#disclaimer: these are very fragmented thoughts and- these aren't my best. but i'm jotting it down anyway

[mofffun]

how i look at Rita's relationship with the others

something i noticed is that Rita's just there, a lot (more than I expected)? like the plot would demand them to be there as a witness or the script would give them exposition lines, in turn giving them quite a few interactions.

Gira:

I think in-show Gira should be the youngest followed by Rita, and among them, Rita should be the latest king to take the mantle (even though she might not be that much younger than Himeno or Yanma).

I think these are two are similar, as they are both portayed as the 'righteous' character. They both act as 'King' because of / to protect somebody else. Even though its their focus episode, Gira and Rita only had brief a dialogue, with Rita under a presumption. Rita attempting to "balance the scales" for Gira in ep8 is a more meaningful scene for the two. Rita feels a sense of responsiblity to control the Gira situation (and to find out the truth of Gira's kidnapping). Gira came to respect or learn a lesson from the other 3 kings but there never was that animosity targeted at Rita. But then… Rita still doesn't know Gira might be the one person they tried that don't hate them…

Rita's impact on Gira is seen in his speech in the cell in ep5, and the sparkles in his eyes when Rita delivered a just judgment. Gira's impact on Rita is through Morfonia that Rita begins to open up.

These two are still interacting indirectly for now and I want to see them adopt each other. Some people are shipping it but I don't see it, they are more sibling vibes to me.

Yanma:

The natural antagonism between a deliquent and an officer of the law. I need their buddy cop road trip episode. They don't like each other but have a mutal respect. ep11 illustrates the divide between Yanma and Rita. They are both pracitcal-minded, yet appraoched problems from two sides of the law. They are both stubborn yet they can work efficiently in ep12.

Himeno:

i'm not immune to heated drama between women (gn).

Okay this is really interesting because Erica and Yuzuki are friends IRL and the the stage shows has been feeding us so it's easy to project that onto the characters. From what little we've seen so far I love how Himeno is the one inviting Rita into the conversation. If you don't count Kaguragi's "Rita-tono" then Himeno is the only other royal that called them by their name. They are so going to bond over Moffun please bring them to Moffunland Himeno-sama we're counting on you.

For real, so far I don't think they have much of a relationship to speak of? They barely know each other and you could say ep5's probably the first time Himeno set foot in Gokkan. I think Himeno sees Rita as 'better an ally than an enemy' but is stunned by their screams at times. Rita… Rita counts themselves lucky they don't get sensory overload each time they go to Ishabana. Can you imagine the dissonace between 'someone go do that for ME' Himeno Ran and 'I have to take care of everything but myself no matter how hard it gets' Rita Kaniska though.

With them it could be the extrovert adopts introvert trope, but classic's classic (Himeno go make them more wagamama)

Kaguragi:

They are platform boots shopping besties. They stand next to each other a lot because sentai color-coding. WHY ARE THEY SEEMINGLY FRIENDS (What's the deal with Kaguragi and EVERYONE)

I saw some tweets that had definitely affected how I look at their first meeting. The idea that Rita had to make an official publicity tour around Chikyuu after their accession is hilarious. Kagu said to Racles that Rita has a reputation of being 'cold as ice' - I can't even tell if this man is making that up or if he has a file on every king, or he's just repeating the general concensus.

Rita does not oppose to being dragged into Kaguragi's schemes (though I doubt anyone could do that sucessfully). Do they know they are being used in Kagu and Racles's gambits? Can they and do they want to, do something about it?

Racles:

Their relationship, if there exist of, is so fascinating. Rita's not the first Gokkan King Racles had to deal with. Racles has Rita (Gokkan King)'s direct number. Rita slapped that bitch.

Racles see the Gokkan King as another cog in his scheme, another chess piece, if however that worked with the previous king, or they simply hadn't threatened Racles power, would that work with Rita?

Morfonia:

Only after "potential successor" is pointed out I notice Rita is quite indulgent of her? I mean you could read it this way, but I don't think Rita would stop her from lazing around if Morfonia can come up with a citation from the rulebook.

I'm not sure about the age gap here because IRL Morfonia's actor is 9 years older but the character looks at max Rita's age if not younger?? Either way Gokkan's throne probably has a fixed term---oh i derail

okay my headcanon is that they grew up (like ~age 10 onwards)/entered the academy together and later apprenticed to the previous ruler as successor candidates. that dynamic probably hadn't changed since day one just some immature rivalry subsided.

From the frivolous way Morfonia speaks to Rita (addresses their first name without/instead of title), you'd thought they are the closest among the King-Retainer pairs, but they still seem just co-workers? Morfonia refuses to work overtime but genuinely cares about Rita when they're hurt.