#my jshk analysis

[hanako-san]

Akane confirmed my words. Aoi always tries to be nice to nene and comfort her about her worries and help her best like she can. nene is naive, stupid, very trusting and shows her worries, doesn't hide them and also talks about them easily, which could have caused Aoi to allow her to be 'friends' with her, but in reality she is not trusting towards her

ch.96

She doesn't decide to tell her about her hand which her 'best friend' is responsible for. This means that instead of telling her, she hides it from her like her real personality and doesn't tell her anything. Her excuse is that she needs to focus on her own problems. BS. It was her duty to tell her, but of course she can't be responsible for anything in this manga even if she is the one causing trouble with her own wishes and words.

Even if she saved her, so what. Aoi apologized to her, but she didn't apologize to her. The word sorry won't come out of yahsiro's mouth on its own, someone else always has to point her out by showing her that she's behaving badly, but it doesn't change anything when someone reprimands her because she does the same in some chapters. There is no problem, it's true that yahsiro hugged her when she saw her out of happiness. She doesn't feel responsible for anything, even if she knows it's because of her, because as she said, "I didn't do anything wrong" but how can I expect an apology from a person who considers herself innocent of her actions when she knows it is his fault?

Once again, yahsiro's deed justifying by Aoi this time, to confirm to her that she is innocent and needs to focus on herself, this is to give her another pass to show and tell that she is 'innocent' and poorer than Aoi. BS. She should knows this. This also shows that Aoi still doesn't trust her.

yashiro didn't even notice that there was something wrong with her friend's hand. Her first words after seeing and hugging her sounded like this

I could be wrong, yahsiro gives me the vibe that she wouldn't accept the real Aoi, just the nice side of her personality that she always shows. It's just sad how yashiro said that instead of asking or saying "I'm glad you're okay/Are you okay?" these words didn't come to her mind, the only thing that came to her mind was that the Aoi she knew was back. I understand that she is happy Aoi isn't under spell no.6, but when she said this words I have a strange feeling that yashiro wouldn't accept the real her, it gives me this vibe, and even during their conversation, yashiro never once asked if everything was okay with her. She thinks that since she saved Aoi and she looks healthy and as if nothing was wrong with her, it's fine for yashiro.

I also understand that best friends can keep secrets from each other and that's fine, but even if nene's secrets came to light and her strange behavior. Aoi still doesn't trust her and pretends to be nice, not even deciding to tell her about the problem with her hand.

This only shows that there is still the same gap between them and nothing has changed.

I think that both girls like each other, but they are not as close as yashiro claims. yashiro doesn't know her true self and doesn't look like the person to ask about Aoi's problems, which she constantly confirms by focusing only on herself all the time in the manga, but Aoi doesn't trust her either. This trust is still not there in Aoi for yashiro.

In my opinion, their friendship is an illusion. They both have a bond, but this bond is weak. fragile and bond's not strong enough to call them both 'best friends'. I think that Aoi needs to work on herself in terms of trust, because I understand that she has problems with it, I don't expect anything from yashiro anymore because I don't have to do it,I don't have to expect anything from the always innocent yashiro nene, because she will always be justified in some way by the situation or character even if she's the cause of it. I also don't expect Aoi to start trusting her because AidaIro may not change anything.

P.S: I think their friendship, although weak, has potential, but I think AR is wasting it

[mari-lair]

Let's talk about Teru and Aoi and how interesting Teru behavior with Aoi is.

Teru is on a mission to see what has changed from the original timeline to this one, he said so himself.

But he makes a strange move and completely ignores the very big change he was presented with: His engagement with Aoi. The plan was to abandon his 'brand new fiance' and go look for other changes.

Aoi holding his armband, asking for his attention in a very Aoi way and showing a willingness to go on a date with him shocked Teru less than the engagement news but it stuck to him in a way the engagement did not.

Just compare how Teru go 'welp it is what it is, what a strange timeline,' with a level of dismissal that makes him talk to Akane instead of Aoi about the situation.

To how he takes this Aoi at least seriously enough to question her request for them to go out.

So the idea Aoi wants to date him is more confusing to him than being engaged. So much so he does what he does with the original Aoi and starts asking her questions, even picturing the old Aoi as he ask for her hand, adding a lot of '...' in it.

It feels like a test.

A test Aoi failed by accepting his hand, doing something the Aoi he knew never would.

Teru is closed up during his date with Aoi.

He goes with the flow because he needs answers to go back home, he needs to figure out why she is so different but he is tense about this date. His sword bag is a tight fist, pulling at the strap when she clings to his arm.

During their entire date, he keeps this fake little smile on. Avoiding to touch her as much as he can, and not having much to say despite usually not only being good at acting like a flirty prince when people want him to, but having fun in the role.

So Teru isn't indifferent in his date he is tense as fuck.

When he decides he'll send the picture to Akane and Aoi breaks character from lovey dovey fiance, Teru shows a hint of interest again, he goes "ohh? is there a problem?"

It's another test.

She fails but her panics about hurting Akane must either remind him of the og aoi or entertain his more sadistic side, so he goes 'hmmm', which is unimpressed for sure, but still a far more positive reaction than the "unease" that popped up when aoi had held his hand.

By the end of their date i'm pretty sure Teru comes to the conclusion Aoi likes him. I believe this for two reasons.

First, he start playing along with his fiance role instead of being guarded and silent, asking her to feed him with a smile that doesn't feel fake or tense, it's his usual :D expression instead of the :) he has been wearing this whole chapter.

The second thing of note is that this is the first time he actually touches Aoi.

During the entire manga, even in the old timeline, Teru never even poked her shoulder, but this time he lightly holds her hand to stabilize the snack.

He seems bothered by people crowding them and he actually perks up when Aoi asks him to go to a more isolated place, his smile feels somewhat casual at the invite too, not like his tense ones from before.

When Aoi slaps him he is surprised.

And this part only further suggests that when he had asked Aoi to fed him, he was under the impression she genuinely likes him in this timeline.

So he doesn't have a problem doing couple things like being fed by Aoi as long as he believes Aoi enjoys it too.

But she doesn't like him.

Just like the Aoi he knows doesn't. It feels right.

Teru is happy.

Immediately after learning this Teru tries to find more similarities with the old Aoi, asking about her crush on akane and going back to his mission of determining why changes happened.

Aoi mentions they are both unhappy in this arranged marriage and that they are only playing along to appease their families. Teru is surprised that he is unhappy too.

I am not entirely sure what this means but it is noteworthy that he seems genuinely surprised the 'him' of this timeline is opposed to the marriage Aoi.

This little Teru is a brat, but his smile and blush contrast with his word. Either he is displeased greatly by this but refuses to 'play victim' like Aoi, or he cares more than he lets on.

He was the one who found her when Aoi admitted her intention was to hide. So he went out of his way to find this "annoying victim blaming girl"

Maybe this means his parents ordered Teru to go find her fiance, make a good first impression, and put on appearances, maybe he went to find her himself for some reason?

As of now, it's hard to say, we don't have enough info about this new timeline to guess very well, but it is food for thought.

Now back to the old timeline, with the Teru we are familiar with: Aoi asks about his family, about expectations and performance, and that isn't a topic he is very comfortable with, just look at his face.

But he does answer her.

He is very awkward, but he doesn't lie, it feels genuine.

He even mentions his mom, which he hasn't mentioned to anyone before, not even Akane.

[iamhereinthebg]

Seeing Akane reacts so strongly seeing Kako being destroyed was already a big shot at my heart but Mirai and Akane protecting each other absolutely annihilated me in the last chapter.

Akane is a character who is really blunt about his opinion and stands his ground, he said right away in his introduction chapter how strongly he hates the clock keepers, and insists on how much he isn't like them.

In this new arc, he is forced to face this part of him he doesn't want to acknowledge since the beginning, he has been forced to do it a lot since the grim reaper arc (and I think it's really starting to get to him but this is for another day)

Aoi Akane, the human forced to be a supernatural who hates his contract and the clock keepers so much he wants nothing to do with them. But what does he do when fighting Tsukasa? He keeps the latter's attention on him so the threat can't get to Mirai.

Akane is mortal and human. The only mortal clock keepers and supernatural, and he still risks his life to protect Mirai. The yorishiro of the clock keepers yes, but mostly Mirai.

He shifts his attention from Tsukasa to her because he knows what she represents for the clock keepers and he waits for the moment to let her free, even if it results in him getting hurt.

Akane is the character of the cast who shows the most how he loves life, he definitely doesn't want to die. We can see it in how he defends himself, his last movement in this fight being one of protection (and fear). Something he has been doing more since coming back a second time from the far shore. Even if he doesn't want to die, he is still at his core a nice person. He is distressed at the idea of death, disappearing for good, no matter who it may concern in the end. Finding a way to protect Mirai (and the yorishiro) goes before his own safety.

And then Mirai gets the blow for him. She knows it means Tsukasa will get the yorishiro. Kako has been the mystery the most alarmed about the yorishiros being destroyed by Hanako. But Mirai, n°1, who knows how dangerous it is for another yorishiro to be destroyed for the land, sacrifices their seat number, herself and what is supposely the most important thing to them, for Akane.

Akane is a proactive character who rarely stops in his actions. Even when Aoi was "dead" he was activaly searching for a way to bring her back and when he learned she was gone he was quick to try to find a way to go where she was. When he stops, it's because he is physically unable to move. But here, even if he is still concsious and has Time's power he doesn't do anything, like he is the one being stopped in time, unable to move on from Mirai's body.

Mirai may be made of gears but it's been clear since the beginning that she has a real attachement to Akane. Wearing the name he gave her like a medal, jumping on him whenever she can, having a personality where she clearly has fun when he is present, and actually being the one noticing him on his first day at school.

And what does it mean after all for a yorishiro to be sacrified to protect something else? That maybe Akane is in the end more important than what the yorishiro represents for the clock keepers.

If this follows the pattern of a lot of mysteries it may mean that Mirai and Kako have strong regrets/resentment towards the story/person behind their yorishiro.

It's kind of beautiful in the end to see Mirai sacrifiying their past and future to focus on the one representing the present.

[nanabansama]

Inspired by colowallocake's post, I searched through various Japanese legends about human sacrifice and wanted to offer some of my own suggestions as to the identity of the infamous "Pit God," as I like to call it.

First, let's recap what we know about it.

The god is heavily associated with water. The kannagi are sacrificed by being forced off cliffs and into a water-filled abyss. These kannagi wash ashore to a reservoir below the Red House, which was built on a well that taps into said reservoir. And when Tsukasa sacrifices himself, the God talks in watery speech bubbles:

It seems that whoever this god is, it's some kind of water god (水神 Mizugami) that dwells in Kamome.

And that's actually a common thing! After pouring through a few different articles about human sacrifice in Japan, I found that many of them are done to appease water gods. This is both a good and bad thing; good because there's so many and it's easy to find info, and bad because it doesn't really help us narrow it down.

That said, I have a few different stories I'd like to share with you. The first will be Mitsumata-fuchi.

Mitsumata-fuchi's story is remarkably similar to how the sacrificial ceremony works in TBHK. A beautiful maiden or otherwise a kannagi, aged about 15-16, is thrown into a pool of deep water for a festival thrown anywhere from once yearly to every 12 years to quell the anger of a wrathful god. That's crazy similar, isn't it?

And this "Mitsumata" is a real place! It's where the Numakawa and Wadagawa rivers in Japan join together. It's located in Fuji City in the Shizuoka prefecture. The Wadagawa river is also called by the name "Sacrifice River", funnily enough...

Anyway, there's another story about the Mitsumata I found interesting. A group of 7 girls were passing by when one of them, Oaji, was selected by the villagers to be sacrificed. The other 6 girls were spared and escaped, but feeling bad for the friend they left behind, they end up drowning themselves in a lake.

...But in an ironic twist of fate, the villagers had let Oaji go. Oaji ran after her friends, but when she learned they drowned themselves, she grew so sorrowful she threw herself into the water with them. Thereafter, the evil god was said to never demand a sacrifice again...

I'm not sure if AidaIro will ever reference this particular story, but I found the fact that 7 girls were sacrificed very intriguing in the context of TBHK.

Anyway, there are some interesting things in this legend that haven't been addressed in TBHK. For one, the god here is either a dragon or a giant (sometimes poisonous) snake.

We do have an illustration of this Pit God, which...

...was probably heavily stylized by some in-universe artist, but it is a valuable frame of reference nonetheless. Honestly, it really just looks like a nonspecific supernatural monster to me, but to call it a dragon or serpent isn't a far reach, either, I think...

Something about the multiple mouths reminds me of another story, though. And while I can't really get a specific name or detailed description for the Mitsumata-fuchi god, I do have one for this next one.

Yamata-no-orochi!!!

This tale is a lot more famous, so I'll be quick. Yamata-no-Orochi is an eight-headed serpent legendarily defeated by the brother of the great Amaterasu, Susanoo-no-Mikoto. When Amaterasu's fail brother was kicked out of Takamagahara, he wound up in the land of Izumo and met a crying old couple and a young girl. The old couple explains that they once had 8 daughters, but Yamata-no-Orochi devoured the other 7. It comes down once every year to eat one of their daughters, and soon enough their last daughter will be eaten, too.

Hearing this, Susanoo agrees to help them under one condition: that they let him take their last daughter as a wife. They agree, and Susanoo turns their daughter into a comb and asks them to prepare 8 tubs filled with sake. They comply, and when the serpent comes, each one of its eight heads greedily drink up the sake. Now drunk, the serpent is easily slain by Susanoo and his mighty blade.

...it kind of reminds you of how Minamoto no Yorimitsu got the oni Hakubo lived with drunk and slaughtered them, doesn't it? All these stories and making me afraid to drink sake... *shiver*

Anyway, Orochi is also a Water God, and probably the most famous of the ones that eat young maidens. While I'm unsure if our Pit God is Orochi, it wouldn't exactly surprise me! The fact that Yamata-no-Orochi (八岐大蛇) has eight heads while our protagonist Yashiro Nene (八尋寧々) has the kanji for 8 in her name is also an interesting connection.

As for our last story, I'll try to keep it brief. This one involves a dog, though, so I hope that keeps it fun and fresh for you.

This is the story of Shippeitaro, the legendary dog who, spoiler alert, saved a village from an evil spirit that demanded human sacrifices. In this story, girls are chosen to be sacrificed by a white arrow, and whoever's house is hit by the white arrow has to offer up their daughter. The girl is then sacrificed by being left at a shrine inside of a box/cage. Hmm, intriguing...

Anyway, long story short, the dog hides inside of the box instead and when the evil spirit comes to eat it, it springs out and defeats it! Good boy.

One of the interesting things about this story is that there are many variations. You'll notice I said "evil spirit" instead of something specific. That's because the spirit takes many forms. One of the more popular variations is that of a cat, but it can also be a monkey, fox, wolf...mostly different animals, from what I'm seeing.

Overall I think this story has a weaker connection than the other two, but on the whole, it wouldn't surprise me if AidaIro is taking inspiration from multiple stories instead of any specific one. Which brings me to my next point...

It's totally possible that our Water Pit God is just an original creation by AidaIro! In case you're not in the know, Japanese kami (gods) are basically infinite. Considering TBHK takes place in a made-up town, it's not too surprising if this kami is made-up, too, hm? :)

But hopefully you still found this post to be of help. I had a lot of fun researching for it. And if any of the stuff I mentioned here ever happens to show up in TBHK, that would be really cool! Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading. ☆

[infernaltenor]

missed their exact one year anniversary of the aquarium date but i figured id redraw it late anyway

[hanakou-often]

I just happened to stumble upon your blog.. and I never really thought about HanaKou before, but these posts are very compelling. I love seeing other people’s ships in things and would love to be convinced into them.. heh. I’ve sort of fallen out of tbhk recently because the most recent arc hasn’t been compelling to me PARTLY BECAYSE KOU AND NENE AND HANAKO DONT KNOW EACH OTHWR?!?!? Which is really depressing, because I like them a lot. Ermm idk where I’m going with this I just was scrolling through the blog like “heh.. they’re cute I want to know more..” and now here I am. Please excuse my nonsense blabber idek if this makes sense 😔

Oh boy. Despite Hanakou being my hyperfixation for around 3 years, I still don't feel equipped to salesman my way into convincing someone 😭 most of my love for them has just come from PURE brainrot so I'll try my best to actually formulate more logical reasons why I like this sinking ship as much as I do. Long ass spoiler-filled rant incoming!!

1. Narrative Foils

A narrative foil is a character that contrasts another character, often the protagonist, to highlight certain aspects of their characters. Think Kabru and Laios from Dungeon Meshi, Sayaka and Kyoko from Madoka Magica, Draco and Harry from Harry Potter, etc.

To begin, Kou is a 'weak,' naive exorcist who always fights for justice and to protect the people he loves out of his own volition. Since he is the underdog of his family clan, the mediocre middle child next to his eldest exorcist extraordinaire brother, Kou is willing to do anything to prove his worth. This is primarily exhibited by his first meeting with Hanako as he recklessly plunges into a battle with the most powerful ghost in Kagome despite his inexperience with his weapon. When he's confronted about such, Kou states, "I don't care what happens to me as long as I can protect everyone!" and if that doesn't sum up his ideology, I don't know what does. He is shown to be the type of person to put everyone's safety, happiness and livelihood above his own, ultimately leading his selflessness to be his own detriment.

Contrarily, Hanako is a strong, knowledgable apparition who is given the role to protect students of Kamome, regardless of his detachment from the student body, as a way of atonement. As the long standing executive leader of the seven mysteries, Hanako has grown largely apathetic towards everyone, easily taking the cold, calculated and unconventional routes to reach the outcome he deems best no matter who it would hurt in the process. This is exemplified many times in the manga but to pick a lighter one: The time Hanako confessed to Nene under the kodama tree without telling her before hand that it wasn't real, leading him to hurt her feelings. It's clear that Hanako is the type of person to value his own goals and interests above everyone else's input, making him the more selfish antithesis to Kou's "selflessness."

Their differences in philosophy are really striking at times. Kou is endlessly optimistic while Hanako is more pessimistic, seeing the grimmer aspects of reality that Kou usually neglects. For example, Nene's lifespan has been a divisive topic between them for a while. Hanako had known about it from the start, originally intending to keep the poor girl in ignorant bliss for how much time she had left. At the point of the reveal in the clock keeper arc, he had no plans on trying to change her fate, solemnly stating that "there are things in this world that must not be changed...It's better for Yashiro this way." This is a direct contrast to Kou's more 'human' perspective as he immediately protests Hanako's claim of "There is nothing you can do," passionately asserting that he won't give up, he'll do whatever it takes save her and that is final. In the face of a dark reality, Kou completely rejects it, choosing to believe there's hope, like the naive son of a gun Hanako knows he is. From personal experience, Hanako knows it's stupid, it's idiotic, it's downright suicidal to go up against fate but somehow he ends up hoping Kou is right, trailing "I'm counting on you" as they settle back into a world that will never be the same after this revelation between them. (Something something Their differences are key to propelling the plot forward since Kou is the one to inspire Hanako not to just let Nene's life go by!!)

All of this is not to say they don't have anything in common. In fact, they are united by their desire to save the people they care about, grounded in their ruthless determination to see out their goals and are self sacrificing to an extent. I would love to go deeper on this topic but I'm afraid my brain is already starting to fry lol. In short, their differences are what make them interesting as a duo!! Each of their qualities can compliment the other's contrasting attributes and as people say, opposites attract!!!

2. Pivotal Roles in each other's Narrative

Hanakou are very important to each other's story since they are a key player in both their humble beginnings and tragic ends. Respectively, they are each other's gateway to a new life. Much like Nene, Kou is a symbol of hope for Hanako, his spunky attitude and determined nature igniting a humanitarian spark that Hanako lacked in the sixty years he lingered Kamome. For Kou, Hanako is the first apparition he meets, the one that sets off his rocky journey with navigating the world of supernaturals as a lackluster exorcist, and the second person to fuel his fire by believing in him. Specifically, Hanako tells Kou he looks forward to the day he can expel him with ease, a statement that foreshadows their distant future. In order to complete their whole character arcs (Hanako going from stubbornly clinging to the near shore to repent to accepting he's done every to atone and ready to pass on; Kou starting off weak and naive then ending as a stronger exorcist capable of understanding both the supernatural world and humanity) they'll have to do exactly what Hanako anticipated: Exorcise him once and for all. This aspect of their relationship is something intricately intertwined with their fates and while AidaIro may have forgotten about it, I can only hope they'll deliver so that they can bring their narratives full circle.

Now in the context of a romantic relationship, there are some absolutely soul crushing implications here. The hands Hanako loves to admire, intertwine his fingers with and adore are the same ones that will ultimately be his demise. Kou is Hanako's deathbed. That’s what they’ve known all along. It’s something that looms over their heads with a lingering heaviness neither boy wants address: Kou wanting to silently avoid his crushing responsibility while Hanako is just trying to savor whatever time he has with Kou. It's doomed just like everything else in TBHK <3

3. Young Exorcist arc

This one goes hand and hand with the second point but I felt that this needed to be discussed on its own since it's where many Hanakouers (ME) really took interest in their relationship. The arc begins with Kou being pulled aside by Teru, the two having a conversation about how Kou was supposed to immediately exorcise any seven mysteries he encounters. When Kou fumbles around him, insisting that he can't find it in himself to see Hanako as a bad supernatural, Teru is quick to remind him that "There is no such thing as a 'good supernatural'" and promptly takes him off the case. He was going to take matters into his own hands but the moment Kou looks at him with pleading eyes, Teru decides to give him more time to carry the duty out.

This is where Kou sets off to find Hanako, get some irrefutable proof that he's not evil like the generalization Teru makes. The effort he puts here into defending Hanako is absolutely adorable, if not a testament to their potential then a testament to Kou's sweet character. The suspicion he's built as he spies on Hanako who saunters around with a sack of stolen items is broken once the ghost explains that he's gathering them to return to their rightful owners. As stated previously, Hanako’s noble deeds are done more as a way to atone rather than out of his own good will so to see that he went out of his way to return stolen items to students, one of which being Kou’s safety earring, without being obligated to do so is great evidence to support Kou's idea that supernaturals can be good. Given this, Kou decides right then and there that he won’t exorcise Hanako after all. Now, Hanako here could have reveled in this decision, his kind act successfully manipulating Kou into compliance with his schemes, but instead, Hanako shows him exactly why he shouldn’t give up.

He cares for the kid. He does. Which is why he has to show how wrong he can be. It’s a downright dangerous thought because it lures Kou into a false sense of security that all supernaturals can be “good” like Hanako.

Cue Teru's dramatic entrance where he immediately apprehends the offending apparition and tries to execute him (for good reason). Blah blah blah Teru is condescending towards Kou because he made the wrong call again, something something Kou is trapped in Teru's bead bracelet and question his view of Hanako once more. For a moment, Kou almost gives into despair, letting Teru exorcise him without another word. After all, what does Kou know about the supernatural world? He's a weak link to Teru's infinite knowledge, power and experience. Maybe he should just let him do what he deems best.

However, as Hanako objects to his sentencing, screaming that “death would only be a release” and he still has so much to do here, it reminds Kou that Hanako is here for a reason. Sure, he’s an apparition, something that’s synonymous with evil, but all that time they spent together has to mean something, right? Hanako indulges Nene and Kou, joking around, Hanako has indulged Kou when no one else believed in him, he's saved them when he easily could’ve left them to their own devices. That definitely means something. Suddenly, Kou breaks free from the beaded prison, charges in the middle of the battle field and grips Teru's blade with an iron fist, all to save Hanako.

Just look at that. Kou slit his own palm trying to protect Hanako, someone he vowed to erase just weeks ago, because he's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He defies his brother, someone he highly admired for the past fourteen years of his life, for Hanako’s sake. Kou’s change in attitude towards his exorcist duties is largely attributed to Hanako. The sole notion of Hanako, the not so evil supernatural, has turned Kou’s world completely upside down.

I'll never forgive the anime for omitting this arc, not only because it excludes a pivotal moment in their relationship but also because it deprived an enriching detail to their development!!! Oh my god. Kou finally stands up for himself and owns up to his naivety. He knows he’s stupid for jumping from one extreme conclusion to the other before he has fully understood everything Hanako has to offer but he can no longer side with Teru’s one note view of him or supernaturals in general, lest more decent apparitions be erased without cause. He brings a level of nuance to the function that Teru does not appreciate!! When Kou decides to vouch for Hanako, undertaking the massive responsibility to watch over him all on his own, it shows a lot of growth in his maturity and his perspective of the ghost.

So yeah. A lot to say about the young exorcist arc. Not only has it deeply impacted the Minamoto brothers relationship, but it has brought a significant change within Kou’s mindset. He’s no longer trying to label Hanako as a definitive good or bad but trying to deepen his understanding of him and decide what to do from there. As for Hanako, he seems to respect Kou more now, giving credit where credit is due, and feels as though their bond is strengthened by the vulnerable state they saw each other in. He even acknowledges this in the first chapter of ASHK when Teru comes in to “help clean" by immediately taking cover behind Kou and questioning the commitment he made to keep Teru at bay. It's also weirdly sweet to see Hanako taking cover behind Kou here!! It really goes to show how much trust they've built for each other and how safe Hanako feels around the exorcist C:

To sum it all up, the young exorcist arc was an important part of showing how Hanakou work together and cement how their views of humanity/supernatural world are shifting because of each other!! I didn't get to talk about it too much but they also have a bunch of cute moments here which sorta feeds to the next point.

4. Classic Bromance to Romance

A bromance is defined as a quote en quote "close, friendly but non-sexual relationship between two men" and that's more or less what Hanakou brings to the table!!! First and foremost, they are complete opposites in a lot of their personality traits which makes it fun to see how they interact. Hanako's pervyness to Kou's disciplined innocence, Hanako's mischief to Kou's gullibility, Hanako's love of teasing to Kou's fiery denials, it's all just so entertaining to watch!!! They bounce off each other sorta like a coke and mentos relationship where on their own, they're absolutely fine but when they're together BOOM explosions, dumb arguments, rough housing 24/7, etc, etc. Just take a look at the shenanigans they get up to in this panel.

How? Just how did they get here? They used to be enemies, they're still supposed to be enemies but here they are, a hopeful descendent of a powerful exorcist clan and an executive leader of a important supernatural group, just play fighting with a mop and broom like they're no better than two clumsy best friends goofing off on their free time. I love their little bromance so much because it's the result of their growth during the many adventures they've had together. URUGHH After they've been through, it's deeply endearing to realize that they really are just boys being boys at their core!! C:

Now moving onto the romance part, I want to preface this with how I do believe men should be allowed to have intimate platonic relationships with each other without having to get accused of being gay but alas, I fear Hanakou's closeness as friends can easily pave the way for something more as they blur the line between friendly and flirty banter.

It's already been established that Hanako feels safe enough to be his usual self around the exorcist, knowing that no matter how mischievous, touchy and downright despicable Hanako can be, Kou won't ever hurt him. It's a sweet sort of trust that can be explored further with some typical bromance shenanigans, IE Hanako gets bored and decides to test Kou's boundaries just for the hell of it. At first, it's only joke flirting and some harmless teasing here and there. Maybe a lingering touch or two (only to push some buttons of course). Most of the time, Hanako finds this endeavor to be deeply rewarding since Kou reacts in a way that Nene doesn’t, his responses leaning into his more physical, boyish volatility as he either bashfully pushes Hanako away, chases him off or just straight up punches him in the arm, visibly flustered. The reactiveness encourages Hanako to keep upping the ante to the point where it's more unusual for him not to mess with Kou. It's grown into a bad habit of his: snaking his arms around Kou's shoulders, fiddling with his fingers with reverent fascination, sneaking glances at the boy and making funny faces in the hopes he'll look back and laugh, etc, etc. As Kou gets used to Hanako's antics overtime, his extreme reactions gradually diminish and it's becoming increasingly clearer that Hanako isn't (wasn't?) just doing it because "he's bored" anymore. No, it's something worse. With a sinking clarity, Hanako realizes boredom isn't the driving reason for being around Kou anymore, it's fondness of the cute (flustered) expressions he makes, it's the giddiness that swells in his chest when Hanako manages to make him smile, the electricity that floods his system when Kou flirts back, it's...something else he does not want to dissect. And so, Hanako will bury this revelation under the belief it's due to his unfamiliarity of friendship. Fifty years of isolation has to do a number to your perception of romance vs friendship, right???

Meanwhile, Kou is committed to the promise he made in the young exorcist arc so he's usually admiring from afar watching over Hanako to make sure he's in line and keeping an eye on Hanako isn't hard as of late; they're spending more time together before, during and after school and as much as he doesn't want to admit it, he genuinely enjoys the company. Kou likes what they have, it's good that they can rely on each other and still leave room to joke around but to be honest, Kou has some...weird feelings towards Hanako. Every time their eyes meet his heart skips a beat, whenever he lets his mind wander it usually finds its way back to Hanako, their friendly banter stuck in his head, and for whatever reason, Kou's body can't seem to forget the ghost's touch, even long after he's fucked off to who knows where. There's something different about it. It's not the detestation he had when he first met Hanako, nor is it the quaint glee he had when he decided to not exorcise him. It's something completely new, something foreign that has his stomach doing flips every time he sees Hanako's bright smile or hears his stupid laugh. Kou tries not to think about it too much, lest he gives Hanako exactly what he wants, so he just chalks it up to his view of supernaturals being challenged. After all, going from believing all supernaturals are dangerous, evil vermin that need to be exterminated to voluntarily hanging out with such a friendly one is bound to stir up some mixed feelings, right?

Do you see my vision now? The bromance to romance pipeline would be unreal with these two confused idiots!! There's so much room for the internalized homophobia, the confusion of trying to differentiate friendly feelings from the clusterfuck of emotions the other boy evokes and the funny fumblings of two teenage boys letting the joke flirting go a bit too far like a game of gay chicken gone wrong. Their relationship speaks to me in a way that can only be described as the entertainment you get from mixing two reactive substances and waiting for the inevitable chaos that proceeds. Even if you don't ship Hanakou romantically, you gotta admit their dynamic is super fun to explore!! C:

5. Other characters reactions

I swear I’m taking this somewhat seriously but I really enjoy the more wholesome aspects of this ship!! Nene being the third wheel to her two guy best friends, the LEAST romantic people she knows, is something that is deeply entertaining to me <3 She came into Hanako's life wishing for a boyfriend, failed to get one and then had to watch him get one himself. She would be so happy for them but at the same time, she'd be fighting demons trying to figure out how these two IDIOTS got more rizz than she does. (How much aura do you lose for this LMAOOOO)

Then you got Teru which if you liked this aspect of Mitsukou where Teru disapproves of his brother dating a school mystery then hooo boy YOU’LL LOVE HANAKOU!! Whatever apprehension he has towards Mitsukou it's increased tenfold because it’s one thing to date a school mystery, it’s a whole other thing to date not only the ghost of a murder but the LEADER of the seven mysteries??? Teru would absolutely flip his shit, wasting no time to charge into Hanako’s bathroom and expel him right then and there the SECOND he finds out (AND I DON'T BLAME HIM!! he just doing his job fr). I’ve been told it’s sorta like a Romeo and Juliet situation where two star crossed lovers are kept apart by a long-standing feud between their opposing houses (Montagues and Capulets WHO? I only know the Minamoto clan and Seven Mysteries) and I think that can just about sum it up!!

6. Hanako-San (ASHK)

This post is already as long as it is so I’ll save you the trouble of attempting an analysis and copy and paste my ramble from another post: “In regards to HanaKou discourse, I've always seen people say 'Kou's into Mitsuba!!' or 'they're just platonic besties! Plus Kou rejected Hanako!!!' and sure, maybe Kou doesn't have a thing for Hanako but has anyone REALLY stopped to consider Hanako has a thing for Kou??? And just. Didn't process it because of internalized homophobia AND his crush on Nene overshadowing his feelings for Kou??? Because THIS chapter had NO RIGHT to be so fruity on Hanako's part” and yeah why is the first thing Hanako decides to do when he turns into a girl is flirt with Kou??? And an even better question is why did he genuinely sulk when Kou rejected him??? If you didn't mean it why were you so butt hurt then huh??? Hanako really is the type of guy to passively think "if Kou was a girl or if I was a girl, I'd date him 100%" and it definitely shows!!!

7. Fanfiction. So. Much. Fanfiction.

This one doesn't have much to do with canon but it's more than likely why some people (ME) began to ship Hanakou!! My personal experience was I thought they were sorta interesting and I checked on ao3 to see if there were any others who thought the same. To my surprise, there were a bunch of fics lovingly written for them already and out of curiosity I started reading one. One became two, two became three, then suddenly I was tumbling down the rabbit hole feverishly consuming whatever I could get my grubby little hands on. As you've stated, seeing others' passion can be pretty compelling reason to start shipping something and I totally agree!!! Exploring the dynamics in such a freeing medium like Fanfiction can be much more invigorating than just reinterpreting canon so do give it a try if you're interested!! I promise Hanakou nation is a welcoming space and we'd be delighted to see more people on board with these two idiots C:

END

AUGHHHH I struggled to find the right words to express my thoughts but I hope it gave you a better understanding of Hanakou!! These two really are my Roman Empire and despite how much I floundered around this post, I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity to share my visions!!! Thank you so much for asking C:

[musicalmoritz]

Here to kindly request more TBHK asks bcuz I feel like the past couple days there’s been a damper put on it with my interest in it hinging a lot on complaining abt stuff (+ the whole situation with one of my moots calling me out on TikTok) but I really don’t want it to be ruined for me so I need to focus on the things I like abt it again. Which shouldn’t be hard bcuz I was doing it only a few days ago but still. I need to yap. Asks about ships, characters, friendships, arcs, etc. are all heavily appreciated but again, nothing that requires me to be too negative pls

[makshu]

About the new arc

Once I saw someone commenting that because this new arc (which I'll refer to as that for now) has a similar proposal to the PP arc, it made it a little stand out.

But I will show from my point of view why even with similar proposals they are completely different.

Think of a famous anime concept like, a somewhat outcast person who ends up discovering an incredible ability and becomes famous. Can you think of some animes with this proposal, right? My example is My Hero Academia and Haikyuu, they have the same proposal but they are completely different, one is a hero anime and the other a sports anime and so on.

It's the same thing with these arcs. Same proposal, "a new reality in which we want to escape" but different situations and reasons.

In the PP arc we have Hanako wanting to keep Yashiro safe from her death, asking Shijima to create a fictional world so she could live in a perfect reality. In this arc we have Yashiro and Kou wanting to escape the painting, but with the dilemma of being in a perfect reality and thinking that "maybe it's better here", but in the end we know that they work hard to get out of there. We have the presence of supernaturals such as Hanako, Mistuba and Shijima in this arc, they actively participate in the choices and dilemma, showing more of their motives and anxieties, in addition to this arc being an arc about a school mystery as well.

The situation is much simpler compared to now, as nothing was changed but created. Yashiro and Kou could easily get out of there by killing Hanako and Mitsuba, but they refused to do so (for obvious reasons) and that created a whole question of how they would get out of there. However, they knew that it was possible to leave, that the usual reality would be there when they left the painting, it would be like waking up from a dream. See? It's a much simpler situation to resolve if you put your feelings aside. PP arc becomes complex due to the characters' feelings, which makes them face this dilemma whether to get out of there or not. Without feelings and just the desire to leave, Yashiro and Kou wouldn't have thought twice about killing Hanako and Mitsuba (because they were both already dead, so they wouldn't die again).

Picture Perfect was an extreme solution to an unsolvable problem that could have been ended if feelings were put aside.

And again, in PP arc nothing was changed but created.

Now moving on to the new arc. The situation is much more complicated, reality has changed. The timeline was changed in the past to generate the present now. See how the problem gets much more complicated? Things were changed by a force majeure in a measure to return normality and ensure the stability of the world, and not a protective measure that was made using feelings.

This is something you shouldn't go out with, since now this is what you have. You shouldn't try to change things. The timeline has been changed and you should just accept it.

Since we know our protagonists don't want this and seem to have already made the decision to change things again, you don't get into a dilemma (at least not for now). Your problem now is how to change things. In PP arc the solution had been given but the decision was a problem, now the decision was taken but the solution was the problem.

They need to find out what the Clock Keepers changed and need to stop that change from happening. Now it would be about figuring out how to solve the problem and not the difficulty of making the decision.

In addition to the protagonists of the arcs not being all the same (PP arc: Yashiro, Kou, Hanako, Mistuba and Shijima; New arc: Yashiro, Teru, Akane and maybe Aoi (not sure about the twins for now)), the antagonists are not the same either (PP arc: Hanako and kinda Shijima; New arc: Maybe the twins and Clock Keepers). They are arcs with practically the same proposal but completely different executions and lines of thought.

And so, if you also thought the same as the person I mentioned at the beginning, I think you should think about this arc with a little more open mind. JSHK plays a lot with reality, and they using this concept again doesn't surprise me, but it excites me to see how even with the same proposal we will have very different situations.

And if you want a quick conclusion to all this, PP arc is about a creation and this new arc about a change.

[scar-eyejolteon14]

Signs That Shows Hanako Is Related To His Chinese Zodiac

This is a the last part

Thank for making it this far

Unless in this cover these are carnations

In fact carnations also happen to symbolize in love as well

Same also goes to primroses

And there you have it, things that shows hanako is related to his Chinese zodiac The Wood Goat

Like I said I did this for fun but, I love to hear your thoughts and opinions on it since this is my first own TBHK post

Pls go through part 1 and part 2 if you haven’t

And thank you for reading this 😊

[amyyythestarry]

Any Tsukasa and Mitsuba thoughts? Headcanons, whatever?

AHHHHHHH!

YES YES YES YES YES!! ( x1000 )

I’M SO GLAD SOMEONE ASKED ME THIS!

I’ll start with the thoughts!

I think Tsukasa and Mitsuba have a lot of best friend potential! Because think about it, Tsukasa helps Mitsuba with a lot of stuff, and they do a lot of stuff together!

Like how Tsukasa grants Mitsuba wish.

I see too many people saying that Tsukasa was ‘oh so cruel’ for doing that, but they never realized that it’s all thanks to him that Mitsuba is still here.

He provided Mitsuba privileges that he would have never got from anyone else.

Kou didn’t have the same abilities as Tsukasa, and Hanako didn’t give a sh** about whatever Mitsuba had going on. He also doesn’t grant supernatural/apparitions’ wishes.

This was bada** though.

Hanako believes death is the end, and Tsukasa believes you could do more if wanted.

I think the ‘moving on without me’ is just him saying that you can’t make a wish and then completely forget about it and the consequences.

Because Mitsuba’s rumor was something about a boy haunting the school entrance. The Broadcast group made that up for him, so he could have some position in the near shore and exist in people’s memories like he wanted.

I guess we’ll never know who that would’ve played out though.

Now I do think he could have been a little bit nicer about this, but that’s Tsukasa for you.

But even though he’s a little bit cruel, I feel like it’s the lack of empathy. And it’s ok to have less empathy than others.

He’s still so supportive! Encouraging Mitsuba to make friends! How nice. And forgiving him for whatever he could do to people. He’s such a sweetheart!!

Then after this whole thing, the Hell Of Mirrors arc comes and other Mitsuba gets even stronger. Thanks to Tsukasa!

He’s very genuine. Just genuine interest of what’s going to happen.

Seeeeee!!!

Besties!!!

There is definitely this sort of boundary between them that stops them from being better friends. I really hope that flips around and they can actually be the best of friends. But honestly with how the manga is going right now I don’t think they’ll have a chance.

I’ll still hope though!

Now to headcanons!

Since Mitsuba and Tsukasa have a special place in my heart, they also have very special roles in my aus.

Summer Camp Hanako-kun, New Blues, my new and very unthought of Halloween au, and other ones that just come and go in my head or have no official plots once so ever.

At least not yet. Maybe.

But I will go through each of the official ones. And the Halloween one, even though it’s not fully thought of.

Their friendship in New Blues starts from 5th grade, like in the Halloween au and probably every modern au I’ll make. Like Summer Camp.

They met in after school detention, like in my Halloween au. Mitsuba goes there because of tardiness and Tsukasa goes there because he got into fights with some of his bullies.

PS, his bullies started the fight.

Mitsuba’s heard of the fight that happened around 2:30, passing period.

Mitsuba asks questions about the fight, Tsukasa answers them with no offenses.

After detention Tsukasa sees their interaction as potential friendship, and they interact even more.

Then they start becoming friends because of number exchanges, hangouts at free periods, group projects/work, ect.

And then boom, their besties!

In Summer Camp, they meet in 5th grade again ( It’s gonna be the same thing with every modern au I pretty sure ). This time it’s because of a group project though.

The teacher assigns the partners. Since there was an uneven number of students, Tsukasa was the only one without partners ( Groups had 3 people ), so the teacher let him choose which group he wanted to be apart of.

Nobody wanted to be his partner though, so when he went over to Mitsuba and rando character, Mitsuba didn’t really complain but rando did.

They exchanged numbers but since rando didn’t know Mitsuba and didn’t like Tsukasa they didn’t participate in the project that much.

They ended up guilt tripping Tsukasa to not to tell the teacher they didn’t participate, but they didn’t get to Mitsuba and he told.

Got a F while the boys got high Bs.

Then they started talking a lot and became besties.

The rest of my aus where there relationship is important ( Which is literally all of them ) are just not fully thought of yet.

Maybe except for this one I didn’t say anything about called Desolate au, I can’t explain the whole thing now because this is about TsuMitsu but I probably will one day!

Also I decided to call them the ‘Magenta Duo’ because pink and purple makes magenta, I also didn’t know what else to call them.

I ship them platonically and romantically!

HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT/ECT!

[hanako-san]

Amane's initial plan was to destroy the yorishiros, but now the boy realized that if he did that, he would lose Tsukasa and nene. Amane already wanted to back out once, but then Tsukasa started manipulating him not to give up. Now again Amane doesn't want what he clearly shows, and Tsukasa stands in his way, forcing him and her to make moves they don't want to make.

Amane is devastated and realizes that his younger brother has once again chosen to protect him the same way as him he wanted before.

Amane found out that Tsukasa was doing this for him again, for his wish. He want to be the one who wants to help him again. A second time. Now I am convinced that the plan in which Amane wanted to destroy the yorishiros concerned Tsukasa, and he is the one he want to protect and save. But if he did that he would lose him- I can't find logic in this… It's weird and something is wrong. But his wish and desire had to be for Tsukasa.

Amane realized that what he wanted to do and what Tsukasa was doing was simply wrong. He realized that he would lose Tsukasa and nene and he really didn't want to. He don't want to lose him. Amane's entire speech to Tsuaksa is full of love, concern, and the desire to protect. Amane expresses verbally to Tsukasa how much he loves him and needs him by his side.

Tsukasa reacted so coldly, so callously, as if Amane's words meant nothing to him, and a moment earlier he had complained to nene that Amane didn't come to see him, and when he says that he couldn't bear it if he disappeared, it meant that he could never see him.Totally ftw Tsukasa! Amane isn't the only one with problems. Tsukasa has trouble listening. The words don't reach him!

I'm not at all surprised by Amane's reaction! Tsukasa showed that his words were worthless to Tsukasa.This is painful for Amane!(for me too!!!!)

I can't shake that look on Amane's face. Tsukasa you dummy!!!!! Amane felt terrible that his brother was doing this mess for him and spoke about his eventual death with such ease that it hit hard and hurt Amane. It hurt more when Amane's words were met with such a cold reception from Tsukasa!

The fact that Amane used such words shows that he hates such behavior in Tsukasa, but his 'hate you so much' he means 'iove you so much'

Their misunderstanding when they were 4 years old is still valid. The two of them can't get along, but Amane is looking for a reason to be by his side

Amane really doesn't need a reason to be on Tsukasa's side! But if Amane needs a reason, this is the simplest way - LOVE! I can only root for Amane to find a way and make it to Tsukasa. hope he succeeds and also stops Tsukasa!

Tsukasa needs to finally start listening!!! When Amane expresses his love for Tsukasa! One reason I found is that Tsukasa prefers to believe that Amane hates him, then it will be easier for him to sacrifice himself for his brother a second time! That's why Tsukasa doesn't let Amane's words get to him!! And if Tsukasa wants to hear "I love you" And Amane is looking for a reason to be by his side. I hope Amane will be able to say that he loves him and find a reason! ​

Amane loves Tsukasa more than nene, that's why it's so hard for Amane to express his love for Tsukasa. I hope Amane manages to do it!

They both need to start understanding each other… But honestly? their communication really sucks. I hope they will succeed someday!!

Amane is still suffering more and more!! He deserves to be happy!!!! My poor Moon. He really didn't deserve it.

[mari-lair]

Something I found especially interesting after this chapter was the difference in views between Teru and Akane. More specifically I think it’s interesting how Akane claims to hate supernaturals, just like how Teru does but he still goes out of his way in this chapter to defend Mirai and Kako… Obviously we’ve seen in the court arc that he clearly does care for them but still I just think it’s interesting and was wondering if you had any good thoughts and analysis on it (after all your so good at that kinda thing :))))

Akane has a reluctant soft spot for the clock keepers, deep down, but I'm a firm believer that his lackluster attempt to defend Mirai and Kako wasn't born from a place of faith or care, it was out of fear. He shares the same fear as Teru. I talk about why I interpreted it like that here.

But the chapter still show a very interesting diference in view between Teru and Akane when they learn Yugi Amane used to be a teacher.

Akane is the one who calls this teacher a murderer. Teru's focus is on how he is an adult here.

Teru also calls him by name. Consistently.

Usually, he only refers to supernaturals by their role or their seat position. Doesn't matter if he is happy, angry, or neutral. It's never by name.

This shows Teru is still separating one timeline from the other. It's hard to say if he believes Amane is a bad person or not, but Teru does seem to have decided Amane Yugi is a person, not a supernatural.

He brought up Amane's happiness to make Nene reconsider staying in this world, 100%, but I do think there is a hint of honesty to this question. I wonder what he think of the idea of a ghost, a doomed being, having an actual life, with a job, and such.

It contrasts with how Akane is treating this timeline as a reality. deciding 'Hanako is still Hanako so he is a murderer' despite not knowing anything about Professor Yugi, and 'Aoi is still the same Aoi at heart. I love her' even after seeing her differences from og Aoi.

Akane is just following his program. ("Aoi is doubting my love!" -> "I will reassure her she is the only one for me.") Which falls on their old pre-severance routine, since the original Aoi main issue used to be her lack of belief she is lovable and while the New Timeline Aoi was acting differently, she still displayed the same possessive and insecure behaviors as pre-severance Aoi used to, not wanting Akane to be too close to a girl. Still, Akane has no way of knowing if this engaged Aoi is the same as the og one. He is just assuming based on the old timeline.

(unrelated but it's interesting that Akane went from "I'll love you my whole life" to "I'll love you my whole life... No, even after that" cause he is the last person to think about becoming a supernatural. It makes me wonder if part of him is aware each timeline is a completely different world, a different life... but I don't have enough insight on him yet for that, is just food for thought/headcanons.)

The main gag of this chapter is Akane treating others like their old selves while Teru treat them as separated from their old timeline counterparts.

Teru is being a brat here, but he is right. This Aoi has none of the experiences Akane has. Akane needs to adapt.

Similarly, when he talks about the person Nene fell in love with, he isn't talking about a teacher Nene never met, he is talking about the ghost murderer we are familiar with.

I think if I were to put the difference in their view (not their approach just their view) in a very simplified box, I would say Teru sees supernaturals as unsavable and dangerous, while Akane sees them as unforgivable and dangerous.

[iamhereinthebg]

I LOVE THEM SM THE CLOCK KEEPERS FAM AAAAH

Mirai is so cute here I am ascending

Anyways, I will be honest I have some mixt feeling rn :00

About the clock keepers themselves?? I don't have that much fear tbh, they are supernaturals in their boundary, and contrary to number 3 they don't have hearts that Tsukasa or anyone else can consume. I think they will be fine (or I am being delusionnal to protect myself, you choose rip) I love them very much they will always live in my heart.

I was REALLY not happy with chapter 109, having to be focused on little crumbs was really hard when I have been waiting for their focus for more than 4 years. Having the joke that is chapter 109 absolutely destroyed me, they are my fav mysteries and I want something good for them, unfortunately I am not sure they will get it.

Chapter 110 gave me some hope because yes what is happening is not normal, and I am glad it was adressed. For me it was obvious af it' wasn't, but I really needed confirmation from the author to be sure.

I have always said that the clock keepers were unique and Teru confirms it in this chapter with the official translation:

'The clock keepers are clearly unique even among the school mysteries, and go beyond the average supernaturals'

They are n°1, the only mystery with three beings in it and with a human, one of the last two mysteries left with the other one being the main focus on the manga. Of course something is strange with how they are treated right now. What is happening?

None of them used their time powers expect for Mirai once as the judgment. The stuff they are saying to punish Tsukasa seems more like jokes and they aren't treating the trial as they should be (but this may be just because chapter 109 is bad af lol). Mirai can litteraly see the future if she wants to.

The owls, their shikigami/familiars don't move at all when their masters are attacked, they are in their own boundary, their shrine. Maybe their powers are related to the clock Natsuhiko destroyed (and I would be sad af if this is the reason and nothing can be done) we just don't know what is happening. Do they have a plan? Are they playing a part (which would be funny because some stuff about the clock keepers are related to theaters and plays) Did someone forced them to do something? We don't know anything about the clock keeper, them being in the same spot as n°6 before we got to his story.

We just know they are special among the mysteries, they are the oldest ones, Kako and Mirai are made of gears and a human has a seat in it.

I am pretty sure Teru had this conversation with Akane here because he knows the clock keepers are special.

The two mysteries being the more visible here being the god of death and the clock keepers.

It's also the only mystery Hanako didn't want to destroy right away because they could be useful. All mysteries had their yorishiro destroyed/were planned to be destroyed once they got students in danger. (expect for Tsuchigomori who just, accepted it as a precaution rip) The clock keepers are the only ones who got a free pass on this even after getting the whole school involved.

Their powers are just above a lot of the others, and everyone know how useful it can be, so once again why aren't they using it?

Not caring about their yorishiro is also super strange. Especially when the one the most against Hanako's plan to destroy the yorishiros in the manga is Kako.

A mystery has to choose a yorishiro to be a proxy of the gods, to be able to have this status.

They have to choose a yorishiro so they don't run away from the job, it's the thing the most important to them so they would never destroy it. They have to protect it. Teru assuming they don't care is just so so strange. Why wouldn't they? That's the whole point of what a yorishiro is! They even hide it in one of them as an extra precaution! A lot of things go against what has been established before for yorishiros it's just plain out suspicious.

Kako and Akane are also really really duty centered characters. Akane will do a job even if he doesn't want to if he is asked to do it and Kako is the one being represented as the observator over the mysteries to see if they are respecting their sworn duty.

I also don't know what to think about their yorishiro for now. What does it open? A door to another room? Is it to protect something? Is it to activate another automaton? Can it be related somehow to the old clock keeper of the present? (delulu land again)

Idk I am really curious. I really hope we won't have the answer right away though, they were defeeated way too quickly and I hope they have more stuff to them. We got Hakubo's and Sumire's story and a part of the Yugi twins beforec their yorishiro got destroyed, so I hope it will be the same for them. That we will have time to get to know them a little bit more.

And after all, neither Nene or Hanako want to destroy any more yorishiro for now, and Tsukasa apparently lost it at the end of the chapter (we can see the hand who had it being empty. But AidaIro has sometimes a problem of coherence with their right and left and objects disappearing and appearing which I can understand with the rythm they have to keep with the manga, so I am not sure)

I have a lot of fears about this tbh, because maybe AidaIro will just give us the reason why they are weak rn and continue the story without explaining anything about them, not giving them the spotlight I think they truly deserve. The worst for me would be they work for Sakura, I really really hope it's not this, but I am really scared :///

So I will go for this for now, even if this is really depressing for me, but I don't want to have my hopes up with how the writing have been really ups and downs since the start of this arc (the only good chapter for me being chapter 108).

I am still really intrigued by what is Akane's real duty and why is he so reluctant to do it but still does it? Why Akane said they had to do the trials now? Honestly I have a lot of questions and I know no matter what happens, the clock keepers make me super sad (in a good way) and happy at the same time. And this last chapter with Mirai and Akane was a blast (I am actually writing a whole document on them rn it's long I will link it later ahah)

I also wonder if any of the clock keepers can use the others' clocks or not? Does this mean like Kako can go full OP while using all three powers at the same time? (let's go grandpa give us everything) I am curious since they are a mystery where having an object is important for their powers (Kako and Mirai being able to use their with bare hands because they have their clocks on them, I can be wrong about it though)

We are also left with only Akane as n°1 rn and idk what it will mean for him.

So yes full of fears, but also I know I will find crumbs to go delulu on :DD I would try to stay full positive but with the focus being on Tsukasa and on how secondary characters rn are mostly as 'objects for the plot' (I mean, look at Nene :')) I can't really ://

But be sure, I will forever love the clock keepers even if the plots are not respecting them

[daily-terus]

[sillyyuserr]

posting again at nearly 1am :P

another small analysis (if you can even call it that)

what im going to be talking about takes place in jshk, chapter 79, a quick recap. This is during the red house arc, and at this point in time kou and nene are in the red house, whilst akane and teru are at the shrine talking to what seems to be either a worker at the shrine or a family member/family friend of teru’s (and aoi’s in the far shore but shes not very relevant in this chapter).

after they fail to get something out of the “family friend”, teru exhaustedly lyes down and starts “ranting” to akane ab how hard his life is

and whilst doing this they somehow get to the topic of aoi. And akane starts to wonder if teru GENUINELY likes her. And i mean we can kind of tell he doesnt, but its still a little odd to see him act like this

does he like aoi? We never truly will know, but theres alot of things implying he doesnt like her (and vice versa) but im too lazy to go digging those up so just take my word for it 😭

but akane doesnt even look mad here??? he’d usually either bitchslap someone for talking ab dating her or even hitting ppl with a fucking spiked bat who glance at her

but this? who knows. And not to mention teru looks almost sad when akane mentions him possibly liking her. Almost as if he misunderstood his intenions??

This is very interesting to me, he looks almost distant, but not in the way of no one understands him or he wants to get away from everyone but in the “im trying to tell you what i mean but you’re not getting it” kind of way.

you see it too right? Pls tell me im not insane 😭

but why is he looking like this at akane? Well lets come up with a few ideas. one reason could be because he’s possibly “hinting” to akane that he likes aoi, although this doesnt make much sense considering he literally asked him that straight up and thats his literal direct response.

another reason could be that he’s sad akane’s brought-ten up her again. Not because he dislikes her, but maybe a little reminder that akane still likes aoi, and that he’s still JUST out of his reach.

After that akane talks about going to save aoi on his own since teru’s being a sad sack and wont do it himself, leading up to these 2 panels.

LIKE UHM???? HOLD ON

Lets look closer here 😭 not only does he have the most love-struck eyes ive ever seen, but also he’s blushing??? ON BOTH SIDES?? Also the way his expression takes up the entirety of the upper half of this panel shows us that this is kind of important and for us to really pay attention to it.

ive seen him make this face TWICE. Both times looking at who you may ask? Take a guess

I have so many takes on terukane but no one wants to listen to them so i go to tumblr and share with my singular follower💀 im not even exaggerating

One sided terukane makes me SICK 😭

[thelunarfairy]

JSHK Chapter 116 - Brief Analysis.

An analysis made by request.

Tsukasa's empty gaze always makes me associate his image with the entity. When he allows it to take possession of his body at times, if I can deduce that.

Even if the two cohabit in the same body, the entity still allows him to be aware of his actions. But, it seems that here, specifically in these moments, only the entity is in control.

Even though at times it seems like the boy is still here, reacting.

It made me wonder if the entity was mimicking him here. It tends to do that.

It's good to remember that the entity's voice is apparently the same as Tsukasa's, Nene and Kou said they were hearing a child's voice when they were in the red house, but Tsukasa was talking to the entity.

It's interesting, even if the entity can imitate him, it's still so artificial at times that you can tell there's "something wrong"

Now something that has always intrigued me here is about the victims. The victim who was in the current reality reacted in a similar way to those in the old reality.

I wonder, what is the real objective of this? What does the entity gain by taking full control of someone's body? What is this ability for anyway? We have obvious answers, but I want the main objective.

Why does he need so many to control? Something related to his power? If there are many "sacrifices" (if I can call it that, because technically they don't die), does he use the energy of the person he possesses for some purpose?

What is the entity's objective?

And yet, the entity shares the body with Tsukasa, the most rational one, to achieve greater goals.

He possesses his victims, but do they do anything other than randomly attack other people to possess them as well?

In the current reality, without that ritual, possession happens faster than in the old reality. The Kannagis remained sane for many years until they were completely possessed, but in the current reality, this is not the case.

It is as if in the old reality the entity's powers had already been weakened, or it was trapped somewhere.

Tsukasa simply touched Kou's hand so that it began to spread, and he was quickly possessed, as if the entity was freer to act here.

Kako said that it was a remnant of what that God once was, so he was probably already sealed in some way at that time.

It seems that the entity is stronger here, to the point that it can single-handedly possess and even temporarily change the shape of Tsukasa's body.

Tsukasa's patterns follow the same as the previous one, the "holes" that we see with some consistency. Not only in his body but in Hanako's as well.

But in the other reality, they weren't really holes, they were circular spots.

Here in the current reality you can actually see a depth, there's a hole there.

Does this still reflect on the strength that the entity has in both realities?

Well, this chapter wasn't about Tsukasa, exactly, it was about the entity and the power it has now.

Perhaps to reflect a little on how Amane was responsible for making the entity strong in this way.

A contrast between an Amane who fears Tsukasa because he doesn't believe he is the real one

and the Amane who encourages girls to perform a ritual to summon Tsukasa, knowing that they will be possessed.

So, Amane knows about the entity here.

Furthermore, we see that the entity lives in a parallel version of reality. Something we knew in the old reality, where we saw Tsukasa walking through corridors with dark windows and stained walls.

Something similar to the red house.

So here we confirm the connection between the two places.

And

This caught my attention, Mitsuba didn't feel that his hand was affected. Something similar to what Aoi felt when she touched the dark spot on the far shore.

This made me wonder, are those spots that were on the far shore connected to the entity as well?

Similar effects.

The difference is that the spots on the far shore tend to destroy, while the entity is there to possess.

Hmm… but I still feel a connection between the two things

Why didn't the entity do anything here?

hmmmmmmm…..

But before I forget

Boooy???!!!!! Hitting a 4 year old kiiid????!!!!! I know, he was defending himself, but look at the force with which he hits the kid, it looks like there's hatred here.It wasn't a defensive punch, even Mitsuba was scared.

An observation I've made before in another post, the Mitsuba of this reality never died, but he has the memories of Mitsuba 2, which is purely supernatural.

It means that Yako was right. That is still Mitsuba.

And well, we see Tsukasa playing around trying to find the two. Apparently the possessions do not have a direct connection with the entity.

The possessed girl who saw Mitsuba and Kou could have told the entity their location, even without having to communicate, but it seems that this is not something that happens.

Tsukasa's game, the ritual itself, reminds me a bit of the urban legend called Hitori Kakurenbo, it does not have all the details, but it may have been used as a reference.

And now…

Tsukasa calling out to Amane….

Was he there?

For a moment I thought this scene was a representation of Tsukasa calling out to Amane but never being answered by him.

But the look he gave Kou after he called out to Tsukasa. As if he was "getting in the way" of something.

That look from Tsukasa is the same one he uses in situations like these, when someone is getting in his way when he's doing something important. And, of course, he's about to retaliate.

I would love to put a picture of his expression here, but we've reached the limit of images.

But if you want a reference, remember the moment he looks at Mirai when she interrupts the conversation between him and Amane.

It's almost the same.

Which convinced me that something related to Amane was there… but what exactly? Or Amane himself…

We don't know his whereabouts, but he wouldn't be too far from Tsukasa.

I won't go into this too much now because I don't have many conclusive thoughts about it. Few clues.

About the Yorishiro, serving as its usual role, break/destroy it, and everything will return to normal.

So, I imagine that in the other reality, if they remove all the yorishiros, everything will return to normal.

The problem is…

what is "normal" in the old reality?

Is it living among the supernaturals that devoured humans?

Hmm…….

Kou being possessed by Tsukasa was something I already expected, I would be surprised if it was the other way around.

Teru and Akane appearing to help them is also something I expected.

HOWEVER, I didn't imagine that I would see such a surprised face from Tsukasa. When Teru appeared, Kou/Tsukasa's eyes widened, didn't he expect Teru to appear?

Interesting, it's not every day that you see a surprised Tsukasa.

And well, the entity preferred to walk away, so it probably doesn't want to deal with him now, even though it is strong, it really has no interest in getting involved with him.

Even if it was to kill Teru. Even in the old reality, Tsukasa didn't pay attention to Teru even when they were side by side.

That always made me curious.

Why does the entity/Tsukasa ignore him?

We don't even see any desire to attack Teru. It's intriguing. Something similar with Hanako, who even when he's in conflict with Teru, doesn't seriously try to kill him. Hanako usually just defends himself.

Hmm……

Strange……

And finally, Teru and Akane saying that Tsukasa was different, another reinforcement to convince us that that wasn't Tsukasa.

The same logic as Mitsuba.

Is he the real one, or not?

I don't know about you, but for me that's Tsukasa. In the same way that Mitsuba is still Mitsuba.

This is a story that shows that a person can be many things at the same time. The same good person can be bad when necessary.

Something that reminds me of Hanako.

I like how they always insist on the theme "are you really you?"

And if people will continue to love him when they find out that they can be both versions.

"Do you love all sides of me?"

Hmm……

But if that's the case, why couldn't Kako "get rid" of Tsukasa?

That's the golden question.

I like to think that Tsukasa predicted this and is just having fun.

Tsukasa knows what he's doing, he'll wait for the right moment to destroy Number One's Yorishiro.