#but Ray is regular pathetic while Norman is a special kind of pathetic” tweet

[fullscoreshenanigans]

#it wouldve been nice to see more spotlight on the other members of the trio #but ultimately i think emma being the primary focus serves tpns narrative very well #shes a very strong protagonist and i genuinely dont think tpn would be as good as it is if she wasnt at the forefront #im a weird contrarian ray fan i feel like where i never thought that ray's sidelining was as bad as some people make it out to be #like it wasnt like he stopped performing his role. he was still a very important voice for emma's decision making #and it wasnt like he never got any Moments (remember the seven walls arc! everyone always forgets about the seven walls) #granted i think he definitely had things that couldve been better. the conclusion to ray and isabellas story will never be satisfying for me #massive copout making isabella die and deciding that this alone should redeem her in ray's eyes #esp bc their story was such a devastating display of psychological abuse on isabella's part. left a bad taste in my mouth idk #i digress though this is a rant worthy of its own post #i think a lot of it is like you said. shirai cutting branches #and that aside i just dont think theres much of a reason for ray to be a massive driving force #w/o drastically altering the story #thats my two cents though #i have Opinions on how norman was handled in the last arc but i dont think more focus on him wouldve necessarily improved it #his arc was all wasted potential that i dont think warranted More screentime just. better direction #overall though these dissatisfactions w norman and ray are almost like my thesis statement on why emma being the center wins #bc those boys could not make a story #and i maintain that if nothing else tpn is such a deeply important feminist narrative and emma CARRIES that #the way the story follows emma and weaves in commentary about motherhood and femininity through its entire storyline #just the sheer amount of extremely important and powerful women in tpn #their presence and the story they contribute to would not be the same if emma wasnt at the forefront of all of that! (via @whamss)

unpopular opinion that each arc should have changed POV based on who it was centered around (aka escape arc was ray, goldy pond was emma, imperial was norman etc.) cuz it would have balanced out all of their development more than just focusing on emma

ty for carrying this fandom on ur back :D

If we're narrowing it down to a single person carrying the fandom, it's definitely @1000sunnygo for not only compiling the most comprehensive masterlist of materials for the English-speaking fandom, but also translating countless fanworks purely out of love for the series. The thought is very sweet, though! 💖💝

I don't entirely disagree with what I think is the underlying sentiment behind this ask of wanting more insight into the characters because switching the main POV for different arcs of a story can shake things up and be engaging, but assuming we're working under the same chapter/time constraints, I'm not sure what new development could be gained and balanced by this with how much POV swapping we already do between chapters and within single chapters? Other than potentially more insight into the specifics of Norman's time at Lambda and post-Lambda escape, including the Ayshe-Norman conflict branch that Shirai consciously cut to streamline the story.

Would swapping POVs mean we're firmly locked out of any other character's internal monologues? Or would we see monologues like Emma's feelings toward Isabella, Emma saying she wants to be like Norman and Ray, Norman saying he wants to be more like Emma, Norman's incensed vow that he won't lose to Isabella, and Emma's reflection on how Norman's apparent death hurt her retooled later on in their respective POV sections?

(Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 31)

Granted, the anime cut all of those too, but that's one of the main criticisms I've seen lobbied against it, even with how it reflects some of the essence of them in other ways. Still, I feel like the escape arc is balanced near perfectly in the amount of focus each member of the trio is given and at what point insight into each of their psyche's is explored. That balance is what I would have liked to see replicated in subsequent arcs, specifically during the imperial capital battle arc.

A criticism I've seen toward this portion of the story, and one that I assume is one of the main inspirations for this ask, is how Ray comparatively fades into the background/feels like he's on unequal billing with Emma and Norman despite his prominence in the beginning. The series' Japanese logo even features three parallel lines that represent each member of the trio (minus chapters 30 and 31 when Norman's line was removed to fake out Japanese readers)

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 | TPNManga Tweet)

So for a lot of people to see him not be as engaged with his own agenda feels kind of jarring.

I don't mind him aligning with Emma's position at this point despite his personal reservations given the conclusion of the escape arc has his entire worldview being thoroughly reconstructed, but I would have liked more reflection and insight that we see crop up in the bonus pages since we have small moments like Emma taking some time to speculate if a person losing their memories constitutes death in the story proper.

(Chapter 159 Bonus Scene | Chapter 169 Bonus Scene; I'm very happy both of these scenes are included at all, but they're unfortunately among the casualties of Shirai trimming branches that don't feel as integrated into the narrative in the last few arcs due to the accelerated pacing.)

I also feel the story would lose some cohesion by displacing Emma as the main character given she's the main driving force behind the idealism that permeates the series and thus serves as the strongest unifier to keep that theme front and center. Similarly, I'd hate to lose out on how beautifully foiled she and Isabella are during the escape arc and having such a powerful and heartbreaking mother-daughter dynamic as a focal point of a shounen jump series.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)

That said, this is another topic where I'm at odds with Sugita as I would have very much been up for more time spent developing the secondary cast.