#i'm partial to the yamanakas

[archivalofsins]

Let's talk about Amane's trailer~

Updated this because new information was brought to my attention and to fix some errors.

“we in turn, will forevermore mark YOU as the GUILTY one.”

They didn't capitalize the "W" in "We" so is this the middle of a sentence from her voice drama or just an error? Guess we'll know on the thirtieth, but I think it's the first thing. Amane is still the same as usual and as such Yamanaka has asked the audience to,

"Please, take care of her."

X

So, please be kind to Amane.

Futa and Amane's Possible Team Up

We know how the Milgram fandom claims to feel about picking on children from trial one right?

It'd be rather hard to take being lectured for picking on minors from people who continually harass minors. It's no wonder that Futa and Amane have gotten close. Her treatment is a direct example of Milgram's continued hypocrisy. I too would go what about you in this case.

Saying that bad things are bad, acting on the idea that something you believe is wrong has taken place, and that leading to others getting hurt- what you're saying is all that's okay when you do it...Right?

Well, it's none of Futa's business anyhow.

He said he can't afford to be worrying about other people during his second written interrogation,

Q.02 What do you think of Haruka?

Futa: I can’t afford to be worrying about other people at the moment. Anyway, he’s not a little kid.

Mu: We get on well, he’s always really kind to me.

Well, to be frank what he says is that he can't afford to worry about others currently, then states that Haruka isn't a little kid. So, he's not really worried about him, at the moment, because Haruka has shown that he is capable of taking care of himself.

I think the focus here should be on Futa specifying that, "He's not a little kid".

Amane is and she's someone that Futa has been shown to be concerning himself with during trial two.

2023/04/19 (Futa's birthday)

Futa: …! Oi, it was you. You scared me. Don't just stand there like that. Ha, what is it? Did you come to laugh at me for being weak? Brat.

Amane: No. I'm just observing; what people are thinking, who is tainted... What about you, Kajiyama Futa?

Futa: You're talking even more nonsense than before. Brat, you're guilty too, aren't you? …How can you even still stand? You probably heard it. That voice that kept blaming us. …..I ain't got the guts to do anything.

Amane: It goes without saying. Because we have something more important than incomprehensible and irrational voices. Humans can stand up if they have guidance. Kajiyama Futa, it's a coincidence, but today is your birthday, isn't it? It may be a good day to be reborn. If you can break free from the temptation of corruption around, you and change your ways-

Then guess who we have not heard about receiving help from Shidou after this interaction?

The focus and treatment suddenly became heavily focused on Mahiru. We see this in regards to Amane's birthday when Yuno is discussing giving care to Mahiru and on Kazui's when Shidou takes a short break from taking care of Mahiru.

In both cases there is no mention of continuing to give Futa treatment.

Shidou Lying about the Severity of the Prisoner's Injuries

Even though Futa needs care just as much if not more so considering the severity of his injuries. As he is stated to have,

An orbital fracture and traumatic retinal detachment. Along with bruising, lacerations (where is unspecified). Partial fracture of the thorax.

In this case, all the stated injuries involving his eye(s) and thorax could require surgery to be properly treated based on the severity of the injury.

X

X

X

In contrast Mahiru, despite all the care she's been receiving and the more visibly injured she is got off more lightly between the two. At least when taking into consideration none of her injuries require any sort of surgical treatment to heal. Despite Shidou hamming it up and saying,

"Shiina's injuries are even worse."

Looking into her injuries in comparison to Futa's easily proves this is not the case as she has,

Lacerations (Head)- Something that sounds bad but basically amounts to cuts on her head.

X

Bruising (All over her body)- It is literally just bruising. I don't know how to make this any simpler.

X

Sprain (Neck)- Does not require surgery to heal gradually heals over time with the right treatment.

X

Fracture (Ribs)- Again sounds bad but it's not.

X

Fracture (Left arm)- He says fracture, but this is literally just a broken arm. This is something that has happened to many people in the world and does not require invasive surgery to heal most of the time. Just a lot of rest.

X

"And furthermore this may be outside of my profession but her mental health is deteriorating as well."

Edit: @doctorbunny brought to my attention I missed one for Mahiru.

Compression Fracture (left anterior)

X

NOT SO FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT THE PRISONERS CAN LIE IN THEIR VOICE DRAMAS AND SHIDOU DID ABOUT THE SEVERITY OF MAHIRU'S INJURIES!

All of Mahiru's injuries in comparison to Futa's are light shit. However, Shidou knew that no one without his expertise would know that. Along with possibly rightfully deduced from the voices he does not mention hearing that there may not or were not enough people with his particular skills to correct him or call him out on his lies. That or he believed most wouldn't care to look past the surface anyhow considering what Es has deduced so far.

So, he lied highlighting Mahiru the more visibly injured of the two because he rightfully believed that the audience wouldn't realize that Futa was the more injured out of the two of them. Because it's easier for people to believe someone who looks like this,

Is more injured than someone who looks like this,

Not even touching on the fact that how injured someone believes another person is heavily dependent on external factors such as gender, ethnicity, and the communication skills of the individual in question.

So, Shidou just picked the person that needed the most consistent care, who could play the role of being injured properly, and would garner the most sympathy to latch onto in order to better his chances of being voted innocent. Then he expressly lied not only about their physical state but brought up that person's mental health as well. Something he states is not his area of expertise.

Despite people literally coming across Futa talking to himself in the fucking halls!

22/04/19 (Futa’s Birthday)

Futa: Ahh…… I’m not wrong…… I wasn’t doing anything wrong…… Shut up, why are you going on and on about something so minor…… It has nothing to do with you…… Aaahhh……

Amane: Oh, were you talking to yourself, Futa-san? Or maybe there’s something there you’re able to see?

Futa: ……! O-oh, it’s just you. It’s nothing. ……but well, on that note. Hey. Don’t you have anything happening too? Since being in here, just suddenly getting anxious. Feeling as though loads of people are all there condemning you, telling you you were wrong.

Amane: ……I’m fine. I don’t know what you’ve done or what it is you’re worried about, but I think if there’s something you believe in, you should stay true to it. It’s not something that should waver just because other people said something. I personally don’t plan on changing my own beliefs even if I’m told I’m wrong either…… ……today is your birthday, correct? I’ll pray for God to keep you under his care.

Making Futa's statement in his second written interrogation make far more sense given the fact that like Shidou said he would do from the beginning he,

"Choose between superiority or inferiority"

Prioritizing Mahiru's care for the benefit of himself and to an extent her as well while neglecting Futa's.

"I can’t afford to be worrying about other people at the moment."

He literally cannot afford to worry about other people in the prison because none of them have bothered to concern themselves with him outside of Kazui and Amane. Who once again comes up to him when he's freaking out on his birthday and is like,

"Kajiyama Futa, it's a coincidence, but today is your birthday, isn't it? It may be a good day to be reborn. If you can break free from the temptation of corruption around you and change your ways-"

Amane: Disavow the false god preaching to a choir of heathens and reject his medicinal ways and be reborn into a true deity of strength through your own will alone and my guidance. Do it- don't disappoint me like the others.

Futa: Ya, know what fuck it he's not really helping me anyhow...sure why not.

We haven't been shown or heard anything regarding Futa being checked over by Shidou or having his injuries cared for in a while now. I find it kind of odd how the only one receiving consistent treatment is Mahiru given everything here. I also wonder how Futa's friendship with Amane is going.

Amane has shown disdain towards Yuno, Shidou, and Mahiru yet...we haven't seen how she is with Futa after that interaction yet. I wonder if they'll have a timeline conversation again soon.

Honestly, I too would team up with the kid that's been consistently checking in on me. Can't even fault him.

Next the lyric.

“I disavow you, eyes corrupted.”

It seems like they’ll be continuing to update and tweak the English translation of the lyrics from what we were given in the song trailers. Though the snippet of Amane’s is much shorter than what we got previously. The MILGRAM/2nd Trial 8th EP Amane (CV: Minami Tanaka) “The Purge March” Trailer in my opinion more so highlights Amane’s message to the guard(s) than be a trailer of The Purge March proper.

So, it seems they’re really keeping the mv’s song under wraps up until release. Something that only makes me more interested in. I like the use of disavow it really fits Amane.

X

While giving her words that very smart-alecky know-it-all kid emphasis.

(Star here; I'd also say the usage of disavow works, given the likelihood of her victim being part of the cult. Whether that's an ongoing member or someone who decided fuck this is up for debate though)

The Cover Snippet

Her cover of Animal keeps up with the pattern of the Guilty prisoner’s songs so far. Unlike within their second trial songs when they are singing their cover songs, they are incredibly happy. This contrasts with the Innocent prisoners, who’ve been a bit of a mix bag when it comes to their covers but erring on the melancholy introspective side in tone. In contrast the guilty prisoners within their covers have sounded as though they’re having the time of their lives.

The staff even going as far as changing the entire tone of Parasite in Mahiru’s case to fit her mood. Something that I just thought was specific to Mahiru but upon further inspection all three of the guilty prisoners covers have had upbeat tones this trial and I’m curious as to why.

In Futa and Mahiru’s cases their main songs make their stress apparent seem, but their covers show they’re brimming with confidence and are incredibly pumped up. Futa’s cover is literally about wanting to go again, how he doesn’t want to stop, wants to escape, and unable to. Something we’ve been shown Futa pondering attempting to do from Milgram since it started and asking people for help with doing. Mahiru’s while about ending a bad relationship in contrast to Mu’s MKDR cover something dealing with a similar theme is very upbeat and seemingly ready to move forward or on from whatever is being left. Something that she’s also made clear she’s ready to do over the course of Milgram and continues to reiterate.

Having a relatively relaxed beach energy to it the most serious the song gets is when she’s asking why over and over again. Neither really touching on the tone that covers before theirs have had. It’s incredibly confusing considering it wouldn’t be surprising for the Guilty prisoners cover songs to be more downtrodden or melancholy, but it seems to be the exact opposite which I find interesting. The only cover outside of the guilty prisoners that gets remotely close to capturing this hype feeling in my opinion is Vampire but even then, Yuno sounds rather reserved.

So, like the heck are all of them so happy about; will Reversible Campaign have a similar tone? All that to say Amane’s cover of Animal sounds really good and upbeat. Her voice is so peppy.

[dearmahiru-archive]

— together in death; dearmahiru's shinjū theory

tw: this post revolves around the discussion of group suicide and a toxic relationship

Before I Love You had released, I proposed Mahiru attempted to commit a lover's suicide with her boyfriend. It's hopelessly outdated (and terribly formatted) but, given we've recieved many confirmations about Mahiru's story, I wanted to try rewriting the theory with the new information. For reference here is the old post.

Yamanaka: ❝ When we designed the characters and their sins, we tried to design them in a way that is open for interpretation depending on how each viewer feels, and encourage differences in opinions. For example, some sins may be legally wrong, or something that you can’t forgive emotionally, and some may be interpreted differently due to cultural differences and different upbringings. So we encourage people from all walks of life to participate, to increase the diversity and depth in the results. ❞

Understandably, this post will paint Mahiru in an overtly sympathetic light given my bias towards her. However, I'm disinterested in rehashing the same "Mahiru is a bad person" points when everyone is aware of her flaws. I acknowledge proposing this theory would seem like an attempt to absolve Mahiru of guilt but that's not my intention. Like every character, Mahiru is morally gray and whether the audience finds her forgivable is up to them.

So, without further ado, let's begin.

01. Setting The Scene

This particular scene in I Love You is extremely important: namely, it's the location of her victim's death.

If we look at Mahiru's incarnation records, her victim died in Aokigahara, Japan's infamous suicide forest. This makes sense given he had died by hanging.

At least since the 1960s, Aokigahara has become associated with suicide, eventually becoming known in English by the nickname "Suicide Forest" and gaining a reputation as one of the world's most-used suicide sites.

Adding onto this, we know Mahiru went with her boyfriend to Aokigahara. First, ofcourse, the two are seen walking through a literal forest. Second, in Mahiru's Undercover memories, the sleeves perfectly align with the clothes Mahiru and her boyfriend wear. There's no other day where these sleeves align—trust me, I checked.

Q. Can you drive a car? Mahiru: "I have a drivers license. But I'm only a 'paper driver.'"

A paper driver is someone who's license is only 'paper' because they don't use it. Aokigara is a two-hour drive away from Tokyo which is where Mahiru lives. If she doesn't drive then this might mean it was her boyfriend who drove them to Aokigahara.

So to recap, Mahiru and her boyfriend went to a suicide forest together. This does beg the question though: why did Mahiru come along? If she knew her boyfriend was suicidal then wouldn't she try consoling him? Unless, ofcourse, Mahiru also wanted to die.

02. Love Is Mine

When you peek into Mahiru's symbolism you'll notice one reoccurring theme: clinging onto someone until you both suffocate.

Beginning with this shot of Mahiru and her victim, she's depicted as the literal noose tied around her boyfriend's neck. However, as many have noted, it can also be interpreted as her comforting him. As opposed Haruka who's straddling ontop of his victim, Mahiru's boyfriend is laying on her lap while she gazes into his eyes. Although violent, it's a distinctly intimate scene.

Personally, I'm partial to the name theory which suggests each prisoner's name reflects something about their crime. I noted the meaning behind Mahiru's name here but I'll regurgitate it. Mahiru's name means "Midday" which fits along her description:

A prisoner who is like the sun, always chatting and laughing.

So, with the theory in mind, Mahiru's crime relates to her eternal sunny presence.

Along with this, each prisoner has the kanji for "wood" in their name and removing that kanji reflects an aspect of their crime. (For instance, Haruka (嬰) would be "baby" or "necklace" and Yuno (堅) would be "strong" or "resolute" like her real personality).

With out the wood kanji, Mahiru's name is 隹 which means means "bird," obviously relating to how Mahiru and her boyfriend are both bluebirds suffocating within their small birdcage. Their relationship was doomed from the beginning—as bluebirds are wild animals and therefore cannot survive in cages. It was inevitable one of them would've become stressed out and died. Put a pin in the birdcage symbolism since we'll came back to that.

Moving on, in her first voice drama, Mahiru reveals how her victim died:

Es: "I see. So, you became a murderer as a result of some relationship conflicts? Jealousy… Grudges… Having your partner stolen from you… Those stories aren’t all that uncommon now are they?" Mahiru: "You’re wrong. It wasn’t that. I…never even wanted to kill anyone in the first place!" Es: [pauses] Mahiru: "I just… I was… just being myself."

(honestly really frustrating how people still theorize mahiru/her boyfriend cheated when she expressed multiple times that wasn't the case. all of the victims apart from kotoko's were innocent people and mahiru "loving my bf is my defining personality trait" shiina isn't about to tap someone's elses ass. if anything this is a demonstration she was only stressed out about her partner leaving her but whatever i digress)

And then later on these exchanges happen:

Es: It was your love which killed someone, right? Despite that, will you still try to love another person?  Mahiru: [thinks] Actually, I was hoping you could tell me the answer to that, prison guard… If what I did was unforgivable.

Mahiru: Ah, this isn’t good. Be careful, okay? Um… Um… If you’re that kind to me, you could die as well. Just—kidding?  

So already, this theme of suffocation has been reinforced multiple times. Mahiru goes with her boyfriend to a suicide forest, she locks hands with him, she's symbolised as a noose hanging him, she's stuck in a birdcage with him, and it's her sunny disposition, her love for him which kills him.

Which forms the foundation for this theory: following her theme of clinging until suffocation, Mahiru tried to die alongside her boyfriend to forever stay with him.

Q. What is the ultimate form of Love?Mahiru: Being always together

Mahiru: My first shrine visit of the year was together with him. Obviously I know what I want to wish for. Please let us stay together like this forever. Please don’t let anyone else get in our way

Do you really think you know what love is? If you do, let's just overheat together! [Mahiru is outright singing, "Lets stay close together for so long we could die from the warmth.]

If you don't hug me, even our hearts will start drifting apart [Otherwise, "If you don't hold me close then I won't feel loved by you."

Mahiru: "Ehehe...I love, love, LOVE YOU!! Don't ever let me go, ok!"

The happiness we tightly bound up and suffocated, is no longer here

Which leads us to our third point: oh goodness Mahiru's relationship was a hot mess.

03. Love Is (Un)Dead

Okay, so we've established a lot but there's one thing missing: Is Mahiru herself suicidal?

Mahiru: It’s because I've… decided that I’m going to live for the sake of love

Mahiru: Hmm. If you can’t forgive me for what I’ve done, then there’s no point in living—to be honest. [laughs] 

Mahiru: Being in love is… If there was no such thing as love, then my life would be so bland. So, if you say that I won’t be allowed it anymore, then there’s no point in me living. 

An extremely unfortunate yes! Similar to how Shidou wishes to die because of his love, Mahiru only lives for the sake of love. (Infact, coasting off this shinju theory, I'd even say that both Shidou and Mahiru wanted to die for the sake of meeting their loved ones again.)

One specific detail I'd like to highlight are Mahiru's shoes.

In Japan there is a custom for people to take off their shoes before entering their homes, as to not track dirt into their houses. As a result of this line of thinking there is also a custom where people take off their shoes before they enter the afterlife as not to track dirt and such into their ethereal destination. Abandoned pairs of shoes in Japanese media have become symbolic of suicides, and they are also common in non-Japanese media.

This specific symbolism is seen an additional time with Mahiru and Kazui's victims in Undercover and Mu in It's Not My Fault, both of which are related to suicide.

In Mahiru first MV, there's always a shot where we can explicitly see her shoes. They're on in the beginning, off when she confesses to her boyfriend and they begin dating, and on again after something happened to her boyfriend.

I believe this may represent she was suicidal during the relationship. Apart from this, there's lots of little details which paint the picture she was unhappy with her life and dating her boyfriend.

When being interviewed, she tends to talk a lot, and she seems to have developed some special feelings for the prison guard, and sometimes also shows a lonely, vacant expression in contrast to her normally bright and cheerful self. [These "special feelings" for Es aren't necessarily romantic. Atleast, it's "love" in the same way Mahiru thinks of a murder prison as a romantic getaway. It's moreso developes a connection with Es because they uniquely give her attention and she finds their hardwork admirable. She finds them kind and, "if youre kind to me I'm going to start relying on you, thanks!"]

"Hello! I’m Shiina Mahiru, 22 years old! I may be incompetent, but it’s a pleasure meeting you!"

Mahiru: Right…… so you too, Mu-chan…Hmm, I guess it’s because of the environment here. Sometimes your mental state has an impact. Mu: …You’re the same, then? …that it’s gone…… Mahiru: …it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine. This sort of thing happens all the time~

I guess we can just say that this feeling is happiness I can't stop feeling like there's something missing

We can both feel lonely sometimes, but wonder if you'll get angry soon

We fought sometimes, I was happy to get hurt Let's have matching pain, this sickness is pretty bad

This is a claim of responsibility From the two of us with matching love Wanting to know everything about you, but wanting to die because it can't come true It's all because of love

Don’t lose focus even when exercising! The pastel tones mean not only do you look ready to go but also give off a cute oneesan appeal. Even for a rougher style of dress you can’t be careless! Painted toenails and a necklace show some attention to detail to make for a sexy casual style. Just because it’s outdoors doesn’t mean you can relax too much! Even when picking out a date outfit to protect you from the cold, you still want to protect that loveable silhouette.

Most damning of all I'll say is Mahiru's parasite cover. The song tells a story about a scorned girlfriend who was used for sex and seeks alcohol in order to deal with her lingering feelings for ex-boyfriend. At one point Miku throws a bouquet back mirroring Mahiru's desire for a wedding.

(hmm funny how the "mahiru is a yandere because she covered psychogram" crowd was silent about this cover i wonder whyyyy)

Why can’t you understand? I hate you! Never touch me again

Wait a second, when did things start going wrong? I loved the bad parts too, everything was fine

It’s even worse when you are nice to me, But I don’t want to be given the cold shoulder [Most of all, Mahiru desires attention from her boyfriend. In her T1 MV she mentions how he "not the brightest so he never notices that I go to the beautician." This is a likely a blow to her self confidence given the heavy emphasis she has on appearing pretty. Sporadically across the magazines there's lines about "not slacking off" in public because people are always watching.]

Hey, give me back the time I used loving you, You liar. But I still love you

Hey, please don’t leave me behind, Hey, I’m hungry [This line always makes me so sad. In Mahiru's cover there's a beep to imply she's leaving this as a voice-mail for her boyfriend. Once again fulfilling our "stay with me always" clinging symbolism quota.]

Pretend not to see spitting out saliva, You're going to throw me away as incombustible waste

It’s just a bunch of “why”, I can’t change, I want to…I don’t want to leave

Hey, I want you to let me hug you at the last moment, thank you. And now, you are too (a parasite)

It's the last line I'd like to highlight because, all in one song, we've reinforced Mahiru's happiness in the relationship and the clinging symbolism. Mahiru and her boyfriend were both parasites who's clung onto eachother and deprived eachother of nutrients. Both of you suck!!

Then there's Mahiru's two symbolic locations: the birdcage and the carousel. Both of Mahiru's mindscapes places her in the same location: her home, as evident by the couches with pillows.

Personally, I subscribe to the idea the Day 16's house belong to Mahiru or it's a shared home with her boyfriend. If the poor financial situation theory is correct then the two might've decided to live together to cut costs (or Mahiru pressured him into agreeing). Her boyfriend works at a convenience store so he's probably not as financially well-off as Mahiru who recieves an allowance.

However, on a subconscious level, Mahiru thinks of her their home as a birdcage. As stated before, bluebirds can't survive in birdcages, and this is represented by her boyfriend's feathers falling from stress. Something interesting I'd like to note is that Mahiru considers leaving the birdcage but instead decides to dive back into the feathers, causing her boyfriend even more stress. Say with me: clinging 👏 until 👏 you 👏 suffocate 👏 imagery.

"Hmm... I’m a little troubled that I can’t go home, but... It’s fine, I guess. Even if I go home, there’s nothing left... And, I find it fun talking to you!"

Then, after her boyfriend's death, she thinks of their home as a carousel ride. The ledge at the beginning of the MV implies that—rather than an expansive space like Mu's beehive—the carousel is a small space. It's only Mahiru, the couch, the carousel, and a dead corspe. All she's able to do is fall asleep or ride the carousel again by herself, knowing she'll have to get off at some point. It's once again that imagery of something which is cramped and suffocating.

Both of her mindscapes cut them off from the outside world. Within her own mind all that matters is simply her and her boyfriend.

04. The Only You Can('t) Leave

Finally, I'd like to note something which has been sitting on my mind: Mahiru's themes of destiny and rebirth.

Q. What do you think happens when people die? Mahiru: They go to heaven!

Lovers committing double suicide believed that they would be united again in heaven, a view supported by feudal teaching in Edo period Japan, which taught that the bond between two lovers is continued into the next world, and by the teaching of Pure Land Buddhism wherein it is believed that through double suicide, one can approach rebirth in the Pure Land.

(big credit to doctorbunny's and archivalofsins's work on the this is how to be inlove with you locations for pointing this out! ily2 please check them out)

On Day 8, Mahiru goes with her boyfriend to go see "Your Name." Take this with a grain salt because I haven't see the actual movie— I refuse to watch a Makoto Shinkai film until he's allowed to write yuri—but the general gist is that two teenagers from 2013 and 2016 end up swapping bodies. Later, it's revealed that Mitsuha, the main heroine, is fated to die from a comet hitting the earth in the future. Fortunately, through time shenanigans, her fate ends up being altered and both teens end up surviving.

A romance movie featuring a dead lover and a mid relationship? Why, it's perfect for Mahiru!

The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break. This myth is similar to the Western concept of soulmate or a destined partner.

Okay, okay, jokes aside that's not the sole reason I'm bringing up Your Name. Ofcourse, what's most interesting is it's theme of soulmates and how it relates to Mahiru.

Mahiru: Yeah. – Him and I… we loved each other. Properly as boyfriend and girlfriend. We met in college… It was the first time for me, so I don’t know if it was good or not, but… I think we were just normally going out together. I thought it was fate. He said it was, too.

Q. How did you meet your lover? Mahiru: We met eyes at the university terrace. I really felt like it was fate.

On the terrace at university, when I met eyes with that person I knew it must be fate. I might have been born purely so I could one day end up together with him. Or not, am I just overthinking things?

I ran into the person I’m interested in at the bread shop. This has to be fate, right? In the end I ended up buying the same bread as he got, but maybe I don’t need this much… > < I wasn’t thinking about the calories.

We went to one of the filming locations for a movie we both like! This sort of thing can only happen in Tokyo huh! It really must be fate that even our taste in movies lines up. I feel like a totally different person to before I met him… [Once again the movie she's talking about Your Name which is one of the highest grossing anime films of all times... bestie... ily but your rose colored glasses are blinding!!!]

Namely, once again, we're reinforcing the theme of clinging together until you suffocate. Two soulmates forced into loving eachother by the hands of fate. It's a very romantic idea twisted into something heart-wrenching.

The idea of "saving your lover from death" is briefly reflected Day 8 where Mahiru gives her boyfriend a hangover cure from called Corspe Reviver. A bit on the nose, don't you think?

This sections dawdles a little bit from the whole Shinju Theory but it felt off if I didn't include it. Given Shidou's entire character revolves around killing in order to save his loved ones, I can almost imagine Mahiru's murder was to save her boyfriend as well. There's not much evidence but... it's certainly there, right?

05. Conclusion

Aha, this post kind of devolved from "heres my shinju theory" and moreso "wow, Mahiru has a lot of suffocation imagery" which is true. There's so much of it. I don't even think this is all of it!

Theres alot more I wanted to add but... I'm not good with writing long posts if you couldn't tell! If anyone would like to add onto this for me I'd be thrilled ❤️

[doctorbunny]

My attempt at the 06/10/23 Mikoto Birthday TL

Is there really... Another me? ① The reason my clothes are tattered, that the others got scared of me? The whole reason I'm being called a murderer... I can't believe something like that. Can they even hear me, talking like this? If you can hear me, could you please respond. Why are you being so cruel. You're the reason I'm becoming like this.... Answer me! ....Aaaaaaa!! I did it for your sake....! ② Because you were going to be destroyed!! ③ --What was I just doing, I was.... I was... I... ④ I guess I'm not going to get a convenient answer like that. It'd be better if I stopped thinking about all this... I'm beat....

[Some explanations under the cut]

① Mikoto uses 'boku' to describe himself in all instances except the third paragraph

② The exact phrasing is 'Ore wa boku no tame ni', to break this down, this is Orekoto saying he did what he did for Bokukoto (Japanese pronouns are flexible and in lieu of someone's name, their pronoun can be used in its place if its clear in context - IE someone being the only ore user in a group of watashi and bokus) Haruka also uses the 'tame ni' when he talks about wanting to help Muu

③ The phrase Orekoto used here is 僕が、壊れてしまうから！！'because boku was going to be destroyed' With destroyed being in the incidental tense this is a tense you use when something happens actively but without intention Like, "I drank your coffee" (without realising what I had done until it was too late) Mikoto also uses this tense to describe the other prisoners becoming scared of him, and Yamanaka uses it to describe how (after being cursed) Narcissus fell in love with his reflection This may be me reading too much into a line, but to me it sounds sort of like "Boku is tied to the train tracks will be killed unless Orekoto pulls the lever, actively choosing to kill someone else" This is partially speculation though

④ The line is ーー何やってんだ、僕は……。"[I was] doing what, I...." I reworded a little to sound better in English and emphasise the disorientation but technically in canon Mikoto didn't repeat himself here so don't use that in your theories, it was simply writer's taste preferences

[sea-owl]

in the same vein of her knowing something only haruka knows, sakura regularly brings up clan secrets without realizing and freaks everyone out lmao

Not only does Sakura bring up clan secrets but she also brings up village secrets that are part of the foundation to the village. As the wives of the founders Haruka and Mito defiantly knew some secrets.

Imagine in like a non massacre au baby genin Sakura just being the one who casually says this stuff but she doesn't know what she says are clan secrets or village secrets. Haruka is not gonna tell her those are secrets because she likes watching the chaos and Shachi secretly likes watching it as well. Sakura's not dumb either, she catches on at some point that maybe some of the things she knows she probably shouldn't. But hey she's having fun. Free entertainment is free entertainment they're not gonna be picky.

Meanwhile all these adults are trying to figure out how this civilian born girl knows all of this?! Sakura's had anbu stalk her, she's had Uchiha police stalk her, they even had Kakashi and Sasuke try to pry where she was getting this information from. But they come back with nothing. And Sakura doesn't know how to explain that she can speak with her past lives in her head and one of them just so happens to know all this.

Things come to head during the fight with Ino during the chunin exams.

So in my mind the Haruno thing with being able to communicate and interact with their past lives has always meant to be a defense mechanism against genjutsu and mental attacks like the Yamanaka's mind transfer jutsu. But because they are a civilian clan they never fully unlocked their chakra the way ninjas do so it never progressed to that point. Haruka, while never officially becoming a ninja, partially unlocked her chakra to the point she was able to perform some jutsus but mostly infused her chakra into her teas and poisons. This allowed her to look into Shachi's memories and made it harder to put her under a genjutsu. Sakura has fully unlocked her chakra so as she advances it brings up more of the defensive side to it.

When Ino put Sakura under the mind transfer jutsu the defensive side kicked into high gear. Sakura broke the jutsu but the second spirit that pushed Ino out was Haruka while Shachi checked over Sakura's psyche. That's when something weird happened.

A ghostly form came out of Sakura as if chasing Ino back to her body and that ghost actually pinned Ino to the floor. The ghost was a woman who wore a mask and had pink hair. Holding her updo in place is a hair piece that looked suspiciously like the Uchiha fan. If one were to try and sense chakra from her they would feel her's and Sakura's.

Sakura recognized Haruka right away, but she was confused how she was seeing her. Haruka was also confused by her surroundings. The match was called with Sakura as the winner since Haruka still had Ino pinned to the floor and then Sakura was swept away by Kakashi with Haruka following behind. She didn't trust any of these fuckers with her reincarnation. And what were they gonna do tell her no? Yeah right.

They were brought into a separate room where they joined by Fugaku not long after. This girl just broke one of the Yamanka's mind jutsus. already they don't want to bring in another one just yet. Too much mystery was surrounding this girl they needed to find out what was going on. Haruka does one of her favorite things and starts arguing with the Uchiha. Whoever this woman was she knows the old laws too well, and Fugaku really wanted to know why she wore the Uchiha fan in her hair.

"Don't worry Sakura they can't touch you. You did nothing wrong," Haruka reassures her reincarnation. She points at Fugaku. "Besides that one is more chomping at the bit to figure out why I'm wearing his clan symbol."

Sakura looked confused. "Wasn't that a wedding gift?"

Haruka's posture turned bored. "Yep, my husband Madara Uchiha gifted me this." She turned back towards Fugaku. She points to him and then back to herself. "Clan Head, former Clan Lady."

Well at least Fugaku now knew where Sakura learned all those clan secrets.

[purgemarchlockdown]

Continuing Caligula and Holy Shit-

Mifue: This is why I hate fat people! Why don't they ever think about the harm they're causing to other people? Suzana: M-Mifue-chan...She's definetly big, but that's taking it too far...

I've been assured that Caligula deals with this sort of discrimination in good faith rather than meanspirtedly (edit: or uh...atleast attempts to which...ah well attempt was made) and that the fact that people in the Team Itself are discriminatory was something Yamanaka wanted to write about, and eitherway I don't like jumping the gun on media just cause it Shows discriminatory acts.

Still I didn't expect it to be this blatant! I love how it's phrased. Just- immdieatly "look at the harm their causing onto others, its fair for me to hate them because their a bother" and then Suzana going "Understandable but that's a bit much." It's not even an indictment, she's partially agreeing with the statement.

I'm honestly excited. Kagi-P seemed to mostly set-up stuff, and I want to see the meat and potatoes.

[team7-headquarter]

Number 1. UZUMAKI NARUTO!

I love this story so much.

A. The other day I was watching the first episode of the anime in the English sub. It can't compare.

This was my same opinion when I was what 9 years? old 8 years old? It was my same opinion when I was reading the end of the manga in real time. The manga simply better than the anime. Not even because of the feeler episodes, which by the way I think they are very nice on their own way, but it's the way the manga shares things the anime explicitly tries to communicate.

It'd never be the same when the manga format allows the readers the time to breath, the time to feel the pressure between one panel on the other in a way the anime can't emulate. The sense of space that you totally lost when you are watching the anime. It's not even about the story itself, the plot. It's about art, about what the medium is communicating, it's about the meanings in which the artist is reaching to you.

When I started reading the first chapter I didn't expect to go on rambling about how much I love the manga format, the comic form. I'm not an artist myself, I have no graphic abilities, nor the knowledge about it. Still, I can really appreciate the difference between one format and the other. It's almost like those are two different stories, what the manga and anime are saying.

B. That takes me to another topic, on the same lane. Of course I'm talking about the difference the animation made probably in order to facilitate the process. Changes like including the members of the Konoha 12 in the shots where they show Naruto's classroom. only student I could probably identify in the manga was Sasuke. Everyone else was totally absent.

I think this is an important point because many people take the anime as a faithful guide. I'm not saying you can't guide yourself using the anime. I'm saying it is a canon of it's own. When you are arguing about any character you need to be careful to specify if you are talking about the anime or the manga.

Not only characters, any topic really.

If I remember correctly, one of the kids making fun of Naruto in the anime for being terrible at the technique requested by Iruka in the classroom— it was Ino Yamanaka. And you have none of that in the manga. You will be easy to hate her since the beginning if you are only watching the anime, because she's making fun of the protagonist so early on. Even if you're only trying that character in there because it's easy to animate and since you're going to have to animate them much more later through the story, there are emotional implications you can't erase.

I truly think the anime ends up damaging some characters while taking choices that are actually understandable when you think about how much they have to work. However, damage is damage.

C. Let me talk about some of my favorite panels:

I think it's pretty cool how Naruto used to paint his own face to express his creativity, while also painting the faces of the other Hokages as a form of disrespect.

The other thing it's that he doesn't know why, but he's right about becoming Hokage in order to make the people of Konoha respect him. He's not aiming short, he's not aiming for just some people respecting him, he's aiming for everyone giving him their respect he deserves and he never got all those years. He's even aiming for international respect from every other hidden village / nation.

The reason he was so utterly hated was partially because Hiruzen allowed it to happen. The issue was the system, the shinobi institution as it was. Just being a good Shinobi wouldn't cut it.

Lateral, I'm going to properly refer to the hitai-ate tradition in Naruto and how much it speaks about violent setting of the story itself. For now, I'm just going to say that I'm very happy to see our first Sasuke sighting in the manga. I think it's very meaningful the fact he's sitting in the back of the class, on a higher position. It says a lot and there hasn't been a word about him yet, he hasn't even been properly introduced.

I still can't believe how easily Naruto stole that scroll from Hiruzen. I know it was convenient to the plot. Yet, c'mon man! I actually think that was a bad decision from Kishimoto. Narratively wise, it doesn't show me the loser kid the story trying to sell me. Clumsy? Sure. But dumb? No, absolutely not. A kid that's able to steal important intel from a Kage using a ninjutsu developed by him alone can't be considered a dead-last.

Not putting the panel, but he managed to master the shadow clones jutsu in half a day. No doubt, he is a prodigy. Sure, he does work hard. I'm not trying to erase that fact. It's just that Kishimoto is trying to tell you something, when the story is showing you something else entirely. Albeit the biggest problem of this manga, the inconsistency between what's shown vs what's told.

That's why I want to highlight what Iruka's saying. He stablishs, right at the beginning of the manga, that Naruto is excellent student. The dialogue is even in bold letters.

See how the flaws Iruka points out have nothing to do with Naruto's intelligence or actual abilities. He's awkward, which can be considered normal when you consider the fact no one raised him, he raised himself. He's clumsy, which can be adjudicated to his childhood conditions, but I prefer to consider it a a trait of his personality. He can be impulsive, enthusiastic, clumsy, reckless, etc. Finally, Iruka says he is a screw-up, but what can we expect from a boy who had to learn how to act through trial and error and the hardships of the shinobi life?

He's not a loser, he's just an orphan.

In the anime, the one saying the little speech in the right panels was Hiruzen. I don't know if I'm correct, but for me it looks like Iruka is the one thinking it in the manga. He first "talks" to Natuto, then thinks of himself and his own condition.

It really pains me to read Iruka saying the truth about Naruto's case. In the shinobi world, love can't be so freely given. You suffer for everyone you lose. Caring about a random child, one that has a great curse set on him, is no joke. Although I am not justifying what the village did, at least it was logical within the narrative.

No one wanted to love Naruto.

No one felt capable enough, if you ask me.

It reflectes the deficiencies of Konohagakure more than it reflectes Naruto's worth. They were ignorant cowards, hypocrites for proclaiming the Will of Fire while letting Naruto suffer. Traitors to Minato and his sacrifice, to the Uzumakis as one of the founding clans of Konoha, etc.

Naruto wanted any type of attention. He was desperate to be seen, noticed. Just like Iruka says, it was brilliant acting. One he recognized because he used to be like that himself.

Unlike Iruka, Naruto didn't know what love or respect felt like until that night.

Which takes me to the meaning of hitai-ate.

To keep the explanation short, the giving of the hitai-ate is a rite of passage. It marks the moment a child becomes a proper member of a system, with all the responsibilities and implications it holds. In this case, a hitai-ate is a mark put upon a shinobi by a hidden village to claim their loyalty and service. The genins are considered adults from then on. They are expected to participate on missions to bring money and pride to their hidden villages. They'll get the payment for their work and they can't betray the ideals of the institution they are bonded to.

The hitai-ate is mostly a symbol of identification. When Iruka proclaimed to Mizuki that's Naruto was a citizen of Konohagakure, he was doing almost the same as gifting him a hitai-ate.

The hitai-ate is one (if not) the biggest motifs of Naruto classic. From the moment Naruto asks Iruka for it (see me, notice me, respect me, tell me I belong) to the moment Sasuke scratches his (I don't belong here, because the person I want to see me, notice me, respect me, it's not here), the hitai-ate is talking about the world of the shinobis and Konoha in specific.

It dissapears in Shippuden, lost among myths and gods and other symbols.

That's one of my reasons to believe Naruto classic is more compelling in terms of storytelling than Naruto Shippuden.

🍥 MY NARUTO MANGA RE-READ : VOL 1

Started : 24/02/20223 — Finished : 00/00/0000

*Comments under the cut!!!!!

[mochidoodle]

Really really REALLY LOVED your everybody lives au ❤️❤️ can you please do new gen inoshikacho with their grandpas?? 👉👈

ahh thank you so much!! that's such a cute idea, I'll keep it in mind 😊 (in the meantime, my friend @bakapandy drew Shikadai and Shikaku, do check her out!)

[awintersrose]

Hi Rose, is Rites Unraveled still in the works? I'm just curious because I just finished Secret Ceremonials. Great work btw 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Thank you so much, Anon!

Yes, I can say with full confidence that Rites Unraveled is still in the works, even though it is much later than I initially intended — this series never quite runs according to plan when I get excited and attempt to predict the timeline for updates. It seems like my CJ-verse Sannin muses are finicky at best, and show up when they want to and not when I need them to.

I have actually been working on the first couple of chapters, and also an edit/partial rewrite of Solacements, the prequel oneshot to the series (If anyone got concerned about not seeing it listed on AO3, that's because it's been moved to a private collection while I work on it). It is my genuine hope to be able to get these out to all of you soon.

As an aside, I've also been considering posting more worldbuilding headcanons for certain details — for the Shimenawa and the Kato, as well as the handful of 2nd war era OCs in the cast of characters, like Hatake Tsukiko or Yamanaka Isao. Please let me know if this is something you guys are interested in seeing, or if there is anything else that would be fun to dig into. ^-^

I really appreciate you reaching out! I know things have been quiet, but this series has been a labor of love and there is so much more I want to get out to everyone.