SUBTEXT TURNING INTO OVERTEXT???? This work always had gay ass vibes with Erika's wholehearted admiration for Akebi, going so far as to say she "yearns for all of what [she] has so much." Like, the love for Akebi's person inherent in that.
Not to mention the arc of Akebi trying to learn what ROMANTIC love is, which has its own subplot of Yasuko and Hitomi's relationship (the volleyball duo). Yasuko's whole development is framed within the lens of romantic love. First, she declares that she likes Hitomi. Then we get the most STRUCTURALLY ROMANTIC flashback where she breaks up with her ex who doesn't like that she's tall, and it's juxtaposed immediately with meeting Hitomi who thinks her build is perfect for volleyball. Why is it structurally romantic? Because the person telling Yasuko she was too tall could’ve been anyone (a group of bullies or friends, for example), but instead the author chooses an ex, within an arc that is thematically about romantic love. This casts the person who tells Yasuko her height is perfect as a meet-cute love interest. Moving forward, the crush becomes her motivation to be strong enough to be Hitomi's equal. All this is to say, even my most cynical heterosexual read can only conclude there is romantic attraction at play.
So Akebi’s romantic quest is framed alongside Yasuko’s Very Sapphic arc of becoming good enough for Hitomi. An arc that ends with Akebi telling Erika she wants Erika to invite her on walks more often, which is one of the first instances our Self-Reliant Perfect Genki Girlsuccess Girlboss Akebi yearns for a person.
AND I HAVEN’T EVEN BEGAN TALKING ABOUT ERIKA AND AKEBI’S PLAY. What do you MEAN Akebi and Erika are actors in a play, playing characters that were written with them in mind who are essentially themselves, who fall in LOVE. WHAT DO YOU MEAN Akebi declares, “I’ll fall in love, for real” to Erika ARF ARF ARF ARF. Akebi doesn’t know what love is, so the perfect way to teach her is a play where she HAS to fall in love to encompass her role perfectly, or else the play will fail and her intimately close best friend might be taken away from her.
AND NOW PREZ CHIARASHI JUST KISSES A GAL OUT OF NOWHERE? For WHAT? Is it because she could see what Hidaka was thinking and feeling and found her decision—to invite Akebi to the troupe despite her negative feelings surrounding Akebi—interesting? Does she like how animated and expressive Hidaka is and find her interesting? Maybe prez thinks having a girl with contradictory feelings towards Akebi be the eye of the camera would be a good mix.
BUT PREZ, HOW DOES THAT LEAD YOU TO KISS HER? WHY.
last edited at Jun 5, 2023 8:41PM
.jpg?1714756716)
