.

But, both twins have worn the gakuran, so once again this is insufficient evidence for me. I find this all amusing nonetheless, and I cannot deny that the evidence once again stacks up in Hanako's favor. (Curses!)

In conclusion, I suppose the moral of the story is that if any of us were forced into indentured servitude as toy cats and given amnesia that it would be difficult for our friends or lovers (especially our brother's lovers) to recognize us, and that you should be very careful about which members of the time police you happen to piss off should you find yourself with the power to travel through time, less you wind up even more haplessly misidentified as your identical twin than you already are. 🐈‍⬛️ But what do I know! Thanks for reading.

[theoceanswaves0]

Time to be abnormal about Jewel Joker, thoughts below, spoilers for chapters 1 and 2

—> I can’t believe we’re back in the year of our Lord 2024 with a sequel, I never would have imagined

—> Like in my opinion, Encore wrapped up enough conclusively that I wasn’t really sure what they could do for a sequel. It’s the same reason I wasn’t sold on them doing a movie back in the day (and thankfully we didn’t get one)

—> But I’m actually pretty interested in the premise and the characters they’ve introduced so far. Erito is a nice evolution of the mean girl adversary Amu has faced in both Utau and Rima - both of them were pretty upfront about not liking Amu at first, which is honestly pretty indicative of the elementary school experience. But middle school? Totally different ball game. People laughing at you behind your back, spreading rumors, pretending to be nice while secretly hating you… oh how I don’t miss those days.

—> And the best part is that AMU KNOWS! I like that she isn’t oblivious here! Like they could have so easily written her not picking up on it and they didn’t! That’s going to make this conflict and dynamic much more interesting!

—> Something I don’t like though is Amy’s fan girly behavior around Tadase. I was pretty sure she was past this later in the OG manga? I don’t mind her getting flustered every now and then and I know it’s been almost a decade and a half since we left off, but I was hoping this part of her characterization would be more consistent (especially compared to the anime)

—> Also did I just not pick up on how sus Tsukasa was before, or is he just worse here? Like he sends these 2 to Arcana DAYS before they’re supposed to start middle school, and doesn’t say that they’ll be boarding there? He must have rolled a nat 20 for charisma with Amu’s parents bc IDK how her father would have okayed that (since he’s Tadase’s uncle, I don’t think his parents would have many objections). But then later after getting there, they find out THEY CAN’T KEEP THEIR PHONES?? THEY CAN MAKE 1 OFF-CAMPUS CALL ON SUNDAYS FOR 10 MINUTES?? I know this is functionally to force Amu and Tadase to get to know the other students, and possibly for Rima to try and make friends on her own (which would nicely parallel Amu attempting to befriend Rima in the Día arc) but like??? Did Tsukasa know this??? If he did, why didn’t he warn them???

—> The Arcana uniforms are DOPE. I love how, unaltered, they kind of look like detectives. Kind of fits the mission they’re here for!

—> And of course, the style game is still on point! I was enjoying the fashion and styling montage with Amu and Niya, since I always headcannoned Amu becoming a fashion designer in the future (her mad style game, and it easily blending elements from each of her charas).

—> I say enjoyed because then Niya got a little too forward with asking Amu out… only for her to firmly turn him down and set boundaries! I know the “cool and spicy” persona has been limiting to her at times (mostly people not being able to see past it to see the entirety of who she is), but I think it’s completely warranted here and not inauthentic. I def remember boys being pushy in middle school, and Amu already has enough on her plate.

—> The tech gap doesn’t bother as much as it could have. My understanding was that the OG story started in 2006 (when the first chapter was published), and it ended in 2008 (I have a theory to explain this but I’ll share in a separate post). So even if I continue to believe that Jewel Joker is still set in 2008, I can still buy it a little (since smart phones were around, even if they weren’t commonplace, though streaming is stretching it a bit). Compare this to the whiplash of Cardcaptor Sakura, which would have been set in the 90s, and seeing smartphones in Clear Card…

—> Now I know logically, they’re keeping the story contemporary with modern tech and fashion, but I refuse to believe that Shugo Chara isn’t still set in 2008. I’m particular about time being consistent, so I realize it’s a me issue.

—> We’re left on a cliffhanger regarding the Arcana games. My guess is that chapter 3 will explain the rules and set up, and possibly tease any rivalries that’ll crop up as a result.

—> In the scenario that they decide to make more anime, I hope they’ll decide to start off by doing a more faithful adaptation of the manga and then cover Jewel Joker. (mostly so they avoid having to pad out the seasons like they did in the OG days). Since we never got the ending of the manga or Encore adapted, this gives them the perfect chance to do that.

—> Which leads me to ask the following question…

[ensemble-news]

This week on Ensemble News

The newest Crazy:B event has the community busted. Several theories, notes and analyses have appeared as a consequence.

Last week's catastrophy regarding the Enstars assets Drive appears to have settled down, however, the future of the drive is still unknown.

Ensemble News, our account, is finally running! Round of applause, we hope you support us through our journey.

Want to know more? Stay with us

▶ Fandom Section

Crazy Anthem and its landmarks

The newest Crazy:B music video for their song "Crazy Anthem" has been released. Because of this, the fandom has been making speculations about the possible landmarks that the video may feature, alongside theories and other writings.

A user on Twitter ¹ has deciphered many of the possible locations in which Crazy:B appears through the video and, possible, during their event story.

The video happens in California, as the event synopsis explains, but it looks like their route starts in San Francisco and finishes in Baja California, Mexico.

Curious about the locations? Here are some of the ones the fandom was able to find;

— Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills

"Venus Beach" — Venice Beach, California

— Walk of Fame, Hollywood

— Los Cabos, Baja California, Mexico

References:

1. Lisaw (@.mafucchu) via Twitter. 28/05/2023. Link

The Enstars assets Drive and its future

The past May 18th, the Enstars wiki Twitter account made an important post ¹ spreading awareness about the current state of the assets drive held by the account @.gradualcolors. The Twitter thread written explained that the assets drive — in which all cards, art, chibis, gifs, voice packs, and etc. are hosted, was going to be taken down due to multiple DMCA violations.

A week later, @.gradualcolors mod replies:

"All I want to say is that I want to stick with my belief of "assets = fandom creativity" and I'll try my best to maintain the new drive when I put it out again. I want to keep seeing how ppl decorate their social media with those files or do fun things like reading guides!!

Tldr; drive gone, will be re-hosted because I want to, rip my wallet tho. - H.E. had precedent to nuke the drive for reposting reasons so pls be careful posting fan created edits - Lemme see the cool edits and cute carrds you guys use these files for when drive comes back" (Rai via twt) ²

We don't know how much time it'll take them to make the proper accomodations to restore the folders, but we sure hope the struggles seize sooner than later.

References:

1. Enstars wiki (@.enstarsENG) via Twitter. 18/05/2023. Link

2. Rai (@.sakasakitty) via Twitter. 21/05/2023. Link

Inauguration! Ensemble News is finally up

To conclude with this fandom section, we'd like to express our excitement for this passion project. Ensemble News is a little blog that was constructed with pure love, with the objective of informing others and bonding with the community further. We hope you give this blog a chance, we encourage you to interact with us and to enjoy your time here. ♡

▶ Game Section

Event

The first Climax event has been announced. It's time for Crazy:b and their newest event "Sugoroku* Journey! Number Eight is Our BGM" to shine. Synopsis:

"Rinne and co. are invited to appear on "Number Eight", a show that was popular once upon a time, and so they head overseas. From Crazy:B's dice result begins their road trip where everything is left up to fate--" (Iridescent via twt) ¹

This event will feature 5* Rinne Amagi, 4* HiMERU and 3* Niki Shiina and Kohaku Oukawa.

Feature Scout

Feature Scout 2: Koga, has been announced. Synopsis:

"Koga isn't quite able to figure out what casual shots should be like, causing him to struggle in his photoshoot. He wants to show a cool side of himself while still looking natural." (Iridescent via twt) ²

This scout features 5* Koga Oogami, 4* Mika Kagehira and 3* Tsumugi Aoba.

Event Scout

Scout: Biblion, has been announced. Synopsis:

"Tsukasa isn't entirely sure about joining Biblion yet, but he joins as a temporary member. He finds a book that interests him in the bestseller section, and is engrossed in the book's universe." (Iridescent via twt) ³

This scout features 5* Tsukasa Suou, 4* Kaoru Hakaze and 3* Nagisa Ran, Hajime Shino and Tsumugi Aoba.

References:

1. Iridescent (@.iridesenescence) via Twitter. 27/05/2023. Link

2. Iridescent (@.iridesenescence) via Twitter. 24/05/2023. Link

3. Iridescent (@.iridesenescence) via Twitter. 28/05/2023. Link

May 2023 Tsukisuta notes:

Main story 1.5 is currently being voiced, part 3 will come out on June 26th. Summer voicelines will be added in-game on June 1st. New stamps were added to the Ensemble Live shop. Outfits for the 8th anniversary are now in the dia shop. Element (animation) prints are out and currently being sold at 7-Eleven JP. The next round of Starry Symphony tickets will start being sold on Jun 8th.

▶ Thank you for using Ensemble News.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Watching the anime version of the Picture Perfect arc reminded me that Hanako's hitodama are kind of a mystery even though I didn't initially think they were. Hitodama are a dead person's soul that's been separated from their body, so I always assumed they were pieces of Hanako's soul, tracks with how he's connected with them, and it would make sense that he could use pieces of his soul to protect himself/become more powerful.

But then he states while he's wearing them he's not an evil spirit anymore. like. what does that mean. Are they like. good parts of his soul. Did they get separated when he became a ghost? What does it being "good' even mean? Are they not his soul, are they someone else's? Was he given them when he became the leader of the Seven Mysteries? It's notable that Tsukasa has them too but never uses them to transform (granted he's so op he doesn't need to).

ok. actually I went and looked up the terms the manga uses describe them (naming them hakujodai, Teru calls them tsueshiro at one point) and this reddit thread seems to contain the probable explanation:

First: it says that "haku" means white and "joudai" can also be read as tsueshiro, which is another word for yorishiro. By the way, it's written 白杖代 in Japanese. I'm guessing the tsueshiro the mysteries have are the powers that their yorishiro give them? This hasn't been confirmed and it's probably a stretch, but I think the giant scissors Yako used and the sketchbook Shijima draws in are their tsueshiro.

Would make since the yorishiro give powers, yeah, it's been confirmed they lose they're weakened and lose their place in the Seven Mysteries when destroyed.

But then

The name itself is interesting. 杖代 read as "joudai" is a word made up by the mangaka. u/Anynoose already mentioned in their post how it can be read as tsueshiro, which indicates a servant to an emperor or a god. I'm just not really sure how it is connected to yorishiro, since that one is written with different kanji (依代). I would therefore refrain from connecting both terms, at least personally, because I can't see any real reason for doing so. Anyway, about the servant thing. This is something that was brought up by someone else, though I can't remember who said it and where since I read it some time ago. There is another word (城代) which can also be read as joudai, and it translates to "chamberlain" or "castle keeper". Regarding hakujoudai as some sort of servants to Hanako makes sense to me, seeing how he has full command over them and they occassionally do some chores for him. We know Hanako has been appointed as the leader of the seven mysteries by a god (the god?). In the pilot chapters Hanako said the "cape mode" is a power he borrowed from the god, if I'm not mistaken. I know those chapters don't really hold any connection to the main story (aside of the concept), but I think there's a strong possibility this element has been retained in the main manga. In other words, my theory is that hakujoudai are just helpers given to Hanako by the god. Not only do they follow his orders or report to him about various matters around the school, but they are also the source of power he needs to maintain order among ghosts and mysteries.

This explanation makes sense, so yeah, I guess he probably got them from the God that will grant his wish he refers to at times.

Basically I went down a rabbit hole because of Hanako again and I learned something so idk I'm sharing it I guess

The post then goes on to say Tsukasa having them too is what doesn't make sense, but as we know now (spoilers past the anime under the cut)

He also gets his powers from a god. So that was probably granted to him from the entity

[noname-nonartist]

I was sent here by @hxhhasmysoul after seeing them reblog one of your artworks. It was nice looking. You did good. 👍

I’m curious on what exactly is “Project Sekai” I was told it was an online game of some of that sort.

O///O

H-Hi!

Sorry taking so long to answer this! It’s just- I didn’t expect an actual ask about this! (And also to like. Collect my thoughts since I have so much to say about Project Sekai)

Umm!!! Thank you for liking that art of my favorite Project Sekai characters with my favorite Jujutsu Kaisen characters btw! >///<

Okay. Where to start?! I guess we can start what’s Project Sekai is and then later talking about the plot! :Dc

Let’s go!!! Project Sekai Lore 101! Or like. My attempt to explain it! •v•;

(More under the cut if you’re interested! ^w^/)

What is Project Sekai?

Well, it’s a mobile rhythm game where you tap/slide/flick on the notes to the beat of the song! However it’s also technically a sort of visual novel game too!

The gameplay revolves around the rhythm game, but the story is very much a visual novel! And you generally unlock the story through getting points via playing the rhythm game portion of Project Sekai (for the main story and during the event stories when live).

Oh. And it’s technically a Gacha game too, where ya pull cards of the characters (the art usually relates to the story/have a general theme for each set).

Of course, I could explain more about the general gameplay, but that’s not what this post is gonna be about, so let’s move on!!! >v<

What’s the Story of Project Sekai?

Okay, before I even talk about the story, I would need to give you some context on a bit of the world building within Project Sekai! Soooo…

Project Sekai Lore/World! (Or like as best I can explain anyway lol)

There is this plane called “In Between Worlds” which is essentially sort of like empty space where the OG Vocaloids resides (Miku, Kaito, Luka, Mekio, Rin, and Len). This place is where SEKAIs can form.

What are SEKAIs? Well they are essentially little tiny world that’s form!

Within those SEKAIs, there are essentially alter versions of Vocaliods depending on the group of people’s views on the Vocaloids, but mostly based on who themselves wanna be like (e.g. WxS Kaito being a good older brother role model, something Tsukasa strives to be) or based on people the group knows (e.g. VBS Meiko being based on An’s views of Nagi Kotaki, her aunt).

How does do these SEKAI form? Well they form when a group of people have a similar feeling/ambition/dream that they all wanna achieve!

However! There’s been cases where a Whole SEKAI are formed due to only one person’s intense feelings! But those are extremely rare since only a person’s feelings/emotions can create a Fragment SEKAI, if their feelings are strong enough at that moment. However unlike a fully developed SEKAI, a Fragment Sekai are pretty fragile and doesn’t last that long. While a complete SEKAI can last forever in theory iirc. :oc

But yeah! SEKAI are essentially mini worlds that are based on a group of people common feelings where the group can come in anytime they want via their phone/devices! The group usually first enters in via clicking on a mystery song that popped up within their playlist called “Untitled”. And Bada-Bing! Bada-Boom! They get to meet that world’s version of Hatsune Miku, and get a free therapist! XD

Of Course, this isn’t a well known thing in the general public, so the groups generally keeps the knowledge about their SEKAIs hush-hush. Which makes sense since like… how the hell would ya explain this to someone without them looking at ya strange? XD

What’s the Story of Project Sekai? (For Reals this time lol)

So, from what ya can gather from the worldbuilding/lore. Ya can probably guess that the general plot and goal of the story is for the Vocaloids to help guide the main casts towards their goals, and have them understand and express their feelings freely. Since once the group comes to an understanding of each other feelings, the Untiled song will then changed into an actual song that expresses the groups’ feelings!

So! Let’s dive into the Main Story within Project Sekai!

There are a total of 5 groups that we focus on! Each group contains 4 members! So that’s a total of 20 main characters! @v@

The Groups being…

Leo/need! (the typical band)

MORE MORE Jump! (the idol group)

Vivid BAD SQUAD (the street music group)

Wonderlands x Showtime (the theater/troupe group)

Nightcord at 25:00 (the online music video group)

And of course, the members within these groups has names~

L/N: Ichika Hoshino (vocalist/main guitarist), Saki Tenma (pianist), Honami Mochizuki (drummer), Shiho Hinomori (bass guitarist).

All of them were also childhood friends before they slowly drifted apart during Middle School due to Saki getting really sick due to her chronic illness, Shiho distancing herself from the group due to increased rumors about her, and Honami grew distant due to being ostracized for being too much of a people pleaser and thus people called her two faced. Ichika was the only one who didn’t know what happened, thus blamed herself for the rift. (Don’t worry, they get together of course ;3c)

Their goal is to become a professional and legit band~

MMJ: Minori Hanasato (the newcomer but with extreme hope and determination), Hakura Kiritani (retired idol before joining due to guilt of failing to look after a member within her old group), Airi Momoi (also left the industry before joining due to the industry never seeing her as a real idol thus letting her always play the role as a fool), Shizuku Hinomori (was still an idol during the main story before quitting her old group to joins MMJ)

Their goal is to bring hope and inspiration to their fans and to overcome the struggles within the idol industry~

VBS: Kohane Azusawa (a shy newcomer but with immense talent in singing), An Shiraishi (her whole life is street music and is considered a prodigy due to her being the daughter of a well known musician within the setting), Akito Shinonome (got into street music when he’s in middle school, sort of the underdog within the setting), Toya Aoyagi (the son of a really strict and famous classical musician, he met Akito while running away after getting sick of being focused to practice constantly and thus got introduced to street music)

Their goal is to surpass this super famous street music Event called RAD WEEKEND, that the RADer (the group that contains An’s dad, Ken Shiraishi, Taiga Kotaki, and Nagi Kotaki) and other well known street music groups did a few years ago that deeply inspired An and Akito~

WxS: Tsukasa Tenma (Actor who wants to be a star but originally forgot why at first until he remembers it was so Saki, her younger sister, would smile and be happy), Emu Otori (the daughter of the popular theme park, Phoenix Wonderland, she also strives to put a genuine smile on people’s faces to make them happy), Nene Kusanagi (the singer who love musical and always dreams of doing one to bring joy, but she has stage fright that she struggles to overcome at first), Rui Kamishiro (the director who loves to build extraordinary gadgets and equipments to make the show out of this world to bring excitement and joy for those who would watch)

Their goal is to save the old stage play within Phoenix Wonderland and to bring smiles and joy to everyone~

N25: Kanade Yoisaki (Composer who’s determined to constantly make music to save people after she felt immense guilt when her father, who’s also a music composer, fell into a coma due to stress), Mafuyu Asahina (the lyrics writer and vocal mixer who originally contacted Kanade after one of her songs made her feel something, thus make music to try and see if she can still feel since she can’t due to her intense depression for constantly wearing the “perfect daughter” mask), Ena Shinonome (the artist who’s strive to be a pro artist out of spite after her own father, who’s a famous artist, told her that she doesn’t have the talent to be one and shouldn’t try and be one, but she struggles with getting validation for her art which is the only thing she has), Mizuki Akiyama (the editor/animator who cares deeply for the group and even considered them all their friends, but they are scared to tell any of them about their secret due to fear of being ostracized due to them being outcasted in school)

Their goal? Well, technically is to keep making music to save people, but in actuality it’s mostly them actually improving their mental health and help them with their issues/problems lol~

And the Main Story is all about the formation of all of these groups! With the expectation being N25, since they were already a group in the beginning of the main story, but their story is about maintaining the group after Mafuyu disappeared mysteriously for days.

However, that isn’t where the story ends! Oh noooo! Far from it! Within the game there are these Event Stories that continues the story of all the group after the Main Story!

These Event stories usually focused on one particular character at a time, but overall expands and continues the story/arc of all the characters! :3c

Thus there’s a lottttt of story content within Project Sekai! In fact, not even I have read all of them yet! @v@;

But from what I read, I’m really really loving it! Like! Sure the pacing be a slow burn, but the moments that the story be building up to is sooooo worth it!!! And like all the characters be having depth~

Oh! Also alsooo!

What I really love about the story is that the some of the characters have relationships/friendships outside of their unit group! Like An and Haruka were middle school friends who like to have contest in random things on who’s the best, and that knew each other since elementary school! Another example would be how Mizuki and Rui were also middle school friends that bonded over being both outcast.

There’s also siblings within the main cast with different dynamics! Like the Hinomori’s (Shizuku and Shiho), the Shinonome’s (Ena and Akito), and the Tenma’s (Tsukasa and Saki)!

And like the characters later get introduced and meet other characters later on in the stories! Like how Shizuku and Airi meets Mizuki for the first time through Ena (Ena and Airi are friends since middle school), and how An and Shiho became friends after bonding over their love and passion for music and how they value their friends/group so much!

Conclusion

Basically… Project Sekai is my current hyperfixations and I’m loving it! *w*

Of course I would still need to read all of the story since I’m no where nearrrr caught up! @v@;

But like, I’m having a blast so far! :Dc

Thank you for asking and being slightly interested in this game anon! ^w^/

[silly-hermit]

Tonikaku Kawaii: being genuine is both simple yet fulfilling isn't it?

Alternative title: How the embodiment of denseness can be typed Ni-dom?

If you like MBTI, I think you'll enjoy this post even if you don't know about Tonikaku Kawaii (abbr. Tonikawa). Nevertheless if you enjoy romcom, I think you'd enjoy the manga/anime. There aren't any spoilers in what follows.

Despite the story light and wholesome atmosphere, I think the author managed to convey the not-so-superficial message: someone, no matter how "ordinary," can be extraordinary. They can, and will, as long as they fully accept who they are and make the most out of it.

All manga pictures are taken from the english translation available on mangadex.org.

Nasa-kun

Preamble about fictional character typing:

Typing fictional characters has the unique complexity that we only see what the author writes (similarly that in real people we only see what they show). But, for stories, on top of writing a character: they also write a scenery and a plot. Thus, I think the "action cherry-picking as evidence of X cognitive function," more often than not, leads to mistype. If we want to get it right, we must take a quite extended continuum of scenes. When modeling data, one can't, and will inevitably fails to, make a regression (such as y=ax+b) reproduces every data point, right? So why should we do it for the personality theory? If you're unfamiliar with the terms used, the principle is the same that looking a mirror from too close makes you unable to see the whole person. Regarding the manga illustrations I put, keep in mind that, they are intended as entertainment rather than evidence. Also please remember to read them from right to left.

When typing, more often that not, I find it easier to first think about the attitude (Intro/Extraverted), and only then I look for the dominant function (T/F/S/N). In other words, in the second step I look for "T," rather than "Te or Ti." I feel like doing both steps at the same time makes me suggest a too strong first hypothesis, which will only biases me into confirming it rather than refuting it. Moreover, we can pretty much start with any 8 hypothesis and make it sound coherent by cherry-picking scenes.

Nasa's attitude: Extraverted

There is an empirical trick to assess attitude of a fictional character in one go: if there is a cover picture for the work, look whether or not the character has their mouth wide-open on it. Nasa does, but, well, while I find this trick fun, I agree that it's definitely too subject to other criterion than the character personality to really use it seriously. So, let's get to a more "serious" analysis (I don't know how "serious" one can claim to be when writing some nerd-astrology essay about a romcom character on Tumblr).

Throughout the story, "Nasa sees, Nasa reacts." He seems in tune with his surroundings (I think being in tune/out of tune, with current environment is E/I, rather than S/N). He prefers actions to reflections. When something happens (like Tsukasa tying her hairs, or just doing/saying anything, really,) he doesn't wait but reacts immediately. I find it more coherent to state that Nasa's mind anchors itself in the world, rather than trying to get distance from it.

Tsukasa, his wife, offers a nice point of comparison: at almost every occasion, she reacts with more restraint than Nasa. This difference illustrates the extraverted/introverted attitude basis of the story (because in the end it's always tied to how the author understands and writes human personality: an extravert in one author' story could be an introvert in another author's one).

On another topic, Nasa's natural standards are exterior ones. When toddler-Nasa was mocked for his name, he aimed to beat all his peers according to their rules (having good grades, and more generally his motto "reaching speed of light before NASA"). When his friend Kaname tells him society thinks a ring/wedding is needed, he values it more than his first opinion of "such things are inefficient." Of course, introverted judgements can also change their mind through discussion. But the nuance is that Nasa valued society judgement more than Tsukasa's one: he naturally considered rallying Tsukasa's to exterior values the right thing to do. Despite Tsukasa's firm opposition.

He argued more against Tsukasa than against Kaname, i.e. he is more confident when backed up by external beliefs rather than his own. With the added irony that Tsukasa's opinion is the same as Nasa's one was before Kaname intervention. If he had introverted judgement, I think he would naturally have gone back to his first position, when realizing his wife actually shares it.

Tsukasa illustrates here again a difference between an introverted judgement (I hypothesize Tsukasa to be ISTP Ti-dom, more on that another time) and extraverted judgement. Given the same first opinion to both, Tsukasa opposed Nasa's judgement, and stood her ground, way more than Nasa did against Kaname.

Overall, Nasa mainly lives in the world, seldom in his head. When in disagreement, even with his wife, Nasa will prefer societal agreements to individual ones. He thus most likely is an extraverted guy.

Nasa's Dominant Function: Thinking

On PersonalityDataBase, Nasa used to be typed INTP, and currently, he is typed INFJ. Putting aside the introversion disagreement, I struggle to see coherence in Nasa being N-dom. His breath smells of the T-dom oiled machinery and efficiency, not of the N-dom schizophrenic rambling about conspiracy theory or obscure Buddhist philosophy (no insults to my Ne/Ni-dom friends out there, I really enjoy listening about it).

From the very beginning, Nasa-kun is introduced to us as the definition of the hard-worker. He is made fun of because of his name? He studies so people can't legitimately mock him. I emphasize the legitimate part, which is I think a defining T-dom trait. It is recurrent in Nasa's character: he needs a logical reason for anything and everything. And, when he doesn't act "logically," he feels compelled to at least point it out.

Upon encountering Tsukasa for the first time, he knows "[he has] no logical reason to talk to her, but she is just really cute." Actually, it is a logical reason, and this example serves as reminder that emotional types (Fi/Fe-dom) are logical. The difference between F and T being found in the nature of the favoured criteria: affective or detached.

Following that, Nasa gets sceptical of Tsukasa's agreement to marry him, because "Frankly, [he] hasn't done a thing for her." It's not a self-confidence issue, Nasa isn't devaluing himself. Or, well, he kinda is, but not in a "I'm worthless" way. Rather, he doesn't realize he is applying T-detached criteria (equivalent exchange) on an intrinsically F-related area (relationships). I'm always welcoming outsiders perspective to correct my beliefs, but I don't think a Ni-dom INFJ would be so hung up on "detached logic," when it comes to relationships.

Given that Nasa is "great at everything," we can't really infer dominant (nor inferior!) function based on his aptitudes: the purpose of this character is to always succeed at harmonizing the repressed function (and the purpose of the show is to show how actually effortless it can get). In his case, the repressed function seems to be Fi: when deciding out of subjective affect ("she is just cute!") and not out of societal pragmatism, he does point out the oddity yet still acts upon it without inducing any interior disharmony. I was going to write that "and when does even societal pragmatism occurs when it comes to love?" but then I remembered about superficial, or even forced, marriages.

On a side note, I think titling the story "She is just cute!" i.e. a judgement from the protagonist's repressed Fi was a nice move, if intentional.

Despite my hypothesis of Nasa being extraverted, could it make sense for Nasa dominant thinking to be introverted? Are the current hypotheses coherent (E -> Te) or contradicting (E -> Ti)?

I may be missing something, but I don't see subjective logic (Ti) in Nasa, which contradicts both INFJ/INTP typing. The solutions he is applying don't stem from a monolithic framework (Ti), but from a pile of individual tools he learned the world deemed efficient (Te). How to save his friends' family business? He brings up everything the world deems efficient to work, and has to offer.

What's the best meal? He gathers info, and use them as is; he doesn't wonder "is this behaviour abstractly found elsewhere ?"

Well, he probably knows how vitamin acts, because he learned everything, but that's the point: Nasa is more of a "how?" kind of guy than a "why?" one. He always makes us feel like he learns, but never unifies what he learns, which is what Ti do through common "why's". Given the insane knowledge base of Nasa, we should see plethora of inter-connections emerging from Ti, we'd see pondered thoughts. We don't see any of that.

All his knowledge is scattered everywhere, no subjective unification whatsoever. No principles intersection, no simplification, no abstraction. The knowledge bits keep piling up without any resonance. I thus think the most likely hypothesis is for Nasa-kun to be a Te-dom.

Nasa's Auxiliary Function: Sensing

Nasa-kun is the embodiment of pragmatism, but when someone is pragmatic, it often makes it difficult to tell if it's because of T or S. Despite being of different nature, both functions have "realists" kind of behaviours. So, rather than looking for S, I'll look for N and see if it leads to absurd conclusions.

Ni-aux (or even Ne, if Ti-dom) doesn't make any sense at all for Nasa. This guy is just not intuitive (and if you think that's an insult, well, don't you think it actually shows how a wrong use of MBTI can make us twisted?)

He doesn't naturally, nor does he thinks about, contextualizing information. His trains of thought stay focused on what concretely surrounds him, he seldoms tries to reach for more than a N+2 iteration. Don't get it wrong, he does excel at Te empirical data process, but only when it's right in front of him, i.e. N+0.

To set some basis for N-behaviour according to the author, the story offers a caricatural example with Kaname's sister: AyaNe, which I think is Ne-dom.

Another evidence is found with Nasa's parents: they are very, very intuitive. In opposition to their son, they're caricature of perfect contextualization. His mother instantaneously connects the dots when he barely just call her out of the blue. Another time, from little evidence, his father infers that an used sword will be lighter than one that never left its sheath.

Again, intuition isn't about being smart, it's about contextualization, which Nasa parents do very well, (too much contextualization to the point of being dumb would be Ayane). I think the author made a very deliberate decision when distancing Nasa's personality from his parents: I assume he wanted to highlight, through Nasa, that lacking intuition doesn't mean lacking intelligence.

And, actually, what does Nasa think of his intuitive parents? He states they're "weird" every time his parents are mentioned. If that's not the usual sensor vs intuitive "they're weird" reflection, I don't know what it is.

On PersonalityDataBase, there are some common arguments for Nasa's lack of surrounding awareness: a Se-inferior hypothesis. We're not on dominant/inferior investigation, but the sensing/intuitive arguments are nice to examine.

First, Nasa get hit by a truck, hence lack of environmental awareness. Well, if only Ni-dom got into such accidents, the world would be a very safe place. Plus, he has a very good reason to be distracted: his soon-to-be wife. I think Se-inf get into this kind of --although less harmful-- incidents, like forgetting your water boiling, hitting every possible furniture corner, etc, way more often than once in their lifetime. Nasa even stated it himself numerous times: it *was* unusual for him to let his guard down.

The same truck-argument is used for Ni-dom hypothesis: he tunnels vision. Even for other typing in general, I think this argument is almost always much misunderstood. Tunnel vision decisions stem from judgement functions, not perception ones. Ni-tunnel vision is more passive, less noticeable in the Ni-dom mind. I think Ni-doms would realize only much later than they missed obvious details. Again, I always welcome outsider's corrections to my crude Ti-Ne beliefs and perceptions.

Even before doing any action, Nasa shares with us his conscious decisions "no logic, she is just cute." It seems more coherent than a judging function was involved, here Feeling.

Second argument, Nasa gets careless at times, such as spilling coffee when talking with Tsukasa. Hm.. Here I was reluctant, but I have to admit this one is a good argument for Se-inf/Ni-dom. I can't think of any another reason why a 18yo virgin wouldn't pay attention to anything but the cute girl in his bedroom at night, who he was looking for the entire past year, who instead came to him on her own without notifying, with whom he expected, and is supposedly destined, to be the most intimate person on earth, who he would be legitimate to think they may f*** soon enough, even tonight, who knows, and who casually asks him to marry her. I agree only Ni-doms could forget about the coffee.

Both arguments illustrate why I disapprove of cherry-picking scenes out of their continuums. The more we cut, the more we can infer anything and its contrary.

Overall, Nasa doesn't share with us a lot of "what if?" ideas, nor "holistic" perceptions, and when he does, they're quite easily relatable to the matter at hand. Nasa prefers to stay focused on what's directly available.

His inability to connect the dots, nor to foresee any event, even immediate ones, gets to the point it is part of the story comedy. Thus I don't find the Ni/Ne hypothesis coherent. Nasa being a S doesn't contradict his character, he does care about material value (insuring stuff, TV screen quality).

He is aware of his surrounding, albeit in a kind of passive way, reflecting Si rather than Se. It could be seen as odd that a Si-aux would show such disdain for tradition, as Nasa does. But I actually think it is again coherent with the character: Nasa always succeed to harmonize functions. He doesn't disdain tradition solely for the sake of it (which I plead guilty of doing). He disdains them when there *are* realist alternatives, but he honours them when they deserve so, hence the S-N harmonization.

Other than that, he doesn't show much "Se-recklessness," nor "taste for physical pleasure." Aside from material quality decision stemming from Te-dom, he is quite the conservative spender, he enjoys the very same meal every day, he enjoys the very same clothes every day (on a more personal observation, I've yet to see an INFJ who didn't find in their clothing a channel to make both their Ni-dom and Se-inf happy).

Thus I find that the most adequate hypothesis for Nasa's type is ESTJ.

An Overlooked Wholesome Message

I think the author of Tonikaku Kawaii innocently narrates how any personality, even one with supposedly the most frequent traits, ESTJ, can --and will-- become admirable as long as they fully accept themselves. I emphasize the use of "frequent/common" rather than "ordinary," with the same reasoning for choosing "uncommon" over "rare," the first choices are neutral while the latter carry some negative/positive value.

Take any one, make them love every inches of their self, but also question it just as needed, and they'll naturally become surrounded with friends, with the love of their life, and lead a fulfilling life, no matter what comes.

The other characters don't love Nasa because he is successful, but because he is genuine. Even when it is genuine perversion, such as grabbing some erogenous part of his opposite-sex concubine. Yet, Nasa remains human, hence relatable: when he wants something illogical, he states it is illogical, yet still acts on it. When he doesn't know something, he does show anxiety before asking. But in the end he always asks. At times he may even have ulterior motives, but he would never conceal them with lies.

Nasa is, oddly enough, "ideal" yet human. And upon reading/watching, I don't find Tonikawa to be a fairy-tale, so I think the author did a good job showing that being both ideal yet flawed may be easier than it seems.