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tamelee · 9 months

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Hi, Tamelee❤, I absolutely adore your art and your analysis.

Do you think Kakashi's choice of words regarding Sakura's feelings towards Sasuke "She's hurting from loving you" is a forshadowing? Is there any chance that both Sasuke and Naruto are fully aware that Naruto's "I hurt whenever you hurt" is a shonen-appropriate version of ILY? And in general,to which extent do you think Naruto is aware about the nature of his feelings for Sasuke post-vote2?

Hi @lilasskickergrimes !! thankyou so much! 💕 I apologize for this being so late. This post went into a different direction at first and then it was sitting in my drafts for a long time >.< sorry!! Hope you're doing well 🥹

Very long post, 🍵

Was Kakashi’s “she’s hurting from loving you” about Sakura to Sasuke basically Kishimoto telling the reader that if hurting because of the other person means they love them, then that is the same for Naruto and Sasuke? Since they hurt for each other, do they then love each other too? I mean, in a way, Kakashi's words can be used as another clue. It came up before and with other characters too (Sai), but I believe with anything- context matters.

Oh, Sakura was hurting alright, but why was she hurt?

Why was Sasuke? Or Naruto?

Kishimoto often uses parallels, but I feel like some don’t realize that a parallel doesn’t mean something is the same thing. That’s why storytellers use alternate timelines or universes to explain a parallel, but it is in the name, right? “Alternate”. They go in the same direction and are similar in nature but never touch. A comparison of sorts. That’s why it always matters why a parallel is linked to the alternate element and why it never touches- thus is different.

So, Kishimoto has shown what he values in romantic relationships for which he writes before. Like Dan/Tsunade, Minato/Kushina or even in earlier works like ‘Mario’. He always was able to convey a romantic relationship well if he chose to do so and if it was his intention. The same sorta clues are shown in earlier chapters where Naruto projects onto Sakura as she explains why she likes Sasuke and then he says that he understands her (pain) very well. A shonen-appropriate version (in your words) of “I completely understand how you feel Sakura, because if that's what it means, then I like Sasuke too and I feel the same way”. It is enhanced in the way he visualizes his art and message that Sakura is used as a tool (red herring) in order to mislead and yet have enough surface-level ammunition against criticism to make it seem like its otherwise. Unfortunately, those were the circumstances, but we wouldn’t have the story we do now if it weren’t for this..

However, Sakura hurting for “loving” Sasuke is not the same as Naruto and Sasuke hurting for the other. Kakashi even literally said that Sakura was hurting because she wanted to save Sasuke and she wanted him by his side.

Which means, Sakura is hurting because of selfish reasons. (Kishimoto’s words.) It is always about her and her wishes or what she thinks is best for another character without bothering to understand them first. (Note Naruto's expression as well.)

Sakura can’t hurt because of Sasuke.

Sasuke, apart from him and Sakura being teammates, never bothered with her and legitimately during the War couldn’t give a f- whether she lived or died. He didn’t have a personal bond with her, she was just part of team 7 and one he broke off the same way as everyone else excluding Naruto. She was never special nor precious as an individual. He reacted only to her intention of wanting to stab him in the back after she lied and had to knock her annoying ass out twice so she would stop following him because she selfishly thinks for some reason she’s more important to Sasuke, Naruto or even her team and the Shinobi world in general than she really is. But that is part of her character arc. Wanting to be included and then go beyond that so people will look at her back as she is insecure about the contrast between herself and Naruto/Sasuke, not just in terms of ability, but also the strength of their bond as said right before VotE2 where she points out what she lacks compared to Naruto. That she isn’t on equal terms in regard to Sasuke. Where she stops believing in both Naruto and Sasuke which she said she would after the bridge-scene, but then, yet again tries to interfere...

I mean... I have to give it to her, Sakura also does not give up when it comes to this.

That’s why Sakura fans, the very hardcore ones, that see Sasuke as some price that only belongs to her, blame him for her pain. They favor Sakura and her selfish wish and want Sasuke to repent and live a life full of guilt and regret for all he’s done to her. For all the pain he has caused their favorite character even though that’s totally unbefitting to all that happened. Which is kind of why that scene with Kakashi is mostly criticized because he sounds like an irrational fan. (I don’t believe that’s exactly why that was put there, but alas.) Her pain is her own. And as much as people dislike Kakashi defending her, I understand why Kishimoto put it there, especially amidst all the contrast and especially because it was placed right before VotE2 and it continued with a talk about love/hate with the Hermit. What usually is the ending of a story, is where Naruto and Sasuke’s journey still only begins... really.. considering the entire Shinobi world and what they were supposed to do :/

Sakura doesn’t know or understand anything about Sasuke that’s why she also can’t hurt for him.

She didn’t even try. And when Sakura did pick up on things here and there, she never bothered questioning those words like Naruto did and just went with the general narrative that Sasuke is a mindless criminal or that he’s changed for the worst. Therefore she stopped believing in him, his intentions and abandoned this version of Sasuke she didn’t like. She even had the time during the time-skip to do some research (as she did) as she had access to Tsunade’s notes, yet never, ever, once bothered to learn more about Sasuke to see if she could understand him. She only learned that Itachi is the one he wants to kill which was used as a moment to show that “she was going to do this whole thing with Naruto together” (and then failed multiple times). Like??

And also thought then it was okay to deliver Naruto to Akatsuki knowing he was a target if it meant “getting close to Sasuke-kun”.

Tbf, Naruto deliberately kept her in the dark about certain information and didn’t want to wait for her, hence his reactions when he finds out Sakura knows a few details too. Even later when Sakura asks him when Akatsuki started targeting him, he’s not fully honest.

When Sai later says that Naruto is also hurting because of Sakura, (for a different post) there is some truth to that as part of Naruto’s fear is letting people down.

That was the pain of the promise. It had nothing to do with Naruto wanting to keep it for her sake.

Sakura reacted very fake while ignoring Naruto completely who was bandaged all over, when she visited him after VotE1 to hear about Sasuke. Not a "hey Naruto how are you doing?" was heard or anything, but guilt tripping him in regards to the promise making even Shikamaru angry because he understood the hell Naruto went through.

Naruto didn’t take that well as you can see throughout the story. Maybe it looked that way at the moment because he’s somewhat of a people pleaser and hides his emotions well and he reacted with that Naruto-confidence, but it certainly did damage to their.... uh, friendship? Camaraderie? But that’s a different pain, yes? It stems from Naruto’s own character which made her treatment towards him worse just like Sakura’s insecurities and fantasies about romance aren’t Sasuke’s fault. At all. But because of it, they do clash, sometimes more subtle than other times.

I guess it was okay to Naruto as long as she could keep up. In times where she did, sorta help. But Sakura didn’t keep up, made her own resolve to get rid off the thing in her life that hurt her because she couldn’t stand seeing it, therefore tried to kill Sasuke and didn’t bother to understand, question or rely again on Naruto because she thought for some reason she was important enough to get through to him. Or rather lie to him as she did with Naruto. She failed what? 4?? 5??? times? Embarrassing. It just hurt her too much to not see that ideal image of Sasuke. That’s not love.

All those misconceptions that she holds hurt her too because it doesn’t reflect that ideal image she has of herself or Sasuke because her fantasy romance doesn’t exist. Not even Jun Esaka, her number one fan, can make it believable. Not even the sequel shows how rewarded Sakura was because even if "she got Sasuke", she never got his heart. She never received that love from him, but she can fake it.

Her ideal Sasuke is the one that stays by her side because otherwise she’d “just be as lonely as Sasuke was after the genocide of his family/clan” 👀 even though she made fun of orphans and then was willing to throw away her own friends and family even after Sasuke defended Naruto, all for this fantasy. She’d be willing to make light of Sasuke’s trauma by not giving a shit about her bonds as long as she would be together with him. It is the Sasuke she hopes that admits thinks of her in his heart as she preached about before VotE2, one she hopes she can be relevant enough to save even though she was never able to reach him. She didn’t go through some character assassination, it was always like this. The contrast was deliberate. Naruto said to her and Kakashi that after Pain’s attack, he understood why his words during VotE1 didn’t reach Sasuke. That’s because Naruto went through growth and development. Sakura never cared to find out and her plea is completely irrelevant and focussed on herself. And watch this!! We have a cover of Chapter 231 “a special power” with Naruto where the side text says:

“I won’t look away. I won’t give up. I am fighting for you.”

Which is about Sasuke as this is a Chapter during VotE1.. and then the very next Chapter is Sakura with these words:

“Straight ahead. I think. I wish. I believe. I am.”

Naruto faces what's coming but Sakura is stuck in this me-me-me fantasy. Come on!!!! If anyone doesn’t think any of Kishimoto’s author-narration is deliberate either then I dunno man. This is back-to-back contrast. All the other covers around them look different. There is a lot more of this but the point is, Sakura’s always been the same. Her pain is based on lies for which people blame Kishimoto it to be bad writing even though this is just her character. And that’s not me hating on Sakura, that’s just what it is. If anyone’s going to blame something, blame her lack of development, but that’s not always bad writing if it was a choice that Kishimoto made with a purpose... her selfish love was contrasting to Naruto for a reason. I hope the day exist where people can accept at least that.

It is okay to not like how an author portrayed a character, but don’t blame it on something else when it is a consistent thing, lol. She constantly wants to try and prove herself in a way that would make Naruto and Sasuke (even Tsunade by making fun of her age or her oh-so-dear-friend-Ino that she ditched) less, by putting them down or wanting them to look at her back out of insecurity. She wants to keep up, yet portrays herself as better- ...then fails. Badly. So of course, Sakura is hurt. But no one is to blame but herself and its completely based on her own persistence to be relevant.

___

Sasuke and Naruto share a history of similar pain even though they’re very different, opposites even.

Before that, Sasuke yells at Naruto that he doesn’t understand what it means to lose bonds with the people who are precious to you. And that is true.

But Naruto is scared, confused and about to lose Sasuke. As well as losing Sasuke to Orochimaru whom Naruto very much knows that he wants Sasuke’s body only (as he learned during his fight with Kimimaro too). And Sasuke, to Naruto is a precious bond as established in LoW who also just admitted that Naruto is his closest friend! Not only have they shared secret smiles before they even talked to each other, but Sasuke already sacrificed his own goals twice for Naruto and his body moved on its own to protect him and cushion his falls. Sasuke showed his vulnerable self (what he calls a weakness) to Naruto by showing he cared more about him than his own life. Hence them being so awkward with each other after LoW. Next to Iruka it is the first bond he’s ever had and it’s more than just a bond. Of course he fights so f- hard and would not give up even he didn't quite understand what it meant. Sasuke understands what Naruto means here though as his third tomoe awakens at the thought of breaking that bond with Naruto. Because it hurts.

Kishimoto spends 8(!!!!!!!!!!) pages visualizing how much Sasuke is in pain because of this and then some more. I want everyone to know how absolute insane that is. Not panels, PAGES.

Then, in order to avoid breaking that bond "on a whim" (okay Sasuke), Sasuke sets a resolve to gain power his own way by sacrificing years of his life to go to a man that only wants him for his body because of the resentment towards his brother, but mainly because he couldn’t kill Naruto. And the only way you can do something like going to Orochimaru willingly, knowing what his intentions are even if you’re afraid... is the Shinobi way, to kill your emotions as much as possible (at least not show them which is different, yay to subtext), but when it came to Naruto... Sasuke couldn’t get rid of his emotions and feelings. The only way to break off that bond, his past completely was by getting rid of all of Naruto. All he had left was Naruto. (Sakura who?) And no matter what he said afterwards, his actions speak louder than words. Throughout the story, despite his front, Sasuke is in a lot of pain.

Naruto spends majority of part 2, ‘pining for Sasuke’, which hehe yes, but it’s way more than that, right?

Naruto fought tooth and nail to hold onto his bond with Sasuke and when he was fed information about Sasuke having changed and him just being a mindless criminal, he fought against that too. He constantly questioned whether things were true and didn’t just blindly trusted the people that told them things as Naruto rightfully already doesn’t trust people that well, but despite his limited view, he trusted Sasuke. He never once abandoned him regardless of anything. No matter what he heard or saw, he knew what he felt and he knew that Sasuke would be able to look in his heart (bumping fists through fighting) where his resolve lied which completely contrasts Sakura’s. Naruto wanted to bear Sasuke’s burden together and if it came to it, die. To not be Jinchuriki or Uchiha, to not be pained with the burdens or see Sasuke hurt by them because of it..

Helloooooo~~~

Pain is a large chunk of that understanding between them that ultimately mutually happens as Sasuke says:

.. that they’ll now be able to share the pain in each other’s hearts. Among many other things. That not only did they look inside each other’s hearts, they accepted it all. That Sasuke too will open up to Naruto’s pain, that he accepted him fully, including their shared feelings. And with that, hope and dreams. Naruto and Sasuke in this kind of future where they are Ninja and peace is not certain, will most likely stumble upon conflict but then willingly hurt for the other as they share their burdens since they are able to live and work towards a future they both wished for in a way that doesn’t include self-sacrifice or people-pleasing. That was part of the promise of this chapter....

Naruto and Sasuke.

Not Sakura who decided on her own while lying to everyone to bear the Shinobi burden to kill the one she thinks she loves but doesn't believe in and painted as a changed-for-the-worst criminal because it is too painful for her. Then got brushed off with a brotherly forehead-poke. Wtf. Like actually? Lmao.

"And in general,to which extent do you think Naruto is aware about the nature of his feelings for Sasuke post-vote2?"

Naruto is very aware of his own feelings and it is for sure love. But what else can you say about it with an open-end (699) like that? I'm genuinely not sure but I feel like any more than what we got would've been perfect for a blank period story 🥲

#asktamelee #naruto talk #sns #long post #not for... dedicated sakura fans lets say #I hurt when you hurt #lilasskickergrimes

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oxydiane · 1 year

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sns is so fucking unhinged and nobody will ever be them i’m sorry. you start the series and it’s like oh haha look at these goofy angsty rivals! they hate each other! then sasuke dies for naruto thirty chapters in giving up his dream of revenge and naruto goes batshit insane. now you’re like ah they’re friends i guess that’s cute! and sasuke is trying to kill naruto because he’s the most important person in his life which is . ok and it becomes the driving force of everything or something. sasuke leaves and naruto dedicates the rest of his life to bringing him back and you’re still a casual fan so ur like he’s doing it for the promise right? then orochimaru says sasuke is his and naruto goes batshit insane feral homicidal (again) and after that sasuke reappears and they have ??? like five different panels dedicated to them staring at each other??? and he jumps off a mountain and hugs naruto for some reasons just to whisper some gay shit in his ear kishimoto frankly needs to be jailed drawing this and keep that best friend nonsense going. anyways. you have sasuke become a convicted terrorist to which the normal people response is “ok we need to hunt him down” and when naruto learns they’re gonna hunt him down he starts screaming crying throwing up he has a panic attack he can’t breathe he’s falling in the snow he gets on his knees and begs them to spare his BFF. after having a meltdown over the thought of sasuke dying what may possibly be the natural coping mechanism any stable person would adapt? of course realising that if sasuke dies he can die too. so he sees sasuke again and after he attempts murdering sakura twice and expresses the intent to murder kakashi he’s like. i will bear the burden of your hatred and die with you hehe and if we both die you won’t be an uchiha and i won’t be the jinchuuriki to the nine tails and we’ll be able to understand each other better in a different lifetime! WE’LL MEET AGAIN IN THE AFTERLIFE BECAUSE NOT EVEN DEATH CAN DO US PART! and sasuke (just as insane as him) doesn’t even flinch he’s like what the fuck is wrong with you but then ok let’s fuckingggf die together on my god i will kill your first anyways . then they find out they are soulmates and get cute matching tattoos on their hands and decide to fight to the death once more because sasuke is back on his i will shoulder all the hatred of the world alone and i need to kill you because i love you more than anyone else in the world actually you’re the only person i love so you need to DIE and naruto is like I WILL NOT LET YOU SHOULDER THAT HATRED ALONE I WILL FREE YOU FROM THE PAIN and they fight and despite all the whatever weapons used in the war it’s a fuckinggg fistfight in which just as sasuke is about to inflict what he thinks is the last blow says “farewell… my one and only…………………. (very long pause to accentuate how heteronormative this next word is gonna be) FRIEND” and fucking stops using his sharingan because not even then he can record the image of naruto dying especially by his hand but naruto STOPS HIM LIKE A f cHAMP and they end up blowing each other’s arms off (rip the matchies) and as they’re bleeding to the fucking death sasuke is like you’re the only person that has never tried to severe their ties with me why do you go so far for me and naruto from the depths of comphet hell is like because you’re my FRIEND and sasuke being absolutely done with this bullshit is like ok what the fuck does that mean to you then and this is where it gets even gayer and relatable because naruto is like i don’t KNOW i just know that when you hurt i hurt and i just can’t take it and isn’t that the most gay experience thing ever? naruto knows what it feels like to have friends but what he feels for sasuke is so bone deep and unconventional that he cannot make sense of it and can only describe the pain it brings. after that sasuke CRIES LIKE THEYVE GOT ME SOOO FUCKED UP but you know what got me even more fucked up?

naruto waking up bloodied and battered and half alive with one arm missing but still wondering if that was heaven because sasuke was next to him. sasuke looking so happy and peaceful when saying “i lost” as a stark contrast to him looking and feeling like half of his body was being torn apart when he “won” against naruto in vote1 and left him. the bitterness of victory vs the sweetness of losing if you will. AND HIM COMPARING WHAT HE FEELS FOR NARUTO TO PRAYING MY GODD. did i forget to mention that then we learn that Ohhh it was never a stupid shallow rivalry as we all thought! they have actually been watching each other from afar since they were little freshly traumatised children and have longed to hold each other’s hands since then! what was it sasukeeee you felt warm and fuzzy when you saw naruto to thought of it as a weakness? these two are so astronomically hopelessly desperately obsessed in love with each other it’s ridiculous i’ve had ENOUGH free me from this mental prison

#soo talks #its 4 am #this is word vomit #ignore me #naruto #naruto shitpost #sns #narusasu #sasunaru #pro sns #naruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #thoughts

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ventismacchiato · 1 year

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O1 behind the lens — kicking my feet and giggling !

scaramouche x g!n reader

“When you said we were going out for a meal I didn’t think you meant a cat cafe,” you mused as you slid into the seat Kuni pulled out for you.

“You mentioned you liked cats during class,” Kuni shrugs, sitting across from you and flinching as a cat jumps up onto his lap almost immediately. You were a little envious…whether it be of him or the cat you didn’t know.

“I have a cat,” you grin, always eager to show anyone your precious baby. You hold back though since Kuni doesn’t seem the type, but much to your surprise he kept up with you as you swiped through your photo album dedicated to you and your roommates’ cat.

“Cute,” he hums, a soft smile on his face as you put your phone away.

“Me or the cat?”

“Both,” he easily says, mindlessly petting the creature in his hands.

You feel you cheeks heat up at his comment, hiding your face behind the menu as he snickers at your reactions.

“You’re so fucking easy to fluster.”

“No, it’s just you.”

“Oh?”

“Shut up—”

“I’m sure you’d like that.”

“Shut up!”

behind the lens !

masterlist — prev | next

background info for kuniyn you both have the same major and are in the same photography class and became friends after being paired for multiple projects together

everyone other than scarayn use their public accounts to reply to private tweets but the fans don’t see them just pretend 😇

have only been to a cat cafe once in my life LITERALLY SO FUN cures ur depression fr

made the message icons different than the twt ones so it’s more fun

synopsis — you, better known as STARDUST, and BALLADEER have always been in competition for the top streamer spot on twitch, which is especially impressive since the two of you have never shown your faces. you’ve never been on good terms, constantly one-upping each other in matches and getting into petty arguments on twitter, causing your fans to also dislike each other. that’s until BALLADEER does a face reveal that breaks the internet with his good looks…which makes you realize it’s the same guy you went on a date with last night. the type of date that made you crave to see him again. the only problem was he didn’t know you were STARDUST and he was way different behind the lens than he portrayed himself online to you. should you keep your identity a secret to salvage the relationship or just let him go?

author’s notes — finals are over 🔥 kinda jumping in cus in order for the au to start i gotta build on their existing off camera relationship which is HARD but i hope it’s good 😓

taglist is closed — @captainzep @elysiumarchieve @plinkuro @sakkakuu-squared @eliqusgenma @vuvulia @kunikuzushiit @heehooyeslol @stxrgxzxr @lilneps @uma-umie @lynnforever @mitsukifilms @caesars-bubbles @wheneverthesunrise @its-like-twilight @kazuhalvrr @camiluvsreading @cloudxemoji @thenightsflower @p1utto @caesars-bubbles @lxry-chxn @orbitscara @court-jester-stuff @lauragalliart @veyu002 @kaeyas-eyepatch-69 @leathernourishingshoepolish @satowaluverr @lexlapis @drunkwithfever @remiikoe @exhaustedcommunist @vincanzu @just-here-reading @amoguz @ainlaw @ovaliz @depressedwhore @kitsuvil @whatamidoing89 @bunny-x-sakura @kunihaver @kazioli @xiaosoneandonly @vinskypuff @cridtiins @cherrybeomgyu @asukahiriko [1/3]

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meimi-haneoka · 6 months

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Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 79: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Welcome back to our monthly appointment, CCS fans! This chapter comes right after this month's full moon, the Hunter Moon! (lol yes I will feature the name of the relative full moon till the end of the story). And speaking of the end of the story, I will start this analysis and translation post from the end of the chapter, where I found the confirmation to the rumour that had been going on for hours before the official release on Comic Days:

yes, dear readers, this is not a drill, Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc will end with chapter 80, after 7 years of serialization! 🎉✨ When *the last chapter* is announced, there's no turning back! No more sudden announcements of extensions! 🥹 But at the moment of writing this post, no mentions have been given about any "epilogue" or extra chapters that might be serialized in the upcoming months leading to the big release of volume 16 on April 1st!

On the translation side, I have to sigh in relief because no major misunderstandings happened in the ENG version, just some minor inaccuracies! I was kinda scared because this chapter is pretty important and complex in itself.

And let me say that what happened in this chapter 79 definitely marks the end of the climax, so I can totally see it ending in next chapter. The chapter tackled some very important thematics regarding the presence of "evil" in this series, that I will talk about extensively in my analysis.

The announcement today made me already a bit nostalgic and sad, but I want to strive hard to accompany myself and all of you towards the end of this arc with excitement and a smile, therefore I won't let myself be prey of the sadness yet and introduce you immediately to the gif of this month, because there's a lot we need to talk about and analyze and we can't waste time!!

This is entirely dedicated to our protagonist and heroine Sakura-chan, because damn, she really slayed this chapter!!! Under the cut to see what miracles she made happen!

The Color Page

My dear readers, after years of countless pleas on my social media, after being let down month after month, CLAMP FINALLY GRANTED ME A COLOR PAGE SOLELY DEDICATED TO KAITO AND AKIHO TOGETHER ON THE SECOND-TO-LAST CHAPTER!! Yaaaay!! Excuse me while I celebrate this event here in my little corner, especially after having a rough month! 🎉🎉🎉 I hope my followers thought of me when they saw it? Like "finally she'll stop asking for it" (breaking news, I'll keep asking for more even after the series is over) 😂 It took them 79 chapters to do so and honestly I'm laughing because....yes, I admit it, I expected another vibe for such an important color page coming after such an important emotional scene in chapter 78, but honestly the first thing I thought when I saw it was "....they had to wait 79 chapters for this? 😧" 😂because it's very very "regular", I think it would've been ok for this to come out long ago. LOL I'm being brutally honest here, I hope no one gets offended, especially because that pet peeve aside, OF COURSE I love this precious color page to bits, and I know under its "normalcy", its got a very important meaning to the both of them.

Akiho and Kaito are depicted together clearly during one of their travels....but the question is, is this from the past? Or the near future? I'd daresay they look the same age they are now, so this might probably be a foreshadowing for the future...? They'll keep travelling the world? But seeing the content of the chapter, this might also be just a call-back to their memories together and everything that they experienced during those travels, tightening their bond. Travelling the world is, after all, really their thing, their element. I really like Kaito's expression, with his usual smile that almost turns into a smirk, he gives off a vibe of being finally free to express his emotions. He looks carefree, and that's really something for him. Akiho, on the other hand, is always so much more expressive than him and you can literally feel the joy and excitement emanating from her delighted expression. Travelling with him makes her happy, so yes, should this be what awaits them in the finale, it's fine by me as long as they're happy (I'm rooting for the other option though, the "stay in Tomoeda with your newfound support network" route).

But as you know, I always have to analyze the color pages a bit deeper, especially when they're about these two. And since I had to keep myself distracted, I made a bit of research. Other than the "travelling" vibe, this illustration gives off also kind of a "vintage" vibe (which is another strong element to Akiho and Kaito). It seems Akiho is dressed in a sleeveless coat with cape and wearing a bonnet fully inspired by those worn by children in the second half of the 1800s, in the Victorian era.

(pic courtesy of Etsy) This is a model from 1896, for example. When I pinpointed the period, I immediately thought "uh, the Victorian era is also the period when Alice in Wonderland came out", although that was more towards the 1860s. I found it really interesting and a nice touch for this illustration with a retro flavor (the suitcase and purse also look kinda vintage).

But another thing that immediately caught my eyes were those cute birds landing on Kaito's shoulder and Akiho's bonnet. I immediately tried to look what kind of birds they are, and it seems like they could really be eastern bluebirds, typical of North America. Searching further, I found out that in several cultures bluebirds are harbinger of happiness and symbols of hope. I couldn't honestly have thought for a more fitting symbolism, for these two. Especially cause birds often are associated with an imagery of freedom, and this is something else that these two need, after being hunted by evil people for so long. They really do look free, in this color page. Also, the presence of the birds in this color page immediately brought me back to the color page of chapter 62, where we can see baby Kaito in a wintery setting, sitting on a lamppost, extending his little hand to a swallow coming to him. Swallows are a symbol of hope and bring a message of "spring is coming", and continuing from that message of hope, of "spring is coming for you too", we can finally see here in chapter 79 our Kaito with his true happiness, symbolized literally by the birds most associated with happiness. Another thing that caught my eyes is of course the lily depicted on the cover of the book Akiho is holding, a nice callback to Akiho's mother and Kaito's torment, Lilie. She's always going to be with them ❤️

The Japanese editorial text over the picture is an excerpt of what Momo was musing to herself in chapter 39, while imagining to talk to Kaito: "You traveled with her, and spent time together with her". I think CLAMP chose to feature this line to indicate an important thing that will be restored at the end of this chapter.

Everyone Is Doing Their Best

The chapter starts with a panel showing some light coming off Yukito's house, and we find out that even Touya fainted, exhausted by the effort to keep time stopped as much as possible. Ruby Moon is cradling his head on her lap trying to assist him and "recharge" his magical power, in hope to be able to maintain time "stopped" a bit more. In fact, if you notice, the "black covering" that symbolizes the time-stopping spell isn't completely destroyed yet, but only riddled with "holes", an indication that the spell is still somehow active, even if feebly. I imagine this might "slow down" the attacks, which are still coming but probably not at full speed like they would if the spell came undone completely. I have to point out immediately a mild inaccuracy in the ENG version, that I want to specify in order to dispel extreme theories before they're born: no, Ruby Moon didn't give up all of her powers to Touya, the verb used here is simply 補える, "can replenish (your magic)", not "give all".

Touya doesn't lose his sense of humor even in a dire situation like this, and comments sarcastically "What are you, a battery?", a clear recall to the whole "batteries" matter that came out in the un-rewritten world. Touya isn't supposed to remember about that, and he probably doesn't, but this is just a way from CLAMP to show that even in a situation where memories have been rewritten, some things will be unconsciously said again, because they're just meant to happen.

Ruby Moon calls for assistance from her "brother" Spinel Sun (love how even in these true forms, she still calls him "Suppy"), whom rejects the appellative of "battery" but agrees to give her a hand with "recharging" Touya to keep the spell up a bit longer. Everyone looks outside, only one thought in their minds, which is voiced clearly by a serious Tomoyo: "Sakura and everyone else are fighting with all they've got". I have to point out a typo here in the Japanese version (nothing serious, it can happen and will be surely fixed in the tankobon version): Tomoyo calls Sakura "Sakura-san". I loved the "sparkles" around Tomoyo's eyes, as if indicating that her extraordinary intuition is "at work" and just telling her that, even if they can't see them because they're quite far away, Sakura and the others are doing whatever they can to stop these attacks. And the fact they can see the attacks, but not their friends and their condition, must be really hard to witness, for all of them. But no worries, there's Touya nii-chan who's always ready to lighten the mood even in this challenging situation, joking that "If they don't get back before the curfew, they won't be getting their snacks tomorrow!". Here the ENG adds "squirt" to make Touya refer specifically to Sakura, but truth to be told, in the JP there's no subject, so he might be referring to everyone. It's amazing how he's able to keep his spirit up and be sarcastic even in this situation....he really believes in his little sister so much!

I'll Make Them Forget About You

Back where our heroes are, the attacks keep coming relentlessly, countered by Syaoran, Yue and Kero in tandem. Sakura reflects on the fact that the only transparent Cards she's got left are these two she's holding in her hands (Time and Rewind) and Flight. This statement leads me to believe that when Record transformed into that crystal that entered her, that meant that the Card completed its duty and disappeared inside of her. But Sakura isn't worried at all, because she knows that she can create more Cards. Yessss, this development that I've been anticipating since quite some time is finally here! ✨🎉 Sakura seems to finally have a concrete plan, but before proceeding, she needs to ascertain something. She asks directly to Kaito: "The people who are using these spells were trying to hurt you, right?". Kaito, with a pensive face, answers affirmatively.

But it's when Sakura asks again "Were they trying to hurt Akiho too?" that his expression turns really painful, the background after him portraying well his raging emotions and, while Mokona-sensei chose to leave Akiho hidden by Kaito's black wings in the previous panels, now she finally shows how both she and Kaito are holding onto eachother, while our boy answers with a "...Yes" dripping with sorrow. It really squeezed my heart with pain, this scene. Because as long as Sakura was asking about him, his expression was pensive but almost as if it's something he's used to, that didn't shake him too much. But when Sakura mentions Akiho, god, that wrecked him. Any mention, any reminescence of what those bastards did to her and how they were chasing after her to put their filthy hands on her again wrecks him even now, and it's like Mokona with her visual skills is showing how Kaito seems to be holding Akiho a little bit tighter, while he answers Sakura's question. I also have to point out something that I had noticed already from last chapter, but a panel tricked me into believing I was just seeing things: CLAMP here use a dark screentone for Kaito's eyes, that he never had before (actually, no other character in CCS got this effect in their eyes). This effect will be used on him for the entire chapter.

And it seems like it's the very same screentone that was used for the dragon. I think this might be an indication that the wings aren't the only reminescence of his dragon appearance!

Sakura shows once again an incredible empathy that allows her to go right to the heart of the issue without investigating much. If Kaito rewrote an entire world, and if it's true that Akiho in the previous world didn't have all the love and familiar support she's got now, it means that she was probably in danger too. And seeing as these people are attacking them now because they freed Kaito from his "punishment", Sakura doesn't really need much to make 2+2 and understand the situation. Sakura believes in Akiho, therefore she believes in Kaito too, and knows that if he came to this point it's because they were in a desperate and dangerous situation.

Showing an incredible insight, Sakura shocks both Kaito and Akiho by asking:

Sakura, JP: "In that case, can I make those people forget about you both?"

Because our girl needs to make sure that the plan she came up with won't have any undesired consequences. But most importantly, she needs to have their consent. She reiterates this once again, actually she will make sure to ask Kaito and Akiho's consent 3 times in total. She says: JP, lit. "If going back to before the world was rewritten will put you through hardships once again, then, can I just make them forget?" Kaito is even more shocked, because he finally understands Sakura's intent. A generous, selfless intent born from a loving heart. Our girl wants to make sure that these two will be safe and sound once she fixes this situation. She can't take risks, because their happiness is all she's really caring for right now. And in his shocked expression, I can also see some kind of "omg YES, PLEASE" vibe. Because probably, having those terrible people forgetting all about them is everything he ever wished, but couldn't achieve. And I think it's really funny how we berated Kaito so much in the past chapters for making Akiho and the others forget facts that happened before and forgetting about him, but here Sakura just takes "inspiration" from him and actually decides to use that same "trick" in the right way. Because it's not fair that it should be them, the abused people, to forget about their most important person, in order to achieve a happy life for at least one of them. It isn't fair and it isn't right that Kaito was driven into making all the mess that he made, pushed by desperation. The abusers, that clan and Association of magicians, should be the ones forgetting.

But this is Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card's finale, and Sakura definitely hasn't finished with being amazing yet, she actually just started. Her very strong power at this point allows her not only to see things that were difficult before, but also to connect the dots more easily thanks to that renowned instinct that I've always talked to you about, and that she learned to finally listen to.

As if she were seeing through him with X-rays, she confidently affirms that there's a book inside of him, a white book where you can inscribe magic on. And she also knows that that same book was inside Akiho, once. I guess this might be even coming from past memories of the unrewritten world (do you remember when, before the play started, Sakura said that she could feel something inside Akiho?). Akiho of course is shocked to hear that, and from her expression you can almost feel the chill that went down her spine in that moment. Sakura affirms that this book knows both Akiho and Kaito (thanks to the fact that it was inside both of them - something that I've always found painfully heartbreaking but also quite moving, for my ship), and it's got a very strong power inside of it. These will be two crucial things for Sakura's plan. In fact, our heroine is hellbent in attempting something pretty arduous: utilizing that artifact's power to create a new Card. For impartiality, I have to point out that the ENG added (completely on their whim) a "you, her special person" that isn't there in the JP version! Of course it's all the better for me, since they repeat (finally with the right adjective) that Kaito is Akiho's special person, but it's kinda funny that they messed it up so much in the previous chapters, and now they're adding it where there isn't any mention of it!

Sakura will be using a tool that knows the both of them, therefore she is sure that her plan will succeed, because the Card will know what it will need to erase. Sakura asks for Kaito and Akiho's agreement one last time. After hearing how those people wanted to hurt them both and even implanted the same magical artifact inside of her, Akiho is quite resolute and doesn't have any doubt: on with the wiping off! It doesn't matter who those people are, they've tried to harm her most important person and her too, so she doesn't really seem to give a damn about proceeding with this plan. Kaito, on the other hand, seems to be giving a more lackluster affirmative reply, but it's not that he's uncertain: he's just still riddled with guilt for all the mess that he's done, and he's probably realizing that now Sakura will need to put herself on the line in order to fix this and protect both of them, hence his sad face.

Still surfing the confidence wave, Sakura guesses that once those people have forgotten about Akiho and Kaito, then the magic arrows will stop too, and Kaito confirms that: forgetting about the person who had the Seal of D enforced on him will be equal to "undo" both the activation of the Seal itself (when Kaito removed the book from Akiho) and also the rescission of it (what Sakura did when she freed Kaito from the cage). This will therefore stop the arrows too, because the Seal wouldn't have been triggered in the first place. However, Kaito warns her that, although time is still barely "stopped" (because the time-stopping spell is still weakly on), it's necessary an enormous amount of power in order to do what Sakura wants to do. I have to point out another inaccuracy in the ENG translation in this part, which makes Kaito say "before things could get worse" and I have the feeling they misunderstood the word 辛うじて, "barely" or "narrowly", which is also written with the kanji of 辛い, "hard" or "tough". So Kaito isn't saying "before things could get worse" but actually meaning "although time is barely stopped".

Sakura doesn't seem to be scared by Kaito's warning, and activates her wand without a second thought, and immediately we can see that her task wil NOT be easy, as she can feel the strain almost right away.

Here we go with another inaccuracy of the ENG translation:

Sakura, ENG: "Great book, please show yourself! My power alone won't be enough...!" Sakura, JP: "The book....doesn't want to come out. (it's too difficult to pull it out) with just my power..."

Basically, Sakura isn't begging the book to "show itself", she's actually actively trying to pull it out of Kaito, and she's aware that it's opposing a lot of resistance, and her power alone isn't enough to take this damn book out. Sakura refuses to give up, because everyone else is doing their best too. Yes, everyone else.

And that's when CLAMP decided to bring us a big surprise for this finale.

A pair of hands seem to be appearing next to Sakura's, as if a spirit is hugging her from behind. We can see the famous fan that we learned to recognize so well ever since her first appearance in Movie 1. Sakura feels immediately the same magical power of Syaoran surrounding her, and with her instinct she finally recognizes her: it's Syaoran's mother, YELAN!!! We can see her, sweating and all, in her sacred chinese pavilion, lending her power to help in this difficult task.

What a great, welcome surprise for this finale!! You might have heard me saying on Twitter that Clear Card is really a celebration of motherhood, with this constant presence of mothers and mother figures who try to help these kids growing up without removing their right to choose for themselves. And since Yelan is the only mother figure who can concretely help Sakura in this moment, with her immense power, I really loved to see how this woman didn't hesitate to assist her future daugher in law. For any SyaoSaku fan, this scene here is a huge thing. We have seen in the anime how Yelan doted on Sakura ever since she met her in Movie 1, even before her own son realized his feelings for this girl. Yelan and Sakura haven't met in the manga yet (and hello, CLAMP, now this is a good chance for letting that happen, after the madness is over), but the woman didn't hesitate a moment to lend her power. I can really imagine how along these two will get, in the future. ❤️

Sakura thanks her aloud, while her eyes show that she's really really tired. Yelan's assistance is finally effective in summoning the artifact book out of Kaito, and we see again those countless book pages that we saw both when Akiho used to go "berserk", and also in the most heartbreaking scene of chapter 70. Kaito, still holding onto a worried Akiho, seems to suffer physically from this removal, and I can't understand if it's because removing something magical from inside is naturally painful (we've been shown something like that before, Syaoran crouching to the ground in pain while the Sakura Cards were being removed from inside of him) OR if the removal of the artifact also triggered his poor health conditions in which we left him, before he disappeared in chapter 70.

Sakura tries with all she's got and finally manages to turn the artifact into its "true form": a book filled with countless of spells written in strange magic runes.

You have spotted it, right? ☝️ I haven't seen many fandom reactions yet, but I guess this "cameo" made more than one person scream: it's Fay D. Fluorite's tattoo, yes! This page of the "book" is probably describing the procedure to cast that tattoo (which was also a kind of "seal", if I remember correctly). So that spells exists in this CCS world too! 😅 The magic Sakura is weaving starts "working" on the book, literally removing the spells from its pages and turning them back to their original form of magical books (remember that the Squids used to say that they would inscribe "magic books" and their power onto Akiho?).

Then, solemnly, we hear probably for the last time ever the magical incantation that accompanied us in the beginning of the story, used by Sakura to secure the strange manifestations of power into a transparent Card:

ENG: "Force without master, heed the call of my Staff of Dreams and become my power! SECURE!"

The countless of books and all this tremendous amount of power get secured into the birth of a new Card: BLANK!!!

Blank got the human appearance of Akiho, but also the protective wings of Kaito. The girl is holding a book (of course, how perfect for her) which is the representation of the artifact that was inside both Kaito and Akiho. This card is really so meaningful for someone like me who loves Akiho and Kaito. It's representing them united in their suffering (the artifact) but also in the hope for a better future (Akiho is smiling and the Card will be used to grant them safety, away from their abusers). I've always imagined that one of the last Cards Sakura might have produced would have Akiho and Kaito's elements, and here it is.

Also, how AWESOME is that Sakura managed to dispose of that damn artifact and succeeded to use it for Kaito and Akiho's sake, and turned it against the monsters who created it??? HOW. AWESOME. IS. THAT!!!!

Producing the very first consciously created transparent Card sucked almost all of Sakura's power and strength, and she's close to fainting, under the terrified eyes of Akiho, who lets go of Kaito for a moment in a gesture of going towards her "sister". But Sakura isn't done yet, no. She can't give up yet because her job isn't done.

And I Will Make Them Remember About You

Sakura wants for Akiho and the people who care about her (the ENG decided to translate this with "the people SHE holds dear") to remember who Akiho really is. She wants basically to "undo" what the rewriting of the world caused on the people who know Akiho, making them believe that she was born into the Kinomoto family and that she was Sakura and Touya's sister.

After pondering for a while and discussing with my friends over at my Discord server, I decided I'm not gonna go out on a limb and assume things from this decision, because I definitely NEED to read the next chapter to see how much Sakura intends people to remember, with this move. It's really not clear at all, as of now.

Anyway, other translation inaccuracy incoming!

Sakura, ENG: "I'm going to make another new card for that...and I might not have the power to do it alone" Sakura, JP: "It might probably be really difficult to create one more new card with my power, right now..."

As you can see, the nuance is different, because Sakura in the JP addresses how it's almost impossible for her to create another new card in the situation she is in right now, exhausted and all.

That's why, very cleverly, she's going to do something different. (My gosh how proud I am of this girl!!)

Saying "But these two Cards will surely help me", Sakura skillfully manages to merge Time and Rewind to create a new Card, not from scratch (which requires more power) but using what she's already got: and that's how the REMIND Card is born!!! The name of the Card originated by just replacing the "W" of Rewind with the "M" of Time. Ingenious, isn't it???

And as the two Cards merge, they give us lots of flashbacks, like the "effect" used here resembles a lot the one that used to happen when Sakura was changing the Clow Cards into the Sakura Cards back in the old arcs, or how the merging of two Cards seems to also be a callback to how the "card without name" and the "Nothing" merged to create HOPE in the very last minutes of Movie 2! What a nostalgic trip down the memories lane!

And the appearance of this Card is even more touching, because it features Syaoran (with his current age) holding Nadeshiko's pendant watch. I found that so sweet, especially coupled with Yelan's assistance to Sakura in this chapter. Yelan associated with Sakura, and Syaoran associated with Nadeshiko. How sweet. And when you think that even Lilie, Akiho's mother, was associated with Kaito, you really can realize that this is some kind of "theme" that CLAMP seemed to be wanting to portray in this story.

I Can't Be On Everyone's Side

And now, the scene that I think is worth the whole chapter, but probably the whole Clear Card Arc in its entirety. As usual, with important scenes, I'll use the literal translation from Japanese:

Sakura, JP: "It might not be right that there'll be people who will forget things (after this), but....I can't be everyone's friend/ally/can't be on everyone's side. So I won't go back...but actually, along with the people important to me... I WANT TO GO ON"

Wow. Let that sink in.

Sakura, of Cardcaptor Sakura, just came to the realization and spelled out clearly that she cannot be on everyone's side. That she cannot be "everyone's friend", like in a cheesy fairytale.

And I really, really, want to thank CLAMP-sensei for this scene and this line because for a period, long time ago, I was worried that this story would go down the "let's be friends" or "let's show sympathy to them" route. But as the chapters continued and the things CLAMP told us about the Association and the Squids were more and more cruel, and they made me more and more sick, I started to realize that there was simply no way CLAMP could've had Sakura try to justify or compromise with them. Because when cruelty is real, there's no compromise to be made.

This scene also shows how Sakura realizes for the first time ever that in her world, contrary to what we all believed previously, evil exists. It might not touch her or her "entourage" directly (and she's really blessed for that), but it exists out there and it's hurting people, people who can also become really important to her. And she decides to not stand idly by, blessed as she is with the luck of not experiencing that evilness, but actually using whatever it is in her power to bring those suffering people to safety.

Sakura cannot fight those people on equal terms. She's just 13, and although her power is very strong, she's still inexperienced. Moreover, she cannot really bring herself to deny her current nature and use violence on other human beings. That's not Sakura. I want you guys to reflect on this because I know that one of the favorite things expected for this finale was to have a direct magical confrontation with the true villains of this arc, defeating them and restablishing the peace. And I am sincere when I say that I would've wished for the same too, because you know how much I love Kaito and Akiho, and how much I was disgusted to read about what they did to them. I've spread my "burn the squids" gifs all over the fandom. I wanted someone to vindicate them. But not here. Not in this manga. I realized that after the initial satisfaction, I would've probably felt like the series would've been "defiled". And that's exactly what happens when you answer to violence with more violence.

Sakura just could not go hunting those bastards down and defeat them in a magical battle. Because, powerful and corrupted in their greed as they are, the only way to "fix" this situation would've been to exterminate them. I just could not picture this story to cross that boundary, no matter how much the bar had already been raised well over what we initially thought.

So, if someone out there is disappointed by this outcome, I'm sorry for you, but it was just not meant to be and I'm actually really glad that this series kept true to its fundamental values. Of course it would, CLAMP really do care about this series and they know very well how far to push the plot, and when to actually stop.

So what is the role of Akiho's clan and the Magic Association in this story, especially considering that we never saw their faces at all? Talking with lots of fans in these years, especially Japanese, I've come to the conclusion that they are not in this story to fill the "villain that needs to be deafeated" role, but actually they're a representation of abusive families that smother and suffocate their children with expectations, completely disregarding those children's natural inclinations, and abuse them when they do not meet such expectations, but also the society as a whole, that looks at you only basing on how it can take advantage of you. Which is exactly what happened to Akiho and Kaito, driving them to very dark places. The absence of faces for those characters makes it possible for the readers to see the Squids and the Association as the representation of whatever environment they relate the most to. It can be family, society, school, workplace etc... It also helps us focusing on their actions, rather than their faces, and not attribute any prejudice to them (because of religion, race, skin color, or whatever other attribute they could have).

Seeing as the story treats them more like a concept, than an actual entity, it's basically impossible for Sakura to defeat them (and their great power is an indication of that impossibility). Just like in real life, darkness will always exist, along with light. Good and evil will always be side by side. It's bigger than any of us. Then, what can we do, in a situation like this? What Sakura is choosing to do, here, is not to confront directly with violence these people who are way out of her league, and not even to sit back and look, but actually finding a way to make them forget about her friends and keeping her friends safe, granting them the possibility of living a happy life, finally away from the darkness of the past, healing the wounds on their souls together with the people they love and who love them back. Because even if you've been abused in the past, you can still hope for a happy life.

The focus here is all on helping the abused people. And Sakura, in order to do that, is okay with coming to terms with the fact that she can't be on everyone's side, and she needs to choose. In the end, the thing that really matters the most is to GO ON with your most important people. Not going back to what is lost, but going forward. And I know that this is such a CLAMP theme, and I'm glad that they reiterated it in this arc. When I say that Clear Card brought Sakura so much more closer to what's usual for CLAMP, I mean this.

The panel with Sakura raising her staff and shouting she wants to go on is absolutely beautiful, with those wings growing so big and unleashing Sakura's power in a storm of cherry blossom petals.

Sakura is exhausted, she finally reached her limit by using her ultimate magic. As she faints, her eyes just make it in time to catch a glimpse of her prince, the love of her life grabbing tightly his girlfriend's hand, to not let her fall, while the watch of Remind and the book of Blank do their job in the background. And I really loved this spread too, because even if it's not a conventional romantic scene made of physical display of love, this in my opinion is even more powerful. Many were reminded of Tsubasa, but I was also reminded of the long time those two spent unable to touch one another, and this scene here seems like a catharsis for that hardship they went through. Syaoran will always catch Sakura everytime she falls, he will always be there to grab her hand, no matter if he can really touch her or not. Cause his love is stronger than any kind of impediment. He will always be by her side, no matter what. When she's exhausted by her heroine's duties, she knows that she can always count on him to support her.

And speaking of "always be by her side", I just can't avoid mentioning how Akiho and Kaito stayed "glued" to eachother for the entire duration of this chapter, protecting and supporting one another. Kaito, in particular, kept holding Akiho even as Sakura's magic was hurting him like hell, because it was extracting the book from him. Even in excruciating pain, he did not let go of Akiho, intent in protecting her and keeping her safe in his hold. Akiho let go of him just for a moment when she was scared out of her mind for Sakura, but went back to him when she saw that her "sister" was hellbent in completing her task no matter what. Kaito, as the good "moon boy" he is, is someone who shows his feelings through his actions rather than words, just like Syaoran. And his constant grip on Akiho in this chapter, such an opposite act compared to how he used to stop his hand everytime it started reaching out to her, told me all that I needed to know about him: she's his most important person, and he will never let go of her, ever again.

Sakura wakes up in her bed. The scene is a direct parallel with an almost identical scene in chapter 3, as you can see here:

Kero is next to her and is relieved to see her awake, so he goes to shout in the hallway, directed to Touya, that Sakura is finally awake. Sakura seems a bit surprised to see Kero talking so nonchalantly with her brother, and he tells her that he chatted with him back at Yukito's house, together with Suppy, so I guess now he finds it "natural" to talk to her brother too! 😂 I'm kinda glad to know that, I like this "change of relationship", compared to the old series (and it was also kinda long overdue).

Sakura opens the palm of her hands and she finds the Dream Key, still intact and all. She also asks about Remind and Blank, and Kero confirms to her that she was able to use them successfully! Sakura is absolutely delighted to hear that, and says "We were able to go on!"

And thaaaaaaat's how the second-to-last chapter of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card ends! Solving a lot of the pending situations, but still leaving some secondary questions that will surely find a (more or less) detailed explanation in the final, next chapter. And well, we also have to prepare to not have ALL the answers to ALL the questions we might have. This is usual for CLAMP, and especially in their Spaces they never made it a secret that they love for their fans to wreck their brains over theories and imagining the characters' future after a series is over. They love for the fans to give their interpretations to things, they encourage that a lot (also because it creates more long-lasting engagement with their series).

Alas, I expect they'll leave something in particular to everyone's interpretation, but we'll see. 😅

Overall, I really loved this chapter and it was really emotional for me. I think it's fitting for a "climax". Sakura was ABSOLUTELY running the show and after this I dare anyone to say that she isn't the main character of her story. She pushed her limits, and even questioned her own morality in doing so. What a wonderful thing. She reminded me so much of Sakura-hime when she shooted all those monsters in order to take the precious egg, back in the Acid Tokyo arc of Tsubasa. She knew she was doing something bad, but her wish to do everything needed in order to "have him back" was stronger than anything else. And she made her own choice. Here, Sakura, on a smaller scale, made her own choice too.

Now, I hope in the last chapter we'll be granted the possibility to delve a bit more into Kaito and his thoughts, I need to see his character development, I need to see that he learned something from this. That he -at least- started to interrogate himself over the nature of his feelings for Akiho. I know it's reasonable to think that with him, things will take looooong time, but as least show me the signs. Because I need to know that Akiho will be truly happy with him (I know she will!), and she can only be if he's learned to be honest with himself. And learned what Lilie meant with the last conversation we saw between them.

Also, WHERE'S MOMO, I NEED TO SEE MOMO BEFORE THIS ENDS!!

Okay, this is probably the longest post I ever did but I think as the second-to-last chapter it deserved to have some big thematics explored in depth, because they're very important. I'm still pondering if I should divide the post of the final chapter in two because, in addition to even more pages, I expect there'll be soooooooooo much to talk about (cross your fingers with me that there won't be any translation mistake).

I also hope there'll be room for an epilogue or a couple of extra chapters, to help us coping with the separation in a more gradual way, cause after 7 years it's quite hard. I was curious to see the end, of course, but also not entirely ready to let this wonderful story go. I really, really enjoyed it and I say this from the bottom of my heart. I don't care what everyone else thinks, I can only be grateful to CLAMP for Clear Card Arc. 🙏

Chapter 80, along with all the tears that will come with it, is expected to be uploaded on November 29th on CLAMP's Youtube channel. Yes, it's less than a month away! I also expect some news about the anime (BLESS THE ANIME!! Something to cling onto when the manga is over 😭).

Well, see you at the end of November (please come to hold my hand cause I cannot do this alone, lol) !!!

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #ccsakura #clear card arc #ccs spoilers #sakura card captor #chapter 79 #sakura kinomoto #akiho shinomoto #yuna d. kaito #syaoran li #translation differences

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taito-division · 3 months

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Contestants/Couples (2/2)

Of course, we couldn’t forget about the main event! We’ve searched high and low throughout Japan to find the very best, the crème de la crème of each and every Division had to offer and we certainly weren’t disappointed with the line up we have and something tells us you aren’t going to be either once we reveal who our couples for this competition are. The couples and contestants for the 2024 Mr. and Mrs. HypMic Couples' Pageant are...

1. "Up next, we have, perhaps, the youngest couple in this competition. Both women have only been dating for approximately a year now, but that doesn't take away the love and care they have for each other! They've been friends for far longer than that, and both know each other inside and out! We'll see if that knowledge, and their young age and cuteness takes them far in this couples' pageant! Please welcome, the popular YouTuber with hundreds and thousands of fans, Criss "Paradox" Hiromi of Akihabara, and her partner, the first-ever winner of the Ms. HypMic Pageant, 2023's most beautiful and talented woman in all of Japan, Kanade "Spooky" Alarie of Kyoto!"

Phantom Powwow

2. "Next up, we have perhaps the most hot-blooded duo in all of this competition. ...Well, I say 'hot-blooded', but really, these contestants are actually fairly level-headed... so long as you don't say or do anything to piss them off! If you do, well... you can only blame yourself if you wind up with third-degree burns! The competition will really heat up with these two, so let's give them a heated welcome, shall we? First, we have one of the most decorated chefs in all of Japan, Luis "El Dorado" Kōkyū of Aoyama! And his partner, well-known librarian and model, Aoba "Guinevere" Yamamura of Kumamoto!"

Inferno Pair

3. "It's best to think of the song, "Opposites Attract" for this next couple, because these two lovebirds are on opposite sides of the law! One is a dedicated officer of truth and justice, while the other is not afraid to bend the rules behind her computer screen! Despite that, they've managed to both catch each other's eye and have been in a "not-so secret" relationship with one another ever since! They've got knowledge in various departments, but will that knowledge help them both in this competition? We'll find out! Please welcome, the man who was once called "Japan's 'It' Boy", Lyall "Corvus" Shina of Niigata, and the infamous hacker and inventor, Kaoru "Arachne" Shinozaki of Edogawa!"

Blue Blaze

4. "This next... well, no offense, but can they really be called a "couple"? Because, and I say this as nicely as I can, but their relationship seems more in-tune with a master and a servant. ...And seeing as how one of the contestants has a leash around his neck, well... I don't think I'm too far off the mark. ...But in any case, perhaps they may surprise us! And if not... well, I'm certain we'll get a good laugh out of them anyway! So, without further ado, please welcome the unparalleled leader of the Kito-gumi, Kito "Renegade" Sakura of Shizuoka, and her... partner, the popular and well-known glassmaker, Yano "Y-STARR" Ietsuna of Toyama!"

Master and Servant

5. "We've now reached the last couple in the pageant. But don't make the mistake of thinking they are the least! Because in case you don't know, one of the contestants is a fighter! And if anyone makes the mistake of underestimating her, or worse, her partner, she won't hesitate to lay them out on the floor! And Heaven only knows, if she'll stop there! These two young women have been married for only a year, and they couldn't be happier with each other! We'll see if their life as a couple has prepared them for this contest! So, without further ado, let's welcome the last contestants in this competition! First off, we have the MMA Champion of the World, Eldrid "Valkyrie" Iwasaki of Taitō, and her wife, whom you've probably heard if you kept a close ear out on TV shows or video games, Kirumi "Echo" Mayeda of Takatsuki!"

Valkyrie’s Resonance

Let's wish these lovely contestants the best of luck!

@akihabaradivision @kyoto-division @aoyama-division @kumamoto-division @niigata-division @edogawa-division @shizuokadivision @toyama-division @takatsuki-division

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magnetohazard · 1 year

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THE BOYS(AND TSUBAKI) ARE BACK IN TOWN

Time to celebrate. After many months, we finally have the three-chapter gap in translations of Nii Satoru's Wind Breaker FILLED on mangareader.

This series is great, y'all. If you like media with delinquents and fighting, this is the series to read.

Also, if you like good transgender representation in your manga, this series is a must-read.

This is Takusu Tsubakino. Despite what the official translations for scenes involving her may lead you to believe, she is indeed transgender and when the only site I could find this on had fan scans with really bad formatting, she was a standout character to me as a newly-trans woman myself. She gets her own arc explaining who she is as a person and let me tell you, that shit brought me to tears with how seen I felt reading it.

BUT FIRST A LITTLE BACKGROUND

I got recommended this manga in a really small Facebook group that was dedicated to sharing art(fan and official) of trans characters in manga and anime and I didn't know just how good this character would be going into it. The series' writing, at first, was somewhat standard, but I sensed that there was more to the story even without the trans rep. And there was. It confronts a lot of issues that I faced growing up like having trouble fitting, trying to prove yourself in all the wrong ways, and getting rid of a fractured image of what it means to be fulfilled.(excuse the following picture's quality, it was from my old phone which did this weird thing where the screen brightness also determined the brightness of the screen capture)

Now I was really sucked in to the story already and they showed Tsubakino in an earlier panel in one of the chapters following the first major fight in the series because she's one of the 5 strongest people at the school the characters go to, which is full of kind-hearted delinquents doing community service and being the pride of the town because of it.

Unfortunately, Tsubaki didn't get her own chapter until almost the end of where the English fan translations stopped at the time but I will reiterate: I fucking cried when I got to her backstory.

Now when she finally gets a chance to speak out loud in chapter 62, we get the good news of the main character, Sakura, not being transphobic after being corrected once(in the fan translations, I took a break in the middle of writing this because I needed to re-read her arc to put my thoughts in order and they got updated with the official translations that still use he/him). Honestly? Huge win because Sakura is a whole other post himself that I may or may not make later.

But the real meat comes from the chapter after this. Tsubaki asks Sakura on a date, which is just her way of saying: "Come help me with a personal project." That project is to visit an older man that she met as a child and keep him company because he and his now-deceased wife were the ones who helped her realize that she is trans and the way they tell the story in chapters 64 and 65 are absolutely tearjerking so I'm not going to really get into it here. Please go read those chapters to really feel it for yourself!(pt2 in reblogs)

#transgender #windbreaker nii satoru #nii satoru #takusu tsubakino #please read this series i'm literally begging you #shonen #shonen manga

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persona-5-the-gaybreakers · 1 year

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Frequently Asked Questions

This page will be updated as needed.

Q: Where can I download the game, including demo builds?

A: https://persona5thegaybreakers.itch.io/ (Most recent build available is YusukeSim2k17, posted December 25, 2021)

Q: What is this blog about?

A: This is a development blog dedicated to making a fan Persona 5 dating sim called

Persona 5: The Gaybreakers (name credited to @bravebanishedN)

and

Untouchable

In P5:GB, you play as the Persona 5 Protagonist, and pursue relationships with several male members of the cast.

P5:GB is being made in RPG Maker MV in a visual novel style.

In Untouchable, you play as a self-insert character who pursues a romance with Munehisa Iwai.

Untouchable is being made in Ren’Py in a visual novel style.

The content for both games will stay the same as Persona 5’s ESRB "M" rating.

There are currently one dev working on the project.

Mod Serpy (any pronouns) (Personal Blog/Art Blog)

Q: When will this game be available to download?

A: At this stage, there is no set release in sight. The project is being worked on as a learning experience for me and my own interest in making video games between work, other projects, and other obligations.

Time frames will be updated as I re-assess the amount of work the game needs, but for now we’ll call it TBA.

Q: Which characters can you date in P5:GB?

A: At this point in development, I plan to include 5 options from Persona 5′s cast.

Arsène

Yusuke Kitagawa

Ryuji Sakamoto

Goro Akechi

Yuki Mishima

Sojiro Sakura, Toronosuke Yoshida, and Takuto Maruki are not planned characters. If there proves to be a very high demand for them, however, we will consider making a spin off fan game similar to Untouchable.

Shinya Oda and Morgana will not be a characters you can romance. I will not reconsider this.

Q: What name will the game use for the Protagonist?

The player will be allowed to name themselves whatever they want with the restriction of 8 characters a piece for the given and surname. There will be an auto-fill feature with the names Akira Kurusu and Ren Amamiya available when you are naming the player character, for those who would prefer it. Any other names used in official material will be added to this list in the future through updates.

That being said, pre-alpha and alpha builds will probably use one of the filler names for convenience’s sake, but it won’t be permanent.

Q: Can I contribute art/help/et cetera to the project?

A: I appreciate all offers of help, but I want to get out of pre-alpha before I consider creating a team to help with art and such.

I'll make a post in the future if I ever put out a call for help/portfolios. I don't currently have the means to pay anyone for the time, and don't want to put anyone through potentially scraped work or deadlines before I have a solid basis.

It's most likely, though, that I'll ask some friends for help over strangers. We'll see.

For now, please look forward to future builds. The feedback I get from these public play tests helps immensely.

Q: Will I have to pay to play this game?

A: Absolutely not. This game will be totally free and will be available to anyone who can run it on their computer. At this point we can playtest on PC and Mac, so those are my goals for release.

Q: Can I feature this blog/game somewhere?

A: If you leave a link leading back to this blog, then the answer is yes.

I appreciate it being spread around and if you tell me, I’ll link to your blog on here too! The messages and ask box are open unless stated otherwise.

Q: Can I play this game on my let’s play channel?

A: Yes, as long as you leave a link in the description of each video that leads back to this blog. If someone becomes interested in playing the game for themselves through your video, we’d like them to find the game easily!

Also, if you do make your video(s), send us a message saying you did and where to find it! We'll feature it on the blog!

#persona 5 #persona #p5 #persona 5 royal #p5r #persona-5-the-gaybreakers #mod serpy #FAQ #frequently asked questions

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dragonfruitsoup · 1 year

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Hi there! I wanted to ask in honor of Sasori'sbirthday(cause it was his birthdayright?): have you ever thought of an alternative AU, where he and Baki switch roles, so Sasori becomes the sand sibs sensei, and Baki would become Deidara's partner in Akatsuki. Like, I like this idea a lot. It would've benefited and given more development to all if them. Sure, we'd lose the likeable, funny dynamic between Saso and Dei, but who says they can't have one as enemies who "absolutely do not like each other" (they actually do). Like imagine, Saso training with Kank. Spending time and guiding Gaara. Underrating Temari (cause I think Chiyo said at some point that Suna is pretty sexist?) During the fight with Sakura against him. Just for her to get super string, shut him up, so now he religiously drinks his respect women juice. And give more development to Baki too, like this dude makes 0 appearances after the Gaara rescue arc, lol. Anyways, I think it's a great idea, what's your opinion?

Pd: and also imagine him and Kakashi interacting. Kakashi's dad killed Sasori's parents I think? So they can't stand each other at 1st, but then they get to know each other, and become friends as a result. That would be cool.

hello friend!

i swear i didnt forget about this, it's just been a heck of a week. it was his birthday! (11/8)

now, i started responding to this and got COMPLETELY derailed so we're gonna try again where i stay on topic haha

i have never once thought of baki joining the akatsuki, but i constantly think of sasori staying in the village and becoming a (very reluctant) teacher/team leader. my man is miserable and i love that for him.

there is this absolutely flawless piece of dialogue & art that lives rent free in my mind and is immediately where i go to any time i imagine sassy remaining in the village.

1- baki

baki with deidara can go one of two ways for me. what we see of baki when he's introduced is that he's clearly managing to wrangle these walking nightmares, with some degree of success. so, like, he clearly has the patience to deal with reckless murder children. although, he could only be dealing with them because they're the kazekage's kids and he doesn't wanna be left to rot in a ditch somewhere....he does murder the fuck outta hayate right off the bat, so like. it's possible he's willing to just dispatch of dei the second the kid pisses him off, but he's also clearly dedicated to his missions, so maybe the kid'll survive.

either way, i think baki and kakuzu get along great in the 'long suffering partner to literal children' club. (kisame, who actually likes his partner, crashes club meetings constantly like 'but did i tell you about the time he...!!!')

2 - sasori

now, if you're chill with my personal little headcanon that sassy is cousins somehow to the sand brats, then i guarantee that he will pull the 'sorry. cant. conflict of interest.' card CONSTANTLY. will claim there’s bias, and we can’t have a case of nepotism. (he says, blank faced, as if he’s not talking about the kazekage’s children)

if not, however, then i'll say i personally can't see him taking on anyone who isnt a puppeteer. he has a brand. BUT FOR ARGUMENT'S SAKE! i want his absolute fumbling on how to teach temari. i am living for this mental image. because, as far as i remember, we never see a single puppeteer use a jutsu that doesn't involve puppets. like. not once. (aside from chiyo's forbidden zombie technique. doesnt count). sassy must know how to do something without his puppets, but does he??? little tem rocks up and demands to use a fan and sassy just stalls like 'how...how does that work???? you mean you want to physically hold that weapon? you dont want to use chakra strings??? whhhyyyy?????' sassy having to learn a whole new skill set because she won't budge and she absolutely calls him a coward who can't do it and like fuck will sassy let that stand. (sand sibs learn very quickly that the best way to get their leader to do something is to attack his pride.)

kankuro is obvious. little genin kank, fresh out of the academy, starry eyed to be working with his idol. completely heckin smitten. and then he realizes this, what, late-20s? early 30 year old? spends most of his time when not training them just hunched over a workbench in the dark, filthy and greasy and gross and completely unable to remember anyone's name if you come knocking at his door. he's brilliant! he's genius! his knowledge and techniques are unparalleled! but he's got classic 'grad student who hasnt eaten anything but coffee or left the library stacks in three days' vibe as soon as he's off shift. kank spends equal amounts of time learning from sassy and bullying sassy into staying the fuck alive because who else is gonna teach him??? this is the best of the best, don't you dare leave me to pick this up on my own! sassy has an obvious soft spot for the kid though. i mean, he'll die before he ever says that to kank's face, but! he absolutely gets called out when the jonins hang out. (if said jonin has to miss their next mission due to mild food poisoning, oh well) likes to challenge kank and pick his brain about puppets. they work well together, when he's not being a pompous bitch.

gaara is probably the one sassy has the hardest yet easiest time with. he's absolutely willing to just let this kid do his thing, but at least leave the bodies intact! (sassy, no!!) if sass stays in the village, he's probably not the one who murdered the third and thus has no experience with sand techniques. like, not even by proxy of using a puppet. and it's not like the kid needs training in it!! the kid's fine! little pisspoot gaara, throwing a murderous tantrum and sass just staring him down, blank faced. kank, pleading, because that's his teacher! his favorite person! don't make him mad! i dont want you to die! and sass just, still deadpan, 'im already dead inside.' shukaku screeching about how he likes this one. the bizarre bonding over nihilism. temari is so gd done with these idiots. gaara, bringing back bodies when shukaku needs to rampage, like a little cat! coming back from the chunin exams like 'how do you get past the intense bloodlust?' and model citizen sassy responding 'you don't. you just redirect it.' sass, utterly fucking deligted to pawn off his tiny brittle garden on someone else because he hates trying to remember to water those fuckers. (sass simultaneously disappointed because now he doesn't have a supply of bodies for his experiments)

now, i think we're losing an absolutely golden opportunity of baki still leading sand brats while sassy has his own team for the chunin exams/invasion arc and the absolute EXHAUSTION that baki is feeling the entire time, but! sassy just letting his team of sand sibs do what they want, he doesnt care, as long as they stick vaguely to the script and then watching gaara get wrecked by lee and thinking 'huh, kid's probs not gonna take that well...' and then watching gaara in his little malted milk ball during the fight with sasuke and thinking 'well fuck, there goes the plan...hope the kage doesnt pin this on me.' AND THEN! watching his team stumble out of the woods at some point, beaten and bruised and clutching each other and sassy having to reevaluate everything he knows about these kids in like ten seconds. sasori, crashing on the sand sib's floor, face first, when he breaks the news about rasa, because gd, now he's responsible for these walking disasters. like. he already was, no one in that room has any illusions about rasa's parenting skills. but gdi, he did not sign up for this.

3 - kakashi

listen. listen. i am LIVING for sasori and his cricket shoulder pads glaring across that funky little shed the first round of the chunin tournament took place in. kakashi is sweating, there is so much going on with his squad, and now he's got some redheaded asshole burning holes through his skull??

sasori and kakashi, who never really meet before the chunin exams because they both pull the ‘i dont want a team’ bullshit. kakashi because trauma and a lack of socialization and sassy, well probably for the same reason, but mostly just because he doesnt want to.

this is, of course, assuming that sasori even knows what kakashi looks like. he's used to granny bitching about this man who killed his parents (valid), but he doesnt know what he looks like. he finally recognizes the name though, when someone (naruto) yells his name and then it's fucking on sight. he knows that's not the man who killed his parents, but, eh, close enough. (figures he'll get him during the invasion, misses his chance. is extremely fucking bitter about this. and then his kid befriends one of kakashi's kids? what??? reluctant guardian hangouts while the jinchuriki dorks go out for snacks and training and play games and just. uuuuggghhhhh. sassy is miserable. kakashi apologizing for sassy's parents one day. sass begrudgingly accepting it because he is intimately familiar with the feeling of losing a parent and fuck, he does not want to trauma bond with his enemy, gdi. he can't believe this is his life.)

here i was, trying to keep this short and i just babbled more haha. sorry bout that! anyway.

#naruto #sasori #sand sibs #baki #fandom time #sassy bat #sand brats #THIS IS A SAND BRAT HOUSEHOLD 😤😤😤#love them #i dont even know if this is an actual answer to your ask but here we are #also i hate editing posts in mobile ugh

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depressedhatakekakashi · 1 year

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E, L and Z for the first game ask and from the Fandom ask game 2, 3, 7 and 18.. sorry I'm a bit greedy XD

E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what?

Trashbin Sensei

Ok you're going to hate me for this, but I have this headcannon that because Kakashi's such a lil shit sometimes, and because Obito told him to 'crawl back into his trashbin' and I think Gai should have lost his shit on Obito for that

But Kakashi agrees and is also grade A dork/troll man

So I had a headcannon that someone said that to Kakashi once and Gai got mad at them, but Kakashi just...did it. He crawled into an empty (clean) trash bin and stared at Gai from it

and it became a running gag where whenever they saw each other Kakashi would point at a trashbin and before Gai could stop him he'd jump in

he made the mistake of doing this in front of Gai's genin once and Tenten referred to him forever more as 'Trashbin-Sensei'

L- Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves.

Shikamaru is genuinely smart and very dedicated to his friends and I can respect TF out of him for that.

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Sakura is a fun character (to me) because she's imperfect. Like there's things I would love to have seen differently (Like her crush on Sasuke either going away or actually evolving into being genuine feelings instead of what seems like a shallow crush that continues forward and never gets properly addressed by her)

I don't like 'Perfect Bamp Sakura' because that makes a character boring to me. I don't want her to be stronger than everyone or the best friend/lover who never makes mistakes

like every other character I want her to be flawed and the fact she is flawed is what makes me love her as a character.

(it's not fan-related but i couldn't think of anything and delegated a whole rant about something else before coming up with this)

2. Favorite episode/ chapter/ etc from Naruto

Honestly the Chunin exams arc because you actually get to see the background characters in action while also having this big problem that they all have to deal with.

You have Neji exposing the Hyuga clan's BS which is beautiful.

You get Ino and Sakura coming to a head and knocking each other out (which shows just how much Sakura grew tbh. Ino should have had that win in the bag but Sakura's stubbornness and new skills pulled her through in the end)

Shino being RUTHLESS which was delightful to see. Like, the character he destroyed was just as ruthless and would have killed Shino had he gotten the opportunity, so Shino getting to show his talent while taking out a genuine threat to himself and his classmates (this dude would have also killed sakura, naruto and sasuke if other's hadn't intervened) was just delightful.

Plus it's the arc that introduces Gai and gives me that beautiful energetic man who seems the complete opposite of Kakashi but compliments him so damn well. that automatically win's top spot for that lol.

3. If you had to pick a character to date from Naruto who would it be

Hmmmm Gai? Sweet, Popular, would let me spoil him. I could date Gai. Plus he has all the energy to match me and perk me up when I'm feeling down.

7. Least favourite character from Naruto

Orochimaru.

18. Brotp from Naruto

Naruto and Sakura, but also Lee and Naruto and Gai and Yamato. Oh and Shizune and Kakashi I love how they work together and how Shizune teases him in the simplest way by always referring to him as 'Lord sixth' even after he asks her to drop the 'Lord'

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dogco11ar · 8 months

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can we talk about senku and kohaku’s hug, im dying to talk about it.

just to get it out of the way, i have several biases. it begins with hating how the women in the series are sexualized and ends with senku’s aromanticism that conflicts with the fanservice of insinuating the *possibility* of a romantic relationship. even if it’s meant to keep fans satiated for romance or whatever, senku is completely passive in the sense that he doesn’t seek out romance but if romance finds him, he will use it to his advantage.

so the hug. this is a crescendo at the end of the treasure island arc, it signals that senku “won” this battle. it can be read as romantic if your brain is stuck in the ‘lead boy’ and ‘lead girl’ must get together of most media of any kind and this is a fine reading but i think there’s more. amaryllis offers the commentary that the hug “isn’t like that.” (isn’t like sweethearts) so this addendum must be important and taken into deep consideration when analyzing the hug.

over half of the spread is dedicated to this moment after which kohaku is broken out of the petrification. she valiantly submitted herself and ginro to petrification with the assurance and trust that senku would come out on top. it’s important that we say this move on kohaku’s part was strategic and not self sacrificing, she took a page out of senku’s book when he trusted that taiju and yuzuriha would notice the stone on his neck after tsukasa killed him. she’s not happy that he ‘saved’ her as a superhero saves a damsel in distress, she has been reassured of her trust in him and in this relief, is celebrating their survival. it reminds me of kohaku hugging suika when she was relieved to find her alive and well after running to save her, or kohaku hugging her sister ruri after she healed from her illness. senku doesn’t attempt to hug her back, he just kinda lets her do her thing and he stands like 🧍‍♂️

it’s a very important moment regardless so i see why it would be framed this way… but there’s something in me that’s questions amaryllis’ authority on how the hug should be interpreted, bc this is one of the most popular ships in the series, is all the fanservice really for all the braindead fans not to get bored? unaffected hot guy and girl who wants him to the point that it’s her only personality trait is a tale as old as time, sasuke and sakura literally invented it. but kohaku is NOT that girl, and senku genuinely isn’t affected by romantic posturing so it makes me believe that this moment doesn’t exist in that realm of thought. amaryllis’ comment makes me feel like it’s the author’s insistence not to ship the two characters. (you can’t control fandom but the anti-het stance is so hilarious after constant anti-gay stuff with magma and taiju)

but then there’s also ‘cool guy and hot girl’ shit like this in the interim between chapters so it’s like 🤷‍♂️ can’t win them all.

(i should mention that this series is written and illustrated by different people so something to consider is how inagaki— the writer— might envision something compared to boichi —the illustrator— and the influence on the final piece. artistic/stylistic choices seem to be mostly in boichi’s power bc he explains in his afterwords how he came up with the landscape/environment the characters live in, which requires some research and logic but is still entirely hypothetical. which is all to say i don’t think inagaki is telling boichi how to illustrate the series with utmost specific detail, it’s collaborative but some of the non-canon third-space illustrations are incredibly indulgent in ways that make me think it’s separated from the main manga for a reason)

spoilers: they don’t end up together and it’s kinda unclear if senku maintains his relationship with his “girlfriend” luna, this series was designed to fuck with me specifically.

#don’t take this too seriously im just Not Normal about this series #d.s

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kenganparadise · 2 years

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Hellooo Sunshine!!

Could you please write Sekibayashi one shots? I just dont see enough of him and he needs more love🥰

Ohhhh yes I love me some Sekibayashi! I hope you enjoy!!!

This was a battle to remember! Sekibayashi jun vs a promising up and coming pro wrestler. The stands were packed full of spectators and fans alike. This was known as the pro wrestling match of the century. Both are currently undefeated. Seki wasn’t focused on this match however, his eyes kept wandering to the crowd. His eyes keep wandering to you. You were there in the stands, front row with all of Seki’s friends. You were cheering and yelling his name. The feeling was intoxicating and fueled Seki on further. He looks again to see you shouting his name, oh the rush he gets hearing you call his name! He throws a right, then manages to get behind his opponent. He throws his enemy into a suplex. He flips over, giving his opponent yet another hard suplex. That was the nail in the coffin, Seki’s opponent lies unconscious in the middle of the arena.

The announcer calls the match. Seki hops out of the wrestling ring and makes his way towards you. All the sudden reporters and fans surround Seki after his groundbreaking win. “Seki Seki! Do you have anything to say about your win tonight!” A female reporter asks shoving her microphone in his face. “HAHA! YEAH! I do!!” He says with a smile. Everyone’s ears perk up waiting to hear what he has to say post fight interview. He snatches the microphone out of her hand, taking control. “This win is dedicated to my lovey partner, Y/N!!!!!” He says, pointing a finger into the stands at you. Instantly your face turns red with embarrassment, you feel your ears burn. “I couldn’t have done it without your cheers, baby!” He throws his head back and laughs. Wakastuki gives you a smirk, Sakura gives you a teasing nudge. Oh, You’ll get teased for this for a while.

Afterwards, You walk back to the medical office where Seki is being examined by Hanafusa. There was so much blood that he had to get rushed back. Its moments after the fight, you were almost shy to go see him. In your mind you knew he don’t mean what he said, surely he could win without you. Though... you don’t know why you took those words to heart. You enter in the medical office. “Hey! Took you long enough!” Seki says, sitting on the medical bench. Hanafusa is just now packing his things. It did take You while to get down here. Normally your the first one who Seki sees after a match. “Congratulations, big guy.” You say with a smile. Hanafusa waves good bye before exiting. “I couldn’t have done it without You Y/N.” He says, pulling You close to him by your waist. “Tch. Yeah right!” You chuckle. Seki presses his lips to your temple. “No I’m serious! I wouldn’t have won this match without you.” He says, You can feel his chest rumble with laughter. You wrap your arms around him. “Your cheers are what spurt me on, you are the source of my power.” He says in a serious tone. You roll your eyes at his cheesy words. This is pretty normal, Seki always goes on and on about how you’re his muse, and he fights for you. Yet all the other times is felt so... surreal. Now it feels like everything Seki says if the truth. He wouldn’t have won without you. You can’t help but smile. “Common lets go home. I’m starving.” You say, giving Seki a warm smirk. “Yeah! I’m starving too!” Seki laughs, forgetting about the post-match interviews he was supposed to attend. None of that matters, all that matters to Seki is you.

#submission #sekibayashi jun #kengan ashura #kengan omega

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redxblueihateloveyou · 3 years

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Hey i really love your blog!!! I just plucked the courage to actually send u an ask fhdjhd but GOSH i love your video edits and your gifs and your meta article posts, you're so articulate and you can explain/describe moments in a way that makes me go "oh wow, i cant believe i haven't seen it that way before!!" Haha ANYWAYS i'm just here to say that i completely agree with what all u said, Free creators might do a lil fanservice here and there for the 25 ships that exists within the fandom's circle, but rinharu's storyline is clearly the most romantic one! And i'd argue it's the one closest to being canon esp after part 1, i mean the fact that they put such an explosive emotional outburst right at the end of the second to the last movie means a lot. It's like reinforcing the fact that this series has always been about them, and everything that has happened only happened either because they met or they grew appart and miss eachother. I kinda feel like maybe.. juust maayyybe there's a chance KA wants to make the ship canon, since it's the last movie and they want to end it on a highnote maybe (bcs honestly i think the only reason they've been holding back is purely bcs of the merch sales, since they don't have a problem showing a wholesome lesbian love story in kobayashi maid dragon) butt i could be wrong, maybe i'm just overly optimistic and delusional, they could somehow ruin it and give an ending that panders to all the ships again 😅🥲, but at least there's a clear-cut guarantee that part 2 would dedicate a large portion of it fixing rin and haru's fight!!! Oohh how can i wait another 6 months now!!😭😭 (sorry for the long ask btw!! 🙏🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️)

OMG thank you so so much!! For watching my vids too! ❤️❤️❤️ It really means a lot to me! Ahhhh wow, thats the longest ask I've ever recieved! 😍 I'm trying to explain myself so hard lol I'm glad its appreciated, bc sometimes I'm like "I don't fucking know how to say this" xD

Well, you know me, I only care for one ship, which is the only one with confirmed info that they're both actually gay and have mutual feelings for each other. There are some other ships in free! I'm fine with (those do not include Rin or Haru in them xD), but I just mostly don't care, bc after reading all the stuff, you can see that in some of those to one the other one is actually like his second option, which I just do not like. Others I just don't even see, bc again to me who witnessed great close male friendships and having two sisters who I'm very close to, I just do not see anything romantic in that.

It's not just Free! tbh, it's like any sports anime these days. They see two guys walking together, it's a ship. And like no one cares if they're just bros. Like I'd get i they did some fanservice fanservice, but like I never saw anyone in Free! crossing the line the way rinharu do. I can without thinking much name you 10 rh moments that no matter how hard you think can't be explain as being bros, but can't name one when it comes to others. I just find some ppl shipping everyone with everyone weird sometimes. It's like western fans see like some eastern actors or singers slap each other ass lovingly and they're like "oh they're fucking" I'm like "yeah, ofc all 500 of them, you're absolutely right". And Free! doesn't do anything even like that, I just do not get sometimes like what moment even brought on some ships. I'm genuinely confused. Albert and Haru? You fucking fell from a sakura tree or smth? I'm...

I'm especially confused when it comes to guys, whose character type is who I call "I only want this one and if I can't have it, then I'm ok" xD. It just always surprised me, when they try to pair up them with someone else, it's like a complete ooc.

I'm also not into this whole "well, if there are gays in this anime, than everyone there is gay". I'm like... huh. It's like with KNB and MDZS I had same feeling. It's like you have already couples there who are canon/borderline canon, why do you need another 10 who don't even interact or just don't even go there? I'm always so confused in those situations. Or like wangxian is married and some are like "no, I actually don't like it, let me write a fic when they're with other ppl". Lan Zhan... being in love or having sex with someone else? Yeah, that's not Lan Zhan, dude, you're writing about someone else. Might as well change the name at this point.

But last time I went to twitter someone had a thread about how if they make s4 of Free! they should mainly explore there Momo's angst (and no, it wasn't a joke), so I'm already like, I'm just.. nothing will surprise me no more. But I'm forever gonna be confused.

Yeah, I eel you about "going there". I mean seeing part of it, it just kinda cemented my confusion, bc I do not get how it can be considered platonic. We were just discussing since yesterday with @freeseafirefly how I now even more perplexed and do not understand how they will resolve it without going into relationship territory. It's just our point here is that like... no one forced them to go there (I mean its not like this whole fandom has some wild expectations or anything already), we were waiting or our usual friendship and swimming and maybe tiny conflict about struggles of pro-careers and some usual rh implications (maybe all the rh gay in dramas as always). Not some pure fanfiction coming to life here haha.

Like why I'm laughing is bc I twice used in my "fics" bringing up him leaving Haru as a force to push the confession, bc there's no way if he adresses this it won't lead to this. And now we not only have this (bc Haru just basically layed it out there), but an actual scene of him playing on their feelings for each other and a literal image of Rin leaving and "taking Haru's heart with him" to the point when he's for the first time in his life openly crying on the ground. And it's not like this scene can be interpreted as anything else, the whole fandom talks same, bc the whole fight was just about them, what Haru said was just about them, there's a literal boom of his heart getting out of his chest, before he falls and now he's heartless.

So our question is like... why go there?

It's like some say that they might still resolve it with "they're special to each other" and swimming, but still like we already knew that, there was no reason to go that far is what I'm saying. And to think that it was planned since forever giving the clues is like... ???

The whole spoon theme also throw me on the loop because like, lets be honest, it's wedding themed. And that part of the interview about part 2 there also made me go...?????? Because I mean, huh?

This is just all in all very interesting turn of events to say the least. I do not see the point of all of this if its not what I think it is, esp after seeing tweets like "even I see a rh wedding and I'm mh T_T". It's just all very unsubtle, that's why we're confused.

Like who knows, maybe we'll really by some magic turn of events get lucky and they really decided that since its the ending, it's okay to go for it. But I also don't wanna to hype myself much, I'm already really happy with it, just bc again, this scene already proves all of my points.

And yeah, I'm sure they'll pander to everyone, bc it's the end and etc and we have to handle everything on the good note and there's a whole line of ppl who's obsessed with us, esp with Haru xD, but like bromance pandering and romance pandering are different things, you know *wiggles eyebrows* and u know who always gets the second one.

#answered #a-girl-with-a-ponytail #rinharu #harurin #free! the final stroke #free!#free #rin matsuoka #haruka nanase

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madara-fate · 3 years

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If Kishimoto really wants people to believe that Sasuke loves Sakura and that they have such a good marriage then he's doing a piss poor job at it. You don't see people arguing if Minato loved Kushina or not or if Dan loved Tsunade or not. You don't. The fact that there are so many people arguing whether Sasuke loves Sakura or not, and many people believing he doesn't is just proof that Kishimoto failed somewhere or else there wouldn't be this much controversy surrounding this matter. It's either Kishimoto implying Sasuke does not love her, either Kishimoto intending to portray his idea of a good realtionship/loving husband through SS and failing miserably. Sasuke did not look happy when he saw Sakura in Gaiden first time after 10 years of absence. He couldn't even bother to send a letter to her and Sarada to let them know he was alright and thinking about them during this period. And no, please don't come at me with that bullshit excuse that he didn't keep in contact because he wanted to keep the secrecy of his mission and did not want any private information to leak and that's why he was only keeping in contact with the Hokage or whatever. No one says that if he ever bothered to write them he had to go into details about his mission. He could've just told them he's alright, that he misses them and hopes they're fine and that would've been great too and wouldn't have compromised his mission in any way. The man has space time abilities for fuck's sake. He could've easily teleported to see them and then go back to his business. In my opinion Kishimoto wrote SS in this ambiguous way to appease both the SS haters and the SS shippers. He knew SS fans were going to be happy with whatever he threw at them even if it was the absolute bottom of the barrel and he knew the antis were gonna have a good time using Gaiden to further tear the ship apart. This man is either terrible at writing romance either a huge troll who enjoys pitying his readers against each other. Or maybe both. And I assure you, I don't even hate SS, despite what I have written so far, nor do I ship something else. And Sasuke is also my favorite character. I'm indifferent to this pairing and maybe that's why I can have a more objective opinion on it than its shippers or its haters since I'm not biased due to personal feelings of either distaste or love for it. SS can be seen in both a good and a bad light, but to be honest the balance is more inclined towards the bad light.

This is just more of the stuff that I've heard plenty of times before. I'll firstly preface this by saying that I'm very highly critical of Gaiden because it included pointless drama for the sake of pointless drama. It's execution was horrendous to say the least, but I'll always still appreciate the message that Kishi was trying to relay. However, I will always take issue with those who defend the notion that Sasuke doesn't love Sakura. Hence, the following.

You don't see people arguing if Minato loved Kushina or not or if Dan loved Tsunade or not. You don't. The fact that there are so many people arguing whether Sasuke loves Sakura or not, and many people believing he doesn't is just proof that Kishimoto failed somewhere or else there wouldn't be this much controversy surrounding this matter.

Minato wasn't drowning in hatred due to a supernatural phenomenon which cause him to push away love in favour of the darkness. Dan wasn't made to undertake a preposterously long mission while intending to keep everything about it confidential. Why on earth do people think they can just compare any random relationships to SS's and go "well look at this couple! Why couldn't SS have been more like them?". Well here's your answer - Because their situations were nothing alike. But why do people constantly believe that those relationships are the only models for what a loving relationship can be? The struggles that Sasuke and Sakura faced during Gaiden were not due to issues with each other, but rather, they were shown facing hurdles which they overcame together. They were perfectly happy with each other, and not once did their dedication to one another ever falter during Sasuke's mission. Just because the couple faced hard times does not mean their bond is any weaker. On the contrary, the fact they they faced those hard times together and came out of them just as strong if not stronger than before, is a testament to the strength of the relationship.

You wanna know what I don't see? I don't see people questioning Neji and Hinata's relationship despite Neji trying to kill her during the Chuunin Exams. I don't see people questioning Hiashi's feelings towards Hinata despite essentially disowning her because he deemed her to be a failure. I don't see people questioning Gaara being the Kazekage despite him previously being feared as a killing machine who slaughtered many innocent people, by the very same villagers who now respect him as their leader. I don't see people questioning why Kabuto was trusted to become the head of the Orphanage and taking care of the future of the village, despite being a notorious war criminal. No, but of course people will question SS right? Despite them just being another example of the same theme.

It's either Kishimoto implying Sasuke does not love her, either Kishimoto intending to portray his idea of a good relationship/loving husband through SS and failing miserably.

Kishi flat out said, that the love between the Uchiha family is the real deal. He's not implying anything, and if he truly failed at depicting this, then SS wouldn't have consistently proven to be the most popular canonised pairing for years following the manga's ending.

Sasuke did not look happy when he saw Sakura in Gaiden first time after 10 years of absence.

And you think that's indicative that he doesn't love her? Are you serious? The entire time, Sasuke was very clearly shown to be aggravated because people who weren't supposed to be at his and Naruto's secret meeting place kept showing up. He didn't look happy when first meeting Naruto either, despite not seeing him for just as long. So what? You think that means he doesn't care about Naruto either? He was aggravated that Sarada was there because she was supposed to be in the village safe from all this, he was annoyed with Naruto for allowing the kids to follow him in the first place, and yeah, he didn't jump for joy when seeing Sakura because again, she was meant to be watching over Sarada in the village. One of the biggest incentives for his secrecy was to keep Sarada safe, and everything that was happening then, was the opposite of that.

He couldn't even bother to send a letter to her and Sarada to let them know he was alright and thinking about them during this period. And no, please don't come at me with that bullshit excuse that he didn't keep in contact because he wanted to keep the secrecy of his mission and did not want any private information to leak and that's why he was only keeping in contact with the Hokage or whatever. No one says that if he ever bothered to write them he had to go into details about his mission. He could've just told them he's alright, that he misses them and hopes they're fine and that would've been great too and wouldn't have compromised his mission in any way.

You can call it a "bullshit excuse" all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that this is the reason that was given. But it's like people just refuse to acknowledge the fact that Sasuke admitted that he had made a big mistake, and refused to allow Sakura to apologise because he knew that he was the one at fault:

I mean what? Do people think that Sasuke has to be perfect or something? Is he not a human who makes mistakes just like everyone else? Sasuke knew that he took his secrecy too far, he hadn't anticipated the adverse affects his absence would have on Sarada, and he apologised for his mistake. Why? Because he cares, for goodness sake it's not hard to comprehend. I seriously would have never thought that people would actually question whether or not he loves his family. Why would Kishi promote a loveless marriage in his manga aimed at young boys? It just boggles the mind. If Sasuke didn't care about them, he wouldn't have thought he did anything wrong by his lack of contact with his daughter. I emphasise with his daughter because Sakura was still somewhat in contact with Sasuke as she was kept informed of what he was doing.

In my opinion Kishimoto wrote SS in this ambiguous way to appease both the SS haters and the SS shippers.

Why would Kishi care about appeasing the same fans who harassed him so badly following the manga's conclusion, that his editior had to respond in broken English and basically tell those entitled children that the story doesn't belong to them? I'll reiterate that there's nothing "ambiguous" about their relationship, nor is Kishi implying anything. Gaiden made it crystal clear, that the love between the Uchiha family is the real deal, there's nothing ambiguous about that statement, there's nothing ambiguous about Sasuke giving Sakura the forehead poke, and there's nothing ambiguous about Sasuke flat out clarifying that his heart is connected to Sakura's.

#Sasuke Uchiha #Sakura Haruno #sasusaku

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jostenneil · 3 years

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do you think that people that praise nobara but bash sakura actually cares about a good written female character in the shonen? idk it seems like ppl attach this title to female characters that have a “no shit attitude” and good physical strength. but what’s wrong with being vulnerable and insecure but having the agency to grow from it? In fact, I would argue sakura has more agency and these traits and complexity than nobara does.

Bluntly speaking? No, I don’t think they do. To me, what’s been so influential about Sakura as a character and her impact on female shounen heroines to follow is the fact that she is very much a product of shoujo tropes and narratives moreso than shounen ones, and that caught people off guard (to the point that it angered them, obviously). I would actually say that what makes her so likeable and relatable to me as a character is that emotionally she’s far more messy than Naruto or Sasuke, who are actually pretty straight laced in the majority of their actions and decisions. They respond very logically to their individual traumas in opposing manners, and that’s what sets the stage for their series-long clash as rivals or something more.

Sakura, in comparison, isn’t someone whose feelings, decisions, or actions are as clear cut. In the beginning, she’s a little bit selfish, a little bit mean, and it takes the range of her experiences during Part I to mold her into someone with a broader sense of empathy and kindness. Sakura is a normal girl living a normal life who just wants to have a normal crush, until she’s thrust into a team of people all traumatized in some of the worst ways possible, and she has to learn to cope with that while maintaining her own sense of identity and purpose. That’s something that especially becomes a focal point of her growth after the time skip, and as a whole it’s a narrative arc very reflective of the classic shoujo. The thing about her story that’s compelling is there’s this constant back and forth between loyalty to love or duty. Sakura is someone dedicated to building up her strength and skill for the purpose of contributing to and supporting her village, but at heart she’s also the same girl from her childhood who just wants to live a normal life, for her friends to be okay, and for the boy she loves to realize that he is someone worthy of love in the first place. The complexity of that interplay over the course of Part II absolutely fascinates me, especially because it’s something she struggles so much with. A lot of people tend to act like Sakura is naïve or blind to the reality of her circumstances, but I would argue that she’s the most emotionally and realistically grounded member of her team. It’s what makes her internal emotional struggle so hard, because she’s fully aware of the realities, but they nonetheless break her heart and she doesn’t actually like having to acknowledge them. It’s an incredibly human response, and why I think her actions during the Kage Summit Arc and even afterward are so understandable, because, yes, there is strife and blood and war, but doesn’t love still mean something in the end? I think shounen fans who tend to hate her absolutely abhor that aspect of her character, because they can’t stand to see someone who would dare go against the grain of what makes battle shounen so addictive and enjoyable a genre. They’re being asked to contend with a character with more complex motivations and feelings, and they can’t stand it, especially because that complexity manifests in the form of a character who doesn’t have the heart to hurt the people she loves, because more than anything, she just wants them to be okay first. It’s not wrong that Naruto’s philosophy with regards to Sasuke is to fight violence with violence, that’s his prerogative, and there’s reasoning behind it. But there’s also nothing wrong with Sakura trying to appeal to Sasuke’s emotional side first, especially since he is someone who has been so thoroughly traumatized into relying on violence as a coping mechanism. That’s something she acutely recognizes, and yet somehow, it’s almost impossible for a good portion of shounen fans to recognize this themselves, and so you have either people who egg on Sasuke’s dismissive behavior with her or people who act like he’s the devil incarnate because his extensive trauma makes him respond non-ideally. There’s no room for nuance, because at the end of the day, a girl who cries over the boy she loves, or who cries at all, is a miserable human being and has no place in a shounen, regardless of her feats otherwise.

And then, we have Nobara, who admittedly is a cool character, too! I like how her back story shapes her philosophy with regards to her admiration of and cooperation with the people around her, and how that mindset of hers grows and changes as she spends time with the other students at Jujutsu High. But, while it does present an interesting premise and fairly logical growth pattern, there’s honestly. . . not much more to it beyond that? Nobara is never paid the same amount of attention by the narrative as are Yuji and Megumi, and then it’s not like challenges to her philosophy are a significant focal point of the story (in the sense that it’s not really like her personal arc majorly shapes the story itself). It shows up where it’s needed, and then it’s more or less pretty neatly resolved and tied up with its own bow within a hundred or so chapters. Could she come back from the “dead”, and there theoretically be more done with her character? Maybe. The recent interview from Gege where he talks about the circumstances of her death was interesting. But something he also talked about in that interview is how the series is more than halfway over, and it’s like, is there really a lot more that he can accomplish with her narrative arc when there’s so much else that’s more important and needs to be resolved? I think people like Nobara because she’s someone confident in her own motives and her own sense of self, and that’s great! I love to see characters like that. But it’s also ridiculous to see her constantly lauded over Sakura when she’s hardly afforded a comparable significance to her own story, let alone an extensive character arc where her own personal development matters and is constantly challenged at large. People are far more concerned with dominant expressions of feminism, and that being synonymous with a “strong” female character, than anything actually bordering on a complex and fully realized character. And I don’t mean this in any sense as a criticism to people who like Nobara’s character. I’m just saying that it’s sad to see shounen fans constantly settle for bare minimum and not ask for more, or seek out more for themselves. Nobara, and several of the other female characters in Jujutsu Kaisen, deserve to have their narratives and characters be fleshed out on par with those of the boys. I wish more people were willing to acknowledge that.

#sakura haruno #naruto #jujutsu kaisen #mine:media analysis #not even going to tag nbr bc frankly her fans are crazy but whatever #i hope if people read this they actually glean something from it #and thank you anon for the question #in short i completely agree with you lol #asks

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distinguished-slacker · 3 years

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Ichinose Clan Theory — The meaning behind Guren’s crest

I already talked in a post that I recently made about how Kagami used the prestigious Tokugawa Clan as a reference for the Sangū Clan:

https://distinguished-slacker.tumblr.com/post/652605760110542848/sang%C5%AB-clan-theory-the-meaning-behind-mitsuba-and

However, while doing this research I randomly happened to find a clan that could be the reference for the Ichinose Clan:

That is the Saitō Clan (斎藤氏). The Saitō Clan was a Japanese samurai clan from Echizen Province, Fuku Prefecture. This family ruled over the Mino Province, which bordered the Owari province that I mentioned in my previous post. Saitō Dōsan was a powerful warlord who married his daughter to Oda Nobunaga, who was Japanese “daimyō” (a Japanese magnate or feudal lord) and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. Oda Nobunaga was one of the "Great Unifiers" of Japan along with Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. However, Saitō Dōsan and his son Saitō Yoshitatsu were defeated by the Oda and died in 1564. Saitō Yoshitatsu’s son was known as a drunkard who was unable to govern and was defeated by the same Oda Nobunaga three years later. As a consequence, the Saitō clan disappeared in 1567. It sounds similar as to how the Ichinose Clan lost their prestige.

But why am I sure why the Saitō Clan was used as a reference for the Ichinose Clan?

This is because of Rígr Stafford who refers himself as ‘Saitō’ and who coincidentally happens to have a relation with the Ichinose Clan as seen in Volume 2, Chapter 1 of the Resurrection at 19 Light Novels:

Although it wasn’t Saito who initially created the Ichinose Clan, as it was Sika Madu who created the whole Mikado no Oni, and so the Hīragi family and the 10 branch houses serving under them, it was indeed Saito who was the perpetrator of the incident that happened 500 years ago that caused the Ichinose Clan to separate from Mikado no Oni, form Mikado no Tsuki, and become “pariahs”. Moreover, as it is mentioned, similar to how Sika Madu insterted his own cells inside some members of the Hīragi family (or possibly all members in all generations since 1200 years ago), Saito inserted some of his own cells inside an Ichinose Clan member 500 years ago, and so all of his descendants, including Guren, still contain these cells inside their bodies to this day. This means that if Sika Madu is the God and creator of Mikado no Oni, then Saito would be the God and creator of Mikado no Tsuki.

To further support this claim, let’s have a look at the crest of the Saito Clan:

Doesn’t this shape remind you of the pendant that Guren wears at the center of his uniform collar?

There has been some discussion over the years when it comes to guessing what actually the shape of Guren’s pendant is; some people said it is a Sun while others say it is a cherry blossom flower. But what if it’s neither of them?

First, the ones who claim it’s a Sun is because then it would complement the Hīragi Clan Moon pendant, more specifically Shinya, as Shinya’s name means “midnight” while Guren is called the “Sun” more than once, acting as foils to each other. However, if you have a closer look at it it’s hard to completely affirm that it’s a Sun because the circle is way too small in comparison to what the Sun rays would be and the five division of the rays resembles more a flower.

Here come the ones who claim it’s a cherry blossom. This is further supported by the use of the cherry blossom in OnS. When Guren attended Shibuya First High School for the first time, the cherry blossoms were in their blooming season, which is March/April. Also, in volume 14 of the manga, Mahiru happens to be seated on top of a cherry blossom tree with Guren behind her, and some people have theorised that the cherry blossom represents Mahiru because the flower symbolises the fleeting nature of life, as Mahiru “died” when she was only sixteen. There is also the fact that people assume it’s a cherry blossom because it’s one of the easiest flowers to recognise. But let’s have a look at how a cherry blossom actually looks like:

The edges of real life cherry blossom petals are really smooth, and no matter what cherry blossom “Sakura” symbols you look at on internet, the petals always have this particular rounded, slightly pointy with an inwards triangular cut at the middle edge shape. But the petals of Guren’s flower emblem are way too rough and irregularly shaped to belong to those of a cherry blossom flower. Then, to what flower it belongs to?

This flower is the Nadeshiko flower Dianthus superbus or the fringed pink or large pink. As you can see, it has five petals which have rough edges like those of Guren’s crest. One of the regions this flower can be found is in Japan and it occurs at high altitudes, up to 2400 m. This reminds me of how Guren’s home is mountainous. But putting that aside, some fans of Japanese culture might recognise this name from the ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’, which is the personification of an idealized Japanese woman. According to this ideal, this woman has to feminine, poised, gentle, humble, patient, honest, charitable, benevolent, chaste and devoted to her husband, always submissive to him, dedicated to the family, bonus points if she looks weak, delicate, with pale skin and long, straight dark hair, preferably black. So then, who does fit this role?

This is no one but the Ichinose girl who lived 500 years ago. In this panel taken from the Catastrophe at 16 manga, you can see how she has very long dark hair, and the way she gracefully holds the fan gives the idea of a sophisticated and feminine woman. Saito even calls her an “alluring girl”. Then it comes the idea of weakness and care for the family. The poor girl was one of the victims of Saitō’s plans and a victim of rape at the hands of the first Hīragi son as an act of jealousy because said girl chose his younger brother, the second Hīragi son. This girl in the end had the baby, who was accepted by the second Hīragi son, even if it wasn’t his son, and these three lived as a family after. However, they had to live a life of humiliation, being so powerless even to their last breath. Furthermore, the idea that the Yamamoto Nadeshiko name belongs to the Ichinose Clan in the OnS world, is that Mikado no Tsuki remained very traditional in comparison with Mikado no Oni, still living in a traditional Japanese mansion, wearing Japanese robes and being given a traditional education. The most obvious proof of this is how Sayuri, a member of Mikado no Tsuki, was raised by her family to fit these roles to serve Guren appropriately, as seen in the afterword that she appears in:

So in conclusion, Guren’s crest represents the Nadeshiko flower. Of course I could be wrong, and it could be either the Sun or a cherry blossom but I think it’s worth to mention this other option as I haven’t seen anyone else write about it. There is also the possibility that it doesn’t have to be only one flower. Saito was the one who planned the meeting between the Ichinose girl and the two Hīragi sons 500 years ago. 500 years later, the same Saito plans the meeting between the Ichinose son, Guren, and the Hīragi girl, Mahiru. Maybe the flower that represents the first meeting is the Nadeshiko flower and the second meeting is represented by the Sakura flower (cherry blossom). The Nadeshiko flower symbolised the kindness but futility of the Ichinoses in the past and so became their crest but maybe the Sakura flower, which also has connotations about fragility but at the same time represents time of renewal, may indicate that this time the Ichinose clan (or what remains of it) will be able to finally break their chains in this era.

I hope you liked my theory! :3 I swear I only began with researching only about Mitsuba, but then somehow I made a theory about the Sangūs, and then somehow I ended up with a theory about the Ichinoses, which lead me to the topic of Guren’s crest. What a chain of events😅

P.S. My GureShin heart is suffering right now guys🤧

#owari no seraph #guren ichinose #rigr stafford #catastrophe at 16 #resurrection at 19 #ichinose guren catastrophe at 16 #ons #seraph of the end

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