#there was no winning after her T1 guilty

[snakes-and-fluff]

Yes, I was an Amane T2 Inno voter. And yes, I'd do it again. Because to me, that Amane Inno was worth the risk. Now for full context: I didn't actually believe that they'd kill off any characters before the end, or if they did I believed they'd still get a song. I knew Amane would attack Shidou, but for meta reasons I didn't think she'd manage to kill him - either Kazui would fend her off or Shidou, who knew this was going to happen, would've done something to prevent it or mitigate the damage. I thought Mahiru would recover because I believed the main thing preventing it was strain from her Guilty vote - I thought MILGRAM would assist her after she got her Inno. But of course this prison wouldn't be so kind.

But even knowing what I know now, I'd still vote Amane T2 Inno. I wasn't there for T1, so her Guilty vote there seemed strange and cruel to me. I was voting Inno to try help mitigate some of the damage I'd seen done before I participated. And of course, again, MILGRAM isn't so kind; there's no going back once something is chosen.

But I'd still do it again. I do believe that another Guilty would've only made things worse.

And I won't lie: Shidou was my least fav; I don't trust him one bit. I thought that it'd be really funny if Amane did manage to kill him - and to be honest, I think it is. I do think it's unfair to Mahiru that she got caught in the crossfire though: a massive misunderstanding in T1 leading to this. That's also why I thought she might be okay - it just seemed lame narratively to have something decided back when information was very sparse lead directly to her death a whole trial later.

But how many times must it be said? MILGRAM doesn't care what you think is "right" or "fair" or "good". MILGRAM is MILGRAM. And it only knows pain.

[moibakadesu]

I am getting real tired about people just disregarding the fact that Fuuta cares about Haruka, and because of that, let’s talk a bit about what I like to call:

 

The primary color trio dynamic

 

So what people seem to just sort of ignore most of the time is that the Haruka-Fuuta-Muu combination has been built up as a sort of triangle very subtly (and I know a lot of people don’t get subtle things sometimes) since the very early beginning.

This is of course for one, fitting to how I titled this, them consisting of the primary colors. Then we have one of the best indicators for this, the first round of interrogation questions for Fuuta and Muu. When asked with who they get along best they both have a single answer here: Haruka

What’s Haruka’s stance on the matter? Well, I guess we are all aware that he just gravitates to whoever gives him attention. In his first VD he says Fuuta is doing that, albeit being a bit scary, but with Fuuta it should be clear that he tends to come off as a bit brash and loud quickly, even if his intentions are caring. After that he mentions Muu, her talking to him sometimes, so implied not as frequently as Fuuta at this point. This point being very early Milgram, he also says Yuno and Mahiru talk to him, the difference is though that continuing from this point he will not have as much interaction with them compared to Fuuta and Muu. Generally speaking you could say that during the duration of t1 almost everybody was at least friendly to him, minus Amane who he avoids and Kotoko being … well, Kotoko, not being very buddy-buddy with anyone.

The point where dynamics starts to change a bit is, of course, influenced how the votes went. We have Fuuta in the guilty, getting more withdrawn, being more preoccupied with his own troubles. On the other hand is Muu with her inno, gaining the confidence to bring out her true colors and now seeking out Haruka more actively.

So when we take a dip into the “what if”-scenarios, what could have happened if we switch the verdict of Fuuta and Muu around? Fuuta would have been the primary person to take care of Haruka, but there is a clear difference here. While Muu only seeked out Haruka because he was the best option as a worker bee/”friend” to exploit. The new insight we got from both INMF and her second VD makes it painfully clear that she does not care for Haruka as a person in the slightest, her whole idea about friendship being twisted from the get go already. Fuuta actually acted out of a genuine want to look out for Haruka, because he cares and worries. So would we have a way better situation for Haruka that way? Most certainly, yeah. Fuuta would give him positive and genuine attention without patronizing or pampering him too much, he does see him on equal ground. Haruka would have gotten to experience and learn what an actual friend could be that way. Their personalities mesh very well together in a sense that both can grow and learn from each other. The downside here is though that I think Fuuta needed the first guilty or it would have been detrimental to his own character development in regards to his crime, so it would have been: get better development for Haruka = sacrifice Fuuta’s own development. And of course we would also have gotten very different development for Muu as well, so you could say, a win-win situation was impossible no matter how it could have gone. And naturally these are all just “what ifs”, so it is how it is now.

So how will this trio dynamic go from here out, continuing t2 and going into t3? Well, here are some ways I could see it happening: I am almost 100% sure that Haruka and Muu will have some sort of falling out. This codependency is a very shaky thing from the start and with them both going for guilty that will have a massive mental impact. We saw how easily Haruka can snap, we know that Muu can very quickly say very hurtful things. As soon as some of the “demand” isn’t met here anymore this will crash and burn. Muu has shown that she views whoever she deems as not convenient anymore as very disposable, so that is not boding well for Haruka here …

We also of course still have to factor in Haruka’s threat of suicide in case of Muu being guilty. I am like 99,9% sure they will not perma-kill Haruka, for a multitude of reasons, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t make an attempt. We already know that Muu will not be the one to stop him, so this is where Fuuta will come into play again. With him being inno and not as mentally tormented anymore I assume he will have more of an eye (ahah …) on his surroundings again, and I could very well see him being the one to stop Haruka from doing anything stupid. This could even lead to some sort of interesting friction betweem him and Muu, with Muu enabling suicidal behaviour from Haruka and then looking at Fuuta’s own crime … I think he would not take lightly to somebody deluding someone who he cares for into suicide, harshly getting reminded of the result of his own past actions, so he probably would give Muu a piece of his mind. It even could remind her of her own victim, Fuuta bearing some facial similarities to Rei, and the whole standing up against her actions. I think this could make for some very interesting source of confrontation.

It might also make way for some of the character development that was not possible in t2 due to how votings turned out, but this is highly dependent on what kind of state Haruka will be in, both mentally and physically. Which will probably not be good, knowing Milgram, so I’m not keeping my hope up too much there, but eh.

Especially with the new insight we got now (I’m writing this paragraph half a year after the rest of the document, wow) from both Haruka’s and Muu’s birthday conversations it is pretty concerning that Haruka is locking himself away like that, but I am at least thankful for Muu that she is bringing him food (I hope he eats it though), even if it has sort of the vibe of “I am taking care of my pet, praise me for what a great person I am!”, made very clear with how she talked to Fuuta on her birthday. Her birthday convo ALSO shows though, that I think that I’m on a very right track with my whole thought process about this trio.

First, I was right about Fuuta still caring a ton about Haruka. He obviously kept his eye on him all the time, or else he wouldn’t note or implore about him not coming out of his room and his well being. I think we are already seeing the first results of Fuuta being innocent now, in his t2 interro questions he said he has no time to care for others, but well … look at him now.

He is also glad that somebody is taking care of Haruka right now, calling Muu his “salvation” and all. It seems as if there is some sort of “I’m sad I wasn’t in any state to be there for him, but I am glad he has someone out here”-feeling behind that. I would say it’s also more pointers towards that, if Muu fails to fill that role anymore it will be Fuuta to take that place, being the only other person who actively has an eye on Haruka and cares. Esp with Fuuta being inno while Haruka is guilty he can truly shine with being the one being able to request goods from Es etc. It feels very much as if the stage for the t3 interactions is being set already, which they already did before for t2 (Muu being all buddy-buddy with Haruka being a prime example actually).

So we will see how all of this plays out in the future. This is at least my prediction, and I hope it goes somewhat like this, especially for Haruka’s sake.

[keahifctf2-blog]

Aqours Rankings

As the final curtains draw on the story of Aqours and Uranohoshi, it’s time for these damn rankings.

Unlike Muse, who I have a grand total of ONE disliked character (guess who), I really don’t hate Aqours at all. They are all lovable, their Seiyuus are outright wonderful, and their voices sound very pristine tbh. Aqours made their own path away from Muse’s path and that’s why they earned to win Love Live!. Therefore, please no hate!

Now lets get started...

9. Sakurauchi Riko. Ah Riko... I know that I am going to get some hate for putting Riko last, but she was in 8th place when I finished Season 1 of Sunshine to be fair. However the biggest moment where Riko gets condemned to the basement of Aqours was Episode 5, where I really didn’t see any real development of Riko. The recently released Episode 13 didn’t help matters at all. To be fair, if I had to label Riko with one word, it would be Plainness. HOWEVER! Being plain isn’t bad at all! Chika sees herself to be pretty plain and she is still fantastic. And you know what, if you see Riko as being more than plain, I won’t blame you! Riko is very beautiful althroughout and if you have her as your best girl, I won’t make you feel bad. I just don’t see her as interesting as everyone else.

8. Watanabe You. Oof... This one was a very difficult choice since the last two episodes made me think about the rankings between #3 to #8. I did say with Riko that the scene with her and You didn’t help matters, but it definitely didn’t help matters with Yousoro. The scene itself was very inconsiderate since it’s so wedged in between very heavy stuff from Aqours’ winning Love Live to leaving Uranohoshi for the last time. I love You and will still love her even if she is in 8th spot, but that RikoYou scene killed it due to inappropriate insertion. If that scene was held off until a bit more later after all the crying parts, You would be much much higher. And yes, it was really that close between #3 and #8. Sadly, producer oversight put Yousoro in the 8th position. In terms of Seiyuus, though, Shuuka is one of my all time favorites.

T6. Kunikida Hanamura. Zura! Hanamaru really pulled some through, especially in the final episode. However, her hilarity kept her being consistent despite being somewhere below the halfway mark. She always keeps Yoshiko in check and her “zuras” are as adorable in Season 2 as they are in Season 1. Kin-chan did a good job with her here and it’s sad that we only have the movie to hear the zuras. However, the biggest dealbreaker was the Dub version of S2E4. “Right Girlfriend?” absolutely killed me and my gay heart and I’m pretty sure many people thought DiaMaru was real at that point! XD

T6. Tsushima Yoshiko. Despite falling a bit since Season 1, I still enjoyed the Great Fallen Angel’s presence. The reason why she fell since S1 was her relegation to a bit of a meme status in S2. Of course, she did get her time at numerous points, specifically E5, she still didn’t break through as much as she did in S1. Regardless of her falling (lol get it?), I still enjoyed Yohane a lot and she did well for being the first Chuuni in Love Live! Also, I LOVE LOVE LOVE AIKYAN’S VOICE. I don’t like Guilty Kiss compared to others, but I cannot deny that Aikyan is probably Aqours’ best singer.

5. Ohara Mari. All in all, the most improved girl. I didn’t really feel comfortable with Mari and, before Season 2 started, she was dead last. But, it all started to change in very first episode, with her conflict with her family, specifically her father (males aren’t dead in LLSS after all!). Since then, Mari slowly became more and more of a likable character to me, but the deal breaker that made her such an improvement was in Episodes 7 and 11. Those episodes were those when Mari felt worthless because she couldn’t do anything else to keep the school open and I don’t blame her since it was something out of her own control. Needless to say, I didn’t care about Mari in S1, but I liked her more and more in S2 and she locks in at 5th place.

4. Kurosawa Dia. Oh boy, this is going to be great. Dia was mid-tier at most for me, but back in Season 1, I knew that while I have another girl as my best girl, I would rather marry Dia (at least not in an arranged marriage or something) since she is a very hardworking individual. 13 more episodes and not much has changed, but more and more of her character seeped in this season and she had A LOT of funny moments. From the entirety of Episode 4 (and watch the dub of Episode 4, it’s HILARIOUS and super gay) to Episode 9 (”BU BUUUUUUUUUU DESSUUUUU WA!!!”). She is such a goddess, yet she can still be a dork. Also speaking of being dorky, I love Arisha a whole bunch and it’s because she is probably as dorky as Dia is sometimes. XD

3. Kurosawa Ruby. Aside from Mari, Ruby is another huge mover since Season 1. I started to love Ruby more since her duet with Dia came out during the summer (though I still prefer No More September Rain). And when Season 2 came out, it was fated as if Ruby was going to get more and more development. She does embroidery and even helps You out! Aiai is improving so much on her voice! RUBY HAS A LEGIT FUCKING CENTER! BUT NOT ONE, BUT TWO AND THEY BOTH SOUND GODLY! The only issue I had with Ruby was that she only talks with her fellow first years and Leah (who is also a First Year I think). But with an era coming to an end, I could say that Ruby improved a lot during her time with Aqours and I feel as if she would get much stronger as a person from here on out. Same goes to Aiai as well. Well deserving of 3rd place.

But now...

The top two...

You probably know who is in my top two already. But what you don’t know is that I had a VERY HARD TIME trying to decide who is my best girl after both seasons. They both had been my best girls since Season 1 started and they cemented that at the end of that season.

But, after a long while around Episode 6 (with confirmation by the end of Season 2), I decided to give them a joint placement as my best girls of Aqours (and probably the best girls of Love Live in general)...

T1. Takami Chika and Matsuura Kanan. What can I say? These girls drew me in from the start though they weren’t my best girls at the start of Season 1. However, it all changed by the time of S1E9′s release that I started to love them more. After Season 1 ended, my love for these two girls intensified with their duet, “No more September Rain” (hands down my FAVORITE LL duo/trio track ever and even better than Soldier Game in my opinion!). And by the time Season 2 started, I knew that it would be a battle for first position. I just didn’t realize how much it would be difficult with Sunrise making me have more reasons to love both of them. Whenever something else good about Kanan appears, another one appears for Chika and vice versa. Episode 6 was my second favorite episode in Season 2 behind Episode 4, but it still has a place in my heart. It shows how much Kanan cares for Chika as much as she cares for Mari and it also shows how desperate and determined Chika is to be rid of her ordinary shell despite everyone else seeing otherwise. When Chika nailed that near impossible trick (#PrayForAnchan) and those tears shed from Kanan’s eyes, that alone made me fall for these two even more (and is also the reason why I actually prefer MIRACLE WAVE over My Mai Tonight). Since then, I continued to love Chika and Kanan a lot all the way until Episode 13, when I decided that these two are both great in their own rights. How much these two improved on from last season made my day and it was one of the many highlights of LLSS Season 2 in general. And what else could I say about the Seiyuu? Anchan is one of the better singers in Aqours and I enjoy her Broadway tone and style of singing a lot. Suwawa is very good as well and her hugging antics are just super silly as well.

So those are my end of Season rankings! Of course mileage may possibly vary, so please don’t get mad at me... Q_Q