#haganai rika shiguma

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Rika-san!!

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The Interloper

So, expanding on something from Toradora! is Perfect, Actually. In a romantic comedy, there needs to be some sort of pressure pushing the principal characters together. If the premise or protagonists themselves don't fulfill this need, the work can make use of a character I call the "Interloper". This is the one who usually shows up last and whose role it is to keep the plot from being stable. In general, a character who shows up at the start of a later season is not the Interloper, even if their shenanigans have the effect of pushing the plot forward. Rather, the introduction of the Interloper is the point where the story has all the pieces in place. When it comes to making things happen the Interloper is the finger that pushes over the first domino.

To be an Interloper, the character's actions need to be both deliberate and effective. By this I mean they have to be causing trouble or progress on purpose, and the results need to be at least partially an intended result of that effort. For example, if a character is trying to sneak a truth potion into someone's food and it ends up in the wrong one, that's just shenanigans, not actual Interloper activity. However, if someone sneaks truth potion into someone's food and it results in the target voicing something they kept hidden (perhaps even from themselves), that's an Interloper at work. Some Interlopers start more on the shenanigans side of things and move toward actively shaping the plot later. Regardless of where they start, pretty much every Interloper ends a series making active direct effort to put the characters in place for the resolution.

Ami Kawashima of Toradora! is one of my two original examples for the type. She is the last of the five main characters to be introduced, and is initially presented as a certified Mean Girl. She starts her Interloping from her very introduction, treating Ryuuji like a toy in order to mess with Taiga. She goes through a lot of changes over the course of the series, but she never stops being the Interloper - the way she acts just changes. At first her trolling is more about her own satisfaction, but her actions are already pointed at stirring up the status quo of relationships. As the show goes along, her actions come to be motivated by the good of others, and she changes from merely stirring things up to openly pushing toward the conclusion everyone wants. At each phase her actions shape the plot, defining more than a third of the story arcs. Ami may not be the star, but there is no Toradora! without her.

Rika Shiguma of Haganai is my other original example. Haganai is a much more shenanigans-focused show than Toradora! and Rika is all about shenanigans. She's the designated sex maniac in the cast, taking everything in the most lewd way possible. In her introduction episode she shows up to the club room and propositions Kodaka right in front of everyone. This might seem like just a joke, but it's very clear that by saying that out loud, she forced everyone else in the room to reassess their own relationship with Kodaka in those terms. This is the end of the beginning of Haganai, the point where the plot starts to move incrementally forward. Most of the time Rika plays the shenanigans part of the Interloper more than the progress-pushing kind. However, at the end of the season one special episode, she is once again the one who prompts everyone to think about what kind of relationship they want with Kodaka. By the end of season two she pulls out all the shenanigans she has and uses them to beat some progress out of Kodaka whether he likes it or not.

Ai Hayasaka of Kaguya-sama: Love is War fills both sides of the role with aplomb. As the deadpan servant character, it is her duty to say the quiet part out loud. This alone has an Interloper effect by forcing the target (usually Kaguya) to at least react to something she's trying not to know. As things go along Ai starts to actively intervene in the core relationship of the story by challenging Miyuki's love for Kaguya directly. She does this by secretly acting as an alternate love interest. This is done with love for Kayuga, but also more than a few ounces of jealousy. Obviously shenanigans ensue, but the real result is Miyuki affirming, both to himself and to Ai, that Kaguya is truly the one he loves and not just the closest target of potential affection. By the end she's providing massive pushes toward resolution.

Working!! is another shenanigans-heavy show, and it has multiple characters who could be described as Interlopers. Yamada Aoi is the late-arriving character and primarily a shenanigans-type Interloper, but Souma Hiroomi is there from the start and makes the most active efforts of anyone in the show to move the plot in some direction or another. One of his tricks is slowing down the Yamada family arc in order to squeeze more shenanigans (and progress) out of Kirio's interaction with the Inami-Souta relationship. On the Jun-Yachiyo relationship he takes on a more classic Interloper role by pushing shenanigans with the overt intent of putting them in proximity as much as possible and pressuring Satou to make progress through his own actions.

It's possible in general for multiple characters to do Interloper things. The supporting cast of The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten is so frustrated with the lack of romantic progress that it turns into Oops All Interlopers. The closest to the usual archetype are Amane's mother, who designates Mahiru as her future daughter-in-law from the moment they meet, and Chitose Shirakawa with her elaborate and decisive progress-pushing.

There are also plenty of romcoms out there without an Interloper. In some none is necessary because the structure of the show provides constant forward pressure directly. In Fuukoi, for example, the central conceit of the "marriage practical" does this by providing both a motive to make changes and a deadline for action to be taken. In some cases, like Wotakoi and many shoujo shows, no Interloper is necessary because one or more characters (often the male love interest) are sufficiently driven by their own desire to need no encouragement at all. Romcoms that are all shenanigans tend not to have a designated Interloper (just think how many characters regularly cause problems for no reason in Urusei Yatsura but lead to only more shenanigans) and actually need to avoid progress-forcing most of the time.

Given that an Interloper is disruptive by their very nature and often a little antagonistic, you might think they're generally considered annoying. In at least the cases I've listed, that's far from the case - some of them are as popular as the protagonists, if not more. In a world of endless, directionless drivel, there is real appreciation for the character who makes stuff happen.

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sigma female

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Today’s Maid of the Day: Rika Shiguma from Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

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Haganai: I Don't Have Many Friends

Episode 7 end card by Nakajima Yuka

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Rika Shiguma

Haganai

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Drawing request~ (Rika meeting plucky duck)

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[reselection]

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僕は友達が少ない NEXT (Haganai season 2) - Episode 7

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Yozora mikazuki Rika Shiguma & Sena Kashiwazaki

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Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends

Episode 12 end card by Buriki