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burningdaybreak · 1 month

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Aun no Beats & BAD DOGS' Relationship

Hello everyone! Today is August 19, which is a pretty special day, since it's both Aun no Beats' original version's release anniversary, and Akito and Touya's middle birthday (the day in the middle of both of their birth dates, which are May 25 and November 12). Added to the game on June 6, 2022 (JP server), the addition of Aun no Beats has always been quite an interesting case. The song is covered exclusively by Akito and Touya, which is a pretty rare thing; not many songs are exclusively covered by just original characters, and it hasn't happened for a while now; as of writing this, the last one was Amanojaku (released in the JP server on October 1, 2022). Furthermore, the song's original producer, Hanyuu Maigo, prohibits covers of their songs being sold commercially, which is most likely the reason why it was not included in Vivid BAD SQUAD SEKAI ALBUM Vol.2. So, why did Project Sekai go out of their way to add a cover of this song to the game, even though they wouldn't profit from it at all? They must have really wanted it in the game, then... and looking at the lyrics, I think it makes sense; the song represents Akito, Touya, and their relationship and story so well. And so, in this essay, I will talk about Aun no Beats, and look at its lyrics and analyze them, and talk about how they represent Akito and Touya and their characters and story.

1. What is Aun no Beats about, and how does it represent Akito and Touya's relationship?

Aun no Beats is a song about a relationship where both parties understand each other without a need for words, but they'd still like to hear those words.

So, giving and receiving, I never needed to look for the words Even so, I wanted to hear them from you

However, with the We were going to be together forever in the lyrics, the song feels like it's about a relationship with a bad ending, where they're separated for some reason, whether a break up or separated by death... The meaning of the word aun in the title is taken from the Japanese idiom 阿吽の仲 (a-un no naka), a phrase that indicates an inherently harmonious relationship where both parties can understand each other without the need of verbal communication.

When it comes to Akito and Touya, my interpretation of the cover for them, and possibly the most common interpretation, is that it represents them in the main story, and the short break up they went through due to their lack of communication (therefore, the things that weren't said). Aun no Beats represents them pretty well because of the incredibly close bond they have and how they understand each other so well without needing to communicate their feelings... but they both still want to hear how the other really feels. As for the "bad ending" in the song, it represents the miscommunication issue they had in Vivid BAD SQUAD's main story; this conflict arose from the fact that Touya felt like he wasn't good enough about singing to be Akito's partner. Even though Touya kept these feelings to himself for the two years that he had been singing next to Akito, seeing Akito berate An and Kohane and how they aren't serious enough about their dream of surpassing RAD WEEKEND made Touya decide he can't keep going like this. In the end, he decided to claim he didn't want to sing with Akito anymore because he felt he wasn't worthy of being his partner, but avoiding telling him the real reason and riling him up on purpose, because he'd rather lie than disappoint the most important person to him. This culminated in Akito allowing his emotions to overtake him, and punching his partner, and BAD DOGS breaking up temporarily. However, unlike the song, their story has a happy ending, since at the end of Vivid BAD SQUAD's main story, Akito and Touya talk it out, Akito making Touya realize that he actually loves music...

🥞 You love music. You love it like an idiot, you really do. You love it… and I know that better than anyone else!

... And Akito declaring that he'll never team up with anyone other than Touya...

🥞 STOP SAYING THAT!! … Don't you get it! I'm never gonna team up with anyone other than you!

... Which finally makes Touya talk about how he truly feels:

☕ Gh…! Isn't it obvious that I want to…! I've felt that so many times! I wanted to chase that dream with you as far as I could…!

With both of them on the same page, with the same feelings, they can reconcile and be a team, once again. Although Touya is still doubtful if he's truly worthy of singing by Akito's side, Akito shuts him up with the following line:

🥞 Oh, shut up already. Don't go makin' this complicated. I want to be with you, and you want to be with me as well. And after that, our dream will come true. ... Isn't that enough?

They know how they feel. And they now have words they were looking for. This is all they need, to be partners: just knowing that they respect and appreciate each other, and wanting to sign with each other. With this, they can now be together forever. In short, this song would symbolize Akito and Touya's relationship during Vivid BAD SQUAD's main story; most specifically, the period where they temporarily split up (often jokingly called their "divorce arc"). But they come out of it stronger and more determined than before to be with each other, which is why the song doesn't fully represent their relationship, since their story does have a happy ending... they reconciled, and still have a future together. It's not the first time that they get a song that symbolizes their short break up during the main story, as Fragile can also be interpreted that way (among other covers, but Fragile is the one with most similarities to Aun no Beats); however, compared to that, there's a few things that stand out about Aun no Beats. Fragile was added with Project Sekai's release in September 30, 2020, back when the only story content Vivid BAD SQUAD was their main story, so it made sense that have that song available right when the game came out; but Aun no Beats came out over one year and a half after its addition to the game (June 6, 2022), when Vivid BAD SQUAD was well past the main story's events.

Fun fact: Aun no Beats' addition to the game was announced in the 20th Wondershow Channel stream, which took place on May 25, 2022 — the same day as Touya's birthday. Quite a coincidence, huh?

Another curious thing, which I mentioned back in the introduction, is that the release anniversary of the original version of Aun no Beats (August 19) is the very same date as Akito and Touya's middle birthday. It could most definitely be a coincidence, but considering how well the song represents them and their characters, one starts thinking... could it have been on purpose? Fragile also represents them really well, and it makes you wonder the same thing, and if perhaps they wrote these characters when considering the song's lyrics, but Aun no Beats' case is even more intriguing because of all these odd facts. To add on, both are songs where Akito and Touya sing by themselves, with no accompanying Virtual Singer. These two songs are the only Vivid BAD SQUAD covers with this trait (along with Odo, covered by An and Kohane), making them stand out among the other duets (which all have at least one Virtual Singer); and considering both can be interpreted as representing their relationship, this makes them even more special. They are the BAD DOGS songs. Taking into account the situation with the original producer and their rules regarding commercialization, there genuinely wasn't much to gain from adding this song to the game as a cover, but since it represents BAD DOGS so well, along with the other reasons I've mentioned, I feel like the Project Sekai team really wanted to do this.

2. Song Analysis

I've talked about how the song represents the events of the main story, but I feel like the lyrics symbolize not just that; I would say they also represent Akito and Touya, how they feel about each other, and their personal relationship. And so, here I will look into Aun no Beats' lyrics, and talk about what I feel they represent: (Note that I'll be posting all the Aun no Beats lyrics, for the sake of putting everything here, but I won't analyze all of them!)

🥞♪ Everyone has gone somewhere and became nothing 🥞♪ They had it coming ☕️♪ I wanted to believe it, so I stopped voicing it out

Everyone has gone somewhere and became nothing // They had it coming, lines sung by Akito, would represent how Touya left him, leaving him alone once again. The became nothing part can be viewed as Akito expressing his frustration at how they're nothing by themselves (both him and Touya). And the They had it coming could be about Akito's reaction to their break up, with Akito punching Touya. He "deserved" it, he believes; therefore, this part of the song would be Akito expressing his frustration at how everything went down, anger at his partner, and anger at himself. On the other hand, though, this line can also be considered from Akito's point of view, singing about himself — They had it coming being how he deserved this, because of his reaction, because of something he must have done wrong, because he didn't notice his partner's feelings... Akito is a character who is very harsh on himself, he regrets that they ended up like this, that he reacted like that, and so, he believes he had this coming. Then, I wanted to believe it, so I stopped voicing it out, sung by Touya, is about how he feels about himself: believing he's not a worthy partner for Akito, with half-hearted feelings, but keeping it to himself... deep down, he enjoyed singing with Akito, and wanted to keep doing it, but due to his insecurities, he pretended he was just singing with him because it was better than nothing. Therefore, he wanted to believe it was fine to sing with Akito, even though he thought he didn't deserve it. He didn't talk about how he truly felt, and even when he faced Akito when his insecurities peaked, he lied; he avoided telling the truth, he avoided voicing it out, because, for Touya, disappointing Akito would be worse than losing him.

🥞♪ Why do I want to be loved? ☕️♪ Why do I want to love? ☕️♪ I dressed it up and shared it

(cracks knuckles) I've already talked about these lines in the past, multiple times, and also love as a theme in Vivid BAD SQUAD; but I really like it, so I will do it again. While I think these lines can be associated to the events of their "divorce arc", Akito's Why do I want to be loved? and Touya's Why do I want to love? are, pretty much, the core of their characters, and a very significant part of their characterization and personalities. Akito is a character with a lot of love to give: love for music and his goal, love for the town, love for those he admires, love for his partner... however, that love is often not reciprocated. People make fun of him, they don't take him seriously; the town doesn't love him back at first. Why do I want to be loved? symbolizes Akito's desire to be loved back, how he wants people to respect him and to take him seriously. Akito wants the love he receives to match the love he provides. This line would represent, too, how he loves and appreciates Touya: the guy he met who he found interesting and immediately knew that he wanted to share his dream with; that person who had been singing next to him the previous two years, practicing endlessly with him; always listening to him, taking him seriously, respecting him; always by his side... and Akito wants that love to be reciprocated. And even though he knows Touya feels the same, he wants to hear those words. On the other hand, Touya is a character with a lack of love in his life: trapped since he was young in a home where his family barely provided him love, only really caring about his musical skills, Touya grew up away from a life where he could be free and express himself properly, attempting to meet his parents' expectations and his love for music diminishing as time passed. Ultimately, he ran away from that life, but after meeting Akito, he could enjoy music, once again, even though he's not aware of it at first. Why do I want to love? symbolizes Touya's inexperience with love; not used to being loved, having forgotten how to enjoy music, and not knowing what it's like to have someone close to him — a friend that cares about him, he didn't really know what "love" is like... furthermore, this line also symbolizes his desire to give back to Akito and to everyone else who has supported and watched over him, grateful for their support and for pushing him forward, helping Touya find himself and learning what it's like to be loved. In the past, Touya believed that Akito could do better, that he wasn't worthy of being by his side, that he was singing with him because "it's not classical music"... but he didn't realize that Akito truly cares about him, and wanted to have him as partner, above anybody else; and that, even if he ran away from classical music, even after all the pain he went through because of it, he still loves music, and he realizes that thanks to Akito.

🥞 You love music. You love it like an idiot, you really do. You love it… and I know that better than anyone else!

Touya thought that he'd disappoint Akito by telling him how he feels... but, besides the fact that Akito knew those feelings are not true, he would never be disappointed in Touya — because he loves his partner above anybody else. Touya is the one and only partner he could ask for; and Touya's so grateful to Akito for that, for making him realize that he's loved, appreciated, and that he still loves music, after everything. And thanks to Akito's words, and all the love he provided, the current Touya is so much happier with his life, able to express his emotions better, and no longer bound back by a miserable life of unrealistic expectations. He can now be his own person; and so, the reason why he wants to love is because he wants to repay everyone's kindness, supporting his partner and teammates, and helping everyone in any way he can — Touya wants to reciprocate the love of the people that allowed him to find a place where he can laugh. Love is a very central theme for Akito and Touya as characters (and for Vivid BAD SQUAD as a whole), not just for music and everything that surrounds them, but also for each other, with it being a very prominent part of their relationship: Akito giving lots of love, always caring for his partner and having helped him find himself and learn about a whole new world, surrounded by people that actually care about and love him; and Touya learning to love, grateful for everything that his partner did for him, wanting to repay his kindness, and a desire for Akito to rely on him more — he wants to give all that love back. Which is why the lines of Why do I want to be loved? and Why do I want to love? fit them so well; because it's what they're missing, and what they want from the other. In short, these two lines are very significant to their relationship and how they feel about each other, and I really like it a lot.

☕️♪ I— 🥞☕️♪ My sympathy is due to vagueness 🥞☕️♪ And my fearless sensory 🥞♪ Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay 🥞♪ I will make you smile

Despite the briefness of the line, I believe that the I- is pretty significant; it being a Touya line, it represents his hesitation to speak up his feelings up until then, and keeping them hidden rather than voicing out what he wants to say. Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay // I will make you smile, lines sung by Akito, are quite nice, as they symbolize multiple things: first, Don't worry, don't worry, it's okay is about how Akito wants to reassure Touya that voicing out his feelings is fine, he'll accept Touya no matter what. He wants to hear how his partner feels, and he'd never be disappointed in him. Then, I will make you smile is how Akito wants the best for Touya; to make him feel happy, loved, accepted. It shows all the love Akito holds for his partner, and his genuine wish to be by his side, and make him smile. No matter what, Akito will always be with Touya.

☕️♪ So, giving and receiving, ☕️♪ Stay here so you won't disappear 🥞♪ Then, 🥞♪ "Please reply to me, too"

So, giving and receiving, // Stay here so you won't disappear, both lines sung by Touya, are really good and pretty significant. First, So, giving and receiving, is also a core part of Akito and Touya's relationship, closely tied with what I talked about love in the Why do I want to be loved? // Why do I want to love? section.

Their relationship can really be boiled down to giving and receiving, a mutual exchange of love, respect, help, feelings, dreams... they share everything, they give and receive things from each other, and this allows them to grow as people, together. They make each other whole, and that's what makes them inseparable partners — they're each other's one and only partner. Following that, Stay here so you won't disappear, it represents Touya's yearning for Akito, not wanting him to leave him, despite these insecure feelings he has, these feelings he thinks will disappoint Akito. No matter what, he wants Akito with him... and he'd rather lie than disappoint the one he loves. And then we have Akito's, Then, // Please reply to me, too. This is a direct response to Touya's Stay here so you won't disappear, which symbolizes Akito wanting to hear how Touya truly feels, so they'll stay together; representing that moment during their dispute where Akito tells Touya to voice out how he really feels, but Touya keeping his feelings to himself. Akito wants to hear how Touya truly feels, to hear what's wrong. He doesn't want to let go of Touya the same way Touya doesn't want Akito to leave him.

☕️♪ I held up my heart to you, ☕️♪ Give it back someday, be gentle, okay? 🥞♪ I really wanted to go back 🥞♪ Going back after this is fine, too

Then we have these lines, which I think symbolizes them right after their break up and how they feel. I held up my heart to you // Give it back someday, be gentle, okay?, sung by Touya. This line would represent how Touya trusted Akito, how he enjoyed their time together, even if he never expressed it, and deep down regretting what he said, hoping his partner will forgive him. Akito then sings I really wanted to go back // Going back after this is fine, too; the first one showing his regret towards their fight, and the second line showing that he still wants to be with his partner, after all. He won't accept it, he won't give up on his partner and leave it like this. He'll fight for his partner. This part is interesting since their lines have a similar structure, with the first one showing "regret" or wanting what they had before their break up (I held up my heart to you and I really wanted to go back), while the second line symbolizes their hope to be reunited again eventually (Give it back someday, be gentle, okay? and Going back after this is fine, too).

🥞♪ We... 🥞☕️♪ We— 🥞☕️♪ We were going to be together forever 🥞☕️♪ We were going to be together forever ☕️♪ Don't worry, don't worry ☕️♪ It's a wonderful end for us both

Akito's solo We... is really good, as it comes right after his Going back after this is fine, too; he still talks about himself and Touya in plural. He wants to be with him, after all; to be partners, once again, because there's nobody else he'd rather be with. Comparing Akito's We... with Touya's previous I— is interesting; Touya's earlier line is about hesitating to speak up, unconfident about being by Akito's side, while Akito's line, on the other hand, shows confidence in wanting to be together and still thinking of them as a duo, even if they're currently apart. Which is, frankly, quite a nice contrast, since later on, it's Akito who's more unconfident (in his skill and himself), while Touya's confident in wanting to be by Akito's side. Akito and Touya are very contrasting characters, and even here it shows; these contrasts really make them fit to be together, like they're made to be with each other — they make up for the other's faults, and that allows them to push each other ahead and grow together. Following that, there's another We—, this time being a shared line, showing how they still want to be with each other; and two We were going to be together forever afterwards, also sung by both of them, show that they both feel the same: regretting what happened between them, and yearning to be together. However, these lines are followed by Touya's Don't worry, don't worry // It's a wonderful end for us both; these symbolize Touya thinking that no longer being Akito's partner is the best outcome for both of them, and how he believes that Akito's better off without a half-hearted guy like him and that he can find someone better than him — someone who actually takes music seriously the same way Akito does.

🥞♪ So, giving and receiving, 🥞♪ I never needed to look for the words 🥞☕️♪ Even so, 🥞☕️♪ I wanted to hear them from you

Once again, the line So, giving and receiving, appears, this time sung by Akito. As mentioned before, this is a core part of Akito and Touya's relationship, and with both of them singing the same line, we know that their relationship is one of mutual exchange, that is, giving and receiving; providing to each other what they're looking for, and making each other whole in the process. I never needed to look for the words, sung by Akito, is also an important aspect of Akito and Touya's relationship; as long time partners, by now they know each other really well, and as time passes and they grow together and experience more things alongside the other, their bond will become even more inseparable, not needing to put into words how they truly feel — individually, and about each other. By the point of the main story, their relationship is still relatively early (even though they had been singing for two years together already by then), and they hadn't experienced any major setbacks, simply singing together and enjoying themselves, so they weren't truly close yet — but still, they knew, deep down, how the other felt... which is why Akito thinks that he never needed to look for the words; no matter what Touya said, he knew Touya still loved music, and that he enjoyed singing by Akito's side, and that he wanted to be with him. Even if he never truly expressed himself, Akito knew how his partner felt, which is what makes their bond so strong. ... However, as the next lines say: Even so, // I wanted to hear them from you, lines sung by both of them, they both still wanted to hear those words from each other. They want to hear how each other feels; Touya wanting to be reassured that Akito wants to be with him, and Akito wanting Touya to open himself up. As partners... they want the other to rely on them, to help them and to guide them; so they can become the best partners, and reach their goal together. And for that, they need to communicate; even if it may not be necessary at one point, as they'll know each other without a need for words, voicing out their feelings is necessary to get through this setback — to reach each other.

☕️♪ "We were going to be together forever" 🥞♪ "We were going to be together forever" ☕️♪ Even so... 🥞♪ Even so... 🥞☕️♪ Even so... 🥞☕️♪ "I want you to say it to me"

And with this, we reach the finale of the song, with both of them saying "We were going to be together forever" and Even so... once, before saying Even so... together, and ending it with "I want you to say it to me". All of these have appeared before, with "We were going to be together forever" expressing, once again, their regrets of having ended up like this, and the multiple Even so... expressing that, even though they're like this, they want to fix their relationship... they want to hear how the other feels. They have a desire to communicate to be with each other, yet again; as they complete each other. They're the best partner the other could ask for, and they want to keep being together. Forever.

3. Conclusion

And that's it for Aun no Beats' lyrics! Pretty much all the lyrics can be somehow related to Akito and Touya's story and the events of the main story, and their relationship, which is so great. The fact it fits them so well makes all the aforementioned facts, such as their middle birthday happening to coincide with the same day as Aun no Beats' original version's anniversary day, and how the Sekai team went out of their way to add this song to the game even though they wouldn't benefit financially from it, very interesting. Could it truly be a coincidence? Oh I am so curious... Aun no Beats is a song that can be interpreted as a couple with a close bond that has been separated, a song with a sad ending; and this plot sounds very much like Akito and Touya's "divorce arc" during the main story. Fortunately, their relationship was fixed and now they're a stronger couple than ever. As I've explained in past essays, even though their relationship may not be inherently romantic, because Vivid BAD SQUAD's "partner" (aibou) does not have the romantic meaning that the western partner does, their relationship is very reminiscent of a romantic couple: as of current story events, Akito and Touya are very much like an old married couple, experienced in relationships and being together (as partners), and everything they go through and how they interact with each other really can give off romantic vibes sometimes (look at Let It Ring! Beautiful Sound!'s Touya's card's side stories, for example; the way Akito reacted at Touya was so... unusual of a regular pair of friends); while An and Kohane are a newly formed couple that is still learning to be together and how to be partners, with Akito and Touya guiding them through this new experience as an experienced couple. Although the previous paragraph was slightly unrelated to the essay, the point I am trying to make is that Aun no Beats is often interpreted as a couple that has broken up or that has been separated by death, so the romantic associations for Akito and Touya's relationship are existent. This is definitely up to interpretation, of course, but I believe Akito and Touya are one of the pairs with most chemistry in the game, due to how they're pretty much made to be together, as they complement each other so much, between their contrasts and their personalities. Their break up during the main story was quite similar to how an actual couple would fight, due to their mistakes and lack of communication leading to an argument and split up. However, they manage to make up, and they become partners once again, and their bond has been inseparable since, growing further as they keep singing by the other's side. Their relationship, in the end, is all about giving and receiving; relying on each other, loving and learning to love back, and supporting each other by making up for the other's shortcomings. They grow and learn together, they desire to sing together, and they yearn to be by each other's side. This is, after all, what it means to be partners. And together, they can surpass anything. They're fated to be together, and there's nothing that can separate them anymore. They're each other's best partner they could ask for.

4. Afterword

And with this, the essay is done. Truthfully, I've struggled a bit to write since my last essay, and I am still halfway through Part 4 of the Freedom and Captivity series essay; I may have stressed myself by putting on unrealistic deadlines, first meant for August 1, then for August 19. It wasn't necessary at all to release it on August 1, and it was more of continuing the joke, but I did want to get something out for August 19 because it's a very special day. Fortunately, I got a bit inspired, and I had the idea of writing this... and I wrote it in like, 2 days? (lol) And I'm glad I did because it's a very fitting essay for this day, talking about both Akito and Touya's relationship (since August 19 is their middle birthday) and Aun no Beats (song originally released on this day, too). I'm satisfied, and I'm relieved I can take my time to finish the next essay, since there's no deadlines now... from now on I won't set deadlines so close to the actual thing, haha. To finish off, I'd like to thank my friend Dainn for supporting me as I wrote, both this and the previous essay that I failed to finish in time; I appreciate it a lot!! Also thanks for proofreading my essays as always. And thanks to artemis for proofreading it, too; consider this my gift to you for getting T100 in Let It Ring! Beautiful Sound! Congratulations! Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this essay! See you next time!

#prsk analysis #pjsekai #project sekai #akito shinonome #toya aoyagi #touya aoyagi #vivid bad squad #vbs #bad dogs #aibou #aiboulove #aibouyaoi #might as well i guess #happy akitouya middle birthday btw #its akitouya day #and happy anniversary to aun no beats

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burningdaybreak · 3 months

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"OVER RAD SQUAD!!" Event Impressions — and then it kind of becomes a Summary and Analysis halfway through

(Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers for all of the OVER RAD SQUAD!! event, and general VBS stories spoilers.) Hello, to whoever is reading this. Last week was quite an eventful week, between the Sekai Broadcast and this event and banner's announcement. There's been many negative reactions lately, huh. Not really the place to talk about them, but I understand many of them (or more like understood, in some cases). This essay isn't like my usual one, since it'll mainly be my thoughts on the event; but I'll also summarize the event a bit and perhaps talk about the cards and my general impression. However, I wouldn't call it an analysis, and perhaps not even an essay? I'm just talking about my impressions and such. [Note after finishing the essay: It very much became both a summary and a bit of analysis lol] Warning that this isn't formally written like I did for my other posts, and it has the incoherent and perhaps even incomprehensible thoughts of a fan. So yeah, this is just a regular post. But perhaps I write an actual essay eventually because this event rocked.

1. The Event's Announcement

OVER RAD SQUAD!! had a pretty stormy announcement, not just because it was a unit limited event when VBS had already had one just two months ago (Whip the wimp girl!!), while a unit like WxS hasn't had one since 2021, but also because the story preview suddenly mentioned they're surpassing RAD WEEKEND in this very event. There was a lot of commotion on both things, but the former isn't particularly important here. People felt it was rushed, too soon, that Colorful Palette was ruining VBS's story... among other things. While I was actually pretty excited for the event, not just for the story but also the banner (new Akito lim card yay!!), and had faith they'd do the story well, the general negativity and dooming ended up getting to me and I got a bit stressed regarding the story. However, it turns out that everyone was wrong, and the event story turned out to be amazing and managed to cover pretty much all the important remaining plot threads neatly, and surpassing everyone's expectations. I'm glad everything ended well... (I demand an apology.) The outrage regarding the quick in succession unit limited events is understandable. It was especially bad not just because VBS had gotten one two months ago, but also because of WxS not getting any since 2021, and the second announced unit event for this month was WxS; so people generally assumed it'd be a permanent VBS event in early July, and WxS lims at the end of July. I really understand the rage, but I wasn't particularly surprised at VBS turning out to be the limited banner because, well... the Sekai team's decisions have been a bit erratic since the third anniversary, and VBS being the limited banner fit within my expectations. (Oh and I did kind of want VBS to be limited, since I think unit lim events are very hype... and because I wanted an Akito lim. Among other reasons. I apologize) Either way, the event turned out great, and the cards are very nice and Akito's card is very aibouyaoiful (yippee!), so all is forgiven (no it's not?). Now, getting into the event itself; first of all, I want to say, it's a very good event. And also extremely long. That's part of the reason why I'm not writing out the plot like I usually do; but also because I believe it's better to read it yourself, especially while listening to the voice acting and music. It's genuinely really good. (I was planning to write a summary at least, but I'm finding it pretty difficult and it'd be ultra long, sorry everyone...) [Post-essay addition: LOL. not editing this so everyone can laugh at me] Of course I can't expect everyone to know Japanese; I personally don't know much, and I machine TL events while reading them over at Sekai.best (along with the voices and Live2D in-game) — however, I later read sub TLs made by people, in case anyone just went "oh my god how can we rely on this guy's essays if he machine tl's things?!" I do know a bit of Japanese though! And I also get the general tone of a line by listening to it. So I can easily know if something's getting butchered by a machine. But if you don't like the machine TL method and prefer subs, then there's people on YouTube who sub events. (lozy bug usually sub VBS events pretty quickly; as of posing this, they've already subbed four chapters of the event) But yeah, read this event if you like VBS. I'd say it's one of the best VBS events. (I'm not really sure about calling it the outright best because I'm very biased towards Akito's focuses, but the fact I'm even considering it should be a sign of how good it was.)

2. Event Impressions and Thoughts

[Warning: Not very formal and may be incoherent. Also sort of becomes a summary halfway through lol. DISCLAIMER that I will mix my thoughts among the summary. AND!! I translated most quoted lines myself; I apologize if they're wrong, but they should get the general feeling of the line across.] God. It was so good. I genuinely cried and sobbed multiple times. It was very funny because it was just the very beginning of the event and I was already crying. There was a new BGM playing right at the start and it was so hype and exciting and it was like. This is it. This is the end... this is what they've been working so hard for... They're finally doing it... I was way too excited by the fact VBS would finally accomplish their goal. I'm not even a VBS fan (well, actually, I'm rethinking if that's true lol), but I'm just... ugh. It's been over three and a half years since their journey started, and they're finally achieving their dream. I'm very happy. The entirety of chapters 6 and 7 had me going crazy. I mean, that's pretty much the main part of the event, where VBS's event takes place. This was all the culmination of VBS's story, all their effort rewarded. This is it, this is what they wanted, and they finally reached it. Their dream has been accomplished. Ughhh... But let's go back to the beginning first: Kohane's task. Or tasks, rather, but the other one comes later. It was actually a quite simple task, which was strengthening her singing. For that purpose, Ken has her being coached by the other groups that participated in RAD WEEKEND: RUST and GLaP day. It was very cool to bring them back tbh, and that they were all coaching Kohane. The coaching method was also quite interesting: it was a sort of game where they take turns improvising lines. Her objective was to beat everyone at least once. She was struggling to beat them when suddenly, An sends her a message, and it was actually the scene from Whip the wimp girl!! where they meet in the morning and they have their singing duel. I really like how that happens during this. So cool. I love WTWG by the way. Her feelings of frustration from losing to not just RUST and GLaP day but also to An motivates her to give it her all and pour all she has into this. She wants to give back to An everything she has been given. Or, in my mentally ill way, she wants to give back the love she has received from An. Showing how grateful she is in her own way. Focusing on all that, fueled by her frustration, and wanting to give back to everyone, Kohane manages to beat everyone, and she's now more than strong enough to surpass RAD WEEKEND. She's curious about her second task, but Ken tells her he'll tell her on the day of the event. After that, she keeps practicing at COL, trying to grasp that feeling that allowed her to win against everyone, but she isn't quite there. COL's owner tells her that if she keeps singing like that, her voice will run out, and explains to her that perhaps she has to look into herself; find her own ego. That is, a selfish feeling, an impulse, what she's doing this for. What would make her do this even if it troubled other people. "I'll do this no matter what, no matter who I cause trouble to." Walking through Kamiyama Street and thinking about others' egos, Kohane wonders what's her own ego. Miku then appears to her, wondering what's her. Kohane explains that she doesn't know if she has an ego of her own;

🐹 For a long time, I've never been able to find a dream or something I want to do... 🐹 But I met An-chan and the others, and I was able to have the dream I have now. 🐹 ...Just like that, I was able to have dreams thanks to someone... 🐹 …If you ask me if there's something I want to do no matter what, even if it means causing trouble for everyone—

Miku then tells her that there is, but she just hasn't noticed it. And she suggests they go on a walk. She reminisces about how far she has come and her journey from the start, how she came across An and WEEKEND GARAGE. Then, she overhears a song, and following it, she comes across WEEKEND GARAGE once again, like she did back then. There, she finds her partner and teammates practicing.

🐹 (— What an amazing song...) 🐹 (My skin is tingling, my heart pounding...) 🐹 ("More"...) 🐹 (... I don't know if it's ego or not, but—) 🐹 (I like this feeling.) 🐹 (If I'm going to sing at an event bigger than RAD WEEKEND, I want it to be with this feeling.) 🐹 (I want to feel more excited.) 🐹 (I want to make you feel even more excited.) 🐹 (I want to cherish this feeling and sing it.)

Afterwards, her teammates notice she's there and she asks them to sing with her, before the flashback ends. I really liked the parallelism in this last scene, and how she finds her own ego in a similar way to how she found music back then. It was An and her teammates that allowed her to find music and herself, and now she wants to cherish this feeling, and sing for them, and do this with them. Ughh. So, yeah. The Kohane section was really good. It showed her character's development so well. She used to be shy and such, but now she's so confident in her skill and using everything she has learned and all her feelings to get stronger. She's so cool tbh. And the ego part was very good, too, and figuring out what she sings for, what she wants to do no matter what... very good. Now in the current day, there's one week left until their event (which is where the event actually starts, but chronologically, the flashback goes first). After their meeting, Kohane is worried in her room and Miku talks to her again, and that's where all of the aforementioned flashback takes place. Following the flashback, Miku tells her she'll be fine, since she has been facing her feelings all this time. Then the day before the event arrives. They left practice earlier than usual, to prepare for what's coming the next day. While talking, they reminisce about Arata, who isn't with them anymore. Touya hasn't given up on bringing back Arata, but there's nothing they can do about that anymore. They did all they could, and now all that's left is to finish it. They're doing it tomorrow — going beyond RAD WEEKEND! Chapter 6 is possibly one of the lengthiest chapters in all events in the game (I don't remember any longer one right now, at least). The chapter starts with Taiga coming back which is !!!!, because at that point I thought he wouldn't come back at all, but he did. It was a cool surprise. He talks a bit with Ken, wondering if it's fine he's here rather than backstage with them, cheering them up like a coach; but Ken replies that it's not his event — it's their event. The "next generation"'s event. By the way, their event is named RAD BLAST. Silly name tbh. But it's fun. Meanwhile, backstage, everyone's thinking about what they're feeling.

🐹 (... Amazing.) 🐹 (The atmosphere is different from previous events even before it started.) 🐹 ("I want to see the moment RAD WEEKEND is surpassed", "I want Nagi-san's wish to come true" —) 🐹 (All those strong feelings turn into heat... and I can feel them all the way here.) 🎧 (... It feels strange.) 🎧 (This time, I'm looking at the view I looked up at that day from the same perspective as Nagi-san.) 🎧 (Finally — I've come this far.) ☕ (... I've never been this nervous, even in the biggest competition I've ever participated in.) ☕ (... We only have one chance.) ☕ (We will definitely surpass it.)

But then, Akito interrupts everyone's thoughts, telling them to form a circle, since doing that before a show gets him really pumped. And then, he says he'll go first and:

🥞 I've been betting on this day! 🥞 I couldn't take anything seriously, and I couldn't forgive myself for being half-hearted. 🥞 The thing that made me realize that life was worth risking was RAD WEEKEND. 🥞 When I overcome RAD WEEKEND, I'll be proud — of myself, and everything I've ever been. 🥞 So no matter what... I'll surpass it!!

(Interrupting the summary: this part made me so emotional I started crying the first time I read it. In fact, I am sobbing again as I write this. I love Akito so much, honestly. Ugh.) Then following his partner's lead, Touya speaks up, too:

☕ — I want to know. ☕ I came to this town, met my partner, my friends, and new music. ☕ During those days, I was able to acknowledge myself. I was able to accept everything, both my past and present. ☕ ... No matter what obstacles I faced, thanks to everyone, I was able to keep going and get to this point. ☕ And then — at last, we came this far. ☕ I want to see how the songs I write will move the town, and how far I can go... ☕ For that reason, I will do my best today.

Kotaro (🍓) and Tatsuya (🏍) follow, too:

🍓 ...I!! I don't want to be such a pathetic person anymore!! 🍓 Laughing and saying there's no way I can do the things I really want to do — I don't want to be like that!! 🍓 With this — going beyond what I think is the most amazing thing, I will be able to accept myself!! 🏍 This time, I sing to believe in myself. 🏍 Even if someone ridicules me, I will pursue my dreams. 🏍 ... Even though I longed for that kind of lifestyle, somewhere along the line, I was swayed by the words of others. 🏍 There's no way it will come true, there's no way I can win, there's no way I can surpass it... I will resist such words. I will surpass RAD WEEKEND — I will believe in myself!

Kohane realizes that this is everyone's ego. They won't give in to anyone, and accomplish it no matter what... she starts to understand. She couldn't put her feelings into words, and she's beginning to understand her ego. Then, An talks, too:

🎧 I— I've always admired it; RAD WEEKEND... and Nagi-san. 🎧 I always thought that someday I'd catch up to that place, run with you, and surpass you. 🎧 ... I can no longer run with Nagi-san. 🎧 However— I can carry on the dream that Nagi-san left behind. 🎧 I can go to a world that Nagi-san couldn't go to— that she couldn't see. 🎧 If we can surpass RAD WEEKEND, I'm sure... 🎧 So we will surpass it! Absolutely!

Finally, Kohane speaks up, telling how she feels:

🐹 I— I want to go! 🐹 Beyond RAD WEEKEND, to the place beyond that...! 🐹 I'm sure it'll be exciting, like when I first heard An-chan's song... 🐹 ... No. I'm sure it'll be even more exciting! 🐹 I want to go there!! — No matter who tries to stop me, I will definitely go!! With everyone!!

Finishing the speeches off, An tells everyone to make this the best night of their life. It's time to go beyond RAD WEEKEND, and begin a new legend! (At this point, this has truly become a summary, but I still want to give my thoughts lol: this scene was REALLY good. Akito's words really hit me hard and made me cry the first time I read this part, as I mentioned earlier, but I also really liked everyone else's words. This was when I was like "Oh... I really understand these characters...", because many of the things they said are things I wrote about in my essays. I get these characters, and I'm so glad.) But going back to the event: following their speeches, Ken appears to tell Kohane her second task, before promptly leaving. And then, with the audience unable to contain their excitement, it's time to begin their final event — the one that will mark a new legend, 「RAD BLAST」. An and Kohane are the first batters. Together, they sing, hyping up the audience, and increasing the heat. The event is off to a good start, and if they grasp the feeling of "evolving together" that they learned in their duel, they can make the fire bigger. They finish off their performance, leaving the audience very excited, and so it's Akito and Touya's turn. And they give us this absolutely sickening (positive) interaction:

🥞 … Let's go, Touya. 🥞 Hm? What are you smiling about? ☕️ You are too. Aren't you nervous? 🥞 I got over that a while ago. Now, I'm just-- 🥞 Surpassing it. That's all I'm thinking about. ☕️ Yeah. I agree. ☕️ Let's go, Akito. Let's make our dreams come true.

"Our dreams"... ugh... critical hit. It's now a shared dream... a dream he got from Akito... that now belongs to both of them... Sorry I'll stop being gay. They sing together, exciting the audience even more. They think as they sing:

🥞 (I gave top-batter to those guys, but—) 🥞 (To move upward through clashing with your partner, isn't your privilege alone!) ☕️ (We both looked toward each other—we looked at what we didn't have, and we ran upward.) ☕️ (I hope I can be a worthy partner!)

(So good... the bond with your partner is amazing... Working together, growing together, experiencing things together... argh...!) Following them it's Kotaro's turn, and then Tatsuya and EVER. Watching them perform, Taiga thinks of how he didn't expect these guys to turn into such great singers. As he thinks, he notices a guy in a wheelchair, which is tough with the crowd in the livehouse. But when he asks if he's fine, he notices who it is— Meanwhile, backstage, EVER is about to finish their performance, and it'll be time for the final performance. But suddenly, someone appears: Arata. Akito asks him why he's there, and he shows them a CD; a CD that Souma sent him, telling him "Please surpass this" in a memo, along with "I was moved by the song that Aoyagi-kun wrote.", "If you listen to it and it moves you, please listen to this one last time." He couldn't listen to it, as he felt he didn't deserve to when he couldn't carry his dream. But he had to at least listen to this song, and upon listening to it, he understood — he wants to carry Souma's dream. It doesn't matter if he can do it or not — he wants to do it. That's his ego. He's being self-centered, but he wants to carry his dreams, and his songs, regardless. He wants to sing. Despite running away and coming back at such an important time... and what he's asking for being so much... he wants to sing. Akito simply responds that he hopes he didn't get stale, and he gets permission from them to sing. EVER's performance is about to end, and Akito tells him to get ready. He thanks Akito... and Touya, too — since Souma wrote "I was able to write this song thanks to Aoyagi-kun." in his message. Touya brushes it off, telling him that the reason Souma was actually able to write this song was because he was thinking of Arata, to which he responds that he'll sing that feeling — all of his and Souma's feelings.

With EVER done, the audience is looking forward to the finale by Vivid BAD SQUAD — but instead, it's Arata who appears, which surprises everyone, especially Souma, as he wasn't in the lineup for the event. When he's about to sing, he notices Souma among the audience. Even though it should be hard for him to even stand still, he still came. Souma shouts, saying "Let's overcome this together!!", and Arata begins singing. Souma cheers for him as he sings, shouting that he's there too — with his song, next to him. Arata's performance gets the audience even more excited, and the time for Vivid BAD SQUAD to deliver the finale is getting closer. It's up to them to surpass RAD WEEKEND. While waiting for their turn, Kohane goes get some water. As she drinks, she thinks that they have to surpass it, and clearing her task too. She thinks back on it, and it's revealed what her final task is: putting all her feelings into her song, and telling Ken what she's feeling, at that moment. She thinks how she has to do it, deliver her feelings, her ego — everything. But then she realizes her hands are shaking, and her heart beating loudly. As she thinks that now's not the time to be trembling, Miku interrupts her. (Interrupting the summary again: this is where chapter 6 ends. It really was a very long chapter. I think it was super great. As I said earlier, the circle scene truly took me out, and the Arata-Souma part made me Sick (in a good way). I recommend reading this chapter with voices and Live2D; everyone gets new Live2D models! Even the NPCs!! This is the most important part of VBS's story!!!) Wondering why Miku has appeared, she tells Kohane she just wanted to check things out, since their turn is coming soon. Miku then asks her if she's feeling excited right now — feeling the same excitement she felt that day, the day she went to Vivid Street... the day she found WEEKEND GARAGE... the day she met An. Kohane responds she's feeling excited, but it's a different kind of excitement — "I have to do this" is what she's feeling. It's like she can no longer see the excitement of "I want to do this"; which isn't good, as she had finally found her feelings. Miku says it can't be helped, as this is a place where emotions swirl, and sometimes it's easy to lose sight of things. However, she has to remember —

💚 『Kohane is now standing in front of a big wall that leads to a new world.』 💚 『We don't know what's on the other side. No one knows yet.』 🐹 No one... 💚 『Let's go see it, Kohane — together with everyone.』 🐹 … Yeah. That's right. 🐹 Together with everyone in Vivid BAD SQUAD, and all of my friends who've come this far...

Miku then replies that that's not all, is it? But then says that it'll become clear on stage when Kohane's confused at her reply. They then hear the cheers from the audience — their turn is coming soon. The rest of Vivid BAD SQUAD come looking for Kohane, and they make notice of Miku. Soon after, the rest of VIRTUAL SINGERS appear too, coming to support them and wishing them luck.

💚 『Let's go see a new world together.』

And then, it's time for Vivid BAD SQUAD's performance... the time to surpass the legend has come!! ... However, this is where I'm stopping the summary for chapter 7. I'm really sorry but I really believe this is a chapter you have to read yourself; something you have to witness yourself. This chapter is probably the best chapter they've made in all events so far, and any summary I make of it won't do it any justice. They really went all out with it. I really, really recommend reading it yourself. Watch Vivid BAD SQUAD surpass RAD WEEKEND. But, as you may know already: they do it. They surpass the legend — they surpass RAD WEEKEND. And they make a legend of their own.

[Chapter 8 — To the next world] EPILOGUE

A few days later, everything's so lively on Vivid Street. There's musicians everywhere singing, a familiar scenery for the people in the town... everyone has been inspired by RAD BLAST, wanting to surpass this new and exciting legendary event. Vivid BAD SQUAD managed to even change the scenery of the town. Meanwhile, at WEEKEND GARAGE, Taiga and Ken are talking. Taiga is already heading to the airport, poking fun at Ken since he has things to do, unlike the man who closed his store. Furthermore, he has to go back and brush up his skills — he wants to be the one to achieve Nagi's dream, but now he has more rivals. Finally, he thanks Ken. But then, Ken tells him he wants to do it together again. His role as a mentor to the next generation is over, and he'll be just an artist again, so — he wants to sing with Taiga, again. His wife's fine with this, and An laughed and said they're rivals now, so it's alright. They're partners once again.

Finally, Vivid BAD SQUAD and everyone else are at the graveyard, visiting Nagi's grave. They clean up then pray to her grave, saying a few words.

🎧 ... Nagi-san, we've come this far. 🎧 From now on, I will go beyond Nagi's dream. 🎧 The scenery that Nagi wanted to see, the various places... We'll go and see them all. 🐹 Thank you very much, Nagi-san. 🐹 Thanks to Nagi-san, we have come this far. So— 🐹 From here on, leave it to me. 🥞 "Conquer the world"... We've accepted Nagi-san's big dream. ☕ The rest will be slow — please watch over us.

Following that, Kohane asks what everyone's planning to do from now on: Kotaro is planning to upload his raps online, as he wants more people to listen to them, and tells everyone to subscribe to him; meanwhile, Tatsuya and EVER are planning to go major, debutting as pro singers, since they want more people around the world to hear the music that was born in the town. As for Arata and Souma, they're planning to team up together again, with Souma as the track maker, and Arata singing his songs. They'll be a team once again. They haven't decided what they'll do exactly, but they will pursue the dream that Nagi entrusted to everyone, which means they're Vivid BAD SQUAD's rivals now. Finally, Vivid BAD SQUAD — of course, they're planning to take over the world, and going beyond Nagi's dream. Kohane thinks, while she may not know what she wants to do from now on, she's sure it'll be okay; they can move forward. Because—

Because—!

Because they will never be discouraged, no matter how big the wall!! Furthermore, just imagining what the view as they "Take over the world" will be like makes Kohane's heart race. She then calls out her teammates' names, telling them she wants to go there soon. And the event ends. Vivid BAD SQUAD has accomplished their dream — but their journey is just getting started. Run to a new world!!

2.1. My Event Impressions and Thoughts For Real After I Accidentally Summarized the Whole Event

Well, lol. Sorry, in the end I summarized most of it. (Also I may be accidentally repeating here some of the thoughts I wrote throughout the summary.) So, as I was saying earlier: it was sooo good. I genuinely cried and sobbed multiple times. This is very noteworthy because I really dislike crying, so I don't cry often (im just like akito fr), and not many Sekai events got me close to being emotional over them (there is a few, though. I'm not emotionless lol), yet this one had me emotional all throughout. In fact, even days later I still feel emotional over it. Just the thought of this being the end... what they worked so hard for... what they've been looking forward to for so long... they're finally accomplishing their dream. I'm so, so happy. Kohane's part of the event was really good. Didn't expect they'd bring back RUST and GLaP day to coach her (also, at first I thought COL's owner was gonna be the one coaching her lol!), it was so cool. I also really like how much it showed Kohane's development — how she used to be so shy and with no dream, but now she's very confident in her skill and her dream that she inherited from her partner and teammates. I also quite like how Whip the wimp girl!!'s does actually happen concurrently to this event. Very epic stuff, guys. With her feelings of frustration, after losing to Taiga, RUST, GLaP day, and now An... she uses those feelings to improve even further, with the desire of giving back to An, wanting to show her cool side too. Giving back the love she has received from An... wanting to love back, after An has provided so much love... Ughh...!! Kohane is very cool, actually. The finding your ego part was also quite cool; I had never viewed everything that way, but it makes a lot of sense. Of course, as an Akito fan, I end up naturally thinking of Akito's ego, sorry, but this isn't about him; Kohane finding what she's doing this for, what she'd do this for even if other people didn't like it, it was so good. Very cool. When you think about it, RAD WEEKEND was Nagi's selfish wish; it was her ego, and the ego of everyone else who participated; and RAD BLAST was everyone else's ego. This kind of ties it together — everyone came together for their own wants. Oh, the parallels... they make me crazy. And then there's chapters 6 and 7. Pretty much the main point of the event. To be honest, there's a few people who complained about Kohane events mostly being "plot events" rather than "character events" and — perhaps that's true, but the first half focused on her character, her task and her growth, and this is like, the big VBS event. There's no helping it. In a way, this is a plot event, but it's very closely tied to the characters, since they're reaching their ultimate goal. But as I was saying... chapters 6 and 7 were crazy. The circle scene at the beginning of chapter 6 really had me losing it. When Akito started shouting his Akito-like lines, I just... started sobbing, genuinely. The lines were the usual Akito lines but... they really hit me hard. Man. I love him so much. Honestly. Fuck!!!! (sorry for swearing) Everyone saying their ego and everything, it was so good.

Pretty much the entirety of chapter 6 was amazing. It was so nice to see the partner duos performing together to kick off the event. Also Touya's line about "Let's accomplish our dream" has been imprinted in my brain. Just... ugh. The Arata-Souma part was also really good. I like how he appeared last minute and sang Souma's song... even though Souma can't sing anymore, they were doing this together, in a way... oghh... I get emotional thinking about this. This is tragic yaoi, perhaps. (Little bit of nitpicking here) Maybe it would have been nice if they gave us a bit more about Arata, though, such as what he was doing until now, and how Souma even found him... but perhaps they'll do that in a future event. And chapter 7? Mannnnn. I didn't summarize it but I'll give my thoughts on it. Don't read this part if you didn't read the chapter or something!! Chapter 7 had me speechless. I was livetweeting my event impressions and I just couldn't keep tweeting anymore except a random screenshot because Kohane's lines hit my head hard, but yeah. It was so epic. I was sobbing, happy, laughing. This really was the greatest chapter in all Sekai events so far. (Actual chapter 7 spoilers now) All the effects and stuff were so epic. And how they used multiple BGMs of the characters singing?? And then for the finale, VBS's cheers and time stopping for Kohane??? It's just... wow... it was so incredibly shounen and perhaps even a bit corny but it was amazing. I loved it so much. I'm not even that big of a fan of shounen stuff but it was so cool. They really went all out with this chapter. A big love letter to VBS, and really delivering on their finale. Man!!! So great. I'm so, so happy. They finally did it. I didn't even really consider myself a VBS fan until recently, but WTWG really hit my head hard, and I've since reread most VBS events and reconsidered my thoughts on a lot of things. And now here we are... But even then, I've always been an Akito fan, so even if I didn't like VBS (which I do!), just seeing him accomplish his dream... makes me cry. I'm so happy for everyone, really. I'm so grateful. Chapter 8 was a pretty nice epilogue. The chapter starting just like back after RAD WEEKEND, with the musicians singing in town and aiming to surpass the new legend in town... wow... the themes of chains of inspiration and generational cycles are cool. RAD BLAST inspired and motivated everyone, and revived the scenery of the town once again. It's so nice. Ken and Taiga becoming partners again was quite an interesting development. Didn't expect that. It's pretty sad that Ken-san may be gone... between that and all the NPCs having their own plans (Kotaro becoming a YouTuber lol), it's like... VBS is by themselves, once again. I feel sad thinking about this.

Also I wanna say that I really loved how they showed the development that all the VBS characters went through. This event is like a culmination of not just their story, but also their characters. They grew a lot... It makes me so happy. It also focused a lot (more than I expected) on the partner bond; not just within VBS, but also Arata-Souma and, very surprisingly, Taiga-Ken. Not to bring "discourse" here, but some people seem to think the partner stuff is fanservice, for some reason (I beg people to Read the stories, please); but it's a very integral part of the VBS characters. The bond with your partner and growing together and helping each other grow; this event really drove the point home multiple times, including in the cards (lol). I talked about partners a few times in my past essays, and I'm glad the game really shows how important they are to each other. While they're a group, and there's a friendship between all of them, the most important person to each other is their respective partner. It's a truly inseparable bond. This did feel like an actual finale. Of course, their story is far from over, but they REALLY did make it look like an actual ending. Good job. Breaking the mood for a bit, I actually feel a bit mixed about this ending. I kind of... dread what's next? It's an odd feeling. Like, I feel super happy and satisfied, but also... it has been over three and a half years since their journey started, and now it's over? It's like when you finish a very long game that you loved and suddenly you're like "Oh... now what?" It's also weird because most of their life has been about surpassing RAD WEEKEND... it's scary to think what they're gonna do next. Of course, I support them in whatever they plan to do, they're like my kids (everyone in Sekai is, tbh), but the unknown is scary. While random to mention here, perhaps Akito may feel something similar soon. He even says it in the event, but RAD WEEKEND was all his life, what kept him alive, and he has been looking forward to this day all this time; so now that he accomplished this goal, he may feel a bit lost on what's next. While "conquering the world" is definitely VBS's next goal, he may want something... more concrete? Direct? But there is someone that has always been with him... his partner. Maybe this is me being a bit delusional but perhaps it'll be Touya that gives Akito a "new purpose" in life — they'll always be together, no matter what, just like Arata and Souma. In the end, it's all about aibou. Leaving the negative feelings aside: yeah, it was an epic event. Possibly the best VBS event? Or even in the game? However, I don't know if I can rank it higher than Akito's focuses because, well, that's my boy!! But as a group event, this is perhaps the best. There's some minor nitpicks, such as why, despite being their big event, none of their friends and loved ones were there (like, Saki and Tsukasa would want to be there for Touya; and Kohane's parents too, among other people), but perhaps they simply didn't appear physically since they didn't want to crowd the event too much? Or it was recorded (don't make the same mistake as RADder lol)? But it's a bit "hmmm" to think about. (<- guy who just said he'd leave the negativity aside) BUT! I think they really landed this event. It was quite Crazy to suddenly finish not just the arc, but their STORY so soon, and everyone doubted they could do it (June 29th was a rough day). But they did it. In a way, this is storytelling (what is he yapping about), and as my friend put it:

i do think that doomer phase was a quintessential part of the vbs experience. “there’s scenery you can only see when beaten and crawling on the asphalt” after all . they scared the shit out of us with insane balance and pacing decisions and pulled it all right back together (source)

I had faith in the writing, unlike most people, and thought they'd be able to cover, at the least, most of those plot threads that there were hanging... but they actually covered nearly everything. It was much better than I expected. They surpassed my expectations, both the writers and VBS. It was so great. A really good event. I love Akito. I love aibous. I love VBS. Truly legendary.

3. Event Cards Impressions (and Some Analysis)

[Disclaimer: Personal opinions ahead. The analysis is very minor, since I think there isn't That much to analyze here.] So epic that they gave Akito a gay bar themed card to finish off pride month 🧡💙 We truly ended pride month with a BLAST!! Okay, jokes aside. The event gacha's name is The Party Of Blast!! Gacha, and looking at the cards, it's easy to see why. They're all partying in their cards; this is pretty much the afterparty of their event. Everyone's cards take place in bar-like settings, and there's alcoholic glasses all over — however, rather than alcohol, they're filled with diamonds and various other gems, some of them colored as VBS's characters' image colors. (They're minors and can't legally drink alcohol by the way.) There's also confetti raining down on them, representing their victory. They're all dressed in military-like clothes, symbolizing how hard they've been fighting so far to reach this place. And, they also all have elements of VBS's image color (hot, bright pink) in their outfits, mainly their belts or belt straps and their shoelaces, which represent their unit and their unity as a team. (Won't mention this detail for all of them, so just adding it here.) There's also chains present in most of the cards. I did talk about chains a bit in my latest essay, and I feel they may represent a similar thing here: connection, the connection between these characters as a team, and the partners' deeper connections to each other. So overall, the theme of these cards is as I said — an afterparty, celebrating their achievement after all their hard work. Something that could be interesting to talk about before getting into the cards themselves is the fact they chose a bar setting for these cards. An often-controversial aspect of VBS is that they often cover and sing adult-themed songs; like, suggestive songs (such as PaIII.Sensation), or in their most recent cover, Yoidore Shirazu, featuring elements of drinking (As I've said in the past, I don't really condone them covering these kinds of songs and I'd rather they weren't a thing but, it is what it is). This last example is fitting since this set, too, has a drinking-related theme, which is bars. VBS are often associated with adult elements, despite being one of the younger units (all second-years, same as Leo/need), and this is another case of that: minors aren't allowed to drink alcoholic beverages, nor enter bars in general. For that reason, the content of the glasses in the cards are replaced with diamonds and other gems, but the original feeling still remains of them being in a place that is usually reserved for adults. One way to look at it is that they're more mature than expected for their age, chasing after a dream in a mainly grown-up world, and aiming to surpass an event hosted by adults, and they represent that maturity by putting them in adult situations? Or perhaps, due to the street culture, these things represent them breaking the rules and doing things that aren't fit for minors; to symbolize the underlying theme of rebellion in these characters, too, and showing everyone that they can do whatever they're chasing after. Project Sekai is, in a way, a "coming of age" game, showing all the characters' growth and development as they experience things in their teenage life, so this adult angle does make sense. Vivid BAD SQUAD are growing up...! In any case, let's get into the cards; of course, starting with a very special boy:

4☆ Shinonome Akito - "A Circle Signaling Our Determination"

"... Good. Everyone has their hands in."

This is Akito's 4☆ card from the event. This may be crazy to say but, I think this is THE gayest Akito card. Not just for the gay bar joke (sorry), but it very much gives that vibe. While I actually think "woww he looks so gay here" whenever there's a new Akito card... this time, it's for real. I'm not sure how to explain it, but he LOOKS gay. I've seen gay guys that look like this before. This is a gay guy, if I've ever seen one. His beloved partner sitting on the chair's arm next to him, so close to him, really adds to the homosexuality. It's just a great card to me. ... Anyways, getting serious. My general thoughts on the card is that it has become one of my favorite Akito lims (still below FES and Doggy though). People were being mean to his hairstyle but I think it looks really nice! It's now one of my favorite hairstyles for him.

Fun fact: Akito's hairstyle here is quite similar to Souma's hairstyle. Meanwhile, Touya's hairstyle in Whip the wimp girl!!, which I thought was a reference to his dad, does share similarities to Arata's hairstyle, too. Are they implying something?

Also, I quite like his outfit. I'd definitely wear that stuff (you're insane), he looks very handsome and attractive. It's very nice that his pants are dark pink? Grape pink? (I don't know color names lol.) Furthermore, his boots' shoelaces and his belt strap are bright, hot pink; which is VBS's image color. It's pretty nice and bold. From memory, I think this is the first time he wears these kinds of pink? Which I feel is quite bold, since he usually wears less showy colors; a recent exception being his BURN MY SOUL card's outfit, which he got in the event where he realized he has to listen to how he feels and be true to himself more, which I interpreted in the outfit as him being more confident in how he dresses. There's even a similar contrast in both of these cards' costumes, combining black / dark colors, and a showy color. Could just be reading too much into it, as usual, but the fact he's getting bolder with his fashion is quite nice and something I enjoy. He feels more confident in himself, and now wears colors he didn't use to wear (pink), which is a color usually considered "for girls"... Don't want to delve too deeply into the topic of his sexuality in here, otherwise this is gonna get extra long, but I talked about getting bolder with his fashion and how it could relate to what he learned about his feelings and feeling more confident about them, and his sexuality and my homosexuality headcanon in the BMS card section in The Gay Akito Thesis™. Similar logic would apply to this card and outfit, in my opinion. A very nice detail is the colored diamonds and gems — they're colored after VBS's image colors (Pink, Light Blue, Orange, Dark Blue). The fun part is that, even as diamonds/gems, the partners are always together (Pink+Light Blue, and Orange+Dark Blue). You can see them together on the table, and in the glasses in the card. They're inseparable, after all. Speaking of which, Touya himself is next to Akito in this card. So nice... always together... aibou4ever...

Oh, nearly forgot to talk about the theme. Yeah, as I said earlier, they're dressed in military-like outfits, and it's a party at a bar. Out of all the set, this card is the one that is most obviously a bar because of the glasses hanging in the back. (Considering that, and the, uh, nearing-homosexual bond between Akito and Touya, the gay bar joke seems quite fitting.) Also, not that important and likely obvious; the neon sign in the back saying "Go all out" symbolizes Akito and everyone else giving it their all during their event. it also represents akito coming out of the closet (joke) In short, this card represents the afterparty and celebration after surpassing their goal, which they had been working so hard to accomplish and put all their effort into. It's quite cool. Great job, guys, you deserve it. So, overall, I think it's a great card. I really like it. The untrained illustration also features Touya next to Akito, and a neat detail is that it's the first time Touya reciprocates Akito's shoulder touch (Akito is always all over Touya's shoulders, but it was never the other way around), just... wow... sorry I'll stop being gay. Great card, everyone. Gay Akito is real. Happy pride month.

2☆ Aoyagi Touya - "Just a Little Bit More of This Atmosphere"

Touya's 2☆ card. Not much to say here, it's just a 2☆... But it looks quite nice! I like how he's Happy (both literally and the actual card attribute) and enjoying singing... such a nice development from the Touya at the start of the game... he enjoys music once again thanks to his partner and the town. So good. I like it. Touya's initial 2☆ (his very first one) was also Happy, and comparing his appearance between both cards, with his initial 2☆ him looking serious and gloomy, and now in this card him looking happy and enjoying himself as he sings and does what he enjoys... it's quite a difference. It's very nice. Perhaps this card may represent this moment in the story, too:

Very good... smiling about making THEIR dream come true — it's not just Akito's dream, it's their dream now... So great. Aibous forever!!

4☆ Hatsune Miku - "Beyond the Door"

"Let's go and see it, Kohane. Together with everyone."

Now we have Miku's 4☆ card. This is a quite notable card because, up until now, Miku's lims were mainly reserved for "special occasions" (FES, collabs, and special events). Although, perhaps, this IS a special occasion — besides the fact it was the first Bloom Festival banner, it's also a special occasion for VBS. Their arc end, their final goal, the end of their story... maybe? Yeah. It's a nice card. Seeing Miku with her hair down is new and interesting, although I would've liked a different hairstyle for VBS Miku but... eh, it's alright. It's good too. Just like Akito's card, the card takes place in a bar-like setting, and she's wearing military-like clothes, with hot pink shoelaces, belt, and thigh belt (VBS's image color). The glass she's holding has four different colored gems: dark blue, yellow, light blue, and pink, which I imagine represent KAITO, Len, Miku, and Luka. It's odd that there's no red and orange for MEIKO and Rin, but you could pretend they just can't be seen from the front. There's also something else: if you zoom in, there's two glasses in the background, one with dark blue and orange diamonds, and the other with light blue and pink diamonds. Even in this card, the partner pairs are together, and in different glasses, to boot. Funny. They're truly inseparable. Also the neon signs in the card "get over" and "NEXT" are quite nice. Symbolizing surpassing their goal and, as the second sign literally says, what's next. Pretty cool card. I should also mention the card's untrained illustration: usually, the VIRTUAL SINGER holograms in the story aren't that big, but it feels more symbolic than anything; Miku being next to Kohane, supporting her and watching her back as she heads towards her dream. It's very nice.

💚 『Let's go see a new world together.』

3☆ Shiraishi An - "What I Want to Tell You"

"Nagi-san, we've come this far..."

An's 3☆ card from the event. Just like the others, the theme is a bar celebration in military-like clothes. Also, once again, the outfit has bright, hot pink elements (the shoelaces and the belt). I think it's a pretty nice card. Unlike the previous cards I've talked about, there's colored gems of many colors in this card, and there's a lot of them. You can make out the VIRTUAL SINGER's colors laying on the table, including the missing red and orange in Miku's card, and the middle glass on the table has VBS's image colors, and once again, they're together. (The light blue one is a bit hard to make out because of the glass' reflection, but it's definitely there, next to the pink one.) The other two glasses seem to be a combination of all colors, all together. And the untrained illustration is kind of insane, in my opinion: An visiting Nagi's grave... it really hit hard when I first saw it. After surpassing RAD WEEKEND, she's finally visiting the grave of the one she admired, saying a few words to her, telling her how she finally did it. It's just... argh. It makes me emotional...

🎧 ... Nagi-san, we've come this far. 🎧 From now on, I will go beyond Nagi's dream. 🎧 The scenery that Nagi wanted to see, the various places... We'll go and see them all.

4☆ Azusawa Kohane - "A World Full of Excitement"

"It's so beautiful... my heart's pounding..."

And finally we have the star of the event, Kohane, and her 4☆ card! Same theme as previous cards, her card is a celebration in a bar-like setting, featuring drinks and wearing a military-like outfit, also with hot pink elements; although, due to the artistic lighting, you can't really see them, but they can be seen better in-game: she wears a hot pink belt, shoelaces, and her top. She looks very cool and confident in this card, powerful even, which I quite like; showing off Kohane's development from the beginning. Also the hairstyle is quite nice! This card also has colored gems. At first they were hard to make out, but I think the ones in the glass are also VBS's image colors. There may be other interpretations though, since it's not as clear as the other cards. However, there is two more gems on the table, and those are definitely light blue and pink, representing An and Kohane. Very nice. Always together! The untrained illustration is the main part of the event: VBS after they give their final performance, and looking at that view they've aspired to see all along... the excited audience after their legendary event. Proud of what they accomplished. It's so good...

The card section this time wasn't as deep as usual (although I waffled a lot about Akito lol, sorry. Just me being crazy about Akito and homosexuality), but I believe there isn't that much to analyze here; it's pretty much just an afterparty at a bar, celebrating their big achievement, confetti raining down on them congratulating them for their victory, and the military outfits representing how hard they fought to reach where they are. Perhaps you could analyze something like the meanings of the diamonds and gems and their colors, though, but I don't think there's any deep meaning behind these cards like, for example, WTWG's set: it mainly represents VBS, the inseparable bonds with their partners, and them enjoying themselves after all their hard work. I think it's a really nice set. I like it a lot.

4. Conclusion

This wasn't like my usual essay. It's much more informal and unserious, so I apologize for that. It did kind of become a summary halfway through, but I didn't analyze too much (although I don't think there's much to analyze this time?). I mainly wanted to voice my thoughts and impressions on this event, and I hope that's fine too. I said it multiple times throughout the essay but, it was a really good event. I've mentioned it in the past, but I'm not a VBS fan — my favorite units are Niigo and MMJ. However, ever since WTWG, I've been reconsidering whether it's true that I'm "not a VBS fan"; I mean, I like every unit, but I always thought my absolute favorites were Niigo and MMJ. This is funny though because my absolute favorite character is Akito (as you can see in The Gay Akito Thesis™ — yeah I'm linking it again), it's curious how that works. I think, after reading this event, I can certainly say it: I'm a VBS fan. But, it's a bit silly to have three favorite units out of five, so idk what I'll do about that. Though, for now, I'm a VBS fan, too. I love Akito. I love VBS. I love aibous. 𝓐𝓲𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮. This is one of the greatest events in the game, perhaps one of the best, if not the best (even though I don't know if I'd say it's better than Akito's individual focuses). I really enjoyed it, and it's absolutely a must-read if you're a VBS fan. A bit of a tangent here but, personally, I think My Footprints, Your Destination is Sekai's peak. I loved everything about that event: the song, the cards, the story, the hype leading up to it... everything was great, and I still think about it years later. No event has reached that peak, but Whip the wimp girl!! has come close; the one flaw about WTWG is that I don't like a part of the full song (silly reason), and the story is amazing, but Footprints was a different kind of amazing. However, OVER RAD SQUAD!! is getting close to that peak, with the story being extremely great, and I really like the cards even if I admit they may be the weakest point of everything I mentioned. The only thing remaining is the song... it's a bit scary, since it'll release at the end, but I hope it's good! Even if it turns out to be flop, I think it's very close to the peak I mentioned. This is one of the greatest events in the game. We truly ended pride month with a BLAST, huh? (stop with this joke bro) And that's all. This is how I feel about this event. I don't know if there's much else to add about it. I hope people enjoy this, even if it's not the usual serious essay I write. These are my thoughts and opinions, and hopefully that's enjoyable, too. The last thing to mention, which is not related to the event, is that tomorrow (July 4th) marks two months since I posted my first essay; it's a bit dumb to celebrate just two months, but it also happened to be a VBS lims event and an event that I really enjoyed. Before that, I had never written anything serious like these essays, and WTWG was good enough to make me actually write something? And with that, I started writing stuff. And just last month I wrote and posted a very long essay that I had been wanting to write for a while, which I'm so proud of. Please give it a read if you haven't!! I feel like my writing improves with each essay I make, which I'm quite happy about. To finish this off, while perhaps a bit corny, I would like to thank everyone that reads and enjoys my essays; all the likes, reblogs, retweets, and everything else (?). And also give thanks to all the friends I've met. I met a lot of people recently, when before I barely interacted with the fandom because I thought it was full of awful people; but there is good people out there, too. I'm glad. I'm much happier with my life now, having met great people and interacting with others more. I'm very grateful to everyone. Thank you so much!! And so, see you in the next essay! If I don't write anything else before then, there should be two essays at the end of this month, so look forward to that!

#prsk analysis #(not really an analysis this time but theres a bit lol)#project sekai #pjsekai #pjsk #kohane azusawa #an shiraishi #toya aoyagi #touya aoyagi #akito shinonome #vivid bad squad #vbs #RAD BLAST #OVER RAD SQUAD!!#aibou #aiboulove #aibouyaoi #aibouyuri #yeah adding those too. its necessary

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