#for the record im still team kumirei though maybe not as passionate as before

[a-bucket-full-of-feels]

in defense of shuuichi which the majority of the english-speaking hibike fandom doesn't like because 1) he's a shallow character 2) he's a forced hetero-romantic "love interest" for kumiko

i recently read an interview with ayano takeda and she talks about how she developed her characters in the hibike series, and this is what she said about shuuichi:

and after thinking about it and continuing to rewatch the series, i do feel that shuuichi plays an important role in "grounding" kumiko. reina's too hot-headed and caught up in her own world, and hazuki and midori only knew kumiko starting in high school, whereas shuuichi was friends with kumiko since young. so in a way, he knows her temperament and understands her situation without her needing to explain much (e.g. the incident with mamiko leaving the house). he helps to affirm her feelings, like the scene at the end of season 1 where kumiko shouts that she wants to become good across the road to shuuichi, he shouts the same thing back at her. he isn't involved in the emotionally charged scenes like with asuka or reina, but he's the same old shuuichi who is just there as a constant

and sometimes just having these people in your life as a constant can be strangely comforting