#jshk analysis

[ocelotlesbian]

i've been thinking over this aspect of his character for a while now and i think i have enough material to make a post about it, so...

> genderqueer mitsuba!!

an analysis on mitsuba's peculiar gender expression and queercoding! ( ´∀ ` )

full post under the cut!!

before i begin, a disclaimer: mitsuba is canonically a boy, and i'm not trying to say he isn't!! he can be a boy and also genderqueer. genderqueer folks can still identify with the "binary" labels of girl or boy, since being genderqueer doesn't require anything aside from having a queer experience with gender. and as i'll explain in this post, his gender is pretty damn queer!!!

also for the record i myself am genderqueer. lesbian flavor

now, to start off: the immediately obvious.

it's pretty obvious that mitsuba is the most gender non-conforming character in the entire manga. from his medium length pink hair neatly tied up in a little ponytail, to more subtle details like his hands being drawn similarly to that of the female characters & his occasionally drawn bottom lashes, which no other male characters seem to have.

along with his general "you should not ask me to lift heavy objects" demeanor, all these more feminine details serve to make him distinct from all the other male characters in the manga, putting him in a kind of seperate category consisting solely of him.

and this idea of him being in his own seperate category ties in with other important aspects of his character as well!

for sousuke, it ties into how he was ostracized from his peers for standing out too much, and for no.3tsuba, it ties into how he feels alienated from humans & other supernaturals and feels as though he doesn't belong anywhere. if you think about it, it's all pretty analogous with the queer experience!

and going further with sousuke specifically, the turning point of his character arc was his conversation with kou on the stairs, where kou essentially tells him that he didn't have to try and fit into a polite box to make himself more likeable, and he can just express himself the way he wants to. ...i don't think i need to explain how this sentiment could easily be tied in with his queerness and gender expression lol

now i could go even deeper into how queercoded mitsuba's character arc is, but i think i'll leave it here for now.

another thing i wanna go over is the genderswap episode of the after school hanako-kun anime. now, the events of this episode including him didn't actually happen in the manga, so the canonicity is rather dubious. but i still think it's worth going over!!

this episode deviates from the manga by having mitsuba join hanako & sakura in the genderswap shenanigans. in the episode, mitsuba gets hit with the gender reassignment surgery beam and... well, basically nothing happens.

the joke here is obviously the fact he already looks like a girl, so you wouldn't really have to change anything in a genderswap, but the part i find the most interesting is how he himself didn't notice a change whatsoever.

i'm not sure how the specifics of the genderswap robot work, but i'd imagine he'd notice something was up, right? so to me, this scene just hammers in the fact that he's just kind of unnaffected by / outside of most things relating to gender. he's in his own gay little corner, he's immune to this shit!!

so in conclusion, mitsuba's gender is in fact very queered!! his queerness & gender expression is extremely interlinked with his character arc and motivations of feeling othered from the rest of the world, and i just felt like this needed to be discussed. and also i love him lots. <3

end of post!!! thank you for reading my autistic ramblings ^_^

[thelunarfairy]

Give me an exact and poetic expression capable of paraphrasing what the unspoken, unpalpable, unseen words were and did.

It transforms even the strongest of relationships into an abyss with no way out.

The absence of words, capable of changing lives

Or ending them.

[royakahoshiart]

A thing i noticed a while back is that Tsukasa looks on the verge of tears

he's calling Amane selfish, why would he do everything to keep Yashiro alive, is it for himself? for her? but why would it be for none other than himself.

Tsukasa sacrificed himself for his brother's health, even so, he killed him and then himself, so why would he do anything for someone else. Tsukasa doesn't understand Hanako's motives to try everything in his power to save Yashiro, this angers him, he's jealous, he would do anything for that girl but not for his own brother? who left everything behind to save him?

Why would you protect someone you met a semester ago by pure chance and completely ignore the one you care the most about for more than 60years.

Tsukasa doesn't know the difference between brotherly, platonic or romantic love, all he wants is his brother to acknowledge him.

He's jealous of Yashiro because she's loved by Hanako but he isint, he'll do anything to be with him again, even at the cost of someone's well being.

[makshu]

Tsukasa and normalized violence

Today I was watching a video about JSHK's iceberg and I ended up on the topic about Tsukasa again, the same as always.

It's about the "Tsukasa is Tsukasa" theory. Given that, I thought of another argument that proves this theory, and I want to discuss it here.

My argument is that violence was normalized in Tsukasa's mind, and not only that, I also wanted to comment on the trauma he suffered while he was in the Red House.

(It turns out that this analysis was kind of told as a story, but I think it turned out more interesting this way :))

Without further ado, let's go!

(Long text ahead)

—

It's indisputable that Tsukasa suffered a lot throughout the story, and that he had many traumatic moments throughout his life (which not even he himself considers as trauma), and the main one for me is his time spent in the Red House.

Tsukasa Yugi, a 3-year-old boy who lived happily with his family. His mother, his father and his older twin brother. A healthy and cheerful boy who had endless energy, so much energy that he seemed to have sucked all of his brother's energy.

Amane and Tsukasa were born as twins, and unfortunately Amane was born with medical complications that the medicine of the time could not treat. He was going to die.

Tsukasa, however, did not know this yet, and wanted to make his brother happy at any cost. Any cost. And on a day of playing, he found something hidden beneath his house. Something sunken and forgotten, something impure and evil. An entity, a god.

Tsukasa was afraid of losing the ball that Amane had lent him, thinking that his brother would think bad things about him. A child of that age was already certain that others would curse him for the slightest mistake possible. Where is that normal?

Continuing, Tsukasa learned to make small deals, exchanges with the entity. They were friends! Tsukasa taught it to speak, perhaps it even imitated his voice. But the price of the wishes could increase, and would.

One day, little Tsukasa heard that his brother's condition was very advanced and that it would not be possible to cure him. What should he do upon hearing such tragic news? Play with his brother until they got tired? Spend all the remaining time together? No, Tsukasa had other plans.

Exchange his life for his brother's.

And so it was. On their 4th birthday, both twins were fine, their parents were happy to see them both alive and healthy. Tsukasa knew it was his last moment with them, he made the most of it and in the end, he wanted to hear from his brother's mouth one last "I love you". A confirmation perhaps?

Did Amane ever say that he loved Tsukasa? Or was it so obvious that it didn't even need to be said?

Perhaps to a child who suffered unintentional neglect nothing would be obvious.

Tsukasa heard a voice calling him, coming from a dark room - the light was just off - but why did it seem so gloomy with that hole in the floor and the sinister voice coming from it?

Silly, it was a voice similar to his, wasn't it? After all, he was the one who taught that thing to speak.

The wish had been granted, Amane was healthy, and now Tsukasa had to pay the price. Without regrets the boy agreed to let himself go, he had gotten what he wanted. His brother was well and healthy, and alive. And most of all, happy. What more could Tsukasa ask for?

The boy then jumps into the hole, having some certainties in his head, and one of them was that his brother hated him. It was okay to leave, Amane didn't like him anyway, maybe his parents thought the same. It would be better for everyone, wouldn't it?

---

The shuffling of time makes everything uncertain. At some point Tsukasa just found himself alone, lonely, a half of a mirror lost in the immensity of his own house, which was completely empty.

Maybe not always empty.

The supernatural was taking over the surroundings as well. And at some point before, that child had been beneath it all, seeing lost, fallen women and a young man who feared the same fate.

Somehow he left that place, and he carried with him the reason for that suffering.

Tsukasa was alone - not so alone actually - in a giant house.

Over time, some people would come to live in the House, and they would get there and soon die, but they would never leave.

The price of desires, the thirst to have something accomplished.

Tsukasa saw all of this. He saw the thirst for desire and all, all the brutal deaths.

How would this affect the mind of such a young child? The development of a child of this age is usually rapid, they learn things in a short time.

Now think, a child is constantly seeing violence, what can he take away from this situation? That violence was common.

Violence was common and was the consequence of human actions, and of course, a way to get what he wanted. Created by a megalomaniac entity who wanted to perhaps have control over humanity again, using that boy as an escape valve and also protection.

Tsukasa saw deaths with a worrying frequency, an amount that no one would like to see.

Not only that, who knows what insanities were going on in his thoughts fused with the entity. Tsukasa was never a child with conventional acts, one false act and he could go down a bad path.

Combine all of this with insecurities, low self-esteem and worrying altruism. The result was little Tsukasa Yugi who was alone in the house and served as bait for the mouth of a deep well.

---

One day two teenagers broke into the house, chasing a child's voice. Kou Minamoto and Nene Yashiro entered the Red House in search of a (possible) lost child.

I won't go into detail and explain what happens in this arc. The point is that Tsukasa discovers that his sacrifice had been in vain, since Amane was going to kill him and die afterwards.

Silly Amane! Always ruining everything by himself!

Imagine spending 6 months in isolation, seeing constant deaths, human greed, suffering and terror, only to discover in the end that it was all in vain. That's what Tsukasa felt.

And besides that, he felt an enormous desire to know more about Amane, how and why he acted like that? We still try to decipher what goes on in that boy's head to this day.

What did Tsukasa take away from all this? The normalization of violence.

Deaths were no longer scary or grotesque, they were common and part of life (a part of his life). How can you be afraid of something you have become friends with?

Tsukasa Yugi, the boy who comes to befriend death.

---

Tsukasa merged further with the entity over time, and lost his humanity. He was a supernatural now.

But he was still Tsukasa.

He just grew up with a trauma instilled in his head, and death by his side. We don't know how his family treated him after all this, but apparently it wasn't very good. Besides Amane treating him controversially, imagine the confusion.

And when he was killed, it was the moment he saw his brother show feelings the most.

And there he learned that people reveal what they really feel when they stop holding back. He learned that violence was normal after seeing so many deaths in that house. He knew exactly what to do to get what he wanted. And he was also friends with death.

That's why Tsukasa is the way he is. Tsukasa Yugi has always been Tsukasa Yugi, he just grew up traumatized and experienced absurd things that led him to think and act like that.

It's still possible to see moments of humanity in him, what Tsukasa learned as a human was still present in his being. He is a kind, selfless and caring boy above all, and even if in a distorted way, he never stopped showing it.

Tsukasa is Tsukasa.

—

Ohh boy that was long. I hope I managed to prove some point after so much writing, I'm horrible at organizing my thoughts.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and can share your own opinions too :)

[hanakou-often]

I just happened to stumble upon your blog.. and I never really thought about HanaKou before, but these posts are very compelling. I love seeing other people’s ships in things and would love to be convinced into them.. heh. I’ve sort of fallen out of tbhk recently because the most recent arc hasn’t been compelling to me PARTLY BECAYSE KOU AND NENE AND HANAKO DONT KNOW EACH OTHWR?!?!? Which is really depressing, because I like them a lot. Ermm idk where I’m going with this I just was scrolling through the blog like “heh.. they’re cute I want to know more..” and now here I am. Please excuse my nonsense blabber idek if this makes sense 😔

Oh boy. Despite Hanakou being my hyperfixation for around 3 years, I still don't feel equipped to salesman my way into convincing someone 😭 most of my love for them has just come from PURE brainrot so I'll try my best to actually formulate more logical reasons why I like this sinking ship as much as I do. Long ass spoiler-filled rant incoming!!

1. Narrative Foils

A narrative foil is a character that contrasts another character, often the protagonist, to highlight certain aspects of their characters. Think Kabru and Laios from Dungeon Meshi, Sayaka and Kyoko from Madoka Magica, Draco and Harry from Harry Potter, etc.

To begin, Kou is a 'weak,' naive exorcist who always fights for justice and to protect the people he loves out of his own volition. Since he is the underdog of his family clan, the mediocre middle child next to his eldest exorcist extraordinaire brother, Kou is willing to do anything to prove his worth. This is primarily exhibited by his first meeting with Hanako as he recklessly plunges into a battle with the most powerful ghost in Kagome despite his inexperience with his weapon. When he's confronted about such, Kou states, "I don't care what happens to me as long as I can protect everyone!" and if that doesn't sum up his ideology, I don't know what does. He is shown to be the type of person to put everyone's safety, happiness and livelihood above his own, ultimately leading his selflessness to be his own detriment.

Contrarily, Hanako is a strong, knowledgable apparition who is given the role to protect students of Kamome, regardless of his detachment from the student body, as a way of atonement. As the long standing executive leader of the seven mysteries, Hanako has grown largely apathetic towards everyone, easily taking the cold, calculated and unconventional routes to reach the outcome he deems best no matter who it would hurt in the process. This is exemplified many times in the manga but to pick a lighter one: The time Hanako confessed to Nene under the kodama tree without telling her before hand that it wasn't real, leading him to hurt her feelings. It's clear that Hanako is the type of person to value his own goals and interests above everyone else's input, making him the more selfish antithesis to Kou's "selflessness."

Their differences in philosophy are really striking at times. Kou is endlessly optimistic while Hanako is more pessimistic, seeing the grimmer aspects of reality that Kou usually neglects. For example, Nene's lifespan has been a divisive topic between them for a while. Hanako had known about it from the start, originally intending to keep the poor girl in ignorant bliss for how much time she had left. At the point of the reveal in the clock keeper arc, he had no plans on trying to change her fate, solemnly stating that "there are things in this world that must not be changed...It's better for Yashiro this way." This is a direct contrast to Kou's more 'human' perspective as he immediately protests Hanako's claim of "There is nothing you can do," passionately asserting that he won't give up, he'll do whatever it takes save her and that is final. In the face of a dark reality, Kou completely rejects it, choosing to believe there's hope, like the naive son of a gun Hanako knows he is. From personal experience, Hanako knows it's stupid, it's idiotic, it's downright suicidal to go up against fate but somehow he ends up hoping Kou is right, trailing "I'm counting on you" as they settle back into a world that will never be the same after this revelation between them. (Something something Their differences are key to propelling the plot forward since Kou is the one to inspire Hanako not to just let Nene's life go by!!)

All of this is not to say they don't have anything in common. In fact, they are united by their desire to save the people they care about, grounded in their ruthless determination to see out their goals and are self sacrificing to an extent. I would love to go deeper on this topic but I'm afraid my brain is already starting to fry lol. In short, their differences are what make them interesting as a duo!! Each of their qualities can compliment the other's contrasting attributes and as people say, opposites attract!!!

2. Pivotal Roles in each other's Narrative

Hanakou are very important to each other's story since they are a key player in both their humble beginnings and tragic ends. Respectively, they are each other's gateway to a new life. Much like Nene, Kou is a symbol of hope for Hanako, his spunky attitude and determined nature igniting a humanitarian spark that Hanako lacked in the sixty years he lingered Kamome. For Kou, Hanako is the first apparition he meets, the one that sets off his rocky journey with navigating the world of supernaturals as a lackluster exorcist, and the second person to fuel his fire by believing in him. Specifically, Hanako tells Kou he looks forward to the day he can expel him with ease, a statement that foreshadows their distant future. In order to complete their whole character arcs (Hanako going from stubbornly clinging to the near shore to repent to accepting he's done every to atone and ready to pass on; Kou starting off weak and naive then ending as a stronger exorcist capable of understanding both the supernatural world and humanity) they'll have to do exactly what Hanako anticipated: Exorcise him once and for all. This aspect of their relationship is something intricately intertwined with their fates and while AidaIro may have forgotten about it, I can only hope they'll deliver so that they can bring their narratives full circle.

Now in the context of a romantic relationship, there are some absolutely soul crushing implications here. The hands Hanako loves to admire, intertwine his fingers with and adore are the same ones that will ultimately be his demise. Kou is Hanako's deathbed. That’s what they’ve known all along. It’s something that looms over their heads with a lingering heaviness neither boy wants address: Kou wanting to silently avoid his crushing responsibility while Hanako is just trying to savor whatever time he has with Kou. It's doomed just like everything else in TBHK <3

3. Young Exorcist arc

This one goes hand and hand with the second point but I felt that this needed to be discussed on its own since it's where many Hanakouers (ME) really took interest in their relationship. The arc begins with Kou being pulled aside by Teru, the two having a conversation about how Kou was supposed to immediately exorcise any seven mysteries he encounters. When Kou fumbles around him, insisting that he can't find it in himself to see Hanako as a bad supernatural, Teru is quick to remind him that "There is no such thing as a 'good supernatural'" and promptly takes him off the case. He was going to take matters into his own hands but the moment Kou looks at him with pleading eyes, Teru decides to give him more time to carry the duty out.

This is where Kou sets off to find Hanako, get some irrefutable proof that he's not evil like the generalization Teru makes. The effort he puts here into defending Hanako is absolutely adorable, if not a testament to their potential then a testament to Kou's sweet character. The suspicion he's built as he spies on Hanako who saunters around with a sack of stolen items is broken once the ghost explains that he's gathering them to return to their rightful owners. As stated previously, Hanako’s noble deeds are done more as a way to atone rather than out of his own good will so to see that he went out of his way to return stolen items to students, one of which being Kou’s safety earring, without being obligated to do so is great evidence to support Kou's idea that supernaturals can be good. Given this, Kou decides right then and there that he won’t exorcise Hanako after all. Now, Hanako here could have reveled in this decision, his kind act successfully manipulating Kou into compliance with his schemes, but instead, Hanako shows him exactly why he shouldn’t give up.

He cares for the kid. He does. Which is why he has to show how wrong he can be. It’s a downright dangerous thought because it lures Kou into a false sense of security that all supernaturals can be “good” like Hanako.

Cue Teru's dramatic entrance where he immediately apprehends the offending apparition and tries to execute him (for good reason). Blah blah blah Teru is condescending towards Kou because he made the wrong call again, something something Kou is trapped in Teru's bead bracelet and question his view of Hanako once more. For a moment, Kou almost gives into despair, letting Teru exorcise him without another word. After all, what does Kou know about the supernatural world? He's a weak link to Teru's infinite knowledge, power and experience. Maybe he should just let him do what he deems best.

However, as Hanako objects to his sentencing, screaming that “death would only be a release” and he still has so much to do here, it reminds Kou that Hanako is here for a reason. Sure, he’s an apparition, something that’s synonymous with evil, but all that time they spent together has to mean something, right? Hanako indulges Nene and Kou, joking around, Hanako has indulged Kou when no one else believed in him, he's saved them when he easily could’ve left them to their own devices. That definitely means something. Suddenly, Kou breaks free from the beaded prison, charges in the middle of the battle field and grips Teru's blade with an iron fist, all to save Hanako.

Just look at that. Kou slit his own palm trying to protect Hanako, someone he vowed to erase just weeks ago, because he's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He defies his brother, someone he highly admired for the past fourteen years of his life, for Hanako’s sake. Kou’s change in attitude towards his exorcist duties is largely attributed to Hanako. The sole notion of Hanako, the not so evil supernatural, has turned Kou’s world completely upside down.

I'll never forgive the anime for omitting this arc, not only because it excludes a pivotal moment in their relationship but also because it deprived an enriching detail to their development!!! Oh my god. Kou finally stands up for himself and owns up to his naivety. He knows he’s stupid for jumping from one extreme conclusion to the other before he has fully understood everything Hanako has to offer but he can no longer side with Teru’s one note view of him or supernaturals in general, lest more decent apparitions be erased without cause. He brings a level of nuance to the function that Teru does not appreciate!! When Kou decides to vouch for Hanako, undertaking the massive responsibility to watch over him all on his own, it shows a lot of growth in his maturity and his perspective of the ghost.

So yeah. A lot to say about the young exorcist arc. Not only has it deeply impacted the Minamoto brothers relationship, but it has brought a significant change within Kou’s mindset. He’s no longer trying to label Hanako as a definitive good or bad but trying to deepen his understanding of him and decide what to do from there. As for Hanako, he seems to respect Kou more now, giving credit where credit is due, and feels as though their bond is strengthened by the vulnerable state they saw each other in. He even acknowledges this in the first chapter of ASHK when Teru comes in to “help clean" by immediately taking cover behind Kou and questioning the commitment he made to keep Teru at bay. It's also weirdly sweet to see Hanako taking cover behind Kou here!! It really goes to show how much trust they've built for each other and how safe Hanako feels around the exorcist C:

To sum it all up, the young exorcist arc was an important part of showing how Hanakou work together and cement how their views of humanity/supernatural world are shifting because of each other!! I didn't get to talk about it too much but they also have a bunch of cute moments here which sorta feeds to the next point.

4. Classic Bromance to Romance

A bromance is defined as a quote en quote "close, friendly but non-sexual relationship between two men" and that's more or less what Hanakou brings to the table!!! First and foremost, they are complete opposites in a lot of their personality traits which makes it fun to see how they interact. Hanako's pervyness to Kou's disciplined innocence, Hanako's mischief to Kou's gullibility, Hanako's love of teasing to Kou's fiery denials, it's all just so entertaining to watch!!! They bounce off each other sorta like a coke and mentos relationship where on their own, they're absolutely fine but when they're together BOOM explosions, dumb arguments, rough housing 24/7, etc, etc. Just take a look at the shenanigans they get up to in this panel.

How? Just how did they get here? They used to be enemies, they're still supposed to be enemies but here they are, a hopeful descendent of a powerful exorcist clan and an executive leader of a important supernatural group, just play fighting with a mop and broom like they're no better than two clumsy best friends goofing off on their free time. I love their little bromance so much because it's the result of their growth during the many adventures they've had together. URUGHH After they've been through, it's deeply endearing to realize that they really are just boys being boys at their core!! C:

Now moving onto the romance part, I want to preface this with how I do believe men should be allowed to have intimate platonic relationships with each other without having to get accused of being gay but alas, I fear Hanakou's closeness as friends can easily pave the way for something more as they blur the line between friendly and flirty banter.

It's already been established that Hanako feels safe enough to be his usual self around the exorcist, knowing that no matter how mischievous, touchy and downright despicable Hanako can be, Kou won't ever hurt him. It's a sweet sort of trust that can be explored further with some typical bromance shenanigans, IE Hanako gets bored and decides to test Kou's boundaries just for the hell of it. At first, it's only joke flirting and some harmless teasing here and there. Maybe a lingering touch or two (only to push some buttons of course). Most of the time, Hanako finds this endeavor to be deeply rewarding since Kou reacts in a way that Nene doesn’t, his responses leaning into his more physical, boyish volatility as he either bashfully pushes Hanako away, chases him off or just straight up punches him in the arm, visibly flustered. The reactiveness encourages Hanako to keep upping the ante to the point where it's more unusual for him not to mess with Kou. It's grown into a bad habit of his: snaking his arms around Kou's shoulders, fiddling with his fingers with reverent fascination, sneaking glances at the boy and making funny faces in the hopes he'll look back and laugh, etc, etc. As Kou gets used to Hanako's antics overtime, his extreme reactions gradually diminish and it's becoming increasingly clearer that Hanako isn't (wasn't?) just doing it because "he's bored" anymore. No, it's something worse. With a sinking clarity, Hanako realizes boredom isn't the driving reason for being around Kou anymore, it's fondness of the cute (flustered) expressions he makes, it's the giddiness that swells in his chest when Hanako manages to make him smile, the electricity that floods his system when Kou flirts back, it's...something else he does not want to dissect. And so, Hanako will bury this revelation under the belief it's due to his unfamiliarity of friendship. Fifty years of isolation has to do a number to your perception of romance vs friendship, right???

Meanwhile, Kou is committed to the promise he made in the young exorcist arc so he's usually admiring from afar watching over Hanako to make sure he's in line and keeping an eye on Hanako isn't hard as of late; they're spending more time together before, during and after school and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he genuinely enjoys the company. Kou likes what they have, it's good that they can rely on each other and still leave room to joke around but to be honest, Kou has some...weird feelings towards Hanako. Every time their eyes meet his heart skips a beat, whenever he lets his mind wander it usually finds its way back to Hanako, their friendly banter stuck in his head, and for whatever reason, Kou's body can't seem to forget the ghost's touch, even long after he's fucked off to who knows where. There's something different about it. It's not the detestation he had when he first met Hanako, nor is it the quaint glee he had when he decided to not exorcise him. It's something completely new, something foreign that has his stomach doing flips every time he sees Hanako's bright smile or hears his stupid laugh. Kou tries not to think about it too much, lest he gives Hanako exactly what he wants, so he just chalks it up to his view of supernaturals being challenged. After all, going from believing all supernaturals are dangerous, evil vermin that need to be exterminated to voluntarily hanging out with such a friendly one is bound to stir up some mixed feelings, right?

Do you see my vision now? The bromance to romance pipeline would be unreal with these two confused idiots!! There's so much room for the internalized homophobia, the confusion of trying to differentiate friendly feelings from the clusterfuck of emotions the other boy evokes and the funny fumblings of two teenage boys letting the joke flirting go a bit too far like a game of gay chicken gone wrong. Their relationship speaks to me in a way that can only be described as the entertainment you get from mixing two reactive substances and waiting for the inevitable chaos that proceeds. Even if you don't ship Hanakou romantically, you gotta admit their dynamic is super fun to explore!! C:

5. Other characters reactions

I swear I’m taking this somewhat seriously but I really enjoy the more wholesome aspects of this ship!! Nene being the third wheel to her two guy best friends, the LEAST romantic people she knows, is something that is deeply entertaining to me <3 She came into Hanako's life wishing for a boyfriend, failed to get one and then had to watch him get one himself. She would be so happy for them but at the same time, she'd be fighting demons trying to figure out how these two IDIOTS got more rizz than she does. (How much aura do you lose for this LMAOOOO)

Then you got Teru which if you liked this aspect of Mitsukou where Teru disapproves of his brother dating a school mystery then hooo boy YOU’LL LOVE HANAKOU!! Whatever apprehension he has towards Mitsukou it's increased tenfold because it’s one thing to date a school mystery, it’s a whole other thing to date not only the ghost of a murder but the LEADER of the seven mysteries??? Teru would absolutely flip his shit, wasting no time to charge into Hanako’s bathroom and expel him right then and there the SECOND he finds out (AND I DON'T BLAME HIM!! he just doing his job fr). I’ve been told it’s sorta like a Romeo and Juliet situation where two star crossed lovers are kept apart by a long-standing feud between their opposing houses (Montagues and Capulets WHO? I only know the Minamoto clan and Seven Mysteries) and I think that can just about sum it up!!

6. Hanako-San (ASHK)

This post is already as long as it is so I’ll save you the trouble of attempting an analysis and copy and paste my ramble from another post: “In regards to HanaKou discourse, I've always seen people say 'Kou's into Mitsuba!!' or 'they're just platonic besties! Plus Kou rejected Hanako!!!' and sure, maybe Kou doesn't have a thing for Hanako but has anyone REALLY stopped to consider Hanako has a thing for Kou??? And just. Didn't process it because of internalized homophobia AND his crush on Nene overshadowing his feelings for Kou??? Because THIS chapter had NO RIGHT to be so fruity on Hanako's part” and yeah why is the first thing Hanako decides to do when he turns into a girl is flirt with Kou??? And an even better question is why did he genuinely sulk when Kou rejected him??? If you didn't mean it why were you so butt hurt then huh??? Hanako really is the type of guy to passively think "if Kou was a girl or if I was a girl, I'd date him 100%" and it definitely shows!!!

7. Fanfiction. So. Much. Fanfiction.

This one doesn't have much to do with canon but it's more than likely why some people (ME) began to ship Hanakou!! My personal experience was I thought they were sorta interesting and I checked on ao3 to see if there were any others who thought the same. To my surprise, there were a bunch of fics lovingly written for them already and out of curiosity I started reading one. One became two, two became three, then suddenly I was tumbling down the rabbit hole feverishly consuming whatever I could get my grubby little hands on. As you've stated, seeing others' passion can be pretty compelling reason to start shipping something and I totally agree!!! Exploring the dynamics in such a freeing medium like Fanfiction can be much more invigorating than just reinterpreting canon so do give it a try if you're interested!! I promise Hanakou nation is a welcoming space and we'd be delighted to see more people on board with these two idiots C:

END

AUGHHHH I struggled to find the right words to express my thoughts but I hope it gave you a better understanding of Hanakou!! These two really are my Roman Empire and despite how much I floundered around this post, I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to share my visions!!! Thank you so much for asking C:

[cnnmonbimee]

please tell us your thoughts about Nene's feelings (re: Ch. 115)! ฅ⁠^⁠•⁠ﻌ⁠•⁠^⁠ฅ

DON'T MIND IF I DO, ANON!!!

Before that, thanks for the ask! I do have a lot to talk about Nene's feelings in these recent chapters but didn't know where to express it, and then you showed up in my inbox like an angel!! Bless you!!!

My thoughts are pretty jumbled to be honest and I'm not used to writing long posts so I apologize in advance if this gonna be a bit messy lmao. But here goes!!!

Let's talk about Nene's feelings 🤍

One thing we know for sure now, is that Nene is inevitably in love with Hanako. And her love for him is big. Might be just as big as Hanako's for her now.

Another thing that I noticed in the recent chapters is how the tables kinda have turned? I'm not sure if it's just me, but I always feel like before this we've been given more emphasis on Hanako losing Nene. Whether in canon, fanarts, or fics, I think I see more of works that explore on Hanako losing Nene (whether she dies, or lives, it's about him letting go of her.)

But in the recent chapters, I can see that it's happening the other way around! Nene is losing Hanako. Again and again. She lost him for a while in Picture Perfect, she lost him during the Severance, and now she's losing him again. Every time she feels like she has him in her grasp, he keeps moving away and away.

(Sneakily showing you this one scene from the musical where Hanako was moving away from Nene after she held him from behind. She had him in her grasp but he's moving farther away...)

I love how AidaIro are giving more emphasis on Nene's feelings these days. I'm sure some yall have noticed this too. It's not just in canon, even in AUs we can see how Nene is openly showing her feelings towards him to the audience. Last year' Christmas event when she became the Santa Claus of love and shot him love arrows. And even her song for ASHK ending, Koi! Koi Koi, explored on her growing feelings for this certain ghost boy. And I'm loving every second of this!

We all know that Nene before this has always been in a denial when it comes to her feelings for Hanako. Like. It's obvious that she has a liking to him even in the earlier chapters. But she'll never admit it. Nene used to deny or deflect any claims made to her about her feelings for Hanako.

But she loves it when he calls her name.

And she didn't deny when Mitsuba confronted her here! She didn't deny when Mitsuba asked if she loved Hanako.

She wanted to go back to Hanako when she was whisked away by Tsukasa.

She thinks of Hanako here. She thinks of Hanako there. Just as how doomed Hanako is for falling in love with Nene, it's no different for her too. She's doomed. Because she loves him now. And this love she has for him is undeniably big.

I really like how she actually forgot this jerk here lol. Girlie moved on so well she actually took a few seconds longer to recognize the guy that she worked hard for in the span of three years just for a failed confession (and an insult).

Anyways!!! Back on track with chapter 115!!! I'm excited to know what Nene's gonna do now. She was determined to change the timeline back when she couldn't find Hanako here, but now knowing that he'd lived and became a teacher just as how he's supposed to, would she have a change a heart?

I might be overly dramatic for this, but I like how hananene is always about sacrificing. Let's look a bit into the difference between Hanako's sacrifice for Nene to live and Nene's possible sacrifice for him now.

Hanako's sacrifice in order for Nene to live was both selfish and selfless. It was more so in a gray area in my opinion. He was selfless for wanting her to be happy even without him, but selfish for doing and deciding things alone without actually asking what she wanted. He wanted her to be happy, but he wanted to be the one who gave that happiness to her, even without being close to her.

(A little sidetrack here again but I noticed that Hanako selfishly loves Nene by pushing her away, and selfishly loves Tsukasa by keeping him close. I just love to see the differences!!)

Meanwhile, Nene's choice of whether she's willing to sacrifice her own feelings in order Hanako to be happy here in this timeline would be just black and white selfish and selfless. It'd be selfless if she decides to leave the new timeline as it is so that he'd never die and never become Hanako and never meet her. Otherwise, it'd be selfish if she still wants Hanako back and decides to restore the timeline. Because it means that she'd need to take away the life that he deserved to live, just for the sake of getting Hanako back with her. And honestly if you think of the logic which one is more rational? Even if she gets Hanako back, that doesn't change their circumstances. He'd still be a ghost and she'd still be a human with a very close deadline. Either way they're doomed!

Needless to say, I'd still support Nene whatever she chooses. If she wants to sacrifice her feelings for his sake, you go girl! Because that's a really Yashiro Nene thing to do. But if she wants to be stubborn and still bring back the old timeline, YOU GO GIRL! Because I think that it's still a very Yashiro Nene thing to do, just a little more selfish because she loves Hanako now :3c Love is about being selfish and selfless, and I love the fact that we can see it very clearly in HanaNene!

Yugi-sensei also seems a little suspicious in this timeline, if he turns out to have bad intentions and Nene knows about it, that might be an encouragement for her to bring the old timeline back, but who knows? I'm so excited to see what's gonna happen next.

Anyways I think that's all :3!! Sorry I got sidetracked a lot I just have soooo much to say and I'm really loving the angst potential in this new arc. Thanks again for the ask anon you made my day 💗

[nanabansama]

___th Annual Fall Festival

Hey guys! Did you read the new chapter?

Kamome Academy is hosting their annual fall festival in the new chapter! And what's this? It's the 113th!?

Makes you wonder what year this take place in... maybe we could figure out the date of the first festival...?

Oh wait.

We CAN!!!

...sort of.

See, chapter 101 actually starts out with this panel:

Now I can't say for sure that this means it's the 66th annual festival, but I think it's a safe bet.

Especially considering this was a flashback to a festival taking place when Amane attended Kamome Academy.

Amane attended Kamome from 1968 to 1969. Tsukasa's class, confirmed to be first-year middle schoolers, are putting on a school play. This would mean Tsukasa and Amane were 12 here, and that this took place during 1968.

Anyway... question for you mathematics out there: what's 113 - 66?

...47!!!

So let's add 47 to 68...

...GASP!!

It is confirmed guys: Toilet-bound Hanako-kun takes place in 2015!

113 years ago from 2015 would be 1902. So that should be the date of the first annual Kamome Academy Fall Festival.

Maybe that was also the year Kamome Academy was built...?

Anyway, I just realized this and got over-excited and wanted to share. Lemme know if I got my math embarrassingly wrong! Peace out!!!

[kittytheartist]

it's very popular for people to say that it makes sense that Teru would like Akane instead of Aoi, and yes there's a concerning amount of evidence but there's arguably more reasonable evidence towards Teru liking Aoi, and it's quite over looked, nonetheless it's not as random as you'd think at first glance!

Teru is quite interested in what Aoi does and likes, he asks questions on a regular, Aoi even sees him as a cute dog with how happy he seems, and in her mind he's usually saying good morning and asking her something

Teru as a character doesn't open up, especially not to students, we've seen him open himself to Akane some, and has fully opened up to Kou in the latest chapters, but he goes up to Aoi and gives his opinion as well as listening to her's. Teru is very interested in her! although they only talk ground level things but Teru is not one for being good at socializing, but I'd say for the students it's a common occurrence for the school king and queen to be next to each other

and here it says it's Teru's free time, what is he spending it on? Aoi of course! like his siblings he has no problem giving away his time to a trivial conversation, because he just likes being around her.

he gets excited whenever he's around Aoi

and here he's complaining about how he's tired

but when he meets Aoi at the convenience store he gets happy and bubbly, I know in this chapter it says he gets more upbeat when he's tired but Aoi's also around! the whole chapter he starts up conversation

he tells her all about himself, she thinks he's weird because she never asked, never needed to know and is very confused on why he'd tell her all this, but I think even Teru has a hard time understanding that, now this is just my personal character speculation but I think Teru barely understands this feeling of love, he knows platonic love, but being around her gives him this sense of security and giddiness, he's excited to tell her everything, so he just goes with it, he's heard people talk about this feeling so it must be natural, something he openly indulges in, because Aoi is just so precious to him.

and he's seen blushing here, I know he's happy but those eyes can't hide anything haha he definitely looks very fond of her there, and his "or something" shows he has not planned this out but simply likes the idea of doing it with Aoi, even seeing if she'd like the shark gummies better because she picked up the shark candy, although he's willing to take a no from her and do it with Akane he still much prefers to do it with her (also he's said how gross Akane can be around Aoi so I presume it's sort of his goal to treat her nicely)

and he went as far to ask if she hates him, but he already knew the answer he just wanted to find out what she would respond with, because he of all people would know opinion does not equal an honest answer, but she did give an honest answer, because she also gives this answer in her card, she puts "nothing I particular" on both opinion slots

but it is cute that she chose Teru to send a card, I think that shows when she thinks of someone Teru is in the runnings, he's someone she thinks about because he comes up to her, that's what she remembers him for.

anyways Teru is always a gentleman yes, but I think he was quite aggressive with protecting Aoi

he got In the register's face really quickly, making sure Aoi was safe, because it's shown that Teru very much dislikes Aoi being treated badly, and again, asks her a question, except this time he just listens

Aoi seemed very dumbfounded that he would ask her this, because Aoi thinks nobody really cares for her, but she shares this with Teru, because he protected her, and after hearing this Teru tries to cheer her up, I'm sure he knows being upset is no good, especially with how upbeat of a person he is. so they make the gummies together, another moment with Aoi I'm sure he enjoyed.

now with the most popular theory working against TeruAoi is how Teru acted towards the severance. Teru went out looking for Akane because of his glasses, and started saying how he wasn't expecting to find them on the far shore, looking at Aoi, he never expected to see Aoi here again. he may have seemed to not care but I have a few ideas working in my favor.

Teru is an exorcist, when he was talking to Kou in chapter 97 we could see how hard it was growing up, he's delt with other kids being able to see supernaturals and going against him believing that it's their friend, it must have hurt Teru considering he has no friends, and has to exorcise it to protect them from danger they don't even know of. with Aoi he also never expected to see her again, the woman that makes him feel bright, he cares a lot but has been taught not to care, but after seeing her there he decided that he can save her, he will, he wants her back, desperately, but to get her back for Akane, in Teru's eyes, Aoi and Akane are good for each other, he does not agree with how Akane goes about it but he knows they love each other, that Teru has no chance compared to them. so instead of getting her back for himself he's retrieving the one he loves to be with another. I think what brung him to this conclusion is when they were walking in the tunnel, Aoi was sharing herself like she never has before, Akane and Aoi made promises for each other, Teru knew she wouldn't make it but after hearing that she had all these wishes she couldn't do he wanted to grant them for her, he knows that she will be happy with Akane, so he will save her, for Akane. now he planned to save her from the minute he saw her, but he decided to do it for Akane at the tunnel, that's just my speculation though, but he did plan on saving her, that's why he gave her the amulet

we could also see how upset Teru was after that, he seems tired and very sad looking, there's a lot of speculation on it being because of seeing Akane so wrecked over Aoi, but it can also be because of hearing Aoi and Akane talk about the future where he knows he's not a part of.

now now I know what you're wondering "what about the body language signs that usually say he's lying when he says he likes Aoi?" yes good point! I've seen people talk about how Teru's body language says he's lying, and yes, it could. but I think there's a different reason

but he's been shown to scratch at his cheek or hold the back of his neck as normal mannerisms, heck it was one of the first actions he did on panel when we first met Teru, this may not be a strong counter argument but I think he's just shy, he tries to cover his face in the shrine and he says this immediately planning on walking out. the first time he said this Akane wrote it off as a joke, but in the shrine Teru says he wants Aoi back, and Akane asks if he was serious, Teru completely ignores this dilemma of nobody knowing whether he's serious or not again, he's always avoiding how he really feels, and instead he moved on saying he has a dream, she's part of that dream, Akane has a guess but nothing that can fill in that blank. but Teru words it as "realizing" his dream, now this, again, is just my character speculation, but it's been shown that Teru never had an interest in being an exorcist, and wanted to do something different, but being a cool older brother sounded better than persuading anything, I bet Aoi makes him feel like he can do a lot of things he originally didn't think he could do.

I'd also like to talk about this little interaction, Akane says that he'll tell Aoi all about how useless Teru was, and this motivated him to a high level, with what he says here it seems that he could not stand being useless in the saving of her, he thinks Aoi should be with Akane but in no means wants to be invisible to her, he wants her to know that he helped.

well, there's also other extras adding to Teru being nice to Aoi and making Akane mad, this can also be AidaIro hinting towards their rivalry. Teru wants to go head to head for Aoi but ultimately thinks Akane is better for her, despite knowing he'd treat her very nicely. and we've all seen how Teru warmed up to Aoi in the latest chapters! he seems very attached to her, all in all I think they have built an interesting relationship, on both sides, Aoi has shown she believes nobody wants to get to know her but on the contrary I think she feels validated by Teru in an odd way, a way she'll never admit, I won't say it's love but I think she could really enjoy having Teru as a friend!

[hanathoughts]

In chapter 101, Hanako and Nene revisit an old location: The sealed auditorium!

The text explicitly mentions that this was the place where Hanako rescued Nene from the mermaid’s disciples. 

A couple of very important things happened in that arc:

1.) Hanako revealed that he ended his own brother’s life.

In the most recent chapter, we see Tsukasa confront Hanako as to whether or not he truly wanted him to go away. We now know that Hanako chose both. He killed Tsukasa, yes, but Tsukasa is also chained to Amane and the Near Shore because he’s his Yorishiro. I also believe 101 is the first chapter we see Tsukasa as a living teenager. 

2.) Nene tried to become a supernatural.

Nene is Hanako’s assistant because of their shared connection to the Great Mermaid. It seems like the manga is alluding to a similar circumstance with Amane and the great clock. It could very well be related to the Clock Keepers, though it’s too soon to tell.

3.) Hanako vowed to tell Nene all his secrets on the steps of the auditorium. 

So what does it mean?

The auditorium was set up to be a very important location since the beginning of the manga, where an incredibly important bonding moment between Hanako and Nene happened. 

Whatever it has to do with the plot, it’s likely setting up a large portion of Hanako and Tsukasa’s backstory and may even reveal more about the Clock Keepers. 

[opheliaswritings]

Love For Yashiro Nene ⍣ ೋ

A Yashiro Nene in-depth analysis;

1/6

→

Introduction:

When it comes to all romance and scary urban legends, you can always trust Yashiro Nene to give you a passionate rant and a cry about them both. This little mermaid is the protagonist of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun! Also definitely a regular girl! Here I’ll be going on a deep-dive on her, down to the surface level to the deep waters. From everything and anything I can think of her, it will be covered as that’s what Yashiro deserves. 

Personality:

Yashiro Nene is the one of the normal people out when it comes to the world of Toilet Bound Hanako-Kun. She comes from a relatively normal family, had a regular childhood, and overall your run in the mill high school girl. She has a love for the occult and supernatural stories, as well as idol games! Her enjoyment of urban legends is reminiscent or shown through her uniform as she was a skull brooch. She also think they are pretty cute. Yashiro also has a knack of referencing fairytale stories like Cinderella or Snow White whenever she can.

What sets her apart however, is her love for romance. Her love for the wonder that is romance is less than normal. Yashiro is very quick to fall for any man who’s even remotely like the princes from fairy tales. And quickly does she fall, as she started gardening, sewing, etc, all to appease a man who she hardly talked to. The plot of TBHK even started because she wanted to be in a relationship with Minamoto Teru, somebody who also doesn’t know her. With her extended knowledge of scary stories, it led her to the story of Hanako, who can grant any wish. And like the little mermaid, she took the chance without any hesitation.

Yashiro’s fixation of love led her to a multitude of problems, including her becoming the priestess of Hanako, becoming a “mermaid”, etc. As well as her overall recklessness and impatience. However Yashiro is a very kind and sweet individual. After a few chapters with Hanako, she already dubbed him fun to hang out with, so he’s already her friend! She’s always willing to help others and to trust, to the point of nativity. She is a woman who believes in trust over suspicion, she once said. Along with her nativity, she can be quite sensitive, to be hurt from sly comments or overzealous at compliments. She is also very quick to forgive and forget. However, Yashiro is a good person who later learns throughout the story to be more careful. Even her fixation on love dies down, but she still gets into bad situations due to that same recklessness she still has in the beginning.

She is not swayed by love as much in the story, but it still begs the question. Why did she do all this for the sake of love? Of having her prince of her own? To do tasks as rigorous as gardening, sewing, and kiss a frog once. Yashiro even got herself cursed, potentially for life. It’s not *true* love as spoken by Hanako, she will settle for anyone who would reciprocate her feelings. So why? All for herself. I believe that to her, romance was just as important to eat, or breathe. Yashiro didn’t want a romantic partner. She just believed it was a necessity for her to have a romantic partner as that was the only way for her to live her life. Many young girls such as Yashiro fall for the ideology that romance is the key to life, that you must have it to enjoy life to the fullest.

Yashiro calls out this ideology in both Yako and Sumire. As Sumire *longed* for Hakubo, No.6, though it was because of her own loneliness that she longed for a companion, and the only one she could trust was him. It’s the same for Yako as well. All of them really just wanted a partner who could ease their loneliness and/or give fulfillment to their life.

Unlike Sumire and Yako however, she managed to recognize and overcome that part of herself. As I have started before, in the coming pages Yashiro she focuses on romance less. The manga starts to turn for the worst during the coming events, especially when we learn of Yashiro’s demise. She will die in less than a year. She won’t be able to graduate, play games, hear any more scary urban legends, hang out with friends, none of that. 

As a result, Hanako tries to keep her in a picture perfect world, so that she can at least live her life in peace, but Yashiro rejects it. Instead of succumbing to fear of dying, she manages to stomp through it. She exclaims how she wants to face what was real, not a phony bliss Hanako tried putting up for her. Yashiro’s goal in life went from finding a romantic partner to just living her life to the fullest, to the ripe age of 100. To experience the good, and bad, everything. Even when she had lost Hanako and Aoi, two people she holds very dearly, she triumphs that too. She puts on a brave face and gives it her all.

It’s utterly remarkable how she manages to withstand all this, especially when any ordinary person like her would have broken down. It’s easy to forget how out of the loop Yashiro is from this. A year prior to this, she had no idea that the stories she loved so much were that real. 

Yashiro puts on a brave face and perseveres. We can give credit where credit is due. She is trying her best and persisting, yet it doesn’t make her invincible. She has her moments in which she just can not take it. In chapter 96, does she really break down telling Hanako she would gladly die to save Aoi and the others. Yashiro greatly values her friends, so it’s no surprise that she’ll be willing to sacrifice herself for them, as she really does have a pure heart. There’s also another factor, more specifically for Hanako, how she doesn’t take death all so seriously, and wants to be supernatural if it means that she’ll be with Hanako. Over the chapters, she has started to cultivate a multitude of issues due to the situations that Hanako is putting her through. It’s upsetting and disturbing to see a once bright girl turn so bleak. Her changing of goals is a mark of her growing up, but it’s because she *has* to grow up fast in order to even keep up with the events. We have seen her breakdown multiple times, even right now she can’t catch a break with what’s happening to Kou, her best friend. Yashiro Nene at first got to be sensitive and kind, but now with all that’s occurring she will have to be strong.

→

[scar-eyejolteon14]

Signs That Shows Hanako Is Related To His Chinese Zodiac

This is a the last part

Thank for making it this far

Unless in this cover these are carnations

In fact carnations also happen to symbolize in love as well

Same also goes to primroses

And there you have it, things that shows hanako is related to his Chinese zodiac The Wood Goat

Like I said I did this for fun but, I love to hear your thoughts and opinions on it since this is my first own TBHK post

Pls go through part 1 and part 2 if you haven’t

And thank you for reading this 😊

[ocelotlesbian]

here's something interesting regarding mitsuba's name in jshk that a lot of people in the english fandom probably don't notice due to language differences!!

kanji vs katakana, 三葉 vs ミツバ !

it's very easy to miss this detail just reading the translated chapters, since english only has one script. however, japanese has multiple!! and in the original japanese text, his name is written differently depending on which mitsuba is being discussed ^_^

for the human mitsuba, his name is written in the kanji writing system, as "三葉惣助," or "mitsuba sousuke"

and for the supernatural mitsuba, his name is written in the katakana writing system, as simply "ミツバ," or "mitsuba"

(for reference, other characters in the manga typically have their names written in kanji or (sometimes) hiragana. the only other character with their name written in katakana is shijima, as mentioned later (EDIT: i was wrong, yako also uses katakana. oops))

this is obviously important simply to differentiate the two mitsubas, however it gets very interesting once you take into consideration how these different systems are used within the language!!

kanji, within the japanese language, is basically the standard script, and is what's most often used for writing names, specifically surnames, as well as most other words. makes sense!! not much to comment on here.

katakana, on the other hand, is pretty interesting, having much more specific uses!! unlike kanji, katakana represents specific syllables/sounds instead of whole words / concepts, and as such, is often used to transcribe foreign words / loanwords, like the english "ice cream" being written as "アイスクリーム" (aisukurīmu). katakana can also be used for other things, like to spell out sound effects with no kanji available, to differentiate company names from regular family names, or to show that a character is speaking with a foreign / strange accent. so in general, katakana indicates "this isn't a normal word"

so with that in mind, it makes it pretty damn interesting that as a supernatural, mitsuba's name is deliberately spelled with katakana, the script most commonly used for foreign words / words with no kanji available, rather than the kanji that already exists for his name

it emphasizes the fact that this mitsuba isn't the "real" one, he doesn't even have a "real" name, just syllables. he isn't a human. he's a wholly unnatural entity, so it makes sense his name reflects this

(another thing worth mentioning is how no.4 / shijima also has her name written in katakana (シジマ), likely due to the same reason of her not being the "real" shijima mei. she also spells the "watashi" personal pronoun in katakana while the original mei spells it in hiragana, which is interesting too!! this post is mostly about mitsuba, but i figured i'd mention her as well. she deserves more recognition lol)

anyway, that's all!! just another cool detail in this series to take into consideration :3

[thelunarfairy]

Tsukasa's age

Have you ever stopped to think that if the Tsukasa in the school looks older than the 4-year-old Tsukasa, it means that either he didn't sacrifice himself for Amane (because he would have to return home and for that to happen, Nene and Kou should have found him).

Or he sacrificed himself, however, he died long before he was 13 years old. Imagining that Tsukasa looks like he's 8 years old, and that coincides with the fact that most of Tsukasa's arts at that age don't show his face

it means that it probably wasn't Hanako who killed him.

And, for another hypothesis, Tsukasa was in the red house, sacrificed himself for Amane, but Amane found out and found a way to bring him back. By rumors.

But it still doesn't explain Tsukasa's age. When he was in the red house, he didn't age, while Kou was there, the house changed time several times, they say this and Tsukasa's bear changes, in the past, the bear becomes new, in the present, he becomes worn out.

Unless he can age slowly in the house? He has a pulse, and he's warm like Nene said, so he's alive, he could age. Hmmmm……

Could he choose his appearance?

Hmm…mysterious

In that case, how would Tsukasa create a bond with the entity without sacrificing himself at four years old? He created a bond with the entity to save Amane, who would die in a short time, meaning it had to be urgent. He had to sacrifice himself at four years old to save Amane.

So how does he look older?

If he sacrificed himself, he was trapped in the house, but if he was trapped in the house, he doesn't age, so he would have to continue looking like a 4 year old.

The explanation that makes the most sense is that he sacrificed himself, returned to Amane, but died before or returned to the red house before he was 13 years old.

But even with this explanation, the question remains: why did he return?

If Nene and Kou weren't there again (until now) why did Tsukasa return to Amane? And if he came back, Amane didn't kill him, firstly because he's a child (let's imagine that Amane wouldn't do that at such a young age) and secondly because Amane didn't kill himself afterwards.

There's a piece missing.

[royakahoshiart]

Yashiro doesn't know what's bothering Kou, she wants to know and help him, but she just doesn't how to find out.

She's worried for his well-being but can't do anything about it.

She's aware that she can't help him, but at least wants to try and make him feel better.

The whole reason for why they went to the festival was for Yashiro to cheer up Kou.

But because Hanako is a little baby, Yashiro was never able to talk to Kou about his troubles. (Sorry i'm super mad about this.)

But she did succed at making him a little happier as we can see at the end of chapter 37

That was the first time she saw Kou vulnerable and not the usual loud and cheerful kid he seems to be.

She even tried asking him about it as soon as Kou told them about Mitsuba, but was unsuccessful, as he pretended like it wasn't a big deal.

You can clearly see the worry in her eyes.

She tried asking Hanako, but he was of no help. Just getting jealous.

She tried her best to make him a little happier, even if for a short amount of time. Hanako did mention something: "just knowing that somebody cares about him, would definitely make him happier". Wich is true, anything will do for Kou since he's got a neglectful father and a brother who is always busy. He also feels like he needs the one to help everyone so a small act of kindness for him would be a lot.

Yashiro knows that Kou looks up to her, (weather she knows that he had a crush on her is up to you) as it's obvious. For example, in chapter 28, she confidently scolds him, after all she is his upperclassmen, and they are close friends too.

Even so, she asks as to understand why.

She asks why he's doing the things he does (even if in situation it looks just rather silly to her) as to understand his actions, the cause and why he reacts like he does as to understand the situation better. But she does see that Kou is struggling to tell her something.

That's why Tsuchigomori makes up something, but she doesn't question Kou's reaction as to not cause further problems, but also probably because Tsuchigomori quickly changed the subject.

When Kou grabs her hand, and asks her is there's something bothering, she's clearly not taking the situation seriously, since to her this si sudden but not too worrying. (as you can see, her answer is kind of comic or stupid depending on what you think)

Yashiro clarifies that it's only to cheer him up, because it's clear that he isn't ok. so Hanako agrees and they do go to the festival. But Kou was happier and that was good. (he won't be happy for long)

I really like Kou and Yashiro's relationship in the early manga. Yashiro thought he was a loud but very kind kis who was always positive and nie and Teru's brother, but in recent manga she seems to realise that there's more to him. I really hope for more content about Yashiro's point of view towards Kou. Let's hope for the best!

[makshu]

Ok. There's something going on and I need to talk about it.

We've all seen that AidaIro is posting new art every day, and on the 18th there will be a new chapter.

But I noticed something, all these arts are about the last arc and are telling the story of it again.

Let me show you

The first one we had was on chapter 111, which shows Yashiro. Everything is normal, but behind her we can see typical theater spotlights, it could just be something mundane or reference her school play rehearsals. Well we started with this.

So we have this art of 12y Tsukasa. Referencing when Yashiro and Mitsuba ended up in the past and found 12y Tsukasa talking to them. He said a rumor about the big clock that further opened the theme of this arc, really an omen for everything.

This art by Sakura is worth mentioning, as she is part of the broadcast gang. She is behind everything, and theories about her being the god or something powerful are increasing more and more. It's worth mentioning that she wished something for Tsukasa, everything he's doing is because of her (because of Amane too, but he has a bond with Sakura). Sakura is an extremely important piece in this puzzle.

Let the fun begin! Next in the series we have Mitsuba and Kou enjoying their time at the festival. Eating and playing together. We were informed, the festival has started.

More moments at the festival. This scene happened in the manga, it is the beginning of the festival that we see. Hanako and Yashiro in the haunted house made by Kou's class. Until that moment everything was normal (or so we thought).

This one is curious. We only see seal Tsukasa in this arc after the plan is initiated. But I believe he was also out there enjoying his last moments. And you can tell that it's really Tsukasa and not the creature. Well, now we're getting close.

Ohhh look what we have here! President and vice-president enjoying the festival as well, despite their work they still managed to find some time to have fun. Natsuhiko had already confronted Akane earlier and Teru had already discovered the black crane, they were probably already alert for anything suspicious. But, everything's still normal.

We return to Sakura, now in her maid outfit. We also have Natsuhiko's first appearance in these arts. This was possibly before or during the festival, but following the chronological line it must have been during. Note that until then this was the only art that did not have a black border (I will talk about this later). Moving on to the next...

From here things started to get serious. The plan had begun. This moment happens in chapter 105. Blood had started to spread throughout the auditorium and Hanako noticed that something was wrong. We are just a few steps away from entering No.1 boundary.

And finally we have today's art. The revelation of the immortal human, Natsuhiko. Breaking the timeline, in this art we go back to chapter 104, where Natsuhiko spreads his blood across the clock, thus executing the plan to go after the last yorishiros.

And these were all the arts released so far, the arts that reference the arc in this case. They all seem to be retelling the story of the Festival arc. Now why? Why would AidaIro be recapping the last arc?

We know that the past has changed and everything has a chance of being different from what we know. We go back to the beginning of the festival, where nothing had happened yet. Therefore, none of these events had happened, if everything really changed, the arts are telling an alternative version of history, the version we know.

Moving from analysis to theory... did you notice that almost all arts have a black border? Black borders are used to indicate flashbacks, the past in JSHK. Now, why would they be using this artifice? Assuming the present has changed, this would be the past. But not a past like something that happened years ago, but a past that no longer exists, in the sense of what it was before this current one. That's why the black borders, indicating that this would be the past.

What breaks this theory is Sakura's art in her maid outfit, as it doesn't have a black border. Maybe the borders are part of the new AidaIro style and are something made to style the arts, or actually have a connection to something. Well, that part is just a crazy theory.

But what do you think of this analysis? The images seem to be telling the arc of the festival all over again, and for what reason? Maybe we'll find out on the 18th, when chapter 112 comes out.

[royakahoshiart]

OUGH HELLO???? Teru Minamoto i love you

i love analysing the Minamotos they make me crazy

I love how Terus two fandom personalities are like

“Evil unredeemable Hanako-hating awful person murder who’s only redeeming trait is none of them”

And

“Some weirdo gay with a crush on Akane”