#❛ sumire. ✦ / ❝ ( threads. )

[hopes-memorial]

6- Did your muse have a best friend? Friends? Who did they hang out with as a kid? Are they still friends? (Ayane!)

12- Did your muse go on any trips or vacations as a kid? Where did they go? How did they feel about traveling? (Amai!)

18 - What's one thing that instantly transports your muse back to their childhood? Why? (Sumire!)

OC childhood asks

"Yeah, of course! When I was in a kid's orchestra, there were these two girls, Ruri and Uta, that were there, too. Ruri was in my section, and she always got first chair, so the two of us were rivals the entire time while Uta was doing percussion. We would always hang out after practice to talk a bit, and invited each other over for birthdays and everything, it was so much fun. We hang out whenever we can, but with how busy things can get..." She sighs a bit. "I totally need to invite the two of them over for a slumber party again, it would be just like when we were kids again."

"Hm... well, after... an incident, Mom let me and Dad go to the island of rabbits for my birthday when Amai was really little... It wasn't that fun. The poor rabbits aren't in the best of health and the history portion of it can be really sad and super suuuuper scary to think about..." They sigh a bit before smiling brightly. "Buuuut dad made sure to buy Amai a whole bag of rabbit food to feed aaaall the bunnies Amai could and let me pick out a candy and some cute stickers. Amai wanted this really cute plushie... but Mom would have thrown a fit if she saw Amai having fun with it."

"There's this one doll that I used to carry around when I was a child. My parents gave it to me for when I was lonely after having to stay home from school so often. I remember dad helping me repair it with grandpa after other kids broke it, and mom helped me learn to make clothes for it. It was my best friend for years, and just looking at it now is enough to make me remember all of it..." She sighs and wipes her eyes, not even realizing they were watering as she thought about it. "Sorry, the memories are... I just really miss those days."

[crossxskulled]

Maybe there was a tiny end, just the smallest smidgen of enjoyment in just being abruptly forthright about it. Ryuji however has long since thrown that shyness to the wayside when it comes to his friends. So why bother just bullshitting about a fact that remains plain as day?

That’s just what Sumire is, alongside of these many other awesome elements. What hadn’t clicked in mind however would be the ‘shaken soda can’ effect to take place.

Was it just him or.. Was her face trying to reach some esteemed record of matching the color of her hair?

“?? Don’t need to what? I was just saying what was in my mind dude.” Ryuji shoots back in response. Which means yes, this wouldn’t exactly be the first time.

@epitomees​

[sumire-bride]

(( Me at 5am listening to the whole silent voice and erased soundtracks while planning my whole idea for a Sumire Valentine event I have stuck in my head ))

[kroosluvr]

january 9

ok i have a lot of thoughts. erm. buckle in

im sure everyone agrees that the joker vs sumire fight on jan 9 was so nothing..... so i wanted to raise the stakes. UP THE ANTE.

so to make it more intense life-and-death situation, in my head sumire basically tosses her own life away at joker in a "one of us is gonna die here and honestly? i dont care which way the cards fall"

"either i die here -> sumire doesn't have to live anymore. or, i kill you and i get my true reality (and sumire doesn't have to live anymore.)"

joker notices this immediately, by the wild way she fights all of a sudden. however crow doesn't notice bc i think he sees sumire as inexperienced and just assumes joker will win by default (like he does in canon. nothingburger fight.....)

but joker is too damn cautious, knowing one wrong move might result in her demise or his downfall...

i think here he only deflects with his melee, doesn't even try to summon his personas. crow notices smth is off and then sumire manages to get a deep hit on him w cendrillon+her sword

which activates crow bc. at this point he dgaf abt sumire BUT he doesnt want joker to die.

(ironically, crow's selfish goal to Help Joker helps sumire bc she then realizes that she's being irrational/hurting one of her dear friends (akira).. she didnt really think abt how this choice of the ideal reality would affect him (or goro)

also i always thought crow just walking away frm that fight was kinda lame so. just the idea of akira Faltering... about to let himself get killed.. in a way Giving In to the Wrong Choice of the ideal reality.... yeah that'd piss him off BIG time

(though, if i framed it in the way this comic does, crow walking away at first to let joker handle it is so real. bc hes like i cant be wasting time on this, just let akira handle her and then we can go back to figuring out how to conquer this palace and maruki etc. Sumire is small potatoes rn)

also akira being too compassionate/sensitive abt her emotions to fight her directly bc he can see how shes barely hanging on by a thread.. ough ough ough.....

but also sumire being so angry and desperate that she dgaf if she hurts akira rn. OHHHH OUCHHH OWIE

also this is the scene i showed in the bg of this comic! (sorry twitter link im lazy

"she'd rather die at our hands than her own" implying if she lost here and didnt die, she'd kill herself upon returning to the True reality bc she cant live with "sumire" anymore. okkk.. yeah

"This is the only way. I know you know that too, Joker" -> the only way back to our reality as we know it. we can't afford to be soft if it'll kill us. if this is truly sumire's choice, then we HAVE to fight. we can't back down here.

(and, also, this is the only way to show sumire that we're serious: we won't let her live as kasumi, she has to face herself, she can't run off to some dystopian ideal reality - this is the only way!!!!!)

Dying's easy. we already know sumire would die to become kasumi, to become a better gymnast, to not be sumire anymore. But would she kill for it. Who would she kill for it

[just-a-ghost00]

💌Someone wants to reach out!

Trigger warning : this reading mentions the passing of beings and other sensitive subjects. It is way heavier than I intended and I want to make sure that you know what you get yourself into. If you are underage, refrain from reading this post. If you know that you are sensitive to such subjects, refrain from reading as well, as a security measure.

As this is going to be a very detailed reading, I only put two options to choose from. To help you identify if you picked the right group, I will use some letters to try to get keywords as confirmation signs. In this reading, we are first going to try to identify who is trying to reach out to you. Then, we will find out what they wish to say to you. At the end of your reading, you will get a short advice from your guides. For this PAC I will be using letters, the White Numen tarot and the Threads of fate oracle, as well as some self made tissue box messages.

Group 1

Note from reader : As I was doing the last adjustments of your reading, I looked up at the sky through my window and looked at the clouds. That might be something the person we're talking about used to do a lot. In the shape of the clouds I saw many N and a few A. Those might be significant initials.

Letters : M F T I U A S N E M R S C V U Keywords : Mass, rain, Insta, star, rats, Cain, museum, amuse, Muse, cinema, mics, revue (French for magazine), fame, Reita, Sumire, saint, Cirus, Marcus, Mars, trains, Venus, arts, man, versus, Mantis, fumer (French for smoking), fast, cars, music, rants, Francis, frantic, France, matsuri (Japanese for festival), mister fun, musc, sister, fan, Ventura, Messi, faint, vain, veins, Traum (German for dream), stairs, Uranus, Saturn, Vermin, races, fire, Aries, Uranium, Taurus

Who is trying to reach out?

Creative soul | Unusual talent | Singer | Heterochromia | Earth angel | 5th house personal creativity I SERVE | 2 of pentacles, 7 of cups, page of swords, The Void, The Weaver, The Revolutionary

Okay I know this is going to sound crazy but I picked up on Moonbin. I can't explain why as I didn't know him very well. But I thought of him as soon as I wrote that channeled message you are gonna read in the next section. Aside from that, I can definitely tell that whoever is trying to reach out to you has passed on. This person was full of life and ideas, there were many things they wanted to say and do but they didn't get the chance to give life to all their dreams. They were young. Very young. This person wanted to fight the darkness and be a ray of hope in a world of doom. They had great ambitions and though they were battling their own demons, they truly believed in good and wanted to be good. They believed that they could weave their destiny as they wanted and that they could change the world if they tried real hard. They wanted to leave a positive impact around them. Heal the world. I'm also picking up on Michael Jackson energy. Maybe you or this person was a Michael Jackson fan. They may have been misunderstood by people around them when they were living. Maybe they were made fun of as a child because of their peculiar personality and talents. Maybe this person saw or did things that people didn't believe in or were afraid of. They were the first in their family to be like that. Maybe they were the first to be queer or the first that had a special talent that was deemed out of the ordinary. Could have been an artistic talent but also something related to the unseen. Maybe they could sense ghosts or they had downloads about specific events. They could have been the first to break from the family patterns and traditions. Like maybe in this person's family people were carpenters or automobile constructors from father to son and they chose to be an artist instead. I'm drawn to the snake on the Weaver card. Maybe snakes were important to this person. Like it is a symbol that represents them or this could be their chinese zodiac sign. Years of the snake are 1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001 or 2013 and the next one will be 2025. But more than zodiac, I feel like they related to snakes in the sense that these animals are often feared and viewed as negative when they are neither good nor bad. They hold the potential for both and will only be "bad" if you threaten them. The reason I got drawn to the snake is because I know of an artist that passed on whose clothing brand logo was a snake. If any of you are familiar with The GazettE, I'm talking about Reita and his brand SNAKEDLOWS. Especially the one with the Ouroboros that was used in 2022. If you don't resonate with any of these artists, this could have been a family member, whether you knew them during their lifetime or not.

What they want to say to you :

"Dear love, I cannot stress enough how much I love you. You lit up my life in so many ways. I can never thank you enough for the support and love you have given me over the years. I owe so much to you. I was able to live a good life because of you. Please allow me to return the favor by being your n° 1 fan from now on <3 Fighting!"

Complementary info - The wildling, take risk, the pillar, connect to heart, The Void, 7 of pentacles, 7 of swords, page of cups rx, 3 of wands rx, King of pentacles

They are trapped in a state of limbo and they want to connect with you to be free. But they also want to help you set yourself free from patterns and obligations that you don't resonate with anymore. You are lying to yourself about the state you are in. You keep working and working without taking into account how you feel. Your life has become more of a routine and less of an adventure. You closed your heart to favor your mind. It's like you no longer marvel at life and try to run from your truth. They want to connect with you because they don't want you to do the same mistakes as them and ignore the signs that you are not okay. They want to help you ground yourself into an environment and a state of being that is healthy. Behind the Void hides Get curious. Behind the king of pentacles hides the knight of cups. They want you to be curious about love again. To open your heart again. To fight for your happiness because they don't want you to know the same fate as them. It's like they're saying "there are things I wish I knew sooner because if I'd known them maybe I wouldn't have had as hard of a time as I did". "If I'd known, I'd have told people how I felt. Maybe I would have been saved from my own sorrow. I don't want you to drown in your feelings like I did". There's a theme of mental health issues, suicidal tendencies and/or abuse from close circle like family members, friends. It's like this person in their life time chose to prioritize their job and the well being of others to the detriment of their own health and emotional security. They withheld information, pretended that they were fine when they were not. They hid behind their success and their career and most likely worked themselves until it was too much for them to handle.

Advice from your guides - 3 of swords, the world, The Pillar, Ask Body

Don't isolate yourself and remain in your anger or sadness. Speak up to somebody, reach out, open your heart to the world. There are other people who share your pain and doubts, who will be able to relate to what you go through and help you on your journey. Strengthen your body but also pay attention to the signs it is sending you. If you feel unusual pain, pay attention to it. Your third eye is opening. You are becoming more sensitive to spirit and other's emotions. So make sure you build strong enough walls to protect yourself from spiritual attacks. Ask your guides for help if you feel like you can't rely on anyone. Spend time in contemplation and prayer. The spirit of the cheetah is here to remind you that it's important to save your energy and only spend it for what matters. You need to find your center back instead of dispersing your energy in many projects at a time. "It is not unusual for the Cheetah Spirit Animal to come as a guide and support for people who have intense feelings. If you are empathetic, Cheetah reminds you it’s okay and healthy to cry. It releases all the excess input bumping around in your aura while cleansing and decreasing stress. Pause for a moment. Cry and then give yourself something wonderful afterward." You are asked to slow down and take time to let your emotions be expressed instead of repressing them. [Source : what is my spiritanimal]

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Group 2

Letters : D R A A E T U E E O O Q A U E Keywords : tour, route, area, Qatar, road, dare, tear, deer, dear, rate, root, tora (Japanese for tiger), rat, door, eau (French for water)

Who is trying to reach out?

Cancer I FEEL July 20 to August 10 | Model | Heterochromia | Healer | Musician | Dorky/quirky | 7th house Awareness of others I CONNECT | 10 th house Outerworld I ACHIEVE | 8 of pentacles, 6 of cups, King of swords, Self love, The Void, The Seeker rx

I get two possibilities for this group. Some of you could have a passed on ancestor / parent trying to contact you. For others, this person is living but you are not in contact with them at the moment. In both cases, I get this feeling of communication being blocked. It's as if you refuse to be in contact with them or you delay the moments when you are in contact with them. No matter the situation, you are taking refuge in your work as a way to avoid them. This person could be a soulmate and/or someone from your childhood. I get the feeling of a dynamic between someone that is quite old and someone that is quite young. Like a clash of generations. This is just one example between many but think of a parent and their child or a mentor and their protégé. This person could have had a higher status than yours. Aside from the careers mentioned by the tissue box messages I also sense law enforcement, military, politics. Positions of authority in general. It's like you've created a bubble around you and you stay in that bubble. No matter how hard this person is trying to reach out, their attempts are cut short by the distance between you. It's like you voluntarily keep them at bay. I feel a lot of sadness and worry coming from them. It feels like they're afraid that they can't help you. They can sense that something is troubling you and they wish to help you in any way they can but you refuse their help. They feel lonely and left out. It saddens them to see that you don't seem to trust them as much as you used to. They understand and recognize your need for space and independance, your passion and goals, your personal legend. But they also wish that you would let them be a part of it, let them in into your world and give them the opportunity to contribute to it even just a little. More than anything they want to reconnect with you and go back to lighter and innocent moments, where you share memories and try to build a future together. This doesn't have to be a romantic thing. Actually I feel more of a parental vibe than a romantic one. But of course it's going to vary depending on people so for some it could be a romantic partner that is/was very protective of you and kind of acted as a parental figure.

What they want to say to you :

"My child, you need not to cry. Our fate isn't one to worry about. I cry for all of you who are here on Earth, who do not know the taste of true love. I cry for my brothers and sisters who still have to fight the same battles, though I've fought them before. I wish I could heal the world. I wish I could heal you too. <3"

Complementary info - Underworld, Seeker rx, Paradox, The Revolutionary, knight of pentacles, 3 of pentacles, knight of pentacles, Judgement

They wish that instead of giving a lot of attention to others you would allow yourself to receive help and attention from them. That you would stop keeping them at bay and let them show you a new perspective, a different way of doing things. That you would let them pave the way a little more for you and shed light onto other paths, other skills, other people that could be helpful. They want to find a common ground with you and create something stable, fruitful. They want to team up with you in order to restore balance in your life. If some of you are facing legal matters or have been wronged, they want to help you get retribution. They wish you wouldn't be so hard on yourself and stop fighting your battles alone. It's like they're saying "it doesn't have to be just you against the whole world, you don't even have to fight if you don't want to ; if you truly want it, let me stand by your side". For a lot of you this concerns your career or your studies. They wish that you would share your load with them. They wish that you would come to them for advice instead of trying to save them the worry because they're going to worry anyway so they might as well worry with you. They wish that you wouldn't be so harsh on them and judge them so harshly. You underestimate this person's ability to understand you. They wish to say "I've been there to and I know how you feel". They want to let you know that you are not alone, they fully support you in your decisions and choices. They're ready to fight for and with you. All they need is your command. They're saying "tell me what you need and I'll be getting it for you, tell me your fears and I'll send them away". Just one word from you and they will serve justice. There's also a theme about prayer, similarily to group 1. I heard "God is mighty and if you ask you shall receive". I know religion is a touchy subject so I don't want to force beliefs on anyone but if that is something you resonate with then they encourage you to keep going and turn to God for help.

Advice from your guides - Death, Versatility rx, page of cups, 4 of swords

They want you to take rest and do things that you enjoy. You may want to get your health checked. Put an end to connections and habits that are detrimental to you.

[yoshizawaviolet]

— ❝ One day at a time. ❞

✧ ADMIN. celeste (kroosluvr) / she/her / 23 / PST (but i'm pretty nocturnal)

✧ TATSUYA SUOU ASK/RP (@lonesingularity)

headcanon-based, canon-divergent at times, celeste's personal and beloved take on sumire yoshizawa! established july 17 2024.

all art posted or used as icons is either mine or from official persona media! please do not repost or use my art without permission!

please read my rules under the cut before following or interacting - we do not have to be mutuals to interact! ♡

no spoiler tags for p5r

open rp ✧ rp prompts ✧ all rp ✧ sumire musings ✧ art tag ✧ sumire answers ✧ verses

okay to respond to open rp, rp prompts, or musings whenever!

— ONE. my number 1 rule is absolutely no NSFW or R18 content. (even in AUs/timeskips.) aside from sumire being a minor, around age 15-16, i myself am not comfortable with that. i may also not interact with accounts that largely post nsfw/r18 stuff for my own comfort. please understand!!!  

— TWO. blood, violence is ok to a certain extent! but nothing crazy! i'll let you know if it's to an uncomfortable extent for me! 

— THREE. i may respond to asks/rp with art, but do not interact with me with expectations for art. if you even remotely tell me to draw something for you, i'll probably stop talking to you or block completely. (Vice versa, if you're an artist, please don't feel pressured to respond with art!!! <33)

— FOUR. this is my first time rping as a canon character, and running an rp/askblog at that! so, i'd like to restrict rp to persona series characters (and persona OCs) only for now. this might change later! the only mainline game i'm unfamiliar with is p1, and i haven't played strikers or finished tactica yet. 

— FIVE. i may not respond to your ask if 1) i can't think of a good answer 2) the ask is confusing 3) makes me uncomfortable 

— SIX. hopefully this is obvious but please no unsolicited flirting/overfamiliarity with the muse or admin, especially out-of-character.

OK !!! ദ്ദി ( ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ )

sending asks about specific ships/leaning towards certain pairings, and feel free to specify if you'd like! "i.e. what do you like to do with x, what do you think about y?" as i am an avid sumire multishipper, basically any sumire x pthief or highschool-aged npc is valid! cross-persona series characters are also valid with chemistry! (so probably don't ask "what do you think about minato" as there's nothing to go off)

if we follow each other (reminder that i follow from kroosluvr!) honestly feel free to shoot a starter anytime, i don't mind at all! even multiple rps going at the same time are awesome!!! ^^

totally ok to drop a thread if you don't see it going anywhere or it's naturally come to a close! (though i think ending it with an [END] of sorts would be nice hehe

my sumire is bi demisexual! my favorite pairings for her are shusumi/shuakesumi poly/akesumi (my favorites! feel free to read here for more), kitasumi/violetfox, annsumi, sumitaba, ryusumi, and sumifumi!! but as mentioned, totally willing to rp/think/draw other ships!

NO !!! Σ(°ロ°)

probably no rp with other sumires, sorry - i just don't think i have ideas for that haha

please don't push headcanons or ships on me!

please don't dm me unless we've interacted before!! if there's any inquiries you have re: my art, commissions, please dm my main, kroosluvr.

please do not push me to answer your ask!!!!!! totally ok to nudge me if we're mid-rp though and its been 48~ hours!

do not use the icons that i make for sumire, as they're tailored to my depiction of sumire and therefore i don't want anyone else to use them.

thanks for reading! let's have fun! ♡

[thelunarfairy]

Okay, let's talk about something random

Omg, it's so embarrassing >.<

So, it's been a while since I created this account and I've already gained some followers, thank you all for that :3 (it means you like the crazy things I post)

So I wanted to talk a little about myself (even though I think no one cares XD)

Ok, I'm going to be serious now XDDD

I created this account because I really like JSHK and I wanted to talk about some crazy ideas or theories about the series and I felt welcomed here ^u^

I want you to know that a lot of things I post are just some crazy ideas that I occasionally have and that it's okay if you disagree, be kind S2 or if you agree I'll be happy if you want to talk to me about it :3

In fact, I hope you feel free to talk to me if you want, whether with an Ask or a message, I love talking about JSHK, if you also love and like crazy theories you can come talk to me if you want.

Don't take the things I say here too seriously, about the theories specifically, I may change my mind in the future or it's just crazy in my head, the most important thing for me is not to be right, but to have fun!

I'm trying to unravel the story in the most entertaining way I can, so it's okay with me if I'm wrong about the things I post (because no one other than Aidairo knows what's actually going to happen) XDD

Anyway, that's it.

Some other information that I don't know if you're interested in but I'll leave it here.

I am a girl

I'm Brazilian, I'd like to make that clear because if there are any Brazilians who also want to talk to me, feel free! (Sou brasileira, gostaria de deixar isso claro porque se tiver algum brasileiro que também queira falar comigo sinta-se a vontade!)

I speak English and Portuguese

I post randomly, but I usually post a lot because I tend to create theories and crazy ideas out of completely nothing.

Anyway, that's all, if you've read this far, thank you very much for giving me your attention :3

Bye bye~

Index

THEORIES:

Amane's Darkness

Could it be that in the time of Amane

Amane's past

The house and the fire

Hanako-kun's Big Puzzle

Predictions of the tragedy

These hands…

The Cursed Seal

ANALYZES:

The monster inside Hanako

One of the mysteries of the Yugi twins

Hands on the walls

The irony of life and Hanako's karma

The forecast

Did you notice?

When you remember that at some point, Hanako will have to say goodbye to Tsukasa again…

Amane's disease

"Red Thread of Fate"

Okay, let's talk about Mitsuba

Amane's possessiveness and insecurity

Natsuhiko and the mysterious door

The relationship between Tsukasa, Yashiro and Amane

Tsukasa's relationship with the red house

Yugi Tsukasa's mother

Sixth sense or predestined death?

Oh my, Yashiro is interested in a lot of boys

Yashiro and Tsukasa's Relationship

YUGI TWINS

The melancholy love of the Yugi twins

Did Tsukasa do this?

Hanako's mental age

I wish I could hear his voice

FINDINGS:

Hanako's boundary

Tsukasa's toys

ASKS:

About Yorishiro 1

Spelling errors and pronouns

Twin stars 1 || Twin stars 2

Tsukasa’s emotions 1 || Tsukasa's emotions 2

Tsukasa's parents

Sumire

Tsukasa's kiss

Hanako's feeling seeing tsukasa for the first time

Nene-chan and I are the same!

Could Hanako have done something to stop Tsukasa's kiss with Nene?

The mysterious hand 1 || The mysterious hand 2

Tsukasa image analysis

Tsukasa's behavior

Who do you think is gonna confess first? Hanako or nene?

Hanako's duty

HANENE:

A post about Hanene

Yashiro's wish and Hanako's self-control

Hanako's cute side

Nene ankles

She was exposed

Does Amane remember?

Hanako and Yashiro's tragic love

Reblog

Hanako-kun's jealous punishment

Hanako's look of desire and love

I still want to see this date, right Aidairo?

The insecurity

Hanene reblog

It was the first time a girl said she liked me, it made me happy…

The active Hanako and the passive Amane

Hanene reblog 2

The moment when Hanako fell in love with Yashiro

Details

But what about Amane and Yashiro's date?

Zombie Hanako and his wish

I know what you did here huh, Aidairo

Hanene reblog 3

This scene

RANDOM:

The invisible ghost

Yashiro Nene priorities

Natsuhiko's love potion

A compilation of jealous Hanako-kun

Tsunene reblog

Tsukasa reblog

Hanako reblog

Yugi twins

Okay, it's cute but

Just a compilation of random Hanene moments

Kou reblog

Just a compilation of random photos of Tsukasa

Just Tsukasa and Mitsuba being happy friends

Amane's Possessiveness reblog

Just a bunch of random photos of two idiots (Kou and Mitsuba)

Just Hanako-kun blushing or embarrassed

Nene and Aoi

A funny detail about the hamsters' space wars

Backstage 1

A tiny Tsukasa trying to put a birthday hat on top of his hat

Just a little ghost and an exorcist boy being best friends

Strangely similar….

"We're the same"

Karma

Hanako and Tsuchigomori

Just Tsukasa having his patience tested

I've been thinking (Tsukasa and Hanako)

[softausterity]

i'm drawing right now but i need to sumigoro parallels post because ghrngfhgrbh!!!!

long ass post and full p5r spoilers. you know how it is

THING ONE: LOCALIZATION BAD

i have mixed thoughts about the choice to add more cognitive characters in p5r but it is good because it very clearly displays some things about like, how people are perceived. right? like cognitive haru sucks for other reasons but it's a good display that her father does not understand her. she's a robot mindlessly following his orders, very literally. same thing with kamoshida and madarame and everyone else. and it's very easy to look at cognitive haru next to cognitive akechi and go "these two act exactly the same" but with one major difference:

that's goro akechi! correct dominant hand and everything! yusuke, who you can also draw easy comparisons to, is Literally A Fucking Painting to madarame. and that right there is Just Akechi.

i'm going to go into the localization because they beefed it up real bad here which is a personal insult to me. everything taken straight from this pastebin i have had bookmarked for like 2 years so i have no idea where i got it from originally.

the 'puppet' bit starts with the line "I was wondering how he'd protect himself if I used my power to tear though his Palace. Turns out you're how. So he's making a puppet kill me… Sounds like something he'd do." in japanese, the second bit of this line is "お前がその係…同じ顔した人形に殺させるって訳だ。…あの男らしい" which our pastebin translates as "You're in charge of that… in other words, I'd be killed by a puppet with the same face as me. …That's just like him."

the notable thing here is that akechi identifies the cognitive double as "A puppet with the same face as (him)" at the start of the interaction. what he's getting at here, with the "that's just like (shido)" is that he's saying "Shido still thinks i'm just some puppet he can order around to do whatever he wants!"

and cognitive akechi responds to that: "Aren't you, though?"

the localisation has completely lost this thread by this point and will continue to completely ignore it despite the fact this is the resolution to akechi's entire character in vanilla P5 no i'm not mad about it - "That's right. I'll do anything. But look at yourself… you're the true puppet." which is just "uhhh no you lol" - the pastebin translation is "That's right, I'm a puppet. I'll do anything. But if I'm a puppet… then the true puppet is you, isn't it?" ("そうとも、オレは人形さ。何だってする。 けどオレが人形なら…ほんとの人形は、お前だろ。")

like. cognitive akechi IS akechi. shido thinks that he can tell akechi to do whatever and he'll do it, and he's right. the entire time, akechi's big plan has been "i'll trick him into thinking i'm co-operating with his plan by co-operating with his plan, and then once he's the prime minister of japan, i'll tell him i was his son the whole time, and he'll be sooooo owned! that'll totally get his ass and I'll Win!" (preemptively addressing a common misconception: he was not going to kill shido. he never says he is going to kill shido. the exact phrase he uses is "living hell.") akechi is the puppet.

and then after the PTs have the heart to heart with akechi and he makes the decision to disobey shido & sacrifice himself for them, his final line in english is: "So, my final opponent is a puppet version of myself…"

which is Nothing. in japanese, it's:

"My final opponent is the puppet I used to be, huh…" ("最後の相手が『人形だった俺自身』か…")

which is EVERYTHING. he changed! he throws away both his life and everything he was working towards to have one real moment of free will!!! that's His Real Actual Death without maruki, and with him it shows why akechi is so fucking horrified at everything that's happening.

anyway, this post was also about sumire.

there she is :)

maruki thinks about sumire as some waifish wilting flower who needs kasumi to do everything and is so consumed by grief that she can't do anything on her own, and it looks like he's right!

pulling out the dogmeta again:

sumire is that weak and helpless when we first meet her, because maruki isn't giving her the tools to help herself and grow. you know, like a therapist? he's making her Feel Better in a way that does not address the problem and will instantly explode and ruin her life again if he's ever removed from the situation. sumire cannot get better because the person who's supposed to be helping her get better doesn't believe she can get better.

akechi and sumire are both completely reliant on Shitty Father Figure who have correctly identified them as useless on their own, akechi changes when he realises he's being controlled, sumire changes when she realises she doesn't need to be controlled.

THING TWO: LOCALIZATION STILL BAD

so you know the part in the sumi boss fight where maruki tentacle-crucifies sumire and makes her persona freak out and then he's like "waaah how horrible you have to save her amamiya-kun!!!" because he's the good guy?

the first thing akechi says is "Tch, it's gone totally berserk..." and in japanese the word he uses here is "暴走" now, berserk is a completely accurate translation of this! but the word comes up a couple other times earlier in the game, you may have spotted it, and it's translated there as.. "(making someone go) psychotic" and by a couple other times i mean every single reference to akechi's powers except weirdly one time with this random old couple in the very beginning of the game.

so akechi and sumire both have a second phase in your boss fight with them where they 'go berserk/psychotic'! just that maruki's making sumire do it a little more noticeably than shido is with akechi.

i'm normal.

[oscarsasylum]

(breaks chains) I CAN BE AUTISTIC ABOUT TAKARAZUKA PHANTOM

@partymeow since it’s going to be undoubtedly long I had to make a post instead of a reply so here it is! im gunna start talking about erik on each one because hes special like that.

its gunna be a bit long:( guess how many times ive said the word love in this thread

Bonus sketch for how I differentiate each adaptation via my style :3

Takarazuka Phantom 2004

Wao Youka’s Erik is, to me, remarkably one of the more serious ones compared to the rest of the takarazuka adaptations of phantom. He reminds me a lot of the 1990 phantom film with Charles Dance! How both of them appear so serious but has probably laid out billions of traps around the opera to prank people and can be quite witty. Wao Youka’s Erik is my favorite just because I’m a sucker for that dynamic wherein person A is cold towards everything else except for when it comes to everything about person B. He looks like he’d buy (or steal) a ton of what Christine just off-handedly mentioned she wanted to get once. I absolutely love how there’s a lot of moments wherein Erik just looks lovingly and proudly at Christine and that’s why 2004 has such a special place in my heart.

Out of bias I think that the best Erik and Christine chemistry still goes to 2004. There’s something about the way Hanafusa Mari and Wao Youka acted out on stage that just sits so perfectly with me. Before the climax, the way they’ve interacted on stage just made it seem as though Erik and Christine actually had some mutual feelings towards each other.

While probably unintentional there were several times wherein the characters actually shed a few tears on some really important scenes and I thought that made the performances all the more immersive because you can actually see the deep emotion that they’re feeling on that moment.. like Christine during My True Love :3

Also! For me, it also has the best Alain Cholet! Suzuka Teru gave him so much life, he’s so full of expression and just overall funny.

Takarazuka Phantom 2006

My second favorite Takarazuka Erik is one acted out by Haruno Sumire. To me, her portrayal of Erik makes him twice as angry as Wao Youka’s Erik. I saw him as a ticking bomb, a loser sewer goblin with anger issues. I absolutely LOVED when he shouted at Gerard to leave his lair in anger, because instead of him demanding him in a firm tone to leave, he quite literally SHOUTS at him and that was just (chefs kiss). Instead of full on appearing like a sopping wet dog after his owner left, he just stands there like a pouting little child and that was just hilarious to me. She’s got a bit of that ALW Erik in her.

I decided to put it here since she played both in 2004 and 2006, but I absolutely adore Izumo Aya as Carlotta! When I first watched the 2006 adaptation I didn’t expect to see her there (since it’s a different troupe) but I’ve always loved how she acted out Carlotta with the perfect amount of snarkiness and comedy so its a pleasant surprise!

Takarazuka Phantom 2011

The most hilarious transition from the angriest Erik to the youngest looking and emotional Erik. Ranju Tomu’s Erik looks like the direct descendant of Wao Youka’s Erik but instead of being serious and cold he is just up there on the sog factor. I absolutely love the carmen sabotage in 2011 because it really set the standard to make that moment as chaotic and silly as humanly possible and I’m so in for it; like Erik literally came out of the FLOOR. Ranju Tomu has such a fantastic voice too, not to say every actress who played Erik didn’t (they’re all so amazing), but I felt it to my core whenever she sings. 

His entire character plus the more stoic and cold Gerard of Sou Kazuho makes for such an interesting dynamic. I’ve never seen an adaptation portray him so serious, and I mean that positively:3

Takarazuka Phantom 2018

THE soggiest Erik out of all the takarazuka adaptations. Nozomi Fuuto’s Erik is by far the funniest and most pathetic one yet because of how emotional he is. Everytime something happens to him he just looks like the last panel from that ‘is that your fursona? thats cringe’ meme format. I just absolutely LOVE how miserable he is whenever he’s on stage. He’s always on the verge of crying and that just makes him all the more loveable. The mommy issues on this one is CRAZY! The way Nozomi Fuuto put so much expression into Erik is so cool, it was so clear what emotions he was going through.. even the really complicated ones like confusion and conflict (and most importantly, smitten).

Absolutely love Maaya Kiho as Christine! I just thought that the way she played her was so cute! She was so pretty and she really rocked that feeling that Christine really was just an honest and kind gal with no bad intentions whatsoever.

There’s also the beautiful improvements in costumes and stage effects and it was such a treat to see. Absolutely loved the special rendered intro of the show.

But that’s the end of my little autistic rambling! Thank you for asking, it was such a pleasure! I really can’t rate which is the best because each of the takarazuka adaptations are special in their own way. each adaptation is like the same size of cake on the table for me and im wearing a little bib and holding up my fork and knife

[lyche3z]

[p5 x omori au] Sumire..?

☆Persona 5 x OMORI AU master thread is on Twitter!☆

[etherbonded]

cont from x @silver-strings-of-fate

An exhausted sigh gently escapes her mouth, she knows that she doesn't have an answer to how. She doesn't know how in all honesty.

" ...I knew there was a chance I survived. But at the time? It seemed small so I didn't want to get your hopes up, that's the last thing I wanted to do for you. Er- nevermind that, how in the HELL did you find my hospital room? "

She's quickly changing the topic but then he has something to say, something that takes her aback, because she had not expected a declaration to stay by her side. Although a bit of a laugh finally manages to find it's way past her lips.

" God at this point just call me Sumire, no need for the formalities considering you're practically declaring you're staying by my side for as long as you can no matter what. At this point just call yourself my boyfriend. "

[andtheyreonfire]

microorganism

Ao3

WC: 1989

AN: happy holidays, ya'll <3

~

Sumire arrives at Ren’s desk at 2 p.m., sharp.

She cranes her neck back, walking forward to try to take in the expanse of her partner. He’s hunched over a book on the table. Makoto and Haru sit next to one forearm, engrossed in their own. Compared to him, the books look like accessories for a doll. Sumire tries, again, to get a better angle at his form. She knew he was big, sure, but seeing it from any angle lower than his shoulder always gives her butterflies.

 —Not entirely the bad kind, mind you, which is why she’s here. Her first Official Hang-Out Date. She’s trying not to be too nervous. She hasn’t known them as long, but she’s determined. She will make a good impression on her girlfriend, and her other girlfriend, and her partner, and her girlfriend’s girlfriends, and her partner’s partners—

“Excuse me,” a calls comes from below her. She’s standing right behind Ren’s other arm. She peeks her head over to see a familiar shock of blue hair, hunched over a sketchbook in his lap. “You appear to be blocking my light source.”

She is, in fact, casting a shadow over Yusuke. She jumps out of the way with a speed usually reserved for a gymnastics meet. “M—my apologies! I should’ve—uhm...“

“it’s quite alright.” Yusuke gives her a genuine smile. He’s tucked in the crook of Ren’s arm, various art supplies strewn in the folds of Ren’s jacket. “I believe the others are here somewhere. Ann and Ryuji should be in his pocket, perhaps? You may find Futaba in his hood.”

He turns back to his notepad without another word.

Sumire breathes out. She assess Ren’s arm. He’s taking a page out of Ann’s closet, today, wearing a hoodie underneath his school jacket. Even though it’s the middle of fall, she’d be worried about him overheating. He runs much, much warmer than she does.

Two layers does mean plenty of material to climb. Sumire slings her bag over her shoulder, and begins to scale his arm.

Ren was the first she’d gone out with. Of the mix of emotions she’d felt upon meeting him—awe, hesitance, pure, unbridled envy—she’d eventually identified infatuation to be one of them. He’d accepted, but not before he asked, twirling a strand of hair between massive fingers, “I’m dating 6 other people, is that alright with you?”

She’d known, of course. She’d seen their dates, their gifts, the tiny lipstick marks on his hands. Sumire accepted, and that was that.

Then, Ann invited her out to crepes. They hit it off, well enough that Sumire now owns a third of her shirts and vice-versa. Then Futaba came, serenading her like a particularly introverted bird. Sumire didn’t quite know what she “computer specs” were, or any of the things Futaba showed her with pride, but she wasn’t able to resist how cute she was during her rants. Now, she has two girlfriends, two more than she ever thought possible.

The two layers of giant cloth under her do make an excellent climbing wall. She digs her fingers in the threads of Ren’s jacket, using the creases of fabric as footholds. Finally, she reaches Ren’s shoulder. She takes only a second to breathe, before ducking down to check which of his pockets might house her girlfriend.

She’d greet Ren if he wasn’t so engrossed in his own activity. He knows someone’s on his shoulder—if the slight tensing of his muscles was anything to go by—but it was a practiced motion, as if he were used to the group crawling on him willy-nilly.

Sumire stifles a fond smile, and begins to look.

The pocket under her lumps, slightly, so she crawls over to it. With—a lot of finagling, she manages to duck under the flap, and slide into the pocket.

She manages to halt her fall just before she collides with Ann and Ryuji’s tangled forms. At seeing them, she isn’t able to stop a grin from blooming on her face.

Ann notices her first. She’s laying flat, one arm intertwined with Ryuji’s, and the other laying behind her head. Ryuji himself lays on his side, curled around Ann’s right. His free hand is circled around Ann’s head and chest. When Sumire hesitates, Ann lifts her left arm to make grabby hands. “Sumi!”

Sumire smiles, before finagling herself into the pocket. She shoves her bag in a corner and hovers over the pair. Ryuji grins, gazing up at her with a puppy-like expression. “Hust lie on top of us, dude. We’ll make room.”

Sumire does, sandwiching between them. Ann and Ryuji adjust, until Ryuji has his arm under both their heads, and Ann’s dragging her nails across Sumire’s scalp.

Sumire’s not dating Ryuji—yet, her brain supplies, the smell of his cologne hitting her directly in her dopamine receptor—but it felt weird to abandon him for Ann. He doesn’t seem to mind, using his free hand to pull out his phone the second she gets settled.

Which, she seems to be doing a poor job, if Ann’s quiet voice is any indicator. “You’re all tensed up, sweetheart. Is something the matter?”

Sumire bites her lip. “Just, ah...what do you do, on these types of outings?”

“It definitely ain’t an outing,” Ryuji answers, eyes still locked on his phone, “But—I dunno. Hang out, study, sleep. Ren’s pockets are the best to sleep in, bro. If we feel like it, we might do a round of Jackbox, or watch a movie, or something.”

“Oh, right.” Ann’s fingernails catch a particularly sweet spot. Sumire melts. “You haven’t been on a group thing yet, have you?”

Sumire shakes her head. “I—I've been too busy with gymnastics meets. I've only been able to do one-on-one dates.”

“Well,” Ann murmurs. “Just relax. There’s nothing to worry about. We got you, alright?”

Insecurity has always cut into Sumire’s skin, telling her she could be smoother, faster, so much better than she is. The memory of things lost will always haunt her. There will always some part of her telling her she’s stealing her opportunities from someone else.

But, love something big enough to share. If Ann’s nails on her skull, her hand intwined with Ryuji, and the love she shares with all of them is any indicator. If Futaba’s custom emojis and memes and messages to all of them, even if Sumire’s the only one she’s dating, is any indicator. If Ren, being able to hold his loved ones close as if it were the act of breathing, is any indicator.

Sumire notices Ren’s heartbeat, now, thrumming right beside their forms. It seems to reverberate through them, surround them. The sound is sweeter than drums to her ears.

Sumira’s able to relax, held by the people she cares for, and, little by little, drift off to sleep.

~

Sumire wakes up less than an hour later, perfectly content.

—Well, she’s well rested. She’s also covered in sweat. She’s sandwiched between two heat slabs, both of which seem to be drooling on her. Her left leg is completely asleep, and her arm feels like it’s mildly dislocated. Perfectly content.

She untangles herself from the mess of limbs, trying not to step on Ann or Ryuji’s dozing forms. To their credit, they sleep as hard as they run warm. She climbs out of Ren’s pocket—left leg dangling awkwardly behind her, having set alight with pins and needles when she tried to shake it—and hoists herself on his shoulder.

Ren’s gone to scrolling on his phone, but reacts all the same when she sets a hand against his cheek. He turns, slowly enough so he doesn’t dislodge her, and gives her a small, genuine smile that sends butterflies fluttering in Sumire’s stomach.

“Ryuji told me you were here,” he whispers, as not to damage her hearing. He pouts, ever so slightly, and it takes a few seconds for Sumire to realize why.

“I know you would’ve given me a ride, but I didn’t want the others to be dislodged.” She scoots closer, enough to lean in and plant a kiss on his jaw. Even if Sumire doubts he can feel it, he leans into the touch, giving something suspiciously like a purr. “I can handle myself, Ren.”

“Okay,” he murmurs, “I know. We’re here for you if you need it, alright?”

Sumire smiles, running a hand along his jaw. He closes his eyes, as if in bliss, and Sumire feels her heart grow 3 sizes.

While she—pets him, she’s petting her, her partner is a giant cat and she loves him—she looks around for the others. Yusuke seems to have stayed in place, pen moving as furiously. Haru and Makoto have migrated to Ren’s other shoulder. They give her a wave when she makes eye contact, and she returns it.

She cranes her neck back, and finds a flash of orange hair peeking out from the folds of Ren’s hood.

“You should go to her,” Ren murmurs, following her line of sight. “I'm sure she’d love to see one of her key items.”

Sumire still has no idea what that means, but she nods. She braces herself against Ren’s cheek as she stands up. Her partner stays perfectly still, letting Sumire grasp onto his curls. She murmurs into his ear, “Stay put while I'm gone, alright?”

He snorts, but gives her another soft smile, before turning back to his phone. Sumire slides down his hood, stopping just as its altitude evens out enough for her to sit. She immediately scoots over to her girlfriend, watching her fingers fly across the laptop on her chest.

It takes a second, but Futaba does notice Sumire’s presence. She brightens, sliding one headphone off her ear. “H—hi.”

“Hello,” Sumire beams, “Can I touch you?”

Futaba nods, and Sumire immediately curls around her side. She hit a growth spurt during her second year. Now, Futaba’s head rests just above Sumire’s shoulder, firmly solidifying her place as the shortest among them. If Futaba looks small to her, Sumire can only imagine how small she looks to Ren.

But, her height does mean she can cocoon around her completely. Sumire melts into the fabric of the hood, arms wrapped around Futaba, a smile on her face.

Futaba starts the conversation, “So, y’know uuh, shiny Pokémon? I've told you about them, right?”

“Yes?” Futaba tried to get her into that game awhile back. She had to hand-hold her through most of it, Sumire being overwhelmed by the cute designs and the fact that she couldn’t jump. Incredibly unrealistic, for a game so filled with ledges. “What about them?”

“S—so, in previous Gens, the shiny rate was 1/8192. But, in Gen 6, it was cut down to almost half, even further with methods like the Masuda method, radar, etc. That’s not even counting RNG manipulation. Anyways, i—In recent games, it’s even easier to get one of those bad boys. But, there was a shiny in Pokémon Gold/Silver that you could get for free. Cool, right? I have an emulator pulled up right now...”

Sumire recognizes exactly none of those words, but she can’t help but listen as her girlfriend begins to ramble, nodding at the pixels on her laptop. It is a cute sea-serpent-thing, but she doesn’t get the chance to say so as Futaba continues to talk.

Sumire doesn’t mind. Quite the opposite, really. She sees why Futaba chose this spot. It was a place to get away from the group, but still feel Ren’s presence behind them. Every time he shifts makes them shift, a little, too.

His presence is there, but not cloying. A steady pillar of support. That’s what they all are, if the group chat pinging beside her is any indicator. Surrounded, by people who understand them like no one else. Surrounded by their affection, their love.

Sumire lets Futaba’s steady stream of words wash over her, plants a kiss on her cheek, and lets her heart glow.

[violetstrations]

[ID: a digital drawing of Sumire Yoshizawa from persona 5 royal, leaping and posing with a needle-shaped sword. Her costume is redesigned: her hair is out and free flowing, her mask is white with a gold outline and outlined with black stitching, Her jacket is a dark purple and trimmed with gold on the outside and dark magenta on the inside. The buttons are replaced with safety pins, and her sleeves are detached as if ripped, held together with criss-crossing gold ribbon. The ends of her sleeves has copious amounts of white frills, and her red gloves are now fingerless. Her leotard is white at the top, resembling a heart, and is stitched on with red thread. A gold chain at her waist holds her black-and-gold sheath, and silver sewing kit adorned with pink roses. She’s wearing white pointe shoes, and the white ribbons are worn over black tights, criss-crossed all the way up to her knees. The artist’s signature is at her shoulder. End ID]

gave Sumire a second outfit, because it’s bullshit how she didn’t get one after her second awakening

[yusuke-of-valla]

thinking about bbb pq2, specifically the alternate mina and ham universes.

alt!hamuko just has yusuke and kasumi, so that means kasumi doesn't get in a car accident and lives. she also is probably clinging to yusuke by the ankle after hamuko's death, desperately trying to keep the last two family members together. meanwhile, the investigation team hits a wall without naoto.

and then alt!minato has naoto and sumire, so sumire's self-esteem issues aren't quite as pronounced because she doesn't have anyone her own age to directly compare herself to. i feel like it'd be a lot harder to abandon sumire on her lonesome than three kids together, so i feel like she may be tagging along in p4 as well. they also don't get to keep shinjiro bc minato didn't hang out with the guy enough to learn about the missing pocket watch.

It's so funny how crucial Naoto is specifically to the events of p4 because if Izanami is not stopped that timeline is screwed

Well maybe not SCREWED, screwed because the shadow operatives will probably catch on to the mysterious fog leaking out of Inaba and Slowly turning everyone to shadows but I don't know if they have the light of truth to beat Izanami

... IS THIS TIMELINE HEADING TO A CLASSIC SMT POST APOCALYPSE?!

At the very least I don't think Inaba is making it out.

RIP Hamuko sorry your timeline sucks. At least you get Shinjiro

Meanwhile Minato's timeline works absolutely fine. Yes Shinjiro is dead but the plot of Persona 5 can go ahead fine you just basically skip Madarame's palace and/or Sumi joins early. Persona 4 happens and at worst Sumire tries to not let Naoto *get kidnapped by himslef* so ends up in the TV world too. She can be friends with Nanako

...there is a thematic thread here with the older berries being crucial to their individual plots while the younger ones aren't but I don't know what that thread is other than. Like. Damn these kids sure can fit some inferiority complexes

[animebw]

So there's a big issue with this final plotline about Kanon getting an offer to study abroad in Vienna. Actually, there's a few issues compounding on top of each other, but at heart it comes back to what I said before about Superstar lacking its own identity.

As a season finale, this storyline makes sense as the climax to a story like Hibike. You know, a conflict between just performing music because it's fun and you want to share that joy versus performing music to achieve greatness no matter the difficulties or sacrifices. And there have been hints at that throughout season 2- the second episode was all about exploring that idea and it was pretty damn excellent. That was the basis of Sumire and Keke's conflict in episode 9 as well: is it worth pushing the first-years out of the competition if it means a better chance to win for Keke's sake? And, of course, Wien's whole deal has been pursuing greatness at the expense of everything else. So it's not like this idea hasn't been established.

But that's also all it's been: established.

Something I'm realizing looking back on Superstar as a whole is how shockingly episodic it's been from start to finish. Compared to Sunshine and SIP, which developed pretty continuous story threads as they went along, very little of Superstar's many component parts feel like they feed into each other. Kanon had three episodes of stage fright at the start and then it wasn't an issue again until the penultimate episode of the first season. Basically every character's introduction arc into Liella is completely self-contained with emotional issues that are no longer a factor once they're part of the group. And all those moments season 2 touches on the theme of greatness vs passion are similarly resolved in a tight twenty-four minute package. The idea's brought up, toyed with, then resolved the same way: Liella is nine, and they want to sing for each other and the joy of singing. There's no progression of that theme, no elaboration, no sense that the way the characters interact with those ideas is evolving throughout the season or changing them as people.

So to have this Vienna school thrust upon us in the last moments of the season feels... wrong. It feels like it's trying to pull on threads that have already been tied up, trying to make a grand, cumulative statement on something that just hasn't been prominent enough in the story to warrant that amount of focus. We know what Superstar thinks about the conflict between doing what you love because you love it and doing what you love to create something special with it. It's already been tidily resolved multiple times. And trying to close out the season by prying those closed loops open again just reveals how little this idea has actually mattered in the grand scheme of things. Actually, it's worse; it's revealed how little any of Superstar's ideas have mattered. This season, compared to even Sunshine's weakest stretches, has so little meat on its bones that any conclusion would ring hollow from how little foundation it has to build on.

And unfortunately, it's let me to one final big disappointing realization: Kanon is a bad protagonist.

Like, I'm kind of surprised that's where I've ended up? I've never disliked Kanon or her presence in the show, I've had no trouble watching her on screen. But now that Superstar's actively centering her in the narrative again, I'm forced to realize that she is just such an empty character. Beyond the generic motivation of wanting to share her songs with the world and her long-since-resolved stage fright issues, I can't think of anything that defines her. No real quirks, no specific motivating factors, few strong relationships with the rest of Liella, no sense of her family life... I could talk at length about the nuances of Honoka and Chika and the different aspects of the genki girl archetype they emulate, even how they change and mature throughout their respective shows (And neither of them are my favorite characters of their groups!) But with Kanon? She's a near-empty vessel propped up by the much more dynamic cast surrounding her.

And that's a huge problem when you're trying to build any sort of drama around her specifically. Especially when that drama relies on us believing that Kanon is such an exceptional singer that one of the best music schools in the world would make an offer to her. Because straight up? I do not believe that for a second. Even the the heightened, idealized world of Love Live, it does not make sense how this girl, of all people, could make such an impression all by herself. Nothing Superstar has shown us has made it seem like Kanon is any more or less talented than her classmates. Honestly, Love Live's never really been good at showcasing the individual talents and skill levels of its main cast; when the performance starts, they're all basically the same up on stage. But that's never been a problem before because the story's never been about exploring those different skill levels until now. And nothing in this show has felt like it's even been trying to present Kanon as some kind of exceptional star in the making. She's always just been one idol among many, except now we're supposed to believe she's a step above everyone else and there's just no evidence to support that.

So Kanon's not a bad protagonist in the sense that she's annoying or unrealistic. She's a bad protagonist because Superstar has utterly failed to justify why she belongs at the center of this story. And with all the other issues I've talked about compounding on top of that, it's basically impossible for this show to do anything meaningful with her character as is. She's doomed to an existence of perpetual superfluousness, a gaping hole at the center of her own narrative who can only ever fail to be more than that. And that, more than anything, is the reason that Superstar, for all its delights, has come up so painfully short.

[tamaharu]

"Would Watching RGU Fix Sumire" - the greatest thread in the history of forums, locked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate,