#onk 140

[gabbyp09]

[akane-kurokawa]

Chapter 140 thoughts.

I keep typing up what I feel about this chapter, and keep finding myself unable to. I liked a lot of this chapter, maybe even all of it, but something is definitely bothering me.

Content warning for CSA

Airi.

Now, saying I dislike the pedophile rapist is not revolutionary, but let me get into my reasoning. I know this is an in universe production, so this is all subject to change if we learn the bias of this, but right now she isn’t a character to me.

Airi is written to be someone exclusively evil, all of her actions are for the sake of controlling and tormenting her victim. It’s like she was put on the earth solely to hurt and she takes pleasure in doing just that.

I guess after the nuanced abusers like Ai and Sarina’s mom, I found myself disappointed with the dehumanization of Airi. Child sexual assault is a very very real part of the world we live in, and abusers are real people with good and bad to them. That’s why the unabashedly evilness of Airi at the moment puts a bad taste in my mouth, it feels like an over simplification of something much more complex.

That said, I overall did enjoy the chapter otherwise. The writing of Kamiki as a victim was very good, the way he pushes his trauma down, lies out of self defense and convenience interchangeably was really well down and his internal dialogue (which I am unsure if it’s part of the movie??? Are they doing a voice over later or something???) was well written.

His dynamic with Ai is about what I expected, and it’s interesting to see their back and forth. The lack of Ruby being a freak about her brother/dad was very welcome, and it was entirely treated like a flashback sequence, which is cool.

We still haven’t seen a start to their relationship yet, let alone the end, but I’ll be curious to see how both are handled in this new perspective.

[yuseirra]

I can’t bear to live when I know you’ve gone away! I would surely give up everything, no matter what it takes! What’s left in my heart is a hole your love had made What the hell am I supposed to use to fill up that space?

[futuristicmiraclenightmare]

And some Akane/Aqua and Ai/Hikaru parallels(google translate was a bit wonky)

This one below was figured out by @usagiakane on twitter so I can't take credit for that

I feel like Ai and Hikaru have more in common with Akane and Aqua rather than him with Kana if I were being completely honest, but again these are very different dynamics but in a weird way past Hikaru reminds me of Akane like they even the same flustered sweat drops when they talk to their crushes.

And the scene where Ai said she understood he was lying,and the scene Akane said she'd go to hell with Aqua if that'd make him happy those are very different scenes but the meaning of understanding the other was more of less the same and Aqua and Hikaru had a similar shocked expression as well.

Plus the casual age jokes 🤣

[aihoshiino]

chapter 146 thoughts

This chapter (and thus this chapter review) contains discussion of abuse, suicidal ideation and CSA, so if you're not in the headspace for that, skip this one and I'll see you next time.

we are so oshi no back

After last chapter left me fighting for my life to come up with literally anything to say about it, this was one of those chapters where I ended up having more and more to say about it the more I turned it over in my head. It still feels a bit disjointed and has that same issue of ripping through the events of the movie way too fucking fast that the arc as a whole has been having lately but this chapter was such a breath of fresh air I can't bring myself to care.

The chapter itself is more or less split in two, with one half dedicated to 15 Year Lie's in-universe events and the other focusing a bit on Aqua and Kana for, tbh, the first time in way too long. Admittedly, my enthusiasm for 15YL has waned given the reveal of just how much of it is completely made up but like. I'm still gonna over analyze this stuff. Sunk cost fallacy, don't fail me now!!!!

I joke, but the 15YL section of this chapter was legitimately bone chilling. That barrage of cuts following Uehara's attack on Airi…. fuuuuuuuck, man.

Airi herself is pure fucking poison this chapter too and I mean it in the best way. I continue to be incredibly impressed with how OnK understands the motivations of a person like Airi what her abuse of Hikaru is really about. When discussing this in 141, Miyako points out just how often victims of abuse can themselves go on to perpetuate their own pain out of a need to try and regain their dignity, but I think what Airi seeks in her abuse of Hikaru is control. We see how often she wields her power over him while pretending that he has as much agency as she does in their """relationship""" and it's repeated here, too; she throws the results of her own sexual abuse of him in his face as a way of permanently chaining the two of them together, all while tearing down his worth as a person as if to 'prove' he deserves to be trapped in her grasp. I've said before that Akasaka is unsettlingly good at writing toxic mothers but I think Airi has made it pretty clear that Akasaka understands and is thus excellent at writing abuse and abusers in general, and for someone like me who counts that as one of their favourite Themes (tm) in fiction, I feel quite well fed.

The abuse Airi hurls at him is also interesting from a perspective of paralleling Hikaru even further with Ai. We saw snippets of this in 140, of Hikaru characterizing himself as someone desperately trying to construct a version of himself that can be loved by others the same way Ai creates 'Ai of B-Komachi', a version of herself who can give and receive love in the way she thinks her authentic self is unable to. Airi puts this into more explicit words; Hikaru must construct this fake version of himself because there is no 'real' him and thus, he is inherently unlovable. Jesus Christ.

Knowing those words were swimming around in his head, it makes the HKAI scene that follows even more of a gutpunch than it already is. It's the most wonderful kind of miscommunication tragedy - with their respective traumas, there is basically no other way a talk like that could have gone and yet it's agonizing to see it play out. Ai's innocent cruelty in the face of Hikaru's pain and her suffocating smile… the worst part is, while I completely understand why this was so shattering for Hikaru, it's impossible to miss that this was, in a way, an expression of love from Ai; it was honesty, an admission of vulnerability. She herself even says she doesn't want to lie to him. But to Hikaru, what else could that have sounded like but a confirmation of his most godawful fear?

that said. the timeline here is very confusing. this seems to imply hkai were still dating all the way up to the murder-suicide, which seemed to be just before the dome concert but did the breakup really seem that recent during their phone call?? this whole timeline is penised beyond repair.

The art in this chapter in general is incredibly good but something in particular I want to highlight is how much and how often Aqua-as-Hikaru looks like Ai in these panels. I can't put my finger on what it is, but that similarity always makes me feel so warm and sad whenever I see it. For as much as he struggles with his relationship to her, Aqua really is his mother's son through and through.

and. man. what even is there to say about that scene in the rain and everything that follows. I was't sure if the murder/suicide was going to be featured in the movie but even the brief snippet of it that we got and that barrage of scene titles and Kamiki's silent scream… whoof. shit like this makes me really hope we get to see mengo illustrate a horror manga someday because i think she would absolutely kill it.

We cut back to reality to see Aqua reading the script and in perhaps the most interesting swerve in this chapter, we see that he has once again reverted to his double black hoshigans. And uh, am I going to sound like a terrible person if I say I'm really glad for this? LOL.

Obviously I would rather Aqua not be experiencing Suicidal Ideation (Bass Boosted) 24/7, but it's kind of a relief to see that one single conversation wasn't enough to totally shake Aqua out of that headspace. I've talked a lot about how frustrating I find it that 'Ruby finds out Aqua is Gorou' is treated as the finale to her black hoshigan arc and every ongoing thread, internal and external, attached to it was dropped like a rock with no further interrogation. It robbed Ruby of the opportunity for some really important growth and, imo, was just shitty for Kana and Memcho who were treated extremely poorly by her and got no apology for it. I was really worried this would be the case for Aqua as well and that his own dip into that rancid headspace would end on a wet fart which would really sting given just how little insight we've gotten into him this arc. But this chapter makes it clear that while some cracks have started to form in his armor, he's not in the clear just yet.

i mean, even if he was permanently back to one white star, aqua is such a little freak regardless………………………….

What this means in the long term is a little hard to pin down, both because we've had so little insight into Aqua's headspace this arc and because the exact nature of black hoshigan as a symbol has always been a little Calvinballed, but in this context and for Aqua specifically, I think we can read this as his conviction in the messy endgame of his revenge play being shaken up. I, personally, have been reading the black hoshigan as of late as an expression of the sort of futureless despair that can become suicidal ideation, at least for Aqua; since immediately after Ai's death, we have gotten incredibly strong hints that Aqua is suicidal, his guilt-fueled desire to die and his desperate want to experience a happy future at war within him. He more or less explicitly says as such in 106, expressing that this break in their relationship is necessary for Ruby to be able to live on 'after he's gone' - which strongly implies that Aqua's revenge play is intended to end with his death.

Knowing that Ruby is Sarina wasn't quite enough to shake his conviction, but their talk in 143 was. I do think Ruby just giving him some straightforward affirmation was a good starting point but I also can't help but wonder, with the context that his white stars were not indicative of a permanent change, if hearing just how deeply Ruby still relies on 'Gorou's' presence in her life struck a nerve for him. Paraphrasing her from 143, she straight up says Gorou is the one who gives her life meaning. And if that's how it is, what exactly will happen if he's gone again..?

Obviously this is all still speculation because even when I am begging on hand and knee Akasaka is refusing to give us Aqua introspection but at this point I have to make a guess at SOMETHING if i am going to say anything remotely coherent about aqua in this arc, so

ANYWAY!! AQUA AND KANA HAVING A NORMAL ASS CONVERSATION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GOD KNOWS HOW LONG!!! Ngl, it did give me a bit of a chuckle to see Kana voice the question of whether Aqua was getting too immersed in his role, given that people were accusing her of that back during the first round of the RBKN conflict.

I was also really surprised to see Aqua just outright say that yeah, he is at least flirting with suicidal ideation. Like - that's the first time he's said that out loud, to anybody??? In 143 he voices the less damning but still not great sentiment that he feels guilty for being alive but this is to my knowledge the first time Aqua has expressed his suicidal ideation out loud, let alone to anyone else. And… fuck, man! That's an absolutely terrifying thing to hear a friend say. No wonder Kana reacts like she does.

Because of my powers of Claire-voyance (read: basic pattern recognition and being in fandoms for 15+ years), I'm pretty sure people are going to be Very Mean to Kana about the way she chooses to respond to Aqua here but honestly? Not only did this tough love response feel very IC for her, but the clumsiness of it felt very honest to me. I think a lot of people in fandom lately just want characters to talk like fucking therapists all the time and have the Correct And Unproblematic Response to… well, situations like this. But Kana is an 18 year old girl who has her own share of issues and her friend she knows is dealing with his own huge amount of baggage just casually dropped an "i wanna kms" on her. All things considered, I think she handles it surprisingly well.

Because like… look at what Kana really says to Aqua here. She gives him some of their usual banter to diffuse the tension but then makes herself very clear: she does not want Aqua to hurt himself and makes him promise that he won't. It's clumsy and rough in the way Kana often is, but I think the important part - her sincere care for Aqua as her friend - really does shine through.

also cute that other people caught: Kana squishing Aqua's face seems to be an intentional callback to one of their on-stage interactions in Tokyo Blade, right down to Aqua making a identical scrunchyface to Kana. Extremely cute. I love it when Aqua is cute <3

Kana also being a person able to shake Aqua out of his black hoshigans also leans into something I've been hoping is going to pay off for a while now; the idea that Aqua's salvation is not going to come from any one, singular character but from the many different people who Aqua has built relationships with coming together when he needs them to support him. One of the things OnK has continually highlighted is the way isolation and lacking support systems warp and damage people's mental health and I think it would play excellently into that theme to have Aqua's support net, so to speak, to be wide enough to catch him no matter where he falls.

the product placement was very stupid but i did laugh pretty hard at it and then immediately go buy myself some potato chips so i guess it worked. genius mangaka aka akasaka.

All jokes aside, the note their talk ended off on was so lovely too. Aqua being honest enough to admit that being with Kana is fun and Kana getting all dokidoki and then quietly admitting she feels the same when she's alone… cute! But more than that, it highlights something about the AQKN dynamic I think is really important, regardless of whether their relationship is romantic, platonic, in laws, mlm/wlw hostility or whatever else; Kana is his friend and he can just be a normal boy and have normal fun with her without any ulterior motives. It's something Aqua doesn't really have in any of his other relationships so getting a reminder of that and what it means to Aqua was really good.

honestly i think i am just so starved of nice things happening to my son that seeing him opening up to one of his friends and admitting he has fun (HIS LAUGH!!!!!!) was like a shot of heavenly ambrosia for me. please can hoshino aqua have just one nice day.

OR UH… BASED ON THAT LAST PAGE…. PROBABLY NOT ANYTIME SOON….!!!

this is what i mean about this chapter giving me 5000000 things to talk about. kamiki is TALKING TO RUBY IN THE FLESH FOR THE FIRST TIME and i almost completely forgor.

why is he dressed like a dad about to take her out on a fishing trip, though

Ruby looks unusually solemn while she's praying, which is interesting. She's been pretty bright and high energy since 141ish so I'm curious what has her looking so comparatively dour. She's praying at a shrine, too, which means there's probably something on her mind. Nik (@akane-kurokawa) theorized that she's anxious about the upcoming scenes in the movie (LIKE, YOU KNOW, HER MOM'S DEATH) and until we get further insight on that, that's what I'm gonna assume too.

putting aside how Shrimptresting it is that Kamiki turned up out of nowhere like that, I can't help but note a certain horrible parallel between Uehara meeting young Hikaru in the rain with a black umbrella and Kamiki doing the same for his daughter…

cannot wait for that entire talk to get offscreened. lol.

break next week……………………………

[yuseirra]

THIS IS IT THOUGH!!! THIS CAN EXPLAIN EVERYTHING WEIRD IN THE STORY!!!! LISTEN, I DON'T GET WHAT THIS STORY WOULD BE IF THIS ISN'T IT!!

How else are you supposed to explain the plot at this point????? I'm telling you, I think I’m pretty close here, right? Otherwise, it all just doesn’t add up. EVERYTHING ADDS UP IF WHAT I CAME UP IS RIGHT... How are they going to do it? How is this story going to make sense at all if they don't bring back the idea that gods are taking part in the tale because there's already been hints and supernatural elements have actively coming into play within the story.

I just woke up at 1am in the morning and started typing because this REALLY bugs me, it's so obvious to my eyes. Yup, it's so weird for me too, (to resort to the idea of gods to understand everything) but I really would have no idea just what onk if the truth is not even remotely close to what I came up with. The rest of this post is machine-translated. Please pardon me if it sounds a bit clunky, it's due to that reason.

People aren’t really taking my words seriously—maybe because the content sounds too far-fetched.

However, since chapter 144 established that there are "gods" (plural) who don't know they’re gods, shouldn’t we take that information seriously and try to interpret it? That chapter wasn’t even that long ago;; it’s a clear piece of foreshadowing. Based on what I’ve seen in chapter 160, it seems like the white star = love and the black star = lies. So, if there’s a god who loves humans = white star, and a god who loves absurdity and irrationality = black star, it makes sense.

The main characters inherited "eyes" from their parents, with "stars" embedded in them. Therefore, the character associated with the white star = god who loves humans = Ai, and the character associated with the black star = god who loves absurdity and irrationality = Kamiki.

But Kamiki originally had a white star, and the black star is a color that has been "tainted" (chapter 140). This implies that he was originally a different type of entity.

There are three named gods mentioned directly in the story. First, Tsukuyomi, whose role as a god is just openly stated. Second, Amaterasu, whom Ruby self-identifies as in chapter 3. Third, the god Ame-no-Uzume, who is the deity of the shrine that various characters visit together. Ai is said to have been chosen by the god of entertainment, so that god could be either Ame-no-Uzume or her husband. The missions of the main characters are related to Ai as said in chapter 3.

This shrine worships both Ame-no-Uzume and her husband, Sarutahiko. Sarutahiko is a god of light who is described as noble and guides people on the right path.

So, Aqua’s insistence on killing Kamiki, who’s "corrupting Ruby’s future" in the later parts of the story, could make sense if Kamiki is indeed that god and has fallen. The things he’s done seem strange in a way that’s almost unnatural. His actions, even minor ones, always end up leading to disastrous consequences, as though twisted and warped. I think it’s because he was once that god, but he’s fallen from grace.

In the lyrics of "Mephisto," the lines "I forgot who I was!" and "Remember who you lived with" seem almost explicitly written for a character who was once a god but no longer realizes it. Given that the song is about wanting to reunite with a deceased lover (probably), and with the last two lines just having to be from Kamiki’s perspective, that entire song seems to be Kamiki’s song. It talks about gathering "light," so we can infer his actions of going after people with the star eyes must stem from a desire to see Ai again and to be like her, needing "light" in some way.

The same ideas continue and extend in "Fatal," expressing a desire to receive "your light" or "your love" from someone (likely Ai). The need to be filled, to be whole, comes from a lack of "love"—from not having Ai. This character has had a strong desire for love, being told as a child that he was hollow, which implies that the love (Ai) he needed was something fundamental for him. He himself recalls that if only he had Ai, he could endure anything. And I think that’s true. But with Ai gone and even murdered, he’s left lost, searching desperately for love—for Ai (chapter 160). The reason he fell and became the black star, unable to function, is because he lacks "light." That "light"—the white star—is described as eyes that convey love, which Aqua explicitly calls out in chapter 160. Kamiki’s eyes were originally supposed to be like that too, but they twisted because he didn’t have love.

It doesn’t seem like a normal person would sing "Fatal" or "Mephisto." There’s something strange mixed into those lyrics. They even describe "falling from grace," which just screams Kamiki, so why don’t people believe it? I’ve been saying this ever since the song came out, but nobody believes me..;; I wouldn’t even be saying this if there weren’t foreshadowing in the story.

If Kamiki really is the black star, then there could be some interesting interpretations. Every time the main characters use the black star, they actually end up getting what they want. The black star has immense power, almost like a reality-warping ability. If Kamiki is indeed the father of both main characters, then it makes sense that he would watch over and help them from the sidelines. In my opinion, this person was originally noble and not inherently evil. He even expressed having some kind of paternal love, so he’s likely done things for the kids in his own way. As a god who grants wishes with Ame-no-Uzume, he might have been the one who granted the wishes when the characters went to the shrine to pray.

Yet, despite their wishes being granted, the results were devastating. Kamiki’s ability to lead people to their futures is clearly distorted. In chapter 147, he even asks Ruby what her true wish is, and in the English version, the god he mentions that'd listen to her is referred to as "he." Kamiki, who wanted to know and fulfill his daughter’s wish, is likely that god. That’s why he asked her what she wanted and wanted to grant her wish. He even tells Aqua they have the same eyes and goes on to explain it—that’s because he was the one who gave Aqua those eyes! As a father, in his own way, he’s done a lot for them. He doesn’t disregard his children; he’s just consumed by thoughts of Ai, thinking that he’d be fine with dying if he could just meet her again. Since he also blames himself for Ai’s death, he even influenced the kids to come after him and kill him. When Aqua is overtaken by the black star and can’t die yet, he has a firm belief that his father is the culprit, as though Kamiki gave him a reason to live.

Ai worried about him because she’s his wife. From what I see, Ai was born first, then Kamiki a year later. I have an idea that Ai reincarnated as a human first and Kamiki followed her out of concern. There’s even a line in the song "Idol" about the reincarnation of a "star." Ai is the reincarnation of something, and the most fitting match is Ame-no-Uzume, who has a similar personality to Ai and is famously known as a god of entertainment. This god has no hesitation in expressing herself, but the authors twisted this trait by making Ai someone who wants to show herself but ends up lying instead. Ai asks someone to help guide Kamiki if he loses his way. From this, I already got a sense of who Kamiki was—he’s a god who originally guided others on the right path.

If this isn’t the case, the how can this story be explained at all? Even down to the legend of Sarutahiko having drowned, the parallels are all there!

There are also two myths associated with Amaterasu and Ame-no-Uzume that match this story. One is the tale where Amaterasu hides in a cave, and Ame-no-Uzume lures her out with a dance, after Amaterasu’s brother Susanoo frightens her into hiding. The second is the myth of the Heavenly Descent, where Sarutahiko, who initially opposed Ame-no-Uzume's descent to earth but later married her, guides Amaterasu’s grandson to earth.

These roles align with Ruby’s brother, Aqua, and Ai’s partner (potential husband), Kamiki.

So, there are three main sources to understand Kamiki:

Content from the manga

Songs. "Fatal" and "Mephisto" match this character perfectly. I felt it the moment "Fatal" was released and have been writing about it since then. It’s real.

The myth of Sarutahiko.

This manga is supposed to have mystery elements, but I feel this character is the most mysterious out of it all. After chapter 154, I was like, "Wait, Ai and Kamiki were both mutual?" and that sparked a huge interest, so I dug into it, and my interpretation aligns best with the foreshadowing! If the author didn’t put in the god theme just for fun, then this explains everything! But no one believes me seriously! I’m just drawing from the content that’s there—if it’s not this, then what else could it be? It feels like he does have some kind of reality-warping ability (per the manga). He might even be able to grant others’ wishes. When you consider the lyrics of the songs, his motives make sense—he’s going mad from longing to see Ai and to receive her love. The way he’s described makes "love" seem almost like a life-sustaining force for him. It seems like he couldn’t return to the white star without it. When he temporarily became the white star upon seeing Ruby, it was probably because he received the light of love. Without Ai, he couldn’t find someone who could love him, so he’s lost his function as a god, twisted, and fallen. He should’ve guided people down the right path, but he’s broken, causing everyone around him to fall apart too. He said he didn’t want to hurt anyone—at least, in the beginning, I think that was true. The song even mentions that he didn’t know who he was. He must’ve realized it after Ai died, and as in "Fatal," he embraced his destiny and began using his powers. And if you look at the mythological references, they explain various aspects—like Kamiki’s unique powers and the story of how he and Ai met.

It’s not like that? This can’t be? At this point, could that even be possible?

Going down this path would tie everything together: the black and white stars in the eyes, Kamiki’s bizarre deus ex machina-like abilities, Aqua's reasons for going to such lengths, the protagonists' missions, those strange lyrics, and every other clue. The story’s entire message would make sense. There’s no way it could be anything else, or else none of it adds up. Kamiki isn’t a regular person… He’s truly strange. Even up to the last chapters, there’s no clear revelation of what he’s actually been doing. With this explanation, though, all those hints come together, creating a pretty compelling narrative—every piece is already there! Like, if he were a god originally governing the entertainment world, and he’s hit hard by its darkness, he ends up in this messed-up state, and after losing Ai, his wife, he goes mad. So Ruby and Aqua receive their missions, similar to the mythology of replacing the Sun God—Ruby is meant to replace him as the next Sun God, and Aqua’s role is to kill him. Ai left a message asking for her husband to be saved. But seeing how hopeless his situation is, Aqua drowns him.

And, you know, he was originally a noble god—a genuinely kind one! This transformation wasn’t fundamentally his fault. Going in this direction, the story could actually have a lesson about living kindly. There could be a moral here if they go this route. A moral! Otherwise, it just… doesn’t lead anywhere.

HELP I HONESTLY CAN'T UNDERSTAND THIS STORY OTHERWISE AT THIS POINT... IT CAN BE SAVED IF IT'S LIKE THIS, TO A DEGREE, IT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING REALLY WELL

[yuseirra]

Let me just.. jot this down before I forget. IF THIS IS TRUE, IT'S REALLY INTERESTING. WE CAN GET A HAPPY ENDING.

Remember how in 140 Hikaru questions whether if he's doing the right thing or not, and in the following chapter, we find Ai stands up for his sake, telling his perpetrator that he's still an age where he's trying to figure out what's right and what's wrong? He started out very sweet and noble, but he was also very naive, and that made him prey to all the malice in the industry, he ended up heavily afflicted by it and became confused about whether what he'd been facing was really right or wrong.

If this boy is the embodiment/reincarnation of Sarutahiko, HE'S THE GOD WHO'S SUPPOSED TO GUIDE PEOPLE INTO THE RIGHT PATHS. AND HE'S BEEN TAINTED BEFORE HE WAS EVEN ABLE TO FIND THAT OUT. KNOWING WHAT'S "RIGHT" AND "GOOD" WAS ESSENTIAL FOR HIM ESPECIALLY, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HIS POWERS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO. It got ruined because of the industry he was put in and the abuses he's faced from childhood. That's why everything around him is becoming twisted and worse, the adults around him caused him to be unaware of such aspects and broke him down. Maybe he awakened to his powers even more strongly after having reached adulthood. But by that time, he was already unable to function the way he should have, and Tsukuyomi must have been assigned to get rid of him before he caused even more catastrophic events. This is sad because he didn't want any of this. He could have become anything, something really beautiful, and got painfully distorted beyond saving. Ai wanted to save this guy because she knew her man's true nature. This guy was supposed to be good. Not just good, but REALLY GOOD. But perhaps it was like what Aqua had said in 159 when he went to meet him. It might have been "too late" to turn him back to the right paths, he may have lost himself upon having lost Ai.

Sarutahiko seems like a REALLY powerful god; I think.. out of all the gods that could be there in onk? The one that would be significantly stronger than him would be Amaterasu, who is Ruby, who ACTUALLY came to replace him as the next sun god. If Kamiki's been able to make all these strange turn of events a reality with his leaking powers or something..(the stuff that happens around this guy is INCREDIBLY WEIRD AND TOO MUCH TO BE DISMISSED AS PURE COINCIDENCE AT THIS RATE) RUBY SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING. Several events indicate Ruby does have some sort of powers/is favored by the gods, she had things her way when she wanted it. She even mentions it herself that the gods may like her. If there's ANYONE in this series who's capable of causing supernatural events, I think it'd be Kamiki AND Ruby. Next in line would be Ai, I'm not sure about Aqua because he could not save himself when he needed it the most(deep sighs)

Theoretically, Ruby really is our hope. She's the STRONGEST out of all, and she is said to be able to save people. She's once mentioned through her own lips that they'll all be saved with her surpassing Ai(147), and Aqua was all about her "saving people through her songs if they hear it, if they just believe it"(160). If that's supposed to be some kind of foreshadowing, not just complimenting/pampering Ruby... RUBY SHOULD DO SOMETHING. I THINK SHE HAS SOME POWER WITHIN HER THAT CAN BRING SOME DIVINE INTERVENTION.

you see how Aqua said he could hear a song as he fell into the waters in 164?(Oh god I'm not reading that chapter again, it makes me distressed;;;) He heard RUBY'S SONG, DIDN'T HE. DOESN'T THAT MEAN HE CAN BE "SAVED"? Isn't that something that connects to what he's said himself in 160?? If Ruby's song's supposed to "save" people, the one person she'd WANT to save and SHOULD save should be her brother. And..oh god, I really hope they do save Kamiki too or just LET HIM MEET AI. what did he do so wrong, his life was utterly terrible. I still don't see him as the guy who'd have gone after Ai!! I think he just got distorted really bad afflicted by all the malice in the industry and that caused him to be a fallen god - with the last breaking point being Ai's death! He just let himself go after that and he must have spent all his life trying to get her back I think!! Give him a chance to be happy!!!! He never had it!!

Yup that's that~ RUBY. SHOULD DO SOMETHING. SHE'S THE ONE THAT'S BEING SAID TO BE ABLE TO SAVE PEOPLE. WE NEED IT. THE TIME IS NOW. IF SHE REALLY IS AMATERASU, WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THAT. SHE SHOULD CLIMB OUT FROM THAT CAVE SHE'S IN FOR ONCE AND SHINE AND BRING EVERYONE BACK TO LIFE, MAKE THEM HAPPY.

We actually haven't seen the video Ai's given HER. What if that gives her the power or some sort of drive to allow that to happen because if Ai IS Amenouzume, she's the one who's going to help Ruby out and make her shine when she's scared and depressed. What if Ruby watches her video that Ai's left for her sake and awakens HER power as a god to do something? Why isn't HER video shown yet?

I honestly think.. that'd be our last hope of getting some sort of happy ending, all this buildup about Ruby and her being hyped up in the story may indicate something. When all else fails, I think she's the one we could turn to. There must be a reason she's our other protagonist, but she's been very passive? in the story lately. If this whole idea of gods is relevant (and it seems like it to me because Kamiki is SO WEIRD. The stuff that happens around him, in my opinion, cannot be explained unless he IS Sarutahiko.) It's really going to be RUBY who'd shine as THE sun god. The most powerful god of all in Japanese Mythology, right? Yes. I JUST looked it up, it is the way I remember it. Amaterasu is the highest deity in Japanese mythology. Then she MUST be the one to save everyone. I'll root for her!! TURN BACK TIME OR SOMETHING, MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY. DO WHAT AMATERASU IS CAPABLE OF!!!