is there any like guide or something as to what's yaki vs ayano? because even trying my best to pay attention to little details I still get confused and can't tell who exists when and where
(Note: Answering this OoC. Also for the purposes of this post I will be referring to Shintaro's "Snake of Retaining Eyes" by the general fan name "Yaki" for simplicity/recognizability, and "Ayano" as all other incarnations.)
@yoomster wrote a semi-related summary which may answer your question to a degree somewhat. If you haven't yet read up to chapter 70 of the manga, then I definitely also recommend doing so in order to gain a better understanding of Yaki's background. To delve deeper into the details of her current persona and role in the story, a base guideline to go by in any given scene is if "Ayano" is either...
a. acting creepy and spouting cryptic messages (especially about "remembering/not forgetting")
and/or
b. alone in a classroom setting with Shintaro
...then chances are it's Yaki. The exception to the second category would seem to be the ending of MCA ep11, where Shintaro goes directly into the Daze to rescue the Ayano of that timeline, who committed "suicide" to enter the Daze so she could possess a pair of red eyes and prevent "Clearing Eyes" from enacting his plan by gathering all the snakes. For what I suspect are deliberately misleading meta reasons, Ayano's individual section of the Daze closely resembles Shintaro's typical "mind palace" by taking on the appearance of a classroom too. I say "typically" because according to MCA, Shintaro's mental/dream conversations with Yaki don't always take place inside a classroom - but sometimes more surreal spaces such as the area filled with gears at the beginning of Act 01, or the hourglass carousel at the start of Act 05. Granted, this could all be chalked up to SHAFT's stylized presentation, but generally these instances are implied to be Yaki as well.
There is one other curious case from MCA in question, which @fuckyeahkagepro made a post on pointing out the similarities to a short segment from the third novel. (Please note: The subs in the vid are likely inaccurate, though it’s hard to tell without full context given the ambiguity of the original syntax. I have consulted with a friend of mine who studies Japanese and confirmed that - judging by tone, grammar, and vocabulary choice - the most probable meaning of the line “So you ended up being you” should instead lean approximately towards “It turned out to be you”, or as MekaMekaSubs’ group corroborates: “So it was you, after all.” This not-so subtle distinction will be important to a hypothesis I have later on.)
Here, we see a mysterious "Ayano" interacting with Hibiya of all people (whereas the speakers' identities were left unknown in the novel version). Previously, one might've assumed Ayano crossed paths with Hibiya while they were both inside the Daze, however based on the novel transcript along with new information from the manga I have a different theory. In the novel, it's stated that the way Hibiya's "Focusing Eyes" works is that he can "see through the eyes of other people". I believe that upon obtaining the Focusing ability, Hibiya is able to actually access Shintaro's sight to be able to communicate directly with Yaki, making him the only other Dan member capable of doing so - albeit rarely/unwittingly. (Potentially Seto could too if he knew/tried? Hm...)
Other evidence to back this up exists in the excerpt: For one, Yaki is a lot more knowledgeable about the situation as a whole compared to Ayano due to having memories of past timelines, and her remarking "So it turned out to be you" indicates she's aware Hibiya is not always the one to receive "Focusing Eyes", as Hiyori did instead in the manga’s second route. "I have explained this to you before" also matches up with Yaki having openly informed Hibiya specifically about the origin of the Kagerou Daze and their red eyes in the manga (whilst still a human then utilizing "Favoring Eyes" throughout Volume 7). There's been no sign to suggest MCA route's Ayano has ever met Hibiya in the past, or that she can even leave her designated Daze quarter, so my money's on it being Yaki instead. (Why they're standing on telephone poles in the water IDK, but it's probably just SHAFT being artsy-fartsy again.)
As a disclaimer, I've not read the novels themselves beyond the first English volume + scattered synopses, and am only speculating conjecture based on an out-of-context unofficial translation. (If anyone has the official rendition of the Kagerou Daze IV chapter from The Children Reason LN - or better yet, knows where to find to the raw Japanese text so I could ask my friend to double-check that as well if only for my own peace of mind, I’d appreciate it.) To that topic though, there is one other incident I'm aware of in the novels that seems pretty plainly hinted to be Yaki foreshadowing in hindsight...
For the record, chapters 69 and 70 of the manga also completely recontextualize the Lost Time Memory PV (and by extension MCA 08's ED). Given the clear references to LTM's imagery in the manga, I think it's safe to assume the "Ayano" in LTM's classroom is in fact Yaki, and not Ayano passing on her eye power to Shintaro in the Daze as was once postulated. (Presumably Jin had a lot more creative control over the manga than the animé, so the panel-to-PV parallels are definitely intentional.) This is emphasized further by LTM's Yaki literally disappearing at the end of the PV, which in chapter 70′s “Additional Memory” epilogue Yaki outright states will happen to her once the "world stops looping", i.e. the "wish" to save everyone is fulfilled. ;(
On that note, Additional Memory's PV is a bit of a mixed bag, since it contains visuals and lyrics applicable to both Ayano and Yaki. I'm inclined to consider the song as simply a bridge between the two, which can be interpreted through either lens depending on the listener.
Again, bear in mind this is all just purely my personal analysis of the events provided by canon so far, so take it with a grain of salt. If anyone spots that I'm wrong/misinformed about anything please feel free to correct me (or just let me know your own takes, I'd love to hear 'em). Hope this helps!
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more re: Kagepro timeline things because analyzing is fun!
anyway, the main timeframes mentioned in Kagepro tend to be:
“two years ago” / “five years ago” / “ten years ago”
-- and then so on and so on
it becomes MUCH EASIER TO UNDERSTAND (CHRONOLOGICALLY)
if you "correct” this to
“ (ABOUT) [timeframe] ”
i.e.
[ABOUT] “ two years ago” -
- Ayano jumped off the roof and died
(when she was
- in her 1st year of high school and,
- closer to age 15 per not reaching her later birthday (Nov. 22nd) when
the Japanese school year began)
* the Japanese school year begins AROUND APRIL 1ST-2ND
and ends around LATE MARCH
** during HaruTaka’s school festival, JUST previous to “two years ago”,
^ Ayano speaking to Takane,
who is A WHOLE FULL GRADE ABOVE AYANO.
- Jin in 2013 confirmed Ene was “19″,
and Ene specifically was intended to be older than Shintaro.
- Haruka is in the same grade as Takane,
- BUT HIS BIRTHDAY IS NOT UNTIL DECEMBER 24TH.
- Haruka dies before he can reach his birthday, during August 15th.
- i.e. he dies closer to age 16.
- i.e. in main canon he’s closer to age 18 because Takane is 19.
- both Haruka + Takane are confirmed to initially die in their
2nd year of high school.
compare to Ayano’s “1st” and it’ll become even more clear with this info.
- Ayano was thinking of entering “this [high] school”
- “NEXT YEAR”
- i.e. she dies in her 1st year of high school, yes.
- Shintaro was also entering this school “next year”
- but Shintaro is older than Ayano by some months,
(i.e. the timeframe gap between April 30 -> November 22nd)
(i.e. he’s about 7 months older than her)
so, he ages to 18 in main canon [on April 30th]
during a time period where Ayano would still be 17 if she was still alive.
- Ayano is confirmed to be a year older/grade above the Mekakushi Trio.
- Kano is closest in age to her due to his canon age being 17
-- and his birthday being May 10.
- Kido wouldn’t age to 17 until after the main story (August 15) is over;
on her birthday, January 2nd.
- in main canon, Kido and Seto are still 16 chronologically.
- Seto wouldn’t age to 17 until the very end of the Japanese school year.
- i.e. right before that, he’s still 16 chronologically.
- this is due to his birthday being March 28
-- and older than Momo.
- Momo’s powers became even more obvious to her
during this time period
“two years ago”, as well. (see: all of MCA 02 Momo’s flashbacks)
(when Momo is in middle school,
i.e. 8th grade, where she’d have started the grade at 13, NOT 14
* when she is seen in a grey school uniform i.e. during MCA 02,
THAT’S HER MIDDLE SCHOOL UNIFORM,
NOT A HIGH SCHOOL UNIFORM.
in main canon she is in 10th grade.
8th grade is confirmed via novel 6,
where Momo appears as a middle schooler i.e. correct grade range
despite her INCORRECT CONFLICTING AGE) (thanks Jin)
^ hey look! it’s younger!Momo in the CORRECT GRADE FOR HER AGE
this is at the costume event but yeah
^ hey look! she even has been in the same area as
the entire Yuukei Quartet ! much “coincidence” !!
- but only properly met i.e. was introduced to, Haruka
(re: “ coincidence ”)
^ THANKS CLAMP you may know them via Cardcaptor Sakura
a more recent mention of this phenomenon via Professor Layton anime [2018]
^ these are other well-known anime/manga series but YEAH
[ABOUT] “ five years ago ” -
- Momo drowned in the ocean
[it’s even detailed in 2nd Manga Route 2 *** during the “Red” chapters !]
(“ lower grades ” of elementary according to one of her oldest profiles -
i.e. likely not 6th grade of elementary but closer to 5th)
( *** “[Mr. Kisaragi]’s eldest son has just entered primary school, right?”
- even Shintaro’s grade was mentioned here ! )
- Momo received her power
^ we even see this in “Konoha no Sekai Jijou” pv! (towards the end)
^ this is ELEMENTARY-aged Momo during the drowning incident
also:
“ On the other hand, Shintaro was talking to Ayano and Hibiya about
his sister’s power to attract attention back in ELEMENTARY
and that those days when she still couldn’t suppress it was hell (Momo received countless love letters and Shintaro tore them down without mercy).
He later said that he couldn’t stand put having his sister deal with anymore good-for-nothing business.
Listening to his story (and determination),
Ayano finally decided to tell him [*AND HIBIYA] the story. ”
- Fuyuyuu’s summary of this manga chapter (2nd Manga Route)
from 2012 Disintegration Book:
(explained/summarized here)
(bolding/italics mine for emphasis)
Momo’s mystery
The only mystery about her that is not revealed yet is
how she got hold of her powers in the past.
What exactly happened during
the beach incident that happened when she was young.
And also what happened to her father who was also involved in it….
That incident’s one scene was shown a bit in Konoha no Sekai Jijou.
[ABOUT] “ ten years ago ” [i.e. a “decade”] -
- a “monster” (Wide-Eyed Snake) “spoke” to Kano in Yobanashi Deceive pv
- the Dan estimate that this is when the timeloop began,
-- BUT they do not have a full confirmation of this
.........................................................
“this cycle has repeated for DECADES” -
-- “Kagerou Daze” song lyrics via Hibiya’s POV [Music Route]
^ Wannyanpuu’s older fanmade pv circa 2011 may not be full canon
BUT THE LYRICS SURE STILL ARE CANON
“ I’D REALIZED THAT A LONG TIME AGO. ”
- HIBIYA
- ( SPECIFICALLY HIBIYA )
JIN, PROBABLY:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
“ Ayano asked when the snake entered Hibiya’s body,
to which [Saeru/Clearing] answered from the VERY START,
long before he killed “Concealing Eyes” [Kido]
and MET AYANO . ”
“ He continued that this body [*Hibiya]’s was a “miss”.
It was good that the boy [*Hibiya] who DIDN’T HAVE ANY WISH
began to have a desire to “save the girl”,
but it was a little bit immature.
Regardless that the snake was a being that eats up “desire”,
that wish causes him a sour stomach. ”
- Additional Memory
“ AYANO ASKED WHEN THE SNAKE ENTERED HIBIYA’S BODY
“ FROM THE VERY START,
LONG BEFORE HE KILLED CONCEALING EYES
AND MET AYANO ”
“ AYANO ASKED
WHEN THE SNAKE ENTERED HIBIYA’S BODY -----------------------------
JIN, PROBABLY, AGAIN:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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