#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]

[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?

[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. 

[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!

[psychewritesbs]

ok mandatory how to find my rambles post

I am an insufferable idiot, you have been warned.

This is a multi-fandom blog that has been taken over by Jujutsu Kaisen and CLAMP, but I will also post about other animanga I love.

I liveblog for the Jujutsu Kaisen manga. You can find my posts in one of the following ways:

in Tumblr’s search box, search for “jjk ch + chapter #” i.e. jjk ch 173. I should have posts for most chapters starting with chapter 157

For anything before that, I sort of summarized chapters 1-157 in this manga index that I haven’t updated or finished because I am lazy

You can also go through my tag god I love jujutsu kaisen. this is probably the best way to find my liveblogs and any non-chapter specific meta. hopefully Tumblr won’t fudge it

My CLAMP tags are a little bit all over the place but I typically tag under the series’ title or dammit seishiro why can’t you just be normal? and clampism is a mood.

Asks tags: ask the mental gymnastics anime girl (most recent) and a to the q! (the original tag before I became known for the mental gymnastics).

Anime/manga recommendations: #my anime box 

More links under the cut...

I’ve also written “meta” or more like shameless shippy posts about:

Terror in Resonance

Gundam Seed

Soul Eater

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

Tokyo Babylon

Sankaku Mado no Sotogawa wa Yoru

Attack on Titan

More randomness about me below the cut... 

I love writing + I love Psychology + I love anime/manga

Also, I’m opinionated and try not to take myself seriously. It’s a work in progress and it starts with self-acceptance.

Basically I ramble a lot and am a massive dork.

Since I have an academic background in Jungian Psychology you will see me write a lot about Archetypes in anime and manga, common tropes, and symbolism.

Therefore sometimes I wonder whether my username shouldn’t be...

theanimeliterarynerd

theanimedork

or a variation of the sort...

Oh well. 

You can find the working list of the manga I’m currently reading under Subaru.

Currently reading:

Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami

Haikyu!! by Furudate Haruichi

Saezuru Tori wa Habatakanai by Yoneda Kou

Attack on Titan by Isayama Hajime

Spy X Family by Endo

Chainsaw Man by Fujimoto

Reading queue: 

x/1999 by CLAMP (re-read)

CSM2 by Fujimoto

You can find the working list of the anime I’m currently watching under Megumi.

Currently watching (not currently watching seasonal shows)

FLCL

Stein’s Gate

Watching queue: 

Fate/Zero

Code Geass

Maybe someday I will finish watching: 

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Inuyasha

Eagerly waiting for: 

Haikyuu!! season 5 

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku season 2/movie

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War season 3

Made in Abyss season 2

Recently finished:

Reading Tokyo Ghoul:re

Favorites

Mangaka (no specific order):

CLAMP

Gege Akutami

Isayama Hajime

Furudate Haruichi

Anime movies (no specific order):

Your Name

Millennium Actress

Anime (no specific order): 

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Zankyou no Terror

Sonny Boy

Jujutsu Kaisen

Haikyu!!

Made in Abyss

Manga (no specific order):

Jujutsu Kaisen

Tokyo Babylon

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

Characters (no specific order):

Fushiguro Megumi from Jujutsu Kaisen

Sumeragi Subaru from Tokyo Babylon, X1999 and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

[chibinekochan]

Hmmm, I dunno why I imagine this but, what happens if MC made the brothers (+undateables if possible) watch human world anime, what anime should it be??

Sure I will just use anime that I watched. I'm calling myself out here lol.  

These are just recommendations to them, not really a reaction. It would just be you and them sitting somewhere being comfy and cuddling with you while watching any of these.

                                                   Leviathan

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen) - No brainer here. It's a romcom with a lot of shojo insider jabs. It's funny and meta. Also the main characters are cute together. (JUST DATE ALREADY)

     Pretty Rhythm (and it's male version king of prism)

sion)- So this is an ice skating/idol kinda think. It has music, fashion, and some good drama. It gets very strange. This series is a delightful drug trip. Especially the king of prism movie/series is something else. Well I just want Levi to wtf about it with me. 

(Yeah it can get a bit boring since it's an idol anime. Much like the Pripara series, but like at one point one girl gets processed by a dress. Where else can you get that?)

                 Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! (Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei Bu Love!) - It's a magical boy series. It's 90 percent comedy and 90 percent gay, the rest is hot springs. It's honestly a lot of fun. As a lover of magical girl anime Levi will surely enjoy this spoof of the genre. (Also watch Cute High Earth Defense Club Happy Kiss!)

           Zombieland Saga - Zombie Idol girls. Enough said. It's honestly fun to watch.

*Literally every anime you have ever seen*

                       Satan

The Case Files of Jeweler Richard (Housekisho Richard-shi no Nazo Kantei)- This one is like a detective story but with gemstones. It's very interesting. It has some interesting facts and it's a bit like Holmes and Watson but without murder. *Also Richard looks very good*

                                        Ascendance of a Bookworm (Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen)- A girl that loves books gets reborn into a world where books don't exist, so she has to find a way to make them herself. This is a very good anime. The heroine is very knowledgeable and it's a fun anime to watch. (Dr.Stone is also an anime that is a bit similar to this one, so might as well watch that too.)

             Beelzebub 

Yakitate!! Japan - An anime about making bread in Japan. It's an a bit older anime and it's pretty long but it is pretty interesting. It follows a typical sport anime formula but with bread.

             Haikyuu!! - Volleyball anime. The boys are pretty hot. *My fave is Kenma.* 

           Asmodeus

Free! - Hot boys in swimwear. What else do you need? *You all watched this one already*

Yuri on Ice - Ice Skating but with romance. *I don't need to explain this one.*

                          Lucifer 

Chihayafuru - Japanese poem memory sport? I'm not sure how to explain this but just picture a sport anime but with more drama. It's somehow very interesting. * I dunno how good it fits but it got poems so well?* I recommend regardless.

                Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life - School/Sport/club anime but about learning the Koto. It has classical music and an interesting drama. Even some romance.

                  Mammon

Senryuu Girl - This one is about a girl that just communicates with Senryuu poems. She doesn't speak and the anime doesn't “fix” her. The boy in this one is an ex delinquent but a very good boy. It's very sweet.

Astra Lost in Space(Kanata no Astra)-some teenagers get lost in space. (It's much more than that but I don't want to spoil anything). Good drama/mystery, nice locations and good romance. Mammon might learn something from the resident Tsundere.

             Belphegor

Uchitama?! Have you seen my Tama?- Anime about cute cats and dogs but they look like humans sometimes. It's cute and funny, the episodes are pretty short and lighthearted for the most part. *One episode is heartbreaking*

Mewkledreamy - Magical? Girl anime. They go into other people's dreams. (I dunno why I watch this one either. I think it was the cat plush)

               Barbatos

Black butler - Not to call anyone out but you know. He is one hell of a Butler.

                  Diavolo

                                       Dance With Devils- I just love this anime so much. Demon musical with romance. I just feel like he will enjoy this one. *I use every excuse I can to at least add one otome anime lol*

Simeon

My Roommate is a Cat (Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.)- It's about a guy that adopts a cat. It's cute and it's sad and the cat is very cute. Also the guy is an author.

                            Luke

Pretty Cure - The entire library of all the different series. That will keep him busy. It has some good friendship and team lessons. Also magical girls and pets. 

Yumeiro Patissiere - is a very cute anime about a girl that wants to become a Pastry Chef. It will probably give you diabetes.

                            So here we go. Shoutout to the 500 anime that I didn't add.

Feel free to add some of your own.

              Check my Obey me! Masterlist for more content          

[shardfated]

PEOPLE I'D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER

1. ALIAS/NAME: darks 2. BIRTHDAY: January 31  3. ZODIAC SIGN: aquarius 4. HEIGHT: 5'0″ 5. HOBBIES: Needlecrafts ( sewing, embroidery, and crochet),  restoring and customizing fashion dolls, and rping on here. I also collect Corningware (and will give you fifty thousands reasons why you should not used Pyrex) and dabble in console/handheld games. LoZ:OOT and FF6 are my favorites. 6. FAVOURITE COLOUR: I love the specific orange/yellow/greens that were used in everything made in the late 60s/ early 70s. if I could only pick one, I’d pick orange. 7. FAVOURITE BOOK: ho boy. I have so many! i couldn’t pick just one so have a few that I reread yearly: Dune by Frank Herbert, The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, and  Arthurian Women: A Casebook edited by Thelma Fenster 8. LAST PLAYED SONG: Nikki - forever the sickest kids, the wellerman - Nathan Evans , It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) - Bob Dylan. (I have a playlist going),  9. LAST FILM / SHOW: Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City /  Kaguya-sama: Love Is War？ 10. RECENT READS: Dr Zhivago  by Boris Pasternak ( rereading cause its so good!) / Listening to Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery on Spotify. 11. INSPIRATION:  I added Evie to my multi in late 2015 and just basically did worldbuilding and headcanons for the guilty pleasure of it.  I didn’t have any promotions for her and @malevnt and @cecaelian /  @deifiedstars found me and the rest is history. I get a rush of muse whenever they pop up on the dash since,   i am very appreciating with them tolerating the constant  rated R view I have of the descendants franchise story and the excessive amounts of meta/headcanons that we come up with in our respective canons( and i love the shared ones as well!).  A lot of inspiration comes from welsh mythology and fairy tales. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner  by samuel taylor coleridge has been a major inspiration to Evie’s characterization as well as The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes. the aesthetics, the themes, I love them all. but, tbh, the most recent burst of  inspiration that got Evie to her own space was me creeping through the promo tags and @tiderider  was relatively close to the top, and i was blown away with the world building.  12. STORY BEHIND URL:  @withinycu  directed me towards several very good tellings of snow white and i got sucked into their literary criticisms because of it.  the themes of water/the sea being the original mirror/gateway to the otherworld and being tied to nature/magic and the belief that the soul can be trapped inside a mirror, with Disney themselves confirming that its the Old King( among thousands of his ancestors)  inside Evil Queen’s Mirror and is his final resting place after he died really struck a chord with me since the mirror itself  was smashed in Descendants. so, shardfated. 13. FUN FACT ABOUT ME: My holy grail item is a 1940s General Electric Triple Whip Stand Mixer.

tagged  by :  @tiderider   tagging :    @songeurame ; @yoakkemae ; @cecaelian ; @withinycu ; @ircnwrought ; @severedleft @inmydrcams  @paintedragcn @evermxre  and whoever else wants to do it!

[linkspooky]

hi! this is a kaguya sama meta ask^^

do you have any thoughts on how the manga is based on the tale of the bamboo cutter? i’ve seen it references a few times in reddit but idk much about it....i would also love to hear what your thoughts about the current arc and potential ending to kgs is!

I don’t think I have enough thoughts on the current arc to make any accurate predictions sorry about that.

However, if the manga is based on the tale of the bamboo cutter (because the main character is named Kaguya) there are some interesting ideas there. That is one of the most famous fairy tales in Japan, and much like most fairy tale romance, it’s about a tragic, unrequited love. 

However, Kaguya-sama has always been a deconstruction of romance tropes. Kaguya and the President (the stand in for the emperor in this version of the story because he’s the one in charge of the school, and in love with someone he believes is not human / one step above him being a goddess) have very romantic ideas of romance, but that always stands in the reality of their relationship. 

President believing that Kaguya is better than him simply because she’s rich, elevating her to the status of a goddess while he’s simply a normal man is something that drives her further apart from her. Just like how the emperor believed his love in the story was unrequited and chose to bury his letter in the mountains rather than, just tell her his feelings. 

Kaguya believing she has to be loyal to her family, the same way the Kaguya of the story had to “return to the moon” because she couldn’t live with normal humans also parallels Kaguya’s inability to see herself as normal or get along with normal people. 

The romantic fairy tale elements of this story only serve to cause a conflict that gets in the way of a “real relationship.” 

If anything President’s parents also model this idea of a failed relationship. His mother only loved his father when he was a success, and her children only conditionally which resulted in her abandoning the whole household. President’s mother is like another Kaguya who has gone away to the moon. 

So, the entire story is written about how Kaguya and President have to drop their ideals of themselves and become normal people around each other, but also how often they’re too prideful to do so. Kaguya thinks all her worth as a person comes from her family name, and yet at the same time she’s powerless within her own family. President believes that only the results he produces are worth something but at the same time he has to keep studying hard because he’s an inherently worthless person, etc, etc. They’re both trying to earn love, but they probably won’t experience real love until they can break out of that cycle for the final time at which point the story will probably end, because once they’ve ended their fairy tale love they have have a relationship in the real world.