houjou-arisa

[houjou-arisa]

Mr. Sunshine Ending

The ending of Mr. Sunshine left me in tears, read crying the entire time, but it was probably the best possible ending this drama could have. Right from the beginning we all knew there wouldn’t be any rainbows and happily ever afters. But seeing every character’s development and seeing them fall so honorably was all I could ask for. 

Dong Mae counting down his last 10 days and taking down as many of the Musin Society members as he could, while avenging Yuzo was the best possible way he could’ve gone down. Him imagining his moments with Ae Shin as he takes his last breaths broke my heart, because he really is the most loyal human being on this planet. Dong Mae saying that him making at least one mark in her life is enough for him made me realize that he probably made one of the biggest differences in Ae Shin’s life. He put the words noble fool in her head, and it’s made her re-evaluate her whole existence and how she goes about living. So he doesn’t even realize how big of an impact he’s had on her. 

Kim Hee Sung, aka my baby, also went down fighting, but his version of fighting. His fight was never with a gun or a sword, but with his words and photographs. And it’s because of him that Korea was able to collect and control their own line of history. He says he loves useless things but he’s never ever been useless in this fight for independence. To think his love for Ae Shin caused him to find this amazing passion to fight and be part of the revolution, he really has grown to be such a honorable man. 

Lee Yang Hwa (bc in this house we accept the woman she always wanted to be) is so iconic. Everyone thought she would sit pretty in her gowns and big hotel, but she was the baddest of them all. The woman literally blew up her life’s saving and hard work for the better of the country, a country she never really knew. The world was so cruel to her but she never took a step back and gave up, instead she armed herself with her gun, fencing stick, and literal bombs. When she confessed to Gu Dong Mae at the last moment I just wanted to grab KES by the collar and scream WHY!!!! But I’m happy Yanghwa had Dong Mae, and I’m glad Dong Mae had Yanghwa. The love these two have for each other really is the strongest kind of love out there. 

Eugene Choi was someone I got bored of throughout the drama, oops, but in this last episode he really came through. He realized the importance of Ae Shin fighting to save her country, when before he wanted to be selfish and keep her for himself. He went out of his way to save the Righteous Army multiple times. He genuinely likes Gu Dong Mae even though he knows Dong Mae is in love with Ae Shin. He adores Hee Sung. He appreciates Lee Yang Hwa. The scene on the train when he was dying and MeloMance’s OST was in the background, gave me goosebumps. He had such a big impact on so many of the supporting characters, his death really was hard hitting. 

I was surprised, but also not surprised, that Go Ae Shin survived from everyone else. Statistically, she had the biggest probability of death because she was always in harm’s way, but she has way too much skill and way too many people backing her up for her to die. These last two episodes really made me appreciate Kim Tae Ri as an actor, when she sobbed I sobbed. When she smiled, I smiled. It also made me realize how strong Go Ae Shin is. She sees her comrades and family dying left and right. Her teacher, her guardians that she saw as parent figures, her husband. And yet, at the end she’s standing and making sure Korea has a strong future ahead. She’s optimistic, even though she’s given every reason not to be. She’s probably one of the strongest female characters I’ve ever seen. 

I think this drama will stay with me for a really long time. I’m not even Korean and I was in tears because of the patriotic feelings in me, I can’t even imagine how native Koreans feel. I think this drama had the best actors, they literally became their characters. There was never a moment where I didn’t buy their acting. If I ever paused it was in awe of the accuracy of their portrayals. I give this drama a 10/10, and this is from a Gu Dong Mae fan who wanted him to get the girl. Everyone, go do yourselves a favor and watch Mr. Sunshine. 

[houjou-arisa]

[houjou-arisa]

bookmark designs i did for kaicon!!! planning to add inarizaki and shiratorizawa next yr hehe

[houjou-arisa]

day 2 & 3: musicians & university

tobio is not listening at all

[houjou-arisa]

Hiten Encyclopedia: Character Anaylsis: Kamiya Kaoru

Hi, everyone! So as everyone in the RK fandom may or may not have seen, there has been a huge 6-minute sneakpeak/trailer for the latest Rurouni Kenshin film: Rurouni Kenshin Kyoto Taika Hen as we inch closer to the release with every passing moment. If, by chance, you haven’t seen it, here is a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emy8JkKV6LQ. Be sure to watch out for Densetsu no Saigo Hen (The Legend’s End) to conclude the Kyoto arc! SPOILERS for those who haven’t seen Kyoto Taika Hen or read Jinchuu from the manga!

Anyway, I’m going to preface that I decided to start this project due to all of the negative attention I see some of the characters get and usually the opinions and justifications for said opinions tend to be superficial at best. I want to dive deep into the characters themselves the same way I have into their fighting techniques, so if you can bear with me through this tremendous post, I would be very glad. Without anymore distractions, here is the very first Hiten Character Analysis: Kamiya Kaoru

                                         KAMIYA KAORU

Kamiya Kaoru, frequently called Kaoru-dono by Kenshin and Jo-chan by Sanosuke, is the headstrong, sweet, beautiful, and passionate Assistant-Instructor of Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, a family-owned style of sword techniques (Kenjutsu) that emphasizes on principles such as “Katsujin-ken” which is the “Life-preserving sword” as opposed to “Satsujin-Kin” or “The Killing Sword”. 

Now, this character is one that has divided the fan base for a long time, especially since the reveal of Tomoe’s character in the manga. Some people love her and praise her gung-ho, no-nonsense attitude and others have dismissed and even berated her (and Watsuki by proxy) as a sexist, poorly written female character who is given very little to do and is often eclipsed by the more powerful members of Kenshin-gumi. Even Yahiko gets more time to shine that Kaoru does. Some of these individuals even go as far as to hate her primarily due to the false juxtaposition to Tomoe’s character who was introduced as Kenshin’s first love interest 10 years prior to the beginning of the story.

The truth of the matter is Kaoru’s character goes beyond the superficial; she’s more than just her character and the situations which she is put in or the events that happen to and around her character. She is the backbone of RK as a whole. She is the sticky glue that holds the broken family known as Kenshin-gumi together. But more importantly, she is the center of the entire story and probably more important than Kenshin himself.                         

                                              Birth of an Era

             Hitokiri Battousai slashed his way into a new era as he toppled the Tokugawa Shogunate and brought in an era free from Samurai, where man can chose its own destiny. 11 years later, the hitokiri-turned-rurouni wanders place to place to see how much the times have changed, even in as small a time as a decade. Via his wanderings, he finally saw how different the world he changed is. The live action movie cleverly indicates this via the use of color palettes. The flashback scenes in Kyoto are a cold-blue coloration where the colors are desaturated. Sakura petals fall down on the scene like rose petals and during certain parts, they are a monochromatic grey color and everything feels cold and eerie.

The Meiji Era was the era that Kenshin helped create was a time for modernity, growth, prosperity, and economics. The color palettes are a lovely brown hue with warmly lit colors, and often sunny backdrops with beautiful vivid colors in the background. Swords were banned, sword smiths lost their jobs and began forging household items and utensils, and kenjutsu was dying as it was deemed a relic of a shameful and brutal era. In this new era, swordsmen were useless. They no longer held the power and didn’t know how to do anything else. Kaoru’s father was also a vestige of this era but saw something beautiful in his meditations on the sword and passed those teachings unto his daughter who was born in the waning years of the Bakufu and was raised in the Meiji Era. These principles are what make Kaoru so central to the story. 

                                 From Kenjutsu to Kendo

Realistically speaking, Kaoru’s strength doesn’t really compare to the stature and incredible skills displayed by Kenshin-gumi and the enemies they face. I have seen complaints that this is sexist on the writer’s part as she is a female character and given nothing to do. This was kicked up, considerably I’m sure, with the first film giving her nothing to do but get kidnapped in order to annoy the male protagonist. I remember having old arguments when the new Taika Hen/Densetsu no Trailers showed her apprehended by Shishio as Kenshin screamed helplessly on the rengoku before she is violently kicked off by Houji. Our very own Kateviardo expressed discontent with her possibly getting kidnapped because Kaoru should be a stronger character as one of the only female leads in the series. But she is far more central than what meets the eye and she plays a role larger than arguably even Kenshin himself did. 

What does this have to do with her fighting style and her role in the story though? This: Jin-e didn’t kidnap Kaoru; he kidnapped The Future. All of the opponents they face are from the old world that Kenshin assisted in burning to the ground. Udoh Jin-e, Shishio Makoto, and Yukishiro Enishi each were people born in the old era, each rejects to the world Kenshin created. 

Unlike these men, Kaoru never went to war. She was never a hitokiri. She never killed anyone. She’s just a lonely kendo teacher who carries on her family name and style with pride. She’s naive and acts childish because she IS a child of the new era. The new era, like her, is still in it’s inception, It’s not that old, the era of violence is still fresh in memory of most of the people alive, and therefore the new era hasn’t had the chance to cement itself in time. She never saw the kind war, brutality, or depravity that the others faced. She never sold or manufactured narcotics, saw her idol beheaded and displayed in public, or killed more people than you could honestly care to count. She wasn’t born in an era where she either fought and died on the battlefield, sold your body for money, or risk poverty and starvation. She wasn’t betrayed by a government she fought for as they brutally tried to excise her from existence because she knew too many secrets. She never became a monstrosity born of the hellfires of vengeance and lived her life singularly trying to avenge her sister who was brutally butchered.  And THAT is what makes her so special.

Kaoru is beautifully ordinary and that makes her easily overlooked. We’re more interested in the characters that have seen and done some shit because it’s part of the fantasy. It’s escapism at best. No one wants a story of a kendo teacher just trying to make money and live an ordinary quiet life. What we forget, though, is that the world she lives in doesn’t NEED that kind of sword. It doesn’t need a killer, a murderer, a manslayer. The sword in this era could be a tool to inspire people. It could be a tool to gain a sort of spiritual or mental capacity to develop an appreciation of life and it’s preservation, discipline, inner stillness, and strengthening of the body, mind, and heart. Anyone who practices kendo can tell you these are some of the numerous benefits one can derive from Kendo. But Kendo didn’t exist in the previous era. The Sword was a weapon and Kenjutsu was a method of killing. But Kaoru’s truth was one that Kenshin desperately wanted to believe in. He wanted to see a world so peaceful that one can take a weapon like a sword and turn it into something with positive benefits; this dream was so beautiful to him that he murdered people for a chance at creating it. 

She is the embodiment of all the silly ideas that Kenshin simultaneously scoffed at and deeply believed in. Something about her was so pure and so convincing that she actually began changing Kenshin. In the live action film, this was done by Kenshin being surprised when he first encountered Kaoru in her dojo and she explained her swordsmanship philosophy and he looked surprise and happy.  This returned again when she gave Kenshin his signature kimono. The kimono symbolized his new life and reinvigorated hope that maybe he did make a difference. He then smiles ever so gently at the sign above the alcove in the dojo that says “The Sword that Revitalizes”.                                     The Era of Kindness

Much of the importance of Kaoru’s character is narratively diminished because we are disconnected from the character by a 140 year or so time gap. The information is presented the way it would be if we were living in the 1860s, but let’s stop and consider this a moment. Let’s consider her little family in a modern context.

Megumi is a DRUG MANUFACTURER for the Japanese equivalent of a Mexican Cartel. You know those stories you hear on the news of victims mangled and gored to send messages to other gangs in the area? That was Kanryu. She served drugs so destructive they are a reason why Hong Kong was a friggin’ British Colony. This cartel was so brutal that if someone betrayed or crossed them, they would hire an assassin to find them and execute them in such a way that their corpses are hardly recognizable and to top it off, they leave little messages on the bodies in way a cartel might and the fruits of Megumi’s labor were used to buy weapons, police officers, and politicians. 

Then, she had to realize that her drug was enslaving the minds of countless men and women until they OD’d. They would neglect their lives, families, work, everything to satiate the habit that her drug formed and she did this so she could secure a decent freaking life and survive. Would you allow someone like this to live with you? Someone who is the rough female equivalent of Walter White? 

Sanosuke was a underground fighter and a mercenary. Horrible and evil men would hire him to use violence to subjugate or terrify enemies or rivals. Sano would provide this service and charge them a rate that depended PURELY on how much he enjoys beating these men within an inch of their lives because it vents his frustration at being betrayed in the past and watching his hero’s head get served on a plank of wood in public. To make it worse, he’s rude, occasionally sexist, obnoxious, a free loader, and he doesn’t pay for his food. Would you befriend someone like this and even feed them? Would you allow him to live with you if something happened to his residence?

Yahiko is a pickpocket, a thief and a scoundrel who works for the mafia, an organized crime syndicate. He will rob you blind before you even have time to notice. He wouldn’t blink about it either. It meant his survival. He had no future. He would continue working an imaginary debt and sink further into destitute until he was inevitable, caught or killed. Could you adopt this child? One who is more trouble than they’re worth and will rob you blind if he has the chance?

And finally, Kenshin is an ex-assassin/mass murderer turned soldier. His brutality was so notorious that it became legendary and the body count he left behind was so large that he lost track somewhere in the lower three digit numbers. He is mentally unstable and trouble follows him like a housebroken puppy. Everyone wants his head and the longer he stays with someone, the more danger they will be put in. If pushed far enough to protect you, he will kill again. He’s shaky at best and what’s worse, he murdered his ex-wife. Could you love someone like this? Could you be with them? Could you forgive them, if Kenshin was a real person?

Kaoru did. She gave all of these people a home and she, along with Kenshin, slowly rebuilt them. She offered them a place where they can come and laugh, have some semblance of normalcy and be in a place where they won’t be judged for their past actions. They can go out for beef pot at a nice restaurant, paid for by Kaoru; her only thanks is the smiles of her friends and that’s enough for her. These are the principles her swordsmanship preserves and she lives these truths outside of the dojo. They touched lives. She is able to do all of these things and endure hell for these broken friends and all of this because of Kenshin’s new era. He was looking for a place to belong and he found it. Kaoru is more than just a silly little girl; she’s the embodiment of everything Kenshin fought for. She became the new era he wanted so badly to create, and like happiness itself, she’s small and she’s fragile. She is not on the same caliber as the manslayers that preceded her. She is not strong enough to take on an entire syndicate and not because Nobuhiro was sexist but because she is a NORMAL person, living in what could be loosely seen as the real world. 

In the world Kaoru would ordinarily live in, there is no giant monster like Fuji or burnt men waging an army like Shishio. In her world, normal people can’t destroy an entire cartel who wield the post powerful weaponry of their time with a freaking Sakabatou. She CAN’T do these things because if she does, she will become like Kenshin: mystified and idealized. We all wish we could be like Kenshin but often forget that ordinarily little Kaoru is the goal even Kenshin aspires to. She is the embodiment of his beliefs that everyone is equal and that there’s always a second chance for people willing to repent. 

Kaoru gave them all a future. She played a part in rebuilding these broken, awful people and through her example made them beautiful and whole again. Megumi went from being the drug cook for a cartel to a doctor who saves lives. Families can remain together because of her, where her past self made drugs to tear them apart. She wages war with death everyday as she treats her patients in order to keep them healthy. Sanosuke left to see the world and live life to its absolute fullest, wandering place to place as Kenshin did, free and unencumbered by violence or being the pawn of evil men. Yahiko went from being a pickpocket to an honorable swordsman and the successor of the man who saved Japan. He carries the legend and the Sakabatou at his side as he stands between the weak and the strong who wish to prey on them, just as his teacher and her lover did. He has a future now. He can be happy with Tsubame and have the strength to protect her and those around him while advocating non-violence and passing on the life-giving principles of Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu.

Kaoru is so much more than a damsel in distress. She’s the rock that keeps all of RK together. Enishi “killing” her showed how they all fell apart and should us how beautiful and rare she was and why it crushed Kenshin that he couldn’t protect her.  It wasn’t JUST because he loved her: it was because she was the thing he spent his life searching for, fighting for, killing for, and he failed to protect this precious flower of the new era. He allowed the horror of the world to swallow her and it was HIS fault. 

That’s also what makes his redemption so much more powerful. He will continue carrying her legacy and kindness with him and change others the way she changed him. Their love was rooted in acceptance and tolerance. In forgiveness and trust. Kaoru IS the new era and she is the true heart of Rurouni Kenshin. So remember, next time someone insults Kaoru, you should remember that maybe we should be more like her and that we too should become students of Kamiya-Kasshin, even if we never hold a sword or fight epic battles. The world might be a better place if we all did. 

[houjou-arisa]

Do I think Cheng Xiaoshi will be angry when he finds out what Lu Guang did?

Yes.

Am I constantly thinking about CXS understanding the underlying implications of what LG did?

Also yes.

Because Cheng Xiaoshi is afraid of being left alone. Ever since his parents disappeared he has suffered from deep trauma and abandonment issues. And of course he has! Parents are supposed to be the one constant in a child’s life. A place to return to no matter where life takes you. The people that first give you the tools to form and maintain all your future relationships.

But those very same people left Cheng Xiaoshi behind. Whether intentionally or not, that doesn’t matter to a child’s mind. They still abandoned him.

Cheng Xiaoshi already sees QL and LG as his light in the darkness (and he is afraid of the dark too) but if there is anything I learned to be true about abandonment trauma it’s that there will still be fear in the back of your mind. A little voice telling you that someday, any day now, those people you love? They will leave too.

and then there is Lu Guang.

Lu Guang who lives with him and has taken on the burden of his debt. Lu Guang who takes the blame for him when he destroys QL’s cups. Lu Guang who lets himself get kidnapped in order to safe CXS.

And now:

Lu Guang who couldn’t even live without Cheng Xiaoshi for a day. Lu Guang who broke his own rules, the very same rules he is hammering into Cheng Xiaoshi's brain every day. Lu Guang who would rather mess with time and space and literal fate, as well as accept all the consequences this may lead to instead of accepting a world without Cheng Xiaoshi in it.

And what does that do to a person who deep down still believes everyone will leave him someday? What does that do to someone who still over a decade later waits for his parents to come back?

That there already is a person in his life who didn’t..couldn’t leave him. A person who fully went against his one morals for him.

A person who literally came back for him.

And yeah, it isn’t right or fair to use his power like this. And why should he be special when everyone else had to die?

But wouldn’t he also -somewhere deep down- think about what Lu Guang did, truly realize what exactly it is he did - for him!

And also feel…incredibly loved?

[houjou-arisa]

To all of us in agony overthinking what CXS's reaction to what LG has done will be (myself included). I remind you of episode 5

Look, Lu Guang knows he messed up. He took a risk not telling Cheng Xiaoshi about the earthquake (all to protect him, keep in mind) and it backfired spectacularly.

Oof. Yeah good question. Getting right to it.

Uh huh. Uh-huh yeah-- wait. Oh. No, he's dead serious about that. During the earthquake Lu Guang reminds Cheng Xiaoshi specifically of their present time. He warns that changing the node of death in the photo would affect THEM. He's protecting their present. Anyway moving on.

Cheng Xiaoshi did very much punch that handsome face in light of "betrayal." Like, this isn't a hypothetical. The initial fallout between them will be immense. And I really don't think just one punch is going to be enough for Lu Guang's actions... but were not here for the initial fallout. We're not here for a present, heated, moment. We're here for the future.

So now every time Lu Guang says "fool," what I hear is "I love you". (Thanks for that episode s2e12.)

But also. Is Lu Guang talking about himself here too?

"Don't question the future, because the future will definitely change because of us."

I don't know. I've kind of started seeing Lu Guang as going through phases. Phases where he is 100% stuck in the past. Keeping it the same, untouched. Phases where he is living in the present, relishing every moment he has. Phases where he is looking to a future. No, not just looking, but desperately fighting for that future where they all live.

These words are for himself.

Cheng Xiaoshi comes off as impulsive because he's got a big heart, but he is a thinker. He has had so much time, alone, to think. He thinks about his parents being caught in the earthquake, alone in an empty house. He takes days to think about Lu Guang words here, before forgiving him and offering that naive trust again. In Xu Shanshan's case, he shut himself in the darkroom all afternoon to think and plan, alone.

I don't see a future where Cheng Xiaoshi lets Lu Guang go. I see a future where Cheng Xiaoshi THINKS and thinks until he understands, and understands enough to finds a future for them both.

But first, they really need to have an honest-to-god talk. (And maybe a good punch.)

[houjou-arisa]

the fact that cxs hesitates and even decided against going back in time for lg because of what lg himself taught him, not doing it bc of the moral responsibility he has but purely because he knew that's what lg would've wanted. now compare that to the fact that lg WITHOUT HESITATION JUMPED BACK IN TIME WHEN CXS DIED? the fact that never changing the past was a rule only created BECAUSE lu guang is terrified of the fuck up fucking up his fuck up is just such good writing it makes me want to rewatch every single thing all over

[houjou-arisa]

Now that I’ve calmed down (she says like a liar) I have so many questions about it all.

What exactly is it that Lu Guang did?

- did he go into a past photo, changed the past (and therefore the future), and exited it again - arriving in a future where Cheng Xiaoshi survived?

- OR did he go back and then stayed in the past (and also somehow gave part of his power to CXS) and is still trying to prevent Cheng Xiaoshi’s death?

Because we don’t know the year CXS died, right? That means it could be a date before or after 2021, right?

-> The implications of these two options are vastly different!!

Given he was surprised by Cheng Xiaoshi almost saving Emma…I guess it’s save to say it’s the second option? Because otherwise he would KNOW it’s possible.

But guys that means…

Lu Guang isn’t living the same past he did before (probably?) starting with this moment. He didn’t get stabbed in the first timeline.

It’s likely other things have changed as well, but nothing that was as significantly different as this.

And it’s all because CXS messed with things in the past (Emma and Xu Shanshan-though I believe Emma died before too as LG wasn’t surprised. The how was just different). So every time CXS does that:

The future becomes more unpredictable for Lu Guang!

so it makes perfect sense why he was so hesitant about the twins' photo in particular: their story was never part of his timeline!

Also:

Lu Guang really did want to die here.

Either because he thought he could exchange his death with that of Cheng Xiaoshi

AND/OR

Because he JUST witnessed that Emma couldn’t be saved after all, which means he lost hope again for him being able to save CXS…so instead of going through CXS inevitably dying again…he just wanted to die?

Either option is so tragic? Lu Guang doesn’t care about his own life AT ALL, man.

-> This would also explain why he seemed so anxious about Cheng Xiaoshi this whole season. Things have already changed so much that he can’t know when CXS’s “new” death is supposed to happen?

I could be so far off with this because I only watched the episode two hours ago and I don’t think my brain is back to functioning properly, but for now, these are my thoughts.

[houjou-arisa]

Below is an attempt at an analysis of the finale using Mastermind, but mostly it's just gonna be the incomprehensible ramblings of a new fan losing her mind over Link Click.

Before I get to the song, to me the season finale heavily hinted at Lu Guang going up against Liu Xiao in the future (or even already had in the past). For one thing, they made it a point to switch back and forth between those two characters' scenes right at the end of the episode. With Liu Xiao's lines to LI Tianchen and Lu Guang's internal monologues, it sounded like they're at odds with each other's goals, with one wanting to right the timeline and the other desperately trying to change it. And then there's the lyrics.

Time, it's a hypocritical construct Righteously wipes out all of us But I keep rising back from the dust

Lu Guang said he wanted "to use the last chance" to save Cheng Xiaoshi. Does this mean he hadn't jumped back in time only once? The fact that he even put his jumptime as his phone passcode makes me think he doesn't want to forget, but it's kinda hard to imagine forgetting something like that. Unless, of course, it's been too long since it happened.

The shadows, they whisper in your head

Now this part. From the moment he was introduced, Liu Xiao has been depicted as a sort of adviser whispering in Li Tianchen's ear, essentially becoming the catalyst for all the events that took place from the beginning of the series. If LX hadn't given LTC that talk about people being hunters, beasts, and prey, LTC might not have found the guts to kill his father, and thus QJ wouldn't have adopted them and been able to exploit their powers. LTC wouldn't have possessed Emma and met Cheng Xiaoshi in the bridge, informing him that there's someone who can travel back in time. Then none of the mess would have transpired.

They tug on my strings like a puppet

...

It seems to me that Liu Xiao is the Mastermind the song is about and Lu Guang is the one singing it.

Again and again, again and again Take my hand and set this world on fire Light it up, up, for the show

There's nothing holding me back

LX is the agent of time, trying to correct it, while LG is the enemy of time, fighting to destroy one part of it regardless of how big the damage becomes. He's already decided to break his own rule. What else is there left to hold him back?

[houjou-arisa]

Thinking about time travel and all the secrets Lu Guang is keeping. And how long he's been keeping them.

And also what his limitations are... because I don't think he knows as much as he thinks he knows.

I've got a lot of thoughts and a lot of questions. I tried to organize them in the hopes to maybe work out some ideas, but it got a bit... Much. Weigh in if you have thoughts because...I'm clearly vibrating in place wanting to talk about this. But anyway, here we go.

How is the present affected by future dives into the past? (Alternate timelines or pre-determined track)

This section is basically me asking a lot of questions that might just be writing holes or maybe not and we just don't find out for, like, 6 years. And that's fine. I'm here for it, I just need to sort out all these theories in my head.

In S1E9, LG looks into the surveillance photo and sees CXS on the solo dive. Is this because CXS was currently in the photo? Is it because CXS had already done the solo dive and so LG was seeing the affected photo? Is it because CXS was always going to go into the photo, so LG saw the past that always was going to be?

When Liu Min called from Xu Shanshan's phone, was it because CXS was always going to set up the meeting? What if CXS hadn't come to that conclusion and didn't reveal himself in Shanshan's body? Would the call have never happened? Does Lu Guang allow this huge "deviation" because he saw it was supposed to happen? Did he lie about what he saw in the photo? Was his elevated concern in that moment he claimed was about CXS's potential mental state while of going into his friend's potentially dying body actually about CXS starting the game? Is he just as clueless as everyone else and now everything is spiralling?

Chen Xiao. Chen Xiao, Chen Xiao. Oh man. "Nothing will be affected" my ass Lu Guang. Pretty sure you created an entire person that didn't previously exist from that mission. Sure, all the people that were supposed to die in the earthquake died, but Chen Xiao did NOT have a wedding ring on when he came to the photoshop to hire them. He was a miserable man with regrets he couldn't move past, including missing his "first love." Now, I get that first loves have a lot of weight, but he's like 30+ and so desperate... this is not a man who looks at his wedding ring with care and sings his son to sleep. But he becomes that. Where did that child come from?!?

Just because the 12 hours after the photo are the same doesn't mean that the 12 years after it are. Lingering resentment--or the lack thereof-- is a strong shaping force. Also. Chen Xiao's lack of regrets from a successful mission means that he never would have hired them to dive in the first place. So to make it full circle, Chen Xiao "returns" to the photo shop (for the first time?) to have CXS develop the photos he took himself on the camera he saved from the wreckage...And, I have to assume from the implication of a new timeline, THAT is how they get paid for the job. How much are they charging to develop film? Was it worth it??

Does LG even know about this kind of change? Is it just too far out of his range to see? He didn't seem to know about Emma until he saw the news, so maybe he's limited in what he can see, but he found that article pretty fast, so maybe he knew something was happening. It's hard to know.

What are the extent of LG's powers? Is he from the future?

He always says not to ask about the "past or future." I assumed this meant the future of the past that CXS was currently in, but what if he also means the future of the present that we're currently seeing? Can he see the future of the present he's in now?

In season 1, he knew that CXS would appear as himself when he dove into the surveillance camera footage. How? It was obviously CXS's first time doing that, but maybe not LG's. If it was his first time, how did he know?

We recently learned that he can see the present through surveillance footage the same way he does looking at footage of the past. Does this mean he can also see 12 hours into the future? It's 20:44 when LG unlocks Chen Bin's phone, so it's probably around 21:00 when he uses his powers. Does he know how things will unfold? Does he see the twins moving through the building? Does he realize there are two of them?

He's obviously been up to something this whole season: watching the clock, hiding photos, opening up stitches without much physical effort beyond using his powers... 🤔

My current crack theory is that LG reopening his stitches while using his powers to watch the fight is actually related to him escaping and/or jumping off the boat to free CXS. I'm not sure how because it's definitely more than 12 hours between the events, but something is up.

It's not surprising to me that CXS and Wang Juan were controlled through touch. The moment Li Tianxi reached out her hand to shake CXS's I yelled at my TV. It looked too similar to LG reaching out to start a dive.

And I yelled even louder when she made contact

CXS can dive on his own and LG can see into a photo on his own. The physical touch only connects their minds, it's not necessary to activate the powers. Could LG touch CXS and communicate telepathically without diving into a photo if they had an activation touch? Does LJ need a time travel element to get into CXS's head?

I think Li Tianchen's powers at least are touch related because when he touched Xixi, CXS lost his connection with LG. But I think there may be something else going on with the twins. I'm just not sure what I think yet. We wouldn't know if one was possessing the other because their eyes are the same.

How do the powers manifest, and what does that mean for Lu Guang's backstory?

I think we saw the moment when Li Tianxi and/or Li Tianchen acquire powers. Was it a predisposition that unlocked during a highly traumatic moment or did it just manifest somehow from an extreme desire to take control of the situation?

Li Tianxi was a child who wanted to communicate and be present but felt trapped in her over stimulated body. Li Tianchen was a boy with strong ideals and a sense of protectiveness... without the strength of an adult body to follow through with that protection. While they were holding the photo, huddled together in close physical contact after Tianchen's head injury, one of them or the combined force of them was able to 1.) take over their mother's body and 2.) blank out Xixi's mind to the point of cutting CXS's connection with LG and eventually the whole photo. But something went very wrong along the way. Maybe some signals were crossed.

CXS is a highly empathetic person. He feels so much for everyone and wants to connect with people emotionally. And his powers reflect that. We know CXS has probably at some point had a strong enough desire to go back in time, if anything to see his parents.

What, then, do the circumstances look like for a logical, emotionally reserved--but deeply caring--person to acquire powers to see snapshots of the past? What would drive him to want to change the past so much that he manifests these powers?

We know CXS had never done a dive without LG before he temporarily went rogue in S1E9... because he didn't know he could do it until he tried.

We know S1E1 isn't the first time they dive. CXS nags LG about having heard the rules a hyperbolic amount of times. So the powers aren't new at this point. But I don't think they both had powers before they met. So how and when did they get their powers? Was it when they met? When they travelled abroad? After some accident or something?

LG just shows up in CXS's life unannounced. Twice. And that's how they got close. Was it just the random fated meeting of soulmates as per fiction standards or did LG intentionally seek out CXS for more timey-wimey reasons? Did meeting LG activate CXS's powers? Did they experience something together to have compatible abilities? Did LG already have his and teach CXS how to manifest his own? How much did LG already know before he picked up that basketball?

I have this other crack theory that I absolutely hate and don't want to be true at all and almost certainly isn't, but, like...what if if LG and CXS are actually the same person from different timelines. Like LG is a version of CXS that doesn't get to have familial love and maybe experiences too much trauma, and he goes back in time to give himself some semblance of a home and a set of rules to hone his powers without altering the timeline that he's actively changing. They're intentionally written to be two halves of a whole, and there's been more than one joke made about LG being a ghost or not existing. I hate it. But it's in my head.

One last question for today... because I have to wonder:

Who makes the rules?

Has LG just read enough books to feel knowledgeable about how time travel works? Is he from the future trying to maintain a desired outcome? Are they following the rules of a third party who's orchestrating the flow of events from a distance? Are they... Leaving their fates to the ones who aren't in control?

[houjou-arisa]

LINK CLICK S2 SPOILERS

Not sure if someone on here already pointed this out but I saw a post on Twitter saying that if you increase the brightness on this photo you can see Cheng Xiaoshi’s body in the background 🙃

This picture also shows what looks to be a forest behind Lu Guang. I’m definitely convinced now that he’s remembering a previous timeline where Xiaoshi died..

[houjou-arisa]

I have not written fandom theories for a long time, but LInkClick fuels my interest and search for meaning too much. Recently, I reviewed all the available series, and came across details that I had not connected before. For the most part, this post is speculations about Cheng Xiaoshi, as well as ... timeline.

Spoilers! Please be careful.

Considering so many details about Cheng Xiaoshi, it seems that there has always been something strange about his "symbolism". In fact, I'm really into the theory that the moment in episode 1 of season 2 (when Lu Guang gets stabbed) is the vision & flashback of the past about Cheng Xiaoshi's death. In fact, it amazes and delights me how many details in OverThink support these thoughts. At least because once a frame flashes, which somewhat resembles a scene from Lu Guang's flashbacks.

But there is more. We have 3 main points: clock, сlockwork and camera. 1. Clock - possible time of death Very specific time appear several times. The clock hands look very strange, still not 6, so probably the time is 5:20 (thus, given the symbolism of 520, I have even more questions). They show the same time in any frame.

But the most interesting thing is that at the very end, when we see Cheng Xiaoshi (with the design from the first season), for a few seconds, in addition to the patterns of gears, a very faded inverted dial of this clock appears on him, where inverted 4 is the most visible part. No need to say that 4 is a symbol of death.

This can only be seen in 1s1s ED. Because, in fact, there are 2 versions of the ED, and it's different (without these details) for the remaining 10 episodes.

Even the very first intro with characters contains very similar clock placed in the background of Cheng Xiaoshi. So, at this point, I'm guessing that this strange 5:20 was the key node and the death of Cheng Xiaoshi.

2. Clockwork - сhanging a key event Gears are shown both literally and in pattern. For a long time, I thought that Lu Guang's shadow was just a shadow, or an indistinct noise, but if you look closely, it becomes obvious that Lu Guang is covering a pattern of gears - probably as a sign of changes with clock mechanism and time. Details such as water drops and film strips are also interesting, as both OP (Dive Back in Time and Vortex) connect these elements to Cheng Xiaoshi.

One of the moments shows how the silhouette of hands (overlapping the trees, which may coincide with the background of the forest in the vision in s2s1) touches the inverted clock, after which the second hand of the clock begins to move back.

And the most beautiful thing .. The fact that the hands belong to Lu Guang, as well as the context of this action, confirms that the animation literally coincides with the scene from the end of 4th (and the beginning of 5th) episodes, when Lu Guang explains to Cheng Xiaoshi how key events (nodes) and changes in the past work. But inverted. What a coincidence, right?

Honestly, I think that all these details can further support the theories about Lu Guang, which already have enough speculation. Given all the hints, it is possible that due to Cheng Xiaoshi's death, he changed something in time, thus erasing the "future in that present" and created a new present as an alternate reality. Just a thought.

3. Camera - another timeline Let's go back to the very end again. Here Cheng Xiaoshi is holding a camera in his hands.

Remember this diamond-shaped mark. This camera is very specific, as it has appeared several times, but not in the main series (yet). There is an easter egg in the mini-series, Lu Guang has a rather similar model, only with a round (clock-like) mark.

It's importance becomes even more obvious, especially now that we have a poster for the second season.

So. What's wrong with this camera? Because there are actually two of them. The one on the table has a rounded clock mark. But the camera in reflection is the one that Cheng Xiaoshi holds in the ED, with a diamond mark.

For me... Seems like it is probably one of the main connecting elements or "anchor" between the timelines / alternate realities, at least conveys this idea. All this makes me feel excited and inspired, how it was possible to place all this so neatly. And which of these can really confirm conjectures and theories … Thanks to the scriptwriters and animators, it's nice to be a part of this game.

Or maybe I'm just overthinking… Anyway, thanks for reading to the end. Perhaps someone has their own thoughts, feel free to discuss ~

[houjou-arisa]

Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang’s first time meeting is so sus to me now. This is all speculation of course but the way Lu Guang is acting really makes it seem like he knows Xiaoshi already. Like why was this man just standing right where Xiaoshi happened to be playing basketball? He doesn’t look like he ended up there on accident.

Why is Xiaoshi talking to Lu Guang like that? Dude you literally met 10 minutes ago and you’re already calling him your trustworthy partner.. 🤨

Also during a q&a with Director Li, someone asked what Xiaoshi was thinking during this scene and he answered that Xiaoshi felt Lu Guang was familiar even though he hadn’t met him before.

Then Lu Guang just so happens to be passing by the photo studio. He plays it off like it’s totally a coincidence but he’s looking at Xiaoshi all 🥺 before he turns around. Why is he looking at someone he barely knows with so much longing?? Maybe he’s just awkward but with all the other hints there’s probably more to it than that. Not to mention Qiao Ling saying it’s like Lu Guang just magically appeared in their lives one day.

I think Lu Guang definitely knew exactly where Xiaoshi would be and intentionally went to him. Who knows how many times he’s experienced their “first” meeting.

[houjou-arisa]

The summer 2023 season belongs to the white-haired and the dark-haired duo that are heavily coded as soulmates.

[houjou-arisa]

MIU 404

“Where did you grow up?” “What would you prefer? A broken upbringing? Childhood trauma? A tormented past? Which one would you prefer? I am not going to be a part of your narrative.” MIU404 is one of the best police procedurals that’s come out in the last few years. That’s not to say that every case was flawless and perfect-pitched, but what was impressive was the ambitious wholeness of the story. Small recurring roles that served a bigger purpose in the end, seemingly less significant cases that brought upon a string of events that becomes significant. To start with, the team is beautifully written. Apparently the scriptwriter gave a lot of freedom for the two main characters, and both Hoshino Gen and Ayano Gou did a fantastic job with the chemistry of the characters, but also with how grounded and real they felt. They were flawed, faltering, but well-meaning and persistent. They were enforcers of justice, but their justice becomes questioned and questionable, and they lose their way before finding their way again. Their character arcs, carefully developed over the entire 11 episodes, are amongst the best character development arcs you will find in this genre. The supporting cast was also well-rounded. Kikyou is one of the best written female police bosses in this genre. She is strong but not headstrong, and she is also empathetic without being overly sentimental. When she is with familiar people, she allows herself to have moments of vulnerability. Nogi Akiko understands the real difficulties of being a female leader in a traditionally male-dominated field, and Aso Kumiko brings a no-nonsense briskness along with a motherly protectiveness, which makes this character so much more nuanced than a lot of trophy strong female police characters out there. (As an aside, this reminds me of the much more hamfisted depiction of Honda Tsubasa’s “strong but traumatised” female investigator in Zettai Reido 4 and in this case it seems to have really taken a female writer to write one well.) Her interactions with Hamu-chan, the witness she is trying to protect, is sweet and touching, and flies past the Bechdel test. Moving on from the characterisations, the script was clever in that it started off like a standard police procedural, with a random case week by week, but even in the early weeks it had already started to drop clues and hints for what was to come later. The story about Ibuki’s mentor was heart-breaking, but would have had much less emotional heft if we hadn’t already met the mentor throughout earlier episodes. It was clear this is a drama that had a very definite idea of where it wanted to go from the beginning, and it was amazing to get to the end and see pieces starting to fall into place. Of course all of this would not have worked without having one of the best final bosses to come out of a Japanese police procedural, and perfectly acted by Suda Masaki. People are drawing comparisons to Heath Ledger’s Joker - to be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of that particular Batman movie so I’m not even going to comment on any similarities. He had a nonchalant manner that still managed to be threatening, and he outwitted the police on multiple counts. As his conversation with Ibuki says, there is actually very little crime they can pin on him, even if they’re certain he is the mastermind. Some people may find it dissatisfying that they have left him an enigma, but I felt it was the perfect way to wrap with this character, and gives the opportunity for a second season (*fingers crossed*). Overall, this drama rated 11.92% but like Unnatural, the script and acting was deserving of much better. I expect, like Unnatural, it will win a lot of critics awards even if its ratings are less than stellar. Definitely a must-watch for people who like police procedurals - it has humour and thoughtfulness in equal measure, great characterisations and cast chemistry, and a well-written central plotline and an impressive villain, and dramas that manage to get all these elements are a rarety these days.

[houjou-arisa]

at first, I intended on watching one episode of MIU 404 a night, because that seemed like a good pace. and then i proceeded to binge watch it in the last few days, and got no sleep last night because it was that good.

i feel like it might replace ouroboros as my favorite crime drama?? like, the plot progression was so solid, it was excellent at balancing between the humor and the angst, the heartwarming sequences and the excruciating empty silences of anticipation. and all of the actors and actresses were really on-point and clicked so well with each other. i love the subtle shifts of expression the most, whether during the comedy scenes or emotional ones. Hoshino Gen in particular, I didn’t think he would be this good. whether it was him rolling his eyes and showing his exasperation with Ibuki, or the moment he threw caution to the wind and you could see the emptiness and acceptance in his expression when he put that gun to his head and really probably meant it when he said to go ahead, shoot me. he claims it was a bluff, but Ibuki latched onto the truth there - he was ready to die and fine with it.

the character progression, too, was actually really great. ibuki seriously matured, where it didn’t seem like he would AT ALL in the beginning. and at the end is when it becomes clear that he and shima really needed each other, and their captain realized that, which is why they ended up partnered together. they both just needed someone to be there for them, through thick and thin, someone to pull them up when they fall down and someone to rely on. They spend the whole drama learning to trust each other and others, because despite being quite different in terms of personality they were both in the same boat, not really liked by most of their coworkers and mostly just soldiering on by themselves.

and also ibuki. he learned to not be so naive. he is still very straightforward and honest, and wants to believe in people, but he becomes aware through all he experiences that there will be times belief is not enough. still, the last episodes conclude, that it’s worth trying and believing anyways. the episode that shows the “what if” shima and ibuki didn’t believe in each other (shima trying to protect ibuki by isolating him and ibuki reacting to that mistrust by feeling the need to continue on by himself) was heart breaking and devastating and i am so glad it didn’t end that way.

there’s a lot else to be said about all the other characters – their amazing capitan, kikyo, and her relationship with the woman who she is protecting because the law itself could not? jimba and kokonoe’s father-son relationship?

This show is also really good about keeping little details in, that i probably missed a lot of in my first watch. the most obvious is probably the melon bread truck, that thing has BEEN THROUGH IT. it looked so sad when it got abandoned in a corner of the garage but kokonoe brought it back to save the day one more time! a tiny one i saw in a screenshot was the handcrafted stuffed bunny ibuki is given, which remains on a shelf in their office.

also, kokonoe is my favorite, underneath all the straight-laced propriety is a kid at heart and a cheeky one at that (he’s also super good looking which helps lol…). it’s kinda sad he ends up having to leave for the npa, but it’s definitely suitable for him as well. he’s not a character to reveal his inner thoughts readily, but they hint that he doesn’t like it when people bring up that he’s the son of the npa director (? whatever his position is) and seems to try to escape that until the others help him realize that he can utilize the privilege he was born with and can’t do anything about, to help make the system better, a thing the others can’t easily do from their positions.

which brings me to another thing this show excelled at: giving attention to power imbalances in society. things do work out very nicely and everyone gets a happy end, but it also doesn’t gloss over the fact that the flaws in society are there and people regularly turn a blind eye, and it doesn’t offer a magical fix to things even if all turns out well for the cast. it was also kept things rather realistic and grounded. the villains were in it for self-interest, whether that be money or power, but didn’t come off as laughably evil or over the top.