#it's so much stuff from Izuma!!!

[tragictrainmen]

My Family got my so much Submas merch for Christmas 😭😭 my mom is so supportive omfg. And I got train earrings and a miniature model train 😭😭

[serowotonin]

@srkuv’s KNB SHIPS RANKED + ANALYSIS

because “reasons”

lmaoo ok mae hunny dont judge me for these or feel disappointed much or anything kay 🥲🤚 but also these are canon in mae-verse 🤧😌

#1 : GREEN-HAIRED NERD

— aight ok i like the whole “opposites attract” kind of stuff and thus this ship is born. i know i couldve gone with akashi but bruh MIDORIMA IS A TSUNDERE and mae i see you teasing him to no end and its adorable <33,,,,, the guy says he wants a mature older woman or wtv but we all know he’d just as easily (altho he wont admit it) fall for a feral gremlin child as well.

anyway once he gets over his “tsundere-ness” and he “openly” shows affection for you,,,,, 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 legit i find that so cute like imagine him wrapping you in one of his ridiculously large sweaters saying its ur lucky item for the day and ur horoscope is smack bottom of the list so hes all concerned but actually hes concerned cuz its cold out and you dont have a jacket <3

CARING TSUNDERES !! MIDORIMA !!!! lmaoo maedorima OH OR MIDORIMAE YO THATS CUTE right this isnt much of an analysis but i have more charas SO NEXT !!

#2 : BAKAGAMI ‘cutie’ TAIGA

— lol ur top two ships being tsunderes,,,,,,,, LOOK I KNOW YOULL LOVINGLY TEASE THEM AND I KNOW THEYLL SECRETLY LOVE IT so heheh yes it fits uwu. honestly it was hard to pick between him and midorima for top ship but mido won out cuz he’d be internally appalled that he likes you,,,,, BUT THIS GUY he’ll go all red and all soft and mushy and awww the poor guy likes mae

idk how to explain it but i can very perfectly see him crushing on you. and then when u two are together or wtv,,,, i can very perfectly see him being completely whipped and unaware of it

NOT THAT ITS A BAD THING !! BCUZ ITS RLLY CUTEEE,,,,,, ok writing this now makes me realize im pretty bad at analysis all my brain can think of rn is just lil scenarios (which i might give later possibly) BUT YEAH OK NEXTTT

#3 : SOFT IRON GIANT (is thats his nickname i forgot djndjs)

— so not exactly a tsundere (im breaking the trend here hehe) BUT kinda opposite in that he showers you with affection and yk its just rlly wholesome and sweet

plus i think hes a good influence for you 🤧🤧 he’ll find ur energy endearing and probably definitely never get worn down by it (i say probably cuz its mae and she can most likely wear down the most patient of ppl if she tried aheM OKAY)

hes ur personal big teddie bear and yeaah i guess u two would look good together so thats why i ship it

#4 : MANY PUN(ch) MAN

— this cheesy corny couple who teases everyone and makes the most ridiculous puns and jokes. yes. tis MAEZUKI/IZUMAE (personally like maezuki more its cute dkdnkd idk)

yeaah no tsundereness in this nor the softie x feral vibes but just pure banter and cute flirty silliness and aww this actually a rlly cute ship 🥺 u guys are like a tag team and prolly practice finishing each others sentence to weird ppl out or smth IDK WHAT U DO but you two have rlly good sync i think.

also i doubt you tease each other much,,,,, like sure the occasional comment here and there but i feel like you both just enjoy teasing others together ykkk RIGHT OKAY ONTO THE LAST GUY

#5 : AHOMINE ‘betcha didnt expect me’ DAIKI

— LOOK IDK WHERE THIS CAME FROM EITHER OKAY but its an interesting dynamic that idk how to explain :D

and bcuz im rushing this i guess i will just 😶 not 😶 elaborate 😶 totally not cuz i dont know how ahahhaha

[dereksmcgrath]

Nosu Koshu’s return combines the Black Mercy from Superman with a Dragon Quest isekai plot that doesn’t really deliver much in the way of innovative gags and, in terms of plot, only perpetuates vague hints at larger schemes by Uneras. But maybe Ren’s sister Rin is going to get to be more relevant, so that’s good.

“Nosu Koshu of Illusions,” Magu-chan: God of Destruction, Chapter 56

By Kei Kamiki, translation by Christine Dashiell, lettering by Erika Terriquez

Available from Viz

Spoiler Warning for the Dragon Quest animated film.

Nosu Koshu, the dream god, is like the Black Mercy from Superman mythos. First appearing in the comic “For the Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, then adapted for Justice League Unlimited and Supergirl, it is an alien being that lets you dream of your most ardent desires–but usually with some catch, not just that, to remove the Mercy from yourself is to lose that perfect dream, but because even within that dream, like any utopia, there is always some dark side behind it. When Nosu Koshu popped up first in Magu-chan, she gave Ruru the dream of being reunited with her dead father, at the cost of being with Magu and living a healthier life of coping with loss and finding new opportunities despite that loss.

Nosu Koshu gave Magu-chan the best arc it has had up to this point–so bringing her back now for a parody of Dragon Quest and isekai storylines is tiresome. Hell, I hated that Dragon Quest animated film for its twist at the end regarding isekai stuff, so unfortunately that example tainted my appreciation for where this chapter was going.

I’m not being entirely fair to this chapter: there were details I liked. I admit some of those details were gags that I should have seen coming: Magu being reduced to a Dragon Quest Slime monster, or Uneras being shown as the final boss (which, as I’ll talk about in a moment, is potential foreshadowing to her being the Big Bad all along for this series). And I laugh heartedly when Ruru said they’ll just skip the maze level and thanks Muscar for the warning; as repetitive as their dynamic is, I do like the groove the series has set, Muscar struggling to be fearsome and intimidating and Ruru, not out of simpleness but kindheartedness, looking on the bright side and taking Muscar’s remarks as helpful rather than intimidating.

But isekai storylines have been done to death. “Magic technology goes out of wack” like Uneras putting Izuma to sleep, then having magic eyemasks to put the others into Izuma’s dream, are plot details I expect from some of the worst manga that repeatedly persist with that trope. If I want the mad scientist who keeps making magic-like objects that cause wacky hijinks, I’d get back to writing Mei Hatsume fanfiction, not sitting through G-rated To Love-Ru.

I’m trying to judge the series by its own previous examples: if you’re going to invoke a certain type of video game, even if it is an RPG, I am stuck comparing how this same series handled the fighting game tropes, offering a funny version of Smash Bros while also having more clever gags that invoke the invitation envelope from that franchise as well as even designing a bulkier headband-wearing Magu to look like Ryu from Street Fighter.

But even still, I think how another series would handle this kind of plotline about Dragon Quest-style RPGs and isekai plotlines–because I’ve seen Gintama do it, not only to parody the same content but to do the exact same plot, that being to get into someone’s body (more specifically for Magu-chan, someone’s mind) to help them through a health-related problem. And when there are so many isekai stories out there, it is ripe for parody–and there have been enough of such parodies in other series, or even isekai that are parodying their own genre and undermining their own narrative conventions.

The gags in this chapter also felt less impressive than those in previous chapters. The problem the series has had since depowering Muscar has been Uneras, and I hate saying that when she is, for better or worse, a character who resonates for manga and anime fans like us, someone portrayed as ostensibly a Western fan whose fixation on the tropes of Japanese comics and animation shows an outsider’s perspective that just gets details wrong and invokes cringe. Maybe it is naive for me to think this is all innocent: as a fan in the United States, who is going to misread cultural aspects of works that are created in cultural contexts outside of where I am, I really try to be aware and not make claims I cannot support.

So, maybe Uneras is a warning for people who think they are being reasonable and having good intentions but whose misreadings are doing actual harm. It’s not that difficult a way to measure her, given her other problematic behavior: her reaction in this chapter of thinking “hawt” upon seeing Izuma oppose her, after the series has already presented Uneras as a pseudo-maternal figure to Izuma, is all kinds of Oedipal squick that, no, ew, stop, please.

When you keep making Uneras’s behavior the instigation for the plot–creating the problems for the characters to solve–her role as the trouble-maker, as the troll, lacks the same complexities we saw earlier. When she first appeared, her antics inadvertently caused problems: if she had told Ruru that the cookies she ate would make her too powerful, then Ruru would not have accidentally blasted Izuma and Magu. In her subsequent appearances, she was carefully placed in alternative positions, sometimes purposefully trolling the characters, sometimes unintentionally causing problems that thankfully were harmless enough to be corrected by story’s end with minimal ramifications and no malice. Then she depowered Muscar, bringing the story back to square one in terms of giving him a potential redemption arc, and invoking colonialist imagery that shows her cultural ignorance is not necessarily amusing but dangerous.

If we don’t want to read something deeper behind Uneras’s behavior, within the plot of the manga itself, there is an easier understanding for why she is trolling people, tricking them, and now pulling such a dangerous Black Mercy god like Nosu Koshu into her ranks–and it’s been obvious since Uneras’s first introduction. When she premiered in unlucky Chapter 13, she made it clear that she is playing the humans and gods against each other, that she sided with the humans against her own kind to keep the gods in check. She is not the traditional notion of a hero, she is not a good-hearted cliche like Ruru: she is a puppetmaster, and that opens up more potential for what to do with her in this manga, and I tense up either because she will emerge as an antagonist in this story or because I am now attached to this idea and will feel disappointed if my prediction does not pan out that way (which, seeing as I am wanting to see every tiny cute creature as a potential villain–e.g., Nezu in My Hero Academia–may be my problem and not that of the stories’: “When you’re a hammer, and everything looks like a nail…”).

That leaves us with what the story does with Nosu Koshu. Since her introduction, she has been a passive character, fitting for a god whose ability puts people to sleep in the dream that best serves the reality they want to enter. That power gave Magu-chan the kind of storyline even the goofiest gag manga needs, one that showed how Ruru has mourned her father’s death and gave joke characters like Naputaaku a chance to rise to the occasion. But now that Nosu Koshu’s threat has been diminished, the manga is trying to figure out where to position her–and the conclusion they reach is to give Ren another god to look after. I had enjoyed how Magu-chan added more gods but made sure to give those gods their own human Pokemon trainer, so introducing Nosu Koshu but not giving her her own unique human is retreading whatever characterization we could get from Ren without developing a currently present human or a new human character we could add. It’s like when Transformers Prime introduced Smokescreen and gave him Jack as his human partner: Jack already has Arcee, and that choice diminished opportunities to give Arcee the spotlight, as her storyline faded more and more into the background while Smokescreen’s role got larger and larger. Diminishing the only woman-coded Autobot to the background didn’t help either.

But speaking of sidelining women characters, if we are going to have Nosu Koshu at the Fujisawa restaurant–and, as they do have a beach stand, it does make sense to apply this god’s talents there after Mother Fujisawa exhausted herself in an earlier chapter–pair Nosu Koshu with Ren’s sister Rin. While I have enjoyed Rin’s dynamic with Naputaaku, he is already Ren’s god partner, and Rin’s schtick has been rather stale: in the beach stand chapter, we did learn she desires to rise to the occasion to run the family business, belying her slacker demeanor. But if we’re going to move beyond the tiresome slacker schtick, having her be the partner to a literal sleepyhead like Nosu Koshu makes sense and could help both characters, contrasting how Rin’s passivity differs from Nosu Koshu’s, and showing that Rin has actual dreams she is trying to reach in her own way while Nosu Koshu has been content to force other people to literally dream without having any goal of her own. Like I just said, I tend to write ideas that I hope a story will take, then I feel disappointed when they don’t go there, and that unfairly influences my reviews. But I hope I got this one right, because after the previous chapter and now this one, it feels like Magu-chan needs an emotionally impactful chapter to give more direction to where the gags should go.

[weebtarurights]

Hey, a different person, again. Just read your latest translation & loved it. But noticed this in the text: “Izuma”? Also watched the latest anime episode featuring college day Tsumu-Tasuku, only Hisoka & Homare’s acting skills, Tsumu being the leader, Mahjong match (Hot Sakyo pic), info of the 3 mysteries (stage only showed 2), Act off declaration, Tsumu-Tasuku friction, the torment doll, the time loop, & Misumi happy before the day repeats, again (anime only).

Hi ~ Thanks for the heads up ^^ Already edited it :D :D Yep, lots of things happened in the episode. Though it hurts a bit to see Tasuku and Tsumugi’s conflict. T^T  They’re grown adults so it’s different stuff from when the younger members are bickering. Adult conflict is much harder to resolve. 

[salmonthestoryteller]

Irrational

A Love Mode Fanfic

Izumi knew he was being irrational. After all, sooner or later he was bound to run into an ex-client. He just hadn’t expected it to be under these circumstances. And that’s what made it so very difficult.

He’d pictured the possible locations of the event many times. A recital for his dance class, perhaps. An evening restaurant date with Arashi, possibly. A run-in at a gas station, or grocery store even. Chance encounters. One time events that would leave him shaken, but that he could walk away from and return to his new life unhindered. And that was exactly the problem. It was supposed to happen in a way that wouldn’t interfere with his life. At a time and place he could run away from, and never have to face them again.

It was not supposed to happen at his classes. It was not supposed to be the father of one of his students. He wasn’t supposed to have to see him more than once. And he absolutely was not supposed to be required to talk to him. It was irrational to think that way, but he couldn’t help it. Anymore than he could stop his hands from shaking when he saw him being pulled his way by his son.

“Come meet the teacher! He’s so nice!” Sato was saying, tugging on his father’s arm.

“I’m sure he’s very busy getting ready for the class.”

“He always makes time for people!”

Even though he didn’t want to, his mind recalled the man’s name. Chiji. Murisaki Chiji. He’d known Sato’s last name, of course, but he’d payed no attention. What were the chances?

“Sensei!” Sato greeted excitedly.

“This is my father. Father, this is Izuma-sensei.”

“Uh…how do you do?” Chiji bowed. He seemed nervous, and he was trying not to look directly at him.

“M-Murisaki-san…” Izumi got out, and bowed.

“Sato loves your dance classes. They’re all he talks about.”

“Father, that’s not true! I mean…I talk about other stuff…” Sato seemed embarrassed now.

“He’s a very attentive student…” Izumi stated. He felt so clumsy, and was glad Sato didn’t seem to notice the awkwardness of the conversation.

“He’s a good boy.” Chiji placed his hand on Sato’s head. Sato colored at his father’s praise, but grinned up at him.

“Yes…I have to get ready for class.” He decided it was safe to excuse himself.

“Yes, of course…” Chiji seemed relieved. “I have to go as well…”

Izumi nodded, hurrying off. He couldn’t help but hear the end of their conversation as they walked away, though.

“But can’t you stay to watch me dance?”

“Not today, I’m afraid.”

“Please?”

“I-I’m sorry, Sato. Another day.”

But Chiji did not stay any of the days he brought Sato to class, nor did he arrive early to watch the end of practice. He went out of his way to ensure he had little contact with the classes. And though he was privately relieved, Izumi also felt strangely guilty. Because he knew Sato always asked Chiji if he could stay. And he was certain his refusal had less to do with a lack of time as his own presence.

He hesitated to bring it up to Arashi. He wasn’t sure what to tell his lover. Or what his reaction would be. But Arashi could tell something was bothering him, and his insistence that everything was fine was causing a sore point between them.

It came out unexpectedly one evening when Chiji was late picking Sato up. Though he was never early, he was rarely late and as the other students were picked up, Izumi became concerned. Sato’s usually cheerful attitude became more and more sullen. He sat in the corner by the window, scowling at the raindrops beginning to fall.

“Sato, can I get you anything?” He approached the boy slowly.

“No.”

“Perhaps I should call your father’s office.” Though he inwardly winced at the idea, he knew it was his responsibility as the teacher.

“He’s not there.” Sato replied with absolute certainty.

“Perhaps he’s stuck in traffic…” Izumi suggested, not sure what else to say.

“That’s not it!” Sato snapped, then suddenly curled up and started to cry.

“Sato…” Izumi was cut off by the door being thrown open hastily.

“Sato!” Chiji ran in. “Sato, I’m so sorry. I was held up at work.”

Sato uncurled to glare at his father through his tears. “Liar!”

Chiji jerked as though he’d been slapped. “Sato…no, I really was-”

“You just don’t want to be here! You don’t want to see me dance! You just don’t care about me!”

“That’s not true! I know I’ve made some mistakes…”

“It’s just like when mother died! You were never around then either! I knew I shouldn’t have believed you when you said things were going to change!” Sato leaped to his feet, running past Chiji and shoving past Arashi - who’d just entered.

“Sato, no, wait! It’s not like that!” Chiji looked guiltily at Izumi. “It’s just…” He looked away, and hurried after his son, bowing briefly to Arashi. “Excuse me. Sato - wait!”

Arashi blinked, a bit surprised by the scene. “What happened?” He asked. Izumi was certain he didn’t help his confusion any by bursting into tears…

Arashi had said very little as he explained the situation to him as they drove home. His lover’s silence only made Izumi feel more guilty over the whole situation. He was beginning to feel like crying again as they entered their home, when Arashi suddenly reached out and pulled him close - kissing his forehead. “You’re supposed to tell me about things like this.” He berated him gently.

For some reason the younger man’s tender actions only made the urge to cry stronger. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel.”

Arashi sighed. “Did you really think I’d be upset?”

“You aren’t?”

“I’m upset this upsets you. But there’s always been the chance we’d meet someone who knew you.”

“But I didn’t expect it to happen like this!” Izumi sighed, walking over to sit down in one of the living room chairs. “It’s so hard!”

Arashi walked over to sit on the arm of the chair. “Do you remember anything about him?” He asked cautiously.

“He…didn’t talk much…” Izumi admitted. “He certainly never mentioned having a family…”

“Not exactly the subject most would bring up.” Arashi pointed out.

“He seemed distant…kind-of sad…” Izumi shrugged helplessly, unable to offer any more information. “I only saw him a few times. He wasn’t a regular or anything.”

Arashi nodded. “He seems to find the whole thing awkward as well…” Sliding off the arm of the chair, Arashi knelt by it - taking one of Izumi’s hands. “I know this probably isn’t a welcome suggestion, but I think you need to talk to him.”

Izumi’s eyes widened. “But! I…I can’t!”

Arashi hesitated, but looked up at him - his eyes serious. “Izumi…I don’t think either of you are going to move past this unless you do. And it seems to be causing a problem between his son and him. He can’t really explain this to him, can he?”

Izumi lowered his eyes to his lap. “No…you’re right. It’s between us. And we have to solve it.”

“I’ll go with you, if you like.” He offered.

“You think we should go see him?” Izumi was startled. “When?”

“Why not tonight?” Arashi suggested.

Izumi gaped. “Are you serious?”

“The longer you have to dwell on it, the worse it will get.” He pointed out.

Izumi bit his lip, holding onto Arashi’s hand tightly. “And you’ll come with me?” He had to make sure.

“Anywhere.” Arashi replied instantly. Despite the situation, Izumi couldn’t help but smile at his words.

It was a quaint house on a quiet street. The lights were on still, and Izumi thought he saw a small figure in the upstairs window as they drove up. Chiji answered the door. He looked tired, but froze when he saw them. For a moment Izumi thought he might close the door in their face. Arashi must have had the same thought, because he rested his hand against it. “May we come in, Murisaki-san?”

Chiji looked uncertain, but slowly stepped aside. “Please, come in.”

The house was nicely furnished, but definitely lived in. Some things were lying about, including several toys and games that must have belonged to Sato. But the boy himself was nowhere to be seen, Izumi couldn’t help but notice. “Is Sato sleeping?”

Chiji winced. “I doubt it. He hasn’t come down since we got home, though.” He led them to the living room. “Please, have a seat. Would you like anything to drink?”

Izumi only shook his head. Arashi noticed his sudden quietness and sighed. “No, we’re fine.”

Chiji nodded, running a hand through his hair. “I’m…sorry about this afternoon. I truly was detained at work. I got there as fast I could but Sato…” He sighed, lowering his head. “I really can’t blame him, though. I’ve let him down so often.

"Murisaki-san…I feel some responsibility for this…” Izumi spoke up hesitantly. “It has been my presence that has kept you away. Isn’t it?”

Chiji glanced at him and Arashi awkwardly, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I admit, I was…taken back by seeing you there. And you seemed to find my presence there equally disturbing.”

“For Sato’s sake, we really need to find a way to put this behind us.” Izumi pointed out.

Chiji looked at him, and nodded. “It must have taken alot of courage to come here, Izumi-san.”

“I had some help.” Izumi took Arashi’s hand.

Chiji nodded. “I’d heard of your two’s relationship from some of the other parents. A friend suggested signing Sato up, and took him the first few weeks while I was sorting out my schedule. I was unaware of your identity.”

“You never mentioned a family.”

“Sato’s mother had passed on already. And I…I couldn’t bear to around Sato at first. He was so much like her…” Chiji sat down heavily. “I just wasn’t there for him. He must have felt like he’d lost us both.”

“That was when…we knew one another?” Izumi wasn’t sure how else to put it.

Chiji nodded. “I was lost myself. When I began to pull things together I quit the B&B. Changed jobs. I promised Sato things would be different. I was trying to start over, and seeing you was like having to face the past again.”

Izumi lowered his eyes to the floor. “Believe me when I tell you, I understand. I’ve chosen to start over as well.” He felt Arashi squeeze his hand, and squeezed back - glad for his support. Suddenly he felt very sorry for Chiji - having to start over alone.

“There is some follies of adulthood that cannot be explained to a child. I don’t know how to patch things up.” Chiji admitted, raising his eyes to look at them.

“I have a suggestion.” Arashi spoke up.

The dance recital had ended, and the students and parents were slowly leaving - some alone and others in small groups. Arashi watched as Sato pulled his father over to talk to Izumi. There was none of the awkwardness from the first meeting between them he’d witnessed several weeks ago. They’d managed to stop seeing each other as ghosts of the pasts and could now simply see one another as Sato’s father and teacher. The conversation was brief, then Chiji and Sato exited as well, discussing where to go out for dinner. Arashi smiled, making his way across the room to where Izumi was helping get the clean-up from the recital underway. He wrapped his arms around him, unable to stop a grin when Izumi blushed.

“Hey, someone might see us.”

“We aren’t exactly hiding our relationship.” Arashi pointed out.

“We’re supposed to be working! You said you’d help.” Izumi brought up a hand to whack his boyfriend over the head playfully.

Arashi only laughed. “It’s good to see you smiling. I was really upset when I could tell something was wrong, but you wouldn’t share it.”

Izumi lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. But it was all so awkward, and it wasn’t…I mean - it was my problem.”

“Which makes it mine too. I’m not just here to share the good times with you, you know.”

“I know…”

“So from now on, you’ll come to me, right?” Arash turned Izumi around to face him. “And we’ll face those problems together?”

Izumi reached up a hand to caress Arashi’s face. “As long as you promise the same.”

“It’s a deal.” Arashi leaned in to nuzzle his nose with his own.

Despite his earlier protests, Izumi leaned up to capture his mouth. Wrapping his arms around Arashi’s neck as he deepened the kiss, he let himself forget about the work he was supposed to be doing. Sometimes it was alright to be irrational.

Fini

Love Mode was one of the first fandoms I got majorly involved with. I have so many fics set in this world. Including ones sadly unfinished, not because I love the story any less, but because RL interrupted and I never went back to complete them. The members of the old LJ Lovemode Community were amazing, and are part of the reason I kept writing at a time when I nearly gave it all up for a second time. I miss all of you.

I thought of the concept of Izumi running into an ex-client first, and tried to puzzle out what scenario to have it happen in. When I thought of the idea of it being the father of one of his students, I thought that it could be an awkward situation for him as well. Chiji and Sato evolved from there. In the end, I felt that Izumi would most likely be more disturbed than Arashi. If it was a bad experience, Arashi would be protective, of course, but I decided not to take that angle. So he ended up being the one who had to be mature and reasonable while everyone else fell to pieces.

[dereksmcgrath]

Introducing Izuma’s sister Seira has potential to open up new exciting storylines--but seems stalled right now.

Magu-chan: God of Destruction, Chapter 65 “The Mysterious Successor” and Chapter 66 “Ninitsy the Astral.” By Kei Kamiki, translation by Christine Dashiell, lettering by Erika Terriquez. Available from Viz.

When Izuma’s sister Seira was introduced last weekend in Chapter 65 of Magu-chan: God of Destruction, I decided to hold off on reviewing that chapter until seeing whether she would return in the next one.

(This is a similar reason why I am not touching My Hero Academia again until the Star and Stripe stuff wraps up: I want to see how this ends before I let my current annoyance with how that story is playing out overwhelm a slightly more objective take.)

It’s not that Chapter 65 of Magu-chan was bad, so much as it didn’t have as much content in it for me to make as fair an assessment as I wanted to about her characterization, her role in the story, and where Kamiki would take her.

But it was a challenge to try to write about a story like Chapter 65 that sets up a mystery (who is this new girl), answers it (it’s Izuma’s sister, spying on him to report on him to their bosses), then rather than have a decent cliffhanger (what will she do next?) instead has her run away with the uncertainty whether she’ll return in the very next chapter. I wanted to hold off to see if she would return in Chapter 66. Sure enough, she does. And now having read Chapter 66, I’m not as impressed as I hoped I would be about what Seira adds to this series, especially with the ending to that chapter being another case of trolling.

I also don’t like that this chapter has me not talking about Seira, who is a girl, and instead talking about Ren, who is a boy. As I’ll explain below, it’s not as if talking about how we portray girls in popular fiction doesn’t affect how we portray boys as well; it’s just annoying that I’m justifying my attention to how the boy is portrayed by using a girl for that purpose.

I have held off for a long time as to what role Ren has in this story, especially as he is a character type that I had hoped more popular fiction would avoid or at least complicate: the “nice guy.” In the last few years so much writing about that trope has helped me recognize its implicit toxicity. I understand a story that shows two characters that the audience is rooting for entering a relationship. To some extent, you can read that approach to something like Fruits Basket, although that series benefits because Tohru has a life and a set of challenges completely separate from those of the zodiac, regardless how integrated that life and those challenges are to the fates of the zodiac members, and who is eventually revealed as the “nice guy” to that story is so not what you may expect from a “nice guy” personality. And Blue Box, a newer addition to Shonen Jump where Magu-chan also appears, focuses on Taiki, a nice boy, falling for his classmate Chinatsu, a girl who otherwise seems unaware of his feelings. That dynamic is classic and compelling for some readers: he wants to have the courage to let her know how he feels, and she has a path of learning about his emotions.

But just read what I wrote: why is it that the path for the boy is to find courage, while the path for the girl is to be largely passive and come to awareness, as if this inevitably will lead her to awaken some romantic feelings? As much as I hate invoking Joss Whedon, and Lord, does his work take on new but depressing resonance when re-evaluating after what we learned or finally acknowledged about him, but Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog showed how this “nice guy” approach can end with an embittered man and violence against women. I’m not saying that is where Blue Box or Magu-chan will end, but I do point out that limiting such characterization for a girl is violent.

Yet, at the same time, I can’t say that Magu-chan has done violence to Ruru’s characterization. If anything, I’m grateful she is largely oblivious to Ren’s feelings for her, as her story gets to follow numerous paths, based on her relationships with her other classmates and with the chibi elder gods, and not be shackled to just Ren. If anything, this exposing why misogyny should be a concern for men as well: if gender is a spectrum, then violence against anyone on that spectrum can leak into violence against others on that spectrum, and as many of us stick to an outdated gender binary, wherein being a man is defined as not being a woman and vice versa, then violence against women impacts how men define themselves and risks putting violence against them.

This is all a very abstruse way of getting to this point: locking Ren’s story into a romantic one is doing violence to him, too.

I don’t ignore what Chapter 66 in particular does well with him to expand his characterization: he is helping Izuma not just because Ruru asked him to but because he feels obligated to help a classmate, he tells off Seira (albeit in a surprisingly violent way for his usual feckless persona), and he admonishes both Ninitsy and Naputaaku for risking her safety. All of that is great and shows his concern for others, if just out of basic human decency.

But returning to my point, you can’t have misogyny without also having that misogyny being violent towards men as well. You can’t just have Ren be Ruru’s lovelorn suitor and not do violence to him when that seems to be all he contributes to this story. It was even the core to how his partnership with Naputaaku started, intending to separate Magu-chan from Ruru so that Ren had a better chance of asking her out on a date.

I know I’m repeating “misogyny” a lot in these last few sentences, and I’m struggling to find a word that is not going to lead some malcontent to say “Oh, so you’re saying Kamiki hates women because that’s what misogyny means?!” My argument is not hatred; my argument is that there are aspects to this manga that can reinforce misogyny in audience members or is reinforcing sexism in literary tropes and larger society.

So ending Chapter 66 and locking Ren into an unintentional, unfulfilled potential love triangle is annoying. Add to it, Chapter 65 already had potential queer subtext with Ruru obsessing how cute Seira is, so it’s bizarre that the only way the story seems to figure out how to make her integrated into the story is by putting Seira into positions of attraction, whether Ruru thinking she’s cute or Ruru seeing Seira and Ren in a compromising position in his room.

It’s not as if those tropes can’t work: I think the anime Toradora worked excellently, as it kept building it up until we didn’t have a love triangle as much as a love quadrangle that had intersecting competing love triangles and other nexus points that eventually made the entire romantic drama into a farce. That’s not to ignore how emotionally fraught that anime ends, and I think it earns most of that heightened drama, but the series worked because it kept escalating how complicated these relationships can get. And what made it brilliant was that, since the very first moment of the very first episode, it already announced its mission statement: Taiga and Ryuji were going to be together, all that remains is the descending action to see how that works out. This isn’t Fruits Basket where you come away disappointed who pairs up with whom (sorry, series fans, I just have my qualms about how those relationships wrap up): Toradora was a series where things pretty much worked out for the main couple, and if you were disappointed they were the ones who ended up together, it’s not as if the series didn’t telegraph that point from the beginning. (And you can always play the Toradora video game to have Ryuuji end up with someone else.)

But this love triangle here, where it is just misunderstandings, again motivated by expert troll Uneras, remains tiresome. And it’s a bizarre way to end Chapter 66, when I thought this one and the previous one were going to be about the relationship between just Izuma and his sister. The approach Kamiki seems to take is that, to integrate Seira into the story, you can’t just retread the ground covered in Chapter 65 about her relationship with her brother--she is dedicated to him, she is disappointed he is working with these evil chibi gods, there’s not much more to develop there--so instead you need to make her important to the story by showing how she engages with other characters. This isn’t a terrible approach in storytelling. Star Trek series integrate their new characters by showing how they interact with various crew members, sometimes to far greater effect (how Quark’s relationships to each person on Deep Space Nine differ) than others (how Wesley in The Next Generation doesn’t really have any different engagement with anyone, whether dealing with Picard or Geordi). Heck, My Hero Academia is largely built on “we get to know each member of Class 1-A by seeing how they interact with our main characters, Izuku and All Might.” If Kamiki is serious about Seira being part of the enlarging main cast, or even just a recurring side character, that is not a bad approach. But starting that engagement first after her brother by having her in a mistaken situation with Ren is an annoying way to kick things off. I know I implied that Ren needs more in the way of character development outside of his crush on Ruru, but I think there are other characters far more underserved than Ren who could use development by interacting with new characters--especially given how long it took this series to give attention to Kikyo and Yuika.

At risk of judging Seira’s characterization and gags more harshly than I have of Izuma’s, and admitting that there may be implicit sexism in my judgment (that I’m harsher on Seira’s characterization than I am on Izuma’s or, as I’ll talk more about, Ren’s), this seems dull to have Seira just be the naive younger sibling and that be the extent to what makes her unique. It’s not that the story hasn’t established that she is pretty young, even compared to her classmates, so her hyper-imagination about how Magu and Naputaaku may torture her and her brother are not unbelievable. But Izuma at least is largely confident enough in his own self-deception, his bluntness in dialogue helping the jokes to land for me and not become cliche, as opposed to another similar character, Arthur Boyle in Fire Force, whose hyper-competence despite his goofy nature has made him hardly flawed enough to find engaging but rather find him as tiresome, knowing he’ll just overcome whatever challenge because of the power of his self-delusions. In other words, Izuma is funny to me because he is still vulnerable and, as shown in this chapter, has affection for “Master” Ren and likely his other classmates, whereas Seira here is just a one-note stereotype, the overly imaginative child, who has not had a chance yet to develop as a character.

Granted, it’s been only two chapters with her, so my negative criticism about her character may change. Who knows, she may become a favorite of mine. Her shock at how much this town treats these chibi gods wandering around as normal is a funny gag that I’ve been waiting for: everyone in this series for so long has acted like none of these gods popping up is that weird, and having her as a voice of reason can make her a Shinpachi to this series’ Gintama. Maybe over time she will get better as a character. I could have waited another week before approaching both chapters--but I didn’t want to delay that much talking about this series.

While Seira has not impressed me much yet, Ninitsy started to get more development in Chapter 66, and I appreciate how Dashiell translates their dialogue to make their personality ring loud and clear: they tend to go with the flow and have little compunction about disappointing others’ expectations of them so long as they get to follow their own ambitions. Their willingness to sacrifice Seira, still in mid-portal, for a schlub like Naputaaku is hilarious, as is how easily they agree to sign up as one of Magu’s followers. The art heightens this detail, Ninitsy looking so lackadaisical about being pulled in two in a tug of war by Magu and Naputaaku.

Speaking of the art in both chapters, I enjoyed Magu nonchalantly reading when Seira drops in during Chapter 65, and Ren’s hostile reaction to Seira outside his window was grimly hilarious.

And if I may go out of order with these chapters, returning to Chapter 65, it’s not that the mystery set up is bad: Seira appears, in disguise, talking to herself that she is able to pass as “completely normal” in this setting, but already gets noticed by Ruru, risking her disguise being exposed. That is a good setup. I just think that revealing her to be Izuma’s sister, and having her info-dump all of what she is up to, all within the same chapter, is counterproductive. I usually hate forced cliffhangers; I actually think Chapter 65 could have stood to end with a cliffhanger, if only more gags could have taken up the entire chapter to delay Seira’s revelation.

Maybe I also feel disappointed because I didn’t realize from Page 1 that she was going to be revealed as Izuma’s sister. Ruru called it out early on, referring to her as seeming familiar, then the manga cuts to Izuma playing go against Magu: I should have known.

Chapter 65 had other good moments, such as Kikyo announcing plans to have someone inherit the Occult Club when she graduates, Naputaaku continuing his cooking, and others commenting on how much Izuma has progressed as a character. Those minor character beats let the audience know their stories are still progressing. It’s just too bad Ren is stuck just commenting about other people's progress, as he is the Shinpachi of this series.

Actually, having said that, maybe that is another reason having Seira show up is awkward: Ren is already the Shinpachi, she is another Shinpachi, so it’s redundant. Chapter 65 is largely Seira being surprised how goofy the cast is, falling for their antics for a moment as with the pudding--then launching back into her overly serious routine and exorciating them for being weird. Didn’t we already do this with the inherent comedy to the overly serious Muscar trying to deal with these weirdos? Maybe if the series leaned more into Seira as a more innocent version of Izuma, someone who is even more ignorant how the world works, not just due to her and her brother’s work in the occult but also her young age, that could work better. But for now, wrapping up this post, I’m not sure what the series can do with Seira that won’t make this feel like needless love triangles, comedic misunderstandings, and having a Beauty from Bobobo here to tell us, “Hey, this stuff is weird, right?”