#tono arata

[geee-three]

vbs 2dmvs come in three genres:

RAD DOGS - suffered from being an early-game mv, didn't know what vbs mvs were supposed to be like. relies on animation and flashy transistions, but is better than just zooming in-and-out on the key artwork. (this one actually has two key artworks but whatever)

CRaZY - masterpiece. never feels boring, gets the point of the lyrics across in two languages at once, (the play of baiburu/bible always gets me) shows emotions fully, honestly one of the best mvs in the game. explores akito's relationship with every member of vbs fully, incl luka. i could talk for hours.

ULTRA C - arata gave the kids acid by accident and is currently scrambling to find ken before ken finds him

[xulips]

vbs npc yaoi...cause uhm. why not

[tom-is-online]

arata and souma, mayhaps?

i wanted to see if i could draw a wheelchair ok, Souma my beloved also the child bully is there as well ig

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

don't know if i ever posted this xbsbzbnxnxnzn

shoutout to the exactly four other Iori and Arata twins believers

[danchkkk]

え？

[daily-pjsk-npcs]

day three!!

i LOVE and always think about the detail of Arata's mood immediately souring upon hearing of Akito and Toya's partnership, then quickly hiding it. it says so much about him. how his unnecessarily harsh words towards VBS right afterwards... very likely could have been the result of jealousy and resentment because they have what he lost. and misses.

the ability to sing alongside someone they love.

(from Chapter 3 of the "Stray Bad Dog" event story)

[havemovedtonovannon]

Vbs swap where kotaro souma touno and tatsuya are vbs for some goddamn reason

[thrilling-oneway]

Fate in Project SEKAI - 1/?

VBS

2.3k

1. An and Kohane

Right from the main story we're introduced to the idea that An and Kohane's first meeting was simply fate. Kohane was just a bypasser overhearing An's singing, hearing An talk about her dreams. It's this that makes Kohane reflect on herself, how she's never been passionate and never had anything she wanted to throw herself into. This girl is everything she isn't and everything she would like to be.

They don't even meet formally, but An's profession of her dream and Kohane's longing for one is what causes their SEKAI to manifest. We know from MEIKO that it's been around for a long time, but it wasn't until Kohane saw An that it revealed itself to its owners. But that could've been anyone. Anyone could've been inspired by An, or Akito and Toya, since they were involved in its creation too. Heck we could've had Kotaro who outright stated was inspired by Akito. But no, it had to be Kohane. Kohane had something she wanted to change about herself, and meeting An is the only way this could happen.

An also needed a partner, and Kohane was the perfect partner. An grew up talented surrounded by talented people. She never had any problems, she'd always been a step above everyone else. Kohane is a total beginner, far, far out of her comfort zone. They compliment each other. Kohane learns from An how to sing, how to be confident, all about her dreams and aspirations. She learns what it's like to be passionate. An learns what it means to rely on someone, what it means to wholly trust someone. A beginner is not to be protected, a beginner is to be taught. She teaches Kohane all these things, and learns what it's like to struggle too. She experiences a sense of weakness for the first time, the fear that someone will surpass her. She's not jealous, she's happy for Kohane, but she's insecure that Kohane will become too good for her, that she'll fall behind and lose the person she loves and trusts more than anyone else. It's these insecurities that push her to become even better, to improve further. She may be naturally talented but that doesn't mean you can't improve.

Kohane's fes card further touches on the idea of An being everything she wanted to be, by literally making her become An. All this time she thought she had to become An, not realising that what she truly needed was to stay being herself. Kohane wanted to change, but to change yourself doesn't mean to become someone else entirely. Kohane is still Kohane. She's still the shy girl who was too scared to do anything, but she left that girl in the past the second she chose to return to An in the main story. It's this idea of a rebirth that is touched on a lot more later on in Nagi and Akito's arcs, and VBS' arc as a whole.

2. Akito and Toya

Was Akito and Toya's meeting just a coincidence, or was it fate? I'll discuss the overlaps between coincidences and fate in this game later, but for now we'll say that yes, Akito and Toya's meeting was also fate. In fact, it's rather similar to An and Kohane's - a parallel, if you will. Not quite the same but not wholly different.

Akito had been fully devoted to soccer for his entire childhood. He was talented, the best player on the team. He put so much time and energy into it. And then he lost, and gave up. Bringing back that idea of rebirth. Akito's passion for soccer burnt out, he was done with it, and not going back. Sure he was good, but he had nothing left in him to care about it anymore. Seeing that concert relit that passion. Made him rediscover himself. Maybe he wasn't made for soccer, but made for music. Music was an opportunity to reinvent himself, much like it was for Kohane.

Toya came from a musical family. Surrounded by professional musicians, tied to the fate of music from birth. His family expected nothing less of him than to follow in their footprints, a fate pushed onto him regardless of whether he wanted it or not. It wasn't right for him and it hurt, his parents hurt him trying to make him into something he wasn't. He may be talented and experienced, but he was willing to run away from it all. The lyrics to RAD DOGS say as much. Classical music was never his real fate, his real fate lied with street music. Even then, street music was just something he chose because it was so different from the path chosen for him. It was an unknown route that he didn't know how to navigate, but nonetheless, he grew to love it. Fate cannot be chosen, so maybe Toya's spontaneous choice was leading him in the right direction.

Akito happened to meet Toya on the street one day, just like how Kohane first encountered An. Akito, who had refused to work with so many people before, immediately chose Toya on his own accord. He recognised Toya's talent, that Toya was new and inexperienced despite all that, and that Toya was someone who needed a guide in this unknown world. Akito and Toya are two sides of the same coin. Akito is bold and brash and two-faced, Toya is calm and reserved and honest. Akito has no background or talent in music, Toya has all of that. Even their colours are complete opposites. But at the end of it all, both of them chose this path as a way to reinvent themselves. Relight a fire that had burnt out within themselves, allow it to burn brighter than before. Relight, restart, reborn. It's all the same. They're one in the same despite all their differences. They compliment each other and it's what allows them to work so well together, to trust and love each other more than anyone else. Aun no Beats' title is derived from the term Aun no Kokyuu/Aun Breathing, when two people act in perfect harmony to the point of breathing the same, being able to understand each other without words. There's a reason they and no one else was chosen to cover that song.

3. Bird lore + Arata and Souma

The Walk on and on event essentially confirms that the meetings of the two pairs were indeed fate, and that they're soulmates. A word that so fully describes exactly what they are. They complete each other, understand each other and trust each other so, so deeply. Kohane would not be who she is now without An, An would not be who she is now without Kohane. The same applies to Akito and Toya, their meeting is essential to who they are now, they wouldn't have navigated this far without standing shoulder to shoulder, back to back. The best way to describe these feelings, these actions, the way they act and the way they complete each other, two halves of a whole, two sides of the same coin, two parts of the same story, would be love. Platonic or romantic, the text supports both. Kohane and An will keep working hard to become the best possible partner for each other. Akito and Toya are still learning too, how to become even better than the best partner anyone could ask for.

The cards for that event contain a few references to the idea of soulmates two. First, the costumes. Toya and Kohane's costumes for the event have a single wing on the back. Their first recolours change the accent colour to their partner's image colour and flip the side of the wing. This alludes to the mythical Hiyoku bird. A bird with only one wing that will not be able to fly until it meets its other half. Akito and Toya would never have been able to fly, to get as far as they have, if it weren't for that chance meeting on the street. The same applies to An and Kohane, if Kohane hadn't run into An she never would've changed, and An never would've had a partner quite like Kohane. The cards also feature crows, a bird that, notably, mates for life. Toya explicitly states in the event that he wants to stay right beside Akito forever. It's a promise, it's not quite fate but it's the closest a person can get to it with their own actions. Toya is never going to leave Akito's side, and in return, Akito will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him. We see this demonstrated in Toya's card, with Akito literally having broken Toya's cage to reach him, and continue to sit beside him.

KAITO's card is particularly interesting, as it suggests that Akito and Toya, and An and Kohane are not the only fated partners on Vivid Street. KAITO's costume notably already has two wings, a completed whole, only one of them is damaged. Whilst not confirmed, it's highly likely that this is meant to represent Arata and Souma. After all, Souma was an important character in Walk on and on, as was his relationship with Arata. Souma and Arata's relationship has been compared to Akito and Toya's multiple times. Both of them wholly care for and love their partners, as outright stated by KAITO in THE POWER OF UNITY. For Toya, Akito is incredibly important to him. Akito taught him to love music again, Akito introduced him to a whole new world that he only entered out of spite but now is devoted to with his entirety. He has nothing but gratitude for Akito, much like how Souma has nothing but gratitude for Arata. Both of them want to give something back, through the medium both they and their partners love and understand more than anything.

Souma's accident may have made him unable to continue to stand by Arata's side, but Arata will continue to carry the dream that once rested on both their shoulders. It's more complicated for Arata though, who is still clinging to the grief of losing a partner who always stood beside him, a wall placed between them against his will, a wing torn from his shoulder. Dreams can't be carried alone, which is why he can't truly ever carry Souma's dream, nor claim it as his own. He's so caught up in his feelings that he can't realise that he wants this too, that it isn't just for Souma. It's in his honour, the memory of a dream that can't be achieved anymore. Arata's inability to realise this brings him so much pain because he loves Souma, so much, and it crushes him to think that he's betrayed him, in a sense. But once again, they truly are two people who complete each other. Souma wouldn't have reached the heights he did reach if Arata wasn't there beside him, and Arata would not still be on this path if it weren't for Souma leading him along for the first part of the journey.

4. Nagi and RAD WEEKEND

If there's one thing known about fate, it's that fate isn't kind to everyone. Fate was cruel to Nagi, it took her life from her. Her dreams were to be left unfulfilled, half complete. She had no choice in the matter, her story was coming to a close, before she could bring it to a proper conclusion. However, even if her fire burnt out, she still had the time to light a fire in a new generation. Her story will never see a proper end, but she can give her story to a new generation, and inspire them to write their own, one that can be truly completed.

Nagi held RAD WEEKEND as a send-off to herself, one last performance that she could put everything that she could into since she wouldn't have another chance. It was also a chance to create a legacy for herself. Whilst she herself would be gone, her impact would be remembered, be seen by many and inspire them to reach for their dreams, or perhaps give them a new dream. As she looks out to the audience whilst putting her legacy and dreams into the world, she sees An and Akito in the audience. While they wouldn't know it for years, Nagi knows, in that moment, mere days before her death, that these are the children she's inspiring, the ones who will remember, the ones who she's lighting a fire for, a fire that will never burn out. It's fate that Akito was there, it's fate that Nagi saw both him and An, and chose to entrust her life's work to them. Without Nagi, there is no Vivid BAD SQUAD. Without Nagi, An and Akito would not be so passionate, for there is no RAD WEEKEND to be passionate about. Akito wouldn't have chosen Toya as the one to run toward his dreams with, because there would be no dream to run towards. Kohane wouldn't have seen that passionate girl on the street and wished she could be just like her, wish she could be more than herself. And without that, there would never be a Vivid BAD SQUAD, never be a SEKAI, never be an Arata who learnt that he's not alone, or a Kotaro who learnt that he's not as talentless and useless as he believes.

Without Nagi, there's nothing. Her fate was not to die before her story was finished, because she finished her story. Her fate was to pass that story on, allow it to be rewritten and adapted by the ones she inspired with it, allow it to continue on. Nagi had more of an impact than she will ever know, but she knew that it's what she wanted, she knew who she was telling her story to, who she hoped would take what she gave them and run and burn brighter than she ever did. For Vivid BAD SQUAD, for Arata and Souma, for Kotaro, and for Tatsuya, Nagi is what guided them to their fate. Even moreso, she may have created it.

[gurney-flap]

OOC: Okk!!! Since Valentines cards have been released onto pjsk I had the urge to draw Arata and Souma edits!! I want to share em here as well!~ I hope you like them!!

If you dunno I love Gurney Flap so much heheheheh :3

[chiricat]

souma and arata⁉️

[kotaromita]

PRSK NPCs as textposts and other miscellaneous memes episode EIGHT of many!

Vivid BAD SQUAD part 4 featuring my mega rarepairs.

Many Kotaro, as you must expect of me. owo

[do-you-like-this-pjsk-ship]

AraSouma

[pjsk-story-summaries]

STRAY BAD DOG Event Story Summary

TL;DR: One night, Akito and Toya encounter a popular new singer on Vivid Street, Tono Arata. He also is aiming to surpass RAD WEEKEND in the name of his partner, who can no longer sing due to an unfortunate traffic accident. Arata is confident in his own abilities and firmly believes he will be the one to surpass it, putting down Vivid BAD SQUAD in the process. Enraged, Akito challenges him to a battle, but is easily defeated. Arata tells him he's the least talented of the group.

Akito decides to work even harder from then on. He enters events solo on top of increased individual practice. This puts a clear toll on his physical well-being, worrying his teammates. Not even Ken can convince him to calm down.

Toya, An, and Kohane head to SEKAI for advice. There, the laid back DJ KAITO helps them realize Akito's anxiety over the other's rapid improvement and constant need to improve. He suggests they try reaching out to him as teammates.

Kotaro runs into Weekend Garage to ask for help. Arata crashed an event Akito was performing alone at and caused him to snap. He fears he's reverted to the old him, who constantly overworked himself after being told he's not a good singer, especially compared to his partner.

Meanwhile at the event, though Akito's performances have improved since last time, he's still no match for Arata. Suddenly, An, Kohane, and Toya crash the event and sing with Akito. As a unit, they were able to rival Arata. The event was called in a draw. Akito thanked the others for their help and decided to rely on them more.

Fan translation (eiyuuou) / Official English YouTube Upload / Song (Cinema) 2DMV / 3DMV / 3rd Anniversary 3DMV

Chapter 1: Vivid BAD SQUAD continues to improve as a team. Everyone happened to arrive at their next practice over an hour early, so they decided to go to SEKAI as to not wake others up. There, they encounter Rin and Len yelling at the newest member of the Street SEKAI, KAITO, for eating their ice cream. As an apology, he offers to teach them how to use a DJ sampler. Akito's wary of his carefree attitude.

Chapter 2: After another successful event, Akito begins hearing rumors about another singer aiming to surpass RAD WEEKEND, Tono Arata. Even Ken respects him as a singer. Vivid BAD SQUAD decide to enroll in an event he will be participating in to check things out.

Akito and Toya decide to go to Vivid Street and practice a bit more. There, they encounter a crowd of people watching none other than Arata. Akito runs over.

Chapter 3: Akito and Toya introduce themselves to Arata as partners. Arata explains how his partner's dream is to surpass RAD WEEKEND, but after some circumstances, now performs solo. He's confident he will be the one to surpass it, not Vivid BAD SQUAD. He thinks Toya's talent is wasted on this team, An's singing needs polishing, and Kohane's too new. Enraged, Akito challenges him to a battle.

Chapter 4: Arata easily crushes the two. Akito, upset, reaffirms the sacrifices he's willing to make in the name of the event that gave his life meaning. Arata isn't phased. His partner had the same mentality, but after a car accident left him paralyzed, Arata shouldered the dream for him. He finishes by telling Akito he's the least talented of the group and will likely never be good enough to surpass RAD WEEKEND.

Chapter 5: Toya tries to comfort Akito, but to little avail.

Akito remembers back to the early days of BAD DOGS. Nobody thought the two were any good, and only Toya had some potential. Akito began working even harder to prove them wrong. He's not planning on stopping that now.

Akito decides to enter solo competitions on top of increased solo practice. Worried, An asks what happened, so he explains their loss to Arata. The three reluctantly agree to let him, knowing he'd do it anyways.

Akito runs into Kotaro at one of his solo events. A few weeks later, Akito begins to physically wobble at practice, but brushes it off and heads to yet another event. Toya runs after him.

Chapter 6: Toya confronts Akito about overworking himself. Akito knows what he's doing to himself, but has no intention of stopping. Toya begs for Akito to let him help. Akito walks away to go perform.

An, Kohane, and Toya are worried about Akito. Not even Ken could get him to stop. They decide to go to SEKAI for advice. KAITO inadvertently helps Kohane realize Akito might be anxious over Toya's rapid improvement after resolving things with his father. Toya doesn't get that, since he was under the impression he'd finally caught up to Akito. KAITO suggests reaching out to Akito again, this time as a team.

An, Kohane, and Toya go back to Weekend Garage. Suddenly, Kotaro rushes in and asks for help. Arata ended up crashing the show he was set to perform in and caused Akito to snap. Kotaro's scared Akito's reverted back to his old self, who worked so hard in secret he could barely talk. Toya runs to the livehouse with An and Kohane following.

Chapter 7: After a bit of taunting from Arata, Akito begins his solo performance. The audience is amazed by his power. Still, Arata's song after completely overpowered his.

Just when Akito begins doubting if he really can do it, An, Kohane, and Toya arrive to crash the event. Toya apologizes for not recognizing just how hard Akito's always been pushing himself and asks to be his supporter this time.

Akito tells Arata that though he alone doesn't have what it takes to beat him, Vivid BAD SQUAD will be the ones to surpass RAD WEEKEND.

Chapter 8: Vivid BAD SQUAD, as a unit, rivals the energy Arata brought. Akito realizes that he truly believes in the power of his team. After the song, Arata asks for the contest to be called in a draw. Kotaro reappears, and Akito thanks him for bringing the others. He also agrees to let himself rely on the others more.

[megullumverrr]

HELGP I FOUND SOME OLD ART

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

if these two aren't twins, i'll eat my hat.

i wanted to make a Venn diagram, but it would've practically been a circle...

(one main difference between them is that Arata was initially quite a bit more cruel in his words to VBS than Iori was to L/n, and seemed to be acting out due to potential jealousy. while Iori's motives were much more rational, logically thinking about the future of her band. though in the end, both of them caused some inner conflict for MCs due to stress in their own lives)

while i'm here, can i talk about the parallels between Iori/Mio and Arata/Souma? specifically, how Iori and Souma both felt they had to let go of their respective loved ones because they thought they were suffering due to the dreams they had gotten them into?

although she was extremely frustrated, the very last thing Iori wanted to do was to get Mio back by force because she didn't want her to go through the challenges of being a professional musician if she couldn’t handle it. Souma tried so hard to accept Arata giving up on their shared dream and avoiding him despite how deeply it must have hurt...

both of these pairings mean so much to me, it's incredible what complex characters they are and how much depth their relationships have, despite only appearing occasionally <3

[danchkkk]

🍮🍮🍮