#2020 koushiro is good

[izzyizumi]

U.S. Dub 2020!Tai: You GOT THIS!!! Now GO!!! Izzy, softly: ...A-Are you sure? TAI, SOFT BUT FIRM: *NOT A DOUBT* IN MY *MIND*. IZZY: ...!!

[koushirouizumi]

( Header Change )

[tobiasdrake]

I'd say that Tri, Last Kizuna and 02 The Beggining are a tad of a weird approach to try and bank into nostalgia, but not letting go the concept of "no you have to say goodbye to the 'mons"... which doesn't work after 02's epilogue. And then Adventure 2020 happened, and forgot that it was supposed to be an assemble show.

I don't have a problem with nostalgia banking, but Last Evolution Kizuna wanted really badly to be Toy Story 3 and failed. That, I take a lot of issue with.

There's a lot of heated debate surrounding LEK. The idea that the kids' partnerships with their Digimon break because it's time to put away childish things and grow up is extremely contentious within the fandom, but it's also not universally agreed that the film is even saying that thanks to translation issues with the subs and also some very ambiguous imagery with the ending.

There are basically two different interpretations of what happens in LEK.

1 - Sora, Taichi, Yamato, Jou, Mimi, and Koushiro all lose their Digimon Partners because they enter adulthood - but not Takeru and Hikari because they still have a few years to go.

This is a natural occurrence and the result of growing up. They have no choice and no agency in the matter; The Universe takes their Partners away because they're too old to be playing with toys anymore, and they just need to fucking suck it up and deal.

2 - Sora, Taichi, and Yamato lose their Digimon Partners because they're too irresponsible with their adulthood. Mimi, Jou, and Koushiro do not because they're responsible adults and are balancing their adult lives and their love for their Partners well.

What happens to Sora, Taichi, and Yamato is a rare and unusual occurrence, but there is hope that they will one day find their Partners again once they've gotten their heads on straight and made their way as adults.

For obvious reasons, the film is very unpopular with fans who take the first interpretation and pretty well-liked with fans who take the second. Which one is actually the valid and intended reading? Well. It's complicated. The movie went through a tumultuous creative process, to the point that Adventure series director Kakado Hiroyuki walked out on production midway through over disagreements and inconsistencies to the original series.

Which is, y'know, always a promising sign for a new entry in a series.

Watching the film, for me, it honestly feels like both readings are intended. Which is to say, you can find evidence to support either/or. I don't think that's deliberate, I just think the film was sloppily made and shows signs of conflicting creative visions.

Proponents of the Good Movie interpretation can point to the villain of the film, whose central motivation is literally that having your Partner taken away because you grew up is some fucking bullshit. In its final act, the film reveals that her Partner did come back - Just in an unrecognizably different form, not as the Partner she knew.

So the natural conclusion then is that Agumon and Gabumon will reincarnate and may find their way back to Taichi and Yamato; They just won't be Agumon and Gabumon. Which still contradicts the 02 epilogue despite proponents of the Good Movie interpretation insisting that 02's epilogue is still canon to LEK.

Which itself has evidence to support it (Taichi and Yamato are on their way to becoming the people they are in the epilogue) and evidence to refute it (Agumon and Gabumon fucking died).

As the translation breakdown in the above link shows, there's also some phrasing issues that created confusion. Gennai in the official English version describes losing your Partnership as a typical occurrence while, in the original Japanese, he seems to describe this more like a rare thing that he doesn't fully understand.

It's explained that what's happening is the narrowing of potential. Children have infinite potential, which something something Digimon Partnerships. As you make choices with your life, you narrow your potential, and eventually it can no longer sustain a partnership - Unless you're able to become an adult with limitless potential anyway!

That seems like it's setting Taichi and Yamato up to figure out their shit and save their Partnerships at the last second. But they figure out their shit and still lose their Partners, which gets described in the end as a rite of passage.

The blog with the big translation breakdown I linked above makes a note of the difference between the official translation, "This is how we finally grew up," and a more accurate translation, "This is how we arrived at the entrance to adulthood." As they say, it shouldn't be translated with finality.

But that's splitting hairs, because either version is still saying that losing Agumon and Gabumon was Taichi and Yamato's rite of passage from childhood into adulthood. Whether they've become adults or taken their first steps into adulthood doesn't actually matter; it's still describing this loss as the gateway that brought them there, which is the point of contention.

They did what they were supposed to do, they were still punished for it, and then they close by describing it as if it were an inevitable consequence of growing up despite what Gennai said. Which may or may not be corroborated by what happened to Jou, Mimi, and Koushiro.

Proponents of the Good Movie interpretation will point to Jou, Mimi, and Koushiro as proof that not everyone loses their Partners. Proponents of the Bad Movie interpretation will point to those same characters as proof that everyone does. This is due to a fundamental disagreement in how you interpret the final scenes.

At no point does the film ever say, with words, that Jou, Mimi, and Koushiro lose their Partners. But it does conclude with these images:

The final shots of Taichi, Yamato, and Sora show them to be moving forward with their adult lives, with no Digimon. The younger kids Takeru and Hikari's slides contain Patamon and Tailmon. There are also slides for the 02 characters, which show their Digimon Partners still taking an active role in their lives too.

But Jou, Koushiro, and Mimi? No Partners in their slides.

Good Movie fans will say that the film never says explicitly that they lost their Partners, so this means nothing. Their partners are probably just offscreen somewhere.

Bad Movie fans will say that these slides are meant to show the older kids moving on with their lives post-Digimon and the younger kids still having their Digimon Partnerships. There's a clear contrast between Hikari and Takeru's slides versus Taichi, Yamato, and Sora's - and Jou, Koushiro, and Mimi are presented like Taichi, Yamato, and Sora here, not like Hikari and Takeru.

Good Movie fans have the counterpoint to be made that their Partners still exist in 02's epilogue. So, y'know, canon faithfulness says that everyone's Digimon will come back or was never lost. Checkmate, naysayers.

But also Last Evolution Kizuna basically ignores Tri and makes no attempt to address the questions it left hanging, and also the Adventure story director walked out of production over inconsistencies to the original so I don't think you can really use canon faithfulness as a talking point here.

Taichi and Yamato are still on their way to becoming an ambassador and an astronaut respectively, so the epilogue hasn't been thrown out entirely. But it clearly has been thrown out. Jou was supposed to become a doctor in the Digital World, Sora was supposed to become a fashion designer instead of inheriting her mom's ikebana mastery, and Mimi was supposed to become a chef instead of selling cosmetics.

Yeah, Taichi and Yamato are still on-track to a similar life path than what the epilogue gave them, but nobody else is. So I don't think the movie is actually as faithful to 02 as the Good Movie side thinks it is. And apparently neither does Kakado Hiroyuki.

For me, I do think they were trying to say it's time for the kids to put away childish things and grow up. I don't think they meant that to be insulting. But I do think it's kind of insulting.

I think they were trying to do what Toy Story 3 did; To tell a story about the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood and what that means for the things we loved and enjoyed as kids. But I don't think that story works when the putting away of childish things is something cosmically forced on the children rather than a choice they make with their own agency.

Toy Story 3 wouldn't have landed the way it did if the movie was about Andy's mom pinning him down by the arms while garbagemen come in and throw Buzz and Woody into a woodchipper. But that's kind of what Last Evolution Kizuna does to the Adventure kids.

Taichi and Yamato get to give a powerful emotional farewell to Agumon and Gabumon. But they don't want to, they are not making this choice for themselves, and no reason is ever provided for why they should have to. And even the best defenses of the film just make it out to be a weird, random cosmic blip that maybe they'll fix some day, who knows.

Even in the best-case scenario, the universe just decided to grievously hurt Yamato and Taichi for no reason even though they were already making strides to undo the thing they were allegedly being punished for. It's still mean-spirited and cruel even in the best possible interpretation.

So. Yeah. All things considered, I find myself falling on the side of "It's a bad movie and I don't accept it as part of my personal Digimon canon." I don't accept that the children need to all have their Digimon deleted once they enter into adulthood, and I equally don't accept that they don't need to have that happen but that Taichi and Yamato deserved to have their Digimon ripped away from them at the end. There is no version of this movie that I actually like.

[taikouvember]

Taikouvember 2023 - Prompt Guideline

If you read about Taikouvember and are excited for the event, but don’t know how to interpret the prompts, let us give you a little bit of input about what was on our minds when we brainstormed them. Maybe it will give you some inspiration!

Any kind of medium is a allowed: Fanfiction, drabbles, poems, fanart & doodles, picture & gif sets, AMVs, meta analysis, rambles/rants... You name it!

Disclaimer: It is all up to you and you don’t have to follow any of the following ideas!

Day 1, November 6th: The Multiverse: Canon vs. AU:

Stories about different timelines and universes are very popular these days - and for good reason, Digimon is pretty open for the possibility of several timelines existing. When it comes to Taikou, what is your favourite "version" of them? Do you prefer to focus on them in their original anime timeline (Adventure, 02, Tri, Kizuna, The Beginning) or do you like to explore their dynamics in the 2020 reboot? Do you rather focus on other kinds of Digimon media, such as the novels, the manhua or the games? Or do you have your own “alternate universes” you like to focus on when it comes to the two of them? Inspired by other anime, manga, fairy tales, comics, cartoons, movies, TV show, superhero stories, tropes - the possibilities here are endless!

So feel free to show off which universes, versions, dynamics you enjoy the most. Do they intertwine? Does that mean these two may always find each other, regardless of the timeline?

Day 2, November 7th: Past & Future:

When it comes to all the Digimon Adventure mediums mentioned above, we can tell that Taichi and Koushiro already share quite a history with each other. So this prompt can be the perfect opportunity for you to share what your favourite moments between Taichi and Koushiro are, that may have influenced their relationship? Whether it’s by redrawing scenes, creating AMVs or picture and gifsets, writing fanfiction or interpreting their most vital moments... Again, that is completely up to you!

But if you don’t like to look back and would rather look forward instead - how do you imagine they will interact in the future, how will their bond develop? What happens between The Beginning and the Epilogue, what are the unknown puzzle pieces, milestones you would like to see? Career wise and in regards to the Digital World, domestically, romantically...

Day 3, November 8th: Habits & Change:

When it comes to your favourite characters and ships, there are usually reasons as to why you feel drawn to them. So what are typical characteristics (one might even want to say: stereotypes & tropes) you associate with Taichi and Koushiro? What are things they have always done, things they are familiar with about each other, things they have adjusted to, habits they adore about each other (or are even annoyed by)? Feel free to depict how you see them playing off of each other, how they complement each other or where and why they might clash.

Again, if reminiscing in the past is not for you, you may want to focus on what we haven’t actually seen yet: How can you imagine them to change? Where could they adjust to and for each other even more in order to make their bond work? Could it change for the better - or even for the worse?

Day 4, November 9th: Trauma & Healing:

Sad and traumatic experiences have always been part of Digimon and will always define how and why the characters act and behave the way they do in certain situations. Taichi and Koushiro aren’t an exception in that regard; between existential crisis and near death situations, they have seen a lot. So what are the things that (still) haunt them, that may put a strain on their relationship? What are certain memories and experiences they might not be able to let go of, still unable to open up towards each other? Whether it’s attachment issues, fear of loss, abandonment or inadequacy, miscommunication or (emotional) distance, self-sacrificing tendencies...

However, let us not only focus on the negative parts - because our bonds may also be able to help us. So what are ways they can help each other to actually heal, getting better and more open or even learn to live with their trauma? How can they overcome their barriers and actually be honest with each other about their deepest fears?

Day 5, November 10th: Visible & Invisible Signs of Affection:

People have different ways of interacting with different people - and depending on the type of relationship, the type of person, there are often very specific ways to show (and receive) affection. What are, in your opinion, the smaller and bigger gestures these two like to offer in order to show their love languages to one another?

How do they show their adoration, admiration and appreciation - physically, verbally, through their actions, knowing glances or endless patience...? Do they have any kinds of “inside jokes”, communication patterns, certain touches and words, habits, quirks and rituals they react to in specific ways?

Day 6, November 11th: Brave Knowledge & Curious Courage:

Thanks to them being the way they are, they are natural plot drivers - the adventurous protagonist and his knowledgable right hand. Thinking about it more closely, they share more of each other’s central attributes than one may anticipate at first glance. So - how do they mirror each other and their trademark traits in certain situations?

What are Koushiro's moments of hands on activity, how does he take the vital first steps forward, how does he overcome his struggles to do what matters to him? What are Taichi's brightest strategies, his most thoughtful moments, his smartest speeches or interests he wants to put his own research skills to the test to?

[froggie-bolt]

Just a Digimon Adventure 2020 Post about The TaiShiro Moments

(Sub)

I love how Taichi and Koushiro are both shown to think highly of the other. Taichi even brags about how smart koushiro is sometimes, its so wholesome.

Everytime the group gets separated, the first person Taichi tries to call is almost always Koushiro.

and in the first episode Koushiro meets up with the rest of the group in the digital world, Taichi's face immediately lights up.

Like if anything happens ever, Koushiro usually addresses Taichi right away. Between Him and Tentomon, both are the ones checking in on Koushiro and making sure he's doing okay.

Specific moments from episode 36:

"but there's only 20 minutes left"

"that's more than enough"

"we won't know unless we try right?" Taichi believing in his ability.

"but--"

"there's no time left, lets go"

"alright, I'll support you!"

Then

"Let's go, koushiro!"

"R-Right!"

Then

Koushiro, you have to do this!"

"me!? No way! I can support you, but I can't--"

"koushiro"

"I leave it to you."

"Taichi-san..."

"I'm counting on you."

*kou hesitates*

"Right!"

"Go, Kosuhiro!"

AND THEN KOUSHIRO THINKING ABOUT HOW HE HAS ATLURKABUTERIMON, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY THINKS BACK TO WHAT TAICHI SAID TO HIM IN EPISODE 3 BEFORE THINKING OF EVERYONE ELSE TOO-

It was also just great to see Koushiro feeling good about his own ability- especially with this music at the end, damn.

episode 43 was funny.

They call eachother like, every episode to see how it's going.

Episode 59

So when they get that trial wrong, Taichi is taken, and [digimon] says he's gonna undergo surgery to become a digimon.

Taichi just smiles and says "Nah don't worry about me guys, I leave the rest to you Koushiro."

Then Koushiro blames himself for whats gonna happen to taichi.

And whiole all this is going on, we know taichi is worried about how the other is handling it right now, since he's under a lot of stress.

Bro koushiro looked so sad.

and then tentomon always believes in koushiro, always. which is exactly what he needs

EDIT

SO THE ENGLISH DUB JUST CAME OUT A FEW DAYS AGO AND IVE WATCHED (at least the episode with TaiShiro moments) SOME OF IT AND I HAVE MORE THINGS TO SAY

So let’s start from the top once again

(Dub)

Episode 1’s script for the most part is unchanged :)

However, there is the changes to the names.

While in the original Tai was just ‘Tai’, this time his full name is Taichi, and Tai is just a nickname. His last name though has still been changed to Kamiya instead of Yagami.

Koushiro actually does keep his Japanese name in the English dub! But this time ‘Izzy’ is also just a nickname. Of course, he retains his last name ‘Izumi’ like he did in the original English dub.

ANYWAY ANYWAY

one of my favourite bits from episode 1, is when Koushiro is showing Taichi his timeline, and Taichi goes something like:

(I actually posted the clip here)

“Well..I’m really bad at that stuff. You’re awesome, Koushiro!”

And Kou seems surprised and caught off guard by the complement, before quickly turning his attention back to his tablet in embarrassment and saying:

“Y-You can just call me Izzy—!”

And we know later in the dub, that Koushiro prefers being alone, which also suggests he doesn’t have many friends, or doesn’t go out of his way to make any. He doesn’t really like being around people. So we can guess that before Taichi, the only people that call him Izzy are his parents.

So Koushiro giving Taichi express permission to call him Izzy, especially for Koushiro, is something special and significant, even if Taichi doesn’t know this.

I will absolutely be adding onto this in the future

[droshawoluv]

For a while I've been thinking of putting words why Digimon Adventure 2020 doesn't make me want to be super invested into it (but still entertained) and it all boils down to: it doesn't make me cry lmao.

I love that, I love being invested in that and characters having emotional rollercoaster everywhere and traumatic backstories or memories and then I am crying along Taichi feeling a deep rooted guilt because how almost killed his own sister, or how they see Digimon get brutally killed and instead of being scarred for life they are like "oh no...anyway off to victory!"

But I have to admit it's nonsensical fun and just a good time at points, which is what I want for every time the destined children are together (which is another issue, when they join they split, when they reunite they are drifted away, when they make it back they are drifted away again). But when it happens, there are fun moments just like every Mimi and Joe episode 🤣 (is the potatomon a reference to Joe singing "Kaze no fraido potato"? Because that's make it a 10/10)

It's frustrating maybe if the OTT plot in the real world appears and gets solved in between the main journey, are we fighting Devimon or are we helping the NASA, or both? Why is Omegamon appearing so much? When did their Crest meaning have to do with something? + the timing or moments or reason behind every new evolution may give that "eh that wasn't as satisfying". But if I look it just as the silly fun and COOL AS FUCK animations and moves, then I have fun myself! Accepting that I won't be crying just of imagining what a character may feel, and see them do stuff made it to me to enjoy it more, I like the wild digimon leveling up because survivor of the fittest type of thing, and they do show nice relationship between each other (in fact, one of the best moments are when there is no ISS crisis AND they are still together as group):

Taichi being a source of support and encouragement to Koushiro, the siblings relationship, Taichi and Sora being that 1-2 leading combo and being the reliable parents. Yamato being that cool tsun tsun but not annoying dude. Mimi is always queen in every universe. Joe using Zudomon hammer what the fuck go off king. Cute things to catch up from that.

And also, the fact that I don't have to watch the same attacking animation 17890 times through the show is so important. Imagine Digimon Adventure or Tamers with these animations, is insane. I thought the warpevolution was already cool, seeing Wargreymon appearance not the first, but the second time show an animation that was the coolest evolution animation ever in that technical stuff.

In summary, a lot of things to not care about the whole of it (so far, chapter 40 already), but taking bits individually (that you may completely forget because it's irrelevant to the big scene) is actually cool! Some I can remember off the top of my head are

Mimi chan kingdom; Joe and Gomamon speaking before Ikkakumon evolution; Yamato having a small "wow these bozos are caring about me and supporting me? Is this...FRIENDSHIP?" bc you know, his crest and all; the way MetalGreymon evolved, like, is not better than the OG of course, but I mean how he was fighting a bigger dude and for MANY times they were trying but not giving up, as in, showing their courage, made sense; Lillymon and the whole nature defeating the machinery of Andromon; Holy Digimon being special and focusing on that; Tailmon fears and struggles up to its Angewomon evolution (MarineDevimon was a good idea to put there); the one solving the ISS crisis being Koshiro not just in knowledge but in action trusted by his friends and leader Taichi; Taichi and Sora playing football together heck yeah cuties show how well you both combine for everything and be cute in front of my salad (they are making it on purpose, Taichi gets trapped and immediately the Love emblem shines to evolve to Garudamon).

Is there a Team Light and Team Hope coming apparently? That's cute. Looking forward to it.

Anyway, just wanted to write about it for so long since I have that "ok I get where this is heading and it's to not make me cry" feeling but I have different thoughts, not mostly bad or anything.

Should start making Gifs of these moments I loved.

[ahiddenpath]

Creating News/Status

Help I have too many projects on the brain D: Info beneath the cut, if you're interested.

Puits d'Amour

I have about 2.5 updates worth of written content remaining from Nanowrimo 2022. Only 1 of these updates can be posted soon-ish, because I need to add material in between the next chapter and the one after that (basically I think I need to write a new chapter in the middle to cover some stuff that occurred to me post Nanowrimo).

My next update will be Kido-Sensei. After that, there will likely be some kind of pause to PdA. I'm not sure for how long.

Tri: Integrity Lens

I have one chapter that's looking quite good! It has a ton of Yamato, a truly lovely scene with Yamato and Takeru, and then some Yamato and Koushiro. I love writing characters together who don't interact as much in canon, so I'm really looking forward to this chapter, and I think it's great.

After that, I've got about 10k ish of bits and bobs, a third of a chapter here, a scene there.

Four Years and Four Years edits

There is literally zero progress on this, whomp whomp.

Infinite Possibilities

This upcoming story has three phases, and one is entirely planned (!!!!!). I worked on it a lot in 2020 after the initial Kizuna feels, then... Um... Forgot about it? Left it? More about this here, here, and here! It’s a story that begins before Kizuna and explores the aftermath.

Super Secret Project

I meant to publish this in October 2022, but too much was happening and too much continued to happen and it's almost a year later and THERE IS. STILL. TOO MUCH.

Usually I spill the beans waaay too early- see fic the announcement from February 2020 above that has not come to pass lmao- but I somehow managed to keep this one quiet! I probably shouldn't be this impressed with myself for not blabbing to my blog, lmao xD

So basically, it seems like I will update PdA next, then TIL, and then...

I have no idea. None.

I also have a lot of art to do. I want to make a piece for the 02 countdown event, Jyou week, and- Oh uh, right, um. I'm hosting a Koushiro week in October. And I should. Probably. Have. Content for that.

Basically, I can't promise anything right now, and I'm not even sure what my Nanowrimo project will be, or if I'll... Well, tbh, I'm not sure how viable Nanowrimo is this year? I was thinking I could write the first phase of Infinite Possibilities for Nanowrimo 2023, since it's planned and I... Don't have PdA or TIL planned out in detail. I guess I could use the remaining time until Nanowrimo planning one of them? Maybe I should do a um poll?

I have no idea... If you have a preference, let me know!

[sevillaseas]

☀️❤️🧠 Finally finished a digimon fanart in August! OG Adventure is probably the media that was most formative for me, and I always loved this trio’s teamwork. (Hope I can draw everyone else some time though.)

[lightchildofthespring]

On one hand, I overall enjoyed the new episode of the reboot. On the other hand, to be teased so many times about Koushiro’s darkness and past for it to mean simply that Nanomon was hiding in Whamon was kind of a letdown. I really believed it was finally backstory time!

[uniarycode]

You vs The Mon he tells you not to worry about.

[izzyizumi]

U.S. Dub 2020!Taichi {Tai} to 2020!Koushiro {IZZY}: The *FACT* IS, *YOU* Saved us! 2020!Koushiro {IZZY}:

[koushirouizumi]

{D I G I M O N} ~ K O U S H I R O & T E N T O M O N

{From here!}

(2nd Re-size by Me) {Do Not Re-post} {Do Not Remove Caption} (Please Ask to Use)

[wlwhikari]

undefined

{DigiAdv 2020 Ep. 42} (J.P.N Version) ~ 2020!Koushiro[u] & 2020!Taichi / MOMENTS & Interaction ~ 2020 Koushiros Character Progressions ~ Koushiro & Gerbemon & Tyumon [Chuumon] & Searchmon ~ “Fountain”/“Spring of Knowledge” (reference to his surname: “Izumi”) (Izumi can translate as “Fountain”, “Spring” and such)

“You Evolved when you thought you should take after Koushiro-kun?” “I see, I see!”

{Clipped by Me} {DO NOT re-post} {DO NOT remove caption} (Please ASK to Use) [Disclaimer: I Do Not own DigiAdvs / DigiAdv ( C ) T0ei @nimation]

[pan-kuzu]

COMPLETED VERSION HERE

Takeru isn’t here since his full version is already on the completed art hahah. I also initially drew Koushiro and Miyako together so there’s no separate art of the two.

Some addendum: if the art looks familiar, I posted a wip back in July 2020 and this has been in wip-hell since then; it was abandoned after I drew Ken and didn’t touch it until July this year hahah >>

The Digimon silhouettes were supposed to be more prominent in the bg but they didn’t look good so I made them more of a fun “treasure hunt” in the final piece, and of course they’re the bg of their associated partner here :>

There is no story for this AU nor did I ever plan on making one. A few people asked if I’d ever consider expanding my Michi princess/knight AU [1|2|3|4] to the other chosen so I drafted up professions for the rest, most of which are inspired by the 02 epilogue, and researched the heck out of attire from the middle ages as well as mixing in my fondness for fantasy & rpgs.

I don’t know if I’ll revisit this AU again, but thank you for enjoying all the drawings I’ve made for it over the years ^^

[earlgreymon]

flying birds & floating petals; a koukari playlist for lovers who questioned about the reflecting wings and fallen cherry blossom on the river. (youtube / spotify)

01. must have been the wind - alec benjamin we can talk about the noise when you're ready 02. venus - sleeping at last astronomy in reverse, it was me who was discovered 03. hesitate - steve moakler excuse me while i fall for you 04. you can - david archuleta show me the good thing comes to those who wait 05. livewire - oh wonder so hold me, when i'm wasting the light 06. (they long to be) close to you - chord overstreet that is why all the boys in town follow you all around—just like me, they long to be close to you 07. take care of yourself - maisie peters you don't get a medal for the last one awake, so rest your eyes and give your baggage to me 08. bright - echosmith did you and jupiter conspire to get me? i think you and the moon and neptune got it right cause now I'm shining bright 09. love u - shye take it slow, you don't gotta tell me. i just wanna know if you need me to call you maybe—it's alright if you don't bonus tracks: there are many ways to say i love you - sylvan esso you'll find many ways to say 'i love you', you'll find many ways to understand what love is

part 1 of lovers in japan series track-by-track commentaries;

since the beginning of june, i've been curating some songs that i think can be associated with my favourite pairs on my twitter. as the digiweek is coming and one of the prompt is "music" i was thinking to wrap them all into a playlist for each pair.

but... i end up having five playlists, and i don't think i want to put them all on digiweek because i actually have another fic entry for day 3. so i'm gonna save one for digiweek, another for a specific otp week (take a guess!), and the others for... well, day-to-day post like this.

you will find the playlist on my lovers in japan series. the name was taken from coldplay's song. please note that my playlists will not be arranged chronologically, so you will see the 'storyline' is kinda messy. i arranged them according to how i think the order of the songs will sound good in the listeners' ears, and trust me when i said i have listened to these playlists a million times to make sure that they do sound good.

please also note the songs may have different interpretations, and i know there's gonna be people who disagree with my song choices. as i'm also not that good at translating songs, this is just my take and 1) i can be wrong; 2) you may have a different take.

for this koukari playlist itself, the title and the subtitle are inspired from @skuag's koukari headcanon. ngl i'm so in love with sku's line about koushiro and hikari questioning things around them, and i put the line into this. i hope you don't mind! :D

onto the real commentaries now!

01. must have been the wind - alec benjamin

when i first heard the song, i thought it was about an attempt to save a girl from an abusive relationship/domestic violence. but generally, this song is also about being a friend to someone who isn't ready to talk about his/her own feelings, and that's how i think the dynamic between koushiro and hikari is. they will both be loyal and helpful no matter what to each other ("promise I'm not playing tricks on you, you're always welcome to come in. you could stay here for an hour or two if you ever need a friend").

the whole song mostly told about the girl refusing to talk, but in the last part of the song, it is also implied that the singer won't push her. koushiro and hikari are both very patient, so this song is perfect. another trivia is that this song is about two persons living in the same buildings and koushiro lives in the same apartment with hikari in da:2020 :D

02. venus - sleeping at last

this is just a general, sweet love song with a hint of scientific touch with astronomical metaphors. also, on the line "astronomy in reverse, it was me who was discovered" that i quoted above, i think it can also be interpreted how koushiro is always passionate about finding things, but then love comes and finds him instead.

03. hesitate - steve moakler

"i've always been the kind to contemplate but you like the kind that don't hesitate, so excuse me while i fall for you." yes. this line is just perfect for koushiro who is very polite and easy to get nervous, and i bet he's very nervous to start a new page full of love. also, i thought the first line when the singer says "the human heart is a scary part in fact" is koushiro-ish because it sounds somewhat biological, iykwim.

04. you can - david archuleta

i (maybe even most of us) often associate koushiro as someone who have no room for romance. even if he does, he will be very careful about it; talk about someone who is very conventional and believe in one true love/soulmate. so that's why when someone as wonderful as hikari comes in picture, he must be thinking this is worth the wait. 'cause if anyone can make him falls in love, she can.

05. livewire - oh wonder

livewire. electricity. koushiro. yes. however, this song is actually more from hikari's side. the first line, "i've been depending on the overgrown" is like her depending too much on taichi. "i've been pretending all my shots are blown, cover my heart up never let it show"—again, with the issue of concealing her feelings. "oh so heavy the water, falling down down deep down" ...well, somehow it fits the dark ocean, eh?

06. (they long to be) close to you - chord overstreet

so i really want to put this song no matter what because it's a simple, sweet, innocent love song—and gee, koukari is such an unproblematic pair! however, the carpenter's version has this line where it says "that is why all the girls in town follow you all around" and i think it's better to reverse the situation because... well, hikari is more popular than koushiro, right? the song can also be used for takari with the "so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue" but the innocence is just screaming koukari for me.

07. take care of yourself - maisie peters

i think this is the most important song on this playlist. the whole song itself is like things that hikari wants to say to koushiro. i remember @seventeenlovesthree once said that koushiro is very lacking sleep, and we know it's because he keeps working and researching. we even see in tri how he couldn't take better care of himself, with messy workstations, fashion 101 with takeru, and that horrendous dark circles. and when someone told him to just take a rest, he would refuse—saying that the world was in danger and it's more important to save it.

please also highlight these two important lines, which can also be good for yourself:

"you don't get a medal for the last one awake"

"and i hate how you're going through hell when you've never let anyone else, so cut off a little slack and roll all your cavalry back"

08. bright - echosmith

similar to venus, this is just a simple love song with a dash of moon and planets in the refrain. also, remember that koushiro's first kanji in his name is hikari, which also means light (bright)!

09. love u - shye

this is similar to must have been the wind, except it's more of hikari's point of view. koushiro is someone who's also struggling to reveal what he feels, but hikari won't ever push him and wait until he's ready. also, i've mentioned before in my headcanon that hikari texts koushiro more often, but once he gets busy, she will not disturb him and just patiently wait until the morning follows. this song is the perfect description.

bonus track: there are many ways to say i love you - sylvan esso

at this stage, you may probably know the general theme of this playlist is koushiro and hikari loving each other very subtly. i often said that they are not the type of couple who says 'i love you' blatantly, and this song is a conclusion on how they profess their love to each other!

[seventeenlovesthree]

I like to imagine that after they saved Tokyo, Koushiro and Taichi wound up falling sleeping in Taichi's bed together. There may have been some accidental cuddling too. The Taishiro one-shot I imagine writing sometime maybe (perhaps for Taishiro week) starts with that basis (and then they both have their "oh..." moments afterwards)

Whoops, I guess it's time for me to watch Sailor Moon again more pining. (Writing all the "Oh" moments for them sure is a lot of fun, especially because regardless of universe, it's still slowburn, but 2020!Taichi is just too smooth for his own good.)