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#also 18.5 describes her as a festival lover so it's fun to imagine she's a total party animal
yoshizora · 1 year
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i think the assumption that Megumu is an abusive, neglectful boss is kind of generally accepted by english speaking fans (from what i've personally seen) but there's some nuance that should be taken into consideration imo.
1. the daitengu are stated to very rarely ever give orders for their own personal self-interest. they work for the sake of tengu society's progress. 2. Aya is notorious for stretching the truth and exaggerating facts, so while she DOES have valid criticisms of tengu society, she never mentions things like actual abuse (and it would definitely be something she'd bring up if it were happening). 3. Megumu... isn't mean? i don't know where people get the impression that she's mean. she personally checks in on Marisa after UM out of concern for her well-being, worries about Tsukasa getting her ass kicked and fights the protags in her place, and almost causes an incident just to do something nice for Chimata in LE! she's also surprisingly gracious toward the protags in UM considering how territorial the tengu are.
i'm not saying that Megumu is a paragon of kindness or a perfect boss because she most definitely is not! she initially used Chimata just to make a profit for the tengu, and Aya/Hatate/Momiji aren't complaining over nothing. also in that same MeguChima LE chapter, we're shown that Aya is at the mercy of their hierarchy and can't do anything that would go against the grain of tengu society. Megumu, for all her gallantry, is still a slimy opportunist too (her whole speech about controlling the media was kinda Deranged!).
but i think it's a reach to say that Megumu goes out of her way to be cruel to her own subordinates, because that would completely contradict her role as a daitengu. at most, i think it's reasonable to assume that Megumu doesn't always listen to the other tengu (hence AyaHataMomi's grievances) and is more of a "for the greater good" type of person, even if it's at the cost of individuals' comforts.
tl;dr yes Megumu is a shithead, but to an extent!
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