#kaguya-sama meta

[nanakah]

cursed trivia: Miko's canon 17 twitter accounts

so, one of the databooks had a quiz or something in which Aka CASUALLY dropped that Miko has like 17 twitter accounts

17

twitter

accounts

one is specific for venting about her oshi hirano. amazing. i couldn't love her more

ALSO

i'm willing to bet GOOD MONEY this is one of her pfps

[songweaver]

[jumbostickyrice]

Love Dramatic on Expert | By Masayuki Suzuki | Full Combo | Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

[nanakah]

Because I can't resist citing my sources

TL: "In the original, Ishigami broke his hip and died, but in Kaguya-sama, Iino broke her arm instead".

Also about Miko, I'm not sure if I'm misremembering the quote or that it was there at all, but it's consistently said she's better than the other characters at having good intuition and having sharp instincts because of her sense of smell and quick wit

Even though Ishigami's "Observational powers" are often hyped by other characters, when it depends on wit and intuition alone, Miko is better at avoiding danger. tl;dr OTP

I started reading oshi no ko recently and it's. A lot. Wow. But what i am thinking about right now is that kaguya having a cameo here means that reincarnation is now canon in the kaguya sama universe

something else ive heard abt only though out-of-canon content is that in the kaguya sama universe is that the tale of the bamboo cutter is an actual historical event. this holds no actual importance to the plot and is never actually referenced. supernatural shit exists in their world but it just doesnt fucking matter we have highschool romance melodrama to act out rn no time to acknowledge these things at all

[wynsnerdyrambles]

'Arc-'hetypes: Introduction

It has been some time since I last penned some serious meta analysis, but the anime adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen's "Shibuya Incident" arc was so incredibly good that it made me think about arcs from all sorts of manga that I deeply love, and this series of posts, which I'm calling 'Arc'-hetypes as an incredibly bad piece of wordplay, will examine arcs from series of all types that I just cannot adore enough. I'm planning for the analysis to delve into both thematic and meta-narrative analysis. So far my list of arcs I want to talk about includes:

-The Shibuya Incident, Jujutsu Kaisen

-The Entertainment District Arc, Kimetsu no Yaiba

-The First Kiss Doesn't End, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

-The Homunculus Trap, Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga/Brotherhood)

-Mugen Train, Kimetsu no Yaiba

-VS. Nekoma, Haikyuu!!

-Perfect Preparation, Jujutsu Kaisen

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy, and forgive me for being a fair amount rustier than I used to be at writing meta. I'm obviously planning to start with Shibuya, with it being the arc that inspired this whole thing and all. So, I hope you enjoy!

[nijigasakilove]

Yea they’re really gonna force that Sajo and Natsukawa ship aren’t they 😩 even tho she’s the worst girl in the series. They got her out here smelling his sweat lmao.

Just don’t feel like Sajo getting with her makes any sense after she turned him down and was an asshole to him for YEARS. All of a sudden he stops coming after her and she misses the attention he gave her. Really shallow. Rin, Fuuka and even the other girls are better options lmao. But anime, so of course the first girl introduced will win.

They finally addressed the meta of having two Sasaki characters in the show 😂 I was so confused a couple episodes ago. Of course it’s Fuuka’s schoolmates that come visit the HS. Who tf asks the guides of a school tour what their relationship is though? Way to make a first impression on potential senpai. Then you have the rapey delinquents in the other corner pressuring Rena about things she’s done with a boy? Like wtf

Good thing Natsukawa and the others saw it and were able to break it up. That “this school doesn’t need people like you” just didn’t hit very well because of the art style and lack of facial expressions in this show. That was supposed to be a Kaguya sama style “o kawaii koto” style look but just didn’t come off well in this.

Well, she finally asked him to hangout more. Only one episode left so I wonder how things will go. Kinda want another season ngl. Even tho it’s up and down it has some really nice moments. Not the greatest show, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I’ll pick up the LN in Japan next month for sure.

[my-bated-breath]

The Man and The Persona (or he who has a thousand faces)

Every one has a persona -- a side they’re willing to show to others, and a side that they hide to themselves. This is a central theme in the show Spy x Family, and it’s pretty blatant about it given that the whole premise of the story hinges on each member of the Forger family hiding how unordinary underneath their cover of being a normal family. Nonetheless, given how blatant the premise may be, there’s a detail I noticed in the manga and anime that really serves to emphasize the gap between truth and persona in a subtler manner, that being Twilight’s appearance.

When we first meet Twilight, he has adopted another identity (to prevent the world from realizing the prime minister wears a toupee! for world peace!), which is quite fitting for his character introduction. Then, he rips his mask off and we see him like this:

His appearance here only lasts a few frames, and almost immediately he becomes “Robert,” as we see below.

You can see how it’s still Twilight, but the aura (the vibe, if you will) he gives off is completely different, from the hair, to the glasses, to the sternness that surrounds him.

This is just an example though. What I really want to highlight is the difference between his Loid Forger persona and his identity as Agent Twilight. We can see this when he is looking at apartments for his new fake family to live in:

See the difference between the calculating, narrowed eyes and the wide open ones? The serious line of his mouth and the carefree reply?

This becomes more prominent throughout the show when Loid begins to spend more time with his family and thus settles more into the Loid Forger “happy family man” role.

Above we have Agent Twilight assessing a threat to his marriage, versus Loid Forger who is very happy in said marriage. His eyes are very, very wide in the second shot compared to the first, and his features a much softer to give him a cheerier, more trustworthy aura.

We can also see this in his “happy family” smile. He looks so kind and patient and considerate, there’s no way he could be a spy!

Of course, these details add a subtle layer of immersion to the story as it is, but what I really like about Twilight’s many faces is that you can glean important character moments depending from how he looks in them.

“I was just admiring what wonderful siblings you are. You two have supported each other through so much.”

When was the last time I was envious of other people?

“The way I see it Yor, it’s not just us. In most the families out there, everyone’s playing a part. They tell themselves “this is how wives are supposed to act” or “this is what parents do.” Striving to live up to one’s ideals is an admirable thing, of course, but when those ideals start to constrict you, it’s easy to lose sight of who you are and where your true strengths lie. Having to perform all the time can be completely exhausting.”

When we see cracks in the Loid Forger mask Twilight has donned, we can see a glimpse into his true thoughts, and we can see that his family and desire for love are slowly breaking him open. Of course, in these moments, Twilight will immediately get into character afterwards to avoid jeopardizing his mission, but I think we’ll see more of his “Twilight” face in “Loid Forger” situations as the series continues. I think we’ll see more vulnerability from him in general.

After all, what is a story about personas for if it won’t reveal the truths hidden underneath them?

[ivorypool]

Leah Raeder, Black Iris // Heavens to Betsy, "Me and Her" // Mountain Goats, "Game Shows Touch Our Lives" // Be your own pet, "Becky" // juanabrvo, i had a friend once // Talulah Gosh, "My Best Friend" // Nerd Girl, "Hate Me" // ritika jyala // Countess of Winchilsea Anne Finch, Friendship between Ephelia and Ardelia // Donald Justice, On Death of Friends in Childhood // Kaguya-sama: Love is War Chapters 231-233

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

This is a bit random, but recently, I’ve been thinking about how changing the direction of a story can be both a detriment and benefit. I’m a proponent of the idea that the direction of the story can be changed if that’s what the writer feels is the natural next step in progressing the storyline. However, based on the series I’ve been following, it’s not always a guarantee that everything in the story will be affected positively.

For example, the romcom/drama series “Kaguya-Sama: Love is War”. Without getting into the small details, there’s a character named Chika Fujiwara who serves as the main comic relief. The series started out primarily as a comedy and a lot of the humor in early Kaguya-Sama was based on the two series leads (Kaguya, Miyuki) having to deal with Chika’s chaotic behavior. Basically, Kaguya and Miyuki would come up with a plan for the chapter and Chika somehow blows up the plan. It’s no surprise that Chika became the most popular character in the series.

But, if you’re caught up with the manga, you should know that the series changes directions once Miko Iino gets added to the main cast. All of a sudden, the series becomes more of a serious romantic drama, especially with the increased focus on Miko and Ishigami’s love lives, as well as Kaguya and Miyuki’s personal dilemmas. The humor is still there but is mainly used for levity to offset the increased drama. Unfortunately, because of this change in direction, Chika became less and less vital to the story while the rest of the main cast went through serious character development. 

When you think about it, the reason why Chika was such a hit character is the same reason why she became stagnant in later chapters. It’s hard to keep a full-on comedy character important to the story when the direction of the story was changed to something more serious and heartfelt.

Now, I’m not saying that this is a bad thing. Kaguya-Sama becoming a more serious series was, in my opinion, the smarter move, especially since the writing got better as the series went on. I’m just saying that if you’re going to change the direction of the story, not everything will successfully survive the transition. And that’s fine. 

[the-night-gods-moon]

I don’t have photoshop

[linkspooky]

how come you don't have any meta on kaguya-sama yet? the characters are really interesting to talk about

Spooky says... Nobody’s sent me any asks? Also, I tend to talk about a series that get me more interactions and more attention because I’m a slut like that. 

[nanakah]

*inhales* have I mentioned my pet "Osaragi's feelings for Ishigami are internalized heteronormativity/projecting, the one she is in love with is Miko" theory yet? That one might be next lol

[greatwyrmgold]

I have been reading the Kaguya-sama: Love is War manga for the past couple of years, but I haven't been engaging with its fandom much. But the corner of the fandom I am aware of has some interesting reactions to its last chapters. (By the way, the Kaguya-sama manga has two chapters left.)

I, for one, have enjoyed the epilogue chapters. They show us what the (immediate) future looks like for the principal characters, remind us of how much has changed, and don't have any huge status-quo shaking things.

To pick a straightforward example: Miko Iino and Yu Ishigami (the new president and vice president of the student council) had their final chapter last week. In it, we see the two of them and their new council-members doing their student council work. On one hand, they're clearly not who they were at the start of the series; they've matured past their crippling character flaws. On the other hand, both the events that we see and statements by the narrator confirm that they "will continue to write their own story from here on out."

However, lots of people (read: a small number of people in a comment section populated by a slightly larger number of people) are annoyed that they didn't get a more conclusive conclusion. In particular, they're annoyed that Miko and Yu didn't end up in a romantic relationship; they've internally admitted that they'd like to go out, but in a way which overtly parallels Kaguya and Shirogane's feelings in the early chapters.

(Since I don't have anywhere better to put this: I really like a part of their dynamic which doesn't parallel the prior officers' relationship. Yu optimizes his student council work as best as he can, because he wants to go home and play games at the end of the day; Miko keeps giving him work to counteract that optimization, apparently thinking that Yu doing that work as quickly as he does means that he's not working hard. If the two of them communicated better, they'd both be less stressed; but they don't, so they are, and they blame each other. It's great.)

I, for one, like this! It's a very "and the adventure continues" sort of ending—some changes to the status quo, but that status quo will continue to change. And if you ask me, having Yu and Miko hook up in the epilogue would feel kinda forced, considering where they stood before the epilogue.

But it's a conclusion that doesn't change much. We knew Yu and Miko would take their senpais' place, we knew they'd be busy, we knew they had complicated feelings for each other. And for some people, that's frustrating.

I've spent this much time elaborating on these two characters partly because the complaints are recent and detailed enough for me to clearly remember them, but partly because I realized that they're emblematic of other complaints I've seen. There are lots of people who seem to be frustrated that these epilogue chapters won't change anything.

And I guess that makes sense, on some level. It's basically a whole volume where the plot doesn't move forward. I wouldn't say nothing changes, but I wouldn't blame anyone who said the changes weren't substantive.

But on the other hand, it's the epilogue. The plot isn't moving forward because it's over. A whole volume of epilogue might sound excessive (and it might actually be excessive), but it's the last out of 28 volumes—3.5% of the whole. That's a lot of story to wrap up, and Aka Akasaka clearly wants to leave it a bit open-ended. So some things aren't going to be addressed, and some are going to be left intentionally ambiguous.

No idea if these observations are widely applicable to the broader Kaguya fandom, but I felt like sharing them anyways. I guess I like trying to figure out why people with different opinions than me hold those opinions—to dig down into their complaints and justifications to find the heart of our disagreement, the difference in values or assumptions or whatever that makes our understanding of the same material reality so different. They think Kaguya-sama needs a conclusive ending, I think it works better if the characters still have lives to live afterwards.

[arirna]

[liquidstar]

checking guya.moe on a thursday and theres no new chapter so you check to see if itll be posted soon and it says next chapter in 7 days

[hirugaymi]

Romantic Killer is a great and wholesome romcom!!

I finished the anime in one sitting and all my friends have actual lives to be lived this weekend so Tumblr will be the one to hear my thoughts on the new Netflix romcom

first things first! I know the premise of the show could be somehow seen as controversial but it was the very thing that attracted me to it. I'm a big fan of shows like Kaguya-sama e Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, that have this meta commentary on romance tropes and innuendos. Romantic Killer plays safely when it comes to cliches, it doesn't exactly twist them like the aforementioned, but if you're a Shoujo fan or familiar with these concepts, it feels very refreshing.

When you're halfway into the show, the premise and the "forced" aspect subtly give way to this very organic and natural construction of a friendship between the characters, even if the circumstances that led them to that point were unusual. Absolutely none of the events that occur between the "love interests" happen without consent. These characters have agency and when you open your eyes to that, it's so nice to see that they get along well!!

This show twists the idea of a reverse harem by asking "What if instead of fighting for the MC, they were all friends?" And it gives you this sweet giddy feeling in your chest by the end, and makes you crave more interactions between its very endearing characters.

Though you should not only expect the comedy and the romance, but a bit of very well constructed drama by the final act. It was surprising to me, but a very welcome surprise, considering how heavy the topics the show handled were and how fantastically they delivered, without ever making the change of tone feel jarring or uncanny. And, of course, it all feels nice and good at the end. It's the kind of show where they make you want to hug a certain character at a moment, and then they actually hug them.

And talking about characters, the main character Hoshino Anzu really is a delight to watch

She's relatable without being a self insert, quirky but not annoying and HILARIOUS. This girl made me tear up from how much she got me laughing every time she was on screen.

The boys are more than just the embodiment of a trope, too. I do think that the development of one of them is kind of predictable, but they feel unique in the show, not like cardboard cutouts. Kazuki in particular, as he is pretty much the male lead, is such a nice little guy to watch.

This is the kind of romance anime that doesn't make a big deal out of it and recognizes the importance of every kind of human connection. If you're into that and a lot of comedy gold, you're gonna have a great time!