#now to be fair there *are* some ways in which aka can retroactively ruin aqua and akane's relationship to me

[skania]

hai! hello! i just finishing reading your post a few minutes ago. It's interesting as always the way you give your opinion with the proof. And i agree with that too!

But, i have a question. All this time Aqua using Akane for his revange. And when he found out that Akane in danger after fell from bridge, he letting her go for her own safe. He even says stop doing dengerous thing multiples times before he left her (chapter 98). But we found out that he waiting Akane to finishing her casting with Ruby and Frill until midnight just for remembering her to not doing such any dengerous things. If i'm not mistaken he said "But, i can't says it again and again" (to remembering her not doing such dengerous things). And like we knows Akane want to stop Aqua plan that's why Aqua/Goro being like the devil in that panel. (Chapter 116)

Meanwhile, for Kana. He never want to use her for his own revange. He never shows the real he is (or maybe when Aqua talks about himself when they plays catching ball when Aqua in LoveNow show to make sure his feeling for Akane) and Kana seems lost and don't understand at all what Aqua saying and called him weird if i'm not mistaken. Is more like one sided love and i never see Aqua in romanticly to Kana (or maybe i just don't feel it with their development). All i know Kana is the only friend that Aqua have after all. That's why he can be himself like in the past (more cheerful), but when with Akane he can be himself, the real himself. He shows his darkness and the cheerful him to her. Aqua only shows a good side of him to Kana.

The question in this series is what is Ai for Aqua? And what is Kana to Aqua?. This two question that given in the manga. And still no answear until now. But we also haven't seen their development after chapter 40.

When Aqua don't want to drag Akane to the hell, there is Aqua drag Kana and manipulated her with sweet words because he knows that Kana likes her and knows her weakness about him. And also after they both being a good friend there's Memcho happy with their relationship back to normal again and Kana seems to be happy again. But Memcho want his relationship with Akane to be good too.

Aqua answear make me confused, because he said he don't need to have that kind of relationship that makes him happy (with Akane) and giving up to be happy with that relationship. His answear is more goes to romantic feels than platonic. And he says he is more comfortable building a good relationship with Kana. And in his mind he wanted to use Kana. (Idk but maybe Aqua want to be close to Kana (again) because he want to using her, that's what i though when i read the panels). He stopping Akane but dragging Kana to his revange.

We can see if Akane and Aqua goes to platoic route or romantic route because they have both routes with proofs. But Kana and Aqua ? I'm so confused with them. A Platonic? Romantic? i can't really see it for romantic but there is some for platonic because Kana fine to be friend with him (chapter 117 about the Panda one). All i know Aqua and Kana is more like motivating for each other dreams (As an actress, idol to Kana and Actor to Aqua). I know Aqua looks amaze when Kana on stage and when Kana on her mode as an actress. But, i don't see anything romantic. (I'm not really good at reading romantic route actually lol)

If the end game romantic is Arima Kana just because she is the light in this series, i feel a bit strange to ghe story because Aqua-Akane have so much development who really importent to goes to romantic one.

Moreover, Akasaka said the ending was in sight. If they were to develop Aqua—Kana here would seem rushed and a bit pushy.

What do you think about this? Aqua—Akane is too far to reach their relationship if Aqua—Kana want to be end game. AquaKane had them all. Even their bond (AquaKane) is more stonger. They have been through a lot of things together.

Hi, anon! Thank you for giving my thoughts a chance and for sharing yours with me, I enjoyed the read!

I feel like I don't have much to add because I agree with your conclusion. Unlike you, I do think that it's easy to see Aqua's feelings towards Kana as romantic—I even think Aqua himself may perceive them this way, if these panels are any indication:

But just like you, I think Aqua and Kana are severely outmatched in the development department, specially because Kana just doesn't know who he truly is. She just knows the sides of himself that Aqua has wanted to show her. The one time she saw a glimpse of how broken Aqua is, nothing at all came out of it.

Look at the way Kana describes Aqua here, in comparison to what Akane says about him just a few chapters later. Like yeah, Kana is right: his girlfriend does feel at ease with him. But it's not because Aqua is "straight and sincere", it's because Akane knows he is a liar who is doing his best to be straight with her.

"Sincere" Aqua and "liar" Aqua are two sides of the same coin, he is as capable of being the former as he is of the latter, which is why it's so important that whoever he is with can see the full picture.

Moreover, Akasaka said the ending was in sight. If they were to develop Aqua—Kana here would seem rushed and a bit pushy.

Considering how long ago he set them up, I'm not sure I'd consider it rushed but "pushy" is exactly how that ship feels like to me lol Like the story really pushes it (constant reminders of Kana's feelings for Aqua, of how sad Kana is whenever Aqua ignores her, of how "obsessed" Aqua is supposed to be with her, etc.), but never does anything actually meaningful with it. In all honesty, it feels very forced to me because it's like the ship is a walking trope at the service of whatever symbolism Aka wants to convey through it by the end of the story.

He can still start developing them now of course, and I imagine that if he wants them to be endgame, he will need to start doing so. The truth is though that Aka can do whatever he wants and I still won't ship it, because the one that has the kind of gradual, organic, dynamic, complex, multilayered, parallel-filled development I'm a sucker for are Aqua and Akane, whether you look at their relationship platonically or romantically. So this is why I don't really bother with the whole: who will Aqua end up with? debate, Aqua can end up alone for all I care and that won't change the fact that his dynamic with Akane is my favorite 😂